//------------------------------//
// Chapter 43: The Final Hours 
// Story: There's a Monster Pony Outside My Window 
// by Halira 
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Another day, another night, another day. Time ticked away, Andrea's life ticked away, and she didn't even know, nor did her sisters. No one wanted her to be afraid. She would live, or she would die. Knowing wouldn't change that, only make her fearful. It had seemed best to let her have her happiness. Now, it was almost time. In a few hours, Andrea's fate would be decided. The girls had all been laid down to bed, and one of them might never wake. 

Wendy, Charles, and other adults were all in the rec room, with one exception, Sunset Blessing. The unicorn was down in her workshop, doing her final preparations. The question had been asked, and no answer was given. Was she ready?

"Why is it always kids?" Jess asked as she poured another glass of brandy. "Every single time something goes seriously wrong with Sunset Blessing, some foal or child is the one who ends up on the verge of death. First, it was me, then Drizzle, now little Andrea."

"On the plus side, so far none of them have died," Mèng said in an encouraging tone. 

Jess chugged her drink down in one gulp then wiped her mouth with her sleeve. "The sample size is far too low to use that to predict probability."

"Should you be drinking?" Wild asked. "I was told you don't have the highest tolerance."

The pony-eared woman poured another drink. "I'm not going anywhere, and this is bringing back bad memories that I would prefer to forget."

"That doesn't work. Give me the drink, Jess," Wild ordered, holding out a leg. 

The woman grumbled but walked over and handed Wild the glass. The green earth pony took it in her fetlock as easily as a person would their hand, promptly drained the drink herself, and set it down on the table before turning to face Mèng. 

"Anyway, you forgot one. Sunset does not have a perfect record with foals surviving," Wild said darkly. 

Mèng blinked in confusion, and Wendy balled up a first. "What do you mean? Who died, and what happened?"

"Wild's unborn foal," Phobia interjected. "Wild had a miscarriage during the Cataclysm of Riverview, and the Cataclysm of Riverview could at least partially be blamed on my mother. There's an adult death toll that you are all overlooking, dozens of adults, but also many foals and adults she has saved or at least didn't die during her more spectacular chaos. Jess and Wild should know; they helped save some of them. I am eternally grateful for that. However, it is best to say that my mother is a force that people get caught up in. We have borrowed a term from an old fantasy series of books for her and those like her because the Equestrians didn't have a word for it, nor did we. The term is ta'veren. It's a person who is always involved in big events and changes in the natural flow of order, a magnet for change. She is not the only such one, not even the most dramatic in her impact, and some who have literal chaos magic, while my mother is only figurative chaos while still a creature of order— we try to keep them far apart so that we don't compound the impact.  Change and big events can be messy, and people can die."

"Someone who you see and you expect trouble not long after," Andri grumbled. "That describes my sister well."

"You should speak kinder about Auntie," Shǔguāng snarled 

"I'm not saying your mom is a bad person; I'm saying she's trouble," Andri countered in a tired voice. "Trouble that we get caught up in; trouble that little me could die from."

There was suddenly a commotion outside the door, and they could hear guards running and yelling. 

Andri stood up and headed for the door. "Oh, look, sounds like more trouble. What a shock."

Wild stood up and joined her. "Actually, it might be salvation. I'm expecting someone."

Before they could get to the door, one of the guards came in. "Miss Portsmith, Princess Luna and an unknown pink unicorn just arrived. They are looking for Sunset Blessing. What are your instructions?"

"Not who I was expecting," Wild quickly said. 

Andri frowned. "Show them into here. Princess Luna is a friend to my sister, but I don't want her disturbed quite yet, not when her preparations are this important."

Amicus sat up for the first time and nervously wiped her fur. "Do I look alright? I wasn't expecting to be seeing royalty."

Legal Brief put his leg on her leg to pause her, then gave her a quick smooch before pulling back and smiling sweetly at her. "Don't fret. You look lovely, dear."

Amicus nuzzled him back. "You'd say that no matter what. Your bias makes your testimony suspect."

"I think I'm just a good character witness," Legal Brief replied before kissing her more deeply. 

"Go find a courtroom!" Mèng said, fake retching. 

A tall midnight blue pony with a mane that seemed to blow in a wind that wasn't there and a regular-sized unicorn mare entered the room and looked around. 

"Where is my student?" the larger pony demanded. 

Andri somehow managed to bow while still pointing a leg down towards the basement. "Princess Luna, Sunset's in her workshop, trying to make final preparations for casting this spell."

Princess Luna frowned. "And does she have sufficient control of her power to do the spell properly without hurting the foal?"

Andri looked away. "I'm not sure."

"Me either," Wild confessed. 

The princess gave a knowing nod. "Fear not! While Twilight is unable to aid you due to an important diplomatic summit directly, she has sent her student in her stead. This is Luster Dawn. Twilight has nothing but faith in her capabilities."

The pink unicorn rubbed the back of her head and chuckled nervously. "I haven't actually done this spell before, but I know it and have the power to cast it. I know it by heart, though, and I can work fast."

"Sunset hasn't actually cast the spell either," Andri replied. "If you can do it without killing little me in the process, that works."

Wendy stood up. "Who are you, and what are your qualifications? Why can't we get someone who has cast this spell before? This is my daughter's life we are talking about. I don't feel safe putting it in the hands of an amateur."

Luster Dawn lifted her head and looked offended. "I'm the personal student of the Princess of Friendship and Magic. Aside from the princess, Starlight Glimmer, and Sunburst, there is no mage in Equestria as skilled and knowledgeable as me. Very few ponies have ever cast this spell, and the ones that have normally worked in teams over a long period. Starlight can't work fast enough to get this done in the time you need. Sunburst's magic is so weak that he would never be able to cast this spell, and the princess is unavailable. Trust me; I can do this. Furthermore, I have hooves, not hands, and will be using my horn anyway."

Luna nodded again. "It shames me to admit that this branch of magic is one that my sister and I are incapable of helping with. While we are both highly gifted in many fields of magic:  our knowledge of transformation magic and transmogrification is often exceeded by the more gifted students at my sister's school. We trust in Twilight's judgment in this matter. If Twilight says that Luster Dawn can do this, then I support Luster Dawn. Although I wish my student were the one up for the task, I would not risk a foal's life for the sake of my pride in having my student do the task."

Wendy suddenly fell to the ground. What the hell was happening? The walls groaned and seemed ready to buckle. The television fell, and she could barely hear it shatter. Lights flickered and went out. Ponies cried out in alarm. Chunks of plaster fell from the ceiling. 

Then it all stopped.

Luna and Shǔguāng both lit their horns as the shaking ended, but it seemed unneeded because Andri was glowing brightly, illuminating the entire room. 

"What just—" Charles started to ask, but Andri was already running for the door. 

"Check on your children!" Andri ordered. "What the fuck has Sunset down now!"

Wendy didn't need any more prompting; she was already running for the door as well. Luna and Shǔguāng simply vanished, and there wasn't time to see what everyone else was doing. Charles was right beside Wendy as she ran. The room was left in darkness as Andri exited. 

Guards were already out in the foyer, running with flashlights towards the basement. All the lights were out, and Andri was already going through the doorway to the basement. This made it difficult for Wendy to find her way to the stairs. She groped around in the dark until Charles pulled her and put her hand on the banister. 

They moved quickly as they could up the stairs, and when they reached the second floor, they could hear all three of the girls up and crying. It was still a struggle to make it to them; there was even less light here than down below. Why was the power out? Was this some sort of attack? Had Sunset lost control of a spell?  All that mattered was her girls' safety.

They eventually found the door for their room and the one for Charlotte and Kristin's room. Wendy went into her room to find Andrea, and Charles went to care for the other two. As soon as she opened the door, she found Andrea huddled in a corner, glowing brightly and whimpering. Why was she glowing? What was wrong now?

"Andrea! Andrea! Are you okay? Talk to me!" she yelled as she hurried over to her ponified daughter. 

Andrea looked up at her as Wendy reached for her. "Mom? What happened? There was a big burst of magic. Like a lot of magic! I felt it. I still feel it."

Wendy pulled her daughter tightly to her, unconcerned that her daughter's glow might somehow burn, which, luckily, it didn't. "I don't know. Are you hurt? How do you feel? Tell me where it hurts."

"I don't hurt. I just feel weird and kinda sick. Like I ate too much, and now I'm throwing up, but not that kind of throwing up," Andrea whimpered. 

"Is she okay? Why is she glowing?" Charles asked from the doorway  

"I don't know!" Wendy cried. 

"I feel sick," Andrea whined. "I ate too much. I'm too full."

Charles hurried over and sat down beside them. "Do you think it's a crystal pony thing? Andri was glowing like this too."

That was only moderately reassuring when she didn't have a clue what it meant. "Maybe. We need to find her and ask her. How are Charlotte and Kristin?"

"Shaken up and scared, but safe," Charles assured her. "Charlotte pee'd herself and was crying about being sorry she put a hole in the wall. Kristin is gripping her stuffed animal so tightly the seams are coming undone. They stopped crying when they saw me. I told them to sit put."

Wendy shook her head. "We need to take them downstairs and get them outside. If another quake like that happens, it could bring the whole house down."

He looked her in the eyes. "We need to find that Luster Dawn pony. Andrea doesn't have other options if something is wrong with Sunset Blessing, and her time is running out."

"My time for what?" Andrea asked in a scared whimper. 

Wendy did not want to explain this. "Time to make you a pony for good, so you don't have to wear that thing anymore. You want it to come off, right?"

"Yeah," Andrea sniffled. 

Wendy turned to her husband. "Get the other two. Andrea can help lead us back downstairs since she's glowing. Hurry."

No matter what was happening with Sunset Blessing, Andrea still needed to be saved tonight.