Adagio sat in the rarely used armchair in the living room, trying to tune out her housemates playing with the power drill on the other side of the sliding glass door. She would have retreated back to her room but ever since she failed to retrieve Sonata she found it more… difficult to be by herself so much.

They just recently had their first heavy snowfall of the year and that stupid crow that wouldn’t let her hand feed it was still hanging around. Concerned, the trio’s alpha corralled her lessers into installing some sort of cubby that would help it keep warm if it decided to stay. As she understood, not all birds migrated like many forms of media made it seem. It did get awfully cold in Canterlot during the winter however, too cold for most animals, suggesting the bird’s infection may be altering its natural patterns.

As if summoned by the avian thoughts, Sunset’s pet finch landed on the top of her book. It cocked its head at her curiously before looking down to the paper, taking the edge in its tiny beak before pulling it to the previous page. The siren flipped it back but the little bird pulled it to the previous again. She arched her brow at the puffball and flipped the page back once more, holding it down with her thumb. The bird tugged at the paper, not giving up until she let go and allowed the determined little finch to flip it back. It danced excitedly atop the book at its 'accomplishment'.

Out on the back porch meanwhile, the trio stepped back to examine their work. It was a simple square set into the corner above the sliding door. Some basket padding sat beneath a blanket beneath a small heating bulb. It wasn’t much but since having a crow as a pet was technically illegal in their state without special cause, and Fluttershy thought it best not to domesticate the bird to that degree, it was the best option they had come up with. It even had a little curtain to help trap the heat.

The door slid open to reveal Adagio, staring at her fellow Equestrian blankly.

“Come to see the mastery of our work?” Dash quipped. The siren continued to stare at Sunset before holding up a loosely clenched fist with Tanagerine’s head poking out the top.

“Did you make this?”

“Don’t bring her out here! She might fly away!” the redhead rushed to claim the finch when Adagio snapped her hand open. Sunset’s concern was proven unwarranted as the bird simply fluttered up to her hair. Looking up toward the locks she could feel the finch nuzzling into, she then turned a frown toward the siren “Why do think I made her?”

“Other than the magical signature that’s obvious now that I’ve actually paid attention?” she shot back incedulously “Earth’s animals are idiots. That thing’s too smart to not be an Equestrian bird.”

“You expect us to believe this little spaz is ‘smart’?” Rainbow asked as they made their way back into the house.

“Rini is actually a lot smarter than similar species of finches, or even just birds her size.” Futtershy pointed out “The fact I still haven’t been able to figure out just what kind of finch she is also suggests she simply might not be one found here.”

“Not exactly keeping a low profile making Equestrian animals there, pony” the Dazzling snarked mildly.

“Easy there Seahorse, I… kind of didn’t leave her that much of a choice” Rainbow cut in. “When I figured out she might have been magical herself, I made her prove she wasn’t actually an EVE. Apparently creating life was what she came up with.”

“Converting life.” Sunset corrected while taking off her coat, after which the finch in her hair immediately dove down her shirt. Sighing, she fished it back out and placed her on the counter to hop around. “Creating life is significantly more difficult. Other than the ‘old fashioned way’ of course.”

“Just keep it away from my books.” the siren finished before returning to the armchair. Sunset frowned as she watched her fall back into the seat without another word. While glad she wasn’t locking herself away anymore, she wished she’d still engage with them a little more. Her thoughts were broken by the finch using the distraction to try reaching its favorite nesting spot again. Dash and Shy giggled as she extracted her and gave the bird a flat look. She then considered a moment.

“If I give you a treat will you stop trying to dive down my cleavage?” the bird’s little eyes widened and it straightened up to sit obediently on her finger. It understood the offer perfectly. “God dammit you are Equestrian, aren’t you? Alright, let’s see if we have some cereal or something.”

While the bird being revealed as a small ball of magic itself brought up some concerns, Sunset couldn’t help but smile at Fluttershy now fawning over the technically alien animal with renewed fascination.

Sunset was driving toward the station, she was a little early for her shift but Dash sent her a text about wanting to show her something. She wouldn’t say what it was but considering how excited she seemed and how she was scheduled to keep training with Aya today, the former pony felt she had a pretty good idea what it could be.

Sure enough when she pulled into her spot, she had only barely closed the door behind her when Rainbow dragged her to the range with a beaming smile.

“Check it out!” she grinned before whipping her arms out and electricity suddenly sparked and began arching along the appendages. It wasn’t any application Sunset had seen herself and the feeling her senses was getting suggested no one else on Earth may have either. A moment later the current died and Dash stood victorious “Awesome, right?!”

“Can you do that again?” she asked quietly, stepping closer. Dash chuckled and repeated the action along a single arm for her to inspect this time.

“Uh, Sunny I only just-” the pilot began when Sunset reached out toward the streams.

“I’ll be fine,” she assured her. Sheathing her arm in a subtle matrix to let the current pass over her, she pressed her hand into the energies. It still stung but she only needed a moment before pulling her hand back away. She winced a little at what she felt before quietly continuing “Dash that’s magic.”

“...Seriously?!” Dash’s smile grew even wider “I have magic?! That’s Awesome!”

Sunset didn’t seem nearly so enthused as she continued frowning at the arm.

“Oh come on Sunny. Are only you and Dag allowed to have it?”

“No, that’s… that’s not what I’m worried about” she shook her head to clear her thoughts “Rainbow you have to understand: Magical transference is a very deliberate process. And actual arcane implantation, as in a permanent seed that can grow and replenish in the receiver, is an Ordeal, for all parties involved. It doesn’t just happen, and certainly not from a simple blood transfusion.”

“Well, it was a little more than a ‘simple transfusion’ Sunny.” Dash offered with a shrug “I mean, you were pretty much controlling my cells with your own.”

“I suppose…”

“Plus, aren’t you always saying friendship is literally magic for you guys? Maybe something with the fact we’re friends helped with that whole mess” the pilot reasoned “Not that I’d really know anything about all that, but could it be part of it?”

“I suppose I may have unconsciously transferred some to help me stabilize things…” she pressed her lips together “Or maybe something with the friendship angle but I unfortunately hadn’t put much stock in studying those patterns before I left…”

“Well am I in any trouble with this stuff inside me?”

“Probably not anymore than Dag and I” the unicorn girl returned.

“Then like I said! Awesome!” she puffed her chest out “Though I suppose I’m cheating a little with all this if it's just magic.”

“It’s not just magic. Most of it is still your mitos but it feels like maybe you’ve just taken a bit of a shortcut with it. This new spark isn’t even enough to be felt as an ‘extra layer’ after all.” the former pony reasoned. A thought then occurred to her “Have you met ‘Albert Wesker’ from the LA office by chance?”

“Is that the weird guy that never takes off his sunglasses?” Sunset nodded to her question “Then yeah. Haven’t really talked to him ever but I’ve seen him in some of the conference calls. Word is he’s a total badass in a fight.”

“The word is right, I saw a glimpse of it for myself” the redhead confirmed. “I bring it up because his use of his mitochondria had a similar effect, at least visually. It may not be at all related but I think you may like to follow that path if you can pull it off.”

“What’d he do?”

“Bolted down a hallway in less than a second and practically kneed a golem’s head right off.”

“That does sound pretty cool…” she muttered, earning a giggle from the former pony. Further discussion was cut off by the sound of the range door. They saw Pinkie stride in with a large toolbox held in front of her.

“Heya Dashie! Heya Sunny Bunny!” she smiled brightly before giving them an apologetic look “Sorry but we’re gonna have’ta kick you out for a while; some casings managed to find their way past the track covers and are clogging up the system, so it’s maintenance time.”

“No worries Ponk, I was just showing off a little for Sunny here” Rainbow assured the bubbly woman.

“Pretty neat huh?” Pinkie grinned at the redhead.

“It’s something alright” Sunset answered “Was just telling her she might want to give Mr. Wesker a call with how it looked.”

“Oh that’s a good idea!” The Pie cooed, her smile growing wider as she turned to the pilot “I can definitely see you moving that fast.”

“Not as flashy as lighting bolts but it does sound a bit more practical” Dash raised a hand to her chin. The voice of Jodie came from the door during the conversation’s lull.

“I’m sure you’ll find some way to make it obnoxious all the same” the brunette quipped, earning a laugh. “Now go on, we got work to do.”

“Yes ma’am” they smirked and got out of the way.

“So you really think I can do what this Wiskers guy can?” Rainbow asked in the hall.

“Couldn’t hurt to ask.” Sunset shrugged. “And hey, you’ve got magic on your side now. You can do anything.”

Dash and Shy were sitting on the couch watching tv. Adagio was in the armchair at their side, not reading but actually watching as well despite the chair’s less than ideal angle of the screen. Sunset wasn’t with them despite also being home, though from how she was talking earlier and the faint smell of incense in the air, they figured she had started on those repair attempts on her journal she had mentioned.

So when a thoroughly amused laugh echoed from the hall, it was enough for them to investigate. Following it to the bathroom, they grew more curious to see the door open but the light off despite the giggles continuing to emerge. Dash felt her heart skip a beat when they finally rounded the frame.

“It’s not corporeal Rine, you can’t land on it!” the girl snickered as the glowing bird fell through the bright horn of red and gold light spiraling out of her forehead. Her entire form was enshrouded in a transparent, vividly sparkling aura of the same color. Thankfully, she seemed nothing but tickled by the state herself, letting the pilot relax.

“Jesus Sunny, maybe give us a little warning next time?” she heaved out, letting the spike of adrenaline wane “I thought you manifested on us again for a second.”

“Oh… OH! I'm sorry, I didn’t-” she looked at herself in the mirror, glancing at her horn to realize what she meant. Her smile found its way back though as she bounced on the balls of her feet “But look! Tree was right! I do still have my horn!”

“You couldn’t just use an aura sight spell?” Adagio asked from the back of the group.

“Can YOU perform that delicate of a spell here?” Sunset shot back. The siren considered a moment.

“Criticism retracted” she relented “So what prompted dousing yourself in a saturation ritual?”

“Since we learned she’s probably an Equestrian breed, I wanted to see how strong Rini’s magic was. Then figured, since I set it all up anyway; why not?” Sunset shrugged before smirking at Fluttershy and Dash “You guys wanna see yours?”

“We don’t need magic?” the nurse returned, looking excited at the idea. Sunset shook her head and stepped back from her little set up of various runes and fetishes, gesturing for the medic to stand before it. The unicorn girl closed her eyes and concentrated, the ethereal horn on her head growing even brighter before its light washed over her friend. While not quite the spectacle of the former pony's aura, Fluttershy still marveled at the sight she found in the mirror “Oh wow… Is this what Tree sees all the time?”

“Something similar at least. This doesn’t reflect our moods for example” the redhead explained “Come on Dash, you’re up.”

Rainbow quickly took up position as her surrogate sister stepped aside in the cramped bathroom. The process repeated and the pilot’s aura flared into the visible spectrum.

“Aw, you have little sparkles.” Fluttershy cooed “I don't have any sparkles.”

“It’s probably her new magic” Sunset relayed. She tried not to show it but the nurse's cheeks puffed out slightly.

“Don’t worry there Flutters,” Dash snatched her in a side hug, making their auras dance and swirl as they met “It only took a few months for her to accidentally give it to me. You’ll have your own in no time!”

The pair chuckled at the flat look the redhead gave the pilot. It did get interrupted by the sight of Adagio stepping into position next.

“Really?” Rainbow looked at her incredulously “You’re joining the fun?”

“Oh come on,” she shot back “You know you’re as curious about the 'flowing one' thing as I am... I’m not familiar with this setup though…”

“I got it Dag” Sunset gave before casting one more time. When the light faded this time, the horn appeared just a little duller upon her head. She gave a small wince and rubbed her temple.

“Are you alright?” Fluttershy asked.

“Oh yeah, I’m fine” the unicorn quickly waved off “It’s just too bad soda doesn’t do the same thing for magic as it does for our mitos…”

Finding themselves bumping into each other a bit too often in the small space, they moved out to the full length mirror doors of Rainbow’s closet. Adagio watched as the ethereal fins trailed lazily behind her every movement.

“So that’s what your fins looked like?” Fluttershy inquired, watching them as well.

“Actually, these seem a good deal less stiff than mine,” She answered “These are almost more like a fighting fish’s. Though I suppose one’s aura hangs a little looser in general.”

“We definitely have do this next time we get high.” Dash announced, watching the tiny lights left in her arms wake. Fluttershy brightened at the idea and even Adagio paused in her self admiration. Enough to make her actually consider joining them.

‘That Does sound like a lot of fun…’

The former pony was leaning her head against Jill’s passenger window, watching the scenery go by. While still a little tense about letting Adagio drive, she had to admit it was nice being able to take in the sights from her own car without the worry of crashing. They were nearing the end of the patrol and the sun was beginning to set, so they started their way back. They weren’t actually too far from the house.

So to say it was unexpected when the Dazzling suddenly ripped the wheel to the side and Sunset felt the glass crack as her head bounced off would have been putting it lightly. She braced as the small suv screeched along the asphalt and two of its tires even lifted up to threaten a full roll over. Thankfully they landed back on all fours and came to a stop in the middle of an intersection as a delivery truck blew past, straight through the red before slamming into the pole holding up the street lights.

“What the fuck?!” the siren snarled, glaring at the crashed vehicle. Sunset rubbed at the lump now swelling near her temple. Both froze however as a heavy weight dented the rear door of the boxy truck and their senses pinged at the same moment. “Oh son of a bitch.”

The pair quickly leapt out of the jeep, snatching their primaries from the back before setting up with their aim trained on the failing door. The metal finally gave way to a trio of Greater Strangers tearing out of the back, followed by half a dozen of their smaller brethren. The first fell quickly but not fast enough for the other two to screech at the hunters.

Letting them see a trio of familiar tendrils erupt out with their vicious calls.

They shifted their aim but had to hold their fire as the NMCs ran past possibly occupied homes. Taking chase after the mutations, Sunset brought her phone up to her ear as she sprinted alongside her partner.

“Rupert! We’ve got a Big fucking problem!” she panted, tracking the unfortunately faster beasts as best she could as she relayed their position and the situation. He said backup was on the way but it would still take time to get there.

Adagio fired a shot as the creatures veered toward a car coming the opposite way. Exploding against the asphalt at their feet, it didn’t stop any of the mutations but thankfully dissuaded them long enough for the car to turn away, jumping the curb as it fled down a side street. She fired another shot, driving them further from the street and toward a large courtyard on their right.

“What is it with this School and NMCs?!” Sunset exclaimed as they followed the pack, stopping at the mouth of the highschool’s enclosed area. She thanked whatever power made whoever was behind this wait until the school day was long over, but she still minded her lanes as she and her partner opened fire against the now trapped monstrosities.

Another of the larger Strangers fell and the second was driven away from its charge at the doors by a blast of fire hitting the steps. A pair of the tentacle mouthed mutants tried to slip out of their predicament but found themselves blocked by the partners moving up along either side of the courtyard. Despite the situation, Sunset found herself impressed by their unspoken coordination. It seemed the drills the leads put them through were more than just something to sharpen their skills.

They began coming back together as the NMCs found themselves stuck between the flames on the steps and the hunters pincering them together. The greater stranger and two of the lesser put up a last stand but, even though it took most of their dwindling ammo, they fell against their combined energy shots catching them in a crossfire.

‘Forget just coordinating, we are Kicking Ass right now!’ the unicorn girl smirked.

They reunited as the steps as the fire died out, reloading to their last magazines as they tracked the last two strangers making a break for it. They blinked however as the pair hesitated just before reaching the statue. Their tendrils weaved excitedly before they shot right at the stonework’s base…

And disappeared straight into the polished surface.

“No…” Sunset gasped in horror “No-No-No-No-NoNoNoNoNONONO!”

She repeated the mantra, already running at the statue at a dead sprint. They didn’t have any defense against them. They’d have no idea what they’d be dealing with. Even if they somehow stopped them from hurting anypony in time, they could still wind up spreading an infection trying to figure it out. If even one pony was infected… if the Princess was infected…

“SUNSET!” Adagio called out as her partner dove head first through the portal. She ran up herself, looking over the stone base frantically. She twisted her head around the empty space, hearing sirens headed toward her position. She scowled at the polished plinth reflecting it back at her, but didn’t follow.

“Shit!”

Her body lit up in a blaze and twisted with the swirling colors surrounding her. She felt her form shift, her mitochondria screaming out in confusion. They stayed relatively cool but didn’t like what was happening at all. However, despite her first trip through the controlled tear in time and space feeling much longer, the colors vanished almost as quickly as they came. She landed on a flat, solid floor, groaning as she tried to push herself up.

“GOT ANOTHER ONE!” the voice of a young woman shouted out of the darkness.

“HOLD YER FIRE!” another more masculine, and very familiar voice met it.

Sunset’s eyes fluttered open, revealing that as the simple cause of the darkness. A pair of amber colored hooves met her sight, splayed out along the tile with her rifle laying just beyond. They moved at her beckoning and a wonderful warmth she so sorely missed poured into the horn now sticking out of her mane. Not just hair, but mane.

“Well now ain't that a sight for sore eyes…” The second voice drew her attention to the room as a whole. She pushed herself up to stand at the bottom of a short staircase encircling her and the mirror like a bowl, a single set of large doors currently behind a pair of guards seeming to be the only way in or out. The half melted bodies of the two strangers lay against the steps a short distance from her on either side. The guard that spoke stepped forward, showing himself a bit off balance standing on his rear, feline legs before lifting up his helmet’s visor “Sunset Shimmer, back home at last.”

“Gilbert?!” she gawked at the somewhat aged griffon smirking down at her, maybe just a bit more aged than she remembered. The fact it wasn’t almost a century older should have given her some comfort but the boxy, metal rectangle in his claws, matching the one strapped to the side of the pegasus guard next to him pushed that thought from her mind “Are those GUNS?!”

Before the graying catbird could answer, a flash of brilliant gold light strobed at the room’s entrance.

“I heard the shots! Did anything make it out-” the pure white alicorn’s words stopped dead at the sight within. She stared at the young unicorn with eyes wide as saucers, mouth frozen open where the sentence faltered. Matching her former mentor’s expression, Sunset’s mind went blank and she spun back to the portal.

She hadn’t made it a single step before another strobe blinded her and she ran face first into a wall of exceptionally soft floof. She found herself pulled forward, embraced tightly by a pair of wings as the alicorn draped her neck over her own.

“Oh my precious little Sunbeam!” Celestia gasped next to her ear “I missed you so much!”

While the tension had begun to ebb, the unicorn found herself still thoroughly lost.

“I don’t understand.” she finally gave in lack of anything better coming to mind. A small titter vibrated the chest against her before it pulled away. Her heart gave a tug as the princess met her with one of her warmest smiles, a sight she hadn’t even realized she missed so dearly until she saw it again.

Another small flash came from the alicorn’s side, revealing a journal floating in her glimmering aura. It was identical to her own save the sides of the cutie marks being reversed. She reached for it, though had it slip between her hooves as the princess let it go. Catching it back into the aura before it hit the ground, Celestia gently cleared her throat before shooting an amused glance to the smaller pony’s horn. Blushing slightly, Sunset took it in her own magical grip to examine.

The image of her cutie mark had a rough slash of desaturated color across it, but the book showed no other sign of damage. She opened it to find her own entries over the past several months across the pages. There were some minor distortions here and there but they were otherwise as clear as they were when she wrote them. Even the photocopies of various articles and schematics she had placed between the pages transferred like… like they were supposed to when the books weren’t damaged.

“They’re still connected?” she asked numbly, glancing toward the guards' weapons and the looking around the room once more. It was designed to help contain anything that may have come through the mirror that proved itself dangerous. Her eyes then turned questioningly toward her former mentor “But it you could respond then-”

“I’m afraid I couldn’t…” Celestia gently interrupted, placing her wing against her student’s cheek. Flipping the pages to the beginning of the journal with her own magic, she gestured to the script of her attempted responses and Sunset’s own writings overlapping them “While we were still receiving what you wrote on your end, any response failed to reach you back. Harmony knows I certainly tried.”

Sunset flipped through to see the occasional attempts before a heavily distorted page met her. Sunset could never forget the entry and the days surrounding it. Of her trying to run away and of Aya stopping her with nothing more than an offered choice. The bottom half on this side was even more twisted though and still glowing with mana burn. The whole page showed evidence of arcane overcharge. Clear borders of black remained around the six simple words the caster had tried to brute force through.

Don’t Run
You Can Do This

“You were so close to accepting it all.” the princess said in response to her study “I was afraid that if I couldn’t reach you, that it would be too late by the time you realized it.”

“You tried to help…”

“Unsuccessfully. Though fortunately, I was very happy to have been proven wrong. I should have had more faith that you made good enough friends that they wouldn't just give you up without a fight either.” the alicorn continued before bringing her wings around the smaller pony again “I’m so proud of you.”

And that’s what made the dam break. Sunset fell into the Princess’s embrace, burying her face into her floof as tears began to stream down her snout.

“I’M SORRYYYyyyyyy…” she bawled only for the alicorn to shush her soothingly, simply running a wing down her back and hugging her tighter. The embrace lasted a while longer yet, Sunset even feeling a small bit of moisture along her own back as it did.

It was only broken by the familiar, subtle clicking sounds of her rifle’s mechinations. She pulled away from the embrace to find another, completely unfamiliar alicorn with the weapon floating in her dark aura. The magazine and hammer attachment were floating separated, and the center section was pitched forward with the larger pony studiously examining the exposed interior. Even the formally chambered round had been considered, also floating within the aura.

“Luna…” Celestia gently scolded, sighing at the sight “You could have at least asked first.”

“I didn’t wish to disrupt your reunion” the darker ruler returned simply, her focus still on the partially disassembled M4.

“You’ll have to forgive her, Sunset. I fear my sister has developed quite the fascination with some of the discoveries detailed in your journal, firearms chief among them.”

“It’s not chiefly firearms, Tia.” The younger alicorn shot her a look “I’d also very much like to experience their automobiles and video entertainment. But as we’ve yet to recreate those to satisfaction ourselves-”

“Luna? Sister? As in Nightmare Moon?!” Sunset gaped. The other three occupants of the room winced and shuffled uncomfortably at the exclamation. Luna herself however,

“Yes.” she answered bluntly. She then managed to look away from her examinations to the unicorn “There’s no need for concern. I assure you I’ve been cleansed of the corruption.”

“Is everything alright, Gilbert?” another, strikingly familiar voice echoed from the hall. “That was an awfully loud ruckus.”

“Nothing to worry about Princess,” the griffon nodded to another alicorn approaching the doorway. She was notably average sized compared to the others present “The situation is well under control. Have’n a happy little reunion now in fact.”

“Reunion? Oh my!” the purple pony lit up at the sight of the unicorn, quickly trotting down the stairs toward her “Oh my gosh! You’re her, aren’t you?! You’re Sunset!”

“Uh, yeah…” she answered a bit numbly “And you’re not my Twilight, are you?”

“Oh no, I’m afraid not” the young alicorn giggled “Though I’d still like to be your friend if possible. What I’ve read of your entries alone lets me know we have a lot in common.”

“Twilight was my student after you Sunset,” Celestia explained “She only ascended a short time ago.”

“Must have been pretty short to pull it off in less than a year…” she muttered grimly, failing to hide her jealousy completely.

“Oh! Oh, you haven’t told her yet…” Twilight blinked, looking to the princesses.

“I’m afraid we hadn’t gotten that far.” Celestia returned before placing her wing across unicorn’s hunches “Try not to be too alarmed Sunset, but it’s been just short of twelve years since you went through the portal.”

“Twelv-” Sunset gasped and spun back towards the mirror “The Differential!”

“IT’S OKAY! It’s okay!” Twilight quickly exclaimed as the princess held fast onto her former student “From my calculations, the differential is practically nothing! The dates and periods between your entries coincide with how we received them here, just starting a lot later from the Princess’s perspective than yours.”

“To say it took a moment to deduce why you were writing as if you just arrived is putting it lightly." Celestia explained "At first I feared the dimensional distance was causing a horrible delay, that you were already a decade beyond entries I was only just receiving, putting you that much further out of my reach... But then Twilight, with the aid of the royal magic and science commissions, was able to determine they were arriving if not in real time, then very close to it.”

“We think you just got…” the smallest alicorn searched for the right word “Hung up a little in the portal itself the first time through.”

“That wave of magic that struck seems to have required the passage to restabilize itself before letting you all the way through. Thankfully, you don’t seem any worse for wear. Not from the portal at least…” the solar monarch added, falling to a somber tone towards the end “I do so wish it had chosen a better time to let you out though. I nearly… I deeply regret that you had to experience that nightmare you landed in, let alone all the hardships that followed.”

“It wasn’t your fault Princess…” Sunset murmured back.

“Is it not?” she countered somberly “I am the one who drove you away. Had I not refused your requests-”

“Then I would have never met all my new friends.” Sunset returned in kind “I’m the one who couldn’t accept alicornhood wasn’t my destiny. You didn’t drive me to jump into an entirely new world blind. Even if you did, I can’t ignore that I wouldn’t have become who you’re now proud of. I don’t regret it. It may not be nearly the same level of accomplishment as Princess Twilight here, but…”

“Are you kidding?” Twilight grinned at her “Sunset, not to deride my own accomplishments, but you’re befriending a SIREN! Why, not just A siren, but one of THE Sirens; once thought to be an antithesis of Friendship itself! I mean we know they're not now, but we wouldn’t know that if not for you!”

“It’s not that big of a deal… I don’t really think I’ve made much progress with her actually…” Sunset looked away with a slight blush, twilding a hoof against the floor.

“Well, from an outside perspective reading your entries, I’d say you’ve made at least a little more progress than you think” the young princess offered. The unicorn’s blushed deepened until a troubling realization hit her.

“Wait…” she paled. “You haven’t read… ALL the entries… h-have you?”

“Well, not all of them.” Twilight returned a bit dejected “Celestia has kept some from those of us allowed to know the whole truth of your discoveries. She says they’re just private things though, that we’re not missing out on anything.”

“S-s-s-sooo… You’ve read all of them?” she looked at her old mentor, horrified. She then fell to the floor, her beat red face hidden under her hooves “Oh gaaawwwdddd…”

“Calm down my little Sunbeam,” Celestia gently rubbed the redhead’s back “You must remember I’m well over a thousand years old. It takes more than the errant fantasies of a young pony to make this old mare blush.”

“Oh I don’t know Tia,” Luna gave offhandedly, her voice dancing with a mischievous mirth. “I would say that her recounting of the ‘group’ dream was rather intriguing.”

“You’re not helping Sister” the elder princess returned flatly as the mare beneath her hoof groaned into the tile.

“I’m not trying to help~” the lunar monarch smirked. “Oh come now. It’s not as if you have a monopoly on being the ‘playful one’. As you tell it, this filly is practically my niece, so I’m allowed some fun with it.”

“Lunaaa” Celestia hissed through her teeth at the assertion of her own words. Quickly diverting from it, she tenderly lifted the unicorn back to her hooves and explained “I assure you, only my sister and I even scanned those entries. And you’ll be happy to know you’re still getting credit for your contributions within the rest. While not credited as the inventor of the new technologies, you are still stated responsible for finding them and bringing it all to your fellow ponies.”

“I am?” she asked, still trying to rub the red from her cheeks. Twilight cut in with a bright smile.

“Yep! We’ve explained it as you’ve been exploring all the hidden corners of Equis. It also helps give an alibi as to where you’ve been since your disappearance.” she elaborated “Kind of how you feel about Earth; the Princess doesn’t think Equestria is quite ready to be exposed to a whole new world on that kind of scale just yet.”

“Yeah well, even if it was, humanity definitely isn’t. My new friends’ examples notwithstanding.” she grumbled “But it’s nice to know I haven’t been wasting my time with it.”

“Speaking of…” Celestia gave before levitating a small saddle bag over from near the door. She set it down at their hooves “We were in fact planning a small expedition to deliver this to you, to let you know just what was happening but it seems with you beating us to it, that trip is no longer necessary.”

Sunset sifted through the contents, the most attention grabbing being a new journal. There also seemed to be some writing supplies marked with subtle enchantment runes, some arcane tools to help better maintain them and a small amount of bits and gemstones to boot.

“I thought a you wouldn’t mind a small bit of your old stipend,” Celestia winked at her “Considering the ‘conversion rate’.”

“I am kind of disappointed I won’t get to see a whole new world,” Twilight grumbled with a begrudging shrug. “But I suppose it’s not worth the risk of getting infected over now”

“It’s… really not that common of a threat usually. Present evidence notwithstanding” the unicorn frowned, looking at the now completely melted NMC remains “Speaking of, I take it since you’ve read my entries, you know how dangerous this stuff can be. I don’t remember ever writing down the formula for our dry mop.”

“Not to worry, Sunbeam. We’ve actually prepared a procedure in case of this unlikely occurrence, one completely without direct contact” the princess consoled her “I assume baneflame within a telekinetic bubble will leave little risk, yes?”

“Uh, yeah. Yeah, that would do it…” She murmured. She was just realizing that even with their limited knowledge of the science, with magic ponies were probably better equipped to minimize the risk than even MIST was. She rolled her neck at the thought before returning her attention to the bag, particularly the book on top. “So this will still work on the other side of the portal?”

“Since we were still able to receive your entries as damaged as your journal was, then yes; we expect no problems communicating through these” Celestia answered “Though that damage is why we’re also sending the tools along as well; to allow you to make any repairs or even relink a different book if needed. The new journal should also be able to accept the addition of new pages more easily as well. Once we’ve secured the link, I’ll have the other set away somewhere private if you wish to keep using it for any… more personal writings. I'd sever the link if it didn't serve as a last resort failsafe of communicating, but I assure you, no one will be reading it if you wish it.”

Sunset took in all the information, glancing back at the mirror with a frown. Even just this brief time had been wonderful, wonderful enough to make her question if she... if she really wanted to go back now. The princess stepped up close to her again, using a wing to gently bring her face back to hers.

“Now don’t be getting that look Sunbeam. We both know you can’t just leave your friends behind, let alone let them wonder what’s befallen you with no explanation. With the new working journal, the distance between us will mean so much less. This isn’t goodbye.” her mentor assured her, the familiar smile warming the faint chill the thoughts brought. “And if your own Twilight is correct in that we’re lucky enough to have you no longer age, we have more than plenty of time now.”

“Yeah…” Sunset wiped a tear from her eye. The youngest alicorn took a step forward, twiddling a hoof against the floor now herself as she began a bit abashedly.

“Um, Sunset, would you mind if… we talked through the journal sometime?” she asked tentatively “And not just about all the stuff you’re learning about over there but, well… I’d honestly like to get to know you yourself a little better. You have some fascinating perspectives on magic and some of your workarounds for the limited ambient mana on Earth are frankly brilliant. And well… it’d also just be nice to connect with another of the princess’s personal students. I haven’t really had the opportunity.”

“Did something happen to Stargazer?” the unicorn furrowed her brow.

“Oh no! He’s fine, he’s still around.” Twilight quickly corrected herself but then gave a shrug “But you gotta admit, he’s pretty far outside our age group. So I guess I meant with somepony closer to our… demographic.”

“Uh, yeah sure,” the redhead replied “I guess that’d be okay.”

The purple alicorn beamed at the response, the expression very much tugging at the same strings as her counterpart’s would.

“I guess that means I maybe shouldn’t keep Adagio wondering what’s happened to me any longer though… doesn’t it?” She frowned toward the mirror again before Celestia gave her one last hug.

“As much as I worry about the risk-fraught path your life has taken, I am very proud you haven’t shrunk away from the call to protect others” she squeezed her just a little tighter “But I still worry nonetheless. Do stay safe my little Sunbeam.”

“I always try. Well, usually anyway.” she quipped, reluctantly pulling away. Luna returned her now completely reassembled rifle. The night princess had apeartanly studied the schematics very closely indeed. Twilight gave her a small wave as Gilbert and the pegasus guard gave her a pair of acknowledging nods.

She took a final deep breath and, with Celestia’s reminder this wasn’t goodbye, shared one last, teary smile with her mentor, laid the saddle bag across her back and stepped back through the mirror.

The alicorn’s head dipped at her departure, eyes blinking rapidly against the continued watering as her hair flowed more limply.

“Don’t worry Princess” Gilbert gave from the door. The unicorn’s former instructor (and one of the ones she had liked better than most honestly) grinned at the monarch “She seems to have a pretty good grip on her new lot, all things considered. That wasn’t fear of what may lay on the other side make’n her hesitate.”

“He’s right sister,” Luna gave her sibling an affectionate bump “If not for her continued survival and the continued aid of her friends, then her impressive physique proved she’s not completely unprepared if not else.”

“She did seem a bit more solid than when last I held her” the solar monarch relented with a small smile finding her again. She gave a sniff and straightened, her regal air returning and her hair flowing strongly once again. “Would it be too much to write her already? To be sure she returned alright?”

The others gave a small giggle as the trio of alicorns began climbing the steps.

“Just don’t be concerned if she doesn’t respond right away” Twilight smiled “I’m sure she’ll have at least her report aft-AH!”

The purple pony slipped on an unseen slick of the NMC goo, pitching her back head over hooves. She tumbled to the bottom of the bowl and fell into the mirror, bumping against the borders to the glass in her passing.

Celestia’s aura flared but fizzled amongst the discordant energies of the swirling vortex, failing to stop the looking glass’s fall. She blanched at the sound that filled the space but ran up with desperate hope anyway.

Still only to see the large crack spread across the reflective surface.

“Why do they keep coming here Mr. Broderick?”

Vice-Principal Luna gave distraught from her seat against the steps to the door next to her sister. While the stairs beneath them were slightly scorched, a few thankfully shallow holes could be found in the walls from the hunters’ rounds and large divets dug scattered across the grass from the mutations tearing through, there wasn’t any other damage. More importantly, no one was hurt. No students had still been on campus at that point and most of the staff had already gone home as well. Only her, her sister and the janitor had been left to lock up, and the janitor hadn’t even heard the shots while finishing up in the basement.

But for this to happen for a third time in less than a year? The question needed to be asked.

“I’m afraid I don’t have an answer for you Mz. Oliver.” the MIST director sighed, overlooking his people sweeping the courtyard and surrounding area. “For whatever consolation it’s worth though; the school didn’t seem to have been their intended target, simply where the creatures ended up fleeing to. Had they not trapped themselves in the courtyard here they would have probably kept on running.”

“So we’re just Lucky then?” the educator sneered.

“Luna I know you’re angry, but it’s not their fault.” Principal Celestia placed a hand upon her sister’s. The younger sibling hitched her shoulders but took a several slow breathes to calm herself “I’m sorry Rupert-”

“It’s perfectly alright Ms. Oliver, she has a right to be mad. These things rarely play fair…” he gave a resigned sigh himself.

“Please Rupert, call me Celestia. After all this I think we’ve at least reached a first name basis,” she offered with a slight smile, one that faltered as she looked over the collective of MIST agents, many of them the familiar faces of her former students “She still hasn’t returned then?”

“No… not yet” the man answered darkly. He looked over to the station’s counselor standing by with Aya leaning against a wall, one of the blonde’s legs bouncing nervously without end. Gesturing her over, he thought maybe Cadence would have some luck comforting the distressed educators “Excuse me ladies, I have to get back to the search.”

“Of course. Thank you Rupert” Luna actually answered this time, bringing her head back up. Her tone was still low but no longer hostile. She however then rolled her eyes at what she saw beyond the director and called out “Yes Ms. Dash, it’s still there!”

The pilot slash hunter in question was currently climbing up the side of the statue, hefting herself up to look at an otherwise impossible to see portion of the stone horse's back. Her lips broke out into an amused grin at whatever she saw.

“Ya really shouldn’t be so proud ‘bout vandalism there, Sugarcube.” AJ chuckled as she and Rarity entered back into the courtyard, shooting the director a reserved shake of their heads when he spotted them.

“It wasn’t vandalism, it was an accident!” Rainbow argued “And you bet your ass I’m proud of it! I hurled that damn javelin further than anyone in the school’s history! No one’s still beaten my record yet!”

The members of the somehow still together clique laughed. With the loud one drawing everyone’s eye away, Adagio caught Fluttershy’s attention. The nurse furrowed her brow at the siren now scowling her way, her eyes darting between the medic and the statue’s stone base pointedly. At first she was wondering how she vexed the hunter but when the Dazzling mouthed ‘Sunset’ it hit her. Her eyes flew wide, matching the siren’s double takes to receive an anxious nod back.

“Dazzle.” the siren whirled around to the approaching director. She took a subtle step to the side, aligning herself in his path toward the statue. “You’re certain you didn’t catch which way she went?”

Adagio shook her head, prompting a small sigh from the man. She managed to come up with a convincing, if not terribly self-flattering cover, one helped by the fact that it was still sort of true. She told them that they had just taken down the last greater stranger when the remaining four NMCs split up; two making for the door again as the other two broke out from between their pincer attack to escape the courtyard. Sunset went after the fleeing two as Adagio finished off the stragglers. By the time she turned around Sunset was nowhere in sight with no sign of which way she went.

Without a direction, she waited for her to return or at least check in while keeping the area secured. He seemed to accept the reasoning, sending out the others to search the surrounding area when the redhead failed to respond to their calls. The director sighed before he rolled his neck.

“I’m sure she’s fine, sir.” Adagio offered “It was just a couple of lesser strangers.”

“Strangers with those damn tendrils” he grumbled, looking over the puddles around the area. He gave a small wave to Twilight collecting her samples ahead of the cleaners, who rose and walked over to join him.

“Is it the same kind of venom?” he asked, to which the scientist heaved out a deep sigh.

“I’m afraid if there is any venom, it’s mixed in with the rest of the remains too much to tell.” Her shoulders slumped “I’ll run tests but I doubt I’ll be able to say for sure or not even then.”

“Hmmm” he brought hand to his lips as he took a couple steps away. Adagio took a step after him as she glanced back. Fluttershy seemed to have just managed to relay the truth to Dash and was trying to keep her from giving it away with her reaction. “Find her?!”

The siren jumped at the director’s shout, following it to the OC now returning. He stepped aside to meet them, her once again stepping to place herself correctly. She tensed when Applejack approached the statue but she was thankfully headed off by Dash, leaning against the side she just climbed on to steer the cowgirl to join her there.

Another sigh sounded and the director returned to his earlier spot. Looking up at the stars coming out after the now almost completely set sun. He glanced at her a moment… then his brow furrowed and looked at her more directly. Then frowned, looking over her housemates.

“Dazzle... why do you keep putting yourselves between us and the statue?” he asked almost curious in the subtle accusation. She felt her already shaky poker face slip a bit further as she failed for a response. She opened her mouth to try to reply anyway,

When the unmistakable chime of arcane travel and a bright flash came from just behind her.

‘Damnit Shimmer, you have some timing.’

“Oh cool, new jacket.” the fiery haired hunter gave, looking over the fine leather until the rest of her surroundings came into focus. She blinked, slowly bringing her head up, panning it around to everyone gathered now staring at her in shock. She glanced back to the polished stone behind her before turning back to her silent audience. “Uhhhhh… I can explain?”

The surrounding humans all continued to stare slack jawed. Rupert blinked repeatedly and shifted to at least attempt to say something but fell short, still lost. Twilight was the first to actually move, taking several uneven steps toward her, though her eyes were glued to the stone base itself. Sunset stiffened at her approaching the portal but before she could even begin to move;

“AH!” Sunset pitched forward with a yelp as another figure came tumbling out from the stone with another flash. She groaned as she pushed herself away from the cement, looking to see what hit her to see Twilight laid across her, in a rather gaudy dress and without her glasses. “Wait…”

She looked back up to the doctor now completely frozen in her approach, eyes wide and pupils pinpricks as they stared unblinkingly at the doppelganger on the redhead’s back. Said double rubbed her head and squinted her eyes open to see Sunset staring back her incredulously. The princess saw the unicorn's current form and snapped her head around over the still flabbergasted humans and caught up quickly and scrambled off her, fumbling back toward the polished surface with a heavy blush.

“Oh, uh… ehehe sorry, I slipped. I’ll uh, I’ll just be g-” she bumped against the stone, both her and Sunset instantly going pale. Twilight’s sheepish smile fell as she spun, hands fumbling clumsily over the very solid base. They began to shake as she slowly turned back to her fellow pony, terrified “S-Sunset?”

The redhead swept her nervous gaze over those gathered, seeing her housemates were now almost as lost as the rest that still hadn’t even really begun to recover from the first shock, let alone the second. She dipped her head back down to rest against the cold pavement.

‘Aw fuck…’

Author's Note

I have been looking forward to this chapter since before I even started writing the story itself. The reunion was one of the very first scenes I had worked out in my head and helped inspire me to actually decide to write this story.
I very much hope I was able to do it justice.

Thank you all so much for reading, for supporting this story enough for me to reach this point.
I very much hope to see you the next chapter and those that follow, because we ain't done yet!
Have a very good one