Chapter 1: Portal Problems
The Sun Never Sets on Equestria
Chapter 1: Portal Problems
Sunset Shimmer didn’t remember the portal being so painful.
Perhaps it always was, and her conviction in the past made her ignore the pain. Maybe she had become too used to her body in the other world, and now her home was rejecting her in some way. Maybe, when she comes out, she wouldn’t even be a unicorn, and would instead be either another type of pony, or, Celestia forbid, a centaur.
If nothing else from her past got her in trouble, that would.
Luckily, her contemplation was halted when she got violently ousted from the mirror, landing on her face and skidding a few feet on the crystal floor. The numb feeling that she was getting from her horn was probably not a good thing, and the scratches that she gained on her face were irritating, but she would survive this. Probably.
The groan that came from on top of her immediately focused her attention away from her pain and towards the uncomfortable weight on her back. Shifting the weight off elicited an actual response as its body hit the ground with a thud.
“Bloody hell, that was weird,” the body said. “And I think I got something stuck in my back.”
Scarcely a second past after he had said the words was Sunset on top of him, checking his back for any damages. It wasn’t long before she found it: a small hole offset from the spine that had freshly began to bleed, staining his overcast gray coat red, hidden by the straps of his saddlebags and weapon. “You got hit with shrapnel,” she noted, “and I think it’s still in there. I’ll need to remove it before I bandage you up.” Luckily, her medical supplies had come with her, and she was able to find the necessary iodine swab to clean the wound first before she sent a tentative tendril of magic towards the hole in question. The brief sense of vertigo that occured when she flared her horn told her that she shouldn’t be too overzealous with her magic use at the moment.
The instant her magic went into the hole, her patient’s body spasmed. “Oh, that’s weird.”
“Stop squirming,” Sunset muttered, eyes closed in concentration. “If you squirm, something bad might happen, so stop squirming.” A few seconds passed before her magic receded, bringing with it a small chunk of iron. Sunset let out a sigh she didn’t realise she was holding, and the bloodied piece of metal was placed onto the crystal floor. A few seconds passed as she pulled out one of her bandages and began to wrap it around his midsection, cutting off the extraneous parts, and taping it all together with an adhesive. A second of looking at her handiwork resulted in a nod. “Alright, you’re good, and, as usual, extremely lucky. Managed to miss all your vital inners. Now, time to get you back through the portal.”
“What?” he said, trying to scamper to his hooves. “I followed you for a reason!”
“Because you tackled me into the portal,” she deadpanned.
“I was saving your life!” he argued, finally getting into a wobbly upright position. “That’s a good reason.”
“You’re right, it is,” Sunset replied, “but you’re not supposed to be here, Charles. Just like I wasn’t supposed to be in your world.”
The silence lasted for a few moments before Charles broke it. “Fine,” he replied, a little sullen. “I’ll go.”
“Don’t worry, it’ll be just as weird going back.” At the very least, the joke got a small smile on Charles’ face.
Charles, using Sunset’s body as a support, was able to maneuver back to the mirror. Still with shaky steps, he placed a front hoof on one of the steps the mirror was on.
And that is when everything went wrong.
Charles’ hoof collapsed from under him, sending him sprawling to the floor. Sunset, bracing herself against his weight, attempted to steady herself but only succeeded in tripping over Charles as his body raced backwards down the step, causing her to pitch forwards into the mirror, horn first. With a shunk, her horn broke through the glass and appeared on the other side, unseen by the two, but felt by one. Sunset looked up at her stuck horn, knew what it meant, and could only say one thing.
“Uh oh.”
Magical artefacts are notoriously difficult to destroy, the magic inherit in them transferring into physical hardiness that most metals would be envious of. However, not all artefacts were created equally; artefacts with weaker overall powers were able to continuously exert their presence upon their encasements, making them nigh invulnerable, while more powerful artefacts would be weaker after use, though still plenty hardy in their own rights. All artefacts had a common weakness, though: any disruption in its magic would, invariably, cause the materials holding the enchantments to revert to their natural hardiness. Artefacts made out of metals would generally be fine; artefacts made out of glass, not so much.
And so, with the mirror poked through, and untold amounts of magical energies that had been trapped inside enchantments upon wards that had been broken, Sunset remembered one last thing on magical artefacts; when one gets broken, the resulting expulsion of the magic would be explosive, causing sizeable damage for even a small artefact.
Starswirl’s Mirror was not a small artefact. It had been functioning for the past millennium, and had enough magic packed into it to connect to another dimension, a magic-poor one at that. Simply draining the mirror would’ve taken years, and that was at a controlled pace. The light that was beginning to shine around the hole that her horn was stuck in told her that this was most definitely not a controlled situation. And so, in a panic, she tore her horn from the mirror, causing the disintegration of the holding wards to quicken as the light brightened considerably from the hairline fractures that had begun to appear on its surface, ran over to the still-recovering Charles, bodily shoved him away from the mirror, and, with the little magic that she had regained, set up a paltry one-sided shield.
The mirror, lit up like a star, glowed even brighter for a second before something changed. The glass fell inwards, and the metal frame buckled towards the sudden force in the middle of it. A moment later, the point of no return passed, and the implosion reversed course, detonating in a surge of magic and glass and crystal and metal that threatened to break the shield and crush the two who resided behind it. Moments later, the shield fizzled out, and the debris that had been caught in it fell to the floor, leaving a very little amount of safe space for the two.
Charles, clutching his head in pain, moaned, “What the fuck was that?”
“Alright, new plan,” Sunset began, ignoring her companion’s questioning. “We leave here, wherever here is, find some small place to lie low, and live a long and peaceful life without anypony coming to arrest us.”
“What about heading back to Earth?” Charles asked, still a bit groggy from being thrown. “Can’t we just do that?”
“Only way to Earth has been completely obliterated,” she said, pointing towards the remains of Starswirl’s Mirror, where only the very bottom of the metal support still retained its shape. “Now, we’ve probably got less than a minute before the guards burst in here looking for the cause of the magical surge, so we’ve got to make ourselves scarce.” Her trademark confident smirk appeared on her face. “Good news, though; the surge seems to have gotten rid of my magic fatigue, so making our escape shouldn’t be that difficult. All I would ask is that you follow my directions.”
“As if I haven’t been doing enough of that already,” came the remark.
“Good, so you’ll do just fine. Now, hold on tight.” Before Charles could respond, her horn lit up, a second later becoming even brighter, and, in a cyan blip, the two disappeared from the room.
A few moments later, two guards burst into the room, only to find an empty room, riddled with debris, and a broken mirror.
With the moon high in the sky, the denizens of the Crystal Empire had long since fallen asleep. Around a certain park, however, a few were briefly woken to the short but distinct screaming of a stallion. His companion landed softly next to the mess of limbs, trying to contain her laughter for his situation.
“Very funny,” Charles snarked. “Now, a little help here?”
“In a second, Open Doors, I need to make sure we won’t be thought of as suspicious.”
“Who’s opening doors around here?”
“You are. It’s your name now. A name like Charles would be seen as odd, and with your insignia as your cutie mark, something like Open Doors would work fine,” Sunset explained. “We can say that you’re from the River Federation or something, and that your name is to escape the connotations of your previous name.”
“Like being a noble or something?” Charles asked, untangling his limbs and attempting to get his bags and weapon situated.
“Yeah, something like that. Minor nobles in Wittenland or something like that, bastard Earth pony would make everypony think twice about asking for your past, even if they did care about anything past the River Fed.”
“‘Everypony,’ ‘cutie marks,’ the fact that I’m a small, oddly shaped horse,” Charles muttered. “Why is it that my entire world seems to get flipped around you? For that matter, why do I follow you to everything?”
“And then we have to explain why we’re together,” Sunset contemplated, seemingly ignoring Charles, before a burst of magic emitted a snapping sound through the empty park, and she turned to him, a smile upon her face. “I got it! We eloped. Ran away from whatever we were doing and now we’re on our honeymoon here!”
“And suddenly, I remember why I stay with you,” Charles replied, slowly getting to his hooves. “Because, for whatever ungodly reason, you are terribly smitten with me, and you say things without thinking that I think are terribly adorable, and-” The rest of his statement was cut off as he was bodily shoved back to the ground.
“Sometimes you talk too much,” Sunset said through her bright red blush.
“Was anything I said wrong?” Charles retorted, returning to his shaky hooves. The lack of a reply caused him to smirk. “Besides, from what I’ve heard, eloping is much less expensive than a stodgy wedding ceremony, and I doubt we have the money to afford one.”
“We are a bit young to be husband and wife, aren’t we?” Sunset asked, a shaky smile easily visible in the moonlight.
“It’s a fine time as any. We could die tomorrow.”
“Not anymore we can’t,” Sunset replied, smile becoming flat. “We’re in the land of sunshine, rainbows, and friendship. Very little can kill us here.”
“For some odd reason, that does little to ease me from my worry,” Charles contemplated. “Probably something about how you said ‘very little’ and not ‘nothing.’”
“Relax, I’ve already got a plan for that. Some little town in the middle of Equestria, and the last place that Celestia would look for me; that’s our destination.” With that, she began to walk away, with Charles struggling to catch up.
“Are you gonna tell me the name?” Charles struggled to ask, a large amount of his brain power going to putting one hoof in front of the other. “And what you’re gonna do with your identity? If you really were the leader’s student, you should come up with a pseudonym yourself.”
“Look at you, using fancy words like pseudonym.” Before he could respond to her teasing, she continued. “Besides, I already have a plan for that.” In a flash of light, her cutie mark changed from the yin-yang sun symbol to the Red Cross. Her smile returned as she began. “Say hello to Sunny Days, an orphaned filly who found her talent after volunteering at one of the Manehatten hospitals. A little later, she found her one true love, and the two ran away to a better life, and now here we are. We’re leaving during the night because we’re running out of bits and need to find somewhere to settle down, and the Crystal Empire isn’t quite right for us. We’re looking for someplace smaller, with a tighter community.”
“You’re really good at fibbing, you know that? If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were a politician.”
“It’s a good thing you do know better, though politicians here aren’t nearly as bad as they were on Earth, with the possible exception of the Griffonian Empire.”
“And what happened with the Griffonian Empire, if I may ask?”
“Well, the thing that was keeping the emperor in power was stolen,” Sunset began as the two trotted out of the city center and towards the outskirts, “and now the continent-wide empire has been all but destroyed, with most griffons living under no actual ruler.”
“Ah,” Charles ‘ah’-ed. “To some extent, sounds better than the situation America was in when you popped out of a statue.”
“Yeah,” Sunset replied, ice in her voice, before falling silent. Charles fell silent as both had felt the conversation led to unpleasant thoughts.
Silence reigned before, half an hour later, Sunset finally piped up. “There’s the train station.”
“Good,” Charles responded, tired. “It feels like we’ve been walking in circles for a bit.”
“Uh.” Sunset looked abashed, biting on the inside of her cheek. “Well, you see, I’ve never been in this city ever, so at least we found it so quickly! That’s the good in this situation, right?” The smile she flashed was as wide as it was fake, something that Charles noted.
“We’ve been lost this entire time, yet you’ve been confidently surging ahead anyways.” He chuckled. “I’ve gotta admit, that does sound like you.”
“I could still deck you, you know,” Sunset muttered.
Charles, hearing her muttered words, laughed even louder. “You could, but you won’t. After all, you’d probably have to redo the bandages.”
Sunset sighed at that. “You’re right, because you can get it right every once in a while. Besides, we’re here.”
Sunset walked up to the single still-open ticket counter, who blinked his eyes at the two approaching the station. “Well, if it isn’t two young wipper-snappers out and about,” he scrawled, absentmindedly tugging on his beard. “If you wanted to leave immediately, you’re out of luck; we got no trains until the morn’.”
“That’s alright,” Sunset said. “We’re in no hurry, just didn’t necessarily have the bits for both another night and a train ride south.”
“Short on bits, eh?” the craggley stallion questioned, looking at them with one eye. “Tell you what, if you don’t tell my boss, I’ll float you two tickets wherever you want. Where you goin’?”
Sunset’s smirk returned to her face as she answered with one simple destination. “Ponyville.”
Chapter 2: Quietville, Equestria
Chapter 2: Quietville, Equestria
Stepping off the train into the mid-afternoon sun, Charles, or Open Doors as he was to be known, breathed deeply the clean and open air that proliferated in the land he was in and was sorely lacked back on Earth. The breath of fresh air that he had been given was a cleansing force of the air back on Earth that he could still remember, air of smoke and smog and soot and gunpowder and blood and death and loss.
Feeling a poke in his side, and he looked over to see Sunset, who, while seemingly fine in a cursory look with her smile, was shifting her weight between her left and right legs and glancing nervously at anyone that came close. Learning that the quiet town that Sunset had wanted to escape to was, instead, the home of a set of national heroes as well as the newest of the ruling class had been upsetting to her, to put it mildly. It had taken nearly the entirety of waiting for the first train out of the Crystal Empire (as they found out the name of the place they had been transported to) to calm her down from hysterics, which had been shown to be fast talking, rapid pacing, and frantic breathing. He sighed before giving a quick peck on her forehead and saying, “Calm down. We’ve heard that the princess isn’t here at the moment, so there’s nothing to worry about.” They had learned that the newest princess was partaking in a summit in the Crystal Empire with the other princesses, which only caused Sunset to want to leave even faster.
Sunset took a calming breath, then another, before nodding her head. “I’m okay,” her voice warbled, betraying her actual thoughts. She cleared her throat before repeating herself, with more confidence. It was all an act, Charles knew, but he was putting on an act as well. After all, how else would he be so calm after being tossed into a world beyond his wildest dreams.
Charles blinked a few times before standing noticeably straighter, saying, “I understand.”
Sunset, understandably, was confused. “Understand what?” she asked.
“I understand where we are,” he said, smiling. Before Sunset could ask another question, he continued. “We’re in Oz.”
“Oz.” Sunset stated, her face falling to a neutral line.
“Well, sure!” Charles continued, smile widening. “We got smiles and rainbows, and I’m sure that if we took that city we just left and painted it green, it would more or less be the Emerald City.”
“We passed through a blizzard leaving the place.”
“Oh, pish-posh,” he waved off. “Those are just details. Some finely laid track is a much better alternative to some yellow brick road.”
“Still doesn’t explain the blizzard.”
“Some details need to be left out for good storytelling,” Charles explained. “The blizzard is just one of them. Imagine if the four of them walked down the road, spotted a Ford parked on the side, and realized that they needed to take it or freeze to death!” He did a large roll of his eyes. “It would’ve ruined the whole movie, obviously!”
“Right,” Sunset deadpanned. “Anything else you’d like to add?”
“Well, I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore. Ow!” he cried, rubbing the area near his shoulder where he just got slugged. “You need to stop hitting me so hard!”
“I will once you stop being an idiot.” Despite her words, a small smile was upon her face. “You’re my idiot, though, and I like that. Now c’mon, I’ve gotta find a place to work, and we have to find a place to stay.” With that, she trotted off.
“Oh, I’m an idiot all right,” Charles mumbled as he trotted off after her, smile remaining on his face. “But nonetheless, you are the one who forgot her worries.”
The door creaked open, the bell connected to it ringing and alerting the mare who was neck-deep in paperwork that she had visitors. Peeking over the paper-made mountain of orders that she either needed to sign or toss, two ponies, a gray Earth Pony stallion and a yellow Unicorn mare, stood before her. Both had worn-looking saddlebags, the stallion had… something on his back, and both had begun to look her way. Parting the mountain to open up a small amount of desk-space, she gave her largest smile at the two approaching figures. “Hello,” she greeted the unknown pair. “Welcome to Ponyville’s Town Hall, I’m Mayor Mare. What can I do for you?”
The two traded a quick look before the mare spoke up. “We’re looking to move here.”
Mayor Mare’s eyes lit up. “Ah, you must be here with the edict!” she exclaimed. “I’m impressed, it’s only been up for a few days. How did you find out so fast.”
A few seconds passed before the mare answered. “Well, we were up in the Crystal Empire when the Princess Summit occured and overheard only snippets there. We had already decided that the Empire wasn’t a good fit for us and were open to new opportunities,” she finished with a smile.
“Well, that’s wonderful and all, but do you understand what the edict entails?” Mayor Mare asked. The mare hesitated before shaking her head. “Well, with Twilight’s recent ascension, she decided to pass an edict for Ponyville. Specifically, it was made to attract some new residents that can help defend our town due to the increase in activity from the Everfree Forest.”
“I suppose that that would be me,” the stallion muttered with a thick Trottingham accent, face stoic, voice barely heard, before nodding. “That would be my job, then,” he replied, volume increased.
“Excellent,” Mayor Mare noted, finding the paperwork and missing the pained look that the mare sent the stallion. Placing it in front of the two, she continued, “All I need you to do is sign in the places where I tell you to, okay?”
The mare confirmed with a nod, and lit up her horn to pick up the pen, signing where she was told. She giggled when she finished, setting the pen down. “My hoofwriting has not gotten any better over the years, it seems.” She gave a dramatic sigh. “The things I must go through to be in the medical field.”
“Always have the worst hoofwriting, indeed,” Mayor Mare agreed. “Will you be looking for work at the hospital? Based on what you just said, and what your cutie mark is, that’s where I’m guessing you would work. I believe they have an opening for a nurse’s assistant, if that’s alright with you.”
“That would be perfect,” the mare responded with a smile. “I appreciate your help.”
“You’re welcome, Miss…” Mayor Mare trailed off, realizing that she had never actually asked for the names of Ponyville’s newest residents.
“Sunny Days, and Open Doors is my-” she choked on her next words, cleared her throat, before finally concluding with, “-husband.”
“Oh!” Mayor Mare exclaimed. “I thought there was something going on between you two, but I didn’t expect it to be so… advanced. After all, both of you seem rather young to be married.”
Sunny, blushing, explained, “Well, we’re not actually married. We never got the paperwork done, but, well, we’re both willing to go the whole way on it.”
Mayor Mare hesitated before nodding. “I understand,” she said. “If you don’t want to make a big deal of it, I can always do a private ceremony and sign the documents. Oh! Before you go.” She began to shuffle through one of the drawers before pulling out a pair of keys. “The keys to your new home. It’s already furnished, so you won’t have to worry about that. It’s on the outskirts, but is still within walking distance to the rest of the town.”
Picking up the pair of keys in her magic and placing it into one of her saddlebags, Sunny smiled. “Thank you,” she said, before turning around and ushering Open out the door. Mayor Mare watched the young couple leave as the door closed behind them, before looking over at the mountain of paperwork that remained. She sighed before hunkering down and getting back to work.
The trip back through the town was a short one. The market that Sunset and Charles walked through had delectable aromas, which only made their economic woes all the more disheartening. Pushing through and into the outskirts, the two were able to find the road which their house was upon. A minute later, the two were standing outside of the quaint two-story house, which was situated directly on the road with no yard to speak of, and was bordered by more houses of the same kind, stretching up and down the road.
“Feels like some pictures of Europe I’d seen,” Charles commented as he looked up and down the street. “More specifically of Britain, especially after the syndies took over.”
“Charles…” Sunset began, but was cut off by Charles.
“I’m fine,” he stated. “Seriously, I’m fine. Just will need to not think about it for a bit.” He still looked up and down the street, lost in thought, until Sunset pushed him forward.
“C’mon, we’ve got to see what the house is like.” Sunset approached the house, key ready, but paused before she put it in the door.
“Something wrong?” Charles asked, sidling up to her.
“I dunno. I just…” She trailed off for a few seconds before continuing. “This is it, isn’t it? We’re putting the final nail in the coffin on our old life. Our own house, and you have a job and I a job prospect, and no way to return to…”
“No way to go home,” Charles picked up. “No way to fight for a king who doesn’t care. No way to needlessly die in an unjust war.” He was silent for a few moments before continuing. “No way of telling my parents that I’m alive and well.”
“Charles,” Sunset said, nuzzling his cheek. “C’mon, we’ve got a future for us here. A new beginning.”
Charles, returning the nuzzle, agreed. “A new beginning.”
With that, Sunset pulled away, inserted the key, and opened the door to their new home.
The train doors opened, and Pinkie Pie shot out of it, her reasoning of ‘party emergency’ both not making sense to anypony and making complete sense to everypony at the same time.
“Ah swear,” Applejack noted, stepping off the train, “Ah will never get used to that there mare. Do any o’ you know what she’s hankerin’ ‘bout?”
“A new pony, obviously,” Rainbow Dash noted from above as she lazily flew from the cabin. “What else would cause Pinkie to run off like that? My only question is how long it’ll take her to set it up.” She snickered. “My bet is that it’ll be tonight.”
“Even though it’s already around three in the afternoon?” Twilight asked. The look that Rainbow sent her way was enough to make her backtrack her thoughts as she shifted her saddlebags in discomfort. “Right, it’s Pinkie we’re talking about.”
“Honestly, darling, I’m surprised that you even question it anymore,” Rarity noted, disembarking from the train and being followed by Spike, who was carrying her bags. “Celestia knows that that mare will do whatever she wants however she wants.”
“I suppose,” Twilight sighed. “I just wonder who the party is for, and why she’s so enthusiastic about throwing this particular party.”
“Maybe it’s somepony she knows?” Fluttershy spoke up, scarcely heard over the din of the station. “Or, um, just somepony who just really needs a party?”
“I suppose you could be right, darling,” Rarity said, hoof to her chin. “Nonetheless, we will certainly find out at the party tonight. Ta-ta for now!” With that, she strutted off the platform into Ponyville proper, Spike doggedly following after her.
Applejack snickered. “He’s still after her like a bee chasin’ a flower cart. You sure it’s a fine idea to not nip this in the bud, Twilight?” she asked.
“For now, there’s no harm in letting it continue,” Twilight sighed. “Not to mention that Rarity likes his attention.”
The group shared a good laugh at that, before saying their goodbyes and setting off towards their homes. Twilight was happy to see that nothing had befallen Ponyville in the week that they had been gone, and was more than glad to be in a familiar bed that night, snuggled up with a good book. Alas, there was a party that night, even though she hadn’t been invited to it yet, and she knew that she should be attending, just for Pinkie, if nothing else. Perhaps the party would help get her mind off the summit for a while.
Twilight grimaced at that. The summit itself was, overall, fine, if a bit boring. It was a lot of talking, a lot of pleasantries, and not a single point of actual things that a princess should do. She didn’t even get to talk about her edict that she had created for Ponyville and try to gauge the other Princess’s reactions. And none of that was even concerning the object that hung over the entire summit: the mirror. Even with a week of surveying the destroyed artifact, nothing new had been discovered after the first night. By the time the magic-saturated space around the mirror faded, so had any way to trace whoever had been in the room either when the mirror was destroyed, or sometime before it did. And so, the only clues they had that anypony even was in the room was a small pool of blood and a tiny piece of iron that didn’t come from the mirror, both being leads with no information about where to go from there. Perhaps the blood sample she brought with her would hold something of value, but, at the moment, there was nothing that she could do. That, at the very least, was a tiny load off her chest.
Approaching Golden Oak Library, Twilight knew that there would be a backlog of mail. Even so, she wasn’t dreading it at all, even without her trusted assistant. Every letter was a letter written to her, the newest Princess of Equestria. Nearly every letter was important, though she could live without the nearly exponential increase in junk mail that she was receiving.
And so, when she opened her door, which was unlocked due to the space still being a public library, she was more than a little disheartened at the paltry pile that had been put on the place she had designated as her mailbox. The fact that most of them were probably junk mail did not help her mood in the slightest. Shrugging off her saddlebags for a second, she trotted over to the mail pile and began to look through it.
Unsurprisingly, the topmost letter was the invitation to tonight’s party, the welcoming party of Sunny Days and Open Doors to Ponyville. Seemed like a fairly typical pair, and, hopefully, a pair that was fully willing to have a party thrown at their house. Twilight read on, and, when she got to the ‘party theme’ part, had a frown creasing her face. Why on Equus would the theme be ‘Crystal Empire?’ Not to mention the fact that the name ‘Sunny Days’ felt overly familiar to her for a reason that she couldn’t place. After a minute of thinking, Twilight waved the white flag on that particular thought process, chalking it up to ‘Pinkie being Pinkie,’ and moved on to the remaining letters.
For the most part, Twilight was right in her fears; most of the letters were, in fact, junk mail. Subscriptions to magazines, weird wonder drugs, those sorts of things. The one exception, however, came at the end, which was a letter addressed from Mayor Mare at the Town Hall in an official capacity. Excited, she opened the letter and read through it, muttering all the while.
“Dear Princess Twilight, it is with great pride that I tell you of the first ponies to arrive in Ponyville due to your edict.” Her voice increased in volume as she read. “I would put out their names, though you will probably already know it from Pinkie’s invitations. Hopefully you can talk to them then, they seem like a nice couple. I look forward to working with you soon. Sincerely, Mayor Mare.”
Twilight was silent for a few moments, before the building tension in her throat burst out in a squeal of excitement, loud enough to be heard for a mile around. She began to hop around the library as Pinkie would, holding the letter close to her chest.
“I can’t believe it!” she cried. “Something that I wrote into law, and it got used! Just as I hoped it would! My very first edict, and it was a success!” A thought passing through her mind made her stop her bouncing, eyes going wide. “I need to send a letter to Princess Celestia!” With that, she bounded up the stairs to her room, needing to find some paper, a quill, and some ink to write it.
Sunset winced as she made her way out of the patient’s room, ears still ringing from the squeal that had pierced the air in the town scarcely a minute prior. She picked up the paper that hung outside the room, checked off a couple of boxes, and continued her way to the front of the small hospital. As she entered the reception room, she made her way behind the desk, dropping to her haunches as she wiped her brow of sweat. As she picked up the medicinal chart to check off more boxes, the other mare behind the desk giggled.
“Was Mr. Bones pleasant to deal with?” Nurse Redheart asked, stifling another round of giggles.
“Overall he was fine, until whoever shrieked did so,” Sunset sighed. “He spasmed a bit, and I had to calm him down before I could continue his limb motions. At least he took his medicine with no problem.” She took another look at the medicinal chart before asking, “Is there any more medicine that needs to be administered?”
“Not here, no,” Redheart replied. “However, as we also act as the local pharmacy, we supply medicine to anypony who needs it. There was a recent order from the local guard for painkillers. Generally, they send somepony out to pick it up, but they’re apparently a bit busy. Luckily, I now have an assistant who can do these kinds of runs for me.” Redheart smiled, which turned into yet another giggle at Sunset’s scowl. “Oh, relax. I know that there’s something at the station that would make the trip worth your while. Or, should I say, somepony?” Redheart’s giggles turned into a full laugh at Sunset’s rapidly reddening face.
“Shuddup,” Sunset murmured. “Just tell me where the medicine is and I’ll deliver it.”
“It’s in the med closet, still packed from shipment,” Redheart replied, looking back at the records, grin still on her face. “Just standard pain medicine, so we don’t need anything but one extra signature.”
“Good to hear,” Sunset tersely replied, getting back to her hooves to retrieve the intended items. Once found, she picked up the required paperwork as well stuffed everything into an extra pair of saddlebags and exited the building without another word. The instant she left, Redheart’s facial expression fell into a flat line before she picked up another sheet of paper, wrote a few notes, and then returned to the paperwork she was working on before.
If there was a single word used to describe the feeling that Charles had, it was ‘content.’ In a few more words, it would be ‘content and bored.’
The guard wasn’t a very… well disciplined group, to put it lightly. With the exception of the head guard, an older gruff unicorn named Silver Shield, Charles wouldn’t be surprised if he was the most experienced member of the group, at least in actual combat experience. Silver had noted that his military experience was in the decades, and that was far more than the not even two decades that Charles had been alive. Even so, the ma- stallion was not the most strict of people whom he had worked under. He certainly wasn’t complaining. After all, complaining is what lost wars, or so he had been told multiple times.
Charles snorted at that thought. He had complained to Sunset enough back on Earth to have lost both the singular war he was in, as well as every God-damned war in the Americas. Another snort, and Charles returned to thinking about his current situation, blocking out memories and thoughts of the past before they could take ahold of him.
The others, of which there were very few, were a carefree bunch. Macintosh was one he had seen very little of, the hulking stallion being stuck on his family farm as the only able-bodied worker on it, at least until his sister got back in town. Even so, the one time he did get to meet Macintosh, the stallion was quiet and very laid-back, though Charles still had the feeling that Macintosh could rip him in half if so desired.
Thunderlane was different. A pegasus, and the only one in the guard, he was the one that Charles had seen the most, seeing that he was also on the local weather team. The few times he had spoken with him had been filled with him lauding about anything of his, be it his physique, his position at his job, or his family. It was never as outright as bragging, per se, but he was certainly very proud of his position in life. If only Charles could say the same.
The final pony of the group was not one that Charles was expecting. Bon Bon was a local candy maker, an earth pony, and, most importantly to Charles, a wom-mare. It wasn’t as if Charles had any issues with w-mares fighting, it was that, back on Earth, the only role that mares had on the battlefield was as medics, and a medic Bon Bon was not. Even if she was a medic, Sunset had proved that, even if one’s primary mission was healing, fighting was not out of the realm of possibility. Even so, Charles had the feeling that, at the end of the day, Bon Bon could break his back over one of her knees without even breaking a sweat. With this fact in mind, Charles had decided to keep his thoughts to himself, holding his value of his life over his pride as a m-stallion.
This wasn’t even the crux of the problem that Charles had at the moment, though. At the end of the day, the main issue was that, out of every other member of the guard, Charles was the only one whose only job was with the guard. Sergeant Shield was the local blacksmith for the town, a job that only surprised Charles a little after seeing the town itself, Macintosh was always either selling his crop or on his farm when not at the post, Bon Bon was a candy maker, and, hell, Thunderlane was on the weather team! Not like those on Earth who would predict the weather, rather poorly as he had found, but ponies who would straight up control the weather! And here he was, sitting at a desk at the front of the guard post with nothing to do for the next hour, when both he and Sunset would get off shift and could enjoy the rest of the day together.
When the singular door to the post opened, Charles immediately shot to attention. It wouldn’t be the first time that Captain Shield had come in just to berate check on him, as his ears had attested to the time that he’d been slacking when the captain decided to check in on his day off. His attention immediately evaporated, however, when Sunset, and not the captain, walked into the building, carrying a pair of bags across her back. Her face, stony and hard, softened when she saw him, an action that made his heart flutter. He furiously beat back the growing blush on his face as he reclined back into the chair.
“Sunny,” he smiled. “It’s good to see you. What brings you in to my humble abode?”
“Your humble abode?” Sunset replied, smirk on her face growing. “Since when did you own anything here?”
“Does it matter?” The smile never left his face. “I’m the only one here, so I can call the shots.”
“Is that so, Open?” came the voice that Charles did not want to hear at the moment. Instantly standing at attention, knocking the chair he was sitting on back in the process, Charles took note of his superior, Silver Shield, standing at the ajared door.
“Sir!” Charles stood at attention, back straight, neck outstretched, head raised. Silver Shield chuckled a little before speaking once more.
“I was just on my way here when I ran into this fine lady,” he stated, gesturing towards Sunset. “When she told me what she was doing, I happily lead her here to drop off the medicine she was delivering and make sure the paperwork was in order. And what do I see? The one stallion who was tasked to keep an eye on things slacking off!”
Charles winced, but before he could say anything to defend himself, Sunset piped up. “Don’t be too hard on him. I still need him to walk after his shift.”
“And what for, if I may ask?”
“Opinions,” was the answer that was given, before Sunset concluded with, “Now, if you’re done lambasting Open, I still need to complete the paperwork before heading back to the clinic. Can we finish that up, please?”
“Certainly.” After Charles hoofed him a quill, he signed off on a couple of papers that Sunset had taken out. “That should do it,” Silver said, giving the final signature a little flourish. “Anything else?”
“Just you needing to actually take the medicine.” She put the medicine down on the desk in front of Charles before looking him in the eyes, and a faint burst of magic causing a tug on one of his ears. “And I’ll be seeing you later. Don’t be too late.” With the tiniest of smirks on her face, she calmly walked out the door.
Silence reigned for a few moments before Silver finally spoke up. “Open, you will tell me who in Maker’s name that mare was, and how she’s related to you.”
“Sunny Days,” came Charles’ subordinated reply. “She’s the new nursing assistant to Nurse Redheart. She also happens to be my wife.”
“Your wife?” Silver questioned. “I didn’t see a ring on her horn, nor have I seen a band on your foreleg.” At that question, Charles bit back a laugh, instead settling on a smirk.
“What do you think she needs opinions on?”
“I think it looks good on you.”
A few hours on, as Celestia finally lowered the sun, Sunset and Charles were finally walking towards their home, two new golden bands adorning their bodies. Sunset’s was placed at the base of her horn, while Charles’ was clasped around his upper left foreleg. He gave said foreleg a little kick after Sunset’s comment.
“I don’t disagree. It just feels weird, like it’s right up to my shoulder.”
“That’s because it is,” came Sunset’s flat reply. “But I’d love to hear where else on your body you’d like it put. Have any ideas?”
“Tail?”
“And make it into a glorified hair tie? Not a good idea.”
“Well, that’s all the ideas I have for the day. Don’t know how much more thinking I can do today.”
“What, was choosing between silver and gold really that difficult of a choice for you?” Sunset teased.
“It was. Both accentuate natural qualities of yours.”
“Oh? And what would those be?”
“Well, the silver would’ve shown the simplistic beauty in its reflection of you, while the gold is reminiscent of a beautiful sunset, warm and endearing to all who see it.”
Sunset blushed at the praise that was being hoofed out. “Flatterer,” she mumbled.
“The gold one was also cheaper. Ow!” Once again, Charles found himself rudding his shoulder from the punch he received.
“You’re not supposed to talk about that part,” Sunset hissed into his ear.
“What, that we have no money?” He deftly dodged out of the way of the next punch, and received a telekinetic slap to the face as his reward.
“And we’re not supposed to talk about that, either.”
“Message received,” Charles replied, idly rubbing his cheek where the slap connected, gait becoming an awkward trot in the process. “It does look good on you, though. Really.”
“Yes, well, that was the point of this whole excursion,” Sunset muttered as the two finally approached their house. The house itself wasn’t much - the exterior was painted a painfully bland blue, and the door was accompanied by a finely-sized window. The lack of yard was no downside - both had admitted to the other that neither had a green hoof to speak of - though both had admitted over the past few days that it felt a little cramped on the inside. There were a total of five rooms in the whole structure: on the ground floor were the kitchen and living room with naught but a small counter separating the two, and the living room itself was large enough for nothing more than a couple of loveseats, a couch big enough for two, a coffee table and a bookcase, and the kitchen was even smaller. In the back of the living room were a doorway, leading to the simple bathroom that had a toilet, a sink, and a shower with little else, and the stairs to the second floor. The second floor seemed even smaller than the first, consisting of a small bedroom that had a single bed and two nightstands, and a small closet that could work as a guest bedroom if the need arose. It wasn’t much, both knew that, as both had lived in places of luxury, but neither cared, as neither had ever lived in someplace that was truly theirs. And so, as the two made their way into their house, they expected a similar evening to those that had come before, one of quiet where the two would bask in the others presence and, if they were feeling up to it, things could escalate further.
What was most definitely not expected, however, was when the lights turned on, the walls were suddenly filled with streamers and banners and balloons, and half the town stood up from behind corners and chairs and the couch with a big “surprise!”
Sunset Shimmer is a proud mare, she would be the first to tell you. She would also be the first to tell you that she definitely did not scream in terror from the loud noises, or sudden flash of light, and most certainly not from the impossibly-pink mare that had absolutely no concept of personal space. She was almost positive that the mare was trying to talk to her, though she would be damned if she would be asked to repeat what was said. She felt like backpedaling into the street, out towards the street and onto a train to another place so that she could just get away from---
Charles was there, whispering in her ear, preventing her from backing up further. The weight of his head rested upon hers as she instinctively pushed into the safety of the crook of his neck. Seconds passed before she was able to hear the sweet nothings that he was saying, and, with a incomplete breath and upon shaking hooves, was able to extract herself from the safety that he gave.
Looking back over the party, it was clear that all attention was on her, and the room was deathly silent. She once was always wanting to be the center of attention, but now that she had it, all she wanted to do was slink away and hide. And so, she decided, she would.
It took her a few more seconds before she finally found her voice again. “I think,” she whispered to Charles, shakily and taking time between fragments, “that I’m going to take a breather upstairs, and I’ll be back down in about half an hour.” The look that Charles gave was one that Sunset had seen from him countless times back on Earth, back in the Tartarus that they had met. I understand, it said without words, the nod only reinforcing its point. Without another word, she moved through the crowd towards the stairs in the back and up towards their room.
Twenty minutes into the party, Twilight hadn’t been able to talk to the stallion of the pair that the party had been made for. She was only able to spot him from time to time, always talking to somepony that had come to the party, before she herself was torn away by somepony asking her a question. While she was looking around the party between ponies coming up to talk with her, she was able to see Applejack talking with the stallion that she herself wanted to talk to, and so made her way over to the two.
Applejack was the first to spot her, and greeted her accordingly. “Well howdy, Twi’,” she began, drawl seemingly more intense than normal. “I hope that the party’s goin’ fine fer ya.”
“It’s going just fine, thank you for asking,” she replied, deciding not to talk about the incessant questions that were levied her way in the past almost half-hour. “I just wanted to come over and talk to one of the ponies that this party was thrown for.”
“Well, Open Doors here is a right-fine stallion, if Ah say so myself!” Applejack exclaimed, giving said stallion a firm pat on the back as she said so. Open Doors, being in the process of straightening himself out for one of the Princesses, was not expecting such an action, and stumbled sideways into another party-goer, with apologies from both sides flying profusely through the air afterwards. Applejack gave a wry smile before letting out another yawn. “‘S a shame that Ah won’t be able ta see the mare tonight. Train ride right tuckered me out, and Ah got a full day of apple-bucking tomorrow, so Ah’m gonna get back ta the farm ta get myself some shut-eye. Hope ya got a good night!” With a little wave, she waded her way through the crowd and out the front door, into the night.
Twilight gave a wave back before turning back towards the stallion, who was just finishing up with his apologies. She gave a polite bow before saying, “Hello! My name is Princess Twilight Sparkle. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
His own face contorted into shock for a second before settling into an expression that seemed a little too common for him - a bit of a forced smile, but not too much and by no means a rude one, just one that she had seen a whole bunch with the nobles at her coronation. “Princess Twilight,” he began, voice soft and barely audible over the din, but loud enough that his Trottingham accent was able to get through to her. “It is a pleasure and an honor to meet you as well.” At that, he bowed deeply, almost touching the floor with his muzzle, much to the abashment of Twilight. When the stallion finally did rise once more, he seemed to straighten out where he hadn’t before, now towering over her by a head where before he was only a smidge taller. “My name is Open Doors. Are you the one who passed the Town Defence Initiative?”
“Um, er…” Twilight stammered for a few seconds, both due to needing to crane her neck to look the stallion in the eyes and not expecting the question in the first place. After a few seconds she shook out of her stupor and answered the question. “Yes! I mean, yes, that was me.”
A smile graced his face. “Then you have my sincere gratitude, Princess. Without that initiative, my wife and I would’ve had a difficult time finding a place to settle.”
Twilight tilted her head at that. “Oh? And why would that be?”
The smile that Open Doors had been wearing faded from his face before he answered. “We’ve been moving for some time now, and have been strapped for bits the whole time. This has been the first place that we reached that both of us enjoyed and had employment opportunities for us. Before this were just odd jobs, enough for some food, a train ticket, and little else.”
“Well then, I’m glad that you decided to make Ponyville home! But I have to ask, are you sure about your abilities when it comes to your… responsibilities as a guard? I-I don’t mean to be rude or anything, but you seem a bit…” she trailed off, only to have her question be picked up by Open.
“Young?” He chuckled, and when he answered, his voice was hollow. “Trust me, I can fight. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I think I need to check on my wife.” With a small bow in her direction, he waded his way back through the crowd and up the stairs in the back.
Twilight blinked once, twice as her mind processed what Open had said. When it finally did, the only thing she could say came out as a one word question. “Wife?”
When Charles reached the bedroom, he entered cautiously and quietly, and was slightly disheartened by the sight of Sunset curled up in blankets, hidden from the world. He crept his way towards the bed and peeked at her, thankfully uncovered, face. She had gotten better at this since Charles had met her, but he could still tell when she was faking sleep. A little shallower breathing, face was still tense, and a few creases on her forehead were the only signs that she was still awake, and the fact that all those signs were present gave Charles all he needed to come to his conclusion. And so, without a word, he gave a little peck on her forehead - which got rid of the creases on said part and caused the corners of her mouth to upturn - before leaving once more for the party downstairs.
Two hours passed, and the noises coming from downstairs quieting the over time, before finally disappearing altogether. Finally, noises came from the stairwell before the sounds of hoofsteps finally made its way to the outside of the door. Charles walked in, closed the door, took a few steps, and fell down next to Sunset. Before he could get a word out, Sunset whispered, “I’m sorry.”
A few seconds passed before Charles responded. “What for?”
“Not being there. Now everypony will talk about my reaction to the party.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Charles calmly stated. “I already explained that you weren’t feeling well, something about picking up some disease from work. In other news, you have a day off tomorrow, Nurse Redheart’s orders.”
The sigh that came from Sunset notified Charles that she was not entirely happy with him, even as she said, “Thanks,” afterwards. And so, as a last ditch effort to lift his spouse’s mood before she fell asleep, he cleared his throat and began to sing.
There’s a yellow rose in Texas, that I am going to see,
No other soldier knows her, no other only me,
She cried so when I left her it like to broke my heart,
And if I ever find her we never more will part!
Almost instantly after he began singing, Sunset perked up and, by the time he finished the first verse, a bright blush crossed her features, only visible by the sliver of moonlight that snaked its way through a crack in the curtains. As he began to sing the second verse after a pause, she scooted up to his side, snuggling up against him.
She’s the sweetest rose of color this soldier ever knew,
Her eyes are bright like diamonds, they sparkle like the dew,
You may talk about your Dearest May and sing of Rosa Lee,
But the yellow rose of Texas is the only girl for me!
Charles sang until the breathing of Sunset slowed to a crawl, and sang a bit longer because he felt like it. Before long, though, he fell asleep as well, curled up beside his wife, both embracing the other.
Interlude 1: The Princess Summit
Interlude 1: The Princess Summit
Princess Twilight Sparkle, the newest of the alicorn princesses, looked upon the shattered remains of the artifact before shifting her gaze to her mentor, Princess Celestia. The magic blast that had woken up her and her friends had preceded the guard coming and asking her to come to this room, which she had not known of before, on the behest of the princess. When she arrived, however, all she was met with were two unicorns piecing through the debris and her mentor looking over it, stony-faced and silent. Not wanting to disturb anything, Twilight took her place next to Celestia and waited. Now that a few minutes had passed, however, she was starting to get a bit worried that something was even more wrong than she thought.
A moment later, Princess Celestia seemed to shake herself out of her thoughts and spared a glance at Twilight. “I apologize, Twilight,” she said, eyes returning to the base that the artifact had rested upon. “I suppose I’m lost in thoughts, mainly regrets.”
“Regrets?” Twilight asked, tilting her head. “About what, necessarily? Is it something to do with the artifact?”
“Indirectly,” came the deflective response, before Celestia sighed. “My apologies, it’s always… difficult for me to talk about my Little Sun.”
“Little Sun…?” Twilight asked, hoping for an answer.
“That’s a name I haven’t heard for a while,” came the voice of one of the unicorns piecing through the debris. “You’re still looking for her? Thought you gave up on Sunset after you took up Twilight.”
“Twilight was not a replacement for Sunset, Colonel Far Sight.” Celestia’s voice was stern, brokering no argument. “I do not believe there ever will be. It would be prudent for you to remember that.”
“Apologies, Princess,” Far Sight replied. “Though, you can’t deny the ways that they became your student were similar.”
Twilight’s ears flattened at that admission. “You were at my exam?” she asked, abashed.
“At yours? No, I just heard about it from the grapevine. No, I was just a private when little Sunset showed her face. What a thing that was.”
Celestia chuckled at that, eyes clouded in reminiscence. “Yes, it certainly was.”
“Er, Prin-Celestia?” Twilight asked. “What exactly do you mean by that?”
“Well, you see,” Far Sight began, “when Celestia went out for one of her daily walks about… how long ago was it now?”
“It will be twenty five years as of next week,” Celestia responded.
“Ah, yes, twenty five years ago, Celestia was out on one of her walks in Canterlot. Lots of ponies wanted to see her, and wanted to be seen by her. Sunset Shimmer was one of them.”
“As far as I knew, she was an orphan living on the streets,” Celestia continued. “Even without her cutie mark, she felt she was special. And so, seeing me on the streets, she decided to impress me with her magical prowess. She brought all the magic in her soul to bear, and tried to create a second sun.”
“Celestia always loves upscaling what Sunset did,” Far Sight butted in. “She was just trying to create a very large light spell. Any unicorn could tell you that.”
“Yes, that’s true,” Celestia conceded. “However, what she happened next was definitely not what anypony expected: she Flared. Suddenly, she actually was creating a second sun, and right in the middle of a crowd. It was lucky that I was there; I could stop the flare in progress, but then again, she wouldn’t of flared in the first place if I were not there. When it was over, she was puckered out and had her cutie mark.” Celestia’s face, for a split second, showed a shadow of concern, but her neutral mask returned before Twilight could make note of it. “When I asked her later, she didn’t remember the flare, which was a good thing. In the end, though, I took her in as a student of mine, as well as let her attend my school free of tuition.”
Something about the story bugged Twilight, as if Celestia was leaving out something, but before she could ask more questions about this previous student, the other unicorn piped up. “Princesses! I found something!”
Immediately, all focus turned to the stallion, who was clearing an area around a suspicious splotch, almost immediately in front of the base. Moving over to the splotch, whose dark red color immediately connoted blood, Twilight’s concern grew as much as her puzzlement. The size of the splotch was of immediate puzzlement; even a small piece of the debris would’ve caused more blood than this splotch, so the rapid unscheduled disassembly of the mirror, as one of the guards outside the room had put it, was unlikely to be the cause. Furthermore, there was something odd going on with the splotch, as the magic inside it was over-excited, moreso than anything else in the room. Peering closer, she noted the odd piece of debris in the middle, and oh so carefully lifted it up with her magic. Bringing it closer to her eye, she asked a question while examining it. “Princess? Was there any iron used in the construction of the mirror?”
A few moments passed before Celestia answered. “No. Steel, crystals, glass, and silver were the only materials used in the construction of the mirror.”
“Curiouser and curiouser,” Twilight murmured, rotating the debris in her magic. “Then this piece of iron is even more unusual than normal.” Before anypony could ask why, she continued, “The magic in this piece is very excited, as if a large amount of magic had been poured into it recently, but…” She trailed off for a second before picking back up right where she left off. “But the amount of magic in it is completely ordinary for a chunk of steel this size. How could that be?”
“It came from the mirror,” Celestia abruptly said, and everypony turned to look at her. “The mirror is, was a portal, and the world on the other side was nearly devoid of magic. Starswirl and I visited there when he first crafted the mirror.”
“So if it came from the mirror,” Twilight continued, “then it can be thought that the blood also came from the mirror, and due to the blood still being fresh, we can conclude that the pony who broke the mirror was a pony who came through the mirror, and also left the blood.” Twilight’s thought process hit a snag, and took a few seconds to catch up with her mouth. “Of course, there’s also the fact that more than one pony came through the mirror, but, well, we can’t say, so it’s nothing but speculation at the moment! What we can say, though, is that the iron was taken out of the body and the wound was bandaged due to lack of any blood trails elsewhere in the room, which means we only need to look for somepony with bandages on their body.” Twilight beamed at her thorough explanation, before her smile morphed into a sheepish one, with her furling her wings that had extended during the explanation.
Celestia’s smile almost seemed forced. “Very good, Twilight. We’ll talk about this more tomorrow.” Without another word, she left the room, leaving a very perplexed Twilight.
Far Sight sighed before turning back to Twilight. “You must forgive her, Princess. She-”
“Twilight,” Twilight interrupted. “Please, just call me Twilight.”
“Very well, Twilight. Getting back to the point, Princess Celestia and Sunset Shimmer were very close to one another, and the fallout of their relationship was catastrophic. She had fled through the mirror, and it only opened every once in a while. And now, she may never see her student again.” He shrugged. “Or she was here, and her student, which left with a very… explosive personality, is out in the world with no guiding forces. Regardless, your explanation most likely lead to some unpleasant thoughts of her, so please be patient with her.”
Twilight mutely nodded, stood processing her own thoughts for a few moments, before excusing herself. The trek back to her room was done in silence, only pausing in her internal musings to ask for directions. Soon enough, she found herself in the corridor where she and her friends were rooming and came upon the unusual sight of Applejack sitting outside of Pinkie’s door, silently glaring at it.
“Uh, Applejack?” Twilight asked, to which Applejack sleepily turned her head towards Twilight.
“Twi’,” she yawned in a sleepy drawl. “In case ya were wonderin’, Pinkie’s been goin crazy for the last fifteen minutes, and Ah can’t git a lick o’ sleep because of it. Ah think she’s plannin’ a party, but the things she’s saying don’t make no sense.”
“Really?” Twilight asked, interest piqued. “What’s she saying?”
“She’s just sayin’ descriptors, like ‘black cupcakes to match his black mane’ and ‘green and blue treats to match their eyes’ and something about interlocked keys. Think ya can do somethin’ about it?”
Twilight processed the question, and, a moment later, answered as honestly as she could.
“No.”
