Celestia looked at the map affixed to the wall of the council chamber. It had become the war room for Canterlot, and the ongoing fight against the Hollow Things, and it painted a grim picture. The Hollow Things had swept across north eastern Equestria. Manehattan, Fillydelphia, Baltimare, Bostrot, and all the way past Horseshoe bay. They had crossed the Foal Mountains and started to circle around to the west from the south, and the same from the north. Refugees had streamed in a diaspora from the north-east, with more evacuating from the towns and cities to the north to the lesser-populated south and west of Equestria. Cloudsdale had been moved; the floating city was slowly, remarkably - even to her, with all her years of life and experience - moving to the south west.
The biggest cities in the country were in the north-east, it was the financial and industrial center of the nation, and the loss of the biggest cities had resulted in a lot of homeless ponies, and a big blow to the ability of Equestria to keep up with the necessary production materiel for the continued fight against the Hollow Things. And with the loss of so many cities, so many hospitals and medical facilities had also been lost; the remaining towns and cities were overwhelmed with injured from the front lines.
The campaign to hold back the Hollow Things was… not going well. Equestria was a nation that had been built for peace, and lived in it. The means and technology of warfare was not part of its’ regular makeup. Ponies were not fighters, especially without their magic, and when that magic fed your enemies, it greatly hamstrung the ability for them to fight back against the enemy.
In the very least, magic was serving them well in healing and medicine, and in keeping ponies fed. And Celestia had been proud of her little ponies in how generous and accepting they had been with those fleeing from the terror of the front lines. Ponies had opened up their homes and businesses for others as places to live and shelter, and aid had flowed in from far-off parts of the country. Volunteers had come from Equestria’s neighbours too; Griffons, Changelings, Yaks, Hippogriffs, Dragons and Abyssinians had all come forward to volunteer anything and everything they could to help in the fight against the Hollow Things in whatever, be it with force of arms or with materiel and other aid.
It was humbling, heartwarming, and a true testament to the magic of friendship, and of Twilight’s work as its’ princess. But it still was only enough to mount a barely effective delaying action against the overwhelming tide of the enemy. Few of their weapons were effective, and most of the Guards’ actions had been to provide cover for evacuating civilians with the interest of denying the enemy more ponies to drain of their life and magic.
All of these concerns were weighing on her mind, but no more so than the picture the map painted. The two swathes of red, creeping above and below Canterlot, like a pincer closing around the heartland of the country.
The sun princess was disturbed from somber reverie by the sound of hooves lightly tapping against the floor. She looked back over her shoulder and gave a brief smile to her sister.
“Good morning, Luna”
“Sister, are you well? You look troubled. Though, looking at the map, it is not hard to see why. It doesn’t paint a hopeful picture”.
Celestia gave a grim shake of her head. “No, sister. I found it all too easy to get consumed in my thoughts. And news of late has all been grim.”
“At least with what we learned from Twilight’s expedition there may be some hope. The facility they discovered and its’ technology, and the craft the Wonderbolts are bringing back may be a win we desperately need”.
“Let’s hope they were worth the loss they suffered.”
Twilight had sent them a message three days prior, sent via Spike’s dragon-breath. The letter had detailed the encounters at the Lemurian complex at the plateau, and to begin with, both alicorns had been enthused by the discoveries of sophisticated magical technology and the information on direction for the expedition to head and find Lemuria and the mythical guardians. And then there had been the information on the loss of Spitfire, and the brave mares’ sacrifice to save the rest of the expedition, including Twilight and her friends and the Wonderbolts. Flags had flown at half-mast the following day, and there had been a remembrance service and a day of mourning. It had cast a dark pall over the war effort. More than anything, Equestria needed a win.
“What troubles you, Celestia?” Luna said, looking up at her sister. “I know that the war is going poorly, and of course; this worries me also. But the look on your face; I know it well. Please, speak to me”.
The elder sister sighed as her pink eyes roved over the map. “We’re losing, Luna. We may not have lost all of Equestria yet, but look”. She lifted a pointer in her magic, the golden aura surrounding it as she swept it across the map. “The enemy at virtually at our gates, and we’ve lost all the major population centers. If they move past Canterlot, then they can take Ponyville easily. Then the interior plains of the country are there for the taking, and that spreads our lines of communication apart vastly, isolating all of our ponies without the capital. And Ponyville... “ she sighed. “It may be just a small town, but with the Elements of Harmony coming from there, and how central it’s been to the last decade; the School of Friendship and Twilight’s castle being there… it’ll be a huge blow for morale if it falls”.
“Aye, sister,” Luna said with a sigh of her own, and following the pointer. “We need a victory or else the war will be lost before its’ half fought, regardless of the outcome of Twilight’s quest. If our ponies have no hope, then they have no will to fight, and all will be lost. We must rally them, show them this enemy can be fought and beaten”.
“Of course,” Celestia said, nodding in agreement with her sister. “But how”.
The Sun Chaser sailed onward through shadowy grey skies. Thick cloud surrounded the airship on all sides, and not even the best efforts of the pegasi onboard could do much other than clear space around the ship. The clouds followed their own rules, and pushed back against the ponies attempts, leaving nothing but murk and shadows as far as the eye could see. The cold, wet blanket closed in around the ship, muting all sound and leaving the ship in dim light, with only the navigation info that the Lemurian artefact had given Twilight to go on - and even that seemed vague.
The still, grey dimness matched the ponies onboard. It had been days since the battle at the plateau, and Spitfire’s sacrifice had left a dark aura over everypony involved in the expedition. Some had stayed behind at the Lemurian outpost to gather as much information as possible from Livvy and the information and artefacts there. The Wonderbolts had headed back toward Canterlot with the rest of the operational Prowlers. The crew had got smaller, and with it their thoughts of loss had grown.
Thoughts of this slid around one another like the thick clouds in the skies around the ship as Twilight walked another circuit of the Sun Chasers’ deck through boredom and frustration. She gave an irritated snort at her own actions, finding her thoughts looping around themselves again and forced herself to stand still at the bow of the ship, and propped her forelegs up on the railing around the deck. The damp mist of the clouds hung in the air, and drifted into her soft purple coat and mane. She shivered against the chill and wrinkled her muzzle and turned as hoof steps sounded alongside her on the deck. Applejack walked up and gave a tentative smile of greeting, though it didn’t quite reach her eyes. She did the same as Twilight, resting her forelegs on the railing. A look passed between them, and both mares turned their look outward to the blankness stretching away before them.
“Any luck, Twi?” the farmer pony said with a note of hope in her tone. Twilight gave an exasperated sigh and shook her head.
“Not yet, AJ. The… let’s just call it a compass; that Livvy gave us is still showing we’re going the right way, but-” she shrugged her wings and shook her head. “With this soup around us, we can’t even be sure we’re on the right heading, can’t see anything around us, and can’t see what terrain is around us. We’re flying blind at the moment. All I can do is trust what it’s telling us and hope that this fog clears eventually”.
Applejack nodded, a sombre gesture and looked back out. Twilight glanced sideways at the blond earth pony, a concerned expression on her face.
“How is Rainbow doing?”
Applejack grimaced and shook her head quietly, taking off her hat and slowly turning it round between her forehooves. “She… ain’t better. Still blamin’ herself for everything, if she says anything at all. Mostly she just lies on her bunk and stares at the walls”. She shook her head sadly. “Pinkie’s with her now, keepin’ her company an’ tryin’ to talk to her but… I don’t know, Twilight. I ain’t the best at talking about feelings and such.”
Twilight shook her head and looked at her friend. “You and her have always been the closest. I think she’d open up to you if you tried to talk to her”.
“Ah dunno, Twilight.” She grimaced and shook her head. “Spitfire… despite the fact she was a hardass, she was everythin’ Rainbow looked up to as a Wonderbolt. She wanted to be just like her; losin’ her like that, watching a hero fall. I think it showed her something she thought was indestructible ain’t even safe. It’s like she lost family”.
Twilight looked over, meeting Applejacks’ green eyes.
“Like she lost a parent?” she said quietly.
Applejacks’ lips pursed, and she gave an equine snort, shoving her hat back on her head and looking away from the alicorn mare, tail swishing. “That’s a heck of a dirty play, Twi. But buck me if ya ain’t right. Maybe I should go speak to her again. ‘Sides, I’m sure she’s probably had enough of Pinkie’s particular brand of help by now.”
“I’m sure you can help Rainbow find her way, Applejack”.
“I hope so. I just hope we can do the same fer the ship now too”.
Twilight smiled, feeling it genuine for the first time in days. She felt that she’d achieved something by convincing Applejack to talk to Rainbow Dash. Their friendship was strong, and a deep one - deeper, she felt, than the already unshakeable connection between the six of them. But putting her strengths and calling as the Princess of Friendship to use was something like a light guiding her way.
Like a lighthouse, she thought to herself as she looked out over the bows of the ship once more. Or a guiding star, lighting our way. Just what we could do with right now. Her heart sunk again as she considered the pulsing light on the display of the device Livvy had given her, and looked out at the all-consuming gloom around them. It refused to give her a solid direction, anything more than the constant pulsing beacon that she was heading in the right direction. It should have been reassuring but instead, with no landmarks, no visibility and no indications from their regular navigation it just felt… empty. She felt more lost with the map than without it.
Applejack stood outside the cabin and leant against the wall. From within, she could hear Pinkies’ high-pitched, sugar-sweet voice, endlessly cheerful. She couldn’t work out the words, muffled as they were through the wooden and steel walls of the airship, and she likewise couldn’t work out what Rainbow’s scratchy, tomboy tone said in reply, but the difference in pitch, tone and emotion was clear.
The door opened and Pinkie stepped out, directing a trademark big smile at Applejack as she did.
“Oh, hey Applejack! I knew you’d show up soon. I managed to cheer Dashie up some, but I think what she really needs is her favourite Apples right now. I know you’ll know what to say to set her on track. After all,” the pink mare slyly sidled up to her. “You two have always been clo-o-ose”
Applejack blushed furiously red, and batted the pink mare with her hat as she shoved her away. “P-Pinkie, don’t go sayin’ such darn fool things! Y’all are- are, just embarassin’ Ain’t the time fer jokes like that neither, Rainbow’s a friend in trouble, an’ she needs a comfortin’ ear is all. Not any of that funny business yer insinuatin! We’re just friends, nothing else. Now, why don’t ya get on yer way to… wherever it is yer goin’!”
Pinkie rolled her eyes and giggled, “Suuurreee, just like Discord and Fluttershy are ‘friends’. Not that there’s anything wrong with it~!” she bounced off on her hooves singing softly to herself, leaving the flustered mare to calm herself down and hope the redness on her face subsided somewhat, before she knocked on the door.
“Rainbow Dash? It’s me. I’m- I’m comin’ in, okay?”
“Sure thing, AJ”, the blue mare said quietly. Though even that was something; the pegasus had barely said anything the first time she’d visited and sat with her. Taking a breath, she stepped into the cabin, and almost immediately wrinkled her nose; the rank smell of unwashed pony had taken over the space, and the shutters on the windows were still closed, lending a dingy air to the space the smell only compounded. The only light came from a dim mana-lamp on the bedside, casting a weak glow that only emphasised the sickliness emanating from Rainbow Dash. Her mane hung lank and stringy, and her eyes were red-rimmed and hollow. The feathers of her wings were in disarray, clumped awkwardly out of alignment; while no pegasus herself, she remembered well enough from lessons as a filly that pegasi needed to preen their feathers regularly to keep them clean and safe for flight - and it looked like Rainbow hadn’t been looking after hers. The powder-blue mare shifted awkwardly on the bed as the moments passed, and looked away guiltily from Applejacks’ eyes.
“I-” Applejack began, but Rainbow’s voice cut her off.
“I know, I haven’t been looking after myself,” she said in a shaky voice, hanging her head and eyes fixed on nothing, staring through the wall. “And I know, I’m a mess. I mean, I feel bad about it too. A bod this awesome, and me neglecting it is a crime. N-not to mention, sitting here in my cabin and being useless while the rest of you are hard at work, especially the other pegasi! I-” Her voice had risen and she had got more emotion into it as she spoke, before it died away again, and she paused with her muzzle open, before she shut her eyes tight and pursed her lips, before sighing and opening them again.
“What is it, Dash?” Applejack said quietly, moving into the room further and sitting on the bed beside her friend. “Ah know this has gotta be linked to what happened to Spitfire. I mean, how couldn’t it be, ah know y’all have always looked up to the Wonderbolts and to her. Losin’ her, well. It hit all of us pretty hard, but you especially…”
“I,” Rainbow began, her voice strangled and choked. “I just didn’t expect…”
Her eyes brimmed again, and Applejack reached out to her. She saw a look in those eyes she recognised all too well. A look of confusion, of loss and sadness. It was one she’d seen in her own eyes, and in the eyes of her bigger brother and smaller sister.
“I know what it’s like, Rainbow,” she said quietly as she turned in place, leaning closer to properly embrace the athletic mare, leaning her head against her shoulder one hoof behind her rainbow mane, the other around her middle. She could feel the pegasus shudder as she cried quietly. “Ya look up to someone, follow what they do, see what they’re like. They become a big figure in yer life, someone solid as a rock. So solid that you don’t see how they could ever go away, ever be affected by anything. And then when something does happen to them, that larger than life image ya have of em, that picture… it shakes everything ya hold dear. Makes you think, if it can happen to them, then what about you, or anypony else?”
Rainbow nodded, before leaning back and looking at Applejack’s face. “R-right. I mean, I think ya pretty much smashed the nail flat with that one, AJ. I… just can’t believe she’s gone, or that the world is just carrying on without her it doesn’t seem real. It seems like it should mean more somehow. And what she told me, that I should carry on after her. How do I do that, AJ? How do I live up to her? I-I’m not even ready; I’m just worried that I’m gonna be- be…” She trailed off, unable to say the last part and looked away with a look of frustration and anger on her face. It wasn’t something Applejack was used to seeing. Rainbow was so strong, so independent, and her features so strong in the same way. To see her confused and torn up like this, it was uncharacteristic for her. It felt so uncommon and unusual, which only put home how much the mare was hurting.
She reached out and held her tight again. She didn’t know why, nor didn’t much care: it just felt right, and at that moment, it didn’t much matter either than she hadn’t showered or preened for a few days. She just wanted to say something that words couldn’t. Again the blue pegasus let her head rest on the earth ponies strong, broad shoulders and Applejack felt some of the tension and frustration drop away as she held her.
“What are you worried yer gonna be, Rainbow?” she said softly into the velvet of Rainbow Dash’s ear, stroking her back gently.
“I’m worried that… I won’t be awesome enough. That I’ll disappoint ponies, and not be able to live up to everything that Spitfire was. And I don’t know what I’d do if that was true. I’ve always talked about how awesome I am, if that wasn’t true…”
Applejack gave a slight smile. Only Rainbow Dash could put it in that way, or using the word ‘awesome’ that many times, and somehow make it seem sincere. But, despite that, she knew what she meant, and pulled back to look her in the eyes.
“Rainbow, it’s cos yer worryin’ about things like that that means y’all will be the right mare. Spitfire saw that in ya, and we all do. You’re braver than any other two mares I ever saw put together. Sure, y’all can be a mite hot-headed at times, but I know more about that than prob’ly any other pony around ya. And sometimes it takes that to get through to folk or remind ‘em of what’s right. All you ever wanted in life was to be a Wonderbolt, and now ya are, you’ve treated it with respect and dedication, and the same loyalty y’all show to all of us, and to what ya do standin’ up for Equestria with all of us, too. Ah don’t think there’s any chance of y’all disappointin’ anypony, because y’all always put a hundred and ten percent of yerself into everything you do - because y’all always want to be the most awesome at anything you do”.
Rainbow smiled - at last - and Applejack could see it reach her eyes this time. “Thanks, AJ. I mean, I still worry. And I’m still… scared, I guess, of what it means… but it’s something. I hope I can make her proud”.
“Even if ya never think you’ve made her proud, y’all will always make me proud, Rainbow Dash. Yer stubborn as a mule sometimes, and ya don’t got no patience neither; but yer brave, smart, funny and darin’ as any two other ponies I ever met. And we know a pony with ‘daring’ in her name. You’re a lot more than a weather pony, or a stunt flyer, and don’t y’all forget that, neither. Girl, you saved the whole bucking world five times or more over by now! Everypony should be proud of ya, let alone me or Spitfire”.
Dash searched her friends’ face for a moment, and Applejack was about to ask her if she was okay, before the blue mare virtually pounced on her, wrapping her up into a tight, almost crushing hug, to which the orange mare chuckled softly, and hugged her back.
Starlight Glimmer looked through the thick glass at their ‘prisoner’. The view was distorted and tinted a little, if only because of the thickness of the glass itself; four inches of it, in a rectangle only a few feet across in a sandwich of steel, lead and cement. The chamber had built in a hurry, and wasn’t exactly the most refined of constructions. But then, ponies usually used magical fields to hold captives, or simple iron bars. Neither of those would have been quite up to the job of keeping something like the Hollow Thing inside the chamber at bay.
The thick shielding and plating at least seemed to do the job. From here, she couldn’t feel her magic draining away, as she did any time she stepped into the room with the creature. Unfortunately, it also meant that it was nigh-on impossible to run any kind of experiments on it without going into the room as well, which resulted in that same sensation. And the experiments themselves were difficult to concoct as well. Given that the vast majority of pony science revolved around the use of magic as a tool and as their basis, a race of creatures that consumed and absorbed magic were difficult to judge.
“How do we understand and interact with something that consumes all of our magic, without using our own magic to do it?” she murmured to herself. She looked again at the creature within the chamber. For now, they had been forced to chain it in place. It was, after all, still armed with powerful weaponry that seemed part of its’ body, and there was no indication as to whether attempting to remove it would cause the creature pain, or if it was like removing part of a ponies body, like removing a unicorns’ horn or a pegasus’ wings, and that wasn’t a level of desperation that any of them were willing to consider. Instead, iron chains bound the weapons ‘pods’ in place retracted, and other shorter ones attached to them kept the creature from getting more than half-way to the door at the other end of the room if anypony entered. Simple controls outside the chambers’ rear wall could be mechanically controlled to take up or let out slack to let the beast move around more at all other times. They had provided it with a bed, toileting facilities, water, and food, but it had shown little interest in any of them, and instead - after nearly two full days of raging against everything, throwing itself against the walls and doors, and screeching near-constantly to the point that all involved in her little study team had been convinced it would damage itself - had simply become quiescent any time there was no pony in the room. It seemed to want or need little at all, and it was hard to tell if it slept or rested, or if it was simply dormant in some way. Light or darkness seemed to make little difference to its’ behaviour - all there was at the moment was watching it to see what it did, and work out if it had any kind of routine, and if there was anything that affected it, or that it did or needed, other than its’ consumption of magical energy. She sighed and rested her cheek on one hoof as she sat at the monitoring station outside the chamber.
“You really are a complete enigma,” she sighed as she looked into the chamber.
“Talking to our guest?”
Starlight almost jumped, instead her hoof sliding out from under her face. Face-planting into the desk, she quickly recovered and swivelled on her seat to look at Sunburst with an all-too-obvious casual grin on her face.
“Hahaha, of course not,” she said rapidly. “Just thinking and musing over its’ nature. And how we can find out more about it, of course,” she said with a grimace as she recovered her train of thought. “We just know so little about it, and trying to find out more is… hard. We rely on magic so much to find anything out. Not using it for everything, or trying to think of ways to use it differently isn’t easy. After all, that… guy just snacks on it if we try and use anything to monitor it or run any experiments in the chamber, so any results we get-”
“-Are automatically false, right.” He used his telekinesis to push his glasses up his nose where they’d slid down as always, and took a look through the window himself. “It’s not even the same as approaching the problem from an Earth Pony perspective; all ponies are inherently magical, earth ponies no less so. Their magic is just expressed in a different form than yours or mine, or a pegasus’ magical abilities. And even if we found, say, a Griffon scientist or alchemist, or a dragon, or Kirin, or Yak; they still have a connection to the magic of Harmony, as our students have proved time and time again. It’s the same for every creature on Equus, that I know of”.
Starlight nodded and frowned, before her eyes widened.
“Wait,” she said, as she felt things start to fit together in her head. “Sunburst, say that again”
“Which part, that the results would be false? Well-”
“No no, about every creature!”
The wizard frowned and blinked, before removing his glasses and polishing them as he paraphrased his words again for the lilac unicorn.
“Ponies are all inherently magical, the same as Griffons, Dragons, Yaks, and Kirin. The same as all of Equus creatures, we all have an innate link to Harmony, what we believe is the source of magic in our world”.
“In our world,” she said with a growing smile on her face. “That’s the answer!” she gave a squee of delight and hopped off of the chair, galloping from the room, and leaving a blinking and confused Sunburst in her wake, throwing off a ‘speak to you in a moment, no time!’ to Trixie as she leapt aside as Starlight charged from the room.
“What was that all about?” the show mare asked as she trotted over to Sunbursts’ side, a bewildered expression on her face. “Starlight has been so down lately, Trixie thought she would come and attempt to cheer her up.” She levitated a small tin up in her magical grip. “I even baked, this is something the Great and Powerful Trixie rarely does, and only for the most special and dire of circumstances”.
“I’m sure she’d appreciate it, Trixie,” Sunburst said, looking in the direction Starlight had left at such a pace. “And I know what you mean about her being down, too. But can you blame her? First the news about Spitfire and then…”
Trixie nodded, a sad and somber expression on her face. “Starlight speaks about Our Town a lot. She and I have had a lot of discussions about there, and it was one of the first places we visited together. The ponies there were- are nice, and were very welcoming. I think she still has a lot of connection to the place, especially since they forgave Starlight so readily for all that she did”
Sunburst nodded. “And then she heard about it falling to the Hollow Things… whatever it is she’s come up with, I hope it gives her some of her direction back”.
Starlight galloped through the corridors of the Castle of Friendship, skidding on her hooves around a corner or three. She crashed open doors, barging into them with hooves or magic as she ran for a room she knew all-too-well. It was a room that was used, just not… often enough, much to her embarrassment and shame, and to Twilight’s as well. Although, she at least had the excuse that she was running a country.
Finally she barged open the last door, into what had been Twilights’ magical lab, and gave a triumphant smile, tossing her mane and kicking at the air.
Starbursts’ words had given her the idea; specifically what he had said regarding Equus, the planet they all lived upon. Everything on it was linked to the magic of Harmony, the intangible force of magic that bound them all together and gave every creature their magic. But, there was another world, one she, Spike and Twilight had visited numerous times, and one they had a ready link to, where magic was not all pervasive, and thus wasn’t the basis for science, and in turn, technology.
Twilight’s mirror portal machine stood in the center of the room. There was a thin layer of dust on it, and again she felt a pang of regret and shame at herself - she should have visited Sunset Shimmer and her other friends in the human world more often. She had, at least, written to her regularly, thanks to the journal that Twilight had provided her with akin to the one that she shared with Sunset herself. Starlights’ version floated in her magical aura, and she guided it into place in the frame atop the machine. Charging her horn, she gave a determined grin and fired a blast of magic into the device, which immediately sprang to life, wheezing, clattering and chugging away.
As magic coursed through thick wires and cables, the sound of galloping hooves followed her into the room, and she turned to look over her shoulder, seeing Trixie and Sunburst.
“Starlight? What is this machine?” Sunburst asked curiously, peering over the frames of his spectacles at the mirror and the device attached to it. “It looks like one of the magic mirrors created by Starswirl the Bearded, but I had thought they were all destroyed”
“It is one of the mirrors,” Trixie said, looking on with interest. “I remember you showed it to me before, when you gave me a tour of the castle. You said it transports you to a different place - but what did you mean; I thought it was like a teleport spell?”
“Not quite, Trix. It does take you away, but not like a train ride or a teleport. This is a bit more… involved. There’s another world on the other side of that mirror, a strange, new one that’s very different to ours, but also kind of similar in a lot of ways. And the most noticeable one is that they don’t naturally have magic there. Anything that is magical there has come from here, leaking through this portal and at least one other one. So all their science and knowledge has come from a world without magic. And there’s somepony - somebody - there who can help us out. Which is why I’m going to see her!”
The charge of magic Starlight had blasted into the magic mirror had worked its’ way through the system, and the reflective surface of the glass had changed. Now, instead of showing her reflection and those of her friends, it showed a rainbow-hued vortex sprinkled with motes of light, almost like stars.
Starlight stepped towards the mirrors’ raised platform and gave a smile, swishing her tail as she took the first step, only stopping as Sunburst spoke up from behind her, cantering up and putting one hoof on her shoulder.
“Wait, you’re not going to go alone, are you? I mean, a whole new world on the other side of that portal - you have to take me with you, please? The potential for new knowledge, the ideas they must have-”
Sadly, Starlight’s shoulders sank, along with her expression. “Sunburst, I wish you could come with me. And I promise, as soon as this is over, we’ll go through together and I’ll show you around there, and introduce you to my friends. But right now, I need you here in case anything happens, and to try and carry on with the work here. And besides, I won’t even be gone for long - just long enough to find my friend and explain to her what’s happening, and why we need her help”. Sunbursts’ face fell, but he nodded firmly in understanding, and Starlight’s face moved to Trixie. “Trixie-”
The blue mare shook her head, and had a smile on her muzzle. “No, Starlight, don’t worry about me. The Great and Powerful Trixie knows that her equally Great and Powerful talents are needed here. Somepony has to run the school and keep our students in line and safe while you’re gone, and while Sunburst is working on a defence for Equestria. And you can owe me a trip there too, like Sunburst”
Starlight grinned at her marefriend and nodded. “All right, and thank you both for understanding. I don’t deserve friends like you guys. Wish me luck!”
They both did so and stood back, side by side as Starlight took a last look back at her friends and loves, before galloping up the stairs and leaping into the portal, which shimmered and flashed as she passed through the glass - or where the glass would be - and disappeared.