The flurry of dizzying colors released her with a flash and she stumbled forward, breathless, ending up against hard ground on both her cannons and – somehow – her stifles. A silent gasp and cool, wet air filled her lungs.
Breathe in, breathe out...
Well, if anything the alien atmosphere wouldn’t kill her outright, and what little pain she felt only came from her fall. Crossing had been a gamble, without being able to probe the other side of the mirror beforehoof, but a winning one so far! She was still alive and in one piece, after all.
That didn’t come with feeling comfortable, however. Cold darkness all around, Limbo's maddening rainbow still seared into her retinas, and rain pelting her back. Because of course it could never be easy. Really, it was like the icy water was slipping right under her coat, chilling her to the bone! At least it distracted her from how queasy she still felt from her brief trip through the place-between.
Now, in what kind of dreadful dimension had she stepped into..?
Blinking the afterimage away, Sunset Shimmer grew more used to the rainy gloom of her new world. Not quite as dramatic as some featureless void of torture and madness, her surroundings were revealing themselves to be almost disappointingly mundane. Concrete pavement, quite normal-looking grass. Lampposts and their artificial glow. Even the misty ghosts of trees and buildings in the distance, shrouded by rain and darkened by an early evening’s storm clouds.
What really caught her eye, though, was the tall iron gate a short way in front of her, glistening under the streetlights. The metalwork instantly reminded her of similar gates in the upper quarters of Canterlot, even down to the prominent horseshoe motifs. A far too familiar sight.
Had the mirror simply teleported her a couple streets away from the castle..? That’d have been just her luck! All these efforts just to further embarrass herself in front of these snotty buffoons!
But no, this couldn’t be! This hadn’t felt at all like any of the teleportation spells she was familiar with. And the smell of the air was distinctly different from Canterlot’s alpine breeze. The scant accounts of previous travelers mentioned both similarities and divergences between the worlds, maybe this was what they meant?
One way to be sure: her instruments should be able to pick up the slightest variations in the magicosphere’s makeup. Including the strange electromagnetic waves she had detected coming from the mirror since it came alive earlier that day. If her hypothesis was correct... Ah, there was her saddlebag, laying on the pavement just to her right!
She willed it closer... but nothing. She had to still be a bit disoriented. A little more focus, picturing the simple pattern of any unicorn’s most basic spell... yet her stubborn target still refused to levitate over to her.
She forced more energy into the spell. All it did was make her extremities tingle. The miserable saddlebag kept taunting her by staying resolutely still.
Total inertia from the rain-soaked fabric. Utter impotence from herself.
What the heck was happening!? Did Limbo rob her of her magic, was that the price to pay for her transgressions? Or was this forsaken world so broken that it wouldn’t allow her the use of all her hard-won abilities?
She had to get to these stupid instruments, now.
And so Sunset stretched her hoof to reach the saddlebag.
But no hoof would ever reach it.
Still, she could feel the raindrops impacting the skin. The slight muscle strain of a raised limb, her shifted balance. Even the lingering aches of her fall.
Evidently, the pale, hairless thing stretching out from her had to somehow be part of her.
But it was all revoltingly wrong! Shoulder dislocated to the side, elbow so far removed from her barrel as if defleshed, cannon truncated and squeezed flat like an orange’s peel! Hoof split right up to the fetlock into five bony strips, and not even symmetrically at that!
In the little section of her mind not recoiling in disgust, an old memory replayed itself. Of that trained monkey, that the Saddle-Arabian ambassador had made a show of. Of its creepy, spindly fingers.
Yes, fingers...
Finding a frame of reference was helping, a little. No hoof or frog; nail, fingertip. No pastern; finger. No fetlock; knuckle. No cannon... but hand.
A hand. Her hand.
The persistent malaise and the cold bite also made more sense now. At least the darn monkey wasn’t bald!
...
Alive? Oh yes, for sure. In one piece? Not so buckin’ much after all!
Just how bad was it? Same articulations, but not same mobility – flexing each individual finger separately would take some work. But that was far from a priority. She didn’t need fine motor control to have her hand reach for her head, for her horn.
She still had her mane, small mercy. But her horn, her pride and joy?
Not a trace.
A smooth, unadorned brow like any mundane pony. Her magic trapped inside, with no way to enact her will onto the world.
... Better be dead!
Sunset brought back the hand under her; it wasn’t as good as a hoof, but it would be enough to help her crawl back to the mirror and leave this horrible place!
There was no mirror behind her though. Only a massive, polished stone dais, topped by a statue of a rearing horse she didn’t recognize.
What!? Where was the portal!?
But then she remembered: the old texts had described how it wasn't always a mirror on this side. And sure enough, once she was close enough to reach out, her fingers brushed effortlessly through the marble, making it shimmer like water. She still had her way back!
Only a couple steps, and she’d be back to Equestria and, hopefully, to her own body...
Back to Canterlot.
Back to her.
...
But why rush it? The portal worked, after all. Her plans were still on track.
In fact wouldn’t it be a downright criminal waste to turn tail now? After all the trouble she had had to go through, the pain and sacrifices? Yes, it had all been worth it, because she had made it!
And of course she did! Was there really any doubt in the first place? She wasn't just anypony, she was—
Had been... the Princess's top student.
But no more thoughts about that mare, not when Sunset was the first unicorn in millennia to set hoof in another universe, with whole new opportunities to prove herself!
A monkey’s ungraceful flesh? She’d overcome this challenge as well! The inner workings of the mirror were obscure, and hard to figure out without unraveling the complex spells in the process, but one thing was certain: it didn’t deal in the random or whimsy. If it had deprived her of her horn, it had to be for a good reason. Maybe this way she could uncover the true mysteries of magic, unhindered by faulty teachings!
Yes, no doubt about it: this was still the path of her destiny.
It may not have been exactly how she was imagining it... But no matter the divergences between worlds, she had to focus on the constants! What did she know? Buildings and statues and iron gates, she was clearly in civilized company. Grass and trees, photosynthetic organisms, therefore this world probably had a sun. And if so, there was somepony, or somecreature as the case may be, who had to be its shepherd.
She only had to find this new universe's alicorn. Hopefully she’d prove more reasonable than the one from hers. Not that it'd be difficult...
Oh yes, she’d be able to make her see reason!
Sunset turned her back to the portal, hope briefly pushing the cold away; for her the only way was forward now.
From the proportions of her limbs and the tenderness of her shins’ skin, this body wasn’t made for crawling. She’d have to stand tall, like a minotaur. Practice proved a little less straightforward than theory implied, no thanks to the water dripping all over her shivering form, and to the wet, slippery concrete under the sole of her new feet... but through stumble and stagger and the occasional fall, she reached the gate, saddlebag slung over her shoulder.
It wasn’t locked, and pushing it open revealed the great building beyond. The looming shadow was strikingly familiar – if not for everything else, she could’ve easily mistaken it for the School for Gifted Unicorns. That was exactly the kind of constant she was looking for! Better yet, warm light shone in the foyer and a couple of the first floor windows.
As she got closer though, the similarities with the Princess's school grew less and less obvious. No true side towers; those silhouettes had been little more than simple turrets. Far more humble decor, more utilitarian than anything. A flight of much narrower steps, leading not to old wooden doors but glass and metal ones. Still, what similarities were left, however superficial, it... It had to mean something!
She held on to that thought even more tightly than she did to the handrail leading up the stairs. She was so close, never mind the cold gnawing at her bones or these weak, shaky legs!
But these last few steps were too much. The smooth concrete too traitorous. Her balance too precarious.
She hit her head against the glass, sprawling right at the threshold.
Cold, and wet, and tired... Took her a minute to remember why she couldn’t magic the door open.
It really... couldn’t ever... be easy..!
Maybe...
Maybe she could rest there, just for a little while..?
Only an instant, to... Yes, to gather her thoughts. What’d be the harm..?
She had never stopped fighting and struggling ‘til then, didn’t she deserve some—
The door opened from the inside.
Sunset looked up at the creature, so tall and haloed by light.
Warmth enveloped her, and though the long coat wasn’t quite as soft as an alicorn’s feathers, she still huddled in the familiar embrace. Mane like sunlight, and that voice...
Yes, she was sure – it was her!
She had made it!
September 30th, 1976
Dubuque, Iowa
—
Maggie Williams rose as the older policeman entered the lobby. Bags under his eyes and trying to suppress a yawn, it seemed his night hadn’t been any more restful than hers.
“Shouldn’t you be at school, Miss Williams..?”
“Not this morning, detective. I was just down the street, and I—”
“Ah yes, I remember now. Something at the center with the old-timers, right?”
“Precisely, creative writing at ten. I arrived early, so...”
“So you paid us a visit, of course.” He absently scratched at his mustache. “Didn’t know it took two hours to set up whatever you need for ‘creative writing’, but then, you’re the teacher.”
She knew it was obvious. No reason to keep beating around the bush: “How is she?”
The man heaved a sigh, gesturing for his office. “I’m having some coffee. You?”
“Please.”
It wasn’t tea, but it wouldn’t hurt. And so Maggie found herself back on that creaky chair, cradling a hot mug, waiting for the detective to close the door and sit behind his cluttered desk.
“So Miss Williams,” he began after a good long sip, “about your little protege...”
“I wouldn’t call her my ‘protégée’ sir, like I told you I—”
“Yes, never saw her before, that’s what you said last night. But still, for a girl that dropped right out the blue, she seems to have quite the fixation on you.”
She couldn’t deny. The poor girl had clung to her like chick to hen from the moment she pulled her from the rain. Handing her over to the policemen and doctors had been... tense, for all involved. Maggie herself could hardly claim indifference by then. “How is she?”
“Still asking for you, last I’ve heard. Haven’t been able to get much more out of her, to be frank.”
That’s what she had been afraid of. “May I help in any way?”
“You’ve already did plenty. Don’t worry, she’s being taken care of.”
She merely acted like any good Christian should. And yet... “What will happen to her now? Did you find anything?”
“Well,” he started, worrying at his mug, “you and your family have always been upstanding members of this community, and it’s clear you only wish the best for the girl... So, can I trust that this'll all stay between us?”
She always had qualms, taking advantage of a reputation and influence she knew weren’t truly deserved. She also had to know. “Absolutely.”
The one heartfelt word seemed enough of a promise for the detective, who leaned forward over his desk: “So, for now we’re still keeping her in custody at Mercy, and... Oh no don’t worry, she’s not charged with anything, that’s just procedure. Though we did have to restrain her, make sure she wouldn’t run away again. For her own good, you understand?”
Maggie didn’t, no – it wasn’t what she had had in mind when she let the officers take her to the hospital. Still she nodded for him to continue.
“She’ll stay at the shelter in Ames, will drive her there myself as soon as the doc is done with her. In the meantime we get the court office and Human Services involved, that’s still procedure, and they’ll contact her parents or guardians. We’ll get her back home in no time.”
Now that she knew the girl herself didn’t have in mind, at all. “Maybe she had good reasons to leave..?”, she ventured.
That made him raise a thick, graying eyebrow. “Really now? You know something we don’t?”
“No sir, I already shared everything with you last night.”, she was quick to say, trying to placate the detective with the small lie. “I was just... wondering.”
And wondering she had. All night, in fact. The girl may’ve been framing her ordeal as some allegorical fantasy, the details of which Maggie had kept to herself, it still suggested a pretty unsavory story. A story in which a tyrannical mother figure was the obvious antagonist...
“Well from what little you got out of her, she’s clearly a runaway.”, the man said. “The doc didn’t see anything unusual, beyond the bruises and giant tattoos, and she looked well fed. Hasn’t reported abuse, either. Hopefully we’ll get some real answers soon... Anyhow, that’s the gist of it.”, he concluded, laying back into his seat with an attempt at a reassuring smile. “Everything’s being taken care of, you can rest easy Miss Williams.”
That wouldn’t be possible – she knew too much, and too little. The girl might be confused, she still had been very purposeful in what she had said and what she had kept to herself... including her real name. “Are you sure they will find her parents? Have you identified her?”
The smile disappeared behind the rim of his mug. “Still in progress.”, answered the detective after slurping down what remained of his coffee. “Made a few calls. FBI has the info, if she’s from out of state. We may have the Herald publish something, just in case.”
“And... if you can't find her parents?”
He shrugged. “Not really our ball to play, like I just said we done pretty much everything we could on our side. Court and Human Services will keep looking into it. And if for some reason they can’t get their hands on them, the girl will stay in shelter, or go to foster care, something like that.”
But Maggie was all too aware of the issues with this outcome. Even if she did suspect her to be younger, the girl had been firm that she was seventeen. It’s what she would’ve told the doctors and the police. With the time it could take for the courts to do their work... she may very well just age out of the system. Discharged without having received the help she sorely needed.
Unacceptable.
“Sir, wouldn’t it be possible if—”
“Please Miss Williams,” he cut her off, irritation building, “just let it go already. You’ve done your citizen’s duty, and we’re all very grateful. But she’s not one of your students. And there’s people whose job it is to take care of things now. So please don’t try to get involved. This whole affair already has everyone on edge, especially after that rotten year. And I for one don’t want to give even more heart issues to Chief O’Brien. Do we agree or not?”
She clutched the lukewarm mug on her lap. It was foolish, she knew. She had done her duty.
But duty wasn’t enough.
God had put this poor soul on her path for a reason. She was obviously confused, and needed kindness and support more than anything else. Something she certainly wouldn’t find if they sent her back to wherever she came from, and probably not in some shelter either. Especially if the girl would take the first opportunity to leave, as she suspected.
The girl would vanish, she just knew it. She had seen it.
She wouldn’t let it happen another time.
Sunset nearly stumbled on the last step out of the bus. Miss Williams caught her before she could embarrass herself in front of the driver.
What was it with this world and their obsession for stupidly steep stairs anyway? A blatant public safety issue, that’s what it was!
But no matter. Her squeaky, constrictive shoes now firmly on the ground, Sunset shook off the helpful hand, straightened herself, and strode towards the school.
She had an unobstructed view of the statue, and the portal moored in its dais. The place hadn’t changed much in a week, beside the rain – not that she expected it to. If her jailers didn’t believe her in the first place, they had no reason to investigate what was a mundane art piece, to their naive eyes.
Well their loss! They could stay rotting in their sordid, magicless universe until the end of time, for all she cared. She herself had no intention to stick around.
She advanced on the dais, arm outstretched, ready to brave Limbo one last time...
... But she was met only by cold, unyielding stone.
It took Sunset an inequine amount of effort to not bash her spindly little hands against the hard surface.
What in the blazes had happened!? The portal had to work in both directions! What would be the point otherwise? Feeling the marble surface, she remembered well how differently it had reacted to that exact same stimulus, the night of her arrival. Conditional then? Cyclical, maybe. Lots of old unicorn spells like that.
But if it was a cycle... Was it on the scale of days? Months?
Years..?
For all she knew it only worked during rainy evenings every three centuries and a half.
For all she knew, she’d be stuck there for the rest of her miserable life.
What kind of two-bit magicians would forget to mention something so essential!? These treatises on portals were half warnings and half more warnings! All to discourage feeble-minded ponies from daring to research them, of course, but somehow they wouldn’t also include the very real dangers a worthy unicorn could face!? No wonder portals became a lost art in the first place, if those ancient idiots had withheld the most important details!
That had to be it, they just wanted to carry their secrets to the grave! No other explanation made sense. The idea that in her rush she could’ve overlooked such a crucial aspect was frankly too ridiculous to entertain.
But she wouldn’t admit defeat just yet! No, there had to be a solution, a trick, anything to—
“Sunny? Are you all right?”
Sunset did her best to school her expression into something that wouldn’t immediately convince her benefactor to send her right back to the cops. Good thing she had her ‘sad angry teenager’ impression down pat: “Sorry Miss Williams, I... I thought I’d lost something around here, but no luck.”
The tall woman gave her a wary look. “Oh, well... Hopefully someone found it, we’ll have to ask around. Follow me, please.”
“Yes, Miss Williams.” Sunset picked up the bag she had dropped in her shock, and did as she was told.
Still so unnerving how all these humans spoke near-perfect Equestrian... Practical, though. Maybe like the portal translated her form, it also made her able to understand and be understood? It was at least more likely than the idea that, somehow, the two species’ languages had converged so seamlessly as to be indistinguishable, a universe apart.
They had looked at her weirdly when she tried some Eponese, however. And crossing the metal gate, she still had difficulties deciphering the plaque next to it; the name of the school, no doubt. If some magical translation was involved, it certainly wasn’t perfect then.
At least she was heading to the ideal place to familiarize herself with the local script. She sure had time on her new hands to do so now. Lots of time, if she were unlucky enough.
Because she was trapped. Exiled.
And it was all her fault! This was exactly what the Princess’s lack of trust had led to, pushing her own student into more and more reckless attempts to prove her worth! She would have never needed to go to such extremes if only, if only that stubborn alicorn had just listened for once, instead of always commanding, and reprimanding, and...
And she really needed to get a grip already. Shaking with impotent rage in the middle of the courtyard would do her no good. She had to bide her time for now, and that meant following after Miss Williams.
She was Sunset Shimmer after all, horn or not – and she would find a way. Eventually.
Right then, the way passed through this human school.
How she first mistook the blocky building for the SGU, she couldn’t imagine. Granted, it had been nighttime, she had been roughed up by Limbo... The reddish brown stone with white accents wasn't quite as close to the purple and cream of the original, in the light of day. The equine reliefs and other ornaments didn't depict famous unicorns of times past, but deformed horses, like the statue in front of the gate. Horseshoes everywhere, instead of magical symbols like stars and swirls, or even horn motifs. Alright, maybe there were still some parallels in the shape of some of these ornaments, though they were a lot less expansive there. Humans and their lack of good taste... No doubt about it, this was a far less prestigious institution, a mere school for magicless foals. And not even foals at that...
Miss Williams held the glass door open for her. Now that she wasn’t shivering to death, Sunset had the chance to notice that the interior of the foyer did offer some more parallels, in the color and disposition of its decorations. She hadn’t been to that many schools in her life, maybe this wasn’t anything special? Then again, she doubted most schools in this universe or the other also had teachers with such an uncanny likeness to Princess Cel—
“Could you wait for me here?”, asked her benefactor, pointing at a bench. “It’ll only be a minute.”
“Of course.” Even then, Miss Williams waited for Sunset to take a seat before entering the nearby office – the principal’s, she’d told her.
Was she afraid she’d try to get away? As if the young unicorn had anywhere left to go... No, staying by Miss Williams’ side was still her best bet, she just had more... clearheaded, pragmatic reasons now.
She laid back against the wall, letting out a long, frustrated sigh, and waited.
No students yet to fill the halls, too early in the day. Only some faculty members, who were casting strange looks Sunset’s way. She’d think they saw her as the pony she really was, but no, by now she knew they couldn’t see past her current form. To them, she was just another human. Probably wondering what she was doing here.
Couldn’t blame them; she’d asked herself the very same question often enough these days.
Her eyes drifted to the large glass case on the other side of the hall. It held a variety of pictures and trophies, including some kind of tiara, but it’s her own reflection that claimed her attention.
A human, just like they all saw. Her mane was dull, the coppery brown a far cry from her fiery locks. Her coat-less skin a muted tan, darker than Miss Williams's. The only traces of her true self were her eyes, and the cutie marks hidden under her pants, now almost garish in how their vivid colors clashed with the rest.
If only she’d jumped back through that darn portal before the cops could arrive...
How could she have been so foalish..? To believe that somehow, this humble school teacher would be the mover of the heavens, the sun resplendent, the Princess’s incarnation in this world! Like the school itself, the resemblance had to be purely superficial, a matter of random chance! A slight similitude of voice, a familiar gaze, the tall bearing... Maybe it was just her own mind trying to find patterns where there were none. Trying to find something, anything that’d mean she wasn’t just the butt of some cosmic joke!
Margaret Williams wasn’t what she had hoped she’d be... But she was still kind. Far more so than the Princess in fact. If she hadn’t petitioned the court for guardianship so ardently, Sunset’s situation would’ve still been far from being resolved. Or so the other residents of the youth shelter had suggested.
Not the ally she was looking for when she came to this world, but an ally nonetheless, yes. And one that she had to take full advantage of!
And wasn’t it what Sunset had always done, making the best of her situation? Things could never be easy for her, but she always managed to come out on top! This wouldn’t be any different, she...
She...
Who was she trying to convince, exactly..? She wasn’t sure of anything anymore.
Would the Princess come to her rescue? Even after everything she did?
Did she even notice she was gone..?
Her diversion had been minutely planned after all, the false evidence planted in all the right places. So as long as Cadenza would keep her mouth shut...
She did have a way to ask for help, though.
The fabric bag clutched in her hands held her only possessions. Well, the ones the cops hadn’t confiscated; she sure wouldn’t see the color of her bits again. But they must’ve found the communication book harmless enough, unable to read the ‘gibberish’ written on its pages. And they probably thought her aetherometer was some kind of toy, another proof of these people’s magical illiteracy if she ever needed one... Though from what she had learned of their recent history, it was probably for the best.
So she could... simply write something in the book. If the Princess hadn’t disposed of her own copy yet, she...
Wait, would it even work with the portal closed? The enchantment was only rated for pan-Equestrian communications! Should she try writing right now, as a test? What could she even say that wouldn’t just have the Princess slam the book shut? Or sermon her on her foolishness? Oh, but there could be a way to test it out without risking anything, and she just had the ideal instrument for that!
Sunset pulled the aetherometer out. The needle of the telluric flow compass was behaving erratically, confirming the readings she had made from the other side of the portal weren’t a fluke. Then this world’s magicosphere, rather than absent altogether, really was this chaotic, without any of the major aetheric currents she had learned to recognize. How could complex, intelligent life even evolve under these conditions..?
Question for another time. Right then, all she needed to do was fiddle with the antenna, increase sensitivity, and...
Yes, there! A weak but stable reading through the noise – by pointing the antenna just right, in the direction of the statue outside. Perfect match for the Celestial Arm of the Canterhorn-Monoceros Double-Swirl!
So the portal was still open, and leaking a sliver of true magic into this world. The gap may simply be too narrow for establishing a proper bridge between mirror and statue, one strong and stable enough for matter to travel through. She’d been right, it had to be cyclical then! Now that she thought about it that was even perfectly logical: accumulating enough magic on this side of the portal had to require time, to either capture enough residual magic coming through the gap, or accumulate enough from the chaotic flows of the human world.
This was excellent news! A spell that was still active, even at such low-energy levels, was unlikely to rely on a cycle of more than a few weeks or months. After all, it had to balance the amount of leaking magic while dormant. Starswirl the Bearded’s spells were far too elegant to allow for anything else. And though she couldn’t find notes on the subject from his own horn, all her research pointed to the legendary sorcerer as the progenitor of the portal arts.
Only a short while to wait, and she’d be able to detect the portal fully reopening with the aetherometer.
Only a short while, and she’d be back home, back to her true self! Then she’d have the means to come up with another plan.
The office door opened, making her jump. “Sunny, could you come in please?”
Sunset just had to bide her time. Play along for now, and then leave it all behind. Nothing would keep her away from her destiny longer than absolutely necessary!
She stashed the aetherometer back in her bag and rose from the bench. “Yes Miss Williams.”
The door closed behind her.
Chapter 2 – Seizing Destiny
September 20th, 1993
Grandview High School
Dubuque, Iowa
—
It was getting late in the day, yet there were often a couple students still lurking around the school – and she had just found one. Pushing open the door to the darkened computer room, she saw the surprised face of the teenage girl jump from behind the monitor, her large round glasses catching the blue glow from the screen.
“That’s enough for you today, Tammy. Now scram.”
“Y-yes Miss Williams!”
The room now empty, Sunny Williams went on to check if the girl had correctly shut down the computer, and hadn’t forgotten to take whatever new D&D drivel she may have had printed. But nothing to report this time, her advice hadn’t fallen on deaf ears. She might have to get stricter with allotted session times though, seeing how popular the machines had gotten since she installed Mosaic. Still, she couldn’t deny some pride, as computer club founder, at finally being able to boast perfect gender parity in her users. The other schools in the district could hardly say the same.
She locked the room, and after a last pass through the empty halls, she was finally able to hang up her supervisor hat for the day. The only thing left was to stop by the door of a still-lit office; ‘Margaret Williams – Principal’, said the plaque.
No need to knock. “Madam Principal?”, she called, pushing the door open.
Principal Williams glanced up from the sempiternal layer of paperwork covering her oak desk, tired hazel eyes looking over the rim of her reading glasses. “Yes? Is everything all right?”
“The teen peril has finally vacated the grounds, so yes, all is well in your domain.” She smirked. “A shame we can’t keep it that way.”
The older woman let out a sigh, corner of her mouth pulling into a half-smile. “But then wouldn’t we both be out of a job, Miss Williams?”
“Alas. Oh, I’ll have to come in extra early tomorrow, need to launch an update on the computers. Should only take a few hours.”
“Noted.” The half-smile was eclipsed by a frown. “Please be careful, all right? I fear this will be one of those nights again...”
“I will. If you try not spending your night at this desk for a change. Piles of paper make for poor pillows.”
“Well if that isn’t the pot calling the kettle black, Miss What-Is-Sleep-Just-Get-Me-More-Coffee.”
“Precisely, you’re talking to an expert, and that was my expert opinion. Good night, Maggie.”
“Good night Sunny.”, the Principal smiled back.
Slipping into her leather jacket, the young woman went out to brave the late September chill. Hopping into her car and taking the road, she barely gave a glance to the statue sitting in front of the school.
Not quite yet...
This time she didn’t make any stops on her way home on Shady Oaks Drive. A freshly-delivered pizza, the Crichton novel from the movie she had heard so much about this summer, a bottle of wine, and some Bowie in the background – she was set for the evening.
Midnight had struck a short while ago when Sunny parked behind Grandview High. Maggie had been right about it being ‘one of these nights’, of course – she could almost taste the magic in the air.
Being the Principal’s adoptive daughter had its advantages, like being trusted with the keys of the deserted school, no questions asked. Front gate unlocked, as well as the side entrance closest to it, she only had to stash her bag and clothes in the teachers’ room, and make sure the coast was clear. Even if they didn’t know to what they were reacting, the townsfolk still felt the draw of the portal. In fact it was almost surprising she had never heard of anybody falling into it, with how the school grounds could get busy with stragglers and assorted delinquents during these three days.
But she knew, and so she could easily beat the crowd. Only reason she hadn’t been there right on time was that she got drowsy from how boring the latter half of that novel had gotten.
No clueless human loitering around, Sunny was good to go. She made a bee line for the rearing horse statue, the dark cloak draped over her naked shoulders feeling a lot less warm than her jacket, and she vanished into the dais.
She may’ve had some experience bracing herself for Limbo by now, the trip wasn’t any less unpleasant... but at least she knew how to control her arrival, and so Sunset Shimmer only had to let her forehooves fall back on the crystal floor and wait what!?
This wasn’t Canterlot Castle. All crystal, from floor to ceiling and most of the furniture too. Either there had been sudden advances in crystallosynthesis during the past thirty moons, or this—
“Yes, welcome to the Crystal Empire! Surprise, I guess?”
Sunset did her best to look absolutely unimpressed as she turned to the grinning Cadenza, despite the urge to put her horn to a wall and inspect its microstructure. “And here I thought the Princess had finally tired of that tacky gold-and-marble look.”
“Actually she has been wondering about commissioning a new throne room, I’ll have to suggest some of our crystallizers.”, the young alicorn thought aloud.
‘Our’ crystallizers..? So Mi Amore Cadenza was finally princess of something worthwhile. Of the legendary Crystal Empire itself, no less! The magical marvel that spurred the Realm’s earliest technological advances, before mysteriously vanishing. A riddle for the ages, now somehow solved by Cadenza.
That was...
...
Great, just... Just great. Fantastic even!
The Princess must have been so very proud.
“Some tea?”, asked the alicorn, gesturing at a nearby table with her hoof. “I even got us some Cookie Crisp’s from Canterlot!”
Sunset was tempted to simply jump back the way she came – to hell with crystals and alicorns! What was even the point of catching up with a world that held less and less meaning for her as the years went by? Even as it started to feel more like a dream than anything, Equestria always found new ways to hurt her. Did she need that badly to be reminded she was somehow more than humble Sunny Williams?
Was it all worth spending a few hours as her former self?
Being a pony felt like slipping back into comfortable, well-worn shoes, at least once past the initial disorientation. Even if her colors seemed a bit more muted each time around.
Was it magic? A chance to practice weaving and casting spells, learn about the latest advances in her original fields of study... That did please her, even though the withdrawal effect was painful.
Spending time with Cadenza..?
Irrelevant. She didn’t care for that pink airhead. Not that much. She was just... convenient.
No, she could turn back without losing much. But... If she were already there? It wasn’t like leaving now would give her back her missing hours of sleep.
Besides, she could do with a midnight snack right then.
With a sigh she sat down, and the warm fruity tea combined with sweet biscuits did help sooth the unicorn’s nerves. Just a bit.
But Cadenza had seen through her, of course. Emotions were the bread and butter of her school of magic after all...
“You know Sunset, the Empire has gone through some rough times, and a lot of knowledge has been forgotten. We’ve been employing several mages and researchers from Equestria to help our ponies reclaim their heritage. We... We would be happy to have you, too.”
... And she could never leave things well enough alone.
“Thanks for the offer Cadenza, but I’ve already got my hands full at the moment. Maybe this could be an opportunity for you to practice with your magic a little more, though.”
The pink alicorn stuck her tongue out at her. “I’m quite happy with my current skill level, thank you. But the offer still stands if you change your mind. Hopefully you’re not always working all the time over there? How are you finally gonna find the special somecreature you need in your life otherwise!”
“No thanks.”, Sunset chuckled. “I’m perfectly happy leaving all that romantic nonsense to you.”
The argument was a familiar one, and served as a springboard for Cadenza to gush about her wedding, and then her new life with Shining Armor in the Crystal Empire: a flourishing city, a Royal Summit about to be held, and soon the Equestria Games themselves.
Her perfect little life, bug monsters and tyrannical despots notwithstanding. The life of an alicorn princess right out of a fairytale.
She knew she should be happy for the closest thing she ever had to a little sister... And she was, really! But it was hard to not let it turn bittersweet.
“Well, enough talking about me!”, Cadenza eventually said, putting her photo album away. “I’m sure you’ve been dying to check on the news. You won’t believe everything that happened in just this past year!”
A spell cleared the table of biscuit crumbles, and a thick stack of newspapers and academic journals landed on the crystal surface. The first front page, of the Canterlot Chronicle, proclaimed ‘Luna Returned!’ in big bold letters, above a picture of the Princess and a smaller, darker alicorn.
Sunset checked the paper’s date. “This is suspiciously close to the thousandth Summer Sun Celebration... Wait, are princess Luna and Nightmare Moon the same pony!?”
“More or less? It’s a touchy subject. But yes, she did come back as Nightmare Moon on that day, like you had predicted.”
She leafed through the paper, but it was pretty light on details – just as the historical accounts had been, likely at the behest of the Princess. “So how did it unfold? You convinced her to stop eating foals through the power of love or something?”
“Not exactly, but I did leave that book you showed me in a place the appropriate pony would find it, and make the connection herself.”
She dug through the newspapers, arranging them in chronological order. Cadenza hadn’t lied, the number of recent Realm-threatening events was concerning, though not unprecedented. The strangest thing was that again the reports were cursory, focusing more on the consequences of the events for ponies and the economy, rather than the events themselves. Not even some propaganda piece glorifying the Guard. Was this again showing the Princess’s hoof, hiding knowledge and keeping her subjects from uncomfortable truths?
The latest periodical dated from a month back. Odd. Especially as she had the most recent issue of the Proceedings of the Equestrian Academy of Sciences, printed the past week.
Going back to the newspapers, she then noticed missing pages. In the case of the Spirit of Chaos’s rampage through the Canterlot region, she didn’t have a corresponding edition of the Chronicle, Daily, Gazette, or even the Ponyville Express, but of the Baltimare Sun.
A princess was trying to keep something from her alright...
“What do you not want me to see, Cadenza?”
“It was worth a try...”, the alicorn sighed. “Sunset, trust me. This will only hurt you more than I already did, and... And we don’t need that. It’s not important.”
Still important enough to hide it from her. What could it be? Did something happen to her parents? As if she cared what could happen to these awful ponies, and it wouldn’t be newspaper material anyway. Same if the results of one of her research papers had been dismissed. Did the Princess publicly denounce her, at last? Or was it connected in some way to that new star student of hers?
That had been the finishing blow for the unicorn, seven years ago. What had finally convinced her to abandon any thought of going back to Equestria in any long-term capacity. And Cadenza had tried to hide it, too. Sunset had only found out by reading the ‘Acknowledgments’ section of that fascinating paper on sub-atomic thaumic interactions.
She had immediately jumped back through the mirror, that time.
Now Cadenza was giving her a choice. She could just forget it. Keep on munching on those delicious pastries and scanning the crystal teacup she was drinking from. What would be the harm? It wasn’t like there could be any real consequences for her. This wasn’t her world anymore. It had rejected her twice already.
...
But she was still Sunset Shimmer.
“Out with it, Cadenza.”
“I... Alright.” The alicorn took a long swig of tea, as if to steel herself. “So, it has to do with Auntie’s personal student...”
Of course it did.
“You see, about a year ago Auntie sent Twilight Sparkle to Ponyville, and—”
“‘Twilight’?” She had actually forgotten her replacement’s name, despite it sounding somewhat familiar. To be fair, the whole journal issue had combusted in her magic when she had happened upon the phrase ‘Princess’s personal apprentice’... “Any relation to Twilight Velvet?”
“Her daughter. Maybe you remember her, Velvet took her to some of our classes. The cutest purple unicorn filly, had to be no more than two years old last time you saw her?”
Maybe... But more importantly, it meant that her replacement had been picked right out from one of Canterlot’s most respectable upper-class families. Why wasn’t she surprised? Even becoming the Princess’s prized pupil hadn’t fully shielded her from the condescending glares and biting words of the buffoons populating the city’s highest spheres. Of course they’d push for her subsitute to be one of them.
“Oh, and you may’ve seen her on the wedding photos, she’s Shining’s little sister, and she was his best mare.”
Daughter of a wealthy magical expert and SGU teacher. Sister of the former Captain of the Royal Guard. Sister-in-law of the Crystal Empress. Overcompensating much? Had the Princess thought she’d get a more obedient student this time around if their blood was almost bluer than her own?
“She’s every bit the magical genius that you are, I’m sure you’d get along very well if you gave her a chance. Anyway, she... She was the one who helped princess Luna along with her friends, and stopped Discord, and saved me from the changelings, and—”
“Get to the point already!”
Biting down on her lip, ears drawn back, Cadenza’s answer was to summon a newspaper with a blue flash. Sunset seized it, and didn’t have to look further than the front page.
The only reason it didn’t burst into flames was that she took it with her hooves. She almost wished it had.
The picture, in full color, showed a royal carriage pulled by two of the Guard’s pegasi, surrounded by a cheering crowd. The background was clearly Canterlot, right in front of the castle in fact. The carriage’s sole occupant, smiling and waving at the crowd, was a young purple unicorn in a fancy dress. A dress that didn’t hide in any way her pair of large, outstretched wings.
An alicorn’s wings.
‘Princess Coronation!’, the headline proclaimed.
Sunset tried to read more. Her vision had gotten blurry.
Cadenza said something, but she didn’t hear.
The Princess... She...
She had claimed she wasn’t ready. That it couldn’t be forced. Couldn’t be rushed. That she should be patient.
Then when she had gotten too close to the truth, she had been rebuffed. Told to focus on her current studies. Set aside, while Cadenza was taught the secrets.
Pushed away. Rejected. Forced to exile as the only way forward.
And now she had given her wings to another filly.
She had never intended for Sunset to succeed. She hadn’t cared. Had she always been disposable in the Princess’s eyes? A daughter, she had been replaced by Cadenza. An apprentice, now replaced by this Twilight Sparkle.
What did they have that she didn’t? What did she do wrong?
She had risen through the muck and abuse to stand at the top of the world, she had worked harder than anypony to earn what little she had had! It had never been easy for her and yet she had always prevailed!
Until the Princess had judged her lacking, and discarded her.
She had claimed Cadenza was a fluke, a cosmic accident. But she hadn’t meant for the pink whelp to tell her the truth. Hadn’t meant for her to learn the new alicorn had been born a pegasus. That a simple pony could ascend, if they managed to unlock some magical secret. That her foalish dreams could become a reality.
A reality that the Princess decided would be Twilight Sparkle’s, and not Sunset’s. For this Twilight the wings, the adoration and power, the throne and the crown, the—
That crown.
Its six-pointed star.
She knew that star.
“C–Cadenza...”, she rasped out, throat dry, voice unsteady. “This Twilight... Did she find the Elements of Harmony?”
The alicorn didn’t answer. Not that she really needed to.
“Nightmare Moon, Discord... Threats that the Princess only managed to stop in the past thanks to these Elements. Not something most ponies learn about, it’s not in the history books, but the knowledge’s there if you know where to look.” And she had. Months spent researching the secret history of alicorns and unconventional forms of magic. Following a trail that led her to the Castle of the Two Sisters, and what laid below. The connections were revealing themselves to Sunset, clear as day; it helped her find her composure again. “And now, this Twilight, you tell me, has managed to deal with both these threats, and more, all by herself... So this doesn’t feel like much of a stretch. Especially with that crown to prove it.”
“No, not all by herself...”, muttered Cadenza, looking down at her empty teacup, but sounding more confident with each word: “She has her friends. Each of them bear their own Element, and all of them make up Harmony. That’s her real strength Sunset, friendship. It’s what powers the Elements. Without that, this crown is nothing more than a piece of jewelry.” She straightened up, staring deep into the unicorn’s eyes. “Sunset, I... I feel this is what Auntie hoped you’d discover, when she let you go. Why she always pushed you to get out of your lab, mingle with the other students. Why she had you help me with magic in the first place.”
Friendship. She’d have laughed if she weren’t already hurting so much. Was this how they called it nowadays? There wasn’t anything special about a spell circle, that technique was as old as unicorns themselves – it’s how they could share the burden of moving the sun and moon. But there was still a leader in a circle, the one pony shaping the spell, the others lending their strength to power it. It had to be the same for the Elements – this Twilight Sparkle was the center, the omphalos, feeding off her ‘friends’. Wouldn’t there have been a slew of new alicorns, if they had all been equal? It felt downright disingenuous to call this ‘friendship’, really.
It would’ve been known for centuries if there were an intrinsic aetheric or even thaumic component to interpersonal relationships, especially if it could supply such a powerful thing as the Elements. Even Cadenza herself, the ‘alicorn of love’, hadn’t demonstrated anything of the sort that couldn’t be explained instead by her special talent of altering ponies’ emotions or her alicorn nature. Emotions themselves did affect spellcasting, but precisely because they impacted a unicorn’s own mind, could force more magic into a weave through pure instinct, and that was a fully internal process. You couldn’t push out emotions outside like magic, that was preposterous! Otherwise there’d be a whole lot more types of ‘emotion magics’ out there, and not just ‘love’ and ‘friendship’!
Another ploy of the Princess, to influence her ponies? To convince them that such a silly thing as friendship could make them stronger, more powerful? That they should feel content with that, rather than vying for her own supreme power? Like Cadenza said, it’s what she had tried to do with Sunset herself.
And she had made that Twilight an alicorn, just to prove the point.
Would... Would she had done the same for Sunset, if... If she had actually tried?
As if. Sunset wouldn’t have let herself be turned into a walking piece of propaganda. The Princess knew she wouldn’t have been able to control her, and so...
And so it had been her destiny to fail...
Always had been...
...
She hadn’t noticed when Cadenza had moved to her side, but for once she didn’t reject the hug.
Sunny Williams didn’t even bother locking her front door. She just let go of the stack of documents she had held against her chest, Equestrian newspapers fluttering in an arc at her feet, and slid down to the floor, back to the door. Her strength spent, her heart in pieces.
She looked at her darkened home through red, puffy eyes. It was a nice home. Better be, with how much she had paid for it. Best part of town, with all the other big houses of the wealthy and notable.
After she was pushed out of the field, and she had resigned herself to following in Maggie’s footsteps, it was the only thing that showed how much money she actually had in the bank. She may’ve been a failure, she wasn’t stupid either. Most of the computers in the nation ran on the microprocessor architecture she had helped develop, after all.
She didn’t care much about money though, not anymore. Only a means to an end.
To what end now, exactly..?
She could see her framed diplomas from Brown, on the living room wall. What did these pieces of paper mean now? This country didn’t like a strong, smart woman in a position of power, one who wouldn’t let these old men and lecherous man-children decide things for herself. The math and physics were close enough that she was still a prodigy among them, but the similarities between spell weaving and coding, between crystal lattices and electronic circuits, had only given her a temporary advantage. They had built upon her work, behind closed doors. Happy to give her her cut, as long as she stopped being a nuisance. Even her former professors, once so impressed by her talents, were happy to see her go.
And she had let them all push her away.
If only she’d never met Bonnie in Providence, hadn’t seen her draw her stupid toy horses, hadn’t shared old tales and legends with her... Maybe she wouldn’t have felt so homesick. Wouldn’t have felt the pull of Dubuque, of Equestria, to come back here and stay.
But no. Human girls had loved the pretty plastic ponies. They were everywhere. She couldn’t escape them.
...
Was that it, then? Dr. Sunny Williams, Ph.D., had let everything she had worked for crumble to dust, because clueless humans had assaulted her with tiny pastel visions of her past?
Just how desperate was she for an excuse? For a justification of how far she had fallen?
First it was because of this false sense of familiarity she got from Maggie, now the Little Ponies?
Pathetic..!
She had had a whole new world of possibilities, and she barely took advantage of what it had to offer. She squandered her potential, accepted a mediocre life, forgot her true worth, her true calling! Her one dream, left to oblivion!
No. It wasn’t even her dream anymore. She was only humble Sunny Williams today. It’s what she had let herself become.
A pathetic human woman without a future, crying alone in her home, surrounded by glimpses of what could’ve been her life.
What had been the point of taking the newspapers and journals anyway? Even this latest issue of the Chronicle, princess Twilight waving at her from the tear-stained cover? She hadn’t thought, simply grabbing it along with the rest, like she always did.
She had a whole bookshelf of Equestrian periodicals and scrolls in her basement. To keep herself up to date on current events and magical theory, or so she had rationalized. Now she realized the true reason: despite herself, despite everything, deep down a part of her held on to a little unicorn’s hope. That someday, somehow, the Princess would realize her mistake. Call her back to her side.
But it never happened. Cadenza had never suggested it would, only urging her again and again for her to go talk to the Princess, ask for forgiveness, when she had been the one being abandoned, discarded. And their shared communication journal had laid dormant, ever since that singular ‘Sunset?’ she had received, sometime during her initial captivity at the youth center. She had never penned any answer, and why would she? It would’ve only left her open to more reprimands and empty sermons.
Still she collected all this useless paper each time she crossed the portal. Only good for her chimney now.
And she would begin with this one.
Sunny clawed at the young princess’s image, bringing the smiling pony right under her glare. The pony who had gotten everything she had ever dreamed of. Her replacement. Her better double. Even their names were laughably similar, like the Princess had wanted to rub it in.
It was an even crueler joke that this crown of the Elements also had to be a perfect facsimile to—
...
No, could... Could it be..?
The picture’s quality wasn’t ideal, she could stare at the little pigmented dots all she wanted, some small detail may well elude her. But the shapes, the colors, maybe even the materials?
Yes, it really was. An almost perfect reflection... Eerily so.
Sunny had long theorized a potential sympathetic link between her two worlds. Similar geography, near-identical fauna and flora, beyond the more magical creatures which only existed in legends. History, places. How they could share a language, and so many aspects of their respective cultures. How she could find architecture and art clearly calling back to Equestrian, even Canterlotian models in the very human city of Dubuque, like the portal was blurring the parallels and reflections together. How she could find this large pink starburst at a glassmith’s shop all these years ago, and feel that somehow it was made to be added to the golden tiara.
It felt silly at the time. Even for a prideful, self-important teenager, competing for the title of Fall Formal Princess had obviously been a poor attempt at a consolation price. A petty and meaningless one.
The only reason she hadn’t won three out of three was she had enrolled too late her sophomore year.
And for her senior year, she had had the starburst added. She who had ventured into the heart of the Everfree and still had the scars to show for it, she who had witnessed the ruins of the Princess’s hubris, she who had gazed upon the symbol of Harmony etched into the Tree, alongside the Princess’s sun and her spurned sister’s moon... She the deluded child, who desperately acted like this crown of glass and brass could make a princess out of her.
She for whom destiny had suddenly shone a light at the end of a long meandering path.
Back during her Equestrian days, she had tracked down the Elements for a reason. Cadenza had gained her horn through a strange and powerful magic, so what better than the Elements of Harmony, so tightly associated with the alicorns, to grant Sunset her own wings? But in the Castle itself she had found only a sculpture representing them, and the Tree had been impervious to her attempts at studying it. That failure, and the Princess’s anger when she learned of it, had led her to look for another version of her mentor, another Princess, and the mirror portal. It had led her to what she was today.
And during her exile, Twilight Sparkle had somehow solved the enigma. Had obviously become an alicorn for it. One who was now wearing a crown identical to Sunny’s. A crown that Cadenza had heavily implied was the focus of the Elements.
How could it be anything else but a sign?
She started reading the newspaper, instead of tearing it apart.
Light on details for the ‘hows’ and ‘whys’, but that was expected. What did make her heart skip a beat was the last paragraph of the article.
‘The three princesses are now expected to visit Princess Cadance of the Crystal Empire for the next Royal Summit.’ They even gave a date.
Wait, hadn’t Cadenza mentioned the Summit herself..? At the time it only meant that Sunny wouldn’t stay longer than necessary, in case the Princess were to discover her presence.
She racked her brain, trying to remember how the Equestrian calendar converted to the American one, and—
She redid the math. Triple-checked it. She jumped to unsteady feet and wrote it down to be absolutely sure.
Today.
The Summit was to be held today.
Twilight Sparkle may’ve been sleeping a couple rooms away from the one where she shared biscuits with Cadenza.
And she had the crown. She had the power of the Elements.
... How could it be anything other than her destiny?
Her long exile finally made sense. It had all been to bide her time, waiting for the Elements to reappear. The human world had magic, a chaotic magic that its native creatures hadn’t evolved to harness; if she were to take control of the Elements here, to bring Harmony to this world, then...
Wouldn’t it be a feat fit for a princess?
She had to try.
She wouldn’t be able to live with herself if she didn’t. All the stars had finally aligned.
Her destiny was at hand.
This time she would seize it. And never let go.
The polished marble rippled, and the naked woman stumbled out of the portal. Fingers that seconds before had been hoof and fetlock failed to close around the strap of her bag – it impacted the ground with a metallic chime.
Sunny scrambled for her prize. The sudden transition from running on all fours and the adrenaline pulsing through her veins all conspired to make her clumsy and unsteady. Through the bag’s fabric she could confirm that the crown was still there, so without a look back she ran for the school gate.
Gate crossed and closed, padlock clicking in place, minimal noise – step twelve complete!
Running again, hurting her feet but it didn’t matter, slipping back into the school, locking the door behind her... Done!
Only now could she afford to catch her breath, but not too long; step thirteen wouldn’t be complete until she was all dressed back up.
She felt for the crown again, just to be sure, just in case. It was still there, still slightly warm. Like her experiments had shown, magical objects weren’t changed by the portal. And even in another world, one not orchestrated by Harmony, it hadn’t simply dissolved into nothingness either.
So far so good!
Her quest may had made a criminal out of her once again, it wouldn’t matter if it all worked out as planned.
On her way back to the teachers’ room, she took another minute to look through one of the windows. No activity from the portal. She wouldn’t be truly safe until step fifteen, but this was already encouraging. Either she had completely eluded those nosy guards, or they hadn’t realized yet that she had made her escape through the mirror. She’d been wise to take some precious instants to practice her rusty teleportation skills, before getting on step eight...
She had to keep moving, never count on being lucky. Soon she was getting dressed, and thus was step thirteen completed. Now to step fourteen: take the car, drive home.
Sunny hurried toward the back entrance, pocket flashlight tracing the way along the dark corridors, but her steps slowed as she grew aware of the noise.
Flashlight turned off, she took a peek through the glass.
Relief at first, seeing it was only a half-dozen regular young humans, rather than some elite guard squad sent to track her down.
Then a slew of muttered curses, realizing said humans were smoking and drinking and making horse noises, in the deeper shadows of the bleachers, her car in plain view.
And finally, a burst of rage in her chest recognizing their ringleader. Ross Hengstmann, Grandview graduate – though only by a hair. Too willful to respect authority, and not clever enough by half to fake it. She had taken pleasure in grinding the would-be bully under her heel for the past four years.
So Mr. Hengstmann and his friends thought they could get away with breaking any and all rules just because it was the middle of the night!? They could’ve reveled in their debauchery anywhere but they chose her school, just to taunt her!
Not that the portal helped either; why did it have to attract weak-minded fools more than any others!?
Sunny was about to open the door, go and give the little cretin a piece of her mind... but her hand froze on the push bar.
What was she about to do exactly? Just stomp ahead and glare them down as she went to her car? That may had worked if they hadn’t been mashed, had tried to hide it in any way. No, they knew she had no more power over them. Hengstmann wasn’t a student anymore, and knowing him, he’d relish in making that fact very clear.
They’d see her, she was sure. Even if she ran for her car, they were closer, and she’d make herself an ever more tempting prey. She couldn’t risk a confrontation, she was outnumbered, for all she knew they could be armed. What if they took the crown from her? If what magic came out of the portal could already influence human behaviors, would the crown have an even stronger draw? Though with how boneheaded the young man was, he could throw it in the Mississippi just to spite her!
Call the cops? As if they had ever been useful to her... She would have had to lie to get their lazy asses to the school at this hour, and doubling the number of belligerent fools in the area wouldn’t help at all!
Too long and risky to leave on foot, especially on a portal night... Even if she hid the crown at the school in case she got mugged, this was leaving her prize far too close to the portal – the guards could figure out how she got away, follow after her, and find it before morning!
And Hengstmann kept on neighing outside, mocking her. Couldn't even make it sound right! If only she had any real power in this rotten world, she’d put him back in his place!
But that’d change, very soon..!
Each second she was spending without taking a decision and losing her nerve was bringing her closer to failure. She couldn't take any more chances wasting time, so she went with her gut – time for the backup plan!
Sunny ran back through the school, and locked herself in her computer lab. Quelling her doubts, she took out the crown.
Earlier in the Crystal Empire she’d had to rush a spell, to increase the likeness between the decoy tiara and the real Element of Harmony. The similarities would only strengthen it, and hopefully it was subtle enough to not be noticed immediately. But now, holding one of the most powerful artifacts known to ponydom in the palm of her hand, Sunny doubted it’d be enough.
It was far more than the warmth. She could feel the thrum of magic even now, struggling against her hold. The gold of its frame wasn’t forged metal, but a living construct that even showed signs of having altered its shape one way or another. The vibrant pink starburst shined with an angry glare, a perfect naturally-cut gem the likes of which could only be found in Equestria. Only this one’s geometric shape probably hadn’t been guided by the ambient aetheric currents. It had been directly molded this way by Harmony’s will.
A will that she now had to confront. With pretty much no preparations. Jumping right into it, trust her instinct, and improvise.
That was pretty much the extent of her backup ‘plan’.
She had always been a practical, hooves-on kind of mare. The Princess would’ve also added headstrong and impulsive. Walking on two legs hadn’t really changed much of that. The multi-step plan had only been a guide, fluid enough to let her adapt.
No more time to lose, no more distractions – her only chance of reclaiming her destiny, nothing would keep her away from it!
The power she deserved would finally be hers, and they’d all see how right she had always been!
Her hands gripped the crown tightly. She curled upon herself on the cold floor, eyes closed; her forehead touching the warm starburst, right where her horn should’ve been.
In the past it had been a struggle, tuning up her perceptions to feel the fickle magics of this world, not being able to direct her own energy outward into spells. But Harmony wasn’t subtle, wasn’t trying to hide – it was a torrent crashing against her, through her. A torrent of unfamiliar magic, that she hadn’t experienced before as a unicorn, and that she wasn’t even sure her human body could process.
Sunny let herself be submerged by the sensation, not putting any barrier or defense, trying to touch the foreign energy flowing into her.
It first swirled around her cutie marks. Her hands and eyes followed, if it weren’t just the heat from the crown. Little by little, she grew aware of another pool forming, one she couldn’t immediately place; it was just deep somewhere inside her. Similar to her pony body’s magical wellspring, yet clearly distinct.
After some time just focusing on that inner space, though how long she couldn’t really say, she felt... something. Something that, somehow, seemed to extend past her. Something powerful.
She wanted it.
In her mind’s eye, she grabbed at this connection. At the essence of Harmony. She grabbed, and she pulled in.
Pain – first as a migraine, like Harmony was struggling against her, but Sunny wouldn’t let go, gritting her teeth, turning herself into an abyss that power had no choice but to flow into. Pain redoubled – like her very nerves were on fire as the energy reached her at last through the portal, through the crown, through her body, through her soul. The inner inferno went ablaze.
Still she held on. Pain had never stopped her; they were old friends.
Not simply grabbing anymore – clawing at it, gnawing at it, tearing it off for herself, letting agony fuel her rage. Giving herself up to the emotion, to her own fire.
She burned inside as the power nestled deep, overwhelming.
She couldn’t even hear her own screams.
Wasn’t aware of her body convulsing.
Never realized exactly when, at last, she fell unconscious.
