Under A Burning Sun

by SuperPinkBrony12

Twilight Sparkle Returns!

Back in the human world little attention had been given to the portal that lay behind the statue at Canterlot High. Sunset Shimmer had not re-emerged from it except for when she had briefly returned her brainwashed army after it had served its purpose.

But none would dare even think of crossing through the portal now that they knew it existed. All feared the possibility of Sunset rigging it or using it as part of an early warning system. Whatever she had done in that world she was apparently originally from, none knew and none wanted to find out.

So it was that two mysterious figures, one human like and one dog like, were approaching the mirror one night when no one was around. No one was there to stop them.

"Are you sure we should do this, Twilight?" The dog asked. "There's no telling what Sunset's done to Equestria since we saw her last, especially since she still thinks you're dead."

The human whispered back. "We were never supposed to stay here, Spike. Whatever's become of Equestria under Sunset Shimmer, we must go back and put a stop to it. I only hope my observations are correct and the portal is working. If I've missed our window of opportunity, it could be several weeks before we'll next get our chance." She then reached her hand out to the mirror at the base of the statue. Her hand passed right through it, enveloped in a magical aura.

"This is it, Spike!" The human declared with a smile! "We're finally going home!"

"Spike" fought back a gulp. "Still think it's a good idea for us to do this alone? Those five girls that look like our friends could've been a big help."

"Twilight" shook her head. "It's too dangerous to drag them into our fight any more. It's because I got them involved that they were almost killed alongside me. If not for my crown refusing to give Sunset that much power, that's what would've happened. Besides, we don't know yet what happens if the two versions of the same individual meet. Now come on, we don't have much time! Let's get back to Equestria, and then we'll figure out what our next course of action will be."

The two figures then stepped through the portal and felt the strong force of the magic as it transformed them back to their original selves. They emerged from the other side of the portal as an alicorn and a small dragon.

"It's great to be home," Twilight thought to herself. "But what has changed? How long have we been gone?"

---

As luck would have it the Crystal Empire was still relatively light on security detail. About the only noticeable presence in the castle hallways was a familiar looking pegasus guard with a light orange coat. "Hm, so that's what the other Flash's occupation is," Twilight whispered to herself as she watched him from afar. "I wonder if Sunset was ever romantically involved with him like she was with the human Flash."

"We can worry about that later, Twilight!" Spike tried not to roll his eyes at the statement. "For right now we need to get out of here! We need to go somewhere where we can lay low until we figure out what Sunset's up to and how to stop her."

Twilight shook her head to clear her thoughts. "You're right, Spike. Don't know what came over me. What's most important right now is figuring out what's changed in our absence. It doesn't look like she got to the princesses though, the moon is out when it should be."

The two then quietly made their way through the halls of the crystal castle, taking great care to avoid detection by the few royal guards who were on patrol. They weren't sure who the guards worked for or who they would deliver the intruders to, so avoidance was the best policy.

At last, pony and dragon were safely out of the castle and sneaking their way to the train station. There was no train currently on the platform, and asking for tickets would be a surefire way to draw unwanted attention. Reluctantly, the two were forced to wait a ways back, staying out of sight while they waited for the next arrival. Wherever that train was headed they would have to go as well.

The next train didn't arrive for hours, but as luck would have it was headed for a place very familiar to the stowaways: Ponyville. Their friends were hopefully still there and would be able to provide some much needed answers. At least, that's what Twilight and Spike hoped. They didn't want to think of the alternatives.

When Ponyville came into view it did indeed seem to have not changed much. Aside from the increased security presence at the train station (in the form of royal guards that wore unusual suits of armor that were dark red in color), there was nothing to suggest the town itself was at all different from how it had been when Twilight and Spike had left it. To think that all this trouble had started with a royal summit in the Crystal Empire.

---

Not wanting to attract attention to themselves and figuring that the most reliable source of information would be Applejack, Twilight and Spike covertly made their way to Sweet Apple Acres. They had no idea if Sunset Shimmer was in town or if she had any informants.

As they made their way along the two noticed how the transition from night to day with the rising of the sun was hardly smooth. It seemed like whoever was in charge was not used to the weight of the sun and was having difficulty moving it properly. Never in all her years had Twilight known Celestia to have any trouble raising the sun. Heck, she had known Princess Celestia long enough to know that the princess had moved the sun and the moon for a thousand years without trouble.

"Something must've happened to Princess Celestia!" Twilight thought to herself and nearly felt tempted to say this out loud, but she didn't. The display told her the most likely scenario was that Sunset had taken Celestia's powers somehow, and the same was probably true for Princess Luna. Princess Cadence's whereabouts were unknown, but she was likely still holed up in the Crystal Empire and Sunset had probably seen to it that the last remaining alicorn was not a threat to her plans.

The sun was just starting to bathe all of Ponyville in its warm light as the familiar red barn of Sweet Apple Acres came into view.

And there was Applejack, already rushing out the door of the nearby farmhouse to no doubt get a head start on the day's chores. It was remarkable how it seemed like little had changed in Twilight's absence. But there was always the possibility of it being an act or an illusion.

After glancing around to ensure that there was nopony else in sight, Twilight and Spike removed their cloaks and quietly approached Applejack as she started work.

Applejack only became aware of the presence of another when she felt a hoof touch her on the back. Startled, the farm mare spun around as her sap green eyes nearly widened in surprise! "Gah!" She screamed, a bit louder than her visitors would've liked as one of them moved to immediately shush her.

"Not so loud!" A familiar male voice protested. "We're still trying to figure out just what the hay's become of Equestria in our absence."

The earth pony mare blinked as she took a step back. Standing before her was a very familiar alicorn with a purple coat, and a mane and tail defined by that reddish-violet skunk like stripe that ran down the center. And standing beside the alicorn was a familiar light purple coated dragon with green scales from the tip of his head down to his tail.

"No, it's not possible! I'm goin' mad, I've finally cracked from all that time in the sun!" Applejack insisted as her whole body began to shake. "I'm seein' ghosts!"

"Applejack, it's me, Twilight. I'm not a ghost. And neither is Spike." Twilight firmly insisted as she tried to calm her friend down.

"But... but... but that can't be! You're dead, Sunset told us so!" Applejack protested as she continued to back up. "She came marchin' right in with that army of hers and your crown atop her head. There ain't any possible way you could've been alive this whole time!"

Twilight let out a sigh. "Well I survived, just barely. I underestimated just how determined Sunset Shimmer was, and how underhanded she can be."

Applejack's shock turned to confusion. "Beg pardon, sugarcube, but what the heck's a hand? Don't you mean a hoof?"

"It's kind of a long story," Twilight admitted as she put a hoof behind her back. "To sum it up, there's an entirely different world beyond that magic mirror. In that world creatures known as humans exist, and strangely enough many of them have the same name and a similar appearance to you and I. Apparently, Sunset was ruling over this alternative world, or at least a high school close to the portal in that other world."

The earth pony nodded. "Figured about that much from what Sunset Shimmer kept babblin' on about. And that's how she brought Princess Celestia to her knees, made it clear that this army of ponies she had protectin' her were just high school teenagers. So this whole time, you and Spike were alive and you've just been in hiddin'?" She shot up a quirked brow as her eyes narrowed. "We sure could've used you here after everythin' Sunset did."

The young alicorn sighed anew as she confessed. "Hiding was only part of it, Applejack. For a while I had to spend time recovering from serious injuries Sunset inflicted on me. And after that I had to wait and observe the portal, because I wasn't sure if I'd ever be able to go back after the three day time period was up," Then she asked her friend. "What exactly has Sunset done? I think it's safe to assume she's the ruler of Equestria, but what happened to the other princesses? And what about the Elements of Harmony?"

Applejack frowned and draped her hat across her chest. "Twilight, I don't know how to break this to you, but the princesses... Celestia and Luna at least... Sunset turned 'em to stone."

Twilight's eyes widened as she stumbled back in disbelief! "What?! Impossible!"

"Saw it with my own two eyes, and so did all our friends I'm afraid," Applejack went on explaining. "She only wanted to turn Celestia to stone, but Luna ended up jumpin' in and got the same fate. Afterwards, the Elements of Harmony all turned to stone in front of Sunset and became useless. She then told the five of us to serve as her eyes and ears, makin' sure we told everypony not to rebel against her unless they wanted to be thrown in the dungeons, or even banished to the moon or the sun."

"So there's no royal sisters, no Elements of Harmony, and Sunset's a tyrannical ruler who thinks we're dead," Spike concluded. "And our friends do too."

"Not for much longer!" Twilight firmly concluded. "Sunset's reign is going to come to an early end! Once the rest of our friends know we're still alive, Spike, we're going on a trip to the Canterlot Archives. We'll need to figure out some way to bring down Sunset Shimmer. Once we have my crown we can work on restoring the Elements of Harmony. And while we're at it we can try to find something that can undo a stone statue spell. Then we'll make Sunset tell us where she put Celestia and Luna."

Spike gulped. "And you think she'll just let us do all of that?"

"Of course not, Spike," Twilight shook her head in reply. "But we didn't thwart her plans in that other world because we backed down from a challenge. We stood up to her once and we'll do it again. And this time I will be ready for her! No way am I getting burned again."

Author's Note:

For those wondering, the crown's magic refused to grant Sunset lethal force against Twilight since it was powered by the element of magic. But to quote The Genie from Aladdin: Return of Jafar "You'd be surprised what you can live through."

Comments

[Melody Song]

Very interesting start, I'm looking forward to seeing where this goes

[Sollys]

Uh ohhhh

[Pete100]

How come they’ve never tried to rip the crown off her head?