But the Sun Refused to Set

by Highflame

Rating: teen
Tags: Sunset Shimmer, Twilight Sparkle, Discord, Princess Celestia, Dark, Princess Luna, Drama, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Mystery
Length: 16025

There's no shortage of problems for a Princess, and between solving mysteries, dealing with nightmares, and ruling Equestria, it's hard to say which of them has it the worst. Only one of them is visiting a bar to cope. Welcome to Twilight's new life.

There's no shortage of problems for a Princess, as the recently ascended Twilight Sparkle well knows. and between solving mysteries, dealing with nightmares, and ruling Equestria, it's hard to say which of them has it the worst. Only one of them, however, is visiting a bar to cope. Welcome to Twilight Sparkle's new life.

Has some dark and romance themes, but they are not major themes throughout.

Cover art generously provided by Scriblits Talo

Published 2024-11-19 22:20:01 UTC
Last updated 2025-02-03 23:51:24 UTC

Wings Don't Block the Cold

Twilight Sparkle found herself staring at a small neon sign above the door to the Salty Lick. The bright red magic flowing through the second L flickered erratically, and it briefly occurred to her that if bad omens did exist, this was certainly one of them. She shook her head violently, leaving her hair even wilder than before. The door was solid oak with a small metal grate at eye level. Even outside, the music was obnoxiously loud. She hesitated.

The Sun was setting, and a chill wind bit at her legs. The doorknob glowed purple but didn't budge. Twilight's eyebrows furrowed, and the door flung itself open. The large earth pony behind the door raised an eyebrow but said nothing as Twilight strode past to take a seat in front of the bar. Silence. She fidgeted in her seat for a moment, clearly uncomfortable with the attention.

The bartender waved a hoof at Lyra and the music started up again, although quieter than before. It was easily drowned out by the whispering clientele of the Salty Lick, but before the patrons of the bar got brave enough to approach, a dark gray pegasus behind the bar beckoned for Twilight to follow him, unlocking a small gate to his left with a deft flick of his wing. "You're in luck. The lady's in today. Follow me."

“Who are you? Who’s the lady?” The pegasus merely motioned towards the back, giving no indication that he had heard her. "I didn't come here to solve another mystery. I came here for a drink."

"Did you come to be a public attraction?" Twilight's ears flicked about as she looked around the room. "Look, you've got a private room in the back, and you're on the lady's tab. You don't even have to speak to her."

She sighed. “Fine, lead the way.”

The back room was cozy in both senses of the word. The bar against the right wall took up a quarter of the room, with the remainder taken up by a silver couch, two lounge chairs, a small crimson rug, and a half dozen bar chairs stacked against the wall. The beige walls appeared gray in the dim light, while the ceiling was dominated by a large onyx painting of a new moon. The unicorn behind the bar wore a black cloak covering everything but her head. Her orange hair was unusually short, closer to stubble than a real coat, while her mane was scarlet with pale yellow streaks. Twilight stared incredulously. "Sunset?"

"Hey, Twilight."

"What are you– I mean, the portal is closed– how long have you– how are you–"

Sunset laughed good-naturedly. "Breathe, Twilight. I'm not going anywhere."

Twilight took a deep breath. "I have so many questions."

"There will be plenty of time for that. How about a drink while we talk?"

Twilight nodded dumbly. She tried to grab a bar seat but found they were encased in a soft cyan glow.

"These seats aren't for my friends. If you're worrying about staining my furniture, don't. Anyway, what'll you have?"

“Do you have any hard cider?” asked Twilight as she sat down on the lounge chair closest to the bar. It was irritatingly comfortable. Sunset levitated a bottle of cider from the top shelf, uncorked it, and poured it into a large glass.

Twilight drank a deep sip of the cider. It was slightly sweet, but the sweetness was quickly replaced by a tart but pleasant aftertaste reminiscent of Granny Smith apples. It was perfect.

"Now, what do you want to know?"

"Everything. How did you get here? Why did you come? Are things okay in Canterlot High? How do you know that bartender?"

Sunset laughed. "Everything is fine in Canterlot High. Honestly, even I don’t know how I ended up here. I was leaning against the statue in the school courtyard where the portal appears and somehow, I fell through. The portal took me to a mirror in the castle of the two sisters. I tried to go back, but the portal was already closed."

Twilight stood up and began pacing on the small crimson rug, muttering to herself. "It's possible there are other portals to the human world open at different times, and if that's true, then it would also be possible for Canterlot High to be their focal point. I would think that Celestia and Luna would know about another portal, but perhaps the chaotic magic of the Everfree interferes with the portal's function. I'll have to write a letter to Princess Celestia."

Twilight finally noticed Sunset staring at her and sat down, blushing. "Sorry."

"Don't be sorry. It's just, you're not really what I expected. I've spent the past few weeks getting to know the girls, but I know almost nothing about you. All I know is what I've heard, and all anyone talks about is Princess Twilight. It's strange to see you as Twilight, the pony, instead of Twilight, crowned princess and element of magic."

Twilight laughed. “You think it’s strange to see me as a pony, but I find it strange to see myself as a princess. I was a small-time librarian a few moons ago, but now I’m somehow one of the four most important ponies in Equestria? It makes no sense. Nothing about me changed, except the wings.”

Sunset raised an eyebrow. “A small-time librarian who just so happened to be one of the elements of harmony and the princess’s personal student.”

“The princess has taken students before, and there are six elements of harmony, but now I'm the second ascension in a millennia. Before, I was a historical footnote, now I can't even leave my library without getting mobbed." Twilight snorted. "Sorry, it's just frustrating. I never wanted to be powerful or famous. I've always been a researcher at heart. It's not just that I'm not cut out to be a princess, it's that I never wanted to be a princess in the first place." Twilight and Sunset drank their cider in silence for a while.

"Did I ever tell you why Celestia and I fell out, back when I was her student?” Sunset asked softly.

“She said you were unhappy with your progress, but she didn’t give details.”

“It was those wings, Twilight. They were my only desire, that I could have the power of a princess.” Sunset stared at Twilight’s wings. “I see now that it was my thirst for power that kept me from it. If I had aimed to do good and had been happy with that, I could have been in your place now.”

Twilight cringed. "And here I am, complaining about an opportunity other ponies only dream of."

“That wasn’t my point. In a way, listening to your perspective makes me feel better. I know that when I pursued power, I didn't get it. And now I know that if I had pursued good and got power that way, I probably wouldn't have wanted it anyways… Trust in harmony, I suppose."

Twilight chuckled. "Easier said than done."

"Tell me about it." Sunset refilled their glasses, and they took another drink.

"You know, you never answered my last question. How do you know that bartender?"

"I've been to this bar for years, actually. It was a good place to lie low when Celestia was looking for me, before I discovered Canterlot High." There was a moment of silence. "So Twilight, what happened to you? You look terrible… no offense.”

Twilight put down her drink and frowned. "I don't really want to get into it."

"I take it the reason you're here at the Salty Lick is related to your problem?"

Twilight's jaw clenched slightly. "I said I don't want to talk about it."

"Hey, I get that. But you know, if it's a royal problem, I might be able to help."

Twilight blinked. "Why would you think that?"

"Simple. If it were a problem with one of your friends, you'd talk it out. When Celestia is the problem, though, you can't talk to anypony about it. Everypony thinks she's perfect. You're the crazy one for even implying otherwise."

Twilight chuckled. "You know, a few months ago, I would have ended friendships over a comment like that."

"What changed?"

"I grew up."

Sunset cracked a small smile. "So it is Celestia, then?”

"Not really."

"You didn't deny it was a royal problem, and I have it on good authority that you like Cadence more than your own family. That only leaves one possibility. It’s Luna?”

“No!” Twilight looked away. “It’s not.”

“Then what is it?”

Twilight looked back at Sunset. “Promise me you won’t tell anypony,” she whispered.

“I promise.”

“Pinkie promise me.” Twilight’s voice was insistent, desperate.

“Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye,” Sunset stammered.

Twilight looked silently into her eyes for a time, then sighed. “I’ve been having the same nightmare for the past week or so.”

“That doesn’t sound so bad,” Sunset offered tentatively.

“It isn’t a normal nightmare. It feels… real.”

“Yea, all dreams feel real.”

“No, dreams feel real while you’re having them because your mind is muddled. My thoughts are crystal clear during these nightmares, and they feel real even after I wake up.”

Sunset frowned. “That’s definitely weird, but I’m not really understanding how this is a problem with Luna. Doesn’t she fight nightmares? Is she refusing to help or something?”

“No, it’s not that. I’m sure she would help if I asked, but I can’t ask for her help.”

“Why not?”

“The nightmare is of the night that my friends and I defeated Nightmare Moon.”

Alone Together in the Slumbering City

Author's Note

You may have noticed the new cover art which has been generously provided by Scriblits Talo. Check them out!

Alone Together in the Slumbering City

The bar was empty when they left. Twilight was wearing one of Sunset’s extra cloaks, which functioned more to cut the wind than to keep her warm in the cold night air. The path ahead was dimly lit by Sunset’s horn, the dim light: a courtesy for Twilight’s sensitive eyes.

Twilight spoke slowly and deliberately. “Thanks for walking me home, Sunset, but you didn’t have to.”

“I know, but it’s a long walk from the edge of the Everfree to the Golden Oak Library. I figured you might appreciate the company.” Twilight smiled.

They walked in silence for some time, interrupted only by the chirping of crickets, the crunching of leaves, and the occasional scuffle of their feet on the hard-packed dirt road. Twilight leaned gently into Sunset as they walked, and after a few minutes, Twilight found herself pleasantly warm. It occurred to her that if this was how it felt to be a penguin, perhaps penguins didn't have it so bad after all.

Finally, Twilight broke the silence. “Where are you sleeping tonight, Sunset?”

“I was planning to sleep at the bar.”

“Have you slept there before?” Twilight asked hesitantly.

“Yea, all the time.” Twilight stared at her, horrified. “I mean, you sleep in a library. That’s no different.”

“Of course it’s different! How can you say libraries and bars aren’t different sleeping environments? Libraries are quiet, bars are loud, libraries smell faintly of vanilla, bars smell faintly of vomit. How can you sleep like that?”

“Come on, Twilight. You were in the back room with me. Was it loud? Did it smell like vomit?”

”Well, no, but still… it’s a bar. Besides, there wasn’t even a bed.”

Sunset shrugged. “It’s not so bad. The couch is more comfortable than it looks.”

Twilight’s right eye twitched. “That’s it. You’re sleeping at the library tonight.” Sunset looked as though she wanted to disagree, but Twilight’s tone brooked no argument. “Besides, what would be the point of walking me home if afterward you walked all the way back to the bar by yourself?” Sunset shrugged.

Far from the Everfree, the incessant chirping of crickets and croaking of frogs turned to deathly silence. Twilight was frequently up late, either studying or stargazing, but almost always within the confines of her library. Walking through Ponyville in the dead of night made Twilight wish even more desperately that she could sleep alongside it. If Sunset picked up on Twilight’s somber mood, she made no comment.

Before long, they had reached the Golden Oak Library. It was a novelty, even to Sunset’s well-traveled eyes. It was an enormous, hollowed-out oak tree, though whether it was hollowed out by ponies or by nature was hard to say. It was, either way, skillfully repurposed into a place for ponies to thrive, complete with doors, windows, balconies, lanterns, and an unlit candlestick on the door.

Sunset stood awkwardly on the porch as Twilight battled desperately with a key that she rarely used. Finally, after nearly a minute of fiddling and finagling, the door opened. “Remember to be quiet when you come in, Spike is sleeping in the guest room.”

Sunset took a step into the library and looked up the stairs as Twilight closed the door behind her. “Where will I be sleeping?” she whispered to Twilight.

“You can sleep on my bed,” Twilight whispered back.

"And where will you sleep, then?"

"The floor," Twilight said, completely straight-faced. Sunset barely stopped herself from bursting into laughter.

"You're not serious, are you?"

Somehow, Twilight had the audacity to look offended. "Of course. You're my guest."

"Twilight, I'm NOT making you sleep on the floor of your own home.”

“But–”

“Twilight, look at yourself. You can barely stand up straight.” Twilight at least had the decency to look embarrassed. "Look, it’s been fun, but I’m headed back to the bar. You can come by tomorrow if you’d like.” Sunset turned to leave, but found the door handles were already encased in lavender. She launched a small jet of flame stopping just short of Twilight's horn, shattering Twilight's concentration and her hold on the handles. By the time Twilight regained her wits, Sunset had already flung the doors open.

"Wait… please."

"Please don't go. It's just… I've hardly slept for days. I’m sure I won't be able to sleep much tonight. But I thought that maybe if you stayed here with me… it might help."

A chill wind blew into the library, only partially blocked by Sunset as she stood motionless in the doorway. Twilight gently shivered but made no move to close the door. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the door creaked shut.

Twilight stared at the ground. “You can just go if you’re that set on leaving.”

“It’s not that I wanted to leave, I was just caught off guard. I thought you were just being polite in offering me a place to sleep. If you wanted me to stay, all you had to do was ask.”

Twilight was silent for a long time. “Then, would you please stay?"

Twilight had heard Sunset laugh before, but they were safe laughs, the laughs that ponies make after they’ve been taught the correct way to laugh. This laugh was a roaring, howling laugh poorly concealed by a series of loud snorts. As Sunset laughed, the tension that had been keeping Twilight awake slowly drifted away, and her body was only too happy to remind her that her ability to stand was a privilege, not a right.

Sunset threw a clumsy salute. “I live to serve, Princess Twilight.”

Twilight chuckled weakly. “Give it a rest.” She let out a huge yawn, not even bothering to cover her mouth. “Speaking of, I think I’d better get to bed.”

She turned and staggered up the staircase, keeping one hoof against the wall as she climbed. Sunset’s horn glowed a faint teal as she ascended the staircase behind Twilight, a glow which didn’t dissipate until they had ascended the second flight of stairs and reached Twilight’s room.

"You still aren't sleeping on the floor, though," Sunset whispered.

With those words, an ember reignited in Twilight’s soul. "Well, I don't want you sleeping on the floor either."

With an air of mock seriousness, Sunset created a tiny sword of fire in the air. "If there can be no arrangement, then we are at an impasse."

Twilight giggled. "I would challenge you to a battle of wits to settle this, but I’m afraid I would get burned.” Sunset nodded sagely. “Perhaps we can reach a compromise that we will both find amenable.”

“I’m listening.”

“We could just–” Twilight yawned quietly “–share the bed. It’s big enough for both of us.”

"Would you be able to sleep like that?"

“I sleep with Spike all the time, and he snores like a… well, a dragon. I’ll be fine,” Twilight said as she crawled under the covers.

Sunset shrugged, then hopped onto the bed. “If you say so.” She turned off the lights, and darkness took them.

A Sigil Writ in Flame

Sunset awoke to the sound of crying, but it was Twilight’s face that caught her attention. The deep red light pouring in from the window dyed the color of Twilight’s tears a dark scarlet as they streamed down her cheeks.

Sunset turned to gaze out the window. To call the Sun red would be so gargantuan an understatement as to make it untrue. She looked down, and the Ponyville River was filled with blood. She looked up, and the sky burned. Sunset hadn’t read the signs in some time, but there was no mistaking this one. Something terrible was coming, and she couldn’t shake the feeling that Twilight was at the center of it.

She tore her gaze away from the Sun and forced herself to consider the position she and Twilight were now in. She considered waking Twilight, but she needed sleep so desperately that it was probably better to leave her be. That was the easy decision. The hard decision was to figure out what she would say to Celestia.

Option one, say nothing. Bad option. This was gonna be big, bigger than she could handle on her own. She needed all the help, and knowledge of the signs, that she could get. Option two, tell Celestia about Twilight’s nightmares. Bad option. Not only would that be a betrayal of Twilight’s trust, but Celestia might be part of the problem. Option three, only tell Celestia what she saw that morning. Bad option. She was already on bad terms with Celestia, telling Celestia that she had slept in the same room with Twilight would be a death sentence. Besides, once pointed in the right direction, Celestia's spies would have the full story within the hour.

Ok, maybe Celestia was a dead end. What other magical powerhouses with knowledge of the signs existed? Luna was obviously a no-go. Cadence was a bit better but still too high risk; besides, she didn’t really strike Sunset as much of a powerhouse. Queen Chrysalis might have been able to help, but there were two glaring issues. First was the issue of finding her, and second was the issue of not being eaten alive for daring to ask a favor. Yea, not a great option. Discord, perhaps? He would almost certainly make a game of it, and it wouldn’t be good for her blood pressure, but at this point, she was running out of options.

Sunset looked back at Twilight, and it was at this point that she noticed a detail that she hadn’t yet considered, namely, the small bulges in the blanket above Twilight’s back. Of course, Sunset had known all along that Twilight was a princess, but the implications hadn’t really sunk in until now. First, she had technically just slept with a princess, which was… woah. Second, Twilight had been powerful even before her ascension, so it was almost certain that Twilight far surpassed her in raw power. Third, Twilight must have learned to read the signs much better than her, given her royal status.

There was; however, one problem with relying on Twilight’s help. If the sign did involve Twilight in some way, it would be near impossible for her to read it. Not even Starswirl could read his own future.

Sunset took a deep breath and stared out the window again. It had only been a few minutes, but something felt different. Instead of terror, seeing the sky aflame left her with a strange sense of deja-vu. She remembered wanting this once, but she had no idea why.

The pitter-patter of tiny feet rushing up the stairs broke Sunset from her trance. “Twilight, wake up! Something’s happened to the Sun!”

Twilight looked at Sunset, bathed by the Sun, and gasped.

* * *

The Day Court was always busy, but that morning there wasn’t a single inch left unoccupied, not even on the throne itself. Ordinarily, Celestia reserved half of the Day Court for common ponies, but today, every noble, reporter, and dignitary staying in the castle packed the throne room, wall to wall. A line of guardsponies physically blocked the tide of frantic ponies from getting too close to the throne. Luna, who was seated next to Celestia, looked questioningly at her sister. Celestia raised a gold-encased hoof and the crowd fell silent.

“My little ponies, I understand your concerns, but pushing to the front will get you nowhere. Today has been bad enough without any ponies suffocating or being trampled.” As she spoke, the pushing and jostling slowly came to a halt. “Thank you. As all of you are aware, this morning featured the first appearance of a Blood Sun in over a millennium. As of right now, we do not know the cause.” The hall descended into a thousand barely hushed whispers, the combined effect of which was deafening. Celestia raised her hoof again, but to no effect. She looked at Luna and nodded.

“SILENCE!”

The sudden implementation of the Royal Canterlot Voice left the hall stunned into silence, and a few unaccustomed dignitaries reflexively fell to their knees. One unfortunate noble fell to his rear instead.

“Thank you, Luna. As I was saying, we do not know the cause; however, I have reason to believe that Discord may be involved.” Celestia hesitated for just a moment, and Luna glanced at her curiously, but the crowd wisely elected to remain silent. “Whatever the case, I will personally see to it that the cause is discovered and dealt with appropriately. I will now open the floor for questions.” She pointed to a Saddle Arabian dignitary. “Prince Haakim.”

“Pardon my ignorance, but I simply do not understand how a Blood Sun could occur without your intention. Do you not control the Sun?”

“I control the motion of the Sun, yes, but I do not control it in every aspect. I cannot control its color. Next question.” She pointed to a young earth pony sporting a light gray fedora with a slip of paper tucked into the band labeled ‘Press.’ “With the gray fedora.”

“I’m Quick Study from The Canterlot Times. Do you have any information about previous Blood Suns, such as what caused them or why they stopped appearing?”

“I do not, but I will have a team pouring over the Canterlot Archives to find the answers to those questions. Next question.” She pointed at another dignitary from Saddle Arabia near the middle of the room. “Princess Amira.”

“Why do you suspect Discord is involved in this?” Most of the ponies present seemed deeply uninterested in the question, and a few laughed.

“I cannot discuss that at this time. Next question.” She pointed to a large white stallion near the front. “Prince Blueblood.”

“Assuming that Discord is responsible for this, what will you do?”

“If we must, we will have him returned to stone. Next question.”

***

It was a masterpiece of spellcraft. Most unicorns couldn’t manage teleportation at all, and those who could typically required a few moments to envision their destination before they could teleport. Twilight had gone from asleep to somewhere else in under a second. The power put into the spell wasn’t enough for her to have left Ponyville, but that would still take hours to check, and that was assuming that Twilight didn’t keep moving.

“Sunset, what are you doing here?” Spike asked.

“There’s no time to explain. We need to find Twilight. All I know is that she teleported somewhere in Ponyville. Do you have any idea where she might have gone?”

“She probably teleported to one of the girl’s houses. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy live outside of Ponyville, so she’s probably either at the Carousel Boutique or Sugar Cube Corner.”

“And of the two?”

“I don’t know, but Sugar Cube Corner is closer.”

“Alright. Thanks, Spike.” Sunset started to walk down the stairs, but Spike blocked the way.

“Spike, move.”

“Not so fast. I’m coming with you.” Sunset briefly considered teleporting past him, but even in her frantic state knew better than to teleport on stairs. Like most unicorns, she didn’t fancy turning one or more of her legs into an avant-garde house decoration.

“Not a chance. It’s not safe outside. Twilight would never forgive me if you got hurt out there.”

“You don’t know Ponyville like I do. How do you plan to save Twilight if you get lost?”

That was a regrettably good point.

“Fine. Hop on.”

Delusions' End

Sunset's cloak, slick with dew, sagged slightly as she sprinted through the streets, causing it to pick up even more dew in a self-fulfilling prophecy of destruction.

"We're almost there!" Spike called out from atop her back. It's on the left!" Sunset's legs were burning, but seeing her destination filled her with newfound energy, so much so that she had to stop herself from slamming into the front door.

Sugar Cube Corner more than lived up to its namesake. The ceiling was made of gingerbread, the awning was supported by candy cane pillars, and the tower jutting out of the gingerbread ceiling was topped by an enormous pink cupcake sporting three burning candles. The gingerbread was thickly lined with once-white frosting, though it was temporarily stained red by the sunlight. In fact, the only parts of the building that were (presumably) inedible were the doors, windows, and walls of the house-turned-confectionery.

Sunset took a deep breath, then loudly knocked on the door. No response. A pink closed sign mocked her from the window. Sunset beat frantically on the wooden door, but still no answer. She tried to open it only to find that the door was bolted shut. Spike hopped off her back and gently knocked. “Pinkie Pie? Mr. and Mrs. Cake? Could you please let us in?” The deadbolt clicked.

"What in the world are you doing outside at a time like this, Spike? And who's your… friend?"

"There's no time. Twilight has gone missing. Have you seen her?"

"I'm sorry dearie, but I haven't."

"Do you mind if we ask Pinkie Pie?"

She opened the door. "Not at all, dearie. Be my guest.”

The blood red walls and burgundy floor, once beige and gray respectively, grew redder still as Mrs. Cake opened the door. Sunset, unfamiliar with the layout of Sugar Cube Corner, could barely keep up with Spike as he ran up the stairs and threw open the bedroom door. "Pinkie, have you seen…"

Pinkie and Twilight were lying on the floor. Twilight was face-down, her body gently rising and falling with her breathing. Pinkie had one arm around her side, while her other hoof slowly brushed through Twilight's mane.

"Shhhhh. I don't think Twilight needs any loud noises right now."

"What's wrong?" whispered Spike.

"I don't know. She just appeared in my room and then curled up in a ball on the floor. I figured this must be a pity party, but she didn't even want any ice cream." Pinkie pulled out a tub of ice cream and an ice cream scoop from her mane and dropped a dollop of ice cream into her mouth. "I'm totally at a loss."

"Did you try giving her a book?"

"That was the first thing I tried!"

"Huh. That usually works." Spike scratched his head.

Sunset kneeled next to Twilight. "Twilight, it's OK. It was just a dream."

Twilight's ears swiveled towards Sunset, but she remained silent.

Sunset looked outside at the blood-red sky and was struck with understanding. "Pinkie, do something that Twilight would literally never dream of."

"She can't," said Spike. Sunset opened her mouth, but Spike cut her off by gesturing emphatically at Pinkie, still eating the unmelted ice cream she had pulled out of her mane.

"Okay, that's fair. What about you, Spike?"

Spike looked down at the floor. "I don't know, Sunset."

"She's known you the longest, and unlike Pinkie, she probably has some preconceived notions about what you would say or do." Pinkie nodded sagely.

"Fine, but you two have to leave the room while I try."

"Fair enough. Come on, Pinkie."

"I can't go yet! What if she needs some emergency ice cream?"

"Then you can give it to her when we see her again in five minutes."

"But I need to set up a Twilight-recovered-from-extreme-shock party."

'Pinkie…" Sunset growled.

"What if–"

"Pinkie, either you go downstairs by yourself, or I drag you down by your tail."

Pinkie's tail was unexpectedly difficult to grasp with magic, though it was hard to say whether that was due to her status as an earth pony or her tail's strange spatial powers. That difficulty was only compounded by Pinkie's incessant wiggling.

Sunset stopped at the top of the stairs. "You know, if you keep moving, I might lose my concentration and set your tail on fire."

Pinkie froze. "I can't have my tail catch fire again; Mrs. Cake has a very strict no tail-fire policy!"

Sunset glanced back at Pinkie and raised an eyebrow. Pinkie Pie shrugged. "If I let your tail go, will you walk downstairs like a good filly?" Pinkie nodded vigorously.

It was quiet downstairs, and the Cakes were nowhere to be seen.

Pinkie broke the silence. “So, what brought you back to Equestria? Wait, wait, let me guess! You recently discovered that the human world uses dead animals to make everything from soap and shampoo to bricks and playing cards? Well, you don’t need to worry, those animals are totally different than the animals in Equestria and aren’t at all sentient… probably.”

“That’s not why I’m back, but how did you–”

“Lucky guess.”

Sunset shook her head. “To be honest, Pinkie, I have no idea. I know that I fell through the portal, but I don’t have any idea why it was open, or why it brought me to the castle of the two sisters.”

Pinkie scratched her head. “Maybe Celestia or Luna would know something about that.”

“Yea, that’s probably my best lead. I’ll see if Twilight can send them a letter once things are back to normal.”

They were silent for a moment.

“So, why were you in Twilight’s house this morning?” Pinkie’s voice dropped to a whisper. “Do you two have a secret love affair?”

Despite the Blood Sun, Sunset’s face somehow flushed an even deeper red. “What? No!”

Pinkie giggled. “Oh well.”

Spike opened the bedroom door and trudged down the stairs. “Well, Sunset, it’s up to you.”

“What did you say to her?”

Spike looked away. “It doesn’t matter. It didn’t work, anyway.”

Sunset ambled up the stairs, deep in thought. She and Twilight barely knew each other. If Spike couldn’t surprise her with words, she had no chance. She'd have to do something that Twilight couldn’t rationalize. She opened the door.

Twilight was exactly where she had been before Sunset left, face down and curled up on the floor. If it weren't for the faint movement of her ears, Sunset might have thought that she had fallen asleep.

"I know you’re awake, Twilight.” Twilight remained silent. “I wish we could wait for you to recover, but something big is coming, and time isn't a luxury that we have... I’m sorry that it has to be like this.”

Sunset gently lifted Twilight's head off the ground and brushed her hair out of her face. With drooping ears, a scrunched-up nose, furrowed eyebrows, and quivering lips, she was the picture of fear and misery. As Sunset touched her, Twilight started whimpering. Sunset pulled back as if she had been burned. “Twilight, I know that I don’t have the right to ask this of you, but please trust me when I say that I would never hurt you. I didn’t mean to worry you.” She sighed. “I always say the wrong thing in situations like this. Perhaps it would be better to show you what I mean.”

Sunset leaned in close, and for a moment, their lips touched.

Full Twilight

Sunset pulled back first and opened her eyes just in time to see Twilight's eyelids crack, then shoot open. They stared at one another in silence.

“Hey, Twilight."

The silence, barely broken, returned with a fury. Determined not to push Twilight any further than she already had, Sunset waited. Then, when the silence was so thick that Sunset could hardly stand it, Twilight spoke. She spoke in a whisper and oh-so slowly, as if she were sounding out the words on her tongue, but still, she spoke. “I’ve never had a dream like this… this isn’t a dream, is it, Sunset?”

“No, it’s not.”

“You kissed me.”

“Yes, I did.”

“Why?”

“I have two reasons. First, we needed your help. There’s something wrong with the Sun.”

Twilight nodded absently. “Right.”

“Second… I like you.”

Twilight’s voice dropped even lower. “No.”

Sunset’s stomach dropped. “No?”

Twilight began pacing the room. “No no no no no. That makes no sense.”

“What do you mean, it makes no sense?” Sunset asked.

“That’s totally unrealistic, not to mention out of character.”

“Twilight, what are you talking about?”

“This is just like the situation with Luna.” Twilight was silent for a moment. “Oh Celestia, this is exactlylike the situation with Luna.” Twilight’s breathing quickened.

“Luna?”

“Of course, I’ve had a lot more time to observe Luna than I have Sunset. Before I talk to the girls about this, I have to be completely certain. ”

“Twilight, please slow down,” Sunset pleaded. “What do Luna and I have to do with the Blood Sun?”

Twilight stopped pacing and looked back at Sunset. “Nothing, as far as I can tell.”

“Then what in the world are you talking about?”

Twilight opened her mouth and then closed it. After a moment of silence, she spoke. “Unfortunately, I can’t tell you until I know for sure.”

Sunset sighed deeply. “Well, if you don’t want to talk about it, can we focus on whatever is happening to the Sun?”

“Right. Has Spike sent a letter to Princess Celestia yet?”

“A letter? It would take hours for a letter to reach her in the best conditions.” She looked outside. “The trains are probably closed, too.”

“Oh, right, you’ve probably never met a dragon before Spike. How familiar are you with draconic magic?”

“Not very.”

“Would you prefer I explain it, or would you rather see a demonstration?”

Sunset smiled weakly “A demonstration, please.”

Twilight laughed and opened the bedroom door. “That seems to be the popular choice. Come on, you’ve got a first class ticket to a magic show.” However, before Sunset could walk down the stairs, Twilight stopped her with an outstretched forearm. “Could you uhh… keep what happened up here between us?”

“Sure, but Spike and Pinkie are going to ask.”

“I know, and I’ll tell them eventually, just not right now.”

Spike and Pinkie were sitting silently in the lobby. Spike looked questioningly at Sunset as they walked down the stairs. Sunset gave him a tiny shrug.

Twilight turned to face Pinkie. "Thanks, Pinkie."

"Yeperooni."

"Spike, have you sent a letter to Princess Celestia yet?" Spike shook his head. "Alright, then take a letter.”

Dear Princess Celestia,

Ordinarily I would comb the Golden Oak Library from top to bottom for information regarding the recent Blood Sun, but given both the size of the Canterlot Archives and your close relationship to the Sun, it seemed prudent to ask you for information first.

Your faithful student,

Twilight Sparkle

Spike glanced quizzically at Twilight. “Wait, so we’re not going to turn the library upside down?”

“Of course we are, but she doesn’t have to know that.”

Spike rolled his eyes as he incinerated the letter. “Figures.”

Sunset raised an eyebrow as the ash from the letter floated out a nearby window. “What was the point of writing the letter if you were just going to incinerate it?”

Twilight laughed. “I asked the exact same question to Princess Celestia the first time I saw it. The letter isn’t actually destroyed, it’s just been deconstructed for easier transport. Once it reaches Princess Celestia, it will reconstitute itself.”

Sunset’s ears perked up. “That’s a very useful technique. I don’t suppose ponies can replicate it, can they?”

“I know that Princess Celestia can. I tried to learn the spell myself, but Spike is much better at fire magic than I am.”

Spike combed through the scales on the top of his head with his fingers. “One of the perks of being a dragon.”

Sunset smirked. “You know, I’m pretty good with fire magic, myself. Maybe you could teach me some day, Spike.”

Spike smiled. “Once the Sun is back to normal, I’d be happy to help.”

“Come on, you two, there’s no time to waste. There might be information on Blood Suns in the library. Let’s go read some books!”

Pinkie gasped. “No fair! I want to come too!”

Twilight laughed. “Alright then, come on, you three! Let’s go read some books!”

Author's Note

I don't like asking, but if you're still here you probably enjoy the content, so please remember to leave a like :D

It was Under See

Author's Note

Merry Christmas, everyone!

It was Under See

The banquet hall was as large as it was empty. The stained-glass windows, normally orange, blue, and pink, were woefully incapable of filtering the red sunlight back into their own colors. The clashing shades of red turned the checkerboard floor from an odd stylistic choice into an optical illusion, making even walking difficult. Celestia and Luna sat on opposite ends of a grand banquet table. Celestia gingerly picked through the rich assortment of fruits on her plate, whereas Luna was in the process of stuffing a large pineapple in her mouth.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t make breakfast for us this morning, Luna.”

“‘Tis just as well. I prefer to eat light in the morning, anyway.” Luna mumbled.

“Luna, don’t speak with your mouth full.”

Luna rolled her eyes and swallowed her food. “Yes, mother.”

A comfortable silence fell over the hall, interrupted only by the crunching of pineapple. Then, sometime after Luna had finished chewing, she spoke. "Tia, what makes you think that Discord is involved? It doesn't really strike me as his style."

"Oh, I doubt he's involved. He's just a very convenient suspect."

Luna’s eyes narrowed. "Explain."

"Our ponies are not as you remember them. We've been at peace for a thousand years. Surely you recall the recent changeling panic. Our ponies' hearts are fearful, Luna. They need direction.”

“Do you forget the witch hunts of yore? Ponies’ hearts have always been fearful.”

Celestia shrugged. “Perhaps, but we were not then in a position to guide them. Now, we are. Would you not have lied to prevent the witch hunts, had you been able to?

Luna frowned. “And what of truth? What of honesty?”

Celestia’s voice softened. “Sometimes kindness requires the bending of truth. If I can prevent a witch hunt by suggesting that Discord may be at fault and then find the real culprit in the time I bought, isn’t that a small price to pay?”

“A price that Discord will have to pay?”

“A price he won’t even notice. He is far too powerful for anypony to hurt him. He is already hated by most of ponykind, so it isn’t as if we are harming his reputation. And any accusations that might reach Ponyville will be nothing more than rumors.”

Luna sighed. “You are right as always, sister. Even so, I do not like this.”

Celestia smiled. “Trust me, Luna, it’s better this way. Give it a decade or two. You’ll see.”

***

C. The book started with C. Celestial Catastrophes, Cases Common and Curious. She had been searching for nearly half an hour. She had checked astronomy, selenology, even uranology, but no. It was under C. For neither the first nor the last time, Twilight reminded herself that, although the Dewey Decimal Classification system would make it easier for her to find the books she was looking for, the average Ponyville resident had neither knowledge of nor interest in learning the system, which would defeat the point of using it. Even so, it was at times like these when she was in very real danger of reorganizing the entire library, if only for her own sanity.

Pinkie, seemingly oblivious to the battle raging within Twilight’s soul, continued to gleefully shout “It was under C!”

Twilight’s right eyelid twitched. “I can see that, Pinkie.”

“Well, what does it say?” asked Sunset.

Twilight stared vacantly at the open book. “The chapter on Blood Suns… it’s missing.”

A deep voice dripping with sarcasm echoed through the library. “Oh, but what fun would that be, to solve your problem by looking in a book?”

“Discord, what did you do to my book?” Twilight yelled.

Sunset watched in stunned silence as Discord stepped into existence in front of her. One might reasonably assume that it was his appearance that threw her, and it certainly didn’t help matters. His torso was elongated like a snake, and each arm, leg, and horn were borrowed from different animals. He was part dragon, part lizard, part horse, part goat, part snake, part deer, and part other animals besides. And yet that wasn’t what silenced Sunset. No, her horror was directed at his means of entrance.

Though teleportation may seem instantaneous, it requires both time for a spell matrix to form and for the matrix to dissipate once the spell is completed. For unicorns unskilled in teleportation, that process may take half a second, whereas for the more experienced, the spell matrix can form and collapse in half that time. It was theoretically possible that a very talented sorcerer could form and collapse a spell matrix faster than the naked eye could see, but even if that were the case, the faster one teleports, the louder the accompanying pop. Not even the princesses could ignore these fundamental limitations of magic. Discord, however, was clearly no princess. There was no spell matrix. There wasn’t even a sound. He was just… there.

“Did he just teleport without a spell matrix?” Sunset whispered to Twilight.

“Oh, he does that,” Twilight replied.

“He does that,” muttered Discord. “Break the rules of reality once, and everybody is amazed. Do it every day, and you’re the ‘guy who does that’.”

“Don’t change the subject, Discord. What did you do?” Twilight growled.

Discord put up his mismatched hands in a placating gesture. “Woah, ease off the friendship laser. I’m just helping.”

“You’re helping by removing the only information we have?”

“I’m helping by redirecting your focus away from a dead end. You’re not going to improve at reading the signs by looking in a book.”

Twilight stared blankly. “What are the signs?”

Sunset and Discord stared at Twilight in disbelief. Discord plucked his right eyebrow off of his face and lifted it into the air. “You’re not serious, are you? Dear Celestia, you are, aren’t you?” He broke into hysterical laughter as he returned his eyebrow to its rightful place. “Oh, this is priceless. An alicorn princess who doesn’t know about the signs. Taught by Celestia herself, no less.” He wiped a tear out of his eye. “As much as I’d love to teach a newborn alicorn how to read, I think I’ll pass.” Discord raised his hand.

“Discord, wait,” cried Sunset. “You’re an expert at reading the signs, aren’t you?”

Discord froze in the middle of snapping his fingers. “Perhaps.”

“And you’ve been reformed, right?”

“That’s not exactly the word I would use.”

“Then tell us what the Blood Sun means!”

Discord’s eyes shot open. “Oh, so you knew it was a sign?” His right claw detached from his arm and wandered up to his chin, stroking it gently with its talons. “She only taught you, huh? I’ll admit, I didn’t see that coming.” He was silent for a moment. “Fine, I’ll bite. Come to the Everfree Forest tonight, and we can chat. Come alone. Ta-ta, then.”

And just like that, he was gone.

As he left, a firm knocking sound echoed through the library and, a second later, the door flew open. Rarity galloped into the room and screeched to a halt in front of Twilight. Applejack cantered in behind her.

“Twilight, there you are! Where have you been? Applejack and I have been looking everywhere for you!”

“I was at Sugar Cube Corner with Pinkie.”

Rarity looked at Pinkie, then back at Twilight, then at Applejack beside her. Applejack shook her head. “You know what, I’m not going to ask. Do you have any idea what’s happened to the Sun? I can hardly make dresses when all the colors are different shades of red.” Applejack glanced pointedly at Rarity. “Oh right, and it’s also unclear if crops can grow with the Sun like this.” Applejack rolled her eyes. “What? I mentioned your concern too, didn’t I?”

“I wish I knew,” said Twilight. “I found a book that might have had a lead, but Discord stole all the pages related to Blood Suns before I could read them.”

Applejack’s ears folded backward. “That good-for-nothing varmint. I knew we couldn’t trust him.”

Sunset lifted one hoof. “Hold up, Applejack. Discord said that he was trying to help, and I think he was telling the truth.”

Rarity and Applejack turned to face Sunset. “I’m sorry, darling, I thought you were here to check out a book. I wasn’t aware that Twilight had company. What’s your name?” Sunset lifted the hood of her cloak. “Sunset Shimmer? Is that you?”

Sunset rubbed the back of her neck. “Yea, it’s me. Sorry about the whole stealing-Twilight’s-crown thing.”

Rarity waved a hoof. “It’s quite alright. We all make mistakes from time to time.”

Sunset snorted. “Most ponies' mistakes don’t include threatening to destroy Canterlot.”

Rarity coughed and looked away. “Yes, well, if Twilight has forgiven you, then we should as well.”

Applejack sniggered. “She only says that because she almost destroyed Ponyville just last month. She got corrupted by a spell book and turned all the streets in Ponyville into solid gold. After an hour in the sun, you could literally boil water on them.”

“Applejack!” Rarity hissed. “I thought we agreed never to mention that again.”

“No, we agreed not to mention Tom.”

“Don’t even start,” growled Rarity.

Applejack laughed. “Seriously though, sugarcube. A friend of Twilight’s is a friend of ours.”

“Hear, hear!” cried Spike.

“I am curious, though,” said Applejack. ”What makes you think Discord was telling the truth? Ain’t like the truth is his strong suit.”

Sunset frowned. “It’s a bit difficult to explain, but the gist of it is that he said the book was a dead end, and given what I know of the signs, that seems reasonable.”

Rarity, who was still near the door, took a step toward Sunset in the middle of the room. “What are the signs?” asked Applejack.

Sunset sighed. “That’s the difficult part.” Sunset was silent for a moment. “Imagine somepony threw a large rock into a lake, but you didn’t see it happen. You can use the ripples on the surface of the water to infer what happened. The same is true of magic. When enormously powerful magic is used, it sends ripples forwards and backwards through time. The signs are like the ripples that move backward.” Rarity took another tentative step towards Sunset.

Applejack’s brow furrowed. “So, if you read the ripples correctly, you can tell what kind of magical event is gonna happen?”

Sunset nodded. “Basically, yes.”

Applejack turned to Twilight. “Could a magical event really send shockwaves to the past?”

Twilight was already scribbling math equations onto a chalkboard. “That is theoretically possible, but the event in question would need to be at least an order of magnitude stronger than even Luna’s corruption or Discord’s escape from stone.” With Sunset distracted, Rarity laid claim to one more hoofful of Sunset's personal space.

Applejack looked back at Sunset. “So, how do you read the signs?”

Sunset frowned. “I don’t really know. I know that trusting your instincts is part of it, but I don’t know the rest.”

“I hate to pry, but how did you learn about the signs?” asked Rarity.

Sunset lurched away from Rarity, who was at that point mere inches from her face. “Celestia told me about them while I was her student. I assumed she would have taught Twilight as well, but–”

“I’m sure Celestia had a good reason not to tell me,” retorted Twilight.

“Of course she did, darling,” said Rarity.

Sunset glanced at Applejack, then continued. “Anyway, Discord said that he’d talk to me tonight, about both the signs and the Blood Sun.”

Twilight scowled. “Whether he intends to talk or not, we can’t wait that long. Who knows what could happen by then.” She turned to Rarity and Applejack. “Have either of you seen Fluttershy?”

Applejack shrugged. “I reckon she’s either trying to calm the animals or she’s hiding somewhere. Either way, her cottage is the first place to start.”

“Alright. Sunset, Pinkie, you stay here with Spike. Come on, girls. Let’s go have a word with Discord.”

A Promise in the House of Chaos

Author's Note

And Happy New Years!

A Promise in the House of Chaos

Fluttershy’s cottage was dead. There was no other way to describe it. The dark red oozing out of every inch of wood and leaf was certainly part of it, but mostly, it was the silence. It occurred to Twilight that she had never gone to Fluttershy’s cottage and found it silent. There was always the chirping of birds and squeaking of rabbits and splashing of fish. What could it mean that the Blood Sun could do what even Discord and Nightmare Moon couldn’t? She shook her head.

“Twilight, darling, are you alright?”

“I’m fine, Rarity, just a bit unnerved.”

Applejack nodded. “I know what you mean, Twi. It ain’t natural, what’s going on here.”

“Stay focused, darlings. The only way out is through.”

“Hey, that's my line,” Applejack cried in faux outrage.

Rarity shrugged. “Well, if you'd stay focused on our objective, then I wouldn't have to use it.”

Applejack snorted. “Touché.”

Rarity raised an eyebrow. “What?” said Applejack. “I thought we were stealing each other’s things today.”

Twilight rolled her eyes as she knocked on the front door of Fluttershy’s cottage.

“Fluttershy!” she shouted. No response. “Fluttershy, please, we need your help!” Just as Twilight was about to walk away, the door cracked open. As it did, levity died.

“Fluttershy, are you alright?” asked Twilight.

It was an utterly useless question. With a wet face and snotty nose, wilted ears and slumped shoulders, she was obviously not doing alright. Twilight had learned, however, that it was one of those useless questions worth asking.

“Th-they’re gone, T-Twilight, and I don’t know what to do.”

“The wild animals?”

“Not just them. All the animals. The songbirds, the fish, the chickens, the rabbits.”

“Even Angel?” Fluttershy just nodded.

Applejack let loose a low whistle. “I knew things were bad, but I didn’t think they were this bad.”

“Have you any idea where Discord is?” Rarity asked. “Surely he might be able to help.”

Fluttershy sniffled. “I’ve already asked. He says there’s nothing that he can do.”

“That’s hogwash. He just don’t want to help is all,” said Applejack.

Fluttershy’s lip quivered. “Applejack, can we please not do this today?”

Applejack flinched. “I’m sorry, sugarcube. I didn’t mean it like that.”

Flittershy sighed. “It’s alright, I know you didn’t. Now, what do you need?”

Rarity put a hoof on Fluttershy's shoulder, as if to say “You don't need to be strong on our account.” Fluttershy briefly leaned into it, and then gave her a gentle smile as if to say “I know.”

“Actually, we were hoping to talk to Discord. We think he might know something about what’s going on with the Sun. Would you mind calling him for us?” said Twilight.

“I can call him, but I’m not sure if he’ll be able to help.”

“That’s all we could ask for,” said Twilight.

“Discord, could you come here please,” Fluttershy all but whispered.

“Of course, my sweet. What do you need?” asked Discord. Fluttershy merely pointed a hoof at Twilight and the others. He rolled his eyes. “Oh bother.”

“Discord, give us back the pages you stole.”

He snapped his fingers. “Fine. The pages are back in your precious little book, but believe me when I tell you that they’ll do you no good.”

“Well then, what will do us good?” asked Twilight.

Discord clapped. “An excellent question. A bit late, but better late than never. Unfortunately for you, the answer is that there is nothing that you can do. You can’t learn to read the signs in an afternoon, even with my excellent tutelage.”

“Then what? We just wait until this blows over?”

“Yes, precisely. That’s precisely what you should do.”

Twilight frowned. “But you can read the signs, right?”

“Of course I can.”

“Then you could just tell us what they mean.”

“Not a chance, Twilight. I already told you that the only one I’d talk to about that is Sunset Shimmer.”

Twilight frowned. “Discord, can I talk to you in private for a moment?”

“Ooh, this should be interesting.” With a snap of his fingers, a portal opened in front of them. “Follow me.”
* * *
Twilight found herself in a small house. At least, it appeared to be a house. That assessment was complicated by the furniture resting on the walls and ceilings, the ping-pong table playing itself on the patio, and the complete lack of gravity. She wondered if gravity was necessary for a house to be considered a house.

“Don’t worry about making it quick,” said Discord. “Time passes differently here. Can I offer you some tea?” Twilight shook her head. Discord summoned a tea kettle and poured himself a cup of tea. “Suit yourself. Now, what was it you wanted to talk about?” He began crunching on the bottom of his teacup.

“What do you know about the Tree of Harmony?” Discord violently choked on his teacup.

Another Discord briefly appeared to give him a smack on the back, and a small porcelain chip flew out of his ear. “Woah, warn a guy next time before you casually mention his mortal enemy.” He took a moment to compose himself. “I had assumed that you wanted to talk about Sunset Shimmer.”

Twilight shrugged. Discord’s eyes narrowed. “You’re hiding something. Whatever happened to a little trust?”

“You did.”

Discord laughed. “Yes, well, I suppose I did. Nevertheless, we need to trust each other a little if this is going to be anything more than a one-sided tea party. How about this, how about we Pinkie Promise that while we are in this house, we will speak only the truth to each other? How does that sound?”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Why would I trust you to obey a Pinkie Promise?”

“Well, I suppose I could break a Pinkie Promise, but I’d never hear the end of it. Isn’t that right, Pinkie?”

Pinkie Pie stuck her head out from behind one of the couches on the ceiling and grimly nodded before sinking up out of sight.

“How did she get in here?” asked Twilight.

“It beats me. Nobody else in the universe can find my house. It’s just a Pinkie thing, I presume.”

“Is she still here?” Twilight walked to the other side of the room so that she could see behind the couch where Pinkie had appeared only to find a reddish-pink strand of hair where she had just been.

“No, she’s gone now. So, what do you say?”

She nodded, and together they solemnly chanted “Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.”

“We’ll take turns,” said Discord. “You can go first.”

“Alright,” said Twilight. “What do you know about the Tree of Harmony?”

“That’s quite a broad question. What do you want to know specifically?”

“Everything.”

Discord sighed. “Very well. It came into existence sometime after the first Hearth's Warming and before my arrival to Equestria. It is the source of the Elements of Harmony, and its function is to maximize harmony. To that end, it has access to a range of reality warping powers, including time manipulation and/or parallel universe shifting.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “How do you know that?”

Discord shrugged. “Isn’t it obvious? How else could you explain how it set everything back to normal after it turned me to stone?”

“Couldn’t that be explained by the Elements of Harmony preventing you from using your chaos magic?”

Discord laughed. “Hardly. If the elements merely took away my influence, then that would only kickstart the universe’s natural processes. For example, the flying pigs I so graciously granted wings would fall to a rather untimely end.”

Twilight paused for a moment. “Wait a second, does this mean that you were conscious the whole time while you were a statue?”

Discord sighed. “Unfortunately, yes. It’s quite boring, I’ll have you know.”

Twilight summoned a pen and paper and began scribbling. “I assumed that you were only conscious the second time. Fascinating.”

Discord grabbed a biscuit that was flying nearby and dunked it into his tea. “Hardly.”

“Do you know why the Tree of Harmony turned you to stone but didn’t turn Luna to stone?”

“I don’t know for sure, but I do have a theory. Think of the Tree of Harmony like a tree growing next to a stone path. If the stone path is tightly woven, the tree’s roots will grow under the path, but if they are loosely woven, it will weave between them. The tree wants to grow and spread harmony in every direction, but it follows the paths of least resistance. It might be more harmonious to reform me, but it would take many orders of magnitude more power to do so than to turn me to stone. On the other hand, Luna’s personality merely had to be returned to before she had been banished to the moon to restore harmony.”

“Time manipulation?”

Discord shrugged. “It’s possible.”

Twilight began pacing the room. “That would also explain why Luna was banished in the first place. With only one bearer, the tree was too weak to use the magic necessary to achieve harmony, and thus had to settle for banishment.”

Discord snapped his fingers in Twilight’s face. “Enough about the Tree of Harmony. You have yet to hear my question.”

Twilight blushed. “Of course. Go ahead.”

“Why are you asking about the Tree of Harmony, and what does it have to do with Sunset Shimmer?”

Twilight frowned. “I have a theory about Luna and Sunset Shimmer, but you have to promise that you won’t meddle with either of them until I have it resolved.”

“Within reason.”

“Alright. How familiar are you with psychology?

Discord put on a pair of thick-rimmed circular glasses and began smoking a cigar. “Don’t patronize me. Get to the point.”

“Alright. I did some research on psychology when I was Celestia's student, so when the girls and I first used the Elements of Harmony on Luna, I immediately suspected that she would betray Celestia.” Discord raised an eyebrow. “Think about it. She was banished for a thousand years for attempting to overthrow her sister. She returns seeking vengeance only to be defeated by her sister’s student and to have her powers stripped from her. Then she was told that all she had to do was apologize, and not only would she not be banished, but she would be allowed to rule alongside Celestia. The only reasonable explanation for her apology was that she was biding her time until she had regained her strength.”

“Perhaps she wasn’t awake for a thousand years of banishment. That would explain her sudden forgiveness. It could have been nothing more than a sister’s spat.”

“That’s possible, but she knew exactly how long she had been banished when she returned. There’s no way she could have already known that unless she was awake for it. Besides, if you experienced your banishment in stone, I see no reason why she wouldn’t have experienced hers.”

“Fair enough. Go on then.”

“I kept a close eye on her for any sign of betrayal. A substantial rebuilding of the lunar guard, any shift in the phases of the moon or changes in the tides, the reconstruction of her battle armor, the forging of new celestial weapons, forming alliances with the nobility, anything to indicate that she was backsliding. And do you know what I found?” She paused dramatically. “Nothing.”

“Nothing? Isn’t that a good thing?”

"Not necessarily. Even if she were genuinely reformed, I would expect some level of backsliding. I mean, look at you.”

Discord put a paw to his chest. “I resent that.”

Twilight deadpanned. “Plunderseeds.”

“That was barely even a betrayal.”

“Blue Flu.”

“I thought we agreed never to mention that again. But I see your point. Objection withdrawn.”

“I was suspicious, but her odd behavior could be explained if we assumed that Luna and Nightmare Moon were separate entities. However, when I used the Elements of Harmony on Sunset Shimmer in the human world, it was the same story. She spent years planning cruel and devastating betrayals against Celestia, she was hit with the Elements of Harmony, and her whole personality changed. She went from cruel and vengeful to kind and humble. She rebuilt the school that she destroyed without complaint, she made friends with the students who destroyed her plans, including me, and when she unexpectedly found herself in Equestria, instead of taking advantage of it to plot her revenge, she almost immediately let me know.”

Discord shrugged. “I see what you’re saying, but I don’t really understand how any of this is a bad thing. So, your friendship laser makes people be nice, big whoop.”

“But that’s not it at all, is it? Because you “became nice” without the Elements of Harmony’s help, and you’ve done a healthy amount of backsliding.”

“I can’t tell if I should be flattered or offended.”

“The point is, there’s some sort of advanced magic in play that I don’t fully understand. Maybe it’s time manipulation, maybe it's parallel universe shifting, maybe it’s mind control, but it definitely isn’t just “ponies being nice.”

“Well maybe Sunset Shimmer is a better actress than you give her credit for. Maybe she intends to betray you and just hasn’t gotten around to it yet.”

Twilight nodded. “That is a very real possibility. I’m in the process of devising a test for that hypothesis.”

Discord flicked his cigar into a nearby trash can. “I’ll admit that this is an interesting theory, but there’s still something that you aren’t telling me. If you’ve suspected this for years, why have you only come to ask me about it now?”

Twilight blushed. “It’s not important.”

“Not so fast. I gave you a full answer to your question. I expect a full answer to mine.”

“W-Well,” Twilight stammered. “It’s because Sunset kissed me.”

Discord stared slack jawed. “You’re not serious, are you? Oh Celestia, you are!” Discord’s riotous laughter echoed endlessly through the house. “Oh, that is rich. Imagine it, the fourth princess of Equestria with self-esteem so low that she sees conspiracy in a single kiss.”

Twilight stamped her hoof on the floor. “Discord, I’m serious.” This only served to provoke another cascade of uproarious laughter.

“I know, that’s the best part,” Discord wheezed. “Give me a moment.” He pulled a handkerchief out of his nose and sneezed into it. “You sure know how to make a draconequus’s day. How about this, you’ve got me in a good mood, how about I test your little theory for you? When I meet with Sunset Shimmer, I’ll offer to team up with her to take down Celestia. If she’s even remotely interested in betraying you, she’d be a fool not to seriously consider my offer. If she does, then we’ll have proved you wrong, and if she doesn’t, then she should be safe to tell about the signs.”

Twilight gave a weak smile. “Actually, that’d be quite helpful. Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it. Now, ta-ta”

Discord snapped his fingers, and the house of chaos melted away, morning dew in the summer sun.

A Younger Sibling's Cell

Luna sat at an ornate ash-wood desk that was slightly too big, in a room that was slightly too small. Newspapers covered the desk and extended onto the nearby walls, slowly growing like an active spiderweb. The room had only a slight red tint thanks to her excellent black-out curtain. Most of the room’s light came from the two black lamp posts near her bed.

Her bed. When she had first arrived back in Canterlot, she was utterly mortified to learn that Celestia had commissioned a bed shaped like an enormous crescent moon for her to sleep in. It’s not that it was tacky. In fact, the bed was well designed, for what it was. The holly lumber made for a clear, pearl white, and the dark blue accents provided a pleasant contrast. One might reasonably assume that her objection was to sleeping in a symbol of her thousand-year prison, and it did irritate her that Celestia clearly hadn’t even considered that, but even that wasn’t quite it. It just seemed childish, like a grown mare sleeping in a horseshoe bed. Besides, could Celestia not think of anything else that she liked other than the moon and the stars?

That said, she would happily settle for a horseshoe bed if it meant that she could go back to sleep. Unfortunately, crises are usually poor times for rulers to get beauty sleep, and there she was, intently studying the dozens of newspapers on and around her desk for anything that might stand out. A light knock at the door interrupted her reverie.

“Come in, Tia.” Luna flinched as the door opened wide, and Celestia ambled into the room. “Tia, the light.”

Celestia closed the door. “Your room is so dark I can barely see anything.”

Luna sighed as she turned to face Celestia. “What do you need?”

A white porcelain teacup floated down onto her desk. “Just checking on your progress.”

Luna sipped from the teacup. “I’ve scoured every newspaper, visited a dozen ponies from across Equestria, even analyzed the positions of the stars, and yet I’ve gotten no closer to reading the sign. Believe me, Tia, the moment I have a breakthrough, you will be the first to know.”

Celestia nuzzled her face. “Thank you, Luna. As always, you shine where I do not.”

“I should rather sleep than shine.” Luna muttered.

Celestia laughed. “I would do it myself, but I suspect my efforts would be wasted. Well, that, and somepony needs to keep the nobles from killing each other.”

“Quite.”

Celestia walked to the door. “Well, the sooner you figure this out, the sooner you can go to sleep, so I’ll let you get back to it. Let me know if there’s anything I can do.”

“Thank you, Tia.”

* * *

Spike and Sunset sat in silence.

“So…”

“We're not leaving this library until Twilight gets back.”

Spike sunk in his chair. “This sucks.”

Sunset gave him a weak smile. “Sorry kiddo, but I don't make the rules.”

Spike sighed. “I know. I'm just sick of being treated like a kid, ya know.”

Sunset cringed. “Sorry, Spike… I know what you mean. Celestia always treated me like a disobedient child, even after my teenage years. She didn't even take me seriously when I threatened to return one day to take Canterlot Castle. She just told me to come back soon.”

Spike laughed. “I mean, Celestia is immortal. She probably sees everybody as children.”

“Probably,” Sunset agreed. “That didn't make it any less infuriating.” Sunset smirked. “Besides, I think Twilight is immortal now, too, so if that’s all it takes…”

Spike shook his head. “Trust me, she’s been like this since she was a filly. She doesn’t need immortality to treat me like a baby.”

Sunset raised an eyebrow. “Wait, how old was Twilight when you were born?”

“She had just graduated from magic kindergarten.”

Sunset looked Spike up and down. “Seriously?”

Spike shrugged. “Dragons age more slowly than ponies.”

“Of course. I guess I hadn't thought that the difference was so… substantial. But then that would mean that you're almost as old as Twilight.”

“Trust me, I've pointed that out to her before. She tries to do better, but she's almost always back to treating me like a kid within a week.”

Sunset was silent for a moment. “Why do you think that is?”

He shrugged. “It's how she’s treated me ever since she hatched me. When I was young, her constant worrying was helpful. Pony society lacks things that dragons need. We need different foods, medicines, exercises, and schooling. She was constantly studying to protect me from dangers that most ponies would never even think about. Unfortunately, her habit of worrying about me is hard to break.”

Sunset raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t her parents take care of you while she was a foal?”

“Sort of. They made sure that Twilight and I had a roof over our heads, but they had full-time jobs. They didn't have time to dig through the Canterlot Archives trying to figure out, for example, the long-term effects of using unicorn magic on dragons. Fortunately, Twilight loves books so much that they didn’t need to.”

“What about Celestia? Didn't she help?”

“To be honest, I don't think it ever occurred to her that anypony might hatch the dragon egg. Without a dragon to incubate me, I wouldn't have hatched naturally for another century.”

Sunset sniggered. “Figures. Wait, if that’s the case, then how in the world did Twilight hatch you?”

“Her magic was supercharged by a Sonic Rainboom.”

“Huh. I read about Sonic Rainbooms while I was studying under Celestia, but neither she nor the books ever mentioned that they can supercharge magic.”

“Normally, I don’t think they can. I know Rainbow has made more Sonic Rainbooms since the first one, but I never heard anything about them supercharging magic. Maybe it had something to do with all the girls getting their cutie marks at the same time.”

“Maybe, Spike.” Sunset scratched her chin. “Maybe.”

Non-Euclidean Time

Rainbow groaned. She blindly fished for a bottle of cider on the floor and tipped it into her mouth. Not even a drop. She sighed. It was going to be a long day. A sudden pinch on the back of her head forced her to open her eyes. She stared.

Pinkie Pie, clad in blood and fire, sheepishly stared back at her. “Heya, Dashie.”

Rainbow had been the first of her friends to learn not to question Pinkie Pie, but even she couldn't help but ask the obvious question. “Pinkie, what did you do?”

Pinkie pouted. “I didn’t do anything yet!”

Rainbow knew that it had been a mistake as soon as she asked the first question, and knew that asking a second one would only compound that mistake. She knew better than anyone that the only winning move was not to play. But even knowing that, how could she possibly resist? Her lips began to move on their own. She tried to hold out, but it was no use. Her curiosity was too strong. She resigned herself to the inevitable. Whatever Pinkie was up to was about to become her problem.

“Yet?”

Pinkie yanked a hair out of Rainbow’s mane. “Let me explain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up. What you see outside is a Blood Sun. Twilight left the library to talk to Discord about it a little less than ten minutes ago. My left knee twitched twice followed by an itch on my right ear just a few minutes ago, which means somebody is about to make a Pinkie Promise, and given the timing, the person about to make a Pinkie Promise has gotta be Discord. However, to reach his house, I need a trans-dimensional cake.” She held aloft the rainbow hair. “And to make one, I need a sliver of a rainbow. Thanks for that, by the way.”

“But Pinkie, my hair isn’t… never mind. Do you know what caused this ‘Blood Sun’?’”

She shrugged. “No idea! I usually let Twilight figure out stuff like that. I’d offer to help, but last time I tried to help her brainstorm, I got banned from the library chalkboard for a month.”

Rainbow smirked. “You know, Pinkie, that may be the first reasonable thing you’ve said.”

“Thanks!”

Rainbow laughed. “So, what are you going to do next?”

“I’ve still got some ingredients to gather. Want to help me?”

“What do you need?”

“I need three alicorn eggs, a golem’s heart, a pinch of moondust, the four winds, and a half cup of molten gold.”

“Uh… good luck with that. Let me know if you need me to point the elements at somebody.”

“Come on, Dashie, it’ll be fun!”

“Pinkie, I love an adventure as much as the next mare, but, like, some of those things don’t even exist. How are we supposed to find alicorn eggs? They don’t even lay eggs.”

Pinkie pouted. “Please?”

“And moondust? What, do you think Princess Luna’s got chunks of the moon just sitting around?”

“Pretty please?”

“And what’s the plan with the four winds? Are we just going to put ‘em in a jar?”

“Pretty pretty, please?”

“You’re not listening to a word I’m saying, are you?”

“Nope!”

Rainbow sighed in defeat. “I guess now I know how Twilight feels. Fine, I’ll tag along. But you owe me.”

Pinkie beamed. “You won’t regret it!”

“I already do.”

* * *

Sunset left the library at dusk. She was intensely uncomfortable, and not only because of the icy wind whipping around her cloak. No, she could handle the cold. What she couldn’t handle was the complete and total silence. It wasn’t just the ponies in town, either. No crickets chirped. No owls hooted. No coyotes howled. One would be forgiven for assuming that it was the dead of winter, though it was only early autumn.

Sunset gripped her map tighter as the wind nearly blew it out of her magic. Twilight had insisted on giving her a map, despite her assurances that she knew the way to the Everfree Forest. It was… irritating. Even more irritating was Twilight’s complete refusal to acknowledge what had happened that morning. It would be one thing to be rejected, but it was quite another to be ignored, her feelings pushed aside like some official princess business that Twilight just didn’t have time to get to yet. She shook her head. That wasn’t fair to Twilight, and she knew it. Twilight had gone through a lot recently, between her sleeping problems, the Blood Sun, and Sunset’s confession. She just needed to give her time to process it all. Knowing that didn’t make waiting any easier, though.

She looked up at the sky. The last rays of sunlight had already dissipated, leaving the sky well and truly dark, lit only by the stars and a scarcely visible new moon. She looked down at her hooves. The stone path that led out of the town was now a dirt road, with room for little more than a single wagon. This was no Canterlot, that was for sure. The chill wind was growing more intense, despite the abundance of trees to cut it. In fact, it almost seemed to be coming from the Everfree itself. She used her magic to tighten her cloak and pressed onwards.

Perhaps because of the wind, or perhaps merely because her mind was preoccupied, Sunset didn’t immediately notice when the forest began to speak. At first, it was nothing more than the faint skittering of a squirrel. Then came the quiet flaps of a songbird’s wings. Finally, a howling timberwolf broke her from her reverie. Then two. Then five. They were close. She paused to ignite her horn. The faint but familiar smell of burnt hair filled her nostrils, and she breathed it in deeply. The timberwolves, of course, were of little concern to a fire mage such as herself, but she preferred not to kill them when she could ward them off instead.

She continued this way for the better part of an hour, occasionally stepping over tree roots and under low hanging branches. She had some time ago passed the edge of the Everfree, yet Discord was nowhere to be found. A terrible thought occurred to her. What if this was all some cruel joke of his? What if he never intended to talk with her at all, just to send her on a wild goose chase through the Everfree until she slipped up and touched poison joke or ran into a cockatrice. He didn’t have a sense of humor that twisted, did he? She shook her head. She came this far; she would just have to see it through.

Then she felt it, and her heart sank. A single drop of water hit her back. Then her nose. Then her horn. She looked up. The storm clouds were dark and sat low in the sky, nearly touching the tops of the trees above. That wasn’t a good sign. She had a few minutes at most before her fire would be put out, and then… it wasn’t worth thinking about. What was wrong with her? How could she have missed the brewing storm? Why didn’t she just kill those timberwolves? What had happened to her common sense? She had lived here, once upon a time. Was it all that time in the human world? That didn’t seem quite right, but nothing else made sense. The howling timberwolves seemed to be growing closer, as if they knew what was to come. She steeled herself. Now was not the time for panic. She needed a plan. She needed someplace to hide during the storm. A cave would do nicely, but she hadn’t seen one for miles. The rain began to pick up, and it became slightly more difficult for her to keep her horn ablaze.

She had less time than she thought. She could hear them clearly now. There were six of them howling, though there were probably a few more in the pack. They were less than a minute away, and there would be no outrunning them. They must have been following the scent of smoke. They were smarter than most. She didn’t have time to keep looking for shelter. She needed to act. Time for plan C.

To other ponies, the tree would look perfectly normal, but Sunset knew what to look for. The bark was thick and slightly green, but the branches were thin and fragile, and a whole host of mushrooms surrounded the base. Despite the healthy bark, this tree was dying. A small hole on the side of the tree no bigger than a horn’s width was all she needed, and she found it. She stuck her horn into the tree and ignited it. She sat there for a moment, waiting. She was rewarded with an explosion of heat as the fire ignited the rotting wood inside the tree. A fire on the outside of the tree wouldn’t last in the coming tempest, but a fire on the inside would last for hours.

The storm began in earnest, waves of water crashing down on her back, and winds nearly taking her off her feet. She could see them now, hulking masses of wood and vine, eleven strong and quickly approaching. She dug in her heels as best she could, though the dirt beneath her hooves was quickly turning to mud. The timberwolves, seeing that she wasn’t moving, slowed their approach. Their rancid breath hung heavy in the air as they slowly inched closer, overwhelming even the scent of the burning tree behind her. They were close now, only a dozen feet away, but still she waited. She knew that they wouldn’t scare easily, not now, not when they were so close to a meal. They needed more than a little spark.

Suddenly, one made its move. It launched towards her throat, clearly intending to end this with one move. Sunset flicked her horn, and from a tiny hole in a dead tree poured forth a blinding fire that instantly charred wood, melted vine, and boiled sap. Even the pouring rain wasn’t enough to save the timberwolf. It whined, shuddered, and died in the sopping mud. The other timberwolves scrambled away from the sudden blaze, but even the death of their packmate wasn’t enough to rout them. A strange clapping sound echoing through the woods, however, was. Sunset watched as they turned tail and ran as if hell itself were behind them.

“Very impressive, Sunset Shimmer. You never cease to entertain. Might I tempt you for a spot of tea?”

A Dragon's Heart

Despite the fact that the Sun had just set, Ponyville was only starting to wake up. Candles and lanterns lit up every inch of Ponyville, from the town square to the forest’s edge, as if the carnival had come to town. Ponies of all ages flooded the streets, eating street foods from hastily constructed stands and the few rolling food carts that Ponyville had on hoof for just such occasions. Many of the games from Nightmare Night made an appearance, and children and adults alike enjoyed launching plastic spiders and bobbing for apples.

Twilight, not quite asleep but not quite awake, stared vacantly out her bedroom window. On the nightstand sat a plate containing a cucumber sandwich, french fries, and a small piece of cake, all untouched. In her hooves, she clutched a book in much the same way that one holds a stress ball, and decidedly not like one holds a book that they actually intend to read.

“What’s wrong, Twilight?” said Spike.

Drawn from her stupor, Twilight turned to face Spike. “What did you say?”

“I said, what’s wrong?”

Twilight looked away. “Nothing’s wrong. I’m fine.”

Spike rolled his eyes. “I’m not dumb, Twilight. You’ve been on edge for hours. You haven’t eaten dinner, you’ve barely read a page all day, and you keep looking out the window towards the Everfree Forest. You couldn’t be less fine if you tried.”

“Ok, so I’m a little worried about the first Blood Sun in over a millennium. Is that so unreasonable?”

Spike frowned. “That’s another thing. You’ve been unusually snarky the past few days. It’s not like you.”

Twilight sighed. “I’m sorry. You’re right. It’s just… complicated.”

“I get the feeling that Sunset tends to complicate things.”

Twilight’s right eye twitched. “You’ve been hanging around Rarity too much. It’s not what you think.”

“Is it not? Then let’s sum up the evidence. I come upstairs and find Sunset Shimmer in your bed. You teleport to Pinkie’s and have a panic attack the likes of which I’ve never seen. Trying to help, I pour my heart out to you, and you don’t even react, but when Sunset enters the room you’re suddenly back to normal.” Twilight’s face contorted in horror. “Then when she leaves to go to the Everfree you suddenly lose all appetite for books, food, and your friends… What am I supposed to think?”

“Oh, Spike–”

Spike’s frown softened. “You don’t have to tell me what’s going on. I wish you felt that you could, but I understand that our relationship can be… complicated. You do, however, need to tell someone. I’m sure the girls would support you, whatever it is.”

Twilight looked down. “It isn’t that I don’t trust you, I just didn’t want to worry you. I see now that not telling you what was going on was only worrying you more. I should have seen that sooner. I’m sorry, Spike.”

Spike sighed as he lifted Twilight’s face up to look at him. “I know you worry about me a lot, but whatever is going on, I can handle it. I want to help you with it. But I can’t help if you won’t talk to me about it.”

And so, reluctantly, Twilight explained all about the nightmares she had been having over the past week, her chance meeting with Sunset the night before, the nature of her suspicions regarding the Elements of Harmony, and her discussion with Discord.

“Alright. Let’s just imagine that you’re right. Let’s put aside the absurdity of imagining that the Elements of Harmony are evil. Let’s assume that they actually are and that you and the girls unwittingly helped them replace or mind control the real Sunset and Luna. What would we do about it?”

Twilight didn’t hesitate. “Figure out how to reverse it. We freed Discord from stone, so it must be possible to undo the effects of the Elements.

“Even if we could free them, what then? Sunset was trying to take over Equestria, and Nightmare Moon was about to bring about eternal night before you used the Elements on them.”

“We’d imprison them if we had to.”

Spike raised an eyebrow. “Then why even bother?”

Twilight frowned. “If it’s universe shifting, the original universes deserve to have their own Sunset and Luna back, even assuming that we didn’t send them our own Sunset and Luna, which would obviously be its own issue. And as for mind control…” Twilight shuddered. “You weren’t affected by Discord, so trust me when I tell you that mind magic is truly the darkest magic that anypony can be subjected to. To be imprisoned not only in body but also within the mind is a hell I wouldn’t wish on anypony.”

“So you’re saying that on the off chance that maybe criminals are being treated a little too unfairly, you’re ready to go against the power of the Elements of Harmony themselves.”

“Yes.”

Spike laughed. “Twilight, you’re an idiot. Count me in.”

Twilight smiled. “You’re the best kid a mom could ask for.”

Spike sniffled. “And don’t you forget it.”

A Promise in the House of Chaos

Sunset was prepared to find anything on the other end of that accursedly opaque portal, but what she saw was about the last thing she had expected… a home. It was far from an ordinary home, of course, but it was clearly more than a house. The walls and ceiling hosted an array of comfortable-looking furniture, freshly cleaned bedsheets floated through the kitchen towards some unseen room, and a deck of playing cards quietly conversed with the ping-pong table on the patio. It was clearly a place that was meant to be lived in.

“This place is… homelier than I expected. Is this how you prefer to live, or is it just a clever subversion of expectations?”

Discord laughed. “Well, that’s certainly a unique perspective! I wish I could take credit for it, but it’s more A than B, I’m afraid.”

Sunset smiled. “Do you mind if I make myself comfortable?”

Discord waved a paw. “Not at all! Please do!” A chair floated over from the wall and sat itself behind her.

Sunset’s horn shone dimly, and as if from nowhere, Sunset was engulfed in a raging inferno that filled the room with smoke and turned the chair behind her to ash.

Discord blinked a few times, then snapped his fingers and returned the room to the way it was before Sunset turned into a miniature sun.

“My, must have caught you in a bad mood. Let me amend my previous statement. Feel free to take a seat.”

“Toying with ponies’ lives tends to worsen their mood, I have found.”

Discord plucked out his eyes and rolled them on the table. “Oh, don’t be so dramatic. It’s not as if you were in any real danger.” One of his eyes rolled off the table and onto Sunset’s outstretched hoof. “I was keeping an eye on you in case things got out of hand. I just wanted to see the capabilities of Celestia’s first student for myself.”

Sunset frowned. “I’ve got a name, Discord. Use it.”

Discord snapped, and his eyes returned to his head, while in their place stood piping hot teacups. He reached down and took a sip from the one on the table. “Noted. Look, Sunset, clearly we’ve gotten off on the wrong hoof. I didn’t think you would take my little test so personally. I apologize.”

Sunset sipped from her teacup, and her frown softened. “I suppose I can offer the manifestation of chaos some leniency in understanding social norms. Just ask first next time, alright?”

Discord bowed deeply. “Your magnanimity is truly the stuff of legends. Sooner will the stars fall from the sky than shall I forget this day.”

“You’re pushing it.”

Discord pouted. “Oh, can a spirit of chaos have no fun?”

Sunset cracked a smile. “You know, if I ignore the assassination attempt, you’re not half bad.”

Discord laughed. “That was no assassination attempt. If I wanted you dead” –His body turned to stone, his face trapped in a horrifying grimace– “You’d simply cease to exist.”

Sunset shrugged. “Yea, probably.”

Discord blinked back to his original form and rubbed the back of his neck. “You know, I usually give ponies quite the scare with that one. What gave the joke away?”

“Because you and I aren’t like Celestia. We don’t talk about our plans. We act.”

Discord raised an eyebrow. “You flatter me. After all, I did let Twilight Sparkle and the gang acquire the Elements of Harmony to reseal me in my prison.”

“You merely underestimated them. If you knew what they were capable of, I doubt you would have been so cavalier.” Sunset sipped her tea.

Discord smiled. “Yes, I suppose that’s true. I could say the same thing about you, of course. Do you ever regret how things turned out?”

Sunset sighed. “Every day.”

Discord sipped his tea. “What if I told you that I could give you a second chance?”

“What, like send me back in time?”

Discord spit out his tea and clutched his chest. “Nothing so gauche. I wouldn’t mess with time even if I could. Once you start time traveling, everyone else will, too. Then somebody gets the bright idea to defeat you before your reign of chaos, and all that hard work turning the cosmos inside out amounts to nothing. Besides, it makes for dreadfully uninteresting stories most of the time. Time loops and whatnot.”

Sunset’s eyes narrowed. “Then what exactly are you suggesting?”

Discord’s smile turned into a cheshire grin. “Oh, nothing much. A change in wardrobe, perhaps.”

Sunset raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t take you for a tailor.”

“Nothing like that. I leave the tailoring to Rarity. No, I was thinking along the lines of a new accessory. You’d have to adjust your outfits to match, of course.

Sunset laughed. “I didn’t take you for a fashionista either.”

“I’ll admit I’m not much of a fashionista, but I’ve heard that wings are always in.”

Silence. Sunset heard a faint click as Discord casually pulled out a timer, but it barely registered. Wings. He had said wings, hadn’t he? She must have misheard.

“Wings?”

“Wings.”

Sunset stared blankly at the ceiling as her mind went blank. Her body went numb. She tried to stand up, but she was too dizzy. Wings. What does one say, she wondered, when God offers them the world? Thanks? Why? Where’s the camera? In the end, through great force of will, she managed to squeak out one word. “Catch?”

Discord laughed as he clicked the timer. “Only twelve seconds. You’re a quick one, aren’t you. Don’t worry, there’s no monkey’s paw business here. There is a condition, but it’s to do something you already want to do anyway.”

“What?”

“Overthrow Celestia. Kill her, banish her, I don’t care, so long as she remains gone.”

“W-why?”

“Two reasons. The first is that I am immortal. The sad truth of the matter is that Fluttershy and her friends will die, and though I’ve grown fond of them, I have no intention of dying with them. I will outlive them, and I will need plans in place for when I do. The second reason is one I share with you.” His relaxed tone turned to icy fury. “I hate her.”

“No, why me?”

“You have enormous potential. You may not see it, but I do. When you’ve been in the business for long enough, you get an eye for it. You’re stronger than Celestia was before her ascension, and with a few post-ascension years under your belt, I have no doubt you’d surpass her. You also hate Celestia, which removes the need for manipulation and the possibility of getting cold feet –err– hooves.” He took a sip of his tea and smiled.

“And what of Luna?”

“Irrelevant. With Celestia out of the picture there’s no way she could use the Elements against me, and without them, she is woefully outmatched. Besides, her imprisonment on the moon robbed me of any desire to get revenge.”

“And afterward?”

Discord laughed. “Don't be so cynical. I'd let you rule over Equestria, of course, and I'd rule over the rest of Equus. Or we could take turns, if you prefer it that way. We can work out the details later.”

Sunset paused for a moment, then sighed. “Sorry, not interested.”

Discord slithered out of his chair and coiled loosely around Sunset, his head slowly snaking its way up to eye level with Sunset. “Not interesssted?” He quirked an eyebrow. “Don’t make me laugh. You might have thought that I couldn’t hear you when I was a statue, but I remember those late night visits to the garden. Hatred and ambition. That’s all you are.”

She looked away from his gaze. “That’s all I was. I’ve changed.”

Discord let out a hollow chuckle. “People don’t change, that’s just a lie they tell themselves so they can imagine that one day they won’t hate themselves. Tell me, are you willing to lose everything you’ve ever dreamed of for a lie?”

Sunset grit her teeth. “Not. Interested.”

Discord shrugged. “Suit yourself. Just know that the offer is still on the table if you change your mind. Oh, and don’t go mentioning this to anyone. I’ll deny it, Fluttershy will side with me, I won’t be turned to stone, and after a few years you’ll die of perfectly natural causes.” He snapped his fingers, and a portal opened. “This will take you to the edge of the Everfree. Keep in touch.”

“Is that it then? What about the Blood Sun?”

The portal snapped shut. “Ah, right. Before I answer that, tell me. How much did Celestia tell you about the signs?”

“She told me of their existence and to keep an eye out for them, but not much beyond that.”

“I suspected as much. To be honest, there’s not much to say that you don’t suspect already. You and Celestia are obviously involved. I suspect Twilight is as well, given how talented she is at sticking her muzzle into things that have nothing to do with her. Oh, and the sun should be back to normal tomorrow.”

Sunset frowned. “But what does it mean?”

“Who knows? More signs will come. Come back then. Ta-ta.”

“Wait-” but the house of chaos was already gone.