Equestria Girls: Reimagined

by Candle Light

Chapter Two

During the day, the crystal castle was a sight to behold, the light from the sun reflecting into a prism of colored shadows, dancing across every hallway. But during the night, the light of the moon—tonight shaped like a slice of apple pie—bathed the entire castle in a far subtler sheen of gray and blue. It was a soothing, silent color, if such a thing existed. And best of all, nopony was around to tell you no.

Sure there were guards prowling the place, but those were easy enough to avoid. A blend-in-spell here, a small distraction there; the hooded figure could have done this in her sleep. Not much further now. Beyond that door ahead lie the key that would change her life forever.

Even the door hinges were made of crystal, and slid open without a single creak. She opened it no more than necessary, so as not to let the sudden light wake up its occupants. Twilight Sparkle and her dragon assistant were both snoring loudly; perfect. And there, on the nightstand, was the price. The Element of Magic, the most powerful of all the Elements. Useless on its own, perhaps, but where she was going, magic didn’t exactly play by the rules of Equestria. Celestia’s ignorance would be her downfall, thinking this was the safest place to bring not only the Elements, but the old artifact as well.

She picked it up gently with her mouth, and stashed it in her backpack. It was hers. Finally, after years of planning, dreaming, it was in her possession. But she wasn’t in the clear yet, not until she’d made it back to—

Hoofsteps. They were coming closer, and fast! She did the first thing that popped into head, pressing herself against the wall and risking a spell, which temporarily lit up the room. Her coat and backpack had just assumed the texture of the crystal wall when wham, the door was flung open. “Twilight, Spike, wake up!”

“Pinkie…?” slurred Twilight. Ah, so this was one of Twilight Sparkle’s famous friends, the pink party pony.

“My front left hoof’s twitching!” Pinkie told them urgently. “Twitchy-twitch! That means danger from an intruder!”

Curses! She had read about this so-called ‘Pinkie Sense’, but had written it off as ludicrous and unscientific rubbish. Can it sense I’m here? she wondered. Should I make a break for it now? I could probably outrun them.

“Intruder?” repeated Twilight, quite awake now. “Are you sure?”

“Sure as blueberry cupcakes! No clue why there would be an intruder, but I'm sure there's one close-by.”

“I think I know why,” the baby dragon spoke up, pointing to the night stand, absent of its crown. Pony feathers! Left with no other options, the hooded figure used the split second moment of confusion when they realized the crown was gone to bolt out of there. But it only got her so far as the corridor before Twilight yelled, “Stop! Thief!”

It was on now. Running as fast as her legs would carry her, she dashed passed doors that were opening to reveal guards ponies, or more of Twilight’s friends. But they couldn’t stop her now. The room where she needed to go was just ahead; not even Twilight’s famous brother, the captain of the guard, could hope to mobilize his soldiers fast enough to stand in her way.

Bam, she threw the door open. But a large figure was blocking her path.

“Sunset Shimmer,” said Princess Celestia, who stood right between her and the artifact. Her old mirror. “It’s been too long. Five years?”

That exchange was all the time it took for the Element Bearers to rush into the room behind her. A lesser pony would be shaking in her boots right about now. Sunset Shimmer only smiled. Behind her, Twilight said, “I don’t know who you are, but you’d better give me back my crown right now!”

Sunset ignored her, staring right into her old master’s eyes. “Sorry it had to be this way, Princess. But you’re about to find out just how much more I’m capable of.”

“I don’t want to see you hurt,” Princess Celestia said. “This castle is an anti-teleportation zone, and you have nowhere to run. Empty the contents of your bag, or face the—”

Sunset’s body flashed, and just like that, she had done exactly what Celestia had just said couldn’t be done. An anti-teleportation field was, after all, only a series of spells design to cancel out conventional spells by ‘rerouting’ the ordinary magic flow of the caster and their surrounding, and Sunset Shimmer was far from ordinary.

She cast one last look back at the group. The stage was set, and now, all she had to do was wait for things to unfold. She then jumped into the mirror, back to the world that, for the past five years, she had called home.

“Who in tarnation was that?” breathed Applejack. Twilight had no idea, but she had a feeling it wasn’t unrelated to Celestia’s inquiry about Canterlot earlier.

Princess Celestia approached the mirror, and put her glowing horn to the glass. Twilight let out a gasp; the reflective surface was at once replaced by a backdrop of dark swirls, in which glowing bubbles were darting to and fro. That’s when she remembered. This was the mirror she had seen in the Hall of Magical Wonders, beneath the library! She had wondered about its purpose many times, but no one had been able to tell her.

The room remained silent for almost half a minute, all eyes on the spectacle, waiting for an explanation. “Okay.” She lifted her head, and the mirror surface reverted to glass. “No immediate danger…

“Sister,” said Luna. “Was that… her?” Celestia nodded. “So the reports of her being spotted in Canterlot…?”

“A diversion, no doubt,” her sister replied. “So we wouldn’t suspect she would be coming back for it.”

“You can stop throwing random prounouns around anytime now,” Rainbow Dash remarked. “Whoever she was, she just stole Twilight’s Element. I’m guessing that’s not good.”

“You would be right,” Celestia said, facing them all. “I’m personally putting an end to the secret; the Arch Mages can say what they will. You all deserve to know.” She motioned for them to sit down, and they formed a sort of semi-circle around her. “The pony you just saw was Sunset Shimmer. Until five years ago, she was a student of mine.”

“You mean like Twilight?” Applejack spoke up. “You mean to say you had other students before her?”

“When you live as long as I have, you end up taking on more than a couple of students along the way. And while most of the ones I have taught grew up to become bringers of great things to our fair country, others, like Sunset Shimmer, succumbed to the call of power. Her downfall was…” she paused. Twilight had never seen her so distraught. “Her downfall was my fault. I tried to impress upon her the importance of humility, but it only made her long for power all the more. Had I made a greater effort to understand her feelings, things would have gone differently, but alas, her wild nature brought out a certain stubbornness of my own.

“But enough self-pity. It was maybe ten years ago now that she created this.” Celestia stepped aside, and let Twilight and the others really have a good look at the oval mirror. “This is a portal, connected to a whole other world, created entirely by magic. One of many worlds brought into existence by a lost Arch Spell of Star Swirl the Bearded, kept from public knowledge by the decree of the Arch Mage’s council.” Twilight’s head was spinning faster by the second. A lost Arch Spell had been what had transformed Twilight into a Princess, and this was yet another one? The creation of worlds? Before Twilight could voice any of her thousand questions, Celestia addressed her directly. “You, Twilight, must surely understand why the decision was made.”

It was childishly simple, when she thought about it. “A whole world of magical creation… I can hardly even imagine how much energy it must contain.”

“Precisely. It is believed that, unless handled with utmost care, a simple spell could disrupt the balance of magic between Equestria and this new world, unleashing untold destruction upon both. When she made the mirror, Sunset Shimmer was still but a foal, and did not yet realize the danger. What she did five years later, however, she did knowing the risks. She returned to Canterlot Castle one day, and broke into the Hall of Magical Wonders, seeking to conduct forbidden research on the mirror and the world beyond. When I tried to stop her… that’s when things broke between us. She accused me of holding her back, and swore that she would, in her exact words, ‘rise above this wretched nation that’s been fighting against me at every turn’. Then she jumped headfirst into the mirror... and I never saw her again…”

“Sister, I hope you understand that nopony in their right mind would place the blame on you,” Luna told her softly.

Celestia let out a breath. “I know. Nevertheless, I am in part responsible for what has happened here tonight. Thus, it is my duty to set things right,” she cast a look at the mirror, and her expression sank, “but alas, much the way Twilight shifted the duty of saving the Crystal Empire when the situation called for it, so too must I step aside when the fate of Equestria hangs in the balance. I don’t know what my former student is planning, but I do know that, were I to face her now, I might struggle to keep my thoughts calm and rational.

“So it falls upon you, Twilight Sparkle. You must step into the other world, and retrieve your crown from Sunset Shimmer before she can use it for whatever scheme she has in store.”

There was a short silence, allowing Twilight to process all of this. She felt like she should be confused, maybe a little scared, to be dealt such a crucial task so suddenly. But most of all, she felt proud. She had been nervous about the prospect of discussing politics with the representatives of other countries, but saving the world? That, she could do. “I underst—”

“Whoa whoa,” Rainbow Dash halted, standing up. “That’s not how things work around here. If she’s going, we’re going with her! The Elements of Harmony stick together, baby!” All of them, including Spike, nodded and stood closer to Twilight.

“Not this time,” Celestia said with a firm tone. “Even knowing Sunset Shimmer was able to pass through the portal safely, we cannot risk straining it more than necessary. But more importantly, it is precisely because you carry the Elements that I cannot allow you to go. Sunset Shimmer’s target was Twilight’s crown alone, and yet, if she knew of the crown, then she must be aware that an Element of Harmony does not work on its own. If I’m right, then all of you rushing after her might be exactly what she’s hoping for.”

“How about we just leave the necklaces at home?” Applejack suggested.

“Your very beings are still connected to the crown. I understand how you all must feel, but there are simply too many variables at play. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, Rainbow,” Twilight assured. “I’ll be fine on my own this time.”

Rainbow Dash frowned, but didn’t argue. “Yeah. I get it… just sucks, you know.”

“How are you feeling?” Celestia asked Twilight. “Did you get enough sleep?”

“I think so. I feel more awake now than when I got here.”

“Then you must go at once.” It hit Twilight that, from the moment Sunset had jumped into the mirror, Celestia must have been holding herself back from jumping right in after her. She hadn’t rushed her explanation, either, but taken the time to let the gravity of the situation sink in. It showed just the type of strength of character that Twilight loved and respected so much.

She would not let her down. Twilight walked up to the mirror, which in this state showed no signs of being a portal to another dimension. With one final glance back to her friends, she took the step forward, straight through the glass, letting the magic engulf her.

The sensation was similar to being swept up by a whirlwind. Good thing she hadn’t had much time to consider what traveling between worlds might actually feel like, or she might’ve had second thoughts. Her mind was still there, but her body… oh Celestia, she couldn’t feel her body!

Though she could hear voices. Celestia’s voice? But it wasn’t coming from ahead.

“Spike, no!”

Before she knew it, she was face-down, looking at hard and gray ground.