Another blast from the demonically transformed Sunset Shimmer sent Twilight Sparkle plummeting towards the ground. Fortunately, Rainbow and Fluttershy were there to swoop in and catch her with their new wings. The trio floated back towards the ground, as Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie, and Spike all rushed to meet them. Twilight shook her head to clear the stars from her vision, then glared back up at her foe.
"BWA-HA-HA!" Sunset cackled malevolently, making fireballs dance around her claws. "Don't tell me this is the best you can do, Twilight! Honestly, this is worse than you simply standing there while I burn you to oblivion!"
"Keep yackin' Sunset, you creep!" Applejack shot back. "You ain't won this fight yet!"
Twilight frowned. "This isn't exactly going according to our plan," she grumbled. "Sunset can't utilize the full power of the Element of Magic, she shouldn't be able to match us this easily."
"Well, we'd better think of some alternative," chimed in Rarity. "Otherwise, Sunset will march through the portal with her army and conquer this Equestria place!"
Twilight opened her mouth to respond, but closed it as a thought suddenly struck her like a lightning bolt. It wasn't a conventional plan, and it was unlike anything she'd ever used to defeat an evil villain before, but the more she considered it, the more attractive it became. Besides, it had to be better than trying to simply overpower Sunset.
"I think I've got it!" said Rainbow. "With my speed, I can just fly over her and rip that crown off her head!"
"Uh, Rainbow?" said Fluttershy. "Not to be rude or anything, but won't she see you coming and just blast you out of the sky again?"
"Wait, girls!" Twilight interrupted. "I have an idea. Forget the fight, and forget the pony powers."
"What?!" exclaimed Pinkie. "Twilight, are you nuts?!"
"Trust me. I'm gonna do something that looks really stupid, but don't stop me. It might actually be our best chance."
"When you say really stupid..." Spike began.
"There is a risk," Twilight admitted. "But it's one of those ideas that's so crazy, it just might work."
The five girls and one dog all exchanged worried glances, before turning back to Twilight.
"Okay, Twilight," replied Spike. "We believe in you."
Twilight nodded, before turning on her heel and walking towards Sunset. The former unicorn had been so busy cackling that she hadn't even noticed the discussion they'd been having the whole time.
"Hey, Sunset!" Twilight yelled out, drawing her attention.
Sunset ceased her laughter, before turning to look down at Twilight. "What's this, Princess Twilight?" she scoffed. "Are you going to try to 'appeal to my better nature?' Get me to see the truth of this stupid 'magic of friendship' you keep blabbing about?"
"Not exactly," replied Twilight. "I wanted to ask you something. What exactly did you plan on doing after you defeated me and my friends?"
Sunset rolled her eyes. "Have you seriously not been paying attention this entire time?" she demanded. "I'm going to use my brainwashed army of teenagers to take over Equestria! Then I can finally show Princess Celestia why she was wrong to toss me aside!"
Twilight winced. She'd been expecting that answer, of course, but that didn't lessen the impact. "Yeah, I got that part," she said, "but how are you going to use them to take over Equestria? That's the real question."
Sunset didn't immediately respond. Instead, she hovered in the air, blinking a couple of times. "...what?" she finally asked.
"I mean, sure, you've got the Element of Magic," Twilight continued, pointing to the crown on Sunset's head, "but besides that, how is this 'army' of yours gonna topple the Equestrian Royal Guard? Not only are most of them just teenagers, but they'll be in unfamiliar bodies. I had trouble getting used to this," she gestured at her bipedal form. "Do you really think they'll be strong enough?"
"Of course they will!" Sunset snapped back. "I'll defeat the—"
"Another thing," said Twilight, ignoring Sunset, "how do you plan to defeat the princesses, even with the Element of Magic? It's not as powerful by itself, and taking the other Elements won't help you. Even Princess Celestia couldn't wield the full power of all six Elements by herself. Plus, they're attuned to the magic of myself and my friends. That's why the crown turned you into a demon, because you're not the true bearer."
"I...don't...you're just trying to confuse me!" Sunset growled.
"What's more, do you even know how to run a kingdom? I know you were Princess Celestia's student, and you naturally would've picked some things up, but as for the big issues? Managing the country's wealth, negotiating with foreign countries, all those things. Do you honestly think you could handle that? Plus, how were you planning to destroy the portal with a hammer? Wouldn't it have just gone right through, into Equestria, rendering—"
"SHUT UP!" Sunset roared, punctuated by another fireball from her claws that Twilight easily dodged. "I won't listen to your mind games! Equestria will be mine, and there's nothing you can do to stop it!"
"Alright, Sunset," replied Twilight, keeping her voice calm and level. "If you truly believe that..." she walked over to the portal, stood at the side of it, and gestured with both hands, "...then I won't stop you. Go ahead. See how well it works out."
Sunset blinked in surprise. "You're letting me through? You realize you're essentially surrendering, right?"
"I hate to agree with Sunset," said Spike, "but she's got a point! Twilight, what are you doing?!"
"Trust me, everyone," Twilight answered again. "I know exactly how this will turn out."
Sunset gave a small cackle. "Well, I didn't expect it would be this easy," she admitted, "but I'll take it! Come, my army! Finally, I'll take my rightful place as ruler of Equestria!"
Her army of brainwashed students and faculty all followed her in a zombie-like thrall, as she flew down and landed on the cement. Sunset Shimmer confidently strolled through the portal, followed by all of her minions.
"Um, Twilight?" ventured Fluttershy. "I don't want to question your brain, but are you sure this is gonna work?"
"Definitely," said Twilight. "In fact, why don't we follow them? I'm sure it'll be quite a show."
Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Princess Cadence, Shining Armor, and the other five Element Bearers had waited by the magic mirror with bated breath, only taking breaks for food and sleep. Twilight and Spike had yet to return, and nopony knew exactly what lay beyond the mirror. Even Celestia and Luna had admitted they'd never gone through it, and that they only knew some details from the mirror's creator, Star Swirl. They knew the world beyond had no magic, but not much else.
When the glass surface of the mirror began to ripple, as it had when Twilight and Spike had gone through, a few of the ponies perked up in hope, but those dreams were quickly dashed as they saw the face of the pony emerging. Her coat was a pale red, and she had bat-like wings with holes torn in them. However, everyone recognized the fiery red and yellow mane on her head, as well as the Element of Magic settled in its crown between her ears. The Element Bearers all settled into fighting stances, as did Luna, Cadence, and Shining, but Celestia could only stare in shock.
"Sunset?" she breathed, as though she couldn't quite believe what she was seeing.
Sunset Shimmer grinned, showing off her mouth of sharp fangs, and cackled wickedly. "That's right, Celestia! I've finally returned! I finally gained the power you denied me for so long! And guess what? I didn't come alone!"
Soon, more and more ponies began to materialize from the portal, though none were demonically transformed like Sunset. The five residents of Ponyville gasped as they recognized many as friends and neighbors. Derpy Hooves, Photo Finish, Snips, Snails, Lyra Heartstrings, Bon-Bon, Octavia, Vinyl Scratch, Bulk Biceps, Cheerilee, and the Crusaders. There were even counterparts of Celestia and Luna, though these were smaller, and they were only unicorns. All these ponies had blank, glazed over eyes, and stumbled on their hooves as they walked.
Shining lit up his horn, casting a spell to signal the Royal Guard and the Crystal Guard stationed at the castle. A stampede of hooves and a cacophony of flapping wings signaled their arrival. In seconds, Sunset and her entourage were surrounded.
"Surrender, Sunset Shimmer," Luna commanded, using some of the Royal Canterlot Voice. "You have stolen the property of a princess of Equestria, and misused Harmony magic against the crown. Surrender, and we will show leniency."
"Why would I surrender?" Sunset cackled back. "I hold all the cards. The numbers, the magic, everything." She lit up her horn, and the Element of Magic glowed as well. "Alright, my soldiers, attack!"
The guards and the Element Bearers all braced themselves, waiting for the brainwashed ponies to commence their assault. A few of the entranced did attempt to launch themselves towards their enemies, but they either went flying over the ponies they tried to attack, or stumbled across the floor, wobbling on their hooves before slamming face-first into the ground. The pegasi among them were no better, flapping their wings ineffectively, and either flew too high and crashed into the ceiling, or failed to take off at all. Unicorn horns lit up, but instead of firing magic shots, only released a few sparks.
The resisting ponies could only stare, as their jaws dropped open at the sight. Some of the Royal Guards, as well as Rainbow and Applejack, began to laugh. This didn't escape Sunset's notice.
"Hey! Stop that snickering!" she growled. "You're outnumbered, remember?! Soon, my army will—"
"Soon they'll do what? Manage to stand up straight again?!" demanded Pinkie, who was chuckling so hard she actually fell onto her back and started kicking her back legs in the air.
Sunset ground her teeth in fury. "It doesn't matter!" she howled. "You can't defeat me! You can't do anything!"
"No, I'm pretty sure Pinkie's right. One day, your army may even manage to conquer this room," came a voice from behind her.
Sunset spun around on one hoof. Twilight and Spike had emerged from the portal, back in their normal bodies, along with the counterparts of the Element Bearers, and were currently watching the scene unfold with amusement.
"Now do you see what I meant?" Twilight asked, in between chuckles. "What was this, the first draft of your plan?"
"SHUT UP!" screamed Sunset, but that only served to increase everypony's hilarity. Even Princess Celestia was laughing now. Sunset rounded on her.
"You think this is funny, Celestia?!" she snarled.
"Oh, come now, Sunset, dear," replied the solar alicorn. "You must admit, the ridiculousness of this situation brings a lot of humor."
"THAT'S IT!" Sunset roared. She lit up her horn and the Element of Magic, charging up a fireball at the tip. "If you won't take me seriously, I'll make you!"
Taking the fireball in one hoof, she reared back and pitched it at Celestia. Luna quickly rushed to join her sister, and the two alicorns conjured up a magical shield to intercept the attack. Sunset cackled as the projectile slammed into their barrier, making them stagger, but her smile quickly faded once she realized it wasn't breaking through. What's more, Celestia and Luna stuck their horns together, and with a pulse of magic, absorbed the fireball into themselves.
"What...I don't...how...?" Sunset stammered.
"The Elements' magic is harmony magic," Twilight explained. "Celestia and Luna both wielded their power together once. Did you honestly think you could use it to harm them?"
"Well...kinda," Sunset admitted.
"It's like you made up the details to this plan as you went along," continued Twilight. "And not in a cool, adapting to your opponents moves kind of way, more like an 'I have no idea what I'm doing, but I'm doing it' way."
"Okay, I get it, you don't have to keep reminding me," Sunset complained. She reached up to her head with both hooves, plucking the crown that contained the Element of Magic from between her ears. Upon doing so, her body flashed, changing back into a normal unicorn. "I guess this wasn't gonna do me any good, huh?"
"Not really, now," replied Twilight, taking the crown in her telekinesis. The Royal Guards approached Sunset, encircling her, and putting a magic dampener on her horn so she couldn't teleport away.
The conversation would have continued, had they not been interrupted. That interruption took the form of the groggy and dazed herd of doppelganger ponies coming to their senses, free from Sunset's mind control. They all took in their new surroundings with various reactions.
"Where are we?" demanded Flash Sentry. "Why are we all horses?!" He looked at his back. "WHY DO I HAVE WINGS?!"
"Oh, dear," said Twilight. "We should probably take care of this."
After a while, the princesses managed to calm the ponies down. With the portal closing in a matter of hours, they hurriedly ushered the transformed humans back through the mirror, so they wouldn't be trapped in their new bodies for thirty moons. Principal Celestia took the fact that not only did Canterlot High host a trans-dimensional portal on it's grounds, but a resident of said dimension was a student remarkably well, something that made the Equestrian Celestia smile with pride. Eventually, the only ones left were Sunset, and the counterparts of the Element Bearers. The human Rainbow Dash had to be persuaded not to challenge her pony self to a race, having not learned from the zombified ponies' experience with their new bodies.
"I'm sorry," Sunset began, speaking to both Celestia and Twilight. "I was just so...angry, and greedy. I think it clouded my thoughts."
"Well, duh," said the human Pinkie. "Even I could see that your ultimate evil plan had more holes in it than Swiss cheese!" Her Applejack shot her a look, but said nothing.
Celestia stared down at her former student. "Sunset," she said, "I would be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed in you. Not only in the fact that you bullied and manipulated others for your own ends, but in the fact that you came up with such a short-sighted plan. I thought I taught you better than that."
Sunset groaned. "I guess I deserve that," she grumbled.
"Nonetheless," continued Celestia, "you were once my student, and I believe such cases as yours should be treated with compassion, not cruel punishment. However, as it was her crown you stole, I believe your fate should be placed in Twilight's hooves."
Twilight nodded. She'd been expecting this.
Sunset swallowed. "So...what happens to me now?"
Twilight placed a comforting hoof on her shoulder. "Sunset, given how your whole evil scheme was basically a child throwing a temper tantrum, I'm inclined to show mercy. You do need to learn more, though. Where you get that education, however, I'm leaving up to you. You can come back to Equestria, and learn friendship here, or stay at Canterlot High, and learn with some help from them." She gestured to the counterparts of her friends. "What do you think?"
Sunset placed a hoof on her chin, thinking for a few minutes. "Honestly, after all this time being a human, I feel pretty at-home in that body. Plus, like you said, my plan lacked quite a bit of common sense. I guess more education never hurt anybody...or anypony."
Twilight smiled. "If that's your choice, I won't stop you." She looked at her human friends. "You'll take care of her, right?"
"Of course, darling," said Rarity. "She'll be in good hands with us."
"I promise, I'll visit the next time the portal opens," said Sunset.
With a few quick good-byes, as well as one hug between Sunset and Celestia, the five humans and one Equestrian all walked through the rippling mirror, and vanished.
"Phew," breathed Twilight. "I'm glad that's over with."
"I agree," said Celestia. "Still, an army of brainwashed teenagers? Sunset used to get top marks in all my classes! What happened to her?"
"Sister, you'd do well to remember there's a difference between intelligence and common sense," replied Luna.
