//------------------------------//
// Ch. 8 Puppeteer's Strings 
// Story: The Siren's Remorse 
// by TheronSniper 
//------------------------------//

Ch. 8 Puppeteer’s Strings

Dazzling Room...

Every breath she took felt heavy and burdened, sweat began to peak through the pores of her skin from her palms to the back of her neck. The moment had come where she worried of the temperament of the three would designate her as little more than a chew toy, but the notion was quickly chalked up to the unknown. It was anticipated that they could sense the variations to the first stone to which she was authorized to speak about, yet the man had not told her very much either on purpose. Whatever she could say she hoped would be sufficient enough, least she be the one on the floor caught between snarling maws and psychotic episodes.

"What I know?" Twilight's voice quaked, her bottom squirming on the soft seat like a mole crab trying to dig into the sand.

A cream yellow hand came upon the lone ruby and touched it with the tips of the fingers, brushing it as if it were the cheek of a newborn with utmost care. Circles were run across the eight outer sides encasing the center facet before the index finger sat upon the middle as if it were an island in the bay of white linen. The point was made by the slight push into the cotton blossom Twilight held, the firmness of the gesture only served to concern her even more as the warning was given.

"Why yes!? You don't think we're honestly  oblivious to the differences do you? We'd like to know what we're using for one, and two where did they come from? We may look young, but we're thousands of years old and with that comes valuable experience and rarely given trust. So give me a reason to trust him... and you?" Dazzle had taken to perch herself on the arm of the sofa, the proximity had caused a spike of warmth that Twilight could only believe was a fearful reflex. Had she seen a mirror at that moment she would have noticed the flush of red upon her face, but it was not of embarrassment.

Aria quizzically thought with a quirky eye to the ceiling missing the sight herself, "Ya? Come to think of it, what gives with the changes? Far as we've seen the new stone would need fifty Canterlot High feedings just to seem full? Our own were fine with a hundred souls to siphon off of in three sessions alone." she said with honest thought.

A few bobbles of curly hair touched the young girl's shoulder when their owner leaned in even more uncomfortably close, "Yaaaaaa?! I always feel hungry still even after we sing to a whole club or something?" the aloof girl  to the left tapped her chin as the gears began to whirl one by one.

The finger lifted away from the new ruby and brushed the right side of the human's face in a queer fashion, "We know that even as old as we are our magical stores were never this insatiable, so it's understandable we have... reservations of attaining the next one. We're not stupid."

"I... I wouldn't think you were?" Twilight recoiled away from the touch as she stuttered, waiting for the usual aggravated harassment that came from most of her peers.

A terse silence floated around the circle of four as thick as chowder, giving the congregation the sense of being cornered by a pack of wolves. She wanted to get away from the situation she had willingly put herself in, preferably better if they didn't make her feel so pinned in yet even that was a suggested possibility. The feeling that no matter what she said would eventually end in harsh words and getting tossed out to walk home alone after curfew. It was a crazy scenario that buzzed under the bun of restrained blue hair with the fury of a jostled wasp nest, already she began to wonder it would be safer to take the bus. Whether or not to inform him that she had failed to meet his request.

With a heartbeat thudding in her throat and knees trembling as a loose bumper, she swallowed the lump which might as well have been the organ itself to seat it where it properly belonged in her anatomy. Each pounding pump of blood through every inch of her veins an unbearable assault upon her nerves, the pressure building with each passing moment all the way to the tips of her toes and fingers in pin pricks. It was starting to lead to an icy chill in her chest as a panic attack had begun to come on, a painful experience the gradual onset came as it did every time at school from the toes she stepped on accidentally. The voices were coming back again, someone somewhere said something mean and degrading that most would tell of to a stray dog on the street. No matter what she did it was never good enough, no matter how nice or well informed they'd give her the stink eye. The underlying torment of under performance dug into her ability to speak even more than before, the white lotus petals were closing upon the ruby ever slowly. Her hands lowering from their height and clasping together inch by inch.

"I... I can... tell you... yo... what I know!" dread seeped from her person which caught their attention like blood to sharks, a fresh kill or injured fish struggling to survive detected miles away.

The one of bountiful curls of orange and sun streak noticed the deteriorating condition of their associate, "Good girl... good girl." she started to sing yet did not feed as the enchantment ensnared the girl, "Now... let me hear what it is that makes these gems soooo speeeciaaaalllllll."

It was a very weak casting, but her angelic voice seemed as comforting as a mother's embrace that pushed away the negativity and all the voices that plagued the young mind. The effect was immediate in the studious human who stopped shivering ever quickly even to the low tuneful hum still being sung, a green mist had begun to fly away from her as if it were steam. Eyes glazed over with the onset of awe and and captivation, breath held to all while the soul was pacified. The entire act observed without intervention nor speech, the Dazzlings had already figured out what was happening and it was not a free meal to be had.

What apprehension was born prevented a tempted bite of the succulent negative emotion, it was merely wasted as weeds clipped at the roots to be tossed for mulching. Pulled taunt so that the girl was freed from the chains of near debilitating tension by magic of the siren song until the strings gave. A subtle glow of red had shone in Adagio's magenta rings as she continued the simple musical piece, her eyes seductive in their gaze upon the girl betrayed the ease of which it was to manipulate the dominant apes of the world. The green haze bloomed in one fantastic puff once the line had been severed, displaying for all the three to see clearly just how much was bottled away. A feast denied from even a mere sample had the same potency of five youthful youngling, of all they had feasted on even in Equestria there were none so troubled as this particular girl. To Aria who looked upon her with mouth ajar by inches and a dumbfounded gaze, Sonata seemed to feel a bit of sadness at the over ripe fruit mushy and stale to her tastes.

The last of the swamp colored haze vanished through the ceiling as the energy fell to the vast vacuum that was the world devoid of magic. What remained was a freed spirit like a yard that hadn't been mowed in years, wind could kiss the soil and new life could be mustered. Yet Blaze knew the end result was to have a quicker more vulnerable mind to interrogation, just enough to feed them what needed to be known. The schoolgirl would regrow it all back in a months time as she figured, likely lacking the same volume however as she had held what was akin to a decades old wine kept in a cold dark cellar.

The cork had been popped, "Uhh..." Twilight groaned with wincing pained expression, "What was I doing? You... asked a question... about the ruby? Right?"

A grin graced the golden siren's supple lips, the magic vanished from those calculating portals leaving that ever resourceful spirit, "Where are they from? Perhaps other sirens like us? Did he ever even tell you much about us? I mean he seems to know?" she spoke in playful notes even if the spell had ended.

The cupped gem gradually came down till the hands below it found rest upon the skirt covered lap, "He said... they came from an excavation site... abroad... off the coast of Maremmano of Europa. Somewhere near Naples in the Tyrrhenian Sea, there was a discovery of a ship graveyard that was uncovered by recreational scuba divers."

Aria rose a brow as if puzzled, "Maremmano? Didn't we like pass that during the Great War? Man! These must have been buried deep if we couldn't sense them much less idiot here sniffing out even one of those?"

The casual jab did not go unheard, "HEY! They had good cheese there! Sorry I was so hungry!" Dusk dutifully defended herself as she remembered the fond memories of the strife that gripped humanity so tightly that fresh juice had kept them fed rather decently during it.

"Shhhh!!" warned their leader putting a finger to pursed lips, "Continue Twilight."

A pause came before the girl showed some signs of livening up, still acting as if something were in control of her. Very little of any of her moved, like a mechanism slowly warming up to move fluently in cold weather. She starred straight ahead at nothing in particular except towards the flatscreen device, her reflection in the dull dark semi matte surface.

Taking a deep breath she went on about it all, "They say there are over fifty Greek and foreign merchant vessels that lay at the bottom and the shoreline of where they were extracted from, some kind of large ceramic vessel... they sat over a bed of calcium carbonate... bones. Among many other pieces of pottery... the lead archaeologist gave them the title Siren Souls... from the number of human bones scattered throughout the ship graveyard. It was a metaphorical joke that stuck to their profile."

"Wow, sounds like they did more then feed and move on? Hardcore." the twin hair tailed girl nodded with an impressed attitude that any of the other two rarely saw.

Dazzle had dropped her normal demeanor in lieu of one that depicted a sage in deep contemplation, "That is to assume they were anything like us, our desires and the end game. But to kill off prey like that, it doesn't make any sense? Sure the hairless apes bred like rabbits especially back then, but that's just down right wasteful! Kill off the fish and there will be none left to spawn... over harvesting to the point that the waters will be barren next year." 

Sonata whimpered, "The stones... they were found on top of bones... inside a jar!" a shiver crawled down her spine and to her toes, the feeling was just as mutual with her packmates if less evident.

"Uhhhh... does that mean we somehow might die if we use these any longer? Or since we took the first one?" Blaze shrugged as the beginnings of indifference started to grow, she shifted to a new spot a little away from everyone.

Already Aria and Sonata seemed to be backing away from their matriarch, one plopping herself right down in front of the dead flatscreen TV and the entertainment system. Her sweet fool made it a foot away before backing into the other part of the sofa's L shaped design, though they dared not speak it they were afraid of the ruby. The very gem which returned to them their powers and immortality, that bestowed upon them a chance to get back at the ones who threw them in such an insufferable prison. Their voices returned to them with thrice the strength and they showed such cowardice, such a disgrace had been their reaction that it only served to bolster Adagio's trust in the relic.

Jerking herself forward at the two, "Simmer down you skittish rock lice! You're sirens, not some hermit crab!" she then turned her attention back to the human, "Twilight! Tell me everything, was there anything else you can tell us about them?"

The doughy sluggish revival seemed to near its completion as the girl blinked repeatedly, "There were only three found... the ceramics jars... the rest were storage that contained coins, food, cloth, or any other manner of trade items of that era so no one suspected anything. The locals were reported fearing the stones right after they were extracted, word got out without a single witness having ever seen the stones. They were quickly transported to a national institute for carbon dating and cataloging out of the country when the roads and streets were filled with angry indigenous peoples."

"That's still not telling us much, but I guess that will have to do for now until we meet with him. Still better than being left in a rotting bag of flesh for a century or two." Adagio pinched the bridge of her nose, "Crowds of people who just suddenly started to riot as soon as the gems were found... leads me to believe the sirens of this world were eventually defeated as well. Their end was rather... tasteless."

"Ya?! No kidding! That's why our kind never did that, we were merely banished for making the ponies live in constant strife. All our mothers said that from the day we're born, or at least you and me. Not sure about Sonata's case after what she did." Blaze thumbed at the girl in question.

Wide eyed the cerulean siren soon adorned a frown of distaste, "HEY!! I told you guys what happened already! It wasn't my fault, besides I never hurt anyone they just wrecked the place and we... I still never killed anyone!"

"Which is what we will continue to do, our powers come from fresh kelp. Not from uprooting the whole plant. Let the three of this world to the fate they put themselves in, they're long gone and we're immortal again. We stick to the program and continue learning about our powers before they try anything under our noses. Aria, you'll be my second pair of eyes for that, and Sonata?" she eyed the two in serious intent.

While not getting anything but a careless shrug from her little usurper, Dusk shrank back against the furniture and quietly pointed at herself.

"You know what it's like to experience a magical surge. The moment you feel anything off with the stones you stop singing and tell me right away. We are in control of them not the other way around. Though I doubt anything is even in these things to begin with." she said as her right hand came to rest upon the stone under her clothing, "Tales are tales, but they begin from something or another. We knew what we were getting into when we took on the first one. Our magic, our original birth stones are long gone never to come back again. We're essentially relearning everything new, how we can control this world and the limits we can never cross. We're in this together, just as we agreed upon."

Her words were vows of the utmost earnest, putting her role as Matriarch on the line and their futures all upon a group collective. After a few passing glances given to the ruby in the then awakened girl, it was clear they had already jumped ship and were among the stormy waves. They couldn't give up the chance to reach their destination from the sinking ship that was their old lives, for the ship had already crashed onto the sea floor by then. Aria would rather perish instead of living out a meek life as the evolved monkeys, she hated their all when the Great War had come. Sonata on the other hand simply wanted to follow, she had to belong or else she feared dying alone. They had merely given into the thought of living as humans because they had no other choice, and given the second chance she wouldn't consent again.

In a strange show of control she gave a firm nod and thrust a fist into the air, perhaps it was the inner siren from Equestria that urged her to do such a thing. Maybe there were awful magic at play working their minds to suit its needs, whatever the case was she knew she had to display her agreement. Aria joined in if only half way, giving a thumbs up and a smirk at the cute scene of their little idiot.

Twilight had come to at that moment under no further duress nor fog of the mind, she felt light as air and content. Though odd she felt nothing amiss except for the behavior of the rather energetic mood in the air, something had happened that she missed somehow. To her it didn't feel as if there was a gap in her memory, just a fluffy jumble of talking after Adagio had come out of her room.

She gazed at the nearby electrical clock on the wall behind the fushia skinned girl, giving a soft sigh at how late it had become and what little sleep she'd get. While getting to know them and answer questions was on the list of priorities, they still needed their other gemstone ready by tomorrow.

"Good, we'll make further contingencies if they prove to be uncontrollable. Then we..." Dazzle ceased feeling a tap on her left arm, turning her head towards the girl on the sofa, "Yes?"

Peeved at being interrupted she cocked a brow to the reason of doing so, "Um, I don't wish to get in between whatever is going on. But it's getting rather late now and I have to finish work on the stone before two in the morning... and it's almost eleven now."

At her interjection the Dazzlings collectively gave her a quick eye before turning to the clock she'd taken sight of, it did not take long before the moment register. A whirlwind of commotion sped into creation as the Dazzlings were off in their own rooms doing all manners of things, one cursed under their breathe while the rest quietly acted. Screeching clothing hangers scrapped metal bars in both rooms, bathroom doors closed shut, and then Adagio had gone to shut off the unused lights all around. Leaving the little human girl alone on the couch still at a loss at what had transpired, but with nothing to trigger a flight response or worry she merely sat observing behavior. There was a squeak of metal from the bathroom on the right of the suite, the side she concluded was to be Aria and Sonata's side. Water ran even though it was heavily muted, along with it more curses in some kind of tongue she didn't recognize even though she had studied a good number for the conferences and conventions Cinch sent her to.

'Well I guess this went better than expected? I'm not outside or heading for home and I still have my work to do. I think he'll be happy with the current results, now... to calibrate.' Twilight told herself and set about preparing the impromptu work space.

As the coolness of the room met with the leaking humidity of a running hot shower, Twilight made sure everything was right with the table. Having little out of place that wasn't a gesture of the hand away from fixing, she set the precious stone in the center of it all. The cloth that once held it was folded neatly and placed into a side pocket of the pack where she then pulled out a strange item from the main compartment. It had been secured by velcro as the material ripped with a static ruffle, a headband affixed with an apparatus of sorts supporting multiple glass lenses on metal arms. She stretched the band over her hair bun and let it grip her head, feeling the fabric with the silicon dots anchor the item onto her person that promised a trouble free application.

The thick black glasses were removed and folded where she placed them on the far right of the table out of the way, the act immediately blinding her of even basic sight. Thankful that she was already sitting down she then moved her fingers and expertly adjusted the metal bar which was molded to her cranium. Along the sides she swiveled the thing metallic arms that held the circular lenses until the largest ones were in place and the world became clear as day.

"Perfect!" she said softly and gave the table one last inspection.

The shower turned off just as Aria threw a bundle of clothing on an empty chair in their room with a soft plop, "SONATA!! Your stuff's on the chair for the morning!"

A muffled reply came, "THANKS!"

With Adagio absent in the suite, she figured she still had a few more minutes before the girls might interrupt her during the calibration. Seizing the chance she dove a hand back into her plum violet pack and felt for something specific, a short groping earned her what she needed. It was a cylinder as strangely hot as a cup of fresh tea, a tiny thing that could fit in the palm of her hand as it did was as glossy as glass with a hard plastic end. Having nestled it in a marker or pen loop for transport, she pulled her arm up quickly as the heat had begun to be too much to bear.

"What?!" she gasped as a flare of a burn in progress caused a knee jerk reaction in her left arm, "AH!"

She yelped while tracking the deep crimson vial in the air, sailing in a high arm from the toss she inadvertently sent it in. Immediately the pain was gone as utter horror overtook every thought in her mind, the one thing she needed to finalize the stone with the magic she had been taught and alchemy she was still learning. All that she pictured was the small thing shattering and the viscous looking liquid lost to where ever it spilled out onto. A feeble attempt was made by her body to try and catch the flipping tube, but she was too slow to do anything but meet its trajectory halfway.

It had flew past the climax of its height as the momentum sent it off to the tiled floor of the kitchen area. Dread as deep as the farthest sea floor of the oceans weighed her down from making one last ditch attempt, that perhaps if she threw her body under it she'd be saved. Twilight's lungs had stopped all movement after she saw the precious fluid leap before her, even her heart had come under amnesia of sorts by skipping two beats. Everything she had planned and envisioned would go with the priceless item, he would likely pull all his funding from the school and take back all he gave her. All else with the academy would probably sink at Principle Cinch's disappointment in her failure as well, the lab and her future at Everton gone once the glass spilled into countless pieces.

As all seemed hopeless within the bottomless pit, a soft yellow palm met the tube with a timid smack and then fingers encased it in a hold like spider legs trapping prey. Defiant in the odds, the vial was saved by none other than Adagio herself who stood confused as to what was going on and what was on Twilight's face that enlarged her eyes. Given the odd scene she could only sigh as yet again she arrived just in the nick of time, whatever disaster she stopped was but another drop in the lake that had since formed long ago.

"Everything always falls apart when I'm not around. Never a moment's peace for me." she said before bringing the specimen container close to her face, letting it roll slowly in her hand.

At a glance it was nothing but a reddish substance contained inside a simple storage of plastic and melted sand. Peering deeper into the material revealed what Adagio could only see was a singular school of silver shad adrift in the oasis of life, moving beside her manipulation as if there was life inside the vial. Twisting tides of the metallic glitter churned with an existence, intoxicating to witness that drew in the mind and imagination hypnotically. A soft pulse of magic seemed to exude off the container as the fish jerked every which way. The very heat itself easily tolerated by the dominate siren who simply regarded the sensation as if it were a warm summer's breeze upon her flesh. It wasn't what she expected to find with the human at all, but the magic was there and it was of Equestrian flavor and potency. Summoning further questions into who they were really dealing with if they hadn't crossed paths up till the present.

She had come in to double check on her buffoons and only then had her senses detected the glass before her pathway that she caught it in time, "So, with all that and whatever it is you're wearing. The whole 'calibrating' has to involve this in what manner?"

Sparkle giggled sheepishly not wanting to admit to nearly destroying their ascendance to power, "Um... thank you for catching that, if you could pass it back?" she inquired first eager to put it safely where it belonged.

The vial rolled once more in the siren's hand before it was carefully given over, received by the human as if it were explosive. The ginger caution used in its transition to the table where a small stand awaited to seat it only fueled Dazzle's curiosity to the point that irritability started to poke up.

"I'm waiting." she spoke with a mildly peeved tone.

Twilight jerked from her diligent care of the red substance after she unfolded one more set of metal pins acting like legs for support. The five inch apparatus couldn't budge unless the table was shoved or bumped into, though the same couldn't be said for the girl herself upon hearing the vexing directed at her.

"Sorry, that's the catalyst I have to use to fill in the runes that react with your magic. Without it the stone is too dangerous to your health and... I almost ruined everything again." she replied while eyeing every fine detail before her.

"React with how?" she pressed while ignoring the self shaming that was heard quite clearly.

Twilight sat up straight, "He did most of the work of masking the stone's original magic, but in his rush to get it to me for further fine tuning there were a few runes he missed. Since he wasn't sure how much he should remove that wouldn't compromise their capability of performance, they were given a special coating of Pyrite Elixir that will cause any negative reactions to your magic to glow. From there the filler will bond with the molecular structure in a seamless meld, but the magical process that permits it wasn't told to me in detail. In a sense, it seems your world and mine have nearly the same kind of magic with only superficial variations."

A hum could be heard pleased with the answer given, "Next question would be how does he even know how our original gems even worked? Because as far as I know we've never met someone like this person before in all the years we've been here." with arms folded over her bosom, "And we've lived through many lifetimes, probably met your ancestors at one point or another."

Still adjusting to the reality that the trio presented to her Twilight bit back the need to ask about their past, "Yes, I believe the remnants of your old gems were collected at some point. How he even..."

A tight hand suddenly gripped her shoulder and ripped her eyes from the work space until all she saw was the head honcho herself, "He HAS our shattered pendents?!!"

Mint scented breath crossed before Twilight's nose, tickling a tempted sneeze if the startling act didn't apprehend the reaction. Those magenta eyes with their piercing color locked onto hers with such fervor that any further words were all but impossible to get out. So intimidating were they that it became a task to maintain eye contact, quickly she started to notice everything else outside Adagio's all encompassing face. Such as where the other hand of the siren gripped the sofa's arm she had been leaning on. Fingers dug into the surface ripping through slightly as if it were made of fresh wet clay, the strength applied easily calculated in the young scientist's mind even if she didn't want to think of it.

"HOW!?" the hiss no less dangerous than a King Cobra nearly froze any way of responding.

Swallowing a lump of moisture in the back of her throat, "I don't know! He just said he found the fragments and pieced them together! He doesn't tell me anything unless it involves my lessons!" she brought her hands to protect her face, "Please don't hurt me!!"

The sound of soft foot falls on the carpet entered the otherwise stale air where only Dazzle's deep growl had become the sole audio of, aside from the tearing couch arm, "You mean to tell me that he has our fragments... that he somehow assembled every single shard... studied every little piece... and... and..." the hot air balloon sported a leak, "I let those shards... left them there."

"Yo!" swiftly came a voice from the other side of the suite.

Sonata peaked past the bathroom door dripping wet with a tooth brush in her mouth, her air equally unrestrained as the others before the cloud of hot water vapor puffed behind her. She looked worried even as the dental foam dripped off the chin like runny cappuccino cream. Yet it was not her whose voice rent through the tense air surrounding Twilight and Adagio, Aria leaned against a wall looking the most displeased she had ever shown.

Their leader backed away as if to compose herself, her steps slightly uncoordinated almost tripping her as an arm gripped her room's door frame. Suffering erupted upon her heavenly perfected face as a hand cupped half of it, labored breathing soon followed along with a crimson spot under the night garb that made it appear as if she were bleeding. While off setting to see, the bleeding wound soon glowed bright enough to be seen as a light than an actual injury and one from the first stone hanging from its tether.

"I... I'm fine." the eldest magical being swayed in place grimacing to hold her own just to stand, "Our stones... it was my fault they... were so callously discarded like that. We... I should have scooped the up before..."

Out from Blaze came a scoff which held no respect for the one it was aimed at, she wanted to anger the distraught.

"Like Tartarus you could have, remember? Cause I do!" the fushia skinned girl beckoned, "We lost our voices, then we got booed off stage, and we ran for our lives because we got chased off. Kinda no room there for us to have taken the moment and grabbed the pieces."

"I know but..." Adagio tried to protest, the hand drifting off her face where the scowl soon honed onto the other siren in full.

Aria strode over until she stood just before her Matriarch without a care in the world if she were suddenly attacked or given a warning threat. Defiant and strong, Twilight kept her senses on auto record if for mostly her own record seeing that they made Crystal Prep all the more tamer by comparison. It was then that she realized aside from her own family, family friends, and Spike her little puppy she'd never really had such an occasion where she could be share such an intimate moment with another person much less than beings from another world. It only then dawned on her that she as in the middle of a bonding moment, something she only read in books or recollected at family gatherings during the holidays.

"We followed you because you sensed the danger we were in. We ran as fast as we could and evaded those freaks! We're here now because of you, so suck it UP! At least the rest of our pendants weren't turned into that... that piece of garbage that other she created!" the venom in her tone came to head after she thrust a singular digit at Twilight herself.

The red light died out as if it feared the ire in the words, "I know that!"

"Then act like it!! Adagio those gems are gone, long gone and we'll never get our old selves back no matter how badly we wish we could. At least that Twilfart Pukle couldn't deface the rest, no offense to you... you're not her." Blaze gave a quick eye to the school girl and waved a hand in dismissal of the real person she meant to call on.

She giggled more less out of a nervous reaction and caved further into herself on the sofa, "None taken."

"Think it's time we really got over them by now. Tartarus we have our powers back, we have something that's not a broken bottle on a side walk." Aria sized up her leader as if gauging the depth her words were penetrating the afflicted, "Why even care about what happened to the old ones? Not like we could even have done a coral's worth to repair them! So why? Why are you still holding onto them?"

The answer came with reluctance as if it caused physical distress to admit, "Those were ours, we were born with them! No one should be touching them much less turning them into pet projects with a lack of appreciation!"

Instead of back off, a pair of hands went up and grasped the collar of Dazzle's nightwear, the material lifted up to the chin showing no remorse. Teeth were shown for the world to see on both sides, a new contest of sorts started to take shape and one which even sent Twilight scooting away to the other side of the couch. All the while quietly dragging the black knee high table with all the gear out of the suspected splash zone.

"We have a chance to get back home! We can rub their faces in the sand later, Equestria awaits us or don't you care about that prize!?" a snarl graced the offending one topping their aggressive stand off.

The teal and dark purple hair cascading down her back gleamed with the conditioner still moisturizing each strand. The lights in the living room reflected off the silky drape. Though what really caught Twilight's attention was the rippling muscles underneath the supple skin, in both the arms and the legs exposed to the cool floral scented air of moisturizer. A light was shone upon the one who stood up to Dazzle, the power to back up her argument to the one who stood at the top.

'I'll need to gain a further insight into their true being when they won't feel tempted to cause me bodily harm. But an interesting side note, if they have a different form then I wonder what kind of group mentality they have that might be magically affected or by nature alone?' Twilight thought.

She anticipated a new fight of some kind for dominance, a contest of words with the way Dazzle held herself. The staring contest they seemed to be perpetually locked in with a steel bar went on for a time, as dangerous as a frozen lake where thin ice could be anywhere. Time seemed to lose itself in the one on one before a development finally came to, already late into the night as it were when the growls and hisses had risen and fell away.

"I always knew you were the one who'd try to take my place. Always eager to prove yourself." Adagio grinned still unaffected by the forwardness of her subordinate. 

"Someone has to." Aria chuckled releasing the shirt, a few steps taken back as if to give breathing room.

"Shoo rrouu gud!" Sonata asked with the tooth brush still in her mouth as she hung out of the bathroom door.

Blaze rose her shoulders up along with her hands in a familiar gesture of hers, "Don't know? Are ya?"

Pushing the creases down on the cotton linen before glancing at the lone human to the left of her in that unsure paranoia she exhibited, sprawled on the furniture with a hand ready to grasp the ruby and vial quickly. A long drawn out breath left her.

“You don't need to be ready to flee, I'm fine now." her steely eyes went back to their old intimidating self and swiftly came upon Aria who lost the grin she gave back, "I’m giving this stone to you Aria, until you prove yourself incapable. Sonata you will have to wait for the last one."

“Good, it will feel great to have my own again…” Aria said as her body noticeably relaxed, "Though I did win the spar anyways, so I would have gotten it out of right regardless."

The cerulean girl in the back pouted before slamming the door with furrowed brows, a brief glimpse of her nosing up as the darkly lit hall consumed the light that had poured in while she watched earlier. Water streamed as the sink had been flipped on. The sounds of gargling made it through just barely for Twilight to hear. She had begun to calm down herself sensing peace flags raise in a figurative sense, but her heart still raced from the adrenaline of the moment. She had worried if another tussle would occur and being so close to the calibration setup it was an inherent danger for all. It was then that she decided to get a guarantee that she could start without any further delay, though every word was mulled over to filter any potential offense she might give.

A helpless stomach churn couldn't be helped with even a small risk of upsetting either of the two, "I don't mean to interrupt anything, but it is... imperative that I complete my task without... complications..." she shyly spoke, "If that is alright with you? The work I must do is precision based, the slightest mistake in carving and filling could... irreparably damage the stone for your use." 

Her right hand fiddled with one of the carving tools on the table, rolling it along its handle. A smirk appeared upon Aria's face as she noticed the way the headgear made strange exaggerations in the eyes behind the lenses.

"Oh. Oh! Poseidon's sake I... yes, just get through with it. Aria, you and Sonata will head to bed, it's almost midnight and we're already off schedule. I'll inspect this work you've done Twilight, in the morning at least it will wait. I can't sing without my beauty sleep anyways." Dazzle nodded to the others, "Don't wake us up while you work!"

The slamming of the leader's door cemented Twilight's peace of mind, Blaze gave a light hearted giggle as she turned in herself. A few little thuds and minor shuffling sounds from both ends of the suite proceeded to further calm the young girl, placidity graced her like a setting fog as the sun set. Still her heart pulsed from the earlier excitement, forcing her to meditate in the manner of which she had learned at a science conference years ago.

Keeping her eyes on the ruby, she let her thoughts form from their rambunctious nature into a centralized swirl around it. A cyclone of concentration that eased her errant mind, a few moments practice did what she intended it to do. Anything to do with the sirens and their interestingly dangerous ways could be envisioned as being swiped away by a mentally created hand, like a touch screen whatever she did not want to be bothered with vanished in a vaporized cloud to nothing.

"There we go... see? Nothing to be bothered with." she told herself.

A faint sound of running hot water pipes clinking in the walls, the ruffling of bed covers, and the air conditioning systems clicking on were but static to her. Silence reigned as soon as she realized full control had come under her sway, that was when her work could finally start. A slow exhale and a lit applause from her giddiness, all the worldly problems put under a tight lid to which she cracked her knuckles to celebrate.

"Normally I have Spike with me to calm my thoughts, but the meditation is just as good. As they say, a rushed project is one destined for lacking results." she said looking at every item before settling on a folded piece of tan paper at the back edge of the setup.

Knowing what it already contained she set the note down opened for viewing, runes of sorts in Equish with short translations in her native language decorated almost every centimeter of surface. Her focus drifted towards the piping hot vial where she hesitated moving on.

She gave it a mournful gaze, "I better inform him of what happened, the heat it generated had to have been a reactive magic setting it off. But from what?" a finger reluctantly floated towards.

At an inch away she retracted the digit hastily, "Okay, first things first... whisper!" a dull thud echoed from behind through the drywall as if to remind her.

"Why whisper?" came a voice in her right ear, instantly spooking the young woman who banging a shin into the small coffee table.

A loud clatter arose from the numerous tools as they danced into disarray onto the once carefully sorted placement. The ruby and glass vial had not moved as much, their weight seemed to keep them stable amid the ocean of white caps in high wind. Twilight gripped her leg in pain, her bottom lip sucked between her teeth to keep any sound from coming out. 

As if on queue, "What did I SAY!!?" came the dominant voice through the closed door nearby.

Minutes passed by before either Sonata or Twilight did anything, one knowing not to annoy Adagio and the other already fearful enough. Though once a solid dark spot developed on the leg that had sprung up from the surprise, it was safe enough to assume the coast was clear.

Every word spoke from then on was a murmur and no louder, "Sorry about that!"

The taste of metal greeted the school girl's mouth, "It's... okay, I just thought you would have gone straight to bed. But if you could please not do that again?"

Dusk nodded with a large smile like a child who promised to keep a secret, "So like, what’s he like? This man who’s helping us?” taking up a squat by Twilight using the arm of the seat to rest her arms while her chin sat atop them.

She observed like a tabby cat on a car watching a home owner tend to a garden, eyeing each tool the girl positioned in some specific order to her preference. Nimbly fingers worked to set the table into order. In no shortness of a few breathes the young girl was once more happy with the work space. The air conditioner coughed to a stop. The flow of air died out yet the chilliness lingered on still where the scent of chamomile had begun to permeate the room from Sonata.

“You mean the person who's giving you your powers back and teaching me the art of Magic?" she tweaked the piece of paper till its position matched the table's spread, "He’s an interesting subject for a magical being disguised as a human. Though he did seem guarded when he showed me how to finish your second gemstone. That is understandable however, considering the classified nature of these items and how they defy common logic. I mean anyone presenting this to someone off the streets would normally be deemed mentally compromised or possibly a predator using monetary donations to a school in order to get close to a young adolescent? But thankfully after all he's displayed with spells and transformations I can confirm that he is indeed a real magician, or mage? Perhaps a wizard?"

“So he’s Equestrian?” Dusk raised an eyebrow, her head tilted to the left.

A nod came after the girl slipped two new sliding lenses into place for her left eye, "That is true, a fact he was fine admitting to you three. I've seen the map of the land he comes from, rather small considering it all, though he's assured me that Equis is far larger than most cartography depicts."

“So he's a pony? A unicorn?” Sonata asked.

To her chagrin the nerdy little human shook her head in a pause of her task, “That I’m sworn to secrecy for now, sorry. I wish I could say more with all things considered, but even in my world there are things you don't want to do to attract the wrong attention.” she replied.

Twilight reluctantly tapped the special vial and felt no ambient heat, in the urge to complete her job she took the leap and picked it up. Her trepidation was for naught as the glass was almost warm, far from how it practically burned her earlier. It earned the sirens curiosity at how the girl seemed fearful of the item. She soon transferred her gaze to pondered what the liquid was with its glittering specks. Her sight acute enough to catch the flecks of silver within the crimson.

"What's that stuff?" she pointed at what Twilight held.

The gesture froze her in place, "Be very careful! Everything needs to remain where it is please. Anyway, this is the filler, though I'm not privy into its contents he did say that it contains a catalyst as a bonding agent. It takes a few layers but the obsolete runes on the stone must be covered, and from what I've read it has to be a very potent substance that shouldn't be touched with bare skin. Aside from the number of mixtures it could be, a single drop could dramatically sicken someone should they touch it." she wagged a finger before reaching into her bag for another item.

Carefully she placed the vial back in its stand after removing the cap, lifting up the pair of black rubber gloves from the table. She quietly slipped them on being ever careful to not make too much noise. The work began at a snail's pace which the cerulean hued singer watched without a word, the idea of something that dangerous had her temporarily enthralled. Thirty minutes passed by as the young scientist applied the fluid filler with a tiny glass dropper, the ruby itself seemed to gleam in certain areas with golden tiny bits like dust. The strange translucent glitter dimmed out once the substance touched each spot, little by little the shiny tiny bits began to vanish.

Twilight drew to the last half of the task, Sonata let out a long deep yawn which ended in her dozing off on the sofa's arm. Quietly she drifted to sleep from the boring task once the little light show ended, though the girl she observed was none the wiser.

"Now I need to add these symbols at these exact locations... then the stone will be ready for Aria." she whispered still believing that she had an audience, "It will help her by narrowing the absorption rate of negative energy when she sings. For you see the original state of these stones and the ancient magic surrounding them are tailored to the original owners. They were far more capable of handling vast quantities of N.E., that said they were also able to convert it into dark magic and store what we believe to be a near infinite pool. However from our initial findings it seems that the owners, the earth sirens, never actually used their magic. Quite perplexing to think of why someone would simply draw ships into the rocks to sink them and consume the disparity of the drowning sailors. With no further use of the resource they were essentially gluttons?"

The world to Twilight had become the gem having memorized the assortment of tools and where they were specifically, she only had to move her arms to specific lengths before grabbing exactly what she needed. Each rune barely a few centimeters in size took an immense amount of mental and muscle control to not twitch or jerk while making a line. The tools themselves were no ordinary objects, they were loaned to her from the very man himself. Tipped with special magical components that seemed to work like a cutting laser without a light or heat source.

She whispered pausing for minutes at a time to focus on a specific part of the stone, "I mean it sounds not out of the ordinary considering the mythology of humanity and your world, humans have always been capable of greed. Thus assuming they were eating the N.E. with no further course of action other than to eat and hold the status as powerful creatures is not unthinkable. I had managed to secure textbooks on the matter, everything concerning sirens from countries who hosted such beliefs of them." Twilight switched even greater magnifying lenses before her eyes, "Anyways, this whole fine tuning will prevent Aria from experiencing an overflow, kind of like using the right sized diameter for a torch burner when switching from natural gas to propane. The instruments do not match... just like Adagio's... her's will allow the three of you to sing and gather without hurting either the people you feed upon or yourselves."

After the final sequence had been placed, Sparkle sat up from her hunched position and sighed merrily at a job well done. Her thin back popped in several places with her arms stretching out in a satisfying tension, cool air flew by her with a gentle caress as the machine by the window chugged to start for the seventh time. Eyes squeezed tightly to the pleasurable movement after spending a long time toiling away as she did, where upon going slack the headgear came off and she dawned the large black glasses. With a soft hum she felt content that she'd earn the little reward that was promised.

"There... all finished!" the veil of fatigue came over so quickly that little was able to be comprehended in seconds.

Twilight sensed that sleep would be coming whether she had the proper time to make a bed or wash. The accomplishment took with it any remaining will to stay awake kept her from standing up. Using the morsel of dwindling energy in her barely conscious state of mind she managed to remove her shoes and unfurl her hair, the North Star pin her mother gave her on her thirteenth birthday was stuffed into her backpack.

A yawn stretched her mouth wide as her eyes pinched out tears, "Guess... that's... it for..." she slowly slid to the left.

Every move she made to lay flat onto the cushioned seat guided her to comfort, even as swiftly as alertness was leaving she managed to claim a bed of sorts. The caressing hum of the air conditioner lulling her ever onward towards deep sleep cradled the young woman in the perfect temperature to cement the night. Even with the few lights that were left on there soon was not a single soul pattering in the room, no shuffling, nor a voice uttered in the dread stillness.

In minutes the Crystal Prep student was out for the count, dead to the world as the lamps around flickered a few times. The dying light sputtering into darkness that awoke the only other being nearby, Sonata who groaned as her back ached from the way she dozed off. Drunkenly half up she starred straight ahead. Nothing even remotely visible for a time until she gathered enough through the stiff joints that she was not in her own bed. That someone was asleep on the furniture her arms had anchored her on for the last hour.

"Whaa...?" she rubbed an eye from the dryness that stung.

Out of the hazy thought process trying to start with rusty gears, a glimmer of light caught her attention. Turning her head slightly to the right the illumination had come from the coffee table that the human girl had used for altering the new stone. Though that was as much as she could gather as the glowing red light drew the tired siren towards it like a moth to a flame. She crawled over to the candle, propped up on her arms she beheld the strange anomaly with little thought. Something about the rectangular light that painted anything around it in a dull maroon kept a tight hold on the siren, as if it beckoned to her in some strange way. 

Starring into the source Sonata's vision gradually became red no matter where she looked, the color of blood dominating the weakened state of the moth. A warmth came upon the flesh and bone against the icy air of the suite, that alien embrace soon took her and then everything went black.

Sunset's Dorm

"So that's what happened! That... arrghh!!!" Sunset groaned bitterly as she held her head, fingers lost in the fiery locks of hair.

Within the dorms of Canterlot High's student housing, Sunset's abode on the first floor, sat Pinkie and her on the sofa. All the lights were turned on and the smell of fresh boiling water swam through the air. The air vents poured a cool breeze throughout the comfy room for out of town students, further swirling the body of the tea the party girl had brought over courtesy of Rose Luck's family business. The growing agricultural gem of the country sported its attraction to all, gaining the best and brightest to its schools which many of the surrounding counties found it irresistible for their young ones. Though yet to be filled, there were other students who called the dorms their second home to avoid being bused or driven from afar.

An unfolded recap of the day's events were talked in detail from the few hours of sleep which had her forgetting things right out the door to hurting herself in shop class. It was evident in the darkening bags under Shimmer's eyes that she was becoming stressed out, but not too far gone to draw the Principle's attention however. The whole time since Pinkie arrived she had done nothing but listen, it was earlier in the day that she had learned of Sunset's deterioration amid her rather busier schedule than usual. There she sat listening and taking in the magical and slightly depressing story, she squirmed towards the end of the story eager to do all the things she figured would lift Sunset's spirit. Though this time she knew a surprise party wouldn't remedy her ailing friend, but a special treat might unless she found something better.

"I can't believe I left my phone here, making me late to first class for the seventh time, kept forgetting my books at my locker, and on top of all that I smashed my finger with the small hammer while making a bird house!" she huffed while falling back into the fluffy sofa cushions exhausted beyond control, eyeing the sore finger on her right hand with slight discoloration.

Like a spring fox Pinkie lept up off her seat and eagerly took in a deep breath, "I know! I remember leaving the yeast out of the Cake's bread order for a hotel function and left the salt out of the bakery's fresh stock last month! Gosh that was a lot of wasted bread, but in your case it's rocky road worse than that times four! Just as bad as the time the Eclair custard bag tore and sputtered all the creamy goodness right on the floor where Mr. Cake slipped and threw a very totally awesome wedding cake! Or like that time the Fire Department's seventieth anniversary muffin collage got burnt from being left in the oven by accident when I bumped into the timer and shut it off carrying that huge silver bowl of apple pie filling!!" the cloud of rich raspberry hair shook as the girl acted out the very movements that portrayed her own error in hopes to establish a line of empathy.

There was no acknowledgement of the attempt, but a groan was made as a halfway agreement of how mucky their lives got in the troughs. The sound of boiling water became progressively louder since they sat down and only then did the hiss of sizzling liquid tell all that the water was boiling over the pot. Annoyed to the limits at her lack of sleep, Sunset shot up dazed and lightly stomped to the kitchenette having wanted to rest a little while longer on the soft cushions.

A set of sky blue eyes followed her quietly to the stove, the act of tea brewing had begun as the sound of the stove coils clicked off killing the last of the spilled fluid that burned on the red hot metal. Pinkie watched like a child trying to hid behind a piece of furniture, fingers on the top of the cushions and half her head above them. Ever keen as always so that she could modify her usual tactics to ensure happiness and fun prevailed in dark times for all teens she befriended. Yet for all she tried to finalize into a solid plan it seemed that the dour mood of Sunset had lead to a tall stone wall like of a stygian castle. Everything she could throw at the darkened masonry couldn't dent the impressive barrier, the embattlement far out of reach to even to her richest material that involved the most successful of antics. Seeing the endless skirmish of attempts against moodiness, Pinkie felt a ding of an epiphany to end the protracted campaign and help a dear buddy.

"OWW!!" a pained shout came from the kitchenette, causing the eccentric party specialist to pop out of her musings.

Pinkie squinted with pursed lips, drawing up her phone from a pocket on her dress and speed dialing with a single push. As Sunset handled what looked to be a slight spill of hot water on her right hand, the other end of the call clicked and a soft joyous voice answered.

"Hello? Mrs. Cake? I got a friend emergency that really needs my attention, would it be okay if I came in early morning to finish the icing job before school?" she asked keeping her voice low so as not to be heard, pretending to hear nothing of the cursing her friend spoke under breath.

A pause came, "Ya it's Shims."

A clack of the pot going back onto the cooling burner and the tearing of paper packets signaled how much time she had left to be clandestine. The tea was being prepared and soon Sunset would be done tending to the minor burn she sustained, buying her just enough precious seconds to finish the call.

"Thanks! I promise to make them extra special like my Saturn Cupcake platter! Have extra sweet dreams Mrs. Cake." Pinkie smiled wide, "Ohh! Also to Mr. Cake and the twins if you please!?"

Sitting back into place on the couch, she hid the phone back into its pocket on her dress right as she heard Sunset head over. The fair amber skinned girl held their mugs in one hand easily while muttering something's she didn't prefer to listen to. She spotted the wet napkin on the area Sunset likely spilled the boiling water on her right hand, from the corner of her eyes it saddened her to see how much she needed a friend if clumsiness was becoming that bad. Dangling from the lips of the white ceramic mugs were the teabag tags, the smell of various spices and flowers greeted the air much to Pinkie's delight. She took the warm mug gingerly and blew at the water's surface, sniffing the pleasurable aromatics as Sunset took her place beside her careful as to not spill the steaming brew.

"I just feel like I'm doing this by myself... and I kind of am." she huffed a stray hair off her face, "While Princess Twilight's probably talking about this with Celestia and doing her own research, I couldn't think of calling her over here just to figure out this nightmare situation I'm having. Or if she's learned anything about the siren stone she altered." she said gazing into her reflection in the darkening brew before her, "It wouldn't feel right to ask her to do that, she's got to have other duties too being a Princess and all."

"Well, you still have us?" Pinkie pointed out as she fiddled with the teabag string, "We may be still learning about our Pony-Up powers and know absolutely next to nothing about Equestrian magic. But that doesn't mean we can't do something?"

She received a simple nod and nothing more, it put a sad smile on the enthusiastic face when she did not get the response she hoped for. It was as if Sunset were trying to find a way for the rest of the group to help her as her face contorted slightly, but all that came to mind were dead ends to Pinkie's dismay.

"I'd like to say there is a way... but unfortunately without any knowledge of Equestria's history and schooling in magic I'm afraid you five can't help me." she sighed with an obvious loss of heart, "As for the nightmares, they're just something I'll need to cope with for the time being. I mean they have to be the stress caused by the Dazzlings that rode on the back of the gem being stolen? Right?"

Pinkie shrugged, seeing movement in her buddy who stirred only to bring the small saucer on the coffee table before them closer. She put the used teabag on the sunny yellow ceramic to which Pinkie did the same, signalling the readiness of their drink to be enjoyed if they could enjoy it at all. They both took a long sip and mellowed to the experience of Roseluck's creation, Pinkie all the while stole glances at her buddy to observe and predict what next to say.

A thought occurred, "Maybe it's bad luck someone's put on you? Maybe something Adagio did just to make you feel bad for shattering their pendants and stealing away their awful powers?" she offered the idea and drew another sip even though the heat did slightly burn her tongue.

Sunset hummed, "A hex? Sounds like something she'd do, especially after what Rainbow said to them. But that was the first time we met since they ran off after the music battle, I would have sensed any magic like a hex she'd try and caste. Even that sort of magic for a fallen like her would be easy to detect, only educated mages can covertly hide the magic and that school was long since forbidden under Celestia and Luna's rule."

Pinkie grimaced at the thought, "That's no way to tolerate others... putting hex or curses on others for all the cupcakes and eclairs in the whole world is just mean and wrong."

Shimmer shook her head, "Times were different back then, before the two sisters... it was essentially bullying if you broke it down into the principle of the matter. Nobles squabbled over prime lands for resource harvesting and farming, so often times a talented mage or some unicorn was given a sac of bits and a few acres if they could hurt another Noble's operations. Granted these were little more than parlor tricks like illusions of monsters to scare them off or salting their soil. The worst they did was cause insomnia that I know of, all the notes I've amassed were really evil souls who went the extra mile. More than some self entitled noble who was banished or a unicorn exiled after being caught red hoofed."

"Oh... well that's good to hear then! Just bad pranks and nothing too bad, unlike the truly bad ones?" Pinkie said as she thought of how Sunset misused the magic of the crown not long ago, stolen magic from their Princess friend was dark and destructive. It made her hair deflate slightly as her idea of a fun loving happy place of ponies was not such a good place as it was explained to be, small equines capable of hurting each other as Sunset had done. It was perhaps her want to not accept that Sunset was a special case, but it seemed it was just like her world as a reoccurring subject.

The amber skinned girl took a long breath regretting ever going into the subject after she did her best prior to paint Equestria as some heavenly home of hers. She was just too tired to censor herself for a girl who only knew how to make others happy and party till all their worries were gone. Yet it was up to her to rescue the souring air, becoming all mopey was exactly what the hex caster wanted and she would not give them the satisfaction of succeeding. She found it strange it took Pinkie Pie's audience to make her see it, mentally she berated herself for acting as she did earlier. 

Sunset took a long draw of her tea to calm her nerves, "Sorry about that, I should have mentioned that happened a couple thousand years ago in Equestrian time. We've lived relatively peaceful lives save for the advent of Grogar the Necromancer or Tirek the Insatiable and that I can promise you. Before I left and tried to take over the school, Celestia had a very peaceful simple kingdom to look over, her guards knew little in terms of warfare, and mages were taught how to better improve the nation and the lives of ponies everywhere. It's not as bad as I made it out to be." she cracked a smile as she placed a hand on Pinkie's shoulder hoping her words landed well.

The effect was far too quick for her to catch on and no sooner had she attempted to remedy the foul she let slip from her mouth did her friend become joyous once again. She drank down her tea remarkably quickly and set the cup down, a bouncy ball of bliss that need never hear of the dark history of ponykind that many ponies often cared little to know about. She was that kind of person who thrived best in a positive environment and became languid in anything else.

"You know... I heard from Rarity... about it. What happened when you found the Dazzlings again. No way she'd act out like that even to the sirens! I bet they had something to make her all steaming ragey like just as the time when the team lost the chance to gain a high state ranking!?" Pinkie confidently said as she slammed a fist into a palm with a smack.

"I thought that as well, especially with the way Applejack and her quarreled over it after we left them. But the problem was, she didn't sense the Dazzlings lie... they really were trying to become better people and live normal lives. I can't see Adagio being that clever to fly under Applejack's truth radar." Sunset pointed out before placing her half finished tea alongside Pinkies cup on the table.

"Still... Rainbow's not that kind of person even when you tricked her way back then to dislike the rest of us. The things she said to Sonata just feels wrong to hear about? You know?" the normally puffy curls threatened to sag once more.

Shimmer eagerly nodded and furrowed her brow, "Pinks, trust me when I say that I still believe the Dazzlings are involved in the theft of their stone. I have a feeling they are in a web of some sorts, and that someone or something is out there using them with or without their knowledge. Remember they were magically gifted beings of legend, the dark magic they used was something I could feel tingling away at my soul as if I knew they were up to no good. Now, after two uses of the cleansing spell on me and then on them with its bright lights and spectral alicorn show I'm sure we've probably attracted the wrong kind of attention. They cannot be the only ones who were banished to your world if just to get rid of the problem no other pony could stop back whenever."

Pinkie livened up and her hair gained back its jovial state, "Good, because I couldn't ever never bring myself to think Rainbow really was that much of a meanie pants! I was going to see if I could make a cupcake soap bar and give it to her to wash her mouth out with. I wonder if I could make it smell like vanilla and taste like it too?"

Shimmer gave a weak giggle to the obvious joke, "I don't think making soap bars that enjoyable would fix her language even if she did mean it all, or good for kids to find out about. I bet those Talent Crusaders would try and figure out who could eat the most in an attempt to break some record!"

The air around the two had become light and whole heartedly fun, Pinkie felt a shiver crawl up her spine that left her with the same high as one might get from laughing too hard. It dawned on her that she finally had the right moment to leap at and help her buddy, after piecing a few things together from what was earlier said. With the extra time she bought herself from the bakery there was the answer right there and she literally walked right into the door almost bumping her nose into the wood.

She sported the widest ear to ear grin with eyes glistening in exhilaration as she took a deep breath to control herself, "How about this!? You do your little thing and I stay here with you? I'll stay until you go to sleep and wait until you go off into happyland full of all the stuff you love doing? If you have any horrible evil spirits or spells trying to eat you I'll be right there to splash some cold water on them and give them a once for like my granny would when my sisters or I got into a mess. I even brought a pail with me see?!"

Miraculously Sunset hadn't noticed the girl's rapid build of excitement until she had brought out a small metal pail decorated with stickers of all sorts. Ironically it was titled the 'Pail of Truth' and though it was empty, Sunset didn't dare deny that somehow she'd have it rapidly filled and splashing it on her head when she freaked out over a dream.

She cocked a brow in question knowing how busy the girls were since the Battle of the Bands, "Serious Pinks, you have a part time job at Sugarcube Corner, you have classes too. I can't ask you to stay up so late with me, you'll only get like a few hours at best. You'll end up like me."

"Ah ah ahhhhhahhhhh!!" the party girl tutted, "I've gone on binges where I helped the Cakes with large orders for some of the big businesses the farms have brought in. A whole smorgasbord of brownies, custard pies, cakes, and everything you can name under the sky for three weeks straight! I can get away with two hours of sleep and be up the rest of the day no problem!" she thumbed to herself with beaming pride to which she swirled in her seat until she propped herself up b her knees with hands quivering in joy.

Shimmer cocked a brow, "Really? When was this?"

"Um... before your reform, when you sorta ruined our friendship I didn't have anyone to have fun with or share my test dishes on different taste buds. So when Mrs. Cake came to me asking for extra help I took it and found out how much I could push myself! In a way I'm... kinda glad your meany streak did happen." the girl flinched away a bit after she brought up the touchy subject of her friend's past.

"Ya... guess something good came out of it? I guess?" Sunset shrugged slightly flabbergasted at the idea.

It was the last thing she wanted to recall, to believe that there was some usefulness in what she was and all she tried to forget. Yet there was the admission and there was no taking it back, Pinkie had a benefit to consider a reason to help her further. She couldn't tell if it was an obligation she desired to indulge in or really out of gratitude, Pinkie and Rarity were the most social of the group and often got lost among others. It did make sense that the scenario would have gone a different way if she had still remained friends with the others without her devious manipulation. 

"Oh relax, I still got to make my Cosmo muffins once Princess Twilight came to help us and fix you! So I got some serious training with the Cakes and got to accomplish my duties to the Fall Formal! See?! Everything came together!" Pinkie gleefully said while ruffling Sunset's hair and sitting back down.

A terse silence fell upon her amid the scent of the spices lingering from the unfinished tea, vents in the high ceiling ceased pumping in refreshing crisp air as the system shut off. Things had begun to look up for Sunset as the warmth of friendship lifted off the grim of the past few nights. It was as if she had aged substantially and then cast an age regression spell to her more lithe and energetic self. Even without any sight of Pinkie’s pony-up power to be seen, there was indeed some kind of subtle magic at work and one which brought the haggard girl up to speed. It was as if every breath she then took was less labored, every thought greased, and whatever limb she moved didn’t seem to carry ten pounds of weight to them.

"I'll be a crocodile's aunt if I'm going to let any of my friends get so low in the dumps. You of all deserve that much for what you've done." Pinkie squealed as she bear hugged the amber skinned girl beside her.

A threat of tears flowing down Shimmer's cheeks kept her eyes shut, narrowly she avoided the display of weakness before sucking in the moisture with a tilt of the head, "Thanks, I really couldn't ask for any better friends than you guys. I just didn't want to bother anyone.”, she finally admitted.

"What are friends for if we don't help one another? Rarity can always complete her dresses another day, Applejack may be in the orchards but she has Big Mac and Applebloom to help. Dash does take breaks or you can always work out those knots in you by joining her after school for practice? And Flutters could always use help at the shelter and there's nothing like the puppy eyes of all those homeless pets to bring out the best in you! So never feel afraid to ask for help? Okie dokie? Or do we have to Pinkie Promise that you’ll do that!" Pinkie inquired with a jokingly stern tone, kidding for the most part as she released her hold on her friend.

With a nod as the air condition kicked on again, "You got yourself a deal." a small sniffle escaped before Sunset could enjoy the pinnacle of the magic that instilled much needed rejuvenation to her spirits.

Valiantly, the party girl jumped off the sofa and struck a pose somehow not banging a shin into the coffee table and spilling the only half full mug. Portraying some brave warrior ready to embark on a journey, Pinkie struck a stance similar to one of the posters for an upcoming blockbuster hit. Stern faced with arms shaking in anticipation she spoke loud and empowered which earned a giggle from the only audience member to her short show.

"So what should we do to begin this fight! I want to see these squirmy wormies you see crawling on the floor. I bet I can suck them up with a vacuum or maybe a flashlight will make them run?" said the party girl who soon tapped at her chin, “Or what about that dark dragon you see in the wall? I wonder if a good party cannon loaded with fruit cake might knock it back a good ways?”

A round of laughs left the two of them as they realized the amusing gesture, both ideas would end up waking her and minimize sleep as collateral damage even if it was to spite the hex upon her. Sadly the hex was just a spell and could not feel the pain of Pinkie’s retaliation for her friend’s sake, it simply wasn’t alive and so the attempt was null. Sunset didn’t care to make the facts become known seeing her friend so livid and ready to help, instead she skirted the whole thing and moved on to progress their situation.

"I have a better idea? Are you sure you want to stay over?" Sunset asked to be assured her friend was aware of every detail of their agreement knowing others could possibly be affected by whatever spell stuck to her like a flea infestation.

It took a few moments before the pair were on the same level concerning the hex, only then did Sunset go into detail over what she needed to do while Pinkie provided overwatch. She examined the effects of the curse and went into detail over how Pinkie might be able to protect her as her mind transcended into the Librarium. The plan was soon set into motion after the briefing and soon the recent research was brought back out in the particular manner that Sunset had created to better pinpoint the possible criminal in question.

With a heavy thud and grunt, the last stack of papers were dropped on the waning coffee table that showed a bend in its top. It was all the research notes she had written down over the last few nights, most of the visible sheets of notebook paper were in Old Equish which perplexed Pinkie Pie in a tingly manner. Five stakes were set in a crescent formation with one in the middle of them all as fresh paper ready for writing with a few pens thrown ontop. It daunted Pinkie to see how much work Sunset had been performing unbeknownst to the group, giving meat to the idea of how and why she found herself staying up most nights to the point that it affected her daily activities.

"Wowzers! You really were doing a lot of research alright? Is this that Equestrian language you told us about at Rarity's slumber party?" the girl asked as she peaked at the pages underneath the obvious top few sheets of the left most column.

"Ya, while my memories can be easily viewed the spell is not meant to aid in solidifying the memory itself. You're suppose to regurgitate it switching in and out of the spell, so I write down what I think will be pertinent to the situation for later analysis. But as you can see I've only had time to access memories with little energy to analyze them. You know why." Shimmer sighed as she wiped the sweat from her forehead, she had put the sheets away earlier in the morning out of an act of paranoia only to make it an extra task to put them back again.

"Huh? Guess that all makes sense?" Pinkie scratched her head, "So you gonna go in your head now or do you have to like, meditate or something? Cause I do that plenty of times before a big order I'm called to help with. Like balancing fifty marshmallows on my nose for twenty minutes, or focus only on the sound of custard being whisked. Ohh!! Or counting the blue berries for our blue breakfast muffin stock!”

The idea that Pinkie would take to such activities to steady the wacky brain that made her both so lovable a person and hyperactively unpredictable was humbling to Sunset. She softly laughed at the girl who had already somehow pulled a few of the air puffed sugary clouds from somewhere on her person and started to play with them. Seeing as all was right with the atmosphere, Sunset took a seat and assumed the position on the couch as the spell had begun to take shape in her mind. The runes specific to the memory spell smoothly activated with her inner magic giving access to the Librarium in a cool wave that spread from the back of her head to the tips of her limbs. All she had to do was commence the last portion of the spell to dive into the Librarium, taking a few deep breathes as she lavished in the physical effects of the magic that came to her with little trouble.

"Ya, I guess you can call it that? The spell is easy enough to caste but I like to relax before each time I go into my memories. You see the thing about it is that the mindset you go into in is what you're stuck with. Go in angry and you'll be impulsive... you might damage a shelf which holds the memory of how to breath or how your heart beats on its own. It's not a spell to take lightly." she admitted, though in the session she was about to partake in she was far from having to worry about such issues.

"Huh... you seem to know what you’re doing then, I'll just sit over here and out of the way.” Pinkie slipped off the couch and towards a one seater nearby on the right, “Don't want to cause any memory slips and make you deaf or something. Otherwise how will you hear my new jokes for April Fool's? I got like cargo ships of jokes for Rainbow and Rarity I’ve been twisting my curls to try them out on!! I could always use an editor?!" the party girl grinned as her hair poofed out behind her, the air of the seats cushions made a dull gasp from her light weight thrown upon them.

Shimmer nodded, “I tread carefully enough as it is Pink, so no need to worry and I’ll be ready for your jokes after all this is said and done. Besides having you here means no hex should form and disturb me. Though this is still a test to run in and of itself, I’m confident the results should be promising. So you’re sure you’ll be okay hanging out with me so late? Last chance?” she offered if only for her still lingering guilt at the miniscule risk to both of them.

Pinkie saluted in a soldierly manner, “Don’t you worry Commander Shims! We’ve handled the She Demon version of you and the evil singing Sirens, so what’s a dark psychologically damaging curse going to do to me? I mean they can try but something tells me they won’t be able to handle Pinkamena Diane Pie’s world, it is truly a masterpiece of everything fun, happy, and eye poppingly colorful.” She wagged a finger at Sunset, it was a notion that needed no further input as somehow it made the hex a bit more welcoming than a trip into whatever Librarium the party girl could have conjured.

"Okay then, this should only take me two hours this time. I'm not sure I have enough magic for the usual length I’m in?" Sunset's legs locked cross legged, her hands grasping one another.

Pinkie took note of a dull glow emanate from Sunset’s body and pondered to herself, "I wonder if I can do it too? Be so useful for those old recipes I lost three years ago when I spilled batter all over the recipe binder Mrs. Cake had been making for most of her life?"

The sound of her surprise was all Sunset could detect of the waking world before her mind successfully opened up to her in a fantastic sky blue tunnel. Eyes clamped shut as a new perspective gave way, one in a way felt far more smooth and greased than the last few trips. The new sight bestowed upon her opened into an early morning sky hued in gold and orange in the vastness of it all. Fluffy clouds mirrored that of a noble’s treasury or a Dragon’s cache gave form to the expanse. Never a dive had she yet to see the same atmosphere, always new and fresh as if her Librarium was in itself a world of its own with each casting. The view was short lived as always when the expected vortex of the golden mountains parted far away, though the distance was anything but grounded in reality. She kept her eyes glued to the swirling phenomenon which darkened as the vapor banks were sucked into the current. In a matter of a couple breathes, she found herself speeding into the coming eye of the oddity and there she braced for the last step of the magical art. Closing her eyes she prepared for the next stage, a strange electrical sensation like a charge of static energy washed over her new coat from hooves to head. When she took a breath and opened her eyes once more the transition had come to an end.

“Ahhhhh… I’m finally back again. Back to the ole grind.” She sighed sensing her avatar unicorn form as always.
Before her were the large doors of the archive that was the sacred keep of her memories and bodily functions, stalwart and grand as they had always been. Quickly she trotted through the massive doors and through the lone walkway before she found the stack of books she had organized proper just for the night's session. Confidence filled her like the lingering cinnamon still clinging to her nose, having Pinkie Pie helping keep watch she felt less fearful of what eventually was to come.

"Alright, stay focused Sunset, all that will be future you's troubles is in the future. Not now... too much work needs to be done to find out who’s behind the theft and the curse!" she whispered victoriously, her horn seeking out the first textbook in line.

Time became meaningless as she quickly skimmed each piece of cataloged information she absorbed so long ago, a tracker spell did most of the work for her searching for trigger words. Every so often she'd partially awaken from the dive to write down the data, Pinkie quietly observed all the while as she toyed around with cooking ideas as well as complete her school work. All she saw was the glowing skin of her eyelids open to reveal the arcane light as if her friend were seeing in some godly manner not meant for humans, hands jotted down what she found before going back into a trance each time. With nothing amiss and no threat which had her on the edge Sunset maintained her efforts, but to Pinkie she never kept herself too involved. Her ears twitched to an alien noise, feet shook in eagerness to leap into action, her eyes dashing from corner to corner of the dorm room. Ever alert for a dark thing that wanted Sunset’s life to suffer, they would only meet the resolve of Pinkamena Diane Pie whose dark side was even darker than the hex she guarded against.

After well over an hour Sunset found herself satisfied at the data she processed, "Well... that's stack one. Still a few more to go but hey at least I found out about a few mages who disappeared before their trial? Arc Mage Typhoon, Specialist Adept Blue Sun, and the odd one of the few they called Hazelnut that nearly cracked Equestria in two from their gemoancy. Wow… no wonder I was so paranoid over the stone, there are like so many crazy ponies in the olden times!" 

She sat on her haunches as the last of the hoof thick manuscripts flew away into the air like fleeting fat pigeons after an elderly woman had fed them. Soon she'd be investigating the old and famous wizard master Nocturne, one of her favorite wings aside from Starswirl the Bearded. While not the most inventive mage, the unicorn had a unique experience all their own that required a sharp keen mind to find the breadcrumbs hidden within his research. She appreciated the theories which paved the way for sophisticated medical magic that existed in Equestria in her time. Born from their studies which helped with broken horn therapy and pegasi rehabilitation with replacement wings, repairing earth pony bones that were broken and stitching bone back to prime condition. Nocturne had been one of her heroes in knowledge, he had proved himself the most inquisitive pony in his time and in a way she figured they were kindred spirits.

"Well at least tonight will have one more show stopper, there was something about Nocturne I never found dull myself with unlike others. Was he Starswirl's mentor... or an Arcana Master?" she asked herself trying to imagine the old legend overshadowed by the bearded one.

Whilst she began to dip into the favored memories page by page from the next book, Sunset became oblivious to anything around her. A sliver of sound escaped her forward facing ears from far above, the slight rustling upstairs and the gentle wisp of air that flew past her. In a far reaching end of the second level, a vile tendril of haze poked from a single point in the array of skylights of the Librarium. An eerie silence pervaded the level as black vine snaked its way to the glossy stone below, every few moments it jerked and twisted with a chaotic seizer. Like a serpent worming its way out of a small hole in a log, the inky smoke soon overtook the one skylight that hosted a stained glass picture. The very one which illustrated the day Sunset was made Celestia's student, framed out of the Librarium in a hexagonal port.

Out of the once glorious colorful shards shadowed by the sopping mess, it seeped through the spaces between glass and metal. The ooze became as slow as a fat slug upon contact with the stone slab below and began to amass in place. As its girth finally filtered through the window, the light from the outside came through and shone upon the bulbous nature of the amorphous oddity. The fat grub of  smoke soon took on weight as if by some mysterious force, the vaporous mass undulated with a life of its own as it withdrew into itself like some chrysalis. There it sat still though warping the very air around it, the disgusting stain upon the archive’s immaculate state. Sunset’s voice echoed even from as far away as it was, making it shudder to the words she spoke only to herself.

"I remember that passage Nocturne lived by, I think that was what assisted my drive to become what I thought was to be a princess. I took to heart an old pony's saying when it did not apply to the present that I lived in. Equestria... was fine as it was… it didn't need me trying to take over the throne much less assist it." Sunset grimaced in regret of the past, her entire bodyf glowed as her mind transitioned back into the real world.

Sitting on the sofa in the same meditative position she had begun, her hands worked to capture the data she gathered. Quickly and precisely the notebook paper was filled and set on the short table before her, Pinkie had completed her homework for the night as the first hour had come and gone. One baggie of sweets emptied beside her on the single person seat and somehow she had pulled headphones from somewhere which hugged her head in their mock cupcake design.

"Now... should I add dark chocolate to them or use truffle infused chocolate instead?" she asked herself tapping a pencil on her chin in deep thought.

Sunset heard her as the glow in her eyes faded and smiled weakly, "New recipe?"

Pinkie's hands gripped a gingerbread diary, somehow her words were heard by the head bopping teenager who looked first and grinned widely next. She checked off something on the open book before pulling the music down, fully eager to tell of her thoughts as she always did.

"Ya, it's a complex treat I wanted to try with jackfruit and apples. Mrs. Cake wanted me to test some dishes using this strange fruit, it's like that chewing gum I love mixed with bananas and strawberries. Since we're getting more tourists to the town she figured it might be super cool to make like! Like apples with the gooey center of a cadberry egg and tie in all sorts of flavors! I must admit it's really hard though, I think it needs a little more salt if the cooking part of my head has anything to say about it?" she explained and then stretched her limbs.

“Jackfruit?” Sunset asked as she rubbed her eyes, they felt as dry as a desert after each dive she took.

The young chef gasped, “YOU don’t KNOW about JACKFRUIT!!!”

Sunset shrugged, “Can’t say I’ve had it here… but now that I think of it. There may have been a time it was once used by a visiting master cook to the Royal Kitchen?”

“Awsome!! Hey, do you have any recipes from Equestria in that libraria of yours? I’ve only ever had the stuff fresh out of the fruit itself, but I always devoured all the pulp before I had time to test it out in different forms.” Pinkie sighed in disappointment, “No matter how hard I try I can’t resist eating the stuff… it’s soooo good!!”

By then Shimmer’s eyes moistened enough for her to blink without irritation and took a deep breath with a stretch of her arms, “I miiiiight… have something on it? Like I said we had talented cooks who would come to the kingdom and test their skills by making Princess Celestia a dish to remember. Though she always believed their desserts were their real struggle as no pony, griffon, or minotaur would dare leave only the main course as their winning chance at fame with an alicorn’s stamp of approval.”

As if she were a firework whose burning fuse made it to the combustible propellant, Pinkie burst off her seat with stars in her eyes. Her little personal keeper stayed glued to her right hand somehow.

"That'd be super sweet if you could! Our five pound cinnamon roll special with Jackfruit would blow everyone’s taste buds out the door and back again for more!” she paused as if a thought stole away her exuberant nature, “You know you've never really spoken much about Equestrian foods before? I wonder if our taste buds are the same?"

"Couldn't hurt, give me a moment and I'll find something... I know I studied a little in the royal kitchen for my own needs under the head chef at the time. A Saddle Arabian or a curry specialist from the western coast I think?" Sunset said as she readied herself to for the immersion.

A tall glass of iced water soon appeared before her, drips of moisture dropped off the bottom. Sunset looked at the drink before realizing that it was for her to have, a quick glance back to Pinkie showed that she was indeed the creator of the then realized necessity. It was taken and given a kind smile as gratitude before Sunset’s parched throat relished in the refreshment she didn’t realize she needed.

“Don’t worry if you don’t find anything though, I’m fine with testing out my own ideas anyways. But if you do I’d sure love to see if it’s edible for the horses around here! Maybe treats for the veteranarians and the animals they care for?!” Pinkie said as she sat back down in her seat, hair poofing out like an explosion of cotton candy.

With the entire beverage swallowed in a few hearty gulps, Sunset gave one last smile and a nod of thanks. In her hopes to do a favor for a friend, all she needed to do was locate the memory aisles around that age when she had come to know more than haysticks, baked potatoes, and salads. Upon all four hooves at the end of the dive, she stood in the center of the vast archive the way she left it ready for use as always. The stacks of awaiting memory banks from her studying stood like sentinels awaiting orders, but they would not be given any as she turned to find the recipes.

It did not take her long to come across the section she needed to find, "Let's see..." she said out loud as her eyes sifted through the age sorted shelf, "I must have been thirteen when Celestia suggested I make my own meals... I have to admit though. Her idea to widen my palette when diplomats arrived to see the crown was some of my better times. Gosh I was just another pony off the streets, not yet full of myself and kind to everypony."

Hawkish sweeps narrowed her search to the second year in the Royal Kitchen, it had caused her to freeze in place as her recollection began even without looking into the memories themselves. That was the very year she spent adapting her taste buds to spice and herbs from the farthest reaches of Equestria. It had been the strangest and most interesting time she experienced before she had started to grow mad with intentions and knowledge. Never had she known such flavors, heat, and tang until the master cooks invited her to learn about as a young filly. 

With a hum in delight as the euphoric sensations returned to her in growing intensity, "Gosh... I can't believe I'm reliving that moment... I tried the extract... of savory!"

If she could salivate she would have, but the restrictions of the dreamscape kept much of anything unnecessary disabled. Instead she sat upon her haunches and let the old days flood into her as her magic extracted the tome of memories. It slowly drifted from its high perch and floated down to her as she daydreamed in the dreamscape, it opened up to her desires and slowly the contents began to flood her thoughts. Unlike the other books which were to be read, the section she found the section of her life in the Royal Kitchen swallowed her entirety within a simulation. Her whole being glowed in a soft blue mist which encased her in a tiny pocket that greeted her as if she sank into a cool pool of water.

'Remember Sunset, we're looking for a recipe on a Jackfruit. Buuuut...' she trailed off as her hearing and sight took on the level of a filly looking up to a white clothed griffon taking shape before her, 'What's a little fun in the process?'

The Librarium dissolved away and gave to the memory itself, overtaking her sight and filling it with the Royal Kitchen. Polished white stone and ceramic tiles took shape and began to ground her into the past, gold trim along countertops made of resin sealed rosewood had given way to the essence of the fancy cantina. It was a massive room behind the cafeteria display for guards to be served at behind her, the royalty being sent their meals on silver platters and rolling carts far ahead of her through large ornate oak doors. She stood nearby the little island of a counter and cabinets, surrounded by an empty walkway for chefs and preparation staff to trot through at the busiest times. Where all around were even more counter tops, ice boxes with freezing spells enchanted upon them, and more storage spaces for ingredients she hadn't ever learned the pantheon of still.

There she gazed at the griffon himself that the tome manifested in great detail, far taller than her in every aspect as they showed such care in making her feel welcomed. It was a chef who once cooked for Maretonia and Britneighia, skilled in the many ways of preparing a dish even the Saddle Arabians would bestow great honor for.  Yet for all his fame he was but a very down to earth golden eagle griffon with a spotted leopard back half who simply loved to craft edible works of art. Every color utilized, every texture stretched for as far as it could go, and flavors too numerous and complex to count that were added and created through the entire cooking process. The old memory kicked in completely when he began to talk to her in his strange accent she never quite pinned the origins of, but that was always the mystery of the chef that kept her enthralled with each lesson. 

‘I gotta thank Pinkie for this…’ she thought to herself as she felt so much at home, strangely alien yet serene.	

Time flowed without a gauge and as Sunset merrily relived the wonderful past. Though all the while a maggot had eaten through the spell and had finally broken its casing deep within the solitude of the Librarium. Without a sound the amorphous blob had hardened from its vapor state, opening up with a set of wicked wings that clawed around to escape. The casing finally shattered and left the blackened yolk to spill which steamed with abysmal fumes that rose high before evaporating. What was left behind slithered and shook as the smoky thing came to realize its own body, the winged limbs contracted close to a slender body. They took tepid grasps forward as a long tapered tail swung about that enticed the remains of its casing to vanish like it hadn’t ever existed. Every clawed step lightly tapped the ground as it dragged itself out into a vast row of shelves and books. A long neck protruded from the body of the entity where an arrow shaped head sat upon with glowing hot violet flares for eyes. Still a ghastly shadow, the wings seemed to be its only movement until two small legs lifted its clumsy bulk off the marble floor. Like a newborn foal it floundered for a time after each step, somehow making little noise before it managed to perfect proper movement.

The dark beast lugged itself to the epicenter of the chamber, its long neck swayed side to side for the insidious head to gaze at every row of memories. The tiny stars which stood for its eyes found nothing but the wood shelves where many were vacant and devoid of content. Claws moved it onward until it came across a spiral staircase of gold railing and wide metal steps, with trepidation the abomination eventually sought its passage downward. The cylindrical space of the stairwell contained only more books of varying colors and metallic accents along the integrated shelves, it was large enough for the large wings to slowly bring it down. It scaled like a bat on a cave wall, carefully it proceeded without knocking down any texts while its stumpy legs found purchase on the steps. Nearing the bottom its winged limbs slowed its descent with three grasping claws each to suspend it in place. Having ceased all momentum, the head with its hot violet eyes swiveled upon the long neck as it detected something not far away. The giggling laughter of a filly echoed in the Librarium, reverberations danced back up the stairs to fade away.
“What do you mean you come from a place called Germane? I've never heard of it?" Sunset asked , "Isn't that just some name for a style of food preparation?"

The demonic apparition twitched to her voice as its eyes never left the direction of the voice.

"Ohhh!! What is that smell!!" Sunset covered her snout, "Ahhh! That's way too fermented isn’t it?! Sauerkraut?”

Sunset gagged slightly before waving a hoof at the invisible offending source of the smell, she still sat in place as she had been at the beginning. The coat of magic held her in the memory as it played out, each word she spoke was what the filly version of herself had said.

"Fermented cabbage? And that’s good for you how?" she recoiled away before regaining her composure, “Well Princess Celestia did say I should try new things… I guess?”

The reluctance in her voice soon gave way as she seemed to taste something before her, it was not long before she hummed in joy. Sunset’s happiness passed by the shadow on the stairs, the satisfactory giggle that followed served only to jostle the thing. As it reworked its place to keep itself from falling while one of the claws released the shelf ledge, black talons curved like hooks clicked on a very thick tome and slowly extracted it. Out came the olive green reference book where the hefty weight sagged it in the vicious hold that quickly released it to fall. With a heart stopping slam that cracked through the entire Librarium like a gunshot, Sunset immediately lost her immersion and snapped too. Her head snapped back and forth as the foreign ruckus put her on alert.

"Wha... what was that!!?" she uttered, the book before her closed and glided back to its place among the countless others.

Hooves clopped with an echo as she went to the center of the chamber where all the rows converged, her heart pulsed with a growing pressure as her instincts went into action.

“Nothing should have made that noise?! I’m the only one here… the only one allowed in…” she spat out in a mixture of fear and indignation, her ears moved every which way as she desperately tried to locate the origin of the disturbance.

It was not until her eyes came upon the distant staircase down the second walkway, a lone item from her memories laid on the bottom of the steps as if daring her to believe she knew it all. She swallowed a lump that had formed in her throat, pushing past the apprehension that crept up her spine she trotted quickly to the book. Too late had she come to notice that she had been baited into a spider’s web. She froze as her eyes beheld the thing which did not belong hanging overhead when she stopped before the displaced book. Sunset felt her heart skipped two beats as a grotesque apparition she found unbelievable to even be real defied what she knew about the sacred spell. Nothing beside her own avatar could even be capable of existing alongside her much less stalking in the depths of the chamber.

Her blue eyes had stalled upon the fiery orbs that glared back at her, "Who... what are you?" she whispered barely audibly enough for her own ears to detect, her back legs already backtracking her in a vain attempt.

The cloudy visage snaked its way off the stairs, the lumbering size growing more larger to her as it thudded heavily on the ground floor. She felt an ire upon her when it should have been herself gifting the hated eye at the threat, but nothing but fear consumed all even in the avatar that hosted her.

“It’s not… possible!!?” she gasped, “You… you’re not allowed in!”

The little unicorn was an unwilling audience to the interloper as its body undulated with each step, a tartarus born demon whose very essence spoke the hymns of black magic. Even in the heart racing moment she could sense the soul ripping magic as faint as it was waft off every inch of the approaching menace. Every step it took she managed tepid few steps as they drew closer to one another, but all she could feel was utter dread at what was to happen to her and her memories. 

She soon noticed how quickly time had slipped past her as her sight caught notice of where she was, “W-w-well you’re definitely… sentient! You haven’t… attacked me yet so that means. It means you can talk right!?”

The thing stopped as they had come to the center of the first floor where all the shelves convened, Sunset’s tail brushed against one of the rows which meant she was trapped. Still gripped by horror, seeing it pause instead of lunging at her or any of the shelves gave her hope yet. She needed to gain some form of contact with the entity unless it was truly of evil dastardly intentions, seeing leaving as an option would only allow it to destroy her mind at its leisure.

“Speak! Intruder!” she shouted with forced gusto.

It filled the pathway to the stairwell from folded wing to folded wing, its girth though slender gave it the sensation that it could easily squash her avatar and force her out. Sunset knew nothing about what would happen if something destroyed the caster while still within their Librarium. She could see past the inky charcoal black vapors wafting off the myriad of scales, spiny ridges along the back and above the eyes, a vicious looking tail, and those haunting burning eyes which never left hers.

“If you… don’t say anything, I’ll… I’ll purge my mind and the both of us will be removed from this place!” she bluffed knowing full  well that such an act would likely put her in a comatose state.

The little threat only served to intensify the violet lidless sockets to bare down upon her, there was something about them that seemed familiar. She stared into the nightmare made real that had since cursed her on that dire night and plagued her sleep. It struck her cold in the heart like a spear, her hooves and tail bone tingled in icy dread as the reality of her mistake blossomed like a hibiscus flower. Not only had she been using a specialty spell but she had taken to viewing her memories while she was cursed with a hex, one she knew nothing about and her ignorance had come back to bite her flanks.

“Oh no… no no no… I’m so STUPID!!” she shouted in self hatred as she had for a moment forgotten the foe before her.

A nervous twitch caused her to bite down hard on her lower lip, the pain just barely crested over the threshold that freed her from her self scorn. It earned her freedom and thus she shot a new boiling rage filled hate at the intruder, she wouldn’t let the thing ruin her or leave without knowing her tenacity.

"Who sent you!?" she fired out as her stance took on an aggressive stance from the cowering one, "You’ve been stealing my sleep from me for the last few weeks! WHY!!?”

Her voice echoed ever loudly in the Librarium as her voice boomed from the intensity of her volumn. The sinewy tail of specter picked up and waved about like a wagging dog though painfully slower as if it regarded her as an insect. It did not wait for her to speak again before the spiked barb at the end flew into a row and jostled a column of shelves. Sunset immediately lost her fervor  as she soon determined where it struck, it had gone over the dragon and as a scorpion would sting its prey it impaled something vitally important to her. Right into the forbidden section as it extended even longer to reach the sacred books even she feared to tread into. The angle and position of the weaponized limb meant it had struck true upon something that could either kill her or severely cripple her life. 

"... no." she yelped in panic.

The pair seemed to wait for something to happen, seconds became minutes, and minutes onto what felt like terrifying hours as she waited for her life to either end or she herself forced back to walking reality. The abysmal nightmare still stood before her, staring at the spiked tail, still alive and thus far unharmed. Standing before her was her captor and she its hostage, it appeared to have a reason to be in her mind seeing as her faculties remained whole. All it had to do was destroy the book pertaining to her heart or mind, sadistically it could choose to shut down her organs slowly and one by one. Yet again she wondered why it would do so in the first place if no other threat had made itself known after the Dazzling's defeat. Whatever had cause to harm her in such a way was just something she simply did not want to fathom since she was yet removed from life.

"Please? Whatever you want, just ask me!" she offered in supplication hoping she could buy more time.

The abomination that stained her Librarium with its black magic seemed to heed her plea, with its long neck it turned its head upwards. Those eyes that appeared like distant stars the human world was surrounded by shone with an ethereal light and so did each row of her memories. The light caused her to look away as it forced her very eyes to endure more than they could handle and into the front of her brain painfully. It wasn't until something slammed onto the ground and slid towards her like a scraping log, stopping short of her right hoof as she covered her eyes with the other. The illumination fell away and she could see once more, blinking away the colorful blobs and floaters she looked down seeing an opened textbook that sparkled with lingering mana. She immediately saw what the contents of the two pages contained, making any guess work as to how anything else could manipulate her mind so forcefully useless an endeavor at the moment.

She squinted, periodically glancing up at the beast which resumed its stance in idle, the tail still in her vital section embedded in some important part of her mind. The word 'Saandie' came up as it went on to detail the day she learned about Black Magic from one of the head mages of the School for Gifted Unicorns. She swallowed the swelling anticipation as her heart pushed itself even farther at the unfolding description, if she could sweat her coat would have been drenched.

"Saandie... manifestations of Black Magic harnessed and used to overthrow lords and nobles in olden times prior to the Two Sisters. Through clandestine means the Saandie were summoned as curses upon the victim before the Unification of the Tribes, believed to be old magic from the Unicorn Kingdom. Starving peasants and forsaken servants were suspected of such a summoning before the discovery of Equestria, yet it is likely so that nobles often utilized the specters as well for ascension to power. Their express purpose was to sway or eliminate a target, by infecting the mind the Saandie could remove memories or render a target as little more than an insane individual unfit for their position." Her head rose painfully slow until the two of them were locked in respective sights.

She sighed painfully as the reality of her situation grew only worse with the remaining of the page, "Saandie could be caste alone and left to feast upon the memories until nothing was left of the victim's sanity, but there were tales of projections of the caster commanding said specter." she came to realize that she was being lead to discover what was really happening, "This isn't some fool's game, not by someone whose come across a magical artifact! They're only accessibly by high level masters! You... you're being controlled!?"

The slender neck curved upwards giving the head an impressive height, it confirmed her question wordlessly. Yet it did not bring her any comfort, only serving to affirm that what she knew was true. Her carelessness with the hex had at least one upside, in that it allowed her to finally see that something or someone was trying to sabotage her efforts.

Sunset let out a shaky breath, "Look... I'm an easy girl to talk to? If you need anything from me at all... all you had to do was come to me... in the real world! Honest!"

It stood still as if it didn't hear her so she called out again and again, gaining more fury with each attempt. It was one thing to hold her life hostage but it was another to taunt her. After a sixth try she gave up and regained some semblance of her hot headed nature, a faint to try and jar the thing from her Librarium even if it was a bluff.

"FINE!!" she cried out, "If you won't listen... then I will purge you from my mind. Yes it will hurt but I won't be troubled by the likes of you!"

She snorted heavily as if she were about to charge the spell as her horn glowed icy blue, yet it was just a show with no real act to follow. Part of her hoped she would gain some leverage, only to be met with an undeterred demonic shadow showing no sign of being scared off.

Without a mouth it spoke to her, "You are the Sunset Shimmer... apprentice... student of the elder sister alicorn of the Sun?"

It said to her in a rumbling voice akin to rocks rolling against each other, an ear sore to scorn but it was nonetheless understandable. The little unicorn's ears pinned against her skull as it talked, she grimaced from the sounds it made yet getting it to talk made it all worth the suffering.

"Ya, I was... now I'm not." she kept her scorn upon it while answering.

"Fallen... you went back... took something of power and lost it." it continued, carrying a masculine voice through the ear rattling vocals.

Sunset took the hint and figured she was engaging with the caster and likely the one who took the gemstone, "You seem to know enough about me, then mind if I ask about you? Did you take the Siren Stone that another girl and I had with us at a place called Hester's? The coffee shop?! Someone fell onto our table and we later found a repaired shattered ruby missing from our possession." the tone in her voice steeled somewhat as her eyes bore through the flaming orbs above her.

She heard a long deep breath inhale and then let out with a hefty gust, it was warm yet cool like the Icy Hot gel Rainbow offered her after a day of intense practice on the soccer field. She saw the head of her enemy lower back to its previous stance, it hadn't moved any closer to her nor given any answer to her question.

"A soon to be crowned royal... made ascended... gave up." it said again in its terrible voice, "Repent… repent… repent..."

“You’ve been keeping tabs on me? I’m flattered, really I am. So I take it you’re from Equestria then?” Sunset shook her head, she was just starting to get use to the sounds coming from her uninvited guest.

It shifted in place as its eyes fumed with magenta hued mana, seeing the coming illumination Sunset immediately shielded herself. In a few seconds she narrowly avoided the vision robbing brightness and heard two more books land before her. Pages fluttered as they came to a stop, she peaked from behind the hoof as the light vanished again.

It took her a moment to figure out what the open pages lead to but soon she came to the conclusion that it wanted her to see, "The Black Tape Archive? How do you know about it?! It’s a well guarded secret only the Adepts of the Scholar Arcana know and the Princess?!?"

Those eyes afire she found herself wanting nothing more than to douse them with void stone infused water, to blind the hex made manifest. Her lips peeled back in a silent snarl as the story began to be told, things were spiraling out of control and only growing more worse with the mention of the forbidden library. The place where the darkest secrets and hopeless arts of magic were sealed away, a place that even she couldn’t gain access into even being the pupil to the Solar Goddess.

Frustration overtook her next words before she realized it, "You have to be from Equestria!? Just like the Dazzlings, are you banished or exiled?! If you know about the archive then you are just probing for something from me, and I don't like being toyed with!"

Her words did nothing to coax her intruder, with no way of removing it from her mind she couldn’t make much ground against it. 

It breathed deeply, thunderous rumbling quivered Sunset like she had been on an old bus on its last year of use. None existent lungs filled in the dreamscape but they sounded so very real to her. It was going to speak that she knew but what was going to be said was as tantalizing as discovering the truth of everything. A practitioner of the black arts having yet done something to her meant she might still have a chance at getting away unscathed.

"It is unfortunate… seen your magic used… could not… risk!" it hissed at the last part, drawn out for extra length to keep her under its claw.

Sunset shook her head and shot a nasty eye back at it, "Again! We could have met in the real world, but you instead put a cur..."

The Saandie cut her off abruptly as it boomed over her sentence, "There are more… wronged… and denied... watchers in the rye."

She cocked a brow in question, "If you mean my friends don't worry about them. We're understanding... or at least we would have been if you didn't steal the stone and CURSE ME!!"

It shook its head as its wings flexed and contracted, the neck bent forward bringing their snouts uncomfortably close. She was taken off guard by the intensity of the mana coming off its eye sockets, those pearly violet orbs sealed any further words from her.

"Marked by them... your cabal is not the one… unable to… show ourselves.”

She scooted against the face of the book shelf, the solid wood frame pressed hard against her back with no budge as her instincts hoped, "We are not a cabal! We're just trying to keep the peace for everyone, and if you've been watching then you know what's troubled the school and this world. Especially... me!" the admittance was as sour to say as drinking a carton of spoiled milk, but it was dulled by the dangerous proximity of the hex.

It turned slightly till one eye was upon her, she had to give into the commanding nature of its strange light as if it were charming her. Sunset could see through the dimming flare, it was the very same ruby that Twilight pieced together with the obvious fractures stone possessed that they had painstakingly put back together. Using their combined magic they reformed the gem that was shattered and Twilight altered it for her own curiosity. Thought to be lost or given to some grievous wayward soul, it gazed at her as if daring her to say something to it.

"That's..." she gasped in disbelief.

"The cleansing you do… aware are you… of its… affects?" it asked quietly though Sunset’s ears still pinned to her skull.

She nodded, "Ya, we stop dark magic and save the world? Why are you asking me this?!"

The stone showed her reflection in its red surface, multiple Sunsets appeared frightful and utterly dumbstruck, "No..."

"Wha...?", the shadow beast pulled away with a swiftness that drew a yelp from the little unicorn.

They were back again to the hostage situation, her magic pinged as it began to dip at the breaking point. The taxing effort to use the spell at all let alone allow another inside would soon force her back to reality, there was nothing else to do but hope the Saandie would vanish before then.

"What do you mean no? That very magic saved me from hurting people and… creating a zombie army to take over the world.” She winced at the failure of a plan, “But it also ended the reign of sirens whose voices would have taken over this world! Slaves to their voices to be fed upon by immortal evil trio!!”

It did not respond, instead the only bargaining chip the hex had on her retracted. Revealing a speared book at the tip of the sharp point on the appendage, she said no more fearing the worst and mentally asking for forgiveness from Celestia. Her heart pulsed and thumped inside her skull like a bouncing ball Rainbow would throw against the gym wall when bored.

“…nooo…” she whimpered.

Those dangerous orbs of flaring mana were swayed towards the captive book, giving an inspection before a quick flick of the tail sent the item towards Sunset. She went to catch it but even at the first steps she dashed at it was already beginning to shred into pieces sailing at her. No thought could be given except save the unknown book, her life flew by her thoughts as if she were about to die. Halfway before her magic enveloped the remains, she managed to catch the sight of runes and not words written in bold Equish font on the scattered sheets. Runes that were far too large for the page to be considered proper memory, nothing about her heart, brain, lungs, or any part of her anatomy were evident in the last few pages. What she managed to cradle in her magic stopped disintegrating, but enough remained for her to realize that her life was never on the line from the get go.

Frantically she analyzed the fragments and the book’s cover, "These... this isn't anything about me! It's..." she gawked as four runes still legible came to belong to only one conclusion, "This is a SPELL! Somepony put a spell on me when I was still Celestia's student!?"

On the cover of the muted gray surface bore the date of the memory, but it was no memory nor did it belong in the forbidden section of her inner recesses. The way it was cataloged and purpousfully placed that explained how her whole existed was done by somepony, somepony who specialized in tracking spells. There was only one occasion where she could have had it placed on her, when she had begun to go rouge about the mirror and likely when she stumbled upon the entrance to the Black Tape Archive.  

She dropped the remains with a sullen drop of her head, "They had every right to do that to me. I deserved every ounce of precaution in case I went even more crazy.”

She guessed the spell was meant to alert the Arcana if she ever tried to get into the secret vault, and with the state of mind she was in at the time it made sense. The damage she did with Princess Twilight’s crown would have been foals play if she locked herself amid the untold number of dark and black magical spells. More than likely a whole new Grogar or Tirek would have been born, a powerful young unicorn mage like herself could have easily snuck through the guards and forced past any wards in her way. She quickly barred away the thoughts that darkened her soul, the crazy youth that she was had been spared from a worse end. A dark Sunset Shimmer who could have very well ended Equestria and the whole world, prevented by the diversion caused by the mirror portal.

"They put a tracker which would immediately alert Celestia and Court Overseers if I went anywhere I wasn't supposed to go. I can only chuck a guess what they really wanted me to never find again, Celestia probably put the mirror exactly where I found it to satisfy my urge to know everything." Sunset begrudgingly looked up to the Saandie before her, "I think she had hoped… that I would stop being such an ungrateful brat, and finally see the error of my ways? But I didn’t…”

If it had any sympathy the hex could not show it, it simply stood as it had and changed nothing in its posture. It was fitting for Sunset to have only it as the one thing that could offer helpful words, a reminder of the past that never came to be and what she risked to become the leader of Equestria.

“It continued to watch… they still are…” it whispered.

The little unicorn felt the ping again signaling the last few moments left in the dreamscape, “Who?! And why did you steal the stone!?! Why!! Please just remove it and we can talk!” she pleaded in vain.

“To make you see… what your closed eyes will not.” Replying coldly.

"See what!? You’re using forbidden magic just to toy with me?! Is that what you wanted me to see?!” she snorted, anger welling up inside her. 

Finally the black hide shifted in place till the ruby eye only gazed upon her, "Hold you not… make you understand… the truth."

"WHAT!!? What truth could there be in constantly depriving me of sleep!?" she chuckled though not in laughter but in appalling bewilderment.

"It will come to you soon...the watchers in the rye… the guards of this… prison." she heard before a swirling vortex opened before her and left a small scroll sealed with red wax.

The scroll rolled before her hooves and she picked it up with her magic, the wax did not give to her but instead glowed with a glyph she recalled from one of her studies from Nocturne. She held it tightly and returned her attention back to the Saandie, how it called the human world a prison was something that intrigued and sated her peaking rage. She may have very well been talking to another banished evil that no unicorn could have handled, or perhaps they were like her in the sick and twisted manner that corrupted her soul.

“You gave me something to read, but I can’t open it? Why delay?” she inquired.

“You know about that symbol… read the symbol… and look… to the memoires.” It told her.

"Why the curse?" she asked as the magic of the Saandie began to dim.

The smoky surface of the creature she had long been told of its danger started to plume at a much faster rate. The very body from head to wings and tail were beginning to drift away, wafting off like an oil fire.

A low rumble quivered the air with its vibration as the Saandie hummed, "To empower you… there are… dangers… far beyond this spell… unspeakable evils you… have no defense…for.” 

"What dangers!? Worse than the sirens?!" her neck extended further as if she couldn’t hear it speak, it was warning her and she knew nothing about the imminent foe it spoke of.

The rapid deterioration had taken a chunk out of the shadowy beast where barely the wings and upper body remained after a plume of smog erupted from within its belly. Still it stood as if it had legs and a tail to balance itself, but time was becoming the real enemy.

“Hex protects you… they hunger eternal… corrupting with but whispers… endure you must or all will be… lost..."

The torso blew away as did much of the remaining limbs, the head hovered with a neck falling apart like a spent incense stick, “Who are you talking about! How do you even protect someone with a curse! It doesn’t make sense!!” she asked desperately with the final tugs of her magic pulling her away as well.

The Librarium had begun to lose detail, there wasn’t much more than a quarter of a minute left as the last thing the entity said she listened as best as she could, “My home… as it is yours…”

The last of the black magic spell gave and both the Saandie and her left the sanctum of her memories, ripped away violently from magical exhaustion. A cosmic realm consumed her senses as her mind went into limbo before awakening in her true body, the magic she used ran on what fumes were left that she knew. It was only a couple of seconds but it felt unbearably delayed, in her pony form she swam in the void  with her belly up like she were floating on water.

Those final words resounded within her as did the scroll she likely wouldn’t be able to access for a time, until her magic regenerated she was barred from the Archive of her mind. Though she was very certain of things then and there, the world had gotten much larger and only more questions remained. She needed to talk to Princess Twilight again even if she had to get her to come back, as much as it pained her to admit she was out of her league in the matters on hoof.

“My home… as it is yours?”