"WHEEEEEHEHEHEEEE!"
Sunset, who had cast a spell that attracted all the blackmail in the school to her, had her concentration shattered once more by Discord. This time, however, he appeared to be riding on top of what appeared to be a swarm of memory sticks, giggling like a maniac, waving his cane about as if it was a cutlass. The reactions to his performance were varied, to say the least. Sunset just had some added strain to carrying extra weight, Luna couldn't help but laugh at his antics, and Celestia put her head in her hands, sighing in part disappointment, part confusion.
"I must say, Sunny, I do believe we make an excellent team. I do look forward to completely and utterly abusing your powers in my drama lessons." When Sunset gave him a flat look, he got the point, and hopped off of his magical surfboard. "Don't worry. I won't force you to do anything. Paying you on the other hand..." He gave another devilish grin, one that earned him a light slap on the back of the head from Celestia.
Now that the added weight was off of her magic, Sunset could manipulate the objects she was levitating, and she moved them all into one large ball, the black items swirling and grinding against each other.
"So, Sunset. What are you going to do with all of this?"
"Well, first off, This is for you." She reached forward, plucking out a singular memory stick from the shifting mass, and pushing it towards Celestia. "I tended to stay out of illegal stuff, but some stuff in there are definitely against the law. I should go to Shining with this, but you're here now, and can give it to him if you think you can't handle it. I'll be honest, most of it is just stuff like X is cheating on Y with Z, but they're pretty easy to spot. I marked the really bad stuff at the bottom. Oh, and the password is Philomena. P-H-I-L-O-M-E-N-A."
"You should just destroy this. It could be used to incriminate you too." Celestia looked at the device now in her hand with a raised eyebrow.
"Yeah, but I need to pay for my mistakes, right? Besides, some stuff on there is seriously bad. I rather it actually be used to lock some people up for their crimes, rather than let them run free. As for the rest of it... hang on, meet me on the roof. I can't do it in here." She and the sphere of memory sticks vanished in another red flash, reappearing on the roof. Sunset waited for a minute until the other three people joined her. "Ready?"
"Ready."
Sunset closed her eyes, and then opened them again, replacing the red tinted eyes, with slightly orange pools of energy. Her wings and horn glowed even brighter, and she stuck out her hands, the black mass in front of her being surrounded by yet another red glow. It intensified, almost obscuring the ball, before seemingly melting onto its surface. It grew bright once more, matching the brightness of Sunset's eyes. Slowly, it appeared to melt away, taking the memory sticks away with them in a white hot flame. It didn't stop there however. Once the technology had been reduced to what looked like a miniture sun, Sunset started to shake, perhaps with power, perhaps with stress. The molten glob started to disintegrate, slowing fading away into nothing, dissapating into thin air, and, before long, it had completely disappeared, the only clue of it ever having been there was the man clapping with giddy joy and the two women standing in awe.
"That was amazing! I must say, Sunset, if this wasn't something you had to hide, you could make a fortune off of this!" Discord practically squealed, laughing like a boy riding his first bike.
"What..." Luna trailed off, completely unable to put her question into words.
"Vanished out of existance. Actually much easier here than it was in Equestria. Or at least, how it used to be. Maybe I've gotten stronger. I dunno." Sunset floated down, tapping her gem once more, trapping all magic back in the jewel. "Regardless, they won't be coming back."
"So that's it? They just got vapourised, nothing more needs to be done?" Celestia was slowly coming to her senses, and had regained the brain power to form words.
"Nope. That's all. Anyway, I should be off. Twilight's probably freaking out over being teleported. See you in a few days, Principal Celestia." Without any extra flair, Sunset calmly walked down the stairs, as if nothing out of the ordinary happened, leaving to stunned school teachers and a giggling man, whispering to an object in his hand.
"Now, little black box, what can I do with you?"
"So if I was transfered approximately eight hundred and seventy two meters at a probable speed of-"
"Twilight! You know you won't be able to work out magic now! Come out!" Sunset stood before a shed door, located in the snow covered back yard of her adoptive family's house.
"-which means that the energy was-"
"For Celestia's sake... That's it, I'm coming in!" She sharply twisted the handle, and pushed against the door, causing it to swing open. Sunset stumbled inside, taking in her surroundings, consisting of a fair amount of machines, most with some sort of flashing lights, screens or buttons. Twilight was hunched over a keyboard in the corner, face only a few inches from a screen. "And you were wondering about why your eyes were bad..."
"Mhm."
"Twi..."
"Mmphm."
"Twilight."
"Mmm?"
"Twilight!"
"Uhmmhm."
"For the love of..." Sunset stomped up to the other girl, and shook her shoulders. "Twilight! Sparkle! Stop trying to research magic and, for all that's holy, stop typing!"
"Wha? Oh, hi Sunset. What's up?" Twilight jerked up, snapping her head to attention.
"Other than the fact that when I left Equestria, the mechanics behind teleportations weren't fully figured out yet, you." She walked over to the computer, where characters were still appearing on the monitor. "I recognise almost none of this from my own studies, so it is highly doubtful this would actually get you anywhere. Besides, I'm hungry, there's food currently being cooked, and I don't care how 'not hungry' you are, you still need to eat to do this even more magical thing called 'surviving'."
"Well let me just-"
"Nuh-uh. Not happening. Look, you said it yourself a day or so ago, you need to focus more on your own problems, not something that'll take you years to figure out." Sunset practically dragged her adoptive sister out of the shed, before her captive stopped protesting.
"Fine fine, I guess you're right. Plus, I am actually a bit hungry, I could do with some food." Twilight paused to lock the shed, before joining Sunset in the house.
"There we go. See, you're smart, you just need to prioritise what you need to apply that ridiculously high brain power to." They made their way to the dining room, where Twilight Velvet awaited them.
"Ah, there you are. You took your time with your friends. How'd it go?"
"I think they're a bit... shellshocked after a brief show of magic, and I've made a... what's a good word for it?" Sunset twirled her hand around in a exaggerrated show of thought. "An interesting acquaintance."
"Oh? Who might that be?" Velvet laid some plates of food down, and the girls eagerly dug into their meals, Sunset pausing to give a response.
"You remember Paper Gavel? The lawyer? Turns out he's actually called Discord."
"Not news to me, I'll admit, but I sense there's something else."
"Yeah, well, you see, in Equestria, Discord was the spirit of chaos, the literal avatar of disorder." The ex-unicorn told the story of Discord, how he ruled Equestria spreading disharmony. "Supposedly, he's recently been reformed, the same as most of Equestria's villians. I'll quadruple check with Princess Twilight later."
"Don't trust her? I mean, this world's Discord wasn't the best person, but he's not a criminal, as far as I know..."
"Everything here's downsized."
"What,wdsawa like magic barely existing?" Twilight asked.
"No, like immortal princesses being school principals, or what is considered adults by pony standards becoming teenagers here. For example." Sunset dove back into her meal, before Velvet asked another question.
"What is that necklace, Sunset? It looks absolutely stunning, but it shines rather unnaturally."
Sunset held it in hand, inspecting it. "Something I took from Equestria. I had thought it crushed by my collapsed shelter, but it managed to survive. It helps my contain my magic, since it only seems to go away. Used to be used when I couldn't hold onto my magic, and I released it uncontrollably. Quite bad when I specialised in pyromancy. I miss that though. Blueblood's face when I set up." She drifted off into some long lost memory.
"Riiiight. Anywayyy..." Velvet nervously twiddled her thumbs, evidently thinking over the possiblity that her adopted daughter might be a pyromaniac. "What were you doing with Discord? Did something happen?"
"Other than discovering he knew a lot of things about me, including Equestria? He's Canterlot High's new drama teacher. Joy of joys..." Sunset could not be any for sarcastically enthusiastic.
"Wait, how did he know about the magical stuff?" Velvet was having a hard time keeping track fo the situation
"Apparantly, he's been the one covering for me legally. Got me papers, thought they aren't completely legit, and he covered me for blowing up half the school. Even though I didn't do that, now I think about it. A giant rainbow beam caused the huge crater. But that's a story for another time. And it's one that I've already told." Sunset finished her food, handing Velvet her plate.
"Sunset! Can you come here a second?" Night Light called from another room, concern tainting his voice. Getting up, the magical girl went to locate him in the living room, looking at a computer.
"What's up?" The man turned the laptop so Sunset could read the screen. It showed a MyStable page, one called 'Anon-a-mous'. "Very creative name, guys. Did you have to go to Google for that one?" She looked up at Night Light. "Mind if I have a look through this?"
"Go ahead. I need food anyway." He walked away, leaving Sunset alone with the computer, finding the first post. It was an update, saying this is the same account as Anon-a-miss, and the original account was deleted due to 'technical difficulties'. Instead of the red and gold theme the account was customised with last time, it appeared to be focused on mystery, with various symbols denoting the account as being anonymous. Regardless, the comments were filled with wild accusations that Sunset was still indeed guilty, including the real culprits announcing that she was still 'back to her old ways.' More posts were up, though there were now mostly harmless things, rather than the more borderline legal things that were being posted than before. Sunset took note of the fact, but didn't think it mattered. The point was still standing: Anon-a-miss, or rather Anon-a-mous now, was posting again, and everyone still believed it was Sunset Shimmer, the equestrian fugitive that currently was attening Canterlot High School.
'Still, all things considered, this could be so much worse. In fact, I'm lucky no one outside of CHS had come to 'investigate the magic'. That's me. Magical Lady Luck herself.'
Suddenly, an idea struck Sunset, and she called out, "Dad! I'm going to have to go out again!"
Night Light stuck his head back through the doorway. "What for?"
"Just going to try and end this early. Doubt it'll work, but it's worth a shot."
"Go ahead. The less I have to hear of this mess, the less I have to worry about. But before you go, why don't you talk to Shining about this?"
"They haven't done anything that illegal yet. If it ends up getting that bad, trust me, I'll go straight to him." Once more, Sunset's face lit up with another idea. "And I think I know how to get there..."
"And this is legal because..." Night Light stood in front of an all black motorcycle, recently magicked into existance, while Sunset sat on it, putting on a purple helmet.
"Because when I sold my old bike as parts for food for over the holidays, I never took away its registeration. Thank for that, Discord. And besides, isn't she a beauty? Laverda Jota, fastest bike of its type from 1976 to '81. And no, I'm not taking it to school, I won't force Twi to ride it, etcetra. Thanks for the permission, and goodbye, see you later, farewell, so long, 'til next time." Without any further delay, Sunset revved the engine, and zoomed off, leaving Night Light standing in the driveway, struggling for words.
In contrast, Sunset was having the time of her life. She only had the bike for a few weeks, and never had the chance to show it off. She found it in a scrap yard, and managed to get it registered, at the time, she had no idea. Now she had it back, and was already making plans for it.
'Maybe I'll do it up with a paint job. Hey, if I get a mask, I could be a superhero!' Sunset almost immediately mentally kicked herself, remembering her earlier advice. 'Priorities, Sunset, priorities!'
Soon enough, the motorcyclist found herself trundling down a farm road, orchards rolling by, and before long, Sunset came across a sign. She flipped up her visor to read it. "'Sweet Apple Acres'. Huh. Wonder if I'll have to deal with a shotgun or not. Okay, no stereotypes, they're going to be angry enough as it is." She took off her helmet, letting her red and gold locks flow freely once more, but also revealing her face once more.
"AND WHY DO WE HAFTA LET 'ER IN?!" A shout came from the house, followed by very faint mumbling. "AH DON'T CARE! SHE'S STILL THE ONE WHO-" More incoherant words. "FINE! BUT AH AIN'T SPEAKIN' TO 'ER!" Louder obscured words were heard, before an old woman exited the household, and approached Sunset.
"Sorry about that young'un, Applejack has been mighty stubborn of late, with all this 'ere internet business."
"That's fine, Missus Smith. Fully expected that. I know where Apple Bloom stands, but is there any chance MacIntosh doesn't completely hate my literal guts?" Sunset dismounted the bike, secretly crossing her fingers.
"Now, he says he's just 'neutral' 'bout the whole thing, but Ah think he's thinkin' yer as clean as polish'd glass." Granny Smith started to walk back to the house, where Big Mac was watching with a warm smile, which Sunset returned.
"I'll add him to the list." Sunset pulled out a notepad, where several names were written down, and scribbled 'BIG MAC' at the bottom.
"List?"
"Of everyone who doesn't depise me, not including any adults, since anyone of age seems to actually act their age too. Unsuprisingly, it's quite short. I think Mac's number twelve." Sunset hastily stuffed away the paper in a pocket, following Granny Smith to the door of the farm house.
"So what are ya'll comin' down 'ere for anyways? With all the spitting cats flyin' around, Ah woulda thought ya'll would be hidin' out somewhere."
"I'm done running. I need to speak with Apple Bloom, if she hasn't set up anti-Sunset traps."
"HA! Ah wouldn't be suprised! She 'n' one of them friends of hers are in their lil' treehouse in th' orchard, thatta way." She pointed to the left, where a small structure built around a tree stood.
"Great, thanks. Don't be suprised if you hear screams." Sunset walked towards the building, all the while secretly fretting over what might happen. Footsteps sounded behind her, and Sunset whirled around, hand on her gem.
"Calm, Sunset. Ah'm here to make sure things don't get outta hand, 'cos trust me, you don't want ta know what Bloom builds in there." Big Mac was following Sunset, smile still on his lips.
"Thanks for, y'know, not wanting me to drop down dead."
"Yer welcome. Frankly, Ah think AJ's just been stupid, clingin' on to the past. Ah don't know what Bloom's problem is, might jus' be her bein' immature." He gestured to the small door they were now in front of. "Yer want me to tell 'em or..."
"I'll do it." Taking a deep breath, Sunset readied herself, and called into the treehouse. "Hey, are you guys okay to talk to me, or are you going to...?" She left the sentence unfinished, truly unsure what they might want to do.
"Get in." A young voice answered, with fake bravery. Sunset did so, crouching to fit in the small entrance. Once inside, she found Apple Bloom, standing up in an false so of defiance, while Sweetie Belle cowered in the corner, trying to stop herself from shaking. "We just want ta know one thing. What happened ta Scoots?"
"That's not for me to say. Ask her yourself." Sunset said as calmly as she could. In truth, she was rather unnerved by how the two younger girls were behaving.
"Tha's the thing. She won' answer our calls, and she never told us where she lived. Fer all we know, she could be homeless." Apple Bloom remained motionless, but she was still clearly uncomfortable with Sunset's presence.
"Well, I can tell you that Scootaloo is not homeless. But seriously girls, she'll tell you when she's ready. I don't know what she's been doing, I don't know why she's not talking to you." Sunset feigned ignorance, despite believing that it was doubtful that the girls would belive her.
"Right. Did ya'll do something?" Without any warning, Apple Bloom rushed forward, grabbing the gem around Sunset's neck. "Did ya?!"
"Wait! Don't-" A bright flash engulfed the room, and once again, Sunset appeared with pony ears, etheral horn, flaming wings, and so on. "-touch the jewel." Sunset sighed, waiting for a reaction.
"D-D-D-DEMON!"
And before she knew it, Sunset was left alone in the room, face in her hands. "Well that went as well as could be expected."
Big Mac stuck his head back in, seemingly unfazed by the new appearance of magic. "Ah guess she ain't gonna be trusting you any time soon."
"Unlikely. Can't say I tried." Sunset shrugged - she knew that going after Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom would prove fruitless. No doubt that those two would be spreading rumours that Sunset had become a demon once more. "The list of people who know I have magic is far longer than the people who trust me. Ah well, it was worth a shot."
"What did ya'll even want ta talk to 'em about anyway?"
Sunset opened her mouth to answer, but quickly clamped it shut. She had wanted to talk to them about stopping Anon-a-miss/mous, but now any attempts at that would most likely be futile. It was a certainty that their over active imaginations were already creating various false claims. While trapping her magic back away inside the gem, Sunset had an idea. "How much can I trust you not to say a word of this to anyone?"
"Ya'll are a troubled soul, Sunset. If yer need to vent something, Ah'll keep it to mahself."
"Thanks." Sunset crawled out of the structure, and motioned to the barn. "Rather do this somewhere that I know no one would listen."
They made their way there in silence, trudging over the thin layer of snow that was melting. Once there, Sunset slumped into some nearby hay, while Mac simply stood nearby, waiting. "Look I-" She trailed off, unsure where to start. "Before I say this next bit - I don't want any sympathy. I got over it. Anyway. I got hurt. I'm not going to say how, but it was of my own doing. And I almost died because of it.
"Only reason I survived is because Scootaloo found me - lying in the snow, pool of blood forming around me - and took me to hospital. She couldn't take it. Found out her mother has trust issues, her brother has - or rather did have - schizophrenia. Hasn't seen her father for ages. Brother has a different father. Leg was crippled by an accident, possibly my fault, probably not. She had some sort of falling out with the other crusaders, or whatever they're calling themselves now. I'm not going to say what happened - not my right to, but she came to me.
"The problem is, I just not sure where to go from here. Let's list off my problems: Anon-a-miss, Anon-a-mous, my new family, this new magic, friends abandoning me, new friends who are somehow even more diverse than my old ones, the entire school hating my guts, some people who might be friends having really big problems, I got adopted, I'm no longer homeless, I'm with a new family I hardly know, I have to deal with a police officer as a brother, a over enthusastic scientist as a sister, said sister also happens to be the inter dimensional counterpart to a purple pony princess, I had a fight with a literal sun goddess, purple pony princess got kidnapped by the dazzlings, two dazzlings turned on the other dazzling because they were being forced into it, one good dazzling might be going to CHS-"
"Sunset."
"-I had to deal with the human counterpart to the spirit of chaos, who now also happens to be our drama teacher-"
"Sunset."
"-not to mention the gang that are supposedly out to kill me! And that isn't even-" A wail, Sunset couldn't contain her emotions anymore. "Look at me. A mess, that's what I am. A complete and utter mess. The bad overwhelms the good, but right now it feels like vice versa, and then vice versa again, and again, and again."
"Sunset. Take a breath. Get yerself under control. Ah know ya'll want to solve all of this, but ya can't do that in your current state." Big Mac placed a firm, but comforting hand on Sunset's shoulder.
"Right. Right. That's my problem right now. Control. It's funny, I've been so composed for the past couple of days, and now I'm breaking down." Sunset flashed Mac a fading grin. "Shouldn't be suprised, I guess. Never had this much going on at once."
"If ya ask me, ya'll need to take yer time, and move along. How ya'll are meant to that, on the other hand..."
"Exactly. I can make a motorcycle appear out of thin air, but I can't stop a school from descending into chaos. Always look on the bright side of life, I guess."
"If ya'll ever need to talk ta me again..."
"I've got your number, I'll call you. Got it, thanks." Sunset stood, all the while thanking Big Mac again, before setting off out of the barn and back to her bike. "I needed that. You aren't suprised by any of the stuff I said?"
"Ah'd be lyin' if Ah said Ah didn't have questions, but it ain't any of mah business at the moment."
"I answered what felt like several million questions of the Christmas holiday, a few more can't hurt. I'm currently with Lyra and Vinyl's group, don't be afraid to join us." She picked up her helmet, and put it back on her head. "See you later, Big Mac. Thanks again for letting me vent."
"Cady, please! I know it's snowing, but I'll be okay. I doubt there's going to be a car chase- What? No, it's- No... Don't worry so much, it'll be fine..." Sergeant Shining Armor was sitting in his patrol car, listening to his wife on the phone, when a female motorcyclist drove past, before stopping at some roadworks, presumably cursing. What struck the police officer, however, was the familiar red and gold hair escaping from the purple helmet. "Hang on, I've got to go... Thanks, love you too..."
Hanging up, the police officer rolled up next to the motorcyclist, who had paused, seemingly spotted the police car. He opened his window, but the girl spoke first.
"Good evening, Sergeant Shiny, what atrocious crime am I guilty of? This bike is perfectly legal, as much as it has been magically summoned into existance. Registered and everything. You can go look it up in that little database of yours if you need to." She flipped up her visor, revealing a pair of green eyes.
"I believe you, it depends if you're going to actually use this to do anything illegal. Still, that's a nice bike, Sunset."
"How could you accuse me of such a thing officer?!" The sarcastic offense was obvious, as evidenced by Shining's unamused expression.' "But it's nice to know my big brother can appreciate good machinery, such as this Jota."
"Where were you going anyway?"
"I was going to see if I can resolve this MyStable mess. Instead, I went and freaked the culprits of the account out, there's now renewed rumours of being being an actual demon, and I made a new friend. I think."
"And now..?"
"Home, unless I'm under arrest for whatever reason." Sunset flipped back down her visor, and prepared to continue her journey.
"Drive safely, Sunset. We don't get many road accidents in Canterlot, not much crime in fact, but I'd rather not have to make a report about someone I know." He closed his window again, nodding his farewells at Sunset, who responded in kind, before driving off. "I wonder how many times I'll run into her now, knowing my luck."
"Ahh, it's nice to be home." Finding space in the garage, Sunset wheeled her bike in, leaning it against the wall and placing her helmet on top of it. She stretched her arms out, yawning at the same time. 'I'll take an early night.' She walked up to the door, unlocking it, before entering and locking it behind her, relishing the use of her hands. She had taken the magical recovery in stride. She was sure if it was some sort of scientific miracle, she would have been much more concerned. She passed Velvet, commenting, "'Evening. I'm taking an early night. G'night." and made her way upstairs to her room, collapsing almost instantly, preparing to drift off into sleep before a quiet buzzing interrupted her attempt at rest.
Leaning over the bed, Sunset grabbed her journal from the nightstand next to her bed, sighing, then opening it to the latest page. It read:
Hello Sunset,
Other than the usual social greetings, that say "I hope you're doing well", I have news for you.We did some research into the prophecy, and something turned up.
It was originally made by a pony called Foínix Róst. As we said when you were in Equestria, he was the leading figure of phoenix research, and had some sort of special bond with them. He died a couple hundred years ago, and that prediction was the only one that he made. We're still trying to get Philomena to cooperate in this but she remains... annoying uncooperative.
There's more. He had a sister, called Hiru Hikari Shimā. We think. The trouble is, everything we've got on her seems to be in an ancient form of Neighponese, even Celestia's having a hard time translating it. The thing is, she made a prediction too, we think it might be related. Once we've got it all in a language we can all understand, I'll send it to you.Anyway, from what we can work out from Róst's work, your powers are, simply put, all powerful. Instead of your life force being regenerated like a phoenix, it's your magical potential. It gets depleted, and after a tiny bit, it comes staight back after a tiny bit of rest. As a result, you may have some trouble keeping those wings and horn of yours under control.
And it should be mentioned: you may be attracting equestrian magic from the portal. I got some strange readings the other day, and while it hasn't caused any trouble, it seemed to do something with the elements in the throne room. I suspect it's getting confused as it detected multiple element bearers. Shouldn't be anything more than that, I'll contact you otherwise.
Remember, if this business comes too much for you, don't be afraid to contact me for help.
Your friend, Twilight Sparkle.
Sunset smiled at the message, just another reassurance that her friends were helping her in anyway they could. She was about to try to go asleep again when another message started to appear on the page.
Sunset, we did some more research on Shimā, and, well, I'll let you take this in whatever way you please.
Shimā was a campainer for legal use of dark magic. But not for any evil reasons. She managed to get an unique permit to research positive uses of dark magic, and she did well in that aspect. Supposedly found ways to heal using dark magic, ways to tame the side effects of dark magic: mostly the malicious ones. Her most important discovery was how to combat other forms of magic - including dark magic and chaos magic - using dark magic. It was ground breaking.The worrying part is that Shimā and Róst supposedly collaborated on research in both dark and phoenix magic. If that prediction was based off of something with dark magic, well...
To round off Shimā's story, she died in a fire, taking almost all of her research with her. Witnesses reported they say a phoenix start a fire. When Róst died, they found traces of dark magic. Take that however you will.
-Twilight
Slight disturbed by the new pieces of information, Sunset once again closed her eyes, finally getting to sleep, fifteen minutes after she had meant to.
"So. Hello again." Sunset, in her new equestrian form, sat in a cozy study, across from a dark alicorn, Princess Luna.
"Greetings. I hope you are well?" Luna took a sip from the mug of coffee in front of her.
"As well as I can be. We haven't spoken since Celestia and I fought."
"You had a fight?" Luna looked mildly shocked - apparantly she hadn't been told of what happened.
"Yes. I wasn't that big. I shoot, she blocks, the opposite then happens, we both fire beams, they deflect each other, occasionally there's a teleport and a physical charge..." Sunset was making motions with her hooves, as if she was trying to mime it out, before Luna stopped her.
"Wait. You had a physical fight? I had believed you meant an argument, a disagreement." The alicorn's expression turned even more shocked, but soon returned to be more neutral, similar to Celestia's typically stoic face.
"I preferred the physical fight. It was much more easily resolved, so I cannot complain. She seemed really riled up when she first got here though. Any ideas why?" Sunset remembered how Celestia was shouting in the sreet, with complete disregard for other people. A simple spell had solved any problems, but that in turn had caused even more problems.
"Ah that, that might've been my fault. I had been aware of your situation, as I told you before, and I attemted to tell Celestia of the situation. I know not why, but my sister was being rather...ignorant. There are less stars in the sky, than the amount of times Celestia tried to guess what I was trying to say. She has already apologised for cutting me off many times, but she still seemed slight frustrated by it. I only managed to tell her via Princess Twilight's letter about your plight. I think we are all ashamed to say, your situation could've been started to have been combated much earlier. My apologies for that."
"Well, the situation is stable, at the very least. If it'll stay that way is another matter." Sunset offered her assurances that it was not Luna's fault, which she accepted. "Besides, this mess has been caused by humans, and therefore it needs to be resolved by humans. Even if I have to get my hands dirty."
"Hmm. I have also got news on your new powers. As I'm sure you're aware, both Twilight and Celestia have been researching to origin of them. This old form of Neighponese, I recognise a good portion of it. It's still locked in my memory, but I'm having a hard time remembering some of it. I can give you the translation of the prediction within a month or two. Not the quickest time, but it's significantly shorter that what it would be."
"Thanks for that. If this new magic is somehow linked to dark magic, I'd much rather know sooner than later."
"Yes, about that. I managed to translate a portion of it already, and it read: '-In unison with my brother's chosen one, there shall be another, a polar opposite, yin and yang, one who falls for the first time, and then rises for the first time. They shall be possessive of-' And that is all I have. If you make anything of it, I shall be surprised. However, we have reason to believe that you have phoenix magic, and this other one will have dark magic. You are the pure one, and the other might be purified. It is merely a speculation."
"Well, I'll keep it in mind for when I find my opposite. Not top on my list of priorities, though." Sunset scratched the back of her head with a hoof.
"Right. I'm not going to pretend I understand any of the humans' culture, but I don't think you'll be able to get through it alone. I know that advice would be obvious, but I somehow sense that you are not going to be the one to uncover all of this." Luna, offered a small smile of comfort throughout. "Good luck in your quest, it seems my power here is fading. I still do not have a proper connection to the human world."
"I'll remember the advice, I'm going to need as much of it as possible in the next week." The world started to crumble, black voids filling in the gaps. Luna did the same, her form dissapating into nothing. Before she went, she gave a warm smile, one that reminded Sunset of Big Mac. "Lucky I've already got a lot."
The dream collapse, sending Sunset into an empty void, letting her sleep in perfect peace.