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// Step 11 — "The looking-glass" — Sunset Shimmer | Starlight Glimmer — Day 2, morning 
// Story: The Queen of the Dark Ch. I 
// by Forcalor 
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˙̴̛̼͒̐̑̓͋̊̐̓̂͒̈̔̋u̶̠̙̤̮̙͔͍̭̳̻̐̎͗́̀̈́̈́̄͆̄̋̃̉̉͑̇͘͠͝͠ơ̶̛̖̎̂͐̊̅̀̅̽͂͑͛̆̊̈́̍͆́̏̏̃͂̇͆̐̊́̈̈̄͊̈̈̚̕͘͝͝ᴉ̷̢̛̛̮͉͔̯͔̝̩͓̭̪͈̭̺̤̣̜̱̲̠͚̫̯͆̏̂̓̓͒͌̈̌̌͌͊̋͐̍͂̏̋̐̒̽̈̔̎̔̊́̊͆̕̚͘͜͜͝ͅʇ̴̡̡̛̼̯̘̪̟̩͚̮̘̈́͆̈́͛̽͛̒̌̏̂̓̽̽̇̇͆̌̚͘͘̚͘͘͝͝ɐ̴̢̡̧̻̤͍͓̞̳͓̞͈̜̘͖̮̻̙͇̼͈̖̤̙̻͉́͒̔́̀̌́ǝ̴̢̡̡̤̩̺͕͍͉͚̠̬̥̦͙̖͉̘̪͕̜̙͚͚̹͙̻̫͓̭̙̼͎͓̦̲̠̇̓̃́͐̍̾̾͗̓̅́̈́̓̂̀͛̈́̈́̃̑͛̀͆̈́̂̂̽͂̿̏̀̽́͗͌̓̽̿̿̓̓̈́̕̚̚̚͜͝͝ͅͅͅɹ̵̧̢̡̰̰̗͍͖̺̞̞͔̹̪͙̲̗̘̭̗͕͇͚̪͚̻͇̣̹̣̝̗̱̘̮̖̬̲̻͇͔͙͎̗̮̺̓̈͐̏̍̒͛͂̐̄̃͆͆͋̐̆͛̔͊̃͂͌͌̓̚͘͠͝ɔ̷̝̫̱̺͑̈́͑̈́͆̄́̀͛̋̈̆̃̏̎͛̍̽̓ ̴̨̢̬̦̯̝̣̘͉͈̱̻͛̓ự̷̧͍̞̼̰̥͕̝̹̹̫͇͉̞͖̋̿̋̈́̐̏͋̒͗͂̉̔̓̆̈́̽͠͝ʍ̸̢̡̧̘̪̜͕̠̫̜̓́͆̈́͝͝o̴̢̡̖͕̥͎̯̤̼̦̠̭̞̦̠̼̍̄͛̉͐̍ ̶̧̡̨̹̦̟̳͓͉̺̬͍͓̠͚͙͉̝̜̰̝̘͖̻̻̙̘̦̤̪̘͉̤̝̖̗̥̘̭͕͕͚̀͋̿̽͂̕ͅş̶̢̮̩͚̼͓̭̗̝̪̲̦̹͖̞͕͉̙̦͓̖̞̬̱̞̙̫͖̣̙͈̣̘͙͉̘̟̉͆̋̈́͊̏̃̍̂͑̆̆̊̕̚̚͜͝͝ᴉ̸̨͍͖͓̼͈̻̼͖̰̟̤̘̣͋͛̀̓̔̓͋̃̆̽͒͂͗̏̓̅̃̀̆͗̕͝͝ɥ̴̢̨̩̰̩̟̙̝͖̥͔̤͇̯̼̪̙̠̙̲̗̲͎̼͖̞͔̈́͋̈́̓̑̈́͒̆̌͐̊̑̿̾̀̒̈̿́͊̓̆̏̇̓̑͌͋͒̽̕̕̚͠͝͝ ̸̧̧̨̢̛̯͙͔͚͎̹̩̟͖͓̳̦̤̯͎̗̗̤͈̝͙͓̫͈͈̬̮̥̯͖̯̥͔̥̰̎̅̓̽̏̉̆̓́̋̀͗͂̔͋̐̃̓̐͌̿̕̚͜͜͜ͅư̴̧̢̨̧͇͓̲̫̗̩̮̺̰͕̪̲̩̲̥͉̱̺̦̝͇̰̱̻̪͓͓̮̣͓̙̣̠̼̳̯͙̺̯̞̒̐̈́͛͋̓̍̈̾̔̔͑͗͋̄̂́̈́̿̀̂͗̋́̈̈́̒̄͆̍̿͑̚̚͜͝͠ͅͅͅᴉ̵̡͚̠̹̿̀̏̈̅̌̍̎͐͋̋͐̓̽͒̈́̄ ̶̛͈̟͔͔͇̥̤̩̭̟͈̙̖̫͙͍͎͇̜͍͉̱̭̪͖̼͇̖͕̘̄̇̏̎͛͂́͌͌̑̆̑̄̇̒͋̎͛̓̀̃͑̈́̈̇̃̕͜͜͠ɥ̷̧̫̥̪̙͈̱̋̀͊͋͂̂̒̂̓̒̍͑̋́͛̎̌̈́̾̔̊̽̈́͗̐̂͋̎̇̎̅͋̾͋̐̈́͒̃̽̋̈́͂̈̕͘͝͠͝ͅʇ̸̧̡̧̨̛̛̗͍͕̱̘̞͈̙͇̝̜̗̳̬̟̤͖͙͕͍̹̞͎̰̦͔̻͈̙̤̈̇͛̔̔̈̄͐̎͐̏͆̋̀́͆̈́̒͊͐̍̇̂͆͆̈́́̀̋̅͗̅͂̉͌̌͂̚̚̚̚͜ͅᴉ̶̞̩̥̬̼͈̭̫͓͍̜͈͓̬̺̟̬͙̰̙͚̩̲̯̱̗͕̩̱͍̗̱͊̍́̓̅̍͑̈́̒̇̓̏̈́̔̕̕̚͝ɐ̷̨̧̨̨̛̛̦͓̝̝̘͉̼̞̩̥͓͈̭̻͚̯̮͈̪͖̗̯̱̮͓̭͚̞̭̯̠̠̭͔̰̭͔̮͉͉̬͇̊̃̓̅̑͒̀̓̂̋͑̂̆̈́͐̂̀̄̄̔̓̎̀̉̑̔͋͑̾͐̿̄͛̈́͋̿̄̚͘̕͝ͅɟ̸̠̫̬͙̳̊̃͛͌̊̇̈́́̇̊̐͒̊̈́͋̅̓̒̍̽͊̎͌͋̈͑̿̓̅̂́͋͑͒̓̀̂̑̀͘̚̕̕̚͝ ̶̨̡̨̛̩͚̼̪̩̥̻̹̘̹̖̤̳͍͍̩̼̝̭̼͖̬̺̩̤̜̫͈͔̪̆̏̀̌̅̒̽͜ʇ̴̧̡̨̢̲̘͎͎̤̱̫̹͉̳̳̬̝̣͙̮̺̭̻͇̭̞̤͔͙̦̱̪̞̞̰̜̫̖̹̺̘̞̘̗͉̼͊̓́̆͜ͅͅs̵̢̧̛̝̬̟̞̹̜̳̥̰̞̼̼̹͔̖̜̬͎̮̬͐͑̈͂̈́̍̀̅͐̎̓̅̀͘̕͝o̷̡̲̦̭̬̞̖̝̺͔̞͉̼͚͈̬̥̤̻̝̯̘͈̘̤̤̺̙͈̩̞̩͍̻̙̬̳͍̳̺͎̘̻͊͑͗͆̃̊̐̒̄ͅl̴̢̢̡̡̡̛̥͔̯͈͕͍̬͉͍̙̺͇̞͉̟͓͇̲̬̹̹͇̘̗̻̻̣̫̖̣̮̥͕̯̻̜̗̘̽̋̇͒͗̾̓̔͐͂̊͐̂̏̃͐̑̑͗̀̀̒̈́̐̀̕͘̕͘̚͜͠͝ͅ ̴̢̡̢̡̡̘̦̼͙͈͕̖͚̜̞̼̖͙̘̻̘̬̭͚̭̥͕̳̫̥̜̩̹͇̙͔̳͎͋̈́̈͛̄͒̂̐͋̂̇͒́̐̔̊͛͜͜͝o̷̢̧̨̧̨͉͕̳͖̼͔̝̠̰͔̺̩̖̟̗̫͔͐͂̃͑͋͐̕ɥ̷̡̨̧̢̦̥͈̹̰͙͈̱̙̝͇͓̯͇̦̠̣̺̹̜͎̪͕̦̱͜͜͜͝ʍ̶̨̝͎̲̣͔̙͙̘̝̗̳̬̱̦̪͖̙̰̖̩̖̪̲̪̺̰̙̱͔̹͈̬̹̬̰̳̠̎͂̓̀̆̑̾͌̿͛̈͛̀͊͜ͅ ̴̡̢̨̲̗͇͔̼̞̬͔̙̗͍̝͕̙̻̞͇̭̹͕̙̦̖̝̞͕̞̳̲̳̺̙̗͖͓̯͔͍̬͚̈̾̑̅̀͂̆̄̊̄͒̃̈̔̇̈́̆̍̀̇̽͛́̈̓̾̃̈́̕̚͜͜͠͝͠͝ͅͅ'̵̡̨̨̨̧̡̢̧̛̦͎̩͍̥̜̤̯̤̝͕̟͙͍͔̰͚̩̭̞͔͉̘̱͓̖̠͓̣͍͍̬̪͗̃̃̊̒̀ͅͅɹ̴͕̪͔̬̘͈̲̣̞̬̼̘̻͔̰͕̯͖̼̹̼̒͋̈́̂̂̍͒̀́̂̈́̌̊̅̀͗̅̀̏̓̓̾̉́̿͊͗͝͠͝͠͝ͅͅǫ̶̨̹̼͇̳̰͍̺̲̙̩̭͎̲̠̹͈̰͚̙̭͔̫̺̣̰͍̟͇̻͔̜͇̘̼̭̞͖̱̾̎͒̃͑̀̌̿̆̀̾̔́̅̎́̓̐̀̈́̀̎͆̏̕̚̚̚̚͜͝ʇ̵̨̢̢̙̬̠̹͉͉̗̭̖̪̖̩̠̘̻̯̰́͒͌̾̀͋͆̉̈̃̃͐̽̈̀̌̈́͂̽́̑͋̄͆̇̐̋̉͒̚̚͠ɐ̸̨̢̢̢̨̛̛̹̝̫̪͕̩̫͓̳̭̯̻̹̗͔͙͚̺̟̫͚͔̲̳͍̝̖͙̥͛͒̓͆̐̑͐̊̐͗͛̎͂̓̆̂̈́̽̕͠ͅǝ̸̢̨̧̢̢̺̫̪̯̪̜͈̫͎̲̟͍̦̞̺̙̺̮͎̥͉̱̱͗̔ͅɹ̷̢̧̨̛͉̯̙̹̩̜̞̹̥̙̤̲̲̞̱̘̱̗̞͔̹̦̥͗͛̐̈̀͐̀̇̉̆͛͌͛̀́̒͂̒̈͗̽̑͆̕ͅͅɔ̴̨̛͔͍̲̥̳̭͕͉̀͛̔̈́̀̾̎͐̿͋͆̿̌̓̈́͒̂̅̄͛̿͘͜͠͝ ̸̨̧̛̬̟̤̖̲̗͍̗̱͕̻̣̰͈͕͚͇̈̈́͛͗̀̈́̃̆̉̏́̃̏͐͗̍̿̓̀́̅͊̉͗̒̄͋̃̌͑̇̓͋̂̃̚̕͜͠͝͝ǝ̶͕̯̈̓̓̔̆̔̽͋͊̒͐͛̉̊͐͠ɥ̸̨̧̨̪͉̟͓̻͕̼͉͓̥̪͔͉̜̮̞̙̻̮̻͉̦̀̂̄͗̾̈́̆͊̐̾̐̐̈́̈́͌̔͌̐̑͝ͅʇ̷̛͍̮̞̙̟̩̹̲͈̪̞́̽̈́̅͒̋̇̂̈́̉̂̊̀̏͑́̂̃͠ͅ ̷̢̡̢̧̛̛̜͙͖̦͎̰̜̞͓̳̩̮͍̓̓̑͆̌͑̒̓̌̿͌̎̂̄̈́͂͆́͂̈́̄̋͒̎̾̒̎̔̈́̍̕̚̕̕͝͝͝͠͝ɟ̵̧̢̨̛͔͇͙̫̦̯̜̩̫̹̩̥̣̤̙̥͕̹͓͇͓̟̔̊̄́̇͂̈́̾͒̎̾̔̃́͋͆͒͌̅̾̒͑͐̀͑͛̆̈͌͑̔̊̈́̒̕̚̚̚̕͝͝ơ̶̛̠̝̘̥͙̞͕̹̬̞̺̻̞͈̮̦͖͙̮̤̝͍̲̞̣̩̥̠͖̣͈̔̀̀̑̈́̀͐̾̊̇̍̂̆̍̑̑͂͛̓͂͌͛̒͑͌̇̋͂̾͋͜͜͠͝͠ͅͅ ̷̨̬͎̥͕͚̖͖̮̬̫̤̝̦͙̲̞̣͔͖̙̣̻̩̦̤̫͍͇͍̏͆̈́͛̇͗̽̀͋̽̎͊͒̆͗͛͒͆͐̈̃̈͗̈̈̿̍̿͂̐͘͘̕͘͝͝͝͠͝p̴̜͖̞̜̙̦̝̞̜͕̈́̎̏̂́̾́́̌̃͒́̏̚̕͝l̵̨̰̟͉̦̥͕̦̬̗̹̥͚͇̖̣̟͇̬̝̬͚̳͑́̓̇̀̐̈́̅̇͆̐́̀͆̓́̒͂͑̆̏͛̋̈́͑̃̓̈̔̒̐͂̄͗̑̕̚͜͝͝ͅɹ̴̹̼̝̫̝̗͖̄̍́̀͒͋̏͌̓̓̎̌̏̋̈́̆̋͋̇̀̀̎̕̚̚͠o̴̧̢̻̩̩̳̹̫͎̘̭̝̩̱̩̩̹̙͚͎̩͛̄̓̍̔̑̈́̈̏̆̐́̈͋́̂̓͊̏̋̔́̇̄̈́̍̉́͊̈́̎̀̚̚̚͘͠͝͠ʍ̵̧̡̡̧̢̛̟͍͙̟̼̣͙̝͇̞̟̫̗̹̩͎͙̥͔̬̭̱͇̻͎̩̼̹̦̞̟̯͔̞̹̰͚̮͆̐͆̽̎̊̋́́̓̆́͊́͌̋͛̀͒̔̐̑͐̂̋̾̚͘͘͜͠ͅͅ ̵̧̮̞̖͔̅́̈́̈́̒͂̋̽̃̈́͆̽̆̎̏̅͑̃̅̆̄̌͗̐͑̔͗̌̉̿̍́̏̽̓́̊̀̄̑̾̃̚̚͘̚͝͝ͅǝ̴͇̼͈̒͋̔͋͊̊̂̊̈́̓̇͒̓̂̆̐̏̆͆̐̽́͒̇̈́̃̈́̈̓̾̚̕͘̕͜ɥ̴̧̡̹͉̼͗̎̈̈̈́̈͒̅͆̔́̌̿͒̄͑̈́͗̈͘͠͠ͅʇ̸̨̡̛̛͉̦̜̭̱͖͔̙͓͉̳̪̖̺̲̬̣͗͌̏̂̓̓̐͆͊̏̏̀̇̈́̑̐̿̄̿̏̂̆̀͑̒̈́̓͐̈́̃̋̒͑͊̈́̅͋͑͋̈̕͘͠ ̴̨̛̛̦̳̙̹͚̮͍̠͓̝̯͉̣̳̗̬̣̖̰̘̭͈͑̂̊̆͒̎̎͆̀͋̐̈́̍̓̑̈́́̿͐͆̕̕͜͝͠ͅͅͅͅų̶̧̨̢̨͎̦͎̲͎̦̼͇̭̩̼̟̠̖̝̣̘̻͉̥̻̺̦͓̟̖̺̬̜͇͎̠̠̟̬̥̙͕̍̏͂̆́́̇̚̕͜͠͝ͅᴉ̵̡̼͈̞͇̩͓͔͔̼̖̝̣̝̩̪͕͈̮͉̩̰̝̟̲͚͚͍̮̳̳̤͍͖̙̲̮̥̤̞̿̑́͗͆̂͂̉̌̊͆̒̑͊̔̋͘͜͝͝͝ͅ ̴̡̢͈͎͙͚̞̜̤̲̭̥͕̘̫̩̭̼̱͚̥̱̮̞̗͈͖̹͙͓̙͉̫̠͈̮̥̼̞̿̉̾̿̀̔̒̉́͐͛̉͊̈́́͗̃͂͑̅̾͂̽̔̂́́̈̈́̆͒̐̀̎̒̽̓͗̎̽̅̕̕̚̚͜͠ͅͅs̸̳̑͐͌̒̀͝ɐ̴̨̧̢̧̯͉̹̟̞̜̤̩͉̳̜͚͚̹͕͍͖̰͉̖̗̼̳̦̙̱̎̒̓̃̓̋͊͊̆̈́́̒̈́̆̀͗̓̈́̓̊̋̓̊̀̃́̈̂͜͝ʍ̵̡̬͖͖͇̞͎̠̣̱̜͇͖͈͇̱̟̦̦̝̜̽̍̌̋̓̒̒͆̃́̄̽̐̌̅̌̓̄̿̒̉̅̐̌͌͛͠͠͠ ̷̢̳̻̙͙̕͜ǝ̸̡̡̧̧̧̡̟̼͕͉̥̘̺̖͎̝̩͉̳̹̜͚̪̦͕̦̺̰̭̩̜̳͍̠̲̫͈͉͇̘́̓́̂͛̃̈́͂͗̑̍͂̀̃̄̎̚͠͝ͅɥ̸̣͙̮͎̬͍̣̠̘̋̔̔͛̏̃͆̀͂̒̍͋̃͐͌͆́̍͗͑̈̅͐̈́̄̓̌̿̐̓̑̆̾͘͜͝͝ş̶̡̡̧̛̬͙̻̼̗̭͍͙̱̭̠̤̈̈́̏̂̎̑̌̀̂͑͒̓͒̈́̾͗̐̔̕͘͝͝ ̷̨̧̡̻̥͎̺̬͈̪͚̥̦̂̆:̷̧̨̛̥͙͉̏̈̄̎̈́̄̍́̂̆͛̊̀͘͝͝͝ư̷̼̘͓̥̠̲̪̘͓̰̯̜̞̪̼̻͍͕̰̗̦͍̈͊̈́̈́́̈́͆͑̽̌͗̾̏́̇̀͛͛͂̎̈́̇̓̇́̎͑̾͂̿̈́̉̒̒̆͑́̚̕͘͘͝͝͝͝͠ͅᴉ̸̨̢̤͔̳̭̫͉̝͉͔̖͉̦̟̳̻̺̲̥̘̱̻̳̰̮̱̭̦̦͚̼̣͖̱͇̬̞͍̼͆̎̇̎͜ͅɐ̵̨̨̨̢̧̮͔̟̻̫̗̠͓̣̪̙̤̯͉̥̪͙̠̩̤̭̳̪̝̜̳͚̳͍͕̬̣͔̞͙̩̜͈͋͆̉͌̄̍͊̓̇̽̀͗̚͜͠ͅͅʇ̶̨̢͉̤͔͔͖̥͈͍̝̘̤̤̪̠̤͙̀̉͒͂̏̔́̈́̈̽̽͒͌̈́̿͒͐̈́͂̒͐́́̂͆̀̀͂̂̈́̕͝͠ɹ̸̧̧̢̨̛̛̛͚̱̰̥͕̬̠͙̯͖̣̹̫̳̝̗̹̖͖̘̩̼͍̘͛̐̌̀̈́̽̓̎̆̇̓̈͆̎̓̏͋̅̐͐̈̔͋̑͊͗͒͆̈͒̍̉̃̔̌͑̃͗̑̓̽̌̚͜͝ǝ̷̧̢̛̛̼̗̞̙̮͓̜͓̼̙͖͚͖̺͕͉͙͇̓̎̄̿̒͑̓̒̾̀͛̈́̽̂̂̍̚̚͜ɔ̴̢̢̛̛̬̺̞̖̥̻͎̘͎͕̝͖̱̖͍̻͙͈̹̱̖͎̩̫͈̌̀͗̓̌̉̈́̽́̃͊̎̓̔̽͋͛̈́̍̔͐̀̌͘̚̚͜ ̴̳̲̟͕̬̗̜̣̦̞͂̿͌͐͐̈̃̀́͋͗̇̈́̂̌͆͗̽̋̚̕͜͝͝͝ͅs̶̡̢̢̢̡̡̛̛̟͔̟̝̟̮̩̬̣̪̠͇͚̬̱̹̳͚̳̅̈́̽͊̿͊̽̅͊̍̾̋̂̈́̈́̓͐́́̂̒͆͐̾͌̏̿̚̚͘͜͝͝͝͠ɐ̶̧̨̡̢̞̼̮̙͚͇͇͓͚̹͖̤̩̼͚̤̥̖̟̯̠̟̘̮̆̎͐̒̓̓̅̈́͘͜ͅͅʍ̷̢̰͕̖̥̥̻̬̠̮̩̳͉͖̜̬̠̣̗̮͓̰̞̰͉͕͍̩̮̥̬̯̮͉͔̜̰̤̠͔̥̼͈́̏̈̓̚͝ͅ ̶̧̡͇̬̳̰̲͕͖̥̟̲̪̜̠̟̭̱̯͙͉̼͚̝͔̰̻̖̞̻̱̞̤͙̹̗̰̯̜̜̯̭̝̻̓͌̈́̅̌̈́̊͑͗̍̆̒̕͜͜͝ͅͅͅƃ̷̡̢̢̨̩͕͔͎̹͙̦̦̙̲̲̗̺̯̻̦̹̗̽́̇̊̍̄̃̍̓̐́̂̒͆̆̄̎̐͊̈̔̓̀̐͛̾̎̄̏̐̓̉̎͒̇͐̆̌͘͘͜͜͜͝͝͝͠͝͠͝͝͝ͅû̷̧̢̖͇̰͙̯̮̖͎̭͚̰͔̞͍̪̪̖̣͕̼͙̅̀̀̈̄̀̏͒̈́̀͋̈́͗́́̀͛͒̇̕͜͜͠ᴉ̶̛̛̯̬͇̟͖̳̟̾͐̃͋̇͋́̀̏̑͋̆̉̀̈́͊͛̈́́̀̆͆̀̄͊͆̋̐͋̇͑̉͘͘͘͝͝ɥ̶̨̧̧̤͎͚͈̬͍̜̪̰̟̠͖̬̼͕̬͖̄͛̆̑̔̏̋̓̉̋̑̚ͅʇ̵̨̢̤̗̦̣̭̦͎͚̣̺̦̗̬̊͜͝ͅͅ ̸̧̛̥̞̲̙͚̘̓͊̓̒̍̓̊́͛̅͆̓̀͛̏͂̄͌̾͌͂̚͘͠͠͠ͅǝ̷̢̙̮̳͕̫͓̀́̎̓́̃̇̄́̃̊̓͂͗͊̎̈͗̀̇̑̈́̑̏͘̕̚͠͝͝͝͝ų̶̨̛̘̱̦̜̭̟̩͚̰̬̳̱͕̠̺͙̤̳͔͕̪͙̙̟͈͛̈́̀̿̒̇̎͑̄̎̄̈͐͒̉̿̋̔́̆̈̽̄̾̈́̽͌͘̕͝͝͠ȍ̵̡̧̡̧̝̪͎͈̺̥͉͕͎̺̖͖̰͙͕͚̮̪̦̫͚͈̪̙̳̫͉̘̘̽̏̓͒̃̚̕ ̶̢̧̛̙͖̼̰̣͚͓̼͚̩̰̮͚̫͕̼͚͖͇͇̟̹̞̫̖̮͍̦̳͔͉̜͚͌̃̀̒̇̌͠ͅ'̷̡̧̡̨̡̛͙̬͍̞̫̯͍̼̮̱̳͇̣̥̫̻̣̥̤̫̺̠̭̗̣͕̥͎͔͚̤̅̔̎̏͛̀͐̋̈͋͘͘͝͠ͅs̸̡̡̡̛̼͇̙̼̼̮̼͎̜͙̝̺͈͖̥̖͈͖͔̜̭̩͇͈͓̫̜͈̼̯̮͈̑̾̑̎͛̂̒̏͆̏̾̍̿͐̋́͂͌͋̏̐̓̇̈́̽̉̈́̂̏̚̚͜͝͠͝ͅs̴̡̨̤͎̺̦̼͚͇̗̭̪̣̭̬̱̑̆̈́̽̇̉̍͌̈́̽̇͐͑̒͋̂̎̐̓͋̆̃̆͑̆͌́̊̇̈́͑͌͂̈́͑̒̈́̄̏̽͘̚̕͠͝ͅɐ̸̡̱̮̺̳̦̠̤̩͉̘͈̖̹̮͔͈̭͍̪̺̦̥̗͔͙̪̭̙̼̣͎̦̤̤͖̰͇͚̦̼͔̲̎̃͋ͅͅl̶̢̮̙̬̠̭̞̜̟̠̽͐͛̑͑̏̔͂̔͛͒̓̄̎̓̌̅̔̎̿̉̿̂̚̚̚͝͝ƃ̷̫̯͖̣̼̭̮̦̩̳̘͙͖̮̹̬̰̼̭͆̏͊͆͑̆̓̽̅́̅̏́͂̒̏̈̔̈́̀̆͋̈̑͒̄͋̅̈́̃̐̿̃̐̕̕̕̕͝͝͝ͅ-̶̡̧̢̢̛̤̙̹͓̩͖͖̜̩̘̫͍̭̖̺̫̱̘̥͔͓̝̯̤̘͂̀̔̍̾̆͛͒̓̈́̆́̉͊̅́͒́̂̿̽́̈́̓̔́͋͐̄̈̃̌̿̕̚͜͜͝͠͝ƃ̴̨̧̡̣̞̳̭͕̬̱̥̗̤͇̺̪̦̜͙̩̹̈́̑̇̉̀͛̂̑͋̎̓̇́̔̐͊͋̇̊̉̈͛̚͘ͅu̵̫̫̥͇̙͕̣͉̩̎̈́̾͒̒̃̄̐͆́́̽̅͛͑̃̎̅̀̽́̿͌̑̑̆̽̓̀̅̍́͛̀̒̾͆͂̎͘͘̕̚͜͝͝ͅᴉ̷̨̧̛̩̣͉̮͓͇̮̦̪̹̲̝͆̀͌̈́̽̐͊̔̋̏̀̑̈́͐͛͐̀̀̇͒̎͗̔̀͆̆̅͛̾̎̉̅̉̿̽̽̽̉̓̚͘͝ʞ̶̧̧̨̧̨̛̲̠̗͙̳̣̤̼̠̣̝̠͔̣̯̼͍̯̮̼͚̫͇̭̰̠̯͚͕̺̼̳̤͔̳̻̫̹̹̘͍͆̃̃͊͗͐̉̈́̀̓͂͊̇̌͂͋̈́͂̋̑̄̾̌̎̍͗͗̓̚̚͜͜͝͠ǫ̵̢̨̨̢̼̙͕̟͔͔͔̮̜̘̩͉͍͉͔̤̟̬͔̼͚͗̈ö̸̧̡̧̡̧̨̩͍͖͚̱͙̼͙̭̗̹̗̰̣̞̟͚̺͇͈͈͙̟͈̬̫͖̜̓̇͆̋̌̑̈́̍́̓̅̈́̒̏͆̃̓̑̒͂̑̈́̑͋͆̉͐͌̌̕̚̚͘͜͝͝͝͠͝l̸̡̹̲̬͇̞͚̹̜͕̣̺̣̼͎̯̪̰̰͉͉̙̫͇̳̖͓̞̘͚̬̦̙͓̻̦̦̑͐́̄̃͂̋͛̎͂̽͋̌̉͐͒̄̋̆͆̐͋͒͂͗͑̉͘͝͝ͅ 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̴̧̧̢̛̠̦͖͎̲͉̝̘̼̩̭͓̠͈̜̜̪͈̹͖̺͚͇̜̩̙͖̤̼̗̘̐̂̿̑̈̒̄̈́͌̈͆͐̔̈́̀͊͆̏͛͛͑͐̕͘͜ͅu̴̧̡͈̬̺̙̳̼̫̩͋̆̊̾̃̑̽̉̊̈̾̂́̐̉́̑͑̈̃́̕̕͠͝ǝ̷̢̨̥̹̲͚̙͔̼̱̯̦̮̼̗̥̺̈́̿́̈́̿̈́̍͛̈̑͌̓̂̃͊̀̂̄͑́̒̀̎̽̔̒̕̚̚̚͘͘͝ͅɥ̴̢̗̻̼̱̺̪͎͉̱̖͓̳̞̼͖͍̺̲͔̳͔͇̤͚͈̰̝͕͇̀͆̄́͐̐͒͒̔̋͗̑̀͛͆̀̂̉͊̍̈̌̊̋̍̐͐̅̈̽̕̕̕͜͝͝ͅM̸̨̧̢̛͎̤̩̗̙͇͍̦̲̺̼̜͕͉͙̥̗̮̗̭̗͖͚͕̳̣̩͈̏̇̅̎͑͂́̀̒̄͂̑̐̿̇̍̌̽̈͌͌̒̿̈́̽̾̉̎̔͘͘sdᴉɹɐlᴉuƃ ɐlouƃ ʇɥǝ ʍɐlls oɟ ɐ ʌᴉqɹɐuʇ ʇnuuǝl ʍɥᴉlǝ qǝᴉuƃ onʇsʇɹǝʇɔɥǝp' qǝuʇ' ɐup ʇoɹu ᴉu qoʇɥ pᴉɹǝɔʇᴉous· Sɥǝ ſnsʇ ɔonlpu,ʇ ɹǝsʇɹɐᴉu ɐ sɔɹǝɐɯ qɹǝɐʞᴉuƃ onʇ oɟ ɥǝɹ· Iʇ ʍɐsu,ʇ  dɐᴉuɟnl ɐʇ ɐll' ʇɥonƃɥ· Iʇ ʍɐs ʇᴉɔʞlᴉsɥ¡ Iʇ ʍɐs lᴉʞǝ ƃoᴉuƃ ʇɥɹonƃɥ ɐ  ɥnƃǝ ɯɐƃᴉɔɐl ɹɐᴉuqoʍ-ɔoloɹǝp lɐnupɹʎ ɯɐɔɥᴉuǝ' qnʇ ᴉu ʇɥǝ ǝup' ʎon po uoʇ  ƃǝʇ ʇɥoɹonƃɥlʎ ʍɐsɥǝp; ʎon ſnsʇ sdɐʇ ɥǝɐpɟᴉɹsʇ ᴉuʇoɐuoʇɥǝɹ ʍoɹlp· dɐᴉuɟnl ɐʇ ɐll' ʇɥonƃɥ· ɐ sɔɹǝɐɯ qɹǝɐʞᴉuƃ onʇ oɟ ɥǝɹ· Iʇ ʍɐsu,ʇ  dɐᴉuɟnl ɐʇ ɐll' ʇɥonƃɥ· Iʇ 
Ɐs sɥǝ ʍǝuʇ ʇɥɹonƃɥ ʇɥǝ ɔɥnɹuᴉuƃ' qlᴉupᴉuƃ ʞɐlǝᴉposɔodǝ oɟ lᴉɯqo' ɥǝɹ ʍɥolǝ qopʎ pᴉsʇoɹʇǝp ᴉuʇo ɐ ʇɥᴉu lᴉuǝ' ʍɥᴉɔɥ ʍɐs
As she went through the churning, blinding kaleidoscope of limbo, her whole body distorted into a thin line, which was spiraling along the walls of a vibrant tunnel while being outstretched, bent, and torn in both directions. She just couldn't restrain a scream breaking out of her. It wasn't painful at all, though. It was ticklish! It was like going through a huge magical rainbow-colored laundry machine, but in the end, you do not get thoroughly washed; you just spat headfirst into another world.

Absolutely mesmerizing experience—a constant falling, diluted in time. A nostalgic one too, as despite all the years that passed, it was still so easy to recall the first time, with all the feeling of dread and expectation that something would go wrong, which was then followed by a liberating revelation that everything is fine.

It was supposed to be fine now, too. After what felt like a small eternity, Sunset flew out of the other end of the tunnel like a cannonball and slammed with her hindquarters into a wall.

"Ouch," lying upside-down, she sighed, observed the room through the dark sunglasses, and giggled: "Oh, man. It hurts so much."

One would've thought they'd place a mattress for her already. Sunset scrambled up to her hooves and stood up on her hind legs, wobbling on the spot. She let out a tiny laugh, trying to get a hang of these new limbs.

By stars, this was weird and she loved this. Visiting Equestria was worth at least to experience appendages becoming completely different. And this was supposed to be her original body, right?... Sunset wasn't even so sure about that anymore, and she had a nagging suspicion that if she complicates the inconsistency too much, she would land some sort of psychosis for her trouble.

So, nevermind that, and nevermind her brain, too adaptable for its own good. She came here to have fun, after all.

When she was leaving Canterlot High, it was still noon, and yet there was barely any sunlight now. Usually, the time between their worlds was more consistent. With a thoughtful look, Sunset pressed her hooves into her hips, trying to determine if it was morning or evening outside. If it's the former, she just might be in time to visit that strange wedding; if it's the latter, well...

As she stood like that, she began to notice other oddities. The Castle of Friendship was not at all like she remembered it. Also, hasn't Princess Twilight moved the Crystal Mirror to Canterlot?

"Guys? Anyone, uh, anypony?" Sunset called, nervously smiling.

Something fishy was going on. She took another wobbly step, then landed back on all fours and sighed in satisfaction. She began to stubbornly make her way across the room, now reeling from the aftereffects of thaumic resonance. Her ears rang and her vision wavered, and while being unaccustomed to the body, she bumped with a flank into a huge tower of books, stockpiled right on the floor.

"Why? Why are there so many books?" she internally whinnied in genuine equine terror, watching how that tower collapsed onto another one, that fell into third... Before long, Sunset stood amid complete chaos, looking around dumbfoundedly.

Now someone needed to bust in and catch her red-handed. Sunset even got the creeps in anticipation.

Reality delivered. Right on cue, a spark of teleportation flared, and before Sunset, there was a familiar purple-ish figure with an ignited horn, almost blinding with its intensity. Sunset smiled. Twilight? Ah, no, not her...

"Who are you?" Starlight pointed an accusatory hoof at Sunset, dishing out a barrage of questions, "How did you come here? What are you doing here?!"

"Hey-y, Glim, what's up?" Sunset tensed up but spoke in an upbeat tone, trying not to show any worry. Her snark slipped through anyway: "Jumpy much? It's me, Sunset! Sorry about the mess."

"Sunset Shimmer? From the other universe?" The mare's voice softened as she apprehended the situation. Her blinding hornlight died down as well. "Uh... I am pleased to finally meet you, I guess." In a total whiplash, she smiled sheepishly, "Wish the circumstances were better... My name is Starlight Glimmer."

Sunset looked at Starlight thoroughly dumbfounded, then rubbed her temple, frowning. "Okay," she uttered, "I didn't expect that."

Starlight was pale and disheveled, like she hadn't slept or eaten well for a while. There was desperation in her unfamiliarly small voice—things weren't looking good. "I was tasked by Twilight to wait for your arrival," she explained, "Then we were supposed to go to the royal wedding."

"She did write me as such," Sunset had left behind the journal she used to communicate with Twilight and already came to regret it. "Starlight, are you sure it is the first time we've met each other?"

Starlight tilted her head curiously and pensively nodded.

"Is this Memory Stone's fault? Were her memories erased?" No, somehow it didn't seem that way. It was hard to internalize, but even the air was different now. The festive mood completely left Sunset at this point, and she sat down with a sigh. Never a dull moment, huh? "What about the weird wedding? Is that still on the table?" she murmured, trying to find some semblance of normality. "I hope you don't mind that I said it out loud: a wedding between Princesses is freakin' weird."

Starlight grimaced in response and traced her eyes aside. "I'm not sure about anything," she mumbled. "There's a persistent rumor that changelings struck at Canterlot during festivities. Guess it's true."

"You're serious!?" Sunset stood back up.

"Seems like fighting was going on for most of the night," Starlight nodded, "There was an intense light too; I think the whole Equestria saw that. It rumbled like it was going to be an earthquake." Her ears splayed back, "I'm not sure that Equestria even ever had earthquakes... Mostly everyone in Ponyville is staying at their homes now, waiting until we have concrete news about what's going on. Some ponies had fled... Can't blame them."

"Huh." Sunset mustered. Her mind went blank for a moment as she tried to comprehend all that. "Aren't the changelings on the ponies' side?" She asked uncertainly, "Did they betray us? I thought you and Twilight had brokered a truce with their species."

"I've never met them, I think," Starlight replied, sounding like a confused puppy, "Hope you aren't one of them, cause' it will just make it all more awkward."

For a heartbeat, Sunset just stared, then cleared her throat. At least in this regard, they were on the same page—she never saw even a single changeling either. "So what are you doing in here?" Sunset arched a brow. "All the girls, and who knows who else, are still out there, if I get it right? They all might need your help!"

Starlight gave her a pitiful look, and Sunset felt slightly embarrassed about own accusatory tone. "I wanted to," Starlight mumbled, "but you could come through at any minute. Besides, Twilight is usually good at handling these types of emergencies."

"That she is," Sunset begrudgingly acknowledged. It didn't settle with her right.

"There is also something important I need to keep an eye on. Sunset, you're a good friend of Twilight, right? Can I confide with you?"

"I owe everything to Princess Twilight," Sunset replied in an unwavering voice.

Starlight smiled, warming up: "Come. Let me show you something."

They went on through the tall passages of the Castle of Friendship, devoid of most light except for the dim sunlight streaming from the elaborate crystal windows. All the purple and lavender colors around were dull now, suppressed to an almost indiscernible gray.

And that's why, when Starlight walked over to one of the doors, looking just like the rest, and opened it with a push of a hoof, Sunset couldn't contain her amazement.

"Woah," she whispered, "Is this real?"

The bright small room was filled with various artifacts, mostly unknown to Sunset but invoking images from ancient books and legends. 

"Since when did Princess Twilight become a collector?" She asked in awe, wandering through the magical splendor, "Is that the Helm of Shadows? The old Horn of the Everfree? Here's that alicorn amulet... Oh, the Talisman of Mirage? And there, are those all eight legendary artifacts of Mage Meadowbrook?"

"All eight indeed," Starlight shrugged as if it was nothing special. 

"How did all this stuff end up in here?"

"How?" Starlight replied in a strange, strained voice. She hung her head, furrowing brows, "That is a rather... odd question, don't you think?"

"What do you mean?" Sunset flicked her ear, stepping in front of the postament in the middle of the room—the centerpiece of the whole gallery. She traced her gaze upwards to what was on display, and shook her head, not believing her own eyes. "And what's this?"

"Ah." Starlight came to her side, eyeing the treasure, hovering in midair, "It is just the sword, made from shards of the Elements of Harmony. This is what I wanted to show you."

Sunset sat down, her eyes rounded up. The Sword looked more like a tree branch than a blade. Crooked and obscenely massive, shimmering with inner light, and covered with glistening embossed arcane symbols and engravings, the beautiful thing had no right to exist. "It is ridiculous," Sunset said, puzzled.

"What? Why?"

"Well, for starters, how would you wield it?" 

"Uh, with your hooves?" Starlight replied like it was something obvious.

Sunset looked at her hoof, then adjusted the sunglasses in disbelief, looking back at the weapon. "It doesn't make sense."

Rapidly making a few blinks, Starlight tilted her head hard to the side, staring at Sunset. "What doesn't make sense?" she asked warily.

Sunset thought to herself that Starlight must be very weirded out by it, but frankly, they were in the same boat for this one. She eyed her hoof intently, licked her lips, smacked them, and eventually offered in a contemplative tone: "I don't recall being able to take anything with my hooves before. Well, mostly. They are usually not for taking stuff." Her voice was beginning to grow increasingly unsure. "Right?"

Starlight looked at her hoof too. She went with a quiet 'Huh', turning it from side to side.

Both mares spent some time like that, just examining their respective forelegs, before Sunset broke the silence: "I don't recall seeing any swords before, either."

"You're just pulling my leg now."

"No, I'm being serious!"

"Are you sure you're from Equestria? Maybe that other universe messed you up somehow."

"No, it is not me who is wrong! It is everything else!" Sunset fiercely blurted out, before she managed to stop herself.

Starlight gave her an incredulous look, creasing a brow.

Sunset giggled, feeling how the tips of her ears started to burn, "It's true, though! It's so odd... I feel as if I am in a dream, or being fooled."

"Well..." Starlight rubbed her chin, obviously trying to imagine a compelling counterargument and failing. "You're not the only one, I can tell you that much... I wanted you to take a look at the inscription on the blade. Can you tell me anything about it?"

"Give me a minute." Sunset pressed her forelegs on the edge of the postament and stretched out, moving her muzzle closer to the weapon. "Who forged it, anyway?"

"I'm not sure. It just appeared, I think," Starlight sounded flabbergasted.

Sunset glanced at her suspiciously, and then thoroughly examined the darkened steel of the weapon. "What a stupid thing." The engravings were easy to discern, but the design didn't bear any fancy pattern. Instead, there were just words, running along the surface. "'Ego sum ferrum pacis. Devoto, trahe me contra hostem vitae,''" she slowly read aloud, "And there's something else..." She blinked and rubbed her eyes.

"What do you see?" She heard Starlight's voice.

"It is as if the words are slowly shifting," Sunset tried to explain. "Was it like that before?"

"Yes, it does so constantly. I think Twilight wrote down some of the phrases, but I couldn't find where." Starlight frowned, "Can you translate?"

Sunset mulled it over. "It is a very ancient pony language, the same one in which Princesses Celestia and Luna are named. Don't believe it was in the curriculum, though," Sunset made a face, "and it's not like Princess Celestia was eager to share her secrets when I studied under her," her voice became sorrowful, as she reminisced about all that happened.

"You were Celestia's student?" Starlight's voice was full of appropriate reverence.

Sunset was entertained that they were having this conversation again. "I was the Celestia's student, best of the best. Sadly, I was overeager to achieve results and didn't understand the true values of effort and teamwork. As you can imagine, it didn't go well with her. I've made a grab for power, and we quickly had a big falling out. I think it was for the better, honestly... I was much more narrow-minded back then. Now I'm not just her former student, and I am fine with that. I'm a pony on my own, and I have my own path to walk."

"Sometimes we need to hit rock bottom before we begin to truly climb up. I know the feel."

"Anyway..." Sunset sighed, and then all of a sudden she made a startling but pleasant revelation: she noticed that she had a horn. Immediately, she streamed her will through this fifth limb, trying to get a grip on the sword with a manifested red aura. The pain of backlash ran through her with an intensity of flashing electricity surge, directly into her skull and then down to the backbone. Sunset gasped and jerked back. "What was that!?"

"Sorry, I should've warned you!" Starlight rushed to her side, worrying. "This thing doesn't want to be touched."

"Yeah, I've noticed!" Sunset winced, holding onto a still-tingling horn. "You speak as if it has its own will..." 

"Well, it is made from the Elements of Harmony." Starlight gave a pathetic look. "Who's to say? The girls couldn't lift it either, so it's just hanging there..."

"I see... Have you tried to communicate with it?"

"What, to talk with it? No, I don't think so. Even Twilight didn't seem to research it at all."

"How she couldn't!?" Sunset sounded almost appalled at this prospect. Both Twilights she knew would be all over such a phenomena.

"I don't know, okay!?" Starlight's voice fell, and she rubbed her temple. "All I know is that she wanted others to be quiet about it, because it seems too dangerous and unusual..." 

"What is it? Your head hurts?"

Starlight pensively nodded. Something did messed with the memories of the mare, that was certain. She could sense it as some wrongness that is hard to put a finger on... Sunset needed to find other girls and discover what condition they are in... Maybe she can even reach out to Princess Celestia?...

When she thought about her old mentor, her heart responded with dulled pain. In truth, they never really reconciled. They never talked about what happened or how they felt. There was no moment of connection. It might've sounded selfish, but Sunset dreaded meeting the ancient alicorn Princess. She seemed so happy without her, and she was always so busy to boot, engrossed with her rulership, surrounded by her friends and returned sister. Their once strong bond had faded, leaving Sunset on her own, and the absence of warmth made her question if their relationship had ever truly mattered.

But it was how things were supposed to be, she figured. It means growing up. Sunset had her own life and place in the world, and she was never in a hurry to return to Equestria anyway. It is okay to feel all these things and maybe even be slightly jealous...

She clenched her teeth. The first thing to do is to make a good survey of the situation, so she needed to check up on other girls and make sure they were unharmed, before going into the thick of it.

She traced her eyes aside, trying to decide if the artifacts could aid her in the journey. It was obvious why they were gathered in one place: the potential danger could be enormous, and right now this danger can be contained.

"I am going to Canterlot," she declared, determined. "You're coming with, Starlight. Come on, lock it up and let's go."

"What if someone breaks in?" Starlight smiled nervously.

"Who will even do that?" Sunset snorted just like a pony would and breathed a sigh of relief for not being weird this time. "It's Ponyville!"

"Changelings?" Starlight offered.

"I doubt it's their priority. How they would know that all this stuff is in here, anyway?" Sunset pondered aloud, as her gaze fell on something familiar between all the oddities and trinkets around, "Hey, what's this?" 

Her horn lit up, levitating a simple leather-bound book, with Celestia's cutie mark emblazoned on the cover.

"This old thing... It was used by the Princess to communicate with me way back when, and recently by Twilight..." Sunset sighed nostalgically, opened it up, and flipped through pages quickly, curious to see any changes.

Her brows furrowed hard, and her mouth pressed into a thin line. As she looked through the book, her expression became more and more concerned, until she eventually turned to Starlight, who was observing it with bated breath.

Sunset wordlessly showed the contents of the book. In an unfamiliar handwriting, pages upon pages, one singular phrase was repeated endlessly, filling all possible space,



See you soon.




═════════════════════════════ 𒀭𒀭𒀭 ═════════════════════════════


𒄈 After the incident with the creepy book, Sunset didn't need to work hard to persuade Starlight to leave the dark and lonely Castle of Friendship.

Honestly, it was pleasing to see such a level-headed mare. She was taking action right where it counted, and she quickly began to remind Starlight of Twilight. Starlight wished for this power too—to be free of doubts and genuinely appear confident and leading.

If only she could ease the burden of harboring dark urges in her heart...

Utilizing their teleportation skills, they arrived at the city's outer wall in a dozen minutes or so. Both mares found themselves right before the comparably small crowd, slowly leaving the gates. Starlight craned her neck, trying to get a glimpse of any familiar ponies, but all she saw were the tired and beaten expressions of citizens.

Starlight still felt some resentment for the capital of Equestria, this stuck-up city full of stuck-up ponies born with a silver spoon in their mouths, but she didn't wish for anyone to be hurt. Not anymore, at least. Under the convoy of a few members of the guard, ponies were heading toward the colorful train waiting at the station. Watching this procession, she bit the inside of her cheek in contemplation, turned to Sunset, and suddenly asked, "What do you think of the changelings' magic?"

"Huh?" Sunset, deep in thought and far more invested in the plight of the citizens, responded with a pause: "What about it?"

"You think it is something that can be learned?" Starlight kept asking, curious. She quickly realized that Twilight's friend could possess some unique insight into the matter.

Sunset made a humph: "From them? I'm not so sure. You mean the actual shape-changing part?"

"Their magic possibly includes more than that."

"I believe that they are pathovores that can manipulate the minds or emotions of others at will. Or at least, their Hive Queen can."

"Oh," Starlight spoke in a small voice. That was something interesting. She turned to Sunset, completely forgetting about anything else that was going on: "Why would they have such a set of abilities?"

"Hm-m?" Sunset blinked. "They just do? It is their inherent trait, just like the magical aptitude of ponies. You don't see it being discussed at length, right?"

Starlight suddenly felt liberated while talking to this mare. She didn't give any side-eye to her; she didn't judge her. There was never this constant suspicion that Starlight while trying to reform, wanted the knowledge for some ill-fitting end. Her ears perked up. "Listen, it might sound overly ambitious, but can I hypothesize that spells dispelling charms and enchantments reveal their true forms while they are changed?"

"I think I can recall that happening," Sunset nodded pensively, but now somewhat engaged, "why do you ask?"

"Well, the whole concept of completely changing your appearance and physical attributes is preposterous," Starlight scoffed. "There's always some trickery involved when something like that happens. So what if it's just that? An elaborate illusion directed at the senses of everyone around?"

Sunset blinked, staring from beneath her darkened glasses. Then she slowly arched a brow: "A perception trick?..."

"Exactly, Sunset. Do you think the changelings actually change their bodies? Or do they just illude it to the eyes of everyone else?... If it's some sort of elaborate illusion, then it would make sense that there is no set real appearance of a changeling. But that begs the question: if that's the case, why do they require love to feed off of? Are they even real creatures themselves? Is it all just some scheme?"

"I get what you're saying," Sunset slowly returned, "but I can guarantee you that changelings do, factually, exist. While I do not see an obvious connotation in their abilities, you can probably find a changeling and ask all these questions to them by yourself."

"Ah, but that raises another question!" Starlight lifted a hoof, smiling, "Why do you think that they know how their magic works? We still have not much insight into the nature of our abilities, other than that they can be tied to emotions and require extensive practice to control, and what could be said about some weird backwater bugs?"

"Starlight, look, you are losing me on this one." Sunset frowned. "We have much more pressing matters to deal with."

Starlight sighed. After all, speaking to Twilight about this would've been much more fun, given that she wasn't busy at the time with her... friendship problems and friendship lessons. "Guess you're right..."

Twilight... What is she doing right now? Why hadn't she showed up yet?... Starlight didn't want to think about it too hard. After the whole night spent in complete uncertainty, all of her thoughts were too grim.

"Yeah, I think I know what we'll do right now. Come on," Sunset suddenly ignited her horn, and before Starlight could react, she felt a familiar jerking of the whole body. Bewildered, she landed with beside her companion right on top of the wall.

"Rude," she grumbled quietly, shifting back widely placed hooves. What, Sunset didn't hear that you never teleport others without permission? 

"Who are you? Name yourselves!" the shout distracted her. Right before them was an armored stallion with a ridiculously huge mustache. He whirled a long spear in his hooves and pointed at Sunset, while a pair of his fellow soldiers were just standing aside, gawking.

"Ah, he must be the commanding officer," Starlight recognized, eyeing them.

"Good day, good sir. Wouldn't you mind explaining the situation to us?" Sunset cutely waved her hoof, trying to be pleasant and act natural at the same time.

"The city is under curfew and barred from entry. Are you two locals?"

"Oh, I am sort of a migrant, alright," the unicorn giggled, "Name's Sunset Shimmer, she is Starlight Glimmer. We are both students, friends, and followers of the Princess Twilight Sparkle. Have you heard of us?"

Starlight stared at her, surprised by how much they had in common.

The guard's stache twitched in contempt, and he didn't lower the weapon. "As I said, no one is coming into this city. Even if you are who you say, this demand came from Her Majesty Princess Celestia herself."

"Hmph! So it's like that, huh?" Sunset ignited her horn. The commander tensed up. The mare continued with an inscrutable smile on her muzzle, "Very well, then. Starlight, take it from here!"

"What!?" Starlight barked, but her mind worked too fast even for her own liking, and old habits kicked in immediately, "Uh, mister guard, good sir, do you want to spare some time and talk about friendship? Err, about the Magic of Friendship?"

She pulled off the most inviting smile she could muster. The commander's frown deepened. "Citizen, cease your parlor tricks and unsolicited magics at once!" he growled. Starlight noted that he is no unicorn, so there might be some prejudice on display. Figures.

"Oh, but the Magic of Friendship is universal! If you don't mind..." She smiled sleazily and carefully moved away the tip of the spear, which briefly pointed directly at her. "It is a quality new way of looking at life, full of positivity and light! I mean, just look at the reality that came upon us without its presence in the life of every pony? Look at this, um... ruthless war, and hatred between races," she pointed at the bleak cityscape, which definitely looked like it was under some siege before, alright.

"Citizen, if you continue like that, I will be forced to apprehend you," the soldier gravely replied, but didn't resort to violence. Starlight took it as a good sign.

She eagerly kept going, "Just think about it! Should you invite the Magic of Friendship into your worldview, you will meet countless ponies, whom you would never have encountered otherwise. You'll never know what sort of wonderful talents they may have in store! You'll be positively amazed with the experiences you'll create together, and you'll learn something from each other as well!"

One of the other guards asked, "So the magic of friendship is when you get out there and make as many friends as possible? That's it?"

"Of course!" Starlight beamed. "It is truly a magical experience! It allows you to have the power and knowledge to make a... big difference in the world! A change for the better! And... and it also allows you to accept not only your differences... but even your flaws! Everyone is flawed, you know. But, if you let that stop you from making friends with others, you'll be living a very miserable life... Friendship is one of the most important life lessons you'll ever learn... Don't be selfish! Embrace everyone! Let's be friends!"

With a huge smile, praying internally that they wouldn't recognize it as a fake, she outstretched her forelegs, inviting for a hug. The guards paused, sharing concerned glances. Starlight could see that her ploy worked, even if partially: the commander's stache deflated a bit. The ponies are a good bunch, after all... "Ma'am," he said with a sigh. "I understand that you might have good intentions, but the situation is glum enough to be strict about it. Canterlot suffered from the changeling attack, and they still might be roaming the streets even as we speak. Please, for your safety, suspend all planned activities here. Situation is under control."

Sunset stepped in, flashing a little coy smirk, and grabbed Starlight's shoulder. "Sorry, we can't suspend nothing! I've got what I wanted, let's go!"

"What-" Starlight began to reply.

In a flash of unprompted teleportation magic, the scenery changed, showing a scorched alleyway a few hundred meters deeper into the city.

"-were-"

From the vantage point of the roof, Starlight saw the small square, with the same signs of battle. She noticed a pile of dark bodies.

"-what-"

Before them was a tilted torn placard with depicted Celestia and Luna, framed by a red heart outline and shapes of cheerful flowers. Someone wrote with big green letters over Princessess' smiling muzzles: 'A BIG FAT LIE'.

"-wait-"

They were inside of someone's house now. She noticed a broken window and a dirty floor under her hooves. There was a brief ear-piercing shriek, and a startled mare began to cry, shielding a crib, "No, please, dont—"

"-no, we-"

They were in a cramped back alley. Starlight saw the glistening blue eyes of some predatory creature. It jerked back in fright, and she had done so too, involuntary. She caught a whiff of suffocating stench in the air.

"-Sunset!"

With another flash, they found themselves on the huge brightly colored roof of a building, located in the middle of a fenced area, filled with greenery. "Canterlotian Equus Hospital," Starlight recognized several medical wings, and a familiar sign depicting a horseshoe framing the mortar and pestle.

Starlight turned to Sunset, pouting. Her companion grinned. "Was I too rough with teleportation?"

Starlight was trying not to dwell on the experience. "I didn't expect that I would need to talk someone's ear off again, that's all." She grimaced.

"Sorry! I never was good with following orders from Celestia, anyway," Sunset glanced at her strangely, perceptively. "But I think your heart wasn't in it back there."

"Oh." Starlight shifted her eyes with a plastered smile. "It's not that. I am believing in it, truly, it's just hard to act on it spontaneously, you know? Especially now, when everything is so on the line..." Her weak voice trailed off.

"You will do just fine, Starlight." Sunset patted her shoulder confidently, "Yes, it is hard, but I am sure that Twilight believes in you. And she never was a bad judge of character." She sighed. "She gave me a chance just as the other girls in my world did, and everything is better for me now. I've never been so fulfilled before..."

"I understand..." Starlight replied, thinking about how her own life had changed. "There is something really nice about those six, right? Like there's hope with them."

Sunset's eyes sparkled. "Yes. Couldn't put it better."

Starlight nodded pensively. She was given... so many chances. She felt... accepted. She blinked away incoming tears, and quietly pleaded, "We should go, I guess..." She looked around. "What are we doing here, again?"

"I've traced the magical signatures of other Element Bearers to this place. They should be in the ward right underneath us," Sunset placed her hoof firmly down, emphasizing her own words, "so let's go meet them if you're ready.'"

"Uh-huh... Wait, wait, 'others' you say? I'm no Bearer. Does this make you one?"

"Sort of." Sunset shrugged. "I don't think I was ever recognized as such at this side of the mirror, but something similar manifested in me and my friends, and it might've come from Equestria." She paused. "It's a very long story. I'll tell you a short version later."


═════════════════════════════ 𒀭𒀭𒀭 ═════════════════════════════


𒄈 "That's right, it's just not real," she found some bliss in the thought. "Real for them of course, but it can't be real for me. I've traveled to the alternate alternate Equestria, it's as simple as that." 

They settled within a large ward, with most of the girls present in the room, and with one bed occupied by thoroughly bandaged-up Rainbow Dash, who remained in a deep medicated sleep. Rarity was sitting on the next one with neatly tucked hooves, maintaining the poise of a true lady. A familiar, small, earnest smile was on her face, a tad sardonic, as if on her mind was a sad and poignant joke about the current state of affairs, and the punchline to it were everybody involved.

In hindsight, it was so strange to see nearly identical versions of your friends who don't know jack about you. Sunset somehow made it this far without being familiar with this experience, and now she was just trying to fit in. It had a small benefit: it helped her remain distracted for a while.

"Yeah," in a frail voice, she uttered maybe for the hundredth time, and then asked, "So how Spike is taking this?"

"He is with her parents," despite how she looked, Rarity's voice was calm and lovely. "They need someone with them right now."

"Yeah..."

Starlight's cup cling-clanged on the chipped saucer. The self-proclaimed reforming villain didn't know where to place her forelegs, so she constantly shifted them, while holding a distant stare at the far wall.

"More tea, darling?" Rarity asked her innocently, like she was beholden to the etiquette of a benign host.

Starlight slowly hung her head, not reacting to that. "It's all my fault," she admitted in a hoarse whisper. "I stayed back. I could've saved her."

"Perish the thought. You didn't know the severity of the situation," Rarity tried to console her.

"Yeah," Sunset added, and nearly bit on her tongue. "You placed your faith in Twilight, in everyone. I might've done the same thing in your shoes. More than that, you could've been hurt like Dash, or even worse..."

"No one would expect that we will need to protect Twilight from Celestia," Applejack added grimly.

In the window, in the distance Sunset could see the peak of the highest tower of the Royal Palace. A long-forgotten feeling washed over her.

It was awe mixed with dread.

Never before had Sunset given a second thought to how much of her life in Equestria was defined by her connection to Celestia. And at the same time, there was not much she could say about the Princess as a person. She was warm and pleasant, but also distant and evasive. She was known to all, and no one could reasonably predict what she would think or do. She was always keeping up a smile, but Sunset never assumed that she had a defined sense of humor.

She was mysterious, and it never posed a problem. She always simply existed. Always there for everyone.

It bore a similar nuance to Principal Celestia at Canterlot High School. She was a middle-aged woman who shared an apartment with her sister, but there was no other known relatives. Being the head of the school was seemingly her only defining trait, and this position of authority was acting like an obscuring cover. As Sunset became older, she began second-guessing her attitude toward societal statuses, but she never tried to approach the Principal and get to know her better, as she was always seemed indifferent to the former Princess of the Fall Formal. She didn't even bothered to expel her after the standoff against Twilight.

Was it only professional distance for pony and for human versions of the same Celestia, or was there something more than meets the eye? Sunset didn't even knew when Celestia's birthday was...

"So what is your plan?" Sunset asked, shifting gaze between everyone in the room.

Tired Applejack tsked from her bed. "The Princess had placed guards just to keep us here under her watchful eye, so if you don't expect us to pick a fight with 'em, the message is clear: she wants us to remain put."

Rarity glanced at the farmer with a weary, pathetic look. She didn't even bother to wipe the mascara that dripped down with the sweat and, as Sunset believed, tears. Her dress, as well as her beautiful shawl, both became dirty rags overnight, though it might've added even more dramatic flair to the situation, of which Rarity was acutely aware.

"That's a bit of a downer, don't you think?" Sunset murmured. "Where's your moxie, girls?"

"We haveta look after one another, and wait for others." Applejack shrugged. "Princess Cadance promised to bring help. Ah' say, all hopes are with her so far."

"You can try to use the Sword again, or the other artifacts..." Starlight offered meekly.

Rarity pitched in, "Dear, we would be glad to consider it as an option, but the whole room full of magical baubles and wares out of nowhere seems to have something terribly fishy going on with it. Twilight advised us all to stay clear from it, remember?"

"Besides, it didn't have the Staff of Sacanas in it, and it is the only thing that can render alicorn obsolete," Sunset added, pondering. "If you are admitting that we might need to take down Celestia, that is."

"Hol' yer horses. Mayhaps we should take it to Starswirl fella." Applejack got busy thinking. "If any pony can nail down what's going on, ah' think that's him."

"No offense, darling, but so far he had stricken me as a hack." Rarity sighed. "What we can do, though, is to catalog our room and scour through for anti-petrification magic. Someone will have to save Twilight, eventually."

Applejack nodded. Her sullen eyes found Starlight, sitting miserable and alone. "With all this commotion I kinda forgot to ask, how's Sweet Apple Acres? How's Ponyville, overall?"

"Everypony is scared, but no changelings are there." Starlight was rotating an empty cup absentmindedly. "By Celestia, I hope. They were worried about you."

The room fell into silence for a short moment, and in this silence intruded a familiar sound of rumble from the hallway. Sunset recognized it instantly and turned to the door in anticipation—not long before it flew open and the bouncy ball of purest pink energy rolled in.

"Pinkie Pie!" Sunset met her with a dumb grin. Some things just refused to change.

"Sunshim!" Pinkie leaped from the doorframe, landed right on top of Sunset, and they both fell on the floor. "Oopsie. Hi!" She laughed and did a cartwheel to give Sunset space to stand up.

"Excuse her, y'all." Applejack rubbed her eyes. "She downed five cups o' coffee to keep up all night, and that's at least the ones that ah' know of."

"This is how I cope!" Pinkie Pie cheerfully replied. "I'm afraid of what will happen if I stop! I guess it is very concerning, huh!?"

"Well, sugarcube, at least foals had found it entertaining enough." Applejack smiled weakly.

"Anywho. Starlight! Hi!" Pinkie jerked at her, startling the unicorn. "Wanna know something? That ancient beard-y grumpy odd wizard is down at the reception. He came to see you!"

"You talk about Starswirl the Bearded?" Starlight clarified. "You sure?"

"The Bearded indeed." Pinkie giggled. "You can hide a whole trove of snacks in that beard!"

"What he might want from me?" Starlight pondered, taking her time to rise from the bed. "If nothing else, I guess we have a powerful ally on our side..."

"It's high time that wizard had done something productive," said Rarity, frowning. 

"Well, as they say, don't peer at the rump of free help, unless you wanna get kicked in the head," shared Applejack a wisdom. "Wanna us to come with?"

Sunset forced a chuckle. "You'd better rest, girls. I'm on it. Truth be told, you all look like-" she caught herself, and just smirked, "-like horse manure... Er, you look bad, that's what I want to say. I worry about all you, you included, Pinkie. Get some shuteye, will you?"

"Shuteye, huh?" Hypercaffeinated Pinkie rubbed her chin, then shrugged, closed her eyes, and immediately fell on the floor with a soft thud. She sprung up right after, with a manic look in her eyes. "No can do! Don't worry, I'm a tough pony! Others need me! Gotta help, byeee~," and with that, she was gone before Sunset could even react.

Applejack sighed. "I'm not likin' it. Not likin' not one bit. Nothing's right lately. You'd better stay safe; y'all be good now out there, ya hear?" She pierced Starlight with a heavy glare. "Besides, changelings are still skulkin' about, and ah' think they won't stop until we hang the Queen's carcass from the wall for all to see. Won't settle for anythin' less."

"Whoa, Nelly! Now that's a little messed up." Sunset smirked, and shook her head. "Don't let these thoughts get to you! Sleep on them at least. I'm sure nothing is as bad as it might seem."

Starlight glanced skittishly over her shoulder and vanished into the hallway. Sunset energetically trotted after and almost crossed the room, when the unexpected half-whimper of her name made her hesitate. She saw Fluttershy in the corner, silent and completely unnoticeable until now. Her long, unkempt pink mane was covering her face, and her coat seemed dirtied and dull.

Sunset's heart skipped a beat when big and trembling cyan-colored eyes stared back at her, puffy after crying too much. Fluttershy was so grief-stricken... How could she not notice her?

"Uh... Flutters?" She stepped closer. "You good?"

"Oh! Oh..." Fluttershy replied in a startled small voice, even more quiet than usual. "Um... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. It's just..." She drew breath sharply. "I only want to say... don't be too hard on yourself... okay?"

Sunset tilted her head. "Whatever do you mean?"

Becoming all red now from what Sunset could perceive only as embarrassment, Fluttershy gave a flustered look. She nervously adjusted a lock of stray pink hair and responded slowly: "It will be fine. Don't mind me. Just... just do your best... please. We will all be counting on you."

Fluttershy smiled sweetly. Sunset stared, enchanted. In the warm dark of the room, under the scarce sunlight from loosely curtained windows, the little pegasus girl looked like she glowed softly from the inside. Something strange was in the air, and there was no way to put a finger on exactly what.

Sunset felt odd goosebumps running down her coat, and had a stark suspicion that she would never experience anything like this magical moment ever again.

"Okay..." she assured, struggling with the sensation of falling deeper into the rabbit's hole. "Okay." She tried smiling back encouragingly. "It must be very hard for you all to see everything you love being destroyed by the changelings. I can't even begin to imagine how you're feeling right now, but for the longest time Equestria was my home too, and I will protect it... I will return for you and others." Sunset looked back at the room. "We will figure out how to save Twilight, and Canterlot with Ponyville too. With the Magic of Friendship, we'll stand together yet, and when we do, the joy we share will be greater than ever before!" She nodded to her own words, feeling only more determined in the face of adversity. "Stay strong, girls. Our future will be bright as day!"

"We'll do that," uttered Rarity with a weathered smile and a dainty, yet solemn nod. "Take care, darling."

Sunset glanced at Fluttershy for one last time, then at unconscious Dash, and finally at the gruff but brave Applejack. Knowing that she had made an impression on Twilight's friends, she slunk into the darkness to waiting Starlight. 

As their hooves had beaten off the uneven, nervous rhythm against the stairs to the lower floor, Sunset caught a glimpse of the strained and serious expressions of ponies around. 

The whole place became a refugee center overnight and remained in complete disarray.

Then, she saw Starswirl for the first time in her life. The ancient wrinkly pony was wearing the same funny wizard garb that everyone came to associate him with. Legends didn't lie: the beard really was every inch as impressive as they made it out to be.

The father of all magic was drawing a huge teleportation circle in the center of the hall, keeping up a few wisps for illumination, and barely registering anything around. Starlight shared a glance with Sunset, and then they both stepped through a small crowd of ponies, gawking at it like at a show.

"Master Starswirl?" Starlight bowed respectfully. "You've summoned for me?"

"Yes-yes-yes. Yes," the mage shot back in a fast patter. "No time to waste. I was expecting to meet you at the city gates, and..." He looked up, noticing Sunset, and hesitated for a second. "Ah. Hmph." He began stroking his great beard. "I see."

"Hey." Sunset nonchalantly bobbed her head, moving closer. Her eyes slid over the incomplete thaumic sigil. "Name's Sunset Shimmer, you might know me as an ex-student of Princess Celestia. Very pleased to finally meet you, sir. Need help?"

"You aren't supposed to be here," noted Starswirl in a low, impassive tone.

Sunset winked at him, breaking a half of his chalk, and proceeding to mirror the pattern on the floor on her end, "Tell me about it. If I knew that you would let your Hive Queen out of the stone, I would've brought a bug repellant or something."

"Just charming," Starswirl said coldly, and at this moment Sunset realized that they won't be getting along. Nope. Not gonna happen.

The aura of indignation, emanating from the guy, was almost palpable even without any supernatural empathic abilities. He didn't even try to hide this mentality of expecting something, and then getting annoyed because everything didn't live up to his expectations. 

Now, Sunset could understand the frustration, of course, especially because of the dire situation they were in. But, deep inside of his heart, Starswirl felt like a miserable person, and somehow he was fine with it. He made this pain a part of himself as if he was supposed to simply endure it.

That irked Sunset on a personal level.

"Master Starswirl, why did you want to see me?" Starlight remained behind, trying to act chill. 

"This information not for prying eyes and ears, girl," the old man replied, throwing a sharp glance at Sunset.

"Sorry, sir." Sunset smiled lopsidedly. "We stick together. Besides, pretty sure I can help you with any trouble you're having."

A vindictive look gleamed in the old mage's eyes. "And what, pray tell, can you offer?"

"A lot, and enough." Sunset traced the final line of the teleportation circle, and arched a brow at him. "This doesn't seem to lead to the Royal Palace. Do you have some hideout nearby? You won't be taking the fight to the changelings?"

Starswirl pressed his hoof against the nose bridge and stood like that for a good second before continuing in a noticeably irritated tone. "Time is of the essence. If you're staying together, let us go off without further adjournment. I will solve this matter quickly."

They all climbed into the circle, and the mage's horn flared with a dazzling white aura. Sunset couldn't help but notice the inefficient usage of thaumic energy. The regular chalk made a bad substitute for a Crystal Empire-based crystal alternative that arcanists began to employ under Twilight and Cadance rule, and no further reagents to control the dispersion were present.

"Master Starswirl," she tried to be respectful. "You seem to be a stallion who won't consider the question as odd, so here goes. Am I correct to assume that Princess Celestia is the current reigning monarch?"

Starlight replied instead, raising a curious ear, "As she was for all known history of Equestria, yes."

Sunset's lips pressed into a thin line. "And Princess Cadance has a kid, right? A girl? How old is she?"

"I was at her Crystalling at last fall." Starlight's cheeks got a red hue to them. "Why do you ask?"

"Oh, it's nothing serious," Sunset murmured. "It just seals it: I have come from a not-too-distant future, that's all."

The magic engulfed them and iridescent walls of the limbo quickly flashed before eyes, before placing all three on the stone floor of the Starswirl's Tower.

"Huh. This place is only half-built in my timeline." Sunset glanced around the spacious and lofty circular room, as tall and imposing just as it was wide. A shimmering tree sapling, impossibly white, was planted right in the middle of it, coupled with a most peculiar installation above, consisting of a slowly rotating hourglass filled with raw magic and suspended between clock faces. Sunset quietly whistled at the sight, but the function of it had eluded her.

"What did you say?" Starlight processed the sight as well as the information, and then turned to Sunset with wide eyes. "You're from the future? But how is that possible? Won't it create a paradox? Did the magic of Harmony pull you here?"

"As of now, your guess is as good as mine," replied Sunset, casting an inquisitive glance at the old mage.

Starswirl remained unperturbed by the news, but at the moment it was just another oddity to be thrown on the ever-growing pile. Looking at his back while he was crossing the room, Sunset noticed a limp figure in the patch of grass amidst the roots of the Tree, and worriedly stepped forward. "Is that Princess Luna?"

Both mares hurriedly rushed to the dark-coated alicorn. Sunset almost reached out to her, when she noticed something and briskly retracted her hoof.

"Is she alright?" asked Starlight, her little voice filled with worry.

Princess Luna was breathing, and that was a plus. She was in the deepest of magically induced slumbers, a picture of peace. Strangeness continued to rack up here as well, as Sunset took notice of beautiful flowers, growing right through the coat of the Princess. Sweetly smelling, resembling dark violets and cyan tulips, their fragile stalks were entwining the alicorn's body, hugging it close to the ground.

Sunset's confusion started to overwhelm her. She leaned closer, staring at a stem went right through Luna's cheekbone and unraveled itself under Sunset's intent gaze into a fresh bloom.

"What is that? Is this an illusion?" said Starlight with hushed, almost panicked tone.

"I think it's fine. I see she was harmed, and it must be healing her, whatever it is. The bodies of the alicorns aren't exactly like ours," Sunset attempted to quietly explain. "I do not know the specifics, but they are directly connected to the world around us, both spiritually and physically."

"Something like this is beyond magic," replied Starlight in denial. "it's just not plausible."

"Leave it to alicorns to defy logic and explanation." Sunset shrugged. "I swear by Celestia's name, sometimes I was just this close to planning out an experiment on Twilight, should I return to Equestria full-time."

"I might relate to that." Starlight smiled meekly.

Starswirl stood nearby with head hung in contemplation. His eyes were quickly shifting under closed eyelids. Eventually, she let out a deep sigh and raised his head high. "I'm here," his voice thundered in the Tower, devoid of servants.

His eyes flared with white, and an intricate net of magic tethers flashed itself for a brief moment, connecting Starswirls' horn to something lying beyond the means of normal perception—as Sunset deduced, to the magical wards, placed along the perimeter of the Tower. Princess Luna's sleep remained unimpeded by a loud voice, so the unicorn stepped back from the Tree. A question bothered her: "So, old man, we're all ears, care to tell us can we help to beat back the threat?"

The mage replied sternly, taking a leisurely step. "First things first." His horn flared yet again, and a projection of starry sky opened above all three, stretching far and wide and obscuring the distant ceiling. "What do you see?"

"I don't know..." Sunset held her breath for a moment or two. The glowing Tree was like a sorcerous pillar and the only thing that remained real in a sudden magic-induced reality.

"You want us to look at the constellations? There's something off with them," Starlight guessed. "I... Huh. I can't pick out any single one."

"Very good. You've been training well." Starswirl nodded. "I do not have the luxury of years to ease into you the information that I need to relay, so I require you to listen very carefully, Starlight Glimmer. The stars have shifted their pattern."

"What?..." bleated Sunset.

"The stars," the old guy repeated forcefully, "have shifted their pattern."

"How it can be possible?" Starlight found her voice. "What does it even mean!?"

"It is exactly what it sounds like, and it can mean a multitude of things." Starswirl flicked his beard dismissively, and it could just as well indicate that he has no freakin' idea how to answer. "We should be concerned with what it means for us."

"No, wait, was the planet somehow misplaced in a completely different position?" Sunset interjected, still trying to wrap her head around all this. "It could be a changed rotation or a mirrored skyline, or what if it somehow now has a completely different angle of view? Or, or..." Her voice fell under the looks of her peers, as she comprehended that the last one won't factor in it at all. Then she recalled the Starswirl's planetarium from the alternate Equestria, and lit up. "What about other planets in our solar system? Are they still in their place? Where are they on this projection?"

Starlight stared at her blankly. 

Starswirl harrumphed. "Other planes of existence are still where they belong, if that is what you're implying."

Sunset sat down, caressing her aching temple, then removed her sunglasses and bit onto one of the ends in contemplation. "That pattern of stars... You're a court astrologer, correct? At least of that I am certain. Can the pattern offer you any insight into what's going on?"

The old wizard nodded. "That is the discussion I wanted to convene before your incessant interruptions, child." He cleared his throat. "In the stars, I saw nothingness."

"Of what kind?" pried Starlight.

"Of any kind. Nothingness." He frowned, stroking his beard. "They do not have constellations anymore, and I do not mean that I cannot recognize any of them. They lack of any kind of order, the became alien, completely unknown to me."

The implications were there, but it still was hard to grasp. "So, what does it supposed to mean to us?" Sunset relented.

"Glad you began asking the right questions," answered Starswirl with bile in his voice. "It means that we cannot project the current of events that will transpire. To this day, they were sparingly premeditated."

Starlight had a strange look on her face. "A divination magic? I thought that concrete predictions were always beyond our capabilities," she said slowly, apprehensively. "The future is always in motion. It is not set in stone in same way as the past from our perspective. I mean, you can affect the order of events in the past and change that way the foundation of things that are happening in our present, are you not?"

Starswirl frowned. "Elaborate. What led you to this conclusion?"

"As you are well aware, I was modifying your spells, Master Starswirl." Starlight smiled sheepishly. "I almost destroyed the whole world in the process. I saw how reality around me was changing, and it all was based on an event when the Bearers of the Elements were getting their cutie marks. If Twilight hadn't stopped me back then and hadn't shown me the Magic of Friendship, everything around us could eventually become a barren wasteland with no signs of life."

"I see. Have you considered that you saw only what you needed to see, child?" Starswirl smirked arrogantly in his beard, this sly old raccoon. "I must admit, Twilight caught on to it faster. It isn't how actual time travel works. It doesn't signify that events that transpired were any less real for you and Twilight, but I can assure you, they weren't breaking reality in the way that you perceived."

"So what, was I meant to lose to Twilight and her special friends?" in Starlight's voice, there was tension. "And all what happened before, with me and the village—it is just the part of a plan, too? Did it even matter what I'd felt back then? What I went through!?"

Sunset decided that she had to step in. She placed a hoof on Starlight's shoulder. The unicorn flinched and glanced with hurt in her eyes. 

"Look," said Sunset. "I never dug into your past, but what happened did lead you to a better place than you were in before, right?"

The corner of Starlight's lips trembled. She was holding back tears. "I guess so," she breathed out and sniffed wetly.

"Back where I came from, you've become the princip—the headmare of the School of Friendship," said Sunset proudly. "You with Sunburst as your vice-headmare made a great team, helping a lot of students to find their way."

"A School of Friendship, huh?" Starlight tried to smile. "Twilight would've absolutely loved the idea... And me and Sunburst, we were this close, working on something together? That seems... nice."

Starswirl scoffed. "A School, you say? Isn't that peculiar... What an utter waste of resources."

Sunset smirked, suppressing the urge to chuckle. "Hey, old man, if I'm not mistaken, you were enrolled in the School too! Twilight was talking about how even you were making strides in understanding Friendship."

"Sunset," Starlight suddenly asked, "what if things that you've experienced were some sort of a magical construct too?"

"What? No way."

"You say that you are from some alternate future, am I correct? I've seen similar things on my own, and he," still in disbelief, Starlight nodded at the old mage, "just said that it all can be fabricated."

Starswirl rolled his eyes. "Pay attention, girl. I didn't say that. Her arrival is merely a side-effect of a shifted paradigm of our reality. It is of dubious nature, and it should be rectified."

Sunset glared daggers, but curiosity got the better of her. "What's that about the paradigm? You want to say that everything changed, like with the pattern of the stars?"

"Precisely," he dispelled the projection above them, and in another flash of magic, summoned a miniature levitating prism at his side. "The preceding fulcrum event had sent it all into disarray. My duty is to fix it before the continuum will go out of control completely, and this will be a first step towards peace."

"Control, you say?" Starlight made a strained smile.

Sunset felt goosebumps running her spine, and shifted hooves. "And what exactly is that step?"

"Sunset Shimmer," grumped Starswirl, "before I answer your question, I would like to establish something about you. Tell me, are you a daydreamer who rejects the notion that one's fate must be controlled by the external forces?" 

Sunset stiffened for a moment, trying to understand where this was coming from, then replied warily, "I believe that there's a delicate balance at play here. As Starlight said, the future is always in motion, and that means we have a role to play in shaping it, but it doesn't deny that we are affected by others' influence."

"Would you say that you reached your current spot in life mostly because of your own actions and choices?" inquired Starswirl.

"Um... Not exactly; my friends and Harmony helped me a lot, and... everything has a certain purpose, is it not?" spoke Sunset quietly, feeling like a torn leaf on the wind. It was not unlike when she first arrived at Canterlot High.

Starswirl coldly smirked, and Sunset didn't love that expression at all. "You are not dissimilar to Celestia when you speak like that."

"The world is an imperfect place, but there is beauty and strength in imperfection, as well as in growing up on our own terms. I think that Celestia understands this. If that is the wisdom that she imparted to me in her teachings, I am proud I've been her student."

"Let me guess, you would also say that manipulation is a bad thing?"

Sunset picked the ground with her hoof, thinking. "If it means deception, then naturally. It strips others of their agency to act or think on their own and imparts the will of the deceiver without anyone knowing. At the same time, though, it is a little more gray area than that..."

She noticed Starlight's pained look.

"There's ample evidence to suggest that even a simple conversation is already an act of manipulation," replied Starswirl in an almost bored tone. "Let me make it simpler for you... Would you posit that the Harmony can be achieved without order and control?"

Sunset opened her mouth, then slowly closed it. She wasn't prepared for this question. Something inside her wanted to fiercely rebel against it, but from a purely logical standpoint, Starswirl was right. Moreover, Sunset could already see where the old mage was headed with that line of thought. 

The ancient mage sighed deeply, and his horn flared up. "On one hoof there's balance. Measure. Order. On the other there is providing a choice, and believe me, it is a dangerous endeavor..." 

"But Starswirl, whatever is the right answer, you have to believe in others." Sunset winced. "It is the way of Friendship, of giving up the reins of control..."

"We already tried to follow that through, and you saw where it leads." Starswirl frowned. "In the resulting reality, I'd rather believe that Celestia will pledge loyalty to Chrysalis and kiss her hoof, and you are no less free-spirited than she is. We are at war. We are losing to the Darkness. However, I doubt you will desire to live in the world that will follow, so let me offer you a choice. A real choice, this time. Surely you would have no trouble picking the correct option?"

He smiled wistfully. His magic expanded the quickly rotating prism, and it gained a new dimension. The glass broke down in a mesmerizing array of shining fractures, which recombined on the fly, and after exactly a single heartbeat, Sunset saw a tall mirror. A ripple went on its non-reflective surface, after which it tore to the sides, revealing a familiar colorful tunnel of limbo.

Sunset gasped.

"This isn't your fight, Sunset," Starswirl continued his speech. "I can tell you with certainty that if you remain, you might not have a chance to return to your bipedal reflection-world. That is something that I can see in your predicament already: you do not belong not only to this timeline, but to this world at all, and there's hope for you yet. Before it is too late, you can untangle yourself from whatever design lies in wait for you and live freely."

Sunset had a soul-churning expectant feeling in the pit of her stomach. "See you soon," she remembered odious words. What Starswirl could tell about that? What does he know? Can she believe him? Was her fate her own? Was it ever her own?...

Starswirl pressed on. "When you return, time will pass, and Equestria with all her inhabitants will become just a distant, vague memory to you—a daydream, a bedtime story for your future children. When your body becomes frail and weak, the magic that you remembered will wane, diminishing to just a feeling, then a memory of a feeling, then nothingness... Instead of it, you will have what this realm seems to be getting rid of—peace and hope."

Sunset remained silent, trying to figure out the validity of his words. "He's genuine," she realized. "He truly believes in what he speaks about."

"But you must be thinking, though, what could this old pony possibly know?" Starswirl sighed. "After all, I do not have time to participate in whatever games you are usually having in there. Well, Sunset Shimmer, what is your answer? Don't you want to see your friends again? What is your choice?"

"I'll have to think... It all seems to be a lie, or more precisely, a manipulation..." Sunset began speaking slowly, then faster, as emotions got the better of her. "Why'd you say things like that, old man? Now that I know you have the means to summon the rift between universes anywhere, why would I ever worry about that, huh? I'll just hop in when I need to, and—"

"You have just as any reason to believe me, as you have none." Starswirl interrupted her. "I'll give you time to think about it, after all, this demonstration isn't intended for you. You are a non-factor in this regard, from the very beginning. I am here to speak to [i}the other one." He turned to Starlight.


═════════════════════════════ 𒀭𒀭𒀭 ═════════════════════════════


𒄈 "What do you want from me?" Starlight hissed, hostile. Her fast-beating heart was overflowing with dread. To the last moment, she harbored a hope that the icy blue of Starswirls' eyes would never make contact with her.

"I believe, I never properly introduced myself to you, Starlight Glimmer," the old mage sounded almost humble. "I am Starswirl the Bearded, the Pillar of Sorcery of Old Equestria, and the last of the true magi and conjurers of the Light." His horn lit with white, and he removed his wizard cloak, showing his old wrinkly body. "I am the keeper of secrets of the stars and the timestream, and all that you have ever known about magic, you have learned from me, albeit non-directly."

In the illumination of both the Tree and the still-opened portal, there could be no room for doubt: both their cutie marks shared almost the same design of a shooting star, though reflected in different directions. Starlight felt sick. 

Starswirl concealed his flank again and proceeded with his powerful deep voice. "I am a part of the ancient order of mystics, who devoted their life to finding a way to rid the world of despair and suffering. It is magi like I who have a duty to stand on guard of you and your futures, asking of no praise in return for our unending service."

"No praise?" said Sunset, glancing around the lofty interior of the Tower. "Yeah, right. I've heard your name around ever since I was a filly," her voice wavered for a moment, "'Starswirl this, Starswirl that'. For crying out loud, where I am from we have literal statues in your likeness!"

"It is not my fault that you are compelled to create idols only to get disappointed in them later. A typical behavior." Starswirl turned back to Starlight. "I must reiterate, child: there can be no balance without control, and without balance, there can be no Harmony. How would you even imagine the world otherwise? As a self-regulating system?" He scoffed. "As if the world would function like that! Everything that you see around is a result of painstaking long work, a product birthed by a long tapestry of wrongdoings and losses that is still in motion of weaving. There's nothing 'natural' in the world, and nothing is given freely. Without the influencing force, it all will succumb to disharmonious chaos."

"Twilight, why you didn't say anything?" Starlight struggled with her thoughts. "Did you know? Did everyone know except me? The word is unnatural? No, it can’t be. I don’t believe this. It can’t be true. And a tapestry? What does any of this mean? This is nonsense. Absolute nonsense."

"What is my role in all of this?" she heard her own voice, dull and bleak. "What do you want?"

Starswirl offered a vague smile. "We want a world where everyone would have a place, where everyone could realize their potential and have a purpose. Had your mind ever crossed that someone needs to fight for it, to make tough decisions for everyone to enjoy their lot in a burden-free life? We are the protectors of ponydom, and you are supposed to be a guiding star, an advisor to the mighty, and a helper to those who are in need. Your role is to lend your hoof and horn, with a clear head and in good conscience, and provide an expertise of correcting inevitable mistakes and excesses."

Starlight felt her heart sinking. She closer her eyes and covered them with a fetlock, swaying, feeling nothing but pain. In an attempt to discern the truth from the fake, she let her memories to flood in, and compelled by them, she began speaking in a monotone voice, recollecting, "Before all this... I was a traveler. I just roamed, knowing that I couldn't rely on anyone, as no one would understand what I was going through. While following a random swashbuckling expedition, I stumbled upon an ancient wizard tower in the desert on the border of modern Dragon Lands. When others were asleep, I have cast a few spells to mislead them, and claimed my prize... In the following months, I've spent countless days trying to figure out a way past the defensive wards, and then, at the center of the ruins, I've found an ancient tome, barely preserved by the means of powerful magic." She moistened her lips. "It was crumbling in my hooves, but I instantly knew it belonged to you, Starswirl the Bearded. It was marked by that swirly pattern. For many moons I had looked through it carefully, practicing, learning, and then searching for more. I always thought that I did something forbidden, but by Celestia, it felt so good... Ordinary ponies like me aren't supposed to meddle with these things... They aren't supposed to do what I did..."

"Your attempt to reshape the population of the remote settlement was a crude effort, but well thought-out and commendable in the long run. You should've been praised for your ingenuity, not admonished."

"No, what I was doing was wrong!" snapping her eyes open, Starlight retorted with a scowl. "I wanted to take their dreams away... I wanted control!... Yes, that is right: all I ever wanted was to prove that I am better and smarter, that I don't need anyone, that I am beyond their reach and I can force others to submit, and to make my own harmony! I deserve punishment for what I've done! It was unnatural—"

"Yes, it was," Starswirl admitted without skipping a beat. "But it did teach you a valuable lesson, isn't that right? Should you've been developing your technique, you would've found a way to navigate a herd of society more efficiently and sublimely, and that is exactly what was supposed to happen. Your natural talents lie in that territory, so you shouldn't be denying yourself."

"Minds of others are too malleable and predictable." Starlight had hung her head. "I was enjoying it too much. It's not what Princess Twilight is trying to teach me... Not to say, I was so angry... Especially when it was taken from me... It almost led to an utter disaster."

"Oh, spare me," scoffed Starswirl into his beard. "Fruits of my labor, of my research, used on the Cutie Map, would've never led to this world's end! The very notion of this is preposterous! If Twilight had begun to fail back then, as I'm sure she did, she would've been given ample chances to get things right because persistence is her intrinsic trait. It was completely natural for her to be misguided with her efforts, and for you too. Do you see what I am trying to say, child?"

"Yes. You keep insisting that it was staged," Starlight replied in a hushed tone, and her horn flickered from all pent-up emotions. "You planned this?"

"Not I. It was the Hand of Fate. The Will of Truth!" He raised his head. "I am but a humble servant of it, as well as of everything that is the Light. While you are out there engrossed in your self-nurturing and self-discovering, ponies like I aim to sacrifice everything that we are and toil away in the background, making sure that the great clockwork of the universe will go unimpeded. Our happiness, our connections, our families, our own future, everything is meant to be cast away to help the world become a better place. No excuse and no weakness is worth the fates of everyone, and there is no cost big enough, and no greater pleasure than this hard work, all made to ensure that the brighter future will break through the darkness. You both had seen the results of the seeds of this labor, of our duty. Every other way will lead only to more misery and pain." Starswirl focused on Starlight yet again. "You must be ready to take my mantle of a wizard as you were meant to. There is no better candidate than you to become a new Pillar. Be someone who others can lean on, let us begin your proper training! No more half-hearted assertions and vague prophecies; I am willing to impart on you everything."

Starlight simply stared. She was at a loss.

The ancient wizard's smile was almost warm. "Yes, you heard it right. Enchantment. Divination. Chronomancy. Conjuration. Transmutation. Curses, illusions, evocations, rituals, and incantations, the spells and magics of all and every kind will be at your disposal, old and new. Everything that is in this tower I offer up to you, all of its secrets were meant for you to inherit. I am building it for you."

Entranced, Starlight looked upwards at spiraling rows of floors, ascending to the heavens. Was she expected to have this power, was she really worth it? She could've helped Twilight so much... no, helped everyone... she could clear her name of past misdeeds forever.

"Think about it, child. It is bigger than you, or me." Starswirl's voice was solemn and proud. "Nevertheless, you should think fast, as we must defeat the Darkness. Lives of everyone are still in danger."

"Does Celestia know any of what you said?" Sunset spoke quietly, looking at Luna's sleeping form. "You were on the same page all along?"

Starswirl replied, maybe even too quickly, "Celestia's heart became too soft, and she knows it all too well. She is unfit to keep carrying out our mission. She is swayed by emotions, just like most of those who are in her charge: the daydreamers and happy ignorant fools. Tell me, Starlight, haven't you always been different and unlike the others? You were given the power to manipulate the marks of fate itself..."

"No, I... I'm just..." Starlight began meekly.

"Okay, that's enough." Sunset stepped between both unicorns, fixing her glare on the stallion. "Stop harassing the girl, old man, and for fuck's sake, at least give her some room to breathe! And ya know what? I think you lost control and now you are afraid, yeah, it's as simple as that. No, even more, I think you were afraid for most of your life, you filthy resin. After you got out of limbo, much in this new world remained unknown to you, correct? Yes, you clearly think of yourself as an unnecessary relic of the past. That is why you hope to rope someone into being a replacement as soon as possible! It's all because of fear! You are just a two-bit no-good fraud!"

Starswirl's gaze became outright hostile. A power surged around him, a palpable danger. "You either become a master of time, Sunset Shimmer, or it becomes a master of you," he spoke in a measured, chilling tone. "Yes, it is true: I might not understand things as your generation does. However, I swear by all that is magic, that I won't stop fighting for a better future, even if there's no place for me in it. I will never give up on our vision of a gentler Equestria!"

"So here is my answer to your offer to me earlier: if you speak the truth and if your mission is to end suffering or whatever, then I won't stop fighting either! You must understand that I can't leave any of Twilight's friends when they are in trouble," said Sunset passionately. "They are my friends too!"

"Weight of conscience will bother you, is that right?" All magic ceased in an instant. The portal collapsed in falling shards, and Starswirl produced a burst of short, bitter laughter. It was the strangest sound that Starlight ever heard from him: he sounded like he had experienced an utter defeat. "See, Starlight?" He sighed tiredly, "They never listen. That is what happens when good, promising little ponies are given a choice—they just reinforce their intention to face all the hardships. I've seen it happen before, and it happens again and again. Just how could we ever fix something like that?" lapsing into thought, Starswirl fiddled with his beard, muttering into it, "And yet, there's still a chance for the Harmony..."

Starlight hung her head low, experiencing a shrill feeling bubbling up. She swallowed the air sharply a few times, trying to stop it, but nothing helped. Tears began falling from her muzzle, one by one, then faster and faster. Starlight bit on her lip, but they just kept coming.

"Hey..." she heard a warm whisper. Sunset embraced her, and she leaned into the hug with a tiny whinny on her lips. A hoof went on her mane, caressing it, and she clung to Sunset's coat greedily, allowing herself to cry more. She glanced at Starswirl. He returned a stern and dissatisfied glare, and after that, he turned away.

"Are you fine?" Sunset asked with care in her voice.

"No, I am not," replied Starlight, and chuckled abruptly. "Nothing is fine. At all. You should've gone back to the other world. Your friends will be waiting."

"I might be a little too old to rely on my friends that much." Sunset flashed a confident smile. "They too can manage without me, what, a few months tops, before we stuff the Hive Queen's legs down her throat, or whatever are we going to do with her? Hey, is it true she has holes in them?"

Starlight smiled bleakly. "I've never seen her in person."

"Oh, right. Hey gramps, have you met Chrysalis?" Sunset called out to the mage.

Starswirl had not answered. He stared in the far corner of the room, beyond the white Tree, at the empty book pedestal. Slowly, he moved muzzle back to both mares and uttered in a calm and collected tone, "Where is the tome?"

His calmness was frightening.

"What tome?" Sunset replied almost under her breath.

"Where is it?" his gruff voice grew more demanding. "I couldn't have misplaced it, I left it right there, right before I went to meet you. Is it some clandestine ploy of yours? Did someone of you steal it?"

"Um, not me," Starlight objected sheepishly, and gave Sunset a pleading look. Sunset shook her head violently in return and then fixed her sunglasses, which almost flew from the muzzle.

"What is going on!?" Starswirl bellowed. "Is this some joke!? A changeling magic? Is someone here working with the Queen?"

His horn flared with a hot white aura, which quickly enveloped the room. Starlight recognized a complex revealing spell, intended to strip away illusions in a wide area.

His spell didn't reveal anything, and Starswirl immediately sagged. He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself, and rubbed his forehead. "My accusations were misplaced, but I think I know what it is tied to, and the perpetrator must be already long gone," he said grimly. "Time is of the essence, as always... Why I must do everything by myself?..."

"Master Starswirl, if you require any help from us, you should tell us what's on your mind," Starlight offered, tense.

"Of course. There was an artifact from a bygone era that existed during the foundation of the realm, and this artifact could reveal much of the nature of this malady that is hindering us. It was called 'The First Compendium of Equestrian Laws'. I was deciphering it for most of the night, but to my great displeasure, it appears to have vanished," Starswirl spoke plainly, as if more to himself.

Both mares stopped hugging each other and looked around forlornly. Starlight cleared her throat. "There are no signs of breaking in... So, who do you think could be the perpetrator?"

"You will find out soon enough. Do you remember the spell depicted in the second half of my book?" Starswirl briskly replied, walking up to her. "Chapter seventeen, on time and its perceivable linearity. I was describing the possibility of breaking the modulation and subsequent incongruity between the application of magical force to it and the perception of it by one's senses."

"Yes, it did, though it disproves several of the hypotheses you made in Grand Arcane Addendum later," Starlight muttered, furrowing brow.

"You must've been reading the old co-authored edition," Starswirl dismissed with a flick of his beard, "Besides, that's not the point. Focus and project the spell, child. You should be able to do it even without practice, since you have much more raw magical aptitude than me."

Starlight shared a brief look with Sunset and concentrated, slowly remembering the correct sequence. She traced her horn in the air, her lips breathlessly uttered the words of power. It was a truly ancient method of casting—one that demanded not only a somatic component but a verbal seal as well.

Needless to say, anything that was related to chronomancy was highly experimental and dangerous, but Starswirl kept nodding with approval, and despite all their differences he still remained a respectable conjurer. Slowly formulating and weaving the complex spell, Starlight glanced above at its structure, fascinated by how interwoven and orderly it was. It tapped her of power, but even the sight of it was worth it.

"Release it," Starswirl commanded quietly.

So she did. It resonated with soft indescribable sound, quickly expanding and dissipating. Starlight blinked a few times, and then her eyes filled with white. She turned her head, scanning the territory covered by the spell. "I see..." she began, and then her breath hitched. "Well, Sunset, I can tell you with certainty: you did not came from the future."

"That's odd, to say the least. What is this spell?" She heard the following question from Sunset, her ringing curiosity mixed with apprehension.

"It is something that aims to detect tears in the continuity of the time itself," Starswirl replied. "At least, what we ponies can understand as time. It is more complicated."

"Yes." Starlight frowned. "But the spell is working wrong, Starswirl."

"You've performed it just as I described, so the results should be true."

"Then why do I detect tracks of hundreds of time travelers in this room alone?"

The abyss of the unwritten future reached out to her and became something palpable. She saw shadows, carrying the knowledge of what was going to happen—of what may still happen, of what must happen?... There was something truly devoid of hope in the fact that they couldn't connect and yet might be one and the same. 

Starswirl sighed. "So you see for yourself, how things actually are... I've placed wards across this Tower to try to keep our reality safe from possible invasion, but maybe someone was meant to slip through."

"That doesn't make much sense," Sunset noticed in an unfamiliar, strained voice. "Why would time travelers try to return here if they know in the future that their efforts will fail? Moreover, why not return before this day and try to fix everything that way?"

"The wedding of Queen Chrysalis and Princess Celestia created a fulcrum event, which is an anomaly that is preventing a possibility of returning to any point of time before it." Starswirl audibly winced. "You may consider it as a split in reality, with all its possibilities. There was only one such incident in the past when Celestia battled Nightmare Moon one thousand years ago. I never expected that I would experience two of them in my lifetime..."

"Oh. Hm," Sunset hemmed. "Still, why do they risk making a more unstable paradox? Why this day in particular?"

"I believe that this time can act as an anchor point, and the magic they use gives them highly imprecise means to reach it," replied Starswirl. "I don't know their intention besides, apparently, stealing the tome, but so far I had been considering it to be a warning."

"What a strange way to try to warn us of something..." Sunset still sounded like she was trying to comprehend it all, and Starlight couldn't blame her.

"They might be desperate," Starswirl suggested glumly.

"Can I stop the spell now?" Starlight asked in a trembling voice. "I don't see anything of note anymore, just cracks as if thousands of hooves are trying to break through the thick wall of ice. It is... chilling. I can't even say who is trapped on the wrong side, we or them."

"Yes, child." Starswirl relieved her, and with heavy breathing, she emerged from the self-induced trance. Her coat was covered with sweat, dripping all over, even getting in her eyes. She squinted them, rubbing.

"Starlight," Sunset deadpanned, "what is that on your horn? It couldn't be there before..."

"Huh?" She squeaked under her breath. A parchment was folded into a paper swan and placed on the tip of her horn. Just by the look of it, Starlight went through the whole palette of emotions: from outrage that someone touched it without permission, to the deepest of dread, "H-huh!? W-what? What is this!?"

"Be careful!" Starswirl had the same look on his face as Sunset: complete bewilderment, and a hint of denial. "We don't know what it is, so please, be careful."

With all the caution she could spare, Starlight lifted the parchment and unfolded it for all to see. In the center of it, in elegant hornwriting, four words glared in bright red,



You should smile more.



After a moment of stupor, they all came to motion. Starswirl had cast some spell; Sunset placed her foreleg on Starlight's shoulder, while looking around; Starlight rapidly blinked before loudly complaining:

"I don't understand."

"There's no one concealed here." Starswirl was talking at the collected pace of a seasoned battle wizard. "I can't detect anything. Nothing!" He looked up and bellowed, "Reveal yourselves, in the name of Celestia and the Sun's Kingdom! I order you!"

He began to bark something in the ancient language vaguely familiar to Starlight, then went through the same demands in different dialects of Old Ponish. Sunset muttered, looking at Princess Luna, peacefully sleeping, "Whoever left that, it might not be a pony at all, right?..."

Starlight ran a quick magical analysis on the paper—just a simple parchment, maybe even from this very Tower, and the red-colored ink was without any discernible trace—and then tried to smell it out of sheer desperation. "A faint sweet scent," she said out loud, flabbergasted.

"There! Under our hooves!" Sunset called.

Another piece of paper was lying on the floor right in front of the wizard. Starswirl snapped his head down, caught it with an aura. His eyes flashed, moving across the written text. One time, second time. He was taking a double-take.

"What utter nonsense is this..." the old wizard breathed out, exasperated. "Is this a prank!? What a ridiculous misuse of chronomantic powers, wh-who is doing that? Show yourself, coward! That is not time for games!" With red on his cheeks, he crumbled the paper, furiously looking at the sides, down below and above. His beard flew all over the place, and the hat almost fell down.

Starlight quickly cleared the growing smirk.

"What was it, Starswirl?" Sunset asked with a strange expression on her muzzle.

"Nothing," he replied abruptly, and in the grasp of his magic, the paper tore itself into minuscule pieces. "Someone has a juvenile sense of humor. Not worth dwelling on," he glanced at sleeping Luna for some reason, then raised his head to the ceiling, calling out: "Well!? Anything else?"

There was no answer, but a feeling of being watched dawned on Starlight. She pressed shoulders with Sunset, trying to notice something else out of the ordinary, but the unknown presence either diverted attention or stopped messing with them altogether. Minutes dragged in futile anticipation, and fierce Starswirl finally slowly began to calm down. 

"Weird." Sunset concluded. "All kinds of weird."

"Yes." Starswirl admitted without any animosity. "Highly unlikely."

"Hm? Oh yeah, that was weird too, but..." Sunset adjusted her sunglasses. "Say, old man, what exactly is that white little tree I am looking at?"

Starswirl sighed gruffly, as it was obvious he didn't want to speak about that: "If I am to put it plainly, It is a model of this world. A projection. Why?"

"Well," Sunset nervously smirked, "don't get me wrong, I do not know anything about dendrology, but why does it appear to be so cracked? Is it normal for a world tree?"

Starswirl slowly climbed to the tree, peering at it, then awkwardly leaned closer until his muzzle almost touched the 'model'. Then, he turned, giving an absolutely miserable expression. He went pale, he went red, he went blue, and then croaked with labored breath: "I will need to conduct an inspection. You will not leave this place until I return!"

The old stallion turned with surprising vigor and galloped back to the local teleportation circle. His horn shone brightly, and in a blinding flash, he was gone.

Both Starlight and Sunset went speechless for a moment, then made a synchronized turn to the sapling. "So, that happened," Sunset concluded once again.

"Should we wait for him?" Starlight suggested.

"Even after all those magnanimous speeches about how everything must be controlled, and he serves forces that manipulate our destinies without our knowledge or consent?" Sunset replied incredulously. "Are you ready to hear another one?"

"What else there to do?" Starlight shrugged with pink on her cheeks. "I mean, he has at least vague understanding of what is going on."

"Hah! Digging to the roots of the problem might take him literal centuries," Sunset cast a glance at the Tree, then at peaceful Luna, still entwined with her plants. "See, I was thinking about what he told to us, and the old crook certainly has a problem with believing in others and learning how to release control."

"We believed in Twilight, and Celestia," Starlight sniffed, "Didn't get us that far, did it?"

Sunset chuckled: "The jury is still out on that, and I won't believe anything until I see it for myself. We are our own ponies, and while destinies are in our hands, sitting on those hands is not something I'm willing to do. How about we go on a little adventure?"

"Where?"

"I have a place to visit, and you're welcome to tag along."

"Do you want to meet Celestia?" Starlight offered.

"No." Sunset replied too fast, and masked sudden startled expression with a guilty smile, "Not yet. We should see what Discord is up to." She examined Starlight's muzzle, then frowned, "Tell me you know who that is?"

Starlight scratched her temple, "Not a clue."

"Remember that message in the book back at Castle of Friendship? That 'See you soon' thing? Maybe it was an invitation of sorts, as he is the only being in Equestria who can be a pain in the rear on such scale. Now, I never met him personally, but I've heard many tall tales about how he is an ancient reality warper who learned about Friendship and came over to the side of good. Maybe he can offer more insight into what's going on."

"Don't keep me in suspense then, where he lives?"

"All my youth he was apparently standing in the Royal Gardens, petrified by the Elements of Harmony hundreds of years ago. We should begin from there," Sunset spoke with a brave voice, but Starlight could tell that uncertainty was growing anew like a stubborn weed.

"I see. I suppose we will just blast any changelings we will come across, then," Starlight murmured, glancing at the vacant teleportation circle.

Sunset patted her on the shoulder, keeping smiling, "That's the spirit! Do not worry, if it all goes smooth, we'll come back soon enough."


═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════


Starlight was standing in front of a tall monster. Strange, lanky, serpent-like, with mismatched hands and feet, it was like a period piece of some outcrying sculptor, that tried to haphazardly slap together everything that came to his mind, and then announce it an art. Its long tail was hugging the column under its legs, one hand was outstretched, the other one placed on a stomach. 

"I think that's the one," Sunset said, sitting a few hoofsteps closer to the statue. Before that, they teleported here and quickly scoured the whole garden, not encountering anyone in the process, not even survivors from the changeling attack who could've found shelter here. 

Starlight examined a songbird, cheerfully praising the day from a branch above her head. The place seemed peaceful, maybe even too peaceful, like flurry of events that occurred really was a dream, and she finally got a chance to wake up.

"What do you think?" Sunset peeked at her from under a rebellious lock of red-orange hair. "Wait." She paused, raising her ear, "Did you hear something just now?"

Starlight shook her head and scowled at the alleged statue of alleged Discord. "Maybe we should just go before something bad happens."

"No-o," Sunset drawled, "I definitely heard someone calling me... Was it you, Discord?"

The statue of the Spirit of Disharmony remained unmoving and made of relatively harmless marble. Starswirl imagined that it really was a living being standing still for eternity, and while the thought vaguely reminded her of something else, her mind quickly went back to Twilight. They have to save her. That must be a priority.

"Don't go there!" She called out to Sunset, startled. 

While she was deep in thought, the mare had already taken a few steps towards the statue. She smirked over her shoulder: "Relax! I'll just look closer, on the off chance someone left another message on it."

"Wait. Can you describe the voice you heard?" Starlight asked nervously. 

Sunset reflected for a brief moment, then shrugged, "It was creepy, I suppose."

"How creepy?"

"Evil creepy."

Starlight sighed, eyeing the statue, "Well, he seems jovial," she acknowledged reluctantly, "like he is singing."

"Do you think Elements of Harmony got to him in the shower room, or something?" Sunset rubbed her chin, and elaborated: "I mean, how do you think the Sisters got a drop on the guy? He is supposed to be omnipotent. You think he just sat around and let it happen?" 

"I guess, he could've been distracted by something," Starlight shrugged, "That's one theory."

"If the statue becomes agressive, I'll teleport away and you will blast it," Sunset suggested, taking another step.

Starlight nodded, then licked her lips, suddenly dry. Her horn began surging with power, "Just be careful."

Under her pensive gaze, Sunset slowly shuffled closer to the statue, calling out for Discord a few more times. She touched it with a hoof, then with another one. Went around it. Sunset shivered and turned back to Starlight, who was keeping charging energy. Just in case.

Sunset smiled: "You know, I think I was wrong. I'm not sure even—"

A giant black hand grabbed her mid-sentence and whisked her into the statue.

Starlight gasped and unleashed her magic without a second thought. A wide radiant ray surged forward, completely obliterating the jovial statue down to a singed stub of a column that cracked deeply and fell apart.

The unicorn slowly leaned to the side, looking at a huge gap of burnt grass and demolished trees with statues that her magic had left in its wake. Just as slow, she straightened back.

"Sunset?" she called out with faint hope.

There was no response.