I'd kept my saddlebags packed as light as I could manage, the items I'd selected to bring along purely essentials, in case something unexpected decided to come along and make everything go horribly wrong. A canteen of water, a few snacks, a simple map of the area, and a mana replenishment gem... for the far-fetched reason that I might get into a particularly sticky situation.
Honestly, I didn't even think I'd need these things. The trip shouldn't take any longer than a few hours, maybe even minutes. I'd studied teleportation extensively with Celestia, as I'm sure Twilight had with Luna, so getting to the settlement should take no more than a couple seconds. Investigating the town itself shouldn't take too long either, not with Twilight and I working at the same time.
Still, it's always better to be safe than sorry. I trotted across the bustling castle grounds, heading towards the meeting place. Off in the distance, near the open gates, Twilight sat alone on a bench. Normally, Celestia and Luna would see us off for a job like this, but I was sure Celestia was busy right now holding day court.
Luna on the other hoof... I wasn't sure where Luna was currently, but I was confident she was preoccupied with something important too or she'd be here. As I walked up to my rival I noted the saddlebags resting on the bench next to her. They looked just as light as mine, if not moreso. I was really curious to know what she'd deemed important enough to bring with her.
"You're on time, that's a surprise," she tried to exude the same arrogance as before, but she looked... sad? Had she been crying?
"You're early, that's not," I shot back. "Is everything okay? You don't look so good," I tried to sound as sympathetic as possible. She only shrugged in response, forgoing a verbal reply. If she didn't want to talk about it I wasn't going to pressure her about it. "What'd you bring?" I pressed a hoof against her bags. She pulled them away as she got to her hooves, looking seriously annoyed with me.
"Things I might need," her eyes narrowed on mine as if she thought I were an insect not worth her time. "Just because we're doing this together doesn't mean we're friends, Sunset," she placed her bags on her back.
"We could be..." I said under my breath, my ears flattening atop my head. I couldn't understand why she was always like this. Did she actually hate me? It didn't feel like it, more like she just didn't want to be in my presence at all, like we weren't even compatible as beings in any way, shape, or form.
"What did you say?!" she snapped, apparently not hearing my comment, but assuming the worst.
"Don't you think Luna would want us to-"
"WATCH YOUR TONGUE, SUNSET! YOU DON'T KNOW HER HIGHNESS OR WHAT SHE WISHES!" she was suddenly fuming and in my face, forcing me to put some distance between us. "I won't tolerate any disrespect directed toward Her Majesty." Her ire had drawn the gaze of several guards stationed at the gate as well as some passersby. Thankfully, the unwanted attention had also managed to calm her down a bit.
I'd screwed up. I never referred to Celestia by just her name. It felt... wrong, felt outright disrespectful. I should've held the same reverence for her sister, at the very least in front of her pupil, the one who probably held her in the highest of regards. I already knew and...
"I'm... I'm sorry Twilight," my head fell. The chime of her magic charging drew my gaze.
"Let's just go," she huffed as she turned away from me. "I don't have to hold your hoof to get you there, do I?"
"No." I fueled my own spell, her question feeling like a challenge.
"Good. Try to arrive to the north, about a quarter mile away from the town." She gave instructions before quickly popping out of existence.
"Fine," I said to no one in particular before I closed my eyes and casted the same spell she had. Directional teleportation was a bit different than the quick snap of a close range teleport... at least for a unicorn. As I moved outside reality I could still see and sense the physical world. It was the easiest way to reappear without doing so inside of solid matter.
As I drew near the destination from the boundary between existence and oblivion, I could see Twilight already waiting for me. I blipped back into the world a few feet from her, a semi-satisfied grin on her lips.
"Not bad, you hit the mark perfectly," she started toward the two rows of houses that the town appeared to consist of without another word. Well, those buildings and a single mansion at the end of them, that place easily dwarfed the others, its size nearly bigger than the rest combined.
"Thanks, I guess?" I wasn't sure if that was meant to be a genuine compliment or if she was just being contemptuous.
"If anything happens, let's just stay out of each other's way, alright?" she said as I trotted up next to her. "I know you're not useless, you are Princess Celestia's apprentice after all, but we've never worked together before, so giving each other ample space to operate is probably for the best," she kept her gaze locked on the town.
"Did you just compliment me?" I couldn't help but ask. She looked at me as if I'd just stepped on her tail.
"Would you just focus?" she spat before turning her attention back toward the town.
"Sorry," I replied sheepishly. Annoying her had always been one of my guiltiest pleasures. She beat me at nearly everything else, pressing her buttons was one of the only ways I could ever get even the most hollow of victories.
Somewhere along the line I'd realized making her flustered made her even cuter than usual too. Not that I thought she was cute or anything, it was just-
"Everything looks fairly mundane." She was already assessing the town and the surrounding area. "Other than the fact that nopony is around. What do you think?"
"Me!?" I was blindsided by her question. I really didn't expect her to speak to me much during this mission, much less seek my input directly.
"Obviously, Sunset," she shook her head in frustration. "Why wouldn't I ask you? You're not an idiot, are you?" If she kept tossing compliments at me like this, I wasn't sure I'd be able to keep my composure.
"I'm not," I shook off the embarrassment. "Princess Luna said they were dreaming of imprisonment..." I scanned the town, noticing the houses looked pretty normal. "Maybe they're locked inside their homes?"
"You could be right..." Her horn lit up as she pulled something small out of her saddlebags with a spell. "Here, eat this," she pushed a small yellow berry right up to my face, almost shoving it directly into my mouth.
"What is it?" I shrunk back from the fruit on instinct alone.
"What, you don't trust me?" she asked with a cocky grin. I stared back at her with my own expression of annoyance. I bit down on the berry without any further hesitation. I wasn't sure if I trusted the unicorn, but I was certain she hadn't come all the way out here just to poison me.
"This is delicious!" I spoke with a mouth full. The sweet juice of the fresh fruit running down my throat felt like jolts of electricity shocking me into a better state of awareness. It tasted kind of like cotton candy and made me wish I had another.
"It's a Sleepknot berry," she chuckled, satisfied I'd eaten it without any more protests. "I noticed this morning at breakfast, but I guess it's not that hard to see."
Noticed? Noticed what?
"You're exhausted," she pointed at my face with her hoof. "I've seen those same eyes staring back at me countless times in the mirror. It's a miracle you're up and about. That berry won't give you anything close to a full night's rest, but it should help you out."
"Twilight..." I blushed something fierce, her consideration of my well being catching me completely off guard. Nopony had ever done anything like that for me before, save Celestia. It made my heart flutter in my chest. "Thank you." The fruit worked immediately, waking me up considerably from the lethargic state I'd been in seconds ago. I wasn't feeling one hundred percent by any means, but I did feel a whole lot better.
"Don't mention i-" Twilight was interrupted as we crossed the threshold of the town, a blaring siren buzzing loudly before a mare's voice spoke over a seriously grating loudspeaker.
"Everypony, it looks like we have some visitors. You know what that means!" The voice was full of saccharine... disturbingly so. Twilight was already ready, her horn shining brightly. I followed her example, summoning my own mana reserves. Whatever this mare was planning on doing we'd be ready for it.
All twelve front doors on both sides of the town were thrown open at the exact same moment, their occupants trotting out with the biggest smiles I'd ever seen on any creatures. Unicorn, pegasi, and earth ponies of all shapes and sizes organized themselves into two lines, one standing on each side of the town.
"What are they doing?" I wasn't asking Twilight, but the words unintendedly came out of my mouth.
"Look at their cutie marks," she whispered. If Twilight's twitchy body language said anything, it was that she was ready for a confrontation. Examining the ponies closer I finally understood what she'd meant.
"They're all the same..." my eyes grew wide. Every single one of their cutie marks was an equal sign, no variation amongst them whatsoever. It was creepy to the max. As if they all shared a single mind, they turned their heads our way, their expressions never changing in the slightest. They took a deep breath.
"WELCOME TO HER TOWN!" they shouted together, much like a military squad or similar group might.
"This is way too freaky, Twilight," I whispered.
"Whatever you do, don't let your guard down," she whispered back.
"Excellent job, everypony!" The mare over the intercom spoke once again before the speaker screeched and then became silent. The ponies returned to standing at attention as both double doors to the mansion opened.
A single, solitary unicorn mare stepped out of the building, her look of smug self-confidence already wearing on my nerves. Her coat was a pinkish, light purple, or more a shade of lilac, I suppose. Her mane and tail were a mix of two darker purples and a cyan highlight. The color scheme kind of made them look similar to Twilight's, but the way this other pony styled them left much to be desired. Her cutie mark was a four point star with small wavy ribbons above it.
She trotted our way, not a care in this or any other world, as if this entire situation was an everyday occurrence for her. The ponies that flanked her didn't move a muscle or make a sound as she moved toward us.
"Follow my lead," Twilight said under her breath.
"Right," I nodded.
"Greetings, strangers," the smile the mare gave the two of us sent red flags flying through my mind. "My name is Starlight Glimmer. Welcome to my town!" I don't think her smile could've gotten any larger.
"My name i-"
"Twilight Sparkle," okay, I was wrong. The mare cut Twilight off as her smile somehow grew even more disturbing. "You're Princess Luna's protégé. You failed countless times to impress Princess Celestia so her younger sister decided to take pity on you."
"WHAT!?" I could feel the waves of anger rolling off of the lavender mare as she got in the lilac pony's face. Twilight's anger coupled with her piercing glare was enough to make me recoil, but had no effect on her target whatsoever.
"Which would make you," Starlight outright ignored the fuming pony in front of her, stepping past her to focus her attention on me. "Sunset Shimmer, Princess Celestia's protégé. You..." Her smile faded, a look of disgust replacing it. "You're an indolent little mare, aren't you?"
"I- what?" Her sudden condescension staggered me. I struggled to catch up with the conversation, looking at Twilight and then back at the lilac mare.
"So pathetic. You aren't fit to stand at the side of the Princess of the Sun," she scowled. While it wasn't expected, it hit way too close to home.
"H-how dare you!" The mixture of rage and sadness in me quickly surfaced. I wanted nothing more than to throttle this arrogant mare, but I'd told Twilight I'd let her take the lead so I didn't take any further action.
"Now, now ladies, let's not do anything rash," she turned on her heel, walking away from us. "If you're going to be productive members of your new home, you're going to have to be good little foals."
What?
Twilight looked at me filled with as much confusion as I.
"What are you talking about?" I spat as I grew more and more annoyed. I don't know who she thought she was, but we weren't pushovers, even if she had the backing of her little group. "There's something wrong with-"
"Sunset," Twilight said calmly, though it did little to cool my head. "Calm down," she pretty much commanded. She was right. I knew she was. Picking a fight in a situation like this was probably the worst idea I could possibly have. Who knows what these freaks were capable of?
"Oh! I see what you're doing!" Starlight looked over her shoulder, her smirk back and more infuriating than ever. "Tsk, sillies," she fully turned and approached us. "I bet you think I'm trying to trick you into doing something rash... don't you?" As she said those two words her face contorted into one of pure malice. "Oh no. Oh no no no," her horn erupted with turquoise light. "As soon as you stepped hoof in my home your fate was decided. The two of you are never going to leave this place."