Twilight Falls, Sunset Dawns

by DrakeyC

Chapter 11

Applejack and Big Macintosh wheeled the cart of baked goods up to the buffet tables. Applejack patted a hoof on Big Mac's neck then walked up to Pinkie, who was examining a clipboard. "Well, Pinkie, this is the last batch. Everything good here?"

Pinkie looked up at the cart and nodded. "Yup! All food is present and accounted for!" She swept a hoof over the tables, which held an assortment of pastries and baked items, along with rows of flowers, fruits, sandwiches, and virtually any other food item Pinkie could think to add to the menu.

"So when is this shindig supposed to get started?" Applejack asked.

"Right now! I put out flyers telling everypony to show up when they can!" Pinkie grinned and turned her head from side to side. A few townsponies had drifted in already, looking at the buffet table or approaching the DJ table at the end of the stage.

"Sounds great. Where's the gang?"

Pinkie nodded toward the castle. "Rarity and Rainbow Dash are helping Twilight put on her party dress, and Spike's taking the pets to Fluttershy's place, so he can watch them with the animals. The poor guy's gonna have to spend a lot of the night watching them to make sure they behave with all of us out."

Applejack looked at her brother. "Big Mac, you said you weren't up to tonight. Feel like subbing in for Spike?"

Big Mac shrugged and grunted, "Eeyup." He turned and headed off in the direction of Fluttershy's cottage.

"Super duper! Then everything is a-okay!" Pinkie turned her head to the castle and looked up, Applejack following in suit. Rainbow Dash swooped down from the balcony and glided towards them, landing a short distance away and walking closer.

"Twilight's all ready. At least, I think she is. Rarity's still making adjustments." Rainbow rolled her eyes and grabbed an apple fritter from the bakery cart.

Applejack chuckled. "That filly will be up there all night if Rarity keeps at her. Ah'll go rescue her." She headed down the path to the castle. She reached the double doors, pushed them open, and saw Rarity coming down the stairs ahead. "Rarity! How's the mare of the night?"

Rarity beamed and tossed her mane. "She is the most ravishing, awe-inspiring pony you could ever hope to lay eyes on! I haven't outdone myself like this since the Grand Galloping Gala!"

"So the dress looks nice?"

Rarity's jaw dropped, her eyes wide. "You… does it… how…"

Applejack smirked at Rarity's sputtering and walked past her. "I'll see for myself. You go enjoy the festivities." Behind her, she heard Rarity snort and trot down the hall. Applejack climbed the stairs and headed into the library. "Twilight! The party is startin'. Do you wanna come down?" She stopped at the stairs up to the bedroom and looked up. "Twi?"

Silence.

She frowned and climbed the stairs. "Are you up here?" When the top came into view, she stopped.

Twilight stood in front of her bed, sitting perfectly poised in her crown, a necklace, and hoofguards. She had donned the dress Rarity had made for her: a deep violet and pink gown with swirls of gold frill along the edges. She was staring straight ahead, her face blank.

"Uh, Twilight?" Applejack slowly approached her and waved a hoof in front of her eyes. "Are you feeling okay?"

Twilight's expression didn't change, but her mouth opened. "I… I look beautiful." Her voice was soft and even-toned.

Applejack smiled. "Yeah, you look great. Rarity did a great job, huh? So let's get out there and show it off!"

"Show it off?" Twilight was still staring.

Applejack frowned. "Um, yeah, the party? Remember? Odds are more than half the town will drift by sooner or later before tomorrow." Applejack raised a hoof to Twilight's forehead. "Is something wrong? Yer actin' mighty weird."

The touch of Applejack's hoof got Twilight's attention. She turned her head to look at her. "Why would they come?"

"You're a princess, Twilight. Not to mention you're a good friend to most of them and have saved their lives multiple times. They adore you as a princess, and they wouldn't miss it." Applejack withdrew her hoof. "Maybe this isn't a good idea. Ah'll have Rarity come up and get you outta that dress, and we'll—"

"No. No… Sounds fun." Twilight smiled. "A party with my loyal friends and subjects. Yes… that'll be good."

"Okay…" Applejack stepped aside as Twilight moved towards the stairs.

Twilight stopped at the top of the stairs and looked up at the painting on the wall. The image of Celestia embracing Twilight loomed over her. "Do you think she'll come?"

Applejack walked up behind her and looked at the painting. "Celestia? Ah don't think she knows about this. We could have Spike send her a letter if you want her to show."

As Applejack finished, she saw a change come over Twilight's face. She clenched her eyes shut and moved her mouth around. When her eyes opened again, they were looking down at the stairs. "No, nevermind. I don't want to bother her. Come on. Let's go."

Applejack frowned again and gently put a hoof over Twilight's, blocking her as she stepped forward. Twilight stilled and looked at her. Applejack sighed and reached a hoof over Twilight's neck. "Look, sugarcube, Ah didn't want to say anythin' before. Ah get you have things going on, and ponies need their space sometimes, but Ah can tell something is bothering you – has been for a while, Ah reckon. An' if you wanna deal with it on your own, that's fine by me. But if you need the help, Ah'm here for you, and so is everypony else, right? If you need to talk to somepony, just say so. Ah don't like seeing my friends let stuff get to 'em because they bottled it all up."

Twilight watched with a neutral expression as Applejack spoke. When she finished, Applejack gave her a smile. "Ya got me, Twi? You aren't alone in all this, so if you need help, ya just gotta ask for it."

Twilight smiled back. "Thank you, Applejack. You're a good friend to say so."

"Ah mean it, too. Now, are you sure you're gonna be okay for this?"

"Quite."

"Okay then, let's go party!" Applejack removed her hoof and waved it towards the stairs. Twilight started down the stairs without looking back. Applejack took a moment to look up at the painting again. "Hey, Twilight? Why'd you hang that up there anyway?"

"I wanted a reminder," came the response.

"Reminder of what?"

Twilight didn't answer.

Twilight glanced at the door, but there was still no sign of Rosen Cross. In front of her, the kettle had just boiled, and the tea bag and lime wedge were already in the mug waiting for water. He'll come to see what the whistling was any moment now. She looked at the counter to made sure the rack of utensils hid the vial she was waiting to use.

"Sunset?" Twilight smiled and pretended to look surprised. Rosen Cross stuck his head around the doorframe and raised an eyebrow. "What is the meaning of this? I told you to study your herbology this morning."

Twilight lifted the mug in her hooves and smiled. "I was hoping you wouldn't hear me. I thought I could make lunch for the two of us today. If that's all right with you."

Rosen came further into the kitchen. "And what sparked this show of generosity?"

Twilight shrugged. "Well, we've been talking a lot lately, about what happened between us, and I know I've torn open some old wounds. I'd like to make it up to you even if it's a small gesture to start on."

Rosen stared for a moment. Then, Twilight saw his mouth twitch in a small smile. "As you wish. You know how I take my tea, I presume?"

"Of course." Twilight nodded at the mug, silently congratulating herself on getting it right. She hadn't realized she had paid such attention to Rosen's eating habits this week until she thought of ways to execute her plan. "I'll bring it to you in just a moment."

Rosen nodded. "Well, I shall leave you to it. I will be in the alchemy lab. Call upon me when you are finished." Rosen departed, and Twilight waited until she heard his hooves go down the hall. Then, she reached behind the rack of utensils and withdrew a small brown sack containing a glass vial of white powder. Careful not to break it with her hooves, she uncapped the vial and dumped the contents into the bottom of the mug. She then lifted the kettle and poured. The white powder vanished into the torrent of water, and when Twilight stopped pouring, there was no trace of it.

Looks good. She opened the fridge behind her and took out the milk. She poured milk it into Rosen's cup, set the milk on the counter, and took a breath. The moment of truth. She carefully took the mug in her hoof and walked out of the kitchen and down the hall. Rosen was scanning a shelf when she came in. "Here you are." Twilight held out her hoof. Rosen turned his attention to her and took the tea in his magic. He sipped, smacking his lips. Twilight tensed as he tasted it.

"An admirable emulation, Sunset. Well done." Rosen took another sip and set the mug down on the table. Twilight bowed her head and hurried out of the room. She had to make lunch now to keep up the pretense, but that would be relaxing after what she had just succeeded at.

I'm sorry, Rosen. But there's no other way.

Applejack emerged from the castle and looked around. Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie had taken their spots at the long table at the end of the area. Pinkie already had a plate in front of her piled with food and was gobbling it down. Applejack approached them and sat down in the empty chair on the other side of the larger middle chair. "Twi's on her way down."

Pinkie kept eating, but Rarity and Rainbow looked up from their conversation. "Applejack, did Apple Bloom mention anything peculiar about Twilight yesterday?"

Applejack shook her head. "Nope. Why; everythin' okay?"

"Rainbow Dash was telling me a story she heard from Scootaloo this morning. Apparently Twilight had some sort of 'incident' at the schoolhouse."

Rainbow nodded. "Scootaloo said she brought some money in for Cheerilee, then the class was asking her questions and she started acting weird. Flitter said some ponies in town saw her when she left, and she was having trouble walking."

"Think there's something to it?" Applejack asked.

"Perhaps she is ill after all?" Rarity replied. She put a hoof to her mouth. "The poor dear has been busier than usual of late. First the mirror and then Sunset Shimmer. Maybe this party isn't a good idea if she's not been taking care of herself and caught something for it…"

Pinkie's head snapped up, and she swallowed a large lump of food in her mouth. "It's too late now! I've told everypony in town to come, and they're listening! We can't cancel now that it's started."

"If she's sick, let's ask her." Applejack turned her head and nodded. Twilight emerged from the castle and slowly came towards them. She looked over the seating area as she reached the table and paused at the end.

"Welcome, Twilight! Take a seat!" Rarity gestured a hoof at the chair designated for her. Twilight moved closer to the chair, but didn't sit.

"There's not a lot of ponies here," she said softly.

Pinkie smiled at her. "Don't worry your little alicorn head about it! It's early, and ponies have things to do. A lot of ponies said they'll be by later tonight, so just you wait."

Twilight nodded. She eyed Rainbow Dash taking a drink from a mug. "We have cider?"

Applejack nodded. "Yes ma'am, three barrels of Sweet Apple Acres' finest, brought up from the storeroom. Ah figur'd it's a special occasion after all." She elbowed Rainbow as the pegasus went to take another drink. "RD here is almost done with her first mug. Took longer than Ah'd have pegged 'er."

"Hey, you just said we got three barrels!" Rainbow protested. "I gotta get my share before the other freeloaders show up and hog it all."

"Freeloaders? Nopony is payin' to come, Rainbow, an' Ah don't think you… uh, Twi?" Applejack interrupted herself when she saw Twilight get down from her chair and leave the table. "Everythin' okay?"

"A mug of cider sounds good," Twilight replied as she passed them. The three watched her approach the food tables, then Applejack turned back to them.

"All right, y'all, whatever's going on with Twi, we're gonna make it better, ya hear? So we gotta make this the most fun she's had in years!"

"I'm doing my part!" Pinkie chimed in. "We've got karaoke later tonight. There isn't a pony alive that does not have fun when I take the stage!"

Rarity nodded. "I'm sure it'll be delightful for you, Pinkie, but this is Twilight's night. Whatever we can do to help her enjoy herself, it's our responsibility to do it!" She glanced back at Twilight. She was at the cider barrel, filling up a mug. "We can start by keeping her engaged in conversation. Whatever is on her mind, we won't let her dwell on it."

"Sounds good," Applejack said. Rainbow nodded her agreement. Twilight, her mug floating next to her, came back to the table and sat down in her seat.

"So tell us, Twilight," Rarity began, "what sort of fascinating magic research have you been doing since you came back?"

Twilight shrugged. "Haven't done much of anything like that." She took a drink of her cider.

"She probably had nothing scheduled," Applejack said. "You know how our Twilight is, if she had time marked down to study her data from the mirror, she's gonna stick to it. That about right?"

"Sure." Twilight's replies were soft, and her eyes were downcast, staring into her mug.

Rainbow made a face and leaned in to Applejack to whisper, "This might be harder than we thought."

"Sunset." Twilight looked up from her book in the living room of Rosen's home and came into the alchemy lab.

"Yes?"

Rosen looked between shelves, a frown on his face. "I appear to be having trouble finding the… ah…" He paused and closed his eyes, grimacing. "The… iocane powder. Ah, where is it?"

Twilight approached Rosen and tilted her head. "Are you all right?"

Rosen raised his head and blinked a few times. "Yes, I believe so. I merely… have a headache." Rosen stumbled and fell to the side. Twilight moved to close the gap between them and caught him before he hit the floor. Rosen groaned against her back and stood upright. "Oh my. Thank you, Sunset. I do not know what has come over me."

"Perhaps you should take a break and gather yourself?" Twilight said. She stepped aside so Rosen could see out into the hall.

"Yes… quite right, yes." Rosen stepped into the hall and walked into the living room. His steps were slow and uneven, his body swaying in time with his steps. Twilight stayed beside him, but he didn't fall again. "I'll just… sit for a moment…" Rosen sat down at the table. His glasses lit up in blue magic and set down beside him, the arms clicking shut. "Sunset… be a dear and retrieve a pillow for me, please." Rosen's eyes were lidded, and his head kept drooping forward.

"You don't look good," Twilight said.

Rosen nodded. "Yes. I believe I've… I have overworked myself." Rosen leaned his head on the table. "I can't imagine… what else…" Whatever the rest of the sentence was, Twilight couldn't hear. Rosen trailed off into indecipherable gibberish and spoke no more. Twilight entered the kitchen and picked up the pillow she had brought from her bedroom in preparation for this. When she went back into the living room, Rosen's breathing had evened out, and he wasn't moving. Twilight carefully slid him down to the floor and rested his head on the pillow.

"It's a barbiturate," she whispered to the unconscious Rosen. "You'll regain consciousness in a few hours and, come morning, you'll be back to normal." Her response was a hoarse inhalation. Twilight stood up and moved into the alchemy lab. When she had gone to her room for the pillow, the sky outside was overcast. And she still needed to prepare the final ingredients.

The storm is on its way. There's no time to lose.

Evening had fallen and the sun was setting on the horizon. Outside Twilight's castle, the party was in full swing. Dozens of ponies had shown up and were dancing, eating, and mingling. Lights hung on cables strung between trees and poles to illuminate the area through the night, and the speakers were now pumping out a steady beat.

At the large table at the end of the seating area, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Spike sat on one side of Twilight with Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie on the other.

"Are you sure Big Mac will be okay with all those animals?" Fluttershy asked Applejack.

"He'll be fine. There's nothing you've got that we haven't seen worse of on the farm," Applejack replied.

"Well, Angel," Spike said from the other side of Fluttershy. "Nopony can handle him except you, Fluttershy."

Fluttershy smiled. "Oh, I know he can be a hoofful sometimes, but he's really a sweetheart."

Spike rolled his eyes. "For you, sure."

Pinkie swallowed two cupcakes whole and leaned back from the conversation. She looked at Twilight, who was staring down at the table, her eyes half-closed. "Hey, Twilight!" Twilight jerked at the sound of her name and turned her head. "Are you falling asleep? You look tired."

Twilight shook her head. "No. I'm fine."

"Have you ate yet? You haven't left the table a lot."

"I'm not hungry. I'll eat later."

Pinkie frowned and turned away. Rainbow and Rarity were talking about something she hadn't been paying attention to, and she leaned in to them. "All right, girls. The party is moving, but the princess is moody."

"News flash – we noticed," Rainbow deadpanned. "I can barely get more than two sentences out of her. I even tried getting her talking about that lame egghead-science stuff nopony else understands. Nothing."

Rarity looked to make sure Twilight wasn't listening. If she was, it wasn't apparent. "Pinkie, you're the party pony. Any ideas to snap her out of it?"

"Just one, and it's all I need." Pinkie grinned and hopped out of her chair. She crossed the seating area to the other end and approached the stage. She picked up a microphone on the DJ table and whispered a command to the pony manning it.

Applejack saw Pinkie walk onto the stage and sighed. "Whoa nelly – here we go."

Pinkie tapped the mic with her hoof, and the music faded out as the microphone's humming grew louder. The assembled ponies turned their attention to the stage. Pinkie grinned and waved a hoof. "Good evening, everypony! How are ya?" Her answer was a chorus of cheers and hoots. "That's just the answer I was looking for! We're gonna be going late into the night! Or until we run out of cider, whichever comes first." Everypony laughed, and one table sounded with the clinking of mugs. "This is a very special party, and not in the usual way my parties are special. Two very important events have passed us by recently, and we're here to celebrate them!"

Rainbow leaned over Pinkie's empty chair and nudged Twilight. "Hey, Twi! Perk up!" Twilight raised her eyes from the table to focus on Pinkie.

"Two years ago, Equestria faced one of the greatest crises it has ever known. Tirek, demon centaur and totally not-a-nice-guy, tried to drain the magic of all ponies and take over Equestria!" The crowd rumbled at her words. "And a few months before that, a pony named Sunset Shimmer tried to enslave both worlds using the Elements of Harmony! A lot of you probably never even heard of that, huh?" The confused murmurs confirmed Pinkie's guess. "Well, there's a reason. Because both bad guys were stopped by one of the coolest, most magical, most awesome ponies around!"

Pinkie thrust her hoof across the ground. "Please, welcome on stage, the one and only Princess of Friendship and bestest friend you could ever ask for: Princess Twilight Sparkle!"

Rarity looked at the lights hanging overhead and took hold of a few of them in her magic to redirect them, focusing them on Twilight.

Twilight's head snapped up, her eyes wide. The crowd turned towards her and stomped their hooves on the ground in applause. Pinkie grinned and gestured her forward with her hoof.

Twilight shook. "I… what does she want?"

Rainbow rolled her eyes. "They want you to go up and give a speech, Twilight. This is your night."

Twilight nodded. "Right… okay." She gulped and looked down at the table. Her mug of cider lit up in a violet aura, and she downed the rest of it, then stepped down from her chair and off the platform. The crowd parted to allow her to pass with her head low. When she reached the steps to the stage she stopped and raised her head.

Pinkie smiled and held out the microphone.

Twilight climbed up and approached her and took it in her magic. Pinkie hopped off the stage and Twilight turned to the audience. She cleared her throat and raised the microphone to her lips.

"Um… good evening, everypony." She smiled and waved at them. "I guess, first… thanks to Applejack for the amazing cider. Really wishing I had more right now." The crowd laughed politely. Twilight licked her lips and looked over them. "I… well, it's cool to see all of you here. It means a lot to me that you would take time out of your busy lives to come and celebrate mine." Twilight chuckled awkwardly.

"I mean, when you get right down to it, my life isn't really all that more special than anypony else's, is it? Sure, I wear a crown and get to live in a big castle, and occasionally I save the world. But…" Twilight paused and turned her head away to clear her throat again. "That isn't really what's important. What's important is who we are inside, and inside, we're all ponies, the same as anyone else. Crowns, castles… that's not what really matters, right? What matters is the friends we make, and the lives we lead with them."

Twilight lowered her head and breathed deeply. "When I was a filly, I didn't have a lot of friends. Well, that's being generous. I didn't have any friends. I was too busy, or liked to think I was. I had important things to do, I didn't have time to waste 'socializing.' I was a princess' student, and I lived in the castle with her, what more could I need as long as I had her? I didn't need anything else, and I didn't want it, either." Below the stage, some of the ponies in the crowd shuffled in place and gave their friends confused looks. "Then… something very important happened."

Twilight raised her head and smiled. "I… I moved to Ponyville. And I made so many wonderful new friends. So many of you have touched my life in a way nopony else has. And I guess I've touched your lives too, that you all came out here for me tonight. It's pretty amazing to see firsthoof how much you care about me. To see how many lives I've affected since moving here, it makes me realize how important I am to this town, and how important you all are to me. It's something I never really thought about before."

Twilight let out a sharp breath and shook her head. "What I'm trying to say, is… thank you. Thank you, everypony. For being here tonight, for being here always." She smiled and raised a hoof in the air. "To Ponyville!"

"To Ponyville!" the crowd returned the toast in chorus, and those that had a drink took a sip. Twilight walked off-stage and set the microphone down on the DJ's table.

Watching from the rear table, Rarity smiled. "Well, that was quite a heartwarming sentiment. Perhaps this party really is just what she needed." Rainbow and Fluttershy nodded in agreement.

Applejack pursed her mouth and watched Twilight pick up an empty mug from a table and walk towards the cider barrel at the food tables. "Yeah… that was somethin', all right."

Twilight reached the top of the stairs, her saddlebag of supplies jingling against her side. She looked down the passage and paused. The passage to the outside of the mountain gave her a good view of the storm outside. Rain whipped through the air at a sharp angle; the wind howled and blew down the corridor making her shiver. A crack of lightning got her moving again, and she hurried as best she could with her load weighing her down.

Can't be afraid. Not now. This is my one shot. If I don't do this, I won't get a second chance. 

She reached the end of the passage. Now the wind was colder, and rain blew in her face, soaking her mane and coat. Twilight gathered her nerves and stepped outside. The wind intensified, and the rain pelted her in sheets. Twilight knelt in place for a moment and clenched her eyes. "Does the weather patrol have to make storms this heavy?" Her own voice dispersed in the wind before it reached her ears. She squinted and looked up. The stairs to the top of the mountain rose ahead of her. She knew from her first trip they were not even half as long as the stairs she had just climbed, but now they seemed to stretch into the clouds.

Twilight reached a hoof out to the first step and set it down. The stone was slippery, and she moved her hoof about to make sure she was steady. Come on, Twilight. Just don't look to the left. Don't look left! She gritted her teeth and began to climb. She kept her body low, her stomach scraping up the edges of the steps.

The storm was merciless, her mane and tail matted to her body by rain in between bouts of wind tossing them through the air. Her breathing was shaking as she shivered in the intense cold, but her hooves stayed firm as she set them down. Step by step, Twilight climbed the mountain, keeping her eyes trained to the right. To the left was the long fall to Canterlot.

She saw the plateau come into view. Rosen had erected a magical field over his instruments to protect them from the wind and rain, and everything was still in place. Twilight pushed herself up the last few steps and almost collapsed as she topped the last one. She crawled forward until her body passed the barrier. The pelting rain and blustery winds ceased, and Twilight stood. She sneezed and came further into the barrier. "Okay. Time to get to work."

Twilight knelt and shrugged the saddlebags to the ground. She withdrew a flask with a silver and yellow paste, then a petri dish. She set them on the ground and reached into the bags again, pulling out a spool of copper wire. Twilight lifted the wire, approached the metal spire Rosen had erected, and looked up.

The tip poked against the top of the barrier, though a crank at the bottom would let her raise it higher. Twilight took the wire and round it around the base of the spire, pulling it tight. She reached into the saddlebags and pulled out a brown sac. The three red cuprite crystals inside spilled to the ground, and Twilight coiled the length of copper around each of them.

"Okay… copper to carry the current, cuprite to channel into magic…" She looked at the flask of silver and yellow liquid. "Now for the amplification paste." She lifted the flask, popped out the stopper, and held it over the petri dish. The liquid was thick and took a few seconds to move to the lip, but once it flowed, Twilight shook it to speed up its fall. When the dish was full, she set the flask down and lifted the anti-magic charm around her neck. "Here's hoping you really are made of lodestone," she whispered. She set the charm down in the dish and rolled it around in her hoof. When the silver paste coated the black stone, Twilight pushed the petri dish aside and took hold of the other end of the copper wire. She wrapped it over the stone, struggling to move her hooves around in such tight spacing over her neck. When she stopped, the wire hung from the charm. She pushed it a few times, but the wire remained in place.

Twilight approached the metal spire and put a hoof on the crank. She hesitated for a moment and then pushed forward. The crank turned, and the spire rose higher. She saw the barrier overhead spark as the spire's tip pushed through it and kept turning. When it was several hooves length in the air, she let go and stepped back. She cast another look at her set-up. Provided the charm was truly made of lodestone – and it was a statistical probability it was – then everything should go perfectly. She had triple checked every calculation.

"Just one more component." She looked up at the sky. The clouds overhead lit up and rumbled with thunder. Twilight bit her lip. "Come on… just one bolt…" A crack of lightning shot down in the distance, drawing her attention away. She grunted in annoyance and looked at the spire. "A single bolt – that's all I need…" She looked up and took a breath. "Come on." The clouds continued to glow with lightning in the atmosphere, but no bolt yet came. Twilight gritted her teeth and thrust her head up. "Come on!"

This time, the storm answered her.

A bolt of lightning shot down, zigzagging through the sky, and struck the metal spire. Twilight's gaze snapped down. It only took a split second, but she saw it all happen as if time had slowed. The cuprite crystals wrapped in the wire lit up red in sequence as the current shot down the copper towards her. There was a bright glow under Twilight's eyes as the surge of magic and electricity hit the charm around her neck and reacted to the amplification paste.

With a large shockwave of silver light, the charm around Twilight's neck released the magic that had built up within it. Twilight was flung back from the force of the blast. She tumbled along the ground, only stopping when she hit a large rock protruding from the ground. She fell forward and screamed, rolling to the side. The charm had turned scorching hot, black smoke rising from it, and she had touched it when she fell. Twilight turned until it lay on the ground beside her. She gasped for breath and winced where she had hit her hind hoof on the rock. She looked over the area. The copper wire was on fire, the cuprite crystals still glowing red and letting out an audible hum as the residual energy in them bled off. Twilight looked at the charm, still around her neck, and concentrated.

The stone lit up in a light teal aura and lifted into the air.

Twilight leapt into the air and whooped loudly. "I did it!" She laughed and extended her magical grip over the delicate chain around her neck. She lifted it over her head and for the first time saw the device that had kept her bound to this place for a week's time. She laughed again and hugged herself, letting the charm drop to the ground and falling to her side. A single tear slid from her eyes. "I did it… I'm free… I can go, I can…"

Twilight remembered and stopped herself. She rolled onto her stomach and stood. "No… not time to celebrate yet." She looked at the remnants of the experiment and focused her attention again. The copper wire lit up teal, and the fire along its length was smothered. With a flick of her head, the components flew through the air and back into the saddlebags. She floated them onto her back and then lifted the de-powered charm. She turned to the stairs down the mountain and looked out.

Somewhere on the horizon, lost in the darkness of the storm, Ponyville rose in the distance.

Sunset Shimmer…

Twilight looked back at the charm and slipped it into the bag. "Now the real work begins."