INTERMISSION: Rolling the boulder up the mountain

Over twenty four hours.

It had taken over twenty four hours since her wife had gone missing for her to even set up the equipment that might be her salvation.

And the clock was still ticking.

It had been hectic, to say the least.

Their community center was often busy, but never THIS busy. Many Trustworthy guards from Canterlot helped with moving the research there, per the orders of Celestia, and of course, all of Twilight’s friends pitched in as well.

The Princess of Friendship had to direct everything, study the research, and plan ahead, all at the same time, she was already feeling overworked, and they had barely started.

And painfully, or rather annoyingly, the added bonus of having to carry Hermes around in a cage, not leaving him out of her sight– Although the scientist was utterly harmless and wanted the research to go on, she still didn’t trust him, and kept his horn bound– But at least he had a bigger cage now, a physical one, with a bit more of comfort.

One of the few respites, at least, is that one of the few people actually qualified to be her assistant through this, due to previous extensive experience, was more than happy to stay and help.

Spike, keeping his wings folded close, followed Twilight diligently, writing down several important key details she spoke, and many of the necessary items they were going to need in the coming hours… Or days.

A benefit to having hands, certainly, was being capable of writing things more efficiently than one would with a mouth; Not to mention, he had had a lot of practice. “...Touchstones, conduit crystals… Tartarian steel?! Is this correct, Twilight?”

Still entrenched in the process of processing endless information, she nodded. “Yes. Not only is it one of the most solid metals in Equestria, it is incredibly resistant to overheating, and an impeccable conduit of magic. If we’re doing this, we’re doing this.”

From his cage, Hermes nodded happily, glad to see the progress. “Oh indeed! I could never get my hooves on that kind of metal, but I’m certain it’d be a wonderful conduit and technomagic material, second to none!”

Nodding along, but not exactly paying respects to the scientist that banished the wife of the pony who literally raised him, the dragon agreed, continuing to write things down. “Okay, is that all? What else?”

“For now, that’s all.” Twilight flapped her wings, motioning for the attention of the crowd of ponies that were walking around in the large room they had settled in, installing machinery, moving artifacts, bringing in dozens of file cabinet’s worth of data and research. “Dash! Where’s Rainbow Dash, everypony?”

Leaping and flying above the crowd with a wave, she raised a hoof like she had her name called in a class. “Here! How can I help?”

Spike tore the page out of notes he had made, and handed it to her, and Twilight gave her orders. “Take this to Canterlot, to Celestia or Raven– Not any other pony, okay? I don’t exactly want to advertise to all of Equestria that I’m testing dangerous experimental magic in my house… Or why I’m testing it. Just those two, okay? They’ll know to bring us the materials as soon as they can.”

With a sigh of relief, Rainbow saluted. “PHEW! I was afraid you were gonna ask me to do some egghead stuff– Sorry but I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing here!” She waved her wings around in utter confusion at all of the big words in the many papers, as well as the incredibly technical artifacts everywhere.

Twilight allowed herself only a brief moment to chuckle. “Don’t worry, Rainbow. I’m not going to ask anything of all of you that you wouldn’t know how to do. This is too important… Heck, Applejack is with Celestia right now, helping her with the careful heavy lifting of magical artifacts. I’d never ask you to do ‘egghead stuff.’”

“Yeah! That’s what I’m here for!” Spike spoke with glee. He had grown since the last time they were all together, nearly reaching pony height, and having a bit more lizard-like features; Many of which he was proud of. He flapped his wings with joy, as he continued to be useful.

“Exactly!” Twilight nodded, with her own, weary smile.

With an affirming Nod, Rainbow did not mind the insult to her intellect. “I am okay with this! We gotta play to our strengths. See you all in a bit!” She leapt to the balcony and took off at great speeds.

The crowd was thinning out, but only a bit, as most things were already set up. The room looked… hectic. Barely any furniture of what was previously here remained. With the Balcony vista being one of the few spaces that were not cluttered with information of one kind or the other. A blackboard, already full of annotations from Hermes sat near a wall, alongside multiple tables, as well as file cabinets. The broken magical mirror was also stationed facing the room, and there were multiple other spots vacated for other prototypes of technomachinery.

From one of the corners, Rarity fussed, as she looked over many file cabinets and the hundreds of pages within. “Eugh! I’m alphabetizing all of these! Organize your research, Hermes!”

From his cage, he pouted, in sadness. “W-wait!! There’s organized chaos in there! A system!”

“Ignore him, Rarity. Alphabetize it.” Twilight stated, disinterested. “We need an actually readable system. What we have right now is… Deranged.” She waved a bunch of research papers that were incredibly confusing and erratic.

Blowing raspberries, Hermes rolled his eyes. “I did a lot of this research hooked up on coffee. Sorry...”

No apology for him would have any effect whatsoever for the Princess at the moment. She ignored him and continued working.

Fluttershy flew into the room calmly, announcing good news. “Everypony! Pinkie says the break snacks will be ready in ten minutes! We’re working on it!” Cheers resounded in the room, as everyone was more than happy to know that they’d be eating soon.

But Twilight remained quiet. After all… They were taking another break, before they had even technically started.

Calmly, Fluttershy flew towards the Princess of Friendship, looking at her with concern. “Um,Twilight, have you eaten lunch today…?”

“Skipped it.” Twilight stated, lost in thought, staring at the many papers. The sun was already setting, and she hadn’t eaten much.

Raising an eyebrow, Spike scratched his chin, wondering. “Um, yeah, did you have anything for breakfast besides coffee…?”

A quick, affirming mutter from the Princess of Friendship was all they both got as a response, and with it, Spike and Fluttershy glanced at each other in concern.

“Well…” Fluttershy turned around, ready to fly back to the sugarcube corner, to continue helping Pinkie. “...When our snacks get here, be sure to eat, okay…?”

Another affirming mutter from the Princess was the only reply she got.

Accepting defeat, the Pegasus flew away, her concern not diminished.

Every once in a while Twilight would get a stabbing feeling of anxiety in her gut. A feeling that maybe her wife was already dead. That she could have died merely on the journey. That they’d do all this work to find a corpse. That she was in denial for even trying.

But she refused to entertain those feelings. She continued to work diligently and allowed minimal distractions.

Besides, If a corpse is all they would find. She would still want to bury her.

A grim thought that she vigorously shook off of her head.

Calling Spike a bit closer, Twilight spoke quietly, so as to not be very public about her current mental state. “Look, Spike… Are you sure you want to be here and do this? I have no idea how long this will take, or if it’ll even work– If you’re needed in the dragonlands, I won’t keep you…?”

With a sympathetic sigh, the dragon held his notebook closer. “Twilight, c’mon… it’s me. I’m not about to leave you in the dust with something as big as Sunset going missing! Besides, I am uniquely qualified with helping Princess Twilight Sparkle with brainiac troubles, heheh. Long history of doing so, after all!”

Chuckling slightly, she nodded, but… “But still, Spike, what about Ember…?”

“Ember is super tough, Twilight!” Spike snickered, with no doubts whatsoever on the competency of the dragon lord. “She can live without her advisor for a few days. I sent her a letter already! She would understand, Sunset was her friend too! I mean… Your wife did save her entire kingdom from a gigantic legendary phoenix, after all!”

“That she did.” Twilight took a moment of respite on remembering how incredible her wife was, but those thoughts soon led to sorrow. “W-well, Spike, thank you. I mean it. And If you feel like you need to go, don’t hesitate, okay?”

“Thanks a bunch, but you know I wont.” he gave her a cocky smile, and a raise of an eyebrow. “So, what’s next?”

She waved a hoof at some of the papers pensively, and was about to speak, until Pinkie barged into the room with a large plate full of cookies, juices and other assorted sandwiches and snacks. “BREAK TIME EVERYPONY! You all know you need it!!”

Cheers resounded in the room, from all but Twilight, who frowned, closing her eyes, but then gave in, when her belly rumbled. Despite her protests, she couldn’t save her wife on an empty stomach.

They all heartily shared the snacks and food, and Fluttershy handed out snacks to Hermes personally, as well as giving him a couple of pillows to make his enclosure more comfortable; Something he was deeply thankful of.

Everyone was pretty happy to be getting some work done, but Twilight dissociated throughout that entire break, her mind elsewhere, on many more important matters.

“...And you’re sure you’re feeling okay…?” Fluttershy tilted her head, with an analytical look of pity.

Twilight nodded absentmindedly. “I’m fine, just a bit tired, I need to work on this, okay?” She tried dismissing her. “I’m not stopping until we find her.”

Fidgeting with her hooves, Fluttershy pouted, but Rainbow was quick to put her aside. “Babe, it’s best not to get in the way of Twilight when her brain is in overdrive! C’mon, there’s still some snacks left…”

Fluttershy nodded and followed along, still looking at the Princess with concern, who herself was mentally elsewhere, beholding several papers.

Spike came in from the balcony, directing some guards that were delivering yet another box full of gizmos and tech from Hermes’s lab.

The little dragon scratched another item off a list, pensively observing the new lab they had just made on Twilight’s community center. “...Hm, okay, is that the last one?” Spike proclaimed, crossing a final item on a checklist.

“Might be–” Twilight affirmed, inspecting her surroundings, but they both stopped, facing the balcony.

A guard, flying in, quickly interrupted them. “Portal incoming, everypony! Clear the way!”

Soon after, from the balcony, a magical portal opened up, one in which several guards (and Applejack!) Were carrying a large, very ancient looking magical artifact… Another large mirror, but one that wasn’t broken.

Celestia crossed the portal as well, and with the help from her magic and Twilights, as well as the support ponies, they all placed the mirror down, next to the broken one.

“Woah, Princess Celestia… Is this…?” Twilight gasped, seeing the two mirrors, side by side. One broken, but now, with all pieces restored, and the other mirror, intact.

Spike was definitely impressed, but still gave a chuckle. “It’s like looking in a mirror! Get it? Mirror?”

Hermes, from the sidelines, gasped as well. “M-my goodness, don’t tell me– There is another mirror dimension gate, one that is intact?! I never knew about this!!!”

“I imagine not anypony would.” Celestia affirmed, as she moved closer. “This artifact belonged to Starswirl himself… It is a portal to a mirror dimension to ours, that only opens once every thirty moons… I have very little knowledge of it myself, outside of the few notes of his I discovered…” She stated, while placing several scrolls related to the mirror adjacent to it.

Twilight approached the mirror, and reached into it with a hoof– But Celestia stopped her. “Careful! This mirror dimension is unlike the other– You wouldn’t emerge a pony if you crossed it!” And the princess of Friendship was quick to back off.

Spike’s eyes widened in slight concern, as he took a glance at the mirror. “Woah, what?! W-what exactly do you become if you cross it…?”

Letting out a sigh, Celestia reminisced on very, very strange notes she read. “Apparently, according to this…” She squinted at a scroll she had found. “...Strange, mostly hairless bipedal beasts, in a world without magic.”

“Hairless?! Without magic?! Sheesh! Why would anypony ever wanna go there?” Spike scoffed, amused.

Clearing her throat, Applejack took her hat and respectfully placed it on her own chest, she and the guards around her seemed pretty sore. “Pardon me, Queen Celestia, but do ya need us for anythin’ else? We’re in mighty need for a break right now…!”

“You have no need to worry, Applejack– We are done, for now. I don’t believe I'll find many more artifacts that are pertinent to our particular problem, but just in case, I’ll keep digging. But at the moment, you are all dismissed. Thank you so much for your assistance.” She respectfully nodded at her guards and the ponies who assisted them, and they all were delighted, letting out weary exhales.

The guards cleared out, happy to get a break, while Twilight’s friends gathered in the middle of the room, getting some more snacks, but still paying attention.

Twilight examined the mirror thoroughly, lost in thought, in consideration of what her next plan might be.

And for a moment, a fleeting moment, she thought she caught a glimpse of her wife on that reflection, right besides her.

“S-sun– Did I just?? I think I just–” She began speaking, eyes widened, heart racing, but Celestia shook her head.

Exhaling, the Queen of the Sun grabbed more notes on the mirror, and relayed them. “I am sorry, Twilight, but apparently, that’s a feature. The mirror, at times, can show us glimpses of our deepest wishes, or most ambitious desires. If you saw her in that reflection, it is indicative of nothing else but you…”

Twilight let out a weary sigh, closing her eyes, for a moment. “We need to cover this up.” She muttered, quietly.

“You saw her too, didn’t you…?” Celestia asked softly.

“Y-yeah…”

She took a moment to breathe, as Spike placed a consoling hand on her side.

“O-okay.” She raised her head, and turned. “I believe I have an idea, a theory, of what our next step is.”

Everyone in the group listened attentively to her words. “We have two dimensional mirrors here. Unfortunately, they are two way trips– And one is beyond broken. If we could reprogram the intact one to not only be capable of opening every day, instead of every 30 moons, and to change it to lead to other dimensions, maybe we could–”

Hermes quickly tapped in his cage with concern, garnering all of their attention. “W-wait! It’s not that simple! That wouldn't work!”

With an annoyed exhale, Twilight looked at him, and paid attention. He stuttered a bit. “Okay, um, how do I explain this…. Does anypony have a pen, and a few pieces of paper…?”

Spike waddled forward and handed him what he asked.

He took one piece of paper, and a pen, laying them on the floor, and began explaining. “Alright. So this is something I researched a lot, when I had that broken mirror; and I did manage to reprogram it, it is faulty, it is incredibly unstable, but it can sometimes view alternate universes– But what you must understand here, is that the gate you have there, that intact mirror, much like the broken mirror originally was; It is connected to a mirror dimension. That is something that although resembles one, is entirely different from an alternate universe, starkly so!”

A brief moment of quiet passed, as he caught his breath to continue, one in which Rainbow Dash took a long sip of juice and proclaimed “Is anypony else not following this at all?”

To which Pinkie, who was making a cookie-crumb effigy shaped like Sunset’s face, responded “Following what?”

They were shushed by those around them, and Hermes was allowed to speak. “A mirror dimension is, quite simply, a mirror of our dimension. It was created from this universe, it is exclusive to here– Meaning it is not connected to the multiverse. It is a gate, a gate from our world, to a reflection of itself!” As he explained this, he folded the piece of paper, and stabbed the pen through it, piercing both sides. The pen led from one side of the paper, to the other. “See? Like two sides of the same coin. Same universe! It is highly likely that other universes have their own mirror worlds– Surely you’d know! What lies beyond that intact mirror–”

Nodding her head slowly, Celestia was pensive. “--It is a world that is a reflection of ours. It’d have versions of us, be a near copy, with that twist– The twist of us not being ponies, and being a world devoid of magic…”

Twilight gazed at the broken mirror, and also made her theories. “That does make sense– After all, this mirror gate here– It just led to a dimension where good was evil, and evil was good, right…?”

Celestia nodded pensively, regarding that mirror with a certain sorrow, and Hermes agreed completely. “Precisely! But what we’re talking about here, is alternate universes. Worlds that were changed because of different choices we made, or worlds that were entirely different to begin with! There are constants, and there are variables. One central example, you should already know; Is that you, Twilight, are the Princess of Friendship in a lot of these universes!”

“Hm… But not all of them…” She nodded pensively, this time, glancing at the intact mirror.

Spike scratched his chin, following along. “Okay, I get the differences, but why does this mean we couldn’t just reprogram this one anyways?” He pointed at the intact one.

Taking the pen once more, Hermes grabbed two pieces of paper, placing them apart from each other, and placed the pen, connecting them. “Excellent question! It is not a matter of ‘can or can’t’, little dragon. For you see, an Alternate dimension is majorly harder to reach than a mirror one. For starters, that mirror is a direct gate from one door, to another, correct?”

Twilight nodded, beholding the broken mirror. “Yes, when we entered, there was a two-way portal…”

“Precisely! And therein lies a question– How do you reach a universe that does not have a door for you to cross to it? This–” He motioned at the intact mirror. “Were it reprogrammed, would still be a one-way door! A wall! Because in another, alternate universe, the mirror that may or may not exist there, would still serve its original function, it would not be connected to ours!” Hermes spoke enthusiastically, as he motioned, the two pieces of paper attempting to stab both ends of the pen simultaneously. It was difficult, especially with hooves.

There was a brief moment of silence, as only a few of the ponies in the room caught on.

Hermes placed the objects down, and attempted to explain more properly. “Okay, how about another metaphor, hm… Okay. imagine that you are sailing a boat in a storm, and your boat represents your universe– and that your rowboat, towed behind your ship, is a mirror dimension.” he emphatically waved his hooves through the cage. “Now, that is easier to reach, even with its own difficulties, after all, that rowboat is a part of your ship! But now, an alternate universe? That would be a different boat entirely– And now, imagine building a bridge, between two boats sailing on a storm, one that you would be capable of traversing safely both ways, one in which you could easily take and place on another boat, connecting them too. That sounds incredibly, immensely hard, correct…?”

A moment of silence in the room, as the ponies in it processed his metaphor with unease.

Twilight sat down, letting out a huge exhale. “I… I get it. Not only would we need to reprogram the mirror to lead to another dimension, not only would we need to reprogram the mirror to locate my wife, not only would we need to know exactly what the correct universe she is in, but… Even if we did, we would need to somehow make a window into a door. A two-way-portal, manifesting anywhere on the multiverse…”

Most ponies didn’t catch on– But those that did were demoralized. Celestia was the first to speak, in a despaired tone. “T-Twilight, the– The odds of us achieving that, with our limited knowledge of this technology…!”

Spike pensively fiddled with his claws. “That… That Sounds absolutely impossible to do...”

Nodding slowly, Hermes pointed at the mirror, speaking a bit in a more reserved tone. “Indeed… I am not saying those mirrors will be useless to us, but… I hope you can understand what a ridiculously never-before-threaded undertaking that would be, if you attempted it…! It is quite exciting!”

Shaking her head, Twilight let out a frail exhale. “T-this… this isn’t going to work…”

After a brief moment of silence where all in the room regarded her with pity, she raised her head with anger. She moved towards Hermes in silence, as her horn crackled with magic.

He raised his hooves in surrender, backing into the opposite end of the cage.

“You’re happy, aren’t you.” She stated, angrily, coldly, as her eyes watered. “Isn’t this exactly what you wanted?!”

“U-umm, well…!” He stuttered, having no words to defend himself; After all, she was absolutely right, this was exactly what he had wanted.

She touched the cage with her horn, and the current instantly electrocuted him, which made him let out a yelp, and collapse on the floor, wincing in pain.

Applejack leapt forward and placed a consoling hoof on Twilight, pulling her away from the cage. “Hey now, easy there!! I know yer angry, Twi, and ya have every right to be, but ya need this guy, right…?!”

Fluttershy flew forward, getting her attention. “T-Twilight! You won’t get any information from him if he’s dead…! Or if he’s too scared to speak…!”

Gritting her teeth, Celestia agreed. “Unfortunately, they’re right, Twilight. Please. We need to think of something…!”

Recoiling, the Princess of Friendship walked to the middle of the room, her head hung low.

It felt hopeless. It felt like true, unfiltered hopeless despair.

Once again, everything rested on her shoulders. But this time she felt it– Because the weight wasn’t shared with Sunset.

Everything felt increasingly more difficult to manage, without her presence, without her assistance, without her wisdom, without her strength, without her.

She could only hope that wherever Sunset was, she was not in pain.

“Wait. Are you fucking serious? Run that by me again.” The Princess of Valor commanded her other self to speak.

“Dude can you please not bleed all over my floor, it's gonna stain–” The other Sunset attempted to complain, but was swiftly interrupted. “What did you say before?! Say it again.”

Her other self exhaled in annoyance. “...Twilight Sparkle is romantically involved with a pony called Trixie Lulamoon. Why do you care? And please, can you just come into the bathtub, the blood stains are NOT leaving that carpet–”

“Goodbye.” The Valkyrie moved towards a window with determination.

“H-hey? What? Where are you going?!” Her other self raised her hooves in confusion.

“I’m going to find and murder Trixie Lulamoon.” She stated clearly and plainly.

“WHAT?! DUDE YOU HAVE MY FACE!! I’LL BE INCRIMINATED, STOP RIGHT THERE–” Sunset desperately bit her other self’s tail, in an attempt to slow down the Valkyrie from committing a couple several felonies that she would be charged with.

The Community Center remained quiet for a little while longer, before someone finally spoke, and that someone was Rarity. “Okay, Twilight darling, I know it might seem like the end of the road, but Hermes has dozens of gizmos and doodads here! Surely, if reprogramming the mirrors is a no-go, we can recycle some of these other machinations…?”

Twilight remained silent, only for a moment, then she walked over to one of the desks, observing several of the materials on it. “...You’re right. I think I… I think I might know what. But it won’t just be reprogramming. We’ll have to build our own. Bigger…”

She received several affirmations of agreement and joy, but then she turned to them, decisive. “Everypony, thank you for coming and helping– But it’s getting late, and I want to get to work. I need to know I can count on you to keep taking care of Ponyville in my absence– Don’t worry, I will ask any of you for help, if I need to… But I need to focus.”

The sun was indeed at its lowest, and Celestia nodded, in agreement. “I have duties I must return to, appearances must be kept– But I will continue to search the Starswirl archives, just in case. And if I find anything Twilight, I promise I will come right back to you– And I trust you will do the same…?”

Walking forward with urgency, Twilight hugged Celestia. Spike ran in and joined in the hug. Soon after every pony was hugging, except for Hermes, who was still recovering from electrocution, and also was locked in a cage.

Applejack was the first one to speak up, kindly as she always did. “C’mon now, ya better ask for help when ya need it, alright? We’re all here for you, and for Sunset, too!”

And Rarity agreed, wholeheartedly. “We all know Equestria needs the two of you, but more importantly, you need each other. Please don’t be afraid to abuse our time, Twilight. Especially in these trying times…!”

Rainbow gave a salute, and a nod. “Sunset’s tough as hell, she’ll make it– And if you need me to run any more errands, you got the fastest flier in Equestria at your call, Twi! Don’t hesitate!!”

Pinkie struggled to muster her usual peppy demeanor, but she still gave a smile. “Sunset knows you’re coming for her, y’know? She knows that no mountain is high enough for you to not blow it up and find her— Sorry, metaphor is getting lost there!-- Anyways— I have to go help with the preparations for the lantern festival tomorrow night, but please, if you need us, don’t hesitate to call, Twi!”

Tears formed in the Princess’s eyes– But she did not allow herself to cry, fully, simply nodded silently, with a smile. She didn’t have her strongest lifeline, that was still lost– But her friends still kept her afloat.

Queen Celestia leaned her forehead with her pupil, and spoke softly. “Good luck, my student– Don’t give up. I won’t, either…”

Flare Shimmer spent a long time in that balcony with Gold, wondering what they should do next. Going home early seemed to be a pretty hollow idea, both would be expecting news from her daughter’s strange disappearance into some interdimensional problem– All from many miles away.

Extending their stay in Ponyville seemed comforting, but at the same time, one thing they knew for sure–

They had absolutely no way to help their daughter-in-law other than with moral support.

And of that, she had plenty…

Concerned parents were all that they were, truly– But Flare found herself lacking in concern, when she saw Celestia. Because it was time to bite.

The Queen of the Sun walked towards the balcony, intent on flying or teleporting away, leaving Twilight for the night. Her gaze was naturally drawn to the two parents of the Alicorn she cared for deeply.

“Heya, Celie. Can we talk?” Flare spoke, in a tone that hid her reserved anger well. But naturally didn’t keep from instigating anything.

With an attempt at patience, Celestia nodded, and came closer. “You two must be concerned– I understand. Know that we are doing everything we can to bring her back safely.”

“No, I know my daughter’s okay. My question is. What’s your involvement with her disappearance?” She bared her teeth, narrowing her eyes.

Before Celestia responded, Gold exhaled, being quite too tired for this. “Flare, can we please not do this at this hour? even queens need to sleep.”

Both of them ignored him, because Celestia wanted to bite back. “Excuse me. I don’t know what you are insinuating, but know that I am doing everything in my power to bring her back!”

“I think it’s a fair question!” Flare waved her hooves, a bit angrily. “Because last time my daughter disappeared for a frustrating, awful amount of time, it was directly your fault!!”

Blowing air from her nostrils, Celestia leaned in angrily. “No. You don’t get to make this about how much you despise me. I am caring deeply for Sunset’s safety at the moment, something that you, for some inexplicable reason, don’t seem to!!!”

Stomping her hoof twice on the floor and then on her own chest, Flare laughed– But not a laugh of joy. “My daughter is fine– She’s too stubborn to die, and too hard headed to give in!! Two of the many qualities she inherited from me!”

Gold, however, did not even hesitate to reprimand her. “Aren’t we lucky our daughter outgrew your worst qualities, love?”

There was only one pony in the entire world who could make Flare stop talking– Who could make Flare fluster, in any way. And at that moment, Flare got very, very quiet, justifiably so, as she stared at the floor. “...yes. We are.”

And Celestia noticed it.

After a brief period of silence, Gold spoke again. “We are all tired. How about we try conversing about this at some better time? Queen Celestia, I am sorry we kept you. Have a good night, please.”

“...Yes. Thank you, Gold. Goodnight to you as well.” She said, raising her wings, and being glad to be freed of that conversation, but certainly intrigued at what that exchange entailed.

And of course, glad to see Flare Shimmer shut up.

They watched the queen fly away, but Flare’s gaze landed on the floor again, thinking about her daughter.

“...God fuckin’ damnit.” She muttered.

“C’mon, Flare… This time it really isn’t your fault. Let’s just go wish our daughter-in-law luck, and go to sleep.”

Twilight’s friends had finally left, and so, she could finally get to work. The room was quiet, as was the entire town, and its only occupants were her, Spike and Hermes.

“Alright, Hermes.” She approached him, suppressing her anger. “Before we do anything, I’d like to set some ground work.”

“O-okay! Um, yeah?” The Scientists adjusted his glasses nervously, afraid to be zapped again.

Twilight moved two objects next to his cage; A bird stand, and a decently large terrarium.

Then, turning to the open door, she called out. “Owlicious! Ray! Over here!”

Nearly immediately, an Owl flew into the room from inside the Community Center, and riding it, was a sizable, seemingly harmless Fire Salamander.

The Owl rested on the podium diligently, not before dropping the Salamander into the terrarium carefully.

“Hermes, meet me and my wife’s pets, Owlicious and Ray. They are incredibly loyal, and they care for us deeply. As you might imagine, they miss Sunset a lot already. Now, I will leave them right here, next to you. They’re usually harmless and friendly…” She approached him, and knocked her horn on the metal of the cage, which made him flinch. “...But if you speak out of term. In any way… They WILL attack you. Are we clear?”

Hermes looked at her, then exchanged looks between the two pets. The owl gazed deep into his eyes with a blank stare, and the Salamander seemingly stared at nothing, with eyes blinking unevenly. “U-um, yes, we’re clear! I’m complying!” Those animals seemed harmless, but then again, so did someone with the title ‘Princess of Friendship’.

“Good.” Twilight nodded. “Owlicious, Ray, please demonstrate.”

What followed was chaotic, comedic, and sort of harmless. The Owl flew around the cage, leaning forward and pecking at Hermes, who recoiled and screamed like a filly, while Ray did only one thing– Extended his long tongue and touched him with it– And the tongue of a fire Salamander burned.

Spike snickered. “Awesome demonstration, guys. Top form! Take five!” The two pets complied, resting on their podiums innocently once more.

Twilight Sparkle let out a chuckle, and smiled genuinely, Then simply turned and went back to the workbenches.

Clearing his throat carefully, as if he was at a minefield, Hermes spoke. “Okay, um, if you don’t mind me asking, what’s your idea of a device that might…?” He did not finish his sentence, fearing that any mention of Sunset would unleash the wrath of the innocent-looking pets.

Inhaling, then exhaling, Twilight centered herself, then reached for a device on the table– The same one that Hermes had used to curse Sunset in the first place. “Your ‘crown.’ It was made for a curse, yes, but it forcibly pulls the victim into another universe, one where they land besides their other self. There is a genetic imprint on the magic, right?”

“R-right. The curse is recorded on the pony it was cast on…!” He muttered quietly.

She nodded, and then very carefully took the device apart on the table with her magic. “So… We reverse it. I’m going to make a device– A much more powerful one, that can imprint on her genetic code, and pull her to this universe. Instead of having to make a portal, or a gate, or anything of the sort… We’ll pull her here directly.”

Spike nodded enthusiastically, happy with the idea. “Oh! Oh! That could work!! Instead of building a bridge, we essentially build a lasso, to pull her here! Super smart!!”

Adjusting his glasses nervously, Hermes raised a hoof. “It is certainly ingenious!! It will take a much bigger device, and a lot more power– and you’ll need something with her genetic imprint though, her DNA–”

Twilight immediately fished out a large mane brush from a pocket of hers, because she had already thought of it– The brush was full of red and yellow hair. “This should be enough…!” She stated, exhaling.

Hermes was enthusiastic, if anything. “E-exellent!! That is an ingenious idea!! Not as truly involved as I’d hoped, like a gate between worlds, but–”

Glaring at him, she narrowed her eyes, and the pets took it as a signal to attack, mildly inconveniencing him once more.

His sounds of ‘ow!! Ouch!! Aieee!’ Echoed in the room, much to its occupants’s' delight.

The pets settled once more, and the trio prepared to get to work.

But much to their surprise, a pegasus flew quietly through the window, none other than Fluttershy, carrying sleeping supplies as well as snacks, and other assorted goods, like incense. “Good evening, Twilight!” She spoke quietly, with a smile.

Hiding her feeling of inconvenience, Twilight greeted her friend with a smile. “Hi, Fluttershy! You’re back! To what do we owe the pleasure at this time of the night? We were just about to work, you see–”

“I’m staying to help.” She spoke softly, but assertively.

“Woah, you are?” Spike questioned, with a smile. “Sounds good!”

Blinking once or twice, Twilight processed it, in confusion. “Um, Fluttershy, you don’t know a thing about this subject, I’m not sure you could help…?”

Shaking her head, smiling, the Pegasus unpacked. “Oh don’t worry, that’s not what I mean. Twilight, I'm here to help make sure you take care of yourself. Get three full meals everyday, rest properly when needed, and also, well…” She pointed at Hermes, who was confused. “...Also keep you from hurting or killing him…?”

Hermes nodded emphatically, with a nervous smile. “She’s nice! I vote she stays!! Hahah!” Clearly feeling a wave of relief that somebody did not want him as a carpet; With all of Twilight’s friends having already previously reprimanded him or threatened to hurt him.

Spike put a hand on his hip, looking back at Twilight. “She has a point, you were absolutely planning on pulling an all-nighter ten times over to bring Sunset back. Which, by the way, could literally blow us all to smithereens, considering the kind of magic we’re fiddling with!”

Letting out an exhale, Twilight scratched her own chin, worryingly. “Are you sure, Fluttershy…? What about your animal sanctuary…?”

Shaking her head quietly, the Pegasus spoke kindly. “I already told Doctor Fauna to cover for me for a week, maybe two if it’s needed. And I even told Dashie that I’ll be occupied here, too! (she said she’s going to visit often, I hope that’s not a bother…!) This is more important, Twilight– I know everypony has their own work to worry about, and keeping Ponyville safe, and that Spike is here for you… But the more friends near you, at a time like this, the better. I’ve made up my mind…! After seeing how hurt you were, all this time… I’m staying. Even if it’s just for moral support…!”

Raising an eyebrow, snickering, Spike eyed Twilight. “There’s no talking her out of this, heh. And I agree! You definitely need somepony to tell you to eat, when you’re this focussed on work. She should stay.”

Letting out a weary chuckle, Twilight nodded. “Alright, Fluttershy. You stay. …And thank you. Really… From both of us…” She couldn’t help but imagine her wife laughing, while pointing at how right Fluttershy is for trying to get her to go to bed on time.

With a cheerful smile, Fluttershy clapped her hooves together quietly. “Yay…! I’m going to set up some incense, (I’ve got this wonderful one that my friend Tree Hugger gave me!) maybe get some quiet background music on the phonograph going, and you three can get to work…! Oh and after, I’ll make sure we all get to go to bed with our bellies full…! Good luck, good work, everypony!”

Nodding with weary determination, Twilight agreed, and so, she finally, truly could begin working.

It was small favors– An uphill battle, one that she was already a bit anxiety stricken over– But she wasn’t going to stop or give up. Never.

She was going to bring her wife back, no matter how long it took.

…And worse of all, time was her worst enemy.

Another barren universe.

Sunset looked around. The world she was on was dead. There was no atmosphere.

Only bits and pieces of what might have resembled Equestria floated around her…

She considered, for a moment, what could have caused something like this. It could, in a way, resemble what the Argent were planning on doing to her world…

It seemed erratic, however. Less organized than that robotic hivemind.

Shaking her head, she ignored it.

This world was dead, and the Sunset in it had long died. None of it mattered.

She took this moment to apply proper first aid on herself, sealing the wounds she had gained in the battle against King Sombra, hours earlier…

…And she took this opportunity to rest.

Author's Note

This chapter was surprisingly easy to write, despite the fact that it's essentially a class!

Exposition AHOY

I will say right now-- its SO much harder to write scenes with a whole bunch of characters in them, its something that naturally is a lot more viable in visual medium, so I nearly immediately realized that If Twilight was going to do this, she wasn't going to do it alone, but also, not with a whole damn crowd! That'd be annoying to write.

Hence comes Spike! Perfectly suited for this-- Ngl, first time I'm writing him into one of these fics, he's very easy to cut out of MLP stories, but I do think he'll fit here well. And also, importantly, Fluttershy!

Okay about Fluttershy. I was initially going to make a fun cute moment where the characters discuss the chance that villans might attack now that the heroes are one-Alicorn short, and someone would joke about how Chrysalis is just. Terrified of Sunset, because Sunset and Chrysalis are literally the Flame @ the moth; Which is a joke I might still do tbh!

...But then I realised it might make Fluttershy seem sussy, by being the only one who stays. And I promise you, this is not only the real Fluttershy, shes absolutely here to help Twilight with emotional stuff. FR, considering all of the mane 6 and their responsibilities, Fluttershy, being the element of kindness, is the most fitting for the role of being here to help Twilight yknow. GO TO BED ON TIME 🫵AND EAT FULL MEALS🫵

And it'll be a fun thing to play off of, Spike and Fluttershy's slightly clashing personalities.

Ngl I might be writing these chapters absurdly fast because I want to get to the universes of this story that I'm looking forward to the most; We're entering a string of universes that are all going to be SO fucking fun... We're one chapter away from my second favorite! So exited!!!!! And not just that, but my favorite parts of the fic in general; You should know, that if you like what I've done so far, know that I saved all the best universes for last, heheh. It will get progressively better.

What was your favorite universe so far, I wonder?

Either way, thanks for reading. Next chapter: Cadance!