> Dual Elements: Bearers
>  by RainEStar
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> Prologue
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	A Beginner's Guide to Equestria
Chapter 2: A History of the Four Nations

For hundreds of years, four nations have lived together in harmony in a land called Equestria.

The first of these is the Earth Kingdom. True to its name, over four-fifths of its inhabitants are Earth Ponies. Being the largest nation in both size and population, the Earth Kingdom is responsible for the majority of Equestria’s food, timber, stone, and similar materials. The Earth Kingdom is situated on a large landmass that stretches from east to central Equestria.

The second nation is the Fire Empire. The empire is situated on a cluster of islands in the western part of Equestria. This nation was primarily inhabited by Unicorns and Pegasi, and holds the lead for the most industrialized nation. The empire primarily export technology, weapons, and on occasion, soldiers.

The third nation of Equestria is more of a community than a real nation. The ponies are called the Air Nomads, and are almost exclusively pegasi. They are by far the smallest nation, and occupy four small islands situated on the four compass points of Equestria. The nomads spend most of their time in meditation and low-intensity pursuits such as gardening. Since the Air Nomads are a primarily self-sustaining community, few outsiders know much about them.

The final Equestrian nation is comprised of two halves; they are the Northern and Southern Water Tribes. While both nations share a unicorn majority and pegasi minority, they hold entirely separate ways of life. The Northern Water Tribe is full of intellectuals and scholars, and pride themselves with the largest collection of books in all of Equestria. The ponies of the Southern Water Tribe, on the other hoof, spend their time domesticated animals and training to be warriors. Despite their different cultures, the two Tribes treat each other like sisters.

At this point, you might be wondering why the four nations were named as they are. Well here’s your answer:

Bending.

I'm not talking about bending twigs or your spine. I'm talking about bending elements of nature. Of these there are four: air, water, earth, and fire. Each nation has one type of bending that has been passed down through the generations. As you probably can deduce, the type of bending is directly related to the name of said nation. The Fire Empire is known for its firebenders, the Air Nomads are known for their airbenders, etc.

Now, the ability to control a part of nature might sound like a dream come true. However, that ability can serve as both a blessing and a curse.

Let’s start with the benefits. For pegasi, airbending can give them the ability to reach speeds beyond most of their kind, even to the point of creating sonic booms; waterbending would allow them to manipulate clouds with immaculate control, making weather control a breeze. Similarly, an earth pony with earthbending would be able to shatter boulder twenty times their size with ease. A unicorn with telekinesis and waterbending would be able to create pristine ice statues.

Now there is one problem with having bending. As I have explained in the previous chapter, each race of pony has their own type of innate magic. The amount of said magic is determined at birth, and although it can be exercised to its full potential, there is no way to safely increase the amount of magic a pony’s body. When a pony is a bender, their bending replaces some of their innate magic. Bending can be exercised to replace a large amount of the magic specific to a pony’s race, but cannot replace all of it.

Despite this limit, replacing any substantial amount of a pony’s magic with an element still can have ill effects. Imagine how difficult a life a pegasi would have if he became a powerful earthbender? The three main jobs for pegasi include: delivery service, weather control, and military. A pegasi that would feel most at home on the ground would have trouble performing the tasks expected for one of their kind.

For another example, imagine earth pony becoming a talented firebender. Earth ponies are valued for their ability to perform heavy labor and grow crops. Being able to firebend would be counterproductive for farming, and would only prove useful for demolition crews or becoming some kind of performer.

Not only is bending important in determining careers, but also can bar ponies from achieving certain positions. Here are two examples:

By tradition, the Fire Empire can only be ruled by firebenders. So if one of the royal family lacks the ability to firebend, then they immediately lose rights to the throne. It doesn’t matter if they are non-benders or simply bend another element; if they can’t bend fire, they can’t rule. Hence, most Fire Emperors tend to marry other firebenders of notable family lines.

Some of the most prestigious advanced schools of magic only accept non-benders into the ranks. This especially common in Northern Water Tribe universities, who find waterbending to be only a creative pursuit for unicorns. These schools only want students who can use their magical abilities to the fullest, and they find that being a bender hampers a student’s magical potential.

Sunset Shimmer sighed as she put down her quill. After wiping a stray lock of her mane out of her eyes, she quickly scanned over what she had written. “Ponyfeathers!” she exclaimed in frustration. “I was only supposed to write about history in this chapter! Instead I went from history to bending and magical theory, all in the same chapter! That’s not what I wanted!” A teal-colored aura surrounded the parchment as she bunched it up and tossed it aside. “I can’t keep messing this up! I need perfection!”

The crumpled piece of paper landed on the cold stone floor a mere couple of hoof-lengths from the plush stool the orange unicorn sat on. Sunset’s front hooves were resting on the edge of her large, yellow desk that was decorated by red suns. An assortment of inkwells containing varying levels of ink were scattered erratically around the desk. A pile of clean, high-quality parchments rested in a neat stack where the desk met the wall, while the sheets’ utilized brethren lay crumpled and scattered across the room.

The room Sunset Shimmer was currently sitting in was fit for royalty, if you ignored the mess, of course. This was only fitting, since it was one of the palace’s best bedrooms. The young mare’s bed had many more pillows than nightly occupants. The sheets and drapes of her bed were made of the finest silk. Even the stone the castle was made of was of the highest quality granite, grown on rock farms in the Earth Kingdom, and sealed together by the most professional of earthbenders so no ugly mortar was needed.

Aside from the high quality of materials, the room was also richly colored and designed. Yellow and orange were the dominating colors, as indicated by the yellow bedspread, orange drapes, and yellow desk. However, the color red was frequently used for finishing and trimmings.

As indicated by her cutie mark of a red and yellow sun, Sunset Shimmer was obsessed with the sun. As such, patterns and designs of suns and sunlight were incorporated into almost every part of the room. Even the stone floor was engraved with images of her cutie mark, carved by the most talented masons.

A pair of glass doors on one side of her room led to a large balcony that gave an excellent view of the nearby coast. Having her room in a tower allowed Sunset to have multiple large windows on all sides of her room, which was currently letting in the fading remnants of moonlight. Bookcases filled with scrolls and large volumes lined every bit of available wall space from the floor to the nearest window. A crystal chandelier hung down from the high ceiling, filling the room with soft candlelight.

Despite the elegance of her room, Sunset Shimmer did not spend much time admiring its beauty. Having lived in the palace for the past several years of her life had nullified her initial awe. Now, the only thing that had her attention was the blank sheet of paper that was seated in front of her. The unicorn mare stared at the piece of parchment as she levitated the freshly dipped quill over it. All throughout the night she had been working on this chapter, and she had promised herself since sundown that she wouldn’t rest until she had finally gotten it right.

Sunset let the quill drop onto the parchment, which sent a small spray of ink across it. She groaned as she slammed her face into the edge her desk. She could tell that it was nearly dawn by the light that streamed through the windows. Which meant she had spent the entire night up, again.

“Why in Equestria does Celestia want to me to write this pointless book!” she growled as she once again banged her head on the edge of her desk. “There’s plenty of books detailing Equestria’s advanced society and rich history! But no… she wants me to summarize everything into a book a simple filly could understand! The foals of nobles will be taught all of this anyway, and it’s not like peasant folk would actually need to know any of this! This entire project is pointless and an entire waste of my talents! The second Celestia shows her face I’m going to march right up to her and say-”

“Ahem,” a polite cough interrupted her.

Sunset’s face flushed with shame as she slowly turned around. The doors to the balcony were wide open, and her mentor was standing in the entryway in her full royal attire. The white alicorn was looking at her pupil with disapproval, prompting the unicorn to train her eyes to her mentor’s hooves.  “Uh... h-hello, Celestia,” Sunset Shimmer stammered. “I w-was just, um, a little tired. I mean I am a little tired, and being tired makes me say things I don’t really mean and please don’t hate me and I’ll head straight to bed so I can get back to work-”

“Actually, Sunset, I have another assignment for you,” Celestia interrupted.

Sunset Shimmer kept her eyes trained to the ground as she waited for her anticipated punishment. I don’t mind being punished, but please, don’t ask me to go make friends with the peasants again! she mentally begged. I’d gladly write needless books than go make “friends” with such worthless ponies.

“Sunset Shimmer!” Celestia said sternly as she lightly stomped her hoof on the floor. “Look at me.”

Sunset slowly her raised her eyes to meet Celestia’s stern gaze. After another moment or two, Celestia continued. “I am not here to punish you.”

A wave of relief passed through Sunset’s entire body at the news. It was then that she actually paid close attention to her mentor’s appearance. Sunset noticed a strain in her mentor’s facial expression. Celestia’s eyes were stern--not with disapproval--but with concern. Her lips were locked in a thin line with no hint of her usual polite smile. Even the alicorn’s stance lacked its normal state of ease. Instead, Celestia was standing like she couldn’t decide whether to run or stand her ground.

As Sunset Shimmer took in her mentor’s appearance, her eyes were slowly drawn to the plain leather saddlebag on Celestia’s side. “Celestia, are you going on a trip?” Sunset asked hesitantly.

Celestia shook her head. “Actually, it is you will be leaving,” she replied. Then she paused to scrutinize her student’s appearance. “You spent the entire night up again didn’t you?” she said exasperation. “Of all the worst times… I told you that you needed to break that habit.”

Sunset winced at the accusation in her mentor’s tone. “You did say you wanted me to finish the book as soon as possible,” she meekly said in her defense.

“I said I knew you could get it done quickly, but I also told you to take as much time as you needed,” Celestia reminded her. The alicorn shook her head. “No matter. What’s done is done. What I’m giving you now is an assignment of utmost importance.”

Sunset’s eyes gleamed with pride. “I gladly accept whatever task you have deemed me worthy to receive!” the young mare declared.

Naturally, Celestia would smile or giggle at her student’s antics, but this time she merely tossed her saddlebag to Sunset without the slightest change in her expression. “I need you take a trip using a very important and rarely known spell. Head to the Starswirl the Bearded section and take out the scroll at the top of the bag. Use it immediately and do not stop the spellcasting process unless I, myself, order you to. Understood?”

“Yes!” Sunset replied enthusiastically. “Though, if I might ask-”

“There is no time!” Celestia barked as she glanced outside the window. She turned back to see her student’s shell-shocked expression. “I am truly sorry, Sunset,” Celestia said remorsefully. “But I cannot help you anymore. Everything else will be made clear to you in time. Now, make haste. Equestria is counting on you.”

Without offering further explanation, Celestia galloped back onto the balcony and flew off into the night sky. “Well, it seems she’s in a rush to lower the sun,” Sunset grumbled as she looked at her mentor’s retreating figure. “And what did she mean, Equestria is counting on me? There’s no way any spell I could perform could make a difference in Equestria. Maybe if I invented a new spell, sure, but performing spells isn’t that mind-blowing.”

Then Sunset noticed that Celestia was not heading to the tower where she and Luna ceremonially performed their duties. Instead, she was going to one of the few sections of the castle Sunset was not welcome in. “Why is she going to Luna’s sector of the castle?” Sunset wondered aloud. She briefly considered following her mentor to find answers, but Celestia had given her an important assignment, and it would look bad on her if she ditched it for curiosity’s sake.

Sunset slowly trotted to Starswirl the Bearded’s restricted section of the library, deep in thought about her mentor’s strange actions. “I may be tired, but I’m certain that something major was bothering her,” she said to herself as she made her way down the stone corridors. “Why would she want me to travel somewhere? Why would I need to use a spell to travel? What does Luna have to do this? I wonder if one of the nations is trying to declare on another? Maybe I need to track down a secret weapon and give it to the princesses before it falls in the wrong hooves!”

“Weapon?”

Sunset paused in midstep. She had almost missed the Starswirl the Bearded Wing, but the guard’s question had caught her attention at the last moment. The pegasus stallion was dressed in the traditional black and dark blue of Luna’s night guard, and look he was giving Sunset made her skin crawl. “Uh… nothing,” she lied. She cleared her throat and announced, “I need to enter the Starswirl the Bearded Wing.”

The guard grunted in response as he unceremoniously unlocked the door and stepped aside to allow the mare to pass. The two ponies shared no exchange even as the guard closed and locked the door behind Sunset Shimmer.

Sunset paused for a moment as her eyes adjusted to the minuscule amount of lighting in the room. A few candles were lit along the walls, but for the most part the place was dark. Scowling, Sunset threw her head in a whiplash fashion, which sent a crescent of flame across the room that lit up all of the candles she could see. Smiling at the new illumination, Sunset opened up her saddlebag and pulled out the first scroll she could find. Unlike most spell scrolls, it had no title at the top. Frowning in confusion, Sunset quickly scanned the scroll’s contents. The directions were very clear and broken down into very basic parts, so she didn’t think she would have any trouble casting the spell. However, it appeared that it would take her several minutes to complete the spell.

That didn’t bother her too much though, since Celestia had said it was an extremely rarely known spell, and it clearly was very complicated. The only thing that bugged her about the spell was that as far as she could gather, the spell worked with temporal mechanics.

“Why would the Princess want me to go to the past?” Sunset wondered as she read the scroll again. “The only time spell in existence can only be once per pony and only lasts a few seconds. There’s no way I would need a saddlebag for such a short trip.”

Despite her doubts and confusion, Sunset Shimmer followed Celestia’s instructions and began casting the spell. Less than minute after she had begun, the sound of an explosion resonated through the castle. Sunset winced, but managed to maintain enough of her focus to keep the spell going. So it really is a war, she thought in realization. I bet whatever’s in my saddlebag is the key to preventing this battle from ever happening.

As a series of explosions rocked the castle, another thought struck her. But if I stop this from happening, why will I go back into the past to stop this from happening? That’s a major part of time theory! I could create a time paradox! This frightening revelation almost caused her to lose control of her spell, but she forced herself to regain focus. Come on, Sunset, trust in yourself! Trust in Celestia! she mentally urged herself. I just need to finish this spell and worry about everything else afterwards.

However, this was easier said than done. After another minute or two of silence had passed, Sunset was startled by the sound of the doors to the restricted wing flying off their hinges. She had to shut her eyes for a moment to make sure she had the spell stabilized again.

"Well what do we have here?" Sunset heard a mare ask. Sunset cautiously opened her eyes, only to see a dark blue alicorn staring at her with a predatory look. The alicorn's mane floated like a cloud and was an even darker shade of blue than the mare’s coat. The alicorn also wore a set of armor that covered front of her chest and hooves, and was complete with helmet that covered the top of her head from the tip of her nose to the back of her neck. Despite the armor’s elaborate design, it was a simple royal blue all around, save for a sky blue crescent moon in the front. The armored alicorn towered over Sunset Shimmer, standing as tall as Celestia herself. Her eyes were mere vertical slits, and as the mare smiled a pair of sharp fangs jutted out from the corners of her mouth.

"Princess Luna?" Sunset asked hesitantly, recognizing the similarities this alicorn had with one of the two alicorns in existence. However, she had done enough research in dubious fields to know the answer before it even left her mouth.

The blue mare chuckled darkly. "I am not who you speak of," she replied. "Luna is no more. I am Nightmare Moon, the new queen of Equestria!"

Sunset narrowed her eyes. "You are Luna," she affirmed. "You corrupted yourself with dark and forbidden magic, didn't you?"

At that, Nightmare Moon laughed without humor. "Luna merely freed herself from the bonds Celestia put on her," the alicorn replied. She raised an eyebrow at Sunset's scornful expression. "Don't give me that look; I know you were planning to do the same thing. Little Luna just had the guts to try it first.”

“I would never do that!” Sunset protested defensively.

“Oh, really?” Nightmare Moon asked with a knowing smile. “Not even once did you consider using forbidden magic to make yourself the most powerful unicorn in Equestria? Or maybe something more?”

Sunset spared a glance at the scroll in front of her before replying. “I was a little filly at the time,” she said in her defense. “I didn’t know any better.”

“But you did,” Nightmare Moon corrected her. “You knew and accepting the risks of such power, but Celestia stopped you from reaching your true potential. Don't worry, even if you were too much of a coward to defy Celestia’s wishes, I wouldn't mind allowing you to share a portion of my glory and power."

"Sorry, but no deal," Sunset replied defiantly as her horn flared with the intensity of her magic. She briefly wondered where the guards were, but had to focus on the situation at hoof. Talking to a corrupted Luna and using a powerful time spell was already starting to drain her both magically and mentally.

"Let me guess, Celestia wanted you to complete a spell to seal me away or something?" Nightmare Moon asked as she looked at the parchment on the floor.

Sunset clenched her teeth tightly and continued working on the spell with renewed vigor.

"Do you really think you can defeat me?" Nightmare Moon asked casually. She didn’t seem concerned by how much effort Sunset was putting into the spell. "Celestia herself barely lasted a few minutes in a fair fight. It was almost disappointing, destroying her so easily”

That briefly managed to snap Sunset Shimmer out of her concentration. "You did what?" she exclaimed in fury as the magic from her horn flared violently before dying to a small, flickering glow.

Nightmare Moon laughed. "Oh, don't you worry your little head, my little pony,” she said mockingly. “I didn't kill her. I merely ensured she would never be able to interfere with my plans. Besides, instead of worrying about her, you should be worrying about yourself."

Sunset's eyes widened as she realized the implication of those words. I'm barely halfway done with the spell, she realized in muted panic. If only I had rushed like Celestia told me to!

"Don't be so concerned," said Nightmare Moon as she waved a hoof dismissively. "I have no reason to kill or banish you. You are not a threat to me, but you could make a very valuable ally."

Despite her fear, Sunset Shimmer’s temper had yet to be extinguished. "I'd never work for you," she spat.

"Who said anything about working for somepony?" Nightmare Moon asked with a raised eyebrow. "I want you by side, as my equal."

Nightmare Moon grinned as she saw Sunset's resolve falter, but was surprised when Sunset Shimmer shook her head and said, "Sorry, but I would never turn my back on Princess Celestia. She's been more than a mentor to me ever since my fillyhood, and I could never live with myself if I betrayed her."

Now it was the unicorn’s turn to be surprised as Nightmare Moon merely smirked. "You have good reasons to stay loyal to your former Princess," she said. "However, if you knew everything about her, I don't think you would look at her with the same amount of love and admiration."

"Don't think you can trick me into allying with you so easily," said Sunset Shimmer warningly.

"Trick you?" Nightmare Moon asked in mock indignation. "You think too lowly of me. I only wish to show you the truth."

Sunset took a hesitant step backwards as Nightmare Moon lit up her horn with dark energy. Smokey whips lashed out from her mane and created a swirling sphere between the two mares. As the magical tendrils flowed back to the alicorn, Sunset was surprised to see the object they left behind.

"I-it can't be!" Sunset exclaimed as she looked at the mirror in shock. The mirror's frame looked like a purple horseshoe that was pulled almost into the shape of an oval. The frame was studded with with pink gems and had regularly spaced etchings on it. The mirror’s base was royal blue in color, and was decorated by dark blue horseshoes at the base. A smaller mirror with the same horseshoe design as the other stood on top of a royal blue pedestal atop the original. Dark purple swirls curled around the sides of both mirrors like decorative ivy.

"The Crystal Mirror? Why, yes it is," Nightmare Moon replied with a snarky grin. "I trust that you know the legend about it?"

"Whatever a pony sees in the mirror is a vision about the future," said Sunset breathlessly. By now the glow in Sunset’s horn had dimmed to a small shower of sparks.

Nightmare Moon smirked. While she was disappointed that Sunset had not stopped the spell completely, she figured it was only a matter of time before the unicorn’s loyalty to Celestia would crumple away. "Well, don't just stand there," the alicorn prodded. "Go to it, and see what your future holds."

"You're trying to trick me," Sunset said weakly as she trained her eyes on the spell scroll and tried to ignore the mirror.

"You know that I'm not," the alicorn replied simply. "Now, go and look."

Sunset tensed, but obediently started towards the mirror. She made her steps small, and made sure to prevent the spell from dying out. When she reached the mirror, she hesitated a moment, keeping her eyes trained on the floor. Slowly, however, her curiosity outweighed her fear. Steeling up her nerves, she finally looked up to face the mirror.

She was immediately disappointed to only see her reflection. Nothing looked out of the ordinary. Her mane and tail were messy blobs of red and yellow thanks to her all-nighter. There were small bags under light blue eyes, and her golden orange coat was ungroomed. "This mirror is a fake!" she exclaimed in frustration. "I only see—" She stopped short with a gasp when the image in the mirror began to change. Sunset’s reflection rippled and warped like the mirror was made of stirred water, until the image settled. However, it no longer displayed the reflection of grungy young unicorn mare. Sunset gaped at the image of a tall orange mare with a mane and tail that flickered and blazed like real flames. A long horn protruded from her red and yellow mane, and a pair of large wings was pinned to her sides.

"Like what you see?" Nightmare Moon asked with a knowing smirk. The look on Sunset's face was more than enough if an answer. "Celestia knew of this a very, very long time ago. Why else do you think she would take you as her apprentice? There is a very difficult and powerful spell that could turn you into an alicorn, but it requires an avatar or current alicorn to sacrifice a fraction of their life force. Celestia could have turned you into an alicorn at any time, but she feared that giving away any amount of her or Luna’s life force could be dangerous for them. One wrong move, and the donor could accidentally kill themselves by giving away all of their life force.

Sunset shook herself out of her stupor. "Why are you telling me this?" she asked. “Don’t expect me to believe that you are willing to risk dying so I can become an alicorn.”

“I’ll take my chances,” Nightmare Moon replied. “After all, I’ve calculated the risks and made sure to study the spell thoroughly to ensure that the procedure will be a success.”

“But why?” Sunset asked. “Why would you do anything for me?”

"Because Equestria needs a diarchy," Nightmare Moon replied, as if the answer was that simple. "Just think about it, Queen Sunset Shimmer! Bringer of the sun! Co-ruler of Equestria! An alicorn of unimaginable power and authority!"

“But how do I know you’re not going to drain my magic from me instead?”

“The spell can only be used to drain from beings of extremely high power and magic,” Nightmare Moon replied. “You may be a talented unicorn, but you fall far from the spell’s requirements. If you do not believe me, I will allow you to take a look at the spell before I use it on you. What do you say?”

Sunset Shimmer hesitated before replying. "You do make a good offer," she admitted. "But if I would be ruling with you, what will happen to Celestia?"

"She will remain locked up somewhere where she would not be able to give useless riddles and cause trouble to us," Nightmare Moon replied with a growl. “I have no desire to kill her, but she cannot be allowed to roam free. Banishment and imprisonment was the only available option.”

Sunset Shimmer tore her eyes from the alicorn’s face glanced around the room, peeking at the scroll as she did so. "So…” she began slowly. “What exactly would change in Equestria?"

"Nothing much, really," Nightmare Moon replied. "The night would be an hour or two longer so ponies could have more time to enjoy it, but I have no desire to make major changes. Celestia may have been an annoying power player, but she did know how to make a stable government."

Sunset was silent for a few moments. Nightmare Moon chuckled. "Are you finally done with your game of stalling?" The alicorn asked with a sneer.

Sunset's horn sparked guiltily. "How did you know?" she asked.

"It was clear that you cast a horn dimming spell and disguised it as a simple flare of rage," Nightmare Moon replied, smirking as she delivered her explanation. "While I would be impressed by your wit and ability if you were any other unicorn, I only expected as much from Celestia’s prized pupil. She taught you well, didn’t she? Now, what exactly did she want you to do? I have never seen a spell that would take so long to cast."

Sunset bit back a remark as the alicorn's mane stretched and wrapped around the scroll. Nightmare Moon read through it quickly, eyes widened as she did so. "Do you know what this is?" The alicorn asked. "No, you wouldn’t be foalish enough to use the spell if you did. How about I add a title to it for you? All spell scrolls need a title after all." Nightmare Moon took out a quill and inkwell from a nearby desk and casually scribbled down a few words at the top of the scroll. As she did so, Sunset dropped the horn-dimming spell and instead focused on completing the original spell from memory as quickly as she could. The young mare didn’t understand why the alicorn wasn’t stopping her from using the spell, but she didn’t want to wait patiently until Nightmare Moon finally took action.

"There!” The blue mare declared as she carefully replaced the inkwell and quill. “Now, take a look."

Obeying only to continue stalling for time, Sunset cast her eyes on the freshly written words at the top of the scroll. Her eyes immediately threatened to pop out of their sockets. Written at the top of the scroll were the words: Sealed with Time.

Sunset quickly pieced everything together. The saddlebag she was given, her mentors cryptic final words, it was all spelling something she did not want to believe. "No, no," said Sunset as she began to lose focus on her spell. "This can't be right."

"I have been honest with you this entire time," said Nightmare Moon. "Much unlike Celestia. You've also had to wade through her tests and riddles haven't you? She never gives you a straight answer! She never tells you what's really going on! She never allows you to prove yourself! Even now she had you use a spell that would seal you in time. The only trigger to free you is my defeat. She wanted you to be safely tucked away in the vacuum of time until our battle was all over. However, I won my fight before you could even finish casting the spell, making her plans worthless. If you use that spell now, you will be forever lost in the vacuum of time until I die a natural death! And who knows how long that could take?

"However, it does not have to be that way. Cease this foalishness. You cannot fight me. No can oppose me. After I swiftly defeated Celestia, I cast a protective bubble around the entire castle and its grounds. My Night Guard has already claimed the castle for me, and once I am done here the rest of Canterlot will soon follow. Equestria will soon be mine!

"Do you not recall the saying? If you cannot beat them, join them. Why should you blindly follow the orders of your former Princess and sentence yourself to a fate worse than death? When instead, you could rule alongside me and gain an extension of a wonderful life in the process?"

Sweat dripped from Sunset’s brow as she tried to balance her conflicted emotions while maintaining the spell. Thankfully, the scroll was back in front of her, but she knew her time was short. This... creature, Nightmare Moon, was unpredictable. One second she could be in a fiery rage, the next she could be scornfully laughing. And since she could tell when Sunset was stalling...

Sunset narrowed her eyes. "I already told you that Celestia was more than a mentor to me. She took me out of that orphanage and raised me like I was her own. She was the only family I had. The other orphans bullied me because I was a late bloomer, my old headmistress was incompetent, and even when I made it to the castle I still couldn’t make any friends. You especially never cared for me, Luna."

Smoke puffed from Nightmare Moon’s nostrils. "Do not call me by that name!" she warned.

Sunset Shimmer knew she was treading on thin ice, but she was tired, hungry, and on a furious roll. "When I first arrived at the castle I noticed how you looked at me. You hated me the moment you set your eyes on me. You only saw me as a miniature version of Celestia. And you know what?” Sunset Shimmer smiled even as her eyes burned with rage. “That was a very astute observation of you. She is my ultimate role model. She’s the kind of mare I want to be when I grow up. She means more to me than anything you could offer! I would never betray Celestia! I would never ally with you! And I will never, ever forgive you for ripping her from me! You monster!"

Nightmare Moon roared and slammed her forehooves into the ground, creating a small earthquake that knocked Sunset Shimmer off her hooves. "You could have simply rejected my offer and I would have let you go free,” the blue alicorn hissed furiously as her mane began expand across the room. “But you have insulted me grievously! I cannot let this offense go unpunished!"

Sunset Shimmer desperately tried to finish the spell, but she knew that it would take at least another minute to complete it given her level of exhaustion. There was no way she could fight off Nightmare Moon without dropping the spell. Now that she had infuriated the powerful mare, she was doomed no matter what she did. Sunset Shimmer poured as much magic into the spell as she could as Nightmare Moon readied a spell of her own.

Nightmare Moon gave a cruel smirk as she pointed her blazing her horn at defenseless unicorn. "Prepare to die, my little—AH!" The blast  missed Sunset Shimmer by several hoof-lengths and instead blasted a hole in one of the back walls.

Sunset blinked furiously as sunlight began to fill the room. Although she was surprised, she didn’t falter. Instead, she began pulling energy from the sun’s rays.

The distraction had blinded Nightmare Moon, but it didn't take her long to recover. "Impossible!" she exclaimed. "How could the sun rise without Celestia to raise it?" But she could not deny the evidence in from of her. The sun was gently brushing on the horizon, bathing the room in a brilliant sunrise. The alicorn turned back to Sunset Shimmer, who was surrounded by shimmering magical auras that wafted from the beams of sunlight.

"No!" Nightmare Moon shouted as she summoned streams of dark magic from her mane and tail and threw them at Sunset Shimmer as the unicorn slowly rose from the ground.

Just before her attack reached the unicorn, Sunset disappeared in a blinding flash of light, leaving behind nothing except the spell scroll and an image of her cutie marked carved out of ash.





Lady Twilight Sparkle was a young unicorn noblemare from the House of Star, one of the respected houses of nobility in Equestria. Despite her high social standing, however, she did not spend her time in investments, politics, or parties. Instead, she spent most of her time in her house looking into books, learning new spells, and observing the heavens. She was only nineteen years of age, but she had already written several academic papers that would evoke jealousy from scholars twice her age.

While naturally Twilight would like nothing more than some low intensity research and experimentation, today was a special occasion. Today, she was going to make history. Today, she would be attempting to use a spell that nopony in history had ever been able to cast successfully, if they had been able to learn the spell at all.

Today, she was going to cast a spell that would free the Banished Sun Princess.

"Twilight, you're not really considering this are you? I mean, if one of the Queen's spies finds out then you could be in serious trouble!"

"Relax, Spike," said Twilight dismissively as she cleared away some clutter from the floor of her library. "My family's house has never had trouble with The Queen before. There's no way she would spy on us." When she saw that Spike was still looking shaking like a leaf, she added, "I also took the necessary safety precautions to ensure no one could spy on us. Soundproof spells, intruder restriction and alert spells, anti-stealth enchantments, the works."

"But if someone notices-"

"I also cast attention diversion and cloaking enchantments on top of everything to make sure no one would notice," she interrupted him. "Relax, Spike. I know what I’m doing.”

Spike sighed, knowing he had lost this argument. “If you say so, Twilight,” the baby dragon replied as he made himself comfortable on a stack of books.

Twilight levitated an old book towards her. The book was a dull blueish-grey color, though it may have been brighter shade in its earlier years. Each corner of the hardbound cover was covered with golden plating. There were no marking on the front or back cover; and in small letters, its title was written in Old Equestrian. The unicorn skimmed through the book until she found the page she wanted. “Alright, it says here that first I need to have a personal item of the one I’m summoning in front of me.” She turned back to her assistant. “Spike, where did I put that other book? The brown one?”

“You left it on your pillow last night,” Spike deadpanned. “Luckily, I made sure to bring it with me!” He stretched out one of his stubby arms to grab the mentioned book from the stack behind him.

“Thanks, Spike,” said Twilight as she levitated the book towards her. “This is exactly what I need. Alright, next part.”

“Are you absolutely sure that book is the one you need?” Spike asked warily. “I mean, if you do something wrong there’s no telling what could happen.”

“Of course I’m sure,” Twilight replied. “This book appeared to be a shared journal between the Sun Princess and a close student of hers. I’m not sure what the logic behind sharing a journal is, but Celestia did write in it frequently and it does have her cutie mark on its cover.” She pointed a hoof to indicate the red and yellow sun on the thick brown cover. “It’s not like any pony in history has shared a cutie mark, especially not one as iconic as the Banished Sun Princess’s.

“If you say so, Twilight,” said Spike reluctantly.

“Come on, Spike!” Twilight said enthusiastically. “If this works we’ll revolutionize all of Equestria!”

“In other words, if this works the Sun Princess will kick The Queen off her throne and return Equestria to what you consider the ‘Golden Age’.” Spike made air quotes with his claws to emphasize his point.

“Precisely! Just thing of the positive impact we’ll have on  the world! And of course, we’ll be known as revolutionaries!”

“I dunno, Twilight,” said Spike hesitantly as he watched Twilight carefully place the book on the floor in front of her. “This still sounds like a bad idea.”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “You say that for almost every new spell I try,” she reminded him.

“That’s because almost every new spell you try blows up in your face or has really bad side effects,” he pointed out. “Remember the time you tried to save Manehattan from their parasprite problem?”

“Well… I will confess that may not have been my greatest moment,” Twilight admitted, remembering  the long list of ponies who had attempted to sue her for property damage. It was only through her parents' lawyers that she got out of that mess. “But don’t worry, Spike, I’m sure this one will work without any disasters or accidents. Trust me.”

Spike crossed his arms, but didn’t offer any verbal protest.

Twilight returned her attention to the grey book in front of her. “Alright, now I need to have a large amount of… essence?” Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Well, she was the Sun Princess after all, so I guess sunlight will have to do. Spike, open the curtains please!”

“You could just use your magic,” Spike grumbled under his breath as he marched over to the curtains and pulled the cord to open them up. The library was suddenly filled with early morning rays of light.

“Alright, I have the item and I have the essence, now all I need is the magic.” Twilight slammed the book shut and put it aside. “Are you ready, Spike?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” Spike replied as plopped back onto his seat of books.

“Then prepare to be amazed!” Twilight fired up her horn as she began the complex spell. The glow from her horn was as blinding like the noonday sun. Sweat slowly dripped from her brow due to the amount of energy the spell required. Spike’s eyes widened as he watched Twilight’s body begin to spark with golden energy and rise from the floor. The book also became covered in the strange golden glow and rose in the light of the sun.

Bang!

Spike, Twilight, and the book were all flung back by the powerful and blinding release of magic. Twilight groaned as she rubbed her face with a hoof. “Everypony okay?” she asked.

“This dragon sure isn’t,” Spike grumbled as he crawled out of a pile of books that had fallen onto him. “Did the spell work?”

Twilight gasped, realizing that she had shortly forgotten what she had been attempting in the first place. She glanced towards the place where she had cast her spell, only to be disappointed by the sight of scorch marks on her floor. “Well… no Sun Princesses this time,” she said dejectedly as she fired up her horn. “Let’s try this again.”





Bang!

“Just… one... more… try...” Twilight gasped as she struggled to get up from the ground.

“No way!” Spike protested. “You already tried it twelve times today. You don’t even have the strength to stand! There’s no way you could cast that spell again.”

Twilight groaned and let her body slump to the floor. “Fine...” she said reluctantly. “But would you mind grabbing me some hayfries? I’m kind of craving them right now.”

“I thought hay fries was unhealthy fat food that killed brain cells?”

“I burned out all my brain cells casting that spell over and over again, and fat is essential source of energy,” she reminded him. “Do you know-”

“Don’t know, and I’m not sticking around to find out,” Spike interrupted as he waded through the sea of strewn books and opened the door. “I’ll go grab those hayfries, but you need to get some rest. Okay?”

“Do I look like I can do anything besides that?” The mare asked with a raised eyebrow.

“...Good point.”

Twilight counted off two minutes after Spike slammed the door before unsteadily rising to her hooves once more. “I’m not giving up until I get that spell to work,” she said decisively as she took a step towards the brown book. Whatever preservations spells had been cast on it were truly magnificent. It seemed no worse for the wear since she had received it. “Alright, let me go over what I know. I’ve cast the spell multiple times during crucial parts of the day. Sunrise, missed it. Early morning, check. Mid-morning, check. High noon, check. Afternoon, check. Evening, check. All I have left is to try sunset. Hopefully this works.”

She nudged the book into place with her hooves in order to save every last drop of her magic for the spell. “Work with me,” she pleaded with the book as she watched the sun lower on the horizon. She knew Spike wouldn’t waste any time getting back to her to prevent her from attempting the spell again, so she had to get it right this time. Otherwise, he would probably write to her mentor to say she had been endangering her health with dangerous spells from forgotten spell books, again.

Twilight waited until the bottom tip of the sun disappeared on the horizon before beginning the spell. Even the early stages of the spell made her horn feel like it was on fire, but she pressed through the pain. Her horn blazed brightly as the spell grew in power, sending waves of pain through Twilight’s body. Any normal unicorn would’ve passed out by now, but Twilight was used to putting this kind of strain on her body and magic. She shut her eyes tight as she felt her body rise off the floor as spell reached its climax.

Unbeknownst to the purple unicorn, small sparkles began flaking from the fading rays of sunlight and swarmed towards the book like honeybees to flowers. The shower of sparkles grew into a vibrant myriad of shimmering particles that began circled around Twilight and the book in a glittering, magical tornado. Twilight’s horn suddenly flared with power and drew in all of the magical particles from the air like a magnet, just as the sun disappeared over the horizon.





Spike made his way back to Twilight’s house as quickly as his little dragon legs could carry him. He believed that Twilight was too weak to complete the spell by now, but he also knew through experience that there was a good chance that she would attempt to cast it anyway.

The strangely designed tower they lived in was just within his sights when he saw a bright, golden glow coming from the library windows. “Twilight!” Spike exclaimed. He dropped the large container of hayfries he was carrying and dashed over to the library like his life depended on it. However, he was still a good distance away when a rainbow shockwave of the colors purple, pink, red, and yellow, spread out from the inside of the building. The sight of it blinded him, but he didn’t falter in his steps as he continued his mad dash to the door.

“Twilight!” Spike called as he flung open the front door. He heard no response as he trotted up a flight of stairs that led to the library of the house.

The inside of the library was worse than he feared. The smell of soot and ash filled the air. Entire bookcases had toppled over, and their contents were ripped and charred. Spike had to carefully dance through the debris before his eyes finally rested on the still form a familiar unicorn.

“Twilight!” he yelled as he ran through the wreckage. When he reached her, he noticed that her sides were gently rising and falling normally. In addition, although he didn’t pay much attention to it at the time, Twilight was resting in circle of the floor that had somehow remained unscathed despite the state of the rest of the library. The baby dragon gripped Twilight’s face with his claws and shook her head furiously.

“Ow!” Twilight yelped as she suddenly awoke and sent a hoof into Spike’s face. “Spike, what was that for?”

Spike gently rubbed his forehead, silently thankful for the protection his dragon scales gave him. “Twilight, take a look around you,” he said slowly as he waved a claw to indicate the smoking room.

Twilight’s eyes widened as she suddenly noticed the destruction that surrounded her. She slowly turned around in a circle to take in all of the damage she had caused. She forlornly gazed at the books that had been reduced to mere piles of ash. Then she suddenly gasped.

“Yeah, it’s that bad,” said Spike. “Why did you have to do that, Twilight? You knew you were too tired to do try it again.” He sighed and dropped to the ground, sending up a cloud of ash as he did so. “Now our home is ruined!”

“Worth it,” Twilight said breathlessly as her eyes widened.

Spike blinked. “Wait, what?” Twilight mutely pointed a hoof at the sight in front of her. Spike followed the indicated direction and jumped. "What in Equestria?" he gasped.

Curled up next to the brown book Twilight had been using for her spell lay a pony that was covered in ash. At the sound of Spike’s voice, the pony stood up and shook off the majority of the ash, before giving a very feminine sneeze.

Twilight’s look of awe died into disappointment when she realized that the mare in front of her was not the Banished Sun Princess. For one thing, she was much too short, only standing to around Twilight’s height. Second, she had a horn, but no wings. Third, her color scheme was all wrong. This pony had a red and yellow mane, and an orange coat underneath the grey ash that covered her from head to hoof. The Sun Princess was supposed to be a tall, white alicorn with multicolored hair that floated without a breeze. This pony was anything but the one Twilight had tried to summon.

Spike nervously moved behind Twilight as the purple unicorn made her way to her hooves. He could obviously tell that this new mare was no Sun Princess, and he was surprised to find another pony in the room. He wasn’t quite sure if the spell had summoned her to the library, but he decided not to take his chances.

The ash-covered mare stared at the pair in confusion. She first looked at the purple mare, and then at what she believed to be a wingless baby dragon. Except, he didn’t look as predatory as the other dragon hatchlings she had seen. She observed the clean circle the pair stood at, and then turned her eyes to the rest of the library. With wide eyes, she barely suppressed a gasp as she surveyed the wreckage. Then, she focused her attention once again on the two unfamiliar faces in front of her. 

Finally, the two mares voiced the question that was on everyone’s minds.

"Who are you?"
> Magic
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Previously on Dual Elements:

“I need you take a trip using a very important and extremely rare spell. Head to the Starswirl the Bearded section and take out the scroll at the top of the bag. Use it immediately and do not stop the spellcasting process unless I, myself, order you to. Understood?”

“Yes!” Sunset replied enthusiastically. “Though, if I might ask-”

“There is no time!” Celestia barked as she glanced outside the window. She turned back to see her student’s shell-shocked expression. “I am truly sorry, Sunset,” Celestia said remorsefully. “But I cannot help you anymore. Everything else will be made clear to you in time. Now, make haste. Equestria is counting on you.”

…

"Don't think you can trick me into allying with you so easily," said Sunset Shimmer warningly.

"Trick you?" Nightmare Moon asked in mock indignation. "You think too lowly of me. I only wish to show you the truth."

…

“I will never betray Celestia! I will never ally with you! And I willnever, ever forgive you for ripping her from me! You monster!"

…

"You could have simply rejected my offer and I would've let you go free,” the blue alicorn hissed furiously as her mane began expand across the room. “But you have insulted me beyond your position! I cannot let this grievous offense go unpunished!"

...

"Twilight, you're not really considering this are you? I mean, if one of the Queen's spies finds out then you could be in serious trouble!"

…

"Relax, Spike. I know what I’m doing.”

…

“Just… one... more… try...” Twilight gasped as she struggled to get up from the ground.

“No way!” Spike protested. “You already tried it twelve times today. You don’t even have the strength to stand! There’s no way you could cast that spell again.”

…

“Why did you have to do that, Twilight? You knew you were too tired to do try it again.” He sighed and dropped to the ground, sending up a cloud of ash as he did so. “Now our home is ruined!”

“Worth it,” Twilight said breathlessly as her eyes widened.

…

"Who are you?"





The two mares stared at each other in a moment of confusion and shock.

Twilight cleared her throat. “My name is Lady Twilight Sparkle of the House of Star,” she introduced herself formally with a polite dip of her head.  Gently, she nudged Spike to follow her lead, but the purple dragon still stared at Sunset Shimmer with his mouth agape. “And this is Spike, my number one assistant,” Twilight said in Spike’s stead. “And you would be...”

The other unicorn mare straightened herself to an erect position. “I am Sunset Shimmer, personal student of Princess Celestia, Bringer of the Sun and Day!” the orange unicorn replied with pride.

Twilight was taken aback. “You studied under the Banished Sun Princess?” Twilight gasped. “That’s-”

“Crazy,” Spike stated as he finally snapped out of his petrified state. “That’s impossible!”

“Spike!” Twilight admonished him as she turned her head to face the young dragon. “You can’t call her a liar without proper evidence to support your claim!”

“Twilight, this isn’t a courtroom,” Spike reminded her. “Besides, I do have evidence! I studied all the books on the Banished Sun Princess just like you did, but I’ve never seen or heard of a pony like her in any of the books! Did you?”

Twilight paused for a moment. “I… can’t argue with that,” she admitted. “But that doesn’t mean we should automatically assume she’s lying. After all, the lack of evidence does not count as evidence!”

“You do realize that I’m standing right here, listening to every word you to say, right?”

“What would prove that she actually knows the Banished Sun Princess?” Spike asked Twilight, leaving Sunset to fume silently. “It’s not like we can ask her for signed letter or something.”

“I’m not sure, Spike.” Twilight had to think about this for a moment. “Hold on,” she said slowly in realization as she turned her attention back to a scowling Sunset. “You said your name was Sunset Shimmer, right?”

“Don’t tell me you’re deaf as well,” Sunset grunted in response.

Twilight cocked her head. “Was that a yes, or a no?” she asked.

Sunset facehoofed. “Yes, duh! Seriously, are you usually this addle-brained?”

“I’m not addle-brained!” Twilight protested. Then she noticed the look Spike was giving her. “Well, most of the time, anyway.”

Sighing and grumbling, Sunset turned her head to look outside the window, observing the moon as it rose to its usual position in the night sky. “So, was there a point in you asking about my name?” she asked without turning her head.

“Ah!” Twilight exclaimed. “Yes, I remember your name from somewhere! Spike, go get the book I used for the spell!”

Spike took a step towards the book, and then glanced towards Sunset Shimmer before taking a more hesitant step forward.

Sunset watched his movements out of the corner of her eyes and snorted as the dragon took another step in her direction. “I’m not a book you know,” she said dryly.

Spike’s cheeks gained the tiniest amount of pink color to them. “Well, um, the book I need is…” Spike pointed a claw to the book lying beside Sunset’s hooves.

Sunset sighed as she started to levitate the book towards the nervous reptile, but paused when she glanced at the front cover. “Wait a minute,” she said as she opened the book up and read the first page. Her eyes widened, and she began furiously flipping through the pages.

Twilight gave Spike a confused look, but the dragon only shrugged in response. “Sunset, would you mind passing my book back?” the purple unicorn asked. “I need to check something, but I’ll be glad to let you read after-”

“This isn’t your book,” Sunset said pointedly as she slammed the book shut and pointed to the red and yellow sun on the front cover. “This is my book!” She then pulled her saddlebag a side, revealing a patch of clean orange fur that had an image identical to the one on the book’s cover.

Twilight paled. “That’s your book?” she said nervously. 

“Duh.”

“With your cutie mark?” Twilight’s voice shrank to a whisper.

“Does it look like paint to you?” Sunset Shimmer snapped back.

By now Twilight’s voice was barely above a squeak. “Uh-oh.”





“YOU DID WHAT?”

Twilight and Spike flinched as Sunset’s eyes blazed with unbridled fury. While Twilight had expected Sunset to be angry after she revealed that she had dragged Sunset through time and space, she had severely underestimated the temper of the orange unicorn mare. Sunset’s glare burned like living coals, threatening to roast the pair where they stood. Twilight and Spike could almost swear that they felt the temperature in the library rise.

“I’m just the assistant!” Spike exclaimed in panic as he jumped behind Twilight for protection.

“It was only an accident!” Twilight said apologetically.

Sunset snarled as her glare intensified. “Princess Celestia told me to use a time spell to save Equestria, and you two morons messed up her plans by calling up me with your crazy spell!” Sunset Shimmer shouted as the room continued to become increasingly warmer. “Now I’m stranded in the wrong period of time!”

“Couldn’t you simply recast the spell?” Twilight suggested nervously.

Sunset turned to her sharply to focus her gaze on Twilight, causing a wave of heat to wash over Twilight’s entire body. “No, because the spell is too long and complicated to cast from memory!” she shouted. “It took me several minutes to use it even when I had the scroll in front of me! And since I’m stuck Celestia knows how many years in the future, I wouldn’t be surprised if the scroll was locked up somewhere or burnt to ashes! Do you know what this means?” Spike and Twilight shook their heads frantically. “This means Equestria is doomed to be ruled by Nightmare Moon, forever!”

Twilight and Spike winced in unison.

“Please, don’t repeat those words,” said Spike nervously as he cast a furtive glance out the window.

“I’m the one who’s stuck in this miserable time so I can say whatever I want!” Sunset snarled.

“Look, I’m really, really, really sorry about everything,” said Twilight apoplectically. “But it’s night, and if any of the guards hear you we could all be in serious trouble! The destruction I caused using the spell already made this place beacon for unwanted visitors, literally!”

“And whose fault would that be?”

“I said I’m sorry!”

“Well, ‘sorry’ doesn’t cut it!” Sunset snapped as she slammed her hooves on the ground. “You destroyed my chances of completing my mission, and now I’m stranded in time with an addle-brained mare and an incompetent dragon hatchling!”

“We get the point!” Spike growled with a touch of anger. He was terrified of Sunset, but her unyielding abrasive attitude gave him the surge of courage he needed to take a stand against her. “Twilight already apologized!”

“Look,” Twilight said before Sunset could snap back a reply. “I know that you’re really, really mad at us right now, but if we keep this up the guards will come and it will be a big problem if they find a soot-covered unicorn with a sun as her cutie mark in the middle of my library. We could end up being thrown in jail, or worse! Can we settle this in the morning? Hopefully after everypony has had a chance to calm down?”

“It’s supposed to be morning for me,” Sunset growled. “We’ll be settling this tonight!” Despite her claim, she could feel the weariness of the previous events finally start creeping up to her. After all, she had cast a very long and complicated spell after pulling an all-nighter. As far as her body was concerned, it was time for some long overdue sleep.

“Or maybe we could settle it after breakfast?” Spike suggested. He was no longer scared or angry; rather, he just wanted to sleep. “I’ll be making blueberry scones,” he added, knowing that very few ponies could resist the offer of a delicious breakfast.

Fortunately for him and Twilight, Sunset wasn’t in that minority. While Sunset would normally be suspicious about the offerings of a dragon chef, especially one she had just met, she was tired and knew she would be famished when she awoke the next morning. Common sense and reasoning were no match for her physical needs.  “Fine,” the mare said stiffly. “We’ll settle this tomorrow after breakfast, but those scones better be worth it!”





It was amazing what a good’s night rest could do for a pony.

When Sunset woke up bright and early the next morning, the first thing on her mind wasn’t the traumatic events from the previous day. She didn’t think about her narrow escape from Nightmare Moon, or her sudden arrival in the future, or the fact that she was stranded in time with no way of returning. Instead, she thought about the pleasantness of the sunlight she could feel streaming through the windows and the familiar scents of her inks and papers.

Yes, the morning was perfect. At least, until Sunset realized that the inks and papers she was smelling weren’t actually hers.

Downstairs, a sleepy Twilight nearly dropped her cup of coffee at the sound. It was loud and bloodcurdling, like a hundred cats simultaneously giving their final yowls as their lives slipped from their claws. After taking a careful sip of her coffee, Twilight asked Spike, “Still having doubts that she’s the student of the Banished Sun Princess?”

“Sure am,” Spike replied as he tossed a salad. While his promised scones were baking in the oven, he decided that scones alone did not make a healthy breakfast. So, he had taken the liberty of providing a well-balanced meal that included oats and milk, salad, apples, and orange juice. “She sounds like one of the crazy nobleponies you keep avoiding. The Banished Sun Princess was known to be kind and understanding, and I don’t see how a student of hers could come out like that.”

Twilight couldn’t deny that the personality contrast was troubling, but the evidence that supported Sunset’s claims were heavy. “The book did mention her by name,” Twilight pointed out.

“She could’ve been named after the Sunset Shimmer that was mentioned in the book,” Spike countered.

“Her cutie mark is the same as the image on the front cover of the book.”

“We still didn’t check if it was painted!”

“She woke up at the exact time the sun rose.”

“I’m pretty she’s not the only pony who does that.”

“She appeared in the library after I had cast the spell, Spike!”

“You don’t know that!” Spike protested. “For all you know, she could have been hiding in the library and was simply caught in the explosion. We can’t trust her! She could be one of the Queen’s spies. She could be a hired assassin from a jealous noble. She could-”

The dragon’s rant of suspicions was cut off when a bedraggled orange unicorn teleported into the middle of the large kitchen. Sunset swerved her gaze until her eyes locked onto Spike’s paralyzed form. “Scones. Now,” she ordered with a look on her face that gave her the appearance of a hungry manticore.

As if on cue, the oven timer dinged, much to Spike’s relief. The baby dragon opened the oven and pulled out a tray that held a dozen, steaming blueberry scones. “Scones are officially ready!” he announced. “Get them while they’re-” Sunset stuck out a hoof and grabbing the first steaming pastry she laid her eyes on. “Hot?” Spike finished dumbly as he watched Sunset devour the scone in two quick bites before grabbing another.

Twilight wisely levitated two scones out of the tray and onto her plate as she watched Sunset quickly devoured each of the remaining scones in a mere bite or two. When the orange unicorn had finished, Spike looked at the empty tray forlornly. “There was more for breakfast besides scones,” he said glumly as he set the empty tray aside.

Sunset took one look at the rest of the food on the table before sitting down and levitating everything within range onto her plate. As Spike sat down, Twilight passed him a scone and gave him a wink. Spike returned it with a smile and quickly devoured the delicious pastry before it could be swallowed into the mass of food that topped Sunset’s plate. Twilight’s plate held only half the amount of food as Sunset’s. And although she was eating rather quickly, she had not thrown away all of her table manners in her moment of hunger; which was more than could be said for the other mare. Roughly half of Sunset’s food actually made it to her mouth, while the rest splattered messily on her unwashed coat, the floor, and the table. In order to distract himself, Spike slowly sipped a glass of orange juice and nibbled on a gem he had left lying on the table earlier.

After the three had filled their bellies, Sunset finally said, “Time to get down to business.” Her voice no longer held the sharp and biting tone that it had held the previous night. Instead, it was calm and relaxed. Sunset’s blind rage had died out, and now her focus and energy were solely fixed on her current situation.

“Again, I’m really sorry-”

Sunset held up a hoof to silence Twilight. “You already apologized. Just explain how you brought me here so I can figure out how to get back.”

“I thought she already told you last night,” said Spike.

“I need to know the specifics,” Sunset clarified. She neglected to add that she had been extremely tired during last night’s conversation and most of Twilight’s previous explanation had gone in one ear and out the other.

“Well, it would be helpful if I actually had the book with me,” Twilight said thoughtfully. “I know the basics of the spell, but describing in detail would require me to reread it.”

Spike jumped from his seat. “I’ll go grab it!” he announced as he dashed out of the kitchen.

Sunset looked at Spike’s retreating figure for a moment before turning back to Twilight. “So, is he your pet or indentured servant?” she asked.

Twilight jumped in surprise at the unexpected question. “What?”

“I’ve seen dragon hatchlings kept as exotic pets for stuffy nobles,” said Sunset casually, as if she was discussing the weather. “But yours seems to be moderately intelligent, not to mention helpful. So what is he to you?”

Twilight’s eyes narrowed as she gave her reply. “I hatched him from an egg and raised him since then,” the mare said with a slight edge to her voice. “He’s my assistant, but not a servant and certainly not a pet!”

Sunset nodded in understanding. “Motherly instincts as well,” she commented. “Never thought I’d see a noblemare act so protective over a dragon. My curiosity is now satisfied.”

“Do you normally ask other ponies insulting questions for the sake of your curiosity?” Twilight asked with a glare.

Sunset smirked. “Take a guess, genius.”

A knock on the front door drew their attention before their conversation could become any more heated. Twilight took another look at her new guest, who still hadn’t showered off the remaining ash from her mane and coat. “Stay out of sight,” Twilight ordered Sunset in a low whisper as she made her way to the door. “Who is it?” she called out.

“Local Guard!” the pony at the door replied.

Frowning, Twilight turned back to Sunset and tossed her head to indicate the stairs. Sunset complied by disappearing a flash of teleportation. “Coming!” Twilight called back, taking her sweet time to walk to the door. She opened it with a nervous smile.

The pony outside was a light grey pegasus stallion. Like all members of the Local Guard, he was dressed in a light grey armor that covered his hooves and chest. On his head was a light grey helmet that had a sapphire blue frill. A silver four-pointed star on the front of his helmet identified the stallion as a deputy.

Twilight’s smile dipped into a troubled frown. While she had known that a guard would visit her after last night’s destruction, she had only expected to receive a visit from one of the local sergeants. The Local Guard had four ranks of command: private, sergeant, deputy and sheriff. Receiving a visit from a private was not considered unusual. If the local sergeant stopped by then there was definitely a problem. But if you had a deputy on your doorstep, that was never a good thing. To make matters worse, Twilight had specifically chosen to live in this location because she was just outside the city limits of Manehattan. Of the four deputies in Manehattan, none would leave their post to visit a pony who lived outside of their legal domain unless they had received orders from somepony above them. 

Despite her understandable worries, Twilight managed to keep her appearance calm and collected. “Yes, officer?” she greeted the stallion politely.

“Greetings, Lady Sparkle,” the deputy replied gruffly. “I am Deputy Steelwing. I trust you know what I’m here for?”

Twilight nodded, not trusting herself to speak.

“May I come in?” Steelwing queried.

“Oh!” Twilight finally realized that she had been standing in the doorway. After taking a quick glance inside the house to make sure Sunset Shimmer was nowhere to be seen, she stepped aside to let the guard inside her house. “Would you like to sit in the living room?” she asked. “It was probably a long flight.”

“I’m not planning to stay long,” the pegasus replied.

Twilight let out a sigh of relief, and then blushed when she realized that Steelwing had noticed. “Sorry,” she apologized quickly. “It’s just that I have so much to do; the library is filthy-”

“You mean destroyed,” Steelwing rectified. Twilight blushed even more furiously, and only nodded in response. “Lady Twilight, while the local guard does not have the authority to make demands of nobles such as yourself when it comes to their own property—especially when you live outside of the legal city limit—your recent experiments have been a cause of alarm for the local community.”

“No pony was hurt,” Twilight pointed out meekly.

“Yes,” the stallion agreed. “However, the constant explosions and flashes of light have been disturbing your neighbors greatly. Several of them have trouble sleeping during The Queen’s glorious night, and many ponies fear that it’s only a matter of time before your experimentation goes out of hand.”

“The spells I use are not designed to harm—”

“And yet the top floor of your house is clearly in charred ruin,” Steelwing interrupted. “The events of last night prove that you cannot be trusted to reside here without risking the safety of yourself and other ponies. Do you understand?”

“Yes, sir,” Twilight replied dejectedly.

“Good. And unless you can find a certified temporary guardian, I will be forced to evict from the premises in a week.”

This took the mare by surprise. “A w-what?” Twilight gasped in shock. “I’m nineteen years old! I don’t need a guardian!”

“You do now.” Steelwing pulled several sheets of paper out of a compartment in the front of his armor and allowed Twilight to pick them up with her magic. “This hereby decrees that the unicorn noblemare, Lady Twilight Sparkle, is no longer considered to be an adult capable of independence and must be accompanied by certified adult at all times. Due to your new status, we, the Local Guard of Manehattan, retain the right evict you from this property at any time. However, we have generously decided to give you a week so you could prepare your arrangements.”

Twilight’s face fell as she scanned the documents. There was no mistaking it. Somehow, some ponies had managed to find a way to declare her a legal minor despite her age, status, and prestige. She was both depressed and furious, but decided not to take out her frustrations on the messenger. “Thank you,” she said as civilly as possible before returning the documents back to the guard, who replaced them in his armor. “Is there anything else?”

“Well… since the Local Guard was generous enough to give you some time to prepare, it would do a great deal of good for you to return the favor,” Steelwing said slyly.

Twilight scowled. “I’ll send a check,” she replied tartly as she opened the door for him. “Have a nice day, Deputy Steelwing.”

“To you as well, Lady Sparkle” the deputy replied politely as he exited.

Twilight made sure to slam the door before the pegasus had fully left the doorway, and smirked when she heard him give a painful yelp. “That corrupt, thieving, annoying, arrogant jerk!” she grumbled loudly. “He should be known as Deputy Stealing!”

“Don’t forget that he was rude!” Spike pipped up as he stuck his head out from the library floor. “Seriously! He didn’t bow or remove his helmet indoors. He rejected an open invitation to recline. And he had the nerve to ask for a bribe! That goes against all formal customs for treating nobility! If he was still here I would’ve signed every feather off that wing of his!”

“Sure, from all the way up there you could easily roast him,” Twilight said as she rolled her eyes. “Besides, I don’t mind being treated as if I’m ordinary pony. I just don’t appreciate corrupt guards asking me for bribes.”

Spike quickly skipped down the stairs. “Want to file a complaint to the sheriff?” the dragon asked as he took out a parchment and quill.

Twilight shook her head. “Nopony respects me enough to defend my experiments,” she reminded him. “At best, the sheriff would only insist that the punishment is fair. At worst, he could kick us out on the spot, bribe or no bribe.”

“Then are you going to tell Shining that you need to move back in with him?” Spike asked, his quill still poised over the paper.

Twilight shivered. “I’m pretty sure I can find another solution,” she said. “My parents have plenty of space.”

“You did make a bet with your parents saying that you would be able to survive five years on your own as a capable adult,” Spike reminded her. “You still have a little over three years left before you can move in without losing the bet.”

Twilight groaned. “But I can’t move back in with Shining!” she protested. “He just got back from his honeymoon! You and I cannot live under the same roof as a young, newly-wed, married couple!”

“And what’s wrong with that?” Spike asked innocently.

Twilight sighed and rubbed her forehead with a hoof. “I’ll tell you when you’re older.”

“You always say that!” Spike grumbled.

From the doorway above them, they could hear the sounds choked laughter. A freshly cleaned Sunset Shimmer stumbled into view, her sides heaving. “You two are too much!” She gasped for air as she stumbled down the last few steps. “Too much!”

Spike gave Twilight a questioning look, but the mare merely shrugged in response as they watched Sunset fall to the ground in her tirade of laughter.

After Sunset had finally calmed down, she got up from the ground and shook out her mane. “So, I’ve been meaning to ask,” she said to Twilight, getting back to her current predicament. “How long has it been Nightma-” she paused when she saw the other two cringe. “Fine,” she relented. “How long has The Queen been in power?”

“Oh, ponyfeathers,” Spike muttered as he saw Twilight’s face light up.

“Well that would depend on what you consider being ‘in power’,” Twilight replied as he magically conjured a map of Equestria on the nearest wall. “You see, in the year one hundred and eleven PE—Princess Era, of course—The Queen conquered Canterlot-”

“What year is it now?” Sunset interrupted.

“It’s the year two hundred and ten PE,” Twilight replied quickly. “Now, after The Queen’s forces—”

“I already know all I need to know now,” said Sunset brusquely. “You can lecture me on pointless history later.”

“But—”

“Next question,” Sunset interrupted. “Where are we?”

Twilight was still annoyed that Sunset had cut off her lesson, but she knew that answering Sunset’s questions were more important than a brief history lesson. Besides, she was used to ponies not taking interest in the same information she valued. “We’re in the Fire Empire,” she replied. “Just southeast of Manehattan, less than an hour’s walk from the shore. Didn’t you hear the guard say he was from Manehattan?”

Sunset shook her head. “After you let the guard in, I had a quick wash, in case you didn’t notice. By the time I came out the guard was gone and you were having your little ‘conversation’ with your little dragon friend. By the way, has he had the talk about the birds and the bees yet?”

“I know lots about birds and bees,” Spike said proudly before Twilight could respond. “Do you know that a queen bee—”

“Not right now, Spike,” Twilight interrupted Spike. She glared at Sunset, who merely smirked in response.

Then Sunset’s face drifted back to a serious expression. “Before that guard had interrupted us, you said were going to explain the process of the spell.”

“Right,” said Twilight with a nod. “Spike, the book, please.”

“Right here,” Spike said cheerfully as he pulled out blue-grey book and handed it to Twilight, who brought it towards her face with her magic.

Sunset’s jaw dropped. “H-how… why… where?”

Twilight looked up from the book. “Is something wrong?” she asked Sunset with concern.

“Did you just see what he did?” Sunset asked as she pointed a hoof towards Spike.

“He gave me the book?” Twilight replied uncertainly.

“But he just pulled it out of nowhere!”

“No, I brought it from the library,” Spike corrected her.

“But you didn’t have it with you! I saw!”

“But if you saw it, then wouldn’t that mean he had it?” Twilight asked with confusion evident on her face.

Sunset faced was twisted into knots as she tried to make sense of what happened. “But, I, argh! Never mind!”

Twilight and Spike shared a look and a shrug. Twilight quickly turned her attention back to the book. “And… here!” she declared. “The Champion Summoning Spell!”

“Champion Summoning Spell?” Sunset echoed.

“Yes,” Twilight replied with a look on her face that Spike was all too familiar with. The unicorn took a deep breath and explained. “You see, this spell is not designed to specifically summon any one pony. Rather, it was designed to summon any powerful pony that the caster wished. The summoned pony can be from anywhere, and any time in the present or future, just not the past. However, the spell requires a personal item of the pony, as well as some of their essence before it can be used.”

“Essence?”

“The book is written in old Equestrian, and that’s the best translation I have for the word it used,” Twilight replied apologetically. “I meant to use sunlight for essence, and the book as a personal item, but—”

“Since the book was mine—”

“And I used the spell at sunset—”

“It got me instead of Celestia,” Sunset finished glumly.

“Hold on a second, Sunset’s essence is the actual sunset?” Spike said doubtfully. “That doesn’t make any sense!”

The orange mare shrugged. “It’s magic little guy,” she said. “Sometimes it doesn’t make sense.”

“But—”

“Spike, until we have evidence that says otherwise, that’s the best theory we have right now,” Twilight told him gently. “Though…” She turned back to Sunset. “This spell can only be used on ponies with high amounts of innate magic. You would have to be extremely powerful in order for the spell to substitute you for the Banished Sun Princess.”

“I’m her personal student; of course I’m powerful,” Sunset bragged. “She’s trained me since I was just a filly!”

“Then how come we haven’t heard of you?” Spike asked suspiciously. “Wouldn’t the media have hounded over your life if you actually were her apprentice?”

“Personal student, not apprentice.” Sunset glared at the young dragon. “For your information, I spent most of my time studying so the media didn’t see much of me. Celestia also kept those pesky hounds away from the castle grounds when there wasn’t a major event going on. Besides,” she added as a new thought entered her mind. “Ni—The Queen, I mean—probably erased all traces of my existence. She was trying to kill me when I left.”

“Wait, she was trying to kill you?” Twilight repeated.

“Do I hear an echo?”

“If we get seen with you, The Queen will have our heads!” Spike gulped. He pointed a claw accusingly at Sunset. “I knew you were bad news!”

Sunset smirked. “Don’t worry, she isn’t expecting me,” she assured them, though the looks on their faces didn’t change. “You see, she thinks that the spell was supposed to send me into a time pocket until she was defeated. That means she’s not expecting me to appear until somepony overthrows her. What she doesn’t know is that I’ll be that pony.”

“Are you sure?” Spike asked warily.

Sunset snorted in response. “Don’t worry, that little usurper will be off her throne in no time.”

“I guess it’s a good thing we brought you here early then, right?” Twilight smiled weakly.

Sunset frowned. “No,” she replied. “I’m certain Celestia was going to send me to the opportune time to overthrow The Queen. By pulling me out early, you made my assignment harder, but not impossible.” She closed her eyes and summoned her saddlebag in a flash of light. “I’ll just get some provisions and get on my way.”

“Just like that?” Twilight asked in surprise.

“What would I stick around for?” Sunset asked. She teleported to the kitchen and began rummaging through Twilight’s pantry.

Twilight teleported behind the other mare. “But you can’t just leave and expect to take down the Queen on your own!” she protested.

Sunset magically lifted up her saddlebag. “This has everything I’ll need to defeat her,” she said. “Celestia said so.”

“So what’s in it?” Spike asked as he finally made it to the kitchen.

Sunset paused just as she was taking out a loaf of bread. “I… haven’t checked yet,” she admitted slowly.

“Well, my house is the safest place you’ll find for miles,” said Twilight. “And I could help you! After all, you traveled almost a hundred years in the future so a lot of things are probably different from your time.”

“Has any of the capitals changed?” Sunset asked.

“Well… no…”

“How about major roads?”

“Yes.”

Sunset growled. “Governments?”

“Radically.”

“Nations?”

“Same only to a certain extent. The guard system has also been completely revised. New constitutions have been set in place—”

Sunset stuck a hoof in Twilight’s mouth to silence the purple mare, but then took it out and nodded to concede her defeat. She put the saddlebag on the table and lifted out the first item her magic could find.

It was a map. The parchment was a leathery-brown color. The map named the different nations and major settlements, and depicted the varying geography in Equestria, all in black ink.

“This looks like a fairly ordinary map,” said Twilight as she voiced the group’s collective thoughts. “It’s kind of old, but it doesn’t appear ancient to any extent.”

“Maybe it has something written on the back,” Spike suggested. He reached out a claw to touch the map, but Sunset swatted his claws away.

“I don’t want your little daggers ripping this to shreds,” Sunset growled. She surveyed the map. “Let’s see, if Manehattan is here—” As she jabbed the labeled city, the map began to glow. The two ponies and dragon gasped as a soft golden light shone from the parchment. The light wasn’t blinding, but the three flinched in surprise and looked at the map warily until the glow had slowly faded away.

“What are those?” Spike asked as he looked at the map again. While the map itself looked the same, there were now six images on its borders. In the four corners of the map and on the top border were five gems. The final image was on the bottom border, and it was a golden star that looked remarkably like a compass with its two intersecting four-pointed stars. At five of its points hung five gems, with a sixth gem lying in the center.

Sunset bit her bottom lip. She didn’t have an answer for Spike, but was hesitant to admit it.

Twilight’s head suddenly snapped up. “I remember seeing a picture like that in a book!” she exclaimed as she pointed a hoof at the image on the bottom border of the map. She galloped upstairs to the library and began sifting through the burned remains. “Please be in one piece. Please be in one piece,” she whispered as she went to the section of the library the book had been.

“Found it!” Spike exclaimed as he stuck his head out of a pile of smoldering planks. Twilight jumped. She hadn’t even realized he had followed her.

“Thanks, Spike,” she said graciously as she took the book from him. The book’s cover was brown and faded by age. On the book’s front cover lay an image of a golden unicorn mare with teal eyes. A Fleur de Lis decorated each corner of the book, and two gold stripes went across the book’s binding.

Sunset stuck her head up from the stairs and carefully stepped through the debris. “So what does it say?” she asked after she saw Twilight with her nose in the book.

“It says that the images on the map are Elements of Harmony,” Twilight replied. She lay the book flat to let Spike and Sunset see a page with that had the same picture as the one on the bottom border of the map, but this one was colored in. The star was golden, and each of the six gems had their own color.  “Apparently, they are said to be powerful magical artifacts with the power to dispel evil. However… they were a mere legend even in the time the book was written, and it’s from the times of Old Equestrian. I don’t think many ponies alive today would know about them.”

“So this map shows the Elements of Harmony,” Sunset repeated thoughtfully. She took a second at the map and blinked. “Okay…”

“What?” Twilight asked.

Sunset turned the map around. Twilight’s eyes widened as she saw a blinking golden dot just southeast of where Manehattan was labeled on the map, which was exactly where Twilight’s house was.

“Can I take a closer look?” Twilight asked. Sunset nodded and allowed Twilight to grip it with her telekinesis. Twilight looked at the front of the map, and then the back. She discovered that the glow could only be seen on one side, which was peculiar, but not entirely helpful. After flipping it over a few more times, she tentatively stuck out a hoof to touch the glowing dot.

The second her hoof made contact with the parchment, it began to glow. Unlike the time Sunset had touched it, the glow was not small and golden. Rather, bright lavender light poured from the map, filling up the library in its brilliance. The light slowly dimmed just as it had before, but not without leaving a change to the map. The small image on the map’s bottom border was no longer the simple brown and black colors of the rest of the map. Now the compass-like star of the image was a golden color. Each gem had its own color: blue, orange, red, pink, purple, and green.

“That was… astounding!” Twilight gushed. She began re-examining the map from all angles, but found no other differences besides the newly colored image. “The map has a kind of magic to it that I’ve never seen before. I wonder why it reacted to me. Spike, you try touching it to see if it glows!”

“No!” Sunset protested as she hoisted the map out of Spike’s reach. “He’ll rip it with those sharp claws of his!”

“I’ll have you know that I handle all of Twilight’s books, scrolls, and papers,” Spike said defensively. “I know how to hold paper without shredding it.”

Sunset still looked hesitant, so Twilight pitched in. “Come on, don’t you want to know what happens? What if the map glows every time a pony—or dragon—touches it? Does the duration and intensity of the glow vary between individuals? Think of the science!”

Sunset muttered something under her breath along the lines of, “It’s a hole for a hole if he destroys it,” as she levitated the paper down to Spike’s height.

Catching Sunset’s thinly veiled threat. Spike gently rapped the paper the smooth top part of his claw. To everyone’s surprise, nothing happened. They waited a few seconds in anticipation, but the map still didn’t glow or change in any way.

“Well, that did a lot of good,” Sunset said dejectedly. “At least the map is still in one piece.” 

“Hey!”

“How about we check the rest of the things in your bag, Sunset?” Twilight suggested before another argument could ensue.

Sunset reached inside the bag with her magic, but couldn’t seem to grip anything inside. “Oh come on…” she grumbled as she stuck a hoof in the bag. To her surprise, her hoof couldn’t seem to make contact with anything either. “What in Equestria is wrong with this thing?” Sunset asked in frustration as she tried to stick her hoof in deeper, only to find that no matter how hard she tried she couldn’t fit any more of her hoof inside the saddlebag. She felt no solid resistance on the inside, yet the fact remained that her hoof could not go any farther into her bag.

“What’s wrong?” Twilight asked. After Sunset had explained her dilemma, Twilight offered, “I could scan it for magical enchantments.”

Sunset immediately frowned. Twilight’s idea was a good one, but it infuriated Sunset that she, the student of Princess Celestia, had not come up with it instead. “No thanks, I’ll—” Sunset paused and shook her head. “Better yet, go ahead.”

“Are you sure?” Twilight asked.

Sunset nodded, a smile creeping up on her lips. “Let’s just see how strong of a unicorn you are, Lady Twilight Sparkle.”

In truth, Sunset had more on her mind than simply gauging Twilight’s magical strength. An enchantment-revealing spell was far from the most difficult magical task to perform. Sunset just wanted to see how Twilight’s magic worked for complex spells. Sunset’s drew power from the sun when she had a difficult spell to cast, unlike most unicorns, who simply used their own supply of magic until it ran out. But if Twilight had cast a spell that brought Sunset Shimmer out of a suspension of time and blew up an entire library in the process with only her natural magical reserves… Sunset shivered at the thought.

Twilight gave Sunset a hesitant smile as she lit her horn with the spell. After a few seconds of concentration, she let the magic die out. “It appears to be a kind of preservation spell,” the unicorn said finally. “However, it’s not a spell I’m familiar with. Maybe you would be able to identify it, since it comes from your era.”

Sunset restrained from frowning. Obviously, the spell had not strained Twilight enough to test her full magical ability. Sunset would have to try again at later time. “It’s only been a century, not a millennia or something,” Sunset pointed out. Regardless, she cast the same spell Twilight used. “Huh. It’s one of Celestia’s.”

“Do you always say her name so casually?” Spike asked incredulously.

Sunset turned to the dragon who had spoken. “Why wouldn't I?” she asked coolly.

Spike’s mouth suddenly turned dry. “W-well, when we a-address nobles and r-royalty we usually, well, use their title,” he replied nervously, regretting his sudden outburst. “You act like s-she’s just a friend.”

“I’ve been wondering about that was well,” said Twilight. “Do you skip titles for every pony you meet? After all, that would be rude to—“

“Shut up.” Sunset said the words so icily that Twilight clammed up without a second thought. “As I was saying,” Sunset continued. “This is one of Celestia’s enchantments. When I was a little filly, she used this enchantment when she gave me extremely difficult and complicated tasks. The enchantment is designed to only provide me with the items inside when I need them.”

“Which means whatever else is in the bag is unnecessary as of right now?” Twilight queried.

“Precisely.” Sunset slung the bag on her side, making sure to cover her cutie mark.

“So… I guess you’re going to get started on your journey.”

“Yes.”

“Can we come along?”

“Hold on!” Sunset exclaimed. “Who said I was going to let you or him come with me?”

“Well… I was the one who managed to fill in one of the symbols,” said Twilight. “And the map did stop indicating our position after I touched it.”

“I still don’t see why I should take you along,” Sunset said stubbornly. “I’m going to go stop an evil queen, and there’s nothing a prissy noble could help me with.”

“But you said it yourself that the bag only gave you what you needed, when you needed it,” Twilight replied, ignoring Sunset’s jab. “When you took it out, it indicated this place, until I touched it and activated… something. Whatever I did, it left a mark, literally. It probably means I’m important to your quest.”

“I still don’t think—”

“And what if your mentor actually meant for you to come here?” Twilight pressed. “After all, the book did manage to make it into my possession despite The Queen’s destruction of all evidence that mentioned you. I’ve heard that the Banished Sun Princess was an excellent power pl—I mean strategist. What if she set this up so I would summon you from the time spell?”

Sunset opened her mouth to argue, but then considered it for a moment. “The Queen did believe that I was going to be locked until she was overthrown based on the spell’s design,” she said slowly. “And I wouldn’t put it past Celestia to use a fancy trick like that to tip the scales in my favor.”

Twilight held her breath for several seconds as Sunset deliberated this.

“Fine… you can come along.”

Twilight squealed in excitement and jumped for joy like an exited schoolfilly. “Yes! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! You won’t regret it! Come on, Spike, let’s get packing!”

“Hold on!” Sunset interrupted before Twilight could go galloping out of the library. “I said you could come along, but I have no reason to have him on my back as well.”

“Hey!” Spike protested.

“What’s wrong with Spike coming along?” Twilight asked the other mare.

“He’s useless and annoying,” Sunset said bluntly.

“No, I’m not!”

Twilight steeped in front of Spike defensively. “He’s my assistant,” said Twilight firmly. “Where I go, he goes. I can’t just leave him here, especially with ponies like Deputy Stealing hovering around.”

“Don’t you have parents? Ship him to them,” Sunset said dismissively.

“I’m right here you know!”

“Not happening,” Twilight replied with a firm shake of her head. “He’s under my care and stays with me wherever I go.”

“That’s selfish of you, dragging him around while we go gallivanting into danger.”

“I have thick scales,” Spike muttered.

“It’s my job to care for him and protect him, but I can’t do that if we’re separated. He comes with me.”

“He can stay with you, you mean,” Sunset amended. “I’m not having him with me.”

Twilight stared at the other mare, who stared back coolly. Twilight was trapped in a moral dilemma. Traveling around the world with a student of the Banished Sunset Princess is a once in a lifetime opportunity, she thought. However… I can’t leave Spike. I’m responsible for him, and I can’t shirk my duties even for this. “Fine, I’ll stay with Spike,” Twilight declared aloud. “Help yourself to the fridge and pantry, the food’s just going to rot here if somepony doesn’t take it.”

“Twilight,” said Spike softly as the unicorn turned away and headed for the steps. “You don’t have to give up your chance for adventure just for me. Night Light and Twilight Twinkle would be able to—”

Twilight shook her head. “No, Spike. Taking care of you is my responsibility, and it wouldn’t be fair to you or them if I abandoned you for my own pursuits.”

“Twilight…”

Sunset rolled her eyes as she watched the two. Those two are rather trying to make me pity them, or are horrible at whispering, she thought. She mentally shrugged. Oh well, at least they passed my little test. Now I know how Celestia feels.

“Where do you two think you’re going in such a hurry?” Sunset called out to the duo just as Twilight had descended the first step. The pair turned back to Sunset with confusion that only grew when they saw that Sunset was grinning at them. “Did you really think I’d let an adept unicorn and her dragon chef simply walk away from me? You two got me into this mess, and you’re sticking with me until we’re out of it.”

“Adept?” Spike echoed. “Twilight graduated from Starswirl’s School for Gifted Unicorns at the top of her class! Now she’s the pupil of Mi Amora Candeza, from the house of Candeza! She’s more than adept, she’s a prodigy!”

“Spike, it’s not that big of a deal,” Twilight said with a blush.

“And you’re from the House of Star as well?” Sunset asked as she remembered their conversation from the previous night.
Twilight nodded.

Sunset nodded approvingly. “The House of Star dates back to Starswirl the Bearded. They're one of the most famous houses of nobility I know of. It doesn’t hurt to have connections,” she said thoughtfully. The gears in her head were turning, but she decided to file this tidbit of information away for later. “Alright, let’s pack up whatever we’ll need and set out as early tomorrow morning as possible.”

“Where are we going exactly?” Spike asked.

“The map will show us,” Sunset replied confidently as she rolled her eyes.

Twilight looked at the map. “Um… it’s not glowing,” said Twilight. Indeed, the glowing dot had vanished when the mark had newly colored, so there was no longer any indication for where they needed to go next. “How will we know where to go?”

“All I have to do is get it to work again,” Sunset replied without hesitation. She stared at the map, and then used her levitation to shake it, but to no avail. “Come on, you! Glow!”

Twilight and Spike approached her cautiously. “Last time you touched it with your hoof,” said Spike helpfully.

“I knew that,” Sunset growled. Without making eye contact her companions, she tentatively jabbed a hoof at the map. As a result, another soft golden glow filled the map. The light gradually faded away, but left one glowing dot on the map.

“I know that place!” Spike exclaimed as he pointed a claw at the dot. “It’s on the mainland, and only a few miles from the shore!”

“I’m not familiar with any settlement there,” said Sunset with a frown.

“That’s because the town was founded only a few decades ago, no pony lived there during your time,” Twilight replied.

“It’s a good thing you have a pony and a dragon who are in with the times,” Spike rubbed in as he elbowed Sunset’s leg.

Sunset shoved him aside. “Just focus on packing up everything we’ll need.”





One hundred years ago, Canterlot was known as a beacon of light across Equestria. The two Princesses of Equestria ruled the glorious city-state side by side. Celestia, of course, ruled by day, while her younger sister, Luna, ruled by night. Canterlot had been famous for its tall, white buildings that were trimmed with shimmering gold. Many ponies claimed that the radiance of the Princesses who ruled it kept the city sparkling clean, but those ponies had not seen the budget for public services.

Canterlot was also home to the most prestigious magical university in Equestria, Starwirl’s School for Gifted Unicorns. Complete with two levels of higher education, attending this school was a dream that most unicorn colts and fillies aspired to achieve. Only the Princesses themselves surpassed the university’s level of popularity and tourism. By far, Canterlot was the most popular travel destination in Equestria for both scholars and tourists alike.

The majority of Canterlot’s inhabitants included the Canterlot Royal Guard, their immediate families, and a collection of ponies with intellectual pursuits. However, that did not stop other ponies from buying property in the elegant city. Almost every famous pony in Equestria owned at least one house in Canterlot, and some of them were audacious enough to buy as much as three. Of course, sometimes the Princesses—namely, Luna—gave away a luxurious house to any noble that they found to be… undesirable. After all, the taxes on Canterlot’s true citizens needed to be kept low somehow.

Things had changed drastically over the century.

In present times, Canterlot still housed Starswirl’s School for Gifted Unicorns. However, instead of pristine white buildings with golden trimming, almost everything in the city came in shades of grey, black, and blue. Few ponies who weren’t related to the royal guards dared to live so close to the Queen of Equestria, especially with Equestria’s latest citizens making up the majority of Canterlot’s current population.
Batponies.

It was impossible walk down the streets of Canterlot without seeing at least one batpony—whether it be a guard or a civilian. The civilians were nice enough. If you ignored their creepy slit-like eyes and unusual wings, they didn’t seem any different from the ordinary pony. The talked, laughed, and held jobs just like the rest of Equestria’s citizens.

However, the batpony guards were a different story. Batpony guards acted with a rigidness that made even the best of any nations’ soldiers uneasy. Crime in Canterlot was much lower than any other major city in all of Equestria because most criminals knew that batpony guards were the worst kind of guards to deal with. The batponies had the strength and durability to engage earth ponies in close quarters without being taken out by a single buck. Batponies had flight, agility, and stamina, which allowed them to catch all but the best of pegasi fliers. The batponies’ keen eyes and ears could render most unicorn enchantments useless for hiding and fleeing.

The Royal Guard, the Queen’s personal army, was comprised almost exclusively of Batponies. They were her enforcers throughout Equestria. They displayed her presence and power. They showed that she was in control.

A needless amount of the Royal Guard patrolled the Canterlot castle both day and night. Even the road leading up to the castle held three pairs of guards, which effectively scared off anypony who would attempt to approach the heart of The Queen’s domain.

A single unicorn walked down the road to the castle. The unicorn was a large and muscular stallion. His coat was as dark and grey as coal, and his narrowed eyes housed tiny embers at their core. His pitch-black mane and tail were groomed at sharp angles, which only added to his fierce appearance. However, his most notable and frightening feature was his horn. Unlike most unicorn horns, it was not a straight, spiraling steeple. Rather, it was completely smooth and curved upwards like the horn of a rhino. While the horn started out as grey as the stallion’s coat, it gradually gained a red tinge until it ended in a fiery red curved point.

The unicorn was dressed in a suit armor. Like all of the Royal Guards, the majority of his armor was a midnight blue, which accented his grey fur perfectly. Unlike most guards, however, he wore no crest on his helmet. His natural mane flowed freely from his head and neck. On the front of his helmet, a navy blue crescent moon signified his military rank.

The stallion approached the gates to the castle without pausing in his step or looking at the guards. The gates swung outward for his arrival, and gently shut behind him once he had passed through.

Through the corridors and rows of guards, the stallion walked with assurance in his step. He only stopped when he reached the closed doors to the throne room. Then the two guards who stood in front of the door moved aside and opened the door without question. 

As the unicorn entered the throne room, one of the batponies announced, “Presenting General Sombra of the Royal Guard!”

Sombra strode deeper into the throne room with dignity. Most ponies would cower at the thought of meeting the queen in the royal throne room, but Sombra relished the opportunity. He was one of the three generals of the Royal Guard, and his regular meetings with the Queen did nothing to humble his ego.

Nightmare Moon—or as she was now known as, The Queen of Equestria—was reclining on her throne. The alicorn was not wearing her armor, since it was impractical to wear aside from formal gatherings and public appearances. She had several sheets of paper levitating in front of her, and two stacks of papers resting at each side of her thrown. The flicking of her ears was the only indication that she had heard to the guard’s announcement. For several moments, the two guards simply stood at the doorway and watched Sombra slowly walk forward. The unicorn only stopped when he had reached the foot of the stairs.

“Leave us,” The Queen finally said, even though she still didn’t look up from her work. The two batponies bowed low and shut the heavy wooden doors behind them.

“You called, my Queen?”

“Yes,” the alicorn mare replied with her eyes still fixated on the documents before her. “I’ve received reports of magical disturbance near Manehattan. I want you to investigate.”

“Already done,” Sombra replied promptly. His job was usually to suppress uprisings and discipline rebels, but he never turned down an opportunity to assist his queen in other matters. “It turns out that a certain young noblemare by the name Twilight Sparkle—”

“Oh, that foal…” The Queen interrupted with a grumble. “She’s the one who the Fire Empire nobles keep trying to banish from their nation, correct?”

“As always, my Queen,” Sombra replied with a small bow.

“Flattery will get you nowhere, Sombra.”

“It is not flattery, my queen. It is a fact.”

The Queen smiled as she finally looked up to face the grey unicorn. The alicorn’s fangs gave her smile a predatory appearance, but unlike most ponies, Somba didn’t flinch at the sight. Rather, his attention was focused on the weary expression on his queen’s face. He could tell by the bags under her eyes that she hadn’t slept in a long time.  “There’s a reason you’re my favorite,” the mare said with a dry chuckle. “Now… what were you saying about this noblemare?”

“Apparently, one of her latest experimental spells resulted in the destruction of the top floor of her house and caused panic across the metro-Manehattan area,” Sombra replied formally. “At least, that’s what the report says. Regardless, I allowed those foalish nobles to pass a petition that declared Lady Twilight Sparkle an indefinite minor. I believe now she will be unable to cause any headaches for you.”

“She only gives headaches to the nobles, not to me,” The Queen corrected him.

“The nobles complain about their headaches to you, which in turn gives you a headache. Therefore, she is the root cause of your headaches,” Sombra argued.

The Queen chuckled. “Very good argument, Sombra, but I believe this little unicorn could be quite useful to me. She’s powerful, independent, and stubborn. In fact, she reminds me of how you acted when you were her age, and even how you act now.”

“I have matured since my youth,” Sombra said with a growl.

“And yet you still are the pony who fears me the least in Equestria, especially when your temper riles up,” the mare countered. “You are getting old, you know. She could do well as your apprentice.”

“I’m not old and I would never work with somepony so childish,” Sombra replied stiffly.

“You’ll have to accept the truth soon or later,” The Queen replied. “The mare could learn, but first, she’ll need to realize her own potential. I want you to bring her to me.”

“Dead or alive?”

“Very funny,” The Queen replied, but her voice contained no trace of amusement. “I want you to visit her home and—”

“The Manehattan guards probably removed her from her home by now,” Sombra cut in. “I wouldn’t put it past them.”

The Queen sighed. “Fine, figure out where she went and bring her to me. I wish to give her an offer she could never turn down.”

“As you wish,” said Sombra as he turned to leave.

“Don’t scare her,” the alicorn warned. “I want her to come willingly; otherwise my job will be much harder.” Her eyes narrowed. “I am dead serious about this Sombra. You may be a general, but remember that I am your queen. Do not take liberties in this assignment.”
Sombra nodded mutely, opened the door with his magic, and left the throne room.

The Queen sighed as the doors slammed shut behind Sombra. Slowly and painstakingly, she got up from her throne, hearing several pops and groans from her joints as she did so. After a cat-like stretch, she began pacing the throne room, deep in thought. While Sombra is very useful for maintaining order in Equestria when a strong hoof is needed, he lacks the tact needed for delicate situations, she thought as she sighed softly. However, with one of my generals at Equestria’s western border, and another dealing with those foalish Northern Water Tribers, I don’t have much of a choice. It’s not like I can send just anypony after all.

The Queen gave her wings a few experimental flaps to stretch the tensed muscles. Satisfied, she jumped from the ground began gliding around the throne room in small circles. If only I could go myself, she thought regretfully. But somepny has to take to deal with these legal complexities, and I can’t trust any other pony with them. I’ll have to wait another time to enjoy some time to myself.

After a few minutes, The Queen gently landed, her hooves hardly making a sound on the polished stone floor. She looked up at one of her stained glass windows. It depicted her, armored and in the prime of her power, sealing away the Princess of the Sun, Celestia. The memory of the event was still clear in The Queen’s mind; never could she forget the day she had defeated her sister and began her conquest of Equestria. “I know that your hoof is behind last night’s events,” the alicorn whispered to the glass image of Celestia. “You’ve always been a power player, after all; always putting up an act so you could slip your pawns into position!” The Queen snarled as her voice rose in volume. “I may not know what you have planned, but I will do everything in my power to stop you. I will rule Equestria better than you ever could have! And I will do so until I give my final breath!”

The alicorn turned away from the window and returned to her throne. She tried to return to her task of reviewing petitions and revising legal drafts, but her mind wandered back to the assignment she had given her general. She had neglected to inform Sombra that she had known about the magical disturbance long before the report had reached her. The magic involved was immensely powerful and ancient, beyond the dreams of most magical scholars. Feeling it had stirred something in the old mare. It had been a long time since she had felt such a force, but she was certain that her senses were correct.

After over two hundred years, she could once again feel the power of the Avatar.
> Loyalty Part 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Previously on Dual Elements:

“My name is Lady Twilight Sparkle of the House of Star,” Twilight introduced herself formally with a polite dip of her head. “And this is Spike, my number one assistant.”

…

“I am Sunset Shimmer, personal student of Princess Celestia, Bringer of the Sun and Day!”

…

“Uh-oh.”

…

“Now I’m stranded in the wrong period of time!”

…
“Couldn’t you simply recast the spell?” Twilight suggested.

…

“No, because the spell is too long and complicated to cast from memory!” Sunset shouted. “It took me several minutes to use it even when I had the scroll in front of me! This means Equestria is doomed to be ruled by Nightmare Moon, forever!”

…

“This hereby decrees that the unicorn noblemare, Lady Twilight Sparkle, is no longer considered to be an adult capable of independence and must be accompanied by certified adult at all times. Due to your new status, we, the Local Guard of Manehattan, retain the right evict you from this property at any time.

…

“So… I guess you’re going to get started on your journey.”

“Yes.”

“Can we come along?”

…

“You called, my Queen?”

…

“Yes, I’ve received reports of magical disturbance near Manehattan. I want you to investigate.”

…
“It turns out that a certain young noblemare by the name Twilight Sparkle—”

…

“I want her to come willingly; otherwise my job will be much harder.” Her eyes narrowed. “I am dead serious about this Sombra. You may be a general, but remember that I am your queen. Do not take liberties in this assignment.”

…

After over two hundred years, she could once again feel the power of the Avatar.





“Twilight! Spike! Hurry up! Cele—I mean, that crazy queen of yours already raised the sun several minutes ago!”

“Coming!” Twilight hollered back. She dashed down the flight of stairs from the library with Spike on her back. “I’ve got my books, scrolls, inkwells, spare blankets, pillows, and enough bits to cover our expenses for a while. Was that everything on the checklist, Spike?”

“Pillow, check. Bits, check. Yup, that everything on your list,” Spike replied jovially. “Wow, that’s the shortest list I’ve gone through in weeks! You all packed Sunset?”

“I have all of the food, several bottles of water, and my journal,” said Sunset replied with a roll of her eyes.

Spike smiled as he checked the three things off a separate checklist. “New record for shortest list!” he announced. Then he looked at the saddlebags both mares had. Twilight had a moderately sized saddlebag slung on her side, while Sunset carried an identical bag as well as her small saddlebag. Each bag that Sunset carried rested on one of her thighs, concealing her cutie mark from view. “Uh… are you sure you got everything we need?” Spike asked as he scratched his head.

“Duh,” Sunset said with a roll of her eyes.

“And we’re not going to be on rations right?” Spike asked nervously.

“We have to be prepared to rough it,” Sunset informed him, not directly answering his question.

Spike gulped. “Yeah, but we’re not going to be, like, starving, are we?” he asked as he rubbed his stomach. “And we’re not going to be sleeping on bedsheets, right? You know, the ground can get really, really hard and cold at night, and I’ll need a nice, soft blanket to keep me warm and snug.”

“Don’t worry, Spike,” Twilight assured him. “We’re not going to sleep on bedsheets and I’m pretty sure we’re not going to starve as long as we restock regularly. I used a space enlargement spell to fit everything in my bag.” She gently rubbed her horn. “It took a bit of work though.”

“Looks like you aren’t quite up to my level in enchantments,” said Sunset smugly. “I used the same spell without breaking a sweat.” She left out that she had drawn power from the sun the previous day to ease the spellcasting process.

The two ponies and their dragon set out on their journey. Sunset hung back and let Spike and Twilight do all the navigating through the outskirts of Manehattan while she took in the scenery. While the area Twilight lived in was modest and friendly, Sunset did not appreciate the city skyline looming nearby. She was relieved when they finally reached the shores of Manehattan, which were much cleaner than she had expected, especially since the rocky terrain made it a less than ideal spot for beachgoers. Last time Sunset had visited this side of Manehattan, the beaches had been littered with trash and shady looking ponies. Now, the beach was clear of stray debris, and the only ponies in sight besides themselves were a young couple who strolling at the water’s edge. I thought Equestria would turn out worse than this under Nightmare Moon’s rule, Sunset thought. Maybe the real Luna managed to break through enough to keep Equestria from delving into total chaos?

How much of Luna is actually in Nightmare Moon? Sunset wondered. She thought back to her independent studies of dark and forbidden magic. Creatures like Nightmare Moon are born from ponies’ negative emotions combining with animation spells or objects that have similar enchantments on them. The magic gives the emotions some form of life, but the creations are never the same as normal ponies. These abominations were sometimes only spectral, and lived inside their creator’s body. However, they could have physical bodies that belonged to them alone. This usually results a clone of the pony, sometimes with different mane and tail colors, but sometimes the alternate personas simply… replace the original.

Luna was a fool for using such magic, Sunset thought angrily. Now I have to clean up her mess and somehow stop her creation. Not only that, but I have to figure out if Luna still exists in any sense of the word. Celestia will kill me if I simply blast away that wretched Nightmare without extracting crucial information from it. This is so frustrating! There’s reason these kinds of things are forbidden and locked away! How could Luna ever think that using forbidden magic was a good idea?

How could I ever think that using forbidden magic was a good idea?

Sunset let out an audible growl, startling her two companions. She shook her head to assure them that she was fine, and then made sure to keep her thoughts solely on the scenery as they continued walking.

The news of Twilight’s change in legal status apparently had not reached the public, since the young noblemare had no trouble securing a ride from a ferrying unicorn mare that they met farther up along the beach. Instead of paying in solid bits like Sunset had expected, Twilight had given the ferrymare a check. Sunset was surprised that Twilight had brought a checkbook with her, but decided not to ask. After all, times had changed drastically in the past hundred years.

Unfortunately for Sunset, the sickening rocking motion of small boats had not.

Sunset heaved once again, sending the contents of her stomach down into the waters below.

“You could have told us you get seasick,” said Twilight as she pitifully watched the orange mare. “We could’ve found another way to travel.”

“I forgot,” Sunset replied with a groan. “Haven’t been in a boat in years.”

“You’d think seasickness is one thing you would never forget,” Spike commented.

Sunset glared at him, but had to turn back around quickly to empty more of her breakfast into the sea.





As soon as her stomach was empty, Sunset lied down in the back of the boat to sleep. With the ferrymare rowing in the middle of the boat, Twilight and Spike were forced to wait at the front of the boat for the hour-long ride to end.

Spike sat down on the side of the boat, He kicked his legs slowly through the air, and looked down at his rippling reflection in the water. Frowning, he turned his head to look and the sleeping figure of Sunset, and then turned to Twilight. “Twilight, can I ask you something?” he asked.

“Sure you can, Spike,” Twilight replied as she took her nose out of the book he was reading. “What is it?”

Spike moved the rest of his body around so he could face Twilight properly. “Well, you see…” Spike scuffed his foot awkwardly against the side of the boat. “It’s about Sunset.”

“What about her?” Twilight asked.

“Well…” Spike couldn’t figure out how to convey what he was feeling properly, so he decided to change his tactic. “Twilight do you trust her?”

Twilight was caught off guard by the question. “Well, I guess so,” she replied uncertainly. “What do you mean by that?”

“Did you ever think about the fact that we’re going to be traveling around the world with her while she plans to—” he gave the ferrymare a sidelong glance as he whispered, “Overthrow The Queen.”

“What’s wrong with that?” Twilight asked. “We couldn’t stay at home, and staying with Shiny or my parents was out of the question. At least we have something productive to do with our time.”

It was times like this that made Spike question Twilight’s sanity. “But we did have to do something so dangerous?” Spike whispered worriedly. “Couldn’t we have toured the Northern Water Tribe libraries? Or checked out old dragon legends from the Fire Empire? And I know that you’ve been dying to interview the Air Nomads for years! Any of those would’ve been better—not to mention safer—than this.”

“I-I didn’t know you disliked my idea this much,” said Twilight in surprise. “Why didn’t you say something earlier?”

“Because I don’t trust her.” Spike indicated with a tilt of his head.

Twilight followed his indication. “The ferrymare?” She asked in confusion. “What does she have to do with anything?”

“No.” Spike facepalmed. “Behind her!”

“But that’s Sunset.”

“Exactly!”

“What’s wrong with Sunset?” Twilight asked. “I know she can be a little annoying sometimes—”

“A little?”

“Well, alright, she’s a jerk,” Twilight admitted. “But you went through that phase once too.”

“I was teething!” Spike protested as he crossed his arms with a huff. “But that’s not the point! The point is I don’t think you should trust Sunset as much as you do.”

“Why not?” Twilight asked.

“Because she’s not trustworthy!” Spike declared.

“But why isn’t she trustworthy?” Twilight asked. “Despite her flaws, she seems pretty determined to—” She spared a glance that the ferrymare, who was whistling a tune and staring off into the horizon. “Complete her quest,” she finished awkwardly. “I know we wanted to bring you-know-who to do it, but instead we got her. And since she has the same goal as us and we destroyed her—or you-know-who’s—initial plan, teaming up with her is the best option I see of us both getting what we want.

“Twilight, I still don’t believe Sunset is from the past,” Spike said stubbornly.

“But didn’t we already explain—”

“I heard the explanation,” Spike interrupted. “But it still doesn’t make sense to me. How could Sunset’s essence be the actual sunset? How do we know that her cutie mark is real and not paint or something? How do we know the spell didn’t just backfire? And don’t you think that Sunset acts the slightest bit strange?”

“Spike.”

“I’m just saying!” Spike exclaimed. “We just met her and you’re acting like she’s, well, a friend.”

“Spike, you do know that we don’t have time or energy to make friends,” Twilight replied with a roll of her eyes. “And Sunset made it pretty clear that she thinks the same way. As far as I see it, we’re…” She struggled for the right word. “Let’s see, traveling companions? Associates? Acquaintances?  Ah! We’re fellow adventurers on a quest to revolutionize Equestria, just like in those picture books you keep reading.”

“Comic books, Twilight. They’re called comic books, not picture books.”

“Yeah, those,” Twilight said distractedly. “Anyway, my point is that I have no reason to not trust Sunset, so I might as well trust her. Don’t worry, Spike, I’m not ignoring your advice,” she added when she saw his downcast expression. “I just think you’re being a little paranoid. Tell you what, if Sunset shows any sign of being less than authentic, we’ll head straight to my parents’ house; bet or no bet.”

“Thanks, Twi,” said Spike with a sigh of relief.

“Come here, Spike,” said Twilight as she pulled him into a hug. “When did you become the worrywart of the two of us?” she asked him with a smile.

“Do I have to remind you of the number of nobles who want to see you banished to the Badlands?”





When the trio finally arrived at the “mainland”—which was the common misnomer for the biggest island of the Fire Empire—the three of them paused for a moment to take in the sights. The ferrymare had dropped them by a the coastal city that Twilight and Spike hadn’t visited in months, and even then they had only quickly passed through without taking a break for sightseeing. Sunset had seen the city only once, and a lot had changed over the past hundred years.

“Where are we?” Sunset asked Twilight. “I don’t remember a city like this around here.”

It was Spike who answered instead. “We’re in Winniton, one of the mainland’s busiest coastal cities. Ponies often stop by here to receive an ocean tour, or to see the fire-dancers, or to simply relax on Winniton’s gorgeous coastal beach.”

Sunset stared at him with wide eyes. Although she said nothing, it was clear that she was impressed.

“He read it off the sign over there,” said Twilight as she indicated a billboard with a hoof. Sunset glared at Spike, who gave a nervous chuckle in response. “This city is over a hundred years old, but it was only a small town in your time,” Twilight informed Sunset. “Over the years, the city has flourished because of its strategic location near Manehattan, and it is now one of largest coastal cities of the Fire Empire. However, Winniton also is infamous for one thing. Crime.”

As if on cue, Sunset suddenly felt a tug on her saddlebag. With honed reflexes, she turned around threw out a hoof, sending a crescent of flame to her side. The young and ragged green unicorn colt who had attempted to remove her saddlebag galloped away as fast as his short legs could carry him.

Twilight frowned. “That was—” Before Twilight could finish, Sunset sent a stream of flames from her horn past the other unicorn’s head. The purple mare ducked and Spike leapt off her back in alarm, but they hadn’t needed to bother. The attack whistled by the head of a grey unicorn colt who was several years older than the first one they had seen. The torrent of flames sent him galloping away as well, leaving nearly half of his charred mane behind.

“Was that really necessary?” Twilight scolded Sunset as the orange mare moved on casually. While Sunset’s display had turned a few heads, once the ponies realized who she had been targeting they went back to their business. Spike, however, kept a closer eye on Sunset than he had before.

“The little one was going to try to grab my attention by performing a pathetic robbery attempt that a foal would be able to foil,” Sunset said calmly. “After failing to snatch my bag, he would sit there blubbering about his dying mother or whatever, while the older one would carefully pry away my smaller saddlebag, since it appears to be my purse. Then the little one would eventually run away crying, and my saddlebag would be in the hooves of his accomplice. It’s usually a really effective ploy, or, at least it was in my days. And apparently, it hasn’t fallen out of the criminal circles yet. Interesting.”

Twilight and Spike gaped.

Sunset shrugged nonchalantly. “You really need to get out more,” she said. “Come on, we’ve got a tiny little village to find.”

After bucking away a scrawny earth pony stallion who had tried to cut their bags, and nearly blasting a trio of thieving pegasi fillies out of the sky, Sunset decided to take a more defensive approach to protecting her bags. She focused on absorbing the sun’s rays and letting off they heat they brought. The heat Sunset radiated gave prickling discomfort, but wasn’t necessarily painful. However, it still did its job of warning thieves that she was not an easy target. Additionally, she no longer had to wade through a crowd of ponies in order to get to the end of the street.

“How are you doing that?” Twilight asked as she trotted up next to Sunset. The heat that radiated from Sunset’s body prickled Twilight’s skin uncomfortably, but her experiences with raising a baby dragon and having spells blow up in her face allowed her to tolerate it for the time being. Spike, on the other hand, had felt so comfortable in the extra heat that he had settled down for a nap on Twilight’s back despite his misgivings of Sunset.

Sunset considered snubbing the other mare, but she couldn’t resist a chance to show off. “I’m absorbing the sunlight and converting it into heat,” she explained. “Every time I take a step, I’m using a small amount of my firebending to release the heat from my body to the air around me. At least, that’s the simplest way to describe it. The actually process is much more complex.” The smugness in her words rolled off her voice as thickly as the waves of heat from her body.

“Incredible!” Twilight exclaimed. “How long did it take for you to learn? Who taught you? Did you teach yourself?”

“Slow down,” Sunset said with an arrogant smile. “It took me a few days to learn the basics of the technique, but it took many years to master it. Cel—” Sunset paused as she remembered their current surroundings. “My mentor noticed that I could heat up the air around me whenever I got angry, so she taught me this technique so I could use my ability at will.”

“Did you get your cutie mark for mastering the technique?” Twilight asked curiously.

Sunset chuckled. “Nah, I got my cutie mark much earlier than that. I’ll have to tell you about that one later, when we’re away from all of this riffraff.”

Suddenly, Twilight frowned. “About those ponies back there—”

“The thieves?” Sunset interrupted.

“Well, yes.”

“They deserved it.”

“If those three fillies had crashed they could have been seriously hurt,” Twilight admonished Sunset. “And that colt, you singed off nearly half of his mane!”

“Half-manes were considered ‘in’ one-hundred and thirty years ago. It’s called bringing back an old style.”

“Another inch to the right and you would’ve hit his eye!”

Sunset stopped and turned to face Twilight directly. “Look, I don’t know where you’ve been living, but everypony knows that gutter thieves are scum. Those bums don’t care who you are or where you come from; if you have something they want, they’ll take it. The only way to get them off your tail is to show them who’s boss.” Sunset did not raise her voice or express any anger as she spoke. Rather, she presented everything she said as a fact, and acted as if she was a teacher who was patiently giving her student a lesson.

Twilight was silent for a few moments. “Could you just, I don’t know, be a little more careful next time?” she asked hesitantly.

“What constitutes as ‘more careful’?”

Twilight groaned. “Just make sure your warning shots don’t accidently maim anypony,” she said. “Or better yet, make sure your warning shots don’t even touch anypony. No more feather searing or mane singeing.”

“Fine,” Sunset said as she rolled her eyes dramatically. “Whatever helps you sleep at night.”

Twilight gave Sunset a half smile. “Thanks.”

The two continued to walk in silence through the city streets. The stream of ponies gradual died as they headed inland, away from tourist traps and general activity. They walked through the shadier parts of the city—undisturbed due to Sunset’s heat bubble—and then they finally made it out of Winniton. Only then did Sunset let her protective field die out.

Spike woke up with a start at the sudden loss of heat. “What happened?” he asked as he looked around frantically. “Where’d the buildings and ponies go?”

“Nowhere,” Sunset replied drily. “We left them behind. Come on, it’ll take us a few more hours to reach the backwater town we’re headed to.”





“East Steel Town?” Sunset read aloud as the trio passed a sign that welcomed them to the town. “What pony in their right mind would name a town like that?”

Spike shrugged. “Maybe they wanted to compete with West Steel Town,” he suggested.

“Wait, there’s a town with that name?” Sunset asked incredulously.

Spike shrugged again.

“Can you two please not make fun of the town’s name while we’re inside?” Twilight whispered furiously. “We don’t want to offend the residents!”

“Sorry, Twi,” said Spike apologetically.

Sunset snorted. “The pony who is triggering the glow on my map is the only pony that interests me in this place,” she stated. “Once I find that pony I’m heading out of this place as fast as my hooves can carry me.”

“Forgetting anyone?” Spike asked pointedly.

“You know what I mean.”

“I think you might have to rethink your plan,” said Twilight.

“Don’t tell me you’re planning mutiny,” said Sunset in exasperation.

“What? No!” Twilight protested. “It’s just that, well, first it’s going to be hard to find the pony even in a town this small.”

“I’ll think of some way to streamline the process.”

“And what do you plan to do when you find the pony?”

Sunset shrugged. “Well, if the pony is anything like you, then they’re bound to make useful traveling companions,” she replied.

“But what if the pony doesn’t want to come along?”

Sunset came to a halt. “What are you talking about? Who would turn down an offer like that? We’re going to be defea—defending Equestria.”

“Not all ponies are as interested as I am when it comes to, well, what we’re doing,” Twilight replied.

“Girls, I think you might want to save this conversation for later,” Spike whispered. “Some ponies are starting to stare.”

Twilight and Sunset looked around. Unlike in Winniton, ponies here actually paid attention to newcomers; and the conversation the two mares were having was drawing more than a few curious looks. Twilight and Sunset instinctively ducked their heads and fell silent as they continued walking.

Twilight’s stomach then announced the group’s next major concern. “How about we start searching for the pony after lunch?” she suggested. “It’s already at least two in the afternoon.”

Spike and Sunset’s stomach growled in response. “Good idea,” Sunset agreed heartily. “But where would we find something to eat around here?”

“Looking for a bite to eat?” A new voiced asked from above them. The trio looked up to see a blue mare’s face mere inches from their own. The mare had a friendly but mischievous smile on her face, and her violet eyes glimmered with amusement. Her mane was short and her tail was long, and both were as colorful as a rainbow. Her wings flapped almost noiselessly to keep her in position above them.

Each of the three travelers had different reactions.

Twilight screamed.

Spike fell from Twilight’s back.

Sunset released a spiraling blast of fire from her horn.

The pegasus mare, thankfully, had the agility to dodge the attack even at point blank range. “Chill out!” she exclaimed as she glared at Sunset. “You could have hurt somepony with that! Namely, me!” She examined her colorful mane and tail, and sighed in relief when she found both to be perfectly intact.

“Don’t you know better than to sneak up ponies like that?” Sunset said accusingly. Her heart was still racing from the fright the pegasus gave her. She mentally kicked herself. How did I get caught off guard by such a noisy Pegasus?

“You could at least learn how to keep your nerves under control,” the pegasus retorted. “Imagine what would happen if I really was trying to scare you.”

“Sunset!” Twilight said sharply before Sunset could give a biting response. “Just apologize!”

“As if!” Sunset grumbled. “She’s the one who snuck up on me! She’s the one who should be apologizing!”

“Geez!” The pegasus crossed her hooves in annoyance. “Fine. I’m sorry for terrifying you into a fiery rage with my friendly question. Happy?” she asked with a roll of her eyes.

Sunset merely growled in response, but Twilight prodded her side and tilted her head to indicate the crowd of ponies around them. The townsponies were watching the confrontation with interest, but not with any open hostility, yet. Sunset knew better than to openly fight without good reason, especially when she was in a possibly unfriendly environment. “Apology accepted,” she said curtly. To Twilight and Spike she grunted, “Come on, let’s go find some food.” She stalked away from the colorful mare, with Twilight and Spike trailing behind her.

“Hold on a sec!” the pegasus exclaimed.

The three turned to look at her. “What do you want?” Sunset asked with narrowed eyes.

“Me, nothing,” the pegasus replied. “I just know where you can find some great food for your empty bellies.”

“You’ll probably lead us to the most over-priced place in town,” Sunset scoffed. “No thanks.”

Twilight sharply jabbed the other unicorn’s side. “What she means to say,” Twilight said to the blue pegasus. “Is that we would be very grateful if you would lead us to a place to dine comfortably.”

The pegasus laughed and rolled in the air. “You’re a strange bunch,” she said with a grin.

“Uh… thanks?” Twilight responded hesitantly.

The pegasus flew down so she was only just above the ground. “Name’s Rainbow Dash. Fastest flier in Equestria!” she said as she stuck out a hoof.

Twilight shook the extended hoof firmly. “I am Lady Twilight Sparkle of the House of Star,” she replied formerly with a polite bow of her head. “This is my assistant, Spike, and our companion—”

“Sunset,” Sunset said brusquely. “Just Sunset.” Twilight raised an eyebrow, but the orange unicorn gave a small shake of her head.

The pegasus watched the exchange curiously, but decided not to pry into their business. Instead, she starting flying away and called over her shoulder, “Hurry up, slowpokes! If your bellies get any louder, they’ll hear you in Canterlot!”





Rainbow Dash took the traveling trio to a comfortable noodle restaurant. The food was more expensive there than at some of the other establishments the trio had passed on the way, which made Sunset suspect it was a tourist trap. However, Rainbow Dash introduced her to the townsponies who were eating there, assuring her that the restaurant was a popular place even among the locals. It didn’t hurt that the owner of shop, a stallion by the name of Ramen, offered them a discount for being new to the area.

Soon enough, six bowls of noodles lay in front of the three ponies and dragon.

“Um… who are the other two bowls for?” Rainbow asked they each took a bowl.

Sunset slurped several mouthfuls of the steaming hot pasta down her throat before she responded. “Me,” she said, before resuming slurping down the rest of the contents of her bowl.

Rainbow shot the other two a questioning look.

Spike shrugged. “This would make the second time I’ve seen her eat so much,” he said. “And I’ve only known her for less than three days.”

“Three days?” Dash echoed in surprise. “Wow, you guys must have hit off really well.”

Spike thought back to his multiple interactions with Sunset. “Not really,” he replied. “We actually just got roped into going on some crazy adventure to find the Ele—”

Twilight plugged a hoof into his mouth as she flashed Dash a nervous smile. “We’re looking for some old, magical things,” she said. “You’ve probably never heard of them.”

“Uh-huh,” said Rainbow Dash dubiously as she raised an eyebrow.

Sunset sighed contently as she put down an empty bowl. “We’re looking for a pony who lives in this town who’s very magical and may be a unicorn,” she said as she grabbed another bowl of noodles in her hooves.

“May be a unicorn?” Dash echoed. “You don’t know?”

“Not really,” Twilight replied hesitantly. “We’re on a scavenger hunt of sorts.”

“A scavenger hunt?” Rainbow Dash asked skeptically as she raised an eyebrow.

Twilight nodded.

Dash shrugged. “Well, I’m afraid I can’t help you too much there,” she replied. “I only moved here less than a year ago, and I can’t say I know anypony who’s very ‘magical’. All I can say is that the unicorn population here is smaller than you would expect from a Fire Empire town.”

Spike stood in his seat looked around the shop, and then looked through the windows to see the streets outside. At least half of the ponies he could see were earth ponies; pegasi weren’t uncommon, and there was a noticeable lack of unicorns. “I see what you mean,” he as he sat back down.

“We’re not limited to unicorns,” said Sunset. “We just need to find a very magical pony. That’s it.”

“Well in that case, I hope you’re talking about innate magic,” Dash replied.

“It’s not like there’s another kind of magic for non-unicorns,” Sunset said with an eye roll as she set down another empty bowl. “Innate magic is the only type of magic that exists in a roughly equal balance among the three pony races. It provides unicorns their ability to cast spells, pegasi their ability to fly, and earth ponies their connection to the earth.”

“I know that,” the blue mare said with a huff as she crossed her hooves. “No need to go all textbook on me. Do you think I’m dumb or something?”

“No, I merely think you value brawn over brains,” Sunset replied evenly.

Dash snorted. “Don’t think you can rile me up that easily,” she said. “I’ve shrugged off worse insults than that.”

“Looks like I’ll have to step up my game,” Sunset said with a smirk.

“Sunset, could please not antagonize everypony you meet?” Twilight asked in exasperation. To the Rainbow Dash she said, “I must apologize on her behalf, she tends to rub ponies the wrong way.”

“And dragons!” Spike added.

“I’m right here you know.”

“No problem,” Dash told Twilight breezily. “I’ve had plenty of experience dealing with smart-mouthed ponies.”

“You’d better watch your own mouth!”

“Also,” Dash continued, ignoring Sunset’s threat. “You should probably lose the fancy noble talk. It draws way too much attention in a town like this. This is a quiet little town, but you’re still a magnet for trouble if you don’t learn to blend in.”

“I see,” said Twilight slowly. “I will do my best to blend in.”

“You couldn’t blend in here if you lived in this dump for a year,” said Sunset. “You walk and talk like a pampered noble!”

“Are you calling my town a dump?” Rainbow asked with narrowed eyes.

“Yes.”

“Sunset!” Twilight hissed as she looked around the restaurant. “Not a good time!”

Sunset surveyed the surrounding ponies who were giving her the evil eye. “But I thought honesty was the best policy,” she said with an innocent smile.

“Are you kidding me?” asked Spike. “This town is awesome! The place is homey, the ponies are friendly, and best of all, the food’s great! I need another bowl of these noodles!” To his relief, the surrounding ponies began drifting back to whatever they were doing,

However, Sunset did not want to let the subject drop. “Difference in opinion, lizard.”

“I’m a dragon!”

“Could’ve fooled me.”

“Spike! Sunset!” Twilight interrupted them. “If we’re done eating, can we please move on? We’ve got a pony to find!”

“But I really do want another bowl of noodles!” Spike protested.

“Fine, you can go ask for another helping of noodles,” said Twilight. Spike leapt from his chair and dashed away. Twilight turned to her remaining companion. “Sunset, could you check the map to see if we can narrow down our search a bit?”

“Not while we’re in mixed company,” said Sunset as she eyed Rainbow Dash distrustfully.

The pegasus shrugged. “Eh, whatever. I’ve got work to do anyway. See you around!” Rainbow Dash leapt from her seat and spiraled through an open window. Then she took off into the sky, leaving a blast of wind and an ethereal rainbow trail in her wake.

Twilight gaped at the display of speed. “She’s fast,” she commented in awe.

Sunset shrugged. “She’s a pegasus. They’re supposed to be fast,” she said indifferently. She looked at her three empty bowls of longingly, debating whether or not to give up her pride to ask for more.

“Is it that difficult for you to be nice to other ponies?” Twilight asked in exasperation as she banged her face against the table.

“I find myself to be very agreeable pony,” Sunset replied without removing her eyes from the bowls.

“I think your definition of agreeable is a century out of date,” Spike commented as he returned to the table with another bowl of noodles. Sunset’s mouth watered and she instinctive stuck out a hoof, but Spike swatted her hoof away. “If you want more noodles you’ll have to get your own bowl,” he said harshly before tipping his head back taking a large gulp.

“What’s stopping me from taking it?” Sunset asked with a malicious grin as her horn started to glow.

“Sunset, the map,” Twilight reminded her.

Sunset rolled her eyes and let the spell die. “Fine,” she grumbled. She quickly scanned the other customers in the restaurant suspiciously, but she found that nopony was paying attention to them. Satisfied, she slipped the map out of her saddlebag and looked at the glowing dot. “Do we have a modern map to compare it to?” she asked.

Spike dropped his bowl, opened Twilight’s saddlebag, and stuck his head and arms inside. Sunset stuck out a hoof towards his bowl, but Twilight lightly smack it away with her own hoof. “It’s so roomy in here!” Spike exclaimed, his voice slightly muffled. He retracted from the bag with a scroll in his claws. “Here we go; one modern map of the Fire Empire!”

Sunset yanked the scroll from his claws, sending him tumbling to the ground. She unrolled the scroll and set it down next to her map. She and Twilight examined it carefully and silently as Spike dusted himself off.

Twilight sighed and rubbed her forehead with a hoof. “I wish your map was bigger, Sunset,” she finally said. “According to the map’s scale, the dot takes up the area of the town plus the surrounding area. We’re no closer to finding where the pony.”

Sunset carefully examined the two maps. “No, we are closer,” she stated. “Not by much, but it’s better than nothing.”

“What do you mean?” Spike asked as he climbed onto the table for a better look at the map. “The dot isn’t small enough for us to even guess where the pony is in this town.”

“But it does tell us that the pony is not outside of the East Steel Town, or even on the border,” said Sunset. “It’s hard to tell due to the size of the scales, but the pony we’re looking for should be around the central area of this town. That narrows down our search considerably.”

“But how are we going to know who it is?” Spike asked. “Last time I checked, you were pretty touchy about others touching your map.”

“Only when they’ve got little knives growing on their hooves,” said Sunset growled.

“I don’t have hooves!” Spike protested.

“Who said I was talking about you, moron?”

Twilight, who had been staring at the two maps in thought, suddenly sprang to her hooves. “I think I know a way to narrow down the search!” she exclaimed.

“How?” Sunset asked dubiously.

Twilight magically lifted a book from her saddlebag and opened it up to a passage. “Of these elements, five are known: laughter, kindness, generosity, loyalty, and honesty. The sixth is a mystery,” she read.

Sunset and Spike stared at her blankly.

“Don’t you see?” Twilight asked them. “Since this map is somehow related to the elements of harmony, each pony the map indicates must also be related to the elements. I wouldn’t be surprised if the map is trying to find one pony per element, and that each pony that it finds has a special connection to their element.”

“But the Elements of Harmony are ancient magical artifacts,” said Spike. “How could anypony have a connection to them?”

“Twilight could be onto something,” Sunset mused. “It’s a bit of a long shot, but maybe the artifacts are powered by the traits they’re named after.”

“That makes sense,” said Twilight thoughtfully. “So if we find the ponies with those traits—”

“We will be able to use the Elements—” Sunset continued excitedly.

“To defeat—” Twilight suddenly realized that the few remaining ponies in the restaurant were staring at them. “Uh… perhaps we should go,” she said nervously as she looked around.

Sunset shook her head. “That would make us even more suspicious,” she said knowingly. “Just act normal.”

“Normal, yes. Normal. I’m perfectly normal. Not planning treason or trying to save Equestria or anything…”

As Twilight continued her muttering her ramblings, Sunset discreetly scanned the shop. A young couple a few tables from them had dived back into their conversation. Three old earth pony mares kept stealing glances at Twilight’s erratic behavior and loudly whispered among themselves. An old stallion stared at his empty bowl of noodles. Ramen was lounging behind the counter, staring out the window. Sunset was relieved that no pony had tried to slip out unnoticed, but she still remained alert as she resumed the conversation. “So if I understand what you’re saying, we should look for a pony who is extremely funny, kind, generous, loyal, or honest?”

Twilight snapped out of her frantic trance. “Oh, y-yes, exactly,” Twilight stammered. “That will narrow our search by quite a bit.”

“But that’s still going to be a lot of ponies,” Spike pointed out. “Not to mention, some of those traits are going to be really hard to find. How are we supposed to know if a pony is loyal or honest?”

“We ask around,” said Sunset decisively. If the Elements are powered by the traits mentioned in the book, then the ponies we’re looking for would be quite well-known for said traits, especially in a small town like this. How hard could it be to find one pony with one of these traits?





“Sorry, dearie, but that pretty much describes everypony in town,” the elderly earth pony mare told Sunset. “I’m afraid I can’t help you there.”

Sunset bit back a sharp reply as she gave the pony a polite but curt nod. When the mare had closed the door, the unicorn stormed off to meet Twilight and Spike, who had been visiting ponies on the next street.

“Any luck?” Spike asked as Sunset stormed towards them.

“Take a guess, bonehead,” Sunset growled.

Spike rolled his eyes at the insult, but was to tired to snap back a reply.

“We’ve also been also been unsuccessful,” said Twilight. She sighed. “Onto the next neighborhood, I guess.”

Sunset shook her head. “It’s getting late,” she said as she tilted her head to indicate the position of the sun in the sky. The sun was already lowering in the west, but to Sunset, it only felt like evening. “If we keep this up, ponies we’ll think we have less than favorable intentions, knocking on doors when the sun’s down.”

Twilight sighed again. “I guess we’ll have to retire for the night,” she said reluctantly. “You wouldn’t have happened to know of any inns in the area, would you?”

Sunset stared at Twilight with a deadpan look on her face. “This town wasn’t even around during my time, remember?”

“Uh, yeah, I forgot,” Twilight said sheepishly. “Spike?” she asked the baby dragon hopefully.

“This town is so small it doesn’t even have a brochure,” he replied with a shake of his head. “I’m stumped.”

Sunset’s stomach growled. “Great,” she grumbled. “One more thing to add to our list of troubles.”

“How are you still hungry?” Spike asked incredulously. “You ate three bowls of noodles for lunch!”

“Using sunlight as a power source makes me hungry for some reason,” Sunset replied with a shrug. “Don’t ask.”

“Does anypony remember the way back to that noodle place?” Twilight asked her companions. Her stomach growled. “Actually, any place would do.”

Sunset shrugged. “I didn’t pay attention when we were wandering around, and I’m not sure if anywhere would even be open at this time.”

“How about we ask her?” Spike suggested, pointing a claw towards the sky. Sunset and Twilight looked up to see a familiar rainbow maned pegasus collecting light grey clouds overhead.

“No,” said Sunset firmly.

“Why not?” Spike asked.

“Because she’s more annoying than you.”

“Hey!”

“Sunset!”

“What? He is!”

“Am not!”

“Are too!”

“Am not!”

“Are too!”

“Am not!”

“Are you three out of your minds?”

Twilight, Sunset, and Spike jumped back in surprise when Rainbow Dash stuck her head in between them. Just like before, Sunset immediately sent a blast of fire from her horn, and once again, the pegasus managed to dodge out of the way without so much as her mane getting singed.

“Don’t do that!” Sunset hissed.

“You’re the ones who are making so much noise so late in the day,” the pegasus responded. “Seriously, do you want to get in trouble with the night guards?”

“What kind of trouble?” Sunset asked.

Rainbow Dash looked the unicorn in the eye. “You’re kidding, right?” she asked in deadpan.

“Actually, I’m not sure what you’re talking about either,” Twilight confessed. “What kind of trouble are you talking about?”

Dash facehoofed. “Of course the nobility don't know about common laws,” she muttered under her breath. “Look, in case you’ve been living under a rock—or a palace, same thing—I’ll spell it out for you. It’s against the law to cause disturbances or engage in disorderly behavior during the hours of The Queen’s glorious night. Any pony found disrupting the peace of the night except for celebrative affairs is susceptible to be punished by law.” She said this in a monotonous voice; as if she had heard the words so many times that it was burned into her memory. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got some clouds set up before… oh, ponyfeathers!” While she had been talking, the sun had drifted from the sky completely. Already the moon was rising and the stars were shining brightly overhead.

“Why were you moving the clouds around?” Twilight asked as the pegasus said some choice words under her breath.

“I’m one of the local weather pegasi,” Dash replied with a grumble. “It was on shift for the weather today, but I lost my list of assignments sometime this afternoon. It was only when I was clocking out a few minutes ago that I learned that I was supposed to set up some light rain clouds for a shower later tonight. Though I still don’t see why the night shift pegasi can’t get their own stupid clouds,” she muttered angrily.

Sunset looked across the sky. “I don’t see any other pegasi,” she said. “Can’t you just finish the job before they come?”

Dash snorted. “Nope, the night guards would notice if I was working this late, and they would tattle to my boss that I had waited until the last possible moment to get my job done,” she said bitterly. “Best thing I can do is leave the sky how it is, that way all they can complain about is how poor of a weatherpony I am.”

“Why would the night guards do something like that?” Spike asked incredulously.

“They get paid to report other ponies,” Rainbow Dash reminded him. “What else would you expect?”

Twilight felt a stab of pity for the pegasus. “We’re so sorry for distracting you from your job,” she said regretfully. “Perhaps we could make it up to you—”

Dash held up a hoof and shook her head. “Thanks, but no thanks,” she replied. “I did nothing that needs repaying.”

“At least let me write you a check or something—”

“Oh, I can imagine the look on everypony’s face when I cash a check from a rich noble,” said Dash sarcastically as she rolled her eyes. “I’d be laughed out of the bank for even trying. Or worse, they’d lock me up in prison for attempting a forgery.”

“But it’s authentic!” Twilight protested.

“Doesn’t matter unless you’re the type of pony a noble would actually talk to,” Dash replied. “A simple weatherpony who lives in the middle of nowhere can’t cash a check from pretty much any pony that’s wealthy enough to even need a checkbook. That’s the way the world works.”

Sunset frowned. “This is wrong,” she said.

“That’s life for you.”

“No,” Sunset replied with a shake of her head. “This is… corrupt.”

“Really? I didn’t notice!” Dash said drily. “Are you two really thick or are you just asleep on your hooves?”

“I think we’re all just a little tired,” Twilight said as a half-truth. Sure enough, despite the fright the pegasus had given the group, Spike had already fallen asleep on Twilight's back. “You wouldn’t happen to know where we could find an inn around here, would you?”

“Most places are closed by now,” Dash replied with a shake of her head. “Since this is a small town with a large city just a few hours walk from here, few ponies actually stay to spend the night.”

“Oh…” said Twilight dejectedly. “Looks like we’ll be roughing it, you don’t mind, do you, Sunset?”

The other unicorn shrugged. Her face was furrowed in deep thought, and she was only half-listening to everything Twilight and Rainbow Dash were saying.

“I would offer you to stay at my house,” said Rainbow Dash. “But I live on a cloud. Sorry.”

“Cloud-walking spell,” Sunset responded automatically.

“What?” Dash asked, dumbfounded.

“I know a spell that allows ponies to walk on clouds like pegasi,” said Sunset wearily. Although she had been perfectly fine a few minutes ago, she was now having trouble keeping her eyes open. “It wears off after three days, but we’re not planning to stay in town for that long.”

“They have a spell for walking on clouds like pegasi?” Dash asked incredulously. “What will unicorns think of next?”

“I’ve never heard of a spell like that,” Twilight confessed.

Sunset wordlessly called on her magic and cast the spell on herself, Twilight, and Spike. “We can now walk on clouds. I’ll teach you how to cast in the morning or something,” she mumbled. “Just get me to a bed.” Her hunger was now a dull ache in the back of her mind, while the remaining ounce of strength in her was dedicated solely to finding a place to sleep.

“Looks like somepony’s not a night owl,” said Rainbow Dash with an amused grin. “Come on, my house is this way. I hope you aren’t scared of heights though.”





As usual, Sunset woke up with the sun. She blinked and squinted as she looked at her surroundings. Everything around her was white and fluffy, as if it was made out of clouds. And something was missing…

Sunset rolled out of bed and landed on the fluffy white floor. “Where’s the ink?” she mumbled as she stumbled to her feet. “The books? The papers?” All of the familiar scents she was used to awaking to were gone. “Where am I?”

“Keep it down,” Spike mumbled. Sunset turned around. On the bed she had just rolled out of, Spike and Twilight lay sleeping peacefully. Or, half asleep, in Spike’s case.

I actually shared a bed with them! Sunset thought as her faced twisted in disgust. Gross!

Miffed, Sunset exited the room and searched for the nearest bathroom she could find. Once she found it, she settled down in the tub and began filling it up for a warm bath. To her surprise, when the water reached her hooves, she found that it was ice cold. “Starswirl’s Beard!” the unicorn swore as she jumped out of the tub to escape the frigid water. As the tub continued to fill, she gently swirled her hooves in the water, using her firebending to heat the water up to a reasonable temperature. Once the tub was full, she lied down and prepared to stay in there for a very, very long time.

Unfortunately for her, only minutes passed before somepony came knocking on the door. “Hey! I’ve only got one bathroom in this place, so don’t hog it all morning!”

Even though Sunset’s head was as dull as lead due to the steam, she managed to recognize the muffled voice of the rainbow maned pegasus that had allowed them to stay at her house. With a sigh, Sunset decided that she would have to save her hot tub experience for another day. She quickly cleaned herself and let the tub drain. When she finally opened the door, she found that the other three occupants had been waiting patiently outside. Twilight and Rainbow Dash had messy bed manes, and Spike still looked half-asleep. As Sunset moved out of the doorway, Twilight and Spike tried to step into the bathroom, but their host zipped over their heads and slammed the door shut.

“Hey!” Spike exclaimed, alertness suddenly jumping to his face. “That’s not how you’re supposed to receive guests!”

“I slept on the couch,” Dash responded from behind the door. “I don’t know how you nobles have it, but I need a quick soak after a bad night’s sleep.”

Sunset didn’t waste her time hearing Spike’s reply. Instead, she grabbed her small saddlebag from the room she had spent the night in, and then made her way to the kitchen. She pulled out a loaf of bread from Rainbow Dash’s pantry and a knife from the counter. She also opened the fridge and took out a large slab of soft yellow goodness. By the time Dash, Twilight, and Spike had showered and dried, Sunset was already biting into her fourth slice of thickly buttered, well-done toast.

“You have a water problem Rainbow Dash,” Spike complained as he opened the fridge in search for food. “The water was freezing, and it ran out before the tub was even deep enough for me to wade in.”

“Wade in?” Rainbow Dash echoed incredulously. “You were expecting to take a bath in it?”

“Well, yeah.” Spike scratched of his head. “What’s wrong with that?”

Dash looked at Sunset and Twilight with horror evident on her face. “You two didn’t take baths, did you?”

Twilight shook her head. “I was going to, but the water was much too cold,” she replied. “I took a quick shower instead.”

Sunset remained silent, absentmindedly chewing on her piece of toast.

“Sunset?”

“Hm?”

“You didn’t take a bath, did you?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Yes,” Sunset replied calmly as she shoved the rest of the toast into her mouth. “I had to heat the water though. I think you have a problem with your plumbing.” Sunset missed the shocked expression the pegasus’ face as she took another slice of bread and charred it with the flick of her hoof.

“Grubby, spoiled, featherbrained nobles!” Rainbow Dash shouted angrily. “You can’t just go ahead and waste water like that!”

“Waste water?” Twilight asked in confusion. “The public water system is highly inexpensive and contains more than enough water for the four of us to have comfortable baths with.”

Rainbow Dash pulled at the ends of her short mane. “Would take a look at the floor you idiots!” she hissed. “You’re on a cloud. Clouds float. The public water system doesn’t extend to floating houses! I have to pay to have rainclouds delivered for my water!”

“Then why did you bother to have your house in the air?” Sunset asked as she slathered a thick helping of butter on her smoking toast. “Ground houses are much more popular anyway.”

“I had to build this house from scratch!” Dash shouted. “My dad and I spent weeks getting the right clouds, and then I had to buy all of the furniture and stuff with my own money! You wouldn’t know since you’re rich and all, but normal ponies like me don’t get to have everything they want or need. It’s not like I can just buy the house of my dreams or afford to have luxuries like heated water! Everything you see here is the result of actual work, including all my food!” This was direct to Sunset, who was already attempting to cut another slice of bread even though she still had a half-eaten slice levitating in front of her.

Sunset reluctantly put the knife and loaf down. “Don’t worry, Twilight can reimburse you,” she said through a mouthful of crisp toast.

“I already told you, I can’t cash a check from a noble!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

“Actually, I do have some bits on me,” Twilight admitted. “I may have forgotten to mention that last night.”

Dash’s eyes narrowed. “How many bits we’re talking about here?” she asked suspiciously.

“I’ll check!” Spike exclaimed as he dashed back into the bedroom. A few seconds later, he came back with a small sack that jingled as he walked.

“Well, I guess that would do it,” Rainbow Dash admitted. “But I would feel bad taking all of your on hoof bits. It’s not a good idea to go through towns without at least some bits on you.”

“Don’t worry,” said Twilight reassuringly. “I have plenty.” Rainbow Dash looked skeptical, but Twilight only smiled and nodded towards Spike.

The baby dragon tilted the bag and began pouring out bits from it. To Rainbow Dash’s surprise, the amount of bits that piled out were much more than could be actually fit into such a small bag. “What? How?” she asked, dumbfounded.

Twilight waited until Spike had dumped out the last of the bits before replying. “I cast a spell to expand the amount of space inside the bag,” she explained. “It allows me to carry a sackful of bits in only a small moneybag. Fascinating, isn’t it?”

The pegasus could only stare at the mountain of gold coins that lay in the center of her kitchen table. “This is more bits than I’ve ever seen in my life,” she confessed breathlessly.

Sunset snorted. “You’re not getting all of it you know,” she pointed out.

“I know that!” Dash snapped. “It’s just… so beautiful…”

Twilight levitated a small pile of bits towards the pegasus. “This should be enough for our food and board, correct?” she asked.

Rainbow Dash snatched the coins greedily. “Oh, this should do nicely,” she said with a sinister smirk. ‘Though, if you wanted to through in a little extra I’d be fine with that too.”

Twilight frowned.

Rainbow Dash laughed jovially as she hovered off the ground. “I’m just messing with you,” she assured Twilight. “This is more than enough bits to cover the bills, which is really convenient for me, because those money-grubbers will be knocking on my door tomorrow.” She dashed off to her bedroom.

“Want some breakfast?” Sunset asked Twilight and Spike suddenly. She chopped another slice of bread from the loaf. “I make excellent toast.”

Twilight and Spike shook their heads vigorously.

Sunset shrugged. “Suit yourselves,” she said as she roasted the bread with a small flick of her hoof.





Rainbow Dash’s house was almost two dozen feet above the ground, but with a combination of levitation and pegasus flight, the three wingless travelers managed to safely reach the ground floor.

“Looks like it’s time for us to check the rest of the houses,” Sunset whispered to Twilight. “I checked the map; the pony we’re looking for is still in town.”

Twilight nodded. Then she turned to Rainbow Dash and said, “I hope we’ll be seeing each other soon.”

“You’re still looking for that pony, aren’t you?” the blue mare asked. Twilight nodded. “Well then, you’ll probably be seeing a whole lot more of me. I’m probably in so much trouble right now that I’ll have to spend the entire day working to make for last night’s blunder.”

Twilight looked crestfallen. “Again, we’re sorry for distracting you from your job—”

Rainbow Dash held up a hoof. “You already apologized,” she said. “Besides, I don’t mind taking a small bit of loss for my friends.”

“Friends?” Twilight and Spike echoed in surprise.

Sunset raised an eyebrow at this.

“Yeah, you spent the night at my place, and you’re all pretty cool, so I consider you all to be my friends,” the pegasus said with a grin. “Even you, Mrs. Grumpypants.”

Sunset grunted in response.

“That’s… really nice of you,” said Spike.

“It’s nothing,” said Rainbow Dash with a shrug.

“But you’ll be in trouble for helping us,” said Twilight.

“I told you, we’re cool. We’re friends.”

Twilight’s face scrunched up in confusion. “But you barely knew us before, and you still don’t know us very well now.”

“Don’t expect a repeat performance,” said Sunset. “She probably only did it because you were a noble and she was looking for a few bits.”

“No,” said Rainbow Dash irritably. “I wanted to help simply because I wanted to.”

“Yeah, right,” said Sunset with a snort.

Rainbow Dash sighed. “You really don’t get it do you?” she asked. “Well, it looks like I have to spell it out for you.” She struck a dramatic pose in the air and loudly proclaimed, “I’m Rainbow Dash! Fastest flier in Equestria! And everypony knows that I’d never leave my friends hanging!” At that moment, a bright red glow shone from Sunset’s saddlebag.

“Impossible!” Sunset exclaimed.

Rainbow Dash’s eyes were drawn to the light. “What is that?” the pegasus asked curiously.

“The map!” Twilight and Spike exclaimed at the same time.

“Huh?”

Sunset levitated the brown parchment out of her bag. By now, the light was already fading away. When the light had completely faded, they could see that one of the images on the border had changed. The gem that had been in the middle of the top border was gone, and a red lightning bolt rested in its place.  “She didn’t even touch the map,” said Sunset in awe.

“Hello?” Rainbow Dash waved her hooves in the air. “Will somepony mind explaining what happened?”

Twilight looked at Sunset, who nodded in approval. “Well, you see,” Twilight began as she gave a quick summary of everything that had happened in the past four days. She explained her botched spell, Sunset’s mission, and the importance of the map and its symbols. Rainbow Dash followed along attentively, only interrupting for the occasional clarification.

After Twilight had finished, Sunset said, “My destiny is to defeat The Queen and make Equestria the place it once was. I’m not sure what part you play in achieving that goal, but the map is clearly saying that you are important to this cause.” She looked at Rainbow Dash in the eye. “Are you ready to join us on this mission?”

Rainbow Dash looked back at Sunset evenly. “No,” she said flatly. Then she took off for the skies, leaving an ethereal rainbow trail in her wake.

> Loyalty Part 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Previously on Dual Elements:
“Twilight, I still don’t believe Sunset is from the past,” Spike said stubbornly.
…
Tell you what; if Sunset shows any sign of being a fraud, we’ll head straight to my parents’ house.
…
Suddenly, Twilight frowned. “About those ponies back there—”
“The thieves?” Sunset rudely interrupted.
“Well, yes—”
“They deserved it.”
…
Twilight groaned. “Just make sure your warning shots don’t accidently maim anypony,” she said. “Or better yet, make sure your warning shots don’t even touch anypony. No more feather searing or mane singeing.”
“Fine,” Sunset said as she rolled her eyes dramatically. “Whatever helps you sleep at night.”
…
“What if the pony doesn’t want to come along?”
Sunset came to a halt. “What are you talking about? Who would turn down an offer like that? We’re going to be defea—defending Equestria.”
“Not all ponies are as interested as I am when it comes to, well, what we’re doing,” Twilight replied.
…
“Twilight could be onto something,” Sunset mused. “It’s a bit of a long shot, but maybe the artifacts are powered by the traits they’re named after.”
…
“Sorry, dearie, but that pretty much describes everypony in town,” the elderly earth pony mare told Sunset. “I’m afraid I can’t help you there.”
…
“I’m Rainbow Dash! Fastest flier in Equestria! And everypony knows that I’d never leave new friends hanging!” At that moment, a bright red glow shone from Sunset’s saddlebag.
“Impossible!” Sunset exclaimed.
…
“My destiny is to defeat The Queen and make Equestria the place it once was. I’m not sure what part you play in achieving that goal, but the map is clearly saying that you are important to this cause.” She looked at Rainbow Dash in the eye. “Are you ready to join us on this mission?”
“No,” Rainbow Dash said flatly. Then she took off for the skies, leaving an ethereal rainbow trail in her wake.



Sunset’s jaw dropped as the blue pegasus dashed away. “She… but… how… why?” Sunset stammered as her brain failed to process Rainbow Dash’s blunt rejection. “Why would she say no?”
Twilight tried to offer some words of comfort. “Maybe she—”
“Shut up!” Sunset screamed as she released a fiery blast from her horn. Bits of cobblestone and dirt flew through the air as a shallow crater was ripped in the ground.
Though the blast was not fired in their direction, Twilight and Spike wisely stepped back as Sunset started stomping the ground angrily with her front hooves. Jets of flame streamed from every movement, but these weren’t powerful enough to do more than blacken the stones under her hooves. After the stones around her had been covered with a fine layer of soot, the firebending unicorn absorbed the morning rays of sunlight and channeled it into her body. With a final scream, she threw her head back, pouring all of her energy into the large column of flame that flew from her entire body and flew into the sky.
With her outburst complete, Sunset stopped to catch her breath. She turned her head to see Twilight and Spike watching her, their eyes wide with fear. “What?” she asked them grumpily, even though she could easily guess what they were thinking.
“That was…” Twilight couldn’t even get the words out of her mouth. Even Spike didn’t have anything to say as he took a step back and grabbed Twilight’s hind leg.
Now that her anger had died into mere embers, Sunset felt ashamed of her actions. It had been years since she had thrown a tantrum like that, and the last time she had done so the damages had been much worse. Her shouting and firebending had attracted the attention of ponies who lived along the street and those that had strolling nearby. The ponies were looking at Sunset with a mixture of confusion and fear, but mostly the latter.
Suddenly, Sunset was feeling an emotion she hadn’t experienced in a long time. It was almost funny, actually. She had faced a corrupted alicorn who had tried to kill her, and she had only felt angry and determined. But here, surrounded by harmless ponies who feared her, Sunset’s body began to shake as an unfamiliar feeling clamped over her body like cold, wet blanket. She looked down at her hooves, and then looked around for some way of escape. However, she was no longer in her home in Canterlot. Her home was long gone. There was no room for her to hide in. There was no Celestia for her to turn to.
In a small flash of light, Sunset was gone.
(line break)
Twilight looked around wearily at the crowd of spectators. Sunset’s outburst had scared more than a few of them. The firebender’s disappearance caused the community to let out a collective sigh of relief, but Twilight and Spike could see that this peace wouldn’t last long.
“Who was that pony?”
“She’s mad!”
“She nearly burned down the town!”
“Where did she go?”
“She wants us to die in a fire!”
“Everypony, run!”
“Don’t run!” Twilight shouted. However, her calming order did nothing to settle the crowd of ponies who began running away in panic. Twilight cast a spell to amplify her voice and tried again. “ATTENTION EVERYPONY! DON’T MOVE!”
The blaring proclamation made all of the fleeing ponies halt in their tracks.
Twilight continued speaking, using her spell but not yelling. “There is no reason for alarm! Everything is under control!”
That eloquent speech did not sit well with the crowd. “She nearly killed us!” one mare screeched.
“No!” Twilight shouted. “She was just, um—” Twilight racked her brain for a way to describe Sunset’s outburst in the least damaging way possible.
“Is she with you?”
“You’re both crazy firebending unicorns!”
“Somepony call the guard!”
“No!” Twilight protested. “We’re not crazy firebenders! Well, I’m not. She’s a bender, but she’s not crazy! Kinda.”
“We’ve an arsonist on our hooves!”
“She’s not an arsonist!” Twilight shouted.
“She nearly burned down the town!”
“Technically, she only nearly burned down this street. The amount of fire needed to burn down the entire town in a short amount of time—”
“Listen to her! She’s an arsonist too!”
“No, she’s not!” Spike shouted. “There is no arsonist!”
“The dragon can talk?”
“Then how do you explain the fires?”
“She was, um,” Twilight began. The crowd waited impatiently, snorting and stomping. Twilight noticed some pitchforks being passed around. “She was… practicing her firebending with a performance!” she exclaimed. “Yeah! That’s why the flames were so big but didn’t come close to any buildings or ponies! It’s nothing to worry about. I’m terribly sorry for scaring you and you have my sincerest apologies!”
The mob—for that what it was at that point—looked around with a mixture of confusion and hesitance.
Spike cleared his throat. “And might I mention, this is Lady Twilight Sparkle.” He took a checkbook out of… somewhere. “If we can get your names and addresses I can have a collection of bits delivered to your homes within ten to fifteen business days.”
“How do we know you’re not running a scam?” one stallion asked. “How do you know she’s really a noble?”
Spike raised an eyebrow. “I’m a dragon. How many dragons do you see running around with con artists instead of nobles.”
“Sounds good to me,” said another pony.
“Me too!”
“I could do with some pocket change!”
“Alright, ponies! Line up in a neat and orderly fashion,” Spike announced.



“You don’t know how much this means to me, Spike,” said Twilight as the last pony in line finally left.
“I’m pretty sure I do,” Spike said as he rotated his wrist. “Hopefully Night Light and Twilight Velvet don’t mind the bills.”
“My parents will be fine. At least those ponies are gone now,” said Twilight as she wiped sweat from her brow. “Can you believe how many I caught trying to sneak into the line?”
“Well, we have about fifty names on this list, and the crowd was about half that size when Sunset was here. So I’m going to say… not enough.”
Twilight grinned sheepishly. “I tried my best. I’m not a pegasus you know.”
“Speak of pegasuses, don’t we have a pegasus to find?”
“Pegasi,” Twilight corrected him. “And yes, we have a pegasus and a unicorn to find.”
Spike rolled his eyes. “Twilight, she nearly killed us!”
“Spike, I just had to convince an angry mob that she wasn’t doing that! Do I have to convince you as well?” Twilight sighed in exasperation. “She only aimed for the pavement and sky. She didn’t come close to hitting anypony.”
“Twilight, didn’t you say that we would head straight to your parent’s house if she showed any signs of being a phony?”
“I don’t think throwing a temper tantrum in public classifies as proof for being a spy for a noble,” Twilight told Spike gently. “If anything, it shows that she lacks the ability to spy without blowing her cover. I think she’s safe.”
“Safe? Safe!” Spike echoed incredulously. “Are you kidding me? She’s the exact opposite of safe! Mentally unstable! Dangerous! Psychopathic!”
Twilight placed a hoof over his mouth before he could continue. “Shh!” Twilight hushed him. “We don’t want anypony to hear that!”
Spike pushed the hoof away from his moth. “But it’s true, isn’t it?”
Twilight sighed. “I don’t know, Spike,” she admitted. “I really don’t know.” She plopped her rear on the dusty cobblestone road and sighed.
“Twilight, why don’t we just go home and forget about this?” Spike suggested. “You made a silly bet with your parents, so what? They’ll accept you back. And by you, I mean us.”
“But what about this?” Twilight asked. “The spell. Sunset. Our adventure. Was this all for nothing?”
Spike looked thoughtfully as he recollected their journey so far. “Let’s see. You cast the spell, Sunset popped up, we traveled with her, and Sunset literally exploded, all over the course of a couple of days.” He shrugged. “Yeah, I guess so. I mean, we haven’t really done anything.”
“But we could do something!” Twilight exclaimed. “We could bring Equestria back to its golden age! This could be the greatest event in Equestrian history since the day the Princesses appeared! Just imagine how much better off Equestria will be!”
Spike raised an eyebrow. “I’m pretty sure you could find less drastic measures to help Equestria,” he stated.
“Well, yes, but…”
“But…?”
“But… this the best way I found to do it.”
Spike facepalmed. “Twilight, that doesn’t even make sense! Why couldn’t you invent a spell to help pegasi control the weather? Or find a better way of organizing books? Why did you have to try to bring back a pony you never even met to take over Equestria?”
“I-I had to…”
“But why?”
“You know how the other scholars treated me!”
Spike jumped back. The fire in Twilight’s eyes sent a shiver through his scales.
“They wouldn’t take me seriously, claiming I had manipulated my way into reaching their level. All I wanted was a little respect, a word of acknowledgement, anything! Every time I made a discovery and tried to present it to my fellow scholars, they ripped me off and claimed my work as their own. When I tried to publish my own work, no one would do it for an ‘unknown fresh graduate’. I was a nobody, all on my own.”
“I thought you liked being away from other ponies,” said Spike. “Wasn’t that why you always stayed home researching?”
“I don’t like socializing with ponies,” Twilight corrected the dragon. “But it would be nice not be treated like a bratty cheat every time I try to put my education into practice! Ponies only recognize me for my nobility status. Just because I’m a young mare from a noble family doesn’t mean I’m not capable of performing magical feats beyond their abilities. They knew it, but they decided to ignore my talent to stick to their status quo.” Tears were running down Twilight’s cheeks now.
“Twilight,” said Spike softly.
“And that’s why I want, no, I need to do this,” said Twilight. Her eyes narrowed in burning determination. “Bringing Equestria back to its golden age will have such an influential positive impact that no pony will ever be able to dismiss me as vain, manipulative, prissy noblemare!”
Spike looked at Twilight in awe. It wasn’t often that Twilight poured out her emotions. Spike could tell that she was more serious about this than she had been with any of her other projects. It wouldn’t be easy convincing her to give up now. Spike sighed. “Are you sure this is what you want?”
“It’s what I need.”
Spike nodded. “In that case, count me in!”
Twilight blinked, her moist eyes glistened with hope. “Really?”
“Positive.”
Twilight tilted her head. “Isn’t this the time where you usually tell me I’m crazy and try to convince me to slow down.”
“Not this time, Twilight,” said Spike. “I’m your assistant, so if you’re going to attempt a crazy treason plot, there’s no way I’m going to abandon you.”
“Thanks, Spike,” said Twilight softly as she pulled the baby dragon into a hug.
After a couple of seconds, Spike pushed the overly-sentimental Twilight away. “Alright, first we need to find Sunset,” he said. “Where should we look first?”
Twilight looked up and down the unfamiliar street. “I don’t know Spike, she could have gone anywhere.”
“Can’t you use your horn to find her?”
“You mean my magic?” Twilight asked.
“Yeah!”
“Spike, the only spell I know of that can track a pony requires runes and a personal object of the pony in question,” she informed him. “We don’t have either.”
“But don’t you have a spell for detecting powerful spells?” Spike countered. “Sunset’s teleportation is the strongest spell you’ll find for miles in a place like this!”
Twilight blinked as she considered the idea. “You’re right Spike, that could work,” she said as a grin spread across her face. Her horn lit up as she focused on finding Sunset’s magic. As Spike predicted, Sunset’s teleportation spell was easy to detect due to the lack of powerful spell-wielding unicorns in the area. “It worked, Spike! I found her!” Twilight exclaimed.
Spike shrugged. “Just doing my job,” he said smugly.
“Now all we need to do is get her back on track to using the map. And then we’ll have to find Rainbow Dash.”
“I’ve got a better idea,” said Spike. “Since Sunset and I don’t exactly see eye to eye, how about I go looking for Rainbow Dash while you go find Sunset.”
“I don’t know Spike,” said Twilight with a small shake of her head. “Will you be able to find Rainbow Dash that quickly?”
“I can try!”
“Are you sure you don’t want to come with me to get Sunset first so we can all search together?”
Spike vigorously shook his head. “I’d rather not test how fireproof my scales are.”
Twilight rolled her eyes and gave him a knowing smile. “In that case, meet with Sunset and I in the town square if you can’t find her in an hour.”
“Sounds good!” Spike said as he hopped away.
“And stay out of trouble!”
“Okay!”
“And don’t talk to strangers!”
“Alright, alright! Sheesh, Twilight! I’m not a baby!”



A quick teleportation brought Twilight outside of the town limits. She eyed Sunset wearily as the flame-colored unicorn lay on her belly. Twilight’s stomach knotted, filling her body with the force of nervous tension. This feeling only worsened as she eyed the charred grass beneath her hooves. Twilight steeled up her nerves as she cautiously approached the unicorn in the center of the ring of destruction.
Twilight settled down next to Sunset, wincing as the charred vegetation poked into her stomach. “Well, I don’t want to get on your bad side,” Twilight said with a forced smile.
Sunset didn’t respond, and continued to stare straight ahead. 
Twilight craned her head, trying to find the object that had captivated Sunset’s attention. Failing to find anything except the horizon, she cleared her throat and attempt to communicate with Sunset once more. “So… what are you looking at?”
It was several moment before Sunset replied. “Canterlot,” she said wistfully.
Twilight flinched. “That’s where the Queen lives, and it’s not exactly a nice place,” she said uneasily. “Plus, I don’t think any enchantment would allow you to see it from this distance. Maybe a magically enhanced telescope or pair of binoculars, but even that’s a little farfetched. You see, the light—”
“Shut up.”
Twilight clamped a hoof over her mouth. “Sorry,” she squeaked.
Sunset gave no response.
The two laid in silence.
“Canterlot was beautiful in my days,” Sunset said suddenly. Twilight looked at her in surprise. The orange unicorn was staring straight ahead, a smile curling the edge of her lips. “Ponies across Equestria traveled to see the Princess and the glorious city they ruled. Celestia was the kindest and wisest ruler the world had ever known, and Luna was famed for her strong sense of justice and her noble actions. Well, at least until she dabbled in something she shouldn’t have and turned into an evil, corrupted version of herself.” Sunset sighed and let her gaze drop to the ashy remains before her. “I need to stop her, but I can’t.”
“Why not?” Twilight asked. “You have everything you need in your bag; you said so yourself!”
“What good is having everything you need, if you don’t know what to do with what you have?” Sunset asked. “I poked the map so many times I feared I would tear a hole in it. It’s not giving me the next location, so I’m stuck.”
“Maybe it just needed some time to recharge?”
Sunset snorted. “You’re as stumped as I am.”
“You’re… right,” Twilight admitted. “Maybe Rainbow Dash needs to agree to join us before we can move on?” she suggested. “It’s a bit of a wildcard, but we need to look at all of the possibilities.
“I considered that Rainbow’s acceptance was needed, but that doesn’t make sense,” Sunset replied. “First, the map shouldn’t even be able to know things like that. I scanned it myself. There’s no animation spells on it. By all rules of magical theory, it’s not capable of any senses or rational thought. Second, you didn’t need to pledge your commitment before the map let us move on to Rainbow Dash.”
“But didn’t you agree to let us join you before we could find Rainbow Dash?” Twilight pressed.
“That’s not enough evidence of a pattern,” Sunset replied. “Besides, even if we did need that pegasus to agree to join us, I doubt she would. She was very firm in her refusal.”
“There might be a way to convince her.”
Sunset snorted. “Yeah? And how do you propose I do that? Set up a stake-out around her house and coerce her into joining?” Sunset shook her head. “It’s over.”
Twilight frowned, but not because of the continuous irony. “You do realize that this is my mission as well as yours, right?”
“Did you get sent by an immortal alicorn on a quest through time to an equally immortal evil alicorn?”
“Technically, nopony can confirm if alicorns are immortal or merely have an enhanced longevity like that of earth ponies except on a greater magnitude. You see, due to a lack of—”
“Just answer the question.”
“Well… not exactly,” Twilight admitted. “But—”
“But nothing. It’s my mission, and I failed. End of story.”
“So now what?” Twilight rose to her hooves. “Do you expect to just walk away like none of this ever happened? Do you want me to sit around and mope like you’re doing? I’m terribly sorry, but I don’t give up that easily.”
Sunset didn’t respond.
Twilight gritted her teeth. “You need the help of Spike and me just as much as we need yours. If you want to give up, go ahead. Just had over that saddlebag and we’ll go our separate ways.”
“And if I refuse?”
“If you refuse, that means you haven’t completely given up.”
“Would you fight me for it?”
Twilight hesitated. “No,” she replied after a few moments. “Fighting you would probably not go to well. The most logical approach would be to convince you to relinquish it. If that fails, I would have no choice but to steal it from you.”
Sunset’s stony expression wavered as the corners of her mouth lifted. Her sides began to tremble as her face twisted into a strange grimace.
“Are you okay?” Twilight asked with concern.
Sunset fell to her side and burst out laughing. “You… fight me… steal…” She gasped between breaths.
Twilight frowned. “I don’t see what so funny.”
“That’s… what’s… so funny!”
Twilight stared at Sunset blankly as orange unicorn continued to laugh hysterically. “You have a very strange sense of humor,” she commented. She planted her hooves in the ground and continued in a firm tone, “Now, are you with us or not?”
Sunset’s face became sober. “Cut with heroic act, it doesn’t suit you,” she stated flatly.
Twilight visibly wilted.
Sunset jumped to her hooves. “Come on, let’s not waste any more time here.” A grin split across Twilight’s face, but Sunset held a hoof up. “Two things first. One, this is my mission.” She shot Twilight a withering glare. “Don’t you ever forget that. Second, this conversation never happened. One word about this to anypony and I will bake you like well-done toast. Got it?”
“Technically, toast isn’t baked—”
“Got it?”
Twilight gulped and nodded slowly. “Understood,” she squeaked.
“Good.” Sunset smiled. “Now let’s go find us a pegasus!”
“I think you’re forgetting somepony,” Twilight reminded her. “Or somedragon, in this case.”
Sunset groaned.



“You found her!”
“Only thanks to your idea,” said Twilight gratefully.
“It was nothing,” said Spike as he waved a claw in the air. “I’m just pleased to be of service.”
“Don’t we have a pegasus to find?” Sunset cut in.
Spike chuckled nervously as the firebender looked down at him. “Well, I already started looking around while Twilight was finding you.”
“And the fruits of your hard work are very delicious,” said Sunset drily.
“At least he tried,” Twilight argued.
“I checked the market, the main roads, and everywhere in the central part of town,” said Spike. “Who knew it could be so hard to find a brightly colored Pegasus in such a small place?”
“We don’t have a good chance of finding her unless she’d grounded or putting on a show,” Sunset declared. “We need to split up to cover more ground. We’ll cover the three corners of this town to find out if she’s hiding. And if she isn’t, we’ll notice her.”
“But don’t most towns have four corners?” Twilight asked.
“Uh, girls—”
“I’m being figurative,” Sunset retorted with a roll of her eyes.
“You know, you could—”
“But even if we split up there’s no way we could search the town thoroughly. If she’s actively hiding from us then we stand no chance of finding her since she knows this place much better than we do.”
Spike facepalmed. “For The Queen’s sake, you’re—”
“Can you think of a better idea?”
“Why do I even bother…?” Spike grumbled.
“Maybe we could ask around?” Twilight suggested.
“That would still take forever,” Sunset pointed out.
Twilight groaned. “This is so frustrating.”
Spike facepalmed again. “You two are unicorns!” he shouted as he waved his stubby arms in the air. “Just use one of your spells to track her down!”
“Excellent idea!”
“Terrible idea.”
Both unicorns turned to each other.
“What’s wrong with using a spell to track Rainbow Dash down?” Twilight asked. “That’s how I found you.”
“Unless you know a spell that detects pegasus ponies you’re out of luck,” Sunset replied. “Unicorns are easy to trace due to the powerful magic they can build and release in short periods of time. pegasi magic isn’t nearly as easy to detect. And then there’s the fact that you’re looking for a specific pegasus that you haven’t magically scanned.” She snorted. “Good luck with that.”
“Twilight doesn’t need luck!” Spike declared. “She knows more spells than you can shake a stick at. She could use her magic to find any pegasus in the Fire Empire with her eyes closed. Isn’t that right, Twilight?”
Twilight sighed. “Actually, Spike, Sunset’s right,” she said. “Unicorns like Sunset and I have magic that’s very easy to detect. Pegasi magic is subtler. And even though pegasi magic is easier to detect than earth pony magic, I don’t know a spell that would allow me to find a pegasus purely based on their magical output.”
“Seriously?”
“Spells aren’t as easy as firing up your horn and doing whatever you want, little lizard,” Sunset grumbled. “There are limitations.”
“Sunset, Spike’s not a lizard.” Twilight shot Sunset a hard glare. “He’s a dragon, and a very useful one at that.”
“If he was a useful dragon he’d fly us around so we wouldn’t have to use public transportation.”
Twilight gritted her teeth to prevent an angry retort from leaping out of her mouth. After a few moments, she sighed and said, “Can we please argue after we find Rainbow Dash? If we keep bickering we’re never going to find her.”
“Fine,” Sunset drawled. “But we still need a good way to find her.”
“I have an idea!” Spike declared.
“If it’s anything like your last one, I don’t want to hear it.”
“Sunset!”
The orange unicorn sighed. “Fine, fire away.” She rolled her as she prepared for the young dragon’s useless suggestion.
“Why don’t we just go to her house?”
Sunset blinked. So did Twilight.
“I mean, if she’s trying to hide from you, and we can’t see her in the sky, maybe she just went home?”
Twilight nodded slowly. “It’s worth a shot.”
“I guess,” Sunset said slowly. “Or better yet, we could just go to her job’s office. She did say that she had to go to work in the morning, so her boss probably knows where she is now.”
“But we don’t even know where she works,” Spike pointed out. “At least we’ve been to her house before.”
“Spike’s got a point,” said Twilight. “We might as well check on her house first instead of wandering around town trying to find where she works.”
“If it’s such a great idea, then why didn’t he do that while he was looking for Rainbow Dash himself.”
“It’s a cloud house,” Spike deadpanned.
Sunset sniffed. “Whatever. We’re still going to check out her job first.”
“But Spike’s suggestion—”
Sunset held up a hoof. “Remind me who’s leading this group again?” Sunset asked as she narrowed her eyes.
Twilight and Spike sighed. “You are,” they replied reluctantly in unison.
“Precisely. Which means we’re going to do things my way.”



“See. We found it. Easy as pie.” Sunset stood proudly in front of a sign that said, East Steel Town Weather Factory. Standing tall next to the sign was a building that appeared to have had better days. Its walls were covered in flaking, dull grey paint. The windows were smudged to the point that only vague shape could be seen inside. 
“I really don’t think pie takes two hours,” Twilight remarked as she flopped onto the lawn in front of the building in a very un-ladylike fashion.
“Actually, that’s how long it takes me to make pies from scratch,” Spike commented.
Sunset rolled her eyes. “Well, we’re here now, so let’s get a move on. On our hooves!”
“I don’t even have hooves,” Spike grumbled. Regardless of his biological differences, he followed Sunset and Twilight into the building.
The room they entered was fairly small, but respectable. Light came from six lamps mounted on the walls of the room. The carpet was decorated with intricate flaming spirals that still looked magnificent despite the obvious wear. Five armchairs lay lined up next to the door. There was a reception desk across the room. To the left of the door were the public facilities, and to the right was a staircase.
“May I help you?” the receptionist asked them in a bored drawl. She was a greenish-brown earth pony mare with a white and grey mane that stuck up on her head in a messy point. A pair of black horn-rimmed spectacles lay on the bridge of her nose. She wore a dark red jack on her barrel and a serious frown on her face.
“We’re looking for a mare named Rainbow Dash,” Sunset replied.
“May I help you?” the receptionist repeated.
“I said, we’re looking for a mare named Rainbow Dash,” Sunset repeated.
“That does not answer my question,” the earth pony mare replied flatly.
“Of course it does!” Sunset exclaimed.
“No, it does not.”
“Yes, it does!”
“No, it does not.” Before Sunset could interject the receptionist added, “Do I have to call security?”
“There’s no need for that,” said Twilight hastily as she jumped between the two mares. “Sunset, let me handle this,” she whispered to the other unicorn.
Sunset huffed but took a step back.
Now Twilight addressed the receptionist. “We would appreciate it if you would help us locate a pegasus mare by the name of Rainbow Dash, who we have reason to believe is employed in your service.”
“The East Steel City Weather Factory’s Code of Conduct prevents me from disclosing that information to you.”
“You could have just told us that earlier!” Sunset exploded.
“Calm down, Sunset!” Twilight said sharply. The other mare glared. Twilight flinched but continued, “Just let me take care of this, all right?”
Sunset grunted and nodded. She took a step back and took a seat next to Spike.
“Don’t worry,” Spike consoled her. “This happens to me a lot.”
“My name is Lady Twilight Sparkle from the House of Star,” Twilight introduced herself to the receptionist. “Are you sure there isn’t anything I can do to persuade you to change your mind about the policy?”
“Rules and regulations exist to be followed,” the other mare replied flatly. “I do not compromise with nobles.” She spat out the word like it left a biter taste in her mouth.
Twilight did not bite to the insult, and instead levitated out a small stack of bits from her bag. The earth pony turned up her muzzle and sniffed. Twilight doubled the amount, but the other mare only sniffed again. Then Twilight levitated one of the coins back into her bag.
“Deal,” the receptionist said as she pulled open a drawer and carefully placed the remaining bits into it with a series of metallic clinks. Then she took out a quill and a stack of papers and began writing.
Twilight waited for a moment.
The receptionist continued writing.
Twilight turned to Sunset and Spike, who only shrugged in response.
The receptionist dipped her quill in an inkwell, and continued writing.
Twilight cleared her throat. “Well?”
“Well, what?” The receptionist asked without looking up.
“Where’s Rainbow Dash?”
“The East Steel City Weather Factory’s Code of Conduct prevents me from disclosing that information to you.”
“But what about our agreement?” Twilight asked.
“What agreement?”
“I paid you a bribe!”
“I do not accept bribes,” the receptionist denied.
“She just gave you two stacks of bits you stupid granny!” Sunset glared at the elderly receptionist. “What did you think that was, a tip? You took a bribe and now you have to pay up!”
“What’s this about bribes?” a gruff voice asked.
Twilight, Spike, and Sunset whirled around to see a pegasus stallion resting at the bottom of the steps. He wore light grey armor and his helmet was adorned with sapphire blue plumage, the signature armor of a Local Guard.
“This noble pony expects me to take a bribe,” the receptionist replied, still without looking up. “Typical.”
“B-but you took it!” Twilight protested. “You put the coins in that drawer!”
“Everypony in this town knows that Cloudy Fog doesn’t take bribes,” said the pegasus guard. “You three will have to come with me.”
As the stallion approached Sunset lit her horn as she prepared to a fire a spell. Twilight cut in front of her. “Legal procedures declare that any defense a suspect claims must be investigated immediately to prevent potential tampering with the evidence!”
The guard hesitated. “I don’t remember reading—”
“Section 6, article 3, paragraph 4,” Twilight said promptly. “Don’t you have to memorize the entire section on arrests in order to pass your guard evaluations? I could have you cited for failing to know or follow the correct legal procedure!”
The guard was dumbfounded, and hesitated. Twilight held his eyes with an even gaze. The guard sighed and turned to the receptionist. “Cloudy, I’ll need to take a look inside that drawer.”
Cloudy harrumphed, but stepped off of her seat and stood next to the desk.
A twinge of suspicion tickled Sunset’s gut. “Get ready to run,” she whispered to her companions.
The guard pulled the drawer out and surveyed its contents. He found several inkwells in the back of the drawer and many blank sheets of paper in the front. He sifted through the sheets of paper and moved aside the sturdy wells as he searched the drawer. “There’s no bribe money in here!”
Before the guard could take a step forward, Sunset fired a magical blast at the desk. It light up in a bright flash, leaving the receptionist and guard stunned against the wall. “Run!” Sunset yelled. Twilight threw Spike on her back and dashed through the door with Sunset on her heels.
“Was that really necessary?” Spike asked as they ran.
“If I was caught and identified I would soon find myself without a head,” Sunset replied. “What do you think?”
“That blast could’ve severely hurt a pony!” Twilight exclaimed. “What happened to controlling yourself?”
Sunset rolled her eyes, even though she knew Twilight was not in a position to see her face. “I didn’t really explode the desk. That blast was harmlessly loud and bright, but very good at startling ponies.”
Twilight could swear that she saw the desk actually explode, but she decided against arguing with Sunset.
“Were going to need more than startling spells!” Spike exclaimed. “We need to get out of here?”
“Not without the pegasus,” said Sunset firmly.
“But how are we going to find her?” Twilight asked.
“We’ll try going to her place,” Sunset decided.
“That was my idea!”
Sunset ignored the dragon’s complaint. “Twilight, how good are you at teleportation?”
“I would say I’m pretty good. Why?”
“Rainbow Dash’s house, now!”
A collection of sparkles flowed into Sunset’s glowing horn as she absorbed the sun’s rays. With a soft pop she disappeared in a flash of light.
Twilight skidded to a stop, nearly throwing Spike off her back. “She did a long range teleportation spell,” she said in awe. “While running. In seconds.”
“Focus, Twilight!” Spike urged her. “We need to get out of here!”
“Right.” Twilight closed her eyes and focused on her magic.
Spike looked in the direction they had come and spotted a thoroughly aggravated guard flying their way. “Twilight, hurry it up,” he urged her.
“I’m… trying…”
Spike’s pupil shrunk as the guard continued streaking towards them. “He’s getting close.”
“Trying… to… focus!”
Spike began gnawing on his nails as the guard drew closer. Just as the guard made it close enough for Spike to count his eyelashes, he and Twilight vanished in a small pop.



Twilight’s teleportation spell took them to the ground right underneath Rainbow Dash’s house. “Made it,” said Twilight in relief.
“That was too close,” Spike sighed. He looked up. “And we missed the front door.”
Twilight giggled. “Relax, I’ve got this.” The two disappeared and then reappeared in front of the front door.”
“Took you long enough.”
Twilight and Spike jumped in surprise and whirled around.
Sunset raised an eyebrow. “What?”
“You caught us by surprise,” Twilight said weakly. “And your teleportation was so fast. It took me forever to get the ground below in open shot. You need to show me how to do that.”
“Maybe some other time,” said Sunset dismissively. Though if you did three short teleportation hops like I did you might have taken less time. “So, do we blast the door open or what?”
“Diplomacy is the best policy,” said Twilight.
Sunset snorted, but knocked on the door regardless. There was no answer.
“Looks like she’s not home,” said Spike in disappointment.
Sunset frowned. Spike and Twilight watched as her horn lit up and she spent several moments in deep concentration. “Yup, it appears so,” she finally said with a sigh as she dropped the spell. “Too bad, it appears that we brought over all these noodles as an apology for nothing. Looks like we’ll have to eat it all ourselves, Twilight and Spike.”
“What noodles?” Spike asked.
Sunset rolled her eyes. “Play along,” she whispered.
Spike’s mouth formed an O of realization. “Yes, it’s too bad. We should probably get going, we can’t just wait here all day.”
“And to think we had brought some cider too,” Twilight chimed in. “I guess we should drink it before it gets too warm.”
“Cider!” exclaimed an excited voice from inside. The door flung open to reveal a messy-maned pegasus who sweating and breathing heavily. “Where?”
“Nowhere,” Sunset said smugly.
Rainbow’s face turned blank with confusion, but here eyes narrowed as she realized the trick. “Why you—”
“Look, I know we tricked you to bring you out here,” said Twilight quickly. “But we came to apologize.”
The pegasus looked at them in surprise. “How did you know I was fired?” she asked. “Cloudy doesn’t let anything slip!”
“You were fired?” Spike echoed. “Just over messing up one night?”
“Wait, you didn’t know?” Dash asked in confusion. She facehoofed. “Great, way to go, Dash.”
“They didn’t really fire you for something that minor, right?” Twilight asked.
Rainbow Dash snorted. “That, and the multiple ‘accidents’ that happened around me while I was on shift. It’s not like it’s my fault, ponies just tend to keep their eyes on me and my awesomeness whenever I’m around. It’s not like I try to distract them.”
Sunset looked up and down at the mare’s brightly colored mane and tail. “Uh-huh, you seem perfectly inconspicuous in all of your loud and colorful awesomeness,” she said drily.
“Finally, somepony who gets it!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed.
Sunset mentally facehoofed.
Twilight cleared her throat. “Well then, we are also sorry for making you lose your job.”
Rainbow Dash waved a hoof dismissively. “It wasn’t your fault,” she said. “But if you didn’t know I was fired, what did you come to apologize for?”
“I didn’t come to apologize,” said Sunset.
Twilight gave Sunset a hard look before turning back to Rainbow Dash. “On of all of our behalf, I apologize for inconveniencing you and—”
“Haven’t I told you already to stop with the fancy noble talk and just say what’s on your mind?” Rainbow Dash interrupted.
“Oh, right.” Twilight cleared her throat and tried again. “I’m sorry for all the trouble we’ve caused you, and I’m sorry if you felt a little overwhelmed by all we told you this morning. That much information is a lot to take in all at once.”
“I wasn’t overwhelmed,” said Rainbow Dash defensively.
Sunset raised an eyebrow. “You weren’t overwhelmed?”
“I just said that I wasn’t.”
“And you believed me?”
“You didn’t seem to be lying, so yeah. I’ve heard weirder stories that turned out to be true.”
“You weren’t scared?”
“As if! I’m fearless!”
“You weren’t angry?”
“Why the hay would I be angry?”
“Well how do you explain why you went flying off like that?” Sunset asked suspiciously. “We gave you an opportunity to help save Equestria, and you rejected our offer and flew away like your tail was on fire! Explain that!”
“I was late for work.”
For a brief moment, there was an awkward silence.
Sunset felt a small flush rise to her cheeks. “Oh,” was all she said.
“But why didn’t you want to come along?” Spike asked.
Rainbow Dash sighed. “Come on inside,” she said as she threw open the front door. “This might take a while.” Rainbow Dash led the three to a small couch that, unsurprisingly, was made out of clouds. After the three had seated, Rainbow Dash sat down on the fluffy floor and took a deep breath.
“You see,” Rainbow Dash began. “I moved to this town only last summer. My dad worked his flank off saving up so much money so I could get started here, and I need to earn enough to repay him so I can chase after my dream.”
“What dream?” Twilight interrupted. She blushed and stuck a hoof over her mouth.
Dash smiled and pointed to a poster on the otherwise bare wall, depicting three pegasi in blue and uniforms. “My dream is to become a Wonderbolt!” she announced. “They’re the fastest and most famous fliers in Equestria!”
“Never heard of them,” said Sunset with a shake of her head.
“It makes sense that you wouldn’t. The Wonderbolts were only formed two years after The Queen united Equestria under her rule,” said Twilight. “They’re a household name now. Almost every pony know in Equestria knows about them.”
“Exactly!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. “All I need to is save enough money to pay back my dad and enter a Wonderbolt training camp. Then I’ll be Rainbow Dash, fastest flier in Equestria and captain of the Wonderbolts! Every colt and filly will know my name for years to come!”
“Captain?” Sunset echoed. “Is this a sports team or a military division?”
“A bit of both actually,” Twilight replied. “The Wonderbolts are stunt ponies by occupation. They usually perform at air shows for public or private events, and sometimes perform for charities. But in times of international crisis they are used as reserve troops in The Queen’s army.”
“The Queen’s army!” Sunset yelped in alarm as she jumped to her hooves. Her horn immediately lit up as she prepared to cast a spell, but Rainbow Dash struck first. The pegasus flew forward and gave a sharp poke to Sunset’s horn, which caused Sunset to lose control of her spell and take a step back in as she bit her bottom lip in pain.
Spike jumped to safety behind the couch. “Well, that escalated quickly,” he commented.
“I’m not joining the Wonderbolts to be a fat royal’s lapdog,” growled Rainbow Dash. “I don’t like the old fart any more than you do, but I can’t just give up everything in my life to help you! Besides, even if you take down The Queen, another snot-nosed ruler would take her place. I’d prefer to be ruled by a bratty royal I do know, than a bratty noble I don’t know.”
“Celestia is not bratty!” Sunset hissed as she took an aggressive step forward.
“Clam down you two!” Twilight shouted as she jumped in between them. She turned to Sunset. “Sunset, Rainbow Dash isn’t our enemy; she just sees things from a different perceptive. You can’t force her to change her mind.” Now Twilight turned to Rainbow Dash. “Rainbow Dash, we’re sorry for troubling you. We will respect your decision.”
“She wants to let a tyrant rule over the throne!”
Twilight turned back to Sunset. Her face was in an uncharacteristically stern frown. “Sunset. Drop it,” she said lowly.
Sunset gritted her teeth. This featherbrained pegasus needs to know that Nightmare Moon needs to go! She almost voiced this, but something in Twilight’s eyes made her pause. The stern frown shone with disapproval, but there was something in her eyes that sent a different message, one that Sunset was very familiar with.
Trust me.
“Fine,” Sunset sighed. “We’re not going to kill you for not wanting stop the evil tyrant Queen.”
“And we would be happy to do anything in our power to make it up to you,” Twilight added, noting Rainbow Dash’s still narrowed eyes.
“We would?” Sunset asked.
“Yes, we would.”
Rainbow Dash’s face softened, and she flicked her hoof dismissively. “I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a million times. You don’t have to make up for anything,” she said.  Her stomach rumbled loudly.
Sunset raised an eyebrow. “You forgot to eat?” she asked.
“Kind of,” Dash replied with a sheepish smile.
“Then we’ll treat you to lunch,” said Twilight decisively.
“You don’t have to—” Another growl interrupted Rainbow Dash’s protest. “On second that, I think I’ll take you up on your offer.”



“Ramen’s huh?” said Rainbow Dash as she slurped up a mouthful of noodles. “You must like this place a lot.”
“Actually, it’s the only restaurant we trust not to cheat us,” said Sunset.
“Seriously?” Spike asked with a raised eyebrow. “That’s the best thing you can say?”
“What?” Sunset asked as she shrugged. “It’s the truth.”
Rainbow Dash laughed. “You remind me of myself,” she said. “Except, you know, not quite as cool.”
“Nice pun,” said Sunset drily.
Rainbow Dash looked at her in confusion, and then laughed. “Ha! I didn’t even notice!” She took another slurp of steaming noodles. “So, where are you from? Originally, I mean. Before the whole… fiasco.”
“A little someplace that I wish I burned to the ground,” Sunset replied.
Rainbow Dash looked up from her food to gape at her, as did Twilight and Spike.
Sunset forced a small laugh. “It’s a saying from my time,” she said with a dismissive wave of her hoof. “Don’t take it too literally.”
“So you’re from Fire Nation then?” Rainbow Dash guessed.
Sunset nodded.
“Manehattan?” Twilight asked curiously.
Reluctantly, Sunset nodded. Her ears twitched.
“So,” Dash asked. “Which part—”
“Shut up.”
“Sunset,” Twilight groaned.
“Shut up. I’m serious.”
Rainbow Dash was going to argue, but then she noticed the tense look on Sunset’s face. The orange unicorn was carefully surveying the area, as if she was expecting an attack at any second. Rainbow Dash scanned the area the as well. Through a window she could see a batpony dressed in midnight blue armor walking towards the shop.
“Uh, guys,” Rainbow Dash whispered as she pointed out the guard to the others. “You wouldn’t have happened to commit treason in the past couple of days, have you?”
“You do remember my mission, right?” Sunset said sarcastically through clenched teeth.
“Maybe you shouldn’t have blown up the office,” said Twilight nervously.
Rainbow Dash’s eyes widened. “Wait, she did what?”
“Do you think this is a good time to run?” Spike asked.
Before any pony—or dragon for that mater—could make a move, the door to the noodle shop was thrown open. The batpony in Royal Guard attire stepped into the building. His slit-pupil eyes scanned the crowd of shocked ponies, until his gaze fell on the one he was looking for. He marched to the table where Twilight, Spike, Sunset, and Rainbow Dash were sitting.
“Are you Lady Twilight Sparkle of the House of Star?”
Twilight’s eyes widened in surprise. She nodded; afraid her voice would fail her if she tried to speak.
“You have been summoned to meet with the Queen in Canterlot,” the guard announced. “An escort is waiting for you in the village square.”
“I—uh… am a little, um, busy,” Twilight stammered pitifully.
The guard’s eyes narrowed. “This is not a request.” A glimmer of light caught his eye. He turned his attention from Twilight to see an array of sparkles seeping into Sunset’s lit horn. “What—”
Sunset didn’t let him finish. A fiery blast erupted from her horn, engulfing the batpony and sending him flying away. His body shattered the shop’s door and fell into the street in a tumbling roll. The stallion did not rise.
“What did you do?” Twilight shouted.
“He’s a monster!” Sunset screeched, her eyes were wide with alarm. “Can’t you feel it? He has the corrupt magic of Nightmare Moon flowing through him! He’s not a pony!”
“He’s a Royal Guard and you killed him!” Twilight was nearly hysterical. “We’re going to be hunted down and thrown in the dungeon for this, or worse!”
“Calm down, Twi,” called Rainbow Dash as she took a careful look at the guard’s charred body. In their argument the two unicorns hadn’t noticed her fly to the guard’s side. “He’s still alive, batonies are durable like that. They don’t go down without a fight.”
“That’s no pony!” Sunset inisisted. “That’s some twisted, nightmarish abomination!”
“Can we argue about this later?” Spike asked as he pointed a claw at the growing crowd. “We need to get out of here!”
“And we’ve got company!” Rainbow Dash announced, spying three batponies flying towards them.
“I’ll take care of these creatures,” said Sunset. “You should get running.”
“But what about you?” Twilight asked.
“Yeah, we can’t leave you here alone,” Spike added.
“I’m with Spike. You think I’m going to fly away and let you get wrecked on three on one fight?” Rainbow Dash shook her head. “Not happening. I told you that I don’t leave my friends hanging.”
“But if you help us you could get in trouble!” Twilight reminded her. “This is the Royal Guard we’re talking about. This isn’t a game!”
“You think I’m playing?” Dash shot back. “Royal Guards or not, there’s no way I’m going to leave you in trouble.”
“If you want to be useful get Twilight and Spike out of town,” said Sunset.
“But that’ll leave you alone,” Spike pointed out.
“Yeah! You expect to meet up with us after facing three armored Royal Guards?” Rainbow Dash asked skeptically.
“I can trace Twilight’s magic and teleport away if I need to,” Sunset growled. “Don’t argue with me. Just get those two out of here.”
“But—”
Twilight’s protest was cut off by Rainbow Dash grabbing with unicorn in her front hooves. “Hop on dragon buddy,” said Rainbow Dash.
“I’m not going to run like a scaredy dragon!”
“Yes, you are,” Sunset said as she levitated him onto Rainbow Dash’s back.
“Good luck!” Rainbow Dash said as she dashed away with her unwilling passengers.
Sunset nodded and turned to face the incoming threats. Two of the batponies tried to continue chasing Rainbow Dash, but a large column of flame interrupted their flight. They barreled rolled out of the way. One swooped down to Sunset, and the other continued its original course.
Two out of three isn’t so bad, Sunset thought as she anchored her hooves onto the cobblestones underneath her. Twilight and Rainbow Dash should be able to take out one of these creatures.
The two batponies circled around Sunset as they searched for an opening. Sunset waited patiently, knowing that her normal strategy of razing everything to the ground wasn’t a good idea when there were spectators. Since these idiots won’t move I’ve got to keep my destruction to a minimum. These freaks don’t have the same limitation, so I’ve got to take them out as quickly as possible.
The batponies swooped down from different angles with speeds that would make most pegasi proud. Sunset breathed steadily and waited. At the last possible moment, she cast a quick teleportation spell. She arrived a few feet from where she previously stood, ready to deliver a follow up attack. Unfortunately for her, the batponies managed to avoid crashing into each other. One swooped back into the sky, and the other landed on the ground in a roll.
The one that landed on the ground stood no chance. By the time he was back on his hooves, Sunset had released a blast of flame from her horn. The attack sent the batpony into the wall of a brick house, and he didn’t get up.
The final guard, which Sunset had been surprised to identify as a mare, came around for a second pass. Sunset could tell by her opponent’s movements that this guard was faster and more agile than her companion was, but she seemed less bulky. Sunset stood still and waited for the guard to pass. As she expected, the batpony reached for her horn in attempt to cripple her. However, Sunset reared her head back as she performed a back flip. Flame leapt from her head and all four hooves, sending the batpony crashing into the wall of another building.
Assuming that the guard was unconscious, Sunset prepared a teleportation spell and honed in on Twilight’s signal.



Twilight and Spike were surprised that Rainbow Dash wasn’t lying when she said she was the fastest pegasus in Equestria. Even while burdened down with Twilight in her hooves and Spike on her back, she was able to outpace and out manuver the batpony guard. She ducked in and out of streets; sometimes even making almost ninety degree turns. Unfortunately, she was slowly losing altitude, and couldn’t risk losing speed to climb up.
“We’re almost out of town!” she announced to her passengers.
Spike glanced behind them. “I don’t see anypony behind us,” he announced. Then he noticed two shadows running along the sides of the buildings. He looked up and saw two batpony guards bearing down on them. “But there are two right above us!”
Rainbow Dash gritted her teeth. They were only flying a few feet from the ground now, and escaping town wouldn’t help if the guards followed them. “We’re going in for a landing!” She tried to make the landing as gentle as possible, but there wasn’t an easy way to come to a stop while she was flying for her life. The two ponies and dragon tumbled to the ground in a heap.
Rainbow Dash was the first one to her hooves. She stood over her friends protectively as the two guards landed on either side of the street.
“Move aside pegasus,” said one of the guards, a mare. “We are for Lady Twilight Sparkle.”
“You’re going to have to get through me,” said Dash firmly. “No one get’s to my friends that easily.”
“You don’t understand pegasus,” said the guard’s partner gruffly. “The Queen specifically—”
“I don’t care what The Queen says,” said Rainbow Dash firmly. “No pony touches my friends!”
“Dash, you can’t fight both of them,” said Twilight as she climbed to her hooves. “Maybe I should—”
Rainbow Dash shook her head. “I didn’t come this far to give up now,” she declared. “Besides, those guards aren’t going to be able to take me down as easily as they think. I know more than a few tricks about fighting.”
The guardsmare snorted. “We can hear your ‘secret’ plans clearly, pegasus,” she said. “Stay out of our way and let us collect—”
With a pop and flash, Sunset appeared in front of Twilight. She immediately dropped to into a fighting stance when she saw the guards. “There’s more of these freaks?” she exclaimed.
“I’ve had enough of this,” the batpony stallion bellowed. He galloped to the group in thunderous charged.
A teal aura surrounded the guard’s body. He slowly came to a stop just a few feet from the group. “Nice try, but it’s not happening,” said Sunset with a smirk.
A sharp pound drew Sunset’s attention. She turned to see Rainbow Dash engaging in furious hoof-to-hoof combat with the other guard as they hovered barely over the street. I didn’t even hear the guard move, she thought as a twinge of fear rippled through her body.
Sunset kept a tight telekinetic grip on her guard, but he was proving to be more difficult to hold than she had expected. He seemed to have a moderate degree of magical resistance, and every muscle in his body was straining against the force of Sunset’s magic. Sunset was suddenly hit with a burst of inspiration. “Rainbow Dash! Duck!” She changed the focus of her telekinesis from total immobilization to directed movement. The guard has already been trying to fly towards her, so it was easy to use his pent up energy to fling him at his partner. The two batponies sailed down the street.
“Great shot!” cheered Rainbow Dash.
“That was easy,” said Sunset confidently. “And you were so worried, Twilight.”
A magenta forcefield was Twilight’s response. Sunset turned back to the batponies, who were standing with their mouths open. Dust and pebbles were blown away from them, but Sunset couldn’t feel or hear anything from the inside of the bubble.
“Batponies can release powerful sonic vibrations from their mouths,” said Twilight through gritted teeth.
“And they’re more durable than pegasi or unicorns,” said Spike. “It’ll take more than one hit to take them out.”
“But I took out four batponies with one hit apiece!” Sunset exclaimed.
“It looks like two of them are back for a rematch,” called Rainbow Dash as she pointed a hoof at a pair of guards whose some-covered bodies stood out from the clear sky.
“We need to get out of here!” yelled Spike.
“We can’t blindly teleport and Rainbow Dash can’t carry all of us,” said Sunset.
“Looks like we’ve no choice but fight our way out,” said Rainbow Dash grimly.
“Dragonfire…”
“What?” Sunset asked.
“Dragonfire,” Twilight repeated slowly. “Their armor… doesn’t… resist… dragon fire.”
“But I can barely light a torch,” said Spike. “And they’re all the way over there!”
Twilight’s shield suddenly flickered. Now all four batponies were using their sonic screeches. Windows up and down the street were being shattered, and the ponies and dragon behind the barrier could hear soft whistling noises.
“Spike, get ready to make the biggest blast of flame you can,” Sunset ordered. “Rainbow Dash, once I say go, get Twilight and Spike off the street.”
Rainbow Dash crossed her forelegs. “I get that you’re big on the heroic, ‘I’ll catch up with you later!’ But seriously, no.”
“We don’t have time for this!” shouted Sunset. “Spike, I need as much fire from you as you can get.”
For a moment Spike hesitated. He glanced at Twilight, who had hers eyes tightly shut as she focused on the weakening magical barrier. He nodded and took a big gulp of air. He breathed an impressive stream of dragon fire, which due to Sunset’s imperfect planning, shattered Twilight’s shield.
“Go!” Sunset yelled.
Sunset had a tricky task before her. Dragon fire wasn’t as easy to bend as normal fire due to its unyielding magical nature. Sunset had forgotten that without a barrier it would be near impossible to simply manipulate the fire to knock out the four guards, especially since they were using their sonic screeches. Fortunately for her, they had decided to stop their attack once the shield dropped. As they took a moment to catch their breath, Sunset passed the green flame through their ranks. Two of them fell while the other two flew. Sunset immediately focused her attention on the two airborne ones. Both were male, and one of them was more soot covered than the other.
“So the males are bulky and they have fire resistant fur,” Sunset mused. “Well, let’s see if they can chew on this!” Since the two were flying side by side, she sent the dragon fire in their direction and destabilized the flow of energy she had used to control it, causing the flames to violently explode. With two strokes of luck, both ponies fell from the sky and no nearby houses burst into flame.
“Easy as pie,” she said cockily.
That was when a sharp stab of pain shot from her horn. She winced and pulled back as she fought the tears that were building in her eyes.
“You’re a clever little pony, but you’ve got more arrogance in you than a filly half your age.” Sunset could recognize the voice as the guardsmare she had defeated earlier. “The queen will definitely—”
A hiss and quickly following boom cut off the mare. Sunset blinked away the water in her eyes. The batpony was lying a few feet away, unconscious. Sunset turned her head in the direction opposite of the mare’s body and saw Twilight aiming a brightly glowing horn in her direction. Instinctively she ducked, and not a moment too soon. A magenta beam shot over head.
“What are you shooting at me for?” Sunset asked angrily.
“Look behind you hothead!” Rainbow called out from above. Sunset glanced up and saw the pegasus carrying the dragon on her back as she pointed to something behind Sunset.
Sunset turned around to see another batpony guard unconscious just a few feet behind her. She muttered a curse under her breath. Why can’t I ever hear these things coming? They’re wearing clunky armor for Celestia’s sake! They shouldn’t be able to sneak up on me!
Twilight frowned. “Sunset, we need to get moving!” she called out, snapping Sunset from her thoughts. “They won’t stay down for long.”
“I don’t think we can outrun them,” said Rainbow Dash. “And I can’t carry all of you. Plus, you won’t be able to run away from the Royal Guard when they’re out for your blood. These guys are prime endurance fliers.”
“We won’t need to run or fly,” said Sunset. “Twilight, do you know how to link spells?”
“Sharing the casting of a spell with another unicorn? Of course!”
“Do you know how to link a long range teleportation spell?”
“Sunset, I know how to link all the spells I know,” said Twilight. “It’s not that hard.”
Sunset rolled her eyes as she walked up to Twilight. As the two unicorns touched horns, their magic became connected. The magic linked their minds as one, along them to share thoughts as quickly as they passed through the ponies’ minds.
We need to get to Winnieton, thought Sunset.
I’m not sure we’ll be able to make it that far, Twilight responded. I’ve exhausted a lot of my magic, and so have you.
Sunset would have mentally smirked if she could. But I’ve got the sun to recharge me, she reminded Twilight.
But I don’t.
Just contribute what you can. Something is better than nothing.
Alright.
One of the fallen guard let out a groan.
Rainbow Dash looked at Spike. “Think I should hoofbump his face?” she asked.
Spike glanced over at Twilight and Sunset. Their horns were glowing with blinding light and a small ball was being formed at their tips. “Nah, we should just stay close to those two and we’ll be fine.” Rainbow Dash nodded and landed as close to the two unicorns as possible.
The guard groaned again as he stumbled to his hooves. His body snapped to attention as he saw the three ponies and dragon. “Stop in the name of The Queeeeouch!” His order died in a painful yelp as a bright flash of light blinded him. The image of the four escaping would be forever burned in his mind, and his eyes.



Sombra was not a hot tempered pony. In fact, most ponies said his heart was as cold as ice. He did his job effectively, but not with the unrelenting vigor found in most of the younger officers. He took his victory in stride. He took his mistakes with gritted teeth. He took subordination with a withering look. There was very little that could break his cool demeanor.
He had taken two dozen batpony guards with him to search Manehattan, Winniton, and the surrounding area for Lady Twilight Sparkle. Only a few hours after sending out his forces did he receive word that one of them had signaled for help.
Occasional incompetence was inevitable. His patience was barely chipped.
When Sombra arrived, he found six of his guard incapacitated. One of them had injuries so severe that he needed to be airlifted directly to Manehattan for treatment.
Resistance was unexpected, but his patience could handle a small crack.
Twilight Sparkle had escaped.
That was a small hole in his wall of patience.
Nopony knew where she was.
…Bye-bye, wall.
“What do you mean, they disappeared?” Sombra snarled at the private. The unicorn stood so close to his subordinate that his deformed horn grazed the guard’s forehead. “Did you fail at enchamant bypass training? Nopony simply disappears!”
“They didn’t use an enchantment!” The batpony protested, trying, and failing, to remain clam as Sombra gave him a glare hot enough to melt sand into glass. “I even tried to sense their magic, but I could find any trace of it! They must have managed a long-range teleportation.”
“Are you certain of this?”
The guard nodded.
Sombra looked the guard in the eye. Despite the batpony’s evident fear, Sombra could tell that he was speaking with assurance. With a half nod, he moved onto to his next question. “You mentioned she had companions, who were they?”
“One of them was her pet dragon,” the guard replied shakily. “Another was a local pegasus name Rainbow Dash. Blue coat, and a distinct rainbow mane. Apparently, she had been fired from her job just this morning. The final one was an orange unicorn with a red and yellow mane. The local ponies say she arrived in town with Lady Twilight Sparkle.”
“Do you have a name for her?”
The guard shook his head. “No, but the locals described her as being aggressive. A local guard and a civilian were injured when the orange unicorn attacked them to prevent Lady Sparkle from being arrested for attempted bribery.”
Sombra finally took a step back from the guard—who sighed in relief—as he mused over the situation. “Pops up out of nowhere when Lady Sparkle is being attacked legally, and defends her physical when a guard attempts to detain her. Tell me, private,” the guard’s eyes widened in fear, “what do you make of this?”
The batpony was silent for a few moments. “Judging from the information I have so far, I would assume that Lady Twilight Sparkle hired her as a bodyguard.”
Sombra gave him a slow nod. “Congratulations, you passed your basic competency exam,” he replied.
The guard sighed in relief.
“However…” Sombra continued, a malicious grin sliding over his features. “I’m putting the blame of their escape in the hooves of you and everypony else present during this failuer. Make sure you inform the others of their failures.”
“Y-y-yes, s-sir.”
“Now, get out of my sight.” The private wasted no time following that order. He moved so fast he practically flew through the doorway, and ended up nearly breaking a wing in the process.
Sombra looked around at the now empty noodle shop he had temporarily used as an interrogation room. The lack of a door irked him, but it had been the nearest empty building he could find. And he certainly did not have the time to expel civilians from occupied buildings. “Those weaklings will have to be reassigned to training camp,” he growled. “No one bodyguard should be able to take out three pairs of the Royal Guard. Another year or two non-compensated training should whip those foals into shape.”
Sombra slowly walked to one of the empty wooden tables. Snarling, he smashed its center with a hoof, breaking the table in half. “Those ignorant, foalish, incompetent idiots!” He screamed in rage as he summoned a beam of dark magic from his horn and blasted the broken table, and a part of the wooden floor, into smoky rubble.
“The Queen will not be happy when she hears about this.”