Friends, Forgiveness, and Magic
Equestria Part One: Through the Mirror
Sunset Shimmer smiled hopefully at her king. “So? What do you think?”
King Sombra levitated the piece of paper over to himself and read it. He levitated it back to the pile of notes and smiled. “I can see you’ve put a lot of work into this.”
Sunset blushed. “Thank you, Your Majesty.”
“May I ask what your end goal is concerning your project?” he asked as he glanced at a few more notes in the pile.
“Well, at the moment I’m just doing some simple experiments. What I’m trying to do is increase how much power a crystal can give someone. I’ve noticed that dragons gain the most power from crystals but that’s usually because they can eat the crystal. Now obviously ponies and other creatures can’t eat crystals so I’m searching for alternative methods we can use to absorb more magic from a single crystal,” Sunset explained.
“I see.” King Sombra nodded and levitated the pile of notes back to her. “Well, I see no problem here. I understand how such experiments could be dangerous but I know I can trust you to be careful with your experiments. So yes, you have my permission and my approval.”
Sunset bowed to him. “Thank you King Sombra.” She looked up with a hopeful smile. “Do you think she will like it?”
King Sombra nodded. “I think she will. Applejewel likes to keep to herself, but she was my student once upon a time. I have a pretty good idea of how she thinks.”
Sunset grinned and pumped her hoof in victory. “Yes! I’ll finally get a chance to talk to Applejewel! Then if everything goes well enough, Clear Crystal Caverns could go from a crystal farm to a gold mine! Figuratively.”
King Sombra chuckled and levitated some letters from his desk. “I’m glad you’re excited about it. My advice is to just be friendly with Applejewel and the two of you should get along well. Either way, I wish you the best of luck Sunset Shimmer.” As Sunset opened the door with her magic to leave his office, the king spoke up. “Oh, and see if you can find Princess Nightmare. Some of the servants tell me that she’s been acting as hyper as the Pink One.”
Sunset smiled. “Of course, King Sombra. I’ll find her right away.” With that said, she walked out of his office and began wandering around the Crystal Castle, searching for her friend.
Eventually she found Princess Nightmare Moon walking down another hallway, reading a book held in her magic. “Hey Nightmare.”
Princess Nightmare immediately snapped her book shut and spun towards Sunset with a big grin. “Good morning Sunset! Did you enjoy the celebration yesterday?”
Sunset chuckled. “Yeah, I’d say I had a good time. Trixie and I got into a game against Discord and Chrysalis. I don’t know if he told you the rules but it was a pretty fun game-”
Princess Nightmare giggled and waved her hoof. “Yes, yes, I heard about that. Tell me something Sunny…” Princess Nightmare turned around, unfolded her wings, and struck a pose, her head held high with her hoof pointing towards her crown. “Notice anything different about me?”
Sunset sighed. “Is it that you’re a princess n-”
Nightmare giggled again. “Why, yes! I am a princess thank you for asking me, how thoughtful of you to notice.”
A changeling guard walked down the halls, pausing to bow before Nightmare. “Good morning Princess Nightmare Moon.”
Sunset rolled her eyes as Nightmare grinned and thanked the guard for her kind words. When the guard walked away from them and out of sight, Sunset’s eyebrows rose up as Nightmare actually started doing a little dance. “Well, you’re in an annoyingly cheerful mood,” she remarked.
Princess Nightmare finally noticed the unamused look Sunset was giving her and stopped dancing. “Sorry Sunset. I’m letting this whole princess thing get to my head, aren’t I?”
Sunset sighed and smiled. “A little bit, yeah. Although I can’t blame you for being excited.”
Nightmare grinned. “Of course I’m excited! I have great friends, a loving family, and all the power I’ve ever wanted!”
Sunset chuckled. “Yeah, you must feel like the luckiest girl in the world right now. Just try not to rub it in everyone’s face.”
Princess Nightmare sighed. “You’re right. I’m the Crystal Empire’s newest princess and I should act appropriately. I should be quiet, reserved, modest, humble…”
Discord popped up in between them, howling with laughter. “Modest? Humble? Yeah right!” He snapped his fingers and made a giant megaphone appear in his paw. “Come on Nightie! Let’s scream your name to the heavens!”
The big grin reappeared on Nightmare’s face. “Well, maybe a little more bragging couldn’t hurt.”
Nightmare and Discord flew to the nearest window and pushed it open. Nightmare took the megaphone from Discord and yelled into it. “HEY WORLD! NIGHTMARE MOON IS BEST PRINCESS! LONG LIVE THE NIGHT! ALL HAIL THE MOON!” She shut the window again and laughed along with Discord. “Ha, ha! That felt amazing!”
“OOH! Ooh, do we know any jerks we can brag to?” Discord asked.
“Well, if you two are going to act like lunatics no matter what, I might as well point you in the right direction. Chrysalis told me about how a few ponies hurt her feelings at the Gala. Fancy Pants and Fleur De Lis called her a parasite,” Sunset told them.
Discord and Nightmare both gasped at the insult. “Well we can’t have that at all,” Discord declared, growling at the idea of someone calling Chrysalis that.
“Right. Time to go show those snobs that they’re nothing compared to Princess Nightmare Moon and her friends!” Nightmare said with a triumphant smirk.
Sunset sighed as her two friends disappeared with a snap of Discord’s fingers. “My friends are all crazy.” She shook her head and walked down the hallway back to her room. Once she was there, she grabbed the collection of crystals that she had been experimenting with from her desk and levitated them into a bag. She levitated one crystal and gave it a sharp tap with her hoof, releasing the extra magic within it. She absorbed the magic and played around with it for a few seconds, levitating different crystals to get a feel for how much the crystal’s energy altered her magic. Once Sunset was satisfied with her short experiment, she teleported herself outside of the Crystal Castle and began wandering around the Crystal Empire.
As she walked through the city, she glanced through one store’s windows and spotted Rarity examining bolts of fabric. “Hey Rarity!”, she said, waving to Rarity as she stepped into the story.
Rarity looked up from the fabric and smiled. “Oh, good morning Sunset. I was just looking to acquire some new materials for my Carousel of Wonders. The shops in the Crystal Empire always know just what I’m looking for!” she giggled. “By the way, have you ever heard of Pink Lady Apples? It’s this lovely café not far from here that I’m sure you’ll enjoy.”
“A café? Isn’t it a little early to be having lunch?” Sunset asked.
Rarity gave her a mischievous smile. She then leaned closer to Sunset and spoke quietly into her ear. “This café is where Miss Applejewel has agreed to meet with you.”
Sunset’s eyes widened. “Seriously? You mean I can go talk to her right now? That’s great! Thanks Rarity! Oh, and thanks again for convincing her to meet with me. Seriously, this is very nice of you,” Sunset said sincerely.
“Oh it was no trouble at all darling. I’m just happy that I managed to bump into Miss Applejewel yesterday. Now run along dear, don’t let me stop you.”
Sunset grinned and hurried out of the shop. From her time in the Crystal Empire, she had a good idea of where the café would be located and sure enough she eventually found the Pink Lady Apples café. Of course, judging from the paint platypuses bubbling off the walls, it looked like she wasn’t the only Element bearer visiting the café. Sunset strolled inside the building to see Trixie standing next to Discord, who was pulling a large pink pear off the wall.
“Ta da!”
“And there you have it ladies and gentle-creatures! You have seen Discord’s talent for bizarre architecture. But now, Trixie calls for her audience to stand back. For this humble, Great and Powerful unicorn shall now try her hoof at using chaos magic!”
Sunset froze in her tracks and stared at her crazy friend. “Um, Trixie? Normally I’m fine with whatever kooky magic trick you want to try but chaos magic is a line you really shouldn’t cross!”
“Please, listen to her!” Sunset turned around to see Fancy Pants and Fleur De Lis cowering behind a table. “It’s bad enough that maniac is creating havoc out of this fine establishment, but a unicorn attempting to wield the same magic? I beg of you, please listen to reason!” Fancy cried.
“Oh, don’t listen to the hecklers Trixie. You’ve got this!” Discord gave his friend an encouraging grin and a thumbs-up.
Trixie grinned as her horn glowed. “Trixie is thinking of fireworks. Wall fireworks!”
Sunset spotted Chrysalis next, who was sitting at a table with an amused look on her face. “Chrysalis, help me out here!”
Chrysalis giggled. “Oh it’s fine, Sunset. Even if Trixie messes up - which I’m sure you won’t Trixie so stop glaring at me - Discord can repair anything she might break. Besides…” Chrysalis glared at Fancy. “I hear you really like this place and well...you did call me a parasite.”
“That was months ago!” Fleur cried.
“Really? Well Discord, you were wrong. You don’t need a clock with wings to tell you how fast time flies,” Chrysalis said with a dark chuckle.
“If that is what this is about then I apologize, but please listen to reason!” Fancy cried. “This café is owned by Apple Pie Incorporated. Miss Applejewel herself frequently visits this café and she’ll be furious if she sees this!”
“Funny, I don’t feel furious.”
Everyone in the café stopped what they were doing and turned to face the entrance. There stood Applejewel, dressed in a simple blue dress and a wide sun hat. The gold mask that she had been wearing for several months now was gone, so at long last they could see her face. Her right eye was a pleasant green colour while her left eye was covered up in very thick bandages that wrapped around the left side of her face.
Applejewel walked towards Sunset and smiled. “Sunset Shimmer, is it? I’m glad I ran into you. Miss Rarity spoke rather highly of your work, darling. If you’ve got some free time, perhaps we could have our meeting right now? I’m very curious about the research that King Sombra says you’ve been working on in your spare time.”
“It…it would be my pleasure Miss Applejewel!” Sunset said with a big smile.
Applejewel chuckled. “Excellent. I’ve got a room in the castle that Princess Twilight was kind enough to give me during the celebration. We can talk about your work there.”
“Great! Lead the way,” Sunset said as she followed Applejewel out of the café.
“What? Miss Applejewel! Aren’t you going to do anything about these lunatics?” Fancy cried.
Applejewel paused, turned around to examine her café, and shrugged. “Nah. You two have fun with the place.”
Sunset blinked. “Wait, seriously? No offense to my friends, they’re great and I love them all, but they’re totally going to take your café and turn it inside-out.”
Applejewel chuckled. “No worries. I have a few more cafés like this one in the Big Apple and a few other locations so a single café getting destroyed isn’t going to bother me that much. Besides, I built this café as a gift to my cousin Pink Apple and honestly I think it’s made her a little conceited.” She turned back around and strolled out of the café. “Are you coming Sunset Shimmer?”
“Yes ma’am!” Sunset said as she followed Applejewel, ignoring the smell of burning blueberries that was coming off the café walls that Trixie was casting her spells on.
“So from what Rarity has told me, you’re working on a way to increase the amount of magic a pony can absorb from a crystal? How would that work? From a spell or a potion perhaps?” Applejewel asked.
Sunset smiled. “Hopefully something like a potion. That way pegasus ponies, earth ponies, and dragons can use it too. However, I have been able to create a sort of prototype for the spell.”
“Really? And it could work for any crystal? Such as a purple one, a green one…even a clear one?” Applejewel asked.
“A clear one? You mean like the rare crystals that can absorb magic and cancel out harmful spells?” Sunset asked.
Applejewel shrugged and smiled. “Just as an example. You would want this to work for all types of crystals, wouldn’t you?”
“I suppose you’re right. So, would you like to see the notes I’ve made so far?”
Applejewel smiled. “That sounds simply divine, darling.”
Nightmare stepped outside of the castle and smiled up at the sky. She calmly strolled through the royal gardens, hoping to find Smog underneath the tree he said he would be reading under. Sure enough, there was Smog resting under the shade of the tree closest to the garden’s labyrinth. However he wasn’t alone.
“I like the look of this one,” Smog said as he pointed at one of the sketches held in Rarity’s magic.
Rarity levitated the sketch around and examined it. “Hmm, yes I quite agree with you.”
“Oh, hold that thought Rarity. Hey Nightmare!” Smog waved at her.
Rarity turned around and bowed to her. “Good afternoon Princess Nightmare. Smog and I were just discussing future plans for my new line. I’m going to try my hoof at designing suits and dresses for young dragons and dragonesses.”
Nightmare’s eyes widened with interest. “That sounds like a good idea. I’d love to see what you’re planning.”
“Oh no, you don’t want to see these silly little sketches.” Rarity blushed and levitated her sketches into her bag. “I only asked Smog to take a look at them because I wanted a dragon’s opinion. And yes Smog, you did say you liked them, however these are nowhere near complete.” Searching for an appropriate subject change, Rarity steered the conversation towards Nightmare’s day. “Now enough about me darling, how has your day been so far? How was your first summit as an official princess of Everfree?”
Nightmare chuckled. “From the way King Sombra made those meetings sound, at first I thought it would turn out pretty boring. But while the summit wasn’t very exciting, I still had a pretty good time.”
“Cool. So what’d you guys talk about?” Smog asked.
“This and that. The fun part was when I got to bring up topics for discussion. For example, I asked King Sombra and Princess Twilight what sort of royal duties and powers I would get. Like what exactly I would become a princess of?” Nightmare paused for a moment before she spoke again. “Smog, do you know how long a mayor serves in Peaceville?”
Smog raised an eyebrow. “Why do you ask?”
Nightmare averted her eyes and put on an innocent smile. “Oh, just curious.”
Smog sighed. “I hate to do this Nightie, but I think we need to nip this in the bud before we have a repeat of Mare-Do-Well.”
Nightmare raised an eyebrow. “Mare-Do-Well? Why are you bringing that up?”
“Well, how do I put this? I think you’re letting all the power of being a princess get to your head. Just a little bit,” Smog said, smiling sheepishly.
“Surprisingly, I find myself agreeing with Smog in this matter,” Rarity said. “Don’t get me wrong, I completely approve of your confidence. You are a princess, and you have every right to embrace it! But suggesting that we kick Mayor Derpy out of office so that you may rule over Peaceville is where I must draw the line.”
Nightmare blinked in shock. “What? The mayor is doing a great job, I don’t want to kick her out.” She smiled sheepishly and added, “However, she is still the mayor and they’re usually only elected for so long. I’m just trying to be pragmatic here.”
“Even so, you really should discuss this with Mayor Derpy herself.” Rarity sighed. “I’ll admit, I’m quite jealous of the title you have earned yourself, Nightmare.”
“She’s got a point. If you’re going to brag about being royalty, maybe you should keep it at a healthy level. You know, somewhere below Trixie,” Smog suggested.
Nightmare sighed and chuckled weakly. “Okay I get it. No more bragging for me.”
Smog and Rarity smiled in encouragement. “There ya go. And we didn’t even need to throw a costume together.”
Rarity giggled. “Oh dear. Now you’ve gone and put the idea in my head Smog. What sort of costume do you suppose I could put together if she hadn’t listened to us?”
“Rarity! Lovely to see you again.” The three of them turned around to see Applejewel and Sunset walked towards them. “Oh, and Princess Nightmare Moon too. I haven’t seen you in person since the Gala,” Applejewel said.
Nightmare smiled. “It’s a pleasure to see you again Miss Applejewel. Has Sunset shown you her research yet?”
“She has. Everything I’ve seen so far looks very impressive. Afterwards I asked Sunset Shimmer if I could meet with you and the other Elements before I made any final decisions.” Applejewel smiled. “I believe in judging a mare by her friends. If I get a good idea of what you’re like, I’ll get a good idea of what Sunset is like.”
“Oh. Okay, cool. What would you like to know about us?” Smog asked.
“Well for starters I – OW!” Applejewel clapped a hoof over her bandaged eye and winced.
Smog winced too. “Yikes. Is your eye still hurting? You would think it would have healed by now.”
Sunset and Rarity glared at him. “Smog!”
“No, no. It’s fine,” Applejewel said as she lowered her hoof. “He’s a curious little fellow, no need to scold him for asking questions.” She sighed and turned towards the castle. “I apologize. I should go back to my room. But before I leave, I want you to know that I’m very interested in the work you’ve shown me Sunset Shimmer.
Sunset smiled. “Wow. Um, thank you Applejewel. Thank you so much.”
“It was great to see you all again, especially you Princess Nightmare Moon.” Applejewel smiled at Nightmare and gave her a wink with her good eye. “Take it from an old hat fanatic like myself and keep an eye on that crown of yours. You wouldn’t want to lose it.”
Nightmare jolted herself awake as she heard something crash onto the floor. That was weird, she didn’t remember falling asleep. She didn’t even remember travelling through the dreams of her friends. She felt a little dizzy too, as if Discord had twisted the gravity around again, as if the world was upside-down. She rubbed her head and tried to focus on the noise that had woken her up. What she saw did the trick all right. Facing the door out of her bedroom there stood a pony. The mare was wearing a big black cloak that hid most of her features, but Nightmare could still make out an orange coat. What grabbed Nightmare’s attention though, was her crown sitting inside the orange mare’s bag.
“My crown! She’s got my crown!” Nightmare cried.
The mare dashed out of the bedroom and down the hall. Nightmare immediately gave chase. “Stop! Thief!” she shouted as she ran down the hall. Five doors to her side opened up as Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie poked their heads out in confusion. “She’s stolen my crown!” Nightmare shouted. Determination blazed in her friends’ eyes as they joined her in pursuit of the thief.
Her horn flashed and teleported her in front of the thief’s path. “Stop!”
Nightmare clutched her head in pain as a wave of vertigo suddenly washed over her. The world spun dizzily around her as the thief dodged around her. It looked like the thief had teleported away with a flash of green magic…right? The black cloak slammed into Nightmare’s face as the thief teleported herself directly behind Nightmare. The alicorn growled and flung the cloak off before she chased after the thief.
Nightmare was gaining on the thief, she was so close that Nightmare could just reach out and grab her. She tried to grab the mare’s tail with her teeth but failed. She saw the thief scowl back at her before she galloped at an even quicker pace. But before the thief could outrun her, Nightmare grabbed the thief in a tackle. The two mares came stumbling inside another room of the castle. Nightmare gasped as her crown flew out of the mare’s bags, ricocheted three times around the room, and disappeared into a mirror. She heard her friends gasp too as they all watched the crown just vanish inside a large mirror with a crystal arch around it.
Nightmare turned to glare at the thief. “What did you do to my crown?”
The orange mare chuckled darkly. “Sorry it had to be this way…”
The world spun dizzily around Nightmare once again. By the time it had refocused, the thief was standing beside the mirror. “…Princess,” the thief said as she gave Nightmare a mock salute.
As the thief turned towards the mirror, something changed. Something snapped. Time froze all around her as the events of that night all came crashing into her mind. This was incredibly serious. This wasn’t just her crown, it was her Element that this orange mare was stealing. Without it, the other Elements wouldn’t be able to work and her home would be left without one of its most important means of defense. She had to stop the thief. Even if the crown had vanished inside a mirror, better that she stop the thief now so that she could get some answers. Between reacting to the threat and just sitting there staring in shock, the choice was obvious. And yet such a simple choice strangely felt very important. Nightmare focused her glare, her magic, and her rage on the thief. Power glowed around her horn as she quickly put together the most powerful offensive spell she could conjure. She stood up and fired the spell, a huge burst of magic blasting out of her horn. Unfortunately, the thief was fast and jumped into the mirror, vanishing just like her crown did. But with no other target, Nightmare’s spell slammed into the mirror instead. Fortunately, the mirror remained intact…almost. Nightmare stared as a large shard of glass was blasted off the mirror and flew into the air. Nightmare shielded her eyes from the flying glass and she could hear Pinkie and one of her other friends gasping as they did the same. The shard of glass flew out of an open window and faded away from sight.
CRASH!
Nightmare was jolted awake for what felt like the second time that night. She blinked in shock to see that she was in her bed and that the world didn’t feel dizzy anymore.
Smog sat up in his bed. “What was that?!”
Nightmare shook her head. “What was what?”
Smog stared at her. “How could you not hear that? People probably heard that crash back in Peaceville!”
The doors burst open as the Duchesses Celestia and Luna hurried inside the room. “Moony? Are you alright?”
Nightmare stared at her mom and aunt. “I’m…I’m not sure. Smog and I heard a really loud crash. It kinda sounded like glass breaking. But before that I was…” Nightmare’s eyes widened. “Mom, something’s not right. I was dreaming but at the time I didn’t know I was dreaming.”
“What? That’s impossible. You and Luna have power over dreams. Don’t you always know when you’re dreaming?” Smog said in disbelief.
Luna fidgeted nervously. “I don’t always have control over my own dreams, Smog. I still have nightmares, extremely rare though they may be. However Moony has always shown to have even more skill at manipulating dreams than I.”
Nightmare stared at her bedcovers in thought. “Almost all of my dreams have been lucid for as long as I can remember. The only times I haven’t been in complete control of a dream was when I was really young or when Pinkie hypnotized me.”
“There is one other possibility,” Luna said. “This may not be a dream you experienced but a vision.”
Celestia nodded grimly. “I fear you may be right sister. During our time as princesses of this land, I had a few visions myself. Each of them a warning against a very serious threat.” She stared at Nightmare. “If you have experienced a vision now it is a warning that you must not ignore, my dearest niece.”
“You’re right Aunt Celestia. Considering what my dream was about and until I’ve figured out why I’ve had this vision, it would be best that we lock up my Element of Power in the royal vaults for safekeeping.” She got out of bed and grabbed the crown on her nightstand with her magic. Everyone in the room gasped as the crown melted into a pile of mush.
“What the heck?!” Smog exclaimed.
Nightmare leaned in closer to the pile of mush. “This isn’t my Element. This is a fake!” She scowled and flung the doors open with her magic. She then levitated her armor out from the corner it had been resting in, slipping it on piece by piece before she stormed out of the room. “When I find this FOOL of a thief I’ll make them rue the day they thought they could steal from me!”
King Sombra frowned at the wall behind his throne. “And you’re sure your crown disappeared inside a magic mirror?”
“I’m positive,” Nightmare said. She and the other Elements, plus her mom, her aunt, Rainbow, Rarity, and Fluttershy stood in the throne room with King Sombra, Princess Twilight, Prince Shining Armor, and Countess Cadance.
King Sombra sighed. “Then you’re probably right. I’ve got the royal guards searching the entire castle and all of the Crystal Empire for your Element, but there’s been no sign of it. The thief couldn’t have gotten so far away with the crown already unless they had used one of the mirror portals.”
“They could have teleported to another city,” Chrysalis suggested.
“I wouldn’t say that, darlings,” Applejewel said as she walked into the throne room. Many of the people in the room were happy to see that Applejewel’s eye was completely healed and no longer covered by any bandages or mask. “Sorry for interrupting, but I heard about what happened from one of the guards. I wanted to help so I’ve asked a whole bunch of my employees to start looking around in the Big Apple, Clouds-Edge, Canterlot, and anywhere else that the thief may have gone.”
King Sombra smiled. “This is a surprise, though not an unpleasant one. Thank you for your help Applejewel. It’s nice to know that I can still count on my former student.”
Applejewel giggled. “Aw, you’re making me blush! I’m always happy to help my friends.” She stopped giggling and cleared her throat. “Sorry, I shouldn’t laugh. This is a very serious situation.”
“Yes well, even though I know I can trust you with this knowledge, I would prefer it if no one else found out about Princess Nightmare’s missing crown,” King Sombra said.
“Why? Ya worried that a spy or something is going to attack us while we don’t have all the Elements?” Gilda asked.
“Trixie is sure that our king is just being cautious. Although speaking of spies, has anyone seen Diamond Tiara and her Cutie Mark Destroyer friends?” Trixie said.
Rarity gasped. “Oh dear, Sweetie Belle! If my sister and her energetic friends found out about this, if they were to chase after a cold-hearted thief in the hopes of losing their cutie marks it…it would be the. Worst. Possible. Thing!”
“Rarity, chill out,” Gilda said with a raised eyebrow.
“Did you not hear how much emphasis I put on those last few words?” Rarity said with a glare. “This is very serious and I will. Not. Chill. Out!”
Gilda glared at her. “Two can play at that game. Stop. It. That’s. Annoying.”
Applejewel chuckled and stepped in between the unicorn and griffon. “Easy now! There’s no need to fight, I’ve got Sweetie and her friends under control.”
“Huh? What do you mean?” Sunset asked.
“Oh, it was pretty scary at first. I heard Apple Bloom outside during the Crystal Heart Celebration. She was screaming a lot and it looked like she was in pain. Luckily I was able to get to her in time and I had my best doctors fix her right up! She’s recovering now, so I asked Big Macintosh to take her back home to Sweet Apple Acres. Earlier today, Diamond Tiara bumped into me and asked if I had seen her. She and the other Cutie Mark Crusaders...I mean Destroyers were searching for her. So I told them what happened and sent Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon, Snips, and Snails back home,” Applejewel said, moving her right hoof as if she was checking names off a checklist.
Rarity sighed in relief. “Oh thank you Miss Applejewel. I hope that Sweetie Belle can stay out of trouble.” She bit her lip. “I’m also glad that those sweet fillies and colts have gone home to comfort their friend in her time of need. What sort of injury was poor Apple Bloom suffering from, if I may ask?”
“Oh um, her eye got really bad. I think it hit its worst point. But the good news is that it can only get better from here! Don’t worry Rarity, your Auntie Applejewel has got it all taken care of,” Applejewel said with a smile.
“Oh dear. Well, if her eye is finally starting to heal that’s good news. Speaking of which, I’m glad your eye has healed too, Miss Applejewel,” Rarity said.
Applejewel chuckled. “Uh, yep! You have no idea how refreshing it is to not be wearing that mask anymore.” Her ear twitched and she turned around. “Well anyway, I gotta get apples, I mean get going. I’ll let you know if my friends find your crown.” And with that she left the throne room and closed the doors behind her.
Princess Twilight sighed. “We’d better get started.” The princess turned around and fired a beam of magic at the large crystal embedded in the wall. The secret passageway opened up and the Elements and their friends walked into the mirror chamber.
“And here comes the tricky part,” Luna said. “In your vision, you saw your Element disappear inside one of these mirrors. However, there are several mirrors in this chamber, many of which lead to strange or even uninhabitable worlds. While I met Prince Artemis in one world, in another world we explored we encountered hostile flying creatures that had eight eyes and tentacles on their faces. When traveling to alternate universes it can be difficult to determine who is friend or foe. That is why we must determine which mirror the thief traveled to on the first try. There can’t be any room for guessing.”
“It’s that one,” Princess Twilight said as she pointed at a mirror with a crystal arch.
“That one? But it doesn’t even work,” King Sombra said. “Princess Twilight, out of all the mirrors in this room that mirror is the only one we have never been able to open.” Celestia nodded in agreement.
Princess Twilight walked up to the mirror and poked its surface with her hoof. The mirror rippled as her hoof pushed through the glass like it was water. “The crack is fixed. It’s open now.”
“She’s right. I remember the crystal arch from my dream. That’s the mirror all right,” Nightmare said.
“Awesome! Let’s dive in!” Rainbow declared. She flapped her wings and dove towards the mirror before King Sombra grabbed her in his telekinesis. “Hey!”
“I’m sorry Rainbow Dash,” he said as he levitated her back to the floor. “But I’m afraid we can’t let you ALL go.”
“King Sombra is right. Sending all of you could upset the balance of this alternate world, creating havoc that would make it impossible for Princess Nightmare to get the crown back,” Celestia said.
“Ooh. What sort of havoc?” Discord asked with a mischievous smile.
“We have no idea what sort of world is on the other side. I encountered a stallion version of myself in one world. You might encounter alternate versions of yourself,” Luna warned him.
“Ooh! Like a world where I’m a griffon? Or a dragon?” Rainbow asked excitedly.
“Perhaps an alicorn? A draconequus? Perhaps a human?” Trixie asked. She giggled a little and said, “Trixie bets Lyra would love a world where every pony wasn’t a pony.”
“It’s hard to say. But we do have someone who can help me check,” Princess Twilight sighed. She cleared her throat and said, “Pinkie Pie, you’re invited to a princess party.”
With a flash of light, Pinkie Pie appeared hovering above them. “Thanks for remembering to use the code phrase Twily,” Pinkie said as she took a sip of the purple drink she was carrying. She smiled at them all and said, “Hi there everyone. Isn’t it a wonderful day out?”
“They might not agree, but I do believe this could be a wonderful day!” Discord said with a grin. “How are you Pinkie?”
Pinkie smiled calmly. “I’m going great.” She grabbed the straw sticking out of her drink and took another long sip.
“Huh. You…usually have more to say than that. Um…what are you drinking?” Chrysalis asked.
“Smoozie,” Pinkie replied.
“Oh, okay. What kind of smoothie is it?”
“Smoozie,” Pinkie repeated. She stirred her purple drink a little, watching as two tiny eyeballs floated in her drink like ice cubes.
“Wait, what did you say?” Fluttershy asked with a nervous look.
Pinkie smiled and vanished the drink with a snap of her fingers. “Oh, it’s nothing. Nothing at all.”
“Um…okay. Anyway…Pinkie, someone stole Nightmare’s Element of Power. We need to send someone into this universe to find it, but we can’t risk meeting any potential alternate versions of ourselves. I’m going to send a spell into this universe that will scan everyone inside it. The spell will then report back to me and give us a basic idea of who we can send.”
Pinkie grinned. “Ooh. Sounds like a complicated spell.”
Princess Twilight sighed. “Impossible is more like it. That’s where you come in. You’ll let me borrow some of your incredible power to give me the magic necessary to cast the spell, while I’ll be the one controlling it. Now, I know this is a huge favor to ask of you-”
“Oh, it’s no problem. I’d do anything to help my friends.” Pinkie giggled and touched Princess Twilight’s horn. The princess gasped as glowing pink energy circled her horn. She staggered a little from the sudden and immense power boost before she fired a beam of swirly pink magic into the mirror. A full minute passed before she stopped the spell. She gasped as Pinkie removed her hoof and the power boost faded away. “Wow. Pinkie, your magic is…incredible.”
Pinkie calmly smiled. “I know.”
“So? What did you find out?” Smog asked.
“I’m afraid most of us won’t be able to go. From what my scan told me, the only people who don’t have counterparts in this other world are Nightmare Moon, Sunset Shimmer, and King Sombra,” Princess Twilight reported. “And to be honest, I’m not one hundred percent sure about Sombra and Nightmare.”
Princess Nightmare’s eyes narrowed in determination. “Alright. I understand my mission.”
“I still think we should all go with you,” Chrysalis said.
“I wish all of you could go with me too. I know that with the help of my friends I can accomplish anything, but even one friend can make a big difference. Are you ready Sunset?” Princess Nightmare asked.
Sunset smirked and gave her a confident nod. “Ready when you are. Don’t worry guys, we’ll be back before you know it.” Nightmare and Sunset smiled at each other before they both walked up to and then into the magic mirror.
Smog coughed. “So uh, just to be clear…we can’t go with them?”
“I’m afraid that’s correct. We can’t risk upsetting the balance of this alternate world. That’s why as helpful as you might be, I’m not letting you anywhere near that world so put the electric banjo sword down and back away Discord!” King Sombra ordered.
“Aw!” Discord groaned as he lowered the bizarre weapon he had created. “Come on, I’m sure that world could survive a little chaos!”
“NO,” Princess Twilight told him.
Discord crossed his arms and huffed. “Should have made Nightmare a queen instead of a princess. Place would be more fun if she was in charge.”
“Well, you heard him guys. We’ll just have to respect the king’s wishes and let Nightmare accomplish her mission – Pinkie! What are you doing with that?!” Smog exclaimed.
The other people in the room immediately spun around to glare at Pinkie…who was just calmly sipping her drink. She stopped drinking and giggled. “I can’t believe you feel for that.”
They spun back around to see that Smog had dived straight for the mirror while their backs were turned. King Sombra sighed as the dragon vanished into the mirror too. “Okay, no one else step through the mirror, I mean it. Let’s just wish them good luck.” The others nodded and sat down on the floor as they began waiting for their friends to return.
Pinkie stared at the mirror and giggled. “Have fun…” she whispered before she vanished with a snap of her fingers.
On the other side of the mirror, Smog had been spat out from the mirror and had landed on the floor. Groaning a little, he looked up to see rows of bookshelves surrounded by crystal walls. He guessed that they were in an alternate version of the Crystal Castle’s library.
“Smog? What are you doing here?” Nightmare asked as she helped him stand back up.
“I couldn’t just let my best friend go without me,” Smog said with a sheepish smile. “Besides, if there’s three of us we can cover more ground.”
“I suppose that makes sense. As long as we don’t run into your counterpart,” Sunset said as she looked around the library they had landed in. Another mirror stood behind them, only this one was hooked up to a very complicated looking machine. She examined the machine closer and gasped when she saw a book on top of it. “That book’s got my old cutie mark!”
As Nightmare examined the machine with her, Smog’s gaze darted all over the library as he asked the question that was on everyone’s minds. “Where are we?” He wandered through the room until he stopped and glanced down to see a book touching his foot. He picked up the book and raised his eyebrow at the title. “The History of…Ponyville?”