The lights came back on when they arrived back at the bottom of the stairs. Andri also was exiting the basement door at the same time.
Wendy hurried to the crystal pony. "Is Sunset alri—"
Andri cut her off by puking all over the floor. She sat for a few seconds, taking long gasps before she dried her mouth on the back of a leg and shook her head.
"You don't want to go down there. Sunset is alive and unhurt, aside from some bruises and pissing all over herself," Andri answered at last.
"What happened?" Charles asked.
Andri looked like she was going to get sick again and sat down. She breathed heavily for a few seconds, but no vomit came. "The intruders decided to make one final try. They never agreed to leave her alone, only the rest of us. Nobody gave them the memo that Sunset was operating in god mode right now."
Wendy balled her fists in a fury. "You aren't going to let them off with a slap in the wrist again, are you? This needs to end!"
Andri stared blankly at her for a few seconds before answering. "You don't understand. They're all dead, every one of them. The unicorn she didn't even leave anything to bury. Her countering his blast is what rocked the house. We felt the feedback from that. The other ones… oh God, I can't even imagine what their last seconds felt like. Their corpses… you don't want to see it. It's too terrible. Nobody should have to die like that."
"What… what did she do?" a voice asked from the other end of the room. They all turned to see Luster Dawn with the rest of the family behind her.
Andri gulped a few times like she was swallowing vomit. "Their blood… she boiled it, every last drop. She boiled them from the inside out in their own blood, and somehow, she didn't let it evaporate. It just kept boiling, getting hotter and hotter, beyond the point there should have been any liquid left. It's still boiling, even now."
Amicus retreated from the room, and the sound of more retching could be heard in the background. Legal Brief followed after her to care for her. The elderly pony versions of Wendy and Charles just looked horrified, and Sinker had to pull them away. Mèng, Líng, Wild, and Jess all just looked grim.
"She always threatened to do that to ponies she really wanted dead," Wild said slowly. "She finally carried out her threat."
"Guess you're getting your justice," Mèng said solemnly.
Andri stood back up. "The workshop is blistering hot. It burns your hooves just stepping on the metal in there. Some of the stuff fell down and will need to be repaired, but I don't think there was any major structural damage to the house. I won't know until we do a full inspection."
"Is old lady pony me going to be okay?" Charlotte asked worriedly, sounding ready to cry.
"Luna and Shǔguāng are dealing with Sunset. She's crying, having a little emotional breakdown," Andri answered, seeming even more tired somehow. "This is only the second time she has directly killed someone, and unlike last time, she didn't knock herself out doing it. It's hitting her hard, even though she can claim self-defense. That's good, you know? Killing should hurt. She shouldn't feel okay after killing someone. Nobody should."
"The princess told me the closest thing Sunset Blessing had to a personal element was kindness, even though she could say cruel things and rage. Deep down in her heart, she's a kind soul. Kind ponies take death the hardest," Luster Dawn said as she stepped further into the room, looking at Charlotte. "If you are her, then that should speak well for you. That means you're probably a kind person too."
"I put a hole in the wall when I was scared. I'm sorry," Charlotte cried.
Luster Dawn looked at the tarp-covered entrance to the house. "Well, it seems you and your older self are similar in more than one way." She looked at the others. "She is talking about some other hole in the wall and not this one, right? This hole is from the original Sunset Blessing, correct?"
"Yeah, Charlotte can't do something like that," Charles answered. "Can someone tell us why Andrea— both Andreas, are glowing and translucent?"
"That magic feedback that rocked the house," Andri answered. "When it hit us, we absorbed as much as we could. It is like a defensive reflex, even if it was unneeded. There was so much that alone made me feel sick. We're still filtering off what we absorbed as simple light magic, which causes us to glow. It's normal crystal pony stuff. Our entire body is one big magic filter. Big scary magic goes in, and nice calm light comes out. The glow will fade in a few hours, don't worry."
"Crystal ponies aren't just that," Luster spoke up. "They can also act as magical conduits and refractors, although most mages don't take advantage of this. That's a good thing. Andrea is essentially a living, breathing artifact. It means it will help me with the casting of this spell."
Andri's eyes went wide, and she suddenly bolted towards Andrea. "The necklace! Is it okay? That scare had to cause a surge. I was pretty sure I felt multiple smaller surges after Sunset's."
"Relax, it's fine," Luster assured them. "She might have surged, but there was so much magic from Sunset's feedback there wasn't any room for her to absorb anything else."
"I broke the bed," Kristin said sheepishly.
"I put a hole in the wall, and a pie fell out. Don't be mad!" Charlotte cried.
"A pie fell out? Where'd a pie come from?" Jess asked in confusion.
"What kind of pie?" Líng asked, then whipped his gaze defensively back and forth as people looked at him. "What? I want a late-night snack!"
"I think we can worry about the pie later," Phobia said as she stepped through the doorway.
Tempest followed behind her, looking like she wanted to do murder. "I am going to strangle Sunset Blessing. That incident nearly gave Phobia a heart attack."
Phobia gestured for Tempest to calm down. "It doesn't matter. What matters is moving forward with the spell on Andrea. The workshop is not going to be available, and that was previously the most secure place to do the spell." She turned to Andri. "We need a place where this can't be recorded, and no ponies are present; these are requirements, so Luster Dawn does not cause a diplomatic incident. Where can she do it?"
Andri thought for a second. "The chapel outside. Sunset always refused to have cameras put in it. She said her time with God should be private. Cameras can see everything outside the building, but not what is happening inside."
"To the chapel then, but only Luster Dawn, little Andrea, her parents, and finally, Tempest to guard. The only ponies that should be present are little Andrea and Luster Dawn. This is not negotiable," Phobia instructed.
"I would prefer to remain at your side. Someone else may take this opportunity to attack the house, and you'll be unguarded," Tempest replied.
"Your concerns are noted and considered, but my decision still stands. Go with them," Phobia ordered.
Tempest sighed and still looked unhappy. "Yes, my Dreamwarden. Follow me, and stay close. I know the location of the chapel."
Many people only went to church when they wanted to beg God for aid. It didn't matter if you were religious or not; once you were desperate enough, you appealed to anything you could.
Wendy wasn't religious, but she still said a prayer as Luster Dawn made her final preparations. Andrea was sleeping again. Turning back into a human with the wound she had would be traumatic, but the spell warping and changing the body so rapidly would be traumatizing as well. It was best to keep her asleep through the procedure. Wendy and Charles sat on a bench as Luster sat in front of the altar, looking Andrea over with her horn.
Luster seemed far too ecstatic while having Andrea's life in her hooves. "I think I fully understand how this necklace works. It really is a brilliant and complex piece of magic. Just the kind of thing I would expect from Sunset Blessing. I have studied all her work, even though almost nopony ever gets access to it. The princess has her collected works in the restricted section. This necklace could do with a better crystal to anchor it, but it's understandable. She had to work with Earth materials. Using Equestrian emerald might provide an indefinite charge."
"I'm sure the necklace is fascinating, but you're supposed to be saving our daughter," Charles snapped.
Luster's horn went out briefly before reigniting. "Sorry, I'm trying to see if I can cast the spell with the necklace still on. That minimizes risk to your daughter."
Wendy gasped. "Can you do it?"
The pink uniform looked down at Andrea. "Yes, I think so. The theory is sound. To you, I will seem to be turning her back into a human, but that is only the necklace doing what its function is. I can work with the necklace, and when she takes it off, she'll be a healthy filly. I've studied all of Sunset Blessing and Sunset Shimmer's work. I can do this."
"So if she wears the necklace, she'll be human?" Wendy asked.
Luster seemed reluctant to answer. "Well, yes, if she did. However, I'm pretty sure the filly expressed a desire not to have to wear it anymore, and it does belong to Sunset Blessing, and she'll want it back. Andrea wouldn't be able to go out and about with this thing anyway. If it got lost or stolen, your government would be furious."
"Let's worry about one thing at a time, hun," Charles said, rubbing her back. "The important thing is Andrea is healthy and happy, no matter what form she is in."
Wendy sighed. "I know, it's just that so much is changing, and I worry having her being a whole different species than us will cause problems. You heard what happened to Andri, right? After she transformed, her husband and kids didn't; she ended up having to get divorced."
"I'm sorry that happened to her and a lot of other families, but it didn't happen to every family like that," Luster assured them. "I happen to know about Doctor Middleton, the pony-eared human inside— I recognized her right away. I'm a big fan of her work too. I hope Luna lets me stick around long enough to talk to her and Sunset Blessing. I have so many questions."
"What about her?" Wendy prompted before the unicorn could fangirl anymore.
Lister looked embarrassed. "Right, anyway, Doctor Middleton and her brother transformed when they were kids, but neither of their parents did. Their family didn't break up over it. They had to make adjustments, sure, but taking care of a human child and taking care of a pony foal isn't that dramatically different. They're all just kids, no matter what shape they are, and kids need their parents. It would be best if you talked to Doctor Middleton for advice about that. She should know."
"Worry about it later. We'll have a good heart-to-heart with the grumpy half-pony scientist. She needs to do the spell," Charles reiterated. "Hopefully, Andrea won't end up as half-and-half— although, I'm sure we'd love her all the same if she did."
Luster gestured them to keep their distance. "Okay, time to do this. Cross your tails— um, arms, hands, whatever humans do."
The unicorn's horn lit brightly, and she began to work.
The morning after…
Phobia stood in the bedroom, feeling the wall with her hooves.
"Are you certain it was this wall, Charlotte?" she questioned.
The little girl nodded rapidly. "It is! I promise! I put a hole in it. I'm not fibbing!"
The Dreamwarden nodded. "I believe you." She then turned her attention to the evidence on the floor, a pie, but a strange pie; its crust was purple and smelled awful.
"Is Andrea okay?" Charlotte asked worriedly. "Mommy and Daddy won't let us see her."
What to say to this child? She had to be honest. She could technically lie while in the flesh, but she had promised herself never to do so.
"She will be," Phobia assured the child. "She's going to be a little different when you see her. There were complications, but nothing she can't live with. Do you know Auntie Jessie downstairs? Andrea is going to be sorta like her, in a way. She's partly human and partly pony, but she's still the same sister you've always known. She just needs some extra rest and time to adjust to her altered form. She's got extra limbs and needs time to get used to that. I'm sure your parents will let you talk to her before the day is through. Please don't make fun of her for how she looks. She needs to know you still love her, even though she looks a bit different, even from Jess."
"What kind of different? Different how?" Charlotte asked. She didn't seem horrified, only expressing childlike curiosity. Of course, an adult had just told her that her sister was going to be alright, and six-year-olds would treat such things as words of God.
Honestly, always honesty. Never speak a lie. What to say? The truth was the only answer.
"Do you know what a centaur is, Charlotte?" Phobia asked as she picked up the pie with her wings and examined it more closely. The stench made her want to vomit. It didn't seem to be because of rot. This seemed relatively recently baked. The ingredients themselves were putrid.
"No," Charlotte said, shaking her head.
Phobia sighed. "She has a bottom half like a pony and a top half like a human, and her hair and fur is kind of sparkly like she was as a pony. Even her skin is slightly crystalline in nature."
"Does that mean like crystal?" Charlotte asked.
"Yes," Phobia answered as she lifted the pie and looked at the engraving on the bottom of the pie tin. The smell was so bad she didn't want to open her mouth to say more than she had to. She envied young Charlotte's human nose. The kid didn't know what reak she had let into the house.
"Can she give me pony rides?" Charlotte asked in a hopeful tone.
"Let's not do that. I'm not sure how strong she is yet. You could hurt her," Phobia answered calmly. This pie was a more significant concern than Andrea's condition, but she had to downplay it. She loathed to do it, but if this was what she feared it was, she might need to install a sleeper assassin in the house. "About the hole that had been here, can you describe it?"
Charlotte shook her head. "It was dark; I couldn't see it!"
Phobia frowned. That meant the portal hadn't given off any light source. Hopefully, that didn't mean it was completely invisible. The parents and Kristin had some heightened strength, in line with what former earth ponies had, even though they'd never actually been earth ponies in this timeline. Charlotte had been the big question mark up until last night. What had that other Triss done? Leaks, but to where? Equestria would be safe enough, but it might not be Equestria. Such things were dangerous. Who knew what was on the other side? If it got too bad, something would have to be done to ensure the worst didn't happen.
"Tempest? Can you bring me something airtight to store this pie in? I don't care if it is a Tupperware container. I need something," Phobia called out as she set the disgusting thing down again. This didn't seem like any pie from Equestria or Earth.
She wasn't going to do something so monstrous as murder a child out of speculation, but this bore watching. From the window of Charlotte's mind and with spies in the flesh, she would learn of the actual threat if it existed. It saddened her to do, but their world had to be protected.
I'm sorry, Charlotte, but I fear you have escaped one monster pony outside your window only to be found by another. I pray that all I'll ever have to do is watch you sleep.
The end…for now.