Chapter 63: A Horn in My Side
Sunset was admittedly still unsure on how to proceed, but knew that Lily most likely had to say something in regards to what truly happened back at The Tasty Treat. In fact, it almost looked like Lily wanted to confess herself, as being taken away from her mother would seemingly outweigh any other supposed punishment. Still, this was under the assumption that it was truly Lily herself who had stolen Applejack's necklace, and not that orange pegasus. It admittedly didn't seem like a coincidence to Sunset that both AJ and Fluttershy had supposedly been robbed around the same times Lily had been to their homes. Regardless of what really happened, Sunset knew she needed to report the ringleader behind this whole crime spree. But before Sunset could even begin her explanation, Twilight then recalled a suspect, purely from her description.
"As a reminder, everyone?" Twilight added on. "There's supposedly been an orange pegasus mare with blonde hair, purple eyes, and green eyeshadow, who's another suspect. Does a pony with those characteristics sound remotely familiar to any of you?"
As everyone in the room was contemplating where they had seen such a pony who fit this exact description, Applejack suddenly realized something crucial the night before.
"Wait just a darn minute..." Applejack began reflecting. "A pegasus with orange fur, blonde hair, purple eyes, and green eyeshadow? That... sounds just like the pony who came by Sweet Apple Acres to pick Lily up. She claimed that she was Lily's new foster mother, and showed me paperwork to prove it. I also noticed Lily followin' her without any hesitation, so I presumed they must've known each other. And that pony... might've been a suspect?"
"Oh?" Spike jumped into the conversation. "So this Lily in question... is that filly Flash just found?"
"That's right." Applejack nodded. "But now I'm skeptical in realizin' the pony who picked her up matches the description of this supposed suspect Twilight had just mentioned."
"...Lily?" Fluttershy spoke up, now thinking that things weren't adding up. "You never mentioned anything about a foster mother when you were staying at my cottage, and I just realized. Some of my things around my home had mysteriously vanished the same day you were staying over. That included my bits, as well as jewelry from my parents. Not to mention, I've also been unsure where my bunny, Angel has run off to. He hadn't touched his dinner bowl at all, despite me making him his favorite entrée."
"Come to think of it, didn't AJ tell us that the necklace also vanished around the same time Lily was staying at Sweet Apple Acres?" Pinkie recalled.
"That... doesn't seem like a coincidence then." Rarity turned to Lily, rather mystified. "But since Lily was staying over at both of your homes, perhaps she saw somepony who had stolen everything, like this orange pegasus we've been speculating?"
"I... I'm so sorry!" Lily began breaking down in tears. "It wasn't any orange pegasus, it was me! I stole Applejack's necklace, and the items from Fluttershy's cottage! Not to mention, I also stole her pet bunny too."
Everypony in the room gasped upon hearing this, but it was primarily Fluttershy and Applejack who became the most confused upon hearing this supposed confession.
"H-How could you do this!?" Fluttershy said with shock. "I would've been fine with you taking my food, bits, and even jewelry if you really needed them. But bunnynapping Angel?"
"Say it ain't so, Sugarcube!" Applejack added with disbelief. "I treated ya' like one of my own, and it turns out after all that, you were the one who took the necklace?"
"I... I know, but you see..." Lily began attempting to explain herself, though her primary intention was hoping she could make up a convincing story to forcibly separate her from her mother.
"Well, little filly?" Twilight said with disappointment. "We're willing to be fair here, so please. Care to explain yourself?"
By this point, Lily contemplated reporting how her mother had forced her to steal, but kept thinking to herself that it was truly a bad idea, especially if nopony were to believe her. Lily didn't want to shift the blame onto Sunset either, especially after how kindly the unicorn had been treating her. However, if she confessed and took full blame for these crimes, she believed that the authorities would take her into custody, and at least away from her mother. By this point, being separated from her mother sounded like a dream come true compared to whatever punishment she herself would end up getting for being a thief, and Lily began leaning more toward this idea.
"I..." Lily began, attempting to paint herself as the one guilty here. "Okay, there's no excuses here, I took the necklace and items because I really needed the money for food! I'm completely guilty here! I'm willing to face the music."
"I just can't understand this." Fluttershy said, still exasperated at this seemingly shocking revelation. "I specifically said that I'd let you stay as long as you need, so you wouldn't have had to worry about starving! How could you still go as far as to steal from us?"
"We can't even trust fillies these days, it seems." Applejack sighed. "Remember Cozy Glow, after all?"
"Well unlike Cozy Glow, I wouldn't really go that far in punishing somepony for theft like this." Twilight began. "However, since you stole from members of the council of friendship, it may actually sway my decision to send you to the Canterlot Dungeon for now, until I'm able to speak with your foster mother. Do you have her contact information? If not, I'm going to have to head over to the adoption centers and report this incident."
Lily shook her head 'no', as she didn't have any knowledge of how to get in touch with her mother. This already made Twilight's decision seem rather easy to make, as no one in the room would have any reason to doubt the filly's confession and claims. Well, everyone, all except for Sunset. The unicorn had already witnessed Lily's supposed mother, and all the horrendous abuse the orange pegasus had put her through.
"Alright, then I guess we'll go with Option A, unless of course, Sunset says otherwise." Twilight announced, before turning to the unicorn. "Sunset, since you mentioned that you knew who the real culprit was, and we have reasons to trust you on matters as serious as this, we'll all need you to finish what you were saying. Was this filly here the one who planted Applejack's necklace into your saddlebag?"
Sunset felt that she had to be honest here, especially after everything she had seen back at The Tasty Treat. It seemed absolutely clear that even if Lily supposedly planted the necklace into her saddlebag, somepony in particular must've forced her to do so, especially since the necklace had randomly disappeared from the orange pegasus, and she had attempted to play it off. But just as Sunset was about to spill the beans, she saw Lily attempting to shake her head 'no', signaling that it'd be a huge mistake to mention the real culprit. Despite this, Sunset knew that she had no choice, and she wasn't about to let the poor filly continue living out this life, where her screams of misery would never be heard.
"As far as I'm aware, there may be a possibility that she did do it." Sunset began, but continued explaining further. "But even if she did, I just KNOW that she wouldn't have done this by choice."
"Why would that be?" Pinkie questioned. "I mean, if I was tempted to eat a wedding cake, knew it was important to somepony else, but ended up taking a bite of it before the actual event, I'd say that's very much still my choice. Err... not that I've done anything like that before."
"Wait a second..." Starlight began recalling an incident that happened a while back. "Double Diamond mentioned that her sister was having a wedding a few months ago, but somepony took a bite out of the cake before the reception. Pinkie... are you trying to tell us something?"
"...Okay, it was me, I confess!" Pinkie shrieked. "I'm just as guilty here!"
"Girls, let's not get sidetracked, we have to settle this now." Twilight insisted. "So, Sunset? According to your claim, does that mean somepony else forced Lily to plant the necklace on you? If that's the case, would you mind explaining who you believe the real culprit is? It wouldn't by any chance be this orange pegasus we mentioned earlier, would it?"
"Alright, Twilight." Sunset began reporting her experience. "Let's just say that while I was working at The Tasty Treat earlier, I somehow encountered a pegasus who fit that exact description. In other words, Lily's foster mother, as we've been calling her. She was an orange pegasus, much like Indigo, but she also had blonde hair, purple eyes, and green eyeshadow."
"I'll admit, Indigo might as well have been a thief anyways, considering she stole my identity." Rainbow reflected. "As for this actual thief, yeah, I've been hearing rumors and reports of a pony like that."
"So you actually saw her?" Twilight questioned, trying to piece together the story. "Then I presume it was actually her, who was responsible for stealing and planting Applejack's necklace into your saddlebag, and that you managed to put her into custody?"
"Well... almost." Sunset sighed. "She had unfortunately managed to get away before I could even step in to stop her. Needless to say, she was a pretty awful pony, and it took a lot of willpower for me to not just outright smack her. Not to mention, I now realize that before she got away, Lily was trying to warn me regarding where the necklace was hidden."
"That's terrible!" Starlight exclaimed. "In that case, it sounds like this pegasus had been forcing Lily to steal from others, as well as attempting to frame you, Sunset! Well, at least we all know what the actual culprit looks like now, we'll just need to keep our eyes peeled in case she's still out there somewhere."
"Agreed, that's the only thing we can do now." Twilight said. "But since you actually saw her yourself, Sunset? Did you end up finding out who she truly was, or where she was headed off to?"
"Sadly, I didn't learn of her name, nor what happened to her." Sunset continued reporting her experience. "But long story short, she ended up escaping from The Tasty Treat before anypony was able to step in. As far as I'm aware, she was mostly there to have a quick breakfast with Lily, and I assure you. She was barely letting Lily eat anything at all."
"Well, although this pegasus had escaped, are you sure that she's the actual culprit, and not somepony else?" Rainbow began analyzing the situation. "My love of Daring Do books has taught me that the major suspect could always merely be a red herring."
"Trust me, Rainbow." Sunset insisted. "That orange pegasus had to have been the true culprit, especially since I've seen the way she had been treating Lily too. Aside from stealing and planting AJ's necklace, she had also been starving Lily, yelling at her, and being the exact opposite of a caring mother."
"If what you're saying is true, Sunset..." Twilight began making sense of everything. "That must also mean Lily could've been trying to take full blame to either protect her mother's identity, or willingly be taken away to the dungeon as a means of escaping her mother. Is this the case, young filly?"
Realizing that it was likely for the better, Lily decided it was finally time to cut the act, as everypony was smart enough to deduce everything thanks to Sunset. Lily nodded her head 'yes', which helped everypony come to terms with the idea that Lily was truly in danger.
"I'm still sorry for being a thief anyways..." Lily wimpered. "I know how valuable that necklace and bunny were to you both, and I didn't want to do it, but I knew mommy wouldn't have had it any other way. If only there was a way I could get your bunny back. Mommy mentioned she had sold him to a faraway town for some easy money."
"Well, Sunset's already given me my necklace back, so I have no reason to hold a grudge, Lily." Applejack assured. "Besides, knowin' the circumstances now, we just can't get mad at a lil' filly like yourself being forced to steal for your so-called mother."
"And as for Angel, well... I'll just be searching all over Equestria until I can find him again." Fluttershy considered. "It might take a while before I can reunite with him, but just know that I'm not mad anymore, after knowing what you've been through."
"Well, as bad as everything had looked for you, Lily?" Twilight began. "It's nice how Sunset here was able to help clear up this entire, tragic misunderstanding. But then, only one question remains. Where exactly is your mother right now?"
"I don't really know." Lily began confessing. "All I know was that after mommy took me away from this restaurant earlier, she stuffed me into one of the castle's closets and demanded I stay there. Along the way, she did mutter something about wanting to go on a little treasure hunt, but she didn't say what she was after. Please, that's all I know, I swear!"
"Hmm, well if she's here in the castle, then that means she couldn't have gone far at all." Sunset deduced. "But while I was searching for clues earlier regarding the Rainbow Dash imposter, I didn't find anything pointing to the orange pegasus being present around here, other than one of your barrettes, Lily."
"Not in the castle, I'm pretty certain that she went somewhere else." Lily affirmed.
"If that's the case, there's no telling what she could've stolen." Twilight said, rather concerned. "Even worse, the entire council of friendship has been bundled together in the main castle, meaning that none of us could've seen anything else suspicious going on outside. Flash, since you found Lily, did you happen to notice any suspicious activity outside the castle?"
"Negative, princess." Flash Sentry reported back. "That said, I did get a quick glimpse of an orange pegasus feather on the ground earlier, while I was trotting past the Canterlot Museum. It could've been anypony's, though."
"Well... alright." Twilight continued to keep hope that something disastrous hadn't occurred. "In the meantime, I suppose that as for Lily, just as I had suggested earlier, we could take her to the Canterlot Daycare to keep her away from her horrendously abusive mother."
"Yes, princess." Flash nodded. "Right away."
"Oh... I'm afraid I can't let you do that." A voice began on the other side of the room, as everyone swiftly turned around to witness who was speaking.
The voice sounded all too familiar to Sunset and Lily, but as for everyone else, they had never heard this particular pony before. As the door finally opened, they all witnessed an orange pegasus mare with blonde hair, purple eyes, green eyeshadow, and a saddlebag, presumably with stolen items. Everyone else's eyes narrowed upon seeing this pony, realizing that based on her matching the exact description, as well as refusing to let them take Lily away, this was the abusive mother and thief in question.
"That's her!" Sunset pointed her hoof, prompting everyone in the room to act quickly to ensure this awful pony couldn't escape.
Twilight used her magic to lock the door behind the pegasus, before both she and Flash stood in front of the opposite door, blocking her escape. Sunset, Starlight, and Rarity all readied their magic, preparing to blast the pegasus if she were to make a false move. Pinkie Pie began cornering the pegasus as she prepared her party cannon with Fluttershy by her side, whilst Applejack and Rainbow Dash used their immense strength to block off the remaining side doors. With everypony prepared for combat, Spike finally stood in front of Lily, and prepared his fire breath, much like the unicorns with their magic.
"So you're the thief that's been committing robberies all over Equestria, on top of forcing your daughter to steal from others!" Twilight addressed the pegasus standing before her. "You are an absolutely despicable, disgusting pony, you hear me!?"
"And you're completely surrounded now, so there's no use in trying to escape!" Rarity yelled.
"Simply surrender, and you'll simply be saving yourself the humilliation!" Rainbow announced.
"Take one step closer, and it'll be the last mistake you ever make!" Starlight threatened.
"We'll stuff you into this cannon and make you know exactly how a piñata feels at birthday parties!" Pinkie screeched.
"You'll be wishing for something more pleasant than what's coming to you, especially for stealing my sweet Angel!" Fluttershy screamed.
"Granny Smith will be wishin' an absolute burden upon you from beyond the grave!" Applejack said with genuine anger.
"You'll never bring anypony down ever again, you hear!?" Sunset said, now completely tempted to simply blast her magic at the pegasus without a single ounce of hesitation.
"My, my." The pegasus pretended to act afraid. "Whatever shall I do, it seems as if I've found myself between a rock and a hard place. How dare you all accuse some random pony you've never met before like this, and point a hoof without any proof."
"It's too late, you rotten pegasus!" Twilight raised her wings in hostility. "In case it wasn't already obvious, we already know of everything you've done, so there's no need for you to play dumb!"
"But I'm afraid that in this case, I'm already one step ahead of you all." The pegasus smirked. "In fact, I almost feel insulted that you would all believe I'd be this stupid in showing my face now! Let's just say, my treasure hunt was a complete success!"
"Well whatever you stole, it's in your best interest to hand it over, right now!" Twilight demanded. "Bring it out!"
"Fine then, as you wish." The pegasus agreed to the princess's demands, before taking the object out of her own saddlebag.
Everyone's eyes widened in shock upon seeing what the pegasus had stolen. It was a bell that stirred unpleasant memories for them all, especially when it somehow ended up in the possession of Lord Tirek, Queen Chrysalis, and Cozy Glow. The pegasus was now wielding the Bewitching Bell, an artifact that once belonged to the nefarious Grogar, which began glowing, and in one swift move, could very easily drain everyone's magic instantaneously. Sunset and Lily were the only ones who weren't aware of the bell's true power, but noticed that since everyone else suddenly approached with caution and lowered their guard, they'd do the same.
"Isn't that nice?" The pegasus grinned, evilly. "You didn't think I wasn't aware of what this bell could do, especially after I had read about it in the newspaper, did you?"
"You... you don't even know how to use the Bewitching Bell!" Spike tried to act brave."
"Oh no?" The pegasus felt like taking this statement as a challenge, before wielding the artifact and using it to absorb magic from the dragon, which managed to render his wings stiff, and unable to fly.
"MY WINGS!!!" Spike exclaimed in horror.
"I'd be more than happy to take all your magic right now if anypony else feels like stepping out of line." The pegasus said, coldly.
Seeing this, everyone else in the room simply nodded their heads and surrendered to the pegasus, knowing how she was now a genuine threat to them all. She was practically able to take all their magic and become omnipotent, much like Lord Tirek once did when he managed to escape Tartarus.
"Good." The pegasus smirked, before explaining herself. "I had mostly come to Canterlot in search of this mystical artifact, since I've been hearing of it's immense value at auctions! But it seems like I have an even better use for it now, seeing how I even have a princess at my mercy! Anyways, now that I'm in charge here, I think it's in your best interest to let me have exactly what I want!"
"W-What do you want, exactly?" Twilight asked, rather concerned.
"Well, I've already taken enough of Canterlot's riches at this point, so bits and jewelry don't really interest me anymore." The pegasus began making demands. "However, since I very much still like that Apple-studded red ruby necklace that farm pony is holding, I'll be taking that. Unless of course, you prefer I take away your magic, instead. One false move from anyone in this room, and all your magic will be mine, understood!?"
Everyone else apart from the pegasus had nodded in unison, as Applejack approached the pegasus and handed over her necklace, tearfully. She knew that Granny wouldn't have wanted this, but that her late grandmother also wouldn't have wanted AJ to endanger all her friends, including herself. The pegasus gladly took the necklace back, before also turning back to the one daughter she absolutely loved to use for her own personal gain.
"And of course, I'll gladly take my daughter back, too." The pegasus demanded, before pointing Lily to come back to her side.
As much as Lily had hesitated upon hearing this, she knew she had no other choice, when it came to protecting everypony else in the room, especially Sunset. As Spike moved out of Lily's way, the little filly lowered her head in shame and sadly trotted back over to her ruthless mother, as the pegasus simply smiled at the power this bell had suddenly given her. With both the necklace and her daughter back in her possession, the pegasus simply carried on, now that her treasure hunt in Canterlot was completed.
"Alright, that'll be all for now." The pegasus said, now satisfied. "You fools are lucky that I didn't simply drain your magic with this bell, even after you gave in to my demands. I could very easily still do so, but I'm in a good mood right now. Simply open the doors, and you'll never see Lily nor I ever again."
Not wanting to take any chances, Flash and Twilight complied with the pegasus's request, before opening the front doors and moving out of the way. The pegasus nonchalantly trotted out of the castle with Grogar's bell, Bright Mac's necklace, and Lily, whom she was inevitably going to abuse even worse, now that she had even greater power over her. As Lily and her mother had finally exited, Twilight then had an epiphany. The pegasus was simply using Lily and the council's meeting as a diversion, while she ransacked the museum and managed to get her hooves on Grogar's bell.
"This is all my fault." Twilight sighed. "If only I had sent some royal guards to keep watch on the rest of Canterlot, we could've prevented this. It was also a dumb decision to put Grogar's Bell on display at the Canterlot Museum, but it was mostly there to document what had happened when it fell into the wrong hooves. After the defeat of Tirek, Cozy Glow, and Chrysalis, I hadn't considered the possibility of anypony else stealing it, let alone using such an underhanded tactic to do so."
"Don't say that, Twilight." Sunset assured. "No one could've seen this coming, especially since that pegasus truly outsmarted us all."
"That may be, but it's my duty to protect my friends in even the toughest of times, especially since I'm now the princess of all of Equestria." Twilight continued moping. "I let that pegasus get away, rob us all, and even worse, allowed her to get away with Grogar's Bell. There's no telling what she'll end up doing with it now, or what will happen if she actually goes through with selling it to someone else. It's only been a few days since I've become the ruler of Equestria, and I've already let an imminent disaster occur..."
Twilight then grabbed the official crown given to her by both Celestia and Luna, and took it off of her head, before sighing.
"T-Twilight?" Sunset said, concerned. "What are you doing?"
"I'm such a terrible princess." Twilight sighed to herself, before throwing the crown on the floor. "I don't deserve to wear this crown..."
Everyone gasped upon seeing Twilight this heartbroken in defeat, but Sunset still stood strong. As terrible as the circumstances were, now that the pegasus had a seemingly dangerous artifact, Sunset continued to maintain positivity, believing that it still wasn't the end of the world. She herself was well familiar with numerous people in the human world possessing dangerous Equestrian artifacts from time to time, and felt that this would be no different. As such, she picked the crown off of the floor and placed it back onto Twilight's head, before also placing a hoof on the princess's shoulder.
"Twilight..." Sunset began talking to Twilight, hoof to heart. "You're anything but a terrible princess. If there's anything Princess Celestia taught me from her experience, it's that even princesses make mistakes. Plus, let's just say that while I was visiting her in Silver Shoals, another pony you've had some history with, she mentioned a thing or two about how you taught her the values of imperfection. Some librarian mare, I recall."
"Dusty Pages?" Twilight deduced. "Yeah, she even reminded me of how perfection is impossible to achieve, but I still can't help but feel like I failed. I wasn't able to protect my friends, thus allowing a dangerous pony to escape with a powerful artifact."
"But you did it for all your friends." Sunset assured. "You gave her exactly what she wanted, in the hopes that we'd all be out of harm's way. If you actually decided to risk everything and take that chance, we'd all be on the ground right now, weakened and drained of our magic. Knowing the circumstances, you weren't reckless and managed to approach the situation calmly, making certain that everypony's safety would be your number one priority, regardless of taking losses. That's exactly what a good princess would do."
"Sunset's got a point there." Starlight said with mutual agreement. "After all, even under Princess Celestia's rule, I don't think we could've accounted for the invasion of the Changeling kingdom, nor Cozy Glow's dastardly plans."
"Y-You're right." Twilight said, with a new ounce of hope. "I should at least be happy for the fact that we're all okay with our magic still intact. But I guess... it just didn't seem likely for Princess Celestia to allow disaster to strike this early, following her rule."
"I'm sure she's had plenty of incidents like this over the 1,000 years she's ruled Equestria." Sunset believed. "I know things look bad right now, but we haven't lost yet just because we're down. We only lose if we aren't able to get back up."
"I really like that line of thinking." Twilight said, now with her confidence back. "Thanks for having faith in me, Sunset."
"This is exactly what Princess Celestia would've wanted me to pass down to my friends all those years ago, so I'm happy to hear I've helped you regain your confidence." Sunset smiled. "Other than her getting away with that bell artifact, I'm also quite concerned with what will become of Lily. Just imagine, a pony like her mother becoming even more powerful than she already was."
"Oh no, you're quite right!" Rarity exclaimed with realization. "That poor little filly, if she's been forced to steal from others before, there's no telling what she'll be forced to do next! I could never imagine anypony treating my little sister like that, but if I ever did come across such a pony, they'd be begging for mercy."
"What will we do now, though?" Applejack questioned. "As far as I'm aware, we've now met a pony who's just as power-hungry as Tirek on the loose. We can't just sit around and do nothin', especially when a little filly's on the line."
"Maybe I should go stop her myself." Sunset said, determined. "I've met plenty of humans in the other world who've wielded magical artifacts, and I managed to stop them all before the damage they inflicted was permanent. It'll be worth a shot, and plus, this will be personal, especially after seeing everything she's done to all my friends."
"Sunset, no!" Spike insisted. "You saw what that bell did to my wings, there's no telling what'll happen to you if you go alone!"
"Spike's right." Twilight nodded. "It might be too dangerous, especially if she ends up absorbing your magic."
"Don't worry, I'm willing to risk anything for my friends, even if it means taking losses." Sunset stated, firmly. "If she somehow ends up overpowering me, so be it. I'll at least be happy for giving it my best shot, and that it won't come at the expense of anypony else. If we all go together, we might all end up losing our magic to her, and I'm not willing to let that happen."
"If you're really willing to take that chance for us all, you truly are the bravest pony here, Sunset." Twilight put a hoof on Sunset's shoulder, wishing her luck, as all her other friends did the same.
"Thanks, everypony." Sunset nodded, before getting ready to chase down that pegasus, guns blazing.
"But Sunset, before you go-" Twilight began, but realized she was too late, as Sunset had already teleported away. "...it'd be nice for us to at least come up with a plan first."
"Perhaps, but it's likely that by the time we came up with said plan, that orange pegasus might already be long gone." Flash surmised. "Either way, we all have to pray for Sunset's safety. She's just as brave as my father once was..."
As Sunset immediately remembered which direction the pegasus had trotted off to, she had already teleported to the far entrance of Canterlot, crossing her hooves that the thief and Lily hadn't already escaped. Since this teleportation spell had only sent Sunset through fairly short distance, it hadn't completely drained her magic, which allowed her to still it it combat, if needed. After teleporting, she found herself behind one of the Canterlot gate's front buildings, and heard Lily and her mother slowly approaching. The orange pegasus was having a supposed private conversation with her daughter, which Sunset began overhearing.
"And just remember now, Lily." The pegasus began instructing her daughter. "Do you remember what you had found in my other necklace last night? Well, you are not to mention it to your father under any circumstances! Because if you do, just know that you'll get to know the Bewitching Bell much more fondly. Have I made myself clear?"
"Y-Yes..." Lily wimpered.
"You should've honestly known better than to sneak into my bedroom and go through my belongings!" The pegasus snarled. "Luckily for you, I'm a very forgiving pony, especially now that I have an artifact that can let me get whatever I want."
"Okay, mommy." Lily nodded, rather intimidated. "Why is it so important, though?"
"You really think that I'm willing to explain that to you after you had betrayed my trust earlier at the restaurant?" The pegasus reminded. "Thankfully, I know that you'll keep quiet now, since you won't have a choice. Besides, very few know of what it's actually called, so without that knowledge, it's inconsequential, regardless. Just like how your father has yet to know of my birth name. But I'd be an absolute fool to tell him before our wedding."
The pegasus was slowly approaching the main gate at this point, but overhearing this had allowed Sunset to surmise it'd most likely be crucial to learn of this pony's name, especially since she had been hiding this from her husband. Judging from the earlier statement, inspecting this other necklace would most likely give Sunset a vital clue. Although aware that the pony before her was wielding an enchanted bell that could steal her magic instantaneously, Sunset didn't really care. Stopping this pony at all costs would've been for the greater good, for her friends, Lily, and especially all of Equestria. As the pegasus began coming around the corner, Sunset instantly tackled her to the ground, thus making her lose her grip on the Bewitching Bell, as well as her saddlebag.
"What the-!?" The pegasus attempted to connect, before falling over and becoming dazed temporarily.
Lily's eyes widened in surprise at this, but she was internally happy that Sunset appeared to be coming to her rescue once more. Now a fair distance away from her mother, Lily left her side and immediately trotted over to Sunset, feeling protected. As the pegasus was attempting to get up from the sudden attack, Sunset immediately grabbed the bell, before also going over to the thief's saddlebag, and trying to understand if this custom necklace could give her a clue of the pony's actual name. Since the bag's contents were all scattered on the ground, it was the perfect opportunity to get a good look at this necklace.
Besides Applejack's necklace, there was only one other, which sat nearby plethora of scattered bits. The central piece appeared to actually be a locket, unlike the apple-shaped necklace, which was simply a pendant with a gem in the center. Upon further inspection, Sunset opened up this locket, and noticed what looked like a black gemstone on the inside, which had a seemingly mysterious glow. Unsure of what this gemstone truly was, Sunset closed the locket, before getting a better look at the shape of it. It was at this point, Sunset noticed the locket itself was shaped like a chestnut, which finally allowed her to remember the name of this pegasus thief's human counterpart.
"Ugh... you again!?" The pegasus snapped, before also growling in rage at seeing Sunset holding her bell and locket.
"I know who you are now!" Sunset frowned, as she believed she finally had the upper hand. "You're Chestnut Magnifico!"
Chestnut's eyes widened at this, rather taken back at this seeming stranger somehow knowing her name.
"W-What did you just say!?" Chestnut said, exasperated. "How do you know that name!?"
"That's not really important to know now, is it?" Sunset asked, rhetorically. "Now then, since I have the Bewitching Bell, it's my turn to give orders! You're going to march right back to Princess Twilight and turn yourself in, as well as giving back everything you've stolen! You'll also be letting me know who your husband is, so I can tell him all about you, especially with how you've been treating Lily!"
"Hmph." Chestnut rolled her eyes. "And if I refuse?"
"Then I'm going to drain you of your magic, and leave you in a weakened state until Princess Twilight arrives!" Sunset threatened, as she held up the Bewitching Bell.
"Haha!" Chestnut laughed. "You really that much of an unintelligent cottage crawler, huh? That so-called Bewitching Bell you have right now is merely a flimflam! A fake! I can't believe you'd think I would be dumb enough to carry around the real one casually, in a city surrounded by royal guards! To be honest, the only thing that took me by surprise was how you somehow know of my real name, but that is of little importance now!"
"You... you're bluffing!" Sunset believed, as she attempted to use the Bewitching Bell to absorb Chestnut's magic, but to no avail.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk." Chestnut shook her head, disapprovingly. "It's become rather obvious to me now that you clearly can't handle the truth."
"Well if this is fake, then where's the real one!?" Sunset demanded to know, as she tossed the fake bell to the side.
"Like I would ever tell you!" Chestnut spat. "But enough of this prattle, you've wasted enough of my time today! Now give me back my saddlebag right now, if you know what's best for you!"
"Fake artifact or not, you're going to have to take it from me!" Sunset growled, as she was finally ready to show this pegasus just how mean she herself could really get.
Sunset began using her magic to blast Chestnut relentlessly, but it seemed rather useless. No matter how many shots she made, similar to a machine gun, her target kept moving swiftly to avoid contact, and it felt like Sunset wasn't making much progress at all. This was especially noticeable with how Chestnut managed to move around and occasionally yawn, hinting that she was practically doing this in her sleep, whilst Sunset was focusing all her energy on this one task, continuously getting more exhausted by the second.
"Are you finished yet?" Chestnut teased, as she took a moment to comb her mane. "I have a hooficure appointment soon too, so I'd very much appreciate you hurrying up."
"Give it up, already!" Sunset panted. "After everything you've done, there's no way I'm going to let you get away with this! I can stay here all day if I need to!"
"My, my." Chestnut sneered. "You certainly have quite the skills with your little unicorn magic. I wonder how it would benefit me, if it was on my side instead?"
"Yeah, right." Sunset readied her horn, ready to blast magic at the awful pegasus again, if she were to refuse cooperation. "No more of these games, you go right back to Princess Twilight and turn yourself in, unless you want me to ruin your makeup!"
"Hmm..." Chestnut began pretending to think, before coming out with the obvious answer. "No thanks."
"Alright, if I can't persuade you to turn yourself in by brute force, maybe I can convince you otherwise with your precious necklace!" Sunset snapped in frustration, before holding up Bright Mac's necklace, and pointing her horn at it.
"Yeah, right." Chestnut sneered, as she simply stared at this proposition. "I've seen how much of a goody-horsehoes you were to my daughter. You might as well also tell me that chestnuts grow on apple trees!"
"I MEAN IT!" Sunset screeched, as she began starting to magic up in her horn. "You won't have this valuable necklace anymore, and I could very easily end its existence in less than a second!"
Lily looked absolutely shocked at this, but Chestnut simply watched on without even blinking, believing that Sunset was merely toying with her.
"Oh yeah?" Chestnut said, rather amused. "I dare you, then. Go right on ahead and entertain me."
Sunset then looked back at Lily, with the magic already built up in her horn, and ready to pull the trigger. As Chestnut stared on with an evil and confident grin on her face, Sunset looked at Lily for a second. The filly's expression conveyed that even if Sunset destroyed the necklace, her mother still wouldn't budge. But even without this, Sunset knew internally that Chestnut was absolutely correct, in the sense that she herself could never have the heart to willingly destroy this necklace, which Applejack truly cherished and valued. She remembered once again specifically stating back at the first CHS Fall Formal that she wasn't a monster, and she intended to stay true to that belief.
As it looked like Chestnut was truly calling Sunset's bluff on attempting to destroy the necklace at all, she would soon see her hunch being correct. After a few more moments of this rather convincing act, Sunset simply closed her eyes, lowered her head in shame, and stopped her horn's magic in an instant. She then released the apple necklace, setting it down for the time being. Lily felt relieved at this, as she knew internally, it didn't seem like Sunset to do something as far as destroying one of her friend's most prized possessions. But regardless, no longer having any leverage on Chestnut as a means of convincing her to turn herself in, Sunset practically felt like giving up at this point.
"Haha, I knew you couldn't do it!" Chestnut simply laughed on, knowing that she practically had nothing to lose whatsoever. "Lily! You come back to mommy right now, OR ELSE!"
Lily's eyes widened upon hearing this, as she instinctively came back to her mother's side, leaving Sunset with only Chestnut's saddlebag in her grip.
"Alright, well..." Sunset began panting in emotional frustration. "If you don't turn yourself in right now, you'll never see this saddlebag ever again!"
"You really still think you have the power to order me around?" Chestnut growled, before trotting over to the fake bell Sunset had thrown earlier, and picking it up. "Put it this way, I do not take orders from uneducated ponies like yourself, who would even fall for such a ruse as there being a fake bell!"
As Chestnut picked up the supposed 'fake' Bewitching Bell, she activated a lever on the inside of it, which caused it to power back up again. Sunset's eyes widened at this, knowing that she messed up, big time, for not considering the possibility of the artifact being turned off. It turns out that this fake bell was actually the real deal all along, and it unfortunately fell back into the possession of the nefarious Chestnut Magnifico, who now had Sunset at her mercy, once again. As Chestnut believed that Sunset was nothing more than an annoying mosquito, and she had already warned her of what would happen if she stepped out of line, she finally pointed the artifact at the unicorn, as Sunset attempted to teleport away.
But before Sunset even had a chance to react, Chestnut Magnifico had already started to use the Bewitching Bell to absorb Sunset's magic, and this went beyond what she was expecting. Instead of simply draining the unicorn of her magic, it had also created a more damaging effect, whilst acting in favor of the rotten pegasus. This experience appeared to be quite similar to the memory stone incident, when the human Wallflower absorbed Sunset's own memories, before leaving her in a weakened state. Sunset collapsed to the ground almost instantaneously, feeling like she couldn't control her magic anymore, or for that matter, her horn. It took a few moments for her to get up and regain consciousness, before realizing that something felt incredibly wrong.
"Thanks a bunch for the horn, this was such a nice donation!" Chestnut grinned evilly.
Sunset quickly felt the top of her head with her hooves, staring in horror at how her own horn had vanished. She was essentially now an Earth pony, while the awful pegasus before her had become an alicorn with wings and a horn. What kind of sick sorcery had that bell performed on her, and was there even a way to get her horn back now? Regardless of the circumstances, Sunset felt she truly had no choice at this point but to back down, as losing her horn had practically rendered her defenseless. The loss of her magic had also weakened her physical strength, making it so Sunset barely even made it a couple of inches from where she stood, before collapsing once again in defeat.
"You... monster!" Sunset gave her final breath to address the evil and power hungry pegasus.
"Awww, was that supposed to coarse through my heart?" Chestnut said, sarcastically, as her heart was practically made of stone. "That actually hurt my feelings, I hope you feel proud of yourself! Thankfully for you, your debt has been repaid thanks to this boost of magic you've decided to kindly give up for me."
"We'll... still manage to stop you!" Sunset continued to stay determined.
"Don't be so sure about that!" Chestnut smirked. "Especially since I took my sweet time in pillaging all sorts of other magical artifacts from the Canterlot Museum! I just hid them in this bell, since it makes it a lot easier to carry around! Plus, just look at me, now! I have magic, and you have nothing!"
Hearing that last statement reminded Sunset again of the CHS Fall Formal, where her demon-self had said the exact same words to Princess Twilight. But unlike Twilight, who immediately had her new human friends back her up in combat, Sunset was all alone, making it so that particular statement was unfortunately true. Chestnut Magnifico practically had enough power to conquer lands, much like Lord Tirek had sought out to do himself. Although Lily was Sunset's only friend in this current scene, she was unfortunately way too afraid of her mother to step in, especially now that her mother had alicorn magic and the Bewitching Bell.
"Alright, now that this pesky unicorn is out of our manes, we might as well get started on a little shopping spree, where we'll get a plethora of 100% discounts!" Chestnut said, rather satisfied, before going over to Sunset and taking her own saddlebag back. "Let's go right now, Lily! Cause you already know now what happens otherwise."
Lily nodded sadly and did exactly as she was told, though she couldn't believe internally that her own mother was about to willingly let Sunset harm her. The little filly wasn't upset with Sunset at all over that earlier incident, since she knew that deep down, Sunset was only doing anything she could to protect her, which entailed sending her mother into the custody of Canterlot. Regardless, Chestnut proved to outwit Sunset in a plethora of ways during their confrontation, which had unfortunately allowed the pegasus to get away with everything. The Bewitching Bell, the artifacts, Applejack's inherited necklace, Lily Pad, and now Sunset's horn too.
However, Sunset's belief that she was truly all alone was anything but the truth, as before slowly falling unconscious from exhaustion, she could very vaguely make it two ponies coming up to her. Despite this, it didn't make Sunset feel any better, knowing that she had more or less failed her mission in defeating Chestnut Magnifico and getting her put into custody. By this point, Sunset didn't recall too much about the human Chestnut, other than the fact she was initially a hotheaded diva, but was shown to be more kind and level-headed later during that Daring Do film's production. This Chestnut on the other hand, much like Madame Cinch, proved to be much meaner than their human counterparts, at least according to Sunset. This was the main thing that occupied her mind before blacking out, as the two ponies finally ran up to her, rather concerned.
"Oh no, it looks like we're too late!" Twilight exclaimed in horror, seeing that Sunset was not only unconscious, but that her horn was gone too. "I knew we should've come up with a solid plan first..."
"It looks like that pegasus managed to use the Bewitching Bell to steal not only her magic, but her horn too!" Flash observed. "Sunset, you gave it your best shot, and that's all that matters now. Dad would be proud of your sacrifice."
"I'm sure Sentinel Sentry would, if he was with us now." Twilight nodded in agreement. "Flash, we must get Sunset some medical attention, and bring her back to the Canterlot infirmary as quickly as possible!"
"Affirmative, princess!" Flash nodded, before picking Sunset up with his hooves and carrying the unconscious unicorn to the designated building.
With Chestnut Magnifico now on the loose, there was just no telling what the dastardly pegasus was planning to do with her newfound magic, nor the predicaments Lily would find herself in, now that her mother was even more powerful than she already was. Although still completely unconscious and carried away to receive medical treatment, one thought kept on lingering on in Sunset's consciousness. Who exactly was Chestnut's husband, who was also supposedly the father of Lily? It would most certainly come as a major shock to her when she would inevitably find out in due time...
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Oh no….
This is VERY bad....
Sunset... oh no!
If her Human friends find out about this, they'll move Heaven and Earth to help her out!
Oh my gosh! Sunset, no! This is bad, this is bad, this is bad, THIS IS BAD!! 😱
I should've known that blonde, orange pony was Chestnut Magnifico! 🤯
That evil, twisted, no-good...
I wonder how Sunspot will react, knowing his new girlfriend/wife is so evil and twisted, and that she hurt his daughter even though he practically disowned her?
What an evil psychopath. I hope everything she stole is taken from her and she's put behind bars for good.
No one does this to Sunset and gets away with it! That pony is SO GOING TO PAAAAAAYYYYY!!!! And please let me know of any future updates.
Not surprised one bit.
Huh, I actually thought she did it because her mother forced her. Guess not.
Exactly what I was thinking.
Very suspicious.
brave.*
Sunset's right, no one saw it coming.
still it in combat,*
I'm pretty sure the second it was supposed to be in over it.
I beg to differ!
I hope Chesnut knows who's she's dealing with, things can get real bad when you mess with Sunset!
goody-horseshoes*
Welp, she's screwed!
Oh no!!!
Whoever it is, I hope it's not a bad pony.
I think Chestnut messed with the wrong Friend and Official Daughter of a princess
Wait until Celestia finds out what has happened to her little Sun daughter
>:3