//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 // Story: A Shimmering Intellect // by DungeonMiner //------------------------------// Sunset woke to a buzzing by her ear. Her head popped up, and she glanced around but didn’t see the usual glow of her phone screen. She fumbled for the phone and found it before pulling it open, only to blind herself to the light. Blinking, Sunset forced herself to stare at the brilliant screen until she could read the time and blinked at the awful, pre-6 am time. “Why?” she mumbled, wondering what possible reason her phone would have for waking her when her alarm wasn’t set for another twenty-five minutes. The buzzing sounded again; this time, her brain was awake enough to know it wasn’t the phone. She stared at the device in her hand for another half-a-minute, before her body caught up, and she set it down again. She glanced around again, searching for whatever was making the noise, before she rolled out of bed and glanced around the living/dining/bedroom. Eventually, she went down from her loft to the computer desk, where her book, her magical journal, sat waiting for her. It vibrated, buzzing the desk. Her brain snapped awake. Princess Twilight was reaching out to her. She rushed to the desk and pulled the book open to the latest page, where a new message appeared, penned in fresh ink. Sunset! It read. I hope you’re doing well. I need to speak with you as soon as possible if you have time. We have a situation brewing here in Equestria and need your expertise. I know you still have a lot to take care of over there, and if you can’t manage, I need to know as soon as possible. The message appeared short, but knowing Twilight’s habit of going on that only made the message even more important. Sunset’s mind ran through a dozen different scenarios, all trying to figure out what happened that made her the pony to go to, and the only thing she knew for sure was that she needed to get to Equestria as soon as possible. Her body began to move. She grabbed a shirt, pants, and her phone as she dressed. Her fingers moved across the screen, and she dialed up her work. No one answered because it wasn’t even six in the morning yet, but Sunset didn’t let that slow her down. She hopped into one of her boots, jumped into the kitchenette, and grabbed a slice of bread she didn’t have time to toast. Sunset stuffed it in her mouth and barely chewed the light breakfast before wrapping her hair into a ponytail. Why were they called that, anyway? Now dressed, basically fed, and ready to go, she grabbed her jacket, keys, and journal and only took enough time to lock her door behind her before rushing down the stairs for her car. She slammed her keys into the ignition and started the car. It whined briefly before chugging to life, and Sunset took off, driving toward her old high school. She’d have to call Mr. Shine later, but she needed to start putting as much space between her and the— Something in the car thumped, and the car slowed to a stop. She’d made it maybe thirty feet from her house. She sighed before yanking out the keys and pulling out her phone. The alarm went off. She rolled her eyes and shut it off before turning to her contacts. She’d have to get someone to help her get to the school. She flipped through her list, checking for anyone who could get her out. Most of her friends were out of town. She couldn’t pick Rainbow Dash, Rarity, or Not-Princess Twilight. She’d have to come up with someone beyond her regular friend group. Flash Sentry’s name appeared on her list. She scrolled past as fast as she could. There were other options. There had to be. ---♦--- She spent nearly an hour going through her contact list. She called everyone she could. Everyone but him. And now she didn’t have a choice. She stared at the name for a long time before she finally dialed. It rang once. Twice. And just when she thought it would ring a third time and he wouldn’t answer her call, Flash picked up. “Sunset?” “Hey, Flash.” “Is there a reason you’re calling me at seven in the morning?” Sunset sighed. “I received a message from Twilight. The Pony Princess one. I need to go see her, and my car broke down.” There was silence on the other end for a moment. “Okay,” Flash eventually said. “Can I come with you?” “What?” “I’m asking if I can come. I’m driving you there, after all.” “I…I don’t—I guess? Why do you want to come with me?” “Not every day you get invited to a parallel universe.” “Yes, but why woul—” she stopped. “Are you…still trying to get with Pony Twilight?” “I don’t think it’s fair to call her ‘Pony Twilight,’” Flash said. “I mean, I met her first. The Twilight from this universe is the one that needs a modifier.” Sunset cradled her forehead. “Flash, she’s a Princess. Like, never mind the fact that she’s from a different universe. She’s the ruler of a sovereign nation. ‘Out of your league’ isn’t even the right way of saying how unlikely you are to date her.” “I didn’t say I’m trying to date her.” “You didn’t say you weren’t.” “Look, can you take me with you or not?” Sunset sighed. “Fine. Fine, you can come. But don’t expect a lot out of Twilight, okay? It’s been years since you two talked.” “And how do you know that?” Flash asked. “How do you know she hasn’t been coming by?” “Because I have the magic journal that she can contact me through. If she came through the portal, she’d let me know.” Flash sighed on the other side. “Fine. Are you still in your room-and-a-half apartment?” “Yes.” “Alright, I’ll be there in a minute.” “Great, see you in a bit.” She hung up and groaned. “Why?” When the universe didn’t give her the answer she asked for, she called Mr. Shine again. “Sunset, why are you calling so early? Did something happen?” “Hey, Mr. Shine,” she said. “I know this is short notice, but I’m dealing with an emergency. I don’t know if I can come in today.” “I see. Alright. Keep me posted, alright?” “Will do.” She hung up and sighed again before checking her apartment in her rearview mirror. She could head back in, get a proper breakfast, and care for her hair. She marched back to her home with a sigh, walking back up the stairs and into her meager apartment, and began with a bowl of cereal. Sunset crunched away at the last wheat flakes and milk before moving to her bathroom. As Sunset squeezed back into the tiny room, she swore it broke the rules of physics, cramming everything into such a small space. Sunset released the ponytail and brushed her hair properly, smoothing out tangles before they became knots and keeping it under control. “At least I won’t look like a mess when I appear before Princess Twilight. Cause that could only go well.” With her hair taken care of, she considered jumping in the shower quickly, but her phone rang. She saw Flash’s name appear on the screen and answered. “Yes?” “I’m outside. You weren’t in your car.” “I decided to clean up a bit more. I kind of jumped out of bed when I got the summons. I know Twilight wouldn’t care much, but I still have to give her some basic respect. If I have to take my time getting there, I might as well look like I spent it getting ready.” “That’s a fair point, I suppose. Anyway, I’m here.” “Be down in a second,” she said, hanging up before removing her shirt to wash herself from the sink. It wouldn’t be the same as a proper shower, but it would help. Once she washed and had a short trip down memory lane from when she first arrived in the human world, she dressed again and moved downstairs. She grabbed everything again and saw Flash’s old, refurbished, orange-red convertible. He nodded to her, dressed in a button-down shirt, his old jacket, and a pair of khakis. “What’s with the look?” she asked, getting in. “What do you mean?” “You hate button-downs. You’d told me you’d rather be strangled by a tie than wear button-downs.” “You were the one who said we should look nice,” he said, pulling away from the curb to make the way toward the school. “After you already got here,” she noted, raising an eyebrow. “Are you trying to impress—” And that was as far as she got before Flash floored it. Sunset’s voice was drowned out by the rushing wind around her, making speaking nearly impossible. She rolled her eyes, annoyed that Flash resorted to such an old trick. He used to do this a lot back when she nagged him during…well, when they were “dating.” Sunset did her best not to glare at him, and he slowed back to a reasonable speed. She glanced over at him, and he had the decency to grimace at least. “Sorry,” he muttered. “Old habits.” “We all make mistakes,” she said, although it rang a little hollow to herself. Her mistakes were worse than Flash’s by a long shot. They didn’t speak for a while, instead letting an awkward silence hang over them. Sunset hated the silence, but it felt better than actually talking to the young man driving. After a moment that stretched on a bit too long, Flash spoke up. “So, will we have to wait around for the portal to open up, or…?” “Twilight rigged some machinery to it,” Sunset said. “She’s able to force it on and off these days. I just need to write to her to let her know we’re here, and we’ll be able to jump across.” “Cool,” Flash said. “Cool.” The awkward silence pressed in again. “As for the cross itself, there’s a couple of things you’ll need to know,” Sunset said, caving just to fill the quiet. “First, we’ll want to come in on all fours. You can go in on your feet, but it feels weird once you get on the other side, and you might fall.” “Got it,” he said with a nod. “Second, the clothes you’re wearing will disappear. They’ll be back when we get back.” “So I’m wearing this for nothing?” Flash asked, pointing at the shirt he hated. Sunset nodded. Flash frowned before unbuttoning the shirt, revealing a t-shirt beneath it. Sunset smirked. The oppressive silence pressed in again, but Sunset had nothing else to say that she could use to keep it at bay. It washed over them both, smothering them in the quiet she couldn’t stand. Luckily, the ride didn’t last much longer. Flash’s car pulled into the high school’s parking lot, and Sunset gladly exited the car, happy to be out of an enclosed space with Flash. She moved to the front of the school, where the old statue waited for them. Flash followed shortly behind. “Man, it’s a good thing it’s a Saturday,” he muttered. “I’d hate to have to explain this to Celestia.” “Don’t say that too loud,” Sunset said. “Or you might wind up explaining to the other Celestia.” “There’s a Pony Celestia?” “Princess of Equestria. Raises the Sun and Moon. Or, just the sun these days, I guess.” “That’s weird. How does a Principal mirror into a ruler?” “How does a Princess mirror into a scientist?” Sunset asked back. “I talked to you about this. They’re not the same people.” “Sure, but I thought that was more about individual experiences rather than actually changing who they are.” “It still is,” she said. “I mean, Pony Twilight started out as a student in Celestia’s school. That’s about as close as she could get to being a scientist. That led her to be basically chosen to be the next Princess. It’s a matter of environment just as much as a person’s nature.” “I suppose I can’t argue that.” Sunset nodded before she opened her journal. She pulled a pen from her pocket and began to write. “Princess, we’re here. Flash is with me. We’re ready to cross over.” ---♦--- Night walked down the hallway of the Canterlot castle just behind the Princess. A pair of guards flanked them as they moved. Twilight carried a journal in her magical grip and walked with a smile toward a room that Night only saw occasionally. Inside was a monstrosity of a mirror. Attached to a plethora of machinery, pipes, and a dozen other apparatus that Night couldn’t identify, this mirror could supposedly open a portal to a different reality, where a terrorist—or rather, an ex-terrorist—took refuge. “She should be coming over in a bit,” Twilight said. “It’ll be so good to see her. It’s been ages.” Night nodded through something in his gut that made him worry about this. They’d met and become friends before, so he shouldn’t have been too concerned about this. But his gut didn’t cooperate. Twilight smiled as she opened her book and wrote to Sunset about their request. “Sunset!” she dictated. “I hope you’re doing well. I need to speak with you as soon as possible if you have time. We have a situation brewing here in Equestria and need your expertise. I know you still have a lot to take care of over there, and if you can’t manage, I need to know as soon as possible.” “How fast do you expect her to be?” Night asked. “It’s hard to say,” Twilight said. “There’s a time dilation effect between both of our worlds. They occasionally run on a 1:1 second scale, but most of the time, it varies wildly. I also have a theory that the dilation is stronger the further away from the portal you are, but I don’t have a tangible way to prove that yet.” Night nodded, only halfway understanding how that would work before giving up, and smirked. “That didn’t answer the question, Princess.” She sighed. “It could be very soon, or it could be a while. We won’t know until—” The journal in her magical grasp buzzed and glowed, and Twilight smiled before opening it. “They’re here,” she said with a smirk before frowning. “Wait, what?” “What is it?” She slammed the book shut and stared at him with wide eyes and ears pinned to the back of her head. “Nothing!” she said. Night didn’t believe that, somehow. “T-turn the portal on!” Twilight said before she passed the book to Night. “Here, take this. I need to…use the little filly’s room!” And she rushed off, leaving himself and the two guards in the room with a giant, glowing portal that slowly came to life. He watched her go, still partially confused before two new voices sounded behind him. The first—masculine—yelped in surprise, while the other—feminine—just sighed. “I told you to get down on all fours, Flash.” Night turned to see a pair of ponies, one a unicorn mare and the other a pegasus stallion that had fallen onto his back. “I thought I’d have more time, okay!” With a mane of yellow and red, the mare rolled her eyes and helped the pegasus back on his hooves. “So, welcome to Equestria, I guess,” the mare said. “Wow,” the pegasus said. “They are, actually, literal ponies.” The mare glanced at him. “Yeah, did you think we called her ‘Pony Twilight’ for the fun of it?” The pegasus shrugged and then fell face-first into the ground. The mare groaned. “Use your wings, man. Fly, then you can use your hooves.” “Wings?” he asked before checking his back. The unicorn planted her face into her hooves. Night cleared his throat. “If you’ll take a second to pause whatever lover’s quarrel you have going on there.” Both ponies looked at him, then at each other, before awkwardly shifting away. “We’re,” the mare began, “not together.” “Absolutely not,” the pegasus agreed. Night raised an eyebrow but continued. “I assume you’re Sunset Shimmer?” he said, looking toward the mare. “I am. I hope you don’t mind me asking who you are?” “I am Night Silk, the Princess’s Royal Spymaster. The Princess wanted to greet you but is now…otherwise occupied. I hope you don’t mind me asking who your friend is?” “Oh,” the pegasus said. “I’m Flash Sentry. Twilight and I, well, we’re good friends.” The way he said that, with that smug smirk on his face, made Night’s mood turn sour. “Are you?” he asked. “Oh yeah,” Flash said. “We’ve been—” The pop of teleportation was the only thing that announced Twilight as she appeared. “Hi, sorry, I just realized that not being here to meet you both is a terrible mistake!” Sunset frowned. “Um, hi, Twilight.” “Sunset, so good to see you!” she said before crossing the distance and pulling the mare into a hug. Sunset’s confusion seemed to melt away as she greeted the Princess, and Night’s concern about the mare did lower slightly. Though now he did eye Flash with suspicion. Flash noticed and glanced back. “Can I help you?” “I doubt it,” Night said. Flash stared at him but dropped it and turned to face Princess. “Twilight, it’s so good to see you!” he said, reaching for a hug. And then landing on his face again. “Um…Hi, Flash,” Twilight said. “It’s good to see you.” “Good friend, huh?” Night thought to himself, smiling. “So,” Twilight said, leading the conversation away from the pegasus’s latest faceplant. “Let’s talk about why you’re here. And then ask why you’re here Flash.” “Oh, uh,” the pegasus began, “I came here to help.” “You don’t even know what we’re doing,” Sunset said. “I don’t even know what you’re doing.” “You’re going to find an Intellect Crystal,” Night said, stepping into the conversation. Sunset’s head snapped over to the thief, and her eyes went wide. “We’re finding a what?”