Chapter 1

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It was another day at Crystal Prep Academy. One could say that easily since Crystal Prep was, in most cases, monotonous. Students came to school, the bell rings, students enter the classroom, the process repeats about four more times before lunch, and another three times afterwards until school ends and the student body either goes home or to their respective sport practices. It had been like that for the longest time but now, something was different, minute but still noticeable to some eyes.

Social circles were the standard norm here and while the faculty didn’t exactly encourage it, they certainly didn’t discourage it either. It simply meant students would only hang out with certain other students and everyone else was either ignored or given the cold shoulder. But circles were slowly starting to bump into each other.

Now, the jocks were talking to the techies. Now, the popular girls were listening to the eco-kids. Now, the ones who had parents that were considered “one-percenters” were willing to discuss topics with those whose parents had to scrap every penny they had to get their child into this establishment.

None of it had gone unnoticed, but there was one group who were currently being cautious about mingling with other students. They were currently sitting at one of the tables in the large cafeteria eating their respective meals. Sunny Flare was staring across the room while eating a sandwich.

“I don’t like it…not one bit…” she said. “You can’t tell me one traumatic event caused this!”

“Aw, let it go Sunny,” Indigo Zap replied while rolling her eyes. “Does it really matter? It’s not like it’s a bad thing.”

“Besides, Dean Cadance says this is “a great turning point for our school and student body”,” Sugarcoat stated while eating a salad.

“Why yes it really is great for us isn’t it?” Sour Sweet said, well, sweetly. “Too bad Cinch is being more of a bitch than she ever has been…”

“That’s because she’s still licking her wounds, to put it one way,” Indigo Zap replied. “Of course, if you really want to set her off, just say something with the word ‘magic’ in it.” She grinned. “Hey Lemon, what’s that one song that just keeps repeating the word ‘magic’? ...Lemon?” She looked to her left and groaned. “Oh for crying out loud…”

Lemon Zest was currently, as always, listening to her headphones. Indigo Zap ‘politely’ jabbed her shoulder. “Huh? Oh.” Lemon then took off her headphones. “Sorry, I’ve been head over heels about this playlist that girl gave me.”

“What- give me that.” Indigo turned the volume halfway down and put on the headphones. It was only a few seconds later that she took them off. “What the hell is this shit!? Since when do you listen to dubstep?”

“Is it really that surprising considering it’s coming from Lemon Zest?” Sour asked.

“It sounds like robots having an orgy,” Sugarcoat said. Everyone at the table stared at her for a moment. “What? That’s my honest opinion…”

“Hey, how would you know what robot sex sounds like!?” Lemon snapped.

“Or sex in general…” Sour muttered.

Sunny couldn’t help but grin slightly. Compared to the six girls they met at Canterlot High, they were the complete opposite. Certainly they were all friends but each of them had a knack for being antagonistic to each other, at least to a certain point, and everyone was fine with that.

“Getting back to my point, yes I know it’s been about a month since all that happened but you can’t break down walls so easily like this.” She gestured all around.

“Maybe it’s because most of us actually have a heart or something, despite what other schools may say?” Indigo suggested.

“If that’s so true, then why has no one else talked to us? At all?” Technically that wasn’t entirely accurate. Those that joined them to the trip to CHS still talked to them time to time but the student body apparently wanted to avoid them.

“Alas, it seems our hearts have still yet to grow…” Sour said dramatically.

“Are you suggesting some outside force is responsible?” Sugarcoat asked, who looked somewhat intrigued.

“Perhaps. Maybe. I don’t know.” Sunny sighed as she zipped up her lunch bag. “Look, we all saw what happened. Both Dean Cadance and Principal Cinch decided to downplay the entire thing and everyone else except for those who were there would think we’re crazy. But guess what? Magic exists!”

“You know…that girl I mentioned, Vinyl? She did tell me an interesting rumor about this place called Camp Everfree,” Lemon said.

“And?” Indigo urged her to continue.

“Well, apparently they say it’s haunted by some weird nature spirit,” Lemon said. “She’s actually there now as we speak so I’ll have to ask her about it some more when she gets back. Anyway, we saw that other dimension right…?”

“A nature spirit that may have crossed dimensions…” Sugarcoat said, a finger to her chin as she pondered it. “Well…at this rate it’s plausible.”

“Sunny, if you’re asking us to go all Mystery Inc. then sorry but I don’t do detective,” Sour said.

“Come on, don’t you guys want to be involved in something we can actually be proud of!?” No one was looking at her now. “Look, we screwed up…and I’m not saying we should go around selling Girl Scout cookies to tell the world we’re sorry about contributing to what could be a worldwide disaster but come on! We’re Shadowbolts! We need to be proud for something!”

The girls glanced at one another and then finally Indigo looked at their leader. “You’re right about one thing Sun…we’re proud to serve our school and all that. But to go around chasing ghost stories? We should just act like everyone else and just move on from the Friendship Games.”

Sunny looked hurt and almost betrayed considering this was coming from Indigo of all people. “Fine.” She got up. “Maybe you want to stay in your state of ignorance but I know what could or may happen and when it does happen I’m going to enjoy seeing who has the balls to tell me I was right.”

She then left without another word and the four remaining girls just sat there quietly. Lemon then looked at her headphones and looked over to Sugarcoat. “Seriously though…a robot orgy?”

The Crystal Prep Files

Chapter 2

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For the rest of the day, Sunny Flare didn’t say a word to anyone. Luckily, no one said a word to her either so she was fine with that. Perhaps her friends were right, maybe she was chasing down ghost stories but after what she had seen, there was a blurred line between fact and fiction.

After classes were done, she spent some time on the computer in the library. She went through any newspaper or news channel but there was nothing she could find that would define “unusual.” That left her with only one option left.

She left the school and walked downtown to one of the drugstores. She didn’t have to go far as she found the tabloids right next to the cashier. It was any wonder a paper such as the Enquirer would still be in business since no one buys into phony news, or so she had assumed. Despite her reservations, she didn’t have many choices and picked up a copy along with two other similar magazines.

The cashier chuckled. “So you’re into that kind of stuff huh? You’re the first I’ve seen in awhile to purchase those. Looking for Nessie or UFOs?”

Sunny gave her a look as she paid by credit card. “Funny, I thought the people here hired you to do your job, not to presume that you think you know people.” She then took the magazines and ignored the cashier’s sudden look of surprise. “Have a nice day.”

She found a bench outside and started reading. Not surprisingly, it spoke a lot about things that made magic from another dimension seem credible. There was apparently a half-goat, half-man living somewhere in Manehattan. A vampire-like girl that was apparently killing off apple crops near Appleloosa.

Sunny was starting to regret her recent purchases as she flipped to the Enquirer. More of the same until… Then she found something interesting. There was a farm just outside of where the Everfree Forest stood. The owner said livestock had been disappearing every couple weeks or so and he had been seeing weird lights in the sky, almost like an aurora borealis. Honestly, he said, he wouldn’t be surprised if it truly was aliens cause up until now this kind of thing never happened.

Well, it certainly couldn’t be aliens, she thought. At least not from outer space. What if, hypothetically, there was a distortion in space and it ended up sucking in the poor cow or chicken? That seemed crazy cause most animals run away…unless it happened beneath their feet.

Sunny then got her phone out and called her mother. “Hey Mom…I’m going to be late tonight so don’t worry about dinner, I’ll find something in town…Don’t worry it’s just something for school that’s all. …Yes, I always carry a bottle of pepper spray with me…I will, love you too. Bye.”

She then found the address and plugged it into her phone. It was about three miles out from downtown and right now she wished she was able to drive but the bus would have to do. She then looked down at her shoes sadly. “Sorry, might need a new pair after this…”

A girl wearing a Crystal Prep uniform on a bus heading out to the boonies seemed rather out of place, but aside from a few side glances none of the other passengers on board said anything. She wasn’t able to get off at the farm directly but luckily the stop was about half a mile away. She was certainly glad to have brought cash with her today.

As she walked, she considered her options. There was no point talking to the farmer, he would only repeat what was already stated so she would have to do her investigation all on her own. That meant possibly going into the forest.

It was already starting to get dark by the time she reached the farm. As they said, the edge of the forest was a short distance away. There were cows and some horses out in the fields but they didn’t seem perturbed in any way.

Despite how it looked on the outside, the inside of the forest had a clear pathway which led even deeper. Sunny’s logic would have told her maybe perhaps it was some sort of predator that got to the livestock. But then again, the animals were fenced in and from what she saw, it would’ve taken a lot of force to break through that fencing. “Maybe animals can disappear into thin air,” she thought.

Aside from the chatter of critters coming out, there was nothing here. She found a log to sit on as she stretched her legs and waited. Still nothing happened. Now she was starting to think she was just wasting her time.

However, she noticed as quickly the chattering had begun, it had quickly stopped. Sunny was no nature expert but that meant one of two things. Either something was already on the prowl or something was about to happen. She then got up, using her cell phone as a flashlight. She didn’t hear anything moving, despite how quiet it was.

Suddenly, she felt the ground shake and start to cave in underneath her. She turned and ran but she quickly lost her footing; again Sunny regretted her choice of footwear. She jumped and managed to get her arms around the log she had been sitting on. Luckily the log was too heavy to roll by herself.

She looked behind her and instantly wished she hadn’t, for there was nothing below her feet. A large distortion was under her feet and the little bit of ground and said log she was holding onto was keeping her secure. She couldn’t see a bottom, only what looked like a reflection of the forest she was currently in.

She tried to push herself up but she had no footing, having to rely on her upper body. Unfortunately, doing that and hanging onto the log was causing her grip to weaken. She wasn’t going to scream for help. Who was going to hear her?

“Damn it…” she cursed, realizing her predicament. Well, if she died and honestly if it wasn’t quick it would happen eventually, she hoped at the very least her friends would come to her funeral.

Just as she was about to fall, however, a pair of hands managed to grab hers. “Hold on!” The voice belonged to Indigo Zap and Sunny Flare had never been happier to see her. “Need some help here!” Someone put their arms around Indigo’s waist and slowly Sunny was pulled out of the gaping maw onto actual solid ground.

Panting from fatigue and partly from relief, she saw that the other girls had shown up with Indigo. “How…how did you find me?”

“Lucky guess actually,” Indigo said as she got up and dusted herself up. “You’re welcome by the way.”

“What the hell were you doing out here!?” Sour Sweet snapped. “You trying to get yourself killed!?”

Her words caused Sunny to flinch. “I was looking into something…”

“Well, I think you found it,” Sugarcoat said, glancing right behind them. As Sunny looked behind her, the distortion suddenly starting to shrink until all that was left was solid ground. “So…I guess that Sunset girl didn’t fix everything after all.”

“We’re miles away from the school, are you saying it’s starting to spread?” Indigo asked.

“It’s just a theory,” Sugarcoat stated. “Think of earthquakes for example. Depending on the magnitude, the shockwave can go on for miles and miles. Canterlot High was the epicenter and we’re still feeling aftershocks.”

“So…what do we do?” Lemon Zest asked fearfully.

Sugarcoat frowned. “I’m…not sure what we can do. If this keeps progressing it could happen in the middle of urban areas. I don’t even want to think of the amount of casualties there’ll be.”

“Now do you see why I wanted to do something about this?” Sunny said. She sighed. “But it’ll have to be another day…I’m surprised I didn’t twist an ankle or something.”

“Yeah, can we leave here already?” Lemon asked.

Suddenly there was a loud growl nearby. “Ugh, seriously Lemon can’t you tell your stomach to shut up?” Indigo asked.

“Um…that wasn’t me…”

The growl came again. “Um…guys…?” Indigo said.

“It’s probably just a timberwolf,” Sour said. “It’s not stupid enough to attack five of us.” She then pulled out a Swiss army knife. “Especially me.”

“That’s…not the sound a timberwolf makes,” Sugarcoat said slowly, and the alert expression on her face told everyone she had no idea what it was.

The creature suddenly burst from out of the bushes and the silhouette showed it was big. Upon closer look, they saw it had the head and body of a lion with bat-like wings and a scorpion’s tail. “What the hell is that!?” Lemon screamed.

“…I’m pretty sure that’s a manticore,” Sugarcoat said calmly.

“That’s not funny!” Indigo snapped.

“Seriously, now you doubt me!?” Sugarcoat snapped back at her.

Sour suddenly flung out her arm and the knife she had been carrying flew and landed into the manticore’s shoulder. However, it barely flinched. “Uh oh…um…new idea,” Sour said. “RUN!”

Weeks of practice for the Friendship Games came in handy right about now. They were able to get out of the woods but they forgot that their adversary could fly. It suddenly dropped down in front of them again.

“Okay…he doesn’t want to let us go,” Indigo groaned. “Wish I would’ve brought an axe or something….”

Sunny suddenly had an idea. “Hey…Indigo,” she said quietly. “You got your lighter with you?”

“Yeah why?”

“Give it to me.”

“What? Why?”

“Just give me the damn lighter!”

Indigo slowly took out her lighter and placed it in Sunny’s hand. “Everyone stay back…” Sunny cautioned them. She then lit the lighter and took a step forward. “Come on kitty…I bet you’re hungry aren’t you?”

“Yep…she has a death wish…” Sour commented.

The manticore was willing to take the bait. It then lunged towards her. Sunny smiled as she pulled out the can of pepper spray. “Hope you like it hot!” She pressed down on the spray and suddenly the lighter lit up like a flamethrower.

The manticore roared in pain as its face got scorched and it fearfully went back into the air and retreated back into the forest. Sunny then tossed the lighter back to Indigo. “They say that pepper spray tends to be very flammable.”

“That was AWESOME!” Lemon yelled, giving her friend a hug. “We just took on a mythical beast and won!”

“Well I’ll give her an A for creativity,” Sour said as she picked up her knife that the creature left behind.

“Unfortunately it’s still very much alive,” Sugarcoat said. She then crossed her arms. “Of course, if I had thought of borrowing Father’s Winchester then that would be a different story.”

“Listen girls,” Sunny said, suddenly feeling bashful. “I’m not really good at saying this but…thanks. Thank you for saving my sorry butt.”

“So you’re going to ditch the lone wolf crap?” Indigo asked.

“That depends…are you going to help me out with this?” Sunny countered.

Indigo snorted. “I think it’s too late to ask. But you know what they say: Shadowbolts stick together!”

“And where does it say that?” Sugarcoat asked.

“Seriously girl, your parents should have named you Buzz Kill.”

The five of them laughed as they headed back to Sugarcoat’s car. Luckily she decided to bring the SUV. “Oh Sunny, I noticed you tore your skirt,” Sugarcoat said. “I can give you my extra pair until you get it re-sowed.”

Sunny looked down and groaned. “My mother is going to give me an earful for this…but thanks though Sugarcoat.”

“Alright Team Leader, so what’s our next move?” Indigo asked as they headed back to town.

Sunny thought for a moment. “There’s no doubt the Everfree Forest seems to be a hotspot of unnatural imbalances. I think if we’re going to figure anything out, that’s the best place to start, at Camp Everfree.”

“Okay, so what’s the itinerary then?” Sour asked.

Sunny smiled. “Who feels like cutting class tomorrow and going on a road trip?”

Chapter 3

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The following day at about eight o’clock, Sunny was already dressed in casual ware, which for her was rare. If there was one thing she learned from last night, it was that a blouse and skirt in the woods didn’t make good bedfellows. She had waited until her mother had left for work before changing. Instead of her schoolwork, her bag contained items as if she was going on a camping trip. Of course, she would never dream of spending the night in the wilderness.

It wasn’t long before the Mercedes pulled up and Sunny got into the front seat. “This is a terrible idea,” Sugarcoat said to her automatically.

Sunny looked in the mirror and saw the other girls were all wearing the same attire: t-shirts and shorts. “If you think so, why’d you pick us up then?” she asked.

Sugarcoat suddenly smirked. “Well…I suppose breaking the rules now and then isn’t so bad…but if this car gets even a scratch on it I’m holding you responsible.”

As they made their way out of town once again, Sunny discussed the plan with the others while Lemon insisted on playing her mixtape in the car, much to Sugarcoat’s annoyance. “I did some more research last night,” Sunny said. “I don’t think what happened in the woods was an aftermath of what happened at CHS. Even while being there for a short while, something felt very off about that place. Even the inhabitants there seemed to pick up on it.”

“Well, if you have something unnatural like a manticore in the woods, then yes I think that would feel rather off,” Sour stated.

“I didn’t mean just that. I think there’s something there…something that’s contributing to these unnatural occurrences and we’re going to find out.”

“Just one little problem,” Indigo said. “How are we supposed to explain ourselves to the camp staff if they happen to notice us?”

“There’s nothing wrong with taking a hike in the woods,” Sunny said innocently.

“Did you forget there may be CHS students there that might ID us?” Sugarcoat pointed out.

“I’m…pretty sure they forgot about us.”

“Yeah, if Sugarcoat decided to let her hair down for once,” Indigo quipped.

Sugarcoat rolled her eyes and with one hand undid the bands in her hair. “There. Satisfied?”

Lemon let out a small whistle. “Wow, I don’t think I’ve ever seen Sugar with her hair down.”

“Or wearing shorts either,” Sour said. “Don’t worry, it won’t change the fact that she’s still going to turn down every guy who asks her out…unless it’s Royal Pin of-”

Suddenly Sugarcoat hits the brakes, causing Sour to hit her head off the back of the seat. “Oh sorry,” Sugarcoat said, adjusting her glasses. “Thought I saw something on the road.”

“Bitch…” Sour grumbled.

“Wait…ohhh! So she likes Royal Pin and he hasn’t asked her out yet?” Lemon asked.

Indigo facepalmed hard. “Just…listen to your mixtape Lemon.”

It was quiet for the next ten minutes. Sunny then looked at her phone. “Okay, we’re almost at the entrance. It’s just across this bridge and then we-”

The view of the front entrance of the camp was suddenly cut off as giant green vines shot up from the ground. This time, Sugarcoat slammed the brakes as the SUV slid around, almost fish-tailing before it stopped.

“Is everyone alright!?” Sunny said loudly.

Everyone responded with an affirmative as Sugarcoat got out of the car. The rest followed and stared up at the new wall of green. “Well, that’s one way of keeping trespassers out,” Sour commented.

“What the ~~fuck~~!?” Indigo yelled, gesturing at the vines. “Seriously!? How are we supposed to get in now!?”

“Well…we could try to ram through it?” Lemon suggested. Getting a vicious glare from Sugarcoat, she stammered, “What? It was just an idea!”

“I don’t think anything’s getting in or out,” Sunny said, tapping at the base of the vines. “They’re as big and tough as redwoods.”

Indigo took a deep breath. “Okay. Then what do we do now?”

“I think school at this point isn’t an option,” Sugarcoat said regretfully. “Do we have any other leads?”

Sunny thought for a moment. “Well…it’s not so much a lead but…there is one place I’m kind of curious about.” She looked up at her friends guiltily. “You’re not going to like it though…”

The girls were sitting in the car outside of a place they thought they’d never return to in their school career. “Area looks clear,” Sunny said, looking through a pair of binoculars. “No cameras either…which is odd.”

“Look, I’m not saying this as an excuse not to be here but…couldn’t we have just waited back at the camp for the situation to resolve itself?” Sour asked.

“You mean for those girls to resolve it?” Sunny asked. “Maybe, but I don’t think we should be drawing attention to ourselves, especially if Cinch hears about it.” She looked around one more time. “Okay, I think it’s clear.”

They got out and walked up to where the statue or rather the statue of CHS’s mascot used to be. The girls glanced around. “This is where it all started huh?” Indigo asked.

Lemon shivered slightly. “I’m not getting good vibes from this…partly because of what happened but also because we kind of pushed Twilight into peer pressure.”

“We were only following Cinch’s orders,” Sour stated.

“And that makes it better?” Indigo asked.

Sunny was slightly ignoring the chatter but like Lemon she was feeling chills as well. None of them knew what they were dealing with that day and it almost cost them everything. “Hey, look at this.” She was standing in front of the monument. “Doesn’t something seem…off?”

The rest of the girls stood at her side and looked. “Looks normal to me,” Indigo said.

“Wait…” Sugarcoat said slowly. “It’s hard to see but if you focus on this side…the wall looks like it’s…shimmering.”

Sunny smiled. Nothing ever got past Sugarcoat. “I think we just discovered a big source of Twilight’s magic.” She went up to the wall and put her hand to the wall. Or at least she thought she did when it suddenly went through.

“Okay…I kind of wasn’t expecting that…” Lemon said.

“Forget magic, we found the source of everything!” Indigo grinned.

“Aren’t you girls curious though?” Sunny pulled her arm back and saw it was unharmed. “I mean, what’s on the other side?”

“Well…I remember seeing buildings and trees…” Sour commented.

“It looked kind of rustic but…not a bad place,” Sugarcoat said. “You’re not suggesting…”

Sunny shrugged. “Couldn’t hurt could it?”

“Oh no…no I’m not going in there and I certainly won’t volunteer as a guinea pig,” Indigo said. She then turned to Lemon and the rest of them followed suit. “Hey…no sorry I’m not-hey!” She was suddenly grabbed and pushed forward. “This isn’t funny guys!”

“Stop struggling, it’s all in the name of science!” Indigo snapped.

“You don’t even like science-ahh!” Lemon suddenly tripped and fell in. It was quiet for the next few moments.

“Um…maybe this was a bad idea after all,” Indigo said.

Suddenly the portal reacted and Lemon shot out, landing fully on her butt. “I guess Lemon isn’t worthy…” Sugarcoat said, looking amused at her own joke.

“Hey, you okay?” Indigo said, helping her up.

Lemon glared at her for a moment. “Yeah…not really sure what happened though. I fell in one second and the next I was back out here.”

“Could be that the exit point was closed off and the portal bounced you back here,” Sugarcoat theorized.

This was an important clue, but Sunny was starting to realize they weren’t getting anywhere on their own. They needed someone who could better understand this, since Sugarcoat could only guess from her standpoint; someone who had the means and the equipment to track down these occurrences…someone like…

“We need to get a hold of her,” Sunny said.

The girls looked at her. “Who?” Lemon asked.

“There’s only one…well maybe two people who understand this more than us,” Sunny said. She then grimaced slightly. “I admit none of us will probably be comfortable doing this but-”

“What are you getting at?” Sour snapped. Suddenly realization dawned on her face as her eye twitched. “No…no! You can’t be serious!”

The girls were eating lunch at one of the fast-food restaurants while Sunny made a call. “Are we feeling better now?” Indigo asked.

Sour sat there looking like a kid who had just been put in time-out. “It’s a bad idea…a really bad idea,” she murmured.

“Well…she’s not wrong,” Sugarcoat said. “You really think after everything we did that Twilight would even want to talk to us?”

“Hey, the only ones who treated her bad were you and Sour,” Indigo argued.

“Because she’s an idiot!” Sour snapped.

Indigo groaned. “Lemon…”

Lemon nodded and started rubbing Sour’s shoulders. “There, there…happy thoughts now…” It seemed to calm Sour down a little bit.

“I may have been a little too honest…” Sugarcoat said. “I still have no idea why Cinch even made her come. We could’ve won without her.”

Sunny then came back and sat down. “Bad news. Twilight isn’t going to be back until Saturday.”

“So she is there?” Indigo asked. “Why am I not surprised…?”

“You think it was her?” Sunny asked.

“I dunno but I know those girls are involved somehow.”

Sunny then looked at Sour. “You know, you’re going to have to put this whole grudge thing aside.”

“Oh don’t worry I will!” Sour said. “After I stab her eyes out first that is!”

“Honestly, I believe her too,” Indigo added.

“Okay so when she does get home how are we going to ask her?” Lemon asked.

“Twilight and I didn’t interact very much so I think I should talk to her,” Sunny said. “At least that way she won’t feel threatened.”

“Peer pressure,” Sugarcoat said simply.

Sunny rolled her eyes. “Whatever. If we’re all there she’ll feel uncomfortable.” She glared at Sour this time. “And you’re going to behave yourself!”

Sour stuck her tongue out at her. “Fine…”

“Wait, didn’t she have a lab or something at the school?” Indigo asked.

“Yeah, but both she and Dean Cadance cleared it out before she transferred,” Sunny said. “Now it’s just another storage room.”

“I have to admit I was kind of impressed with her little gizmo she had,” Sugarcoat said. The same gizmo that started all of this.

Sunny looked at her watch. “We still have about three hours…what are we going to do?”

“We could go to the beach?” Lemon suggested.

“Eh…tempting but I didn’t bring any sunscreen,” Indigo asked. “Or, we could go to my place and binge on Game of Thrones.”

That piqued Sugarcoat’s interest. “You watch it too?”

“Of course! I love violence and gore!”

“And sex too apparently,” Sour grinned.

“W-Well that’s just part of the show…ya know…”

“Exactly,” Sugarcoat added, a slight blush on her face.

“Your parents are gone?” Sunny asked.

“Won’t be home til five.”

Sunny shrugged. “Guess it couldn’t hurt. But no one, and I mean absolutely no one finds out about this.”

It took a few minutes for Lemon to comprehend something. “Wait…that show has nudity and sex!?” She looked genuinely concerned.

Indigo grinned. “Oh you poor innocent soul…”

“D’oh, I knew there was a reason why we didn’t have HBO!” Lemon said miserably.

Chapter 4

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The next day started off without a hitch. No one seemed to give any odd looks, not even any of the faculty. Perhaps their day off may have gone unnoticed after all.

Lemon Zest was getting her stuff out of her locker as she was about to head to class. She grabbed her books and closed her locker with her foot. However, the door didn’t quite catch on the latch and opened again. She tried again and got the same result.

“Come on stupid!” She turned around and really kicked the door this time.

BANG! Not only did she close the door, she managed to both dent the left side and bend the metal on the bottom. Lemon stared at her locker, thinking she may have just jammed the door.

“You’ve been working out lately Lemon?” She turned and saw Fleur de Lis and some of the other girls staring at her.

“Oh uh…yeah! You know me, gotta keep in shape for that summer bod, amirite!?” Lemon forced out a hearty laugh. Once they left, Lemon turned around and looked at her locker again. “Maybe I need to cut down on the protein…”

Sour Sweet was in her Modern History class, which was also her least favorite class. Who the hell cared about what war happened or who got involved in a nationwide scandal? Leave that stuff to someone like Sugarcoat who actually gave a damn.

While she was doodling when she was actually supposed to be taking notes, her eyes went around the room, trying to find something more interesting to pay attention to. She then eyed the teacher’s apple on the desk. No doubt it was probably a snack for between classes: giving a teacher an apple was both outdated and cheesy nowadays.

Sour then heard and felt her stomach rumble. Like most days, she overslept and had to skip breakfast to make it to school on time. The hunger, and the fact that she would have to eventually deal with her made her mood only worse. Still, for whatever reason, that apple looked really appealing right about now…

In almost a split second, the apple went from the teacher’s desk to her own. No, it didn’t teleport, it literally traveled the distance between the two points and needless to say this caused Sour to almost jump out of her seat.

The entire class was staring at her. “Miss Sweet, I understand you’re hungry but you could’ve asked me first,” the teacher said, trying to lighten the moment with humor. Did he not notice she was at least three feet from the desk?

Sour could only smile shyly as she sat back down and stared at the apple now in her possession. Already, she could hear the whispers.

“Did that apple just fly over to her?”

“She didn’t even move a muscle! Do you think she has psychic powers!?”

“Man, I wish I could do that with the remote…”

Sour was wondering the same thing. How long did she have this gift…if you could call it that?

Indigo was walking across the hallway to her next class. For whatever reason, she was feeling sort of restless, like she could do a few laps around the school. Well, she was practically the star athlete of the school. Her main sport however was soccer and as she found out at the Friendship Games it seemed she finally had a worthy opponent. What was her name again? Rainbow Crash?

As she was walking, she noticed that the floor had been waxed recently. Well, Crystal Prep has a reputation after all. She then noticed a girl carrying a large stack of papers walking in her direction. At the last second, she saw the girl’s shoes slip on the ground.

“Whoa!” She then reached out to catch her…and then stopped. At that moment, the poor girl should’ve fallen on her back and the stack of papers should have been all over the place.

But they weren’t.

In fact, the girl was still in the processing of falling…and it seemed as if everything around the two of them had stopped as well.

Well, not completely. It was hard to notice, but technically, everything was still in motion, just at a very slow pace. Indigo looked at herself. She was moving normally. “Okay…” She looked around. No one seemed to notice what was going on. She then looked at the girl and shrugged. “Might as well save her the trouble and embarrassment.” She went over and positioned the girl so she was standing straight and straightened out her pile of papers. She decided to look at one of them. “Oh…summer tryouts for soccer, forgot about that…” She put the paper back and stepped back, clapping her hands together. “Okay…I think that should do it…” She paused for a moment. “…Okay you can do the thing now…please…”

Suddenly time reverted to normal as the girl suddenly shuddered and looked around. “Gotta be careful with these floors, am I right?” Indigo said.

The girl looked over to her. “Oh…right. Yes, gotta be careful.” She walked off with a confused look on her face.

“Well…that was all weird,” Indigo thought. Of course, she wasn’t necessarily freaked out by it. Not Indigo Zap. She then grinned all of a sudden. “I could have some fun with this…”

Sugarcoat was currently in the library reading a book that she would eventually be doing a report on. Or she would be if the couple at the table next to her weren’t talking so loud. Oddly enough, they weren’t that close by and yet it was like they were sitting mere inches from her.

Finally losing her patience, she calmly closed her book and glared at the two students. “Excuse me, people are trying to concentrate here.”

The two students looked at her in surprise and went back to what they were supposed to be doing in complete silence. Sugarcoat returned to her reading but the peace wouldn’t last long. She then heard music blaring out and she then looked where it was coming from.

There was a male student sitting at a table near the front wearing headphones. He was probably listening to an MP3 player. It sounded like rock music. Sugarcoat looked around and no one else was looking in his direction. How did they not hear this?

She felt a little self-conscious getting up and telling the student off but…then again if he was listening to headphones that loud with those headphones, he was going to be deaf before he hits twenty-five. The least she could do was help keep his hearing.

She walked over and tapped the student on the shoulder. He looked up and pulled down his headphones. “I can hear your music across the room. If you keep playing it that high you’re going to go deaf.” She meant well, really.

The student stared at her. “Really? Wow…must be good speakers then…but I barely have the music at half volume and you can hear it?”

Sugarcoat paused. He was telling the truth but…

“You must have good hearing then. I’ll turn it down then if it bothers you so much.” He did just that and went back to his work.

Sugarcoat awkwardly went back to her seat. Since when did her hearing get that good? She certainly didn’t listen to loud music but to be able to pick up on things like that-

Suddenly, the scent hit her. Did she smell cinnamon buns? Was it coming from the cafeteria? But that was downstairs!

Sugarcoat shook her head. Maybe she ought to go to the Nurse’s Office, just to be safe…

Sunny Flare had just left class and was walking down the hallway when she passed Dean Cadance’s office. She paused and looked at the door. Unlike Principal Cinch, Cadance was much more approachable and always had her door open for everyone. She was witness to all that happened at the Friendship Games but even if she did approach her, what could Cadance do?

She certainly wouldn’t mention the little side-trip they took yesterday but…it couldn’t hurt to express her concerns about her other peers.

She then went to the door and knocked on it gently. “Come in!” a gentle voice responded. Sunny opened the door and went inside. She instantly spotted the dean organizing her bookshelves in the back.

“Oh, Sunny, what can I do for you?” Cadance asked. “I apologize, I’m in the process of rearranging the office.”

“Is this a bad time?” Sunny asked.

“Not at all! Please, take a seat.” Cadance went back over to her desk and sat down. “Something I can do for you?”

“Well…it’s kind of hard to explain…” Sunny started.

“Oh? Well, I’ll try to follow along as best I can,” Cadance replied.

Sunny then explained her concerns over the past month, about how the students who all of a sudden have warmed up to each other. “Well, I’ve noticed that too but I can’t see how that’s a bad thing,” Cadance commented.

“Well no but isn’t it odd?” Sunny asked. “Crystal Prep has for the longest time had a rather hostile environment.”

“That is true…but I certainly welcome the change, although I guess I could say Principal Cinch has echoed your concerns as well.”

“Really?” Now that was a surprise.

“Well…I admit she tends to want things her way, even if that may be perceived as an iron fist and I know it’s because of reputation as she says but I don’t see how more active engagement between students is bad for the school.”

Sunny sighed. “I guess you’re right…”

“Sunny…is there something else bothering you?” It was strange to hear her first name spoken like this. To any other faculty members it was always “Miss Flare”. But Cadance was dedicated to know all her students, new and old alike and a first name basis was a way to close the gap.

“Is it that obvious?” Sunny asked with a wry smile.

“If you’ve been around students as long as I have, you pick up a thing or two,” Cadance grinned.

“Well…I guess I’m trying to wrap my head around what happened last month…”

“Oh…yes I can imagine,” Cadance said. “Actually, you’re the first to come to me about it. I was surprised none of the other students had but…I guess it wasn’t as traumatic an event to some.”

“Maybe it’s a slight bit of guilt…”

“Ah…I see…you feel guilty about what happened to Twilight and you think she might hold a grudge?”

“N-No it’s not-!” Suddenly there was another knock on the door.

“Excuse me,” Cadance said as she got up and went to the door. As she opened it, Sunny heard her say, “Oh my!”

Sunny looked over and to her surprise saw her friends in the doorway. “Sunny, what are you doing here?” Indigo asked.

“I was just speaking to Dean Cadance…what are you guys doing here?”

It was Sour that responded. “Um…did anything weird happen with you this morning by chance?”

“What? No, why?”

She didn’t respond and Cadance looked curious. “I think maybe you should all take turns explaining what happened.”

The other four girls took turns explaining their stories and neither Sunny nor Cadance could believe what they were hearing. “This…sounds crazy you know that?” Sunny said.

“You think we’re making this up?” Lemon snapped.

“Well I don’t know Lemon, yours sounds kind of normal to me,” Indigo commented.

“Seriously!? You saw my locker, that’s not normal! That’s like battering ram strength right there!”

Sour sighed and looked around the room. “Dean Cadance, can I borrow that stress ball?”

“Oh, sure.”

Sour didn’t walk over to it. Instead the ball left the desk and went right into Sour’s hand. “Is this crazy?” she asked as she squeezed it a few times.

“Well that’s…definitely not normal,” Cadance said. “Er…this just started today?”

“Yep. Not gonna lie though, mine’s kinda cool actually,” Indigo said.

“Wait a minute. Sugarcoat, I thought you always had good hearing?” Sunny asked.

“Yeah, but not good enough where I can hear stuff traveling through the air ducts or smell something fifty feet away.” She then took off her glasses. “I can even see without my glasses…”

“Okay, so she’s turned into Spider-Man,” Indigo commented.

“I feel like I’m not getting the complete picture here…” Cadance said. “I’m no psychiatrist or specialist on…whatever this is but… it sounds like you’re going through a similar process as the girls from Canterlot High.”

“Ugh…wonderful…” Sour said in disgust.

“Well, I haven’t experienced anything yet,” Sunny said. “So maybe it’s like a disease…”

“Oh thanks Sunny…” Indigo glared at her.

“I can’t say…but what I can say is this: it’s best if neither Principal Cinch nor the student body gets news of this.” No one disagreed with that. “Also…has anything else weird taken place recently?”

“Actually…” Sunny then told Cadance about what happened in the woods with the manticore.

Cadance was shaking her head. “Normally I’d think you’re all crazy but considering what I’ve seen I can’t deny it. I got a call from Twilight just today about what happened at Camp Everfree so the story makes sense. Something is definitely going on.

“But for now, let’s just pretend nothing has happened. I’ll make some calls, see if I hear anything else. I guess you could say Twilight and her friends have become experts in this sort of field.” She then looked at the clock. “I don’t mean to kick you girls out but I have a meeting to go to in twenty minutes so we’ll have to save this for another day.”

After they left the school, Sunny was getting looks from everyone. “So…nothing happened with you?” Indigo asked.

“That’s what I said.”

“Oh…well maybe something will happen it just…takes a while right?”

“Why should I care?” Sunny suddenly turned on her. “You think I want some weird magical power?”

“I don’t think you can call it “magical”,” Lemon commented.

Sunny huffed. “I don’t care and honestly if nothing happens, so much the better. I have to get home now.” She then walked off towards her house without another word.

The rest of the girls glanced at one another. “Sheesh, what crawled up her skirt?” Sour asked.

Chapter 5

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Sunny walked home in a hurry, her hands clenching hard enough that her nails would cut through her palms. She was slightly upset at her friends, partly because they had been given special powers and not her, but mostly she was upset at herself. Cadance’s words weren’t meant to hurt her, but they ended up cutting her deep inside anyway.

Truthfully, she wasn’t sure if she was feeling guilt for what happened at the games, or responsibility for letting what happened happen. She never proclaimed herself leader of her little group of friends, it just happened that way, which meant she should have interfered and told Cinch not to go ahead with her insidious plan. But no, she fell in line with the others, because that’s what students are taught early at Crystal Prep: always respect your elders and their decisions, no matter what.

Once she got home, she went upstairs to her room and closed her door. She took off her bag and sat on the bed, staring at the wall. It was a plain room for the most part, except for the shelves of books she had and posters of Crystal Prep and the Shadowbolts mascot.

Now that she thought about it…what was a Shadowbolt? The mascot was clearly a pegasus but with a dark coat, opposite of the ones you saw in movies. Somehow, the look of it completely matched up with the school: hostile and unfriendly. They were a tour de force in the sports world. Every team in the area feared them and who could blame them?

She looked over to the bat near her closet. Softball had just finished about a month ago so she really had nothing to look forward to til next spring. Sadly, next spring was when she would graduate and she still wasn’t sure what to do with her life.

She went over and picked up the bat, swinging it back and forth. What was it her father always said to her when she was younger? “Swing away Sunshine…” That’s right…she remembered he would always practice with her during the off-season. Who knows…maybe she’ll get a scholarship to some college.

Suddenly, she heard something come from her window outside. Gripping the bat tightly now, she went over and looked out but saw nothing in the backyard. Her house was fenced all around so it wasn’t as if someone could walk right in. And to be honest, unlike some of the other houses on her street, hers didn’t seem like the best choice to rob.

Out of all the girls in their group, Sugarcoat and Sour were at the top of the financial totem pole. Sunny was in the middle while Indigo and Lemon were near the bottom. Of course, even then Indigo and Lemon’s families had a lot more money than most that went to Canterlot High. Indigo got in easily since she was a skilled athlete who could do practically any sport, although soccer was her favorite. As for Lemon, she was good with sports, as she was on the soccer team with Indigo, but she was focusing more on a career in music, which was no surprise at this point.

Despite seeing nothing outside, Sunny wasn’t reassured. She went downstairs, still carrying the bat. If some burglar was bold enough to break in, he was going to be in for a rude surprise.

She went outside through the backdoor and looked around. There were trees and bushes nearby, thick enough to hide a person. She heard a slight rustle come from that direction and she cautiously approached it.

The rustling grew louder and as she was about to raise the bat something jumped out of the bushes. Sunny breathed a sigh of relief as Russell, their German Shepherd, quickly came over and sat in front of her as if reporting for something. She smiled and patted the dog’s head. “You trying to give me a heart attack Rus? Well, at least you’re doing your job. Is there a squirrel in there you just need to catch?”

She turned around and headed back to the house but then stopped when she realized Russell wasn’t following her. She looked back and saw the Shepherd was dead set on something. “Come on Russell it’s probably just a bird or something-”

Russell then started to growl as he kept staring ahead. “What? What is it?” Then Sunny felt it, as if her hair was standing up on end and she felt goosebumps as well. Suddenly, the spot in front of the fence started to shimmer slightly and it wasn’t long before a large tear in the fabric of space appeared.

Russell started barking at it. “No Russell, get away from there! Come here!” But Russell, ever loyal to his master, wouldn’t budge. She then realized it wasn’t the tear itself that he was barking at, but what was coming through it. And it was large.

“Look, are you sure this is a good idea?” Indigo asked as the four girls walked down the street. “I mean, maybe we should just give her some room…like real friends should do?”

“You’re the one who was bragging about superpowers,” Sugarcoat said. “But I don’t think that was the issue. I am kind of curious as to what she was speaking to Dean Cadance about…”

As they approached Sunny’s house, they could hear a dog barking. “That sounds like Russell. Maybe he caught a groundhog or something,” Sour stated.

Sugarcoat frowned. “No…he sounds agitated. Like if a stranger shows up at your door.”

“Ooh, you can speak to animals too?” Lemon asked.

“No. When you’ve been around dogs long enough, you can tell by the way they bark if something’s wrong.”

“Says the girl who has a Doberman that’s willing to kill you if she gives it the command,” Indigo muttered.

“Ugh, maybe some pervert is trying to spy into her window, it wouldn’t surprise-” Suddenly, part of the fencing collapsed right in front of them. “Or…maybe a bear snuck into her yard.”

“That’s not a bear,” Sugarcoat said. “Come on, we need to-”

“Hold it!” Indigo said. “We’re not equipped for whatever’s in there…give me your keys.”

“What?” The other three girls said.

“Just trust me, I can be back here in a jiffy!”

The three of them looked at one another and fished out their keys to their respective houses. “You know what to look for, right?” Sugarcoat asked.

“Please, aren’t we friends?” Indigo grinned and then zoomed off.

“How long do we give her?” Sour asked.

“If she’s really good, it should only take five seconds,” Sugarcoat said matter-of-factly.

Six seconds later, Indigo returned with a large bag. “Well, everything was clear except for your butler Sugarcoat, but he didn’t seem to care what I was doing.”

“Jacques knows how to mind his own business,” Sugarcoat said proudly as she reached out her hand. “Would you kindly?”

Indigo gave her a pair of diamond-encrusted pistols, Sour a pair of throwing knives, and Lemon a pair of fingerless gloves. Indigo meanwhile put on a pair of brass knuckles. “Okay, now we can go save our leader.”

Sunny, meanwhile, was now dealing with what had come through, which just happened to be a giant arachnid. Whatever this other dimension was, she wasn’t liking it. Unfortunately, due to its size and the fact that it most likely was poisonous, Sunny wasn’t able to get close enough to bash its brains out so she went for the next best thing.

Russell had been gracious enough to steal the softballs she had been using in practice and had them laying all over the yard. Sunny was willing to forgive him this time as she grabbed one. “Swing away Sunshine…” She threw it into the air, timed her swing, and caused it to hit the spider in the eye. But that only seemed to piss it off more.

“Never fear the Shadow-holy crap!” Sunny didn’t have to look to see it was Indigo who spoke.

“Took you guys long enough,” she replied.

“Oh, were you expecting us?” Sugarcoat asked as they went to her side.

“Had a feeling…wait where did you get all that?”

“I-Indigo…ugh why did it have to be spiders!?” Sour screamed as she trembled slightly. “Stupid stupid spiders!”

“Should we even ask?” Indigo asked.

“Later.” Sunny then looked at Russell and got big on him. “Russell, go home!” Even in the face of danger, her tone was enough to send Russell scampering. “This is going to get ugly isn’t it?”

“Hope you got good insurance!” Lemon said. “Come on Indigo, let’s get him!”

“Alright, alright, just follow my lead!” Indigo struck as the spider reared up on its back legs. Indigo quickly found its soft underside. “Oh man, you make this too easy…!” She then started punching the underside at a quick pace, the pointed ends of her fists stabbing into the soft flesh. The spider screamed as it tried to knock Indigo away with one of its legs.

Meanwhile, Sunny was giving off orders. “We need to take its eyes out, all eight of them.”

“I got this.” Sugarcoat said as she stepped forward and raised her weapons. She took turns firing off rounds, never missing a target. Five years of hunting did wonders.

Though now blinded, the spider was enraged, which made it a larger threat. “It’s got a stinger!” Sunny warned as she saw it going after Indigo.

Sour then threw one of her knives and it cut the stinger off cleanly before coming back to her. “Ew it’s got spider guts on it!”

Indigo came back panting. “I thought I shish-kebabed him good but he’s one tough mother!”

Sunny looked over to Lemon and nodded. She grabbed another softball, wound up her swing and fired. The ball hit the arachnid in the head again and it barely did anything but get its attention, but that was her plan.

Suddenly Lemon appeared out of nowhere, having jumped off the ground. “Hoo-yah!” Her foot connected with the beast’s face and the rest of the girls could’ve sworn they heard chitin break.

That caused the great beast to fall onto its face where it twitched and gave off a low scream. It was still alive but no longer capable of attacking them.

Sugarcoat went over and mercifully shot the thing in the head. However, instead of laying there on its deathbed, the creature disappeared into a fog of dark mist. “So…did we beat it?” Lemon asked.

“We sure did!” Indigo said, wrapping her arms around the group. “That was awesome Lemon!”

“I knew there was a reason to wear metal-tipped boots,” Lemon grinned proudly.

“Let’s not forget this was a team effort,” Sugarcoat reminded her.

“Yeah, yeah, we know you’re an expert marksman,” Indigo said. “Still, nice going Leader.”

“I barely did anything,” Sunny said with a hint of a smile. “You guys did all the work.”

“Well, you did need some help after all,” Sour said, carefully wiping her blade off. “So…what exactly happened?”

“It’s exactly as you saw it,” Sunny said. “Our eight-legged freak decided to crash my yard…” She looked around and grimaced at the damage. “Quite literally.”

“Oh yeah…boy is your mother going to have a cow,” Indigo said.

“We’ll just say it was a drunk driver,” Sugarcoat stated. “Luckily, because your backyard is so secluded no one saw what was going on.” And it also helped that a lot of the houses were sound-proof on the inside.

“Yeah, this time,” Sunny replied as she dropped her bat and sat on the ground. “There’s no doubt about it now…this was all intended. Someone…or something sent that thing after me.”

“You really think so?” Sour asked.

“I know so,” Sunny said as she looked at her friends. “Someone is telling us to politely ‘piss off’, meaning there really is something going on here.” She paused for a moment. “We need to get a hold of Twilight as soon as possible.”

“You do realize the other issue we have?” Sugarcoat asked.

Sunny looked away guiltily. “I know…you’re all involved now and any of you could be next.”

“Eh, it is what it is,” Indigo said. “But uh…sorry about before. I hope you don’t think you’re feeling left out because of…you know.”

Sunny sighed. “It’s not a big deal…I mean, maybe you’re right, and it just hasn’t come to me yet. But since these things are coming from a dimension supposedly filled with magic, at least now we can even the odds.”

“Schoolgirls by day, dimensional protectors at night,” Lemon said. “Yeah, it’s got a nice ring to it!”

“You’re not going to give us a name now are you?” Sugarcoat asked.

“Hmm…well we’re already Shadowbolts so I guess that’s enough.”

Sunny thought back to the poster in her room. It may look hostile, but you can’t deny it’s a proud creature. “Yeah…you’re right about that, and Shadowbolts will protect their home, whatever the cost.” She looked around and asked sheepishly, “So…anyone willing to help me clean up?”

Chapter 6

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The next day, Sunny and Indigo were sitting inside at Kahuna Burger eating lunch. It was only a few minutes after one. “So…when do you think they’ll get home?” Indigo asked.

“I’m hoping in the afternoon sometime because if it’s in the evening we’ve just wasted an entire day doing nothing,” Sunny replied as she ate a sweet potato fry.

“Yeah, when I could’ve been playing Battlefield,” Indigo grumbled. Sunny gave her a sour look. “Hehe…I’m kidding! So why was I given the honor to be chosen anyway?”

“I kind of needed a wingman…winggirl, whatever. Sugarcoat would’ve been condescending the entire time, Sour would burn the place down and Lemon…well it’s Lemon.”

“Fair points, and I do know how to be smooth…” Indigo winked.

“Smooth with guys or girls?” Sunny asked.

“Both. I’m a people person. I’m good at reading them too. See, not just some stupid jock after all.”

“Have I ever called you stupid?” Sunny asked.

“No…but I kind of got the perception at school. I mean, I’m not book-smart but I’m pretty smart…like college algebra smart.”

“You’d hate calculus then.”

“Don’t remind me…”

“So who cares if you’re not some model A student? Sparkle was one and everyone envied her.”

“Oh yeah…yeah you’re right! I mean, I’m smart but not smart enough where you’d want me to burn down in flames!”

“Um…right,” Sunny said. She looked around and saw the place was moderately full.

“So…why did we pick this place again?” Indigo asked.

“Well, it’s nearby where Twilight’s house is. And I was hungry and I don’t get to splurge on fast food often.”

“You kidding? I splurge all the time.” Indigo then stole a fry.

“And you keep your skinny figure how?”

“Metabolism baby…hey just wondering…why do they call it a ‘Royale with Cheese’?”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah seriously, what kind of-?” Indigo then looked over. “We got company.”

Sunny looked over and saw two girls walking in. She recognized them immediately. “Well…guess my intuition was right.”

Sunset Shimmer and Twilight Sparkle ordered their food and sat down at a table on the opposite side of the room. “Huh…did she change her hairstyle?” Indigo asked.

Sunny ignored the question. “Okay…how do you want to approach this?”

“You’re asking me?”

“Yes! You’re the wingman, the people person!”

“Okay, okay…let’s just play it cool. We’ll walk by, act like we’re about to leave and I’ll engage them. You know, like catching up with old friends.”

“We’re not her friends.”

“Well let’s hope she’ll talk to us at least.” The two of them got up and acted as if they were throwing away their trash and then Indigo turned around in their direction. “Wassup!?”

Sunset and Twilight suddenly looked in her direction. Sunny looked at her like she lost her mind. Indigo glanced over and gave her a wink before walking over. “Yo Sparkle. Long time no see! You remember me right?”

“Oh uh…Indigo right?” Twilight asked.

“Yep! And you remember Sunny too right?” Sunny suddenly grinned nervously as three pairs of eyes looked at her.

“Right…hi Sunny,” Twilight said.

“Um…do you need something?” Sunset asked.

“Oh uh…no just got done with lunch…here…where we usually eat…and isn’t it great we run into you two!?”

“Indigo…” Sunny muttered.

“Y-Yeah…really nice.” Sunny could see Twilight was looking nervous.

“Man, the way you two are dressed it’s like you two got back from camp or something!”

“We did,” Sunset replied, looking suspicious. “How’d you know?”

“Oh you know, lucky guess…”

“Oh for crying out loud,” Sunny said. She pushed Indigo aside. “Listen, I don’t mean to be abrupt but…we need to talk to you. It’s important.”

“About what?” Twilight asked.

Sunny wasn’t quite sure how to answer. “Magical stuff.”

That got their attention. The two of them looked at each other before Twilight said, “Do you want to sit down?”

“Sure.” The two of them sat down in the booth. “And you’ll have to excuse Indigo she’s not as good a people person as I thought.”

“Hey!”

“So…are we talking about Friendship Game-level stuff here?” Sunset asked.

“Where do I even begin?” Sunny stated. “Well, for starters, we had the pleasure of running into a manticore near the Everfree Forest a few days ago.”

“A manticore!?” Sunset was taken aback by this.

“Oh don’t worry, Sunny gave him a few second and third-degree burns, I’m sure,” Indigo said.

“Okay…I get the feeling that’s not all,” Twilight said. Sunny then continued on about their little side trip, the incidents at school and finally the spider in her background.

By the end, both girls looked quite disturbed. “Well, we can explain the part at Camp Everfree,” Sunset said. “When we got there-”

"TRAITOR!"

The yell echoed around the restaurant and as the four of them looked over, they saw Sour Sweet stomp in while being held back by Sugarcoat and Lemon Zest.

“Oh no…” Sunny facepalmed. “What is she doing here…!? Indigo…”

“I got this.” Indigo gave an apologetic look to both Sunset and Twilight as she got up and went over to restrain the girl.

“Uh…is something going on?” Sunset stared at the entire scene.

Sunny glanced at Twilight. “She’s…still kind of upset over what happened at the Friendship Games…and that you transferred schools.”

“Oh…actually…” Twilight looked up. “I kind of wanted to say something to all for awhile…something I need to get off my chest.”

Sunny looked over at the girls and nodded her head slightly. They let Sour go and went towards the table.

“This isn’t going to turn violent right?” Sunset asked.

“Hey, give us a little credit,” Indigo rolled her eyes. “We’re students, not gang members.”

Sunny looked over at Twilight. “Go ahead.”

Twilight took a deep breath. “I know it’s been awhile since we last met but…I kind of feel like we didn’t quite leave on the best terms. I know I was kind of a burden for everyone at the Games.” She looked over at Sour. “And…I don’t want you to think I’m upset about what happened at the end either. I don’t blame any of you. It’s like Sunset once told me, I should keep myself out of things I don’t fully understand. And I hope you can understand that the only reason I left Crystal Prep didn’t have to do with any of you, Principal Cinch, or the school itself. I just felt Canterlot High was a better environment for me.”

It was quiet for a few moments. “Um.” It was Lemon who spoke up. “Well, just from my standpoint, I don’t think you were a burden…I mean you figured out that big equation at the end. I mean, I wouldn’t even have gotten past part one.”

Sugarcoat looked a bit uncomfortable. “I know I tend to be…brutally honest about what I say but…looking back at everything I should’ve been a little more supportive, especially considering you didn’t ask for all that happened.”

Everyone then looked at Sour who managed to glare at everyone back. She then took a deep breath. “Look…I’m a lot like Indigo when I get involved in school events. I’m competitive, and that pretty much drives my emotions. Was I getting pissed off at you during the competition? Yes. Was I upset that you decided to leave right afterwards? Yes. I’m…ugh I admit I can be a bitch to everyone but…don’t take it personally okay? I’m like that to everyone…”

“I…think that was an apology…” Sunny said. “With all that said, I think its time we bury the hatchet…what’s done is done. We’re here because we need your help. I mean, you guys are kind of experts on this type of stuff right?”

Sunset just smiled and shook her head. “And here I thought we’d be done with magic for awhile…”

Twilight smiled as well. “Well…what do they always say? ‘Once a Shadowbolt, always a Shadowbolt?’”

“You got that right!” Indigo grinned.

“Okay…we’ll help you out,” Twilight said. “I think first we should get everyone caught up.”

Both sides then gave their accounts of the events that took place up until now. “So…you found these gems in a cave in the woods?” Indigo asked.

“We haven’t figured out where exactly they came from…though I admit I have an idea,” Sunset said.

“The other dimension?” Sugarcoat asked.

“Yes…I think. You ask me when or why, I can’t answer that, but that’s the source of our powers. But what about you guys?”

“It was kind of…sudden,” Sour replied. “I mean, we didn’t find anything of importance.”

Twilight was in thought. “I know that look,” Sunset said.

“Well…we didn’t discover them until the end, after we got our powers,” Twilight said. “So…”

“You’re saying the source is at Crystal Prep somewhere?” Sunny asked.

“Exactly.”

“But wait…if that’s true then why did it only start happening on Friday?” Indigo asked.

Twilight shrugged. “I can’t say. What I can say though is that every scientific theory needs data so…”

“An experiment?” Sunset finished.

“An experiment.” Twilight suddenly got giddy. “Oh…I can’t wait to get out my old equipment again!”

“Just no magic-stealing devices this time please,” Sunset said.

The whole group started laughing. “Okay, so…what do you say we meet at Crystal Prep tomorrow morning?” Sunny asked.

“I think that’ll work,” Sunset said. “How much stuff are you bringing Twilight?”

“Everything.”

“…Everything?”

“You’re not going to make it like real early right?” Indigo asked. “Cause I sleep in til nine at the earliest.”

“Fine, ten then,” Sunny confirmed.

Twilight then looked at her watch. “Oh shoot…I left Spike back at home and he’s probably still waiting for us. We have to get going.”

They said their goodbyes and the two girls left. “Well…that actually went better than I expected,” Sugarcoat said.

“Yeah, and Sour didn’t end up stabbing anyone,” Lemon said happily.

Sour knocked her out of her chair.

Meanwhile, Sunset and Twilight were on their way back to Twilight’s house. “Well, I certainly wasn’t expecting that,” Sunset said.

“Yeah…honestly I was worried it was going to be…something else,” Twilight said. “But you know…I feel better, even more so than after Camp Everfree.”

“It’s nice having friends, even from your now rival school,” Sunset said. “Speaking of friends…should we tell them what’s going on?”

“I don’t know…I mean it was kind of awkward for us two, imagine if the others were with us…” Twilight was silent for a moment. “Let’s not worry them just yet…I’m hoping this isn’t something big.”

“And if it is?” Sunset asked.

Twilight looked over to her. “If it is, then we’re going to need all the help we can get.”

Chapter 7

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A voice called throughout the darkness. “My child…your presence drifts in the sea of darkness…It is a weak pulse…but I can feel your despair…your rage…You never have to fear: light cannot live without darkness, meaning neither can truly be destroyed. I will give new life to you so that you can finish what you started…what we started. Hear me…and be reborn!”

Sunset suddenly woke up in a cold sweat, noticing her clothes were sticking to her skin. She looked over at her clock and saw it was just after eight o’clock. She got up out of bed and went to the bathroom, turning on the water in the sink and splashing water onto her face.

She then looked in the mirror and saw her reflection in the mirror. She had seen movies where someone’s reflection suddenly would crash through the mirror and pull them inside. She was regretting ever picking those movies up.

Sunset turned around and leaned against the sink, taking a deep breath. That dream…she could see nothing but she heard the words clearly. She also felt a strange but familiar presence. Her.

It was strange… up until Camp Everfree, Twilight had had dreams, lingering regret about Midnight Sparkle. But for Sunset, there weren’t any dreams, just regret and guilt. Until now that is. Now that she thought about it, where did she get the name Midnight Sparkle? Then again, where did Luna get the name Nightmare Moon?

Sundown Shimmer. The name just came to her…which made sense cause at one point that was who she was. No, she much preferred Sunset. But still, she wondered if the dream had anything to do with what was happening now. When strange things happened at Camp Everfree, Twilight was quick to blame Midnight Sparkle, who she believed was still lurking in her heart.

There was no doubt the dark side of her still lingered inside her. But that was one place she would never return to, she and her friends would make sure of that. Speaking of friends, her thoughts returned to the girls of Crystal Prep. Sunset didn’t sense any ill intentions from any of them. Well, she still wasn’t quite sure about Sour Sweet but she was going to trust her. If things were happening at Crystal Prep now, Sunset could only think of one source.

She glanced over at her desk and saw her journal. Maybe now was the time to get hold of an old friend…

The group reached the school around ten. To no one’s surprise, Twilight had gotten there early and already had her stuff set up. Unfortunately, since it was a Sunday the front entrance was closed off but that didn’t seem to deter Twilight. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen her so giddy,” Sunny commented.

“That makes two of us,” Sunset replied.

Twilight was carrying a device that no one else seemed to recognize, but it appeared to be picking up some sort of signal. “Well, I’m definitely picking up something here…it’s not as big as the presence I saw at CHS, but there’s something here alright. If I got closer to the school, I’m sure I’d get an even bigger response.”

“Actually, I think we might be able to help you with that,” Indigo said with a sly smile.

She led the group to the left corner of the fence where she felt around until she pulled off a disconnected piece of fencing. “Little secret here at Crystal Prep. Works out nicely if you come in late or if you decide you wanna skip a class or two.”

“I never heard of it,” Twilight said.

“Well, it wouldn’t be a secret then, and no offense, but you’re the last person anyone would mention it to.”

“Fair point…” Twilight said icily.

The group went inside, walking up the large steps towards the front doors. “Are you sure no one’s going to notice us?” Sunset asked.

“The cameras are turned off during the weekend,” Sugarcoat said. “Of course, unless you have a keycard, you won’t be able to get inside the school which has a pretty advanced security system.”

Twilight started walking around. “Yes…I’m definitely getting a larger reading now…but it’s hard to say where the source is exactly.”

“It has to be in the school right?” Lemon asked.

“Yes, but where? And how do we know it’s in the school?” Twilight questioned. “It could be something on the roof, or below ground.”

“Which makes this much more complicated,” Sunset said with a frown.

Sunny thought for a moment. “Hey Twilight, what if one of us were to borrow your little scanner? We could check it out at school tomorrow.”

Twilight hesitated. “Well…it’s not that I don’t think you’re capable of using it or that I don’t trust you but…I’m more comfortable using it myself.”

“Well, Sugarcoat is the only other nerd in the group so you can give it to her,” Indigo suggested.

Sugarcoat shrugged. “If she’s more knowledgeable on this stuff then I won’t do us any favors. But how are you going to be here if you’re transferred already?”

“I…might have an idea. I can certainly give Dean Cadance a call.”

Sunset picked up on her idea. “I thought you got everything from your lab here already?”

“Well…maybe not everything,” Twilight said sheepishly. She then took out a pen and recorded something on a tablet. “Well, that’s about everything I can do here for now. I need to get back home and input this data. You’re all free to stop by.”

“Wow, Twilight Sparkle just invited us to her home,” Sour said with genuine amazement. “We are so climbing the ranks of popularity now.”

Twilight’s house was an impressive size, definitely the largest house on her street. Everything inside and outside gave the thought of comfort. “My parents left on a cruise shortly before I got back,” Twilight explained. “So make yourselves at home.”

“So where’s this lab?” Sunny asked.

“In the basement,” Twilight said, a grin on her face. “Dad was kind enough to move stuff out of the way for me.”

Sunset deadpanned. “It covers the entire basement doesn’t it?”

“Yep!”

Twilight led them downstairs and turned on the lights. Needless to say, there was a lot of stuff here. Computers, printers, a seismograph, stacks of paper, desks; it was like walking into a college classroom.

Sunset noticed someone was sleeping near one of the desks. Twilight went over and petted the dog’s head. “Spike, what did I tell you about sleeping down here?”

“Ugh, it’s too hot to sleep up there, even with the A/C on,” Spike said with a yawn as he opened his eyes. He then looked up and saw the others. “Uh…what are they doing here?”

“Be nice,” Twilight admonished him.

“Wait…did that dog just talk?” Sour asked.

“That dog has a name,” Spike growled slightly. “And I would think after everything that’s happened I’m the least of your concerns.”

“It’s a long story,” Sunset said simply.

Twilight went over and put on her lab coat, sighing slightly as if she just laid into a nice warm bath. “Feels good to be home.” She then went to her computer and inputted the data she had gathered.

Sunset looked around. “So…is this what you’d been doing before the Friendship Games?”

“I was…slightly curious,” Twilight admitted. “The seismograph picked up on something huge and once I realized it wasn’t an earthquake, it all started coming together.” She adjusted her glasses as she did more typing. “I’m doing comparisons onto what I discovered at Canterlot High. The signatures are definitely similar, but I can’t say for sure if it’s the same source.”

“Well, more or less I could say I’m pretty much the source at CHS,” Sunset said. “But I’ve never been to Crystal Prep.”

“Which makes me think you’re not necessarily the culprit,” Twilight responded.

“Uh…if you don’t mind me asking,” Lemon said. “How did you afford all this stuff?”

“Well, technically some of it belongs to Crystal Prep,” Spike explained. “Both Twilight and Cadance kind of twisted Cinch’s arm in a way.”

“I certainly didn’t hear about that.” Sunset looked at Twilight in surprise.

Twilight rolled her eyes. “He’s being over-dramatic. Some of this stuff had to be repaired so naturally I took off everyone’s hands and fixed it myself.”

“Wow…that’s impressive,” Indigo asked.

Twilight turned in her seat. “When you girls told me about what happened, I tried to do some research on the school itself. Of course, I only found out what everyone knows: when it was created, who funded the project, etc. But there’s no explaining why it was put there in the first place.”

“Wasn’t the founder pretty rich?” Sunset asked.

“Yes, but that doesn’t explain the location. Crystal Prep is right dab in the middle of downtown. Sure it’s convenient for students who live nearby but the traffic getting there is horrendous and most Ivy-league schools are never right smack in the middle of the city.”

“So…you think it was put there for ulterior reasons?” Sunny asked.

“It’s speculation at this point but I’d like to find out more,” Twilight said. “And I think there’s only one place to look.”

“Wait…you’re not saying…” Indigo started.

Twilight nodded. “Principal Cinch’s computer in her office. Exactly.”

“Uh…first of all, why would she keep something so important?” Sunny asked.

Twilight shrugged. “She’s been principal for a long time so maybe she knows things. Also, Crystal Prep’s network is practically flawless, probably even safer than if she had a computer at home. I managed to break into CHS’ network once so I’ll have to talk to Principal Celestia about that.”

“Somehow that doesn’t surprise me,” Sunny said dryly.

“And besides,” Twilight continued. “Why cover up something if it’s not important? What I found today, that could only mean one possible thing…”

Sunset’s eyes widened. “Equestrian magic is somewhere at Crystal Prep?”

“That could very well be the case.”

“Okay hold on a second,” Indigo said, pinching the top of her nose. “You’re ultimately saying that you want to break into Principal Cinch’s personal computer and steal potentially important files?”

“Well when you put it that way, you make it sound more criminal,” Twilight commented. “But yes.”

“Huh…well good luck with that!”

“How long would it take?” Sunny asked.

“Huh?” Twilight replied.

“How long would it take to download those files onto a USB?” Sunny asked.

“It depends on the size of the files,” Twilight said. “But depending on that…anywhere between five and twenty minutes.”

“You can’t be serious!” Indigo snapped. “It’ll be bad enough if she finds us in her office but stealing stuff from her computer-!”

“Which is why it has to be me,” Twilight said. “Like it or not, my days at Crystal Prep are over anyway.” Oddly enough, her words caused the five girls to glance at one another and frown.

“Okay, but if you get caught, at best you’re still going to get arrested and that’s if Cinch is in a forgiving mood,” Sunset warned her.

“I know…which is why we need a distraction,” Twilight said. She looked to her former classmates. “I understand you wouldn’t want to get involved, which is why I won’t make you if you choose not to, but one way or another I’m getting those files.”

There was a long silence until Indigo sighed and looked back at her. “How big a distraction do you need?”

“Well, obviously something that gets Cinch’s immediate attention,” Twilight said. “And big enough to keep her away for awhile.”

The girls looked at one another for a moment. “I think we might have an idea…” Sour said sweetly.

After spending a few more hours at Twilight’s, everyone else headed back home to prepare. All except Sunset that was. She headed to the local café in Canterlot and sat down at one of the booths. She ordered two espressos and patiently waited.

Soon, Twilight came by and sat across from her. Of course, it wasn’t the Twilight from this world but Princess Twilight of Equestria. “Sorry if I’m late.”

“Its fine, I just got here,” Sunset replied. “I ordered us both something. I hope I’m not keeping you from anything.”

“No, although we did just have an issue of our own,” Twilight replied. Getting a look from Sunset, she added, “Changelings.”

Sunset grimaced. “Again?”

“Don’t worry, it’s all taken care of now. But enough about me, is everything alright?”

“I don’t know,” Sunset replied. “It just…started today. I heard this weird voice in a dream…and for a moment I felt…her presence.”

Twilight looked concerned. “You’re absolutely sure?”

“I dunno…maybe,” Sunset replied. Soon the waitress came with two cups of coffee and Sunset took a sip of hers before continuing. “I’m not saying I’m worried about all of a sudden changing back to her but…the whole thing was both new and disturbing.”

“I wish I had an answer for you,” Twilight said. “But, maybe its just anxiety? You told me the Twilight here went through a similar episode?”

“Yeah…maybe you’re right, but with what I’ve heard about all these disturbances…you haven’t heard anything on your end?”

“No, but I’ll certainly look into it,” Twilight said. She then took a sip as well. “You’ll have to forgive me but…this isn’t the only thing bothering you is it?”

Sunset smiled. “I see the Princess of Magic has become good at reading people too.”

“Sunset…”

Sunset sighed. “I’ve been…thinking a lot these past couple of months. I’ve been debating about whether it’s time to…you know.”

“Oh.” Twilight then reached over and took Sunset’s hand. “You know you don’t have to be afraid. I for one would love to have you come back and…well, there’s someone else who’d really like to see you.”

“I know.” Sunset smiled. “It’s just…do I have to choose one or the other? You know how much I’ve done here.”

“Hmm…maybe it’s not a question of choosing. It’s summer break here now right? Perhaps now would be a good time to…take a vacation?”

“…You know what, that’s not a bad idea at all. Maybe when this gets resolved I’ll do just that.” Sunset then grinned. “Maybe then I’ll get to meet the newbie.”

Twilight laughed. “She’s hardly a newbie. I mean, she’s definitely at your level at-”

“We’ll see about that.”

“No doubt,” Twilight grinned. “I’m just glad to hear Twilight’s doing better now. And I’m also glad to see you as well, we haven’t been able to catch up in awhile.”

It was then Sunset realized something, something she wasn’t enthusiastic to tell her. “Yeah…listen um…about you and Flash…”

Twilight’s demeanor deflated slightly. “Oh…is he with someone else now…?”

Sunset grimaced slightly. “Well…the thing is…I think we all know this whole relationship isn’t going to work out is it?”

Twilight sighed. “Perhaps not…he asked you out again didn’t he?” Sunset’s shock must have been apparent for she smiled. “I kind of had a feeling something like this would happen…I thought it would be other Twilight but she has a different boyfriend now so…”

“You’re upset at me aren’t you?” Sunset asked. “I didn’t even really say yes-”

“It’s fine, really,” Twilight said. “The first two times I came here I had a mission to accomplish and…well along the way Flash came. But after what happened at the Friendship Games, I realize you can pretty much handle anything- not to say I wouldn’t help you if you asked me, but…I’ve less a reason to be here now I guess. And honestly, if both of you are happy, then I’m happy too.”

“Thanks Twi.”

“It’s what friends are for, right?” Twilight asked. “And really, if you need me, I’m only a few pen strokes away.”

“I know…I just hope it’s not something where I need to call you,” Sunset replied.

The two talked some more for awhile until Twilight looked at the clock. “Oh…I think I better get going,” she said. “You never know in Equestria these days…”

“No doubt.”

Twilight then went through her pockets and dished out a few bits. She stared at them for a moment and realized her mistake. “Oh…right…forgot about that…”

Sunset shook her head in amusement. “It’s alright, I’ll pay.”

Chapter 8

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The next day, the girls met at the entrance of the school. “So, we all know what we’re doing?” Sunny asked. “Twilight will be coming around noon, assuming Dean Cadance bought her story. Indigo, did you bring the goods?”

Indigo smiled and patted her bag. “Of course! You do know these are a fire hazard right? I mean, I’m not complaining but I don’t want to send anyone to the hospital.”

“Then make sure they don’t hit anyone,” Sugarcoat said. “That’ll most likely bring both Principal Cinch and Dean Cadance to the cafeteria and the rest of us will have to keep them occupied while Twilight sneaks into Cinch’s office.”

“You know…doesn’t it seem kind of weird?” Lemon asked. “I mean, the reason we got picked for the Friendship Games was because we were kind of the model students right? But look at us now.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, I quite like being the renegade student,” Sour said.

Sunny rolled her eyes. “Sometimes you have to do necessary evils for the greater good, in this case trying to figure out what’s going on with our school.” She then looked at her phone. “Twilight said she’ll give us a text when she ready so Indigo and Lemon, make sure you’re ready.”

The morning continued on without incident. At about quarter to twelve, Twilight made her way up the steps to the school. It made her think about the last time she had come here, just after the Friendship Games.

Crystal Prep always had a cold, sterile environment of sorts when she was attending, but before no one appeared to be paying attention to her. That day, everyone’s attention was on her and it almost seemed a miracle she got out of there unscathed, equipment intact. Now once again she would have to brave the halls and more than likely encounter Principal Cinch again.

Luckily, as she opened the doors, she found that the halls were clear at the moment. Since it was close to noon, the students were probably already at lunch. As she walked down the hall, she got out her phone and sent a group message to the other girls. I’m here.

She found Cadance’s office and knocked on her door. The door quickly opened and Cadance peered out. “Oh, Twilight! You’re…fifteen minutes early!”

Twilight smiled weakly. “That still surprises you?”

“Well, no, not really,” Cadance laughed. “But I am surprised that you forgot something here. You’re usually pretty thorough.”

“Oh…well, no offense but…I was kind of in a hurry to get out of here.” Well, it wasn’t a lie.

“Well…I guess…” She then smirked. “I’m still not convinced though…come on, you can tell me.”

Twilight did want to tell her. Cadance was the only one here she could confide in…but she couldn’t. She knew Cadance wouldn’t snitch her to Cinch but she also didn’t want to put Cadance or her career in danger. “Well…okay…I kind of wanted to see you…it’s been awhile since we last hung out.”

“Aw…” Cadance then gave her a hug. “That’s what this was about? You could’ve just told me that over the phone.”

“Am I interrupting something?” Both of them looked over and saw a well-dressed woman approaching them with her arms crossed.

“Oh, Principal Cinch,” Cadance said quickly. “You’ll have to excuse us, Twilight informed me there was something she had forgotten from her lab and she’s here to pick it up.”

“Is that so?” Cinch asked. She then looked to Twilight. “I always thought you were a thorough girl.”

Cadance laughed weakly. “Well, that’s what I said too but um…you know how it is sometimes when you’re in a rush?”

Cinch still had her eyes on Twilight. “So Miss Sparkle, I’m assuming all is well at Canterlot High?”

“Very much so.” Twilight stared back at her. As a student, she had many reasons to feel intimidated by Cinch, but now she had no power over her.

“Good to hear. I wouldn’t want our former best student’s performance to go downhill at a more mediocre school.”

“You know, I think I’ll escort Twilight down to the lab so she can get her stuff,” Cadance quickly interrupted. “It shouldn’t take more than a few-”

Suddenly there was a loud scream that echoed down the hallway. It came from the cafeteria. “What in the world was that!?” Cinch snapped. She then quickly ran down the hallway. “Dean Cadance!”

“Er, right, coming!” Cadance looked back to Twilight. “Um…we’ll be right back! I’m sure it’s nothing!” She then followed Cinch down the hall.

Twilight waited a moment before looking around and then she quickly made her way towards Cinch’s office. She checked the door and was relieved to see it was unlocked. She went inside and quickly closed the door before making her way over to the desk. Apparently today was her lucky day since Cinch was still logged in.

Twilight quickly pulled out the USB, slid it into the side of the desktop and got to work.

Five minutes earlier…

Indigo and Lemon were behind one of the emergency exits in the cafeteria, waiting for the signal. Indigo then received the text from Twilight shortly after. “Alright, it’s show time.” She then pulled out firecrackers from her bag. “Alright, we line these up and light them up in one go and get the hell out of dodge.”

“Um…you do know once these go off its going to sound like gunshots right?” Lemon asked.

“Yeah?”

“I mean, that’s kind of a big deal…”

“That’s the plan we talked about.”

“Well…”

“You better not be getting cold feet Zest!” Indigo snapped. “We need to give Sparkle a distraction!”

“Alright, alright.” Lemon took a deep breath. “But if something blows up, it’s not my fault.”

“There’s nothing flammable in here you-”

Suddenly there was a scream. “Okay, that was premature,” Lemon commented.

On the other side of the door, they could hear a loud commotion of chairs being moved and people yelling. “I got a bad feeling about this,” Indigo said. The two of them opened the door and saw students were looking for any exit they could, including the door they just came through.

Indigo and Lemon saw the others and went over to them. “What’s going on, we didn’t even fire anything?” Indigo asked.

Sunny pointed and both Indigo and Lemon saw the purplish line that indicated a tear in the space-time continuum. “Okay, so it’s a little tear,” Sour said. “What could possibly-”

Suddenly the tear was ripped open quite forcefully. “You just had to say something…” Sugarcoat muttered.

It was only when they saw the claws that they realized something was forcing its way into their dimension. When it finally came out, the creature was both extraordinary and familiar. “Uh…what the hell is that?” Indigo asked.

“That looks like Ursa Minor,” Sugarcoat replied.

“Huh?” Lemon asked.

“The constellation on the bear’s body…that’s Ursa Minor,” Sugarcoat explained. “Seriously, none of you ever do any stargazing?”

“How about we just call him Star Bear and make it simple?” Indigo suggested.

“Aw…he’s kind of cute,” Lemon said. Two seconds later, they had to duck as Star Bear decided to throw a table at them. “Okay…maybe a little feral but still cute.”

“Okay so what do we do about him?” Sour asked as they ducked behind one of the standing tables.

“It’s going to rampage through the entire school if we don’t get rid of him,” Sunny said.

Indigo looked around. “Okay, but there’s still people here and if they see us-”

“You want this thing getting loose!?” Sunny snapped. “Spiders are one thing, but there is nothing natural about that bear and I rather have the school see us than the entire world finding out about this and panicking!”

“What is the meaning of this!?” Principal Cinch had just burst into the room and immediately stopped in her tracks. She looked around at the other students who were currently present. “What is this thing doing here!?”

Star Bear got on his front feet and roared his displeasure at being called a thing towards her. “Principal Cinch, I think its best we…evacuate the school,” Cadance said, who showed up behind her.

“Crap, we need to give Twilight more time!” Indigo said.

Sunny then got up. “I’m sorry girls, but I don’t think we have a choice.” She looked towards the two women. “Principal Cinch wait! We can handle this guy.”

“I beg your pardon!?” Cinch said with surprise.

“It’s kind of hard to explain so…” Sunny then looked to Indigo. “We need to get something to fight with.”

“Gotcha, I know just the place!” Indigo then zoomed past the two women out the door.

Both of them stared at each other in surprise. “Did she just…?” Cinch began.

“I think so…” Cadance said. “I also think perhaps we should get out of the way since I have a feeling this is going to get quite messy.” Luckily, Star Bear was currently occupied with eating what was left of everyone’s lunches. A bear was a bear after all.

Indigo soon came back and dropped a bunch of sports equipment on the ground. “This was all I could find in the storage room in the gym,” Indigo said. “So take your pick.”

Sunny helped herself to the metal bat. She then looked around and saw the tear was still open. “I think I know how to get rid of this guy…non-lethally of course.”

“Oh good,” Lemon said, sighing in relief. “I mean, spiders are one thing but I don’t really like killing, even if they just go poof.”

“I gotcha, we tire him out and send him packing huh?” Indigo asked.

“Just don’t get too close and let your guard down,” Sugarcoat warned as she picked up the bow. “One swing from him and he’ll take your head off.”

“Well come on let’s get going already!” Sour snapped.

“HOLD IT!” Everyone stopped and looked, including the celestial bear. Lemon was currently looking through her phone.

“Oh no please, finish your tweet,” Sour said, rolling her eyes.

Lemon ignored her and kept sliding her screen. “…There it is.” She then pushed play before slipping on her headphones and cracking her neck slightly and slapping her fist into her palm. “Alright…it’s go time.”

“Hmm…yeah I’ll go with that,” Indigo grinned. “Alright ya big lug of stars, I hope you’re hungry for a big can of whoop ass!”

The girls spread out across the cafeteria. Sunny got on top of one of the tables and took any coffee cups she could find and threw them in the air before launching them at the bear’s head. The ceramic cups shattered, leaving small bits embedded in the bear’s skull but to it it was merely a small annoyance.

“Hey, haven’t you heard never to take your eyes off your prey!” Indigo ran up and hit the bear straight in the lower jaw, which caused the bear to grunt in pain. “Physics, right Sugarcoat!?”

“Yeah…kind of!” Sugarcoat took aim and fired her shot, hitting the bear in the stomach. Like Sunny suggested, they didn’t want to kill the creature but injuring it enough would greatly lower its stamina.

“Aw look it even bleeds cosmos!” Lemon gushed. Star Bear wasn’t amused and took a hard swing, sending Lemon into one of the tables and her headphones flying.

“Lemon!” Sour gritted her teeth and grabbed any forks and knives she could before throwing them at the bear. “You stupid jerkface!” Unfortunately, Crystal Prep had a policy about not using sharp knives.

Lemon groaned as she got up and then realized her headphones were over on one of the chairs. She clenched her fists and glared at the bear. “Those are $200 headphones you asshole!” She then grabbed a chair and started smashing the bear in the face. “If. Those. Are. Broken. I. Am. So. Making. You. Pay for it!”

“Wow, I’ve never seen Lemon get that mad before,” Sunny commented.

“Those headphones are like a part of her,” Indigo said as she went over and checked them out. “It’s alright Lemon, they’re good!”

“Oh.” Lemon stared at the now dazed bear. “Sorry…”

Indigo then had an idea. “Hey Lemon, you up for a game!?” She then zoomed around the bear, attempting to tie him up until he was literally a ball of stars.

“Oh…gotcha!” Lemon then stretched her legs slightly. “Okay…this is it…the game-winning score. All is on the line now…”

“Oh for crying out loud will you just boot the damn thing out of here!?” Sour snapped.

“Shut up Sour I’m getting in my zone!” Lemon snapped back at her.

“Yeah Sour shut up she needs to be in her zone!” Indigo yelled. Sour just cursed under her breath.

Lemon took a deep breath and then raced forward. “Booyakasha!” She kicked the bear right in the butt and the bear went flying right into the portal, crashing through and disappearing before the portal closed in on itself. “Score! This girl’s on fire!”

“Someone better call the fire department!” Indigo yelled, grinning.

“That was…easier than I expected,” Sugarcoat said. “At least now we know not to steal Lemon’s headphones.”

“Come on team, bring it in!” Indigo said as they all shared a high five. “I think I can get used to this.” There was then loud cheering. “See, the school loves us!”

“Ahem!” Principal Cinch apparently decided to come back into the cafeteria now that it was safe. “Ladies, my office. Now.”

“And that just killed the mood,” Indigo replied, sighing.

Chapter 9

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It didn’t matter the occasion, it was never a good thing to find yourself in Principal Cinch’s office because the office didn’t offer any warmth to the students or even the faculty. On the one bright side, the girls didn’t see Twilight with them so hopefully she got what she needed and got out.

Principal Cinch was currently at her desk, staring at the five girls while Dean Cadance stood to the side, looking about as comfortable as the girls felt. “I would ask for you all to explain yourselves but I believe I already know the answer,” Cinch said. “It would seem that unfortunately you’ve been…inflicted with similar powers as those girls from Canterlot High. Can you explain at least how this came to be?”

The girls glanced at one another. “Well, that’s the thing Principal Cinch,” Sugarcoat said. “We don’t know how it happened. All we do know is that it started last week right here at the school. As for the Ursa Minor-”

“Just call it a bear,” Sour groaned.

“As for the Ursa Minor,” Sugarcoat glared at her. “It seems after the events of the Friendship Games, there are still distortional imbalances between this world and the other one we witnessed.”

Cinch was quiet for a moment. “Dean Cadance, were you aware of the girls’ abilities?”

Cadance looked away slightly. “Yes…they came to me on Friday…I figured it was best to keep it quiet in order not to alarm the other students.”

“I think it’s already too late for that,” Cinch stated, giving her a look. “Your actions aside, now I must wonder if this school and its student body are truly safe. I cannot afford to have this school come under any sort of scrutiny, even if it is merely fantastic beasts, and now that our own students are being affected-”

“Principal Cinch, I may have a suggestion,” Cadance interrupted.

Cinch pursed her lips at the interruption. “Do tell.”

“Well, first of all, I think we should be thanking these brave girls for protecting our school and student body, as you mentioned. Second, if they are okay with this, I believe we should have them as a sort of…’protection force’ while the term concludes this week.”

“Hmm…well if they are the only ones capable of getting rid of those…things then I will not stand in their way,” Cinch said. She then looked to the girls again. “Do you have anything else to say?”

“Well…I really don’t know if there’ll be another incident,” Sunny Flare said. “But I don’t think these attacks are random. I mean, I already had a giant spider crash through my backyard…”

“Oh my!” Cadance gasped.

“So you think there’s some culprit behind this?” Cinch asked. “Interesting…well then I suppose I have no choice but to let you girls figure it out, but I doubt you’ll find anything here of true importance.”

“That’s a lie and you know it,” Sunny thought.

Cinch sighed as she eased back into her chair. “Unfortunately due to the panic, many of the students left the school premises so classes will have to be cancelled for the day. However, they need to know that finals will still be starting tomorrow.”

“I’ll make the calls right away,” Cadance said as she made her way out.

“See that you do,” Cinch replied. “As for you girls, I hope you’re prepared because this may end up being a long week for you.”

“Crap.” Indigo groaned as they left the school. “I got so caught up in all this I forgot about finals…”

“It won’t be that bad,” Sunny reassured her.

“Easy for you to say, someone like Sugarcoat could breeze right through them.”

“Because I study, which is something you ought to try doing for once,” Sugarcoat stated simply. Indigo stuck her tongue out at her.

“Hold on, I’m getting a call from Twilight,” Sunny said. She then answered. “Please tell me you got something.”

“Oh I got a lot of somethings, although I haven’t been able to look at it yet,” Twilight replied. “Is everything alright?”

“Well, if you consider a celestial bear tearing through the cafeteria normal, then yes,” Sunny replied.

“Oh…so that’s what happened. I heard something going on but I didn’t want to run into Cinch again. I was calling to see if you wanted to meet at my place again.”

“We’ll be there in a few minutes,” Sunny replied.

“Sounds good. There’s just…one other thing…”

Ten minutes earlier…

Twilight had managed to find some interesting documents on Cinch’s computer. Blueprints, school history, things she was sure weren’t open to the public. Luckily, there wasn’t much to download and the transfer went rather quickly.

As she was leaving, she heard people yelling as they ran out of the school. “Must’ve been quite the distraction,” Twilight thought. That was until someone was yelling about a bear. There weren’t any bears around here.

Once she was off school property, she quickly called Sunset. “I got the files,” she said.

“Anything good?” Sunset asked.

“I guess we’ll find out. I’m going to invite the girls back over so we can look over everything,” Twilight said. “Also…I think something happened at Crystal Prep.”

“Like?”

“Well…I heard something about a bear…”

“A bear? Wait, are we talking an Ursa Minor or Major?”

“What?”

“That’s what they’re called in my world.”

“Does it really matter?”

“Yeah it does! Minors are bad enough but if you run into a Major…well…”

“I honestly have no idea but I do think the girls can handle it.”

“I dunno Twilight, maybe we should get the others involved after all.”

Twilight thought for a moment. Sunset had a point. If the attacks were getting worse, what choice do they have?” “Alright…but you know this is going to be awkward at first right?”

“They’ll get over it…they have to.”

“Let’s hope you’re right…and they don’t get upset about this.”

Sunny sighed. “I guess it was inevitable,” she said. “Alright, I’ll try to make sure everyone plays nice.”

“I appreciate it Sunny and uh…just speaking from experience but if Rainbow Dash starts going off about anything…well, try to ignore it.”

“It’s okay, in ways we got one of our own.”

Sunset was thankful for summer break as she was able to get a hold of everyone and that they were still in town. Once she explained everything, the girls were willing to drop whatever they were doing. They were currently on the bus heading to Twilight’s house.

“So, when exactly were you going to tell us about this?” Rainbow Dash asked, giving Sunset a look.

“Aw, give her a break Dash, she didn’t want to worry us that’s all,” Applejack said. “Of course, now Ah am kinda worried…”

“So let me get this straight…” Rarity said. “You’re saying the girls we met at the Friendship Games now have similar powers to us?”

“Well, almost exactly to be technical,” Sunset answered. “It looks like they’re experiencing an aftermath of what happened a month ago and it seems to be getting worse day by day.”

“And it started happening at Crystal Prep?” Fluttershy asked. “We have to go there don’t we?”

“Ugh, well I guess it had to happen sometime,” Rainbow groaned. “Still don’t feel good about this…”

“Not that I need to say this to everyone but…please try to behave,” Sunset pleaded.

“Whaat? Oh, she’s talking about Rainbow Dash,” Pinkie Pie said. “Actually, I kind of like that one girl…Sugarcoat was her name? She’s so brutally honest it makes me giggle.”

“Brutal is right,” Applejack said, rolling her eyes.

“Hey, I’ll play nice if they do,” Rainbow replied casually. “But I’m not getting my hopes up.”

The meeting of the two sides went about as well as anyone expected. The girls were sitting in the living room while Sunny, Sunset and Twilight were in the kitchen while Twilight made tea. “Well, they haven’t tried killing each other yet,” Sunny commented.

“That’s surprising,” Sunset said flatly.

“Um…are you two in here just to watch them or to stay protected?” Twilight asked.

“Honestly, probably both,” Sunny said. “There’s only two…no three that I worry about in there.”

Meanwhile, the rest of the girls were looking around the house while glancing around one another. “Well, I must say Twilight has a lovely home,” Rarity said to clear the air. “I really want to find out her designer.”

“It’s okay, pretty standard to what you see around this neighborhood,” Sugarcoat replied.

“Standard huh?” Rainbow said. “Right…forgot everything with you guys is above standard.”

There was another uncomfortable silence and finally Applejack couldn’t take it anymore as she got up. “Okay, Ah think we need to address the elephant in the room,” she said. “Look, Ah know our schools are…mighty competitive but right now this isn’t about school, it’s a situation we can’t ignore.”

“Oh, well if we’re just going to let it out, then I guess I should mention that the only reason we had a tie in the Friendship Games was because you two used magic to your advantage,” Sour said calmly.

“Um…can we not get into this?” Lemon asked.

“Yeah, I’m with her on this,” Pinkie added.

“Seriously? You think Fluttershy used magic to hit a bulls eye?” Rainbow snapped. “You hit yours just fine. It’s called practice. You’re just using your principal’s excuse to make yourselves feel better.”

“Not me, I don’t care anymore,” Sugarcoat said.

“Okay, someone better hold me back because I’m about ready to-”

“Alright, that’s enough.” Everyone looked over and saw it was Indigo who spoke. “The Friendship Games are in the past and by the time the next one comes we’ll have already graduated. So we should move past it already.”

“Wow…I didn’t expect to hear that from you,” Rainbow commented.

“Of course, soccer season starts in a few months and lets be honest here, it’s not even going to be a contest for the Shadowbolts.”

It got quiet again. “Oh you think so huh?” Rainbow asked.

“I know so,” Indigo grinned. “I mean, you guys are good, no question, but we’re overall the better team so…”

Rainbow grinned in return. “Sure, we’ll see after the game when we win by two.”

“Two? Now you’re just talking crazy.”

“Um…are they going to get into it?” Fluttershy asked.

“Just watch,” Sugarcoat replied.

“It sounds like you wanna go right now, don’t you?” Rainbow said.

“Pick a time and place, we’ll settle it!” Indigo got in her face.

“Alright, right here, right now.”

Three minutes later Indigo and Rainbow were duking it out in a FIFA match on Shining’s PS4. “Oh please, Marechester is so overrated,” Indigo stated.

“You did not just say that!”

Finally, Twilight and the others brought out tea and cookies. “Wow, that didn’t last as long as I thought,” Sunset said.

“I suppose your friends aren’t so bad once we get to know them,” Sour said. “I mean, I haven’t killed Twilight yet.”

Twilight gulped and laughed weakly. “Oh Sour…you’re so funny…” She then cleared her throat and got out her tablet. “I downloaded the files and sent copies to Sunset and Sunny just in case. Um…girls, I kind of need to borrow the TV…”

“We’re busy! Ha, is that all you got!?” Rainbow yelled.

“Allow me,” Sunny said as she took the tablet and streamed it to the TV.

“Hey!” Indigo snapped.

“Please continue Twilight,” Sunny said, ignoring the look from Indigo.

Twilight cleared her throat as she opened up the documents. “I admit I didn’t find as much as I thought I would but I did find one piece of information worth noting.” She then opened up a picture of what looked like a dated newspaper article. “This article was written almost ninety years ago and it discusses the plans for building Crystal Prep Academy. I was wondering for a long time why a school was built directly downtown and now I know why.” She then zoomed in to allow everyone to read.

August 12, 1929
NEW ACADEMY TO BE BUILT ON FORMER MINING LAND
CANTERLOT – The Canterlot Area School District and City Council have announced plans for the rumored Crystal Prep Academy to be built. Building is said to begin in early spring of next year and will take about two years to complete. The numbers for the project have not been finalized but council members believe it will cost about $500,000.
What’s surprising is the location, which up until ten years ago was a mining ground for a type of ore called crystallium which itself was discovered about thirty years ago. Officials have assured that the mines have already been collapsed and currently present no danger for anyone in the vicinity.

“We have to remember at that time, Canterlot wasn’t anything like it is now, at least in size and the buildings surrounding Crystal Prep didn’t exist yet,” Twilight explained. “After the success of Crystal Prep, only then did businesses want to expand around it.”

“Uh…so what’s this crystallium?” Rainbow asked.

“It’s an ore that contains different elements,” Sugarcoat said. “Actually, if you look at the school, there are traces of it on the outside. It used to be rather expensive back then but after years of discovery, it’s about as costly as steel and almost as tough.”

Sunset was quiet the entire time. Suddenly her eyes widened and she had to take a seat before her legs gave out on her. “Sunset, what’s wrong?” Fluttershy asked.

“How did I not see it before?” Sunset stared out into nothing. “I’m such an idiot…”

“What do you mean?” Lemon asked.

“Well, I guess I haven’t told you this but…remember that world you saw at CHS?” The girls from Crystal Prep nodded. “Well…that’s where I come from.”

The girls stared at her. “Wait a minute…” Sour said. “You mean you’re one of those…?”

“Yep.” At this point, Sunset wasn’t quite bothered telling anyone about it. “But that’s a whole other story.”

“So…does that make her an illegal alien then?” Lemon asked.

Most of the girls groaned but Pinkie burst out laughing. “Illegal alien! That’s a good one!”

“Anyway,” Sunset continued. “My world and this world have similar settings, to make it simple. There was a kingdom called the Crystal Empire that existed about a thousand years ago before it vanished and it, like Crystal Prep here, contained similar crystals like Twilight described. A um…friend told me that it had returned recently and honestly if it weren’t for that, I would’ve completely missed it.”

“So what’s your point?” Indigo asked.

“The Crystal Empire disappeared because of an evil king who enslaved his people. Considering the similarities between the two worlds…”

Applejack picked up on it. “Yer saying there could be an evil king here somewhere and ya think he’s the one causing them creatures to come through?”

“It’s a possibility…but one thing I do know for sure, we’ll find the answers down in that mine…if it still exists.”

“Well, the article says the mines were collapsed so I’m not sure we’ll be able to find anything,” Twilight said.

Sunset smiled. “Just because they say it on paper doesn’t mean it actually happened.”

“Oooh I smell a cover-up!” Rarity said excitedly.

“Okay, if what you say is true, then the question is why?” Sugarcoat asked.

“The better question is why did Cinch feel the need to keep this secret?” Sunset asked in return. “We know she’s hiding something and I think we were correct in thinking something is down there.”

“Alright, so what are we going to do?” Rainbow asked. “We can’t just waltz into the place.”

“And unfortunately we have finals this week,” Indigo said. “So any day before Saturday won’t work.”

“But everything’s locked on the weekend,” Lemon said.

“True, we’d need a keycard to unlock the doors, and getting it from a faculty member will be difficult,” Twilight said.

“What about Dean Cadance?” Sunset suggested.

Twilight’s face went dark. “I’m not stealing her card.”

“I mean ask nicely.”

“Even if I did, the school has a system that records people’s card and if it shows that Cadance showed up on a Saturday for whatever reason-”

“She could say she forgot something,” Pinkie said.

“Not if it’s the middle of the night!”

“Actually…maybe we don’t need to ask Cadance,” Sunny said. “There is one other option…”

“Wait, you’re not saying…” Sugarcoat began.

“Yep…remember our good friend Blueblood?”

The Crystal Prep girls groaned while the others looked confused. Twilight had a sour look on her face. “He’s friends with my brother and a senior…and Cadance’s cousin. And he’s a big jerk too!”

“That’s true, but apparently he managed to steal a teacher’s card and replicate it so he can go in as much as he pleases.”

“How did he do that?” Sunset asked.

“He probably has friends I imagine,” Sunny replied. “Anyway, he’s having a big party on Friday and of course half the school will probably be there. We get in, we find his card, we have our way in.”

“I’m not going to that party,” Sugarcoat said forcibly.

“He’s been attempting to get with her,” Indigo said.

Twilight stared at her. “Seriously!?”

Sugarcoat looked away. “And he doesn’t know when to quit either.”

“Well, I think you should go,” Sour said.

“Oh, and why is that?”

“I heard Royal Pin might be attending.”

Sugarcoat froze. “Oh…well…that’s nice…still not interested.”

“She’s so going now,” Lemon said with a wink.

“I’ll only go if Twilight goes.”

“What!?” Twilight almost shrieked. “Why me!?”

Sugarcoat smirked. “It’s your turn to be a distraction and boy does Blueblood like to pick on you.”

Chapter 10

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On the bright side, the rest of the meeting went rather pleasantly. Rainbow Dash and Indigo were able to turn their relationship from a bitter rivalry to a competitive rivalry. And, for the most part, the girls seemed to all be on equal terms.

However, Twilight wasn’t happy with this new plan. The kind of parties Blueblood had were typical of those who had a lot of money, and much of it was used for booze and other illegal activities. She knew if her parents found out she even went to such a party they’d probably keel over instantly.

But was there really any other option? Sugarcoat explained that many of the people there, and there was no doubt it would be a huge turnout, especially after finals, would be intoxicated and not paying so much attention to a group of girls searching around the house. But most importantly, Blueblood had to be distracted and he always took pleasure to picking on her of all people.

After everyone had left, Spike had finally decided to come out from his hiding place, worried that a feud was inevitable. “Wow, everything’s still intact,” he said with genuine surprise.

“Way to put your faith in me Spike,” Twilight replied, rolling her eyes. “Looks like I’m going to a party this Friday.”

“One of those?” Spike asked. He didn’t have to specify.

“Unfortunately.”

“Well, you better not be thinking of leaving me behind, I gotta give Blueblood my two cents as well you know.”

Twilight giggled. “Alright, I guess I can’t leave you home by yourself anyway. Just…no permanent damage okay? If it comes to that.”

“No promises,” Spike grinned, happy to show off his canine teeth.

Tuesday morning came much sooner than Sunny wanted. She spent about three hours last night doing last-minute studying. Luckily, finals were only going on until noon each day, which was a relief since the cafeteria was most likely still in disarray.

Once she left for school, she met her friends at the school entrance. “So…has everyone said their prayers already?” Indigo asked gravely.

“You didn’t study did you?” Sugarcoat asked.

“Of course I did! I just don’t know if it actually stuck in my head.”

“Well, considering we can’t really do anything til Friday anyway, we might as well focus on finals,” Sunny said. “We should do a group study at home. Indigo, if you really need it, I can help with your math.”

“You’re a lifesaver,” Indigo sighed in relief.

“Alright, then we’ll do it at my place,” Sugarcoat said. “I can have Jacques make us snacks in the meantime.”

“Oh yeah, he’s a talented chef isn’t he?” Sour asked.

“Sous chef, but yes, you couldn’t ask for anyone better,” Sugarcoat replied with a smile.

“Okay it’s settled, I’m going to breeze through this final as quick as I can!” Indigo said, pumping her fist.

“You do know the “every answer is C” method doesn’t work right?” Lemon asked.

“…Of course I knew that! Ya gotta do a pattern!”

Sugarcoat for once looked like she was going to cry.

The first final for Sunny today was Modern History, which would be a breeze for her. The only issue she had was dates, and her teacher decided to an entire section of matching dates. Thankfully, the eras were far in between so even someone like Sour could figure it out. Or at least she hoped.

The final started exactly at eight and everyone had two hours to finish, meaning the final itself was about six pages front and back. Once it was over, there was a ten minute break in between and another teacher would come in to supervise. Everyone in the same grade took the same final each day in order to prevent cheating.

Sunny managed to finish with fifteen minutes and she took ten of those minutes to check her work at least twice. Sour wasn’t in her class but she could imagine the poor girl was sweating bullets right now.

The next final on the list was chemistry, which apparently was everyone’s least favorite subject, though Sunny admitted she was interested in all the different compounds and such. Indigo says she only got into it after watching Breaking Bad and she flat out told the teacher that. Needless to say, the final was still quite brutal.

By the time it was over, Sunny was mentally drained, and no doubt her peers felt the same. Some looked content, others looked like they just saw their pet get murdered. It was the same mix of expressions for her friends.

“And it’s only been one day,” Indigo groaned. “I hate school.”

“Thought you were going to ace those exams?” Sour asked sarcastically.

“Ace them!? Ha! I was lucky to finish them on time!”

“If you don’t mind Sugarcoat, I think we all need a respite before delving into our notes,” Sunny said.

“I suppose you’re right.” She then looked down the hallway towards the set of lockers. “Um…actually, you guys go on right ahead, I need to take care of something real quick.” She then walked off, much to everyone’s confusion.

“Okay, that was weird…” Indigo said. “Especially for her.”

“Oh I think I know what’s up~” Lemon said with a grin on her face.

“What? I’m not-” Sunny then paused as she put two and two together. “Oh…right.”

She felt as if she had lost her mind. Never in a million years would she do something like this, nor have the guts to do this. But Sugarcoat saw her opportunity and while it may go against the norm, quite frankly she didn’t give a damn.

Royal Pin was getting stuff out of his locker and once he closed it only then did he see her. “Oh…Sugarcoat, I didn’t see you there. What’s up?”

Sugarcoat didn’t have an issue talking to boys. She’s been around people such as Jet Set and Trenderhoof, but unfortunately Royal Pin was a different story. “Oh…you know…reeling from that last final.”

“Really? You?” Royal Pin laughed. “You usually breeze through them like they’re nothing. Maybe the teachers decided to give you a challenge for once…at our expense unfortunately.”

Sugarcoat smiled. “Well…maybe it was a bit more challenging this year…” Oh God, she was twirling her hair in her fingers! When has she ever done that!? “A-Anyway, you heard about that party on Friday?”

“Oh Blueblood’s? Yeah, I normally wouldn’t go but considering it may be his last one since he’ll be graduating this year I’ll probably go this time.” Royal Pin then paused. “Are…you going? I mean, I know he kind of has a track record of-”

“I thought about it,” Sugarcoat quickly said. “Not really a drinker though…”

There was an awkward pause. “Well…since we’re on the subject…I thought maybe…we could go together. I mean, as friends of course. I’ll most likely be a designated driver so you won’t have to worry about getting home.”

Sugarcoat felt herself blushing. Well, this isn’t exactly how she thought it would go but… “Well…I suppose if it’s you asking…sure I’ll go with you.”

“Wait…really?”

“Really.”

“Okay…um…I’ll come pick you up around six? It’s dress casual right?”

“I think so, and six sounds good.”

Royal Pin suddenly looked flustered. “Okay then…then I’ll see you at your place at six on Friday. And uh…if I don’t see you before then, good luck on the rest of your exams.”

“Oh…you too.”

Royal Pin then walked off after giving her a small wave as Sugarcoat stood there with a somewhat stunned look on her face. She then smiled and turned around, walking towards the exit. If anyone had been paying attention to her, they would’ve noticed a slight spring in her step.

“Ha! I knew it! You owe me twenty bucks Indigo,” Sour said with a wicked smile on her face. Indigo grumbled as she passed over a twenty.

“Normally I would just give you both an evil look but right now I don’t care,” Sugarcoat said with a satisfied smile as she lounged on a leather chair in the great room of her house.

“Wow, I think I kinda like this Sugarcoat better,” Lemon commented as she and the other girls ate sandwiches. As Sugarcoat said, Jacques was a very talented chef.

“Ma’am, would you rather yourself or I tell the news to your mother and father?” the butler asked as he walked back into the room with a platter of desserts.

“No, you will not,” Sugarcoat said. “While my parents would approve of someone like Royal Pin I…can’t tell them where I’m going.”

“Ah yes, they would very much disapprove of underage drinking,” Jacques said with a slight smile. “Even though I know you and Mr. Pin would do nothing of the sort.”

“Uh…he’s not going to rat you out is he?” Indigo asked.

Sugarcoat sniffed. “Jacques is a very loyal man and while I would not ask him to keep secrets from Mother or Father I trust him more than most.”

“Your words are too kind Miss Sugarcoat,” Jacques bowed. “But if it’s alright with you, I will make sure that if Mr. Pin has any…further plans for the night to bring protection just in case.”

He walked off while both Lemon and Indigo snickered and Sugarcoat went quite red. She then rose up from her seat and glared at the door. “YOU WILL DO NO SUCH THING!”

“You know, I like him,” Sour stated as she grabbed an éclair. “Makes me wish we could afford a butler…”

“All jokes aside, I’m happy that he asked you out,” Sunny grinned. “So I guess that means you won’t be coming with us?”

“Oh…that’s right,” Sugarcoat said, looking slightly guilty. “Don’t worry, I’m still willing to go with the plan. I just hope Royal Pin doesn’t…misunderstand anything.”

“Speaking of the plan, how are we going to find that key?” Indigo asked.

“Well, obviously it has to be in his room, so we’ll just have to search through it,” Sunny replied.

“Ah, and that’s why Sparkle’s the bait huh?” Sour said.

“He always did like to tease her,” Sugarcoat said. “It honestly seemed kind of obsessive.”

“Yeah well, even at such a fine school as Crystal Prep there will always be bullying,” Sunny sighed. “So we go in, find it and get the hell out?”

“Sounds good to me,” Indigo said. She then smirked at Sugarcoat. “Don’t worry, we won’t break up your date.”

“Oh I’m so thankful…” Sugarcoat rolled her eyes. She then said in a monotone voice, “I’m not getting drunk and we’re not having sex.”

“Sheesh, not on the first date,” Lemon said. “But hey, who am I to judge?”

Sunny facepalmed. “Alright, enough girl talk. It’s time to study.”

In Equestria, Princess Twilight was currently cleaning up the mess in the library. She wanted to test Starlight’s reaction times of being able to teleport to avoid an attack. She was getting better and to no one’s surprise they really got into it and made a mess.

Still, Twilight had no reason to be upset. Starlight was already an expert magic user and it pleased her that she was becoming much better at asking questions instead of winging ideas of her own.

As she put the last book onto the shelf, she heard a soft buzzing sound. She looked over and saw it was the journal that she used to write to Sunset. Going over, she opened the book and read the most recent message.

Hey Twilight,
Hope I’m not interrupting anything but I have a question for you. You told me about what happened with the Crystal Empire and I only now started putting the pieces together for what’s happening here. Or at least I think I know.
First thing is, whatever happened to King Sombra? I’m merely hypothesizing at this point but somehow I feel like he or something darkness-related could be behind all this. Second, could something like the Crystal Heart you mentioned exist in this world? With all the parallels I’ve seen, it wouldn’t surprise me if such a thing existed. Sorry for the trouble.
Your friend,
Sunset Shimmer
P.S. The only reason I’m asking this now is because apparently Crystal Prep was just attacked.

Twilight looked through it all and pondered for a moment as she grabbed a quill with her magic. Sunset had told her about the cave at Camp Everfree and it matched up with the Tree of Harmony here. The similarities simply weren’t coincidences.

Dear Sunset,
After what you told me, it would not surprise me if such a thing did exist. The Crystal Heart does have the ability to restore one’s magic and/or stamina, Cadance can attest to that. But it wouldn’t cause spacial distortions…no I think these are caused by thing else. Or someone else.
For your first question, there is no doubt Sombra is gone. I’m not sure whether to say he’s dead only because he didn’t exactly have a body? It’s kind of hard to explain.
I’m not going to lie though, I am getting concerned. If there is some malicious being doing all this, he or she can probably use magic as well. If I may be bold to ask, can I help you out with this one?
Yours truly,
Princess Twilight

She waited a moment and it wasn’t long before Sunset replied, dropping the formalities.

I’ll gladly accept the help! We actually have a plan, but we’ll have to wait til Saturday night unfortunately. Think you can clear your schedule that day?

Twilight smiled in amusement.

I suppose I can do it for a friend. It has been awhile since we worked together hasn’t it?

That it has. I can meet you at CHS beforehand and we’ll make our way to Crystal Prep. For you, it’ll probably be hard to miss.

That was right, Sunset has never stepped foot inside the Crystal Empire has she?

Alright, then it’s settled. I’ll inform Princess Celestia just in case something goes wrong since the last thing we want is to have it come into Equestria. I’ll see you soon!

There was then a knock at the door and Twilight looked up to see Starlight standing at the door. “Sorry, is this a bad time?” she asked.

“Not at all,” Twilight said as she closed the journal. “I was just talking to Sunset Shimmer about something.”

“Oh, Celestia’s former student right?”

“That’s right, she kind of has a situation going on.” Twilight then sighed. “A couple of days from now I’ll have to go there and help her out if I can. Can I task you with keeping an eye on the mirror?”

“Sure, no problem,” Starlight replied. “It’s…pretty bad?”

“I can’t say at this point but…maybe?”

“Then you can count on me,” Starlight nodded. “But uh…just so we’re clear, is this like Chrysalis bad?”

Twilight shook her head in amusement. “Don’t worry Starlight, I don’t think you’ll need to worry about coming after me this time. By the way…Sunset said she’s looking forward to meeting you.”

Starlight’s grin was almost sinister. “Oh yeah? I guess we’ll have to see who the better student is huh?”

“Wow…you two are more alike than I thought…” Twilight said with a slight frown.

Chapter 11

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It was Wednesday and finals were continuing. First of course was math, specifically trigonometry. Indigo had real trouble studying but both Sunny and Sugarcoat managed to help her get through the review sheet and the girl certainly felt much more confident afterward.

Sunny wasn’t sure if her teacher decided to be a prick or just give his students more of a challenge for most of the questions were between above basic and advanced, much to her annoyance. Well, joke was on him since she prepared herself for these types of questions, especially the later chapters. In the end, it came down to the last five minutes but she was able to finish it.

The next final was for one of her electives, which was Sports and Entertainment Marketing. This class was so easy and simple Sunny wasn’t sure why there was a final, but it was easy and one both Indigo and Lemon recommended. She was able to finish it within half an hour.

The girls had nothing planned for today so Sunny went home and continued her studying. At least her mom was kind enough to bring home some cinnamon buns from the bakery downtown.

Thursday’s first final was English, oh dreaded English. Sunny could easily differentiate its and it’s or they’re, their, and there, but commas and semicolons were a whole different story. Even with all her studying, Sunny still got stuck on certain points and at the last second just wrote whatever came to her. Partial credit was better than no credit.

The last final was another of her electives, which was Intro to C++. Before she chose this class, Sunny wasn’t even sure she would get into computer programming. Despite a large need, the area was highly competitive and in college it was hard to get into, sometimes even with a 4.0. But throughout the year, Sunny found the material surprisingly easier than she imagined and after many exercises was able to design her own little programs. It was something to be proud of at least.

It wasn’t much of a final, more than just another project, with a two hour time limit. As expected, it wasn’t something she could wing in thirty minutes but she was able to submit her work to the teacher with about ten minutes to go. It was finally over, she could go home and take a much needed nap and probably pig out on something. She earned that much.

But it just wasn’t meant to be. As Sunny went out of the classroom, Dean Cadance was waiting for her there. “Sunny, I need to have a word…or rather Principal Cinch would like a word.” She looked uncomfortable, much to Sunny’s surprise. “If you could follow me.”

Sunny had a sinking feeling in her gut and it only got worse when she went inside the office. Her friends were there, all looking the same way and Sunny knew right away: Somehow, Twilight screwed up. She must’ve left some clue that led Cinch to believe her computer had been touched.

“Ah, good, we’re all here,” Cinch said, clearing her throat. “I’m afraid something has come to my attention. It would seem someone decided to enter my office and look through certain files on my computer.”

“Principal Cinch, if you’re accusing any of them, we both know it couldn’t have been them,” Cadance said quickly. “They were in the cafeteria that day when the um…creature attacked and since then it has only been them coming and going between classes.”

“Oh I’m quite aware Dean Cadance, but there was one student…one former student that is that was unaccounted for,” Cinch said. “After the incident, Twilight Sparkle was nowhere to be seen at all. Isn’t that odd?”

“Well…perhaps she got what she needed and left,” Cadance suggested.

“So quickly? I find that surprising actually. She did contact you did she not? You’re certain that’s all she asked about?”

Sunny knew where this was going. She was quickly pointing the blame towards Cadance and she wasn’t going to let that happen. In her mind, she realized that Cinch was doing this as a way for the girls to confess but she was going to beat them to the punch.

“It was I, Principal Cinch,” she said calmly. “I was the one who conspired with Sparkle.” Yes, she was admitting Twilight did steal the files but Cinch probably knew there were no other suspects. Hopefully, Twilight would forgive her for snitching her out.

Cinch stared at her for a moment. “I would’ve expected such actions from certain students but not you Sunny Flare. Would you care to explain yourself?”

There was no turning back now. “Ever since the Friendship Games, weird things have been going on. Rifts in the fabric of space, creatures that are crossing through those same rifts, the sudden magical abilities the five of us possess. Surely even you were curious about what was going on?”

“You are correct about that, but how does that explain your actions?”

“It’s not mere coincidence Principal Cinch; I think it has everything to do with the school, or rather the school’s location. There’s a collapsed mine right beneath our feet but what exactly were they mining for? And why is it only now that we’re reacting to something here?”

Cinch was silent for a moment as she turned around and looked outside the window. “It seems you’ve been rather active Miss Flare. In fact, I think you’ve dug yourself deeper than you could possibly imagine. I cannot explain why these things are happening but it’s clear you have become rather obsessed with the entire subject. So I will give you a choice.

“First of all, I will not press charges against Miss Sparkle, even though she did break into my personal computer. But as for you five, yes I know you all contributed to this in some way, you all have a decision. You can all forget about what you’ve seen or heard and drop the matter completely. Or, if you do decide to continue this charade, I will have no choice but to expel you all indefinitely.”

The room suddenly went cold. “E-Expel us?” Indigo said weakly.

“Wait Principal Cinch, this all seems a little much!” Cadance broke in. “There’s no need for-”

“I will decide what’s best for these students,” Cinch snapped. “As I said, the decision is yours but I would choose wisely. It would be terrible for you all to be expelled right before the beginning of your senior year wouldn’t it?” She glanced at all of them. “Nothing to say? Very well, I’ll let you all think hard about it. Now then, that should be all, you may leave now.”

The feeling of dread hung in the air even as the girls left the office and headed towards the entrance. Outside, they sat at the steps, all looking down and not saying a word.

Finally, Lemon broke the silence. “So…I guess this is it huh? I mean, we can’t go through with the plan now right?”

“Lemon, let’s not think about it right now…” Sugarcoat said.

“Not think about it?” Sour suddenly stood up. “What, you really have to think that hard? Cinch made it crystal clear! We either shut up about it or kiss any career dreams we have goodbye!” She kicked a soda can that was on the ground. “I hate bending to Cinch’s will but what choice do we have!?”

“I’m not quitting.” Sunny felt everyone’s eyes on her as she said.

“Oh, so you don’t care what happens to you huh?” Sour asked.

“I care more about the world I live in than my future at the moment,” Sunny snapped. “At least then I’ll have a future to look forward to.” She paused for a moment. “I don’t care what happens to me…its not because I haven’t decided on a future yet, or because I haven’t discovered whatever power I have, if I even have one…I’m doing this for you guys…because I care. You all have something to give this world but me? I’m not sure…so even if it’s just me and I stop all this and I get expelled, at least I can be happy for you guys. But I can’t do this by myself. Indigo, you haven’t said anything.”

Indigo looked up at her and Sunny could see she was conflicted. “I see…so all that stuff about Shadowbolts and friendship and teamwork means nothing now? All we’ve done now was for nothing? Well fine. I’ll finish what I started. Don’t worry about me.” She turned around and started heading down the steps.

“Wait.” The word stopped her in her tracks and she turned around to see Indigo getting up. “You know…you can be a real pain in the ass sometimes ya know?” She was smiling. “Look, I’ll be honest: I’m definitely not book-smart to get into some great university, but I can assure you my skills on the field might earn me a scholarship. Thing is…all it takes is one career-ending injury and I got nothing left to look forward to. So with that being said, you bet your sweet ass I’m gonna help you finish this.”

Sunny smiled slightly and looked at the others. “Well, she makes a good point,” Lemon said. “We got no future if there’s no world to live in right?” She smiled and nodded.

“I guess we can’t stop you,” Sugarcoat grinned slightly. “Besides, even if it’s just you Cinch will probably just expel all of us anyway so…what the hell.”

They all stared at Sour. Sour glanced at all of them and growled. “Seriously, am I the only sane one here now?” She sighed loudly. “Alright, alright…I can’t be the one who drags everyone down.”

“Girls…thank you. I mean it,” Sunny said. “And if we all do get expelled well…least we got each other right?”

“Hell yeah!” Indigo said.

“There’s just one more thing to do,” Sunny said with a mischievous grin. “I hope everyone has their credit cards cause we’re about to do some shopping!”

Meanwhile, Twilight was on her laptop, again looking through the files. For whatever reason, she felt as if she was missing something. With what she had read, it didn’t tell her very much about the school.

Then she found them. There were more documents in the folder about the school’s history. In fact, they appeared to be scanned copies of what looked to be diary entries from long ago. She started going through the entries.

June 23, 1918
We found a most interesting discovery today. Deep down in the mine, we found the treasure trove of crystallium, but even more impressive was the one that stood out the most. A large black crystal, shaped into the most intricate design. This was not manmade for sure, which made it all more impressive.
As we found out, no machine had the power to break this natural beauty so it was decided to be left alone. Not even dynamite could crack this thing, which made me think of it as a diamond but there were traces of carbon in it at all. It’s quite puzzling. Maybe in fifty years or so we’ll have something that could crack this thing like a peanut. For now, all we can do is stare in awe of nature and its beauty.

December 17, 1918
It has been almost twenty years since our first discovery of crystallium. The time has gone quick. However, despite the holiday season no one seems to be in a cheerful mood. Lately all one has to do is make some back-handed comment and you practically have a fight on your hands. I guess it can’t be helped.
Well, at least I know I’ll be able to spend the holidays at home with my family for once so I shall not let my colleagues’ attitude get to me.

March 23, 1919
We had to send another one to the hospital today. It was the third one this month who claimed they heard “voices in their head”. We’re in a mine, of course you’re going to hear things! They also claim that every time they went near that black crystal, they swore they felt like it was pulsing.
Even as I’m writing this I get chills thinking about that. I think people are just overreacting over nothing.

October 29, 1919
They were right. For all these months, I thought my fellow workers to be paranoid or high from inhaling something in the mine. But I was wrong, so wrong.
Last month, I heard the voices. At first they were just whispers, just noise. But then I could hear words, terrible things. It only got worse. The voices went from calm to screaming, shouting so loud I felt like my head was about to burst.
And the crystal…that damn crystal…it beats like a heart. There is something here, something evil. I have no doubts about it now. Whatever happened here, however long ago, I do not know the answers but unlike the others I haven’t broken yet.
This place needs to be shut down…better yet that crystal needs to be destroyed. If it can draw out your emotions, your fear…I tremble at the thought of what else it could drive inside all of us…

The entries ended there and the more Twilight read, the colder it felt inside the room. She quickly grabbed her phone and dialed Sunset’s number. “Sunset, it’s me. You might want to get over her pronto.”

Chapter 12

View Online

Sunset was pacing slightly down in Twilight’s basement after reading the diary excerpts. “Well, everything I’ve read points to Equestrian magic…but the real question is not just how, but when?”

“For all we know, it could’ve been buried for hundreds of years, but why?” Twilight asked.

“If Starswirl the Bearded were still alive, I would ask him,” Sunset replied. “But I’m not even sure he would know the answer…”

“Starswirl?” Twilight asked.

“The greatest pony wizard of all Equestria,” Sunset explained. “He’s like…I don’t know who do you consider the greatest wizard of all time here?”

“It’s kind of debatable; some say Merlin, some say Gandalf.”

“You get the picture then,” Sunset said as she pinched the bridge of her nose in thought. “Sombra was a master of manipulation. He could trick the mind into illusions, get into your head. None of the stories end well.”

“But…didn’t you say he’s dead?” Twilight asked.

“That’s what I’m told…but maybe this crystal was some sort of…relic he had. As for how it got here, who knows? There is no limit to dark magic…”

“Just to be sure, is this the same kind of-”

“No.” Sunset quickly interrupted her. “Oh no. The power you-er I mean Midnight Sparkle had doesn’t even compare to him. It’s the kind of magic that scars you internally, it changes you and Sombra was living proof of that.”

“Okay, so if we somehow destroy it, it’ll fix everything?” Twilight hoped.

“Well…honestly I don’t know. I don’t know how we can fix the damage if it keeps worsening.” Sunset sighed as she sat in one of the chairs. “I don’t even want to think of what could happen…”

“It’s my fault isn’t it?” Twilight sighed sadly. “I know I wasn’t in control but…it was my actions that caused this?”

“If we’re going to start blaming ourselves, then it was my fault for stealing that stupid crown in the first place,” Sunset with a grim smile. “Alright, time to change the subject. Have you talked to Timber recently?”

“Wow that was…a complete 180,” Twilight giggled slightly. “Well he’s been…busy with camp stuff lately.”

“Oh yeah? No planned dates coming up?”

Twilight made a dismissive wave with her hand. “What about you? I heard Flash asked you out again.”

“He didn’t-” Sunset stopped as she felt herself blushing slightly. “We’re just friends right now…we kinda had to make our way back to that first.”

“Ooh now who’s getting flustered?” Twilight cooed slightly.

Sunset smirked. “Touché…I guess maybe when this is all over we’ll try to hang out…no dates of course.”

“Well if you two ever do…well, get together again, we could always double date,” Twilight suggested.

“I can’t believe I’m getting outdone by the smart shy girl,” Sunset grinned as Twilight threw a notebook at her.

As night approached, all was calm in downtown Canterlot; everything seemed normal. But for one, she was not fooled. A woman stood at the top of the highest skyscraper and looked upon the city sadly. She wore a cloak that hid her face and her light grayish arctic blue hair.

She had read all the signs and yet she was still too late to stop everything. But she wouldn’t give up just yet. In reality, she wasn’t supposed to be in this world but she didn’t take orders from any of the princesses. None of them knew what she knew.

She was curious about the one named Sunset Shimmer, the only other girl in this world like her. Part of her felt as if she had to help the girl, but for now she would stay in the shadows and wait to see what would happen. She turned around and once she was in the shadow of the building she disappeared completely.

Friday came around and a somewhat relieved Sunny decided to sleep in til about ten o’clock. She had about eight hours til party time so she was left on her own. After eating breakfast, she spent a few hours watching movies while Russell curled up next to her.

Luckily there weren’t any alarming reports on the local news channel. Now that she thought about it, nothing was ever said about the incident at Crystal Prep. Guess Cinch still wanted to keep her reputation intact.

The thought still hadn’t left her, the risk of being expelled. Actually, it wasn’t all bad. Yesterday only confirmed the fact that Cinch was hiding something. But was it just her? Could the building of Crystal Prep Academy have been one giant cover up by the entire city? It seemed ludicrous, but then again a lot of what she had experienced in the last month had been ludicrous as well.

It didn’t matter now. Now, she had to worry about getting that key card, their golden ticket into Crystal Prep. All she had to worry about, other than utterly obnoxious Blueblood, was about a few dozen other students who would be drinking their worries away.

Not her. Other than the occasional glass of wine or champagne, Sunny stayed away from alcohol. She couldn’t say the same about her friends however…

It then occurred to her that despite their little shopping trip yesterday, the girls forgot to ask Twilight if she wanted to join. She felt a little guilty admitting that she, and probably the other girls, weren’t used to having Twilight as a friend. She’d have to change that.

Sunny found Twilight’s number and called her. She picked up on the second ring. “Hello?”

“Hey, you got something to wear for tonight? It’s not casual you know.”

“Oh um…let me check.” It was quiet for a few moments. “Yeah, I think this’ll do.”

“How old is it?”

“Huh?” Apparently the question caught her off guard.

“When did you buy the outfit?”

“Oh…like a couple years ago?”

That settled it. “I’m heading over right now.”

“Wait what?”

“To your house. We’re going to get you something new.”

“Sunny that’s not-”

“I’m asking as a friend…besides it’ll be quality bonding time right?”

“Well…alright…I just need to take a shower first.”

“Then I’ll be over in an hour.”

Twilight couldn’t help but stop in her tracks as she saw the Mercedes convertible in her driveway. Sunny lowered the sunglasses she was wearing and stared at her. “Well, are you getting in or what?”

Twilight stayed silent as she got in and buckled her seatbelt. “This is yours?”

“Yep.” Sunny suddenly pulled out quickly before shifting to drive and speeding down the road. “Don’t worry, I have my license.”

“Right…” “And that’s what worries me,” she thought.

“I know just the place to go for you,” Sunny said as she kept her eyes on the road. “Although I hope you were expecting this to take a few hours.”

“A few hours!?” Twilight stared at her. “How many outfits am I buying again?”

“Wow, you really don’t get out much do you?” Sunny asked. “Look, this might be a one-time thing but that doesn’t mean you can’t have something nice to wear in the future. Hell, maybe you’ll catch someone’s attention.”

“You do know I have a boyfriend right?”

“Really?” Sunny showed genuine surprise. “Well…in that case you can save it for a future date.”

“I’m not sure whether to be insulted or not by the fact that you’re actually surprised by that.”

Sunny ended up taking Twilight down to Fashion Valley Mall, which as one would guess, had many of the top-brand stores there. There was a certain boutique Sunny and the other girls liked to frequent, and while the prices were a bit high, the quality was second to none.

Sunny looked around, finding tops and skirts that would appeal to Twilight’s figure. “Hm…yeah that could work…alright…yeah that should do it.” She then handed Twilight about six different outfits. “Try these on, see what you like.”

“This seems like a bit much…” Twilight frowned.

“You just have to pick one, but let’s see how you look first.”

Twilight sighed and went into the dressing room. Five minutes later she came out with the first outfit from the pile. “Mm…maybe not,” Sunny said. “Next.”

She pretty much had the same response for the next four outfits and even she was starting to worry that she wouldn’t find something that would click with Twilight. However, it was finally the last outfit Sunny found that almost gaping.

“W-What?” Twilight said, looking down. “I’m guessing this is at least a maybe?”

“Not just a maybe,” Sunny smirked. “Wow. I thought it would look good on you but looking at you now I’m more than convinced.”

“Doesn’t it seem a little…revealing though?”

“Not really? Hey, you’re going to stand out either way so at least some people can admire you.”

“Well, let me look at the price…” Twilight suddenly went pale. “I can’t pay for this!”

“It can’t be that bad…” Sunny looked at the price tag and even she was stunned by the price. “Seriously? Is this the only thing not on sale? Figures. Oh well, we’ll just have to bite the bullet on this.”

“This greatly exceeds any allowance I get,” Twilight said. “There has to be something else…”

“Oh screw it, I’ll pay for it.”

“You don’t have to-”

“It’s fine, really,” Sunny said. “Besides, I don’t get to splurge very often anyway.”

Afterwards, the two of them were outside the mall eating pretzels. “Can I ask you something?” Sunny then said.

“What is it?”

“That whole…thing at CHS. You know, the whole alter ego business. Do we have to worry about her?”

Twilight smiled grimly. “Are you asking if I’m suddenly going to snap and turn into her again?”

Sunny grimaced slightly. “Sorry…I shouldn’t have brought it up.”

“No it’s fine…you know, for a while I was worried too. When things started to happen, I thought it was me, or rather subconsciously I thought it was Midnight Sparkle. But eventually I faced my fears and…well let’s just say I sealed her away for good.”

“Midnight Sparkle…that’s kind of a cool nickname.”

Twilight giggled. “Really? Well I suppose it is…I thought she was just some dark persona of myself but…really she is me. Whether I like it or not, she represents the part of me that wants to rebel, to color outside the lines, so to say.”

“Hey, I’m not saying it’s a bad thing but…least now I know you got a spine after all.”

Twilight smiled. “Coming from you, I’ll take that as a compliment.”

Chapter 13

View Online

After leaving the mall, Sunny dropped off Twilight at her house before heading back home. She decided not to tell anyone of their little trip. Maybe Twilight would be able to impress her friends for once.

There were only a few hours to go before the party started so Sunny went ahead and got ready. Indigo gave her a call, letting her and the others know that she’d be the one driving this time and she’d be coming around five thirty. That kind of worried Sunny; even though she tended to drive fast, Indigo always had a need for speed, and it was any wonder the girl even had a driver’s license, and a clean record to boot.

Going to a party like this was much different than school. At school, everyone had the same uniform, but in ways people still stood out. Here was no exception and you had to stand out, obviously in a good way. Sunny wasn’t lost on the fact that some people wouldn’t be too happy to see Twilight. Transferring wasn’t necessarily something to be ashamed of, but doing it by choice and to a school such as Canterlot High, which to almost everyone was still seen as inferior, would rub many the wrong way.

Sugarcoat then gave her a call saying she’d be getting there a bit early but she’d try to do some reconnaissance of the house, her words exact. Sunny didn’t comment on the fact, but she could’ve sworn she heard slight excitement in the girl’s tone.

A little after five thirty, Indigo brought her dad’s Denali up to the driveway. Sunny had made sure to leave her mom a note before leaving. As she got in, she noticed the girls went with the same choice as she had: a small blouse with a matching skirt, in varying colors. “Are we missing someone?” Sunny asked.

“Gotta head to Sparkle’s but then that’s it,” Indigo said as she quickly pulled out of the driveway. “I don’t want to sound mean, but I really hope she doesn’t just wear her old school uniform.” Sunny smiled slightly in the back seat.

They got to Twilight’s house a few minutes later and Indigo honked on the horn. The door soon opened and Twilight came out. Sunny glanced around and saw everyone’s jaws drop.

Indigo decided to pull the windows down. “Damn girrlll…”

Twilight was wearing a red summer dress with matching heels and carrying a small bag. She stopped in her tracks and looked down. “What? Don’t tell me I got something on this already?”

“No I mean damn girl I think you put us all to shame,” Indigo said. “Well come on, we got a party to go to.”

Twilight got inside and sat next to Sunny who gave her a wink as she smiled. “Oh…I get it now,” Sour said as the SUV took off. “What the hell Sunny? I thought this was semi-casual.”

“It was an emergency,” Sunny replied. “Besides, you have like four dresses of your own.”

“Well I think the color fits her,” Lemon said. “She’s definitely going to be turning heads.”

“You got that right.” The voice came from Twilight’s bag as Spike popped his head out. “Good thing she already has a boyfriend.”

“Wait, you’re bringing the dog too?” Sour asked.

“I can’t leave him alone at home!” Twilight argued.

“Isn’t Blueblood allergic to dogs?” Indigo asked.

“Is that supposed to make me feel bad?”

“Hm…fair point.”

Blueblood’s house was on the other side of the city. Actually, it wasn’t even accurate to call it a house but instead a mansion. Blueblood came from a very wealthy family and as far as Twilight knew, they didn’t really interact with Celestia or Luna very often.

The front gates had been left open for easy access, and they saw that a number of people had already shown up. “Oh man I really they’re not…yep they’re already here,” Indigo groaned.

“Well, are you really surprised?” Sour asked. “Those two and Blueblood are probably the only people who anything in common with one another. It’s going to be quite ‘smuggy’ in there.”

“Who exactly are we talking about?” Twilight asked.

“If you have to ask, you’ve been spared having to deal with them,” Sunny said. “Just…don’t make eye contact with them.”

Once they got out and made their way towards the house, they could see it was starting to fill up quickly. Once they got inside, they truly got to see how wealthy the Blueblood family was. The mansion had two floors with a large staircase in the middle. There were two doors on either side of the first floor, most likely going to the kitchen and grand room, while the second floor contained mostly of the bedrooms. A DJ was currently on the first floor with speakers connected all over the first floor.

“Oh man, how are we supposed to find his room now?” Indigo groaned.

“Wait, you mean you’ve never been here before?” Twilight asked.

“We wouldn’t come within five hundred meters if we didn’t have to,” Sour replied.

“Okay, then we’ll have to search every room there is,” Sunny said. “Once we know where Blueblood is we can-”

“Sunny Flare is that you!?”

Sunny grit her teeth slightly and took a deep breath before turning around and smiling. “Jet Set! Upper Crust! What a surprise!”

“We can certainly say the same, we certainly weren’t expecting to see you here,” Upper Crust said, insisting on giving the girl a hug whether Sunny liked it or not.

“Oh…well it was quite the week, wouldn’t you think?” Sunny asked.

“Very much so. It’ll be great to finally graduate,” Upper Crust replied. “Oh, I don’t think I’ve had the pleasure of meeting your friends.”

Sunny made the quick introductions. “And uh…of course you must know Twilight.”

“Oh yes,” Jet Set said, giving Twilight a hard look. “If I may ask, how is life at CHS?”

“Oh it’s good…very good,” Twilight said.

“Now now Jet, no need to give the girl a hard time,” Upper Crust said. “Crystal Prep is a very tough environment for some so perhaps it was too much for her.” Twilight wasn’t sure whether this was supposed to be an insult or not.

“Upper Crust, you should know better than to assume things like that.” Sugarcoat and Royal Pin came up to them, both dressed quite formally. Sunny nodded to her friend slightly, thankful for the rescue.

“Oh Sugarcoat, Royal Pin, you two look so adorable,” Upper Crust gushed. “Did we have a nice dinner before coming here, hmm?”

Both Sugarcoat and Royal looked away uncomfortably. “No, we’re just here as friends that’s all,” Royal said. “Actually, I think I’m going to get something to drink…Say Upper Crust, Jet, why don’t you tell me about the arrangements you two made this summer.” He then ushered both of them away while glancing over at Sugarcoat and nodding slightly.

“Wow, talk about Royal to the rescue,” Indigo said. “I swear, even when she talks its super annoying.”

“Royal’s good about picking up cues…and he knows well enough that most of us aren’t fans of those two,” Sugarcoat said. “So, here we all are now. What’s the plan?”

“Well first of all, Crust was right, you do look amazing Sugar,” Sunny grinned slightly.

Sugarcoat blushed slightly but waved it off. “It’s nothing really…although I admit Twilight looks nice as well. Sunny went shopping for you didn’t she?”

Twilight sighed. “Yes…”

“Anyway, we need to find Blueblood’s room…speaking of which where is he?” Sunny asked.

“Well you know him, he likes to make a grand entrance,” Sugarcoat said. Suddenly the lights started to dim. “…Like right about now.”

The music had cut off mid track but now a new song played. As it started, spotlights suddenly turned on and were dancing around the room. They kept going around until they started to slow and moved towards the top of the stairs where someone was standing. Blueblood was wearing a rather expensive suit with matching pants and a pair of aviators. He also apparently had about four other guys with him. With a slight smile, he pulled out a microphone.

“Players…put yo’ pinky rings up to the moon!” He then started walking down. “Girls, what y’all trying to do? Twenty-four karat magic in the air…head to toe so player! Look out!

“Pop pop, its show time!”

“Show time!”

“Guess who’s back again!? Oh they don’t know?”

“Go on tell ‘em!”

“Oh they don’t know!?”

“Go on tell ‘em!”

“I bet they know soon as we walk in.”

“Showin’ up!”

“Wearing Cuban links.”

“Yeah!”

“Designer minks.”

“Yeah!”

“Inglewood’s finest shoes.”

“Whoop whoop!”

“Don’t look too hard might hurt ya’self, known to give the color red the blues!”

“Oh shit!” Blueblood then threw out a whole bunch of bills. “I’m a dangerous man with some money in my pocket.”

“Keep up!”

“So many pretty girls around me and they waking up the rocket.”

“Keep up!”

“Why you mad? Fix ya face, ain’t my fault y’all be jocking.”

“Keep up!”

“Players only, come on. Put yo’ pinky rings up to the moon! Girls, what y’all trying to do? Twenty-four karat magic in the air…head to toe so player! Look out!”

“Second verse for the hustlas!”

“Hustlas!”

“Gangstas!”

“Bad bitches and ya ugly ass friends!”

“Can I preach?”

“Uh oh!”

“Can I preach?”

“Uh oh!”

“I gotta show ‘em how a pimp get it in. First, take your sip, do your dip, spend your money like-”

“MONEY AIN’T SHIT!” the entire mansion yelled.

“We too fresh, gotta blame it on Lauren.”

“Hashtag blessed!”

“They ain’t ready for me!”

“I’m a dangerous man with some money in my pocket.”

“Keep up!”

“So many pretty girls around me and they waking up the rocket.”

“Keep up!”

“Why you mad? Fix ya face, ain’t my fault y’all be jocking.”

“Keep up!”

“Players only, come on. Put yo’ pinky rings up to the moon! Hey girls, what y’all trying to do? Twenty-four karat magic in the air…head to toe so player! Look out!”

“Everywhere I go they be like…”

“Ooh so player!”

“Everywhere I go they be like…”

“Ooh so player!”

“Everywhere I go they be like…”

“Ooh so player!” Lemon suddenly yelled before getting jabbed in the side by Indigo.

“Now watch me break it down like-!”

“Twenty four karat, twenty four karat magic!”

“What’s that sound?”

“Twenty four karat, twenty four karat magic!”

“Come on now!”

“Twenty four karat, twenty four karat magic!”

“Don’t fight the feeling, invite the feeling!

“Just put yo’ pinky rings up to the moon! Girls, what y’all trying to do? Twenty-four karat magic in the air…head to toe so player! Look out!”

The track finally ended and everyone cheered for him. Well, mostly everyone. “Damn, it really did get smuggy in here,” Indigo muttered.

“Thank you, thank you everyone!” Blueblood said, ditching the microphone and taking off his aviators. “It’s so great to have all my friends here, especially this year. I know, I know, it is sad this is going to be my last year at Crystal Prep but that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy ourselves! Speaking of enjoyment, I heard quite the rumor today. An old friend of mine who recently transferred is here tonight.”

“Oh no…” Twilight whispered.

“And that friend is none other than Twilight Sparkle! Twilight, where are you, come on out!” The room suddenly went quiet as many pairs of eyes turned in her direction. All of a sudden, bad memories were starting to surface in Twilight’s head. Some were muttering to themselves while others seemed to be giving her death stares.

“Now now everyone don’t be like!” Blueblood assured them. “Once a Shadowbolt, always a Shadowbolt and Sparkle is no exception! Come on over Sparkle its cool!”

Much against her will, Twilight decided to step forward, still being stared at. “Um…hi everyone.”

“This could get really ugly,” Sour whispered.

“Then we better hurry,” Sunny said. “Sugarcoat, can you keep an eye on Twilight so no one tries to kill her?”

“That’s fine, I need to go find Royal anyway,” Sugarcoat replied.

The four girls casually went upstairs and looked down the large hallway. “Alright, I guess we each pick a door,” Sunny said. “I’m going to assume the largest one is the master bedroom so we can count that one out.”

Unfortunately, as they quickly found out, all the doors save the bathrooms were locked. “Well, I guess Blueblood is smarter than he looks,” Sunny said. “Alright, new plan: we need to get Blueblood to open his door somehow.”

“Like how, ask him nicely?” Indigo asked.

Sunny looked slightly uncomfortable. “I didn’t want it to come to this but…someone’s gonna have to-”

“Nope!” Sour suddenly yelled. “I’m going to stop you right there…We’re not doing that.”

“Well someone has to!” Sunny snapped. “You think anyone else is going to!?”

“If we’re putting this to a vote…I’m voting Lemon,” Indigo said.

“What!?” Lemon yelled.

“Well it can’t be me, I don’t think he likes his girls too muscular,” Indigo said.

“And he likes girls with long hair so I’m out,” Sunny said.

“He probably thinks I’m crazy so unless he’s got a fetish for that I think I don’t have a chance either.”

“Well…he’s not wrong-”

“Shut the fuck up Indigo!”

“Wait a minute…are you guys calling me ‘easy’!?” Lemon snapped.

“No way!” Indigo said. “You’re just….well…you I guess.”

“Bitch.” Lemon sighed. “Fine, but if he touches anything and I mean anything, I’m sending him to the emergency room.”

“Alright, but before you do that, you have to make sure to play the part well,” Sunny said.

“Meaning?”

“How good is your tolerance level?”

Meanwhile, Blueblood was continuing his little speech, and seemed to be enjoying every single moment of it. Twilight felt the complete opposite. “Now you guys know Shining Armor right? He’s a great guy. We’ve been buds since we were ten.”

“That’s because he felt bad for you,” Twilight said.

There were a few chuckles in the crowd as Blueblood paused in surprise. He then burst out laughing. “That’s a good one Sparkle! Haha, no really. I think she’s still kind of sour cause we both used to tease her a lot. I admit I probably took it just a little too far…”

The smugness of his character and the fact that he was downplaying the entire thing made Twilight want to go over and knock his lights out. Rainbow Dash had been teaching her to how hit someone properly, although until now she didn’t find a reason for it.

“But that’s enough about me and Sparkle, we got all night to celebrate and, well, you all know me, I always like to end things with a bang!”

Blueblood then walked off to get a drink while everyone else went back to what they were doing, whether it was dancing, chattering, or getting something to snack on. Twilight then looked around and found the others huddled near the bar area.

“I’m assuming by your looks you weren’t able to find it yet?” Twilight asked. “And…what is she doing?”

Lemon was too busy taking shots. The look on her face told everyone she wasn’t used to drinking liquor. “We kind of had to resort to Plan B,” Sunny said.

“If I’m doing this…I don’t even want to remember it, even if I end up puking my guts out,” Lemon said miserably as she took another shot of tequila. “Ugh, this stuff is terrible!”

“Lemon Zest, what the hell are you doing!?” Sugarcoat was coming over and staring at her friend in shock.

Lemon smiled slightly. “Apparently I’m getting fucked up…hopefully not literally.”

“We had no choice, and don’t worry we’re not letting her get plastered,” Indigo said as she took away the shot glasses. “Now give it like five minutes and it’ll kick in, trust me.”

“I think it already is…” Lemon coughed. “I’m such a lightweight…you guys are going to owe me big time.”

“I think she’s gonna have to stay at my place tonight,” Indigo said as she rubbed Lemon’s back gently.

“Lemon listen, you just need to get him to unlock the door,” Sunny told her. “We’ll keep an eye on you, we promise. Once he does that, we make our move.”

“You ready for this?” Sour asked.

“Nope…but I guess its better this way,” Lemon said as she stumbled across the room.

“How many shots did she drink exactly?” Twilight asked.

“She started off strong but…she couldn’t go more than seven,” Indigo said.

“Seven!?” Both Twilight and Sugarcoat stared at her.

Meanwhile, Blueblood was speaking to a group of people, including Jet Set and Upper Crust. “Yeah, those finals were a piece of cake personally,” Blueblood said. “Of course, with me going to the best university in the state, it’s not so surprising is it?”

“Oh Blueblood~”

He looked over and saw a girl walking towards him with a wide smile on her face. “Oh um…Lemon Zest right?”

“That’s right…I think I overdid it and need to lay down somewhere…”

Already? That was fast, even by his standards. Still, he wasn’t going to leave the poor girl hanging. “Ah…well I’m sure there’s a couch or something around here to rest on.”

“Or…we could go upstairs…~”

Interesting. He didn’t know the girl very well, other than the fact she always carried around a pair of headphones. But he couldn’t deny that the girl was very cute. After all, the night was still young and if the girl wanted to be frisky, maybe he’d have more luck later on. “I suppose we could do that…” He then cleared his throat and looked back to the group. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to help this girl find a place to rest.”

He then escorted her upstairs while the girl stumbled slightly going up the stairs. It looked innocent enough but if anyone happened to be watching they knew otherwise. The girls casually followed from a safe distance.

“You’ll have to excuse me, you never know when someone feels like they have to go steal something,” Blueblood said as they reached his door and pulled out a key.

“Ooh like what?” Lemon asked.

“Very valuable things,” Blueblood said discreetly as he opened the door. To no surprise, the room was bigger than any of the rooms the girls had at their homes. “Impressive isn’t it?”

“Yes. Very.” Lemon suddenly pushed him with surprising strength and he fell and landed on his bed.

Okay, the girl was friskier than he imagined but he wasn’t complaining. However, as he looked up, he realized it wasn’t just Lemon in his room now.

“Hello Blueblood,” Twilight glared at him while the other girls surrounded her.

“What the? Sparkle? Sorry ladies, I don’t do uh…not with six of you. Especially not with you Sparkle, that’s just weird.”

“In your dreams,” Indigo scoffed. “We know you got a keycard to the school and you’re going to give it to us.”

Blueblood stared at them. He didn’t offer a rebuttal, or a denial of whatever they were talking about. Instead, his face crept into a smirk. “Oh really? I didn’t think you were the type of girls who wanted to break into the school.”

“We’re not going to steal anything, like you have,” Sugarcoat said. “Just make it easy for us and give us what we want.”

“Or what? You’re going to report me?” Blueblood asked. “You’ve got nothing on me. No proof or anything.”

“That’s true…we had no evidence,” Twilight said. “However, you did just admit that you indeed have a card and that pretty much connects you to the theft of school property.” She then pulled out a recording device from her bag. “And it’s all recorded on here now, thanks to your big mouth.”

Blueblood suddenly went pale. “I uh…c-come on ladies maybe we can work something out here…this is more than the card isn’t it? You know what I’m worth, I can always-”

“Alright, will you please shut up already!?” Surprisingly, this came from Twilight who got into his face. “It’s bad enough that I had to come here in the first place, and then once again get humiliated by you in front of everyone and now you want to weasel your way out of this!?”

Suddenly, Blueblood realized his feet were no longer touching the ground. “W-What is this!?”

“Oh don’t act so surprised Blueblood,” Twilight said. “I’m sure everyone here told you what happened at the Friendship Games.”

“Oh Faust…this is witchcraft!”

“Now you see Blueblood, I’m the one in charge, I call the shots now!”

“Take it down a notch,” Sunny cautioned her.

“I-I can have you arrested right now for assault!” Blueblood yelled at her.

“Assault!? I’ll show you assault!” Suddenly Blueblood yelped in a combination of fear, panic, and surprise as he felt his boxers being pulled up very uncomfortably.

“Yeah, I’d love to see you explain to the police that you got assaulted by a girl…with magic,” Sour said.

“Hey Blueblood, have you seen…oh…” Royal Pin was standing at the door and Sunny wished she had closed the door before.

“Royal Pin! Thank Faust! You gotta call the cops right now! This girl is dangerous and belongs in a mental asylum!” Blueblood yelled at him.

Royal Pin stared at the whole scene for a moment. “Well…if I do that you could get arrested for supplying alcohol to minors.”

“…Damn it. Well who cares, this girl is trying to kill me!”

“Well no offense Blueblood, but you kind of had it coming,” Royal Pin said, giving him a hard look. “I’ll uh…head back downstairs and let you girls finish whatever you’re doing here.” He smiled at Sugarcoat who returned it before he left.

“You…you traitor!”

“He’s way more of a man than you are,” Sugarcoat glared at him. “And again, you’re forgetting where you are right now.”

“Last chance. Tell us where it is or else you’ll lose the means of having an heir to the family,” Twilight threatened him.

“Do it anyway,” Spike said in her bag.

“Okay okay! It’s…in the first drawer behind you.”

Sunny went over and looked through the drawer until she found a small blank card. “Got it,” she said.

“You got what you want so…can you let me go now?” Blueblood pleaded.

Twilight gave him a hard look before she let him go, making him hit the floor instead of the bed. “Glad we finally understand one another Blueblood,” she said sweetly. Blueblood just groaned as the group left his room.

“Damn Sparkle, remind me never to piss you off,” Indigo said as they went downstairs.

“Sorry, it’s kind of easy to get upset when you have to deal with someone like him for years,” Twilight said.

Royal Pin was standing near the entrance. “Ah, finished already?” he asked. “Don’t worry, it’s not my place to ask what’s going on. Whatever happened to Blueblood I don’t particularly feel bad for him.”

“Thank you for not ratting us out,” Sunny said. “But I think we may have to get going now.”

“Yeah, I don’t think this whole thing is to my liking after all,” Royal Pin replied. He then looked to Sugarcoat. “It is still kind of early though so…maybe we can stop somewhere for a bite to eat? If that’s alright.”

“Actually…that sounds rather nice,” Sugarcoat said. She then looked to the others. “Sorry, I’m going to be hanging out with Royal for a bit longer.”

“That’s fine,” Sunny said. “We’ll see you tomorrow then.” She then gave Royal a wry smile as the rest of them headed back to the SUV.

“How you feeling Lemon?” Indigo asked.

“Like I’m going to feel like shit tomorrow,” Lemon replied. “But it’s alright…even if I feel bad that whole scene was worth it.”

“Speaking of which,” Sunny said. She then pulled out the card and handed it to Twilight. “I think you’ve earned this.”

“Me?” Twilight asked.

“Yeah, we kinda put you up to this after all,” Sunny said. “So you deserve all the credit.”

“Are you absolutely sure Blueblood won’t try anything?” Twilight asked.

Sour giggled. “Are you kidding me? No man, especially Blueblood, will ever admit he got hustled by a group of women.”

Afterwards, Twilight was dropped off back at her house and as soon as she was back inside she was ready to crash on the couch. “Well, that went better than expected,” Spike said as he jumped out of her bag.

“Yeah, I’m certainly glad the cops weren’t called, and I hope they won’t be at all,” Twilight replied, laying her head back. “It wasn’t all bad though.”

“Least you got to relieve about five years of stress right?” Spike asked with a sly grin.

Twilight returned the grin. “You know, I wasn’t exactly bluffing about what I said.”

“Oh I know. Midnight Sparkle certainly would’ve done it.”

“Very funny.”

“But hey, you’re getting better with your magic right?”

“True.” Twilight thought about it. “I mean, it was mostly my emotions going off but at least I didn’t accidentally send him through the roof.”

Suddenly, her cell phone went off and she saw that Sunset was calling. “So…how’d it go?” she asked.

“Well, we got what we needed so I think we’re all ready for tomorrow,” Twilight replied.

“And…?”

“And what?”

“What happened? Come on, I want details!”

“Well, let’s just say…” Twilight explained what went down and at one point Sunset had dropped her phone because she was laughing so hard.

Chapter 14

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Indigo heard her alarm clock go off and reached out a hand to turn it off. It took three tries before she managed to hit the snooze button. Groaning slightly, she turned to her side and noticed the covers were hard to pull, as if something was sitting on them. Now that she thought about it, the bed did kind of feel warm.

Her eyes shot open as she turned over and saw Lemon sleeping on the other side of her bed. “Oh you gotta be fucking kidding me…what the fuck Lemon!?”

Lemon groaned slightly as she opened her eyes slowly. “Huh…Indigo? What are you doing in my bed…?”

“Your bed!? This is my bed!” Indigo snapped. “When the hell did you come in here!?”

Lemon got up slowly and looked around. “Huh…that’s a good question…”

Indigo quickly got out and put on a t-shirt. “You know, if someone came in here this would look really bad.”

“Why? Cause we’re both in the same bed?”

“Yes because we’re in the same bed!” Indigo yelled. “Were you so out of it you can’t even remember coming here?”

“…It looks that way.”

“Ugh…” Indigo facepalmed. “Well…how are you feeling anyway? Bad hangover?”

“Actually I feel fine,” Lemon said as she got up. “I mean, I must’ve slept like a baby but other than feeling thirsty I don’t feel sick at all. I wonder with super strength I got super tolerance.”

“…Yeah that’s pushing it…” Indigo said.

“But I sure am starving too so…breakfast?”

Indigo rolled her eyes and smiled. “Yeah sure. Let me just get dressed real quick. And by the way, this doesn’t leave the room.”

“Gotcha. But you know Indigo, I only say this as a compliment and nothing else but…girlll you got a nice bod.”

“Get out.”

Sugarcoat was eating breakfast in the dining room with her parents. Jacques had been kind enough to make omelettes for everyone. Her mother and father were talking about work but Sugarcoat had other things on her mind.

The small date at the café had gone well enough. She knew that both she and Royal weren’t quite used to the whole dating thing but it was still pleasant. He didn’t say anything more about what happened at the party or if something else was going on. It also ended with a slightly awkward hug. But even so, his touch was actually comforting. For now, she wasn’t going to say anything to her parents about it.

However, she was also thinking about tonight. She wasn’t worried about getting out, that wouldn’t be an issue at all. It was more about what they would discover at Crystal Prep, or rather below it. Did they even know how to get down there? Well, if anyone can figure it out it would be Twilight.

After she was finished eating, Jacques came and took away their plates, but not before giving Sugarcoat a slight grin and a wink. If she didn’t care so much for her dear butler, she would’ve killed him right there.

Later on in the day, both groups showed up at Twilight’s once again. She was currently showing them a layout of the school. “I’ve been spending the last couple of days trying to figure out a connection between the school and the mine,” Twilight explained. “As of now, I haven’t quite found it yet. One would think it would be in the basement but…”

“Uh, question?” Rainbow asked. “How do we even know there is a way down? I thought they said the mine was collapsed.”

“It’s true…but I can’t help but feel Cinch is trying to hide something,” Twilight replied. “And if all that was true, then why try to keep us off the case?”

“Are you girls sure you want to risk your education for this?” Fluttershy asked.

“We kinda already made up our minds,” Indigo said. “Besides, this is more important right?”

Twilight made no comment. She had super careful not to leave any sign that she had been in Cinch’s files, but it seemed as if Cinch had software on her computer that could detect when something is being accessed. Software she regretfully hadn’t been aware of. “Anyway, this may be a bit of a long shot but…I think we’ll find the clue inside Cinch’s office.”

“You really want to go in there again?” Sunny asked.

“Well, it makes sense,” Sunset replied. “If there is some secret passage you wouldn’t want one of the students to find it by accident right?”

“So how do we get in Cinch’s office then?” Sugarcoat asked. “We’re definitely not going to her place and stealing her keys.”

“Uh…is anyone good at lockpicking?” Twilight asked. Indigo grinned and raised a hand.

“Well that’s no surprise really,” Sour said. She then looked at her watch. “Well…we got about eight hours ‘til show time so… what do we do ‘til then?”

“Well, you’re all welcome to stay here tonight,” Twilight said. “Fluttershy, are your parents okay with you keeping the van here?”

“Oh, I think so,” Fluttershy replied. “As long as there isn’t some animal emergency.”

“So…is anyone hungry for pizza? Cause I’m totally craving pizza right now,” Lemon said.

“Dude, we went to IHOP this morning!” Indigo stared at her.

“I told you it’s my metabolism!”

“Ooh ooh does that mean we’re throwing a party!?” Pinkie said happily. “I know what we can do. I can bring my karaoke machine and we can sing-”

“Nope!” Sour suddenly cut her off. “We’re not singing any songs in this…actually how many songs you got on that thing?”

“All the way up to 2017 of course!”

“Well, if we’re going to do that, then I can bring my styling kits!” Rarity squealed. “We can get manicures, get the nails painted-”

“We’re going into a dirty ol’ mine and ya want to paint nails!?” Applejack snapped.

“Darling please, considering we’re going to be possibly some evil being we might as well look our best! That’s why I hope it isn’t too dusty down there.”

“Hey Twilight, does your brother have Rock Band?” Rainbow asked. “I wanna show off to Indigo here who the best is when it comes to guitar playing?”

“Seriously? Anyone can play Rock Band,” Indigo rolled her eyes.

“I’ll let you play bass.”

“…Fine. But I get to choose the songs.”

“I want to play drums!” Lemon said.

“Uh…let me go look, it’s probably in the attic somewhere,” Twilight said as she got up.

“So…when exactly are your parents coming back?” Sunset asked.

“I think…next week?” Twilight asked as she went upstairs.

“Well, at least we won’t have to tell them anything,” Spike said. “They don’t even know about what happened at the Friendship Games.”

“Seriously?” Sunset asked.

“Well, would you want to hear that your daughter turned into a she-demon?”

“Fair point…”

As night approached, the girls were full on pizza, drinks and everything else that Pinkie managed to order. “And you’re absolutely sure the cameras aren’t turned on right now?” Sunset asked.

“Absolutely,” Twilight said as the Rainbooms got into the van. The other girls were taking Sugarcoat’s Mercedes. “The key card will come up in the registry but it’ll at best confuse anyone who looks at it.”

“No guards or anything?” Rarity asked.

“The security is supposed to be pretty good, but if an alarm does go off the security guard won’t be far away. You can be sure of that.” She then paused. “That’s right, this is the first time going there for all of you isn’t it?”

“Well…” both Pinkie and Rainbow managed to say.

“Some girls decided to spy on the competition last month,” Applejack explained.

“Like they wouldn’t have!” Rainbow rebutted. She glanced at Twilight. “No offense.”

Sunset had explained earlier that she had to go back to CHS to meet with someone. It took about a half hour but soon they were at Canterlot High. “She’s not here yet,” Sunset said.

“Well, maybe she got held up in something?” Applejack suggested.

“She would have told me,” Sunset said, as she looked through the journal. There weren’t any new messages. They waited about fifteen minutes before giving up. Sunset then decided to write to Princess Twilight that they were already going ahead with the plan and would meet up with her later.

In less than thirty minutes, they were at Crystal Prep. The two cars parked far away from the school to avoid suspicion. “My goodness, this place is quite magnificent,” Rarity said in awe.

“Really? I think it’s quite intimidating…” Fluttershy muttered.

“You get used to it the longer you go here,” Sugarcoat said as the Crystal Prep girls showed up. “Well, let’s get started then.”

The group of girls made their way through the hole in the fence nearby and made their way towards the entrance. Twilight then pulled out the key card. “Moment of truth,” she said before tapping it against the scanner. The light turned green and the door unlocked. “Thank you very much Blueblood.”

It was dark and quiet inside, save for the sound of their footsteps. Sunny had to admit, with it being dark and empty, it certainly was kind of creepy here. “Cinch’s office is just down the hallway,” she said. “I hope you’re as good as you say Indigo.”

“Oh ye of little faith,” Indigo scoffed as she pulled out two hairpins from her pocket. Once they got to the door, she started putting them into the keyhole.

“Hold on a second,” Applejack said. “How do we know Cinch don’t got some security alarm in her office as well.”

“Well…we don’t know,” Twilight said. “But I think it’s too late to turn back now.”

It took Indigo only about a minute before she heard a click. “Bingo.” She then turned the knob and the door opened slightly.

“Not bad.” Rainbow said. “Not bad at all.”

As the girls from Canterlot High would soon figure out, Cinch’s office certainly was not so inviting. Aside from her desk, she had bookshelves on either side of the room along with artwork on the walls and statues on different corners of the room.

“This…might take awhile,” Sunset said.

Spike popped his head out of Twilight’s bag. “Yep, I can just smell the smugness in the air here.”

“So…where do we start?” Pinkie asked.

“Always start with the bookshelf,” Lemon said. She got looks from everyone. “What? They do it in the movies all the time!”

“Well, I certainly wouldn’t put it past her,” Sour said as the group went around the room.

Sunny checked out every single book on the right bookshelf to see if it would activate anything while looking behind the shelf as well. She took out a small flashlight and looked in the back. The shelf itself was flat but Sunny then noticed something round near the right corner. “You can’t be serious…” She felt around it and indeed it felt as if it could be pushed, so that’s exactly what she did.

However, she was surprised to see that it wasn’t this bookshelf that started moving but the opposite one. Unfortunately, that gave both Fluttershy and Sour a shock as they both yelped and jumped back. The bookshelf moved all the way to the left, leaving a large hole in the wall. Instead of a passageway though, there was a small platform with a metal railing. “I think we just found our way down,” Twilight said, looking at the old elevator. “And here I thought I was grasping at straws…”

Unfortunately, there was no way they could go down in one group. “So…who wants to go down into the creepy dark mine first?” Rainbow asked.

“Ah, Ah’m sure it’s nothing,” Applejack said as she volunteered first along with Sugarcoat and Indigo. She pushed the button and the elevator made a loud clang before heading down. It sounded as if it kept going on and on but eventually the motor stopped running.

“Well, I don’t hear any screaming so that’s a good sign,” Sunset said.

“Unless um…something’s waiting down there,” Fluttershy said.

“Real helpful Flutters,” Rainbow muttered.

They were able to call the elevator back up and took turns going down. As was expected, the area underneath was dark, damp, and slightly suffocating. “Okay, now this can’t be right,” Sunset said as she turned on a flashlight. “This mine was never collapsed, was it?”

“I’m starting to think the same thing,” Twilight said. “I think I see light up ahead. We better check it out.”

As it turned out, the light coming from ahead wasn’t man-made, but rather the natural glow of the crystals that covered parts of the walls. “Wow…after all my years in Equestria I’ve never seen anything like this,” Sunset said, staring at the crystals in awe.

“This must be the crystallium they discovered,” Sunny said. “There is certainly a large amount of it left here, so it makes you wonder why they left the mine in the first place.”

They continued on, guided by the soft glow of the crystals. “Hey guys…maybe it’s just my Pinkie Sense but…doesn’t it feel like there’s a current going through your body?”

“Yeah…like a sudden adrenaline rush,” Rainbow said.

“Our powers are reacting to something,” Sunset said. She placed a hand against the wall to steady herself and suddenly her mind went black.

There were two men in what looked like a large chamber with a solid black crystal in the background. One man looked frantic while the other seemed unnerved, though Sunset wasn’t sure why.

“I’m telling you, there’s nothing natural about that crystal,” the frantic man said. “Have you put your ear up to it? I did it yesterday and I swear I heard a pulse of some kind.”

“You’re hearing things,” the second man said. “It’s a crystal, an inanimate object.”

“But what if it isn’t?” the first man said. “You’ve seen what happened to the others. They got horribly violent, said they heard voices. You’re telling me that’s normal?”

“Look…I admit the thing creeps me out too but like I said it’s-” He suddenly stopped. “What’s that sound?”

“Oh no…it’s beating again,” the frantic man said. “It’s like its awakening!”

“Come on, don’t be stupid I’ts just-”

Suddenly, a dark shape shot out of the crystal and grabbed both men before somehow pulling them into the crystal itself. They didn’t even have time to scream.

Sunset suddenly came back to reality as she felt herself taking deep breaths. “Sunset, what’s wrong?” Twilight asked, putting a hand on her shoulder.

“I…I saw something…” Sunset said. “I touched the wall and…”

“You had a vision?” Rarity asked.

“Yeah…” Sunset looked up at the others. “They were right…that crystal isn’t from this world…in fact I think its something much more sinister.”

“I got a bad feeling about this…” Fluttershy said.

“We can’t stop now,” Twilight said. “If it’s Equestrian in nature, we can stop it…right?”

Sunset smiled. “Yeah.” Still, she wondered if it even was a crystal…or something even worse.

The path started sloping down and as the feeling of uneasiness increased, everyone was aware they were getting closer to their destination. Finally, the pathway evened out and they were suddenly in a larger chamber. But they weren’t able to keep their eyes off of what was in the center.

A large black crystal, the one everyone was talking about and the one Sunset had scene in her vision. It looked as if it had been carved, and yet it was still attached to the ground. “That’s it…” Sunset said. “That’s exactly what I saw.”

It was both beautiful and intimidating at the same time. However, the closer they got to it, the louder a sudden ringing in their ears became. “Ow…my head is starting to hurt…” Fluttershy said.

“Y-Yeah…me too…” Rainbow said. “What’s going on?”

“It’s the crystal…it’s giving off some sort of energy,” Twilight said.

“That is correct.” The group looked up and on the other side of the chamber Principal Cinch was calmly walking up to the crystal.

“You…!?” Sour said.

“I’m not sure why you’re so surprised,” Cinch said. “After all, the pathway here did start in my office…speaking of which, I thought I was pretty clear about sticking your noses into this.”

“Just what the hell is this!?” Sunny yelled. “You knew about this the whole time and yet you’ve kept it a secret?”

“Of course I did,” Cinch said with a smile. “When I first became principal of this school, this was bit of a secret. The former principal before me knew of it as well but it only seems now that it had finally reacted to something and I can only guess its because of what happened at the Friendship Games.”

“Of course,” Sunset said. “It’s reacting to Equestrian magic, which means this is from Equestria itself!”

“I know nothing of where it came from, but from all the research I did, I could tell it was not natural nor created in this world,” Cinch continued. “But then I realized something. If Canterlot High has become a hub of… magic users, what’s to say that Crystal Prep can’t do the same. In fact Miss Flare, it would seem you and your friends have become the first candidates.”

“What!?” Twilight yelled.

“Are you insane!?” Sugarcoat stared at her. “You’re messing with forces you don’t understand all because of competition!?”

“I have little experience with it, but I can sense this is dark magic, worse than anything Twilight ever possessed,” Sunset said. “If you unleash this magic, it’ll only make things worse!”

“I’m afraid it’s too late for that,” Cinch said, her smile never fading. “It seems as soon as magic crossed into this world it’s fate was sealed.”

Suddenly, the crystal started to glow. “It seems to be reacting to all of you…perhaps you should’ve stayed away after all.” The crystal began to glow brighter and brighter and soon started to crack.

“Twilight…” Sunset warned her.

“You’re right…we have to-” But it was too late.

The crystal suddenly shattered as dark vapor erupted from it. It wavered in the air for a few moments before it started to change shape. It became more rounded and elongated before it started taking the shape of a figure.

It was suddenly on its hands and knees as the figure became more defined, more solid. It had the appearance of a woman and suddenly had long dark hair and its body clothed in what looked like an almost revealing dress with armor covering her wrists, shoulders and calves. Her eyes opened, her pupils mere slits like that of a cat.

She got to her feet slowly and looked around. Her gaze was unwavering and enough to strike fear straight into one’s soul. She looked down at her body and a small smile crept onto her lips. “So…” she said, her voice slightly deep with a sickening sweetness. “After all these months…I’ve finally been reborn again.” She closed her eyes and grinned in pleasure. “Oh yes…such negative feelings…who would’ve thought such a place would be the perfect womb.”

She then opened her eyes again and looked at the others. “And a welcoming party as well…I’m very much obliged.” She then turned to Cinch. “You seem like the leader…are you the one who awakened me?”

“I…yes,” Cinch said. Even she was unnerved by this…thing. “The school of Canterlot High has become a place of magic users and such a threat to all of us here at Crystal Prep Academy. Please, lend us your powers!”

The woman stared at her for a moment before she started giggling, which then turned to laughter. “You think of me as a goddess that would give you power as a gift for waking me? How naïve…As it turns out, I don’t care about who has what. What I do care about are these girls…they have power as well. You can leave now.”

She snapped her fingers and suddenly Cinch disappeared. The woman returned her gaze upon the other girls. “Yes…I feel a familiar presence…but who…ah…yes now I see.”

Suddenly, the woman was right behind Sunset, too close for comfort. “I thought I felt a familiar presence…” she whispered into Sunset’s ear. Sunset would have jerked away but for some reason she couldn’t move. “Yes…you are Equestrian. So nice to meet a…familiar face in this odd world.” Her touch against Sunset’s skin only made the feeling worse.

“W-Who…?” Sunset could only manage to say.

“Your confusion tells me you never heard of me,” the woman said. “Well…that won’t do.”

She was suddenly in front of them again. “Perhaps you know this story. A thousand years ago, Princess Luna gave into the darkness of her heart, and Nightmare Moon was born. She wanted to rule all of Equestria and blanket it with constant darkness. Not too bad in my opinion. But unfortunately, her dear sister did the only thing she could and banished her to the moon for a thousand years.

“Of course, she would eventually return and while she was ultimately defeated and expunged of the darkness in her heart, there was still regret. Regret that gave way to fear that she was dangerous and would never be trusted again. In that case, she wanted to punish herself, for as long as she lived. And that, my friends, is where I come in.”

The woman grinned, showing sharp fangs as she lifted into the air. “I am the Tantabus…the fear and regret in Luna’s heart. I was merely a being that lived in the world of the subconscious and while I was unsuccessful to reach the world of reality something…interesting happened.

“Defeated, I felt myself slip away into the darkness of nothingness…but then…I felt a presence, tugging at my very core. I suppose a being like me doesn’t have a soul. A part of me was drawn to this presence and before I knew it, I hadn’t just crossed the line between subconscious and reality, but also dimensions.

And it was here, this very crystal that I was reborn. The presence I felt was familiar because it was Equestrian and soon I was nurtured with the ones of this…fine establishment. Their feelings made me develop into this fine figure. If only there was a way to repay you all…”

“Wait…are you the one who’s been causing all these distortions?” Twilight asked.

“Hmm…was it me?” the Tantabus wondered. “I honestly can’t say. This world is ripe with Equestrian magic, magic that never belonged in this world. Oh, but I’m certainly not complaining of course.”

“So what if you’re some Equestrian monster, we’ve beaten plenty of you guys before!” Rainbow yelled.

“Oh you poor dear…you weren’t paying attention,” the Tantabus smiled. “I was created in the subconscious…and well why don’t I just give you a demonstration?” She snapped her fingers and suddenly everyone started screaming as they fell to their knees with their hands to their heads. “I’m quite literally the stuff of nightmares…oh yes I can read all of your fears, the kinds that would paralyze you to the very bone. So you see, I am nothing like you’ve ever faced.”

She snapped her fingers again and the screaming stopped, although most of them looked like they were going to faint. “Well, this was quite the chat but unfortunately I have big and better things to attend to. Oh, don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten about you all. In fact, I have some people here who’ve been dying to see you again.”

She snapped her fingers once more and two figures appeared out of the darkness behind her. To her horror, Sunset recognized them both. The first was a female who had reddish skin and large wings, her attire very familiar to Sunset. The second had wings like that of a raven and her eyes looked as if they were on fire.

“Wonderful to have you both back,” the Tantabus said to them. “Now, you know what to do.”

Both females nodded their heads and bowed. “Of course, master,” Sunfall Shimmer said.

“As you please,” Midnight Sparkle said before the two of them disappeared.

“Wonderful,” the Tantabus then said. “Now comes the part where I have to kill you all. A pity, but I can’t have anyone getting in my way now. Farewell, Elements of Harmony.”

She disappeared right before the ground started to rumble. “What’s happening!?” Lemon yelled.

“This place is collapsing, for real this time!” Sunset yelled back as boulders started to fall. They tried to escape back the path they came but suddenly their way was blocked.

“Oh man, we’re screwed!” Rainbow yelled.

Maybe it was the sudden panic that made them think it was an allusion, but suddenly they heard a voice. “It’s not yet your time to go, Elements of Harmony.”

“What?” Twilight said. Suddenly, the group was blinded by a white light but she could’ve sworn in that last second she saw a figure wearing a black cape.

Chapter 15

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It all felt like a nightmare. Sunset thought as much as she was sitting in darkness. But as she opened her eyes and saw where she and her friends were, she knew it was no dream. The others were already on their feet and could now see they were standing outside Crystal Prep.

“What just happened?” Rainbow asked as they looked around.

“The worst thing possible,” Sunset said as she got up. Now it all made sense. The dreams she had, it was almost as if they were predicting this would happen. “And we never saw it coming…”

“So…what do we do?” Sunny asked.

“We have to stop her,” Twilight said. “If she’s really the cause of everything…then what choice do we have?”

“We have two other priorities first,” Sunset said. She then chuckled. “I have to admit…I never thought it would come to this…”

“You mean having to fight your inner dark demon self?” Pinkie asked.

“Yeah, pretty much,” Sunset said. Her eyes widened suddenly. “Shit! I completely forgot! Fluttershy, I need your keys!”

“W-What’s wrong?” Fluttershy asked.

“Twilight- I mean other Twilight is in danger!” Sunset explained. “Fluttershy please!”

Fluttershy handed her the keys and Sunset ran over to the van. “Now hold on sugarcube!” Applejack yelled as the others came over. “We’re not letting ya go all by yerself now!”

“Twilight, both of them, are our friends too you know,” Rarity said.

“Yeah…you’re right,” Sunset said. “Okay, then we split up. We’ll head back to CHS and…”

“We’ll deal with Midnight Sparkle,” Sunny said.

“Wait.” Twilight then went over to them. “I’m coming with you as well.”

“You sure?” Sunny asked.

“I brought her into this world…it’s my responsibility to take her out as well,” Twilight said.

“Yeah, same for me,” Sunset said. “Keep your phones on just in case. And Twilight…be careful.”

“You too Sunset,” Twilight said. The two groups went off in separate directions.

Fluttershy was now regretting giving Sunset her keys, since she was pushing her van over sixty almost the entire trip. “Um…Sunset…?”

“I promise not a dent, but I have to make sure she’s okay,” Sunset said. “I should’ve stayed behind…”

“Don’t worry, I know Twilight can handle herself, she’s a princess after all,” Rainbow said.

“Ah want to believe that but…that Tantabus thing gives me the creeps…” Applejack shuddered. “And she just reeks of evil.”

Sunset groaned out loud. “Fluttershy, how old is this thing? I don’t think I can get it past seventy-”

Suddenly outside, a current of electricity leapt across the area in front of them and a rift in space appeared. Sunset slammed on the brakes as the van turned sideways, almost fishtailing.

“Well it’s got good brakes,” Pinkie commented.

Something big was crossing over, judging by the size of the rip. “Can this get any worse…?” Sunset deadpanned. What came through was a bear, a very big bear.

“You just had to say it,” Rainbow said.

“What the devil is that thing!?” Rarity shrieked.

“That is an Ursa Major,” Sunset said. “And by the look on it’s face, it’s pissed.”

There were two problems in this situation. First, they were on the middle of a highway. Second, said highway was crowded with cars that were now being abandoned as people were running for their lives. “Um…maybe it’s friendly?” Fluttershy suggested.

“Don’t count on it,” Sunset growled. It was blocking the way and there was no way they could ram it. A promise was a promise after all.

“Aw screw this, it’s time to pony up!” Rainbow declared.

“Are we really making this our catchphrase?” Applejack asked.

Sunset was already out of the van. “Hey you! Get out of our way we got a world to save here!”

The bear looked in her direction and roared at her, powerful enough to scoot her back a few centimeters. “I think he said no…” Fluttershy said.

“Just leave this to AJ and I,” Rainbow said, who had decided to pony up. She then flew up above the Major’s head. “Hey AJ, feel like a game of Pong?”

Applejack was confused for a second but then grinned. “Sure thing sugarcube!” She then ran over, dodging the bear’s claws before getting behind her. She felt herself pony up as she started picking up the bear. “Damn, yer one big mother ya know that!?” Despite the weight, Applejack managed to toss the bear into the air. “Have at it!”

Rainbow grinned as the bear came up and slammed her shoe down onto the bear’s head, sending it back down. “You can do better than that!”

Applejack accepted the challenge and somehow managed a bicycle kick without falling on her face. Meanwhile, the bear got it’s face hit again. The volley continued between the two sides, getting more and more intense while Fluttershy seemed more concerned about the bear’s welfare.

“Phew, Ah’m working up a sweat!” Applejack said. “Can we finish this up already?”

“Fine, fine!” Rainbow moved back a bit, trying to time her next kick. As soon as the bear met zero acceleration, Rainbow zoomed forward and sent the poor mother back through the portal before it closed.

“Wow that was…actually really easy,” Sunset said.

“Hmph! Perhaps we should let Rainbow and Applejack do all the work from now on,” Rarity said.

“Oh come on now,” Applejack said, wiping her brow. “That bear was nuttin’ compared to what’s to come…right? Besides, we gotta conserve our energy.”

“You kidding? I still got plenty of power in this engine,” Rainbow gloated as she came down.

“Alright, let’s get out of here before someone decides to close the highway for the entire night,” Sunset replied.

Soon they reached Canterlot High and thankfully everything seemed the same way they had left it before. Sunset quickly got out of the van and ran over to the portal. “Okay good…I don’t think she’s here.” She then made a decision. “Girls, I’m crossing over.”

“You sure that’s a good idea?” Pinkie asked.

“I don’t know where I’m going to end up but I need to tell Twilight one way or another and writing to her just won’t cut it.” However, before she made her move, the front of the statue started to glow and suddenly a figure came through, stumbling on her feet slightly.

“Ugh, I’m never going to get used to this-ah!” Princess Twilight was suddenly hugged and despite her surprise hugged her friend back. “Sorry I’m late, I hope I haven’t missed-”

“Unfortunately you kinda have,” Sunset said, letting go. “It’s bad Twilight, the-”

“Oh no no, I can’t possibly let you ruin my moment.” Suddenly, straight above the statue the Tantabus appeared. “Oh this is almost too perfect…Princess Twilight in the flesh…the real flesh I can say this time. How long has it been? About a year now?”

Twilight stared at her and soon recognition was seen in her eyes. “You!? But…no we stopped you!”

The Tantabus laughed. “Stopped me? That’s an interesting choice of words.” She then appeared next to Twilight, caressing her hair slightly. “I admit you did ruin my plan of entering the real world…but that’s all in the past now. I’m not even upset anymore about it. Besides, I found a much bigger and better situation here. However, your meddling won’t do…but do me one favor.” Her grin widened. “Send Luna my best…”

Twilight was suddenly sent backwards, straight into the portal. “Twilight!” Sunset yelled.

“It’s really too bad…I was kind of tempted to enact my revenge, blah blah blah…” the Tantabus said. She paused for a moment. “Oh…right…” She then lifted up a hand as a dark ball of energy shot out of her hand and turned the entire statue into dust.

Sunset stared at what had been the portal and suddenly felt her knees buckle as she fell onto them. Not only was Twilight gone now, her one and only opportunity to go home to Equestria was gone. She glared at the monster, murder in her eyes. “You’re going to pay for that!” she spat.

“Oh dear, am I?” the Tantabus said, putting up her hands fearfully. “Oh no, I’m quite terrified! Oh…I forgot already, that was your only way home wasn’t it?”

“When we’re done with you, we’ll find a way to help her get back!” Rainbow yelled.

“Yeah, you’ve officially earned yerself an ass-whooping!” Applejack added.

“Charming…but I suppose I can give you an opportunity, I do have time after all,” the Tantabus said as she ripped a hole in time-space. “Once you’re all done playing reunion, you know where to find me.” She then disappeared.

“Aw…did she really destroy that statue? I actually kind of liked it, at least when it was completely intact.” Sunfall suddenly appeared at the top of the school.

“Why don’t you come on down and I’ll make sure the two of you are reunited!?” Sunset yelled up at her.

Sunfall smirked. “See, that’s almost the Sunset I remember.” She then floated down slowly. “Doesn’t this all bring back great memories? Me, or rather you, so compelled to get that crown. Seeing Twilight Sparkle win the crowd over. Hm, actually it would’ve been nice to kept her here too but I can’t complain I suppose.”

“I hate to break the joyous occasion but I think you remember what happened here the last time as well,” Rarity said.

“Yeah, we totally sent you-er I mean Sunset- um…gosh this is confusing…” Pinkie groaned, rubbing her head.

“Yeah, into a huge crater but this time I’ll enjoy taking part in it too,” Sunset added.

“Oh yes, six against one, very fair odds,” Sunfall said. “No, I’m afraid Sunset and I have personal business to take care, am I right?”

Sunset stared at her, her gaze never wavering. “Fine, we’ll play it your way then. I got some things to tell you as well.”

“But Sunset…” Fluttershy said.

Sunset looked to her friends. “It’s alright…its better this way anyway. Like it or not, I have unfinished business to attend to.”

“Perfect,” Sunfall said, suddenly snapping her fingers.

It was over in a second and it took Sunset a moment to gather her bearings as she felt her hooves touch the ground. Wait…hooves? Sunset looked down and saw indeed she had hooves and turning around, she could see she was equine again, cutie mark and all.

“How…?” She looked around and realized she was in a somewhat familiar setting. Truthfully, she wasn’t sure where she was exactly; it was merely a large plain in the middle of nowhere. But the sights, the sounds, the smells…it wasn’t possible was it?

“Your look of genuine surprise is priceless.” Sunset turned around and found herself face to face with a pony that looked like it crawled out of Tartarus itself, which in itself seemed appropriate. Much to her annoyance, the pony also apparently had wings.

“This is Equestria?” Sunset asked. “How did we get here?”

“Is it Equestria?” Sunfall asked. “Hard to say isn’t it? We may have crossed dimensions, but I can’t say whether it is or it isn’t. That’s the funny thing about different dimensions. It looks the same, but is it really?”

“Are you really here to get philosophical with me?” Sunset glared at her. “Or is this some sick attempt to break me down and lower my guard?”

“Is this not what you wanted?” Sunfall asked. “It hardly matters now, but I did want to have a little chat. I miss the old you Sunset, when you felt like you could take on the world. One bad experience and now you think yourself some paragon of good?”

“You think it was that simple?” Sunset asked. “I had to work and crawl my way back into everyone’s graces! Of course no one would forgive me that quickly! I don’t want to go back to what I was, but at the same time I have to be grateful for what I did, because all of those experiences changed me. “You may miss me, but I certainly haven’t missed you.”

“Don’t start with the whole “My Past is Not Today” crap,” Sunfall said. “If you’re so sure you’re better now than you were before, why haven’t you returned home?” She grinned at Sunset’s reaction. “That’s right…you’re afraid to confront your old teacher. You’re worried that she hates you and will never forgive your actions. Until you confront her, you can never truly move forward.”

“You’re right…and before I do that, I need to get rid of you permanently,” Sunset declared.

Sunfall laughed. “We’ll see about that Shimmer!” She then flew up into the air. “Yes, let’s see how willing you are to meet her! Her horn glowed as she shot a dark beam of energy at Sunset.

Sunset grinned. Before, in the other world, her magic was limited but here she was now back in her element…and maybe that’s what her counterpart wanted. Sunset suddenly teleported, dodging the attack and reappeared behind her, attacking with her own magic.

Sunfall was quick to dodge and suddenly struck the ground with such a force that sent Sunset backwards. If there actually were ponies here, they were missing out on one hell of a show. Sunset got up quickly and charged forward, dodging attacks with ease before teleporting again. This time, Sunset reappeared from above and attacked, catching Sunfall off guard this time and causing a small crater in the ground.

“Did you really forget who I used to be?” Sunset said, almost taunting her. “I was a student of Princess Celestia herself, probably the greatest of all time!” Technically, it was probably Twilight now but no one needed to know that.

“Is that right?” Suddenly, Sunset felt as if a large weight was on her back, constantly getting heavier as she felt her legs give out. “I know you better than perhaps you know yourself. You always let pride get in your way and that apparently hasn’t changed.” The pressure kept increasing and Sunset had to do everything not to scream in pain as she felt as if her body was going to be crushed. “You see Sunset? This is what you could’ve been. You could’ve easily been better than Celestia herself. Oh well, I guess you’ll have to live with the fact that Twilight Sparkle is everything you’re not.”

“I…don’t care about what Twilight is…or if I’m better than anypony else…but…right now I refuse…to be defeated by you!” Sunset was suddenly enveloped in a red aura which then increased in size and exploded.

“What!?” It was all Sunfall could manage before the shockwave sent her flying back. The dust soon cleared and she saw Sunset floating in the air, but it was not magic that was responsible. Sunset did not show an ounce of surprise that she now possessed wings, not of the alicorn type, but wings of a great phoenix that burned a very hot red.

“For the longest time, I wasn’t sure of my purpose,” she said. “And even now I’m still not sure what it is. What I am sure about is that whether its Equestria or the human world, I will do everything in my power to protect my friends, because I fully understand how powerful friendship truly can be. You’re just a fragment of myself that I no longer wish to be, so finally, this is goodbye, forever!”

Sunset wasn’t sure if this was the kind of power that Twilight or her former teacher possessed, but it felt wonderful and relieving at the same time. Her horn glowed a bright orange and the power that expelled from her was far from anything she had ever experienced.

Sunfall screamed in pain as the energy overtook her and soon it was all over.

“Sunset? You alright sugarcube?” Sunset woke up, realizing she was laying facedown on the concrete near where the statue had been.

“What…what happened?” she asked.

“You disappeared completely darling,” Rarity said as she and Applejack helped her up. “We thought you were gone for good. But…what happened to…?”

Sunset looked behind her at the debris that was left behind. Sitting there among everything was herself, or rather her equine self. There was no anger or hatred in her eyes, just sadness.

“After everything I did, after everything with the Sirens, Crystal Prep, and Camp Everfree, I was certain I had redeemed myself in every possible way and that I had left my past behind completely,” Sunset said. “But I was wrong. I still harbor some regret, not just what I did here, but in Equestria. I used to love reading, learning and with my teacher it was all perfect for me. But still I wanted more. She…she reminded me of that. I’ve made up for everything except one…and now that’s become impossible.” The pony then smiled a genuine smile, as if trying to comfort her before disappearing.

“Hey, we meant what we said before,” Rainbow said. “We’ll find another way, or at least fail trying.”

Sunset smiled, feeling tears in her eyes. “You guys really are the best.”

“Oh no, now I’m getting emotional!” Pinkie cried as the six of them got into a group hug.

“Alright…we’ll have to save the waterworks for later,” Sunset laughed. “We still have things to take care of. Let’s head back to Crystal Prep.”

They headed back to the van but Sunset stopped midway and looked back at the remains of the Canterlot statue. “I’ll find a way back Twilight,” she said. “This isn’t goodbye.”

Chapter 16

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“So…where exactly are we going?” Lemon asked as the SUV made its way out of the city.

“I’m not a hundred percent sure of this…but I think I know where Midnight Sparkle is going to be,” Twilight said.

“Okay, and why Camp Everfree?” Sunny asked.

“It’s a hunch, but I think she and I have unfinished business,” Twilight said. “And honestly I wouldn’t know where else she would go.

It was quiet for the next few minutes. “Okay, this doom and gloom silence is going to drive me nuts,” Sugarcoat said. She then turned on the radio. Unfortunately, the song playing wasn’t exactly helping. “Oh for crying out loud-”

“Don’t you dare touch that dial!” Sour snapped.

“Seriously? I didn’t take you as a sap Sour,” Indigo smiled.

“Piss off…there’s just something…addictive about this song.”

“Well…it is true…I like this song too…” Sugarcoat said.

“Yeah, it really pulls at the heartstrings…” Lemon sniffed.

“Oh for fuck’s sake…” Indigo groaned.

“Deal with it Indigo,” Sunny warned her.

However, two minutes later all the girls minus Twilight were singing along. “Okay, this is weird…” Spike commented.

“The song choice or the fact they’re actually singing?” Twilight whispered.

“It’s just not…fitting for them.”

“Hmm…” It certainly piqued Twilight’s curiosity. She’ll have to remember that one for later.

It wasn’t long before they reached Camp Everfree. Unfortunately, the gate was closed at this hour. “Well, I guess we’ll have to go around then,” Twilight said. “There’s something I need to show you all anyway.”

“Wait…you don’t think that manticore is still around here do you?” Lemon asked.

“Even if he was, I doubt he’ll even come near us,” Sunny said. At least she hoped.

“Manticore?” Twilight asked.

“Yeah, Sunny almost burned its face off,” Sour said.

“Well, I brought my pepper spray just in case,” Sunny said. “Alright, we don’t know what’s out there but if that Tantabus thing is watching, she’s definitely going to send something after us so make sure you’re locked and loaded.”

“So…what’s in the bag?” Lemon asked. She noticed there was a large duffel bag in the trunk.

“Just a precaution,” Sugarcoat said simply. “I can’t really use it in the woods anyway.”

They then made their way into the woods. “So…how exactly does this transformation thing work again?” Sunny asked.

“It’s…actually I’m not sure how to explain it exactly,” Twilight replied. She then showed her the necklace she had. “This gem, along with six others, was found in a cave deep in the woods. They’re the source of our power.”

“In other words, if things get really bad they pony up and get a major wardrobe change,” Spike said, who was happy to be walking on his own four feet for once.

“Pony up?” Sour asked.

“Yeah…you get a tail, pony ears, etc.” Spike replied.

“I’d call it alien technology if it wasn’t so mystical,” Sugarcoat said. Considering the source, she had a point.

As they continued, Spike picked up on something and started sniffing around. “Something’s been through here,” he said. “I don’t recognize the scent.”

“Oh please don’t tell me it’s him,” Sour said.

“No…” Spike’s ears pricked up. “There’s more than one…and they’re closer than we think.”

There was a howl, closer than what anyone wanted and soon there were about five pairs of eyes staring at them in the shadows. “It just had to be timber wolves…” Sunny groaned.

However, as they quickly figured, these weren’t typical timber wolves. The beasts slowly came out from the bushes, surrounding. “They’re…made of wood?” Twilight asked.

“Ooh…I get it,” Lemon said. “Timber wolves. That’s clever.”

“How can you even think of anything funny at a time like this!?” Indigo snapped.

“Indigo, I hope you brought your lighter,” Sugarcoat said as she upholstered her pistols.

“Yeah, but a goddamn flamethrower would be great about now,” Indigo grumbled.

“Look at them though…it’s like some dark energy has given them life,” Twilight said. “I kind of wish I could study them…”

“Now is really not the time Twilight,” Spike said.

“Right,” Twilight replied. “Girls, I can handle this-”

“Don’t be silly, we’ve handled worse,” Sunny said, glad she had brought the metal bat this time. “You got to save your energy when we find Midnight Sparkle. You go on ahead.”

“I’m not leaving you-”

“You’re going to whether you like it or not!” Sunny snapped. “Now go already!”

Twilight looked at her before nodding and running off as Spike followed her. “I hope you got a plan,” Indigo said.

“Yeah…I do…” Sunny said. “You remember the old technique when beating up Stalfos?”

“Oh…I gotcha…go for the head!”

“Come get me you fucking bastards!” Sour yelled as the girls charged. Five against five seemed like an even fight, at least since they were armed. However, as they quickly found out, these wolves weren’t made of mere twigs.

Sunny swung her bat down at the first wolf she saw and while it got hit in the head hard, Sunny felt how strong the wolf’s skull was. “It’s like bone!”

Lemon and Indigo were busy going hand to hand with any wolves trying to leap at them. Lemon seemed to be faring better due to her strength and the sound of breaking limbs and squeals of pain said everything.

Sour, meanwhile, had a malicious grin on her face as she pulled a machete out of a cover she had attached to her belt. “Who wants to play!?” She whirled the blade around like a sword and the wolf in front of her was cautious but keeping an eye on both her and her movements.

Sugarcoat had fourteen rounds and not nearly enough time to reload so she had to make her shots count. However, the bullets weren’t quite enough to stop them on their own. “It’s like their resistant to physical weapons!”

She had taken her eyes off her target for a mere second and the wolf made its move. It leapt and grabbed her right arm into its jaws. Even though she was wearing thick clothing, she could feel the pressure and if it bit any harder the teeth would pierce right through her skin.

“Sugar!” Sunny quickly turned around and ran in her direction.

“Damn…bastard!” Sugarcoat aimed her other gun at the wolf’s head and fired. But this time, instead of just going through the wolf’s head, its head erupted in flames, causing it to let go of Sugarcoat and running off.

“Whoa!” Indigo said. “What kind of ammo you carrying there!?”

“That wasn’t me,” Sugarcoat said, also in shock.

“Was that…me?” Sunny wondered. “Sugar, do it again.”

Sugarcoat quickly turned and fired a shot at a wolf that was near Sour. Sure enough, the bullet became engulfed in flames as soon as it left the barrel. However, the wolf managed to dodge the shot. “You can manipulate objects?” Sugarcoat asked.

“It looks that way,” Sunny said. Spontaneous combustion, who would’ve thought?

The four remaining wolves then realized the real threat and surrounded both Sugarcoat and Sunny, almost forgetting about the others. “Girls, stay back,” Sunny warned them as she and Sugarcoat were back to back of each other. “We can handle this.”

Sugarcoat managed a smirk. “Care to be my extra set of eyes?”

“My pleasure.” Sunny saw the first one strike. “Three o’clock!” Sugarcoat turned to her right slightly and fired another round, hitting the wolf right between the eyes. “Nine o’clock!” Sugarcoat fired her other gun without even looking in the other direction. Sunny then gave her a slight tap, which made them turn a full one-eighty in perfect synchronization and Sugarcoat unloaded a round into the remaining two wolves.

The timber wolves hightailed it deeper into the woods, hopeful to find some source of water along the way. “Is your arm okay?” Sunny asked.

“Yeah…just barely broke the skin,” Sugarcoat said.

“Dude!” Indigo said. “That was so badass!”

“So Sunny’s power is…spontaneous combustion?” Sour asked.

“I’m just as surprised as you are,” Sunny said. “I guess if I focus on an object, it’ll burst into flame.”

“If that’s the case, you could’ve accidentally blown my hands off,” Sugarcoat said.

“Hey, for a first time it worked pretty well right?”

“…Yeah we did make a good team there.” Sunny looked forward. “But enough about that, we gotta catch up with Twilight. I think she went this way.”

It wasn’t hard to find the rock quarry; Twilight pretty much knew it like the back of her hand now. Interestingly enough, despite taking the gems out of the cave, there was definitely still a magical presence inside the cave. She still wasn’t sure how Equestrian magic even made its way here but judging by the slight charge in the air it must’ve caused a lot of energy to be dispersed.

“It’s funny, isn’t it?” Twilight then said.

“What is?” Spike asked.

“We were here just a week ago and the first time I came here I was still scared to use whatever power I had. Before this place made me feel uncomfortable but strangely enough I now feel at ease.”

“So, you’ve finally accepted who you are.” A dark vortex suddenly appeared and out of it came Midnight Sparkle. Spike started growling.

“Yes, and I didn’t need your help doing that,” Twilight said, staring her down.

“Oh really?” Midnight grinned. “Are you saying if the events at the Friendship Games never happened you would’ve accepted all of this just like that? Bullshit.”

“I was scared because I didn’t want to go down that path again,” Twilight said. “All of this is partly my doing and I’m going to set things right?”

“You really think you can just undo this?” Midnight asked, her smile gone. “It’s too late for this world Twilight. But it’s not too late for us.”

“And what does that mean?” Spike asked.

“You wanted to know about that other world, other dimensions,” Midnight continued. “We can still make those discoveries.”

“You’re right, I did want to know more,” Twilight said. “But I didn’t want to destroy an entire world just for that!”

“Funny, you seemed quite okay with that before…”

“Shut up!” Twilight’s gem started glowing and suddenly she transformed. “It doesn’t matter anymore what I want to do, all that matters right now is stopping you and the Tantabus from destroying this world!”

Midnight just shook her head. “And here I thought I could convince you…fine. It’s better this way anyway; I’m quite curious just how powerful you’ve become.” She then snapped her fingers and suddenly the two of them vanished.

As it turned out, Twilight didn’t go very far. She found herself about two hundred feet but with the combination of wings and magic, she didn’t have to worry about falling. She looked around but Midnight was nowhere to be seen.

“Sorry, I had to make sure this was only between us ladies.” Midnight then floated down and stopped at Twilight’s level. “We would’ve done so much together but it doesn’t matter now. This is proof that you’re just mere baggage to me now.”

“Oh yeah?” Twilight asked. “Why don’t I prove you wrong Midnight?”

“Oh how I’ve waited to hear you say that!” Midnight grinned wickedly. She then attacked first with dark magic. Twilight dodged out of the way and countered, her magic a mere indigo compared to Midnight’s violet. “Oh come now, you’re better than that, I know it!”

Twilight knew she was trying to get under her skin, trying to make her make mistakes. She wasn’t going to fall for it. Two can play that game. “You think you’re so powerful, why don’t you prove it!?”

Midnight growled slightly and teleported behind her and attacked. Unfortunately, Twilight wasn’t able to shield herself in time and the pain she felt was very much real. “Didn’t feel so great did it? You’re out of your league Twilight! At least your other-ahhh!”

Twilight managed to sneak an attack while Midnight went off on her rant. “And you talk too much! You want to settle this? Let’s settle this!”

Both girls attacked at the same time and the two beams of energy met midway in the night sky. It shifted back and forth between sides. Midnight smiled as she started getting the upper hand. “It’s too bad really. I commend you for not using me as a crutch, when it could’ve been so easy to call on me.”

“Yeah? Well, I pity you,” Twilight said. “I pity you because you’re who I used to be: closed away in a shell and not let anyone into my heart. But then I discovered friendship. Friendship is my true power and strength. That’s how I beat you before and that’s how I’ll do it again!”

Twilight poured everything she had: her memories, painful and good; the pictures in her head of her friends, the ones from Canterlot High and now Crystal Prep; they became her strength and her energy spiked almost tenfold.

Midnight could sense it as well as for once a look of panic crossed her face. “N-No, this isn’t possible! You can’t truly be more powerful than me! Noo!” She was then engulfed in the energy which then caused a small explosion. Luckily, the resulting shockwave only managed to knock the trees back and forth.

Twilight sighed deeply before she teleported back into the cave. “Twilight!” A very happy and relieved Spike jumped into her arms. “Is it over?”

“It is,” Twilight said, giving him a hug.

“Twilight!” She looked behind her and saw the other girls coming up to her. Once they stopped, they took the opportunity to look around.

“Wow…look at this place,” Sunny said. “This is it?”

“That’s right,” Twilight replied. “The more I think about it, the more I’m convinced it was Crystal Prep itself that gave you your powers.”

“Huh?” Indigo asked.

“Remember that crystal? It’s more than likely that that crystal was the source.”

“You mean the same crystal that was carrying an evil being of darkness?” Sugarcoat asked skeptically.

“Hey I didn’t say I was a hundred percent positive on that.”

“Uh…Sparkle?” Sour was looking ahead at something and Twilight turned around. Black specks of darkness were focusing on one spot, which was quickly turning into a figure. Once it stopped, Midnight Sparkle stood there on her hands and knees.

Twilight was surprised to see that the girl barely moved and didn’t even look up. This wasn’t Midnight resisting fate, she was now broken. “Do you remember when you were five? The toaster in the kitchen broke and Dad was having a fit because the warranty guaranteed almost ten years. And you, wanting to make Dad happy, took that toaster into the garage and completely disassembled it, studying every piece there and slowly but surely put it back together again. Sure, it voided the warranty but it’s been working since right?”

She looked up and her eyes had no malice in them, only sadness. “Your memories are my memories too. I was so driven to know the unknown. Everything that was going on at Canterlot High was unlike I’ve ever seen and it excited me more than everything. But now…I realize in my pursuits I only made things more complicated and by doing so…I’ve doomed an entire world.”

“If you’re truly me, then you know I’m not giving up,” Twilight said, gently putting Spike down and walking up to her. “The fault is mine as well, not just cause of what happened but because I was so convinced you were something I wasn’t. But we are the same, so what’s the point of continually fighting one another? You were right about one thing though…we are better working together so…” She then reached out her hand. “Will you help me fix this?”

Midnight hesitated for a moment but then slowly took her hand. As soon as she did, her body started to glow and slowly dissipated into pure light. “I was wrong about you Twilight. Maybe you can stop the darkness…” She then disappeared and the light combined with Twilight herself.

“Um…what just happened?” Lemon asked.

“I second that question,” Spike said. “What happened to Midnight?”

“She and I are one and the same again, as we always used to be,” Twilight said. She smiled slightly. “It’s hard to explain but…in a way I made her the way she was and only know I understand that it was wrong to seal her away. We’re going to save this world, I can guarantee that now.”

“You really are an odd one Sparkle,” Sugarcoat said, smiling slightly. “But I have to admit…when I see someone like Midnight Sparkle I feel like perhaps I, or rather we, completely misjudged all that time before.”

Twilight shook her head. “It’s all in the past now. Anyway, we have to get back with the others. We have a Tantabus to take down.”

Chapter 17

View Online

The night passed slowly through Canterlot. It was quiet for the longest time but if anyone happened to be outside at the time, they would’ve noticed people were starting to gather in the streets. The way many were dressed suggested they had stopped whatever they were doing and decided to go outside.

No one spoke to one another as they walked almost in sync. If someone were to ask what was going on, they’d get no answer. All these people knew was that a voice was calling to them, beckoning to them to listen and obey. The ever-growing crowd slowly made its way towards Crystal Prep Academy.

Traffic seemed to have gotten worse trying to come back to downtown Canterlot which, except for the anomaly on the highway, was very odd this time of night. “This is ridiculous,” Sunset grumbled. “Don’t tell me something else came through.”

People were already coming out of their cars, trying to see what’s going on. “Is there an accident?” Sunset said as she rolled down the window.

“People are flooding the streets,” someone said. “It’s like there’s a riot going on or something.”

“That doesn’t sound good,” Rainbow said. “How are we supposed to get in now?”

“Guess we have no choice but to hoof it,” Sunset said. “Something bad is about to happen, I know it…”

“I don’t like the look of this,” Sugarcoat said, seeing the large group of people taking to the street. They made it back into town but were stopped about three blocks from the school.

Indigo rolled down her window. “Hey, move it assholes!” No one responded to her.

“They’re heading towards Crystal Prep,” Twilight said.

“Yeah, and I don’t believe in coincidences,” Sunny said. “Just what is that thing planning?”

“I’m not going to have much luck driving around them,” Sugarcoat said. “What do you want to do?”

Twilight then heard her phone ring and saw it was Sunset. “Sunset, are you seeing what’s going on outside?”

“Yeah, unfortunately we have to make our way on foot,” Sunset replied. “Is it just as bad on your end?”

“Yeah…they’re heading towards Crystal Prep and based on what I’m seeing, they’re being manipulated.”

Sunset was silent for a moment. “You remember how I told you what happened when I turned into a she-demon?”

“Yeah…? Wait, are you saying-?”

“That the Tantabus is taking a note from my playbook, I have no idea but it looks like it’s not just Crystal Prep that’s been affected.”

“Alright, we’re about three blocks from the school. What street are you on now?”

“It looks like Main Street,” Sunset replied.

“Alright, that’s two blocks down so we’ll meet you there.” Twilight then hung up. “We might as well pull over cause we’re gonna have to go on foot.”

“They better not even think of scratching this car,” Sugarcoat grumbled as she pulled over to the curb.

As they got out, Lemon seemed to be calling someone. “Hey, are you busy right now?” she asked. “Really? Wow then you’re pretty close then. Listen, I need a favor…it’s kind of hard to explain but you think you can bring your equipment over? Thanks, I totally owe you one. Yeah, I think Main Street is the best place to set up, so whenever you’re done make your way there…oh yeah and bring any of your old mix tapes okay? …Alright, thanks again, bye.”

Indigo was watching her as she hung up. “Who was that?”

“Oh, just a friend,” Lemon replied. “Just asking for a small favor, that’s all.”

“Come on you two!” Sunny yelled back at them.

It took about five minutes before Sunset and the others showed up. “So…it’s done?” Twilight asked.

Sunset looked away slightly. “Yeah…you?”

“Yeah…”

“Okay, so now we just gotta take out that Tantawhatever its called right?” Applejack asked.

“But how will we find her?” Rarity asked. “She’s certainly not going to show up just for us.”

“I don’t think we have to worry,” Sunset said. “These people will lead us to her.”

“At Crystal Prep?” Fluttershy asked.

“Everything originates from Crystal Prep,” Twilight said. “That crystal is the cause of everything.”

“Then what are we waiting for?” Sour asked. “I’m ready to drag that freaky bitch back to whatever hellhole she came from.”

“Alright, but be warned, she’s probably watching us right now,” Sunset said. “And who knows if she’ll turn these people against us.”

“Heh, bring it on, what are they gonna do?” Indigo asked.

“Well…there’s the slight possibility they could end up having powers for whatever reason,” Pinkie suggested.

Indigo went slightly pale. “Oh…yeah that would be bad…”

The girls quickly made their way through the crowd. The people seemed more fixated on the destination then them because even if they got bumped it didn’t distract them at all. “Ugh, this is like Night of the Living Dead creepy,” Rainbow commented.

“Well, it’s kind of like what Sunset did at the Fall Festival but instead of them having green eyes these guys have a purplish glow in their eyes,” Pinkie said. She then glanced at Sunset and chuckled nervously. “Um…sorry.”

Pinkie was right about one thing. Perhaps it was because their pupils were so dilated but Sunset couldn’t see any color at all except for black. “Most of these people are Crystal Prep students aren’t they?”

“Yeah…” Sunny replied. She could easily pick out Fleur, Trenderhoof, even Upper Crust.

“I don’t see Royal Pin,” Sugarcoat said.

“Sugar, come on,” Indigo said, trying to keep her focused. Sugarcoat seemed more occupied about finding him. “Look, if he’s not here, that’s good right? Maybe the Tantabus didn’t get to him…but if she did, just remember you’re fighting for him as well, right?”

Sugarcoat looked at her and sighed. “You’re right…the sooner we take care of this the better.”

They finally made it to the entrance of the school. The crowd seemed to have stopped as well and was eerily still. Then Sunset saw it: there was a portal right in front of the entrance. However, it felt very different from any other rift she experienced.

“They’re just staring at it,” Lemon said. “Why?”

“I think this is where our friend makes her grand entrance,” Sunny said. “Too bad we’re crashing her party.”

“I guess we have no choice…” Sunset said.

“Wait, you want to go in there?” Twilight asked.

“I know there’s no telling what awaits us on the other side,” Sunset stated. “But I feel as if she’s waiting for us. And we can’t keep her waiting can we?”

“I dunno,” Rainbow said. “Even I’m getting a bad feeling about this.”

“I’m…quite scared to be honest,” Fluttershy said. “But we’ve been in plenty of situations like this before and have come up on top so…”

“Now we’re talking,” Applejack grinned. “We’re all in this together now.”

“Quite so,” Rarity said. “Whatever comes our way we just push past it.”

“I dunno, I’m getting a really funky feeling that there’s a lot going on past this portal,” Pinkie said.

Sunset then looked to the girls from Crystal Prep. “I know you guys aren’t quite used to this magic business so if you don’t want to come along-”

“Don’t even suggest it,” Sunny interrupted her. “This is our school and those people are our classmates. You’re damn right we’re coming along too.”

“Yeah, what’s the worst that can happen?” Lemon asked.

Sunset decided not to comment. “You know,” she said instead. “I’m not one to brag about the things we’ve done but…out of everything that has happened I hope we all can remember this moment. Just a month ago we were all ready to duke it out in the gymnasium…and look at us now.”

“Can we wrap up the speech please?” Sour asked.

Sunset chuckled. “Yeah…sorry.” She then looked towards the portal. “Alright…being the former unicorn student of Celestia I’ll go first.” She then stepped forward and walked into the portal, disappearing almost immediately after touching it.

There was a slight pause. “Well, I don’t hear any screaming or bones crushing,” Rainbow commented.

“Rainbow Dash, really!?” Rarity snapped.

“Alright, Ah might as well go next,” Applejack said before going through. The other Canterlot girls followed, with Fluttershy going in with both Rainbow and Rarity at her side.

Twilight then looked to the others. “I’m not going to lie, I’m kind of excited about this…but I’m sure we’ll all be fine.” She smiled slightly. “See you on the other side.”

That just left the Crystal Prep girls. “Boy, would my parents have a ball hearing this story,” Indigo commented.

“Yeah, this is definitely enough to get us all in an insane asylum,” Sugarcoat said. She then giggled slightly. “But in the end I guess it would be worth it.”

“Come on girls, we can’t let them have all the fun,” Sunny said. They all nodded and one by one stepped through, unsure of what was waiting for them on the other side.

Chapter 18

View Online

Twilight never knew what it felt like to transcend space and time but if she were to look back on it now…it was nothing like they said in the books. It felt like traveling through a wormhole where there didn’t feel like an ending was in sight, and at the same time it felt like she was stuck in a vacuum cleaner. But to her relief, it ended as quickly as it started.

She was wobbling slightly as everything came back into focus. Her friends were close by and it was only then that they noticed something was off. “Um… why does everything look…pixilated?” Rainbow asked.

“And what’s that weird typing sound?” Sunset asked.

“Oh that’s just the text above your head,” Pinkie said. “See, it’s writing out what I’m saying right now…right now…” She was right, there was a black text box above them that was slowly typing out words.

“What in Sam’s hell…are we in a video game or something!?” Applejack snapped.

“I know this may be hard to believe but…I think this is another dimension,” Twilight said.

“You mean, where everything is made of blocks?” Fluttershy asked.

“Well, even at eight bits I still think I look marvelous,” Rarity commented.

“Well, Fluttershy loves Minecraft so she’ll feel right at home here,” Rainbow joked.

“But…wait, where are the other girls?” Twilight asked.

“They may have stumbled into some other dimension for all we know,” Sunset said. She looked around, confused. “This can’t be where the Tantabus is…” Sunset wondered. “It just doesn’t seem…”

“My cup of tea? Oh yes, I very much agree.” A large mass of dark pixels appeared before the Tantabus took shape. “This resolution doesn’t do my image any favors…”

“…Crap now she’s breaking the fourth wall!” Pinkie cried.

“I hope you’re ready for a beat down hot stuff!” Rainbow yelled.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” the Tantabus said. “Now we play by my rules. Catch me if you can…~” She then disappeared, leaving a well-defined rift behind.

“She’s toying with us,” Sunset grumbled. “But I guess we don’t have much choice do we…? Just be careful, who knows what other worlds we’ll discover.” The girls quickly disappeared into the portal.

Suddenly, Rainbow Dash and Applejack appeared on what looked like a beach. “Man, my stomach feels like it went through a pretzel maker…” Rainbow groaned.

“Uh…what the hell are we wearing?” Applejack asked. They appeared to be wearing some sort of camouflage, with a large green windbreaker and matching pants.

“Whoa, check these out!” Rainbow said, noticing the large rifle she was carrying. She aimed at a random target and it shot out a dark red laser. “Awesome!”

“Okay, Ah have no idea what’s going on but-” Suddenly a large group of people wearing similar clothing was running past them. “Oh now what?”

Rainbow then heard the large footsteps and it finally dawned on her. “If this is what I think it is…” She looked ahead and her eyes widened. “Run!”

She grabbed Applejack’s hand and the two ran as the giant walker came into view, firing at the retreating group. Explosions erupted around the two girls as they ran across the shoreline. “You gotta be kidding me!” Applejack yelled.

“I told you it was real!” Rainbow yelled back at her. “But unfortunately we really need to-” She then took her blaster and fired on a stormtrooper nearby. “We really need to get out of here!”

“Wait, Ah see it!” Applejack pointed and she saw what looked like a portal near the edge of the forest.

“But we’re going to get blown to pieces!” Rainbow cried.

“We’re only going to get killed if we keep following these guys!” Applejack then led Rainbow to the left, hoping the walker wouldn’t pay attention to them. They sprinted as hard as they could before jumping through the portal.

“Well…I guess I did see the suspect’s face but…” Fluttershy began on the stand.

HOLD IT!

Twilight was wearing a purple suit and matching skirt. “It was rather dark at the time wasn’t it?” she asked. “So you can’t really be sure-”

OBJECTION!

Sugarcoat was wearing similar attire along with a cravat. “Sparkle, are you really suggesting that my key witness isn’t sure of herself?”

“Just look at her!” Twilight snapped. “Does she look like she’s sure of herself!?”

“Hmm…are you sure of yourself Miss Fluttershy?” the judge asked.

“Well…um…”

“She’s sure of herself!” Sugarcoat snapped, slamming the table. “Please continue witness.”

“Right…um… So I saw the man walking down the street and he clearly had a gun-”

OBJECTION!

Twilight suddenly smirked. “Miss Fluttershy, I’m sorry to interrupt but what you just said…you said you saw a man right?”

“Y-Yes that’s right…”

“That’s funny…I don’t remember my client being a man!”

“Ah!”

The audience started murmuring as the judge had to bang his gavel. “Order, order I say!”

“Witness!” Sugarcoat slammed both of her hands on the desk. “You have some explaining to do…”

“Oh dear…”

“Actually, I’d hate to interrupt this exchange but…aren’t you three supposed to be doing something right now?” the judge asked.

“Huh?” Twilight asked.

“What?” Sugarcoat asked.

“Um…?” Fluttershy said.

“I don’t know why, but it seems like you had to go find someone…and then I guess stop them?” the judge asked. “Maybe it’s just me of course…”

“…We’ll settle this another time Sparkle…”

“I’ll be looking forward to it Sugarcoat.”

It was a calm quiet day in New York City. At least, it would be except for the large giant cockroach trying to climb up the Empire State Building. Of course, it looked like a giant cockroach but it was actually a radical terrorist from a planet on the other side of the Milky Way. Still, how many people actually liked cockroaches?

Right outside the building, a black Ford Fusion pulled up and two women in black suits came out, surveying the scene. “It’s always goddamn cockroaches,” Agent Are said.

“Actually, I’m pretty sure that’s not a cockroach…” Agent Aye replied.

“Rook, let me give you a tip here: just roll with the jokes.”

A man suddenly came up to them. “Are you two with the government?” he asked.

“Rodent and Bug Extermination, Division 6,” Are said. “And I’d say you’ve got quite the infestation here…”

“I’ve never seen anything like it…what does it want?” the man asked.

“Probably to bomb the building to send a message across the world,” Are said. “Aye, you think you can…?”

“Oh, right.” Aye pulled a gun out of her holster and aimed up at the bug and fired. The gun emitted a louder bang than a standard handgun and the bug came crashing to the ground. “There. Exterminated.”

“Well at least you’re learning something Rook,” Are said. “Now everyone…everyone can you please come over here?” She and Aye then put on their shades. “I just need you all to stare at the little red light here…”

Sunny, Lemon, and Sour were driving Sunny’s old Challenger up into the old neighborhood and parked by the house marked with the address they had written down. “Oh fuck…” Sour groaned. She was looking at a brand new Lamborghini. “That son of a bitch already spent like half the money on that.”

“Wow, that’s a nice car,” Lemon said in the back. “That’s gotta be like what, $500k right there?”

“Shut the fuck up Lemon,” Sour snapped. “Alright, we gotta squeeze this fucker good.”

“You do realize he’s like our age?” Sunny asked.

“I don’t give a fuck! Lemon, you stay here just in case the little shit tries to run for it.”

Soon both Sunny and Sour were inside the house, talking to Trenderhoof. Sour then pulled out the piece of paper that was inside a plastic bag. “Is this your homework Trender?” No answer. “Is this your homework Trender?” He still didn’t answer. “Is this your homework Trender?”

“Dude…”

“Is this your homework Trender?”

“We know it’s his homework, where’s the fucking money you prick!?” Sunny snapped.

“You know what waterboarding is Trender?” Sour asked.

“Oh for fuck’s sake Sour…”

“You’re entering a world of pain Trender,” Sour said. “We found this in our car, we know you took Sunny’s laundry.”

“And the fucking money.”

“And the fucking money! And…we know this is your homework!”

“You’re killing your father Trender!”

“…What?” Sour said.

“Just…never mind…”

It was quiet for the next few moments. “You know what, I’m not doing this,” Sour said, getting up. “Sunny, is your bat in the car?”

“Sour…no…”

But Sour was already at the door. “Trender, this is what happens when YOU FUCK A BITCH IN THE ASS!” She stormed out of the door.

Sunny quickly followed her. “Sour don’t do this!” But Sour already was grabbing the bat out of the car and heading over to the Lamborghini.

“You see this Trender!?” She then smashed the windshield. “I hope you got good fucking insurance!”

Meanwhile, nearby was a similar-looking car with three guys inside. “Holy shit…” The Dude said.

“Wow…she’s as crazy as you are, Walter,” Donnie said.

“Shut the fuck up Donnie,” Walter replied.

Sunset was slowly walking down the hallway, Walther PPK in hand. As soon as she turned the corner a shot rang out, causing her to duck back.

“It seems you’re cornered now James!” Twilight taunted her.

“We’ll see about that…” Sunset muttered as she turned back to fire. However, a hat came out of nowhere and knocked the gun out of her hand. Sunset looked over as the hat returned to its master. “…Damn it Alec, we agreed to not use Oddball, he’s too damn hard to hit!”

“Oh come now James, you and I both know I don’t like following rules,” Twilight said, coming out. “But it seems now you’re in quite the predicament…”

“It seems that way…which is why I prepared myself.”

“Hands up darling,” Rarity said, a gun in one hand and Opalescence in her other arm.

“…Blofeld, you’re looking as beautiful as ever,” Twilight commented. “I didn’t realize you were even in this game…now how did James here convince you?”

“Oh it wasn’t convincing at all, darling,” Rarity said. “I only feel I should have the honor of killing 007.”

“Hm…well played James, but did you really think you can outsmart me?”

“Hands in the sky,” Applejack said, pointing a golden gun at Sunset.

“Scaramanga…” Sunset said with an annoyed look.

“Oh yes, I did myself the favor of hiring him,” Twilight said. “Blofeld might be a decent shot at close range but I’m placing my bets on the Golden Gun.”

“That’s enough.” Fluttershy appeared, walking down the opposite hallway, wearing an expensive suit and black gloves.

“Dr. No!?” everyone said.

Fluttershy smirked. “Well isn’t this quite the surprise? I feel as if I’m going to enjoy watching you all kill one another.”

Suddenly, the watch Sunset was wearing started beeping. “Oh…sorry guys, I think it’s time we moved on.”

“W-Wait, I wasn’t finished with my speech yet!” Fluttershy said.

“Oh don’t worry darling, you already sold it for me,” Rarity said. “Who knows, you may make a good villain in the future.”

Opal gave a slight meow, quite doubting that likelihood.

Sunset felt herself hit the ground hard. All of a sudden, she felt a familiar feeling, one she experienced only about an hour ago. She looked up and saw familiar scenery. There was no doubt about it this time, this was Equestria.

“Oh my!” Sunset turned and saw her Canterlot friends were with her…but now they were walking on four legs.

“Whoa…” Rainbow said, looking at her wings. “I guess we now know where Sunset comes from now.”

“My hair-er mane feels so exquisite!” Rarity said, petting her mane. “I have to admit with a place like this, I don’t think I’d ever want to leave.”

“Wait a minute.” Twilight was looking at herself and noticed something. “I have a horn…and wings?”

“Well, your counterpart is an alicorn,” Sunset said. “Although I’m not sure if that technically makes you royalty now.”

“This place is beautiful…” Fluttershy said in awe. “Are there a lot of critters here too?”

“Oh yeah…big and small,” Sunset said.

“Be right back, totally testing out these wings!” Rainbow said before she took off. Five seconds later, she landed from the opposite direction. “That was awesome! I think I saw my counterpart too cause she wanted to race me.” Sunset chuckled slightly but her smile faded as she looked around.

“What’s wrong Sunset?” Twilight asked.

“It’s…well…” Sunset sighed. “I knew coming back here would be hard and I was preparing myself but…I wasn’t actually expecting to be here just yet. That and the fact that the portal is now destroyed which kind of puts me in a bad situation.”

“Wait a minute, you didn’t mention that before!” Twilight gasped.

“I…didn’t want to concern you,” Sunset said. She then grinned. “Knowing you, you’d try to put it back together piece by piece…but magic doesn’t really work like that.”

“Sugarcube, Ah think Ah speak for everypony-what the hell did I just say?” Applejack said.

“You get used to it…”

“Anyway, none of us would think any less of you if you wanted to stay here,” Applejack continued. “Ah mean this may be yer only chance…”

“I appreciate it girls, really,” Sunset said. “But I’m committed to finishing this with all of you. Like I said, I’ll find another way.”

A portal suddenly appeared but this particular one had a sinister aura about it. “I guess we finally found her,” Twilight said. “Just from here I’m getting chills.”

“Hey, we came this far, no stopping now,” Rainbow said. “It’s too bad, I kinda wanna spend a little extra time here myself.”

“I wonder if the others are already there?” Fluttershy asked.

“It’s…probably best they’re not here anyway,” Sunset said. “They still don’t quite understand the whole pony thing anyway.” She then took a deep breath. “Alright, let’s finish this.”

The (currently) mares made their way into the portal. Before she went in, Sunset took one last look around before sighing slightly, trying to keep her emotions in check. “There’s no place like home…”

Chapter 19

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There was only the feeling of cold and sight of darkness. Sunset at first thought they were crossing over, but now she realized this was their destination: the black void of darkness and nothingness. “I-I didn’t realize it would be so cold…” Rainbow shivered.

“Is this…where we’re supposed to be?” Pinkie asked. Even her positive demeanor has faded somewhat.

“She has to be here…” Sunset said.

“How perceptive…” Suddenly the Tantabus appeared above them. “Where are we, you ask? The cradle of all existence, the womb of which the universe laid before being born.”

“You mean…space?” Indigo asked.

“Even before that,” the Tantabus replied. “All worlds…all dimension span from this moment in time, and it is where I will stay, watching all worlds at my leisure. Sweet comfortable darkness…”

“I hate to ruin your little vacation but we’re not here to let you have your way,” Sunny said.

“Have you already forgotten what I’m capable of?” The Tantabus was suddenly behind her. “I already told you, I can read you all like an open book. I can sense the fears you have and turn them against you.”

“You’re right, we all have our fears,” Twilight said. “But Sunset and I, as well as the rest of us, have realized our fears and conquered them. You can try to find any weakness we have and exploit them, but we won’t be stopped! We’ll defeat you or die trying!” The other six of them transformed into their alternate pony forms.

“Are you done?” the Tantabus said, a bored look on her face. “Very well…I was hoping you’d crawl on your knees and lick my boots for mercy but I suppose we must do this the hard way.”

Her form began to change and grow larger. The monstrosity she was turning into was something only one could imagine in their nightmares. The top half resembled a mix between a dragon and a hydra, with three heads, and two large claws. The bottom half was no more than a giant eyeball with a slit as its pupil.

“Come then Elements of Harmony! Show me just how powerful the light in your hearts are!”

“Um…I’m not feeling so good about this,” Fluttershy asked.

“That thing is butt ugly and just asking for an ass-kicking!” Rainbow said.

“I have a plan,” Sunny said. “You seven take care of the top, we’ll handle the bottom!”

“Works for us,” Sunset said. “Let’s put an end to this!” The seven of them rose up to meet the giant heads, which split up to attack them. Two tried to take a bite while the third shot out flames.

“Aim for the neck right!?” Rainbow asked. She then zoomed forward and with her velocity she was able to sever one of the heads. The head disappeared into a black mass but it wasn’t long before another head grew.

“It’s a hydra, you have to cut off all of its heads at the same time!” Sunset said.

“Oh gotcha! Hey Rarity, Pinkie, care to give me a hand?”

“Whenever you’re ready!” Rarity said.

“Now!” Rainbow attacked again while Rarity fired off a diamond sharp enough to cut through flesh easily. At the same time, Pinkie threw a canister of sprinkles into the third head’s mouth which ended up blowing the head off completely.

However, there was little to celebrate as the heads grew back once again. “Are we even hurting her!?” Twilight said.

Sunset looked below and saw the others trying to attack the eye. “Of course! The eye is the weak spot! It has to be the source of her regeneration magic. Sunny, you gotta take out her eye!”

“Little busy at the moment!” The eye was currently surrounded by a magical field and at the same time was firing dark magic at them. “We need to break through this shield!” Sunny said. “Lemon, you’re our heavy hitter so you know what to do. Sugarcoat will provide support from behind. Sour, you be at the ready once that shield falls. Indigo, you’re with me and Lemon.”

The three of them dodged the attacks as they made their way towards the shield. Lemon and Sunny bashed away but the shield didn’t seem to be weakening.

“Watch out!” The eye stared directly at them and fired, sending the three girls backwards.

“Well that didn’t work,” Lemon said.

Suddenly, a grin appeared on Indigo’s face. “Actually, I might just have an idea. You know all that stuff about when something’s being heated the molecules start separating and stuff?”

“Yeah?” Sunny asked.

“Well, if I can relocate all the energy I have into one spot on the shield, the vibrations will cause the atoms and such to break apart-”

“And it’ll weaken the shield and give us an opening!” Sunny finished. “That’s genius! Alright, we’ll keep that eye occupied while you do your thing. Sour, Sugar, did you catch all that?”

“Just give us the word Indigo,” Sugarcoat said.

“Finally, I wanna make this bitch bleed,” Sour grinned.

“Go!” The three of them charged again and Indigo used all the strength she could to punch through the shield. It wasn’t enough to break through but she concentrated her energy at that one point and she could feel her fist and the area around it start to vibrate.

“Hey you one-eyed freak!” Lemon suddenly yelled. “Yeah you! I can tell you haven’t been getting the proper beauty sleep cause boy does your eye look red! I got some ClearEyes for you if you want some!”

The eye didn’t seem deeply offended but it took its attention off of Indigo for a moment, which was all she needed. Indigo suddenly grinned as she felt a current go through her body. “Suck on this physics class!” She released her potential energy and the shield shattered like glass.

“Now girls!”

Sour flung her knives, never missing as they struck right in the middle like a bull’s eye. Sugarcoat unloaded both magazines as blood vessels were ruptured, turning the eye into an ugly red. “Oh I’m not finished yet!” Indigo yelled as she felt what only seemed like an adrenaline rush. With the brass knuckles she had on, she started punching the eye at such a rate that reminded girls of a certain neighponese anime show.

The Tantabus screamed in pain as the eye was now nothing more than goop and blood. “She’s weakened now!” Sunset said. “Try that one more time girls!”

Rainbow and Rarity attacked once again while Pinkie this time had to shove the sprinkles right down the Tantabus’ throat. All three heads were severed again and this time the Tantabus roared in pain as the remaining flesh wriggled around helplessly.

“Hey, if you guys are going to do your thing now’s the time!” Sour yelled.

Sunset and Twilight nodded as they stared at the creature with slight pity. “If there’s one thing I remember Princess Celestia teaching me, it was to see the good in all creatures,” Sunset said. “Anyone has the potential to turn around their life. But I can’t say the same for you Tantabus. You’re just a leech, a parasite that latches onto others and feeds on their dark emotions. You have no sense of good or evil, you just feel the need to feed and survive.”

“Your twisted plot ends here,” Twilight said. “This is our world and we’re going to protect it. And we’re certainly not going to let you prey on any other worlds as well. But I can say this…thank you, for showing Sunset and I our true fears and giving us the opportunity to conquer them. That was perhaps the only good thing you did.”

“Alright girls, let’s finish this nightmare off, once and for all,” Sunset said. The gems on each of their necks started to glow as their eyes turned a pure white. They were then surrounded by a prismatic aura as a prismatic beam shot out and hit the Tantabus directly, her screams of pain louder than anything else going on.

The power only seemed to increase as it ripped the fabric of space and Sunny and her friends could feel that they were being pulled away by some strong force. The last thing any of them felt was the cold feeling of darkness once again.

Sunny felt solid ground beneath her feet and she got up slowly, her vision clearing. She and the others were back in downtown Canterlot near one of the pharmacies. “We made it back?” she said. “So…it’s over then?”

“It looks that way,” Twilight said as she and the others got to their feet as well. They then heard groans as they saw the Tantabus in her human form, lying on her back.

“I thought we got rid of her,” Rainbow said.

“Don’t bother,” Sunset said. “She doesn’t have much time left her anyway.”

They then looked around. “So…now that she’s defeated, isn’t something supposed to happen?” Applejack asked.

“I dunno…something doesn’t feel right…” Sunset said.

They then heard a rasping sound come from the Tantabus, which slowly turned into chuckling. “What’s so funny?” Indigo asked.

“You fools…you really had no idea what was going on, did you?” the Tantabus said, turning her head towards them. “You really think I put you all through that just for pleasure? Well…maybe I did…but it was more than that. I was just merely a distraction…”

“A distraction!?” Pinkie gasped.

“Oh yes…you see, now I serve a new master, much like I did with Luna before…”

“New master?” Sunset said, a cold feeling now in her gut.

“Ooh this is almost too much…the look on your faces is worth all of this. I was merely the one who caused so much negative energy to appear at Crystal Prep…it’s exactly what my master needs to be revived.”

“No…” Sunset said, the coldness inside her heart seeming to grow.

“Ah, the Equestrian finally understands,” the Tantabus giggled. “Took you long enough. Well, it’s only a matter of moments now. And while I may depart from this world and enter the void once again, I will relish seeing your world burn to the ground!” She then started cackling hysterically as her body started to burn away in a heap of smoke.

The ground started to shake and suddenly, a large beam of light seemed to appear out of the ground, in the same place that Crystal Prep was located now. “What’s going on?” Twilight said fearfully.

Sunset looked to her and Twilight could see the dread and fear on her face. “Something bad… Something really bad.”

Chapter 20

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The light seemed to pulsate around Crystal Prep as it started to expand, covering the entire area. On the rooftop, a familiar black crystal appeared as well as a dark cloud of smoke. The smoke started to expand as it took on form, that of a large man. The silver armor he wore matched with his coal black hair, while his eyes were enough to pierce through any darkness. King Sombra had returned.

“Finally…after all these years I have truly been reborn,” Sombra said. He looked around at the school disapprovingly. “This won’t do…this ‘Academy’ needs much more…” He raised his right arm into the air as a dark sphere appeared in his hand. The ground started to shake around Crystal Prep and suddenly, crystal spires started erupting from the top of Crystal Prep, going higher and higher, doubling the size of the school in a matter of seconds. More crystals appeared near the base, surrounding the school in a magnificent array of colors that sparkled in the light.

Sombra stared down at the group of people that had formed just outside the school, cheering for him. He smiled as he heard his name being called out by his new subjects. Even if they were bent to his will, they were subjects nonetheless. The Tantabus had served him well, even if she was gone now.

He sensed two presences, both a potential threat to him. The first was the Elements of Harmony, although it didn’t feel quite the same as those from Equestria. The second…was much more familiar to him. It didn’t bother him however. In time, he would deal with both of them.

The girls stared at what used to be Crystal Prep Academy. “That’s…new…” Pinkie commented.

“Just what the hell is going on?” Sunny asked. She then stared at Sunset and her face told her everything. “You know who that is, don’t you?”

Sunset sighed sadly as she looked down. “Not personally but…I’ve read plenty of stories about King Sombra. But it doesn’t make any sense…Twilight said he was ultimately destroyed by the power of the Crystal Heart.”

“Well, he looks very much alive now,” Rainbow stated. “So what? We just gotta get up there and kick his butt like everyone else!”

“It’s not that simple,” Sunset argued. “Sombra was a powerful unicorn wizard, part of a group of ponies called the Umbra, although they’re most known as Shadow Ponies, able to wield dark magic at their will. Sombra is supposedly the last of his kind but with his bloodlust and the darkness in his heart, he’s probably the most powerful as well. This will not be an easy fight.”

“Well, we can’t just let this guy take over,” Sugarcoat said. “That’s our school he’s standing on.”

“Yeah, don’t forget you guys have us now,” Indigo said. “That at least gives us a chance, right?”

“I suppose you’re right,” Sunset said. Now more than ever she wished Princess Twilight was here. Maybe Princess Celestia and Luna too, while she was at it.

The streets were literally crowded now as they walked their way towards Crystal Prep. The low chants of “Sombra” were slightly unnerving, especially to Sunny and the others, having to witness their own schoolmates looking and acting like mindless slaves. Surprisingly though, the crowd made no attempt to attack them, they were only focused on the structure before them. Sunset could only imagine Sombra had something in mind for them and for once felt a chill down her spine.

Finally, they reached the entrance, which also had been transformed to resemble something from a fairy tale. No doubt much has changed on the inside as well.

“If you enter now, do note there is no turning back…” The voice seemed to echo around them and suddenly a woman in a black cape appeared before them. The Canterlot girls braced themselves for an attack but the woman raised a gloved hand. “Peace,” she said. “I mean no harm. I am merely here for the same reasons you are.”

Twilight recognized her voice and more so her attire. “Wait…you’re the one who saved us down in the mine.”

“Indeed,” the woman said. “I couldn’t have the Elements of Harmony of this world be killed, especially on my watch.”

“Who are you and how are you able to wield Equestrian magic?” Sunset asked.

“Sunset Shimmer I presume?” the woman asked. “As you may have guessed, you and I are from the same world.” She then lowered her hood, allowing her light grayish arctic blue hair to fall to her shoulders. “I am Radiant Hope, former Empress of the Crystal Empire.”

“What!?” Everyone yelled.

“Whoa,” Rainbow said. “So she’s royalty? Are we supposed to bow or something?”

Radiant chuckled. “No need for that. Former Empress I said.”

“Are you saying…you once ruled alongside Sombra?” Sunset asked.

“Yes.” Radiant turned around and looked at the architecture. “I’ve known him since we were foals…children if that sounds more appropriate. Sombra…had a tough life, even when he was little. I may have been the only friend he ever had.”

“And that is supposed to justify what he’s done?” Sunset asked.

“No,” Radiant said sadly. “For the longest time, I hoped there was still good in him, but by the time I figured out otherwise, I was too late. You may have stopped him in Equestria, but he somehow found a way to come here.”

“And how did you get here?” Twilight asked. “No offense but…most of those we’ve encountered that came from the other side are usually our enemies.”

“Fair enough, I suppose I do owe an explanation,” Radiant said. “After Princess Celestia and Princess Luna defeated Sombra, he cast a spell that caused the entire Empire to disappear for a thousand years. After its return, I immediately fled. I may not have always agreed with Sombra, but since I served along with him, I was very much considered a war criminal.

“I fled as far away from the Empire as I could and for the longest time I was in exile. But soon, I found a purpose. There have been rumors that small tribes of shadow ponies still existed in Equestria, despite Sombra being the last. It took a long time but I was able to find them. I wanted to unify them, not to wage war against Canterlot, but as a way to do some good in the world, to show everyone that dark magic is not always something to be feared. Of course, I had to earn their trust and as a crystal pony, I wasn’t born with the traits to learn dark magic so easily.

“It took…many months to perfect my skills and to be honest, I feared I would end up just like Sombra. Dark magic is almost like a wild animal, you have to tame it or it will inevitably consume you. Once I showed the leaders of the tribe what I was capable of doing, I was able to unify them into one tribe.

“But back to the present. Dark wizards do possess the ability to cross dimensions, much like you have done yourself Sunset. I had heard about the events that had taken place here and was curious enough to come here myself. That was when I found out about Sombra’s plan.”

“He was using Crystal Prep as a hub of sorts,” Sunset said. “All the negative emotions were enough to revive him?”

“Dark magic works in interesting ways,” Radiant said. “But yes, that is right. Unfortunately, there was nothing I could do. Even if I could stop the process, Sombra would have found another way eventually. Now we have to stop him for good.”

“But how?” Rarity asked.

“Would the Crystal Heart work?” Sunset suggested. “I mean, we’d have to get it from Equestria somehow but-”

“That won’t work this time,” Radiant said. “Magic works slightly different here I’m afraid. However, if this resembles the palace of the Crystal Empire…”

“Oh I get it!” Twilight said. “Then there’s got to be a Crystal Heart here too!”

“Perhaps, but wherever it is, I’m sure it’s now in Sombra’s possession,” Radiant said. “But I think that’s enough talk now. We must press forward correct?”

“I don’t care how powerful this guy is, we’re gonna give him one hell of a beat down!” Rainbow declared.

“Alright, lead the way then Radiant,” Sunset said as the doors opened.

It was turning out to be a weird night, as Vinyl Scratch soon found out. The DJ was in the middle of a huge party down at one of the night clubs in downtown Canterlot when she got a call from Lemon Zest. She and Lemon had met up after the Friendship Games when they found out they had personal tastes in music. Well, technically Lemon was more into classic rock but dubstep did intrigue her somewhat.

Vinyl was now on Main Street as Lemon requested, parking on the curb and starting to set up her equipment. She said she wanted Vinyl to bring as much sound equipment as she had; speakers, bass cannon, whatever she had. Luckily, Vinyl was a firm believer in having backups and as such she didn’t have to worry about closing out the party early.

Lemon also asked to bring any old mix tapes she had. Vinyl found that odd but didn’t question her. Most of what she had was old eighties tracks, which she didn’t really listen to for pleasure but more so to see if she can wrap it into an epic remix. Octavia was more into that kind of music anyway.

Vinyl paused and frowned for a moment. Here she was, going into her senior year at school and she still had a crush on Octavia Melody. It was now or never; she would have to talk to Tavi, confess her feelings at the very least. If Tavi didn’t reciprocate, so be it then. Maybe she should give her a call…

It was then Vinyl noticed two things. One, there were a lot more people on the road than cars and judging by the situation, it didn’t look like a block party. Two, Vinyl at first had to clean her glasses for a moment to make sure she wasn’t seeing things, there was a large castle in the middle of downtown. Not one of those old medieval castles, the place was entirely made of crystal, which would have made it look bad ass if it didn’t give Vinyl the chills.

Vinyl just shook her head. Just another day in Canterlot, she told herself. That call would have to wait. For now, she got back to work setting up her speakers.

The girls could only stare at what was inside the building. “This is our school?” Sunny asked. The hallways, lockers, everything was now replaced with tapestries and impressive tile flooring. Sunset was reminded slightly of Canterlot Palace, but unlike that castle, this one gave off a more foreboding feeling.

“So um…Are all castles in Equestria like this?” Twilight asked.

“No…not all of them,” Sunset said. Despite only appearing moments ago, the castle carried the atrocities its owner had caused. There might as well have been blood on the walls.

“I must warn you, this castle reeks of dark magic,” Radiant said. “Sombra is a master when it comes to illusions and as such you’ll see things that aren’t really there, so keep that in mind…”

They walked up the stairway in the middle of the room, taking them to the second floor. “Just out of curiosity…what exactly did this guy do?” Lemon asked.

“Aside from enslaving an entire city and brainwashing his loyal subjects, I could only imagine,” Sunset said. “But I certainly wouldn’t put him above torture.”

As they also soon found out, Sombra also wasn’t above torturing his guests by creating stairways upon stairways. “Sheesh, have you guys never heard of elevators?” Indigo complained.

As they continued on, Sugarcoat was noticing Sour was becoming more and more nervous. “Guys…I think something’s following us…”

“You’re just imagining things,” Sugarcoat replied. “Besides, this castle probably feeds on fear or something so if you keep worrying its going to get worse.”

“That’s not helping Sugarcoat!” Sour snapped.

“Knock it off you two,” Sunny said. But even she couldn’t help but feel as if they were being watched.

Finally, they came to another large room with two large unicorn statues armed with lances in the middle. “The Imperial Guard,” Radiant said, looking up. “Their dedication to their King was one of loyalty, something that didn’t need to be forced on them.” She sighed and shook her head. “My apologies…let us continue on.”

As they were about to exit, a large grate closed on the door, barring them from exiting. The same occurred on the door they just came through.

“It’s a trap!” Twilight yelled.

The ground started to shake slightly, but it was from no earthquake. They all looked behind them slowly and saw it was the two statues that were moving, pointing their weapons at the intruders threateningly.

“Well shit…” both Indigo and Rainbow said.

Chapter 21

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“This looks mighty bad,” Applejack said as the two golems slowly marched towards them.

“I don’t wish to complain but I’m still feeling slightly drained from that last battle,” Rarity said. Now that Sunset thought about it, the whole trip was rather taxing on their powers.

“Do not concern yourselves,” Radiant said, stepping forward. “I’ll take care of these foul creatures.”

“By yourself?” Rainbow asked.

Radiant faintly smiled. “They are but a small nuisance to me.” She then spread out her arms and closed her eyes. “You all might want to stand back.” Everyone else did so immediately as the area around Radiant started to vibrate. “You’ve sworn an oath to protect your master…but I’m afraid it’s one you’ll have to break.”

The resulting shockwave was enough to make the entire castle rattle as the golems were sent flying into the opposite wall. Much to her surprise, the golems didn’t fall to pieces as easily as she thought, though pieces of them did break off. “The magic coursing through them is stronger than I thought,” she mused. “I suppose I was being too soft.”

“Man, I’m not one who gets freaked out easily but this woman freaks me out,” Indigo commented.

Radiant then rose up into the air and with a gesture of her arm a whip-like band of dark matter shot out and broke off the points of both lances. She then attacked attack, this time decapitating both golems before they finally crumbled to the ground.

“Yep, my point exactly,” Indigo said.

Radiant floated back to the ground and patted her gloved hands together. “There, see? No trouble at all.” Everyone stared at her. “What?”

“I can see you’ve mastered the dark arts well,” Sunset commented.

“Hardly, and there’s a big difference between dark magic and the dark arts,” Radiant replied, rolling her eyes slightly. “But enough of that, we must carry on.” The silver grates then lifted up, allowing them to continue on.

To no one’s surprise, there were more stairs to climb. “I can see the man getting quite a workout getting around his castle,” Rarity panted slightly.

“He probably teleports,” Sunny said. “I mean, it probably doesn’t take much right…right?”

Finally they reached a small circular room with only one door on the opposite end. “I can tell we’re getting closer because this room has a lot of dark magic present,” Radiant said.

Sunset looked around. “I don’t see any traps or anything…” She then went towards the door.

“Wait!” Radiant yelled. “You don’t know what’s behind-” But she was too late and Sunset opened the door as a white light engulfed her.

Sunset opened her eyes and looked around, realizing she was no longer in Sombra’s castle. In fact, she recognized the place very well, one she hadn’t stepped foot in for years. She was in Canterlot Palace.

She looked down and saw she was equine once again. “Was I teleported here?” she wondered. “No…this must be a trick, an illusion Sombra set up.”

“It’s no illusion Sunset.” That voice…could it be?

She quickly turned around and saw Princess Celestia standing before her. “P-Princess…” Sunset was at a loss of words and awkwardly tried to bow to show respect.

Celestia chuckled. “That won’t be necessary.” She then went up and enveloped Sunset in her wing. “I’ve missed you…”

Sunset could suddenly feel the emotions well up inside her as she gave her former teacher a hug. “I’ve so many things to tell you…but first I…I’m…!”

“I know,” Celestia said soothingly. “I’ve heard of the things you’ve done and I couldn’t be more proud.”

“Proud?” Sunset stepped back and stared at her. “How can you not be angry with me? After all I did?”

“I was never angry dear Sunset,” Celestia said. “I was sad that I had failed you, that I had failed to reach you and make you understand the true meanings of friendship, but it seemed you learned in other ways.”

Sunset sniffed slightly and smiled. “I think I have Twilight to thank for that.” She then frowned. “But I still have something to do. This is all in my head, isn’t it?”

“It depends on how you interpret it,” Celestia said simply. “I believe Sombra was trying to feed on your fears and put you in a situation where I was…hmm…disappointed and wanted you banished from Equestria forever.” She then smiled, a twinkle of humor in her eye. “But that doesn’t seem the case does it?”

“But…how?”

“Sombra thinks he knows you, but he doesn’t,” Celestia said. “He thought you still had doubts about yourself but in the end you were able to face yourself and put all your fears to rest.”

Sunset wasn’t sure what else to say. All of this was slightly overwhelming for her. “I’ll be completely honest…I almost don’t want to go back…”

“I know,” Celestia nodded. “But your friends need you, more than ever. This may all be in your head as you say, but I will always watch over you, and no borders can change that.”

Sunset nodded as a mist started to envelop the room. “I promise, whenever I find a way to get back to Equestria, I will come visit you.”

Celestia looked at her and Sunset saw there were tears in her eyes. “I will be looking forward to it…”

Sunset could hear people shouting in her as she was being shaken and suddenly she came back to reality. Everyone seemed to be staring right in front of her. “What…?”

“Oh thank goodness,” Fluttershy said. “You had us all worried.”

“What do you mean?” Sunset asked.

“You were standing there, staring out into space!” Pinkie said. “It must’ve been a really good dream cause you had a smile on your face!”

Sunset could feel herself blush slightly. “It’s…don’t worry, it was nothing.”

“As I was trying to warn you,” Radiant said somewhat impatiently. “Sombra had set up a trap that causes illusions inside your head. I can’t imagine what happened but-”

“It was good.”

“What?” Radiant asked.

“It was…a pleasant experience,” Sunset said. “I don’t know how to explain it but it just happened.”

“I see…” Radiant replied. “That may be the case for you but for anyone else it could be less pleasant memories. Sometimes you have to fight fire with fire.” She then raised her hand and the door started to glow a faint blue before disappearing. “Now it should be safe to cross.” Once they went through the door-

“Oh come on!” Rainbow yelled.

There were more stairs.

“You must not falter now, I can sense Sombra’s presence more than ever,” Radiant said. “You’re very close to the top…” She then seemed to hesitate. “But this is where I leave you now. Keep going and you will find the top, I promise.”

“Wait a minute, where are you-?” But before Sunset could finish her sentence, Radiant already disappeared.

“Well…I guess we don’t have much choice then,” Twilight said. “Let’s just hope Sombra doesn’t have anymore surprises for us.”

Sombra stood at the top of the castle, staring down at the world below him. It was almost strange, walking on two feet and having such a…different anatomy. But he would get used to it. He still had his power and now, he had himself a whole new Empire to rule. He then stared at the large pedestal which contained the large black crystal. Sombra had sensed a similar presence such as the Crystal Heart, but in many ways it was different.

“You think you’ve concealed yourself in the shadows, but you can’t hide from me,” he said suddenly. Radiant suddenly appeared behind him. He closed his eyes and lowered his head slightly as if in thought. “It’s been a long time Radiant…I see you’ve kept yourself busy…”

“You know why I’m here…” Radiant said.

“Hmm…I wonder about that,” Sombra said, turning around. “At first, you seemed convinced that you had to destroy me…but now…I’m sensing hesitation. After all this time, you still have feelings?”

“I knew you long before you were king,” Radiant said. “What you had to deal with in your lifetime was terrible and I wanted more than anything to change all that for you. But I remember the good times we had, even if they were few and far between. Everything I did, the good and the bad, it was all for you, because I knew the real you.”

“But the prophecy…”

“To hell with the prophecy!” Radiant snapped. “Something that was written on paper millennia ago does not determine what a person does!” Her gaze then softened. “Sombra…look at me now…I did the unimaginable. I, a crystal pony, was able to learn the ways of dark magic, and I even united the shadow tribes, your people, together. It’s not too late.”

Sombra frowned slightly as he turned away. “But it is…I’m a war criminal Radiant…Celestia would have me executed immediately.”

“To hell with her as well,” Radiant said. “I was by your side, which makes me just as guilty, and yet I was able to stay out of her grasp. And you’re right…I just don’t think I can go through with killing you…you may think its weakness but its love Sombra…I never truly stopped believing in you. Please Sombra…you can take your place as leader of the Shadow Ponies…and we can live a life that we always wanted.”

“Radiant…” He then turned around again and went up to her slowly. He smiled warmly as he put his hands on her shoulders. She looked at him in surprise, feeling as if she was seeing Sombra’s true self. He stroked her cheek gently before giving her a hug. “There’s nothing more I cherish than being by your side…” He then looked at the pedestal one last time. “Except one thing…”

Radiant’s eyes went wide as she felt something stab through her chest, a painful and cold feeling at the same time. “Power is not something I can give up so easily,” Sombra said almost regretfully. “I hope one day you can forgive me, but I would prefer you not to witness me become even worse than I am now.”

Radiant fell to her knees as she bled out slowly. She looked up to Sombra as her sight started to fade. Her breaths came out quick and short as she reached out a hand, though now she wasn’t sure it was whether to grab onto him or attack him. She fell to her side and could only look up as Sombra walked away from her. There was no anger in her last moments, only sadness and regret.

Sombra stopped for a moment as he realized something was wrong. He felt Radiant’s presence but despite her lying on the ground, it was not diminishing at all. He turned around and shielded himself just in time as a spell struck him.

Radiant’s dying body disappeared and she now appeared in the night sky before him. Sombra couldn’t help but allow himself a small smirk. “I see I’m not the only one being deceitful tonight…”

Radiant attacked relentlessly, anger now apparent in her attacks, but Sombra managed to dodge and shield when he could. “Come now my dear, you didn’t actually think I would just turn this all away on a dime did you?” he taunted. “I did mean what I said but I had to pick one over the other.”

“It doesn’t matter anymore,” Radiant said. “You’ve made your choice, and now I’ve made mine.”

Sombra did give her some credit: her skills had improved much since the last time they met. But now it was time to take the offensive. He started attacking with such composure but at the same time had a ferociousness that seemed to overwhelm her. Now Radiant was on the defense and her energy was declining quickly.

“You may have won the hearts of my people,” Sombra said. “But you’ll never surpass me.” The sudden shockwave broke through Radiant’s shield like glass and sent her flying towards the ground where she hit her head and felt her vision become dizzy.

She saw him approach slowly and tried to fire off another spell but he was able to deflect it with ease. “Do not fear, I am not going to kill you,” Sombra said. “At least not yet. The Elements of Harmony are obviously impressed with your skill. However…” He then grabbed her by the throat and lifted her off the ground. “When they see the great mage that you are reduced to nothing, that my dear is truly when they’ll realize the power that they are dealing with…”

“We’re almost there…” Sunset said as they continued up the large flight of steps.

“Well…look at this way Indigo,” Lemon said. “Compared to this…two-a-days will be a piece of cake…”

Indigo laughed. “Yeah…you got that right…so…you gonna explain about that phone call?”

“You’re probably going to laugh but…remember when we were in the car and that song came on?”

“What about it?”

“Well…if music tends to bring out positive emotions in people…”

“Wait a minute…” Twilight suddenly stopped and looked at Lemon. “Are you saying with the power of music, we can somehow break those people out of their trance?”

“I guess…I mean its kind of a long shot…”

“No…I think you’re on to something,” Twilight said. “There’s obviously a connection between everything that’s taking place.”

“Okay, this is the first time we’re hearing about this,” Sunset said, looking quizzically at Twilight.

“Sorry…I didn’t realize how important it could be.”

“So who did you call?” Sunny asked.

“Duh,” Pinkie said. “There’s only one student we know with the bass capabilities of saving the world!”

“Shit,” Vinyl cursed.

Of all the times it had to happen, her speakers weren’t producing any sound. She sighed deeply as she went back to look at the wiring, hoping she wouldn’t have to replace anything.

The girls finally reached the peak, which led into a long corridor. What was different here was the layout of the room. Everything consisted of white blocks and they didn’t look stable. “So…what is this, we just keep walking right?” Rainbow asked.

“I wonder…” Sunset thought. “Does anyone have something small, like a pen or something?”

“Here,” Sugarcoat said, giving her an empty magazine. Sunset tossed the magazine into the middle of the walkway and suddenly lasers shot out of the wall.

“Oh good, glad to see the security system is working well,” Sour grumbled.

“We’re not actually going to cross this are we?” Applejack asked. “Ah really don’t want to become barbeque.”

“I don’t even think we could manage a sprint, especially since it’s a long distance,” Fluttershy said.

“Maybe we don’t have to,” Sunset said. “Rarity, you can make a shield right?”

“Why yes, but I’m not sure how long I can hold it,” Rarity replied.

Sunny then went over and took her hand. “Here…do you feel anything?”

“Oh my…that actually kind of tickles…” Rarity said.

“I’m giving her some of my power,” Sunny said. “Look, I’m not trying to sell us short but…you guys are apparently a big deal and need to be at one hundred percent. We’re just the backups.”

“That’s not true,” Twilight said. “We wouldn’t even be here without your guys’ help so don’t even say you five aren’t important right now.”

“Then I’ll help Rarity out too,” Sugarcoat said as she took Sunny’s other hand. The rest of them joined hands.

“Oh yes, I think we can pull this off now,” Rarity said as a large diamond-shaped shield surrounded them. “Let us be off then.”

They all walked as one as the room erupted in a flurry of light. The attacks were relentless but the shield held steady the entire time until they reached the end. “Hey, I can feel wind just up ahead!” Rainbow said.

“Then let’s hurry,” Sunset said as they made their way towards the large door. It took all of them to open it and once they went through they were greeted with a surprising sight.

They had reached the top, no doubt about it, but instead of the night sky, they were greeted by a sunrise, which was background to a large group of mountains in the distance. When they looked out, they saw what looked like a sprawling city covered in snow. But this wasn’t Canterlot.

It was oddly quiet save for the sound of the wind, but there was no doubt that the sights were breathtaking. Only two people were with them, about fifty yards in front of them. One was standing with their back towards them, the other lying crumpled on the ground.

“Radiant!” Sunset and the others suddenly ran over to her. Sunset lifted her up slightly and was relieved to see she was still breathing.

Radiant opened her eyes slightly and smiled sadly at them. “I truly thought I could fix this on my own…but I was wrong. I’m so sorry…”

“What you see now is the beginning of your demise.” Sombra had turned around to face them. “You think because you carry the Elements of Harmony that you’re invincible but you’re horribly mistaken. My dear Radiant Hope could have finished you all with merely a fraction of her power no doubt, but she was no match for me. I’m now offering you this one and only chance of surrender and not only will I spare you but I will make sure you all live a life most splendidly.”

“No way José!” Pinkie yelled.

“Yeah right, like we’re going to give up to a big creep like you!” Rainbow said.

“You’re just a big bully that makes others do your bidding!” Fluttershy said.

“We’re not letting you take over this world!” Twilight said.

“Or any world for that matter,” Sunset said. “Your return is going to be short-lived Sombra.”

Sombra laughed. “I had a feeling you wouldn’t cower so easily…but really, twelve against one? That hardly seems fair doesn’t it? Luckily I have a way of evening the odds…”

Suddenly, Sunny and the others girls from Crystal Prep were trapped inside a large bubble. Even when they tried to bash it down, the bubble wouldn’t give. “There, that works much better. You may not be the same Elements that I met before but I will still relish the feeling of enacting my revenge.”

“If there’s one thing Ah know, it’s this,” Applejack said. “Never bet against the underdog!”

“Hmm…we’ll see about that.” Sombra opened his arms invitingly. “Come now Elements of Harmony, let us settle this once and for all.”

Chapter 22

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It took another fifteen minutes to figure out, but Vinyl finally managed to get her speakers working and was running a sound check. Vinyl went through the tapes she had. What was it Lemon said? Oh right, it had to be sappy songs, nothing too upbeat.

Luckily, she happened to have a tape labeled just that. She inserted it into the tape player and hoped to Faust that this would work.

Meanwhile, things were only starting to heat up on the top of the castle, and Sombra was enjoying every moment of it. “Your power is impressive!” he taunted as he dodged an attack from Sunset. “But if only you knew your true potential!”

“He’s just trying to wear us out!” Sunset warned. Rainbow, Fluttershy, and Twilight tried to surround him but he only laughed as a large crystal spire erupted out of the ground, raising him higher in the air. However, he managed to lower his guard for only a moment, enough for Rarity to get an attack in and managed to graze his shoulder. He looked at the small wound he had now and realized it was time to get serious. He snapped his fingers and suddenly small crystal blocks appeared, surrounding the girls.

“Whoa!” Rainbow had to move fast once the blocks started shooting lasers at everyone. Unfortunately, that ended up distracting her as a large bolt of energy and sent her flying towards the ground.

“Rainbow!” Fluttershy yelled. She calmed herself quickly and closed her eyes. “I could use some help right now!” Suddenly, a portal appeared and a large beast with wings and burn marks on its face came out, suddenly roaring at Sombra.

“Did you just summon a monster!?” Applejack asked.

“Um…I guess…I can usually call animals here but this is a new one for me,” Fluttershy said.

The manticore leapt forward, about to attack Sombra but he dodged out of the way before cutting the beast down with a simple flick of his wrist.

“…Crap,” Fluttershy cursed. Suddenly, one of the blocks appeared behind her and attacked.

Rarity gasped as she saw her friend crumble to the ground as well. “How dare you, attacking a defenseless girl from behind!?” She then attacked with a flurry of diamonds, which managed to destroy the cubes but weren’t enough to pierce through Sombra’s shield.

“Hey Rarity, give me a hand here!” Applejack yelled. She then grabbed the large spire and with a grunt managed to uproot it off the ground before tossing it into the air. Rarity quickly caught on and fired off more diamonds, cutting the crystal into equal pieces. Applejack then kicked each piece straight at Sombra as they came down.

However, Sombra used his magic to catch the pieces in midair and started rotating them around him, going faster and faster until all anyone saw was a blue band around him. He then launched them back at the girls with such velocity there was no way Applejack could catch them.

“Aw shit…” The two girls were then buried by the resulting rubble.

“Um...this isn’t looking good,” Pinkie said to Sunset and Twilight.

“You think you can get your party cannon?” Sunset asked.

“Oh, I can do better than that!”

“Good. Twilight and I will distract him then,” Sunset said as the two surrounded Sombra.

“You’re running out of options quickly,” Sombra said with a grin. “Perhaps you should’ve thought twice about my offer…”

“Still going to be a no!” Sunset yelled as she and Twilight attacked at the same. Sombra managed to shield in time but now had to deal with two attacks.

“Pinkie, now would be a good time!” Twilight yelled.

“Okie-dokie!” Pinkie then brought out a walkie-talkie. “Bring in the sprinkles!”

About three thousand feet in the air, an AC-130 targeted on Sombra’s position and fired its 120mm cannon. “Firing canisters.”

The sudden explosion could be seen from the plane’s camera. “Damn that’s a good shot!”

The good news was the attack hit. The bad news was that Pinkie easily underestimated the power a 120mm round could do, even if it was just sprinkles inside, and unfortunately the three of them were caught in the blast.

“Pinkie!” Sunset snapped.

Pinkie managed to crawl out of the rubble and gave a small thumbs up. “What? I thought you wanted the big guns."

The ground rumbled slightly as Sombra erupted out of the ground only slightly scathed. “Your powers are commendable if not…unorthodox. But as you can see, I am still standing and you all have but used up all your power.”

“This is…pretty bad…” Rainbow groaned.

Meanwhile, the girls from Crystal Prep have been trying to break out but to no avail. They might as well have been trying to break out of a bubble of Plexiglas. “This is really bad,” Indigo said. “I mean, if they can’t beat him, how do we stand a chance?” Sunny had been standing there with her eyes closed in thought for the past few minutes and it was driving Indigo crazy. “Hey leader, I hope you’re not daydreaming over there!”

“I have an idea,” Sunny whispered. “But you guys have to go along with me, okay?” She then went over and tapped on the glass. “Hey! You!”

Sombra looked over and smiled amusedly. “Oh, now the others wish to talk? I’ll save you the trouble and tell you that if you wish to fight me, it’s only going to end up the same way as these seven.”

“I know…I know we’re no match for you…and that’s why we beg for your forgiveness and to accept our surrender.” No one said anything but Sunny could certainly feel four pairs of eyes piercing into her back.

“I see…well at least some of you know how to accept your fate.” Sombra snapped his fingers and the bubble disappeared. “But do know my forgiveness comes with a price and of course if you serve me well, we’ll just pretend none of this ever happened.”

“There’s just one thing Your Majesty,” Sunny smiled. “Have you been keeping an eye on your ‘loyal’ subjects?”

“What?” Suddenly Sombra heard it. It wasn’t the sound of his name being chanted but…music? He quickly looked over the edge and saw the group of people were now gathered around someone with sound equipment, some with their cell phones raised in the air.

This was really proving to be a weird night, Vinyl concluded. As soon as she started playing her music, the group of students soon came out of their trance in a confused state but upon hearing the notes their mood quickly changed. Many were singing along while others were dancing and some, Vinyl assumed they were couples, were making out and dancing in the background.

There was one person, while very confused, was going around looking for someone. Royal Pin was pushing past people, his eyes darting back and forth. “Has anyone seen Sugarcoat?” he asked. “I don’t know if she’s here but…I need to tell her something.” Of course, no one appeared to be paying any attention to him.

Sombra was at a loss for words. What was going on, what is the meaning of this? “How can you have broken through my spell?”

“Funny what the power of music can do,” Sunny said. “We were all able to put it together, or I guess I should give the credit to Lemon. Your power is fed through the negative emotions of other people, but if these said people were suddenly feeling positive feelings, what would that do to you I wonder?”

Sombra could feel his power starting to slip. “It hardly matters, I am more powerful than all of you combined! I have the black crystal on my side!”

Sunset had noticed the crystal before and suddenly, she felt so foolish. How did she not see it sooner? “Girls,” she said. “There’s only one thing we can do. Direct your power towards the crystal, anything you’ve got left!”

“What will that do?” Twilight asked.

“Just trust me!” Sunset closed her eyes and the light coming from her necklace glowed even brighter as it shot towards the crystal. The others followed suit and as the rest of their magic struck the crystal, it turned from a metallic gray to a robin’s egg blue. Suddenly, like a prism, the energy was reflected and it struck the girls from Crystal Prep.

“What!?” Sombra said. “No…what have you done!?”

The power Sunny suddenly felt was unlike anything she ever experienced. It wasn’t just power but…she felt love for her friends and her home among other things. This was the power the other girls had and it seemed to fill in a gap each of the Crystal Prep girls had.

“I think I finally understand now,” she said. She opened her eyes and they glowed a bright white. “I always wondered why we were chosen with gifts such as this and why it seemed like we were just copying the others. But that’s the thing about friendship, it’s not always the same between everyone. Sure, we like to bring each other down for fun, or we may say things we end up regretting later and yes, compared to those seven girls its like staring at a mirror, but in the end, we would die for one another, because we’re proud of whom we are, and it doesn’t matter what people think of us.”

The other girls opened their eyes, feeling the same power that Sunny felt as they slowly lifted off the ground. “But in the end, we all have one thing to say to you Sombra: you don’t belong in this world and you sure aren’t going to control us! This is our school and our world!”

Suddenly, a black mass of energy appeared above them and it quickly grew, changing into the shape of an equine. Wings suddenly shot out from both sides of it as its eyes glowed a deep yellow. The Shadowbolt suddenly shot forward, straight towards Sombra.

“Noo!” The two collided in an impressive explosion of light that seemed to engulf the entire castle. The crystal started to glow even brighter as if reacting to the new presence of magic.

Once the smoke cleared, Sombra was left on his knees, panting heavily. “I…I refuse…to return to the darkness…” He got up on one knee slowly and glared at all of them. “Know this…you may have defeated me today but I will return one day…and I promise you when that day comes I’ll-”

Sombra was suddenly cut off short as a lance of dark energy pierced through his armor. He could only look down dumbfounded as he suddenly dropped to the ground. Radiant stood behind him, her hand raised up as she leaned back against the wall. “Go in peace…my love…”

The ground started to rumble as the crystal grew even brighter. Suddenly, the girls felt reinvigorated, like getting shot with a dose of adrenaline. “What’s going on?” Twilight said.

“With Sombra gone, this entire place is coming down!” Sunset said. She then went over to Radiant to help her up.

“I’ll be fine,” she assured her. “Take care of the others first.”

The rumbling grew more intense as the towers on top started to crumble. The Canterlot girls went over to the others and offered to give them a lift. “Man, I wish I could have wings!” Indigo said.

Rainbow chuckled. “Maybe next time!”

They were able to land safely before a large shockwave erupted from the castle, destroying it completely but at the same time leaving Crystal Prep in its original form. The wave seemed to expand all over Canterlot. “Well I’m glad that thing’s gone,” Lemon said.

The girls were suddenly caught off guard as a loud cheer erupted behind them and they were quickly swarmed by Crystal Prep students. Sugarcoat then heard her name as she saw Royal Pin running towards her. She managed to break through the crowd and ran up to meet him. “Royal, what are you-?”

“Honestly, I have no idea what’s going on right now,” Royal Pin replied. “I can hardly remember coming out here but…at one point I thought I heard your voice, calling to me. I know it sounds crazy but-”

“No, it’s really not,” Sugarcoat smiled as she took his hands. “At least not compared to what I’ve witnessed the past couple days. I’m just glad you’re alright.”

“You too but um…” Royal suddenly blushed. “There was something I needed to tell you?”

“O-Oh?” Sugarcoat felt herself blushing as well, feeling stupid that she was now starting to stutter.

“This is going to seem so sudden but…um…” Royal started to move closer and Sugarcoat, moving on autopilot now, did the same. They were very close now, her lips about to-

“Just what is the meaning of this!?” The sudden interruption jolted them apart and Sugarcoat scowled, recognizing that voice immediately.

Principal Cinch was making her way through the crowd as people moved out of her way. Cadance wasn’t too far behind her. She then saw the girls and pursed her lips. “I demand an explanation now!”

“Well, for starters, we just saved the world from an evil dictator,” Sunset said. “No thanks to you of course.”

“Yeah, and we totally got rid of that ugly castle!” Pinkie chimed in.

“Hold on, did I hear castle and evil dictator?” Cadance said, finally catching up.

“That’s right,” Twilight explained. “Principal Cinch has been keeping a rather big secret from all of us. She’s been keeping a vessel of dark magic deep below where Crystal Prep stands and wanted to use it as a defense against Canterlot High. Does that sound about right Principal Cinch?”

“What!?” Cadance could only stare at her.

“I don’t know what she’s talking about,” Cinch said dismissively. “Clearly these children are under the influence of something no doubt. But to make matters worse, they were holding an illegal party on school grounds.” She then stared at Sunny. “I thought I made myself clear before…”

“You know what, screw it!” Sunny suddenly snapped. “Expel us if you must! I rather go down doing good than the alternative!”

“Actually, she may no longer have that power…” Radiant Hope suddenly walked up to them.

Cinch stared at her, and her wardrobe, in surprise. “And just who are you?”

“My name isn’t important,” Radiant smiled. “What is important though is the choice you’re going to have to make. You see, Principal Cinch has a long history of bribery and blackmailing others, such actions that would not only make you lose your job, but also serve quite a bit of time behind bars.”

“I’d choose your words carefully,” Cinch threatened her.

“Oh I don’t need words, I have facts on my side.” Radiant then took out a small flash drive. “On this drive is all the emails and transactions between those you’ve threatened and bribed, respectfully. It’s quite a big list.”

“H-How did you get into my personal computer!?” Cinch snapped. “That’s burglary and invasion of privacy! I can have you arrested!”

“Hmm…but how can you arrest me if I don’t exist?” Her grin widened. “You have two choices: either we can continue on this route and you will, and believe me you will, find yourself out of a job and behind bars. Or…you can resign with what little grace you have left and we can just pretend this never happened. You’re no longer going to be principal of Crystal Prep anyway but at least in the end you can possibly retire comfortably.”

Cinch just stared flabbergasted at the strange, at a complete loss of words. “This isn’t over!” She then turned around marched away.

“Damn…!” Indigo and Lemon both said.

“Okay, question,” Sunset said. “Did you really break into her computer?”

“That’s my little secret…” Radiant beamed. “But I don’t think any of you are complaining, are you?”

“Wait…so if Cinch is gone then…” Twilight then looked at Cadance.

“Oh…no I don’t think it quite works that way,” Cadance giggled. “Actually, to be honest, I don’t think being principal is really my thing. Being Dean of Students has really been a joyful experience so I hope I can work with whoever becomes the new principal.”

“Okay, not to change the subject but…wow how did you guys do that!?” Rainbow said to Sunny.

“I think Sunny and I came to the same conclusion,” Sunset said. “It was a long shot but that crystal reacts to different magic and because we gave it power, it transferred it to the Shadowbolt girls.”

“It was kind of weird…” Sour said.

“But I think part of it was the magic we possessed as well,” Sunny said. “But I’ll be honest, if you guys want to take the lead role, I think that’s fine with us. We just want to go back to our regular lives if we can.”

“Honestly, Ah don’t think ya can go back to ‘regular’,” Applejack pointed out.

“Besides, now we know if something happens here, you guys can handle it, right?” Twilight asked.

“Oh…I think we've got it taken care of,” Sugarcoat said with a smile.

It wasn’t long before the group finally dispersed, leaving the twelve girls behind. “Can you believe its almost four in the morning?” Rarity asked.

“I am going to sleep like a baby,” Rainbow said.

“Oh that’s right, our summer’s just begun too,” Indigo said. “Speaking of which…you think we can all hang out again sometime?”

“Sure thing,” Applejack said. “You guys have no problem hanging out with CHS girls now right?”

“Heh, I guess not,” Sour said.

“But did we really fix everything?” Fluttershy asked.

“I don’t know, to be honest,” Sunset said. “But with the Tantabus and Sombra gone for good, I think we can all rest easy now.”

“Well, I guess we should all call it a night then,” Sunny said. “But you know, despite everything, it was kind of cool hanging out with you guys. You guys are obviously a big deal.”

“Well…yeah…” Pinkie shrugged.

“I’m just glad you guys don’t um…hate me anymore,” Twilight said sheepishly.

“You’re still a damn traitor!” Sour snapped. She then smiled pleasantly. “Just kidding! You’re pretty cool in my book now.” Twilight didn’t seem quite sure of that.

The two groups set off in different directions, not entirely sure if they’d ever meet each other again.

Sunset was dropped off at her apartment but she didn’t go inside right away. She looked up at the sky and saw it was a clear night. It had been a long time since she saw the stars in Equestria, and now she was wondering if she’d ever see them again.

“A bit for your thoughts?”

Sunset could only smile. “Are you following me now?”

“It certainly wasn’t my intention,” Radiant said. “I just figured you had some questions.”

“Well, I do have one in particular.”

“Ah, I’m going to assume either it’s “how are things in Equestria?” or “how do I get back home now?””

“Nailed it right on the head,” Sunset said, sighing. “Not that it really matters since the only connection I have is gone now.”

“Is it? I actually detected a small magical presence coming from CHS. The vessel is destroyed, that is true but…”

“You think it can be repaired?” Sunset asked, excitement suddenly in her voice.

“I think it may be easier than you think,” Radiant smiled. “I’m more than willing to help.”

“Thank you but…why?” Sunset asked.

“Consider it my way of repaying you,” Radiant said. “All of this could have been prevented if I had acted sooner. Perhaps you do not blame me but I blame myself. This is pretty much all I can offer.”

Forgetting the lure of sleep, Sunset went to get her keys. “Then let’s get started then. But one other thing…how did you find out about Cinch so easily?”

“I do have my own network you know…”

Sunny managed to sneak into her home unannounced, much to her relief. She quietly went to her room and crashed onto her bed, not caring about getting undressed. To have all of this put behind them was a tremendous relief.

She smiled slightly as she felt sleep overtake her quickly. Perhaps this was going to be a good summer after all.

Epilogue

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Princess Twilight paced back and forth, not sure what to do. The portal wasn’t working and she hadn’t been able to get a hold of either Cadance or Shining Armor. “Twilight, calm down, you’re going to leave a mark on the floor,” Spike said.

“But I can’t calm down,” Twilight said. “How did the Tantabus get out? How did it even get out of the dreamscape? Sunset and the others have to fight it alone and I can’t do anything about it!”

“Well, I did find a few books that could help us reestablish a connection,” Starlight offered.

“I don’t think it’ll work, the Tantabus most likely destroyed the portal completely and even if it could be fixed on that side it would take time, and that’s even with Equestrian magic.” Twilight sighed. “Some help I was…”

Starlight and Spike glanced at one another but then Spike noticed something behind her. “Uh…Twilight?”

“Well, I can still send Sunset messages so at the very least I can send instructions if need be, if she was able to defeat the Tantabus,” Twilight said. “But then again, she looked pretty powerful…”

“Twilight,” Starlight said.

“Oh I can’t be doubting them. Sunset and other me already took care of two she-demons already so I think they’re more than capable of-”

“TWILIGHT!”

“What!?” Both Spike and Starlight pointed behind her and Twilight turned around. The portal appeared to be operational again and a pony was currently standing in front of it.

“Hey Twilight,” Sunset said with a smile. “I think I better get you caught up to speed…”

Bonus Chapter!!!

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“Yes, it definitely sounded like a crazy night indeed. Yes, I’ll make sure to tell her. You just get some rest Cadance. I think we should all get together again soon, maybe for dinner? Shining is more than welcome to join us. Okay, good night.”

Luna hung up and sighed slightly. “Just another night in Canterlot it seems.” She then went back upstairs and knocked on Celestia’s door.

“Yes?” Luna opened the door and saw her sister lying in her bed, reading a book.

“I just got off the phone with Cadance,” Luna said. “Apparently a lot has happened tonight at Crystal Prep.”

“Crystal Prep?” Celestia sat up. “If you had said Canterlot High I wouldn’t have been surprised but…what happened?”

“Oh the usual: some villain from Equestria shows up and tries to take over the world, turns the school into his very own fortress and is eventually defeated.”

“Let me guess…Sunset and the others were involved?”

“Yes, but apparently some of the girls from Crystal Prep helped as well. They…apparently have powers as well now.”

“Interesting…” Celestia appeared to be in thought now.

“That and the fact there was some hidden relic that came from Equestria itself. Honestly, it’s like we’re a dumping ground for rejected citizens and objects.”

“Well it’s certainly made things a lot more exciting lately,” Celestia pointed out.

“Oh but I didn’t even mention the best part: Abicus Cinch is apparently resigning.”

“What!?” Celestia shot up so fast that her book fell onto the ground. “You’re serious?”

“That’s what Cadance says and you know she’s not one to fib.” Luna smirked slightly. “Sounds like Crystal Prep is in need of a new principal.”

“I see that glint in your eye Luna and no you’re not taking up that position.”

Luna gasped. “Really sister? I was going to say Cadance should take over…but apparently she’s more interested in staying as Dean. Not that I can blame her of course.”

Celestia sighed. “The next school board meeting is going to be a circus.”

“True, but this does give us an opportunity,” Luna said. “Surely there can be no one worse than Cinch in charge there and if we can make friends quickly…”

Celestia nodded. “It would certainly warm up relations between the two schools. It might even make the Friendship Games more bearable. I see, well I’m glad Cadance let us know.” However, her sister didn’t make the move of leaving. “…What?”

“Well, I’ve been thinking…” Luna suddenly had a grin on her face. “Both Sunset Shimmer and Twilight Sparkle told us a lot about that other world and…well I’ll be honest I’m quite curious.”

“What are you suggesting?” Celestia looked at her sister suspiciously.

“I’m suggesting…why don’t we take a look at it for ourselves.”

Celestia stared at her, hoping for a moment that Luna was pulling her leg. After a few moments she could only say, “You must be joking.”

Luna shook her head. “Not at all. Come now sister, surely you must be curious as well.”

“Curious yes, but that idea sounds reckless. Neither of us knows what the other side is like.”

“Well everyone is apparently a pony. I like ponies.”

“And there are also things there that could kill us both.”

“Doesn’t that sound exciting?” Luna grinned.

Celestia sighed as she pinched the bridge of her nose slightly. Typical Luna, wanting to jump into something first and ask questions later. “I think you need to go back to bed.”

“Please sister…will you at least think about it?” Oh no, now she was doing the puppy eyes. She always gets away with the puppy eyes.

Celestia crossed her arms and looked away from her slightly. “…I’ll think about it.”