Sunset Shimmer: Student of Magick

Even the sun had not yet risen when Sunset Shimmer woke. The warmth of Twilight's slumbering form next to her was lulling her back to sleep until she realised that her mobile's screen was lit. It buzzed as another alert appeared.

She had three new photo messages, graciously sent to her a few minutes before six. She wanted to ignore them but nonetheless decided to see what they were just in case it was an important alert from one of the girls. If not, someone would be getting an earful. She clapped a hand over her mouth when she saw them to prevent herself making noise that would wake her roommates.

Sweetie Belle, wearing her pyjamas and one eye slightly bruised, was tied to a chair in a very familiar band room. The pictures showed her from the front and the sides, making it clear the girl was not going anywhere. A message followed the photographs: "Come alone."

Sunset did not bother getting fully dressed. She slipped a pair of jeans over her shorts and pulled her jacket over the cotton top of her pyjamas. A pair of boots completed the ensemble. She was ready to leave as soon as her wallet and mobile were stashed in her pockets. She quickly checked to confirm that Princess Twilight and Spike were still sleeping before opening the door quietly and slipping from the room.

Though buses ran at that time to accommodate those working early-morning shifts, the school was only a fifteen minute walk from the hotel. She arrived to find it silent and dark. Not one vehicle was in the lot despite the fact the school was supposed to have a night watchman.

The front door was locked and all the windows were closed and intact. She knew there had to be some way to enter the building but did not want to have to waste time trying every door. Already, she was imagining the awful things Flash Sentry and his friends could be doing to Sweetie Belle. Sunset wanted into the building as quickly as possible and was strongly considering breaking a window.

Her mobile vibrated again. The new message told her to use the gym door. It was slightly ajar, the chain that should have been wrapped around the push bars lying in a pile next to the frame. She left it partially open in the chance she could rescue Sweetie Belle and needed an escape route.

That entrance was near the band rooms. Just on the other side of the gym was a staircase that went up to the roof door and connected to the second floor hall leading to the band practise rooms. A student moving at a casual pace would need only five minutes to reach the room in question. She made it in two.

Sunset's heart was already pounding even before she ran up the stairs. The only active light in the school shown from the Flash Drives' practise room. The door was closed, the light muted by the shades over the windows. Sunset paused only a moment to catch her breath before she opened the door.

Some part of her had expected to find Sweetie Belle being subjected to one atrocity or another. While she had clearly been roughed up at some point during her kidnapping, the girl otherwise seemed fine. She was still bound to the chair, not even gagged. Her irises were pinpricks of fear that widened when she saw Sunset at the door.

"So glad you could make it," Flash Sentry said. He was sitting on a table, just beside and behind Sweetie Belle. "We were getting a little impatient."

His two friends had been at either side of the door and grabbed Sunset's arms. She did not struggle, instead asking, "Have you done anything to her?"

"You mean besides grabbing her from her room and bringing her here? Well, we thought about it, but I thought it would be more interesting to wait for you to get here."

Neither of her captors had moved, content to ensure Sunset would not be able to approach Sweetie Belle or to attempt to escape. They looked to their leader, who nodded. Releasing Sunset, they closed the door and moved in front of it to forestall any retreat.

"I'll make you a deal. You can stay here with us, or you can leave and we keep our new toy." He nodded to his friends again, who stepped back to the sides of the door, opening it slightly. It was an invitation that her other self was pushing her to take.

"Why Sweetie Belle?"

Sunset was stalling, hoping Ace or Clash would arrive soon. It was still much earlier than the time Ace had given her, but no intelligent soldier would drop into a battle zone unprepared. There was a chance they would want to scope the location first, which would be Sunset's best chance.

"Why anyone? No one else did anything to you. Why are you dragging other people into this?"

"Did you really forget what this worthless piece of refuse and her little buddies did to everyone? Your friends weren't the only ones to have their secrets revealed." Flash Sentry hopped from the table to stand directly behind Sweetie Belle. He placed a hand on her shoulder. "Why'd you even come here? You could have pretended you didn't see my messages and still be safe. It's not like this thing deserves your help." His hand began to drift from Sweetie Belle's shoulder toward her chest.

"She's my friend. I'll stay. Let her go."

The guitarist's hand stopped moving as he smirked. "You heard her, boys."

They grabbed Sunset again, pushing her to a chair where they immediately began to tie her as they had just a few days prior. There was no gag this time, at least for the moment. When she was secure, they turned the chair to face Flash Sentry and Sweetie Belle.

"That magic rainbow must've fried your brain. Now you can watch while we enjoy playing with your little girlfriend."

"You said you'd let her go."

All three laughed. Unlike Pinkie's laughter, it was not at all friendly. They were mocking her. Sweetie Belle began to tremble, tears running down her cheeks. Even without a gag, the younger girl seemed unable to speak.

"When did I say that? Did you guys ever hear anything like that?"

The response was more laughter. He was telling the truth. At no point had he indicated that Sunset letting them take her would earn Sweetie Belle's freedom. His only offer had been that Sunset would be spared if she abandoned her friend.

Flash held another - or maybe the same - switchblade and was brushing the tip along Sweetie Belle's cheek. He did it slowly, his manic grin widening as her struggles grew ever more frantic the closer it approached to her neck. Stopping just above her jaw, he changed his attention to her ear. Sweetie Belle whimpered as he pulled at her ear and set the blade just above it.

"Please, let her go," Sunset begged, rocking her chair in frustration. "I'll do anything you want, and I won't fight or complain if you just let her go."

"But it's more fun if you fight and complain," one of the band members replied. Turning to the other one, he added, "Remember all those women in London? That was the best. The screams and the-"

"Shut up," Flash Sentry ordered. He had stopped playing with his knife when Sunset began speaking. "We'll do even better than that when this is done. Gag the bitch."

His friends held up a rag and a tie. Before they could silence her, Sunset tried one last plea. "Flash, if there's anything left of you, please don't do this. I know you're not a monster."

For a moment, a bit of the red, pulsing thing Sunset had seen during their first confrontation emerged and enveloped Flash Sentry's body. It vanished as quickly as it had appeared before he turned to face her. His eyes were glowing despite the fact that they had turned black.

"Flash Sentry gave himself to me," another voice spoke through his mouth. "He is no more." The thing possessing him used the boy's hand to slap Sunset before allowing his friends to gag her. "No more games. We will have your power."

It turned back to Sweetie Belle, cutting the sleeves from her pyjamas. Before the thing that had been Flash Sentry could do anything else, the door broke from its hinges and crashed to the floor.

Dark Ace and Clash were there again, the latter already in his larger wolf-like form. He had not yet shifted into the raging wolf-man that he had reached during the first battle. The Flash Drives vanished, taking a step forward that seemed to go sideways before disappearing. Clash did the same, leaving Ace to free the captives.

"Take her and go," Ace ordered before stepping out of existence.

Neither girl needed a second command. Taking Sweetie Belle's hand, Sunset led the way to the back staircase. They reached the gym to find the rear exit closed and chained, two of the rat spirits all-too-physical as they guarded the door. They could somehow remain on their hind legs without seeming off-balance at all, despite appearing to be nothing more than human-sized rats.

The girls did not pause as they turned back toward the main entrance, dodging more of the rats as they began appearing in the halls. Sweetie Belle stopped when three of the rats appeared to block the end of the hall. She made a fist and joined Sunset in punching at the things. They did very little damage; the small gap that allowed them to escape had likely been caused more by confusion that their prey would actually charge at them.

Finally, they reached the front doors. They had not been chained and none of the rats had arrived to guard them yet. Sunset was surprised that the first one opened with a push, glad that the doors swung both directions.

The escape had been too easy. It became obvious in hindsight when they saw eight rats materialise in a semicircle on the steps in front of them. Five more swarmed the door behind them. They were trapped.

The rats squeaked at them, closing the noose. The entrance to the school grounds was so close, as was the portal to Equestria. Reaching either would be difficult, but Sunset also did not want to risk a big fight with Sweetie Belle in the middle.

Taking a chance, she pulled the girl back toward the door, slamming her fist into a rat's nose. It stumbled, leaving a gap sufficiently large for someone small to escape. Sunset pushed her young friend into the tiny opening and then pulled the door closed, cornering herself with the enemy.

They wasted no time, their clawed paws seizing her and pulling her from the door. Before they could carry her far, Sunset screamed "Run" to Sweetie Belle, who hesitated a moment before dashing back down the hall.

"Why are you doing this?" Sunset asked her captors. None of them had spoken, but she was unsure whether that meant they could not. If nothing else, one of them could have been Flash Sentry or one of his friends.

None of them answered. Instead, they lowered her into the grass, holding her arms, legs, and head. Another held a paw over her, one of its claws lengthening and sharpening to a fine-pointed blade. It positioned the appendage over her chest and was about to stab her when something small bowled into it.

Sweetie Belle had returned. She held a baseball bat and began swinging wildly at the rats holding Sunset. They moved back, but maintained a ring around both girls.

When Sweetie Belle's attack connected with one of the rats, it squeaked but did not seem to be in pain. Instead, it grabbed the bat and pulled it from the girl's hands, tossing it outside the ring. Sunset scrambled to her feet, throwing protective arms around Sweetie Belle.

As much as she wanted to berate the younger girl for returning instead of going for help, she knew Sweetie Belle's actions had saved her life - for a moment, at least. None of the other rats had turned a claw into a sword, but their claws were still sharp. Each of them brandished their natural weapons at the girls clinging to one another in their midst.

'Stop holding back and fight them,' her inner voice whispered.

'I can't. There are too many.'

'Then you don't mind if they kill Sweetie Belle? She came back to save you, but you're just going to give up?'

'I can't stop all of them. I don't even know how to use magick.'

'You'll have to do whatever it takes to win.'

'What does that mean?'

The voice was silent. The whole conversation had taken place in less than a second. The rats were still closing on them as an idea formed. Sunset's plan was haphazard, which represented most of her schemes when she really stopped to consider them, but it was the only option.

"Sweetie Belle, do you trust me?" Sunset murmured. A small nod was the answer. "Then let go of me and don't move."

Doing as she was told, Sweetie Belle dropped her arms. Sunset charged at the wall of rats, dropping to roll between them. She stopped next to the bat, hefting it as she stood again.

"Come and get me," she taunted, brandishing her new weapon. Two of the rats grabbed Sweetie Belle but did not harm her. The others charged at Sunset.

When she first arrived in the human world, one of her early lessons was exactly what she had learned in Equestria: A youth that was alone on the streets - especially a girl - could easily become prey. She had promptly studied how to defend herself in her new form. Though she had almost never gotten into physical brawls during her time as the school's queen bee because it left too much evidence, she remembered her lessons. The problem was that her teachers had never covered human-sized rats; she took a fighting stance as she began trying to determine their pressure points. No matter the species, her first priority was preventing them piling on her and keeping enough space to move.

Sunset hefted the bat and charged her enemies. She swung with all the force she could, using her free arm to block incoming attacks and dodging each attempt to knock her to the ground. The bludgeon connected with a dull thud. Though the rat squeaked, it was unfazed.

'Why isn't this working?'

'You have magick, use it.'

Another failed attack. 'I don't know how.'

One rat managed to bite her free hand, its teeth sinking through skin and stopping on bone. Sunset screamed in pain, fighting the urge to yank on the captured limb and cause more damage. She instead swung the bat at its face, catching the offending tooth.

The tip snapped and the rat squealed, releasing her. The end of its tooth remained embedded in Sunset's hand, her blood coating it and dripping to the grass below.

'Feel the connection between the tooth and the monster,' her other voice commanded.

Unsure what she was doing, Sunset opened her mind to the bit of tooth. As it vanished, she knew on some level that it had returned to the other place, the place from whence it originated. Her mind flowed with it, feeling it hidden just on the other side of what she perceived to be a tattered curtain. She felt some new understanding of the rats and their world and sent that feeling along her arm into the bat.

It looked no different for holding Sunset's understanding of spirits, but it felt different. She willed it to be a true weapon capable of defeating her enemies and rescuing Sweetie Belle.

Her next attack surprised her. Though she wielded a bludgeoning weapon, it drew what looked like a slash across the body of a rat. The thing did not bleed and instead oozed some faintly-glowing clear substance that she guessed to be whatever stuff composed them in their natural forms.

The others halted their attacks, looking almost surprised. The opening so available, Sunset tried stabbing at the rat she had previously wounded. The bat sank into its body, which rapidly dissolved.

Sunset could sense the creature dispersing into the other place. Rather than allowing it to take a form there, she forced her will on the ectoplasm - or whatever it was - and worked it into the wall separating the other place from her world. She could feel that it was working as the stuff blended into the curtain and began repairing some of the holes.

She fought a grin as she turned to the other rats. They swarmed her again, this time frantic in their assault as they blindly rushed her swings. One would fall, its components joining the others and slowly healing the damage to the curtain, but another would take its place. Despite her new power, Sunset could not win against the show of numbers.

They finally applied sufficient force to push her to the ground, the bat thrown from her grip. Though only five rats remained, the three piled on her were effective at restraining her movement. Sunset looked over to Sweetie Belle and mouthed "I'm sorry."

A wave of force rolled over Sunset, avoiding her but throwing the rats holding her a good distance across the yard. The bat rolled to her side.

Grabbing it, she turned to the rats holding Sweetie Belle. They released their captive and fled to stand with their remaining brothers. When Sunset rushed them, they fled across the grounds to the playground in the corner.

On weekends and weekdays after school, it was open to the public and had all the amenities a child or the young-at-heart could want. The rats took positions inside the play gym, which was composed of metal and sturdy wood to conform to a child's size, making them harder to reach and not giving much space to swing the bat.

Sunset stopped at the edge of the playground, eyeing the enemy position and planning a strategy to get to them. They would be squealing before she was done with them. She could see their wary fear and allowed it to invigorate her.

Before she could mount her final attack, little Midnight Radiance strolled in front of her.

"Witches aren't very good with Forces. I don't like things that hold me back, so I studied hard until I could do this."

Sunset felt the air around them fill with energy, the hairs on her arms and the back of her neck standing. The playground gym, swings, seesaw, and anything else within the playground possessing metal components sparked with electricity. The magick was building to a climax, leaving the rats with nowhere to go.

As Midnight released her spell, someone tackled her. Instead of whatever controlled burst Midnight had planned, it twisted and tangled within itself. Sunset shivered as a creeping feeling almost like dread crawled up her spine. She could swear that - as the first small bolt of lightning broke from a metal joint - she glimpsed a dark place through a fracture in the air.

The playground gym shattered, most of its pieces simply collapsing as the electricity that flowed through them turned them into magnets and drew them together. If Sunset remembered her Physics studies, she knew why some of the other bits did not react the same way. If any of their polarities matched to the tangled mass, they were propelled through the air. Several of the bars, screws, and other bits shot in all directions to rain across the yard.

One of them, a large pole, was pointing straight at her face. With no time to duck, Sunset faced her approaching death and hoped it would not hurt too much.

Darkness enveloped her once again.

The whispering voices were familiar. Sunset heard her friends, classmates, and teachers each expressing their disappointment in her as they called her names and demanded that she be punished. Sweetie Belle's voice was the clearest, damning her for leaving them after allowing all the terrible events to happen.

Even knowing what it was, those voices hurt. Claws grasped at her, tearing her skin. Sunset was already resigned to her punishment when another voice ended it.

"Release her."

She opened her eyes, the clearing in which she rested and the grasping trees surrounding it disturbingly familiar. She slowly pushed herself to her feet, noticing that she was dressed this time. She looked to the other person standing in the clearing.

The throne was nowhere in sight; despite standing over her in the clearing, shadows still hid most of the other person. Her companion was turned toward her, but she only knew that by the orientation of the hands.

"It is rare to return here."

"It must be my own personal Tartarus."

A chuckle. "I called you here."

When the figure turned and began walking, Sunset - not sure what else to do - followed. They strolled through the forest, which was not as gloomy as she remembered. The path was much shorter this time. When they reached the edge of the forest, they were at the edge of a cliff rather than the clearing that housed the Watchtower.

Looking over the land below her, Sunset saw a place of grey flora and black rock spreading out of her sight. It was dark, like the middle of night. She saw no moon, no stars, nothing to provide the illumination that allowed her to see the pale figures stalking it. None of them noticing their observers as they wandered their plain, going about esoteric tasks that involved none of the visible features around them.

"Stygia, Kingdom of Crypts, home to the Watchtower of the Leaden Coin."

The spectres traversing their territory faded from Sunset's vision as she felt tears in her eyes. The moment she heard its name, she realised she was viewing the land of the dead.

"I'm going to be there soon." She felt raw fear, a dark dread pulling at her soul. She knew she did not deserve Paradise. "I'm going to Hell."

"You are not. When you return, that spear will pass by your head."

One of the hands stretched toward her, palm up. The air shimmered and a picture of Sunset and the scene she had left appeared. Sweetie Belle stood to the side as she watched. Someone with a bloated mass for a body had shoved Midnight to the far side of the field and was facing the exploding playground, standing just at the edge of the scene. Sunset could see that her companion was telling the truth. The pole would just miss her, provided she did not move.

She was about to sigh in relief when she noticed something else. Looking back and forth, she confirmed that what she was seeing was the truth and began crying again. Another spear of metal, this one sharper than the one Sunset had thought would kill her, was rocketing straight to Sweetie Belle, about to stab through her chest. The girl would have no chance and - even knowing it would happen when she returned - Sunset would not have time to do anything for her.

More tears flowed as Sunset dropped to her knees, crying apologies to an unhearing Sweetie Belle. She was a murderer; indirectly or not, Sunset had led her friend to death. Even if Sweetie Belle survived, there could be no forgiveness for Sunset.

A firm tone in her companion's voice broke through her fugue.

"Be still."

The voice carried power that calmed her emotions and dried her tears. Sunset's heart was still heavy, but she could listen. Her mind was clearer than it had been the last few days.

"What kind of person do you consider yourself?"

She thought for a moment. It seemed that no matter what she did, Sunset was always hurting those around her. She had not forgotten the accusations hurled at her when she arrived in Pandemonium the first time.

Many of her terrible acts had been intentional. She had enjoyed destroying everyone she could. Even after being forced to see the error of her ways, she was unable to silence that twisted, angry voice in the back of her mind.

"No matter what I do, it seems like I'm always on the edge of being a monster. I try so hard, but there's always something in me that enjoys hurting others. I just want to be a good person."

"Oh?" the other person looked down at her. Despite the shadows, Sunset could feel the gaze piercing through every part of her. "Now I would ask you to answer another question: Do you know who you are?"

"I don't understand what you mean. Are you talking about my origins?"

"I am aware of your origins. Everything within your memories, every thought you have is visible to me. I know of the rage and jealousy that drove you to the Fallen World from another place, as well as the devastation you worked upon your peers. I am not asking of those things. Do you know, deep within yourself, the truth behind that which drove you to those actions? What causes you to struggle against an urge to harm those around you?"

She looked into her own personality. There was a word for what had once wholly driven her and continued to whisper in her ear. It was one she wished to deny, but the figure towering over her knew the truth. It was time to admit to herself who she was, even if it became the final nail in her coffin.

"I'm a sociopath."

"You know the true meaning of that word and its implications upon your desire to be a 'good' person?"

Sunset only nodded. Many had called her by that name over the years, though she had always ignored them. She could always convince herself that they were wrong. There was just a bit of a malicious streak in her, one born from years of abuse at the hooves of her parents. Instead of accepting her, everypony always wanted to 'fix' that flaw and thereby drove her further into the arms of the malignant hate that festered in her soul.

She believed her parents had known and that they abused her because of it. Celestia - both versions - knew it; each had tried in her own way to guide Sunset to contain the most dangerous aspects of herself so that she could be a productive member of their respective societies. She could see now that they had been correct, but there was no cure. Even the Elements of Harmony could not excise the darkness in her.

Her current friends may not have said it before her reformation or during the Anon-A-Miss incident, but she had seen it in their eyes. Apple Bloom had once called her a psychopath in a confusion of the two, though she apologised for it later. The two terms may not have possessed exact definitions, but Sunset believed they were different.

She knew her affection for her friends and her heartbreak when they had turned against her was real. Even in the darkest moments of that time, she had been unable to consider doing anything to hurt to them as she once had. That had not extended to anyone else in the school; she had fought an urge to beat Trixie into the floor after their confrontation.

When the Crusaders confessed, Sunset's darker side had begged her to revert to her old ways just for a few minutes and give them the punishment they deserved. She had contained it and found within herself the ability to forgive them, partially because she had felt she deserved to be punished. She understood, though, that a greater reason had been her fear that any retaliation would be end of her shaky friendships. Part of her - which she had not been fully able to silence - had applauded when a group of students assaulted the girls for what they had done, allowing her to indulge the cancer vicariously.

The battle with the rat spirits and the glee she felt as she destroyed them bubbled into her memories. It had been wonderful to shred their remains and apply them to the wall between worlds. Something about utterly destroying them had felt right. Even at that moment, Sunset could not force herself to feel guilt at the joy. It scared her as much as it warmed her.

"You will have to decide what to do with this understanding. It is time for you to return."

Sunset was not panicking, but she was still filled with guilt as she cried, "No, please. I don't want to watch Sweetie Belle die."

"That girl? Why does her life matter to you? She nearly drove you to end your own and turned the friends you love from you."

"She realised her mistakes and confessed and apologised. She's done everything she can to make it right since then. I love her and her friends just as much as my other friends. I don't want to see this happen to her."

The figure knelt to Sunset's level.

"Would that girl be present if you had allowed her to continue believing herself nothing more than a lunatic? For what reason did you decide it was in her best interest to know the Truth?"

The question was not meant to be answered verbally. Sunset knew very well why she had gone to such lengths, and she knew the person could see that she knew the answer. She could not tell most of her friends for fear they would not be able to comprehend how she had changed; even Pinkie Pie had her own special circumstances.

Sweetie Belle would not only believe what was happening, she would also keep the secret. The old Sunset Shimmer had never died; she waited below the surface. Selfishness had driven her choice to induct her young friend into a world that was not her own. That darker part of her also revelled in the control it granted her over another person. It should have been harmless; Sweetie Belle was nothing more than a lost puppy eager for treats in the form of someone who would never think her to be mad. In forcing herself to be honest, Sunset knew that the heart of her friendship with the girl had been nothing more than a desire to have power over another that she could never again have over her older friends.

The realisation disgusted and elated her.

"I know I made a bad decision for all the wrong reasons, that I'm lower than scum, but she shouldn't have to pay the price for what I've done."

"Every action impacts the Tapestry. Simply by existing, you and all others affect what happens to those around you. That girl is paying for what you have done because that is how the threads have woven themselves. Take what blame you must, but never forget that you alone are not responsible for what has transpired."

The figure stood again and offered her a hand. She took it, expecting cold clamminess and instead feeling warmth. When she stood again, she faced the being as she waited to be sent back to witness the gruesome end result of several bad decisions.

"The Awakened in particular have the power to alter the course of lives, though you already have experience with that."

Sunset nodded. "When I was the bully, I always held back just enough to make sure I wouldn't go too far. I wanted power and control, but I didn't want to cause physical harm to anyone. I guess it somehow made me feel that everything else was okay - that I wasn't too bad - as long as it didn't cross a certain line. I lost control and tried to kill the people who are now my friends not too long ago. Before that, I caused serious harm to some bullies at my previous school. Even at my worst, I've tried to control the darkness inside me, but my choices are about to kill someone."

"What would you do to save that girl's life?"

"Anything."

"I can help you. When you returned the first time, I manipulated your path so that you would return after your saviours completed repairing the damage to your body. By that same token, I can send you further back."

Sunset looked at her companion in surprise. Something in the tone suggested such assistance would not be gifted as it had been the first time. She straightened her posture and looked directly at the figure.

"I'll do whatever it takes."

"Be careful when making promises. You may save your friend and damn yourself in the process." One hand held up the obsidian brooch Rarity had given her. "Give me some of your blood and swear to owe me three tasks to be called at a time of my convenience. If you do this, I will grant you three seconds to change the outcome before you. If you fail to provide the boons when they are requested, there will be a price."

Shaking a bit, Sunset took the former hair accessory. She sliced a finger. One after another, three drops of blood fell to the outstretched palm, pooling in the centre.

Closing the hand in a fist, the figure nodded. "One last warning: You are abusing Time to make this change. Beware the Paradox involved in such actions, as the Abyss is always watching."

Sunset felt herself drifting back to the Material Realm as Pandemonium faded. The figure's parting words followed her:

"Good luck, Sunset Shimmer."

She arrived just as the latest enemy impacted Midnight. Her spell once again went awry, but Sunset was prepared. She remembered where each of the magnetised scraps would fly. Taking a half step in front of Sweetie Belle, Sunset used one leg to hit the back of her friend's knees before catching the girl's collapsing form and covering her body as they both lay on the grass.

She watched over her shoulder as the rods flew through the air, one of them spearing two rat spirits when it stabbed through one and into another. They both vanished, though they were not dead. Reaching out with her magick, Sunset manipulated their remains into the curtain between their worlds. The three survivors faded slowly, their path not as easy to traverse. As Sunset's limited vision into the other place followed them, she had a brief glimpse of Ace and Clash and others tearing into things that felt similar to the thing that had possessed Flash Sentry.

Midnight lay on the grass; her pained grunts as she pushed herself to her feet pulled Sunset's consciousness back to the material. The hole into darkness Sunset had noticed the first time was closing quickly. The figure's warning about Paradox rang in her head, but she was unsure what it meant.

When everything was safe, she allowed herself a sigh of relief. She had fixed her mistake; the girl she had been using was still alive. That meant there was time to correct how she had treated Sweetie Belle. If she would forgive Sunset dragging her into a world of magick and spirits, Sunset vowed to herself that they would be true friends.

She looked down at Sweetie Belle and smiled. Her friend did not return it, instead looking past Sunset with a face full of horror. Before she could glance back, a rough kick to her ribs shoved her to her back. She rolled twice, the air knocked from her lungs.

Sunset looked up to see what had once been Flash Sentry standing over her. He was almost unrecognisable: Spirit miasma surrounded him, bulbous with bright red streaks against a black mass. It still resembled a human shape but was so fundamentally disgusting that it even repulsed Sunset. She felt a familiar pain in her side. He yanked the knife that had once again pierced her right lung and raised it over her chest. Before he could finish her, Sweetie Belle tackled him with a scream. They tumbled in a heap.

Sunset wanted to tell Sweetie Belle to get away from the monster Flash Sentry had become, but she was having too much trouble breathing to form words. She watched as the two struggled, the young man's greater strength obvious. He was turning his knife on Sweetie Belle, whose desperate attempts to force it back were failing.

Through the gathering haze, Sunset noticed she was holding the brooch in her mangled hand. She did not remember having it when she returned from Pandemonium, but she was not going to question it. She forced herself onto her uninjured side as she channeled what energy she still had into it and reached toward the bulbous monster. As she had hoped, the brooch connected with the spirit that surrounded him. She blindly cut at it, fighting the pain that came with the movement until it finally overwhelmed her and she retched the remains of her dinner into the grass.

Her actions had not been in vain. The brief activity had distracted Flash Sentry and Sweetie Belle had been able to take the knife from his hand. She held it against his throat, her hand trembling to a point that Sunset wondered if the girl would accidentally kill him.

Warm dampness covered Sunset's side and dripped down her body, the now-familiar taste of blood in her throat. She could not get enough air and knew she was suffocating as the world before her eyes continued to grey and to blur until nothing remained.

'This must be the Paradox,' she thought. 'Trading my life for hers. At least I don't have to worry about those tasks.'

Some amount of time that could have been no time passed. Light slowly filled her eyes. She blinked, groaning a bit.

"Ace, she's comin' 'round," a female voice with an accent thicker than Applejack's drawled.

Sunset became aware of hands pressed to her side and finally opened her eyes to see a woman kneeling beside her. The woman was a little past middle age, her vibrantly red hair streaked with a hint of grey. She had a few laugh lines around her face and a smattering of worry lines around crystal blue eyes.

"Ya can call me Pearl," she said, giving Sunset a warm smile. "Ah've healed yer hand 'n most of the internal damage, but don't be movin' too much, ya hear me?"

Ace knelt on her other side, accompanied by Clash and Midnight. Sweetie Belle was next to Pearl. She was holding Sunset's hand, her eyes red and puffy. She wore a sweater and a pair of jean shorts that were too big for her.

"Sorry," Clash said. "We chased the other two into the Shadow and left you."

Ace nodded. "We didn't expect any of the spirits here to be able to Manifest or we would have left those two to the others. Then again, with as much damage as they did to the Gauntlet, I'm not surprised."

"What happened?" Sunset asked, glad to be able to breathe.

"We were able to force the spirits Riding all three of your classmates out. We had a Warlock use a memory spell on them, so they won't remember what's happened. As far they know, they've been attending school normally ever since this all began."

Pearl added, "The rest of us took care of the spirits. Ah'm just glad Midnight told me what happened in time ta help ya."

"Why were those spirits here?" Sweetie Belle enquired.

"There were a bunch of nasty spirits drawn here by the magic surges we've been sensing. The hate spirits won the contest and the Beshilu agreed to help them by tearing a hole in the Gauntlet. We've done what we can to repair it. Get some good disbelief running around here and it'll get stronger on its own." Ace glanced at Sweetie Belle's hair. "Let's call you 'Orchid' now, okay? Sparky, did you know she's a Sleepwalker?"

"I'm not sure what that is, but I'm guessing it means she can be around magick." Though she heard and absorbed what she could of the information, Sunset thought of a more important question to ask. "You said the spirits came here because of magical surges?"

"We ain't never seen nothin' like it."

"It wasn't Awakened or Lost magick, and none of the others had any idea what it was. Of course, that drew everyone's interest. That third surge, when some of the more sensitive of us could feel holes in reality opening, really drew attention. After all, ripping the fabric of reality usually isn't a good thing. We were half-expecting the Exarchs or the Anunnaki to show up after that. Anyway, the spirits got here first. Clash and I were investigating them when we found you the first time."

"So there'll be others coming to the school?" Orchid asked.

"The spirits may have gotten here first, but all walks of life ... or whatever ... will want to know what we've been feeling. Something about giant rainbows and a unicorn in the sky. There'll be other spirits, too, now that we got rid of the hate spirits and the Beshilu. You might want to look into transferring; this school's basically got a great big target drawn on it. Awakened, Kindred, and Uratha won't go causing problems when we come to investigate, but we can't control the Lost or the spirits."

Sparky imagined she should feel guilty for introducing Equestrian magic at CHS. Perhaps if her emotions and mental state had not been so trashed over the weekend, she would. It would definitely come later, at least, once she rested and was not so enervated. Somewhere in the middle, she realised that she had completely slipped into her new Shadow Name and that it felt natural.

"So everything will go back to normal for now?"

"Not exactly. The spirits won't be exerting their influence anymore, but they already changed the ambiance around here. That hate won't just vanish, even with lots of disbelief."

"We'd have to change everyone's minds slowly?"

"That's the long and the short of it."

Sparky sighed. "I can live with that. Thank you for helping; you've saved my life twice now."

Ace waved a hand in a non-committal manner. "It happens. Your Awakening was an accident, so we have some responsibility for you. Speaking of which, we'll take you to the Consilium Forum once you're feeling better. It's where we Awakened gather. There's no going back now, so you might as well get to know your new ... social group."

"I'm sure it'll be interesting."