//------------------------------// // Liminal Bridges Part 2 // Story: Three Dazzling Daughters // by BG9 //------------------------------// It didn't take more the a day for Twilight to come up with a solution and return to the human world. Anon, the girls, and the rest of the mane six gathered at Anon's place to hear the news. "Alright. I talked with the other princesses and did some research and I think we found a solution." "Let's hear it." Anon said "The princess's and I are going to bore a hole into the other universe using raw magic power. Once we have, I'll keep the portal from closing. This is where the tricky part comes in." Twilight begins to pace back and forth, her hand on her chin. "I have a student named Starlight Glimmer. Someone is going to have to into the portal to retrieve Aria, someone with a close personal attachment. Starlight will cast a thread spell on whoever goes inside. This thread spell will form two functions: the first is that should they get to far and we can't hold the portal open, it will teleport the subject back. The next is that it will allow Starlight to pump magic through the thread, making a kind of radar pulse that will lead us to Aria." Sunset look wide eyed "That's amazing Twilight. You never cease to amaze me. Even I never thought of using magic in such a way." Twilight smiles "Thank you Sunset. This is also why we're going to need someone close to Aria. If we attune the magic to the person the subject is close too, Aria will be much easier to find." Anon looks down and thinks for a moment. "Then the obvious choice is me I suppose." he said "I can't let Adagio or Sonata do it. It's too dangerous." Adagio looked afraid "But what if you don't return?" "I will. So long as I have Twilight's expertise there's no way we'll fail." Adagio wanted to stop her father from going, but she knew arguing would be pointless. "Then we'll send you inside tomorrow." Anon nodded. He'd need time to steady himself. Twilight put her hands behind her back. "Any questions?" she asked "Yeah." Anon said "What is the probability of success here?" Twi frowned "It's hard to say. I have no way of knowing how big the dimension is. Or where Aria could be trapped inside it. We may get lucky and find her within a few minutes. Or she may be in a place we'll never find. It's hard to know. But we'll do it as many times as we have too. We'll get Aria back." "Fair enough." With that the little meeting was adjourned. Twilight tapped Anon on the back before he went. "By the way, to do this you'll need to go into Equestria yourself. The magic energy there is much more potent. It may take some time to get used to though." "Don't worry. I'll be fine." Twilight paused for a bit "You know it's ok to be afraid. You don't have to put on a strong facade in front of us. We're here for you." "I have too." he said "For Adagio's sake. I don't want her to be afraid. She's been through enough." "If you're sure. But once this is over, don't stay in this state. For their sake." "I won't." Anon walked into the kitchen and you hand to your temple. If this failed he'd likely be trapped in there forever. The odds of this succeeding were so low it may as well be non existent. But he had to be remain strong. He had too get Aria back. He had too. Anon felt something brush against his leg. It was Alto. He smiled and gave the dog a nice scratch on the head. Nothing like the love of an animal to lift the sorrows of the world. Adagio followed in shortly after, sitting in the chair beside him and saying nothing. "How are you holding up sweetie?" he asked Adagio let's out a sigh "It's hard. I'm so worried. If I lost you too... I just can't." "I won't be trapped in there. Twilight has come up with ever precaution. I promise I'll return. With Aria too." "Thank you daddy. I'm just..." she sighs again "This is hard." "I know sweetie. But you can do it. You're the toughest girl I know. When this is over we'll do something super fun." "Thanks daddy." Adagio gave him a super big hug. The kind of hug that demonstrates a large degree of pain. The kind of hug that begs the recipient to love and cherish them. He hugged back with the same amount of care. The night he barely got any sleep. His mind wouldn't stop racing. Some many variables. So many what ifs. He just sat in his bed staring up at the ceiling. Thinking of all the things that could go wrong. He already wrote somewhat of a will. If for some reason he should fail, Anon left the girls in Sunset's care. He had no doubt Sunny would take good care of them. They'd be devastated if he was gone though. Anon couldn't imagine how hard Adagio would take it. She may never recover. Which was why it was so important that this worked. It had too. The sun peaked above the clouds and he sat on the bed. watching as the light slowly climbed into the sky, filling the world with color once again. It was like the calm before the storm. In just three hours he would be taking one of the most dangerous actions he ever took. All with barely any sleep. As the sun finally inched all the way above the horizon and the time for the operation approached, Anon got up and waited in the living room. Adagio followed shortly after. She looked as if she had gotten the same amount of sleep as you had. Dark bags hung under her eyes and her hair was completely frizzy. "Had a rough night too huh?" Anon asked Adagio nodded "I couldn't get a minute of sleep. My mind just won't stop racing." "You and me both. But look at it this way: when this is all done we can get an even better night's sleep." "You better come back." "I will." Adagio wrapped her arms around her dad, snuggling him close. He could tell she was trying to savor it. In case it was the last time she ever did this. After about fifteen minutes both Sonata and Twilight came into the living room. "Are you ready?" Anon took a deep breath "I'm ready. Let's go." Sonata came and gave him a big tight hug "I promise I'll be extra good until you come back daddy." Anon giggled "Good. I promise it won't take too long." Anon, Twi, Sonata and Dagi traveled to the portal too Equestria. Before crossing into the other side Anon took one last look at the girls. "I love you two. I'll be back soon. Just wait right here. And be ready to give a big hug to Aria." Adagio smiled, holding tears back "We will. I'll make sure Sonata behaves." "Good." Before he stepped through the portal Adagio stopped him. "What isn't Adagio?" "Here. Take this." Adagio held a small white box. Anon took it and opened it. It was a necklace. The same necklace he gave her for Christmas. "Adagio why are you giving me this?" She looked down, blushing slightly "So you don't forget. I want you to have while you go in." He smiled and hugged her tight "If you think it'll help." "I love you daddy." "I love you too Adagio." With one last look, Anon walked into the portal. It was an awful experience. Even though it lasted but two seconds, it felt like his body was being ripped and turned inside out. Before he knew it, he was in the other world. It was the weirdest feeling in the entire world. He kept trying to flex his fingers despite only having hooves. Yet it was as if he still had fingers, like a phantom limb. He looked up and saw he was in the Golden Oak Library. The Princesses and the mane six were all in attendance. Starlight Glimmer as well. Twilight walked next to him. "Everything is ready on our end Anon. Just say the word and we'll start." Anon took another big deep breath. Time to go right into the deep end. "I'm ready. Let's do this." Starlight took a step forward and a white thread of magic flowed right into his chest. The moment it entered his body repeatedly pulsed with a blue glow. "You see that?" Twilight asked "Starlight's magic is pulsing through you. The moment it detects the latent magic within Aria, we'll know exactly where she is and lead you to that location. I'll be communicating with you telepathically and guiding you in the right direction." "Alright. Then it's time to head in." The princesses gather in a circle and begin to charge their horns. The energy was intense. It filled the room like some sort of pressure. Anon could feel it bearing down on every inch of him, to the point where he could barely breath. In an explosion, the princesses fired beams from each of their homes and a portal opened. He took the que and jumped into the portal. The pressure instantly vanished and it became extremely cold. It felt like he was in an icy tundra. The silence was almost terrifying. It truly was an empty expanse. Just then he heard Twilight's voice in his mind. "Anon? Anon can you hear me? It's Twilight." "I can hear you. Have we found her or should I start moving around?" "We haven't yet. Just start going. We'll find her eventually." "Right." Since there was no solid floor, all he could do was swim. So he did. He swam and swam for what felt like years. Just as he was about to give up hope, he heard the best news in his life. "We got her! About 10 meters directly to your left." Anon got a rush of energy and immediately began to swim into the direction Twilight instructed. He opened his mouth to call out to Aria only to find that no sound came out. This was going to be a little harder than he though without his voice. But he could still get to her. He kept going and going until he saw her. Just floating there with her eyes closed. He grabbed hold of her and signaled to Twi that the mission was complete. Coming back was even worse. It felt as if he was being pulled a huge distance by a hook in his chest. It felt as if his entire chest was going to be ripped in half. Just as he couldn't take it anymore he was back in the Library. As you both returned Aria began coughing hard and her eyes blinked open. "Daddy?" Anon felt tears in his eyes and he smiled "Yes sweetie. Daddy is here. You're safe now. We did it."