//------------------------------// // Chapter 20 - Embrace the Magic // Story: Dawn // by Anachronon //------------------------------// Chrysalis sat in her chair, waiting. Well, it wasn’t her chair per se, nor the office she occupied in this very moment. But Canterlot High had more than enough rooms to accomodate little ol’ her. She was terribly bored though and hated doing nothing. Entertainment was direly required in the opinion of the legal council, and as a consequence she looked expectantly at one of her most trusted employees. “Thorax dear, as long as we have to wait for the arrival of our esteemed guest, why don’t you tell us what you discovered today?” The young man in question was as tall as Shining Armor, but leaner, sea greenish black skin fought in a contrast with bright opal eyes and short dark arctic blue colored hair, that was combed smoothly. But like all of Chrysalis ‘veterans’ he wore a pitch black suit, with matching shoes and even finely crafted gloves. But as his older brother Pharynx was quick to point out, they weren’t a fashion statement so much as they were protection against the risk of leaving evidence of their presence behind. Thorax glanced briefly at his sibling in question, who simply remained silently vigilant at all times. He stood in a far corner of the dimly lit room. The difference between them didn’t only end with Pharynx being larger than his little brother, nearly reaching to beneath their leader’s chin, but that his body was much more honed, thanks to visibly defined muscles. That and his piercing moderate blue violet eyes represented an intimidating combination. His crimson hair, made in a long spiky ponytail, and very dark gray skin solely added to the unspoken threat. A scar ran over the bridge of his nose. He flinched at the interruption of his musings and turned back to the task at hand, “Y-yes, of course, Ms. Chrysalis.” He typed away dutifully, “Hm, the tension seems to grow, but the reactions differ greatly now when compared to yesterday.” Chrysalis raised an eyebrow at his words. “Oh? So all this nonsense about a secret military project of the government and bioterrorism doesn’t dominate the local community any longer?” she inquired in amusement. The wildest conspiracy theories went viral after what happened with Canterlot Park, only fueled further by the rising count of dead citizens in and around Canterlot City the days after, corpses, pale as if they looked death itself into the eyes. Mayor Mare tried her best to diffuse any rising buds of mass panic, using all her political experience, but the reports of local print media and news agencies didn’t grant her the favor of playing along. Thorax furrowed his forehead in surprise and reread to make sure he saw that right, “Err, it seems the arch conservative type decided to call for exorcists of the church after rumors about these ghost-like creatures were spreading. Some people think that they are demons who escaped hell.” Chrysalis leaned back in annoyance, rubbing the bridge of her nose between two fingers. She motioned for him to go on. But then Thorax’s, until now, silent sibling made himself known, his gruff voice came directly from behind the computer expert, “Superstitious fools.” His action nearly caused the geek to jump from surprise. The young man held a hand over his pounding chest and glared accusingly at his taller brother, “D-don’t do that!” Thorax hated it whenever that happened, surely on purpose. Pharynx smirked in response, then reviewed another article, “It seems the CPD released first statements of their investigations this morning, advising all citizens to remain inside their homes, if possible, and to not wander alone in the streets, especially during the night.” He sneered in distaste, “As if these abominations would care for walls and doors.” Chrysalis chuckled shortly at his brutal honesty. “Now, now, Pharynx. They don’t know any better. It is not like they could catch and study them. Besides, none of those bureaucrats would openly admit that the enemies are ghosts.” For her it was admirable and somehow pathetic at the same time how the local government was trying to protect the citizens of Canterlot City from the reality shattering truth. She always believed that only experience, not sheltering, would cause a growth of character. But the consequences of the exposure in this case were much too dire to ignore, another approach had to be taken. Thorax used their little chat to read more, “Conspiracy talk, conspiracy talk… Well, that might cause problems along the way,” he said awkwardly. “Seriously?” Pharynx queried in mild shock after he skimmed over the story himself. The younger sibling spoke up again, facing their superior, “Principal Cinch from Crystal Prep Academy claims that one of her students discovered a new form of energy. Apparently this occurred during the Canterlot Park incident.” Chrysalis’ eyes moved up an inch, “A mere student found a method to measure magic?” The brothers nodded wordlessly. In response their leader closed her eyes in stoic acceptance, her turmoil though took place in her mind, “Abacus, you idiot.” It seemed that the principal of CPA had once more stepped into things beyond her understanding. Sometime her unwavering desire to prove her academy’s superiority and to expand her school’s, and by extension, her own reputation was a real pain. And then there was Cinch’s unhealthy obsession and her desperate attempts to damage Celestia’s career whenever she found an opportunity. That pitiful woman could hold a grudge for a lifetime, having never forgiven the principal of CHS for being selected by the school board as the face of the Canterlot City School District. Anon-a-Miss was like a gift from the heavens for the grumpy fossil. Back then it took a lot of time, cogency and mostly patience from Chrysalis’ side to prevent the principal of Crystal Prep from investigating what happened at the Fall Formal further. But now… “How bothersome.” She looked expectantly at the two siblings, “Show me.” She wanted to see what kind of student managed to accomplish such a miraculous feat, like detecting magic, on his own. Thorax turned the screen around. A wide grin decorated her face immediately. “Interesting, very, very interesting.” Before anybody could say another word the door was nearly slammed open and an annoyed Celestia entered the scene, visibly displeased. “Chrysalis, I do not take kindly to being called like a child in my own school. Not by you. Especially not by you.” An over dramatic gasp escaped the legal council, “Tia! I am hurt! And here I had hoped we could rekindle old flames.” Celestia frowned strongly in response, “Cut the act. You obviously want something else. Explain yourself so that we can finish this convoluted business as fast as possible.” The holidays would begin after today’s last bell, finally. And her sister had already enough on her plate as it was, Luna didn’t need to console angry parents to boot. Many students obviously informed their family after they were told in private who was responsible for the public release of the secret in question. ‘Stress’ wouldn’t even begin to describe the last three days for the co-principals. A few of the more entitled kind of parents even demanded that the ones responsible were to be prosecuted, or at least expelled. A helpless shrug was Chrysalis' reaction, “Well, how rude. But I guess pleasantries will have to wait in that case.” She gleamed in anticipation, “There are indeed a few topics I’d like to broach.” She held up a finger, “To start with the good news first, you’ll surely like to hear that the police and I have almost concluded our investigations concerning the victims and perpetrators in relation to Anon-a-Miss. Only a few students are left, we will talk with them in due time.” Celestia sighed in relief, “I am glad that we can put this matter to rest soon,” the principal admitted with less animosity in her voice. “What else?” “Sunset Shimmer,” came the nonchalant reply. Worry and distrust dominated Celestia’s features immediately. “I am certain that there is nothing left to discuss. Surely you can understand that she withdrew indefinitely after everything the poor girl had to endure.” Chrysalis waved her off, “And here I have hoped we established already, after all these years, that you can’t lie to me. Let’s give it another try, shall we?” Now the principal of Canterlot High barely held back an angry growl and tried her best to appear diplomatic, “Then I will have to repeat myself. She is not of your concern anymore.” Though she couldn’t help herself but to respond in kind, “You and your noisy lackeys should respect her and her family’s desire for privacy, even though we established already, after all these years, that I demand the impossible from you, right?” Chrysalis ignored the returned jab and folded her hands curiously, “Family you say?” A brief nod followed. “Yes, her mother picked Ms. Shimmer up and left.” The legal council hummed to herself thoughtfully, she glanced at one of her subordinates sitting in front of a laptop, “Thorax? What does the database say to our principal’s claims?” Celestia nearly cursed her luck, she had believed that they wouldn’t investigate about Sunset’s personal history. The young man came prepared and got what he was looking for with one click, “According to her file, Sunset Shimmer lives alone since she started to attend CHS. The address can be found in a shadier part of the Industry District. We visited the area ourselves to testify everything, it is by all means a dump, and not even really a house.” “I wonder how a young girl of her age could live there for so long on her own and not be harmed by the local scum. Unsupervised no less,” Thorax added sardonically. The alabaster woman slammed both hands on the table in front of an unfazed Chrysalis, “You were spying on her?!” Her dark skinned metaphorical pain in the back chuckled ominously, Celestia didn’t like it at all, “Harsh words won’t do you any good. Call it a verification of information, if you must. The fact remains that she never had a single person to live with.” A threatening undertone laced Chrysalis’ voice, “Did you both know about it? Did you know that one of your students, a minor, had nobody who cared for her well-being?” She flinched back as if the legal council landed an invisible hit where it hurt most, Celestia tried to treat this topic carefully, “No, we didn’t, I swear. Luna and I verified that her address was in the district, but she hadn’t given us a reason to investigate it.” The principal tried to smile disarmingly, “Surely it is unheard of that a teenager would live in a place like that without supervision. And there was never an apparent reason to distrust Ms. Shimmer’s words either.” Chrysalis leaned back in her chair, mulling over her next move. “It seems you leave me no choice.” She pulled a drawer open and took a big grey folder out of it. “I have here something you might find worth looking at.” Celestia took the by time touched object into her hands, reading the inscription out loud, “‘Newspaper History - 2001’? Is there a reason for giving me a ten years old newspaper article?” she asked suspiciously. Chrysalis nodded grimly, “It should. As for the reason...” while the internet had its advantages, nothing could beat libraries. “I took the liberty and did a little bit of research about Sunset Shimmer, because her file seemed a bit sparse.” She gazed patiently at the now nervous principal, “Go ahead.” Celestia opened the folder as she was told and spread the cover page over a smaller round table to her right, seeing instantly which publisher made this edition. Manehattan Times                   Tuesday, July 14, 2001 A bad feeling crawled up her spine, making the pastel haired woman gulp. “Please open page three,” Chrysalis ordered, almost softly. So she did, the headline and its following article covered much of the front page: Entire family killed in car crash - Fatal end of a vacation A horrible tragedy transpired yesterday in the late evening at the ramp to the Manehattan bridge! A small family car was totaled when a southbound van ran a red light, striking it broadside. The driver of the van was a young man who said he had been distracted by his phone. The driver of a little family car, Storm Seer (30), was unable to avoid the impact which killed his wife and daughter. Mr. Storm was transported to the hospital with critical injuries, and died shortly after arrival. “The young man didn’t even acknowledge that he had red! It was terrible, just terrible!” said an elderly woman, who witnessed the crash scene when the accident happened, under a shaken voice to our reporter. The first official statement of Deputy Inspector Noble Mark was, “We are investigating the accident and the driver will likely be charged with vehicular manslaughter. Tests have shown that while he wasn’t speeding, no attempt was made to slow the vehicle or avoid the collision. Our prayers and thoughts are with the bereaved and the family’s friends.” Celestia couldn’t continue, the possible reason why this old article was given to her became cruel reality the moment she laid eyes on the family members’ pictures. There she was, young, innocent, a wide happy smile on her tender lips. And then the hair, made of golden and red locks, her shining eyes, everything resembled Sunset Shimmer to a T. The principal didn’t know how to feel, mad, because such a young life was taken away by somebody’s stupidity, or sad, because the Sunset Shimmer of this world had never a chance to grow up properly to begin with. What occupied her mind the most though was another matter entirely. The gig was up, clearly Chrysalis already knew the truth about Sunset. The legal council of the Canterlot School District put the article back into the folder, before she looked with tilted head at a wide-eyed Celestia. “Curious, isn’t it? Last time I checked the dead stay dead and don’t just come back.” Strange ghost-like monstrosities aside, shame to him who evil thought. “I even double checked the family’s history. Storm Seer and Firesky never had a second daughter, no affairs either.” She pierced the principal of CHS pointedly when Pharynx showed the stunned woman pictures of the Rainbooms at the Battle of the Bands, with the Princess of Friendship and Sunset Shimmer on it, before and after their transformation, “I suggest you finally come clean. In fact I have the distinct impression you and Luna are way over your head with this matter.” She leaned forward to get her message across, ”Who are these people?” She was pointing at a certain purple skinned teenager, “Here we have Twilight Sparkle, a student from Crystal Prep Academy who has, quite frankly, no business here.” Switching to Sunset, “And as we both know, she’s supposed to have died almost ten years ago. Obviously something is wrong with this picture.” The legal council purred her next words, “Your turn.” Celestia had absolutely nothing. How could she? No excuse would explain the existing contradictions when faced with undeniable facts. And she severely underestimated how well-informed Chrysalis was. Furthermore she couldn’t play innocent when it came to Twilight Sparkle, the human version was obviously alive and well, but no story could explain the teenager’s involvement. Any scheme would backfire right away. “You wouldn’t believe me if said ‘photoshop’, right?” she inquired rhetorically. The cold, unamused glare said more than thousand words. Panic took hold of Celestia’s heart, the truth it was, “Please, you can’t tell anybody about it! I-it’s complicated,” the principal implored emotionally. “You mean magic?” Chrysalis asked like it was a common question. Thorax chuckled internally, he still refused to believe in such a thing. A neutral mien masked the alabaster woman’s thoughts, “And you are not weirded out by this revelation?” The legal council smiled coyly, “My personal opinion about a physics defying force is not important, but how we will proceed from here on is. My job is to protect the district, something that requires an open mind. We will have to handle this topic with the utmost discretion, if at all possible, no one else can be involved.” “You are on our side?” Celestia wanted to know in wonder, arms crossed, then she bristled at the possible reasons, “What is the catch?” Thorax responded instead, perhaps it would help his boss, “P-Principal Celestia, you have to believe us that we harbor no ill intentions towards you or your students. We are currently trying to conduct damage control as best as we can.” She didn’t expect that the quite nervous appearing teenager would be so eloquent, nonetheless, “What do you know, exactly?” Pharynx snorted aggressively and glanced at their superior. Chrysalis gave him permission to speak, “Everything, deadly ice ghosts, teenagers who transform into demons or grow horse ears. That laughable trio who could somehow hypnotize people with their voices, that is everything we know. Unless of course you are still keeping secrets from us.” It should be easy enough for her to dodge the more jeopardizing secrets of Sunset Shimmer and Equestria’s princesses, or so Celestia hoped, “To be honest? I am not certain, but I think nothing else of importance hap-” The black woman intervened fastly, seeing already which direction their conversation would most likely take, “Do I really have to remind you that you have more responsibilities than merely keeping two, well, ‘foreigners’ safe? People are not ready for this kind of power to be revealed. The whole world already knows about what happened with Canterlot Park and all kind of theories run wild of who or what could be responsible. We both know that most corrupt governments and every dictator or warmonger on Earth would literally walk gladly over any number of corpses to have something like magic at their disposal.” Eyeballs were lightly rolled. “We’ve lived in peace for three decades. I think you are just being paranoid and melodramatic.” The principal of CHS could tell that this was the wrong thing to say. And indeed, Chrysalis scoffed in mockery, “Spare me your noise about pacifism and childish make-believe. You know better how our world really works.” Not contracts, not economical relationships, nor diplomacy were mainly responsible for the current state of peace every citizen could enjoy. Rather the promise the most powerful nations of Terra once made so many years ago. Mutual annihilation, the promise to destroy each other, and most of the planet in progress, with the most terrible weapons possible, should peace ever be in jeopardy because of some insane people who thought it would be a good idea to start the next Great War. It was only a matter of who would die first and who died second. Celestia bit her tongue to prevent herself from angering the woman in front of her any further, “As much as I hate it to admit, but she is right. I have duties to my homeland, too. I’m sorry girls, but I can’t keep quiet about the mirror’s existence any longer.” She sighed fatefully, “You win Chrysalis. Just… keep an open mind.” Chrysalis glanced briefly at Pharynx who understood the nonverbal command flawlessly. He left the office and positioned himself in front of the door like an unmoving guardian, the back of his head visible through the small window in its center. “What is he doing?” the principal questioned unsurely. “My dear subordinate will make sure that nobody has even the slightest chance to listen in on us. Lunch break will begin soon and we can’t have it that somebody gets too curious for their own good,” the legal council explained in a no-nonsense kind of tone, like such a precaution was the most obvious step to take. As if to prove her point, the school bell announced the end of the fourth period. Celestia gathered herself and exposed everything she knew. Electromagnetic waves, radiation, heat, cold, pressure, pH determination, even entire scientific fields as biochemistry and cell biology, the measuring instruments in her school lab could help her out as she needed. Thus, the young scholar amplified most machines’ range and efficiency in order to pick up on any disturbances which could endanger her, often, highly volatile experiments.    It happened a few months ago when exactly two of these instruments, an oscillator and the magnetometer to be precise, picked up on a strange new energy signature she never heard or read about before. Even heart cells or neurons couldn’t produce such harmonic patterns, nor creating such magnificent levels of power, rivaling lightning. Both gadgets went absolutely haywire. And its sheer purity was mind blowing. Photon-like molecules in states which defied all logic! Twilight Sparkle knew it was a scientific breakthrough after analyzing these findings. A discovery in a league of its own. Something that could revolutionize... no, solve all energy demands of mankind. She was in dire need of more samples of mentioned new power, and for that she built a little portable device that should help her on the teenager’s quest for fame, fortune and a free pass into Everton. She would show all her bullies that a well-educated person wasn’t somebody to laugh about! *Whimper* The scholar’s focus was interrupted by heart-melting sounds of a small light mulberry colored dog with moderate harlequin fur on the top of his head, light spring budish gray hair was covering his underbelly, light lime green ears and a little black nose gave him a final touch. Her pet’s moderate pistachio eyes glinted convincingly to add effect. Twilight picked her official number one assistant up and petted the little troublemaker, “Oh Spike, I know you want to go home, but you heard what Principal Cinch said. We have to look for a way to recalibrate the locket so that we can find out more. And we are almost finished.” Truth to be told, she wasn’t ready to publish her results, yet. Her first attempt of creating a functioning device to find, contain and to measure energy was a project she worked on relentlessly since her first discovery, many all-nighters included. Twilight was lucky that she already completed her class’ current curriculum months ahead of time and had nothing else to worry about. But then the Canterlot Park incident happened and changed everything, much to the girl’s dismay, her schedule included. Tremendous amounts of power had suddenly filled the atmosphere and was afterwards partly absorbed by the locket to its breaking point. The resulting detonation took the unequal duo by surprise when they were in her lab three days ago. A stray ray of golden energy hit Spike squarely between the eyes, but instead of being heavily injured or killed, a possible outcome she was certain had happened, something far more interesting had occurred. Her ever loyal friend could talk now. Spike groaned lightly and spoke in a juvenile voice, “That’s easy for you to say. My last walk was ages ago! And I am hungry. Can’t we just forget about Cinch and have fun instead?” he asked impatiently. “There is this new cat in the neighborhood that needs to be taught a lesson about respect.” “Spike!” she admonished gently. “We can’t just ignore what happened to you! It changes everything!” It was simply mind-boggling, if nothing else. The young canine rolled with his eyeballs uncaringly, “I really don’t know what the big deal is anyway. I mean you humans can talk, too. It shouldn’t be that much of a surprise that others can.” Her nose twitched, “It’s because of your vocal cords and how your jaw works.” She held a finger up, preparing for a more detailed lecture, “Additionally, every species can only emit sounds in a certain frequency. We shouldn’t be able to communicate verbally at all. That is why we have an unspoken obligation to identify this new energy as fast as possible.” That was the reason she ordered him not to speak in public. A talking dog could potentially draw the wrong kind of attention. He shrugged with his shoulders, “Maybe it’s a miracle? Or I was lucky.“ “Miracle?” She snorted at his sentiment. “I don’t believe in things which can’t be proven by science. What’s next, magic?” But Spike ignored the ranting teenager and sniffed the air, before he jumped into his basket and warned her quietly, “Cadence is coming! Try to act less like you.” It was another matter she couldn’t decide how to feel about. Spike was much sassier than most humans she met before in life. “How do you-” Somebody knocked on the door. She looked astonishedly from the lab’s entrance to her dog, who silently put a paw on his nose, a smug grin adoring his face. Her cheeks reddened faintly. Twilight tried to compose herself, “C-come in!” A stunningly beautiful woman blessed with a supermodel-like figure, Dean Cadence, entered the room. Despite the prestigious sounding title, at Crystal Prep, the role was little different from that of Vice-Principal at a lesser school like Canterlot High. But she also had another title, that of sister-in-law to Twilight Sparkle, because she dated her older brother, Shining Armor. She was lean, very tall and her light purple round eyes practically screamed ‘kindness’ and ‘love’, her brilliant arctic blue eyeshadow merely adding to the picture. Cadence had smooth and perfectly looking pale light grayish cerise skin, the hair long and tricolored in moderate violet, moderate rose, along with pale gold streaks in between. Twilight didn’t like the analyzing gaze she was given, “I-is something wrong?” The dean said nothing and came closer gracefully in her golden high heels until both women stood directly in front of each other. Cadence’s midnight blue coat covered a light arctic blue shirt and was decorated by a brooch, made like a multifaceted light blue crystal heart between gold laces. The intertwined golden necklace of the dean was a present given by Shining Armor as a symbol of their last anniversary. Her sky blue skirt might be too light, unfitting for this time of year, but manageable during school thanks to the warm temperature inside. Twilight would never be able to pull off such a look without embarrassing herself down to the bone, or freezing to death for that matter. And she was much too skinny in her own opinion. The dean chuckled teasingly, “Oh Twily, what should we just do with you? Look at the mirror and tell me what you see.” She did as instructed and had to admit gratingly that her sister-in-law was onto something. Her white lab coat was wrinkled at some places and covered sloppily an equally cared for school uniform. Her pale light grayish mulberry colored skin was dry and haunted by some zits, a consequence when she put herself under too much pressure. Moderate sapphire blue hair with moderate violet and brilliant rose streaks was made in a bun and both, her bangs and the bun, had loose strands of hair hanging out of them. Lastly there were Twilight’s moderate violet eyes, the bags under them were serving as a mocking testimony to an apparent lack of sleep. Only her big black glasses survived the last few days and weeks unharmed. She chuckled nervously, “I can explain-” Instead of being scolded, Cadence hugged the surprised scholar, her voice this time much more serious. “Please, listen to me. We are all very worried about you. Your parents and Shiny don’t want to confront you, because they fear that they might hurt your feelings, but you need to slow down.” “Cadie, I’m fine,” Twilight answered stubbornly, looking down at her feet. The normally very patient dean and hobby psychologist had finally enough, “No! You are NOT fine!” She grabbed her sister-in-law at the shoulders, kneeling so that they were seeing each other eye-to-eye and pierced Twilight with an almost pleading expression, “You barely sleep, you neglect your hygiene and one of us has to constantly remind you to eat, because you won’t do it on your own. Whatever kind of mysterious power you found, and I’m very proud on you for accomplishing such an achievement to begin with, it won’t do any good when you are working yourself into burnout.” Twilight wasn’t sure what made her react the way she did, but it was most likely the mix of scientific excitement and desire to learn as well as mental and physical exhaustion because of how she lived unhealthily these last days. She backed off and glared at the older woman in visible frustration, “You don’t understand! No one does! I discovered something huge, something beyond mankind’s imagination! It is the same kind of power that destroyed all of Canterlot Park, my experiments proved that! People are disappearing or found dead since then and I am not naive enough to put aside the timing of these two events as a mere coincidence. We don’t have the time to just sit it out and hope that nothing else will happen!” “Why you?” Cadence inquired softly, refusing to participate in a contest of volume. She wanted to understand her former ladybug. “Twily, you are only 16. You should go out and have some fun in life with your friends or worry about cute boys, not this. Let the grown ups handle it.” The scholar closed her eyes and shook her head angrily, then she snapped, tossing her arms in the air, “Because I don’t have any friends, never had! Except Spike, and he is not human. Science and the search for knowledge is everything I do have in life!” She gasped audibly and put both hands in front of her mouth, cursing herself and her tiredness. The eyes wide, praying to the metaphorical heavens that Cadence didn’t listen. Twilight’s wish wasn’t granted, “W-what?” the dean asked, completely caught off-guard. “What do you mean, you have no friends? You are at Crystal Prep since you were a child!” “Guess the cat is finally out of the bag,” Spike mumbled to himself. He was lucky that Cadence wasn’t paying attention in the slightest. The loyal canine growled silently, “Stupid cats.” “I-I..." The teen groaned. "Fine, you got me,” she confessed reluctantly, rubbing her left arm up and down in embarrassment with the other hand. “I really tried. It’s just, everybody at this school only cares for being the best in everything. And I mean, everything.” Cadence frowned at the unsatisfying answer. Did this mean that the other students were jealous on Twilight’s perfect GPA? Well, if one ignored sports. Though she guessed that the girl’s tendency for clumsiness and her being mercilessly blunt if one said something wrong or was not interested when it came to knowledge played a big role, too. It didn’t help either that Twilight was practically married to her books since she could read her first words. The dean’s mind drifted away shortly, was being bullied a problem? She couldn’t imagine it, as much as Cadence disliked the spartanic methods of Cinch, the older woman always kept an eye on every student, who managed to expand Crystal Prep’s reputation even further. And Twilight Sparkle was the brightest mind this private school had to offer. In the end she decided to let the topic rest, for now, “We are not done yet.” A glance at a nearby clock confirmed her suspicion. “Regardless, I promised Velvet and Night Light to bring you home. Remember, the police advised every citizen to not go alone as long as our current situation isn’t under control.” Twilight tried to change the topic, “I am done anyway.” She put the newest version of the locket into her bag and called the observing canine with a forced smile at seeing his facial reaction, “Come here boy. Time to leave.” Cadence could have sworn that the little guy raised an eyebrow in great amusement at his owner. But that would be ridiculous, Spike was only a dog after all. Clearly she already spent too much time down here, no wonder Twily was acting so strange. Thorax stared at nothing, looking completely lost at the principal’s ridiculous story about fantasy, magic and worlds straight out of a children’s tale. Chrysalis was hiding her desire to plunder her private stash in order to get a strong drink, double of course, masterfully. Triple, now that the legal council thought about what she was told again. Meanwhile Celestia simply grinned proudly without a care in the world. She didn’t expect their reactions to be that priceless. “I warned you that it would be hard to believe.” The legal council glared pointedly at the amused principal. “Aliens?” She received an relaxed shrug in response. “Creatures of fantasy, unicorns, pegasi, sirens, most likely the whole plate?” Another nod. “And not even real horses, but pastel colored ponies with magical brand marks on their hips?” Celestia clicked with her tongue, “Yes.” Chrysalis felt the approaching migraine, “And the statue in front of your school contains a portal to another world where most likely everybody has a counterpart?” she repeated their last conversation like a broken recorder. “I know, I don’t like it either. Luna and I were thinking about demanding rent once a year,” the principal admitted with a grin. “The parts with the portal and the parallel dimension would explain a few things. But… Do you think I’m an idiot?!” Chrysalis roared, jumping out of her chair. “Oh?” the principal mused, playing convincingly clueless. “Would an honest answer suffice?” Now it was the black amazonian-like woman’s eye that was twitching dangerously, “Careful, Tia. Let us be absolutely clear here. If you are pulling my leg just to protect them, I will come down on you like a swarm and do everything in my power to transfer you to Crystal Prep, where you can serve as Cinch’s personal doormat until the day of your retirement.” It must have been a record how fast Celestia’s smugness was replaced by sheer horror. “N-no! I’m telling you the truth. What reason do I have to create a lie like ‘colorful ponies’?” Thorax stroked his chin. “Well, the animal ears those girls have on the pictures do look like they came from an equine,” he added sceptically. “Still, it sounds much too… far fetched.” The principal didn’t take kindly to being dismissed this easily, “Are you now trying to understand our situation, or not? Questioning my words’ substance won’t change what is true.” Thorax wasn’t happy with her snappy tone. “With all due respect-” Chrysalis ignored their banter and decided that it was time to discuss another matter entirely, “Did you by chance read the newspaper this morning?” she queried out of the blue. “No, I didn’t have the time yet. Why?” Celestia answered curiously. “One of Abacus Cinch’s students had a small lab accident. Something like that wouldn’t be newsworthy, had it not happened at about the same time as the incident. Oh, and Cinch had been funding her research on a new form of energy the student claimed to have detected.” The legal council smiled thinly and showed the perplexed principal another article on the tablet about Crystal Prep, “One surprise hunts the next it seems.” Celestia’s eyebrows took a vacation upstairs. “Princ… No, that is the Twilight of our world. Oh.” Chrysalis smirked falsely, “That is one way of putting it.” The corners of her mouth fell down immediately afterwards. “It appears that Ms. Sparkle put us under more pressure than was already the case. I fear it is only a matter of time before she does something we can’t cover up any longer.” Thorax nodded in agreement with a frown of his own. “Ms. Chrysalis is right. We are lucky that the article was dismissed by the more reputable scientists of our country, because alone the thought that a mere teenager would manage to discover something nobody else could, is seen as a great insult by most.” “I am not sure if I like where this is going,” Celestia admitted cautiously. The legal council walked up to the window purposefully, looking out at nothing in particular. “Thorax, take Pharynx with you and prepare the car.” She waited until both siblings were gone before she addressed Celestia once more. “And you should grab a jacket as well. I can give Ms. Sparkle something she desperately desires, but you are better when it comes to convincing children I have no hold over.” She turned around for a last time when she stood in the door. “You should feel honored, your softness is required.” Celestia wasn’t sure what this woman was planning, but she was ready to play her part when it would help them to safeguard the portal’s existence. Though she couldn’t shake off the feeling that the forgot something important. Luna sneezed, hopefully she wasn’t catching a cold on her last day before the holidays would begin. The office’s phone ringed for what felt like the 30th time. “Hello, you speak with Vice-Principal Luna. What can I do for-” ... She growled. “You again, Filthy?! I don’t care how many times you call this number, we won’t suspend our students, just because your daughter's feelings are hurt. And that is final!” … She chuckled humorlessly. “That is not my problem. Buy her a toy or something.” The vice-principal scoffed. “I don’t care!” … Luna narrowed her eyes, the voice low, “Do not threaten me. I don’t care if your wife is part of the school board, I do not work for you.” … Her voice took now a mocking touch, “Oh yes, please. I would love to see how you want to convince the school board to reduce our budget because of something beyond our control. News flash, it won’t happen.” … She sighed exhaustedly, “I understand where you are coming from, but you really need to teach your wife a lesson in not only humility, but what is socially acceptable these days. We don’t live any longer in times of kings and nobles.” … “Yes. And a good day to you, Filthy,” Luna said neutrally before she hang up. Her sister promised that she would return soon. Celestia had been gone for two hours by now. “I swear Tia, you better have a damn good reason why you won’t come back.” Another call, she picked up grumpily. “Hello, here is-” Her eyes widened significantly, “Sister?!” A short pause. “Wait, what do you mean you are with Chrysi?!” It was an agonizing ride, at least for the dean of Crystal Prep. She was the driver and Twilight Sparkle sat right beside her. Cadence wasn’t sure how to break the ice either, but the silence between the woman and her sister-in-law was too much to bear. She needed a topic, something that interested Twilight enough to talk. Then she had an idea, “So, tell me. If we hadn’t found you in your lab thanks to the little light show after your pendant exploded, how did you plan to investigate this new energy on your own anyway? It must have been hard to work on your project without any funds to back you up.” The young scholar wasn’t exactly keen on talking about this particular matter. She looked up from mentioned device, “Well, I’ve been using my allowance to buy the parts, but now Principal Cinch has offered to pay for it as long as I give her weekly reports. I was going to go to Canterlot High in order to investigate the readings I received, though without a student pass, I would have to stay outside. I thought I could wait for the Friendship Games next year in order to do it secretly when everybody was too busy to notice. Just going along as a ‘fan’, you know? Nobody would have ever known.” And when she would have finished the locket. Now Twilight had to make due with a prototype, irks and quirks still included. Cadence, as expected by the teenager, frowned heavily, “Twily, these games were once introduced as a symbol of kinship and sportsmanship between CHS and CPA. Not as something to abuse.” Despite her misgivings, the dean had to confess that she heard about the rumors concerning her aunts’ school, but didn’t give it a second thought. Auntie Celestia and Auntie Luna would have told her when something unexplainable was going on, or so she believed. Twilight rolled her eyes at the dean’s naive words, glancing at the miraculous machine in her hands again, “Oh please, since more than 12 years nothing else happens than total domination from Crystal Prep’s side in every single competition, paired with obscenely amounts of gloating and an undeniable demonstration that CHS will always be second place. There is nothing friendly about these games.” The older woman and former student of Crystal Prep herself sighed sadly, “It wasn’t always like that…” Her sister-in-law nearly didn’t hear anything at all, “Did you say something?” “Nothing! Just me mumbling silly things. I, err-” she caught sight of one of Twilight’s favorite establishments, perhaps food would cheer her sister-in-law-up, “How about a Hamburger? I can go in and get us a little snack to bite, meanwhile you can have fun with Spike. He tried to get your attention since a little while.” Cadence parked her car on a big parking lot, leaving pet and owner behind to go in. Spike whined loudly, “Finally! Twilight, I need to go, like right now. Or you won’t like what happens next,” he warned urgently, dancing on the spot. She smiled sheepishly at her trusty dog, “O-of course! Sorry that I forgot earlier, I just lost track of time… again.” Spike gritted his teeth in concentration, “Less talking, more peeing!” The duo left the car fastly and hid behind the nearest bush, vehicle still in view. It was a most awaited moment for him. “Ahhh~! Sweet, sweet, release.” Twilight wanted to comment on his theatralic behaviour, when suddenly her pocket was glowing in a bright purple light. She took the locket out and indeed, the entire device showed activity, specially the core in the center, a purple symbol of a star. It was almost as if it tried to fly away, truly mesmerizing. “Oh my gosh! A signal?! Here?!” she exclaimed excitedly. The canine though looked back to the car. “Err, Twilight? I am pretty sure that Cadence will come back soon. We should-” he turned around to face his best friend only to notice that she was gone. He scanned his surroundings frantically till he spotted his owner who just entered a big alleyway and left his sight. Spike followed swiftly, not wasting a single breath. The principal couldn’t believe that she forgot about her sister and rushed off. “Yes Luna, I will. Sorry that I didn’t tell you earlier, thanks for jumping in. Of course we will, bye.” Celestia put her phone away and focused instead on the legal council of the Canterlot School District. “How exactly do you even plan to convince her to stop with what she is doing? We don’t really have the right to forbid her to do research concerning magic, it’s not like there is a law against it.” They tried to reach the address of their world’s Twilight Sparkle, only problem was, the Canterlot Park incident. Bloggers, independent reporters and agencies from all over the world, as well as bystanders, were flocking to the city in masses to snatch a look at its remains since the day the local citizens' beloved park was erased from the map. In short, traffic was a nightmare these days. At least Pharynx was driving, so she could put her mind on other things. “Reliable sources told me that Ms. Sparkle wants nothing more than to be accepted at Everton after graduation. She certainly has the intelligence to succeed. I could convince the headmaster over there to let the girl in early, ignoring certain entrance criteria or other restrictions. In exchange she might rethink her desire to dive into the unknown without considering the consequences.” Chrysalis smiled sweetly at her seatmate. “That is where we are counting on you.” “Everton?” Celestia grimaced. “Do you really think he will allow that? You know how obsessed he is with rules nowadays.” The legal council returned the gesture. “If Sombra knows what’s good for him he will consider taking my gracious offer.” She ignored the principal’s questioning look expertly. This man’s greatest problem was that he felt rules were for other people, especially those beneath him. This had led to some issues in the past and only thanks to Tirek’s and her help did he manage to obtain the position as headmaster of one of the most desired schools worldwide. It would be most unfortunate for his career if someone accidently leaked a secret or two. Thorax in the meantime wasn’t sure if he was hallucinating or not, but the best course of action was to ask the others, “Isn’t that Dean Cadence in front of a Hay Burger, running around like a headless chicken and behaving like a crazy woman?” All heads turned instantly to verify what the computer expert saw. It was indeed the dean of CPA, looking like she was crying recently and nervously pacing around her car. The passenger door wide open. Alarm bells went off in Celestia’s head, “Pharynx, please park the van right next to her. I know my niece, something horrible must have happened when she acts like that.” “Do as she says,” Chrysalis ordered before he could say anything. When they stopped and opened the door the occupants could hear the dean mumbling, “What should I do? Where can she be?” She breathed hardly. “Ohhh, Velvet will kill me when she finds out.” “Cadence?” Celestia asked her pacing niece. On a closer look she could even make out single hairs which were sticking out of the dean’s normally perfect coiffure. “A-Auntie Celestia?!” the beauty exclaimed in shock and surprise, she looked behind her relative and the formally glad smile transformed into a sneer. “Legal Council Chrysalis.” The woman in question kept up an unreadable poker face, “Dean Cadence.” Cadence pointed accusingly at the dark trio, “What are you doing here? Trying to convince another child to become one of your servants?” “My, what strong accusations. You have no-” Chrysalis looked almost too nicely at Thorax. “Now that I think about it. Could you be a dear and get me a drink? I feel a little parched.” The younger sibling blinked, then he registered what she had said, “Err, of course Ms. Chrysalis. I’ll be right back.” He left. Pharynx snorted at his brother’s cluelessness. Chrysalis cleared her throat. “They are not servants, just students given a unique opportunity to protect their school and its district, something my little swarm does quite well.” Her eyes twinkled in barely contained amusement. Celestia thought it would be best to change the topic before her niece went on a rampage and put a calming hand on Cadence’s shoulder, “Don’t let her get to you. Now, tell us what happened, I’ve rarely seen you so worried before.” Panic returned with a vengeance for the dean, “Oh my gosh! I totally forgot!” She stared pleadingly at her aunt, “You have to help me find my sister-in-law and her dog! She was supposed to wait for me in the car, but when I returned they were both gone! Hopefully nothing happened to her, so many people have gone missing or were found dead since the incident.” It would explain the spilled drinks and food on the ground for more than one person. “Don’t worry Cadence,” the principal advised calmly. “I am sure everything will be fine. Tell us who is missing and we do what we can to help you.” Chrysalis nodded at the dean’s expression in her direction, “What she said.” She knew her aunt was right and took a deep breath. Cadence felt already much better. “Her name is Twilight Sparkle.” Pharynx facepalmed, Chrysalis cursed silently and Celestia simply knew the universe hated her. “Is something wrong?” the dean inquired in bafflement and concern in regards to their actions. It was the legal council who broke the silence in the finest irony, “You might say that.” Spike didn’t like it, he didn’t like it at all. All his instincts were shouting at him to run away as fast as he could. “Err, Twilight? I really think we shouldn’t be here.” They already reached the sixth alley, or so the dog counted in his head. The young scholar ignored him. “Don’t be silly, you are just grouchy, because you have to walk through deep snow.” She was glad that she was wearing knee-long winter boots. “And according to my locket we are as good as… there.” There, meant in their case a dead end after turning around the next corner. Spike gave his owner a deadpan in response, “Just great.” Twilight looked up from the device to stare dumbfoundedly at the opposing wall, back at the locket, then the wall once more, only to end up groaning. “B-but that doesn’t make any sense! The source of this energy signature should be right in front of us!” She shook her little gadget furiously. “Stupid malfunctions!” “Well, time to go back I guess. Too bad.” The canine only wanted to leave this creepy place. Disappointment painted the girl’s face, putting the still glowing pendant back into her pocket, “I think you are right.” She gave Spike a warm smile. “I hope Cadence won’t be too mad at me.” The duo didn’t even take three steps when suddenly a deep, malicious, slightly male and echoing voice made itself known from behind their backs, “Leaving so soon?” They froze on the spot immediately, eyes were taking the forms of pinpricks. Both turned around slowly, barely noticing in the back of their minds that their breaths were nothing more but thick white mist by now and that the air felt much more chilling than before. Twilight literally fell back from shock, not able to rip her eyes from the surreal attraction in front of her eyes. “W-wh-how-but-!” Her scientific mind couldn’t explain it, in the face of all logic, a ghost was staring back at her. It looked distantly human, if not for being easily three heads taller than the teenager herself, made of what seemed like ice and shaped energy, wearing ethereal and equally glowing rags all around its body. It was not only incredibly tall, but thin, almost malnourished looking, the arms and hands barely visible because of the cloth and legs which were slowly evaporating into swirls of wind the farther she looked down. But worst were the unforgiving, narrowed two pits of brilliant black energy which represented most likely its eyes. “What is wrong human?” the spirit asked sadistically. “Never seen a wraith before?” That did it. Twilight screamed bloody murder and turned tail, Spike closely behind. They never looked back, but didn’t even reach the end of their current alley when another, this time what seemed like armor wearing ghost appeared in front of the terrified duo. Its eyes were hypnotizing, colored in a deep sky blue. “I fear we can’t let you leave, little one,” a from the second wraith coming, more female, voice stated patiently. They were trapped. Twilight looked frantically between the two beings on both sides before she fell to her knees in the icy snow, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. “It explains everything, the disappearances, the frozen bodies and why the police never found a clue on the true culprits!” The biggest question was, how? It should be impossible, ghosts weren’t supposed to exist, they were meant to be a fragment of human fantasy, not real life. She looked at the wraith in front of her, it was closing in. Spike jumped in front of his owner and charged at the spirit, this thing blocked their path to freedom, it dared to threaten his family and his very being commanded him to protect Twilight. “S-Spike! NO!” the teenager shouted desperately. The spirit laughed quietly to herself, hands illuminated by an energy unknown to the scholar. Long and lethal looking icy claws grew from each finger, the nearing moment to strike the loyal dog down was filling the cruel construct of necromancy with glee. Twilight closed her eyes, she couldn’t look at the imminent slaughter. “Grave Whisper, that is quite enough,” a melodic, almost seducing voice of a woman intervened like a disappointed mother. The wraith stopped her spell and ignored how Spike literally jumped through her massless body, landing head first in the snow. He glared up and made eye contact with a woman nearly as tall as Cadence. “Excuse me, Mistress. I let my bloodlust get the better of me,” Grave Whisper apologized nervously. Twilight opened her eyes after hearing the newcomer and had to admit, even as a girl herself, She. Was. Gorgeous. In comparison to Cadence this woman in front of her had something she never saw before, if there was ever a moment where she would consider beauty to be timeless, this was it. Long wavy locks of ashen white hair were framing slender shoulders, vibrant magenta eyes, supported by midnight blue eyeshadow, which gave off the impression that it could be possible to lose oneself in them, though it was strange. Her pupils appeared to be unnaturally black, flickering in certain angles of light like shadows. Still, that detail didn’t occupy the teenager’s analysis for long. A soft nose, her luscious lips, an inviting smile of teeth as white as pearls and beautifully chiseled dark brownish gray skin completed a picture of flesh-made allurement. In comparison was her outfit almost insultingly simple. She wore solely a three-layered dress that covered her entire body, but with a generous cleavage to emphasize an already ample bosom. It was colored in three shades, light gray, reddish gray and apple greenish gray. Fittingly did she have a golden necklace with what could qualify as a ruby on it, serving as the showpiece and shaped like an apple. Twilight never heard that a gem of that size existed, where on Earth did this woman get such an expensive piece of jewelry? It must be worth a fortune. Finally concluded the girl that this stranger must have a suicide wish, or an immune system to die for, because she wore no shoes, nor socks. Although her feet didn’t seem to suffer from anything, they looked perfectly healthy as the rest of the stunning female. “Who are you?” the young scholar thought breathlessly. With sway in every step did the stranger come closer, ignoring the growling Spike consequently. She presented Twilight an outstretched hand, her voice soothing and warm, “You must be very confused. Why won’t you stand up from the cold ground so that we might converse like reasonable adults?” The teenager couldn’t believe it, this woman acted like being surrounded by cursed souls didn’t bother her at all. Twilight chose to take the offer and stood once again on her own. “T-thanks! B-but I-I-” “Shhh. It is alright,” the unknown beauty said knowingly, taking Twilight’s left hand into her own, caressing its back. It should feel wrong to be touched like that, or so logic dictated her, but instead she felt calm, at peace. “You found something you weren’t prepared for and are obviously out of your comfort zone when confronted with such devastating revelations. Ask whatever you want, I will answer truthfully.” A promise too good to be true, but she couldn’t ignore the her given opportunity. “O-OK, well, w-what are they? W-who are you?” Twilight asked in fright, staring nervously between the two spirits as if they would attack her at any moment. Her smile never left the stranger's face. “They are called Windigos. Lost souls of old to be more precise, but this is another tale.” The woman acted thoughtfully. “As for my identity, my name is Moonlight River, it is a personal joy to finally meet you, Twilight Sparkle.” Mentioned teenager’s brain came to a standstill. “Y-you know me?” “But of course!” Moonlight exclaimed happily. “Why, I couldn’t believe my eyes when I read the article about your discovery. A clever girl who managed to discover how to measure magic. Simply astonishing.” Twilight blushed at being praised like that by somebody who wasn’t family. Nobody outside of her closest circle ever did that without any hint of mockery or jealousy since kindergarten. Or acted like it was to be expected by the infamous protégé, meaning every single teacher and student of Crystal Prep. A genuine compliment. She choked up. Then another detail Moonlight said came to the front of her mind, “Ms. River, did you just say ‘magic’?” Instead of answering the question with words, the older woman did it with actions. Her hand, similar to what the female Windigo did earlier, was engulfed by a crimson aura. Not a second later was Twilight’s locket surrounded by the same energy and flew slowly into Moonlight’s waiting hand. “HOW?!” was the only word that came out of the usually more eloquent teenager’s mouth. Moonlight laughed musically and gave Twilight her locket back, like a normal person would this time. “My dear girl, there exist forces beyond what science alone can teach you. I am ready to show you what was kept away from you for so long. In return, I merely require your assistance to find something, an entrance so to speak.” “Entrance?” the teenager repeated in awe. Alone the thought of all the knowledge she could learn stimulated her endorphin production to new heights. ‘Happy’ wasn’t enough to describe her current emotional state. And how many books would await her? Moonlight leaned forward, whispering her next words into the scholar’s ear, her voice was resonating in the girl’s very soul, “What if everything you thought was impossible, could be made possible? I can show you a world full of wonders and opportunities, you just have to accept, nobody has to know about our little agreement.” Twilight shivered at being on the receiving end of the Windigos’ impatient stares. The magic user noticed her fear immediately and chuckled knowingly. “Don’t tell me you are afraid when facing death.” “I-I just, well, how is that possible? I mean no disrespect to religion, but I never cared for theology. I always thought that a soul was just an invented concept to calm people’s minds so that they have something to look forward to after the end,” the teenager explained uncomfortably. Moonlight River’s smile took a melancholic touch, almost reminiscent. “Being afraid of the end isn’t necessary. Life is short, sometimes when expected the least, too short.” She looked imploringly at Twilight, “There are so many ways to die, the only true death is to never live, to always be afraid of the possible consequences instead of taking a leap of faith. Now, are you ready to take the next step?” A disappointed undertone came into play, “Or did I misjudge your merit? Are you perhaps too afraid and unworthy of the truth?” Spike wanted to shout at his owner to finally snap out of it and to refuse this insane female, but something invisible prevented him from opening his mouth. Every single cell in him vibrated with sickness whenever he looked at the woman. She just felt wrong, foul. Twilight thought about Moonlight’s words. Was she truly too afraid? No! She had enough of being humiliated during lunch, of being pushed into the locker by older girls or exploited for her brain only to be kicked aside when she was no longer of use. Cadence and Shining Armor never understood, they had it always easy to find friends and were admired by the other students during their time. While she was just, a dork. A nerd without friends. She made her decision, “Please, Ms. Moonlight! Teach me what you know and I will help you to the best of my abilities, I swear.” The necromancer smiled sweetly, “You won’t regret it.”