Holding a cup of Velvet’s delicious hot cocoa in her hands, Sunset took a slow sip, savoring the rich flavor and the last vestiges of the intermission the tangent about her species had led to. The fifteen minutes or so it had taken for the adults to clean up the dinner dishes and make the hot beverage had let her sort out what she wanted to say, as well as rest after that final Pony-Up. Twilight remained leaning against her, unwilling to part from her except for a quick trip to the bathroom, and Sunset could tell she was struggling too. “We’re almost done, Sparky…and then I want to crawl into bed with you and sleep until next week.”

Making a sound in her throat, Twilight shifted to bring her legs up onto the couch and cuddle closer. “…yes please…” she whispered.

“Then I suppose this is where we ask if you feel ready to continue, sweetheart?” Velvet asked from her chair.

Sunset breathed in and out slowly. “…yeah. I’m ready. Honestly, most of the ugly parts about me are…already done, so it's just…everything after the Formal.” Resting her mug on her thigh, she started the narrative up again.

“The girls and the princess beat me, like I said. Summoned the Rainbow, left me in a crater crying like a foal, and then the princess exiled me.” At the look of protest on Velvet and Night’s faces, she shook her head. “No, no. That was…the best option available to her. I stole the Element of Magic from her, and I tried to kill her after turning into a demon. Exiling me to this world and entrusting my rehabilitation to the human versions of the Elements’ wielders was a far better option than having me chucked in Tartarus or exiled from the kingdom in Equestria. Here…I had a chance for a real life, something that wouldn't have worked had I been punished there. I…think she was hoping that the magic of friendship could save me.”

She laughed. “She was right, of course, but that shouldn't be surprising. Twilight Sparkle is very rarely wrong about friendship, regardless of which world you're in.”

Twilight huffed next to her. “I stand by my original observations, Sunset. Especially knowing now that you saved me less than an hour after my counterpart hit you in the face with magical rainbow lasers and beat you into a hole in the ground.”

Night Light raised a hand. “I feel we have missed a key detail here? Twilight Sparkle?”

…horseapples, this was awkward. “So…that's why the princess cleared her schedule originally to help me explain things to you. She figured the presence of a second Twilight Sparkle, this one a princess of Equestria, would…count as irrefutable evidence that I was telling the truth about magic and Equestria…without risking me setting the house on fire.” She felt guilt eat at her. “The Princess of Friendship that I tried to murder that night was the Twilight Sparkle from Equestria…honestly, the only princess I haven't done something violent towards is Princess Luna, but…she was kind of…sorta…banished to the moon while I was living in Equestria. Equestrian and Earth are…parallels, somehow, full of duplicate versions of the same beings. Like the girls and the ponies who wield the Elements, Sparky and Twi, my principals and Princess Celestia and Luna…and of course, Cady and Princess Mi Amore Cadenza.”

“I see,” Twilight’s father said thoughtfully. “I…believe this is a subject we might all have questions on later…but for now, I think we can grasp the gist of it. Carry on.”

Sunset took another sip from her drink before continuing on. “Anyway. While I was getting to know you guys, it turned out there were…other consequences of me bringing and then using a ridiculously powerful magical artifact in a world with almost no ambient magic—to put the power levels in perspective, if the magic here is one of those tiny bathroom night light bulbs, the Elements are the equivalent of the sun. And I…unleashed that power here. After it got done with me, the remaining power had to go somewhere. Part of it…is in me, some of it is in my friends…and the rest went outwards from the epicenter, flooding into old pathways that I think used to have magic and otherwise…flash flooding the area? And…it happened again at the Battle of the Bands in December, when an ancient evil from Equestria came sniffing for magic and we used the Rainbow to beat them.”

“For my friends—and me—that means the transformation I showed you. We call it ‘Ponying-Up’ because the connection to the Elements and Equestrian magic manifests in pony features. Ears, manes, horns for those with unicorn counterparts, wings for the ones whose counterparts are pegasi, and…well, nothing extra for the earth pony types. We’ve been…developing powers too. Applejack is strong, Dash is fast, I make fire, Rarity conjured these…light and energy based constructs…that sort of thing.” She shuffled in her seat, and steeled herself for the next part.

“What I didn't know was that all that magic…got the attention of something from this world. Something old, something dark and powerful and working for the self proclaimed king of demons.” Blue-green eyes squeezed shut, unable to meet theirs. “Abacus Cinch wasn't human. Those…missing kids and missing teachers from Crystal Prep…they weren't human. They were…creatures…working for King Sombra.”

Twilight cleared her throat. “They were fae. Mr. Silverthorn called them sidhe—as in the faeries of Ireland. In some legends the fae owe a tithe to Hell. Specifically to the Devil who rules Hell. I think…it is possible that Principal Cinch…is the origin of that myth.”

Tapping her fingers thoughtfully on her own mug, Velvet mused, “It begs the question of how many myths are actually real.”

Making a face, Sunset answered, “Quite a few, at least in terms of monsters. Pegasi did not originate from the severed neck of a gorgon, but pegasi are real, and the last gorgon known was slain by the minotaurs during the reign of King Anemnos about six hundred years ago. Rocs, tatzlwurms, dragons, basilisks, centaurs and gargoyles, cockatrices, chimeras…they all exist in Equestria. The old symbol for Princess Celestia was a manticore before the sun, and they're apparently native to the Everfree, and both Windigo and Sirens are Equestrian monsters—though I don't think Windigo and Wendigo have much in common, despite the similarity in names. That doesn’t touch on what might have once existed here before whatever made this world’s magic go away happened.”

Velvet’s eyes were full of interest and enthusiasm. “I would love to be able to hear more about this sort of thing later, Sunset. Perhaps read up on some comparative mythology or even get my hands on some of your people’s encyclopedias.”

She laughed, recognizing Twilight’s own eagerness in the older woman. “Now I know where you get it, nerd,” she told her girlfriend with a crooked grin, before turning back to Velvet. “I can't do it right now, because Twi hasn’t perfected the translation spell, and there's something going on with the portal to Equestria, but maybe I can get a set of school books meant to teach foals about the creatures of the world. They’d have a lot more photos than any of the academic pieces written for advanced studies.”

Then she sobered. “That aside…I didn't realize that the dark magic I kept feeling on Twilight and on the rest of you came from Crystal Prep.” She paused, chewing on her lip briefly. “It's…why I went after Shining that one night. You were all coated in it, but he and Twilight had it hooked deep into them, and I…I purged it when I felt it. But it was able to hide from me. I couldn't always pick up on it. It…wasn't until I brought Twilight her meds at CPA that I realized it was the source and that there was something super awful there.” Her shoulders slumped. “That's when I started talking to Twi about telling you all about magic and Equestria—I wanted to protect you, but…I…” she put her head in her hands once Twilight took the mug away from her. “Humans are terrifying. You outnumber my species by like two hundred and fifty to one, your technology is centuries ahead of ours, and you have practically turned warfare into an art…if the wrong humans found out about Equestria…”

“Ah.” Night’s tone immediately made her look up. “It would…end poorly. Particularly since there are many humans with a very narrow definition of ‘personhood.’ Which is why the existence of your world is a classified state secret you had to obtain permission to share.”

Twilight cleared her throat. “…and part of why we had to lie to police and federal agents today, Dad…”

He made a thoughtful sound, frowning as he mulled it all over. “Which brings us to what happened today, why Twilight was even there at your school…and what you have been avoiding telling us for about an hour now.” His gaze swept over his children and Sunset. “I think Velvet and I have a big enough picture now.”

Stomach tying itself into shapes that probably resembled Pinkie’s balloon animals, Sunset swallowed, hard. “I suspected they would make a move today, at the Games. I had warned my friends, the principals…after two magical attacks, everyone was eager to not be a hostage the next time something happened, so they've been preparing for months. Organizing exit strategies, preparing defensible spots to get the middle schoolers, crafting and stockpiling things that legends and stories and some of your religions said might work on magic and monsters. Iron, oils and water blessed by religious leaders, herbs, and just generic tools that would disorient or interfere with magic. I…didn't know what or who, but I assumed they'd be after power and our magic, so the girls and I were ready to fight. I…didn't expect Twilight to be in danger.”

Blue-green eyes turned to the form curled up against her. “I didn't know until Cady and Spike came into the room where we research magic that you would likely be there. I’m sorry for that—I should have realized, with how much Cinch wanted my name, how interested she was in you…”

Fingers touched her cheek. “I…didn't tell anyone. I don't know why I didn't—looking back, I can't believe I kept it a secret that she put me on the Games team months ago. It makes no sense, especially after all of the crazy things, like what happened with Polaris and my stuff getting vandalized…but I didn't want anyone to know. It was…like I felt I had to prove something, somehow.”

“That,” Velvet said tensely, “sounds like a geas…something that goes hand in hand with folklore on the fae.” Her expression was dark and furious. “Where is she anyway? Because I have a few words for her about what she did to my children.”

—Yikes. Starting to be really glad she likes us, horn-head.—

Me too. “The thing that was Cinch is…out of reach…someplace I highly doubt it…they…whatever…will ever escape from. I had help and almost didn't make it.”

Cadence’s eyes went wide. “That's…where she went? What those things were pulling her into? To the place she sent Twily?”

“Sent Twily?” Velvet twisted her hands in front of her. “Girls…what happened? Please, just tell me—all of this allusion is making me imagine terrible things.”

Twilight took a deep breath to calm herself. “It's as bad or worse than you're imagining, Mom. The truth is, Principal Cinch and her followers…almost killed Sunset…” Her voice shook and she rubbed her chest through her shirt. “…and then she succeeded in killing me so a demon could possess my body.”

The sharp, distressed cry that came from Velvet tore at Sunset’s heart. “That’s not really accurate,” she pointed out to Twilight. “It was a ritual of the darkest nature more than anything else, that displaced your soul.”

Purple eyes narrowed. “Sunny, she put me on a creepy, blood stained stone altar and stabbed me in the chest over my heart with a big, ugly black knife. My soul was sent to Hell, and the demon who was there ended up in my body. What else would you call it?”

“Not death. Your soul was swapped in a ritual, but your body never expired. Which is important, because…not even the Elements can undo death.” She struggled to explain. “That's the one hard rule that even Discord, god of Chaos, doesn't break. Once someone is dead, their soul departed and the body expired…you can’t bring them back. If you try…terrible things happen. Necromancy is a banned magic for a reason—what comes back isn't a thinking being anymore.”

Twilight studied her for a moment, eyes going to the hand clutching her shoulder. Lavender fingers reached up to rest over amber, and it was then that Sunset realized that she was shaking like a leaf, her emotions over the thought of Twilight dying hitting her like a careening truck. “I…you didn’t die,” she growled around the choking lump in her throat. “I wouldn't have been…I couldn't have brought you back if you did.”

“I know,” Twilight whispered, voice almost as tight. “…but all the same, Sunny…” She took a watery breath. “Whether it was actual death or not…the way it has affected me makes that difference immaterial.” The smaller girl was trembling now too. “I-I still…” Her hand rubbed her chest again, her face crumpling as she fought tears, “…I can s-still f-feel it,” she wept. “…feel the knife g-going in…being ripped o-out of m-my b-body…” She fell into Sunset’s arms, clinging to her tightly like a lifeline. “It s-still h-hurts, S-sunny,” she mewled brokenly.

Helpless, Sunset pulled Twilight into her lap and curled around her body as much as she could. She sang Celestia’s lullaby into one ear, ignoring the twinges in her back and rear, and stared at the family with all of her apologies in her eyes. Cadence was crying, a tissue in hand and pressed to her face, and Shining was gripping the chair arms so tight it threatened to tear the upholstery. Night had gone an ashen gray so pale his skin almost matched his son’s, and he looked ready to leap across the room to hug his daughter.

But it was Twilight Velvet that broke something deep in Sunset, horror and tears and pain blended up in the kind-hearted woman’s expression into something she could only call utter anguish. Unlike her husband, she did not remain in her seat; she stumbled across the space between the couch and her favorite chair, dropping to her knees so she could enfold both girls in a hug.

“I’m sorry,” Sunset choked out, hating herself for her part in the pain that surrounded her, threatening to drown her and swallow her up. “I tried to stop it…I tried…I just…I couldn't risk a hundred lives for one,” she admitted. “…even Twilight’s…” Her eyes broke away and she buried her face in Twilight’s hair. “I’m so sorry…”

Familiar, gentle fingers carded through red and gold curls, even as arms still held tight. “Oh…no, no…” Velvet’s voice, even in the midst of her own tears and thick with emotion, was soft and reassuring. “Sunset…my darling, brave girl…no…you have nothing to apologize for…you tried your best, you worked so very hard, sweetheart, I know that…just like I know without you saying that you are the reason Twily is still here with us tonight…”

Another set of arms enfolded her, and the masculine scent that hit her nose told her that Night had joined the embrace even before his hand found the back of her head. “Our brave little unicorn,” he murmured, voice rough. “You went above and beyond and risked yourself…forty stitches, over a hundred pieces of wood and glass, and enough consensus from witnesses for federal agents to tell us that you were nearly killed today…and you are the reason I don't have to bury my little girl…you made sure she came home safe…that all of you came home safe…and that's what matters.”

“I didn't know if I could,” she cried out. “I...we didn't know…we knew she was in Hell, and that we could go there…but we—I—didn't know if I could save her. I had to try…I had to, I could feel it calling and it wanted me and I didnt know if I’d be able to get to her…or if her soul would even survive the trip…or if mine would. I wouldn’t let them use the Rainbow til I tried…I put everyone at risk because using the Rainbow before getting her from Hell would have killed her.” Her soul wept along with her. “I made so many mistakes…”

Night made a shushing sound. “No, Sunset…you made the best choices you could in a terrible situation, and I am proud of you for all of it. I don't blame you, none of us do.” The firm absolution shattered what control she had over her emotions and Sunset pressed her face back into Twilight’s hair so no one could see her cry…even if the shaking of her shoulders and the hiccuping breaths gave it away.

It was a group cry, as even Shining and Cadence came close to offer physical comfort where it was needed, and Sunset let the tears come, tears full of guilt and recriminations and all the little ways she had spent beating herself up in the last twelve hours. It barely scratched the surface of her pain and didn't touch on the past Hell had rooted carelessly through…but it lessened some nameless pressure in her chest. There was something about the feeling of being surrounded by this impossibly wonderful human family that wanted her as one of their own. Velvet’s earlier declaration of love and acceptance still echoed in her ears, and she burrowed deeper into the emotions pressing in around her; for the first time in her life, she had a family, and they loved her even when she told them the terrible truths and horrid secrets about herself.

They knew about the monster, and they wanted her anyway.

Sunset had never felt so light, as she did when her crying jag ended and she found herself humming to Twilight again, Celestia’s lullaby finding a new home with her, its soothing cadence helping to relax the people with her as they found comfort in each other and the release of emotions after a very taxing day.

Eventually, the hug broke up, with Velvet and Night finding seats on either side of where Sunset held Twilight in her lap. The dark haired girl was still awake, but no longer talking—she’d finally hit her absolute limit and withdrawn into herself, but refused to let go of Sunset. For now, the former unicorn let her be, while she finished off the tale.

“The rest is…pretty short. I came back from their attempt to stop me from possessing myself—they were apparently under the impression that I was riding some poor human girl the way Sombra was—and Challenged Sombra’s Crown and his claim to Twilight. He accepted, and in our exchange…may have given me an exploitable loophole for victory. I could win by retrieving Twilight’s soul from where it was trapped in Hell.” She grimaced.

“The girls led the CHS students and staff against his army of shadows, and when Shining rolled up with Mac and the cavalry from the woods, I used the distraction to take Spike and go after her.” Spike, now half across Night’s lap, wagged his tail with a tired huffing sound. “He was amazing—he could lead me right to her, and he protected me from Hell’s tricks as best he could.” She reached over briefly to ruffle his ears. “He deserves a steak dinner for that or something.”

Night Light hugged the dog gently. “Good boy, Spike. You did a good job protecting the girls. You get all the treats you can eat,” he praised the canine. “And I think a dog safe steak dinner can be arranged.”

Velvet was quick to agree. “Several dinners I think. Some steak, some chicken. Perhaps even some of those doggy ice creams for dessert.” Spike barked happily, tail wagging so hard his entire back end wiggled.

Sunset hurried through the rest, as best she could, not wanting to go into detail on what happened in Hell. Her eyes flicked down to see Twilight watching her, and hoped that her expression communicated enough to keep the other girl from mentioning it. “We got her, got her out, I put her back in her body and we followed it up with the Rainbow of Light. It drove Sombra out, put Twilight to rights, and destroyed his army of Fearlings and Nightmares,” she concluded. “Barring the things we did to clean up and hide the magic from authorities…you know the rest.”

The man seated next to her, petting Spike let out a long and tired exhalation. “I should have questions. I know I have questions…but right now I cannot even manage to put even one of them together into a coherent format.”

His wife made a soft noise of agreement. “I think…the day has been too long and the kids have gone through far too much to press the issue right now, Lighty. Let’s…pause that part until after everyone has had time to absorb and process?” She looked to Sunset. “Does that sound okay to you, sweetheart? Would you be okay with answering questions at a later date?”

Fighting a yawn, Sunset dipped her head in assent. “…that’s fine, yeah. I…I’ve got a lot to do anyway, and it’ll be a relief not having to come up with a cover story anymore at least. Sombra’s still out there, somewhere, and magic is only growing and—”

Twilight Velvet gently cut her off with a hand on her shoulder. “Right now, your first job is to recover and rest, Sunset. You are injured and exhausted, and today was an emotional one. It will all still be there next week, after you have had time to sleep and eat and just relax.”

She looked down, feeling the ache in her bones again as the painkillers lost some of their edge. “…okay.. Rest sounds nice, and not having to think much for a day or two sounds…even better.”

“Why don't we put on a movie?” Shining asked. “Something light and happy, that doesn't require thought? Beauty and the Beast maybe? Or Aladdin? Toy Story? Star Wars? Nothing anyone has to think about when they watch it, but just…noise. It's…too early for bed, but we’re all spent.”

“I think that sounds like a fantastic idea…” Night said. “Why not Star Wars?”

Sunset was the epicenter of a flurry of activity as popcorn was made, drinks were acquired, and the movie queued up on the DVD player. The family pointedly arrayed themselves around the couch with the two teens, Night and Velvet on either side, and Cadence and Shining on the nearby floor, leaning back against legs and the couch. Soon the bombastic orchestra of sound projected through the speakers as yellow text scrolled up the screen.

The redhead allowed her mind to wander. She had so much she needed to worry about and do. Sombra’s whereabouts—someone like that would come back for revenge, she was sure of it—the growing magic, her friends, dealing with whatever follow up digging the authorities had—they were watching the place, she decided, having spotted the strange car with two figures inside that screamed ‘government agents’—the impending conversation with Twilight, homework, and figuring out exactly what had happened with Hell and the mind behind it. There was some kind of connection between her, her other side, and that terrible realm, and it felt tied into all the things that had been happening with her magic…and that didn't even start on looking into what had happened to the portal to Equestria.

But all of that could wait for another day, like Velvet had said. Right now, she was home, she was surrounded by her family…

And for the Sunset Shimmer she was now, that was Enough.

Author's Note

*Exhales.*

And....that's it folks. Volume 1 of Rubicon is complete. Five years, over a million words, and more sleepless nights than I care to remember. I've laughed. I've cried. I've sent my team into tears and made them spittake more than once.

That doesnt mean the story is over. As I have reiterated in the comments, there is a Summer Arc that will serve as a bridge between Volume 1-- That's Cross the Rubicon: Choices-- and Volume 2, titled Cross the Rubicon: Consequences. And of course Volume 2.

For now, take this as my holiday gift to all of you, because you have inspired me, have helped me find the courage to keep going, even when it was hard or life was trying to make me give up.

I hope, that somewhere, during this journey that all of you took with Sunset Shimmer and her friends, that it brought you Light. That it brought you hope, or made you smile. That it made the world a little more bearable, a rough day just a little less awful, and helped you feel seen, heard, or valid in some small, infinitesimal way.

I hope its taught you something, about yourself maybe, or others, or the world.

I hope you are richer for the experience.

I know I am, and I am thankful that you have all allowed me to be your guide along the way. In my soul, I know there is no greater joy for me, than a story told, a song sung, a tale felt.

If you wish to follow the account, I will be taking a few weeks off to recover from the Holidays, and I will be posting a blog in January to discuss the plan going forward for the collection of short Stories that will make up the Summer Bridge/Arc.

*stands from the chair, setting aside the book heavy enough to count as a blunt weapon, and sweeps into a bow.*

Thank you, and good night.

May it be warm, and full of Magic.