A School Between Two Worlds

Lily’s eyes were on the pages of the book. He kept turning pages madly. Nothing! It had no trace of magic in it. And that girl, Pinkie Pie. How does she know so much about magic?

He walked closer to the pink-skinned woman that arranged the books. “Excuse me, I’d like to borrow this book. Are you the librarian?”

“Yes, I can help you with that.” She took Lily to her desk. “Give me your name, class and locker.”

“I’m new here. Name’s Holylight Ray.”

“Sorry, but you can’t take the book without that information.”

Lily lowered his eyes to the book. “I see… Could you keep it here for me until tomorrow?”

The librarian glanced at the book’s title. “Do you like flowers?”

“People call me Lily,” he said with a smile.

She giggled. “I like them too. My name is Cherilee, but for you, Miss Cherilee.” Cherilee ran a hand through her shoulder-length, purple hair. She wore a white shirt with a brow vest over it, a green skirt with a flower pattern and brown knee-high boots.

From her ears hung two flower-shaped, golden earrings that stood out her green eyes.

“All right, Miss Cherilee. Could you tell me where I could find a girl named Pinkie Pie?”

“Pinkie? We were planning the next meeting of the cheerleader club. She left a few seconds ago, surely to the cafeteria. Sorry for ask, but if you go that way, could you do me a favor and hang this on the notice board.” Miss Cherilee gave him a note that informed the students that she was seeking for an assistant.

“You’re looking for an assistant?”

She nodded. “Whoever agrees to help me will have access to all library’s facilities.”

That made Lily think. If he becomes her assistant, he would have enough time to explore the library and get more information about what is going on here, and maybe found the source of the dark magic.

“Could I do it?”

“Really!? Oh, thank you so much!” She hugged him with all her strength. “Let me sign you up.”

“But I don’t have–”

“Who cares? Just write your name and sign. We can finish it tomorrow.” Cherilee tightened her grip. “You can’t escape from me now. Finally, after so much time, so many days of stress and a bet with Vice-principal Luna, I have someone to help me handle these annoying students.”

Lily took some steps away from her.

“Upss… did I said that out loud…?”

As their conversation progressed, so did the curiosity of three observers who were very aware of the new kid.

“Ya’ll heard that?” said a red-haired girl with light yellow skin and orange eyes. She wore a green blouse, blue jeans, orange boots, and a red ribbon on her hair.

She had a brown gauntlet in her left hand with the symbol of a green shield with a red heart on it.

“He can use all the facilities? That’s not fair!” An orange-skinned girl with messy, purple hair and eyes stared at Lily with narrowed eyes. She wore a black, zippered jacket with blue trim, green shorts, and gray knee-high boots.

On her left wrist, she had a gray bracelet with the symbol of a blue shield with a purple lightning on it.

“What facilities, the computers? There’s nothing else here, Scootaloo.” The last girl had white skin, green eyes, and grayish blue-and-magenta, curly hair. She wore a large, fuchsia jacket with short sleeves, a white undershirt with magenta stripes, a long, yellow skirt and fuchsia boots.

She had a dark purple belt with a buckle shaped like a fuchsia shield with a magenta eight-note on it.

“The computers and the book’s cart, Sweetie Belle.” Scootaloo pointed a finger to the cart next to Cherilee. “We can’t use it since that time when we dare Rainbow Dash to jump, remember?”

“When she jumped from the rooftop to the soccer field?” Sweetie Belle slowly shook her head. “She didn’t land very well…”

Scootaloo shrugged. “Pfft, who cares about a month in the hospital? She’s fulfilled every single dare on the Daring Dash Board, and she’ll do it again next month.”

“Girls, focus on the important here.” The red-haired girl turned off the computer they were using. “The new kid is the second one in charge here now.”

“What do you mean, Apple Bloom?” asked Scootaloo.

“Don’t you see it? These computers got all the fancy programs we need for our videos. And they’re completely free!”

Sweetie Belle crossed her arms as she looked down. “I know, but every time we use them, Miss Cherilee scold us. Being video bloggers is hard.”

“Not anymore. Listen to my master plan, ya’ll.” Apple Bloom wrapped her arms around her friends. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle did the same, making a little circle. “With this new kid as her assistant, Miss Cherilee won’t be here all the time. So, if we become good friends with him, he won’t mind for what purpose we use the computers.”

“That makes sense,” said Sweetie Belle.

“Of course it makes sense; is one of mah plans!”

“That’s cool and all, but where’s the new guy?” asked Scootaloo.

The girls looked around all the library. They were alone. Apple Bloom ran to the door and saw how the new kid walked away.

Sweetie Belle ran behind her. “Can you see them?”

“A’h don’t see Miss Cherilee, but the new guy’s goin’ to the main lobby.”

“Awesome, we can give him a tour around the school!” Scootaloo rushed out the library.

“There isn’t a better way to make a good first impression.” Sweetie Belle followed Scootaloo outside.

“Hey, wait for me!”

One of the books on the second floor fell from a bookshelf and sunk in the darkness of the shadow a hooded figure left behind. The figure walked between the bookshelves, breaking the silence with the sound of his hooves. His red hands grabbed a book with the image of the school on the cover. “Finally, you and your stupid brother, Tirek, will pay for what you did to me, Scorpan.”

A crowd of colorful students walked around the main lobby, each one of them minding their own business, Lily one of them. He was focused on the collection of golden trophies the school proudly displayed. Beside of color, most of the trophies shared name: Rainbow Dash.

Lily turned around to leave, but one of the girls he saw in the library – the red-haired one – was right on his way.

“Gonna eat?” she asked.

“Umm… yeah, I was looking for the cafeteria.”

“I know; we heard your conversation with Miss Cherilee.” She came closer to him and shook his hand. “I’m Apple Bloom, and those two beside you are Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle.” The other girls waved their hands at him. “And we are the guides that will take ya around the school.”

Lily crossed his arms. “Don’t you know it’s wrong to listen to other people’s conversation?”

Apple Bloom gave him a cocky smile. “Kinda, but we know you wanna find the cafeteria. And that’s the place we’re goin’ to take you now. No need to thanks us.”

“I’ll go with you if you promise never again spying on me, all right?”

The girls let out a collective “Yay!”.

“Follow mah lead!”

Scootaloo patted Lily’s shoulder as she passed by his side. “You gonna love our school, Lily.”

Sweetie Belle followed her. “I like flowers too.”

Exploding lamps, creatures from another world, and now spies. This school has a bit of everything.

The newly formed group walked through the school’s hallways as the girls told Lily where everything was. When they saw the cafeteria, Scootaloo stopped and made Lily look to the door that leads to the computer lab.

“What’s wrong with that place?” asked Lily.

“When you get in there, all the computers turn on at the same time. The image of a black crystal appears on every screen…” Apple Bloom swallowed. “And when you open the door to leave… you get caught in yer worst nightmare.”

That caught Lily off guard. “Okay, that’s creepy…”

“I hate that place!” Sweetie Belle turned to Lily. “I know it’s hard to believe, but I–”

“Hard to believe, but I’ve seen a couple of things that make me believe it.”

Scootaloo opened the cafeteria’s doors. “You don’t say…” The girls exchanged serious looks. “Come in, new kid.”

The group grabbed a tray and went in front of the food that smelled so good that Lily’s drool tried to escape from his mouth. Apple Bloom took two apples, a sandwich, and a glass of milk. Sweetie Belle took a vegetable salad and emptied the bowl into a bowl with fruit salad, all of that with cheese; recipe that Lily didn’t know was edible. Scootaloo was fine with a hotdog and orange juice. And Lily took a spaghetti bowl, pineapple juice and some fries.

“And now we came here for our apple,” said Apple Bloom as the lunch lady gave her an apple.

“You must eat at least one apple every day!” Sweetie Belle took her apple and moved aside.

Scootaloo did the same. “School’s rules.”

It was now Lily’s turn to receive his apple, then he saw who the lunch lady was. “Granny Smith! Thanks again for helping me find the principal’s office.”

Behind the bar was an elder woman with green skin, orange eyes and pale hair tied into a bun. She wore a pale yellow shirt with a white apron over it, a red skirt, and an orange bandana around her shoulders with an apple pattern. “Aww, it was nothing, young ‘un.”

“Ya knmow my gawndma?” asked Apple Bloom as she chewed a piece of apple, spitting it all over Lily’s face.

A door behind Granny Smith opened as a tan girl with a face decorated with some freckles came in, bringing a box of apples with her. She let it beside Granny Smith. “Here are the rest of the apples, Granny.” She took off her Stetson and fanned her face with it.

She wore a two-colored shirt; green on the neck and the rest white, a denim skirt with a belt with an apple buckle, and brown, knee-high boots with three apples on the front.

The girl took an apple and jumped over the food bar. She brushed her blond hair off her face and brought her green eyes to Apple Bloom’s. “Howdy, girls, what’s up?”

“Hi, sis, he’s Lily, a new guy. Lily, she’s mah sister, Applejack.”

“New apple on the tree, eh? Don’t worry, we are very friendly here at CHS. If you ever need help for anything, just give me a shout.” Taking another bite of her apple, Applejack left the cafeteria.

The group sat at a table in a corner where they could talk without being interrupted. Apple Bloom, who was sitting next to Lily, slipped a piece of paper in front of him.

Mirages List
–Whole school: presence of fairies with pony aspect. Check girls’ bathroom.
–Library’s second floor: living bookshelves.
–Main lobby: endless spiral stairs to the nonexistent basement.
–The ghost fourth and fifth floor: we need more info.
–Hallways: gazillions of electro-moths.
–Vice-Principal’s office: hidden secret door.
–Computer lab: DO NOT GO THERE.
–School’s statue: it’s alive.
–Principal’s office: something about the mirror.
–Cafeteria: something about “cute bugs”. Ask Fluttershy.
–Hallways: the lockers thief.

Sweetie Belle ate a slice of pineapple wrapped in lettuce leafs and said, “These are the Mirages we know so far.”

“The who?” asked Lily with a spaghetti hanging from his mouth.

“Mirages. They are strange phenomena that take place here in CHS. We call them that because they are like an illusion in which you get trapped. Once inside, nobody can see you or hear you.”

Lily wiped some juice from his lips. “Wait, wait, wait, why would be the school open with such dangerous things around? What do teachers say about that?”

The girls stared at Lily for a while in complete silence. They burst into laughter until tears came from their eyes. Scootaloo punched the table. “You’re funny, new kid. How could Pinkie and Trixie do something dangerous to us?”

A canon exploded beneath a blue-skinned girl, filling her pale blue hair with confetti and streamers. The girl stood up as she shouted, “Pinkie Pie! This is the eight time you ruin Trixie’s food!”

Sweetie Belle wiped a tear from her eyes. “See what we mean? The Mirages are just one of the crazy things they make. This is all a game.”

“You should have seen what they did when classes started.” Scootaloo lifted her arms. “They pulled out a lot of amazing tricks with all sorts of galaxies and stars they projected inside of the gym! We so have to record it next time!”

Lily bit his fork as he scouted the room. Pinkie Pie... she isn´t here

What he fought on the library couldn’t have been prepared in any way by just a girl. Then again, why she was there, and how did she knew how to escape? There were some pieces that didn’t fit in this puzzle yet.

“One question, why three girls like–”

“We are the Crusaders!” they shouted with determination and a fist in the air.

“We gonna find these Mirages and film a couple of videos for our channel!” Sweetie Belle’s eyes sparkled as she spoke.

“They all gonna get super viral!” said Scootaloo.

“Videos? How many of them you have?”

A grin crept into Apple Bloom’s face as she wrapped an arm around Lily’s neck. “None for now. We had to find some Mirages first; this is our first month in CHS, you know? Now it’s time to film ‘em. But that’s kinda hard for the tree of us only. We need someone tall and with blue hair to help us with the camera.” She winked at her friends.

“Flash Sentry?” That comment earned Sweetie Belle a slap on the back of her head from Scootaloo.

If Lily stays close to them, he can get all the news about the Mirages ipso facto. He can also protect them if something goes wrong. Maybe these three could be more helpful than he thought. “My hair was still part blue last time I looked myself into a mirror.”

“Say no more!” Apple Bloom submerged a finger on her milk and painted a white cross on Lily’s forehead. “Welcome to our crusade, cameraman.”

“We got him fooled,” whispered Scootaloo to Sweetie Belle, who started chuckling.

Lily bit his apple. “Know something? You three remind me of Daring Do.”

At the speed of sound, a blue girl with rainbow hair came to their table and slammed her hands on it. “Who said something about Daring Do!?” Her rough introduction and the sound of the impact surprised everyone and made Lily fall from his chair, earning the laughs of the whole cafeteria. “Whoops, you’re okay, dude? That sure hurts.”

Lily stood up as he rubbed his head. “Gahh, what a headshot…” A bit dizzy, he lifted the chair and sat again.

“Sorry ‘bout that.” The girl took a chair from other table and sat beside Lily, nailing her cerise eyes on him. “Spill the beans!”

She wore a white shirt with the image of a cloud with a blue-yellow-red thunder bolt, a short-sleeved, blue jacket over it, a white-and-blue skirt, rainbow knee-high socks, blue-and-white slippers, and rainbow wristbands. A strong scent of vanilla followed her wherever she went.

Lily took a sip of his juice. “What beans?”

The rainbow-haired girl slammed a hand on the table again. “Daring Do of course! What do you know about the new book?”

“What book? I’ll never miss the announcement of a new book.”

“Daring Do and the Curse of Trotsylvania,” sighed Scootaloo as she looked at Rainbow Dash with half-lidded eyes.

“What’re you talking about? I got that one since last week. Breathtaking, by the way.” Lily’s eyes widened as much as they could when he realized how much he messed it up: that book was supposed to be released here in two weeks. He just used his magic to warp a sweet first edition directly to his collection.

“You have the book!?” four feminine voices shouted in chorus.

“Y-yeah, a… friend of mine works at the edit–”

The blue girl grabbed his hands. “Listen, I don’t know you, you don’t know me, but you really, really, really have to let me read that book! I’ll do anything you want!” She threw herself from the chair and hugged his stomach, her head fell on his lap. “I’ve been waiting for it the whole summer! I need to have it in my hands! You have to let me read it!”

“Okay, okay, I’ll let you read it, but get on your feet; people is staring!” hissed Lily as he waved a hand at a girl with red hair with yellow streaks that passed by his side.

She got up and wrapped her hands around his neck. “Awesome! Finally, I’ll know what happens in that castle!” She let him go and sat down with her hands squeezing her checks into a weird duck face.

Lily pointed a fry to the girl. “The book is a first edition. You have to be extremely careful with it.” Three pairs of twinkling eyes fell on him, making him groan. “When she finishes it, you can have it.”

“Yay!” shouted the trio in perfect synchronization.

“What’s your name, newbie? Mine’s Rainbow Dash, the coolest girl in school, but you can call me just Rainbow.”

“Oh, so you’re Rainbow Dash. Name’s Holylight Ray, new kid in school, but you can call me just Lily.”

Rainbow put a hand on Lily’s shoulder. “A fan, eh? You’re cool, new kid. I’d like to get to know you better. Wanna an autograph?”

“Autograph?”

Rainbow stole him a fry. “As soon as you give me the book.”

Lily pulled the fries away from the rainbow-haired thief as he frowned at her, but the other girls snatched the rest of the fries, leaving the plate shining clean.

Apple Bloom lick some ketchup from her finger. “What? Weren’t for all of us?”

Lily stared at the empty plate. “Why all the new kids get their lunches stolen?”

“Oh, there you are, Rainbow Dash.” A yellow-skinned girl walked to the table. She wore a white top, green skirt with three white-and-pink butterflies, green knee-high boots, and a white butterfly clip on her long, pink hair. “Hi, Rainbow Dash. Hi, girls. Hi…”

Rainbow pulled Lily closer to her. “Lily.”

The girl smiled. “Hi, Lily.” She gave Rainbow a book she took out from her yellow backpack.

“You sure are happy today, Fluttershy.” Rainbow grabbed the book.

The girl’s turquoise eyes sparkled as she hugged her backpack. “Today I’ve handed over five animal shelter fliers. I’m so happy!”

“Awesome. Why don’t you take one, Lily?”

“An animal shelter? Sure, why not?”

Fluttershy’s face lit up as she gave him the flier. She put a hand on her mouth. “Oh my gosh! This is the sixth one. I’m so happy I could, I could… Yay!” Zipping up her backpack, she rushed toward the doors. “Gotta tell Angel!”

Rainbow lifted from her chair. “I’d better go with her to make sure she doesn’t end hit by a car.” She gave Lily a look before leaving.

Lily groaned. “I’ll bring you the book tomorrow.”

“Awesome!” Rainbow waved a hand at them and went out the dining room.

Scootaloo sighed as she watched Rainbow walk away. “She’s so cool…”

Lily drank what was left of his juice as he read the flier. Maybe he could pay it a visit this weekend to play with some animals. He took out his cell phone. “Time to go.”

“You can’t leave before we’re done showing you all the school. You could get lost,” said Apple Bloom.

“I’ll be fast. Pleeeaaase?” begged Sweetie Belle with a pair of twinkling puppy eyes that could stop a war.

Lily lifted from his chair before they did effect. “Listen: what if tomorrow after class we include the city to that tour? I need someone who show me the coolest places around. What do you say?”

Apple Bloom grabbed her chin as he thought. “Fine by me. But one last thing before you go.” She snatched Lily’s phone from his hand and put their numbers in it, opened Lily’s MyStable account and sent a friend request to each one of them, and she also subscribed him to their channel: The Last Crusade. All that in half a second.

Lily took the opportunity to ask her for a number.

Hello, Pinkie Pie on the phone.

Lily sat on the stairs in front of the school’s entry. “Hi, Pinkie Pie. It’s Lily, the guy you met at the library, remember me?”

Of course I do! I remember everything about everyone, like when you got your kidney removed, remember? I was holding your hand and telling you to push until the cry of a newborn filled us with bliss. What can I do for you?

“What the… Never mind, I need to talk with you about what happened in the library.”

Pinkie’s voice turned serious. You’re dealing with forces you can’t comprehend, neither can I, neither they can comprehend themselves. But my other me told me you could be of help for us. Meet me at Sugar Cube Corner tomorrow at midnight. Bring cupcakes or she could get mad.

Pinkie hung up.

At midnight? That was, by far, the weirdest girl he has ever met, but she was the key to decipher the mystery.

Everything in this place was so weird, it’s not strange that the portal to Equestria is here. Speaking of Equestria, in front of Lily was the statue of the school: Canterlot, the Mare of the Lake. She was standing on her hind legs on a marble block with a mirror on each side. One of those mirrors was a portal that connected both worlds. But that wasn’t the mirror that interested Lily.

Lily glanced around; he was alone. He walked to the mirror on the horse’s left and pressed his hand against it – his reflection never appeared. A force grabbed his hand and yanked him inside of the mirror. Lily tried to resist, but the mirror swallowed him like a vacuum cleaner.

The mirror took Lily out of a crystal column trapped by countless vines on the middle of a circular room with twelve cracked mirrors. He fell on his knees, splashing water all over his clothes. A golden clock with only a hand served as a roof. The whole floor was covered with a cold water that went into Lily’s shoes, freezing his feet. Only small, shining orbs floating around gave a dimming light to the room. Graveyards had more life than this place

“Welcome to the Sanctuary of Harmony, or what’s left of it,” said a masculine, elder voice.

“Scorpan?” Lily circled the pillar, splashing water with each step.

“I’m glad to see you three,” said the gargoyle.

Gargoyles have humanoid body with lion mane and tail plus a set of bat wings. Scorpan was covered with brown hair and wore a golden armor and the crown that once belonged to his father.

“Any luck trying to communicate with Radiant Hope.”

Lily tapped his pendant. “No, sometimes I think she is the one sleeping instead of Amore.”

“Princess Amore, show her some respect, will you?”

Lily waved a hand. “Yeah, yeah. But after twelve years letting both of them parasite me, I think a bond as born.”

Scorpan shook his head. “Sometimes I forget how annoying you are.” Comment that Lily replied with a smile.

A purple-blue-white-yellow-orange-pink glow ran down the pillar taking both of them by surprise. The glow reached the water and went into the mirrors, repairing the one below the number one. The duo came closer to the mirror without say a word, looking at their reflection.

The more Lily saw himself in the mirror, the lighter his body felt. He even thought for a second he was floating.

The figure of a pony joined his reflection. “Holylight Ray, you are finally here.”

Lily turned to see the pony. To his surprise, Scorpan wasn’t at his side. A complete darkness filled the new room where he was now.

“Who are you? Where am I?”

“Do not worry. My name is Smart Cookie,” said a grey and lifeless mare. “I am one of the six founders of Equestria, and I have been waiting for your arrival. Come with me.” She turned around and walked through a door that materialized in front of her.

On the other side of the door, was a bright room where Lily could see a garden filled with white flowers. That image gave him the confidence to pass through the door into a room enclosed by ivory walls. Only roses grew on the dry lawn, but they had no aroma and its touch was rough to his fingers, like if they were made of sand. A weeping willow grew under a huge chandelier, borrowing its shadow to a group of ponies that celebrated a picnic. All of them without color nor Cutie Mark.

Smart Cookie joined the group and asked Lily to accompany her.

“Don’t be afraid, join us,” said a unicorn with straight mane and tail. “My name is Clover, and I’m glad we finally meet, Holylight Ray.”

Lily walked in complete silence toward the six ponies – two members of each race. They looked way too similar to the ponies that founded Equestria years ago. Scorpan used to tell him stories about these six ponies, who joined the three races of ponies before the time of the alicorn princesses.

Lily had forgotten how much the Equestrian ponies resembled humans. They were nothing like the ponies he was used to see. They have the size of a Golden Retriever, and their faces were like the human ones, but with pointy ears and small muzzles. Stallions had large muzzles, and the mares had it smaller, like if they had funny, square noses.

“Do not be shy, come here,” said the other unicorn. “My name is Platinum.”

Lily sat beside her and an earth pony that had a smile wider than her face, which was millimeters away from Lily’s.

“This is the first time I have a Holylight Ray so close.” She wore a weird hat shaped like a pudding with her grey mane stylized as the frosting.

“Calm down, Puddinghead.” A pegasus offered Lily a muffin. “Here, take it.”

Before Lily could take the muffin, the only stallion in the group grabbed it with one of his wings. “Soldiers don’t eat muffins, Pansy!” He aimed his lifeless eyes at Lily. “I hope you’re ready to swallow what’s coming over you.” The rigidity of his voice and his bald head reminded Lily of a sergeant from his old school.

The muffin flight from his wing to Lily’s hands enveloped by Platinum’s silver magic. “Maybe soldiers do not, Hurricane, but paladins do. You can eat it, love.”

Lily took a bite of the muffin letting it rustle in his mouth, spreading its vanilla flavor all over his tongue. “It’s good!”

“Glad you liked it,” said Clover. “But the reason you’re here is not for eating. One journey ends, and another one begins. The unicorn inside of that pendant ventured like a phantom to the most inhospitable regions of Equestria and managed to restore Amore’s body. Now it’s your time to take the torch and go alone.”

“Alone? Without Hope I can’t use magic.”

“Trust me, you will be fine.” Clover put her cup aside. “Platinum, please, give me a hoof.”

The horns of the unicorns lit with their respective glows – golden for Clover and silver for Platinum. The glow engulfed the chandelier and a magic beam descended to Lily’s pendant.
The beam stopped making Lily feel a heat in his chest that made his throat burn like if he had eaten ten jalapeños. Puddinghead offered him some tea to ease his pain.

Pansy came to his side and put one of her soft hooves on his shoulder. “How do you feel?”

Lily cleared his throat. “I’m fine. But how I’m going to use magic now.”

“Easy,” said Hurricane, “the same way pegasi beat clouds: using your own strength.”

A neigh broke the peace among the ponies. Three white horses came out of a pond at a corner of the room. Each one brought something in its mouth: a sword, a halberd, and a kite shield. The skin of the horses fell from their bodies as they walked toward the ponies.

“What’s that!?” asked Lily.

“Corpses,” said Smart Cookie, “they carry something that chaos abhors.”

Like if their forces were being drained, the horses rotted as they collapsed to the ground in a deformed mass of flesh and bones, but they keep crawling toward Lily. He and the ponies stood quiet as they looked how the horses crawled all the way through them. When they were close to the tree, a purple fire consumed them until nothing more than the weapons remained.

The sword had a silver blade connected to a black gun handle with a trigger. Lily’s Cutie Mark was engraved on the handle.

The shield was skillfully crafted like wings that wrapped around Lily’s Cutie Mark.

The halberd was a massive weapon that had double-edged scythe blade on one side, a partisan head at its end, and a battle-axe blade on the other side. Lily’s Cutie Mark was engraved on it.

The weapons turned into orbs of light that went inside of Lily’s pendant. A torrent of light burst out from his hand and turned into the sword. Lily clenched his fist around its padded handle as he watched speechless to its blade.

“Those are your new tools,” said Hurricane.

Puddinghead jumped behind Lily’s back. “That’s a twinkleslasher!”

Clover cleared throat. “Hornsword. That is how Star Swirl baptized it.”

Lily pointed up and squeezed the trigger. A luminous bullet came out from the blade’s tip the same way a magic comes out from unicorns’ horns. “I can do magic whit this!?”

“That magic doesn’t belong to you,” said Hurricane. “Have you heard about the Siege of Trot?”

“Of course, that’s one of my favorite Equestrians stories. I’m a fan of the Channeling Queen.”

Hurricane smiled. “Glad to hear that, ‘cause those weapons are made with the parts of her body that she lost in that battle.”

With a deadpan expression, Lily put the sword aside and rubbed his hand on his pants. Puddinghead giggled and started munching Lily’s hair.

Clover held the sword in her hooves. “Those were forged by Star Swirl himself with the silver-like ore left behind by the Secretariat Comet, wood from the Harmony Tree, and the exoskeleton of Chrysalis. The magic the hornsword shoots belongs to her.”

“They will help you fight those things that lurk in this school,” said Pansy.

“The Mirages? What are those things?” asked Lily.

“I will try to explain it,” said Smart Cookie. “This sanctuary exists to maintain the balance between both worlds. It was built by Star Swirl using the combined magic of the twenty-two most powerful relics on Equestria. However, two years ago, a superior force awakened and destroyed the balance: The Elements of Harmony. The sanctuary used the magic of the relics to equalize both worlds. But it failed. Its destruction brought with it what you call Mirages: the relics consumed by the deepest chaos. A chaos so powerful that it was able to equalize with the elements.”

“Then I just have to find this world’s elements, right?” asked Lily.

Clover shook her head. “The elements don’t exist in this world. Fortunately, the sanctuary is weak and the Mirages aren’t able to spread beyond the school. I’m sure the princess’s love has enough strength to restore the balance. Save her is your priority. Now that Hope’s magic sleeps, they shouldn’t attack you unless you summon those weapons. Magic is what drags them.”

Lily picked up the hornsword. Puddinghead couldn’t resist the temptation and gave it a good lick to the blade. “Tastes like channeling!”

The sword vanished in a mass of light.

Lily took Puddinghead and sat her on his legs, where he caressed the soft fur of her back. She giggled and nuzzled on Lily’s belly. Puddinghead felt like a jumbo-size, stuffed animal that never stops laughing.

“One question. If the sanctuary is corrupted, how can I awake Princess Amore?”

“When you came into this sanctuary, you saw twelve mirrors. Inside of every one of them lays a fountain with the power of wash away any curse; something close to impossible by a third-party. Twelve fountains, twelve labors to gain access to them. Many heroes have forged legends around them. I can say no more,” explained Smart Cookie.

Platinum put one of her hooves on Lily’s shoulder. “You should not rush, love. Go home and relax for the rest of the day. You have all the time of the world to take care of those mirrors.”

“The first days in the barracks are difficult, son, but you’ll get over it… or you’ll die trying, it’s up to you,” said Hurricane indifferently.

Lily carefully took off Puddinghead and stood up. He wanted to end this conversation by all means. “I think it’s enough for today. Where do I get out of here?”

Pansy pointed to the door that led into an infinite darkness. “All straight.”

Lily said his goodbyes to the ponies and passed through the door, closing it behind him. He had a lot to think about, and he wanted to do it alone.

As soon as the door closed, the ivory walls cracked. The earth shook and shattered below the ponies as the roof fell in pieces. A layer of stone covered the founders who remained still with a dark smile on their faces. The flowers slowly twisted and withered as the little world died.

“Holylight Ray…” Clover´s voice turned into a metallic screech. The shell of stone cracked, revealing a mass of darkness with a serrated, red smile. “You will feed us for eternity.”