The trip down the mountain had been entirely slower than it had been going up, and it gave Sunset the time to take in the sprawling forest below.
"So, where are we headed after we swing by the castle?" She asked, having pocketed her new phone into her saddlebags once the signal started to go as they descended.
"We were on the way back to Maretime Bay, Sunny's hometown, with all the artifacts we've spent the past week gathering up in the Crystal Empire."
"You made it all the way up there? Can't imagine much is left, just like Ponyville down there..." the unicorn remarked.
"The climate has actually done a fairly decent job at keeping things preserved," Pipp commented. "We've got a suit of armor, not to mention hundreds upon hundreds of readable books, and we've barely made a dent in the library."
"Yeah, a return trip is probably 'in the books', maybe with a trailer to hold even more," Zipp added.
"Did you ever make it up there?" Sunny asked, glancing back at their new friend.
"Once. It... It wasn't for very long," Sunset answered, recalling memories of how she had stealthily made her way through the Crystal Castle, evading the night patrols in search of Twilight Sparkle's crown.
That felt like so long ago.
They rounded a bend that continued down the west face of the mountain, and they began to hear a waterfall.
"We're getting close," Sunny commented, as the dirt road began to get trees on the sides.
"Ah, there it is," Sunny said, pointing down to a large, eight-wheeled vehicle. They went around the final bend and came to the base of the waterfall where the truck was parked. A few ponies inside saw them approach and opened the passenger side door.
"Hey there, we were getting worried," a lilac unicorn said, smiling down at them. "Who's this? New friend?"
The unicorn hopped out onto the riverbank, followed by an amber earth stallion and a red earth stallion.
"Everyone, this is Sunset Shimmer. Sunset, this is Izzy Moonbow, Hitch Trailblazer, and Sprout Cloverleaf," Sunny introduced the rest of her circle.
"I'm pleased to meet all of you. I hope you'll forgive how out-of-place I feel right now," Sunset replied, giving a short bow.
"Sprout, lets get this thing turned around and headed back the way we came. We have to stop at Princess Twilight's castle to pick up what Sunset brought with her."
"No problem. But, you do know that this detour is gonna put us into Maretime Bay pretty late, right?"
"Yeah. I know we were all hoping for a hot, home-cooked meal after a week's worth of pre-packed stuff. I'll make it up to you, promise. Lunch is on me tomorrow," Sunny said.
Sunset was currently trying not to stare at Izzy's horn, which appeared to be purely bone-white, instead of matching the rest of her lilac coat.
"Alright, let's get going, we're about to lose the rest of our light," Hitch commented before climbing back into the cab, followed by Sprout and Izzy. Zipp and Pipp went up to the bed in the back, among stacks of crates. Sunny climbed up, then gave Sunset a hoof up as Sprout climbed into the driver's seat and started the engine up. Hitch closed the passenger door, and as soon as everyone was buckled up, he carefully performed a J-turn and headed back down the river.
"Ooh, who is this little guy?" Izzy asked, eying the yellow and black-spotted winged lizard sitting on Sunset's lap.
"This is Ray. He, well, he was a gecko, but the mirror has had an effect on his form, too."
It was a short, five minute drive down the river, and it reminded Sunset of riding in Applejack's modified farm truck.
"Right here at this bend, Sprout," Hitch told him. The red stallion pressed on the brake, came to a stop, then applied the parking brake.
"Come on, Sunset. It's not far," Sunny said, unbuckling her belt.
The amber unicorn followed suit, unbuckling herself from her seat, and placed Ray on her back once she was down on her hooves, climbing out of the passenger side once Hitch had moved out of the way.
"We'll be quick," Sunny reassured them, leading Sunset through the trees. A couple minutes later, they came to a small campfire, with the pair of guards Sunset had encountered hours earlier. The sky blue mare was on her hooves the instant she saw the pair approach.
"Who goes there? Oh, Miss Starscout. Welcome back. And..."
"Sunset Shimmer. Sorry about the chase earlier..." Sunset told her.
"Staff Sergeant Zoom Zephyrwing, and, well, if you're with her, I'm guessing things have been cleared up. And honestly, no hard feelings. About time we got some excitement around here. Not the most lively posting down here."
"We're just here to pick up some things, and we'll be on our way," Sunny told her. Zoom nodded and went back to the fire with Thunder while the earth pony and unicorn passed them to the large front doors. The hinges of the left door had been repaired, and the door opened with a considerable shove. Sunny put on her LED headband, while Sunset lit up her horn, the tip giving off a warm orange glow as they stepped into the dark foyer.
"So, you really don't know how long it's been?" Sunset asked as they walked down the hall towards the stairs.
Sunny shook her head.
"Nothing definitive, I can only make semi-educated guesses. I know the Everfree Forest can grow at supernatural speeds, so estimating the passage of time using the surrounding forest is pretty much impossible. With the things I've collected, I want to say, and this is a very, very rough estimate, that it's been 500 years at the very least, maybe even a millennium or more. It's hard to tell at this point."
They went around the stairs to a door on the right, coming to a set of stairs that spiraled downward along the outer wall. When they hit the basement floor, Sunset concentrated, and narrowed the aura of light on the tip of her horn into a beam, shining it down on scattered shards of glass.
"What? What happened?" Sunny asked, seeing the mirror case near the back wall.
"I think it shattered when I came through. It was the first thing I heard when I crossed over," Sunset said, using her magic to carefully shove the mirror shards towards the back of the room to clear more of the floor. She came to her belongings, the chest, saddlebags, and guitar case. "I really hope I'm where I belong..."
Sunset gingerly placed a hoof on her guitar case, as she looked to the remains of the standing mirror, then to Sunny.
"Because this was quite clearly a one-way trip."