Chapter 41
"Ah, Miss Sparkle," Abacus Cinch greeted when she spotted the new arrivals, "you are just in time to bear witness to my greatest achievement. With this device, I have full access to another world, teeming with untapped energy. I will single handedly usher in an era of clean, limitless power that will likely give spark even greater technological discoveries and secure my place in history. You had your chance but failed to grasp the full potential of your discovery. Now you'll be nothing more than a mere footnote in my rise to greatness. Oh, but don't worry, despite what you tried to do to me at the Friendship Games, I shall leave you and your little pet alone, doomed to fade into obscurity as you watch your discovery reshape the world knowing that you could have been a part if it if you had only done as you were told."
"I don't regret for an instant standing up to you, Cinch," Twilight shouted. "You manipulated and hurt everyone around you, and I almost followed down that same path when I used that magic. That's what it is, not just power or energy, it's magic. The magic of that other world is the magic of Harmony. It's not meant to be used and abused by people for personal gain. Learn from my mistake, Principal Cinch, before that magic turns on you and destroys everything you've worked to build," Twilight pleaded as she inched herself along the worktable.
Abacus Cinch merely laughed. "Ha, what kind of fool do you think I am? I will not stop when I am so close to achieving greatness. No, now is when you will witness history being made." Saying that, she flipped the switch to full power.
The sound of the machinery intensified and added to the growing thrum from the portal merging into a painful din the grated on the eardrums and dug into the mind. The pull of the open portal whipped Twilight’s ponytail around mercilessly as the force intensified and pulled more toward itself. For once, she was grateful for her corrective lenses as they saved her from being smacked in the eye and blinded quite a few times. The pull of the open vortex continued to increase, and Twilight had to cling to the table as it caused her legs to slip out from under her. Her own yelp of panic was echoed throughout the room, both behind her near the generator, as well as closer to the vortex. Looking towards the control panel, Twilight saw no sign of Principal Cinch anywhere.
That wasn't what was important now, as the sound of rending metal tore through the cacophony and drew the teen's attention back toward her goal. The cage containing the now unconscious Sunset was strong enough to withstand the force of a normal (or not so normal) animal, but clearly it was not strong enough to hold up against the force of a magical tear in space. Twilight's eyes shrank in horror as the top of the cage was sheared clean off the rest of the structure and pulled toward the swirling tear. It was only a minute later that her heart started to beat again, when she realized that the unicorn had not been pulled along with it into the turbulent magic nexus. Whether due to some sort of latent magic on the pony herself or simply dumb luck, Sunset was still within the cage, being wedged into the tiny space had likely saved her from an unknown fate.
With the increasing speed of the vortex and pull of the magic, the teen knew she would not stay lucky for long. Hurrying as fast as she was capable, Twilight clung to the end of the table and eyed the gap between it and where Sunset was stuck in the device. It was only a few feet away, but it was a few feet being unattached to anything stable. Her hesitation didn’t last long, knowing what would happen to Sunset if she waited. Running the calculations quickly in her head, Twilight pushed off as hard as she could toward the device as the vortex also pulled her toward itself. The angle resulting from the two forces caused Twilight to slam roughly into the raised cage portion of the devise, knocking the wind out of her. Sucking in a pained breath, Twilight pushed down the pain as she set about unsticking the pony from the cage.
With little regard for safety procedures and all focus on rescuing the unconscious pony, Twilight ripped the cables connected to the cage free. Carefully, the teen worked the amber body free of its confines. Tucking the unicorn as securely as she could manage in one arm, Twilight turned back toward the doors to try and devise a way back, when a sharp pull on her leg upended her, causing her to fall backwards and her head to bounce solidly on the ground.
How Twilight had the presence of mind not only to keep hold of Sunset, but the table as well she wasn’t sure. Blinking to clear her head, the teen found herself on her back, under the table. Clinging to her ankle was a red-faced Abacus Cinch who’s perpetually maintained hair was a frazzled, windswept mess. Her glasses were missing, and the look in her eyes blazed fire at the helpless girl.
“This is all your fault,” Cinch screeched. “You! You’ve ruined me, my school, my reputation.” The enraged principal started to claw her way up Twilight’s leg. “That creature is mine. I can still fix this. Hand it over!”
The effort of clinging to the unconscious unicorn amid the swirling vortex was taking its toll on the unathletic girl and with her other hand otherwise occupied preventing all three off them from being pulled into the tear in space, Twilight knew she wouldn’t be able to fend off the woman’s attempts to take Sunset for very long. She could feel her grip on the unicorn start to slip as Cinch grabbed for her, but then Twilight’s eyes widened as she saw past the angry woman to the portal.
Emerging from the magical tear were a pair of familiar vines. The long tendrils seemed to scan the room before locking on to Twilight’s location. They snaked their way across the floor of the lab before one took firm hold of Abacus Cinch’s leg. Startled,the educator ceased her struggle to dislodge the unicorn and looked down at the vine.
“What is this?” she hissed as she tried to kick it off, the jostling motion causing Twilight’s to further lose her grip on the table she was clinging desperately to. When that failed to free the principal from the plant, Cinch released one hand from the unconscious pony in an attempt to rip the vine off. The plant, however, did not appreciate her efforts, and the hand was soon seized by the second vine. Startled by the sudden grabbing of her arm, Cinch’s first reaction was to try and bat the new vine off with her other hand.
Unfortunately for her, in doing so, she let go of Sunset, and there was nothing left holding her from the pull of the vortex. Twilight watched wide-eyed as Abacus Cinch let out a terrified scream as she was quickly pulled into the dimensional tear wrapped in the clutches of the grasping vines and disappeared.
***
Rainbow Dash started shimmying her way around the front of the classroom, using the built-in tool benches to cling to. Luckily for her, anything that was going to blow off the shelves or pegs had already done so, while the few remaining tools were being pulled at odd angles but remained otherwise in place.
“So, turn it off?” Applejack shouted to her over the winds as she followed Rainbow Dash’s lead clinging to the workbench. “That’s your plan?”
“What,” Dash said with a smirk, “That’s always the first thing they have you do when your computer stops working. And Twilight said it would work, I mean she is the egghead, right? She would know.”
“Yeah, Ah guess, Ah just figured you’d want to be the one over there tryin’ ta get Sunset outta that thing.”
“Oh, I do,” Rainbow Dash said, “but this isn’t about what I want or what would make me feel better. This is about getting Sunset out. I made a promise, and this is how I can make sure that happens and Sunset is safe.”
Applejack stared at Dash for a minute, eyes wide. “Wow, Rainbow, that might be the most mature thing Ah’ve ever heard from ya. Ah think you’ve really grown after all of this.” Taking a moment
to realize they had both stopped as they reached the end of the workbench, the farmer surveyed the distance to their goal as the pull from the portal intensified. “Now, any idea how we’re gonna get over ta that machine. That’s gotta be fifteen feet at least.”
The athlete eyed the distance, a cocky grin spreading across her face. “We jump.”
“Ah take it back, you’re still an idiot,” Applejack deadpanned before exploding at the chromatic girl.
“Seriously, are ya outta you’re dern mind? ‘Jump’ that’s your plan?”
“Relax, AJ,” Rainbow soothed. “It’s not that far, plus with the way that vortex is pulling, we’ll be pulled right where we’re heading.”
“Yeah, Ah don’t think-“
“Thinking’s over,” Dash cut in, “Time to save a friend,” she called as she let go and was pulled by the vortex toward the device. She slammed hard into it with an audible grunt but flashed a thumbs up back to the farmer. “See, all good,” the athlete said, though the pain in her voice was clear.
“Rainbow Dash, what were you thinking?!” Rarity shouted to her as the fashionista made her way alongside Applejack.
“Ah don’t think she was,” AJ said, shaking her head.
Rarity sighed, “Now what?”
“Help her out,” Applejack said as she too let go and was pulled toward the machine, one hand holding tightly to her Stetson.
The farm girl impacted hard, and with only one had to grip, bounced and started to be drawn over the machine and toward the swirling tear in space, but a hand quickly grabbed hold of her arm and
pulled her back down along the edge of the device.
“Gottcha!” Rainbow called.
“Thanks,” Applejack said shakily.
“No problem. We idiots have to stick together,” the athlete said with a grin. “Now give me a hand with this thing.”
The two took hold of the massive cord that was feeding into the location Twilight had indicated and pulled hard, but the thing refused to budge.
“Come on, AJ, one more time. We’ve got this,” Dash said, psyching herself up.
“Ah don’t think so, sugarcube,” the farmer said as she surveyed the machine. “This thing is held in there good. It’s gonna take some tools ta get in there and shut this thing down.
"Luckily, we still have access to some of those,” Rarity called, still clinging to the workbench. “What exactly do you need, darling?”
“Wrench,” Applejack said, “biggest ya can find.”
“I’m not seeing any-” Rarity began before being cut off.
“I’ve got it,” Pinkie called as she seemed to bounce back along the tool bench, seemingly unaffected by the swirling from the vortex. She leapfrogged over Fluttershy, who was still huddled in the doorway holding onto Spike, and to the other workbench where she claimed the necessary tool and completed the return trip alongside Rarity. “Here ya go, Dashie, catch!”
As the pinkette made to lob the heavy object toward her friends, the athlete and farmer called out, “Pinkie, no!” and causing the girl to freeze mid toss.
Taking stock of her position, Pinkie chuckled nervously, “Hehe, whoopsies. Uh, how do I get it to you then? That hole has gotten bigger, and the wind is really angry.”
“Teamwork, darling,” Rarity said, taking Pinkie’s hand. The other girl seemed to catch on as she let go of the tool bench and was pulled toward where AJ and Rainbow clung to the machine. Reaching out her hand, she handed the wrench to Applejack, who quickly went to work disconnecting the plug.
“There it’s out,” Applejack called.
“Then why isn’t that thing stopping?” asked Rarity as she started to lose her grip on the bench, only to be surprised when she was steadied by Fluttershy who, though nervous, had a determined fire in
her eyes.
“We must have been too late, it’s gotten too big,” Fluttershy said.
The group was stopped from discussing it any further as a frightened cry cut through the roar of the vortex.
***
Twilight clung tightly to the unconscious unicorn as the vortex tried to pull her free. With one hand trying desperately to maintain hold of the amber hoof, the teen could feel her grip on the device begin to slip with the other.
"Sunset," the teen called, "Sunset, you've got to wake up. I can't hold on. You need to wake up, please!"
The ache in her fingers increased as they started slipping over the corner of the table leg. Twilight knew that she couldn't hold on much longer with her one hand. Her best bet would be to try and grab hold with her other hand, but that would mean letting go of the pony in her grip, and no matter how much her logical side told her that she should or even that Sunset would probably agree with the decision, she could not bring herself to let go of the unicorn that had come to mean so much to her over the past week.
Squeezing tighter to the furry appendage, Twilight readied herself for the final pull of the vortex. As her fingers finally gave free and her body was pulled along the floor, the teen hugged the pony tightly to her body. Wherever that tear led, at least the two would be facing it together. As the pair neared the portal, Twilight buried her head in the pony's furry neck and shut her eyes...and then promptly opened them again when a sharp pull took hold of her arm jolting her head up. Looking up, she was met with the smiling, if strained, face of Fluttershy and beyond her the rest of the girls from Canterlot High were each gripping onto each other in a human chain.
"It's okay," the normally quiet girl called, "We've got you." Twilight couldn't help but smile back, which quickly devolved into relieved sobs which were echoed by a pained groan from the pony in her arms.
"Ugh, my head," Sunset slurred before blinking unevenly up at Twilight. "What hap..." Her voice trailed off as her vision cleared, and the unicorn became fully aware of their predicament. "Oh horseapples, that's not good."
"Don't worry," Twilight said, holding tighter, "we've got you," she assured, echoing Fluttershy's comforting words. "We all came to rescue you."
Sunset smiled back at her and then at the line of people, her friends, beyond, and smiled. "Yeah, but now it's my turn to rescue you," the pony said as she started to wiggle free of Twilight's grip.
"Sunset, no, it's too big," Twilight replied, desperately trying to hold tight to the squirming pony.
"It's okay, Twilight. I've got this," Sunset said as she broke free of the teen's grasp.
Twilight watched as Sunset leapt from her arms and was quickly pulled toward the swirling portal. Crimson light lit up the unicorn's horn before being shot at the portal. Twilight couldn't see the pony's face as the teen was still held by Fluttershy, but even over the din of the vortex, the teen could make out a pained grunt as Sunset poured more and more magic into the breach.
It was clear Sunset's efforts were having an effect as the churning swirl of the portal began to slow, and the massive tear in space began to mend. A smile started to form on Twilight's lips, but when her gaze turned back to the unicorn, the teen saw the pony's legs shaking and threatening to give way entirely. Looking closer, the scientist's critical eye could see sweat drenching the unicorn's body, a body that seemed to be a much paler shade of amber than before.
"No," Twilight breathed as she continued to pour magic into the vortex. The unicorn's entire body was shaking now with her effort, and her coat was shifting from washed-out to grey. "No!" Twilight shouted as she frantically tried to free herself from Fluttershy's surprisingly strong grip. "No, Sunset, you have to stop!"
"It's okay, Twilight," Sunset called, glancing back at the teen, "I promised I wouldn't lose anyone, and I meant it." With a final, sad smile, Sunset turned back to the portal, and with one last blast of magic, the portal was sealed.
The surge of power reacted with the remaining magical energy, resulting in a shockwave of magical power being sent back through the room. A blinding flash and a rush of wind was the last thing Twilight saw before colliding with something hard and darkness claiming her.
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Oooh, I hope they resolve this soon.
Yea! Update!
Hopefully everything can finally be resolved and the portal will work correctly again.
With Cinch having gone through the portal, those vines likely mean it leads to the Everfree Forest. But I kinda hope her arrival is met with the Elements, and possibly the Royal Sisters and a squad of guards. Otherwise, she'll be lost in that forest until possibly Zecora finds her...
Oh and typo here:
a part of it if you had*
It's too late!
I guess she decided to hide from the mess she created.
Twilight is not guilty, you are, if you tried fixing this mess, it'll just make it worse!
Looks like someone's in trouble now.
https://m.There's a huge gap in the second sentence of the paragraph.
only one hand to grip.*
There's another gap in the last sentence of the paragraph.
down.*
hole*
I hope Sunset's alright.
(Insert obligatory Little Shop of Horrors reference).
This is what happens when you mess with paracausal forces without knowing what you're doing.
I assume those are the vines from the Everfree? If it is, then Cinch is as good as a slab of meat ready to be eaten. Her skills are useless there. You can't blackmail or threaten a forest, after all. Let alone a magical forest that the magical ponies themselves can't even control.
Or it could be some kind of a dimensional tentacle that pulls you in and take you to another dimension. In that case, say bye-bye to Earth, Cinch.
Sunny! Please be okay!
Sunset better not have killed herself trying to fix the witch's mess or I am going to go Defcon 1.
Here's hoping Cinch is stuck renacting tentacle porn for the rest of her days.
Cinch had better hope Zacura is nearby or her stay in the Everfree is going to be short and painful
Sunset is either going to be in a bad way, home
.. in a bad way, or dead/ascending. Of those being home is going to suck the most, as she would then have to keep Cinch alive. Pretty sure Sunset would rather be dead then deal with that.
I can't help feeling Cinch deserves what she gets though I hope Sunny's ok.
This can't be. This cannot be the end of Sunset Shimmer, just when she was finally saved by Twilight, Spike and the Rainbooms.
I don't want to think two worlds were saved at the cost of one life. I'm glad Cinch got what she deserved at the end for ruining many lives and messing with magic.
...Grunkle, would you please?
This chapter fell flat at the end. Our Point of View has no real idea what is happening between Sunset and the portal. Especially when magic is being surged back into the room upon closure. For all we know Sunset will be on her hooves long before Twilight even wakes up.
Oh come on CLIFFHANGER!😭😭 THANK YOU FOR THE UPDATE THOUGH🙏🥰
When someone talks like this, they are beyond reasoning....
That was a good chapter.
Bye bye Cinch. Enjoy Hentai tentacle land.
I think we need a "T" on that one.
11501476
Fixed
stupid cliffhanger but at least Cinch is gone.
11504229
Amen to that. Now, what to do with the Shadowbolts and Crystal Prep's student body?
Not to be nitpicky, but I thought human Twilight wore her hair in a bun at this point, only swapping to ponytail after transferring to CHS.