Chaos Theory

Chapters

Chapter One - Bridal Shower
Chapter Two - Many Happy Returns
Chapter Three - Astral Assault
Chapter Four - Tree of Harmony
Chapter Five - Ripped
Chapter Six - Hollow
Chapter Seven - Recharged
Chapter Eight - Translation
Chapter Nine - Royal Canterlot Voice
Chapter Ten - Midnight Daydream
Chapter Eleven - Futility
Chapter Twelve - Night Versus Day
Chapter Thirteen - The Grey Gates
Chapter Fourteen - Homecoming
Epilog
Prologue
Bonus: Just who was it?

Chapter One - Bridal Shower

I’m not sure what was more foreboding, the gloom and rain or the fact that Rarity and Fluttershy had planned this with input from Pinkie. I was sitting on a chair in the living room of Cadence’s house, wearing a dress that was a little tighter in the shoulders than I preferred. It was forcing me to sit up primly just to avoid the bunching. Rarity was starting to pass out the gifts that had been stacked neatly by the table.

This is the last time I let Rarity set a dress code for anything, I thought grumpily.

Twilight sat next to me, sitting just as proper, wearing an outfit similar to her Crystal Prep uniform with a longer skirt. It was like looking back in time to the Friendship Games when we didn’t know each other. I wonder what I would have said if someone told me back then we’d be getting married in a few short months.

“Now, Twilight,” Rarity said, her hand on Fluttershy’s thigh. “This is from Rainbow Dash and Applejack.” She handed my bride-to-be a wrapped gift about the size of a stepping stone. She lifted the gift, testing its weight and tilting an ear to it.

“Twi, sweetheart,” Cadence said. “Part of the fun of a shower is the surprise of the gifts. Think of it like an extra Christmas.”

“Actually,” I said, clearing my throat. “I’m with her on the caution here. Last time Dash sent us a gift, it triggered her and Pinkie’s magic.” I grimaced. “If it weren’t for AJ, we’d likely never see our security deposit again.”

Cadence sat up, looking over at where the pink-haired girl had just skipped into the kitchen to finish some preparation. “Like I said,” she continued. “Take your time.”

Twilight set the gift in her lap and pulled open the bow, setting it aside and tearing the paper open to see a set of four placemats inside. The borders running with the symbols that held special meaning for all of us - what would have been our cutie marks in Equestria. I saw AJ’s, Pinkie’s, and Fluttershy’s across the top, Rarity, Dash, and Sonata’s across the bottom. Cadence and Shining Armor’s held court on the sides, and ours were in the center, merged overtop each other. Two had mine as the dominant mark, the other half had Twilight’s star as the primary one.

“These are so cute,” Twilight said as she flipped through them. “Where did she get them made?” She adjusted her glasses before handing me the box to look through.

“She didn’t specify,” Fluttershy said. “But apparently her team has a deal with a local print shop.”

I looked at the slim girl. Ever since the cruise, she had become more confident. She still spoke quietly, but she hardly ever mumbled in nervousness anymore. I had to chalk that up to the Fashionista next to her.

Rarity, as the host of the shower, handed the next gift to Cadence. “From Sunburst and Starlight.”

Cadence opened the box to reveal a baby album. She giggled and opened the book to find a folded piece of paper with handwriting on it.

“Cadence,” she read. “While I’m sure this may be premature, we both know how long it took Shining Armor to get the nerve to ask you out. Hopefully, when you decide the time is right for starting a family, this will help him remember to string words into coherent sentences this time. With love, Starlight Glimmer.” She put the note back down, a grin tugging at her mouth.

“Sounds like Shiny, all right,” Twilight said, the bow from the first package draped across her neck as she fiddled with the ends.

Lemon Zest leaned in, headphones down around her neck, a strange hodgepodge against the classy dress she was wearing. She held out a wrapped package about the size of a box of checks.

“We all chipped in on this, Twilight,” she said as my fiancé took the small box. “Figured it would be nice to give you a good sendoff. Ya done good, kid.” She smiled and was about to tilt her chair back until she caught the glare Rarity shot her. She sat up straight.

I never understood Twilight’s want to connect with some of the Crystal Prep classmates that had stayed in town after graduation. Lemon Zest, Sugarcoat, and Sunny Flare were all present and much more likable than the last time this particular group of women were together almost three years ago. It still bothered me hearing about how they treated my love while they were classmates, though.

Twilight opened the package and pulled out two airline vouchers. She frowned and glanced at her former classmates.

“We weren’t sure where you were going for your honeymoon,” Sunny Flare said, sitting almost as proper as Rarity. “So we just bought vouchers. They should be good for practically any destination in the country.”

Lemon grinned. “I would recommend Las Pegasus, myself.”

I rolled my eyes. If they only knew… I thought.

Behave, Sunny, came a thought back through the bond, tinged with laughter. They’re doing their best.

I looked at Twilight and caught her wink at our silent exchange. This was a fairly new development in our magic. We weren’t sure if it was part of the increased strength of our bond, some offshoot of my magic, or a spell we had just spontaneously gained and cast subconsciously.

Whatever it was, it made for some interesting memories and made the last Pictionary night at the Sparkle house a complete landslide victory. I think Cadence was catching on, though. She started giving us the sly grin she had leading up to us trying to tell her folks about me being a Unicorn last year.

The rest of the gifts were something of a blur to me. Some glassware, silverware and a set of cake knives for the big day were sitting next to the plane tickets and placemats while we gave hugs to the gathered guests.

Fluttershy pulled back from me and smiled. “I’m sorry Dash and AJ couldn’t make it,” she said.

I shrugged it off. “Dash is in the finals to get a seat on the number two team for the district. I’d rather hope she makes it then complain that she isn’t here. And AJ is right where she needs to be: the sidelines.”

Twilight slid her arm through mine. “Sonata said the food is almost done,” she said, tilting up on tiptoes to peck me on the cheek.

“Who thought that Sonata and Pinkie would get the funds to open up a catering business of their own?” Rarity said as we all sat down.

“Well, between the two of them, I’m sure it will be a rousing success,” Cadence said, smiling.

Twilight was still messing with the ribbon from earlier, this time tying it up in a bow where her scarf would have been if we had found it. She looked at me and I grinned.

Is that a present I get to unwrap later?

She blushed furiously and looked around to see if anyone noticed. Before I could press on, our hosts came in with several trays bearing meals. It was a full array of foods, including a vegetarian dish for myself. I smiled with thanks at Pinkie who winked back before going to get drink refills.

“Everybody,” Sonata said, her business casual outfit so different from the punkish style she had worn leading up to the Battle of the Bands. “I hope you enjoy your meal. And to the brides,” she continued, lifting her glass. “Best wishes and good luck.”

A round of agreement came from everyone, and Twilight, Cadence, and I raised our glasses as well.

Just as we took a sip, I noticed a flicker of something from the corner of my eye and my skin crawled for a second, but when I looked towards the source, it was gone.

I rubbed my bare arm, a chill washing over me.

“Sunny?” Cadence said, looking at me. “You ok?”

“Yeah,” I said, smiling. No sense ruining the party on something that was likely my imagination. “Just a chill. I’ll be fine.”

Chapter Two - Many Happy Returns

I tucked the last of the breakfast dishes into the dishwasher, pushed the door closed, and wiped my hands on a dishtowel. I could hear Twilight humming in the next room, likely working through a checklist for today’s activities.

I smiled as I went in and nuzzled the back of her neck, seeing the legal pad on the table in front of her with her quick handwritten notes across it. She sighed and leaned back a little, reaching back to slide her hand across the back of my head.

“You plan entirely too much,” I whispered into her ear, rubbing my hands on her shoulders.

“I’ve been a part of some of your impromptu outings,” she said back. “That trip to Equestria to talk to Glory and Dew, for example.”

I flinched slightly. We had to fill my sisters in on the truth as to where I’ve been the last few years if we had wanted them at the wedding.

“It turned out alright,” I replied. “No damage done.”

“I wonder if Dew will share that assessment,” Twilight said, turning towards me and adjusting her new glasses. “She seemed rather worried about her foal.”

“And according to the doctor it’s perfectly fine,” I replied defensively I reached out to pick up the legal pad.

Twilight snatched it away and darted around the table, a playful grin on her face.

“Ah ah ah, Sunny,” she purred. “This trip is going to go according to plan, and you don’t get to see what’s going on until it happens.”

I frowned at her. “It’s just a campus tour, Twilight,” I crossed my arms. “Just how out of control do you think those things get?”

She tucked the legal pad into the hobo bag she had taken to carrying on these outings. I knew inside she had her wallet, keys, and other things that we all carry in our purses, but also had her old glasses in a case, a compact first aid kit, and a tablet that she had kept all our portal data on when not at home.

I had suggested a backpack when she had decided to get a bag, but for whatever reason, she had picked this. I liked it, though. It seemed to fit the new look she was going for: smaller frames to her glasses, less baggy clothing, and more often than not testing out new outfits made by Rarity. They were still all simple and girl-next-door fashions, but still strangely Twilight.

I smiled, and she caught it.

“Care to share?” she sang, stalking up to me slowly.

“Just thinking of how much we’ve changed in the last few years,” I murmured as I took her in my arms. “Though I’m also still curious about what started this whole new fashion trend you’re trying out.”

She pinked in the face slightly, glancing down. “I been in a school that had a dress code for most of my educational career, and outside of that I don’t have much that’s particularly nice for daily wear.” She looked up at me and smiled. “I want to be able to look good for you on occasion. Rarity just…”

“Went overboard,” I finished.

She nodded. “And I don’t want to seem ungrateful, so I figured I’d wear it all at least once.” Her expression softened a little. “You like them, right?”

“Twilight,” I said, taking her face in my hands. “As long as you’re comfortable with them, I’m ok with them. I love you, not your clothes.”

She smiled, kissing me on the cheek. “Just what I hoped you'd say,” she whispered, then flicked at the baggy sleep pants I was wearing. “Now hurry and get ready. We’re due to meet AJ and Fluttershy at Sugarcube Corner in an hour!”

“Twilight, you tricked me,” I said as the confetti and streamers drifted down to the floor of Sugarcube Corner. All of our friends were here, including a few new additions from the Crystal Prep gang. I was less than pleased to see Fluttershy's brother here, though to be fair he did focus on Rainbow more than he ever had on me. I wondered if he had found out about her and AJ yet.

“Well, only a little. I had to get you here somehow,” she said, reaching up and putting the party hat on my head as Pinkie bounded forward from behind her party cannon.

“How did you even know it was my birthday?” I queried the love of my life. “I don’t remember telling you.”

“Your sisters told me,” she said. “Starlight and Twilight helped me do the math to figure out the equivalent to Equestrian months. It’s still not precise, but it’s better than nothing.”

I looked at her and frowned and was rewarded with a grin and a tongue directed at me.

“C’mon, Sunny!” Pinkie said, grabbing my wrists and pulling me forward, smiling. “It’s your birthday. Make a wish!” She reached out and pulled a giant cake out.

I rolled my eyes, long since used to Pinkie breaking the laws of physics. Sonata came out from an adjoining room bearing a tray laden with drinks, Aria behind her with a second tray.

Thankfully, there were no gifts, just well wishes and good food. I went to refill my drink and bumped into a dark complected man by the soda stand.

"I'm so sorry," I said. "I must not have been paying attention."

"No harm done," he said as he picked up his cup and tossed it into the waste bin.

“Many happy returns, Seer,” he said in a low voice as he passed me.

My skin suddenly began to crawl and I felt like I was standing in an arctic gale and I had a flash of a avian face. I turned to catch a glimpse of the man who had called me seer, but there was no one there that matched his description. It was as if he had never existed.

“You ok?” Sonata asked as she stepped up next to me. “You look like you saw a ghost.”

I swallowed, rubbing my arms vigorously.

“I think I might have,” I said, frowning at the sour taste in my mouth.

“You don't look so good,” the siren said in concern, a hand on my elbow, guiding me to a chair. “You should sit down.”

The memories of a dream I had received flashed through my mind. Being called Seer was too specific to be random. I saw Twilight looking towards me, her eyes creased with worry as she picked up on my uneasiness.

I didn’t like the implications of this voice being here in the waking world. The full message flooded back to the forefront of my mind.

You can’t save them all this time, Seer.

I became aware that the three former sirens were all standing around me, looking down.

"We need to talk," Adagio said.

"So let me get this straight," I said, rubbing my temples. "Somehow the portal not only freed you of your hunger but restored your song and now you want me to ask the Princess for access to part of her library to research your history?"

Sonata glanced down at her hands, twisting them slightly in sudden awkwardness, reminding me of the old Fluttershy. Aria refused to meet my gaze, and Adagio had her eyes closed.

"I know you all have had a hard time," I said. "And I can appreciate that more than you think, but I'm not going to ask the Princess for that without some sort of proof."

Adagio opened her eyes, locking onto mine. She started to hum a melody, her voice pristine and clear, not the raspy remnants at the end of the Battle of the Band.

Her sisters joined in one by one, the harmonized melody causing their chokers to glow. Then Aria drew a small knife and sliced it across her fingertip.

Celestia, I thought in shock.

Then I saw a silver mist gather around the wound and saw it knit together in front of me, the blood that had flowed being reabsorbed into the skin. They stopped singing.

"I'd say that works," I said. "I'll see what I can come up with. Anything you need in particular?"

"Yes," Adagio said, glancing at her sisters.

"Anything she can get on Sirens and our history," Sonata said, touching her gemstone.

"And Harpies," Aria said.

Chapter Three - Astral Assault

“No,” Twilight said simply. "Out of the question. You told me the Sirens were bad news."

“Hear me out,” I said, folding one corner of the blanket back and sitting on the side of the bed for a moment before sliding my feet under the blanket. “They're on the up and up. I verified it through Sonata's memories, and Fluttershy and Pinkie both vouch for them. I believe the Sirens have reformed. Even their new Song can't control people. At the least Sonata makes Pinkie happy. Happier, I should say. Even Aria isn't as surly as she normally is.”

Twilight puffed up her cheeks for a moment as she took off her glasses and set them on the nightstand. “I don’t like it,” she said. “How do we know they aren’t behind the dreams you’ve been having?”

“I think visions would be more accurate,” I said. “But I saw someone at the party that no one else remembers seeing, and after a few words, he was gone without a trace. And he called me ‘seer,’ just like my dream.” I locked eyes with her. “Like it or not, we have to at least see what we can find out. We can even censor what we send along if it's dangerous.”

“What about that book Shining Armor got me for Christmas?”

I raised an eyebrow at her. “The one that says unicorns are attracted to virgins, bearing cloven hooves and the tail of a boar?”

She flushed a little bit. “True,” she said. She slid under the blanket alongside me, wrapping her arms around mine and lacing our fingers together. “I’ll go with you tomorrow,” she said. “While you and Twilight research, I’ll get some practice in with Starlight.”

I squeezed her hand. “Just remember, she’s just as strong as Twilight is, so no magical shoving matches,” I smiled. “Anything you’re interested in?”

“Teleportation, transfiguration, kinetic barriers, stop me anytime,” she said.

Laughing I rolled over slightly and touched foreheads with her.

“Point taken, my ray of sunshine,” I said. “You want to know it all.”

She smiled, and we eased into the linked lucid dream we could share, and I started to show her the basics of the spells.

She kept putting wings on me, and I don’t know why they bother me. It wasn’t like they felt wrong. On the contrary, they felt great, wonderful. I just couldn’t help but be reminded of what I had said to Celestia that one afternoon.

While my guilt may have faded, even torn with Twilight’s love and my friends' support, it hadn’t disappeared completely. It would take more than two years to wipe away three times that of bad behavior.

I was about to start showing Twilight how to power her horn to hold a spell until ready to release it, something that could be useful at times when dark clouds started to roll into the grasslands we used as our dreamscape.

“That’s odd,” I said, depowering my horn and looking at the clouds, trying to will them away. “You bring them in, Twi?”

She shook her head, the sapphire glow vanishing from her horn. Suddenly, she was blown backward, reverting to her human form as she landed. “What…”

I spread my wings, beginning to fly to her when I suddenly slammed into the ground hard, the wind getting driven from my lungs. Gasping, I realized that I was still in my unicorn form, but my wings had been removed.

I scrambled to my hooves, trying to get to Twilight and see if she was all right. This shouldn’t be happening, we had never had an issue like this occur ever before.

Before I could get halfway to my fiancé, a billowing cloud of black mist started to filter up from the ground, the grass around it shriveling and blackening in an expanding circle.

I slid to a stop as the cloud began to coalesce into a vaguely humanoid form. The birdlike head fixed its gaze on me, smiling. I shivered at the expression, feeling razors of ice slicing into me as the gaze roved my form.

“So,” it said. “This is your true self, Seer,” it said in a cold voice. “I must admit, I did not expect you to have remained on this side of the aperture for so long.” It turned its gaze onto Twilight. “You do not concern me,” it growled. “Leave us.”

“Sunset!” she cried, reaching out before her image burst into particles and blowing away like a sand sculpture in a high wind.

“No!” I screamed and raced at the wraith, horn charging with an attack spell. It turned to me with an amused expression as the silver beam of magic ripped through its form, the body turning to mist for a moment before reforming.

“Useless,” it hissed, flicking a hand at me in a dismissal. I saw my bolt of magic arc back and turn red. The shock paralyzed me as the bolt slammed into me, throwing me back to the ground and sending pain radiating through my body. I leaned my head up and saw a raw, red wound in my flank, blood flowing down my leg.

“What are you?” I gritted through the pain.

The form drifted over me, the grass withering in its path. When the radius passed over my body, I was wracked with pain.

“Acerak,” it whispered, seemingly taking joy in my pain. It reached down and ran taloned fingers across my face, leaving deathly cold in their wake. “That is all you need to know, Seer. Soon all that will be mine.” He looked as though he were in ecstasy as he reached down to the wound in my flank and pressed on it, forcing a scream from my throat.

“Until we meet again, Seer,” Acerak said before bursting into a slowly dissipating mist.

I laid on the ground, writhing in pain and trying to end the dream.

“Sunset! Sunset!”

I heard voices, but I couldn’t see anyone. My vision started to waver, the edges going dark.

“Twilight,” I whispered as the darkness closed in.

I opened my eyes to see Applejack, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie clustered around the bed, all ponied up and holding hands. Twilight had a hand to my face, and Fluttershy had my hand in hers, completing the circle. Twilight had her eyes closed, tears running down her face.

“Hey,” I said weakly. “I hope those aren’t for me.”

She opened her eyes and gasped out a sob. “You’re ok,” she said, grabbing me in a hug, repeating those words like an incantation.

“Twilight,” I gasped. “Air.”

She relaxed her grip on me but didn’t let me go.

“What was that?” she asked.

“I don’t know,” I said, moving to sit up only to wince in pain. I slid the blanket down and saw a red mark like a sunburn on my upper thigh.

“That don’t look too good, sugarcube,” Applejack said. “How long have you had it?”

I looked at the farmer. “I got this in the dream,” I said. “But nothing received in the dreamscape should follow over to the waking world.”

Fluttershy knelt and looked at it. “It looks like a bullet wound, almost,” she said.

“In the dream, I attacked whatever it was,” I said. “And it turned my magic against me, turning what was supposed to be a stun spell into something lethal.”

Pinkie paled. “Freaky deaky,” she said.

“Ah suppose we might be in over our heads here,” she said, wiping her brow nervously.

I slid out from the bed, wincing as I put weight on the ‘wounded’ leg, feeling the pain ease as I walked, the red welt fading as I did. I stalked out to the living room and pulled Twilight’s book from the cabinet, slamming it down and angrily scribing out a note.

“Sunny,” Twilight said. “Are you sure you’re ok?”

“It attacked us in our dream, Twilight,” I said. “Our dream. I don’t care what time it is in Equestria, I want answers.” I stalked back into the bedroom and started pulling clothes out.

“Sunset, calm down,” Fluttershy said, speaking louder than I had ever heard her before. “You don’t know what kind of effect this had on you.”

“Fluttershy’s right,” AJ said. “Ya need a clear head here, and…”

“It. Attacked. Twilight,” I growled. “And it’s been stalking me for almost a month now. I haven’t had a decent nights sleep since we got this place and I’m tired in more ways than one.”

The other four girls exchanged looks, then backed away as I pulled a pair of short boots from the closet.

“The answers to this are in Equestria,” I said. “And I’m going to get them.”

I walked up to the mirror in the courtyard of CHS, my jacket flapping in the wind. Not even waiting for Twilight to catch up with me, I stepped through the portal, emerging in the Castle of Friendship.

I looked around, not seeing anyone around. I rolled my shoulders, an odd itch in my back forming just behind my shoulder blades. Sunshine slid through just a moment later, flipping her bangs out of her face.

We were greeted suddenly with a flash of white light, a long serpentine body appearing before us. Its mismatched body parts looked out of place on its draconic body.

“Oooh,” it cooed in a smooth voice. “You must be the crown stealer I’ve heard so much about.”

“And since you’re a Draconequus,” I said with a cold tone, “you must be Discord.”

“Oh, my reputation proceeds me, I see,” he said, dropping to the ground. “But my, what a frosty reception.” He shivered as ice formed on him and snow drifted down around us all.

I shook my mane free of the snow and glared at the spirit of Chaos. “Not now, Loki,” I spat. “I’m quite put out.”

He shook himself, the ice and snow vanishing as he suddenly sported a tropical shirt. “Well,” he said. “Obviously you aren’t here for a vacation.” He hopped backward and landed in a summoned hammock. “The Princess is in the throne room.” He looked at me with a grin. “I think you’ll find her concerns scintillating.” He vanished.

We started walking towards the throne room when suddenly my flank started to twitch. I ignored it until Sunshine spoke up just outside the throne room.

“Your cutie mark is flashing,” she whispered.

I glanced back and saw it flashing in time with the twitch. “What in…”

“That’s something I’d like to know,” I heard the voice of the Princess of Friendship call, the doors to the throne room opening in her lambent glow.

“Apparently, you’re now recognized by the map,” she said, looking over the said artifice, my cutie mark circling the castle on the map.

“But I’m not a bearer of any element,” I said. “And there are only six, so…”

“I’m not convinced of that,” Twilight returned. “There may be six primary ones, but you apparently hold a seventh. My research into your magic turned up conflicting reports as to the true number of elements, mentioning the Element of Empathy in a very obscure text.”

“Empathy,” Sunshine said. “Her empathic abilities?”

“Indeed,” She said. “And she’s been showing up on the map several times of late, always circling the castle.”

I watched the small replica of my cutie mark circle. “What is going on?” I whispered.

“I don’t know,” Twilight Sparkle said.

“And that scares me.”

Chapter Four - Tree of Harmony

“Last time we were here,” Sunshine said with a frown. “You said only those that had carried the Elements were called by this table.”

“Yes, that’s right,” the princess replied. “And while Sunset did carry my crown for a short while, I didn’t think it was long enough to imbue her, and the table hadn’t been created until after her reformation.”

“I’m right here, you know,” I teased, tossing my mane back.

They both looked over at me sheepishly, their ears folding back along their heads. “Sorry, honey,” Sunshine said. “It’s just a habit.”

I softened my look with a wink at her.

“What if the recent events at the camp and the games opened up the elemental equivalents for that world?” I said, moving the conversation along.

“But there shouldn’t be Element equivalences across the mirror,” Twilight said. “They come from the Tree of Harmony and were only taken in a last ditch effort by the Two Sisters.”

“Everything else has a rough equivalent in my world,” Sunshine said. “What if the sudden infusion of magic caused them to manifest. Magic does still have some properties that follow Newtonian laws.”

“Newtonian….”

“Newton theorized that every action has an equal and opposite reaction,” I explained. “When we use magic, it draws from our mana, and if we try to push against something we’re not strong enough to move, it doesn’t move or it reflects our efforts.”

“Latent magic?” Twilight mused. “It’s possible…”

“But it’s just a theory,” Sunshine said.

“And I have no clue what I’m supposed to do,” I said. “The flashing cutie mark is gone, but it’s still circling the castle.”

“Is there a friendship problem here involving you?” Twilight said.

“Not that I can think of,” I said.

“Tell her,” Sunshine said.

Twilight looked confused as I sighed and took a deep breath. “We came through this time because of something happening on our side of the portal.”

Her face turned horrified as I related the dream attack, the request from the Sirens, all the nightmares and sensations we had been getting since the last time she had come over.

“And through all of it, we can’t even communicate with you.”

“I haven’t gotten a message from you since my last visit,” Twilight said, levitating the message book over and opening it to the last page, showing the message I had sent regarding returning with my sisters.

“Then why…” I began, bewildered.

“Some sort of interdimensional interference?” Sunshine proposed. “Like the celestial conjunction you had here a few weeks ago?”

Twilight shook her head. “It’d have to be on your side,” she said, levitating out some loosely bundled pages with handwritten notes on it. “But according to these notes we took that night nothing like that is even close to occurring.”

I frowned and rubbed my head with my hoof. “We’ll figure it out when we go back,” I said. “Right now, let's figure out why I’m suddenly getting summoned by the table and get the research Adagio asked for and see what we can find about Acerak.”

Twilight and Sunshine were already pulling books from the shelves.

The stacks of notes kept getting taller, each of us jotting down anything we found about Sirens, Harpies, the portal, and the Tree of Harmony. The last stack was pitifully small. We had been at it for hours, and Starlight had joined in shortly after Celestia raised the Sun.

“We’ve confirmed that once upon a time the Sirens were plentiful, and they weren’t always evil,” Sunshine said, returning another book to its spot on the shelf and pulled the next down. “We also found what their Song and gems used to do; store power from emotions to be redirected later.”

“They probably turned it against negative emotions because they’re easy to stir up, but they don’t last long,” Starlight said. “That might be why they got twisted and addicted like you said.”

“Not much on Harpies,” Twilight said. “They apparently have been extinct for almost a thousand years, before Starswirl banished the Sirens. I did find that they feed on the same type of energy, Harpies preferring the agony and chaos of madness. The more they can twist their victims, the more they can feed.”

I felt sick to my stomach. “How did they go extinct?”

“It doesn’t say,” she replied, closing her book. “But given the way they and Sirens feed, I can easily see them being natural enemies, competing for food. The Siren’s Song probably overrode the insanity Harpies can cause.”

I sighed. “I didn't find out much about the portal,” I said. “Not even a why it was built in the first place.” I pushed the book closed and rested my head on the table, closing my eyes in fatigue.”

“What about the Elements?” Sunshine asked.

“Everything about them is sketchy at best,” Starlight said, nudging her notes. “There’s so much myth and hearsay about them that Twilight is probably the foremost expert on them. I don’t know why Sunset would suddenly be attuned to the table.”

“I guess there’s only one thing to do then,” I said. “Go to the tree itself.”

“Ah, Sunset,” Twilight said. “The tree is deep inside the EverFree Forest. It’s not exactly a picnic spot, you know.”

“And you all venture in there all the time,” I replied. “I heard the stories Dash would tell, and even editing them for her exaggeration I’m sure it’s not as bad as you make it out to be.”

Twilight rubbed the bridge of her nose before scratching at her muzzle. “I still don’t know,” she said. “You don’t know the way, and I have to be in Canterlot today for a summit.”

“You don’t have to guide me, you know,” I said. “I could ask Fluttershy.”

“She’s out preparing the next Breezie migration,” Twilight said. “And before you go down the list, Dash is out on tour with the Wonderbolts, AJ is in Appleloosa on a friendship mission, and Rarity is in Manehattan seeing about expanding her boutique.”

“What about Pinkie?” Sunshine said.

“I’m getting ready to head out for the big bake-off in Las Pegasus with the Cakes,” the pony said, appearing out of nowhere.

I blinked. “Pinkie,” I said. “Where did you come from?”

“My parent’s rock farm,” she said simply. “Where else, silly!”

None of us even groaned. Pinkie was Pinkie, and that brought specific risks along.

“We’d never find it going in there ourselves,” I said. “What about a map?”

“If you truly wish to see the Tree,” a deep voice said from the doorway. “Then the guide you wish for would be me.”

We turned, and I saw a zebra mare standing in the doorway, a small pack on her withers.

“Zecora!” Twilight said. “You don’t usually come by the castle, what brings you here?”

“The herbs that you asked for blossomed today,” she replied. “Dropping them off is not out of my way.”

I looked at her, dipping my head in respect. “You would guide me to the tree?”

“The path I know well, but it is a tangled way,” she said. “We should reach it by midday.”

Sunshine stood. “Then what are we waiting for?” she asked. Starlight stood as well.

“Starlight?”

“Might as well go with you,” she said. “If nothing else, it’ll be another horn in event of danger.”

I shrugged. “Sure,” I turned to Zecora. “Lead the way.”

“This is the Tree of Harmony?” Sunshine asked as we gazed upon the crystalline tree.

I shook my head. “It’s loud,” I said.

Starlight looked at me. “I don’t hear anything,” she said.

“Nor do I,” Sunshine said.

“The ears of Sunset Shimmer may hear what we do not,” Zecora said. “But what it is, I know not what.”

“You can’t hear that?” I asked. “It’s like a ringing sound.” I took a step forward. “It sounds like it’s coming from the Tree itself.”

A flash of light blinded me for a second, and I felt myself being lifted into the air.

“Sunset!” Sunshine rushed forward, her horn charging.

“No!” Starlight said, blocking her path. “Look at the tree!”

Even through the glow that surrounded me, I could see a branch glowing and a faint mark appearing in the bark, a two-toned sun.

The light intensified and I heard the sound of chimes even louder. I tossed my head back, trying to pull free from whatever had me in its grip, but I barely budged. For a second, the itching in my back returned and increased slightly and my horn started to feel like it was being grabbed. I felt a cry of pain slip from my mouth.

“Sunny!” Sunshine pushed past Starlight, rushing to me and was swept up in a lambent glow of her own. I couldn’t see what was happening, but I heard her own cries of discomfort.

I dropped to the ground, gasping. It was a moment or two before I realized I had a solid weight around my neck. I heard Sunshine hit the ground too, and I looked over to see that she had a gold collar around her neck, the outline of a six-pointed star stamped into it.

“Sunset, Sunshine!” Starlight called. “Are you ok?”

“I, I think so,” I said, looking down at my chest. A golden collar surrounded my neck as well, but where Sunshine had a symbol stamped into hers, mine held a gleaming stone of cat’s eye agate, shaped like my cutie mark..

Starlight gasped. “The Elements,” she breathed. I followed her gaze and saw five more collars drift down to the ground, each with easily recognizable symbols in them.

Generosity. Laughter. Honesty. Loyalty. Kindness.

“This is unprecedented,” Starlight said. “Twilight returned the Elements to the tree before the events with Tirek.” She picked one collar up with her magic, examining each of them in turn. “They have bezels but no gems.”

“Why wasn’t this one pulled before?” I asked. “Why did Celestia only pull out six elements?”

“I don’t know,” Starlight said.

More chiming sounds rang in my ears, and I felt a twitch in my flanks again. Looking back, I saw my cutie mark flashing again.

“Looks like you did whatever you were required to do,” Starlight said.

I got ready to respond when there was a surge of magic in the cavern, raising the fur on my back. I saw the other three mares shiver a bit.

“Let’s get back,” I said. “I have a feeling that something else just happened.”

There was a thick tome on the map table when we got back, solid runes embossed into the spine.

“What does it say?” Sunshine asked.

“I don’t know,” I said, glancing at Starlight, who was shaking her head.

“I don’t recognize it,” she said. “It may take a while to decipher it.”

“If you have to, send someone through the portal,” I said. “I’m not trusting the books right now.”

Sunshine glanced at the window. “Sun’s going down,” she said. “We might want to get back.”

“In the morning,” I said. “We might actually get a good night’s sleep here.”

“Heading to Canterlot, then?” she asked.

“For the night, yes,” I said. “I also wouldn’t mind checking up on Dew while we’re there.” I lit up my horn and used my magic to scratch at the irritation on my back, the itching unbearable for a moment.

“You ok?” Starlight asked.

“Just an itch,” I said. “Nothing serious.”

Chapter Five - Ripped

“You have no idea how amazing you look, Dew,” I said as I hugged my sister.

“Lies will not be tolerated in my house,” she laughed, nuzzling me back. “How are the two of you?”

“Oh, we’ll survive,” Sunshine said, going up to nuzzle my eldest sister. “If I can learn to sleep through her snores, I can do anything.”

They shared a laugh at the jest. I merely rolled my eyes and scoffed.

“It’s not that bad,” I muttered under my breath.

“So, what brings you two mares to see me today?” Dew said, leaning back into her cushions, taking the weight off her hooves. “Surely you aren’t going to be inviting me back to your place for tea.”

“We were actually in Ponyville for research on the portal yesterday, and time got away from us,” I said. “We thought we’d just swing by and see how you were while we were here.”

“Happily on maternity leave, I should say,” she said, levitating a small pitcher over and refilling her glass of flavored water. “Glory has offered to take over any commissions that require traveling for the time being.”

“I thought she focused on restoration?” Sunshine said.

“It’s actually harder to do restoration of famous murals than new ones, in our experience,” Dew said. “You can’t just touch up the color, you have to match it to the style and exact execution of the brush strokes.”

“Glory may be a bit of a gossip hound and as excitable as Pinkie,” I said. “But she is unmatched in restoration. But that leaves one question.” I looked pointedly at a hat and coat hanging from a peg next to the door that were too large for my sister. “Where is Hue, I wonder.”

Dew tittered. “He just ran to the store to get a few things and to pick up the mail from my office,” she smiled. “He’ll be back before too long if you want to stay for dinner.”

“We’d love to,” I said with a sorrowful note. “But we’ve got to get back. Somebody planned a campus visit for later today, complete with a list of questions to ask.”

Sunshine blushed, glancing down for a second. “I like to be prepared, ok?”

We all laughed.

“Oh, before I forget,” my sister said, looking over to the side, horn lighting up. A package levitated out in her jade aura, her precise wrapping job evident. She set it down in front of me. “Happy Birthday, little sister. Glory and I put these together when we realized we would be seeing you more often. I thought you’d like them.”

I tore the wrapping paper and lifted the flap of the box it covered and gasped softly.

Inside were photos, at least a dozen or so. Each one was of my family, portraits taken at various ages, pictures of the three of us playing.

Photos of Mom and Dad holding each of us as foals. A tear slipped down my face. Mom, Dad... I saw now where I got my mane and coat colors. I apparently took after Dad a lot, and I saw features on him that I could recognize on my sisters and myself.

“Thank you,” I whispered.

"Mom had stored away the pictures of Dad shortly after he died," Dew said softly. "Too painful. But you never really got to know him, and Glory and I both feel a little guilty for that. It's not much, but it's something, at least."

I hugged my sister. "You have no idea," I said to her.

“I haven’t found anything in our records that match the runes on the book,” Starlight said as we walked towards the library. “But I haven’t scratched the surface of our resources.”

“There are at least twenty more books on runic and ancient languages here,” Spike offered. “And a wing at the Royal Library in Canterlot.”

“If you find anything useful at all, and don’t hear back from us after sending information through the book, you might be just as well off sending someone through to tell us.”

“Twilight said she’d look into the communication breakdown when she gets back from the summit,” Spike offered.

Sunshine glanced at the young dragon. “Why aren’t you there?”

He patted the satchel at his side. “She forgot some items and sent me back for them.”

I eyed him closely, narrowing my eyes.

“And there were dragon sneeze trees at the reception.” He twiddled his claws in embarrassment.

“Alright,” I said. “Time to go.” Hugs were exchanged and we hefted the bag with the collars in them and the box of photos and stepped through the portal.

The transition seemed to take longer this time, and the bag of collars became lighter as we finished the trip. I glanced inside out of curiosity and saw that they had shrunk down to fit around a human’s neck. A check of the photos showed that once again, they had retained the original picture taken. The loose bundle of notes we had made about Sirens was also unaffected.

“That was weird,” I whispered, walking away from the portal as the resonance started to build behind my eyes.

Twilight brought out her phone and texted the girls. “I’m having them meet us at the park,” she said, sliding her phone back into her back pocket and reaching out for my free hand, the ring I had given her glinting slightly in the sunlight.

We each held the collars in our hands, some tracing the lines of stamped metal. Rarity was the first to speak.

“I’m certain that these are the height of fashion in Equestria,” she said turning hers over in her hands. “But they’re a little heavy for modern tastes.”

“I’m sure the Tree considered fashion sense before giving them to us,” I said wryly. “I think the designs were meant to be armor in Equestria and this is the closest analog the portal gave them.”

“I think it’s cool,” Rainbow Dash said, sliding her collar on. “It’s kinda metal. It’ll make the Rainbooms seem twenty percent more badass.”

“Ah don’t think it’d be a good idea t’ wear those on stage, Dashie," AJ said. “Same as we don’t wear the pendants onstage.”

Pinkie’s phone pinged at her causing her to dig it out of her hair. “Nata wants to know if you found anything of any use.”

“Yeah,” I said. “Invite them over and we’ll just talk about it here.”

“Ooh,” Rarity cooed. “An impromptu picnic!”

Fluttershy put her hand on Rarity’s arm with a soft smile while I facepalmed.

“So basically,” Adagio said. “Our Song was meant as a soothing method?”

“Something like that,” Twilight said, pushing her glasses up slightly. “Basically, by channeling positive emotions you were not only sustained magically, you were able to do magic by using some of that energy. But by the time you three came along, the Sirens had turned to feeding on negative emotions. Those emotions, being naturally entropic in nature, they weren't as sustaining, so whatever catalytic response you would have stored was burned in sustaining you.”

The three sisters looked at my love with blank looks.

She sighed, hand on her forehead. “Good feelings let you cast magic, bad feelings make you addicts,” she said.

“We understood you the first time,” Aria said. “I can’t believe we can cast magic.”

“It only works if you have stored energy, so it’s more like channeling,” Twilight continued. “And it only works if you use your Song in a calm manner.”

A rustling in the bushes caught our attention, and Fluttershy got up to go see what kind of critter was making the noise.

“We also found out that you and Harpies feed on emotional energy,” I said. “Harpies like to cause havoc and pain, feeding off the madness. You all seem to be able to reverse the damage or prevent it.” I gave a wry smile. “The texts weren’t overly specific.”

Fluttershy gave out a cry of surprised joy and stood up with a small bunny in her arms. She turned back to return to the group and I returned my attention to the Sirens to continue speaking when an arctic gale razored through my senses. I froze and spun around, seeing a coiling tendril of black mist forming behind her.

“Fluttershy!” I cried. “Look out!”

She spun, taking in the view of the forming man in time to take a backhanded slap from the taloned hand. We all leaped to our feet in shock, Rarity rushing to Fluttershy’s side.

“Ah, everyone all together,” it said with a chuckle. “Good. That will make this easier.”

The three Sirens stood, glaring coldly.

“And the last of the Sirens,” Acerak continued. “Excellent.” He lifted and arm and casually flicked his hand. Dark clouds rolled in and the wind picked up, ruffling our hair and clothes. "All of you at once, then."

Acerak advanced slightly, grass withering beneath the spectral form of his feet. “Nascent bearers and adolescent Sirens,” he tsked. “I should have hoped this to be more challenging, but what should I expect after so many millennia?"

“How is Fluttershy?” I asked, not taking my eyes off the advancing wraith for more than a second.

Rarity looked up, tears and rage streaking down her face. She held up a hand, displaying blood on her fingers.

Rage spiked through me and I ponied up, red armor blossoming as I glared at the Harpy. I felt the tug of magic as the rest of my friends powered up as well. Rarity threw up a shield around Fluttershy.

Adagio leaped out ahead of me, showing a quickness that was astonishing. Her sisters also bounded out, each of them radiating a rage that I could feel without touching them. They let out a harmonized scream as they raced in, and I was astonished to see Acerak stumble backward. When they stopped to take a breath, he lashed out, catching Aria across the head and Adagio in the arm. Sonata ducked his backhand and unleashed another scream, lacking in power without her sisters.

I felt the impacts, and I found myself focusing on Aria, feeling the pain from her blow fading. I felt a slight discomfort in my head but it faded. I saw Adagio stumble and fall, her arm coated in blood.

Acerak howled, and the wind turned into a gale-force wind, branches and loose debris starting to fly about. I saw some of the lighter tables and benches start to stir in his rage.

Rarity was trying to staunch whatever wound Fluttershy had. I focused on her and found I could feel her pain, radiating from my cheek down through my shoulder. She needed help and fast.

"Dash, get her out of here!" I shouted.

Dash hesitated glancing over at AJ. The blonde girl waved angrily as she hefted a picnic bench.

"Git her an' go!" she shouted over the gale. "Ah'll be fine!"

The rainbow-hued streak left in her absence faded after a moment, bearing the slight girl out of the fray. Rarity picked herself up, her jeans and formal blouse being covered by our powered up clothing as she glared at the Harpy. He began to laugh at us as he lifted himself into the air, wings of ebony smoke forming behind him.

"How dare you hurt Fluttershy," she gritted. "How. Dare. You!" She hurled a shield fragment at the laughing man. Much like my bolt in the dream from the other night, it passed through him without effect.

Pinkie snatched up a handful of pebbles from the walkway and started throwing them at Acerak, each of the tiny explosions distracting him as I dived to the fallen Siren. Sonata reached her first, pulling off her sweater and pressing it tightly to Adagio's arm, staunching the blood flow.

I reached her side and tried to pull some of her pain like I had Aria, but I couldn't touch her emotions. Sonata looked at me with panic in her eyes.

"I can't focus!” she said. “She's bleeding really bad! I can't use my Song to heal her wound!"

"Deep breaths, Sonata," I said, laying my hands on her sister. I felt her pain and the edge of unconsciousness she was on. I was about to try again when I saw her eyes flicker open, then fly wide. "Sunset!" she wheezed.

I was grabbed by the throat and lifted up, finding myself facing the Harpy as he lifted me into the air. I beat at the arm holding me, but it was like pounding on steel. The unamused face of Acerak glared at me, the gaze feeling like shards of frozen glass in my soul at this range.

"I have had quite enough of you, Seer," he hissed, raising his other hand.

I screamed as he shoved it through my face, the feel of talons ripping at something in my soul. I was cast aside like a dirty rag as a combined assault of diamond shields and exploding stones shot up. I felt someone grab me as I fell, seeing purple through the haze of pain.

The pain started to fade, and I saw Twilight holding me, worry on her face. I couldn't form enough coherent thought to speak and I could see my wide, glazed eyes reflected in her glasses.

Applejack hurled the bench, and it sailed through the wraith, useless as all our attacks had been so far. He loomed over us, holding some sort of glowing mass in his hand. He looked at it for a moment, as though inspecting a fruit at a market stand. Then he crushed it in his hand, and fresh pain flooded through me.

Rarity threw up a shield as I fell to the ground, clutching my head in agony. I saw the vambrace on my forearm crack, spiderweb and then disintegrate, grains of dust blowing away in the dark wind. He then charged Applejack, fist landing solidly on her stomach, sending her stumbling away, another glowing orb in his hand. He made a ripping motion and AJ screamed and she was suddenly back in her street clothes.

He turned his attacks on the fashionista protecting Twilight and myself, sanity slowly coming back to me. Rarity cried out and her shield collapsed, her armor being dissolved back into regular clothes just as mine and Applejack’s had as Acerak pulled another mass of energy from us.

Twilight reached me, using her telekinesis to form a makeshift barrier with the nearby picnic tables against the maelstrom before us, but they were thrown aside like kindling. Aria and Sonata let loose another scream just as Pinkie launched another handful of charged stones. The combined attack actually seemed to harm him. He made another grasping motion, and Pinkie slumped, arms wrapped around her midsection, eyes wide.

“We will meet again,” Acerak said before vanishing in a dark cloud and the winds died.

I sat up slowly, my head pounding. I realized that not only had he dispelled my powered up form, he had also de-ponified me, Rarity, Applejack, and Pinkie. Sonata and Aria were helping Adagio, a soft song harmonizing between them and a silver mist flowing around Adagio’s arm.

“Are you ok, Sunny?” Twilight asked.

I tried to reassure her through our bond, but I couldn’t find it. I reached inside to find any trace of magic, to pony up, anything. I realized that Twilight was touching my bare arm with her hand and I couldn’t feel her emotions or see her thoughts, despite wearing my pendant.

No…

“Sunny?” she said, worry starting to spread across her face.

“My magic,” I whispered, my voice breaking and tears streaming down my face.

“I can’t feel my magic,” I said, panicking. “Twilight, he took my magic. He took my magic.”

Twilight held me as I broke down and cried, crying softly herself.

I haven’t felt pain like this since my mother died, and I felt violated, a piece ripped from my soul.

Chapter Six - Hollow

I don’t really remember the next hour or so. Everything I heard sounded muffled, everything I saw was out of focus, and I couldn’t even feel it when Twilight would hold me. The pain had faded, but the sense of violation had not faded in the least. Acerak had taken a part of me, ripped an integral component of my being and destroyed it. I shivered as I remembered the feel of his hands rummaging around in my soul.

Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie had also had their magic stolen, but they didn’t feel as numb as I did, it seemed. It made sense, I suppose. They hadn’t grown up with magic, felt it infuse them for most of their adolescence, the joy of having it develop again, the sense of wonderment as it flows through your horn. It was like losing the ability to see color; you could still see, but the beauty of life was lost.

“How’s Fluttershy?” I whispered.

“Rainbow got her to a hospital pretty quick,” Twilight said, stroking my back. “The wounds weren’t deep and the doctor said there won’t even be a scar. Adagio said they’d poke their heads in, see if they could speed up the process.”

I nodded numbly, just staring ahead.

Applejack and Rainbow Dash came over, sitting down on the bench across the table from me.

“You alright, sugarcube?” AJ asked, voice soft and gentle.

“No,” I replied. “I have this giant hole inside me, and all I can think about is how something I had for decades is gone. I feel like less than a person.”

“You aren’t, Sunny,” Twilight said. “Just because you lost your magic doesn’t mean I love you any less.”

“I know that, Twilight!” I said, emotion finally breaking through my numbness. “I know I’m no different than I was. I know I spent years without magic, and I know all my friends still feel the same for me!” I ran my hands through my hair, letting it fall down to hide my face. “I don’t even know if I will get it back.”

“We could go ask Princess Twilight,” Dash said. “She’ll know all about things like this.”

Twilight rubbed her hand along my shoulders, trying to perk me up again. “If nothing else, we could see if Starlight has deciphered that book yet.”

I nodded, and we all rose, heading to the school. Twilight swung the bag containing the collars we had brought back over her shoulder, lacing our fingers together. It bothered me that I couldn't feel her emotions, but the Princess could solve it.

Between the three of us, we could solve anything.

We reached the portal and Twilight slid right through. I walked up behind her, took a deep breath…

And rebounded off the glass. I stared for a second, then placed my hands against the glass, not even seeing a ripple. I started to pound against it, hoping to force it open.

“No,” I whispered, still pounding my fists against it. “No, no, no, NO!”

Applejack came up and grabbed me by the wrists, trying to pull me back from the mirror, saying something but the words didn't register. I struggled, but even without her magic AJ was stronger than I was. The distance between me and the portal increased. I slumped as the realization hit me that I couldn’t even return to the land I was born in, and I felt my world sink again. She was holding me up when Twilight returned, looking confused.

“Sunny,” she started, but I whirled away, running down the street before my tears could start flowing again.

I slumped against the wall, sliding into a seated position, knees against my chest. I was back in the abandoned house I had stayed in when I had first stepped through the mirror. Rotten floorboards, cracked walls, the smell of mold and thick dust filled all my senses. My phone had been going off for the last ten minutes, texts and calls. I ignored it, just letting it ring.

I was worthless. I had helped against three great threats in the last two years, and now I couldn't even stop myself from being tossed aside like garbage. Even the portal had rejected me, condemning me. It seemed fitting that I returned to the place where it all had started.

Where I had started to bully those that were weaker than I was. Indiscriminately destroying anything that I viewed as a threat, anyone that stood in my way. Tearing Rarity down to scale the popularity ladder, tricking Dash and AJ into thinking the dates had been changed on each other, making Pinkie think no one would help her decorate for functions.

I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to keep the memories from surfacing. Which, of course, only made them surge forth faster.

And it all comes back to this, a voice murmured. Returning to your old habits, running away from your problems.

"No," I said to the darkness.

I told you it was pointless, the voice whispered, sounding more like myself with each word. You weren't enough to cut it at the school in Equestria, and you can't keep your friends safe here. Acerak will take you each one by one.

"Shut up," I whispered. "I don't have to listen to this."

But it's true, the voice countered. Otherwise you'd still have your magic. And poor Fluttershy wouldn't have been hurt.

"But that isn't my fault," I said, leaning my head against my knees.

Isn't it? If you hadn't stolen Twilight's crown, magic would never have blossomed here. And if magic had never bloomed, none of the evil you caused would have happened.

"But that means I would have never met my friends," I said, voice getting stronger. "Or Twilight."

Yes, Twilight. What a delightful way to treat someone you claim to love.

I screamed, grabbing a bit of rubble as I stood and hurling it across the room. My anger and rage built, and I started to unleash my frustration on the dilapidated structure. I punched a cracked bit of drywall and winced as I felt something slice my hand. I pulled it out and cradled it to my chest. Blood flowed from a cut between my knuckles, covering my hand quickly.

"Is that all you have to say?" I yelled, feeling better though I knew I was mostly yelling at myself. My anger vented for the time being and the pain in my hand caused me to look at it, the crimson color triggering a memory.

Rarity's hand, coated in blood, Fluttershy's face turning pale as it leaked from her.

"Fluttershy," I whispered, turning. I wanted to see her, to apologize for getting her into this. I headed towards the hospital, stopping to rinse my hand off in a public drinking fountain along the way.

I stepped through the door, hearing a soft harmonization. As I came into the room proper, I saw the Sirens sitting around Fluttershy, the mist that signaled their magic was fading, leaving some rapidly healing claw marks on the shy girl.

They saw me and smiled. My returned smile felt hollow.

“Hey,” Fluttershy said softly. “Is everyone ok?”

I hesitated. “Yeah, we’re ok,” I lied. Adagio narrowed her eyes as the words came out, seeing the slowly healing cut on my hand.

Fluttershy smiled. “That’s good,” she said. “But you don’t have to lie to me.”

I smiled. “What do you mean?”

Fluttershy sat up, spearing me with a firm look. “Out of all my friends, you’re the one that has spent more time hiding your feelings than anyone else. And, out of all my friends, you’re the worst at it. I remember that look on your face because I saw it all the time after the Fall Formal when someone would reference what you did, and you would just shrug it off.” She gave me a small smile. “What happened?”

I sat down, and I started to fidget. “After Dash took you out of the park, things went a little pear-shaped,” I said. “Out of all of us, you, Dash, and Twilight are the only ones that still have your magic.” I blinked as my vision blurred. “We’re physically ok, but we can’t touch any magic at all. I can’t even pass through the portal. The books aren’t working, and we’re facing something that we can’t even hurt.” I looked at the floor. “I can’t help but think that maybe we’re not going to win this one.”

She looked at me, then glanced at the sisters. “Could you give us a minute, please?”

Adagio put her hand on my shoulder as they walked by, and I caught sight of the bandage on her arm. She smiled at me and gave me a little squeeze.

“You’re being foolish,” Fluttershy said as soon as the door shut.

“How so?”

She held up her phone. “Twilight called me the moment you ran off. Asking me to tell her if you came here,” she narrowed her gaze, and I felt suddenly uncomfortable. “You have them all worried about you, especially Twilight. We all love you, Sunset, Twilight loves you. But you’re pushing us away again.” Her eyes softened. “Why?”

“Because I got you hurt!" I said, a tear slipping free. "Because of me, you've been put into the hospital, Aria and Adagio were hurt badly, and most of us have been stripped of something that has helped people, something that was special to me." I ran my hand through my hair. "You all don’t know what it’s like to grow up with magic,” I said. “When I came here, I lost it and it took a lot to get over it. Then we get our own magic and it felt like I was at home again, everything normal. If I could only touch it when we're together it would be one thing, or even if we could touch it only through the geodes, I’d still be fine.” I wiped some tears away. “But he reached inside and tore it away from me, for no reason than I annoyed him. And he enjoyed it, 'Shy. I could feel his glee while he violated me, while he..." My voice hitched. "While he raped me in my soul.”

I looked at her, no longer trying to hide from her the pain I was feeling, a few more tears leaking free. “And I feel cut off...like nothing is real. I can’t contact Princess Twilight, I can’t pass through to Equestria. It scares me, 'Shy. It scares me to feel like this, to feel hollow, weak.”

A hand touched my shoulder before arms folded around me. "You aren't weak, Sunny," a familiar voice said into my ear. “You just need time to heal and I can help you with that if you let me."

I turned to look at my fiancé. She had a few tear tracks on her face but she smiled that smile I loved. She reached down and pulled out the collar that held Element, holding it out towards me.

“You earned this the hard way,” she said as I traced the shape the gem was cut into. “Don't throw it away because of one setback.”

I took the collar from her and immediately felt a tingling sensation. The gem flashed and began to glow.

“What in…”

The gem pulled free of the collar and began to float slowly the other collars pulling free from Twilights’ bag, all of them circling the crystal representation of my cutie mark. As we watched, the Elements of Honesty, Generosity, Laughter, and Empathy began to glow as Kindness, Magic, and Loyalty drifted back down. A bright shaft of light shot from the gem, pointing to the east before returning to my collar and all of them dropping to the ground.

East of the hospital was the highway leading towards the mountains. Towards Camp Everfree.

“What do you think it means?” Fluttershy asked.

“I don’t know,” I said.

“The Elements in Equestria came from the Tree of Harmony,” Twilight said. “It was in the Everfree forest. If the geographical constants are the same, the crystal cave where we found the geodes is the same cave the Tree was in.”

“Only one way to find out,” I said, picking my collar up. For a moment, I thought I felt a pulsing along its golden band.

“I guess we’re going camping,” Twilight said.

Chapter Seven - Recharged

I insisted on driving. Keeping an eye on traffic, exits, and offshoots kept my attention off the still aching hole inside.

I was wearing my collar, and I was sure there was a thrum in the metal now, quickening slowly as we moved further east. Twilight, Fluttershy, and Applejack also had donned theirs. Rarity, Pinkie, and Rainbow were following us in Rarity’s car.

Twilight tucked her phone away in her back pocket. “Timber said he’d have the gate open for us,” she said with a shy smile.

“Ya sure you’ll be ok seein’ him again, Twi?” AJ asked.

“Yeah,” she said, a little more certain. “I’m happy where I am now and the past is what made me so.” She reached over and squeezed my thigh affectionally.

I clicked on my blinker before merging into the exit lane. I’m sure that I’m not the only one that had made the correlation in the car between road rage and signal lights. I’m sure every car has them. I even helped install new one’s on AJ’s truck when the original ones finally died. It’s right there on the steering column, for Celestia’s sake!

“So I’m still the only one feeling anything from the elements?” I asked.

“I’m starting to feel something, but it could just be vibration from the car,” Fluttershy said. She still had her hospital bracelet on under the sleeve of the sweater Rarity had lent her in place of her bloody and shredded blouse from earlier. “Should we be?”

“I’m not sure,” I admitted. “It may be because I have a gem and it’s the gem that’s resonating, but I’m not sure.” I frowned. “But I’m cut off from magic, so I shouldn’t be able to feel anything.”

“Maybe yer magic’s comin’ back,” AJ offered.

I reached inside, but I didn’t feel the warm glow I usually did this close to Twilight. I shook my head. “No, it doesn’t feel like it,” I said. “Anything from yours, AJ?”

She shook her head. “Ah tried t’ pony up while ‘Shy was getting ready,” she sighed. “Nothin’ happened.”

I turned off onto a forested road, gravel crunching under my tires. I saw the large sign for the camp up ahead. Memories drifted through my mind, including the giant wall of thorns that sealed the camp during Gloriosa’s rampage. The final moment where Twilight had finally cast off her fears of Midnight Sparkle.

“I never did hear what happened between you and Timber,” Fluttershy said. “If you don’t mind, that is.”

“Oh, I don’t mind,” she said. “He just wasn’t as ready to leave the camp as he thought he was, and I found out later I was a bit more interested in someone else.”

I felt a bit of heat rise to my face.

“It still hurt a bit,” she admitted. “But I have some good friends. You may even know them.” She turned at that sentence and winked.

I pulled into the parking area for the camp and saw a battered old SUV with its back hatch open. Timber came into view soon after we had all piled out of the car, a duffel bag in his hands.

“Hey, ladies,” Timber said. His voice had lost none of the good humor since the last time we saw each other.

“Hey Timber,” Twilight said. “Going someplace?”

“Yeah,” he said as he shut the hatch of the SUV. “One of our cousins is graduating from college later this week and Gloriosa and I are heading out for the ceremony.” He dusted off his hands. “I left the lock open, so when you guys are done, just lock up the gate behind you, ok?”

“You aren’t going to stay until we’re done?” I asked. The vibration in my element was impossible to ignore now.

“Look, after what you guys did last year, I think I’d be more worried about things happening to me than you all,” he said. “Just don’t burn anything down and I think I’ll be ok with leaving you all to…” he waved his hands vaguely. “Whatever you’re looking for.”

He climbed into the driver’s seat of the SUV and the engine rumbled to life. He waved as he pulled away, leaving us seven to find out what it was my element had signaled about.

The cave loomed in front of us.

“Is it just me,” Rainbow said. “Or is the entrance bigger than the last time we were here?”

I agreed. The boulders still sat where Twilight had shoved them, offering a comparison to the cavern opening. It was bigger, and visibly so.

“It doesn't make any sense,” Twilight said. “There’s no debris showing a recent seismological event that would have increased the size of the opening. This is completely contradictory to any speleomorphology I’ve ever heard.” Her eyes flashed for a second. “Though if magic had a hand in the speleogenesis, then I suppose I can’t rule anything out. I wonder…”

I reached over and booped her on the nose. “Explore first,” I said. “Theorize later.”

She rubbed the end of her nose. “You know that tickles, right?”

“Yes,” I said, stepping forward to lead into the cave.

I dimly heard behind me an exasperated sigh and smiled. I flicked on the flashlight I had and panned it around, its beam being joined by several others. We stopped at the impromptu stage we had played on and found a small fissure in the wall.

AJ played her beam across it. “That wasn’t there last time,” she said, leaning in and staring down the shaft. “There’s somethin’ glowin’ in there,” she remarked.

I stepped up and looked down, seeing a faint lambent glow. I also heard a faint chiming, like bells. It was familiar, and I slipped through the crack to the corridor beyond.

“Sunset, wait!” Twilight said. “It may not be stable!”

I ignored the shout and turned a corner, following the glow and the chiming. My collar began to tremble around my neck, almost starting to pull against me. I came to another corner, and when I turned past it, I stopped.

It wasn’t anywhere near as large, barely more than a sapling, but it was obvious as to its identity. The crystal limbs and jeweled branches were twins of the Tree of Harmony. I heard Twilight and the gang catch up to me, their awe causing them to slow and stare.

“It’s lovely!” Rarity said, her voice a little distant.

“The Tree of Harmony?” Twilight pondered. “How are there two?”

“How are there two of all of us?” Fluttershy countered.

“Magic,” Pinkie chirped. “It’s simple, really. Anything of direct power would influence the development of morphological entities in direct correlation to its spatial counterpart. The amount of change would depend on the interval between the two points - being defined as the square root of the sum of the squares of the separation between the points along three spatial dimensions - but it still allows for a great deal of identical growth.”

We all blinked.

“What?” she asked. “Do I have something in my teeth?” she started to run her tongue along her teeth, pulling a small mirror out of her pocket.

Sometimes I’m convinced she only pretends to be as innocent as she seems.

I took a step closer, and I felt my collar fly off my neck, hovering before the tree. A golden light began to link the two, and the tree began to grow, branches spreading, six in particular. I heard gasps as the girls were relieved of their collars as well, and I felt my geode pull free of the chain it was suspended from. I saw several other colored spheres fly forward, circling the tree. The golden glow began to increase, obscuring the activity and causing my eyes to water. The chiming was growing louder in my ears.

“What’s happening?” Fluttershy squeaked.

“I wish I knew,” I said.

The glow died down, and hovering in the air were our seven collars, now each embedded with a gem. They floated over to each of us, fastening around our necks. I felt a surge as the clasp sealed, a feeling like a warm blanket washing over me.

Turning to the girls, I saw we had all ponied up. Faint light came from each gem, the geodes evident inside each of my friends' new accessories.

“Actual Elements?” Applejack breathed. “Land’s sake!”

“The geodes must have just been protoform magic,” Twilight said, pulling her’s in front of her enough to look at it. “The tree hadn’t grown enough to provide power to energize it until we brought magic from Equestria’s tree to revitalize it.”

“Protoform magic still needs something to stem from, Twilight,” I said. “It doesn’t just happen in a vacuum.” I rolled my shoulders, feeling some tension in the muscles.

I saw they were all staring at me.

“What?”

“Um, Sunset,” Twilight said, pointing.

I turned around, but as I did, I felt something tug at my back. My eyes widened. "Oh, horseapples," I spat.

“You, uh, appear to have wings, darling.” Rarity said.

They were small, barely visible from my peripheral sight, but they were certainly there. I also felt a bit of pressure grow in my head, centered above and between my eyes. Twilight and Rarity started to rub the same spot, and I saw spectral horns appear just as I had a few months ago.

Then the tree pulsed with another strong chime, and I stumbled, feeling magic wash through me. When I regained my footing, I looked around, seeing that the magic had affected us all.

Rainbow and Fluttershy’s wings were a little larger and sleeker, their feathers having taken on an additional bit of color. AJ and Pinkie were visibly more stocky, AJ’s muscle tone even more evident. Twilight, Rarity, and I all had horns growing from our hairlines, and the wings Twilight and I had were laced with iridescent feathers.

I looked at each of us, seeing that our hair had also taken some complimentary colors. I reached up and felt my horn, feeling the dim tactile sensation I was used to in pony form.

“Ok,” I said, feeling my wings furl slightly. “This is officially beyond anything I can even explain.”

Chapter Eight - Translation

We had powered down after removing our collars, and the first thing I did was reach inside for the bond I had with Twilight. It was there, as weak as it had been in the days following my mother’s funeral, but it was there. Relief flooded me, and it was then I felt a shift in the collar, it turning from a thick metal band into a heavy chain with a thicker looking version of the gem in a gold bezel. A quick visual check confirmed that everyone’s element had transformed in that manner.

“Well, now what?” Rainbow asked.

“We should check on the Sirens,” Rarity said. “That nasty fellow certainly would like to eliminate them, since their song apparently hurts him.”

“We should also see about communicating with Equestria, get more information about harpies and how to deal with them,” Twilight offered.

“I’ll handle that,” I said, trepidation in my voice.

“I’ll go too,” Twilight immediately said.

“No,” I said. “I want you to help keep an eye on the Sirens.” When she got ready to argue, I put a finger over her lips.

“You are one of the only ones that wasn’t drained, and I can tell I’m not up to full strength yet,” I looked into her eyes. “I want you to be on this side in case something happens to the portal while I’m across, if I can cross now, that is.”

Defiance flashed in her eyes for a second and battled logic. Logic won, and she nodded before pulling me in and touching foreheads. I felt a flash of love and smiled.

“RD,” I said, turning around. “You, Twi, and Fluttershy are the only ones at full strength. Keep everyone together and keep an eye out. If he shows up again, run.”

“You can’t be serious!” the athlete immediately countered. “I’m not going to run from this guy again.”

I slid my element on, triggering a pony form. I walked forward and put my hand on her shoulder, causing her to meet my eyes. I had a hunch about something, and I pushed my thoughts outward…

Inside the abandoned house, screaming and throwing bits of debris.

My inner demons taunting me.

Running away from the portal, shame and weakness in my heart.

The feel of Acerak ripping my magic out of me.

I stepped back, reaching up to remove my element as I saw the horror in Rainbows eyes be overcome with understanding.

“Keep them safe, Rainbow,” I said quietly. “If he realizes we still have magic, he’ll try again.”

She nodded, determination in her eyes. I looked over to AJ and saw her nod as well.

Twilight did insist on walking me up to the portal. We stood at the glass barrier, the magic resonance already pounding at my senses, though not as strongly as before. Twilight’s eyes were quickly becoming bloodshot, however.

“Still as strong as our last reading?” I asked.

She shook her head. “Stronger by an order of magnitude,” she said, rubbing her temples.

I frowned. “Better hurry and go, then,” I said, turning to take a step forward.

She grabbed me by my coat lapels and pulled me down into a fierce kiss.

“Come back to me,” she whispered.

“Always,” I said.

And crossed the threshold.

Twilight smiled as I stepped through. “Sunset, I’ve been trying to…what in Celestia’s name?”

I smiled wanly at Twilight’s surprise. To tell the truth, I was surprised myself when I saw the wings tucked into my sides.

“It’s a long story,” I said. “And it’s one that should be discussed with as many advisors present as possible.”

“I’ll get the girls,” Twilight said, turning.

“Not just the girls,” I said, stopping her. “Celestia and Luna should be in as well.”

Twilight quirked an eyebrow. I charged up my horn and showed her an image of Acerak attacking us.

“This is beyond us,” I said.

I sat in the throne room of Canterlot, surrounded by the four princesses, Starlight, Sunburst, and the five counterparts of my friends back home. After the initial shock of seeing me with wings, Celestia had asked me to recount my tale.

I started with us leaving from the last time I had stepped through all the way through us discovering the infant Tree of Harmony and the partial restoration of my magic.

“The Siren’s song seemed to hurt him or weaken him,” I said, depowering my horn and letting the illusion that had accompanied my recounting to fade. “It was the only time we were able to do any damage.”

“This is a grave tale you bring us, Sunset,” Celestia said. “I have no knowledge of this creature, though I know of somepony who might.”

I looked around and realized there was a pair of eyes blinking in one of the murals.

“Discord, stop hiding,” I said.

The draconequus oozed out of the mural, looking disgusted.

“I thought they were all destroyed,” he hissed. I blinked and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Fluttershy sit up in shock.

“What do you mean, destroyed?” Twilight asked.

“They were born of Chaos magic, magic that ran wild in the early days,” he said. “Long before you two were around,” he indicated the Royal Sisters. “That bearded wizard had disposed of them long ago, or so I thought.”

“Star Swirl fought this thing?” I asked.

“Oh yes,” Discord said. “But there were more than just the one.”

I paled.

“How many?” Starlight asked.

“Thirty,” he said. “And if memory serves me, their leader was named…” he paused to think dramatically.

“Acerak,” I whispered.

“That’s it!” Discord said, as though he had just remembered it.

“What did he do?” I demanded to the air. “Just chuck whatever into the portal and let it be somepony else’s problem?”

“Hey, he was doing the best he could!” Twilight interjected. “He was a great wizard, and…”

“I’m afraid Sunset may have a point,” Celestia said. “Star Swirl was a great wizard, but sometimes he had an ‘Out of sight’ mentality.” She sighed and turned towards Starlight.

“Has there been any headway in translating that book?” she asked.

Starlight shook her head. “Sunburst and I have personally searched every book on languages both here and in Twilight’s castle and we can’t find a single similar lithograph or character reference.” She sighed. “I’m not sure where else to turn.”

Cadence levitated the book over, skimming it for a second. “This looks familiar, somehow,” she whispered.

Twilight, sitting next to her, leaned over and glanced at the runes herself.

“I saw those in the Crystal Empire,” she said. “When we were looking for something to repair the Crystal Heart!”

“Are you sure?” Sunburst asked.

Everyone around the table laughed.

“If anypony could recall something that obscure, it’d be Twilight,” Rainbow Dash said.

The Alicorn blushed.

“We’ll head there immediately,” Sunburst said, gathering up his notes.

“Now, if you all will excuse us, my little ponies,” Celestia said, standing up. “I believe it is time for Sunset and the princesses to have a talk in private.”

Everypony rose and bowed, turning to leave. I kept my head bowed. I heard the hoofbeats as they moved away, the palace doors booming closed behind them.

“This is...unexpected,” Celestia said, her gaze levied on me. “This is the first time I can recall an ascension without an instigating spell from another Alicorn.”

“If there is a way to reverse it, I would,” I said, still looking at the ground.

“Why?” asked Luna. “You once lusted after those with a fierce desire.”

“That’s just it!” I said, raising my gaze. “That desire, that ambition led to me desecrating everything Celestia had taught me. I may have been forgiven and forgiven myself, but I doubt that alone makes me worthy.”

“I’ve seen you prove your worthiness, Sunset,” Twilight said. “And from what your Twilight and friends have told me of the events at the Friendship Games and at the camp, you’ve more than proved worthy.”

“Not to mention the Tree released a Seventh Element for you,” Cadence weighed in.

Celestia's gaze still weighed on me, and it made me uncomfortable.

“I never asked for this,” I said. “I just want to settle down, get married, and live a quiet life.”

“Destiny seldom lets us choose, Sunset,” Celestia said, her gaze crinkling slightly as she smiled, the wisdom and age showing.

“But if the Tree of Harmony deemed you worthy of the wings of an Alicorn, it must have had a reason.” She stepped forward and draped a wing across me. “And we will always welcome you as an equal.”

I giggled nervously, looking at her. “But I’ll never be your better,” I said with a smile.

She smiled back, and I knew then that we had truly reached back to the way it was before.

And it felt good.

The train ride to the Crystal Empire was filled with tension. After testing to find the books were working again, I had hurriedly written to Sunshine and found that the Sirens and my friends had all holed up in my apartment, utilizing the Internet and any books they could find that involved harpies. I filled her in on what I had found out and gave her the lowdown on my plan.

I lowered my head to the seat again as the events replayed in my head.

“Not even Star Swirl was able to beat him,” I whispered to myself.

“Maybe he just went to seal them until he could deal with them,” Twilight said. “After all, he didn’t show up until recently.”

“So what happened to let him loose?” I asked.

“Well, there was that celestial alignment recently that caused some trouble with the portal on our end,” the Princess of Friendship suggested. “Maybe it weakened whatever chain he had around him.”

“That doesn't explain the inability to communicate with each other at times, or the increasing magical resonance at our end of the portal,” I said, shaking my head. “Something major is happening, Twilight, I can feel it in my horn.”

“What happened to the other ones Discord mentioned?” Twilight mused. “Why weren’t they released as well?”

I felt my stomach drop out.

“Can this train move any faster?” I asked.

“No, not really,” she replied. “It has to follow the tracks and they take quite a few curves through the northern mountains.”

I bolted for one of the doors.

“He’s trying to release them, Twilight,” I said as she caught up to me as I stepped into the space between cars, hoping onto the roof with a flap of my wings.

“We don’t have time to wait for the train.”

“Are you crazy?” she called. “I might be able to fly there quickly, but you’ve only had your wings for a day!”

“In the waking world, yeah!” I responded, taking a quick look around to get my bearings. “But Twilight keeps sticking them on me when we go in for magic practice.”

I gave my former rival a fierce grin. “I’ve been at this for months,” I said before taking off, heading towards the glittering crystal of our destination like an arrow released from a bow.

Twilight launched after me, shaking her head.

“This is insane,” I heard her say over the rush of the wind.

“Artifacts and Ancient lore,” Twilight said. “I’m almost certain that was the title.”

“You start upstairs and I’ll start down here,” I said, heading over towards a shelf, levitating books down and checking the titles. We had been at it for about an hour when Sunburst and Starlight galloped in, the heavy tome being levitated onto a reading stand.

“Anything yet?” the pink mare called over as she caught her breath.

“Not yet,” I said, dumping another book back onto the shelf and moving on to the next.

“Who organized this place?” I heard Twilight shout as she flew over to the next section.

“I’ve only managed to get through the lower stacks,” Sunburst said apologetically.

“Is there a reference chart?” I asked.

“A what?” the orange stallion stammered.

“A reference chart,” I repeated. “A catalog or map of subjects. Anything like that?”

“It’s not very accurate,” he said, levitating over a sheet of parchment with hurried notes scrawled on it. I scanned it and took off to the upper stacks, frantically scanning book spines until I found the one I was looking for.

“Gotcha!” I said, swinging back down and plopping the book onto one of the desks.

I fought back a yawn, draining what seemed like my tenth cup of tea since this translation effort had taken place.

“We know that it was written by Star Swirl,” Twilight said. “That much is obvious from what we’ve managed to translate thus far.”

“And again, he couldn’t have written it in plain Equestrian?” I said wearily. “I know you kind of idolize him, Twilight, but he’s starting to become a royal pain in the flank!”

Twilight huffed a bit, looking ready to launch into some sort of speech.

“Don’t,” I said, rubbing my eyes. “It’s just been a long day and we’re moving so slowly.”

Twilight’s eyes registered comprehension. “And your friends are on your mind,” she said.

I nodded. “I’m worried he could attack at any moment,” I admitted. “I may not be able to do much, but at least I could help. Somehow.”

Twilight tapped her hoof thoughtfully. “You said you had your horn in that other form, yes?”

I nodded. “It was different from any other time I’ve ponied up,” I said. "I never sprouted a horn before.”

Twilight hummed in thought. “Did you try any spells?”

“I was too astounded by the…” my mind rewound. “I did share memories with Rainbow Dash. Not hers, mine.”

“That could be an offshoot of your Empathic abilities,” Twilight murmured. “How does that work, exactly?”

“I touch somepony and I see their surface thoughts and emotions,” I said. “And I apparently can send my thoughts to another.”

“Sunset, what was it he called you?” Starlight suddenly asked.

“Seer,” I said. “Why?

“You’re mentioned,” she said, pointing at the book.

“Apparently, Star Swirl lacked the power to destroy the central matrix of the magic that had given birth to the Harpies, so he bound them into a spell matrix that would hold them, but he knew it wouldn’t hold forever,” Starlight read. “But he set up precautions.”

“He banished the Sirens,” Twilight said suddenly. “But he didn’t remove their Song.”

Realization came to me as well. “He knew that they had a way to overcome the gaseous form they hold when under attack,” I said.

“And that’s why the portal restored their songs,” Twilight said excitedly. “It never meant for them to be barred permanently, they were the failsafe.”

Another flash hit me. “The vision I saw in the winter, just before Sunshine and I resolved into those forms you saw,” I said. “It wasn’t him sealing away the Sirens, it was him sealing the Harpies in!”

“Then you need to hear this,” Starlight said, double checking a few words against their translation rubric.

“According to this, 'The Seer is the one that can permanently seal them in, using magic that I have never been able to master,'” she read.

“Friendship,” Twilight said. “His final spell was only completed with my understanding of friendship.”

“Which is the final test you went through to get your wings,” I remarked. “That’s a relief, at least I know what to use.”

Starlight looked up.

“There is more,” she said, a worried look on her face. “The Seer must fuse something called the Grey Gates to permanently banish them. And he states that the cost is higher than he ever imagined.”

“Ok,” I said. “Way to be cryptic, guy.”

“He’s not,” Twilight said. “The Grey Gates was the title of his last written treatise. It was the last experiment he was working on when he died.”

She leveled her gaze on me. “It was what killed him, Sunset."

Chapter Nine - Royal Canterlot Voice

I flipped the pages in the small, spiral bound notebook, reading the notes written within.

“Is it just me,” I asked out loud. “Or does half of this book consist of Star Swirl’s rambling? It’s like reading one of Pinkie’s recipes after she’s copied it down for someone.”

Twilight fiddled for a second. “He was a little absent-minded,” she said. “But his published works are quite concise.”

“It’s called editors, Twilight,” I said, stretching my neck and feeling the wings behind me rustle in response. “Do these ever not get annoying?” I asked as one refused to return to rest.

Twilight smiled. “Eventually,” she said with a glance back at her own lilac wings. “But everything relevant to the Gates is in that notebook.”

I sighed. “Half of the last page wondered if penguins would enjoy living on icebergs and if he could fit any more bells on his hat.” I closed the book as the train slid to a stop in Ponyville. “How exactly is he the foremost expert on anything with a mind that wanders that much?”

We trotted off, heading for the castle. Twilight tilted her head up slightly.

“I may have a condensed version in my library,” she said. “If you don’t mind waiting while we look for it.”

I shook my head. “I’ll just muddle through this notebook,” I said with a smile. “Condensed copies may cut out something important. With things this dangerous, you don’t want to miss a step.”

“That makes sense,” Twilight said, opening the doors to the castle. I missed whatever she was going to say next when I was bowled over by a sky-blue blur.

“This is so awesome!” Rainbow Dash cried. “A new flying buddy! How fast can you go? Have you managed any tricks yet?”

“Ow…" was all I could manage.

“Rainbow, let her up,” Twilight said with a giggle. “She can’t stick around just to fly with you.”

“Aw, harsh, Twi,” she said, climbing off me and offering a hoof. “We know how tough she is!”

“I think I broke something,” I wheezed as I took the hoof and stood, running a mental checklist. Everything seemed to be ok, but I still moved gingerly for the first few steps.

“As soon as this is through,” Rainbow said, draping a wing over my back. “You and me, race you out at Sweet Apple Acres.”

“Deal,” I said. Regardless of which universe you referred to, Rainbow’s confidence was uplifting.

We turned to walk back into the castle, and on a hunch I stepped to the side just in time to see a pink blur fly by, tumbling into Dash and sending them both into a sprawling pile just past the steps.

Twilight blinked. “How did you know she was coming?”

“I showed up with wings, Twilight,” I said, trotting into the halls. “Can you really expect Pinkie to not throw a party?”

“How’d you know?” Pinkie said, hopping up between us and bouncing. “I tried really hard to keep it a secret.”

“It’s what you do, Pinks,” I said, patting her on the shoulder as we walked. “It’s what you do.”

“If I’m reading this right, these Grey Gates are the lynchpins of the interdimensional transitway,” I said later. “The very thing that hooks the two ends of the portal together.”

“What does that have to do with the Harpies?” Twilight asked, finishing off the piece of cake in front of her.

“Remember, I’m translating out the magical theory from his rambling,” I reminded her. “It seems he tied them into the fabric of the portal. That’s why it ages us down, I think. Their existence as beings of pure chaos tampers with the relatively simple planar transportation magic. If you can call plane hopping magic simple.”

“Why did he tie them into the portal? I don’t think that would be the best option to deal with something that dangerous.”

“I don’t think he meant for the portal to be used for a regular commute like we have been doing it,” I said, re-reading a section. “Sometime between the Fall Formal and last winter, something happened and loosened the pathway and Acerak slipped free.” I glanced up. “He’s behind the increase of magic pouring from the portal. He’s feeding on it, using it to slide between corporeal and non. That’s what has caused the problems with the books and the issues with the portal, not any celestial event.”

“Then how is he going to free the rest?”

“That I don’t know,” I said, closing the book. “And that’s the last relevant page. He finished this notebook out with a comment about quesadillas and wondering if he could fit any more cheese in."

Twilight's eye twitched.

A thumping sound drew our attention. I stood and moved towards the sound and found the communication book on the ground, flashing and vibrating sporadically.

Twilight levitated it over to us, opening it to the last page. “That’s odd,” she said before her eyes widened.

“What?” I asked, moving to read over her shoulder.

She slammed the book shut, a nervous grin on her face. “Oh, nothing,” she said with a forced giggle. “It’s just a spell glitch, some interference from the portal!”

“Twilight, you are my friend,” I said. “And as such, I feel it is my duty to tell you that you suck at lying.” I reached out with my magic and started to open the book. “How bad can it be?”

The book vanished in a flash similar to a teleportation effect. I turned to stare at the younger Alicorn. “Twilight, this isn’t funny,” I said when I saw it levitating behind her.

“I’m not laughing,” she said. “And you don’t want to read this,” She said.

I grabbed the book in my grip again, only to have Twilight and the book vanish in a flash. I followed her, her teleportation easily tracked in her haste. I appeared in the orchard at Sweet Apple Acres, a startled Applejack staring.

“You too, Sunset?” she said, glancing off towards a fast vanishing purple blur.

I took off, taking advantage of the air as Twilight galloped beneath the canopy of the trees. I dove down, grabbing the book and teleporting back to the castle, dimly hearing her shocked exclamation before the orchard was traded for the castle interior. I opened the book just as Twilight appeared.

“Sunset, no!”

The words inside were jumbled, sentences incomplete or filled with nonsense. But I easily picked out the message, panic gripping my heart as I flung the book back towards the mirror.

Acerak had attacked Twilight when she slipped out to get food. She was hurt and drained.

Twilight appeared between me and the mirror, her wings spread wide.

“Get out of my way, Twilight,” I said through gritted teeth. Anger and fear fought for control in my heart.

“It could be a trap,” She said. “He knows that you’re part of the only way he can be beaten, and he’s luring you out!”

I charged up my horn. “Move!”

“No, I won’t,” she said. “We don’t even know how to defeat him yet!”

My horn blazed with power as I took a threatening step forward. “Damn it,Twilight! Move!”

She stared at me in shock as I clamped my hooves over my mouth, the echoes of my shout reverberating through the room and hallway.

“What was that?” I asked, keeping my voice soft.

“The Royal Canterlot Voice,” she breathed. “But how?”

“Magic and intent, mixed with speech,” a voice said from behind us. We turned to see Cadence strolling in slowly.

“It’s the only way to make sure you’re heard when addressing an entire plaza’s worth of subjects,” she said. She looked at me intently. “Sunset, going back before we know the entire situation would be dangerous.”

“Twilight is hurt,” I said. “I have to get to her.” My heart was hammering in my chest, and I was afraid it would punch a hole out with its ferocity.

Cadence smiled sadly. “I know you care for her,” she said softly. “Believe me, no one knows better, and if Shining Armour or Flurry Heart where in the same situation I'd be just as worried. But you don’t have any sort of plan or idea of how to proceed.”

“I know,” I said. “But there isn’t any more of the notes about the Gates, and he didn’t have any sort of mention of how to reseal Acerak.”

"But Sunburst and Starlight are still working on the translation!" Twilight said. "They might find something!"

"Might, not will," I spat. "I can't sit around while my friends are in danger!"

The Princess of Love met my eyes, reading my intent and sighed. “Twilight,” Cadence said gently. “Move aside for her. We can’t stop her from returning, and I’d rather you two not fight it out.”

The Alicorn moved away reluctantly and I stepped forward. I was about to pass through when a loud popping sound echoed through the room, ruffling everyone's mane. I turned to see an exhausted Starlight appear, her coat lathered, eyes unfocused and the pack she carried was beginning to become soaked with her sweat.

"Princess," she whispered laboriously. "We finished..."

She collapsed. Twilight was the first to her, and I hesitated for a second out of concern.

"Did she teleport all the way from the Crystal Empire?" I asked.

"Impossible," Cadence said. "I can't even do that."

"She is a strong Unicorn, though," I took a step towards her. "Whatever caused her to do it must have been important."

Starlight stirred weakly. "My head," she groaned. "My horn feels like it's in a vice."

"Well, you did just teleport the equivalent of two day's train ride," Twilight said. "That's bound to cause some burnout and exhaustion. It'll take a day for your strength to recover."

"Sunset!" she said suddenly, sitting up, then wincing. "Did I get back in time to stop her?"

I stepped around into view. "Just barely," I said. The concern for my love warred with the curiosity of what had caused such a rapid trip.

"The translation," she said. "In the back plate of the book was a note scratched out in regular Equestrian, just above this." Her horn threw sparks as she tried to cast something. She stopped, gasping. "It's in my pack, a ruby."

Twilight dug out the gem, it's multifaceted sides reflecting the light of her aura. "What is it?" she asked. "It almost looks like..."

"It's a spell matrix amplifier," Starlight whispered. "It is designed to match the matrix of whatever magic it's being used with." She paused to catch her breath. "It's the only way I managed to teleport so far. But it exacts a heavy toll, it would seem."

She locked eyes on me. "The note referred to it as a key, or the key," she said. "For whatever reason, Star Swirl wrote it very quickly and very abstractly. It may have been one of his final acts prior to him sealing away the book and his passing."

I took the gem from Twilight, momentarily surprised by how heavy it felt. "Did he say how to use it?"

The pink unicorn shook her head, wincing again from the movement. "No, sadly," she said. "Everything that we uncovered just indicated that the Grey Gates were imperfect and that the cycle of thirty moons was meant to recharge the barrier between worlds."

Twilight paled. "This is my fault?" she whispered.

"No," I said quickly. "You did not cause this."

"But I'm the one that overrode the natural cycle! I'm the one that kept opening the portal, I figured out how to keep it open..."

"And I'm the one that asked you for help, and I have come through it more times than you have just because I wanted to," I countered, squaring off to her. "It's no one's fault, Twilight. But to be safe, close off the portal once I've gone through. It's not a wise idea to have it open more than it needs to be right now."

"How?" Starlight asked.

I rapped a rear hoof against one of the contraptions attached to the mirror. "Disconnect it from the apparatus she made," I said. "Buck it apart if you have to."

I was about to hop through the mirror again when a lilac wing snapped out to bar my way.

I looked at her and saw the same concern that I saw on my Twilight’s face just before I left the other day.

“Be careful,” she said.

I smiled and nodded.

“Of course,” I returned as she pulled her wing back. “If you don’t hear from me in a few days, come pick up the pieces.” I swallowed. "And if necessary, destroy the mirror."

I stepped through the portal, feeling my anger and worry return and increase as I rushed towards my apartment.

At the time, I didn’t notice the gem that I shoved into my jacket pocket had started to glow in time with my heartbeat.

Chapter Ten - Midnight Daydream

My boots thudded against the pavement as I ran. Momentarily, I spared a thought thanking the foresight to have worn flat soled boots today. My apartment building loomed in sight and I slowed only long enough to put my key in the lock and throw the door open to…

Everyone sitting around the table with take-out Chinese cartons, staring at me.

I blinked in confusion. “Twilight,” I began. “Is everything ok?”

She nodded and I felt confusion bubble up through the slowly strengthening bond. “Why wouldn't it be?”

I frowned. “Not even an hour ago I got a message from you saying that you had been attacked and hurt,” I said.

“Well, as you can see, darling,” Rarity said. “We’re all well and good. Perhaps the book is malfunctioning again?”

“It would make sense, I mean, you’ve only been gone seventy-two hours,” Twilight said, taking another bite of her rice.

“Twilight, I’ve been gone five days, not three.”

Twilight pointed at the clock on the wall, which showed the date as well as time. “I’m pretty sure I know how to read a clock, Sunny,” she said with a giggle.

I stared at the clock. “This doesn’t make sense,” I murmured.

“We’ve always suspected the portal played with time,” Adagio said. “Maybe it’s just warped a bit more?”

I sat down and ran my hands through my hair. “This has been a confusing five days,” I said.

I started to recount what I had found out, but just before I got to the events surrounding my hurried departure, I felt a cold chill start to creep up my back. I spun, looking towards the door as it was ripped free from its frame, Acerak striding in, looking much more solid and human.

He glanced around. “I must admit, this is a nice place,” he said, running a finger across the bookshelf that housed our communication books, then looked at it, tsking. “Could stand a good dusting, though.”

“We’ve been a little busy,” I said, hearing chairs scrape against the floor.

“So it seems,” he smiled, returning his icy gaze to us. “So good to see you all healed up. I’d hate it if you were hurt permanently.” His toothy smile was anything but human, all sharp points and dull shine.

“I’d hardly say we’re healed up,” I said, rage building. “You violated me in a way that I have never thought possible and stole from me something precious,” I tilted my head forward, nudging some magic into the bond I had with Twilight. “I will never forgive you for that.”

Acerak gave off a trilling laugh, sounding eerily like evil birdsong. “And what do you intend to do about it?” he gloated. “I’ve stripped more than half of you of your magic, and by the time you recover enough mana to be a threat it won’t matter anymore.”

“Because you’ll have freed your brothers? Twilight said, taking a few steps forward to be just behind my right shoulder.

“Children would be a more accurate term,” he said. “But good for you, you’ve done your research. I guess I’ll just have to block the portal a little better for the immediate future.”

“So you are involved in the trouble we’ve been having,” Rainbow shouted, and I saw her just inside my peripheral vision.

Please, I thought. Don’t fly off the handle just yet Dash.

“Not just that,” I said. “He’s been siphoning off the magic of the portal. That’s why we can’t hurt him.”

The Harpy clapped his hands in appreciation. “Very good,” he said. “But I wouldn’t mind answering any questions you might have.”

“Why?" Fluttershy asked. Her tone was angry, but only those that knew her would recognize that.

“Honestly?” Acerak said, face losing its humorous look. “That’s your question? Look around you,” he gestured widely. “In the entirety of this world, you ten are the only ones that could cause any sort of problems, and I could crush you with ease.” He locked his eyes on me. “And you were the first to work on.”

I paled. “What?” I whispered.

He smiled a predatory grin. “Celestia doesn't trust you at all. She probably told the guards to bar your entry after you left. You did tend to flaunt her authority in the past,” he said, his voice modulating as he spoke to fit that of the demon. My friends all gasped behind me. He tilted his head slightly, speaking again, only this time his voice matched mine. “I told you it was pointless, you weren't enough to cut it at the school in Equestria, and you can't keep your friends safe here. Acerak will take you each one by one.”

I stared in horror, my mind numb. “It was you the entire time,” I whispered, my rage starting to rise again to wash through my fear. I felt some of it bounce off Twilight’s emotions as her hatred rose in tandem with mine.

Acerak started laughing again. “And it was so simple,” he said, waving his hand at me. “Your self-doubt already existed and gave me an in! The perfect way to destroy someone is to let them do it themselves.” He gave a short bow.

“Now,” I whispered.

Acerak began to rise from his bow and froze in mid-motion. “What…” he spat.

Twilight held her hands forward, focusing her telekinetic grip. “You didn’t hit all of us,” she growled. “Rather sloppy, actually.”

I reached down inside and grabbed the faint strand of magic that had regrown inside and ponied up, feeling a strain as my body struggled to shift for a second, then a wash of power flowed forward and I felt my wings grow and horn begin to sprout. They weren’t fully formed, but I saw Acerak’s eyes grow wide in surprise.

“Ascension?” he spat. “You?! The standards must be getting lower.”

“Or maybe I’m stronger than you thought,” I said, holding my hands out to either side, my friends stepping forward, the sapphires on the Siren’s neck glowing. I started to charge my horn while Rarity set a series of shields around him. They were a little paler than usual, but she had no problem raising them.

Adagio started to sing a note, her sisters joining in and I felt my pocket twitch. As the song grew louder and Acerak began to fight aginst the bonds, the gem I had brought with me floated from my pocket and began to glow in time with the song. I stared at it for a second, having forgotten about it.

And that was when Acerak managed to break free, reaching out with one hand and clenching his fist. Twilight gasped and doubled over, her control over her telekinetic grip wavering even more. A sphere of pale yellow light began to grow in his hand.

“Your control,” he said, standing straight again. “Is found wanting.” He raised the sphere of magic up and bit into it, causing a scream to rip from Twilight’s throat as she collapsed.

“Twilight!” I said, moving to her side. But before I could reach out to touch her, she flew through the air and was grabbed by Acerak, Rarity’s shield shattering. Her glasses fell to the ground between us.

“Let her go,” I said, my anger rising.

“Oh, but I like her,” he purred in response. “She’s feisty, like you.” He started to back through the door slowly. “I think we’ll take some time to get to know one another.”

Twilight whimpered as he ran a talon along her cheek.

“You hurt her and I swear to Celestia you’ll regret it.” I snarled.

“A gripping tale, I’m sure,” he said as he moved up the stairs. “But something I remember from my time in Equestria; even Alicorns are worthless in a fight.” He started to grow indistinct, Twilight’s form following fashion.

“Twilight!” I said, rushing forward just in time for the cloud of smoke to blow away in the air.

My magic flared alongside my anger, and I heard a scraping sound from behind me. I looked over my shoulder around in time for my element to fly forward and fasten itself around my neck, throwing my pony form into full bloom. I spread my wings in reflex.

And that was when the ruby flew over to me and fused with my element, taking the shape of Twilight’s emblem.

And a blaze of light erupted as I felt magic rush through my veins. I felt my horn grow more and my wings turned into blazing light. I started to float up into the sky when I heard a voice call out.

“Sunset,” Adagio said. “What are you going to do?”

I looked down at her, the radiance of my Daydream form causing her to squint.

“I’m going to kill the son of a bitch,” I said, turning and flying off, searching inwardly for the bond I shared with Twilight.

I was floating in a black wasteland. Bones littered the ground and the vegetation was brown and sharp.

“Sunset?” I called out. “Fluttershy?”

My voice defied physics and echoed in the open plain. I turned around nervously. “Anyone?”

“My, my,” a voice said, causing my blood to freeze. “It has been a while.”

I turned slowly to see Midnight Sparkle sitting on a throne-like chair, legs crossed and wings gently folded behind her. She rose and slowly walked to me, a slow, seductive walk that I shied away from, her wings spreading slightly.

“Oh, come now, Twilight,” she cooed as she reached me and reached out a single finger to tuck under my chin. “No warm hug to greet me? No kind words?” She grinned. "No kiss?"

I shuddered at the touch. “I banished you,” I said in a trembling voice.

“No,” she purred. “Not quite. I’m a part of you, Twilight darling, and you will never fully be rid of me.” She began to pace around me. “Every dark nightmare, every shadowy thought, every angry outburst will be me.” She stopped in front of me again. “And each time I’ll be making another foothold back into you.”

I shook my head. “I know who I am,” I said, trying to feel the bond I shared with Sunset. “You won’t get back in control.”

Midnight chuckled throatily, wiping a tear from her eye. “Oh, I forgot how sweet you are,” she said before grabbing me firmly by the chin. “They can’t find you here, despite the bond you share.” She narrowed her eyes, the halo of light around them flared for a second. “You are at my mercy, Twilight Sparkle.” She shoved me backward.

I landed hard onto a concrete floor, the air rushing out of me in an explosion. I dimly heard the mocking laugh of Midnight Sparkle as I scooted up against a wall, trying to see in the darkness, everything blurry.

“Sunny,” I said, feeling an aching hole inside. “Please hurry.”

The only answer was the dim memory of laughter of the side of me I thought I had banished long ago.

Chapter Eleven - Futility

I landed on the roof to Crystal Prep Academy, closing my eyes and willing the Daydream form away. This was the closest thing to the center of town that I could land on that wouldn’t have security details coming up to check on me. What I was about to do required a lot of focus.

I sat down and crossed my legs so I was in the lotus position. Closing my eyes, I powered up my horn, pouring all of my mana into it. Then I released it slowly, inwardly, pouring it all into the bond I shared with Twilight. This tracking spell was something that I was creating on the fly, extrapolating from a spell used to find minor items.

You have no idea how many times it had helped me find my keys before I left Equestria.

I kept my breathing slow, magic seeking the other end of the mental link. I knew she had to be nearby because Acerak’s source of power was the portal, it was what filled him with all his massive power. Twilight couldn’t be far.

My mana slowly drained into the link, reaching out, grasping, finding…

Nothing. I stood, looking out over the city. From here I should be able to be sense Twilight at least dimly. That meant either he had found a way to block the link, had hidden her beyond my range, or…

No. I wouldn’t go down that route. She was ok, I was certain I would have felt it if something had happened to her.

I stared hard towards the slowly sinking moon, wishing that I would suddenly get a flash of insight as to where my love was hidden.

The moon vanished, seemingly mocking my desires.

I still couldn’t see. Despite the fact that my eyes had adjusted to the dim lighting of the building I was in, my astigmatism rendered me mostly helpless. I closed my eyes, listening. I could hear the hiss of tires on wet asphalt. The highway, I was near the highway.

I stood, squinting. I made my way over to a rectangular shaped spot of light, slowly. I stumbled over a few items that were too small for my handicapped sight to spot, but there were no major obstacles. I stepped through the door, finding myself standing in the field of tall grass, the highway in the distance. I started taking slow steps towards the highway, hoping that from there I would be to pinpoint my location.

“Twilight!” I heard someone cry. I turned, my heart leaping when I heard that alto voice.

“Sunny!” I cried, seeing the yellow streaked blur that topped my fiancé’s head. As she got closer, I could make out her features perfectly, her green eyes flashing as they passed under one of the highway lamps. The relief was evident on her face as she rushed up to me.

Wait…

I had astigmatism, but everything about Sunset was in sharp focus. I then realized none of the minor imperfections we all had were evident, the small scar on the base of her neck from a spell gone wrong as a filly, the slightly larger left earlobe. Not even the streak of blonde in her copper tresses held the right shade.

She moved to hug me, and I stepped back.

“Who are you?” I asked, holding a hand out to block her advance.

“Twilight, it’s me!” Sunset said, a confused look on her face.

“What is my nickname?” I said, matching each move she made with a mirrored step.

“Twilight, this is silly,” she said. “You know it’s me.”

“What,” I said, trying to inject some steel into my voice. “Did you call me when we were at your sisters’ for Christmas?”

The Sunset in front of me smiled but was not the sweet smile I knew. It was filled with malice and madness. The landscape around me snapped into focus as she started to laugh, the voice slowly morphing away from Sunset’s voice.

“Ah, I should have known you wouldn’t fall for that," she said as the area around her eyes lit up, Sunset’s image fading to reveal Midnight Sparkle. The landscape returned to the disaster-ridden planescape it had been when I last had seen my alter ego.

“You are more perceptive than he gives you credit for, I’ll admit,” she continued, strutting around me. “But then, no one knows you as I do.” She smiled at me again, and I shivered at the predatory look on the face that was identical to mine. “But he offered to let me rule your body, and that was tempting enough to accept.” She reached out and trailed a sharp nail down my cheek.

I shivered. “I won’t let you do that,” I said. “I beat you once, I’ll do it again.”

Her laugh only made the pit in my stomach colder. I forced what magic I had into the bond, sending out a single thought.

Sunset, hurry up already!.

I stopped on my way back to my apartment, a momentary glimmer stabbing into my mind.

Sunset…

I tried to focus on the source, but nothing more came and the flash was gone before I could determine a location.

I hovered in the air for a moment, then started back on my trek to my apartment. I landed and saw that AJ had started repairing the door.

“Did ya find her?” she asked as she fastened the door back to the hinges.

I shook my head, reaching up to remove my Element, the sudden rush of exhaustion hitting me. The ruby that had fused to the front of my pendant detached itself, falling to the ground. I picked it up and set it on the table.

Adagio came over and picked it up, turning it over in her hands.

“It’s so familiar,” she whispered. “It’s like staring at an image of a dimly remembered past, a power barely remembered.”

“Adagio?” Fluttershy whispered.

The Siren closed her eyes and set the gemstone down. “It’s ok,” she said, reaching up to touch her choker. “I don’t need anything like that anymore.”

Rarity set a cup of tea down in front of me, gentle steam wafting from it. I sipped it, still staring into space silently.

“Sunset, dear,” the fashionista said quietly. “Are you going to be ok?”

The room grew silent after the question.

“No, I’m not,” I said finally, dully. “I couldn’t find Twilight. As far as my magic can tell, she’s not anywhere in town.”

Fluttershy set a hand on my shoulder. “Maybe she’s being jammed,” she said.

I looked up at her. “What do you mean?”

“Well, that is,” she stuttered for a second. “Acerak has managed to infiltrate your dreams and your mind. What’s stopping him from blocking her magic from being detected?”

“Possibly,” I said. A buzzing and thumping from my cabinet drew my attention to the communication books. Specifically, the one that connected me with Twilight. I stood and pulled it out, setting it on the table to read the message.

It was a little fuzzy but understandable. Twilight wanted to know if there had been any breakthroughs. I closed my eyes and went to pick up a pen to reply.

But no words came to my mind. I couldn’t think of anything to say.

Applejack took the pen from my hand. “It’s ok, sugarcube,” she said. “We’ll fill the princess in. You go ’n get some rest.”

The walk to the bedroom was robotic, as though I wasn’t guiding myself. I didn’t even bother undressing, just laying on top of the blanket in the dark.

I don’t know when the tears started falling, but I do remember sobbing suddenly, my pillow already soaked.

Twilight…

“Enough!” I shouted, blasting another phantasm of one of my friends away with my magic. My clothes were ratty and torn from my captivity. I had become accustomed to the blurry world that had become my life, and the continued inundation that had been Midnight Sparkle’s attempts to lure me into a false sense of security had slowly gotten more and more subtle.

I spun around as the landscape returned. “Haven’t you had enough?” I screamed to the void. “How many more times are you going to fail until you realize you can’t win?”

A chuckle slowly filtered through the air, but it wasn’t Midnight’s. Acerak slowly formed, his mist-like form floating forward.

“You are a strong one,” he said. “However, even a brick will shatter if beaten enough.” He sighed. “But this pitiful display bores me.”

A sphere of yellow light formed in his hand. He gazed at it for a moment, then pressed it against my forehead, the light slowly sinking in.

I felt my magic return, not quite fully, but I recognized it’s warm glow.

Acerak smiled. “Next time,” he said. “Give it your all.” He started to fade back into a mist.

“If you don’t,” the voice said. “I’ll have no further use for you.”

I sank to the ground, sniffling as I fought off sleep. For a second, I thought I heard Sunset’s voice sob out my name, but after weeks of such tricks, I ignored it.

Sunset, where are you? I thought as I fell asleep.

I sat up suddenly as I heard Twilight’s voice, knowing it was her’s from the way it filtered through the bond.

“Twilight,” I breathed, leaping from the bed and rushing out the door.

The girls looked at me as I came out, not caring about the streaks of dried tears or puffy eyes.

“I think I know where she is, now,” I said. “We’re going to go get her.”

“We?” said Adagio.

“I’m not going alone,” I said. “And there are some preparations to make first.”

Chapter Twelve - Night Versus Day

I spread the Elements out on the table, looking at each of them in turn.

“I’m not sure,” I said. “But I’m fairly sure she’s somewhere in the warehouse district. It’s out of the way and past the point I could reach with my scrying. We’ll head that way, and we’ll keep the Elements at hand.” I picked up the gem that I had received from Starlight.

“Adagio, I want you to hold onto this,” I said. “It amplifies magic, and we saw it reacts to your Song.” I looked the girl in the eye. “It may just do more than annoy him this time.”

The Siren smiled, taking the ruby and tucking it into a pocket.

I took a deep breath, clearing my thoughts. “I’m going to be the only one he should see,” I said, slipping on my Element and feeling the increased magic flow through my veins.

“Now hold on just a cotton pickin’ minute,” Applejack said. “We ain't about to let ya go alone.”

As my horn finished manifesting, I smiled at the farmer.

“I said I’d be the only one he’d see,” I smirked. “Not the only one he’d face.”

Pinkie grinned as she grasped the idea. “So we’re going to be like a sneak attack!”

“Bingo,” I said, charging up my horn and beginning to cast the spell I had in mind.

I stared at the darkness, my mind numb. I had long since lost track of time, the building I was in barely let in light, and the constant assault on my senses by Midnight Sparkle had warped my sense of time even further.

I wondered just how it was that they hadn’t found me yet. Was I beyond where they could search? Was I in another dimension?

“They’re most likely dead,” a smooth voice purred.

I didn’t even react, as my alter ego’s appearance was so commonplace now that I almost felt comforted by it.

“Ridiculous,” I spat. “I’d know.”

“Through that bond you’re so fond of?” she oozed back. “If you would have felt that, why haven’t they found you yet?” She leaned close enough for me to see the separation in the feathers on her hooked wings. “Maybe it isn't as strong as you think.”

I reached out and grabbed the edge of her outfit, dragging her close to me.

“I’d know,” I growled in her face.

She laughed as she pulled away. “True, I can’t deny that,” she chuckled. “But you know, you’re wasting your time fighting me. I’m not your enemy here.”

“I told you you’d never be in control again, demon.”

“Ah, but with my power, you could crush Acerak easily,” she cooed. “Avenge your friends.”

“They’re not dead,” I said, but even as I said the words they tasted like ash in my mouth.

“You shan’t find out in this captivity,” Midnight pointed out. “I may visit you, but he’s the one that truly keeps you caged, trapped in this maddening loop of time.”

I hated to admit it, but she was starting to make sense.

“Next time he tests you,” my dark half whispered. “Let me help.”

I pulled off the road, shutting off the car and stepping out. I pulled my Element on and began to walk forward towards the chain-link fence that sealed off the ramshackle warehouses. My wings spread and I flew over the top, easily infiltrating the complex. As I walked forward, I heard a slight jingle of metal from the fence but I ignored it.

I closed my eyes for a moment, stilling my thoughts. I caught a flash from the bond, and I knew Twilight was near, but there was something off about it, something dark beyond the sense of nearness.

I didn’t like it, it felt wrong. There was something familiar about the darkness, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.

Hold on, Sunshine, I thought. I’m coming.

I looked up as the thought pinged through my head.

Hold on, Sunshine, I’m coming.

“Sunny,” I breathed, knowing her voice anywhere. But suspicion pooled immediately, It wasn’t the first time I had heard her voice and nothing happen.

Then, she was there, but she didn’t look quite right. Her skin was pale, almost waxy. Her hair held none of the shine and her eyes were glassy. Acerak appeared behind her, putting a hand on her shoulder like a proud parent.

“Now, this is what I like,” he said. “Nice, docile little lambs. She was a delightful meal, I assure you. Not quite as much flavor as the pink one, but a delicacy none the less.”

Rage flooded me. “You didn’t. I don’t believe you!”

Acerak gestured as Sunset. “I brought you proof,” he said. “The reason behind your months of captivity was to break her will, not yours. To make her pliable, and to get rid of her as a threat.” He chuckled. “I really didn’t expect it to be so simple, actually.”

I didn’t believe him, and I reached out with my bond to confirm another simulacrum. I felt it resonate off Sunset, and the mindless shell in front of me seemed to react.

“Twi…light?” it rasped.

I felt a wall inside me snap, and white flooded my vision. I felt wings spread from my back and power wash through me. I glared at him as light flared around my eyes and I held up a clawed hand, magic pooling into it.

“You’ll pay for this,” I hissed, feathered wings holding me aloft as I attacked with all the power I could muster.

I was looking around, trying to get a better fix when one of the smaller buildings simply exploded, bits of wood and metal being flung in every direction. I ducked down in surprise, and when I raised my head again, I stared in shock.

Midnight Sparkle was floating in the air, hooked wings spreading out to hold her aloft. A dark, inky aura surrounded her, adding to the intimidating sight. She looked like she was catching her breath when she spotted me.

“Twilight!” I called. “It’s me!”

I realized as she fixed her gaze on me she wasn’t seeing me. Something was wrong.

“Enough running!” she screamed, hurling a blast of magic at me.

I rolled out of the way, the bolt of energy gouging a hole in the ground as it landed. I looked up, seeing in her eyes anger, madness, and desperation.

“Twilight Sparkle!” I screamed. “It’s me! Sunset! Your fiancé!”

She seemed to recognize me. “Sunny?” she whispered.

“Yes!” I called out. “It’s Sunny!”

Her look hardened. “Another trick,” she spat. “Is this all you can do?” Another spear of magic came lancing after me. "Puppets on a string!?"

I danced backward, pulling a kinetic shield in front of me. “Sunshine!” I screamed. “It’s me!”

My answer was a scream followed by another blast of magic, my shield barely ablating it. She wasn’t seeing the world as it was, I realized. Something was altering her vision.

I leaped into the air, letting my magic pull forth my Daydream form. The next bolt of magic aimed at me was batted aside with my own.

“Twilight,” I said calmly, holding out my hand. “It’s time to go home. Take my hand.” I felt a tear slide down my cheek. “Please still be there, Twilight.”

Midnight seemed to hesitate, uncertainty crossing her face. “But he drained you,” she whispered, her dark aura fading slightly.

“I’m right here, Sunshine,” I said, drifting slightly closer. “I’m alright, I’m not hurt.”

The aura returned to its original hue. “Months,” she gritted. “He held me captive for months and you didn’t come looking!” She sent out another blast of magic, stronger than before.

“It’s only been a day, Sunshine,” I called as I blocked her beam. “I never stopped looking.”

“Lies,” she spat, her wings lifting her higher. “I recognize the area, we’re still in Canterlot. It shouldn’t have taken you months to find me.”

“Sunshine,” I said, my heart breaking. “It hasn’t been months, it’s been hours.” I dodged another attack. “Please, listen to me!” Magic energy crackled by me, almost shearing off the edge of my left wing.

“She can’t hear you,” a voice said from nowhere. “She’s fully trapped in a nightmare of her own creation.” Acerak appeared in midair, smirking as his spectral wings slowly flapped. “Madness has crept into her mind, and there’s not much left that you can do.”

That was when a glittering diamond construct flew up and ripped his wings off.

“What!?” he growled.

Rarity smiled as she flung another full powered construct at him, her full-powered pony form glowing in the dim light. Her horn began to glow with a cornflower aura as she began weaving a fence around Twilight.

“So you brought a friend,” he smirked. “No matter, she’s easily dealt with!”

He flew towards Rarity, talons spreading and reaching for her.

“Now!” I called.

And even from above I felt the magic slamming into me as the Sirens launched into song, the invisibility glamor I had placed over everybody fading to reveal all of us, Dash racing forward to pull Rarity out of the way of Acerak’s now unguided plummet.

AJ rushed forward and slammed her fist into him, sending him careening off the construct that the Fashionista formed behind him. The Siren’s kept singing, the gem hovering in front of them keeping the aura going even when they paused for air.

Pinkie threw a handful of stones into the air, the explosions catching the eye of Midnight Sparkle.

“Twilight!” she called. “We’re here to rescue you!”

I blocked the magical barrage, staring at the twisted form of my love. I heard another solid hit from below and the aura around Midnight wavered. She suddenly blinked, the glowing aura around her eyes vanishing for a moment.

“Pinkie?” she whispered. Before I could say anything, the darkness around her recovered and she scowled at me.

I dashed forward, slamming into her and bringing my power to the fore.

“Twilight Sparkle, wake up!"

The power from the Royal Voice slammed into her, and the echoes followed through the bond, blasting away the residual darkness from around her. We were suddenly alone in the air, our wings holding us aloft. Her’s had shifted, the hooked joint smoothing out and her horn filling in.

“Sunset?” she whispered, reaching out as though afraid I would vanish.

I nodded, tears on my face. “It’s me, Sunshine.”

Her fingers hesitantly touched my face, then she grabbed me in a fierce hug.

“Oh, Sunny,” she sobbed. “You found me. You finally found me.”

“You’ve only been missing for a day, Twi,” I said, stroking her hair.

“It was so much longer, so much…” her eyes flew open. “He tricked me,” she said and I felt anger flowing through the bond.

And she fell into the fray, screaming like Nemesis descending. I followed, taking a slightly different angle of attack.

Acerak didn’t look smug anymore. The Siren’s song kept him from just phasing into mist to avoid our attacks, and he was becoming more and more bestial as he fought. He caught Dash with a claw, but her speed carried her past his attack. She skidded to a stop, holding her arm as some blood began to trickle down from the armor plates.

“Hey!” she said, balling up her fist and charging him. I held off my attack until I saw him grin.

“Dash, no!” I shouted.

In slow motion, I saw her strike him in the face, the speed of her hit lifting him from the ground and flinging him back through the air.

He came crashing down to the ground between the Sirens, using his momentum to slash his talons across Adagio’s abdomen, blood spurting from the wound. The song faltered and died, Adagio’s shriek cutting through the night.

I blasted magic at him, forcing him to focus on dodging. Between Twilight and I, we managed to herd him away from the sisters, but I could tell the song’s effect was wearing off.

“Can’t say it wasn’t fun,” he said, smiling as he became indistinct.

“Not this time!” I shouted, dashing towards him as Twilight pulled up and made a grabbing motion with her hands. Acerak was pulled forward, stumbling slightly as I bore into him fully, magic charging and sending angry fire into his being.

He screamed, and I felt pain flare in my stomach. I looked down and saw his talon buried in my side, blood seeping out.

“I should have just finished you months ago,” he hissed, face showing the blistered results of my spell.

I spat in his face, the bloody spittle catching him in the eye. “A missed opportunity,” I whispered.

He shoved me back, my wings catching me as I tumbled. I hovered there, sending another blast of magic into him, a hand clamping at my side to stem the blood flowing. Twilight swooped in and took over as I drifted over to the Sirens.

Adagio was pale, but her sisters were already singing their healing song. She looked up at me and smiled.

“Don’t let him get away,” she said, handing me the gem. It had her blood spattered on it. I took it with a grim look.

“I won’t,” I said, turning and glaring at the Harpy as he batted Twilight aside.

I mustered my magic and sent it through the gem, resonating it against the magic trace of the Siren’s song. I heard Adagio behind me start harmonizing with the gem, and I hit the harmonizing note of the other two.

The Harpy held his hands to his head and flew to the side as AJ hit him again. He regained his footing only to stagger when several exploding stones took him in a broadside. He scrambled to his feet, his wings sprouting again and he took to the air, barely being missed by another of Rarity’s constructs.

“Oh, no you don’t,” I whispered, taking off after him.

I looked around, seeing my friends powered up and saw that Adagio was still hurt. I drifted down, wings furling behind me.

“Are you alright?” I asked.

She looked down at her belly, swirling silver mist permeating it. “I’ll live,” she said. “You?”

“I’ll be fine once he’s taken care of,” I said, turning to see how things were going.

Only he was gone, and the girls were staring off in the air.

I followed their gaze and saw the slowly fading wings of Sunset.

Then I saw the blood on the ground near where she had body slammed into him.

“Sunny,” I whispered, opening my senses to the bond and feeling anger, determination, and pain flowing through.

“Go,” Fluttershy said. She had stayed out most of the fight, having no active combat ability. A small owl flew down and landed on her outstretched arm. “He’ll help you find them.”

The owl hooted at me, his wise eyes blinking.

“Lead on,” I said, spreading my wings and taking off after my closest friend.

Chapter Thirteen - The Grey Gates

I streaked after the fleeing Harpy, my wings leaving a slight contrail in the wake of my passing. I could tell he was still feeling the effects of our attack, his flight erratic and he would drop in altitude on occasion. Despite his difficulty staying aloft, though, his destination was clear.

He was headed for Canterlot High.

I gave a fresh thrust to my wings, giving me a bit of an added boost and then tucked them in close, streamlining my shape to cut down on wind resistance. I knew from study and experience that magic played just a big a role in Pegasi flight as their wings did.

I saw Acerak slow, almost stop in the air, looking like he was turning to look behind him. I saw the look of surprise as I closed in quickly, horn lighting with magic fueled by rage and pain.

“You can't just give up, can you?” he hissed as he charged me as well. However, his attack was slower than the others, and I dodged it easily before sending another gout of flame into him.

“I don’t like to leave a job unfinished,” I said, pulling up a shield to block off his next attack. “If you don’t make it to the curb, did you really take the garbage out?”

He righted himself in the air and made a grasping motion, his talons curling in and I felt a tug in my mind.

I shoved my awareness out into him, filling him with every piece of pain I had ever felt. He started to scream, but he didn’t stop trying to rip my magic away again.

Don’t like it, do you? I thought. It isn’t quite the same when the agony is in your mind.

I severed the link when I felt his concentration falter and cast a spell that I had only heard of in passing, one that had once stymied an Alicorn bookworm. Acerak looked around as the transparent cube formed around him, hovering in mid-air. Our momentum had carried us over the football field of CHS, and I drifted over to the containment spell.

“I wonder if you’ll survive this,” I mused as I kicked the cube, causing it to start tumbling down towards the ground. I watched as he was thrown around inside, but as he neared the ground, the spell shattered and he managed to spread his wings and land safely.

I swooped down and tried to roast him again, but he easily batted the flame away.

“I can feel the portal, Seer,” he purred, his burns starting to heal over. “This close, I can draw on it all I want.”

The ruby in my hand started to pulse, and I recognized it as my own rapid heartbeat. I raised it to my choker and it melded with my element again, and I set my feet. The pain from the gash in my side seemed to fade.

“That just means I get to kick you around a bit more,” I said, gathering my magic, tip of my horn beginning to light.

I was flying as fast as I could as I followed the owl, who kept stopping from time to time to land on a branch and look around. I had already figured out what he was looking for.

Sunset’s blood. She had been hurt in the fight and was flying quickly without binding the wound. If she wasn’t careful she could pass out from the blood loss, and if that happened while she was airborne….

I took off quickly, the owl barely able to keep up. The general direction of the blood trail was heading towards the school.

And the portal.

Hold on, Sunny, I thought as a tear slipped free.

I panted as we stared at each other. I had blasted him with magic constantly and the only remaining sign of our fight was the scorched landscape.

The groundskeepers are going to hate me in the morning, I thought grimly. I could feel my heartbeat in my ears, and my magic pulsed in time with it. I should have started feeling tired, but I felt like I could go on without stopping. My vision, however, was starting to blur.

“Seems you are tiring, Seer,” Acerak chuckled, brushing some ash from his shoulder. “Your aim is getting a bit spotty.”

I pushed more mana into my horn, but instead of firing, I sent it through the jewel, causing it to start singing out its resonance again, a memory sparking in my mind. This close to the portal, it fed off the emanating magic just as easily as Acerak did.

I started to sing a loud note, and I heard harmonizing as three ghostly figures began to form between myself and the Harpy. I kept my note going as they resolved into the same shapes the Siren’s had attacked us with at the Battle of the Bands. I continued pouring mana into the illusion spell until they were solid, singing the same angry attack that had defeated the Rainbooms while I had stood back in the wings.

Acerak put his hands to his head, trying to block the Song from his mind, to concentrate, but his physical form started to waver, his edges becoming blurred.

I charged him, using my magic to wrap the spectral being in ghostly chains. “You won’t get away that easy,” I said, gritting my teeth and trying to keep a grip on him.

Pain flooded through my mind. I saw the angry look on Acerak’s face before I realized what had happened. His taloned hand had become lodged in my abdomen, and I felt my concentration falter slightly.

“Why won’t you just die?” he snarled, twisting his claws.

“You…first,” I gasped, grabbing his shoulders tightly. I shoved him back toward the portal, the gateway powering up and suddenly forcing the Harpy to maintain his physical form. He ripped his talons from my stomach and scrabbled against the marble of the statue, trying to fight back. His human guise was failing, his avian nature showing through again. He tried to peck at me with his beak, but the portal was starting to pull him in. I shoved an arm up under his chin to keep his head back.

My glowing wings beat a steady pulse, giving me the leverage to hold the violently thrashing Harpy in place as I reached up and pulled the ruby Adagio had handed me free from my Element. It glowed and pulsed with power, it’s angry red glow even brighter this close to the Harpy that had drawn her blood. I had an idea now, a glimmer of how it worked, and reached out and tapped it against the stone of the statue, and it started to sing like a crystal, the note filled with overtones. The illusory Sirens faded and the gem began to grow louder.

Acerak saw it and panic filled his eyes.

I love you, Twilight, I thought, tears leaking from the corners of my eyes as I shoved power through my horn and into the gem, watching as it’s angry glow increased to blinding radiance. I shoved it into Acerak’s chest and smiled grimly as it passed through his body. He stiffened, eyes going wide. Then the gem and my hand reached through him, coming out his back and touched the portal…

And then it exploded, and white light filled my vision.

I love you, Twilight, the voice vibrated through the bond, stronger than it had ever been. Something in the voice made me push myself even faster, the spire of the school coming into my vision

I reached the school just in time to see Sunset shove her hand into Acerak. I was thrilled to see her win, but a violent explosion blinded me for a moment and the shock wave buffeted myself and my owl guide. After the flash faded, a cracked marble podium was all that was left of the Wondercolt statue and the portal. I landed before the portal, my wings folding behind me and I raced to it…

And rebounded off. It was closed, and when I regained my bearings I saw that there were cracks in what appeared to be plain glass. I saw the form I had taken, its dark beauty now balanced with the good as opposed to the evil. Tears were streaking down my face.

I reached out and touched the portal, my hands feeling only cold glass, not the warmth of the magic gateway.

“No,” I sobbed. “Sunny, no,” I collapsed before the place we had met, the Midnight Sparkle form fading, leaving just my ponied up form.

Leaving just a broken me, mourning the loss of half of myself.

The grief continued to build, and I screamed out in rage and pain.

“NO!”

Glass shattered all around me, the windows of the school falling in crystal tears all around.

White light and swirling mist surrounded me. I felt no pain from my midsection. Where am I? Is this the afterlife?

“Not quite,” a voice said.

I turned and realized suddenly that I was in my Alicorn form. Before me in the mist-strewn landscape was a wizened old unicorn, a long beard trailing from his chin.

“Star Swirl?” I asked in shock.

“Yes,” he said sheepishly. “And I’m afraid I have to apologize to you, Seer.”

“Please,” I said, raising a hoof. “Don’t call me that.”

“Alright,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. “What is your name, by the way?”

“Sunset,” I said. “And if you don’t mind my asking, where exactly are we?”

He smiled and lit his horn, the mist slowly clearing away to reveal a towering pair of doors, seemingly hewn from granite, their rough forms covered with Equestrian script and the same runes that had covered the book.

“I give you the Grey Gates,” he said. His horn stayed lit, and he brought the gem out before my eyes. “I must admit, I never thought about the whole using this like a magic grenade, but hey, when in Roam.”

“I kinda did that on the fly,” I admitted. Then memory flooded me. “Where’s Acerak?”

“All around us,” the wizard said. “Inside the portal, he has no physical form, his essence bound into the matrix of the planes.”

“Then how did he get out?”

“I suspect that he somehow hooked onto you when you passed through in the recent past,” he said, eyeing me critically. “Have you been through the portal while in the grip of physical or psychic pain? Perhaps when possessing someone? OH! Or when being possessed?”

I blinked. “Last fall,” I said. “My mother had passed, and I returned to Equestria for the memorial.”

“Oh dear,” he said. “Returned? Oh, that’s not good at all.”

“Why?” I said as he started to pace. “Why isn’t that good?”

“Well, magic tries to keep a balance, you see,” he said, his pacing slowing. “If you were on the other side of the portal than your origin, a small thread would keep the portal open and it would allow a slight magic seepage.”

“We kind of gathered that much for ourselves,” I said.

“Oh?” he said, honestly looking surprised to see me there still. “Oh, yes, right. Right!” he said. “Then the only thing left to do is to seal the Gate and return you home.”

“How do I do that?” I asked.

Star Swirl gestured at the monolithic gates. “Shut them, and put the gem in the center. That should take care of things.”

I powered up my horn, and the gates slowly swung shut. They were heavy, ponderous, and when they finally slammed shut, the feeling reverberated through my being. I stepped up and took the gem, covered still in my and Adagio’s drying blood, and pressed it into the socket. I loud click sounded, and a glowing red line spread out, fusing the two sides of the Gate closed.

Then the entire area started to shake and I heard a voice screaming, a voice I recognized.

“Twilight,” I whispered.

The scream grew in pitch, and Star Swirl looked confused.

“The Royal Voice,” He breathed. “But from the other side of the portal? That doesn’t make any sense!”

“Twilight tends not to sometimes,” I said offhandedly as I fought to hold my footing. Then I saw cracks start to form in the Gate. “What?”

The Gate shattered and began to crumble to the ground. I looked at the wizard with concern.

His face held no worry. “It’s just the edifice,” he said calmly as the scream died away. “The seal is still in place.” he pointed with his horn, and I saw that the gem was still hovering in place, spectral doors to either side of it.

“And now, my little pony,” he said. “It's time for you to go home and me to finally get some rest. Give my regards to my pupils. Oh, and one last thing.”

“Yes?”

“Did anyone ever figure out if penguins liked living on icebergs?”

White light filled my vision again before I could answer. I found myself stretched out on a cold surface, and a voice filled my ears.

“Sunset?”

“Twilight,” I said, pushing myself up before freezing.

I still had hooves, and as my eyes focused, I realized I was standing on a crystal floor. A scroll rolled away from me as I stood.

I looked around, seeing the Princess and Starlight standing there, the pieces of the apparatus strewn about. I whirled to the mirror and reached out to it.

And it was sealed.

“The book,” I said, whirling around. “Where’s the book?”

Twilight levitated it over to me, a frown on her face.

“Just what is going on?”

I ignored her while I scribbled out a message in the book hurriedly. “I’ll tell you in a moment, but first,” I followed the quill as it danced over the page. “I have to let someone know it’s ok.”

I entered the apartment slowly, not even bothering to turn on the lights. I could hear Spike snoring in the bedroom, but tears covered my vision. I saw my glasses sitting on the table, but I didn’t want to see the empty apartment. I collapsed on the couch, tears still streaking down my face. I had long since sobbed my voice out, but that didn’t stop my tear ducts from doing their job. The fact that the pillow I grabbed as I sat still smelled of Sunset didn’t help.

That’s when I realized a soft glow and a thumping sound was coming from the bookcase.

And the spine of the book glowing held a two-toned sunburst.

Chapter Fourteen - Homecoming

I watched as Twilight moved various pieces over to the mirror, making delicate connections. I was itching with impatience, despite having heard back from Sunshine about everyone being ok. I fought down the blush as I remembered how she had closed it out.

Keep your promise, Come back to me.

“There,” Twilight said, stepping back from the mirror. “That’s all I can do for now.”

“What do you mean, ‘for now’?” I stood, the bandage around my midsection protesting the motion.

Twilight patted the air with a hoof. “Relax, Sunset,” she said. “I’m waiting for a piece from Canterlot. One of the components had fused and we had to buck it off to disconnect the portal.”

I fidgeted in place. “How long?”

“Starlight should be back before dark,” she said. Her horn lit up and brought out a scroll. “This is all that remains to deal with.”

I recognized the scroll that had somehow exited the portal with me after sealing the Gates. “What’s it say?”

“I don’t know,” she said. “It’s sealed with a locking spell. The sigil is your cutie mark, though, so…”

I took it in my magic grip, and as soon as the amber aura covered it, the seal lit up and the scroll opened. There were just a few glyphs inside.

“Well, that was anti-climatic,” I said.

Then the glyphs blazed with light, and a ghostly image of Star Swirl appeared.

“To the ponies that hear this,” he intoned. “I am Star Swirl the Bearded. Reports of my death were somewhat premature. But then, my body did pass away, I suppose, so it's natural for you to think I had died. I hope I had a good funeral. Hopefully, Celie and Lu didn’t cry too much. I hate it when they cry.”

“Was he really that scatterbrained?” Twilight asked as the recorded image rambled for a bit about funeral hopes.

“Looks like,” I replied. “Hero worship sucks, don’t it?”

She nodded, a slightly glum look on her face.

Star Swirl shook his head. “That’s beside the point,” he said, standing straight again.

“In my research of the Gates, I discovered that I lacked the needed power to permanently seal the Harpies behind them. Part of that was my age, and part was my nature. I was too calm and too disconnected from their depredations to be able to effectively counter their magic. After sealing them into the rift that became the trans-dimensional portal matrix, I realized it wouldn’t hold them indefinitely. I knew from texts that Sirens could neutralize their abilities, but the only remaining ones were mere children and were set on wreaking their own havoc.

“It was then that I set about to prepare the final locks. I began by banishing the Sirens beyond the portal, hoping that eventually they would stop feeding on negative energy and return to their roots. I also sealed the book of the portal magic away with the Tree, trusting it would hold it until needed. I then sealed my spirit into the matrix to hold the balance and to recharge the Siren’s magic when they came to understand their purpose.”

He smiled. “So if you’re seeing this, then I finally got to go on to rest and the Harpies are sealed beyond the gate. Thank you, whoever it happened to be.” The recording faded and ended, the scroll burning away with a slow glow of blue fire, revealing a key with Star Swirl’s cutie mark on the shield.

Twilight eyed the key, a look of hunger that I recognized. “Have at, Twi,” I said. “I’m done with magic and mysteries for a time.”

“Then I presume you are not too busy for an audience,” a voice came from behind Twilight and I.

I turned and saw Princess Celestia standing in the doorway, her hair drifting slowly in the dim light. I immediately bowed, but her trilling laugh made me look up.

“We’re now equals, Sunset,” she said. “And in private, so the bowing is not needed.”

I grinned sheepishly. “Sorry,” I said. “Habits I thought I had lost.”

The ruler of Equestria nodded. “We have not finished discussing the issue of your ascendance,” she said, a serious look crossing her face.

“If you’re here to take the wings, feel free,” I said, feeling a small tinge of regret that I forced down. “I’m ready.”

Celestia smiled. “I’m not here to remove the wings, my darling student,” she said softly. “I’m here to ask if you wish it to be confirmed through a coronation.”

I blinked. “A coronation?” I parroted numbly.

“You have earned the right to wear the crown of a princess by the self-sacrifice you were willing to make,” she said. She tilted her head towards Twilight. "I have discussed it with the other princesses, and we are in agreement.”

I looked at Twilight, who was studiously avoiding my eyes. “You are, are you?” I said wryly.

Celestia giggled slightly. “Yes,” she said. “We know that you will not remain here, but we have agreed to give you the title, rights, and authorities as Princess Sunset Shimmer, Princess of Compassion.”

I felt tears in my eyes.

“And I charge you to defend the other world, as it is given unto your care,” she said, her smile turning into the maternal look she had held during my tutelage. “With the advent of magic blossoming there, someone has to keep an eye on it, my little pony.”

She levitated a small tiara out and set it upon my head. It fit perfectly, but for some reason, it felt uncomfortable. Twilight seemed to sense my discomfort.

“You get used to it, eventually,” she said, walking over and hugging me. “It just takes some time.”

“Looks like I missed the coronation,” Starlight said as she walked in, a set of tubing hovering behind her in her telekinesis. “Congratulations, Princess.”

I flushed at hearing someone refer to me like that. “I’m still Sunset to you, got it?”

She smiled and shot me a wink.

I stepped through the portal, seeing the devastation left in the aftermath of my fight with Acerak. I wondered briefly if the shattered windows had come from the gem exploding. I started to reach into my pack to pull out the scroll Twilight had given me when suddenly I was bowled over by an enthusiastic young girl.

“You came back,” Twilight sobbed, kissing me repeatedly.

“Promised you, didn’t I” I said, smiling and laughing past the pain in my abdomen.

She helped me to my feet, and I looked at the damage. “I made a mess of the place, though,” I said self-depreciatingly. “Didn’t I?”

She twiddled her fingers. “The glass was my fault,” she said softly.

“You?”

She turned a bright red and nodded.

I laughed. “No worries, Sunshine,” I said. “Twilight and Starlight loaned me a scroll that has a repair spell on it. Should take care of it in no time.”

She looked at the scroll as I unrolled it and then ponied up, spreading my wings and lifting myself high enough to see the entirety of the destruction. I channeled magic into the scroll, and the shards of glass began to lift themselves back into their frames, windows reforming. The scorched gouges in the football field filled in and regrew green, and the statue of the Wondercolt slowly floated back onto the pedestal. When the spell finished, I lowered myself to the ground and closed my eyes for a moment.

I sensed no extra magic from the portal, and through the bond, I could feel Twilight’s exuberance radiating out, filled with love and relief.

“Let’s go home,” I said, releasing my pony form and smiling at my fiancé. “I’m beat.”

She slid her arm around my waist.

“Whatever you say, Princess,” she whispered in my ear before kissing my neck.

I looked at her.

“Who told?”

Author's Note

And the circle comes closed. I have an epilog planned that takes us forward to the graduation, but the vast majority of Chaos Theory is now finished. So sit back and enjoy the epilog as the Rainbooms play at graduation, and the adorable afterparty with double the pony goodness.

Epilog

I started the first song, pick flowing across my guitar for the simple intro. Twilight and I had written it, based off of thoughts we had had prior to the Friendship Games.

Everyone here likes who I am

And it’s not from a magic spell’s command,whoa-oh

We look past the things we’ve done

And remember all those quests

Mythic creatures, magic tests

This was great, but’s it’s

Not who I am anymore

We had a different dynamic now, having a few extra members on stage playing with us. As I ended the first verse, not only did the rest of the band join in, but so did Octavia and the string quartet of hers, adding a different slant to our music. Twilight stepped forward to continue the song.

We’ve walked these halls before,

Been in and out of every door, whoa-oh.

Theres no part of this school I don’t know

Every class, you try your best

Try to pass on every test,

And now it seems it’s time for us to go

I know there's more that's out there,

And I just haven't found it yet.

I know there's more that's out there.

Another me I haven't met.

We all joined in on the second part of the chorus, including the Sirens, standing behind the stands since they hadn’t worked on forgiveness from the school yet.

And I know there’s more that’s out there

Maybe folks that we can help

I know there’s more that’s out there

Because we’ve seen it for ourselves

There’s only so much this town can offer

And I’m not saying that’s so bad

But I know there’s more that’s out there

Cause it’s the life that I once had

Rainbow slid into a slow solo, the notes sounding both plaintive and hopeful at the same time. I looked out at the audience, seeing the seven girls sitting near the back with looks of awe on their faces, one, in particular, grinning madly as the solo ramped up near the end.

The door is open our path is set

But that doesn’t mean we’re ready to move on yet.

Yet sometimes staying safe

can make you feel out of place

And I know there’s more that’s out there

Another world to explore.

And I know there’s more that’s out there,

Are we wrong for seeing more?

And I can't wait for it to happen;

And what it is I cannot say.

I just know there's more that's out

there, and it's calling out my name.

And we’re searching for the answer,

And you’ve all shown us the way.

We may not know what's really out

there, but we'll find out someday!

I waited for Rainbow’s bent note to end before Twilight and I finished the song.

"We'll find out someday..."

The assembled students and adults exploded into applause, and none were as fast to clap than the seven in the back. We all bowed and stepped off the stage to take our place among the other capped and gowned students.

I don’t remember a lot of the speeches given by the principal or the guest speaker Sapphire Shores outside of some brief compliments thrown the band’s way. All I do remember clearly is the look of pride Celestia had as she shook my hand while handing me the diploma.

My apartment was packed with all of us girls and two dogs all the glamors dropped. We all were enjoying the small mountain of sweet baked goods that the Pinkies were churning out as though they were racing, despite there only being the one oven. Sadly, Starlight had a show with Trixie that night so she had returned early. The Applejack from Equestria came back up from outside, a small crate of rainbow-hued apples in her hands.

“Now Ah’ve saved these here for a special occasion like this,” she said, setting it down on my dining room table. “From what ya’lls AJ says, this world doesn’t have anything like it, so Ah suspect it’ll be a treat.”

I picked up one of the apples, my mouth watering in memory. “It’s been years since I had a zap apple,” I said, biting into it and savoring the unique taste, somewhat tart and sweet at the same time.

My AJ bit into one and chewed thoughtfully for a moment. “Why don’t you have a bigger trade in these?” she asked as the apples were sampled by everyone.

“You can only pick them one day of the year and they spoil quick,” Applejack replied. “Fortunately, it looks as though the portal preserves them for a bit.”

Between the apples and the baking going on, I had a feeling that the place was going to smell like a pastry shop for a while after tonight.

And that was just fine with me.

“Hey Sunset!” my Rainbow Dash called from the doorway. “It’s here!”

I hopped outside to watch as a box truck pulled up. A single young man climbed out of the cab and came to me, holding a clipboard.

“Sunset Shimmer?” he asked.

“That’s me,” I said.

He handed the clipboard out for me to sign. “Anyplace special you want it?” he asked.

I jerked my thumb at the building’s awning as I passed the clipboard back. “Under there, if you please.”

Sunshine came out with a puzzled look on her face. “I didn’t know we were expecting anything,” she said.

“It’s something I ordered after we finished with Acerak,” I said, watching the delivery man roll my order up to the spot I had indicated. “Something to occupy my time over the summer and something that I’ve been a little afraid to do.”

“What are you going to do with your car?”

“Share it with you, as usual,” I said, walking over to the battered chassis of an older cruiser style motorcycle. “Can’t ride this in the heavy rain anyway.”

“Looks rather worn in,” she said, eyeing it critically.

“Oh, it’s a fixer-upper for sure,” I said. “But nothing worth it is without effort.”

She kept her gaze on the scarred metal of the bike, eyes distant. I could tell through the bond she was remembering her captivity. She knew now that it hadn’t been months, but the acts that she had been forced to do, including repeatedly destroying illusions of her friends, had taken a toll on her. I reached out and put a hand on her shoulder.

“And you are more than worth the effort,” I said, sending as much love and warmth through the bond as I could.

She reached up and gripped my hand.

“I do hate to interrupt,” Rarity said. “But I was going to go show my counterpart my shop and get some pointers.” She adjusted a bracelet on her wrist. “When are we expected to be back so they can return?”

I shrugged. “Twilight said they weren’t staying the night, but I’m sure it wouldn’t matter if the two of you stick together late.” I subconsciously put a hand on my side, where I still had an angry red scar from Acerak’s talons that not even the Siren’s Song could heal. “It’s not like the portal is dangerous anymore.”

She squealed in delight and dashed in to grab her purse, the twin fashionistas’ hurrying to the convertible to go obsess over designs in Rarity's private studio.

I sighed. “You feel any different?” I asked.

“From what?” Twilight asked.

“Being a High School graduate,” I said. “This time last year we were facing off against each other in the Games. Now we’re adults in the eyes of the world.”

She slid in and slipped an arm around my waist, careful to not touch my scar.

“C’mon, Princess,” she said, teasing me with my title. “Let's go enjoy the party. There's time enough to be adults in the morning.”

We went back inside and proceeded to enjoy celebrating with friends from both sides of the mirror.

Author's Note

I've alway felt that the duet version of What More Is Out There was a great song, and with a few alterations could have remained in the movie even after cutting the Sunset homesick subplot.

As such, I gave an attempt to work it into the ending of their high school lives as both ready to move on but anxious at the same time. Maybe it worked, maybe not.

I'd like to thank BlackWater and Wolfkin again for their invaluable help in proofing this mass confusion as I wrote it and kept me from going too far off the rails.

But for now, these girls are going to have a respite and I look forward to starting my next project.

Prologue

Dear Princess Twilight,

The school year is winding down pretty fast and we’re all excited for summer break, but we’re also a little nervous, too. This is the last time we’re all going to be together at the same school.

Rarity was accepted to a prestigious design school in our Manehatten. She’ll be learning tips and techniques from some of the most famous designers in the world.

Rainbow Dash managed to gain a starting backup position in the Northern District Soccer team, but she has a lot of work to do to make it on the starting lineup of any of their teams.

The rest of us will be attending Canterlot University. Sunshine’s been accepted on a science fellowship and I’ve been granted a creative writing grant there based on a letter of recommendation from my soon to be mother-in-law. Both programs are going to be pretty tough, but I’m sure we’ll make it through.

Pinkie and Fluttershy are taking basic courses with us, and Applejack has agreed to take some basic business management classes in preparation to take over the farm after Big Mac announced that he wasn’t interested in anything but digging and planting until he was dug in and planted himself.

Our graduation is in two weeks, and three days from now is the combined bridal shower for Cadence, Sunshine and I. I’m nervous about this, more than anything else I’ve ever been nervous for before. Even letting the girls be my friends after the Fall Formal those years ago. What if I mess something up in the ceremony? I don’t know anything about being married! At the risk of sounding like you, you wouldn’t happen to have a book on that, would you?

Oh, speaking of books, I haven’t had a response from any of my last few messages. I know being a Princess and all keeps you busy – what with those friendship missions and all – so when you get a moment, I’d love to know if you and the girls there will be able to make it to the ceremony. Our band will be playing and I know Rainbow Dash will get a kick out of that if nothing else.

Your Friend,

Sunset Shimmer.

I closed the book, frowning as I returned it to the cabinet shelf that we had designated for it in our new apartment, next to the ones made for my sisters by the Princess. Twilight and I both had taken to writing to the Princess, but this strange silence the last few weeks was starting to bother me.

Add that to the fact that the emanations from the statute containing the portal had only increased since we’ve started measuring them. Not knowing what was coming, we had all taken to wearing our pendants constantly, which made things awkward for Twilight and me, since physical contact gave me insight to a person’s surface memories or emotions. It was neat in situations where she was worried about something or we were being intimate, but I had to fend off Pinkie and Fluttershy. They were, after all, the two more huggy of my friends. I had already been subjected to a second trip inside Pinkie’s mind and the strange insanity that resided there, and I had seen why Fluttershy had been so timid. Fresh waves of guilt had flooded me that day.

But the worst part was this strange creepy sense of being watched that had started to sneak up on my consciousness.
It came and went, but when I felt it my skin crawled and I felt nauseous. Twilight had felt some of the same symptoms, but nowhere near the degree I did.

One good thing that had come in recent weeks was the discovery of the reason why Twilight and I seemed to be connected as closely as we were, and why she was so subtly different from her pony counterpart. The first time she siphoned magic from me was also through the portal. Something about the way it had happened had connected us through our magic, and the increased outpouring of magic from the portal had only strengthened that bond.

I felt arms slide around me, one over my shoulder and one around my waist. I leaned back slightly into the embrace and felt a kiss land on my bare shoulder.

“I thought we talked about drifting off into la-la land like that, Sunny,” Twilight said, resting her chin on my shoulder. I smiled and tugged my tank top down a little from where her grasp had bunched it up.

“Sorry, honey,” I said, turning slightly and giving her a peck on the cheek. “Lots of changes coming up, and a lot of things to think about.”

She nuzzled me, the pony-style show of affection something that we had both adopted in our time together. It came naturally to us both now, and it was more comforting to me than she realized. I may have decided to remain in this world, but that didn’t mean that parts of me don't miss Equestria. I owned my old home there and Twilight and I had planned on spending part of our honeymoon there, as well as a short trip to one of the resorts on the beaches in their equivalent of Jamaneca.

“Surely those thoughts can wait until morning?” she whispered in my ear, her intentions flooding through me and causing a warm glow to ignite. I took one of her hands and kissed the wrist before nuzzling it.

“You go ahead and get ready for bed, sweetheart,” she whispered. “I’ll lock up and be there in a minute.”

I lingered for just a moment, looking at my love’s shape in the dim light of her namesake’s time of day. Something about her was beguiling to me, beyond her looks. Nothing could compare to how I felt about her, not even my love of magic. She stopped after a few steps, glancing back over her shoulder and catching me in the act. She smiled sexily.

“Bed, Sunset,” she said huskily. “Unless you plan on playing hard to get.”

“Too late for that, Twilight,” I said as I got up and headed for our bedroom.

“I caught you almost a year ago.”I slid my tank top off and dropped it to the floor with a wink over my shoulder. While giggling, I saw my future wife flush and hurried to the door to lock it up and check on Spike’s food and water dishes.

Too bad I was going to be in my pajamas before she made the complete circuit.

Author's Note

For those who missed the in-between stories since "Wooing" ended.

Bonus: Just who was it?

I swore as the wrench slipped free of the bolt and I barked my knuckle on the frame of the bike. Shaking my hand, I stood and went inside, washing my hands and drying them on an old towel designated for the task.

"Hey, Twi?" I called. "I'm going to run into town and grab something to eat, do you want anything?"

Twilight didn't bother looking up from her textbook as she jotted some notes down. "I'd love an avocado BLT from Daystrom's," she said. "Easy on the mayo."

I grabbed the keys to the car and drove into town to hit the only delicatessen I knew of that served vegetarian and vegan offerings. I placed the order for Twi's sandwich and a vegan pastrami on rye for me. While I was waiting, I heard a giggle that I recognized, and turning, I spotted the poofy pink hair easily. I blinked for a moment when I realized she was kissing someone.

The pigtailed girl sat back, a smile on her usually grumpy face, and spotted me looking. She blushed and looked away. Pinkie turned and waved.

"Hi, Sunny!" she called.

I picked up the bag with our sandwiches in it before heading over.

"Pinkie," I said. "Aria. Didn't expect to see you two here."

"Or together, you mean," Aria said. Even her grump was lessened.

"Can't lie," I said. "I didn't see this coming."

"She makes me laugh," the Siren said. "I need more of that in my life."

"And I love making her smile," Pinkie said. "You wanna stay for lunch with us?"

I held up the bag. "Got lunch for Twi in here too, otherwise I would, Pinks," I smiled. "You two enjoy your meal, yeah?"

They both smiled and I left. I sat in the car for a moment, thinking of the slightly surreal scene I had just seen.

"Huh," I said, starting the car and heading for home.