//------------------------------// // 7. Trial by Spirit: Words of Farewell; Souls of Light and Shadow. // Story: No One For the Gallows But Me // by Coyote de La Mancha //------------------------------// The side of the old stone plinth glowed with arcane light as she ran her hand across its surface. Aurora could feel it gently pulling at her, inviting her to step through, to enter a world of magic, dangers, and adventure. Behind her, Sunrise and the seven musicians waited, smiling, for her to finish her experiment. And behind them, in turn, were… well, depending on how you sliced it, either two adult sisters, or three. One of them being, apparently, some kind of faerie queen in another, more magical world. The world where Sunrise belonged. And to which, now, she would finally return. When the judge had come back from recess, Aurora had hardly dared to hope that she would rule exactly as she had: that in light of new evidence, all charges against her were dropped, and that she was free to go. She'd wanted to stay in the courtroom, though. Sunrise's pretrial hearing had been next, and Aurora had wanted to be there for her. But getting out was still a process to be gone through, and her mom had been beside herself already. And, as the guard had pointed out, Sunrise already had plenty of friends with her. Aurora didn't know how their lawyer had done it, but she heard later he'd managed to argue the judge into approving bail for Sunny, despite the severity of her crimes. Granted, it had been high as hell – the news had said it was half a million dollars – but even as the judge had made her ruling apparently both Twilight and Sunset had stood, with a simultaneous I can cover that. (In a later conversation, Rainbow Dash had pointed out they'd only had to put up ten percent, so long as they didn't expect to get it back. Which frankly didn't make it any less amazing to Aurora. Either sum was more than her mom would see in a year.) The judge had also ruled that, under the circumstances, Sunrise would have to wear a tracking anklet as if she were on parole. Apparently the judge didn't completely trust the eccentric attorney. Or, maybe that had been part of Dissonance's bargain; apparently he'd winked to Sunrise as the ruling was handed down, saying quietly, I imagine that won't be a problem. The next day, the Rainbooms, Celestia, Luna, and Princess Luna, along with Sunrise herself, had invited Aurora over for dinner. She deserved the full story, they'd said, and if she wanted she could hear it. It should have sounded insane. Completely certifiable. Delusional, or maybe just some sick joke they were playing at her expense. But somehow, it hadn't. Too many things had fit together too well for it to be crazy. And none of them were mad enough, or mean enough, for it to have been anything but the truth. And, of course, their having demonstrable magic powers hadn't hurt. Afterwards, they'd talked for hours, about everything and nothing at all. Strangely, Aurora had found herself wishing she could have met them all years earlier. But eventually, the sun had set, and it had been time for them all to journey to the mystical gateway where it had all began. And now, she was here. “You thinkin’ 'bout crossin’ over, sugar cube?” Applejack asked with a smile. Standing up again, Aurora shook her head as the magical glow ceased, smoothing out her long skirt. “No, I’m good,” she said. “I guess I just wanted to see it for myself, and make sure Sunny was going to be okay.” Smiling, Sunrise stepped forward, and she and Aurora embraced. “You ever need anything, you get word to these guys. They’ll let me know,” Sunrise said. As they parted, Aurora smiled as well, her hands on the older girl’s shoulders. “You, too.” She said. “I’ll never forget what you’ve done for me. Not in a thousand years. I hear you speak my name, even in a dream, I’ll be there.” In the distance, the thunder of another storm gently rumbled. Princess Luna and the two sisters gave the clouds a speculative glance, but said nothing. “Twilight, darling, how much time do we have left?” Rarity fretted, also looking at the sky. “I know you’re brilliant with technology, but…” “We’ve got as much time as we need, technically,” Twilight shrugged. “Remember, I not only designed the anklet they put on Sunrise, I wrote the associated tracking programs. I’ll wait until tomorrow, in case she needs to come back for something. Then I’ll have her anklet’s signal move south a few miles before vanishing.” From there, the conversation broke, scattered, and meandered amongst them all. The friends continued enjoying the luxury of being all in one place, with neither the haste of adventure nor the burden of time upon them. Sunset, Aurora, Twilight, Pinkie, and Fluttershy happily gabbed away with Sunrise and Princess Luna. Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Applejack for the most part remained quieter as they spoke, their smiles more reserved. The two faculty sisters, meanwhile, fell somewhere in the middle, having neither the bonds shared between Sunrise and her friends, nor the grudge of the other Rainbooms over an act of violence only a few months ago. And, of course, they both shared their own unique friendships with Princess Luna. “As I recall, we spake years ago of the two of you visiting our world for a time,” the princess said, eyes shining. “With the gateway thus stabilized, and your having summers free from obligation, this becomes a genuine possibility.” “You could come with Twilight and me,” Sunset suggested with a grin. “We’ve been visiting every few weeks for a while now.” “We could show you Canterlot!” Twilight gasped delightedly. “And Ponyville! And… oh, I bet at least one of you can fly on that side…!” “Well, we’ll have to see what happens this coming summer…” Principal Celestia hedged. “I’ll start drawing up an itinerary!” Grinning, Vice Principal Luna hung her head. “Of course you will.” “And so, with all matters safely mended, best we take our leave, I think,” Princess Luna said with a smile. “Loathe though I am to depart, I have duties on Equus, and so does my lady.” Then, turning and offering her hand to Sunrise, “Shall we?” Returning Luna’s smile with her own, Sunrise took her hand and they both turned back towards the gateway. There, leaning against the plinth, stood Sunset, arms crossed, eyeing Sunrise distrustfully. Sunrise hesitated. “Um... what?” Sunset’s eyes narrowed with mock suspicion and she spoke carefully, saying, “Soooo… yyyyyou’re not gonna try to… kiss me again, are you?” “What are you talking about, I didn’t kiss oh… my… god… I… did,” Sunrise said, covering her suddenly crimson face with both hands. Smiling, Applejack cocked an eyebrow at her friend as the rest of the group dissolved into laughter. “That really necessary?” she asked. “Well, you know what they say,” Sunset grinned. “Revenge is better than Christmas.” “And on that note, beloved friends, we must away,” Luna laughed. Half hugging, half pulling her young lover with her, the queen of night stepped through the portal. There was a moment of familiar, unearthly tension between worlds as the assembled humans cheered their final farewells, and then the pair was gone.