It was mid morning, the temperature reaching just above freezing and not a single cloud in the sky to be seen. Twilight exhaled, her breath visible in the crisp air. Both of the girls stood at the rear the car that Light had parked in the faculty lot at Canterlot High School. Twilight took in the surroundings. A couple of other vehicles that had been blanketed in fresh snowfall from the night before sat a few stalls away. Much of the snow had been been cleared from the lot, along with the walkways that crisscrossed the campus grounds. The snow that remained had begun to form slushy puddles.
“That should just about do it,“ Light said, satisfied. She tossed a tripod and a camera bag atop the mountain of odds and ends that had already been piled between Twilight’s arms.
“Oof,” Twilight grunted. She adjusted her footing, struggling to keep the weight she held balanced between her arms. “Is all of this… stuff really necessary?”
“Sure. It never hurts to be prepared,” she replied. Light continued to dig around in the trunk of the car. There was still a considerable amount of her belongings that remained. Twilight was astonished that Light managed to pack as much as she did in that little space.
Light turned to Twilight and did a once over of everything she picked out. Pleased with the collection, she nodded her head. “Great! That’s enough to set up some enhanced monitoring,“ she said. She grabbed one last item, a shoulder bag that contained her tablet, notebook, and plenty of pencils, and slammed the trunk hatch shut. She returned her attention to Twilight. “I could get used to this, having an assistant I mean.”
Twilight craned her head to the side, attempting to look around the giant stack of Light’s things. “My Spike would have been more than happy to do the heavy lifting if he where here,” She said.
“Having a Spike that could help with my research would be fantastic. My Spike is amazing in his own right and I love him to bits, but he’s just a dog. An incredibly intelligent dog, even. If I had a pet that was as dextrous as baby dragon? I can’t even imagine what I’d do,” Light remarked. “I’ll settle for another version of myself as an assistant for the time being,” she added. “Come, follow me.” Light spun around, grabbed the hot cups of cocoa from the roof of the car and proceeded to walk across the parking lot towards the nearest pathway that led to the front of the campus grounds.
Twilight huffed and quietly followed. She stepped carefully, testing her footing on the slick sheet of ice that hadn’t started to melt atop the dark parking lot asphalt. Twilight was thankful that Light had lent her suitable winter clothing for this morning’s outing. A long white winter overcoat rounded out with matching boots, all of which was unsurprisingly more or less a perfect fit. Even with suitable boots for the conditions, there was enough icy spots to require treading carefully, especially so walking with two legs. Gaining confidence in her step, she finally made it a few paces past Light’s parked vehicle.
She stole a look down the length of the vehicle. Light had parked at a crooked angle, sitting on top of a sleet covered yellow line painted on the asphalt. In front of the double parked car Twilight spotted two signs posted at the end of each parking stall. ‘RESERVED’ was printed in bright bold yellow capital letters. Below, names, in smaller but matching yellow letters. “Hey, should you be leave your car here? That sign says it’s reserved for the Principal Celestia and the Vice Principal Luna,“ Twilight asked.
Light shrugged, dismissing Twilight’s query, “Don’t worry about it. Holiday break started yesterday, so it’s not like there will be anybody around. It’ll be fine.”
Twilight nodded, “It’s probably a good thing nobody else is around. I’d like to avoid as much attention as we can. What does all of this equipment I’m carrying do, exactly?” Twilight asked, shifting the pile of instruments between her arms.
“It’s for monitoring the portal on this side, of course. Hopefully I’ll be able to observe something new, considering that you are here, I’m hopeful,” she said. The girls approached the corner of the main building of the high school and headed towards the large stone statue of a stallion that sat in front of the building. The campus grounds at the front of the building was as empty as the parking lot. Twilight spotted a couple bundled up in winter attire, walking down the street away from the school paying the girls no mind.
Light abruptly came to a stop a few paces in front of the statue, Twilight almost bumping into Light’s backside. She propped her hands on her waist, surveying the sculpture. “You can set everything down there,” Light said, pointing at the base of the stone statue.
Twilight hobbled forward, knelt and put everything she held on the ground near the statue. She exhaled a sigh of relief, the numbness in her arms fading.
Light handed Twilight one of the hot drinks and walked the perimeter of the statue, one hand gently brushing the stone surface as she went. Returning to the rear of the statue, she focused on the stallion at the top. “Still seems normal enough,” she mumbled, narrowing her eyes.
“I’m having trouble comprehending how you can live in this weather without a coat of fur. It’s freezing,” Twilight crossed her arms, shivering. Even with the insulted jacket and winter boots that she had borrowed and the temperature above freezing, it was still chillier than she would have liked.
Light chuckled, “You learn to live with it. Plenty of hot cocoa helps too,” she said, taking a sip.
“Thanks for this,” Twilight graciously thanked her, the cup held between her mitten clad hands. The warmth from the liquid contained within was certainly welcome. Light placed her cup on the statue base and got to work setting up the tripods and other equipment she had had Twilight haul here.
“So, how does this portal of yours work exactly? I assume there’s a magical component, and you step in one side and immediately come out the other?“
“More or less,” Twilight said. “The magical theory behind it is fairly simple to explain if you’ve done even basic magic studies—”
“Just pretend I don’t know anything,” Light interjected.
“Right. Well, how should I put this. Who or whatever built the Crystal Mirror created a spell that anchors a point in a universe to a fixed location. In this case, the mirror is the medium that maintains it’s physical representation of that fixed location. Every aspect of the mirror, right down to the materials that where selected was intended to keep the fixed location stable indefinitely.“
“And… you lost me. How does that explain this side? Why is the portal this statue, of all things?“
“Well… it’s magic?“ Twilight replied, shrugging. “I don’t know exactly. It’s something that even the previous owner of the mirror was able to explain. It’s on the top of my list of things to study further.“
“I’ll just add that to my own ever growing list of unanswered questions I have,” she said. Light knelt down in front of a tripod she had deployed in front of her. She nimbly attached the antenna to the mounting clip at the top.
Twilight moved to stand next to Light and placed a palm against the stone surface. Even through the gloves, she could feel faint heat radiating from the surface. “It’s warm?”
Light nodded, focusing on the tablet screen. She bent forward and adjusted the antenna attached to the tripod. “The stone block always has an large change in temperature a few hours following an anomalous event. I suspect this change in temperature is because of your appearance in my kitchen.”
“The distance between here and your house has been bothering me. Even if the most powerful Equestrian magic could work on this side, a skilled unicorn using a teleportation spell would never be able to teleport that distance. I wouldn’t recommend anypony try to use a teleportation spell unless you can guarantee you know the your destination is safe,” Twilight said. She shook her head, the idea of a bad teleport wasn’t pleasant.
“Perhaps it was some kind of built in safety measure, it placing you somewhere out of harms’ way?” Light hypothesized.
Twilight considered the possibility before replying. “Conceivably, yes. My own study of the Crystal Mirror didn’t indicate as such, though. If that’s the case, it did put me in the safest place in this world that it could have, my home. The only thing I can’t even begin to work out is why I ended up here without any clothes.”
“Better naked indoors than in than out here in the middle of winter,” Light joked. She tapped on the screen of her tablet a few more times, and satisfied with the results looked up, towards Twilight. “Okay, that should do it. All of the sensors that I set up appear to be functioning correctly. You can do your thing now,” she said, observing Twilight with great interest.
“Uh, my thing?“ Twilight questioned. Still facing the statue, she sipped at her hot drink.
“Do some magic to open the portal, of course.“
Twilight placed put her cup of cocoa down on top of the stone base and placed both of her gloved palms against the stone surface. She closed her eyes and sighed. As she had expected, it had remained entirely solid. “I’ve never had to do anything special on this side, it simply let me pass through,” she said. She opened her eyes and slowly turned to face Light, who appeared perplexed. “I was worried that I couldn’t sense any Equestrian magic at all because of how far I was from the portal. Even standing next to it now I can barely sense anything at all.”
“So what does that mean? Are you saying you’re trapped here?”
“I… don’t know,” Twilight pursed her lips and shook her head. “There’s definitely Equestrian magic in the air, so the portal can’t be completely cut off. I just need to determine which magical thread to pull to get things flowing again.”
“Is there anything I can do?” Light asked. “I mean, I think I’m out of my depth here, but if you think I can…”
“I’m thinking, I’m thinking,” Twilight muttered. She brought a hand to her chin and closed her eyes. This was uncharted territory, even for her. The faint traces of magic emitting from the statue was a good sign that the portal was at least partially functional. “A anchoring spell could work to force this side open, but there isn’t anywhere close to enough magic to even think about that, even with my friends here,” she mused, lost in her thoughts. The more she thought of possible solutions, the more frustrated she became. “Argh!” Twilight grumbled.
“Twilight?” a voice called, snapping Twilight out of her train of thought. She shot a glance towards Light, who was still hunched over her tablet, focused on reading something on the screen. Light was also alarmed at voice, she turned her head looking over her shoulder to see who had managed to creep up behind them. It was a young girl with flowing bright red and yellow hair. Her expression something between panic and relief. To Twilight, it was familiar face. “Twilight! I’ve— we’ve been so worried!” the girl exclaimed.
“Sunset Shimmer—” Twilight managed to squeak out. Sunset zipped past Light and threw her arms around Twilight.
“I’m glad to see that you’re okay. When the notebook stopped working and the Equestrian magic faded on this side, we feared something terrible had happened,” Sunset Shimmer said. She released Twilight from her embrace, hands still perched on Twilight’s shoulders.
“I’m still trying to sort out what exactly that terrible thing is,” Twilight replied. “It’s great to see a familiar face,” she smiled.
“Oh! I know you! You’re the one that almost blew up the school, right?” Light blurted out.
Sunset Shimmer sighed, dejected. “My reputation precedes me,” she said, turning to the young woman behind her. She did a once over, then slowly back to Twilight, her eyes narrowed. “So there’s two of you know? Do I want to know why?”
“That I can explain. She’s the Twilight Sparkle from this side,“ Twilight said, motioning with a hand in Light’s direction. “Sunset Shimmer, meet Light.”
“Hi,” Light gave a stiff wave.
“I see. Even you have an equivalent on this side,” Sunset Shimmer murmured. She returned her attention to Twilight. “Okay. So what happened in Equestria? Magic on this side stopped working a few months ago. No ponying up, no messages, nothing.”
“I’m working on that problem now,” Twilight frowned. Twilight wasn’t surprised that Sunset couldn’t sense the minuscule amount of magic that remained, she hadn’t exactly kept up with studies since arriving in the human world. “I was hoping to figure this out with Light’s help. Long story short, my friends and I were dealing dealing with some dangerous magic back home. I thought we had it straightened it out, but before I realized what was happening I got pulled through the mirror, and next thing I know I wake up here six months later in her kitchen,” Twilight said, pointing to Light.
“Well, that’s troubling,” Sunset Shimmer said, her expression dour. She forced a smile, in attempt to lighten the mood. “You’re here, so that’s something. Is there anything I can do to help?”
“I don’t know yet. Having a unicorn around couldn’t hurt, and you do have a connection to the magic that linked Equestria to this side,” Twilight said. She motioned over her shoulder with a thumb. “The portal is completely unresponsive and I’m only sensing faint traces of Equestrian magic.”
“I don’t feel anything. The girls and I tried everything we could think of when I the book stopped working. We even tried to get help from Adagio and her flunkeys. That was fun, but uneventful,” Sunset said, casting a sour look at the thought.
“Desperate enough to seek out the Sirens for help? I’m sorry to have to put you through that,” Twilight said meekly. “Hey, wait a minute, why are you even here? Don’t you and the girls have vacation?”
“I volunteered to drop off the gym keys Rainbow had borrowed for a group project we are working on since everyone else was heading out of town to be with family,” Sunset looked to the ground rubbed her arm, nervously. “I didn’t really have plans for the holidays, so I volunteered.”
“I see,” Twilight replied, realizing the question she posed made Sunset Shimmer uncomfortable.
Light cleared her throat, to get the other girls attention. “Anyway, back on topic. There is a measurable difference of temperature when Sunset Shimmer approached the statue.”
Twilight turned and placed her hand on the solid stone statue base. “It doesn’t feel any different.”
“The temperature change was just above the normal margin of error. Let’s try both of you near the base of the statue. Miss Shimmer, if you would please,” Light directed Sunset Shimmer with an open palm towards the statue.
“Okay,” Sunset said, moving to stand next to Twilight.
Light stared down at the tablet she cradled in her arm. “Good,” she said, nodding to herself. “Another measurable increase. Miss Shimmer, please try touching the pedestal, bare palm if you could.”
Sunset Shimmer gave Twilight a sidelong glance, before shrugging and taking the glove she wore off and carefully placing her palm on the stone surface.
“Wow, it’s warm,” Sunset Shimmer said. She swivelled her head towards Light. “Now what?”
Light didn’t immediately reply, instead intensely focused on her tablet screen. Squinting for a moment, she mouthed silently what she was reading. Her eyes went wide astonished. “Oh my. There’s a large increase in temperature.”
“How crazy would that be if all it takes is a couple of Equestrians knocking on this door?” Sunset joked. She returned her attention to the slab of stone and pulled off the remaining glove with her teeth. She placed the other palm on the stone. She looked to Twilight.
“It really couldn’t be that simple, could it?” Twilight said. She took Sunset Shimmer’s lead and followed suit, placing her other hand on the warm stone surface. “Hmm, it does feel hotter now. I wonder if this is a result of passive flow of the natural magic that exists between us?”
Light ignored Twilight’s remark, instead squinting at the readings on her tablet. She took in a sharp intake of breath, her heart skipping a beat. The results she was observing she had observed before. “Both of you back up. NOW!“ she hurriedly blurted out. Moving quickly, she tossed the tablet into the snow and reached for the girls’ jacket collars in front of her. Roughly clutching, she pulled both of the girls back from the statue.
Before Twilight or Sunset Shimmer could mount a protest, the three girls shielded their eyes from the brilliant flash of white light and accompanying gust of wind that came forth from the stone slab in front of them. The light flash of light faded, the stone statue visually returned to normal.
“I can feel it,“ Sunset Shimmer said.
Twilight nodded, she felt it as well. “That’s definitely Equestrian magic. The mirror is linked to this side again,” she said.
Light took a step back and knelt to pick up her tablet that was embedded in the snow bank. Wiping the snow from the screen with her jacket sleeve she powered it back on, looking over the results. “That was a huge burst of energy. It fried all of my sensors when that flash occurred. Twilight, now what?”
“We test if the portal is active,” Twilight said.
Sunset moved towards the statue, picking up the gloves she had dropped. She slipped both on and stopped just short of the statue. “That easy. I’ll just stick my hand through. If it’s actually working, hoof,” she said, placing a hand on the surface of the stone.
“I wouldn’t—” Twilight said, taking a step forward and reaching out towards Sunset Shimmer.
“Ah!” Sunset Shimmer exclaimed, her hand passing straight through the visibly solid surface. It started to pull at her arm causing her to lose her balance. Sunset began to panic, he free hand flailing in the air.
Twilight sprung forward, grabbing frantically for Sunset’s arm in an attempt to pull her back. The combination of Sunset Shimmer’s momentum and the vacuum-like pull of the portal was too much for Twilight to keep her own balance. She faltered, falling forward. With her free arm she reflexively shielded her head, finally falling through the active portal.
“… do that,” Light concluded. She almost dropped her tablet, stunned at what had just unfolded. “Of course that would happen,” She added. Light considered her options. Of course, Twilight did say to stay put on this side. Curiosity and more importantly, concern for the girls being dragged through was certainly a unprecedented event. She couldn’t very well not ignore her new friend’s safety. “Over there and right back home. No harm done,” she reasoned.
Her mind made, Light took a step toward the faintly shimmering surface of the stone surface. A faint whistling was now audible standing this close to the precipice. She slipped her tablet into her shoulder bag, securing the flap. “Five minutes maximum,” she reassured herself. Taking a single sharp breath, Light closed her eyes and stepped through the gate.