Ponyville. A small town at the base of the mountains where Canterlot used to be. Twilight Sparkle knew from her geopolitical studies that this place had once been a small but pleasant hamlet. It had been far from the majesty of Canterlot or the hustle of Las Pegasus, but the ponies did well enough for themselves.
In more innocent times, the town had grown up around a large apple plantation. Ponies had settled in around the farm, eager to take advantage of its plentiful produce. A marketplace had developed along with stables and dining establishments to support ponies coming to sample the farm’s wares. Much of the town’s economy was wrapped up in the sales and distribution of the farm’s produce.
While its population had never been impressive before, the derelict site now sent a chill through Twilight. After Canterlot fell to the changelings, a full-scale evacuation of Ponyville had become necessary. For three days, ponies had collected their belongings and fled the town in an orderly fashion, guided by Rarity’s ridiculous militia, the Shield of Harmony. With the Wonderbolts providing scouting assistance, the Royal Guard had acted as a bulwark against Queen Chrysalis’s forces coming down the mountain.
All in all, the evacuation had gone exactly as Twilight had scheduled it. Ever since, the town had been poised as a staging ground for attempts to retake the capitol. For three years, ponies had holed up in the abandoned buildings now littered across the area, planning strategies and running drills in preparation for their offensives.
Now, at the end of everything, it felt strangely appropriate that the town would serve as the final battlefield. In the distance, the ruins of Canterlot could still be seen smoldering at the base of the royal mountain. Chrysalis and what forces survived the destruction had been forced into retreat. This time, it was their turn to flee in desperation through the remains of this hamlet.
Twilight’s legs were already strained and she could feel the pain impulses brought on by muscle exhaustion, but still she galloped for all she was worth to try and keep pace. Around her lay abandoned display stands and overturned carts; the disused remnants of what once must have been a bustling marketplace.
Ahead of her, the Princess stumbled, falling against an abandoned produce display. “Your highness!” Spike shouted in alarm as she fell, watching from Twilight’s back. His words spurred Twilight to kick her hooves faster, ignoring the signals to her brain.
“Do not concern yourself,” the Princess said, taking this impromptu moment of rest to nurse her damaged left wing, but Twilight couldn’t help but be concerned. The Princess had taken a nasty hit in her latest duel with Chrysalis, and the strain was already showing.
Twilight slowed on approach, eyes wide with fear. “Your majesty, with all due respect, we’ve already driven them out of Canterlot. They’ve lost their hoofhold in Equestria. Surely the Royal Guard can clear out any strongholds they might have left.”
“No,” the Princess said. With a heavy grunt of exertion, she forced herself back to her hooves. “If their Queen escapes, she’ll only return with another invading force. Equestria will never be safe so long as she’s out there. This may be the only chance we’ll ever have to capture her.”
“Then let me do it,” Twilight pleaded. “She hit the ground pretty hard after your last beam; she can’t have a lot of fight left in her!”
“Oh, Twilight.” Celestia stepped into a quick trot, with Twilight racing once again to keep up with her long strides. “There is still so much for you to learn, and I fear there is little time.” Princess Celestia remained as inscrutable as ever, Twilight feared.
Together, the Princess and her student made their way towards the plaza where they’d seen Chrysalis land. Twilight knew the area well enough; the Golden Oak Library had served a few times as a temporary residence for her, any time she needed to visit Ponyville. It wasn’t far from Rarity’s old pre-war storefront, the place where she’d made hats or some such nonsense.
“We each have our part to play in defending Equestria,” the Princess shared, gritting her teeth and wincing with several of her breaths. She stumbled once more, her foreleg falling out from under her, but Twilight raced forward to help catch her. “Thank you,” she said simply, climbing back up. “Every pony from the smallest foal to the mightiest earth pony is doing their part to end this war. I, in turn, must do mine. One day, Twilight, you must come to understand that we are stronger together than we could ever--”
“That’s beautiful,” a hoarse, deep voice cackled. It was a voice that Twilight had never heard before, but the Princess stopped dead in her tracks freezing in place. Ahead in the plaza stood a large, imposing figure that dwarfed even Celestia’s great height. Twilight had never seen anything like him before.
His lower body was that of a dark gray equine, but no Cutie Mark adorned his flank. His hooves were sharp and metallic, as if carved from steel, and his tail was sleek and white as snow. But where his head stood be, a large simian torso rose up, stacked with muscles the likes of which she’d rarely seen outside of one particular Ponyville pegasus. The creature’s red, furry arms were adorned by metallic bracers, and he wore another ring of steel around his neck. He wore a nose ring that accentuated the sharp fangs of his teeth, and Twilight shivered at the black pits of his eyes.
Around the creature, countless Royal Guardponies and changelings alike lay upon on the ground. None bore any visible sign of injury, and yet they sprawled out, quivering weakly in the wake of the beast’s powerful hoofsteps. In his right hand, Twilight was horrified to realize that he clutched Queen Chrysalis by the throat. With a quick motion, he tossed her to the ground at Princess Celestia’s hooves, spraying up cobblestones from the impact. There, the Changeling Queen fell limp, her eyes clenched shut.
“Tirek,” Princess Celestia whispered in a low growl.
“You should listen to her,” the monster named Tirek said, addressing Twilight. “I truly am stronger with you ponies together than I ever could have been with you apart.” He laughed at his own remark, a cruel and harsh sound that hurt Twilight’s eardrums to listen to. She never did learn what he found so entertaining about that statement.
“Don’t you speak to her,” the Princess growled, stepping protectively in front of Twilight.
“Well, look at you.” Clenching his fist, Tirek snarled, “You went and had yourself a little one, while I’ve been suffering your indignities for a thousand years!” His eyes fell once more on Twilight before returning to the Princess. “I intend to savor the look in your eyes as I tear her from you.”
Princess Celestia’s horn lit up with magic. “You will come no closer,” she replied.
“As you wish.” Tirek opened his jaw unnaturally wide and—
A beam of shining yellow energy slammed into Tirek’s chest, driving him backwards several feet. His hooves dug into the cobblestones, but he stood his ground and weathered the Princess’s blast. He reached out with his hand, pushing back the stream of Celestia’s beam. Between his horns, a red ball of energy glowed into existence.
Princess Celestia shot a sideways glance to Twilight at her side, then released the pressure of her beam. She leapt into the air, flapping her wings for altitude, but her left wing bent crooked and she fell lopsided to the right, crashing into the ground beneath her.
Tirek seized the opportunity. He lunged for Celestia, the energy sphere still resting between his horns. Twilight teleported to the roof of the building above her mentor, raining down a series of purple concussive bolts in his path. Tirek skidded to a stop, glaring up at her and giving the Princess a chance to compose herself.
With a powerful roar of force, Princess Celestia threw herself forward into Tirek, firing another beam of energy. Distracted, Tirek was caught full-on by the blast and thrown backwards through the wall of what used to be the flower shop. As the beam abated, Princess Celestia leaned against the wall next to her, breathing heavy gasps. Twilight’s heart sank; she knew the Princess wasn’t prepared for a fight of this caliber, not now.
“Princess Celestia!” she shouted. “We should--"
A colossal stream of red energy tore through the flower shop, catching the Princess in its wake. It tore up the street as it traveled and passed straight on through the bakery, obliterating the entire building. Twilight saw the Princess raise her barrier just before the impact, but she was still carried off by its force.
“NO!” Twilight cried out. Tirek stepped out from the ruins of the flower shop, cracking his neck. His flesh was scuffed and bruised, but he remained on his hooves ready to fight. Twilight teleported across the plaza, lifting as many displays and carts as her levitation spell could manage. One after another, she hurled them at Tirek. He blocked the first cart with his arm, then punched through the first display. One after another, he fought his way through the projectiles. On fifth, he roared and charged forward, smashing bodily through the objects in Twilight’s direction.
At the end of his charge, Tirek lowered his fist and swung down at Twilight, transferring his momentum into the blow. She teleported to safety, landing on the front step of the library just before a shout filled the plaza.
“Leave her alone!” Princess Celestia roared, firing one beam after another into Tirek. He blocked with his palm, catching her shots, but leaving himself open. Twilight bounded forward, summoning the magic to--
Twilight suddenly felt herself jerked into the air by the force of Tirek’s magic. She was shocked to realize he, too, knew a levitation spell. Before she had a moment to process, she was hurtling through the air straight at an ocean of brick and--
“She’s coming around!” Twilight opened her eyes to an ocean of white and violet. “Easy, darling. Don’t try to move. Are you injured?” Despite Rarity’s urgings, Twilight attempted to sit up. She was immediately met by a sharp pain surging through her left foreleg and let out a cry of pain. “I said not to move!”
“How bad is it?” Twilight asked fearfully.
“Well, it isn’t any good.” Lifting her blurry head, Rarity shouted, “For pony’s sake, she’s awake! Can we get a medic over here?! What is taking so long?!”
Twilight blinked her eyes several times. The image of Rarity became sharper, more clear. She was standing over her, clad in an Applewood breastplate with back and side armor tied together by vined ropes. Upon her head sat helmet crudely fashioned after the Royal Guard, but carved from Applewood like the rest of her armor.
On the front of her chest piece, a round shield had been carved in the wood with six crude hexagons spaced evenly around its edges. Twilight knew the symbol; the Shield of Harmony, invoking the imagery of the six Elements of Harmony she had once briefly wielded against Nightmare Moon. While the Elements had proven unstable and difficult to control, the ponies of Ponyville had been quite taken with them.
Twilight shook her head, groaning as consciousness slowly returned to her. She lay inside the ruins of what had once been a private home. The wall had collapsed around and on top of her, which must have been how she lost consciousness. But why was--
Tirek.
“Where’s Tirek?!” She cried frantically. “What happened?!” Despite the pain in her leg, Twilight struggled to get to her hooves.
“Stop that!” Rarity shrieked, physically restraining her.
“Where is he?! Is he still out there?!”
“Listen to me,” Rarity urged her. “The Shield of Harmony’s engaging as we--” She was suddenly silenced by the sound of a massive explosion in the distance.
“You don’t know how powerful he is,” Twilight hissed. “Where is Princess Celestia? We have to find her. She’s the only one who can--”
“We already found her,” Rarity said quietly. “We saw the creature standing over her. He was trying to do something to her, but we managed to drive him away. She’s….”
“Take me to her,” Twilight said.
“Twilight, you can’t even stand up. As the Shield’s liaison, I can’t in good conscience--”
“Rarity,” Twilight said, more firmly. “Please. I need to see her. I’m going to see her. If you can help me, then do, but if not…I can do it myself.” Twilight let the statement hang in the air for a few seconds. Then, forcefully, she asked, “Are you with me?”
Rarity closed her eyes, considering the statement. Then she answered, “Of course I am.” Putting Twilight’s wounded leg over her shoulders, Rarity helped to lift her out of the rubble. Twilight’s hind legs strained and her a sharp pain shot through her back, but she gritted her teeth and bore through it.
With Rarity’s help, Twilight stepped out through the hole her body had made in the wall. As they walked past the library together, Twilight could make out the devastation that had torn through the town. Massive gouges had been cut in the earth, with large holes through several buildings. Some homes had collapsed from the damage, while others shook, threatening further devastation at the slightest touch.
The sounds of fighting could be heard in the distance. Every now and then, Twilight saw pegasi swooping up into the air, then diving back down for another hit. Flashes of light and explosions rocked the town periodically. Looking at the changelings and Royal Guardponies whose unconscious forms littered the plaza, she knew it couldn’t have been going well for the militia. If the Royal Guard couldn’t handle Tirek, what could a rag-tag battalion of overenthusiastic villagers hope to accomplish?
With Rarity’s help, Twilight descended into one such gouge, and that is where they found Princess Celestia laid out. A dozen ponies in medical equipment raced about the scene, propping up her head and tending her wounds. Twilight recognized Nurse Redheart and a yellow mare she thought was named Fluttershy, though most of the other medical staff were unfamiliar to her.
Despite the best efforts of the medics, Princess Celestia’s teeth were clenched tight from the severity of her injuries and her eyes winced with each attempt to soothe them. She looked helpless, unable to do so much as lift her head from the cushion that Fluttershy had set under it. The sight sent a jolt of horror that chilled Twilight’s bones.
At her side, Spike sat distraught, openly weeping and clutching her right front hoof in his claws. He looked up at the sound of Twilight and Rarity’s approach, tears streaming from his eyes. “Twilight,” he said quietly, but fell too deep into his sobs to say any more.
“Twilight,” the Princess whispered as she approached. She seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, opening her eyes weakly. “I’m glad….” She winced again, inhaling sharply. “…glad you made it.”
“What can I do?” Twilight asked desperately.
“Listen to me, Twilight. Listen very carefully. Tirek is still out there. If allowed, he will rampage through Equestria until he’s destroyed everything we hold dear. The very way of life that we ponies hold dear is at stake. He must not be allowed to bring everything we cherish to ruin.”
“How can we stop him?” Twilight asked. “You’re hurt. You can’t keep fighting!”
“Oh, Twilight,” the Princess said sadly. “I’ve done everything that I can. It’s up to you now.”
“Me?”
A gentle golden glow began to emanate from the Princess’s body. Twilight could feel the warmth coming from her. There was a power to it, but also a gentleness. It felt like basking in the sun’s rays on a hot summer day, feeling its nourishment flood into her skin. “Take my magic, Twilight. Take as much as your body can hold.”
It was then that Twilight realized what she was saying. “No,” she whispered. “I can’t. You can’t ask me to do this.” Even as she protested, the magic continued to flow into her, filling her with a warmth and a sense of power that she’d never known before.
“You have to do this, Twilight. This has to end here and now. You’re the only one who can do it. You must defend Equestria. You must guide its ponies into the future. It’s all up to you.”
“Please, no.” Twilight insisted. She wanted to cry. She wanted to break down and bawl for her mentor, but the tears wouldn’t come. She clenched her eyes tight and felt the warmth still growing inside her, strengthening her, empowering her.
The power grew larger and tighter. It strained the inside of her body. She could feel it filling her bones, squeezing and building up in pressure. She screamed in equal parts pain and anguish as the Princess’s magic filled her, a scream that seemed to resonate through the ruined town.
At last, when she felt as if she’d explode, Twilight tore herself away, breaking the connection between her and the Princess. She looked to her mentor, who had gone still against the ground. Celestia’s breathing came in low, shallow gasps. Not yet stilled, but weak. Twilight raised a hoof, reaching out to--
Another huge explosion in the distance rocked the town.
You must defend Equestria.
Twilight shut her eyes tight and let out a single gasp of despair. Then, with a burst of magic, she teleported across the town.
Half a mile away, Tirek roared in defiance. His left eye was clenched tightly shut and his left arm hung limply at his side. His body was scratched and scuffed in several places and he had trouble moving his right hind leg, but still he fought on.
From above, Rainbow Dash screamed down through the air. The visible light spectrum exploded around her, sending a kaleidoscope of colors in every direction as she tore straight towards Tirek. Tirek caught her in the corner of his eye, glancing up just in time to see her coming and hurl a massive beam of red energy from his horns.
The beam struck Rainbow Dash head-on, sending her spiraling off course into a nearby home. She slammed into the wall hard, losing her momentum. Before she could react, Tirek lifted her with his levitation, driving her back into the wall and scraping the side of her face across it. She fell limp to the ground in the alley at the wall’s end.
“RAINBOW!” A lasso snared Tirek’s neck from behind, yanking him up off his forelegs and backwards. Five ponies pulled the rope taut, each clad in the Shield’s wooden armor, with Applejack at the front. Lyra Heartstrings dashed across the road, firing a series of concussive bolts into Tirek’s exposed underbelly.
Tirek let out a roar and threw himself back down, yanking the rope forward. Each pony holding the rope was hurled forward, crashing into the ground and sending chunks of Applewood flying. Lyra darted to the side, narrowly avoiding being struck by Applejack impacting the cobblestones. Tirek snarled and--
“TIREK!!!” Twilight screamed from a nearby rooftop. Before he had a chance to react, she let loose all of the energy she’d been given. A beam as large as her with a super-heated yellow-orange glow erupted from her horn, hitting Tirek dead on. He raised his one good hand to try and stop it, but the blast tore into him, driving him backwards and chewing at his hide.
He summoned the energy he had left and fired into Twilight’s beam, trying to drive it back. Twilight kept the pressure on, screaming bloody fury as she unloaded wave after wave of solar magic. Even as tears threatened to flood from her eyes, she refused to let up. Even when her horn fractured from the intensity of the magic she was using, she kept the pressure up. She--
Twilight shot awake, hooves flailing against the covers. She rolled off the edge of the bed, her shoulder impacting the crystal floor with a thud that rang out in the silent room.
“Twilight?!” Rarity called out, roused by the noise. Lighting up her horn, Rarity scrambled to the side to find Twilight curled into herself, eyes clenched tightly shut. Twilight had buried her face in her forelegs and Rarity could just make out the desperate grimace on her face behind the cover of her limbs.
“Oh, dearest,” Rarity said. “Was it the dream again?” She reached out to touch her partner.
“I’m fine!” Twilight choked out in a broken voice. She jerked away from Rarity. “Leave me alone.”
Rarity took a moment to Climbing down from the bed, Rarity approached her love. “Talk to me,” she pleaded, reaching out for Twilight. “I can have Vigilant bring you some herbal--”
“Stop that!” Twilight snapped. She caught Rarity’s hoof in her levitation field, wrenching it away from her.
“Darling, please,” Rarity begged. “I can’t help you if you won’t at least try to talk to me. What is this nightmare of yours? Why won’t you let me in?”
“Because it’s not about you,” Twilight hissed. She refused to look at her partner, refused to let Rarity see the hollow terror in her good eye. She felt the urge to cry rise up inside her like an old friend, and she clenched her eyes shut to squash it back down. She would not be caught up in crying while Equestria burned to ash, its soul incinerated in those flames that consumed everything that mattered on that terrible day in Ponyville.
“Applejack,” she said firmly, sitting up slowly. As though her muscles were liquid, her body flowed into an upright stance. She slowed her breathing and calmed the beating of her heart. She inhaled and felt the energy infuse her center, then exhaled and allowed the horror of the past to flow away from her. She could not allow herself to feel it. Equestria could not survive another failure. She was needed now.
“Dearest?”
Twilight opened her eyes with a fierceness that threatened to pierce the door in front of her. With purpose dripping from her voice, she stated firmly, “Applejack and her fanatics are a threat to everything that matters to Equestria. They’re out there right now, plotting to destroy our way of life. This new changeling and her unicorn abilities must be connected to that.”
Rarity sat down hard on her haunches. “Dearest, no. There will be time for work later. You must--”
“It’s a puzzle,” Twilight replied coldly. “This whole scenario is meant to ensnare and destroy us. But it won’t, because I’m going to solve it.”
“Twilight, listen to me,” Rarity said, a single tear dripping down her cheek.
“I’ll be in the library.” Without another word, Twilight stormed off, leaving her wife alone with the echoes of a broken world.
Twilight’s second day in Bridle Rock began the same way as the first. Five members of the Royal Guard traversed the cell corridor with Captain Silverpride at their lead. Three pegasi, two unicorns. As they passed each cell, the unicorns used their magic to slide open the cell doors on each side, releasing ponies into the hall.
Once more, the Captain ordered ponies to go their separate ways for breakfast. “Let’s see if we can get through this one without incident,” he added. Twilight could swear he was smirking directly at her as he said it. Her stomach churned with revulsion at the sight of it, but she said nothing. She simply kept her head down and fell in with the unicorn line.
Once again, her eyes were drawn to the heavy metal door the line passed on their way to the disabling field. She couldn’t help but wonder what could warrant such a thick door. Nopony had said anything about it. No guardponies stood watch outside of it. There didn’t seem to be any active efforts to protect the door, and yet there it was.
She wanted to ask about it, but she remembered what happened yesterday with Trixie. So she remained silent and waited until her turn in the disabling field. Once through, she collected her oatmeal and apple, but the door remained in her mind. The Royal Guard didn’t seem concerned with it being tampered with, but it was heavy enough that even most earth ponies would have difficult getting through. It looked more like a vault than anything else.
What would the Acting Princess want to secure in Bridle Rock?
With her tray of food in hoof, Twilight found herself an empty corner of a table again and sat down to eat. She lifted her oatmeal bowl, downing its contents and savoring the warm feeling it put in her stomach; the closest thing to a temperate atmosphere in this wretched place, not counting the staff room Flash Sentry had taken her to last night. She lowered her bowl and--
“Good morning,” Fluttershy greeted her from across the table. Twilight jumped, sending the empty bowl bounding off her tray and clattering to the ground.
Twilight spent a few seconds catching her breath, then offered a weak, “Good morning,” back to her.
“I’m sorry. Did I scare you?”
“No, it’s fine. I just have a lot on my mind.”
Fluttershy smiled. “I’m sorry that we never got to finish our tour yesterday. I hope the Captain wasn’t too hard on you.”
“They put me in a room to freeze,” Twilight stated bluntly.
Fluttershy gasped. “The solitary chambers?! I’m so sorry! They normally only do that to ponies who act out of line. You didn’t talk back to them, did you?”
“I might have?” Twilight raised an eyebrow. “At what point did being snippy to a Royal Guardpony become a freezing offense? Sunset Shimmer slammed a pony’s nose into a table! Why didn’t they do anything to her?!”
“She did what?!” Fluttershy glowered. “She was supposed to be on her best behavior. I’m going to have to have so many words with her!”
Twilight rolled her eyes. “If Sunset Shimmer has a best behavior, I haven’t seen it.” She thought of the Sunset she’d seen at Canterlot High. That Sunset had been cruel, vindictive, and surprisingly violent for a pony from Equestria.
She’d wondered several times if she had made the right decision, leaving Sunset Shimmer in the human world. At the time, she’d had faith that the magic of friendship would help her find her way, but now she wasn’t so sure. Seeing her again in this new context, she wondered if she might have been wrong.
Bridle Rock bothered Twilight on a gut level. The very notion of the place sickened her. But when she thought of Sunset Shimmer and ponies like her, the question rose in the back of her mind: maybe this place was the right solution after all. After all, if Twilight herself had conceived it, how wrong could it be?
“Hey, changeling!” A jab to Twilight’s left foreleg shook her out of her mental space. Sunset Shimmer stood beside the table, a menacing smirk burned onto her face. “You’re with me after breakfast. Green room. I have to see what you’re made of if you’re going to be one of mine.”
“Buzz buzz,” Twilight answered sardonically. She looked across the table at Fluttershy, who had frozen in place. She stared forward, saying nothing. Twilight glanced back to answer Sunset, but the pony was already on her way out the door. Once she was far enough away, Fluttershy exhaled.
“I thought you wanted to talk to her?” Twilight asked.
Fluttershy hung her head. “I do have to. But she’s going to be mad and she gets scary when she’s mad. I need some time.” There was the Fluttershy Twilight remembered. She remained the hitch in Twilight’s blossoming idea that this place might not be so wrong. It was still hard to imagine Fluttershy doing anything on par with Sunset Shimmer or Trixie.
Treason.
What did that even mean? A charge of treason required a pony to betray Equestria itself during wartime. Had Fluttershy sided with the changelings?
Twilight shook it off. There were more pressing matters to deal with. “What did Sunset mean when she said she needs to see what I’m made of?”
“Oh, that’s simple,” Fluttershy said with a smile. “Sunset Shimmer claimed you yesterday at dinner. You were probably in solitary at the time.”
“Claimed me?”
“It means you’re part of her herd now,” Fluttershy explained. “She probably wants to size you up and make sure you’re a good fit. After breakfast, I’ll show you where the Greenroom is. You never got to see it yesterday.”
Twilight had no idea what to expect, but she knew she wasn’t going to enjoy it. She made sure to eat her apple extra slowly.
“This is the Greenroom,” Fluttershy said, leading Twilight through an open pair of double doors. The sun’s bright light struck her for the first time in over a day, blinding her and forcing her to blink several times as her eyes adjusted to its intensity. Raising a hoof to shield her eyes, she lifted her gaze to the sky and--
Oh.
Even the sun’s welcoming light was a pale imitation of the world outside. A great ceiling made of some form of glass rested above her, allowing the sun to pierce the Greenroom but obscuring it and the sky from view. It must have been enchanted to protect it from the snow, she thought, but it didn’t truly matter. Even this was just another of Bridle Rock’s cages.
And still the chill lingered in the air. The sun provided light, but there was no warmth to come with it. The temperature remained just low enough to be a constant bother.
Glancing around the room, she was surprised at the size of it. The Greenroom must have been hundreds of feet across, with the ceiling several dozen feet up. The floor beneath her hooves was comprised of natural earth and rock. Patches of grass were spaced out in regular intervals across the ground, with vines and other forms of vegetation growing.
Twilight estimated at least a hundred ponies milling about in the cavernous space. Not far to her left, she was surprised to see Bulk Biceps hoisting a heavy barbell into the air. As the oversized pegasus roared triumphant, a pair of blue arms wrapped around his waist and lifted him off the ground, still clutching the barbells. The minotaur, who Twilight recognized as Iron Will, joined in Bulk’s roar, adding his voice to the cacophony filling the chamber before setting him back down.
Twilight put on her most diplomatic smile and waded into the Greenroom. She passed a trio of earth ponies on the right, each of whom scowled their disdain at her. Sweat beaded on her forehead, but she kept smiling to the best of her ability while giving them a wide berth.
“Where am I supposed to meet Sunset?” she asked through clenched teeth. After a couple of seconds when no answer came, she turned and realized Fluttershy was no longer with her. Fighting down a jolt of panic seizing her heart, she tossed another look around the room and spotted the pegasus on the far side, chatting with the con artist Flam.
Twilight lifted a hoof to go back for her when she heard, “Hey, Skitter!” called out across the room. Sunset Shimmer’s demeaning voice attacked her ears, shouting “Quit wasting everyone’s time and get over here!”
“Oh, ponyfeathers,” Twilight muttered to herself. Following the voice, she found Sunset reclining on her stomach on a soft patch, surrounded by her herd. Around her, Twilight counted twenty-seven ponies of varying species and colors. She easily recognized the ponies that had cornered her at breakfast yesterday as well as Trixie, who scowled at her from her safe vantage behind Sunset.
“It’s about time,” Sunset Shimmer said with a predatory smirk. “I don’t like being made to wait. You’re new, so I’ll let it slide today, but I expect punctuality in the future.”
Glancing just to Sunset’s left, Twilight spotted the mare Sunset had assaulted yesterday. She watched Twilight over the shoulders of a teal stallion, saying nothing. “What is this about?” Twilight asked.
“You mean it isn’t obvious?” Sunset whispered audibly to Trixie, “Dim-witted. Make a note of that.”
“I’m not dim-witted,” Twilight protested.
“You must be if I have to explain this to you. You’re a changeling. I want to see you change.”
Twilight took a step back, stunned by the request. “…change? You want to see me change?” she asked frantically. Her eyes darted across the room once more, but Fluttershy had vanished among the growing throng of ponies in the Greenroom.
“I just said that.” She whispered to Trixie, “Very slow.”
“I am not slow!”
Sunset huffed. “I claimed you in the dining hall. That basically means I own you. Now I want to see what you’ve got so get to changing already! Show me the biggest, meanest form you can take.”
Twilight glanced from Sunset to Trixie and back. She shot another look at the mare from yesterday, but found only hungry, curious eyes looking back. “Right,” she said to herself. “Change.”
After a few seconds passed, Sunset gave out a frustrated groan. “Come on, Skitter, this isn’t complicated. You know what, you don’t even need to go big right now. I’ll take whatever you have. You’ve been here a day and I’m already sick of looking at Twilight Sparkle.” She sneered when she said the name, as though it were a curse. “You know she’s not supposed to have wings, right?”
Twilight glared. “I’ve made a few errors,” she said through gritted teeth.
Sunset whispered to Trixie, “Poor observation skills.”
“Would you stop that?! There is nothing wrong with my--” It was at that point Twilight realized that Trixie didn’t even have anything to be taking notes with. Sunset had been making these comments purely to antagonize her.
“All evidence to the contrary,” Sunset Shimmer said with a smirk. “I’ll stop when you quit screwing around and change already.”
“I can’t!”
“Why not?!” Sunset rose abruptly from her spot on the grass, staring down Twilight with a fierce menace in her eyes.
“Because….” Twilight thought for a second. “Oh! Because of the disabling spell.”
“What.”
Twilight shrugged. “I don’t know what to tell you. They’ve been making me go through the disabling field every morning to prevent me from using magic. That’s why I can’t change.”
“No, it’s not,” Sunset asserted.
Twilight blinked. She hadn’t expected Sunset to catch onto her deception so quickly. “Yes, it is. I use my magic to change. The spell shuts down my magic, so I can’t change.”
“Do you think we’re all stupid or something?” Sunset asked with a certainty that surprised Twilight once more. “Unicorn magic and changeling magic function on entirely separate principles; even a nobody in grade school could tell you that. Right, Trixie?”
Trixie scoffed. “Obviously. Because changelings have horns that are filled with holes and…their holes make magic…that’s, um…that’s full of--”
Pressing a hoof to her forehead just under her horn, Sunset let out a grunt of frustration. “Trixie, stop trying to sound like you have half an idea in your skull and just agree with me.” Listening to Sunset Shimmer denigrate her companion’s intelligence, Twilight was suddenly struck by a flash of inspiration.
“Pop quiz!” Sunset announced, whirling on Twilight in the darkest hallway of Canterlot High. “What happens when you bring an Element of Harmony into an alternate world?”
Twilight hesitated, uncertain. She thought back to the tome she’d read on the subject, but she couldn’t recall any reference to the Elements actually leaving Equestria. As far as she knew, it had never happened before.
“You don’t know?!” Sunset demanded. “Seriously?!” She let out a short laugh filled more with malevolent scorn than mirth. “And you’re supposed to be Princess Celestia’s star student? Then again, what were the chances she’d find somebody as bright as me to take under her wing after I decided to leave Equestria?” Sunset passed dismissively by Twilight, adding, “Bit embarrassing that you were the best she could do.”
Twilight had known at the time that Sunset Shimmer was just trying to get under her skin. She was an adversary in the battle for the Element of Magic, so anything Sunset said was undoubtedly a psychological assault. Still, knowing was easier than feeling; Twilight was very proud of her intelligence, and having it so directly challenged and demeaned hurt.
Even after returning to Equestria, she spent a lot of time thinking about that conversation. What does happen when you bring an Element of Harmony into an alternate world? The unusual transformation that had overtaken her couldn’t have been what she was referring to. Twilight vividly remembered the shock on her face and the tears streaming from her eyes as she transformed; she clearly hadn’t been expecting this.
Twilight had spent days in the library researching obscure principles of magic to try and find what Sunset Shimmer had found. Then, one day….
“Do you have to leave?” Twilight asked, one hoof resting on the tome in front of her. “There’s supposed to be a meteor shower tonight. We could grab my telescope and set it up out front.”
Applejack smiled sadly, picking up her hat with a hoof and fixing it to her head. “That sounds like a mighty fine evenin’,” she admitted, “But we got the harvest comin’ in tomorrow. I’m fixin’ to be up at the first sound of the rooster’s crowin’, so I’ll be needin’ to call it an early night.”
Applejack smirked at Twilight’s expression. “Hey, you quit your poutin’,” she said as she closed the distance between them.
“I’m not pouting,” Twilight replied. “I’m sulking.”
“Nah, sugar, I’ve seen you sulk. You quit usin’ your neck muscles and let your head hit what’s in front of you. Right now, you got that shakin’ lip stuck out and that means you’re poutin’.”
Before Twilight could respond, Applejack leaned in and captured her pouting lips in a tender kiss. A single hoof joined Twilight’s on the tome, squeezing it against the book. Her heart fluttered and her muscles filled with the kind of warmth and energy that only comes from the fulfillment of passion.
And then it was over. The kiss only lasted for a few seconds, and when it broke, Twilight instinctively slid her head forward trying to find it again. Then consciousness reclaimed her muscle control and she opened her eyes. “Boy howdy,” Twilight whispered, followed shortly by a giggle.
“That’ll have to last you,” Applejack said. “Besides, y’look like you’ve got another all-nighter ahead of ya. Still scratchin’ your head about Sunset Shimmer?”
Twilight looked down at the tome in front of her. This was the fourth time she’d read The Elements of Harmony in the last two days. The evidence of her other avenues of study lay in neatly assembled stacks around the library’s central table.
“I’ve been through every book we have that even mentions the Elements of Harmony. I even went through several from the Royal Library, but there’s nothing here. Perhaps I’m missing a cross-reference with another source….”
Applejack shrugged. “Do y’think she might’ve just been messin’ with ya?”
“What do you mean?” Twilight asked, spreading apart her notes beside the book.
“Well, the way I heard it, she was just bullyin’. There ain’t a lot of logic in that, sugar. I reckon she was just tryin’ to rattle ya. Y’know, talkin’ out of her Cutie Mark to make you feel like y’ain’t smart enough to keep up with her.”
Twilight’s forelegs went slack and her jaw fell open. She stared forward, listening to Applejack’s words running through her mind. In her mind’s eye, she flashed back on those minutes in the hallway and the way Sunset Shimmer had treated her. Slowly, she turned her gaze back down at the tome before her, feeling a sense of betrayal from the very premise of knowledge itself.
“…I’ve spent four days on this,” she muttered absently. She’d had things taken from her before, but this was the gift of knowledge. There was supposed to be an answer or a solution; she was supposed to be able to find a truth that would enrich and enlighten her. That Sunset Shimmer had presented her with a query with no true answer…that was the ultimate cruelty.
Unless there was more to it! “What if it’s a trick?” she asked desperately, laughing to herself. Flipping through the pages of her research journal, she announced, “She thought she could fool me with a double bluff! Well, she’s going to find out that--”
Twilight suddenly felt the warmth of her partner’s body pressing in around her. Applejack’s forelegs came down around her own. For several seconds she just sat there, basking in the feeling of having the pony she loved all around her. In that moment, her fears and regrets seemed to melt away. She could feel Applejack’s warm breath against her ear, followed shortly by a whisper. “Why don’t you run upstairs and get your telescope?”
Twilight shivered at the sensation. “What about your harvest?” she asked quietly. “You said you have to get up early?”
“I can be late.”
Sunset Shimmer turned grumpily away from Trixie, reluctant to even look at her right now. “In any case--”
“You’re right,” Twilight said, trying to mask the smile that threatened to break out across her face. “You are absolutely right. I should have known better than to try and trick a pony as brilliant as you.” Applejack was right; she’d been so focused on the metaphysical element that she’d missed the obvious point staring her in the face. It was…how did it go? She was being bitten by a snake and that stopped her from seeing it?
When Sunset Shimmer’s scowl turned slightly upwards, Twilight took it as confirmation. It wasn’t about the magic. It had never been about the magic. The magic, the knowledge, and the studies were all a means to an end for her. Ultimately, what Sunset wanted was to have her intelligence validated. Twilight could use that.
“There is no sound basis for the disabling field affecting changeling magic,” Twilight asserted. “A unicorn’s horn serves as a focal point for all of our magic. We use our horns to control and manipulate the spells we cast, using the energy that exists in our thoughts and feelings. The disabling spell neutralizes that flow of energy through our horns, creating a metaphysical block that prevents us from making our spells manifest in reality.”
Sunset Shimmer absorbed this information from Twilight with a thoughtful look on her face. Of course, she knew all of this already. A horn’s function was one of the earliest lessons in the School for Gifted Unicorns. It was the most basic of basic learning. Still, it gave Twilight a solid ground to demonstrate her experience level.
“Not bad,” Sunset replied. “You’re familiar with the basic principles, which is more than I expected.”
“Oh, I’m more than familiar.” Holding her head high, Twilight asserted, “I’ve all but memorized Baritone’s Thesis on the Internalization of Magical Force. I’ve read all six volumes of Philosophy of Transmutation cover to cover in one sitting. Did you know that four separate ponies have postulated the hypothetical scenario of Magical Derangement independently of one another?”
Sunset nodded along with Twilight, easily absorbing the information she was sharing. “Well, this approaches adequacy. But you still haven’t changed.”
Of course that was still going to be the sticking point. “I can’t,” Twilight said again. “I can’t tell you why, but I can’t change. But I did want to get your opinion on Firemane’s Third Conundrum. I’ve read it a few times, but there were parts of it that never made any sense to me.” Twilight held her breath, hoping she hadn’t overplayed her hoof. For a second, she worried that she might have gone overboard, choosing too simple of a problem.
Her fears were quickly allayed, when Sunset broke out into her mocking laugh. “Really? I answered that in my sleep. Fine, go ahead and keep your secrets for now. Why don’t you sit down and I’ll walk you through Firemane’s Third. Trixie, pay attention; you could stand to learn a few things too.”
Twilight approached Sunset Shimmer, taking a seat on the grass in front of her. She wasn’t quite sure what purpose a herd served in this context, but she’d managed to ingratiate herself and that had to count for something.
By lunch, Twilight was certain that the herds had no purpose. In absence of a social structure, ponies had taken it among themselves to form elaborate social groups. The herd chatted with one another. They played games here or there. She’d expected some kind of organized movement, but it was more like having friends. At least, as long as everypony was careful not to step on Sunset’s hooves, it was.
Twilight was only half surprised that the lunch oatmeal was the same oatmeal that they served for breakfast. She hoped it was at least a new batch. Still, after a morning spent letting Sunset lecture her about principles of magic she already knew, she was ready for anything else. It was almost a relief when she set down her lunch tray at a table, flanked by other members of the herd, and heard Sunset Shimmer say, “So. Fluttershy.”
“What about her?” Twilight asked.
“Good to see you’re getting along. Some ponies show up here and they don’t really get it. They just think they can push her around and she won’t defend herself.” Sunset took a bite of her apple, loudly crunching it. “Trust me, it doesn’t take long for them to learn how much of a mistake they’re making.”
“What does she do to them?”
Sunset scoffed. “Nothing. She doesn’t have to. You’re new, so maybe you don’t get it yet, but we’re supposed to be waiting to die here. That’s what this place is: Twilight Sparkle’s dumping ground for ponies she doesn’t want in her pretty, perfect Crystal Empire. And then there’s guardponies like Captain Silverpride.” Sunset fumed as she said the name.
“We’ve met,” Twilight said, matching Sunset’s disdain.
“The point is, this place is a hole in the ground and the only reason it’s not a thousand times worse is Fluttershy. She’s the only thing in this whole complex that’s worth anything.”
“But why is she here?” Twilight asked for what felt like the hundredth time. “I was told that, uh…that the Acting Princess sent her here for treason? Why would she do that?”
Sunset rolled her eyes. “Uh, because she’s a crazy dictator? Why does she do anything?”
“She’s what?” Twilight mulled over the term in her head, but her internal vocabulary was pulling nothing but blanks. “I don’t understand that reference.”
“You wouldn’t,” Sunset said simply. “Here, since you’re obviously too dim-witted to get it, let me lay this out for you. Twilight’s in charge and she expects everyone in Equestria to do everything she says without question. She says to go that way, and then everyone’s supposed to drop what they’re doing and obey her.”
Twilight stared blankly at Sunset. In her mind, she mulled over what she was hearing, but for the life of her, she couldn’t find the problem. “The Princess is supposed to make the laws,” she said. “Why wouldn’t ponies be expected to follow them?”
“Because they’re terrible,” Sunset answered. “Sure, if they were good laws, maybe you’d have a point, but things get dicier when you have a maniac like Twilight Sparkle on the throne.”
“Stop that,” Twilight said. She knew she shouldn’t, but hearing those comments had already started agitating her beyond the point of reasonable restraint.
“Stop what?”
“Stop calling her names. She’s not crazy. She’s not a maniac. She’s doing the best she can!”
Sunset let loose the most condescending laugh Twilight had heard from her yet. “Look, changeling, I’ll stop calling her a lunatic when she stops acting like one. Twilight Sparkle is out of her mind. Do you know what she arrested Trixie for?”
Dryly, Twilight suggested, “Trying to enslave ponies with an evil artifact to make them worship her?”
Trixie’s eyes perked up from beside Sunset. “Is that a real thing? Not that I’d need anything like that, of course. The Great and Powerful Trixie--”
“She challenged Twilight to a duel,” Sunset interrupted. “About a week after they all fled to the Crystal Empire, Trixie invited Twilight to come out and prove whose magic was stronger. She got the crowd worked up for the big show, and then here comes Twilight with her Stormtroopers.”
“Her what?” Twilight asked.
Trixie scowled. “Twilight had me arrested for, ahem, ‘inciting unrest’. She said I was making ponies lose faith in her ability to protect them. I was only trying to liven everypony’s spirits with some entertainment.”
Twilight narrowed her eyes. “Why do I think there’s more to that story?”
“There’s not,” Sunset snapped. “Twilight shut her down and sent her here because her precious little ego couldn’t bear the challenge.”
“Sure,” Twilight said grumpily. “Or maybe she did it because Trixie’s a liar, a braggart, and a dangerous con artist!”
“Are you seriously trying to defend her?” Sunset demanded.
“She has to run this whole kingdom by herself. I’m sure she’s had to make a lot of hard choices--”
“Hard choices?! She’s ruling Equestria with an iron hoof!”
“No, she’s not!” Twilight shouted, standing up from the table. “She’s doing what she thinks is best to protect Equestria! You have no idea how hard she’s worked to get to where she is. You have no room to talk, not after you left--” Twilight stopped suddenly, putting a hoof to her lips.
“Say that again,” Sunset said, eying Twilight carefully.
“It’s nothing.”
“No, finish what you were going to say. What, exactly, where you about to say I did?”
“Never mind.” Twilight looked down at her half-eaten bowl of oatmeal. “I’m finished. I’ll be in my cell.”
“Hey!” Sunset shouted after Twilight as she stormed off. “You don’t walk away from me! We’re not finished here!” Twilight didn’t even look back. She had meditations to get to, and the loneliness of her cell promised to be more welcome company than the likes of Sunset Shimmer.
As soon as Skitter had left the room, Trixie let out a long, dramatic sigh. “Well, that was a disaster. And predictably so, too. I told you nothing good would come from trying to be nice to a changeling.”
“You don’t actually believe that garbage, do you?” Sunset asked. She looked over at Trixie’s puzzled expression, then groaned. “Never mind, I forgot who I was speaking to.”
“What are you talking about?”
Sunset rolled her eyes. She couldn’t believe she was actually going to have to explain this. “I’m talking about that tripe they fed us about her being a changeling, obviously. We’re going to put that over in the ‘Unproven’ pile until I see some actual evidence.”
Trixie raised an eyebrow. She looked to the door where Skitter had departed. “What else could she be?” she asked. “She looks and sounds exactly like Twilight Sparkle. There aren’t two Twilights.” Suddenly she perked up as a flash of inspiration took her. “Ooh, maybe Twilight has a twin sister. She could have been kept hidden away for years, secretly mastering the ancient art of, um…growing wings….”
Sunset Shimmer groaned. “Trixie. Your snout is moving while intelligence is trying to happen. Fix that.”
Trixie clamped her snout shut, lowering her head in deference to her boss.
“That’s better. Follow her. Keep track of everything she’s doing. If she even sneezes weird, I want to hear about it.”
“Why?” Trixie asked.
“Because I have a hunch. If I’m right, ‘Skitter’ might just be the key to claiming my rightful place in Equestria.”