"So tell me again why we're bringing a dragon, a unicorn, and two pegasi home with us?"
Sunny continued walking. "Tell me again why your little creature army's done nothing but grow over the past few days first."
Hitch side-eyed Timby. "Listen--"
"I know, I know. You have no idea." Sunny forced a chuckle. She kept her head low, dragging her hooves with each step.
"Seriously, Sunny." Spike jogged up beside the mare. "If something's bugging you, it's best to let it out. I've seen plenty enough of what happens when somepony tries to bottle things up for too long."
"My... mom." Her steps slowed. Hitch let out a quiet sigh as he too slowed his pace. "I used to play dress-up with her a lot when my dad was busy. She disappeared one day though, and we still haven't found her. After my dad... well, passed, I decided to stop thinking about it."
She brushed her hoof over her sleeve. "Sorry if it's a bit much to take in. It's just that making this outfit with Izzy--"
"It's alright. I understand."
A thin smile emerged on Sunny's lips. "Heh. Yeah. Like I'm one to talk when you've--"
"No."
She looked up. "No?"
"Don't talk to yourself that way. Please. Just because someone else has had it worse doesn't mean you matter less."
Sunny fell silent.
Spike walked ahead. "C'mon. There's something I'd like to show all of you."
"A... mirror." Zipp touched down on the decaying floor. She stepped closer to the machinery attached to the frame. "Interesting contraptions it's got surrounding it, though. It almost looks like..." Her eyes traced the path from the mirror's surface up to a small platform above it. "It needs a power source of some kind."
"Bingo." Spike shot finger-guns at Zipp as he backed himself to a bookshelf. "But before we do anything with that, I want you all to take a close look at yourselves. What do you see?"
"Me!" Izzy squeaked, peering at herself.
Hitch stepped up behind her. "Makes sense. It's a mirror, after al--oh?"
Hitch cocked his head. The caped pony staring back at him cocked their head as well.
"It's one of the only enchanted items I know of that've retained their magic all this time. From what I understand, it shows the destiny of whoever looks into it. Either that or it shows what they see themselves to be in the future. Don't really have the ability to ask anyone about that anymore, so I'm going off of a hunch."
"Ooh, I'll try next!" Pipp landed with a soft thud in front of the mirror.
Zipp facehoofed beside her. "Of course your reflection is your streaming career. Sunny, you wanna try next?"
Sunny shook her head. "No, it's alright. You can go."
"Thanks, but I can already see the Wonderbolts uniform on my reflection from here."
"Oh."
"...Uhhhhhwelp!" Spike clapped his hands together. "Might as well get on with the next part of it. Though, I definitely wouldn't advise sticking around for too long in there once it's open."
"Ope--" Sunny caught sight of the journal in Spike's claws as he walked past. "...Wait. Wait. Hold on, is this the mirror-portal?"
"Yup!" Spike grinned, setting the dusty book on the platform. "I was surprised when I was able to reactivate it as well! I thought that when its 30-moon cycle ended, it'd be closed for good!"
A low, almost gurgling noise began to fill the room as flickering mana poured life from the journal into the portal.
"It's... a bit louder than it was before." Spike chuckled. "But it still works!"
Sunny stared wide-eyed at the now-swirling surface of the portal. "Can I try it?"
Spike nodded. "It's why I brought you all here in the first place. Just keep in mind that you should not stay for long in there. I did some Twilight-style experiments with some plants to see if the world on the other side was still okay, and they... uh, weren't so okay after about a month. You'll see what I mean."
"Or maybe you forgot to water them." Izzy snickered.
Spike paused for a moment before facepalming. "I'm an idiot. Still, I'll be coming through as well, just in case."
"Well," Sunny stepped up to the portal, reaching a hoof through. "Jokes aside, here goes nothing."
"Sunny!"
The girl groaned.
"Sunny!"
Something was batting at her face. She opened an eye.
"Gah!" Sunny scooted back, sending Spike tumbling off her chest. "Spike? You're... you're a dog? That wasn't ever mentioned in the books I read!"
Spike shrugged.
"And I'm--" Sunny stared down at her new hands. "I'm human now." She clapped them against her cheeks. "I'm human now! I have hands!"
She laughed, pulling a portion of her dress out for a better view. "And it even transformed my clothes! I read all about this when I was a filly! Though, isn't there supposed to be a school or something here?"
"O-kaaaay," Spike mumbled, "Might be best not to make too much of a scene now, 'kay?"
She perked her head up. "Hm? Why?"
Spike shrugged again. "Just in case. Hundreds of years have passed since Twilight last set hoof--er, foot here. Even with the landscape looking like..." he gestured vaguely at the barren desert around them. "...well, this, it's better to be safe than sorry. There isn't much to see around here anymore, anyway. And... well," He turned around, looking up at what remained of the statue the exit portal had attached to. "This is part of why I'm surprised it still worked in the first place. I don't know what happened, but I think at some point the portal on this side was removed from the school."
"Sure looks like it." Sunny shaded her eyes. "It's so... flat here. And dry."
"Mm-hm. You'd expect to at least see signs of civilization around, but no. Anyway, we should probably get going now. Just in case. I still have a sneaking suspicion that something terrible happened here."
"Yeah."
A gust of dry wind blew over the two.