Equestrian Girl

Chapters

III:Labrys
IV:Duḥkha
V:Khidr
VI:Sacrament
VII:Binding
VIII:Schism
IX:Ouroboros
X:Djinn
XI:Changeling
XII:Elysium
I:Exodus
II:Gemini

III:Labrys

Principal Celestia

Please knock before entering

Sunset reached out and slowly knocked on the door, a sense of trepidation building in her stomach. From behind it, an all-too-familiar voice called out. A moment of silence passed before her response. "Come in!"

Celestia was scribbling away at a pile of documents when Sunset entered. Looking up, she frowned for a moment, before her usual cheerful demeanour returned. "Can I help you?"

Sunset was taken aback by her former tutor's appearance. In her mind, she had conjured up an image of a formidable, commanding woman. In comparison, Celestia strikingly mild. Normal, even. Realizing she had been staring at Celestia, mouth agape, for a good twenty seconds, she shook her head and blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

"Do you - are you - are you accepting new students?"

Celestia hesitated, before laying down her pen. "Excuse me?"

Sunset cringed. She should have just asked where the bathroom was. Still, there was no turning back now. "I was just wondering if you had any places left." Please say no.

Celestia looked more surprised than anything. "Well, if you're looking to transfer, I can direct you to the admissions office. They can speak with your parents about finding you a place." She craned her neck, as if expecting to see them standing behind Sunset. "They're on the second floor. Just follow the sign at the top of the stairs. Ask them for an application form, they should have a few printed copies on hand."

Celestia picked her pen back up. "What school are you attending currently? We have a transfer agreement with Crystal Prep, but..." Her eyes flickered to Sunset's dirty, dishevelled clothing. "Well, we usually don't accept transfers from outside our catchment area."

"Oh, I don't actually go to school." Sunset waved her hand dismissively. "I just wanted to check this place out. Thanks for-"

"Not at - excuse me?" Celestia dropped her pen again. "You mean... your parents are educating you?"

Sunset shook her head, an uneasy feeling in her gut. She was still in the process of working out the details of her alibi, and hated having to make up things on the spot. "No. I... Well, I don't actually have parents. I live with my... older sister?"

Celestia didn't seem too happy with that answer. "What's your name? How old are you?"

Sunset was able to catch herself before she gave Celestia her real age. She had clearly put her foot in it. "Sunset Shimmer. I'm... four...teen?"

"And you're missing school?" Celestia looked aghast. "Your sister should know better. I've half a mind to..." Whatever Celestia was going to say, she stopped herself short. "Never mind." Picking through a stack of paper, she scribbled a quick message down on a blank sheet from the pile, and held it out to Sunset.

"We have some emergency places available for students such as yourself. I can have you enrolled by the end of the day." She didn't sound angry, she sounded... concerned. "Term only started two weeks ago, so you should have plenty of time to catch up. Take this to the admissions office, they should sort you out."

Sunset reached out and slowly took the piece of paper from Celestia, who gave her a supportive smile. "I won't ask about your home situation, but I will have to speak with your sister about her care of you. For now, I think it's best we keep this within the school."

"Uh, thanks." Sunset took a step backwards, before turning on her heel and exiting Celestia's office. Stuffing the note in her pocket, she leant against the wall and sighed. She wasn't sure if she'd won or lost there.

A quiet cough reminded her of the reason she was here in the first place. Flash clearly, mercifully, hadn't heard a word of their discussion.

"Still want to get lunch?"

Sunset nodded. "Sure. I, uh, I don't have any money on me. I can pay you back, though."

Flash waved his hand dismissively. "It's on me. I invited you to lunch, didn't I?"

"...Thanks."

At least someone here was on her side.

Cwalu aet Cwalu proved difficult to track down. Shim felt foolish, but something about the man's demeanour and behaviour had captivated her attention. Normally, she would have brushed such feelings off as silly superstition, but then again, the last few days had been anything but ordinary.

Nothing online. No bookshop had even heard of the title. Neither had her local library. It was as if the book simply didn't exist. Shim had began to wonder if she had even remembered the title right when she stumbled across her first lead, in the last place she had expected - church.

Shim wasn't a religious person - at least, not in the same way most people were. The home she'd grown up in was supported by a local church, and she'd been given the usual introduction to their dogma. In that way, she couldn't bring herself to turn her back completely on her past faith - nor on the people who'd helped her when she needed it most.

She felt stupid, praying in an empty church to a deity that almost certainly didn't exist. But she'd done it as long as she remembered. It was part of her routine - part of what kept her sane. Rising to her feet, she ambled across the room to a bookshelf that looked almost as old as the church itself, sentried by books that were probably written generations ago.

She didn't have high hopes - what kind of church would keep a book of black magic in stock? - but still she traced the shelves, looking for something to kill time with. She didn't feel like going home yet. Sunset kind of scared her, and she wasn't ready to admit failure to her face.

Prayer books... hymns... history of the religion... suddenly, Shim came to a stop, one title in particular catching her eye. The Black Library - An Index of the Occult. Plucking the tome off the shelf, she wiped away the thin layer of dust that coated the jacket, before turning to the index.

The book was old - she could tell from the language used that it had been written about a century ago. Titles jumped out at her - hundreds, in fact, all neatly organized into categories. Summoning rituals, fortune telling, enchantment. And a small section on immortality rituals.

Against all odds, there it was - Cwalu aet Cwalu, page 532. Flipping to the entry, Shim was met by a single page of information.

Cwalu aet Cwalu

Author unknown

Date unknown, speculated mid-5th century.

Cwalu aet Cwalu (modern translation Death of Death) is a most wicked tome, such so that this entry shall give no indication on the specifics of it's contents. The subject matter, as inferred from the title, is the pursuit of immortality through evil means of a depravity unfit to be put to ink. Though it is not known to have been printed, a few hundred handwritten copies are believed to exist.

The rest was just fluff - a short history of the book, didactical prose as to the danger the book posed to public morality, that sort of thing. True to word, there was nothing in the article that hinted at the contents of the book. The final paragraph, however, was far more interesting.

Under it's modern title, the book is occasionally circulated amongst occultist societies as a genuine path to immortality. Given the rarity of the work, possession is limited to wealthier individuals and organizations. Amongst these organizations known to have at one time possessed a copy are the October Society, the Legion of Edom, and the Household of Quartz.

Shim frowned, tapping the final sentence with her index finger. The Household of Quartz. The closest thing her country had to an aristocracy - wealthy people obsessed with being better than everyone else. According to them, the direct descendants of Marius III - as if that was anything to be proud of.

And apparently, part-time dabblers in magic. How interesting.

Sunset poked the burger in front of her with unease. Flash had assured her it was vegetarian, but it looked disturbingly similar to the real thing. The air in the room was thick with the smell of meat, but she had long gotten used to that by now.

True to Flash's word, they had been joined by two other students. A tall, broad, long-haired kid called Brawly Beats with a lazy drawl had spent the past hour arguing with Flash about prospective band names. Opposite him, sitting next to her, a boy with white and black hair and a thin moustache - whose name she had already forgotten - sat in silence, flipping through a guitar magazine.

Hesitantly, Sunset raised the burger to her lips and took a small bite. To her surprise, it was pretty good. It didn't even taste like meat, more like mashed up beans. Taking a second bite, she took in the room around her. There were hundreds of humans around, but most of them were huddled in a circle, from which Sunset could hear raised voices. A fight? Well, she should hardly have expected any better.

"I'm telling you, Flash Drive is a better name!"

"Dude, we are so not naming the band after you. Do you know how many guitarists there are in this school? We could replace you like that" Beats snapped his fingers to illustrate the point. "I'm the only drummer you know. You want me on board or not?"

"We are not calling the band Groundwater. That doesn't even make sense!"

"Well, we aren't calling it Flash Drive either!"

Flash groaned. "Whatever. We'll talk about it later." He glanced at the silent boy. "Ringo, you gonna give me any input here?"

Ringo shrugged. "Whatever you guys pick is good for me." He set his magazine down and glanced at the crowd, which had grown louder still. "What do you think's going on there?"

Beats laughed. "Applejack's pissed at Rainbow Dash. Something about the softball team."

Flash craned his neck to peer through the crowd. "Reckon they're gonna fight?"

"Definitely." Beats sounded confident. "Five bucks says Rainbow wipes the floor with her."

"You're on-"

As if on cue, the crowd parted, and two girls tumbled out, gripping each others hair and screaming insults. Sunset recognized Rainbow Dash from class, and the blonde girl was presumably Applejack. Both of them crashed to the floor, cursing and striking at each other on the way down.

Applejack bounced to her feet before Rainbow could even recover and kicked her square in the stomach, causing her to double up in pain. Applejack looked ready to move in and finish her off, but before she could, a booming voice interrupted.

"Applejack! Come here!"

Sunset whipped her head around. A dark-blue woman with flowing hair strode across the room and seized Applejack by the arm. Luna? Princess Luna? Sunset had read all about the Night Sister, but she'd never expected to see - or hear her - in real life.

"She started it!" Applejack sounded furious.

"Enough! Both of you - Yes, Rainbow Dash, both of you! Take yourselves on down to the Principal's office immediately!" The two girls groaned, and began to amble away, bickering as they did so. Luna watched them go, glared at the crowd and let out an audible sigh. "I expected better."

Back at the table, Flash let out a low whistle. "Told you. Cough up, loser."

Beats grinned sheepishly. "Damn it. Look, I don't have five bucks on me right now. Can you give me a break?"

"No way." Flash snapped his fingers. "Actually, forget the five bucks. Just let me pick the band's name."

"Ughhh..." Beats groaned. "Fine. But I get to pick the album title. Deal?"

"Deal." Flash glanced over at Sunset. "Don't worry, this happens, like, every week."

Sunset watched the two girls disappear. "They really hate each other that much?"

Flash shook his head. "Nah, I meant fights in general. You picked a pretty crappy school to transfer to."

"Preach." Ringo folded his magazine up and leaned in. "So..." His eyes darted back and forth between Flash and Sunset. "Your name was... Sunset, right? How do you know Flash, again?"

Sunset opened her mouth, but Flash cut across her before she could say anything. "She's new. We're in the same maths class. I'm just... you know, showing her around." He turned to Sunset. "You finished? I can show you some more of this dump if you've got time."

Sunset was annoyed to be interrupted, but relieved she didn't have to explain her situation to Ringo. "Sure."

Ringo and Beats watched as the two of them gathered their belongings and left, before Ringo let out a snort. "That's gotta be the fifth girl this month."

"Sixth." Beats returned Ringo's grin. "What a guy. Fiver says it lasts less than week."

"Haven't you learned your lesson about gambling?"

"That's hardly a gamble. A gamble would be if it lasts to the end of today. He's probably shagging her in janitor's closet right now."

"Gross." Ringo's lip curled at the thought. "I don't know. She seems different to the others. Like she might actually have brain in her head."

"If she did, she wouldn't be with the guy in the first place."

"True that." Ringo stood up, rummaging around in his pockets. "What do you have next?"

"Physics. Fuck my life." Beats perked up at the sight of Ringo searching his pockets. "Got any?"

"Maybe. If your deadbeat ass can afford it."

"Sure." Beats reached into his wallet and pulled out twenty dollars. "We good?"

"I thought you were broke?"

"No, I'm just not going to give Flash my hard-earned money."

"Fair enough." Ringo snatched the bill and stuffed it in his pocket. "Come on, Cranky Doodle's probably finished with that spot under the ventilator by now."

Shim didn't have to look much further to find more information about the Quartzes - a quick internet search regurgitated hundreds of results. Real estate, hedge funds, stock market speculation, and fittingly enough, a printing press. Charity fundraisers, tabloid drama, the works.

The Household of Quartz - originally the House of Krystenval - was one of the few extant royal households this country had left, and the only one that still retained any measure of it's former power. Current head - "Queen" Valentina XI. Apparently they insisted on using traditional names. Their family tree was filled with the same - Maxwell, Charlotte, Victor, that sort of thing. It creeped her out.

Anyway, that might be all well and good, but none of it actually helped. Even if they were in possession of an extremely rare, handwritten book of black magic, they were unlikely to share it.

Of course, it didn't hurt to ask.

Click. "Hello?"

"Hello!" Shim jumped to life, startled by the quick response. "My name is, uh... my name is Sunset Shimmer. I'm a student at Canterbridge University. I'm researching... I'm writing a paper on the history of physics. I understand that your household might be in possession of some literature that's very relevant to my studies."

A short pause. "The household does possess an extensive library, yes. However, the public is not normally granted access, and requests for such are not normally considered. But..." Shim could hear the faint sounds of a pencil scribbling in the background. "Given the prestigious institution you are a member of, it's possible the household may consider an exception. I will pass your request on to them."

"Thanks!" Shim couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Do you know how long I'd have to wait to get a response-"

"As long as it takes. Good day, ma'am." Another click, and the connection was severed.

In fact, it took less than half an hour before Shim heard back. A new voice answered, a women's voice, sharp and to-the-point, yet not unfriendly. "Miss Shimmer?"

Shim crossed her fingers. "Yes?"

"My secretary has just passed your request on to me. My apologies for his rudeness. I would be happy for you to come and visit our private collection."

"Really?"

"Of course. It's rather a shame the way they simply gather dust all day. Unfortunately, I'm afraid I must insist you be accompanied at all times, due to the value of the collection. I'm sure you understand."

"Of course. Do you want me to bring some kind of I.D.?"

"That won't be necessary. I've already verified your membership of the University with the Dean. You are a physics postgraduate student, yes?"

Shim was impressed, and unable to hide it. "Well... yeah."

"Well, we have plenty of works that will interest you. I'll show you around myself."

"That's... really kind of you. Who am I speaking to?"

"Princess Beatrix. Keeper of the Record." A quiet laugh. "Sorry. My family are quite old-fashioned."

Shim was relieved to hear her say something vaguely human for once. "No problem. So... when can I visit your family's collection?"

"There's still time today, if you'd like."

"Today?" Shim glanced at her watch. She was right, it was barely half twelve. "Well, I guess, if it's all right with you."

"Please. You've saved me from having to re-organize the geological history section again. I'll tell the gatesman to let you in. Any other questions?"

Thousands - but Shim knew she was overstaying her welcome. "No, thank you. I should get going. Thanks again for your help."

As she terminated the call, Shim sighed. That damn book better be worth all this.

"... that's it! Ok, now, third finger, first string, second fret."

Twang. "Fucking shit!"

Flash blinked. "Woah, calm down!"

"Shut up!" Sunset snarled. "How do you do this so easily!?"

Flash scratched the back of his neck. "Just practice, I guess. Listen, why don't you take a break?" He reached out and slowly took the guitar from Sunset's grip. "Just... calm down, all right?"

Sunset exhaled, slowly counting to ten. She knew she was being unreasonable. But that guitar... how did humans play something so small? Learning the Harp had been difficult enough. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Flash pick the guitar back up and begin to slowly strum it. The sound of slow music filled the room. He was good, she'd give him that.

For the next few minutes, they sat together, before their solace was interrupted by the sound of a bell ringing in the distance. Flash sighed at set his guitar down. "What do you have next?"

A good question. "Biology." Sure, why not.

Flash stood up, stretching his legs. "That blows. Hey, listen..."

Sunset knew what was coming next. "Yeah?"

"Soooo... Do you want to get coffee sometime? Just you and me?"

Sunset considered this. Part of her wanted to ditch this school and never come back. But she was too far gone for that now. If she was going to be stuck here, she might as well make some allies. She didn't want to be some loner who couldn't accomplish anything.

And... maybe it was this teenage body pumping her full of hormones, but to her, Flash didn't seem too bad. Even if he was... disconcertingly younger than her. Sunset tried not to think about that part too much. They had the same physical age, so that made it okay. Right? Maybe she could ask Shim. On the other hand, probably best not to bring it up.

"Sure." She gave Flash another warm smile. But this time, she didn't have to fake it. "I'd like that."

Another stupid grin split Flash's normally handsome face in two. "Great! I know this café just a few blocks away. Hey, if you're up to it, why don't we go there after school?"

"Sure. That sounds... nice."

Flash practically danced his way out of the room. After he'd left, Sunset rose to her feet, and pulled the handwritten note from Celestia out of her pocket. Unravelling it, she studied the contents. She knew she had a place in this school, if she wanted.

She wasn't sure what she wanted any more. To go home? To take this universe over? She missed home. But she knew what was waiting for her there.

To her surprise, Sunset found her eyes welling up with tears. She hadn't cried since she was a filly, but now they were unstoppable. Lowering herself to the floor, she pulled her knees to her chest and bit her tongue, weeping uncontrollably.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry, Celestia..."

Outside the classroom, the Sun seemed to burn with a new passion, as if answering the cry.

IV:Duḥkha

House wasn't the right word. Even mansion didn't quite cover it. The building in front of her could only be described as a palace - which, Shim supposed, was probably exactly what they preferred it to be called.

Five stories of classical architectural beauty surrounded by breathtaking countryside, with a fleet of sleek cars parked outside for a modern touch. It was the picture of luxury and extravagance, yet it filled her with a sense of unease for reasons she just couldn't quite place.

It had taken her nearly an hour to get here, most of that spent driving down increasingly narrow countryside roads clogged with sheep, tractors and potholes. She was frankly amazed her car had survived the journey. The Quartzes sure liked their privacy. As if to drive the point home, The entire complex was surrounded by a brick wall topped with iron spikes. It might as well have had Piss off! written on every square inch of it.

The entrance was staffed by a bored-looking security guard, leafing through a magazine. He raised his eyes as she pulled up to the gate, his eyes running up and down the chipped paint, dented body, and slovenly driver. Meeting Shim's gaze, he gave her a smirk, before throwing his magazine onto his desk. "I think you might be lost."

Shim gritted her teeth. "I'm here to see Beatrix."

"Beatrix?" The guard sat upright, surprised. "Right, of course. You have any I.D.?"

Shim held out her driver's license. The man glanced over it. "Sunset Shimmer. My apologies, the princess did mention you'd be visiting. I just didn't expect..." He didn't finish his sentence. Instead, he stepped out of his booth, rummaging around in his pockets for a pair of keys. He fumbled with the lock for a few seconds, and the door swung open.

Returning to his booth with a somewhat sheepish look on his face, the Guard gestured for her to continue. "I'd, uh, I'd appreciate it if you didn't mention this to the princess. You understand."

Shim sighed. "Sure. I'm guessing you don't see a lot of wrecks at this gate."

"You could say that." The guard muttered, snatching his magazine up. "When Beatrix told me you were coming, I assumed you'd be... well, I assumed you two would have more in common."

"More in common?"

"You'll see what I mean." He opened his magazine once more. "You shouldn't keep her waiting. You can park wherever, but my advice is put it somewhere out of sight. Valentina would have a fit if she found that pile of crap sitting on her lawn. No offence."

Shim could see where he was coming from. Still, she didn't plan to be here long, so she opted to park with the rest of the fleet. Nothing to worry about. She was just an overly-enthusiastic student looking to flesh out her thesis with some classical literature.

The front door was just as impressive as the rest of the building, nearly 10 feet tall, with the family crest intricately carved into it. Before she could even raise a fist to knock, the door swung open, causing Shim to stumble in surprise, nearly falling backwards.

In the doorway stood a beautiful young woman - probably younger than her. A wide, slightly manic smile adorned her face, showing off a set of crystal-white, perfect teeth. "Miss Shimmer! The gatesman just called to tell me you'd arrived. I hope you had a good trip." Her pronunciation was perfect.

Shim smiled back, suddenly wishing she'd worn something nicer. Or at least, something that she hadn't dropped half a pizza onto a week ago. "Hey. Beatrix, right? Nice place you got here."

Beatrix nodded, pulling the door open further. "Thank you. Please, come in. I'll show you around."

The interior was even more breathtaking than the exterior. Works of art lined the walls, stacked up almost twenty feet to a marble ceiling with further artwork carved into it. In the centre, a crystal chandelier the size of her car illuminated the entire room. Every square inch of wall not occupied with art was taken up by a doorway leading to further rooms. Shim's jaw physically dropped in astonishment, causing Beatrix to giggle.

"Oh, this is nothing. Wait until you see the library. Or the morning room. Or the music room. Or maybe the observatory..." she trailed off. Shim knew she was being teased, but she couldn't help but be impressed. Taking a momentary pause, she cast her eyes back to Beatrix, who had started shuffling awkwardly from foot to foot.

She was no less decorated than the room around her. Her hair was long, white and immaculately styled, presumably professionally. Her clothes were simple, but they looked expensive - designer, probably. A plain gold collar adorned her neck. Most unusually, she wore a leather belt around her waist, upon which rested a small silver knife. Catching her eye, Shim quickly looked elsewhere.

Shim decided to break the silence. "Anyway... Thanks again for letting me visit. It's a huge help."

Beatrix waved her hand dismissively. "Please. Like I said, you're the one helping me out. Take as much time as you'd like. I'd be happy to help."

"Really?" Shim hadn't been expecting this warm a welcome. "Are you sure I'm not imposing? I mean..." She glanced around at the silent labyrinth of a house. "Are... is... is it just you here?"

Beatrix paused, before shaking her head. "Not exactly. My cousin's staying over tonight, but he's gone out." She spat the last word out with surprising bitterness, something she must have realized, because she blushed apologetically afterward. "Sorry. Maxwell's quite... well, he likes to cause trouble." She sighed, before fishing in her pockets and pulling out a keychain.

As she picked through the keys, she continued. "Let's see... My mother's normally here, but she's overseas. The help's here, but I sent half of them home. Don't need an entire kitchen staff when it's just me. Ah." Beatrix held up a thick bronze key. "Shall we?"

Shim nodded, uneasiness deepening.

The library wasn't as big as she'd imagined, but it was dense. Every topic under the sun was covered, neatly organized and categorized. Shim had laid her bag down on the first surface available, only for Beatrix to click her tongue in disapproval.

"You've come all this way, you might as well see the real good stuff."

The 'real good stuff' turned out to be an iron door with three separate locks arranged in a row. Beatrix used her keyring to unlock the rightmost lock, before pulling out her purse and pulling two more keys from it.

"Officially, we have three keepers of the record. The head of the house - my mother - is always one, the heir is always one, and one volunteer. But, with my mother overseas, she entrusted her key to me. And I made sure my older brother gives me his key any time he so much as takes a step out that door."

"He doesn't mind?"

Beatrix sneered. "He's probably glad to be relieved of the responsibility. Besides, I don't think he's read a book in years." A loud click signalled the door was unlocked. Beatrix swung the door open, beckoning Shim inside. The air was thick with the smell of aged leather and paper. More bookshelves lined the walls, and in the centre of the room was an ornately carved wooden table with matching seats.

"Well, this is it." Beatrix snatched up a chair. "Help yourself."

Shim laid her bag down on a nearby table. "Don't I have to wear gloves or something?"

"Used to, but not any more. Apparently it just damages the pages. There's a handwash station over there, though."

After thoroughly cleaning and drying her hands, Shim nodded gratefully at Beatrix, and began to pour over the selection of books surrounding her.

Although she had one particular volume in mind, Shim's curiosity got the better of her, and she found herself pulling unrelated tomes from the shelf. A handwritten copy of Solar Vortex's On the Motion of the Heavens, a unique blueprint for a helium-powered balloon...

"No fucking way."

"What?"

Shim had to stop herself from yanking the book straight off the shelf. "Principal Mathematics of Nature? Is this..."

"The original, yeah. Nearly bankrupted us, but my mother just had to have it." She sounded concerned. "Be careful with it. They might actually notice if that one gets damaged."

Shim gingerly slid the title off the shelf, and carried it with exceeding care over to the table. Beatrix watched her with amusement. "Well, it's nice to see someone appreciates it."

Shim returned to the bookshelf, running her eyes over it for any sign of Cwalu aet Cwalu. Nothing. Death of Death? Still nothing. She started again, disappointment mounting.

"Looking for anything?" Beatrix had been watching her for some time. "I can help, if you like."

"No. No, it's fine." Shim returned to the table, pulling up a second chair.

Beatrix idly surveyed the titles Shim had pulled off the shelf. "Solar Vortex. I used to love reading his books when I was younger."

"Really?" Shim was surprised, and unable to hide it.

Beatrix nodded enthusiastically. "You know most medieval physicians were monks? In fact, most literate people were clergymen. They learned to write by studying religious texts, and they replicated the same poetry in their writing." She tapped Sunset's copy of Principal Mathematics of Nature. "Even later authors have that... lyricism. It's beautiful." She coughed. "Well, I think it is, anyway."

Shim wasn't sure how to respond. "I didn't realize you were interested in this kind of stuff."

"Well, I volunteered to take care of this library since I was sixteen. I've probably read every book in this collection twice since then. Pretty much every topic under the sun is covered here, and a few that aren't." She waved her hand. "Sorry, I'm rambling. I'll let you get on with it."

Shim spent the next half an hour engrossed in her little collection. Every few minutes, Beatrix would interrupt with a question, or an observation. In all honesty, Shim would have preferred to read alone in silence, but she was a guest. She supposed the very least she could do was respond politely.

Infuriatingly, Beatrix didn't move once. Not to get a drink, or take a phone call, or even to use the bathroom. Instead, she watched Shim with an eagle eye, like a mother bear monitoring her cubs. Shim didn't feel she was under suspicion. On the contrary, Beatrix had been nothing but welcoming. Perhaps she could use that to her advantage.

Pushing the book in front of her aside, Shim yawned, stretching her arms above her head. Giving Beatrix her best smile, she leaned in. "Come on, you clearly like complaining about your family. Who else pisses you off?"

Beatrix blushed. "It's not like that. I know I sounded like a bitch earlier, but most of them are good people. It's just..." She sighed. "When I said my family's big on tradition, I meant it. I know, you probably think I'm a spoiled brat. And you're right. But honestly, I'd trade places with you in a heartbeat."

"Really?" Shim hadn't expected her to be this upfront with her. Beatrix nodded, a glum look on her face.

"Everything just has to be done according to what some dead guy decided on a thousand years ago. I wanted to go to university too, but because I'm the oldest daughter, I've got to marry the heir to another family to honour a covenant with them. Or some bullshit like that." The bitterness in her voice was clear.

"My older brother has to marry their oldest daughter too, but I doubt it bothers him. Spends all his time snorting coke in private jets and banging prostitutes in luxury resorts. But as long as he stays out of the papers, nobody cares. And when he's done with that, he'll come home, marry her, knock out a few heirs, and nobody'll bat an eyelid."

This was a lot heavier than what Shim had signed up for. "Wow. You ever considered... you know, telling them how you feel?"

Beatrix nodded. "Only every single day since I was a kid. But I was wasting my breath. Honestly, I don't mind the guy too much. He's smart, funny, not hideous. If things were different, he'd be the kind of guy I'd go for. All in all, I think he's more upset with the arrangement than me."

"Are you sure?" Marrying a beautiful heiress to a multi-billion dollar empire didn't sound too bad to Shim.

"Oh, yeah. I heard his father spent some big bucks to keep a story about him and a few heavily-oiled gentlemen out of the press a few years ago."

"Oh. Right."

"Yep." The gloom in Beatrix's voice was evident. "I just hope I don't throw up when we exchange vows of fidelity."

Shim couldn't resist asking more. "So... why don't you just... you know, tell them to go fuck themselves? I mean, is it money?"

"Well... I mean, they're family." Beatrix sounded wistful. "I suppose they aren't as bad as I make them sound, really. My brother's a good person, despite everything. My mother, too. After my father died, she took on a lot of his work, and still found time for us."

"Do you have a lot of siblings?"

Beatrix nodded. "Aside from Arthur? Two younger sisters and another younger brother. No such obligations for them. Still, I don't envy them being stuck at that godforsaken boarding school."

Shim scratched the back of her head, desperate to lighten the conversation. Personally, she couldn't understand why Beatrix would abide by such strict family ties, especially when she seemed so miserable. Then again, she didn't exactly have a wealth of experience in that matter. She knew she was a guest, but couldn't help but be frustrated at how sullen Beatrix was determined to be - though Shim couldn't help but feel sorry for her.

The gears in her head continued to turn as she considered new options. If - if - the book was in their possession, and it was a genuine book of magic, and they knew that, she would need to express an interest in such matters before she got anywhere. Maybe Beatrix would bring it out, just to impress her.

"So... you mind if I ask a frank question?" Beatrix looked surprised at this request, but merely nodded, interest clearly piqued.

"That whole thing about you being descended from Marius III... is that true?" Beatrix visibly clamped up the moment the question dropped from Shim's lips.

"It's true."

Shim pressed on. "How do you know?"

Beatrix shifted in her seat, visibly uncomfortable. "My family maintains an extensive record of our ancestors. I've seen it myself. Every single person from my mother to Marius III is catalogued."

"Really?" Shim was skeptical, but the things she'd seen in the last hour left her in no doubt the Household of Quartz would do something like that. "What about the rumours about him and magic?"

Beatrix forced a uneasy smile. "Come on. You're a scientist, right? Magic doesn't exist."

"A scientist wouldn't discredit the existence of something out of hand. Plenty of physical phenomena are unexplained. Who's to say there aren't other forces at work?"

Beatrix closed her eyes, as if annoyed with the direction this conversation was taking. "Look, Marius isn't - wasn't - a sorcerer. I think you've been reading too many fantasy books."

Shim grinned sheepishly. "I guess. Sorry, I kind of got carried away there. I... I've just always been interested in magic. I guess you're right. Too many fantasy books." She rose to her feet. "Well, I suppose I'd better get going."

"R-really?" Beatrix jumped to her feet, startled. "Are you sure? I mean, you've barely been here an hour. I can show you around some more, if you'd like?"

Shim slung her bag over her shoulder. "Nah. I mean, thanks, but I need to get back home. I appreciate you letting me visit, but you don't really have what I'm looking for, so..."

"W-wait!" The desperation in Beatrix's voice hurt to hear, but Shim knew she was about to crack. "Magic! You said you were interested in magic, right!?"

Shim paused. "Well, yeah."

Beatrix began rummaging through the bookcases on the walls. "I can... here!" She delicately slid a book off the shelf. It was bound in black leather, with stellar constellations painted on the front. She pressed it into Shim's hands. "Celestial Intelligencer, handwritten." Her face was creased with anxiety. "Seventh century. My family collects magic books like they're going out of style, I could-" Shim slowly handed her the book back.

"Already read it. Hell, I think I've read every book on Astrology ever written. Please, I've taken up enough of your time as it is."

Beatrix laid the book down slowly, a series of conflicting emotions crossing her face. Shim took another step towards the door.

"Please don't go."

It was quiet. Pathetic. It took all of Shim's effort to maintain her composure. "I'm sorry to leave you alone, but I have to-"

"I can..." She bit her hand, muffling a scream. "I've just... I've really enjoyed talking with you."

"Don't you have other friends?"

Beatrix shook her head, paused, then nodded. "No. Well, yes. But they're not going to want to talk about some old books, or bitch about their family." She groaned. "I just wanted to talk to... anyone about something different for this afternoon."

"Look, maybe another time. I've really got to be going."

Beatrix looked like she was about to cry. Shim turned away once more.

"Wait." The word was heavy, filled with anguish. "I... I have something you'd be interested in."

Shim slowly turned around. "What?"

"Just... promise me you won't... FUCK!" She took a deep breath. "Stay right there."

Turning around, Beatrix knelt down, as if looking for something hidden. Laying her hand on one of the wooden panels that buttressed the bookshelf, her mouth moved as she silently mumbled words Shim couldn't make out. As she did, the wooden panel opened - except it opened in a way Shim couldn't understand. The wood seemed to melt away with a splintering sound, evaporating into thin air, to reveal a hidden space. Nested within was a chest, roughly the size of a football.

Unlike the main door, however, this chest possessed no locks. Where a lock would normally have been, there was a single plain gold disc. Beatrix picked the box up, and carried it over to the table with exceeding care, resting it down gingerly. Reaching to her waist, she drew the knife she wore on her belt, causing Shim to take a step backwards.

"What are you-"

Ignoring her, Beatrix raised her hand and drew the blade across her index finger, before pressing it tightly against the chest's golden seal. A soft pop filled the room as the chest sprung open. Beatrix sheathed her blade, before pulling out a handkerchief and cleaning the residual blood off her finger, which had - miraculously - already healed.

Reaching inside, she pulled out a small crystal orb clasped within a gold frame, which she weighed in the her palm of her hand for a moment before turning to Shim once more. "Give me your hand."

Shim, who had been watching these events unfold with mounting incredulity, attempted to take another step backwards, only to find her way blocked by an invisible wall of force. "What the-"

"Give me your hand, now. Final warning." Beatrix's ice-blue eyes were gone, replaced with orbs of pure green light, from which a thick purple smoke poured. The menace in her voice left Shim under no doubt that Beatrix would kill her immediately if she did not comply.

Reaching out a shaking hand, she made contact with Beatrix's fingers. The moment she did, a sharp pain shot through her, as if hundreds of volts were pumping through her entire nervous system. Her vision flashed, first white, then red, as the strength immediately drained from her body. Somewhere in the background, she could hear a voice muttering in a language she did not understand.

And then, as soon as it had arrived, the pain was gone. Shim's knees immediately gave way underneath her, and she fell to her knees. As her vision slowly stabilized, she could make out the form of Beatrix kneeling over her, silently focusing on her. Her eyes were even brighter, and the smoke had only increased in intensity.

"Hold still. It's very important I get this part right. I promise, I'm not going to hurt you." The voice was soft, kind, welcoming.

Shim could only mew pathetically in response, her arms and legs steadfastly refusing her brain's screaming directives to fight or flee. Beatrix slowly nodded, and her eyes faded back to their normal colour, smoke dissipating as quickly as it had arrived. "All right, that should do it."

All of a sudden, Sunset felt power flood back to her limbs, and she scrambled to her feet, heart pounding in her ears. Beatrix took a step closer, and slowly guided her back to her chair. In a state of shock, Shim didn't resist, but merely allowed herself to be seated, trying to find the words to express her astonishment. "What... the hell... was that?"

Beatrix took the seat opposite her, clearly exhausted, but with a sympathetic look on her face nonetheless. "Sorry to be so dramatic, but I needed to keep you... well, under my control." She sighed. "I've placed a charm on you that will prevent you from discussing these events with anyone else. That means spoken, written and digital words, visual depictions, gestures and silent theatre." Shim raised an eye, causing Beatrix to scoff. "I have to be thorough."

Shim wasn't too pleased to have been - charmed? - against her consent, but she knew now wasn't the time for argument. "How did you do all of that?"

"Magic." Beatrix cringed as she said it. "So, uh, yeah. Magic is real. And I can do it."

Shim shook her head. "That's... You can't seriously expect me to believe that. This has to be some kind of trick, an illusion-"

Without warning, every single book on the bookcases around her jumped out of their shelves and began to dance around, opening and closing in tune with each other, before spinning around the room and rearranging themselves in colour-coded order. Beatrix looked even wearier, and her breathing had become noticeably ragged. "Please don't make me do anything more, I'm exhausted as it is."

Shim merely squeaked in response.

Beatrix continued, her voice a drone. "Like I was saying. Magic is real. This..." She held up the crystal orb, which she hadn't let go of since it had first entered her possession. "...is a kaduceus. Well, it's an enchanted object that can channel magical energy, but we call it a kaduceus. This belonged to Marius III. Because I'm the current female heir to his throne, it belongs to me, until I'm replaced. Honestly, an enchanted stick would do just as well, but my family's fetish for ancient heirlooms once again knows no bounds."

"What... what else can you do?" Shim had found her voice once more. Beatrix considered this question, rolling the crystal sphere back and forth in her palm.

"Well, you've seen my telekinetic abilities already. That trick with the books was pretty much my limit. I'm quite adept with charms... which, I suppose, you've also seen. I can heat or cool objects down. I can enchant kaducei. I can control animals... well, some animals. Not dogs, at least not yet. Cats, though." She gave Shim an odd look, as if disarmed by her response. "I... have to say, you're taking this much better than the last one."

Shim's eyes narrowed. "The last one?"

"I - I didn't kill him!" Beatrix stammered. "I just... wiped his memory. A bit. By the way, if you like, I can do the same for you when we're done. It's not much fun having a secret you can't tell anyone. As in, physically can't."

"I think I'm good, thanks. Where did you even learn to do all this?"

"My mother. She taught me. She taught all of us." Beatrix rested her kaduceus on her lap, looking down at the sphere with the loving gaze a mother might give her newborn child. "But I was always the best. I suppose I took it more to heart than my other siblings."

"So, what about her? Where did she learn to do all this?" Her curiosity getting the better of her, Shim leaned in to closer examine the kaduceus on Beatrix's lap. Beatrix pulled away momentarily, before relenting, and allowing her to see it closer. Laying her hand on it, Shim was surprised to find it was warm to the touch, and seemed to be holding back substantial internal pressure. "And... do you tell people often?"

Beatrix shook her head. "Hardly ever. The last one was a guy like you, big occultist. I thought he'd react, well, like you did. But he just called me a witch and tried to run away. I knew I couldn't just bind his tongue and let him escape, so..." She mimed a snipping motion with her fingers, clearly upset at the memory.

Shim glanced upwards. "Well, I mean, you are kind of a witch, aren't you?"

Beatrix shot her a glare. "Call me a witch again and I'll pull your entrails out through your mouth. I am a magician."

"Yes ma'am. Magician it is." Shim wasn't sure if the threat was genuine or not, but she wasn't in the mood to push boundaries. "So, if you learned it from your mother, where did she learn it?"

"Where do you think? Her parents taught her, and her parents taught her... and so on. My mother says we've been mages since Marius III, but I doubt that." She cocked her head to Shim. "God, you look awful. I hope you didn't-"

Whatever Beatrix was going to say was cut off by a horrific screeching sound outside. Both girls jumped out of their seats, Beatrix with poise, Shim by falling over backwards and pulling herself up for the second time.

Beatrix seized her by the arm, kaduceus tightly gripped in the other hand, and pulled her out of the room into the main library, the door slamming behind the, by virtue of some unseen force. Releasing Shim once they were both clear, she paced slowly out of the main library. Shim followed closely behind, not wanting to find herself lost.

As they approached the main hall, the door burst open violently, and a young man staggered in. Upon catching sight of him, Beatrix's tense form relaxed, and she lowered her kaduceus, her mask of concern replaced with one of anger.

"Maxwell! What the hell was that noise?!"

The young man glanced up, his handsome features twisted by his obvious intoxication. "Fuck. I jus' crashs'd into someonsh' car. The fucked up red one wit' the blue door."

Shim's eyes shot open. Her car? Beatrix, too, was clearly aware of this, and she exploded.

"What?! That's my guest's car, you fucking ape!"

"Calm down!" Maxwell howled, clutching his ears. "Tell them I'll pay for it. Jushh..." He grasped at a nearby mantel for support, finally noticing Shim standing behind Beatrix. "Fuck it, jus' take one of the on's outside. I'm goin' to bed."

With that, he staggered into another room, ignoring Beatrix's furious protestations. Turning to Shim, fists balled, she began to profusely apologize, only for Shim to cut her off.

"Please, it's not your fault. There's a bus a few minutes from here. And a new car? I can live with that."

Beatrix waved her hand. "Forget the bus. You heard him. Help yourself. Keys should be in the ignition. Any of the ones with the MX licence plates are fair game."

Shim glanced outside the window at the row of luxury cars. Was she really being offered one of those? "I - I don't know..."

"Please. He deserves it. I'll get him to pay your insurance, as a bonus." Shim was once again taken aback by the generosity - although, she supposed, Beatrix wasn't exactly giving away her own money.

"So, you don't want to talk any more?"

Beatrix shook her head. "Not while there's... other people here. I'm taking liberties with family secrets as it is. Besides, I have to give my cousin a piece of my mind. But... call me soon. Yeah?"

Shim nodded, struck numb by the sudden turn of events. "Uh, of course. Thanks again, I guess."

As she shut the door behind her, Shim could hear the first of Beatrix's bellows shake the house to it's very foundations. Maxwell was certainly right about one thing - her car wasn't going anywhere. Sunset felt a sense of loss as she looked at the twisted mass of steel and glass that had served her so well for so long.

That feeling didn't last long. In fact, it lasted about the same amount of time it took for her to recline in the leather seat of one of Maxwell's cars. After taking a moment to admire the interior, she reached for the ignition and twisted the keys. The engine roared to life, settling to a smooth purr in seconds. Glancing out the window at the remains of her old wreck, she raised her fist in a mock salute before backing out of the drive.

V:Khidr

Sunset tapped her foot awkwardly, half-listening to Flash ramble on. Normally, she despised being lectured to, but right now she was merely thankful she didn't have to contribute to the conversation - or pretend to understand exactly what was going on.

Was this a date? She knew absolutely nothing about human courtship, but based on what she'd seen so far, they seemed to have something in common with Equestrian culture. So far, everything she'd read about social engineering in Equestria had applied here. Whenever she wanted something from somepony, she usually got it. It was her most powerful asset, far more powerful than any spell she'd ever learnt. Stranded in this dimension, it was the only one she had left.

But what did she want from Flash? Status? Influence? An ally? All three, she supposed. She wanted someone on her side, someone she could count on. But how best to get it?

In truth, she had no idea. She'd had plenty of romantic entanglements in the past, but had quickly learned that there were more effective ways of extracting compliance and information. In hindsight, even accepting had been a bad idea, made in a moment of regret and... she hated to admit it, but... loneliness.

But befriending Flash would probably be the better strategy. After all, she knew this was a date. Flash clearly knew this was a date.

But he didn't know that she knew.

"Flash?"

The teenager paused mid-sentence. "Yeah?"

Sunset struggled to find the right words. She didn't want him to take this badly. Her next line could define their relationship - permanently. "Look... You seem nice. But honestly, all I really wanted to do was find someone to chill with. As friends." She added the last part hastily.

"Really?" Flash looked disappointed, but not unhappy.

"I mean, I just moved schools. I'm not ready for a relationship yet. I'm not... I'm not saying never. But just not right now."

"Yeah... I guess. Fair enough." Flash still seemed disappointed, but more relaxed, as he realized he wasn't being judged as a potential boyfriend. "I kind of forgot you were new to our school. You fit in so well. And you didn't even seem nervous in class. Where did you transfer from?"

"Oh. Uh, I'm..." Sunset wracked her brains for a suitable lie. "I'm actually from overseas."

"Really?" Flash looked unconvinced. "What country? You don't sound... I mean, you speak English perfectly."

"Yeah, well, my parents are actually from here. When they died, I had to move in with my sister. She worked overseas, so I had to move with her. Eventually, she decided I was old enough to decide if I wanted to live here alone, and I said yes." Not her best lie, but it should stand up to investigation. Flash suddenly seemed sombre.

"Oh. I'm sorry, I didn't realize your parents..." He coughed, as if unwilling to voice the word out loud.

Sunset shrugged. "It was a long time ago. I've moved on."

Flash looked sorry for her, but he deterred from asking further questions, just as she'd hoped he would. Sunset lifted her mug and drained the remainder of her coffee, looking for something, anything, to break the silence.

"So, what else do you do to relax? Besides play guitar and argue over band names."

Flash groaned at the mention of his band. "I spend most of my time whipping those guys into shape. If I didn't know where he lives, I swear Ringo wouldn't even show up. And Beats wouldn't show up if Ringo didn't show up, so I have to put up with his bullshit. But he's still the best damn drummer in the school, as much as I hate to admit it."

"What about Ringo? Any good on the bass?"

Flash barked out a short laugh, dry and without humour. "If you learn to play three chords, you'd be giving him a run for his money. Honestly, I think he's only there to sell weed to Beats."

"Weeds?" Sunset didn't understand. "What does he want with them?"

Flash looked at her in confusion. "No, weed. Like, cannabis."

Sunset had no idea was Flash was talking about, but smiled in apparent understanding. "Oh, right." She'd have to look it up later. Maybe it was some kind of drug.

Flash went back to grumbling. "So, I've trapped myself in a band with a egotistical stoner and a musically dysfunctional drug dealer. And I can't boot one from the band without losing the other. I mean, I've known Beats forever, but Ringo's just using me for him, and using him for cash."

So 'cannabis' was a drug of some kind. Well, if this body was going to be temporary, she supposed she could take some liberties with it. "And what he's selling... is it any good?"

"You too?" Flash shrugged. "I don't know, I buy mine from Mr Cranky Doodle."

"Wait, the maths teacher?"

Flash grinned at her shocked expression "I told you our school was a cesspit."

Unbelievable. "Well, I guess I'll keep that in mind."

"Well, don't ask him straight up, he'll have you kicked out on your ass before you know what's happening. Tell him you need some of Wallflower's homework."

"Who's Wallflower?"

"Wallflower Blush. Quiet girl, big on gardening. Grows the stickiest shit you've ever tried. I try to keep on her good side." Sunset raised an eyebrow at that.

"Just as a friend. Give me some credit, all right? Look, when she shoots that bitch up, I want her to think of me as the only guy who was nice to her, not another popular kid who laughed at her behind her back."

Sunset was torn between moral outrage at the idea of a teacher buying drugs from his student and selling said drugs to his other students, and admiration of Flash's ruthless social strategy. She twirled her empty coffee cup around on her plate, looking for something else to say.

"What's it like?"

Flash frowned. "I thought you said you'd already tried it."

Sunset shook her head. "Not really. I was just trying to get more information out of you." For some reason, she'd let her guard down and told the truth. Fortunately, Flash seemed more amused than offended.

"And here I thought I was being so slick. Assuming you're not smoking Ringo's shit, it's... I don't know how to describe it. I usually just feel peaceful. Like, relaxed and happy. But I guess you have to try it to understand." He tapped his jacket pocket. "You live alone, right?"

"Please tell me you didn't bring drugs to our first date."

"I was just covering every possibility. And I thought this wasn't a date."

"You're right, it isn't." She paused. "So if I do take you home, you'd better not get any ideas."

Flash held his hand to his mouth in mock affront. "Of course not. I'm a true gentleman, Miss Shimmer."

Normally, Sunset would have accepted the proposal. But the risk of running into Shim was too great for her to risk it. "I have a roommate. Not the kind of woman I'd want to give me a reason to sic the cops on me. Can't we go to yours?"

Flash grimaced. "If my mom came home and found me smoking pot with some girl she'd crucify me. We can go to Ringo's, if you don't mind the company."

"And we won't be bothered there?"

"Not a chance. His parents are some kind of hippies who think weed is God's gift to man, or something. As long as..." Flash groaned. "I suppose there's no point in asking, but you're not... you know... a narc, right?"

Sunset shook her head. "A what?"

"You know, one of those young cops they put in schools to catch kids using drugs. I mean, transfer student, nobody's ever heard of before... it just seems unusual."

"Wouldn't I have already busted you if I was?"

Flash scratched his neck. "I guess so."

"And do I really look old enough to be a cop?"

"I... guess not. Maybe I'm just being paranoid. All right, let me call Ringo and see if he's home."

As Flash began to dial Ringo's phone number into his mobile - a device that continued to fascinate her, even after she'd learned how they worked - Sunset tapped her fingers against the table, deep in thought.

Flash was a perfectly good catch for an ally. But he wasn't enough. She needed someone dumber. Easier to control. But she had plenty of time to search for someone along those lines. For now, best to -

"Done." Flash stuffed his phone back into his pocket. "You coming?"

"Hey, it was my idea in the first place."

Shim groaned, scrunching the paper in front of her into a ball and tossing it over her shoulder, where it joined a steadily growing pile of rejects.

She's spent the last half an hour attempting to write a letter explaining her situation, first to nobody in particular, then to herself, then to Beatrix, then to fictional characters, and finally to meaningless made up names. At first, she had been amazed at how easy it had been, until she'd actually examined what she'd written. Every letter she'd written had turned out to be a meaningless jumble of disconnected words, some of which didn't even make sense.

After that, she moved onto recording videos of herself talking. She found it easy enough to mention the events of the day - except, unusually, her encounter with the man who'd told her about that damn book in the first place. But somehow, she found herself unable to vocalize any events beyond first entering the family's home. She could recall the course of the day in vivid detail - but every time she attempted to continue, her vocal chords simply refused to listen to her brain.

But there had to be a workaround. A loophole, a flaw in the charm's wording. Shim was willing to accept magic was real. But she wasn't willing to accept it didn't have rules.

Next, she tried describing the events of the day in third person. Then, as if it had been something that happened to someone else. Then, she tried using code words. Then she tried using a different language. Then, she invented a rudimentary language and tried using that. Nothing.

It was like slamming her head against a brick wall. Lying in an exhausted heap on her sofa, she recalled Beatrix's exact words. Prevent her discussing these events with anyone else. Presumably, that extended to Beatrix's family members. Shim wasn't surprised. Beatrix had been so skittish when Maxwell had shown up, it was obvious she was terrified of being found out.

In fact, for all Shim knew, the charm could be self-aware and actively modifying itself in response to her attempts to break it. She knew absolutely nothing about magic. As much as it shamed her, she would probably have to ask Sunset how charms worked, to see if she could help break it.

Would she even be able to ask Sunset such as question? Sitting upright, Shim began to talk.

"Magic exists." Sure enough, her voice sounded out loud and clear.

So, she could say that much. But that statement didn't carry much weight on it's own. She needed specific evidence, or examples.

She tried again. Beatrix is a magician. Nothing.

"Magicians exist." Pretty redundant - if magic existed, magicians would have to exist.

Beatrix placed a charm on me. Nothing. I was placed under a charm. Nothing. Charms exist. Surprisingly, that seemed to be covered. Maybe the existence of charms was considered too specific.

She shut her eyes and furrowed her brow, deep in thought. She couldn't tell anyone else. But she could tell Beatrix. It would be a simple matter to call her up and talk about what happened and record it, or to text her the information, and show Sunset. But there was no way she could do that without Beatrix figuring out what she was doing. Besides, she'd already tried to write a letter to Beatrix, to no avail.

That was interesting. The charm could clearly tell that although the letter was addressed to Beatrix, it was really meant to be read by someone else. Could it read her mind? If so, all of her efforts could be for nothing.

Besides, even if she was somehow able to communicate this information with Sunset, it wasn't as if she had anything important to share - other than that the Household of Quartz really was addled with black magic. For some reason, that made her laugh. She sounded like a conspiracy theorist.

She checked her watch. It was nearly five in the afternoon. Sunset had been out for a long time. Much longer than she'd expected. What on earth could she have gotten up to?

Shim couldn't help but feel concerned. She knew Sunset wasn't really a teenager, but some part of her still didn't like the idea of her being out on her own. Still, Sunset was clearly intelligent and mature. Shim was sure she wouldn't do anything stupid.

Sunset blinked slowly, staring intently through the thin layer of smoke that filled the room at a crack in the wall of Ringo's room. She felt warmed, relaxed... and yet somewhat bored.

Despite her euphoria, she couldn't shake the feeling that she'd made a mistake. Flash had assured her the effects would wear off in an hour at most, but the smell was overpowering, and she was keenly aware it was all over her. Hopefully Shim was as liberal-minded as Ringo's parents. On the other hand, it was the first time she'd been able to relax since she'd fallen into this dimension, and for that, she could forgive anything.

Flash and Ringo seemed to be taking it much worse than her, in any case. The two of them had begun arguing about Ringo's bass playing ability - or lack thereof - pretty much as soon as they had walked through the door, an argument which had culminated in Ringo pulling his guitar out from under his bed and attempting to play... something. Given he hadn't bothered to plug it in to anything, it was pretty hard to tell. His incoherent singing didn't help.

Still, he'd shown her how to roll a cigarette, something she still didn't seem to have the manual dexterity to accomplish, so she supposed she could overlook his boasting for now. Although she got the feeling Ringo wouldn't have been quite such a gentleman if Flash hadn't been there. The poster of a bikini-clad model hanging above his bed didn't do much to exculpate him.

All in all, it wasn't an unpleasant feeling - like being drunk, but without the drowsiness. Though she didn't think she'd be using it on a regular basis. Unable to bear the sound of Ringo shredding his guitar - and his lungs - any further, she rose to her feet, finding them surprisingly steady under her.

"Flash?" She couldn't help but trip over her words. "What time is it?"

Flash glanced back at her for a moment. "About seven. Look, back me up here, will you? I don't -"

Sunset shook her head, uninterested. "Look, It's getting late. I'm gonna go. Just... sort it out." Ignoring Flash's surprised look, she stumbled over to the door and wrenched it open.

The air outside Ringo's room was wonderfully clear, and seemed to bring some clarity to Sunset's train of thought. Behind her, the muffled sounds of Ringo and Flash's argument continued unabated.

Taking slow, deep breaths, Sunset began to make her way downstairs. Ringo's parents hadn't even been home, sparing her the mercy of explaining her presence to yet more inquisitive humans. Unlocking the front door, Sunset blinked at the surprising brightness of the setting sun. The world around her was bathed in orange light, and the chill of the evening air bit into her skin, causing her to pull her arms in close.

She had barely taken five steps from the door when a crashing sound caused her to turn around. Lying in a heap at the foot of the stairs was Flash. Upon spotting her gaze, he scrambled to his feet and ran through the open door to stop her.

"Hey, how come you're leaving so soon? I didn't do anything wrong, right?"

Sunset gave him a hazy smile. "No, really. I need to get home before my sister does. She's been jumpy about me being back home ever since we arrived." The relief on Flash's face was evident.

"I guess. Look, I'm really sorry for misinterpreting things earlier. You don't want to take things too quickly, I totally get that -"

Sunset leaned in and pressed her lips to his, tracing her finger across the back of his neck as she did so. She lingered there for a few seconds before breaking away, pausing to appreciate the look on his face, a swirling mess of excitement, ecstasy and astonishment.

Giving him a gentle push to the chest, Sunset couldn't help but smile at his expression. "Don't sweat it. I'll see you tomorrow."

Flash returned with a weak smile of his own. "You bet."

Sunset wasn't sure why she'd done that. In fact, she wasn't even sure how if it benefitted her in the long term. Still, she reasoned as she turned her back on the ecstatic teenager, it ought to make things more interesting.

"Shim?"

Sunset pounded against the apartment door. Just as she was starting to worry she'd picked the wrong house, the door opened slowly. Shim looked tired and irritable.

"Where have you been?"

"Out. Someone else took your parking spot, by the way." Sunset pushed past her and collapsed on the couch. "You wouldn't believe the day I've had today."

"I guess we have that in common." Shim's nose wrinkled. "Please tell me that isn't what I think it is."

"Give me a break, all right? I've been under a lot of stress lately."

"Oh, you've been under a lot of stress? Look, I know you don't want a lecture, but -"

"Yeah, right first time, Shim!" Sunset snapped back. "Do you have anything to show me, or are you going to sit there and play the concerned parent?"

"Oh, real mature. Aren't you supposed to be my age?" Shaking her head, she closed the front door. "Tell me what happened today, then."

Shim listened in silence, not reacting once as Sunset recounted the events of the day in precise detail - except for her encounter with Flash outside Ringo's house. That was private.

Shim couldn't suppress her laugh at the end. "So you're a high school student now? That seems like quite a change of pace from being a magical criminal on the run."

"Bite me." Sunset reclined on the sofa. "So, what did you find out?"

Shim paused. Sunset noticed this, and sighed. "I'm guessing you didn't find shit, then. I didn't have high hopes."

"Guess what happened today."

Sunset gave her an odd look. "What?"

"You heard me. Guess."

"I'm not in the mood for games, Shim."

"Please, just do it." Shim looked sincere. "Trust me."

Sunset mockingly obliged. "I don't know, did you finally realize dressing like a sanitation worker wasn't a good fashion choice?"

Shim gritted her teeth. "No. And take this seriously, it's important."

"Fine." Sunset was intrigued, despite herself. "Did you find any magic?"

"Maybe."

Sunset slapped her hand to her forehead in frustration. "I thought you said this was serious?"

A vein in Shim's forehead twitched. "It is."

"Then why don't you give me a straight answer? Wait, can you give me a straight answer?"

"No." Shim waved her hand, coaxing her on. "Keep it coming."

"You've been placed under a curse that prevents you from divulging specific information about something that happened today that someone else didn't want you sharing with anyone else, and now you can only refer to the events in either negations or ambiguities?"

Shim's eyes boggled. "Maybe, maybe, maybe!"

Sunset groaned. "So, not only have you let yourself be cursed, but you let yourself be cursed by an amateur who doesn't even know how to obliterate memories or make negation-inclusive lip binding curses."

"...maybe."

Despite her sarcasm, Sunset's heart began to race. "Could this person take me back home?"

"Maybe."

"Wait, is that 'maybe, as in I don't know', or 'maybe, as in yes'? Do you know for sure this person could take me back home?"

"No."

"Do you know for certain they couldn't?"

"No."

Sunset ran her hand through her hair. "Damn it. If I had my horn, I could remove that curse in a second. This... person... did they have some kind of artefact that could be used to channel magical ability?"

"Maybe."

"O...kay... Could you get hold of one of those for me?"

A pause. "Maybe."

"You mean you could?"

"Maybe."

Sunset punched the air, exhilarated. "Yes! How soon could that happen?"

"A few days?" Shim was surprised she was able to speak again - but since stealing from Beatrix hadn't even occurred to her back at the mansion, she shouldn't be surprised. "It depends. And you're sure it could..." She was unable to complete the sentence.

"Remove your curse? Sure. Call that person as soon as you can. I want my magic back."

With the right tools? She could do whatever she wanted.

VI:Sacrament

Shim had intended to stay up that night formatting her lab data, but the allure of a good night's sleep had been too much to resist after the events of the past few days. Her head hit the pillow, and she was out ten seconds later

For the first time in living memory, she remembered her dreams in vivid detail. She dreamed of magic, of a new world, uncharted by modern science. Of magicians, mad kings, and forbidden knowledge. And at the heart of the web, a lonely girl with a gift.

Maybe they were prophetic. Or perhaps she was just having a mental breakdown. Either option was equally plausible.

In keeping with new experiences, the soft beeping of her alarm clock - tuned to the precise volume she liked to wake up to - wasn't what awoke her from her slumber. Instead, it was Sunset crashing through her door.

"Shim!"

Shim almost jumped out of her skin. Jamming her glasses on, she sighed in relief as she recognized her visitor. "What?!"

"I can't wear these clothes any more. I'm borrowing some of yours."

"Whatever." Shim mumbled, collapsing backwards onto her bed, too tired to argue. Her desperate attempt to return to her pleasant dreams were spoiled by the sound of Sunset turning her closet upside down. "You better clean that up."

"Sure." Sunset muttered, pulling a shirt over her head. "What's the situation with the magic artefact? Can you get it by the end of today?"

"Maybe."

Sunset paused, frowning as she buckled her belt. "Wait, does that mean you... oh, forget it." Patting herself down, she paused to study herself in the mirror. "How do I - I mean, Is this... normal?"

Shim craned her neck. "I guess. I haven't worn those since freshman year. If it fits you, it's yours."

Sunset tugged at the hem of her shirt. "Shut your... what's this symbol mean?"

"Shut your pi hole. Actually, you might not want to wear that. I made the same mistake at your age."

Sunset began rummaging through the pile of shirts she'd dumped on the floor. "I don't get it, does that glyph represent a pie in your language?"

"No. It's the ratio of the circumference of a circle to it's diameter."

"What?" Sunset held up another shirt, a short-sleeved red top Shim didn't even remember. "So why did you call it pie?"

"What do you call it?"

"We don't have a name for it, we just call it the diameter-circumference constant. Would this be okay?"

Sunset held the shirt up, awaiting Shim's response with poorly-concealed nervousness.

"I guess. Just... put something on, will you? Since when did you care how you dressed?"

"I... I don't care. Just want to keep up appearances." Sunset slipped the shirt on. "Look, I have to go. Get me that artefact by tonight and I'll fix you right up. Maybe I can even get myself home."

The sound of the front door slamming brought great relief to Shim, mixed with annoyance that Sunset hadn't bothered to clean up the mess she'd made after all. Sitting up in bed, Shim stretched her arms with a yawn, before snatching up her mobile.

Was it too early to call Beatrix? Shim knew she could come across as clingy if she asked to meet her two days consecutively. And her plan wasn't exactly fully formed. Beatrix could enchant... kaduceuses? Kaducei? Either way, Beatrix could enchant them, which meant she could probably make Shim one, if she wanted. But what if Beatrix refused?

On the other hand, Shim wasn't exactly happy about being under a curse. Or a charm, as Beatrix had so euphemistically put it. And somehow, she didn't think she had to worry about being the clingy friend.

A friend. Shim wasn't sure how she felt about the concept. She had friends of a sort, of course, but they were all professional contacts, colleagues, club members, the like. Shim didn't really have anyone she was friends with for the sheer company of it.

Then again, she was merely using Beatrix for her own ulterior motives. Or Sunset's ulterior motives. Did that make her a bad person? It wasn't as if Shim found Beatrix insufferable. She almost felt sorry for her - but how could she feel sorry for someone who got to spend their life locked in a mansion, practicing actual magic?

Shim was decided. She would call Beatrix in a few hours, ask to see...

bzzt. bzzt. bzzt.

As if on cue, Shim's phone lit up and began to shake. Unknown number.

Shim pressed accept, pressing the phone to her ear. "Hello?"

"Shim?! Oh, thank the Lord. We need to talk."

"Beatrix? Wait, what's going on?"

"Trouble." A slightly hysterical laugh followed the lone word. "I need you to come around today. No arguments. And I need you to pretend to be a tutor or something."

"Why?" Fear began to grow in Shim's stomach, as her mind began to churn with possibilities. "Are you in danger? Am I in danger?"

"What? No, nothing like that. I just need an excuse to coop myself away for a few hours. What's the earliest you can be here? Never mind, just leave now." The soft sounds of someone talking in the background could be heard through the phone line. "I have to go."

Beatrix disconnected, leaving Shim staring in annoyance at her blank phone screen. Who did Beatrix think she was, ordering her around like some kind of servant? And... coop herself away? Beatrix had an entire mansion to hide in.

Momentarily, Shim considered tossing her phone aside and going back to sleep. But, she reasoned as she dragged herself out of bed, she needed Beatrix to like her - at least, for now. After this whole affair was over and done with, she could make a more informed decision about their relationship. Or fake her own death.

Sunset slowly trodded into the bus shelter, before collapsing into a seat with an unpleasant squelching sound. Of course, this world didn't have pegasai to control the weather. She probably should have thought about that before she left her home without an umbrella.

No light drizzle, either. The rain was ferocious, flooding the roads and rising over the kerb to line the pavement with a thin film of foul-smelling rainwater. She'd just wait out the storm here. At least she'd have an excuse to be late today.

Ten minutes passed. No change. Half an hour. Nothing.

Forty-five minutes, and the storm was as strong as ever - in fact, it had only gotten stronger. Sunset was incredulous. How did humans live like this? It was almost laughable - a species that had so utterly dominated their natural environment was powerless to do something as limited as control the weather. A team of pegasai could reduce entire cities to rubble with a few weeks of snowfall.

In fact, Sunset was so drunk on her own rage, she didn't notice the car pulling up next to her until it was too late. Her vision slowly filled with an all-too-familiar white and blue pattern. The car's window slowly slid downwards, confirming her worst fears. Damn it. Same exact guy.

"There's a really good explanation for this."

The police officer raised an eyebrow. Sunset opened her mouth, then closed it. She knew when to keep her mouth shut. Instead, she gave him a shaky attempt at a smile. "Don't suppose you could give me a lift?"

To his credit, he did give her a lift - directly to Principal Celestia's office. Mercifully, the school halls were empty, so nobody saw her being dragged through them by an irritated police officer. He didn't bother knocking, opting to simply wrench the door open and shove Sunset through.

"Hey!"

"Don't push it." The officer shot back. Turning to Celestia, he jerked his thumb in Sunset's direction "This is the second day in a row I've caught this student playing truant. I am to understand she's one of yours?"

Again, Celestia didn't seem angry. Just... disappointed. Sunset wasn't usually the most sensitive pony, but she found she couldn't hold her former mentor's gaze, and looked away in shame.

"Yes, she is. There's no need for physical gestures, Shining Wing. I can take things from here."

"You'd better. I'm not going to be this school's wrangler any more. Any more kids playing truant, their parents can pick them up from the station. Especially this one." He shot Sunset a dirty look. "And it's Officer Wing, if you don't mind."

"Of course, Officer. Like I said, I'll handle the situation from here." Celestia's voice had a slight edge to it. "Is there anything else I can help you with?"

Shining Wing shook his head in disgust. Pushing past Sunset, he slammed the door behind him, leaving her alone with Celestia.

"Principal Celestia, I'm sorry. I - I didn't bring an umbrella, and there was so much rain, so I was just waiting under a bus shelter when this guy - uh, police officer - just... he just pulls up next to me, and he's asking me..." She trailed off. It was a bad excuse, and she knew it.

"Sunset, please. We both know that's not true. Sit down." Celestia rose from her seat and beckoned her closer. "I expect better from my pupils. I understand that you're new, but behaviour like this is unacceptable. Do I make myself clear?"

Sunset couldn't help but cringe in humiliation. All of a sudden, she was angry. It was so typical for Celestia to exploit Sunset's feelings to her own advantage. Always playing the concerned mother, just to get what she wanted. Tripping her up at every opportunity. Stopping her from achieving her potential!

And Sunset knew it was just her. That was the worst part. She knew Celestia had always distrusted her, delaying her studies time after time using puerile excuses about "empathy" and "ethics". Celestia hadn't even chosen her as her personal protégé - that honour had gone to some juvenile filly who spent all her time shut up in her private study and kept a wild dragon as a pet. It made her blood boil just to think of it.

Twilight Sparkle. She knew all about her. Wealthy, elite parents. Brother top of his class in the Royal Cadets, slated for an officer's position in a few years, maybe even more. She'd had everything hoofed to her on a silver platter, while Sunset had to fight for anything she'd ever valued in life. For recognition. For respect. Sometimes for food, or shelter. Did Celestia care about any of that?

Of course she didn't.

Sunset couldn't help herself. What was wrong with her? She knew she looked weak - pathetic. She'd lost control in front of Celestia before, and she'd been mortified every time. But no matter how furiously she blinked, she couldn't keep the tears back, nor stifle her ragged breath.

But for the first time ever, Celestia didn't look away. She didn't leave. She didn't lose her temper. Instead, she reached out and rested her arms on Sunset's shoulders, giving them a reassuring squeeze.

Sunset almost pulled away. This wasn't right. Celestia had never comforted her before, never given her any kind of affection beyond a compliment on a well-executed spell. But she couldn't stop herself now. Sunset wrapped her arms around Celestia and gripped her tight, breath racked by sobs, while she returned the embrace, albeit somewhat awkwardly.

For a blissful minute, Sunset could forget everything. Where she was, where she was going, how she was ever going to get home.

Then Celestia released her, and she was returned to a world was still foreign, terrifying and strange, but somehow just a little bit brighter than before. Sunset wiped her eyes dry, reaching up in a vain attempt to straighten her wild hair. A deep blush crossed her cheeks as she noticed the mess she'd made on Celestia's shirt. "I - I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I'd be in much worse a state than you if a police officer dragged in front of my headmaster at your age." Celestia gave her a smile that could have blotted out the sun. "Besides, I have a feeling you needed to let that out."

Sunset nodded, heart pounding in her chest. "Maybe."

"Well, I mean what I said. No more skipping class. I have to say, I didn't expect it of you. I've been hearing you've settled in well, made some friends. And Mr Cranky Doodle said you were one of the most able students he'd ever taught. You've got a bright future ahead of you, if you want it."

They were the words Sunset had wanted to hear from Celestia for over a decade. "Thank you, Prince - Principal Celestia." She stammered. "I... I need to get going. Class is starting soon."

"Of course." Celestia's lips moved imperceptibly, as if she had something else to say, but decided against it at the last second. Instead, she simply gestured towards the door. "Take care, Sunset Shimmer."

The same security guard was stationed at the gate, but this time he let her through without a single snide remark. Maybe the new car helped.

As the house drew into sight, Shim did a double-take at the sight of a sleek helicopter sitting nonchalantly in the car park. Leaning against the body was a woman dressed in grey combat fatigues, clutching a pilot's helmet in one hand, and a thin paperback in the other. She barely even looked up when Shim parked next to her.

Was this related to Beatrix's panicked call? Well, it certainly hadn't been here this morning. It was a beautiful piece of work, glossy red in colour with a luxurious interior. Sunspot Industries was printed on the side. Shim didn't know much about helicopter market prices, but even so, she could tell it must be one seriously expensive machine. The pilot seemed to have finally noticed Shim's stare, and scowled at her in response.

"It's not polite to stare, you know."

Shim almost snapped back, but bit her tongue. She didn't want to overstep her welcome. And she didn't like the look of the handgun strapped to her hip.

"Sorry. It's just... I mean, you don't see something like that every day."

The pilot shrugged. "You must not have been here long." Waving her arm dismissively, she returned to her book. "Whatever you're here for, you picked a bad day for it."

Unnerved, Shim slowly approached the house's behemoth of a front door. She had to knock on the door three times before she got a response - and not the one she'd been hoping for.

"Can I help you?"

In the doorway stood a young man Shim didn't recognize, wearing an elaborate blue-and-gold double-breasted suit. His eyes darted back and forth behind his circular glasses, as if expecting someone else to jump out from behind her. As he spoke, his deep orange beard shook violently, as if threatening to fall off. In fact, everything he did seemed to ooze awkwardness.

Shim extended her hand. "Uh, maybe? My name's Sunset Shimmer. I'm here to see Beatrix."

The young man stared at her arm for a moment before responding. "Oh. Well, that's... good!" He pulled the door open wider. "She did mention someone was coming to see her today. I only wish I'd thought of it first."

Shim frowned as she entered. "I'm sorry, I don't think we've met. I'm Beatrix's tutor."

"I'd be very surprised if we had. You..." The man frowned. "Actually, you do look familiar. I can't place my finger on it, though." He tugged absent-mindedly on his beard. "Never mind. I'll go and get Beatrix for you."

"I can't come with you?"

He paused. "You can if you want. Things are a bit tense at the moment, though."

"Oh, come on. You can't just say that and not tell me why."

The young man sighed, clearly uncomfortable. "Come with me and you'll see what I mean."

Shim paused outside the door, her hand resting on it's handle. She could hear the muffled sound of two voices arguing - one of whom she didn't recognize, the other of which was unmistakable.

"Who is she arguing with?"

"Her mother. Valentina. The eleventh." He added sarcastically.

"I don't suppose you could tell me what over?"

"I don't think that's my place."

Shim took a deep breath, and pushed the door open. All discussion cut off the second she did, and three pairs of eyes swivelled around to greet her.

Beatrix was toe-to-toe with another woman - Valentina. Shim had never so much as seen a photo of her before, but she could tell immediately from her clothing. The silver circlet atop her head was one giveaway, as was the golden, gem-studded dress she wore, which looked like it cost more than Shim's annual rent.

"Who are you!?"

She sounded furious. Beatrix, who's attention had been momentarily thrown by Shim's sudden appearance, immediately snapped out of it and returned fire on Shim's behalf.

"Don't talk to her like that! She's the tutor I should have been seeing today. You know, getting an education!"

Valentina gritted her teeth. "We are not done here. I'm sorry, but my daughter is busy today. I will happily reimburse you for any lost income, but-"

"We are done! I'm not listening to another word from you!" Beatrix pushed past her mother. "Come on, Sunset."

Valentina's face flushed red. "How dare you speak to your mother like that!"

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Beatrix exploded. "I guess I should just lie down and do whatever my mommy asks, like a good -"

"Let her go." Shim had barely noticed the other woman in the room. Unlike the majestically adorned Valentina, she wore a simple business suit, decorated only by a pearl necklace, with her flaming red hair cut in a short, practical bob. "I feel we should discuss the matter some more in private, your highness."

Valentina faltered slightly. "If you believe it would be prudent, I will accede to your request, Stellar Flare."

"I believe it would." She gave Shim a sympathetic smile. "Sorry to hold you up."

Beatrix was shaking with anger as they left. The young man eyed her in poorly disguised fear, which only seemed to contribute to her rage.

"Don't look at me like that, Sunburst. I'm not being fucking unreasonable!"

Sunburst almost jumped out of his skin. "I know, I know! Look, I'm no happier about it than you are, why take it out on me!?"

Shim coughed, unable to watch passively any longer. "So... mind telling me more about that?"

Beatrix snarled. "My mother wants to move my wedding forward. By a year. As in, two months from now." Without warning, she set off at a brisk pace. "Keep up."

Shim set off. Sunburst hesitated for a moment, then ran after them. "Wait!"

Beatrix came to a halt and rounded on him. "I didn't say you were invited, Sunburst."

"Well, what else do you want me to do? Twiddle my thumbs?"

Shim's heart sank as the pair of them started to bicker like children.

"All right, all right." She cut across the pair. "Trouble in paradise, I get it." She pointed at Sunburst. "I take it you're the groom-to-be?"

Sunburst coughed, nervously adjusting his tie. "I suppose so. Can't say I'm too happy about it, though."

"So... why are you here?"

He gave a dry laugh at that. "My mother might be content to run my life, but even she wouldn't rearrange my own wedding without letting me know."

"You know, it wouldn't hurt if momma's boy could back me up." Beatrix snapped. Sunburst shook his head.

"I think I argued with my mother the whole helicopter ride here. You know my voice doesn't count for shit. Neither does yours. And last time I was here, you didn't have much to say either."

"That was before I learned I was going to be chained down a whole fucking year earlier!" Beatrix screamed the last part of her sentence, kicking over a nearby table, sending it clattering to the floor.

"Chained down? Look, we both agreed it was just going to be a... formality." He broke her gaze at the word. "I don't see why it matters if it happens in two months or two years. We'll have a place of our own, too. Independence. Isn't that what you wanted?"

Beatrix hung her head. "You really believe that? What about when your mother starts badgering you for grandkids?"

Sunburst didn't respond. Instead, he glanced over his shoulder at Shim. "Look, I'll leave you two to it. Sorry about this, Sunset."

Shim raised her hand. "Don't worry about it. And call me Shim. Are you going to be okay?"

Sunburst nodded, licking his lips nervously. "I'll live. I've got some reading to catch up on. I won't take up any more of your time."

Beatrix tugged at Shim's sleeve. "He'll be fine. Come on, we've probably got an hour or so."

Slamming the opened chest on the table, Beatrix collapsed in a nearby chair. She tossed her kaduceus in the air, catching the crystal orb at the last second. "Thanks for getting me out of that."

"No problem." Shim took the seat opposite her. "So, going to wow me some more?"

Beatrix shook her head, fire dancing behind her ice-cold eyes. She reached downwards, drew her knife once more, and rested it on the table. "Even better. Let me show you how this stuff really works."

VII:Binding

Shim stared apprehensively at the blade, waiting for Beatrix to elaborate. When she said nothing, Shim raised a finger and pointed at it.

"What is that, anyway?"

"It's just a knife. No fancy names this time." Beatrix sounded acrimonious, and didn't try to hide it. Her gaze slowly moved from the dagger to Shim, studying her intensely. "Yesterday, you said you were interested in magic. Did you really think it existed, or was it just some kind of hobby?"

"I... I guess I just thought of it as a big joke. Astrology, palm reading, summoning, all that. I mean, I'm assuming that stuff is actually fake."

Beatrix nodded, satisfied. "Astrology and palm reading, sure. Big surprise, the wrinkles on your hand don't actually mean anything."

Shim couldn't help but notice the deliberate omission. "And... summoning?"

Beatrix gave a wry smile. "Well, that's more complicated. See, magic can't just be learned. It has to be gifted first. You couldn't do any of the things I could even if you practiced for a hundred years."

She fell silent again. Shim spoke up again, gently coaxing her on. "And... how did you get this gift?"

"You probably wouldn't believe it."

"I guess. All this magic has made me a little skeptical."

Beatrix laughed at that, a genuine laugh that instantly warmed the room. "All right, that's fair enough. Well, it doesn't matter if you believe me or not. It's not like you're going to be telling anyone anyway." Rolling up her left sleeve, she tapped her forearm. "Look closely."

Leaning in, Shim could just about make out a series of lines - or symbols - scarred into Beatrix's arm. The scars were washed out and faded, clearly made in childhood.

"What is that?"

"I... I don't know how I would describe it. It's a kind of - contract."

"A contract?" Shim shook her head. "What does that have to do with performing magic?"

"That's just it. I can't actually perform my own magic. Humans can't. We have to borrow something else's. Or a part of it."

"Something?"

"Well, that's where summoning comes in. Given everything you've seen in the last forty-eight hours, I don't suppose it's too much to ask for you to believe in parallel universes."

Shim cast her mind back to the teenager sleeping on her sofa. "I guess not."

"Good. Well, they exist. At least two, in addition to our own. One important, the other not. The important one we call the Discordant. From what I've been told, it's filled with all sorts of... well, they'd call themselves gods, but they're really just powerful beings asserting their authority through force."

Beatrix continued, keenly watching Shim for some kind of reaction. "Marius was the first in our family to figure all this out. He spent most of his reign trying to find a way to extend his lifespan any way he could, and to live forever if possible."

"And... did he?"

"Probably. He came into possession of a copy of a book called Cwalu aet Cwalu - in fact, we still have his copy today. It's pretty much the manuscript for eternal life. But he was only in his forties when he vanished, so there's no way to know if he actually used it."

Shim's ears pricked up at the mention of the book that had drawn her here in the first place. "Death of Death. You mean you could live forever if you wanted?"

"It doesn't work like that. Immortality can only be bestowed by a god, just like magic. Cwalu aet Cwalu is about possible offerings to various deities, and how to contact them. There are no gods native to our universe - at least, not that we know of. So, if you want to make a deal, you have to get the attention of one from another dimension."

Shim scratched her head, confused. "How do you do that?"

"You make a big mess." Beatrix reached into the open chest and pulled out another book, red with a golden trim. Flipping through its pages, she continued. "Marius settled on attracting a chaos god called Discord sometime in his late thirties. That's when his reputation for brutality started to develop. Before this, he was fairly content to assimilate captured settlements into his kingdom, but all of a sudden, he'd rather raze every captured town to the ground and slaughter it's inhabitants wholesale. Sometimes he'd round up an entire village and sacrifice them. He did this for eight years before he got what he wanted."

Beatrix laid the book down on the table, opened to an illustration of a monster Shim couldn't have dreamed up in her worst nightmares. It was a amalgamation of several different animal limbs fused onto a furry, snakelike torso, and it's dragon-like head was marked by two yellow eyes inset with glowing red pupils that bored into her soul.

"Most of this is public knowledge, of course. Most historians think Marius was murdered by his son, and his body was simply never recovered. We've no reason to dispute this popular theory. But the truth, as usual, is more interesting."

"It probably won't surprise you to discover that a chaos god wasn't interested in wealth, though Marius had more than enough of that. Instead, he wanted Marius to abandon this dimension and wreak havoc in Discord's home world. In return, he would never age, and his ancestors would be gifted with magical abilities that would allow them to conquer this world with ease. Most of this was recorded in Marius' personal journal."

Beatrix tapped her marked forearm. "At birth, every child has the same promise scarred into their arm, to renew the agreement. I don't know if it actually matters if we don't do it, but nobody's wanted to tempt fate so far." She paused, before grinning sheepishly. "Anyway, that concludes my lecture. You may now ask your questions."

Shim had so many, she could barely focus on picking just one. "You said your family was given magic so they could conquer the world. So, why didn't they? I mean, they had magic, they had money, they had the troops."

"Marius' heir didn't trust Discord. He thought it was a trick to drag us into multiple unwinnable wars and wipe us out. He'd rather play it safe, hide our magic and use it to our advantage." She shrugged. "Honestly, I think he was right. Tricksters usually don't make sincere deals. And incidents of familicide have decreased markedly since we switched our main focus from warmongering to stock market speculation. It's nice not having to constantly worry which of your siblings might be planning to put a knife between your ribs."

"Who counts as family, anyway? Anyone related to Marius?" A thought occurred to her. "What about Sunburst? Does he know?"

Beatrix shook her head. "If only it were that simple. Marius's children all had the gift, but only his eldest son and daughter passed it on to their children, and so on. Today, there's probably about two hundred or so gifted members of the family. It's why there's so much pressure to get married and start having kids. As for Sunburst..." She scuffed the floor with her heel. "I suppose I'll have to tell him eventually. But I don't see any reason to do it now."

"And there's no way I could do this stuff?" Shim couldn't keep the disappointment out of her voice. Privately, she wondered if the same rules applied to Sunset - would she be able to perform her magic in this world?

"I'm afraid not. It used to be relatively easy to get a god's attention. Not so much in an age of genocide and nuclear weapons, not to mention population pressure. So much going on in the world today, it'd be hard for one person's actions to register as anything more than white noise."

Beatrix waved her arm, and collection of books and magical artefacts sprawled across the table leaped back into the chest, leaving only her kaduceus and knife behind. She picked up the orb once more, before extending her arm so the sphere rested only a few feet from Shim's eyes.

"I didn't know you were a philologist." There was a slight edge to her voice. "I thought you were a physicist."

Shim blinked, slightly thrown by the sudden change of direction. "I'm not - a what?"

"Philology. The study of classical languages - you know, Latin, Sumerian. Old English." She sighed. "All right, I'll cut the bullshit. I'm not stupid. You knew what Cwalu aet Cwalu meant in Modern English. You must have heard of it before today. And there's no way you could have come across it in some faux-magic bullshit pop culture grimoire. I should have seen it earlier. You know a lot more than you're letting on, don't you?"

An icy chill ran down Shim's spine. For a moment, she considered denying the charge, but decided against it. She wouldn't improve her situation by being confrontational - and she had a nasty suspicion Beatrix would be able to tell if she lied.

"It's more complicated than you think."

Beatrix smiled. "Isn't it always?"

Her features slowly hardened as her eyes began to glow a familiar unsettling green, thin tendrils of purple smoke drifting from their corners. Once more, Shim found herself weighed down in her seat by an unforeseen force.

"I know I spend half my time complaining about how awful my family is, but I do take their safety seriously. I take the security of our little secret even more seriously. So, I'm afraid that until I get a satisfactory explanation as to how you figured it out, I can't let you leave." Beatrix purred as she spoke, clearly happy to have caught Shim out. "Now, are you going to talk, or am I going to have to make you?"

Shim swallowed, the sound of her own beating heart impossibly loud in her ears. "I'll talk."

"...like this. And once you've done that, you just need to find the square root of both substitutions to get four possible solutions to your quartic equation."

Sunset laid the piece of chalk down before turning to face Cranky Doodle. "Is that correct?"

Cranky didn't look happy about it, but begrudgingly nodded his head. "Well... yes, I suppose so. Thank you, Miss Shimmer, please take your seat."

As soon as Cranky continued his lecture, Sunset felt her eyelids droop once more, forcing her to shake her head in a bid to stay awake. Her handwriting might have some ways to go, but she knew she was years ahead - literally - of most of the other students when it came to arithmetics. Unfortunately, she also had to attend other classes.

Biology had been... unusual. Sunset had read plenty of books about equine biology, and for the most part, humans were surprisingly similar to them - warm blooded, multicellular eukaryotes bearing live young, not at all dissimilar to primates, though taller and more intelligent.

Physics and Chemistry, on the other hand, were like nothing she'd ever seen. Ponies had never concerned themselves with the fine details of the constituent medium of things, yet it seemed to be the primary concern of human scientific activity. But she should be careful not to be too dismissive. Any science that could level a city to the ground by the splitting of a single atom was well worth investing in. She spent much of her spare time catching up on everything she had missed, and was confident she would be well ahead of her peers in a few months.

History was interesting, to say the least. Humans kept detailed, in-depth records of their own past, a mix of oral tradition and written record - in fact, for a species that took such great pains to record their history, it astonished her that they would have learned so little from it.

Information technology was what had amazed her the most. The way in which a tiny computer could receive, store, edit and send data that would have taken an entire bookshelf to write down to virtually any other device on the entire planet in less than a second was more impressive to Sunset than any magic she'd ever seen. If there was one aspect of human civilization she would have wanted introduced to Equestria, it would be the computer. Though the keyboard might need reinventing.

The bell rang. Sunset picked up her few belongings and stuffed them in the duffle bag she'd brought with her. As she ambled out of the classroom on her own, she wondered what she was supposed to do during lunch. Go hang out with Flash? It seemed like the natural choice, but somehow she didn't feel like being around Flash when the others were going to be there.

Instead, Sunset found herself wandering directionlessly through the school's hallways. She wasn't sure what she was looking for - a conflict, a dispute, a fight, anything she might be able to use to her own advantage, or at least take her out of her monotony.

As she rounded yet another identical corner, she found her path blocked by a mass of students shouting at the top of their lungs, waving their phones in the air and jeering. Pushing her way to the centre of the mob, she saw two girls yelling at the top of their lungs, behind held apart by a third girl who looked as if she'd rather be anywhere else.

Sunset recognized two of them as the girls who'd staged a fight in the lunch hall yesterday - Applejack and Rainbow Dash - and it sure looked like they hadn't quite resolved their issues with each other. In stark contrast to the large, athletic duo, the girl between them was a tiny weakling, and Sunset couldn't help but admire her bravery.

"Ah am not going to apologize, Rainbow! You made a liar outta me, and you're gonna admit it!"

"It's not my fault if you can't get the date of your own bake sale right! Me and the team hired a minibus to take us all the way to that pigsty you call a farm just to get sent home by your inbred hillbilly brother, and now you're blaming me?! Get a life!"

"...Rainbow, you really shouldn't say things like that..."

Applejack's face darkened. "Ya know, you're lucky Fluttershy's sticking her neck out for you. Didn't ah knock you down hard enough yesterday?"

Rainbow Dash swatted Fluttershy's arm aside and swung her fist at Applejack, missing by a few inches. "I'm lucky? What's the matter, waiting for me to turn my back so you can sucker punch me again?"

"...girls, please don't fight..."

"Get yer hands off her!" Applejack surged forwards, but stopped short of throwing a punch. "You're one to talk about family, Rainbow. Ah hope that bus didn't take too much out of yer mother's vodka budget."

"Shut up!" Rainbow Dash snarled. "I'm gonna show you - get off me, Fluttershy!"

"Ah said don't touch her!" Applejack grabbed Fluttershy and pulled her off Rainbow, pushing her to safety. For a moment, Fluttershy's eyes flickered back and forth, before she vanished into the safety of the crowd with a tiny squeak.

Left alone, Rainbow and Applejack watched each other intensely, sizing each other up, each waiting for the other to make the first move.

"No Celestia to save you this time, Rainbow."

Rainbow Dash barked a harsh laugh that couldn't quite hide her unease. "You don't get lucky twice."

"You can still turn tail and run, if you like. How's your ribs? I hope-"

Applejack was cut off mid-sentence as Rainbow Dash swung at her. Caught-off guard, Rainbow's fist crashed square into her shoulder, and she staggered backwards in pain, leaving herself momentarily wide open.

As if unable to believe her luck, Rainbow lurched forwards, striking Applejack in side of her head, then kicking out her legs from beneath her, sending her crashing to the floor. Sunset expected her to back off, but Rainbow instead leaned in and began to kick Applejack repeatedly, ignoring her yells to stop.

For almost a full minute, Rainbow kept stomping on Applejack, screaming in anger as she did so. Disgusted, Sunset found herself praying someone would step in and stop her. Watching the two of them fight had been entertaining in it's own way, but this was just sick.

Eventually, Rainbow backed off, panting slightly. The crowd had stopped their whistling and excited chatter, and it was now full of whispers and angry mutters. Rainbow was clearly aware of this, and her eyes flickered around and her forehead creased with worry as she realized just how far she'd gone.

Applejack was lying on the floor in a heaving lump. Every inch of her face that wasn't swollen or bruised was covered in blood, and her breathing was slow and ragged. She opened her mouth, but merely groaned instead of saying anything.

Rainbow shook her head numbly. "No, I didn't... I didn't mean to... to do... that..." Her normally loud, obnoxious voice was gone, replaced with a hoarse whisper. "Applejack?"

"Psycho."

Applejack had pulled herself up to a sitting position, impressing even Sunset. She didn't think she'd have be able to recover quickly from a beating like that, but Applejack seemed to shrug it off like it was nothing. Rainbow reached an arm out towards her, but Applejack batted it aside, glaring at Rainbow through her one remaining good eye.

"Don't fucking touch me!" Applejack snapped, her voice full of fear and rage. "You got problems, Rainbow. Ah don't know why I didn't see it earlier."

Two other students approached Applejack and helped her to her feet. Applejack swayed slightly as she stood up, then brushed the others aside. "Ah need to go see Nurse Redheart."

Applejack turned her back on Rainbow and limped off. As Sunset watched, Fluttershy exited from the crowd and ran after her friend, glancing back at the crowd long enough for Sunset to catch the look of disbelief and horror on her face.

The angry muttering had grown louder now. Rainbow took a few steps backwards, then bolted with incredible speed. One second she was there, the next, she was gone so quickly Sunset half expected to see her leave behind a cloud of dust. Nobody tried to follow her. Slowly, person by person, the crowd broke apart and drifted away. Sunset was alone once more.

"Wait, wait, wait. Slow down. You're being serious?"

Shim nodded. "I can't say for certain it's the same one, but it's a portal, all right."

Beatrix strummed her fingers against the table, unimpressed. "And you knew this how, exactly?"

"It wasn't easy." That was an understatement if there ever was one. Shim was actually quite proud of herself for figuring it out. "The portal was pretty much invisible. No ionizing radiation, no thermal anomalies, no auditory signals, nothing."

"So, how did you figure it out?"

"Luck, more than anything. That statue produces a constant stream of ultra high frequency radio waves than can jam mobile communications, but their range is limited. Kind of a surprise nobody else had picked up on it first. I figured that out... about three years ago. When I was testing it with an EMF meter, I saw the signal was being broadcast at 2900 MHz, way higher than any terrestrial communication. It's the kind of thing you'd expect from a commercial aircraft. So, I did a little more digging."

"I set up a dedicated EMF meter up at the site, and kept tabs on it, but it wasn't really that important to me. Then, thirty moons ago, there was a huge spike in-"

"Excuse me?" Beatrix sounded skeptical. "Thirty moons ago? You mean thirty months?"

"I'll get to that. Anyway, I saw a huge spike in signal power. Almost seventeen orders of magnitude stronger, in fact. That got my attention. I went back that same night, hoping to set up more meters and gauge the rate of signal dropoff, but-"

"You went skulking around a high school in the dead of night?"

"Could you focus for once? Anyway, when I go back, I'm not the only one there. There's two other men there, and they're acting strange, like they're keeping guard or something. As I'm watching, this other guy steps out of the statue, and then they all just... walked away."

Beatrix nodded her head slowly. "Did you get a closer look at the statue?"

"Are you kidding? I got the hell out of there before those guys spotted me and dragged me back to vivisect me. A few days later, the signal drops back to normal activity. Then, a few days ago, exactly thirty lunar cycles after it first opens, the signal amplifies again, stays like that for three days, then closes again."

"And when you noticed the connection between the moon's cycle and the portal opening, you began to suspect some kind of magical explanation." Beatrix sounded satisfied.

"Well, that and watching someone walk though a solid statue."

"That's the part that worries me." Beatrix sighed. "The fact that there's a portal to the Discordant just out in the middle of nowhere is one thing. People coming through it is another."

"Can't you... I don't know, close it? Seal it off?"

"I don't know. Maybe?" She groaned and sank backwards in her chair. "My mother usually handles stuff like this. High level magic, I mean. Creating a portal is seriously complicated. But closing it... I might be able to." She shook her head, a grim expression on her face. "I have to be able to."

"You can't ask her for help?"

"I'd rather not have to explain you to her. No offence. Besides, you said it yourself, the portal's closed. Will be for another two years." Beatrix's confidence seemed to grow every second. "I can definitely give it a try. And... you'll help me. Right?"

Shim considered this prospect. In the unlikely event Beatrix was able to close the portal, Sunset would be stuck in this dimension for good. But, then again, she still needed Beatrix on her side.

"Sure." Shim shone Beatrix a weak smile. "Why not?"

Beatrix's eyes lit up at her words. "Great! You won't regret this, I promise. Look, I..." Beatrix blushed, apparently at a loss for words. "I'm really sorry about earlier. I shouldn't have threatened you like that. I was just - I was scared I'd made this huge mistake, and that everyone was going to find out, and it would all be my fault - "

"Beatrix." Shim held her hand up. "I get it. You don't have to make a big show for me."

Beatrix looked relieved. "Well, thanks anyway."

"No problem. Can you do me a favour?"

"Sure. What is it?"

Shim pointed at her kaduceus. "Do you have one of those I could borrow? Just to study it, carry out a few tests."

She had expected more questions and suspicion, but instead, Beatrix wordlessly pulled a golden amulet out of the open chest that was still resting on the table, and tossed it across the room. "Here. Knock yourself out, but I wouldn't expect miracles. We good?"

Shim turned the small golden token over in her fingers. It was warm to the touch, and pulsed slightly at regular intervals. "Yeah. We're good."

It took a few minutes for Rainbow Dash to spot Sunset lingering in the classroom doorway. The moment she did, she whipped around and pulled her fists up to her sides.

"What?!"

Sunset shrugged. "That was some show back there."

Rainbow sneered at her. "What, you got a problem with it?" Her eyes narrowed. "How did you find me here, anyway?"

Sunset jerked her thumb behind her. "It wasn't exactly hard. There's a trail of bloody footprints leading to this classroom." She stepped forwards, causing Rainbow to take a step backwards. Something about Sunset was off to her. She didn't look like much, but she moved like a trained fighter.

"I don't know you. Leave me alone!"

"What were you two fighting over?" Sunset pressed onwards. Rainbow took another step backwards, only to find her back pressed up against the wall.

"I said fuck off!"

"You really hurt her, you know." Sunset took another step forward, and suddenly the two of them were only a foot apart. "I think you broke her nose. I'll ask again. What were you fighting over?"

For a moment, Sunset thought Rainbow was going to attack her, and she tensed herself in anticipation. "Ugh. Why do you even care? She gave me the wrong date for some bake sale and won't admit it."

"Seems like a pretty poor excuse for breaking her nose."

Rainbow cringed. "What, you think I'm proud of it? Like I wanted this?"

"No. I just wanted to let you know I understand."

Rainbow blinked. "What?"

"I mean, she started it. She insulted your mother. Then she loses and wants to play victim?" Sunset shook her head. "I wanted to let you know... that you can talk to me, if you want. About anything."

Rainbow still looked suspicious, but grateful. "I... thanks, I guess? I mean, I don't actually know you. Are you new?"

Sunset smiled and stuck her fist out. "Yeah. Sunset Shimmer. I think we have math together."

Rainbow bumped her fist, her usual cocky grin returning. "If you say so. I pretty much black out the second Cranky Doodle starts flapping his gums." Combing her fingers through her wild hair, she struggled to find something else to say, but was mercifully saved form more awkward conversation by the sound of the school bell ringing.

"Shit. I have to go, I can't be late to another Biology class. Cheerilee would crucify me." Rainbow paused at the door frame. "I... guess I'll see you around."

Sunset smiled. "Sure."

With another grateful smile, the girl was gone. Sunset's smile immediately slipped from her face.

Rainbow Dash. Ringo had mentioned her yesterday. Mostly talking about how 'fucking hot' she was. But that wasn't what had caught Sunset's attention, of course. Athletic prodigy, captain of every sports team, and on and on and on.

And, like a gift from heaven, she had fallen right into Sunset's lap. A confused, angry teenager with an unhappy hope life. A puppet waiting for someone to come and pull the strings. In all honesty, Dash disgusted her. But she was exactly the kind of person she would need to control this place. And, until something better came along, that was good enough.

Author's Note

Wash your hands and don't touch your face.
Also, don't drink fish tank disinfectant unless your doctor tells you to.

VIII:Schism

Sunset held the amulet up to eye level, keenly searching for any kind of identifying marks. She'd never seen anything like it before, but she was certain it wasn't an Equestrian artefact. Shim had wordlessly pressed it into her hand the second she'd walked through the front door, and she now stood across from her, waiting expectantly.

"I'm assuming this is what I think it is?"

"Maybe."

Sunset groaned in frustration, pulling the talisman over her head. She frowned, fiddling with the pendant as she did so. "Are you sure? This doesn't... feel right."

Shim said nothing, merely gestured at herself in frustration.

"All right, all right..." Sunset focused on Shim, willing the magic within her to come to the surface. To her delight, she felt the familiar rush of energy surging through her veins - though somehow, it felt different this time. Instead of the usual calmness she was used to experiencing, Sunset found herself filled with an indescribable sensation of anger, and it took every ounce of strength she had not to immediately turn on Shim and rip her to shreds. Instead, she closed her eyes and allowed the magic to see for her.

The aura surrounding Shim was unmistakeably a curse. It was amateurish, though not as much as she had been expecting. What was unusual was the way it behaved. It didn't try to hide itself, and not once did it resist her attempts to dismantle it. Even the most basic curses didn't advertise themselves like this.

It didn't last ten seconds against her. As Sunset prepared to rip the final strand of the curse from Shim, a sudden thought struck her.

Why am I doing this?

Despite the events of the past few days, she didn't entirely trust Shim - nor did she believe she was being as truthful as she claimed. Well, this seemed like the perfect time to take precautions. She could lace her doppelgänger with more monitoring charms and truth-telling hexes than a Tartaran war criminal, and Shim would be none the wiser.

A grim smile on her face, Sunset ripped the final strand of the curse from Shim and cast it aside, ears pricking up in pleasure at the sound of its scream as it vanished into the aether. A location tracking curse would be a good start. She slowly pieced an incantation together in her mind, before casting it on Shim.

Nothing.

She tried again. Still nothing.

Sunset tried another spell. Then another. Every single time, she found herself helpless. The amulet was clearly bursting at the seams with magical potential - it had let her remove the curse from Shim effortlessly! Gritting her teeth, Sunset fired off a volley of different spells - turning the lights off, lifting the couch in the air, setting the cupboard on fire. Every single one failed, the amulet steadfastly refusing to respond to her will.

Sunset slowly opened her eyes. The room was untouched, save for Shim, who was giving her an odd stare.

"Didn't it work?"

Sunset nodded. "It should have. Try it."

"Uh, I guess... Well, I got this amulet from Beatrix." Shim's eyes lit up. "Oh, thank God. I swear I was going to go crazy if I had to go another day without complaining about her. Listen, you're going to want to hear what I've got to say."

Sunset nodded, only half listening to what Shim was saying. Why didn't it work? "I'm all ears."

"Well... I don't really know where to begin." Shim scratched the back of her head. "Broad strokes, I guess. Beatrix is a wit- magician. Marius was her great-great-great-great-granddaddy or something. According to her, I was right about the whole Sombra-Marius connection."

Sunset silently processed this information. So, Sombra really had been a human all along. "And?"

"Well, she claims there's this kind of... I don't know, all-powerful being in your world. Called Discord. Sound familiar?"

Sunset nodded. Discord, the Lord of Chaos. He had played a relatively short, but destructive, role in Equestria's founding. "Sure. I remember studying for my midterms under his statue."

"Well, she claims he was the one who brought magic to this world in the first place. Discord made a deal with Marius. His family would be given magical abilities, and in return, Marius - or Sombra - would entertain him by bringing war and destruction to your world."

Sunset pinched the brow of her nose. Any other time, she would have been fascinated to learn more about Sombra's origins, but right now, her attention was still focused on her magic - or lack thereof. "Look, we might still have a problem."

Shim's expression dropped slightly. "As in?"

"I... don't think this artefact is... well, it's not what I was expecting. It's different, somehow. I really don't know how to explain it"

"Why don't you try something? Anything."

"I tried. Look, this person... Beatrix? Did she do anything special when she used her magic? Did she say anything, wear anything?"

It took a few seconds for Shim to answer. "Well, not really. She had one of those things. And her eyes went... strange."

"Strange how?"

"Like, her whole eye was glowing green, with smoke coming from the corners. It creeped me out."

Though she should have expected it, Sunset couldn't help an exasperated sigh escaping from her lips. Of course, Sombra's descendants would have used the same magic he did. Once again, she was back to step one.

This was not good news. Sunset might be a master of Equestrian magic, but she knew next to nothing of the magic Sombra used. Celestia had steadfastly refused to give Sunset even an introduction to dark magic, no matter how much she plead. The amulet was presumably enchanted using dark magic, which would explain why it had interacted so well with Beatrix's curse - but it couldn't understand a single one of her own spells. This wouldn't do.

"It's not going to work."

"Huh?" Shim gave her an odd look. "What do you mean?"

"This... thing. It uses a different type of magic than I'm used to. I can't use it to cast spells."

"You sure? You got rid of that curse, didn't you?"

"That was different." Sunset snapped, her bitterness at having seized defeat from the jaws of victory surfacing. "I don't know how this thing works. I..." She sighed. "I need an Equestrian artefact. But I can't imagine I'll be getting my hands on one of those anytime soon."

"So... what?" Shim sounded strained. "Are you telling me I befriended that... that... witch for nothing?!"

Sunset couldn't help but laugh at that. "You're a real people person, aren't you?"

"Laugh it up. I was waiting till after you got your magic back to tell you the bad news."

"Bad news. Great." Sunset tore the amulet off her neck and tossed it over her shoulder, before collapsing into the couch. "Lay it on me."

"She..." Shim sighed. "She knows about the portal."

Sunset merely let out a long, protracted groan in response. "How?"

"I... I sort of... told her."

Sunset shot up in her seat. "You what?!?"

"I didn't want to!" Shim's hands shot into the air in protest. "Look, you weren't there, all right? She probably knew I was lying from day one, and she's fucking scary when she needs to be."

"And you just gave her this information? Without thinking how it might affect me?"

"What, should I have waited for her to start pulling my fingernails out?" Shim shot right back. "We don't have time to argue about this. She knows the portal exists, she knows where it is, she knows people have come through before and will do in the future. As far as I can see, the only thing she doesn't know about it you. She's going to try and shut the portal sometime. What are y- what are we going to do?"

To Shim's frustration, Sunset merely shrugged apathetically. "Nothing." Shim opened her mouth to protest, but Sunset silenced her with a wave of her hand. "That portal's constructed from Equestrian magic. She can fiddle around with it as much as she likes, it won't matter. She couldn't close it if she wanted to. And she doesn't sound like the kind of person who'd go to the guards - I mean, the police."

Of course, that also meant Sunset couldn't open the portal with the amulet, even if she was able to learn it's magic. Privately, Sunset wondered if Discord had deliberately constructed the portal from Equestrian magic to prevent Sombra's descendants from altering the portal, while still ensuring it would survive beyond him. If the situation wasn't so dire, she could have almost appreciated the simple elegance of it all.

Her last hope had just been dashed against the rocks. She would be stuck here for another thirty moons, barring a miracle. The very thought of it caused the strength to drain from every limb in her strange, alien body. Emotion crashed over her in waves, but she felt no tears. She'd already cried for Equestria - now she could only wait for it.

"I'm just..."

Closing her eyes, she succumbed to her exhaustion and drifted into unconsciousness.

From across the room, Shim watched the catatonic teenager with a sense of unease. Sunset had always been so filled with vigour and passion that it genuinely disturbed Shim to see her so apathetic and dejected.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, she was reminded of her thesis - the one that had started all of this. Sunset hadn't been nearly as much help as Shim had hoped she would be. But, of course, she had something better now.

It might be too late for Sunset, but it wasn't too late for her. Sitting down at her desk, Shim opened her laptop and booted up her word processor. Her fingers hovered over the keyboard for the briefest of moments, before she began to type.

Interdimensional matter displacement through undiscovered natural phenomena.

Sunset's eyes flickered open. The sun was already high in the sky, its light streaming through the windows and illuminating the thick haze of dust floating around the apartment. Apparently it moved on its own in this world. How strange.

Shim was asleep, splayed over an open laptop, clearly having collapsed in the middle of an all nighter. Her eyes were surrounded by thick dark circles, and a half-finished cup of coffee teetered precariously on the side of her desk. Sunset rose to her feet and strode across the room, steadying the drink before it could fall onto the floor. She briefly considered waking Shim up, but immediately decided against it. She definitely needed a rest.

She briefly tried to read the mess of equations of diagrams Shim had typed up, but quickly gave up. Whatever it was, it almost certainly wasn't important.

Sunset straightened up and stretched her arms. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she vaguely remembered she was supposed to be attending school. After the events of last night, it hardly seemed to matter any more. Maybe she should just go back to bed.

But she knew she couldn't do that. She had a reputation to build. And, once again, she didn't want to let Celestia down. She must be getting soft. If she left now, she probably wouldn't be too late to catch the end of first period. Sunset spent a few minutes changing, then slipped out the front door, closing it quietly behind her so as not to disturb Shim. Her eyes narrowed as her vision slowly adjusted from the gloom of the empty apartment to the bright sunlight. At least it wasn't raining this time. In fact, the sun was shining, and the sound of birdsong was somehow a comforting reminder of home. If she hadn't spent the whole time checking over her shoulder for flashing lights, she could almost have enjoyed the peace the walk to school brought.

A few heads turned when she slipped into her classroom, but Sunset was fairly sure she had got away with it. Besides, she barely needed to pay attention to keep up with Cheerilee's classes. Cheerilee grumbled slightly at her late arrival, but didn't try to lecture her.

Sunset idled for the rest of class, half-heartedly taking notes and answering questions, more out of boredom than any real need to learn. Her mind wandered, and she inevitably found herself returning to the events of last night.

Could she really do this for another thirty moons? Though she had strived to maintain composure in unfamiliar circumstances - just as Celestia had taught her - the increasing hopelessness of the situation was starting to grip her. Without her magic, she was practically defenceless. If she wanted to get ahead - no, if she even wanted to survive - she would need to learn more about human social networking, and fast. Befriending Rainbow and Flash had been smart moves, but it wasn't enough.

And when the portal opened - what then? She'd be arrested the second she walked through. Celestia would probably have a team of Royal Guards waiting for her on the other side. Even if, by some impossibility, she escaped their grasp, she'd have to spend the rest of her life as a fugitive. Unacceptable.

Idly, she began to write down her choices on the paper in front of her. Somehow, after the past few days of uncertainty, it was comforting to see such clear lines drawn between her present and future.

One: Don't go home.

Of course, she knew that wasn't really an option. She was a foal of Equestria, and missed her homeland dearly. Still, it was technically an option. If she wanted, she could disappear forever in this world and never be found. All of Celestia's soldiers couldn't find her in a thousand years.

Two: Go home, face the music.

Maybe Celestia would be merciful. But Sunset doubted it. In fact, she had probably already moved on to one of her other prodigies. If she was lucky, Sunset might one day be allowed to teach a magic kindergarten class. And someone like her was destined for so much better.

Three: Go home and take over.

Seven billion. The number had bounced around in her head from the day she had first read it. Seven billion humans versus... If she was recalling the most recent census data correctly, five million ponies - most of whom had no desire to die for their country against impossible odds.

If she could slip back into Equestria and return with an artefact undetected, the human race would bend to her will. With no real magic of their own, how could they resist? Equestria would prove no match for her legion of human slaves. Celestia had her flaws, but Sunset didn't think she'd demand her subjects die for her just to prove a point.

And she didn't have long. The fate of Equestria itself was in her hands. Shim knew. Beatrix knew. Presumably, others knew. Equestria was open and undefended, and it was only a matter of time before humans decided to invade.

Celestia was weak. She didn't have the guts to do what was necessary - and so it fell to Sunset to save her country. And when she had done that, she would be crowned the new Princess of Equestria, just as the mirror had promised. And she would destroy anything - and anyone - that stood in her way.

Shim took another sip of her coffee, staring bleary-eyed at the mess she had written over the course of her most recent all-nighter. Though in serious need of a clean-up, the foundation of it was solid. Of course, she still had to find out how magic actually... well, worked. Bizarre radio signals weren't much to go on.

She hadn't called Beatrix yet. In part, it was because she didn't want to risk alerting her to the fact that the curse had been broken. Although she doubted Beatrix would be able to tell from a phone call, she wasn't taking any chances until she'd asked Sunset.

But more than that, she was afraid Beatrix wouldn't take too kindly to her attempts to publish a thesis about magic, even if it was of a different kind. Even without their gift, a wealthy and powerful family like that could probably arrange suitable circumstances for her to 'disappear' under. She needed to find some way to reassure Beatrix that the discovery of the portal wouldn't affect her family.

Shim picked up her phone, staring at her reflection in the black glass as she continued to turn her options over in her head. The wrong move could ruin everything she'd worked towards these past few months.

Slowly, Shim punched Beatrix's phone number into her cell and pressed dial. The phone only had time to ring once before the line was connected.

"Shim?"

Shim paused for a second before responding. "Hey. I was just... uh, you know, calling to check you were still down to check that... that thing we talked about."

For ten agonizing, unbearable seconds, Beatrix didn't say anything. Shim was moments away from smashing her phone in half and heading for the nearest airport when Beatrix finally spoke up.

"Sorry. God, thank you for calling, gave me an excuse to get away from my mother for a minute. Still there?"

Shim gripped her phone tighter in her hand, feeling herself break out into a cold sweat. "Yes - yes! Still here!"

"Good." Beatrix sounded bored, but not suspicious. "Of course. It was my idea, remember? But I wanted a little more time to study what I know about portals. Well, actually, a lot more time. And then there's the little matter of me getting married in a few months."

"Oh, right." Shim cringed at the awkwardness of the line. She was mercifully able to catch herself from congratulating Beatrix.

"Yeah. So... give me some time. A few months, at least. I know that sounds like a long time, but I'm not just going to charge headfirst into this without preparing properly. Are you still messing around with your meters?"

"I... I guess? I left one of them there, just to keep track. Should I get rid of it?"

Beatrix paused. "No. Keep it there. Let me know if you get any unusual readings. And, obviously, don't tell anyone else about this. I mean, not like you could." Shim could hear the muffled sound of voices in the background. "Shit. I have to go. My mother wants me to try on about fifteen thousand more wedding tiaras." Beatrix didn't even try to hide the contempt in her voice.

"Right. Sorry to hear that."

"I'm over it. I guess I should apologize for the way I was acting yesterday. I shouldn't have taken it out on you or Sunburst. It's not your fault. And he's right, we'll both be free from our families when we're hitched. Hey, do you want to come?"

"Er..." Shim faltered. "Do you mean... to the wedding?"

"Why not? After all, it's meant to be my big day. I'm sure my mother won't object to me inviting a few additional guests. The service will blow, but the afterparty should be fucking nuts. No kids or old crones to push us around and a blank cheque. If you've ever wanted to see bourgeois degeneracy on full display, it's probably your best chance."

Shim wasn't sure she liked the sound of that, but a wedding invitation wasn't really something you could just turn down. "I mean, sure. Thanks. I appreciate it."

"Oh, God, have some self-worth. Honestly, you've made the past few days bearable. I might have drowned Sunburst in the swimming pool yesterday if I hadn't had you to distract me. I'd love to have you there." More mumbling in the background, angrier and louder. "Look, I really have to go. I'll call you sometime soon."

With a soft click, she was gone. Shim felt like laughing. A wedding invite was just about the last thing she'd expected from that phone call. At least she knew Beatrix still trusted her. For now.

Still, it wasn't all good news. Her research into the portal had been set back by months. Until then, she'd have to rely on her own research.

Of course, she could ask Sunset. But she'd never help her expose the secrets of a portal to Equestria. In fact, for now it was probably better she didn't mention anything about her research to her. Shim wasn't going to risk becoming the most celebrated physicist of the last century - no, the last millennium - for anything.

She would need to keep a close eye on Sunset. If she became a problem...

Well, Beatrix would definitely be interested to hear about her. Grateful, even.

IX:Ouroboros

"Far better that I have a student who understands the meaning of self-sacrifice, than one who only looks out for her own best interests."

- Princess Celestia

Six Months Later -

"Sunset? You all right?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah. I'm fine. You worry too much, Rainbow."

Sunset pushed herself up by the palm of her hands, squinting as the motion brought her vision parallel with the setting sun. This new world never failed to surprise her with its quirks. No magic, copies of ponies from Equestria, and a sun that set at different times depending upon the season.

Cutting across the burning sky was the figure of a girl in a loose-fitting soccer kit, balancing a ball on the tip of her shoe. Rainbow Dash hadn't disappointed her reputation as a sports fanatic. In fact, this was the first time in over a week Sunset and her had found time to relax together in the evening. Of course, Rainbow's idea of "relaxing" was showing off while Sunset watched, but she could live with that.

And of course, she had been just as valuable an asset as Sunset had hoped. Though she felt somewhat ridiculous climbing a high school social ladder, the payoff was undeniable. It didn't hurt that she had quickly become Canterlot's resident academic prodigy - so much so that Principal Celestia had let her organize and deliver after-school remedial classes. Most of them were useless cretins, of course, but two - Snips and Snails - showed promise as underlings.

With an effortless flick of her heel, Rainbow Dash sent the ball flying into the air. She shot her arm out without even glancing up once, and seconds later it landed in the palm of her hand. Sunset shook her head in amusement.

"Neat. How long did it take you to learn that one?"

Rainbow's face split into a cocky grin. "A few hours. It's all in the angle. I'd show you, but I don't think Miss Goody Two-Shoes would have time in between her special classes and Principal Celestia ass-kissing sessions."

Sunset stuck out her tongue. "We'll see who's laughing in ten years when I'm relaxing in my palace and you're serving me coffee."

"You wish." Rainbow kicked the ball into the air once again, this time letting it fall to her feet. "I'm gonna be captain of Wonderbolts FC by the time you've graduated from whatever egghead degree you end up doing." Stooping down to pick up the soccer ball, she stuffed it into the duffel bag slung around her shoulder, before extending Sunset her hand. "Come on, get up. I'm bored."

"Well, what do you want to do?" Sunset asked, reaching for Rainbow's hand and pulling herself upright.

"I don't know, anything? We could steal some of my mom's beer and get hammered."

"You know we have school tomorrow, right?"

Rainbow pulled a face at the predictable response. "Ugh. Gilda wouldn't care about something like that."

"This would be the same Gilda in juvie for battery?"

"She didn't do it. Lawyer screwed her over." Dash muttered. "Doesn't matter anyway. Mom would definitely notice. We could go to Applejack's farm and steal some of their cider."

Sunset closed her eyes and shook her head. "Did you listen to a word I just said? Don't you have rugby practice tomorrow? Actually, aren't you in charge of rugby practice tomorrow?"

Rainbow waved her hand dismissively. "It's like, weeks till we have a real game. They'll be fine. I don't wanna just go home tonight." She scuffed her heel into the dirt. "Fine, you come up with an idea and I'll take a dump on it."

Sunset shrugged. "We could go see the new Daring Do movie."

"I already downloaded it. Spoiler alert, it sucks. I can't believe A.K. Yearling would put her name on hot garbage like that."

"We can go back to yours and play video games."

"Didn't I just say I didn't want to go home? Besides, I'm supposed to be studying at yours for next week's physics test."

"We could go to Sweet Apple Acres and beat Applejack to death with a hammer."

Rainbow chucked. "Nice idea, but she'd see it coming. I don't want to give her an excuse to shoot me in self defence." She scratched her chin. "How come I've never been to your place? You've been to mine like, a million times."

"My sister doesn't like to be disturbed when she's studying. Which is pretty much always. Besides, it's a two-room apartment. What's there to see?"

Rainbow gave a low whistle. "You're lucky to live with your sister. I bet she wouldn't give a shit if you got wasted and came home at three every night. My mom would crucify me." She flushed crimson the second the words left her mouth. "Shit. Sorry, I didn't mean to be... you know, insensitive."

"It's fine." Sunset gave a weak smile. Having supposedly dead parents was a great sympathy-spinner, but that sympathy could become grating after a while. "I don't know. I can call Flash and see if he's doing anything."

Rainbow groaned louder. "I'm not gonna sit here and play third wheel for you and Mr Perfect. Why don't you let loose for once in your life?" She seized Sunset's arm and began to drag her along. "Come on, these are the best years of our lives. You really wanna spend them studying for exams you're gonna ace anyway?"

Sunset shook the arm Dash had gripped, more amused than irritated. "And what about you?"

"Who cares about school? Don't need straight A's to be a fucking superstar. Look, that new Flim Flam place sells booze to anyone whose ID isn't drawn in crayon. Stop being such a wimp." Rainbow let go of her arm and began to tap her feet impatiently instead. Rainbow's die-hard loyalty might be admirable, but she was irritatingly impulsive. Sunset knew she would sulk for a week if she didn't get what she wanted tonight. Maybe longer.

With a deep sigh, Sunset nodded. "All right. But I'm not blowing off school tomorrow. And I'm not gonna cover your ass for you this time."

In an instant, all of Rainbow's energy was back, and she seized Sunset's arm once again. "Sweet. Good to see you still got some life left in you. Come on, I'm buying."

Sunset took another sip from the can of lager, watching with concern as Rainbow smashed her third emptied can against her forehead and tossed it over her shoulder before reaching for another can. She knew from experience Dash could drink her under the table three times over, but experience had also taught her Rainbow was even more hotheaded than usual when she drunk.

The skies had darkened quickly, leaving only the dim glow of the moon and the humming streetlights overhead as the only source of light around them. The harsh, vertical beams of light highlighted every one of Rainbow's facial features in shadow, and she could be easily mistaken for an actor illuminated by stage lights.

Dash ripped open the new can's tab and took a swig. Suddenly, she gave a low chuckle. "Well, this sucks." She tried to make a joke out of it, but she couldn't keep the misery out of her voice.

"I thought it was your idea?"

"It wasn't my idea to sit on a park bench and get hammered! Or..." She squinted. "Was it?" Shaking her head dismissively, she continued. "Whatever. It does.... doesn't matter." She glanced down at Sunset's practically untouched six-pack. "Please tell me you're gonna drink more of that."

Sunset poked the remaining cans with her foot. Rainbow loved to complain about Sunset's drinking - or lack of it. "We don't all have an alcohol problem to feed, Rainbow. I keep telling you to relax."

Rainbow grimaced in displeasure. Sunset supposed she should be more sympathetic, but this scenario had played itself out too many times for her to count. Rainbow would get too drunk, feel bad about it, then try to get Sunset drunk too so she would feel better.

"How can I relax properly when you're sitting next to me with a stick jammed right up your..." Dash trailed off as her head swivelled across the park. "Look who it is."

The hairs on Sunset's neck pricked up at the sudden shift in Rainbow's voice. She suddenly sounded more sombre, though her speech was still slurred. Sunset followed her eyes until she spotted her target. Of course.

Rainbow downed the remainder of the beer can she had somehow already managed to finish and crushed it between her hands. "Applejack."

There was no mistaking the blonde hair, cowboy hat and baffling apple-centric taste in fashion. Beside her was a broad-shouldered young man pulling a crate with "Sweet Apple Acres" painted on the side out of a pickup. Sunset had only seen him a few times before, but it only took a few seconds to recognize Big Mac. The presence of Applejack's six-foot four brother didn't seem to deter Rainbow one bit, who had begun to growl like a feral dog.

Sunset reached over and placed a firm hand on Rainbow's shoulder, trying in vain to redirect her attention. "Easy there. Just ignore her."

Rainbow responded by swatting her arm away, not taking her eyes off Applejack for a second. "As if. I never got back at her for getting me suspended."

She muttered the words, dropping her can and grinding it into the dirt as she did so before balling her hands into fists. Without warning, she sprung to her feet, staggering backwards as the blood rushed from her head. "Hey! Farm girl!"

Applejack's head turned around, her already grim expression souring further at the sight of Rainbow Dash hollering at her. She turned around once more, and Sunset saw her lips move as she muttered something to Big Mac. This only seemed to rile Rainbow Dash up further, and she took an unsteady step in the pair's direction. Sunset grabbed her arm again, more to steady her than restrain her.

"Rainbow, leave it." Rainbow's faltered. Her expression read that she'd like nothing better than to get in another fight with Applejack, but something in Sunset's voice gave her pause.

"We're not in school. You really want me to have to call your mom and tell her she has to pick you up from a police cell?"

Sunset usually avoided bringing up Rainbow's family, but this time, it worked wonders. Rainbow stopped struggling, though her eyes continued to shoot daggers at Applejack from a distance.

"Fine." Rainbow collapsed back on the park bench. "She better leave me alone. If that bitch tries to get in my face..." She continued to mutter under her breath.

"I think she got the message." Sunset breathed a sigh of relief and sat back down, grimacing as Rainbow picked up another can and tore it open. She closed her eyes and massaged her temples. A police cell would have been an optimal outcome. Rainbow might well have ended up in a hospital bed if she'd decided to fight half the Apple clan single-handedly.

Lying back on the bench, Sunset let her mind wander for a few minutes. Her serenity was broken by the sound of soft footsteps approaching. She slowly opened her eyes, almost jumping out of her skin at the sight of Big Mac standing only a few feet away from them.

"Ah! God damn it!"

Big Mac didn't look too pleased to be greeted like that, but still he didn't say anything, merely jerking his head in Rainbow Dash's direction. "Sunset Shimmer? I wanted to speak to you. Applejack don't think it's a good idea, but ah figured now might be a good time."

Sunset's head turned around to be greeted by the sight of Rainbow Dash passed out, still clutching her fifth can of beer. Great.

"I guess you'd be right." Sunset eyed Big Mac wearily. "Look, I'm sorry. She's had too much to drink, and your sister and her don't really get on."

"Ah've heard all about Rainbow Dash from my sister. And ah don't want your apology. You ain't done nothing wrong. It's her what should be apologizin', making a scene and all. But ah don't suppose that's likely." He raised an eyebrow at the expression on Sunset's face. "Thought as much."

"She's a real angel when she wants to be. So, what do you want?"

"Ah want her an' Applejack to put this whole thing behind them. Ah'm not expecting them to become best friends, but if the two of them could stop kickin' the shit out of each other every time they meet, that's good enough for me."

Sunset glanced back at the passed out figure beside her. As the two of them watched, Rainbow muttered something that sounded remarkably like 'Applejack' in her sleep, before making a violent punching gesture.

"That might take some work." She squinted at Big Mac. "Why now? I mean, this has been going on for months."

Big Mac threw his thumb over his shoulder. "We was just dropping off some cider for the restaurant across the street when Rainbow decides to kick off. Ah don't care about schoolyard fights, but ah can't have them going at it when we're working. If we start getting into brawls during deliveries, folks are gonna stop buying from us. Can't let that happen." He eyed Dash with dislike. "That beating your friend gave my sister a few months ago was bad enough. Had to make deliveries on my own for a week."

Sunset cringed with embarrassment. "Yeah, I remember that. I get it. I'll try to talk her out of... it." She finished weakly.

Big Mac still didn't seem entirely convinced, but he gave her an appreciative nod anyway. "Thank you." He turned and walked two steps before turning to face her again.

"Do y'all want a lift? Ah just..." His eyes rested on the unconscious form of Rainbow Dash. "Ah don't know if I'd feel right letting y'all just walk home. I'm sure Applejack can keep the peace for the journey."

Sunset paused, before nodding slowly. "All right. But don't tell Rainbow I let you drive us home. She'd never trust me again."

Big Mac gave her a sheepish grin, scratching the back of his neck. "You got it."

Sunset directed them to Rainbow's house first, anxious not to give Applejack a chance to get her own back while Rainbow was still sleeping. Applejack, meanwhile, said nothing during the ride, merely sat silently in the passenger seat, hat tilted downwards to obscure her face. Mercifully, Rainbow didn't wake up on the ride over.

Resisting the urge to simply drop Rainbow on the doorstep, ring the bell and bolt, Sunset spent a few minutes helping Rainbow's mother heave her up the stairs and into her bed. To her relief, Windy Whistles didn't even try to lecture her, merely muttered a few words of thanks and showed her the door.

The drive back to Shim's apartment was as awkward as ever. Applejack broke her silence to argue in hushed tones with Big Mac for most of the drive, and both of then kept slipping her furtive looks they thought she couldn't see. Sunset breathed a sigh of relief as they pulled up outside the apartment complex. She took her time waving her thanks, waiting until the pickup was safely out of view. She definitely didn't want them knowing what flat she lived in.

The light outside Shim's flat hadn't worked for a few weeks now, shrouding the door in darkness to the extent that she didn't notice anything was wrong until she was a foot away. A folded sheet of paper had been taped to the door. Sunset frowned. It certainly hadn't been there when she'd returned earlier this afternoon. Probably a neighbour complaining about Shim's atrocious parking. Again.

Slowly, she ripped the sheet loose and unfolded it, breath catching in her throat as she saw what was inside. A crude depiction of her in pony form, complete with horn and cutie mark, rested above a message scribbled underneath in rough, spider-like handwriting.

We know.

Sunset slammed the door behind her, heart pounding so fast it threatened to rip straight out of her chest. She gripped the note in her fist, before crushing it and letting it drop to the floor.

Who!?! She was certain she hadn't been followed through the portal - unless Celestia had sent somepony after her. No, impossible. Shim had been waiting for her outside the portal, she would have seen anypony else come through. Why wait until now to make their move? And why would they warn her? And who was 'we'?

Sunset fought to keep her breathing under control as she wracked her brains. Shim was the only person who knew about her real origins - she was certain of that. Could she have told someone else?

Of course, that must have been it. Silently, Sunset cursed herself for trusting a human. She should go into Shim's room now and murder her. She didn't have her magic, but a sharp kitchen knife would do the job. She could dispose of the body tomorrow and hunt down her co-conspirators later.

But there was still the possibility that Shim was innocent. She couldn't afford to make any rash moves - in fact, that note was probably meant to scare her into acting too quickly. Silently, Sunset dropped to one knee and picked the note back up. Unfolding the crumpled ball, she studied the picture more intensely.

It was pretty accurate. Too accurate. And there were details Shim couldn't possibly have known. Her manestyle was correct. Shim knew about her cutie mark, but Sunset had never mentioned the size and exact location. It was even the right way around. The handwriting was crude and childlike, as if the author hadn't much experience writing with their hand.

But if not Shim, who? Sunset slowly folded the note and slipped it into her pocket. Of course, there could be another portal she didn't know about. But if Celestia wanted her hunted down, she wouldn't play games with her. There were plenty of times her spies could have abducted her and dragged her back to Equestria. Unless this was their way of putting her on edge so she would be more likely to slip up. The more she considered this idea, the more she became convinced. This note was a psychological weapon, not a heads-up.

Sunset parted the curtain on the nearest window and stared through at the motionless night. Drawing the bolt across the front door, she slid down the wall and pulled her knees inwards, mind racing. She needed to be careful. To start, she should avoid being alone in the future. Like tonight. It was lucky Big Mac had offered her a lift. She would have been easy prey trying to drag Rainbow home by herself.

But it wasn't enough to just hide. She had to do something. If she didn't want to spend the next two years looking over her shoulder, she needed to find who had been sent after her and kill them. And to do that, she needed to lure them out.

Walking into the kitchen, Sunset pulled open the cutlery draw and pulled out a short, thick, pointed knife. Just the weight of it in her hand made her feel a little better. She ran the tip of her finger down the spine. It would be an unpleasant, bloody affair killing someone with it, but at least now she wasn't completely defenceless. If only she had her magic!

And what if they did? Sunset's heart skipped a beat at the thought. If her assailants had bought Equestrian artefacts with them, it was even more important to deal with them as quickly as possible. She knew she wouldn't stand a chance against a magic user in a head on fight, but if she could dispatch at least one of them and steal their artefact, she could face an army of Royal Guards without a scratch.

She strengthened her grip on the knife, feeling a sharp bite as her nails dug into her palms. For some reason, she gave a shaky laugh as she remembered how her biggest problem an hour ago had been Rainbow and Applejack's drama. Talk about raised stakes. Forcing herself to refocus, she slowly laid the knife down on the kitchen table. Before she made any moves, she needed a plan. And more than that, right now, she needed rest. She could strategize tomorrow.

She hadn't expected to be able to sleep so easily, but as soon as her head hit the couch, the strength drained from her body, and she found her eyelids drooping. Sleep followed quickly after, a blanket of peace extinguishing the fire that had been lit inside her.

Sunset tossed in her sleep, her dreams filled with anxiety and dread. More than once, she awoke in a cold sweat, scanning the darkness for watching eyes, expecting assailants to leap from the shadows and seize her at any moment. The moon rose further still in the sky as she slept, illuminating the world in a sombre glow. As it reached its zenith, a figure in jeans and a loose-fitting hoodie slipped out of the darkness surrounding the apartment.

Pulling a torch from their waistband, they flashed the beam in the direction of the apartment door, nodding in satisfaction when they saw the notice had disappeared. Phase one was a go.

Of course, it could have been removed by the twin, but it wouldn't matter. The target would get the message anyway. It took all their resolve to fight the urge to break the door down and seize her as she slept. The wrong move would be catastrophic. Better to wait for the right opportunity.

Celestia knows they'd waited long enough.

X:Djinn

Shim shut her eyes and squeezed the bridge of her nose, before removing her glasses and setting them down next to her laptop. She scrolled wearily through the progress she'd made in the last two hours, heart sinking as she realized how little of substance she'd actually written.

Standing up, she stretched, before shuffling lazily over to the sink and filling the kettle. Setting it to boil, her gaze flew around the room before resting on Sunset, who was still passed out on her couch. Whatever she'd been doing last night, it had taken a serious toll on her.

The kettle began to whistle. Shim pulled open her cupboards and pulled out a near-depleted bag of ground coffee. Now that she thought about it, Sunset hadn't mentioned anything about magic for the past few months. Was she really planning to live here for the next two years as a high schooler? Shim frowned at the thought. She might have been too hasty in offering her a place to stay.

Returning to her desk with a steaming mug of coffee, she set it down before glancing at her watch. It was just past one. She was supposed to call her supervisor today and detail her progress. Of course, she hadn't officially arranged to change the title of her thesis. Or notified her supervisor she'd done so. After all, "the discovery of magic" was going to be a hard sell. She'd need to have some serious evidence when she tried to cross that bridge.

Beatrix hadn't been any help, either. After months of coaxing, Shim had finally convinced her to visit the portal, on the condition they did it at the dead of night in the middle of the school holiday.

"This is it?"

Beatrix dropped her rucksack, squinting disbelievingly at the statue. "I was expecting..."

"Expecting what?" Shim shone her torch over the statue base, eyes darting back and forth, constantly scanning the darkness around them for any sign of motion. Next to her, Beatrix shrugged.

"Something, I guess. A kind of signal, or presence. This might not be the best time to mention it, but I've never actually come across an interdimensional portal before."

Shim glanced around once more before turning the torch off. Beatrix stepped forwards and laid her hand against the statue, quietly muttering something under her breath. Retracting her hand, she frowned. "Well, it's locked for sure. But it's... it's strange. I've never come across anything like it."

"Well, are you going to try and close it?" Shim couldn't keep the urgency out of her voice.

"I - I don't know where to start!" Beatrix sounded distressed. Reaching into her pocket, she removed the kaduceus she'd brought with her - a simple steel necklace - laced it around her neck, and began to mutter under her breath at surprising speed, her voice gradually growing louder and more erratic. Shim glanced around, wondering how she could possibly explain this situation to any passers-by.

The words coming from Beatrix's mouth didn't sound like they belonged to any human language, nor did they sound like any sound a human being could have naturally made, filled with animalistic snarls and inhuman shifts in pitch. If a cat was thrown into a spinning blender, it would likely have made the same noise.

Beatrix practically shouted the last few words before coming to an abrupt halt. Breathing heavily, she kicked the statue's base in frustration. "Shim, are you sure this is the place?"

"Am I sure this is the same statue I saw people come out of? Yeah, I'm pretty sure."

"But there's nothing here! It's just a statue!"

Casting her mind back to what Sunset had told her, Shim felt a strange mixture of relief and disappointment. "Couldn't it be hidden, or disguised?"

Beatrix shook her head. "No. I mean, it could. But it would still respond to a probing like that. If you're sure this is the place..." She tugged absent-mindedly at a strand of hair, deep in thought. "Maybe someone on the other side closed it. What about those reader thingies you set up here?"

"The EMF meters? I checked this morning. The signal's still coming through. No sign it's been shut down. Look, maybe we should just get out of here..." Beatrix held up a hand, causing her to trail off.

"I had a contingency plan." Beatrix squatted down and unzipped the rucksack she'd brought with her. Shim wasn't sure what she'd been expecting Beatrix to bring, but the claw hammer and chisel she produced had been pretty much the last thing she would have guessed. Beatrix glanced back at her. "I'm going to need your help."

"You're joking."

"The portal is probably just an enchanted rock. Without their physical body, enchantments can't sustain themselves." Beatrix pulled out a crowbar and handheld pickaxe. "If I'd known it was going to be this big, I'd have brought a sledgehammer."

"Are you listening to yourself? You want to spend the next few hours smashing up a public statue?" Shim's gaze flickered around the darkness once more. "What if someone sees us?"

"First of all, it's not going to take hours. I still have my magic; with that I can be over and done with this in ten minutes. I want you to keep watch while I do. If anyone comes along, just give me a shout. I'll handle it."

Shim had no doubt Beatrix was capable of destroying the portal, but that didn't reassure her one bit. Without the portal, her research was sunk. "Wait!"

Beatrix paused, hammer in hand. "What now?"

Mind racing, Shim simply blurted out the first excuse that came to her mind. "How do you know this won't make things worse?"

Beatrix squinted at her. "You're kidding, right? People are coming through from the Discordant. That's pretty much as bad as it gets."

"But they don't know... that you know that, do they?" Shim blustered. "If you destroy that portal, they'll know they've been found out. They can make another portal easily." Her voice slowly grew in strength, and she saw Beatrix hesitate. "All you'd be doing is handing them information and losing track of where their main portal is."

"Maybe." Beatrix lowered the hammer. "Or maybe not. Making these portals might be too resource-intensive for them to do it again."

"Are you willing to take that risk? We don't know anything about their world, just that it's home to a bloodthirsty megalomaniac and some kind of chaos god. They might be able to crank a hundred of these out a day. Why chance it?"

To Shim's amazement, Beatrix slowly nodded. "I didn't think of that. I guess you're right. Damn, when were you going to speak up?"

Shim breathed a sigh of relief. "it just hit me now. Guess we should think more before we act." She glanced back at the statue. "What are you going to do about that, then?"

"Keep an eye on it. Although since it only opens every thirty moons, it shouldn't be too much work. Normally my family buys magical objects we can't destroy, but it would probably give the game away if the next patrol stepped out onto my front lawn."

The sound of snapping twigs made the pair of them jump. Beatrix and Shim glanced at each other.

"Let's get out of here."

Of course, it had been a waste of their time, just as Sunset had said it would be. Still, now that she was free from her family's clutches, Beatrix been almost bearable to deal with.

The wedding had been just as miserable as Sunset had feared it would be. Beatrix and Valentina had both had perpetual scowls on their faces the whole time, and she was pretty sure she'd heard Sunburst crying hysterically in the bathroom at one point. At least his mother hadn't insisted on walking him down the aisle.

Idly, Shim returned to her work, making minimal progress as she counted the minutes down. Half an hour passed before Sunset woke up, scrambling to her feet with a yell as she glanced at the clock. Absent-mindedly, Shim glanced over her shoulder. "You all right?"

"Any reason why you decided not to wake me up sooner?" Sunset snapped back, collapsing back onto the sofa in defeat. Shim merely shrugged, not taking her eyes of the screen in front of her.

"You looked like you could use the rest. Besides, since when have you needed me to wake you up?"

Sunset grumbled but didn't respond, the events of last night too fresh in her mind for her to focus on anything else. "Never mind. I'm going out. I - I need some fresh air." Stuffing her phone, wallet and keys into her pockets, Sunset strode across the room, wrenched open the front door and was gone in a matter of seconds. The sound of the door slamming echoed across the silent room, much to Shim's annoyance.

There was no point in delaying it any longer. Picking up her phone, Shim sighed and began to punch in her supervisor's number.

Sunset couldn't focus. The world around her seemed to shake as her eyes shot frantically from side to side, scanning every possible corner for assailants. The kitchen knife was still tucked into her waistband, but all the confidence it had given her last night evaporated as she realized just how vulnerable she was to an ambush.

Stepping up her pace, she ducked into a narrow alley, glancing behind her after a few steps to make sure she wasn't being followed. When she saw nothing, she breathed out slowly and leant against a nearby dustbin to steady herself.

This was insane. She couldn't even see straight, let alone defend herself. Of course, this was presumably exactly what her trail wanted. To wear her down before striking when she least expected it. Glancing around at the empty alley, she realized it would be the perfect place to strike. Did that mean nobody was watching? Or was it just another elaborate mind game?

bzzt. bzzt.

Sunset fished her phone out of her pocket. Rainbow Dash. Stabbing her thumb down on Accept, she took a second to compose herself before answering.

"Rainbow?"

"The one and only. Didn't catch you at school today. How the tables have turned."

Sunset couldn't help but give a weak laugh. "Well, one of us had to stay up and drag the other back home."

"Yeahhh... Look, I'm sorry about that. I know I say that every time. But I really mean it this time."

"Sure." Sunset muttered, only half-listening. Emerging from the alley, she kept walking. Somehow, it was much easier to focus when Rainbow was listening to her every word. But being in a group would be even better.

"You doing anything right now?"

"Actually, yeah. I'm busy being grounded for a week. My mom is pissed." Unbelievably, Dash actually sounded slightly remorseful. "Sorry."

"No, it's fine." Sunset muttered, grinding her teeth. "Look, I gotta go. I'll speak to you some other time."

"Oh." Dash couldn't quite hide her disappointment. "I-"

Ignoring her, Sunset disconnected the line and began scrolling through her contacts.

Flash Sentry rested awkwardly on the end of his bed. He'd known Sunset long enough to know what was normal for her, and this... this was the exact opposite of normal.

"So..." As soon as the words left his mouth, he immediately wished he'd kept it shut. Sunset stopped peering out of the window for a second to glance over her shoulder at him. "Are you going to tell me what's going on here?"

"What? Nothing." Sunset resumed staring intently out the window, eyes darting back and forth. Suddenly, she nodded, seemingly satisfied. Drawing the curtains, she collapsed on the bed next to him. "Can I stay here tonight?"

Flash's face paled. "What?"

"Can I stay here? I... I had an argument with my sister. I just thought I might give her some space. You know?"

"I... we don't actually have a spare room..."

Sunset gestured at the room around them. "I can sleep here, right?"

A visceral image of his mother's reaction to this proposition passed through Flash's mind. "I can't see my parents going for that."

Though there was little light in the room, Flash could feel the glare Sunset shot him burning a hole in the side of his head. "Don't get any ideas."

Flash shrugged. "I thought you got on really well with your sister. Now you're telling me you can't spend another night with her?"

Sunset sighed, lying back down. "Yeah, usually. I just..." She considered her next words. "I'm wondering if it's even worth salvaging."

Flash glanced at her, surprised. "That bad?"

Sunset nodded. "It's like we've grown apart. When we were younger, we had more in common. I guess you could say we both wanted the same thing out of life." She sighed. "But that was then. It's more complicated now."

Flash laid down next to her. Sunset was half expecting him to make a move on her, but to her relief he just laid there silently. She paused for a moment, trying to decide how to continue.

"She's got new friends, a new job, and now I can't help but feel we just drag each other down. I mean, I have to think about my future. Sometimes, that means choosing your future over other people."

Flash slowly nodded. "I guess? I mean, that's a. lot to deal with. I'm not gonna pretend I know what to say, but I still reckon you should think hard about it before you go and cut off the only family you have left."

Sunset grimaced. "She wasn't much of a sister. I mean, neither was I. Guess I didn't know how much she'd changed before I came here. My real family's back where I came from."

Flash nodded. "Why did you come here, anyway?"

Sunset swallowed the lump rising in her throat, determined to retain her clarity in front of Flash. "Didn't have much choice. Disappointed everyone back home. Even if I went back, they won't want anything to do with me."

"That bad back home too?" Flash chuckled. "You got a history of burning everything you touch down?"

Sunset nodded. "I guess. But if I make something of myself here... it won't matter, will it? That's how it works, right? When you're rich and powerful, nobody cares who you were."

"You really think that?"

"I know it."

Flash shook his head. "I don't know. I'd like to think you weren't right, but you probably are." He let out a low sigh. "You can stay over tonight. It was kind of dickish of me to say no. Just keep it down in here, unless you want to get thrown out at two in the morning."

Pushing himself upright, he turned around and extended Sunset his hand. "Anyway, this is getting too deep for me. You wanna watch the new Daring Do movie? Torrented it last night."

Sunset let out a groan, a smile spreading across her face despite it. "Daring Do and the Empire of the Sapphire Crown? You know it sucks, right?"

"Yeah. But at least it's not going to give me existential dread when I'm watching it."

A sharp knocking sound caused Shim to look up from her work. Sunset had her own key, and she hadn't been expecting any visitors. Door-to-door salesmen? Certainly not this late. Religious kooks? Hopefully not.

Approaching the door with caution, she peered through the spyhole. For a fleeting moment, she could see nothing but a black coat and small duffel bag. Then, an unmistakable lock of snow-white hair fell into sight. Beatrix.

Her eyes lit up as the door opened. "Shim! Oh, thank God you're in. I was worried for a moment." Her eyes slid past her into the messy apartment, nose wrinkling with distaste. "I need to talk to you about something. Can I come in?"

Shim blinked, surprised at this new development. "What? Have you figured something out?"

"You could say that. Could I come in? It's going to take a while to explain."

Shim stepped back, gesturing for her to enter. "Sure."

Beatrix entered, eyes widening slightly as she realized how much of a tip the apartment was, though she didn't say anything. Shim closed the door behind her. "This really couldn't have waited till morning?"

Beatrix unzipped the duffel bag and pulled out the same crystal orb she'd used the first time the two of them had met. Weighing it in her hand, she ran her eyes up and down Shim before dropping the bag to the floor.

"Absolutely not. Trust me, I've been dying to share this one with you."

XI:Changeling

The door to the apartment opened slowly, the woman behind it glancing nervously back and forth as she stepped forth from it, as if making sure she wasn't being followed. Clutching her bag with a vice-like grip, she stepped out of the doorway and returned to her car. Unlocking the doors, Beatrix threw her bag onto the passenger side, before pausing once more to glance around.

She was certain nobody had seen them, but that didn't make her feel any more at ease. Today had taken weeks of planning, and the last thing she needed was for all her efforts to be ruined by some busybody seeing more than they were supposed to. Her eyes scanned the darkness, straining to see anything in the dim light the lunar glow afforded.

Satisfied she was unsurveilled by prying eyes, Beatrix got back in and started the engine, a quiet smile crossing her face as she heard the engine roar to life. All of her efforts would be well rewarded, of course. And, with Shim's assistance, there was nothing more left to do.

Sunset spent the night fluttering in and out of sleep, never truly able to relax. Every time she woke, she shot straight up in bed, heart leaping out of her mouth as she waited for assailants that never came. It didn't help to see Flash sleeping like a log on the floor, either. With each passing minute, it became clearer to her that she was no safer here than back home.

Slowly but surely, dawn arrived, the first beams of sunlight from the breaking sun bringing an abrupt end to any hopes she might have had of getting any more sleep. Getting dressed as silently as she could, Sunset tiptoed downstairs and slipped out of the front door. All things considered, she'd sooner face her hunters than explain her presence to Flash's parents.

As soon as she stepped out the front door, she felt her heart begin to race once more. Exhausted, disoriented, and with a long walk home ahead of her, Sunset had once found herself a sitting duck. Silently cursing herself for her total lack of foresight, she pulled her hood up and set off at a brisk pace.

The hilt of the kitchen knife digging into her stomach was a constant nagging reminder that she was no closer to solving the riddles of her stalker than she had been yesterday. Yet at the same time, she could feel some of the initial anxiety abating after two nights of nothing. Her mind became clearer with every step, and she began to turn the events of the past fourty-eight hours over in her head with fresh clarity.

A Royal Guard detachment would have surely arrested her by now. Even if they hadn't known where she'd slept last night, they would have had ample opportunity over the past six months. So, she wasn't about to be attacked by Celestia's agents - a realization that filled her with a strange mix of relief and disappointment. Although she wouldn't have to face off against a team of trained soldiers, she also wouldn't be getting her hands on an Equestrian artefact any time soon.

And yet, the note had clearly been drawn by somepony who knew her from Equestria. There was no way they could have recreated her likeness so specifically otherwise. Another castaway? Possible, but unlikely. The Crystal Mirror had been a closely guarded secret by Celestia, and she had controlled entry - and presumably exit - with an iron hoof.

Of course, all of this was pure conjecture. Sunset was just wildly speculating - she should focus on the specifics. Namely, that whoever had left the note was afraid to face her one-to-one. Instead, they opted to play psychological games from the shadows. What did that prove? That they were weak. If 'they' were even operating as a group at all.

The number one rule of countering psychological warfare, of course, was not to play along. Sunset should ignore the note, and any others that followed. Instead, she should try to force a confrontation, be as bold as possible. Whatever they were trying to make her do, she should do the opposite. As long as she didn't lose her cool, she was winning.

And she should tell Shim. In fact, she should have told her from the beginning. Despite everything, the two of them had plenty of common interests. One of which was not getting abducted by interdimensional hitmen.

After two nights of unease and paranoia, this realization filled her with no small measure of relief. Rounding a corner with a fresh spring in her step, Sunset reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. She should call Rainbow Dash and apologize hanging up so suddenly last night.

"Shim?"

Unusually, Shim didn't have her face buried in a book or a stack of papers, nor was she hunched over her laptop. Instead, she was reclining on a chair, in which she almost fell over backwards when Sunset walked in. Gripping the armrests as if her life depended upon it, her eyes widened and face visibly paled as she saw Sunset standing in the doorway.

Sunset froze in the doorway, completely thrown by her reaction. "Sorry! Didn't mean to surprise you. Are you all right?"

It took a few seconds from Shim to respond. When she did, Sunset was surprised to hear an unusual hoarseness to her voice, as if she had spent the past few hours talking to herself - though, knowing Shim, that was entirely possible. "No. No, I'm... fine. Didn't get much sleep last night."

She looked like it. Shim's hair was even more frazzled than usual, and her eyes were completely bloodshot, encircled with thick dark bags that seemed to age her a thousand years. Yet despite her unkempt appearance, Sunset could see a manic happiness dancing behind her eyes, and her whole body seemed to strain with newfound energy.

Unable to hide her unease, Sunset walked past her and entered the kitchen. As usual, it was a wreck, but it seemed that in addition to the usual endless stacks of dirty dishes and bags of trash, the cupboards and fridge had been systemically raided, their emptied contents either lying on the floor or haphazardly piled up on the counter. "Sheesh. Is there anything left in?"

"Probably." Shim didn't take her eyes off Sunset for even a second, shifting around in her seat to face her at all times. Sunset stooped down and pulled a bag of oats from one of the cupboards. Tossing them onto the counter, she flipped the kettle on to boil and turned around once more.

"I hope you didn't stay awake for me. I was staying with my... with a friend. I was thinking some things over last night, and I - I have to tell you something."

Once again, Sunset was surprised to see Shim merely nod, giving her a look that might be best described as fascination. Pulling the note from her pocket, Sunset unfolded it and laid it flat on the table. Shim stared at it for a few moments, eyes widening.

"What is this?"

"It's nothing. Just a scare tactic." Sunset tapped the picture of her in pony form. "This is the bit that gets me. It's too accurate to be based off some brief description or anything like that. I think whoever sent this letter is somepony who knew me back in my home world."

"Your home world?" Shim sounded both surprised and skeptical. "You mean you're..." She stopped. "Never mind. Do you have any idea who it could be?"

Sunset shook her head. "I mean, I wasn't all that sociable back then. Ponies knew who I was - kind of hard when you're the Princess' student and all. But there's no way I could name every single person it could be."

Shaking her head, Shim's fingers grasped at her chin, as if pulling at the air around her face. "Fine. So, what are we going to do about them?"

The kettle's whistling slowly grew louder and louder as the water reached boiling point. As Sunset went to take it off the heat, she could feel Shim's gaze boring into the back of her skull. Returning to the table with a steaming bowl of porridge, she took in a few spoonful's before responding.

"I have an idea. About how to catch them, that is. Question is, what are we going to do with them when we catch them?"

Shim gave her an incredulous look. "Kill them."

Sunset almost choked on her mouthful at the curt and heartless measure of Shim's response. Even if she herself had been thinking the same thing, it was quite a surprise to hear the brutish sentiment echoed by the normally gentle, mild-mannered woman sitting opposite her.

"I... I mean... Wow. That's one solution."

"It's the only solution. What's the alternative? You think we should sit them down and have a discussion?"

Privately, Sunset agreed, but a part of her still couldn't believe what she was hearing. She had expected Shim to put up an enormous fight over this issue, maybe even threaten to turn her in to the police. Perhaps her moral compass wasn't as rigid as Sunset had once believed. Or maybe she, too, was feeling the stress of being hunted by shadowy interdimensional vigilantes.

Shim tapped the table again, the irritation in her voice obvious. "Come on, then. What's your plan?"

Shaking her head, Sunset put aside her musing. "They'll be watching this place. I'm sure of it. But they haven't come breaking down the door yet, so they're waiting for the perfect moment. So, if we give them that perfect moment, we should be able to trick them into doing something hasty."

Shim looked unimpressed. "And what perfect moment would this be?"

"I don't know. We only get one chance to trick them, they're not going to fall for it twice. So, whatever we pick, it has to be a good choice." Sunset gave a weak smile as she realized how half-formed her plan must sound to Shim. "Any suggestions?"

Shim sighed. "It's not a bad idea. But it has to be timed right. How long ago did you get this note?"

"Two days ago. You think we should wait longer?"

Shim held a hand up. "We need to make them think they're running out of time. Make them think they're competing with someone else. Go and write another note, one that looks like this, but more threatening. Attach it to the door whenever you think we aren't being watched."

Tapping her fingers on the table, Shim's brow furrowed in thought. "That ought to put them on edge. Let's say we give it a week after that. If they haven't slipped up, we fake an overnight raid. Take the door off its hinges, maybe break one of the windows, stuff like that. That should bring them sniffing around. Sound good?"

Sunset nodded slowly, impressed at the speed with which Shim had come up with this scheme. "What if they're watching us round-the-clock? They might have people on shift. We might not..." She trailed off as Shim shook her head. "You don't think so?"

"I seriously doubt it." She tapped the note with her finger. "You're one person, and they've had ample opportunity to snatch you. You said it yourself, they want to put you on edge because they're too afraid to take you head on. If they were operating as a group, they wouldn't waste their time on these games. Just do what I say and we'll be fine."

Something in her voice raised Sunset's hackles - how dare Shim lecture her with that condescending tone? - but she ignored it. Of course, what she said made sense. In fact, it was a better plan than she'd been able to come up with. Running her fingers through her hair, she grimaced at the feeling of oil and grit coating her fingers reminding her that she hadn't bathed in nearly three days. "I need a shower. I'll write that note, but I'm not expecting miracles."

Shim merely shrugged in response.

Stepping out of the blessing that was her hot shower, Sunset became aware of the soft sounds of talking coming from somewhere else in the apartment. Grabbing a towel and running it through her hair, she paused momentarily, trying to make out some of the words being said. Nothing more than an indistinct murmur made it to hear ears.

Wrapping the towel around herself, she opened the bathroom door a fraction, the murmur slowly growing louder and more distinct.

"... like I said. No, I wasn't expecting it either. But how could you not know?! I thought you'd been keeping a watch on the place for weeks!"

Shim paused, listening to a response. Sunset waited silently, hoping to catch more.

"No. There's another problem I have to deal with before I do that." A pause. "Nothing that concerns you. Besides, I need to make sure there won't be any consequences before we act. Can't have everything being messed up now. No, she's in the shower. Fine. Another time." A faint electronic beep was followed by the sound of footsteps and a closing door.

Pulling her clothes back on, Sunset returned to the kitchen. Shim was nowhere to be seen, but a small, cheap-looking phone laid on the kitchen table, apparently unlocked. Hesitantly, Sunset reached out and picked it up. The phone's call history listed only one phone call - to a phone number saved only as "B". Beatrix? Or someone else? Sunset had been under the impression Beatrix didn't know she existed. And besides, Shim had her own phone - what did she need a spare for?

A chill ran down Sunset's spine as she sifted through the phone's contents. No texts, no emails, no photos, nothing. So, not just a spare, but new. She cycled through the phone's various apps, curiosity mounting. Was Shim worried Sunset was monitoring her phone calls? And if so, why? What was Shim discussing that she didn't want her to know about?

The sound of a door handle turning was what caused Sunset to jump. The motion jolted the phone out of her hands, sending it slipping through her fingers and clattering onto the floor before coming to rest incriminatingly at her feet. Shim emerged from her room, eyes widening, then narrowing, at the scene. "What are you doing?"

She didn't raise her voice, but she didn't need to. Her voice was pure venom, yet mixed with a sense of incredulity, as if astonished by the impudence of Sunset's actions. Sunset raised her hands, stepping away from the phone. "Sorry, I just... I was just looking."

Shim strode across the room and picked the phone up, stuffing it into her pocket. "It's just a temporary phone. None of your business." She glanced at the phone's screen. "I'm going out. Need to pick some things up. I'm sure you can fend for yourself for a few hours."

"You're getting a new phone? Didn't you buy your old one, like, a month ago?"

"I dropped it." Shim brushed the question aside, grabbing her coat and making her way to the front door. "Go and write that note. I won't be back for a few hours, so don't wait up." The door slammed behind her with such force it seemed to shake the entire apartment.

Sunset stood in place for a few minutes, digesting what she had just seen. One part of her wanted to just let it slide - it wasn't any of her business, Shim had made that clear. For all Sunset knew, it really was just a temporary phone. Most people would have the same reaction if they found someone going through their possessions.

But it was the contents of the phone call worried her. If Beatrix knew she existed, there was always the chance she might decide to come tying up loose ends. And what did she mean, "keeping watch"? How many people could be watching one apartment? And what else was Beatrix planning?

She needed to do something. Anything. But not just yet. After all, Shim and her had a common problem in the form of her Equestrian stalker. Better to deal with that together. After that, all bets were off.

Retrieving a pad of paper and some pens from a cupboard, Sunset spent the new few minutes coming up with a suitably threatening note to pin to the door. She finished with a crude drawing of her as a human with a cross through her head, and a death threat underneath invoking both her name and several colourful metaphors. Hopefully, it would be more than enough.

For the next few minutes, Sunset simply laid back on a chair, closed her eyes, and emptied her mind. Not having to worry about who was going to stick a knife in her back next was a luxury she dearly missed.

The sound of her phone going off was what sucked her out of her personal darkness. A text from Rainbow Dash, all but begging her to visit. A quiet chuckle slipped past her lips at the image of Dash (possibly literally) bouncing off the walls. Rainbow usually wasn't satisfied unless she'd run a half-marathon before lunch. Her fingers danced across the keypad.

Just finishing off crankys worksheet. Will c u in a few. Ur lucky I'm so organized.

As her hand rested on the front door's handle, she glanced back at the note she'd written. She had planned to post it at midnight - but the sooner, the better.

Opening the door, she scanned the surrounding street. There was no sign of unusual movement - a couple pushing a baby stroller, a cat lazily relaxing atop a parked car, and a flock of birds fighting over a sandwich someone had dropped. She hesitated for a second, before deciding.

Grabbing the pad of paper, she tore off the sheet she'd written on and attached it to the door with a few measures of tape. The second she was sure it was secure, she set off at a brisk pace, heart beating. She was certain she hadn't been seen, but that did nothing to calm her furiously beating heart. Fighting desperately to avoid appearing in any way suspicious, she descended the flight of stairs that lead onto the main street.

It was Rainbow's mother, Windy Whistles, who answered the door. She didn't look too happy to see Sunset, but let her in nevertheless. There were heavy bags under her eyes, and her short hair was limp and lifeless. Her name was neatly written on a tag afixed to the uniform she still had on, and she smelt strongly of cleaning chemicals.

"Rainbow's in her room. Can I get you a cup of coffee?"

Sunset nodded gracefully. "Thanks. How's Bow?"

"He's asleep. You girls don't wake him, you hear? He's got a full shift tonight, and the last thing he needs is to be disturbed." The kettle began to whistle, and Windy turned around to pour two cups of coffee. "Milk or sugar?"

"Both, please." Sunset glanced around at the kitchen. It was cramped, but well-lived. Family pictures seemed to hang from every spare inch of wall space, though notably Rainbow didn't appear to be much older than 10 in every picture she appeared in.

Windy set the steaming mug down in front of her, before taking up the adjacent seat and closing her eyes. Her fingers wrapped themselves around her mug. A powerful smell of coffee emanated from it, though not quite powerful enough to overpower the smell of whisky. "Actually, maybe it's best if the two of you get out of here. Give us both some peace of mind."

Sunset took a light sip from her cup. "Isn't Rainbow still grounded?"

Windy gave a light laugh. "Yes, she is. I'm trusting on you to keep her in line. No brawls, no underage drinking, and no weed. Don't think I don't know what my daughter gets up to when I'm not around. But I have to say, I expected more from you."

Sunset lowered her gaze. "Sorry. But I do try and keep her in line. Last time would have been ten times worse if I hadn't been there."

Windy took a deep drink from her mug, shuddering slightly as she did so. "I don't doubt it." Her eyes darted to the side. "Speak of the devil."

Rainbow stood in the kitchen doorway. She was dressed in loose-fitting athletic gear, her hoodie drawn over her head. "Sunset. Mom."

"How generous of you to grace us with your presence." Windy glanced at the clock, sighing. "Against my better judgement, I'm letting you out of the coop early to spare your father. But you will be back here by nine, or so help me, you'll be grounded for a month. Understand?"

Dash's eyes lit up. "Great! Uh, I mean... sure. Whatever you say, mom." She jerked her head towards the door, staring pointedly at Sunset. "See you outside?"

Sunset nodded, draining her mug in one swift motion as Dash bolted in the background with an ear-splitting whoop. "Thanks for the coffee. I... I have to go."

Windy grimaced. "No problem. Just... don't let me down." She made an attempt at a smile, before giving up midway and waving her away. "You two enjoy yourselves."

Sunset gave her a sympathetic smile and left, closing the door silently behind her. The second she stepped outside, an ecstatic Rainbow grabbed her and dragged her into a rib-crushing hug, squealing with delight.

"You. Are. Fucking. AWESOME!" Releasing her, Rainbow gave her a friendly punch in the shoulder. "I should have known you'd be able to get me out of there. You can talk your way out of anything." She gave a deep bow in mock worship. "Teach me your ways, Master Shimmer."

Sunset couldn't help but laugh. "That's Mistress Shimmer to you. And I didn't do anything. Like your mom said, she's sparing your dad from us."

Rainbow snorted. "Yeah, right. All she's talked about since I got grounded was about how wonderful you are and how much she wishes you were her daughter instead. Well, not really, but you know what I mean." She adopted a simpering accent. "She's such a good student, so well behaved, so polite, so kind for walking you home." Rainbow stopped, grimacing at herself. "But, y'know, thanks for not dumping me on some park bench, I guess."

Sunset pursed her lips but decided not to rock the boat this early. As she'd hoped, Rainbow had no idea she'd been driven home by the apple clan. "No worries. You'd do the same for me, right?"

Rainbow gave a wide, obviously fake smile. "Oh, yeah. Totally. So, what are we gonna do? I mean, we should probably try not to fuck things up too early. I can wait till school on Monday to hospitalize Applejack."

"Yeah, about that." Sunset paused, wondering how best to put Big Mac's proposition to Rainbow. As Sunset deliberated, Dash raised her eyebrows.

"What?"

"Look... how would you feel about putting it behind you? You and Applejack. I was... I was talking to Big Mac yesterday, and he wants you two to pack it in. Applejack too." Seeing the thunderous expression on Rainbow's face, she held her hands up. "I'm not saying you have to be friends. Hell, you don't even have to apologize. Just stop trying to murder each other."

"Bullshit. I know Applejack, she doesn't do armistices. Why would she ever want to 'put it behind her'?"

"They've got a farm to run, you know. I guess they're tired of you periodically crippling one of their good workhands." Privately, Sunset couldn't blame them.

"Why should I care?" Rainbow sneered. "You can tell those yokels I'll put it behind me when AJ's willing to admit she was wrong and apologize. Until then, don't even bother." Turning her back to Sunset, she stormed off. Sunset sighed and followed suit.

Author's Note

Apologies for the erratic update schedule. University exams on top of the never-ending problems coronavirus has resulted in (R.I.P. my internship) mean I've had little to no time to work on this story. Should be clearer sailing from now on.

XII:Elysium

Sunset trailed a few feet behind Dash, barely paying attention to the words coming out of her mouth. She couldn't help herself from going over Shim's conversation she had overheard. Every time she replayed the event in her mind, she constructed a new possible explanation or theory. Normally, she would have just asked Shim, but something in her expression when she'd caught Sunset with her phone warned her off.

Eventually, the two of them came to a stop outside the school. Sunset frowned as she glanced up at the towering structure, probably the last place on earth she would have expected Rainbow Dash to suggest they hang out. "What are we here for?"

Rainbow's cheerful expression darkened. "Were you listening to a word I said?"

Sunset blushed, lowering her gaze. "Sorry. I was thinking about... something else."

Dash rolled her eyes, but let it drop. "Like I was saying, I said I'd help this girl set up trial decorations for the Fall Formal. Not that I care about stuff like that." She added quickly. "I just owe her a favour, you know? Besides, she wants me to hand out some awards on the night. Best athlete, best sports team, stuff like that."

Sunset raised an eyebrow. "Sure. When's this 'Fall Formal' taking place, anyway?"

"Well, I'll give you a hint, it's in the fall." Rainbow grinned at her own joke. "It's over a month away. But this girl's really into partying. Like, seriously into partying. She's probably been planning it since Christmas."

Sunset nodded, absorbing this new information. She had a vague memory of hearing about the Fall Formal, but it hadn't been of much interest to her then. Still, she was supposed to be involving herself in the school's life as much as possible. "What other awards are there?"

Rainbow scratched her head. "Not many. The drama club hands out some prizes. Principal Celestia hands out an award for the student with the highest GPA. Oh, and Princess of the Fall Formal. That's the big one."

"Princess of the Fall Formal?" Sunset couldn't help but grimace at the title of Princess being spoken out loud. "What's that for?"

"Just a popularity contest." Dash glanced sideways at her, trying to read the expression on her face. "I hope you're not thinking what I think you're thinking."

Sunset shrugged. "Hey, why not? What do I have to lose?"

"The use of your legs." Rainbow muttered under her breath, pushing the front doors open. Sunset followed close behind, while Rainbow continued. "It's a big deal, representing the school and all. There's always competition, and it's always ugly."

Trailing Rainbow Dash further inside the school, her ears slowly began to pick up the sound of a high-pitched voice shrieking intermittently. "Who would I ask if I wanted to run, anyway?"

"You're about to meet her. Pinkie Pie is head of the Fall Formal planning committee." Rainbow paused just outside doors to the school gym. "She's... quite something."

The shrieking voice reached its apex as Rainbow pushed the doors inwards. A girl with neon-pink hair was inside, blowing up a balloon in the shape of a cupcake. The second she laid eyes on Dash, her eyes widened and her pupils dilated at an alarming speed.

"Dashie! You made it!" The girl - Pinkie Pie, Sunset assumed - released the balloon from her fingers, sending it rocketing across the gymnasium, before grasping hold of Dash and crushing her in a bear hug.

"Pinkie, wait - Pinkie!" Dash patted Pinkie on the head before pushing her away and taking in a ragged breath. "Calm down already!"

Pinkie beamed at her. Something about her aura put Sunset on edge, though she couldn't put her finger on it. It was as if the air around her was electrified. "I thought you were grounded because of the ol'..." She paused, then mimed a drinking action.

Rainbow puffed her chest out. "Please. You of all people should know they can't keep me down forever." She threw her thumb over her shoulder in Sunset's direction. "This is Sunset Shimmer, the girl I was talking about last Friday."

"Oooh!" Pinkie stared Sunset up and down with fascination. "The mysterious transfer student." She lifted up Sunset's arm and peered underneath it, as if expecting to find more. "So, what's your deal?"

Sunset pulled her arm away, taken aback by Pinkie's forthrightness. "Excuse me?"

Pinkie leaned in closer still. "Are you an alien? Or a time traveller? No, an ESPer!" She pulled her head back and grinned. "I mean, come on! A student from out of town that nobody's ever heard of before just turns up at school one day and they're completely normal? No way!"

Sunset laughed nervously before quickly changing the topic. "Pinkie Pie, right? Dash tells me you're the Head of the Fall Formal Committee."

Pinkie Pie nodded enthusiastically. "Yep! First freshman head of the committee ever! Principal Celestia said she'd never seen anyone as serious about partying as me!" Pinkie reached into her pocket and pulled out a long, thin balloon. "How can I help you?" She raised the balloon to her lips and blew, somehow inflating it into the shape of a cupcake.

"Dash told me you could help me get my name on the ballot for Princess of the Fall Formal?" Pinkie's pulled the balloon from her lips, tying a knot in the stem in one swift motion.

"Sure can do!" Snatching up a clipboard from a table overladen with streamers, banners and other party paraphernalia, she pushed it into Sunset's hands. "Just sign your name and year group. Gotta say, I wouldn't hold my breath. The competition's pretty stiff this year."

Sunset ran her eye down the list of names.

1. Chestnut Magnifico
2. Sweet Leaves
3. Rarity
4. Mystery Mint
5. Sophisticata

"Entry's twenty dollars." Pinkie held her hand out. "Sorry, but we'd have every girl in the school signing up if we didn't charge."

Sunset shrugged. "Sure. Why not?" She pulled out her purse and passed Pinkie the money before scribbling her name down. "Guess I'd better get campaigning."

Pinkie giggled. "You don't campaign, silly! The Princess is meant to be the best girl to represent the school!" She struck a dramatic pose. "She's smart, and beautiful, and confident, and... and..." She faltered. "Well, I don't know what else she is. But she isn't a politician."

Sunset nodded slowly. Before she could say anything else, she was interrupted by Dash slapping her on the back.

"All right, no need to scare her any more. I'm sure the competition is quaking in their boots now my homegirl Sunset's on their heels!" Dash said it lightheartedly enough, but Sunset could tell she was holding back laughter. "Tell us what needs doing, Pinkie."

Sunset slid down the wall, exhausted. Pinkie Pie might be psychotically friendly, but she was also a merciless slave driver. Beside her, Rainbow flopped down and let out a mix between a whine and a groan.

The gym was transformed. Balloons, streamers and banners coated the walls, light from the windows reflecting off them and bathing the room in rainbows. Pinkie skipped up and down the length of the room, scrutinizing the final result with a well-trained eye.

"Good job, girls!" Pinkie's voice had an almost sing-song quality to it. "You can consider us even, Dashie!"

Sunset raised an eyebrow. "What did Rainbow owe you for, again?"

A saintly look crossed Pinkie's face. "Can't tell. Special Pinkie Promise, cross my heart and-"

"She got me some money a few months ago."

"Rainbow!" Pinkie blushed and waved her hands in protest.

Rainbow leaned back against the wall. "Chill out. Sunset's not going to tell anyone." She narrowed her eyes in Sunset's direction. "Right?"

Sunset was too exhausted to do anything but wave her arm in conjunction with a verbal grunt signifying agreement.

"You and your goddamn Pinkie Promises, as if they mean anything. You saved my ass back then, Pinkie."

"Yeah, but..." Pinkie sat down beside them, legs crossed. "I hated having to steal. Especially from my parents."

"Pinkie, your parents own a diamond mine. They were never going to notice a few hundred bucks going missing." Rainbow sounded irritated. "My family has to choose between heating and rent. So, y'know, forgive me if your petite-bourgeoisie problems don't stir my heart too much."

"My dad says stealing is a sin."

"Of course he does." Rainbow muttered under her breath.

"What was the money for?" Sunset spoke up.

"Look, just... keep it to yourself, all right?" Rainbow snapped back. "This isn't an inquisition." She glanced at her watch, sighing. "All right. Just between us, I - "

Before Rainbow Dash could say another word, she was interrupted by the deafening sound of the gym door bursting open.

"Darlings! Oh, I'm so sorry I'm late, I've had the most horrific... evening... ever..."

In the doorway stood another girl Sunset didn't recognize, but who clearly recognized her, based upon the daggers being shot her way. She was dressed expensively, and her long purple hair was styled to perfection. She gave off the air of a girl who clearly cared a lot about her appearance, and what other people thought about it.

Pinkie waved manically back. "Rarity! Don't worry, Rainbow Dash was able to make it after all! She even bought a friend!"

Rarity's eyes narrowed. "Yes, I see. Sunset, was it?" She gave a wide, fake smile as she strode towards her. "Good to meet you."

Pinkie Pie jumped to her feet and draped her arm around Rarity's shoulder, pulling her into one of her trademark vice-like hugs. "Sunset Shimmer, this is Rarity! She's from Form C, she's running against you to be Princess of the Fall Formal, and she's had a crush on your boyfriend Flash since, like, fourth grade!"

A deathly silence fell over the group, save for the sounds of Rainbow Dash's poor attempt to hide her laughter. Pinkie's wide smile dimmed slightly. "What? Did I say something?"

Rarity slowly pushed Pinkie Pie off her and smoothed her hair back into its usual, perfect form. "Well, thank you for that, Pinkie Pie. I must say, it looks marvellous. You girls have done a terrific job. Pinkie, darling, I was hoping I could grab you for a bit of a talk. Alone, if possible." She stressed the last sentence through gritted teeth, glaring at Rainbow and Sunset.

Nonplussed, Pinkie nodded enthusiastically. "Sure!" She glanced behind her at Rainbow. "You don't mind, right?"

Rainbow shook her head, unable to speak. Sunset rolled her eyes and waved her on. "No worries. See you around, Pinkie."

Pinkie gave her an earsplitting grin before being all but dragged from the gym by Rarity with a thunderous look on her face. The second the pair were out the door, Rainbow Dash exploded.

"Bwahahaha! That was amazing! I thought Rarity was going to murder you!" She continued to cackle, clutching her chest in apparent pain from laughing so hard. Sunset didn't look amused.

"Would have been nice to know the competition had such a close relationship with the head of the Fall Formal's Planning Committee." She sighed. "Come on, aren't we done here?"

Rainbow nodded, still chuckling to herself. "Yeah, I guess. Besides, I'm not waiting for Pinkie to ask me to help take this stuff down."

Sunset paused as the apartment complex loomed. She couldn't see if the note she'd written was still there from this distance. Fishing in her pockets for her door keys, she wrapped the keychain around her fist and headed up the nearest darkened flight of stairs.

Dash had been mercifully docile for the remainder of the evening. Any other time, that would have been a cause for alarm, but it seemed she was really serious about not blowing her mother's trust. Which, Sunset reasoned, was a promising sign of maturity.

Exiting the stairs on Shim's floor, she followed the balcony landing along until she arrived at Shim's apartment. The note was gone. Removed - but who by?

Sunset was too tired to investigate. She just wanted a hot shower and her couch. Placing her hand on the door handle, she turned it halfway, before pausing at the sound of a soft murmur coming from behind the door.

Pressing her ear to the door, she focused intently on the noise. Shim's voice was unmistakable. If she concentrated, she could just make out the words being spoken.

"...have it under control. How dare you question me? Don't you remember who I am? You owe everything to me! You have some arrogance to question my decisions.

A short period of silence followed.

"Your interference is the last thing I need. Things are uncertain here. I must keep my facade up for a little longer, until I am free to move without fear of exposure." Another pause. "Then you are spoiled by wealth and power. You know nothing of the adversity I faced. We move as agreed beforehand. Leave the spy to me. Then we can deal with the girl."

Sunset's blood ran cold, and she pressed her ear harder still against the doorway, hoping to catch every word. Shim was plotting against her, after all. How stupid she had been to doubt it for even a second!

"Not until I'm satisfied she can't provide us passageway to Equestria. If she can, our plans can proceed faster."

Sunset gritted her teeth, infuriated. Just as she'd suspected, humans didn't change. So, Shim wanted to use her magic to invade Equestria? Well, she'd be somewhat disappointed to discover that magic being used to crush her windpipe as she slept tonight.

"Very well. I'll make contact some other time. Keep vigilant." Silence, followed by the sound of a door closing. Sunset waited for a minute before silently opening the front door and slipping inside.

Her every instinct was telling her to do it now. Take a kitchen knife and finish Shim off before she could complete another step of her twisted plan. She'd never killed a human - or a pony - before, but there was always a first time for everything. Besides, killing one of them was no different than putting a rabid dog down.

But something held her back. She was being hasty again, and hasty decisions were what had got her into this mess in the first place. If she was caught, she'd be exposed. She needed to plan things out. Where would she hide the body? What if Shim screamed? At least one neighbour was sure to come running, if not the police.

As she contemplated these problems, she caught sight of her reflection in a nearby window. She was exhausted, and she looked it. She needed rest. She needed a plan. And she still needed Shim's help to catch her stalker, as much as it infuriated her. The one ace up her sleeve was that Shim still didn't know she suspected her. Why blow it now?

Slowly feeling the adrenaline drain out of her arms, Sunset sat down on the couch. Leaning against the back of the seat, she closed her eyes and let sleep claim her.

The garden was burning. Thousands of fireflies filled the bushes and trees, and thousands more clung to the pathways, a river of flame that illuminated the whole garden in a golden glow. From a darkened balcony, Beatrix watched their teeming mass in silence.

It had cost her no small sum to have the bugs transported in their thousands from overseas, but to her it had been worth every penny. They were one of the only facets of her new estate that didn't feel cold and sterile. As much as it had surprised her, she'd come to miss the home she'd grown up in.

On a table beside her, next to an emptied bottle of wine and a nearly depleted glass, laid an inexpensive mobile phone. The words CALL TERMINATED were emblazoned across the display. Beatrix reached for the glass and drained it in one swift motion, knuckles whitening from the strength of her grip.

Beatrix had expected some teething problems, but nothing like this. She laid her glass down again, burying her head in her arms. It was her own fault, of course. She should have taken more time, spent more time cross-examining Shim, more time perfecting her plan. Instead, she had jumped at the earliest possible opportunity, only to trip at the first hurdle.

Her internal monologue was telling her she should drive down there now, and resolve the problem herself. But she knew better than disobey a direct order. She could only wait for further instructions, and pray her failures would be forgiven.

Sunburst was sitting at the kitchen table when she walked in, leafing through an engineering magazine. He didn't even look up when she entered, something which had once irritated her, but she was now used to.

With a wave of her arm, she levitated the empty wine bottle into the trash, and sent the glass neatly in the sink. Sunburst shuffled his feet with obvious discomfort at this, but said nothing, as usual. Sunburst hated magic with a passion. If there was one thing Beatrix truly despised about him, that would have to be it.

At first, he had laughed her off. When she'd shown him, he'd refused to even discuss it. Sunburst, she had discovered, was amongst the worst of cowards. He didn't care about the potential of her powers or what could be achieved with them, he just wanted to live a comfortable life, devoid of argument, conflict, or standing up for himself. The two of them had never been particularly close, but since that day, they virtually never spoke to each other.

"Sunburst?"

Sunburst glanced up apprehensively from his magazine. "Yes?"

"Do you remember Shim?" He blinked. "Sunset Shimmer? The Canterbridge doctorate student?"

He adjusted his glasses nervously, nodding slowly. "I think so. Why?"

"She might visit us sometime. If she does, I want to know immediately. Don't talk to her unless she talks to you. If she tells you to do something, you do it. Doesn't matter what. Understand?"

He frowned, clearly unhappy at being ordered around. "What? What's going on?"

Beatrix closed her eyes, voice straining as anger started to bubble within her. "Just do what I say. It's none of your business."

For a moment, Sunburst looked like he was on the verge of simply nodding and returning to his book. Then he decided to open his mouth.

"Please, don't talk to me like that -"

"Just do what I fucking tell you!!"

Beatrix spun around and swung a hand through the air, sending Sunburst flying out of his seat and onto the floor. Her hand fell to her side, ears pricking up at the low whine that escaped Sunburst's lips as he laid on the floor. Striding across the kitchen, she seized him by the arm and pulled him to his feet.

"Get up. Get the fuck up! Let's try that one again, shall we? If Shim visits, tell me. Don't speak unless spoken to. And do everything she says. Can you hear me?" Sunburst said nothing, merely looked down at the floor and nodded in response. "Good."

He stumbled as she released his arm, flailing around and grasping the table for support. Beatrix shot him one more glare, then turned her back on him and swept from the kitchen, feeling her spirits rise just a little higher than they had been a few moments ago.

I:Exodus

The first thing Sunset noticed on the other side of the portal was that it was raining. A lot. Within seconds, her fur was soaked through - except, strangely enough, she no longer had any fur.

It was dark - too dark to see anything. She could still feel her body, but it was... wrong. New parts had appeared, and old parts had vanished. She scrambled to her hooves, and promptly fell flat on her face. Her legs were gone, replaced with thinner, weaker appendages with strange little... were those fingers?

Hesitantly, she raised her new limbs up to her muzzle - or the space where her muzzle would normally be. As she suspected, she had hands. With fingers. Long, slender and remarkable responsive. She had seen similar appendages in Minotaurs, yet she had never once dreamed she would own a pair herself.

Minotaurs... hands... perhaps she was meant to walk on her hind legs? They certainly felt more stable. Clumsily, she raised herself to full height, grappling an unfamiliar nearby structure for support as she did so. As the numb sensation from crashing out of the portal subsided, Sunset became more aware of her new form. Her ears were smaller, less sensitive. Her mane was still there, but far longer and thicker. Her tail was gone.

Shakily, Sunset took a step forward. Then a second. Then a third. Within a minute, she was walking, jogging and even running with ease. In fact, she was probably faster now than she had been as a pony.

Her eyes had adjusted to the darkness now, enough that she could see the buildings around her in detail. The structure she had exited through towered over her, the imposing figure of a reared horse cut in white marble atop it disrupting the star-studded sky.

Behind it stood an enormous building, white lettering emblazoned on the front. "Canterlot High School". As she approached the building, she caught a glimpse of motion in one of the windows. She froze - and so did the figure in the window. Approaching it more closely, she realized she was staring at her own reflection.

A girl with waist-length hair and turquoise eyes stared back at her. She had seen illustrations of humans in books she'd "borrowed" from Celestia's private library before, but this was the first time she had seen one in the flesh. She had been given a set of clothes to match. Was that the custom here? The spiked leather jacket and knee-high boots reminded her vaguely of the portraits she had seen of Griffon Knights in dress armour.

Her horn was missing! Clasping at her forehead, she felt a knot form in the pit of her stomach - or in the region she assumed her stomach was located. Was she no longer able to perform magic? Could humans perform magic? Focusing her attention on a small rock in front of her, she took a deep breath and willed herself to lift it in the air.

Nothing. Sunset swore and tried again. Still nothing. She tried once more, this time muttering a few spells under her breath. This time, the rock shook slightly, and she could feel traces of magic flowing within her, but she collapsed from exhaustion in seconds.

Not good. Unicorn horns were central to magical performance, focusing raw magic into a directed spell. Without one, her magic was unfocused, weak. If only she'd thought to bring a magical artefact with her, a stave, an enchanted gem, anything that could act as a conduit.

Focusing on the mirror to distract herself from this new, unpleasant development, she considered the form before her. She was young. She knew little of humans, but she could tell that the form she had taken now was in late adolescence. A quirk of the portal? Well, it had turned her into an entirely different species, so taking off a few years wasn't unthinkable. She might even pass as a student of this school.

All things considered, it seemed somewhat... mundane. Celestia had fought so hard to keep her from the mirror, Sunset had expected to find a world filled with beings of unimaginable magical talent and wisdom, or artefacts of unsurpassed power. She had to be missing something.

Sunset groaned and slid the book in front of her to one side. If she'd learnt anything, it was that humans liked to write books. A lot of books.

She had been in the library for - she squinted at the clock on the wall in front of her - nearly five hours. In that time, she'd barely covered the basics of human life. If she wanted to fit in properly, she was going to have to do a lot more reading.

Humans were... fascinating. No magic to speak of, but their technological and scientific accomplishments put Equestria to shame. Computers, wireless communication, nuclear power... Sunset hadn't even known what an atom was an hour ago. They made Equestria look wild, untamed.

Then again, their history wasn't as sanitary as the world around her would suggest. Humans sure loved to kill each other. Sunset could list the number of wars in Equestrian history on one of her newly acquired hands, and that was going back as far as the Three Kingdoms. Distastefully, she flipped through her copy of Encylopedia Militiarum. They even had a word for ethnic mass murder. Genocide.

In a way, Sunset reasoned to herself, idly scanning the pages for anything that caught her interest, she couldn't really judge them. Despite their accomplishments, their violent nature showed humans were clearly a more primitive species, not unlike the Griffon empire, or Yak chiefdoms of the north.

Sunset had known since she was a young filly that Celestia was a fool for focusing on dialogue and cooperation with other creatures. Yaks and griffons could never be treated as their equals - and clearly, humans couldn't either. Presumably Celestia had some misconceived notion of sending ambassadors and diplomats through the portal. But Yaks and Griffons were primitive savages. Humans were strong, and outnumbered them ten thousand times over. Sunset could see it now.

An army of humans marching on Equestria, armed with guns, bombs and tanks, leaving a trail of burned cities and piles of corpses. Canterlot in flames. Celestia's severed head on a pike in the main square. Why not? If humans treated their own with such cruelty, who knows what they'd do to another species.

The mirror had enticed her in with promises of power, but now Sunset saw the real reason she was here. She was here to save her home. The natural instinct of humans to engage in violence and destruction could be redirected to serve her own purposes. When that wretched portal reopened, Sunset would remerge, a legion of slaves behind her.

And when she did... All of Equestria would bow to their saviour. Their new ruler. Princess... no, Empress Sunset Shimmer.

"Sunset?"

Sunset nearly jumped out of her skin. Spinning around, she found herself face-to-face with a man she had never seen before in her life. "Wha-a-a--"

The man looked just as surprised as her. "I..." He paused, then decided to continue. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to catch you off guard. I was going to pass this on to you tomorrow, but I suppose I might as well do it now." With that, he dropped off a bound stack of paper onto her desk, covered in tables and charts Sunset didn't recognize. Her confusion must have shown, because the man continued.

"Your lab results? They came through. Finally, am I right? Anyway, good luck, because I couldn't make head nor tail of them. I'm sure you'll have better luck." He paused, eyeing her up again. "You look... very different. I could swear..." He shook his head. "Nah. I just need some sleep. Have a good weekend, Sunset. I'll see you on Monday."

With that, he turned around and walked away. Sunset hesitated, before grabbing the paper and scanning the cover.

Lab Report - Sunset Shimmer, MSci.
Matter-displacement through quantum gravitational anomalies: A feasability study.

The rest of it was indecipherable nonsense to her.

But Sunset didn't care about the lab report. The only thing that captured her attention was the name at the top. Her name. There was somepony - someone out here who looked just like her, and had her name. An - it sounded absurd - an alternate version of her.

Sunset gripped desk in front of her as she felt a cold panic set in. Her eyes spun around the room, desperately searching out any trace of flaming red and yellow hair. The last thing she needed was to run into a copy of herself. All of a sudden, her sense of security in anonymity was gone.

Did everyone in Equestria have parallel versions of themselves here? This was the universe she had trapped herself in for the next two and a half years?

She needed to get away. She couldn't stay here, not in this town, not in this country. She couldn't-

Who was she kidding? She had no allies, no money, no magic - the three things she'd relied on her entire life. But maybe - she sighed. She wouldn't last a week here. Maybe there was still time to go back home before the portal shut forever.

She rose to her feet. Grabbing the stack of paper the man had dropped off, she made a beeline for the door. She wasn't sure why, but she wanted to have something from this world to bring back with her.

Once outside, she set off at a brisk pace. She wasn't sure how long the portal was open for. She knew it was open for three days, but how long had it been open already? Given nopony had followed her through, it could very well be due to close for another thirty moons. She picked up the pace, quickly breaking out into an open run.

Sunset knew she was too late before she even arrived at the base of the statue. She threw herself against it anyway, one last desperate hope dashed into oblivion as she crashed into it and dropped to the floor.

As she laid there, Sunset heard the soft sound of footsteps signalling someone approaching behind her. Instinct kicked in, and she scrambled to her feet, eyes scanning the darkness around her. "Who's there?"

"Hello, Sunset."

Sunset felt the hairs on her neck stand up. The voice was female, and vaguely familiar. Someone she knew - or at least, their counterpart. Better to avoid playing along.

"I'm sorry, who? You must have the wrong person."

"Oh, I don't think so. I've been watching this statue for some time now. I expected someone would come through it eventually. I have to say, I'm a little shocked it would be you."

Sunset knew there was no point in playing stupid. "What do you know about this portal?" A well of hope suddenly sprung up inside her. "Do you know how it works? Can you get me home?"

"Calm down." The voice was commanding, yet soothing. "Maybe. You help me, I help you. Sound good?"

"What?" Sunset squinted, slowly turning on the spot. "Help you how? Show yourself!"

The voice gave a low laugh. "As you wish."

With that, a woman stepped forwards, illuminated by the light of a nearby streetlamp. Sunset felt her eyes widen, and her arms grew weak, before falling to her sides. "You?"

The woman grinned. "Yup."

The two Sunsets stared at each other in silence.

The coffee shop was deserted, save for a bored-looking teenager behind the counter. Sunset wasn't sure the two of them should be seen in public, but her doppelgänger had dismissed the complaint.

"Just play it cool, and nobody will notice a thing. Do you drink coffee?"

They sat in silence for a few minutes, studying each other intensely. Sunset attempted to size up the the woman in front of her, not sure what to make of her.

She was clearly much older than her. Her hair was tied up in a tight bun, and she wore a pair of thick glasses with golden rims. She dressed shabbily, wearing a thick hoodie and combat trousers, with a pair of thick boots. Most unnerving of all was her eyes, which seemed to dart back and forth constantly, as if looking for something hidden. It was her human counterpart that finally broke the silence.

"So, what are we going to call each other? Because it's going to get really annoying if we keep calling each other Sunset."

"Oh." Sunset hadn't been expecting that. "Whatever you like, I guess. Do you have a preference?"

"Most people call me Shim. It might be easier for you to just call me that."

"Suuuree..." Sunset slowly put down her coffee mug. A million questions raced through her mind. At random, she picked one of the most pressing. "You said you might be able to get me back home?"

Shim nodded. "Maybe. But I need you to help me. Believe me, what I want is what you want."

Sunset's eyes narrowed. "You want to open the portal too?"

"Sure."

"And you think I'd trust it in the hands of one of you? A human?" Sunset almost spat out the word. "I don't think so."

Shim stared at her, before letting out an involuntary giggle. "I'm sorry, but what?"

"You heard me." Sunset felt her usual arrogance return with surprising ease. "You creatures... I've read enough about you to know what you're like. Warmongers. Thieves. Murderers. How do I know you're not just looking to invade my world?"

Shim gave her a dispassionate stare. "Why would I do that?"

"Well, what other reason could you have?"

"I want you to help me with my thesis on interdimensional travel."

Sunset blinked. Of all the responses she had been expecting, she hadn't expected that. "Your thesis?"

"I'm doing my PhD on it. Since you can travel through dimensions, I'm sure you know all about it."

"Uhhh... no."

"No?" Shim looked confused. "I thought... how did you get here in the first place?"

"Well... magic, I suppose."

Shim snorted. "Seriously." Seeing the expression on Sunset's face, her gaze softened slightly. "Seriously?"

Sunset nodded.

"Magic? As in... real magic? Spells, hexes, all that?"

"I guess." Sunset shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "I know it's not particularly helpful, but it's true. Magic is kind of... a thing in my world."

"Can you show me?" Shim pressed, eyes shining with a new brightness.

Sunset nodded. "Probably." Focusing on the spoon in front of her, she raised her hand, and slowly raised it into the air, rapidly muttering spells under her breath. It still took a lot out of her, but not as much as before. She had expected gasps from Shim, but she simply watched, transfixed. Eventually, she let it clatter to the tabletop. "Happy?"

"Fascinating." She fixed her gaze on Sunset. "Is there anything else you could do?"

Sunset nodded. "Lots. Teleportation, transfiguration, curses, you name it. I've studied magic my whole life. But I can't do much without a conduit. Normally, I have my horn, but I could do it with-"

"Your horn?"

"Well, yeah. I'm a unicorn." Shim's eyes widened.

"A unicorn? Like, a horse with a horn?"

"A pony."

"Sorry. So, the portal gave you a new body?"

"Yeah. It's... pretty weird."

Shim set her cup down. "So. Magic is real. But you went back to that portal to go home. From this, I take it the barrier between our universes is in a fixed position, but periodically opens and closes?"

Sunset was impressed. "Yeah. That's where I thought you were going to come in."

Shim shook her head. "So did I. I assumed you must have come from a technologically advanced society that had already figured most of this out. Magic is... out of my field of expertise."

Sunset felt the fledgling hope within her die. "You can't help me out?"

Shim traced the rim of her coffee cup with her finger, deep in thought. "Magic... I'm sorry, this is all a lot to take in. Can you tell me anything else about the portal? Where it came from, how it works?"

"Sure." Sunset sighed. "It opens every thirty moons, for three days at a time. In my world, it looks like a mirror. It... well, that's about it."

"And why were you chosen to come through. What are you? An ambassador, a scout, something like that?"

"Uhm, yeah. I'm an - an ambassador." Sunset wasn't about to admit to being a wanted criminal. "I was sent here to-"

"Bullshit."

"Excuse me?"

"You know how the portal works, how often it opens, how long it stays open for. Why would you come through just as the portal was closing?" Sunset opened her mouth, trying to think of an excuse, but Shim overran her before she could utter a word, an almost bored expression on her face.

"You come through, and try to leave in under an hour. That means you had just enough time to learn about this world to know you didn't want to stay, meaning it's your first time here. Correct?" Sunset said nothing, and she continued. "You came here on impulse. You didn't even bring anything with you. You're on the run."

"You're just making this up-"

"Please don't insult my intelligence by denying it."

Sunset snarled. "And what if I am?"

Shim shrugged. "I'm not going to turn you in. I'm not sure who I could turn you in to. Just don't lie to me in the future. It won't work."

Sunset gave a slow nod. "Fine." She stretched her arms out, before laying her hands flat on the table. "All right. So you know my story. What about you?"

Shim blinked. "What about me?"

"What's your story? What do you do? Why are you older than me?" Sunset pressed on. "Come on, it's not every day you meet an alternate reality version of yourself."

Shim shuffled around in her seat, clearly uneasy at this new line of questioning. "Well, I'm a postgrad at Canterbridge. Canterbridge University. You know what a university is?"

"Sure."

"Well, I studied physics there. Uh... I went to Crystal High before that. Got accepted to the Everton Study Program, actually. The only one in my entire year." Shim seemed to glow when she said that.

"And...?" Sunset pressed. "Family? Friends?"

"I don't really do friends. I... had a mom and dad, but they died when I was younger. I grew up... elsewhere."

"Oh." Sunset suddenly regretted asking. "I'm sorry."

Shim waved her hand dismissively. "Don't be. It was a long time ago. Did... you have parents growing up?"

Sunset shook her head. "No. My dad didn't , uh, stick around. My mom..." Visions of a young mare with a crimson mane and amber coat flashed before Sunset's eyes. Too young. "She wasn't... able to take care of me. I grew up in an orphanage."

Shim gave a sad, low chuckle. "Guess we got that in common." She looked back to Sunset, a new sadness in her eyes. "I look so much younger. What are you, fourteen?"

Sunset frowned. "Twenty-three. I don't know, maybe the portal de-ages everypony who comes through."

"Everypony? Seriously?"

Sunset laughed. "Yeah. Seriously."

Shim's apartment was cramped, but Sunset was relieved to have somewhere to stay for the night, even if it was the last place she had expected it would be. A couch was better than an alleyway.

"You hungry?" Shim wrenched open the fridge and rummaged through it, pulling out a jug of milk and checking the expiry date. "I'm vegetarian, so I don't have any meat, but I'm guessing that's not going to be a problem."

Sunset felt her stomach lurch. "Meat? Like... dead animals? You people eat that?"

Shim nodded. "Yep. I don't blame you for thinking we're monsters." Slamming the door to the fridge, she pulled the lid off the milk bottle and took a gulp. "Help yourself, I guess."

With that, she wandered out of the room, closing the door behind her. Once again, Sunset found herself alone.

Sunset opened the fridge. Pulling out a bag of carrots, she sat down on the couch and sighed. She tugged at the heavy leather jacket she had been given. If she had to wear clothes every time she went outside, she was going to go crazy.

Sunset spent a few minutes figuring out how to get her clothes off before she collapsed back on the sofa. Her eyes raked across the room, taking in every detail. Books galore. Framed awards and certificates. Shim was clearly an overachiever. Just like her.

Sunset wasn't sure what to make of Shim. She seemed so... decent. Nothing at all like the violent, bloodthirsty humans she had read about. Of course, she could be the exception. But Sunset needed to make sure that was the case.

Reclining back on the couch, Sunset made up her mind. Tomorrow, she would see more of this new world. Not just read about it. Experience it. After that, she could make up her mind.

Sunset yawned, feeling her eyelids grow heavy. Tomorrow...

Author's Note

This story was inspired by this fanart by the exceptionally talented 0Bluse.

The events of this story take place between the events of The Fall of Sunset Shimmer and Equestria Girls.

II:Gemini

As dawn broke, light streamed into the room from the partially-closed shutters, causing Sunset to stir in her sleep. Opening her eyes, she blinked slowly, allowing her vision to adjust to the room around her. Suddenly, she shot bolt upright, letting out an involuntary yelp.

Where am I? What's happening? Why-

Sunset groaned and fell back onto the sofa as she remembered the events of last night. Of course.

Stretching her arms over her head - a surprisingly pleasant sensation - Sunset stumbled to her feet, gazing around the room through bleary eyes. Dirty plates, pizza boxes and empty cans of cider littered the apartment. Shim sure lived in a tip. Then again, Sunset supposed she wasn't in much of a position to be choosy about her accommodation.

Rummaging around on the floor, Sunset recovered the jacket she had been given by the portal. She hesitated for a moment, then yelled out. "Shim?"

A low groan sounded from the adjacent room. "Whaaat."

"Do I have to wear clothes outside?"

A slight pause. Then - "Yes."

Sunset groaned, and began to gather the rest of her outfit up. Putting the clothes back on proved a more significant challenge than pulling them off, but she got there eventually. Studying herself in a nearby full-body mirror, Sunset made an attempt at a friendly, casual smile. Then, an inquisitive, serious look. Then a threatening stance. Then-

"What the hell are you doing?"

Sunset jumped, turning around to see an unimpressed Shim staring at her from the doorway. She was dressed shabbily as ever, clutching a bulky backpack in one hand. Flushing bright red, Sunset quickly jumped back to attention. "Weren't you meant to be asleep?"

Shim cocked her head towards her, unimpressed. "I was, until you decided to wake me up with some stupid question. Were you checking yourself out?"

Now it was Sunset's turn to sneer. "As if. I was practicing."

"Practicing."

"I - yes!" Sunset snapped. "If I'm going to be stuck with your kind for the next couple of years, I need to fit in, don't I?" She turned back to the mirror. "No... I need to do better than that. I need to blend in completely."

"Blend in? You would have gone outside naked if I hadn't stopped you."

"That's what I mean!" Sunset began pushing her facial features around. She continued, a new softness to her voice. "I can't afford to mess this up. I can't."

Shim shrugged, before walking past her, into the kitchen. "Well, just make sure you don't go streaking and you'll be fine. Do you want breakfast? I have..." There was a sound of the fridge being wrenched open. "What do you normally eat?"

"Well..." An odd question. "Fruit and vegetables. Grains. Milk. Eggs. Basically anything that doesn't have meat in it."

Shim slammed the fridge door. "Well, help yourself. I wanted to ask you some more questions."

Sunset turned around, immediately on guard. "What kind of questions?"

Shim approached her kitchen table, pulling a chair out. "Quite a few. Sit down?"

Sunset accepted and the two of them sat opposite each other, silently. Eventually, Shim began. "I've been thinking about what you said yesterday. And, I've come to some conclusions."

Sunset nodded, leaning in expectantly. "Such as?"

"Well." Shim adjusted her glasses. "At first, I didn't know what to make of it. I had assumed there must be a scientific explanation. But that couldn't possibly explain how you transformed into a human. Then, I wondered if it was some kind of advanced technology - but based on what you told me about your home world, I'm sure that isn't the case."

Sunset nodded. "So you think it's magic?"

Shim gave her a wry smile. "Magic is just science we haven't figured out yet. But yes, I suppose, the phenomenon you describe as magic must be involved. Tell me, where did the mirror on your side come from?"

"It was..." Sunset wracked her memory. "It was discovered in a place called the Crystal Empire." She shook her head. "Well, where the Crystal Empire used to be. It was the only thing left."

Shim raised an eyebrow, and Sunset continued. "It's hard to explain, but the entire place was kind of... stolen, over a thousand years ago. By some mad king, if you can believe it. The only thing left behind was this mirror. Celestia - Princess Celestia, the ruler - she had it moved to my country's capital."

Shim nodded, before reaching under the table to rummage around in her backpack. "I thought - ah ha!" Producing a thick, leather-bound book, she slammed it down on the table and began to flip through it's contents.

"Founders, feudal conflict, mining confederation - here!" Sunset spun the book around and pushed it under Sunset's nose.

Sunset quickly realized she was reading a history book. The page was opened to a painting of an armour-clad man with wild black hair, a thin, cruel-looking moustache, and a small crown, consisting of a thin halo covered in spikes.

"Marius III of Krystenval." Shim tapped the wall of text accompanying the illustration. "That's what this placed used to be called. He was one of the cruellest, most depraved kings in human history. He had one of his wives skinned alive and rolled in salt when she failed to bear him a child."

"Charming." Sunset's eyes skimmed the page, looking for anything of note. "Is there a point to this, or do you just have a crush on the guy?"

Shim scoffed, jabbing her finger towards the end of the page. "This should interest you. Marius was always interested in the occult. He was famous for it - so famous, his subjects used to call him the Shadow King. According to legend, he disappeared one day, just vanished into thin air. Around a thousand years ago?"

Sunset frowned, checking the portrait of Marius out once again. "You don't think..."

"Maybe you weren't the first person to cross between universes."

The crown... the hair... it was all too familiar. Sunset gave a low whistle. "King Sombra. Sombra... Umbra." She groaned. "Of course. The Shadow King."

So, Sombra had imbued the portal from the human side. Did that mean magic was possible here? Or... maybe a different kind of magic.

Sombra... Sunset had read enough about him to know he wasn't a force to be reckoned with. It made sense a pony as cruel as him would have started out as a human. She had also heard stories of his dark magic, unheard of magic that puppeted it's user in exchange for arcane prowess. In her mind, the pieces of the puzzle were already starting to come together.

"All right." Shim perked up at being addressed. "So, you think we can open a portal, like Sombra?"

Shim blinked. "I, um, I wasn't going to suggest that. I mean, we don't know what we're doing-"

"Anything's better than staying in this universe for years." Sunset gripped Shim by the shoulder, surprised to see the older woman quail before her. "Do you know what kind of books we'd need? What kind of supplies?"

"I - of course not! Magic? Are you serious?"

"Yes, magic!" Sunset lost her temper. "I'm sorry, do you need some more evidence? Do I need to pull a rabbit out of a hat?"

"Well, I..."

Shim looked unsure. Sunset picked up the book and threw it into her chest. "Come on, you've lived here your whole life." Rising to her feet, she continued. "Forget your thesis. Imagine being the person who discovers magic!"

Shim seemed to seriously consider this prospect. "I... I suppose I could... have a look..." She glanced back at Sunset. "Nothing to lose, right?"

Sunset smiled. "Nothing to lose."

Sunset had spent the last two hours wandering around town. She had quickly discovered that with no money, there was little to do but walk in circles, memorizing the town plan.

She was relieved Shim was so open to suggestion. Buying her books, giving her a room... Sunset wouldn't have made it this far without her. Maybe Sunset could offer her dominion over this dimension, when the portal re-opened. Somehow, it seemed fitting that this dimension's version of her should be put in charge.

Stopping to rest on a nearby bench, Sunset sat and watched the world pass by. Cars, people and leaves blew by in the wind. Sunset drank it all in, watching keenly for anything she hadn't noticed before.

Absorbed in her surroundings, Sunset didn't notice the car pull up to the kerb until it was too late. It wasn't like most cars she had seen - it was white and blue, with a pair of lights attached to the front.

The window slowly rolled down, and a man in a blue uniform and sunglasses craned his head at her. "Shouldn't you be at school?"

Sunset squinted at him. "Uhm, I don't think so. Should I?"

The man sighed. "Don't play games with me, kid." He jerked him thumb towards the back seat. "Get in and I'll drive you there. Call it a favour."

Sunset slowly got to her feet and began to back away. "I... I'm fine. I'm going to go now."

"Hey! Come back -" The door to the car opened, and the man stepped out, quickly closing the gap between them. He grabbed her by the wrist, causing Sunset to pull away instinctively.

"Hey!" Sunset turned to run, but the man grabbed her by the arm, stopping her. "Get off me!"

He didn't say anything. Seizing her by the other arm, he frogmarched her back to the vehicle. As she was bundled her into the backseat, Sunset felt the doors click behind her. Frantically pounding against the window, she caught the man staring at her through the windshield mirror. He looked more exasperated than angry.

"For fu -This car is public property. Damage it, and you'll really wish you hadn't."

Public property? "You're a guard?"

"A what? Don't play dumb, kid. I'm a cop. See the badge?" He jerked his thumb toward the badge on his chest. "Though I swear to God, I catch so many of you kids paying truant that school should employ me full time." He reached down, and Sunset felt the car's engine roar to life.

The next few minutes passed in silence. Sunset couldn't fight back, even if she had wanted to - the windows were barred, and she had no chance of overpowering the man, even if she could reach him. Sunset had read about police officers, but she was taken aback by their appearance. He looked more like a construction worker than a soldier.

As she watched the world outside the windows speed by, Sunset realized it was her first time riding inside a car. It was surprisingly similar to riding in a carriage, but much faster. How he controlled the car at these speeds, she had no idea.

As their destination pulled into view, Sunset's jaw dropped. Of course. Fate had such a strange sense of irony.

The horse statue towered over the car as it pulled into view. Sunset heard a click as the doors unlocked, and the cop turned around.

"Go on, get moving. And the next time I catch you skipping school, I won't be so lenient. Understand?"

Sunset nodded, only half-listening. Stepping out of the car, she walked up to the statue. Out of desperation, she rested her hand on the base. Rock solid. Nothing was going in - or coming through.

Sunset considered making a break for it, but she was conscious of the fact that the cop was watching her from his car. She decided to go inside. She'd have another chance to ditch the place afterwards.

As she approached the enormous building in front of her, she glanced upwards, re-reading the first words she had ever read in this dimension. Canterlot High School. The front of the school was littered with other teenagers, talking in groups, playing ball games, or reading.

Sunset found herself gripped with an unease as she entered through the front door. It had been so long since she'd set foot in a real school. She'd spent most of her adolescence - no, most of her life - being personally tutored by Celestia, who'd always provided her with plenty of independence. The idea of a school was so... strange.

A few kids turned to stare at her as Sunset walked down the hall, and she heard hushed whispers as she passed by. Being delivered by police car had probably gotten her a lot more attention than she'd liked.

The sound of a ringing bell filled the air, and the hallway was suddenly thick with students bustling from one class to another. Sunset's eyes darted across the room, looking for somewhere to hide, but finding nowhere. In a few seconds, she would be out here all alone, and she definitely didn't need to have to explain herself to a teacher.

Sunset grimaced. Only one way out.

Picking a classroom door at random, she followed the stream of student inside and shut the door behind her.

"These, please."

Shim set the books down on the counter, cringing slightly as she did so. They were so... unlike her. Fleeting Quill must have agreed with her, as he raised an eye at the selection.

"The Key of Solomon? La Poule Noire? The - The Necronomicon?! Miss Shimmer, are you sure -"

"Please." Shim held out a banknote. "Just a little interest reading. Nothing more."

Shim sighed as she left the bookstore. There went her reputation for rationalism. She just hoped Fleeting Quill kept himself to himself - she didn't want to get kicked out of the Skeptic's Association. Her departure from the Chess association had already left her ego in tatters. Touch-and-move, her ass.

The Cake-And-Coffee Stop was only a few minutes away. As she pushed the front door open, she heard the sound of a bell sounding.

"Coming!"

Mrs Cake appeared behind the counter, hey eyes lighting up at the sight of Shim. Not surprising, considering she probably made up half their sales.

"Shim, so good to see you! The usual?

Gratefully, Shim nodded, laying her bag down on a nearby table. She pulled out the first tome and opened it up. Mercifully, it didn't immediately try to suck her soul out, something she had been worried it might try. She traced the opening words with her finger. "In the blackest name of HIM, the horned one..."

Sunset sat quietly at her desk, unsure what she had got herself into. Merifully, she had managed to wander into a class full of teenagers her age - her physical age, anyway. That seemed to be the only mercy she was being afforded at the moment.

The teacher - Miss Cheerilee - had been desperately trying to control the class for the last ten minutes, and was doing a terrible job. The ringleader of the troublemakers - a rainbow-haired girl with a foul mouth - had just sent a rubber flying into the back of her head, and Cheerilee seemed more interested in getting a confession out of her than teaching her class. Sunset had seen better behaved animals in the zoo.

Sunset had considered stepping up to defend the teacher, partly out of a sense of empathy, and partly out of pity, but the look of contempt on her classmates' faces made it clear anyone who interfered would quickly find themselves a new target. Were all human schools like this?

Then again, people with no self-control were easy to control. Maybe her idea to build an army of slaves wasn't as dead in the water as she had thought.

Bored, Sunset quickly ran her eyes over the rest of the class. She recognized one girl as a mare called Golden Globes. A Canterlot socialite with looks, money and status, but not two brain cells to rub together. And she couldn't be sure, but she was fairly certain the boy next to her was a Royal Guard. Flash Sentry, if she wasn't mistaken.

The rainbow-haired girl - Rainbow Dash - had stopped arguing with Cheerilee, allowing the lesson to mercifully continue. More out of boredom than anything, Sunset copied down and completed the questions on the board, blitzing through them in no time flat. It was not at all dissimilar to her arithmetics classes under Celestia. If she-

"Hey."

Sunset turned to see the boy next to her waving his hand in her direction. She was certain it was Flash Sentry - there was no mistaking that blue hair, but even more telling, he was wearing a shirt with the same cutie mark on it. "Uhm, hey."

The boy gave her a sheepish smile. "You, ah, you look like you know what you're doing. Mind helping me out? I'm stumped."

Sunset paused, then flashed the boy a warm smile. Better to make friends than enemies. "Sure. Trigonometry is pretty hard." Scribbling some corrections down on the sheet he passed her, she slid it back to him and raised an eyebrow. "That help?"

Flash ran his eyes down the paper. "Yeah... wow, yeah!" He turned back to her. "Wow. You should teach this class instead of Cheerilee." He held out his hand. "Flash Sentry. I haven't seen you before, are you new?"

Sunset stared at the boy's palm. Was she supposed to shake it? Slowly, she reached out her hand and took his, pumping it up and down, "Uh, yeah. Actually, I just joined today."

"Really?" Flash let go of her hand and looked her up and down. "Thought so. I would have remembered you if I'd seen you around before. That jacket's not easy to forget." He rapped his knuckles against the desk. "I can show you around at lunch, if... you know, if you want. Introduce you to some of my friends. You down?"

Sunset's eyes narrowed. She wasn't stupid. She could tell Flash was hitting on her, and she didn't want any school drama to disrupt her larger plans. On the other... hand, she wasn't going to turn down a free tour of what could well be a valuable introduction to this school, or a chance to get in good with someone who was clearly high up in the social food chain. For now, better to play along.

Fluttering her eyes - just as she had practiced - she smiled back at Flash. "Sure. I'd... like that."

If Flash had smiled any wider, he would have torn the corners of his mouth. "Sweet! I just gotta drop something off at Principal Celestia's office, then we're go!"

Sunset's heart skipped a beat. "Principal Celestia?"

Flash nodded, a confused look on his face. "Uh, yeah. Come on, you have to at least know who the Principal is."

Sunset forced herself to let out an uncharacteristic giggle. "Uh, of course I know who the Principal is. I just... could you show me to her office? I wanted to ask her something quickly."

Flash relaxed, another grin breaking out. "Sure. Whatever you like."

Sunset smiled back, gears turning in her mind as she went back to her work. She had a sinking feeling the rabbit hole went a lot deeper than it seemed.

Still, at least she had one friend here. And there were worse-looking dates.

Shim slammed her copy of Celestial Intelligencer shut, before slamming her head down on the table. She must have been insane to agree to this. Oh, wait. She had been manipulated into studying the occult by a teenage alternate-dimension version of herself. Of course she was insane.

Well, that book had been useless. So had every other one. Superstition, mythology, all nonsense. Maybe magic existed, but she wasn't going to find any good information on it rooting through bookshops.

Maybe she should just post an ad online. Then again, she didn't fancy getting sacrificed to appease some elder god. She'd read enough about that today.

As Shim began putting the books away into her bag, she became aware of a nearby presence. Looking up, she scanned the room, yet saw nothing. All that reading had made her jumpy. At least she'd kept the receipt.

Waving goodbye the Mr Cake, Shim set off once more. The sun was still shining overhead, making it... midday? She wasn't sure. Squinting at the sun, she didn't realize there was someone in front of her until it was too late. The two of them collided and came toppling to the floor.

Shim began to pull herself up, eyes widening at the sight of an old man lying on the floor opposite her. He truly was old, easily over the age of eighty, possibly ninety. Heart pounding, Shim leaped to her feet, rushing over to help him. "Oh my - I'm so sorry!"

Mercifully, he didn't appear to be hurt. In fact, the man rose to his feet with surprising ease, and gave her a reassuring smile, flashing a set of perfect, pearly white teeth. Despite his great age, he moved with an unusual fluidity, a youthful lightness to his step. "That's quite all right, miss, quite all right. Just an accident!" His eyes trailed downwards, finally falling on the books that had spilled all over the floor. "Quite the selection."

Shim stooped down to gather her books up, smiling sheepishly. "Just a hobby of mine. I didn't think much of them, anyway."

The old man nodded. "I can see why. Well, thank you for your kindness. I must be on my way." He paused. "Just a little recommendation - I used to have a very similar interest. I found a book called Cwalu aet Cwalu... most interesting." He dusted his jacket off. "Kept me young."

With not another word, he set off at a brisk pace. Shim stood there, watching him leave.