Twilight levitated a blue gem onto the table. "This was once used as a Farhearing Stone, which allows one to instantly communicate with another holding a similar gem. I've instead placed a translation enchantment on it."
"For what purpose?" Anthony asked.
"When I speak with Sunset, I'll have to use Equestrian, otherwise she would be suspicious as to why I was using your language instead," said Twilight. "That will be useless as evidence to you unless you can hear it in your own tongue. Like this." She stepped up to the stone and said, "<Now is the time for all beings to come together in the name of friendship.>"
Her Equestrian tongue went in, but English came out.
"Place this gem near your recording equipment," said Twilight. "You'll hear English, and your machines will also record the same."
Starlight looked at Anthony. "So does that pass muster with your legal system?"
"As I said before, I've been told to be more flexible," said Anthony. "We're operating under a combination of martial law and presidential executive order. The President's exact words were: 'we need progress now; let the courts figure out the details later.'"
Kevin smiled tightly. "Better to ask forgiveness later than for permission now."
"In effect, yes."
"One would think just the fact that she speaks Equestrian would be a dead giveaway. It sounds like it would be a bit difficult for humans to learn with any degree of fluency without a lot of study."
"While I have been given more latitude, I still want as much evidence as possible." Anthony turned to Twilight. "I should inform you that I've been given latitude in one other area. Our goal is to find a means to incarcerate Sunset so she can be held accountable for her actions."
Starlight glanced with concern at Twilight, but her friend simply nodded and said in a neutral voice, "I understand."
"But if we find that our initial plans are failing, and I feel that enough proof has been provided to establish both her identity and her culpability ..." He paused and glanced about the room. "I've been given command of a SWAT team."
"I'm not familiar with that term," said Twilight, though her heart already pounded as if in anticipation of the answer.
"Think of them as a special branch of law enforcement," Anthony explained. "Much more military in tactics and equipment. Specifically, I'm bring in a team of snipers."
Twilight uttered a small gasp.
"They'll be set up around the perimeter of the designated area. They will not fire unless I give the word, but I will give that word if I feel we have no other choice."
"You would k-kill her, just like that?!" Twilight exploded.
"It's not a decision I take lightly, Twilight. Frankly, I wish I didn't have this responsibility at all but--"
Twilight thumped a fore-hoof against the floor. "I don't mean that! You're not even going to give her the chance to understand what she's done wrong?"
"I intend to give her every chance of surrendering to us," said Anthony. "Or of you and Starlight subduing her. But if that doesn't appear to be working, we can't take any chances she'll either remain free to interfere with our efforts or harm you in any way. We're doing this to protect you as well as us. This is our last chance."
Twilight looked at Starlight. "In my world, there's no such thing as a last chance."
"But we're in this world, and things work differently here."
Twilight lowered her gaze and voice. "I'm well aware of that."
"Twilight, I'm sorry, but I have to agree with him," said Starlight.
Twilight turned her gaze to her friend. "You'd see her killed, too?"
"No, I don't want to happen, but sometimes you have to draw a line. Did Nightmare Moon listen to reason, or did you have to blast her with the Elements of Harmony? Did Tirek listen, or did you have to send him back to Tartarus? Did Sombra listen, or--"
"You've made your point," Twilight snapped.
"Twilight, you've said several times how you admire our culture," said Anthony in a softer voice. "I'll go on record as saying I admire your world as well."
Twilight turned her glistening gaze to him.
"I wish we could use friendship to solve all our problems. I started my career in the Bureau battling illegal drug trafficking. I've seen the absolute worst that human beings can be. I wished I could do more for them, but I had a duty to protect the citizens of this country. That's no different here. If I do make that decision, I won't like it. I won't revel in it. I'll do it because I have to."
Both Starlight's and Anthony's words echoed in Twilight's head. She remembered the keen sense of regret and even guilt she had felt after helping to save the Crystal Empire. She had wrestled with the question of whether she and Spike had actually killed a being, the first time such a thing had ever happened. She had argued that Sombra was little more than a lingering shadow, a skin of evil that no longer had the capacity for any emotion except ruthless ambition, but it made it no less difficult to accept.
"I'm just not used to this approach," said Twilight. "I said Starlight had a point, but generally we don't kill. We incarcerate and sometimes banish, yes, but we also forgive and reform. A creature named Discord was once one of our greatest foes from the past, and now he's become one of our friends, and sometimes even an ally."
"If it helps any," said Anthony, "There are several world leaders -- including the President -- who are looking forward to meeting you outside of this crisis, but we need to remain focused."
"I understand. I just hadn't expected to be partially responsible for Sunset's potential death." Twilight took a deep breath. "I've said I'll do whatever it takes to save your world, and I meant it."
"We'll set up a separate meeting to go over the logistics of the operation," said Anthony. "Until then, let's move on. Doctor Marlowe, do you have an updated report on the spread of ETS?"
Sandra paused as if to steel herself before opening the folder before her. "We had another large set of complete transformations in Lazy Pines. That means now ninety-three percent of the town is in end-state. Other communities in the emergency area are reporting full transformations. We're getting reports of some near or entering end-state outside the zone."
"How many total transformations so far all told?" Kevin asked.
Sandra let out a small sigh through her nose. "Seventy-five thousand, but that's just the tip of the iceberg. The number of people with active ETS symptoms -- even as little as discolored hair -- may be as high as fifty million."
An uneasy silence settled over the room. Anthony tapped a finger on the table. "Why is it ramping up so quickly?"
"Twilight and I spoke about this before the meeting," said Sandra in a somber voice. "Our consensus is that the intense virulence of the influenza virus vector caused an exponential increase in influenza cases, so much so that the CDC lost the ability to accurately track the number of infected. This, in turn, drastically increased the available pool of transformation magic. ETS symptoms are starting as early as a day after recovery from influenza. In some cases, the influenza infection itself is cut short. We saw this with patient Eileen McDermott before the counterspell was successfully applied."
"And we're absolutely sure we can't stop or reverse those cases?"
While the question had been put to the room in general, most eyes immediately shifted to Twilight. "I can't even begin to do that until I can find a way to drain the available pool of transformation magic," said Twilight.
"I know we're focused on stopping the spread, but have you given any thought to it at all?" Anthony asked.
"Some. I need to come up with a way to create the equivalent of a 'magic sink'. Perhaps if there are minerals in the crust of your planet that have an affinity for magic, they might be useful in that endeavor. Another idea might be a combined effort of Equestrian pegasi and unicorns to create a storm that could suck in the magic. Naturally, that would be after we regain control of the portal and can summon help."
"Could they also help with distributing the counterspell?" Kevin asked.
"Possibly," said Twilight. "Normally my friends and I would use Harmony magic to do such a thing, but that's intimately tied to our own world. I'm not sure I could either summon it here or control it."
"What about your ruler?" said Anthony. "You've mentioned that she's more powerful than you."
"Yes, but not all-powerful. Even she has limits. She could cast it over a wider area than I could, yes, but nowhere near enough to go around the whole planet. Even if we brought in Princess Luna and Princess Cadance, I'm still not sure that would be enough. We'd still be limiting the number of people cured to tens of millions."
Kevin leaned forward. "I just had a wild idea. Twilight, you've stated that those who become unicorns can work spells like the unicorns of your world, correct?"
"Yes, indeed," said Twilight. "I understand that most of them are mastering levitation already. Sunset must have instilled that basic knowledge into them."
"Could they be taught to cast your spell?"
"The counterspell may be too complicated for most of them. A few may be prodigies who can master it, but not enough to make a difference." Twilight suddenly gasped. "Wait, I just thought of something! What about the crystal ponies?"
Starlight raised an eyebrow. "What about them?"
"We know they can focus and channel magic into the Crystal Heart. What if they could somehow be used as magical conduits for the spell?"
Sandra quickly flipped to another folder. "Just about every shelter is reporting at least one or two of these so-called 'crystal ponies'. They're also appearing among the general populace who have ETS."
"There's got to be a way to take advantage of that!" Twilight said excitedly.
"I once again repeat my request to rub Sunset's muzzle in this," Starlight declared. "Though don't we still have the problem of getting enough power to do what you want?"
"Yes, that only potentially solves the distribution problem. It's still a mass-casting and still requires the sum total power of individual castings on potentially billions of inhabitants. But it's progress."
"We also have another problem we need to address sooner rather than later," said Sandra. "We're facing the possibility of open revolt among the fully transformed in the shelters."
Anthony gave her a concerned look. "Are they getting violent?"
"Just the opposite. They're going out of their way to avoid any sort of direct confrontation, but they're increasingly ignoring requests to stop practicing their magic. They're agitating to be released. Threats of mass-tranquilization seem to work for now, but I doubt it will for much longer."
"As I told Mr. Heller, without a magical component, your normal sedatives won't work," said Twilight.
"Yes, but they don't know that," said Sandra. "The earth ponies are the biggest agitators. The only thing holding them in check is the fact that almost every shelter reports that someone from among them has become their tacit leader. They don't even seem to mind that in one case, she's only seventeen."
Kevin's eyebrows rose. "Not Laura Tanner?"
"Yes, actually."
Kevin smiled. "Despite the trouble she's causing you, I must admit to feeling a bit proud of her."
"But those leaders are agitating as well, and if the earth ponies lead the revolt, we can't stop them without using lethal force," said Sandra. "Obviously, that's completely unacceptable and not even on the table as an option."
"Sandra, we have to turn them loose," said Kevin.
"We'd have very little control over them if we do that."
"Then maybe we need to stop controlling them. What more can they tell us about this affliction?"
Sandra sighed. "Then we're giving Sunset what she wants. She wants them to come together into these communities."
"And torturing them by keeping them prisoners is going to help how?" Kevin said. "I'm sorry, I know we've mostly been on the same page, but I have to disagree with you here. Our most sacred oath as physicians is: do no harm. Keeping them locked up like this is doing them more harm than good. They're not even contagious anymore."
Twilight felt an immense sense of relief to have Kevin on her side. She knew she could advocate for the ponies as much as she wanted, but it still amounted to a foreigner telling the locals how to manage their affairs. Having a fellow human advocate for them instead would carry far more weight, especially with someone who commanded as much respect as Kevin.
Twilight didn't consider herself wrong in wanting these ponies to thrive. They hadn't asked for this to happen to them, but they had the right to live their lives free of further strife. While she intended to keep her promise of changing back those who she could, she remembered Fred's plea to give him a choice. She wished there was a way to somehow separate the psyche from the morphic resonance to really give all these ponies an informed choice so she wouldn't feel like it was yet another forced transformation.
Sandra ran a hand through her already disheveled hair and turned to Anthony. "Would the President have any advice for us?"
Anthony looked thoughtful. "He would see Doctor Conner's point but would also realize it's a security nightmare."
"These transformed people have shown the very same herd instinct that Twilight described," said Kevin. "They'll likely stick together and not want to be adventurous at first. And if you're still worried about catering to Sunset's plans, perhaps telling them that they're being released in respect to their rights as Americans will remind them of their origins."
"But where exactly do we put them?" Sandra asked.
Kevin turned to Twilight. "Do you have a suggestion for us?"
Twilight was grateful to be drawn back into the conversation, as she had been bursting at the seams to comment. "Yes. An empty field with exposed earth would do best. Ponies back on my world do live in homes, but we're capable of living communally outside. Their existing homes are likely too big for them now and made more for human hands than pony hooves."
"Surely they would need some sort of shelter?" Sandra said.
"Tents should do for now. Ponies don't mind snuggling close together for warmth at night."
"Naturally, we can't force them to go there, we can only suggest it," said Kevin. "Otherwise, we're just moving their prison outdoors."
"If they know the land around the town, they might settle on a place themselves," said Twilight.
"But how do we curb them from wreaking havoc with the weather?" asked Anthony. "Doctor Marlowe said some have already successfully displayed that ability, and it was indoors."
"There aren't enough to affect the weather on a large scale yet," said Twilight. "The town, yes, but not much beyond that. I imagine Sunset tried to balance the initial numbers of pegasi to be more suited for local weather control, likely to provide water for food crops and prevent inclement weather before more permanent housing can be created."
"But how would they build housing without hands?" Sandra asked. "Or do unicorns do all that back in your world?"
Twilight smiled. "You'd be surprised how well ponies can use hooves and teeth. My friend Applejack and her family built a new barn once, and they're all earth ponies."
"All right, let me see what I can do," said Sandra. "Meanwhile, we got back some preliminary results from the new genetic tests we did on Miss Sommers. The results are very slightly different from the first tests. They do align a bit more with Twilight and Starlight than with the general population."
Anthony steepled his fingers and paused for a long moment in thought. "How sure are you of that, Doctor Marlowe?"
"The differences are just barely outside the margin of error. If I were banking a critical diagnosis on results like this, I wouldn't risk it."
"Yet it convinced you of Twilight and Starlight's integrity."
"It suggested as such," said Sandra. "I admit to being a bit biased out of desperation. Everyone's genetic code varies to some degree. The trick is to compare the parts that tend not to vary as much which define basic biological functions and processes. We're just not completely sure where those end and the individual variances begin where ponies are concerned."
Anthony was quiet for another few moments. "All right, this wouldn't necessarily stand up in court, but it's enough to convince me of the increased possibilities. From this point on, we'll operate on the assumption that Miss Sommers is Sunset Shimmer."
"About time," Starlight muttered.
"We would've gone ahead with the operation anyway," said Anthony. "At this point, we have nothing to lose."
The conference room that Starlight had been using to concoct a better unmarking spell had been converted into a full-fledged magic workshop. Several physicists and engineers stood at the periphery making their own observations as Twilight worked. Arrayed on the table where many samples of precious stones and gems, all provided to allow her to see if any earthly materials were up to the task of holding magic.
In providing the materials, the staff were generous to a degree that would have made Rarity proud. Some gave up treasured wedding and engagement rings knowing full well that Twilight's efforts might shatter their center stones. To that effect, she had insisted all humans in the room wear eye protection.
"Why precious gems?" a scientist asked.
"There are two types of thaumically-aware objects," Twilight explained as she gently applied a flow of energy from her horn into a ring with an emerald as its gemstone. "Containers and conductors. Containers are objects that can hold magic, and they require an internal lattice structure of the right geometry, and gems tend to best for that. Conductors are materials which allow magic to remain flowing inside them, similar to electricity through certain metals."
"Then if I'm interpreting your explanation of how the transformation spell works, humans are being used as containers," said another.
Twilight heard a faint crack from the emerald, and she sighed as she let the magic flow fade. "Life and magic are intimately connected. Magic cannot arise without life. Life is more than just biological function. It has a sort of force all its own, and that force has structure that can easily hold magic. I know this likely sounds metaphysical to you, but it's how things work." She frowned as she looked over her other failed experiments. "As I feared, your world has not been exposed to magic enough to produce the proper materials. We'll have to rely on what Sunset has."
"But you said we have a strong thaumic field--"
Twilight turned towards him. "Don't confuse thaumic energy with magic. Thaumic energy is the precursor. It doesn't become magic until a living creature taps into it. Even when not actively using magic, ponies produce an ambient magical field. Over time, this shapes certain minerals into producing materials that can be used to hold magic spells."
"Has nothing worked?" another asked.
"The closest I've come to finding a successful container is diamond," said Twilight. "But it needs to be impossibly pure. Even the slightest impurities renders it unsuitable. The only reason it works at all, I suspect, is because it's made of carbon, which itself is essential to life as we know it."
"I'm struggling to understand this, Twilight," said the physicist who had challenged Twilight during the lecture she gave the day before. "What exactly does magic impart into materials to make them suitable?"
Twilight stepped towards the gentleman. He was an older fellow, with a small beard and thin sideburns. "May I ask for your name?"
"Karl," he replied.
Twilight smiled. "Thank you. To be honest, I wouldn't know how to put it in your terms, Karl. Humanity has made tremendously greater strides than Equestria in working out the nature of matter. I've been trying to catch up, but I have a long way to go. Perhaps magic imparts another particle -- call it a thaumaton, for lack of a better term -- into the nucleus of the atom. Perhaps there's something about life itself that neither of us knows yet. Or maybe the branch of science you call quantum physics holds the answer."
A knock came at the door. Twilight turned as a Secret Service agent opened the door from the hall. "Are you open to interruption?"
"Yes, that's fine."
He opened the door fully, and Starlight and Anthony entered the room. "Twilight, we might have a solution to the broadcast facilities we need for your thaumic jamming field idea," said Starlight.
Twilight's eyes widened. "You do? Tell me!"
"The EAS broadcast stations," said Anthony.
"Explain to me what this is, please."
"EAS -- the Emergency Alert System -- is a means for the President to announce a national emergency and to speak with the entire country," Anthony said. "Though the brutal reality is that 'national emergency' really means 'nuclear war.' For all other national emergencies, it's never been used because CNN and their ilk beat us to the punch and provide far more detailed information that EAS ever would. All it's used for is at the local level for warning of tornadoes or other dangerous weather."
"I don't quite understand all their power terminology, Twilight, but each of these primary broadcast stations is supposed to be fifty thousand watts," Starlight explained.
"That is a considerable amount of power," said Twilight.
"And they have about three dozen of them. That's nearly as many objects as Sarah said she found at that one archaeological site. These primary stations in turn connect up with a big part of their communications network. We'll be able to reach almost the entire country!"
Twilight sighed. "But there's just one problem. That's too much power. Those gems will burn out in an instant."
"Yeah, I've been thinking about that," said Starlight. "I examined your notes on Sunset's transformation spell. Instead of trying to maintain a constant jamming field, what about just doing one big powerful burst and temporarily overload the sensing rune part of the spell?"
"That might work," Twilight said slowly. "But only for a day or two at most."
"But by then we'll have control of the portal. Equestria can send more materials."
"That's incredibly slim timing. It would be a mad rush to find the materials, deliver them to Canterlot, and shove them through the portal."
"The only alternative is to reduce the scope of the jamming field," said Anthony. "Which then raises the question: what part of the country do we protect? The President doesn't like the idea of playing favorites."
"If we stick with the original plan -- a constant jamming field -- we can only cover a hoofful of states," said Starlight. "That's barely going to put a dent in the spread. We have a chance to stop this thing in its tracks, at least in the United States."
"That's another thing I don't like," said Twilight. "I feel like I'm being asked to play favorites among the nations of this planet." She turned to Anthony. "I know you all have your differences and rivalries, but surely you can put them aside at a time like this."
"We have to be brutally practical, Twilight," said Anthony. "America by far is the hardest hit, and we happen to be one of the leading superpowers of the free world. We want to remain that way if we're to help put the world back together again after this. Rest assured that the President is sharing information with other nations, even those we consider our rivals as you put it. At its heart, this is a worldwide pandemic, and nations are pledged to share data to help stop it."
"We have to start somewhere," said Starlight.
"I know," said Twilight. "I never said we shouldn't do it, but I had to express my concerns. All right. Starlight, I have faith in your analysis. We'll go with a single powerful pulse instead of a constant jamming in hopes of buying time."
"The President already anticipated you would agree," said Anthony. "He's mobilizing the necessary transport and technicians to deliver the gemstones to the transmitters. I can't emphasize enough how important it is that we neutralize Sunset Shimmer in Operation Red Dusk."
Twilight blinked. "Er, operation what?"
"Red Dusk," said Starlight before rolling her eyes. "See what I mean? Humans have to put a fancy label on everything."
Before Twilight could reply, the door to the room opened, and Sandra rushed in. "Twilight, Starlight, we need you at once. There's been a change in Star Singer's condition."
The two ponies turned towards her. "Is she finally awake?" Twilight asked.
"Just the opposite. Her brainwaves are nearly flat-lined."
Starlight paled.
"What?!" Twilight exploded. "Are you saying she died?!"
"We don't know," Sandra said. "Her heart is still strong, her eyes are still open, she still blinks on occasion, and her autonomic functions are good, but it's as if she's partially brain-dead. I've never seen anything quite like this before."
"Come on, Twilight, let's check this out!" Starlight said.
Starlight frowned as she carefully leaned in for a closer look at Star Singer, her horn glowing. She glanced at the machine which displayed Star Singer's brainwaves and was met with several flat lines.
"Could this be part of the healing trance?" Sandra asked.
"I've never heard of one doing this before," Starlight murmured.
"And I don't recall reading about this, either," said Twilight in a quavering voice "In fact, I can't think of any condition that would cause this. A healing trance should be a completely stable state."
"Yeah, well, where Sunset's involved, all bets are off," Starlight grumbled.
"I keep telling you, Starlight, Sunset would never do something like this."
"This room is under constant surveillance," said Sandra. "Even if Sunset had tried to teleport in, we would've seen her. Or we would've seen a blank spot on the tapes if she had blocked the recording. Either would've triggered the guards outside to come into the room."
Starlight turned towards her friend. "Twilight, will you please chill the hell out about that? I didn't mean it that way. I just meant that what Sunset is doing provoked such a mess in the future that it was too much for Star Singer to handle."
"I'm sorry," Twilight said softly, her eyes glistening. "Star Singer can't be ... c-can't be dead."
Starlight turned back to Star Singer. "I don't think she is. She's just ... not here."
"I don't understand."
Starlight lighted her horn again. "Minds have a sort of signature to them, a structure that's unique to each creature. I'm not sensing that anymore. In other words, the plumbing is all there but someone turned off the water."
Twilight swallowed hard. "B-but that could mean brain-death, right?"
"Her head looks like someone let loose with a brain-freeze spell. That simply locks up a mind in complete stasis. A mind hit with that would look like what I'm sensing--" She gestured towards the monitor. "--and it might even look like this on human equipment. But where there's no evidence of mind magic being used, I don't know exactly what happened."
Sandra looked thoughtful. "I'm going to suggest something that until a few days ago, I would never even consider as a possibility. Is she having an out-of-body-experience?"
Starlight turned to her. "Depends on what that is."
"Some people believe that it's possible through techniques like meditation to temporarily leave your body and travel to other parts of the world or to other planes of existence."
"That must be it!" Twilight cried.
Starlight turned to her. "Uhh, how do you figure that?"
"I told you, I had done some research on her after we first met her. I wanted to know what exactly 'singing to the stars' meant. Stars in Equestria are believed to have a connection to other planes of existence. We see star-filled landscapes when Luna affects our dreams. I saw a similar starscape when I met Celestia as I was about to Ascend."
Starlight raised an eyebrow. "Oh, you are not about to tell me that Star Singer is going to be an alicorn!"
"No, don't be ridiculous," said Twilight. "In my case, I was there in both mind and body. My point is, such planes do exist, and Star Singer could be visiting one of those realms right now."
"But for what reason?" said Starlight.
Twilight stepped up to Star Singer and gazed into her unseeing eyes. "I honestly don't know, but I dearly hope it's for a reason that will help us deal with Sunset Shimmer."
Star Singer blinks rapidly, and she awakes, even though she is sure she has not been sleeping.
She looks around the ethereal landscape and realizes she does not know where she is. Wisps of what look like sparkling white smoke drift in the air. The ground is milky white with clumps, whirls, and spirals. She hears something in the distance, almost like singing.
She lifts her head. Great circular portals display images of planets, fading into the distance. Some are lifeless, barren rock. Some boil with freely flowing lava. Others are lush and verdant. Still others are shrouded in clouds over endless oceans. Images flicker to new ones in only seconds, and still no two are quite alike. Her breath catches when she briefly sees a landscape covered in the broken husks of what would have been gorgeous crystal towers, like a planet-wide Crystal Empire.
Her eyes widen as she glances again down at the floor and realizes why the shapes seem so familiar. It is as if she is treading on galaxies. The wisps of "smoke" are like trails of stars.
"Is anypony here?" Star Singer calls out, her voice quavering.
In the distance, the singing grows louder.
Star Singer gallops forward with an urgency bordering on desperation. Her hooves make not a sound, nor do they disturb the cosmic tapestry they tread upon. The trails of stars part easily for her and swirl in eddies in her wake.
"Please, somepony, answer me!" Star Singer cries. "Where am I? What is this place?!"
Then she realizes that she had her answer all along when the cadence of the song changes. Her heart lurches; it is one of the many voices who answered her when she first Sang to the stars in this universe. Her heart racing, her hopes rising, she redoubles her efforts and soon sees a diffuse light in the distance.
Star Singer's eyes widen as the light coalesces into a scene which makes her stop dead in her tracks. Materializing out of the ether is a small hill covered in greenish-blue grass surrounding a large tree with strange, crystalline leaves. A deep orange sun shines from a pink-purple sky. Long trails of white clouds tinged pink stretch across the heavens.
Sitting beneath the tree is a strange creature, about three times as tall as Star Singer. It resembles a dragon, its body covered in silver scales, two large membraned wings folded against its sides. It sits on its haunches and raises its muzzle to the sky. Its mouth opens, and Star Singer can no longer refer to the creature as "it;" the voice which issues forth in song is distinctly feminine.
Star Singer approaches cautiously. Light glints from the creature's head, and Star sees that a golden crown sits upon it. Similar adornments encircle her limbs just above her claws. A gleaming plate covers her chest.
The creature stops singing. She turns her head towards Star Singer and smiles, her golden eyes glowing faintly. "Thank you for coming, my child."
Star Singer is momentarily nonplussed. "But ... how am I ..." She blinks. "Neither of us are speaking Equestrian. What language is this? How do I know it?"
The dragon-like creature turns more fully towards her. "It is the Universal Voice. You know it because it is like your star-singing, but with more structure. The details are not important right now."
Star Singer looks back into the ethereal corridor from which she had come before raising her gaze to the strange sky. "Just what is this place?"
The dragon steps closer to Star Singer. Despite her bulk, her steps are like the hooves of a pegasus upon the clouds. "A very lonely realm, my child," she says in a sad voice.
"You keep calling me that," says Star. "I'm in my forties."
The creature chuckles. "I am immeasurably old. I existed before humanity's sun was no more than a diffuse cloud of dust and gas."
"But who are you?"
The creature sighs. "A very good question. I have considered changing my name to relieve some of the pain, but that is tantamount to pretending the Cataclysm never happened." She gives Star a wry smile. "Not to mention my full name is one hundred fifty syllables. 'Triss' will suffice. Or 'Queen Triss' if you wish to be formal."
"Then please call me Star Singer, or just Star."
"Very well." Triss turns away. "Please, walk with me, Star."
Star Singer pauses before stepping onto the grass. The air is fragrant and sweet. A gentle breeze ruffles her mane. "Are we still in the same place?"
"We are," says Triss. "This part is simply made into an echo of a long dead world. My world."
"It's strange, but still beautiful."
Triss smiles faintly. "Thank you, Star, your words bring me some comfort."
"You said you're a Queen," Star says. "Of what?"
"Of my now dead world, once populated by creatures like me."
Star Singer's eyes widen. "A whole planet of dragons??"
Triss pauses. "Dragon. Interesting word. Not quite the same as what you are thinking given the connotations I'm sensing, but it will suffice. If you wish a further point of reference, my ch -- sorry, Star Singer -- then consider me an equivalent of your Princess Celestia."
"Wait, you know her?"
"Only from a vast distance," Triss says in a forlorn voice. "The occasional times this universe connected with yours, I tried to reach out to her. I am so intensely lonely, Star Singer, in a way only immortal beings can be. Perhaps I held out hope that another being like me would know the secret to preventing the Cataclysm from happening again."
Star Singer's heart pounds. She has to ask, but she has a feeling she knows the answer. "What's this Cataclysm you speak of?"
Triss gives her a wry smile, as if calling her out on her own thoughts. "You know what I refer to. The arrival of the Devourer."
Star Singer swallows hard and trembles. "Th-that is far too apt a name for it."
"The realm you are in, dear Star Singer, is where those of my kind come to Ascend to a higher state of being and power," Triss explains. "Unfortunately, the Devourer came before any of my students were ready for that moment, something which I deeply regret. It would have made the pain more endurable to have a companion."
Star Singer stares. "Your entire civilization was destroyed?"
Triss' eyes glisten. "Yes. I escaped to this realm under the foolish notion that I could find an answer here. It somehow remains out the reach of the Devourers."
Star's mouth drops open. "Devourers? There's more than one?!"
Triss simply nods.
Star pauses as if to process this. "But why am I here?"
"I brought you here to make you understand."
Star's eyes widen. "I was in a healing trance ..."
"Which I incurred."
Star gasps. "You what?!"
"It was the only way to--"
"Send me back!" Star bellows. "I have to tell Sunset Shimmer the horrible mistake she's making! I have to stop her!"
Triss cast a level gaze at Star. "Yes, you do."
"Then why am I here instead?"
"Because all you have now are vague impressions," says Triss in a solemn voice. "You need the details. You need the truth. And I need to secure a promise from you."
Star hesitates before saying in a wary voice, "What kind of promise?"
Triss draws close, and her eyes tear. "The fact that you are in this universe means you have a stable portal. I BEG of you, Star Singer, promise me you will find a way to help me connect with your Princess Celestia. End my billions of years of loneliness!"
Star Singer's gaze shimmers. Her heart aches as she remembers how she had isolated herself when she was under the belief that her visions were useless. While her own loneliness had been self-imposed, it had been no less painful. She had lamented how much of her life had been wasted, but it is nothing compared to what this creature has suffered.
Tears drip from Triss' eyes. "For so long, I held out hope that on another world, Ascended beings like me would enter this realm, but no other magical civilization made it that far. I was the first and, apparently, the last."
"I don't have the sort of power to do what you wish," Star says in a quavering voice, "But I have a friend who might."
"Then, please, call upon your friend," Triss says in a soft, pleading voice. "Perhaps I do not have a right to ask for such things due to my failure to solve the problem of the Devourers, but I feel I have been punished for it long enough."
"I promise," Star Singer says.
Triss slowly smiles. "Thank you. Now, come with me, and I will explain what you need to know ..."