On the impermeable shell that now covered her world, Twilight didn't know how long she had lain there before she regained her senses.
"It's just not fair!" she lamented.
Twilight gazed down upon the land that she could no longer reach, tears in her eyes obscuring portions of her vision. She used to think that sacrificing herself to save the ones she loved would have been one of the worst outcomes she could imagine. To be perfectly alive, but effectively banished. It could be considered a punishment worse than death. She would never see her friends and family again, and all for what? Because she desired to uncover the mysteries of the universe?
The thought crossed her mind that her feelings at that moment must have mirrored Starswirl's own, once upon a time. Unsure as to why, the knowledge that she wasn't entirely alone in her experience seemed to lift her spirits a bit. She attempted to wipe the tears from her eyes, and in doing so she caused her focus to shift from the world below. The reflection she saw staring back at her from the surprisingly polished surface of the shell was one she almost didn't recognize. She looked as though she hadn't aged a day since the last time she had visited the void.
Twilight decided to ask Sentinel, whom she she knew had the ability to change his form at will, about her current form. As much as she didn't much care for his rules, or his strict adherence to those rules, he also happened to be the only thing around that she might be able to engage in some semblance of conversation.
Besides, she needed to ensure that he would keep his word.
"Console, take me to the Focus."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When she located him, Twilight found Sentinel in the form of a tiny floating ball of blue fire. "That form certainly is an, um, interesting choice." she said in a half-hearted attempt to start up discussion.
"Ah [Twilight Sparkle], we were looking forward to one's return." he replied.
Getting down to the business at hoof, Twilight inquired from Sentinel what his plans were for her world now that her alterations were in place. He told her that her world was safe for as long as she deemed it necessary. In fact, Sentinel mentioned that he had already allocated a space for her personal use.
"When did you set this up?" She asked as Sentinel showed her to her 'room' within the Focus.
"Since the moment we scanned one's form. By then, [Twilight Sparkle] was an anomaly, and it was deemed necessary that one's data be formally routed through the designated visitor's zone. One should be honored, the last to use this portion of the facility was a famous human researcher."
"So the entire time I was here you knew that I'd get stuck here permanently, didn't you?" She asked accusingly.
"Probability suggested it, yes. One was already outside the confines of the simulations and had already gained physical access to the Focus. As far as the system was concerned [Twilight Sparkle] deserved the same classification as a user. We only took precautions based on System's recommendations. We were, however, quite surprised to learn of one's intent to return to the simulation. Quite unexpected."
"I went back because I had friends waiting for me. It didn't feel right to just leave them with no explanations. Before I activated the shell, I went back down there and explained everything to them. I did this because I fully expected to die when I initiated my plan. For all I know they're down there right now, still watching over my permanently unconscious body. Why didn't you tell me that you re-routed my form or whatever!"
"We informed one of being forced to re-establish one's connection after performing our initial scans."
He was right. Twilight remembered losing consciousness shortly after meeting Sentinel. She was so intent on completing her mission that she neglected to examine everything that he said that didn't directly involve her world.
It did, however, explain why her return to the Null Tether's cave nearly killed her. She was still routed through the System, which Twilight could only guess was still providing feedback of some sort. While that sort of thing was nearly unnoticeable out here, it proved to be nearly disastrous back home. By sealing herself away, she had managed to suspend that connection.
A lifetime of learning to control her energy and focus, and her memories still proved to be dangerous. All because Sentinel didn’t feel the need to fully explain anything in a way that might be easy to understand.
"Fine. You win.” she said in defeat. A part of her wanted to blame Sentinel for everything that had happened so far. She could easily justify this if another part of her wasn't trying to admit that she should have stayed longer, or worked harder, to deal with everything. “What exactly am I supposed to do now that I'm stuck here?"
"Whatever one desires, so long as it abides by our rules."