All That Glitters

Chapters

1 Double Duplicity
2 True Colours
3 Return to the Pool

1 Double Duplicity

It was a perfect day in Ponyville, one of those rare occasions when the six best friends promised themselves that they would all agree to postpone their chores so that they could meet up together at Sugarcube Corner. In recognition of this treasured alignment, even the weather had turned out to be perfect too, although that was probably due to the resident weather pony, who was at that moment, sat back casually with her forelegs resting over the back of her chair looking cool.

Pinkie came out of the shop wearing an apron and fake moustache, looking like the phoniest waiter ever. The friends all giggled at the cliché apparition except for Rainbow who threw her head back, shielding her face with a forehoof and laughing loudly. The faux waiter then lowered the platter she held raised in one hoof and with a deft flourish, whipped off the linen cover to reveal the tasty treats underneath. The gathering of friends all thanked her at once and began the joyous task of choosing which delight they were going to gorge on first.

Good natured banter was being batted around the friends like a ball, whoever was the butt of the most recent comment swatting it straight back again amidst a mixture of giggling and laughter. When they reached a natural pause, Pinkie tentatively broached something that had been on her mind:
“You know” she said through a fake moustache covered with muffin crumbs “I’ve been having the oddest dreams recently.”
Everypony round the table immediately stopped in mid bite.
“About the Mirror Pool by any chance …?” drawled AJ.
“A force drawing us back there for some reason …?” Rarity chipped in.
“Actually, yes” admitted Twilight “But it didn’t seem important enough to mention …”
Rainbow stared, mouth agape and Fluttershy spoke up for them both: “Oh my …”

“Well girls” said Twilight “I think it’s time we went back and paid it a visit. Something’s going on, and I think we need to be there together.”
Then almost as an afterthought:
“Oh and Pinkie, no duplicating yourself this time, OK?” she added, fixing the pink equine with a beady eye.
“Okie Dokie Lokie” giggled Pinkie “I learnt my lesson last time!”
All ponies present heaved an audible sigh of relief – Ponyville wasn’t ready for another plague of Pinkies anytime soon.

An air of anticipation hung over the friends as they finished their treats in a more reflective mood; no more banter, just knowing looks exchanged between friends each of whom having had the same dream. Once all were ready, they set off together for the Everfree; the further they got, the more the pool seemed to be calling to them.

They arrived at the boulder that Twilight had used to seal the entrance last time they had been there and stopped, each pony looking at every other, all feeling the same doubts.
“Well, we’re here Twi” drawled AJ “D’yuh think we should jes leave it well alone?”
“Well, part of me thinks that’s a really sensible idea, but the other part of me would like to get a better night’s sleep and I think the answer is down there.”
There was a general murmur of agreement and in response, Twilight lit her horn, the magenta glow reaching out until it clung around the boulder and then lifted it like a cork being pulled from a bottle.

Some of those present expected to see a cloud of ethereal vapour or hear a popping sound as it was pulled free, but the absolute nothingness they experienced was in many ways even more chilling. With a distinct feeling of trepidation, they set off down the winding tunnel that opened out onto a gradual incline leading down towards the pool.

The enchanted grotto was quiet and tranquil, illuminated by a shaft of light that seemed to turn the pool a beautiful translucent blue where it struck, dominating the scene. The glow from the pool permeated every feature of the grotto, from the few randomly placed stalagmite shaped rock formations to the occasional flowers that had rooted on the floor and up the rough-hewn walls. Nothing dared to stir lest it broke the idyllic serenity of this place. All was as it was supposed to be, yet some unseen and inescapable force continued drawing them in.

They moved closer until their hooves were nearly at the water’s edge, the sense of expectancy almost palpable.

Then it happened.

The line that separated the surface of the pool from the air above rotated round over their heads and two alicorns appeared in the pool as if from nowhere. The six friends all looked shocked momentarily, then moved forward to help pull out the two new arrivals.

The alicorns were both full grown females, each with a grey coat that shimmered like silver and a mane and tail of the purest spun gold.
“Thank you” said the alicorns together “We are grateful for your help.”
“You’re welcome!” said Pinkie Pie with a big smile on her face, bouncing on the spot.
“Oh darling” fawned Rarity in admiration “I have never seen a coat and mane so fine …”

The alicorns both gave a light nod in recognition of the compliment at precisely the same time:
“I am Sunaj” they said in unison, each then gesturing for the other to proceed with their story.
“OK” said Rainbow “This is freaky.”
“I think we’d all find it a little easier if only one of you spoke at once” said Twilight, taking charge “You on the left, you’re ‘it’.”
“Thank you fellow alicorn” said Sunaj “I entered the pool alone and when the two of us emerged, we saw you. I am a little confused because I could have sworn I was alone. Who are you?”
“I am Twilight Sparkle” responded the lilac alicorn, wearing the kind of smile that she put on for formal occasions and then went on to introduce her friends.
“Where we come from, alicorns are all Princes and Princesses” said Sunaj “Are you a Princess?”
“Well, yes” affirmed Twilight, chest swelling with pride while a smile crept across her face “As a matter of fact I am. I’m the Princess of Friendship.”

The two new alicorns shot each other a quick glance, barely noticed by anypony except for AJ, who for some reason suddenly felt that she should be a little guarded.
“Sunaj, huh?” she interjected “So are we to believe you’re Princesses too? Where is it you’re Princesses of anyway, and how come we didn’t see yuh go into the pool in the first place?”
“AJ” admonished Twilight “Don’t be so pushy. There’s probably a really interesting explanation possibly involving parallel universes and time travel or something.”
“Uh, huh” said AJ, unimpressed.
“I could ask you just the same questions” said Sunaj indignantly “I have never seen you in our land before either.”
“So where is it you’re all from then?” asked AJ who picked upon a brief pause before the answer came:
“We are here in Reinsville” said Sunaj “I look after my ponies and protect our borders, that is why my cutie mark shows me looking out in two directions. Increasingly, the complex and often contradictory duties of handling both internal and external affairs have become too arduous for just one to handle, so when I heard about the legend of the Mirror Pool, I wanted to try it out. However, I wanted to do it in private because I would not want my ponies knowing there were two of me as we both pursue different aspects of my duties concurrently. That is why I am a little surprised to see so many of you having seen my, ermm, duplication.
“Ain’t never heard of no ‘Reinsville’” muttered AJ, eyeing the alicorns suspiciously.
“AJ!” hushed Twilight, feeling obliged to extend a more formal greeting of the type befitting two Princesses on a State visit.

“Do you rule over your land too, Twilight?” asked Sunaj directly.
“Oh no” responded Twilight “Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are our co-rulers. I’ll take you to meet them.”
“Perhaps we should work out whose land we are in first, shall we?” commented Sunaj a little acerbically.
At this, the party made their way up the slope out of the grotto, each with their own ideas about the strange turn of events.

Five of the six friends were not remotely surprised to see that the Everfree looked just as it always had in spite of the suggestion that Sunaj may have been a visitor from a parallel universe, although Twilight did look a little disappointed.

The party broke into two groups; one with Twilight and Rarity who were starstruck over one of the alicorns, whilst the other new arrival was in conversation with Rainbow, Fluttershy and Pinkie who was bouncing along, at that very moment working out the details of the party she would throw for them when they returned. Behind them followed AJ, alone with her suspicions.

The closer they got to Ponyville, the more friends and acquaintances stopped to say hello and introduce themselves to the striking new alicorns, the slower their progress became. As a crowd formed round them, they all missed one of those running up to meet them who was a bit smaller than the rest, but more eager than any to meet the returning librarian.

The purple dragon ran up behind the forest of legs that formed the outer reaches of the crowd, but no matter how he tried to force his way through, he kept being forced back out again as ponies jostled to get in closer. Time after time he was pushed further away from his goal until eventually a tawny owl perched on a branch in a nearby tree shook his head and stretched his wings, leaving his branch and gliding silently over the crowd to land on Spike.
“Oh hey buddy” greeted Spike dejectedly.
“Hoooo” said Owlowiscious holding out a claw.
“What ...?” queried the little dragon, and then the penny dropped “Oh … right!”
Spike scrawled two words on a scrap piece of paper and gave it to his fellow assistant librarian who took off to deliver the message to the lilac alicorn.

The tawny owl circled around and as soon as Twilight saw him she extended a forehoof for him to land on.
“Hoooo” he said extending the message in his claw once he had landed.
“Oh, Owlowiscious” said Twilight appreciatively, gently stroking his chest feathers “You are a clever little assistant. Thank you.”
She uncrumpled the note and read the hastily scrawled characters spelling out ‘home now’.
With this, Twilight spearheaded a push through the crowd and forged her way back to the Castle of Friendship where Spike was waiting at the door.
Twilight left the throng of ponies outside and broke free to enter the castle.

“Twilight, am I pleased to see you!” exclaimed the little dragon.
“OK Spike” said Twilight calmly, sensing from the assistant librarian’s agitation that something was not well “What’s up?”
“It’s Princess Celestia and Princess Luna – they’ve both disappeared!”
Whilst the news was shocking, it was not the first time this had happened. Twilight had matured into her role as Princess and was now much more prepared to take charge than she had been when Discord’s plunder seeds had abducted them just after she had got her alicorn wings. However, the disappearance of both Royal Princesses at once signalled that there was sure to be trouble ahead and she would have to be on her guard.

She was taking in the news and the coincidental arrival of two new alicorns when the door opened again and in came her friends with the two alicorns known as Sunaj.
“Twilight” intoned Sunaj “I must say I am impressed with the reception, but have to confirm that neither the village nor the ponies are familiar to me and must assume therefore that I am the visitor in your world and not you in mine. Please accept my apology for having assumed it to have been the other way round.”
Twilight immediately responded with formal platitudes to put her guests at ease, but behind her eyes, she was mulling things over.
“Perhaps now would be a good time for me to introduce ourselves to your ruling Princesses?” enquired Sunaj.
“Maybe that should wait” replied Twilight.
Sunaj looked interested:
“Why would that be?”
“Because I bet Pinkie’s going to be throwing you a big party this evening” said Twilight, playing for time and adding with her starched smile “And it’s a tradition to welcome our guests.”

Sure enough, Pinkie was readying a party for the two new arrivals in the Castle of Friendship’s ballroom and word was being spread among the eager populace. Twilight allocated Sunaj two adjoining rooms in the castle and allowed them to prepare whilst she met with her other friends.
”Girls” she started “What did you think about meeting Sunaj?”
“Well I don’t trust either of them one little bit” said AJ earnestly “They’s jest ‘bout as slippery as a pocketful of pudding.”
“Oh really, Applejack darling” interjected Rarity “They’re utterly delightful company and the manes and tails are so beautiful …”
“OK girls” aid Twilight having established a distinct split in opinions amongst her friends “I’ve got serious news – the Royal Princesses have disappeared, and just about the same time as Sunaj arrived.”
The ponies all looked shocked:
“Oh how awful” said Fluttershy in her reserved unobtrusiveness.
“Yeah, I side with AJ” said Rainbow pensively, forelegs crossed and a forehoof stroking her chin “Something’s not right here.”
“I clearly can’t take them to Canterlot, so I’ll write to Cadence and in the meantime keep them here while we try and figure out what’s going on” said Twilight “Let’s have this party and see what happens.”

Then she left to do some research in the library before the evening’s entertainment started.

2 True Colours

True to form, Pinkie’s party was excellent. It was always a mystery how she could pull together such a class event with little to no notice, but she never disappointed. The cider was flowing and ripples of laughter spilled out over the top of the music. There were two large groups of socialising ponies, one having coalesced around each of the two new alicorns, while others were content dancing to the band or seeking refreshments.

Pinkie was changing over the punch bowl when she accidentally dropped the serving ladle and had to get under the table to retrieve it. While she was there, she heard two sets of hoofsteps approach and giggled to herself; she would jump out at a time in their conversation when neither was expecting it and raise a laugh. She listened for her cue, but recognised that one of the guests was Sunaj, so jumping out was probably a bad idea – she was stuck until the conversation ended.

The voice was harsher and more sinister than she had heard before and Pinkie suddenly knew that she could not be seen to have been eavesdropping, but while she was stuck, there was nothing else she could do.
“You just make sure you keep up the pretence, OK?” came the menacing voice.
“But what if they work out what’s happened to the Princesses?” responded the other voice in a more whining tone.
“Don’t be silly. Look - what reason do they have to go back to the pool anyway?”
“Yes, but we can’t go back there either. Remember what will happen if we both go in together?”
“Right; it would be game over. Look, keep your head and make sure we don’t go anywhere near the pool and we’ll be quite safe, right? Just don’t arouse suspicion and we’ll get to the Tree of Harmony sooner or later, OK?”
Pinkie stole a peep from under the tablecloth and saw Sunaj’s hooves; eight of them. She had been talking to her duplicate …

When he alicorns had gone to rejoin their respective groups, Pinkie emerged carefully, suddenly exceedingly self-conscious of her bright pink colouring; the more stealthily she tried to behave, the more of a comic parody she looked. She could see Twilight and knew she had to tell her what she had just heard, but just then a couple of lightly inebriated ponies came along to congratulate Pinkie on a magnificent party, and every time she tried to break away, the more they tried to pull her back – the cider and the punch taking their toll on the revellers.

Pinkie’s increasingly desperate attempts to break away were starting to attract interest, especially from two certain alicorns. The more they looked at Pinkie, the more guilty and frightened she looked until they realised that somehow she had found out something, and that was not allowed.

One of the Sunaj clones got up on the stage and her horn began to glow, an aura spreading out overall the ponies present. The music stopped and the last animated discussions died quickly away as the air began to crackle. The other clone stepped up onto the stage and together their auras merged in a brilliant spectacle of magical power.

“I am sorry to do this to you” said Sunaj in an intimidating voice “But somepony here found out something she shouldn’t have, so I have had to bring my plans forward. Firstly, thank you for the party; it has made it so much easier to cast my obedience spell on all of you at once. Secondly, don’t bother trying to get help from Celestia and Luna; I have already disposed of them.”
With this there was a surge of energy and then everything appeared to return to normal. Immediately the unicorns in the crowd aimed a spell of their own at Sunaj, but their horns wouldn’t light, and the braver pegasi made to launch into the air to attack, but found they had no wings; Sunaj had robbed them all of their special capabilities. Then some of the nearest earth ponies tried to move in on themselves thrown back by well aimed bolts of magic.

Sunaj cackled mercilessly as every attempt by the ponies to fight back was thwarted; it was insult to think that she hadn’t already considered their every option.

Pinkie sidled up to the lilac librarian who had been talking with Fluttershy before the mood of the party had changed:
“I’m sorry Twilight” she whispered in short bursts “It’s me the meanie sisters meant. I heard them talk about the Mirror Pool. They said something about not going in together…”
She found herself suddenly cut off and felt rather than saw Sunaj’s evil glare focused towards her. She tried to continue her warning to Twilight, but was unable to speak and next found herself being levitated. Pinkie’s eyes grew wide as she frantically flailed all four legs in unison and began to rise above the crowd.
“You” said Sunaj, her voice dripping with venom “Have caused me enough trouble already.”
“Put her down!” demanded Twilight.
“Or what?” enquired Sunaj laconically before rounding on Twilight and shrieking “What did she tell you?”
Twilight stared back defiantly, her brows furrowed and hooves braced on the floor, refusing to answer.
“Think yourself lucky Princess” continued Sunaj, the tone of her voice betraying her utter contempt “I may still need you.” Then she screamed again “But I don’t need her!”
With that she cast a translucent silver bubble around Pinkie and watched as she floated towards the celling where the bubble bounced around looking for an open window to drift out of.
“Stop this right now!” demanded Twilight, but Sunaj just laughed scornfully in her face before adding menacingly “I suggest you don’t cause too much of a draught in here or you may not see your friend again.”

With that, her horn glowed again and there was a big flash as all the windows shattered at once. Pinkie’s eyes grew wide in fear as she felt the bubble she was in edge towards a large hole where there had once been a window and tried running inside her bubble to keep herself from floating out.

Ponies screamed and milled around in panic while Pinkie’s bubble bumped along the ceiling heading for the unguarded hole in the wall. She was galloping frantically now, trying to stop herself disappearing into oblivion in a scene that would have been comical were it not a matter of life and death.

“Come with me Princess Twilight Sparkle” said Sunaj “Take me to the Tree of Harmony.”
Twilight felt a strong force pulling her and dug her hooves in as best she could on the floor, but the magical force was much stronger and she was pulled away from the scene of unfolding disaster with the reluctance of a puppy being dragged on a lead.

Rarity turned to AJ “Pull the cord and bring down the balloons now!” she shouted.
“The what now?” queried the farmer.
“The party balloons are held in a net on the ceiling. Free the net and catch Pinkie!”
“On it” came her reply as the penny dropped and the orange pony ran for the cord, giving it a hard tug.
Immediately a waterfall of multicoloured balloons cascaded from the ceiling and it took a moment before the friends could see through the eye-catching finale and caught sight of Pinkie’s bubble restrained in the netting.
“Pinkie!” yelled Rarity “Stop running; you’re safe. We’ll set about rescuing you as soon as we can.”
Pinkie did as she was told and looked down at her friends below as she prepared herself to wait it out while they planned their rescue mission. Although keen to be released from her bubble, she was also concerned that if it burst suddenly, she would be facing a long fall with a sudden stop at the bottom; a prospect that did not please her in the slightest.

Most of the ponies had run away, but the friends congregated below Pinkie trying to work out what to do first.
“Where did Twilight go?” asked Rarity, looking around.
“I heard Sunaj say that Twilight had to take her to the Tree of Harmony” said Fluttershy, adding “I do hope she’ll be alright.”
“OK” said AJ “Look, I’m gonna have to find a way of stopping Pinkie blowin’ out the window, and I can’t get no help from no pegasi neither, so it’s goin’ to be all ladders an’ ropes an’ stuff. Best leave this to me and these ponies still here.”
“Did anypony hear anything else that might help?” asked Rarity, taking control.
“I think I heard Pinkie say something about the Mirror Pool, but I’m not sure” chimed Fluttershy.
Rainbow was angry and lamenting the loss of her wings, but without them there was really nothing she could do.
“Well, what are we going do then?” demanded the frustrated cyan pegasus.
“Hush darling” said Rarity politely but firmly “I’m thinking.”
She looked up to the ceiling and when she looked down again she was wearing smile on her ace.
“We can’t get close to Sunaj, but we don’t have to. Rainbow; get another one of those balloon nets and two long poles. Fluttershy; get Spikey Wikey, and I’ll meet you all back here as soon as I can. Time is of the essence!”

Rarity knew that for her plan to work, they had to get to the Tree of Harmony before Twilight and Sunaj, so it was merely ten minutes later when Rarity returned to the castle panting and wearing a saddle bag. Noting that everything she had asked for was ready, including Spike who was flattered to have been asked for by Rarity in person, she shot a determined smile and gave the order to head for the Tree of Harmony.

The full moon was high in the sky, providing enough light to see their way. Although the Everfree was a scary place to be, especially at night, the ponies had done it before and all remembered Pinkie’s ‘giggle at the ghostly’ song that got them through. Spike hadn’t been there, but he had caught a ride on Rarity’s back and closed his eyes so as not to see, but clung on tight and breathed in her beautiful scent; this was as near to heaven as he could wish for.

Although they were encumbered they took the most direct route and Rarity prayed that Twilight had gone a long way round to give them some time. When they arrived at the top of the ravine, they looked over the edge and saw the electric blue glow from the Tree of Harmony, but could see no movement and no sign that any other pony had been there for some time. The comfort from this revelation was short lived as Rarity knew they had a lot to get through before the three alicorns arrived.
“Throw the net and the poles down” said Rarity “We can pick them up once we’re down there.”
With their cumbersome load removed, the party was able to get down the long flight of steps easily and retrieved the rest of their equipment before going to see the magical tree.

“Right” said Rarity “Set the net up on the roof of the cavern by the entrance and hurry!”
The unicorn and the flightless pegasi supported Spike as he reached up and secured the net at four corners all cursing how easy it would have been if they had their wings or their magic, but the little dragon did them proud and fairly soon the net was secured with a draw cord concealed off to one side, running down to an outcrop of rock behind which they could all hide.

With the trap primed as best as they could manage Rarity showed them what she had brought in her saddle bags:
“These” she exclaimed withdrawing two black coloured hollow cones “Are magic inhibitors. We unicorns can use them to develop mind training independent of our magic, but we can also use them to prevent unicorns using their magic. It fits over the horn and all the while it’s on, it completely inhibits the wearer from performing any kind of magic. For our purposes, I shall put some strong glue inside, so once they’re on, they’re on.”

There were murmurs of approval all round and Rarity continued:
“Hopefully Sunaj will be distracted enough to allow us to get in, but even then I think Spike as the smallest and most agile of us stands the best chance of carrying it through. Do you feel brave enough to do this for us Spikey Wikey?”
It was almost possible to see little love hearts appear in Spike’s eyes. Of course he was brave enough to do this for her.

By the time Rarity had finished explaining the rest of the contents of her saddle bags and briefed them all on their roles, it was time to hide and then there was nothing more to do but wait. From where they were, the electric blue from the tree flooded over the night sky, its brightness blotting out their ability to see who may be approaching. In spite of this strong disadvantage, the glow was strangely comforting, like the presence of a wise grandparent, and that kind of reassurance was just what they needed while they were waiting to see if their plan would work.

Eventually they heard hoofsteps approaching from beyond the entrance and poised themselves to act. Sunaj entered first, her eyes adjusting to the light and her clone drew alongside to get a good view of their goal. They had to act now before Twilight came in too and right on cue AJ gave the release cord a sharp tug, pulling the net free and allowing it to drop over the startled alicorns. They both reared and pulled in opposite directions, pulling the net tight over them. At the same time Rainbow and Rarity each pushed one of the poles between the alicorn’s legs and ran round them in opposite directions causing the alicorns to trip and stumble, further enmeshing themselves in the net as they fell to the floor. This was Spike’s cue and he rushed forward bearing his two cones, forcing one easily onto its target, but the other was flailing around opposite him. Fortunately the alicorns had not yet regained their composure and Spike manged to work his way to the remaining horn and push the cone on with a satisfying splat.

Fluttershy and Twilight now got involved and helped ensure that the two alicorns were completely ensnared before removing the poles and running them through the net, one each side to act as improvised stretcher handles. The Sunaj clones were writhing around shouting threats, but the more agitated they grew, the more tangled they became. Rarity trotted back elegantly to her saddle bags and withdrew a pair of gags and some lengths of rope, returning to silence and hogtie the alicorns while she hummed a happy tune to herself.

“Well done girls!” exclaimed Twilight happily “I’m so pleased you were able to make such a good trap!”
“Oh, it was nothing darling” said Rarity nonchalantly, but wearing a smug grin on her face.
“These two were going to try and steal the magic from the Tree of Harmony. Even if they hadn’t succeeded they would have damaged the tree and this would have led to all sorts of problems in the natural balance of Equestria. It would have been even worse if they had succeeded. So thank you, thank you, thank you!”
“Yeah, that’s great Twi” said Rainbow “But what about all the pegasi who don’t have their wings and the unicorns who’ve lost their power?”
“Oh, I think that a solution will present itself once we can get these two to the Mirror Pool.”
“Um, Rarity” queried Rainbow “About those gags …”

Rarity double checked her binding to make sure that the ropes tying the alicorns up were secure and cut through the net so they were left with two separate hogtied packages.
“OK girls” said Rarity “One pole through each pair of tied legs and one pony each end to carry them”
“Um, Rarity” said Fluttershy “I’m not very strong and the end I’m carrying may slip …”
“Won’t that be a shame” said Rainbow “Make sure you do it nice and often.”
“Oh … Oh I couldn’t do that …” replied Fluttershy, horrified.

3 Return to the Pool

The four ponies dragged and carried the unwelcome alicorns up the stairs to the top of the ravine and then set off towards the Mirror Pool that wasn’t too much further into the Everfree. Manually handling the alicorns would have been a lot easier had the unicorns got their magic or the pegasi not lost their wings but eventually they stood, tired and sweaty in front of the translucent pool where the nightmare had begun.

Their captives were sweating too, not from exhaustion, but from fear as they were now so close to what Pinkie had overheard them say was their nemesis. Twilight approached the quieter of the two and spoke to her;
“OK” she said “We know this place scares you, and you know we’re more than ready to throw you in together, so it’s time you made up for all the trouble you’ve been causing. Now; I’m going to remove this gag and you’ve got one chance to behave or you’re both going in – got it?”
Sunaj stared terrified at the evil look that had spread across Twilight’s face and knew her bluff had been called. She nodded furiously, eager to grab any chance of reprieve.

Twilight undid the strap holding in the gag and Sunaj started straight away:
“I’m sorry!” she cried “Please don’t throw us in!”
The other alicorn stared daggers at her clone.
“These ropes are really tight, please would you slacken them off a bit?” she pleaded.
“Not a chance” said Twilight with a determined look on her face “Clock’s ticking and then in you go – tick tock, tick tock.”
“OK, OK” begged Sunaj “We came here to steal the magic from the Tree of Harmony.”
“Yesterday’s news already” said Twilight “I also researched my mythology after I met you. Your cutie mark; it’s nothing to do with protecting ponies is it? The two-faced pony is Janus, that’s Sunaj spelled backwards, and Janus is the deity presiding over the past and the future, or even war and peace. Now talk – and you’d better make it good. No more second chances.”

Sunaj had been caught off guard by this last revelation and stared back at Twilight, stunned.
“OK” she said quietly, looking down in humiliation “If we go into the pool together we cancel each other out and cease to exist, but if we go in separately, we will pass through into another realm.”
“What have you done with Celestia and Luna?” demanded the lilac alicorn now Sunaj was on the ropes.
“They’re in our realm on the other side of the pool; it’s like an exchange, two go one way, two go the other. So if we go in together and we cease to be, your Princesses can’t come back.”
“What were Celestia and Luna doing at the pool in the first place?” continued Twilight.
“We summoned them in just the same way as we summoned you” was the reply “It was all part of the plan.”
“How can we trust you?” interjected Rainbow, wearing a fearsome grimace that made Twilight’s sinister expression pale into insignificance.
“Let me undo my magic spell and restore your powers” suggested Sunaj.
“Only if I can keep my hooves right next to your face” menaced Rainbow “I may not have my wings, but I can kick as hard as Commander Hurricane. Any funny business and it’s goodnight and sweet dreams and that’s just for starters – OK?”
The threat was heartfelt and Sunaj knew she had no room to manoeuvre.
“OK” she said, looking away in defeat.

Rarity tugged and twisted at the magic inhibitor on the alicorn’s horn eliciting screams of pain as she tried to wrench it free. The howls of pain echoed all around the walls of the light blue grotto and Fluttershy turned away pressing her forehooves to her ears until Rarity eventually enlisted Twilight’s help to pull it free.
“My, that glue was strong” gasped Rarity as the two friends eventually pulled off the magic inhibitor.
Sunaj could barely see through her watering eyes:
“Please would you let me wipe my eyes?” she asked.
“Not a chance” said Twilight and Rainbow together, exchanging smiles between each other.
“OK, OK” said Sunaj “I’m ready.”
“Just remember” said Rainbow coldly “My hoof is a really good fit for your face.”
“I think she wants her wings back” said Twilight to Sunaj, who just nodded. She had worked that bit out for herself.
A glow sparked at the end of her horn and a magic aura began to form. Rainbow gave the alicorn’s face a subtle nudge with her hoof, just as a gentle reminder that she was still there.
Sunaj screwed up her face in concentration and after a build up of energy there was a sudden flash as it discharged.

The friends were all a little groggy, but they recovered quickly, principally because they wanted to see if their captives had tried to pull a fast one, but all seemed as it should be; the one who had cast the spell was clearly exhausted from her effort while the other was still fully restrained. Only then did they look at each other and check whether their individual attributes had been returned to them.
Rainbow let out a whoop as she flexed her wings and it felt good, then she followed this up by fluttering tentatively onto the air, and once that worked she performed a loop out of sheer pleasure.
The others too, tested out their special skills and found everything to be in order, then turned back to Sunaj.

“I think you’ll find that I have undone the spell we cast during the party. It took a lot out of me because I had to undo by myself what both of us had done together, but I’m sure it’s back to normal.”
Cued by a quick glare from Twilight, Spike secured the magic inhibitor back in place, just in case Sunaj had any second thoughts about reversing her recent epiphany.
“What about what you did to Pinkie?” demanded Twilight.
“I have also undone the silence spell and the bubble prison too. Will you let us go now, please?”
“Rainbow” said Twilight “Fancy testing those wings of yours and seeing if everything’s as she says it is back in Ponyville?”
Rainbow saluted smartly and turned on a rear hoof before springing into the air and shooting off leaving her trademark rainbow trail behind her.
“You still don’t trust me then?” enquired Sunaj.
“Nope” replied Twilight, and the others all nodded in agreement.

Rainbow found Ponyville in celebratory mood; pegasi flying simply for the joy of flying, while unicorns were going around changing inanimate objects in to oranges or whatever they felt like, just because they could once more. What was more important to Rainbow was the fate of the pink party pony whom she had last seen in a bubble on the ceiling. Landing on a window sill overlooking the ballroom, she looked around and then diverted her gaze upwards, catching sight of Pinkie resting on a net suspended from the ceiling.
“Hey Rainbow!” she called “It’s not often I get to look down on you!”
Rainbow smiled, glad to have her friend back safely and hopped in, alighting the floor with the merest bump.
“Hey AJ!” called the cyan pegasus over to the farmer who was securing a rope “Want me to go get her? It will be a whole lot safer than that contraption of ropes you’ve got there.”
“Now don’t you go dissin’ my work, yuh hear?” said AJ indignantly “It sure as applesauce stopped Pinkie leavin’ through the window.”
“Yeah, great job AJ – seriously. Couldn’t have Pinkie being the first pony in space – my name’s already top of that list!”
The farmer smiled, grateful for the recognition of her work that she knew was in Rainbow’s heart even if she didn’t write her a poem to prove it.
“Go on then, show off” said AJ with a smile on her face and Rainbow fluttered up to see the stranded party pony and held her tightly, carrying her safely to the ground to the accompaniment of Pinkie shouting “Wheeee!”

“Would you say everything’s back to normal round here?” asked Rainbow.
“Everything ‘cept the windows as far as I call tell” said AJ.
“I always wondered what it would be like to be a party balloon” bubbled Pinkie, going off at a complete tangent as usual “But I don’t think I want to try it again.”
“OK” said Rainbow “I’ll go tell Twi. Later, you guys!”
And with that, Rainbow left through the nearest window, heading back for the Mirror Pool.

The cyan pegasus returned to find three ponies and a baby dragon waiting for her report on the situation in Ponyville.
“Well, how’s it all looking?” asked the lilac alicorn, her tone striking a balance between scepticism and hopefulness.
“It’s OK Twi” reassured Rainbow “But your castle’s going to need some repairs.”
“What about Pinkie?” she pressed.
“Yeah, she’s fine” came the reply, then adding with a smirk “She’s normal, or at least as near to normal as she ever is.”

Twilight turned to face Sunaj who was looking up pleadingly.
“OK, you seem to have done as you promised” said the librarian, the look of deep suspicion still etched across her face in spite of the good news.
“I have upheld my side of the deal” implored Sunaj “Please would you honour yours and let us go now?”
“OK, what’s the drill?” asked Twilight.
“One of us goes in and disappears then the other goes in and follows; simple as that. Once we’ve gone, then your two Princesses should come out in our place” explained Sunaj, now on a roll “The Mirror Pool is for more than just duplication you know; it’s a portal to other dimensions.”
“Can you guarantee we’ll get our Princesses back?” asked the lilac alicorn.
“Yes” said Sunaj “Their biological signatures are held in the portal and it will draw back the right ponies when we go through on a one-for-one basis, don’t you worry.”

Twilight had no choice other than to trust the duplicitous alicorns.
“Spike” instructed the librarian “Make sure that magic inhibitor is firmly in place.”
“Checked and checked” replied Spike once he had applied a little more glue.
“And gag her again” she ordered. Sunaj groaned at the treatment, but on reflection consoled herself that although they would be going back without the magic from the Tree of Harmony, things could have been a lot worse.

Twilight walked over to the other hogtied and gagged alicorn and stared her straight in the eye:
“When I let you go, you go into the pool and go home. No funny stuff, OK?”
The silver alicorn stared resentfully.
“She said scram!” barked Rainbow waving her forehoof threateningly close to the alicorn’s face “Got it?”
Sunaj nodded and Twilight cut the bonds holding her legs together, letting her flex her limbs for the first time in far too long. She massaged the rope marks and staggered unsteadily as she fought to get onto her feet.
“In you go!” ordered Rainbow.
The silver alicorn may have been resentful and bitter, but she could barely walk and her horn was inhibited – there was nothing she could do but blindly obey. She walked off, beaten, not looking back until she disappeared.

Twilight released the last of duplicates and she too struggled uncertainly to her feet and as soon as she was ready, set hoof into the pool and started walking, watched by five purposeful pairs of eyes. Just before she reached the point where her colleague had vanished, she turned back for a last glance at the ponies on the shoreline with a sad look on her face and shook her head gently, her beautiful golden mane shimmering as ripples ran down each hair, then she turned back and proceeded to face her destiny elsewhere.

The friends waited expectantly on the shoreline and about a minute later, the line that separated the surface of the pool from the air above inverted over their heads as two familiar forms appeared in the pool, walking towards their improvised welcoming committee.
“Princess!” shouted a delighted lilac pony as she saw the white alicorn leading her sister to the shore.
“Twilight Sparkle” said Celestia softly once the two Royal alicorns climbed out of the pool “I’m guessing that you have had a hoof in securing our release?”
“Well, yes” said Twilight blushing slightly and giving her a friendly nuzzle “It was a team effort, and we’re all very glad to have you both back.”
“It would seem” said Luna as teacher and former student enjoyed their moment together “That no matter how securely the Mirror Pool is blocked up, there is no barrier that cannot be breached by a determined librarian …”
At this, Twilight blushed even more fiercely.
“I think we should go tell Pinkie to arrange a ‘welcome back Princesses’ party; her last party was cut a bit short” said Rarity.
“Yeah, she was on the ceiling” chipped in Rainbow.
The two Royal Princesses looked at each other with mixed expressions of fear and bewilderment.
“I think a party is in order Sister” said Luna with a wicked twinkle in her eye “If that is what Pinkie Pie can do if the party is cut short then I cannot wait to see what she will do with a whole evening to experiment!”

“Um, Rarity” said the cyan pegasus a little hesitantly “You didn’t get your gags back …”
“Well Rainbow” replied Rarity a little prissily “I for one didn’t want to hear any unpleasant parting comments they may have wanted to share with us.”
“Also” she continued with a mischievous smile forming on her face “Can you imagine how embarrassed they will be when they emerge the other end wearing magic inhibitors and gags?”
“They’d certainly have some explaining to do!” giggled Rainbow.
“Besides” replied Rarity raising an eyebrow and shooting her friend a coquettish glance “I have more where they came from.”
Celestia looked startled and her mouth dropped open as she exchanged a look with her sister who was trying hard to suppress a giggle; Twilight meanwhile felt her cheeks turning pink and quickly covered Spike’s ears with her forehooves.
“Just exactly what type of party are you inviting us too?” enquired Celestia.
“Oh shush, it’ll be lots of fun” fussed the dressmaker with a toss of her mane.
“I am looking forward already” said Luna with a cheeky smile on her face.