The Alicorn Problem

by TheTimeSword


Problem 7: Reasons

Moondancer officially hated Las Pegasus.

Since they arrived in the high-flying, high-stakes city, the trio had been bombarded with requests. Tourists wanted their picture taken with the Princess Twilight Sparkle, while others wanted to create a gag photo of running from the Lord Tirek. But no matter what, ponies did not want a photo with Moondancer. She began to begrudge not staying in Canterlot, alone, in her own comforting home. While watching another family surround Twilight, she debated climbing the closest roller coaster and jumping.

Twilight didn’t originally agree to any of the photos at all. It wasn’t until the tourists stopped Tirek and he obliged that things changed. Twilight felt compelled to honor her citizens’ requests. If Lord Tirek, fearsome villain of all ponies, allowed photos, then the Princess of Friendship should too. He even gave out a few autographs for those interested in watching him work his hands. Nevertheless, Moondancer found distaste in how long it took. Walking through the city turned into one big mistake.

“You’re awfully calm, Tirek,” Twilight said once they continued. “I didn’t expect you to be so accepting of these requests. You haven’t snarled at a single pony today.”

He grunted, and said, “Yes.”

“Yes? Yes—what?” she asked, confused by the response.

He didn’t reply. Looking back at him, Moondancer noticed his crossed arms and inquisitive expression. He’d been like that ever since they left Ponyville. The friendship journal came into her mind, and she wanted to tell Twilight her experience of sharing it with Tirek, but another tourist wanted another photograph. This one she decided to photobomb as her sanity dwindled.

Seven photos and four signings later, they arrived at the Horsehead Ne-bowl-ula. The pun caused Moondancer to wince when she first heard it, and seeing it in lights didn’t stunt her reaction. Of course, that was only an hour ago. Visiting the resort the Flim Flam Brothers owned, they found no sign or tail of the twins. The receptionist generously gave the Princess Twilight Sparkle directions to the two. That, and she wanted a photo, an autograph, and a hug.

But if hearing the terrible name for the bowling alley was the worst part of Moondancer’s day, she’d be okay with that. Unfortunately, this was Las Pegasus. And for the Horsehead Ne-bowl-ula, a championship tournament was daily.

Every lane held two to four ponies occupying the rosters with teams or duos. Maple and pine alleys shone with the glow of oil as marble balls rushed for pins. Even the gutters had a glistening luster, though only the poorest bowlers saw the polish.

“They dress in tacky outfits with hats,” Twilight told them as they examined the crowd. Unfortunately, tacky described the bowling alley with such accuracy that it should’ve been written on the floor. Custom made shirts, special glittered signs, and the ugliest neon shoes were as common as air. “Well, they’re yellow. Red and white hair. One has a mustache?” she described. Most every stallion in the alley had a mustache, or some form of goatee. “Let’s just stick together. I know what they look like.”

As they examined the first lane, Tirek pointed to the strange glass cases above the seating area. “What sort of game is this? Are those X's bad? Why does the number jump?” He rattled off his questions before pointing to the very left side. “What does that number and weight mean?”

“Looks like the lanes aren’t manual. Fancy life Las Pegasus gets the automatic scorers,” Moondancer answered. “Also, the words are the name he chose. GiveMeStrikes is definitely not his real name.” She nodded to the stallion readying himself to bowl and pointed to the custom name stitched below his team’s. “That one is Guts. Can’t say it’s inaccurate with that many zeroes.”

“They’re all fake names,” Twilight said, grinding her teeth. “Which means we can’t rely on them to find Flim and Flam.”

“Their team name on the other hoof.” Moondancer glanced between several of the teams siding the nearest lane. “If Tirek and I spot something that relates to them, we might be able to help while you look for their faces. Keep an eye out for a team with brother or twin or unicorn in their name, Tirek. You’re taller, you’ve got the best chance of spotting them.”

As they picked a direction, dodging the floating pegasus employees, they reached a dead end. Some of the bowlers stopped and gawked, and dropped bowling balls on their hooves. “Princess Twilight Sparkle!” a few onlookers cheered. More photographs!

Moondancer sulked behind Twilight in every photo taken, ceasing her search. She made it a point of contention to have the weirdest face she could imagine for every picture. She stuck her tongue out as two ponies came to both sides. “I do love tormenting tourists with disruptive backgrounds,” the stallion to her left said. She looked up at him, his eyes went cross and lips puckered.

“It wouldn’t be so bad if it wasn’t every five seconds,” Moondancer replied. She put her hoof on the tip of her nose and pulled up.

“At least no one is asking for the sidekick to take the picture. Though that also means no one is asking to take a photo with you,” the stallion to her right added.

“I don’t mind,” she said, suddenly defensive. “I’m not the princess here.”

“Nonsense!” The two said in unison before a self-developing camera appeared in front of them. “Say 'Princess!'” The blaring light went off before Moondancer could even put her hooves up to prevent being blinded. Once she regained focus, she found the photo hovering in front of her.

In the picture, the two stallions made crazy faces. Moondancer held a clueless, shocked expression. She didn’t notice until now that the stallion to her right had a mustache. Turning to him, she asked, “Are you Flim?”

“No,” he replied.

“Oh. Alright. Thanks for the photo I guess.” Moondancer stuck it in her sweater with the notepad. As she did, Twilight sprang up in front of her—the abruptness sending her falling to her rump.

“You found them!” Twilight said, pointing to the two.

Moondancer’s bushy brows fell together. She scowled up at the stallion to her right. “I thought you said you weren’t Flim!”

“And I’m not! He’s Flim!” he replied.

“And he’s Flam!” Flim pointed to the mustached stallion.

“And we’re the world-famous Flim Flam Brothers!” they sang in unison.

“And you both are under arrest for conspiring against Equestria!” Twilight bellowed at the top of her lungs. “Endangering ponies in the Crystal Empire, Manehattan, and Appleloosa. You’re linked to several crimes committed by the Society of Secret Sorcery. I demand your full cooperation, and all punishments will be lenient if you comply,” she told them.

Standing at Twilight’s side, Moondancer glanced over the twins. In their bowling uniforms of yellow and black, they both wore helmets. High-Striking Heroes, their name written into their shirts. It had nothing to do with brothers or unicorns, as Moondancer first believed. The helmets mimicked that of the old Wonderbolt aviator style, without goggles. She guessed flying related to being high in the sky, and they kind of looked like bees. Though whether she found them to be eccentric, or if Las Pegasus was just nutty, she couldn’t quite be sure.

“Don’t threaten us with a good time!” Flim said. Or at least, Moondancer believed it was Flim. The two did not have their real names stitched into their outfits.

“We run an establishment that pays taxes, gives to charity, pays the appropriate minimum wage, and offers trifling health coverage! What more could we do?” Flam asked.

“You own a print shop in Manehattan. We’ve discovered it has connections with this criminal society. One that caused the recent eclipse, which you may have seen or were part of,” Twilight replied. “Are you denying you own the print shop?”

The two brothers looked at each other, then back to Twilight. “We are!” they said in unison.

“We have your names and records for the building,” Moondancer stated.

“For the building!” Flim pointed out, raising a hoof and smiling. “Investments, my dear lady. Own the building, lease it out! The print shop rents the place from us, giving us a nice little source of revenue!”

“From Ponyville to Fillydelphia! We own a building in every town! Never know when the land deed will suddenly be worth a fortune.” Flam took off his hat, revealing the white and red hair. “Though our main focus right now is our resort right here in Las Pegasus. I’m sure you’d know that, seeing as how your friends helped us—acquire—it?”

With a roll of her eyes, Twilight let out a long-winded sigh. Moondancer stepped up in the moment in an attempt to steer the conversation back to Manehattan. “Well, if you don’t own the building, could you tell us who you leased it to? It’d help us a bunch and clear your names.”

“No can do!” they said in unison. “Renter confidentiality!”

“There’s no such thing,” Twilight argued, her voice booming against the alley’s rattling noise.

“There is in every contract we sign out!” Flim replied. “Keeps us from situations like this!” He chuckled as he threw a hoof around his brother. “Dislike it all you want, but there’s no way we’d break a contract. Not unless there was a better one to be had!”

Moondancer squinted, not liking the sound of that.

“What did you have in mind?” Twilight asked without a single drip of enthusiasm.

“Princess Twilight Sparkle!” Flim howled. “On display in our resort from eleven to eight, every other weekend for three years!”

Flam added, “Photographs, autographs, and hugs! Holidays off. World-saving clause. Two thirty-minute breaks. And a generous contract renewal bonus after the three years!”

A snicker came from the centaur. “If she refuses, I’ll accept. Beats living in Tartarus,” Tirek mocked.

“Give me a moment to think this over,” Twilight requested, taking Moondancer aside. Standing away, with Tirek, she looked Moondancer square in the eyes. “So I think having Tirek drain them of their magic is the best solution.”

Before tripping over her words, Moondancer held a long, monotone note as her brain caught up to the notion. “Are you sure that’s the best solution?” she asked once she regained full mental function. “I’m not disagreeing, since you know more about these two. But moving straight to Tirek?” She looked up at the centaur who appeared on the verge of drooling. “Are they really that troublesome?”

“Yes. Come with me,” Twilight commanded the two. Returning to the brothers, she lifted a hoof to Tirek. “Flim, Flam. Your request for a contract is so awful, I would prefer giving you an unjust ultimatum over signing. Not only are we on a time crunch to find the leaders of this secret society, we cannot even prove that you’re not part of it. This contract would make it impossible for me to continue my search.”

Flam's eyebrows furrowed. “We don’t know a thing about your society—but you want information and everything can be bought for the right price. Negotiations, Brother! We’ll be hosting a princess in our resort by the day’s end!”

A table appeared out of thin air in front of them, right in the middle of the bowling alley. Though plenty of ponies stopped their games to stare at the events unfolding, they now gathered to see the negotiations. Even the bowling alley staff, like the shoe trader, came to watch all the way from the entrance.

Moondancer pointed out the obvious. “You two are unicorns. And if you’re known worldwide, why wouldn’t they invite you into the Society of Secret Sorcery?” It seemed simple in reasoning.

“Why would a pair of world-famous stallions like the Flim Flam Brothers be part of a secret society?” Tirek countered, satire echoing in every syllable.

Twilight shot an annoyed look at him, but it faded almost immediately. “And the society’s whole façade is protecting Equestria. Knowing these two, the first thing they’d ask is how much money they could make in such an effort. Or where the profit could be had.”

“Dear brother of mine,” Flam said, “I believe we’ve become stagnant. Our shticks and idioms are commonplace! Our personalities caricatures!”

“We’ll work on it later, Brother.” Flim popped a contract onto the table, setting his hat down with it. “Come now, Princess Twilight! Surely a minimum three years of service is fine payment for our information!”

Another long sigh left Twilight’s lips. Moondancer could tell what would come next. She moved to the side, allowing Tirek a further place against the table. “No, as I’ve said, your contract is atrocious. Instead, I’m giving you an ultimatum. Since you’re participating in blocking this criminal case, you have two choices. Tell me who the renter is, or we’ll believe you’re working with the society. As such, I’ll allow Tirek to drain your magic.”

Cracking his neck, then his knuckles, Tirek smiled down on them with satisfaction. “And she is not bluffing. They’ve been treating me like a dog, and I’m about to get my treat for being so good. Please deny her request, for I am very hungry.”

The two brothers turned to each other. Moondancer expected them to now understand the severity of the situation. If Twilight willingly allowed Lord Tirek to absorb their magic, then the world needed saving. But in unnerving unison, the twins beamed wide. “We deny! Drain our magic!” they spoke in tandem. Bowing their heads to the centaur, they pointed their horns to his mouth.

“Wait, what!?” Tirek shouted, raising a hand to shield himself. “You want me to drain your magic? Why?”

“If the princess allows you to drain our magic—” Flim said.

“We get to sue the crown for reckless endangerment!” Flam finished.

“With all these witnesses, we’ll win a hefty settlement!” they spoke in unison. “So, please, drain us dry! Have our magic! We won’t cry! Eat up!”

Covering his mouth, Tirek took a step back. “I think I’m going to be sick.” He turned away, and his beady eyes met both mares. “Ponies wanting me to drain them.” He stifled a retch. “Put me back in Tartarus, I’ve found my weakness. This is worse than anything you princesses have ever done to me.”

The three took a step from the table to reform their plan of attack. “Okay, I really don’t want to sign their contract,” Twilight whispered. “And even if Tirek could contain himself for a minute to drain their magic, I don’t want Celestia to pay in the end. Even if these two are con-artists, they’d get a fair trial. Really debating on whether or not to join Tirek in Tartarus at this point. Moondancer, do you have any ideas?”

“Me? You’re asking me?” she gawked. “I couldn’t possibly know.”

“Yes. Why ask her?” Tirek wondered, choking for air. “She gets anxious every time she looks at you. Helping with this is like asking a sheep to shear itself. These monstrous thieves are going to get you in a thirty-year contract if you rely on her flustered thinking.”

Twilight’s mouth soured as her cheeks tightened. “Are you still whipping yourself over what happened? It wasn’t your fault. It was Minu—” She stopped herself, biting hard on her lip. “Moondancer,” she continued, “I brought you along because I knew I could rely on you. You’re the one who saw what happened to Auburn Nest! Can you seriously say you don’t have the strength or courage that I see in you?”

“Princess Twilight?” one brother called. “We’re not willing to wait all day.”

Moondancer didn’t feel confident in her words or her idea. Having someone else speak praise did not remove the self-doubt in her heart. The feeling of not being good enough. But the motivation to try for their sake could be enough to kick-start the process, especially when it came from a valuable friend.

As she stared deep into Twilight’s eyes, Moondancer felt a wave of nostalgia wash over her. Sharing books and laughs. But the wave crashed as she realized that was the past. Stuck in the same place as always. Now, in the present, with bowling pins breaking apart, she snapped to the twins. A bigger feeling took control. She understood the meaning behind those emotions.

Her doubts, her confidence. Moondancer let both those things fall on Twilight. Just like her nostalgia. Without realizing it, she let the alicorn bear the weight of her feelings. Every time she looked at Twilight, she saw her own guilt. And now, Twilight gave back the confidence, breaking her doubt. The words didn’t reach their mark, but Moondancer felt the truth beneath them. “Show them what you can do!” it said in Twilight’s voice.

“I’m not sure I’m the right pony to tackle dealing with your abrasive contract.” Moondancer stepped to the table. “I haven’t been sure of anything in a little while now, except for my own faults. Maybe that’s why I can recognize yours.”

The twins looked at each other. “Our faults?” Flim said. “Our faults!” Flam mockingly repeated.

“This contract is forethought, planned well in advanced. There’s no vision. It’s like a lock without a key. You must’ve made it a while ago without considering the consequences. I mean, we’re in the middle of a criminal investigation. Ponies’ lives are in danger. Your little extortion is blocking our investigating, putting you in serious trouble. Like, more trouble than just partaking in the society.”

“So what? You think you know a little bit about litigation and we’ll kowtow to you?” Flam threw his head back with laughter. “Honey. We’ve been in this game far longer than you. For starters, you never obtained a warrant, so we never had to give you any information at all.”

“Twilight Sparkle is a princess. She could sign off on a warrant right now. Or she can remove the need for one. She has the authority.”

Flim raised a hoof and began shouting, but Flam quickly stopped his brother. “Now, now. Even if that’s true, the ramifications would allow us to pursue some legal entanglement. We’d sue the crown, and I have no doubt we’d win. You wouldn’t want that, would you?” Flam asked, clearly thinking they’d won.

“Then go ahead and sue,” Moondancer replied. “Get the best lawyer money can buy.” She paused, watching their confused expressions grow. “But before you do, we’ll be taking all your assets and putting blocks on all your accounts. Your resorts, residences, managed properties. Your bank accounts, financial advisors, and anything else relating to your monetary gains will be examined with scrutiny.”

“You can’t do that!” Flam snarled.

“This is a criminal investigation,” she said with calmness. “You are owner of such a place within our inquiry.” Moondancer thought it best to leave out that all they had to go on was a scent found by Tirek. “That means all ownership under you will also need examination. We’ll be closing your resort today along with any other businesses. Your current residence will be searched by authorities for information relating to the society. Should we find other criminal activity, we’ll add it to the list.”

Flim fainted into his brother’s forelegs. “You’ll ruin us!” Flam said, fanning his brother. “All for what? A name? What kind of sick pony would do that? Princess of Friendship my left ear! The company she keeps is monsters! You all should be ashamed! Or in Tartarus!”

“I wouldn’t go around claiming that.” Moondancer held back a grin. “What if Twilight’s credibility falls apart? She could sue for defamation!”

Shaking his brother awake, Flam pleaded to tell the name. Flim held no hesitation either. Without another thought from the two, they gave up the name of the Master. “Moondancer! You did it!” Twilight cheered before the name hit her registry. “Wait. He’s an earth pony.”

Moondancer felt a sense of pride in defeating the two brothers, but that washed aside for Twilight’s reveal. “Svengallop? I've never heard of him. He's an earth pony? But that’s impossible, Twilight. Everyone there is a unicorn.”

“I smelled an earth pony,” Tirek revealed, stunning them both. “It makes perfect sense. It’s why the smell retained in the cloak remained weak and pathetic. Whoever this stallion is, they do not use magic like you two. And if she claims they're an earth pony, then it makes sense to me.”


Miles beneath the city, every cloud looked black from the underside. Standing far back or flying high revealed the tops to be white and fluffy. Homes rose like elephants among squirrels. But underneath, far below, it was black. The waterfalls trickled by the gallons into the forked river that ran through the plain. The few rainbowfalls that existed never hit the ground, their light disappearing midway.

In the shadow caused by the city, Sunset gathered with over forty other unicorns. She stood off from anypony, beneath a young pinewood. The society left her in charge of signaling the test, and she needed a Master to give her the go ahead. They couldn’t very well signal it, since none of the three were unicorns, as she learned. But she hoped the Master would never arrive.

Tearing down Cloudsdale didn’t feel like a justified act for Equestria’s secret defense force. But from all the other problems caused by the secretive group, this fell right in line with their actions. Sunset spent time analyzing the reasoning, to fill the gaps. She wondered what sort of things the Masters told other members. There needed to be a reason. Maybe a villain could fly, reach Cloudsdale, and they were testing if they could pull the city down.

She didn’t agree with their methods, and she was glad her involvement didn’t include any of the previous tests. Hearing of them from the other members, she wondered how they could agree to such things. It's why she tried to find the reason. Flooding the Crystal Empire could test the city against other natural disasters besides a raging blizzard—but she had nothing for Manehattan and Appleloosa.

Sunset huddled against the bark. A sudden gust blew above, rocking the tree. Sunset kept her hood up to hide her face should another member grow bored of waiting and come for a chat. Of course, some of the Evokers knew her face. The dark grey cloaks hid her fellow unicorns well. She couldn’t even see the closest one. The entire city hovered, yet they surrounded it from the ground. A full circle, miles in diameter.

The tree rocked again, this time with no wind.

Sunset knew the name and face of one Master. She debated on learning the second today, then teleporting to Ponyville. Without two Masters, she might cripple the society. But if they were not unicorns, what could they do? How were they any use to the Grandmaster? Perhaps it was the Grandmaster she needed before truly abandoning ship.

She wanted nothing more than to escape the wild ride. Every muscle tensed in her body, knowing the atrocity about to occur.

“Looks like everypony is in position. Hope we don’t require all the members.”

The voice didn’t startle Sunset, though her heart jumped to her throat. It was time. She subtly glanced around the tree in search of the pony. “I was told I’d be meeting someone here.” With a whistle, the pony announced herself. Sunset stepped back from the tree.

Another gust blew down pine needles along with Sunset's hood. “I’ve been scouting them all night. Not a single pony expecting us. I would’ve thought my home city would tighten up after Appleloosa. Maybe they don’t expect us to do another weather trick. Good thing it’s not.”

A pegasus—teal fur and wings.

“Lightning Dust,” the pegasus introduced herself. “You might make Master if things go well today,” Dust spoke bluntly, a snicker hidden in her words. “You ready to get things started?” Sunset nodded in response. “Good. You’re approved to begin. I’m heading up to run interference.”

Before the pegasus could zoom off, Sunset asked one question. “Why? Why are we doing this?”

“You already know the reason,” Lightning Dust snapped, lunging like a cornered rat. She motioned to her hornless forehead and pointed to her flapping wings. “This is the final test needed to prove to the Grandmaster we’re ready. So get, it, done,” she commanded.

Sunset pulled her hood back up as Lightning Dust flew away. There was no doubt about it. Forget the Masters. The Grandmaster was the root, stem, and flower of this whole operation. Pulling out the weeds only gave her more sun to grow. If Sunset could be any help, she needed to find out who the Grandmaster really was.

Sunset hesitated as she stepped out from beneath the tree, yet her horn lit anyway. An explosive wave of magic rocketed out above her head. An image formed in the sparks to create the logo of the Grandmaster’s insignia. A golden frame, with an eyeless alicorn, large enough for the closest members to see. This was Sunset’s addition to the society. Whatever signal they used prior to her arrival, Sunset’s images proved a better tool.

Acknowledging they saw, those members shot the same image.

Every unicorn repeated this until the furthest point from Sunset produced the logo. And the test began. Sunset’s horn crackled with energy, sparking beneath the hood. Levitating something against gravity depended on the weight. But how would one bring something down that didn't succumb to gravitational pull?

Sunset saw it much like being in a pool with her clothes on. Floating on the water was easy—most mammals have natural buoyancy. But diving under, which was difficult even when clothed, had buoyancy force swimmers back to the surface. Then getting out of the water with clothes on? A bag of bricks would be easier to carry. At least then she knew no one would be wet. Pulling Cloudsdale to the earth didn't seem different.

These ponies were the same group that raised the sun and moon. But those celestial bodies held in place after they moved them. Levitation wasn’t the issue. And if any pony’s magic faltered, the city would rise once more. Only a few seconds into the demonstration of power could they see the city move, and the rise. Everyone must've noticed, and the magic grew stronger, their wills combined. Lower and lower, meters became miles.

And then Sunset witnessed the one problem that came with lowering clouds.

Though the combined large clouds that created the circumference of the city remained intact, the smaller platforms did not. The difference in air temperature lower to the ground broke the clouds, becoming fog. Those buildings that sat atop the foggy mixtures felt gravity for the first time.

Since the separate buildings were on the edges, they brought them down quicker than the whole of Cloudsdale. So much so that the first home came crashing down in front of Sunset. It shattered on impact, the roof collapsed inward, and the walls fell to the sides.

Sunset ceased her magic immediately, rushing to the home. With her magic, she pulled debris apart, ripping up the devastated roof. She cursed herself for blindly putting her own needs first, but that fell away when she found the home empty. Whoever lived here escaped or hadn't been home.

Outside, Cloudsdale hovered only a small stretch above, and rapidly fell. Sunset couldn’t escape as the main cloud touched down, soaking her in a haze. The coldness wrapped around her cloak and tightened it with condensation, then frost. Darkness shrouded her as the buildings loomed above. She wondered how long Cloudsdale could maintain the weight before the new temperature dissipated it.

But the test finished. Whatever other buildings fell, it didn’t matter. Cloudsdale now sat on the ground.

The little swirling wafts of cloud around her reminded Sunset of another time and place. Time seemed still there too. With her hood down, she trudged back the way she came and hoped to still escape with the other members. Some of the more adept initiates maintained portals back to the hideout on the outskirts of the forest, but only for a short while.

Before she reached the edge of the cloud and the sun-touched ground, Sunset had to drop low. A pony trudged through the haze, and she assumed them a pegasus. Her chest felt tight. Crawling, she moved in the opposite direction around the pony, but a light suddenly arose from them.

“Initiate or Evoker?” Sunset called and threw her hood back on.

The unicorn’s light diminished as it turned into a crackling dimness around the pony. They came toward Sunset, their hood down. “Initiate, no thanks to you,” the mare said. Sunset recognized the face even through the mist. “But I won’t have to worry about that for long. A new Evoker spot’ll open up right after we’re rid of you.”

“You’re going to challenge me? You can’t compare to my magic,” Sunset replied and readied for a fight.

“I know. But I saw you. You rushed straight into that house.” The tone Minuette spoke with wasn’t happy to fight, or eager to pay retribution. A hanging melancholy gripped her vocal chords and turned the words weak. “I know somepony else like that. It’s why I know you won’t fight back.”

“You saw that? Well, it doesn’t matter. You’re wrong. I won’t lose to you.”

“I’m not talking about me,” she replied, and her horn’s energy released.

The world brightened around Sunset. The clouds evaporated around her, and the sun’s rays fell in with the pony shadows. “There’s one!” a mare yelled. “Get the bonehead!” another shouted.

The angry pegasi fell on Sunset in an instant. Tearing at her cloak, they grappled against her. Though the suddenness surprised her, instinct fell into teleporting away. It was no problem for a unicorn such as herself. But the pegasi weren’t alone in their assault. They were nothing more than a distraction.

In the cloudy mist, Minuette remained. Were it not for the pegasi surprising her, keeping her constrained, Sunset could’ve easily avoided the second spell released by the blue unicorn. But with her reaction time slowed, and Minuette’s aim precise. Sunset managed to teleport out from underneath Cloudsdale, leaving the pegasi behind, but only back to the pinewood tree. Darkness surrounded her as quickly as the pegasi had. The spell dulled Sunset’s senses and grew her exhaustion. The sleep spell overtook her as she fell to the ground with the noise of gusts being the last thing she heard.