Equiforce

Chapters

Introductions
A Slow Start
Consequences
The Harsh Truth
We All Fall Sometimes
But Heroes Stand Back Up
What Lies In Your Heart?
Epilogue
Prologue
And Then a Monster Tackled Her

Introductions

And in other news, today America's foremost space exploration group NASADA once again came under fire for the numerous setbacks and delays related to the moon base project. Since its beginning in early 2002, the project has been met with issues, such as schedule delays and mismanagement of funds. The director of NASADA recently issued a statement addressing the many accusations of incompetence, in which he promised that the issues were, quote, "Being thoroughly investigated," and that no one in their company had "any intentions of giving up on the dream to colonize space," end quote. Ever since the defeat of the Alliance, countries around the world have been attempting to get a foothold in space, to be ready for the next full-scale invasion. While a few minor incursions have been repelled, none were on the same scale as Invasion Day. There have even been several invaders like Lothar that slipped through our defenses and were able to wreak havoc before being thwarted by—

"Diane?"

Diane paused the video on her phone. "In my room!"

"Are you almost ready?"

"Almost!" she called back down. The girl sighed. With a longing glance at her phone, she acknowledged that she really didn't have time to finish the video and pocketed the device. She stood up and stretched her arms, sore from having sat for so long. Diane paused in mid-stretch; she could hear her mother coming down the stairs. Diane sighed again. Here we go.

Her mother, Roxanne Jones, opened the door and frowned at the mess. "You've been packing for an hour! I thought you said you were almost done?"

"I am almost done!" the younger girl retorted. "Just let me find my shoes, and we're good." She reached behind her bed, looking for her elusive sneakers.

Roxanne moved a little closer into the room. She was still dressed up for her meeting with Principal Caplan and the school board that morning. She wore a very nice purple vest and a heavy knee-length skirt. Her dark hair was pinned back into a bun, with a few strands hanging on either side of her face. She wore thick glasses that kept slipping down her nose, requiring her to push them back up.

Diane had often thought about how her own appearance contradicted her mother's. It wasn’t just they looked different, it was how they carried themselves. Roxanne always looked together and professional, even when things were falling apart. Diane felt like she couldn't look properly 'together' even on her best day.

Diane also knew that her mother knew she was lying about being okay, but that didn’t matter. She wouldn’t bring it up. Indeed, Roxanne just nodded and leaned against the wall. “Great. Angel Grove isn’t that far away, but we need to leave soon if we’re going to get there on time.”

Diane rolled her eyes. “Yaaaaaaaaaaaaay,” she muttered as flatly as possible. Roxanne didn’t hear, but Diane didn’t expect her to. Her mother wasn't very good at hearing things. Or paying attention to things. Or-

Diane consciously stopped her train of thought. Her mother was very good and did the best she could. She and her father were amazing parents, and the two of them didn't need any more stress to deal with.

Well, I guess it isn't them anymore, is it?

Diane finally gave up looking underneath the bed and moved on to search the closet. Roxanne still stood in the door, watching her daughter. “Diane…” she started, but her voice trailed off. Diane turned and looked at her mother directly for the first time. It wasn’t like her to stop in the middle of a sentence like that; Roxanne always thought very carefully before she spoke. “Diane,” she started again, “are you okay with moving?”

Diane sucked in a breath. “Yeah,” she squeaked, before clearing her throat. “ ‘course I am. I mean, there's no reason not to be okay, and...”

Roxanne put a hand on her shoulder. That was also weird; she hadn’t been touchy-feely for a while. “Diane,” she said again, making direct eye contact, “If for some reason you don’t want to move, just tell me.”

Diane chewed on her lip. “Weeeeeell,” she drug the word out as much as possible, “to be honest—”

A ringing cell phone interrupted them. Roxanne glanced at the offending device for a moment. “That’s work.” She hesitated a moment, clearly torn between her job and her daughter.

Roxanne went to turn it off, but Diane stopped her. “It’s all right,” she said. “We can talk later if you want.” Roxanne nodded gratefully and answered the device as she walked back out the door. Diane sighed and flopped back on her bed.

They needed Roxanne to have this job. Now that her dad was—

dead.

... now that her dad was gone, they had trouble paying for the house. The librarian job in nearby Angel Grove had been the closest one Roxanne had been able to find. It still meant moving, but it wasn't like she was moving to Japan or something. It was just…

—Dad died. He's dead because people die, and what's stopping that from happening to anyone else? This isn't like on TV. Things don't always work out, and people might not forgive me if I screw up, and what if my teachers don't like me, or—

Diane frowned. This wasn’t going to get her anywhere. Maybe the school would be terrible, maybe not, but worrying about it wouldn't change anything. She nodded to herself. Right! I’m done thinking about it.

Leaping off of her bed in a smooth motion, she moved a box aside to finally find her sneakers. Tying them up carefully, she grabbed her favorite pink hoodie out of the top of the box she’d moved and regarded herself in the mirror.

The girl she saw wasn’t perfect. She wore a very crumpled pink and white top and faded jeans, her hair was a pitiful mess, and it seemed like there was something missing from her. Like there was something she was supposed to be doing but couldn’t. She looked utterly terrible.

Diane closed her eyes, breathing in and out. After a few moments, she looked into the mirror again.

The girl she saw wasn’t perfect, but so what? She had this great pink hoodie and a cool white scarf, her hair was a terrific shade of red and perhaps she looked rather messy, who cares? There were more important things for her to do than worry about how she looked. She had friends to make!

Diane’s expression wavered a little. That wasn’t exactly who she was, but it was who she wanted to be. She was tired of being afraid to talk to people and of hiding at home. Her father had always said that if you didn’t like something, you shouldn’t complain about it. You step up and fix it, no matter how hard it is. Diane was tired of feeling sad and alone all the time, so she was going to make some friends.

With the skill of an artist, she carefully painted a smile on her face. It wasn’t that she was trying to hide the pain; Diane simply thought that since the pain wouldn't disappear because she was frowning at it, why not try and be happy?

Rainbow Dash trotted back and forth in the quiet room.

Each hoof-beat echoed around the chamber. During her time in the royal guard, her inability to hold still on command had been repeatedly reprimanded. She couldn't help it; whenever she was nervous she needed to get up and move about. And lately, things in her life had become very, very nerve-wracking.

Rainbow Dash was a trainee for the Royal Guard, one of the best. It had been her dream ever since she was able to properly dream about things; and not only had she pulled it off, she'd done better than she'd imagined. She'd cleared the written exam, every physical test and not only had she passed, she was one of the highest scoring applicants in the history of the Guard. As much as she wanted to take credit, it wasn't entirely due to her natural glory. While that had obviously been an important factor, an equally important piece was her best friend Twilight Sparkle.

Twilight was the apprentice of Guardian Luna, and the smartest pony Rainbow Dash knew. Twilight had helped her learn to study, come up with an exercise regimen to help her go faster, and had ironically enough been the one to keep her from having a nervous breakdown during the test itself. When Rainbow had tried to thank her, she'd waved the Pegasus off. "Don't worry about it," she'd insisted. "You've done plenty more for me over the years."

Rainbow smiled at the memory. Things had seemed so hopeful them. She'd felt like they could take on the world together. That hadn't lasted.

Not just because Guard training showed her how much more she had to improve. But because of what that meant. Between Twilight's studies and her new rotation, the two mares had started to drift apart. Twilight had started to throw herself more and more into her studies, and Rainbow got her to get out of Luna's Library less and less. There had been about a month between visits when Twilight had burst into the barracks, half-out of her mind. She'd asked for help, the Guards had attacked them, and Rainbow unhesitatingly did what came naturally. She saved her friend. It wasn't until later that she'd realized what she'd lost.

No. She thought firmly. I haven’t lost anything yet. Once Sparky and I figure out how to fix Luna, I can just go back. I'll bet they’ll even have to reward me with something. I wonder if I can squeeze some kind of medal out of this…

“Will you please stop that?”

Rainbow’s face fell. There was still one storm cloud in the sky: Starlight Glimmer.

Starlight Glimmer was a lavender Unicorn. Rainbow knew she was lavender because she’d called Twilight lavender one time and the mare had conducted a three-hour lecture about the color wheel to prove her wrong. Twilight was a lilac, and Starlight was a really, really, boring lavender. Everything about her was uninteresting, from her job as Archivist to her passion for restoring books and memorizing spells. It was like she'd crafted her whole personality to be dull and uninteresting, so naturally Twilight acted like the two of them were best friends.

Honestly, if she didn't act so smug all the time, I might not completely hate her. Aloud, she answered, “And what, exactly, am I stopping?” She was very good at communicating annoyance through sheer tone; the word 'exactly' in particular felt like it was blunt instrument being swung at Starlight’s head.

The lavender Unicorn carried on reading from her spellbook, unaffected. “Stop pacing. It's really annoying. Didn't the Guard train you how to sit still?”

Rainbow rolled her eyes but did as she was asked. She rested on a bench along one side of Twilight's castle/lair and idly began to tap out a rhythm with her forehoof. “Sorry. I guess we can’t all be as, ‘professional’ as you.” She gave the word ‘professional' a very sarcastic wrench, using it to bludgeon the other pony.

The other mare flicked her ears in annoyance. “I'm starting to get the impression that you don't like me very much.”

"I wonder why."

Starlight finally turned to face her. "Well, I do wonder why. Why don't you trust me?"

Rainbow lashed her tail irritably. “Well for starters, why are you even here?”

Starlight rolled her eyes. “I told you, I—”

“Sparky asked you to tutor her. She asked for a spell, something went wrong, and now Sparky’s on the run,” Rainbow stated.“That’s great and all, but why are you here? I only showed up because she's my best friend.”

And if I’d thought for a second…

Rainbow took the traitorous thought and shoved it down deep where she couldn’t hear it. “But you,” she continued, “you followed us. You haven’t been friends with Twilight since you were a filly. You barely know her. You could have just told the Queen what you knew and gone back home. You even thought Sparky had used the spell on purpose when you showed up. So why. Are. You. Here?” To punctuate each sentence she poked the Unicorn in the barrel. Starlight backed away from the aggressive Pegasus, Rainbow following her until Starlight's flank was against a wall.

Starlight avoided Dash’s gaze, her ears lying flat against her head. “Because this is my fault,” she whispered. “Twilight asked me to help her impress Luna. It's my fault that all of this happened.”

Rainbow narrowed her eyes as the other mare shifted uncomfortably. Under the first hoof, that sounded really noble, but on the second… there was something wrong here. Rainbow hadn’t been able to figure out what, but she was sure Starlight was lying about something.I’ve just gotta push until I come up with something.

“How did you even get a book on Dark Magic, anyway,” she pressed on. “Shouldn’t those books be locked up somewhere or something?”

Starlight glared at the guardsmare-in-training. “I'm one of the queen's Archivist's. Of course, I'm allowed to have books like that. I just assumed Twilight was allowed to as well, seeing as she was Luna's apprentice."

Rainbow met her gaze evenly. “You’re hiding something,” she replied in a cold tone. “And I’m gonna find out what.”

Starlight scoffed. “You are the single, most paranoid pony I have ever met.”

“Yeah, and you're a liar, so I guess we all have to live with each other's screw-ups.”

Starlight was getting well and truly angry now. Rainbow withheld her smirk; if she got angry enough, Starlight might give something away. And messing with her is fun.

“What about you? You were in the Royal Guard, why would you drop that for your friend?”

Rainbow scoffed. “Because she’s my friend! Duh.”

“Well, she’s my friend too! And I want to make sure she’s taken care of. How do I know you’re not just waiting for the right moment to turn us in without being arrested?”

“Hey! I’d never do that to my friends!” Rainbow carefully restrained herself from grabbing the mare and dunking her in the nearest pond. “You—”

“Enough.”

The voice thrummed with power, making both mares shudder from fear. They turned to look at their boss, the most feared Unicorn in all of Equestria: Twilight Sparkle.

The mare, as mentioned before, was a dark shade of lilac with a dark mane streaked with hot pink. Her eyes literally burned with power, to the point where her iris had a permanent glow. Her Mark, a six-pointed star, also shone bright enough to be seen in the reasonably well-lit room. She positively thrummed with energy. At the moment she was number one on Equestria’s most wanted list and was considered to be a highly unbalanced, extremely dangerous threat to society that should not be approached without backup under any circumstances.

It was a good thing whoever had issued that order couldn’t see Twilight now. The mare’s coat was stained with oil, her oversized goggles were slipping down her muzzle, and having attracted her friend's attention, she smiled sheepishly instead of continuing to boom theatrically. The only part of her appearance that was the least bit intimidating was the softly glowing network of scars that covered the left half of her face. She wore her hair low in an attempt to hide them. “Sorry,” she said, a bit embarrassed. “I wish you two wouldn’t fight; it makes it hard to concentrate on my work.”

The two henchponies exchanged glances. Whatever disagreements they had in the past, they unfailingly allied over keeping Twilight Sparkle happy.

Rainbow didn’t know a lot about magic, but after Twilight had calmed down enough to explain things, she’d described the whole spell. And then she’d gone back and repeated everything again without speaking in scientific gibberish.

‘May-Shadows-Sap-Your-Strength’ was a high-level spell that absorbed magical energy and transfused it onto or into whatever object the caster chose. It could reinforce objects, bypass and kill most charms and curses, and increase the user's reserve of magic. It was very difficult to cast correctly, and very few Unicorns even had a Mark that would let them use it. Sparky had gone on and on about it to her. Rainbow had never seen her so excited.

Rainbow still wasn’t sure what had gone wrong during the casting; Twilight had trouble talking about it. What she did know was that Twilight had Luna’s power as well as her own inside her body. A Unicorn's body wasn’t able to contain the raw power of an Alicorn. Short term, that meant that any time Twilight used magic she might kill herself entirely by accident. Long term, the lilac colored Unicorn only had a few months to live before the magic incinerated her. And that wasn’t even the worst part.

Sparky hadn’t said anything about an overabundance of magic affecting a pony's mind, but ever since that night, she’d been acting funny. Her mood could swing from ecstatic to depressed in a moment, her memory was spotty, and she’d lose her temper over little things. Rainbow had tried to bring it up, but every time she did Twilight would get angry or brush her off.

Right now, the best thing she could do was to stay here and keep Twilight from doing anything stupid. That meant being kind to Starlight Glimmer. “Sorry,” she groaned to the pristine Unicorn. “I shouldn’t have yelled at you.”

Starlight nodded her head. “Me too,” she said in tones you’d swear was sincere. “And I’m sorry for bothering you too,” she said to the mad scientist, who had already walked back into her lab. “I didn’t mean to interrupt your work, Sparky, just—”

“Don’t call me that.”

The words were quiet and cold. Twilight's back was to Starlight but she could see her shoulders tense up, and several pieces of magical equipment began to shudder and shake. Cracks spiraled across the glass windows set high in the walls of the lab, and a magic sensor overloaded in a flurry of sparks. Starlight’s eyes widened when she realized her mistake.

“Right,” she said smoothly, holding down her terror with all four hooves. “Sorry. Won’t happen again.”

Twilight smiled. “Thaaaaank you,” she sang out as she pranced back towards the lab. Some of the more sensitive equipment was on fire, but she didn’t appear to care. Rainbow tried not to let her worry show; Twilight complained a little when she called her Sparky, but she’d never reacted like that before to anything. Some days she was normal, but other times she acted…

Well, like that.

Rainbow was starting to wonder if they would have to turn themselves in so that Twilight could get her mind looked at. Jail would be better than going mad.

The mad scientist in question shifted some of the magical equipment around the lab, clearing a space for them to stand. The burnt out pieces were carefully packed away into boxes, while the still functioning ones were simply moved to the side. "Okay, so according to Starlight and my research, we need to find ancient artifacts called the Elements of Harmony. We can use their connection to the Tree of Harmony to restore Luna's magic."

Rainbow considered questioning how exactly that was supposed to work, but decided against it. She didn't want to look dumb next to Starlight. "So, where are they?"

Twilight grinned. "I'm so glad you asked," she said in tones many associated with someone who was a devout zealot in a major religion. "You see, centuries ago, the Royal Sisters aided the great wizard Starswirl the Bearded—"

Oh by the mages, not this guy again.

"—in wielding the Elements of Harmony to create a mighty fortress called the Dream Castle. It was hidden in the Nothing, the space between the Realms. It was meant to be an impenetrable vault for dangerous magical artifacts, as well as a place for him to study their effects and powers. He created the Crystal Mirror to travel between the two, but an accident threw him into Realms unknown. Without Starswirl, Celestia and Luna couldn't get into the castle, and after enough time had passed, they were forced to declare him dead."

Rainbow nodded slowly. "Okay, but how does this help us?"

"Because I found him!" Twilight shouted in the kind of jubilation only found in the truly obsessed. Rainbow and Starlight both took a step back, wary. Twilight magic surged again, but miraculously nothing was broken. "After centuries of looking, I'm the one that figured out where Starswirl the Bearded is! Isn’t this amazing?"

"That's great, Sparky," Rainbow said in a calming voice, "but you need to slow down a little. How can Starswirl still be alive?"

"Because he's Starswirl," Twilight said dismissively. "He must have found a way to cheat death. I mean, Starswirl dying? As if."

Starlight looked a little worried as well. "Do we need to move so fast? With a little more preparation, we can—"

"Don't you two morons get it!" Twilight snapped. "We're standing on the threshold of the greatest discovery of all time! This is no time for caution! This is a time for action!"

Her words echoed through the chamber, accompanied by several bolts of magical energy. Rainbow dove back towards the door, carrying Starlight with her. They were seconds ahead of the burning field. The stone itself was unharmed, but neither of the mares was sure what it would have done to them.

An absence of noise followed. Rainbow's breathing slowed, and she cautiously peeked her head around the corner. Twilight stood in the center of the destroyed laboratory, looking horrified. Rainbow thought she saw tears in her eyes, but it could have been a trick of the light. "Rainbow! Oh by the stars, are you okay? Did I hurt you?" Twilight demanded, racing over. Rainbow nearly reared back at the invasion of her personal space but suppressed instinct. I need to be patient with Twilight. She’s not herself.

Slowly, Starlight moved from behind the wall and looked at the two mares. "...I'm fine too," she said quietly.

Satisfied that Rainbow was unharmed, Twilight returned to apologizing. "I am so sorry! I don't know what happened! You were just trying to help, and I was... I just..."

Dash closed her eyes and steeled herself for what came next. Carefully, she reached over and pulled Twilight into a hug. "You're going to be okay, Sparky," she said as compassionately as she could. She was in no way sure of her ability to be compassionate, but Twilight nodded, so that was a good thing. "I mean it! Everything's going to be fine. We just need to be careful, okay?"

Twilight relaxed a little. She sniffled, and Rainbow noticed how thin and cold the young mare felt. "You're right," Twilight said, drawing herself back. "Thanks."

"Heh," Rainbow said awkwardly. "Well, ya know... anytime."

Starlight cleared her throat. "If I may; Twilight, why do you think you found Starswirl?"

"I have Luna's magic," Twilight replied. "Thanks to that, I also have parts of her memories. I used my boosted magic and modern detection spells to look for Starswirl's magic signature, and I found it!"

"Twilight," Dash said gingerly. "Are you sure..."

"Of course I'm sure!" Twilight snapped. Guilt followed a second later. "I'm sorry! But I was so sure I found..." she let out a defeated sigh. "It can't be Starswirl the Bearded. He's been dead. But I did find somepony with magic that Feels just like his. Maybe a parallel version of Starswirl, or a descendant? Anyway, it'll get us into the Dream Castle. All we have to do is convince them to help us!"

"We don't have a lot of time," Starlight observed. "What if they don't want to help?"

"It's not like we can force them to help." Rainbow shot back in irritation.

Twilight's ears flicked. "Well..."

Rainbow fixed her longtime friend with a stare. "You're not serious."

"I need to take a pony’s magic out of their body and mix it with my own. It's an incredibly painful and potentially fatal process. What's more, from what I can tell this Realm isn't populated by ponies. I only found one magical signature strong enough to be a living pon- person. They might be hostile."

"That's not gonna change if we foalnap one of them!" Rainbow stared at Twilight. “You do realize that you could kill somepony, right?” she asked the unicorn. “Even if it’s not a pony, that's still a very bad thing!"
"We don't have a choice!" Starlight snapped. Both Rainbow and Twilight shot her twin looks of disapproval. She winced. "Sorry! But we really don't have time to be gentle. I'm stunned the Royal Guard hasn't found us yet. The longer we stay here, the more likely it is that we'll be caught."

"Starlight's right," Twilight insisted. "We don't have enough time to find a better way."

Rainbow frowned. Under the first hoof, she was a member of the Royal Guard. She didn't hurt innocent ponies. But under the second, Twilight was right. They simply didn't have enough time. She sighed. "Fine. We go in, we get out, as quickly as possible. Nopony gets hurt. Are you sure you can do this without killing anypony?"

Twilight nodded. "I wouldn't suggest it if I thought there wasn't a chance."

Rainbow nodded. "Then let's do this.

Diane was looking at her new home with mixed feelings. The house looked… utterly bizarre. It sat on a tall, steep hill that wasn’t a lot longer than the house. The driveway was only about ten feet long, but it was at such a steep angle that you could almost mistake it for a wall. The house itself looked a bit like a child who had instructions for a lego house got the pages in the wrong order, gave up part of the way through and just finished as best as he knew how.

It was three stories tall, and not very long across. It was arranged in rectangular blocks, each smaller than the last. The bottom was the largest, and the third was just big enough for a maybe a room and bathroom. Dead center was an honest-to-goodness turret, proudly standing and daring anyone to say it was out of place.

Roxanne chuckled nervously. “Yep, that’s it!” Her voice was not suited to faking emotion; despite her attempts at sounding optimistic, it was clear she was worried. “It looks just as… interesting as did it when I was little!”

Diane said nothing. She didn’t think there was enough sarcasm in the world to deal with this. Besides, I’m happy now. “Well… who wouldn’t want to live in a combination of a castle and an ordinary apartment! It just makes so much sense.” Inwardly, she winced. Too close to sarcasm. Stay positive. Think of bubblegum. Bubblegum is happiness… actually, do I still have bubblegum?

Diane began rooting through her backpack as she and her mother entered the house. It was somehow large and cramped at the same time. Despite the complete lack of furniture, the room made Diane instinctively want to duck her head to keep it from knocking on the ceiling. She knew intellectually there was plenty of space, but despite that, it felt like the room was created to give its occupants claustrophobia. If the whole house was like this, she would be miserable-

Oh, I do still have bubble gum! Diane regarded the piece for a moment, not sure how old it was, before deciding she didn’t care. She popped it into her mouth and chewed with gusto. It helped a little.

Roxanne looked much, much less happy. She entered the room, moving so carefully that you’d think she was sneaking through a prison. Her face was a solid mask, betraying no emotion as she entered her childhood home.

Diane frowned. “I thought you said you liked living here?”

Roxanne jumped. “I did! I will, I just…” She reached out and leaned against the wall for support. “I haven’t been here in a long time."

Diane nodded. “Bubblegum?”

Roxanne looked down at the offered piece. “How long have you had that in your backpack?”

“Who cares?”

Roxanne smiled but shook her head. “No, thanks, I think I’d like to keep my teeth.”

Diane rolled her eyes and popped the second stick into her mouth as well. “So,” she began,”I’ll just start putting my things in the top room, then?”

Roxanne waved her along. “Knock yourself out. I’ll just... be a minute.”

Diane paused for a moment, before accepting that and heading upstairs. She had stuff she avoided talking about; it was only fair that she let her mother have her own space.

Her new room was actually a lot better than her old one. It was in the top of the tower and with the way the building was structured, she basically had the whole floor to herself. There was her room, a tiny bathroom, a vaguely pointless hallway, a walk-in closet, and the stairs in the tower itself. Even if the rest of the move was a disaster, her new room was one thing she could think of as an improvement.

She began dropping her clothes in the walk-in closet, and her more personal things like her art supplies and party favors in the bedroom. Diane planned to move everything up to her room before she began moving things into place, but she stopped and rooted through her boxes for one thing she had to put up before anything.

Diane carefully pinned the vintage poster of the Space Power Rangers team to her wall. It showed the five heroes standing over some rubble, taking a break from clearing it away in the wake of The Invasion. She and her dad were Power Ranger fanatics, but this poster was extra special because it was made from a picture he’d taken himself. He’d been there when he was about her age, the day the Earth faced its most dire threat. Diane had heard him tell the story a hundred times.

It was a day unlike any other, he’d start. The Earth's darkest hour. The rest of the galaxy had surrendered to the Alliance. Titanic ships bore down on us all across the globe. The Power Rangers had disappeared. As far as we knew, we were on our own.

Diane loved to listen to him tell the story like this. She made him tell it every time she could. Sometimes he even did voices and added sound effects.

But this was the Earth. And humans don’t give up without a fight!

No matter how tired he was of telling the story (And as she got older she knew he must have gotten very tired of telling it) he was always so excited for this part. So proud of what they’d done.

The leader of the Alliance of Evil, Astronoma, threatened to destroy the Earth if we didn't turn the Power Rangers in. She said that they'd abandoned us, that they were cowards who fled from battle. We knew better. This was Angel Grove. You know what we called certain doom? Saturday. We weren't gonna cave into the demands of some interstellar terrorist.

When Astronoma called for the Power Rangers to come forwards, everyone there stepped up. We charged the monsters en mass. Every single person there was willing to put their life on the line for the Rangers because the Rangers had done the same for us time and again. They'd never asked for thanks. They'd never asked for a reward. They just stood up for us, against whatever monsters the universe could throw at them. It was about time for us to do the same.

We bought the Rangers enough time to destroy their fleet and save the universe. Why I even saved one from a robot that tried to attack from behind. She thanked me for it by letting me get a picture of the team when they took a break from helping clear out some of the rubble.

That picture had gone on to be one of the most famous images of the Power Rangers. She suspected that the 'shooting a robot' bit wasn’t quite true; it tended to change every time her Dad told it. At one point he decapitated it with a signpost. She didn’t care. It was her dad telling a story, and what did it matter if some of it was a little exaggerated?

That day had been a beginning for many people. The Power Rangers had been everywhere. Certainly, monster attacks were common as well, but for everything terrible that tried to destroy the Earth, Rangers rose up to defend it. Public opinions were mixed; while some appreciated the Rangers efforts to defend them, others were angry at the destruction and mayhem that followed. Some of the teams dealt with this by hiding, coming out only when forced. Others were fully public and run by the government. One team had actually became mercenaries. But that was nearly ten years ago. The last team, one based out of Ocean Bluff, had simply disappeared without fanfare. In the years that followed, no new monsters emerged. People started to wonder if they would ever come back. Some even hoped that they wouldn't.

For as long as Diane could remember, she’d idolized the Power Rangers. Formerly normal people being given a chance to become something bigger. To make a difference that they couldn’t have before. To see wonders and fight horrors and be a part of a greater and more beautiful world than they could have ever been a part of before. To save people.

To make sure no one died.

Diane’s cheeks were wet all of the sudden. She wasn’t sure why.

“Diane?”

Diane jumped and spun around, nearly losing her balance. She wiped her eyes furiously with the back of her hand and leaned over the staircase banister to look at her mom. “Yeah?”

“Just checking to see where you were. How's it coming?”

“Fine, I guess,” Diane replied as she glanced at the poster. “I've got everything I need.”

A Slow Start

A demon of fire stood on a rooftop across from Roxanne's house in the early hours of the morning. Her batlike wings twitched as the cold wind blew over the dark suburbs. A flicker of light blue energy traveled down her red skin, attempting to warm it against the morning chill. Sunset Shimmer had always hated the cold. She shivered and conjured up a ball of fire in her hands. The frost on the rooftop began to recede, and Sunset sighed in relief.

“If you're not careful, somepony's going to see you.”

Sunset spun around, ready to send a stream of fire at whoever had snuck up on her. Standing behind the pyromancer was Starlight Glimmer, casually levitating herself over the roof. Sunset wondered why her fellow she-demon never used her wings to fly; they were always folded behind her back like knives. “You’re not exactly being subtle yourself,” Sunset groused as she extinguished the flames.

“I thought to cast a Don’t-Notice-Me spell on myself before flying up here,” the demonic mage said matter-of-factly as she lowered herself onto the roof. Sunset shot her a jealous look; her fellow conspirator moved with such ease that you'd forget that this wasn't her natural form. “Has there been any movement?” Starlight asked as she moved to stand beside Sunset.

Sunset went back to glaring at the house. “Not from the girl. Her mother has been up for a while.” She rubbed her arms, trying to get feeling back into them. Having bare skin still feels so weird. “I can’t wait for school to get started. At least it’ll be warm in the school.”

“I’m surprised you pyromancers get cold,” Starlight scoffed. “Anyway, I have some bad news.”

“Oh, and here I thought you’d just come to say hi.”

Starlight shot her a look but chose to let the remark pass. “Twilight's been able to locate the girl. As soon the planes align, she'll send Rainbow and I to come through and take her by force. I need you to make sure nothing goes wrong.”

Sunset frowned. “How do you plan on stealing the Crystal Mirror away from Twilight?”

“Let me worry about that,” Starlight said firmly. “Your only job is to keep Starswirl’s descendant safe from harm.”

Sunset nodded. “It’s still hard to believe that she’s related to someone like him.”

Starlight didn’t reply, which was typical. Sunset had been working for Starlight for a while now, and the biggest thing she’d learned was that she could be very uptight. It didn’t matter how little something deviated from the plan, Starlight would notice and freak out. Sure, this was a little early, but Sunset very much doubted— Wait, what did she say?

“Did you say that Rainbow Dash will be coming through the portal right now!?”

“As soon as the planes align, yes. Now—

“It’s Wednesday! There are teachers in the school!” Sunset exclaimed. “If she goes through the portal now, somepony will see her! They’ll find the mirror! I’ll be stuck here forever!” She spat the word 'here' out as if it burned her tongue.

“But if Twilight gets the girl underhoof, she’ll be able to find the Dream Castle,” Starlight said.

Sunset glared at her. “Forget that! We have to make sure the mirror is safe!”

Starlight grabbed Sunset’s arm before she took flight. “Need I remind you who it was that gave you that bracelet? Without me, you’d be stuck as just another hairless monkey. I'm the only reason you have magic at all.”

Sunset yanked her arm free. Not bothering to reply, she jumped off of her perch towards the street below. Her magic surged, creating an updraft strong enough for her wings to catch and she rocketed upwards. It had taken her an excruciatingly long time to learn how to fly, but it had been worth the pain. Sunset downright refused to admit anything that might be good about her life as of late, but flying was one of the things she did not despise.

Sunset landed on the school roof with nary a sound. With practiced ease, she opened the rooftop access door and crept inside. The pyromancer moved quietly, not wishing to attract attention. Her magic flowed around her, tracking the flow of heat and cold and letting her sense everybody alive in the building. It was empty for now, but soon would be filled with the hustle and bustle of teachers getting ready for another day of enduring the antics of hormone-addled teenagers, each convinced of their own importance. Sunset scoffed. I don’t see how they can put up with one another! Humans are all so self-absorbed. When she was an Alicorn, she wouldn’t have to put up with that.

Sunset carefully opened the door to the library and shut it behind her. It might have been easier to find somewhere else to live, but she couldn’t help it; the library reminded her too much of home.

Home.

Sunset leaned against the wall, shutting her eyes tight against the memory of Canterlot. How beautiful the city looked gleaming in the sun, and how exciting things were at night. She missed the long hours spent with Guardian Luna, having fun and exploring the city. Of the stories and legends Celestia taught her, all the times they'd sat together and had lunch, or of the magic lessons and the promise she made that one day Sunset could be as great as the Queen herself, and—

No.

Sunset took in a deep breath, and let it out through her teeth. Celestia had let her down. Sunset had decided that she was going to gain incredible power, and that meant leaving things behind. She would not let herself become some whiny pony, just vaguely wishing that things were better. She was Sunset Shimmer, and she was going to prove that she was worthy of that power.

Taking great care, she removed the bracelet Starlight had given her. Sunset hissed and dropped to her knees as her magic left, leaving her with the feeling of blind helplessness. Sunset gritted her teeth together and forced herself to her feet. I'm fine, She thought to herself. I do this every day. I can make it through one more. Just one more.

She opened up her mirror and removed her hairbrush and some make-up. Sunset had to look perfect. She always had to look perfect, but today was especially important. This was the cumulation of a long, hard road Sunset had been walking down, and Sunset wouldn’t let anything go wrong.

Just you wait, Celestia. I’ll show you I’m ready.

Inside her house, Roxanne was sipping her morning coffee. She had a routine developed, one she’d spent years perfecting. She’d wake up at five, get a shower, eat a bowl of oatmeal, and then sit and read for a few hours while drinking her coffee. It wasn’t complicated, but she found it comforting, and it allowed her to do everything that she wanted to get done in the morning before taking Diane to school.

It was bizarre how familiar it was. Roxanne and her own mother had started getting up together in the morning after her father had left them, and despite the decades of time that separated then and now she still expected her mother to walk quietly into the kitchen, start brewing one of her terribly sweet teas while they would talk about books or school or just about anything. Roxanne was struck with the sudden urge to call her mother, just to hear her voice, but she dismissed it. It was far too early to wake her up, and besides, she was an adult now. But still…

How did she deal with everything after dad left? I mean, I know I feel terrified. I suppose it was different for them; Dad's still alive somewhere, and they were fighting all the time anyway. But Brad died so suddenly... What was it like to be by yourself like that? I don’t know if I’m doing the right thing, for me, for Diane…

As if sensing her thoughts, Diane staggered into view. Most of her hair was in front of her face, hiding her expression. She was stumbling down the stairs with all the coordination of a cow that only had two legs and possibly a hangover. Diane collapsed into a chair across from Roxanne. “Food,” she mumbled through the aura of despair that seemed to surround her. “Now. Please. Food.”

That was yet another trait she inherited from her father. It was so at odds with her normally exuberant attitude that Roxanne couldn't help but smile. “Good morning,” she said cheerfully.

“No. Not good. Horrible. Dark. Sun too tired even. Not awake. Need joy. Need sugar. Give sugar. Need sugar too,” here she fumbled with her words for a second, “do the thing with the talking, but the words inside the head. Not with mouth.” After a moment she added a “Please,” that proved that even with only a third of her brain functioning she was still the well-mannered daughter Roxanne had raised.

“Well, we have oatmeal and…” Roxanne took a moment to think about what exactly was in their refrigerator at the moment. “I think we have some water in the tap,” she finished rather sheepishly.

There was an ominous silence coming from Diane's’ side of the table as if the other girl were considering the age-old question, ‘Do I want to live in a world like this?’ Eventually, Roxanne decided to take her silence as a yes. She slid Diane her coffee mug and moved to start on the oatmeal. “Drink up,” she said over her shoulder. “This won’t take long.”

It took ten minutes for the oatmeal to be ready, and by the time it was done Diane was able to sit up straight and eat without assistance. She took the offered bowl without comment and began to eat. Roxanne sat opposite her, watching her daughter devour the meal while she thought. She looks so young. I remember being sixteen. I didn’t feel young then. I was so different from her when I was her age. Roxanne had thrown herself into her studies, only leaving the house when forced. Diane, by contrast, was always moving and talking to people. When she was five she'd go up to strangers and give them her name, address, and as much of her personal history as she could before Roxane could yank her away. Despite being well-liked by nearly everyone, she didn't have a lot of close friends, and she'd drawn within herself when Brad had died.

The two of them enjoyed a companionable breakfast together, taking joy in the silence before they would have to enter the almost oppressively loud school building. Eventually, Diane consumed enough caffeine to walk in a straight line without assistance and went upstairs to get dressed for school. Roxanne simply finished reading her chapter, before heading outside to start the car. It was fall, and getting extremely cold in the mornings.Okay, I can do this, she thought to herself as she went to start her ancient vehicle. One might assume that she was troubled by the notion of the very old car not starting, but she was actually more worried about her new job. She'd needed a job very quickly, and Angel Grove High's was a fairly high paying position. Mr. Chaplan seemed to be very eager to have the job filled as quickly as possible. In fact, he'd barely glanced at her credentials. I mean, sure it's a brand new job and in a completely different city, but how hard can it really be? She reached under the hood of her car and began to rearrange the wiring inside. Once the motor had started up, she bungied the hood back down and went back inside. I'm more worried about Diane. She seems so nervous. I hope this doesn't end badly.

She glanced up as Diane emerged from her room and gave a quick twirl for her mother, showing off her new look. “What do you think?”

Roxanne examined the outfit closely. “Are you sure about wearing a skirt?"

Diane nodded. "I'll be inside most of the day."

Roxanne considered insisting that she wear something warmer, but ultimately let it slide. “Your scarf looks nice,” she added after a moment. The scarf was one Diane’s father had given her, and Diane wore it as often as possible. The girl smiled nervously.

“Great,” she muttered, turning and looking at herself in the mirror. Diane frowned at something she saw and began clawing at her hair. Diane spent a lot of time curling her hair in the morning, and as far as Roxanne was concerned it looked gorgeous, but for whatever reason, her daughter was never really satisfied.

Roxanne cautiously put a hand on her daughter's shoulder. “Diane. You look lovely. Everything is fine.”

Diane nodded, but she wasn’t smiling. That is to say, she was technically smiling, but it wasn’t her real smile. It was one of her 'I’m always alright, honest' smiles she used when something was bothering her. Roxanne frowned at her daughter. “Diane, are you sure you're okay?”

Diane almost imperceptibly straightened. To anyone else, the change would have been unnoticeable, but Roxane had a lot of practice in seeing through her daughter's act. “‘Course I am!” She said cheerfully. “Well, I guess school's a bit [/intimidating, buuuuut overall I suppose I’m doing great. Why do you ask?”

Oh, I don't know, maybe because you couldn’t be saying 'I’m not alright' any louder unless you actually said it? Roxanne looked at her daughter for a long moment. She wanted to press her into her arms, to just make her say what was wrong so that she could fix it, but Roxanne knew she couldn’t. Her own mother had tried to force her to open up, and Roxanne could remember how poorly that had ended. If it was something serious, then Diane would let her know.

Still, she couldn’t help but try once more. “Diane, if something was troubling you, you’d tell me, wouldn't you?”

Diane didn’t answer for a very long moment. “I just…” she tried again. “It's just…”

Roxanne waited.

“It's nothing,” Diane eventually said. Roxanne sighed but accepted it. She could be patient a little while longer.

“Just remember, I’ll be at the school if you need anything. Call if you need anything.” Roxanne hesitated. "Just... I love you, okay?" Mentally she winced at the words. Why did I say it like that? Was it a question? 'Hey, I love you don't I?' Get it togeth—

Her own insecurities were interrupted by Diane crossing the floor in two large steps and pulled her mother into a crushing hug. “I love you too,” she said warmly. Roxanne closed her eyes and held her daughter back.

Until Diane pulled back out of her hug and dashed for the door. “Race you!” she exclaimed over her shoulder as she charged towards the now-warm car. Roxanne followed, an infectious grin spreading across her face.

Sunset smiled confidently as she waited for the school day to officially start. The morning had been a bit rough, but nothing that was beyond salvage. She’d set a Burn-Ever-and-Ever curse on the other side of the mirror, to keep anypony from entering for at least ten hours. Even a Mage like Twilight wouldn’t be able to figure out how to break through until after the school day was over. All I have to do is befriend that ditz to keep an eye on her, and everything is back on track.

She leaned against the wall, bored, as she waited for Diane to show up. She brightened, as she saw another thing on her to-do list walk by. “Grace!” she called out. “Hold on. I wanted to talk to you.”

Grace Bernadette was a gangly thing. Despite the fact that she was a year or so younger than Sunset, Grace was a full head taller. Moreover, Sunset knew from experience that Grace was ridiculously strong. You’d never know it by looking at her; she always held herself in a way that made her look a lot younger than she really was. “Hey, Grace, I need you to run this story in the paper.”

Sunset handed a short stack of papers to other girl. Grace flipped through them and frowned. “You’ve been following Bonnie around?”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Sunset scoffed. “I had somebody else follow her around. Anyway, what’s important is what’s written here. She and her friend have been going around and causing trouble. Remember when the sprinklers went off last week? It was because she and Lyra were messing around in the science building. And when the police showed up at Ernie's? Bonnie thought she’d seen a demon flying around!” That had given her a fright. She still had no idea how Bonnie had seen her, but the fact remained; Bonnie had to be shut down immediately.

“I’m sorry, Sunset,” Grace quietly said, “but I don’t think Miss Appleby would think that this is the kind of thing we should print.”

“Of course it is!” Sunset waved her hand to emphasize the point, a gesture she had practiced several times to get right. “Bonnie is hiding something, and it is the duty of the press to reveal it to the world, no matter how much it hurts her!”

“...That’s not how that works,” Grace managed to get out.

“Sure it is. Anyway, you don’t really have a choice. I’m the student president, so I have control of which school clubs get funding and which don’t. I need this story to be run so I can concentrate on making sure that money is spent wisely.” She didn’t need to say more. Grace was good at connecting dots. Step out of line, and your Pet Care Club is history. And that’s not even the beginning… She’d done a lot to make sure nobody would dare challenge her. Grace was tough to work with; while she was more than willing to do what she was told, she had a surprising stubborn streak when it came to protecting others. Sunset had to exert just the right pressure, at just the right place. One of the reasons she went after Grace so often was to bend her into the right shape.

“Now,” Sunset went to hand her the papers, “all you have to do is—” Normally, she would have continued with a very intimidating line about the dangers of sticking one's head out, perhaps connected to some kind of joke about turtles and Grace’s love of animals. Unfortunately, before she could she was tackled by what felt like a small truck.

“Oh, I’m sorry!” the other girl said, standing quickly. Sunset’s head was ringing; she only had the vague impression of a pink blur squeaking at her. “I didn’t see you there, are you okay?”

“Fine,” Sunset grumpily replied. “Watch where you're going next-” She looked up at the girl, realizing that she hadn’t seen her at school before. That’s Diane? She’s even worse up close. “It’s fine,” she said, mentally switching from ‘intimidate’ to ‘charm.’ “Aren’t you the new girl?”

“Guilty as charged!” Diane chirped. Sunset would swear she was actually chirping. “Who are you?”

“You can call me Sunset. I’m—”

“Sunset? That’s a pretty weird name. Did you dye your hair to match your name?”

Several humans had previously suggested that Sunset dyed her hair. They had all learned to fear her. She smiled in a way that hopefully wasn’t baring her teeth. “Actually, it's the other way around. Sunset is just a nickname. Now—”

“Really? That’s weird. What’s your real name?”

Sunset tried very hard to think of something to say that wouldn’t reduce the girl to tears. While she was stuck, Diane moved to pick up her papers. “What are these?” Diane asked as she looked through them.

The story! “Those are mine, actually.” She moved to take them, but Diane nimbly stepped around her. Sunset turned around to face the other girl as Diane leaned casually against a locker.

“Wow, you followed someone around all night just to see if they did something you could use to blackmail them?” Diane asked the question with a vacant expression, tilting her head a bit to the side. Normally, Sunset would have thought that it was an odd expression to have, maybe even a fake one. Right now, she was too angry to care. “Isn’t that a little petty?” the girl continued. “I mean, what did she do to you?”

“It’s not blackmail!” Sunset finally snapped. “And she was asking for it!” Sunset took a breath. “Look, I don’t want to be rude, but can you give me that back?”

A new voice came from behind her. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to look at it.”

Mentally swearing, Sunset turned around to face the teacher. “Mr. Caplan!”

The principal gave Sunset a stern look. Mr. Caplan was the principle, and he’d been at the school for decades. While he was more than old enough to be Sunset's grandfather, and walked with the aid of a cane, his mind was as sharp as ever. Sunset had never been able to get anything by him.

The teacher looked through the papers, giving Sunset time to try and think of a way around this. She’d taken the time to memorize the teachers morning routines. Mr. Caplan should have been grading papers, not—

Wasn’t that the same direction that Diane came from?

Sunset looked at Diane more carefully. She wore a pink skirt, a white top with a heart on it, a long white scarf, and a jacket that could have been the physical embodiment of all the pink in the world. She was constantly in motion, twitching her hands or tapping her foot to some unheard song only she was aware of. She didn't look dangerous at all.

But… What was that look in her eyes? It hadn’t been there before. Diane was still smiling, but it looked different. It wasn’t vacant, it was more… dangerous.You don’t want to fight me, it said. I can take you. I can beat you.

Sunset glared back. You don’t want to play ball? Fine. I’ll send your life to Tartarus until you do.

Celestia sourly trotted down the grimy streets. The queen was heading to a meeting with one of her sister's informants, one that had insisted on only meeting with the pony who hired her. Celestia found the mare to be paranoid, but her sister trusted her, so she would as well. Luna was not known for tolerating fools.

The Alicorn queen was in disguise, which was easier than many ponies would assume. Rather than put on makeup and products and such in the morning, she had simply charmed her jewelry to add those details on their own. It meant that if Celestia wanted to slip away all she had to do was take off her queenly garments and put on a jacket to hide her wings. It was uncomfortable, but it worked. While binding her wings would leave them sore for hours later, Celestia was more aggravated by the fact that she had to even briefly reveal her actual mane and tail colors. The first thing she had done was change them to a dark silky black, and her coat to a gorgeous scarlet red. She wore a black jacket to hide her wings, and as an extra touch, an eye-patch over her left eye. All in all, she doubted anypony would recognize her.

Celestia reached the alley where she was meeting the consulting detective, but it was empty. She frowned. It was possible that the Pegasus was simply running late, but she doubted it. It was far more likely that she’d run into some kind of trouble. Unfortunately, Celestia didn’t have a choice but to wait for her to show up. She adjusted her jacket, trying to get it to sit more comfortably on her back, before settling in to wait. Her mind wandered, and her thoughts turned as they often did to her sister's current condition. And, to the one who had caused it.

Twilight Sparkle.

Celestia was not normally prone to anger or rage, but this was an exceptional case. Twilight had abused the trust placed in her and threatened the life of her mentor. She was an unbalanced individual who would stop at nothing to gain power, and use it to…

Celestia let out a sigh and leaned against the wall. Suddenly, she felt incredibly old. Oh, stop it. You know why she bothers you so much.

The truth was, all she knew right now was that Twilight had absorbed Luna's magic. It was possible that the young mare was trying to steal the power of an Alicorn, but it was just as likely that she had made a mistake while casting and never meant to harm anypony. If Celestia was being honest with herself, she'd never really liked Twilight all that much in the first place. It didn't have anything to do with Twilight, it was...

Sunset threw a ball of fire at the Alicorn, who simply ignored it and stalked forwards. “You lied to me!” Sunset exclaimed tears in her eyes. “I’m your greatest student! How can you just send me away?”

She sighed. Twilight isn’t Sunset, she reminded herself. There are minor similarities, yes, but she wouldn’t betray Equestria. Would she?

Which led to the problem of the visions she’d had. Twilight had figured into them several times in the past, enough to make her nervous. Until recently, Twilight's role in them had been unclear. Luna had trusted Twilight, so Celestia had been forced to wait and watch events unfold. Even now, there was a lot she didn't know. Had Twilight chosen to attack Luna, or had something gone wrong? Where did this ‘Starlight’ pony figure into things? She ran from the Guard but was that because she was truly guilty, or...

Or did she become desperate because I panicked and ordered her arrest?

“Pa’don me, miss?”

Celestia turned to face the newcomer, who might possibly have been the worst looking pony she had ever seen. Her teeth were black, her yellow coat was ragged and covered in dirt, and her mane had been hacked short with a what looked like a knife. Her eyes wouldn’t meet Celestia’s gaze, instead nervously skittering around looking for oncoming threats. There was an odd smell about her too, one that almost resembled meat.

“Ya don’t look much like ya belong ‘ere, miss,” the hobo said through her thick accent. “If ya don’t mind me sayin’ so. Did ya get lost on your way ter some banquet up in fancy town?”

Celestia shot the other mare a fierce glare. “None of your business,” she replied in her gruffest voice. “I’m waiting for somepony.”

“I figured as much, wot with your disguise an’ all.”

That caught the queen’s attention. “I don’t know what you mean.” She glanced up the street, checking to see if anypony was approaching the two of them.

“Well, I don’t wanna be rude, but ya don’ exactly blend in much, do ya? Red coat, messy black mane, leather jacket… Did you put an eye-patch on thinkin' that'd be subtle?”

Celestia didn’t often have to explain herself, and found it was more difficult than she remembered. “I didn’t want anypony to recognize me…”

“No,” the mare stated bluntly. “they don’t recognize ya. 'cause they fin' you're an escort waitin’ ter be picked up by a client. A disguise ain’t just about not bein’ recognized, it's about blendin’ in.

Celestia glared at the mare, looking her over more carefully this time. She hadn’t personally met the detective before, but… “You're Fluttershy, aren’t you?”

The detective nodded politely. “Yes ma'am. It’s a pleasure to meet’cha. And if ya don’t mind me sayin' so, but ya shouldn’t break character loike tha'. I could ‘ave been somepony that replaced your real consultant. Ya never know in a business loike this. Just a mo’.”

Fluttershy hovered a few feet up and grabbed a small pack from a window. She let herself drop back down, landing steadily and making sure that nopony was watching them too closely. “All right, may as well be off.”

“Off?” Celestia demanded.

Fluttershy began trotting down the street, forcing Celestia to follow. She stuck to a carefree trot, seemingly at ease with the world around her. Celestia noticed that she wasn’t as calm as she appeared, nervously ready to flee at the first sign of trouble.

“I’m sorry ter inconvenience ya, but yours ain’t the only case I got goin’ on presently,” Fluttershy explained. “I got a foalnappin’ ta look into and I need ter be at a party soon. I’d planned in the buff nickel and dime but I ran into a… friend, of mine and ended up runnin’ late. Barely made it ter the meetin’ in time. That’s why I'm still in disguise. Sorry ‘baht that, by the way. ‘ere we 're.”

Fluttershy trotted through a grimy door that led into a far cleaner room. It was very cool inside, and there wasn’t much light. There wasn’t much furniture either; just an old sofa chair and a coffee table. There was a large chalkboard on one wall that had so many notes scribbled on it that Celestia had trouble discerning the words from one another. The fireplace and window were boarded up, which struck Celestia as odd seeing as the rest of the apartment was very well maintained.

Fluttershy stepped into the other room. “This case... ‘old on.” She cleared her throat and tried again. “I’m sorry,” she said in a much softer tone, “sometimes I have trouble switching between voices. Anyway, this case wasn’t really all that difficult. Your friend is a smart pony, but that doesn’t mean she’s very good at hiding.” There was a pause, and Celestia could hear the sound of heavy rain coming from the other room for a few seconds. Celestia Most ponies can’t afford indoor cloud showers. Fluttershy must be better off than she looks.

“Guardian Luna would have given her training in survival and espionage,” Fluttershy continued, her voice a bit muffled, “but she's only been her student for a few years. It's unlikely that she's had much practical training in such matters. She’d know that she wouldn’t be able to avoid the Guard on the roads for a while, so she would have to be near Canterlot. However, Twilight still needs to be somewhere difficult to reach. Both she and Rainbow Dash have had survival training, so they could stay in the woods, but Starlight Glimmer would have difficulty adapting. Moreover, it stands to reason that whatever Twilight’s plans for the future are she will need access to powerful magic to accomplish them, as her first move was to steal magic from your sister. I had to check the place to be sure, but there was only ever one place for them to go: Everfree Castle.”

Celestia felt a chill go through her heart. The Everfree stood near the edge of the great disk Equestria sat on. Magic had never worked well there for anypony. Pegasi could barely fly, Earth Ponies would lose their connection to wildlife, and a normal Unicorn attempting to cast a spell would result in failure at best. Everfree Castle had been in place to study the anomalies, but after a monster called the Nightmare had slipped through and nearly killed her sister, the place was abandoned. To make matters worse, it was likely that Twilight's increased power would allow her to overcome the magical anomalies and cast normally.

“Thank you for your help, Miss Fluttershy,” the queen said as she began to work out the best way to maneuver a small army through a hostile forest where the bulk of her forces would be the equivalent of either deaf or blind. “You will receive your payment soon.”

“Thank you.” Fluttershy stepped out from behind the curtain and smiled. Celestia felt her jaw drop, but distantly, because the rest of her brain was too stunned by Fluttershy’s new appearance to properly take note of things.

She still looked like the same pony. That is to say, if you got out a picture of her in disguise and a picture of her now, you could tell it was the same pony. She didn't have a magic button that made her change colors and height. She was still a fairly tall Pegasus with a yellow coat and a short pink mane, but wow could she work with that or what.

Fluttershy had used a cloud to blast off all the grime from her coat and then created a warm breeze to blow it dry. Fluttershy’s coat was technically the same color as before, but now she looked much closer to gold, or some other, more radiant color. She’d spat out the mouth guard that made her teeth look ruined, showing them to be perfectly polished. She wore a black vest and dress coat with long tails over a white dress shirt, and there was a pink bow tie around her neck. Her mane was still short, but she’d been able to tuck the more ragged ends into the small black fedora. The few that did not fit under her hat fell in front of her face in a way that couldn’t help but look intentional, giving the illusion that she’d spent hours working on it.

Fluttershy straightened her bow tie and gave herself a once-over in a mirror. “Good enough.” She turned back to the queen and bowed. Her body language had changed as well, becoming more straight and formal when compared to the careless gait she had held before. “Thank you very much for your business. I hope to see you again soon.”

Celestia blinked and nodded. “Um... yes, of course. The same to you as well, Miss Fluttershy. Good luck.”

Fluttershy smiled for the first time. It was oddly bitter. “Luck and I haven’t gotten along in the past, but I appreciate the thought. Have a nice day.” She left without another word. Celestia stood in place a moment, thinking.

Oh, Luna. I don’t know if I can do this without you.

Her visions had progressively been getting worse. Something big was coming, and she had to be ready for it. Celestia wasn’t a fighter. She was a trickster, a planner, a schemer. Without her sister, Celestia had no idea how she was going to do anything.

Sister, what would you do?

Slowly, subtly, she straightened up. Her expression drained of worry as determination began to fill it.

I know what she’d do. She’d say to never tell her the odds. She’d walk up to impossibility and trample it to death, and if it cut off her legs she’d drag herself into biting range. She would do everything in her power to keep her ponies safe, and I won’t do anything less.

Celestia strode out of the apartment with her head held high. She wasn’t sure what she was going to do, but she knew what she had to do. She would defend Equestria, no matter what.

Diane entered the cafeteria and slowed, her eyes examining the room. Word had spread about her and Sunsets’ confrontation earlier, and apparently, Sunset was far more influential than she had thought. Diane focused on a nearby table as she passed it.

Let's see; We've got two girls. The one on the left looks younger, tanned, and doesn't know what a hairbrush is. Large headphones, sunglasses indoors, really casual. The one on the right looks all fancy. She’s sitting up straight and keeps glaring at the other one when she burps or something. Is that a bow tie? That is a bow tie. Why? The two of them look very similar, maybe siblings?

All this flashed through Diane’s mind in a fraction of a second. While the pair looked fairly friendly, they were also embroiled in an argument of some kind, and Diane had no desire to get in the middle of that. Her gaze panned the entire room, taking in every detail she could. After you removed the people who weren’t afraid of Sunset, there weren’t a lot of people left.

Drama. Trying to pick a fight. Wannabe Casanova, DO NOT MAKE EYE CONTACT.

This was incredibly disappointing. The girl that Diane had saved had disappeared before she had gotten a chance to say hello. Diane had really wanted to make at least one friend today, and lunch was the best place to do that.

Wait. What about that one?

The other girl looked to be about her own age. She wore a pair of ripped and torn blue jeans and a relatively nice button-up orange plaid shirt. Draped over the back of the chair was a worn leather jacket and on the table beside her was a real, actual, honest-to-goodnessstetson. This was a person that wore a stetson to school. Onpurpose.

She’s sitting hunched over, like she doesn’t want to talk to anyone, and she’s glaring at her food like it called her names. There's lots of small wounds on her face and her knuckles are bruised; she gets into fights a lot. She’s done her hair into a ponytail, but not very well. She looks like she's stubborn, combative, and not interested in having friends.

Diane sat down opposite the withdrawn girl. “Hi!” she exclaimed cheerfully.The other girl jumped in surprise, before assuming an ‘I’m far too cool to get surprised’ posture that Diane completely ignored. “My name’s Diane! What’s yours?”

The other girl shot her a look, before returning to her lunch. “Abigail,” she said as shortly as possible.

Diane was undaunted. Just keep it up, but be careful. People get annoyed by cheerfulness for some reason. “That’s a nice hat,” she carefully said. “Where’d you get it?”

Abigail seemed to tense up even more. “My parents,” she said bluntly.

Oooooookay, what’s up with that? Does she not get along with her parents, or did something happen to them? Unsure how to continue, Diane let time pass quietly for a while. She hated sitting quietly; her brain would never slow down enough to enjoy it. It’d be like;‘Hey, there’s a clock, remember when I snuck out to see Watchmen,’ and she’d start organizing a rant about how much she hated that movie, and then it would segue into creating a youtube channel, and then at the end she was wondering how to break into the gaming industry. Her mind just wouldn’t let her be quiet.

“Heard you were the girl that tangled with Sunset earlier.”

Diane glanced back up, her mind jarred from its thoughts on how to get Lego Marvel vs DC: The Infinite Crisis War rolling. “Huh? Oh, I don’t think we really tangled, exactly... “

Abigail raised an eyebrow and glanced around the cafeteria. There was a flurry of movement as everybody else immediately pretended that they hadn’t been staring.

Diane slumped. “Yeah, that was me. What’s her problem, anyway?”

Abigail shrugged. “Beats me. She showed up a while back and made herself the head honcho of these parts. Most folk would rather stay outta her way rather than risk rilen’ her up.”

Wow, is she really southern or what? “That sucks,” she said aloud. “Isn’t there anything we can do?”

Abigail snorted. “Why? Most of the time she's content to leave well enough alone. Rockin’ the boat will just get her madder.”

Diane let out a sigh and sank a little in her seat. “I can’t stand bullies,” she said. Despite her words, her voice sounded more resigned than determined. “Plus I’m preeeeeetty sure she hates me now, anyway.”

The older girl didn’t offer up any further words, and Diane didn’t try and force it. They just ate their lunches in companionable silence. Unlike before, Diane felt herself relax a bit while she ate. It didn’t seem as important to make Abigail like her; she was just herself around her.

“What’s your next class?”

Diane looked up, startled by Abigail's words. “Huh?”

Abigail smiled. “Math. Is it your next class?”

Diane bit her lip. “...I think so?”

“Good.” Abigail gathered her tray and stood to leave. “It's my next class too. I can show you where it is.”

Is she offering to show me around? Is this friendship? Do I have a friend? Is this like a one-time thing, and she’ll get mad if I talk to her again or-

Diane stopped wondering what Abby was thinking and simply smiled. “Lead the way!”

Twilight looked at the mirror with a degree of trepidation. It was an incredibly dangerous artifact; after all, contained behind its glass was a shear in the fabric of the Realm. Different worlds could be incredibly dangerous to travel in. In addition to the normal challenges of exploring the unknown, every single universe had completely different magical laws. What was an ordinary activity in one could be deadly in another. The world on the other side of the Crystal Mirror transformed those who traveled to it into a form that could survive, but was that limited to that one realm, or was it a constant? Was it the Mirror itself, or a side effect of traveling to different realms? Why—

“Sparky?”

Distracted from her scholarly ruminations, Twilight turned to see Rainbow Dash looking at the scene with a singularly annoyed expression. Well, she thought it was annoyed; sometimes facial expressions were hard to read...

“Yo, Sparky!”

“Don’t call me that,” Twilight responded automatically. “What’s wrong?”

Rainbow pointed a hoof at the Mirror. “I don’t know if you noticed,” she began, “but our magic mirror is on fire."

Twilight glanced back, squinting. Ever since the accident, her left eye wouldn't focus properly. “Oh, don’t worry. The Crystal Mirror can’t burn; the fire’s just right in front of it.”

“Right. Thanks for that.” Rainbow turned to the other Unicorn. “You got any idea what’s going on?”

Starlight shook her head. “No. It doesn’t make sense. Nopony knows where we are, and if they did, why disable the mirror instead of stealing it? And why not attack us?

“Maybe it was somepony from the other side of the Mirror,” the guardsmare-in-training suggested.

Twilight shook her head. “I doubt it. This is Equestrian magic. I recognize the workings of the spell; it's a Burn-Ever-and-Ever curse. There are very few ponies who can cast it.” She frowned. “Actually, now that I’m thinking about it, this feels very familiar.”

Oh, don't be so afraid. You know how to find out for sure.

Hesitantly, Twilight closed her eyes and felt within herself. She sensed her own pool of magic; glowing brightly with power. And then beyond it, she could feel something else. Something that shouldn’t be anywhere near her mind. It was dark, but safe and comforting. Familiar, even.

Accessing it still felt wrong, though. It didn’t hurt, but... It was like her brain started to shift. Like her thoughts were moving in different directions. Normally, Twilight’s brain felt like a cauldron, with thoughts and ideas bubbling over too fast to track. Now it felt more like a fish tank, everything clean and transparent, with fewer thoughts swimming from point to point with more precision and power.

It was magic. Not her own; this was the magic that had resided inside Luna. She didn’t need to use its power now; she just needed its knowledge. The memory of what that pony had seen...

A trilling noise that sounded unlike anything Twilight had ever heard sounded in her mind. She gasped and staggered backwards. She heard Rainbow cry out, but paid no attention. Memories flowed through her, from days long since past.

Do not listen to such slander! Who could be prettier than you, Tia?
Come now! Since when do you know fear, my sister?
You care not for me! You never have! You never will!

Twilight gritted her teeth and focused on more recent memories. The distant past wasn’t helpful right now, and she didn’t want to betray her teacher’s privacy any more than she had to. She fought the tide of emotions and memories as they sought to drown her, forcing them to show her what she needed.

Luna watched in amusement as the teenage filly focused on her spell-work. “I must say, I am impressed with her progress,” she commented to the filly’s teacher. “She may be better than you were at her age.”

Her sister smiled proudly. “Thank you. Sunset is a wonderful student. We've been working very hard together. She’s going to accomplish great things.”

The Guardian nodded, but then frowned. “I do not wish to be rude, but are you not wary of pushing her too hard? You have exacting standards, and I fear—”

“Oh, you worry too much,” Queen Celestia said dismissively. “I’m aware of what Sunset has trouble with, and we are striving to get better. I promise you that I'm not forcing her to go too fast.”

“That is not what I meant, sister. You know of Sunset’s past. She needs much more than a mere teacher.”

Celestia fixed her sister with an exasperated look. “Luna. I promise you; I’ve got the problem well underhoof.” The queen shook her head. “Honestly, sister, out of the two of us I wouldn’t have thought youwould be the one to worry about such things.”

Luna snorted and poked her sister with her wing. “One of us must.”

Before Celestia could retort Sunset yelped. The sisters turned to see a gigantic pillar of fire roar to life as Sunset burst into a panicked gallop to anywhere else.The Alicorns reacted quickly; Celestia cast a shielding spell to block the fire's progress, while the Guardian of the Night used her Pegasus magic to remove the heat.

Unfortunately, neither proved to be successful. It ignored Luna’s magic entirely and headed straight towards the shield. Celestia gritted her teeth as the shield flickered briefly before glowing brighter. In response, the flames grew bigger and hotter. Luna backed away, lighting her horn to Feel the spell directly with her magic.

Carefully, she analyzed the spell, examining the elements that composed it. There was a piece that made it release energy in the form of fire, and…

There.

There was a thread that was absorbing magic from its surroundings and using it to feed the fire. Carefully, Luna reached out and twisted the thread around. The curse began to steal some of the energy the spell was using, without reducing how much energy the spell needed to live. The spell began to consume itself and in a few moments the fire flared brightly and went out.

Luna turned to see her sister scolding the young filly. “You need to be more careful,” Celestia said firmly. “I told you not to commit very much magic to the spell. What if one of us had been hurt?”

The filly glared at the ground, clearly upset but unwilling to direct her anger at her teacher. “I thought I figured it out,” she stated rather sullenly.

“Well, you clearly still have some ways to go.” Celestia glanced up to check and make sure that nopony was harmed. “Sister, is it okay if I cut this a little short? I’d like to talk to Sunset about a few rules.”

Luna reluctantly nodded. “Of course.” She directed a smile at the young filly. “I shall see you later, Sunny.” Sunset smiled, but her smile disappeared as Celestia tugged her along. Luna frowned again. Celestia is being too hard on the young mare,the Guardian noted. She merely made a mistake casting the spell. It was not as if anypony had been harmed—

—Twilight yanked her mind away from Guardian Luna’s magic, and stood for a second, trying to catch her breath. Her scars burned, so hot that for a moment she was worried she'd actually set her face on fire. The ground was blackened near her, and the stone walls were broken. Starlight and Rainbow viewed her with concern, Rainbow holding one hoof off the ground and limping. Twilight glanced at her, wondering if she should ask if Rainbow was okay, before deciding to let it go. You know how Rainbow is about acting as if she's strong. If she had a real problem she'd surely say something.

Rainbow flinched almost imperceptibly when Twilight trotted over to them. She tried not to let that bother her; after all, Rainbow was always jumpy around high-class magic, and if she had scorched stone then Rainbow had every right to be scared. Rainbow still trusted Twilight. She had to. Twilight knew what she was doing.

“I accessed my teacher’s memories,” she told them, carefully keeping her voice from shaking. She had to look strong. She could do this. “Luna has had to dispel this curse in the past. As it happens, it was even the same pony that cast it. I’ll just need a few hours to get rid of it. In the meantime, you two need to start coming up with a plan to deal with a mare named Sunset Shimmer.”

Consequences

Twilight stared at the fragments of the Crystal Mirror, morosely sorting through them with her magic. This wasn’t supposed to happen. The mirror should have been indestructible. What could have caused this? Normally she would have been in a state of panic, but she felt removed from the situation. It was as if something was dampening her emotions.

It’s probably just shock. Just give it a minute.

Twilight set the pieces down and sighed. What was happening over there?

As if in answer to her mental ruminations, Starlight appeared in an explosion of blackness and motion. Twilight staggered backwards, trying to block the bizarre twisting of space. When her vision cleared, she could see the older mare lying on the ground and breathing heavily.

“Starlight! What happened?”

Star waved away Twilight’s efforts to look over her. “I’m... fine. Just… winded. Sunset… bad. Had friends. Overwhelmed. Stray shot… hit mirror. Rainbow sent me… with girl.”

Twilight gasped. “What about Rainbow?” When Starlight didn’t answer she grabbed the mare and roughly forced her to eye level. “What about Rainbow? Where is she?” Dimly, she could hear the sound of her magic crackling, but she ignored that. It wasn’t important. Her question was important.

“Woah— hey!” Starlight cried. “Calm down!” She knocked Twilight’s hoof away. “Look, she’ll be fine. She’s the fastest mare alive. She can escape anypony, and after we save Luna we’ll find a way to get her back.”

Twilight Sparkle stared down at her, furious. She left Rainbow. She left her alone to die. Well, if she was fine with Rainbow dying for the greater good, then why wouldn’t she be fine with her own—

Don’t kill her.

Twilight seethed, struggling with herself. She left Rainbow to die! I should rip out her skeleton!

...But is that truly what Rainbow would want?

Twilight sighed, pulling her magic back into herself. There was still an unnatural glow around the room, and most of the equipment was destroyed, but all of the materials she needed to make the portal were kept elsewhere. Aside from one, that is.

She levitated the filly up to eye level, dispassionately looking for obvious injuries. The Crystal Mirror had changed her from one of the unnatural monsters that inhabited Earth to an Earth Pony, one that was very, very pink. Her clothes were gone, but she was sure that the magic would restore them when she was returned home. Assuming she survived, of course.

It’s such a shame. But saving your teacher is more important than saving someone you don’t know, isn’t it?

She sighed. “Okay.” Very carefully, Twilight lifted the filly up and levitated her towards the door. Trotting after her, she paused at the door and turned back to Starlight. “Guard the perimeter against any intruders,” she ordered. “It’d be unfortunate if the Royal Guard stopped us right before we got what we wanted.”

Starlight cautiously stood up. Distantly, Twilight noticed that the mare looked terrified. She thought about saying something calming, but honestly didn’t see the point. As long as she did as she was told, Starlight would be fine.

Sunset awoke to the sensation of being strangled. Oddly enough, this was neither an unfamiliar sensation nor the worst way she had been woken up. Rainbow Dash sat astride her, having evidently discovered how to wrap her fingers around things and was putting that knowledge to good use. ”What is Starlight going to do to Twilight? How long have you been working for her? Answer me!”

Sunset wanted to say something scalding, but she was being strangled, and therefore could not speak. “Graah,” she managed to get out.

Rainbow punched her in the face, and then stood up. Lightning trailed down her arm, crackling and popping. Sunset tried to crawl back, but Rainbow planted a foot squarely on Sunset’s chest.

“Starlight teleported to Equestria without using the Crystal Mirror. So I bet you,” she leaned heavily on Sunset chest, making her gasp in pain, “can do the same thing. Take me back there right now, or I turn you into a twitching corpse.”

Sunset blinked. “What are you talking about?”

Rainbow, somehow, managed to look even more infuriated. Her magic grew brighter, and she visibly held herself back from striking Sunset again. “Starlight abandoned you here. With me. And the only way that I won’t rip you to pieces is if you help me save my friend.”

Sunset nearly said something dismissive and sarcastic. She almost re-ignited her flames and started the fight anew again— but what she saw stopped her.

The statue was lying in a crater. The Crystal Mirror was shattered. The rubble was gently releasing odd, light blue wafts of smoke. There was black ooze covering the ground that was wrong in way she couldn’t describe but made her skin crawl.

The mirror is gone.

...I can’t go home again.

Rainbow was still speaking. “It’s not a lot to ask. Just pop me over there, and I’ll do my thing, and you don’t die.”

Despair turning into anger. That was a sensation she hadn’t felt for a while, and it was agonizing familiar. “I can’t,” she spat out.

Rainbow’s expression wavered. “Of course you can. You have—”

“No, of course I can’t! My Mark is for pyromagic! Why in the world would I be able to open portals to other Realms?” She shook her head. “I can’t do anything. I’m stuck here.”

“Hold it right there!”

Rainbow’s expression fell. Her eyebrows, mouth, and general facial expression somehow became a wall of entirely straight lines. “You. Are. Kidding. Me,” she said flatly.

Sunset glanced in the direction the voice had come from. Is that Abigail?

The southern girl ran up to them, limping and breathing heavily. “Now ya’ll… wait right there… and give me back… my friend… or else!” she managed to get out in between breaths.

Rainbow and Sunset just looked at her. They glanced at each other, both confirming that she was serious, before turning back to regard the bravely panting girl. “Or else what?” Rainbow asked in a genuinely bewildered tone.

“I’ll do... a thing!” she got out.

“A thing,” Sunset echoed flatly.

“...Yep,” came the reply of someone who knew exactly how stupid that sounded and was making a go of it anyway.

Rainbow looked like she was having trouble deciding to be impressed or classify her as the biggest moron in the Realm. Sunset decided to answer for her. “That is the dumbest thing I’ve heard in my life.”

Abigail paused. “Yeah, I reckon it is.” She straightened her back out and took a step forward, holding a two-by-four in both hands like a baseball bat. “But Diane got hurt ‘cause she tried to save me, and an Appleby always pays back what she owes!”

“But we can kill you,” Rainbow said flatly.

“A world ran by the likes a’ you ain’t a world worth livin’ in!”

Rainbow snorted. “Heh. You got guts, kid.” She stood up, stretching her arms. She looked at them for a second, before shuddering and looking elsewhere. “We don’t have your friend anymore. My wingmare double-crossed us and stranded us here. See that large smoking crater?” The smoke had since returned to being black and grey, but enough of the gunk existed to make the scene look creepy and ominous. “The Crystal Mirror was our only way to Equestria. Without it, we’re stuck here and Starlight can do whatever she wants.”

Abigail wavered. “Yer lyin’.”

“Why? It’s not like you can hurt me with that.”

Sunset wasn’t sure if the words or the bluntly honest tone pissed Abigail off more. Either way, it was fun to watch. “Now look—” the girl sputtered, trying to bite off a caustic retort. “If that pointy purple monster can get through, what’s stoppin’ ya’ll from doin’ the same thing as her?”

Sunset slowly stood up as well. She winced at the surge of pain from nearly every part of her body. She hadn’t felt this bad in a very long time. “Like everyone from the Realm of Equestria, Unicorns have a Mark that increases our talents and magical abilities. Starlight’s allows her to travel between Realms.”

Abigail looked like she wanted to comment on a large number of things in that sentence but Rainbow spoke up first. “No it’s not,” she said. “It’s for combining magic spells. Sparky told me about it. It lets her combine spells and helps her work with others.”

Abigail looked remarkably befuddled. Both mares ignored her. “No, she told me that it let her use the spell that travels between the Realms,” Sunset said thoughtfully. “It’s why it’s nothing like normal spells.”

“But that’s not her Mark,” Rainbow insisted. “Even if it was, whatever…” she flailed around for words to describe what exactly she’d seen. “—that stuffwas, it wasn’t magic. It was… I dunno, something else!” Aware that this wasn’t quite enough, she tried to clarify. “Somethingreally bad. Maybe it had something to do with that book she read from?”

“What book?” Abigail finally broke in.

“Ya know, the old one with the weird letters and the creepy face! Did she use it in front of you too?”

Abigail shook her head. “When she took Diane, she said that she was gonna help the demon ‘save the realm,’ and she’d ‘read it in a book.’ Maybe it’s the same book?”

“Why would a book have technical instructions on how to travel between the Realms and some kind of prophecy?” Sunset asked. “Besides, Queen Celestia is the only pony that has reliable visions of the future.”

“It wasn’t just how to do that weird portal thing,” Rainbow argued. “She used that to make the bracelets too!”

Sunset opened her mouth to retort— but then her eyes widened. “That’s it!”

“What’s it?”

“The bracelets! We still have magic because of them, which means that there’s a connection between these things and Equestria! My special talent isn’t for modifying spells, but I should be able to use them as a thaumic tether and amplify the magical energy contained within the shards of the Crystal Mirror to transport us to Equestria without my soul being destroyed by the Nowhere!”

The other two girls exchanged glances. “I heard, ‘destroy our souls,’” Rainbow offered.

Celestia peered through the binoculars at the ruins of her old castle. The Royal Guard had been standing ready ever since Luna had been struck down, so rallying them had been easy. Penetrating the forest had been substantially more difficult. They’d only taken Earth Pony troops, as they would be affected the least by the Everfree’s bizarre magic, but that left them with limited numbers. They had been fortunate that none of the Everfree’s various monsters had appeared.

The Castle had remained intact surprisingly well over the centuries. Luna had pulled the guard out of the place a few hundred years ago, and almost the entire superstructure was still recognizable. Of course, this meant that it remained a very useful defensive position. Even if the trio didn’t have the numbers to defend it properly, there were a number of traps and nasty surprises that could be waiting for them.

Besides the queen, her Captain of the Guard narrowed his reptilian eyes. “I see plenty of ways this could end badly,” he said casually. “We don’t know how many traps your sister left in this place when she pulled out, or what Twilight could have added after she got here.”

Celestia nodded. “What do you suggest?”

The drake stroked his chin. “A straightforward attack wouldn’t be very smart,” he thought out loud, “and we don’t know what they’re up to. For all we know, they could just be hiding. We could wait for one of them to come out foraging. If we held one hostage, the other two might fold.”

Celestia shook her head. “No, Twilight’s not behaving rationally. I don’t want to put too much pressure on her at once. We need a way to bring her in quickly, but carefully.”

“Don’t ask for much, do you?”

Despite the grim surroundings, Celestia smiled. “You knew how difficult the job was when you took it, Spike.”

Her longtime companion and friend crossed his arms and frowned at the castle as if that would provide an answer. “There's still a lot of unknowns here, Sunny,” he said thoughtfully. “We need to know more before we can make a real plan.”

Celestia sighed. Under the first hoof, Spike was right. They didn’t know the full extent of Twilight’s new powers, the remaining traps contained within the Castle itself, or anything about this ‘Starlight’ pony beyond that she’d been working at the archives for around five years. But under the second one, it was only a matter of time before Twilight put whatever she was planning into action, to say nothing of how fortunate they were that they’d not encountered one of the beasts of the Everfree yet. Of course, under the third hoof, it was entirely possible that Twilight knew that they had limited time and had deliberately planned a trap for them.

What would Luna do?

“Have the troops begin surrounding the castle,” she ordered. “We don’t have the luxury of time. Be sure to hold half of our forces back, in case this is a trap.”

Spike nodded. “And of course, as the sensible pony you are, you’ll lead that group instead of charging in?”

She ignored the thinly veiled sarcasm. “As Twilight will no doubt be expecting me, it will only make her suspicious if I don’t show up. I have no choice.”

Spike gave her the piercing stare she’d always detested; the ‘I know what you’re really thinking, and it’s not as clever as it looks’ stare that he’d mastered a few centuries ago. “Just be careful for once,” he said. “Equestria kinda needs you to keep the sun from falling out of the sky.”

She put a hoof to her chest in mock outrage. “Spike! And here I thought you would have missed me!”

He shrugged easily. “I’d have missed my stuff, and Equestria’s where I keep all of my stuff. Is that close?”

She rolled her eyes at the drake, before taking her shield in her magic and marching forwards. “Wait for my signal,” she called behind her. “Don’t move in until then!”

Abigail was not hiding from the two monsters. She was standing in a completely casual, normal stance that just so happened to be several feet away from the demons. It was sensible, not cowardly. In fact, just to prove how much she didn’t care, Abigail edged closer to the blue one. She flinched when part of the rubble the red one was messing with sparked but was otherwise cool and collected. She nodded to the rainbow demon, who nodded in return.

It is surprisingly difficult to talk to someone after they’ve tried to kill you. It's a rather personal thing to do to someone, and afterward, you generally aren’t sure how to interact with them without falling back on it as an option. The two of them stood quietly, neither wanting to speak and a little afraid of what the other might say. Eventually, the demon went first.

“So,” she started. “This is a nice country you’ve got here.” She pointed at one of the cars that lay overturned in the parking lot. “Weird animals, but cool. Metal animals are cool.”

“Be careful,” Abigail said vengefully. “If one of them wakes up, it’s liable to take yer head off.”

Rainbow glanced at her in concern, before turning and taking a long look at one of the trailers parked across the street. She swallowed. “Good to know.”

The silence returned, bringing with it an odd form of awkwardness that’s difficult to describe. It’s a little like the silence one hears when you get on an elevator with your ex, and they’re holding you at gunpoint because you accidentally stumbled into a heist movie instead of the rom-com you thought you were in without realizing it. Abigail took the opportunity to examine the demon more closely.

When she wasn't a danger to anyone, she didn’t look very horrifying. Up close, Abby could see she was covered in short fur or hair that made her look almost fluffy. Her eyes were glowing red, but her face didn’t look angry, it looked upset. If Abby didn’t know better, she might think the monster was worried about something.

Didn’t she say somethin’ her friend bein’ in danger?

Abigail wasn’t the most sensitive girl in the world, but even she felt that she should say something.

“Why’d ya try and kidnap my friend?”

That likely wasn’t it.

The monster (Can I still call her that?) winced. “Yeah, I’m really sorry about that.” She paused. “I mean, it's not like it's the kinda thing you can just be sorry about, but… ya know—” She waved her hands around in front of her, trying to think of something to say.

Abigail nodded. “Thanks.” She crossed her arms uncomfortably, then uncrossed them. “But I meant… y’all are super demons with magic powers. Why did you need to kidnap some random girl?”

Rainbow sighed. “It’s a little complicated, and I couldn’t follow most of it. Diane’s related to a super powerful unicorn back home—”

“Unicorn?” Abigail broke in.

Rainbow nodded distractedly. “Yeah, back in Equestria I’m a Pegasus and Sunset over there is a Unicorn. My name’s Rainbow, by the way.”

“Wait, Sunset?” She stared at the flaming demon. “Sunset, that’s you?”

“Yes, and I’m a little busy, thank you,” came the irate reply.

Abigail glanced between the two of them, unsure how best to respond. Eventually, she decided to just pretend that this was normal. “... So you were sayin’?”

“The girl is related somehow to some unicorn named Starswirl the Bearded, and Twilight needs to use her magical signature to pick a magic-lock thingy so we can break into a vault and steal the Elements of Harmony. We need to use their magic to heal Guardian Luna.”

Sunset chuckled. “Is that how she sold it?”

Rainbow frowned. “What do ya mean?”

Sunset carefully lowered the shards she was levitating to face Rainbow directly. “The Elements can’t heal ponies, they're just artifacts of magical power. Starlight and I were going to use them to gain unlimited power.”

Rainbow just stood there, staring at Sunset. “So, they can't cure Luna?”

Sunset shook her head. “I’m sorry. The only thing that can save Luna is if Twilight gives her the magic back.”

“Well, how is she supposed to do that?” Rainbow asked incredulously. “You really think if it was that easy that Twilight wouldn’t just do it?”

Sunset shrugged. “That kind of magic can have an effect on ponies. It can be hard to give up.”

“Not Twilight,” Rainbow said firmly. “I don’t care how much it’s screwing with her head— she’s still Twilight. She can control it.”

Abigail glanced between the two of them, unsure how best to respond. “I don’t know much about magic,” she said slowly, “but are ya sure—”

“OF COURSE I’m sure!” Rainbow snapped. Abigail backpedaled furiously away from the monster's rage. “Twilight is my best friend. I’m not gonna stop believing in her just because she’s gone crazy!”

Everyone nearby froze, watching Rainbow. She took in a deep breath, seeking control. “And she hasn’t gone crazy,” she insisted. “She’s a little off, but she’s still okay. She has to be.”

Abigail glanced between the two of them, feeling very out of her depth. The two monsters glared at each other before Sunset turned back towards the rubble and ignited her magic. Silence descended once again.

Celestia cautiously edged into the room, peering in each corner. She couldn't detect any spells laid down across the floor, and there were no physical signs of traps that she could see. The queen motioned forwards with one wing, her soldiers advancing with her. They all stopped and pointed their weapons as the sound of rapidly advancing hooves came from the doorway on the right. A lavender unicorn burst through the door and fell at their hooves. “Oh, thank the heavens!” she exclaimed. “I’m so happy you're here! You’ve saved me!”

Celestia frowned. “Are you Starlight Glimmer?”

The mare nodded. “I’m so sorry, but she forced me to help her! Both of them did! You won’t believe how terrifying it’s been. Now that Rainbow Dash is dead—”

“Dead?” Celestia had spent centuries trying to find a way to stand near ponies without looming, and as a side effect had become quite good at the process of looming itself. Starlight shrank back. “What do you mean, dead?”

“She went through the mirror portal—” Celestia managed to loom even more, “I’m sorry! But we were attacked, and she’s gone, and Twilight just snapped!”

Celestia closed her eyes. She hadn’t been very close to Twilight and Rainbow, but she’d liked the guardsmare-in-training quite a bit. “You saw her die?”

Starlight nodded. “We were attacked by this— monster. She looked like a minotaur, except she wasn’t covered in hair— and she could control fire! She was insa—”

Celestia lit her field, and yanked Starlight into the air, holding her at eye level. She pressed her magic tightly around Starlight’s body, scarcely letting her breathe. “That’s very interesting,” she said in the kind of calm tones one usually hears from someone before they go on a killing spree. “Would you like to know something else interesting?” Starlight didn’t answer, but Celestia carried on anyway. “I experience visions. Sometimes of things that have happened, sometimes of things that will happen, but every time it's of something that’s real. And do you want to know the really interesting thing I saw the other night?”

Starlight looked like she didn’t want to hear anything but likely wouldn’t have spoken up even if she could talk or move. Celestia’s field tightened even more.

“You. I saw you giving a mare named Sunset Shimmer a bracelet that gave her magic in other Realms. The bracelet that transformed her into the ‘monster’ you described, which makes your sudden confusion as to her identity... suspicious."

Starlight squeaked. It was literally the only action she could take.

“So, I’d like you to think back over what you’ve told me and decided whether or not there are any details you’d like to change before I change you into something that’s on fire.”

Celestia noticed that she was perhaps channeling her sister a bit too much, and took a step back. Starlight was shaking (as much as she could shake) and trying to light her own field. Celestia overpowered her with ease. “Search the castle, “ she ordered her soldiers. “Be careful. We don’t know—”

The caste shuddered, as a pulse of magic flowed across every surface. Celestia dropped the unicorn, who fled deeper in the castle. Celestia let her go; she had other concerns. “Everypony, get out! Now!”

Military personnel were trained to follow orders without question, and in a world where multi-story dragons weren't the scariest things alive, orders that meant Run Away Now were given special treatment. As such, not one of the soldiers noticed that Celestia ignored her own warning and headed deeper into the ruins.

I’m not going to give up, Luna.

Sunset growled to herself as she levitated the rubble in the air. Altering existing spells was absurdly difficult for somebody who didn’t have a Mark for it. They were lucky it was possible at all.

Behind her, Rainbow was waiting as patiently as she could. Which basically translated into pacing, twitching, and finding that fine line between ‘looking over Sunset’s shoulder’ and ‘putting her own life into jeopardy.’ I can’t believe I lost to somepony like her. How did she do it? I should have seen such a cheap shot coming from a mile away!

But she hadn’t, much like she hadn’t anticipated Starlight’s betrayal. As somebody (somepony, she corrected herself) who prided herself on her own intelligence, being outsmarted was probably the worst thing that could happen to her.

There was another magical spark, and Sunset cursed her inattention. The spark was a good thing, as it meant that the connection between the items was strengthening. Sunset needed to increase the power running along that connection, but if she did it too quickly, it would short out and she’d be stranded forever. With only Rainbow Dash for company.

And maybe Abigail as well. She’d never thought much about her; they’d certainly had fights before, but Abigail wasn’t the sort of person who would engage in the kind of back-stabbing and subterfuge that one needed to control any group of people. Abigail was an annoyance, nothing more.

What was bothering her was the fact that she’d stuck around for the new girl. There’s no way they’d known each other before today, and Abigail is suddenly risking her life for her? That doesn’t make sense. Sunset didn’t like things that didn’t make sense. Maybe it’s because of what happened to her mother?

Another spark coursed along the invisible tether, and it didn’t fade for several seconds. Sunset’s breath caught. This is it! After all of this time…

She was going home.

The tether shone with power, bright enough to be seen and not felt. It reached out to each of the remaining shards, linking them together. Space began to warp around the crater, forming a sphere of teal energy. “I can’t hold this for long!” Sunset shouted. “We’re going to run out of power in a few seconds! Ready?”

Rainbow didn’t even answer. She dove towards the portal, surprising Sunset and forcing her to dive after her. She didn’t even notice Abigail run after them.

Fortunately, she’d cast the spell correctly. Her portal hadn’t caused the same kind of chaos that Starlight's had, and they were protected from the Nowhere by what was left of the Crystal Mirror’s spell.

The three girls materialized in a maelstrom.

Twilight lit her magic, the corona extending in a double field out from her horn. The spellstones set around the chamber started to glow, a high pitched trilling emanating from each corner as they began to penetrate the Nowhere.

Carefully, she floated the Heir over to the center of the room, overtop the circular glyphs she had drawn into the floor to mark the spells she had laid in place earlier. The Heir twisted as the magic began to flow through her, spinning around her in a dizzying display of color. Twilight's purple magic began to mix with the blue that the Heir had, creating a magical field that would hopefully fool the enchantments around the Dream Castle into thinking it belonged to Starswirl.

Her eyes closed for concentration, Twilight took the magic that flowed around the room and put all of it into a mystical call. The filly began to writhe on the ground, screaming as her magic was taken from her.

Slowly, the room began to shift. There was a sound, a grinding woosh slowly rising around her. The stone floor began to shift, cracked stone slowly being replaced with hardwood. The walls slowly became bookshelves. A chill swept through the room, and a fierce wind began to pick up inside the room itself. There were a series of cries outside that led Twilight to believe that something similar was happening throughout the castle.

Then something went wrong.

In a flare of light, three figure began to materialize in the room, disrupting the spells. NO! Not after all this time! This can’t happen!

Gritting her teeth, Twilight pushed the spells back into place as much as possible, working around the new enchantment as much as she could. Twilight thought she heard the door open, she couldn’t be sure. Energy crackled and flashed around the room, and in one final explosion, everypony in the room was gone.

Twilight blinked. She was laying in an unfamiliar room. Her head felt like it had been scalped and then stitched back together by a drunk surgeon. She slowly stood on wobbling hooves, trying to get her bearings. Twilight and the girl were in a library of some kind. There was a window, but the outside wasn’t the Everfree Forest anymore. It looked like space was being warped somehow, like it was a fabric being pulled towards a singular point on the horizon, except that point was wherever Twilight focused her eyes. She looked away after a few seconds, overcome with nausea.

The library itself was beautiful, even for a library. The polished wood shone in the soft yellow light, the walls were covered in shelves, and the entire room had a very warm, welcoming feel to it. Over a fireplace was a portrait of a grey unicorn with a long beard and silver mane.

Twilight’s breath caught. There was no way this could actually be…

It is.

Twilight was standing in the personal library of Starswirl the Bearded himself.

She squealed, immediately forgetting her headache and galloping over to examine the bookcase. There were hundreds of titles, several that had been out of print for years. She could hear a small voice in her head telling her that this wasn’t important, but she pushed it back. She had found Starswirl the Bearded's long-lost personal library! It had been sought after for centuries! There was so much she could learn! Rainbow would flip when she heard-

And where is Rainbow Dash?

She looked at the bookcase longingly but forced herself to the door. As much as she wanted to stay and read for hours, she had something more important to do. If she couldn’t find the Elements, Rainbow could be trapped forever.

All that’s left is to find the Elements and return to Equestria. And this time you can’t let anything stand in your way.

Twilight had come a very long way, and she wasn’t going to let anypony down now.

The Harsh Truth

Abigail awoke slowly. The unique combination of flaming pain, piercing cold, and the almost physical presence of nothing had been unlike anything she had ever seen. She shuddered, striving to forget the entire experience.

She slowly rose to her feet, checking to make sure that everything was still where it should be. She still had her hat, she hadn’t been transformed into any kind of mystic monster, and despite the perils of her journey, her body felt well rested and maybe even a little stronger. Abigail slowly stretched, testing her limits.

She was inside some kind of combination between a medieval castle and the Fortress of Solitude. It was lit by softly glowing crystals that framed the stone walls and ran down the length of the corridor. There was no dust, no cracks in the walls, and none of the tapestries looked frayed or faded. Abigail felt almost like an intruder, but there was this odd feeling of… belonging that permeated the place. Despite how ornate everything looked, it was welcoming; at least for now.

“Urgh… Is anypony there?” Rainbow asked from around the corner. “Sunset? Weird monkey girl?”

“My name is Abigail,” the southerner responded as she stormed towards the voice. “And you’d better—”

As she rounded the corner, her voice trailed off. When Rainbow had said she was a Pegasus, Abigail had pictured the girl as something large and imposing, still big enough to break the human in half. Never in all her days would she have imagined something so adorable.

The tiny (she’s so tiny) Pegasus staggered to her (itsy-bitsy) hooves, flexing her muscles much like Abby had done. “Have you seen Sunset yet?” she asked.

Abigail shook her head. “Does she look much like you?” she couldn’t help but wonder out loud.

Rainbow scoffed. “Puh-lease. There’s no way she’s half as awesome as me,” she preened

That is the most precious thing I have ever seen in my life, Abigail managed to not say aloud. Instead, she asked, “If we’re in the magic place ya came from, how come I ain’t turned into a centaur or somethin’?”

Rainbow stopped and looked up at Abigail. Then she reared up on her hind legs to try and look her in the eye. She almost came up to the southern girl's chest. “Holy crap, you’re big.” She leaped up into the air, hovering at eye level. “I don’t think we’re in Equestria. Twilight said the Dream Castle was someplace between Equestria and your place, so maybe the magic that forces ponies to turn into other things doesn’t work?”

Abigail shrugged. “So long as I don’t turn into a gnome or—”

Abigail's words were interrupted by the castle itself. The crystals began to move, growing out from the corners and changing to a dark blue. Both girls backed up to the center of the room, ready for whatever would come next.

Celestia trotted down the aged stone hallway. It looked so much like she remembered; the gently glowing crystals, the comforting Feel of the enchantments all down the corridor, the aged stone… It was so familiar. The ancient mare had lived a long life, and of all the things she’d expected that to grant her…

I never thought I would get to see my home again.

She shook those thoughts off like they were water, concentrating on the task before her. Twilight brought everypony still in the Everfree Castle with her. Was that an intentional part of her spell? Celestia had no idea how the madmare had managed to do that; she supposed Starlight Glimmer must have had something to do with it. And she still didn’t know anything about Starlight, other than that she had some kind of connection to-

Turning the corner, Celestia froze as she caught another sight she’d never thought she’d see again. A Unicorn, trotting along and not paying nearly enough attention to her surroundings. Her long red mane was carefully styled back, and her hair was immaculately brushed. She moved with an easy confidence that, earned or not, was enough to make even the smartest ponies stop and think for a moment. All of this was familiar to the Queen, aside from the tough-looking short jacket she'd slung over her withers.

“Sunset?”

Celestia hadn’t realized her words were spoken aloud until her former student spun around. For a moment, Celestia could see her eyes flicker with fear before it was replaced with a cool look of determination. “Your Highness,” she replied.

Celestia took a deep breath, holding her trembling emotions in place. “My old student. I’m surprised to see you again. What are you doing here, if you don’t mind my asking?”

Sunset affected an air of cool nonchalance, but Celestia knew that flattering her pride would ease Sunset a little. “Well, you know me. Just curious.”

Celestia did not lash her tail or move her hooves. She needed Sunset’s cooperation, and Sunset wouldn't do anything if they got into a fight. “Did Starlight Glimmer take you here?” She asked, and immediately regretted it. Sunset was immediately on guard again.

“Starlight Glimmer…” she pretended to think. “The name rings a bell.”

“Sunset!” Celestia snapped. Sunset backed up several paces. The queen took a deep breath in. “Starlight Glimmer and Twilight Sparkle attacked Luna several weeks ago,” she said in a very calm tone. “I needto know what they’re planning. I know Starlight forced you to work for her. What were you doing?”

The words, while understated, had enough emotion behind them to bend metal. Sunset looked away. “...She had me watching over a girl named Diane," the young mare confessed. "She said that we could use her to get… here,” she jerked her head towards the surrounding area. “I must have teleported into Twilight’s spell.”

Celestia mind spun, her thoughts carefully sliding into place in an order that would have seemed dizzying to anything that could see it. “So it was Starlight that was behind everything this whole time,” she said, watching Sunset carefully. Oh, please let that be true.

Sunset, naturally, bristled. “She- okay, sure it was her plan, but I did stuff too!”

“Like what?”

Sunset was opening her mouth to speak when her often neglected self-preservation instinct managed to stop her from saying anything. This, naturally, left her with nothing to say and she simply opened and closed her mouth as her mind attempted to come up with something. Celestia pressed on. “Did you know she was going to attack Luna?”

To her endless relief, Sunset looked shocked. “That wasn’t planned! Twilight went off the deep end and Starlight just took advantage of her. We were going to bring her to justice when we found—”

Self-preservation managed to shut her mouth again. This time, it was too late. Celestia closed her eyes. “You were after the Elements of Harmony.”

Celestia had been through an enormous amount of pain over the years. Watching Sunset stammer as she tried to defend her actions wasn't the worst, but she'd need to stop and think about it. “No, — There’s just… I was trying to help you! You said that you wished Starswirl hadn’t hidden the Elements, that if you still had them so much would be easier. I thought if I could bring you them…”

Celestia let out a slow breath. There was no way that was the only thing Sunset had wanted. “So you didn’t just want them for yourself? "

“I… I mean, I would haveused them, fine but—” her voice cut out when the queen closed her eyes. “I’m going to give them to you! Of course, I am! I don’t want everything, I don’t! I just want enough power to be important.”

“Everypony is important!” the queen snapped. “Why is that so complicated? Every. Pony. Matters. It doesn't matter how much or how little they have, and you could be so much more if you would just realize that!”

Silence filled the air. Celestia moved to stare through the window, largely to avoid looking at Sunset. She closed her eyes and leaned her head against the glass. She could do so much if she was just willing to… humble herself. Why can’t I get through to her?

Clunk!

A low rumbling rapidly grew louder all around them as the crystalline features of the castle began to glow various colors. Celestia smiled, briefly overcome with a sense of nostalgia.

Starswirl and the Royal Sisters had toiled for decades on the Dream Castle, ensuring that each piece of it was perfect. Each enchantment was a combination of several minor spells, cast by three different ponies, working together in a harmony that shouldn’t have been possible. In general, magical workings were better off simplified rather than complex. The more components in a spell, the more likely they were to conflict with one another and cause an explosion. The simplest way to defuse most magical spells was to overload them with magical energy until the inevitable boom occurred.

The three of them had managed to combine so many spells together that even now she couldn’t tell any of them apart. It was as if she was standing in one huge magical engine, with so many different pieces that she could never process them all.

Beside her, Sunset was so caught up in the sight she briefly forgot their fight. Or perhaps she was just eager for a distraction. “Look at this!” she said. “It’s so beautiful! I mean… just look at it!”

Celestia nodded, smiling faintly at her student’s wonder. “The castle’s systems have grown beyond what I remember,” she said thoughtfully. “Starswirl crafted the Dream Castle to grow and evolve over time. I wonder what else-”

A piercing whine emanated from the some of the crystals, which the queen now noticed had grown into a crude bowl shape. Both she and Sunset flicked their ears down at the noise. The pitch lowered, slowly clearing until a voice could be heard.

S-Systems Activated. Intruders De-de-detected. Playing message:

This is a message recorded by the great Starswirl the Bearded. You’re welcome. While I am the greatest enchanter of my age, I am not so naive as to think that will always be the case. I realize that one day, I may not be the one to re-open the Dream Castle’s Vault and release the Elements of Harmony.

Unfortunately, the enchantments I placed in the castle to recognize my allies do not recognize you. As such, the castle will automatically place you in a randomly generated precarious situation with an ironic twist in order to test your character. Should you succeed, you will gain an Element of Harmony. Should you fail, you will die in horrible agony and, assuming I’ve figured out how in the future, be condemned to guard the Dream Castle for all of eternity as a skeleton warrior. I would apologize for the inconvenience, except I don’t actually care.

Good luck. Believe in yourself, and so on and so forth…

As the voice faded away, Sunset turned back to her teacher. “Wait, is he serious?”

“Oddly enough, he very rarely wasn’t,” Celestia said with a tiredness that belied numerous similar encounters. “The castle must be broken if it can’t recognize me. And that likely means—”

The crystals began to grow and shift, forming razor-sharp spikes. Electricity coursed up and down their lengths as they grew longer and sharper, heading for the pair.

“We’re in trouble,” the queen finished grimly.

Neither Abigail or Rainbow Dash were screaming. Nor were they running away. They were making a calm, orderly, tactical retreat through a crazy murder castle. The differences were subtle but important.

“Ohmygosh, ohmygosh, what do we do now?” Rainbow very calmly screamed as the spikes from the walls began to get closer and closer.

“I don’t know!” Abigail calmly shouted in reply. “This is your crazy world! What do you think we should do?”

“Uh…” Rainbow’s mind flashed over her Royal Guard training. Okay, this place said it wanted to test us, not kill us, so it’s trying to force to a testing place! "First room you see!” she exclaimed. “Hide in it! C’mon!”

They turned a corner, diving underneath the spikes that emerged from the wall. One managed to pin Abigail's jacket to the wall, but she ripped it free. There was a door down on the left, but the spikes were closing in. Rainbow grabbed Abigail around the waist and threw them forwards, slamming them through the door and impacting the far wall.

They lay in a heap on the floor, waiting for the spinning to stop. Behind them, the crystals grew overtop the hole where the door had been, sealing them inside. They were in a dimly lit room, the first one without any tapestries or decorations. In the center, sitting on an elaborate podium, was a large crystal ball.

Slowly, Rainbow and Abby collected themselves and made their way over. “What do you think we’re supposed to do now?” Rainbow asked, carefully poking the ball with one hoof. It felt cool to the touch, but she could see some kind of light shining underneath. The light burned with a sudden intensity, briefly blinding the mare. She staggered back, rubbing her eyes and muttering obscenities.

From underneath, a sound could be heard.

Diane coughed weakly as she slowly returned to consciousness. She came to in bits and pieces; Diane was only sort of aware she was waking up and that the world was currently made entirely from pain. She thought she could hear her mother's voice and tried to call for help. Her mother didn’t answer, which was a little troubling. Diane tried again, this time managing to open her eyes.

She was lying in a library of some kind. It was old and almost looked medieval. I guess that fits with the whole demon thing. She frowned as she tried to stand up. Her body point-blank refused and offered some choice words about her request. Oh crap, did they actually steal my soul? How does that work? What do I do now? Did I get turned into a monster?! She blinked. Wait, am I a monster?

She looked down, and much to her own disappointment was still a human being with no powers at all. She’d have been less disappointed if she knew where the monsters that kidnapped her were, and whether they were still inclined to kill her or not.

Outside, she could hear frantic mumbling and an odd grinding sound. With agonizing slowness, she pulled herself to her feet. Diane was forced to lean on the bookshelves for support as she shuffled forwards. “Hello?” she called out. “Is anybody there?”

With a bang, the library doors flew open, and a purple unicorn fled inside and slammed them behind her. “Everything is fine!” she declared loudly through gritted teeth. “There is nothing to be worried about!”

Diane stared at the little unicorn, partly because she was a tiny unicorn capable of speech, and partly because she was a very bad liar. “You don’t look fine.”

The unicorn chuckled a touch maniacally. “Don’t be silly. I’m calm and relaxed, which is appropriate for the situation that we are in, because everything is fine.”

From outside, a gravelly voice made itself heard. According to the Seek-You-Out spell, you have fled into: The Library. Your decision to hide behind books is cowardly and dishonorable, unless you were hoping to uncover a secret to unlocking my security enhancements, in which case I applaud your ingenuity.

“Oh, thank goodness,” the unicorn said, sitting down abruptly.

However, do not think that:The Library is a safe refuge. You will be dealt with most severely if you do not come out. If a single volume is destroyed or stolen, it will be your doom.

The voice cut out, leaving a depressing silence behind. “Jeez,” Diane noted. “This guy is pretty harsh.”

The unicorn glared at her because that was a thing that was apparently possible. “He’s trying to protect his books,” she said harshly. “What’s wrong with that?”

Diane stared at her in befuddlement. Just be nice and act like this is normal. Maybe I can befriend- Holy crap I can have a best friend that’s a unicorn!

“I’m sorry,” Diane said politely. “My name is Diane, what’s yours?”

The unicorn barely glanced at her as she began to magically sort through the collection. “Twilight,” she said shortly. Her magical-sparkly-stuff suddenly flared, the pulse of energy spreading around the room. Fortunately, Twilight managed to drop the book before it was harmed. “Come over here,” the diminutive equine ordered sharply. “I can’t use my magic to look through these books without harming them, so I need your help.”

Diane let go of the bookcase and took a step forwards. Then she was waking up on the ground, with the scarred visage of the other pony very near her own. “Are humans naturally clumsy,” Twilight asked, “or is there something wrong with you?” The words were clinical and precise, not insulting, but Diane felt the bite of it anyway.

“Something’s... wrong,” she said, trying to catch her breath. “I feel like... something's missing, but not in... a dumb emotional metaphorical way, but it’s more like... ‘Am I dying?’” She tried to chuckle. “Sorry to... inconvenience you.”

“It’s no trouble,” Twilight said easily. “The Dream Castle specifically said that the danger it was going to put us in was designed to test character, so this might actually help!”

Diane tried to sit up, but quickly changed her mind and allowed the pain to force her into a lying position. “If you're only doing this... ‘cause you’ll... die if you don’t, then doesn’t that... screw up the whole test?” she joked weakly.

Twilight shook her head. “It wouldn’t have said that it was testing our morality if it wasn’t able to compensate for such an effect.”

“Huh.” Diane winced as she felt a ray of magic pass up and down over her. It was warm, and it made her internal organs tingle numbly. “Can you see... what’s wrong?”

“Feel,” Twilight corrected. “And yeah, it looks like when I stole your innate magic, it had an adverse effect on your body. Huh, I didn’t expect that.”

The words were so bizarre and matter-of-fact that Diane almost missed them. “I- you- what?”

“Your magic— well, you had magic— it’s not important right now, okay!” Twilight huffed. “You should just be happy you aren’t dead.”

“YOU ALMOST KILLED ME?”

“And I didn’t!” An offended Twilight replied. “Look, I had a really good reason, so can we just let bygones be bygones and help each other out?”

Diane stared at the insane unicorn. “...Sure.” She tried to stand up again, but she didn’t have enough strength. “Can you put… whatever it was... back?”

Twilight shook her head. “Not all of it. I might end up needing it for something. I might be able to restore part of it. Hold on.”

Hanging over Diane, a sky-blue ball of energy slowly formed. The hairs on Diane’s skin raised themselves, and she could feel the power pulsing inside of it. “Is this... safe?”

Twilight tossed her head to the side in what Diane was guessing was the equine equivalent of a shrug. “Probably not, but I’m pretty sure the Dream Castle will give me points for trying even if you die.”

The sphere plunged down.

For a few moments, Diane couldn’t feel anything. Her body froze, her vision blacked out, but she could still think and hear. Then all of sudden, pain lashed throughout her body. Her muscles tensed and it was like she’d stuck her hand into an electrical socket. She couldn’t help it; she screamed.

When she awoke again Twilight was still standing over her. “Can you stand now?” The mare asked.

Diane cautiously stretched her muscles. They all hurt, a lot, but a portion of her strength was back. Slowly, she attempted to stand. “...I think so?”

Twilight nodded. “Good. Now hurry, help me look for a secret passage or something before the castle gets in!”

Twilight rushed over to the bookshelf, and looked back to Diane, clearly waiting impatiently. The terrified girl followed. She’s going to get me killed.

Rainbow and Abigail watched in a sort of fascinated horror as Diane staggered around trying to do what Twilight said. Twilight herself did try and help, but Diane was left doing most of the work, which wouldn’t have been as bad if she wasn’t clearly in horrific pain.

Rainbow looked away from the Ball, wishing she could shut the thing up. “She wasn’t like this before,” she said hollowly. “She had some kind of mystical accident, and it screwed her head up.”

Abigail remained quiet, watching the scene play out.

“She was so… I don’t know, thoughtful. Nice. And she was smart! But now—”

“Now it's like she there's something in between her and the rest a' the world," Abigail interrupted tonelessly. "She talks like she did before, up 'till she don't, and then ya try and explain to her what's goin' on, and she just don't hear ya, and-" she took a deep breath in, before letting it out slowly. "And it ain't like she's a different person. You can still seeher in what she does, except it's all screwed up and twisted around. And no matter how bad it gets, you think 'If I can just explain a little better, she'll get it.' And she never does."

Silence ensued. Rainbow looked at Abigail, who just stared into space. Eventually, she spoke up again. “Ya ever heard of Time Force?”

Wordlessly, Rainbow shook her head.

“They were Power Rangers that defended a city called Silver Hills. My family had a farm a few miles out from the city itself, so even though we’d see them fight monsters and the like, we never had to worry ‘bout actually gettin’ hurt. Sometimes we’d see one when we were in town, but we never got scared. After all, they were Power Rangers, and how could a Power Ranger not save us?” Abigail's words didn’t so much carry undertones of bitterness as much proclaim bitterness as loudly as it could.

“They were fightn’ a monster called the S’muz. It weren’t like the normal mutants they fought, it was worse. A lot worse. I don’t think the villains even had much control over it; even the weird pink haired lady that was in charge of the monsters was afraid a’ it. It nearly grew big enough to threaten the entire city, and it ate people’s emotions. If you were inside a’ it for too long, then it did permanently screwed up your brain.”

The room fell quiet again. Rainbow didn’t have anything to say, and she wasn’t sure she could have said it if she did. Eventually, Abigail could talk again. “My ma was in that thing for nearly an hour. So were a lot a’ other folk. We didn’t figure out ‘till later what had been done to them.

“Ma couldn’t be scared anymore. She couldn’t feel fear, anger, or understand why when she stuck her hand in fire she got hurt.”

Abigail had to stop again. Rainbow watched as the proud farm girl struggled to hold back tears. “She… didn’t get better, even when Pa said she was,” the young woman eventually got out. “Mac and I tried our best to help, but I was in kindergarten, and there was only so much Mac could do. Pa insisted we be the ones to take care of her. It didn’t matter how bad off she was… She wasfamily. We had to be the ones to take care a’ her. No one else would do. Then one day we came home to find out our house had been burned to the ground.”

Rainbow glanced at the Crystal Ball again. Twilight was trying to help Diane search the room, but another flare of magic sent the girl flying backward.

“We were lucky that neither of us were inside when it went down. Pa wasn’t. He died—” Her breathe caught, but she forced the words out, “He died for a lotta reasons, but mainly because he was a stubborn idiot that wouldn't get help.” She turned and faced Rainbow for the first time. “Look, I don’t know nothin’ about magic, but for as long as I can remember, I’ve been wishing I could go back and change things. Say somethin’. But I just let it happen, and I can’t take it back. All I can do is try to make sure it don’t happen again.”

Now it was Rainbow’s turn to look away. There was another lull in conversation. “It’s my fault,” Rainbow finally said. Abigail glanced at her, but didn’t say anything.

“I finally had my dream,” the guardsmare poured out. It felt good to finally confess the things she had never admitted even to herself. “I was in the Royal Guard. I had everything I could ever want, and that meant I didn’t have time for old stuff. Twilight never said anything, but I could see that hurt her. She never would have met Starlight if I hadn’t abandoned her.”

Slowly, Abigail reached out and rested a hand on the guardsmare-in-training’s withers. “I’m sorry,” she said compassionately, “but trust me; if ya don’t do somethin’ to keep her from hurtin’ herself, you’ll regret it for the rest a’ your life.”

The castle rumbled, and both of the girls shot upright. Back to back, they faced each of the walls ready to fight. “Ya know, however long that is,” Abigail finished. They could hear the crystals moving near the door, and the ones visible through the hole in the wall grew in a crude imitation of a loudspeaker.

Well done! Now that you have realized what needs to be done, you: Rainbow Miriam Dash, have claimed one of the Elements of Harmony. Proceed to the center of the castle to claim your prize.

Above them, part of the stone was pulled upwards, revealing another hallway. This one did not have horrible spikes of death growing from every corner, which made it very desirable to Rainbow.

Abigail frowned. “It can't be this easy.”

Of course, we can't have one of the Bearers be weak, now can we?"

Rainbow tensed as the whirring noise associated with a spell being cast sounded across the room. In each corner, four crystals lit up a bright golden color. Their field extended across the floor, rapidly reaching the two girls. With a jolt of power they were yanked off of their feet and slammed against the hard stone.

There is only one way out of this room. If you, [/bRainbow Miriam Dash, can make it up and out then you have what it takes to be a hero. If not, then you have what it takes to be a corpse. Either way, have fun.

“What’s happin’?” Abigail got out as she staggered upright.

Rainbow didn’t answer immediately. Instead, she grabbed Abigail and tried to dive towards the door before the next pulse of energy. As she neared the door, the crystals next to it lit up in the same prismatic colors as Rainbow’s own magic. The mare was frozen in place before another flare of golden light from behind pulled them back.

The two girls impacted the podium and landed in the center of the room. “Well,” Rainbow groaned out. “Behind us is some kind of gravity spell. It’s used as a security spell in Cloudsdale to keep Pegasi away from places they aren’t supposed to be. Ahead of us is some kind of magic absorbing thing-y that sucks out all the stuff I use to fly when I get near it. Oh, and those pointy things that the gravity spell is pulling us towards are called ‘spikes.’ Don’t get stabbed by them.”

“Gee, thanks,” Abigail grumbled. The crystals flashed again, their glow lasting longer this time. Both of them slid quite a ways down towards their pointy death before scrambling to make up lost ground. Abigail tried for the door on all fours, but another surge of energy dragged her back to the center. She grabbed the podium and held on for dear life.

Rainbow strained, forming a cushion of air behind her back that she used as leverage to cling to the wall. Unfortunately, there was no way she could haul Abigail's gigantic body up with her without killing them both. “You got any more ideas?”

Abigail shook her head. “Not unless you got some way a’ breakin’ them crystals!”

Rainbow shook her head. “If the gravity spell isn’t breaking them, there’s nothing we can do.”

The gravity spells pulsed yet again, yanking them both back. Behind— or rather, underneath— them, the crystalline spikes slowly spread across the wall. They were shorter than the ones in the hallway and didn’t extend more than a few inches up towards the girls. That didn’t matter because every second they were active their pull increased. More and more, the floor was beginning to feel like a vertical plane. The crystals let out another pulse of magic, yanking them down.

Abigail lost her footing and hung dangling underneath the podium. She kicked her legs, frantically trying to climb back on top. Gradually, Rainbow was able to work her way up to the human and boost her upright. She was already sweating from the exertion, but her wings weren’t tired yet. She could keep this up for a few hours. “I’m gonna climb up underneath you, and give you a boost to the door!” she cried.

“How are you gettin’ out?”

“Don’t worry bout me!” Rainbow shot back. “I’ll—”

Abigail shot her a look. “You ain’t plannin’ on gettin’ hurt, are ya?”

Rainbow growled. “Just trust me, okay?”

“I ain’t lettin’ anybody die for me!”

“Yes, you are!” Rainbow snapped. “It’s my job! I’m a Royal Guard, and I swore an oath! To defend the defenseless, to save all that I could, no matter the cost. And if you think I’m gonna break it just because you asked me to, then you’ve got another thing coming! You hear me?”

Slowly, the girl nodded. Rainbow gritted her teeth as another pulse waved across the room, tugging them insistently towards their demise. “Stand up, as much as you can,” she said. “On my signal, I’m gonna need you to jump towards the door. I’ll give you a boost of wind. That should be enough to get you through.”

Abigail nodded. “I’ll do my best to help your friend.”

Rainbow closed her eyes and nodded. “Thank you.” She began to gather as much energy in her wings as she could. “Get ready! You need to jump right after the next pulse, or you won’t make it out the door!”

Abigail crouched low, her body tensed. Rainbow’s muscles strained, but she didn’t move an inch. Steady. Steady…

The gravity spell cast out across the room again. Rainbow didn’t fight it this time. She felt her body being pulled backward, but her concentration didn’t falter. As the light faded again, Abigail leaped into empty space. Rainbow pushedwith all of her strength.

The wind from her wings howled, sending Abigail flying much faster than either had anticipated. The crystals near the door absorbed the magically infused wind almost instantly, but it had done its work. Abigail flew through the door and landed in a heap on the other side.

Rainbow relaxed as she fell towards her spikey death. At least Twilight will be okay, was her final thought before she hit the wall.

Her first thought after she hit the wall was, Wait, this hurts less than it should. Cautiously, she opened her eyes.

There was no blood. Her body was intact. At the last possible second, the crystals had flattened themselves and were slowly losing their luster. The pressure against Rainbow’s body slowly abated. Dizzily, she staggered to her feet, only to fall down as her inner ear refused to quantify which way was up. She lay on the floor, waiting for the room to stop spinning.

If you are confused, then you should know one simple fact: I am a very proud liar. For refusing to abandon your friend, you; Rainbow Miriam Dash, have gained the Element of Loyalty. The previous Element gained was Honesty, currently owned byAbigail Appleby. The Elements of Harmony are located in the center of the castle. I realize you have no reason to believe me. I only hope you realize that I don’t actually care. You can go wherever you like, but it should be noted that your friends have no reason to not believe my words and will be making their way to the Dream Castle Vault as we speak. Assuming they pass their own tests, of course. If you wish to catch up with them, you’d best hurry.

Rainbow lay panting on the floor for several seconds. In the hallway, she could hear Abigail throwing up.

“I really hate this guy.”

We All Fall Sometimes

Sunset and Celestia stood back to back in the center of the room. The crystals had grown rapidly, cutting off all avenues of escape.

“Could we burn our way through?” Sunset asked.

Celestia shook her head. “The crystals are absorbing magical energy. Any spell near them will simply be absorbed.” The queen threw her shield at the criss-crossing wall of spikes, creating a small hole for a brief second. It barely slowed the crystals down, as they grew over and around the damage. She caught the shield as it bounced back to them. “It’ll also counter teleportation.”

“Then what do we do?”

Celestia took a step forwards, standing protectively over her former student. “I don’t know.”

The castle has detected that: Sunset Shimmer, and: Unknown Alicorn,have become trapped in one of the hallways. Beginning message: Since you have failed so thoroughly to find a testing room, we shall have to make do here. Whenever you make a confession, the crystal spikes will slow down. The deeper the confession, the slower the spikes move. Have fun.

The two mares glanced at each other, before looking at the encroaching spikes.

“Sunset,” Celestia began. “Is there anything else you want to say?”

Sunset glared at the solar queen. “Me? Why do you always assume I’m in trouble?”

“Well,” the Alicorn bit out, “you haveconsistently been responsible for trouble in the past.”

“What about when you tried to get out of the Gala and…”

“That was different!”

The spikes continued their inexorable crawl forwards.

“Okay, uh…” Sunset wracked her head. There were several things that she hadn’t admitted she’d done, but it was common knowledge that she was responsible. “I was the one that put hot sauce in your teapot that you served the diplomats at that meeting!”

The spikes slowed fractionally. Emboldened, Sunset continued, “And I regret—”

The spikes sped up. “Oh, come on!”

Above her, Celestia frowned. “Choose your words more carefu— Ack!”

“Celestia?” Sunset twisted her head around and stared at the blood coming from a shallow cut in her former teacher's wing. Celestia held her wings flat to her sides, but in another minute it wouldn’t matter. “No! You have to—”

“Stay underneath me,” Celestia ordered in a tone that brooked no argument. “My armor might shield you from the spikes.

If you, Unknown Alicorn, believe that your superequine strength and armor will shield your friend, then you are gravely mistaken. The pressure exuded by the spikes will not abate until you are both crushed to death. I hope you choose to meet your death quickly, as damaged skeletons will make for poor guards.

“Stop obsessing over skeletons!” Celestia snapped. “Skeletons were never cool! I just told you they were to make you feel better!”

The spikes froze in place. After a few seconds, they began to move again, but at a fraction of their former speed. Celestia and Sunset glanced at each other.

Celestia looked back up towards where the ceiling was located. “I never took you seriously!” she shouted. “Despite everything, I couldn’t believe you when you said Luna was going to be taken by evil, and you were right. If you hadn’t taken the Elements away, I wouldn’t have discovered a way to save her from the Nightmare.”

The spikes didn’t slow down, but they didn’t speed up either.

“I never believed you were dead,” she whispered. “Not until this moment. As bad as things got between us, you wouldn’t actually try to kill me. You're just the leftovers of his intelligence, running a malfunctioning security system. Because the real Starswirl was far kinder and far wiser than I’ll ever be!”

Slowly, the spikes slowed their momentum to a crawl. They weren’t safe by any means, but they’d bought themselves a little time.

“Are you okay?” Sunset demanded.

Celestia nodded. “I’m always okay, Sunset.”

The spikes twitched forwards.

“What I mean is, I’m just as fine now as I ever am. She glanced at the walls that surrounded them. “Maybe a little less.”

The spikes, looking as reluctant as any inanimate object could, slowed again.

Sunset bit her lip. “Um… I’m sorry,” she said hesitantly. “For getting us into this mess. And for not helping.” She glanced hopefully around them, but there was no change. Carefully, she added, “And I’m sorry about what happened to Luna. If I’d known what they were going to do to her, I would have stopped it.”

Celestia nodded. “I know.”

The two pressed their bodies against each other, desperately trying to think of something, anything that could save them. Celestia went first. “Why do you think you need to have power to matter?”

“What makes you think I do?”

The spikes leaped forwards by a solid inch. Panicked, Sunset yelled, “I mean I do! Of course I do!”

They briefly froze in place, suspended a very short distance from Sunset. They weren’t the foremost on her mind, however. Her own words were. Words that were, evidently, true.

What? That’s… that can’t be true. I’m not some... shallow...

But it made sense. You had to earn power. Ponies with power worked their way to the top, so they deserved all the stuff they had. If you didn’t have power, if you didn’t put everything you had into becoming better, then you’d just be walked over by those who did have what it took.

Except for her. Celestia’s nice. She’s kind. And she’s the most dangerous person I’ve ever met. And she doesn’t think that way. So...

The spikes were a hair's breadth away. Sunset needed to find a way to slow them down, now. “Why didn’t you let me study the mirror?” she blurted out.

Celestia tensed, caught off guard. “I told you, you weren’t ready for such-”

“Maybe I wasn’t,” Sunset interrupted. The spikes froze again. “No, I wasn’t, but— before, when I didn’t know something, you’d show me how it worked. We’d work on it together. What was different about the Mirror? ”

Miraculously, the spikes remained paused. Celestia didn’t answer immediately. Instead, she asked; “What did you think when I said no?”

You’re deflecting, Sunset wanted to say. But Celestia had already confessed something, even if it was something that Sunset didn’t understand. She sighed. “I thought you didn’t trust me. We hadn’t had a real lesson in weeks, you were just going through the motions. I thought you were going to…” her voice choked out. She had never said this out loud. If she wasn’t worried they were going to die, she would never have. “I was scared you were going to get rid of me.”

There was no motion, not from anything. The words hung in the air like a heavy fog, muffling sound and weighing things down. After an eternity passed, Celestia spoke again. “Do you remember what happened with Trixie?”

She did. Oh stars, she did. “...Yes.”

Celestia carefully controlled her voice, trying to sound calming and understanding. Of course, since Sunset had heard it so often in the past, she’d learned to associate it with unpleasantness. “You were becoming… challenging. And I’d started to get reports. Ponies were saying that you were being… less than honest about your relationship with the other students. Your confrontation with her was one of the things that made me question whether or not I was teaching you the way I was supposed to.”

Each word was spoken gently, driving nails into Sunset’s heart as pleasantly as possible. “You were going to get rid of me,” she whispered.

“Oh, Sunny, “ and a part of her wanted to break when she heard her old nickname, “I had no intention of abandoning you. Even if you weren’t my student, we would have still—”

“What?” Sunset shouted. “And remember if you don’t tell me the truth, we’ll both die. If you had…formally dismissed me, what would we be? Maybe I’d find some nice job, and maybe I could have become something nice, but you still wouldn’t be my teacher. You would still have gotten rid of me. That wouldn’t change that I was never good enough for you!”

Celestia froze. Slowly, the spikes began to retract. Sunset didn’t care. She lay curled up in a ball underneath her queen. “I was never good enough,” she whispered.

Celestia wrapped a wing around her and pulled the young mare into a hug. “It was never about being good enough, Sunset. Friendship is about loving someone, flaws and all.”

A part of Sunset wanted to be upset with the platitude. A much bigger part of her just wanted to keep hugging the closest thing to a mother she had.

This is the greatest day ever! Twilight thought to herself as she watched the secret door slowly open up. Behind her, the human girl leaned heavily against a bookshelf and tried to catch her breath. Twilight did feel a twinge of guilt at that; the human might die because of her.

Still, it wasn’t like there was a choice. Rainbow and Luna are depending on you.

Twilight trotted easily down the corridor, slowing down for a brief second to allow the human to catch up before speeding up again. There’s not a lot of time to waste. Leave her behind if you have to; we need to get on track.

“Are you… sure this is the right way?” the human asked, winded. “It could be… a trap.”

“Don’t be absurd,” Twilight replied imperiously. “We found this door in a library. Who’d put something bad in a library?”

“I guess you guys.... Don’t have… The Twilight Saga, do you?”

Twilight flicked her ears in annoyance. “Very few bad things,” she said, less imperiously than before. “But I take your point.” She paused before asking, “Do you guys have Fifty Shades of Gray too?”

Diane’s groan of pain was all the answer she needed.

Amusing, but we have to keep moving. We have to find Starlight Glimmer and make sure she’s okay. She might have a clue as to how to get the Elements.

Twilight stopped at an intersection, thinking. Let’s see. These passageways don’t have the crystals like the hallway did, so the castle can’t monitor us. I’d say that Starswirl created this as a backup in case the Dream Castle systems were ever compromised by somepony. Somewhere down here is a way to disable whatever intelligence is governing the security system. Of course, since Starswirl didn’t want anypony other than him running around down here, it’s intentionally confusing. It’s a good thing I’m so smart, otherwise, we’d be in trouble.

Twilight carefully lit her magic, ignoring her stinging scars. She cast her field as far as she dared, carefully looking for anything helpful. Above them, she could Feel the spells fueling the crystalline maze. There were a few minor oddities, like a surge of Pegasus magic streaking across—

Wait, is that Dash?

The magic felt so alive, boiling over and ricocheting away from it’s source. It was so much brighter and stronger than the surroundings. That has to be her! I need to get up there!

No! Wait! If we go up there now, we’ll lose the element of surprise. We’d be of far more use deactivating the castle than wasting time going after some guardsmare.

Twilight growled, tail lashing, before turning and stalking forwards. A part of her, a very large part of her, wanted to drop everything and save her friend. But logically, remaining underneath the castle would yield better results. It’d be better to stay on the down-low and attack from underneath, where she had the advantage of surprise.

Behind her, the human was moving slower and slower. Twilight was at several points forced to wait for her to catch up. She scraped the ground with her front hoof, very eager to get moving already. “Can you hurry up? We don’t have a lot of time!”

The human shook her head, panting heavily. The shot of magic Twilight had given her was starting to wear off, and she was slowing down. She fell on all fours, limbs shaking. Twilight could see the sweat dripping from her forehead, and the girl slumped over on the ground.

Leave her. She is of no use.

A part of Twilight was okay with that, but she still hesitated. After all, Diane’s current state was directly her own responsibility.

There’s no time to help her. Let’s just move on. We don’t need anypony to help us. We’ve always been fine on our own.

Twilight blinked. “...What was that?” she whispered. No, of course we need friends, she thought to herself.Without friendship, we never would have become Luna’s apprentice. Her eyes widened as the unique sensation of panic made itself known.

...What do I mean, ‘we’?

She turned around, looking up and down the corridor. She appeared to be alone, but she was beginning to realize that such appearances were deceiving. “There’s something out there, isn’t there?” she called. “No, sorry, not out there. You’re inhere, aren’t you?” She tapped her head. “You’ve been directing me without me realizing it for… I don’t even know how long, but it ends now!”

“Oh͡, do͘es i̷t?”

The voice in Twilight's head grew louder, more defined. It took on a deeper, darker tone. Twilight ignored the deep sense of foreboding and took a step forwards. “Yeah, one way or another. I joined the Lunar Guard to stop monsters like you, and if there’s one thing Luna taught me, it's that the most important thing anypony can do is to protect the defenseless. I’m not going to let you use me to hurt anypony else. I’m going to save… whatever this person’s name is, and then we are going to bring you down.”

A low whine made Twilight jump out of her skin. It took her a moment to realize that it was the castle. Beginning Playback: Thought you’d escaped me, hadn’t you? If you were half as clever as you think you are, you would have realized that there was a second spell needed to prevent the Dream Caste from seeing you down there. After all, it wouldn’t do for any intruders to simply wander in after finding the trapdoor in the library, would it?

...Crap.

Now, there was a nice little test involving a swarm of carnivorous insects and a seemingly bottomless pit that would have tested for loyalty, but that element has been claimed by:[/b] Rainbow Miriam Dash.

Twilight’s heart leapt.Dash is here! Wait, her middle name is Miriam? A sly grin crept across her face.Noted.

Now, for :Fighting off a strong mental compulsion, and, taking responsibility for your actions, you: Twilight Sparkle, have proven yourself worthy to-

“Tha̶t’s quite eǹo͜u̴g͡h́ of tha͞t.”

The voice of Starswirl cut off, hissing with static. Through the noise, a new voice emerged, one that sounded terrifyingly familiar. “Did y͢o̕u really ̸t̨h̵ink an in͢sp̴i̷rati͟on͡a͜l̛ realization ab̨o̵ut thè magic of friendship ͏was̡ all it w͡oul͜d͟ ͞táke?”

Twilight back away from the walls, standing protectively over top of the girl. In between the mysterious voice’s proclamations, the recording of Starswirl would attempt to speak. Warnng. The Dream Castle’s operating- M͢y dea͝r, ̨yoú h͡a̢v̴e͝ ͘no̡ ́i͜d̴e͞a͘the ͡fo͘r̕c̛es w͜it̴h w͏hi̶ćh͟ ͝y̷o͡u are̛ interfearing-being overridden. Flee in terror. Flee i͡n t̛err͝͞o̶̧͜r.”

“I’m͟ afraid it͏’s͠ far t͟o̡o ̧lat̴e f͏o͝r̢ you t͞o try͠ resisting ̡m̴e. I̛’ve͘ ͏b͏ee͝n s͞ettin͞g ͝t̵his ųp for a l̡o̢ng͢ ̧time, a͜nd͘ you simply ha͠v̧e̶n’t th͞e strength t̵o̕ ̧figh̨t. Wḩy ̡I̧ ̷h̡ad̛ Starlight G̢li̛mḿe̛r ‘befriend ̸yo̷u? ̧Why I wanted th͡e͟ ̕D̛rea̴m̀ ͡Cas͟tl͜e created ̧t̀o begin w̡ith̀? S͝ǫ thaţ, if need be, I could do t̵̵͠h̸̢̛͠͏ì͞ş͏.”

Twilight gasped as pain lanced across her temple. Her Feel- there weren’t words for it. Each of the three tribes had a different Feel for their own form of magic, and each were extraordinarily difficult to explain with words. Suffice to say, it hurt, and it was a uniquely special kind of hurt.

“Yoư ͏wi̴l͢l͝ dò a͘s I ́s͠ay̴, Twi͢li͢gh̕t ́Sp̢ar͠kle͘.̡ I don’t care wh͜a͠t y͏ou͢’ve been in ̴other̴ worldlines; ͝he͠re y̡où ̸a̢re ̀my ͡slav͟e.”

The voice’s words echoed in her mind with a finality, speaking as if It was dictating a truth and It just had to wait until the rest of reality realized that fact. Twilight screamed as her sanity turned and fled.

Diane found herself staggering through some kind of dense green fog. She’d lost track of where she was. It almost didn’t even look like she was in a castle anymore; the wind blew cold and she felt like she was stepping over rubble. The ground shook, and in the distance, she could hear what sounded like an avalanche rumbling in the distance. Everything felt unreal, almost dreamlike. The wind passed over her body again, and she shivered.

“H̢o̸w… interesting.”

Diane spun around, searching for the source of the voice. It seemed to come from all around her, and there was something profoundly disturbing about it.

“Óh, ỳo̧u don’t ńęed ͠to f͏ea̵r me͜, little ͏on̢e. I’m͡ bu͢t ̵a humble S͏p̀iri̕t, wa͠n͜d̕e̶ŗing ͞be͏tw̨ęen the ͠Realms. W͜ho a͠ŗe y̕ou?”

There was no part of Diane that wasn’t immediately terrified by this voice. “I’d rather not say.”

“Hm, ͟You͘ are ͡a c̢aut͜ious g͠irl.͟ ̧I was ͏on̸l͘y̧ askiņg t͝o ͘b̛e polite, y͝où ̨knơw. ͝I already k̷n͡ow wh̶o͞ yo̷u͠ ar͠e, Diane.

Diane shivered as… it, said her name. It was like every signal it sent bespoke of power. She wanted to find it creepy, couldn’t think of a reason not to find a creepy, and yet still wanted to hear it keep talking.

“T̨e̡lĺ me, my̢ ̛friend: W͢hat͡ ͏do͝ ́yoư see?”

Diane looked around her. “Well, aside from all of this green mist, there’s rubble, I guess? And there’s some kind of mountain over there. Is it falling apart?”

It nodded. It took Diane a second to realize that it had somehow nodded without having a head. “N̕ot̀ ̨b̷ad. ̛Çome;͢ let ̧us͘ move closer ͠aǹd see w͜h̵a͏t we can s̡ee.”

Diane found herself somehow following along. Further away, she could see what looked like a mountain, having some kind of fireworks display. She could see flashes of light and hear small explosions. One of them must have set off another avalanche because the top of the mountain appeared to collapse and she heard the low rumbling again. She frowned. You’d think they’d be more careful—

And then the light shifted, and Diane realized that wasn’t a mountain.

Illuminated by the light of its fire breath, the dragon roared so loud it could not only be heard from dozens of miles away by Diane, but she could hear it echoing further away across the horizon. It was entirely possible that the sheer volume of the roar could be causing as much damage to the city as its fire and claws. What she had thought was the top of the mountain was actually its head, and rather than collapsing, it had simply looked down so as to kill things more efficiently. The silver beast lashed out, knocking over a tower Diane was sure was as tall as a skyscraper. Dust and debris filled the air, obscuring part of the monster from view. It also filled a suspiciously large portion of the city that had previously been occupied by a military of some kind firing on the creature.

“A̸h, E͜quéstria is fa͢r less͏ than the̢ pęrf͏ect̡ ͏l͘a͞nd of ̛pe͟ace a̴ńḑ prosperity ͡it was advertised as.”

Diane wanted to back away, but she found herself glued in place. “...Why is that happening? What did they do? How are they going to stop it?”

“It’sn happ͏ęn̸in͟g because t̀h̕e͟y simpl̛y h͠ap̀penedt̴o e͜xist i͠n c̕l͝o͜se͝ ̷proximi͘t̷y͡ t͏o͢ a d͢r̸a̛gon͏. ̧A̸ǹd as foŕ w̴h̛o͡ wi̸l͠l stop hi̧m... ̵I ͠do beleive ̢the͝y̧ ju̢st̨ die̕d́.”

Diane shook her head, unable to turn away. “No. There’s no way. It can’t end like that.”

“W̛e͠ll, it did.͞ ͝Wi͏shi̢ng doesn’t alter facts, my ̀s̷w͏e͏e͘t̀.

Diane wanted to protest her new nickname, but couldn’t muster up the courage. “No. I don’t believe that. Even if he does destr—”

With a terrifying crash, the last tower fell. The dragon slowly leaped into the sky, its wings so huge that despite the distance, Diane could barely see the whole thing at once. It bathed the entire city with its flame until the very walls surrounding the city began to melt.

Diane swallowed. “...Even after the city is gone,” she said much more uncertainty, “then someone will stop that thing.”

“Hm͝. How?”

“I don’t know!” she snapped. “I mean… if something that big and scary can exist, why couldn’t something as powerful but good exist too? Where are the good dragons?”

“Ever the͘ optimist, I ̨see. W͡h̢at̕ ̀įf ̧I tol͏d yo̡u͘ there weren’t a̕ny̛ g̵o͞o̷d dr͝ag͠o̷ns͡? Wòu͟ld ͞y͏ou ͘b̕eli̵evé me?

Diane shook her head, feeling like she was pulling against a huge weight. “There's always good somewhere.”

“Is that so̕? This w̷ay̴.”

Diane followed, watching the city crumble over her shoulder. The dragon roared again, as the molten stone began to flow outwards and consume the surrounding countryside.

It was difficult to tell how far they walked; it was long enough for Diane to lose track of how long it had been but too short for the girl to start to feel tired or hungry. Assuming that I can get tired here. Am I dreaming?

Over to her left, Diane heard rubble being shifted and voices shouting in unison. Through the mist, she could see shapes moving. As she drew nearer, they resolved themselves to be humans, trying to clear away some rubble. She realized that the sound was muted; even though she was right next to the workers she couldn’t make out their words.Just how loud was that dragon?

“Y͠ou needn’t fea̡ŗ; they͝ can’t see̡ you͡. A͘t̀ th͞e moment, m͟u͞ch ̧l͘ike m̸e, yo̕u ́aŕe̢ bùt ͜a spirit loo͘kin͡g th͏r̢o͝ugh the Nothing into o͘the͝r̷ points i̧ǹ ̧time an̶d͏ ͠space. ̨Tel͡l me͏; what c͝an͠ you see̵ ͘no͢w?”

Diane cautiously moved closer. “I think they’re trying to rescue somebody. It’s hard to tell when I can’t hear what they’re saying.” She accidentally tripped, her hand floating through the rock piles as she fought to get her bearings. Diane glanced at her ghostly arm and looked back at the pile of rubble. Grinning, she shoved her way through into the building itself.

Her grin swiftly faded. Inside was the small figure of a boy. She had no idea how old he was. He was lying half underneath a thick block of stone, clearly dead. Diane backed away slowly, before turning and running for her life.

“T̢ell me͞ ̨wh͏at͡ ͢you ̀sáw.”

Diane ignored the voice and charged ahead as fast as she could.There has to be some way, any way to get out of this place.

“T̢ell me͞ ̨wh͏at͡ ͢you ̀sáw.”

Diane gritted her teeth and charged onwards. Just a little bit further. There’ll be something just a little bit further—

Diane tripped and slammed to the ground, briefly seeing stars. She lay for a moment, trying to catch her breath.

“T̢ell me͞ ̨wh͏at͡ ͢you ̀sáw.”

“No!” Diane shouted desperately .”What are you! Why are you doing this?”

“T̢ell me͞ ̨wh͏at͡ ͢you ̀sáw.”

“He’s dead!” Diane broke out. “That kid was dead! It doesn’t matter what they do; he’s been dead for ages.”

“Thoşe people ma̕y have ͝be͡eǹ ‘good’, ͜but̀ does it̸ matter? The͘ ch̵il̴d̨ i̷s st̀ill de͢a͞d, an͞d many ͢mor͏e b̷e̕s̷i͡de̷s. Sǫ many̡ ̀peopl͠e díe͞ ͢ever͞y da̴y, a̶lone an͡ḑ forgotten. Why b̶ot́her͞ caring ́abou̶t sòm͟èthi̶ng tha̛t’s pointless?”

Diane drew in a shaky breath. “Because that’s not the only thing that can happen. My dad was a reporter. His stories were about people that risked their lives saving people, and he taught me that even if you can’t win every time, that doesn’t somehow mean the people who do live stop existing!”

“Brave͏. Wo̵uld̡ y͢oú like͢ to ask ̷hi̷m?”

Diane wiped her tears with her sleeve. “What?”

“Wo̵uld y͢oú like͢ to ask ̷hi̷m?”

“I can’t! It’s impossible!”

“W͝hy?”
Diane looked down, praying with all of her might that she could get away, that someone would somehow help her. “You know why,” she whispered. “You can’t possibly not know.”

“Teļl̡ m͜e.”

“He’s dead,” Diane hissed. She’d never said it out loud before, and it stung as it fell out of her mouth. “Because he’s dead, and I can’t ever see him again!”

“Can͡’t you?”

Behind her, she could hear footsteps approaching. slowly, she turned and faced the final vision.

The man was tall, with Asian features and long, windswept hair. He wore his biker's outfit, a long dark brown leather jacket, gloves, his white helmet and a long white scarf. All of it was just as she remembered. Worst of all was his face. Once, his mouth would have turned up into a comforting smile, his solemn eyes shining with a hidden compassion. Now, he stood to attention, staring straight ahead, unthinking and unmoving.

Diane shakily stood and threw her arms around the specter of her father.

“H̢e had ͏a͡ heart at͝ta͢ck͢, did he͢ not?”

Diane nodded, pulling him tighter. He didn’t hug her back. He didn’t say anything. He didn’t ask why she was crying. He stood there like some action figure, stiff and uncaring. He’s not real, she told herself.This isn’t him. Stop hugging him. Get up. Move. But she didn’t. She just held on as tight as she could.

“Your fathér͏ was ́a won͝derf̨u͟l̶ person. He ̵i͠s dead. Caring about hįm di͢d͞n’t save ͡hi͟m. B͢e͝ing͡ ̴a̢ good person di̵ḑn͘’̵t͡ help h̨im.͝ So͝ what ̸w̧as the ͜p̸oint?”

Diane shook her head. “I don’t know,” she whispered.

“W̕o̴u̴l͘dn’t it ͟b͝e̢ easi͘èr t̛o͞ ̛li̕ve ̸a life ̷w̡ith͟out p̵a͞in?”

Around her, the world started to fade to grey. “Yes,” she whispered. She felt herself begin to grow numb. Memories of her life flashed through her head, and she winced at the pain they caused.

“S̀o wh͘y şh̀o͠ul̛d ͏yơu waste time̴ be͞i͏ng̨ ͠ha̷ppy͞ whe̵n it d̨o͘esņ’t ma̢ke ͠any̛th̷íņg ͏b̀et̴te̕r?

“Because… because he wanted me too.”

The Spirit spoke again, but this time Diane didn’t hear it. Her mind flashed to one of the last times she saw her father alive.

Diane ducked into her father's room. His luggage was already packed, and most of it was in the car downstairs. “Hey!” she said cheerfully as she leaped onto his bed.

Her father smiled warmly. “Hello, Diane. I haven’t seen you all day.”

She shrugged. “Sorry, I was hosting a birthday party for one of the kids. It was so much fun! There wasn’t a lot of stuff, like at those rich houses, but the mom made a bunch of really cool party games, and there were sugar cookies, and when you have thatit’s like ‘Why bother with a real cake anyway,’ ya know?”

“I suppose.” Her dad knelt down and rooted through his bottom dresser drawer. “Have you seen my camera?”

“The old film one?” Diane shook her head. “No, but you still have your phone. Unless something happens to your phone like its battery runs out or it gets wet. Do film cameras still work if they get wet?”

“It depends.” He stood up and walked over to his closet. “Did you come in here for something specific, Diane? I love to listen to you talk, but I do need to leave soon.”

Diane didn’t respond immediately. She lay back on the bed, resting her head against the backboard.

“Ah.” Her father put his luggage down and sat down next to her. “What is it, kiddo?”

Diane took her time answering, wanting to find the right words. “I… it was the family. At the party. They’re doing okay right now, but they haven’t been. Mr. Frederickson lost his job, and they had to move to a smaller house, and then little Al got sick, and…” Diane fished for the right words. “I dunno, it was just a lot. I haven’t been charging them for babysitting, but they almost lost their second house, and they still might, if the factory starts laying people off too,” she sighed. “I know wishing the world was perfect is kinda stupid, but sometimes I just feel like everything's so wrong.”

Her father nodded. “I know what you mean.” I’ve been asking that for a long time.”

Diane rolled on her stomach she could see him better. “Do you find an answer?”

“There isn’t an answer.” He said. He blinked, noting her expression in confusion and then in worry. “No, sorry. Not like that, uh...He bit his lip, searching for the right words.

“You can’t fix the entire world with magic,” he finally settled on. “If God or someone fixed everything for us, or even most things for us, we wouldn’t do anything for ourselves. I’m not saying that fixes everything, I just think that we shouldn’t waste time with whys. We should fight, no matter how dark the world gets. Just remember what I always say…”

“Just keep on keepin’ on,” Diane murmured.

“Wha̸t͘?”

Diane shook her head and stepped back. “Just something someone said once, that’s all.” She lifted one end of the imposters scarf and beamed. “Nice scarf, buddy. Do we shop at the same store?” It was an old line, but it helped. She could feel color flooding back into her world.

“W̴ha͠t̕ ͡is the meaning ̛of this?”

“This— A pronoun used to identify a specific thing or person close at hand being indicated or experienced,” Diane recited casually. She giggled. “Silly. Everybody knows that.”

The voice hesitated briefly. “Şo, you ̕intend͘ t̢o fight͟ after all̷.”

Diane grinned cheekily. “Daddy didn’t raise a quitter!”

“Ve̡ry w͢eĺļ. It ̸won͘’t m͘a̷ke a͠ difference ͜in̡ ͘t̛h͞e͟ long ͠r̨un. I always ̵wi͠n͟ ͟įn ͠t́h͝e ̀end.”

Diane winked at the vaguely demonic cosmic entity. “We’ll see! Better luck—”

“Next time,” Diane mumbled. She wearily opened her eyes, to find that she was back inside the castle. She felt emptied out again like her heart had been scraped raw. She was also having trouble standing. Whatever Twilight did, it must have worn off.

Gritting her teeth, she forced herself upright. Diane couldn’t see Twilight anywhere; she must have gone on ahead. Well, one less thing to worry about! Slowly, she took one step forwards.

Her leg screamed in agony. Most of the rest of her body joined in. Diane nearly fell to the ground.

She gritted her teeth and took a second step. And then a third. Slowly, she worked her way up the hallway, searching for a way out.

The castle was shaken by tremors. She ignored it. Diane staggered forwards, driven on by one single thought.

Keep on keepin’ on.

But Heroes Stand Back Up

Abigail and Rainbow had been making remarkable progress before the castle shut itself down. It wasn’t as dramatic as it might have been; since the only spell being maintained was the lights, they were only left in utter darkness instead of anything falling apart or exploding. There was some turbulence, almost like the Dream Castle was scraping the side of a gigantic wall.

The hallway was eerie, lit only by the shifting dark green and yellow lights outside, with occasional flashes of a normal sky. “What was that?” Abigail asked. Rainbow didn’t answer, instead landing and standing at the ready. Abigail watched her wings tilt and ears twitch, as she searched for oncoming threats. Abigail looked around and pried part of the crystal from the wall to use as a makeshift dagger.

“Okay,” Rainbow whispered. “I don’t hear or Feel anything coming. Let’s keep moving.”

Abigail fell in behind the guardsmare trainee as they headed towards the Dream Castle’s center. There was progressively less and less light as they moved deeper within. “Wow. Who’d a thought this place would be creepier without the color commentary?”

Rainbow snorted. “I hear that.”

They came to a large ornate door that likely would have looked beautiful had it not been too dark to see properly. Through the crack underneath, they could see an eerie blue light and hear the sound of a magical field in use. “Get ready,” Rainbow said over her shoulder. “And stay behind me, no matter what. Without magic, you won’t be able to do much in a fight.” She frowned. “Actually, are you sure you wanna—”

“If you’re about to ask me to leave,” Abigail said hotly, “I’ll beat you senseless and do all this myself.”

Rainbow snorted. “Ya know what? If all humans are half as cool as you, you’re some pretty awesome aliens.”
“Well, this stuff just keeps happenin’. If we weren’t, we’d probably a’ gone extinct.”

“Huh, you’ll have to tell me later.” Rainbow turned around and tensed her forelegs, preparing to buck the door down. “Okay, bravado aside, you need to stay back. I can take a harder punch than you, so I need to be front and center. Don’t do anything unless you’re at least mostly sure that either you’ll survive, or we’ll all die anyway and it doesn’t matter.”

“Cheery, ain’t ya?” Nevertheless, Abigail did as she was told. Rainbow gritted her teeth and kicked the doors open.

The room was huge, with a gigantic vault door set into one wall and several smaller doors ringing the center of the room. Standing in front of it was a figure who was a head and a half taller than Rainbow was, almost the size of a horse. It had huge dark blue wings that would have looked like they were made of stone, except that they moved and flexed like they were real. It also had a long horn that was bright enough to illuminate the entire room. Lines of power trailed down the pony’s body, electricity discharging out of them periodically. Abigail could feel heat and power coming off of the figure from the other side of the room, almost twenty feet away. Involuntarily, she trembled. What am I even doin’ here?

The pony must have heard them enter because she turned to face them. She wore some kind of blue armor, that looked much like it was carved from stone like her wings. What was most striking, however, was her face. Abigail could now see that the Tron lines going down her body were actually some kind of magical scars, burned into her flesh by her power. The light was being fed by her horn, flowing down across the rest of her body. Tears streamed down her face.

Rainbow’s voice was muted. “Twilight,” she whispered, “what’s happened to you?”
Twilight made a noise somewhere between a laugh and a sob. “Run,” she whispered. “Please, you have to run. I can’t hold her back for long.”

“Hold who?” Ignoring her friend's plea, Rainbow moved closer. “Sparky, you need to stop.”

“I KNOW THAT!” Both girls recoiled at the sudden shout. “What do you think I’m trying to do?” Twilight wobbled backward unsteadily, getting as far away as possible. “Please! I can’t control myself, you need to get away!”

Rainbow shook her head. “Nuh-uh! Not until I know you’re okay!”

Twilight started to giggle hysterically through her tears, an action that filled Abigail with the direct opposite of optimism. “I’m not okay, Dash,” she said quietly. “I don’t think I’ll ever be okay again. This isn’t about me now, it's about everypony else.”

Eye to eye with the very insane Unicorn, Rainbow met her gaze, unflinching. “I don’t care what’s going on,” she stated. “ You’re my best friend, and Iam going to save you.” The words were unwavering, stating a blunt fact that everything else would simply need to catch up with.

Twilight shook her head. “Don’t worry about that right now!” she said urgently. “You have to listen! She set this whole thing up, just to steal the Elements! She’s been waiting for ages, lurking in—”

“Stop speaking. Do as you’re told.”

Twilight’s mouth clamped itself shut, at the same time Abigail felt herself be jerked into the air. She watched helplessly as Rainbow spun around to confront the mare behind all of this. “Starlight Glimmer,” she spat.

The mare looked solemn. "I had really hoped it wouldn't come to this," she said morosely. "I was trying really hard to be nice, but no, you just wouldn't cooperate."

“Cooperate?” Rainbow repeated quietly. “Cooperate? You banished me, and did… that,” she pointed at Twilight with her wing and nearly spat the word out, “because I wouldn’t do what you said?”

Starlight recoiled as if slapped. “I didn’t have a choice!” She said with a surprising amount of emotion in her voice. “You don’t understand what’s going on here. If I could take her place and still save the world, I would.”

“Oh, please,” Rainbow snarled. “You’re just a crazy control freak with delusions of grandeur. You won’t get away with this.”

Starlight smiled bitterly. “You’d be surprised how often I hear that.”

Rainbow’s words were cut off at the same time her oxygen was, as Starlight’s field grabbed her by the throat and yanked her forwards. Rainbow slashed her wings forwards, magic surging, disrupting the field and sending her careening into the ceiling. She bounced off its surface and caught herself in mid-air, hovering in a small holding pattern to make it harder for Starlight to grab her again.

“Let me make something clear to you,Dashie,” the mare snarled. “I am not some theatrical supervillain from a radio serial. I won’t leave you in a death trap or wait until the last second before killing you. The only reason you’re alive is because I’m trying really, really hard to be the bigger pony here, and it’s not in your best interest to keep trying to change my mind. Your friends are gone, your training is useless, and you are about to die, alone and in the dark, because you can’t do what you're told. So sit down, and shut up.”

Suddenly, a new voice emerged from behind. “She’s not alone.” Abigail’s heart leaped; she recognized the voice. That’s Sunset Shimmer!

Starlight chuckled. “Oh, Sunset, so you came as well?” she said, turning slowly to face the pyromage. “Do youreally think I am unprepared for your OH SWEET CELESTIA!”

Abigail couldn’t see very well from her current position, but out of the corner of her eye, she could make out another mare as big as a horse with wings and a horn. She held a golden shield, bladed and shaped like the sun, in front of her and glared at the madmare. “Not always. Now stand down, and let’s talk about this like reasonable ponies.”

Starlight backed away, levitating Abigail in the air threateningly. “Stay back! I’ll do it! I won’t let you stop me now that I’m so close!”

“Stop you from what?” Sunset demanded. She seemed different, what with being a short orange unicorn and all, but Abigail didn’t have time to dwell on it. “You love talking about the big picture, so what is it you really want? What are you going to do with Equestria when you conquer it?”

“Conquer?” Starlight laughed incredulously. “I’m not conquering anything! I just want to build a better world!”

Celestia laid a wing on Sunset’s shoulder, and she quieted herself. “If you truly have a way to improve the world, then we can talk about it like reasonable ponies. There’s no need to threaten others.”

“I’ve tried that.” Starlight growled. “It won’t work. You and your sister will make sure of that. Everything I had was taken from me last time, and I’m not going to let that happen again.” She took out her spellbook. “Twilight, don’t stop working. I’ll deal with this.”

Twilight’s magic flared, filling the room with an eerie blue light as Starlight flipped through her book. The field Abigail was in suddenly brightened, and the farm-girl found herself flying through the air towards the pale horse. The royal equine caught her with ease, floating Abigail behind her for safety. Abigail wanted to protest, but couldn’t find grounds to do so. What can I even do?

“θπίθεση βραχίν!”

The group slowly backed away as a series of portals like the one Starlight had traveled through opened. Dark green mist floated through them, forming two creepy arms taller than Abigail was herself. They slung themselves forwards, seeking to kill the four quickly.

Abigail dove out of the way, rolling to her feet in time to throw herself away from another attack. She ended up next to Twilight, who fortunately ignored her. She rested for a second, watching the fight in a mixture of horror and awe.

It was pandemonium. Sunset struck at the base of one arm directly with a stream of flames, sending it writhing backward. Rainbow followed suit by trying to tackle the second but passed through it as though it was made of smoke. It re-formed and punched her, smashing her against a wall hard enough to leave a small crater.

Celestia threw her shield past the disembodied arms at Twilight herself, but Starlight caught it in mid-air. She cast a spell on the ground, rapidly growing a wall of crystal in between them and the vault. Rainbow flashed forwards, just barely making it through the gap before it was too late. “You’ll have to be faster than that to stop me!”

Starlight’s tail lashed back and forth, as she backed away from the mare and conjured her spellbook. “Look out!” Abigail shouted.

Diving, Rainbow tackled the other mare. In one smooth motion, she grabbed the book in her mouth and kicked off of Starlight to land on the other end of the room. She spat the book out onto the floor. “Nice try!” she declared as she nosed the book open. “But it looks like it’s my turn to summon—”

Abigail wasn’t entirely sure what happened to her next. As soon as she started to read, Rainbow’s eyes rolled up in her head, and she dropped the book and backed away, shouting inarticulately. Starlight’s ray of magic hit her in the chest, creating a dark purple crystal that began to slowly seal Rainbow away. “It’s not about speed,” the cunning mage said as the crystal began to cover Rainbow’s face. “It’s abouttactics.”

Abigail had to do something. So she did the only things she knew how to do: she threw herself across the room and tackled the mage. It was a perfect tackle too; Abigail wished that Big Mac was there to see it, as well as possibly throw large rocks at certain ponies. Starlight’s horn hit the ground with a solid bang, its aura shorting out. Starlight cried out in pain.

Abigail punched the mare in the face and then hit again to make sure she wasn’t getting up. And then she hit her a third time just because she wanted to. “You alright, sugarcube?” she asked Rainbow.

The little pony was straining against the crystal, trying to free herself. There were minute cracks forming all across its surface, but Rainbow was already beginning to tire. “Y-yeah,” she wheezed. “These crystals aren’t charged with a magic spell like the other ones are; it's just tough. Can you break it?”

Abigail shook her head. “Not without breakin’ my hands, and that’s assumin’ I can break it at all.” She gave it an experimental kick that bounced right off. She winced. “Yeah, that ain’t happenin’.”

Behind them, an odd sound that was almost like the ring of a bell stretched for several seconds came from the Vault door. A series of musical clanking noises came from the door itself as it slowly shrank until it was no taller than the average pony, and Twilight casually kicked it open with a push of her foreleg.

Starlight staggered to her hooves. “Stop her!” she ordered. Twilight's field splashed towards the human, smashing her against the wall hard enough to leave her seeing stars. Unlike Starlight’s, Abigail could feel Twilight’s field against her skin. It was like that time she’d held the electric fence on a dare. She gritted her teeth and bore the pain, waiting for a chance to get free.

“What would you like me to do now, Starlight Glimmer?” Twilight asked vacantly. Abigail noticed that her nose was bleeding, and the mare just stared straight ahead without looking at anything in particular.

Starlight hissed in pain as she walked over and nosed her book open. “Επισκευή,” she forced through gritted teeth. There was a weird flicker, and Starlight’s image seemed to warp, like she was a picture a parchment that had been left in sun too long. When she returned to normal, she was healed. “Just, hold her or something!” she snapped. “I need to get the Elements before the Princess gets through!”

Twilight continued to stare straight ahead, ignoring Rainbow’s pleas for help as Starlight vanished inside. Abigail pulled against her grip, but that increased the painful buzz in the field and numbed her arm. This all looks pretty hopeless, Abigail thought. How are we supposed to get outa this?

Just then, one of the doors opened, revealing the haggard appearance of none other than Diane. “I have… arrived!”

She then promptly fell flat on her face.

Sunset teleported around another blow, barely avoiding a sudden death. She painted the arm with fire, but it only clung to the arm for a few seconds before it was able to let it drift through.

Celestia’s light-based magic was doing more harm, but not much. Sunset suspected that whatever this… thing was had some kind of weird connection to magic itself. Sunset’s fire spells artificially created a chemical reaction in the air, thus producing fire. Celestia, meanwhile, directly stuck at the creature with magical light, driving it back.

Sunset rolled away from another attack, desperately trying to think. Everything was so wrong today. It was supposed to be her day of triumph! She was going to show Celestia that she’d mastered the Elements of Harmony, traversed between the Realms, and then she’d… She’d…

Why can’t I get any of this right?

Sunset did what she always did with doubt; she kicked it in the neck and left its dead corpse behind her as she forged ahead. She charged forwards, sliding underneath the arm’s arc, and bumped into the crystal wall Starlight had raised. She concentrated her Feel on the portals themselves. If we can’t kill those things, then we have to keep them from attacking us.

The magic portals… weren’t magic. They were entirely different from any spell Sunset had Felt with her magic before, in a way that didn’t make sense. It wasn’t Dark Magic or a new kind of magic… Sunset didn't think it was magic at all. I’m almost starting to buy into Rainbow’s ‘pure evil’ theory. The pyromage lit her horn. Whatever it was responded to magic, so maybe Sunset could short-circuit it.

Sunset began charging up a ball of magical energy, moving backward to make herself less of a target. The air around her horn began to glow, as she committed more and more magic to what she was going to call a magibomb, which was perhaps not the most inspired name, but she was a little busy and would have a proper name for it later, thank you very much.

The arms must have sensed the magic in the air. They twitched around, trying to bend backwards and reach her. Celestia moved fast, casting a force wall in between Sunset and the arms. Sunset charged, ducking around the wall and cast her field around the two portals. She yanked them together with all the strength she had.

The arms shrieked in pain as the energy struck them, retracting into wherever it was that they came from. Celestia rushed over to her former student’s side. “Are you okay? she asked frantically. “That was incredibly foolish! Are you okay?”

Foolish? I just saved us! Why can’t I— Sunset was feeling somewhat woozy. Was the castle shaking again, or what it her legs? She sat down. “Just needa rest.... Gotta help…”

Celestia gently pushed her back. “It’s alright. You’ve done your share already.”

Sunset shook her head, ignoring how that made her vision begin to go black. Unconsciously, she leaned against her mentor. “No. I can’t stop. Failures stop. I'm not a… Gotta show ya...”

The last thing she remembered was the ground rushing up to meet her.

Diane blinked, fading back into consciousness. Do wa… Am I there yet?

Twilight stood near the end of the room, except now she had wings and was glowing. A pony that would have looked adorable if she wasn’t in peril stood sealed in a purple crystal, and Abby was pinned against the wall by Twilight’s magic, which had changed color.

The rainbow maned pony was trying to get her attention without speaking. Diane pushed herself up on her elbows to see better, holding in a grunt of pain. “What?” she hissed.

The mare shot a panicked look at the hole carved in the wall, but nothing came out.

Diane crawled over to the opening and peered inside. The room was huge and sporadically lit. This must be where the Elements Twilight ranted about are, Diane thought. She said that they had the power to fix her mentor… can they stop her? Can they fix me? She pulled herself inside. What do they even look like? Diane had no idea how to find them, but in her current state, it was the only thing she could do. She gritted her teeth and pressed onwards.

Alert.

She also started hearing voices. She ignored them, and hoped that whatever extra personality she was forming wouldn’t be evil.

It is of vital importance that you listen to this message. The voice hissed.

“Mr. Castle?” she whispered. “Is that you?”

This is what’s left of the Dream Castle’s Automation Matrix. Beginning playback: If you are hearing this, then whoever you are, you’re the last hope of the Realm. You are not the being that broke the A.M, thus making you the perfect candidate to take the Elements of Harmony and get them to safety

‘Forget safety!” Diane hissed. “How do I use them?”

Do not concern yourself with using them; unless you’ve done something to prove yourself worthy of an Element in relatively close proximity to them, they won’t allow you to bear them. I have no idea if the being that broke the castle’s A.M can force them to do its bidding, and I’d rather not find out. Get them and leave. I’ve created a complicated puzzle in the center of the vault connected to a deathtrap as a distraction. The real Elements are hidden in a broken chest in the lower right corner. Hurry! And if you at any point see Queen Celestia, be sure to tell her I anticipated this.

Diane accepted this without comment and began crawling as fast as she could. There were several dangerous-looking items that she passed, wary of accidentally setting them off. At the end of the path, Diane found a badly rusted chest that was sealed shut. She pressed against the lid, but couldn’t budge it.

They aren’t inside the chest itself. Pass your hoof or equivalent appendage in front of the lock, right to left.

Diane did so carefully, expecting the chest to open. Instead, a trapdoor opened underneath her and she silently fell. Diane landed on a thick mat with a muffled crash, grateful for the padding. In front of her was a sculpture holding five stone spheres.

Those are the Elements of Harmony. You must move quickly. There is a smaller version of the Crystal Mirror behind you. It will drop you somewhere in the Everfree forest. There is no way to be certain where, thus making it the perfect escape route, assuming that you do not get eaten before you finish escaping.

Diane staggered upright and managed to make it two steps before she fell again. She crawled forwards. There’s no way I can get out of any kind of forest like this, let alone a magic murder one. If I can’t get these to work, I’m sunk. From above, she could hear a shout of rage and saw a series of red flashes that looked suspiciously like fire. We’re sunk, she added.

With trembling hands, she reached out and touched one of the Elements.

In a flash, her world was gone. Power reached into the core of her being, and flowed across her body.

The world was, objectively, a cruel place. People died every day for stupid reasons like land and money. There were just two things you could do; let it beat you, or stand up tall. She wouldn’t give up on them, on anybody, ever. She was a hero who would keep everyone smiling.

The magic flowed over her body, forming itself into a suit or armor. Lightning crackled, bouncing away from white metal and pink fabric. The room was filled with fire and lightning. When it was done, Diane Jones wasn’t standing there anymore.

In her place, was a Power Ranger.

Diane stared in the mirror, taking in every detail. She wore golden armor over her chest, shoulders, and joints. Underneath was a pink tunic, with white arms, pants, and boots. Her helmet looked almost like a motorcyclist’s, with a knight's helm overtop. Her white scarf lay proudly over her shoulders. There was an odd symbol, a blue balloon carved out of a sapphire, in the center of her breastplate.

I’m a Power Ranger.

Harmony Event detected. Initiating playback: How interesting! It appears that my experiments have indeed broadened the abilities that the Elements of Harmony are capable of granting. However, you mustn't let your guard down. Unless I have left a large gap in time in recording these, the energy discharge created by morphing will have created a large and semi-pointless explosion directly behind you. And that could—

It was too late. An older Unicorn jumped down behind Diane. “Alright,” she hissed. “I’m only going to say this once; give me the Elements of Harmony!”

Superherofight, superherofight, superherofight! “Well, I would, but honestly I just don’t think they like you very much.”

The pony dug her hooves in. “Then so be it.” Her field wobbled unsteadily, levitating piles of rubble. Diane took a step back, not as nervous as she had been earlier. Time almost seemed to slow down. Diane felt charged with power, able to do anything.

The rubble flashed forwards, faster than a swarm of bullets, slashing through space the Pink Ranger had occupied less than a second ago. She’d leaped forwards, flipping over them and nailing a three-point landing in front of Starlight. “Superhero landing!”

The madmare growled. Her field lashed out, slashing wildly at the Pink Ranger, but was again too late. She’d leaned backward underneath it at an angle that shouldn’t have been possible. Pivoting on her left arm, she swung her body around and kicked her in the stomach hard enough to send her careening into the wall. ‘I… uh… got a kick out of… You know what? I’m better than that.”

Starlight staggered to her hooves, and flashed her light bright enough to blind her. Diane felt the mare grab her in a field and slam her against the wall. It was harder than she’d ever been hit in her life. Diane literally heard the stone crack under the force.

She didn’t feel a thing.

The Pink Ranger chuckled as she pushed against Starlight’s power. “Sorry,” she said as she began to push herself free. “Should I pretend like this is harder than it is? Because this is super duper—”

She was interrupted by a ray of magic that crystallized around her body, freezing her in place.

Oops.

Diane tensed, pushing against the crystal with all of her newfound might. The crystal began to crack from the force, but far too slowly. The Ranger watched in horror as the lavender unicorn lifted the Elements from their stone statue and placed them in an ornate case. Her magic stuff was wavering, and she dropped one.

The crazy pony observed the cracks forming in the crystal, and wisely backed away. “I’ll deal with you later.” The mage began pushing the heavy case towards the mirror.

Diane frowned. Her magic isn’t flowing the same way Twilight's did. It looks like it’s hurting her... Did she hit her head or something? She strained against her crystal prison, hearing it slowly begin to crack. I can’t let her get away!

Starlight glanced over her shoulder and then redoubled her efforts as Diane began to break the crystalline cell apart. With a final crash it split open, and Diane wasted no time rushing the villain. Her unchecked dive carried her into Starlight, who rolled with the impact and landed on top. She brought both of her forelegs down on Diane’s face, sparks cascading from the impact. Diane brought her arms underneath the mare and shoved her as hard as she could, throwing her against the ceiling. The Pink Ranger brought her legs up as the mare fell, catching her in a kick that sent her flying into the case that held the Elements. Three of the orbs bounced through the small mirror unshielded.

The glass flexed and bulged around the points of impact, before snapping back into place. Stray beams of energy flashed all around the room. Diane was able to pirouette around first one, then flattened herself against the floor to evade the second. Several beams melted through the ceiling, leaving more than enough space for Diane to fit through. She grabbed the two remaining spheres and jumped as high as she could.

Before, she might have been able to make that leap, likely by almost missing and dramatically dangling from the edge, but now she cleared it easily. She only stumbled a little on the landing; her motions were smoother now. It was as if she’d had decades of practise with these powers, not mere seconds.

The scene was much as she left it, except there was also a huge white horse, a lot taller than Diane was, wearing golden armor. “Hi!” the Ranger exclaimed. “I’m Diane! Are these important?”

The horse tore the Elements from Diane’s grasp. “Where are the rest?” she demanded.

The Pink Ranger took a step back. “They went through the Mirror downstairs,” she replied, before reflecting that this was turning out to be a notably surreal day.

“Twilight!” the purple unicorn called from below. “Get them!”

“Yes, Starlight Glimmer,” Twilight said vacantly. “Whatever you say.”

“Not so fast, evil do-er!” Diane took a running leap at Twilight, which ended when Twilight flapped her wings hard enough to send the entire party flying back. Diane was first on her feet, and charged at her again. “You’ll never get—”

Twilight hit her with a beam of pure energy, which sent Diane back through the crystal wall, through the stone wall on the other side, and put her in a deep crater in the hallway outside.

It can be difficult to describe what it feels like to be hit as hard as Diane was. Diane herself couldn’t remember the moment of impact; it was as if she’d been teleported into a large crater filled entirely with pain.

“Ow.”

Slowly, Diane pulled herself out of the crater and stood again. She took a moment to steel herself, pushing back her fear, before diving into the fight again.

Abigail pressed herself against the wall as hard as she could, trying to keep as far away as possible from the magical maelstrom. The light from their magic was blinding, and the heat was enough to feel from the far end of the room. A part of the girl wanted to try and attack Twilight, but a much larger part of her being was insisting that these beings were beyond her understanding and that she should be cowering in terror.

Abigail compromised and began to work her way around to the stone orbs that Celestia had dropped. Down below, Starlight was trying desperately to float herself up and out of the hole. The knock on her head had screwed with her magic, but she was slowly beginning to recover. Abigail swallowed and looked away.

Abigail had just reached the Elements when a crippling sense of doubt overtook her. What am I doin’? This whole time, I keep nearly dyin’ and I ain’t done nothin’ useful. Do I really want to jump into the middle a’ this?

Across the room, Twilight’s magic flared, sending Celestia reeling back. Before the thrall could follow up, the Pink Ranger dived through the wall and landed on her back. “Yippi-Ai-Ki-Yay mother—!”

Twilight thrashed and bucked, trying to get the girl off. Her horn lit, and she slammed the girl into the ground again. Celestia took the opportunity to cast a spell at the wall behind Twilight. It began to glow, and Twilight flew backwards and hit it with a loud smash! Celestia followed through with a beam of energy, annihilating the wall and sending Twilight well out of sight. The queen turned towards Starlight, but a glowing strand of blue energy whipped through the hole and wrapped itself around her neck. She fell after Twilight. Diane staggered to her feet and ran after her.

“Wait!” Abigail shouted, but she was ignored. “Dagnabbit!”That fool is gonna get herself killed! What’s wrong with her? This ain’t our fight!

...Like it weren’t her fight when she saved me.

Abigail looked back at the Elements of Harmony.Diane will jump into this, like she did to save me. She’ll do her best to be a hero, ‘cause I think that’s just the kinda person she is. And if she tries to do it alone, she’ll get killed.

There ain’t no choice at all.

Unwavering, Abigail reached across and grasped one of the Elements.

The first thing that hit her was the sense of duty. She was strong, so very strong, and others relied on it. She had to be tough, to hold the line, because if she didn’t, then nobody would.

Power shot through her, making her stronger and faster. Suddenly, she just knew things, like how to shoot and fight. The light wrapped around her body, forming armor that was thicker and stronger than Diane’s. Her suit was somewhere between a rich brown and a dark orange, and she could see vines wrapping around and growing across the entire uniform.

The Amber Ranger stood proudly, ready for anything. From below, Starlight shot her with a wavering beam of magic, but the thin beam bounced off of her thick armor. She crossed the room, grasped the sides of the prism Rainbow was trapped in, and squeezed. It shattered instantaneously. Rainbow shook the remaining shards from her wings and stepped out. “Holy crap!”

Starlight finally emerged from the hole, and kicked the remaining Element down the hole and dove behind it. Rainbow charged after her, but before Abigail could follow, Celestia fell back into the room and crashed to the floor. She bounced a few times and slid until she hit the wall with a crack that sounded troublingly like a bone shattering.

The Amber Ranger charged forwards, catching Twilight with her shoulder and sending her flying into the wall. The mare’s stone armor took the brunt of it, and she stood back up amidst the crumbling rubble.

“Oh, another Ranger! Cool!” Diane did a casual forward flip to land in front of Abigail (largely because she could) and struck a pose. “Alright then—”

Twilight’s field whipped forwards, forming a blade of energy. The Pink Ranger twisted in a way that made Abigail's head hurt when she thought about it later, avoiding it entirely. The beam smashed into Abigail, sending her back several paces, which would have unnerved her less had the stone underneath formed craters around her feet from where she landed.

Okay, I got this.

Twilight flapped her wings, the wind roaring forwards louder than a jet. Abigail was blown off of her feet, and plunged a hand into the stone floor to keep from flying away altogether. Diane and Celestia weren’t so lucky.

Aw, this is gonna suck.

“Twilight, heed me!” Celestia called. “You can free yourself from this! Try!”

“Starlight Glimmer told me to get you,” Twilight stated. Despite the apparent cheerfulness in her tone, there was a vapid quality to it, like some very essential components of Twilight’s mind were missing. Its familiarity set Abigail on edge.

Abigail took a deep breath in, and let it out. “Alright. Starlight told ya to get us, right? Well, ya did. We've been got.”

Diane was confused. “We have?”

“Yes we have!” Abby hissed. “And that means you don’t got nothin’ to do no more, don’ it?”

“I don’t got nothing to do no more,” Twilight repeated the grammatical defenestration of the English language.

Abigail went to mop the sweat from her forehead, but her hand bounced off her helmet. “Okay… did Starlight give you any other standin’ orders?”

“I must stop speaking and do as I’m told.” The mare actually sounded pleased by that. Abigail shuddered at the look on Twilight’s face. It was fixed in an unnatural grin, her eyes unfocused and body uncaring of the pain Abby had inflicted upon it. Abigail clenched her fist.

“Okay,” she said through gritted teeth, “Did she say not to listen to orders that weren’t from her?”

“No, she did not say not to listen to orders that weren’t from her.”

Abigail nodded. “Good. So: I order ya to fall asleep!”

Twilight sank to the floor in one smooth motion, limbs heavy and unmoving. Diane staggered to her feet and walked over to her. “How did you know that would work?”

Abigail looked at the other Ranger, uncomfortable. “Let’s just say I’ve done somethin’ like it before.”

Diane was probably curious, but Abigail didn’t feel like answering her. She leaned against the wall. Okay, so I saved the crazy girl, beat the big monster, Rainbow’s got the other one…Can I be done now?

Diane moved closer to her, casually ignoring her personal space. “Wait a minute… Abby?”

Abigail nodded. Diane squealed in surprise, pulling her into a huge hug. Abigail flailed her arms, trying to get free. “You're a Power Ranger too! This is great!”

“Hey!” Abigail finally broke free and held the other girl at arm's length. “I ain’t no Power Ranger! As soon as we’re in the clear, I’m giving this thing back and goin’ home!”

Diane took a step back, and Abigail realized she was yelling. “Oh. Okay. Sorry. “

Abby took a deep breath in, and let it out slowly. “No, I’m sorry, this has just been…. Stuff I didn’t want to deal with.” Again, she added mentally.

Diane cocked her head to the side, looking confused. “ Well, we're almost done now, so we’ll be able to go home soon. I guess you can give it back then.”

Celestia looked like she was about to say something, but before she could, the castle shook again, much harder than before. “How long has the castle been doing that?” she asked in a sudden realization.

“Since all the lights went out. Why—”

Abigail's voice trailed off as Celestia rushed past them into the hallway. It was much brighter than she remembered. Before, the area outside the castle had been a horrifying stew of hellish mind-twisting insanity, but now it kept… disappearing. For several long moments, it was replaced with a normal blue sky. Even as it disappeared, Abby could see pieces of blue poking through. “What does that mean?”

“Trouble,” Celestia replied grimly.

Rainbow landed smoothly, not missing a beat before punching Starlight with her wing. A burst of Pegasus-fueled wind sent her off balance, allowing her to spin on her forelegs and buck the mage across the room. Dash had to give her credit; Starlight knew how to take a beating. The Unicorn had been knocked around all day, but she was still basically standing.

Starlight faced her as best as she could, tail lashing. She swayed on her hooves, off balance and dizzy. “Oh, don’t you ever quit?”

Rainbow responded with an admittedly predictable smug look and mini-preen. “Sorry,“ she quoted from her favorite pulp novel, “I don’t know the meaning of the word.”

Starlight stamped her hooves in frustration, before blinding her with a surge of light. The unicorn made a break for it, but Rainbow caught her in mid-gallop. The two of them rolled several body lengths until they collided with the far wall, Rainbow on top. She brought both hooves down on Starlight, underneath each foreleg where the joints were weakest.

There was a sickening crack as the bones partially slid out of alignment. Starlight cried out in pain and rolled on her side. Rainbow ignored her; she’d be in too much pain to be any threat for now.

Rainbow trotted over to the Element, regarding the small ancient rock with an overwhelming sense of apathy. It was wasn’t that much larger than a buckball, and it looked like it was falling apart. After the way Sparky had talked about it—

Oh no, Sparky!

Rainbow glanced back through the hole in the ceiling. The sound of fighting had faded, but that could mean any number of things. She looked back at the small, crumbling stone orb. The castle said that I’d earned one of these things… why not? She lightly poked it with her hoof, wondering what she was supposed to do with it.

Energy crackled throughout her body, giving her the power to back up her boasts. Ponies were counting on her to come through for them. It didn’t matter how hard the task; if her friends needed it done, it was going to get done.

Golden armor surrounded her barrel, leaving her joints and wings free to move. The suit was blue, and as streamlined as a fish in water. Her mane and tail were free, waving proudly behind her.

The Blue Ranger reared back on her hindlegs, shying away from the sphere. “What was that?”

Third Harmony Event detected.

Rainbow addressed the castle suspiciously. “Hey! What’s going on?”

Status Report: C-currently, the majority of the Automation Matrix has been compromised by an unknown monstrosity that ranks a-at error,and the Dream Castle itself is falling out of the sky and will destroy Equestria inEr-er-er-error.

There were a number of things Rainbow wanted to address in that statement. She tried to do all of them at once. “Stop, just, uh… what’s causing this, exactly?”

The spells that-that-that— Vocal Interface Reset. The spells that were cast to keep the Dream Castle protected from the Between are decaying, and it’s beginning to drift closer to its edge. There are several pre-set spells in place around the exterior of the castle that will open a portal into our world to protect the castle itself. However, the most likely place to materialize is several miles above the surface of the plane, and given the mass of the Dream Castle at the time of this recording, the impact will kill an unknown amount of people.

Rainbow was troubled by this news. “Well, how do we stop it?!”

T-that information is unavail—

There was a hissing noise as the speaker cut out. Dash turned back towards Starlight. The mare had healed herself again and stood by one of the crystal interfaces. Her magic flowed into the crystal itself, overpowering the original spells with her own.

Time slowed down. Rainbow dove towards Starlight. She had to reach the mare before she could finish her incantation. Rainbow was so determined that she didn’t even notice that the part about time slowing down was literal.

Her body didn’t feel lighter, exactly; it actually felt heavier. But it also felt smoother, faster, like when she was committing to a dive. Starlight hit the far wall and collapsed into a heap. “You’re finished,” Rainbow said coldly.

Warning!Warn-

Rainbow glanced up as the castle went crazy. Starlight must have broken it. What’s it tryn’—”

Enemy detected.Deploying countermeasure.

Two crystals lit up with a sudden surge of power. Beams of light shone from each, connecting in the center of the room. Rainbow slowly approached the pillar of energy. She raised her wings and crouched, ready for anything.

The monster materialized.

Rainbow took a step back.

It wasn't just that the monster was tall because it really was. But being eight feet tall is a lot more terrifying when you're also heavy enough to leave cracks in stone when you take so much as a single step.

Its body was shaped like a cylinder, with three arms ending in sharp looking implements and no obvious head. While its skin looked metallic, it flexed and breathed like a normal pony would. It moved on three legs like some kind of living tripod, shifting its weight from side to side and swaying forwards in a way that shouldn't have worked but covered ground with terrifying swiftness. The monster approached her, each step crunching as it destroyed part of the floor by walking like a normal pony. The side facing Rainbow split open, revealing rows of teeth wanting to grind the guardsmare to dust.

If Rainbow didn't have super speed, she would have been killed right then and there. As it was, she was only struck a glancing blow that was partly absorbed by her armor. She spun around, catching herself in the middle of the room, before turning to look for Starlight. Perhaps the madmare could be persuaded to turn the golem off.

Unfortunately, Starlight and her book were gone. She teleported away again? How does she keep doing that?

She turned back to the monster only to discover, despite her weird 'everything go slowly' power, that the tripod was almost on top of her again. She backed up a few paces and circled it, trying to find a blind spot. The thing appeared to able to track her, and its arms could reach everywhere around it at the same time. Rainbow risked a quick attack, hoping she moving too fast to be properly hit.

The gaurdsmare swooped in to deliver a crushing blow, but it did nothing but rock the machine. Its armor was barely dented and it was too firmly planted to be unseated. Dashing back and forth, Rainbow struck all three sides of the monster with increasing strength, trying to throw it off balance.

One of the arms managed to strike her a glancing blow that sent her spiraling into the wall. As she picked herself up out of the crater she found herself in, Dash grimly noticed that her blow had barely dented the monster. Her new powers wouldn't be enough on their own.

The castle said that there are two other Elements turned on. I hope they're ready.

What Lies In Your Heart?

Diane and the other two found themselves in a sudden whirlwind of motion. The castle shook ferociously, but it barely threw Diane off-step even as the other two were knocked off their feet. She felt a surge of strength, like an impulse, pushing her down into a slide.The crystals began to explode, nearly taking her head off. She didn’t stop to question what was happening, mentally relaxing and letting her body move on instinct. Diane used her momentum to slide forwards, kicking Celestia out of the way before the crystal next to her exploded. The Pink Ranger was sent flying through the far wall and into the open air.

She reached out and grabbed one of the ledges and clung to the outside as the castle shook again. Gravity bent in an odd direction and the sky around her briefly shifted from ‘eldritch horror’ to ‘sky blue,’ as the castle entered the normal atmosphere and began to fall. The sudden influx of light blinded Diane for a few moments. She clung to the wall, gripping it as tightly as she could until the light had faded and she could climb back up.

A twinkling field of energy surrounded her, and Diane felt herself be lifted off of the wall and back into the castle itself. “You need to be more careful,” the mare scolded. “My armor is thicker than yours, and I can fly.”

Diane would have said something sarcastic, but her head was spinning too fast. She leaned against the wall and concentrated on remaining upright. Dimly, she could hear the others talking. “What was that?” Abigail asked wonderingly.

“I’m not sure. The magic signature felt like Starlight Glimmer’s, but I find it hard to believe she’s powerful enough to overpower the entire castle.”

“Beggin’ your pardon, but ain’t most a’ her tricks been impossible so far? That’s what Rainbow said, at least.”

Celestia frowned. “There is that,” she mused. “We don’t have time to speculate right now. We have to get to the Dream Castle’s A.M and-”

Working.

All three jumped at the sudden noise. It came from the speakers like the earlier statements had, but the voice sounded very different.

Celestia took a step forwards. “Dream Castle: acknowledge your current status.”

This u-unit is online. Please state series command.

“Series command?” Diane asked.

“It’s asking which set of instructions I want it to use,” Celestia explained.

“Oh, like a program! Okay.”

Celestia cleared her throat and addressed the castle directly. “Please access series: Landing Zone.”

Unable to-to-to follow command as directed.

The two humans immediately armed themselves as best they could and stood back to back. Celestia spared them a confused glance. “What are you two doing?”

“It’s totally about to kill us,” Diane said bluntly.

“Totally,” Abigail repeated.

Celestia rolled her eyes. “It’s simply a little damaged. If any part of the A.M were compromised, it would automatically shut down.”

Diane’s voice was grim. “Wait for iiiit…”

A-c-cccessing Prime Directives: Destruction of threats to Dream Castle.

“That’s not it’s Prime Directive,” Celestia reluctantly acknowledged as she moved to stand in formation with the other girls. “It’s going to try and kill us.”

“Toldja.”

You are-are denoted as threats to the D-dream Castle.

“Luna actually outlawed creating these a few centuries after the Dream Castle was lost,” the queen added wearily. “I’d just hoped that this would be different since I helped build it.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Diane put a hand on Celestia’s shoulder. “I hope nothing get’s really broken.”

“Like us, ya mean?”

Therefore, you must be ex-ter-min-ated.

All three tensed. “All them crystal things exploded,” Abigail said, “So what’ll it try next?”

Celestia almost responded, but before she could, a third Ranger appeared, this time shaped like a pony. She arrived with a huge whoosh of air, so suddenly that Diane was half inclined to think that she’d teleported. “We have a big problem!” she exclaimed.

“Rainbow?” Abby said. “What’s wrong?”

Down the hallway, a humongous tripod swung around the corner and bore down on them. She could feel her new power telling her to run, but she ignored it and ran towards the monster. Even with her new reflexes, Diane was barely able to flip out of the way of first blow, and couldn’t avoid the second. Sparks filled her vision as with a loud crash the arm smacked her down. Diane tried to push herself up, but the thing grabbed her and smacked her down again, before holding her up to look at her with a single, cyclopean eye. “Well,” Diane mumbled dizzily, “Now what?”

With a series of pops, a horizontal seam opened up along the monster's side, taller than Diane was. Inside were rows upon rows of teeth. Celestia’s shield flew under her head and embedded itself in the thing's mouth. Blood sprayed Diane’s helmet, and the monster dropped her. Diane skittered back before Rainbow grabbed her and Diane found herself in one of the rooms. Abigail was standing near the door and Celestia appeared a moment later, carried by Rainbow. “You. Are. Freakin’. Heavy!”

“Well, I’m sorry,” Celestia hissed. “Maybe it wouldn't be a problem if I hadn’t been forced to come here in the first place.”

Diane ignored them, fighting to get a grip. That’s another monster. No, that’s just another monster, and I already escaped one, even if it wasn’t half as scary, and we’re going to be fine, except—

“Hey.” When Diane didn’t immediately respond, Abigail crossed the room and shook her once sharply. “Hey! You’re gonna get through this, you hear me? The elements chose you ‘cause you got through this huge death trap once, and now there’s four a’ us.”

“But—”

“But nothin’. You jumped in front a’ a demon to save me— ain’t you got any a’ that left?”

Diane took a few deep breaths to steady herself. “Yeah. Yes, I do.” She reached out a hand and Abigail pulled her up. “Okay-— what is that thing, and how do we kill it?”

Celestia shook her head. “I’m not sure. The Dream Castle is made to evolve; maybe it found some way of catching things that fall through rifts and added it to the security system?”

The castle shook again. “How long ‘till the castle destroys Acria?” Abigail asked.

“Arcadia,” Rainbow corrected. “And actually it’d just be Equestria…” her voice trailed away as she met a trio of disapproving stares. “Well, details are important,” she groused.

“We have maybe ten minutes before it falls through,” Celestia answered. “And I can’t get to the data room to put the A.M to sleep and re-awaken it.”

“We’ll distract it,” Diane said, with much more confidence than she felt.

“We will?” Abigail repeated.

“We don’t have time to do anything else,” Diane said. “If you can’t turn the computer off and back on again in time, we’ll all die!”

“No, it’s far too dangerous,” Celestia argued. “That’s a monster—”

“And we’re Power Rangers,” Diane interrupted. “The Elements wouldn’t have picked us without a good reason. We got this!”

They could hear the tripods steps from down the hall. There were only seconds to spare. “We got this,” Diane repeated before diving out in front of the thing.

In one smooth motion, she dove underneath the thing, rolled to her feet, and bolted down the hallway. Even with the element of surprise, she was barely ahead of the thing. It rushed after her with its haphazard gait, arms swinging just inches away from her new form.

This was a bad idea.

The monster roared again, swinging itself forwards. Abby leaped in front of her, catching the arm. It tried to free itself with its second arm, but Abigail trapped that one as well. The two of them strained against each other, sinking into the floor as the stone crumbled like paper beneath them. At the same time, Rainbow struck at its remaining arm, pinning it to the wall.

Diane charged the now helpless monster, delivering a series of jabs to its side. Small dents formed but quickly began to fill out. It kicked at her, but she bent backward almost double to avoid the blow. The girl rapidly shifted her weight to her arms, tensing them and lifting her legs off the ground. She pushed off the ground and struck the thing off-balance, stunning the creature. The wall groaned and caved in behind them, throwing both Abigail and Rainbow off-balance.

“Woah, nelly!” Abigail cried. The monster smashed her against the ceiling, and she let the arms go. It slapped her and Diane down the hallway, forcing Rainbow to abandon her efforts and go after them.

The hallway rumbled, not from drifting into realspace but from another trap. Quicker than lightning, Rainbow grabbed Diane and deposited her in a stretch of hallway that had already been set off and destroyed. Abigail followed a split second later. Distantly, they heard a roar of frustration as the only thing caught in the trap was the tripod. “What do ya think that one did?”

“Dunno,” Abigail said as she stood up, “but it don’t matter that much now. This ain’t workin’.”

Diane agreed. “Yeah. I’m honestly sorta impressed by how badly we’re losing.”

Rainbow nodded. “Okay, so it’s big. We need to find somewhere without a lot of room to maneuver. Did anypony pass a pit trap?”

“I didn’t see none,” Abby replied. “Could we find somewhere to hold up until it goes away?”

“Then it’ll go after the queen! We’re distracting it, remember?”

Diane gasped. “Ooo, what if we led it outside? There’s a ledge that goes all around the walls. There aren’t any traps outside either, so it’ll just be us against that thing! All—”

The monster barrelled around the corner and charged them again. Dash used her super speed to move them further away again. “But what about the Nothing?” she asked as if nothing had interrupted them. “Teleporting was bad enough. Whatever the Dream Castle is doing can shield us, but what if it gets screwed up?”

Abigail snapped her fingers. “That’s it!” The Amber Ranger cried. “If we can knock this thing off the castle, it won’t be able to hurt us.”

“How do we do that?” Diane asked.

“As a team,” Abigail stated. “Alright, I think I have a plan, but we’ll all have to work together.”

Celestia poked her head around the wall, ready to jump back at a moment's notice. The blades on her shield had started to chip, and her armor was covered in small dents. While none of the damage was dangerous yet, it was starting to wear her down. The Dream Castle’s security had grown since she last remembered it.

Starswirl never stopped adding to it, she mused. He didn’t know when to quit. The queen didn’t know if she wanted to hug her old friend or kill him.

Cautiously, she Felt around her with her magic, searching for anything new. She shuddered involuntarily at the sight. The spellwork of the castle had once been an example of perfectly balanced beauty. Each spell moved carefully alongside one another, working in perfect harmony, and if even the slightest step was taken that contradicted any of the others would necessitate starting over. It had taken the three of them so long to get even the most basic enchantments done, and it had been worth it on so many levels. Whatever Starlight had done to the castle had corrupted them, haphazardly strengthening some and ripping others to pieces. Decades of work…

Gone.

Starlight Glimmer had much to answer for. Stoically, Celestia ascertained which traps were still online, and threw her shield into the center of the next corridor. There was a rumbling sound as the walls began to slide towards it She waited patiently for them to move out enough to reveal the machinery hidden behind them, and melted them with a simple stream of fire. The walls ground to a halt, and she roughly shoved them back into place with her field. Just a little bit further, she thought to herself as she retrieved her shield.There should be a secret ramp hidden in the next room, and I don’t Feel any traps inside.

Two important things happened as Celestia stepped into that room. The first was the castle getting pulled into realspace again, and this time it remained in freefall instead of immediately returning to the Between. Gravity pulled the Dream Castle sideways, spinning it around and around. Celestia was slammed against the side of the room with her horn still lit, stunning her. This wouldn’t have been nearly as problematic had that room not also been home to a swarm of non-magical bugs.

Celestia gritted her teeth. She didn’t technically know if they were dangerous bugs, of course, but it wasn’t hard to guess in this context, and at any rate a swarm of bugs that were collectively bigger than she was couldn’t possibly be a good thing. Using all of her immense strength, she fought against the pull of gravity and dragged herself across the wall. The swarm of bugs was pulled back as well, but their lighter bodies and collective strength made them far quicker. One terrifying glance backward was all the motivation she needed to move faster.

Her horn hesitantly lit again, her field unfocused and sparking. She gritted her teeth and forced it to work, the magic clumsily wrapping around the hidden door and pushing. It slid open, still too far away to reach in time.

She was lucky. The castle snapped back to the Between, the spin rapidly decreasing and throwing her and the swarm to the floor. The swarm scattered, and Celestia dove into the passageway and slammed the door back behind her.

The room was just as she remembered it: Cavernous and Chaotic. It was huge, far bigger than any other room and it only fit inside the castle because Luna had been able to distort the space. It was filled as compactly as possible with complicated equipment. The information needed to run the A.M was staggering, and even between the three of them, they’d struggled to find a way to fit everything inside the castle. To that end, she and Starswirl had spent years encoding millions of scrolls with any information that might be needed. These scrolls were read at the top of the chamber and carried to the top be a complicated series of pneumatic tubes. Starswirl had complained that the system was too rigid, but at the time Celestia had insisted she could make it work. Upon viewing the mess, she wished she’d gone with something simpler.

Most of the belts were backed up, moving too slowly and sending the scrolls upwards at the wrong time. Even with half of the machines malfunctioning, there was still enough noise to make her ears lie back against her skull. They’d been forced to magically stretch the space to allow more of the machinery to fit, creating a huge cavern that at once impressed you with its size and made you feel cramped. And of course, all of the equipment used to keep the A.M awake was located on the other end of the expanse.

I can’t go around with the Dream Castle defenses in the way. My only path is straight ahead.

Diane’s heart hammered as she fled the monster alone. She was doing her best to push the fear back, but it poured through the cracks and eroded her resolve. I’mgonnadie, I’mgonnadie, I’mgonnadie…

She felt it again, a sudden compulsion to duck, and this time she didn’t fight it. The… whatever it was, guided her under and around the creature’s strikes. She closed her eyes and concentrated entirely on her new abilities.

Diane shifted her pace, subtly speeding up. She leaped off the ground, pirouetting in the air just ahead of another strike. She coiled her legs and bounced off of the tripods arm, rocketing down the hallway.

That was so cool!—

Diane’s momentary distraction kept her from reacting to the approaching wall in time, and she slammed into it hard. The young girl scrambled to her feet, rapidly losing her lead as the monster caught up to her. She cartwheeled out the path of its tackle, but it caught her with a glancing blow that sent her through several ornate statues and landing in a cloud of sparks and rubble. I really hope I’m at the right spot.

The tripod bore down on her at the exact same moment that Abigail smashed through the wall. Abby scarcely noticed the impact, carrying her momentum into the creature and through the wall to the castle exterior. They slid to a stop on the ledge outside. Diane’s heart leaped as she noticed that the tripods entire side had caved in. Though it began to fill, the thing was moving far slower and it was bleeding heavily.

It slammed its arms down at Abigail, who blocked them with some difficulty. Diane could see a crater forming under the Amber Ranger’s feet, growing with each impact. Where’s Rainbow?

One of the beast’s punches broke through, an uppercut that sent her flying upwards. A follow-through strike sent her flying away from the Dream Castle, towards the huge void that surrounded the castle. Suddenly, so fast that it looked instantaneous, Abigail blurred and appeared next to Diane. The younger girl jumped back. What?

Rainbow put Abigail down and nodded to Diane. “Almost done. Just gimme, like, three seconds.” She blurred and disappeared again. Diane gaped at the place she had been. Is she teleporting? How can anything be that fast?

The monster took a staggering step forwards before Rainbow surrounded the thing. She sped around it in a tight circle, the ribbons of rainbow energy pinning the thing in place. It tried to hit her, but its blows only did further damage to the ledge they were standing on.

Diane and Abigail could barely see what was happening, Rainbow was moving too fast. She stepped out and struck one of its legs hundreds of times over in the space of a second. It bent sideways, and the monster fell. It kept dragging itself upwards, slowly healing its wounds.

“Rainbow, quit grandstandin’ and hurry!”

Rainbow Dash saluted and disappeared again. A blur of light moved fast enough to make Diane dizzy, placing tumultuous stormclouds all around the monster.

Rainbow flared her wings, wind bending to her will and forming a dark stormcloud underneath her hooves. Lightning flashed and thunder boomed as it struck at the ledge, the rock giving way under the assault.

The tripod gave a final scream of defiance as it fell, thrashing and bellowing with whatever approximation of rage it had. It fell past the Dream Castle’s shield, and Nothing consumed it.

The wooden doors buckled underneath Celestia’s strength as she bucked her way through the last layer of defense. Underneath her, the machinery noise was lessened, and the loudest noise was simply the command scrolls arriving from below. She was cautious as she moved inside; while there were no traps inside the room itself, the crystals were all intact and fully functional. There’s no telling what kind of traps it has prepared for me.

Nothing appeared to be out of the ordinary. Celestia frowned. Nothing Felt out of the ordinary either, though it was hard to tell with her horn in such pain.

You will c-c-cease your activities immediately.

Celestia jumped at the noise, cursing her lack of attention. “I will not.”

You will not threaten the Dream Castle.

The queen frowned. “I have no intention of threatening the Dream Castle. I’m trying to save it.”

Y-you are an enemy. You are telling a falsehood.

Celestia gritted her teeth together. “Why do you think that?” she demanded. “I’m trying to land the castle safely. How is that not in your best interest?”

You are an enemy of the Dream Castle. Your destruction must be brought about by any means necessary.

Her eyes narrowed. “Does that include the destruction of the Dream Castle?”

A-a-affirmative.

That’s impossible, Celestia noted with some resignation. That was a logical paradox, which should have been enough to deactivate the entire system. Breaking the A.M that thoroughly would require both enough power to overrun the wards placed around it, and the knowledge and focus to damage only enough of it to cause this and not shut it down outright.

I don’t care who she is; one Unicorn could never have done all this.

That was a problem for the future, assuming that there would be a future. For now, she had to figure out how to save Equestria. “I don’t care about the obstacles you place in my way; I will save my citizens, and there is nothing you can do to stop me.”

Inc-c-correct.

One of the hatches opened, and the half-conscious form of a pony was floated inside. Celestia involuntarily surged forwards, but a weak force field held her back. She tried to light her field, but the pain kept her from casting. “Sunset!”

Affirmat-t-tive.

Celestia watched Sunset futilely tried to muster up a spark, something she could use to escape, but she was utterly spent. She’s not supposed to be here. She was supposed to be safe in the Vault. How did it get her?

This one was At-at-attempting to find you and render a-a-assistance. She is your ally.

Celestia gave no reply, but it didn’t matter. The crystals around Sunset stabbed down, shoving through skin and muscle. Sunset bit down as much as she could, but a guttural scream still emerged from her throat.

If you do not comply, the crystal will grow within her body, granting her a slow and painful death. Your moral code will not allow this.

“Don’t,” Sunset struggled to get out. She was barely cognisant, but she was still awake enough to remain stubborn. “Don’t give it a thing.”

Celestia stared on in horror. [i] No, I can’t let this happen! I can’t! Her horn was still suffering from backlash, and she wouldn’t be able to pull the filly free in time. If she took a step forwards, then the castle would kill Sunset. There was nothing she could do.

What would Luna do?

The answers flooded her mind immediately.Luna wouldn’t have gotten into this mess in the first place. Luna would have found a way to take the castle already, and she could have done it without endangering those two youths. Luna would be able to save Sunset, right now, because her Mark allows her to protect our ponies, whereas mine is just a stupid,useless abstract. Luna is a hero, and all I’m good at is…

...talking…

Celestia closed her eyes and centered herself.I’m not a fighter. I’m not a brawler. I’m not a brute. I’m the smart one.

I’m sorry, Sunset.

Her words were carefully weighed, each one dropping with the force of an anvil. “Well, what are you waiting for?”

Ex-xplain.

Sunset’s eyes begged the same question. Celestia did her best to ignore them and focus on the machine. “I said; it’s up to her, and she’s telling you to do it. So if you’re going to kill her, get it over with so I can get to the part where I make you suffer for it.”

This unit does not u-u-u-understand. Do you not have an attachment to this pony?

“Of course I do,” Celestia whispered. “I care for her just as much as I care for everypony down below us right now. And if she’s willing to sacrifice herself for them, I can hardly begrudge her that.” With apparent ease, Celestia turned her back to her former student and continued towards the A.M.

This u-u-unit requires clarification.

“That’s nice,” Celestia muttered. She pretended to look over the equipment, carefully weighing her next moves.

This unit d-d-does not possess the infor-for-formation needed. Why do you not stop?

“Because nothing can stop me,” she snapped. “It doesn’t matter what monsters or traps you throw at me, I’ll find a way to save the ones I love.”

But it is impossible.

The queen snorted. “I’m Celestia Invictus. I’ve seen the stars up close and fought monsters bigger than you can even comprehend.” She spun around and stormed up to the crystal. “You think this is me at my lowest?” she snarled. “You think her death would be something new? Every friend I make is one I will one day watch die, but I’ll never stop moving. I’ll never stop fighting for them.Because it’s the right thing to do. And if any part of you thinks that you can make me so much as blink, then you’re the most deluded individual I’ve ever met.”

Nothing can stop you from using this unit to disable the Dream Castle?

Celestia nodded. “No. And you’ll do anything to keep me from disabling the castle, won’t you?”

Correct.

“Then it should be clear: the only way for you to keep me from altering the A.M is to disable it yourself.”

...Logic accepted.

Celestia watched as the A.M powered down. The second the field holding Sunset dropped she grabbed her, shielding the filly with her body. The castle shook as what was left of the power faded and the castle began to truly fall. Her wings flared, creating a cushion of air that she braced herself against. She growled, casting her field around the crystals and ignoring the pain. Eight. Nine. Ten!

Celestia’s field coursed through the crystals, her will briefly taking the place of the Automation Matrix. Distantly, she heard a scream of pain she barely recognized as coming from herself. She ignored it and redirected power away from the reactor and towards the Workings across the outside. In a flash, the castle was gone.

Sunset slowly pulled her eyes open. Every part of her body hurt, but she scarcely noticed. Blue light trickled through the windows, as well as the sounds of birds disturbed from their rest. She knew if she looked outside that she’d see the trees of the Everfree Forest. Her queen had done it. She’d saved them all.

In spite of me.

“Sunset?”

Sunset didn’t look at her former mentor. She couldn’t. All she’d wanted to do was prove Celestia wrong, to show her that Sunset was ready to take on the world. But…

“Sunset, please look at me.”

Slowly, Sunset pulled herself up on her hooves, clearly upset, but unwilling to direct her gaze at her teacher. “I just figured...”

Words raced through her head, fighting each other to get out. None of them formed fully enough to get through her mouth and into the wide world. Eventually, she just closed her mouth and looked at the floor again. I did my best. How was that not enough?

Celestia trotted closer to Sunset, before shying back away. “I’m sorry. I didn’t have a choice. The castle would have killed us both if—”

“It’s okay,” Sunset interrupted. The feeling of helplessness inside drained her emotions, leaving her voice dull and toneless. “That was all you could do. But… I—”

Celestia gently waited for Sunset to parse her thoughts.

“I don’t think that people who don’t have power are worthless,” she said slowly. “Anybody can achieve greatness if they try. And- and I’m trying. I’m doing my best, but I still ended up being a damsel in distress. After helping put us in danger in the first place. I’m just…I’m not good enough.”

“Sunset, listen to me—”

Sunset flinched and backed up. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I’m just so sorry.”

“Sunset, wait!”

A second later, Sunset was galloping away, leaving a thin trail of blood behind her. She didn’t remember consciously deciding to run; she just had to get away. Somewhere, anywhere would be better than this place. Celestia didn’t follow; maybe she was too hurt to follow.”

Hurt because of me.

But there should be one place left she could use to leave. She’d seen it before the Dream Castle had taken her. The same thing that had saved her last time.

The Crystal Mirror.

This one was shorter than the other, set into the wall with no ornation. It Felt the same as the original, a shimmering door that offered freedom.

Sunset hesitated at the threshold. The last time she’d gone through the mirror, it hadn’t ended like she’d hoped. Can I really go through all of that again?

...Can I really stay here?

Steeling herself, Sunset left everything behind and stepped through.

Epilogue

Celestia did not groan. She did not rest her head against her desk, or sigh, or give any other sign, of how worn down she felt. She acted like the mature and dignified leader that she was, never letting her poise dip below what was acceptable for somepony of her stature.

Suffice to say, it was terrible. Every muscle was protesting it’s continued use, her head pounded, and she was desperately thirsty. Celestia almost wished she was one of the semiconscious youths sitting across from her; despite their best efforts, all three had eventually begun dozing while they waited for the queen. She'd been forced to keep them waiting hours while she directed her army, secured Twilight Sparkle, and organized a marehunt for the two escaped Unicorns. The three of them had removed their armor and now lay on top of one another, Diane against Abigail's shoulder and Rainbow on the farmgirl’s lap, and it was such a precious sight that the queen wished she could just leave them for a while longer. Especially considering what likely lies ahead.

The queen lightly stamped one hoof. Abigail shot up straight, dislodging the other two. Rainbow, by virtue of practice, was standing to attention and didn't look like her attention had wavered at all. Diane landed on the floor and continued snoring. Celestia frowned and lightly poked her with one hoof. Nothing happened. "Is that... normal?"

Abigail chuckled. "Nothin' about her is normal. Hold on." She licked one of her fingers and bent down, cramming her finger as deep as it would go into her ear.

Shrieking, Diane arose. "Stop right there! I'm warning you; I'm... fairly... strong..." She looked around. "Oh, that was all a dream?" Blinking sleep from her eyes, she turned and faced Celestia. "Wait, that was the dream?"

"I'm afraid so," the queen not-unkindly stated. "Please, have a seat. I'm sorry it's taken this long, but there are a lot of things to take care of when one is the sole ruler of a nation."

"I can imagine." Diane hesitated. "Well, I can't imagine, 'cause I'm just a high school student, but... well-—" she waved her arms around for a bit, apparently hoping that would summon up the correct words.

Celestia took pity on the sleep-deprived human. "I see. At any rate, I'm sure the three of you have questions. I thought now would be a good time to try answering them."

In hindsight, she really should have expected the outpouring of questions from the youths. The three of them began to talk over one another, words filling the empty space like water filling a river. After a few seconds, she raised a hoof, halting the barrage. "Let's try this again. Abigail, you may go first."

Abby nodded. "Beggin' your pardon, ma'm, but all I really want is to know when we can go home. I got folk dependen' on me that I gotta get back to."

Celestia sighed. "I'm sorry, but we don't know how to yet. Starswirl built the Crystal Mirror, and his secrets died with him. The second one we recovered from the Dream Castle might be modified to travel between Realms... but it won't be ready for some time." Gently, "I'm so sorry."

Abigail closed her eyes. In that simple motion, Celestia could see all the strain run across her face as she pushed her emotions back. The solar queen lay a comforting wing on her shoulder and didn't say anything else. After a few moments, she stood up. "I'm sorry, I— I just need a second. I'll be right back—" she was already heading out the door, and its closing cut her words off.

Diane stood to follow her, but Rainbow stopped her. "Trust me. She just needs some space." Hesitantly, Diane nodded. The young girl reluctantly leaned against the wall and closed her eyes.

"Do you need a minute?" The queen asked. “I understand if you require some time to come to terms with all of this.”

Diane shook her head. "No, sorry, just... organizing everything." She straightened up and looked the queen in the eye. "What was wrong with that crazy lady? I mean, not Twilight, the other one, the evil one. Why did she go crazy?"

Rainbow shrugged. "Some ponies are just crazy."

"No, they aren't," Diane shot back. "Crazy people don't think they're crazy— they always have some way of making it make sense to them, even if it doesn't for anyone else. What was with her?"

"That's next on my list to figure out." Celestia looked back at her desk, levitating several files until she found the correct one and floated it to Diane. "We haven't been able to find out much about her, which leads me to believe that she's been preparing this plan for years. Before she disappeared, she was a researcher for Sunrise Industries. She and her fiance Sunburst were working on some very low-key projects based on ancient Equestrian monsters when Sunburst was killed in an unrelated accident while hiking. Starlight quit her job and left Equestria for a time, before returning after two years and falsifying her way into a job as an Archivist here in the Royal Archives."

Diane frowned as she flipped through them. "So she went cray-cray when her boyfriend got killed? What does that have to do with Equality?"

Privately, Celestia was wondering the same thing. Insane ponies, in her admittedly limited experience, didn't lack logic. They simply moved with a logic that made sense only to them. It was possible that Starlight had been driven mad by Sunburst's death...

But how did she get from there to here?

She also wanted to know why Starlight thought that the Royal Sisters had thwarted her before. She'd already checked to see if the mare was a time traveler, and everything seemed fine. Starswirl’s research indicated that shifting time was impossible; the power needed to break through the Time Barrier would create ripples throughout the past and future, destabilizing the time stream and remaking the world into one that had been conquered by evil. That was something Celestia would have liked to think she’d have noticed. But then where had Starlight seen her before? Did she know the future? How could she?

Celestia blinked, realizing that the girls were staring. I must be more tired than I thought. "We can continue talking in the morning. Right now, I think we could all use some rest." She took the folder back from Diane and levitated it to the desk, bringing back from it a ring of keys at the same moment. "I've prepared several guest suites for each of you. Sleep as late as you wish; we can organize ourselves properly in the morning. If there's nothing else—"

"What about Sparky?" Rainbow demanded. "You saw what Starlight did to her, right? That means she didn't do anything wrong!"

Celestia's tail lashed at the interruption, the only outward sign of her annoyance. It was still enough to silence Rainbow. The queen sighed. Sitting down, she draped a comforting wing across the other mare. "You don't need to worry. We've restrained Twilight to keep her from hurting herself, and there's a team of guards posted to protect her from Starlight. She'll remain unconscious until we awaken her."

"And then you can save Luna and turn Twi back to normal, right?" Rainbow pressed.

Celestia paused, choosing her words very carefully. "It isn't as simple as that." She raised a hoof to forestall any further questions and continued speaking. "Starlight has been casting spells on Twilight's mind for at least a few months. Even after we remove them all, I don't know how cognizant she'll be of the world around her. It could take some time for her to be healed."

"But—" Rainbow said desperately, "She— she could talk and stuff before Starlight came in— in the Vault? She'll be fine, she has to be. I couldn't have... I didn't..."

Her voice trailed off and unconsciously leaned into Celestia's hug. The queen didn't say anything, knowing it would just embarrass the mare. "It didn't mean anything, did it?" Rainbow said quietly. "I betrayed the Guard to save Sparky, and it made everything worse. I— I just wanted to help."

Celestia wished she had the words to help, some magical sentence that would restore the mare, but nothing could be done. Words couldn’t fix this now.

"We will."

Celestia glanced at Diane, surprised at the expression on her face. From out in the hallway, Abigail leaned in to hear as well. Horror filled the queen as she realized where Diane was going with this. No, you don't need to do that, just calm down... "What exactly do you mean?" the queen asked carefully.

"What I said. We're gonna help." Diane's face was surprisingly solemn. "The Elements of Harmony made us Rangers for a reason. We have superpowers, and we're gonna use them to bring Starlight Glimmer to justice!"

"I know you want to help," Celestia said carefully, "but this is incredibly dangerous. You don't have to do anything. If you gave the Elements back—"

"I can't. They choose us, remember? Besides, it was my fault that the other three got lost, it's only right that I help fix it."

"Nopony blames you for that," Celestia said soothingly. "You don't have—”

"Could Starlight take us home?"

Celestia paused, her rhythm broken by Abigail's plainly stated question. "...I suppose," she said hesitantly, "but you don't need to be the one to catch her."

"Yeah, I do." Abigail stood up straight, a few inches taller than Celestia was. "I ain't gonna let some strangers get killed tryin' to help me when there's somethin' I can do to help."

Rainbow stood up as well, pulling free of the queen's embrace. "I screwed up being a guardsmare, and I let my friend down. Bringing Starlight to justice is the least I can do."

Diane nodded. "All three of us are willing to risk our lives to stop this madmare. Can you think of one good reason we shouldn't?"

The warrior’s armor disappeared in a burst of light. Underneath it was what looked like a girl, perhaps an adolescent. Her mane was scarlet red that had been cut short, and she wore a simple white top that was getting more and more stained with blood. Despite some minor differences, it was very clearly Diane. "Doesn't... matter," she got out. "Even if you... win here. Humanity won't... give up."

If anything, the monster looked annoyed. *You barely have lungs anymore and yet you still find time to prattle on.*

Diane chuckled. "Well, you're gonna have ta...try harder to... shut me up...

"No," Celestia said slowly, "I suppose there's no point, is there?" Celestia stood, and all three girls unconsciously held themselves to attention. "I'll begin training you three in the morning. For now, all of us need to get some sleep."

Much to her surprise, Diane stepped across the room and threw her arms around the queen. "Thank you," she whispered. "I won't let you down, I promise."

"Oh, Diane," Celestia held onto her smile desperately as the specter of Diane's dying body hovered behind the girl, "I know you won’t. Nothing could have stopped you."

Sunset Shimmer shuddered as another icy wind buffeted her body. She stumbled through the Everfree Forest, trying desperately to find a warm place to sleep. Why? she pleaded in her head. Why did everything go so wrong again?

Celestia still hated her. She had nothing left. There was no hope. And to top it all off, this was the second time she'd been reduced to this.

What is wrong with me?

"Come here often?"

Sunset whipped around and gaped at the form of Starlight Glimmer. The mage didn't look hurt at all; it was as if she'd had weeks to recover and not scant hours. Her body shimmered as she lowered herself to Sunset's level with her field.

Without a second thought, Sunset lit her horn and sent a wave of fire flowing towards the mare. It sputtered out in half the time it was supposed to; Sunset's magic wasn't fully restored yet.

With a casual effort, Starlight absorbed the flames with her magic and landed in front of the pyromage. She didn't speak, but her message was clear; you can't hurt me. Don't bother trying.

Sunset glared. We'll see about that.

Sunset shifted her weight backward, her body tense. As grating as it was to admit, Starlight held the advantage in magical power. Her only chance lay in escape. "I'm surprised you can still stand," she said to buy time, "did you pull some kind of impossible healing spell out of that book of yours?"

Starlight smiled sheepishly. “Yeah. I hate using that thing; it’s so creepy.” She sat down, all four hooves planted on the ground and horn up in the air. "Look, can we just talk for a minute?"

Sunset suspiciously sat down opposite her, waiting for something terrible to happen. After a few seconds, she relaxed as well.

"Thanks. I wanted to apologize for what happened with Rainbow Dash and the whole... thing at the castle."

"Oh, you mean leaving me for dead and then trying to kill me?" Sunset asked primly. "Because that's literally what you did."

Starlight winced. "I wasn't leaving you for dead," she said defensively. "I had to leave you behind because Rainbow was attacking me. And at the castle, I thought you'd decided to join the... queen again. I leaped to a conclusion and endangered your life, and I'm really sorry. But I was hoping that you might be willing to think about becoming my partner again?"

Sunset took a moment to reply. “Why?”

Starlight looked off to the side. “I… don’t have a lot of friends. I’ve been fighting to make a better world since— since I lost something precious, and I’ve been letting it consume my life. I started to see ponies as tools, and— and it’s why I lost today.” She inhaled and looked back at Sunset. “I’m not going to say I didn’t mistreat you because I did, but I can change. I can do better. So please, would you give me another chance?”

"What happened to Twilight?"

That question stopped Starlight in her tracks. It took her a few moments to shift herself enough to speak again. "That wasn't my fault."

"I figured," Sunset said grimly. "You didn't have the power or intelligence needed to overcome Twilight's mind. So what did?"

Starlight shifted uncomfortably. "The world is a nasty place, and sometimes we have—"

"I'm not arguing with you, Starlight," Sunset rose to her hooves and stared her down. " I wouldn't do something like that, but fine. Needs of the many and everything. I'm asking what, exactly, you did to her. That's all."

Starlight worked her mouth for a few seconds, no sounds emerging. "...I can't tell you that," eventually emerged. Sunset rolled her eyes and turned to leave. "Hey, w-wait!" Starlight cried after her. "You can't just leave me! Where are you even going?"

"Forwards," Sunset stated simply, " I hope."

"But— don't you want to fix things? The power to make a better world, one where you’re respected? Where ponies love you?"

Sunset paused at the end of the path, choosing her words carefully. "Of course I do," she said, "but this won't get me there. I just hope I can find a path that can." She started trotting away, hoping she could make it to the edge of the clearing before Starlight started casting. Losing her in the forest shouldn't be that hard, but—

And then there wasn't a forest anymore. Sunset staggered back as all around her, the illusionary trees and shrubbery disappeared. In their place were monsters.

They were a little shorter than her, with an insectiod appearance. Their fangs glistened under the moon, and they all had short, buzzing wings and a glowing horn. Their spells crossed each other, trapping Sunset in a shield. The pyromage slammed her hooves against it, but it held fast. She considered trying to use a spell to drill through it, but she doubted her weakened magic would be enough. Finding herself once again out of options, she settled in to wait.

More of the trees and bushes surrounding the clearing flickered away in smooth, green fire. In their places were more bug ponies, some armored and some carrying scientific equipment. Sunset frowned. None of that looks Arcadian. Where did they come from?

Grunting, they carefully pulled three tall pillars into a triangle some distance away from Sunset. They flashed with red lightning, coursing between them and forming a rudimentary portal. Starlight and all of the bugs bowed low as a new shape stepped through, and at the sight of her, Sunset had to fight to not bow too.

She was huge, and every part of her exuded power. Her skin was jet black, with a metallic greenish sheen that made it look almost like armor. Paradoxically, it also looked soft and almost inviting. Her mane and tail were drawn back, drawing attention to her long horn and domineering eyes. She looked like she was even more powerful than Celestia.

The queen (and what else can she be, an annoyingly large part of her mind insisted) looked Sunset over with a sense of scorn. *And this is your greatest offering?*

Starlight nodded. "Not only does she have powerful magic, but she was raised by Queen Celestia for years. She grew up with the Royal Sisters and survived the Dream Castle. She will be an ideal subject."

The queen turned to sneer at Starlight. *Can she convinced to work with us?*

Starlight nodded. “Of course! It might take a little while, but I’d never have suggested her if I couldn’t change her mind!”

Sunset tried to speak, but the queen shot her a look, and Sunset held her tongue. Say something! she scolded herself. Do something! But she couldn't even move until the queen broke eye contact.

*Very well. Bring her to the Changeling Palace, and tell the doctor to get ready.* At her command, the... changelings, levitated the shield with Sunset inside and began to move it towards the portal. Sunset desperately threw herself against the sides, trying to disrupt it, but there was no point. It continued its inexorable crawl forwards and vanished through to the other Realm.

Sunset's world twisted briefly, before with a gasp, they were back in the Human Realm. Sunset stared at her hands and arms with a mixture of anger and horror. Not again! I can't lose my magic again!

She punched the side of the bubble as hard as she could, but only succeeded in hurting her hand. Sunset didn't even have her bracelet; she was helpless.

Not again!

Giving up a direct assault, she peered through the bubble to try and see where they were. It was nighttime, and they were in some kind of silver desert. Her captors had changed as well, but not into humans. Sunset now realized that each one of them wore silver bracelets like the one Starlight had given her. She didn’t have any way to gauge their height, but they were lean and wore dark armor that had a blocky, yet organic look to it. They were heading up a path towards a tall castle, seemingly made entirely from towers. There were huge raised symbols on the sides of the walls, but Sunset was too close to see them properly. Above them in the sky...

Sunset felt a chill of horror pass through her body. That's impossible. It... was can't be...

Above them in the sky, hung the Earth. Sunset didn't know how, didn't know why, but there was only one place they could be.

I’m on the moon.

Prologue

Many think that the life of an Alicorn is an easy one. After all, one has immortality, incredible power, and the only two members of that race that anypony had ever seen wielded more influence over the Realm than any other beings in recorded history. Sure, when a crisis arose things could become complicated, but Celestia did such a good job ruling Equestria and Luna such a good job defending it that such events were rare. The two sisters themselves occasionally fell into that form of thinking; after all, who could possibly challenge them?

Celestia watched in horror as her sister writhed in pain. The view was disjointed and covered with shadows; it was all but impossible to tell what was going on. She heard screaming, as well as somepony chanting in a foreign language. She saw that the mare chanting was Twilight Sparkle, and her anger rose. "How dare you!" she cried. "After everything she's done for you!"

Twilight didn't hear her, of course. She carried on, reciting from a piece of parchment that she held with her magic. “Όσυμ. βάνι. λμάτ!” Luna fell terribly silent. Celestia threw herself forwards, but there was nothing that she could do. Her sister fell to the ground, unconscious. Energy flowed from the younger Alicorn into the little Unicorn's body.

Twilight staggered back, looking almost drunk. "Di- did tha' wo'k?" she slurred. Celestia ignored her, instead looking over her sister for signs of harm. She's still breathing. Whatever happened to her didn't kill her. As far as I can tell, at least. Who knows what kind of—

The door slammed open. Celestia glanced up to see the sight of herself standing in the doorway. She was shocked... but only for a moment. Of course. I'm back here again.

She watched her past self stalk forwards. Normally, Celestia was a calm force of reason. Normally she relied on her intelligence and wit to solve troubles. Normally, her sister wasn't lying in a heap in front of an obvious culprit. "I should have known," she watched herself hiss. "I warned her not to trust you, but she didn't listen."

Twilight backed away from the taller mare, still clearly out of it. Celestia hadn't noticed when she had lived out the events originally, but there looked to be something wrong with Twilight beyond simple magical overexertion. Her mouth moved wordlessly and her eyes wouldn't focus correctly. "N-no, you don' unde's’and," she tried to get out. "I—"

Celestia winced as her past self magically slammed Twilight's mouth shut. She'd had visions of Twilight for several weeks, each connected to an unknown horrific event. While her sister had taken precautions, she had also insisted on trusting the apprentice mage. At the time, Celestia had reluctantly agreed. That time had passed. "Twice now, you have sought out powerful and dangerous magic for no other reason than to gain knowledge of their workings. And this time you have somehow managed to lay low my sister."

Celestia watched as Twilight was wrapped helplessly up in her past self's magic field. She winced, knowing how this would end but unable to alter events.

Utterly panicked, Twilight lashed out with her own magic. While the Daymare might not be as powerful as most immortal beings, she was still far superior to the average unicorn. But thanks to Twilight's spellwork, she was now very far and away from average. Her field darkened, taking on a hue closer to her sister's own workings. It lashed out, shredding Celestia's field and destroying the entire room. The sound cracked stone and blew the wall behind Twilight out, allowing her to jump out of the room to an adjacent building. Celestia glanced back at her past self trying to stand, and her gaze lingered on her sister.

Back in the present, Luna was still in a coma. Twilight's spell had somehow stolen all of Luna's magic and contained it within the young mare. Celestia wasn't entirely sure how; the spell she had used was made to pry a monster named Nightmare Moon out of her sister's mind. What Twilight had done should have killed her. And what was she saying? Magic doesn't require incantations.

Unfortunately, she didn't have time to dwell on it. The scene distorted and Celestia found herself within some kind of city. It was huge, with towers surrounding her on all sides. Despite the fact that the sun had gone down, the street was well lit by some kind of apparatus mounted on a post. Everything seemed built to accommodate much taller beings than the Daymare was used to— They would have to be around the size of Minotaurs, maybe taller. Celestia moved to examine one of the posts more closely. It was easy to charm an object into providing light in such a manner, but its power would fade too quickly for it to be useful. Wherever this city was, the inhabitants had either more magic or considerably more advanced technology than Equestria.

There was a sudden movement out of the corner of her eye. She turned and saw some kind of creature staggering down the street, likely a member of the species that built this city. It stood taller than Celestia herself, with a dirt-encrusted mane and filthy clothes. It stood upright, with long limbs that were currently wrapped around itself in a futile attempt to contain what little warmth it still had.

The creature— a girl if she had to guess— leaned against a nearby wall for support. Another wave of cold ransacked her body, leaching warmth and life from her bones. She slowly sank down, her body surrendering against her will to the cold. Celestia longed to do something, anything, but she wasn't really there. This was a vision, and she could do nothing except watch.

There was some kind of distortion behind the creature. Light flared and space twisted, in a way Celestia couldn’t quite perceive. The Alicorn narrowed her eyes as she tried to see through the haze.

She blinked in surprise. Standing behind the creature was some kind of bizarre amalgamation of a Unicorn and some kind of biped. It was a dark lavender and looked almost like it was made from metal. Its thin, bat-like wings folded behind its back and its horn was glowing with power. It was the eyes that drew Celestia's attention the most. They were black as pitch, with glowing irises.

The bipedal monster knelt down beside the creature, holding a bracelet in its claws. As tenderly as she could, the thing wrapped it around what Celestia supposed was the creature’s wrist. The world twisted again, and for a second Celestia couldn’t look at either of them directly. When she could look again, the creature had been altered.

She now stood with no sign of weakness. Her skin was a dark, crimson red, and almost looked like smoked glass. Her own wingers were huge, as long across as she was tall. Her mane was wreathed in fire, glowing brighter than Celestia's own did. Despite their differing appearances, it was clear that the two were now the same species. She stared down at herself in shock. “What did you do to me?” she snarled at the demon.

The monster was undaunted. “I’ve simply given you something you’ve wanted since you came here,” the demon said as it rose to its feet. Celestia noticed that its movements were very smooth; it was clear that this mare had spent a lot of time in that form. “Power. My name is Starlight Glimmer, and I need your help.”

The fiery monster glared at its new ally. “Why should I help you?” she demanded.

Starlight rolled her eyes. “Well, if you don’t want this power, then I’ll simply-”

The demon took several steps back. Celestia could sympathize with her; the Alicorn had been stuck without shelter in the middle of winter before. Death by exposure was the last way Celestia wanted to die.

The mage nodded. “Great! Now, there’s no need for us to be unfriendly with one another, is there?" She smiled and walked up to the demon, and extended her hoof in greeting. "Let’s introduce ourselves properly. Like I said, my name is Starlight Glimmer.”

The demon glared for a long moment. “...Sunset,” she finally said. “My name is Sunset Shimmer.”

Celestia’s heart leapt straight through her chest. No. It can’t be.Sunset had left, but how could she have possibly traveled to another world? Another Realm?

It was too late. The vision flowed away from her, regardless of her protests. It began to form a new scene.

It was another bipedal creature, garbed in golden armor layered over some kind of pink and white cloth. It resembled whatever it was that Sunset had been before she was transformed. She struggled against a larger monster that was holding her by the neck. It was thin and skeletal, but clearly strong. It had large, insectoid wings that buzzed as she moved. Celestia couldn't see its front, but it's glowing green eyes were visible in the warrior’s visor. It slammed the smaller creature into a stone wall hard enough to leave a crater. Celestia twitched in sympathetic pain; that would have killed an ordinary pony.

*You are far too late, hero.* Its voice had an inequine buzz that gave the Daymare chills. *I own the Earth. And the days of the Power Rangers are finally finished!* A sickly green glow pulsed from her hand, and she levitated a spear up off the ground. With a simple motion, she stabbed the warrior through the gut.

The warrior's armor disappeared in a burst of light. Underneath it was what looked like a girl, perhaps an adolescent. Her mane was scarlet red that had been cut short, and she wore a simple white top that was getting more and more stained with blood. Her hands grasped around the spear, trying in vain to push it out. "Doesn't... matter," she got out. "Even if you... win here. Humanity won't... give up."

If anything, the monster looked annoyed. *You barely have lungs anymore and yet you still find time to prattle on.*

She chuckled. "Well, you're gonna have ta... try harder to... shut me up."

Celestia bowed her head in respect as the warrior took her last breath. Whoever she is, she died fighting with all that she had. She turned her gaze to the killer. And what of you? Is this the past or the future? Will I be tasked with preventing this, or avenging it?

Before she could probe deeper, the vision began to change again. Unlike the other times, it did not form a new location. Instead, Celestia found herself in an empty void. She found it disturbing.

“Who is there?” she called out. “My name is Celestia Invictus. Who are you? What is happening?”

All was quiet for a long moment. There was no motion, no sounds, nothing. Then, It spoke.

T͏͡Ḩ̧͠E͡͞ WO̢̧R͠L͏̨D͢ ̸͡HA͘S̶ ̨ BE̡͝EN̸̕ ̴͝ALT͡ER͢E͡D

Celestia shuddered at the words. The voice that it spoke with; there was something wrong with it. It didn’t sound like it was speaking with words; it was more like a feeling, a sensation that somehow transcribed itself into words inside her head. It was as if the voice was hijacking Celestia’s own mind in order to speak. It was vaguely female, and spoke in insidiously personal tones, making Celestia feel a little violated just listening to it.

TH͘AT ̛͘͡W̛H̢Í̛CH͜͠ W̶A͘͏Ş ME͏́͏A͘Ǹ͠͝T͝ TO B̷͟͟Ȩ Ş̢͟E̵͞͞P̸͘A̕R͠AT͜E̴̕,́͘ ̕H̸̷̷A͘S ̡͡B̨̛E͏C͞Ǫ̢M̵̢͝Ę ͡͞WH͟͝O͘͢LÈ̛͘

TḨ͡I̛Ǹ́G̸S̢ T̛ḨAT͏͡ ́S̛H̢O̷ULD̀̕͝ ̀N̨Ó̴͘T H͘AV͞É͡ ́B̡E͟E͏N̢ ̴WIL̴͜L͟͟ Ņ̷OW͢ ̴C̸͝OMÉ̛͟ TO̷ ̧͘PA̷S̷S

D̴͜͠A̢RK ̛D́͜͜AYS̢͝ LA͟Y A̸̷H̀E̛A̶̧D͢͏, C̴E̡LES͘͏T̵ÌA.́͘ I H̶O̡P̧͠͏E͠ YOU͝'R̕E Ŗ͘E̛AD͢Y̛͢

Celestia screamed as cities were struck down. Titans of metal fell to their knees as they were consumed with despair. There was nothing good left, no reason to fight, nothing to keep her spirit from—

“Your Majesty!”

Celestia shot awake, breathing heavily. I’m… in my room. She closed her eyes and concentrated on slowing her racing heart. Those things haven’t happened. Equestria wasn’t dying. I am here, and this is now. Slowly, her breathing slowed. “Thank you, Cadance,” she said, her voice much more steady than she felt. “I’m fine now.”

“Are you sure?” the other mare asked in concern. “You sounded like you were hurt.”

Celestia waved away her concerns. “Don’t worry about that. I’m alright, I promise.” She stood up, stretching her stiff wings. They gave a satisfying pop as they extended to their full length. After the incorporeal feeling her visions gave her, it was always an odd sensation to have the aches and pains that came with her body. She cracked her neck and rubbed her horn as she trotted over to her closet. Now that her rest had been disturbed, she may as well get up and about. “Have there been any changes since I went to bed?”

The pink Pegasus followed her over to the closet. “I’m afraid not, your majesty,” she said respectfully. “Your sister has yet to stir from her coma. And with all due respect, I don't believe for a second that you're alright.”

Celestia took in a deep breath, and slowly let it out. "You know me all too well, old friend." She levitated her crown into place, watching to make sure the charms laid into place inside it automatically applied her makeup and altered her mane. "I just had a vision again."

The words were casual, but the effect they had on Cadance was anything but. She actually took a step back, and her wings flared before she got them under control. "But that's amazing!" she exclaimed. "Whatever's been blocking you has disappeared, right?"

Celestia shook her head. "No. If anything, I'm just more aware of how precarious our position is." She sighed, before letting her back legs relax and sitting down on the floor. "Whatever's blocking me, it isn't some force. It's a sapient being with some kind of goal. I don't know who it is or what it wants, just that it felt like... " her voice trailed off as she uncharacteristically struggled for words, "like evil itself."

Cadance sat down and pulled her boss into a one-winged hug. "Whatever it is, we can stop it," she said in a voice brimming with confidence. "It can't be the worst thing you've fought, can it?"

No, but the other times I had my sister with me.

Celestia managed to stop herself before she said that aloud. It wouldn't help anypony. "I saw Sunset," she said instead.

Cadance gasped. "Where is she? Is she okay?"

The Daymare chuckled lightly at her secretary’s sudden exuberance. It felt good to laugh, but it faded quickly. "I'm afraid I don't know, to both questions." She looked at the floor. "She left Canterlot through the Crystal Mirror before we moved it back to Everfree Castle. I saw her in that other Realm, wherever it was. There was somepony else as well."

Cadance looked surprised. "Somepony?"

Celestia nodded. "Yes. Whoever it was, they traveled without the mirror and used some kind of metal bracelet to turn Sunset into something that could use magic." She shuddered at the monster Sunset had turned into. She could only hope that Sunset's mind wasn't altered by the transformation. "She gave her name: Starlight Glimmer. Have you heard of her?"

Cadance shook her head. "Do you want me to have Spike expand the search to include her as well as Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash?"

Celestia nodded again, deep in thought. She turned the words from her vision over inside her head. The world has been altered… What could that mean? “Tell Captain Spike to keep the pressure on. If Luna's apprentice does make a mistake, I want to be ready to take her in once and for all.”

Cadance nodded and stood. She gave Celestia one last hug. "We'll get her, don't worry."

Queen Celestia watched her leave, before walking over to the balcony to raise the sun. She looked out over the Realm of Arcadia. Every country in the Realm, from Griffonstone to Equestria, had united under her and her sister’s wings. It was a time of unparalleled peace and prosperity. It was an impressive achievement, worth every second of pain that she and her sister had endured together over the last thousand years.

So why does it feel like it could fall apart at any moment?

And Then a Monster Tackled Her

Rainbow paced back and forth, watching Starlight read from her book of spells. She’d had it with her when she showed up at the Castle, and it had always given Rainbow the creeps. The thing had an unnervingly round face on its cover, and weird symbols down its spine. The colors were a little off, and after Rainbow had glanced away for a second she could swear the symbols were different. It looked weirdly smooth and undetailed, as if it was an illusion of a book brought to life.

“Are you done yet?” she demanded.

Starlight lashed her tail, annoyed by her companion’s constant interruptions. “I just need to lay the charm onto the bracelets themselves. Be patient.” She cleared her throat and levitated a pair of small metal bracelets in the air. “παρακαλώ, εξοστε αυτά βραχιόλια!”She intoned in some language Rainbow didn’t understand. The bracelets flickered, briefly becoming transparent before a pulse of black energy splashed out of the bracelet and swept across the room. Rainbow yelped and dove for cover, but it ultimately didn't matter as the wave moved over her, leaving her with nothing more than an odd chilling sensation. After a moment, she peeked out to see Starlight grinning smugly.

“Was that supposed to happen?” Rainbow asked as she cautiously trotted up to the device.

Starlight snorted. “Oh, don’t worry. I know what I’m doing.” She levitated one of the bracelets to Rainbow, who reluctantly held out a hoof and let her lock it around her. “The charm I placed on these bracelets will allow you to keep your magic when we travel to earth, but not your form. Template Override will try to transform you into a human, or something similar so that you can fit into that universe. In order to keep your magic, these will turn you into a kind of Pony/Human hybrid.”

Rainbow unconsciously flexed her wings. She liked her body the way it was, and didn’t look forward to a law of the universe messing around with it. “That didn’t look like any magic I’d seen before,” Dash noted. She leaned forwards and cautiously poked the other one with her hoof. Starlight jerked it away and secured it around her own foreleg. “And since when do you need to talk to cast spells?”

“Since whenever this book was written. Now, when we get to the school, I need you to confront Sunset Shimmer while I use a tracking spell to locate the magical signature Twilight found.”

Rainbow nodded slowly. As hesitant as she was to trust Glimmer, she was the only one that could find the girl. Besides, between the two of them it was clear who the better fighter was.

“Just be as quick as possible,” Dash warned. “That Realm might not have magic, but it doesn't mean that the ponies living there are helpless.”

“Don’t worry about it,” the unicorn soothed. “Everything is going to go according to plan.”

Abigail leaned against the cold brick of the school, her eyes closed and her hands deep in her pockets. That particular day had been rough. There were a few bright spots, but overall the world just seemed so gray. Her house was quiet now that her brother was in college, and trying to take care of her grandmother was a challenge in and of itself.

The new girl, Diane, had been rather exhausting. She had insisted on calling Abigail, ‘Abby’, and while Abigail certainly liked her, attempting to keep pace with her was very tiring. I can’t wait to go home and catch a nap. She frowned to herself. Or check on Granny, weed, walk my dog, start dinner, do all my homework, and then maybe catch a quick nap right before bed.

She sighed. Everything just felt so meaningless lately. Abigail knew, intellectually, that what she did had a purpose. But more and more, she felt like she existed in a vacuum. No matter how hard she pounded on the walls, no one could ever hear her. More than anything, she wished that something could come along and change things.

There was a distortion, an odd shimmering noise that shouldn't have been as loud as it was. The students that were still near the school stopped and looked around for the source, Abby included. A flare of light shone from a mirror set into the statue in front of the school, blinding Abby. She could see a silhouette of something stepping through. Whatever it was, it was a good foot and a half taller than it should have been, and had wings. Abigail's mouth went dry. It can’t be these things again.

It was. The monster was tall, balancing almost birdlike on her oddly thin legs. Her wings were relatively small, but still a good deal longer than Abigail's arm. Scarlet-colored electricity coursed up and down her light blue skin, and the eyes were black with glowing red irises.

Her wings flapped, and she casually floated about five feet into the air. She hovered over the ground, her glare sending the students cowering back from her.

“I’m here for a mare named Sunset Shimmer!” she declared. “And if she doesn’t show up in the next five seconds, you’re all going to be sorry!”

Say what?

Abigail's first thought was that this was some kind of juvenile prank. This was discarded almost immediately; anyone who could create a fake monster attack could do substantially worse with far less effort. Of course, that meant that for some reason Sunset was being targeted by a flying demonic monster. What in the world could it want with her?

The demon shifted her weight, slowly drifting towards the school doors. Her wings beat slowly, less often than Abigail would have thought they would need to in order to stay aloft. The monster threw a lightning bolt at the side of the building. Sparks cascaded off of it, causing a panicked scream from those inside.

“I’m not gonna ask again!” she called out. “I want Sunset Shimmer, and I don’t care who falls underhoof in order to get her!”

Under wha—? Abigail focused. As bad as Sunset could be, she was a typical high school student. She didn’t deserve to have this thing steal her soul or whatever it was that demons did. But if she didn’t say anything, someone could get hurt. That really just left one option.

“I’ll tell ya where she is!”

The demon turned towards Abigail, who almost literally felt her heart freeze when it looked at her. She drew in a deep, shuddering breath before she spoke again. “I know where she is- but ya gotta promise to let these folk go first!”

The demon's eyes narrowed. “No problem. Talk.”

Abigail held her ground. “Nu-uh. Not ‘till everyone here’s gone.”

The monster landed in front of the teenager. Despite standing on even ground, it loomed over the frightened teenager. “And how do I know you won’t just wriggle out of the deal when all your friends are safe?”

Abigail’s heart, to make up for stopping mere moments before, began to beat at a frantic pace. That was, of course, precisely what she had intended. Okay, just think of somethin’ that’ll convince her. No problem.

No problem at all.

Any second now.

...Aw, nuts.

She coughed, searching desperately for the perfect words. Much to her surprise, when they arrived they didn’t come from her mouth.

“Because there’s no point, silly!”

Both Abigail and the demon turned to look at the source of the high pitched intrusion, the demon mouthing the word ‘silly’ in disbelief. Much to Abigail's surprise, it was Diane. She stood casually with her hands in her pockets, leaning back and forth on the balls of her feet and grinning like she was meeting her personal hero. “I’ve been here forever and she’s been nothing but mean to everybody. We’re basically arch-enemies. Why would we want to help her?”

The demon stared at her. “You… want her to die?”

Diane chuckled weakly, glancing to the side as she thought of a proper response. “Weeeeeell, maybe not die exactly… Just, you know, mainly me not dying…” She glanced around at the surrounding students. “Oh, and everyone else too! You know, everyone doesn’t die.” Diane smiled awkwardly. “Besides Sunset. Everyone besides Sunset not dying. That’d be good.”

The monster clenched its fists, the lighting shifting from a dark crimson to a much brighter scarlet, before she relaxed and allowed her magic to fade. “Fine. Maybe you guys suck, but it works out for me. Where is she?”

“Cheerleadin’ practise!” Abigail shouted. “She’s at cheerleadin’ practi—”

The monster spun around back to her, holding a ball of energy right in front of her face. “Ya know, I don’t even know anything about human tells… and I can tell you’re bad at lying,” she said. “It’s nice to see that at least one of you losers has the guts to stand up for a friend, but right now, that’s getting in my way.”

Diane waved. “Hey! You were threatening me, not her! Remember? Jeez.” She coughed. “Aaaanyway, Sunset’s probably in the computer lab right now. She’s usually there, buttering up the science teacher so she can get good grades without, you know, actually trying.”

The monster stalked over to Diane. Despite her attempts to remain relaxed, Abigail could see that Diane was trembling from fear. The demon awkwardly grabbed the front of her jacket and lifted her up to eye level “And how do I know you’re telling the truth?” she growled.

Diane smiled weakly. “I told you. I don’t have a reason to lie.”

The monster regarded her for a long moment. “...Show me.”

“Do what?”

“Show me,” the demon growled, hoisting her up by the front of her shirt. “Show me exactly where she is. And if you don’t take me right there…”

“OKAY! Okay, I’ll do it! No problem!” Diane babbled furiously. “No problem at all! I’ll just do that! Yep! Let’s go!”

The monster dropped her. Diane fell on hands and knees, coughing. She looked up at Abigail, their eyes locking. Abby suddenly had a horrible realisation. Diane’s only been here a day. She don’t know where the Computer lab is. “Hold on! I’ll come with—”

The monster gestured with her wings, sending a gust of wind strong enough to knock Abby back down. “No, you’re going to stay right there and not do anything stupid at all. Got it?”

Abigail nodded. “G-got it.”

Sunset was not sulking.

Sunset Shimmer was a schemer. A plotter. A master of long term strategy and a cunning manipulator. She didn’t sulk, she brooded on the source of her ire until the problem went away. There were a number of subtle differences that she didn’t expect anypony else to fully understand.

Her original plan was in shambles, and her various fallbacks weren’t much better. She and Starlight had originally planned for Sunset and Diane to meet and become friends, and then Starlight would show up dramatically seeking help for some far away magical kingdom. They’d use Diane's latent magic to enter the Dream Castle, steal the Elements, then return Diane to Earth and gain phenomenal cosmic power. Starlight wasn’t sure that a normal human could survive the trip between the Realms, so they needed to find a way to steal the Mirror away from Twilight. Twilight had ruined that by moving early.

Sunset’s backup plan had been to befriend the girl, and then lead her away from the school before the Burn-Ever-And-Ever curse wore off, thus returning to plan A. Sunset herself had spoiled that one. Would it have killed me to pretend to be nice? No, I had to go all evil on her and try and scare her.

Fortunately, Sunset was still in a relatively good position. She knew roughly when Rainbow Dash would be coming through, and the Guardsmare didn’t know that Sunset existed. All I have to do is ambush the guardsmare close enough to Diane for her to see, and then say something like ‘Come with me if you want to live,’ and boom! Problem solve—

—Then Sunset’s mind stopped for a second. She’d felt the sensation before, when Celestia had taught her to resist mental compulsions. Something had blanked out her thoughts for a moment, and suddenly she was standing in an empty classroom.

Whoever this is, they just made a serious mistake.

She slammed on her bracelet and summoned a fireball with every intention of burning the intruder to a crisp, but something clamped down on her magic with some kind of inhibitor spell. She staggered back, getting a good look at the monster.

“Starlight?”

“Who else would it be?” Starlight hissed.

Sunset glared, punching through the spell with little effort. She stalked over to the taller mare until they were inches apart. “What are you doing here? My curse—”

“Twilight broke it a few minutes ago.”

“WHAT?”

“Yes, as it turns out that an out of practice drop-out isn’t as good at magic as the current apprentice to the most powerful Alicorn in Equestria.”

Sunset glared. “Celestia is way more powerful than Luna.”

Starlight huffed. “At any rate, thanks to you, now Twilight and Rainbow Dash are alerted to your presence. We need to move fast.”

Sunset frowned. The expression was starting to become aggravatingly familiar to her. She was getting rather used to setbacks and things going wrong. Not because her plans were poorly thought out, of course. Clearly the universe just liked screwing with her. She pinched the bridge of her nose with her fingers and sighed. “Okay. Is the idiot guard with you?”

Starlight nodded. “She’s supposed to fight you while I get the girl.”

“No problem. We can do that, then when I win all we have to do is overpower Twilight and go take the Elements.”

Starlight looked at her like she’d grown a second head. “You want to pick a fight with Twilight Sparkle on purpose?”

Sunset shrugged. “Think about it. It’ll be two against one, and we have the element of surprise on our side. We’re both good; she won’t stand a chance.”

In the distance they could hear a loud scream getting closer, before it was drowned out by the fire alarm. Sunset took off running towards it without a second thought. “Just go with it! Make sure none of the other humans come near our fight!” she called over her shoulder. The last thing I need is some Facebook-obsessed, selfie-taking idiot to get in the middle of our fight and get hurt.

Rainbow stalked forwards, deeply uncomfortable. She felt like she was doing a good job of hiding it, but everything just felt wrong. Her body balanced well enough on its own, and her Pegasus magic felt the same as it did before. But nearly everything else made her want to throw up. Like these weird tentacle things at the end of her forelegs. She knew how to move them and make them do things, but that didn’t change the fact that they were fundamentally creepy. Her face felt so flat, and without hair on her body she was already feeling cold.

“Are we almost there?” she demanded. I need to take Sunset out quickly. Without the element of surprise, I’m not sure I can win in this form.

The girl flinched but somehow carried on smiling. “Just a liiiiiiiiittle bit longer,” she cheerfully insisted. Rainbow carefully kept her own expressions hidden. As much as she hated terrorizing ponies who hadn’t done anything, this was the fastest way to get to Sunset. Shouldn’t be that much— Wait. What’s that sign say?

Rainbow awkwardly pointed her new foreleg at one of the doors. “Hey, isn’t that the computer lab?”

The girl barely glanced at the sign before she started panicking. “Whaaat? No, ‘course not. Why do you ask?”

Dash gave her a flat stare. “Because it literally says ‘computer lab’ on the sign by the door.”

“Oh.” To her credit, the girl rallied gamely. “But that’s not the right computer lab!”

Rainbow turned her body towards the tiny human. She narrowed her eyes. “It’s not, huh?”

The girl smiled as confidently as possible. “Nope! We need the second one!”

“The second one,” she repeated quietly.

“Mm-Hm! It's on the other side of the—”

Rainbow allowed some of her magic to leak out. Trails of lightning slid down her forelegs and across her chest, and the girl stopped talking.

“Okay, look; I don’t actually know what a computer is, but I think it's pretty clear that you're starting to make things up.” Her eyes narrowed. “I’ll ask nicely one last time; where is Sunset?”

The girl gave up any pretense of bravery she had. “I have no idea, I started here today, I made everything up, please don’t harvest my soul, and if you do, please don’t use it for something stupid.”

Rainbow took a step towards her. The girl flinched and stepped back, eyes closed. Aw, c’mon! “Look! I don’t want tothreaten anypony. Just tell me where she is, and I’ll leave you alone.”

“You leave her alone!”

Rainbow closed her eyes. This is supposed to be a simple job. Easy. Where are all these complications coming from? She awkwardly turned and faced the newcomer, the same girl she talked to outside if she wasn’t mistaken. She was shaking, but she still bravely took a step forwards. “Now listen here, you overgrown Smurf, I don’t care what kinda magic power you got, if you don’t put her down this instant, I’ll make you wish you’d never been born!”

Rainbow considered her for a long moment. Ya know what? Forget this. “Okay.”

The stetson wearing (Hey, they have stetsons here too!) girl blinked, clearly surprised. “Well… good!” She rubbed the back of her neck. “Uh, that’s ‘okay, I’ll give her up,’ right?”

“Yeah. Catch.” She lightly tossed the pink talky one to the weird southern one. The two humans collided and collapsed on the ground together in a tangle of limbs. Rainbow ignored their noise and just walked off. She was here for Sunset, not to take hostages. I’ll just find the mare by myse—

And then a monster tackled her.

Abigail and Diane froze in place on the floor, staring at the place the monster had been standing mere moments ago. “Did she just get tackled through a wall by some kind of fire demon?” Diane asked, a bit hesitantly.

“I guess so. I stopped tryin’ to make sense a’ all this a while ago.” Abigail slowly stood to her feet, snatching her stetson off of the floor with trembling fingers. “C’mon. We need to get outta here before those two bring the whole school down around them.”

Diane grabbed the wall and hoisted herself up. Now that the monster was more or less gone, it was hitting the girl just how hard she’d been working to look brave. She leaned against the wall, her legs wobbling and unsteady. “Wow. That really just happened, didn’t it?”

“Eyup.” The farmer looked Diane over with a critical eye. “Are ya gonna be alright?”

“Yeah, I guess, I just…” She looked back at Abigail, her eyes wide. “It was a monster! Monsters are back! That’s amazing, except they want to kill us-” her tone darkened as she realised just how much danger she’d been in. “Holy crap, almost died. I almost, very nearly, got ripped to pieces by a monster—” and her tone shifted upwards again, “—an actual monster! This is the most amazing, world changing event ever!” She paused her rambling for a moment. “Well, aside from the first time it happened, I guess.” Diane took a deep breath, and slowly let it out. “Wow. Sorry, it's just…”

Abigail nodded, her face looking grim. “It’s a big thing, all right. Just focus on not dyin’ right now; get to worrying’ about the whole city gettin’ wiped out later.“ She started to walk towards the door, moving cautiously in case something else horrible happened. Diane followed behind her, straining her ears to hear sounds from the fight. She flinched at a particularly loud explosion.

She shook her head. “The city isn’t gonna be destroyed. The Power Rangers wouldn’t let -” A sudden thought struck her. “Do you think there won’t be any Power Rangers this time?”

Abigail stopped short. “Well, I hadn’t before you said that. Thanks.”

It was a sobering thought. There were only two teams of Power Rangers left on Earth, three if one counted the Silver Guardians. None of them were anywhere near Angel Grove. There was occasionally rumors of a lone Ranger saving a village or foiling a robbery, but the bulk of those were unsubstantiated. What if no one’s going to be here this time? “I guess we’ll have to think of a way to stop them ourselves, if it comes to that.”

Abigail snorted. “Let’s just hope it don’t. That was more than enough excitement for me, thanks.”

Diane nodded. “I know. That wasn’t like what dad said it was like.”

Abigail looked incredulous. “Your pa was a Power Ranger?”

Diane snorted. “No, of course not! He was with one of the newspapers that only covered the Power Rangers, the Power Press? He always told me stories about them when I was a girl. I always liked the ones from Silver Hills, the, uh...” she trailed off as she tried to remember what that team was called.

“Time Force.”

“Yeah, them! He got a lot of good stories from following them.” Her smile grew wistful. “Man, I was really little back then.” Her mind wandered to a happier time, a time where whenever her dad left, he always came back. That time feels so far away…

“What about your parents?” Diane asked, partly to pull herself out of her own head. “Did they ever talk about—”

“No.”

Diane glanced at the other girl, suprised by her terse response. Abigail was walking alongside her, but when she looked closer she could see her shaking a little. She’d been so wrapped in her own break down, she hadn’t thought at all about how Abigail was taking this. Wow, she’s trying really hard not to freak out about all of this, isn’t she? “Hey,” she said compassionately, “everything’s going to be okay.”

Abigail snorted. “Are ya jokin’? They’re back! And even if the Power Rangers do show up, how do you know that they’ll be able ta’ keep us from gettin’ hurt?”

For once, Diane felt herself at a complete loss for words. “I… I just do, okay?” Mentally she winced at the words. Why did I say that? That’s the worst answer ever!

Abigail regarded her for a long moment, before nodding. “Heh. You ain’t exactly normal, are ya?”

“No, she isn’t.”

Both girls spun around. To their horror, a third demon was standing behind them. It looked as though it was made from knives; tall, thin, and with a smile that just screamed you should run now. She had a long, sharp looking horn protruding from her forehead, glowing with magical energy. The energy field flowed forwards, surrounding Diane and dragging her into the air. Abigail charged the monster, but an odd, pulsing bolt of green and blue energy sent her flying across the hall. She hit the wall with a troubling crash, and fell to the ground in a heap.

“Leave her alone! Who are you?” Diane demanded as she fought the constraints. “What do you people even want? You are demonic monsters with magic powers! We are of no use to you!”

“Oh, that’s where you're wrong,” the monster said gleefully. She levitated Diane closer, gazing at her in a way that made Diane very uncomfortable. It was like she was a collectable, or some kind of antique that the demon had been after for a long time. “I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time. You are going to help me save Equestria.” She chuckled. “Heh, with a little work, we could even extend our efforts over all of Arcadia, maybe even include this place. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?”

Teenage attitude briefly struggled with survival instinct. As was often the case, attitude won. “Okay, I’m sure you make sense to you, but for people who aren’t… wherever you are mentally, you maybe want to break that down a little more?”

Somehow, Starlight’s grin got wider. “Oh, you’ll see soon enough.”

The field surrounding Diane flared brightly, and she knew nothing more.

Sunset Shimmer dove towards Rainbow, taking her deeper into the building. It was a calculated move; while Pegasus soldiers were trained to fight in cramped conditions, it was still more difficult for them to maneuver compared to the other two Tribes. Even if that wasn’t as applicable for a biped, close quarters combat would still give Sunset the advantage, as she had more practise as a she-demon than the guardsmare. Alright Rainbow Dash, let’s see how tough you really are.

The two of them smashed through a wall with a loud crack, sending debris flying everywhere. Rainbow had managed to land on top, and slugged Sunset in the face with her fist twice.

That’s pretty tough, Sunset thought, dazed. She sent a wave of sparks and flames spiraling up towards Rainbow’s face, throwing the mare off-balance. She leapt to her feet and charged.

Sunset swung hard enough to take Rainbow’s head off, but the young guardsmare ducked the blow and delivered a devastating right jab to the fire demon’s gut. Rainbow shoved Sunset back through the wall, shattering it. She grabbed the nearest object, a teacher's desk, and charged Sunset as hard as she could.

The blow sent Sunset spiraling left into the hall, smashing a row full of lockers. She leapt to her feet, her hands glowing with blue fire. Rainbow matched her pose, crimson lightning casting eerie shadows all around.

The pillars of energy met in the center of the hallway, the mystical forces pushing against each other with enough power to scorch the walls and shatter what was left of the windows. Sunset gritted her teeth, pushing as hard as she could. Little by little, she gained ground. That’s right. Fall back, you miserable little—

With incredible speed, Dash disengaged from the beam o’ war and dove down the end of the hallway. The bolts of fire impacted the wall where she had been standing, obliterating it and sending burning shrapnel cascading around the hall.

Sunset raced after her, sending a gigantic wall of fire at Rainbow. The Pegasus-demon countered with a burst of wind that created a tear in the wall large enough to dive through. She ducked down and the wall passed around her, igniting nearly everything else around them.

Sunset staggered back in horror. The entire hallway was lit up like a bonfire. The flames consumed the ceiling, and embers showered down on the two of them. One of the walls had burned through. Sunset wasn’t sure the school had even been evacuated yet.

This is getting out of hand.

Sunset took an uncertain step backwards, before she rallied and charged the Guardsmare again. I have to take her out, now!

Rainbow met her head-on, grabbing her around the waist and diving right. They went all the way through a classroom and landed outside, around the back of the building. Rainbow clasped her fists together and started to bring them down on Sunset’s face, but the demon jabbed her in the stomach and broke free. She leapt into the air, circling the weather-demon. Let’s see how well you do when you don’t have any tricks left to pla—

Rainbow leapt into the sky like a bullet from a gun. Sunset shook in the air from her wake, staring up at her retreating form in shock. Impossible! Nopony is that fast! She sent another wave of heat pulsing off the ground, and rose after her.

The two of them spiraled around each other, bolts of energy flashing at the two as they went higher and higher. Sunset began to shake in the air as she got higher; since she relied on the updrafts she generated to fly, the higher she was, the less control she had. “Stand and fight, you coward!”

Rainbow obliged.

The trained guardsmare turned and dove back towards Sunset, so fast she didn’t even see the other mare do it. All that she could remember was a sudden impact and a great deal of pain. She was smashed out of the sky and sent in an out-of-control spiral.

She tried to bring her wings out, to stabilize, but the one on the right refused to open properly. Rainbow must have broken it. She flapped her remaining wing desperately, trying to slow herself down enough to survive impact. Dimly, she could see Rainbow Dash beneath her, flying in a tight circle. She felt an updraft beginning to rise, spinning her around in a circle.

Soon Sunset was caught in a vortex of spinning air, sending her around and around in a dizzying circle. The wind pressed her huge wings down around her sides, trapping her arms and leaving her basically helpless.

Dimly, she could see the ground flying up to meet her. This won’t end well, was the last thing she thought before she hit the ground with a loud crash!

Rainbow, carrying Sunset, landed near the Crystal Mirror behind Starlight. She’d been tempted to leave the fiery Unicorn behind, but she had no idea what the humans would do to Sunset if she did. “Aw, come on!” she cried as she saw the human Starlight was holding. “That’s who we were looking for? She's the one who led me to Sunset! We didn’t need to fight her at all! She doesn’t even look anything like Starswirl!”

“Yep!” Starlight replied cheerfully. “Funny, huh? Oh, before I forget…”

Before Rainbow could react, Starlight formed an energy bubble around herself and the Mirror. Rainbow slammed her fists against it, but it did no good. “What are you doing?” she demanded.

“Getting you out of the way before you screw up my plans even more. I was surprised Twilight brought you, and this was the first opportunity I had to dispose of you.”

Rainbow threw punch after punch at the bubble, but it refused to yield. “I knew you were a liar!”

Starlight snorted bitterly. “That’s awfully rich coming from you.”

Rainbow growled. “What are you planning to do to Twilight, you—”

“Language,” Starlight chided. “This is a school, you know.” The demon turned her back on Rainbow to face the mirror. Trailing a finger lightly over its surface, she mused, “I wonder what you would do, if you were me? I mean, you attacked your fellow Guardsmares for what you believed in. That’s all I’m doing; what’s necessary, and no more.“

“Necessary for what?” An exasperated Rainbow asked. “What is this?”

Starlight didn’t answer. Grimmly, she pulled her arm back and smashed it against the stone casing that held the mirror. With a terrifying shriek, cracks spread across the stone arch and onto the mirror itself. With one finger, Starlight lightly tapped it’s surface

It shattered.

Rainbow charged Starlight, slamming her arms against her shield. “What are you doing!” she shouted. “That was our only way home!”

Starlight snorted. “Your only way home,” she corrected. “I have… other methods.” Her horn lit up, the glowing field of magic extending and forming a spiral in the air in front of her. Her magic took on a different shape, becoming more jagged and darkening.”μου, πέρασμα!”she cried. She began to back away as Starlight’s field began to spin. It shifted forwards, and cut the fabric of Reality itself.

The noise was horrendous, a low booming that penetrated the deepest parts of her brain. The hole that was formed looked like no magic that Rainbow had ever seen. Magic was always bright and colorful. Magic was wishing brought to life, your innermost self brought to life. This stuff… wasn’t.

She could see the outer edges of the portal, because they were framed in some kind of black gunk that oozed out of the crack in space and time and killed the grass where it landed. Whatever the ooze was, it clearly didn’t belong here. In between the ooze, there was Nothing. It wasn’t even blackness; Rainbow could very easily see where the very black ooze stopped and the portal started. The portal was made from Nothing. Her mind couldn’t process it. She shielded her eyes from the sight.

Starlight was grinning as she picked up the girl and walked up to the portal. “Be sure to thank Sunset for guarding the girl for me!” she cried. “You two made my life so much easier. Have fun!”

Without a trace of fear, she stepped through the Nothing and was gone. The portal exploded, shattering the bubble and sending Rainbow Dash flying backwards. When she could stand again, she saw that the only thing left of the Mirror and Starlight was a gigantic smoking crater.