//------------------------------// // Chapter 7 // Story: Equestria Grads // by Toon4Thought //------------------------------// “Sunset Shimmer, I’ve been trying to reach you over the past several hours. I finally figured out how to shut off the portal. Hopefully by now you’ve figured everything out, so please let me know what you’re doing before I go through with this. I simply can't keep their world waiting. Please respond soon, Princess Twilight Sparkle” Quickly shutting the book and levitating it back onto the stand with her horn, the rather stressed and tired-looking alicorn was laying next to the whirring portal. Before she could get another thought in, Sunset Shimmer entered. “Oh, thank goodness you’re here,” said a relieved Twilight, trotting toward her friend. Sunset smiled at the princess appreciating her presence, but she quickly turned a little bitter once more, though not at her. “…Just shut down the portal already,” she sniffed. “…But what about your friends?” she said, surprised at her total lack of reluctance. “Well, I have made good friends with their counterparts,” said Sunset, "I think they'll help fill the void." Twilight nodded with a bit of a solemn expression. "That's nice to hear, but... are you sure you aren't going to miss them? I feel like you should at least say goodbye." Sunset thought about it for a second, then sighed. "Yeah, I suppose I should. But I promise I'll make it quick." "Alright then,” Twilight grinned, slowly moving back toward the portal, “I’m surprised you got my message so soon.” “…Message?” Sunset said, surprised. “I didn’t feel the journal vibrate.” She experimentally dug her hoof into her saddlebag, only to feel nothing but the material. Her eyes widened, as she grabbed the saddle off her back and bobbed her head inside. There was no journal! “Where is it? Where is it?” All of a sudden, her mind flashed back to what happened just before she and her friends traveled through. “…The journal is still with Rarity!” “Well, you’re going to have to grab it,” Princess Twilight said with slight annoyance. “Every magic-powered object native to Equestria needs to be moved back here for the balancing act to work.” "Eh, no worries," Sunset shrugged, "I would've wanted to grab it anyway." "Yeah, I would think so," Princess Twilight smugly winked. “Besides,” said a nearly identical voice from behind them. It was Sci-Twi, who had just gone down the stairs herself. “I really need to get back with the rest of the group anyway.” She was the first of the two to jump into the mirror. After giving Princess Twilight another glance, Sunset followed. As soon as the two girls traversed through the swirling lights, Sunset had pictured in her mind what the world could've looked like at this point, fearing the apocalyptic-like sights that could be awaiting her. Unfortunately, as soon as her vision reoriented, what her eyes met only matched the visions that were just in her head. The area with the portal was levitating into the air, with just enough space in front of her and Sci-Twi to stand on. The school area was also above ground level, except with a clear gap of about 30 feet between them. A gale force wind was constantly blowing on her face, clothes, and hair. And it only got worse as she stepped toward the edge, stopped just a few steps short of it, and sat down so as to really take in the view. There, between and below the two floating islands was a massive gaping hole that displayed what must’ve been the Everfree Forest. It appeared to be from the perspective of the ground, as twigs would launch up into the air only to fall right beside her. Venomous vines poked in and out at random. And occasionally there was also the distinct, loud, fierce growl of a timberwolf. All that came out of Sunset’s mouth was a few small gasps of air.  “According to my readings,” Twilight said, pulling out her homemade radar, “the magic is currently covering an average 50-mile radius compared to the 10-mile radius from yesterday, and is projected to reach 100 miles in 24 hours. And I don't even want to imagine how much more quickly it will spread from there.” She caught onto the fact that Sunset wasn’t paying attention and instead was staring directly below her. Next she acknowledged that, sure enough, there were the girls standing in front of the school, all waving toward Sunset. “Hey, Sunset Shimmer!” Applejack called, clearly shouting as loudly as she could but still nearly being drowned out thanks to all the noise coming from the wind and Everfree ripple. Sunset looked up, having recognized the voice. She didn't respond, partly because she had a hard time hearing Applejack with all the noise going on and partly because she was surprised to see them wanting anything to do with her. Applejack gave a quick glance toward a somewhat confused Fluttershy before trying again. “We’re sorry for running away from you earlier! You think you could help us?” Sunset still couldn’t quite make everything out, but this time she at least got the basic gist. She called equally as loudly back. “Don’t worry, I agreed to shut off the portal. Do you still have the journal, Rarity?” Rarity quickly shuffled through her backpack, and after identifying each surface she hand brushed over, she slowly pulled it out. “Huh…” she said in slight surprise, “There it is.” “Good, now can you pass it over? I need it before we can get everything fully prepped!” That wound up going without saying, as all seven of the girls only glared at the distance between the two parties, obviously outside any normal throwing distance. “Perhaps we need to close the gap somehow,” Twilight analyzed out loud, “But how?” She hmm’ed in thought for a moment, then started a text conversation with the remainder of the group. “Rarity, can you pass the journal over the journal on one of your shields?” -Twilight “I don’t think I could, the winds are a little too strong and there are so many hazards that could pop out any time.” -Rarity Twilight stood at the edge of her platform of sorts, and stared down into the gap. She took a couple quick steps back, obviously scared about falling over. “Yeah, we really can’t afford to take any chances with that.” -Applejack “Maybe we can toss it and you can use your magic hands when it’s about to fall!” -Pinkie “No, the velocity, weight, and kinetic energy of the book would make it nearly impossible for my magic to get a proper hold of it.” -Twilight “So, what can we do?” -Rainbow “I got it!” -Pinkie Not a second after receiving the last message, Twilight could see Pinkie run as fast as she could to the side of the school. She tilted her head in confusion, and then glanced at Sunset, sitting in the same place she was before. She was looking slightly better than before, but still distressed. “Are you alright, Sunset Shimmer?” Twilight said, sitting beside her. “...I don’t know,” Sunset moped, “I guess I feel a little better to know they’re still not upset at me, but… that’s just going to make saying goodbye so much harder. It’s like, now I feel kind of bad for enjoying myself as much as I did with my pony selves.” She stared off to look at the portions of the group that were within eyeshot, as Pinkie Pie had left it and Applejack was walking in the same direction as well. “I don’t want them to think they’re being replaced…” “I’m sure they’ll understand,” said Twilight reassuringly. That got Sunset to crack a small smile, which only proved short-lived as the background noise of screaming and the general atmosphere of magical mayhem around them only reminded her of what exactly was happening. But then another loud sound happened. To be specific, a familiar-sounding explosion noise, followed by an incredibly loud SLAM that could be heard for miles. It took about a minute for them to find out where that came from. A massive pole, with the country’s flag on one end, and being dragged across the grass by Applejack from the other. Pinkie followed from behind. It was clear to them that she used her sweets explosion to break the pole from its support. Her focus turned to Applejack, as she lifted the pole into the air as if it were made of feathers, and turned it toward herself and Twilight. They backed away as much as possible before the opposite end finally slammed on top of the concrete. “Great idea, Applejack!” Twilight called, moving around the edge of the pole with her hand. “But I’m afraid this will not hold under our pressure.” “Ah, but that’s just the beginning!” said Rainbow with pride. Not a second later, she suddenly disappeared. Twilight and Sunset turned to each other in confusion only to hear Rainbow’s voice again a mere few seconds later.  This time, she could be seen with a few bottles of glue, a couple of which she quickly squirted onto the edge just next to the pole, and a long, strong-looking rope. Sure enough, the pole stuck right there, and her strong sports arm managed to successfully toss the remaining bottles over to Twilight and Sunset… albeit hitting them in the chests. “Oof, what was that for?” Sunset asked in pain. “Oops, sorry,” Rainbow blushed. After Sunset and Twilight successfully glued their own side, they found the cylinder shape wasn’t quite large enough for them to properly walk or even crawl on. Not to mention the wind making things even more difficult... But of course, Rainbow followed by throwing the rope over the glued pole. It didn’t quite make it all the way, but with the rope hanging at a standstill on a surface, Twilight was able to levitate it over the rest of the distance without any trouble.  And now, with the makeshift bridge ready, Twilight grabbed part of the rope and waited for Sunset to grab the end of the rope behind her before they slowly walked over the rod. It was extremely nerve-wracking, with all the dangers just below them. One wrong step, and they could get lost in an unknown region of Equestria and who knows what'll happen to their world before they could make it back… if they make it back. Sunset decided it best to not look down, and managed to keep her cool for most of it. But when Twilight was just about to reach the end, all of a sudden a protruding, obviously not very smart flytrap bumped its head on the rod. Even though the pole was still stuck where it was, the force could still be felt, and it was enough for Sunset to fall over. The instant she felt her feet losing their grip on the metal, she closed her eyes and wished for her fate to always be remembered as a hero for her friends. But a second later, came a hard landing on a crystal-like surface. Sunset looked down, and saw it was a little platform caused by Rarity, and she was luckily still holding onto the rope. Twilight was able to rush over before the force made her fall as well, but that did not make the girls look any less concerned. “Sunset, hang on!” Rarity called, straining a little, “I can only keep this on for so long!” Holding onto the rope for dear life despite her hands getting sweaty, she slowly slid up one hand to pull herself upward. The instant she left, Rarity’s surface gave way, the girl tired and flat on the ground.  Applejack may have been strong thanks to her geode power, but it didn’t really give her extra stamina, as even with the support of Rainbow, Fluttershy, and Pinkie, she found it becoming increasingly difficult to keep standing still. The quartet pulled the rope as quickly as they could, as Sunset saw a timberwolf lurking at the corner of the ripple, preparing to launch and attack. Sunset felt a sudden jolt, scaring her for a second, before getting into a secure position once more. This came from Applejack faltering for a bit before she reminded herself to stay focused. However, this frightened Fluttershy, Rainbow, and Pinkie. Without Applejack’s strength, the rope would give way and Sunset would plunge to near-certain doom. Thinking quickly, Fluttershy whistled to signal her (somehow) favorite pet - the mutant rabbit from the pet shop - to jump out of her backpack. She communicated to him what to do, and sure enough, he complied, adding his own weight onto the rope. “Good thing I thought to grab him before they could quarantine the place,” she mused. “Smart thinking, Fluttershy!” Pinkie Pie complimented, as she gave the rope yet another pull. It became a lot easier now, and about half a minute later, Sunset was able to grab the ground with her free hand, and with one last tug from the team, Sunset found herself lying on the grass. Sunset took heavy, deep breaths as she took a moment to relish the relief she felt after that nerve-wracking experience. “I’m so glad you’re okay!” Twilight said, running up to pull her friend back upright, and afterward pulled her in close. They hugged for a good five seconds before Sunset pulled herself away to break it. “…Thanks girls,” she said, wearing the biggest smile she’s worn all week and turning her head to the rest of the group. “I sure will miss all of you when I have to move to Equestria…” “Is that where you’ll be going when we shut down the portal?” Fluttershy asked. Sunset, after slight hesitation, nodded her head, fearing the subsequent reaction. Instead, they all just curiously looked at each other, some shrugged. “Well, we’re going to miss you too,” Fluttershy replied kindly. “Mm-hmm,” they all replied. Sunset lifted her head with much surprise. “You’re not upset?” “Why would we?” Rarity asked. “We wouldn’t want to intrude on your life choices.” “I mean, sure, it would've been nice for ya to stay with us, but we knew this day would eventually come." Applejack shrugged. "It's not like you're the only one to move on from here, after all." "Besides, if this is what makes you happy,” said Rainbow, “then we’ll be supporting your decision all the way!” “Not to mention, the memories we had will last forever!” Pinkie Pie beamed, throwing her hands up. “No distance will ever take you away from our hearts!” Sunset’s heart warmed brighter than the Sun above her. This finally broke her, and crying many tears of joy, she stretched her arms out wide and pulled all her friends into the tightest embrace she could muster. “I am really sorry I caused all this to happen though,” she then said with a bittersweet tone, still in the embrace. “Why would you be to blame?” Rainbow asked, as everyone gave each other space once more. “Because remember when I used Princess Twilight’s crown to enslave the school? That’s what caused magic to find exist in this world! It’s when you girls started ponying up and everything!” “Ah, yes, good times,” Pinkie Pie nodded with a strange nostalgic bliss. “Sunset,” said Applejack, “there’s no way you could’ve predicted the effects of using a foreign magical property that our dimension had previously never encountered. Yeah, it’s something you haven’t done, but you’ve learned from your mistakes.” Sunset gave a smiling nod, always appreciating such a reminder. However, as she really thought about the words she and the others have said, something important suddenly occurred to her. The magic first came into this world because of the crown… meaning the crown acted as a sort of channel for the magic from Equestria to head towards… so, if that is what happened, would it be possible for a similar channel to... Her face suddenly perked upon her epiphany. “Girls…” said Sunset with pride, “I think I have an idea.” And she rigorously wrote in the journal as she prepared to recite it back.