Open Your Heart

by Gpizano

It's Such a Bad Sign

There weren't a lot of people at the park that evening, something that suited Sunset just fine as she turned off the road and peeled into the park on her motorcycle. She'd drive along the park pathway and along the small path that connected it to the fountain, skidding to a halt and kicking up some water as her motorcycle came to a halt near the back wall of the fountain. Quickly dismounting and taking off her helmet, she scanned around the area, trying to see any hint that Tirek was in the area but ultimately having no luck in spotting him. Cautiously she walked over to the spot on the back wall and placed her hand against it.

Nothing. Twilight hadn't opened it yet. Alright, so all she had to do was wait and-

She hit the ground when something whizzed past her head and hit the wall, eyes wide upon see the bullet hole before she scuttled through the water to try and get better cover behind the fountain. She hadn't been able to get a good look at where exactly he was but she knew the general direction. This part of the park didn't have too much to hide behind, if he wanted to get close enough to the fountain Tirek would have to come out into the open. She'd just have to keep her eyes peeled and stop him from hurting Twilight. Just as she tried to peek around the fountain to try and see if he'd come out, she heard a new set of foot steps splash behind her.

"Sunset?"

Whipping her head around, she spotted Twilight and immediately rushed towards her to push her back through the portal.

"No time to explain, you've been tricked. Go back through and close the portal!"

"Don't move."

Both girls froze, Sunset because she recognized the voice, Twilight because she was looking over her shoulder and could see a man ten feet away pointing a gun at them.

"Ah, Princess Twilight, I presume. Step away from her Shimmer."

Gritting her teeth, Sunset made her movements as slow as possible, taking a step away and turning around to face Tirek. His hoodie was down so his face was clear enough to see, and judging by the small gasp from Twilight she figured out who this was. He made another motion to Sunset, wanting her to back away from Twilight and after a meaningful glance to the princess she began to comply. However on the fifth step, Twilight bolted for the portal, the sudden movement causing Tirek's attention to be turned to her and allowing Sunset to rush in. Training with Aria kicked in as she grabbed she moved to the side while grabbing the hand that had the gun, staying out of the way in case Tirek got a shot off while she pushed it up to further stop any chance of a stray bullet hitting. Then she pulled it down and away from her while twisting his first with both hands, putting enough pressure on the wrist that the pain weakened his grip, allowing Sunset to pull the gun right out of his hand.

Holding the gun by the barrel and handle, Sunset backed off from him, the man rubbing his wrist and glaring at her before he glanced to the portal.

"Don't even think about it!"

Based on how poorly she held the gun, he knew she wouldn't take the shot. The man sprinted towards it, Sunset swearing as she tossed the gun aside and followed, grabbing his arm and shoulder as they were pulled through at the same time. The sensation was familiar yet strange now that she was wrestling with another while going through, trying her damnest to pull him back while he kept trying to pull forward. Somehow in the mess she was being pushed halfway through the portal first, in a form familiar to her as hands became hooves, clothes vanishing into fur as part of her anatomy began to shift. However, she glanced into the library situated in Twilight's castle, spotting a shocked Spike and a panicked Twilight, at the controls of the machine, ready to shut it down.

Sunset winced when she looked above her,seeing two large, red hands grab the sides of the mirror, in front of her a face eyed with black sclera and horns at the side of it. She caught out of the corner of her eye Twilight readying her magic, but Sunset shook her head. She couldn't be moved or Tirek would have no obstacle, and with him still mostly inside the portal would a spell really work? Only one option...

"Do it!"

"What?!"

"Pull the plug Twilight, do it now!"

"But Sunset! You-!"

If he got through, who knew what sort of power he would have. If he went back, he'd drain her energy and do as he pleased, no one being able to stop him as he gathered more power. Magic flowed through her, gathering at her horn as Sunset gathered all her power to create a blast that would send them back inside, Sunset's last words being.

"DO IT!"

Eyes misting over, Twilight quickly cut the power, the mirror becoming nothing more than a mirror. Whatever was happening was something Sunset could never imagine or compare to any experience. She and Tirek separated but that was the last thing on her mind as she felt she was pulled in a million directions at once, flashes of color, space and time, hits of magic so large in quantity it felt like she would burst before being depleted to almost nothing. Whenever she had the state of mind to look at herself, hooves shifted to hands, then back, repeating. Glimpses of the past, present... future? Eyes, sounds, feelings... it was such sensory overload that Sunset wasn't sure if she'd pass out or be sick first.

Finally it all came to a screeching half when she landed on a hard surface, knocking the wind out of her as she gasped and choked. Vision was blurry, hand... hoof... it still seemed to go back and forth. Was she looking at stars? Molecules? Was she floating in a void? Wherever it was... she wouldn't be able to go back. Would she? Was she stuck here? Princess Celestia, her friends, her girlfriend... her girlfriend who was still lost and alone somewhere in Los Pegasus... but safe from Tirek. One last thought passed through her mind as she lost consciousness...

'I love you Jacks... please be safe.'

---

'I love you Jacks... please be safe.'

With a soft gasp, Jackie was brought back to the conscious world. Although she really wish she wasn't. Immediately she hissed as she felt a pounding in her head, rolling over onto her back and shutting her eyes tight. Where was she? This felt like a cold cement floor... and why'd she smell piss and vomit? Looking down at her shoes, at least the latter part of that smell combo was explained. Summoning all of her will, Jackie pushed herself to sit up and looked around, finding herself in an abandoned building that was an obvious place for squatters and junkies alike to crash, if that filthy, rat infested mattress was anything to go by. Another closer glance near her and she could see empty cans and bottles that had probably once contained alcohol.

A wave of nausea hit her and she had to lie back down, her mind swimming as she pieced together flashes of what she did while on that major bender. Thankfully there didn't seem to be much. Drank, punched a junkie, drank some more, made the junkie back off again by vomiting on her shoes, passing out... as far as binge drinking went it really didn't make the top ten. Turning onto her side, she felt something jamming her waist and turned back over so she could pull it out. Her cell phone... with a hell of a lot of text messages and voice mail. Oh fuck, Sunset...

Groaning and putting a hand to her cold, sweaty forehead, Jackie knew she'd have to get home and fast. Everyone was probably really worried about her. After about ten minutes she was finally able to stand, staggering and nearly tripping over the empty cans as she looked for an exit. Once she did crawl her way out through a boarded window, she found she was in some suburb on the outskirts. Really not a good neighborhood you wanted to be in at any part of the day. Thankfully her car looked too shitty for anyone to want to break into it, so she got into the passenger's seat and sat there for about an hour.

Okay, she'd done this before. Slow and easy. Obey the speed limit, try to be alert... find a gas station that'd sell her the shit she'd need. Thankfully one wasn't too far away and she had some cash to get a cheap cup of coffee and a candy bar while getting some free water. The water definitely helped but she hoped she didn't catch anything from that nasty, used gum riddled fountain.

After an hour of thankfully not getting pulled over, she parked in back and headed into the apartment building. From what she could tell it'd been about three days or so since she went on the binge. Hopefully Sunset could let her shower and rest a bit before chewing her out.

"Sunset? Bobby? I'm home."

However, as she stepped inside, she was instead greeted by Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Tree Hugger and Fluttershy all sitting around her copy table with Sunset's journal. Before she could even ask what the hell was going on, Dash stormed up to her and pushed her back against the door.

"OW! Dash, what the-"

"Where the fuck were you!?"

"Drinking. Look, I know I shouldn't of just gone off but-"

"But NOTHING! Major shit went down and you were off throwing a fucking pity party for yourself!"

"Wait, what?"

"Tirek came by! He took Bobby's energy and the Dazzlings, he fucking shot Sonata!"

"Holy shit... wait, where's Sunset?"

Confusion started to give way to dread as she looked between them, Pinkie Pie's hair was totally deflated, a morose Tree Hugger had an arm around a shaking Fluttershy, and Dash's eyes looked a bit shinier than before.

"She's gone."

"... gone where?"

"Who knows? She didn't come through either side of the portal when Twilight cut power to the machine. And they haven't come out when she turned it back on."

"... what? But... but where is she?"

"No one knows! All we know is that she's gone! G-o-n-e GONE! She's lost somewhere in some magic shit and we have no idea how to get her back!"

Another wave of that sick feeling hit Jackie as she slowly slit down the door and onto the floor.

Gone... Sunset was gone. But... she couldn't be gone. Oh god. Jackie ran her fingers through her greasy hair, eyes watering as she felt herself start to spiral again.

She should of been here, she could of done something.

What could she have even done?

Something. Then maybe Sunset would be here. Instead of lost in some magic shit.

Magic shit...

Looking over to the coffee table, an idea struck Jackie as she lurched up onto her feet, went over to grab both the journal and the pen next to it before heading back to the door. She threw it open and headed down the hallway, Dash calling after her.

"WAIT! Where the hell are you going?!"

"Who else knows more about magic shit than magic talking ponies?!"

Author's Note:

I'm gonna be honest, I had a whole other idea of where I was going to take this story.

But I ended up chucking it for this idea. SURPRISE.

Comments

[Harmony light]

Noooooo!!!! this is really good keep it up