As soon as Twilight got off the bus, she wasted no time making her way over to the school. The rubble that had been the remains of the statue, the headpiece of the entire school and where the portal had been located, was now gone and all that remained was an ugly crack in the concrete. However, as soon as Twilight got out her magic-reading device, it was picking up something almost immediately.

“Just as I suspected,” she said to herself as she kept scanning. The readings she was getting weren’t as strong as they were when she first stepped foot on the school but still enough for the needle to reach into the red. Now was the time to put her idea to the test.

She got Sunset’s journal out of her bag, along with a pen. “I sure hope this works…” She opened the journal to the first blank page and started writing.

Sunset, or anyone who happens to be reading this, I hope this is coming through. Please respond.

Twilight waited a few moments. If nothing happened in the next few moments, she would be out of ideas and her last chance of getting Sunset back would be gone. Just as she was about to close the journal, the book lit up in a reddish glow and text started to appear below hers, penmanship that she recognized instantly.

Good to hear from you Twilight. Hope you haven’t missed me too much.

Twilight started laughing and if anyone had been nearby to notice they would’ve sworn the girl had finally lost her mind. She was ready to start cheering but managed to rein herself in.

Sorry about the delay. I was trying to contact you before but I don’t think my messages were getting through. I’m at the school now and it seems the only reason I’m getting to you in the first place is because of the magical field. Kind of like a Wi-fi connection.

It took a few minutes before Sunset responded and Twilight was worried the two had been disconnected again.

Sorry, had to explain to other you what Wi-Fi is. So what’s been going on?

Twilight had taken a seat at the front steps before going into detail about what has been going on. She then explained about what she had discussed with the girls and finally the idea she had. Sunset was very curious to say the least.

So you think if we time this right, I can make my way back into the other world?

Yes, but unfortunately once you come through, you may not be able to get back in the same place, meaning we’d have to look for another… “brush-by” we’ll call it. Since I’m at the school there’s a good chance you might find a tear somewhere in the castle.

Alright, I’ll look around. If I happen to randomly pop up next to you, you’ll know it worked.

Ponyville

Sunset finished her last note and sighed as she put down the quill she was using. She then looked over and saw Princess Twilight watching her with a look of curiosity and concern. “Twilight…I know this may seem abrupt but…I’m kind of needed back there.”

“I know,” Twilight said. “And it’s not abrupt. We’ve had plenty of time to talk and catch up. I just wish there was something I can do on my end.”

“Well…if most of these creatures are coming into Canterlot…maybe the source is coming from the Everfree Forest?”

“That’s my best guess as well. The girls and I can take a look around the place. I just feel partly responsible for all this.”

Sunset chuckled as she gave her friend a hug. “Nonsense, we’re all kind of used to this sort of thing now. But for right now, I could use some help finding that tear.”

“You got it.” The two of them then split up around the castle, looking for anything out of the ordinary. Unfortunately, Sunset had forgotten how easy it could be to get lost in this maze of a castle. She searched room by room until finding the contents of the broom closet falling on her head. It was then she noticed a slight tear in the fabric of space.

Typical. “Twilight!” It wasn’t long before Twilight found her and Sunset pointed with her hoof towards the tear.

“Huh…somehow I’m not surprised.” Her horn then glowed. “Okay, I think with my magic I can open up the tear but I’m not sure how long it will last. Even now we may be on the clock.”

Sunset took a deep breath. “Alright….listen Twilight-”

“I wasn’t joking, we really need to hurry.”

“I know…it’s just, if for some reason I’m not able to come back…I want you to know I’ll always be grateful for what you’ve done for me. And give Celestia my best, if you could.”

Twilight smiled as she quickly opened up the newly made portal. “I will Sunset, but this isn’t goodbye. Now hurry!”

Sunset nodded and quickly jumped into the portal before it quickly closed behind her. Twilight could only stare at the small space for a few moments. “I know you’ll be back, one way or another…”

Canterlot

Twilight was pacing back and forth as she waited. She was feelinga combination of excitement and anxiousness. If this idea worked, maybe there was a way they could build a new portal. Of course, finding the equipment and getting certain permissions from CHS was goin to be a bit more of a challenge.

Suddenly, a rift appeared right in front of her and Twilight froze. One of two possibilities was about to occur and she really hoped it was her friend that was on the other side. Sure enough, her worries were put at ease as Sunset was suddenly laying face first onto the concrete.

“Ugh…I was expecting a softer landing…” Sunset groaned. As she slowly got up, she was quickly pulled into a hug, almost causing her to jump but then she recognized who it was hugging her. “I guess it worked…”

“It certainly did. Welcome back.”

“It’s good to be back and…whoa is it hot. Did I miss something?”

Twilight giggled. “Just a recent heatwave. I have a lot more to catch you up on.”

“Sounds great.” As soon as Sunset got up, her stomach started rumbling. “Uh…you don’t mind if we stop to grab a bite real quick?”

“Way ahead of you Sunset.”

As the two girls left the school, they failed to notice the small drone that had been keeping a close eye on them and had been witness to all that had just unfolded. The live feed was streaming to a monitor about five miles away in a large office space on the top floor of one of the biggest towers in Canterlot. A man, who appeared to be in his late forties or early fifties was sitting at his desk while studying the two girls closely.

A knock then sounded on his door. “Come in.”

In walked a woman with a lavish figure and wearing a lab coat. “The files you requested sir.”

“Ah, excellent.” He opened each one, containing a picture of the person in question. There were twelve of them, all female and all eighteen or younger. “The number of POIs is growing.”

“We haven’t looked into their families or fellow students since they’re irrelevant.”

“These two…” He looked at the names again. “Twilight Sparkle…Sunset Shimmer. These two I’m most interested in.”

“Sunny Flare is…you could say, the leader of the group from Crystal Prep,” the woman said.

“Isn’t this fascinating doctor?” The man asked. “How in the world did these girls develop these powers?”

“Exposure, more or less.”

“Ah yes…speaking of which, it seems our friends are causing a lot of attention.”

“Shouldn’t we be containing them?”

“No. I’m curious to see how this unfolds. Don’t worry, I’m aware of how much of a threat they can be if they learn the truth. But I know you’re itching to go toe to toe with them aren’t you?”

“I-”

“Don’t deny it, dear Tempest. You want to see where you stand based on their level. It’s understandable. Rest assured you’ll have your moment soon enough.”

The woman was silent for a moment. “Once we go public with our new products, we’ll be painting ourselves a target. Companies will try tofind out our secrets and compete-”

“Right, ‘competition’,” the man said, doing air quotes with his fingers. “Tempest, I’m going to fill you in on a little secret: competition means nothing in this day and age. Look at food companies. You have product A which is everyone’s favorite product but another company makes product B, which is similar but essentially a knockoff brand. Oh sure, it’s cheaper but people still go to product A. My point here is simple: we’ve taken this alien form of energy and made it into our own. This is renewable energy at its finest and the best part is it costs nothing for us to extract because we’re literally surrounded by it. Everything that you own, everything that’s manufactured, running on this source of power. So let them try, but other companies can’t compete because they don’t a basic concept of what this is…unlike you.

“When you came to me all those months ago, I thought you were crazy. But I saw everything you could do and I knew what I was seeing was the future. This, all of this, was your doing. I’m just the promoter but you are the creator.”

“Thank you sir,” Tempest said, not quite used to praise. “Is that everything you needed?”

“Yes. You may return to your work.” Tempest nodded and headed towards the door. “Tempest?” She turned around and looked towards the man, who had a big smile on his face.

“We’re going to do great things, you and I. As of this moment, the world is going to change completely.”

Tempest nodded before turning around and leaving the room. As she walked towards the large elevator, she couldn’t help but feel a slight case of unease. Mr. Storm (she had only referred to him by name a few times, nowadays calling him “sir” especially since he was the one giving her her paychecks) had the best intentions, she was sure of that. But as she went inside and the elevator started going down, she couldn’t shake off the feeling that something bad was about to happen.

Author's Note

I was really debating whether to have our "villains" revealed so early and while I originally planned to have them show up later in the story, I felt in doing so it would be kind of random for the reader. What exactly is going on, well, you'll find out soon enough.