Equiforce

by Crack-Fic Casey

A Slow Start

A demon of fire stood on a rooftop across from Roxanne's house in the early hours of the morning. Her batlike wings twitched as the cold wind blew over the dark suburbs. A flicker of light blue energy traveled down her red skin, attempting to warm it against the morning chill. Sunset Shimmer had always hated the cold. She shivered and conjured up a ball of fire in her hands. The frost on the rooftop began to recede, and Sunset sighed in relief.

“If you're not careful, somepony's going to see you.”

Sunset spun around, ready to send a stream of fire at whoever had snuck up on her. Standing behind the pyromancer was Starlight Glimmer, casually levitating herself over the roof. Sunset wondered why her fellow she-demon never used her wings to fly; they were always folded behind her back like knives. “You’re not exactly being subtle yourself,” Sunset groused as she extinguished the flames.

“I thought to cast a Don’t-Notice-Me spell on myself before flying up here,” the demonic mage said matter-of-factly as she lowered herself onto the roof. Sunset shot her a jealous look; her fellow conspirator moved with such ease that you'd forget that this wasn't her natural form. “Has there been any movement?” Starlight asked as she moved to stand beside Sunset.

Sunset went back to glaring at the house. “Not from the girl. Her mother has been up for a while.” She rubbed her arms, trying to get feeling back into them. Having bare skin still feels so weird. “I can’t wait for school to get started. At least it’ll be warm in the school.”

“I’m surprised you pyromancers get cold,” Starlight scoffed. “Anyway, I have some bad news.”

“Oh, and here I thought you’d just come to say hi.”

Starlight shot her a look but chose to let the remark pass. “Twilight's been able to locate the girl. As soon the planes align, she'll send Rainbow and I to come through and take her by force. I need you to make sure nothing goes wrong.”

Sunset frowned. “How do you plan on stealing the Crystal Mirror away from Twilight?”

“Let me worry about that,” Starlight said firmly. “Your only job is to keep Starswirl’s descendant safe from harm.”

Sunset nodded. “It’s still hard to believe that she’s related to someone like him.”

Starlight didn’t reply, which was typical. Sunset had been working for Starlight for a while now, and the biggest thing she’d learned was that she could be very uptight. It didn’t matter how little something deviated from the plan, Starlight would notice and freak out. Sure, this was a little early, but Sunset very much doubted— Wait, what did she say?

“Did you say that Rainbow Dash will be coming through the portal right now!?”

“As soon as the planes align, yes. Now—

“It’s Wednesday! There are teachers in the school!” Sunset exclaimed. “If she goes through the portal now, somepony will see her! They’ll find the mirror! I’ll be stuck here forever!” She spat the word 'here' out as if it burned her tongue.

“But if Twilight gets the girl underhoof, she’ll be able to find the Dream Castle,” Starlight said.

Sunset glared at her. “Forget that! We have to make sure the mirror is safe!”

Starlight grabbed Sunset’s arm before she took flight. “Need I remind you who it was that gave you that bracelet? Without me, you’d be stuck as just another hairless monkey. I'm the only reason you have magic at all.”

Sunset yanked her arm free. Not bothering to reply, she jumped off of her perch towards the street below. Her magic surged, creating an updraft strong enough for her wings to catch and she rocketed upwards. It had taken her an excruciatingly long time to learn how to fly, but it had been worth the pain. Sunset downright refused to admit anything that might be good about her life as of late, but flying was one of the things she did not despise.

Sunset landed on the school roof with nary a sound. With practiced ease, she opened the rooftop access door and crept inside. The pyromancer moved quietly, not wishing to attract attention. Her magic flowed around her, tracking the flow of heat and cold and letting her sense everybody alive in the building. It was empty for now, but soon would be filled with the hustle and bustle of teachers getting ready for another day of enduring the antics of hormone-addled teenagers, each convinced of their own importance. Sunset scoffed. I don’t see how they can put up with one another! Humans are all so self-absorbed. When she was an Alicorn, she wouldn’t have to put up with that.

Sunset carefully opened the door to the library and shut it behind her. It might have been easier to find somewhere else to live, but she couldn’t help it; the library reminded her too much of home.

Home.

Sunset leaned against the wall, shutting her eyes tight against the memory of Canterlot. How beautiful the city looked gleaming in the sun, and how exciting things were at night. She missed the long hours spent with Guardian Luna, having fun and exploring the city. Of the stories and legends Celestia taught her, all the times they'd sat together and had lunch, or of the magic lessons and the promise she made that one day Sunset could be as great as the Queen herself, and—

No.

Sunset took in a deep breath, and let it out through her teeth. Celestia had let her down. Sunset had decided that she was going to gain incredible power, and that meant leaving things behind. She would not let herself become some whiny pony, just vaguely wishing that things were better. She was Sunset Shimmer, and she was going to prove that she was worthy of that power.

Taking great care, she removed the bracelet Starlight had given her. Sunset hissed and dropped to her knees as her magic left, leaving her with the feeling of blind helplessness. Sunset gritted her teeth together and forced herself to her feet. I'm fine, She thought to herself. I do this every day. I can make it through one more. Just one more.

She opened up her mirror and removed her hairbrush and some make-up. Sunset had to look perfect. She always had to look perfect, but today was especially important. This was the cumulation of a long, hard road Sunset had been walking down, and Sunset wouldn’t let anything go wrong.

Just you wait, Celestia. I’ll show you I’m ready.

---

Inside her house, Roxanne was sipping her morning coffee. She had a routine developed, one she’d spent years perfecting. She’d wake up at five, get a shower, eat a bowl of oatmeal, and then sit and read for a few hours while drinking her coffee. It wasn’t complicated, but she found it comforting, and it allowed her to do everything that she wanted to get done in the morning before taking Diane to school.

It was bizarre how familiar it was. Roxanne and her own mother had started getting up together in the morning after her father had left them, and despite the decades of time that separated then and now she still expected her mother to walk quietly into the kitchen, start brewing one of her terribly sweet teas while they would talk about books or school or just about anything. Roxanne was struck with the sudden urge to call her mother, just to hear her voice, but she dismissed it. It was far too early to wake her up, and besides, she was an adult now. But still…

How did she deal with everything after dad left? I mean, I know I feel terrified. I suppose it was different for them; Dad's still alive somewhere, and they were fighting all the time anyway. But Brad died so suddenly... What was it like to be by yourself like that? I don’t know if I’m doing the right thing, for me, for Diane…

As if sensing her thoughts, Diane staggered into view. Most of her hair was in front of her face, hiding her expression. She was stumbling down the stairs with all the coordination of a cow that only had two legs and possibly a hangover. Diane collapsed into a chair across from Roxanne. “Food,” she mumbled through the aura of despair that seemed to surround her. “Now. Please. Food.”

That was yet another trait she inherited from her father. It was so at odds with her normally exuberant attitude that Roxanne couldn't help but smile. “Good morning,” she said cheerfully.

“No. Not good. Horrible. Dark. Sun too tired even. Not awake. Need joy. Need sugar. Give sugar. Need sugar too,” here she fumbled with her words for a second, “do the thing with the talking, but the words inside the head. Not with mouth.” After a moment she added a “Please,” that proved that even with only a third of her brain functioning she was still the well-mannered daughter Roxanne had raised.

“Well, we have oatmeal and…” Roxanne took a moment to think about what exactly was in their refrigerator at the moment. “I think we have some water in the tap,” she finished rather sheepishly.

There was an ominous silence coming from Diane's’ side of the table as if the other girl were considering the age-old question, ‘Do I want to live in a world like this?’ Eventually, Roxanne decided to take her silence as a yes. She slid Diane her coffee mug and moved to start on the oatmeal. “Drink up,” she said over her shoulder. “This won’t take long.”

It took ten minutes for the oatmeal to be ready, and by the time it was done Diane was able to sit up straight and eat without assistance. She took the offered bowl without comment and began to eat. Roxanne sat opposite her, watching her daughter devour the meal while she thought. She looks so young. I remember being sixteen. I didn’t feel young then. I was so different from her when I was her age. Roxanne had thrown herself into her studies, only leaving the house when forced. Diane, by contrast, was always moving and talking to people. When she was five she'd go up to strangers and give them her name, address, and as much of her personal history as she could before Roxane could yank her away. Despite being well-liked by nearly everyone, she didn't have a lot of close friends, and she'd drawn within herself when Brad had died.

The two of them enjoyed a companionable breakfast together, taking joy in the silence before they would have to enter the almost oppressively loud school building. Eventually, Diane consumed enough caffeine to walk in a straight line without assistance and went upstairs to get dressed for school. Roxanne simply finished reading her chapter, before heading outside to start the car. It was fall, and getting extremely cold in the mornings. Okay, I can do this, she thought to herself as she went to start her ancient vehicle. One might assume that she was troubled by the notion of the very old car not starting, but she was actually more worried about her new job. She'd needed a job very quickly, and Angel Grove High's was a fairly high paying position. Mr. Chaplan seemed to be very eager to have the job filled as quickly as possible. In fact, he'd barely glanced at her credentials. I mean, sure it's a brand new job and in a completely different city, but how hard can it really be? She reached under the hood of her car and began to rearrange the wiring inside. Once the motor had started up, she bungied the hood back down and went back inside. I'm more worried about Diane. She seems so nervous. I hope this doesn't end badly.

She glanced up as Diane emerged from her room and gave a quick twirl for her mother, showing off her new look. “What do you think?”

Roxanne examined the outfit closely. “Are you sure about wearing a skirt?"

Diane nodded. "I'll be inside most of the day."

Roxanne considered insisting that she wear something warmer, but ultimately let it slide. “Your scarf looks nice,” she added after a moment. The scarf was one Diane’s father had given her, and Diane wore it as often as possible. The girl smiled nervously.

“Great,” she muttered, turning and looking at herself in the mirror. Diane frowned at something she saw and began clawing at her hair. Diane spent a lot of time curling her hair in the morning, and as far as Roxanne was concerned it looked gorgeous, but for whatever reason, her daughter was never really satisfied.

Roxanne cautiously put a hand on her daughter's shoulder. “Diane. You look lovely. Everything is fine.”

Diane nodded, but she wasn’t smiling. That is to say, she was technically smiling, but it wasn’t her real smile. It was one of her 'I’m always alright, honest' smiles she used when something was bothering her. Roxanne frowned at her daughter. “Diane, are you sure you're okay?”

Diane almost imperceptibly straightened. To anyone else, the change would have been unnoticeable, but Roxane had a lot of practice in seeing through her daughter's act. “‘Course I am!” She said cheerfully. “Well, I guess school's a bit [/intimidating, buuuuut overall I suppose I’m doing great. Why do you ask?”

Oh, I don't know, maybe because you couldn’t be saying 'I’m not alright' any louder unless you actually said it? Roxanne looked at her daughter for a long moment. She wanted to press her into her arms, to just make her say what was wrong so that she could fix it, but Roxanne knew she couldn’t. Her own mother had tried to force her to open up, and Roxanne could remember how poorly that had ended. If it was something serious, then Diane would let her know.

Still, she couldn’t help but try once more. “Diane, if something was troubling you, you’d tell me, wouldn't you?”

Diane didn’t answer for a very long moment. “I just…” she tried again. “It's just…”

Roxanne waited.

“It's nothing,” Diane eventually said. Roxanne sighed but accepted it. She could be patient a little while longer.

“Just remember, I’ll be at the school if you need anything. Call if you need anything.” Roxanne hesitated. "Just... I love you, okay?" Mentally she winced at the words. Why did I say it like that? Was it a question? 'Hey, I love you don't I?' Get it togeth—

Her own insecurities were interrupted by Diane crossing the floor in two large steps and pulled her mother into a crushing hug. “I love you too,” she said warmly. Roxanne closed her eyes and held her daughter back.

Until Diane pulled back out of her hug and dashed for the door. “Race you!” she exclaimed over her shoulder as she charged towards the now-warm car. Roxanne followed, an infectious grin spreading across her face.

---

Sunset smiled confidently as she waited for the school day to officially start. The morning had been a bit rough, but nothing that was beyond salvage. She’d set a Burn-Ever-and-Ever curse on the other side of the mirror, to keep anypony from entering for at least ten hours. Even a Mage like Twilight wouldn’t be able to figure out how to break through until after the school day was over. All I have to do is befriend that ditz to keep an eye on her, and everything is back on track.

She leaned against the wall, bored, as she waited for Diane to show up. She brightened, as she saw another thing on her to-do list walk by. “Grace!” she called out. “Hold on. I wanted to talk to you.”

Grace Bernadette was a gangly thing. Despite the fact that she was a year or so younger than Sunset, Grace was a full head taller. Moreover, Sunset knew from experience that Grace was ridiculously strong. You’d never know it by looking at her; she always held herself in a way that made her look a lot younger than she really was. “Hey, Grace, I need you to run this story in the paper.”

Sunset handed a short stack of papers to other girl. Grace flipped through them and frowned. “You’ve been following Bonnie around?”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Sunset scoffed. “I had somebody else follow her around. Anyway, what’s important is what’s written here. She and her friend have been going around and causing trouble. Remember when the sprinklers went off last week? It was because she and Lyra were messing around in the science building. And when the police showed up at Ernie's? Bonnie thought she’d seen a demon flying around!” That had given her a fright. She still had no idea how Bonnie had seen her, but the fact remained; Bonnie had to be shut down immediately.

“I’m sorry, Sunset,” Grace quietly said, “but I don’t think Miss Appleby would think that this is the kind of thing we should print.”

“Of course it is!” Sunset waved her hand to emphasize the point, a gesture she had practiced several times to get right. “Bonnie is hiding something, and it is the duty of the press to reveal it to the world, no matter how much it hurts her!”

“...That’s not how that works,” Grace managed to get out.

“Sure it is. Anyway, you don’t really have a choice. I’m the student president, so I have control of which school clubs get funding and which don’t. I need this story to be run so I can concentrate on making sure that money is spent wisely.” She didn’t need to say more. Grace was good at connecting dots. Step out of line, and your Pet Care Club is history. And that’s not even the beginning… She’d done a lot to make sure nobody would dare challenge her. Grace was tough to work with; while she was more than willing to do what she was told, she had a surprising stubborn streak when it came to protecting others. Sunset had to exert just the right pressure, at just the right place. One of the reasons she went after Grace so often was to bend her into the right shape.

“Now,” Sunset went to hand her the papers, “all you have to do is—” Normally, she would have continued with a very intimidating line about the dangers of sticking one's head out, perhaps connected to some kind of joke about turtles and Grace’s love of animals. Unfortunately, before she could she was tackled by what felt like a small truck.

“Oh, I’m sorry!” the other girl said, standing quickly. Sunset’s head was ringing; she only had the vague impression of a pink blur squeaking at her. “I didn’t see you there, are you okay?”

“Fine,” Sunset grumpily replied. “Watch where you're going next-” She looked up at the girl, realizing that she hadn’t seen her at school before. That’s Diane? She’s even worse up close. “It’s fine,” she said, mentally switching from ‘intimidate’ to ‘charm.’ “Aren’t you the new girl?”

“Guilty as charged!” Diane chirped. Sunset would swear she was actually chirping. “Who are you?”

“You can call me Sunset. I’m—”

“Sunset? That’s a pretty weird name. Did you dye your hair to match your name?”

Several humans had previously suggested that Sunset dyed her hair. They had all learned to fear her. She smiled in a way that hopefully wasn’t baring her teeth. “Actually, it's the other way around. Sunset is just a nickname. Now—”

“Really? That’s weird. What’s your real name?”

Sunset tried very hard to think of something to say that wouldn’t reduce the girl to tears. While she was stuck, Diane moved to pick up her papers. “What are these?” Diane asked as she looked through them.

The story! “Those are mine, actually.” She moved to take them, but Diane nimbly stepped around her. Sunset turned around to face the other girl as Diane leaned casually against a locker.

“Wow, you followed someone around all night just to see if they did something you could use to blackmail them?” Diane asked the question with a vacant expression, tilting her head a bit to the side. Normally, Sunset would have thought that it was an odd expression to have, maybe even a fake one. Right now, she was too angry to care. “Isn’t that a little petty?” the girl continued. “I mean, what did she do to you?”

“It’s not blackmail!” Sunset finally snapped. “And she was asking for it!” Sunset took a breath. “Look, I don’t want to be rude, but can you give me that back?”

A new voice came from behind her. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to look at it.”

Mentally swearing, Sunset turned around to face the teacher. “Mr. Caplan!”

The principal gave Sunset a stern look. Mr. Caplan was the principle, and he’d been at the school for decades. While he was more than old enough to be Sunset's grandfather, and walked with the aid of a cane, his mind was as sharp as ever. Sunset had never been able to get anything by him.

The teacher looked through the papers, giving Sunset time to try and think of a way around this. She’d taken the time to memorize the teachers morning routines. Mr. Caplan should have been grading papers, not—

Wasn’t that the same direction that Diane came from?

Sunset looked at Diane more carefully. She wore a pink skirt, a white top with a heart on it, a long white scarf, and a jacket that could have been the physical embodiment of all the pink in the world. She was constantly in motion, twitching her hands or tapping her foot to some unheard song only she was aware of. She didn't look dangerous at all.

But… What was that look in her eyes? It hadn’t been there before. Diane was still smiling, but it looked different. It wasn’t vacant, it was more… dangerous. You don’t want to fight me, it said. I can take you. I can beat you.

Sunset glared back. You don’t want to play ball? Fine. I’ll send your life to Tartarus until you do.

---

Celestia sourly trotted down the grimy streets. The queen was heading to a meeting with one of her sister's informants, one that had insisted on only meeting with the pony who hired her. Celestia found the mare to be paranoid, but her sister trusted her, so she would as well. Luna was not known for tolerating fools.

The Alicorn queen was in disguise, which was easier than many ponies would assume. Rather than put on makeup and products and such in the morning, she had simply charmed her jewelry to add those details on their own. It meant that if Celestia wanted to slip away all she had to do was take off her queenly garments and put on a jacket to hide her wings. It was uncomfortable, but it worked. While binding her wings would leave them sore for hours later, Celestia was more aggravated by the fact that she had to even briefly reveal her actual mane and tail colors. The first thing she had done was change them to a dark silky black, and her coat to a gorgeous scarlet red. She wore a black jacket to hide her wings, and as an extra touch, an eye-patch over her left eye. All in all, she doubted anypony would recognize her.

Celestia reached the alley where she was meeting the consulting detective, but it was empty. She frowned. It was possible that the Pegasus was simply running late, but she doubted it. It was far more likely that she’d run into some kind of trouble. Unfortunately, Celestia didn’t have a choice but to wait for her to show up. She adjusted her jacket, trying to get it to sit more comfortably on her back, before settling in to wait. Her mind wandered, and her thoughts turned as they often did to her sister's current condition. And, to the one who had caused it.

Twilight Sparkle.

Celestia was not normally prone to anger or rage, but this was an exceptional case. Twilight had abused the trust placed in her and threatened the life of her mentor. She was an unbalanced individual who would stop at nothing to gain power, and use it to…

Celestia let out a sigh and leaned against the wall. Suddenly, she felt incredibly old. Oh, stop it. You know why she bothers you so much.

The truth was, all she knew right now was that Twilight had absorbed Luna's magic. It was possible that the young mare was trying to steal the power of an Alicorn, but it was just as likely that she had made a mistake while casting and never meant to harm anypony. If Celestia was being honest with herself, she'd never really liked Twilight all that much in the first place. It didn't have anything to do with Twilight, it was...

Sunset threw a ball of fire at the Alicorn, who simply ignored it and stalked forwards. “You lied to me!” Sunset exclaimed tears in her eyes. “I’m your greatest student! How can you just send me away?”

She sighed. Twilight isn’t Sunset, she reminded herself. There are minor similarities, yes, but she wouldn’t betray Equestria. Would she?

Which led to the problem of the visions she’d had. Twilight had figured into them several times in the past, enough to make her nervous. Until recently, Twilight's role in them had been unclear. Luna had trusted Twilight, so Celestia had been forced to wait and watch events unfold. Even now, there was a lot she didn't know. Had Twilight chosen to attack Luna, or had something gone wrong? Where did this ‘Starlight’ pony figure into things? She ran from the Guard but was that because she was truly guilty, or...

Or did she become desperate because I panicked and ordered her arrest?

“Pa’don me, miss?”

Celestia turned to face the newcomer, who might possibly have been the worst looking pony she had ever seen. Her teeth were black, her yellow coat was ragged and covered in dirt, and her mane had been hacked short with a what looked like a knife. Her eyes wouldn’t meet Celestia’s gaze, instead nervously skittering around looking for oncoming threats. There was an odd smell about her too, one that almost resembled meat.

“Ya don’t look much like ya belong ‘ere, miss,” the hobo said through her thick accent. “If ya don’t mind me sayin’ so. Did ya get lost on your way ter some banquet up in fancy town?”

Celestia shot the other mare a fierce glare. “None of your business,” she replied in her gruffest voice. “I’m waiting for somepony.”

“I figured as much, wot with your disguise an’ all.”

That caught the queen’s attention. “I don’t know what you mean.” She glanced up the street, checking to see if anypony was approaching the two of them.

“Well, I don’t wanna be rude, but ya don’ exactly blend in much, do ya? Red coat, messy black mane, leather jacket… Did you put an eye-patch on thinkin' that'd be subtle?”

Celestia didn’t often have to explain herself, and found it was more difficult than she remembered. “I didn’t want anypony to recognize me…”

“No,” the mare stated bluntly. “they don’t recognize ya. 'cause they fin' you're an escort waitin’ ter be picked up by a client. A disguise ain’t just about not bein’ recognized, it's about blendin’ in.

Celestia glared at the mare, looking her over more carefully this time. She hadn’t personally met the detective before, but… “You're Fluttershy, aren’t you?”

The detective nodded politely. “Yes ma'am. It’s a pleasure to meet’cha. And if ya don’t mind me sayin' so, but ya shouldn’t break character loike tha'. I could ‘ave been somepony that replaced your real consultant. Ya never know in a business loike this. Just a mo’.”

Fluttershy hovered a few feet up and grabbed a small pack from a window. She let herself drop back down, landing steadily and making sure that nopony was watching them too closely. “All right, may as well be off.”

“Off?” Celestia demanded.

Fluttershy began trotting down the street, forcing Celestia to follow. She stuck to a carefree trot, seemingly at ease with the world around her. Celestia noticed that she wasn’t as calm as she appeared, nervously ready to flee at the first sign of trouble.

“I’m sorry ter inconvenience ya, but yours ain’t the only case I got goin’ on presently,” Fluttershy explained. “I got a foalnappin’ ta look into and I need ter be at a party soon. I’d planned in the buff nickel and dime but I ran into a… friend, of mine and ended up runnin’ late. Barely made it ter the meetin’ in time. That’s why I'm still in disguise. Sorry ‘baht that, by the way. ‘ere we 're.”

Fluttershy trotted through a grimy door that led into a far cleaner room. It was very cool inside, and there wasn’t much light. There wasn’t much furniture either; just an old sofa chair and a coffee table. There was a large chalkboard on one wall that had so many notes scribbled on it that Celestia had trouble discerning the words from one another. The fireplace and window were boarded up, which struck Celestia as odd seeing as the rest of the apartment was very well maintained.

Fluttershy stepped into the other room. “This case... ‘old on.” She cleared her throat and tried again. “I’m sorry,” she said in a much softer tone, “sometimes I have trouble switching between voices. Anyway, this case wasn’t really all that difficult. Your friend is a smart pony, but that doesn’t mean she’s very good at hiding.” There was a pause, and Celestia could hear the sound of heavy rain coming from the other room for a few seconds. Celestia Most ponies can’t afford indoor cloud showers. Fluttershy must be better off than she looks.

“Guardian Luna would have given her training in survival and espionage,” Fluttershy continued, her voice a bit muffled, “but she's only been her student for a few years. It's unlikely that she's had much practical training in such matters. She’d know that she wouldn’t be able to avoid the Guard on the roads for a while, so she would have to be near Canterlot. However, Twilight still needs to be somewhere difficult to reach. Both she and Rainbow Dash have had survival training, so they could stay in the woods, but Starlight Glimmer would have difficulty adapting. Moreover, it stands to reason that whatever Twilight’s plans for the future are she will need access to powerful magic to accomplish them, as her first move was to steal magic from your sister. I had to check the place to be sure, but there was only ever one place for them to go: Everfree Castle.”

Celestia felt a chill go through her heart. The Everfree stood near the edge of the great disk Equestria sat on. Magic had never worked well there for anypony. Pegasi could barely fly, Earth Ponies would lose their connection to wildlife, and a normal Unicorn attempting to cast a spell would result in failure at best. Everfree Castle had been in place to study the anomalies, but after a monster called the Nightmare had slipped through and nearly killed her sister, the place was abandoned. To make matters worse, it was likely that Twilight's increased power would allow her to overcome the magical anomalies and cast normally.

“Thank you for your help, Miss Fluttershy,” the queen said as she began to work out the best way to maneuver a small army through a hostile forest where the bulk of her forces would be the equivalent of either deaf or blind. “You will receive your payment soon.”

“Thank you.” Fluttershy stepped out from behind the curtain and smiled. Celestia felt her jaw drop, but distantly, because the rest of her brain was too stunned by Fluttershy’s new appearance to properly take note of things.

She still looked like the same pony. That is to say, if you got out a picture of her in disguise and a picture of her now, you could tell it was the same pony. She didn't have a magic button that made her change colors and height. She was still a fairly tall Pegasus with a yellow coat and a short pink mane, but wow could she work with that or what.

Fluttershy had used a cloud to blast off all the grime from her coat and then created a warm breeze to blow it dry. Fluttershy’s coat was technically the same color as before, but now she looked much closer to gold, or some other, more radiant color. She’d spat out the mouth guard that made her teeth look ruined, showing them to be perfectly polished. She wore a black vest and dress coat with long tails over a white dress shirt, and there was a pink bow tie around her neck. Her mane was still short, but she’d been able to tuck the more ragged ends into the small black fedora. The few that did not fit under her hat fell in front of her face in a way that couldn’t help but look intentional, giving the illusion that she’d spent hours working on it.

Fluttershy straightened her bow tie and gave herself a once-over in a mirror. “Good enough.” She turned back to the queen and bowed. Her body language had changed as well, becoming more straight and formal when compared to the careless gait she had held before. “Thank you very much for your business. I hope to see you again soon.”

Celestia blinked and nodded. “Um... yes, of course. The same to you as well, Miss Fluttershy. Good luck.”

Fluttershy smiled for the first time. It was oddly bitter. “Luck and I haven’t gotten along in the past, but I appreciate the thought. Have a nice day.” She left without another word. Celestia stood in place a moment, thinking.

Oh, Luna. I don’t know if I can do this without you.

Her visions had progressively been getting worse. Something big was coming, and she had to be ready for it. Celestia wasn’t a fighter. She was a trickster, a planner, a schemer. Without her sister, Celestia had no idea how she was going to do anything.

Sister, what would you do?

Slowly, subtly, she straightened up. Her expression drained of worry as determination began to fill it.

I know what she’d do. She’d say to never tell her the odds. She’d walk up to impossibility and trample it to death, and if it cut off her legs she’d drag herself into biting range. She would do everything in her power to keep her ponies safe, and I won’t do anything less.

Celestia strode out of the apartment with her head held high. She wasn’t sure what she was going to do, but she knew what she had to do. She would defend Equestria, no matter what.

---

Diane entered the cafeteria and slowed, her eyes examining the room. Word had spread about her and Sunsets’ confrontation earlier, and apparently, Sunset was far more influential than she had thought. Diane focused on a nearby table as she passed it.

Let's see; We've got two girls. The one on the left looks younger, tanned, and doesn't know what a hairbrush is. Large headphones, sunglasses indoors, really casual. The one on the right looks all fancy. She’s sitting up straight and keeps glaring at the other one when she burps or something. Is that a bow tie? That is a bow tie. Why? The two of them look very similar, maybe siblings?

All this flashed through Diane’s mind in a fraction of a second. While the pair looked fairly friendly, they were also embroiled in an argument of some kind, and Diane had no desire to get in the middle of that. Her gaze panned the entire room, taking in every detail she could. After you removed the people who weren’t afraid of Sunset, there weren’t a lot of people left.

Drama. Trying to pick a fight. Wannabe Casanova, DO NOT MAKE EYE CONTACT.

This was incredibly disappointing. The girl that Diane had saved had disappeared before she had gotten a chance to say hello. Diane had really wanted to make at least one friend today, and lunch was the best place to do that.

Wait. What about that one?

The other girl looked to be about her own age. She wore a pair of ripped and torn blue jeans and a relatively nice button-up orange plaid shirt. Draped over the back of the chair was a worn leather jacket and on the table beside her was a real, actual, honest-to-goodness stetson. This was a person that wore a stetson to school. On purpose.

She’s sitting hunched over, like she doesn’t want to talk to anyone, and she’s glaring at her food like it called her names. There's lots of small wounds on her face and her knuckles are bruised; she gets into fights a lot. She’s done her hair into a ponytail, but not very well. She looks like she's stubborn, combative, and not interested in having friends.

Diane sat down opposite the withdrawn girl. “Hi!” she exclaimed cheerfully.The other girl jumped in surprise, before assuming an ‘I’m far too cool to get surprised’ posture that Diane completely ignored. “My name’s Diane! What’s yours?”

The other girl shot her a look, before returning to her lunch. “Abigail,” she said as shortly as possible.

Diane was undaunted. Just keep it up, but be careful. People get annoyed by cheerfulness for some reason. “That’s a nice hat,” she carefully said. “Where’d you get it?”

Abigail seemed to tense up even more. “My parents,” she said bluntly.

Oooooookay, what’s up with that? Does she not get along with her parents, or did something happen to them? Unsure how to continue, Diane let time pass quietly for a while. She hated sitting quietly; her brain would never slow down enough to enjoy it. It’d be like; ‘Hey, there’s a clock, remember when I snuck out to see Watchmen,’ and she’d start organizing a rant about how much she hated that movie, and then it would segue into creating a youtube channel, and then at the end she was wondering how to break into the gaming industry. Her mind just wouldn’t let her be quiet.

“Heard you were the girl that tangled with Sunset earlier.”

Diane glanced back up, her mind jarred from its thoughts on how to get Lego Marvel vs DC: The Infinite Crisis War rolling. “Huh? Oh, I don’t think we really tangled, exactly... “

Abigail raised an eyebrow and glanced around the cafeteria. There was a flurry of movement as everybody else immediately pretended that they hadn’t been staring.

Diane slumped. “Yeah, that was me. What’s her problem, anyway?”

Abigail shrugged. “Beats me. She showed up a while back and made herself the head honcho of these parts. Most folk would rather stay outta her way rather than risk rilen’ her up.”

Wow, is she really southern or what? “That sucks,” she said aloud. “Isn’t there anything we can do?”

Abigail snorted. “Why? Most of the time she's content to leave well enough alone. Rockin’ the boat will just get her madder.”

Diane let out a sigh and sank a little in her seat. “I can’t stand bullies,” she said. Despite her words, her voice sounded more resigned than determined. “Plus I’m preeeeeetty sure she hates me now, anyway.”

The older girl didn’t offer up any further words, and Diane didn’t try and force it. They just ate their lunches in companionable silence. Unlike before, Diane felt herself relax a bit while she ate. It didn’t seem as important to make Abigail like her; she was just herself around her.

“What’s your next class?”

Diane looked up, startled by Abigail's words. “Huh?”

Abigail smiled. “Math. Is it your next class?”

Diane bit her lip. “...I think so?”

“Good.” Abigail gathered her tray and stood to leave. “It's my next class too. I can show you where it is.”

Is she offering to show me around? Is this friendship? Do I have a friend? Is this like a one-time thing, and she’ll get mad if I talk to her again or-

Diane stopped wondering what Abby was thinking and simply smiled. “Lead the way!”

---

Twilight looked at the mirror with a degree of trepidation. It was an incredibly dangerous artifact; after all, contained behind its glass was a shear in the fabric of the Realm. Different worlds could be incredibly dangerous to travel in. In addition to the normal challenges of exploring the unknown, every single universe had completely different magical laws. What was an ordinary activity in one could be deadly in another. The world on the other side of the Crystal Mirror transformed those who traveled to it into a form that could survive, but was that limited to that one realm, or was it a constant? Was it the Mirror itself, or a side effect of traveling to different realms? Why—

“Sparky?”

Distracted from her scholarly ruminations, Twilight turned to see Rainbow Dash looking at the scene with a singularly annoyed expression. Well, she thought it was annoyed; sometimes facial expressions were hard to read...

“Yo, Sparky!”

“Don’t call me that,” Twilight responded automatically. “What’s wrong?”

Rainbow pointed a hoof at the Mirror. “I don’t know if you noticed,” she began, “but our magic mirror is on fire."

Twilight glanced back, squinting. Ever since the accident, her left eye wouldn't focus properly. “Oh, don’t worry. The Crystal Mirror can’t burn; the fire’s just right in front of it.”

“Right. Thanks for that.” Rainbow turned to the other Unicorn. “You got any idea what’s going on?”

Starlight shook her head. “No. It doesn’t make sense. Nopony knows where we are, and if they did, why disable the mirror instead of stealing it? And why not attack us?

“Maybe it was somepony from the other side of the Mirror,” the guardsmare-in-training suggested.

Twilight shook her head. “I doubt it. This is Equestrian magic. I recognize the workings of the spell; it's a Burn-Ever-and-Ever curse. There are very few ponies who can cast it.” She frowned. “Actually, now that I’m thinking about it, this feels very familiar.”

Oh, don't be so afraid. You know how to find out for sure.

Hesitantly, Twilight closed her eyes and felt within herself. She sensed her own pool of magic; glowing brightly with power. And then beyond it, she could feel something else. Something that shouldn’t be anywhere near her mind. It was dark, but safe and comforting. Familiar, even.

Accessing it still felt wrong, though. It didn’t hurt, but... It was like her brain started to shift. Like her thoughts were moving in different directions. Normally, Twilight’s brain felt like a cauldron, with thoughts and ideas bubbling over too fast to track. Now it felt more like a fish tank, everything clean and transparent, with fewer thoughts swimming from point to point with more precision and power.

It was magic. Not her own; this was the magic that had resided inside Luna. She didn’t need to use its power now; she just needed its knowledge. The memory of what that pony had seen...

A trilling noise that sounded unlike anything Twilight had ever heard sounded in her mind. She gasped and staggered backwards. She heard Rainbow cry out, but paid no attention. Memories flowed through her, from days long since past.

Do not listen to such slander! Who could be prettier than you, Tia?
Come now! Since when do you know fear, my sister?
You care not for me! You never have! You never will!

Twilight gritted her teeth and focused on more recent memories. The distant past wasn’t helpful right now, and she didn’t want to betray her teacher’s privacy any more than she had to. She fought the tide of emotions and memories as they sought to drown her, forcing them to show her what she needed.

Luna watched in amusement as the teenage filly focused on her spell-work. “I must say, I am impressed with her progress,” she commented to the filly’s teacher. “She may be better than you were at her age.”

Her sister smiled proudly. “Thank you. Sunset is a wonderful student. We've been working very hard together. She’s going to accomplish great things.”

The Guardian nodded, but then frowned. “I do not wish to be rude, but are you not wary of pushing her too hard? You have exacting standards, and I fear—”

“Oh, you worry too much,” Queen Celestia said dismissively. “I’m aware of what Sunset has trouble with, and we are striving to get better. I promise you that I'm not forcing her to go too fast.”

“That is not what I meant, sister. You know of Sunset’s past. She needs much more than a mere teacher.”

Celestia fixed her sister with an exasperated look. “Luna. I promise you; I’ve got the problem well underhoof.” The queen shook her head. “Honestly, sister, out of the two of us I wouldn’t have thought you would be the one to worry about such things.”

Luna snorted and poked her sister with her wing. “One of us must.”

Before Celestia could retort Sunset yelped. The sisters turned to see a gigantic pillar of fire roar to life as Sunset burst into a panicked gallop to anywhere else. The Alicorns reacted quickly; Celestia cast a shielding spell to block the fire's progress, while the Guardian of the Night used her Pegasus magic to remove the heat.

Unfortunately, neither proved to be successful. It ignored Luna’s magic entirely and headed straight towards the shield. Celestia gritted her teeth as the shield flickered briefly before glowing brighter. In response, the flames grew bigger and hotter. Luna backed away, lighting her horn to Feel the spell directly with her magic.

Carefully, she analyzed the spell, examining the elements that composed it. There was a piece that made it release energy in the form of fire, and…

There.

There was a thread that was absorbing magic from its surroundings and using it to feed the fire. Carefully, Luna reached out and twisted the thread around. The curse began to steal some of the energy the spell was using, without reducing how much energy the spell needed to live. The spell began to consume itself and in a few moments the fire flared brightly and went out.

Luna turned to see her sister scolding the young filly. “You need to be more careful,” Celestia said firmly. “I told you not to commit very much magic to the spell. What if one of us had been hurt?”

The filly glared at the ground, clearly upset but unwilling to direct her anger at her teacher. “I thought I figured it out,” she stated rather sullenly.

“Well, you clearly still have some ways to go.” Celestia glanced up to check and make sure that nopony was harmed. “Sister, is it okay if I cut this a little short? I’d like to talk to Sunset about a few rules.”

Luna reluctantly nodded. “Of course.” She directed a smile at the young filly. “I shall see you later, Sunny.” Sunset smiled, but her smile disappeared as Celestia tugged her along. Luna frowned again. Celestia is being too hard on the young mare, the Guardian noted. She merely made a mistake casting the spell. It was not as if anypony had been harmed—

—Twilight yanked her mind away from Guardian Luna’s magic, and stood for a second, trying to catch her breath. Her scars burned, so hot that for a moment she was worried she'd actually set her face on fire. The ground was blackened near her, and the stone walls were broken. Starlight and Rainbow viewed her with concern, Rainbow holding one hoof off the ground and limping. Twilight glanced at her, wondering if she should ask if Rainbow was okay, before deciding to let it go. You know how Rainbow is about acting as if she's strong. If she had a real problem she'd surely say something.

Rainbow flinched almost imperceptibly when Twilight trotted over to them. She tried not to let that bother her; after all, Rainbow was always jumpy around high-class magic, and if she had scorched stone then Rainbow had every right to be scared. Rainbow still trusted Twilight. She had to. Twilight knew what she was doing.

“I accessed my teacher’s memories,” she told them, carefully keeping her voice from shaking. She had to look strong. She could do this. “Luna has had to dispel this curse in the past. As it happens, it was even the same pony that cast it. I’ll just need a few hours to get rid of it. In the meantime, you two need to start coming up with a plan to deal with a mare named Sunset Shimmer.”

Comments

[Crack-Fic Casey]

Celestia's Mark is mainly an abstract Mark, and represents he skill in leading. It also gives her an affinity for light based magic, but under normal circumstances it wouldn't be very useful. However, Celestia's rather absurdly high power levels compensate for that, which makes her above average for ponies.

Since Unicorn magic is more closely tied to Marks than other races, they make a much bigger deal about it compared to the other two tribes.

Originally, Diane was doing full Sherlock Scans of her everyone around her, but I dialed it back a lot since I apparently have an actual Sherlock pony cast here. Though I suppose Fluttershy is more like Micheal Weston than Sherlock Holmes.

Grace Bernadette is human!Fluttershy. She was mainly in the scene because I was really proud of the name Grace Bernadette.

Fluttershy's accent is done with whoohoo.co.uk.

Like in the Triptych Continuum, each pony race can a sixth sense that deals with their unique form of magic. How those sense's work is a little different here. Unicorn's are still limited to sensing spells. It is impossible to hide a spell entirely, but one can mask it with a different spell. Earth Ponies have a unique connection to the lives around them, which can make them excellent trackers and farmers. Pegasi have changed the most. In Triptych, Pegasi simply have expanded vision, allowing them to literally see temperature changing around them, water forming into clouds, stuff like that. You need to read the original description in the story to really get how beautiful it is. Here it's more like a radar sense, allowing them information on their entire surroundings in flight. One of the reasons Pegasi live in clouds is because it's cooler than on the ground, and that can make their Sky Sight less sensitive. Like exposing your ears to loud noises constantly can make you deaf, but less extreme.

Question for the week: How controversial would Watchman be in a world where Super heroes were already real, especially idealized ones like the Power Rangers?