Some time later...
Princess Twilight Sparkle sat in the castle dining room, slowly making her way through a small stack of pancakes and strawberry syrup, as she thought quietly to herself, a book sitting next to her glass of milk, sitting open with a single sentence on the otherwise blank page.
I'll be there first thing tomorrow morning.
"I know that look, Twilight." Spike said, sitting at the adjacent corner of the table with his own stack of gem-encrusted pancakes. "Still not sure if this is the right thing to do?"
"I'll be honest, Spike. I'm... I'm not sure if 'right' and 'wrong' is the right point of view to apply to something like this. I asked Celestia and Luna what they thought, and they gave me their blessing if this was something I decided I wanted to go ahead with... But it's filled with uncertainty. Not to mention it could be dangerous, and foolhardy. I'm not even sure if it's better than doing nothing and leaving things as they are." Twilight said, taking another bite.
"What did Discord say?"
"I doubt he'd ever admit it, but I really don't think it was only about raising my confidence. I think a part of him, subconsciously or not, wanted to take those feelings of redemption and friendship... And pass them on."
Their conversation was brought to a pause as an E.U.P. messenger entered the dining hall.
"Your Majesty, the guest you've been expecting has arrived." The E.U.P. captain announced after the door had closed behind him, standing at attention.
"Excellent, please send her in." Twilight replied, setting down her silverware and got up from her seat, taking the open book and closing it, giving it to Spike to go put in her private study. As the E.U.P. captain exited, an amber unicorn with a mane of vivid crimson and brilliant yellow was ushered into the room, who immediately smiled upon laying eyes on Twilight.
"My goodness, you've grown." Sunset Shimmer commented playfully. Twilight smiled back as the pair of ponies came in for a hug.
"So what can I do for you, Princess? Your letter was a bit light on the details, just that you could use my empathetic insights."
"It would certainly be helpful right now. Care for a walk?" Twilight asked. Sunset immediately nodded, and the two of them walked out of the dining hall towards the castle hedge maze.
"So how's life in Canterlot? Never imagined you'd leave Ponyville." Sunset asked.
"It's been an adjustment, to be sure. Part of me wanted to stay down there. After all, Celestia and Luna ruled from the Castle of the Two Sisters before Nightmare Moon, and then they built the Canterlot Castle. I didn't want my castle to go to waste, so for now, it's mainly an extension of the School of Friendship's campus." Twilight explained.
"So Starlight runs it now?" Sunset asked.
"Yeah, along with Sunburst, whom she hired pretty much immediately after I offered her the position, then she made Trixie the Student Counselor. They've been doing a fantastic job."
"So how are your five friends doing?" Sunset asked as they exited the castle and trotted down the stairs into the hedge maze proper.
"Life is going fairly steady for them. It usually does when the fate of the world isn't hanging in the balance. Applejack is still running the farm with her family, Rainbow Dash is spending more time there than anywhere else if she isn't on tour with the Wonderbolts. Fluttershy has her animal sanctuary, and Pinkie Pie is continuing to help with Sugarcube Corner, but honestly, most of the time she's out on the road with Cheese Sandwich. Rarity is almost always at one of her boutiques, either down there, in Manehattan, here in town, or at her new location in Las Pegasus."
"How do all of you manage to find the time to get together?" The unicorn asked.
"That was actually my first royal decree after my disastrous coronation. We get together once a moon as the Council of Friendship. That's how we decided to use my castle for the time being."
"I was beginning to wonder why the mirror was back in Canterlot." Sunset asked, the other time she had used the mirror, she had come out in the castle library in Ponyville.
"Yeah, best not to have an interdimensional portal mirror when you open up your former castle to an entire town on a much more frequent basis." Twilight told her as they rounded a corner of the hedge maze.
Here, close to the center, was a section of the maze that was actively guarded. A pair of guards stood at the entrance to what could be considered the center of the hedge maze. They saluted as Twilight and her guest passed through. Sunset didn't wonder for very long why this area was guarded; she could feel the heavy magical aura the moment they passed the guards, and she could only assume that it had something to do with the stone pedestal with the rather odd trio of statues set on it. When Twilight stopped, she did as well, and looked at the details of the trio.
"Lapis Somnum?" Sunset asked, turning to Twilight, who immediately nodded.
"Lapis Somnum. Stone Sleep. The Petrifying Curse. It's had many names throughout history." The princess replied.
Sunset had heard rumors throughout her tutelage under Celestia, whispers that some of the statues in the gardens were alive, prisoners that were too much of a threat to be kept in more traditional jails or dungeons.
The statues were a rather gaunt centaur, something that appeared to be a cross between a pony and an insect, and, curiously enough, a school-age filly.
"What did they do?" Sunset asked.
"They attacked Canterlot just over a year ago, did considerable damage to the castle, and most seriously, spread enough rumors and misinformation that the ancient Windigos returned." Twilight told the unicorn.
Sunset remembered that particular text; the mythical, ghostly spirits that fed off of hatred and violence. Legend had it that Equestria was founded by a small number of ponies that had fled from a land beyond the Frozen North that had been overcome with world-ending blizzards; what some ancient texts called the White Frost.
"So why am I here?" Sunset asked her friend and tutor.
"I'm hoping your empathy magic can pierce the curse's barrier. I want to know if they ever felt... The spark."
Sunset knew exactly what Twilight meant. She herself had felt it the moment she had taken the princess' hand and was helped out of the crater in front of the CHS statue. The spark of friendship.
"What are you hoping for?" Sunset asked as she took a few steps closer to the statue.
"A draconequus was imprisoned in exactly the same fashion. It was over one thousand years before he was able to experience real friendship and turn from his selfish impulses, while still staying true to himself. Lapis Somnum was never meant to be permanent. I'm hoping that for one, two, or all three, that it won't take that long. Without that hope, I can't consider myself worthy of the title 'Princess of Friendship'." Twilight said.
Sunset glanced between the princess and the statues.
"I'll try my best." She said, before taking a final step closer to the pedestal. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and her horn began to glow dimly. Raising her right front hoof, she exhaled, leaned forward, and touched the pedestal. Her eyes shot open, her pupils and irises having vanished behind a fiery white light.
She felt cold... A snowstorm. She could make out a mountaintop through the near-blinding snow. She couldn't see anyone, but there were voices she heard over the howling wind.
"I-I wasn't sure you were going to give it back."
"Neither was I. But working together seemed smarter than to continue fighting."
"When we helped each other, it felt better somehow."
"I haven't felt like this since before I lost my hive. Having others who will be there for you is... pleasing."
"All of these years taking power from ponies..."
"When you use your power to help others..."
"Yes, it feels..."
An enraged scream compelled Sunset to take a step back and break contact with the stone, and the white light faded from her eyes. Princess Twilight came up to her, making sure she was alright.
"Sunset?" She asked, placing a hoof on the unicorn's shoulder as she rubbed her ears, removing the last of the tingling aftereffect.
"They... They did feel it. Then, I think they turned away from it. Or, one of them did." The unicorn told her.
"Hm. Starlight told me that they did an awful lot of bickering and fighting among themselves after they had taken Canterlot." The princess commented.
"What are you thinking? If these three caused the windigos to return, they're clearly dangerous." Sunset cautioned.
"I'll go as far to say that the windigos were our own doing, when we gave in to rumors and lies, turning our backs on our neighbors and friends. I'm thinking that every creature deserves a chance at friendship, to feel that magic spark and let it permeate their being. Princess Luna was our first success. Then Discord, then you, and then Starlight."
"So you want these three to be next? Are you sure that's safe?" Sunset asked.
"No, I'm not sure it's safe. Not yet. This is going to take some considerable planning. Chrysalis blatantly rejected an offer of mercy from Starlight when she was overthrown. Tirek continued his machinations all the way from Tartarus. And... I honestly don't even know where to begin with Cozy Glow's twisted views on what she believes is friendship. No, this is going to take a considerable amount of planning. Thank you for your insights, Sunset, but this is only the first step."
Sunset turned to look again at the trio of petrified creatures. Only the insect being was lunging out in anger; the other two were either futilely attempting to turn away or in the case of the filly, just looked on in fear.
"Princess, there was something else in there. I can't accurately describe it. Like... An... Emptiness, that hung just off the edge of perception. A black void. I've never felt anything like it."
"Hm. There's no telling how Lapis Somnum would affect your empathy spell."
"Well, in any case, I'm glad I could help," Sunset offered as they turned to leave the hedge maze. "Let me know if you want me to take a closer look, and best of luck in whatever you've got in mind, Princess."