Chapter 84: Hindrance
(Equestria) (Canterlot Castle Library – Starswirl’s lab)
Yes… that’s it! Adjust that little gizmo here and put the magical accelerator there, and… done.
Sunset Shimmer let out a satisfied sigh as she took a good long look at her work. The new magic portal to the other world was coming along pretty well. They had to macgyver a few parts here and there on the last stretch but she was more than certain that it’ll work. She took a little inspiration from Princess Twilight’s handiwork with the portal to the human realm too, which gave her the foundation for the whole project.
Just a few more touches and they should be able to replicate Starswirl’s ability to tear through Limbo and reach the Yaztec world. That was of course… if it actually worked.
The whole device was based off both Starswirl, Twilight, Starlight, a few of Yaztec Shaman ingenuity, and several made-up processes along the way. It all honesty, everything they were doing right now was pretty much just a blind shot in the dark. Without the ability to test it, there was no telling what kind of result the device will have.
For all they know, the Portal Stone would send them on a one way trip down at the bottom of the sea, or an active volcano, or an active volcano under the sea – or… worse yet… a world ruled by Pinkie Pie.
Brrr… no thanks.
While it was exciting to delve into the unknown, it still takes an immense amount of courage to take a leap.
“Alright, that’s the last of it.” Princess Cadance announced. The ruler of the Crystal Empire has been an immense help these last few days. While her knowledge in magic wasn’t quite on par with the Princess of Friendship, she’s poured all of herself into aiding her endeavor. “All the pieces are in place – or… at least I think it is. The instruction manual didn’t exactly specify the details.”
The ‘Instruction Manual’ was pretty much Starswirl’s journal. They were lucky enough already just to decipher his terrible horn-writing. Trying to replicate his formula of bridging two worlds together was perhaps near impossible. So instead they had to improvise a few things.
They built the machinery around one of the magic mirrors following Princess Twilight’s design. Her formula on stabilizing the portal to the human realm provided much needed insight. All that was left was to use the object from Ezaquatel to focus the Portal Stone, which… maybe and… hopefully, will provide them with a gateway to the world to the world they desire. If all goes according to plan, they should be able to mount a rescue for Sunburst and bring him back here before whatever shadow monster finds them. If he’s even still ali…
No. Don’t think that.
All these ifs, should and maybes weren’t helping. They had to be positive. SHE had to be positive.
She was the one who sparked this investigation in the first place. It was her responsibility to bring that pony home – one way or another. For his sake… and for Starlight.
With a sigh, Sunset nodded. “Only one way to find out. Ready when you are, Cadance.”
The Pink Alicorn agreed, turning to her husband. “Shining. If you would?”
“I’m not sure about this.” The former Captain of the Royal Guards put forth his worries. “It doesn’t sound safe. What if something goes wrong?”
“We’re trying to bridge two worlds together. Nothing about it is safe.” Sunset retorted back, understanding full well of the unicorn’s concerns. “That’s why we brought him over to make a countermeasure.”
Stygian stepped forth with a staff in hand. “In the event of a shadow monster attack, I’ve developed this special rod which mimics the effect of the spell that protects the Crystal Empire. Combining some of Princess Cadance’s magic along with a focusing crystal from the Crystal Empire, I was able to replicate the powers of the Crystal Heart. Though to a lesser degree. I call it: The Heart-Stick.” The pony smiled for a moment only to realize that the applause he was waiting for wasn’t coming. “Ahehe… the name’s still pending. I’ll come up with a better one later. In short, the staff should repulse any creature or spell made from dark magic.”
A near literal ‘Shot in the Dark’.
“I know that you’re worried, Shiny. But that’s the reason why we brought you along.” Cadance cooed to her husband. “We’ll deal with whatever comes. And Sunset and I made extra preparations should things get out of hand. So… please?”
The guardsman sighed but complied nonetheless. But before he could conjure a spell, the door to the lab opened up.
Who?
“Uh… hello?”
“Starlight!” Sunset rushed over to the purple pony giving her the biggest hug she could make. The unicorn looked good. Certainly a lot better than she was a few days ago. At least the rings under her eyes were gone. “You’re awake! And you’re here. How are you feeling?”
Starlight recoiled a little bit and smiled weakly in return. “Better. Well… sort of. I’m still feeling a little groggy.” Probably the after effects of the sleep spell. Sunset experienced it once or twice before during cram sessions. “What did I miss?”
…
…
…
“Whoa… that’s a lot to take in.” Starlight sighed after listening intently for the next ten minutes. “Was I really that bad?”
“You were exhausted, Starlight.” Cadance confirmed it. “You wouldn’t eat, or sleep. You barely even talked to anypony.”
“I… guess I really must’ve had my head on backward.”
“You were merely worried about your friend.” The Princess added, patting her on the back. “Believe me when I say that I understand exactly how you feel. I once tried to protect the Crystal Empire by myself when Princess Celestia assigned me to be its new ruler. It didn’t exactly pan out as I hoped. But you’re here now and you’re looking better than ever. And you’ve come at the perfect time too. Sunset was just about to try out her portal experiment.”
Starlight’s eyes shot up. “The portal? Wait… you actually managed to recreate Starswirl’s magic portal?”
Recreate? No. Macgyver it? Most definitely. Their experiment was practically a Frankenstein monster of a mess combining a little bit of everyone’s theory, including her own.
“Well… not exactly.” Sunset bobbed her head around. “We figured that going through Starswirl’s method would only land us somewhere else. Thankfully I’ve developed a better way of bridging worlds. The only thing we need to do now is test it. And if everything goes according to plan, we’ll be in Ezaquatel in no time and we can get in there and rescue Sunburst.”
“You… did all this in just two days?”
“She had help.” Stygian answered earning a shocked expression from the headmare.
“Stygian? I… I didn’t even noticed you.”
“Yeah, I get that a lot. It’s kind of my special ability.”
Sunset motioned her forward. “So… you ready to save our friend?”
She smiled. “Always.”
With the unicorns ready for their adventure, Cadancec gave her husband a nod. He quietly lifted his head upward with his horn glowing with power. In a brief moment a powerful barrier surrounded the newly erected portal encasing it in a dome of light.
“Alright. It’s ready.” The guardpony declared. “I’ve specified the shield to your design request. Anything and anyone can go inside, but nothing can come out of it. Not unless I allow it.”
Sunset gave a grateful nod. The barrier was definitely top of its class. She could practically feel the radiance. That’s Twilight’s brother for you. It’s no wonder he was chosen to be the Captain of the Royal Guards.
All that was left now was to activate the Portal Stone and keep your fingers crossed.
… or hooves – or something.
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Princess Celestia shook her head in disapproval when she arrived at the care room where her former mentor lay in recovery. The poor old unicorn was still bedridden with hardly a reaction despite the weeks he’s been hospitalized here.
The nurses say that he was recovering nicely and that everything was within nominal conditions. It was quite normal for unicorns to suffer magical exhaustion. But due to his… advance age, a full recovery may take a tad bit longer. That was the excuse anyway – and Celestia accepted that.
But she knew Starswirl. That pony was the most powerful wizard of his time. Even in his old age, the unicorn could handle a pack of Timberwolves with his eyes closed. He knew a dictionary’s worth of spells, and many more she probably didn’t even know about. Twilight’s admiration of him was not misguided as she too knew his capabilities. So to see him in such a state worried her greatly. Whatever made him use all of his magic was definitely an opponent far too dangerous for the realm.
She hated seeing him like this.
The two of them may have their constant bickering and disagreement but he was still her mentor. Seeing him all bruised and bandaged was distasteful. It reminded her of that time when they had to face a mighty hydra in the swamplands of Equestria. And the drawings on his face were…
“Luna! Stop that!” The Alicorn of the night froze up like a deer in headlights as she was caught redhanded. “Can’t you see he’s recovering?”
“So what? It’s not like he’ll feel anything. Besides, I was bored. I’ve already counted the tiles on the ceiling, watched birds fly across the window, and played chess against myself.” She flew over to the table moving a rook to a new position and sighed. “I loss.”
“Well, your boredom aside – you do realize that you’re watching over our mentor. That’s a big responsibility.”
“Former mentor.” Luna corrected. “I haven’t learned a thing from him for over a thousand moons.”
“You never really paid attention to any of his classes.”
“Because they were unnecessarily complicated! He always adds extra steps to every step in every process like he was trying to control every inkling of what we do. I swear, that pony can turn a recipe on making toast into a fifty page book.” A little excessive but not unfounded. Starswirl was annoying that way. “Besides, he could certainly use a makeover. Did you know that he still kept all of his clothes from back when we were still fillies? The pony could benefit going through Canterlot and getting some new threads.”
“Everyone has their own ways of expressing themselves. Besides, there’s no need to change anything about him.”
“Not even shaving that overbrown beard of his?” The sun princess paused. “Come on. We both dreamed about seeing that face without that bushy mess on him for ages. I got a clipper right here. We can find out right now.”
“Luna… no.”
“Come on. Just a little trim. I’ll even settle for the sideburns.” It was tempting. Oh so tempting. Even as fillies they never saw what was inside that god awful beard of his. They even bet that the old pony was hiding something within. Luna claims that it was a tattoo that he got from his youth, or even a scar. But neither of them could be certain. A little peek now would settle their age-long curiosity for good.
Still that wouldn’t be the right thing to do. She was the elder sister here. She needed to set an example.
“Just a little off the sides.”
Luna grinned.
The two royal alicorns quietly crept to the old pony’s side, watching him wheeze out pleasantly. He seemed like such a defenseless unicorn. Which was contrast to the old, bitter, and somewhat overbearing mentor that they knew back in the day.
He was too open for attacks. And there may be no other opportunities like this ever again.
Just a little trim and a quick peek. Nothing more.
Just a quick… peek…
“NO!”
“GAHHHHHH!!” The Princesses screamed as Starswirl bolted upward from his bed, eyes bulging madly. “It was all Celestia’s idea!”
You little minx!
“Wh… what happened!? Where am I? Who…?”
Celestia quickly recovered and held her former mentor steady. “Calm down Starswirl. It’s ok. You’re safe now.”
“I… I am?” The wizard glanced around worryingly, looking like something would jump just out of the corner of his eye. “I… really am… back?”
“Yes. And you’re safe here.” Celestia soothed him. “Now take a deep breath and lie down. Luna – be a dear and get the nurses.”
But Starswirl shook off his ease before Luna could answer. He swatted Celestia’s hooves away, pushing himself off the bed. “No… no! There’s no time! The portal! I have to get to the portal immediately!” His legs however gave way the moment they touched the floor.
“Easy there, you old coot.” Luna steadied him up with a bit of her leftover magic. “You’re not as spry as you used to be and you only just woke up after two weeks of recovery.”
“Put me down this instant! I have to get back to the portal before it’s too late! Ezaquatel. The whole thing… it’s…”
“Calm yourself.” Luna added, scoffing. “If you’re talking about your precious portals, I’m afraid you’re too late.”
“WHAT!?”
“They were destroyed.” Celestia clarified much to her mentor’s fear. Hearing his greatest work destroyed must be quite the shock. “There was an incident after your arrival. And the ensuing chaos damaged nearly all of your portals.”
“So… it’s… destroyed?” He wheezed, barely above a whisper, eyes still widened.
“Destroyed, shattered, broken into a million pieces. Take your pick.” Luna added which Celestia eyed her which chagrin. “What? It’s true. No point in beating around the bushes.”
“Then it’s… done.” Starswirl breathed a sigh, though for what Celestia couldn’t tell.
“I know that the portals to the other worlds were your greatest creations, Starswirl. It cannot be easy losing so much. But rest assured that we are doing everything in our powers to restore them. Even as I speak, Sunset Shimmer and her friends are repairing the Portal to Ezaquatel.”
That alone caused his calm demeanor to shatter. “WHAT!? No no no no no! We must stop them immediately!”
“Stop… Sunset? But why?”
“The portals must remain closed! ‘He’ is there. And he cannot be allowed back!”
“He?” Luna caught on. “He who?” She never got an answer when the man vanished from her bubble. “Oh great. Guards! We’ve got a geezer on the loose.”
“This is no time for jokes Luna. We need to find him, quickly!”
“Of course. I’ll get my tranquilizer darts.”
“Luna!”
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Ok… here goes nothing. Sunset took a deep breath as she gazed upon the mirror. The Portal Stone hummed as she poured a bit of her magic inside, activating the dormant spell within.
Within seconds the statuette pulsed, its eyes glowing with a pale light before shooting a beam towards the mirror. The object above it also reacted, sending a hint of its leftover essence, directing the bridge to its source. The machine built around the portal wiggled and rattled, energy coursing through every frame and wire. It almost sounded like it was going to break.
But luckily it didn’t. And soon enough the image in the mirror began to warp and change to a completely different scenery.
So far so good.
No water flooding in, no lava pouring from the other side, and no shadow monster thrashing at them. Disaster was averted…… hopefully.
“Yes… that’s it!” Princess Cadance cheered. “I think it’s working! The harmonic stabilizers and the magic filters are keeping the energy compressed.” That made perfect sense! I think. Honestly it’s hard to keep track of all the technical stuff. They waited for a few seconds more before the rattling finally died down. The mirror vibrated like an annoying phone for a while more before it stopped, leaving them with a swirling vortex to another world.
“It worked! I can’t believe it!” Sunset cheered before pausing. “Uh… I mean… yeah. Totally. I knew it’d work. Ahehehe.”
“You actually did it.” Starlight gawked in amazement. “You actually managed to open a portal… to an entirely other world.” Heck yeah we did. Forget about Starswirl and his messy horn writing. Who needs a thousand moon-old diary when you can just make things up as you go? “That’s… incredible. This is actually quite impressive. I don’t think even Princess Twilight has done anything like this before.”
And that’s the kind of praise you won’t hear anywhere else in this world.
“I’m not that good.” Sunset blushed back shyly. “But at least we know the portal is working. The other question is: Is it leading us to Ezaquatel?” None of them have actually been to Ezaquatel before and have only heard the description from Starswirl himself. For all they know it could be sending them to a whole’nother world. “Only one way to find out. You ready?”
“Always.” Starlight nodded, both prancing to the edge of the protective barrier. “Hang on Sunburst. We’re coming to save you.”
“Alright then. Here we--.”
“NOOOOO!!!” A voice broke through the cheer ruining the moment. The gang turned over to the source by the door, finding Starswirl barging through, nearly knocking them out of their hinges, eyes shooting dangerously mad as he saw the newly made portal.
“Starswirl?”
“Close it! Close it now!” He galloped… or in this case limped towards them, before falling just a short way from Shining and shouting wearily. “We can’t allow him passage here!”
Passage? Passage for who?
Without even waiting for a response, Starswirl took matters into his own hooves and angrily fired a bolt of energy from his horn. It struck the device breaking a piece of it off creating a domino effect that destabilized the whole machine entirely.
“It’s gonna blow!” Someone yelled out as they all ducked for cover just as the machine exploded to bits and pieces. Thankfully Shining’s barrier held through limiting the damage inside.
“The portal!” Sunset cried watching all her work go up in flames. She scanned the debris finding nothing but wreckage within, save but the Portal Stone. “Our work. Everything. Wh… why!? Starswirl! What did you do!?”
The old wizard breathed a sigh of relief somehow. “I just saved us from a terrible danger, you foolish girl! Don’t you understand you just endangered all of Equestria by opening that portal!?”
“Danger? What danger?” She never got an answer seeing how Starswirl konked out a minute later, hitting the floor with a defining thud.
What in Celestia’s name?
(Human world) (CHS)
It was first period. Another ordinary day in CHS. The students were in, the teacher was on the board, and everything was right in the world.
But not for Twilight. Her mind was barely in the present. Even less so focused on the lesson being taught. And honestly no one could blame her.
What they saw in the basement yesterday brought out so many questions. There was a fully functioning lab down there with equipment that were about ten maybe twenty years old. And despite their age, she could tell that they were probably still advance during their time.
A life support system, heart rate monitors, even an MRI scanner. Those were some of the most expensive medical equipment money could buy. It’s like someone tried to turn that whole basement into some kind of private hospital. And knowing the previous owner of the house, she can surmise that it belonged to Flash or his family. The only thing she couldn’t really figure out was the crib at the very center of the room.
Was there a baby involved in this? Did Flash’s family indulge in some dark ritual? So many questions, and no answers. Even the gang had their own speculations. Rainbow even entertained the idea that they were growing some kind of homunculus to take over the world, which was ridiculous.
You need a bio lab to even think of making those, not medical equipment.
Either way, they decided to leave the questions, and the lab, alone for now as they returned their focus on their new magic. So far all they know is that they’ve developed new abilities after making their magical handshake with Flash. Electrical powers, Green Thumb, Buoyancy, and now… animal-morphing. And if all of them got new abilities…
There was a good chance she would too.
I wonder what it could be. It had to be related to my original telekinesis powers seeing how everyone else seemed closely related.
Maybe she could control gravity? Fly without wings? Maybe even something completely unique.
Oh I just can’t wait! I’ll have to talk to Flash about this and let him know. Who knows what else this magical handshake could apply.
“Ahem… Twilight Sparkle?” The girl froze when she realized her name being called. “Are you still with us?”
“Ah… yes Ms. Cheerilee. I was just umm… adding some finishing touches to my notes.” That was a lame excuse but the teacher didn’t seem to mind it. Dang it. She needs to focus. School was going on. She can’t allow her grades to be affected.
“Anyway before we dismiss. I would like to announce our school’s representatives to the upcoming Brain Blast Competition in Everton Academy.” Oh right. She totally forgot about that tournament. With everything that’s happened, it must’ve slipped off her mind. She must’ve taken the tests without even realizing it. “Compiling your scores on the recent exams, two individuals stand out. Twilight Sparkle, with her perfect A+, will be our lead representative.”
A natural choice in the matter. She was the school’s resident genius after all.
“And her partner is…”
Micro Chips rose from his seat. “I shall be more than happy to represent CHS in this endeavor of mind and matters. My vast knowledge in advance robotics will undoubtedly win us the grand pri…”
“… Adagio Dazzle.”
…
…
…
Micro Chips froze mid-sentence as his glasses fell off his nose, shattering into a million pieces on the floor. It was followed by a collective with every head in the room turning towards her.
Or to be more precise, the Siren sitting beside her.
“Oh… goodie.” Adagio grinned, eyes rolling boorishly as she returned to filing her nails.
“Th… that can’t be right.” Micro Chips broke out of his trance, just barely standing on his feet, wheezing heavily like he was about to suffer a panic attack. “A… are you sure, ma’am?”
The teacher seemed just as equally mystified as everyone, but she looked at her notes, scratching the back of her head questionably. But in the end she shrugged. “The test scores don’t lie. I double checked all of it. According to the latest exams, Adagio scored just two points below Twilight. She answered every question meticulously and correctly so… she’s… in?”
“H… ha… hama hava… hamaaa…?”
Thud!
“Oh my god! Micro Chips!”
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“What did you do?”
Adagio paused for a moment in her locker, eyeing back at the nerd who followed her. “What could you possibly mean?”
“Don’t give me that look! There’s no way you could’ve scored higher than Micro Chips. He’s like… one of the smartest kids in school!”
“Third smartest, you mean.” She retorted with that same evil grin she held all morning, all the while eyeing as the school nurse carried Micro Chips away from class. The poor boy must’ve suffered a panic attack when he realized he lost his shot at the big league.
“Principal Celestia was very clear! No magic allowed!” Twilight whispered back angrily.
But again the Siren brushed her off. “Oh please. Like I’d need to waste any of my precious magic to answer such simple questions. Advance-Trigonometry is child’s play these days compared to what I had to go through back then. Humans really do have short memories.”
“You really expect me to believe that you aced one of the most advance tests in school on your first try?”
Her eyes narrowed down threateningly. “Is it so hard to believe that someone as gorgeous as I to be equally as intelligent as you?”
“Those were super advance questions. It took me months of study and preparations just to understand the formula. Even Micro Chips worked overtime just to get an A on the test. How did you even understand which equation to use?”
“You don’t. You only use the first two.” Adagio scoffed. “That Cheerilee might be smart, but she’s not exactly clever herself. She’s a complete softy, especially with that countryside bumpkin she’s dating.” They’ve been trying to go subtle but pretty much half of the school was already in on the scoop. “After that, it’s just the matter of getting inside her head. Once you know how she thinks, you can pretty much just go on from there. It’s not exactly rocket science.”
That sounded… kind of logical. Sort of. Adagio was pretty much identifying her teacher in her own way. And now that she mentioned it, the questions in the test did felt a little too clean, too easy. At least to her. Ms. Cheerilee loved her students. Caring and nurturing them without putting too much strain on their brains. Maybe that’s why she’s so popular around school.
Granted Canterlot High wasn’t exactly as stellar in studies like the students in Crystal Prep. But she had to give them some credit of trying.
And Adagio’s analysis on the questions was right. It only needed two formulas. Not like the other tests.
Could it be that…
“Adagio… are you actually smart?”
The leader of the Sirens rolled her eyes. “I’m not even gonna bother answering that question. Besides, none of that is relevant here.” The Siren continued with a groan. “Only the competition matters. The Brain Blast trial is going to be host in a few days, and as I’ve learned: It has a big cash prize to the winners, and I intend to win it. With that kind of money we can finally move out of that crummy apartment and live an actual life of luxury around here. No more scrounging around for scraps or working my butt off in overtime for that extra pay.”
Looks like someone was having money-trouble. Twilight sighed as she felt like she could relate.
“Well… as long as you’re not using your magic. Principal Celestia already has enough of magic around here.”
“What about that redhead friend of yours?” Adagio added, changing the subject. “Isn’t she supposed to be here too? I figured she’d be in this whole Brain Dead competition seeing her grades.” True. Sunset would make an excellent partner. But she’s off to a magical emergency in the other world.
“She’s… busy.” Twilight was then rudely interrupted when her phone began to ring, showing Timber’s name on screen.
Seeing that name alone was all that was needed to bring her mood down in an instant. All the bad memories from that day churned back to the surface making her smile go sour. She immediately recalled their little spat, and the revelation of her own feelings in this whole relationship. There was just so much to unpack here it was hard enough to concentrate.
“Whoa, what happened to you?” Adagio said with mild surprise, sensing the immediate change in her mood. “I can smell your foul mood from here.”
“It’s… nothing. Just someone I don’t really want to talk to right now.”
Her eyes lit up in interest. “Oooh? And here I thought you had a rock solid friendship with the rest of your gang.”
“It’s not them. It’s… someone else. We… kinda had a little fight and… I don’t think we handled it all that well.” And when I say ‘WE’ I pretty much mean just ‘Me’.
“Oh… a lover’s spat? My favorite kind of conflict. They can be absolutely delicious. Please… tell me more.” She grinned evilly which was quite annoying.
Twilight gave her a glare. “Don’t you have another class to be getting to?”
“Fine.” She waved it off. “So anyway. I guess we’ll be partners in this whole Brain Dead competition. Tata.”
“It’s Brain Blast.” But that girl was already far gone for her to hear. “Ugh… this is going to be a disaster.” And speaking of disasters, Timber was calling a second time. Her phone was buzzing, with his name flashing on screen. Twilight couldn’t help but let out a groan. His timing was downright terrible. And she knew that if she answered his call now, he’ll probably try to invite her to another date which she had no motivation or intentions in going. That was simply going to make their breakup even harder to do. If anything, this clearly shows that she needed to end things with him, soon. If not… well… then this might become a bigger problem than before.
She needed advice from a friend. Someone who was an expert at relationships.
And thankfully she knew just the person to ask.
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Ugh… this stupid headache. How am I supposed to get anything done at all with this stupid headache?
Rarity groaned irritably as she pulled her book from her locker, feeling her head pounding back. It’s been almost a week now since this whole migraine started and it’s been getting worse every day.
At the beginning it started off lightly. Nothing more than an irritation. A minor ache that comes by every few times, but then goes away later on. She brushed it off as just a mere lack of sleep. But afterward it only went from bad to downright unbearable. No sooner did it become like someone was taking a jackhammer and pound it against her head.
The visit to the hospital yesterday provided some relief. The doctor prescribed her with some medication to relieve her of the worst of it. He said that it was because of stress which was ridiculous.
This is Rarity we’re talking about here. Pressure was her middle name!
Actually it wasn’t but you get the idea.
She once handled the entirely school’s Spring Dance competition and fill in for Ms. Hemline’s collection without even breaking a sweat. What could possibly be stressing her out so much?
Speaking of not knowing, her memories of these last few days have also been kind of muddled too. She’s been missing out on little gossips here and there, and even blanking out on conversations. Heck, she even forgot that she had homework, which is a complete no-no. So… either she was really losing it, or maybe she was sick with something else entirely.
Maybe it might be a good idea to have the school nurse do a double checkup just to be on the safe side. And if it does get worse, she might even ask for a day-off from school.
Perhaps it’s time for her to take it easy around here. Maybe sit back and enjoy the finer things in life.
“Rarity!” And as if on cue, Twilight appeared. “Sorry to bother you so early. But do you have a minute? I need some advice.”
“Darling, of course. I always have time for my friends.” Rarity gave a singsong reply. “Now what kind of advice are you looking for? Fashion advice? The latest trend in today’s look? Or perhaps an invitation of the best soiree in town?”
Twilight gave two blinks. “Uh… well… none of those. I was kind of hoping for a relationship advice.”
The fashionista’s eye twitched and her head began to ache. For some reason she was having a grave sense of déjà vu – and not the good kind either. This felt all too familiar. If there was one thing she knew about her closest friends and relationship, it somehow… strangely always seem to involve a certain rich boy. And she can’t handle any more of that.
“Before we continue.” Rarity spoke, eyeing her friend suspiciously. “This talk wouldn’t happen to involve a certain blue haired guitar player, would it?”
Twilight stared back blankly. “Who? No. It’s about me and Timber.”
“Oh thank goodness.” She let out a sigh of relief which only earned her a curious glance. “Um… what I mean to say is: If that’s the case then I’m all yours.”
(Equestria) (Canterlot Castle)
Sunset was visibly upset. Why wouldn’t she be? Some old geezer just wrecked her whole two days’ project with a blast of his horn without so much of an explanation. She didn’t care if that old timer was the Legendary Starswirl the Bearded, you don’t blow up someone’s work to a million pieces just because you felt like it. If he was anypony else, she probably would’ve given them a stern talking – or at the very least, a very mean glare.
“Alright Starswirl. Take a breath.” Princess Celestia coddled her former mentor as the nurse passed him a cup of warm tea. “Take it from the beginning.”
“Yes… yes of course.” The old wizard responded, still looking about as weakened as he woke. “Forgive my earlier outburst. I just need a minute to compose myself.”
“That minute’s passed.” Sunset spat. “You just destroyed all of our work just now! We were so close to discovering if the portal actually functioned!”
“Easy there, Sunset.” The Pony of Love restrained her. “I know that you’re mad. But why don’t we give Starswirl a chance to explain himself? There has to be a good reason why he did what he did.” Oh there better be. Because getting the parts to rebuild the portal was going to be a pain in the neck. He was lucky that the Portal Stone wasn’t damaged or he wouldn’t be hearing the end of it all. “You mentioned a great danger Starswirl. What did you mean by that?”
“I meant exactly what I said.” Starswirl began. “Something evil has consumed the lands of Ezaquatel. Something vile and powerful. It took nearly every ounce of my energy just to keep it at bay and return here. Had you opened that portal, it would’ve given that thing a path to Equestria and wreck untold havoc upon our world.”
“What was it?”
“I… I’m not really sure myself.” He admitted tiringly. “The world of Ezaquatel has changed much since I last visited it over a thousand moons ago. It used to be a vibrant, lush place full of life and magic. The folks there were lively and cheerful. But now it is a bare and desolate land. Whatever power that used to be there has… vanished completely. And I’m more than certain that monster is the one responsible. Ugh…”
“Starswirl?”
“Sorry. Just… thinking about that battle is taxing on my mind. I do not know what creature attacked me. But it was certainly far more powerful than anything I’ve ever faced. Even…… more powerful than the Pony of Shadow.” Stygian flinched at the name.
“But the Pony of Shadow was banished.” Starlight reminded. “Twilight and the others trapped it in Limbo.”
“Creatures of darkness are not uncommon in worlds brimming with magic. But yes. The likelihood of it being the Pony of Shadow is low. For all we know, it could simply be a counterpart of ours. Whatever the case, we need not worry anymore. The danger has passed. With the portal destroyed, that creature has no way of entering our realm. It cannot harm anyone here.”
“Not everyone.” Sunset chimed in. “Sunburst is still trapped there.”
“Sunburst?”
“He went over to the other world to find answers. But when Trixie came back, a shadow monster tried to come through and broke the mirror. He’s been stuck there for days. We’re trying to rebuild the portal to rescue him.”
“Oh dear.” Starswirl gasped. “That’s… most unfortunate. If a pony like Sunburst encountered such a beast. It cannot bode well.”
“Then it’s important that we rebuild the portal now so we can rescue him.”
“NO!” The old wizard snapped alarming everypony in the room. “We simply cannot. Opening a portal to that realm knowing that a monster of that size is lingering there is simply too risky. If that… thing… somehow find its way to Equestria it could cause untold damage across our world.”
“But then what about Sunburst?” Starlight pleaded. “We can’t just leave him there.”
Starswirl grunted and put his hoof down. “I’m sorry, Starlight. I feel for you and understand that you care much for your friend, Sunburst. But you have to think of our world as a whole.”
“But he’s your friend too!”
“And it pains me just as much to leave him stranded there. But you have to understand. If you open that portal, you will be putting not just all of us here in danger, but every other creature throughout Equestria. And… as much as it urks me to say this: If Sunburst has been trapped there with that monster, then I’m afraid…”
No…
“… he’s gone.”
“B… but…” Starlight teared up. “There’s no way of knowing that. He could still be there, waiting for us. We have to try.”
But then Celestia came between them, flaunting her wings of authority. “Though it may seem distasteful. I… have to agree with Starswirl on this.”
“Princess!?”
“If that creature is half as dangerous as Starswirl says, it could pose a great threat to all the creatures of Equestria. As its former ruler, I still have to look out for its denizens. I’m… sorry Starlight.”
“But we have a solution for that.” Sunset pointed out to the Heart-Stick. “Stygian made a counter spell against dark magic and shadow monsters. With it we can protect ourselves and Equestria from harm. That’s why you brought him here, isn’t it?”
“That is true.” Luna nodded in agreement joining her side for once. “Perhaps we should grant them at least a chance, sister. We did request his help for this very reason.”
“That was before we understood the threat posed to us.” The sun pony pointed out. “I’m sorry Starlight. I know it must be hard. But I cannot allow further danger to come to Equestria. So… with a heavy heart, I must ask that you abandon this endeavor.”
“Princess Celestia. Please.” Sunset pleaded. “At least give us one chance. We have to try – at least.”
“No Sunset.” She replied sternly, putting her hoof down. “Starswirl gave his reasoning, and I find it sound. Twilight may have given you authority to use the castle’s resources to help your endeavors in the human world, but never at the cost of endangering others. I’m sorry. But from this moment on, I am ceasing all of your activities effective immediately. You will have to find your answers elsewhere.”
No way…
She had to be joking. They were so close to finding the answers. So close to rescuing Sunburst. Are they seriously going to stop them just because some old geezer got frightened by a monster? That’s messed up!
Sunset wanted to voice her protest but she pulled up short when she realized her purple friend galloping away.
“Starlight?” The Headmare ran off in tears before anypony could stop her. “Starlight!”