Sunset nervously drummed her fingers against her legs as she watched the statuesque Royal Guard captain beside her. Today was the first time she'd seen Shining in his full kit, purple plate over grey mail, collapsed baton and sheathed sword ready at his sides. Combined with his curtness towards her, especially compared with his usual friendly nature, she was understandably anxious about what was going to happen.
She hadn't been expecting anything when she'd answered Principal Celestia's summons in the morning; she'd entered her office expecting a simple chat and found herself face to face with the fully-equipped Shining and a half-dozen other Guards, two of whom closed the door behind her.
"Is," she'd nervously asked. "is something wrong, officers?"
Shining's face, the face that had lit up when 'his little Twily' had introduced him to her new friend, had remained stony and impassive. "Miss Shimmer," he'd replied. "your presence is requested before the government. We're going to have to ask you to come with us."
"Is," she'd stammered. "is this about my paperwork? I-I promise, it-it's fine, everything's in order!"
"Perhaps," he'd blankly replied. "But that is not why your presence is requested. Please, come with us. No harm will come to you, you have my word."
"Why?" she'd blurted out. "What does the government need me for?"
"I'm not at liberty to say. Miss Shimmer, please, come with us."
"Where's Principal Celestia?" she'd asked, desperately trying to play for time.
"She is waiting for you with the others," he'd replied. "No harm has come to her, either. Come with us and you can see her."
She'd bit her lip, looked around at the surrounding Guards, then nodded in defeat; if they wanted her to come, she had a feeling they would find a way to make her.
No handcuffs had been involved, thankfully, though Shining had kept a tight arm around her shoulder. She'd been led out through a side door to avoid the possibility of a crowd before being bundled into an auto. Shining had climbed in with her, and shortly afterwards they began driving away.
They'd been driving for a couple hours, now, and she still hadn't been able to get any details out of Shining. She thought about using her geode on him, but decided against it; she had to trust that he had his reasons for not telling her. Trying to distract herself from her worries, she looked around the vehicle, but saw nothing of note. The scenery outside her window was scarcely more interesting, hills and the occasional tree darting by as they made their way to the capitol. She took out her phone, hoping to find some diversion on the internet, but frowned as it returned no signal.
Shining pointed at the roof. "Signal jammer," he said. "Standard procedure for sensitive actions like this."
She nodded, returning her phone to her pocket. "Is not talking with the prisoner also standard procedure?" she asked.
"You're not a prisoner," Shining replied. "You're a sensitive asset who we're trying to move accordingly. But, yes, part of that is trying to talk with you as little as possible."
"Understood," she nodded, before sighing and closing her eyes; looked like sleep was her best option.
***
Shining shook her awake. "We're here," he said.
Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, Sunset nodded, and stepped out of the auto. The rest of the Guards stood in a ring around her, now reinforced by comrades from the capitol. Blearily, she counted at least a dozen, all armed like Shining was.
Speaking of whom, he put his hand around her shoulder again and ushered her into the famous Stellar Palace, seat of Homestrian government and the royal family. It was no Canterlot Palace, but it was still impressive in its own right, a great stout keep of marble, like a cloud descended from the sky. The corridors she was led through were painted a soft silver, pale gold carpet dampening the sound of their footfalls. That was as far as she allowed herself to look, though; even if she had made up (somewhat) with Princess Celestia, her memories of her time in the palace were too painful to dwell on, and she didn't want to risk a similarity between the two locations causing that wound to reopen.
A shadowed doorway opened up before them, and most of her escort moved to form ranks beside it. Shining stayed with her, however, leading her through the aisle the Guards created and into the chamber beyond.
As they stepped in, lights flared, almost blinding Sunset. Lifting up a hand to shield her eyes, she saw that she was in what looked like a conference room, a large square table in the center standing surrounded by chairs, a fair few of which were occupied. Taking her by her unoccupied hand, Shining led her over to one of them and helped her sit down, before walking over to stand behind someone on the opposite side of the table.
"Are you okay, Sunset?" Principal Celestia whispered, seated beside her and putting a gentle hand on her shoulder.
"Just let me rub the Sun out of my eyes," she replied. "and I should be fine."
"Now that we are all here," someone on the other side of the table coughed. "I propose we call this meeting to order."
"Indeed," another voice chimed. "Chancellor Populi?"
"Miss Sunset Shimmer," another new voice asked. "what do you know about magic?"
"It's fake," she replied, rubbing the last of the spots from her vision. "Myth, legend, tall-tales, whatever you want to call it, it's fake."
"Miss Shimmer," Chancellor Populi sighed. "do not play games with us. We know that magic exists, we have for some time. Your principal," he nodded at the downward-facing Celestia. "has helped us with that."
"You told them?" Sunset whispered in horror.
"She had to, Miss Shimmer," the second speaker, a fair-looking woman, replied. "Alone, she could not hope to keep you safe. There are others outside of Canterlot High who took note of what happened at the Fall Formal, whether they realized what it specifically was or not, such as Captain Armor's dear sister. Whatever authority Celestia might have had over her students and their parents she would lack over the other investigators, and they would not be so quick to accept the official story. She did not come to us to stab you in the back, Miss Shimmer, but to protect you; we would have learned about your relationship with magic anyway, she simply tried to make sure we did so in the way most beneficial to you."
"Yes," Chancellor Populi nodded. "She proposed a simple deal to us; we keep you and your friends safe, she keeps us informed about your activities, and more importantly your research. Regrettably," he bowed his head. "circumstances have arisen that lead us to believe that we need to renegotiate that deal."
"Wh-what sort of circumstances?" Sunset asked, mind racing; were they worried about the geodes? That incident on the cruise? The breadbasket?
"Principal Celestia's agreement with us was simple," a new voice piped up, a woman in a brown suit with rolled-up sleeves. "We kept you and the magic under wraps, you kept it under control. And you've been doing a good job of keeping it under control--in Crystal City, at least."
Sunset's shoulders slumped as she realized where she was heading. "It's popped up somewhere else," she sighed.
The woman nodded.
"Okay," Sunset clasped her hands. "Just let me grab the girls, tell us where we need to go, and we'll see what we can do."
"With all due respect, Miss Shimmer," Chancellor Populi coughed. "the incidents in question are far beyond you or your friends' abilities to handle."
"You'd be surprised," she smiled. "We can do some amazing things if we work together. I'm not sure there's anything our friendship can't do."
"Does it allow you to bilocate?" Shining asked, face stern as he loomed from behind the second speaker.
Sunset blinked, then frowned. "No, why do you ask?"
"Then it will not be enough," the chancellor shook his head. "Not due to any fault in you or your friends," he held up a hand to stay her already-rising protest. "due to the simple fact that you can only be in one place at a time."
"There are several incidents in progress, Miss Shimmer," another woman, wearing a white coat, spoke up. "Even only taking the most urgent ones into account, there are at least three, all several hundred kilometers away from each other. My colleagues and I have managed to develop devices capable of detecting them, similar to the one Miss Sparkle brought to the Friendship Games, though much safer," she offered in reassurance as Sunset tensed up. "Using them, we have managed to map magical surges like the ones you've been handling across the kingdom. And now," she clicked a remote, allowing a projector to shine against a wall. "here they are, for your viewing pleasure."
Sunset's jaw dropped; from coast to coast, from the far north to their borders in the south, orange dots, clearly meant to represent clusters of magic, speckled the kingdom. Some were bigger, some were smaller, some were almost too small to see, and there were two much larger ones, larger than her head. One was centered on the Cloudsdale Mountains, the other on the north edge of the map, past Mount Everstep.
"Is there a pattern to them?" she asked in a dull voice, standing up and walking over to the projection.
"We have not discovered patterns to their appearance or growth, no," the white-coated woman sighed. "However, we do believe that they are appearing at an exponentially increasing rate. According to our calculations," she cleared her throat. "they will cover 100% of the land area of the kingdom in approximately two weeks."
Sunset fell to her knees in front of the projection. Two weeks. Two weeks until a world that had been almost completely devoid of magic when she arrived became as magically charged as Equestria. Two weeks until she reaped the full consequences of her past arrogance.
"Sunset?" Celestia whispered, walking over to her. "Are you okay?"
She looked back at her, mutely crying; how could she be okay? In two weeks, she was going to have completely transformed another world without consulting it because of her foalish pride; how could she be okay with that?
"Oh, Sunset," Celestia whispered, taking her into a hug. "I am so sorry."
"My fault," she sobbed as she weakly accepted it. "It's all my fault."
"Perhaps," Shining shrugged. "But finding fault here is useless; the magic's here, and Professor Radiance and her team say that there's no way to get rid of it, no matter how much Starlight Glimmer and her Unmarked want us to."
"Starlight," she sniffled. "Glimmer?"
"The leader of a new political movement thoroughly opposed to magic," Chancellor Populi replied. "She is attempting to use the people's fears to gain power, and it appears that she is enjoying some success. Unfortunately for her, like Captain Armor said, Professor Radiance and her colleagues have run the calculations; the growth rate of magic is simply too high for action, any action, to stop. The dam is burst, and placing two stones on top of each other will not stop the flood."
"And unfortunately for us," the white-coated woman, evidently the professor just named, grumbled. "we can't risk sparking a panic by telling her."
"Why not?" Sunset sniffled, wiping away the last of her tears; she needed to be strong now. "If you're right, they'll find out in two weeks anyway."
"We may not be," Professor Radiance replied. "And, even if we are, what good would warning them do? 'Magic is returning to the world and there is nothing your government can do about it;' if we were to say that, we'd have panic and riots in the streets. No, we need to keep quiet as long as possible, wait until we have a plan before letting the citizens know what's happening."
"And that is where our renegotiation of your deal comes in," the chancellor said. "Before, we were content to let you handle whatever magical incidents occurred and have Celestia report them in to us. Now, however, they have become too prevalent for any one Man or group, even one as capable as you and your friends appear to be, to handle. In addition, some of Celestia's reports about the beneficial uses of your magic have convinced us that perhaps simple suppression is not the solution. You cannot hold back the flood any longer, nor do we now think it wise to do so."
"Your vigilante, as it were, work is greatly appreciated, Miss Shimmer," the woman flanked by Shining said. "Now, however, we believe it would be better for you to serve in a more...official capacity."
Sunset blinked. "You want me to help you come up with a plan," she whispered.
"We want you to help us understand what to do about magic," Chancellor Populi replied. "how to maximize the good and minimize the harm that its return will bring."
Sunset looked at him in confusion. "Return?"
"There has been one factor that seems to play a role in the development of magical incidents," Professor Radiance nodded. "Those areas where Men reputedly possessed magic in the past seem to be experiencing larger and more powerful incidents, though sadly that appears to be more of a guideline than a rule and tells us nothing about when those incidents actually occur. For example, the Runery over in Griffonstone was legendary for its magic, and magic only started truly returning there a few days ago, months after the incident at Equestrialand."
"You think that there might be some truth to some of those stories?" Sunset frowned.
The woman flanked by Shining clasped her hands together. "Tell me, Miss Shimmer, do you believe in prophetic dreams?"
"Depends," she frowned. "I mean, most dreams are just, well, dreams, but there have been instances in my homeland's history of dreams coming true in the future. Why do you ask?"
"In Equestria's history, you mean," the woman replied. "Celestia told us everything, Miss Shimmer. And the reason I ask is because she has also reported the occasional vivid dream to us...and, occasionally, one of them comes true."
"She's basically been in the epicenter of magic's entrance here," Sunset snorted. "It would surprise me more if nothing happened to her, aaannnddd now I'm worrying about who else at CHS is going to start displaying magic soon."
"Her family has a long history of magic related to dreams or sight," the woman continued. Then she pursed her lips. "I should know," she whispered. "She's my cousin."
"Your Majesty," Celestia sighed, putting her face in her hands.
"You're," Sunset sputtered, turning to Celestia with eyes bulging. "you're royalty?!"
"A distant relative," Celestia firmly replied. "member of a cadet house. This is precisely why I tried to keep it secret, Sunset; I'm not a princess or a royal, not really. I'm just a woman blessed to be born in a noble house, trying to do what she can to pay back her good fortune. Please, Sunset, please promise me that you'll remember that."
Sunset looked back at her with pity; she understood, being the princess' personal student had seemingly turned the whole city into either sycophants or ponies who didn't understand how to behave around her. "I promise to remember that, and to keep your secret," she reassured her. "Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye."
She blinked, and suddenly there was a note in her hand. Frowning, she read it, and couldn't help but snicker. She handed it to Celestia, who shook her head after reading it, though she couldn't help smiling, too.
"What does it say?" Shining asked, hand going to his sword. "And where'd it come from?"
Trying to suppress her laughter, Sunset handed it to him, and he read it for the rest of the room;
Hi Sunset,
I would come in there to make sure you know that breaking a Pinkie Promise is the quickest way to lose a friend FOREVER! but I don't wanna upset Shining Armor (hi Shiny! <3) and the others, and I know that me popping up in the middle of your super-important conversation would really, really upset them. So instead, I made you this note so that you know that breaking a Pinkie Promise is the quickest way to lose a friend FOREVER! ever! ever. ever... though you probably already knew that.
Bye, everybody!
Pinkie Pie
"But," he asked again. "how'd she get in here? The school's hours away, and the security here's air-tight."
"First rule of Pinkie Pie, Shining," Sunset replied, finishing the last of her laughter. "Don't try to understand Pinkie Pie. That way lies only madness."
"With all due respect," Shining retorted. "I'd like a little more information than that. Are we sure she isn't a security threat?"
"We're sorry, Captain," Celestia sighed. "but that's the extent of the information we possess. We don't know how Pinkie Pie does the things she does, we're not even sure if she herself understands. However, I can assure you that she is not a threat."
"Sounds like that's the best I'm going to get for now," he grumbled, crossing his arms. "I'll want to speak with her sometime, though; even if she isn't a threat, there might be others capable of similar feats who are. Her input could help save lives, even if she doesn't understand exactly how she does...things like this."
"Regarding understanding," Her Majesty cleared her throat. "is it not possible, Miss Shimmer, that my cousin's bloodline played a part in the appearance of her prophetic dreams? As I said before, the legends are full of references to the Majestys' 'secret sight.'"
"I don't know enough about how magic behaves here to say one way or the other," Sunset sighed. "From the sounds of it, though, there might be something to it."
"I've managed to connect with several others," Celestia nodded. "who would agree with you. Magic's arrival here is a return, a rejuvenation, possibly explaining the growing speed of incidents appearing."
"Magic recharging itself with another kind of magic?" Sunset furrowed her brow. "That can happen in Equestria, so I guess it could happen here. Like you said, it would explain a couple things. But it also brings up a pretty big problem; I don't know this world's legends, who had magic where and whether the claim's credible or not. I'd be going in blind."
"We could have that delegated," the brown-suited woman reassured her. "We don't need you going through the archives, we need you in the labs telling us about how magic works. Don't try to do everything yourself; this is getting too big for anyone to do by themselves."
"Minister Chip tells the truth," Her Majesty nodded. "You cannot do everything, Miss Shimmer; reserve yourself for where you can do the most good. And at the moment, I believe that that," she gestured to Radiance. "is as Homestria's first Magic Consultant."
Sunset turned to Celestia. "I'm guessing that my absence from CHS won't be a problem?" she asked.
The principal nodded. "Once this meeting's over, I'll let Luna know what you've decided."
Sunset nodded, then turned back to the princess. Bowing, she declared, "It would be my honor to serve, Your Majesty."
"It is my honor to accept your service," she dipped her head back. "However, I must also ask for your silence regarding what was discussed here, for reasons you've already heard."
"My lips are sealed," she nodded.
"In that case, please follow Minister Chip to her office," Her Majesty gestured at the almost-bouncing woman. "There are a few papers to sign, and then you may get to work."
She nodded again, stood up, bowed at the hip, then followed Minister Chip out of the chamber.
Celestia sagged as soon as she left. "Keep her safe, please," she whispered.
"We will, cousin," the princess nodded. "No harm shall come to her while she is under our care, and Captain Armor shall protect her friends. Your students will be safe, Celestia."
"Not all of them," she sniffled. "One of them, at least, will..." She swallowed. "I dreamt that I saw one of them, one of the girls, geode glinting about their neck. Starlight...Starlight found out about their magic, and she...she..." She shivered. "...They were being crucified by her."
"It was just a dream, principal," Chancellor Populi tried to reassure her. "Nothing more than a nightmare."
She turned to him, almost startling him with the sorrow and fear in her eyes. "Nightmare Moon was just a dream, too," she whispered, before rising and leaving the room.