Open Your Heart

Chapters

Danger, Water Rising
Clamour, Sirens Wailing
It's Such a Bad Sign
Shadows of Dark Creatures
Steel Clouds Floating In The Air
Can't Hold On Much Longer
But I Will Never Let Go!
Thunder, Rain and Lightning

Danger, Water Rising

"Come on, come on, come on..."

'Yo this is Jackie, you know what to do at the beep.'

"GOD. DAMMIT!"

Frustration overtook Sunset and she nearly chucked her phone down the alleyway. She was on break from her part time job as a waitress, on a break and calling her girlfriend for what had to be the fiftieth time since she woke up two days ago with no sign of Jackie anywhere. Her car was missing, no one had seen her and she wasn't picking up! Running her fingers through her hair so harshly that it came out of it's pony tail, Sunset took a deep breath and tried to calm down. After putting her hair back up, she sent off a couple of texts, checking in to see if anyone had seen Jackie before her break was over.

Although she knew the police were perfectly capable of handling the situation, Fluttershy felt that maybe perhaps they would have a better chance of finding Jackie if they kept looking. Pinkie Pie was doing a great job in asking people as they went around, going from Jackie's neighborhood and spreading out. Granted she was a little up in other people's faces, just a little bit, but she did get that little bit of info out of the nice man at the liquor store. But that really didn't tell them where Jackie went, or if she was okay since she had purchased a lot of alcohol the night she was gone. And now Sunset was sending them a text saying she still hadn't heard word from Jackie and if they had found her...

"Your aura is gettin' funky ShyShy."

While there was no small sound of surprise, there was the slightest tensing at being caught. Only slightly though. Fluttershy turned and gave a small, reassuring smile to Treehugger, the normally mellow young woman's easy going features were moved to a noticeable look of worry.

"I'm... well, worried. Sunset is worried and... we can't stay in Los Pegasus for much longer..."

She'd learned not to lie just to make her girlfriend stop worrying, that wasn't right. Not to mention Treehugger could see right through her. But after everything had happened that urge to want to lift other people's spirits was nagging at her to do something. Especially when it seemed they weren't even close to finding the guitarist. Treehugger gave a small nod and moved in, wrapping an arm around Fluttershy's waist as they continued down the block, Pinkie Pie ahead of them with Jackie's picture on her phone to show to random people.

"I know. I'm worried too. Jacks's always had troubles so like... I know her aura is way bad right now."

"And all that alcohol probably isn't good either..."

"Yeah... but don't worry, we'll find her. And things'll get better."

"Mm-hm..."

It was easy to trust Treehugger on this matter, maybe it was because it was her girlfriend or just the way she said it. Still, she glanced over to the other, a little nervous but a question in mind.

"And... are you still okay?"

"Yeah. I'll be fine Shyshy."

"... really?"

It was easy enough to read that the young woman in dreadlocks was still a bit off. Those aura reading lessons that Tree gave her were really paying off. Although it could of been that she'd been around the other for so long... either way, Treehugger gave her a tired smile in turn and a light shrug.

"Death happens. And like, I don't say it to be cold just more it's a part of life. It's like... this cycle, you know? We're born and we live on this far out planet that gives us all the righteous things we need for our life. I'm still sad when I lose someone of course but like... I'll be fine, take it in stride, and know their energy is back with the planet and all around us, you know?"

"Right..."

The gentle smile on Fluttershy's face dropped when she spotted Pinkie chasing a businessman down the street, shouting for him to look at her phone.

"P-Pinkie Pie, wait!"

'And in news tonight, another victim was found in an alleyway, barely conscious. Reports are that five previous victims in the hospital are fine but still incredibly weak, doctors-'

The newsman was cut off as Aria flipped the channel, the siren relaxing on the couch, short hair still damp to show she had showered not long ago. She'd already looked at her phone and tossed it back onto the coffee table after a quick, one word reply. It had been a long day training at the gym and she just wanted to relax before she was made go out looking again. Unfortunately her rest would not last long, the door flew open and Sonata stormed in, fliers in hand with Adagio following in right after her.

"Ari! I got the fliers! Come on and let's get going!"

"Dammit Sonata, I just got home, can we give this a few minutes?"

"But what if Jackie's in trouble?!"

"Well what the fuck can we do about it then?"

At this point, Adagio stepped between them with raised hands, casting them a warning look before speaking.

"We'll take ten minutes to get ready. We'll drop off a stack of these fliers at Sunset's place and then go out looking. Understood?"

Both knew that when their eldest sister was serious like this not to talk back, so they grumbled out their agreements as Adagio headed back to her room to change out of her work clothes. The normally flirtatious fluffy siren was quiet, her facade completely neutral now as she slipped into some more comfortable clothes. She'd been a bit more severe since everything that had happened... falling back into a habit of imagining herself with her siren powers again. Except instead of taking over the world, she'd gut the man that shot Poppy. Once she had finished dressing, she was pleased to see that her sisters were on their feet, heading out and leaving her to bring up the rear and lock the door behind them.

"Sunset, you need to rest! Plus Sonata and the others are going to come over with the fliers, shouldn't you wait?"

"I've got Jackie's photo on my phone, I just... I can't just sit here and do nothing Bobby! Just stay here in case Jackie comes back, alright?"

Without another word, Sunset, out of her work clothes, was on her bike and putting her helmet on, with Bobby helplessly standing aside as she revved it up. Soon she had pulled out and took off, hellbent on expanding her search to find Jackie. Bobby meanwhile just shook his head with a sigh, heading back in and letting the back door to the apartment building swing shut.

Unfortunately someone had quietly come up and stopped it from closing, the figure in the black hoodie slipping inside soon after...

Author's Note

I'll be honest, I can't remember if I ever said what Sunset's part time job was. *shrugs*

Clamour, Sirens Wailing

The boy had been filling, but that was not surprising since he was one of the group that had special powers. He was left weak on the floor, just like all the others after he had put a gun to his back and made the young man open the door. After gaining more power, Tirek had just gone ahead back to the living room to search for the remaining two crystals. Ever since Pinkie Pie's MyStable account had been made private, he was left grasping at straws, knowing only that Twilight lived in this city with Sunset and a post had been put up about them having gotten into the same college (with the tag of wishing to throw a party of some sorts, the inane reaction Miss Pie had to everything). It was a gamble but he didn't doubt that Sunset Shimmer would have them, Twilight looked to be a meek and simpering sort...

However it seemed as if he may have miscalculated. The remaining two crystals were not here! He needed them... the five remaining crystals wee just calling for all of them to be together! And Tirek had a feeling that if he had them all, everything he had ever wanted would be in his grasp. These crystals focused power and brought it to life... all seven would be....

"DAMMIT!"

He howled, flipping over the night stand, knocking over the contents of the alarm clock, bedside lamp, and an old looking book with a sun on it. The book fell open to a specific page, marked by Sunset having left her pen there from having written to Twilight the previous night, venting her frustrations. Tirek was about to leave when he noticed something about the page. Something about coming through a portal? The man picked it up and read the page before flipping back, scanning for any more mentions of a portal. He'd heard there was one at CHS, but there was one here at the Los Pegasus Grand Park? All the times he had tried to interact with it and it had been closed... but this Princess Twilight could open it on a whim? A portal with magic power... a magical princess...

Tapping the side of the book, Tirek flipped it to the recent page and did his best to copy Sunset's hand writing, sending an urgent message. If he couldn't get all the crystals then he wouldn't leave empty handed...

"The fuck? The door is open!"

Head snapping up, Tirek swore softly as he closed the book and placed it on the bed before reaching into his hoodie and pulling out his gun. Not many bullets left, he'd have to make this count. Tirek slipped behind the bedroom door, he heard more than one voice... three in fact. Foot steps were coming closer. A purple haired girl stepped in and he struck! He wrapped an arm around her neck, her struggling ceased in a split second when he pressed the gun to her temple. Then he turned to face the others, spotting a blue haired girl that had froze on the spot, eyes wide and raising her hands up defensively as he took aim.

Fear shot through Aria, making her react as her hand struck up to throw off his aim. It had to be the loudest sound she'd ever heard, it pained her slightly. But not as much as seeing her older sister fall to the ground.

"SONATA!"

Blinding rage consumed Aria, she grabbed Tirek's arm and twisted it so hard she swore she could feel the ligaments tear. He let out a pained cry and actually dropped the gun, the furious siren turning and landing a punch square in Tirek's face, which sent him tumbling back, Aria hot on his heels as she straddled his waist and starting wailing on him. Unfortunately, he managed to grab both of her arms, losing the battle in holding them back but he knew he would only need a few seconds as he opened his mouth.

Down on the floor, Adagio had crawled over to the whimpering Sonata, cool and calm as could be even as she looked over her younger sister. Thankfully it seemed Tirek's aim was off this time, he'd only gotten the younger siren in the left shoulder, but there was still a lot of blood. Adagio glanced to the bedroom as she heard struggling, reaching to her phone and speed dialing first-

"On your feet."

Pausing, Adagio made her movements as slow as possible as she stood before turning to aim the full force of her glare on Tirek. The hood was down, his face looked bruised and he had a bloody nose... good. Not so good was the gun pointed right at her.

"Tirek..."

"Ah, so you do know me... and you three do look familiar. From a couple years ago at CHS, if I'm correct."

The eldest siren simply glared at the man while a smirk was on his face.

"Very magical, the energy the other one gave me was quite invigorating."

"Oh? And that's why you're here? To steal magic from us?"

"Not initially... but after a bit of light reading I've got a good alternative plan. And I'll have quite a boost to my power when that princess comes through the portal."

"... you know about that?"

"All apart of that nice bit of light reading. And I'll have to leave soon if I'm to meet her, but first I think I'll need a bit more of a power boost."

Once it was done Tirek left all four of them in the apartment and closed the door behind him. While weak however, Adagio was not out for the count. She slowly rolled onto her stomach, taking her phone out of her pocket when it started to ring, Sunset's voice coming through on the other side.

"Adagio?!"

"I'm fine Sunset... Tirek took my energy. You heard what he said?"

"Yeah, I'm going to call an ambulance for Sonata, send out a text to the others and head to the Grand Park!"

"Good... stop that bastard Sunset."

After hanging up, Adagio shimmied off her sweater and moved closer to Sonata, bundling it up and pressing it to her unconscious sister's shoulder.

"Hang on 'Nata... help is on the way."

Meanwhile in Canterlot, Rainbow Dash had just gotten out of the shower and was ready to settle in for the rest of the evening when she noticed her phone lighting up. She picked it up and quickly read through the messages, all from Pinkie Pie. She, Applejack and Rarity had been kept up to date on the Jackie situation but now things had escalated pretty damn fast. Tirek was in Los Pegasus and heading for the portal...

Biting her lower lip, Dash quickly changed into jeans, t-shirt and pulled on her sneakers before going over to her dresser. Opening the drawer, she pulled out the crystal that Sunset had given her a month ago. She'd put it on a chain and it still had that scratch on it. She'd practiced some with it but she had been hesitant to really use it... well, hang ups over her supposed element or not, the portal in Canterlot wasn't open and she had to move! Putting on the necklace before heading out of her parent's house, she stopped in the drive way and user her phone to double check which direction Los Pegasus was in. Then she took a deep breath and went down on one knee, a hand grasping around the crystal that hung around her neck as she closed her eyes in concentration.

She'd be there for her friends. She'd be there for Sunset. She wasn't going to let anyone down ever again!

A red tattoo glowed over her face, crawling down to her upper body as blue feathered wings grew from her back, the blue and gold metal helmet with the wing motif and goggles were back as well. Pulling the goggles down over her eyes, they opened as Dash suddenly pushed off from the ground, flying high into the air before taking off with great speed towards Los Pegasus...

Author's Note

Tension is rising! Ultimate show down emanate! Will Dash make it in time? Will Sunset be able to stop Tirek? And what happened to Jackie?

Stay tuned to find out!

It's Such a Bad Sign

There weren't a lot of people at the park that evening, something that suited Sunset just fine as she turned off the road and peeled into the park on her motorcycle. She'd drive along the park pathway and along the small path that connected it to the fountain, skidding to a halt and kicking up some water as her motorcycle came to a halt near the back wall of the fountain. Quickly dismounting and taking off her helmet, she scanned around the area, trying to see any hint that Tirek was in the area but ultimately having no luck in spotting him. Cautiously she walked over to the spot on the back wall and placed her hand against it.

Nothing. Twilight hadn't opened it yet. Alright, so all she had to do was wait and-

She hit the ground when something whizzed past her head and hit the wall, eyes wide upon see the bullet hole before she scuttled through the water to try and get better cover behind the fountain. She hadn't been able to get a good look at where exactly he was but she knew the general direction. This part of the park didn't have too much to hide behind, if he wanted to get close enough to the fountain Tirek would have to come out into the open. She'd just have to keep her eyes peeled and stop him from hurting Twilight. Just as she tried to peek around the fountain to try and see if he'd come out, she heard a new set of foot steps splash behind her.

"Sunset?"

Whipping her head around, she spotted Twilight and immediately rushed towards her to push her back through the portal.

"No time to explain, you've been tricked. Go back through and close the portal!"

"Don't move."

Both girls froze, Sunset because she recognized the voice, Twilight because she was looking over her shoulder and could see a man ten feet away pointing a gun at them.

"Ah, Princess Twilight, I presume. Step away from her Shimmer."

Gritting her teeth, Sunset made her movements as slow as possible, taking a step away and turning around to face Tirek. His hoodie was down so his face was clear enough to see, and judging by the small gasp from Twilight she figured out who this was. He made another motion to Sunset, wanting her to back away from Twilight and after a meaningful glance to the princess she began to comply. However on the fifth step, Twilight bolted for the portal, the sudden movement causing Tirek's attention to be turned to her and allowing Sunset to rush in. Training with Aria kicked in as she grabbed she moved to the side while grabbing the hand that had the gun, staying out of the way in case Tirek got a shot off while she pushed it up to further stop any chance of a stray bullet hitting. Then she pulled it down and away from her while twisting his first with both hands, putting enough pressure on the wrist that the pain weakened his grip, allowing Sunset to pull the gun right out of his hand.

Holding the gun by the barrel and handle, Sunset backed off from him, the man rubbing his wrist and glaring at her before he glanced to the portal.

"Don't even think about it!"

Based on how poorly she held the gun, he knew she wouldn't take the shot. The man sprinted towards it, Sunset swearing as she tossed the gun aside and followed, grabbing his arm and shoulder as they were pulled through at the same time. The sensation was familiar yet strange now that she was wrestling with another while going through, trying her damnest to pull him back while he kept trying to pull forward. Somehow in the mess she was being pushed halfway through the portal first, in a form familiar to her as hands became hooves, clothes vanishing into fur as part of her anatomy began to shift. However, she glanced into the library situated in Twilight's castle, spotting a shocked Spike and a panicked Twilight, at the controls of the machine, ready to shut it down.

Sunset winced when she looked above her,seeing two large, red hands grab the sides of the mirror, in front of her a face eyed with black sclera and horns at the side of it. She caught out of the corner of her eye Twilight readying her magic, but Sunset shook her head. She couldn't be moved or Tirek would have no obstacle, and with him still mostly inside the portal would a spell really work? Only one option...

"Do it!"

"What?!"

"Pull the plug Twilight, do it now!"

"But Sunset! You-!"

If he got through, who knew what sort of power he would have. If he went back, he'd drain her energy and do as he pleased, no one being able to stop him as he gathered more power. Magic flowed through her, gathering at her horn as Sunset gathered all her power to create a blast that would send them back inside, Sunset's last words being.

"DO IT!"

Eyes misting over, Twilight quickly cut the power, the mirror becoming nothing more than a mirror. Whatever was happening was something Sunset could never imagine or compare to any experience. She and Tirek separated but that was the last thing on her mind as she felt she was pulled in a million directions at once, flashes of color, space and time, hits of magic so large in quantity it felt like she would burst before being depleted to almost nothing. Whenever she had the state of mind to look at herself, hooves shifted to hands, then back, repeating. Glimpses of the past, present... future? Eyes, sounds, feelings... it was such sensory overload that Sunset wasn't sure if she'd pass out or be sick first.

Finally it all came to a screeching half when she landed on a hard surface, knocking the wind out of her as she gasped and choked. Vision was blurry, hand... hoof... it still seemed to go back and forth. Was she looking at stars? Molecules? Was she floating in a void? Wherever it was... she wouldn't be able to go back. Would she? Was she stuck here? Princess Celestia, her friends, her girlfriend... her girlfriend who was still lost and alone somewhere in Los Pegasus... but safe from Tirek. One last thought passed through her mind as she lost consciousness...

'I love you Jacks... please be safe.'

With a soft gasp, Jackie was brought back to the conscious world. Although she really wish she wasn't. Immediately she hissed as she felt a pounding in her head, rolling over onto her back and shutting her eyes tight. Where was she? This felt like a cold cement floor... and why'd she smell piss and vomit? Looking down at her shoes, at least the latter part of that smell combo was explained. Summoning all of her will, Jackie pushed herself to sit up and looked around, finding herself in an abandoned building that was an obvious place for squatters and junkies alike to crash, if that filthy, rat infested mattress was anything to go by. Another closer glance near her and she could see empty cans and bottles that had probably once contained alcohol.

A wave of nausea hit her and she had to lie back down, her mind swimming as she pieced together flashes of what she did while on that major bender. Thankfully there didn't seem to be much. Drank, punched a junkie, drank some more, made the junkie back off again by vomiting on her shoes, passing out... as far as binge drinking went it really didn't make the top ten. Turning onto her side, she felt something jamming her waist and turned back over so she could pull it out. Her cell phone... with a hell of a lot of text messages and voice mail. Oh fuck, Sunset...

Groaning and putting a hand to her cold, sweaty forehead, Jackie knew she'd have to get home and fast. Everyone was probably really worried about her. After about ten minutes she was finally able to stand, staggering and nearly tripping over the empty cans as she looked for an exit. Once she did crawl her way out through a boarded window, she found she was in some suburb on the outskirts. Really not a good neighborhood you wanted to be in at any part of the day. Thankfully her car looked too shitty for anyone to want to break into it, so she got into the passenger's seat and sat there for about an hour.

Okay, she'd done this before. Slow and easy. Obey the speed limit, try to be alert... find a gas station that'd sell her the shit she'd need. Thankfully one wasn't too far away and she had some cash to get a cheap cup of coffee and a candy bar while getting some free water. The water definitely helped but she hoped she didn't catch anything from that nasty, used gum riddled fountain.

After an hour of thankfully not getting pulled over, she parked in back and headed into the apartment building. From what she could tell it'd been about three days or so since she went on the binge. Hopefully Sunset could let her shower and rest a bit before chewing her out.

"Sunset? Bobby? I'm home."

However, as she stepped inside, she was instead greeted by Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Tree Hugger and Fluttershy all sitting around her copy table with Sunset's journal. Before she could even ask what the hell was going on, Dash stormed up to her and pushed her back against the door.

"OW! Dash, what the-"

"Where the fuck were you!?"

"Drinking. Look, I know I shouldn't of just gone off but-"

"But NOTHING! Major shit went down and you were off throwing a fucking pity party for yourself!"

"Wait, what?"

"Tirek came by! He took Bobby's energy and the Dazzlings, he fucking shot Sonata!"

"Holy shit... wait, where's Sunset?"

Confusion started to give way to dread as she looked between them, Pinkie Pie's hair was totally deflated, a morose Tree Hugger had an arm around a shaking Fluttershy, and Dash's eyes looked a bit shinier than before.

"She's gone."

"... gone where?"

"Who knows? She didn't come through either side of the portal when Twilight cut power to the machine. And they haven't come out when she turned it back on."

"... what? But... but where is she?"

"No one knows! All we know is that she's gone! G-o-n-e GONE! She's lost somewhere in some magic shit and we have no idea how to get her back!"

Another wave of that sick feeling hit Jackie as she slowly slit down the door and onto the floor.

Gone... Sunset was gone. But... she couldn't be gone. Oh god. Jackie ran her fingers through her greasy hair, eyes watering as she felt herself start to spiral again.

She should of been here, she could of done something.

What could she have even done?

Something. Then maybe Sunset would be here. Instead of lost in some magic shit.

Magic shit...

Looking over to the coffee table, an idea struck Jackie as she lurched up onto her feet, went over to grab both the journal and the pen next to it before heading back to the door. She threw it open and headed down the hallway, Dash calling after her.

"WAIT! Where the hell are you going?!"

"Who else knows more about magic shit than magic talking ponies?!"

Author's Note

I'm gonna be honest, I had a whole other idea of where I was going to take this story.

But I ended up chucking it for this idea. SURPRISE. :pinkiehappy:

Shadows of Dark Creatures

There were a lot of things that could be seen in Los Pegasus. A guy wearing a tutu on the corner asking for change, a religious person in a tie would be on the opposite corner shouting about how people were going to hell for playing video games and watching TV. And then you had someone at the fountain, holding a journal with a sun on it with one hand while the other was pounding on the wall.

"DAMMIT SPARKLE, LET ME THROUGH!"

Groaning as her headache started to flare up, Jackie rubbed her forehead to calm it back down before opening the book and getting the pen out of her pocket. She's already been writing to Twilight before this, messy handwriting a complete contrast to all the other writings in the book but legible at the very least.

HAVEN'T YOU OPENED THE DAMN PORTAL YET?!

I DID! Are you at the right section of wall?!

Pausing, Jackie took another look at the spot she was in before pocketing the pen and moving over to the right, feeling along until she thought she was in the right spot. Suddenly the wall gave way and she was falling through, that familiar portal feeling passing through her as it felt like she was getting whiplash all over. Although it was... different this time. Something... someone else was in here. Jackie turned in time to see a pair of yellow eyes glaring at her before a blast of teal banished it, flash of red. Then she fell onto her back on a cold stone ground, Sunset's journal landing next to her as the now green pegasus gave a a groan of pain. She then became vaguely aware of others in the... library?

"Jackie! Jackie, are you okay? Did you see anything when you went through?"

"Twilight, give her some space-"

"By the stars what is that smell?!"

Turning over onto her stomach, Jackie looked up and saw not just Twilight, but Celestia and... wait, that one looked like Vice Principle Luna kind of. The dark alicorn was holding a hoof over her snout, leading Jackie to believe the funk from her bender had followed her even to this world. Before she could even get a word out though, a dark aura had formed around her, lifting her up into the air as Princess Luna started to escort her out of the library. That's about when Jackie found her voice.

"W-Wait! Sunset, we gotta' find Sunset!"

Reaching out, she latched with all four hooves onto the one side of the door frame, putting up a pretty good effort of not being moved by Luna's minor efforts. Celestia gave Jackie a sad look, complimented by hints of stress showing through. Twilight, while stressed however, looked more annoyed as her former mentor spoke first.

"Jackie, we're doing what we can, this is uncharted territory, the leyline between two tapped into by a portal. We have no idea what is in there, the type of power and magic or what even happens to somepony sent in."

"Which is why I should go in there! I've studied Starswirls theories and designs on his original portal more than anyone, my knowledge of magic would be an asset!"

The snap from Twilight caused her and Celestia to lock gazes, the moment tense as a silent conversation went between them before the younger alicorn cast her gaze away and the elder's turned back to Jackie.

"We're doing all that we can Jackie. But until we have more information it's a dangerous, unknown situation. Just give us time."

Another protest was welling up inside of Jackie, but with a firm, telekinetic yank she was dragged off by Luna. Spike was on the way with a tray of drinks as he jumped aside to make room for a struggling Jackie and Luna.

"Spike, bathroom with a tub?"

"Down the way, sixth door on the right."

"Thank you."

Heading through the correct door, Luna turned on the water to the tub, testing it with a hoof to get it at the right temperature while Jackie continued to struggle, throwing out swears that Luna did not seem to care for. Once the tub was full, the alicorn turned off the water and unceremoniously dropping the pegasus, creating quite a nice splash that Luna kept contained with her magic. Jackie would emerge seconds later, sputtering and glaring at Luna as a shampoo bottle was brought over and a generous amount was magically lathered into her mane.

"Dammit! Fucking cut it out!"

"Continue your uncouth language and I'll be sure to use some soap on your mouth."

The look from Luna seemed to cow Jackie, the pegasus a bit more cooperative as she was still in hang over recovery mode. So with but a mere grumble, Jackie sank low into the water and let Luna continue to wash out her mane, both silent as Jackie was cleaned up. After Luna dunked some water over her head, Jackie reached for the conditioner bottle. Or at least tried to. While she'd been able to get the hang of walking her last time here, figuring out how ponies grabbed things without fingers was still beyond her mastery. It slipped into the water, making Jackie pout before Luna's magic lifted it out and applied some to her mane.

"I had thought you'd have trouble. You've only been to this world once before, yes?"

"Yeah... but geez, I didn't think my bender would carry through to another dimension... world... whatever."

"Bender?"

"Yeah, don't ponies go on benders too? Drink a lot? Lose days and black out a bit?"

"Ah, I understand now. Something befell you recently?"

"... yeah."

"I see."

More silence, although after the conditioner was washed out soap was left up to Jackie, Luna simply sitting back as she contemplated what she would say.

"You know, we are trying our best to get Sunset back."

"Didn't seem like Twilight agreed."

"Yes... well, my sister and Twilight do differ on what should be done. For good reasons."

"Oh yeah? Well what's Celestia's reason for not sending Twilight in? Twilight's crazy good with magic."

"Because if she let's Twilight just jump in, then she may be lost like Sunset. Her fate unknown and without a way to get her back."

"... oh. Wait, why haven't they found a way to get people back yet?"

"Starswirl was a genius of magic in his time, only he truly understood every intricacy of inter-dimensional portals. It's something only Twilight really has come to master recently and this is an unprecedented situation. Which is why we also need Twilight here."

"... makes sense. But do you have anyone else to go?"

"Ideas are floating around. But to find somepony able to survive whatever they will face on the other side and willing to make possibly a great sacrifice will be a... difficult process. Especially since Twilight and my sister are hesitant to ask that of anyone."

"Yeah... but what about you or Celestia? You guys are strong magic-y people."

"We run a country, Jackie. Getting lost who knows where on a whim would not sit well."

"But we're wasting too much time!"

Having been struggling with the soap, it slipped out of her hooves and into the water, the pegasus giving a frustrated splash before looking back to Luna.

"I know we have to be careful, but who knows what's happening to Sunset! You're all describing this crap like some big scary crap and she's in that! Hell, just toss me in there and I'll go!"

"Absolutely not. You're not even a unicorn in this realm. Do you even have any understanding of magic?"

"Uhhhh..."

"Precisely. And besides that we can't think of a way to call you back. I know you're frustrated, but all we can do is wait..."

Frowning softly, Jackie dipped down into the nice, warm water, air bubbles coming from her snout as she was deep in thought. Then without warning she pushed herself up out of the tub, slipping slightly on the tile but grabbing a towel with her teeth and putting it on the floor. Then after rolling around on it enough so that she wasn't dripping water everywhere and even more scruffier looking thanks to now having fur and feathers. She stood and marched over to the door, grabbing the knob as best as she could with her teeth to turn it so she could open said door and continue her march.

Shaking her head, Luna stood and followed, knowing that the pegasus was about to do something brash. And not proven wrong when Jackie more or less kicked open the door to the library.

"-because I never wanted to be a princess in the first place!"

That knocked all the bluster right out of Jackie, standing there awkwardly after having heard Twilight's outburst. The door being kicked open had drawn both alicorn's attention, staring at her, caught in the middle of something that was probably supposed to be a private conversation. Coughing softly, the still slightly damp pegasus scuffed her hoof against the floor.

"... so. That happened. Anyways, Luna says it's a bad idea but you guys can send me in after Sunset."

"Absolutely not."

Scowling softly, Jackie was determined not to be brushed off like that as she walked over to Celestia, the height difference having to make her look up to meet with the alicorn's disapproving gaze.

"I'm going! I'm not sitting around on my ass waiting for some random fuck to 'meet with your approval' or whatever!"

"As I would guess that Luna has explained to you, there is no way to call you back! You'd need something to tether you to this world, something that could breach dimensions so that we could find you. Finding something like that-"

"The journal."

Both Jackie and Celestia's heads snapped over to Twilight, the princess of harmony having picked up Sunset's journal from the floor with her magic.

"The two journals have always been connected through the dimensions, it's how I've powered the machine to open the portals before it was naturally their time. The link may likely be strong enough that even in a magical leyline, we could lock onto Jackie and call her back if we have enough power."

"But that still doesn't solve the problem of if she can even survive in there. Even if whatever lies beyond doesn't kill her, she isn't even a magic user. Not without a proper 'catalyst' as you put it. Assuming the rules of magic in the leyline work in the same way as this world or in her world."

Shaking her head, Jackie moved over to Twilight while looking back at Celestia.

"Give me a baseball bat and I'll be good. Look I know you're concerned and I appreciate it, but we can't just keep sitting around! At the very least I can write back and tell you what I'm seeing so you'll know what you're dealing with!"

"And if you die? What will that do to Sunset?"

At that Jackie grimaced, looking down at the floor as the thought of a distraught Sunset made her stomach twist up in guilt. But then if she didn't go, if going right now meant she'd be able to save her. Shaking her head, the mare looked up to Celestia, perhaps the most serious that Jackie had ever been in her entire life.

"I'm not abandoning her. I'll bring my Sunshine back."

Frown deepening, Celestia looked between Jackie and Twilight, knowing she had dissension in the ranks, the young and brash wanting to take action. Which left her with two options, keep them from going through with this crazy plan but only delay the inevitable as they went behind her back. Or go along with it and pray that it would work out, lending her help when necessary. With a soft sigh, she closed her eyes and then gave a nod.

"Very well. We'll go with your plan."

A small smile came to Twilight's face as Jackie gave a whoop, the green pegasus ready to dive right in but Twilight had different plans.

"Spike! We need to gather some supplies! ... and fetch a towel!"

Author's Note

And here we go, into the unknown beyond!

Let's see what awaits, next chapter! XD

Steel Clouds Floating In The Air

It was perhaps the most serious moment of Jackie's life, as a highly untrained guitarist, she was about to head into an unknown that no one had any idea about. Twilight and Spike had made her a pack (with her input to just keep it simple since those weird science-y doohickeys looked heavy as fuck) and she was super serious!

"H-HA! Cut it out! Dash!"

Well, as serious as she could be with Rainbow Dash preening her wings. An experience Jackie never had before but was finding it was very ticklish. While the process of gathering supplies had begun, Pinkie Pie had inexplicably popped out from under the library desk and asked if she could help, which spread the word to the rest of Twilight's friends. Jackie had never actually met the pony versions of the Canterlot gang on her first and last trip here, but it was more or less the same thing aside from being ponies. Applejack, as dependable as ever and Pinkie Pie as being energetic as usual, they had helped with the food aspect of supplies. Rarity had a nice blanket for two and a couple scarves, Fluttershy had stopped by Zecora's for a little medicine, and Rainbow Dash had taken one look at Jackie's wings and told her to preen them. Then upon seeing Jackie had no idea how to do that, took matters into her own hooves.

Sitting up after the last feather was straightened, Jackie's giggling finally stopped and she was finally able to catch her breath. Dash moved away from the other pegasus simply shook her head.

"Look, dunno where you're going into all that magic stuff, but if you keep your wings you gotta' be able to fly. Besides, you don't want to look ruffled up if you run into something. You gotta' flare your wings and look intimidating!"

"Intimidating?"

"Yeah! Like this!"

Lowering her stance, Dash gave an impressive flare of her wings, making herself look bigger and intimidating. Jackie stood, looking the other over before attempting to copy it.

"No, no, no! It's in the attitude too!"

"Hey I know how to look intimidating, I can pull it off."

"Riiiiight. Either way, if you come out a pegasus, then show your Tirek that you don't mess with pegasi! Got it?"

"Got it!"

Pumped again, Jackie raised her front legs and let Twilight put the pack on her back with magic while Rarity's own magic slid the plain blue scarf around Jackie's neck. Turning, she looked between the gathered group and grinned.

"Thanks guys. Your help means a lot."

"Think nothing of it darling, a friend of Twilight's is a friend of ours."

"Darn tootin', so ya' be safe n' come back with Sunset now ya' hear?"

Giving a nod, Jackie looked over to Twilight when the princess approached her.

"Remember, one of you has to hold onto the journal and the other has to hold onto it or the one holding it. Otherwise if I call back the journal, one or both of you will get left behind. Alright?"

"I got it, I got it. So let's do this already!"

With that said, Jackie stood in front of the mirror as Twilight got to the controls of her machine, powering it up and then flipping the switch. With the signal, Jackie charged on through the mirror and then... things got weird. She thought she could see herself, being pulled apart, human self, pony self... was that her as a monkey? Holy fuck was that a huge eye?! MUY NO BUENO!

Then as she was being put through a roller coaster ride going around and around with her stomach churning, she hit something solid. Eyes swirling around, Jackie placed a hand over her mouth as the other pulled herself to the rocky edge, followed by some impressive ralphing before she passed out.

Pausing, Tirek looked around before sneering and continuing on down a long, floating rocky path. It must have been nothing, or perhaps it was Shimmer creating a false disturbance to distract him. The man didn't need anything to stop him right now, not when he was in this fascinating new world. He could feel the power all around him, and he could access it with the crystals he had stolen from those fools. There was something here, something he could use, something much more than that princess he had sought to steal energy from. If he could find it...

At the last second he moved to the left, dodging a magical blast that would of hit him square in the back before he turned, a snarl on his face as once more he had to deal with Shimmer's guerrilla tactics. Except this time instead of his gun, which had been lost in the void somewhere, his hands flared with a dark aura...

"Urgh..." grunted Jackie, waking up who knew how long later as she rolled away from the edge and then onto her back. Or at least tried to. The backpack was still on so she settled for shuffling onto her stomach, feeling some dirt sticking to the cold sweat on her forehead. With a soft sigh, she wiped it away with her hand... hand. Opening her eyes, she looked at her left hand and wiggled the fingers. Okay, so she wasn't a pegasus. Which was a shame since she was on some floating rock and could've used the wings.

Pushing herself up to sitting, she looked around and saw more floating rocks, a bit that looked like deep space, some weird sci-fi looking stuff... and shiny silver clouds? Squinting, Jackie wasn't sure what to make of them. She reached over the edge and poked one, pulling back when it rippled like the surface of water. Weird. Still, this piece of rock wasn't going anywhere. Jackie shimmied off the edge and reached a foot over to the strange cloud... and it sunk right in! Jackie gave a yelp as she tried to pull herself back up, only to find it was like quicksand as she was pulled into the silver.

It was suffocating, not to the point she couldn't breath but it was definitely uncomfortable. And weird, there was no hot or cold! Jackie flailed about until finally she seemed to sink through the bottom and began to fall. Jackie was sent tumbling head over heels as she tried grabbing for other clouds, hoping and praying that she wouldn't fall into some void and die. However she was starting to notice she was covered in a clear silver liquid, which was... odd. BUT NOT IMPORTANT SINCE SHE WAS FALLING RIGHT INTO A FLOATING ROCK!

With a scream Jackie hit it full force... and hit with a splat. It all dripped down from the rock and onto a long, winding road below, the silver quivering as it all grouped back together before the silver slid off of Jackie's body, sliding away and falling off the sides into other clouds as Jackie lied there, face down on the road. Then she pushed herself up, taking a deep breath and looking pale as she got back onto her feet. Okay, that was weird. More than weird. She had no idea what the hell that was! But she was fine, despite her stomach squirming like snakes she wasn't going to throw up. Then she felt someone tap her shoulder.

"Nice entrance Jacks. Ten out of ten."

There was Poppy... standing there. With three through and through holes in her chest. Impressively, Jackie actually had something left in her stomach to hurl over the side of the path.

Author's Note

BEHOLD THE BEYOND! It'll probably be filled with Jackie's puke by the end of it. XD

Can't Hold On Much Longer

Dear Twilight,

HELP!!!!!

Okay, calm again. As calm as I can be considering MY BEST FRIEND WHO DIED ABOUT A MONTH AGO IS RIGHT HERE AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO FUCKING DO!

I know you couldn't spare the princesses or the elements in case some weird magical shit or Tirek came through your side... BUT WHAT DO I DO!? SHE'S NOT GOING AWAY!

"You sure she's even going to be able to read that? Your writing looks like shit."

Jackie let out a very high pitched scream when she turned and saw Poppy looking right over her shoulder. "Don't do that! I'm really freaking out right now Poppy!"

"Yeah, I can see that." deadpanned the mechanic, stuffing her hands into her jeans pockets "You need another ten minutes to calm down or what?"

"Maybe! I mean, what? Are you a zombie? A ghost? WHAT?!" said Jackie, nearly fumbling the journal off the side of the floating path but managing to catch it at the last second. The guitarist was wide-eyed and still pretty pale looking as she gazed upon Poppy. She looked exactly as she did the day she died, even down to the bullet holes- oh fuck her stomach was churning again.

Shaking her head, Poppy walked over and started rubbing Jackie's back as the blue haired woman was doubled over, beginning to dry heave. "Jacks, take a pill. I could be either of those. Or it could just be some weird magic shit." she waited a beat before smirking and continuing "Or I could just be a magical conjuration of your mind as you go insane. Or some sort of magical being ready to drop the facade and pounce. Take your pick."

"Thanks Poppy..."

Giving Jackie a pat on the back, Poppy placed her hands on Jackie's shoulders and Jackie soon stood up straight.

"Okay so if you're supposed to be a figment, how'd you do that?" questioned Jackie, looking confused.

"Could be you just did it on your own but had imaginary me do that. Either way we're going to be here forever if you keep fucking questioning everything. Come on, we're going on a walk." said Poppy, motioning to the floating path that seemed to go on forever, far beyond in the horizon. .... Did this place actually have a horizon line?

Before Jackie could dwell on it, she took a step forward, then another and another as Poppy fell into step next to her. They were silent for minutes as they kept walking, Poppy as cool and neutral as Jackie remembered her being in real life while Jackie felt her stomach tying into a variety of knots.

"... it wasn't your fault you know." Poppy finally said.

"Is that you really saying that? Or is that my mind just saying that?"

"Does it matter?"

"Yes. I mean..." said Jackie, rubbing her forehead and looking upset "You got in front of me to save my ass. It was my fault..."

"So my choice to push you and get in the way of those bullets was totally your doing." deadpanned Poppy, raising a brow as Jackie scowled "I had no free will. I heard your command in my mind telling me to risk my life for yours. Your previously undiscovered power of mind control is-"

"I get it!" snapped Jackie, scowling as she crossed her arms, looking even more frustrated "But still... I dunno it just... it feels like that shouldn't of happened... I feel like such a dumbass."

"Believe it or not, for once that's not the case." snarked Poppy. "Jacks, we all just reacted. We had no idea that he had a gun and even then we might've figured we could take one guy. I mean after Chrysalis and Sunset coming back, didn't you get this feeling we could just do anything?"

"... maybe." admitted Jackie, scratching the side of her neck.

"Right. So stop being a dumbass about this and start getting over it. You need to pull yourself together because the situation in here right now is serious. Can you do that?" asked Poppy, coming to a stop and letting Jackie walk ahead of her.

"Yeah... yeah I think I can." said Jackie, continuing on for a few steps more.

"Good. Then take care of yourself Jacks... I'll miss you."

That made Jackie stop dead. She knew Poppy wasn't one to get too sentimental so she turned quickly... and found that the mechanic was gone. She sniffed for a moment and rubbed her eyes before stuffing her hands into her pockets and continuing on. She still felt bad, and not just because she'd gone on the mother of all benders recently. Bad... but not horrible like she had been feeling.

She'd keep walking for what felt like hours, having no idea where she was going since everything looked the damn same way. There was no sign of anyone and Jackie was starting to feel very much alone. She didn't feel hungry but at this point she just wanted to eat to have something to do. She pulled her pack off and started rifling through it "Apples... cupcakes... carrots... I wish I had the guys back home pack, least Tino would've given me some meat burritos or something..." she mumbled, looking around until finally she found something that looked good "Ooo, a fritter!" Pulling out the fried sweet treat, she was just about to take a bite when she noticed something.

She wasn't on just a path in a floating voice. Now she was surrounded by... well, weird shit. Flowers with mouths, the rocks were colors from all over the rainbow, melting guitars on bare trees, and weird as fuck looking animals with the features of humans or objects. "... am I high or insane?" mumbled Jackie, finally taking a bite of a fritter as she slowly started to make her way through this new landscape.

"Most assuredly not high. But insane?"

Jackie paused and slowly looked over to her right, eye to eye with a pair of red eyes with yellow sclera instead of white.

"Well... I think that's out for the jury!" said the bearded goat head that was attache to her shoulder.

"...." and understandably she screamed.

That was enough to make the head disappear in a flash of magic before the long bodied being appeared before her, an eagle claw digging at one of his long ears. "Really now my dear! Was that hardly necessary?"

"Well excuse me for being on edge!" snapped Jackie, taking a few deep breaths to calm down while the draconequus patiently waited. "Okay... who the hell are you? And why do you kind of look like the CHS Janitor?"

"Really? A janitor in your world?" he said, looking mildly insulted before thoughtful "Well, janitors do hold the most power in any universe... but anyways that is neither here nor there. My name is Discord my dear and I'm here to help you navigate this place to find your girlfriend and save the worlds!"

".... okay." said Jackie, seeming much more calm now that she knew who he was. "How're you gonna do that?"

"Well, this place is quite hard to navigate on your own, especially without magic! Even with magic honestly." mused Discord, pushing aside a fish that was floating by like a balloon with his lion paw. "I can't say I've ever tried to see the place between worlds. It's quite a dangerous place for a variety of reasons."

"Why? It's just a weird ass place." said Jackie, starting to continue walking while Discord floated next to her.

"Well yes and no." said Discord, stroking his goatee as they passed by a tree that had a bunch of puppy heads yapping away on it's branches. "Think of it as a wall. It's made of things to keep two sides separate. The wall has a solid foundation, bricks and mortar, it's got multiple kinds of magic to keep it all together and in place, with the odd wear and tear that allows some things to seep through to each room. All crafted by a master craftsman."

"... you talking about god now?" asked Jackie with a raised eyebrow.

"Bingo!" said Discord with a grin "Although I hear it depends on which universe you ask." he mused before seeing the still confused look on her face. "There's a variety of universes out there, Miss Vibrato. A multiverse if you will. It's not all one neighborhood, it's more like a country if you will. And although they go by the same idea of being a god, there's a different mayor of each town, with county lines that are blurred, more so in some places than others. And some with more than one mayor."

"Okay... so like, what's that got to do with this place?"

"The point being, the mayor in charge of this town has a bigger badge than mine. I can get us through here faster through teleportation but... I'm not even sure what I can actually have an effect on in here. I can move us about more quickly, that much I know." said Discord.

"Can you teleport us out of here?"

"Mmm, that's up in the air. It's easy to get in, hard to find the way back out, near impossible to punch a way out without preparation and things aligning just right. So the sure fire lifeline out is that journal you have in your possession."

"So you may or may not be a big help and you're fucked without the journal too." sighed Jackie, shaking her head.

"Only in terms of dealing with this place directly. As far as your human Tirek goes I'm sure that can be easily dealt with." said Discord with a toothy grin.

"Cool. So we gonna start teleporting then?" asked Jackie, hoping to get this done sooner rather than later.

"Of course!" said Discord, grasping her arm with the lion paw before his eagle claw gave a snap.

"Freezing!" yelped Jackie, finding herself knee deep in snow in the middle of a blizzard.

"Hmm..." said Discord, eyes extending into a pair of binoculars to look around. "Nope." Then another snap.

"EW!" squealed Jackie, not even wanting to look down at to what she was knee deep in now.

"Nada."

".... more rocks." deadpanned Jackie, finding that instead of just a rocky path, this looked more elaborate, with some floating caves, and a dead garden, along with some statues that had some wear and tear.

"Hmm... looks like a place she used to hang around." mused Discord.

"She?" asked Jackie, confused again but following after Discord as he floated forward.

"Well the crafter of this slice of the multiverse needed something aesthetically pleasing after all, amongst all the raw magic." said Discord, poking at the statue of a rather pretty looking woman, dressed in robes of sorts.

"Yeah but... god's a she?" asked Jackie, looking amused as she wandered aways off to look at a withered willow tree.

"Oh in this neighborhood absolutely!" said Discord with a toothy grin "I've never seen her myself but I believe I heard her voice once."

"Riiiight." said Jackie, not discounting the possibility but finding Discord a dubious witness at best. Then she noticed something up ahead, something that looked akin to a pillar of light "And what the hell is that?"

"That my dear would be mortar! You see-" Discord was then cut off by a blast of black tinted aura blasting through his chest, causing him to burst into a million little gooshy pieces across the ground.

"OH JESUS FUCK!" said Jackie, feeling her stomach churn violently at the sight before looking up to see the culprit. "T-Tirek...?" she managed to get out.

The man looked like hell, his clothes torn and burned away to reveal burned red flesh beneath, the gemstones hanging around his neck, covered in a black light. He looked dirty and half crazed as his yellow eyes narrowed "You... I know you. The girl from the forest..." he growled out, stalking towards her. His hands were covered in a dark aura and ready to fire more destructive magic "Your friend got in the way. But this time..."

Jackie's knees were knocking as he raised his hand. She shut her eyes tight, figuring this was it!

"JACKIE! GET DOWN!"

Suddenly she was tackled down onto her stomach, something on top of her, covering she heard a blast go right over her head before the thing on top of her fired back, making Tirek cry out in pain. Before she knew what was happening, there was a flash and a bang, her eyes opening to see they were in a cave... probably one of the ones around the area.

"Jackie, what the hell are you doing here?!"

"Sunshine?" she mumbled out, quickly turning around and coming face to snout with Sunset Shimmer. In pony form. She had her own gem tied around her neck and the unicorn looked mighty pissed, tired with some fur and hair singed. "I... I came to get you back."

"Well you shouldn't have!" said Sunset, getting off of her girlfriend and moving a way, running a hoof over her mane. "Jackie, there's no way out Jackie and it's fucking dangerous!"

"Hey, Twilight figured out a way! I got your journal so if we just use it we can get out." protested Jackie, moving to sit up now, it kinda annoyed since she had expected Sunset to be a bit happier to see her.

"Great, but now you're going to get yourself killed because Tirek is off his rocker. He's been going on about finding a way out and using the magic here. I've kept following him and fighting him to try and take him down."

"Well... I'm sure we can figure out something." said Jackie, shrugging off the pack on her back.

"No, you're going to stay here and let me deal with this."

"I can help!"

"Haven't you been listening? Didn't you see him almost blow you up!? Jackie, just listen to me and-"

"No way! I want to help! I'm here for you Sunshine-"

"Like you were there for me when you up and disappeared a couple days ago?!" snapped Sunset, the fatigue having worn on her as she shot a sharp look to Jackie. The gaze immediately softened seeing Jackie wilt under her gaze, looking very low. ".... I'm sorry." she said, moving over and placing a hand on Jackie's knee. "I'm just... I'm tired Jacks. I've been going non-stop against Tirek and navigating this crazy place. And after what Poppy's mom said to you at the funeral..."

"It's fine..." said Jackie, not sounding fine despite her best efforts.

Grimacing at that, Sunset rubbed her forehead before glancing over to the mouth of the cave. She felt terrible for kicking her girlfriend when she was down, but she had to put a stop to Tirek. "... stay here Jacks. I'll be back, okay?" said Sunset, nuzzling the guitarist's cheek before turning and galloping out. She spotted Tirek heading for the pillar of light and gave chase, horn glowing with magic before she fired off another blast.

Tirek was hit square in the back, the man tumbling forward but his lashed out with a backhanded swing, firing off a wave of black colored magic that forced Sunset to put up a shield. It seemed the raw power Tirek put in wouldn't hold though, not when the unicorn was so tired. The shield cracked and broke, tossing the pony to the ground as she struggled to stand.

"DIE!" shouted Tirek, firing with both hands a large blast of magic at Sunset, coming on fast and it was too late to teleport.

Then... she was surrounded by a bubble? The magic hit it and she was send bouncing away by the blast. "What the-?"

"Ooo not bad, not bad at all for a human!" cackled Discord, the gooey bits of himself turning into mini-Discords that ran up into a formation, causing Tirek's eyes to bulge out at the sight. "Charge!" said the lead Discord, dressed in a general's outfit as the mini-Discords gave a cheer and flew forward. The human tried blasting at them but there were too many to catch, and any he did blast either teleported or put up a shield. So Tirek decided to just book it for the pillar of light, Sunset rolling along, still in the bubble like a hamster as she kept up with the show.

"Discord? Discord! You gonna keep him away from that pillar of light?!" called Sunset, looking increasingly frazzled as the mini-Discords caught up to the human, crawling all over, claws digging into skin, hair being pulled, some even tried to dig into Tirek's ears and his eyes. Tirek was shouting angrily and showed off something new, he created a blast of magic that originated from him, flinging the mini-Discords off of his body. Discord was on the ground, the mini-Discords forming back up together as the human Tirek got on top of him, one hand at his neck, burning it with magic and another raised, ready to blast. Sunset had been hit as well, bouncing back in the bubble...

Up until it hit something solid that sounded like a certain guitarist "Oof!"

"Jackie?!" said Sunset, looking through the bubble to the human beneath her "I told you to stay in the cave!"

"Yeah but-!"

"ARGH!"

They both looked up to see Discord clutching at his face and stumbling back, blood seeping through his fingers with blood glinting off of Discord's talons. "Barbaric... but more than enough for a human." sneered the god of chaos, his toothy smirk predatory in nature until he saw where Tirek was stumbling back to. "Uh oh..."

"GRAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" screamed Tirek when he came into contact with the pillar of light, his back seeming glued to it as his dark aura flared up, weak at first but it seemed to start infecting the pure white light as the gems around his neck glowed all the more brighter.

"Get him off of that!" said Discord, the bubble he put up around Sunset disappearing, allowing the unicorn to charge forward with Discord. However, Tirek raised both hands and his magic shot out in the blink of an eye and captured them in a magical hold.

A terrible smirk came to his face as a magical flux traveled through the beam that connected his hands to them, sending a shock of pain that made them both cry out for a start, but then increased to screams as he turned up the power.

Meanwhile in the human world Los Pegasus, there came a shock wave through the city, setting off car alarms and making everyone think that they'd suffered one hell of an earthquake. Up until they looked towards Grand Park.

"Holy-!" said Dash, having gone to the roof of Jackie's apartment building with all of the others. A dark, shadowy figure was starting to fade into the world, growing larger, more sinister, with red eyes.

"... is that a centaur?" asked Bobby.

"... fuck." said Tino.

Author's Note

I'm not dead, just a long hiatus I guess.

Anyways, almost at the end of this fic. STAY TUNED FOR THE EPIC CONCLUSION.

But I Will Never Let Go!

You know those old monster movies? With the eighty foot monsters that came out of nowhere, started wrecking the city and people were panicking? Yeah that was more or less what was happening in the area around Los Pegasus Grand Park. People who saw the big fuck off shadow centaur did the usual scream and panic while others that were a prime case of Darwinism in the making sort of took their sweet time while recording it on their cell phones.

The large shadowy centaur flexed it's muscles before taking a swipe at a building, phasing right through it before trying a different tactic. Red eyes glowed, there was a pulse that could be felt through the area before it opened it's mouth and let out an orange blast. This time the building was effected, turning gray as it crumbled and decayed, the people inside doing the same as the centaur seemed to grow more... solid.

Being the only one with a crystal left, Dash powered up before using her wings to fly off towards the thing, trying to get a better look at the situation. However no matter how she looked at it, there seemed to be no way to shut this thing down! The only thing she could see was that it was coming from the portal and it had it's left hind hoof right over it! She didn't go unnoticed for long, red eyes turning to her before large hands moved to grab her! Dash was thankfully fast enough to dodge and stay out of it's reach, noting that for now it was staying put... but as it seemed to drain more buildings and people around her, the thing was getting less shadowy and had more of a real form! Would it be able to move after it had enough power? Dammit think!

Grimacing, she looked around for... SOMETHING. Wasn't the army supposed to be on this shit?! Then finally her gaze turned upwards, spotting the sun and the blue sky spanning out across them. There was a sort of stirring in her heart, something she couldn't tell what it was but... she had to try it.

Taking a deep breath, she suddenly flew upwards at great speeds! Pumping her wings with all of her might as she climbed in altitude! Higher and higher above the ground, not stopping until she felt it was right to. Down below the shadowy centaur looked nothing more than an ant, her lungs panting hard to draw in what little oxygen was available up here but she shouted out "Alright you bastard! I'll either crush you, that portal or every bone in my body! SO LET'S DO THIS!" she said, doing a back flip before diving, down, down, down, picking up speed, the friction so great it almost felt like she was burning up! She could feel a wall in her way, trying to resist but..!

Sparks started to light up around Rainbow Dash's body, energy building more and more!

Then with a loud boom, she broke the sound barrier! And a brilliant ring of rainbow light trailed out over the sky as she headed down for the giant centaur and-!

"LET THEM GO!" shouted Jackie, scrambling back onto her feet as Tirek simply laughed maniacally, insanely as he continued to magically shock Sunset and Discord, punishing the annoying gnats that dared stand in his way! "I SAID LET THEM GO YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Jackie shouted again, charging forward and pulling her fist back to punch Tirek right in his face!

Then with a sneer, he opened his maw and fired a beam of magic out, hitting Jackie square in the torso with a mini explosion following!

"JACKIE!!!!!" screamed Sunset, willing herself to fight the pain as she looked towards her girlfriend. The unicorn felt her heart drop at the sight, Jackie lying on the ground, back to her, smoke rising up off of her body and not moving.

No...

She couldn't be.

Not again.

SHE CAN'T BE!

NO!!!!

Then came a pulse. She had no idea what caused it, but it was also probably what caused the pillar of light to become a multicolored rainbow! Tirek was momentarily distracted, confused as suddenly the dark aura on the crystals around his neck was thrown off! They glowed and shot out to Sunset's crystal now, empowering the unicorn so much that she dissipated Tirek's magical hold with but a blast of energy! Discord fell to his front legs and back legs on the ground, disoriented but Sunset had landed on her hooves, eyes aglow as she glared at Tirek. Before he had the chance to say anything, without even a word, her horn charged an immense amount of magic and blasted him! The man's body was caught between the pillar and her magic! Both dispersing his body as he gave an enraged, pained scream until he was no more!

Panting as the glow faded, Sunset's eyes rolled into the back of her head and she collapsed onto her side, completely drained...

"Hey... hey! C'mon don't tell me you're dead!"

With a small groan, magenta eyes fluttered open, seeing that same blue sky far above... and a familiar siren standing above her, looking drained but putting on a smile. "About time. I come back from the hospital to try and help and here you handled everything. Show off."

"Heh heh. What can I say? I'm awesome." replied Dash, reaching up to take Aria's hand and pull herself up onto her fee- bad idea! Her legs buckled but the MMA fighter was there to lend a shoulder and prop her up, helping the de-powered athlete hobble off before people started coming by and they had to answer questions. Like where the hell was the giant centaur and why the fountain was a pile of rubble now.

".... JACKIE!" shouted Sunset, suddenly sitting up but wincing at the throbbing pain in her head.

"Whoa! Don't get up so fast!" said Twilight, placing a hoof on Sunset's shoulder.

"B-But Jackie! She got blasted and-!"

"We know." said Celestia, looking tired but smiling gently to Sunset "After Discord sent a message through the book and got you all back, Luna, Twilight and I did everything to help her pull through." A look around revealed that Sunset was in one of the many rooms of Twilight's crystal castle, tucked into bed, safe and sound. "He told us of what happened..."

"And while I have A LOT of questions about how you most likely saw primordial magic and a realm between worlds that goes back all the way before the existence of everything we know now... you probably don't want a lot of questions thrown at you right now." said Twilight smiling sheepishly before going back to worried as Sunset started to get out of bed again. "You really shouldn't! You had a great influx of magical energy! You're lucky that you aren't suffering worse than this!"

"Where's Jackie?" was all Sunset asked, wanting to see her girlfriend for herself, even though her legs felt like jelly the moment she stood on the floor.

"Next door to the right." said Celestia, motioning for Twilight not to argue with the stubborn unicorn. It would be best just to let Sunset see Jackie. Plus, she and Twilight still had much to talk about now that the crisis was over...

With trepidation, the orange unicorn made her way next door and peeked inside, breathing a sigh of relief when she saw Jackie on the bed, the pegasus's chest rising and falling slowly. She'd come over and pull herself up onto the bed, snuggling close and carefully resting her head on Jackie's chest so that she could hear the pony's slow, strong heartbeat.

".... place is still kinda tender Sunshine."

Sunset's head jerked up, surprised turquoise eyes staring into tired silver ones "You're awake?"

"Been awake. You've been the one out for three days." joked the guitarist, a statement that nearly had Sunset squawk out a repeat of what Jackie had just said. "You okay?"

"Me? Jackie, while taking in so much magical energy is dangerous, what about you!? You got blasted in the chest!" said Sunset, the memory of which nearly bringing tears to her eyes if it weren't for the anger she felt. She loved how nice Jackie could be but dammit, this wasn't the time for it!

"I know..." said Jackie, quietly and softly as she let Sunset go on.

"And that's on top of disappearing for two days straight! I mean, Poppy's death fucked me up too, but you don't see me disappearing!"

"I know."

"And then you just charge after Tirek, AGAIN! If we didn't have three alicorns on hand and Discord, you'd be dead right now! I know you want to help Jackie, but when you're a human without a crystal to channel magic, you just can't-"

"Do you want to break up?"

That... threw her for a loop. The unicorn blinked, seeming unable to comprehend as Jackie shifted slightly in bed. "You said it yourself, I'm a mess right now... and I can't do much for you on my own with all this magic shit. Even if we did get the crystals back so I could do magic stuff, it's just.... I know you're angry with me and you're probably tired of my shit. And, and I don't want to drag you down, so...." The pegasus seemed close to tears as silence started to move in, no response from Sunset... up until the unicorn bopped her on the head. "Ow! What was that for?!"

"Because Poppy isn't here to bop you one when you're being dumb." deadpanned Sunset before shaking her head "Jackie, I don't want to break up."

"But-"

"I know things are strained right now. Like, unimaginably strained before of all this with Tirek. But we've been together for a year and it's been good. I like having you there waiting for me at home after a long day of college, I like going out with you and the gang to do something fun. I love playing in the band with you, I love how your face lights up when we come up with new songs, and I love how much you've taken care of me, even if you can go over the top with it. I just... love you Jacks. Breaking up with you hasn't crossed my mind."

A soft sniffle came from the guitarist as she rubbed her forehead, but a small smile was on her face now "Even after the poptart incident?" she asked jokingly.

"Well..." Sunset joked back, a small smile on her face as she placed a hoof against Jackie's cheek "I know it's been rough lately. But it won't always be this way. We both need help to heal from what's happened and that takes time. I'm not throwing all the good things we have away in the heat of a moment."

"... okay." said Jackie, using the back of her hoof to wipe away some tears as Sunset lied down again, head to the guitarist's chest as they both settled down for a good rest.

After everything that happened, they had no idea what was in store for the future, but whatever came along they knew they'd face it together....

Author's Note

Phewwwww, it's certainly been awhile.

I haven't been in the fanfic mojo recently, not even for reading fanfics. But my thoughts drifted back to this and this seemed a better way to end this part than the original idea I had. After everything they've gone through, they deserve to end it on a happy note.

Hope you guys enjoyed, see you in the next part space cowboys! :pinkiehappy:

Thunder, Rain and Lightning

"... I can't do this, Sunset."

This gave the redhead pause, halfway through buttoning up her white blouse as she glanced over to Jackie. It was so... odd. Her girlfriend, more often than not, usually called her by the nickname 'Sunshine', so much that it was odd to her her real name at times. Sunset finished with her blouse before moving over to the bed to sit next to Jackie. The guitarist was already dressed, in a black long sleeved shirt and black jeans, but was just staring blankly down at the black sneakers she was supposed to be putting on. It was the best that the bluenette owned that was appropriate enough for the funeral.

The last month had been difficult, Jackie wouldn't do much the first week, but by the second the nightmares seemed to die down enough that she'd get out of bed more and get back to her job as an uber. But now that it was the day of Poppy's funeral, all Sunset could do was what she had kept doing, try to be as comforting and supportive as possible. She pulled Jackie into her arms and started stroking her girlfriend's head.

"It's going to be okay Jacks. We're all going to be there for you..."

"And so will Poppy's parents."

While she had never met them, what bits that Poppy had cared to share made Sunset grimace slightly as their being mentioned.

"Come on. We'll have to get going soon."

Once they were all together, they'd leave with Bobby to the Los Pegasus Memorial Park Cemetery, all quiet during the trip and not even the pleasant summer weather could lift their spirits. When they had arrived, Tino, Bobby, and Twilight were there, along with the Dazzlings, guys from the auto garage that Poppy worked at, and her family. Two sets of grandparents, what appeared to be an aunt and uncle, and finally Poppy's parents themselves. Compared to the tattoo covered young woman, the parents were fairly opposite, dressed in a respectable manner that suggested they were above middle class. Sunset didn't take the time to look at them for too long as soon she spotted a couple more people that had been able make it, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Treehugger.

The main service in the church had happened yesterday, so today they were seated outside, staring at a closed casket while the priest said a few last words and Poppy's co-workers came up to each sprinkle a bit of holy water on the casket. When all was said and done, the crowd would start dispersing, all except for Poppy's parents who stayed seated at the front. Pity swelled in Sunset's heart before she glanced over to her girlfriend. The guitarist seemed like she wanted to go over there but was hesitant, the idea of speaking to Poppy's parents worrying her for many reasons. Still, Jackie took a deep breath and walked over with Sunset close behind.

"Um... Mrs. Sales?"

A noticeable flinch went through Jackie when Estelle Sales turned her head ever so slightly to look at Jackie, a sharp gaze being felt behind those designer sunglasses. Still, Jackie cleared her throat and continued on.

"I just... I wanted to say how sorry I am. It all happened so far and... and if I could I would've done something. Not go after that guy, not let her push me out of the way just... I am just so sorry."

"... okay. I don't forgive you. You may leave now."

Cold as ice. Jackie felt it run through her whole body before her shoulders slumped and she turned to leave. However, Sunset put a hand on Jackie's shoulder to stop her.

"She said she was sorry."

It was hard to see a resemblance between Poppy and one of the top Estate Agents in the city, her skin was a fine powder blue and her hair a dark shade of red, but when the sunglasses were removed, the pale lavender gray eyes were near identical, and they narrowed as Estelle looked at the two of them, silencing the angry snap Sunset felt well up in her throat.

"And I said that I do not forgive her. I always knew Miss Vibrato was a bad seed. A loser from a broken family that would just drag my daughter down with her. I wanted Poppy to go to college, to take up a better career, instead, Miss Vibrato enabled her into wretched body art, playing in some worthless band and working a back breaking job. Do you know how long it was the last time I even talked to Poppy!?"

By now Estelle was on her feet, shaking with anger and pain, but at the last second she pulled back and put her sunglasses back onto her face.

"You want to try and pawn off some of your guilt by apologizing to me? Well I won't let you, Miss Vibrato. I want you to live with what you did for the rest of your life. Goodbye."

And with that she grasped her husband's arm and they were off, leaving behind a visibly shaken Jackie and a furious looking Sunset. As much as Sunset wanted to run after that vindictive bitch, her attention was caught by Jackie, back turned to her and taking a few steps away.

"Jackie?"

Moving in front of the guitarist, Sunset took her shoulders and tried to look her in the eyes, but Jackie kept her gaze to the ground.

"I... I want to go home..."

"Alright Jacks, we'll go home."

No rest came to Jackie that night. She just stared up at the ceiling for hours, her mind replaying memories... the drug trip and when that girl was torn apart, the Friendship Games when Sunset had her chest blown open, Poppy lying on the forest floor with three bullet wounds in her chest. It just kept replaying over and over again until finally she couldn't take it. She carefully left the bed, giving one last, apologetic glance back to the form of her sleeping girlfriend before dressing and slipping out, making sure to grab her car keys and wallet.

It would only take about thirty minutes to drive to the nearest liquor store and put her purchases in the trunk before heading for the cheapest motel that came to mind. However, as she sped past an alleyway, she missed a strange orange light that flashed momentarily from it. Then moments later a man in a black, zip up hoodie with a long, silver beard stepped out, smirking as he left to find more victims. He needed a bit more energy before he went after the real target....

Author's Note

I'll be honest, I always had in mind that Poppy came from a "well to do" family to say the least, but I never knew exactly for what. So for the mom I just went successful real estate agent. XD

But yeah, hopefully an exciting first chapter! With more on the way!

Edit: UGHHGHGHGHGH, I always have to go back and fix things. DX