Sunset Shimmer hugged her arms as she witnessed the tearful reunion of the Apple family. Of course, it was not a true reunion. The sister and granddaughter to Apple Bloom and Granny Smith thought returned was not the Applejack they knew. She was not a Scion, nor a Duchess as Andre had mentioned, she was a high school student from Canterlot High, in another dimension.

That was what made the heartfelt scene so painful. Sunset thought back to Scootaloo when they first encountered her and her Hunters in Duskwood Thicket. It was impossible to wonder which moment tugged at her heartstrings more. When she thought she couldn’t be closer to the brink of crying herself, she heard the rhythmic thumping from upstairs. Glancing upwards, Sunset at first did not heed much, her attention focused more on the Applejack, much like everyone else stood around amongst the inn’s tables in respectful silence.

It was when she heard Rarity utter something that had Sunset and Fluttershy to her right divert their attention to someone leaning over the staircase railing. When she thought the moment couldn’t get more saddening, there came yet another familiar face not truly of one’s they knew.

They watched as the dimensional counterpart of Sweetie Belle came rushing down the remaining steps, stopping before whom she thought was her sister reborn, “Rarity…? … S-sister?”

Sunset stood by Fluttershy, the animal caretaker’s eyes watering at the sheer emotional enormity overtaking the inn, placing a comforting arm around her shoulders as the two watched the scene unfold. Rarity was absolutely stunned as her sister’s counterpart reached out to touch her, no doubt just to confirm she hadn’t been overtaken by madness. Rarity reciprocated by taking Sweetie Belle’s other hand in her own.

“Oh, dear Sweetie Belle… I… I didn’t expect this, I… I didn’t know I’d find you here-”

They watched as the tears of longing seeped out of Sweetie Belle’s eyes, “You’ve come back to us? You’re you once again?”

Her once again…? Wondered Sunset at Sweetie Belle’s specific choice of words. Did she mean she was miraculously cured from her state of being a husk like the horde they witnessed outside the walls?

“Sweetie Belle, dear,” said Rarity, doing her best to remain level, but gradually failing. How could anyone in such a predicament as this? “This… This is going to be hard to grasp… A-and accept, but I-”

If proverbial heartstrings could snap, then Sunset thought she felt that very sensation inside when she witnessed Sweetie Belle throw herself into the arms of whom she thought was her sister. “I forgive you, Rarity!” she declared.

Sunset heard how Fluttershy began sobbing into her own hand at the sight of the two misconstrued reunions between loved ones. Sunset hugged Fluttershy in an attempt to console her, feeling herself how warm, salty tears seeped their way out the corners of her eyes. How she wished these reunions could be genuine; but they were not. It wasn’t fair on those people, desperate as she and the girls were for a means to get back home.

“S-Sweetie Belle…” Rarity uttered again, her voice wavering from the sheer emotion of the moment. “I… I’m not-”

“You don’t need to say anything,” sobbed Sweetie Belle, burying her face in Rarity’s shoulder. “You weren’t you; I just knew it! You’d never do anything to hurt others. Scion or not, I know my big sister!”

“Ah’… Ah’m sorry, but…” Sunset heard Applejack utter from by the bar. She watched as the farmgirl held onto the hands of her little sister and grandmother’s counterparts, her freckled cheeks stained in tears. The Element of Honesty that she inherently was could never lie. She hated lying, even if it would hurt less. “Ah’m…Ah’m not the same Applejack,” she croaked, keeping her hold onto her dimensional relatives’ hands. “Ah’m not the sister or granddaughter ya’ll lost, Ah’m…”

“What are you saying, Jackie?” asked Granny Smith, baffled. “Of course you’re… well, you. You’re standing right here, I can feel your hand, I-”

“I’m sorry, Granny Smith,” Scootaloo spoke out, having shed her bycoket in a show of respect. The huntress rubbed a gloved hand over her cheek, reciprocated by Rainbow Dash putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. “I thought so the first time myself but…” she sniffed, “these aren’t the same people come back to us.”

Applejack shot a glare at the huntress, “What are you on about, Scoots? How could you say that?!” She pointed a finger towards Rainbow, “Rainbow Dash is standing right there, and there’s Rarity, and Fluttershy and Sunset, and Twilight. Everyone-”

“It’s true, Apple Bloom,” said Twilight readjusting her glasses after wiping her own tears away. “We aren’t the same people.”

Archivist Neighsay stepped forth from the sidelines, “Perhaps it’s best if we explain it slowly…”

-

“So, let me see if I got this straight,” said Apple Bloom, her lack of the southern twang common to the family in their home world being something Applejack was finding hard to get accustomed to, “you’re saying she’s not our Applejack, but that she’s from a place where there’s people, just like us, but living different lives?”

“That’s about the size of it, yes,” said Twilight in confirmation.

The lot of them had set down chairs from atop the tables to sit down and rest, while the Hunters got busy distributing drinks and some food for everyone, now that they were for the most part safe inside the Apple Hearth Inn. They made it a point to keep as few candles lit as possible while keeping the shutters closed to not rouse suspicion from outside. Currently, Maddie and Night Quill assumed covert positions behind a window each, keeping an ear out for both guards, as well as Maud, Spike and Pinkie.

Applejack had assumed a place around one of the round tables with Apple Bloom, Granny Smith, Archivist Neighsay and Twilight to better help explain the no-doubt outrageous claims they were making over their identities. Apple Bloom, though sounding a might frustrated, seemed to accept to a degree, while Granny Smith appeared to have a hard time grasping the concept, appearing to have gone into a mild state of shock. At the table next to them gathered Rarity with Sweetie Belle, the former trying to explain the same to her sister’s counterpart with help from Sunset, Scootaloo, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash.

“It’s a mighy bit confoundin’, Ah’ know,” said Applejack, herself not making it a point to even try hiding her natural accent; she was not Applejack of Equis, but Applejack of Canterlot and she would speak how she always did, “but the best Ah’ can put it is that Ah’ have my own Apple Bloom, and Granny Smith out there… An’ of course Big Macintosh.” She looked around, “Is, um, is he around- Ah’-Ah’ mean… Oh horseapples…” she muttered, smacking a hand against her cheek in shame. “Ah’m sorry, Ah’ jus’ don’t…”

“Your brother went to look for you, when you didn’t return from the hold…” muttered Granny Smith, seeming to have gone into a semi-catatonic state. “He never returned…” Neighsay put a comforting hand over hers on the table.

“Lady Smith is undoubtedly referring to the fall of Twilight Mire, back when the, well, end fell upon us,” Said Neighsay informingly. “The Mire wasn’t exactly the best defended, so when the Umbra-Touched came they overran the farmlands. Duchess Applejack refused to surrender and she continued to hold down Sweet Apple Acre to the last. Most everyone presumed her dead…”

“Big Macintosh didn’t,” replied Apple Bloom, her hands intertwined together tightly atop the table. “Big brother went to find you and bring you back, but he didn’t come back. It’s been two years since…”

“Aw gosh, Ah’m so sorry…” said Applejack glumly, holding a hand over her chest. Stubborn to the end her counterpart seemed, just like herself, though the accounts made her question whether she truly would stand to fight to the last against such overwhelming odds. “So then… How did ya’ll escape?” Apple Bloom seemed dumbstruck by that question. “What’s wrong?”

Apple Bloom shook her head, “Nothing, nothing. Just… Sweet Divines, the real you would know we’ve ran Apple Hearth Inn for ages.” Applejack nodded in acknowledgement. “Ever since your ascendance to Scion, you made it a point to letting Granny Smith live it easier here in Moonlink while you and big brother ruled over the holdings.”

Such a notion Applejack had to commend her late counterpart for. Back home it was a near daily ritual of telling Granny Smith to take it easy, but a mix of Apple family fortitude and stubbornness had kept the matriarch of the family well rooted in the dealings of the family business on top of her duties as the lunch lady at CHS. As far as Applejack knew it, Granny would never let herself be constrained to a retirement home, so it made sense for the Applejack of this world to place her in a less strenuous, but fulfilling role running a rather high-end inn and tavern from the looks of it.

“Even across different worlds, an Apple’s an Apple,” said Applejack fondly. “Always workin’ an’ lookin’ out for each other…” They may have been counterparts, but Applejack’s innate pride in her family made them feel all the same as those back home. The feeling was made all the more tragic that this world’s Applejack was not coming back…

-

“But then…” uttered Sweetie Belle as despair emanated from her eyes, “if you’re not really my sister, doesn’t it mean she’s…?”

“Sweetie Belle, please,” said Rarity softly, holding to her sister’s counterpart’s hands as they sat facing one another, “tell me what happened. What did the… other me, do before she… Before she died?”

Sweetie Belle sniffled loudly, “She isn’t dead!” Her hold onto Rarity’s hands tightened, “My sister is not dead!”

“Listen Sweetie,” Scootaloo came up from behind and placed hands onto her grieving friend’s shoulders, “I understand it’s hard to wrap your mind around it. I’m still wishing it were the case that this was our Rainbow Dash, but we have to accept-”

“It’s not that!” Sweetie Belle blurted. “I saw her before the exodus! My sister wasn’t dead. She’s…” A fresh stream of tears ran down her cheeks, eliciting Rarity to scoot closer and embrace her, the fashionista gently patting her back.

Rarity shushed softy, “It’s okay, dear. It’s okay.”

“What do you suppose she means?” asked Fluttershy, the animal caretaker having been able to compose herself, all the while her new friend, Winifred the rat, nibbled on a piece of bread offered atop the table.

Sunset pursed her lips, rubbing her arms underneath the cloak she was provided. Despite the noticeable warmth inside the inn as opposed to the cold air of the eternal night outside, she still felt quite chilly, once more cursing herself for having worn her lighter choice in outfit. She saw how Applejack was deep in conversing with her family’s counterparts past Rarity embracing the hysterical alternate Sweetie Bell, all the while the rest of the crew remained in respectful silence.

Two hunters, Maddie and Night Quill watched the windows while Lyra and Bon-Bon sat side-by-side at the foot of the staircase, the former having finally been awarded the chance to shed her helmet. They sat silently on guard, all the while Lyra had an arm around Bon-Bon’s back, the two of them leaning into each other.

Scootaloo sat herself back down and reached for a green bottle with a wicker enclosed base, and took two gulps of whatever beverage it contained. She offered the bottle to Rainbow, who merely shrugged before accepting the bottle and in an almost perfect recreation, took two gulps. She looked at the label on the bottle, nodding in approval.

“Hmm, apple cider,” she remarked, offering the bottle to Sunset, who graciously declined.

“I guess the rumors were true then,” said Scootaloo before taking a chunk out a piece of bread with her teeth. After a moment of thoughtful chewing, she resumed, “They say Duchess Rarity went insane during the fall, to which she became obsessed with retaining her hold on the city of Lapis, all the while the Umbra-Touched razed it to the ground.” Another contemplative moment of silence followed.

A thought came across Sunset on Scootaloo’s words. “Didn’t they attack Moonlink too? Despite all the carnage outside, the city seems to be holding… Structurally at least,” she added hastily on Scootaloo’s scoff. Moonlink was not holding, not the way it should have, at the very least.

Scootaloo seemed to resume pondering on Sunset’s words, all the while Rainbow helped herself to another gulp of cider before passing the bottle back to Scootaloo.

“For whatever reason, the cities ruled by the Scions fell under heaviest attack. Some say the Umbra’s creatures did so deliberately, as if the attacks were deliberately orchestrated,” said Scootaloo, before taking another swig. “Honestly; I don’t buy it. Umbra-Touched are nothing more than instinctually driven monsters.”

Sweetie Belle had begun to calm down under Rarity’s care, the two having resumed their previous places, though still holding hands. “You… I mean…”

Sweetie Belle hesitated, though Rarity motioned her understanding of her choice of words, “The city, you… You wanted everyone to stay and fight, all the while everyone was already fleeing for their lives, out of Lapis. I tried to get you to come with us, but you… You called us all traitors for running away.”

Rarity glanced uncomfortably at Sunset’s general direction, “Traitors?”

Sweetie Belle nodded stiffly, “Lord Toity was trying to escort me away, but you caught us before he could. He entrusted me to Lady De Lis’ protection while he stood his ground… You said… You said that failure to serve you will be rewarded with… with death…”

Fluttershy outwardly gasped at Sweetie Belle’s words, nor did it fail to rouse a shiver down Sunset’s spine. Rarity, be it any she’d known, the embodiment of generosity with the very soul of charitability, would never wish harm upon others for not catering to her whims. There was no way any duress in the universe could taint her like that… Right?

“So the rumors were right after all…” muttered Scootaloo.

Rarity stuttered, “W-what happened then?”

Sweetie looked down upon their hands, “Lord Toity and you fought, while Lady De Lis led me to safety. Most of us managed to reach and hold out in Citrinesburgh, until the Knight Centurions decided it was not feasible to remain, so we were all forced to evacuate further west, to Moonlink.”

“Yea…” Scootaloo spoke up, “I was here too. Rainbow Dash ordered me south, granted me express permission to reside in her manor in the nobles’ district. I refused to just sit and wait, so I took part in the defense of the hold during the influx of refugees. The city couldn’t hold everyone, and it came close to a riot, hadn’t High Priestess Starlight Glimmer stepped out to mediate. In the end roughly half the refugees were granted asylum, while the Knight Centurions took the remaining further west, to Sunlink. Not sure about Anor Equis.”

“We’ve been holed up here ever since, not knowing what to do,” said Sweetie Belle wearily. “When High Priestess Starlight Glimmer disappeared and Cinch took over, it’s been literal hell in here; not knowing when someone will be dragged off and exiled next.”

“Oi!” Maddie called out from her post at the window. “It looks like they made it. Someone get the door.”

Bon-Bon leapt up from her spot and undid the series of locks on the hefty oak door. Maud came stomping inside in her ‘Armor of Boulder’ as she called it, complete with a hefty sash slung on her back bearing the remaining gear the rest couldn’t carry. Spike came scampering inside, right into Twilight’s awaiting arms, praising her little assistant. But there was no sign of-

“Hi girls!” shouted Pinkie, popping up from out of nowhere. “Lowdown; I hit my foot, I swore, and this fake beard is so unbelievably itchy!” she declared, pulling a rubber band from the confines of the hair brushed around her jawline, to which the curly pink fluff sprung back to its regular placement with a ‘sproing’. “Oh, hi Apple Bloom, hi Granny Smith, hi Sweetie Belle- Whaaaaaaa…?!”

After Pinkie getting the shock out of her system and Maud unloading the remaining armaments of the crew, as well as emerging from her impossibly heavy armor herself, the Hunters gathered around the table adjacent to the door, where Neighsay produced the map of Moonlink, as well as a few other papers from within his sleeves and spread them out. While Applejack remained with Apple Bloom and Granny Smith and Rarity with Sweetie Belle, Sunset and the rest wordlessly invited themselves to the Hunters’ huddle.

“Alright, so we’re inside the city, what now?” asked Sunset.

“I’ve been pondering as much as I could, in the wake of the…” Neighsay glanced back at the Apple family glumly, “… Well… Point is, we won’t have long until Cinch will enact the exile of many citizens for the sake of ‘public stability’. We need to find a way to not only stop this from happening, but also find the whereabouts, or fate, of our previous High Priestess and should she still be among us, provide her liberation.”

“We certainly can’t just storm the castle, that’s for sure,” remarked Twilight, eliciting a snicker from Pinkie, but that went largely ignored.

“Why don’t I just super-speed over to the cathedral and see what’s what?” asked Rainbow, no doubt eager for action once more.

“No offence, Rainbow, but every time you speed off on your own you usually end up in a bigger mess,” remarked Sunset.

Rainbow pouted, “Like that time with Twiggy?”

Sunset held up her hands, “Okay, most of the time. Besides, that wasn’t so much reconnaissance as it was thinking on your feet during combat.”

“I’ll have to agree with Sunset; you’re better thinking on your feet during moments of duress,” said Twilight.

“Um, excuse me-”

“I have to agree with Lady Shimmer and Sparkle; subtlety is our best bet to see to it High Priestess Starlight Glimmer is found.” Neighsay stroked his goatee in contemplation.

“All fourteen of us won’t be able to make it for certain, what with the guard patrols,” added Scootaloo.

“If I may-”

“What if it’s just a few of us while the rest lay low here?” asked Sunset.

“Even if just a few of us went to try and find Starlight Glimmer, the cathedral is a veritable maze for the unaffiliated, barring myself, of course, but even then it’s not assured we can find her in time before the expulsion, for I know not where Cinch holds her important prisoners,” explained Neighsay. “For all we know she might have moved her to a separate location, and Mole and none of our informants have found any clue to such whereabouts.”

“Everyone-”

“Hey, I think Fluttershy’s-” came Pinkie, when a light-yellow hand abruptly slammed against the table, causing everyone in the room to jump. “Oh, never mind.”

With all attention on the animal caretaker, Fluttershy cleared her throat. “As I was trying to say, my new friend Winifred here; he says his cousin and his wife and their- How many was it?” She abruptly asked the rat currently perched on her shoulder, which promptly let out a series of peeps. “Oh my; thirty-eight children, and fourteen of their extended families, live inside the cathedral. He says they know the ins and outs of the place like the backs of their paws.”

Sunset couldn’t help but snicker at the looks of utter bafflement the Umbra-Hunters had, looking between Fluttershy and the sniffing little brown rodent perched next to her head. After a humorous moment of silence, the lot of them seemed to straighten up in whatever idle motions they could come up with, be it Night Quill politely coughing into his hand, Maddie putting her hands behind her back and balancing on the soles of her feet, Neighsay stroking his goatee once more, etcetera.

“Hmm, yes, well…” Neishsay cleared his throat, “It appears our new friend, Mr. Winifred…”

“He says just Winifred will suffice,” giggled Fluttershy.

“Winifred, has actually granted us an advantage. If Lady Fluttershy and maybe a few others at most were to infiltrate the cathedral, we just might succeed in finding Lady Glimmer and… Oh my, I believe I just came upon something absolutely brilliant!” The archivist looked up, a glint in his weary eyes.

“You sure it’s not just the apple wine talking?” chuckled Night Quill.

“It was one glass and you damn well know it,” retorted Neighsay. “Don’t you see? The answer is right in front of us, literally.”

Sunset looked amongst the girls before pointing to herself, “You mean us?”

“Exactly,” beamed Neighsay. “As far as everyone else knows; the Scions have fallen, but yet we have you here! Different world or not; you seven are exactly like them, both in appearance and voices… Well, barring Lady Applejack’s strange choice in vernacular. No offence.”

“Say what now?” called Applejack from her table.

“Ooooh, I see where this is going,” said Pinkie, a broad smile forming on her lips.

“Lady Pie; are you saying you’re pondering what I’m pondering?” asked Neighsay, seeming quite jovial in comparison to his normally formal, if somewhat dour, persona.

“You bet! Now if we only had a towel that would be something…” said Pinkie, smiling like a scheming kitten while twiddling her fingers.

Neighsay’s mouth lined at whatever was going through the pink party girl’s mind, “… Excuse me?”

Sunset chuckled, “I think I get the picture… Err, I mean I understand; you want us to pretend that we’re the Scions, since people looked up to them.”

“And most certainly still would!” exclaimed Scootaloo. “If we were to declare the Scions of the Moonlight province having returned, we could sway the populace and guards to our side over Cinch.”

“Pardon me, but,” Rarity came up to the assemblage, looking less certain than the rest, “what about me? You heard what Sweetie Belle said; the me of this world, she… For all we know she killed one of the lords of the land, and since some of the people here are refugees from her city.”

“People don’t actually know of it,” called Sweetie Belle as she joined the gathering. “Lady De Lis insisted we keep the secret of my sister’s… madness. It was to ensure hope, that she and Lord Toity gave themselves up, along with the remaining city guard, to ensure our escape, and that they might have survived to join us later. Of course, it hasn’t come to pass…”

Rarity, despite not being specifically herself involved, couldn’t help but sigh in relief. Sunset could empathize, for it was united that their group would be at their strongest.

“Speakin’ of,” Applejack joined everyone else around the table, “how’re we gonna proceed with this?”

“Weeellll,” mused Pinkie playfully, “I saw, assuming I’m reading this right, that there’s a stage in the square, right?”

“Technically it’s just a platform, but-”

“Perfect!” cried Pinkie, cutting off Scootaloo’s answer. “Just leave the kettles to me, and the lot of you get up there on my mark.” Everyone stared at the party girl in confusion. Pinkie groaned from exasperation; “The guards. I’ll distract the guards, you lot get to the square and let it be known their lords and masters have returned, and I shall join you shortly.”

“A tad extreme with how you define “Scions”, but that could work,” said Scootaloo, with maybe a lick of uncertainty. “Then all that remains is getting the rescue team to the cathedral. But who should go other than Fluttershy?”

Sunset threw up her hand immediately, “I’ll go. If your distraction works we shouldn’t face too much opposition. However,” she grasped at the sheath of her rapier, “Fluttershy is not fighter, so I’ll be there to protect her. And I can use my power to peer into people’s minds if need be.”

“I’ll go with you too,” said Twilight. “I can use mine to pick locks, and seeing as they are not as advanced here as they are back home, we should be able to get inside places we’re not meant to see.”

“I’m going with you,” said Spike.

Twilight looked at her companion with concern, “Spike, this could be dangerous, you-”

“Of course, it’s dangerous,” said Spike defiantly. “Everything here is dangerous. That’s why I’m not letting you out of my sight, nor smell, nor hearing. I can’t fight, but I know enough that you humans wouldn’t be anywhere without us dogs.”

“He has a point, Twilight,” said Scootaloo, arms crossed. “A canine companion like Spike can prove beneficial. Let alone one like Spike. It would be foolish to leave him behind.”

Twilight, though undoubtedly reluctant, sighed in defeat, bending down to pick up their little mascot, “Alright, feisty rascal you. You’re coming with us.” A satisfied huff escaped Spike, smiling proudly.

“Well then, Ah’ guess that’s the rescue team ready,” replied Applejack enthusiastically. “Now all that remains is how we’re gettin’ ya’ll to the cathedral.”

“That part will be the most difficult I should say,” remarked Night Quill. “We got past the patrols just barely, and I don’t like the idea of risking the three of you being captured.”

“I might be able to help with that,” came Apple Bloom, pointing a thumb over her shoulder. “We’ve got a wagon out back. Every day the guards will be moving provisions to and from the cathedral all around the city. A few of you could pull that over to the cathedral in disguise while the rest hide in the wagon.”

“I suppose that could work,” Scootaloo nodded. “Lyra, Bon-Bon, you two don disguises and get those three to the cathedral. Try to join us over at the market square if you can. Otherwise, should anything go wrong, regroup at Mole’s and wait for us. If anything happens to us, you’ll need to keep up the fight.”

“Ma’am,” the two saluted in unison with their hands to the chests.

“I suppose this is the best we can do on such short notice,” mused Neighsay, grimly. “Nevertheless, time is of the essence.” He turned to Scootaloo, “Lady Scootaloo, in the event if we fail,” he placed a hand to the young huntress’ shoulder, “I wish you to know that it’s been an honor serving with you, all of you.”

The Hunters all shared a formal salute before their appointed leader. Scootaloo reciprocated the notion before them, before donning her bycoket once again.

“Your counterpart really chose the perfect leader,” remarked Sunset to Rainbow Dash.

“I know,” replied Rainbow. “When all of this is done and we save the world; I bet she’d make a fine Scion…”

-

The ride was packed, dark, and smelled slightly vinegary. Sunset couldn’t even peer through the open bunghole on the side due to her height, all the while keeping a tight hold on her sheathed rapier to prevent it from knocking against the sides. The steady rumble of wheels rolling against cobblestones was the only constant she could perceive from her visually deprived hiding spot. More than once had the cart come to a stop, followed by the exchange of words between guards and predominately Bon-Bon, using her fake voice to great effect.

Finally, after an uncomfortable while being cooped up inside the stuffy container, faint light seeped its way inside, indicating the tarp on top had been removed. With a soft knock on the side, Sunset knocked the pommel of her sword against the top until it popped off, earning her the sweet relief of fresh air while slowly raising her head from within the barrel. Fluttershy was fumbling her way out of the potato sack she’d hidden inside of; all the while Twilight lifted the hatch to the small crate she and Spike occupied aboard the cart. Bon-Bon got busy helping the three off while Lyra stood on guard by the corner of what Sunset assumed to be the larder.

Sunset found herself unable to not marvel at the sheer size of the cathedral: From the distance she’d seen the lone central spire rising far above any other building in the city. From cursory looks at the city map, the building had a circular layout, with the entire structure being surrounded by smaller spires around its walls, which came to connect to the building itself with high grand buttresses. Occupying the wide space between two of such was an extension to the building with a wide, heavy door; the larder.

Encircling the building was a grand moat, one of the five stone bridges visible a short distance away over which they had made their way onto the cathedral grounds. To her amazement, the grounds themselves were a garden, but unlike anything she’d seen before, with pure white trees with coiling trunks reaching towards the eternal night sky, their leaves aglow with an ethereal blue light.

“We’ve got a bit of a problem,” said Bon-Bon with a hush. “Door’s locked.”

“Leave it to me,” said Twilight, going over to the large door, taking a peek inside the keyhole with her keychain lamp. Sunset watched intently as Twilight raise her other hand, her Geode glowing a faint violet, her fore and middle fingers swerving slowly. With a loud ‘clunk’ the door swung slightly ajar inwards.

Bon-Bon nodded with a look of amazement, “Perfect! Lyra and I will take our leave. Good luck in there.”

“You too,” said Sunset as the two hunters took their leave in their guard disguises. She took a deep breath of the nippy night air, doing her best to calm her nerves in the wake of entering enemy territory. “Alright… You ready for this?”

Twilight nodded in acknowledgement, as did Spike in her arms, while Fluttershy, in addition, held up Winifred the rat in her hands, the rodent already squeaking instructions through Fluttershy’s animal empathy.

“Winifred says his first cousin once removed is just through here, past the kitchens,” she informed the two. “She or anyone of the extended family should know the ins and outs.”

“Perfect,” smirked Sunset, gripping the sheath of her rapier, “let’s get going. The faster we find Starlight Glimmer, the better. If not, at least we can hope the rest might get the public on their side.”

With that, they entered the larder, Fluttershy leading them by way of Winifred’s directions.

-

Starlight Glimmer found herself once again needing to acclimate as her body reversed its metamorphosis back from human to her regular pony form. The immediate sense of vertigo from the mismatched posture in lieu of her naturally intended quadrupedal posture made her twirl around before collapsing, with only a pile of books to cushion her fall. Shaking her head to alleviate the disorientation, she realized the crystal had slipped from the non-existent grasp her hooves provided. Fortunately, the crystalline siphon landed only a short distance from the mirror, allowing her to easily draw it closer with her telekinesis.

With her task completed, Starlight took the siphon over to the hastily assembled alchemy set-up the Princess provided her, giving Starlight express permission to commence with any testing should she herself still be busy. She levitated the crystal and set it sideways onto a frame, after which she positioned a pair of electrodes to both ends, taking meticulous care to ensure they were perfectly aligned with the stone’s tips. Now all that remained was but a spark to bleed the energies within into the connected spherical vial for a sample-

The bang of the door almost caused an electrode to drop right off the table, but a reflexive grasp with her magic allowed her to save the delicate instrument. The sound of hooves carried over, belonging to a familiar mulberry alicorn with a blue mane with streaks of purple and magenta nearly galloping to her side.

“You’ve returned,” said Twilight, her eyes focusing on the now blackened crystal. “How was it? Was the school alright? Did anyone see anything?”

“The statue was destroyed, but the school was fine,” said Starlight in alleviation to her mentor’s fears. “Principal Celestia was unreachable. It turns out she took a nasty conk on the head and was in hospital for a concussion…”

“Oh dear…” muttered Twilight. “I’m certain it has to be a coincidence, it must be…”

“Coincidence?” asked Starlight. “Why? Was it something to do with Princess Celestia?”

“Yes,” said Twilight gravely, “and Princess Luna!” Starlight felt her breath cease for a moment. “Both of them are just… I don’t know what it is; a coma it seems. We tried to revive them using less conventional methods, but nothing’s worked so far. Somnambula and Mage Meadowbrook relieved me and are trying to come up with an alternative solution while Star Swirl works to find any magic that we might have overlooked.”

“A coma?!” Starlight gasped. “I… Honestly I didn’t expect the Princesses to be able to succumb to ordinary ailments.”

Twilight, taking over, adjusted the previously dropped electrode, realigning them with the ends of the siphon, “I’ve never even heard of Princess Celestia getting sick once since I’ve known her. Though calling it a coma might be misleading; it seems more like some imposed hibernation from the looks of it. Their metabolisms had decreased to bare minimum, on top of no reaction to any stimulus.”

“You don’t suppose what’s happened here could be connected to whatever happened to Sunset and the girls?” asked Starlight, taking a moment to send a jolt of magic into a miniaturized lightning rod set on the worktable, the energy coursing through the copper conductors to form and arc running through the electrodes, the siphon and the vial.

“I don’t know,” Twilight muttered, the both of them watching intently as the jolt forced whatever energy the siphon had gathered began to slowly seep into the vial, taking the form of a black substance best defined as looking like ooze with the wafting properties of smoke. It coalesced into a sphere within the crystalline vial, which began to grow as the blackness of the siphon began to erode away back into a pristine white. “I just hope they’ll be alright, wherever it is they are as of now.”

Starlight couldn’t help leaning in closer, watching in trepidatious amazement as the blackness swelled within the vial. Though small and harmless(?) inside the vial, looking at it brought about an inexplicable sense of dread. As it continued to grow, a shudder raced through the unicorn’s spine, the shudder ending in an uncontrollable flick of her tail. As it continued to bleed into the repository, she thought she could feel the light itself drain from the room around them, and the air growing colder.

“What is this…?” she wondered aloud, when something within felt like it was staring at her through the crystalline glass. A small tendril of the blackness splattered itself against the side of the phial, a deafening shriek calling out that felt to reverberate throughout the entire castle.

Author's Note

Okay, after over a year of hiatus, here's chapter seven of Umbral Souls. I'll see how people feel like and whether or not this story can hold a candle to my other project. Honestly, I'm still uncertain which story is worth continuing.