> Mail through the mirror
>  by Eon Seb
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Some Unexpected Letters (edited) 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Sunset sighed as she sat under the statute. A month had passed and still barely a day went by without someone giving her a nasty look or a cutting remark, the only thing that kept her from regressing to her old ways where the girls. Despite her reservations they had welcomed her with open arms and were always there when she needed them. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a small crystal tree, it still surprised her that the flower Twilight was wearing had in fact held a seed of the tree of harmony. She was even more shocked when Twilight named her the caretaker of the tree for the human world. 
With a sudden rush of air she heard something fall to the ground. When she turned to investigate she found six envelopes, one for her and for each of her friends. Her eyes widened when she saw that they were signed Twilight Sparkle: Lady of the Everfree. One mass text latter, and after hitching a ride with A.J., all the girls were sitting around a table at sweet apple acres, letters in hand. 
“Oh, oh, oh, this is so exciting. I wonder what she sent us!” Pinkie said, anticipation clear in her eyes.
“Calm down Pinkie we all want to know what’s in these here letters.” Applejack said, though she knew it was a futile effort.
“I for one am more concerned with how she sent them to us. Did the portal not close after she left?” Rarity asked, voice laced with confusion. 	
“Hopefully these letters will explain,” after Sunset had said this, the girls all exchanged a look, before simultaneously opening their individual letters.
Each contained a short note explaining that twilight wanted to show them what they each looked like in her home dimension. “Aw yeah, I look awesome even as a pony,” Rainbow exclaimed as she showed off a picture of a blue pony with a rainbow mane and, bat wings? Rainbow did a double take when she saw what type of wings she had "that is so Metal".  
“Well, would you look at that. Pony me’s got a hat, too,” AJ said as she turned around a picture of an orange pony with a blonde mane and stetson carrying a bunch of apples. 
“My, she looks radiant, though she does have some odd taste in jewelry  ” Rarity said with slight awe as she examined a picture of a white pony with a well styled purple mane and a horn on her forehead, wearing a black and gray amulet with a red gem in the shape of a triangle    
“Oh She is so cute” Fluttershy squeaked after showing the others the picture of a pink maned yellow pony with wings. She blinked in confusion when she noticed that she also had a picture of a strange creature with a pink web like mane, black chitin covered body with a long horn and gossamer wings. She found a small note explaining that that was her true form, while the first was what she used to blend in. 

Sunset’s contained a note from Twilight, which explained that she had discovered how to transport small objects through the portal due to the connection being stronger with a tree on both sides. Behind that was a picture of, well, Sunset thought it was Twilight, but.  She had expected a black earth pony who had a blue streak in her mane, not a creature made out of wood vines and was that kelp where her tail should be? There was a picture of a purple pony with fangs bat ears snake eyes and a sea pony tail as well. Which the note explained was a natural illusion she wore when visiting new areas or if she wanted to not be recognized right away. Sunset had no idea how a Frankinstallion monster could be considered an inconspicuous disguise and to be honest she did not want to know. 

Pinkie’s face held an expression of confused joy at the site of her pictures. One was a very pink pony with a mane matching her hair, the other was a surreal being with the back legs of an alligator, the front legs of a dog, the tail of a lion, and the antlers of a moose. Everyone was shocked at the sight of that picture, though Sunset’s expression held a bit of terror. “What in tarnation is that thing?” Applejack asked after a moment.
“I was wondering the same thing about that ‘bug’ in the picture Fluttershy has”, Rainbow mumbled, as one the girls turned to Sunset only to blink at the expression of terror on her face.

“T-That's a draconequus” she stuttered after a moment of shock. “ I thought that only one had ever existed and he caused the worst events in equestrian history”!  After calming down Sunset was able to think and realized that Pinkie as a chaos spirit explained a lot about her human counterpart and she doubted that this pinkie was much different from the one she knew so there should be no need to panic. “ The creature in Fluttershy's picture is called a changeling I don't know much about them but if she was willing to show her true form than the others must know about it already".
"Do you happen to know what that tacky thing my ponyself is wearing is darling"?  Rarity asked with a sniff only to blink at sunsets shell shocked expression. 
" That tacky thing as you called it is the Alicorn Amulet the most powerful magic amplifier ever made! I am more surprised your counter part can wear it at all every record of it I found said  that it drove anypony that wore it mad in a matter of hours. Yet she seems just fine, how does that work"? 

After explanations were given and all the photos passed around sunset found another photo after taking one look at it she went pale and faster than the others could blink she was in the corner mumbling “it’s just a dream I am safe here it’s just a dream”. After coaxing Sunset back to her seat she showed the others what caused her freak out the picture contained all of the ponies they had seen before with 3 others 2 ponies so tall they could be confused for horses stood behind the group one was pure white with a long spiral horn and bird like wings, the other was pitch black with a curved horn and bat like wings  another creature which looked like Pinkie giving them all rabbit ears. (Some how?) Sunset read the attached note before explaining “those are Princess Celestia, Princess Nightmare Moon AKA Luna and Discord the spirit of chaos . 
Silence filled the room before the barrage of questions began AJ’s question was simple “What is with Celestia's mane it’s purple”? Rainbow’s question caused Fluttershy to squeak 
“why is the bug pony version of Shy sitting behind some green orbs”? 
“Those are eggs” Fluttershy managed to say before falling back into her chair in shock. Pinkie’s question grabbed everyone's attention. 
"Why is there a tiny version of Luna curled up with Twilight?” After blinking, eye rubbing, and double takes had all occurred none of them could deny that there was in fact a tiny filly with Nightmares coat and mane color but Twilight's eyes. 
“Well my word ” Rarity exclaimed with shock, Sunset posed the final question as she got ready to write a reply to Twilight What is going on in Equestria? 

> (bonus ) Photo Shoot & Reminiscing 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Twilight  walked briskly down the road her braided  tail swaying slowly side to side and the occasional ear flick being the only signs of her joy. Several ponies going about their day stopped and waved  to the timber mare which she returned with a small smile before her face became neutral one more as she cantered on to her goal, a camera hung round her neck. " Getting these last pictures could be difficult" she mused, Convincing Rarity to pose with her new amulet and snapping a photo of Applejack as she worked had been simple enough. Getting Pinkie's photo had been a bit harder, convincing her in both pony and her new draconequus form to sit still long enough was almost as frustrating as talking with the nobles who would try and  convince her to sign a contract for her daughter.
Thankfully discord had been off visiting the Pie family farm to check up on (read annoy)  Limestone so he was not around to interfere. Convincing him to visit the Pie family the first time  had been surprisingly easy once he learned they were descended from Puddinghead and Surprise, who had been his best friends back when he was just a unicorn. That story had been both fascinating and terrifying, it was by far the 2nd scariest thing she had ever gone though. The only thing scarier she could think of was her first date with Mooney, AKA Princess Luna. 
it had taken all or her training to prevent herself from hyperventilating when she got the invitation to dinner complete with all the old equestrian wording and nuances the message said it was a thank you dinner for taking care of Spectrum while she could not . But Twilight could see Spectrum's hoof prints all over the plan "that little rascal had been planning on getting us together the moment she decided to start calling me dad." Becoming the parent figure to the mythical pony of shadows had been quite a surprise back when she was first getting use to living in the Everfree.  
But after that rocky start their relationship had gone quite well, to the point she was invited to the gala as Luna's date leading to many nobles looking trout-slapped. "The looks on their faces when they saw the same earth pony they used to mock for trying to get in to a "unicorn only" academy showing up as a date for one of the Princesses is one of my favorite memories".  After her trip down memory lane Twilight noted she was almost to the door of Fluttershy's cottage, as was common after the Ironwill incident Dash had her cloud house right over the cottage. 
"Okay convincing Rainbow to let me take a photo should be as easy as showing her the camera, of course after that I will have to drag Fluttershy out from her newest hiding spot, (thank you Photo Finish). Lets see today is Tuesday and Dash is here so she should hide from things that scare her in the closet whelp here we go." With a fortifying breath she stood tall before knocking on the door. Several minutes latter after Fluttershy had been convinced to leave the closet and Angel had been assured she was not under attack Twilight left with her last set of  photos to pen the letters to her new friends, she could not wait to hear their response and found herself wishing she could see their faces when they each opened their letters. 
> Family Portraits (with the sirens) 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The girls again found themselves in the lounge of Sweet apple Acres. This time, they had one large envelope with a letter explaining it contained photos (with explanations) of each of the girls in their current relationships. The only other difference was that they had the 3 de-powered sirens with them, and as was becoming normal, Adagio was holding Fluttershy in her lap.
"No fair! Why do you always get to hold her?" Sonata was pouting "You always hog our cuddly little rabbit."
"Guess it's just my natural charisma girls" Adagio just smirked as she held Flutters to herself.
"Yeah, more like you're addicted to cuddles" Aria was still grumpy though it had seemed to lessen after Fluttershy took them in. 
"Now girls. No fighting. We came here to see what these pictures are, after all" Fluttershy had a glowing blush but was still coherent.

The others had already opened the envelope after realizing that it was the sirens usual argument. AJ and Rarity where looking at the same picture which contained their pony selves, (who seemed to have grown since the last set of pictures) and who they realized after a moment were Soarin and Big Mac. Soarin had his wings around Pony Apple Jack who looked quite happy, while Rarity was standing next to Big Mac with her head on what would have been his shoulder. Both girls were just blinking slowly.
Pinkie was staring at her picture in panic it contained 2 pink ponies. One was lighter with a fluffy mane and a large smile. The other was more dull with a straight mane and a small but happy smile. They were sitting side by side and looking at the camera.
Rainbow had looked at her picture before twitching, her eyes glassed over and she passed it to Fluttershy before passing out.  it contained pony Shy in her true form with pony Dash, a gryphon and the part that made the sirens' eyes widen.  There were about 2 dozen changelings (which the attached note explained were the children of the 3 in the picture).
Fluttershy was teetering on the edge of consciousness when she was suddenly squished between the 3 sirens who were glaring at the picture as if it was a personal insult. Rainbow by this point had regained awareness, only for Aria  giving her the universal sign of "I'm watching you" to be the first thing she sees.
After they all took calming breath they shared the pictures with the others and their opinions. Rarity's reaction was the loudest. "I just don't understand it. I will admit that Macintosh is a kind and helpful man but what prompted my counterpart to seek a relationship with him?"
AJ was just as confused "I don't get why Soarin' would be interested in me. I'll admit he's an okay guy but what did they have in common?"
The Sirens spoke up soon after, though their reactions were quite different "Listen here, Skittles! We don't care how well you know Flutters. If you try to take her from us, we will hurt you" This was said in the same synchronization as when they sang making it just that much more terrifying.
Pinkie was panicking "The doctors told me she wasn't real but, if she has a pony form, does that mean she was? Did I chase her away did they? Did we, did we kill her." The girls had been let in on the secret of Pinkies younger years so they quickly had her in a group hug even the (slightly confused) sirens joined in. They managed to calm her down after a fair bit of effort and continue the next picture she had contained Maud and the Tree of Harmony. They were initially confused till they read the letter explaining how she met the tree and 3 hours later, asked it to marry her. Then the confusion reached critical mass.
After they all calmed down over some apple juice, they brought out the remaining photos. Midnight and Nightmare was nothing new, though it did confuse the sirens when they saw the dark alicorn (They thought she was still evil). They could still not believe that the creature responsible for organizing their defeat was in fact a tree spirit, though based on the picture it looked like she might also be part sea spirit. 
The only other picture contained Spectrum Shadow  (Midnight and Nightmare's daughter) They still had no idea how that one worked. 2 Ponies that, it was explained, were Apple Bloom and Sweetie belle, a changeling with orange eyes and a purple mane which was Scootaloo, who Shy and RD (pony) had adopted. This caused RD and Shy (Human) to go wide eyed and the Dazzlings to glare at Rainbow again. The other fillies in the picture were the pony forms of Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon .
Pinkie was examining the photo when she went pale and hide when they asked her she just pointed at the pony Diamond and said "Look at her teeth, they said normal ponies don't have sharp teeth." upon further inspection the girls realized that Pinkie was right. The filly did in fact have fangs. The letter attached said she was a vampony. The girls blinked before the sirens and Sunset were bombarded with questions. This was going to be a long day.
> An Eye Opening Slide Show (misery-verse continuity.)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Sunset had gathered the girls to where her odd friend had set up a projector. So they all sat down and got ready for what she had to tell them, her grin  looked crazy even by the standards of Pinkie by this point.  "Thank you all for coming. Now Sunset, how much have you told them about our home?"
Twilight's question caught her off guard "Uh well I haven't gotten around to that yet" Sunset had a sheepish grin while Twilight's smile fell back to a normal degree of happy-
Just seconds before reaching a new intensity combined with some of her hair springing out of place. "Well, this just got even more fun."  
With a snap of her fingers, Twilight put out the lights and turned on the projector. The girls were still getting used to the fact that she could do that. "Now, to start with, the world we come from on the other side of the mirror is much more attuned to the mana flow of the planet. All creatures that live there can utilize it to some degree and even the air itself is charged with what is for all intents and purposes magic. This energy, in fact, exists on this side of the portal as well in the same level. The only difference being humans, as the main sentient species, have no natural way to access that energy so those who can are very rare and often seen as myths and legends."-
for the next 30 minutes Twilight proceeded to give them a lecture that made everything she said scientifically sound even from a human standpoint. " So any questions on that part?"
The girls were all shell-shocked. It was kind of hard to refute something that had just been scientifically explained to you with slides showing that magic was in fact a natural part of the world that humanity could not use most of the time. Applejack was the first to speak up "So what do you really look like if you can use magic?"
She might have still been somewhat skeptical, but she would wait to see if they had proof before claiming that Twilight was full of it.
"I'm glad you asked."
Twilight quickly pulled up a new slide, which held a picture of an odd looking humanoid which had a resemblance to  Sunset in her unicorn form. As the girls eyes were switching between her and strange horse person Twilight continued " This is an example of what we normally look like. Thanks for letting me use this picture, Sunset. Now, everyone see the protrusion on her forehead?"
-It was kind of hard to miss the bone white nub on her head that looked like bone with circles carved into it. It actually resembled a crude drawing of an eye come to think of it.-"That holds the part of our brain that allows us to tap into magic" -
The next slide held a grey creature that  had the same bone one with huge wings and one that was about a head taller than the others and very well muscled-"These are examples of the main tribes of our kind. Unicorns, AKA casters, have the 'horn' on their head which can be used to actively manipulate magic to a higher degree than the other tribes. Pegasi, AKA angels, have large wings that allow them to fly with magic aid and they can touch and manipulate weather formations. At one time they could also control the weather, but that ability is now very rare.  Finally we have the earth pony, now known as giants. They have super strength and a connection with non-wild plants.  That sums up the 3 main tribes next we have."
-here she brought up a slide of a strange creature that looked like a bipedal insect and a huge horse with a flowing mane and tail, horn and wings-"These are examples of Changelings. They have the ability to shape shift into anything and feed off of emotional energy, most often love. The other is one of the 3 rulers of our world. She is an alicorn; a biological immortal near invulnerable being of magic and order. She has the best abilities of all three of the main tribes combined and magnified, which makes her one of the most powerful beings of magic alive."
-Here she paused the show again-"So any questions?"
The next half hour was filled with question ranging from diet ("Yes we can still eat hay; we're ovi-lacto herbivores.") to the embarrassing ("Yes, clothing is mandatory, Rarity." or "No, Rainbow. We do not go walking around in the nude in public.")
Once the Q&A session was over, Twilight brought up the next set of slides.
These contained a familiar looking equine morph  with a pink mane and coat the girls were sure it was another Pinkie, till they saw the cleaver. The mare was large, well muscled, with a dull pink body and flat mane standing next to a cleaver that was 3/4 her size!
"What the hell, Twi?! How did you convince some one to act like that?!"
Twilight had to pull herself out of a mental argument about showing that picture first before she could answer. "Okay. First off, the next few picture's include our world's versions of you girls, and what I look like along with a few others, and that is how she normally acts. The cleaver is a weapon for if she gets attacked or a monster tries to break into town again. But I solemnly swear that those are the only circumstances she uses that cleaver under. She is NOT a bad pony."
The girls looked to Sunset for conformation. It can't be that bad in their home right? When she nodded in agreement with Twilight, they just turned around to continue the show.  The next picture had a name with it this time and was of Rarity who looked even more elegant due to being in her prime. The next slide, however, made Rarity scream

(By jkrolak)

The creature was an arachnophobe's worst nightmare and it looked like Rarity from the waist up. Rainbow and  Applejack lost it They were rolling on the floor laughing and Rarity curling into a ball on her chair was not helping. Pinkie apologizing for 'killing her kin' only made her sob a bit more.  Fluttershy's declaration of "She's so cute" before thinking about what she said made everyone stop, before she turned red as a cherry and hid in her hair realizing what she just said about one of her friends.  Once the laughter died down and Rarity was assured that her counterpart had no interest in coming to this side of the mirror, they continued.
The next slide held Applejack, if she had been raised by nobility, the hair was perfect the dress was perfect her posture was refined to military precision. Which was ruined by the picture next to it of a creature which looked like a wooden werewolf like creature with the torso and head of AJ with glowing eyes.
"What in tarnation is that? So I'm a prissy little doll that can turn into a wood wolf in your world!?"
Twilight could only shake her head "That prissy little doll is one of the best business mares in the city and holds a near- monopoly on all produce. The timber wolf form is due to an accident with the forest. She can control it, but tends to avoid using it outside of emergencies. Until the recent unpleasantness that happened, most of us kept our secrets to ourselves or one close friend."-
She let the girls ponder that before continuing " Now next is Fluttershy" the picture of a winged pony trying to hide in the wings was cute until they saw the red eye glaring at the camera, and noticed that the wings were those of a bat
Rainbow's jaw hit the floor "Shy's a vampire in your world? Awesome!" Fluttershy had just come out of her hair only to shrink away again with a bright blush and a slight nose bleed.
Twilight grimaced 'Yeah she also hates cameras. I had to run for quite a while after getting that picture. Next,  Rainbow-"
This slide held several photos of a blue equine, who looked out downright normal at first glance in the first picture. The next one showed a pair of nasty vertical scars on her back and the third had her sitting on a grey mass that they quickly recognized as a cloud."
Sunset was the first to comment "But only angels can.. Oh fuck" The girls could only stare a Sunset she never swore.
Rainbow just looked at her "What? What am I not getting?"
She was not expecting a hug "Those scares are from where her wings used to be, right?" Twilight's nodding with no smile on her face got the message through that this was not good.
One in-depth explanation about the psychological damage caused by the loss of an angels wings later, the girls needed something to cheer them up.  
Fortunately, Twilight had just the thing to get their minds off depressing thoughts, the next slide held a reptilian humanoid who was purple with a full  head of green hair. Twilight's smile became strangely comforting "This is Spike, my little boy"
It took the girls 3 seconds to connect the dots "You have a kid!?" Pinkies shout could have broken glass if there was a window in the room. By that point, all of them were staring at her  trying to figure out how she had that as a son.
"How could you have a child that old at your age, darling?" Rarity was trying to figure out how someone who was her age had a son the age of her sister.
Twilight stuck her nose in the air "I happen to be 25 years old. At least I am in our world. No idea why my age changes when I use the portal. Even if I was this young, I didn't give birth to him. I hatched his egg and he imprinted on me so he's my son."
Pinkies shout about her age was the loudest reaction, though her explanation did calm them down a little. The next slide held a creature which was standing on a pair of cloven hooves looked about 7 feet high, had 2 large black horns curling back on it's head and was all shades of purple. The grin on it's face left no question. That was Twilight.
"Wait, when did you turn into that!?" Sunset was in a state of mild shock. How had the mare that helped her around the lab just a few years ago turn into something out of a horror movie."
Twilight's face became impassive "Are you sure you really want to know?"
All the girls nodded. After that question, it was taken all the control they had (Plus the shock from the other pictures) to not freak at the thought that their new friend was a demon. "Okay i tell you the tale of how I became what I am. Get comfortable cause its a long and scary story"  
And so the girls got ready to hear the story of the newest magic eater: Twilight the Mad
> Okay What? 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The girls (including Sunset) were all gathered in the music room after school. They had just finished compiling their notes on the mysterious Weatley who had come through the portal with Princess Twilight.  The guy had been cold as ice (or Maud when she's in a bad mood according to Pinkie), but he looked like a stereotypical history professor or a librarian complete with pince nez glasses and suit coat.  He was, for all intents and purposes, normal-looking. Then Flash Sentry entered the picture.
"So Rarity, what's the news on that locker?"
Sunset was still getting used to being the organizer for things with the others. Then again, the only other one who had any organizational skills was Pinkie and her idea of organization gave all of them headaches.
Rarity had drawn the straw to check all the areas he had gone during his time there. This was subject 1, "Well they replaced it but I got there as the original door was being removed so I was able to get it" she brought out a green locker door, with a massive hole in the middle. After the 3rd meeting between Twilight and Flash, Weatley had with no change in his facial expression, punched a hole in the nearest locker before walking off.  "I checked everyplace he was seen going in to (other then the restroom, of course) but this was the only thing damaged."
"Right, Pinkie, Rainbow. What did everyone say about him?"
Pinkie pulled a list out of her hair (they still had no idea how she kept things in there).
"Well, most of the others didn't think much of him at first. Heck, most don't remember seeing him around for those 2 days anyway. The only ones who do only noticed him when it got super de duper cold around them during an argument of some kind, one guy even said he was able to see his breath before the cold snap ended. Every time that happened he was near by watching."
Sunset shuddered "Okay, Fluttershy, Applejack, what could you find out about what he turned into?"
This still gave the school as a whole nightmares. During Sunset's final attempt to get the crown, Weatley had managed to catch it just before she could. In a fit of rage, she kicked him in the groin, only for her foot to crack on impact. She was very lucky to not break anything. After turning the crown over to Twilight, he turned to face Sunset and her Cronies and pulled off his skin! The creature that came out of the husk was tall, pale and skeletal with claw like digits and blind eyes. The noise it made caused Sunset (and several others) to need new underpants. 	After causing Snips and Snails to run back inside the school, he turned to Twilight and spoke with a voice like the frigid winter air of a blizzard "You said the elements caused harmony right? Think you can use them to cool her temper?"
Twilight had proceed to (with difficulty) activate the crown and call magic to this world, using it and the magic given to the other girls to bring Sunset's mind back into balance. She was much happier now, though she was still apologizing for her behavior to most of the students.
AJ brought out a picture they had found of a creature which looked close to what he had turned into, only it had the head of a deer. "Near as we can tell the only thing that matches is something called a Wendigo, it's a critter from old folktales which comes out during winter and eats people who are lost and alone in the wilderness."
With that not-so-cheerful news, the girls needed something to make them feel better now. Pinkie had hot coco ready in minutes (it was early but she felt it was appropriate).
After a fortifying drink Sunset spoke up "We have a spirit in Equestria called the Windigo which causes cold and famine while feeding on strife, anger and fighting."
After discussing this new information for a time and agreeing that Twilight seemed too nice to have intentionally brought something that could have killed them to the school, Sunset brought out her old journal. She had been using it to get back in touch with her old mentor with a quick question sent. The deed was done now all they could do was wait.
> Walking History
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Sunset closed what felt like the hundredth yearbook. Thankfully, though it was the last one. She glanced at her cohorts to see Rainbow and Pinkie using one another as pillows.
"I always knew those long study nights would be useful for something. "
The three of them had systematically gone over every year book trying to find any proof to contradict what they had learned. But as they say, the proof is in the pudding.
Every book they had on record had, in its pages, a picture of one Miss Cheerilee. From what they (mostly Sunset) had found , she seemed to switch subjects every decade or so but she was still there never aging. Her appearance may have changed for the time period but she never grew any older. Rarity, AJ and Shy asked around their main work places to get stories form the older generation. They all remembered Cheerilee and Granny Smith revealed that Berry seemed to have been around for just as long.
Sunset had been skeptical at first but the evidence was starting to pile up. The big question being if the two were, in fact, infernal ponies (demons in laymen's terms) ,  what were they doing on this side of the mirror?

Rainbow raised her hand for the third time before letting it drop again. 'We're sure this is her house, right?"
The girls were standing outside of a modest two story home. The only thing separating it from the other cookie cutter houses in the area was the fact that the owner decided to paint the roof purple.
"Yeah we're sure. This is the address Granny gave me. Now just knock already."
The girls had agreed on a unified front for this, but none of them could blame Rainbow for being hesitant. They had all seen the Sirens come out of Cheerilee's office after riling up the school during lunch. They had originally thought that the three were charming all the teachers till they noticed that Adagio's hair was flat. It puffed back out a moment later, but they still had to wonder what had happened in that class room to faze those 3?
With a fortifying breath, Rainbow finally knocked on the door. It was quickly opened by Sonata in a maid outfit. He eyes widened for a moment before she smiled "Hey, so how may I help you today?"
Rarity could only stare. the uniform was perfect. Not one thread out of place. Not one seam or crease too low or high. It was a perfectly professional retro maid uniform. Where in the world had they found that?!
"Yes Miss Dusk. Is Miss Cheerilee in?"
Sonata's smile seemed to grow a little fake. "Why don't you come in? I'll see if i can find her."
The girls were left in the living room after having to get past Aria (who was dressed like a mall cop). The first thing they noticed, was  Berry Punch sleeping on a chair. The TV was playing some old western. A few minutes later, Cheerilee came down the stairs. 'So to what do I owe this unexpected visit?"
The girls had intended to confront her head on. (They don't want to deal with another monster from Equestria destroying the school). But plans, to borrow an old adage, never survive first contact with the enemy. While they were scrambling to speak and talking over one another in the process, Cheerilee raised a hand for quiet and began to change.They watched as a pair of black sheep like horns grew from her head and leathery wings sprouted from her back the last thing they noticed was the heart shaped tip of a tail swaying behind her.  "Before you  start threatening me, or pass out,  let me say that I have no intention of causing problems in the school. I'm contractually obligated to follow all schools rules during my employment and that includes not harming my students or fellow staff."
Rainbow snorted 'Like a contract would stop you from doing something"
For a moment it felt like the house shook as Cheerilee's eyes turned red and she ground her teeth. "Maybe it won't stop a human, but I'm a demon. We are bound by our contracts and must follow them to the letter. Now I'm sure you have questions but can we please continue without insulting my integrity."
Before they could start talking,  they heard singing coming from the kitchen where Sonata had wondered off. The song was nice and sung with the same level of skill she used during the battle. Sunset was the first to put two and two together
"You gave them their voices back?"
Cheerilee grinned "I almost gave them their gems back, and before you freak on me, I made sure they can't try the same crap they did at school. The main reason I even helped them was because they were starving without the gems" -
This made the girls cringe. They had never considered that possibility. They thought the gems were power sources not food sources.-
'Fortunately for your sanity, we found a way to convert the negative energy they need to live into a physical form so they can eat it without the gems. They can still sing hypnotically but they don't have any real power now."
This calmed the girls down "S-so they won't be trying to take of the school again, right?"
"Correct miss Shy. Now Let me see if I can.."
Ruby Pinch came running down the stairs "Auntie! Look! Look! I finally grew my wings and horns! see?"
The girls could only stare at the child who had a small set of nubs on her forehead and wings so small that there was no way they could make her fly.
"That's great, dear, but you may want to go back up stairs"
Ruby noticed that they had guests in the house and not just any guests. The girls watched in confusion as Ruby went paler than Rarity and ran to hide behind Adagio, who had followed her down.
The girls looked between the two a few times before Pinkie exploded 'WHAT?!"
The scream was so bad it took out the windows and caused Ruby to crawl into Adagio's hair.
Berry, on the other hand, snorted and rolled over. AJ cleaned out her ear before pointing to Berry
"She's passed out drunk, ain't she?"
The girls gained a huge sweat drop at Cheerilee's nod. A commotion from upstairs was their first warning. Five seconds later, they had watched a woman with grey skin and green hair stumble down the stairs in a black nightgown. The woman took one look at the clock and walked over to where Berry was sleeping before curling up next to her and going back to sleep.

The girls looked at the two for a moment before turning back to Cheerilee. "Get comfortable girls, this is going to be a long story."
The girls were about to learn the oldest secret of the city from someone who was here before the city was even founded.