A Song of Color

Stepping through the portal was always quite an experience, but this time it felt odd. It was like I was moving in slow motion, almost- no, it was like being stretched, like taffy. I felt thin, like tissue paper, as if anything could just punch a hole right through me. The sensation lingered for a few seconds after I came through all the way, and I got a weird taste in my mouth, sort of metallic. Like licking a battery.

As I blinked the dust out of my eyes, I found myself in the basement of an unfamiliar crystal structure. I assumed it was the basement, both because there were no windows and because Twilight had mentioned moving the mirror to the basement of her castle. Looking around, it seemed like noone- er, nopony- had been down there for a while. Everything was covered in a layer of dust, and there were boxes stacked around errantly. I trotted over, testing out my hooves. It had been a while, after all. I found that it was sort of like riding a bike- one with wheels made of bread. But I managed. Opening up a box with my magic- huh, I used magic without even thinking about it. Seems like some things really are like riding a bike- I rolled my eyes. It was full of almanacs. Leave it to Princess Twilight to turn a giant tree-shaped crystal castle's magical interdimensional portal room into extra book storage space. I closed the dusty box and trotted unsteadily over to the stairs. Here, my years of four-limbed stair-climbing expertise came in handy. If anyone ever tells you that's a useless skill, well, it isn't.

As I opened the doors and walked through, I found myself in a large, open hall. I looked around, taking in the crystalline decor. It looked like it hadn't been exactly lovingly tended to- everything was sorta dusty, though not to the same degree as the basement. Although to be fair, libraries did accumulate geological levels of dust, and this was technically a library. As I took in the sights, periodically calling out a 'Hello' or 'Anypony home', I decided that if I ever got a castle, Twilight was not going to be my interior decorator. It had been at least ten minutes of wandering about, and not only were there no roaring fireplaces, I had yet to see anything resembling a sign or exit. I was reminded of the maps they put in malls, with the little 'You Are Here' sticker. Could really have used one of those right about then.

Suddenly, a noise off in the distance. I paused, my ears swiveling- oof, that was going to take some re-adjusting. I forgot I could do that. Uh, anyway, my ears perked and I turned in the direction of the noise. It sounded sorta like hoofsteps... I think? Only, it was more of a... soft sound. With clicking. You know when a dog walks on a hardwood floor, and its nails click on the ground at the same time its lil squishy paw pads do? Gosh, I really like dogs. Anyway, that was like what this sounded like, only a lot louder. If it was a dog, said dog was the size of a horse. And I mean a horse horse, not a pony like me.

A howling roar emanated from down the hall. It was low, and long, and fairly loud. I am a very brave pony, as you know. I am not at all a 'scaredy-cat', as Rainbow Dash once suggested. That is a slanderous lie, and taking advantage of my rather strong dislike of spiders to 'prove' it was- ok, look, the point is that I definitely wasn't scared. The only reason I began frantically searching for an escape route was because I like to be prepared for things. Like whatever kind of monsters Twilight had decided to allow into her castle. I had just started to run for the open doorway ahead and to my right when suddenly, around the corner came the biggest, most horrible, and most terrifying-

"Sunset Shimmer? Is that really you?" said Spike.

Oh.

"Ah- uh- Spike!" I exclaimed. "Wow, is it really you? You're so much taller than I remember!" It had been dark the last time I saw him as a dragon and not a puppy. I was also more focused on stealing a priceless magical artifact. But I remembered him fitting into a basket. "I didn't know dragons grew so fast... it's only been, like, two years, right?"

Spike got this weird look on his face when I said that. He was a LOT bigger than I remembered. If he'd stood up on his hind legs, I think he'd have been a bit taller than Celestia. But he was, at the moment, on all fours. Probably so he could pass through doorways, most of which were pony sized. He seemed to be comfortable walking like a pony, though. Other than the fact that his proportions had changed so as to allow for easier qudrupedal locomotion, he seemed to have changed little. Although he wasn't a full-grown drake, he certainly seemed to be on the way there.

"Sunset..." he began, his throat sounding a little tight, like he was holding back emotion. "It's been fifteen years."

An awkwardly long pause followed.

"What? I think I misheard you. Still gettin' used to these ears." I replied, swallowing hard. That couldn't be right, could it? I mean, yeah, time was always distorted, but-

"Yeah. It's been fifteen years since we heard from you. And the mirror didn't work. Not from our side, at least." Spike sat down, then stood up again. I started to feel like maybe I'd have to re-work my schedule, maybe pencil in some vomiting time. Before I could get out my metaphorical day planner, Spike cleared his throat. I guess I'd just been standing there not saying anything for a bit. "Um, maybe we should have some tea. Twilight would make tea in this situation." I nodded, still not quite able to speak. Spike started off in what was presumably the right direction (I had not been looking for tea in my earlier explorations) and I followed. As we walked, I realized something.

"...Spike? Where is Twilight? This... this is her castle, right?" I asked, looking up at the dragon as we trotted along.

"Yeah, this is her castle. But she's in Canterlot right now. Actually, she's in Canterlot most of the time. I'm the only one who really lives here anymore." We reached the rather nice balcony. "I'll put a pot on. Usually I'd have some on around now, but I was sleeping... sorry if my yawn scared you earlier, by the way." He ducked back inside briefly. I realized that I'd probably have to file away the 'roar' from earlier under 'dragon yawn'. Lucky no one- I mean, nopony- else had seen that. Before long, he'd returned. I had sat down at the table, which was perfectly placed on the balcony to give its occupants a view of the town- Ponyville, presumably, from what Twilight had told me before.

The Princess had described it as a quaint little village. In many ways, it looked like one, but there were some features which gave me pause. A rather large airship mooring field, for one, and a number of fairly large, new looking buildings. The town still held its rural charm, it looked like; but it seemed like it had expanded to meet demand. I was busy looking over the town, so I didn't hear Spike return immediately. He'd sat down across from me, eyeing me up and down curiously.

"So, um, when you say 'fifteen years', do you mean, like, fifteen years fifteen years? Or, uh..." I had to stop and get it together. It was hard to believe so much time could have passed. I mean, time dilation was always a thing with the mirror, but it wasn't that bad. It was like a 1:4 ratio, not a fifteen-years-per-day ratio. But honestly? As I sat there and thought about it, I realized that I actually didn't care. As long as I was in contact, the time difference never bugged me. I mean, let's go down 'Sunset's Big List of Friends in Equestria'. Twilight's immortal... Princess Celestia's immortal... Spike's immortal... and there's the end of the list. So it didn't really matter to me if the time passed more quickly in Equestria; I wasn't going to lose anypony I cared about.

"Yeah, I'm sure you're wondering what's been going on..." Spike wrinkled his nose. "There's a lot to tell. I'll let Twilight give you the detailed rundown. You... haven't missed too much. Yeah. Things are mostly- um, the same as when you left. But, um, I think it'd be best if we went to Canterlot as soon as possible. Twilight was pretty insistent that anypony who came out of that mirror was to be brought straight to her, and anyway, I'm sure she'll be thrilled to see you after all this time. There's a train leaving in about an hour and a half, so we'll be in the capital by dinnertime." Spike fidgeted a little. He seemed to be reluctant to elaborate on what had gone on during the last fifteen years. I mean, you'd think he would at least have had something interesting to share, right? I was on the verge of asking him to, but the whistle of the teakettle came from the interior of the castle, saving him from extrapolation.

~~~ ~~~ ~~~

"...and then Rainbow said, 'Only if you can beat me in a lap around the building!' But of course, it's Rainbow, so I got her to give me a ten second head start. Her overconfidence is going to be the death of her, I swear."

"Heh. That sure sounds like our Rainbow, too." Spike chuckled. Our train ride, thus far, had been spent sharing stories of the Elements of Harmony on either side of the mirror. Spike had conveniently avoided telling me anything much about the events of the past 15 years, but I'd managed to gather a few things from him, mostly about the pony versions of my friends from the mirror realm. It seemed like they were mostly identical in almost every possible way.

"Did I ever tell you about the time that Twilight appointed me as the new Rainbow Dash?" asked Spike. He had the gleam of nostalgia in his eye; the stories he'd been telling were almost twenty years ago for him. I raised an eyebrow.

"You?" I asked, a note of joking incredulity in my voice. "Why, did everypony fast turn into newts or something?" Spike looked genuinely offended for a moment before cracking a smile.

"We were fighting Discord. Rainbow Dash had flown off, because he changed all the Element Bearers to act in the opposite of their nature- so she was disloyal, and left when we needed her. So Twilight gave me the Element of Loyalty..."

The story continued as the train wound its way up the mountain. I listened, attentive- it really was a good story- but I was also watching the scenery. There were more airships overhead than before, and quite a few of them looked to be bristling with armament. I wasn't really sure what that was about, but I didn't enjoy the implication. Humans didn't build giant weapons en masse like that unless some sort of conflict was imminent, so for ponies to do so... I wondered if maybe the griffons had started something again. Well, surely Twilight would tell me.

~~~

"...and then Twilight and her friends used the Elements, but it really worked this time- since we had the real Rainbow Dash and not me- so Discord was petrified again! Of course, you've already heard about how we released and reformed him the next year. He's still best friends with Fluttershy, and of course he comes to Ponyville to hang out with Big Mac- Applejack's brother- and I. He's a great guy. I'm lucky to have him as a friend; he doesn't make friends easily, so it's good to know I can count on him." Spike finished his story. I had... questions. Mostly, I wasn't convinced Discord could have been reformed. I'd heard the cliffnotes version of the story before, as well as the other things Discord had done in the few years after, from Twilight. He seemed, if she was to be believed, to have made some real friends and become... if not a hero, certainly a more helpful character than a god of chaos could be expected to be.

"So what happened to all the rabbits and the chocolate mi-" I began, but was interrupted by the echoing whistle of the train as we passed through the tunnel. Light returned to the world outside my window as we chuffed into the train station. It was definitely a lot bigger than it had been when I lived in the city, that was for sure; but then, from what I'd seen coming up the mountain, Canterlot had grown as well. The train hissed to a halt at the platform, and Spike and I exited, looking around. Spike had sent a message on ahead to Twilight, so-

"Sunset!" cried an all-too-familiar voice, bubbling with exuberance. I turned to see Twilight trotting up, a huge grin on her face. She looked nearly the same as she had- still young, and yet somehow she'd started to gain some of that ethereal beauty that the elder princesses had. Her mane wasn't made out of pieces of the firmament or anything, but she had definitly grown more beautiful. Her elegance, serenity, and confidence in how she carried herself were clearly things she'd been working on quite a lot, because she looked and acted her part as a Princess of the realm. I started to say something, but she blindsided me with a crushing hug. Ow, that earth pony strength was no joke. Twilight hadn't quite broken my ribs when she realized and released me from her embrace. Still, she kept a hoof on my shoulder, as if to reassure herself I was real and not an illusion. "Oh my gosh, where have you been?! When Spike told me you'd come back, I had so many questions-"

That was it. That was the thing that was nagging at me the entire time. Spike hadn't sent the letter to Celestia, he'd sent it to Twilight. She was here in Canterlot. Spike hadn't mentioned her. And I'd been too caught up to think about it. He'd even distracted me on the train ride so I wouldn't ask about it. Remembering the last letter Twilight had sent me through the journal, a knot began to form in the pit of my stomach. I started to get the question out, but Twilight was still talking.

"-and of course you can stay in the castle as long as you like, I've already had your room made up for you. Oh, I'm so excited to see you again! We've got so much to talk about! What happened to the mirror? Has it been fifteen years for you too? I mean of course not, you look like you're still 19, but I mean-"

"Twilight." I said, quietly and with enough force that she paused immediately to stare at me with a bit of a surprised, owlish expression. Spike, too, had begun to fidget again. I think he knew it was coming, and he'd done quite a good job stalling, but I had to know, and I had to know now.

"Yes?" Twilight asked, her surprise melting into concern.

"Where is Princess Celestia?" I asked, my throat dry. I didn't want her to tell me. I didn't want to know. I couldn't bear to even listen, but I had to know if what I suspected was true. And yet some part of me hoped that I was wrong- that she was just busy- that I could walk into the throne room and she'd be sitting there. But somehow, deep inside, I knew I was wrong. The look that crawled across Twilight's face confirmed it. It was a muddy blend of fear, pain, pity, and sorrow, all jumbled up together and thrown angrily at the wall.

"Oh, Sunset..." Twilight began, her voice breaking a little bit. "I'm so sorry..."