//------------------------------//
// Into the Portal 
// Story: Twilight vs Tirek 
// by RainbowSparkle3 
//------------------------------//

As soon as I had read the message from Sunset, I called Starlight and told her all about the other world and this apparent new threat they were facing. I knew we had our own problem to deal with right now, but I couldn’t just leave them to their  fate! After a few hours of research, countless books were splayed randomly across tables and the floor.

In one corner of the room, Starlight tiredly flipped through a book about mystical magical beasts, with no success. I sat at a table across from her, a hoof holding up my drooping face as I read “The quick guide to old Equestrian History”. My eyes widened when I got to a page that seemed helpful, and I thoroughly read the chapter about a certain species. I smiled. "Starlight!" I called. She looked up from the book she was reading as I continued. "The way Sunset Shimmer described them, I think these new girls sound an awful lot like The Sirens!”

I gave a brief rundown on who they were, what they did, and why, ending with the rumor that Starswirl banished the trio to another world. As I continued staring down at the page, I commented, "That world must've been the one where my Canterlot High friends live!"

Starlight thought about this information for a moment. "But Starswirl threw them there even before Nightmare Moon was banished! How come they're just surfacing now?"

"I'm not positive. But if my hunch is right, and it is the Sirens who've invaded Canterlot High, then this spell they've cast is just the first chapter of their dark story." I closed the book, then said with determination burning in my eyes. "My friends need my help. I've got to get back to them, and no half-mountain sized beasts are gonna distract me."

Starlight raised an eyebrow, commenting, "From the little you've told me, the connection between our alternate worlds will still be closed off for more moons than I have limbs."

I frowned and closed my eyes, deep in thought. "You're right, but…there may be a workaround." I suddenly opened my eyes and smiled, before running all across the castle. I searched for and found various tools that could be used in my newest creation.

Starlight followed me and asked with confusion, "What in the name of Equestria are you up to?"

"You’ll find out before you can count the stars of a single constellation," I claimed, still galloping across numerous rooms in the expansive castle.

Starlight shrugged. "If you say so."

I continued finding resources, until I'd gathered everything I needed. Then, I set to work building the whole contraption. I meticulously locked each little part into position.

Finally, I presented the finished product to Starlight, explaining all the while. "...And the interval between the two points is defined as the square root of the sum of the squares of the separation between the points along three spatial dimensions." I finished off with a big smile, and Starlight gave one of her own.

"I see. So you're going to grab the magic from the strange book, and dump it into the mirror, making the portal open up, so that you can enter the world of your Canterlot High friends whenever you fancy. Right?"

I nodded my head in silent approval. "Now to see if it actually works," I said, trotting over to the mirror. The all-important book was swallowed in the purple glow of my magic, and I slowly lifted it up before carefully placing it into the socket I had made just for the book of honor.

I let go of my magical grasp on it, and immediately the book emitted a purple light that started rising. There was a bright flash before the glow disappeared, transforming into identically colored, smaller lights resting on metal lines opposite of each other and connecting to the book.

A bunch of parts swirled and pulsed with magic and started to set in motion. At the end of it all, there was a bright flash of light, then everything calmed.

The portal was now whirling with purple and white, and seemed to be welcoming me to enter. "I guess it's time for me to hop in. But there's just one more thing I should grab before I go for a swim in the dimensional river..."

Starlight looked confusedly at me and asked, "What do you mean-," but was cut off by a sudden teleportation from me and a teleportation back a few seconds later, with Spike on my back. "Oh," she said flatly. "That's what you mean."

Spike was looking more than a little confused and asked me, "What the dragon blazes is going on? One moment, I was basking in the radiance of gems with Discord, then you scooped me up and brought me to this strange pony and that...strange...mirror." Spike stared at the mirror in front of him for a few seconds, mouth agape. "Is that...?"

"Yes," I answered. "Yes, it is. But before we jump in again for reasons I will have to explain later, tell me: why weren't you with my other friends? There was so much happening, the fact that you weren't at the library briefly escaped my mind. You're lucky I could sense where you were. Never scare me like that again!"

"Yeah, yeah,” Spike sighed. Discord convinced me to go with him on a crazy adventure right after you left. We went through a bunch of challenges. Climbing over mountains, going through rivers, aching knees. But at the end of it, we got a piles of gems! Or at least, we would have if you didn't grab me." Spike pouted at me and I chuckled nervously.

"Sorry, Spike," I apologized. "I'll let you have all the gems you could want after this is over."

"Fine," he muttered.

"Hey," Starlight interrupted. "Should I come with you on this high school trip?"

"Better not. You should remain in Equestria and keep an eye on Tirek. You can’t fight him alone, but maybe you can find out something helpful by observing him."

Starlight seemed disappointed, but then nodded her head. Without another word, me and Spike ran into the portal and were met with a sea of swirling colors as we spiraled into the human dimension, screaming all the while.