It was all her fault.

Twilight’s eyes never left the empty, staring orbs of that warm blue-green shade she had come to treasure in the last half a year, and it was all she could do to hold herself together, to refuse to give the monster that was her principal or that horrible shadow figure the satisfaction of seeing her cry anymore. Sunset…was very likely dead…murdered in front of her by monsters…

But the situation that had led to it was Twilight’s fault.

If only she had listened, instead of yelling…

Then, maybe…

She blinked rapidly, fighting the tears that made her eyes burn. No! Sunset had to be okay—something else was at play, and there had to be some reason the monsters were treating her like she was still dangerous! It had to mean there was still a chance! Still a chance to make it right!

If she could even hope to make it right, that was.

Sunset had been furious in the hallway…those eyes had been glowing, blue-green on black in the moment when Cinch had put a hand on her neck. It had been frightening to see the change, to realize the ears seated atop fiery hair and the horn on her forehead were real, not some kind of spirit-wear for the school, and that some of that anger and hurt she saw when their eyes met was directed at Twilight.

Rightly so, part of her acknowledged. She had been utterly awful to Sunset last Friday…Sunset had every right to be angry….and hurt.

If Twilight had spent all week feeling like her heart was broken…how had Sunset felt?

Her mind brought her back to that moment where she had taken The Key off her neck, had lashed out hard at Sunset for outing them, and accused her of lying… Without the veil of blinding anger completely distorting her perceptions she could see with utter clarity the moment that she had ripped Sunset’s own heart out of her chest and crushed it cruelly. The way those beautiful eyes widened, full of agony and horror…and then broken resignation, the lively fire in them doused, amber complexion gone gray-tinged and pale, the trembling in an arm that started to reach out to her, as if trying to stop what was happening.

Wrenching herself from the memory, haunted by vision and reality of blue-green eyes, Twilight struggled to breathe and not sob in grief. People always treated perfect recall like a gift—which it could be—but it was just as much a curse. It meant time never softened the memories. It meant she could never forget, not the moment and not her own emotions at the time. Stepping into a memory was to experience it over and over as if for the first time, and right now that clashed sharply with a more recent recollection, of Sunset’s screams of agony, and the sound her body had made when it impacted the bleachers with that sickening crunch.

She had done this. She had caused all of it…with hubris, weakness…and cruelty towards the girl who always treated her like their friendship and relationship was something precious. Like Twilight was precious.

Sunset was gone…

And the last words Twilight had ever said to her were hateful.

Full of anger and petulance…when they should have been a declaration of love. Sunny…I’m so sorry… she cried to the cold universe and wishing she could say it to Sunset herself. I didn't mean it…you…you are always going to be my very best friend…I love you…please don't leave me!

Hot tears overflowed and Twilight hated herself, even as she begged for her best friend to be alive.

How could she ever have implied that having Sunset’s presence with her was some kind of violation? In that moment, she’d have given anything to have Mental-Sunset manifest and give her a smile, to let her know she was still there.

To give her hope that Sunset was alive.

Their brief view of each other in the hallway swam before her mind’s eye again, Sunset’s dark fury as she demanded Twilight be freed, as she scathingly called out Vice Principal Silverthorn and spoken so condescendingly to Principal Cinch…and then the expression as she had seen Twilight standing next to Cinch silently. Hurt had flickered, under the fury…but…

Something insistent prodded her, and Twilight played the memory again. And again. And again…until…there! Sinking into the emotional moment where their eyes had met, she felt it. A flutter of something…tiny and faint, masked under everything else going on…as if the very connection that they had always felt between them, that allowed them to understand each other when words were a struggle or language lacked the ones they needed, had allowed them to send a message encoded in that long glance. A feeling of…reassurance…that she was still cared about. Loved. Even if apologies and forgiveness had yet to happen, Sunset was never going to abandon her best friend to the monsters.

It was a thin thread of hope, fragile and faint, but Twilight grasped it like a lifeline. Like a drop of sunlight in the endless abyss, it kept her from surrendering to despair, or worse, to the flicker of icy anger that licked at her heart. She clung to it as much as she did to the fearful way these monsters acted as they moved Sunset’s body to the storage room of the gym—it was a hope…a desperate and impossible belief that told her Sunset still had a chance, no matter how small. That she wasn't gone, and that she would keep her promise, somehow.

“Twilight?” A rough voice spoke nearby, making her look at the blurry figures nearby. It was the tall blonde girl talking, judging by the accent. “Ah know it seems bad right now, sugar, but we’ve gotten out of worse’n this. Don't give up.”

“Indeed,” said the prim voiced one. “And I must say, darling, we are ever so pleased to meet you, despite the circumstances. I am just sorry it's not a happier moment. All the same, I am Rarity, one of Sunset’s friends.”

Her own voice felt…cracked and half rusted. “You're the one who makes clothes. Like that pretty top with the embroidery…” Another memory flashed. “…she wore it on our date…”

A soft sound of joy reached her. “Oh! She—Sunset Shimmer,” Rarity said with the sound of tears in her voice. “I didn't know she really liked it that much…she never said…but if she…” Her voice trailed off from the emotional overload.

“It's alright, Rares. Ya kin get gossip from her at the next sleepov—”

A dark figure moved and there was the sound of flesh hitting flesh. “Shut up!” the figure hissed. “I have no desire to listen to the inane lowing of animals headed for slau—”

The blonde blur moved, fighting her bonds enough to headbutt the dark shape and send it sprawling. “Kindly shut the fuck up,” she drawled. “Afore yer coward of a boss cheated, we were wipin’ the floor with ya.” Then she called, “Ah’m Applejack, sugar. Lookin’ forward ta gettin’ ta know ya after this mess is over. Gotta be a special lady that can turn Sunset’s head.”

“…you have the farm. And there's…Rainbow Dash…Indigo recognized you last week. You…you saw us…didn't you? Made your teammates look the other way.”

Cackling and swinging a foot sharply at the downed blob that had struck her friend, Dash answered, “Wow. You are sharp. Shouldn't be surprised. Sunset is an egghead too. Yeah, I saw, but I promised I’d keep Sunset’s friend a secret 'til she was ready to let everyone know. So I did you a solid. You can say thanks by fixing whatever happened between you and Shimmer. She’s been fucked up all week.”

Twilight squeezed her eyes shut, guilt hammering her, and the tears flowing faster no matter how she fought it. “…I want to…but…I’m not sure she’ll forgive me…” A sob broke free. “Or if I deserve it.”

“She will,” Dash said confidently.

The claws digging into her shoulder clenched painfully. “Such desires matter little,” Cinch said firmly. “None of you will see the sun set. Now. Enough.” Her hand gestured impatiently at the mass of dark forms. “Drag them if you must, but it is time. We must prepare for the ritual.”

Applejack snorted. “Shows what you know,” she challenged. She fought to her feet against the shadows binding her. “Who’s first? Bet Ah kin put a few of ya out of yer misery before ya get me where yer taking us.”

There was hesitation among the dark forces, and Cinch let out a frustrated sound. Something burst from a pointed finger, and the girls began moving, their shadowy bindings slithering with unpleasant whispering sounds towards the doors to the outside. “Useless.”

“It is hard to find good help some days, isn't it, Itheadair?” Rarity said with amusement. “Though I suppose that's what you get for selling yourself to an uncouth ruffian going through his emo phase.”

Stiffly, Cinch responded, “You will show the Master the respect He is due.”

Rarity never missed a beat. “Please, darling. Don't you know how terribly gauche it is to involve others in your kinks without informed consent? One would think, at your age, you would have more class.” She sniffed. “Though, given the actions of most of your student body over the years, I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised.”

Rainbow Dash burst into outright laughter at that, and even Twilight found herself giggling. The monster tightened her grip and shoved Twilight forward. “Move, Miss Sparkle. Your fate awaits.”

Twilight fought the hold with renewed vigor—they were trying to pull her away from Sunset—desperate to wrench free of the hand gripping her by any means necessary. She almost succeeded, until the monster that was her principal used both hands to catch flailing arms and pin them behind her back. “Twilight Sparkle,” she hissed, low volumed and close to Twilight’s ear, enduring the way Twilight thrashed and kicked and even tried to headbutt her. “I implore you: Cease. What will be, will be, and I have no desire to break any of my oaths because you are insisting on throwing a tantrum. Even an oath to an opponent.”

The words made her freeze, which relieved some of the uncomfortable pressure of how her arms were being held. Why would it matter? Why did the monster care what Sunset had asked for in the hallway…?

She thinks she bargained with a demon, a corner of her mind pointed out. Sunset demanded she stop her people from hurting and restraining you. For all she’s held on…she's trying not to harm you.

Something occurred to her—Cinch thought Sunset was still alive too. She had to. Why else would she keep to a deal made with someone who was dead?

More than that…was Cinch afraid of Sunset?

It was time to test that.

“She’s going to be furious,” she rasped out, voice still thin and rough. “When she gets free of what you had done to her…when she sees how you treated her friends. Treated me…”

The figure marching her outside and around the side of the building towards the front of the school hesitated just a moment, and Twilight capitalized on it. “She will. You thought it was bad when she came to the school for me, when my meds were taken? I have bruises this time. Her friends have cuts, one might have broken bones…” Twilight could feel the shifting mood around her, especially from Cinch, and her mind raced, shaping all the hints of knowledge and disparate fragments of information into a narrative. “She wasn't even angry the day she came for me…but this…this will make her angrier than you are prepared for.”

Silence, but for the sound of whispering shadows and footsteps. Twilight wondered if they were all going to just ignore her rather than answer. It was an uneasy silence, fearful, as if they were waiting to be jumped by an outside force—either Sunset or that monster of shadow these creatures called ‘Master’—and it made the teen’s skin crawl unpleasantly.

But it was broken when the thing that had been her principal finally spoke, still in that low voice. “…I understand, Miss Sparkle…and I…” There was a pause. “…I accept your warning as it is intended. However, this course cannot be changed or stopped, and we cannot go back—there is no choice but for all of us to move forward and meet our fates, whatever they may be. I believe your kind quaintly refers to it as ‘crossing the Rubicon?’” There was a hint of what Twilight thought sounded like resignation…and a touch of bleakness that made her shiver.

Blinking rapidly and wishing her eyesight was better, the dark haired girl tried to focus on her captor. “There’s always a choice,” she entreated. “Always a way to turn away from something and be a better person. It's only a point of no return if you refuse to see any other way.”

For a moment, she thought she might have gotten through to Cinch, but the shadows hissed and chittered, and the hands gripping her tightened. “I cannot, for that choice is not mine to make. It has already been decided.”

Closing her eyes, Twilight searched for an appropriate response, and remembered how Sunset had seemed…sad…when Sour Sweet had rejected the same entreaty. She felt that way now, despite all that Crystal Prep had done to her, despite the suffering…it still felt like a failure to have not been able to change their minds. To not give them the chance that Sunset had taken.

However…it was still their choice to make.

In the end, she settled on the words that fit the situation and the phrase Cinch had quoted. “ἀνερρίφθω κύβος.” Like Latin, Greek was a language she had learned for scientific purposes as much as intellectual ones, but it meant that the quote flowed as easily off her tongue as the poorly chosen Latin version would have, and there was something satisfying about using the original.

Slowly but surely, the group made their way to the front of the Canterlot High building, and Twilight realized their destination was the space just in front of the mascot statue. Some of the figures wearing Crystal Prep uniform colored blurs were already working to make some kind of large markings on the wide concrete space, and two more were hefting something large and blocky that looked heavy. It was hard to make out exactly what it was, but given the word ‘ritual’ had been tossed around, Twilight had a few guesses.

Rainbow Dash had more than a guess. “Are you fucking kidding me? An altar and a pentagram? This looks like the set for a college budget horror movie written by drunk frat boys!” Her words were loud and derisive, and from the murmurs, were getting to the beings around them. “You guys already look like Deadpool had sex with Legolas and the babies are trying to cosplay as anime characters, but this? Come on! You can't possibly be serious.”

Stiff, uncomfortable silence.

“Ah think they're serious, Dash.”

Snorting, the colorful girl started up again. “Man, I hope your ritual doesn't require us to all be virgins, cuz I’m pretty sure that ship has sailed for at least two of us.”

Applejack chuckled. “….Eeeeeeyup.”

“Three!” called a chipper voice from one of the other girls that was being moved into position at one part of the circle. Twilight guessed it was a point on the pentagram. “See, I went to this camp last summer, and well, there was this really sweet—mrrhrrm nnnrff hrrrm!” Someone had done something to muffle the oversharing.

And then, almost too quiet to hear, another voice, soft and nervous. “….um…four…”

“Oh my…” Rarity murmured.

Rainbow Dash paused, then said in an awestruck voice. “Wow. I…wasn't expecting that…Respect, Shy.” There was an embarrassed squeak in reply, and Rainbow started in on the monsters around them again. “So…yeah. It looks like you're lacking the ‘virgin’ in your sacrifices. Also, we’ve done the whole ‘fight a demon’ thing before. We beat their ass into a crater.”

Another interjection from Applejack carried ominous weight. “Ah’d wager we kin do it again.”

The chipper voice was back—it had to be the friend Sunset called ‘Pinkie’—and there was a growled demand to know how she’d gotten her mouth free. “Ooo! That means you should skip this next part and give up so we can go right to the part where we make friends!”

“Though…forgive us, darlings, if we don't invite you to the sleepovers. I daresay you are all far too old for that to be appropriate.” Rarity sniffed delicately.

There was something comforting about how confident Sunset’s friends were even as they were maneuvered into place for some kind of terrible ritual being conducted by monsters for an evil shadow. It kept Twilight from slipping into full on panic, providing an emotional anchor she had been missing since the mental version of Sunset had stopped appearing…even if it wasn't quite as effective as that husky tone purring in her ear would have been.

She struggled as best she could when Cinch marched her over to the blocky blur that Rainbow had identified as an altar, and quickly found herself on her back, arms and legs restrained. Her breathing picked up as panic boiled over, the reality of her situation becoming clear. Her vision swam dizzyingly, and spots danced before her eyes as she struggled to both draw in air and free herself from her bonds.

Where was Sunset? Why wasn't she here yet?

Sunny, please! Twilight’s mind cried out for her. I need you! Help me!

Nothing. Not even the version conjured in her mind.

Around her, dark and blurry shapes moved and undulated, one hovering nearby—her principal, by the clothing—and fidgeting restlessly, something in her other hand that Twilight couldn't make out. Overhead, dark storm clouds left the world in a dusk-like atmosphere, gloomy and shadowed, and no matter how much she strained her senses, she could hear no signs of life and civilization beyond the schoolyard. No cars, no people, nothing. Just the growing multitude of whispering voices that emanated from shadows that moved in ways shadows had no right to.

Suddenly her principal seemed to snap to, and held arms high, speaking in a terrible tongue she could not place. It was harsh, guttural, and felt like talons being raked across her mind and soul painfully. If there was a language of evil and the damned, it was everything Twilight imagined it would sound like. This time she cried in pain from the noise, and how utterly wrong it felt against her eardrums, her skin, against every part of her being.

“Twilight,” a voice called urgently. “Ah need ya ta look at me, sugar.”

Against the pain of the chanting, Twilight turned her head, looking at Applejack’s blurry form held tightly bound.

“That’s it, Twilight. Just keep lookin’ at me. Don't give them the satisfaction. Keep yer eyes over here, on yer new friends.”

It was hard. Terror coursed through her and she struggled and pulled on the things holding her to unforgiving and rough stone, could feel the abrasions left on her arms and backs of her legs. Some animal part of her wanted to see what was coming, but Applejack just kept talking. “At least, we’d all like ta be friends. Sounds like we all care a lot about Sunset, and well, that seems like a good enough reason ta get ta know each other. Especially cuz it sounds like you’ve been around for her since she started betterin’ herself, working through her old ways ta come out the other side a changed gal.”

Something loosened a fraction in her chest, at least until her principal made a strangled, agonized sound, and faltered. Her eyes instinctively looked to see what was going on, despite Applejack calling, “No, no, sugar, don't look. Look back at me, please…”

Darkness now clung to Cinch, thick and oozing, weeping shadow from eyes and nose like intangible blood, and the voice coming from her was layered with the deep voice that had come from the dark shadow monster who Twilight had told off. Those arms raised a cruel knife over her as the chanting headed for some kind of crescendo, the intent telegraphed clearly even to nearsighted eyes.

General Relativity’s ghost, she was going to die, wasn't she?

“C’mon, Twilight, look over here. Ah don't want ya ta see that. Please, look over here.”

Choking on a half sob, she jerked her head towards Applejack again, still frantically pulling on her bindings in animal fear. Everything in her vision was blurred by the loss of her glasses and her tears, but her breath caught at the sight of one impossible thing in complete focus. Standing next to the Applejack blur, faint but in full 20/20 clarity, was Mental-Sunset.

She was still a mental projection of some kind—barely there and see through, but those eyes from her dreams, glowing blue-green on the darkness of space, skin where golden amber shaded to a red-amber hue, massive gargoyle-esque wings, and that beautiful tail with its cascade of living flame were all clear and sharply in detailed focus. Twilight thought her heart might burst from the mixture of hope and relief—Sunset hadn’t abandoned her.

“Hey…I promised.”

That wonderful voice made her want to weep, tired and faint as it was to her ears. Sunset was alive, she had to be. Sunny, she cried, desperately directing the thought at the figure. I love you! And I’m sorry!

Then the distant chanting became a screaming bellow, and Twilight’s world became nothing but searing pain and darkness…

Author's Note

*Hums* So....

That happened.

Please hold your pitchforks until the end.

A lot happened in this chapter.

First, while I know it doesnt show it in the approximate word-count on the site (You loose somewhere between 100-250 words per chapter with its estimation), this chapter actually contains the 1 millionth word for Rubicon.

That millionth word goes to Rarity, throwing shade at the villainous Abacus Cinch, thousand-plus year old fae. Oh look, I guess there WAS someone to catch it.

Twilight is having...regrets. But also hope? She tries, in true Friendship is Magic fashion, to appeal to the villains up until the end....because she is right. You can ALWAYS stop, you can always make a better choice...its just are you willing to pay the cost? To deal with the consequences.

Which is the whole point of this story, the main theme and even tied into the sub-themes. Choices matter, and all choices have their consequences.

Which is also why the choice was made to drop the title...From Cinch's mouth.

And in response, Twilight uses the original Greek phrase associated with the story from Caesar, when he prepared to cross the Rubicon river and commit to his choice. The Latin he supposedly used translates roughly to "The die is cast!" but its actually a translation of an older Greek phrase from a Greek play that better translates to "Let the die be cast!" (In the same vein as "Let the games begin!") It felt a little fitting that one is a very declarative statement, much like Cinch saying "the choice is made, it cant be undone or changed," while the other is speaking to an action that has not yet occurred, IE, choices that are still ongoing.

We have the girls trying to make friends, even in the darkest hour, and Rainbow absolutely blasting the enemy with mockery. (Hilariously, if anyone is keeping count, it seems the only virgin in the ritual might have been Dash herself. Hope that wasnt important.)

I should be working out the last chapter of Cassandra's Cry this week, and posting it with next week's chapter. That'll finish off that short story, and bring us back to our Sunset. Bruhahaha.

....She's not going to be too happy about whats been happening while she was having a heart to heart with herself.