Part III: Redemption's Flower || Chapter 26: The Princess of Friendship
Twilight Sparkle, newly styled the Princess of Friendship, lounged comfortably on the huge round crystal table in her throne room, contentedly reading a book. She was surrounded by books and her friends. It had been a quiet, lazy day. And the best part was – more books were arriving every minute! Even now a delivery pony wheeled a cart into the throne room that was piled so high with books that calling it precarious would have been a gross understatement.
“Excuse me, Your Highness?” the delivery pony asked with a smile, sensing her mood. “Where do you want all these books from Princess Celestia?”
“The library,” Twilight answered. “Third door on the left.”
“Uh, even this one that’s glowin’ and vibratin’?”
Twilight looked up instantly. The very topmost book was buzzing and blinking with magenta light. Intrigued but wary, she pulled the book down to her telekinetically and examined it – it was clearly magical. She quickly checked it for signs that it was dangerous and ran a spell to detect evil intent and curses – one does not simply open a magical book without taking some precautions. Still, she had little fear the book was dangerous – Celestia would never send her something like that without warning her. Satisfied for the time being, she opened the book and began to leaf through it rapidly. Her friends began to gather around her.
“What is it, Twilight?” Fluttershy asked.
Twilight looked at a few more pages, then turned to the last page with any writing on it – it was this page that was actually flashing with light. As soon as she turned to it the book stopped vibrating and the light stopped. She read carefully, her eyes getting wider with each line. “It…appears to be a message to Princess Celestia from Sunset Shimmer and my friends in the mirror world,” she told her friends with amazement.
“How is that even possible?” Rarity asked incredulously.
“I have no idea, but it…sounds like they need help. To the library!” she cried, springing up and galloping toward the door. Her friends dashed after her.
Once in the library, Twilight flew up to one of the upper shelves and selected a specific book. She landed and put the book on a table so all her friends could see it. “The way Sunset Shimmer described them, I think these new girls sound an awful lot like…the Sirens!”
“NOT THE SIRENS!” Pinkie gasped dramatically. “I don’t actually know who they are…” she then stage whispered to Fluttershy.
Twilight just shook her head and continued. “The Sirens were three beautiful but dangerous creatures who had the power to charm others with their music. But to maintain this power, they had to feed on the negativity and distrust of others. The more of this negative energy they consumed, the stronger their voices became, and the farther they could spread their dark magic. Bit like windigoes if you ask me.”
“I don’t think I like this story very much,” said Fluttershy, with a shudder.
“Well, if the Sirens had had their way, they would have divided and conquered all of Equestria. But Star Swirl the Bearded wouldn’t have it,” Twilight said with a proud smile. “Rumor has it he found a way to banish them to another world – one where he believed their magic powers would be sealed. That world must have been the mirror world where Sunset and my friends live.”
“But Star Swirl must have sent them there a…thousand years ago,” pointed out Applejack. “How come they’re just surfacin’ now?”
“I don’t know,” Twilight admitted. “But if my hunch is right and it is the Sirens who have come to Canterlot High, this spell they’ve cast is only the beginning. What Sunset says in her letter is right – they are in grave danger. At full power the Sirens could dominate that entire planet.” Twilight looked up at her friends grimly. “My friends in the mirror world need me. I have to get back to them!”
“I hate to burst your bubble, Twilight, but the connection between their world and ours will still be totally cut off for a super long time!” Rainbow pointed out.
Twilight was preparing a response when Pinkie materialized between her and Rainbow and cut her off. “Okay, first of all: if there was bubble-blowing going on, why wasn’t I informed!? And secondly, if the connection is totally cut off, how was Sunset Shimmer able to get this message through to Twilight?”
Twilight and Rainbow just stared at her for a few seconds, then suddenly Twilight gasped. “Pinkie, you’re a genius!” she shouted.
Pinkie looked smug. “Yeah, I get that a lot. Now about those bubbles…” she said, turning threateningly toward Rainbow.
What followed was a fevered period of intense work by Twilight to construct the most…intricate magical device any of them had ever seen. Most of the girls chose to watch just out of sheer amazement. After about three hours of this, Twilight finally seemed to be nearing the completion of her efforts. “… and the interval between the two points is defined as the sum of the squares of the separation between the points along three spatial dimensions!” she cried triumphantly, standing back to admire her handiwork.
What could only be described as a contraption had been set up around the mirror, which Princess Celestia had had moved to Twilight’s castle for safe keeping. The ponies stared at it in complete confusion. “Say what now?” Spike asked dubiously.
“Duh!” shouted Pinkie. “She’s gonna take the magic in here…”, she pointed to the book, “…and put it in there,” she finished, pointing to the mirror. “That’ll make the portal open up so that whenever she wants to, she can go from here to there.” Suddenly Pinkie began appearing randomly around the device in increasingly improbable locations. “There to here. Here to there. Here, there! Here there! Here…”
“We get the idea!” Applejack cried with wide eyes, trying to get her to calm down. She appeared directly in front of Applejack with a huge, maniacal smile.
Twilight suppressed her own laughter. She looked at the device again. “Now to see if it actually works.” She levitated the book up into a receptacle that had been built on top of the mirror. As soon as she put it in place, magenta energy began to crackle around it. They all watched as the energy began to flow out of the book and through the various parts of the machine. After about thirty seconds, the mirror itself flashed and a swirling pattern began to be visible on the mirror’s surface. Suitable “oohs” and “ahhs” were said by all present.
“Don’t suppose we could join you this time around?” Applejack asked, tearing her eyes away from the mirror.
Twilight considered this, then responded. “Better not. It could make things pretty confusing if Canterlot High suddenly had two of each of you.” Her friends reluctantly agreed.
“But I still get to go, right?” Spike asked excitedly. “There isn’t another one of me at Canterlot High. And you never know if you might need your trusty assistant.”
“Yes, Spike. You can come.”
“Yes!” he exulted, pumping his fist.
“Don’t worry girls – I don’t think we’ll be gone long,” Twilight said, trying to comfort her friends. “Now, I’m going to go pack a few things and be right back!”
Twilight gathered a few more things for her saddlebags in her room, then turned to leave. Her way was blocked by Rainbow Dash. Rainbow’s face was unhappy.
Twilight smiled at her, trying to help her feel better. “Hey, I know you’re bummed that you can’t come with me, but…”
“That’s not it, Twilight. At least, not all of it.”
“Oh. There’s something else, then?”
“Listen, Twilight, I hate to bring this up…but I have to. You’ve told us about how you think Sunset was really broken up and sorry and stuff. And, because you’re you, I want to believe that. But…you need to take precautions. You need to consider other possibilities.”
Twilight froze. She had to admit that in her excitement from getting the portal working again, and the chance to see her friends again, and the chance to check on Sunset and make sure she was getting better, she had neglected to consider something truly disheartening. “You mean…it could be a trap, or a trick, or something?”
Rainbow looked almost apologetic. “I don’t think that’s what’s going to happen. But after what we just went through – we’d be crazy not to at least consider it. From what you’ve told us, Sunset was devious. Like Tirek-class devious. Please, just…be careful.”
Twilight sighed. She thought for a moment, but she couldn’t find a cogent objection to what Rainbow was saying. “Ok, Rainbow. You’re right. I’ll be careful.”
Rainbow nodded and gave her a wan smile. “That’s all I ask.”
After saying goodbye to her friends, once again Twilight found herself hurled through a tunnel of kaleidoscope colors as her body shifted and changed around her. With breathtaking suddenness, she was thrown free of the other side of the portal and was flying through the air. She landed heavily on her side and rolled to a stop. “Ooof!” she cried.
She heard a cacophony of familiar voices joyfully calling her name and opened her eyes as she rubbed what would probably soon be a fairly significant bruise on her temple. As her vision cleared she looked up.
Straight into the apparently concerned eyes of Sunset Shimmer.
There was complete silence as the five human girls watching nearby held their collective breath.
Sunset smiled broadly and offered Twilight her hand. The look in her eyes, it seemed to Twilight, was actually one of unabashed joy, so she began to put out her hand. But the words of Rainbow Dash echoed in her mind. She hesitated and looked away, her face darkening.
A shadow of pain flashed across Sunset’s face, but she gritted her teeth, broadened and softened her smile, and leaned forward a little more, still holding out her hand to Twilight.
Twilight turned back to her and looked deeply into her eyes again. She decided she saw no malice. Slowly she put her hand out again, and Sunset took it with an audible sigh of relief and helped her to her feet. For a moment the two former enemies looked at each other as Twilight’s face gradually softened. Sunset looked away sheepishly, rubbing the back of her neck.
The other girls, seeing that the first check was passed, jumped on Twilight and welcomed her with hugs and joyful smiles. But even as her friends embraced her, Twilight regarded Sunset. Sunset’s face had fallen, and there was sorrow in her eyes. She had little time to consider this, however.
“Twilight!” her friends cried with one voice.
“I’m back! And I’ve got some bad news about those new girls.” This time, it wasn’t just Sunset’s face that fell.
The girls had decided that Sugarcube Corner was a good place to sit down to discuss the matter, since the school day was over.
“Oh, I do hate that you had to return at a time of crisis. There’s so much catching up to do!” Rarity gushed.
“For starters,” said Applejack, her eyebrows dancing, “a certain blue-haired guitar player was just askin’ about you.”
“Flash was asking about me?!” Twilight cried, openly excited. Catching herself, she immediately calmed down and adopted a serious expression. “Ahem. Isn’t that nice?”
The other girls just smiled knowingly at her.
“Perhaps you would give us just the slightest bit of gossip from your world?” Rarity asked eagerly.
Spike spoke up immediately. “She’s got an official title now!” He imitated a trumpet fanfare and announced: “The Princess…of Friendship!” His pride was obvious.
“Wow, that’s really impressive! Guess you really were Princess Celestia’s prized pupil!” said Sunset brightly, desperately trying to be truly happy for her and shutting down her own feelings of jealousy, envy, and regret.
“She’s even got her own castle!” Spike continued.
“A CASTLE?! YOU HAVE YOUR OWN CASTLE?!” Rarity cried, spilling some of her milkshake on Twilight’s blouse in her excitement. This time it was her turn to catch herself. “Eh, ahem, ooh, uh, lovely,” she said more quietly as she tried to clean Twilight up. The other girls just exchanged looks of amusement.
“What’s new here?” Twilight asked, trying to change the subject. “I mean, besides your school becoming the target of dangerous magical creatures from Equestria?”
This was the opportunity Rainbow had been waiting for. “Yeah, so, that isn't exactly the only strange thing that's happened since you left.” She held up her phone as it played a video of a recent Rainbooms practice session. Twilight’s eyes widened as she saw Rainbow pony up, then the other bandmates, each in their turn. “Pretty sweet, huh? It happens to all of us when we play!”
Twilight was instantly thoughtful. “Hmm. I took my crown back to Equestria, but some of its magic must have remained here. Now that we're all back together, we can use that magic on the Sirens. Just like when we were able to use it on Sunset when she turned into that horrifyingly awful winged monster!” Nearby on the couch, Sunset’s shoulders slumped. Twilight was instantly apologetic; she wasn’t used to Sunset being around. “No offense, Sunset,” she said quickly, looking distressed.
“None taken. I’m used to it,” Sunset grumped. No one seemed to notice her mood, however.
Rainbow was already excited about the prospect of using the Magic of Friendship on the Sirens. She was whirling around the table imitating various martial arts techniques. “They’ll never know what hit ‘em!” she cried, finishing with a chop and a yell.
“We've got nothin' to worry about now that Twilight's back,” said Applejack, sharing Rainbow’s confidence.
“Oh, I'm pretty sure I could find something to worry about. But it won't be the sirens!” said Fluttershy.
“The sooner we do this, the better. Any idea where the Dazzlings might be?” Twilight asked, ready to get down to business.
“There's a big party tonight for all the bands who signed up to be in the showcase! That would include the Dazzlings,” Pinkie pointed out.
Twilight actually smirked. “Looks like we’ve got a party to crash,” she said, allowing a bit of cockiness to show. Pinkie squeed.
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twilight having issues with forgiveness is one of her character flaws you should NOT have made an excuse for it its a constant thing she has shown this just puts her on a pedestal and makes her kind of a sue
Oof. Poor Sunset.
Yeah, I think I like your explanation for what happened between Twilight and Sunset better. I'll be honest with you. I don't really like Rainbow Rocks as much as a bunch of other fans do. I mean, it had a lot more going for it as a story, which is good, but I just can't stand watching all those friendships that Twilight helped inspire in the first movie fall apart the way they did.
Poor Sunset. As if she didn't have enough problems.
I still wonder to myself how that book ended up with the ones that princess twilight gotten, guess we'll never know.
Classic pinkie
She still has a crush on him, not doubt about it.😏
She's jealous, I just know it.
Pats her back
It'll get better Sunset, just give it time.
Through the switch Igor