Five figures trotted through the School of Friendship’s courtyard. A small stream cut the square itself into two halves, with a small island in the middle hosting a large fountain. And a tunnel within the building, through which that stream ran through and eventually split into a pair of waterfalls, offered a small portion of a view of the Castle of Friendship not far beyond that. Several more bodies hung about the courtyard, hosting pockets of hushed conversation and confused expressions.
One of the five, Gallus the griffon, frowned. “Gee. This is weird.”
“Yeah,” Yona the yak agreed. “Yona wonder what’s going on.”
Another figure, an earth pony, emerged from an opening on one side of the courtyard. He looked around and then spotted the five. Sprinting towards them, he called out, “Hey!”
“Sandbar!” Yona greeted, galloping to meet him with the other four close behind.
“You too?” Gallus asked.
“I was in Professor Rarity’s class,” Sandbar replied. “And then Guidance Counselor Starlight came in and said classes were canceled for the day.”
“Same with us,” Ocellus the changeling replied. “Spike came and asked Professor Applejack to come with him.”
“I wonder if this is about that thing that’s been keeping them on edge all week,” Gallus suggested.
“Oh gosh,” Silverstream the hippogryph said, cupping her cheeks with her claws, “I hope everything’s alright.”
“I think I heard Guidance Counselor Starlight say that they were going to Headmare Twilight’s office,” Sandbar said.
Smolder the dragon narrowed her eyes. “Then let’s go find out what this is all about.”
The six of them shared nods and then, as a single unit, they made their way across the courtyard and toward a doorway. Ocellus opened it with her magic and the six filed on through. The hallways, with their long, blue carpets and the periodic chandeliers hanging from the arched ceiling, all supported by equally periodic stone pillars, greeted them.
They made their way down the hall and into another hall in silence. A set of stairs led downward; the four with wings simply flew down while the other two—Yona and Sandbar—trotted down. They emerged into another hall and continued on.
After rounding another corner, they came to a stop. Among the doors on the sides of the hallway was a pair of double doors with swirling patterns on their fronts. And those doors were currently closed shut.
“Let’s go listen in,” Smolder hissed.
The six made their way down the hall and, as they approached the doors, they heard some low voices from the other side. The voices were so low that only bits and pieces of discernable speech made it through. They had to press their ears against the doorway to even get just that.
“This is so exciting!” Silverstream said with a subdued yet still excited tone.
Smolder went wide-eyed and whirled to face her. “Keep it down, Silverstream! You’re going to give us away!”
Silverstream clamped her beak shut with one of her claws.
“Be like Yona,” Yona said as she pressed her ear more against the door. “Yaks best at being quiet.”
“Yona, shut up,” Smolder hissed.
They listened for a few moments more in silence.
“That sounds like Guidance Counselor Starlight,” Ocellus whispered.
What sounded like a loud bang made them jump. A few startled cries from within the room itself masked their own. And then one of the double doors suddenly swung forward; not by a lot but enough for them to not fall forward. That prompted the six of them to back away from the doors all at once.
It was only then that the ajar door opened completely. And Tempest Shadow, clad in her armor, stood silently in the doorway, looking down on the six of them.
Meanwhile, those still in the room either stared at Twilight Sparkle, who sat at her desk with her head in her hooves, or stared into space.
“You didn’t!” Rarity cried at Twilight. “You didn’t! You didn’t! You didn’t!”
Pinkamena Diane Pie, her usually poofy mane and tail now completely straight and flat, lay crumpled on the floor. Fluttershy openly bawled into her hooves now. Applejack stood with her teeth clenched together; her stetson lay on the ground right in front of her.
“You didn’t!” Rarity cried some more as black streaks ran down her face.
Starlight Glimmer stood off to the side, looking at the five of them without a hint of color in her face. Spike stood on Twilight’s desk, holding her in his arms. Rainbow Dash stumbled her way up to Twilight’s desk and placed her forelegs on it, steadying herself as she stared Twilight down.
“You didn’t!”
Tempest took one look over her withers, back at the six students outside the door who were currently backing away from her, and then she sighed and stepped into the hall herself. Tempest closed the door behind her and then looked across them, her frown deepening.
The six of them continued staring at the closed door. Slowly, surely, their gazes drifted up toward her.
“Well?” Tempest said with a snort. “Are you just going to stand there? Get out.”
The six of them didn’t immediately move. Tempest’s expression didn’t immediately change. The bedlam on the other side of the door didn’t immediately die down. But it was Tempest widening her eyes that prompted the six to finally stand up. And then they shuffled down the hall, backing away from her.
And they backed away from the door which their eyes briefly flicked to. Their ears, in time, listened for those muffled screams and wails that came from the other side. Those same screams and wails, while not so audible, echoed through the halls and through their ears and even through their very souls.
Finally, the six of them turned and ran for their lives.
…
…
…
…
…I
…
…am
…
…Sunset
…
…Shimmer
…I
…
…am Sunset
…
…Shimmer
* * *
The throne room of Canterlot Castle—at least, this timeline’s version—remained bathed in browns and bits of dust. A constant whisper completed the room’s dreary atmosphere. In the center of the room, seven tables ringed around an eighth containing a singular crystal ball.
Celestia felt every eye in the room staring her down now. There were, of course, her counterparts and her sister’s counterparts at the other tables as was the usual. But her own sister, Luna, was also staring at her. And behind her stood five others; five world leaders from her own timeline: Dragon Lord Ember, Grampa Gruff, Queen Novo, King Thorax, and Prince Rutherford. An open portal stood behind them.
And everyone was deathly silent.
Finally, Ember clenched her fists. “How… how dare you…”
Celestia winced. “It was not my idea. I’ve just told you this: it was Princess Twilight who did all of this.”
Celestia I leaned on her table. “But you condoned it.”
“That was very unwise, leaving the fate of us all in the hooves of a single pony,” Luna N said.
“But Sunset Shimmer is no ordinary pony,” Celestia countered. “She was the one who unpacked all of this for us in the first place. And she has done wonderful things for her world, as well. We owe much to her. And even if she had not done all that, she is significant to all of us.”
The room hung in silence for a few moments. The other Celestias shuddered and a few even nodded solemnly.
Celestia S sighed through her nose. “You aren’t wrong on that.”
“And, again, it was Twilight Sparkle who conceived of it first,” Celestia continued. “I trust her completely and fully.”
“And so the both of you placed all your trust in Sunset Shimmer?” Celestia I asked.
“Yes. May I remind you that our Sunset Shimmers have not come back to us,” Celestia T said. “They have not proven themselves.”
Celestia C shifted in her seat. “So forgive us if we aren’t so willing to put our existence in her hooves just yet,” she said with a sharp tone.
“Uh, excuse me,” Thorax said, stepping forward. “I have a question. If Sunset Shimmer was sent to another world to wait for Twilight to figure all this out… what exactly was stopping her from running to someplace where we would never find her?”
At table C, Celestia C and Luna C snapped to attention and stared Thorax down.
Meanwhile, Rutherford snorted. “Yak agree. What stop pony from abandoning us?”
Celestia narrowed her eyes as she swung around to meet them. “That was all Twilight. I would not have condoned that.”
“And here it happened all the same,” Gruff said as he ruffled his wings and snorted.
“I think that I can safely say that Sunset would not have run away,” Luna countered as she turned to face Gruff. “She even chose to be sealed away. In fact… she sealed herself away. You were all there.”
Gruff flinched. His head nodded imperceptibly but his beak spouted a sharp, “I know what I saw.”
Thorax, however, straightened up as he finally returned table C’s stares. He blinked once and then frowned. “I’m sorry. Can I help you over there?”
The pair at table C looked between each other and frowned. “Sorry,” Luna C replied. “We are still not used to seeing changelings in our midst.”
Thorax narrowed his eyes. “Is that a problem?”
Celestia C pursed her lips. “Please, forgive us. You must understand that we spent years tormented by your kind. Our scars are not so healed just yet.”
Thorax shuddered. “We’re better now. We no longer live under Queen Chrysalis.”
“I know. Mostly.”
Novo chuckled. “Oh, believe me. I wasn’t so keen on them just letting the Storm King’s underlings walk free. I still remember very clearly what he did to us hippogryphs.”
Celestia I banged the table in front of her. “I believe we are getting off-topic here.”
The room hung within a moment of silence before many of them gave affirmative nods. Celestia T and Luna T, meanwhile, began whispering between each other.
Luna N folded her hooves across the table and sighed through her nose. “Twilight Sparkle lives again because of Sunset Shimmer, correct?”
Celestia eventually nodded. “Yes.”
“…Then her actions are somewhat explained. It is… the repayment of a life-debt. It is… wanting to save a life.” Luna N straightened up and looked over at Luna in particular. “That is something that I can understand.”
After a moment of silence, Luna nodded in return. “…Yes.”
“The fact still remains that we dragged our hooves on this,” Novo seethed, “because of you and your fellow princess.”
“This could have easily gone wrong at several points when it didn’t need to,” Ember added. “We were all jeopardized.”
“I don’t think anypony here is arguing that,” Celestia D said. “There is certainly fault here.”
At that point, Luna T exchanged nods with Celestia T and then straightened up. “Excuse me. Point of order.”
The whole room stopped and turned to face her.
“There is an unrelated matter that we just remembered we needed to mention,” Luna T continued. “We had forgotten about it amidst our bickering, and remembered when you mentioned the Storm King a few moments ago,” she said, glancing at Novo.
Novo’s eyes widened. “Oh?”
Luna T glanced around the room. “We aren’t sure how much of a pressing matter this is, but the Storm King’s forces are on the move in our timeline.”
Several heads whirled to face her now, complete with a few inaudible gasps.
Luna D nodded. “Yes, I am glad that you’ve mentioned that. Actually, we’ve noticed the same thing in our timeline as well. We’ve noticed movement, but nothing more.”
“Ours as well,” Celestia S agreed.
The pairs at tables N, I, and C looked between each other and shook their heads.
Novo stepped forward. “That is a very strange pattern.”
Celestia I nodded. “Yes. It would be one thing if he was moving in just one timeline, but to happen in three…?”
Novo glanced up. “Do you know his whereabouts in your own timelines?”
After scanning the pairs at the other two tables, Luna N shook her head. “I don’t know anything. But we can always get some information.”
“What are they moving for?” Luna C said as she leaned across her table.
“We don’t know that either,” Luna D replied. “At least, our timeline doesn’t. We know they are moving. What purpose they are moving for, however, is beyond us.”
“We shall have to look into these matters,” Celestia S said.
After a moment of silence, Celestia I stood up. “Is there anything else?”
A few others stood up and shook their heads.
“We will keep you all updated on the Storm King situations as we get information,” Celestia S said. She looked at Celestia and Luna and frowned. “Including you.”
Celestia and Luna exchanged glances.
Gruff snorted. “Feh. I’d rather they stayed out of this.”
Ember crossed her arms and nodded. “How do we know you won’t keep secrets from us?”
Celestia N frowned. “We won’t.”
“How do we know? Those two kept the one thing that needed to not be a secret a secret!”
Luna gasped. “How dare—?”
Celestia laid a hoof on Luna’s withers, cutting her off. “Yes, I did,” she said.
“Ah, to be fair, Princess Luna didn’t know anything either,” Thorax said. “Remember?”
“The question still stands!” Gruff screeched.
Rutherford finally stamped the floor and turned. “Yak don’t want any more of this. Yak go home,” he half-yelled as he trotted toward the open portal behind him.
Luna N narrowed her eyes. “We will.”
“I don’t believe you,” Ember replied.
Thorax, rapidly glancing between all parties with a grimace on his face, finally staggered toward the portal as well.
The pair at table C glanced at the portal behind table R and then they turned. Celestia C lit her horn and made another portal appear. They stepped through, although Luna C briefly paused in the aperture. And then, once they were on the other side, the portal shrank to a point and then they were gone.
And as the parties at the other tables dispersed and as those behind them retreated toward their own portal, Celestia and Luna remained standing there at table R. They stood in silence. They didn’t even move.
They then exchanged glances, with the both of them lacking all manner of color and life in their faces.
* * *
…
…I am
…Sunset Shimmer
…
…My name
…is
…
…Sunset Shimmer
…My name is Sunset Shimmer
…I am Nameless
…My name is Sunset Shimmer
…I am Nameless
…
…
…I am Nameless Sunset Shimmer
…I am nameless Sunset Shimmer
* * *
Spike sat on the edge of Twilight Sparkle’s bed. The canopy was drawn, allowing clear views on all sides of the mountain of pillows that took up the center of the bed. At the moment, however, the mountain was somewhat deflated as some of the pillows had been shifted about, revealing Twilight Sparkle laying catatonically within.
Twilight Velvet, who stood at the bedside, bent down so that she was level with Twilight Sparkle’s ears. “Twilight, dear… You don’t have to stay here like this.”
Night Light, who stood beside her, nodded sagely. “That’s right, hun. I’m sure you did everything that could be done.”
“You have nothing to feel bad about,” Twilight Velvet added.
Spike glanced up and stared holes into Twilight Velvet.
Night Light looked over at him, frowned, and then he poked Twilight Velvet in the side, prompting her to look over. It was when she saw their expressions that she frowned in return and sucked in a breath.
“Well, what I mean to say,” Twilight Velvet said, “is that… you did it. You saved Equestria again. You saved everypony. We’re here… because of you…” She paused. “And your friend.”
Twilight Sparkle didn’t even blink.
Twilight Velvet reached forward and stroked her daughter’s cheek. “You aren’t as defeated as you think you are, dear. I know there was… a cost. But we’re still here because of you.” She swallowed. “Remember that, okay?”
Night Light lay his hoof on Twilight Sparkle as well. He rubbed her a few times and tried cracking a smile.
And that was when a tear rolled down Twilight Sparkle’s face.
Spike shook his head and hopped off the bed. Night Light and Twilight Velvet pulled away as well. They collectively shuffled toward the open doorway, outside which several more bodies milled about.
They made it a few steps before hearing the tell-tale twinkle of magic. They turned to find several pillows, levitated by magic, gliding back into their former positions, sealing the mare on the bed inside them once more.
Twilight Velvet let out a squeak while Night Light’s expression fell. Nonetheless, the three of them exited the room. And Twilight Velvet, with a grim face, pulled the door shut with her magic.
The bodies in the hall—Pinkamena Diane Pie, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy—all stared back at them with half-blank, half-wet faces. Tempest Shadow stood with them (but at a slight distance), wearing a contemplative frown on her face.
Spike found Starlight Glimmer standing among them and he looked up at her. Her face, previously wet, now hosted new tears and brought new wrinkles to blossom as she looked back down at him. The contortions in her face compounded as a few of their friends let off some sniffles and choked sobs as well.
Night Light looked over at Twilight Velvet and draped a foreleg across her withers. They shared sad frowns and then filed their way around the congregation, trotting down the hall in silence.
Starlight’s grimace grew deeper and she finally closed her eyes. She too began to turn around and walk down the hall. However, as she did so, she lit her horn. With an airy pop, Starlight disappeared into thin air.
Those still standing in the hall briefly regarded the spot Starlight had just been standing in and then resignedly shook their heads.
* * *
…
…I am Sunset Shimmer
…I am Nameless
…
…I am here
…I am here for all time
…
…I am here
…I am alone
…for all time
…
…
…
…My name
…
…is
“Hello?”
…
“…”
…
“Is anyone there?”
…
Impossible.
“Hello!? I… understand you.”
No, you aren’t impossible, now that I think about it.
“But you are. Who are you?”
…
I am Sunset Shimmer.
“Sunset Shimmer? No… It cannot be. Why are you here?”
Well… I am the new Nameless now. Apparently, some part of it survived… and it was within me. So now I’m sealed away for all eternity.
“…”
...
“It c-cannot be… But I see it.”
You see it?
“I felt your presence in this place. I felt you be sealed away. But I would have never thought that it was you.”
You… felt it. I guess that makes sense.
“…”
...
“I am surprised that you can make sense of it.”
I know who you are. The only thing that I actually wonder about… is why you would even talk to me at all.
“…Well, perhaps I wonder about that too.”
For what it’s worth… I’m glad that you did.
“Mmmm.
“Anyway, I was only curious. I will leave you to it now.”
Wait… wait!
“...Yes?”
Can I ask you something?
“...”
I… I want to know something. I know this will sound like a weird question…
“Mmhmm.”
Just… out of curiosity… do you know anything about something called Consensus?
“…”
“Consensus?”
Yes.
“…”
…
“…
“I… I do not know anything about it. Not… readily. And yet…”
Yes?
“A memory stirs. I do not know what this memory is, but it is a memory nonetheless.”
Yes?
“…”
…
“I am sorry. I must go. There are… things that I must think about.”
* * *
Twilight Sparkle watched as her bandmates idly hung around their instruments without playing them. The six human girls sat in silence. Light streamed in through the windows and imperceptibly grew in intensity with every second.
Eyes periodically drifted toward an electric guitar, a red-colored axe, that rested in its stand next to the drum set. That guitar had no human.
Pinkamena Diane Pie, looking straight-haired and colorless, sporting bloodshot eyes and bags underneath, slumped across the drum set and sighed.
Rarity, whose makeup wasn’t as neat and orderly as usual, glanced up at the clock. “We should probably go to class soon.”
Rainbow Dash ran a hand across her face. Her eyes looked equally bloodshot. “I don’t know if I wanna go.”
“But we have that exam in Mr. Cranky’s class,” Twilight said. “We have to go.”
“I’m not ready for it,” Rainbow Dash replied.
Twilight frowned. “He gave us an entire extra day to study for it. How are you not ready?”
Rainbow Dash shook her head. “I didn’t study for it.”
“I didn’t either,” Fluttershy, who stared into space, croaked.
Applejack shook her head and adjusted her stetson. “Me neither. And honestly… Ah ain’t nearly awake enough for this thing. …Ah ain’t slept a wink these past couple nights.”
Four of the others nodded with agreement.
Twilight hung her head and rubbed her eyes. “Well… I would be lying if I said that I felt completely ready. I mean, I did study last night, but…”
“Of course you did,” Rarity said. “You’re good at that.”
“Did you study the night before that?” Fluttershy asked.
“I…” Twilight croaked. “I… would be surprised if anyone studied that night.”
They heard a knocking and collectively looked toward the double doors that served as the room’s entrance. Hanging right in the open entryway stood, at a not-so-full height, a green-haired and green-skinned girl. She practically clung to the other door with her other hand. At that, the six in the room straightened up.
“Can we help you?” Applejack asked.
The girl nodded. “H-hi… I’m Wallflower Blush. Uh, I’ve been meaning to talk to you… About Sunset Shimmer, I mean.”
Rarity glanced up at the clock and then lifted her keytar off her and set it on a stand right next to the red-colored axe. “We’ll have to go to class soon, and all, but alright. Come in,” she said, waving Wallflower into the room.
“How strange. I can’t remember ever seeing you anywhere,” Twilight said. “What class are you in?”
Wallflower frowned as she joined them in the center of the room. Her hands gripped the straps of the green backpack on her back. “Uh, yours.”
The six girls exchanged glances and grimaces.
Wallflower shook her head. “Don’t worry about it. I’m pretty forgettable.”
“Whatever. What is it about Sunset you wanted to talk about?”
Wallflower crossed her arms and dug one of her shoes into the floor. “Well… I don’t know. I was… thinking about her, and… your friendship with her. I mean, the whole school knows you consider yourselves friends. You all won the best friends superlative.”
Fluttershy nodded solemnly. “Yes…”
“Now that she’s gone… I’m the one in charge of putting the yearbook together. There’re things that I can do with that, but…” Wallflower blushed. “Uh, that’s not what I came here for. I was thinking… that this has probably been really hard.”
Applejack stared into the distance. “Eeyup. It’s… been hard on everyone.”
“…Yeah. And I’ve been struggling with it too. Which is weird… because I used to think her being nice was all an act.”
Rainbow Dash chuckled and put her hands on her hips. “Eh. I’ll bet a lot of people were like that.”
Wallflower cracked a smile. “I think, after everything that’s happened, I know a little better now.” She paused for a moment to glance at each of their faces. “But either way… I don’t like feeling this way. This hurts. And I imagine you’re a lot worse off than I am right now.” She settled on Pinkamena, in particular, and allowed her frown to grow deeper.
Pinkamena sniffled but made no response.
“So…” Wallflower straightened up. “What if I told you… that there was a way to forget about all this? What if there was a way to make this go away?”
At that, the six girls turned to face her fully. Pinkamena, for her part, finally sat up straight.
Kicking the ground, Wallflower continued, “There’s a thing… it’s called a Memory Stone… and you can use it to change memories and… forget things. I can’t tell you too much about it, but…” She paused as she noticed all of them leaning forward. She paused still when Pinkamena stood up and walked around the side of the drum set to meet them in the middle. “If you wanted to… you could forget that Sunset Shimmer was sealed away.”
The six’s expressions phased between contemplative frowns, dazed looks, and limp-jawed surprise.
Applejack took a few steps forward. “Forget? Ya reckon… we wouldn’ even know what’s happened to her, then?”
Wallflower nodded affirmatively.
“Wait,” Twilight said, crossing her arms. “I-if we forgot that she was sealed away… I think we’d notice that she’s still missing. We’d probably start asking questions. We’d be worried sick.”
“But that might beat knowing what’s happened to her, right?” Wallflower asked.
“Eh…” Pinkamena tried.
When the others didn’t respond, Wallflower sucked in a breath. “You could always forget more, if you want. You could forget all of your good memories of her; you wouldn’t care where she went then.”
“Hell no,” Rainbow Dash hissed.
“I… didn’t think so,” Wallflower replied. “Uh, the only other way of getting around worrying about her is to forget her entirely.” She shrunk down. “And I guess you don’t want to do that either, huh?”
“She deserves to be remembered,” Rarity said, now loosening up and standing straight again. “She’s done so much and been so good to us.”
Wallflower flinched.
Applejack nodded. “Ah wanna remember her too,” she said.
“Me too,” Pinkamena agreed.
Rainbow Dash’s mouth swished from side to side and then she narrowed her eyes. “Yeah. And besides,” she said with a sinister tone, “if I forget that she was sealed away… then I’m gunna forget to give Princess Twilight a piece of my mind.”
The whole room turned to face Rainbow Dash now as they all considered what she had just said. Rarity crossed her arms and sucked in a breath. Fluttershy swallowed and glanced at everyone else.
Applejack’s expression grew darker with every passing second and she eventually snorted. “You know… that’s a good point. Ah wanna remember to be mad as hell at them.”
After a few moments more, Rarity narrowed her eyes. “Quite right. I’m not very happy with Princess Twilight right now. Or Equestria, for that matter.”
“To hell with them,” Applejack spat.
Fluttershy shivered. “Uhm… they didn’t really do anything wrong.”
“Yes they did,” Rainbow Dash countered.
“O-okay. They didn’t try to do anything wrong,” Fluttershy said.
Twilight snapped her fingers and pointed at Fluttershy. “That’s… true. I know what you’re saying.”
“But we still lost Sunset,” Pinkamena said with a grimace.
“Because of what they did,” Rarity seconded.
Twilight sighed and turned to Wallflower again. “Well… Wallflower… I think we’ll pass. But I do appreciate you at least asking us. And for the offer.”
“Absolutely,” Rarity said with a nod. “I appreciate the gesture.”
Wallflower smiled. “Uh, sure. I guess if you’re going to remember her, and all, then I’ll try too.” She then slung her backpack off her shoulder and fished inside.
Rainbow Dash frowned. “Uh, Wallflower? What are you doing?”
Wallflower flinched and then looked up. For a moment, bits of color escaped her face. She then frowned. “Look, I respect your choice. But you have to understand...” She then pulled out an egg-shaped stone; said stone had patterns engraved into its surface through which a greenish energy currently circulated.
Wallflower looked up and held that stone aloft. “I can’t have you remembering this conversation.”
Twilight took a few steps toward Wallflower, reaching out with her hand. “Wait!” she cried.
A wave of green came out of the Memory Stone, swept over the six, and engulfed the entire room.
And then, the next thing Twilight knew, she was standing there, blinking. Her five friends, or rather, five of her friends, stood in the room with her. And all of them looked around.
Rainbow Dash’s eyes drew over the open doorway and then to the others. “Uh… were we talking about something just now?”
* * *
Tempest, while she stood near the others, distanced herself as the furthest out. The six before her were much closer to each other than they were to her, anyhow. And what was to come was the most meaningful to them, as well.
The castle foyer stretched up high above them, with its curved ceiling supported by tall, crystalline pillars. Everyone silently stood about the middle of the room. Rarity and Spike hung near each other, with the latter twiddling his claws. Fluttershy, Applejack, Pinkamena, and Rainbow Dash, meanwhile, hung within their own little group.
A balcony overlooked the entire foyer, and it was there that Starlight emerged from a hallway to the side. A large suitcase floated within her magic. Starlight glanced over the railing, spotted the seven of them down below, and then wrapped magic around herself. She levitated herself over the railing and down to them. She landed among them, setting the suitcase down as she arrived.
Everyone turned to face her, but no one spoke.
“I guess this is it, huh?” Starlight solemnly said.
Rarity stepped forward. “What are you going to do? Where will you go?”
After a moment’s thought, Starlight shook her head. “I don’t know. I just…”
“W-will you come back?” Fluttershy asked.
“I… I don’t know that either,” Starlight croaked.
The others groaned and hung their heads in response.
Starlight straightened up. “What about all of you?”
Pinkamena kicked the ground. “I don’t know if I wanna do anything right now.”
“Yeah…” Rainbow Dash agreed.
Applejack doffed her hat, looked into it for a moment, and then held it within a foreleg. “Ah ain’t in no shape to do nothin’. Nopony is. If Ah’m bein’ honest right now… we might have to think about closin’ the school.”
Tempest’s frown deepened as she scanned them. They all looked so colorless, a far cry from what she knew them to be. She didn’t consider herself a colorful pony or one who aligned with color, but these ones before her… they had color. She expected them to.
And that was fading fast and was pretty much already gone.
They then all heard a knocking at the front doors and perked in its direction. However, when no one initially moved, Tempest, who stood closest, shook her head and started for those doors.
Rarity turned her gaze to Applejack. “Do you mean… for good?”
Applejack turned pale and she blankly nodded. “Eeyup. Ah reckon…”
Pinkamena grimaced and then descended into some sobs.
Spike crossed his arms and sniffled. “G-gosh… I wish there was something we could do…”
Rarity leaned down and wrapped a hoof around him. He moved into her in return.
The conversation continued as Tempest reached the doors, and she chose to tune it out at that point. She then reached forward and opened them, allowing her to see who stood on the other side.
And Tempest immediately found her pause.
The visitor in the doorway was taller than she was. She was a mare of an onyx-colored coat and a long, silvery mane. Said silky mane lay perfectly straight and even had a slight wet sheen to it. She faintly smelled like roses as well. But what drew Tempest’s attention first was the soft yet harsh glare that the mare gave with green eyes; the bags underneath underlined it all. And then Tempest shuddered as she spotted both the long horn protruding from the mare’s head and the wings at her sides.
Tempest couldn’t even find the breath to speak. Here, before her, stood an alicorn; an impossibility.
“Hello, little one,” the visitor said with a low and silvery voice. “I am looking for Twilight Sparkle. Is she here presently?”
Tempest opened her mouth to speak but then heard a flurry of gasps from behind her. She looked over her withers to find that everyone had gone silent and now looked in their direction, their jaws completely dropped. A couple of them hazarded a few steps forward but none made any other attempts to approach.
Now Tempest returned her gaze to the newcomer in the doorway and considered her in full. She herself then stood tall and sucked in a breath. “Well… who’s asking?”
* * *
Tempest approached the door to Twilight’s bedroom. She rapped on the door a couple of times and then, without checking for an acknowledgment that she knew would never come, she opened the door and walked in.
The pile of pillows on Twilight’s bed lay in the exact same state that she had last seen it in. There wasn’t a sign that any mare lay underneath.
“Twilight,” Tempest began.
There was no response.
Tempest’s jaw twitched, and she took another step into the room; now she was slightly past the doorway and no further. “Sorry to bother you again. But now there’s somepony at the door for you,” she said.
Again, there was no response.
Tempest centered her eyes on the pile and then tilted her head. “She’s an alicorn, apparently; goes by the name Adamantine.”
She watched the pile then. There was no response for a few moments.
Eventually, one of the pillows shifted, and then several. Finally, Twilight poked her head out and locked eyes with Tempest, her expression a study in wide-eyed shock.
* * *
Twilight stumbled her way down the hall with Tempest close behind her. Her hooves dug into the carpet as she went. Even now, this hall granted good vision of the foyer floor, and it was there that she saw her friends standing in a huddle; they currently faced away from her.
Twilight and Tempest emerged into the foyer. Her friends now turned to face her and then parted. That revealed Adamantine, who stood still in the middle of the room, distanced from anypony else. And Adamantine, who currently faced Twilight, saw her and stood to her full height.
While Tempest joined the others, Twilight walked through them and came to a stop halfway between them and Adamantine.
The room remained silent for many long moments. Twilight and Adamantine stared at each other, and neither dared to move for the longest time.
And then Adamantine sucked in a breath. “I know you must have mixed feelings about seeing me again, Twilight Sparkle,” she tentatively said. “I know what it is that I did, and I know where you stand on it.”
Adamantine’s frown deepened and she averted her gaze. “I did not come here to apologize for what I did. Nor do I ever intend to. And… I must confess that, if put under the same circumstances… I would do it all over again. I would do it for their sake.”
She paused. “And I would suspect that you would face me again. For that is your duty. And your belief. I know you did what you had to, just as I did what I had to.”
Twilight’s expression remained unchanged. The others held their breaths.
“Nevertheless,” Adamantine continued as she straightened up and looked at them once more, “a problem has come to my attention. A problem which I am sure you and many others have just seen and dealt with. It is… a problem which is… significant to you, to your friends, and to the rest of the world. And there are… things about it… which I think are unresolved.”
She pursed her lips and thought for a moment. “This problem is something which also falls into my purview. I feel… obligated to address it. And, Twilight… I know that you are not truly an enemy. I know that you are good, despite the odds we were once at… and despite the outcome. And so… I would… like to extend an olive branch. I would like to rebuild the bridge between us.”
Adamantine hung her head and sheepishly rubbed her foreleg. “I… I would understand completely if you did not want me. I would oblige if you turned me away.” She looked up again. “But if you would have me now... I would like to lend to you my assistance in putting an end to this dilemma.”
All fell silent once more. The rest of them stood there, soaking in what had just been said. Rarity gasped and laid a hoof across her chest. Rainbow Dash nodded slowly and then glanced at Twilight. Tempest let her features loosen up and she contemplatively stared into space. Applejack doffed her hat and held it against her chest.
Twilight stood there for the longest time, still staring Adamantine down. But her expression was soft and showed some signs of wetness.
“Adamantine…” Twilight said at length.
Adamantine swallowed and straightened up.
Twilight shook her head and sighed. “I… I want you to know that you are always welcome here. And…” She trailed off as some tears welled up in her eyes. She blinked, sending them careening down her face. She even took a few steps forward. “You have no idea how good it is to see you again,” she croaked.
And Adamantine, in turn, allowed some wetness to appear on her face as well. She took a few steps toward Twilight as well.
The two finally met, and Twilight surged forward and wrapped her forelegs around Adamantine. Adamantine gasped and then returned the embrace. And the two shed tears and cried into each other.
The others in the room were some mixture of crying and chuckling of their own. It was at that point that Pinkamena, with little fanfare, regained much of her lost color and regained the characteristic poofiness to her mane and tail. Pinkie Pie then wiped her face clear of tears and giggled.
Tempest watched with a growing smile. Rarity procured a handkerchief and wiped herself clean as well. Applejack smirked and replaced her stetson on her head. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy found each other’s eyes and they exchanged grins.
Adamantine and Twilight finally broke. And Twilight looked over her withers to see her friends. A relieved smile lay on her face.
Spike smiled back and then looked up at Starlight. Starlight herself hadn’t cleared the tears away from herself just yet but her smile gave it away. She then lit her horn, and the suitcase disappeared in a flash. She then looked up to meet Twilight’s eyes.
Twilight herself then looked up at Adamantine and the two shared smiles. The two of them then walked toward the others and joined them.