Chapters Chapter 2: On the other side
Sunset fell hard as she stumbled out of the portal again. She shook her head and tried to stand up, but lost balance and fell over again, this time landing safely on her fore hooves though. She blinked and looked down at herself, seeing her old form again. Then she saw the glowing and pulsing portal behind her, noticing the cracks on the edges of the mirror again and remembered the promise she made to her friends.
„TWILIGHT! HELP! SOMEPONY! ANYPONY! PLEASE HELP!“
To her surprise, a door instantly opened and a young mare walked into the room. She was an tan coated earth pony and wearing the uniform of a royal maid
„Miss? How did you get in here? What's...“
„Please, we don't have time! I need to talk to Twilight Sparkle right now! We need to...“
Sunset paused in shock as the felt the floor around her rumbling and shaking. The maid also looked frightened and now behind the door Sunset could see lots of other ponies run around in panic, even some royal guards
„Oh no! Are the earthquakes getting worse? Is everyone safe?“
The earth pony blinked surprised
„Everypony is in panic. It just started a few minutes ago but not even the Princesses know where it came from or why it won't stop.“
„The Princess! I know why it won't stop, I need to tell her! Is Celestia around?“
Without waiting for an answer, Sunset went for the door and yelled out at the top of her voice „PRINCESS! PLEASE, I NEED YOUR HELP! PRINCESS CELESTIA, I...“
She stopped. What if she doesn't want to help me? I couldn't blame her, after all that... no I mustn't think that way! I need to convince her to...
„Sunset Shimmer?“
Sunset snapped back into reality and saw a purple alicorn fly along the hallway and land directly before her. Although she only saw her alicorn form briefly once, she'd recognize those eyes and that voice everywhere
„Twilight! Thank god you're here! You have to help me! The others are in great danger and so are we! The portal...“
„Stay away from the Princess, intruder!“
Two royal guards suddenly stood beside Twilight and stepped in between her and the alicorn, one of them a white pegasus and the other a gray unicorn with his horn glowing, ready to cast a spell. Sunset froze in surprise and fear, but then Twilight just passed them and put a hoof at her shoulder „Sunset, you need to tell me everything! And you!“
She turned to the guards.
„Lower your magic right now! Even if she is an intruder, such behavior is inacceptable for a member of the royal guard. Violence has the last resort.“
She glared angrily at the unicorn, then turned to the pegasus
„Go find the other Princesses and send them here as fast as you can! Hurry!“
Dismissing both guards with a brief nod, she turned to the maid
„You're Dusty, right? Please, could you make sure we're not disturbed until the Princesses arrive? I have to talk with my friend first,“
„O-of course, your Highness!“
Dusty bowed and closed the door after Twilight had pushed Sunset back into the room. The alicorn's eyes went wide as she saw the portal, the glowing energy coming from it and the cracks. Sunset almost expected her to panic right away, but she just rose a hoof to her chest and took a deep breath in, then exhaled and looked at Sunset
„What's going on?“
Sunset was in the middle of explaining as the door opened and a pink coated alicorn stepped inside, followed by a dark blue alicorn with a mane that looked like it was made of a starry sky. Sunset lost track of what she was saying, but since Twilight didn't react on the others entering she continued
„And then I was seeing what looked like a veil that separated the two worlds. It was very thin and the storm was pulling at it and tearing it apart. And through the cracks and rips, magic from Equestria was flowing into our world! But it was too much and not guided by leylines, so it caused the storm back there! And seeing things here, I guess energy from our world must be doing something similar to this world as well. And since the veil is being torn apart, it's getting worse!“
As if to confirm her words, the room shook again, more violently this time. Sunset flinched as a bookshelf on the other side of the room fell over with a loud smash.
Twilight and the other Princesses used their wings to steady themselves, then the purple alicorn adressed the other two
„Princess Luna, Cadence, we're in deep trouble here! Sunset Shimmer just came here from the other world I've been visiting frequently. There's as much chaos there as we have here.“
„Chaos, but different it seems. I haven't seen any storm outside, not that the earthquakes wouldn't cause enough destruction already“
The dark blue mare said in a regal voice and turned her attention to Sunset
„I am Luna, Princess of the night. I know you are a former student of my sister and I know you came here asking for help. Tell us, how can we help safe our world along with yours?“
„Or better, why should we help you?“
Sunset felt like she was hit in the face and turned to the third princess
„I remember you clearly, you broke into my castle and stole Twilight’s crone. And from what I've heard, you tried to use it to take over Equestria. Why should we trust you, let alone help you.“
Sunset looked at the ground, unable to give an answer to this.
„Cadence! She made a mistake, but she changed! I saw it with my own eyes and I saw her save all those she hurt before during the attack of the sirens, standing right next to me“ Twilight seemed shocked to hear such words from her fellow princess and Sunset's heart sang hearing the Princess of Friendship of all ponies stand up for her and defend her. She stood next to Twilight and looks at both Princesses.
„You don't know me, and I can't expect you to trust me. But I'm begging you to help me. Not for my own sake, but for my friends back there. They and everyone else are suffering the consequences of the barrier between the worlds breaking down. As is everypony out there right now. If we find a way to help each other, both worlds can be saved to the benefit of all. I know you don't trust me, but I promise to do everything I can to help and then leave you right away if you wish. My friends are counting on me, and I won't let them down. I promised to find a way to fix this, and I will, even without your help if I have too.“
She looked at the pink alicorn Cadence know, determination burning in her eyes despite the mess she found herself in. Twilight stood close to her for support, making her feel better immediately. Princess Luna had been listening quietly and now spoke to Cadence as well
„If Twilight trust her, so do I. My sister saw good in her as well when she taught her. And the depth of her friendship speaks clearly from her words, I believe her. Maybe she made mistakes in the past, but she's seen the error in her ways and changed for the better, otherwise she wouldn't feel so strongly for her friends. Let us give her this chance to prove herself against the past she left behind.“
Princess Cadence' expression had already softened as Sunset talked, but after Luna's speech she ended up looking at the ground. After a moment of quiet, she sighs and looked back at Sunset. The unicorn blinked as she was looking into the eyes of a completely different pony it seemed. Those formerly hard eyes now soft and warm, even misty with tears
„Sunset Shimmer, I have to deeply apologize to you. You took a great risk to not only help your friends, but give us your support as well. I too have friends and family out of my reach and worry about their well-being. My concerns clouded my perception as it seems. I hope you can someday forgive me those terrible things I said. But please, you said you knew a way to help us? If you're willing to share it with us, I give you my promise as a Princess I will do all I can to help you safe your friends and world as well,“ she pleaded with a humble voice, her eyes full of hope as she waited for an answer.
Luna nodded and Twilight gave Cadence a quick hug before she also turned her attention back to her unicorn friend.
Sunset couldn't help but stare at the words of the princess. She had expected to be thrown in the dungeons or having to fight for anypony to even listen to her. But now she'd earned the support of three alicorn princesses, one of them Princess Celestia's sister nevertheless. She couldn't fight back the smile that came to her and the relief that now she could help her friends in the human world. She nodded thankfully at each of the princesses and continued her explanation
„In the human world, Twilight used her magic to form a connection between the magic that had manifested the storm back to the portal. The unguided magic seemed to follow this path on its own and the storm started to fade. But it was simply too much magic at once for her to deal with, even with the help of the others. But if we try the same at both sides, we might be able to stop the energy from flooding in for good. Even if we can't stop it right away, slowing down the flow will at least stop the storm there and the earthquakes here.“
The princesses shared a look and nodded at her words
„This seems very plausible. Twilight, since you're the most adept in the use of magic, you should try to replicate the spell your other self performed. Princess Cadence and I will offer additional magic, should you need it“
Cadence smiled at Twilight as she nodded and turned to the portal, concentrating as she prepared her spell. Sunset sighed relieved and addressed all the alicorns again
„Princess, I can't thank you enough for...“
Her words were disturbed by another quake shaking the floor. She shrieked as she lost her balance and fell over, closing her eyes. The rumbling stopped, but she didn't hit the floor. She opened her eyes again and saw herself surrounded by an aura if light purple magic. She looked up and saw Princess Cadence using her magic to carefully set her back on her hooves. She smiled thankfully and Cadence returned it earnestly.
„Thank you... your Highness.“
Cadence shook her head gently
„There will be time for thanking each other after we took care of this. We clearly need to focus on the problems at hoof first.“
She stood to Twilight’s right side and Luna took the place to her left, closer to the door.
„Twilight, are you ready?“
The alicorn princess nodded and closed her eyes. Her horn glowed brightly as she cast her spell. This time, Sunset could clearly see everything that happened, not just vague images like in the other world. Twilight probed for the invisible energy of the other world and quickly found it. The other princesses gasped as the energy became visible as a transparent cloud of blue mist filling the entire room. Twilight carefully opened a path towards the portal and the mist eagerly took the offered direction. Twilight then took her time to strengthen the path further and make it grow to withstand the increasing masses of energy that were directed towards its origin world.
Her eyes fixed on her sister, Princess Celestia spoke hastily „Sister it seems the earthquakes have come to an end. But we need to...“
The Princess' eyes went wide as she took in the glowing portal, the struggling alicorns and finally the yellow unicorn.
„Sunset Shimmer?“
She whimpered when she heard her former teacher say those words and all the feelings she pushed away so long threatened to boil up again. This time, it was Princess Luna who stopped her by stomping her hoof to get her sister's attention
„Sister! I will explain all to you later, but now we must hurry! Twilight and Cadrnce need our help and our magic if we want to stop this for good!“
Celestia tore her gaze away from Sunset and looked at her sister. After one look into her eyes, the tall alicorn stood behind Twilight and spread her wings, as did her sister. Dark blue and golden magic flared up and the power of four alicorn princesses now strengthened the spell. Sunset was surprised how easily Celestia pushed her questions and concerns away when her sister asked her and watched as the spell managed to direct more and more blue energy to the portal.
Then suddenly, a unicorn guard stepped up and stood next to Princess Luna. He seemed very young, most likely barely finished with his training, but he lit up his magic and poured it into the spell, adding a dark green magic to the bright glowing magic of the alicorns. It seemed pointless in comparison, like trying to fix a broken dam by placing a single pebble at just the right spot. But the Princess smiled and nodded to him. Then another unicorn stepped up and offered her magic to help, a maid this time. Then two more mares lit up their horns to help. The pegasi and earth ponies exchanged glances again, but this time filled with hope and determination. You couldn't fix a dam with a single pebble, but what if you used more than just a few? Quickly, the room filled with more unicorns, trained or not in the use of magic, to offer their help and their magic. Sunset could hear someone calling in the hallways for any unicorn to come and help the Princesses as the other ponies left the room to make space. Soon there were about thirty unicorns in the room and more in the hallways, feeding the spell with more and more magic of all colors. The earth ponies and pegasi vocalized their support, giving encouraging words and calling more unicorns to help. Sunset watched in awe as the display before her. So many ponies, working together in harmony and determination, and they were doing it! The energy still didn't stop pouring through the path back to the portal and all four alicorns looked very exhausted by now, but they were holding it together to save those around them and the world they lived in. Sunset smiled as she thought of her friends and how they always stood together and fought for each other in the same way. She could feel them inside her, cheering as the ponies succeeded in not only saving their own world, but the human world as well. Sunset then felt a hoof on her shoulder and turned around to see Dusty, the earth pony maid from earlier
„Miss, please? Can you help them? They look so tired and you're a unicorn too!“
Sunset blinked, totally perplexed for a moment. Of course, she had transformed back and had her horn back. That meant...
She closed her eyes and felt inside her, and there is was. Her magic, familiar and warm, waiting for her like it's never been gone. She could feel it and easily shape it like she used to. This feeling alone would have called a big smile to her, hadn't it been for the serious situation they were all in. With determination and the power of her friends in her heart, she flared up her magic in a powerful glow and light blue magic matching her eyes poured towards Twilight’s spell. It felt like trying to pull a massive wall, trying to get it to budge, but she felt all the unicorns around her do so with all their strength so she allowed herself no doubts. She had been Celestia's most talented pupil after all, and she had the knowledge and strength to back it up, plus the strength of her friends on the other side of the portal. She took a few steps forward until she stood between Twilight and Candace with Celestia towering behind her. They nodded and smiled at the new burst of magic that now empowered the spell. She returned the nod with determination and closed her eyes to focus on the spell and the portal.
Again, the world around her faded as she slipped back into the place she saw at the vision of the veil. She gasped in shock when she saw it though, full of long deep rips now and blue energy from the human world pouring out of each. That's why the energy wasn't getting less even with the spell in place. There was far more flooding in that could flow back. They needed to close those cracks first. But how? She frowned and thought back to what happened at the end of the Friendship games. Back then, Twilight, her Twilight, had used magic to open windows to Equestria. Once the power of her friends and their Elements of Harmony helped her transform, she could easily closed them again with the strength of her friends.
Wait. That's it! I could close the portal, but with the magic from the human Elements. I wonder if I could do something similar with the human magic that came here.
She choose one of the smaller cracks and focused on the blue energy that kept pouring in from it. Trying to send it into the veil instead. However, she didn't seem to get a hold on it, it felt slippery in her mental grip. She sighed and wondered how Twillight could direct this energy so accurately. She tilted her head and out of an instinct reached for the energy that flowed through the path and found she could control it far better, almost as well as her own magic. Focusing on the crack again, she send out her magic and the blue energy together and watched the crack slowly close from the edge, until it vanished completely, not even leaving a mark in the fabric of the veil.
Sunset cheered on the inside and pulled more energy from the path, closing another crack just as easily. She heard the cheering again, but this time she felt more like came from behind her and she heard voices talking.
„What's happening?“
„It's Sunset Shimmer! I don't know what she's doing, but she's breaking through.“
„This is amazing! It seems like her connection to both worlds allows her to influence the barrier between the worlds and fix it!“
Sunset smiled, recognizing Twillight's voice. Then another familiar voice spoke
„Balance... it's all about balance. I've seen this in her since the first time we met, but I'd never imagined anypony would be able to do such a feat.“
Sunset couldn't help but smile. She always somehow managed to impress her teacher back in the days and it seemed the time spent in another world didn't change that.
She called out „I'm not doing this alone! Everypony is helping and my friends on the other side are doing their best too! Please, keep up a little longer!“
She waited, unsure if her words came through, but then she heard Twilight again
„You heard her! Everypony, let's give her our best!“
And suddenly, the power of an alicorn princess flowed through her body, Sunset gasped at the sudden rush, but put it to good use, sending the alicorn magic and a huge chunk of human energy to close one of the biggest cracks now. Three more surges and three more princesses joined in, followed by a myriad of magic sparks from the other unicorns. Sunset lost no time, fixing the veil and all its cracks one by one. The blue mist became less and less now, but as it happened Sunsets smiled went even wider.
But then, she frowned. At the edges of the portal, she could already see new cracks forming. Using the magic offered to her by the ponies again, she fixed them. Only to see them return seconds after. She turned to look at Twilight
„It's not working. The wall is solid for now but it's still starting to break again.“
Twilight stared back at her, confused and with a helpless expression. She clearly couldn't hear or understand her it seemed.
Sunset took a deep breath again. Think Sunset. You're missing something. You have the magic of the four most powerful beings in Equestria, there must be a way to finish what you started. Her eyes opened wide and in shock as realization hit her. Finish it. It's not finished as long as the portal is still open. Celestia's words echoed through her mind. It's all about balance. Her cutie mark glowed on her flank and she suddenly understood Both worlds have been heavily disturbed. They need to be separated in order for them to regain balance again. My cutie mark and the Taijitu symbol in it. It all makes sense now. She frowned and stared at Twilight and the others behind the portal.
I can't close the portal from their side without the magic of the Princesses. But I can't leave it open either She stared to cry, heavy tears running down her cheeks as she knew what had to be done.
With misty eyes she waved goodbye to Twilight, tears still running down. Twilight looked worried, but then suddenly nodded and smiled. It was a sad smile that only made Sunset want to cry more, so she did. Fluttershy, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash and Rarity came into view as well. They all shouted something at her. They all had tears in their eyes, but the were all smiling. In her heart, she could feel and understand what they were saying, that they'd never give up on their friendship, even if this meant goodbye.
Sunset put on her bravest smile for them, then closed her eyes and poured the last bits of human energy around her at the portal, closing it down completely. No cracks reappeared, but the power of all the ponies around her still poured through her body, as did the emotions of her friends. She took a deep breath and directed every ounce of magic, friendship and strength she was offered and held within herself at the barrier. Her horn and her cutie mark flared up and glowed brightly as the wall of glass became more dense, crystallizing at the edges at first and turning into a thick wall, harder than diamond and more durable than every before. With a last cry, Sunset finished the spell and released all the magic in one powerful burst.
When the light from the flash faded, then princesses and the ponies couldn't see any trace of the portal anymore. The weird feeling of magic from another world completely gone. Some ponies started to cheer and hug each other, but the princesses remained silent and just stared.
Right in front of them, kneeling on the floor, sat the unicorn Sunset Shimmer, crying bitter tears of loss and pain. She had done what was needed, she save both worlds, but it was all meaningless. She could no longer feel the connection to her human friends.
Chapter 4: Damage control
Luna landed on the square in front of the castle and immediately caught the attention of the ponies around. She saw ponies using tools, magic and pure strength to remove the remains of the wall that had broken in. She spread her wings and called out with a loud voice.
“Stand back!”
Then her magic rose the pieces of debris and set them aside. She allowed herself a sigh of relief when she found no ponies trapped beneath them and only empty rooms behind.
“Princess Luna! Heavens, it's good to see you.”
The princess turned around and saw a stallion in a white robe of a doctor hurrying towards her. He was about to perform a bow, but Luna simply motioned for him to remain standing
“Please, this is an inappropriate time for such things. Tell me who you are and what happened, Doctor.”
The stallion blinked surprised, but then nodded and explained
“My name is Doctor Morning Breeze, I'm the head of Canterlot Hospital. When the first quakes started, we noticed right away the building wasn't really the most secure spot to be and when the next ones came, we quickly evacuated the hospital. Luckily we don't have too many patients right now, so we managed to get everypony out it time. But as you can see,” he pointed at the destroyed rooms, “we don't have any place for our patients now. Some of our medical equipment took a heavy hit, too. So far everypony is well, considered all circumstances, but we need some place with beds so we can take care of them. Not to mention we can't do anything for the ponies who might gotten hurt from those crazy quakes.”
“I understand your troubles and you have my full support. The hurt and sick ones need our help the most in these times. The castle turned out to be a safe place for now, and there are beds and rooms as well. I need you to gather as much of your equipment as you can and head to the castle. The guards and I will help your carry your things and transport your patients.”
She turned and addressed the pegasus guard again
“Captain, half of your ponies will stay here and help the doctor and the patients. The hospital has to be our top priority for now. The remain of your flyers should spread out in the city and help those in need. Tell everypony to come to the castle for the night.”
The pegasus guard nodded and turned around
“You heard the Princess! Groups one and two, we stay and help here. Groups three and four, spread out and get a good view. Report back to me in an hour, unless there's any form of emergency that need to be taken care of right away. And one of you return to the castle and call for backup as well as inform Princess Celestia.”
Luna nodded and smiled to the ponies who now came from all directions, most of them to offer their help as well and spreading the word to head for the castle. She addressed the Captain once more.
“There is no need to send somepony back to the castle, Captain. I intend to inform my sister myself.”
With that, she headed to the patients who had been lain down in improvised field beds. Luna closed her eyes and her horn glowed as she carefully picked up about half of them with her magic and flew towards the castle with them levitated behind her. She called out to the gathered ponies
“I'll be back as fast as I can, my friends! Keep helping each other and come to the castle!”
Luna couldn't help but smile when she heard the calls of cheer form the ponies and saw them spread out and find ways to help. No pony seemed to take care of their own first, they were all working for each other and going through this together, just like they had in the castle. It was heartwarming to see them not despair, but only push harder in this troubling situation.
Within a minute, she reached the main entrance of the castle and was greeted by her sister, along with some ponies of the royal staff. She carefully set down the ponies in her magic hold before landing by Celestia.
“Sister, these are patients from Canterlot Hospital. The building is not functional and the doctors have no way to treat anypony back there. I've told them to come here instead.”
“Take them to the guest wing. There should be enough rooms we can use for now. Prepare everything for the doctors to continue their work once they arrive and send all guards we can spare to help them.”
“How bad is it, Tia?”
“Not as bad as we thought initially. The castle seems to be the most durable building in the whole city, no doubt thanks to the magic wards you and I placed in the building. We have broken furniture, messy rooms and some broken glass, but nothing that can't be fixed easily. And, thank heavens, except for some minor cuts and bruises, nopony in the castle got hurt.”
Both sisters sighed in relief, then turned to watch the city. The sun was beginning to set at this point, there would be only three more hours of day before Luna would rise the moon.
“How bad are things in the city?”
“I don't know all yet, Tia. The hospital needs complete rebuilding if you ask me and about a dozen buildings more are down. This town was not build to withstand earthquakes, let alone multiple ones of such power. I dare say unless checked properly, no house should be considered safe right now. I've called the ponies to the castle for the end of the day, but I might have been too hasty with that. I don't know if we can host all of town in here.”
“We can, Luna. We will use all the free rooms and make space in the larger halls as well: Gala rooms, meeting rooms, the throne room. It might not be the most comfortable, but it will work.”
Luna smiled and gently poked her sister's flank with her wing
“You're being brave for your subjects again sister. I told you, you don't need to pretend around me. Neither do you need to worry about your subjects. What I've seen, everypony is helping out as much as they can. There's no fights or quarrel in times like these and the news that the crises has been averted spreads quickly. The words you said to them already are repeated by every of your subjects.”Our subjects. They are sharing your speech as well, Lulu. It was very inspiring and those words mean a whole lot more coming from you.”
Luna fell silent for a moment. She didn't know how much of this was true. Celestia was convinced about it, but that didn't necessarily mean everypony would think the same way.
Celestia stared down at the city but Luna could tell she wasn't really looking at it. Knowing her sister a well as she did, it was not hard to guess what was on her mind.
“Tia.”
Celestia blinked and turned around to face Luna, surprised by her stern voice. When she looked at her eyes, she saw the caring gaze of her sister shining back at her
“You're the beacon of hope our ponies need in a time like this. They throw themselves into the task at hoof, but when it's done they'll need you to guide them. They'll need your wisdom and strength. But they need the real you. Not the you who's pretending and hiding away her fears for the benefit of others. Tia, you can't be the pony they need with guilt and fear clouding your heart.”
Luna gently placed a hoof at her sister's shoulder and nodded firmly
“You have to see her and talk to her.”
Celestia looked away for a moment. When she looked back at her, Luna saw a much younger Celestia before her. She saw the Tia she knew back a thousand years ago, when ruling was new and taking care of a whole nation seemed to be unthinkable. She saw a Tia she'd only recently rediscovered, after switching their roles for some time.
“But... what will I do if she still hates me? She has every right to do so. I failed her as a teacher and a friend. I should have treated her more like an equal back then, I should gone after her when she...”
Her words were quickly interrupted by Luna's hoof on her lips.
“Tia. If that happens, and I don't say it will, but if it happens, it won't be the outcome you hoped for but at least you will have closure on your guilt. You and I both know the importance of it. It is the first step of overcoming your fears and the first step of becoming the Tia all the ponies and I love: The real you.”
Celestia smiled with tears in her eyes and hugged her sister tightly. Luna returned the hug eagerly and wrapped her blue wings around her sister as well.
They held each other for a while longer, then Luna heard some voices and opened her eyes. She saw a group of ponies approach the castle, some of them carrying baskets with food and fruits, the others bringing blankets and pillows and sleeping bags. Luna smiled and released her grip on her sister, but found that Celestia wasn't willing to let her go yet. The group of ponies fell silent as the came close and saw the two Princesses like this. When they were close enough, Celestia released her hug and said loud enough for anypony to hear
“Thank you, Luna. I needed that. I promise I will take care of it right way.”
Luna blinked, but then smiled and nodded. Usually they held those personal moments behind locked doors, but if her sister didn't mind sharing, neither would she.
“I shall go back into the city then, sister. See if I can help some more.”
Celestia nodded and gave her a brief hug again
“Be safe, Luna.”
They both turned to see the group watching them curiously and smiling at the undeniable love the sisters shared.
Luna nodded and took flight again and Celestia welcomed the ponies and led them into the castle before she headed to a certain room herself.
Chapter 5: The first step
Sunset just lay there, sobbing. Somepony hugged her and talked soothingly to her, but it didn't matter. Was it Twilight? The voiced sounded familiar at least, but it didn't feel like it was supposed to do.
Another pony joined the hug. She felt warm tears on her coat that weren't hers. Did it mean anything to her? She asked herself but there was no answer inside her. Just emptiness.
More voices in the back. Words that didn't matter. Hooves on the floor.
Then, silence. Finally, she could think. But there was nothing to think. There was nothing at all. No voice inside her reminding her. No drive to make her stand up. Why care when she could just keep crying and not thinking.
The soft coat she pressed her muzzle in felt good. Warm. The floor didn't. Cold. Like inside her. Cold, and hard and rigid. She sobbed. Like the barrier she made. She made it and now she was cold too. She shivered.
Something covered her. Something soft and warm. She remembered that feeling. Feathers. Wings. Pegasus.
Fluttershy. She was warm, and she hugged her with soft wings once. Sunset remembered. She had been out, helping Fluttershy with some animals, bunnies perhaps. The rain started and the little critters got wet. They ran back towards the shelter. Fluttershy had been so eager to get the bunnies out the rain. Kindness came in yellow wings. She flew, Sunset kept running and fell back, then she stumbled. She remembered her face covered with mud. Fluttershy help her up and took her in. Yellow wings wrapped around her to safe her from the rain. Like she'd been a bunny as well. The wings were warm and soft.
But she wasn't. She was cold and hard. Fluttershy was gone. The wings felt warm against her but they couldn't replace how it felt. She'd never feel it again. Cold. Hard. Empty. Lonely. Lonely? Yes, she was lonely. She had been lonely before but then...
Friends. Rainbow Dash. Her lonely room, all by herself. She hadn't told anyone but Rainbow followed her. Stayed with her. All day. Laughing together, playing guitar. Blue wings of loyalty. She never touched them, but she knew they were as soft and warm. The wings around her were warm too, but they weren't Rainbow Dash. Still they felt nice.
How much time had passed? She didn't know. Nor care. Empty inside. Helpless. Unable to find a way. Applejack. She felt that helpless after the Fall Formal. Lonely and empty and afraid. She didn't know if she could ever look someone in the eyes again. How should behave? Honesty. Applejack knew and told her, showed her a way. Not the easiest one, but a way. Be honest to yourself and face what's ahead of you. Her mane had shimmered in the evening light. You can't change what you did, but you can learn from it and do better.
Sunset stirred. She curled up more under the wings and pressed into the warm flank. Thankful for the presence, even if it meant nothing. Only meaningless gestures, well intended or not. They couldn't make a difference, not now. How could they when she lost everything? Rarity. Her jacket was ripped, she threw it away. It was just clothing after all. Then the next day. Rarity had found in and fixed it. Went through all the stores to find the right things, worked all night on it. Until it had been perfect, even the cutie mark design on it. Why? It was just a piece of clothing, but it meant something to her. She did it because she knew. The smallest things could mean the world when done for a friend. Generosity, white and indigo mane spinning around her as Sunset hugged her friend. She just made it for her, to see her smile.
She'd lost any right smile. Her tears had run out, but she was still sad. So sad. She wanted to cry. To cry and never stop ever again. Everything else felt wrong. She deserved being sad, only sad. She'd lost any right smile, ever. Pinkie, bubbly, loud and silly. Talking to her loud and fast. If she didn't smile, she didn't feel happy. What kind of friend can help her friends if she's not happy? A logic she couldn't fight back then. Laughing together, curly pink mane bobbing up and down. Pink like the wing that wrapped around her and squeezed her gently.
Helping. Her friends after they helped her. Accepted her. But they were gone now. She couldn't do anything. Gone. Cold. Dark. Empty. Lonely.
Twilight had been lonely too. And hurt. And sad. And scared. So scared she saw no other way but dark magic. But Sunset knew. Understood. Related to her pain and fear. She reached out her hand and Twilight took it. The first friend she made herself. Helping her see there's more. Other ways. Better options. Difficult choices. Challenges, but never facing them alone. Friendship.
Friendship, even if it meant taking the hard way. Friendship, even if it meant sacrifices for yourself. Even sacrificing everything.
She had seen them. They were safe. Twilight had understood and would explain them. Would she have done the same? This time, an answer came from inside her. Yes, she would. Each of them would. She hadn't heard them, but those last moments. They knew it had to be done. They didn't judge her, they admired her for her courage. It had not been abandoning them. It had been saving both worlds, all friends in both worlds. Past, present and future.
Sunset slowly sat up. Crying was the easy way, they way she'd never chosen for herself. Not back then, not in Canterlot High and not now. Her friends wouldn't want her to give in. They would want her to push through. Carry on. Make the most of it. Be happy wherever she ended up. How did she know this?
Because she wanted the same for them. Without any doubt. They meant more than all the worlds to her. She wanted them to be happy and live on without her. And she would too. It was the hard way, but she'd never gone for easy ever. She could have followed Twilight back to Equestria after Fall Formal, but she stayed. Worked through and learned. It would be hard to smile again, knowing her friends were gone. But she'd do it for them. So she'd never forget and they'd never be forgotten. And for her, because it'd be what they wanted.
The voice reached her mind again and this time she turned around and looked at a face. A pony with purple coat, a pink and purple mane. And those eyes. Kind and curious and warm, but right now filled with concern, most likely about her. Twilight Sparkle, Princess Twilight from Equestria.
Then her eyes opened wide as she realized. Dear Celestia... she's their friend too. I made her loose them too. She opened her mouth to speak, but words couldn't find the words. Twilight's eyes filled with more concern and she tried to hug her again, but Sunset stopped her.
“Twilight...”
Her voice broke, rasp from all the crying.
“I... I couldn't... I had to... they're... they're...”
Twilight’s eyes filled with sadness and tears, her weak smile breaking apart.
“I know... I'm going to miss them so much...”
Sunset sobbed deeply as Twilight started crying and wrapped her hooves around the purple alicorn. They clung on each other and held each other close as their tears ran down silently. Sharing each others pain and offering what comfort they could give.
Pink wings encased both friends, just gently touching their shoulders. Sunset slightly turned her head to see Cadence. Her eyes were closed but tears ran down her cheeks as well while she tried to share their pain without pushing herself in. Cadence didn't know any of the human besides what Twilight told her maybe. Yet she was still mourning about them. And their loss.
My loss. She's concerned about me, despite what happened before.
Pink eyes opened and looked at her. Sunset forced a thankful smile to her lips, even though it felt wrong to smile. And probably would for a while. The Princess smiled back, the same caring smile she'd seen from Celestia years ago.
Sunset carefully untangled her hooves from Twilight and the purple alicorn slowly sat down, her hoof rubbing over her eyes before she looked at Sunset with a weaker version of the same smile.
Sunset looked at the cold ground. Her friends were gone and she was responsible for it. But even when they couldn't be with her, they helped her just with the memories they made together. Helped her in more ways than she had even realized. Helped her find herself again, like they did once. And even helped her find another friend perhaps.
The emptiness wasn't gone and it probably would never vanish completely. But it was not all consuming anymore as long as she kept those memories in her heart.
Sunset forced herself to her hooves and stood shakily, but determined. She refused to lie on the cold floor crying any longer. She would make this work out.
For her friends.
Author's Note
Hi everybody,
first of all thank you for reading this far and especially thank you for those who gave me some feedback as well. I really appreciate that a lot!
I know the last few chapters have become shorter, but for this one I feel like I should explain, since I kind of hyped up Sunset's drama in chapter 2.
I hope I could express those things although it's been a short chapter.
Okay, I've done enough rambling now, hope you all have a good time and hope to see you back in the next chapter!
TalkingToMyself
Chapter 6: Two hearts colliding
Sunset Shimmer remained standing for only a few seconds before her hooves just caved in under her own weight. She fell back on the floor and found herself panting and feeling dizzy.
Twilight's face appeared before her and with some effort, she could focus on her
Before she could fall back into depressing thoughts, they heard something in the hallway behind the doors, a large number of hooves passing by and the voices of concerned ponies. The princesses looked at each other and exchanged some nervous glances and stood up. Sunset frowned and buried her face in the pillow.
Sunset had just closed her eyes when the door opened again. The tan earth pony from before stepped in and askedStill, there might be another way to help her. She closed her eyes and felt inside her like before. The familiar warmth of her magic greeted her instantly again, just waiting at the edge of her awareness to be called and used. This time, she allowed herself a small smile and embraced the unicorn magic inside her again. She opened her eyes and saw a heavy table which lay on its side. She focused and the table was covered in a feint red aura of her magic, then was lifted up and set straight again. Sunset smiled more and lifted up the large bookshelf again, surprised how easy it was even though she hadn't used any magic for years. She looked around the room and the red glow around her horn grew a little brighter as every scattered book was lifted up and floated towards the shelf. She saw the maids appreciative smile and concentrated a little to put each book neatly to its place.
She had just put in the last one when a voice from behind startled her
Sunset shook her head and looked back at the floor, feeling tears building up inside her and feelings she had pushed back for years boiling up.you ever forgive ME ?"
The princess held the sobbing unicorn in her hooves for a moment before she finally spoke again in that soft voice she used so often when she took the unicorn filly in all those years ago
They held each other for a while until their tears finally stopped. Celestia took a step back and looked at Sunset, her eyes shining with care and her smile happy, but her stance still had a trace of the same insecurity Sunset failed to notice before.Home . Sunset sighed again and sat down beside the alicorn. Home is where the heart is. Princess Twilight had once told her those words during a visit. Sunset had dreamed of coming back to Equestria more than once, but shame and fear had stopped her from ever asking Twilight for taking her back with her. Now that she was here, she couldn't stop thinking about the human world. Can your heart be in two places at once? Celestia saw the expression and gently wrapped a wing around the smaller unicorn again. She didn't say anything but like Twilight and Cadance before, she shared the pain of loss silently with her friend. Sunset was thankful for that and they shared another few minutes in each others presence.
Then Celestia closed her eyes.
Author's Note
Hello everyone,
thank you again for making it this far, and thank you for all the feedback you've given me.
I took a long time with this chapter. The first meeting between Sunset and Celestia has been worked out in a lot of fanfics already and I know there are many who did an awesome job with it.
Hope I'll see you again in the next chapter!
TalkingToMyself
Chapter 7: New ways to help
Luna flew back to the hospital to find most the things already been taken care off. Some unicorns had arrived and helped get out the equipment from the broken building while other ponies gathered carts and wagons to transport everything to the castle. Luna thanked them all for their contribution and their hard work and with the promise to see them all at the castle, she flew off to the next building.
By now the royal guard had arrived and managed to get clear out the streets leading up to the Royal Castle. The smaller alleys slowly emptied as more and more ponies found their way to these streets, but still there was more than enough for an alicorn princess to do. Luna helped moving debris from buildings away, helped ponies who ended up trapped in their houses and those who got hurt. To her biggest relief, the last group of ponies was by far the smallest as the worst she'd seen was a broken wing and a pony who had been knocked out by a small piece of stone hitting his head. Considering all that happened, Luna silently gave her thanks to the sun, moon and all the stars there had been no casualties.
Of course, the earthquakes had been minor at first and only increased their strength with time which gave everypony enough time to get outside. And even when the quakes had been at full force, thanks to Sunset Shimmer's help they didn't last too long. And it was more than lucky as well that Canterlot had been the center of quakes with four alicorn princesses present for a summit who could react immediately. Luna sighed as she flew to the next gathering of ponies who needed help.
She was about to head into town for the third time when she heard some soft sobbing. She turned around and saw a green unicorn colt, hiding behind the stairs to the main entrance and fighting back his tears. She landed softly next to him and asked in her gentle voice
As she expected, most of the alleys were empty by now but she could still see ponies here and there, using the last hour of daylight they had today. Luna's ears perked up when she heard a call and found a light blue pegasus mare circling over the streets
Luna made her way to a destroyed house to find some ponies trying to clear out the entrance, one of them an indigo unicorn who tried to move a giant boulder with his bare hooves. The princess landed next to the ponies and they all turned towards her.
Luna was working her way through the outskirts of Canterlot when she noticed a purple alicorn flying towards her. She flew up again to meet Twilight Sparkle midway.
Luna watched her disappear between the houses, then flew up high and looped around the town one last time. She couldn't see or hear anypony, so she flew to the center of town and focused her magic. She had used it a lot today and flew around far more than she used to, she could feel the exhaustion of a long and eventful day. But raising the moon was so natural to her, she could manage it without any problems at all. With a smile watched the full moon rise from the horizon and shine its light to the silent City.
She had done everything she could to help today, though she knew it was only a small step in her atonement. She had to make up for not only her sins as Nightmare Moon, but also for neglecting her duties in the dream realm for a thousand years. She never allowed herself anything less than being there for as many ponies as possible during their darkest nightmares. While this gave her the chance for personal contact with them, most ponies barely even remembered her visits when they woke up in the morning.
Luna didn't enter the Royal Castle through the main doors but instead landed on a balcony in her personal wing. This was her preferred way to get in and out without being noticed and the doors were always open. A risk perhaps, but one she was willing to take for the convenience of privacy. The passed the doors to her personal chambers and walked along the hallway towards the main castle. They were empty as usual, the only ponies around at night were a few selected guards anyways but by her order they had joined in helping the ponies so Luna wasn't surprised to find their posts abandoned.
When she stepped through the doors her eyes opened wide in surprise. Literally the whole room was filled with ponies of all tribes, blankets and improvised beds covered the floor and members of the royal staff had to move carefully to not step on anyponys tail or wings as they handed out food from big bowls. Yet that was not what surprised Luna.
Those feelings didn't last too long though as a group of fillies and colts gathered around her and droned out all other cheers with their voices, asking small and apparently unimportant questions or simply staring at her and calling her name over and over.
Her exchange was quickly interrupted though by a green ball of happiness who turned out to be Emerald Shine pouncing her and clinging on her neck. She chuckled as she held the colt close while his parents approached and found herself hugged twice more with matching happiness.
The family bowed as well and the colts and fillies scurried of to their parents and caretakers as well, clearing a path for Luna to the three princesses. She could hear mumbles, ponies telling each other how they saw her in town all day helping where she could. Celestia had stepped down from the podium and met her sister halfway. Luna could tell from the smile on her sisters face she had talked to Sunset Shimmer and all had been well. They shared a hug, each one wrapping a hoof and a wing around the other
Celestia nodded to them and Cadence stepped forward and spoke to the now watching crowd
The ponies cheered loudly and all four princesses bowed their heads before they stood together and decided how to go on from hereon.
Celestia and Luna nodded to each other and stepped down from the podium again. One sister heading left, the other right, the two alicorns walked between the improvised bed and small groups of ponies, checking one last time if anypony needed help before they'd retire.
Chapter 8:
Sunset was still slumped on the pillow when the door opened again. After her talk with Celestia, she felt a lot better, a huge burden taken away from her heart in a matter of minutes. But with her emotional turmoil slowing down, her mind began analyzing the events from earlier today, going through everything that had happened over and over again. She couldn't figure out what happened and what to do next, and so her mind kept going in loops which eventually led to two dead ends: Worrying about her friends in the human world and blaming herself for what happened.
She sighed. She had seen them seconds before she closed the portal and strengthened the wall and they had been fine, but the empty feeling inside her remained. She hadn't realized how deep she was connected to the six girls and was hit very hard by the loss. Despite the promises and consolation from the Princesses, she felt more alone now than she had during her first months in the human world. Of course back then she was mostly driven by anger and thoughts of revenge. Now all she felt was worry and guilt. And no matter how often she remembered the image of that wall she created, she couldn't find a way through. Maybe she could use the notebook to communicate with her friends, just like Twilight had with her.
Another frustrated sigh broke through. The notebook. Even if the girls found it and figured out how to use it, she wasn't sure if it would still work now that there was no hole left in the wall that separated the worlds. She didn't even know if it was a good idea to even try activating the notebook again. For all that she knew, her excessive writing to Twilight might have been what finally caused the portal to break apart. She closed her eyes and felt even more guilty. Not only had she used the notebook a lot, she also begged Twilight to come visit her for selfish reasons like needing someone to talk to who understood her pony side. Or to help her with a friendship problem. Or even mundane things like spending the weekend with her friends.
Sunset buried her face in her forehooves. Before Twilight had put together her device, the portal would only open for a short time every thirty moons. Maybe that time was actually necessary to deal with the excess energy that was needed to connect both worlds. So her constant usage of the portal threw everything out of balance. Whatever happened in Canterlot High and Equestria, it became more and more clear she was to blame for it.
When the door opened, she sat up on her pillow and turned towards it entrance. She still felt exhausted, but she was more than happy for anypony who would keep her mind away from those depressing thoughts for a while at least.
Princess Luna looked at both ponies and just laughed softly
Sunset blushed but Celestia only giggled and set down a teapot and five mugs in front of the unicorn. Luna winked at Sunset and spread out the pillows and blankets she had been carrying in her dark blue magic. She formed a loose circle big enough for some more ponies before she sat on a pillow across from Sunset. Celestia sat down next to the unicorn, close enough so Sunset could feel her comforting presence wrap around her worries like a soft blanket.
She then noticed both sisters watching her which made her blush again and hide her face behind the mug. They just laughed and Celestia added with a soft voice
Luna nodded and the door opened again, this time Cadance stepped in and brought a tray with sandwiches. She sat down next to the moon Princess with a happy sigh
The dark blue mare smiled and was about to answer but found herself interrupted by Sunset
Celestia was the first to answer
Sunset nodded at that but kept her gaze glued to the floor. Celestia shared a glance with the others and then softly touched her shoulder
Before Cadance could say something, there was a puff of magic and Twilight stood next to the door, carrying a few boxes with her magic.
The princesses laughed while Sunset quickly devoured her donut and Celestia watched amused
All ponies laughed again and Twilight sat down between Cadance and Sunset. Snacks and drinks were shared between the mares and they enjoyed some friendly chat while they ate. Sunset first seemed shy around the four Princesses, but she soon smiled along as Cadance shared her latest adventures with her daughter Flurry Heart. When Celestia asked her about the human world, she gave out a few facts and differences, trying to not mention her friends too much. Twilight talked about her experiences among humans as well and Sunset fell back to listening and watching the Princesses.
Celestia and Cadance seemed very interested and kept asking questions, but Luna just listened with her eyes mostly closed. Sunset suspected she might have fallen asleep when the Princess didn't move for a couple of minutes, but then her blue eyes opened and she sighed deeply. At that point, Twilight fell silent and Celestia softly brushed one of her white wings down Luna's back.
Sunset blinked confused and Twilight whispered to her
Luna's ears perked up and she gave the unicorn a weird look, but she then just turned to the other alicorns
Sunset sighed and looked down at her mug again. She knew this was inevitable. They had all acted nice and friendly around her, but those mares were Princesses of Equestria after all. They had every right to demand answers and interrogate her. And they'd pass judgment on her if they thought she posed a threat to their subjects.
Sunset kept talking for more than an hour, explaining everything she saw and felt in detail, especially the veil and how she repaired it. She told them about the strange blue energy she could only use once it had been affected by Twilight's spell and the final burst that turned the veil into solid crystal. She told them about their friends and how they'd 'pony up' to get a similar spell going in the human world. She explained how it felt to have alicorn magic flow through her body and that her cutie mark started to glow once she made the decision to finally close the portal.
At the end, she felt completely exhausted again. She shivered despite the warm body next to her and Celestia allowed her to lean a little more against her flank. The alicorns remained silent for a while, each one following their own thoughts.
Sunset smiled along with the two sisters when she saw how easily Twilight could loose herself in a new science project. Cadance frowned
Sunset listened as Twilight talked, but she found herself drifting off. She heard the voices of the four Princesses discuss some things, but she couldn't focus on the words anymore. She felt relieved after telling everything to them and nopony blaming her right away. She felt safe in their company and for the first time today she felt that nervous tension fade from her. She gently rested her head against Celestia's neck and closed her eyes, just for a moment she told herself. She did not notice the white and soft wing that gently wrapped around her and pulled her closer, nor did she see the four Princesses smiling as the exhausted unicorn curled up and snuggled into the familiar warmth. The alicorns watched Sunset sleep peacefully for a moment before the continued their conversation with soft voices, careful not to wake their new friend.
The hallway was dark and long, nearly endless. The steps echoed through the emptiness as she ran. The end was still not in sight but she could feel the hallway disappearing behind her. She had to get there. The walls came closer, the ceiling sunk down, she was forced to duck, then crawl, and push herself through the narrow tunnel. Suddenly she fell down as the ground vanished under her. She looked up and saw only darkness. Absolute darkness, black and all consuming. She screamed and turned her head away, and saw she was falling into an even darker hole. She screamed over and over and over as she was swallowed by the dark abyss but she couldn't stop falling. She couldn't do anything and nobody heard her. She was alone and in darkness. She was falling.
After what seemed like a decade of falling, she saw something other than black. It was only a soft glow but it burned her eyes in the darkness. She crawled towards it. It was a door but it was made of thick glass, she could see through it. She heard a mumbled voice and yelled again. Six orbs of light appeared, each in a different color: Red, blue, purple, yellow, orange, pink. They approached her and formed into shapes. She recognized the six human girls even before she could even see their faces. She yelled more and knocked at the door, calling out their names.
They stared at her, each one surrounded by a glow. The pink haired girl in the middle raised her hand and waved and she raised her hoof to wave back. Then she froze in fear and finally desperation. From the darkness above, a flash of lightning struck down on Pinkie Pie, her smile torn into a grimace of agony and a terrible scream breaking the silence. She watches as the girl coiled in pain and then vanished into a burst of sparks. The glow vanished and the sparks faded into darkness, leaving no trace. She screamed and threw her hooves against the door, but it didn't budge. She looked up again and winced as another lightning struck down, this time hitting the blue glow. The rainbow haired girl screamed in endless pain for another two seconds before she burst into sparks as well, only to fade out of existence. Two more strikes, two more screams, two more lights gone. Red and orange extinguished into black void. Tears now running down as she desperately tried to push the door open. The yellow glow flickered and cried, as did the pink haired girl inside. The next lightning hit her and her screams of pain and fear echoed long after her sparks had faded. She slammed her hooves against the door and felt her heart break into a million pieces. Only purple remained. The girl inside the glow smiled. She clenched and felt sick. The same smile Twilight had when she last saw her. The final lightning ripped her apart and the world behind the door turned dark again. She could see her reflection in the door now, her hands pressed against it and tears running down her human face. Her hooves pressed harder and tried to touch the hands, she felt like she could almost do it. Then another lightning struck down and her reflection writhed in agony before she disappeared. She broke down, crying and pressing her hooves against her body. She gave up and the darkness coiled up around her, ready to consume her.
Then, through the darkness, a glow of light approached her, more brilliant and bright than she had ever seen before. She gazed at it and reached out as the black coils hissed and the glow moved closer. She saw the full moon floating up towards her, the brightness chasing away the shadows but the gentle glow not blinding her at all. Two blue wings sprouted out of the moon and with another flash, the shape of a pony stepped closer. She had a dark blue coat and her tail and mane where made of sparkly stars on a night sky, her blue wings spread out and her horn glowing softly against the bright moon behind her. Her eyes were the most impressive though. They found hers immediately and all pain faded. The were cool and soothing and healed the burns in her heart. At the same time, they glowed with warmth and compassion and she felt like a cozy blanket being wrapped around her.
The shadows hissed again but the mare just stomped her hoof once. The moon shone brighter and the shadows simply faded, all the images and pain she'd seen grew unclear and hazy, and she realized and remembered. Where she was, who she was, and she recognized the Princess of the Night bowing down to her and gently nuzzling her .
She felt the warm touch and in an sudden instinct clung on the Princess and buried her face against her coat. She felt the other mare welcome her into the embrace, the Princess just sat down on her haunches and held her close. She felt tears erupting from her eyes again, but the alicorn didn't seem to mind at all. For the umpteenth time she turned into a sobbing mess in the presence of a pony she barely knew and once again she was not rejected. Twilight had tried to calm her with words, Cadance had shared her tears with her, Celestia had pointed out her own mistakes to make her feel better. The Princess of the Night just held her, her presence soothing her in a way she had not felt before, the soft glow of the moon keeping the darkness away. The tears kept running down her cheek but this time it felt different. She felt Princess Luna nod while she held her close She stopped fighting back the sadness she felt and let her tears flow out along with sobs that were muffled against the dark coat of the alicorn. She felt them cleanse her heart, washing away the fear and the guilt of failing her friends and abandoning them .
After a while, she felt like a glacier of ice had melted inside her and poured out of eyes. Slowly the cold was replaced by warmth again. The warmth called forth happier thoughts and memories of her friends but also the recent kindness she'd received from the Princesses just today. She looked up again and the soft glow of Luna's eyes found her again. She felt like a filly again and mumbled slightly embarrassed but the Princess would just smiled and indicated a shake of her head Sunset couldn't help but giggle at the long-winded answer and nuzzled gently into warm embrace, her embarrassment fading in the genuine words of the Princess
The Princess held her silently for a moment longer, then looked around and sighed She didn't wait for an answer and let her horn glow brightly. The darkness was quickly replaced by a beautiful scenery: They were suddenly sitting on a soft meadow surrounded by a few gentle wings, in the distance the shape of a forest could just barely be made out. Above her they saw a beautiful night sky like Sunset had never seen before, all stars sparkling brightly and a full moon giving out just enough light to see. The grass felt soft under her like a comfy bed and she saw beautiful flowers growing in between, white and blue and lilac and purple. She took a deep breath and inhaled a delightful scent, she could make out lavender but the other fragrances her. The only sounds she could hear was a soft breeze rustling through the grass and water running through a small steam that crossed the meadow a few feet from where she sat. She could hear the soothing swish of the water though all she would see was a soft silver mist floating where the steam had to be.
Sunset took in everything with wide eyes and ears, then only would she realize the Princess was no longer holding her in an embrace but was sitting beside her. She just stared at her, lost for words in this breathtaking place and the blue mare smiled Sunset's eyes opened wider, looking over the meadow again before her eyes returned to the alicorn again The Princess laughed and nodded Sunset just stared floored The Princess just smiled
Luna looked into Sunset's eyes and the unicorn could see she was still surprised to be forgiven by her sister, a feeling Sunset could easily relate with. She still didn't fully believe herself. The alicorn continued The mare looked away and closed her eyes. Sunset smiled softly and was reminded of the time she talked with human Twilight Sparkle. The poor girl had been so afraid to turn dark again she practically locked herself away from the worlds. Sunset reached out and gently touched the blue hoof with hers The Princess looked back at the yellow unicorn and smiled
Sunset smiled back and nodded, then turned to take in the view again. She took another deep breath and felt herself relax in the soothing environment. Luna silently sat beside her and after a few minutes Sunset felt her cheeks flush Luna chuckled and softly shook her head Sunset lay down in the soft grass and rested her head on her fore hooves as the calming atmosphere got to her. She mumbled softly Luna smiled and nodded
Sunset nodded and smiled and let herself go. As she sunk down into deeper sleep, the scenery grew a little more blurry, but the moon and stars above her still glowed softly and kept away the shadows. At some point the shape of Luna faded softly away but Sunset barely even noticed. She could still feel her presence in this place and with a happy sigh, she softly slipped into gentle dreams.
Author's Note
Hello everyone,
thank you for making it this far and I hope you had some fun with it.
This will be the last update for a while, due to my job I will be traveling around some more during the next few weeks.
Until then, have a good time!
Chapter 9: A new day
Sunset stirred but kept her eyes closed. Something was missing. She wanted to stay in the soft pillow, but she started feeling cold. She peeked open a single eyes and noticed. The room was empty, and the voices were gone. She blinked a few times and sat up, then noticed the empty pillow-bed beside her. Princess Celestia was gone and with her, the warmth she had felt all night long went missing too. She sighed and stood on her hooves, relieved to feel her strength back in them. She felt inside her and smiled when the magic greeted her with a warm glow around her horn. It was still there, like a final reminder that it hadn't just been a dream altogether. Or a nightmare.
She jumped startled when she saw a motion to her left. From a pile of blankets, she saw a blue wing poke out and finally she could make out the form of Princess Luna. The alicorn turned around to avoid the rays of sun poking into her eyes through the open door.. Sunset smiled. Seems like I'm not the only one who sleeps in longer. The sun is already rising and...
Sunset opened her eyes wide in realization and rushed out of the door and towards the closest window. With a push of her red magic aura, the window opened and she poked her head into the cold morning air. She could see the gardens under her, but her attention was glued to the horizon. The sun was slowly climbing up, still mostly covered and barely more than a red glow. Sunset smiled when she noticed the sky above her taking different shades of color, from a dark blue where the night was still present over shades of greenish yellow to an bright orange halo surrounding the rising sphere of light. As it rose up, the colors changed again and the rays of the morning sun seemed to bath everything the touched in liquid gold. Sunset could see the trees and hills in the distance sparkle in the increasing light. The sun moved slowly and Sunset almost felt it was only to increase the beauty of the new day unfolding before her eyes. The golden glory shining around her and warmth covering her face, a warmth she also felt resonate deep inside her. She felt a tear in her eyes but was unwilling to blink it away and loose sight of the beautiful light.
Sunset sighed deeply and smiled
Sunset found herself lost of words and just turned to watch the sun again, as did the Princess. Sunrises took a lot longer in the human world where the celestial bodies moved by their own pace, so the sun was already high up after only a few minutes.
Sunset nodded and thought about these words. New chances, new friends. She'd have a lot of both during the time after the Fall Formal, more than she had in her entire time in Equestria before. After learning the error of her ways, she had to think a lot and shun the sunrise, staying up late and wondering if she'd ever be able to face the world again. Her friends had pulled her back into the light and into hope. As did her new friends here.
When she turned from the window, she found Princess Luna watching her curiously. When she saw the determination in Sunset's eyes, she gave the unicorn an approving smile and motioned for her to follow. The trotted after the newest of her friends and blinked surprised as the dark blue mare vanished into a wall. She looked closer and noticed a well hidden passage she probably never would have found on her own. Or maybe the passageway wasn't there unless the Princess wanted it to be there? Without hesitation, she followed the Princess and after climbing up a narrow stairway, she found herself in Luna's personal chambers. It was easy to figure out with the prominent crest of the Moon on the doors and the tapestries. The room was held mostly in shades of blue and silver but Sunset almost instantly felt very comfy in here. She had been in Princess Celestia's private chambers a few times, back when she was chosen as her personal student, but when the gold regalia and bright white walls had been impressive, the more gentle colors of this room gave her a very safe feeling right away. She smiled again when she realized the room reminded her a lot of the dream Princess Luna shared with her earlier.
She stepped onto the soft carpets that dimmed all the sounds of her hooves, still taking in the atmosphere when she noticed a glow to her right. Another door was surrounded by a dark blue glow of magic and opened, revealing a spacious bathroom.
Sunset blushed deep red and turned to the alicorn although her eyes were down at her hooves
With that, she motioned towards the bathroom with her wings and then stepped out to the balcony of her rooms. Sunset smiled and nodded as she went to enjoy a quick but refreshing shower. Princess Luna had been very open in her dreams, but now in the day the distance she felt when they first met had returned. As the warm water ran down her body she sighed softly. To some it might come off as cold or uncaring, but after spending most of the night in Luna's dream, she could feel the heartfelt support and compassion behind this distance. It was just her way to deal with the responsibility of being a Princess and the expectations of perfection that came along with this. Sunset remembered Twilight talking to her about the pressure of being a Princess and how it was hard for her to deal with it. Add that to the guilt Luna confessed to her in the dream realm, Sunset found it easy to accept this distance and see the pony behind it shining trough.
After the shower, Sunset's magic took hold of a towel and a brush and she worked through her coat and mane. She looked at one of the large mirrors and blinked surprised. She hadn't had any chance to see her born form fully yet and she ended up staring at herself. Her yellow and red mane was still a bit fizzy from the shower but her coated shined like it always had after brushing. She turned and saw her cutie mark on her flank and couldn't help but smile at the familiar design. She had put it on her jacket and some of her things, but seeing it there on her body just felt right. She flicked her tail which matched her mane and the colors of the burning sun mark on her coat. She reached out for her magic and quickly her mane dried as well with a simple heat spell. Pyromancy always had been her specialty and it still came easy to her. She saw her horn glow in the red magic aura.
So much was as she remembered, but she still couldn't recognize the pony in that mirror. She looked at her face and noticed her eyes. I've never had eyes like that before I went into the other world. They look so different. Nicer? Kinder? I can't even tell.
A soft knock on the door made her snap out from staring at her own reflection and she quickly returned to the main room. Princess Luna was waiting for her, with a silver tiara on her head and silver shoes on her hooves. She nodded and without a word opened the door to the hallways with her magic. She stepped down towards the main castle slowly, expecting Sunset to follow. The smaller unicorn quickly trotted up next to her and the doors closed behind her with another dark blue glow.
They finally reached the end of the hallway and stood in front of a large door. Sunset could hear the voices of many ponies behind it and suddenly felt very nervous. She didn't really feel ready to face anypony yet. What would she tell them? What would they think of her? Would they remember her from the times before she ran away? Could they understand she was a different pony now? She felt the urge of just running away and hide in the bedroom again becoming stronger and stronger with each moment.
"Sunset Shimmer."
Sunset closed her eyes for a moment, remembering the display of the sunrise from earlier. She felt the worries melt away from the warmth she felt and the words of the Princess beside her.
Princess Luna saw her nod and opened the door with her magic. The alicorn entered the room without hesitation and Sunset follow right behind her.
When every pony was silent again, Princess Celestia spoke
The alicorn stopped and gave the crowd a few moments to process what she had said and the mumbling started again. Of course most ponies knew who Starswirl the Bearded had been, but none had ever heard of other worlds than Equestria.
Before the mumbling grew too much, Princess Luna now took a step forward and addressed the ponies again
Sunset kept her eyes cast down while Luna spoke, but she could hear excited and surprised gasps and calls, then she heard Twilight
The calls and mumbling grew more cheerful and Sunset dared to look into the crowd again. She saw mostly relief, but also a lot of confusion and some anger.
She blushed when most of the ponies started cheering and calling her name, celebrating her like she was some kind of hero. She took a shy step forward after a gentle nudge from Princess Cadance and forced an awkward smile to her face as she looked over the crowd without really seeing anypony.
Sunset was wondering if she was supposed to say anything now, when a loud voice called over all the other noises
Sunset didn't need to see Celestia's face to recognize the tone of her voice. It was of course the same voice she used often during meetings and audiences and even during their studies, whenever she wanted to avoid talking about something unpleasant.
But today, after talking with the Princesses and learning how much Celestia blamed herself, she knew the easy way wasn't right for her. She remembered the night after the Fall Formal back at Canterlot High School and feeling the same, knowing that she had to face the consequences of her actions as herself. Staying true to herself had helped her find wonderful friendships and being helpful to many other people, hopefully it would help her dealing with her pony past as well.
Celestia was still talking when Sunset took a step forward and called out clear and loud
She sighed deeply and tried to calm down as those old feelings rose up from inside her. The ponies stared up at her, terrified by the rage in her voice, but also angry when they learned what she did to their beloved Princess.
The angry shouts grew louder and now Twilight stepped to her other side, putting her hoof on her shoulder and spreading her wings out. Like Celestia before, Twilight faced the anger from the crowd and nodded for Sunset to continue.
Sunset than felt a wing wrapping around her back and she looked up to see Celestia smiling at her with pride and love and tears glittering in her eyes. Twilight watched and smiled as well and gave Sunset's hoof a gentle squeeze.
Sunset scanned the crow again and found some familiar faces: Guards, staff ponies, even a few teachers and students she'd seen in her classes back at the School for Gifted Unicorns. She gave them each a weak smile and continued explaining.
"I've spent the last few months trying to fix the damage I've caused in the mirror world and to make it up to those I've hurt. With the help of Princess Twilight I learned a lot about friendship, but also about myself.
Sunset hung her head low and her fiery mane fell down, hiding her face as some silent tears fell down on the floor.
At this point, Princess Celestia exchanged a glance with the other alicorns, only to find them nodding in approval. The tall white alicorn addressed Sunset again
She heard laughter behind her and turned her head to see the Princesses smiling at her. Cadance who had been quiet until now walked up to her and placed a hoof on her shoulder
Meeting the Elements of Harmony
Author's Note
Hello together,
once again, thank you for reading this far and hopefully still enjoying yourselves.
In this chapter, I reached another limitation from not having English as my native language. That's why I decided to write Applejack's dialog without the southern drawl. I hope like this it will at least make sense.
Hope to see you all in the next chapter as well!
Meeting the Elements of Harmony
Chapter 10: Meeting the Elements of Harmony
As if Sunset's last words had been a signal, the main doors opened and the ponies of the royal staff entered with large plates of breakfast, bringing with them the scents of freshly baked goods. Sunset sighed, grateful for the distraction that brought her out of the center of attention, and accepted Twilight's offer to sit with the Princesses for the meal.
Sunset sat between Twilight and Cadance, holding a cup of tea in her hooves. She glanced from one Princess to the next before she asked with a timid voice
The purple alicorn nodded and as horn glowed as she levitated one of her trademark checklists out from behind her
Sunset frowned but then nodded and looked down at her tea. Twilight's logic made sense to her and since the earthquakes had stopped in Equestria, it was most likely that Canterlot High was safe as well. She just wished she could be sure about it.
Celestia thought about it for a moment, then nodded
The Princess turned to her sister and hesitated a moment before asking
The dark blue alicorn frowned and looked back at Celestia's concerned expression
Celestia immediately shook her head and placed a hoof on Luna's shoulder
While Sunset and Cadance watched the elder Princesses attentively, Twilight was already making new notes on her scroll
Sunset blinked surprised and looked back down at her tea
Sunset looked up again when she noticed Celestia watching her and was greeted by a reassuring smile and caring eyes. Sunset smiled softly and nodded, remembering how willingly she'd been forgiven by her former teacher.This is Equestria. Things work differently here and ponies seem very nice so far. I shouldn't worry so much, even if I don't make friends with them on the spot.
Princess Cadance was the first to finish her breakfast and stand up again. She said goodbye to Sunset and the others and then flew to the main entrance of the throne room. She quickly explained what she intended to do and then left the palace with a good number of ponies, including most of the guards.
The Princess sat down on one of the bigger pillows and the foals quickly took the remaining seats, now watching the Princess without having to stare up at her. Luna waited until every foal had found a spot, then smiled again and began talking in a very soft voice. Sunset recognized the voice as the one she had used in the dream realm and she smiled at the eagerness of Princess Luna to entertain her young audience. Sunset grinned even more when she realized the few staff ponies also tried to be close enough to listen while doing their work and tidying up.
Sunset heard Twilight giggle next to her and then led her friend down some stairs towards the main entrance of the castle. Sunset could of course still remember the way and she noticed barely anything had changed since she last walked through the hallways. When she stepped outside, she froze on the top of the stairs and took a heavy breath.
She saw the city of Canterlot, or at least what was left of it. She saw big holes in roofs and some buildings missing altogether, broken windows and walls, and streets mostly filled with rocks and debris instead of ponies. She sat back on her haunches and stared, her body trembling as a single thought echoed through her mind:I caused all of this...
Twilight sighed deeply and sat down next to Sunset and gently touched her shoulder
Sunset shook her head and whispered
Sunset didn't dare to look away from Twilight's purple eyes but her aqua eyes filled with guilt
Sunset didn't say anything and just clung her forehooves around her friend as she broke into tears. Knowing her friend as much as she did, Sunset realized Twilight must have pushed all her worries and doubts away so she could focus on the tasks ahead. She could feel the alicorn press her muzzle against her and shiver in sobs. Sunset just held her close and gave her the time to let all her pent up emotions out. When the sobbing started to die down, she gently straightened her friend up so she could look into her eyes
Twilight looked up and saw Sunset winking at her with her trademark smirk, despite some leftover tears. The alicorn smiled back and hugged her friend again
The two friends shared another minute in each others embrace, then Twilight pulled back and looked into the city again. Sunset followed her gaze and noticed some ponies walking through the streets now.
She vanished in a red flash of magic that looked more like flame than sparkles, and within a blink, she stood next to Twilight again who smiled at her
Twilight nodded and looked around
The two ponies walked quietly along the track and Sunset felt some shivers running down her back. To both sides of the track all she could see where abandoned buildings in more or less good shapes. They saw a pegasus fly high above them once, but otherwise they met no other ponies on their way out of the city.
She approached the carriages when nopony answered her and saw that they were not as damaged as the engine. Only the last one of them had fallen over but from the looks of it, that one had been for luggage only. Sunset climbed up at the side of one carriage and peeked in. She saw bags and suitcases scattered around but no ponies inside. Slightly relieved, she went to check the next and was now joined by Twilight who hovered next to her
Sunset nodded and carefully jumped down and stood next to the engine. Twilight landed next to her and began channeling her magic. The purple aura surrounded the train and her horn glowed brightly. To Sunset's surprise, the engine actually lifted up slightly and began moving of the tracks. Sunset looked at her friend, wondering how powerful Twilight had really become, when the alicorn gave out a groan of exertion
The purple alicorn smiled satisfied and proceeded with the carts next. Again, Sunset fueled Twilight's magic with her own and smiled. In her days as Celestia's student she barely ever twincasted with other unicorns, mostly because she'd been convinced it was beneath her to work together with someone far less talented than herself.
The track was free now and Sunset still felt lots of magic glow inside her. She turned to smile at Twilight, eager to get to the next task, but her smile faded quickly when she saw the frown on her friends face
Twilight leaned gently against Sunset for a moment without noticing the slight blush on the amber unicorn, then she jumped into the air and flapped her wings.
Unfortunately, Twilight's hopes found an end when they saw another obstacle. Apparently one of the houses next to the tracks had broken in and most of the walls and the roof had fallen onto the tracks.
The two mares climbed around the huge pile of debris and worked to remove it, much more careful this time. Although they worked together as before, they only made slow progress.
The pegasus broke the hug and threw her rainbow mane back, her wings flapping and lifting her up into hovering just above groundThe Sunset Shimmer? The unicorn who lives in the human world?"
Twilight shook her head but was smiling again by nowIt was just a dream! Nothing like that happened! She's okay, she's okay, she's okay...
Sunset didn't see Rainbow Dash watch her with an worried expression when her smile vanished so suddenly. The pegasus couldn't know what just happened and decided to better drop the teasing for now. She turned back to Twilight and asked
Sunset barely heard any of this as she just stared at the ground and tried to get the nightmare out of her head again. She also didn't notice Twilight and Rainbow Dash approach her until they each grabbed one of her forehooves and started flapping their wings again. The amber unicorn blinked as she was lifted up and her backhooves kicked out involuntarily as she lost touch of the ground.
Sunset just blew her a raspberry at her and looked back at the ground. She smirked and with a glow of her horn and a red flash she appeared back on the ground a good distance in the direction Rainbow was headed. She laughed and began galloping as fast as she could.
Another flash and Sunset was way ahead again. Rainbow stretched out her forehooves and dashed after her, dodging some buildings as she caught up once again. She grinned when she saw Sunset heading into a dead end and just flew over the wall. She turned around to throw another taunt at the unicorn, but then her eyes went wide as she saw Sunset being surrounded by a red glow and simply pass through the wall and past her again
Sunset laughed as Rainbow yelled at her again and picked up more speed while galloping. She just smiled and let her hooves find the right way for her as the air blew through her fiery mane. With four hooves she could go so much faster than with two legs and she enjoyed it, she never even realized how much she missed this, just running for running's sake. Her magic glowed inside her mind like a happy flame and she felt alive, she felt like a true pony and unicorn again for the first time since she returned to Equestria.
Rainbow went ahead again and this time, Sunset decided to let her get a little lead before she teleported in front of her once more. In the distance she could already see a group of ponies with large carts making their way towards a bridge that led into the city.
The two ponies breathed heavy and just watched each other for a few moments, then both smirked and exchanged a hoof bump.
Before Sunset could reply, Twilight descended and landed softly next to them, her purple wings folding on her flanks
Sunset smiled when a curly pink pony pounced on the alicorn and nearly threw her over in a cuddly hug. Rainbow just rolled her eyes and Twilight gently picked up Pinkie Pie with her magic and set her down next to her
Sunset looked around and saw three more ponies approach them: A white unicorn with an indigo mane and tail, an orange earth pony with a slightly worn stetson hat on her straw blonde mane and a yellow pegasus with a long pink mane that covered half of her face.
Sunset endured their stares for moment longer, then took a step forward and waved
The three mares looked at each other again, then nodded. Rainbow stood next to them and Pinkie took the other side. Sunset just glared at them now, getting more and more annoyed by the way those ponies were treating her
Now it was Sunset's turn to glare which made Rarity look even more guilty and Applejack return the glare in defiance. Fluttershy managed to slip behind the two but Sunset could hear her whisper in a meek voice
Sunset's anger just vanished instantly and was replaced by a hard and cold feeling inside her guts. Her head dropped down and her legs gave in under her as she slumped back on her haunches. Applejack was right of course. How could she have been so foolish and believe every pony would forgive her, just because Twilight did?
The Princess stepped between Sunset and Applejack and glared daggers from her purple eyes at the earth pony
Twilight huffed again and stomped her hoof
The five friends stared at Twilight with strange expressions. Fear, worry, concern and guilt all mixed together, most of them coming from Twilight's sudden outburst of emotions.
Sunset took a deep breath and shook her head
Sunset turned around and started to walk back towards the city and away from the ponies. She barely made any distance though when she was called back
Applejack stretched out her hoof and blushed a little
Pinkie and Rainbow joined them again and Twilight watched them with a relieved and sincerely happy smile. While Sunset answered some questions of the human world, she saw a lavender unicorn approach the Princess and they both meet in a tight hug. They exchanged some words and walked over to Sunset. The lavender unicorn hesitated for a moment but after an encouraging nudge for Twilight she waved to Sunset
Twilight watched her two students with a smile, then she looked around confused
The princess and her friends nodded and quickly decided to leave the carts behind and carry their goods by hoof instead, as it would be easier to get through the demolished city that way. The ponies from Ponyville quickly formed lines and loaded as much as they could carry on their backs and into their saddlebacks.
As the street got wider again, the ponies kept walking in small groups towards the castle. Sunset caught up to Starlight Glimmer and the other two, then blinked surprised when she got a view on the blue unicorn's face for the first time
Walking through the city took longer than Sunset expected and she ended up in the center of attention again and bombarded by questions about the human world
"So humans were clothes all the time?"
"How was it, not having magic to do things?"
"The animals in the human world aren't as sentient as they are here. I guess some species have a higher intelligence than others, but they can't really communicate with humans or vice versa."
"So, humans eat meat a lot. Did you too?"
"Seriously Starlight? You managed to combine three spells most unicorns can't even perform one by one? That's amazing!"
The ponies kept going on when a troop of pegasi approached them, led by Princess Cadance. The pink alicorn smiled and landed in front of Sunset and her friends
The Princess turned around and started walking but when she approached a tall building she was stopped by a voice next to Sunset
Cadance tilted her head curiously
The walk towards the castle continued with no further interruptions but also with less chatting, the long night's walk and heavy burden taking their toll form the ponies. Even Starlight and Sunset who used their magic could feel the strain by now.
The ponies smiled and entered the castle where the royal staff took care of the goods they'd been carrying. Sunset levitated her share towards some other unicorns who took over with their magic and couldn't help but giggle when she heard a sigh of relief from Starlight as she dropped her baskets as well.
Princess Luna joined the friends from Ponyville and Sunset smiled at her
Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie then went to towards the improvised hospital to offer their help while Applejack followed some staff ponies to take care of the apples they brought. Rarity decided she'd help set up sleeping accommodations for the night. Rainbow approached a guard and offered her help and was quickly sent to deliver a message to the other Princesses. The cyan pegasus gave a salute and zoomed off.
Sunset stayed behind and watched the ponies with some weird mix of happiness, guilt and confusion. During the trip through town, she felt like she knew those ponies all her life and they got along well after the rough start. She realized they didn't know her beyond what Twilight had told them, but they seemed genuinely interested in Sunset. She could really see them as close friends.
Just thinking this sent a sharp needle of guilt into her heart, remembering the friends she had to leave behind in the human world. How could she just betray them with their pony counterparts? Was she even betraying them? The seemed so similar and Sunset found herself having a hard time to distinguish them from their human selves at times. If there was any difference at all, Sunset thought of the ponies as more mature. There were no teenage girl quarrels distracting them and they seemed so focused on what to do next and how to use their talents for the best. They didn't need a principal Celestia or even a Princess telling them what to do, they just did it.
Sunset found herself envying them for their self confidence and determination even during a crisis. During the confrontation with the sirens, her friends had pulled themselves together once she reminded them of their friendship. Later at the Friendship Games and at the Camp Everfree, the girls and most of school had relied on her judgments and more or less followed her lead. She had felt good back then, needed by her friends. She hadn't fallen back into arrogance or thought her friends wouldn't get through without her. But it felt good to contribute and take charge at times, knowing her friends trusted her enough to follow her. And forgave her when she made mistakes.
Sunset didn't feel like these ponies would really need her, in the end. Maybe they had once relied on Twilight, but right now they could contribute on their own. Sunset was sure they'd accept any help she would give and be thankful for it, but she also knew in the end, her contribution wouldn't be necessary.Remember what Luna just told you. Everypony's contribution is valuable. Just because you're not leading the pack doesn't mean you can't be a great help.
Sunset found Starlight and Trixie standing next to her and watching her curiously. Sunset blushed a little and Trixie giggled, but Starlight gave her an understanding smile
The three friends hugged for a few more moments, then shared a slightly embarrassed giggle along with some happy smiles.
Chapter 11: The past and the future
Luna smiled as she watched the three unicorns hug. She was happy that Sunset Shimmer made yet another friend, the amber unicorn already in a far better state of mind after just spending a couple of hours with Twilight and the Elements. She would benefit greatly from having more ponies to help her not feel lost and lonely.
Luna sighed and kept smiling. Starlight and Sunset would benefit greatly from each other's presence. Sunset had ambition and wouldn't let herself be pulled down by guilt for too long. Starlight Glimmer had a lot more trouble getting past her feelings of guilt and shame, to the point she either found herself locked out of live or panicking and jumping into rushed decisions. However, when she overcame the guilt, Starlight had shown far less tendencies for relapses then Sunset. Luna had seen her dreams last night and knew the girl from another world still couldn't forgive herself completely.
The Moon Princess noticed the third unicorn make some effort to cheer her friends and her success turned into another wave of happy giggles. Luna's smile grew softer even. She had heard about Trixie, the Great and Powerful, from Twilight at first and from other ponies as well. But after guiding the stage magician through a serious of very severe nightmares in the weeks after the alicorn amulet incidence, Luna now had nothing but sympathy for the unicorn.
Luna slowly walked up to the group of unicorns, following her instincts. She knew the three ponies would benefit from more time with each other and she felt the desire to nurture their development if she could. She smiled when she noticed doing just the same thing she'd seen her sister do for Twilight Sparkle so many times. Maybe she'd end up picking a personal student soon? To her own surprise, this idea made her smile grow wider.
Starlight noticed her approach and gave a shy bow, making the two others aware of her as well.
Luna nodded in appreciation and with her magic she picked up a scroll from a stack next to the throne. She levitated in towards Sunset and the unicorn took it in her own red magic and unfolded it curiously. She read the words and then her eyes opened wide and she stared back at the Luna.
Luna knew exactly what the unicorn would feel this very moment. She knew, because she had gone through the same. She pondered for a moment about just giving some reassuring words, like her sister would, and then leave the unicorn to figure those things out by herself.
The three unicorns shivered and looked away, each one lost in their own memories for a moment. Luna gave them the time they needed, the demanded their attention back by clicking her hoof softly on the ground
Luna opened her eyes and looked at each of the ponies in front of her
Luna gave the ponies a minute to process her words. The three reformed unicorns still showed some concerns, mostly self doubts.
Sunset blinked and looked down at the scroll and Starlight and Trixie peeked over her shoulders
The three unicorns exchanged a glance and then nodded
Luna watched them vanish into the hallway and only then took a deep breath. Opening herself and her memories to help the ponies gain the confidence they needed had been harder than she expected.
That left only Cadance to be informed about the whole situation. Luna closed her eyes and sensed the presence of the Crystal Princess approaching the palace. Taking this hint of fate, she informed the staff of the next steps and then left the throne room through the main doors.
She stepped down the stairs towards the main entrance of the palace and arrived in time to greet a clearly exhausted Princess Cadance. The pink alicorn had slumped down from her usual regal pose as she passed the doors, but straightened herself up when she saw Luna halfway up the stairs.
Cadance didn't refuse and followed behind Luna, although she remained silent. Luna waited for the hallway to get wide enough, then stopped for Cadance to catch up and walk beside her. The pink alicorn looked confused but matched Luna's slow trot down the hallway.
The pink alicorn nodded and lost some of her tension and fell into a more natural pose. The two princesses met no other pony as they slowly made their way towards Luna's private chambers. Luna felt a tug on her mind at some point and stopped in her tracks. She closed her eyes and stood still for a minute. Cadance didn't notice right away and went a few steps ahead, then turned her head and watched the dark blue mare.
Luna blinked, then glared back
Cadance flinched and backed away again, pulling her eyes away from Luna's angry stare. The dark alicorn sighed as she watched Cadance sit down on the cold floor and try to find words to say
Cadance just sat there for a moment and stared
There, she said it. Luna sighed and looked down at the floor between her hooves. She had felt the tension between Cadance and her for the longest time. Also she had been mimicking her sister for the longest time and pushed away all those feelings for the sake of Equestria. But what had this lead to? Celestia crying at night, mourning about the chances she lost, the friends she couldn't comfort as she'd wanted. Losing the student she had loved like a daughter and living in constant worry, hid well behind a facade of calmness and wisdom.
"Where were you at my wedding? You can obviously read me like a book. You could have exposed Queen Chrysalis before she hurt Shining Armor and everypony else. You could have saved me from the prison she'd thrown me in. Where have you been?"
Luna looked up again when she heard no sound from the pink alicorn. She saw the mare slumped on the floor in resignation. When she met Luna's eyes again, they glowed with anger and frustration.
The pink alicorn sat up again. Her angry glare had softened some when she saw the sorrow in Luna's eyes. She stopped three steps before her
Cadance shook her head
Cadance nodded and gave a faint smile
Luna tilted her head in surprise when the anger in Cadance' eyes faded and was replaced by something else
Luna made the distance to the other mare and spoke softly
At this, Cadance couldn't hold back a giggle
The dark alicorn tilted her head and Cadance giggled again
Luna smiled pleased to see Cadance relax on one of the soft blue pillows she preferred. The two princesses still had some way to go, but the first steps of a closer friendship had been made. They couldn't undo their past and the future seemed filled with worries. But Luna's smile stayed, here in the present with friends by her side and being herself.
Chapter 12 Lights in the night
After about an hour of waiting, Luna opened the doors to her balcony to let Twilight Sparkle enter. The youngest of the Princesses flapped her wings for a soft landing and stepped inside, the sinking sun behind her. Luna noticed the frown buried deep into the alicorn's brow and with more concern saw the beginning panic in the purple eyes. Even though she knew Twilight leaned towards extreme emotions under stress, Luna had learned not to underestimate those signs. If something would get the Element of Magic this worried, even with the other Elements and friends around, it was certainly not pleasant.
"Twily."
Sunshine, Sunshine, Ladybugs awake! Clap your hooves and do a little shake!
Luna didn't hide her smile at the cute display and watched the two young alicorns hug and giggle a little at their own silliness. When Twilight sat down next to Luna, the panic had vanished from her eyes and only the smile remained. Cadance returned the smile and sat back on her own pillow
Twilight levitated a scroll to the table with her magic and unfolded a map of Canterlot
Luna nodded but Cadance looked at the map with a skeptic expression
Twilight nodded and grinned, although it looked very forced
Cadance looked between the two mares and sighed
Cadance nodded and returned her attention on the map
Luna nodded and rubbed her chin with a hoof
Luna stared at Twilight with barely hidden anger. Before any of it would unleash on the young alicorn, a gentle voice called out from behind her
Twilight shook her head with some hesitation
The three alicorns giggled gently and soon Twilight was smiling again.
Celestia nodded and finished her tea
Luna turned to her sister and like the younger alicorns, they shared a hug, each one wrapping a hoof and a wing around the other. Cadance smiled at the display and gave the sisters another minute.
Luna closed her eyes and allowed herself a happy sigh. There were few things she enjoyed more than nightly fights, the cool air around her, the melody of the stars above and the world bathed in the soft glow of her moon. In an easy glide, she passed through the starry sky, simply enjoying this peaceful moment for a while.
The Princesses flew for a while, when Luna pointed downwards and sunk towards the ground. The group of maybe 50 crystal ponies stood out against the dark streets and fields around them, the light of the bright moon reflecting on their crystal manes and coats.
The Moon Princess smiled to Shining Armor as he joined his family and stepped towards the group to give them some private moments. The crystals ponies had bowed down as soon as the Princesses approached and now that Luna came closer, their heads sunk down towards the ground again. Luna giggled softly addressed them with a calm voice
The crystal ponies gave out a wave of sighs, some tired and some relieved, but then a pony of the crystal guard smiled and saluted
The crystal ponies and their royal family continued walking down the road towards Canterlot, Luna walking in the middle of the group. When they climbed a small hill, the blue alicorn had her horn glow as she sent a beam of focused moonlight up into the sky in a bright flare. The ponies around her blinked surprised but Luna just kept walking, her horn still glowing with moonlight to brighten up the path they were all walking on.
In front of them lay Canterlot in the dark, but from the edges of the city a trail of small lights set up a path through the streets leading towards the Palace. Luna smiled as she remembered the first time she had been to the Crystal Empire about a millennium and five decades ago. There hadn't been a railway to the city back then and Celestia and herself had to fly for almost a week to get the city. They had arrived late night as well and where greeted by the crystal ponies with lanterns, lightening up the path into the city for them. Luna could remember the beautiful sight of the glittering city and the soft lights as if it had been just yesterday.
Apparently Celestia could remember as well and had send the ponies out for a similar greeting. Although Luna could see that the ponies of Canterlot didn't use lanterns this time. At each side of the road, ponies stood in a line and waved to the foreign visitors, every other pony was a unicorn with a ball of light and magic floating on the tip of their horns.
At some point, Flurry Heart had woken up from the loud cheering and poked her head out from under her mother's wing. Luna grinned as the filly's eyes grew almost comically large and she climbed on her mother's head to see more of the pretty lights.
They reached the Palace after a few more minutes, followed by a sea of lights. As they climbed up the stairways to the main entrance, the crystal ponies started to single file. At the top of the stairs, Celestia and Twilight had taken the last spots in the line, the golden and purple lights on their horns joining in the others. Sunset and Starlight stood next to their teachers with their lights, next to them the remaining Elements of Harmony with Trixie, her horn glowing along with Rarity's.
The room was crowded once more as the Princesses made their way to the podium with Celestia's and Luna's throne. This time, Cadance addressed her subjects and the other ponies, talking about what had happened during the last two days. The other Princesses took over from time to time to add their own thoughts and to thank the crystal ponies for their assistance.
Just like the day before, after talking to the ponies the Princesses spread out again. Celestia headed towards Starlight Glimmer just as the lavender unicorn introduced the scholar of the Crystal Empire, a unicorn stallion named Sunburst, to Trixie and Sunset Shimmer. The five ponies shared a few words and then headed through the doors leading into the Sun Princess' wing.
As tiny wiggle at her flank broke her concentration and she gently lifted her wing a little to reveal a very tired alicorn filly. She smiled and leaned down to gently nuzzle Flurry Heart
The room soon fell silent except for the soft breathes of sleeping ponies and the occasional snore here and there. Luna still remained sitting in front of her throne, not feeling the need to sleep after a mostly restful day. She decided to follow the other Princesses' examples and focused on her tasks. She closed her eyes and let her mind slip into the dream plane while her physical form remained in the throne room, should anypony need her assistance during the night.
Sunset Shimmer shuddered when she took in the eerily familiar surroundings of the archives. As far as she could tell, nothing had changed since the day she'd made her bad decision, probably the worst in her whole life.
Sunset easily found the book she read on the night she ran through the mirror and Starlight sunk into it right away. That left Trixie and herself to find other books that might be helpful. Sunset had found a few promising titles and was skinning through the old tomes she spread out on the table, while Trixie was still browsing through one of the larger shelves on the other side of the room.
Starlight had settled on the floor and read the book with a fascination that disturbed Sunset in a way. Not that she didn't trust her new friend, it was more the way she was sitting there and sometimes even mouthing the words of a spell, the amber unicorn couldn't help but wonder if that was how she looked like all those years ago.
Starlight looked up from the book and gave an almost longing sigh
Trixie turned her head to Starlight and managed a smile but Sunset recognized that kind of smile. It was the same she'd given her friends lots of time to have them not worry even though her guilt was burning her up from within. Starlight leaned closer and touched Trixie's horn with her own. Sunset found herself smiling at this little sign of affection between unicorns, one of the many gestures she'd never seen anything comparable in the human world.
Trixie relaxed visibly, then smirked and some of her usual fire returned to her eyes
Starlight and Sunset both smiled but they knew what Trixie was hiding behind her gin. Starlight went back to her book, without her initial excitement though. Trixie gathered a few large tomes in her magic and brought them over to the table next to Sunset. Their gazes met and Sunset offered a sympathetic smile to Trixie. They stared at each other for a minute, then Trixie nodded and opened her first book. Sunset sighed and went back to her studies.
The three unicorns worked silently for a couple of hours and managed to find a good amount of useful books they'd decided to take a closer look at.
At some point, Twilight joined them in the archives. After a hug for Starlight and Sunset and an awkward smile to Trixie, she told them about the ley lines and what she'd found out so far, like she did with the princesses before.
Starlight and Twilight immediately started throwing ideas and theories back and forth. Sunset could see they were used to do magical research together. She tried to keep up but as hard as it was to admit, not having magic for so long had left Sunset's magical know-how more than a little rusty, not to mention there were results of magical theory research she simply hadn't heard of yet.
Trixie on the other hand trailed off nearly right after the beginning and started to skim through books again. It seemed like she couldn't focus too well though with Starlight's and Twilight's loud discussion going on, so she ended up teleporting a inkwell through the room.
Twilight looked up slightly annoyed and the inkwell quickly reappeared on the desk. Twilight turned to Trixie, but to her surprise the unicorn offered her a passage in her book that described exactly what Twilight had just been explaining. The alicorn blushed a little but Trixie just winked with a harmless smirk, causing the others to giggle softly again.
After Twilight had filled a few scrolls with notes, Starlight dropped her head on the table and groaned
Intermission: Twilight Sparkle
Just after greeting the ponies from the Crystal Empire, Twilight and her five best friends in all of Equestria walked into a private part of the palace gardens. Usually, only the Princesses were allowed to enter these parts, but the others were more or less national heroes so none of the guards seemed to mind.
Twilight's mood wasn't the best, despite the recent progress everypony had made in repairing Canterlot. Even with all the help from outside, it would take weeks, if not months to rebuild the city. Though of course, it would all be meaningless if anything like this could just happen again.
Less than two hours. It had taken less than two hours to flatten nearly the entire capital of Equestria. And that was with four ruling princesses present. If the quakes would have hit Manehatten, for instance... the city might have been gone even before any help could arrive.
“So what are we gonna do now, Twilight? We can’t just sit here and let Sunset Shimmer take all the glory.”
“Twi, you need to calm down.”
Twilight frowned and was about to nod. Back then, Celestia told her what needed to be done. But did she really know exactly how to do it?
Twilight took a deep breath, but whatever she thought she had to say just ended up in a long sigh as she sunk on the ground, her head coming to rest on her forelegs
“Thank you, girls. I needed that.”
The four friends shared a worried glance but then nodded
Five pairs of eyes turned to Pinkie Pie at that
Twilight turned around and saw Starlight Glimmer standing a few feet away, her student clearly worried. When she didn’t say anything for a minute, Starlight took another step closer
Starlight searched and found her teachers eyes
Twilight couldn’t hold Starlight’s gaze, but she nodded
She stayed behind when her friends left one after another, her eyes staring blankly ahead into the dark night, unseeing the beauty of the starry sky. Only when the sun started rising, Princess Twilight Sparkle got back on her hooves and headed to the throne room.
Just a few hours after greeting the delegation from the Crystal Empire, Sunset was again overwhelmed by a feeling of familiarity, this time a far more pleasant one. She was sitting in a big room with high ceilings and white marble walls. Desks and bookshelves were spread out on the sides of the room and a large table filled nearly the entire centre of the room. She inhaled the familiar scent of books, ink and tea that reminded her of the first time she had been in this room as a small filly. Like back then, she found herself admiring the insignia of the sun that was embedded into the huge doors.
Barely anything had changed in Princess Celestia's study since the last time she'd been here. A pair of chalkboards has been added and some more books lay around at the desks. But everything else reminded her so much of those years she had spent nearly every day inside these rooms, it almost hurt. Even the form of Princess Celestia next to her and watching her as she studied.
The others had been given rooms to retire and went straight to bed, neither Starlight nor Trixie had gotten much sleep last night and Sunburst had spent most of the day travelling south with the crystal ponies as well.
Sunset followed the princess out of her study and down the hallway. She remembered this one leading towards Celestia's private chambers. However, they stopped a few doors earlier at an unmarked and plain door.
It was her old room, the room she was given by the princess all those years ago. The first room she could call her own in her whole life.
Sunset looked up surprised at the sudden call from Princess Celestia. She found her magenta eyes gazing into hers, an almost desperate expression on her face
Sunset took a sudden breath that sounded dangerously like a sob. She was surprised by this level of emotion the Princess showed right now. With her own voice shaking, Sunset managed to speak out one of the thoughts that had been very prominent in her mind for a long time
Sunset felt soft feathers brush over her cheek and realized the princess was wiping away tears. Somewhere during her rambling, she'd started crying again
Sunset froze at those words. She'd been taken under Celestia's tutelage when she was a small filly and coming from an orphanage. It seemed only natural to start seeing more than just a teacher in the kind and benevolent mare that spent so much time with her. They'd shared secrets with each other, Celestia would always make time for her. More than once, when filly Sunset would suffer from nightmares, the princess would be there to soothe her.
At some point those events grew less and less frequent. Celestia distanced herself from her and those moments were she would act as a mother vanished altogether. Sunset grew obsessed with winning back Celestia's appreciation, proving her worth, trying to achieve greatness by proving her talents and gaining more power. She'd failed to see the lessons Celestia tried to teach her and it all climaxed in that one night were she'd run away.
And now, years later, after having changed so much and in the middle of crisis, Celestia practically called herself her mother. She blinked and noticed the white alicorn stare at her. She was visibly nervous and Sunset realized that it hadn’t just been a slip of tongue. Princess Celestia was well aware of what she had said and was waiting for her reaction. Sunset wished she knew how to react. After a minute of silence, she whispered
Celestia sighed and understood. She started to explain
Sunset had been listening attentively but she felt so numb. She wanted to cry and share the pain with the Princess she once loved like a mother, but something held her back. Her eyes wandered through the room and found small differences from how she'd left it all those years ago. Her desk was tidy, all her scrolls neatly stacked on it. The bookshelves held new books, recent editions of spell books she'd owned.
"Sunset?"
Again, Sunset froze for a moment. Just three words, but they meant so much to her. She took a deep breath and gathered all her courage but even then, all she could do was whisper
Sunset blinked and nodded. She turned away from Celestia and took the few steps towards the bed. She remembered how huge it seemed when she was a filly, but it was still big enough even today. She climbed on top of it, at a very particular spot like she always used to. Celestia watched her but seemed hesitant. Sunset reached for her magic and turned out the mage lights that floated under the ceiling. For a moment, only the red glow around her horn illuminated the room. Then, all the candles started to burn at once and the room was bathed in a warm and soft glow of small flickering flames.
At that moment, Celestia understood and climbed next to Sunset onto the bed, like she had so many times when they'd talked the nights away. Sunset shivered for a moment, it felt so familiar it almost hurt, but then a soft wing wrapped around her and she felt safe.
As the wing held her close and Celestia's watched her, Sunset started to talk. From the moment she stepped through the mirror, she told everything that had happened, important or not. Details not even Princess Twilight or the girls knew about. Celestia stayed silent, but the wing embracing her told Sunset everything she needed to know. When she talked about fear, the wing squeezed her reassuringly. As she described the pain she felt as a demon, she was pulled closer towards the comforting presence beside her. When she talked about her friends, they both smiled together.
Sunset ended up talking through the whole night, opening herself to the alicorn next to her. Celestia stayed and listened, cherishing every word Sunset shared with her. Whether they called themselves mother and daughter, student and teacher, or simply friends, they knew that their relationship would always be special to them and that they would never stop being close to each other, no matter how many worlds may come between them.
It's been a nice day, until...
Sunset ran as fast as she could towards Canterlot High. Despite just having passed noon, the streets were dark, all the light almost completely locked out by the black storm clouds that swirled over the town in an angry raging storm. The closer she got, she realized the center of the storm was in fact exactly over Canterlot high. She flinched as three massive lightning bolts hit the ground close to the school building in quick succession. She wasn't really afraid of lightnings or storms, but the feeling this particular storm gave her sent cold shivers down her body. Fear, anger, pain and, most concerning of all, magic. Equestrian magic to be exact. She knew that familiar tingle under her skin, she felt it before when being with Twilight and her friends and even more so during their eventful stay at Camp Everfree. But she never felt it as powerful and dark as today. It didn't make any sense, equestrian magic was usually based on harmony. This raging storm was anything but harmonious, it was only destructive and chaotic, at best. Sunset frowned as she followed this train of thought. And it's been a nice day, until...
Sunset had been at Lyra's home just a couple of hours earlier, working on a school project they had been asigned too. She was surprised how quickly the invitation from Lyra had come with a genuine smile from her fellow student. She'd happily agreed, smiling herself and to be honest feeling very relieved and to some part accepted. Sure, she had a couple of friends now and worked hard to leave the troubling events that dictated her past behind her. Up until the Fall Formal and her failed attempt to take over the school with magic from Equestria, she'd never spoke with any student more than was absolutely necessary, and even then it had been mostly threats or snarky remarks. Up to the Battle of the Bands and her helping defeat the sirens, only Rarity, Pinkie, Applejack, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash talked to her. After that, the other students lost some of their hesitation to approach her, but again it was barely more than absolutely necessary. The other students slowly warmed up to her after seeing her compete and help out during the Friendship Games and even saving the human Twilight from the power rush of barely controlled magic. By the time they traveled to Camp Everfree, she was more comfortable around school as were the other students with her. She even managed to patch up some of her relationship with Flash Sentry who had been among those she hurt the most in her bullying days.
But being assigned to Lyra and seeing her classmate happy about that, without any second thoughts, that had never happened before. While they were working on their project in Lyra's room, the two girls quickly lost themselves in some friendly chatter, sharing laughs and feeling at ease. Lyra had even invited her to stay for dinner that night. Sunset smiled and was about to accept, when her phone gave of the sound of a new text message. Glancing down, she saw it had been from Rainbow Dash and only held one word: Emergency!
Sunset had rolled her eyes, since she'd gotten a few of those before: One time, Raindow needed a new string for her guitar. The other time was about a flat tyre on her bike. She would have given no more thought on it, but then the phone dinged again five times with messages from her other friends:
Rarity: Trouble at Canterlot High! Please come quick!
Applejack: Emergency! Something weird is going on at school, we need you all there!
Fluttershy: Please come to school quickly!.
Pinkie: I'll be right there! I'll bring snacks!
Twilight: I'm on my way! Please be safe!
Sunset felt a chill running down her spine and stood up. She looked at Lyra, trying to make up an excuse for leaving, but the other girl didn't even notice. She'd been looking out of the windows, frowning herself „Gee, it's suddenly all dark and gloomy. So much for a sunny weekend. Seriously, how can there be so many clouds just out of nothing?“
That's when Sunset felt it, almost sizzling in the air. Magic. Undeniably Equestrian magic, and lots of it. Concern grew to fear and quickly to panic as she just turned around and ran out of the house. She heard Lyra call after her and follow her out, but she didn't stop running down the street towards school. Something was seriously wrong and her friends needed her help!
She only turned around to quickly tell Lyra she'd be back later, but she saw her staring at the sky with her mouth hanging open. Bon-Bon, her best friend who lived just across the street, had joined her, worried about the screams she heard but now frightened as she saw the sky. Sunset couldn't blame them. Thick dark clouds had filled the sky, blocking out the sun. They were constanly moving in an angry swirl, the center hovering over Canterlot High, not too far away from their homes. There was no rain but loud thunder could be heard and lightning strikes flashed through the air, far more frequent than any normal storm could send them. That and the violent wind that shook the trees all around them, bending them in all directions and even sending smaller items flying through the air. Lyra and Bon-Bon looked at each other, then after Sunset who ran down the streets, right to the eye of the storm. She didn't see Lyra and Bonny exchange glances. With only a moment of hesitation, both girls ran after her.
Another lighting strike pulled Sunset back into the present. This one had been close, too close for comfort. A tree had been struck down, luckily there was no fire and nobody else was on the streets as the tree fell over. Sunset shivered more and ran even faster. She had felt it and was certain now: The lightning was not an ordinary one, but a bolt of magic. Coming from a storm that couldn't be natural either. By now, the wind was even stronger than before, only increasing as she got closer to school. She could see cars being blown over and windows breaking from the force. She wondered for a second how she could even manage to get forward in such a storm, but another lighting as well as a familiar cry made her push that thought aside.
She was now running towards the main entrance of Canterlot High and the statue in front of it, only that it wasn't there anymore. In its place was a strange glowing orb about the size of the former pedestal. The pedestal that had also been a portal between two similar, but completely different worlds. As Sunset had expected, the portal was in the very center of the storm and she could feel raw and uncontrolled magic pouring out of it, no spell to guide it and therefore causing a chaotic rage, manifested in this unnatural storm.
The scream she heard belonged to Rarity. She and four of her friends stood in the storm, about twenty yards away from the portal, clinging on each other to not be blown away. Like Sunset, they managed to withstand the fury of the storm, but apparently they were unable to get any closer to the portal. Sunset could see other students in the building, watching the scene with fear as constant lighting strikes illuminated the darkness and the wind sent all kinds of objects flying around, some even hitting the building and breaking down part of the roof.
Sunset hoped they would be safe inside Canterlot High for now and hurried to her friends. That's when she saw Twilight, trying to get to the other five as well. She came from another direction and was fighting for every step closer, desperately trying to not have her glasses blown away. Sunset quickly changed directions and headed straight for her. Within a few moments, she reached her friend and took her hand
„Twilight! We need to get to the others!“
The purple haired girl looked up, relieved for a moment before concern and fear returned to her features „Sunset! It's magic! It's everywhere, such much magic, more than I ever felt before!“ Twilight shuddered, clearly remembering the time she had been overwhelmed by a burst of magic before, just like Sunset had. The latter one nodded, her red and yellow hair blown in all directions by the wind
„We need to find a way to stop it!“
„Then hurry up already and get here!“
That came from Rainbow who had noticed them while holding onto the other friends.
„We can compare notes later, we need to do something now!“
Sunset nodded and made her way towards them, pulling Twilight along. To both girls' surprise, now Twilight didn't struggle anymore to get forward. Pinkie and Rainbow reached out and pulled her into the huddle, and immediately they all started glowing in a familiar way. Larger ears sprouted out at the sides of their heads and their hair elongated to full manes. Soft wings sprouted out of Fluttershy and Rainbow's back and started to flutter to withstand the wind. Twilight had her own larger pair of wings and now also a glowing horn on her forehead as the friends did what they'd call „pony up“.
Sunset watched amazed as always when this happened. The six friends represented the Elements of Harmony in this world, and when they were working together, they were capable of wielding an incredible power. She hesitated to take the last step towards her friends. She was not a wielder of an Element, but she was definitely the most adapt in Equestrian magic of them. After all, she'd visited the school of gifted unicorns back in Equestria and had even been Princess Celestia's personal student.
Before the usual turmoil of feelings those memories brought with them could take any hold of her, now Applejack and Rarity reached out to pull Sunset in as well. She felt that surge of magic pass through her body as well and soon, her own pony ears and mane manifested. The other girls smiled at her and she smiled back for a moment. Those were her friends and it did feel right to be here with them, working together to fix this mess. With a nod of determination, they turned and looked at the glowing portal orb. After her transformation, Sunset could now see the magic flooding out of the edges, ripping them open to some degree, which sent even more magic to flow out. The magic seemed to be following paths at certain points but not far enough to really make out a clear pattern. Twilight seemed to see them as well and frowned, then glanced at the sky.
„Whatever send this magic here, it's not guided in from of spell. That's why it just discharges in lighting and storm.“
Sunset nodded, having felt the same thing
„Can you try to stop it? Form a spell to guide the magic back into the portal safely?“
Rainbow nodded at that idea
„Like a lightning rod!“
Rarity looked relieved as well
„That sounds like a perfect way to get rid of this awful storm“
But Twilight shivered and looked up at the dark clouds
„I don't know. It's an awful lot of magic. I don't know if I can do that.“
„Well you ain't gonna find out unless you try, Twilight!“
That was Applejack and Pinkie nodded
„If anyone can do it, it's you Twi!“ Fluttershy joining in
„We believe in you, Twilight! And we're here to help you.“
Twilight looked to each of her friends, then back to Sunset who nodded and looked at the portal „We're in this together, Twilight!“
Twilight, now confident in her friends as well as herself, nodded and closed her eyes. The horn on her forehead began to glow and the friends were lifted up a few inches as the magic took hold of them all. Sunset could see what Twilight was doing, forming a line between the center of the storm in the sky and the portal and trying to pull the wild magic towards it, figuring that once the magic was directed it would flow back on its own. It seemed to work at first, but there was simply too much magic around them already. Twilight fought hard to keep the magic in the path she created, but with more and more magic flooding in, Sunset knew it was a fight she would eventually loose. She wished she could help more, she wished she hadn't lost the abilities to control magic and help Twilight more directly with her spell. But right now, all she could do was offer her friend all the mental support she could give, as did her other five friends.
Suddenly a bolt of magic lightning struck down at the group, into Twilight’s horn. She screamed startled, as did the other girls, and lost control of her spell. The magic flowed out without control again, but this time towards Twilight and from their joint connection, to the other girls as well. Sunset closed her eyes, expecting pain from a backlash or the headache from a failed spell. To her surprise, she only felt a wave of tingles flow through her and the magic seemed to settle peacefully inside her. She opened her eyes again to noticed the perplexed expressions on her friends' faces as well. The magic felt warm inside her, eerily familiar. She blinked and noticed a strange sensation on both sides of her hips. She blinked again and realized. That's the same spot I had my cutie mark. After thinking this, another familiar sensation passed through her body. The first time she felt it had been at Camp Everfree and just like back then, she began seeing what Twilight saw.
She saw the portal again, and the strange lines around it. Now she could clearly identify them as leylines, like the ones she learned about back in Equestria. But these ones were far smaller and shorter. The couldn't hold the vast amount of magic that flooded out of the portal, so the magic just unleashed without guidance. She focused on the portal itself again. She could see cracks and rips at the edges and as she focused more, her vision changed again. There was a veil of light purple energy now. It seemed to be not thicker a single layer of silk and was blown around heavily by the storm, just like Twilight had been. And to her shock, the veil was ripped open by it. There must have been a dozen of cracks and through those cracks, a light blue mist shot into her side of the veil. Sunset focused on the biggest of the cracks and suddenly, she could see the world behind it: Equestria! She could even tell exactly which part of Equestria as the Royal Castle of Canterlot stood out surrounded by other familiar building. The veil most have been separating both worlds but now the wall between the worlds seemed to be slowly collapsing. There was no storm in Canterlot going on, so it must be only this world who had to suffer the backlash of magic flowing between the worlds. Just as Sunset finished that thought, another crack was ripped open. And as it did, the buildings of Canterlot seemed to tremble. Sunset screamed in fear as one of them just crumbled under magic pressure and collapsed. She could almost hear the cries of terror from the ponies inside. Oh no... she thought. The portal... it's...
„THE PORTAL IS BREAKING APART“
Breaking out of her vision, Twilight and Sunset both cried out at the same time, looking at each other
„It's been used a lot more recently.“
„After laying dormant for so long, Princess Twilight visited a lot.“
„The notebook! I use it nearly every day now, it must have weakened the barrier between the worlds.“
„And the strange magic that happened in Camp Everfree! I bet it's connected to the veil weakening!“
„You saw it too! There's magic pushing through everywhere by now.“
„But why does the storm only happen here? Why is there no storm in the other world“
„I haven't seen any storm, but there was an earthquake. Maybe..“
„GIRLS! STOP!“
Both Sunset and Twilight blinked and looked at their friends
„If you keep ramblin', it ain't gonna fix that storm,“ Applejack spoke out again, taking them back into the present situation
„Twilight, your spell worked at first, can you try that again?“ Rarity asked, flinching as the lightning bolts started again to strike down around them once more.
„I... I'm not sure. It worked, but it wasn't enough. The portal and the barrier between worlds are completely out balance.“
Balance Sunset thought, and the spot where her cutie mark was supposed to be tingled again. Balance between the worlds. Cutie marks. Equestrian magic in this world. But balance works in both ways. Maybe this world's energy is getting to Equestria as well? If that's true, then...
„We need to fix this mess from both sides!“
All eyes where on her again, but only Twilight seemed to understand
„Of course! Equestrian magic causes the storm here, but over there, our energy works differently and causes earthquakes instead. But that means...“ Twillight trailed off and looked at the portal and Sunset nodded
„We need to get through, and fast! There's no time to loose. Maybe we can even get more help on the other side.“
All the other girls looked at her with a certain worry
„Sunset...“
„We tried to reach to it, but this is as far as we could get.“
„The wind is way to strong to around the portal. It keeps pushing us away.“
„We can barely hold our ground right here as it is.“
Sunset frowned at their words. She wasn't feeling any struggle standing where she was right now. Yes, the wind had been strong, but nothing she couldn't work through. Twilight made it through as well, didn't see? She looked at her friend only to notice the purple haired girl staring at her
„I'm sure Sunset could get through if she tried.“
„What? Why her but not us?“ Rainbow asked out loud what everyone else including Sunset was thinking.
Twilight explained „When I was trying to reach you, I barely made and progress. But as soon as she touched me, it was easy. In fact, it's easier standing here since she's around for you as well, am I right?“
Sunset blinked again and watched her friends nodding one by one. Now that Twilight said it, the girls weren't clinging on each other anymore like they had before. And even the pegasus wings of Fluttershy and Rainbow had slowed down to an easy flutter. Twilight looked at Sunset again
„It makes sense! You're originally from there, that's why the wind won't affect you like anyone else.“
Before Sunset could answer, all girls flinched as more lighting bolts rained down from the sky. Whatever effect Twilight’s spell had, it apparently wore off rather quickly.
Rainbow Dash, always the heads-on type, was the first to say it.
„Look we don't have time to discuss this any longer! Sunset, you're on! You're going through and work on the other side! Find pony princess Twilight and do the same thing our Twillight does here.“
Applejack nodded „As rarely as it happens, Dash's right this time. You go Sunset an' we're gonna help Twilight do that spell again.“
„What do you mean, I'm right this time ?“
„No way!“ Sunset shook her head in frustration „Even if what Twilight said is true, I might be the only thing keeping you safe from the storm right now! If I leave, you might... I won't leave!“
I can't leave you guys, just like I left them before. And I can't just return and ask for help. Even if they would listen to me... I can't run away from my friends again!
„Sunset.“
She looked up and turned to Fluttershy.
„This is not letting us down. This is doing what must be done. And as much as we'd all like to have you around right now, it's not just about us! Everybody in town would suffer from this storm, every tree and every animal as well. If that's the way to help everyone, we must do it!“
Sunset sobbed suddenly
„But what if I can't? What if I fail? What if there's nothing we can do to help once I'm through?“ What if I don't make it back in time to keep you all safe?
„Darling, we're all connected! We've been through so much together, you're always here with us and we're with you, no matter which world you or we are in!“
Rarity smiled as she spoke those words and reached out to hold Sunset's hand reassuringly. Despite her worries and fears, Sunset felt herself smiling back.
„Besides, it's not like you're gone forever, right? You go do your thing and we do ours, and when you're back we're having the biggest 'Welcome back from pony world' cake you've ever seen!“ Pinkie beamed and bounced at that thought. It would have been hilarious if the storm around then hadn't been raging at full force.
Sunset felt something new, something that was bigger than any of her fears or worries. She could feel the full power and depth of their friendship right now and she knew she'd do anything for them as would they for her and nothing could ever stop them being friends.
Even if I fail, they'll still be my friends. But I won't fail! Not now, not ever! I can do anything for my friends!
Twilight watched Sunset and gave her a knowing smile. Sunset nodded and hugged all of them thightly,
„Be safe everyone! I'll be back as soon as this is fixed!“
With words of encouragement from her friends, her best friends in all the worlds, ringing in her ear Sunset quickly made the distance to the portal and dived right in.
Author's Note
Hi everyone,
first of all, thank you for reading my story.
Thank you again for making it this far and hopefully you can enjoy the next chapter as well!
TalkingToMyself
Chapter 3: Princess perspective
Princess Luna sighed in relief as the pressure from the foreign magic dimmed down more and more. Following Twilight's lead she kept sending her magic to the unicorn Sunset Shimmer. The yellow pony glowed brightly in the magic of four alicorns and many other unicorns and yet she was able to control and direct it perfectly. Luna smiled, hoping that she'd get a chance to find out more about her once this was all stood through.
Sunset Shimmer was too focused on her spell to notice the cheering of the ponies around her. Although not all of them could see the blue threatening mist return to the world it belonged, they noticed the obvious: No more quakes to shake their city and their homes.
Luna noticed the spell slowing down and taking a stop at some point, though it didn't feel finished yet. She watched Sunset Shimmer with concern in her heart and saw the confident unicorn's stance fall apart, despair filling her features and tears her eyes. She still managed to perform the spell and when she reached out for her magic again, Luna once more offered her all she could. The unicorn cried as she sealed the spell with a burst of powerful alicorn magic, and then released the leftover magic. This caused a bright flash and a shock-wave spreading out from her through the room, taking all the ponies present by surprise.
Almost all of them. Luna, thanks to her constant training, managed to catch herself with a flap of her wings before she was thrown at the closest wall. Her magic flared as she tried to catch as many ponies around her in the dark blue glow then set them down carefully again. The ponies smiled thankfully to her and she nodded, then turned her attention to her sister.
Princess Celestia hadn't been as lucky, her taller form and the little room giving her not enough time to catch herself. Like Luna though, she had spread her wings and prevented the ponies around her to hit the wall as she did. Standing up and accepting the thanks from the ponies, the tall white alicorn stepped up towards her sister.
Luna returned her gaze with concern. Not about her being hurt, she knew her sister could take a hit and be well. Luna was concerned about the feelings she knew boiled in her sister's mind right now. Fear, worry and most prominent guilt. The sisters had been good at reading each others thoughts and feelings with only looking into each others eyes before, but ever since they had switched their cutie marks for a day, the connection only became stronger. Luna knew what her sister was worried about and what caused the burning guilt. She, like Celestia, looked back at the unicorn who had just saved them all.
They had talked about Celestia taking Sunset Shimmer as a student and what the sudden break of that relationship meant to the alicorn. Luna sighed and closed her eyes. It had been one of the reasons the portal was transferred to Canterlot in the first place. One, to give Princess Twilight a chance to show them her progress in her work during the Princess Summit. But she and Luna also had intended to invite Sunset Shimmer back to Canterlot for a visit and the opportunity to talk with her former mentor. Twilight had told Luna about Sunset's worries and they both wanted to give the two ponies a chance for a start or at least sort out whatever tension was still left unsettled. They had not told Celestia about their plan, but Luna knew it would help her sister deal with the guilt she carried inside her.
She had gone through this earlier, after Luna had been returned not only from the banishment on the moon but also her reformation and the defeat of Nightmare Moon. They had spent long hours, days and nights, talking and crying or just sitting next to each other, finding comfort in their sister's presence. She had wished for Celestia to receive the same chance with her runaway student as well. After all that's been happening to herself and all the kindness she received, Luna would do all she can to give anypony who deserved it their second chances as well.
But with all this mess now, she feared she might not be capable of doing so anymore.
She looked up again when Sunset, after a minute or two of just staring ahead, broke out into sobbing and crying, heart-braking sounds filling the room. Within a blink, Twilight was at her side and knelt down beside her, carefully wrapping a wing around the unicorn. Sunset clinged almost desperately on her and buried her face against her neck. Cadence walked up and took a seat at Sunset's other side, wrapping a pink wing with purple tips around her as well and carefully leaning down to touch her shoulder with her head in a silent support as the small unicorn shivered and cried in what seemed inconsolable sobs.
Luna's first instinct was to rush at her side as well, but she only took a step forward when she realized that Twilight Sparkle's would help the unicorn more than her own right now. She promised herself to be there for her at a later point and instead focused on the other pony in the room who desperately needed help.
Her sister had taken a step forward as well but hesitated and practically radiated insecurity at this point. Luna understood why. Her sister had spent so many hours worrying, thinking of what to say, finding the right words, but now the moment was there so suddenly and she didn't feel like she could face it. Luna nodded and took a step to her sister. She needed more time right now, and there were still things to do. Turning to the other ponies who started at the crying unicorn right now, she spoke up, banishing all concerns from her voice for now.
“My little ponies! You have all been very brave today in the face of an unknown threat on our world. Each of you offered all the help you could. Let it be know that today, Equestria was not only saved by the Princesses and a very talented unicorn, but by no small regards by each and everyone of you as well!”
She smiled at bowed her head deeply at the ponies present and they all returned the bow with small smiles, but most of them faded quickly when they looked back at Sunset and the two Princesses trying to comfort her. Celestia had used Luna's speech to compose herself again and stood beside her sister, smiling and bowing to her subjects as well.
“My sister and I thank you all, from the bottom of our hearts. Not only the brave unicorns who helped with their magic, but also the ponies who supported them and us with their presence and encouragement. Harmony has never been stronger in Equestria than today!”
Again the ponies cheered but with more conviction this time. Luna smiled and knew that after a rule of thousand years by Celestia, her sister's words had a lot more impact on them than her own. She was a princess nevertheless and as such had to help them face the problems that still lay ahead of them.
“The crises has been solved, but the damage has been down. The earthquakes took their toll on our city and maybe even on all of Equestria. There are still ponies out there who need help, all our help. We still do not know the full degree of destruction.”
Luna turned to her sister and Celestia nodded for her to continue.
“My sister will check the castle for any signs of damage, but for now it seems like the safest place in Canterlot. Please help her and help anypony you find who might be injured or scared. Tell everypony you find to gather at the throne room. We will decide what to do next once we are sure everypony is safe.”
She turned to one of the pegasus guards,
“Captain, you and your pegasi will accompany me to town. There's been a lot of fear and destruction and we will make sure to support in any way we can.”
The guard saluted with her wings and turned around to gather all his best flyers. Luna turned back to her sister who gave her a thankful smile for not only giving her time to compose, but also facing the problems ahead accordingly.
Celestia turned to the ponies still watching her,
“Let's help out tired unicorn friends to get to the throne room so they can get a well earned rest. We will them check all the wings in the castle. I'm counting on your help, everypony!”
Celestia and Luna looked back at Twilight and Cadence, hopefully giving them the time they needed as well and pulling poor Sunset Shimmer out of the center of attention for now.
As all the ponies left the room, the unicorns leaning heavily on their earth pony friends, Celestia addressed one of them.
“Dusty! Would you please stay here and make sure Princess Twilight and Princess Cadence are not disturbed by anypony. Don't let anypony in before they and Sunset are ready to come out.”
“Yes, your highness.”
The tan earth pony bowed and took her place at the door again. Luna exchanged one more look with her sister, both giving the other the strength and support they needed to face the aftermath of this disaster. Then, Luna turned to the pegasi guards waiting for her and with a nod, they took flight through one of the large windows in the hallway.
Luna hovered above the castle and looked at the city of Canterlot. She could see ponies running around in every street in many levels of fear and distress. She frowned when she saw almost a dozen of buildings had fallen in from the quakes. She was especially worried about one big building in the center. With a powerful flap of her wings, she headed straight for Canterlot Hospital.