Magical Harmony Spec Ops Friendship

by totallynotabrony

CH17: The Return

Twilight watched from one of the tower windows as dignitaries began to arrive. Creatures of all kinds were alighting in the courtyard from carriages or airships.

She agreed with most parts of the plan Cadance had set up, and felt that it provided coverage for the whole event, should the Elements be required for security. Of course, that meant they weren’t prepared to respond to an attack anywhere else in Equestria. That was balanced by the importance of the summit, and how they had severed the Commander’s flow of information by capturing Night Glider. Twilight hoped, anyway.

Her mind wandered a little as she stepped back from the window. She thought of Cadance. Last night had been good. Well, it had ended on a weird note, but overall it brought them back together, so she had to acknowledge that. She did love Cadance, but not carnally. Almost certainly, anyway. As Rainbow had noted, Twilight didn’t actually have any hooves-on experience to know the difference.

She tried to mentally change the subject, but it nagged at her. Eventually, she made a quick trip downstairs.

Rarity was in the middle of setting up the ballroom where the event was being held. It seemed that she was taking her roleplay seriously. Twilight interrupted her in the middle of sorting and folding table napkins. “Rarity, I have a question for you.”

“I’m Diamond Jubilee, ma’am,” Rarity replied, in an affected Manehattan accent. “I hope you don’t mind, but I’m little busy right now.”

“Please. I really need your expertise and discretion.”

Rarity looked at her, raising her eyebrows.

Twilight said, “Why does everypony keep hitting on me?”

It looked like Rarity wanted to burst out laughing, but stuffed it down and turned back to the napkins. “Several factors. You’re in shape, you’re pleasant, you’re intelligent - in that order. But recently? It’s because you’re confident, darling.”

Twilight turned that over in her mind. “How do I make it stop?”

This time, Rarity did laugh. “There’s really no way to prevent it. Just be clear and upfront about how you want to be treated to get things straight early. There are quite a few similarities between love and war, so at least you know something about one of them. I will say that love requires less physical exertion, but has the drawback that it’s rather impolite to kill your adversaries.”

Twilight finally laughed too, though that was tempered by reluctance. “Thanks. I just needed some context. So I really can’t do anything about being in this situation?”

“You can either learn to like it, or learn to deal with it. Same applies to love, too.”

---

The group of students filed in. Somepony had set up a small roped-off viewing area to the side of the main summit space. Though the two of them weren’t there for the politics, Moon Dancer and Lyra couldn’t help but look around the palace in wonder. Well, also searching for opportunities to escape the group.

“If this is the main ballroom, there should be a staircase going up and down just outside,” Moon Dancer noted, just loud enough for Lyra to hear among the crowd.

“Where are we going to try and go?” Lyra said.

“I don’t know. Do you think they would keep things related to the Elements in the dungeon or upper towers?” Moon Dancer frowned. “Now that we’re here, though, I’m not sure I actually want to do this. What if we get caught? I mean, we’ll probably get caught, there’s security everywhere for an event like this.”

“Did you remember to write your backup note?”

Moon Dancer nodded. They’d each written down what they knew and stowed it in a secure place that they accessed often, as insurance against further mind spells. Moon Dancer had put hers in a bottle of morning vitamins in her medicine cabinet.

“If we both wrote down what we knew, then no problem.”

“But what if they charge us as Element conspiracy theorists and give us a civil sentence?”

“Um...well, that would be a problem.”

Glumly, they stood there as the crowd of students began to find their seats. The summit wouldn’t begin for another few minutes. A good number of foreign diplomats were already in the room, mingling.

Among all the creatures moving around, one stood out in particular. Through the crowd, Moon Dancer and Lyra caught sight of a pink unicorn, tall, and wearing a plain suit jacket. Cadance.

“What’s she doing here?” Lyra said. “I mean, okay, it’s obvious what a princess is doing at a castle event, but like, what is quote-unquote ‘Cadance’ doing here?”

“If she works with the Elements...are they here?” Moon Dancer said. “Is Twilight?”

Just then, Cadance noticed them, too. The three of them locked eyes across the room. After a moment, Cadance jerked her head towards one of the ballroom doors. She broke eye contact as she turned away.

“Are we going after her?” Lyra said. “She might be leading us into a trap. We’re safe here, where everypony can see us.”

“She also might know where Twilight is,” Moon Dancer pointed out.

The two of them hesitated, but followed Cadance.

With all the guests coming in the front entrance, the other doors out from the ballroom led to quiet, deserted hallways. That was where Cadance met them.

She was waiting when they came through the door. It closed behind them and Lyra said, “Where’s Twilight?”

“She’s...currently engaged in other pursuits right now,” Cadance said.

“Is she an Element?”

Cadance’s expression didn’t change, as if she had anticipated the question. “What makes you think that?”

“Long story,” said Moon Dancer. She paused, and then asked, “Can we see her?”

That seemed to finally get through Cadance’s impassive expression. She shifted her hooves and seemed about to reply when a small but expressive reptilian creature arrived, flying down the nearby staircase. “Cadance! There’s a problem in-” He pulled up short upon seeing Moon Dancer and Lyra.

“Where?” said Cadance.

“The lab.”

“Go get Tempest.”

He zoomed away, down the next set of stairs.

“What’s going on?” said Moon Dancer.

“What-slash-who was that?” said Lyra still looking towards where the messenger had disappeared.

“I’m going to need you to stay here for now,” said Cadance. “But...I will try to find Twilight for you.”

There was a thunder of hooves as a powerfully-built mare with a metal horn charged up the stairs and slid to a halt on the landing.

“These are Twilight’s friends,” said Cadance. “Keep them here.” Without another word, she hurried up the next flight of stairs, leaving Moon Dancer and Lyra alone with a pony who looked like she ate bowls of nails for breakfast.

There was an awkward silence.

“So…” said Lyra. “You know Twilight?”

---

Minutes earlier, Twilight had been making another round of the upstairs. She could hear the low murmur of hundreds of voices from the crowd below. Princess Celestia was still getting ready, and would go to open the ceremony shortly. Twilight was mentally timing her route to pass by the tower as Celestia came down, just to say hello.

As she rounded the corner, a strange...pulse swept through the air. Twilight had never felt anything like it, or had she? It seemed magical of some kind, and powerful.

However, as she was considering it, Sunset suddenly slammed open the door of her lab, dashing out into the hallway. She spotted Twilight. “I need help! Something...something is trying to come through the mirror!” Strange colors of light flashed out of the lab behind her.

Twilight transformed and rushed forward. She pushed past Sunset, entering the room. The mirror seemed to be going haywire, its surface rippling as the attached equipment threw off sparks.

Not knowing anything about it, Twilight did her best to sense the magic in the air. It was definitely related to the portal, as she remembered from when she went through it, but that didn’t give her enough insight to stop whatever was happening. Sunset was the expert, and if she wanted Twilight’s help…

Twilight had started to turn her head and ask, but the mirror suddenly calmed. No sparks, no ripples, nothing. Curious, Twilight took a step closer. “That’s weird. It’s like the energy suddenly diverted.”

“You could say that,” a voice replied.

Twilight turned.

Standing before her was an Element Twilight had never seen before. She was a unicorn, the color of a creamsicle, and somehow looking just as cold despite the fiery color of her mane, which contrasted with a black trenchcoat and armor. There was a featureless black mask on her face, and a hammer as tall as herself held in her magic.

Despite her appearance...there was no mistaking her. “Sunset!?”

She snorted, amusement and contempt. “I’m the Sunset Shimmer. This idiot foal thought she was worthy of the name.” Her head tilted.

Twilight risked a glance in that direction. Sunset - the one she knew - was laid out on the floor over by the wall, glasses broken. Twilight took a step in that direction, but the Element before her raised her hammer. In response, Twilight drew her sword. Her lip curled as she stared down the other Sunset. “What did you do to her?”

“She’ll live. You might, too.”

“Aside from your name, who are you?”

“You haven’t figured that out already? Why don’t we wait for Celestia? She tells it better than I do.”

Rivulets of ink began to run the length of Twilight’s blade, dripping off the tip onto the floor. She snarled and started forwards, but pulled up short as a long shadow filled the doorway.

“You needn't wait any longer,” said Princess Celestia. She walked into the room, her body flashing with fire as she transformed, her Element form appearing just as Twilight remembered.

“So go on then.” The masked mare gestured with her hammer. “Tell your precious student who Sunset Shimmer really is.”

“Sunset-” Celestia nodded to the one in front of her “-was a top student. She was interested in the mirror and its potential. But after she couldn’t learn to control herself or her lust for power, I banished her from the castle. Imagine our surprise when one day her human counterpart managed to contact us via the mirror. She was much more stable and humble than the Sunset I had known. She did much better research with the mirror, too.”

“Well, the original me figured out the portals without any need for a mirror at all.” Sunset tapped her hammer to her armored breastplate. “I’m here now. And as you can see, I’ve far surpassed any human. But why should I expect you to acknowledge me, Celestia? You didn’t even mention how I was the first Element.”

“What?” said Twilight. “It was Cadance, after the Princess!”

“Cadance was the first real Element,” said Celestia. “And I’m afraid this is what failure looks like.”

The Sunset before them threw back her head and laughed. “Oh, so it’s my fault? You never even told Twilight I existed! I wonder what other secrets you could be keeping from her? How about Nightmare Moon’s true identity?”

“Like I haven’t been lied to before,” said Twilight. “If you’re so smart, then you know exactly what I’ve been through. I don’t enjoy it - nopony does - but that’s kind of small potatoes compared to dealing ponies like you.”

That seemed to give Sunset pause. “Seriously? Are you really-”

Twilight leaped at her.

She managed to raise her hammer to block Twilight’s sword, but it was a close thing. Sparks showered the room.

There was a commotion from outside the room, presumably as the other Elements arrived. Sunset flicked her head and the door slammed shut, a wave of magic blanketing the room. That gave Twilight a chance to try a spell of her own, which Sunset blocked with her hammer.

Celestia attacked Sunset from the other side, which she blocked by trading places via teleport with her hammer. The sudden move also made Twilight too slow to duck a hind hoof to the side of her head that knocked her over. She rolled back up and charged in coordination with Celestia.

Under their combined attack, Sunset could do little but let her hammer take the bulk of the punishment and pull back. Twilight’s sword thrust forward, feinting, as Twilight teleported to the side. Sunset teleported a fraction of a second ahead of the blade, simultaneously ducking a punch from Celestia. Her counterattack swept Celestia’s hind hooves with her hammer.

Twilight fired another magical blast at Sunset, who bounced it off a magic shield. The diverted spell hit the wall near where the other Sunset still lay. Twilight gritted her teeth and pressed forward instead with her sword as Celestia teleported to Sunset’s other side. There was another clash that Sunset barely ducked out of. She backed away, towards the mirror.

Twilight and Celestia had the same thought at the same time, and preemptively fired magic over Sunset’s head, their combined spells destroying the frame to deny her escape route. They kept advancing.

Sunset was breathing hard now. Her trenchcoat was torn in at least two places and she was splattered with ink. “Alright,” she said. “If that’s how it’s going to be.”

She raised her hammer, but before Twilight or Celestia could press an attack, Sunset brought the hammer down with as much power as she could muster onto the stone floor. The shockwave took all three of them off their feet and cracked the floor wide open.

Twilight fell into the room below, which turned out to be the royal lounge. She bounced off a sofa and hit the floor, which still ended up hurting a lot more than she expected it to.

Celestia fell across an armchair, something cracking as she landed. She struggled to get to her hooves, dragging a wing. Her Element form had also dissipated. Twilight tried to get up from the floor, only to realize that it had happened to her, too. She looked around wildly for her sword, only finding her pen.

Sunset descended into the room from above, carrying herself with magic. Her hammer had cracked, but beneath the surface Twilight saw a vein of black stone. A network of glowing runes had also lit up along Sunset’s armor and mask.

Twilight’s magic didn’t seem to work. She grabbed her pen with her hooves and yanked the cap off. Nothing happened.

Sunset laughed. “Surely when you fought Tempest you saw how I had learned to negate magic. Surely you saw how I designed armor to even negate Elements.”

Celestia tried to light her horn, but nothing happened. Meanwhile, Sunset still had full command of her magic and her Element. She said, “Kneel. Grovel before me, Celestia. I’m the new Queen of Equestria, and soon, the other world as well.”

“Don’t do it!” Twilight said.

Sunset struck forward with a hoof, hitting Twilight in the chest and knocking her over on her back. She looked at Celestia. “Kneel.”

“No!” Twilight shouted.

Sunset stepped forward, putting her hoof on Twilight’s neck. She looked at Celestia again. “You can do whatever you want, Celestia, but whether you like it or not, I’m in charge now. If you don’t obey me, I’m going to start taking away things you like. Starting with the student you aren’t ashamed of.” She raised her hammer.

Twilight struggled, trying to get her hooves on anything nearby - a stone from the destroyed floor, a broken bottle, anything. Her hoof found her pen. She looked at it, desperately willing it to transform. Nothing happened.

Twilight swung her hoof, driving the fountain pen into Sunset’s throat.

Sunset stumbled away, her gasp of surprise turning into a gurgle as blood began to well at her lips. Her hoof went to her neck, feeling desperately for the writing utensil embedded there, and pulled it out. A gout of blood came out the open wound, spilling over the carpet. Sunset fell to her knees, wavered, and then fell forward into her own blood. Her hammer hit the floor beside her.

The door flew off its hinges and everypony piled through at once. Fluttershy went to Celestia. Rainbow covered Sunset with her crossbow, just in case she moved again. Applejack picked up the door and set it loosely back in the frame. Cadance came straight to Twilight. “Are you okay?”

Twilight blinked, collecting herself. “Yes. This-” she surveyed the damaged room, looking up through the hole in the ceiling to the lab “-is going to take some explaining.”

“I’m just glad you’re okay.” Cadance moved forward, but then hesitated. Twilight closed the rest of the distance and the two of them embraced.

Kissing her sister-in-law: weird. Hugging one of her best friends: excellent. Very important to make distinctions.

Twilight suddenly pulled back. “Wait a second!” She teleported back upstairs. “Somepony get Fluttershy up here!”

Sunset still lay where she had been. Twilight touched her shoulder and she moaned. “Ugh, my head.”

Twilight did a quick repair spell on her glasses and set them on her face. Sunset blinked. “Did I really just see my counterpart?”

“Long story,” said Twilight.

Sunset looked past her at the destroyed mirror. Twilight had a twinge of regret. If this was the Sunset from the other word, she now had no way to get home. Well, they’d seen what the other Sunset could do with magic, and this one was no stranger to technology. Twilight was sure they could come up with something to fix or replace the mirror.

Twilight got out of the way as Fluttershy arrived and walked to the edge of the hole in the floor. The faces of the ponies below all looked up at her.

Somepony had thrown one of the velvet wall hangings over Sunset’s body. Celestia’s wing was wrapped, but she was mobile. Twilight met her eyes. If even half of what Sunset had said was true, then Twilight and Celestia were going to need to have a talk. A long one. Twilight looked at Cadance. She would definitely ask her to come to that meeting, to hear it too.

And then, to Twilight’s utter surprise, Tempest walked in with Moon Dancer and Lyra. If she thought Celestia had some explaining to do, that was nothing compared to what Twilight herself owed.

But they were safe, that was the important thing. What were they even doing here?

Twilight teleported down to them. Explanations could wait, her friends were here now.

Author's Note:

Source

Comments

[Queensarrow]

Ha! I was half right.

[djthomp]

Just then, Cadance noticed them, too. The three of them locked eyes across the room. After a moment, Cadance jerked her head towards one of the ballroom doors. She broke eye contact as she turned away.

Yeah, best take hold of the random extra schoolgirls who have wandered into the situation.

“These are Twilight’s friends,” said Cadance. “Keep them here.” Without another word, she hurried up the next flight of stairs, leaving Moon Dancer and Lyra alone with a pony who looked like she ate bowls of nails for breakfast.

They're doomed.

Oh Sunset.

“Like I haven’t been lied to before,” said Twilight. “If you’re so smart, then you know exactly what I’ve been through. I don’t enjoy it - nopony does - but that’s kind of small potatoes compared to dealing ponies like you.”

Hah, nice.

Turns out the pen was pretty mighty.