It had been quite some time since Sunset Shimmer had last visited this particular room in the castle. There had been no reason to visit. The room was intentionally off the beaten path so that no lost visitors would accidentally find it and no curious sort would stumble upon it. There was more than one guard choke point check station along the way as well as lock enchantments that only the strongest unicorns or alicorns could breach.

The room was a part of the subbasement structure of the castle so it had a constant chill that was only slightly above unpleasant along with the ever-present scent of musty mildew and organic rot. If not for the restoration/preservation spells by certified maintenance crews and occasional touch ups from the cleaning staff brooms the subsection struts and supports would have rotted by now bringing the floor above down on top of it all.

The next reason Sunset Shimmer avoided the room was because of the memories the item in question always brought to the surface. It could not be helped. Sunset had an eidetic memory. It had been both a blessing and a curse depending on if she wanted to remember or not. A literal lifetime of memories of living in a place that few ponies could scarcely imagine and they all returned to her in flashes whenever she laid eyes upon the Lunar Lock Mirror.

Sunset had to hand(hoof) it to Twilight Sparkle, it looked nearly identical to the original crafted by the amazing (if albeit rude and a huge pain in the rump) Star Swirl the Bearded. That mirror had been destroyed by said creator, but not before Sunset had found herself trapped between dimension in a horrific void simply called, ‘the in between.’

The goldenrod alicorn shuddered and swished her tail at the bad memories. The in between had nearly killed her. It should have killed her. Ripping and reshaping her body to all the different dimensional possibilities that the space bordered against to the point that she started to disintegrate and would have left nothing more than a floating soul to be consumed by... best not to think about that.

Of course, her brain betrayed her once more, imagines of horrors, especially one in particular. Pony shaped, red eyes with glowing green sclera, fangs dripping with black saliva and a glowing red horn. All the nightmares she had seen in that dead space flashing by with a few blinks and the truth of what it had cost her. Sunset’s wings adjusted and extended slightly on their own before settling back down as she reeled in her emotions. Her hoof subconsciously moved to her abdomen and the scars that were still slightly visible through her fur.

Her mother, the once mighty Princess of the Sun, Celestia, had come to rescue her and in doing so had given a part of herself to trigger Sunset’s alicorn ascension. The old dream and desire that Sunset had long given up on had finally been realized in their most desperate and needed hour. However, Celestia had in turn lost a great deal of her life force to a monster that turned out to be Sunset’s long lost father from another dimension. All of course coming to light long after the fact and far too late to turn back the clock and change the outcome.

So much had happened after she had finally broken free from that place with the help of her friends. Sunset had been given the greatest gifts any pony, person, or creature could have asked for. The gift to live her life. She had attended college in another state, worked her dream jobs, bought her dream house, raised a family, and all of it with her friends a phone call away. All of it, the good and the bad, long nights, frustrating days, joy, sadness, and everything in between with her beautiful wife, human world Twilight Sparkle, by her side.

Sunset could not look at the mirror without thinking of her deceased wife. It was unavoidable. Time had healed most of the sorrow, but never all of it. Instinctively, Sunset’s hoof moved from where it had been touching her scars to slide up to her breastbone where their wedding rings use to hang from a chain, but they too were gone. Time and a magical experiment had taken those cherished tokens from her.

As Sunset stared at the reflective glass of the inert magical artifact all she saw was herself. No premonitions, dark or otherwise, just perfectly smooth chromed glass. She took comfort in that fact, taking a moment to dry the tears that had soaked a bit of her fur.

The door to the room opened with slightly creaky hinges and closed gently with a solid click. Sunset turned her eyes to stairs above and found her captain of the night guard standing there. Fog Gauge removed his helmet, placing it on the hook built into his armor for such and bowed his head respectfully.

“I was told you came this way, but I was unsure what your mental state would be.” Fog scratched at his short, dark brown mane. “It pleases me to find you well.”

“I had to see it. I had to face it now before I start having second thoughts about all of this. It’s been years, you know. It still hurts a bit, but… less. Does that make sense? Time heals all wounds… or so they say.”

Gauge nodded. “I have heard this as well. Not sure I agree with it completely.”

“Yeah.” Sunset shook her head and smiled politely. “Enough on that old subject. I’m fine.”

Gauge did not believe the sentiment, but chose to move on as his princess had requested. “Sable Nimbus stated that you have a dinner appointment with Lord Stone Fuller regarding production and testing of the next generation of the SunLight crystals. That is to begin soon. Considering the sensitivity and secrecy of this room I thought it best to come collect you myself.”

“That’s right, I almost forgot meeting him.” Sunset bounced a hoof off her forehead, blowing a small raspberry at no one in particular, and started for the stairs.

“I’m surprised Raven did not remind you.”

“She’s working with Sable on transcribing the week’s notes from meetings and court filings. They are pulling extra hours trying to get everything in order before the break in open court. Thankfully, we are off next week. I think everypony could use it too. Speeeeaking of which,” Sunset flashed a grin at her captain who arched a brow, but schooled any other outward emotion. “How is Saber Knightly sleeping?”

Gauge beamed with fatherly love and pride, an extra bounce to his step and gleam in his vertically slit yellow eyes. “He is well again, thankfully. He was in pain for a little while due to teething and the adjustment from the smaller cradle bed to the larger crib, but he has his favorite blanket and toys to comfort him. As you saw, the horn surges have been sporadic, but not uncontrollable. Only has woken him up twice in a way that caused him to cry. The biggest adjustment is, of course, he is now more aware of his parents’ unusual work schedules. We both make sure we take time to stop in and visit him with the caretaker so that he does not forget our faces. There are advantages to being the captain, after all.”

“Yeah, it’s tough, but it will get better. Longer nights of sleep, less diapers, and best of all, the little milestones they achieve along the way.”

Gauge nodded. “I never thought before that I would admit it, but I love being a father. Seeing him snuggled next to Tempest, so tiny and drooling a bit, his mother looking directly into my eyes with unrepenting love.”

“Amazing, right?”

“Absolutely,” the thestral agreed with the biggest fang toothed grin. “Thank you again for your numerous bits of foal care advice along the way, my princess.”

“Nah. No need to thank me. I know what it's like and I gladly pass that on to you. The only repayment I ask for is that I get to see the little guy every chance I can when you bring him by.”

Gauge slid his helmet back on before closing the mirror room door, the enchantment locks automatically reactivating. He paused to stare at the unassuming door a moment before falling into step to the left and just behind Sunset Shimmer. She could tell he had a question or two even without having to extend her empathic senses. Studying body language had always been a pass time hobby of Sunset’s since she was a filly sitting in on court or meetings with Celestia. Later, it became a necessity. One did not enter the den of timber wolves that was Canterlot court politics without properly preparing yourself to all the subtle clues. To see what they were truly saying while useless words spewed from their mouths. That hobby had come especially in handy when she needed to studying human behavior to better mimic it.

“If you’re going to ask about it better do it now while it’s still just us.”

Gauge's fluffy bat pony ears twitched, flattened, and then returned to normal. “It’s just… are you certain about going back… through the mirror I mean? It seems that even you are having, as you said, second thoughts or at least hesitations.”

Sunset kept her face forward as she continued to walk. Gauge was also incredibly observant and had learned to read much of her body language and expressions since being promoted to captain of the lunar guard more than a year ago. He considered such to be part of his job even if it was not specifically in the fine print. As a thestral, by reputation and rigorous training, his loyalty to both diarchs was without question. He was at his princess's command for whatever she needed, be it a bodyguard or just a friend to lend an ear.

Such closeness unfortunately led to whispers in the dark corners that the lunar captain kept TOO close an eye on his princess and that the pair were having a secret love affair on the sly. Said rumors made Sunset roll her eyes and Gauge just shrugged in his noncommittal way. The solar captain, Tempest Fury, on the other hoof, took it personal and would collect the names of any who were accused of spreading such slander. The solar guard captain trusted her husband completely, but she understood where the rumors originated from. Thanks to Princess Luna and her not so subtle 'after hours' behavior, the thestrals had a less spoken about reputation of being promiscuous.

Sunset Shimmer was one of the most attractive ponies in all of Equestria, and alicorn as well. The magazines and papers had said so more than once. The daughter of Celestia had made no efforts to argue with the free press on such matters.
Tempest, however, had confessed to Gauge and Twilight that when stressed and overworked, all the little things ebbed her own confidence.

“It's okay," Sunset finally said, pulling Gauge from his own thoughts, "I’ll get over my jitters once the mirror is open and we are on our way. Twilight did the math on the lunar calendar alignment, then triple checked her double check. It should be open again in two days. Like always, it will only be open for three days before closing again and there are a number of things I want to check on. Not to mention, Raven needs software and if possible, hardware upgrades. Plus, we are going to experiment with enchanted bags to see what other kinds of stuff we can bring back to Equestria without losing them in mirror space or having their functions transmutated into something else. If YOU are having second thoughts about following me though, I can ask Sable or one of the other guards to tag along instead. Personally, I don’t need a bodyguard, but Tempest drew her line in the sand, so to speak, so I’m humoring her for the sake of Twilight and peace as a whole.”

“I am not concerned about myself. I would dutifully follow you, without hesitation, to the underworld… again I might add. However, I am… admittedly concerned because Tempest insisted on going alongside Princess Twilight as part of that drawn line. Even with Saber in good hooves and Mistress Luna taking care of the celestial bodies I… I worry.”

Sunset smiled knowingly. “Trust me, we’ll be fine. But I get it. It’s all part of being a new parent. The first time my wife and I left for a little getaway when Aurora was still a baby we seriously spent half the weekend just arguing by the pool about why we should turn around and go home instead of relaxing.”

Gauge let out a soft chuckle. “I imagine you were an excellent mother.”

Sunset paused, striking a pose while extending her wings a bit, her red and yellow fire mane waving in the ethereal, nonexistent breeze. She smiled confidently at her friend and guard captain proudly proclaiming, “Damn right I was.”

“Okay,” said Princess Twilight Sparkle as she sat at the dinner table in the small, private dining room with six different lists floating in her magic. It was actually only two lists, but the other four were the double and triple check of duties, tasks, and one list of potential items that they felt safe to try to bring back to Equestria. That particular list kept growing every time she reread it. “I THINK I have it finalized.”

“You said that three rechecks ago, Twilight,” said Spike as he sat to Twilight’s right trying to finish his dinner and keep the parchment from landing in it.

“We are almost out of time! The portal opens tomorrow!”

“Yeah, and you will be ready because, duh, you’re Twilight Sparkle.” Spike took a moment to gesture to the other pony at the table to his right who had her own notepad sized list with a pencil floating in her crimson aura. “Plus, you know, Sunset is here to help and all.”

“I’m not here, I’m a ninja. You can’t seeeeee meeee.”

The parchments floated out of the way so Twilight could deadpan glare at her fellow princess and co-ruler. “I see you.”

“Ninja faaaail!” Sunset laughed at her own lame joke, which made the other two grin and shake their heads. “Seriously, we have everything in order. Luna will see to the sun and moon, Spike and Isabella will see to any administrative tasks that Luna designates for them and the rest of the staff stand at the ready for all the little other things that might pop up.”

“I even heard Discord hint at the idea he might go ahead and throw this year’s Discord Day while you two are gone. That will burn up a whole day right there,” said Spike while tapping his chin.

“Awww,” whined Twilight with a small lip pout, “but I love Discord Day.”

“Hey, I’ll make sure we have plenty of fun on the other side. Three whole days off. We are going to have so much fun you will have to sleep for a week after we get home.”

“Assuming my digital brethren have not taken over and enslaved the world of you puny meat bags by now.”

Sunset glanced down at the small glass rectangle that was currently sitting in her pouch pocket next to her left shoulder. While a few had been made aware, Sunset Shimmer’s phone from Earth or more accurately, her Personal Artificial Assistant Logic (PAAL) was always watching and listening when she had it on her. She had named it Raven at the time as a personal joke and in her extreme depressive state following her wife’s death. She had needed the laugh. It had seemed amusing to pretend to have the once great personal assistant to Celestia, Raven Inkwell, who was not fond of Sunset Shimmer, as her servant.

Since the PAAL, by design, was heavily influenced by what it learned from its user, Raven had molded into a witty, sarcastic, useful assistant and friend who played the balanced role of both shoulder angel and devil depending on her digital mood. Her personality matrix was far more advanced than Sunset ever imagined a computer, even an advanced AI could be.

“I’m not going to dismiss that outright, but I hope not. I have a ton of movies and games and stuff I want to download to some storage drives. Plus, every digital book we can get our hooves and/or hands on for fun and research.”

“I too am looking forward to see how far PAAL technology has advanced in the last two and a half years. Considering what you and Princess Twilight have achieved with some magic and glowing rocks I am hopeful for something extraordinary.”

Sunset nodded. “I will get you the best upgrades money can buy. You’ve earned it.”

Twilight quickly examined one of her lists again. “Is money going to be an issue? We can bring bits to convert to local currency like you told me you did before. I know from past experience they travel in a closed satchel.”

Sunset happily shook her head, dabbing her chin after she finished off her spaghetti with a slurp. “Nope. I’m actually still loaded with finances. Well, maybe. You know what, we should bring some just in case. I know I SHOULD still have tons of money. All my accounts were automated as far as investments and donations to various charities and did not need me to fund, flow, and stay on top of them every day to remain active. But it has been a full mirror cycle.”

Twilight nodded in agreement and circled it on her triple check list.

The subbasement storage room where the Lunar Lock Mirror was stored had received an unexpected upgrade that had not been present when last Sunset Shimmer had been there days ago. The goldenrod alicorn admired the various time pieces that had been placed on the corner table. One had been an old fashioned hourglass time turner. Next to the large hourglass was an electrical node powered clock with flip numbers on a tumbler. Next to that was a journal with numerous mathematical and quantum theory calculations. Just a few quick flips of parchment and Sunset could surmise Twilight had been trying to as precisely as possible narrow down how long the mirror would dilate open for. Hopefully, they would not cut it so close to have to worry about such precision.

“Oh!,” Sunset looked up to find her fellow alicorn enter the room and descend the stairs. “You found the journal I left out.
Does all my math look correct? I meant to ask you about it last night, but by the time you got in from dream walking with Luna I was wiped out. I did double check my work, but I'm not infallible. Another pair of eyes would give me peace of mind.”

Sunset smirked and flipped through a few more pages. “Assuming we start the clocks right as it happens it should be spot on. What’s your margin of error you think?”

“I would like it to be no more than two minutes, but I’ve never taken the time to measure it that closely in the past. It opens, it closes and everypony is then stuck where they happen to be just as it was designed.”

“Well, that’s not ominous at all.”

Twilight and Sunset both glanced up as the last of their party entered and closed the door behind them. Captain Tempest Fury of the Solar Guard and Captain Fog Gauge of the Lunar Guard, both in full armor with helmets at their sides, descended to join their rulers. Twilight smiled warmly and nodded to them while Sunset snickered. A fact that brought a glare from the solar captain.

“Problem?” said the vermilion unicorn with pink and white mane, hard jade green eyes trying and failing to burn a hole into Sunset’s skull.

“Not really, but you two do realize you are overdressed for a vacation, right?”

Tempest inspected her gold and purple trimmed armor, then that of her thestral husband. His armor was similar to the traditional night guard issue kit, but had been recently redesigned since Sunset's coronation. The blued steel favored by the night guard made up the bulk of the plates, but now included a few red and gold accents that distinguished his rank and acknowledged Sunset's rule.

A silent conversation of facial expressions and gestures passed between the two of them. Twilight smiled warmly at the couple, a small pang of emotional conflict passing through her heart. They were so perfect together. Many said the same thing about her and Sunset, even the Canterlot Gazette said so! Although, their relationship lacked that crucial final step… a conversation Sunset had continuously skirted around to Twilight’s thinning patience and growing annoyance. She was trying to be a good marefriend, but…

“You are going through a magic portal to an unknown and potentially hostile environment,” said Tempest matter-of-factly, breaking Twilight from her own brooding thoughts, “You’re damn right I’m going in armed and overdressed. You would both have armor on if I had a say in the matter.”

Sunset, who actually spent most of the time in her custom crafted black and gold armor regalia had gladly left it all behind along with her helm crown. Twilight in turn had also left her crown and royal regalia in their room. Both alicorns had with them instead only basic saddle bags to carry a few supplies. One of Twilight’s goals for the trip was to bring back human technology, so most of her space was taken with additional travel bags. Sunset only had Raven, who she was about to put away after she finished reviewing Twilight’s research notes.

“There's no point arguing about it. Did you two read the outline I gave you last night about what to expect?” asked Sunset, on the cusp of another battle of wills with Tempest Fury. Both captains nodded. “Well, then you should know that there is a potential that when you emerge on the other side you won’t have armor at all.”

“I’ll take my chances.” Sunset turned her eyes to her own captain who could only shrug. It meant that they had already had this discussion and here they were. I get it, pick your battles.

The door above opened once more and the four sets of eyes turned upward to find Spike, Luna, and Twilight’s personal assistant, Isabella Windsong standing at the threshhold.

“You didn’t think you were going to sneak out of here without us saying goodbye, did you?” said Spike with a toothy grin. “You know, I’m super tempted to hop through the mirror again just to see for myself how much has changed since the last time I was there. Do you think it would make me into a dog again?”

All eyes turned to Sunset, the resident mirror world expert. She casually rotated her hooves in an 'I have no idea' manner. “Eh, probably. Except that you would likely look like a huge wolf that’s the size of a bear. And as much fun as that would be to see, we really are hoping to NOT draw too much attention to ourselves so this will go smoothly.”

Spike crossed his arms and shrugged. “Meh. It probably wouldn’t be anything near as cool as what I picture in my head anyway.”

Luna giggled at the exchange and quickly placed herself between Sunset and Twilight, pulling them both into a hug. Sunset pretended she was being strangled for a moment just to be a drama queen. “Go and enjoy yourselves and of course each other. Equestria will survive and still be standing when you return, I assure you.”

“Should I take that bet, Aunt Luna?”

“Perhaps. Should I bet on you balking on what we discussed the other night?”

Sunset grinned more at Luna’s cheeky response and arched brow. “Touché.”

Isabella gently nudged Twilight to divert her attention away from whatever it was Sunset and Luna had been plotting. “While you certainly deserve the time off, please be careful, Your Highness, and please return promptly. I do not even want to fathom the catastrophic political storm that would follow if you AND Sunset were to become trapped away for thirty moons.”

“Oh, the world of woes!” scoffed Luna, draping a foreleg across her eyes, over dramatically. “Trapped away from Equestria for a WHOLE THIRTY MOONS! Surely, the world would come to an end! Oh please, I could sit still for thirty moons on the commode and still run this country at least as good as my sister did. I can also think of far worst fates to be had than to be waylaid in a world full of endless and wonderous technology with good company by your side.”

The small conversations persisted for a few more minutes until Twilight held up her hoof. She quickly scrambled over to the table by the large hourglass. Sunset felt the subtle shift in mana flow around them as well and moved to the electric timer. She took Raven out of her pouch and set the PAAL down on the table. The room fell silent with all eyes on the horseshoe shaped mirror.

After what felt like an hour, but was really only a few minutes, the glass on the mirror darkened to a blue black, flashed, then returned to a reflective surface and began to ripple like a pond in the wind. On Twilight’s signal, Sunset set the timer to countdown as Twilight flipped the glass upside down. Raven watched as Sunset activated the timer. Her pony avatar disappeared for a moment while she synchronized a countdown timer with the ones on the table.

Raven's avatar returned and winked. "Ready."

Sunset smirked and nodded. "Go into standby and I'll see you on the other side."

Cautiously, Tempest approached the mirror and gently touched the surface of what had only moments before been just chromed mirror glass. Her hoof slipped through the surface and a kaleidoscope of colors surrounded her foreleg. She immediately pulled it back. It did not hurt, but she could feel an unfamiliar surge of magic all about it. Plus, it did have a kind of suction draw that had been unexpected and frankly a bit spooky.

Tempest swallowed and glanced back at Sunset Shimmer. "You know what, you should probably go first."

Sunset smiled wide. “Well duh." Twilight and Sunset shared a giggle and pressed their heads together for a moment, sliding their horns along one another. Small sparks of red and magenta were passed between the two of them. Sunset broke the contact and stood before the mirror once more. "Alright, let’s get this vacation started.”

Author's Note

Welcome back for another part of the Incarnate Series.

If you are just joining and this is your first story, it is not necessary to read the others to enjoy this story, but it would help and also the previous chapters are good too! Just ask that guy or that gal over there!

Anyhow, updates will be about a week at a time as usual. I have seven chapters all ready to go and I THINK this story will be about 9 maybe 10 chapters in total. We'll see how it rolls.

Chapter 4 and Chapter 7 will contain more steamy, adult oriented events, warnings will be posted in the titles of those chapters if that is not to your taste.

Other than that, sit back and get ready for another wild ride.

Questions and comments always welcomed.