Relapseby pabrony83ChaptersStrange DreamsSunset's SurpriseThe Demon Smiles At MidnightA Glimmer Of HopeExplanation Of CancellationStrange Dreams"Twi, let's go! We're gonna be late!" I shouted from the door of the apartment. "I just want to make sure we don't forget anything," she shouted back. "You know what happens when we rush." "What's to forget?" I wanted to know. "We're only going to dinner with the girls and just the two us going to a movie after that." After what seemed like an eternity, Twi finally emerged from the bedroom. I felt as though I was dating Rarity when I saw her toting a backpack containing who knows what. All we were going to do at the restaurant, besides eat, was discussing spring break and the Senior Prom. "Ugh. What is with the backpack?" I asked, slightly annoyed. "We're not staying overnight anywhere." "I wanted to bring along a notebook for vacation notes. I also have a thick fashion magazine so we could get some prom dress ideas and also-" Twi tried explaining before I placed my index finger on her lips. "You always overplan for everything. Even stuff you don't need to," I said as I pulled her into a light kiss. "For once, just go with the flow." "I'll... I'll try. It's so hard for me," she replied as she rested her chin on my shoulder. "I've done things this way for as long as I can remember." We stood there for a couple minutes with me holding Twi in my arms. While she wasn't in need of comforting, just the small amount of cuddling seemed to boost her spirits after our little disagreement. I reached up, grabbed Twi's helmet off the shelf and handed it to her before tying my hair in a ponytail so that my helmet would be able fit on my head. "How about we get going before we're later than what we already are," I said as she gave me a peck on the cheek before putting on her helmet. As we finally headed out the door I felt a quick wave of dizziness overtake me, causing me to pause. I locked the door and made my way to the bike where Twi was leaning against it in a seductive pose. "You okay?" she asked me. "Yeah. Why?" I replied quickly. "I'm just curious. I saw you shake your head before you locked the door." *** It's been an interesting month and a half since my "First Dildo Party" between me and Twi. We've had extracurricular study sessions on human anatomy at both her place and mine. That is, until three weeks ago when she moved in. Then anatomy class was just here at the apartment. Something strange happened to me after moving in together. Although the love-making hasn't slowed, it doesn't have the same feel to it. I found myself slipping off to the couch three or four times after making love to break down in tears. It's almost like I have conflicting feelings for her. I'm hoping these odd feelings are related to the strange dreams I've been having since she moved in. Although I've had a rough time dealing with this, I'm still happy with where my life is at. I've got great friends and someone who loves me, even with my terrible past. Thanks to Twi's love and the girls support I haven't found the need to add to my collection of scars on my arms for a while. Back to the strange dreams however. Nearly every night since Twi moved in, I've had a similar dream; I start in a black void nothing to see, feel or even smell for miles. After floating in place for an undeterminable amost of time, I'll hear an evil voice that I'll begin to argue with it until I finally wake up in a cold sweat. *** We pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant fifteen minutes late and got the bike parked next to Rainbow Dash's Mustang. Twi climbed off, removed her helmet and fixed her hair. When she looked at me as I took my helmet off, a look of fear came over her face. "You're looking a little pale, babe. You okay?" I asked as I gently grabbed her shoulders to look her in the eyes. "Sunny, th-there's... your eyes... th-they're... they're..." Twi stammered as she began to freak out. "What are you talking about, babe?" I asked as tried calming her down. "Wh-when you t-t-took off your helmet... your eyes... th-they... they were..." Twi tried explaining as her meltdown continued. "Twilight, slow down. Take a couple deep breaths, then continue," I calmly told her as some worry began to build inside of my own mind. She took my advice and calmed down slightly. She then finally managed to tell me what she allegedly saw. "When you took your helmet off, your eyes were glowing a bright teal. It... it was almost de-demonic looking." I pulled her in tight so I could get her calmed down before moving to the curb to sit down with her. "Everything is okay, babe. My eyes are fine. There's nothing wrong with me. I love you and I'm not going to let anything happen to you. Okay?" Twi let out a deep sigh as I felt a tear from her hit my arm as I cradled her head. I realized then that I needed to communicate with her better, especially about these dreams I've been having recently. I gently lifted her chin and wiped her tears from her face. "Are you okay now?" She just sniffled and nodded her head as I continued to clean her face with the handkerchief I keep in my jacket. "Look, everything's going to be fine," I said gently as I interlocked my fingers with hers. "Let's go inside, have a nice dinner with the girls and get spring break and the senior prom planned out. Okay?" "Uh huh," Twi replied as we walked into the restaurant hand-in-hand. "Hello, ladies. How may help you this afternoon?" the host asked as Twi and I walked into the restaurant. "We're the last two of a party of seven," I replied. "Ahh, yes. Ms. Dash's party. We've been expecting you," the host told us. "If you'll follow me please." The host lead me and Twi to the table where the rest of our friends were already seated and snacking on the appetizers. "Speak o' th' devil," Applejack said. "We was jist talkin' ' bout y'all a minute ago." "Are you okay, darlings?" Rarity asked. "I noticed you were sitting by the curb holding each other for a few minutes." Twi and I exchanged glances before she spoke up, "I had a minor meltdown over something trivial and Sunny was getting me calmed down before we came inside. I'm good now so let's get planning." "Well as dresses for the prom go, I've got plenty of ideas for each of us sketched out back at the boutique. We just need to make some time to pick which ones we like," Rarity said. "So that leaves the discussion of our vacation to Manehattan for spring break." "Hold on a minute!" Rainbow Dash shouted. "Since when did we agree to Manehattan? Last I checked no one had even made a suggestion. That's why we we're having this planning dinner." "Why don't we go to the Horseshy Candy factory and the amusement park next to it," Pinkie Pie suggested. "That sounds like fun," I said. "But what do we do on the other nine days?" "Ummm, good question," Pinkie Pie responded as she scratched the back of her head. "What about Haywaii? The weather's always great there," Twi suggested. "That's a nice idea, but, ummm, there's lots of people there during spring break," Fluttershy stated. "Hey, what about a road trip? I think that would be totally awesome," Rainbow Dash added. I tuned everyone out for a few minutes as I thought about what happened before leaving the apartment and what Twi claimed to see outside before she freaked out. Was it coincidence or were they connected somehow? And did it have anything to do with my dreams? "Why Equestria, Sunny?" I heard Twi ask seemingly from a distance. I snapped out of my self-imposed trance to see everyone staring at me in confusion. "What are you talking about?" I asked, equally confused as the others. "We were suggesting places to go and you just blurted out Equestria, darling," Rarity explained. "Nothing else." "You don't remember suggesting Equestria?" Fluttershy asked as I sat there and slowly shook my head with a blank look on my face. I could feel the color drain from my face with that question. All I did was go into a moment of reflection on the events of the last hour or so and I allegedly began talking unconsciously. "Y'all feelin' okay, sugarcube?" Applejack pried. "Yeah, I just haven't been sleeping well the last couple nights," I explained nervously. "Couple nights? Try the last couple weeks," Twi said. "You wake up sweating almost every night. Last week you woke up screaming so loud that I thought the neighbors were going to call the police." "Sunset, you're really not looking too good," I heard Rainbow Dash say before I lost consciousness. *** I opened my eyes to find myself floating in a black void. 'Not again,' I thought fearfully. "Hahahaha! I'm back Sunset," came a voice from the darkness. "Wh-who are you?" I shouted back. "You know exactly who I am, hahaha," the voice answered. I turned my head side to side trying to find the voice before spinning around and seeing a pair of eyes quickly disappear. "Wh-what do you want? Wh-why are you tormenting me like th-this?" I shouted in fear. "I'm not tormenting you. I'm trying to remind you of who you really are," said the voice. "It's been too long since you've taken the easy way out to be happy." "What are you talking about?" "Things will be different," the voice continued to taunt me. "Your friends will be revealed for who they are. Especially Rainbow Dash and Rarity." I spun around again in a futile effort to try finding the source of the voice that was haunting me while it continued. "Your friends are still pretending, just like after the Fall Formal. Hahaha!" "Nooo! Leave me alone!" I yelled as I suddenly felt unable to move. "Let me go! Now!" "Sunset? Wake up! Sunny, please wake up!" a new, familiar voice began saying. "You can't trick me," I shouted. "I'm not going to fall victim to your games." "Sunny, please wake up! I love you. I need you to wake up! Please!" the new voice begged as I noticed the sadness in her tone. *** I began to regain consciousness as the desperate voice, which my mind finally registered as Twi's, continued to holler my name. I tried sitting up and looking around but my body was held in place by something in a prone position. After a moment, I realized that I was on a stretcher. "Sunset Shimmer? Do you know where you are?" I heard a man's voice ask. "I... uhhh... I'm at... ummm... Tony Pepperoni's Pizza," I replied groggily. "Oh no. She doesn't know where she's at," Twi cried into her hands. "Do you know what happened?" the man asked me. "I fainted in the restaurant while we were discussing spring break ideas," I answered. Twi and the man looked at each other and shook their heads. As Twi continued to let tears roll down her cheeks, I suddenly realized she wasn't wearing her glasses. "Sunny, we... we never made it to the restaurant," Twi told me. "Someone rear-ended us at the stop light and it was hard enough to send us into the intersection where we got broadsided by another car." "I... I don't remember that," I told them. "I remember leaving the apartment. We got to the restaurant where you had a small meltdown. Then I fainted and had one of my nightmares." "Ms. Shimmer, can you tell me where you have pain at?" the paramedic asked me. I focused on my body so that I could accurately answer the man's question. "My left arm and neck hurt really bad," I told him. "How about your legs?" he asked as his partner helped load me onto the stretcher. "My legs feel..." I paused mid-sentence when I realized what happened. "I... I can't feel m-m-my legs." "Twi, are you okay?" I asked with tears in my eyes. "They think I have a broken foot and some bruised ribs but other than that I'm fine," she replied. "Ms. Sparkle we need to get you loaded into the other ambulance," another paramedic said. "We'll try getting you ladies adjacent rooms in the ER but I can't make any promises." "I imagine my bike is trashed, correct?" I asked the paramedic. "But how is my helmet?" He seemed to ignore my question but after a minute he asked me to repeat my question because he was taking my vital signs. He gave me an answer but not the one what I wanted. "Yes, Ms. Shimmer, your bike is totaled," he said with a disappointed look on his face. "Your and Ms. Sparkle's helmets saved your life but they're both cracked on the right side where they hit the pavement." "Th-thank y-you, sir," I cried. I know what I'm doing when I get home, I thought sadly. *** There is no way to describe the amount of embarrassment I felt two days later when Mrs. Sparkle brought me home. Here I was, someone who helped save the world on three separate occasions needing helped out of an SUV into a wheelchair. While I wasn't completely paralyzed from the waist down, the synapses in my spinal cord weren't firing like they were supposed to. I had limited feeling in my legs and I could wiggle my toes but that was it. "Thanks Mrs. Sparkle," I said as Twi's mom got back in her car. "It's no trouble, Sunset," she replied as Twi began to push me toward our apartment. "Bye mom. Thanks again for the lift," Twi said after giving her mother a kiss. I was glad we lived on the ground floor because I don't know what we would've done if lived on the second floor. There was obviously no ramp and definitely no elevator to get there. We got inside and I set my shredded leather jacket on the table so I could clean it out later. I managed to wheel myself to the kitchen so I could grab a cold soda and some potato chips while Twi went to the bathroom. As I made my way back to the living room, I noticed a drawer in the kitchen sticking out slightly. Before closing it I saw my pocket knife inside and decided to put it in my pocket. Twi came back from the bathroom and was about to help me onto the couch when I told her I needed to go to the bathroom. She pushed me to the bathroom before levitating me to the toilet. "Do you need help with your pants?" she asked with a smirk. "No, I think I can manage," I replied with a false smile. She closed the door to give me my privacy which I took advantage of. I pulled my knife out of my pocket, opened it up and lined it up with the main vein in my left wrist. Just as I was about to pull toward my body I heard Twi from the other room. "Sunset Shimmer! Where is your pocket knife?" Busted, I thought. Should I continue or just wait? Before I could make my decision, the bathroom door burst open with an upset girlfriend. "Sunny, we will get through this," she told me as she took the knife from my hand. "There's no need for this crap again." "I... I know," I whispered. "Almost everything is gone. My bike, my helmet, my... my jacket, m-my mo... mobil... mobility." "You still have me though," Twi said as she moved closer to me so she could cradle me in her arms. "Isn't that enough?" I reached up to wipe my eyes and gave her a slight nod. She held my head and stroked my hair before pulling back and suggesting to go to the couch where we could be more comfortable. Once back on the couch, Twi continued to comfort me as my magic took over for a moment and I saw what Twi was thinking about. "Sunset? Who are you talking to?" Twi asked me as she walked in the door. "I... I'm... nobody..." I wept. "Are you okay?" she asked softly. "I don't know, Twilight. I'm pretty messed up," I told her. "Messed up? From what?" she inquired as she knelt down beside me. "You know that girl that's a pony? I'm actually a unicorn from the same world as her," I told her as tears continued fill my eyes. "Really?" she asked with wonder. "Yes. I've been here for around three years. The first two and a half years I'm not proud of," I said as I wiped my eyes. "Why? What did you do?" "Well, I, uh, I bullied everyone in Canterlot High, mostly Fluttershy, um, broke up friendships... I was an all around bad person," I reflected. "I'm... I'm so, so sorry, Twilight. I-I've been a-a terrible friend to you," I cried. "You-you don't deserve t-to have me as..." "Shhhh. It'll be okay," Twi said she held me in her arms, even with the blood coming from my arms. "How... how can you be so... so sure, Twilight?" I asked. "Because if you were still that bad person, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Spike and I wouldn't want to be friends with you," she assured me. As the vision ended, a weak smile appeared on my face for a few minutes. That is, until I heard something that made me stop what I was doing. "How would you like to walk to school tomorrow?" Author's Note Those who have followed the entire series might recognize the memory from an earlier book told from Twilight's POV. Sunset's Surprise"Sunny, look out!!" I shouted as we were shoved into the path of the oncoming SUV. It was too late. By the time Sunny hit the throttle, we were already skidding across the asphalt. Both of us hit our heads on the ground with enough force to crack the helmets. I lifted my head just enough to see my lifeless girlfriend lying about 7 feet away shortly before losing consciousness myself. I came to a few minutes later to find one of the drivers checking on me while the other driver had stayed with Sunny until the emergency vehicles arrived. Once the paramedics did the preliminary check on me, I requested to stay until Sunny was conscious. "Sunset? Wake up! Sunny, please wake up," I shouted as a stabilizer was put on Sunny's neck. I began to cry as she continued to lay there lifelessly, while she was strapped to a backboard. "Sunny, please wake up! I love you! I need you to wake up! Please!" I yelled as tears filled my eyes. "I need an Ambu bag! She stopped breathing!" One of paramedics shouted. "What?!" I shouted in distress. "Sunny! Don't leave me! I can't live without you!" I tried going over to her but one of the police officers held me back so I wouldn't get in the way. Meanwhile one of the paramedics began CPR on Sunny as tears began flowing like rivers down my face. "No!" I cried desperately. "You can't let her die! Sunny please wake up!" Sunny's shirt was lifted up to just below her breasts as they attached the electrodes for the portable defibrillator. They jolted her three times, each time the same result: nothing. As they continued to try work get her heart restarted, I buried my face into the chest of the officer holding me. My words were unintelligible as I pleaded into the officer's chest. I turned around after a few minutes to see if they were getting anywhere with Sunny. That's when I lost it. The paramedics had taken the neck brace off and were covering her body with a sheet. "NO! NO!" I screamed. "SHE'S NOT DEAD! SHE CAN'T BE DEAD!" I turned back to the officer and buried my face back in his chest. He held me tightly for a few minutes as I continued my uncontrollable wailing. “Ms. Sparkle, we need to get you the hospital so that your injuries can be treated,” a third paramedic told me before she and the officer helped me into the second ambulance. After getting seated on the stretcher in the second ambulance, I leaned forward and held my face in my hands as I continued crying. "Twi, I'm okay," I heard Sunset say. "I'm not dead." "I... I just... I just saw you... you die," I cried. " You have a... a sheet covering you on... on..." "Twilight, you're asleep. I only have an injured spine and broken arm. I'm not dead, babe." I opened my eyes not to the bright inside of the ambulance but the darkness of the bedroom. My head was resting on Sunny's shoulder as she continued to to console me now that I was awake. "Oh Sunny," I cried. "It felt so real." "What was the dream about?" Sunny asked me as my sobs began to slow. "It-it was about the accident," I whimpered. "You wouldn't wake up on the road. Then you... you stopped breathing. And...and... and..." "Shhh. It was only a dream," Sunny whispered. "I'm fine. A little banged up, but fine. Okay?" "Mmhmm," I mumbled into her left shoulder as we both laid there in the dark with Sunny stroking my hair. "I promise that I'm not going to leave you and I won't let anything happen to you," she whispered as I drifted back off to sleep. When I woke up this morning, I could tell how bad I was crying that night. My eyes hurt, were red as tomatoes and still semi-swollen. I looked up to see that Sunny had managed to roll onto her right side slightly at some point after my nightmare so that I could spoon with her. I looked at the clock on her nightstand and saw in was 6:26, meaning the alarm for school was going to be going off in a few minutes. I leaned up and kissed her on the cheek before sliding out of bed to get breakfast made. I laid out my clothes on the desk chair and limped toward the kitchen. "What would be something to treat Sunny with?" I said to myself. "Let's see... eggs... soy bacon... bell peppers. I know, I'll try my hand at an omelette." After literally checking the battery on smoke detector, I began cooking the bacon and dicing one of the peppers. Once the bacon and peppers were ready, I cracked a couple eggs in a bowl to mix the yolks and whites before pouring them in the frying pan. I put the filling in and folded over the empty half of eggs. I loaded up the bed tray with the omelette, two slices of buttered toast and orange juice and limped back to the bedroom with it. "Mmmm, that smells delicious," Sunny told me as I entered the bedroom. "I hope it tastes as good as it smells." I set the tray on the bed before helping her sit up so she would be able eat more comfortably. I climbed up next to her on the bed after setting the tray in her lap and put my arm around her as she began to eat. "How is it?" I asked her after she ate a few bites. "Be honest Sunny." "It's pretty good," Sunny replied as she swallowed a bite of toast before giving me a mischievous smirk. "I'm surprised you didn't set off the smoke alarm." "Oh shut up," I giggled before Sunny cut a piece of her omelette and fed to me. While Sunny finished up her breakfast, I got off the bed and got dressed in my conservative attire that consisted of a purple skirt and vest with a light blue shirt and red bow. After Sunny finished her breakfast, I limped my way back to the kitchen so that I could wash the dishes on the empty breakfast tray. "Do you need any help getting dressed, Sunny?" I shouted across the apartment. "I don't think so but I could use some help getting my clothes out of the closet," she shouted back. I made my way to the closet where I took out her light teal dress, blue-green pants and old leather jacket. A look of concern crossed Sunny's face as I held up her jacket. It was almost as though she was worried I would find something that she wanted to keep a secret. "Something wrong, Sunny?" I asked softly as she put on her strapless bra. "Uh, yeah. There's nothing wrong," she tried to convince me. "Everything is fine. I, uh, just have some, uh, bad memories from that jacket." "Oh Sunny," I said as I sat down next to her and gave her a hug. "It's okay. I realize you had some rough times when you wore this jacket but those times are behind you. You're a better person now. Okay?" "Okay..." she conceded. "Can you give me some assistance in using the bathroom and getting these pants on after that?" "Sure thing," I smiled as I gave her a peck on the lips. While Sunny was in the bathroom I moved her jacket to get to her pants. As I did I felt the crinkle from some paper coming from the inside pocket. I looked toward the bathroom to see if Sunny was looking before pulling the paper out and reading what was written. To whom it may or may not concern, The last couple months I've been trying to make amends for all the trouble I caused. It doesn't seem to matter to anyone though. The members of the Rainbooms were supposed to look out for me and teach me how friendships are made. They have treated me like complete shit. I thought when Twilight came back I could tell her what I was feeling, but she's been more interested in her friends that are fighting with each other. I thought that cutting my arms would give the release I needed to get through this but when they decided to show their hypocrisy in the second round of the competition, I couldn't take anymore. By hanging myself in front of the school, I'm showing my celebration for how fucked up humans really are. Hopefully everyone will feel better once I'm gone, especially those who were supposed to be my friends. Goodbye and fuck off, Sunset Shimmer Now I understood why Sunny began freaking out when I pulled the jacket out of the closet. It was more than just bad memories, she had intended to commit suicide while this was part of her regular attire. What was disturbing about the note was that Sunny had signed it in blood. "Twi? Can you give me a hand, please?" Sunny called from the bathroom. "Coming!" I replied as I quickly folded the note and placed it back where I found it. "Really?" she giggled as I entered the bathroom. "Before school?" "You're in quite the mood this morning," I told her. "I'm trying to take your mind off your nightmare you had," she replied as I helped her put her pants on. "Plus you made me breakfast without burning the building to the ground." "Oh, ha ha," I said sarcastically. "I know I've set the smoke alarm off more times than I care to count. You don't have to remind me." I glanced at the clock as Sunny laughed at my comment. 7:31. I began to panic as school started in fifteen minutes and we were at least twenty minutes away by foot. "Um, Sunny," I said as I furled my brow, "We have a problem." "What's that?" "School starts in fifteen minutes," I told her. "Relax," Sunny assured me as she picked up her phone and dialed a number. "Hey Rainbow. Are you at school yet? Uh-huh. Can you swing by my place to pick up me and Twi? What? I know you drive a Mustang. We can manage somehow. Ok. We'll be waiting in the parking lot. Thanks, Rainbow. See you in five." "Twilight. Sunset. How are you feeling, darlings?" Rarity asked as the two of us joined the other girls at our usual lunch table. "We're still sore obviously but at least we're alive," I responded. "I'm just thankful we were wearing our helmets when it happened," Sunny told the group. "I feel kind of embarrassed being confined to the wheelchair but I think eventually I'll get used to it." "What're y'all gonna do in th' meantime while yer healin'?" Applejack asked. Neither me nor Sunny had really talked about what we would do in the short-term. Sunny had a bigger challenge ahead of her in the long-term with her partial paralysis. "Are you going to need a new wardrobe, darling?" Rarity asked earning herself a look of uncertainty from Sunny. "I really don't know at this point, Rarity," Sunny told her. "I needed a little help this morning with the pants from Twi but if I keep working at it, I should be in good shape, clothing wise." "Well just let me know if you change your mind," Rarity responded. "Hey you know what we need to do?" Pinkie asked everyone. "Throw a party?" Rainbow replied with a smirk. "How did you know?" Pinkie said. "That's your answer to everything, Pinkie," Sunset chuckled. "Oh. Yeah. Anyways how about a big 'Welcome Home/Get Well Soon' party at Sunset and Twilight's place? Would that be okay?" Pinkie inquired of me and Sunny. "Well a 'Welcome Home' party really doesn't really work if it's at someone else's home. So sure," I said with a smile. "Sleepover?" Sunny asked as she raised an eyebrow. "Sleepover!" the rest of us shouted in unison. Sunny looked at me and shook her head before pulling me close to her face. "Our place isn't even wheelchair accessible yet and you're already volunteering it for parties. What are you thinking?" she whispered harshly, bringing a few tears to the front of my eyes. "Su-sunny? Wha-what was that for?" I whimpered quietly. "I-I thought y-you'd be happy t-to have everyone spend the-the night. It could take yo-your mind off of everything for a night." "You could have at least let me answer since I'm the primary on the lease," Sunny continued to scold me. "Twilight? Sunset? What's wrong?" Fluttershy asked us as I returned to my normal sitting position trying to decide what to do. "I... I don't know," Sunny said shaking her head. "What happened?" "You... you..." I stuttered just before getting up and leaving the cafeteria in tears as quickly as my broken foot would let me. I sat on the toilet in the women's restroom with the stall locked and my knees drawn as close to my chest as possible. What got into her? She's never snapped at me like that since we've been together, I thought as I continued to wipe the tears from my face. It's like she was a whole different person. And then she acted like nothing was wrong. "Twilight?" I heard Fluttershy call as she knocked on the stall door. "Would you like to talk? It's only me in here. No one else, I promise." "Thank you but I... I'm fine, Fluttershy," I responded as I cleaned my face again. Something caught my eye as I continued to stare at the floor through my tears. Joining Fluttershy's green and white shoes was a pink ponytail, which could only mean she had ponied up for showing her kindness. "Twilight, I'm not going to ask that you let me in but I really would like to help you out," Fluttershy said softly. A memory flashed through my mind of when I first meet Fluttershy and how I was feeling down in the dumps before she handed Angel to me to hold. Realizing that she would be the best person to talk to at the moment, I reached forward and unlocked the door so that my soft spoken friend could come in. "I'm not going to close the door so if someone comes in, they're going to see us talking," Fluttershy told me. "We're all worried about you. Even Sunset." "Wh-why would she be worried a... about me?" I cried. "She's the one who... who..." Fluttershy just wrapped her arms and wings around my body like she was my own personal angel. I cried into her shoulder as she just rubbed my back to console me. "It's going to be okay," she assured me. "Sunset wants to talk to you after school. I'm guessing it's to apologize and explain herself." "Okay," I sniffled. "Can you stay with us in case I need a ride home to my parent's house?" "Sure," Fluttershy responded as her wings returned to a folded position before she ponied down. She took some toilet paper and cleaned my face up better than I was able to do by myself before lending me her hand to help me up. "C'mon. We're late for class." Sunny was waiting in front the Wondercolt statue with a disappointed look on her face. While I was a little encouraged by the sight, I didn't know if she was disappointed in herself or me. I took a deep breath, looked over at Fluttershy who was playing with her pets in the bushes and nervously made my way over to Sunny. "Sunny? Are you-" I said before she gently placed her fingertips on my mouth. "Twilight... I... I'm so sorry for what I did," she said as tears welled up in her eyes. "I don't know what happened. One minute we were talking about a party, the next thing I knew you heading out of the cafeteria, crying." I knelt down beside her so we could be eye level with each other before she continued, "I have no explanation for what came over me. I only hope that you'll find it in your heart to forgive me." After taking a moment to think it over, I leaned forward and gave her small kiss on the lips. "You really hurt me, Sunny," I said after breaking the kiss. "But I love you and that's what matters most." She reached out and embraced me as we both cried into each others shoulders. Later that night, Sunny and I were joined by the others for a "Welcome Home" sleepover at our apartment. All of us had gotten changed into our pajamas except for Sunny, which was a little odd but we figured she was going to changed one of the times she used the bathroom. While Rainbow Dash and Applejack were busy playing the latest soccer game on Sunny’s Ponystation 4, Pinkie had brought some supplies to give me another baking lesson. Fluttershy was playing with Spike and Angel Bunny while Rarity was busy giving Sunny a makeover, which kept me giggling from the kitchen. “Darling I won't keep poking your eyes if you stop moving,” Rarity fussed. “Sorry, Rarity. I'm not used to having makeup on,” Sunny replied. “Ponies don't usually wear it. Sure there are a few exceptions to that but I never wore any. Even to the Grand Galloping Gala.” “Well I hoped that giving you a makeover would boost your spirits somewhat,” Rarity said to her. “You seemed pretty down at school today.” “Hey, that's cheatin’!” I heard Applejack yell while Rainbow Dash cackled like a hyena. “It’s only cheating if you get caught by the referee,” Rainbow laughed. “How in tarnation can y’all get caught cheatin’ by the ref on a video game?” Applejack continued to gripe. “Doesn't matter. I still won due to my awesome skills,” Rainbow boasted. I heard a country-accented groan before being joined in the kitchen by our resident farmer. Applejack squeezed past my tutor and I to grab an Apple soda out of the fridge to calm down. “Hey did Sunset tell ya what her big announcement was, Twi?” Applejack asked me after draining half the bottle in one gulp. “No she didn't,” I replied before a small smile crossed my face. “I'm just as much in the dark as everyone else. It kinda makes the anticipation feel a little more special.” “So when do y'all wanna ask her ‘bout it?” Before I could answer, the timer on the oven went to let us know the chocolate filled banana cupcakes were done. “Let’s ask her while we let the cupcakes cool,” Pinkie replied eagerly. “Sounds like a plan ta me,” Applejack replied. "So what's this big announcement that y'all teased us with, Sunset?" Applejack asked as her, Pinkie and I entered the living room. “Well, I wrote to Princess Twilight this afternoon while I was waiting for Twi to meet me at the statue after school, informing her about the accident and that I'm now confined to a wheelchair,” Sunny began. “She responded almost immediately afterwards telling me that there may be a way to reverse my paralysis.” “Really? How so?” Fluttershy asked, beating the rest of us to the punch. “She said that even though I'm a human right now, the Equestrian Magic contained in our geodes would be able to heal me since I'm originally an Equestrian unicorn.” “Are you serious? That’s freaking awesome!” shouted Rainbow Dash. “From what I was told, if the geodes are stacked like coins in a specific order, they have healing properties,” Sunny explained as she nervously fiddled with hers. “And since we're all here, well, I hoping that maybe we could see if it might work. Please?” “Ah don’t know, sugarcube,” Applejack said. “Ah mean, it sounds like a great idea an’ Ah sure would like ta see y'all walk again but this sound too good ta be true.” “If there's a chance that she could walk again using the geodes, shouldn't we at least give it a try?” I asked. “I don't know, Twilight,” Rainbow replied. “The last time Sunset had a shitload of magic at her disposal, things almost didn't turn out too good.” “I know I'm going to sound uncouth but I don't care,” Rarity growled as her face began turning red. “The only reason you're agreeing with Applejack is because you two are fucking each other. I say we try giving it a go.” “Boy this party really began to turn downhill all of a sudden,” Pinkie noted. “Thank you, Captain Obvious,” Rainbow shot toward Pinkie Pie. “Don’t change the subject.” “Y’all don't seem ta remember what Sunset done when she turned in her ‘She-demon’ persona,” Applejack said using air quotations. I looked over at Sunny while our four friends continued to yell at each other. What I saw surprised me. Instead of a look of concern, a small smirk was plastered on it. “Why are you smiling, Sunny?” I quietly asked out of curiosity. “Our friends are fighting with each other and you've been silent the whole time.” “I'm smiling at Rarity's comment,” Sunny replied. “I never expected something like that out of her.” Sunny did have a point. We never heard her drop an f-bomb the entire time we've known her. I nodded and turned my attention back toward the argument with the intention of breaking it up. “Ah’m done arguin’ with y’all,” Applejack grumbled as she removed her geode and handed it to Sunny. “If y'all wanna take th’ chance, fine. But if sumthin’ bad happens, none of y'all better blame me.” “Or me,” echoed Rainbow Dash as she followed suit with her geode. The rest of us gave up our geodes one by one as Sunny began stacking them in her hand. Mine was on the bottom, presumably to allow the magic to flow into her hand. Then after hers was Rainbow's, Rarity's, Fluttershy's, Applejack's, Pinkie's and finally her own. “Is anything happening?” Fluttershy asked quietly. Sunny didn't say anything. Instead, her eyes were glued to the stack of geodes in her left hand. We all sit in silent anticipation to see if what she had told us would really happen. “Something is happening,” Sunset said after two or three minutes. Almost immediately after she said that, the stack of geodes began glowing and I noticed that her scars on her right arm had begun disappearing. “I think it’s working,” Sunny said as an odd smile spread across her face. The parts of her body that were injured began glowing just like our geodes. “This is amazing” Pinkie Pie said in awe. “I know,” Sunny agreed as she grasped the geodes tightly in her fist and slowly stood up. “Sunny! You're… you're walking!” I exclaimed as I jumped up and threw my arms around her. “Will you stop already? I'm getting tired of being embarrassed in front of the others by you for every little thing,” Sunny snapped. “Su-Sunny? Wha-what was that for?” I gasped as tears began filling my eyes. “Every time something happens between us, you cling to me like a parasite,” she continued. “It’s getting old.” I couldn't believe my ears. After all we had been through, this was how she was going to treat me? “What the fuck has gotten into you, Sunset?!” I heard Rainbow yell as I ran out the door barefoot and in my pajamas. Author's Note Return of the cliffhanger... Those who have followed the series from Book 1 may recognize the note that Twilight found. Thanks again to Uncle Bob for proofreading/editing. The Demon Smiles At MidnightI ran from the apartment as fast as my broken foot would allow as tears poured down my face. Behind me was the sound of footsteps in hot pursuit. "Twilight! Wait up!" "Where are you going, darling?!" I didn't answer either of them as I knew they were going to catch up to me quickly. I collapsed shortly after that from the pain shooting through my body. "Twilight, please tell us where you're going," Fluttershy begged. "I... I'm going home... to m-my parents house," I cried as I held myself up on my hands and knees. "I-I don't care what... *sniff* ...what it takes." Rarity and Fluttershy both knelt down on either side of me and held me in their arms as I broke down on the sidewalk. My mind was a jumbled mess of emotions and thoughts as I tried to figure out what I did to cause Sunny to treat me the way she did. "W-why... why did she, *sniff*, she act th-that way?" I continued to cry. "I-I thought *sniff* she... she, *sniff* loved me." "She does, darling," Rarity whispered softly. "But the Sunset Shimmer that you ran from has somehow been consumed by her past self." "Oh no," was the only thing that Fluttershy said. "What do *sniff* you mean 'oh no'?" I asked nervously. "It's just... her past self was really mean," Fluttershy replied quietly. "She would make me cry a lot." "It's true, darling," Rarity confirmed. "Before we got split up, one of us would find her in tears almost everyday." I continued to sniffle as I had rotated around to sit on the grass beside the concrete sidewalk to be a little more comfortable. "How about we spend the rest of the night at my house?" Fluttershy asked as she stood up. "That sounds fine. *sniff* But don't you need your keys?" I asked her. "I have a spare key for the car hidden in one of the wheel wells and house key hidden in the flower bed," she replied before turning to walk back to the apartment complex. I wiped my eyes again as Rarity and I sat in silence under a full moon, waiting for Fluttershy to return. Rarity helped me into Fluttershy's house due to the sheer amount of pain in my foot from running (for lack of a better word). I sat down on the sofa just moments before being joined by Fluttershy's pets. "Aww, they're trying to make you feel better," Fluttershy cooed. "I'll go get you something for the physical pain though." Rarity propped up on one of the tan recliners and began falling asleep almost immediately. I wanted to follow suit but the wave emotions flowing through me was not going to allow it. "Here you go," said Fluttershy as she handed me two aspirin and a glass of water before sitting down. I handed her the empty glass and thanked her after swallowing the pills. "I know I'm not Sunset but would you like to rest your head on my lap?" she asked quietly. "Thank you, Fluttershy," I replied as I changed positions. I don't know if it was because Sunny yelled at me twice earlier but I felt strangely comfortable laying in Fluttershy's lap. At the same time I felt like I was cheating on her because we never officially broke up. "Twilight, can I tell you a secret?" she asked quietly. "Sure," I replied after thinking a moment. Fluttershy twirled her fingers in her hair as she barely whispered, "Sunset's bullying kinda made me develop my... um... my..." "I understand, Fluttershy," I replied. "Can I ask how?" "Well... there were a lot of days she would force me get down on my hands and knees and kiss her feet," Fluttershy said as she blushed. I couldn't find a response to that. It was borderline Stockholm Syndrome. "That's, uh, that's interesting," was all I could come up with. After a few moments of silence and watching Rarity softly snore, Fluttershy asked me, "Is there anything you can think of to try getting through to Sunset?" My mind drew a blank as I succumbed to the fatigue from all the excitement less than an hour prior, falling asleep in Fluttershy's lap. "You're just like a parasite," a demonic sounding voice said. "Sunny? Is-is that you?" I shouted into the black void. "Sunny? Hahaha! Sunny never existed," the voice cackled. "Come to think of it, neither have you. Hahaha!" "Wha-what are you talking about?" I whimpered as tears began to form. The voice didn't reply. Instead it was joined by another voice in laughing at me as a bright light blinded my vision. When I was able to see again, I found myself floating in a white void with Daydream Shimmer. "Take my hand, Twilight," Daydream said softly. "Let me show you there's another way. Just like someone once did for me." Instinctively, I reached out and grabbed Daydream's hand. Almost instantly her eyes turned bright teal, her skin became a light red and her wings went from golden to black and red. "Now it's your turn," she said as a smile full of razor sharp teeth spread across her face. I looked at our hands and noticed a eerie glow begin to spread from her to me, causing me to jerk my hand back in shock. "Wh-what do you mean?" I asked. "You know damn well what I mean. Hahaha!" the demon replied. "Break this facade. Show your true self." "Noooooo!!" I shrieked. I opened my eyes to find Fluttershy cradling me in her arms. My heart was pounding through my chest and my hands were shaking while the words of that demon rang through my ears. Show your true self. What did that even mean? Was she talking about Midnight Sparkle? My mind raced as I tried making sense of the nightmare. "Are you okay?" I heard through the darkness. "Wha-?" I responded. "I asked if you were okay," repeated Fluttershy. "I heard you mumbling and saw tears rolling down your cheeks." "I... I had a really bad nightmare," I told her as my voice wavered. "Daydream Shimmer was there and then she transformed into a demon when I grabbed her hand." Fluttershy froze in fear when I told her that. There was something about what told her that managed to strike a nerve. I don't know what it was but I had to find out what. "Fluttershy? Are you okay?" I whispered, trying not to wake Rarity. "K-k-kinda. It-it's ju-just... Sun-Sunset tur-turned into a d-d-demon when Pr-Princess Twilight first c-came here," Fluttershy stammered. "A demon?" I asked. "What did her demon form look like?" "Well... her skin was red, um, she had these really ugly bat wings and these pointy teeth," Fluttershy said barely above a whisper. It was uncanny. I had never seen Sunset as a demon yet the entity in my nightmare was exactly how Fluttershy described her. I was baffled how my mind was able to perfectly create that image in my nightmare. "Do you think maybe Princess Twilight would be able to help us out?" Fluttershy asked as Rarity let out a loud snort. After a small giggle from the two of us, I answered Fluttershy's question. "She might but I'll have to get Sunset's journal so I can get in touch with her." "That shouldn't be too hard, should it?" A few hours later, the morning sun shone through the windows as Fluttershy and I woke up after we had fallen back to sleep earlier in the morning. After a moment or two I recognized the scent of french toast coming from the kitchen. As Fluttershy and I entered the dining room, Rarity said, "I hope you don't mind me using your kitchen, darling. I figured we could all use a good breakfast to think about how to deal with the situation with Sunset." "It's okay. I think it's going to be a long day anyhow," replied Fluttershy. "Fluttershy and I were talking last night and we think that the answer to this may rely on Princess Twilight," I said. "Does that mean we have to get ahold of Sunset's journal?" inquired Rarity. "Yes but how we get it is another..." I said before being interrupted by a knock on the front door. "Should I answer it?" Fluttershy asked quietly. "I'll look out the window to see who it is first, dear," Rarity volunteered as she slunk toward the door. "Who is it?" Fluttershy whispered as Rarity peeked out the window. "It's Pinkie Pie," Rarity told us before answering the door. "Hi everyone," Pinkie shouted as she bounced in the door with our luggage. "I managed to get out shortly after you guys did but I couldn't find you so I snuck back in the apartment and got everyone's things and hid at my house until this morning when I could find you." "How did you manage to get back into the apartment?" I asked in astonishment. "Well you see I got outta there as Sunset was turning into a She-demon but after I got back she was gone and so was Applejack and Rainbow Dash and so I grabbed everybody's stuff and drove to Rarity's house and Twilight's house and finally to here and..." Pinkie rattled off before running out of breath. "And then what?" I asked. "And then I looked around for some clothes for you Twilight and I found this," Pinkie continued before producing a brown, leather bound book with a combination of Princess Twilight's and Sunny's cutie marks on the front. I was overjoyed that we didn't need to try stealing it but at the same time I was skeptical as to the method it was stolen. It seemed too convenient that we needed the journal and it almost magically appeared into our possession. "Can I see that, Pinkie?" I asked as I reached for the journal. "Sure! Whatcha looking for in it?" Pinkie asked excitedly. I ignored her as I checked out the last couple entries. None of them mentioned our accident or Sunny getting paralyzed. How did she know about the geodes healing her if Princess Twilight never told her, I wondered. "Twilight, darling, what ever is the matter?" Rarity asked me. "Something isn't right. Does anyone else think it's suspicious that the one thing we need just happened to show up right now?" I wanted to know. "What?!" Pinkie replied before going nose to nose with me. "Are you implying something?" Before I could respond, Fluttershy got in between the two of us and pushed us apart. The strength of our shy friend surprised the hell out of me. I knew she had a little more strength than most of us but I couldn't believe she was strong enough to shove two grown women apart that were nearly glued together at the forehead. "Girls, we don't need to be doing this right now," Fluttershy reprimanded us. "We need to focus on how to save Sunset." What could I say. She was right. I asked for a pen to write the distress call to my pony counterpart. I had expected a few hours to pass before she responded however it was answered almost immediately. Dear Twilight Sparkle, I have no idea how this could've happened. The blast from the Elements of Harmony at the Fall Formal should have purged the demon side from Sunset. I have an idea on how to stop her, though. I'm going to need you to bring that pendant you used at the Friendship Games to the CHS statue in an hour. I'll be closing the portal at that time for the safety of Equestria. -Princess Twilight "What did she say, darling?" "We have to get moving," I said. "I have to go to my parent's house get my magic spectrometer and meet Princess Twilight at the Wondercolts statue within an hour." The four of us arrived at CHS just in time for us to see a flash of light from the opposite side of the portal. "Princess Twilight must have just arrived," I stated. "Hopefully she can tell us her..." "Hahaha! It's about time you showed up!" came a demonic voice. Looking around, I finally found the source floating about ten feet above us: the same demonic figure from my dream. "Sunny, why are you doing this?!" I shouted as tears began welling up in my eyes. Instead of replying, Sunny formed an energy ball between her claws until it was the size of a volleyball before hurling it at me. Nothing happened at first when it hit, aside from knocking the pendant from my hands into the bushes, but seconds later it began expanding large enough to consume me. A minute later, I felt that my foot and ribs were healed up but something was off. My vision was blackening as I heard a familiar laugh. Midnight Sparkle is back, I thought as I noticed a figure grab the pendant just as I lost control of my body. Author's Note This was originally going to be a multi-POV story but I just couldn't make it work. That's why it took so freaking long to get out. Thanks to Uncle Bob for editing. A Glimmer Of HopeAuthor's Note For the first time in the series, the point of view in this chapter is told from someone other than SciTwi or Sunset. Former Book 7 of the SciTwi Shimmer Series, it has since been removed from the series and placed on hiatus. A Glimmer Of Hope "Princess Twilight! We have a problem!" I shouted as I carried the journal she used to communicate with Sunset to the Friendship Chamber as fast as I could. "What is it, Starlight?" Twilight asked me frantically as she took the book from me and levitated it in front of her face. "What's it say, Twi?" Applejack asked her. "It says 'Dear Princess Twilight. This is your human counterpart writing to you. Four days ago, Sunny and I were hit broadside on the way to a planning dinner with the other girls. We're both fine for the most part. I've got a broken foot and some bruised ribs. Sunny broke her arm and is partially paralyzed from the waist down. But the real reason I'm writing is that last night Sunny tricked us into surrendering our geodes to her under the ruse that it would completely heal her. Unfortunately she revealed herself to be under control of some Equestrian demon once the geodes were all together. As of right now there's only me, Fluttershy, Rarity and Pinkie. Applejack and Rainbow Dash are missing. I know you're busy but we need help soon. Twilight Sparkle.'" "That doesn't sound good," Spike said. "Could she really have been taken over by her demon persona?" "It's possible," Twilight replied as she rubbed her chin with her left hoof in thought. "But how? And why?" "Maybe it's evil magic on the loose because there's no evil magic going on right now here and so there might some over there because there's none here-" Pinkie rambled. "We get the picture, Pinkie," Rainbow interrupted, rolling her eyes. "I really don't think that's what's going on over there, darling," Rarity assumed. "What if that is what's happening though?" I asked. "They're our friends and we need to do something." "Starlight's right, everypony," Twilight agreed. "I'm going to go there, try to find Applejack and Rainbow then try joining the Elements of Harmony from the human realm together to stop this issue in its tracks." "I don't really think that's a good idea," Rainbow Dash argued. "And why is that?" Rarity inquired. "Duh, there's a psycho demon on the loose there," Rainbow answered arrogantly. "Plus two of the humans you need are nowhere to be found." Twilight sighed as she hopped down off her throne and headed out of the room. Spike, Rainbow Dash, Applejack and myself followed a few feet behind her as we made our way down the main corridor to the room where she keeps the portal. "Is there anything that I'll be able to help with?" I asked eagerly as we entered the room. "Once I'm through the mirror, I need you to close the portal," Twilight instructed. No sooner the words left her mouth, her and I were tackled by Rainbow Dash and Applejack. I tried teleporting from under Applejack but somehow my magic was being blocked. It wasn't making sense. "Everything's going to plan, AJ," Rainbow boasted. "Eeyup! 'Fore long Sunset will be here ta git what she was promised years ago," Applejack chuckled. "Wait! You're the human Applejack and Rainbow Dash?" Twilight asked them. Rainbow Dash hovered in front of the mirror and nodded her head as she crossed her forelegs. "Sure did a good job fooling you, didn't we? Ha!" "And ta answer th' question yer wond'rin', Sunset's got spell surrounding us that nullifies y'all's magic," Applejack laughed. "Sunset figured you'd try closin' th' portal so she sent us ta make sure it don't happen." "Starlight if you can get free, head to the mirror and try dislodging the book to close the portal," Twilight shouted. "I'm trying," I groaned. "She's just too strong and that magic block won't let me teleport." A minute later a purple blur caught Applejack in the left side of her neck, causing her to ease the pressure she was placing on my chest. It just enough that I was able to shimmy loose and make a break for the mirror. I took a leap of faith and aimed directly at Rainbow's chest as she blocked the portal. My forehooves connected, knocking the wind out of her but there was just enough momentum to send us both to the human realm. A minute later I was rolling across the concrete in front of CHS as the portal spit me out just after Rainbow Dash. Somehow I was undetected by the red demon hovering above me. I looked up at the human form of Rainbow Dash as she slowly shook her head before looking up. "Sunset we-" was all Rainbow got out before I tackled her to the ground, causing her head to bounce off the concrete and rendering her unconscious. I sat up on my heels and looked at my human friend. She just laid motionless, her eyes closed and a small trickle of blood running from her mouth. What... what have I done? I thought as both my hands covered my mouth in shock. I took off toward the bushes to hide from the sight of what I had done. "Hahaha! It's about time you showed up!" Demon Shimmer cackled above us. I didn't know if she was referring to me or the remaining members of the group that had just arrived. Twilight Sparkle and Demon Shimmer exchanged a brief conversation before Demon formed a magical energy ball, raised it above her head and threw it at Twilight. I saw something fly from Twilight's hands and land near the bush I was hiding in. After reaching out and grabbing the object that Twilight lost, I looked back toward the statue and saw the energy ball expand and engulf Twilight. Through the light I saw the silhouette of her begin to change. Her hair stood up like fire, a tail extended from her back and a pair of wings sprouted from between her shoulders. "M-M-M-Midnight Sparkle!" Fluttershy squeaked as Pinkie Pie suddenly put Rarity in sleeper hold. "Pinkie! What are you doing?!" Rarity shouted before being hit by a magical beam from Demon Shimmer. "Run, Fluttershy!" said as I revealed my presence from the bushes, grabbed Sunset's journal that had fallen to the ground and lead the frightened girl off the school grounds. As Fluttershy and I hid in a secluded area of a nearby park, I handed her the journal to send a message to Princess Twilight because I can't write worth a damn in this world. "What do you want me to write?" Fluttershy asked as she held the quill, I mean, pen to the first blank page. "Tell her that Sunset turned Twilight into Midnight Sparkle and will probably be entering Equestria along through one of the rifts that she has started creating. Also let her know that this world's Rainbow Dash has been knocked unconscious and Pinkie Pie and Rarity are under Sunset Shimmer's control," I replied as I watched her scribble the words as quick as she could. "I hope she gets the message quickly and tells us what to do," Fluttershy whispered as she finished writing the message and then closed the journal. We both huddled together hoping none of the others would be able to find us. Minutes later we heard something that made us both jump. I looked down to see the journal glowing and buzzing. I opened it up and read her response just loud enough for Fluttershy to hear me. Starlight, The other girls managed to help turn the tables on the human Applejack and we currently have her tied up. With her representing the Element of Honesty, we were able to get her to tell us Sunset's plan. Cadence and I are working on sealing any rifts while Celestia and Luna try to extract the Elements of Harmony from the Tree of Harmony. Keep Fluttershy with you at all times and try using the pendant from Twilight to suck the magic from any other rifts that we aren't able to close. If and when you get an opening, use the pendant on Demon Shimmer. It will pull all the magic from the geodes from her and hopefully return everyone else to normal. Princess Twilight "Oh my. It's worse than we thought," Fluttershy said in response. "It won't be that bad once Sunset Shimmer has control of Equestria." We turned around to see Rarity and Pinkie Pie approaching us from behind, both of them with their eyes glowing teal. "Run!" I shouted as I grabbed Fluttershy's hand and pulled her in the opposite direction. Rarity and Pinkie gave chase as we tried escaping back to the school. Just as we rounded the last corner before the school, Fluttershy tripped and fell on her knees which made me stop and help lift her back up, costing us valuable ground. Once we reached the school, I saw Midnight Sparkle opening interdimensional rifts only for them to be closed almost instantly. Twilight and Cadence really were keeping up with that. "They're back, babe!" Midnight shouted toward Demon, bringing a smile to the demon's face. Fluttershy and I stood in awe of the two demons working together to destroy both realms. Moments later, the two of us were ambushed by Pinkie Pie and Rarity, putting both of us in choke holds. "Two more warriors for my battle against Celestia. Hahaha!" Demon cackled maniacally. "And one of them is one of the most powerful unicorns in Equestria. Perfect!" Demon fired an energy blast similar to the one that she used on Rarity at the two of us, causing me to close my eyes to wait for the inevitable. It never came. I cracked my eyes to see that Twilight's pendant had opened on it's own and absorbed the beam aimed at me. "Shit!" Demon swore. "Babe, I need three rifts at once. That's the only way I'm getting to Equestria." Midnight rose up higher than Demon and opened two rifts next to the statue and a third directly behind Demon simultaneously. As the two next to the statue were being closed from the other side, Demon escaped through the third rift. "Nooo!!" I screamed as Midnight cackled like the psycho she was. Then came a pulling on my neck causing me to look and see Fluttershy trying to pull the pendant off from around my neck. I thought back to the human self-defense tips that Sunset had given me and elbowed Rarity as hard as I could causing her to release me from the chokehold. I wrestled the pendant from Fluttershy's grasp and climbed on the base of the Wondercolts statue. If I grab Midnight's legs and use them as a swing, I might be able to get through that rift before Twilight or Cadence close it, I thought as I bent my knees, readying myself to jump. Just as lept from the marble, someone grabbed one of my feet causing me to fall to the ground. "Good job, Pinkie Pie!" Midnight praised our hypnotized friend. Something caught my attention to my right as a tried rolling on my back to fight off Pinkie. Rainbow Dash. She had finally regained consciousness. Shit! I'm never going to make it back to Equestria now, I thought as Midnight closed the rift and Rainbow Dash shook the cobwebs from her head, blood still dripping from her mouth. Rainbow looked my direction just before seeing Pinkie Pie land a right hook on my left cheek. "I'm coming, Starlight!" Rainbow Dash hollered as she sprinted my direction. Seconds later, Rainbow had knocked Pinkie Pie off of me and had her pinned down. "Use the magic in the pendant, Starlight!" "How?" I asked. "Push the button on top. I saw how Twilight did it at the Friendship Games," Rainbow Dash told me as a faint pair of wings appeared on her back. Fluttershy and Rarity then attacked Rainbow Dash, knocking her off Pinkie Pie. What if I try using the pendant on the girls? I thought as an idea popped into my head. I carefully aimed it at Rarity who was closest and pushed the buttons on the sides, causing it to open and collect the magic from her and breaking Demon's spell. Midnight opened another rift to Equestria as Rainbow's wings continued to solidify as her strength returned. "Starlight! Give me the pendant. I'll give you a boost so you can grab onto Midnight Sparkle," Rainbow Dash said. Moments later I found myself slipping from Midnight Sparkle's leg as my hooves couldn't hold onto her. I just couldn't hold on and finally began to plummet to the ground head first. "Gotcha!" said Princess Twilight as she caught me before I hit the ground. "Why didn't you use a teleportation spell when you returned to your pony form?" "I changed from human to pony the instant we crossed through the rift," I explained as we landed. "It disoriented me and I didn't feel the magic until I was panicking on the way to the ground." "Where's the pendant?" Twilight asked me. "I left it with Rainbow Dash," I replied. "WHAT?!" "I think when I accidentally knocked her unconscious it somehow broke the spell she was under," I told her. "The pendant can break the hypnosis spells on the girls, so Rainbow is taking care of that." "That's good to know," Twilight replied before continuing in a worried tone. "I haven't heard anything from Celestia or Luna regarding their attempts to retrieve the Elements from the Tree of Harmony." "Shouldn't they be able retrieve them? They were the original bearers, right?" I asked. "That's what I-" Twilight began before being interrupted by a bright yellow flash of light. "Twilight, we have a problem." Explanation Of CancellationI (pabrony83) have had problems with this story making the readers confused. After reading over it a few times I can understand where they're coming from. Plus the ending wouldn't make sense in the SciTwi Shimmer universe, hence why I removed it from the series. Now for what the (confusing) ending would have been. First-person POV from Princess Twilight. The four alicorn princesses are doing damage control. Celestia and Luna trying to stop Demon Shimmer. Cadence keeping Midnight Sparkle occupied while the main 6 mange to recover the Elements from the Tree Of Harmony. Two rainbow lasers later, SciTwi and Sunset would be changed to their pony forms, although their injuries from the beginning of the story would return. Finally, after apologies and feel good moments, EqG Applejack, Sunset and SciTwi all return home.
Strange Dreams"Twi, let's go! We're gonna be late!" I shouted from the door of the apartment. "I just want to make sure we don't forget anything," she shouted back. "You know what happens when we rush." "What's to forget?" I wanted to know. "We're only going to dinner with the girls and just the two us going to a movie after that." After what seemed like an eternity, Twi finally emerged from the bedroom. I felt as though I was dating Rarity when I saw her toting a backpack containing who knows what. All we were going to do at the restaurant, besides eat, was discussing spring break and the Senior Prom. "Ugh. What is with the backpack?" I asked, slightly annoyed. "We're not staying overnight anywhere." "I wanted to bring along a notebook for vacation notes. I also have a thick fashion magazine so we could get some prom dress ideas and also-" Twi tried explaining before I placed my index finger on her lips. "You always overplan for everything. Even stuff you don't need to," I said as I pulled her into a light kiss. "For once, just go with the flow." "I'll... I'll try. It's so hard for me," she replied as she rested her chin on my shoulder. "I've done things this way for as long as I can remember." We stood there for a couple minutes with me holding Twi in my arms. While she wasn't in need of comforting, just the small amount of cuddling seemed to boost her spirits after our little disagreement. I reached up, grabbed Twi's helmet off the shelf and handed it to her before tying my hair in a ponytail so that my helmet would be able fit on my head. "How about we get going before we're later than what we already are," I said as she gave me a peck on the cheek before putting on her helmet. As we finally headed out the door I felt a quick wave of dizziness overtake me, causing me to pause. I locked the door and made my way to the bike where Twi was leaning against it in a seductive pose. "You okay?" she asked me. "Yeah. Why?" I replied quickly. "I'm just curious. I saw you shake your head before you locked the door." *** It's been an interesting month and a half since my "First Dildo Party" between me and Twi. We've had extracurricular study sessions on human anatomy at both her place and mine. That is, until three weeks ago when she moved in. Then anatomy class was just here at the apartment. Something strange happened to me after moving in together. Although the love-making hasn't slowed, it doesn't have the same feel to it. I found myself slipping off to the couch three or four times after making love to break down in tears. It's almost like I have conflicting feelings for her. I'm hoping these odd feelings are related to the strange dreams I've been having since she moved in. Although I've had a rough time dealing with this, I'm still happy with where my life is at. I've got great friends and someone who loves me, even with my terrible past. Thanks to Twi's love and the girls support I haven't found the need to add to my collection of scars on my arms for a while. Back to the strange dreams however. Nearly every night since Twi moved in, I've had a similar dream; I start in a black void nothing to see, feel or even smell for miles. After floating in place for an undeterminable amost of time, I'll hear an evil voice that I'll begin to argue with it until I finally wake up in a cold sweat. *** We pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant fifteen minutes late and got the bike parked next to Rainbow Dash's Mustang. Twi climbed off, removed her helmet and fixed her hair. When she looked at me as I took my helmet off, a look of fear came over her face. "You're looking a little pale, babe. You okay?" I asked as I gently grabbed her shoulders to look her in the eyes. "Sunny, th-there's... your eyes... th-they're... they're..." Twi stammered as she began to freak out. "What are you talking about, babe?" I asked as tried calming her down. "Wh-when you t-t-took off your helmet... your eyes... th-they... they were..." Twi tried explaining as her meltdown continued. "Twilight, slow down. Take a couple deep breaths, then continue," I calmly told her as some worry began to build inside of my own mind. She took my advice and calmed down slightly. She then finally managed to tell me what she allegedly saw. "When you took your helmet off, your eyes were glowing a bright teal. It... it was almost de-demonic looking." I pulled her in tight so I could get her calmed down before moving to the curb to sit down with her. "Everything is okay, babe. My eyes are fine. There's nothing wrong with me. I love you and I'm not going to let anything happen to you. Okay?" Twi let out a deep sigh as I felt a tear from her hit my arm as I cradled her head. I realized then that I needed to communicate with her better, especially about these dreams I've been having recently. I gently lifted her chin and wiped her tears from her face. "Are you okay now?" She just sniffled and nodded her head as I continued to clean her face with the handkerchief I keep in my jacket. "Look, everything's going to be fine," I said gently as I interlocked my fingers with hers. "Let's go inside, have a nice dinner with the girls and get spring break and the senior prom planned out. Okay?" "Uh huh," Twi replied as we walked into the restaurant hand-in-hand. "Hello, ladies. How may help you this afternoon?" the host asked as Twi and I walked into the restaurant. "We're the last two of a party of seven," I replied. "Ahh, yes. Ms. Dash's party. We've been expecting you," the host told us. "If you'll follow me please." The host lead me and Twi to the table where the rest of our friends were already seated and snacking on the appetizers. "Speak o' th' devil," Applejack said. "We was jist talkin' ' bout y'all a minute ago." "Are you okay, darlings?" Rarity asked. "I noticed you were sitting by the curb holding each other for a few minutes." Twi and I exchanged glances before she spoke up, "I had a minor meltdown over something trivial and Sunny was getting me calmed down before we came inside. I'm good now so let's get planning." "Well as dresses for the prom go, I've got plenty of ideas for each of us sketched out back at the boutique. We just need to make some time to pick which ones we like," Rarity said. "So that leaves the discussion of our vacation to Manehattan for spring break." "Hold on a minute!" Rainbow Dash shouted. "Since when did we agree to Manehattan? Last I checked no one had even made a suggestion. That's why we we're having this planning dinner." "Why don't we go to the Horseshy Candy factory and the amusement park next to it," Pinkie Pie suggested. "That sounds like fun," I said. "But what do we do on the other nine days?" "Ummm, good question," Pinkie Pie responded as she scratched the back of her head. "What about Haywaii? The weather's always great there," Twi suggested. "That's a nice idea, but, ummm, there's lots of people there during spring break," Fluttershy stated. "Hey, what about a road trip? I think that would be totally awesome," Rainbow Dash added. I tuned everyone out for a few minutes as I thought about what happened before leaving the apartment and what Twi claimed to see outside before she freaked out. Was it coincidence or were they connected somehow? And did it have anything to do with my dreams? "Why Equestria, Sunny?" I heard Twi ask seemingly from a distance. I snapped out of my self-imposed trance to see everyone staring at me in confusion. "What are you talking about?" I asked, equally confused as the others. "We were suggesting places to go and you just blurted out Equestria, darling," Rarity explained. "Nothing else." "You don't remember suggesting Equestria?" Fluttershy asked as I sat there and slowly shook my head with a blank look on my face. I could feel the color drain from my face with that question. All I did was go into a moment of reflection on the events of the last hour or so and I allegedly began talking unconsciously. "Y'all feelin' okay, sugarcube?" Applejack pried. "Yeah, I just haven't been sleeping well the last couple nights," I explained nervously. "Couple nights? Try the last couple weeks," Twi said. "You wake up sweating almost every night. Last week you woke up screaming so loud that I thought the neighbors were going to call the police." "Sunset, you're really not looking too good," I heard Rainbow Dash say before I lost consciousness. *** I opened my eyes to find myself floating in a black void. 'Not again,' I thought fearfully. "Hahahaha! I'm back Sunset," came a voice from the darkness. "Wh-who are you?" I shouted back. "You know exactly who I am, hahaha," the voice answered. I turned my head side to side trying to find the voice before spinning around and seeing a pair of eyes quickly disappear. "Wh-what do you want? Wh-why are you tormenting me like th-this?" I shouted in fear. "I'm not tormenting you. I'm trying to remind you of who you really are," said the voice. "It's been too long since you've taken the easy way out to be happy." "What are you talking about?" "Things will be different," the voice continued to taunt me. "Your friends will be revealed for who they are. Especially Rainbow Dash and Rarity." I spun around again in a futile effort to try finding the source of the voice that was haunting me while it continued. "Your friends are still pretending, just like after the Fall Formal. Hahaha!" "Nooo! Leave me alone!" I yelled as I suddenly felt unable to move. "Let me go! Now!" "Sunset? Wake up! Sunny, please wake up!" a new, familiar voice began saying. "You can't trick me," I shouted. "I'm not going to fall victim to your games." "Sunny, please wake up! I love you. I need you to wake up! Please!" the new voice begged as I noticed the sadness in her tone. *** I began to regain consciousness as the desperate voice, which my mind finally registered as Twi's, continued to holler my name. I tried sitting up and looking around but my body was held in place by something in a prone position. After a moment, I realized that I was on a stretcher. "Sunset Shimmer? Do you know where you are?" I heard a man's voice ask. "I... uhhh... I'm at... ummm... Tony Pepperoni's Pizza," I replied groggily. "Oh no. She doesn't know where she's at," Twi cried into her hands. "Do you know what happened?" the man asked me. "I fainted in the restaurant while we were discussing spring break ideas," I answered. Twi and the man looked at each other and shook their heads. As Twi continued to let tears roll down her cheeks, I suddenly realized she wasn't wearing her glasses. "Sunny, we... we never made it to the restaurant," Twi told me. "Someone rear-ended us at the stop light and it was hard enough to send us into the intersection where we got broadsided by another car." "I... I don't remember that," I told them. "I remember leaving the apartment. We got to the restaurant where you had a small meltdown. Then I fainted and had one of my nightmares." "Ms. Shimmer, can you tell me where you have pain at?" the paramedic asked me. I focused on my body so that I could accurately answer the man's question. "My left arm and neck hurt really bad," I told him. "How about your legs?" he asked as his partner helped load me onto the stretcher. "My legs feel..." I paused mid-sentence when I realized what happened. "I... I can't feel m-m-my legs." "Twi, are you okay?" I asked with tears in my eyes. "They think I have a broken foot and some bruised ribs but other than that I'm fine," she replied. "Ms. Sparkle we need to get you loaded into the other ambulance," another paramedic said. "We'll try getting you ladies adjacent rooms in the ER but I can't make any promises." "I imagine my bike is trashed, correct?" I asked the paramedic. "But how is my helmet?" He seemed to ignore my question but after a minute he asked me to repeat my question because he was taking my vital signs. He gave me an answer but not the one what I wanted. "Yes, Ms. Shimmer, your bike is totaled," he said with a disappointed look on his face. "Your and Ms. Sparkle's helmets saved your life but they're both cracked on the right side where they hit the pavement." "Th-thank y-you, sir," I cried. I know what I'm doing when I get home, I thought sadly. *** There is no way to describe the amount of embarrassment I felt two days later when Mrs. Sparkle brought me home. Here I was, someone who helped save the world on three separate occasions needing helped out of an SUV into a wheelchair. While I wasn't completely paralyzed from the waist down, the synapses in my spinal cord weren't firing like they were supposed to. I had limited feeling in my legs and I could wiggle my toes but that was it. "Thanks Mrs. Sparkle," I said as Twi's mom got back in her car. "It's no trouble, Sunset," she replied as Twi began to push me toward our apartment. "Bye mom. Thanks again for the lift," Twi said after giving her mother a kiss. I was glad we lived on the ground floor because I don't know what we would've done if lived on the second floor. There was obviously no ramp and definitely no elevator to get there. We got inside and I set my shredded leather jacket on the table so I could clean it out later. I managed to wheel myself to the kitchen so I could grab a cold soda and some potato chips while Twi went to the bathroom. As I made my way back to the living room, I noticed a drawer in the kitchen sticking out slightly. Before closing it I saw my pocket knife inside and decided to put it in my pocket. Twi came back from the bathroom and was about to help me onto the couch when I told her I needed to go to the bathroom. She pushed me to the bathroom before levitating me to the toilet. "Do you need help with your pants?" she asked with a smirk. "No, I think I can manage," I replied with a false smile. She closed the door to give me my privacy which I took advantage of. I pulled my knife out of my pocket, opened it up and lined it up with the main vein in my left wrist. Just as I was about to pull toward my body I heard Twi from the other room. "Sunset Shimmer! Where is your pocket knife?" Busted, I thought. Should I continue or just wait? Before I could make my decision, the bathroom door burst open with an upset girlfriend. "Sunny, we will get through this," she told me as she took the knife from my hand. "There's no need for this crap again." "I... I know," I whispered. "Almost everything is gone. My bike, my helmet, my... my jacket, m-my mo... mobil... mobility." "You still have me though," Twi said as she moved closer to me so she could cradle me in her arms. "Isn't that enough?" I reached up to wipe my eyes and gave her a slight nod. She held my head and stroked my hair before pulling back and suggesting to go to the couch where we could be more comfortable. Once back on the couch, Twi continued to comfort me as my magic took over for a moment and I saw what Twi was thinking about. "Sunset? Who are you talking to?" Twi asked me as she walked in the door. "I... I'm... nobody..." I wept. "Are you okay?" she asked softly. "I don't know, Twilight. I'm pretty messed up," I told her. "Messed up? From what?" she inquired as she knelt down beside me. "You know that girl that's a pony? I'm actually a unicorn from the same world as her," I told her as tears continued fill my eyes. "Really?" she asked with wonder. "Yes. I've been here for around three years. The first two and a half years I'm not proud of," I said as I wiped my eyes. "Why? What did you do?" "Well, I, uh, I bullied everyone in Canterlot High, mostly Fluttershy, um, broke up friendships... I was an all around bad person," I reflected. "I'm... I'm so, so sorry, Twilight. I-I've been a-a terrible friend to you," I cried. "You-you don't deserve t-to have me as..." "Shhhh. It'll be okay," Twi said she held me in her arms, even with the blood coming from my arms. "How... how can you be so... so sure, Twilight?" I asked. "Because if you were still that bad person, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Spike and I wouldn't want to be friends with you," she assured me. As the vision ended, a weak smile appeared on my face for a few minutes. That is, until I heard something that made me stop what I was doing. "How would you like to walk to school tomorrow?" Author's Note Those who have followed the entire series might recognize the memory from an earlier book told from Twilight's POV.
Sunset's Surprise"Sunny, look out!!" I shouted as we were shoved into the path of the oncoming SUV. It was too late. By the time Sunny hit the throttle, we were already skidding across the asphalt. Both of us hit our heads on the ground with enough force to crack the helmets. I lifted my head just enough to see my lifeless girlfriend lying about 7 feet away shortly before losing consciousness myself. I came to a few minutes later to find one of the drivers checking on me while the other driver had stayed with Sunny until the emergency vehicles arrived. Once the paramedics did the preliminary check on me, I requested to stay until Sunny was conscious. "Sunset? Wake up! Sunny, please wake up," I shouted as a stabilizer was put on Sunny's neck. I began to cry as she continued to lay there lifelessly, while she was strapped to a backboard. "Sunny, please wake up! I love you! I need you to wake up! Please!" I yelled as tears filled my eyes. "I need an Ambu bag! She stopped breathing!" One of paramedics shouted. "What?!" I shouted in distress. "Sunny! Don't leave me! I can't live without you!" I tried going over to her but one of the police officers held me back so I wouldn't get in the way. Meanwhile one of the paramedics began CPR on Sunny as tears began flowing like rivers down my face. "No!" I cried desperately. "You can't let her die! Sunny please wake up!" Sunny's shirt was lifted up to just below her breasts as they attached the electrodes for the portable defibrillator. They jolted her three times, each time the same result: nothing. As they continued to try work get her heart restarted, I buried my face into the chest of the officer holding me. My words were unintelligible as I pleaded into the officer's chest. I turned around after a few minutes to see if they were getting anywhere with Sunny. That's when I lost it. The paramedics had taken the neck brace off and were covering her body with a sheet. "NO! NO!" I screamed. "SHE'S NOT DEAD! SHE CAN'T BE DEAD!" I turned back to the officer and buried my face back in his chest. He held me tightly for a few minutes as I continued my uncontrollable wailing. “Ms. Sparkle, we need to get you the hospital so that your injuries can be treated,” a third paramedic told me before she and the officer helped me into the second ambulance. After getting seated on the stretcher in the second ambulance, I leaned forward and held my face in my hands as I continued crying. "Twi, I'm okay," I heard Sunset say. "I'm not dead." "I... I just... I just saw you... you die," I cried. " You have a... a sheet covering you on... on..." "Twilight, you're asleep. I only have an injured spine and broken arm. I'm not dead, babe." I opened my eyes not to the bright inside of the ambulance but the darkness of the bedroom. My head was resting on Sunny's shoulder as she continued to to console me now that I was awake. "Oh Sunny," I cried. "It felt so real." "What was the dream about?" Sunny asked me as my sobs began to slow. "It-it was about the accident," I whimpered. "You wouldn't wake up on the road. Then you... you stopped breathing. And...and... and..." "Shhh. It was only a dream," Sunny whispered. "I'm fine. A little banged up, but fine. Okay?" "Mmhmm," I mumbled into her left shoulder as we both laid there in the dark with Sunny stroking my hair. "I promise that I'm not going to leave you and I won't let anything happen to you," she whispered as I drifted back off to sleep. When I woke up this morning, I could tell how bad I was crying that night. My eyes hurt, were red as tomatoes and still semi-swollen. I looked up to see that Sunny had managed to roll onto her right side slightly at some point after my nightmare so that I could spoon with her. I looked at the clock on her nightstand and saw in was 6:26, meaning the alarm for school was going to be going off in a few minutes. I leaned up and kissed her on the cheek before sliding out of bed to get breakfast made. I laid out my clothes on the desk chair and limped toward the kitchen. "What would be something to treat Sunny with?" I said to myself. "Let's see... eggs... soy bacon... bell peppers. I know, I'll try my hand at an omelette." After literally checking the battery on smoke detector, I began cooking the bacon and dicing one of the peppers. Once the bacon and peppers were ready, I cracked a couple eggs in a bowl to mix the yolks and whites before pouring them in the frying pan. I put the filling in and folded over the empty half of eggs. I loaded up the bed tray with the omelette, two slices of buttered toast and orange juice and limped back to the bedroom with it. "Mmmm, that smells delicious," Sunny told me as I entered the bedroom. "I hope it tastes as good as it smells." I set the tray on the bed before helping her sit up so she would be able eat more comfortably. I climbed up next to her on the bed after setting the tray in her lap and put my arm around her as she began to eat. "How is it?" I asked her after she ate a few bites. "Be honest Sunny." "It's pretty good," Sunny replied as she swallowed a bite of toast before giving me a mischievous smirk. "I'm surprised you didn't set off the smoke alarm." "Oh shut up," I giggled before Sunny cut a piece of her omelette and fed to me. While Sunny finished up her breakfast, I got off the bed and got dressed in my conservative attire that consisted of a purple skirt and vest with a light blue shirt and red bow. After Sunny finished her breakfast, I limped my way back to the kitchen so that I could wash the dishes on the empty breakfast tray. "Do you need any help getting dressed, Sunny?" I shouted across the apartment. "I don't think so but I could use some help getting my clothes out of the closet," she shouted back. I made my way to the closet where I took out her light teal dress, blue-green pants and old leather jacket. A look of concern crossed Sunny's face as I held up her jacket. It was almost as though she was worried I would find something that she wanted to keep a secret. "Something wrong, Sunny?" I asked softly as she put on her strapless bra. "Uh, yeah. There's nothing wrong," she tried to convince me. "Everything is fine. I, uh, just have some, uh, bad memories from that jacket." "Oh Sunny," I said as I sat down next to her and gave her a hug. "It's okay. I realize you had some rough times when you wore this jacket but those times are behind you. You're a better person now. Okay?" "Okay..." she conceded. "Can you give me some assistance in using the bathroom and getting these pants on after that?" "Sure thing," I smiled as I gave her a peck on the lips. While Sunny was in the bathroom I moved her jacket to get to her pants. As I did I felt the crinkle from some paper coming from the inside pocket. I looked toward the bathroom to see if Sunny was looking before pulling the paper out and reading what was written. To whom it may or may not concern, The last couple months I've been trying to make amends for all the trouble I caused. It doesn't seem to matter to anyone though. The members of the Rainbooms were supposed to look out for me and teach me how friendships are made. They have treated me like complete shit. I thought when Twilight came back I could tell her what I was feeling, but she's been more interested in her friends that are fighting with each other. I thought that cutting my arms would give the release I needed to get through this but when they decided to show their hypocrisy in the second round of the competition, I couldn't take anymore. By hanging myself in front of the school, I'm showing my celebration for how fucked up humans really are. Hopefully everyone will feel better once I'm gone, especially those who were supposed to be my friends. Goodbye and fuck off, Sunset Shimmer Now I understood why Sunny began freaking out when I pulled the jacket out of the closet. It was more than just bad memories, she had intended to commit suicide while this was part of her regular attire. What was disturbing about the note was that Sunny had signed it in blood. "Twi? Can you give me a hand, please?" Sunny called from the bathroom. "Coming!" I replied as I quickly folded the note and placed it back where I found it. "Really?" she giggled as I entered the bathroom. "Before school?" "You're in quite the mood this morning," I told her. "I'm trying to take your mind off your nightmare you had," she replied as I helped her put her pants on. "Plus you made me breakfast without burning the building to the ground." "Oh, ha ha," I said sarcastically. "I know I've set the smoke alarm off more times than I care to count. You don't have to remind me." I glanced at the clock as Sunny laughed at my comment. 7:31. I began to panic as school started in fifteen minutes and we were at least twenty minutes away by foot. "Um, Sunny," I said as I furled my brow, "We have a problem." "What's that?" "School starts in fifteen minutes," I told her. "Relax," Sunny assured me as she picked up her phone and dialed a number. "Hey Rainbow. Are you at school yet? Uh-huh. Can you swing by my place to pick up me and Twi? What? I know you drive a Mustang. We can manage somehow. Ok. We'll be waiting in the parking lot. Thanks, Rainbow. See you in five." "Twilight. Sunset. How are you feeling, darlings?" Rarity asked as the two of us joined the other girls at our usual lunch table. "We're still sore obviously but at least we're alive," I responded. "I'm just thankful we were wearing our helmets when it happened," Sunny told the group. "I feel kind of embarrassed being confined to the wheelchair but I think eventually I'll get used to it." "What're y'all gonna do in th' meantime while yer healin'?" Applejack asked. Neither me nor Sunny had really talked about what we would do in the short-term. Sunny had a bigger challenge ahead of her in the long-term with her partial paralysis. "Are you going to need a new wardrobe, darling?" Rarity asked earning herself a look of uncertainty from Sunny. "I really don't know at this point, Rarity," Sunny told her. "I needed a little help this morning with the pants from Twi but if I keep working at it, I should be in good shape, clothing wise." "Well just let me know if you change your mind," Rarity responded. "Hey you know what we need to do?" Pinkie asked everyone. "Throw a party?" Rainbow replied with a smirk. "How did you know?" Pinkie said. "That's your answer to everything, Pinkie," Sunset chuckled. "Oh. Yeah. Anyways how about a big 'Welcome Home/Get Well Soon' party at Sunset and Twilight's place? Would that be okay?" Pinkie inquired of me and Sunny. "Well a 'Welcome Home' party really doesn't really work if it's at someone else's home. So sure," I said with a smile. "Sleepover?" Sunny asked as she raised an eyebrow. "Sleepover!" the rest of us shouted in unison. Sunny looked at me and shook her head before pulling me close to her face. "Our place isn't even wheelchair accessible yet and you're already volunteering it for parties. What are you thinking?" she whispered harshly, bringing a few tears to the front of my eyes. "Su-sunny? Wha-what was that for?" I whimpered quietly. "I-I thought y-you'd be happy t-to have everyone spend the-the night. It could take yo-your mind off of everything for a night." "You could have at least let me answer since I'm the primary on the lease," Sunny continued to scold me. "Twilight? Sunset? What's wrong?" Fluttershy asked us as I returned to my normal sitting position trying to decide what to do. "I... I don't know," Sunny said shaking her head. "What happened?" "You... you..." I stuttered just before getting up and leaving the cafeteria in tears as quickly as my broken foot would let me. I sat on the toilet in the women's restroom with the stall locked and my knees drawn as close to my chest as possible. What got into her? She's never snapped at me like that since we've been together, I thought as I continued to wipe the tears from my face. It's like she was a whole different person. And then she acted like nothing was wrong. "Twilight?" I heard Fluttershy call as she knocked on the stall door. "Would you like to talk? It's only me in here. No one else, I promise." "Thank you but I... I'm fine, Fluttershy," I responded as I cleaned my face again. Something caught my eye as I continued to stare at the floor through my tears. Joining Fluttershy's green and white shoes was a pink ponytail, which could only mean she had ponied up for showing her kindness. "Twilight, I'm not going to ask that you let me in but I really would like to help you out," Fluttershy said softly. A memory flashed through my mind of when I first meet Fluttershy and how I was feeling down in the dumps before she handed Angel to me to hold. Realizing that she would be the best person to talk to at the moment, I reached forward and unlocked the door so that my soft spoken friend could come in. "I'm not going to close the door so if someone comes in, they're going to see us talking," Fluttershy told me. "We're all worried about you. Even Sunset." "Wh-why would she be worried a... about me?" I cried. "She's the one who... who..." Fluttershy just wrapped her arms and wings around my body like she was my own personal angel. I cried into her shoulder as she just rubbed my back to console me. "It's going to be okay," she assured me. "Sunset wants to talk to you after school. I'm guessing it's to apologize and explain herself." "Okay," I sniffled. "Can you stay with us in case I need a ride home to my parent's house?" "Sure," Fluttershy responded as her wings returned to a folded position before she ponied down. She took some toilet paper and cleaned my face up better than I was able to do by myself before lending me her hand to help me up. "C'mon. We're late for class." Sunny was waiting in front the Wondercolt statue with a disappointed look on her face. While I was a little encouraged by the sight, I didn't know if she was disappointed in herself or me. I took a deep breath, looked over at Fluttershy who was playing with her pets in the bushes and nervously made my way over to Sunny. "Sunny? Are you-" I said before she gently placed her fingertips on my mouth. "Twilight... I... I'm so sorry for what I did," she said as tears welled up in her eyes. "I don't know what happened. One minute we were talking about a party, the next thing I knew you heading out of the cafeteria, crying." I knelt down beside her so we could be eye level with each other before she continued, "I have no explanation for what came over me. I only hope that you'll find it in your heart to forgive me." After taking a moment to think it over, I leaned forward and gave her small kiss on the lips. "You really hurt me, Sunny," I said after breaking the kiss. "But I love you and that's what matters most." She reached out and embraced me as we both cried into each others shoulders. Later that night, Sunny and I were joined by the others for a "Welcome Home" sleepover at our apartment. All of us had gotten changed into our pajamas except for Sunny, which was a little odd but we figured she was going to changed one of the times she used the bathroom. While Rainbow Dash and Applejack were busy playing the latest soccer game on Sunny’s Ponystation 4, Pinkie had brought some supplies to give me another baking lesson. Fluttershy was playing with Spike and Angel Bunny while Rarity was busy giving Sunny a makeover, which kept me giggling from the kitchen. “Darling I won't keep poking your eyes if you stop moving,” Rarity fussed. “Sorry, Rarity. I'm not used to having makeup on,” Sunny replied. “Ponies don't usually wear it. Sure there are a few exceptions to that but I never wore any. Even to the Grand Galloping Gala.” “Well I hoped that giving you a makeover would boost your spirits somewhat,” Rarity said to her. “You seemed pretty down at school today.” “Hey, that's cheatin’!” I heard Applejack yell while Rainbow Dash cackled like a hyena. “It’s only cheating if you get caught by the referee,” Rainbow laughed. “How in tarnation can y’all get caught cheatin’ by the ref on a video game?” Applejack continued to gripe. “Doesn't matter. I still won due to my awesome skills,” Rainbow boasted. I heard a country-accented groan before being joined in the kitchen by our resident farmer. Applejack squeezed past my tutor and I to grab an Apple soda out of the fridge to calm down. “Hey did Sunset tell ya what her big announcement was, Twi?” Applejack asked me after draining half the bottle in one gulp. “No she didn't,” I replied before a small smile crossed my face. “I'm just as much in the dark as everyone else. It kinda makes the anticipation feel a little more special.” “So when do y'all wanna ask her ‘bout it?” Before I could answer, the timer on the oven went to let us know the chocolate filled banana cupcakes were done. “Let’s ask her while we let the cupcakes cool,” Pinkie replied eagerly. “Sounds like a plan ta me,” Applejack replied. "So what's this big announcement that y'all teased us with, Sunset?" Applejack asked as her, Pinkie and I entered the living room. “Well, I wrote to Princess Twilight this afternoon while I was waiting for Twi to meet me at the statue after school, informing her about the accident and that I'm now confined to a wheelchair,” Sunny began. “She responded almost immediately afterwards telling me that there may be a way to reverse my paralysis.” “Really? How so?” Fluttershy asked, beating the rest of us to the punch. “She said that even though I'm a human right now, the Equestrian Magic contained in our geodes would be able to heal me since I'm originally an Equestrian unicorn.” “Are you serious? That’s freaking awesome!” shouted Rainbow Dash. “From what I was told, if the geodes are stacked like coins in a specific order, they have healing properties,” Sunny explained as she nervously fiddled with hers. “And since we're all here, well, I hoping that maybe we could see if it might work. Please?” “Ah don’t know, sugarcube,” Applejack said. “Ah mean, it sounds like a great idea an’ Ah sure would like ta see y'all walk again but this sound too good ta be true.” “If there's a chance that she could walk again using the geodes, shouldn't we at least give it a try?” I asked. “I don't know, Twilight,” Rainbow replied. “The last time Sunset had a shitload of magic at her disposal, things almost didn't turn out too good.” “I know I'm going to sound uncouth but I don't care,” Rarity growled as her face began turning red. “The only reason you're agreeing with Applejack is because you two are fucking each other. I say we try giving it a go.” “Boy this party really began to turn downhill all of a sudden,” Pinkie noted. “Thank you, Captain Obvious,” Rainbow shot toward Pinkie Pie. “Don’t change the subject.” “Y’all don't seem ta remember what Sunset done when she turned in her ‘She-demon’ persona,” Applejack said using air quotations. I looked over at Sunny while our four friends continued to yell at each other. What I saw surprised me. Instead of a look of concern, a small smirk was plastered on it. “Why are you smiling, Sunny?” I quietly asked out of curiosity. “Our friends are fighting with each other and you've been silent the whole time.” “I'm smiling at Rarity's comment,” Sunny replied. “I never expected something like that out of her.” Sunny did have a point. We never heard her drop an f-bomb the entire time we've known her. I nodded and turned my attention back toward the argument with the intention of breaking it up. “Ah’m done arguin’ with y’all,” Applejack grumbled as she removed her geode and handed it to Sunny. “If y'all wanna take th’ chance, fine. But if sumthin’ bad happens, none of y'all better blame me.” “Or me,” echoed Rainbow Dash as she followed suit with her geode. The rest of us gave up our geodes one by one as Sunny began stacking them in her hand. Mine was on the bottom, presumably to allow the magic to flow into her hand. Then after hers was Rainbow's, Rarity's, Fluttershy's, Applejack's, Pinkie's and finally her own. “Is anything happening?” Fluttershy asked quietly. Sunny didn't say anything. Instead, her eyes were glued to the stack of geodes in her left hand. We all sit in silent anticipation to see if what she had told us would really happen. “Something is happening,” Sunset said after two or three minutes. Almost immediately after she said that, the stack of geodes began glowing and I noticed that her scars on her right arm had begun disappearing. “I think it’s working,” Sunny said as an odd smile spread across her face. The parts of her body that were injured began glowing just like our geodes. “This is amazing” Pinkie Pie said in awe. “I know,” Sunny agreed as she grasped the geodes tightly in her fist and slowly stood up. “Sunny! You're… you're walking!” I exclaimed as I jumped up and threw my arms around her. “Will you stop already? I'm getting tired of being embarrassed in front of the others by you for every little thing,” Sunny snapped. “Su-Sunny? Wha-what was that for?” I gasped as tears began filling my eyes. “Every time something happens between us, you cling to me like a parasite,” she continued. “It’s getting old.” I couldn't believe my ears. After all we had been through, this was how she was going to treat me? “What the fuck has gotten into you, Sunset?!” I heard Rainbow yell as I ran out the door barefoot and in my pajamas. Author's Note Return of the cliffhanger... Those who have followed the series from Book 1 may recognize the note that Twilight found. Thanks again to Uncle Bob for proofreading/editing.
The Demon Smiles At MidnightI ran from the apartment as fast as my broken foot would allow as tears poured down my face. Behind me was the sound of footsteps in hot pursuit. "Twilight! Wait up!" "Where are you going, darling?!" I didn't answer either of them as I knew they were going to catch up to me quickly. I collapsed shortly after that from the pain shooting through my body. "Twilight, please tell us where you're going," Fluttershy begged. "I... I'm going home... to m-my parents house," I cried as I held myself up on my hands and knees. "I-I don't care what... *sniff* ...what it takes." Rarity and Fluttershy both knelt down on either side of me and held me in their arms as I broke down on the sidewalk. My mind was a jumbled mess of emotions and thoughts as I tried to figure out what I did to cause Sunny to treat me the way she did. "W-why... why did she, *sniff*, she act th-that way?" I continued to cry. "I-I thought *sniff* she... she, *sniff* loved me." "She does, darling," Rarity whispered softly. "But the Sunset Shimmer that you ran from has somehow been consumed by her past self." "Oh no," was the only thing that Fluttershy said. "What do *sniff* you mean 'oh no'?" I asked nervously. "It's just... her past self was really mean," Fluttershy replied quietly. "She would make me cry a lot." "It's true, darling," Rarity confirmed. "Before we got split up, one of us would find her in tears almost everyday." I continued to sniffle as I had rotated around to sit on the grass beside the concrete sidewalk to be a little more comfortable. "How about we spend the rest of the night at my house?" Fluttershy asked as she stood up. "That sounds fine. *sniff* But don't you need your keys?" I asked her. "I have a spare key for the car hidden in one of the wheel wells and house key hidden in the flower bed," she replied before turning to walk back to the apartment complex. I wiped my eyes again as Rarity and I sat in silence under a full moon, waiting for Fluttershy to return. Rarity helped me into Fluttershy's house due to the sheer amount of pain in my foot from running (for lack of a better word). I sat down on the sofa just moments before being joined by Fluttershy's pets. "Aww, they're trying to make you feel better," Fluttershy cooed. "I'll go get you something for the physical pain though." Rarity propped up on one of the tan recliners and began falling asleep almost immediately. I wanted to follow suit but the wave emotions flowing through me was not going to allow it. "Here you go," said Fluttershy as she handed me two aspirin and a glass of water before sitting down. I handed her the empty glass and thanked her after swallowing the pills. "I know I'm not Sunset but would you like to rest your head on my lap?" she asked quietly. "Thank you, Fluttershy," I replied as I changed positions. I don't know if it was because Sunny yelled at me twice earlier but I felt strangely comfortable laying in Fluttershy's lap. At the same time I felt like I was cheating on her because we never officially broke up. "Twilight, can I tell you a secret?" she asked quietly. "Sure," I replied after thinking a moment. Fluttershy twirled her fingers in her hair as she barely whispered, "Sunset's bullying kinda made me develop my... um... my..." "I understand, Fluttershy," I replied. "Can I ask how?" "Well... there were a lot of days she would force me get down on my hands and knees and kiss her feet," Fluttershy said as she blushed. I couldn't find a response to that. It was borderline Stockholm Syndrome. "That's, uh, that's interesting," was all I could come up with. After a few moments of silence and watching Rarity softly snore, Fluttershy asked me, "Is there anything you can think of to try getting through to Sunset?" My mind drew a blank as I succumbed to the fatigue from all the excitement less than an hour prior, falling asleep in Fluttershy's lap. "You're just like a parasite," a demonic sounding voice said. "Sunny? Is-is that you?" I shouted into the black void. "Sunny? Hahaha! Sunny never existed," the voice cackled. "Come to think of it, neither have you. Hahaha!" "Wha-what are you talking about?" I whimpered as tears began to form. The voice didn't reply. Instead it was joined by another voice in laughing at me as a bright light blinded my vision. When I was able to see again, I found myself floating in a white void with Daydream Shimmer. "Take my hand, Twilight," Daydream said softly. "Let me show you there's another way. Just like someone once did for me." Instinctively, I reached out and grabbed Daydream's hand. Almost instantly her eyes turned bright teal, her skin became a light red and her wings went from golden to black and red. "Now it's your turn," she said as a smile full of razor sharp teeth spread across her face. I looked at our hands and noticed a eerie glow begin to spread from her to me, causing me to jerk my hand back in shock. "Wh-what do you mean?" I asked. "You know damn well what I mean. Hahaha!" the demon replied. "Break this facade. Show your true self." "Noooooo!!" I shrieked. I opened my eyes to find Fluttershy cradling me in her arms. My heart was pounding through my chest and my hands were shaking while the words of that demon rang through my ears. Show your true self. What did that even mean? Was she talking about Midnight Sparkle? My mind raced as I tried making sense of the nightmare. "Are you okay?" I heard through the darkness. "Wha-?" I responded. "I asked if you were okay," repeated Fluttershy. "I heard you mumbling and saw tears rolling down your cheeks." "I... I had a really bad nightmare," I told her as my voice wavered. "Daydream Shimmer was there and then she transformed into a demon when I grabbed her hand." Fluttershy froze in fear when I told her that. There was something about what told her that managed to strike a nerve. I don't know what it was but I had to find out what. "Fluttershy? Are you okay?" I whispered, trying not to wake Rarity. "K-k-kinda. It-it's ju-just... Sun-Sunset tur-turned into a d-d-demon when Pr-Princess Twilight first c-came here," Fluttershy stammered. "A demon?" I asked. "What did her demon form look like?" "Well... her skin was red, um, she had these really ugly bat wings and these pointy teeth," Fluttershy said barely above a whisper. It was uncanny. I had never seen Sunset as a demon yet the entity in my nightmare was exactly how Fluttershy described her. I was baffled how my mind was able to perfectly create that image in my nightmare. "Do you think maybe Princess Twilight would be able to help us out?" Fluttershy asked as Rarity let out a loud snort. After a small giggle from the two of us, I answered Fluttershy's question. "She might but I'll have to get Sunset's journal so I can get in touch with her." "That shouldn't be too hard, should it?" A few hours later, the morning sun shone through the windows as Fluttershy and I woke up after we had fallen back to sleep earlier in the morning. After a moment or two I recognized the scent of french toast coming from the kitchen. As Fluttershy and I entered the dining room, Rarity said, "I hope you don't mind me using your kitchen, darling. I figured we could all use a good breakfast to think about how to deal with the situation with Sunset." "It's okay. I think it's going to be a long day anyhow," replied Fluttershy. "Fluttershy and I were talking last night and we think that the answer to this may rely on Princess Twilight," I said. "Does that mean we have to get ahold of Sunset's journal?" inquired Rarity. "Yes but how we get it is another..." I said before being interrupted by a knock on the front door. "Should I answer it?" Fluttershy asked quietly. "I'll look out the window to see who it is first, dear," Rarity volunteered as she slunk toward the door. "Who is it?" Fluttershy whispered as Rarity peeked out the window. "It's Pinkie Pie," Rarity told us before answering the door. "Hi everyone," Pinkie shouted as she bounced in the door with our luggage. "I managed to get out shortly after you guys did but I couldn't find you so I snuck back in the apartment and got everyone's things and hid at my house until this morning when I could find you." "How did you manage to get back into the apartment?" I asked in astonishment. "Well you see I got outta there as Sunset was turning into a She-demon but after I got back she was gone and so was Applejack and Rainbow Dash and so I grabbed everybody's stuff and drove to Rarity's house and Twilight's house and finally to here and..." Pinkie rattled off before running out of breath. "And then what?" I asked. "And then I looked around for some clothes for you Twilight and I found this," Pinkie continued before producing a brown, leather bound book with a combination of Princess Twilight's and Sunny's cutie marks on the front. I was overjoyed that we didn't need to try stealing it but at the same time I was skeptical as to the method it was stolen. It seemed too convenient that we needed the journal and it almost magically appeared into our possession. "Can I see that, Pinkie?" I asked as I reached for the journal. "Sure! Whatcha looking for in it?" Pinkie asked excitedly. I ignored her as I checked out the last couple entries. None of them mentioned our accident or Sunny getting paralyzed. How did she know about the geodes healing her if Princess Twilight never told her, I wondered. "Twilight, darling, what ever is the matter?" Rarity asked me. "Something isn't right. Does anyone else think it's suspicious that the one thing we need just happened to show up right now?" I wanted to know. "What?!" Pinkie replied before going nose to nose with me. "Are you implying something?" Before I could respond, Fluttershy got in between the two of us and pushed us apart. The strength of our shy friend surprised the hell out of me. I knew she had a little more strength than most of us but I couldn't believe she was strong enough to shove two grown women apart that were nearly glued together at the forehead. "Girls, we don't need to be doing this right now," Fluttershy reprimanded us. "We need to focus on how to save Sunset." What could I say. She was right. I asked for a pen to write the distress call to my pony counterpart. I had expected a few hours to pass before she responded however it was answered almost immediately. Dear Twilight Sparkle, I have no idea how this could've happened. The blast from the Elements of Harmony at the Fall Formal should have purged the demon side from Sunset. I have an idea on how to stop her, though. I'm going to need you to bring that pendant you used at the Friendship Games to the CHS statue in an hour. I'll be closing the portal at that time for the safety of Equestria. -Princess Twilight "What did she say, darling?" "We have to get moving," I said. "I have to go to my parent's house get my magic spectrometer and meet Princess Twilight at the Wondercolts statue within an hour." The four of us arrived at CHS just in time for us to see a flash of light from the opposite side of the portal. "Princess Twilight must have just arrived," I stated. "Hopefully she can tell us her..." "Hahaha! It's about time you showed up!" came a demonic voice. Looking around, I finally found the source floating about ten feet above us: the same demonic figure from my dream. "Sunny, why are you doing this?!" I shouted as tears began welling up in my eyes. Instead of replying, Sunny formed an energy ball between her claws until it was the size of a volleyball before hurling it at me. Nothing happened at first when it hit, aside from knocking the pendant from my hands into the bushes, but seconds later it began expanding large enough to consume me. A minute later, I felt that my foot and ribs were healed up but something was off. My vision was blackening as I heard a familiar laugh. Midnight Sparkle is back, I thought as I noticed a figure grab the pendant just as I lost control of my body. Author's Note This was originally going to be a multi-POV story but I just couldn't make it work. That's why it took so freaking long to get out. Thanks to Uncle Bob for editing.
A Glimmer Of HopeAuthor's Note For the first time in the series, the point of view in this chapter is told from someone other than SciTwi or Sunset. Former Book 7 of the SciTwi Shimmer Series, it has since been removed from the series and placed on hiatus. A Glimmer Of Hope "Princess Twilight! We have a problem!" I shouted as I carried the journal she used to communicate with Sunset to the Friendship Chamber as fast as I could. "What is it, Starlight?" Twilight asked me frantically as she took the book from me and levitated it in front of her face. "What's it say, Twi?" Applejack asked her. "It says 'Dear Princess Twilight. This is your human counterpart writing to you. Four days ago, Sunny and I were hit broadside on the way to a planning dinner with the other girls. We're both fine for the most part. I've got a broken foot and some bruised ribs. Sunny broke her arm and is partially paralyzed from the waist down. But the real reason I'm writing is that last night Sunny tricked us into surrendering our geodes to her under the ruse that it would completely heal her. Unfortunately she revealed herself to be under control of some Equestrian demon once the geodes were all together. As of right now there's only me, Fluttershy, Rarity and Pinkie. Applejack and Rainbow Dash are missing. I know you're busy but we need help soon. Twilight Sparkle.'" "That doesn't sound good," Spike said. "Could she really have been taken over by her demon persona?" "It's possible," Twilight replied as she rubbed her chin with her left hoof in thought. "But how? And why?" "Maybe it's evil magic on the loose because there's no evil magic going on right now here and so there might some over there because there's none here-" Pinkie rambled. "We get the picture, Pinkie," Rainbow interrupted, rolling her eyes. "I really don't think that's what's going on over there, darling," Rarity assumed. "What if that is what's happening though?" I asked. "They're our friends and we need to do something." "Starlight's right, everypony," Twilight agreed. "I'm going to go there, try to find Applejack and Rainbow then try joining the Elements of Harmony from the human realm together to stop this issue in its tracks." "I don't really think that's a good idea," Rainbow Dash argued. "And why is that?" Rarity inquired. "Duh, there's a psycho demon on the loose there," Rainbow answered arrogantly. "Plus two of the humans you need are nowhere to be found." Twilight sighed as she hopped down off her throne and headed out of the room. Spike, Rainbow Dash, Applejack and myself followed a few feet behind her as we made our way down the main corridor to the room where she keeps the portal. "Is there anything that I'll be able to help with?" I asked eagerly as we entered the room. "Once I'm through the mirror, I need you to close the portal," Twilight instructed. No sooner the words left her mouth, her and I were tackled by Rainbow Dash and Applejack. I tried teleporting from under Applejack but somehow my magic was being blocked. It wasn't making sense. "Everything's going to plan, AJ," Rainbow boasted. "Eeyup! 'Fore long Sunset will be here ta git what she was promised years ago," Applejack chuckled. "Wait! You're the human Applejack and Rainbow Dash?" Twilight asked them. Rainbow Dash hovered in front of the mirror and nodded her head as she crossed her forelegs. "Sure did a good job fooling you, didn't we? Ha!" "And ta answer th' question yer wond'rin', Sunset's got spell surrounding us that nullifies y'all's magic," Applejack laughed. "Sunset figured you'd try closin' th' portal so she sent us ta make sure it don't happen." "Starlight if you can get free, head to the mirror and try dislodging the book to close the portal," Twilight shouted. "I'm trying," I groaned. "She's just too strong and that magic block won't let me teleport." A minute later a purple blur caught Applejack in the left side of her neck, causing her to ease the pressure she was placing on my chest. It just enough that I was able to shimmy loose and make a break for the mirror. I took a leap of faith and aimed directly at Rainbow's chest as she blocked the portal. My forehooves connected, knocking the wind out of her but there was just enough momentum to send us both to the human realm. A minute later I was rolling across the concrete in front of CHS as the portal spit me out just after Rainbow Dash. Somehow I was undetected by the red demon hovering above me. I looked up at the human form of Rainbow Dash as she slowly shook her head before looking up. "Sunset we-" was all Rainbow got out before I tackled her to the ground, causing her head to bounce off the concrete and rendering her unconscious. I sat up on my heels and looked at my human friend. She just laid motionless, her eyes closed and a small trickle of blood running from her mouth. What... what have I done? I thought as both my hands covered my mouth in shock. I took off toward the bushes to hide from the sight of what I had done. "Hahaha! It's about time you showed up!" Demon Shimmer cackled above us. I didn't know if she was referring to me or the remaining members of the group that had just arrived. Twilight Sparkle and Demon Shimmer exchanged a brief conversation before Demon formed a magical energy ball, raised it above her head and threw it at Twilight. I saw something fly from Twilight's hands and land near the bush I was hiding in. After reaching out and grabbing the object that Twilight lost, I looked back toward the statue and saw the energy ball expand and engulf Twilight. Through the light I saw the silhouette of her begin to change. Her hair stood up like fire, a tail extended from her back and a pair of wings sprouted from between her shoulders. "M-M-M-Midnight Sparkle!" Fluttershy squeaked as Pinkie Pie suddenly put Rarity in sleeper hold. "Pinkie! What are you doing?!" Rarity shouted before being hit by a magical beam from Demon Shimmer. "Run, Fluttershy!" said as I revealed my presence from the bushes, grabbed Sunset's journal that had fallen to the ground and lead the frightened girl off the school grounds. As Fluttershy and I hid in a secluded area of a nearby park, I handed her the journal to send a message to Princess Twilight because I can't write worth a damn in this world. "What do you want me to write?" Fluttershy asked as she held the quill, I mean, pen to the first blank page. "Tell her that Sunset turned Twilight into Midnight Sparkle and will probably be entering Equestria along through one of the rifts that she has started creating. Also let her know that this world's Rainbow Dash has been knocked unconscious and Pinkie Pie and Rarity are under Sunset Shimmer's control," I replied as I watched her scribble the words as quick as she could. "I hope she gets the message quickly and tells us what to do," Fluttershy whispered as she finished writing the message and then closed the journal. We both huddled together hoping none of the others would be able to find us. Minutes later we heard something that made us both jump. I looked down to see the journal glowing and buzzing. I opened it up and read her response just loud enough for Fluttershy to hear me. Starlight, The other girls managed to help turn the tables on the human Applejack and we currently have her tied up. With her representing the Element of Honesty, we were able to get her to tell us Sunset's plan. Cadence and I are working on sealing any rifts while Celestia and Luna try to extract the Elements of Harmony from the Tree of Harmony. Keep Fluttershy with you at all times and try using the pendant from Twilight to suck the magic from any other rifts that we aren't able to close. If and when you get an opening, use the pendant on Demon Shimmer. It will pull all the magic from the geodes from her and hopefully return everyone else to normal. Princess Twilight "Oh my. It's worse than we thought," Fluttershy said in response. "It won't be that bad once Sunset Shimmer has control of Equestria." We turned around to see Rarity and Pinkie Pie approaching us from behind, both of them with their eyes glowing teal. "Run!" I shouted as I grabbed Fluttershy's hand and pulled her in the opposite direction. Rarity and Pinkie gave chase as we tried escaping back to the school. Just as we rounded the last corner before the school, Fluttershy tripped and fell on her knees which made me stop and help lift her back up, costing us valuable ground. Once we reached the school, I saw Midnight Sparkle opening interdimensional rifts only for them to be closed almost instantly. Twilight and Cadence really were keeping up with that. "They're back, babe!" Midnight shouted toward Demon, bringing a smile to the demon's face. Fluttershy and I stood in awe of the two demons working together to destroy both realms. Moments later, the two of us were ambushed by Pinkie Pie and Rarity, putting both of us in choke holds. "Two more warriors for my battle against Celestia. Hahaha!" Demon cackled maniacally. "And one of them is one of the most powerful unicorns in Equestria. Perfect!" Demon fired an energy blast similar to the one that she used on Rarity at the two of us, causing me to close my eyes to wait for the inevitable. It never came. I cracked my eyes to see that Twilight's pendant had opened on it's own and absorbed the beam aimed at me. "Shit!" Demon swore. "Babe, I need three rifts at once. That's the only way I'm getting to Equestria." Midnight rose up higher than Demon and opened two rifts next to the statue and a third directly behind Demon simultaneously. As the two next to the statue were being closed from the other side, Demon escaped through the third rift. "Nooo!!" I screamed as Midnight cackled like the psycho she was. Then came a pulling on my neck causing me to look and see Fluttershy trying to pull the pendant off from around my neck. I thought back to the human self-defense tips that Sunset had given me and elbowed Rarity as hard as I could causing her to release me from the chokehold. I wrestled the pendant from Fluttershy's grasp and climbed on the base of the Wondercolts statue. If I grab Midnight's legs and use them as a swing, I might be able to get through that rift before Twilight or Cadence close it, I thought as I bent my knees, readying myself to jump. Just as lept from the marble, someone grabbed one of my feet causing me to fall to the ground. "Good job, Pinkie Pie!" Midnight praised our hypnotized friend. Something caught my attention to my right as a tried rolling on my back to fight off Pinkie. Rainbow Dash. She had finally regained consciousness. Shit! I'm never going to make it back to Equestria now, I thought as Midnight closed the rift and Rainbow Dash shook the cobwebs from her head, blood still dripping from her mouth. Rainbow looked my direction just before seeing Pinkie Pie land a right hook on my left cheek. "I'm coming, Starlight!" Rainbow Dash hollered as she sprinted my direction. Seconds later, Rainbow had knocked Pinkie Pie off of me and had her pinned down. "Use the magic in the pendant, Starlight!" "How?" I asked. "Push the button on top. I saw how Twilight did it at the Friendship Games," Rainbow Dash told me as a faint pair of wings appeared on her back. Fluttershy and Rarity then attacked Rainbow Dash, knocking her off Pinkie Pie. What if I try using the pendant on the girls? I thought as an idea popped into my head. I carefully aimed it at Rarity who was closest and pushed the buttons on the sides, causing it to open and collect the magic from her and breaking Demon's spell. Midnight opened another rift to Equestria as Rainbow's wings continued to solidify as her strength returned. "Starlight! Give me the pendant. I'll give you a boost so you can grab onto Midnight Sparkle," Rainbow Dash said. Moments later I found myself slipping from Midnight Sparkle's leg as my hooves couldn't hold onto her. I just couldn't hold on and finally began to plummet to the ground head first. "Gotcha!" said Princess Twilight as she caught me before I hit the ground. "Why didn't you use a teleportation spell when you returned to your pony form?" "I changed from human to pony the instant we crossed through the rift," I explained as we landed. "It disoriented me and I didn't feel the magic until I was panicking on the way to the ground." "Where's the pendant?" Twilight asked me. "I left it with Rainbow Dash," I replied. "WHAT?!" "I think when I accidentally knocked her unconscious it somehow broke the spell she was under," I told her. "The pendant can break the hypnosis spells on the girls, so Rainbow is taking care of that." "That's good to know," Twilight replied before continuing in a worried tone. "I haven't heard anything from Celestia or Luna regarding their attempts to retrieve the Elements from the Tree of Harmony." "Shouldn't they be able retrieve them? They were the original bearers, right?" I asked. "That's what I-" Twilight began before being interrupted by a bright yellow flash of light. "Twilight, we have a problem."
Explanation Of CancellationI (pabrony83) have had problems with this story making the readers confused. After reading over it a few times I can understand where they're coming from. Plus the ending wouldn't make sense in the SciTwi Shimmer universe, hence why I removed it from the series. Now for what the (confusing) ending would have been. First-person POV from Princess Twilight. The four alicorn princesses are doing damage control. Celestia and Luna trying to stop Demon Shimmer. Cadence keeping Midnight Sparkle occupied while the main 6 mange to recover the Elements from the Tree Of Harmony. Two rainbow lasers later, SciTwi and Sunset would be changed to their pony forms, although their injuries from the beginning of the story would return. Finally, after apologies and feel good moments, EqG Applejack, Sunset and SciTwi all return home.
