The Bearers of Harmony

Chapters

The Element of Empathy
The Element of Kindness
The Element of Generosity
The Element of Honesty
The Prince of Peace

The Element of Empathy

A girl watched order die. She watched it be replaced by chaos and madness, as things never meant to exist became real. Building twisted and grew, and the sky itself turned inside out. Things that were once people, and things that weren’t, stalked the ruined landscape. And the worst part was the object in the distance. A massive stone pillar, reaching to the stars themselves, sat just in the eye’s view. You could glance at it with your peripheral vision, and if you looked hard enough you may be able to get a good look. But to do so was to invite pure insanity. The Girl was cursed from the beginning of the end in order to always be able to see it. It was likely the reason she had forgotten so much.

The Girl couldn’t remember any specific details. She could remember how to do math, and speak the language she was native in, but she couldn’t remember the language’s name. She couldn't remember the name of the Building, the high school, that she was on top of. She couldn’t remember her friend's names, but she could remember their faces. She couldn’t even remember her own name. The girl was sure it started with an S, though. Perhaps that would be a suitable replacement, for now.

S walked over the rooftop of the destroyed High School, careful not to trip and fall into any of the holes in the structure. The High School was one of the only safe places left in the area, maybe even in the whole world. For some reason, one that she didn’t know, the monsters avoided the area like the plague. Instead, all you had to look out for was the dangers of a building collapsing. That, and starving and dying of dehydration. Certain areas of the school had flooded, which was a source of drinking water, if maybe not the healthiest. The Problem was the food, though. You had to leave the safety of the school to forage for remnants amongst the dead town.

Regardless, she had found food two days ago. She was fed for at least until tomorrow, which meant he could finally rest. S did just that, relaxing on top of the roof. The view was great, and it offered a perfect view of the desolate wasteland. If you could really call the ruined skyline of a once beautiful city a “view". It was as S relaxed that she heard a weird sound. It echoed all around her, and she realized too late what was happening. The Roof around her gave way, and plunged her into the depths of the school.

S awoke to find herself buried in debris. She had survived, and miraculously, not been injured. She could see that she had landed in a classroom, on the bottom floor. Thankfully the school was only two stories high, so she hadn’t fallen far. She looked up, and could still see the sky. It was painful to stare at, but she could still see it.

Slowly, and carefully, she got to her feet. The classroom was empty, with a bunch of desks bearing the window. Judging by the shattered glass and destroyed furniture, they had been unsuccessful in keeping things out. On one side of the room was a white board, with furious scribbles scrawled on every inch. Upon closer inspection, S could see that they all said the same thing.

It has Come. She Is gone. He will save us. It has Come. She is gone. He will save us. It has Come. She is gone. He will save us.

S could only make a few guesses as to what it meant. “It” could refer to the tower, but “She” and “He” rang no bells. She looked around, and saw that there was a door near the side of the board. It was shut, and there were signs that the door hadn’t been opened in quite some time. S approached the door, and slowly opened it.

There was an empty hallway on the other side, with lockers dotting the walls. To the right the hallway was blocked by debris, and to the left was a turn. S began to walk down the hall, and saw that many of the lockers had been forced open. There were a few classrooms as well, but a quick glance revealed nothing of importance.

S turned the corner to reveal more hallways. She could see more lockers, another turn, a few classrooms, and most importantly, a stairwell. She set out to reach the stairs when something caught her eye. It was a locker, unopened and the same as the others. But for some reason, S felt drawn to it. When she touched it, it felt weirdly familiar, as if she had done this action a thousand times. She moved to unlock it, and surprisingly, she was successful. She could not remember the passcode, but her hands seemed to know it.

Before She opened the door, she stopped. This was her locker. From before the end, before the Tower arrived. Her mind may have been shattered by the event, but her body remembered. She opened it, and surveyed its contents. In the bottom there was a bag, it was half open. On a shelf on top was a necklace, with a small disc attached to it. On the disc was an orange sun. The Necklace was important, somehow. In the back of the locker, S found a mirror. And for the first time since the End, since her mind and memory was shattered, S could see her reflection.

The first thing that caught her attention was her hair. It was long, stretching past her shoulders and reaching near her hips. It was a mix of red and yellow, the vibrancy of the color at odds with the wasteland. She had blue eyes, and even though she was covered in dirt and debris, her eyes shone with power. In fact, they almost appeared to be glowing. She was wearing a jacket, and beneath that jacket was a shirt with a two colored sun symbol. It was the same colors as her hair, and the same symbol as the one on the necklace.

S was finally able to take in what she looked like, instead of pushing it away and focusing on the more important things like survival. It felt good, important, like she was finally beginning to repair herself. She reached for the necklace, and the second she touched it she felt something. An energy, perhaps, but it felt right to her. She held it for a second, before putting it on. As she began to feel more repaired, she remembered the bookbag.

If this was her locker, and these were her items, then perhaps the bookbag held keys that she needed to repair herself. As she picked up the bag, she heard something behind her. A noise like a foot stepping on the ground, but not in shoes or boots, but with claws. S turned, and saw the thing.

The creature had been a person, at some point in the past. Now, it was hunched over in a wolf like manner, with two legs and two arms. On each limb was a horrifying set of claws, some stained red. It was covered in a mix of fur and the remains of clothing. Its head was the worst part, as she could see that it once had human features. They were twisted now, almost moved, transformed into a snout. It had a mane, swayed as the thing stepped. The mane looked like a pastel rainbow, with beautiful pinks, greens, and blues mixing together. The worst part of it was its eyes. It had purple eyes, and unlike the rest of the beast, they appeared to be unchanged. No, the worst part was the fact that they darted around, independent of the body. They showed a creature in pain, in fear, and most horrific, intelligence. It was as if the person’s mind was still there, trapped with a body no longer its own.

Those same eyes landed on her, and S froze. The eyes widened, and appeared to be pleading for something. S felt the necklace on her neck grow warm, and swore that she could hear a voice.

“Run. RUN SU-” That was as far as S heard before she heeded the command. She turned and sprinted down the hallway, heading towards the corner from where she had come from. She heard the beast let out a roar, before it began to gallop towards her. She turned the corner, and threw herself though an open doorway. She slammed the door shut, before hiding beneath the window.

S heard the footsteps as the thing bounded down the hallway, before it stopped suddenly. She heard it start sniffing, trying to smell where she was hiding. As it got closer, she swore that she could hear the sound of it weeping. It stopped right in front of the door she was hiding behind, and S tried to become as quiet as possible. She then felt her necklace grow warm again.

“No. I will not hurt my stud-” the voice suddenly began to scream in agony, and she heard the beast whimper. S then heard the sound of footsteps, as it moved away from the door and down the hall. She held her breath until she could no longer hear its footsteps, and then for a little bit after for good measure. S breathed in and out, and she remembered the bag she found in the locker. She sighed, as she had brought with her during her flight from the beast.

S opened it fully, and the first thing she was greeted with was a notebook. She put it to the side and continued looking. Some old snacks, clothes, a couple of books, and-score! A water bottle.
After she had finished rummaging through the bag, she turned to look at the notebook.

She had been wrong in thinking it to be a simple notebook. On its cover was that same two colored sun as the one on her necklace and shirt. Beneath that lay the four most important words she had ever seen.

Property of Sunset Shimmer.

Her name. She finally had her name back. Sunset noticed a drop of water had hit the surface of the journal, and she realized she was crying. A crucial part of herself had been restored, and it felt as though things were beginning to click together. While many memories avoided her, she couldn’t have cared less in that moment. Sunset Shimmer had her name back.

She opened the Journal to the first page, and found a small paragraph awaiting her.
Dear Sunset Shimmer,
Test 1. Test 2. I assume that this is working, and that we can finally communicate across the portal. If this does work, then you can contact me about any problems that come across.(Like the Sirens). If this did work, then I await your response on the next page.
-Princess Twilight Sparkle

Sunset looked at the page, her eyes furrowed in confusion. Some of her memories were indeed returning to her, even if they were taking a while to do so. Despite this, she had no recollection of a Twilight Sparkle. Not even a face to put it to. It was just an empty space in her head, yet it did seem like something may have belonged there.

She flipped to the next page, and sure enough more text awaited her. It was written to Twilight Sparkle, and it was from her. She could barely remember writing it though, and despite her best efforts she could not recall a Twilight Sparkle. Sunset flipped through the Journal until she got to a blank page. The page before had been covered in ink and scribbles, making it impossible to see what was written before.

As Sunset finished looking at the journal, she heard a quiet, husky breathing. She turned slowly, looking at the window in the door. She was met with a pair of wide eyes. They were a deep purple, and they stared at her in horror. Sunset could see tears begin to stream down the beast's snout. She had but a moment to scramble back before the beast threw itself into the door. Surprisingly, the door held against the hell beast. It continued to hold as the beast clawed and rammed against it. This left her in a dire situation, however. Sunset was trapped, in a classroom, and a beast that was just waiting to kill her on the other side. Tears began to rush down her face, mirroring the beast. She had just remembered her name, and was beginning to remember so much more! Now, she would be killed by a person turned into a monster in the place she thought she was safest in.

The door continued to hold, miraculously. If Sunset had decided to look, she would have seen crystal vines moving up and down the door, forming a six pointed star. But she didn’t look, and instead was trying to find a way, any way out of the mess. Her eyes, rapidly flicking around the room, landed on the Journal. It was an extremely long shot, but maybe Princess Twilight Sparkle could save her, or at least give her advice. She scrambled over the Journal, opened the blank page, grabbed a pen and began to write.
Princess Twilight Sparkle,
I need help. Something happened, and my world has been turned to pure madness and insanity. My mind has been shattered, and I just found my own name. I can’t remember any other names, and I can’t remember you at all. I have been trapped in a classroom by a person turned monster, and-and I need help. Please Twilight Sparkle, I need help.
-Sunset Shimmer.

As soon as she finished writing the plea for help, Sunset heard a sound and froze. She heard a crack. Just as when she fell into the school, she realized too late what was happening. Sunset turned to face the door, and saw it shatter into a hundred pieces. Everything began to move in slow motion. She saw the beast stalk into the room, she felt the necklace begin to warm once more, and she began to hear the voice.

“NO! I will not let you hurt her! Never AGAIN!” As Sunset heard this, the beast let out a roar that shook the room. It paused and began to shake, before slamming a claw into itself. The claw tore a bloody path across its chest, with the beast letting out a cry. It collapsed to the ground, shaking as a person and a monster fought for control of the body. Just as Sunset was getting her breath in order, she felt something weird. It felt like water flowing around her, slowly picking in strength and speed. Then she felt something massive slam into her mind.

“Take It! Take Para, Sunset!” A voice shouted directly into her mind. The volume and power of it made her stumble backwards, and she nearly tripped over something. As she closed her eyes she felt the pressure retreat, but it left something behind, something that held an immense power of its own. In her mind, Sunset tugged at the power, and she felt it hold a second before relenting and beginning to move. Power, magical power washed around her, before flowing around her arms and into her hands.

As she opened her eyes, she was greeted with a miraculous sight. In her hands lay an intricate and beautiful sword. It was made of a silvery metal, and faint gold lines crossed the blade and guard. On the hilt was a glowing pink six pointed star. Similar Pink energy surrounded the blade, but it was mixing with another color. The second color was surrounding her hands, and it was flowing into the blade. It was a crimson red, and Sunset realized, or remembered, that this was her magic.

Before she could inspect Para closer, a noise drew Sunset’s attention. The beast, still on the ground and a puddle of blood surrounding it, was staring at the blade. Its eyes, for once, looked to be at peace as if it knew what would happen next. In fact, Sunset could feel the sword pulling at her, as if trying to move on its own. She let herself be pulled by it, and it brought her to stand right in front of the creature. The beast closed its eyes, and waited as the sword pulled itself higher in the air.

Sunset felt the sword begin its descent, and once more, time slowed to a crawl. Para was heading in a direct downward arc, and it would kill the beast if it made contact, she was sure of that. Something, however, felt off. The beast had tried to kill her, and judging by red stains on its claws, it had killed others as well. But she couldn't bring herself to end it. It was reasonable for its actions, they were forced upon it and it was made to watch. As Sunset fought to pull the sword away from a killing blow, she could feel its intent. Para was trying to end the creature as a mercy, and so blade and person clashed their wills against each other.

In the end, Sunset won. She felt the blade relent, and could feel as it changed its arc. Para slammed into the ground before the beast, and she could feel her necklace begin to warm up, so hot it almost felt like it was burning her. Red magic flowed around the blade, her magic mixing with the power of the sword. It understood her intent, and it would do all it could to help here.

Sunset kneeled down, so that she was eye level with the beast. She raised her left hand, and placed it on the thing's shoulder. She felt the power around the sword surge, and could watch as red energy coursed down her arm and into the beast. As it did, Sunset could feel something within the beast’s mind. There were two presences, with the first being much more powerful than the second. Sunset closed her eyes, and she found herself in a black void.

Two things sat before her, a beast and a girl. The beast was towering over the girl, foam dripping from a snarling mouth. The girl, however, had curled into a ball and was silently weeping. Her pastel rainbow hair was torn and frayed, and in front of her was a small object. It was a sun, but in a different shape to hers. It was more rounded, with all the rays coming off the circle in the center being the same size. Or rather, it had been a sun. Now it was shattered into multiple pieces, with the beast all but stepping on it.

As Sunset approached the duo, it was the beast who noticed her first. It turned in her direction, and it let out a growl as a warning to her continuing advancements. In response, Sunset simply led out her hand, and a soft glow emanated from it. The beast's ears flattened to the back of its head and it let out a small whimper before scuttling backwards.

The girl on the other hand, simply looked up at the outstretched hand. With tears still streaming down her face, she shied back from the hand, and the light. Sunset gave a small frown, before dropping to one knee to look at the girl. She put a hand on the girl's shoulder, and the girl smiled as she looked Sunset directly into eyes. Sunset again stretched her hand out, open to the girl. The Girl stared at the hand, at the soft light, before she finally accepted and took it with her own. There was a flash of light, and the sun that had lain shattered was now whole once more. It was pinned to her left chest, and the girl looked at it with sorrowful fondness.

The two of them turned to face the beast, slowly standing up. Sunset helped the girl up, with the girl not taking her eyes off the beast for a second. It was crouched down, whimpering softly. The girl, gaining more strength by the second, approached the beast. She moved her hand outwards, outstretched so that the creature could take it, same as she had just done. The beast stared at the hand, before making a quick glance toward Sunset. It then stared at the girl, before slowly shaking its head. As it did so, it dispersed into the shadows, leaving only Sunset and the girl.

Sunset blinked, and she found herself in the real world once more. She was eye to eye with the creature, who was staring into her eyes. Small tears formed at the corner of its eyes, and Sunset could feel her necklace grow warm once more.

“Thank you. Thank you, Sunset.” The beast, no, the girl said to her mind. While it still held the form of a beast, the girl who had once owned the body was once more in control. As Sunset looked at her, she could see a small pin over her left chest. An eight pointed sun, same as the one the girl was wearing, had formed there. Sunset had no words that could describe what she felt, so instead she opted to throw her arms around the once-person. The wolf-like human hesitated before carefully returning the gesture.

When they eventually separated, Sunset could feel her exhaustion slam into her. It was like that power from earlier, except this time it was completely physical and not related to magic in any way. She stumbled and began to fall backwards, before she felt something cushion her fall. The creature had caught her, and the last thing Sunset saw before drifting into unconsciousness was the girl trying to smile at her despite her snout and non-human face.

Sunset found herself in a place that was oddly familiar. She was in a large hall, with stained glass windows dotting the walls. A carpet ran to the end of the hall, where a raised dais had been constructed. A throne, for what else could you call a chair made of solid gold and red velvet, sat on top of dais. Banners hung around the hall, made with exquisite patterns inscribed into them. The hall was completely empty, and no one could be seen, which felt odd to her.

“A beautiful room, don’t you think?” a voice asked her. It was soft, but most definitely masculine. The sudden noise made her jump out her skin, even as she turned to face the speaker. She didn’t have to turn far, as she spotted him facing one of the glass windows. His hands were clasped behind his back, and his gaze didn’t deviate from looking out the window. Sunset tried to speak, but no words came out of her mouth.

“You don’t need to try, as it can be quite difficult to speak in a dream. Especially when your sanity has just started to repair itself.” He said, in a calm and soft tone. Sunset blinked a few times, before watching him turn around. He was wearing armor, unlike most, or any she had seen before. It is grayish silver, and was highlighted with golden accents. On his chest plate she could see two winged unicorns, and Sunset swore she should be able to know what they were.

“They are called Alicorns, Sunset. Majestic creatures capable of moving celestial bodies themselves. Worry not, your memories will come back to you as time passes.” He said. While she was surprised at what appeared to be him reading her mind, if she was lucid dreaming things didn’t have to make as much sense.

"Not reading, just making an inferenced guess."

She went back to studying his armor, and she found two strange symbols on his pauldron. One was the same sun symbol that she saw the girl wearing, and below that was a crescent moon on a pink background. Connecting his pauldrons to his chestplate were two circle joints, each with a different symbol on it. On the one connecting his left pauldron was a pink six pointed star, the same one that was on the sword, Para. On the joint connecting his right pauldron was a blue shield, with three gold stars above it. Around his waist were pieces of metal that extended in an almost skirt like fashion, with two on each side of his legs. In between them, in front of his legs, was a dark piece of cloth. The two symbols from his pauldron joints had been placed there. The pink star had been placed on top of the shield, with the three golden stars just above the shield. Just as he was done inspecting him, he spoke again.

“I haven’t introduced myself, have I? I know your name, but you do not know mine. I am The Knight-Regent, but you may simply call me Knight.” He said. Sunset stared at him, still unable to speak. Knight was about to say something else, but was cut off by a horrible, earth-shattering roar.

“I suppose that’s my cue, then. Before I go, I have some very important advice for you. Sunset Shimmer, you must find the Bearers of Harmony. With them, take Para to the Tower and destroy it. Stop the invasion, and save your world.” The Knight-Regent said, before two massive wings unfolded from his back. They extended to fill much of the room, and with a pink flash he disappeared.

Sunset opened her eyes to find sunlight streaming into the room. She sat up, and found that she was still in the classroom. She turned to find that she had been sleeping on the creature. She felt something begin to click in her head, and she realized who exactly had been transformed into the beast. Pastel rainbow hair, that sun symbol, and the fact that she was in the school. Sunset remembered her name, and felt the weight that it carried.

“Celestia.” Sunset rasped, her voice hoarse as it hadn’t been used for quite a while. Celestia stirred at the sound of her name, but she didn’t wake up. She slept peacefully, probably for the first time in months. For the first time since the End, Sunset found that the future looked just a little brighter.

Author's Note

While this was originally intended to be a short story, I can't help but feel the urge to continue Sunset Shimmer's journey though a land of Madness and Horror. Do leave any criticism that you may find, as it will only help me grow as a writer. Ave Harmony.

The Element of Kindness

Sunset was kneeling in front of her bag, checking that she had packed everything necessary. In her bag was a few extra rations, a bottle full of boiled water, and some extra clothes. To ehr side was the Journal, and Sunset hesitantly picked it and flipped to the last page with writing. She sighed, and closed the book. There was still no response from this Princess Twilight Sparkle.

Despite the fact that Sunset’s memory had been shattered, and the fact she was unable to remember any names, she was still able to remember faces. She was able to remember her friends' faces, how they talked, their voices, and how they acted. She was just unable to remember any of their names. However, the name Twilight Sparkle was a complete void in her mind. There was no face, no body, no voice, nothing to attach the name to. It was a complete void in her mind, despite that fact that she felt, she knew that she should recognize that name. Perhaps, like her name, and Celestia’s name, she would come to remember who Twilight was.

She had hoped that Twilight would write to her back, perhaps revealing crucial information that could help end this madness, but there had been no luck. Instead, Sunset would have to put her faith in a person from her dreams. He had told her to save the bearers of Harmony, which she could only interpret as her forgotten friends. She knew how she would save them, let alone find them, but she would try regardless. It was better than lying down in the dirt waiting for the end to take her.

Once she finished packing and stood up, her eyes drifted to the object stabbed into the ground. The sword, Para, was impaled into the ground so that the hilt was sticking straight up. Light from the window reflected off the blade, creating a halo like effect around the blade. The six-pointed star in the guard was actually glowing, shimmering with a soft pink light. The small gold engravings in the blade made it look like a sword straight out of fantasy, and considering that it was magical, that probably wasn’t that fat off.

Sunset hadn't touched the blade since she had used it to help save Celestia. There was something different about it, and when she held it it felt like it had a mind of its own. Another reason she hadn’t touched was the fact that she could have sworn it had had an intent. An intent to kill Celestia. It had helped her save Celestia in the end, but the fact that it had gotten so close to killing her sat very wrong with Sunset.

Despite all this, Para remained a tool and weapon that would be very useful in the chaotic wasteland that was once the city. Not only was it a weapon that she could use to defend herself, if it could help her do magic it would prove it’s worth a thousand times over. So she walked over to the blade, and hestatied. It wasn’t a tool made for peace, but a weapon made for war. To kill. Sunset contemplated this for but a second, before realizing the answer. Sometimes, to ensure peace and harmony, you needed to kill. So Sunset grabbed the sword.

Unlike her expectations, nothing happened. No fanfare, no voice, not even a different will. Just a metal sword in her hands. Even as she pulled it out the ground, and into the stale school air, there was no difference. No glowing, no mixing of energy, nothing. It was as she finally released a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding in a thought occurred to her. She had nothing to hold the sword. No sheath, nothing.

As she looked around for something to hold the sword in-the bag wasn’t big enough, and it was a sword-she felt an odd weight on her hip. It didn’t take her very long to figure out what exactly was on her hip. There was a sheath attached to her belt, and it was made of similar material to whatever Para was made of. Golden metal was prominent around the bottom of the sheath, and the tip as well. Across the silver metal golden filigree ran up and down it, with small symbols engraved into the blade. The most prominent of them was that same six-pointed star. Something about that star was important, but like the rest of her memory, she couldn’t remember why. Still, she couldn’t get it out of her head that it was supposed to mean something.

Sunset slid Para into the sheath, before shouldering her backpack. It was as she took a deep breath in, and let it out, that she heard noise from outside the classroom. It was the sound of footsteps coming from down the hall, but inherently wrong. For one, they sounded heavy and light at the same time, like that of a predator. For two, there was a distinct clack accompanied with every step, a result of the creature's oversized claws. The sounds stopped right in front of the door to the classroom Sunset was in.

Sunset approached the door, and opened it slowly, to reveal a beast on the other side. It stood a head or two taller than her, despite the fact that it was visibly hunched over. It had four, long, muscled limbs that ended in savage claws. The beast’s face was twisted into a snout with long, sharp canines. Behind its head flowed a mane the color of pastel rainbow, clearly at odds with the rest of the beast's features. Most importantly however, was the fact that it was smiling. Or trying it at least.

Celestia tilted her head towards Sunset, as if to ask if she was ready to leave. Sunset answered wordlessly with a nod. She hadn't been able to hear the once Principal's thoughts since Sunset had helped her overcome the beast. In fact, Sunset hadn’t been able to do any magic at all since that fateful moment. It didn’t feel like it had left her, just that she didn’t know how to do the spells and sorcery.

Regardless, Sunset gripped the strap of the backpack with one hand, and rested her other hand on Para. She and Celestia walked out of the classroom, pushing past rubble and debris, along with the occasional pile of gleaming white bones. Every time they walked past the piles of dead, Sunset could see Celestia shrink into herself. Sunset placed one her hands on
Celestia’s shoulder, and she could see the Principal turned beast relax.

Eventually they came across the main foyer of the High-school, and they were met with an extraordinary sight. The foyer was in a similar state to that of the rest of the school, but plants and foliage covered the floors and walls. Sunset heard the sounds of small animals, and even a few birds. It was as she let out a sigh her eyes took in the most significant thing in the room. In the center of the foyer was a tree made of pure crystal. It wasn’t very tall, as it looked to only be six or so feet tall. There were symbols inscribed into the limbs of the tree that seemed to glow with a soft light, casting the entire room with light.

At the bottom of the trunk was the same six-pointed star on Para, and the Knight-Regents armor. It differed to those versions, as it was surrounded by five white stars. Small white spikes poked from the edges of the Star, giving it a more even variety. In the center of the trunk, where all the limbs gutted out from, was Sunset’s symbol. It was her duel colored sun, and five limbs jutted out from it. On each end a different symbol, a trio of balloons, a butterfly, a cloud with rainbow lighting, a trio of apples, and a trio of Diamonds. With closer inspection, however, revealed four more symbols. On the corner points of her son were four different shaped gems. One was another sun, one a moon, one a heart, and one a shield. Sunset realized with a start that the shield one looked to be the exact same as the one on the Knights Armor.
Another interesting thing about the tree was where the glow originated from. The glow appeared to emanate directly from the symbols, as if there was a fire behind them. It only seemed that three of the symbols were glowing, however. The Star at the bottom, Sunset’s sun, and the sun which she reasoned must be Celestia’s. As she inspected the tree, she realized that each of the symbols represents a different Bearer of Harmony. The ones that were glowing must have been the ones that had been rescued, which were so far just Sunset and Celestia. There was only one problem with this theory, however. Why was the bottom star glowing, then?

Before she could muse further on the topic, she heard, and felt something humming. It didn’t take her long to realize that it was coming from the sword sheathed to her hip. She then noticed that a new glow had filled the room. It outshined even the other lights from the tree, illuminating the entire room with a soft yellow. Sunset felt the sword shake in sheath, picking up pace, rattling her entire body-before it suddenly cut out all at once.

Instead of feeling Para shake violently, she instead felt as the sword was trying to peacefully pull her in a certain direction. It was small, but noticeable. The swords pommel, which stuck up and out of the sheath, glowed with the same light that had lit the entire room prior. It was a soft yellow, meek, yet also holding a hidden strength.

Sunset could see Celestia shaking her head, and blinking her eyes repeatedly. Eventually her eyes focused on soft glowing light coming from Para, and she tilted her head in Sunset’s direction.

“It’s acting like a guide. Like it knows where one of them is, and is trying to pull me towards them.” Sunset answered the unspoken question, her voice raspy from disuse. Celestia only nodded at that, accepting the answer and waiting for Sunset's plan. She mulled over the events that had just occurred, and she found that she was left with only one option. To follow the sword's pull.

Underneath an ever twisting sky of a thousand colors, Sunset found only desolation and ruination. Where once there had been roads and houses, now the broken corpses of buildings lay forgotten. Some of the house had been taken over by a horrifying amount of foliage, which appeared to be squirming like it was alive. Other houses simply leaked a dense fog, rolling out of open windows and doors. The ground itself appeared to jut out at random intervals, as if a hundred small earthquakes had occurred.

The school was in extraordinarily good condition compared to the rest of the world, and Sunset would wager that if had to do something with that crystal tree. The plants in the foyer had seemed to be peaceful, helpful, and harmonious. The plants outside were twisted, thorned, and were acting more like predators than plants. Occasionally they would see bones and limbs sticking out of a mass of vines and bushes, and they would steer far clear of the piles.

There was something worse, something far, far worse than the plants and landscape. Every once in a while, the duo would run across things that had once been human. They were often twisted into horrifying shapes, creatures that caused pain in sunsets head by simply looking at them. The worst one she had seen was what Sunset could only assume had been a family once. They must have been driving a car when the end struck, as they were all fused to the inside of a vehicle. Long, spindly legs made of sharpened bone stuck out of windows and doors, hoisting the creature up so that it appeared like a spider. The hood had been open, and in it she had seen–NO.

Sunset pushed the thought from her mind. She knew her mental state was already fragile enough, and thinking about the horrors that populated the once great town. Instead, Sunset continued to follow the pull of Para, the soft light from the pommel excluding a sense of peace and calmness. Celestia followed close behind her, and just being in the presence of her once principal gave Sunset even more peace of mind. It was enough to calm her, and give her the strength to continue on in the journey.

Things had been going smoothly until Celestia raised her snout in the air, sniffing for something. She suddenly lopped off in a random direction, leaving Sunset alone. She stopped, staring at the direction where Celestia had disappeared. She raised her foot to follow, but froze she heard a horrible sound. It was a mix of a groan, panting, and a sob. In fact, there was quite a lot of sobbing. As she slowly turned her head to look at the source of the sound, Sunset eyes widened to an incredible size.

The noise was coming from another person turned beast, and it was just as terrifying as her previous experiences. It must have been walking its dog during the end, as there was an extreme mix of human and dog parts. It walked with six legs, some ending in paws and others human feet. At the front of the beast was an almost snake-like appendage, ending in a head that was a horrific cross between a human and dog. Unlike Celestia, whose face had been twisted into a wolf-like snout, this one was a fusion of dog and human. A snout that ended in a human mouth let out moans of agony, while eyes that dotted its head flicked around in a random pattern. There was no intelligence in them. While its head was the most horrifying part about it, its backend was no different. It walked like a horse, and a mess of small tendrils flipped around, having carved themselves out of its body.

Then it stilled as all its many eyes landed on Sunset. Sunset let out a scream as the thing let out a roar that shook her very mind. Sunset scrambled backwards, just barely dodging the creature's lunge. She dove behind one of the ruined cars that littered the road, giving her just a second to catch her breath. As the thing lumbered closer, Sunset felt a pulsing sensation, coming from her hip. The thing appeared to be able to lunge, but was rather slow when it came to traversing the landscape, which gave Sunset more time than she thought she had.

Almost on Instinct, she drew Para from its sheath. The monster instantly shied back from the pale pink glow that exuded from the blade, almost as if it feared it. It narrowed its many eyes, before making a final leap towards her. Time appeared to slow down, and Sunset found that she couldn’t do anything. She was stuck in place, frozen, watching death itself leap towards her. Despite the fact her body wouldn’t respond to her commands, she did feel energy begin to move up her arms. Reddish light swirled around her hands and the sword, and she watched as light projected itself in front of her.

Time sped up again, and the beast slammed into a wall of red light. It bounced back as the energy in the shield began to burn it, letting out screeches as the areas that came in contact with the shield burned. Then a blur came from out of nowhere, slamming into the shrieking creature. A blur made of fur, claws, and a pastel rainbow mane. Celestia tore into the creature, and in the process she saved Sunset Shimmer.

Eventually the creature stopped moving, the burns, and Celestia, doing it in. In response, Celestia let a howl of victory before suddenly stopping. She looked over to Sunset, who was having a difficult time wrangling her breath in. Celestia’s eyes filled with shame, but Sunset shook her head.

“You..agh…saved me. Thank You.” Sunset said in between breaths. Celestia stared at her, before looking away. Sunset approached her wolf-like principal, and wrapped her arms around her. Celestia stilled, not used to physical contact, and especially not used to contact while she was in a beast’s body. Still, she awkwardly tried to return the gesture with some level of success.

Eventually they parted, and Sunset realized that she had dropped Para. As she began to frantically search for the blade, she realized that she couldn’t find it. It wasn’t lying on the ground, and without it, she wouldn’t be able to find her friends and the Bearers of Harmony. As Sunset began to panic, she felt something nudge her side. It was Celestia, and as Sunset looked at her, she saw that Celestia was staring at something. Something on her hip. She followed her Principal's gaze down, and found a sword that was sheathed upon her hip. Para was sheathed on her hip, still glowing lightly, and still pulling her towards Celestia knows where.

Sunset let out a sigh, then suddenly she smiled. She remembered a swear, granted a small one, but one from her past. Perhaps, perhaps her entire memory would return soon. To remember everything of who she was, the names, and who she could be again. It was a nice thought, but she still needed to survive the ruined world, find her friends, and maybe try to destroy the tower.

As they began walking again, following Para’s pull, she realized where she was at. They were at the entrance to mainstreet, the main road through the town. The pull had gotten a little stronger, and it was definitely headed into the middle of town. Besides, who knows what else they could find on the mainstreet?

They must have been walking for hours when they finally realized something was wrong. Mainstreet was in slightly better conditions than the rest of the city, but it was still in a ruined state. Windows were shattered, doors broken down, stone cracked, but there was less…Insanity. It just looked like the town had been abandoned.

Their first clue that something was wrong was when Sunset realized that she had seen the same broken car three to four times now. It was red, missing a wheel, and the windshield had been shattered. It was without a doubt the same car as the last time.

Now that she was looking for oddities, more were jumping out at her. When she looked up and down the road, all she saw were buildings flanking the road. All the way to either horizon, were the same set of buildings repeated over and over. The same broken windows, ruined cars, and ruined streets. Perhaps they had been walking for hours on this Endless Road.

As they stopped and looked around, Sunset felt the pull on her hip stop. Para was no longer guiding her path. It was still glowing with that soft yellow light, though. In fact, that light appeared to be shining even brighter than before. They must have been close to her friend. Sunset tried to remember her name, so all she could come away with was something about a…Fly? It didn’t seem right.

She was cut from her musings when Celestia nudged her. As Sunset looked over to her, Celsetia gestured to one the houses with her head. Why was she doing that? It was just normal-It wasn’t damaged. Unlike the rest of the street, and world, the house was in near perfect condition. It showed some of the wear and tear of time, but it looked like it had sustained no damage during the End. It also wasn’t repeated alongside the road, instead it seemed to be anchored to this one spot.

Upon closer inspection, there were some strange things going on in the house. For one, all the lights were off. Electricity was out, but that didn’t explain the sheer darkness that hid behind the windows. It was as if light itself had been denied entry into the house. For two, The door was open. It was open into the house, but it didn’t look inviting at all. Instead, it seemed to push Sunset away. And three, there was an oppressive feeling of dread emanating from the house. The closer they got, the stronger it became.

When they reached the door that was ajar, that feeling of dread made Sunset hesitate. Then she felt her hip jerk forward, Para slamming into its sheath. As a single action, she drew the sword and pushed the door fully open. The light emanating from the sword did cut into the darkness, but only just barely. The soft yellow light was now pushing with force, yet it only pierced the shadows for a few feet. It was enough light, though, for Sunset to continue. She took her first step into the house, and nearly doubled over.

The dread she had been feeling before slammed into her, making her stomach swirl and palms drip with sweat. The only reason she didn’t fall backwards was the knowledge of what lay in the darkness. Somewhere in this hell was her friend. With Para’s light, Sunset would find her. As took another step, again and again, she motioned for Celestia to follow her.

Celestia, who was already shaking from being so close to the house, tried to take a step forward. As soon her clawed paw touched the inside of the house, she scrambled back. Her ears flattened to the top of head, and her mane whipped around frantically. She whimpered, and backed away from the house of dread. It appeared that Sunset would have to carry on alone.

As She pushed ever further into the dark, the Dread and fear she felt increased by manifold, but so did her determination to save her friend. The Darkness crept ever closer, trying to snuff out the sword's light. In response, Para glowed ever brighter in defiance. It allowed Sunset to continue to push further into the house. She could no longer see the light from the outside, but it didn’t matter. All that mattered was saving her friend from this darkness.

After some time in the dark, she found that she had entered a large room. In fact, from the little she could see, it seemed to be bigger than the house itself. Just one more thing that didn’t make sense in this maddening hell. That wasn’t what caught her attention, though. What caught her attention was the ribcage her foot was currently stuck in.

All across the room skeletons littered the floor, which did no favors for her defense against the oppressive dread. The piles disappeared into the darkness, and Sunset didn't want to think about what could have caused so many things to die. It did explain why there were no bodies out on the endless road, though.

“What is a little thing like you doing in my home?” A quiet, shy voice called out from the darkness. With each word, the darkness around her increased in strength. Sunset found she couldn’t speak, the dread causing her barely to be able to stutter. The glow around Para lit up in defiance, and a hiss issued out from the darkness.,

“That light! It’s so awful…so bright. We don’t need that around here.” The voice hissed, before Darkness slammed into her. Para tried to blaze, but the dark was so oppressive, the dread so powerful, that all it could do was light up the sword itself. She could barely see her hand, and the rest was covered in pitch, black, darkness. She fell backwards, landing onto a skeleton. It was crushed, and Sunset couldn’t help but think that was her fate. In the darkness, she could see four glowing dots slowly approaching her. The voice said something else, but Sunset couldn’t hear it as she was in full swing of a panic attack. Sounds become muffled, and sights blurred before she shut her eyes tight. As she felt despair rock through her very being, she felt something else. A…Memory.

Sunset Shimmer was walking through the garden. It was night, a pale moon with the symbol of a unicorn shining down. Castle walls and buildings surrounded her, but the garden itself was empty. Save for someone else. Sunset approached the figure, who was simply sitting in the grass, looking up at the moon. As she approached the figure, she suddenly spoke aloud.

“Do you know why I have brought you out here, Sunset?” She asked in a soft, melodic voice.

“It wasn’t just to admire the night?” Sunset responded with a question of her own. Princess Celestia let out a small laugh before answering.

“ Hah. No, unfortunately. There will come a time when I cannot help you anymore, Sunset. So I want to give you a gift, one that will always light your path. Before that, do you know why when a Unicorn casts a spell, their horn lights up?”

“It's excess energy, like the heat from a fire. Right?”

“Indeed, my gifted student. Now, do you know how to cast a light spell?”

“You just push magic to your horn, then let it go.”

“Not exactly. You do push magic to your horn, but you need to pull it back at the same time. Create a continuous loop of magic in your horn, and you will light up the whole world.”

Sunset opened her eyes, and was met with the pitch black darkness. Four red eyes were crawling ever closer. Para was subdued, its light barely a match for the oppressive dread. But Sunset didn’t feel any of that fear. Her eyes were clear, the sounds crisp. Despite the sheer absence of light, the room got a little brighter.

She felt the sword in her hands, and she realized what Para was. A substitute for a Unicorn's horn. Sunset grasped inside of her, reaching for the well of magic that she knew she had inside of her. Then she felt it. A reservoir of unparalleled size. She grasped with all her might, and pushed it though Para, before pulling it back.

The world exploded in light. A pure, white light expanded from the blade, slamming into the darkness. Then it pushed past the shadowy abyss, destroying it utterly and completely. The room was illuminated by the light of a second sun, Sunsets already strong magic amplified tenfold-no twentyfold by Para. That was what it was doing. The sword worked like a Horn and conducted magic, but it also amplified the magic.

The beast screamed, its shadowy domain erased by the pure light of the sword. It hissed and stumbled back, and Sunset got a good look at the beast. It had the top half of a girl, and the bottom half of a spider. If you could call it a spider-It had way more than eight legs. Tens, if not hundreds of shadowy legs emerged from its shadow body. It merged with a girl's body about her stomach, which looked remarkably normal for the world. She was wearing ragged clothes, and long, tattered pink hair hung around her. The weirdest thing about her body was her four eyes, which were squinted against the light.

“What…Sunset?” The girl asked, her voice drowsy as if she had just woken up.

“..Fluttershy?” Sunset asked as well, her memory ever returning to her.

“W-what's going on? Why a-am I-Like this?” Fluttershy stuttered, cleary beginning to panic.

“Fluttershy! Stay calm, I know this is weird and probably scary. Try to stay calm.” Sunset called out, trying to keep her from freaking out. Sunset was saved when she heard a familiar sound of paws and claws hitting the ground. Celestia must have seen the darkness be destroyed by the light and come in to investigate. Unfortunately for her, before the End Fluttershy had loved animals.

“OH! Look at you. You poor thing, you must be suffering. Come here, let me take a look at you” Fluttershy nearly shouted, while rushing over and picking Celestia up with her spider-like legs. Celestia looked up at her with wide eyes, before turning a glare to a laughing Sunset.

“Fluttershy…Hah..please put down our Principal. I don’t think she appreciates it.” Sunset tried to tell Fluttershy, while simply trying not to bust out laughing.

“Principal Celestia! Oh oh I’m so sorry. I thought-” Fluttershy apologized while instantly putting her principal down. Celestia once more shot a glare towards Sunset, before trying to give a smile to Fluttershy.

“It's fine, Fluttershy. I’m sure Celestia didn’t mind too much, and besides, your back. You are sane, alive, and for the most part, safe. Things are finally looking up.”

Author's Note

And here is the second chapter. I hope I channeled my inner Lovecraft enough for the monsters. May Harmony prevail.

The Element of Generosity

The world was ending. Sunset watched as the sky, once a tranquil blue, mixed with tendrils of purple, red, and magenta. She saw as people kneeled over, trying to claw their eyes out. She witnessed the thing in the distance, the tower, pulse with eldritch influence. Every pulse was a beat against her mind, trying to get in. But she would not give in. No. She would not, she would not, she would not, she would not not not no-.

Sunset shook her head, clearing her mind. She could tell that her mental barriers were beginning to crumble under the onslaught. She had begun to rebuild them after the incident with the sirens, but they were being shattered by the ever droning pulse. It was getting harder to think, but she knew she had a mission.

She needed to find Twilight, and then the rest of the Elements. Then they could have a chance against…against whatever this was. She needed to get to CHS, for that was the last place she had seen Twilight.

So she ran, as fast as her legs would take her. She pushed people prone on the ground, and though her peripheral vision she could see them began to change. Sunset shut her ears to the best of her ability as she heard them scream, in agony as their minds and bodies were shattered. She saw flesh melt, bone change, and bodies twist into absolute horrors. She saw things emerge from the shadows, creatures that had no place in this world, or any other.

So as Sunset ran amongst the world's end, she held onto hope. It was the last thing she had left.

Sunset’s eyes slammed open as she bolted upright. She breathed in and out, slowing it down to try to calm herself. Eventually her breathing evened out, and she relaxed. A nightmare, it must have been a nightmare. Like with all dreams, the details were fleeing from her, but she had managed to snag some extra details.

She finally could remember the high-school’s name- CHS. Canterlot High-school. There was something important about the word Canterlot, but she couldn’t recall why. Eventually, eventually it would return to her, and all her questions would eventually be answered. But until that time came, she would continue her search for her friends, the Bearers of Harmony, and a way to save the world.

Shaking away the final remnants of sleep, Sunset looked around her. She was in the school’s foyer, and there was even more life than the day before. Grass now covered the floor, creating a soft carpet that was surprisingly comfortable. Bushs dotted the room, and vines crept up the walls. One of the stairs now had a small trickle of water flowing down it, combining with noises of animals to form a beautiful harmony. She could also hear someone singing a quiet, but peaceful tune.

That someone turned out to be Fluttershy, who was singing a soft lullaby to the foyer creatures. There were a couple squirrels, a few rabbits, a deer or two, and even Celestia was here. Fluttershy's melody carried throughout the air, mixing with the natural sounds of the growing landscape. There was another sound in the air, though. Barely audible, it sounded like it was singing with Fluttershy. It sounded like it was resonating from the crystal tree in the center of the room.

Eventually all good things must come to an end, and Fluttershy finished her song. She slowly opened her eyes, all four of them, and they widened when they saw Sunset. Sunset simply smirked, and put a single finger to her lips. Fluttershy’s shoulders relaxed, and she watched as Sunset sat down amongst the crowd of animals. Sunset gestured to Fluttershy, and a small blush arose on Fluttershy’s cheeks. Nevertheless, she began to sing once more, her melody soft and beautiful.

Sunset opened her eyes to see another pair of eyes staring directly back at her. They were small, black beady eyes, and they were impossible to read. Her eyes widened in surprise, causing the bunny sitting on her to scoff and jump away. She blinked a few times, before looking around to get a read on her surroundings. She was in the same place where she had found fluttershy, but now there was no girl, instead only an empty field. The only animal in the area was the bunny, who was standing at one the hallway entrances. It was looking at here, one of its feet stamping the floor repeatedly.

The bunny crossed its arms and scowled at her, before jerking it head backwards. It then turned around and began to hop down the corridor, moving as quick as a bunny could hop. While Sunset couldn’t understand why a bunny wanted her to follow it, stranger things had happened.

She followed the bunny down the hallway, before it stopped. It turned to a nearby doorway, and rapped its foot mutiple times on the door. The door opened with a creak, and the bunny headed inside the room. Left with no choice, Sunset followed suit. Inside she found a classroom, and there were two figures in the room. In Between them was a group of desks assembled to form a large table, and canvas covered the desks. It was very easy to tell who the two figures were, especially since one of them was the size of a car.

Fluttershy and Celestia were looking at the canvas, and it took Sunset a second to figure out what she was looking at. A map. A map of the entire city. There were some markings on it, and a few items scattered around. She could see an eraser placed behind the city proper, and a plastic tree located at the school. There was a large X drawn over main street, presumably due to its infinite nature.

They had been trapped on that road for hours even after they saved Fluttershy. It was only when they rested in one of the alleyways did they realize the trick to the Endless Road. While there was some sort of eldritch influence causing Mainstreet to be repeated forever, it only applied to the road and buildings. If you could get past the buildings, and onto the otherside, you would be free. Once on the outside, it would appear as if the road was completely normal, deceiving any survivors. If there were any that had not been transformed into beasts.

It was as she approached the makeshift table that she was noticed. Celestia saw her first, and her eyes brightened visibly. Fluttershy was still hunched over the table, and it took a light nudge from Celestia to draw her attention. Fluttershy’s head spun, and with four eyes she stared at Sunset.

“Sunset! Oh, I’m glad Angel Bunny was able to retrieve you.” The bunny that had led Sunset to the group jumped up and into Fluttershy's waiting arms, before sending Sunset another scowl. What was that bunny’s problem? Sunset was interrupted from her thought when Fluttershy gestured to map and spoke.

“We’ve,” she said while making a gesture to Celestia and herself, “made a map of Canterlot City. I’ve marked areas to avoid, like that horrible road, and have also marked points of interest.”

Caught off guard by how normal Fluttershy was acting, it took a couple of seconds for Sunset to formulate her words. “Thank you, Fluttershy. How are you, considering…” She trailed off, while making a hand motion to Fluttershy’s lowerhalf. Fluttershy followed the motion, her four eyes staring at her spider-like lower half. A quick grimace ran across her face, which she covered immediately with a sad smile.

“It's…been better. Getting through d-doors has been difficult, but things are getting better.” Fluttershy said, her voice quiet but with an underlying power. It was like something was humming the words she spoke, creating an eerie effect. Sunset simply nodded and smiled. It was then she felt a very familiar tugging. The sword at her hip was jerking backwards, towards the foyer. Sunset gestured to the group to follow her, and they headed back to the foyer. Fluttershy had some difficulty, but she did manage to get through the small door.

When they got the foyer, Sunset was met with a surprise. Where before the tree had only been as tall as her, now it had grown considerably. It was at least eight or nine feet tall, its branches pulsing…with a feeling? It felt right to look at the tree, like a weight was being taken off when she was near it. Not only that, there were two new glows around the tree.

The first wasn’t truly new, as it had been the glow that had led Sunset to Fluttershy. Now, like both Suns and the Star, it was glowing with that soft golden light. The other light was coming from the trio of Diamonds. It was a pale white, with a soft tint of blue. It was growing in strength, but it never hurt to look at. Just like before, Para vibrated more and more, in cadence with the light. When the light had lit the room up so much that no shadow existed, and the Sword was audibly rattling inside its scabbard, it suddenly cut out.

The tree no longer glowed with the pale white blue light, but instead the light originated from Para’s pommel. Just as when they journeyed to rescue Fluttershy, the sword was lightly pulling in a direction. From her best estimation, it was in pulling towards the north. Towards Canterlot City. Sunset looked back to the other two, and saw that Fluttershy was holding two bags.

“I p-prepared some travel bags for you. One for y-you, Sunset, and one for Celestia.” Fluttershy said with a slight stammer.

“Thank you, Fluttershy. Are you not bringing a bag?” Sunset asked.

“I t-though it would be better if I s-stayed here. Clean up and gather supplies. If I can do that?” Fluttershy said quickly, her voice weak and soft. Sunset sighed before nodding.

“Yes, you can stay here. Just make sure to stay safe.” Sunset responded, and she could see Fluttershy’s smile become more real.

“You too. S-stay safe, and promise that you’ll c-come back.” Fluttershy said, her voice relieved and urgent simultaneously.

“We will.”

Sunset Shimmer walked down one the roads that led throughout the town, and was in awe at the destruction that had been wrought. Maybe awe was the wrong word, as it was truly horrific. She had seen it before, when they went to rescue Fluttershy, but now that she was back she took the time to appreciate the true horror of the situation.

The most normal thing was the road, for it had only been shattered. Cracks ran up and down the street, and chunks of the road had been raised up or sunk down. Some of them formed outcroppings of at least five or six feet, and some the pits must have been three to four feet deep. Water collected in the holes, and Sunset made a conscious effort to avoid the holes. She was especially venerated when she witnessed small animals, she couldn’t tell what, wandering too close to one the holes. Tendrils surged out the water, grabbing the creature. Some of them wrapped around its small body, while others tore into spurts of blood. Sunset watched as the creature was slowly dragged kicking and screaming into the water.

Around the road were the occasional building, mostly ruined houses. While most of the houses were just destroyed, falling apart or rotting, a few had become home to other things. Clusters of vines slowly twisted around some of the houses, and now Sunset was granted a better look at them. They were thorned, the spike visibly dripping with some kind of toxin. They curled around skeletons and half rotted bodies, which upon realization of what they were caused her to gag. In other houses mist curled out of the windows and doors, only being stopped by the light from the mutated sky. While that cursed mist obscured all sight into the house, she swore she could hear sounds echoing from within the ruins.

It quickly became clear where the sword wished them to go. Creeping ever close was Canterlot City, and it had not been spared during the end. In fact, Sunset would argue that its proximity to the Tower had affected it even worse than other areas she had visited. The entire city had been twisted into some nightmare version of itself. She was grateful that she could only see some parts of the city, as it truly had become wrong.

Some of the skyscrapers had become flesh and bone, limbs jutting out and wrapping around other buildings. Others were still steel and glass, but they had grown, twisting at untarural angles. Parts of the buildings were simply gone, and above the gaps they continued as if nothing was wrong. Corridors bridged between the skyscrapers, but they looked as if they had been grafted on. Sunset could see things move in between the scrapers, almost like small flocks of birds.

She was snapped out of her musings when she saw Celestia stop in front of her. Her posture was rigid, and Sunset could hear a soft growl emanate from her. She stepped to the side of her former principal to find out why she had stopped, and her eyes grew wide. In front of them was bowl shaped depression, and she guessed that it had to be at least three hundred feet in diameter. Houses stood on either side of the hole, making it impossible to pass. They had to go through the depression. That was not what had surprised her, though.

In the middle of the depression a girl was kneeling over two bodies. She had long, bushy orange hair with a yellow stripe then ran through it. She was wearing a purple dress with a small pink jacket, pinking leggings, and she had two purple boots on. She was drenched with blood, mostly likely from the two bodies in front of her. One of the bodies had purple hair with lines of blue, and the other had blue hair with lines of purple. Both were definitely dead, and as Sunset approached, she could see that their necks had been torn open. Other bodies dotted the depression, the corpses unrecognizable from how they had been ripped apart.

The girl in the center was familiar, and Sunset struggled to remember her. Orange hair, purple clothes, a trio, a broken red gem necklace- Adagio Dazzle. The Sirens. Memories rushed back to Sunset, of a trio of girls who had used dark magic and song to cause grief and strife throughout the schools. She remembered a battle of the bands, of her friend group fighting amongst itself before solving their issue and using the magic of friendship to defeat the Sirens. Something was missing though, like a part of the memory refused to be accessible.

It didn't matter in comparison to her current situation, so she focused on the present. She drew Para, the sword ringing as it escaped its scabbard. It was glowing with both that pale white blue light, and mixture of scarlet and pink light. If this turned into a fight, and considering the corpse that littered the ground, magic would be very useful. She dropped the bag she had been carrying onto the ground, and helped Celestia drop her stuff as well.

It was when they were about ten or so feet away that Adagio began to move. It started with a single twitch that ripped through her body, and then another, until it looked like her body would rip itself apart. It was then that Sunset made the mistake of speaking.

“Adagio…?” As soon as the word had left her mouth, she knew she had made a mistake.

Adagio's head snapped upwards, and Sunset had to fight back a scream as she stared at it. Instead of a face, it was smooth skin, There were no eyes, no nose, or mouth. It was simply…flat. It was as if she was wearing a mask, but Sunset could tell that it melded completely with the rest of her head. The other thing she noticed was the claws on Adaigo’s hands. Or rather, claw. Where once there were hands now there was a single, bony claw that must have been two feet in length.

The thing that had once been Adagio let out a scream despite its lack of a mouth. It reverberated from its throat, echoing around the basin despite being muffled by the mask of skin. Sunset barely got Para up in time to parry the claw as came slamming down. The force of the blow threw her backwards, and the only reason she was spared from a follow up attack was Celestia.

Celestia let out her own roar before rushing at the siren. The noise drew Adagio’s attention, but it turned too late. Celestia’s claw raked down its side, drawing a roar from the creature. It counterattacked by slamming one its singular claws towards Celestia, but she battered it away with one her own. By this time Sunset had gotten back to her feet, and she could feel Para pull on her. It was no longer pulling towards the city, rather towards the mutated siren.

Memories washed though her, of a time before chaos and madness. Times where learning and study had dominated her life. When she had been a student to a princess. She remembered how magic was as ordered as the other races-the Pegasi and Earth Ponies believed. Even other Unicorns clung to the same old traditions that dated back for over thousands of years. Magic is not controlled by words or rituals, rather through will and intent. Those words simply let one focus their wishes more easily. Over time, unicorns had been taught to do magic in such a specific way that they needed “spells”. But the Princess didn’t, and as her student, she didn’t either.

Sunset summoned her magic from her very soul, and began to focus it. She aligned it with her intent, and used her will to push it though Para. The sword, instead of acting like a Unicorn’s horn and being a conduit for the magic, seemed to grab her magic. It grabbed and held for a second, interpreting her will. Sunset’s eyes widened for a second as she realized what was about to happen. Red energy surged up the blade, wrapping and flowing like rapids in a river. It collected at the tip of the sword, forming a scarlet orb of pure energy. Then the Energy roared.

Pure Crimson flame flew outwards, from a torrent of magical fire. Instead of the directed beam of fire Sunset had expected, a raging inferno of deep, red fire poured out of the blade. She could see the rock underneath the flames begin to char, and any plants that had existed were instantly transformed into ashes. Sweat beaded on Sunset’s face as she struggled to direct the insane amounts of energy flowing into the sword, the heat not doing her favors.

While the heat may have been bad for her, it was a lot worse for the mutated siren. Celestia saw and heard the inferno before Adagio could, and she only just managed to escape in time. Parts of her fur were burnt, and the ends of her flowing mane charred and cracked. The Siren got it much, much worse.

The thing was stuck dead on by the flames, and Sunset could hear its screams. Flames curled around its body, devouring whatever they could for fuel. Its hair was gone in an instead, and the bone scythes it had for claws became black and cracked. Sunset clamped down on the flow of the magic, and the fire died down. A couple flames still raged around her, but they were orange and yellow, natural fire started by the magical flames. She found herself surprised, as her magic reserves were only about half empty. Not only that, but she could feel them slowly refilling. That shouldn't be happening, as the leylines were-it moved.

In front of Sunset was something one could hardly call a body, much less a human. Ash and small flames licked the corpse, resulting in a thing that should have been dead. Yet, remarkably, unspeakably, impossibly the creature began to rise. It should have been dead, and despite the situation, that caused a bolt of nausea to rush up from her stomach. As it slowly, carefully, got to its feet, Sunset began to panic. As she saw the creature stumble towards her, Sunset felt it in her mind.

A pulse of power rang out like a bell chime across the wasteland. It was the same power that had caused the end, a horrible pressure against her mind. Images flashed through her head, of people kneeling on the streets, their flesh beginning to run like water. Something was different about this time, though. She felt wards in her mind begin to awaken, mental defenses she built years ago when times were much, much nicer. And then she felt another power move in response to the pulse. She felt it link into her mental wards, and curiously, that of Celestia’s.

The Power surged through her, and she quickly realized where it was coming from. Para, the ever magical sword, was amplifying her mental barriers before the coming wave. It raced through her mind, guided by her will and intent to protect. She could see Celestia stiffen as the sword’s energy coursed through them, sharing the mental barriers and strengthening them.

Despite this, the pulse still hit her mind like a tidal wave. It screamed over and around her, trying to smash through the wards she had created. As it swirled around her mind, she swore she could hear…words. They made no sense, and she could only manage to pick out a few.

…power….Dream Eater…forever more…Bow…Gurathanka’s…

The words hurt to think about, almost as if they were trying to escape her thoughts. It mattered not, as despite the pulse’s best effort, her mind did not break. Her wards, while burning with an almost eldritch energy, stood strong. It screamed out in rage one last time, before dissipating completely. She let out a sigh of relief, before she heard a crack and realized she had relaxed too soon.

While she and Celestia had been spared the wrath of the Pulse due to combined strength of her mental barriers, will, and Para’s power, it had not spared Adagio. The burnt and charred body of the once beautiful siren began to crack, and move. It slammed both its claws into the dead corpses of the sirens next to it, and Sunset watched with horror as the began to slide up the claws.

Her eyes widened, before she stumbled back and looked away. She would not, could not look at the horror and atrocity being committed in front of her. She felt a shadow pass over her, and she realized that Celestia had taken a position in front of her, trying to protect her from the coming horror. Sunset could still hear the cracking of bones and the wet, running sound of flesh as bodies were transformed into pure horror.

Eventually the sounds stopped, and Sunset could barely force her eyes upwards. As soon as she did, she immediately regretted it. There was nothing left that signaled that the creature had once been human (or a siren). It was tall, impossibly so, and it was so thin. In fact, the only thing connected to its six legs, now all formed into spikes of flesh and bone, was a single charred spinal cord. It reached ten or so feet easily, and there the true horror awaited. Its chest was a mess of all three rib cages, forming a protective plate around its vital organs. Its arms had been extended by the bones of the other sirens, creating two scythe-like claws that were as long as she was tall. On its back were two wing-like appendages, flowing in a nonexistent breeze. It had hair now, if you could call it hair. A tricolored bonfire existed on its head, mixing the colors of blue, yellow, and purple, but it looked sickly and wrong. In fact, most of it was on fire in some way or another, as if its transformation had incorporated the flames from Sunset’s assault. The worst thing about it was its face. It appeared to almost have three different heads, but they were conjoined from neck to ear. They were near faceless, with no eyes or noses. Rather, a single, horrible, mouth stretched from one side of the head to another. It was filled with sharp, spiked teeth, and its tongue was split like snakes.

Sunset couldn’t even scream, for the former siren, or more accurately, sirens were too horrible to look at. Then it turned its head towards them, and Sunset found her voice. She was running before she knew what was happening, narrowly avoiding the large claw of the creature. It let out a roar that echoed across the ruined city, the sound shaking the ground. As the creature turned to face Sunset, Celestia let out her own roar, but it could not compare to the sound the creature had made. Still, it did its job and drew the monsters' attention.

As Sunset took in the situation, she knew that this fight was unwinnable. She was too tired, and the monster too big, for them to win it. But as she held Para in her hands, a thought occurred to her. They didn’t have to win, merely escape. An old, ancient form of magic came to her mind. She made her decision just in time, as she heard a yelp on the other side of the bowl.

She looked over and saw that Celestia had been hit by the back end of one the scythe-like claws. It slammed into her, and easily threw her thirty of forty feet. Sunset dashed towards her, diving under one of the creature's claws. She now had it’s full attention, but it didn't matter. She needed to get to Celestia.

She barely avoided another claw when he but ten feet from the slumped form of her principal. The creature was playing with her now, she could tell that for certain. That was to her favor, she just-needed-to survive. She rolled across the last few, and landed right next to Celestia. Then she prepared all her magic for her next action. The surging from Para caused the creature to flinch and back away slightly, still wary from the flames.

Instead of fire, Sunset was preparing a very different type of magic. She grabbed ahold of Celestia with her free hand, and pushed her magic through the sword's blade. Then, with a flash of scarlet energy, they disappeared.

Sunset blinked as her eyes slowly adjusted to abrupt change. She took in the surrounding environment, and let out a sigh. It was a mixture of relief and pain. The creature that had once been the sirens was nowhere in sight, but they had a remarkably different problem. In front of Sunset, about ten feet or so, was a sickening high drop. The good news-they were in the city proper. The bad- They were on top of one of the skyscrapers.

To her relief, she felt a very familiar pull in her right hand. Para had begun to glow lightly again, not pink or scarlet, but that pale white blue. Weirdly enough, though she couldn't describe it, but it felt like they were close to their target. Her magic was nearly completely drained from the teleportation. It was slowly filling up, but it would be a few hours before her magic was ready to go.

Still, she was surprised. Teleportation required an intense amount of magic and control, so to manage one while in a fight and to get in the general area she wanted to go was amazing. Even more, to cross such a large distance was awe inducing. Teleporting required exponentially more magic the farther one wanted to travel, which only left the strongest unicorns, and the princess as viable users.

She felt Celestia stir behind her, still mildly out of the blow she had received. She had been hit hard, but it looked like nothing major had been hurt. Celestia might have a fun broken bones, but she would recover. Still, they would need to be careful. Celestia looked up at her, surprise in her eyes.

“We’re safe, at least for now.” Sunset told her, but Celestia could pick up on the exhaustion hidden in her voice. She was once the Principal of an entire high school, she had gotten good at reading people. Sunset could see Celestia look at her with concern, but Sunset tried to wave her away.

“I’m fine. Just magical exhaustion. It’ll go away soon.” Sunset lied. Magical exhaustion would last hours, but Sunset needed to find her friend. She couldn’t waste time now. Celestia gave her a look that said she did not believe her, but she wouldn’t force the issue. They needed to continue.

Sunset looked towards the direction that Para was pulling her, and was relieved to find a rooftop stairwell, one that led deeper into the skyscraper. As she moved closer to inspect it, she found that it still had a lock attached to the door. A swing of Celestia’s claw made quick work of the door, and they ventured inside.

It was surprisingly normal, at least considering the surrounding environment. They reached the top floor of the skyscraper, and were met with their first abnormality. It was a hallway that definitely stretched outside the physical limits of the building. Doors and branch paths were countless amongst the wall, and then they would have been hopelessly lost if not for Para. The sword helped guide them throughout the quickly increasing maze, and after they passed a window she began to piece together how this place worked. The window was very different from what she had expected. It was from the ground floor of a skyscraper, despite the fact that they had just been on top of one. They had only moved down one floor.

This place not only messed with some of her senses, but it appeared that all the rooms and floors of the city were connected. The floor they had entered from the staircase must have been the ground floor of a different building, and they hadn’t realized that they were entering a different building. It appeared that it was the doors that had become connecting pieces, however. Windows and damage in the walls lead to the proper outside, at least according to the laws of physics.

Para led them around a bend, and they were confronted with their first horror since the sirens. Luckily, it appeared to be a stationary object, rather than a creature. It was a door, or rather, it had been or. Now it was made of flesh and bone, and she could see veins running up and down the door. Unfortunately for them, Para was pulling straight into the door. Sunset, with some disgust and a more than a little hesitation, pushed open the door. It opened with a wet squish, and Sunset tried not to gag. The air in the room was hot, and humid.

The room past the door was a hallway, and it followed the same theme as the door. It was made of flesh, muscle, and bone. Veins, much larger than the one in the door, coursed through the hallway. Everystep she took was disgusting, and she was suddenly very thankful for the shoes she wore. She could see Celestia grimacing with every step of her paw, and she shuddered. This whole hall was disgusting.

They continued on through the hallway, moving as quickly as they could on the gruesome floor. Paras glow helped make it slightly more bearable, but it was just that, slightly bearable. They took a few turns, and thankfully, found themselves back in the normal buildings. Their path took them up and down floors, past lefts and rights, and even though a few more of those horrible fleshy hallways. Eventually they found themselves at the door, and Sunset stopped. She could feel it, emanating from the sword, that this was their destination. It was a door to the outside, to an indoors garden.

Sunset pushed open the door, and she met with a blinding light. The sun was beaming down, somehow piercing the multicolored skies. It was refreshing, and quite honestly, peaceful. It was a place unlike any other in waste, save the Crystal Tree. It was a respite from the hell outside, an oasis.

The sword had directed them to this room, so somewhere in this room was one of her friends. She moved past the flora, looking for anything out of the ordinary. There was a flock of birds nesting on one of the trees, but there were no obvious monsters. She circled the room once, twice, before stopping and looking towards Celestia. Celestia simply shrugged her shoulders, having found no evidence of any person turned beast in the room.

Sunset looked towards Para, and she realized that it was still pulling her hand. She followed slowly, and it led her to a tree. She looked around the tree, finding nothing, before looking upwards and towards the branches. It was the same tree with birds nesting in it. Since she was closer, however, she could see that these were no ordinary birds. They were made of pure, pale white-blue crystal.

Sunset paced underneath the sun, and she was surprised to see that it hadn’t moved at all. They must have been there for an hour, atleast. Despite all this time, they hadn’t figured out how to reach the birds. Every Time they tried to get close, the birds flew up and away from them, eventually nesting in another tree. Every time, Sunset could feel Para pull her towards the new tree. At least that confirmed that the birds, or one of the birds, was her friend.

Celestia slumped near one of the koi ponds, which were curiously absent of any koi. They had rightly reasoned that if Sunset couldn’t get near them, Celestia would have even less of a chance. Every time the birds flew around, they always avoided the place where Celestia sat. Like prey avoiding a predator. If only Fluttershy were here, she was so good with animals. But Fluttershy hadn’t come, so they would have to make due. She was Sunset Shimmer, once the Loyal student of Princess Celestia, she would see this done. She would free her friend.

She absentmindedly played with her necklace, and a thought raced across her mind. Her necklace had the power of Empathy. She could see memoires, and even her thoughts. It was how she had freed Celestia, perhaps it would aid her here. With one hand holding Para, and the other her necklace, she approached the birds.

They stared at her, warily watching her to see if she would try to climb the tree again. She got up right to the base of the tree, and began to call on her magic. She was immediately slammed with a wave of magical exhaustion, but she powered through it. She felt the magic begin to course through the sword, and then into her necklace. It warmed up in her hands, and I could hear them. The thoughts of the birds ran across her mind, but they were simple, single word thoughts.

Survive. Food. Things. Human. Predator? No. Friend? No. Human. Fear. Survive. Must Survive. Please.

Sunset immediately grabbed a hold of the last thought. It was different from the other ones, in a way she couldn’t really tell. It felt more…powerful. As if there was something more behind the thought. She could feel the thought try to slip away from her mental grasp, but she clamped down on it. She blinked, and found herself somewhere else.

She was standing in some sort of lake, or maybe an ocean? Inch deep water covered the land for as the eyes could see, no land or rock marring the still surface. The sky was a dark black, and while there was no sun or stars she could still see. In fact, the watery surface appeared to be reflecting some sort of light. It was silvery, further amplifying the stillness of the landscape. She looked around, every movement causing small ripples in the water.

Eventually her eyes landed on something in the horizon. It was too far to truly make out what it was, but it almost looked like a forest. Sunset began to walk towards it, the trees growing ever bigger. She did not know how long she walked, time didn’t really make sense in this place. When she reached the forest, she was surprised. The trees weren’t that big, in fact, they only came up to her hips. They glowed with that same silvery light that reflected off the water. There was something that caught her attention, though. In the center of the grove was a tree that was taller than the others, reaching up to twice her height.

Something strange was happening. Every Time she touched one of the small trees, she heard a voice. They were the same voices she had heard before, from the collection of birds. Survive. Food? Play? No. Safe. They continued on and on, each a single word. There was no complexity to any of them. Eventually she reached the tree in the center, and she laid her hand on the base of the large tree. At once, all the simple thoughts from before came crashing into her. They bombarded her, but she stood tall against them. She pushed through them, and eventually found a lone thought at the end.

“Please. Please, someone help me.”

“Rarity? I’m here. I’m here to help you.”

“Sunset? Darling, is that you? Are you really here this time?”

“Yes, Rarity. I’m here. I know that this is weird, and probably a little scary, but I need you to trust me. Take my hand.” With that though, Sunset did her best to hold out the mental equivalent of a hand. She could feel Rarity hesitate for a second, before she grabbed her hand. Sunset held it tightly, and then pulled.

Sunset blinked, and found that she was laying on her back in the atrium. Looking straight into her eyes, perched on her forehead, was a small crystal bird. It blinked a few times, before opening its beak.

“Sunset? What in the world has happened? Whats…What's happened to me?” The words spoken by the crystal bird were definitely that of Rarity’s voice, but it sounded like multiple Raritys were speaking at once. It was an eerie and trippy effect.

“I don’t know exactly what has happened to you, but I do know why.” Sunset said as she slowly climbed to her feet. She pointed out the windows that dotted the side of the wall. In the distance, almost hiding behind the other skyscrapers, was the Tower. “We need to rescue the ‘Bearers of Harmony’, and destroy that Tower to end this apocalypse.”

“Darling…I don’t mean to offend, but how exactly do you know this?”

Sunset couldn’t just say that a person from her dreams told her that, despite all the insanity. Or…maybe she could?

“The man who gifted me this sword, Para, told me. It’s how I found you.” Sunset said, causing the flock of the crystal birds to look at the sword, then at Sunset. The main bird, the largest one, the one on her forehead, did its best to frown. Turns out frowning, or smiling, with a beak is quite difficult. Still, it got the intended message across.

“Well then. Do you have somewhere safer to go? I’ve gotten quite sick of this place.”

Sunset froze. Para had guided them to Rarity, and now it’s pull had stopped. The three of them were kind of lost in the maze of conjoined rooms. Unless… Sunset took Para in right hand and prepared to ask a question.

As if the sword already knew what she was about to ask, it started glowing again. This time, with a soft pink light. Through Sunset’s physical and mental connection to the sword, she swore she could hear it sigh. Then she felt that familiar pull, the one that would lead them home.

“See? It’ll all work out in the end.” Sunset said to Rarity, who simply gave a small chuckle. Sunset called out to Celestia, who jolted awake and looked towards Sunset and the Sword, along with the horde of crystal birds circling around them. With sword in hand, Sunset would lead them home.

Author's Note

Here is the third chapter. I hope you all enjoy, please do leave any comments or criticism, and most importantly of all- May Harmony Prevail.

The Element of Honesty

The Crystal Tree was even bigger now. When they had returned with Rarity, it had still been the same size as when they had left. Now, upon the morning of the next day, it had grown at least four or five more feet. The top of the tree was reaching up to the second floor, and that feeling of peacefulness had been amplified. The surrounding foliage had grown even denser, and now a couple paths now crossed the foyer. The water flowing from the stairs had dug a small channel in the stairs now, resulting in a cascade of water. It was collected in a small pond, where Sunset could see small animals drinking.

The glow from the symbols emblazoned in the crystal tree appeared to have a day and night cycle. In the day hours, they would glow brightly, illuminating the entire foyer as if the sun was out. During the night hours, they would dim down so that one could sleep. The morning ambience was probably Sunset’s favorite, however. The crystal branches of the tree twinkled and bounced the soft light from emblems across the foyer.

That wasn’t the only thing that had changed. Across the foyer she could now see small crystal roots interlaced throughout the floor. Some of them had even started to grow up and into the walls, giving the room a magical ambiance. They softly glowed with a circulating light, transitioning between pink, scarlet, gold, a soft yellow, and a white-blue. It was quite beautiful. The roots gave off the same feeling as the tree itself; that of peace, safety, and…familiarity? That couldn’t be right. Sunset’s musings were cut short, like they so often were these days, by a crystal bird landing on her shoulder.

“Darling, the others are waiting for you.” Rarity spoke. Like many of the people of the world, strange, eldritch magic had transformed Rarity. At first they thought that she had been transformed into a small crystal bird, similar to Celestia or Fluttershy. But that was wrong, it was much…weirder than they had previously thought. No, Rarity had somehow become the entire flock of Crystal birds. She could control them all simultaneously, and she described it as being no different than moving a hand or leg. The hardest part for her to adapt to was being able to see from all the different birds. With that though, Rarity was able to use her new form-forms to provide watch, and communication between different groups instantly.

That raised another question. If Principal Celestia had basically become a werewolf, Fluttershy a spider centaur, and Rarity a crystal bird hivemind, then why wasn’t she changed? She had only lost her memories, and had avoided all physical changes. Why was tha-a sudden peck from the bird on her shoulder snapped her back to reality.

“I’m going, I’m going.” Sunset siad quickly, desperate to avoid any more pecks. Rarity simply huffed, and left her shoulder to join the others. She followed the bird down one the hallways leading from the foyer, and was surprised to see just how much life was in the hallway. In the course of only a few days, grass, bushes, vines, and even a few small trees had taken over school. A path had been built into the overgrown hallway, making it easy to not be caught up in the flora. Branches split off from the main path, leading into different classrooms. Fluttershy had been busy.

Sunset entered one the classrooms, and was met with a familiar sight. This time, however, there was an actual table from the cafeteria and not a bunch of desks. A map was laid out on the table, with some new markings on it. The city now had a name-The Twisted Maze. There was another mark in the city, marking out the Atrium. An Oasis in a hellish landscape.

Crowding above the map were three figures. Or rather, two figures and a bird. Fluttershy was looking over the map, cradling an angel bunny in her arms. Celestia was glancing around the room, not really focused on the map. There were multiple birds walking over the table, marking notes and crossing things out. It appeared that Rarity was using her ability to control all the flock at the same time to do some scouting.

Another crystal bird flew past her shoulder and onto the table. “Now that Sunset is here, could we please begin?” Rarity asked. Celestia nodded, Fluttershy smiled and waved at Sunset before nodding in confirmation as well. With approval all around, Sunset stepped up to speak.

“We know where we are going next. Para and the Tree have already synced, and I believe we are going after Applejack next.” Sunset said, channeling her best inner speaker. Her words were proved by orange light emanating from Para’s pommel, and the direction in which the sword was pulling. “Rarity, you scouted the southwest, right?” Sunset asked.

“Yes, darling. I got all the way to where Applejack's barn should have been. It has been completely overgrown by a dark forest. The foliage from the trees seems to block all light, and there is a complete lack of noise coming from the forest. No animals, no bugs, not even water flowing or wind swaying trees. Complete silence.” Rarity said.

“Thank you, Rarity. Here’s the plan- Celestia and I will follow Para to save Applejack. Fluttershy, you can stay here and help make this more livable. Rarity, you can be in both places at once, so you can help us communicate quickly.” Sunset said, and she saw a collection of nods from around the table. Inside, she was elated. Not only were two of her friends and her principal back, she was remembering large chunks of her memory. There were still some blank spots, the largest being around “Twilight Sparkle”. She would eventually remember everything, but for now she needed to focus on saving her friends.

Thanks to Rarity and her forward scouting, they were able to reach the forest without running into any beasts.However, the forest was a lot darker than Rarity had said. The three of them were standing on the precipice, and Sunset was getting deja vu from when they rescued Fluttershy. This darkness was different, though. It wasn’t the pitch blackness made of fear and dread. Rather, it was just truly the absence of light.

Luckily, Sunset had the solution to this problem. She felt her magic reserves, which had filled up over the course of the night. Instead of pushing the magic to Para, she wanted to try something. She shifted the course of the magic to her left hand, and then pulled it back in. Sunset’s hand was wreathed in a scarlet glow, and a smile crossed her face. She didn’t need Para to cast magic, but the sword did amplify it. Acting as a walking human torch, Sunset led the group into the forest.

She quickly came up with a name for the dark forest. The Neverlight Forest. No light pierced the canopy, casting the entire forest in pitch darkness. While Sunset did feel some fear, it was nothing like Fluttershy’s den, or when facing the Sirens. Instead, it was a more subtle fear. Built on natural instincts, the forest inflamed her paranoia. Thankfully, that fear was tempered by the fact she had Celestia by her side, and Rarity watching over them.

A sudden crack rang out through the forest, causing Sunset to spin to face it. It was just a deer that had stepped on a twig. The deer took one look at her, then bolted off into the shadows. When Sunset turned back to the group, she sighed. Almost predictably, both Celestia and Rarity were gone. She was alone. Buck.

A cold breeze washed through the forest, and over Sunset. She could feel the magic coursing through her hand flicker for a second, but a pulse of her will stopped that. Suddenly, she was very glad that her light was of magical origin. Acting on an impulse that may or may not have been fueled by paranoia, she drew Para from its scabbard. When her hand reached down for the sword, she cursed out loud.

Para was gone as well. How, in Celestia’s own name, had it been stolen? It was literally just strapped to her side less than a few seconds ago. She was dumbfounded. It made no sense, besides the ridiculous fact that Celestia and Rarity were gone. They were gone, Para was gone, she was alone, in a terrifyingly dark forest. She recognized the signs of what was happening. A panic attack.

As she dropped to her knees, she began to hyperventilate. Her breathing sped up, faster and faster, and swore she was about to pass out. Faster and faster, her breathing kept speeding up until-it stopped. Her breathing had even out as she felt an outside calmness wash over her. She could see a pale light surrounding her, almost silvery in color. She looked up, and gasped.

A pale, glorious, full moon shone down on her. Despite the thick canopy, Sunset could make out its shape in near perfect detail. It was as if it was ignoring the forest entirely, beholden to its own laws. Stars shone around the moon, and in fact, she could make out the entire night sky. It was breathtaking, and it did in fact take Sunset's breath away. It stabilized her, and she let out a deep breath. She would be okay, she just needed to stay calm.

That theory was quickly put to the test when she heard another snap behind her. What are the odds, Sunset thought, that sound is coming from a deer? It was not, in fact, coming from a deer. Rather, as Sunset turned around, it was coming from something a lot worse. It was made of pure shadow, almost merging with the dark forest. Sunset couldn’t tell how many arms it had, or where its body ended and the shadows began. The only thing that was not made of shadow were its eyes. Twin pits of white, they were unblinking and staring directly at her. The presence of the thing seemed to darken the area, to cover up the moon. The light from Sunset’s hand grew a little dimmer, and Sunset made an executive decision.

She ran. She turned and sprinted away in the opposite direction, moving as fast as possible. It let out no roar, no scream, no sound, but Sunset knew it was following her. She ducked under branches, lept over roots, and dodged the trunks of trees in a dash away from that thing. As she ran, it felt like the forest was getting closer, the branches and roots growing denser. Like the forest was trying to stop her. A thought came to her mind as she ran, and she acted on it.

From her right hand burst a pulse of magic, and scarlet flame whipped out of her palm. It was nowhere near the strength that had come from para the day before, but it was enough to accomplish its job. The branches and roots directly in front of her were transformed into ashes, and the trees seemed to pull away from the fire.

The opening in the forest presented her with a miracle. At the back of the hole she created with the fire Sunset could see a large open field. She dashed through the forest's edge and into the clearing, only stopping when she was directly in the center. She panted to catch her breath, one hand on her knee, while her eyes scanned the perimeter. Beside the fires slowly going out behind her, and her left hand, there was no other light. The sky was now completely covered in dark clouds, blocking out the moon’s light.

Wind swept through the clearing, feeling cold and wrong. The light from the fires behind her was extinguished, and the magic glow in her palm was dimmed considerably. Now surrounded by darkness, it was a lot harder to make out where the beast was. Then her eyes spotted it. The creature made of pure shadows crept out the forest, and Sunset could finally make out its form.

It was like a snake, long and attached to the shadows of the woods. It slithered into the clearing, dozens of armlike appendages clawing at the ground. Its twin glowing eyes were staring directly at her. It paused for a moment, and Sunset swore she could hear something. Like something was cutting though the wind.After pausing for a second, it continued its advance towards her. Sunset’s hold on her magic crumbled, and she saw the crimson light surrounding her hand vanish. The only light was coming from the creature's eyes now. Just two pale orbs moving steadily closer to her.

It got nearly ten feet away from her when Sunset was blinded by a sudden light. A beam made of pure silver stuck the ground in front of the creature, scorching the earth. Sunset could see the snake-like shadow whip back, and she realized that the entire clearing was bathed in light. The clouds that had covered the moon were gone now, the entire sky was clear. Moonlight now shined down, allowing Sunset to see the origin of the silver beam.

A winged creature circled overhead, swooping down for another pass. A beam of silver light erupted from its head, striking at the shadow again. The creature did another circle around the clearing, before slamming into the ground in front of Sunset. Now that it wasn't moving, she could see the horse-like creature in its full glory.

The horse had two wings stretching out from its back, and extending from its head was a long, sharp horn. An Alicorn. The alicorn had dark blue fur, its mane and tail made of the night sky itself. Pure silver armor covered her body, with a dark crown placed firmly on the Alicorn’s head. On her flank lay what Sunset recognized as a cutie mark. The Alicorn’s was a patch of pitch black, with a pure white crescent moon laid upon it. While Sunset didn’t recognize her, she seemed familiar. Then the Alicorn spoke.

“Nightmare! You have no place here. Go now, leave this dream or be forever destroyed!” The Alicorn boomed. As she spoke, for the voice was definitely feminine, Sunset realized who was in front of her. It was the voice of Vice-Princpial Luna, but this must have been-

“Princess Luna.” Sunset spoke aloud. As she did, she could see the Princess move her head slightly. The monster took this chance to flee back into the shadowy forest, moving as quickly as it could. Princess Luna gave a quick sigh, before turning to face her. The Princess was just a little shorter than her, but Sunset could feel the magic behind the Alicorn.

“Sunset Shimmer. I have heard much about you. It is unusual that your dream was able to call to me, but these are unusual times. Before you wake, I have advice to give.” Luna said, her voice almost melodic. As she spoke, Sunset had noticed battle damage covering the Princess. Scratches and burns covered her silver armor, and scar crossed her right leg. Worst of all, was the groove cut into her horn. Like someone had cut it with a sword…or a claw.

“We are at war. Equestria has fallen under siege, and so long as it remains, we cannot provide you aid. Take the sword he gave you, and destroy the abominable tower. Do so, and It shall be unable to influence your world. Now Sunset Shimmer, Wake Up.”

Sunset awoke with a gasp, eyes adjusting to the darkness. They were still in the Neverlight forest. She was laying down, her head resting on one of the roots.The back of her head was aching, feeling it confirmed that there was a bump there. The slumbering form of Celestia lay off to the side, and a small crystal bird was pecking at her. It appeared that whatever had affected them had not affected Rarity. Sunset reasoned that it was probably due to Rarity being conscious across multiple bodies.

When she awoke, it drew Rarity's attention. The Crystal bird flew off to her in a haste, landing on the root next to her. “Sunset! You’re awake. I was so worried, you just looked away and then dropped to the ground.” That would explain the headache and bump. “After you fell, Celestia followed. Darling, what happened?”

“Magic. Something is hunting via dreams.” Sunset said, gesturing around. Around them lay sleeping bodies, some who looked closer to death than sleep. Thankfully, Sunset had somehow attracted the attention of the Princess of the Night. She had been saved by Princess Luna. Did that mean dreams could cross the mirror? It left Sunset with many questions, and few answers.

It seemed that Sunset was still a scholar at heart. Even after her exile, her time spent at Canterlot High, and the end of the world. That was somewhat comforting, at least. Regardless of darkness or shadowy dream monster, they would need to continue deeper into the forest. That would start with waking Celestia up.

Sunset approached the sleeping form of her Principal, drawing Para. Thankfully, the sword was actually there, and not missing as it had been in the dream. The sword's light illuminated the surrounding trees, casting the entire area in a subtle pink glow. It would appear that the blade had a bit of magic circulating throughout it, even without Sunset doing anything. She took a knee next to Celestia, and then realized that she didn’t know how to wake her up.

Sunset resorted to the most basic way of waking someone up; shaking them. She shook her principal, and to her dismay, nothing happened. Sunset shook her even harder, and yet nothing happened. Celestia didn’t even turn over to the side, or respond in any way. She simply lay there, barely even breathing. In an act filled with both frustration and despair, Sunset slammed Para into the ground.

When the sword impacted the ground, it released a wave of scarlet magic. The wave washed over her, Celestia, and the sleeping bodies laying around the forest. Sunset had unintentionally imprinted her will and intent onto the sword, and Para had reacted accordingly. All around them Sunset could hear creatures begin to stir. Then, after an agonizing moment of silence, they stopped. The creatures around her returned to their slumbers, save for one.

In front of Sunset, Celestia began to stir. She immediately fell to her knees and attempted to help rouse the sleeping wolf-principal. Sunset shook her, and to her relief, Celestia’s eyes slowly opened. They were drowsy for a second, before slamming open with alarm. Sunset spoke quickly, doing her best to calm her down.

“Celesta! It’s okay, you’re awake now. You’re safe, whatever was in your dreams cannot hurt you now.” Celestia looked at her with sudden confusion, eyes asking a wordless question. Sunset didn’t know how to answer her, and after a second or two Celestia simply shook her head. She helped her former principal get up to her feet, Celestia doing her best to thank Sunset for the effort.

Once everyone had gone situated, Sunset walked over to the place where she had slammed Para into the ground. She drew the blade easily, and found that any dirt or mud was simply washed off by a small pulse of pink energy. The pommel of the sword still emanated an orange light, and the pull was ever present. Small bands of pink magic pulsed up and down the blade, creating small flashes of light. Sunset made the executive decision to keep Para out, for this forest was definitely not friendly. Just as before, she conjured her will and pushed magic to her left hand, casting a scarlet glow that mixed with orange and pink.

The trio pushed deeper into the forest, taking care to avoid the slumbering bodies. The bodies on the ground were a weird mix of transformed beasts, and untransformed Humans. There was an even greater percentage of people who were half transformed, as if the transformation had been halted in their slumber. Just like Rarity had said hours ago, there was an eerie silence. It felt like the entire forest was sleeping,

They halted as they reached the edge of the forest, bordering a familiar clearing. Instead of just being an empty clearing, as it had been in the dream, two buildings occupied it. An overgrown road had been laid in between the house and barn, but grass and weeds had claimed for themselves. The strangest thing was the way branches had almost grown out the top of both buildings, forming a closed canopy over the clearing. In the space between them and the house was only an overgrown field. No sleeping bodies littered this area, it was completely empty of anything that would stand above knee height.

The door to the farmhouse was locked, but a hit from Para ensured that it would be forever open. The inside of the house was dark, and Sunset was reminded of Fluttershy’s den back in the Endless Road. This time there was no overwhelming sense of dread or fear, but rather, drowsiness. The whole house seemed to be exuding a sense of sleepness, telling her that she should just give in and slumber forever. It was easy to overpower with the combined strength of her convictions, and her ever strengthening mental barriers. She had been working on them since her encounter with Fluttershy.

The kitchen was empty, and the dining room as well. The living room had no occupants, but as Sunset approached the stairs she felt the forced drowsiness increase in strength. So naturally, she knew that her friend was upstairs. She ascended the stairs, and she felt like she could feel the mind behind the pressure telling her to sleep. It felt like…it was panicking.

At the top of the stairs was a hallway with a couple of doors on either side of it. She passed by a few, not stopping to check inside them. She didn’t need to, as the combined pull of Para and the ever increasing panic of sleepiness told her where she needed to go. After a few doors, she reached the end of the hallway, and the last door. A quick glance behind her told her that both Celestia and Rarity were behind her, ready for what could come next. In a quick, decisive motion, she pushed open the door.

Two bodies occupied the room, one laying on a bed, and one on a couch. Both were asleep, and the one on the bed showed only mild amounts of physical mutation. Sunset recognized the person on the bed as none other than her friend, Applejack. She had two antlers extending from her head, but she was otherwise unchanged. The same could not be said for the person sitting on the couch.

The first thing Sunset noticed were the shadows. Liquid darkness pooled around her, leaking from closed eyes. It’s mouth was agape, and to her horror, Sunset could see that shadow flow out of it. The once person’s hair seemed to be made out of the stuff, flowing behind her and into the pool below the couch. Cuts and scrapes littered its exposed skin, but instead of blood those shadows flowed from the open wounds. None of that was the worst part, though. No, Sunset actually recognized the person sitting on the couch. The purple clothes, familiar figure, and the crescent moon on her collar were obvious signs as to who this was.

Sunset was nearly bowled over when Celestia stepped into the room. She immediately recognized her sister, moving as quickly as she could to get to her. Unfortunately, there appeared to be nothing Celestia could do. Her sister, Vice-Princpial Luna, was in deep slumber that appeared to be unwakeable. It did not stop Celestia from trying. Sunset laid her free hand on Celestia’s shoulder, causing her to look at Sunset. Her eyes were brimming with tears, along with a growing, burning rage.

Rarity had landed next to the slumbering form of Applejack, and looked towards Sunset. Her eyes were laced with concern, for both of the sleeping victims, and for Celestia as well. Once Sunset had helped steady Celestia, they began their next task. Unfortunately, every way they tried to wake the sleeping victims failed. Shaking, yelling their names, even trying to use magic as she had before failed. Slumped against the door, Sunset decided to go over everything they knew.

Two of the bearers of Harmony were trapped in an endless slumber. They were in a forest where light never shined, and many sleeping bodies lay outside. Some sort of creature was hunting, or atleast using the dreams-there. Odds were, that creature was responsible for the dreams that Luna and Applejack were in. So naturally, she would need to enter the dream and defeat the monster.

“Rarity…Celestia. I might-might-have found a way to save them.” Upon saying those words, Sunset could see Celestia immediately perk up, followed by Rarity. “While I was asleep in the forest, I was chased by a monster made of shadow. I think it’s the cause of this.” She said, gesturing to Applejack and Luna. “I need to enter that dream, and beat that monster.”

Sunset looked towards the small crystal bird perched on the bed, and found that Rarity gave her a small, if slightly reluctant nod. She then turned Celestia, and found herself being stared at. Celestia’s lips were drawn tight, her eyes distant and yet…hopeful. “I’ll save her, Celestia. I’ll save both of them.” Celestia’s jaw clenched, before she gave Sunset a nod of regretful approval. With both of their approvals, Sunset laid herself against a free and unoccupied wall. She took a deep breath in, and let it out. Embracing that drowsiness that had been pressuring her the entire time they had been in the forest, her eyes closed.

Sunset opened her eyes, and found herself to be outside the farmhouse. She was standing on the porch, situated to be right in front of the door that led to the interior. The house was situated in a large, familiar clearing. Sunset could that large swaths of the grass and dirt had been, for a lack of better word, razed. Completely obliterated. Looking up, she found only dark clouds. No moon shined down now.

She felt it before she saw it. A cold breeze whipped her hair, cutting through her clothes and directly into her skin. Yet she stood, unaffected. As Sunset descended the stairs to clearing, she saw it creep out the tree line. It was as she remembered it from her stint earlier in the dream. A humping upper body made of pure shadow, two horns extending from its head. Its lower body extends further and further, trailing off into the darkness of the forest. It’s eyes, unblinking, twin pits of pure white.

Unlike last time, however, she was prepared. She wasn’t caught off guard, stranded alone in a dark and treacherous forest. No, she was fully charged with magic, and she had an ace up her sleeve. She was an excellent planner, even if she had to come up with the plan on the fly. It was how she had conquered the High School earlier in her life.

Before that, she needed to let the monster know who it faced. She raised her left hand, and pushed the magic through it. Manifesting her will, scarlet light wreathed her arm and hand. A beam of pure crimson flame shot out of her palm, and it slammed into the monster’s shoulder. She cut off the magic a second later, and waited to see how It reacted. It pulled back, before shadows curled around the hole left in its shoulder. As quickly as the hole had been created, it was filled with pure darkness once more. It made no sound, but Sunset could tell she had surprised it. She wasn’t going to just bow over this time.

Sunset held her right hand out to the side, and she mentally pulled against the dream. It was like pulling against a brick wall, so well made were the dreams walls. She hadn’t been Celestia’s personal student for nothing, though. The monster surged towards her, seeing her lack of movement as a chance to stop her. It was too late. With a surge of energy, Sunset pulled Para into her hand.

The sword appeared in her hand, cackling with pink energy. Its entrance into the dream released a massive surge of energy, which exploded outwards. The grass around her was flattened, the trees themselves bending. The monster was thrown backwards as well, but curiously, the house was left unaffected. As Sunset hefted Para onto to ehr shoulder, ehr eyes whinging as she felt something very familiar. Sunset could feel the will of the sword, better than she had ever in the waking world. She hadn’t just created a copy of Para in the dream, no, she had pulled the blade from the physical world into the dream. This was no dream copy, it was real.

The monster had recovered, and now it was staring at the sword in Sunset hands. Its eyes were wary, and she could see the fear in them. It made no sudden movements, besides the odd glance…towards the house. It felt like it wasn’t acting to hurt or even kill her, but rather to stop her. Sunset’s eyes widened.

“You're not trying to hunt me…You’re trying to protect something. Aren’t you?” Sunset said. The creature froze. She followed it stare, not at her or Para, but at the house. “It's in the house, isn’t it?” She questioned, and the monster’s eyes grew wide. Then, with almost maniac fury, it charged towards her.

She leveled Para towards the approaching monster, and forced her magic though the blade. She was always the best with fire magic. Just like her fight with the sirens, Crimson flames roared out of the tip of the sword. It rushed towards the monster, her intent to destroy the thing completely. Just before the flames made contact, it dashed to the side. It barely avoided the flame, but it managed to get past the crimson torrent with minimal damage. Sunset braced, but only felt a cold wind as the monster near on flew past her. It streaked around her, up the stairs, and then it slammed into the door of the farmhouse. The door crumpled like a piece of paper, and the monster disappeared into the shadowy house.

Sunset blinked, confused by the actions of the creature. Why had it just ignored her? A second later, the flames sputtered out, leaving only embers in the field. Sunset turned around, readying herself to go after the monster. It would be difficult as the house was dark and difficult to navigate. Para wouldn’t be able to swing freely in the hallways, leaving her with thrusting and her magic. A still mighty arsenal.

It happened so quickly. She felt her mental barrier power up to respond to an outside threat. She felt Para surge with magic, flowing into the defenses she had been crafting. None of it mattered. The will of something, something whose power far explained hers slammed into her mind. It felt like the tower, but it was so much worse. It ripped through her, and she fell forward with a cry.

Pain, that was all there was. IT ripped her mind, tearing into all she held dear. The pain from slamming her head into the ground was minuscule compared to the overwhelming force that forced its way through her mental defenses. It was so much worse than her transformation at the Fall Formal, that could not compare to this. It-It was searching for something, it hurt to think-It was looking for something. Her connection to Para. She felt it slam into the bond, trying to rip the sword from her. Para refused, screaming in defiance. IT pulled, and Pain flooded through her. It was close, ripping her mind to shreds- Oh Celestia, why? The pain-the pain-

“Get away from her!” A silver beam ripped through the air above her. She felt the overwhelming pressure on her mind lessen, but just barely. Enough for her to think. A dark, furred shape leapt over her, slamming into something. The impact caused the pressure to pull back even further, and Sunset found she could move her body once more. As she just lay on the ground, breathing in and out, a metal boot crunched onto the ground near her head.

“Sunset Shimmer.” A familiar, masculine voice said. “It would appear that you are in quite the predicament.” Sunset followed the metal boots to see a man in silver armor with a golden trim towering over her. Two Alicorns were emblazoned on his chest piece, the combined symbols of a Sun and moon on his Pauldron. Two massive wings, white as snow, emerged from his back. An outstretched gauntlet was offered towards her, and Sunset took it.

“When I told you to end this invasion, I didn’t expect you would decide to fight the Dream Eater himself.” The Knight-Regent said with a hint of a chuckle. Sunset, still recovering from brutal mental assault, just looked at him. “Nevermind that. Now, I would recommend you go and hunt your query. We’ll hold it off.” With that, he stepped forward and past Sunset Shimmer.

The Knight-Regent slammed his left hand upwards, and glowing pink energy swirled around the metal, before forming into a translucent sphere in his open palm. A twin helix of pink magic shot upwards, higher and higher, before exploding outwards. A massive pink dome came crashing down around them, completely banishing the eldritch pressure from Sunset’s mind. Immediately, she could tell that the Knight was holding back a massive amount of force, as she could see his arm shaking from the strain of creating the dome.

She heard something panting far in front of them, and realized that it was Princess Luna. She was gasping for air, clearly exhausted after her fight…with whatever she had been fighting. Just then a crack rang out through the air, and to her horror, she could see that a gap had formed in the pink shield. Behind, Sunset could almost see the thing that had assaulted her earlier.

“Luna!” The Knight-Regent shouted. Immediately, the Princess of the Night jumped into action, a silver beam emerging from her horn. The beam slammed into the crevice, pushing back something. Pink energy washed over the cracking sealing it. It was obvious from the sweat pouring down their faces that this effort was exhausting.

Another crack sounded out, and another crevice formed in the pink shield. This time, however, Sunset could fully see the thing behind the shield. It was emerging from a swirling rift, the rift itself bleeding colors that couldn’t exist. The Dream Eater was a pair of jaws, as wide as the moon itself. Yet, it was small enough to fit inside the crack it had just created. It was actively contradicting itself, impossible even in a dream. As she laid her eyes on it, she felt the pressure slam back into her mind. She stumbled back even as Princess Luna unleashed a silver beam directly at it, pushing it back so the hole could be sealed. The pain in her mind as the god-like monster once more tore into was intense, but it was short lived.

“SUNSET SHIMMER!” Princess Luna’s voice boomed across the clearing, “GO!” WIth that, Sunset scrambled upwards, grabbing Para from where she had dropped it. With it in her hand, she felt the sword’s magic wash through her mind, flowing into her mental barriers. She rushed towards the house, and passed through the destroyed doorway.

She was met with an inky abyss, one that was quickly banished by the light emanating from the sword. Sunset could feel magic surge though the blade, more than she had ever felt before. It was like something had empowered Para…or perhaps someone. The resulting light from the sword completely erased the shadows. Well, it erased all the natural shadows. The Shadowy Monster in front of her just stared at her, then at Para, then back to her. Before she could react, it turned tail and sprinted up the stairs.

Sunset sprinted after the beast, clambering up the stairs as fast she could with a sword in her hand. As soon as she cleared the last step she held Para out in front of her, wary of an ambush. No attack came. Instead, the monster was simply staring at her, as if waiting for something. Upon seeing her approach, it once again turned and fled, running towards the room at the end of the upstairs hallway.

An idea crossed Sunset’s mind, but she rejected it for now. While it had some merit, she would need more evidence in order to prove it. Still, as she walked steadily towards the dark room, the idea lingered. What if it was the case? She pushed into the room, and found that it was the same one she had fallen asleep in. Applejack’s Room.

The couch where Vice-Princpial Luna had been sitting was empty, but not the bed. No, even in the dream Applejack lay sleeping on the bed. This time, though, Sunset could see shadows swirling around her friend's sleeping form. Above the circling shadows was a familiar monster made of shadows. It was crouched protectively over Applejack, and Sunset was forced to reconsider her previously rejected idea. What if…?

“V-Vice Principal Luna?” Sunset hesitantly asked. The creature perked up at that, and stared at her intently. It slowly, ever so slowly, approached her. It got closer and closer, but seemed to shy away from her. Or rather, away from Para. In a move that probably wasn’t very wise, Sunset sheathed Para in the floor. The monster looked at Sunset, to her empty hands, to Para, and back to Sunset. It got closer to her, face to face, before pulling back with…a sigh? It was the first sound she had heard from the creature, and it sounded as if it had let out a sigh of relief.

Then, before her very eyes, it began to change. The shadow solidified into a solid body, its many limbs becoming only four. Sapphire and grayish blue hair extended from its head, while its facial features became much more defined. The eyes, once pure white, now were a beautiful opal surrounding a black pupil. The only things that remained from its previous form were the two, shadowy horns.

Vice-Princpial Luna collapsed top ground, heaving for air. Sunset immediately moved to help and comfort her, steadying her. Luna looked up and at her, and despite opening her mouth to speak, no words came out. Instead, Sunset spoke.

“Luna. You’re safe now. All you have to do is wake up.”

When Sunset opened her eyes, she found herself slumped on the wall. Two massive eyes were staring directly at hers. Sunset chuckled softly, before raising a tired arm and pointing. Celestia followed the direction of the gesture, and her eyes went wide. Not only had her sister changed, no longer were shadows pouring out her face and hair, but she had woken up as well. She was staring at Celestia in confusion, and more than a little panic.

Upon recognizing the coming calamity, Sunset rose as quickly as she could, but the room's attention was drawn to a sudden set of coughing. Applejack had woken up, and looked around the room in shock. Sunset, now on her feet, rushed towards her friend and slammed her in a hug. It was a familiar action, as if it should be named after someone. Applejack gasped in surprise, but returned the action. Eventually they parted, and Sunset found herself in a difficult situation.

Luna was now hiding behind the couch, and Sunset could see tears in Celestia's eyes. She would have to resolve the situation, before anything truly bad could happen.

“Vice-Principal Luna. Would you please come out from behind the couch? No one here is going to hurt you.” Slowly, Luna emerged from the backside of the couch. Not that she had been very hidden, as the shadowy horns from the dream had given her away.

“Sunset Shimmer? What…what is going on here?” Luna asked, and Sunset heard a grunt of agreement from Applejack. It appeared she wasn’t able to speak just yet.

She took a deep breath, then gave them the shortest explanation she could give. “The world ended. Acoypalse, ragnarok, whatever you want to call it happened. Nearly everyone was transformed into monsters, or into some form of insanity. I lost all my memories, I couldn't even remember my name. I got this sword from…” Sunset paused. Perhaps it was better not to tell them about the person she had been seeing in a dream. “...From a Crystal Tree.” That was a lot better. “Now we need to rescue all the ‘Bearers of Harmony’ and destroy the tower that caused this.” She finished.

Luna looked at her shock, and then at Celestia. Sunset could see as Luna made the connection, and gasped softly. “T-Tia?” Luna whispered, her voice in shock. In response, Celestia nodded, tears in her eyes. Luna approached her sister slowly, carefully, before embracing her in a hug. Unfortunately, good things will always come to an end. Especially in the new, horrific world they had found themselves in.

A howl cut though the air outside, causing the entire party to freeze. All the bodies outside, of beasts and humans alike, had been sleeping. Luna’s dream had trapped them, but the dream was gone now. Sunset swore, drawing a look from Luna and Celestia. “We need to go. Now.” Sunset stressed, none of the others arguing. She grabbed Para, and gestured for the rest to follow. As a group, Sunset in the lead and Celestia in the rear, they ran. Into the hall, down the stairs, and through the door. They had made their way down the porch stairs, when Sunset stopped abruptly.

Monsters were emerging from the forest line, all shapes and sizes. Beasts and other things, were staring at the group, collectively staring at something. The normally soft glow of Para’s star was harsh now, and if the sword could make noise Sunset knew it would be growling. She could feel its will, but as more things emerged from the shadows Sunset came to a terrible realization. They wouldn’t be able to survive this.

Unless…

Sunset drew on her magic, pulling it into the sword. Scarlet energy wrapped around her, Para, and the group. She pulled on her magic even further, drawing from her deepest reserves. Princess Celestia had once scolded her when she had done a similar thing, warning her of the dangers of over drawing magic. You could shatter bones, shatter your horn, or worst, you destroy your very soul. It didn’t matter. Sunset could either endanger herself, or watch as her friends were killed by terrible monsters. It wasn’t much of a choice.

Scarlet magic grew brighter and brighter, causing the horde of nightmares manifest to halt in their place. Some of the more humanoid ones raised limbs to shield their eyes, while others stumbled backwards. Despite the growing pain, she continued to draw magic. It was nothing compared to pain from the Dream Eater, and even less to pain of failing her friends. Magic flowed around the group, highlighting them all in crimson energy. With a scream, Sunset pushed all her magic and more into Para. With an explosion of red energy, they were gone.

Sunset’s last sight before slipping into unconsciousness was that of a Crystal Tree.

Author's Note

Here is the fourth chapter. It was longer than I expected, but no less fun to write. As always, May Harmony Prevail.

The Prince of Peace

Celestia didn’t know what to do. It had been days since Sunset had fallen unconscious, and she hadn’t woken up since. Even worse, it seemed as if she was deteriorating. Her skin was becoming more and more pale, her normally scarlet and golden hair losing its shine. Her breathing was getting shallower with the pass of every hour. Sunset Shimmer was dying. And there was nothing she could do.

They had tried everything to wake her up, yet none of it had worked. Instead, her student kept slipping away from them. They had even tried to give Sunset’s magic sword to her, but it hadn’t helped her. They had moved her to the nurse’s office, as it had a bed and some medical tools, but they had no way to help her.

Celestia turned away from the nurse’s office, heading towards the foyer and her office. While they had been saving the others, Fluttershy had stayed behind and worked on making the ruined school into a proper home. She had carved paths through the growing wilderness, made classrooms into livable rooms, and she had even started a small farm. It hadn’t been nearly long enough to produce a yield yet, but eventually they would stop having to scavenge for resources.

When she arrived at the foyer, she found it deserted. Luna and Applejack were out in the city, actively scavenging for resources, and Fluttershy was in the infirmary watching over Sunset. Rarity was helping direct her sister and student, warding them away from the dangers out in the corrupted world. With everyone else busy, it left her alone.

While a somber mood had descended upon the group of survivors, it would appear that the Crystal tree hadn’t received the same message. Over the course of a day or two, it had grown in size again. Its branches had thickened, along with many smaller ones extending out from the main five. The crystal symbols that were embedded into the tree glowed with soft light, illuminating the entire room.

Celestia wasn’t a fool, she could see the correlation between the survivors, the symbols, and that sword. The sword would lead Sunset to one of her friends, and when they returned, their respective symbol would light up. The tree would grow bigger, and the sword would lead Sunset to another friend, repeating the process. She didn’t know how it worked, or why, but it was helping them regardless.

Her attention was drawn to a flicker of light from the tree. Whereas everyone else’s symbols glowed with a constant light, Sunset’s had begun to flicker. It had started since she collapsed in front of the tree after teleporting them from the forest. Celestia didn’t know exactly what it meant, but she could hazard a reasonable guess. It had to do with the fact that Sunset was dying.

She pushed past the rampant nature, ignoring the waterfall that had engulfed one the stairs. She ignored the many animals that had come to call the school home, and instead trotted over to her office. Her twisted body had made it impossible for her to open doors, her paws incable of twisting the knobs. Fluttershy had understood, and with Applejack’s help they had made it so her door would simply push open. Her office had been made a lot more habitable, able to accommodate her cursed body.

As she settled down in the bed like construction in the corner of the room, she felt a familiar feeling welling up inside her. The desire to hunt, to kill. Before Sunset, she had been a slave to it, unable to resist it. She couldn’t remember who had taken refuge at the school when the world had ended, but Celestia knew their blood was on her claws. She couldn’t remember the face, but the screams echoed in her mind. Whatever Sunset had done had allowed her to overcome the horrific desire, and ever since, she had denied it its place. This would not end now, nor ever. She banished the feeling to the bottom of her mind, and she swore she could hear it howl as it was denied.

With the desire to hunt banished, Celestia only found a different, more peaceful desire. The wish to sleep. Unlike the other, more horrific desire, she embraced this one. Without any fanfare, her eyes closed and she drifted into nightmares that had plagued her since her transformation.

Celestia ran, dashing through the hallways of her school. Behind her, a great wolf-like beast roared, rattling the lockers on either side of the hall. She turned a corner, and only found more hallways, stretching on for what seemed like miles. The beast behind her was much less graceful, slamming into the corner. It gave out a howl, but Celestia couldn’t tell if it was out of pain or frustration. The demonic beast continued the chase, but Celestia spotted something down the hallway. An open door. She pushed with all her might, ignoring the burning sensation in ehr legs, or how her lungs ached. She dashed through the doorway, slamming the door closed.

Celestia couldn’t hear the beast anymore, she couldn’t hear anything outside the door. She waited for a minute or two, before trying to open the door and check the hallway outside. The knob refused to twist, locking her inside the room. Celestia gave out a sigh, but at least she was safe from the wolf. She turned around to inspect the room, and screamed.

Sitting in the desks were corpses, blood flowing from open wounds in their bodies. Every single desk had an occupant, and despite their slightly rotted form, Celestia could recognize each and every one. Sunset, Pinkie Pie, Twilight Sparkle, even Spike lay dead at a desk. All of her students, dead because of…

“It’s your fault.” One of the corpses spoke. It was Rainbow Dash.

“Why didn't you save us?” The dead body of Fluttershy asked her. Celestia tried to respond, but found that she couldn’t speak. No words would come out.

“How could you? We trusted you, believed in you. How could you let this happen?” Twilight’s rotting form spoke.

“Tia, where were you? Why weren’t you there, when I needed you most!” The dead body of Luna accused her.

“Why did you kill me?” The other voices disappeared in an instant, leaving Celestia alone with the mangled body of one of her students. He wore a black jacket over a bloodstained T-shirt, three massive gashes in his chest. His blue hair was torn and ripped apart, his face gone as something, someone, had eaten it. Beside him lay a guitar, shattered into many pieces.

“Principal Celestia, how could you kill me?” Asked the dead corpse of Flash Sentry. “I trusted you, and you tore me to pieces. YOU killed ME.”

It was too much. Celestia couldn’t, wouldn’t defend herself. She had betrayed, and worse, murdered one of her students. One of the kids she had sworn to protect. She fell to her knees, tears forming in her eyes. The broken corpse of Flash towered above her, but Celestia could’t meet his gaze. Instead, she looked down and found that her hands had become long claws, dripping with blood. The blood of one of her students. One of her kids.

“Why didn’t you stop yourself? WHY? Why weren’t you strong enough? Why…why did I have to die? Why did you kill me, murder me, butcher me? WH-” Flash Sentry cut off. Celestia didn’t look up, at least until another voice spoke. It was soft, it was not accusative, it wasn’t even hostile. It was…empathic.

“Guilt. Nothing hurts more than the guilt, the pain we lay upon ourselves. After all, only we truly know how to make ourselves hurt.” The voice spoke. Despite its softness, she could tell that its origin was masculine in nature. It was familiar, oddly familiar, but she knew one thing for a fact. Celestia didn’t deserve its kindness.

Still, her gaze drifted upwards allowing her to see who had spoken. Flash was gone, and instead was replaced by a kneeling man. Silver armor with golden trim covered his body, and two massive wings were folded into his back. He wore no helmet, allowing the tips of his blue hair to flick around in a nonexistent breeze. His eyes, a gentle blue, were staring into hers.

“Come, Principal Celestia. Let us retire from this nightmare.” He extended a hand out, hand open and waiting for hers.

“I…I don’t deserve this. I don’t deserve your kindness.”

“Then what do you deserve? My scorn, because you killed someone when you didn’t have control over your own body? Hatred, for an action that is truly an unfortunate accident? No. If you deserve anything, it would be kindness.” The man said, his voice never rising above a whisper. The words struck at Celestia regardless, forcing her to think.

“I still killed him. My poor, precious student. I killed him.”

“And the guilt will never leave you, nor should it. But you cannot let yourself be destroyed by it. It would be a disservice to Flash Sentry. Remember the pain, take it, and use it as fuel so others may not. Now, let us be free of this nightmare.”

Celestia blinked. Perhaps… perhaps he had a point. Even if- even if Flash Sentry was dead, she still had many students who needed protection. Fluttershy, Applejack, Rarity…Sunset. They all needed her. She looked at the man’s outstretched hand, and took it.

Celestia found herself in a strange place. It was a long hall, with stained glass windows dotting the walls. At the end of the hall was a golden throne, but it looked…ruined. Unlike the rest of the hall, the golden throne was in terrible condition, barely holding itself together. A red carpet ran the length of the hall, from the large gateway at the front of the hall to the raised dais where the throne sat.

She looked around, and saw that the armored man was standing next to one of the windows. He was inspecting it, and with a wave of his hand, Celestia saw the window change. Shapes began to form, things Celestia would recognize. A massive jaw crashed into a pink dome, forming cracks which were filled by a silver light. A blue winged horse raised its wings in defiance of the great jaw, while silver light emerged from a horn protruding from its head. Two humans stood behind the horse, one in silver armor with blue hair, and the other wearing a black jacket with red and gold hair. Sunset. Celestia recognized the second figure instantly, and the armored man must be the same as the one in front of her. Sunset was laying on the ground, a familiar sword beside her. The man was standing in front of her, between the horse and Sunset. His hand was raised, wreathed in pink light.

“Welcome to my dream, Principal. It should be a bit safer than your nightmare.” He spoke, before turning around. In the much more peaceful and calm environment, Celestia was able to look much closer at the man. His armor was mostly blank, save for a few symbols engraved into it. On the upper section of his chestplate were two more of those winged unicorns, facing in opposite directions. Connecting his pauldrons to his chest plate were two rounded plates, with two different symbols engraved on them. On one side was a six pointed star, glowing with purple light. It was the same as the star engraved into the magical sword's hilt, and the one at the bottom of the crystal tree. On the other plate was a blue shield, with three golden stars placed above it. Two lines formed an X in the shield, one pitch black and other a pale silver. Extending below the bottom of the chestplate were two plates, covering either leg. In between them was a blue-ish purple piece of leather, with another symbol placed onto it. It was the same shield symbol, but instead of an X the six pointed star was in the center of the shield. His pauldron had the strangest symbols, though. A sun and moon were engraved on his left pauldron, but they were very familiar. The sun was the same as the one she used to wear, while the moon was very similar to the one Luna wore.

The man noticed her inspecting his pauldron, but said nothing. Instead, a small smile formed, as if he was amused. It was almost as if he was waiting for her to say something, but after a few moments of silence he spoke.

“I am The Knight-Regent, but you may call me Knight.” The Knight-Regent said, yet there was something oddly familiar about him. Celestia just couldn’t place what it was-not yet.

“H-how?” Celestia said, still trying to find her voice. She gestured around the room, causing the Regent to give a chuckle.

“Anyone can shape their dreams, if they are lucid. But to travel between them, that requires magic. I’m sure that you’ve had more than a few encounters with magic by now.” He was right. Not only with the tower, but before as well. The incident with Camp Everfree, The Friendship Games, the Battle of the bands, and the Fall Formal. Celestia was familiar with magic, at the very least. She should have figured that magic would be the answer.

“Then why? Why come into my nightmare, and save me?” Celestia asked, drawing a look from him. He rubbed the back of his head with a hand, averting his gaze.

“Ah. You see, I wasn’t actually looking for your dream. After Sunset’s run in with the Dream Eater, I wanted to check up on her. Only I wasn't able to find her dreams at all. Instead, I found your nightmare.” He turned his gaze upon her once more, but it became a little harder, a little more direct. “Sunset is getting sleep, right? Sleep is extremely important, especially when wielding a blade like Para.”

Celestia felt the wind leave her chest, like she had been punched in the gut. “S-Sunset is-Sunset is…dying.” She finished with a whisper. The Knight flinched, eyes widening.

“What? How-explain. You must explain.” He spoke quickly, his eyes narrowing. His voice was hard now, not at all like it had been before. It wasn’t a question, no, it was a command. An order.

So she did. She told him of how Sunset had woken, convinced her sister that she was safe, how they made it to the front of the house without issue. She told him how the forest had begun to crawl with monsters, horrors emerging from the tree line. Of how Sunset gathered all five of them, and used magic to teleport them to the High School. And how she passed out, unable to wake, and how her condition was worsening by the hour.

“Damn them. Damn them all.” The Knight-Regent swore, and Celestia was inclined to agree. “If what you said is true, then it would explain what happened. Sunset used part of her soul as fuel for magic.” He explained, causing her eyes to widen. She didn't know too much about how magic actually worked, but the idea of damaging one’s soul was…horrifying.

“There are only two possible outcomes when dealing with a damaged soul. Either the soul heals and the person recovers, or the soul splinters apart completely and the person…Well, they don’t just die. They become a shell, unable to do anything but follow the simple instincts the body naturally has.” He took a breath. “Worse, it doesn’t sound like Sunset is recovering. I…I don’t know what to do-unless.” He stopped, his eyes darting around as he processed an idea.

“Unless what?” Celestia asked, a small drop of hope evident in her voice.

“She ascends.” He said, his voice somewhat distant. “If Sunset can ascend to Alicornhood, it would heal her soul.” He could see Celestia’s eyes light up, and he already knew what she would ask next.

“How? How can we make this happen?” She asked

“We,” He said, gesturing to both of them. “Cannot make it happen. Rather, we must do everything to make it possible. It will come down to Sunset to make the final step.” He paused, taking in a deep breath. “She will need a large amount of magical energy, and a catalyst.”

“Magic…and a catalyst?” Celestia asked, questioning him for more information.

“For an equestrian to ascend, they need two things. A large amount of magic, from any source, to initiate the transformation. The pony in question would need a catalyst as well, to bind the power to their soul and complete the transformation. Without it, the magic will just flow through their body, and possibly do more harm than good.”

Celestia’s hope, while still there, shrunk ever so slightly.

“In Sunset’s case, there is little we can do that will worsen her situation.” He said, answering her unspoken thoughts. “We must try. So many have already died, or worse.” The Knight-Regent spoke, his voice soft.

“How can we help make it possible for her to ascend?” Celestia asked him, and he glanced away from her for a moment.

“Harmony should be able to provide the source of power. You must move Sunset to the crystal tree, if you haven’t already. You’ll need to continue to rescue the other Bearers of Harmony, which will allow Harmony to manifest more power in your world.”

“And the Catalyst?”

He took a deep breath in. “Unfortunately, we can’t do anything about that. Once the power is secured, it will be up to Sunset to find her catalyst.” He paused for a moment, before snapping his fingers. Pink energy swirled around her, weaving things that Celestia swore looked like symbols. The magic flared up, before fading into nothingness.

“What did you just do?” Celestia all but demanded, her voice slightly unsteady as she felt something deep within her change.

“A gift. When you next touch a source magic, it should activate. You’ll be human again, or very, very close. I can’t guarantee it’ll be painless but-” At that point, Celestia stopped listening. She would be human again. Not some horrible, hideous beast.

“...Why?” Celestia asked, once she found her voice. He looked down, before meeting her gaze. There was something in his eyes, and while she couldn’t place it exactly, it looked awfully close to shame.

“It was not completely selfless, I will admit. Someone needs to wield Para to find the other Bearers of Harmony, and to oppose the Crawling Chaos’s legions. Unfortunately, you are my best option. If I could, I would do it myself, but that would leave Equestria vulnerable. The Princesses can only do so much against the Dream Eater.” His words were soft, and sincere, but something else he said caught her attention. Crawling Chaos? Wasn’t that-

“Nyarl-” A metal hand snapped in front of her mouth, cutting her off before she could say more.

“Do not.” He took a deep, shuddering breath, before continuing. “Do not say its name. Drawing its attention, even in my dream, my seat of power, is a very bad idea. But yes, him.”

Celestia blinked, eyes wide as he retracted his hand. “That's who caused this? A Lovecraftian God?” She asked, her voice beginning to shake.

“Lovecraft. A poor, poor man who saw far, far too much. My pity and grief goes out to him. But yes, and no, we are facing Lovecraftian beings. The Crawling Chaos did not directly cause this, but the beast he is employing did. The Dream Eater.”

The Dream Eater. Celestia racked her memory, but she found nothing. It was Cadance, of all people, who was fascinated with Lovecraft and his whole mythos. Then it hit her. The Lovecraft Gods were real. The Horrors from beyond the stars, unknowable, highly likely to cause mass suffering and insanity, were real. Not only were they real, at least one was actively invading their world. It was as she was well into hyperventilation that she felt a metal hand press onto her shoulder.

“Principal Celestia. You must calm yourself. I know that the idea of them is insanity, much less the idea of facing them in combat. You need to recall why you fight. For Sunset, for your students. Your children.” The Knight-Regent spoke quickly, and forcefully. It was enough to snap Celestia to her senses.

“W-What are we supposed to do? How do we fight something like that?”

“With any luck, you won’t encounter one, much less fight them. That is Harmony’s and my task.” He paused. He glanced off to the side, as if confirming something. “You’re waking up. I’d imagine it would have to do with the stress of that revelation. When you wake up, you must deliver Sunset to the tree. Recover Para, wherever it may be, and save the rest of the Bearers of Harmony. Only then may Sunset have a chance.”

Celestia woke up with a start, before nearly clawing an eye out. She still had claws, and she could see the fur surrounding her arm. She was still a beast. She let out a sigh, or as close to one as her form could get. It sounded like the mix of a tiger's roar and an eldritch growl.

Considering her current state, she must have dreamt that entire encounter. An impression of a scowl crossed her face. Things were really better in the dreamworld, weren’t they? It didn’t matter. She needed to check on Sunset, and see if Luna and Applejack had returned.

Slowly, she raised herself from her bed like arrangement, stretching her arms out. She pushed onwards, opening the door to her office with her snout, and heading out into the foyer. It was still empty, but the lights from the Crystal Tree were dimmer now. It must have been late, nearing midnight.

As she trotted past the tree, her eyes caught on something laying in the ground. The Sword, Para. Perhaps…perhaps a quick touch wouldn’t hurt. If it had been a dream, then the worst it could do would be to feel uncomfortable. If she hadn’t just dreamt it all up, then…she could be human again. She approached the sword, and with a single claw, reached out to touch it.

Celestia screamed in agony as her claw made contact with the purple star in the sword’s hilt. Pink energy rushed around the sword, and poured into her. Symbols flashed into existence, the same ones from that dream. She screamed, and found that the noise was transforming. It was becoming more human, less primal and bestial. She felt her bones shift, her muscles and skin moving. The fur retracted, revealing a torn suit. She felt her hair cascaded down her shoulders, now unbound from that demonic form. As her body transformed, she heard a voice speak directly into her mind.

Principal Celestia, I see you found my blade. I have left this message to help assist you even out the dream. Wielding Para will enable you to do magic, to the level of adapt Unicorns at the very least. There are no spells that you need to learn. Rather, just focus your will and intent though the blade, and it will take care of the rest. Find the other Bearers of Harmony. Good luck, and remember this; There are no Gods, only Tyrants. It helps when opposing those things. May Harmony Prevail.

“Sister? What is going on? I heard screa-TIA!” Luna shouted as she saw her sister lay at the base of the tree, with a few less claws. She rushed over, nearly tripping over a tree root, dashing to her sister’s side. “How-how did this hap-” She was shushed as Celestia shakily raised a finger to her lips.

“S-Sunset. You need to g-get Sunset. To the tree. B-bring her to the tree.” Celestia spoke hoarsely. Her throat burned, and she felt as if she could drink a whole lake, but it was a good pain. She was able to speak again. She was human once more. Even though her head was wrapped in a fog, from the pain and how tired she was, it couldn’t curb her joy. She was human again.

Her sister, hesitant to leave her side, called out to the other figures running towards them. In the dim light, she couldn’t make out each of them, but she did see them slow down. Shaken out of a trance, they rushed into action, the figure that looked like Fluttershy rushing off to get Sunset, while Applejack grabbed a cup and filled it with water from the waterfall in the stairwell.

Celestia drained the cup in a single gulp, and found her head cleared of the fog that engulfed after her transformation. “L-Luna?”

“Tia? You are back? You are…truly back?”

“Y-yes. I think… I think I am.” She looked around. “Where’s Sunset?” She asked.

“Fluttershy is retrieving her. She will be back soon, sister.” The words did little to calm her. Every second wasted was a second that Sunset edged closer to death. Not only that, but since she had turned back, that meant…they were real. She could feel a panic attack, something she hadn’t truly felt since she was young, begin to come on. She felt Luna’s grip tighten around her wrist, as her sister could see the signs.

“Tia? What is wrong?”

She couldn’t tell her. Out of all the thoughts rushing through her head, that one stuck out to her. She couldn’t tell her, not about the fact that Lovecraftian Gods existed. They did exist, and, and…There are no Gods, only Tyrants. The phrase echoed in her mind. She realized what exactly the saying was. It was a way to understand, no, accept the Lovecraftian beings. They aren’t gods, just Tyrants, even if they have unimaginable power. Celestia caught her breath, and looked her sister in the eyes. She would be okay.

Before Luna could say anything else, they heard a noise behind them. A thousand small clicks, the sound of a creature with many, many legs walking over stone. Fluttershy emerged from the hallway, with Sunset laying over her back end. She brought Sunset over to the tree, and as Celestia struggled to stand up, she saw how bad she had gotten.

Sunset had gotten very pale, and her hair had dulled incredibly. Her breaths were shallow, and Celestia could tell that she was approaching a fate worse than death. She made a motion to the tree, before speaking quickly.

“The Tree. Place her by… by the tree.” She said, even as she exhausted herself trying to stand. Fluttershy acted at once, acting quickly. She removed Sunset, and with Applejacks help, placed her at the bottom of the crystal tree.

The Roots of the tree began to move the second Sunset touched the earth. The coiled next to Sunset, forming a crystal bed. Smaller ones wrapped around her body, and Celestia could see as they began to glow. She could also see Sunset stabilize. Her breaths got deeper, her color returning ever so slightly. She didn’t wake up, but she was much better than she was a few minutes before.

Celestia let out a sigh, before falling back against the tree. She was exhausted, but she was also happy. For the first time in a few days, things were looking up once more. Even the knowledge that eldritch beings wanted them dead could bring her spirit down. She was human, and Sunset was saved, if only for a little longer.

Sunset gasped. She was in a ruined city, one that looked oddly familiar. White spires with golden roofs stretched up and into the sky. Many of them were shattered now, falling down and into the city below. She could tell that the city was built onto the side of a mountain, and after taking a few glances around, she knew where she was. Canterlot.

Author's Note

This chapter serves more as an interlude, to help set the second phase of the story. It was fun to write, especially the nightmare sequence. May Harmony Prevail, especially against the Horrors from beyond the stars.