"Any change today?"

"No, she's the same as yesterday and the day before. This is too much like before A.J, I don't know how much longer I can bear to see her this way."

The farmer held her shy friend as she began to cry while Pinkie, Rainbow, and Rarity stood by trying to think of something to help Twilight who was once again suffering the loss of somepony close to her.

It was during the day that Sunset was supposed to arrive that the girls found copies of themselves inside the castle looking after the alicorn. The humans turned ponies explained the situation before returning to their world. It was a depressing way to meet their counterparts but they understood the situation once they looked at Twilight's frail figure shivering as she cried.

She would be bedridden for the next week as Fluttershy stayed to look after her and the girls visited her each day. Twilight's parents and even Shining Armor and Cadence took the time to visit her during that time as well but it would lead to no change in her behavior. Princess Celestia was much in the same state as she shut herself away and left the court to Luna once news of Sunset disappearing in the same fashion that had befallen Spike.

The time Sunset had spent consoling Twilight of Spike's disappearance was one she had spent making amends with the student she had failed. They were both hesitant about each other's motives until Celestia saw how Sunset truly cared about Twilight's well-being. It was what helped them reconcile and with her graduation and Twilight's recovery it did wonders for her mentally as she would have more time with each of them. However, fate was cruel and unforgiving as it took Sunset away for a second time and possibly forever.

Luna had tried her best to console her sister but nothing seemed to help her get past the incident. She had a feeling as to why it was such. Sunset had been the sole pony Celestia had opened up to after Luna's banishment caused her to close her heart to many and wear a constant mask. She was the one that let her be more than just a ruler and living deity. That was why, when she saw she'd failed Sunset, the feeling of losing someone close to her had hit her once more. Whether to protect herself further or if it was done subconsciously, Celestia had created an even stronger barrier between her and every pony else. It was the reason why Twilight would always see her as a mentor and idol instead the equal she had become.

Without the support of her mentor and the only other pony she felt a true bond with Twilight was left to deal with her feelings alone. It wasn't that she didn't want to let the other girls know what she was going through, it was simply impossible to put it into words. The feelings of a hole appearing in her already broken heart, the feeling of inadequacy as nothing she could do would ever be able to bring them back. It was more than she could bear to even begin to describe.

So there she lay in her bed as the hoofsteps of her friends echoed through the empty hallways that were otherwise caked in dust. The empty rooms with books left scattered and unorganized that Twilight had browsed through in search of answers. The front door echoed shut and Twilight could no longer hear Fluttershy crying. She turned her head towards the object that was the cause of the situation. The object that she once harbored the utmost interest in as it's very existence was a miracle of magic. Now, however, she saw it for what it truly meant and what Starswirl had feared.

It was an unknown magical device that was far from understood. Starswirl feared the interference that it could cause between dimensions and the dangers of traveling between them. The loss of Spike and Sunset proved to be the cost of using such unknown magic. It was more than she could take knowing that she had a hoof in their disappearance.

"No... Please... Don't leave me alone again." she said above a whisper as sleep took hold of her and Luna helped her remember better times.

The morning came and with it so did Fluttershy, normally. To Twilight's surprise it was Rainbow who had shown up around the time of her usual caretaker. It was enough to cause the alicorn to prop herself up even after spending the last several days simply staring between the ceiling and the mirror.

"Where's Fluttershy?" she said with a soft voice realizing that the ill use of it had made her lose it.

"She's taking a break for now. I"ll be watching over you for the next few days Twilight."

"Is she okay?"

Rainbow flinched slightly and paused from opening the curtains. "She's just... tired. How are you holding up Twi?"

"Could I get some water?"

"Sure." Rainbow floated over to the pitcher on a table near the mirror and poured a glass. She gave it to Twilight who took small sips as her horn lit up. "What are you doing?"

"Just checking the surveillance spells for anything."

A flash went off and Rainbow shielded her eyes as windows of magic showed up hovering in the air. They showed various angles of the room but were all focused on one object in particular. The mirror was in the center of each of the images as time seemed to pass within them. Rainbow watched on as Fluttershy could sometimes be seen here and there walking around the bed which was slightly out of the shot. It was heavily uninteresting as it was the same nothing throughout all of them. It wasn't until she saw something that she spoke.

"Wait!"

"Ah!" The shout caught Twilight off guard as the pegasus jumped up and floated near one of the screens.

"Go back a bit but make it slower this time."

Twilight used her magic once more and did as she was told unsure of as to the reason why. "What's going on? I don't see anything." She watched the other screens and found nothing amiss.

"Stop!" Rainbow shouted and pointed to the one screen she'd been looking at. "Make this bigger."

Twilight brought the screen closer and made it three times it's size. She saw nothing wrong with it and wondered if Rainbow was just seeing things.

"Right here." Rainbow motioned towards the bottom left corner towards some shadow.

"I don't see anything Rainbow. Are you sure it's not just a trick of the light?"

"No, I swear it's not. Look at it closely, doesn't that shadow look like one of those from a hoomen?"

Twilight stared and enhanced the image to find that it could be mistaken for one but it wasn't real proof. She took another screen from a different angle and expanded the image on the same spot. The contents of the recording passed by slowly but a sudden shadow passed. She froze it instantly after rewinding and the shadows of two human like figures could be seen briefly. One of them had an increasingly familiar hairstyle.

"Sunset! It's Sunset! She's alive!" Twilight screamed which immediately caused a coughing fit. Rainbow tried to calm her down but was pushed back as Twilight forced her magic to cover the room.

The magenta light soon recreated the past events that happened in the room. She focused on the spot where the shadows had been and found something trying to block her. She pushed through the barrier and found the image of Sunset Shimmer as a human. It should have been impossible for her to remain as such once through the portal yet there she stood on her feet. The image she faced was of someone Twilight didn't recognize at all. She tried to move closer towards the figure but a sudden pain shot through her horn.

The wave of magic was broken but for the briefest of moments Twilight saw the mysterious figure smile at her. Not at Sunset but her. As if it knew what she was doing and it didn't like it.

"What was that? What happened?" Rainbow shouted trying to understand exactly what she saw.

"Sunset is alive Rainbow. I don't know how or why she was here but I know that something beyond alicorn magic brought her here. Which means, it could be what took her as well as Spike."

"So, what do you think we should do?"

Twilight shook the pain off and grabbed the journal that was the catalyst for the portal to open. "I don't know yet, but they're alive out there. What I do know is that whatever or whoever took them from me is going to feel the full force of the element of magic. I'll get them back if it's the last thing I do." She placed the journal on top of the mirror and as it hummed awake Rainbow witnessed Twilight force all the magic around her to gather.

Whatever she was about to do or thought she was doing seemed to draw in all of the magic around them. From the magic in the air to the magic in Rainbow's wings. It all gathered towards her horn as Rainbow felt herself grow tired. The last image she saw was of Twilight blasting the mirror and causing a tear of some sort.

Author's Note

Final chapter. Well, it's been a long ride for me and I sincerely hope all of you like it jus as much. Personally, this story is by far my favorite out of all of them. It's one of the first stories I've ever written and helped me improve with each time I saw to write it.

As always, thank you for taking the time to read my story. Please leave a comment or critique below as any critique helps me as a writer. A like is appreciated and have a great day!