Back At School…
“Wow! You weren’t kidding, Ocellus,” Gallus said as he examined the pictures of Silverstream, “We’re sorry we doubted you.”
Sunburst had been reprimanded by Starlight for letting things get out of the hand the way they did, and Citrine Spark was scheduled for a detention come the weekend. Ocellus had gotten off scot free as it was determined that Citrine acted alone in defacing the mirror, which was true. But now, there was a big mess to be cleaned up in Canterlot.
Now, Ocellus was with her friends in the library while Citrine was in the Headmare’s Office. She was showing her friends the pictures she had saved of the six of them together with Silverstream. Ocellus had no doubt they would eventually believe her as they trusted her, but she was grateful for the physical evidence that was still there. She was totally unaware that the mirror incident would eventually cause a lot more harm than she initially imagined.
“It’s alright, girls,” Ocellus forgave them, “It’s not your fault. For some unexplained reason, someone or something has altered the timeline so it’s like Silverstream never existed. I don’t know who or what would do that, but once I submit these photos to Headmare Starlight, she can help me find Silverstream, wherever she is, or if she’s even alive.”
“Help you? We’re helping too!” Smolder declared, “If what you’re saying is true, then Silverstream is somewhere out there, probably lost and alone, and we need to find her! No buts about it, Ocellus. We’re coming with you.”
Ocellus didn’t protest this. Normally, she would, but she could see her friends were coming from the right place. This was a job for all five of them. Not to mention, she didn’t know how long Citrine would be facing charges for destruction of museum artifacts and unleashing the multiverse. Those charges alone probably warranted some time in a juvenile detention facility, so the yellow unicorn was going to be out of commission for a while. It would be good to have her friends by her side during this time.
“Alright then,” Ocellus conceded, “But only because Silverstream probably does need all of us. If she’s even still alive, that is.”
“You forget Silverstream can fly,” Sandbar pointed out, “A fall in one measly cosmic hole in the fabric of reality is nothing compared to what we know she can do. She can just fly right out, and she probably has already. Don’t worry, Ocellus. We’ll find her.”
“Thanks, guys.” Ocellus thanked them. She felt reassured by their presence. Any lingering doubt that Silverstream would be found vanished in that moment. She had to stay positive. After all, the Magic of Friendship always found a way. They would find Silverstream and one week later, they would all be laughing this off over milkshakes at Sugarcube Corner.
Just then, Citrine Spark came running into the library, startling several other students who were studying, “Hey guys! I’m done being scolded by our principals. Bad news, though. I’m due for 6 million hours of community service and my Dad has to pay a fine of 500,000 bits in order to keep me out of prison. So yeah, he’s kinda pissed. I called him and he had some pretty choice words for me.”
Ocellus and her friends were shocked at this. Gallus and Smolder were trying to stifle laughter, Sandbar and Yona looked concerned, and Ocellus’s mouth dropped open. Although the fine was a pretty light sentence considering the fact that Canterlot had been totaled big time, the six million hours of community service seemed a little too extreme in Ocellus’s eyes. Princess Twilight was really stepping up her punishments now.
“Pony messed up big time?” Yona asked her.
“Totally big time,” Citrine confirmed, “That’s 250,000 days! I’ll be missing a whole semester! Well, I guess that’s what I get for being brainwashed by leftover siren magic.”
“Wait, what?” Ocellus asked her.
“Oh yeah, Vice Headstallion Sunburst explained it to me,” Citrine explained, “Essentially, that mirror was a prototype that Starswirl created in order to trap the Sirens, but it had so much raw magic from a spell that wasn’t finalized that anyone that touches it results in portals being opened, which would potentially release them if kept open long enough. Some leftover magic from those guys was left on that prototype before Beardie created a new one that currently sits in the Castle of Friendship. The prototype was taken to a museum as he had insisted it not get destroyed all those years ago. I bet he regrets that decision now, hearing about this mess.”
Ocellus could imagine Starswirl, wherever he was now in Equestria, moaning about how he should’ve destroyed that mirror a long time ago. But hopefully, he hadn’t heard about the damage yet. Otherwise, Citrine’s father and the legal system wouldn’t be the only ones having choice words for her.
“So, yeah,” Citrine showed Ocellus her hoof, which now had a black cuff on it with a red blinking button, “I have to wear this for the duration of my sentence. I think it’s cool, but it could use some personalization if I do say so myself.”
Ocellus could not see how Citrine could be so calm about the whole situation. She was literally wearing a tracking device on her hoof and she thought nothing of it. Then again, Silverstream hadn’t seemed to care what she wore either, so the two were more alike than they imagined.
“How can you be so calm about literally wearing a tracking device on your hoof?” Smolder asked, taking Ocellus’s thoughts right out of her, “The Royal Guard are literally going to be watching your every move 24/7.”
“Cool! Do they have popcorn to watch me while I sleep?” Citrine asked her. Smolder facepalmed and Gallus was shaking his head in exasperation. Citrine didn’t seem to understand as she asked, “What?”
Before any of them could reply, the school bell rang and students began filing out of the library towards their classes. The others all got up.
“Good luck with your findings, Ocellus!” Sandbar told her, “If you need any of us, you know where to find us!”
“Just don’t do anything big without us, okay?” Smolder reminded her, grabbing her backpack and heading off in the opposite direction with Gallus.
“I promise I won’t!” Ocellus called after them, though she didn’t know how long she would be able to keep that promise. It depended on how her teachers and principals reacted to her findings.
“Well,” Citrine told her, “I gotta go. My sentence starts at 4:30 and I unfortunately will not be able to help you after that. You got this covered though, right?”
“Yeah,” Ocellus affirmed, “Thanks for your help, Citrine. Maybe I can get you off easy?”
“I won’t count on it, but you can try!” The yellow unicorn mare responded, “See ya!!” And with that, she was off, leaving Ocellus to head to Headmare Starlight’s Arcane Magic and Sciences Class.
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“Alright, class!!” Headmare Starlight announced to the class, “I know the field trip didn’t go quite the way we planned it to, but I assure you all that we are investigating it. Today, we are going to practice basic levitation as the gym is closed.”
The students all groaned. Ocellus didn’t mind personally. She loved going to the gym as much as everycreature else, but she couldn’t do magic like the unicorns could. The only reason why she was placed in that class was an accident when writing her schedule. Besides, she had to keep her mind focused on the task at hand.
The students all got up to take their places by the teacher’s desk. As Headmare Starlight placed several objects on the table for the students to levitate, Ocellus reached into her saddlebag and pulled out the photos of Silverstream and the others, placing them on her desk. She lay the photos out in a sprawled out manner, so that she may examine each one of them individually and carefully. As she looked at each one of them, she began to think about the possible causes of the whole situation. It was unlike her friends to forget Silverstream in just one night after her fall. Silverstream had been such an integral part of their lives. Surely they would’ve noticed the holes in their memories, such as gaps and inconsistencies, right? How could they just accept the altered memories just like that? And if somepony was trying to get everyone to forget about Silverstream, why did they leave physical evidence behind that could potentially thwart their plans? Furthermore, why was she the only creature left with her memory completely intact? Everycreature else had forgotten, but she remembered. How did that even work? Why would someone who wanted to sabotage their friendship through altering their memories leave hers intact? Unless that pony wanted to toy with her emotions, which would’ve been downright cruel and despicable, but not unexpected.
Another possible culprit was the Memory Stone from the Seven Trials of Clover the Clever unit she learned in history class. The Memory Stone had the power to remove fragments of memories, and that lined up perfectly with what she had experienced with her friends’ memories being removed. But the human Twilight Sparkle and her friends had destroyed it, hadn’t they? So that couldn’t be it. Unless some genius had the power to reconstruct the Memory Stone from scratch, that possibility had to be ruled out. There were no other options.
Unless…
Before she could complete the thought, somepony screamed. It was a loud, shrill scream that instantly broke Ocellus’s train of thought. She looked up from her photos to see a dark pink unicorn mare clutching her horn with her hooves and shrieking, her classmates right by her side. Fear was on every inch of her face. Headmare Starlight had obviously been alerted and was asking over and over what was going on.
“M-m-my ma-magic!” The unicorn mare stammered, “I-I-I-I wa-was just tr-trying t-to levitate t-that apple a-and m-my m-magic j-just d-d-disappeared!”
“Disappeared?!” Headmare Starlight demanded, “When?! When did this happen?!”
“J-just NOW!!” The unicorn mare replied frantically.
Ocellus couldn’t stand just watching the scene unfold anymore. This was serious. She flew up from her seat and landed right next to the unicorn, helping her classmates support her as she fainted.
Headmare Starlight had an expression of pure anger as she addressed the class, “Whoever is doing this to Arcane Velvet, this is your final warning!”
“We’re not doing anything!” The students all said in unison.
“Check your magic, Headmare Starlight,” Ocellus suggested, “S-see if it still works.” Her voice was beginning to tremble now.
Headmare Starlight obliged. A greenish blue sputter of magic came out of her horn before it dissipated. The class gasped in horror. Something like this had not happened since Cozy Glow had tried to drain all magic from Equestria that fateful day. Could someone be trying something similar? But who would?
“This is crazy,” Headmare Starlight said, “We have to get to Canterlot at once!! Twilight will know what to do. I promise. We figured it out before, we’ll figure it out again.”
“Do you think this is because of the Mirror incident?” Ocellus asked Headmare Starlight.
She nodded, “That’s the only solution. But Twilight seemed to close all the vortexes,” She shook her head, “Nevermind. Twilight will figure this out.” She motioned for the class to run, “To the train station now!!”
With that, the students all stampeded out the door, nearly trampling Ocellus, who had to fly up in order to avoid being stepped on.
Through the speaker, Guidance Counselor Trixie was redirecting the whole school outside, “Attention, students! This is the Great and Counseling Trixie speaking! You are being redirected outside! We have to go to Canterlot! To the exit, my friends!!”
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The doors to the Canterlot burst open and the entire student body, led by Starlight and Sunburst, barged in, the doors automatically closing behind them.
Princess Twilight Sparkle was in deep conversation with Spike when she saw them come in. They seemed to be discussing the same situation.
“Twilight! Our magic is gone!!” Starlight exclaimed.
“A student fainted!” Sunburst added.
“I have 6 million hours of community service!” Citrine Spark piped up from the back of the assembled students, causing everyone to glare at her, “What?”
Princess Twilight raised a hoof to quell the commotion. She got off her throne, walking down slowly as Celestia used to when she was ruler. Twilight was a majestic and godlike presence, a flowing bluish purple and pink mane and majestic wings, and a golden crown the combination of the crowns of the two Sisters. She bore an expression of concern and worry as she read the room, her large lavender eyes scanning everycreature in order to make sure they were alright.
“I know,” Twilight stated, “I found out earlier today that my magic was failing. It was my fault. I should’ve sent you a letter as soon as I discovered it so as to not interrupt your classes, Starlight.”
“It’s okay,” Starlight told her, “Frankly, I think we all want to get to the bottom of this. What’s going on? Is another student stealing magic?!”
“Will Equestria be okay?” Ocellus asked her.
“No and no,” Twilight explained, “I’m afraid our worst fears have been realized. That incident at the Canterlot museum when Citrine Spark was seduced by the Sirens’ leftover magic caused more trouble than I initially realized. I cleaned up the vortexes, and Canterlot is relatively back to normal, but the magic is disappearing because I failed to close one of the vortexes in time.”
“Wait, what?” Sunburst asked, “But that doesn’t make any sense. How can a vortex drain magic?”
“I don’t know,” Twilight answered, “But somehow, we opened a pocket of dimensional reality where Equestrian magic can leak through to other worlds. I closed the last vortex too late and somehow now all the magic is draining. If we don’t fix this within three days, just like before, the magic on our world will be gone FOREVER.”
Everycreature in the room gasped inwardly. This was just like with Cozy Glow, only so much worse now.
“I’m so sorry!” Citrine apologized, “I didn’t mean to destroy Equestria!”
“You’ll be fine,” Twilight assured her, “Aside from your well-deserved sentence that will not be appealed by any means, tell your father, you were mind-controlled by strange magic. That was enough to throw out a prison or juvenile detention center sentence in my eyes as you were not in control of your mind, But we still need to figure this out and fix this. Equestrian magic is on the brink of disappearing for good. Ponies will no longer be in control of their world.”
“What happens if magic disappears…?” asked a unicorn student in the crowd softly, “What happens to us…?”
“That is a tough question,” Twilight admitted, “Equestria has enjoyed its second longest period of harmony in years. To suddenly be thrust into this…I’m afraid the solution escapes me. But I think the safest option right now is to transition to remote learning from home and not come to school until this is figured out. That is all we can do. I’ll have my friends and I meet on this. Spike has already sent the summons and Rainbow Dash should get here the fastest.”
“We’ll investigate the catacombs again beneath the school,” Starlight suggested, “Just in case some rogue student is aiding in this disaster and is not telling us.” The students all eyed each other suspiciously. Ocellus felt a tremor of fear course through her. She knew she wasn’t guilty, but she and her friends would be the first to be suspected, being non-ponies. Not all race relations had been solved with Twilight’s coronation and some pony students still threw them dirty looks in the hallway.
“Don’t worry, Ocellus,” Smolder assured her fiercely, “They know we’re not guilty.”
“Do they though?” Ocellus asked, doubting the sentiment, “Look at our classmates, Smolder. They’re eying us.” Smolder noticed this and started pushing prying faces away from her. This was not turning out too well.
Gallus shoved the prying face of a pegasus student aside, “Hey back off! We didn’t do anything!”
“The last thing I want this to turn into is a race war or witch-hunt,” Twilight spoke sternly, sensing the growing tension among the students, “You know that I do not tolerate this, and you are all still subject to my rules despite Starlight being your Headmare. If I hear about any fighting at school, mark my words, your principals will report it to me.”
That seemed to quell the growing unrest for a little bit, although Ocellus sensed that things were about to get a lot worse once they got back to school. Some students begrudgingly apologized and some did not.
“So…there’s nothing we can do to stop this?” Sunburst inquired.
“Unfortunately, no. Aside from your investigation, there is little to nothing we can do at the moment. I’ll call my friends in as I said, as well as the Pillars. If anyone knows more about the Mirror than I do, it’s Starswirl himself. Maybe he can figure out a way to reverse the tide.” Twilight’s voice carried authority and a seemed to quell the growing unrest for a while. As their Princess and former Headmare, the students trusted her judgement. Starlight and Sunburst knew Twilight personally, and Ocellus only had her faith that things would be okay in the end.
There were brief other discussions, but eventually, the visit was finished and everycreature began walking out the doors of the throne room. Ocellus began to think about the memories again when Twilight called her. “Ocellus, could you stay with me, please? I want to talk with you.” Some of the students snickered, thinking that the teal changeling was in trouble. Ocellus ignored them, doing as she was told and staying behind while the others left.
The doors slammed shut, leaving Twilight and Ocellus by themselves.