//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 – Seizing Destiny // Story: Tri-State Area Girls – a Five Score story // by Alsey //------------------------------// September 20th, 1993 Grandview High School Dubuque, Iowa — It was getting late in the day, yet there were often a couple students still lurking around the school – and she had just found one. Pushing open the door to the darkened computer room, she saw the surprised face of the teenage girl jump from behind the monitor, her large round glasses catching the blue glow from the screen. “That’s enough for you today, Tammy. Now scram.” “Y-yes Miss Williams!” The room now empty, Sunny Williams went on to check if the girl had correctly shut down the computer, and hadn’t forgotten to take whatever new D&D drivel she may have had printed. But nothing to report this time, her advice hadn’t fallen on deaf ears. She might have to get stricter with allotted session times though, seeing how popular the machines had gotten since she installed Mosaic. Still, she couldn’t deny some pride, as computer club founder, at finally being able to boast perfect gender parity in her users. The other schools in the district could hardly say the same. She locked the room, and after a last pass through the empty halls, she was finally able to hang up her supervisor hat for the day. The only thing left was to stop by the door of a still-lit office; ‘Margaret Williams – Principal’, said the plaque. No need to knock. “Madam Principal?”, she called, pushing the door open. Principal Williams glanced up from the sempiternal layer of paperwork covering her oak desk, tired hazel eyes looking over the rim of her reading glasses. “Yes? Is everything all right?” “The teen peril has finally vacated the grounds, so yes, all is well in your domain.” She smirked. “A shame we can’t keep it that way.” The older woman let out a sigh, corner of her mouth pulling into a half-smile. “But then wouldn’t we both be out of a job, Miss Williams?” “Alas. Oh, I’ll have to come in extra early tomorrow, need to launch an update on the computers. Should only take a few hours.” “Noted.” The half-smile was eclipsed by a frown. “Please be careful, all right? I fear this will be one of those nights again...” “I will. If you try not spending your night at this desk for a change. Piles of paper make for poor pillows.” “Well if that isn’t the pot calling the kettle black, Miss What-Is-Sleep-Just-Get-Me-More-Coffee.” “Precisely, you’re talking to an expert, and that was my expert opinion. Good night, Maggie.” “Good night Sunny.”, the Principal smiled back. Slipping into her leather jacket, the young woman went out to brave the late September chill. Hopping into her car and taking the road, she barely gave a glance to the statue sitting in front of the school. Not quite yet... This time she didn’t make any stops on her way home on Shady Oaks Drive. A freshly-delivered pizza, the Crichton novel from the movie she had heard so much about this summer, a bottle of wine, and some Bowie in the background – she was set for the evening. Midnight had struck a short while ago when Sunny parked behind Grandview High. Maggie had been right about it being ‘one of these nights’, of course – she could almost taste the magic in the air. Being the Principal’s adoptive daughter had its advantages, like being trusted with the keys of the deserted school, no questions asked. Front gate unlocked, as well as the side entrance closest to it, she only had to stash her bag and clothes in the teachers’ room, and make sure the coast was clear. Even if they didn’t know to what they were reacting, the townsfolk still felt the draw of the portal. In fact it was almost surprising she had never heard of anybody falling into it, with how the school grounds could get busy with stragglers and assorted delinquents during these three days. But she knew, and so she could easily beat the crowd. Only reason she hadn’t been there right on time was that she got drowsy from how boring the latter half of that novel had gotten. No clueless human loitering around, Sunny was good to go. She made a bee line for the rearing horse statue, the dark cloak draped over her naked shoulders feeling a lot less warm than her jacket, and she vanished into the dais. She may’ve had some experience bracing herself for Limbo by now, the trip wasn’t any less unpleasant... but at least she knew how to control her arrival, and so Sunset Shimmer only had to let her forehooves fall back on the crystal floor and wait what!? This wasn’t Canterlot Castle. All crystal, from floor to ceiling and most of the furniture too. Either there had been sudden advances in crystallosynthesis during the past thirty moons, or this— “Yes, welcome to the Crystal Empire! Surprise, I guess?” Sunset did her best to look absolutely unimpressed as she turned to the grinning Cadenza, despite the urge to put her horn to a wall and inspect its microstructure. “And here I thought the Princess had finally tired of that tacky gold-and-marble look.” “Actually she has been wondering about commissioning a new throne room, I’ll have to suggest some of our crystallizers.”, the young alicorn thought aloud. ‘Our’ crystallizers..? So Mi Amore Cadenza was finally princess of something worthwhile. Of the legendary Crystal Empire itself, no less! The magical marvel that spurred the Realm’s earliest technological advances, before mysteriously vanishing. A riddle for the ages, now somehow solved by Cadenza. That was... ... Great, just... Just great. Fantastic even! The Princess must have been so very proud. “Some tea?”, asked the alicorn, gesturing at a nearby table with her hoof. “I even got us some Cookie Crisp’s from Canterlot!” Sunset was tempted to simply jump back the way she came – to hell with crystals and alicorns! What was even the point of catching up with a world that held less and less meaning for her as the years went by? Even as it started to feel more like a dream than anything, Equestria always found new ways to hurt her. Did she need that badly to be reminded she was somehow more than humble Sunny Williams? Was it all worth spending a few hours as her former self? Being a pony felt like slipping back into comfortable, well-worn shoes, at least once past the initial disorientation. Even if her colors seemed a bit more muted each time around. Was it magic? A chance to practice weaving and casting spells, learn about the latest advances in her original fields of study... That did please her, even though the withdrawal effect was painful. Spending time with Cadenza..? Irrelevant. She didn’t care for that pink airhead. Not that much. She was just... convenient. No, she could turn back without losing much. But... If she were already there? It wasn’t like leaving now would give her back her missing hours of sleep. Besides, she could do with a midnight snack right then. With a sigh she sat down, and the warm fruity tea combined with sweet biscuits did help sooth the unicorn’s nerves. Just a bit. But Cadenza had seen through her, of course. Emotions were the bread and butter of her school of magic after all... “You know Sunset, the Empire has gone through some rough times, and a lot of knowledge has been forgotten. We’ve been employing several mages and researchers from Equestria to help our ponies reclaim their heritage. We... We would be happy to have you, too.” ... And she could never leave things well enough alone. “Thanks for the offer Cadenza, but I’ve already got my hands full at the moment. Maybe this could be an opportunity for you to practice with your magic a little more, though.” The pink alicorn stuck her tongue out at her. “I’m quite happy with my current skill level, thank you. But the offer still stands if you change your mind. Hopefully you’re not always working all the time over there? How are you finally gonna find the special somecreature you need in your life otherwise!” “No thanks.”, Sunset chuckled. “I’m perfectly happy leaving all that romantic nonsense to you.” The argument was a familiar one, and served as a springboard for Cadenza to gush about her wedding, and then her new life with Shining Armor in the Crystal Empire: a flourishing city, a Royal Summit about to be held, and soon the Equestria Games themselves. Her perfect little life, bug monsters and tyrannical despots notwithstanding. The life of an alicorn princess right out of a fairytale. She knew she should be happy for the closest thing she ever had to a little sister... And she was, really! But it was hard to not let it turn bittersweet. “Well, enough talking about me!”, Cadenza eventually said, putting her photo album away. “I’m sure you’ve been dying to check on the news. You won’t believe everything that happened in just this past year!” A spell cleared the table of biscuit crumbles, and a thick stack of newspapers and academic journals landed on the crystal surface. The first front page, of the Canterlot Chronicle, proclaimed ‘Luna Returned!’ in big bold letters, above a picture of the Princess and a smaller, darker alicorn. Sunset checked the paper’s date. “This is suspiciously close to the thousandth Summer Sun Celebration... Wait, are princess Luna and Nightmare Moon the same pony!?” “More or less? It’s a touchy subject. But yes, she did come back as Nightmare Moon on that day, like you had predicted.” She leafed through the paper, but it was pretty light on details – just as the historical accounts had been, likely at the behest of the Princess. “So how did it unfold? You convinced her to stop eating foals through the power of love or something?” “Not exactly, but I did leave that book you showed me in a place the appropriate pony would find it, and make the connection herself.” She dug through the newspapers, arranging them in chronological order. Cadenza hadn’t lied, the number of recent Realm-threatening events was concerning, though not unprecedented. The strangest thing was that again the reports were cursory, focusing more on the consequences of the events for ponies and the economy, rather than the events themselves. Not even some propaganda piece glorifying the Guard. Was this again showing the Princess’s hoof, hiding knowledge and keeping her subjects from uncomfortable truths? The latest periodical dated from a month back. Odd. Especially as she had the most recent issue of the Proceedings of the Equestrian Academy of Sciences, printed the past week. Going back to the newspapers, she then noticed missing pages. In the case of the Spirit of Chaos’s rampage through the Canterlot region, she didn’t have a corresponding edition of the Chronicle, Daily, Gazette, or even the Ponyville Express, but of the Baltimare Sun. A princess was trying to keep something from her alright... “What do you not want me to see, Cadenza?” “It was worth a try...”, the alicorn sighed. “Sunset, trust me. This will only hurt you more than I already did, and... And we don’t need that. It’s not important.” Still important enough to hide it from her. What could it be? Did something happen to her parents? As if she cared what could happen to these awful ponies, and it wouldn’t be newspaper material anyway. Same if the results of one of her research papers had been dismissed. Did the Princess publicly denounce her, at last? Or was it connected in some way to that new star student of hers? That had been the finishing blow for the unicorn, seven years ago. What had finally convinced her to abandon any thought of going back to Equestria in any long-term capacity. And Cadenza had tried to hide it, too. Sunset had only found out by reading the ‘Acknowledgments’ section of that fascinating paper on sub-atomic thaumic interactions. She had immediately jumped back through the mirror, that time. Now Cadenza was giving her a choice. She could just forget it. Keep on munching on those delicious pastries and scanning the crystal teacup she was drinking from. What would be the harm? It wasn’t like there could be any real consequences for her. This wasn’t her world anymore. It had rejected her twice already. ... But she was still Sunset Shimmer. “Out with it, Cadenza.” “I... Alright.” The alicorn took a long swig of tea, as if to steel herself. “So, it has to do with Auntie’s personal student...” Of course it did. “You see, about a year ago Auntie sent Twilight Sparkle to Ponyville, and—” “‘Twilight’?” She had actually forgotten her replacement’s name, despite it sounding somewhat familiar. To be fair, the whole journal issue had combusted in her magic when she had happened upon the phrase ‘Princess’s personal apprentice’... “Any relation to Twilight Velvet?” “Her daughter. Maybe you remember her, Velvet took her to some of our classes. The cutest purple unicorn filly, had to be no more than two years old last time you saw her?” Maybe... But more importantly, it meant that her replacement had been picked right out from one of Canterlot’s most respectable upper-class families. Why wasn’t she surprised? Even becoming the Princess’s prized pupil hadn’t fully shielded her from the condescending glares and biting words of the buffoons populating the city’s highest spheres. Of course they’d push for her subsitute to be one of them. “Oh, and you may’ve seen her on the wedding photos, she’s Shining’s little sister, and she was his best mare.” Daughter of a wealthy magical expert and SGU teacher. Sister of the former Captain of the Royal Guard. Sister-in-law of the Crystal Empress. Overcompensating much? Had the Princess thought she’d get a more obedient student this time around if their blood was almost bluer than her own? “She’s every bit the magical genius that you are, I’m sure you’d get along very well if you gave her a chance. Anyway, she... She was the one who helped princess Luna along with her friends, and stopped Discord, and saved me from the changelings, and—” “Get to the point already!” Biting down on her lip, ears drawn back, Cadenza’s answer was to summon a newspaper with a blue flash. Sunset seized it, and didn’t have to look further than the front page. The only reason it didn’t burst into flames was that she took it with her hooves. She almost wished it had. The picture, in full color, showed a royal carriage pulled by two of the Guard’s pegasi, surrounded by a cheering crowd. The background was clearly Canterlot, right in front of the castle in fact. The carriage’s sole occupant, smiling and waving at the crowd, was a young purple unicorn in a fancy dress. A dress that didn’t hide in any way her pair of large, outstretched wings. An alicorn’s wings. ‘Princess Coronation!’, the headline proclaimed. Sunset tried to read more. Her vision had gotten blurry. Cadenza said something, but she didn’t hear. The Princess... She... She had claimed she wasn’t ready. That it couldn’t be forced. Couldn’t be rushed. That she should be patient. Then when she had gotten too close to the truth, she had been rebuffed. Told to focus on her current studies. Set aside, while Cadenza was taught the secrets. Pushed away. Rejected. Forced to exile as the only way forward. And now she had given her wings to another filly. She had never intended for Sunset to succeed. She hadn’t cared. Had she always been disposable in the Princess’s eyes? A daughter, she had been replaced by Cadenza. An apprentice, now replaced by this Twilight Sparkle. What did they have that she didn’t? What did she do wrong? She had risen through the muck and abuse to stand at the top of the world, she had worked harder than anypony to earn what little she had had! It had never been easy for her and yet she had always prevailed! Until the Princess had judged her lacking, and discarded her. She had claimed Cadenza was a fluke, a cosmic accident. But she hadn’t meant for the pink whelp to tell her the truth. Hadn’t meant for her to learn the new alicorn had been born a pegasus. That a simple pony could ascend, if they managed to unlock some magical secret. That her foalish dreams could become a reality. A reality that the Princess decided would be Twilight Sparkle’s, and not Sunset’s. For this Twilight the wings, the adoration and power, the throne and the crown, the— That crown. Its six-pointed star. She knew that star. “C–Cadenza...”, she rasped out, throat dry, voice unsteady. “This Twilight... Did she find the Elements of Harmony?” The alicorn didn’t answer. Not that she really needed to. “Nightmare Moon, Discord... Threats that the Princess only managed to stop in the past thanks to these Elements. Not something most ponies learn about, it’s not in the history books, but the knowledge’s there if you know where to look.” And she had. Months spent researching the secret history of alicorns and unconventional forms of magic. Following a trail that led her to the Castle of the Two Sisters, and what laid below. The connections were revealing themselves to Sunset, clear as day; it helped her find her composure again. “And now, this Twilight, you tell me, has managed to deal with both these threats, and more, all by herself... So this doesn’t feel like much of a stretch. Especially with that crown to prove it.” “No, not all by herself...”, muttered Cadenza, looking down at her empty teacup, but sounding more confident with each word: “She has her friends. Each of them bear their own Element, and all of them make up Harmony. That’s her real strength Sunset, friendship. It’s what powers the Elements. Without that, this crown is nothing more than a piece of jewelry.” She straightened up, staring deep into the unicorn’s eyes. “Sunset, I... I feel this is what Auntie hoped you’d discover, when she let you go. Why she always pushed you to get out of your lab, mingle with the other students. Why she had you help me with magic in the first place.” Friendship. She’d have laughed if she weren’t already hurting so much. Was this how they called it nowadays? There wasn’t anything special about a spell circle, that technique was as old as unicorns themselves – it’s how they could share the burden of moving the sun and moon. But there was still a leader in a circle, the one pony shaping the spell, the others lending their strength to power it. It had to be the same for the Elements – this Twilight Sparkle was the center, the omphalos, feeding off her ‘friends’. Wouldn’t there have been a slew of new alicorns, if they had all been equal? It felt downright disingenuous to call this ‘friendship’, really. It would’ve been known for centuries if there were an intrinsic aetheric or even thaumic component to interpersonal relationships, especially if it could supply such a powerful thing as the Elements. Even Cadenza herself, the ‘alicorn of love’, hadn’t demonstrated anything of the sort that couldn’t be explained instead by her special talent of altering ponies’ emotions or her alicorn nature. Emotions themselves did affect spellcasting, but precisely because they impacted a unicorn’s own mind, could force more magic into a weave through pure instinct, and that was a fully internal process. You couldn’t push out emotions outside like magic, that was preposterous! Otherwise there’d be a whole lot more types of ‘emotion magics’ out there, and not just ‘love’ and ‘friendship’! Another ploy of the Princess, to influence her ponies? To convince them that such a silly thing as friendship could make them stronger, more powerful? That they should feel content with that, rather than vying for her own supreme power? Like Cadenza said, it’s what she had tried to do with Sunset herself. And she had made that Twilight an alicorn, just to prove the point. Would... Would she had done the same for Sunset, if... If she had actually tried? As if. Sunset wouldn’t have let herself be turned into a walking piece of propaganda. The Princess knew she wouldn’t have been able to control her, and so... And so it had been her destiny to fail... Always had been... ... She hadn’t noticed when Cadenza had moved to her side, but for once she didn’t reject the hug. Sunny Williams didn’t even bother locking her front door. She just let go of the stack of documents she had held against her chest, Equestrian newspapers fluttering in an arc at her feet, and slid down to the floor, back to the door. Her strength spent, her heart in pieces. She looked at her darkened home through red, puffy eyes. It was a nice home. Better be, with how much she had paid for it. Best part of town, with all the other big houses of the wealthy and notable. After she was pushed out of the field, and she had resigned herself to following in Maggie’s footsteps, it was the only thing that showed how much money she actually had in the bank. She may’ve been a failure, she wasn’t stupid either. Most of the computers in the nation ran on the microprocessor architecture she had helped develop, after all. She didn’t care much about money though, not anymore. Only a means to an end. To what end now, exactly..? She could see her framed diplomas from Brown, on the living room wall. What did these pieces of paper mean now? This country didn’t like a strong, smart woman in a position of power, one who wouldn’t let these old men and lecherous man-children decide things for herself. The math and physics were close enough that she was still a prodigy among them, but the similarities between spell weaving and coding, between crystal lattices and electronic circuits, had only given her a temporary advantage. They had built upon her work, behind closed doors. Happy to give her her cut, as long as she stopped being a nuisance. Even her former professors, once so impressed by her talents, were happy to see her go. And she had let them all push her away. If only she’d never met Bonnie in Providence, hadn’t seen her draw her stupid toy horses, hadn’t shared old tales and legends with her... Maybe she wouldn’t have felt so homesick. Wouldn’t have felt the pull of Dubuque, of Equestria, to come back here and stay. But no. Human girls had loved the pretty plastic ponies. They were everywhere. She couldn’t escape them. ... Was that it, then? Dr. Sunny Williams, Ph.D., had let everything she had worked for crumble to dust, because clueless humans had assaulted her with tiny pastel visions of her past? Just how desperate was she for an excuse? For a justification of how far she had fallen? First it was because of this false sense of familiarity she got from Maggie, now the Little Ponies? Pathetic..! She had had a whole new world of possibilities, and she barely took advantage of what it had to offer. She squandered her potential, accepted a mediocre life, forgot her true worth, her true calling! Her one dream, left to oblivion! No. It wasn’t even her dream anymore. She was only humble Sunny Williams today. It’s what she had let herself become. A pathetic human woman without a future, crying alone in her home, surrounded by glimpses of what could’ve been her life. What had been the point of taking the newspapers and journals anyway? Even this latest issue of the Chronicle, princess Twilight waving at her from the tear-stained cover? She hadn’t thought, simply grabbing it along with the rest, like she always did. She had a whole bookshelf of Equestrian periodicals and scrolls in her basement. To keep herself up to date on current events and magical theory, or so she had rationalized. Now she realized the true reason: despite herself, despite everything, deep down a part of her held on to a little unicorn’s hope. That someday, somehow, the Princess would realize her mistake. Call her back to her side. But it never happened. Cadenza had never suggested it would, only urging her again and again for her to go talk to the Princess, ask for forgiveness, when she had been the one being abandoned, discarded. And their shared communication journal had laid dormant, ever since that singular ‘Sunset?’ she had received, sometime during her initial captivity at the youth center. She had never penned any answer, and why would she? It would’ve only left her open to more reprimands and empty sermons. Still she collected all this useless paper each time she crossed the portal. Only good for her chimney now. And she would begin with this one. Sunny clawed at the young princess’s image, bringing the smiling pony right under her glare. The pony who had gotten everything she had ever dreamed of. Her replacement. Her better double. Even their names were laughably similar, like the Princess had wanted to rub it in. It was an even crueler joke that this crown of the Elements also had to be a perfect facsimile to— ... No, could... Could it be..? The picture’s quality wasn’t ideal, she could stare at the little pigmented dots all she wanted, some small detail may well elude her. But the shapes, the colors, maybe even the materials? Yes, it really was. An almost perfect reflection... Eerily so. Sunny had long theorized a potential sympathetic link between her two worlds. Similar geography, near-identical fauna and flora, beyond the more magical creatures which only existed in legends. History, places. How they could share a language, and so many aspects of their respective cultures. How she could find architecture and art clearly calling back to Equestrian, even Canterlotian models in the very human city of Dubuque, like the portal was blurring the parallels and reflections together. How she could find this large pink starburst at a glassmith’s shop all these years ago, and feel that somehow it was made to be added to the golden tiara. It felt silly at the time. Even for a prideful, self-important teenager, competing for the title of Fall Formal Princess had obviously been a poor attempt at a consolation price. A petty and meaningless one. The only reason she hadn’t won three out of three was she had enrolled too late her sophomore year. And for her senior year, she had had the starburst added. She who had ventured into the heart of the Everfree and still had the scars to show for it, she who had witnessed the ruins of the Princess’s hubris, she who had gazed upon the symbol of Harmony etched into the Tree, alongside the Princess’s sun and her spurned sister’s moon... She the deluded child, who desperately acted like this crown of glass and brass could make a princess out of her. She for whom destiny had suddenly shone a light at the end of a long meandering path. Back during her Equestrian days, she had tracked down the Elements for a reason. Cadenza had gained her horn through a strange and powerful magic, so what better than the Elements of Harmony, so tightly associated with the alicorns, to grant Sunset her own wings? But in the Castle itself she had found only a sculpture representing them, and the Tree had been impervious to her attempts at studying it. That failure, and the Princess’s anger when she learned of it, had led her to look for another version of her mentor, another Princess, and the mirror portal. It had led her to what she was today. And during her exile, Twilight Sparkle had somehow solved the enigma. Had obviously become an alicorn for it. One who was now wearing a crown identical to Sunny’s. A crown that Cadenza had heavily implied was the focus of the Elements. How could it be anything else but a sign? She started reading the newspaper, instead of tearing it apart. Light on details for the ‘hows’ and ‘whys’, but that was expected. What did make her heart skip a beat was the last paragraph of the article. ‘The three princesses are now expected to visit Princess Cadance of the Crystal Empire for the next Royal Summit.’ They even gave a date. Wait, hadn’t Cadenza mentioned the Summit herself..? At the time it only meant that Sunny wouldn’t stay longer than necessary, in case the Princess were to discover her presence. She racked her brain, trying to remember how the Equestrian calendar converted to the American one, and— She redid the math. Triple-checked it. She jumped to unsteady feet and wrote it down to be absolutely sure. Today. The Summit was to be held today. Twilight Sparkle may’ve been sleeping a couple rooms away from the one where she shared biscuits with Cadenza. And she had the crown. She had the power of the Elements. ... How could it be anything other than her destiny? Her long exile finally made sense. It had all been to bide her time, waiting for the Elements to reappear. The human world had magic, a chaotic magic that its native creatures hadn’t evolved to harness; if she were to take control of the Elements here, to bring Harmony to this world, then... Wouldn’t it be a feat fit for a princess? She had to try. She wouldn’t be able to live with herself if she didn’t. All the stars had finally aligned. Her destiny was at hand. This time she would seize it. And never let go. The polished marble rippled, and the naked woman stumbled out of the portal. Fingers that seconds before had been hoof and fetlock failed to close around the strap of her bag – it impacted the ground with a metallic chime. Sunny scrambled for her prize. The sudden transition from running on all fours and the adrenaline pulsing through her veins all conspired to make her clumsy and unsteady. Through the bag’s fabric she could confirm that the crown was still there, so without a look back she ran for the school gate. Gate crossed and closed, padlock clicking in place, minimal noise – step twelve complete! Running again, hurting her feet but it didn’t matter, slipping back into the school, locking the door behind her... Done! Only now could she afford to catch her breath, but not too long; step thirteen wouldn’t be complete until she was all dressed back up. She felt for the crown again, just to be sure, just in case. It was still there, still slightly warm. Like her experiments had shown, magical objects weren’t changed by the portal. And even in another world, one not orchestrated by Harmony, it hadn’t simply dissolved into nothingness either. So far so good! Her quest may had made a criminal out of her once again, it wouldn’t matter if it all worked out as planned. On her way back to the teachers’ room, she took another minute to look through one of the windows. No activity from the portal. She wouldn’t be truly safe until step fifteen, but this was already encouraging. Either she had completely eluded those nosy guards, or they hadn’t realized yet that she had made her escape through the mirror. She’d been wise to take some precious instants to practice her rusty teleportation skills, before getting on step eight... She had to keep moving, never count on being lucky. Soon she was getting dressed, and thus was step thirteen completed. Now to step fourteen: take the car, drive home. Sunny hurried toward the back entrance, pocket flashlight tracing the way along the dark corridors, but her steps slowed as she grew aware of the noise. Flashlight turned off, she took a peek through the glass. Relief at first, seeing it was only a half-dozen regular young humans, rather than some elite guard squad sent to track her down. Then a slew of muttered curses, realizing said humans were smoking and drinking and making horse noises, in the deeper shadows of the bleachers, her car in plain view. And finally, a burst of rage in her chest recognizing their ringleader. Ross Hengstmann, Grandview graduate – though only by a hair. Too willful to respect authority, and not clever enough by half to fake it. She had taken pleasure in grinding the would-be bully under her heel for the past four years. So Mr. Hengstmann and his friends thought they could get away with breaking any and all rules just because it was the middle of the night!? They could’ve reveled in their debauchery anywhere but they chose her school, just to taunt her! Not that the portal helped either; why did it have to attract weak-minded fools more than any others!? Sunny was about to open the door, go and give the little cretin a piece of her mind... but her hand froze on the push bar. What was she about to do exactly? Just stomp ahead and glare them down as she went to her car? That may had worked if they hadn’t been mashed, had tried to hide it in any way. No, they knew she had no more power over them. Hengstmann wasn’t a student anymore, and knowing him, he’d relish in making that fact very clear. They’d see her, she was sure. Even if she ran for her car, they were closer, and she’d make herself an ever more tempting prey. She couldn’t risk a confrontation, she was outnumbered, for all she knew they could be armed. What if they took the crown from her? If what magic came out of the portal could already influence human behaviors, would the crown have an even stronger draw? Though with how boneheaded the young man was, he could throw it in the Mississippi just to spite her! Call the cops? As if they had ever been useful to her... She would have had to lie to get their lazy asses to the school at this hour, and doubling the number of belligerent fools in the area wouldn’t help at all! Too long and risky to leave on foot, especially on a portal night... Even if she hid the crown at the school in case she got mugged, this was leaving her prize far too close to the portal – the guards could figure out how she got away, follow after her, and find it before morning! And Hengstmann kept on neighing outside, mocking her. Couldn't even make it sound right! If only she had any real power in this rotten world, she’d put him back in his place! But that’d change, very soon..! Each second she was spending without taking a decision and losing her nerve was bringing her closer to failure. She couldn't take any more chances wasting time, so she went with her gut – time for the backup plan! Sunny ran back through the school, and locked herself in her computer lab. Quelling her doubts, she took out the crown. Earlier in the Crystal Empire she’d had to rush a spell, to increase the likeness between the decoy tiara and the real Element of Harmony. The similarities would only strengthen it, and hopefully it was subtle enough to not be noticed immediately. But now, holding one of the most powerful artifacts known to ponydom in the palm of her hand, Sunny doubted it’d be enough. It was far more than the warmth. She could feel the thrum of magic even now, struggling against her hold. The gold of its frame wasn’t forged metal, but a living construct that even showed signs of having altered its shape one way or another. The vibrant pink starburst shined with an angry glare, a perfect naturally-cut gem the likes of which could only be found in Equestria. Only this one’s geometric shape probably hadn’t been guided by the ambient aetheric currents. It had been directly molded this way by Harmony’s will. A will that she now had to confront. With pretty much no preparations. Jumping right into it, trust her instinct, and improvise. That was pretty much the extent of her backup ‘plan’. She had always been a practical, hooves-on kind of mare. The Princess would’ve also added headstrong and impulsive. Walking on two legs hadn’t really changed much of that. The multi-step plan had only been a guide, fluid enough to let her adapt. No more time to lose, no more distractions – her only chance of reclaiming her destiny, nothing would keep her away from it! The power she deserved would finally be hers, and they’d all see how right she had always been! Her hands gripped the crown tightly. She curled upon herself on the cold floor, eyes closed; her forehead touching the warm starburst, right where her horn should’ve been. In the past it had been a struggle, tuning up her perceptions to feel the fickle magics of this world, not being able to direct her own energy outward into spells. But Harmony wasn’t subtle, wasn’t trying to hide – it was a torrent crashing against her, through her. A torrent of unfamiliar magic, that she hadn’t experienced before as a unicorn, and that she wasn’t even sure her human body could process. Sunny let herself be submerged by the sensation, not putting any barrier or defense, trying to touch the foreign energy flowing into her. It first swirled around her cutie marks. Her hands and eyes followed, if it weren’t just the heat from the crown. Little by little, she grew aware of another pool forming, one she couldn’t immediately place; it was just deep somewhere inside her. Similar to her pony body’s magical wellspring, yet clearly distinct. After some time just focusing on that inner space, though how long she couldn’t really say, she felt... something. Something that, somehow, seemed to extend past her. Something powerful. She wanted it. In her mind’s eye, she grabbed at this connection. At the essence of Harmony. She grabbed, and she pulled in. Pain – first as a migraine, like Harmony was struggling against her, but Sunny wouldn’t let go, gritting her teeth, turning herself into an abyss that power had no choice but to flow into. Pain redoubled – like her very nerves were on fire as the energy reached her at last through the portal, through the crown, through her body, through her soul. The inner inferno went ablaze. Still she held on. Pain had never stopped her; they were old friends. Not simply grabbing anymore – clawing at it, gnawing at it, tearing it off for herself, letting agony fuel her rage. Giving herself up to the emotion, to her own fire. She burned inside as the power nestled deep, overwhelming. She couldn’t even hear her own screams. Wasn’t aware of her body convulsing. Never realized exactly when, at last, she fell unconscious.