S2 Ch 22: Portal
It was late into the morning by the time Glow had explained everything. Stacks of notes were now laying on the desk and the two were exhausted, dark bags under their eyes. Sparkle gave a light yawn and laid back, staring at the roof. “So… you’re an author? Like mom?”
“Yes. Well, I was. I mean… I guess I haven’t written as many books in ages. Oh dear...” Glow mumbled, closing her eyes.
“What?”
“When all this started I was halfway through a new book. I hope I’m able to get back to it. It was my first exploration into science fiction. After writing up the story on the mare in the moon, I wanted to do something involving space. You know, things like going to the moon itself. I’d made up this whole story about really tall ponies who came through a dimensional rift and tried to enslave ponies, then a second race who came and tried to stop them, and there was this whole giant war thing. Oh dear. You know, things like going to the moon itself. Exploring different dimensions and worlds. Things like that.”
“A lunar landing? You ponies haven’t been to the moon?”
“Well… I haven’t. There are spells to do it, but I mean more like… enchanted carriages and such. To allow anypony to get there.”
Sparkle stared at her. “Remind me to get a book for you on the lunar landing. I think you’d find the space shuttle absolutely fascinating.”
“Space shuttle?”
“Right, never mind. I need to get to class. Luckily, the weekend classes start later.”
“What? It’s barely...” Glow stopped and stared out the window, her mouth falling open. She stepped towards it and slowly pulled the curtain back, revealing the clear, blue sky overhead. And the dazzling orb of light high above that hurt to even look near.
“What? Is… oh. You haven’t seen the sun in...”
“Over a year...” Glow whispered. She felt tears forming in her eyes and it was all she could do to stop from shaking. How had she not notice it rise? Had she really allowed herself to get so distracted with her stories that she’d failed to notice the warmth of the sun? She looked away, her eyes burning from its radiance. She moved to the bed and sat down, struggling to hold her tears back. “I-I can’t… I can’t believe it. The sun, it’s… it’s...”
“Yes?”
“S-so beautiful. I-I never thought I’d see… see it again. But it’s right here. It’s… r-right...” Glow sat down on the bed, covering her eyes with both hands. “I-I thought it was...”
Sparkle slowly inched over and reached out, patting her on the back. “T-there there. It’s… going to be okay.”
“It’s not going to be okay. Nothing is ever going to be okay again. It’s… there’s just so much… everything there is WRONG. We’re ruled by a tyrant. I’m trying to stop a… another tyrant from deposing the current tyrant because it goes from bad, to worse! Nothing about this is good. Or right. How can I… how am I supposed to do this? She’s not...”
“You said before that she’s getting better, right? That she’s not as violent as… she was?”
“Yes. But that’s only because she’s learning how we operate. She’s just… over reacting less. She’s still the stubborn, selfish alicorn she was when I met her. I get it. She’s been alone for a thousand years. But… but she’s… she’s...”
Sparkle slowly reached out and hugged the other girl, giving a sigh. “If you want to… stay here. I understand. We can find an excuse. I know my brother would like you. And you could… find a home here. If you’re half as smart as you seem, the world could be yours. And I bet your books would do wonderfully.”
Glow relaxed into the hug, thinking on it for a moment. Finally, she shook her head. “No...” she whispered. “The world needs me. My friends need me. You heard all about them, right? Moondancer, Rarity, all of them. If I don’t go back… they’ll be in danger. I have to go back. And… and somehow, fix this.”
“How? Do you have any way of fighting her?”
“No. But… Nightmare Moon will be returning, soon. If I… If I can alert her, she can deal with this. End this threat, once and for all. She’s powerful. She’s stronger than anypony I’ve ever met.”
“And what about Celestia? Maybe you can try contacting her again? If Nightmare Moon isn’t there, maybe there will be a way for her to escape.”
“No, she’s helpless. Even if I wanted to, the spell won’t let me--” She stopped, her eyes going wide. “Her… magic isn’t working here.”
“I’m sorry?”
“I told you about Celestia!” Glow said, standing up and almost falling back down. “Do… do you know what this means?”
“Nooo?”
“It means that magic isn’t the same here! It means, if I can trick Chrysalis into coming here, I might be able to stop her! I might even be able to beat her! I have a plan B! If Nightmare Moon isn’t there, if I can’t get to her. I can lure Chrysalis away. I can trick her into coming through the mirror. And if she’s here, I’ll be able to win!”
Sparkle nodded, smiling. “Well… you’re right. Magic, at least in the way you know it, doesn’t seem to exist. I’ve managed to study small traces and fragments of what I think might be magic, though I’d really like to study this portal you came through. But the magic of your world doesn’t seem to exist here.”
“Which may mean that… it means that there’s hope. There’s a plan. A way. I… I may be able to deal with her. And...” Glow lifted a hand to her chin. “… Even if Celestia can’t help us now. In the future, if the opportunity comes, I now have a way to let others know about her.”
“Just be careful, okay? Remember what happened last time you rushed off to her.”
Glow nodded. “Yes. I’ll be careful. She can’t stop Nightmare Moon on her own. But… there… may be a way, in the future. There’s hope, at least. Maybe.” She then gave a soft, gentle yawn. “Though… We’ve been up all night.”
Sparkle nodded. “Uh huh. Get some sleep. I need to get to class. For real, this time. I’m already late...”
“Are you sure you’re going to be okay?”
“Of course. It’s not the first time I’ve stayed up all night. In fact, I was working on a project involving mold spores last term and… I...” Sparkle trailed off when she realized Glow was already asleep, laying with her legs dangling over the side of the bed. She chuckled and shook her head. “That’s how Shining reacted, too,” she joked before grabbing her bag.
------
Glow groaned, slowly opening her eyes. How long had she been out? She glanced out the window and sighed. The moon was high in the sky.
She couldn’t help but admire its beauty. It was just half a moon, but knowing it was traveling across the heavens, showing the passage of time. It had a beauty that their unmoving one lacked. Their world just… wasn’t changing, now. It wasn’t growing. Developing. There had been a huge, world shattering cataclysm. And now?
Now they were stuck in an endless, moon filled sky. A world that refused to change no matter what. No matter how they wanted it. Nightmare Moon was changing, but not enough. It wasn’t that she became less harsh, it was that the ponies changed, bending to her will. Submitting to her rule. But she refused to alter who she was. To bend on her full desires. Sometimes she could be convinced, but the basis of who she was was as unchanging as their sky.
It felt almost hopeless. The ruler would have killed Spike. It was only through Discord that she’d been stopped and he’d been saved. She had, however, returned Trixie’s powers. Her reactions were less harsh than before. But her decrees were immutable, impossible to escape. To avoid. She was more willing to accept the way ponies were… but she was unwilling to be the ruler they truly needed. Unwilling to change who she was. Even if she over reacted less, was that truly so much better if she wouldn’t truly bend to make their kingdom what it truly needed to be? And what if their ruler relapsed? What if she found yet another reason to be ‘angry’ and struck back against the ponies?
A soft snore brought her attention back to the bed. Sparkle was laying on it, curled up at the foot. She wondered how long the other girl had been asleep. How much time had they lost. Was Nightmare Moon back? Could she get in contact with her?
She let out a frustrated growl, shaking her head. There was so much she had to do. So much she needed to do. And she couldn’t do it here. Equestria needed her. Even if the moon refused to move, she and Moondancer could at least direct what fell against it and protect them. If she refused to bend, then they could bend the world to suit the rulers needs. Or at least, how she interpreted it. And for that, she had to be home. She reached out a hand and lightly gripped Sparkle’s shoulder, giving the other girl a shake. “Sparkle? It’s time for me to go home...” she whispered.
The other girl glanced up, a small bit of drool coming out of her mouth. “Huh? AHHH!” Sparkle yelped, looking away and wiping her mouth quickly. “R-right. Let’s go. Are… do you know what you’re going to do?”
“Not yet. But… maybe. Let’s go check out the portal, now. If we can study it… maybe we can find something out. A way to use it against Chrysalis. Or give me a weapon to drag her in. Something. At least make sure my theory is correct. If I drag her here and her power remains, I’d be putting all of you in danger. So, how do we get there?”
Sparkle smiled. “Easy. My brother’s car.”
“… Car?”
“The four wheeled vehicles on the road. Err, I think you saw one yesterday.”
“… Yes, I did.”
“Perfect! We’ll just need to grab some things for my tests, but this will work perfectly. Trust me. I’m sure he’ll drive us and, well, if he can’t, I’m sure I can.”
------
Glow was going to die. She stared at the road with wide eyed terror. She was going to die, there was nothing else about it.
She very much doubted that Shining was aware they were borrowing his car and, were they in less of a rush, she’d have questioned her alter-dimensional self about it. As it was, she was too terrified to think of anything but MAYBE surviving the trip there. She let out another shriek when, once again, they hopped up onto the curb, only to hop off a second later.
“S-sorry!” Sparkle said, for the thousandth time, the car swerving to the left, then the right.
Glow whimpered, afraid to keep looking ahead but even more terrified to look away. The car swerved erratically through the night, picking up speed only to come to a screeching halt. Finally, after what felt like forever, the car hopped up on the curb outside of Canterlot high and stopped. “Err, one second, I’ll fix the parking--”
“NO! It’s fine!” Glow said quickly, her hands locked onto the handle of her door with a death grip. She was alive. She’d survived the trip here. She had been certain they were going to die at least a dozen times. She didn’t even want to imagine what those occasional ‘crunches’ she’d heard had been. “W-when you said you were borrowing Shining’s car… had… had you ever...”
“Well, originally I intended for him to drive us. But he was out on a date with Cadence, so I… well, it was an emergency. I figured it was best.”
Glow nodded, giving a nervous gulp. Slowly she undid her seat belt and gave a silent thanks to it for keeping her alive. She then opened the door and slowly stepped out. Okay. She was okay. She just had to make it to the statue and hope everything was okay. Hope Nightmare Moon was back. Find out what they could about the magic, if they could harness it in some way. Maybe even--
“And what do you two think YOU’RE doing?” a voice called out. Glow looked over to the statue and saw a shadowy figure standing there in the darkness.
“Errr… We’re… just… passing through,” Glow said nervously.
“And almost took out half the block while doing it. Crystal prep students, I take it? I’d recognize your uniforms anywhere. Your prank wasn’t very funny. And coming back the day after wasn’t very smart,” the girl said, stepping out from the shadows. She was wearing a leather jacket, high purple boots, a multi colored short skirt and a purple shirt with a fiery logo on the front. Her hair was a red and yellow mix. Most of all, though, she looked furious.
“I had a feeling you’d come back, though. You’d--” The words cut off when Sparkle got out of the car. Her eyes glanced from Glow and then Sparkle. “You’d both better beat it. A lot of the students are furious about your little prank and aren’t going to be happy if they find you here.” She crossed her arms and glared at them.
Glow shook her head. “We… can’t. We… have business, here. And… we’re...” She trailed off, glancing to the girl. She then looked past her, to the portal. The girl wasn’t trying to intimidate them. She was blocking them. “Sparkle, were there classes today?”
“Well, yes. I had a few.”
“I mean, normally.”
“… I have classes every saturday.”
“I mean, do most schools do that?”
“Well… no. I suppose not. But I’m in an advanced--”
“So why were you here, miss…?”
“Sunset Shimmer,” the girl said, glaring at her. “And I came to get something from my locker.”
“On a weekend,” Glow said firmly. “And if everyone here was so mad about the… wait, you pranked a SCHOOL?” she asked, glancing back at Sparkle.
The other girl urked and looked down sheepishly. “I-It was a very minor prank. A-and I didn’t want to, but...”
Glow shook her head. “If they were mad, why were you the only one here? And why were you standing by the statue? Waiting?”
“Err...”
Glow took a step forward, her eyes narrowing. “And the way you looked at the two of us when we got out of the car. You know, don’t you? You know who I am. You know about...”
The girl sighed and shook her head. “About the portal? Yes, I do. And I know why you’re here.”
“… I very much guarantee that you don’t,” Glow said flatly. “You’re from Equestria too, aren’t you? Or, at the very least, you’ve been there.”
Sunset growled, but nodded. “Yeah. I was wondering how long until… someone came through it,” she said, her voice filled with annoyance. “Its only supposed to be on for a few days every month. But now its been active for over a year. I’m not dumb, though. I’ve been waiting. You didn’t think I wouldn’t be ready, did you? Preparing for when Celestia finally decided to send someone after me?”
“After… you? What? No. Celestia is… she’s gone. Nightmare Moon imprisoned her over a year ago. And… oh,” she whispered softly. “When she left the moon unchanging...”
“Huh?”
“The mirror. It must be tied to the moon. And since the moon hasn’t gone down in over a year… the portals been open all this time,” Glow whispered, rubbing her chin.
“Come again? Who’s Nightmare Moon? What do you mean, Celestia’s gone? She can’t be gone. She’s the ruler of Equestria.”
“… Canterlot High’s Principal?” Sparkle asked in confusion.
“Alternate dimension her,” the two said in unison.
“Okay, listen,” Glow said, shaking her head. “Nightmare Moon is… well, she was Princess Luna.”
“… The vice principal?” Sunset asked. “Celestia’s little sister? I thought she was just like… a quirk of this dimension. She’s in Equestria?”
“Yes. She’s real. And she’s angry,” Glow said quickly. “I still get twinges on my back from her rulership.”
“… Twinges on your--”
“She had me whipped.”
“… Wait. Really? Like in the--”
“Yes. She’s brought back a few old, abolished punishments.”
“… But nobody has been whipped in… in millennia. That was one of the first… but...” The girl looked shaken, her eyes widened. “And… Celestia… she...”
“Nightmare Moon defeated her. Crushed her, even. She’s now trapped, locked away deep in the bowels of the castle, in a cave that makes it near impossible to escape. More importantly, there’s a whole… a group calling themselves Changelings. They’re ruled by a Queen Chrysalis, who intends to drain Nightmare Moon and take over Equestria, enslaving it to her will.”
“H-huh. That’s… a lot to take in,” Sunset said, staring at the other girl. “She’s… so… Equestria really is falling… apart. Isn’t it?” She looked stunned, as if Glow had just told her… well, everything she just told her.
“Yes. And… if you’re from there, then I’ll need your help. We--”
Sunset let out a laugh. “Why in the world would I help?” she asked.
Glow stared. “W-what? But...”
“Oh, you don’t know who I am, do you?” she asked. “No, I imagine not. I was Celestia’s ‘precious student’,” she said in a mocking tone. “One of the greatest minds the world had ever known and all that baloney.”
“Baloney?”
“Human turn of phrase. Either way, why would I care?” Sunset asked, a cruel smirk on her face. “I WAS her student. And you know what happened? I came here. I am better. Smarter. More able than ANY of them have EVER been. Especially that over inflated balloon on the throne. And I can, and will, bend this world around me. And if Equestria collapses? Well, good for it. Celestia should have thought of that before she--”
Glow cut her off by slapping her across her cheek so hard the connection echoed through the courtyard. The fiery girl stared, her mouth open, an imprint of the girl’s hand across her cheek. Slowly, her hand reached up. “Y-you--”
“What is WRONG with you? I REFUSE to believe you were ever Celestia’s student!” Glow snapped.
“W-what? Well, I’m sorry, princess, but I--”
“No. You’re nothing more than a spoiled, ignorant CHILD. Do you know who her student is, now?” Glow asked, her eyes narrowed. “Moondancer. And you know who she is? No, I doubt you do. You’re probably too high up on your pedestal to notice the other ponies around you. But do you know what Moondancer has done? What she has SACRIFICED in order to keep Equestria safe?”
“If Celestia taught her, probably her educa--”
“Everything. She’s dedicated her life to saving as much of Equestria as she can. She’s given up her friends. Her family. Her reputation. Do you have any IDEA what they say about her? What they say about Celestia’s now ‘prized student’? She’s become Nightmare Moon’s SERVANT because it’s the only way to save as many ponies as she can.”
“Why would I care if--”
Glow took a step forward, the other girl backing away quickly, instinctively. Why did she feel a chill down her spine?
“Moondancer has been one of the bravest ponies I know,” Glow said, glaring at the other girl. “She’s kind. And compassionate. And has dedicated herself to the task of keeping Equestria safe, no matter how much it hurts her. No, she’s not perfect, but she TRIES her hardest. And you… I REFUSE to believe that you could have EVER been Celestia’s student. Because I refuse to believe that anypony who has even a fraction of the training that Moondancer did, who shared a role of hers, could have POSSIBLY grown up to be so… so selfish and uncaring.”
“Well, princess, I’m not--”
“I’m not finished,” Glow said, coldly, advancing again. Sunset stepped back and found herself up against the edge of the statue. Trapped. Her own heart pounding. “How dare you speak ill of any of them. How dare you act as if you have no concern for them. Can you even begin to imagine the things ponies have been through over there? The way all of our lives have been turned upside down? The things we’ve had to endure? Fluttershy is DEAD! She’s a VAMPIRE pony now! Spike almost died, he’s lost his home! Celestia is trapped, helpless! Ponies are SUFFERING and miserable and hurting and trying their hardest to just survive, fighting with all their might to not let this beat them. And you have the NERVE to just… say that? To act like they don’t MATTER? To LAUGH at them?!”
“W-well, I mean… I’m not...” Sunset stared. The other girl was her height and yet somehow felt a foot or two taller than her.
“You’re a selfish, uncaring and spoiled FOAL. And I have had it. If you won’t help me, then fine. But stay OUT of my way. I have a world to try and save and, even if I DIE doing it… I WON’T just stand by and do nothing.” Glow gripped the other girl by the shoulder and shoved her aside.
Sunset fell, landing on her butt and staring up at the other girl.
Glow matched her gaze, determination on her face. “Equestria needs me. And I won’t stand idly by while it suffers. I’d have hoped if you were truly Celestia’s student, that would have been one lesson you’d always have known.” With those words, she turned and walked into the portal.
And crashed against solid stone. She stumbled backwards, her hands reaching up to grip her face, staring. “T-the portal… it’s… it’s gone?” she said softly. “But… but it’s… it was right here! Did it move? CAN it move?”
Sparkle frowned and began opening her duffle bag, pulling out a few small, electronic devices. “No… there is definitely something here. It’s very faint, though. But there is something.”
Sunset snorted and slowly got to her feet, shaking her head. “W-whatever. If you wanna walk back into certain doom, then just go. Idiot. I can see Celestia still inspires brainless obedience,” she snapped.
“Just go away,” Glow snapped, turning back to her. “You don’t want to help. I get that. But we don’t need you. Equestria doesn’t need you. You’ve abandoned it… so just go.”
The fiery girl stared up at her, before hmphing and turning away, shaking her head. “Idiots. The portal likely needs to recharge. Didn’t you ever take teleportation 101? Its been on for ages, but only been used once. You probably shorted it out when you came through.”
“Huh?” Glow said softly. “What do you mean? Wait… no… I remember… Clover’s sixth rule of portal transportation. That means...”
“That’s right. I’m saying, come back in a few days, pony. It’ll probably work fine, then. Then you can just go home, save everypony, do that whole throwing yourself to the wolves without any real reward thing that Celestia wants her ponies to do oh so much,” Sunset said bitterly. “Good luck, you’ll need it.”
Glow sighed, before looking to Sparkle. “Have you managed to get anything useful?”
“I… think so. I’ll want to run a lot of tests but… well… I think she might be right. It might be charging. Or it might not be? It’s not… exactly a science we’re very familiar with, here. I don’t really know how it’s supposed to react to things. But...” Sparkle reached out and touched the stone. “It definitely reacts to this. There’s definitely something here. So the portal is likely still working, if it’s here. It’s just not… powered? Maybe?”
“I see. But this information...”
“It gives me a good idea what we’re working with. Lets head back to the school. If… I can find a way to manipulate it, well… maybe you’ll have a weapon you can use to save your home. Or… or something.”
Glow nodded. It was a better plan than anything else they had. She then glanced towards the car. Or… maybe… not. “Maybe… we should call Shining and have him come get us.”
“We have his car.”
“… I know.”
“It’s fine, I can drive us back, no one will even know we were gone.”
“W-whimper...”
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Ha, poor Glow! At first I thought she was afraid of the car because she's never been in one. Then I realized she's afraid of the car because she's never been in one with Sparkle at the wheel.
Let's see how much damage Chrysalis gets up to. She needed to be gorged on love to match Celestia, let alone Nightmare Moon with 3 alicorns of magic, but if she's going to be secretly draining NMM beforehand...
I would have said Whimper out loud too
Holy shit, that verbal beatdown was awesome.
Sunset, you deserve that verbal beatdown, maybe some sense will be knocked into you.
That was a beautiful rant.
9692262
out of sunset throughout it
I thought glow would beat the
9692398
Sunset isn't worth the time or energy needed to do so.
9692400
True
Ohh the delightful righteous anger rant Sunset needed. Canon Twilight hadnt been through the trials of learning how to verbally beat down powerful bad guys, but Glow has it aaaall covered. XD
I doubt itll happen at the moment, but boy I would enjoy it if Sunset came to her senses early and actually helped them. :D If nothing else, she was shaken enough to offer helpful info, even if she was trying to be condescending about it. I think there’s a crack in the wall from your Wordhammer, Glow.
I forgot how much a bitch, Sunset was & I really wished that Glow had done more than just slapped her sorry ass.... On the bright side, Glow gets to experience driving moment with Sparkle behind the wheel
Glow has argued with Nightmare Moon. Old Sunset is nothing.
And yeah, of course Glow has so much respect for Moondancer. It's great. Also mutual.
So, they've got a few days...counterpart time? Shadowbolt time? We shall see! Either way, I guess Twilight is making her magic trap. Possibly with some improvements, if Glow has learned anything from Tirek with hints and her many minors.
Sunset needed that. She's still Sunset, she's just not there yet. Spending time with her is also an option. See if we can get her to come around.
Or the Twilights could just take this rare opportunity to make out with themselves :p
Unfortunately it will take a few days so Chrissi will have had a chance to work. We'll see what she manages. I wonder if Nightmare Moon will notice the change in behavior? She didn't much mind the endless adoration enchantment.
Wait... is Chrissi going full parallel? Because the only thing what could make Glow's life infinitely awkward, in addition to just miserable, would be to come back and find Nightmare Moon in the midst of preparations to marry 'her'. And Moondancer having run off because Nightmare Moon won't believe her that it isn't Twilight. I mean it probably won't happen... but wow would that make everything so much worse. Chrissi probably wouldn't survive betraying NMM on her wedding day though, which is too bad. I like Chrissi.
9692533
Uh...
Whose to say Sunset won't try and seize power for herself? Glow may have given her a good verbal beatdown, but Sunset is still a power-hungry brat who believes herself to be entitled to rule, and she could easily double-cross Nightmare Moon to do so.
9695303
My bad! I shall fix!
Mwa-ha-ha!
Oh, no -- does this mean she can't ask anyone else to come through the mirror? She can't even show the mirror to anyone else, because that would let her violate the spell?
If the spell works on her intent to tell others, ... then nope. Darn.
Alright, so what else? This Sunset has not had any friendship lessons yet, has not gotten in touch with her inner demon, etc. If we are off at Crystal Prep dorms for the weekend, we probably won't run into the Rainbooms, and we certainly don't have to fight for a crown to make the group come back together.
So Glow now knows of both alternate rulers. I still think her best option is to ask them to come over and talk to the other Luna.
I mean ... the other option would be to bring Sparkle over, so Sparkle can get readings on magic. That's probably harmless, right? -- Hey, why do you have a horn?