> Daughters of the Purge
>  by Nebula Star
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter 1: The Daughters
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 1: The Daughters
***


The main room of the Golden Oaks Library was tense. In one corner two alicorn fillies huddled together, the older standing protectively in front of the younger and projecting a shield around them both. Opposite them was Spike, still laying back against the wall, a trail of icy spikes leading from the fillies ending just in front of him. Off to the side was Twilight and Captain Feather, the guard standing in a defensive stance before her princess while Twilight projected a shield between the fillies and her assistant.

“What do you mean, Spike…?” Twilight said softly staring at the two fillies stunned. “They’re daughters of Achlys?”

At the ancient alicorn’s name, the two fillies huddled closer, throwing her a fearful look.

With a grunt, Spike, pushed himself back to his feet. The two fillies’ eyes immediately went back to him, but he made no move toward them. “Perhaps I should clarify. These two are daughters of Achlys who she treated so horribly that they ran away. And when they were captured by the mortal coalition, she didn’t even try to save them.” The elder of the two, Ania, looked up at Spike in confusion. He gave them a reassuring smile and inclined his head. “I am glad to see you’re alright.” He told them sincerely.

The filly’s confusion only grew and the younger, Adikia, looked up at her sister, surprise evident on her face as well.

Twilight glanced between them and Spike taking a calming breath. “Alright, everypony just relax,” she said and Feather stood down, sensing that the danger had passed. The fillies didn’t move, however. Twilight turned to them and with a reassuring smile, moved slowly over to them and laid down on her belly in front of them, just outside their barrier, putting her more at their level. “It’s okay… you’re safe here,” she said gently.

Adikia looked up at her sister, a little bit of hope in her eyes, but Ania still looked suspicious.

Twilight just continued to smile reassuringly. “Don’t worry about Spike; he’s not the same dragon you knew anymore.”

Her piercing silver eyes flicked to Spike then back to Twilight. Finally, she reluctantly lowered her shield.

“Apple said that the only alicorns now were the princesses… that they were loved by the mortal ponies…” She said uncertainly.

Twilight smiled. “Well, I don’t know if I’m loved just yet, but I like to believe that I’m at least well liked. I am the princess of friendship after all.”

She looked up at Twilight a moment more, unsure, as her sister peaked out from behind her. “And… Achlys?”

Twilight’s smile faded a little, by what Spike said, they clearly had wanted to escape their mother, but at the same time, they were fillies and she was still their mother. Was it possible for ones so young to have lost all love they had for the mare that had born them? “She’s gone.” Twilight said softly.

“Dead?” Ania asked, wanting to be sure.

“Yes.” Twilight answered reluctantly.

Ania looked up at her for a moment seeming to process that news, while Adikia looked about ready to cry. “Good.” Ania said firmly, though there was the slightest quaver in her voice. Adikia looked up at her in surprise, tears shimmering in her eyes, but seeing her sister’s resolve, she gave a sniff, and leaned into her sister’s side while Ania held her comfortingly with one wing.

Twilight sat up and reached out to them with one wing, gently touching Ania’s shoulder. She looked up, still trying to keep a strong face, but there were tears in her eyes. Twilight just gave her a kind and sympathetic smile and after a moment reached out and pulled the fillies into her embrace. Adikia whimpered and began to softly cry, clinging to Twilight, while Ania simply let herself be held, taking the comfort Twilight offered as her tears also began to flow.

For a time, they stayed like that, Twilight holding the sisters while they finally let out the stress and pain from all they’d endured. Twilight couldn’t imagine what it must have been like, being on their own in a world where everypony hated them simply because of what they were and who their mother was. And at their age… Even Ania couldn’t be much more than fourteen, if she was even that old. So she held them, offering them what comfort she could, while resolving to ensure that they never had to suffer such hardships again.

“You fillies have had a very rough time, haven’t you?” She said softly, filling her voice with understanding. “But you’re safe now. I promise you’re safe here. You don’t have to run any longer. And you don’t have to be afraid.”

Ania sniffed softly, then finally reached up, returning the embrace. Twilight smiled, holding them for a few moments more before finally releasing them, and letting them sit back in front of her looking up at her. Seeing how much pain and uncertainty the fillies had endured clear in their eyes, she made a decision.

“You two can stay with me;” she said kindly. “Though, it might be a little crowded until my new place is finished.”

“I can move my things to the basement, and they can take my room for now.” Spike offered from across the room. Ania tensed, looking at him sharply, something that didn’t go unnoticed by the dragon.

He just smiled though, not letting it offend him. “Would it make you more comfortable if I went out for a while?” He asked her gently.

She looked back for a moment before giving a small nod.

“Okay.” He said softly. “I’ll just check on Trixie; help her get her wagon parked off the road.”

Twilight nodded. “Alright, thank you, Spike.”

He nodded and quickly stepped out. Once he was gone, Ania seemed to relax a little more.

“He’s lived a whole other life since you knew him.” Twilight told the fillies gently. “He really isn’t the same dragon you knew anymore.”

Ania reluctantly nodded, but Adikia looked up curiously. “What dost thou mean?” She hadn’t said much so far, but Twilight noticed her voice had a musical quality similar to Sweetie Belle’s. 

“Well, it’s a bit of a story, but basically Achlys made him a baby again and enclosed him in an egg, without his memories. Then I ended up hatching him and raising him. He’s a very different dragon now, even after he regained his memories. He’s not the dragon you knew anymore, trust me.”

Ania hesitated but finally looked to her little sister.

Adikia looked up at her and nodded.

“He… he did not treat us badly.” Ania said softly. “But he was not kind.”

“He has changed.” Twilight assured her. “I’m sure he was sincere when he said he was glad to see you’re alright.”

Ania hesitated a moment more. “Alright.”

Twilight smiled warmly and gently placed a wing on her shoulder. “You’ll see, he really has changed.” She said, then stood. “Anyway, like I said, you can stay here for now, so make yourselves at home. I need to talk to Trixie about something before she runs off again, and I’ll need to speak with Daring Do when she comes back as well. So for now, why don’t you just take some time to relax. There’s plenty of books to read if you like, or… um…” Twilight looked around realizing there wasn’t much else for fillies to do in her library. Fortunately, she was saved from trying to think of more when Ania looked around at the shelves.

“Is there a book about this land… Apple said it is called Equestria?”

“Oh! Yes, of course;” she got to her hooves and went over to one of the shelves. “Here we are, this book has an excellent overview of Equestria’s history for foals,” she said levitating the tome off the shelf. “It’s a good place to start.”

Ania took the book in her own magic, levitating it down so Adikia could see the cover that depicted the Equestrian flag.

“Why don’t you go ahead and read that. You’ll see; the ponies of this land worked hard to make it a place where all ponies can live together in harmony,” Twilight told them with a warm smile. “And it is quite a story.”

Ania looked skeptical, but opened the book to the first page. “It is written in common ponish?” She asked in surprise.

Twilight was confused for a moment then realized why she was surprised. “Oh, yes, ponies stopped writing books in old ponish only a decades or so after the princesses took the throne. Princesses Celestia and Luna wanted knowledge to be available to all ponies, so they didn’t want books to be written in a language that only the scholars still learned. Ponies stopped using old ponish all together by the end of the first century of the sisters’ rule. Now days the only ponies who ever learn old ponish are historians studying ancient history.”

Ania looked at her for a moment, then nodded. “That is good. Knowledge should not be horded… even mother believed so.” The last was added almost too softly to hear.

Twilight gave her a reassuring smile. “Why don’t you and your sister go ahead and read that; take some time to relax. If you have any questions, I’ll be in just the other room; I just need to talk to Trixie about something.”

She looked up and nodded once more then together the sisters went over to one of the library’s nooks where there were a few cushions where they could relax and read.


~~~


Daring landed on the porch of the impressive cloud home, following one of her biggest fans, and being honest with herself, one of the few ponies she considered a friend. After reuniting Apple Bloom with her family, she’d suggested they give the family some privacy, and go somewhere away from the town. That was when Rainbow had suggested they go to her place, saying it was on the edge of town. She’d wanted to learn more about Rainbow anyway, so she’d agreed. “Nice place.” 

Rainbow grinned. “Yeah, my parents got it for me when I told them I wanted to move to Ponyville,” she said as she opened the door. “Celestia knows, I couldn’t afford it myself. Not on a weather-pony’s salary.”

“So you work as a weather pony?” Daring asked curiously.

“Uh… yeah.” Rainbow said sounding a little embarrassed.

“Hey, if it pays the bills…” Daring said with a shrug. “I had to work all kinds of odd jobs when I was first starting out. I wasn’t able to get any actual archeology work even with my degrees. Until I wrote my first book, I was flat broke most the time. Ever notice how I never stayed in any hotels and flew everywhere myself for my first few adventures?”

Rainbow blinked. “Heh, I never really noticed, but yeah, you didn’t, did you?”

Daring shook her head. “Nope, like I said, flat broke. But then I published my first book, and you know how that went.”

“Yeah… Come on in.” Rainbow said, opening the door and stepping inside herself. 

Daring followed looking around. There seemed to be two definite themes to Rainbow’s home. The first was obvious; rainbows. But the other, the other seemed to be racing, or perhaps stunt flying. There was the trophy case against one wall in the livingroom with an impressive number of trophies and ribbons. A few little statuettes of pegasi in flight were placed here and there throughout the room; likely specific pegasi athletes, though Daring doubted she’d recognize any now days. She hadn’t really followed any sports since her college days. There was one framed poster she recognized though; she doubted there was a pony in Equestria who wouldn’t recognize that particular flight suit. “The Wonderbolt’s huh?”

“Yeah, I’m actually in the Reserves right now.” Rainbow said proudly.

“Really? I suppose that makes sense; Apple Bloom did tell me you were the one that did the sonic rainboom a few years back. “I heard about it, of course, but I never made the connection that that was you.”

She grinned. “I could show you if you want?”

“Maybe later. I don’t really want to call attention to myself while I’m here.”

“Oh, right.”

Daring sat down on one of the couches, glad to relax after helping pull Trixie’s wagon.

“So, how’d you end up with Bloom anyway?” Rainbow asked, sitting down opposite her.

“We both stumbled upon the same ancient ruin out in the Everfree.” Daring told her.

“What, the castle?”

“Nah, older than that. Do you know about the purge?”

“Yeah… did you find Achlys’ prison? Is that where Apple Bloom went!?”

“No this was a different one, still intact.” Daring told her.

Rainbow’s eyes went wide, “You found an intact alicorn prison!? Holy… you’ve got to tell Twilight!”

“Relax, I already told her the basics, and I’ll be going back over there to give her more details later.”

“Oh… good.”

“It was strange actually, there was this pull, that I felt near the place, drawing me in. Apple Bloom felt it too, that’s why she went to investigate. Have to say I was shocked when I saw a young filly exploring what I knew was likely an extremely dangerous ruin in the middle of the deadliest forest in Equestria.” Daring told her going on to describe how she’d first encountered the filly and how their first meeting had gone.



“She did what!” Rainbow gasped, wide eyed. 

“She cut her own foreleg off right in front of me.” Daring repeated. “Then she reversed time to reattach it.”

“Seriously!?”

“Just wait until I get to what happened with Trixie later…”

“Trixie!? How did Trixie get involved?”

“I’m getting to it…” Daring said, going on with her story.



“She got decapitated!?”

“Yep, the blade sliced through her neck like butter. I’ll never forget Apple Bloom’s reaction either; she just stared wide eyed for a moment then said, ‘Yeah… I’ll be turning back time now.’ And then Trixie went and walked into the trap again before we could stop her and she lost her head a second time! After that Apple Bloom took us back even further and we both tackled her before she could make it three.”

“Dang, the more I hear about Bloom’s magic, the more incredible it becomes.”

Daring snorted. “Tell me about it. I tell you, I was so glad that I was the one that figured out that last trap; I was beginning to feel a bit useless.”



“You accidentally triggered the release!? You mean they got out!” Rainbow jumped to her hooves, wings extended.

Daring nodded. “Yep, two innocent little fillies that had been imprisoned for the terrible crime of being Alicorns.”

She blinked. “What, really?”

“We found a message left in the prison by Starswirl himself that indicated that they were innocent and it sounded like he had them imprisoned to protect them. I think he was hoping they’d be released in a time that the world would be more tolerant of alicorns.”

“Huh… so where are they now?” She asked relaxing and sitting back down.

“We left them with Princess Twilight for now.” Daring told her. “Anyway, that’s pretty much it. With Trixie’s wagon we brought Apple Bloom and the two alicorn fillies back to Ponyville, stopping by the Princess’s place to tell her what happened. And find out where Apple Bloom lived since she had fallen asleep by then.”

“So that’s when Captain Feather contacted us?”

“Probably, she said she sent word as soon as she knew Apple Bloom was there. I take it there’d been quite a search for her?”

Rainbow nodded. “Me, the Apples, Apple Bloom’s friends, and pretty much Twilight’s entire guard. She ran off last night after getting in a fight with each of her two closest friends. Then Rekaj; he’s the dragon that gave Apple Bloom her magic…”

“That didn’t look like any dragon magic I’ve ever heard of,” Daring said with a raised brow.

“Yeah, he’s apparently from another dimension or something,” 

“What!?”

“Yep, I think Twilight said his world is called Yuvari, or something like that.” Rainbow told her. “But anyway, he said he’d sensed a safety spell he’d taught her activating over and over. The spell turns back time when she dies, so that meant she was dying over and over, and he said she was probably doing it on purpose.”

Daring winced. “She did say she’d spent most the night dying over and over. Why would she do that though?”

“Rekaj said she was probably trying to get used to dying.” Rainbow said and shrugged, not really understanding it herself. “He apparently did the same thing when he first made the spell.”

Daring frowned and shook her head. “Well she seems like a great filly. She was determined to take the danger all on herself and make sure nopony else got hurt.”

“Yeah, Bloom and her friends are pretty awesome fillies.” Rainbow agreed. “Sounds like you had a bit of an adventure; you going to write a book about this one?”

“Heh, it will be almost impossible to keep my secret if I do. But then including you in the last book probably already made that a moot point anyway,” Daring said sounding a little resigned. “Have to admit, I had no idea how famous you and your friends were when I included you.”

Rainbow rubbed the back of her neck laughing sheepishly. “Yeah, I uh, never really thought about that.”

Daring shrugged. “Well, what’s done is done. I’m actually surprised I haven’t heard anything about it yet. Doubt it will last much longer. Pretty soon either ponies will figure out that I’m real, or they’ll start accusing A.K. Yearling of selling out and putting a famous fan in her books… Not sure which is worse.”

“Sorry.”

Daring gave a rueful laugh. “It’s not your fault. I’m the one that put you in the book after all, heck I even put you on the cover. I could have changed you and your friends’ descriptions, but I didn’t.” She sighed. “Maybe it’s for the best. The princess said she may have a mission for me, checking on the other prisons the scrolls we brought back talk about. It’s probably going to get pretty difficult to keep my secret if I take it.” 

“Making sure none of those alicorns escape is pretty important.” Rainbow told her. “Just one almost took over Equestria, we barely managed to beat her. Only reason we did was because Princess Luna pretended to be on her side so she could put a sword through her.”

“Yeah, that’s why I’m probably going to do it… maybe it’s about time I let my secret out. I just hope none of my fans are dumb enough to go running around the jungle trying to find the places I’ve been.”

“Heh, yeah…” Rainbow said rubbing the back of her neck.

Daring smirked. “You’re not one I’d worry about out there. Why don’t you tell me about some of your adventures? I mean I saw the official story about the return of Nightmare Moon, but that’s not the same as hearing a first hoof account.”

“Oh yeah! That was pretty awesome. You see, the main Summer Sun Celebration was here in Ponyville that year and we were going all out! I was in charge of keeping the sky clear, but that was a piece of cake, so I had most my day free. I was practicing some new stunts, when one… didn’t quite go how I planned. I crashed right into a unicorn I’d never met before and we both ended up in this huge mud puddle… that’s how I met Twilight Sparkle…”


~~~


“She had my face!” The shout echoed through the streets; the voice’s owner clearly hysterical.

She didn’t hear the reply of the officer they were speaking to from her hiding place, but she was nearly as panicked herself. Two of her friends were nearby keeping watch trying to help her get away before things got worse. One thing they all knew; this was going to complicate things.
> Chapter 2: The Third Mask
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 2: The Third Mask
***


Ponyville was peaceful as ever. Despite the activity of Twilight’s guard during the night and into the morning, most ponies were just going about their business. A few ponies looked at Spike seeming a little curious. Perhaps about what was going on, but just as likely curious about Spike himself. Most had gotten used to his older appearance, but there were some around Ponyville who still wanted to know how and why it happened. Including one particular unicorn that, to his surprise, was heading his way.

“Hey, Spike!” The mint green unicorn greeted with a broad smile.

“Hello, Lyra.” Spike said smiling in return.

“How have you been? We haven’t really had much chance to talk in a while.”

“You know you could just stop by the library some time and say hi to Twilight.” Spike told her with a grin.

Lyra shrugged and turned to walk alongside Spike. “I know, but do you think Twilight would even want to see me?”

He laughed. “Of course, she would! She may not have appreciated you and the other fillies back in Canterlot like she should have, but you were still her friends. If you remind her of that, I think she’ll want to renew your friendship.”

“Really? I just figured she’d moved on.”

“You know how focused Twilight gets.” He said shaking his head. “To be honest I don’t think she’s even realized that you live here. And I know she’s never noticed the other fillies the times they’ve come down to visit Ponyville.”

Lyra laughed, “Yeah, I guess that does sound like Twilight. But I was asking about you, Spike. How have you been? You’ve certainly grown recently.”

“Heh, yeah… had a bit of a growth spurt. Nothing like last time, don’t worry,” he improvised.

“Not going giganto and trying to steal everything in town this time?” Lyra asked with a smirk.

Spike laughed. “No, it’s just a normal growth spurt for dragons,” he told her. Fortunately ponies still didn’t know too much about dragons so she seemed to accept his word for it. Really it wasn’t far from the truth. Dragons often had growth spurts where they’d grow significantly in a short time, though they usually didn’t grow ten years’ worth in a day.

“Huh, guess that makes sense. And you finally got your wings too!”

He smiled and stretched them briefly. “Yep. Pretty nice bonus!”

Lyra grinned. “You always did follow Twilight in everything. You couldn’t resist getting wings too, huh.”

Spike laughed, “Yeah well, I was always going to get wings! Twilight just beat me to it!”

“I guess that’s true. So, I noticed you’re walking on all fours now?”

“Yeah, that’s from growing up around ponies.”

Lyra gave him a curious look. “What do you mean?”

“Dragons are highly adaptive. As we grow, our form will often adapt to better match those we’re closest to. Since I’ve grown up with ponies, and all my closest friends are ponies, my form has adapted to be more pony-like.”

“Huh, neat. ‘Course if you have another growth spurt, you might get too big for Ponyville, whether you walk like a pony or not.”

He smiled. “That’s not a problem, Twilight used an age spell on me that locks me at this age, so I won’t grow anymore.”

Lyra looked at him sharply. “Twilight can do age spells now!?”

“Yep. After that magic duel incident, Twilight did quite a bit of research on age spells.” Which was entirely true. The particular spell she’d used to lock Spike’s age wasn’t one that she’d researched back then, but she had done a lot of research on them.

“Huh, wow. So Twilight can lock somepony at a certain age?” She asked, clearly interested.

“Yes, but it’s not safe to use on anyone who’s not immortal or extremely long lived. So, it’s definitely not safe to use on regular ponies, not for any extended amount of time anyway; and Alicorns obviously don’t need it.”

“Ah… Why not?”

Spike thought for a moment about how to explain. “Well, you know how every living thing has a lifeforce that you can detect with magic?”

She nodded.

“Well for most races, that life force is finite, it is depleted over time and when it runs out, they die. Well the age locking spell uses extra energy from the person’s life force to keep them from aging. So for regular ponies, it would shorten their life, and not just a little. Twilight estimated that for a regular pony, every day they spent age locked, they’d lose two days from their maximum lifespan.”

“Oh…” Lyra looked down a moment thinking. “But what if she just kept making a pony younger?”

He figured she might think to ask something like that, fortunately Twilight had explained that one to Spike as well. “That has a similar problem. See mortal races also use their life force slower the older they get, but if you reduce their age, suddenly they’re using their lifeforce faster again. You’d still reduce their total lifespan by about a third. Though I suppose they would be younger for all of it…”

“Huh, so it’s a matter if you want the longer lifespan or the youth…” She looked over at Spike. “But wait, doesn’t that mean you’re reducing your lifespan right now?”

Spike shook his head. “We recently found out that I’m actually an orinthian dragon. Basically the alicorns of dragons.”

“What, really!?” Lyra asked her eyes wide. “Does that mean you’re some kind of dragon prince!?”

Spike laughed. “No, no. Dragons are all so long lived, that some of us can technically live forever isn’t really that big of a deal. But it does mean that my life force, like alicorns’ is constantly being replenished by my magic; so being age locked isn’t an issue for me. And honestly, I think I’m already the perfect size right now.”

“Yeah, you look pretty good.” She said then glanced around, realizing they were getting past the main part of town now. “So… where were you headed?”

“Nowhere really.”

She gave him a curious look. “You just out for a walk?”

“Pretty much. Did you hear about the commotion this morning?”

She nodded. “I heard Twilight’s guards were all over the place.”

“Yeah, Apple Bloom ran off last night and apparently spent the night in the Everfree…”

“What!? Is she alright!?”

“She’s fine,” Spike assured her quickly. “Her magic makes her practically invulnerable.”

“Really? I heard rumors she had some pretty powerful magic.”

“It is very powerful,” he agreed. “Anyway, you’ll probably hear more about this soon, but while Apple Bloom was out in the forest she met up with Trixie of all ponies and one other, and together they found what turned out to be an ancient prison where two innocent alicorn fillies were imprisoned.”

“Alicorn fillies!? Who would imprison innocent fillies!?”

Spike sighed. “It’s not well known now, but Celestia told us that long ago, alicorns were hated. The fillies were imprisoned simply for being alicorns.”

Lyra looked shocked. “Why would they hate alicorns?”

“You heard about Achlys didn’t you?”

She winced, likely recalling what Spike knew was the official story that the princesses had released, which left out certain details about himself and Twilgiht. “Yeah.”

“She and others like her are why alicorns were hated back then.” He told her. “Anyway, the fillies weren’t exactly comfortable with a dragon around, so I thought it best to give them some space for a bit.” Truly they likely would have been fine with any other dragon, but he couldn’t really say as much.

“Ah… so are they going to be staying with Twilight?” She asked curiously.

“At least at first. As for the long term… I don’t think Twilight has really thought about it yet.”

“Thought about what?” Spike looked over toward the new voice to see a familiar blue pegasus stallion trotting toward them.

“Whether the alicorn fillies Apple Bloom found would be staying with Twilight long term or not.” Spike told him, then looked toward Lyra. “Lyra, this is Vele’Rekaj,” he said then looked toward Rekaj. “I’m guessing you already know who Lyra is.”

Rekaj simply nodded and turned to Lyra. “Pleased to meet you.” He held out a hoof to her and she gave him a friendly hoof-bump. 

“Uh, likewise. Vele’Rekaj? That’s an unusual name.”

He smirked. “Well, it’s a perfectly normal name where I’m from.”

“Oh, yeah? Where are you from?” She asked curiously.

“A land called Azuria.”

Lyra frowned. “Azuria? I’ve never heard of it.”

“Well that makes sense, seeing as it’s not in this world,” he told her sounding amused.

Her eyes widened and Spike decided to explain. “Lyra, Rekaj is an interdimensional traveler, and also the one who gave Apple Bloom her magic.”

Lyra looked at him then back at Rekaj wide eyed. “Really? How did you give Apple Bloom magic!?”

“It’s more that I gave her access to my own magic.” Rekaj clarified.

She raised a brow questioningly. “How do you give somepony else access to your magic.”

“First of all, this isn’t my actual body,” he told her. “This is an illusion that I’ve given a physical presence through my magic. I am actually a dragon, and my true body is resting on a hill near Sweet Apple Acres.”

“You’re a dragon? Wait, that’s an illusion!? It seems so real!”

“I’ve had a lot of practice,” He said with a smirk. “But yes, I am a dragon. And in my world dragons are one of the only sources of magic. Our strength and abilities vary, but each of us can give one person of another mortal race what is known as our Sa’Dracori, or dragon soul-link. Doing so gives that person access to our magic. That’s what I did for Apple Bloom; she is now the holder of my Sa’Dracori.”

“Could you give anypony else that power?” Lyra asked hopefully.

He laughed. “I’m afraid not. Each dragon can only give their Sa’Dracori to one holder at a time.”

“Darn, I don’t suppose any other dragons from your world are looking for somepony…”

“It would be for the best that no other dragons from my world find out about yours.” He said, shaking his head.

She gave an exaggerated sigh. “Oh well, worth a shot.”

Spike rolled his eyes, then looked at Rekaj. “Did Apple Bloom head back home with her family.”

He nodded. “I thought they’d appreciate some time alone as a family. I canceled all my other illusions as well, since Twilight prefers, I only maintain one under normal circumstances.”

“You can make multiple illusions of yourself at once?”

“Yes, and then I can switch between them as easily as blinking an eye. But Princess Twilight asked me to only use one illusion most of the time. Mostly because any that I’m not controlling and aren’t in my direct sight, will just stand there completely unresponsive. She said it can be a little unnerving.”

“Huh, yeah I can see that. Still pretty cool though.”

“Apple Bloom is getting pretty good at those illusions as well,” Spike added. “You should see her and the other crusaders playing their little keep away game to practice. Apple Bloom has herself and two illusions against the other two and you can’t even tell which is the real Apple Bloom, sometimes she’ll have them all moving at once."

“She is quite talented,” Rekaj agreed. “Anyway, now that things have calmed down here, I was going to head back home and check on things there. I do have a country to run. Spike, would you let Twilight know? If anybody needs me for anything, they can just go to the hill I usually stay at.”

He nodded. “Alright, I guess we’ll see you around.”

“Lyra, it was nice meeting you.”

“Likewise!” She said happily.

He smiled and gave one last wave then simply faded away.

“Wow, he really was just an illusion.” Lyra said when he was gone, then turned to Spike. “So, Spike, I know you’ve met Bonbon in passing, but I’ve been meaning to properly introduce you. You are one of my oldest friends after all.”

Spike shrugged. “I’m not doing anything at the moment.”

“Alright then, to Bonbon’s sweet shop!” Lyra said pointing the way, then marched off, with Spike following alongside.


~~~


Trixie sat in an uncomfortable silence at a small table, trying very hard not to show her nervousness. She was well aware that she was failing. Across from her sat a certain lavender alicorn princess. One she’d known she’d be facing again sooner or later. Especially after she’d heard the news of her one-time rival’s ascension.

Princess Twilight was watching her in silence with such a piercing gaze that Trixie felt as if the young alicorn could see right through her to the very core of her being. Maybe she could, Trixie had no clue what kinds of powers becoming an alicorn had given the former unicorn. She’d heard rumors recently that Princess Twilight may be even more powerful that Princess Celestia and Luna now. Not for the first time, Trixie considered running, skipping town, and hoping that Princess Twilight didn’t send the entire royal guard after her.

Deep down, she knew it would be futile.

So, she stayed put, trying to keep from sweating as she nervously shuffled her fore-hooves.

“It’s been a while,” Princess Twilight said, breaking the silence at last.

“Yes… Princess,” Trixie replied, not knowing how else to respond.

“No need for titles, Trixie,” Twilight said with a dismissive wave of her hoof. “I already get far more of that than I’d like.”

Again, they fell into an uncomfortable silence. Twilight watched Trixie intently, as if she were some kind of puzzle that she was close to solving. Trixie shifted anxiously, feeling like a specimen under a microscope.

“I suppose neither of us know quite were to begin, so let’s get the official business out of the way first.” Twilight mercifully ended the silence once more. “I’m not going to get into your first visit to Ponyville, we both know that you weren’t directly responsible for that ursa and the damage it caused, even if it was your story that inspired those colts to go looking for one. And in fact, it turned out it was really my assistant Spike who accidently gave them the idea to go find one.

“However, the last time you were here, Trixie, you caused quite a bit of mayhem; public disturbances, disruption of businesses throughout the entire town, magical assault, and more than a little property damage. You being under the influence of a powerful artifact of dark magic at the time does mitigate some of that, but you are still responsible for using said artifact in the first place. It would be well within their rights for some of the ponies in town to press charges.”

Trixie lowered her eyes to the table and simply nodded, she’d suspected as much. That was part of why she’d been avoiding Ponyville since then.

“Luckily for you, the ponies of Ponyville are very understanding and forgiving, so no charges have been filed against you. Even so, I think it would go a long way toward improving your standing here if you did some community service around town to make up for the incident.”

“Trixie… I… understand.” She said, abandoning her usual way of speaking, knowing it would be considered impolite to talk in third person to royalty.

Twilight nodded, satisfied. “I’ll make arrangements with the mayor to provide you with jobs to do as well as a place to stay while you’re here.”

“That’s not necessary. I can just stay in my wagon.”

Twilight smiled shaking her head. “Trixie, I saw your new wagon; there’s no way you have a sufficient size bed in there. I’m going to arrange a place for you to stay whether you want me to or not, so you might as well accept it and enjoy some comfort while you’re here.”

Trixie lowered her eyes to the table once more. “Thank you,” she said softly.

“You’re welcome, Trixie.” Twilight smiled sincerely, and Trixie felt more than a little guilty at how she’d behaved toward Twilight in the past. “Anyway, now that we got that out of the way, there was another matter I wanted to discuss with you.”

Curious, Trixie looked up to find Twilight once again had her under a very piercing gaze that made her more than a little nervous. She swallowed a sudden lump in her throat. “Yes?”

Twilight watched her for a moment before answering. “I realized something after the whole magic duel incident. The alicorn amulet, while it does influence the wearer’s decisions, it does not give them knowledge; it merely amplifies their magical power and manipulates their emotions. So even with the amulet, you have to have had at least a theoretical knowledge of the spells you were casting even if you lacked the power to cast them on your own. There’s not a lot of places where you could have gained such knowledge, especially when it comes to the age spells.” She continued to watch Trixie carefully as she spoke. For her part, Trixie had gone very still. She had a feeling she knew where this was going.

“Now age spells aren’t illegal, but that’s mostly because so few unicorns are ever able to cast them; I wasn’t able to because, at the time, I only had a very basic knowledge of the theory behind age spells. Because so few are ever able to manage it, you won’t find them in your common spell book. Like I said, there’s not many places where you could have found such knowledge. 

“The most obvious, of course, is the Canterlot archives, but even then, the spell books that would cover such advanced magic aren’t available to the public. You’d either have to have permission from one of the arch-magi or the princesses themselves, or be a student at Celestia’s school to gain access to such advanced spell books. Obviously, I was a little curious how you could have known those spells, even on a theoretical basis. So, I did a little research.”

Trixie winced slightly, realizing her mistake.

“Turns out there was a student that went to Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns named Trixie Lulamoon, but the date’s she attended the school seemed impossible so I figured the name had to just be a coincidence. Then I found this.” Her horn lit up and a large volume levitated over from one of the shelves to the table, opening in front of Trixie. 

It was a yearbook, Trixie realized as she saw the pictures; one she knew all too well. Her eyes were immediately drawn to one picture in particular; third from the left in the fourth row down. The picture was her, looking very much the same as she did now, and below the picture was her name in clear black print, along with a depiction of her cutie mark. After letting Trixie gaze at the picture for several long moments, Twilight, shut the yearbook so the cover was clearly visible. Trixie just stared at it in silence, irrefutable evidence of the secret she’d been keeping for more than half her life. The title making it all too clear: Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns: Class of 975 c.e. 

“Obviously I was surprised to find out you’d graduated from Celestia’s school almost seven years before I was even born. Assuming you graduated at eighteen like most students and didn’t go into any extra studies, that would make you around forty-seven years old.”

“Forty-six,” Trixie corrected numbly. “I graduated a year early.”

“And yet you don’t look a day over twenty,” Twilight observed softly, letting the words hang in the air. The room fell silent as Trixie stared down at the yearbook. There was no escaping this. Twilight knew.

“So what now?” Trixie asked after several long moments.

“What do you mean?”

“Are you going to lock me up in some lab? Study me? Try to figure out just what kind of freak I am?” She demanded bitterly, keeping her glare fixed on the treacherous yearbook.

To her surprise, Twilight just smiled. “Of course not. There’s no need for that; I know exactly what you are.”

Trixie looked up sharply. “You do!?”

Twilight nodded. “You’re a half-blood unicorn, also known as a wingless alicorn.”

Trixie blinked in surprise. A wingless alicorn!? “What does that mean?”

“To put it simply, you’re part alicorn. Enough so that you have stronger than normal magic for a unicorn and a very extended lifespan, though you’re not quite immortal,” Twilight explained.

“What do you mean ‘very extended?’ how, how long am I going to live?”

“It varies a bit, but most wingless alicorns that have lived to old age tend to live between one to two-thousand years.” Twilight said casually.

Trixie's eyes went wide. “One to two-thousand years!?”

“Usually.”

“H-how do you know this? That I’m one of these… these...?” She trailed off too stunned by the revelation of how long she may end up living to go on. “A thousand years…”

“Well, I wasn’t sure at first. After all, while it was clear, once I found the yearbook, that you’re not aging like a normal unicorn; you’d never really shown above average magical power. Sure, you’re talented and know a lot of spells, but with the exception of when you were using the alicorn amulet; you never really cast any spells with much power behind them. They were all spells that just about any talented unicorn could cast with enough practice. And with how you acted, boasting so much about your abilities, I figured that what you’d shown was all you were capable of.

“But now I realize that that was the whole point of your act, wasn’t it? You knew you weren't aging like a normal unicorn, and you probably realized your magic was far stronger than it should have been as well, and like you just said; you were worried that you’d be labeled a freak or locked up and studied. 

“So, to hide that you weren’t aging, you became a traveling showmare so that you’d never stay in one place long enough for anypony to notice. And to hide your above average magic, you boasted, claiming to be ‘the most magical mare in all of Equestria,’ all the while never casting more than average level spells. After all, with how much you boasted about your abilities, nopony would ever have suspected that you were holding back.” Twilight finished with a confident smile.

Trixie sighed, looking down at the table between them. “You’re very perceptive,” she said softly. “I did hide the true extent of my abilities.”

Twilight’s smile turned into a triumphant grin. “I thought so. Anyway, once I realized that was the case, it all made sense.”

“But where did you learn about these… wingless alicorns? I’ve never heard of such a thing.” Trixie asked.

Twilight shrugged. “Well, they used to be a lot more common, back when true alicorns were also more common. That’s actually where the term half-blood unicorn came from. Because foals with one alicorn parent were the most likely to be born as wingless alicorns. But with each generation down the line, the likelihood of them being born a wingless alicorn, let alone a true alicorn, became less and less. For you to be born as a wingless alicorn now, so many generations down the line.” She gave Trixie a smile. “You’re one in a billion, Trixie.”

Trixie blushed, but smiled as well. She’d been dreading anypony finding out her secret for so long, now that it happened, and that it turned out so well, it was such a weight off her withers that she couldn’t help smiling. She felt as if she’d been set free. “I had no idea… all this time, I thought…” She trailed off, not needing to say more. “Now that I know, what do I do?”

Twilight shrugged. “That’s up to you. In any case you don’t have to keep this a secret any longer, in fact, it might be a good idea to just let everypony know. I’ll back you myself if anypony doesn’t believe you. You could also settle in one place if you’d like, or keep traveling; the point is, you don’t have to worry about hiding the truth anymore.”

Trixie looked down at the yearbook again. She'd been running and hiding for so long, to think that she could finally be free of her secret, she didn't know what to do. Perhaps she would keep traveling, she had enjoyed her life as a traveling showmare, and now that she could show her true abilities without fear. Well, perhaps she would finally earn the title she'd claimed all those years. Perhaps she could truly be the Great and Powerful Trixie.

She blinked as something suddenly occurred to her as she looked up at Twilight. “Wait... Like you said, my magic is far stronger than most unicorns, but even when you were still a unicorn, your magic was stronger. Were you a wingless alicorn as well?”

Twilight frowned. “Basically... My case was a little different, but for all intents and purposes, I was essentially the same as a wingless alicorn.”

“I see...” Trixie looked down at the yearbook again and with a gentle smile opened it up to a random page, recognizing many of the students pictured though she hadn't seen most of them in decades. “It's been so long,” she said softly, running her eyes across the pages. “I've mostly avoided Canterlot through the years. I knew most of my old classmates likely still live there, and if they were to see me now...”

Twilight laughed. “Yeah, I was actually rather surprised; you graduated the same year as my mom.”

Trixie looked up. “I did?”

Twilight nodded. “Yeah, this is actually her yearbook.”

“Who is she?”

“Well here.” Twilight took the yearbook in her magic and turned to the marked page that had Trixie's photo. “There she is,” Twilight said pointing to a photo in the next row down from Trixie's.

Trixie's eyes widened when she saw the picture. “VELVET! You're Twilight Velvet's daughter!” 

Twilight blinked surprised. “Yes, did you know her?”

Grabbing the book again in her own magic, she opened it to the front cover and her eyes found among the various signatures and messages, three long paragraphs written in elegant hornwriting and signed: Your best friend forever: Trixie Lulamoon. Trixie ran her hoof across the writing. “She was my best friend all through our time at Celestia's school. But after graduation, we just kind of lost touch. Then I realized I wasn't exactly normal and... well, after that, you know.” She turned back to the page with Twilight Velvet's picture and looked at it fondly with a smile, Twilight had never seen on her before. “I went to her wedding, and I heard that she'd had a son, but after that...”

Twilight smiled understandingly. “It may take a couple days for me to get things set up for your community service. Maybe it's about time you got back in contact with some of your old friends.”

Trixie looked up at her surprised at first, then slowly smiled. “Yeah... maybe it is.”
> Chapter 3: A New Home
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 3: A New Home?
***


“What are windigos?” Adikia asked looking over at her big sister. The two had laid down in a small nook near the window with the book of Equestria’s history open in front of them.

“Bad Creatures, they eat bad emotions and make ice and snow; freeze things.” Ania explained. “They didst come because the ponies were fighting and froze their old lands. Then the ponies started fighting again in the new land, and they didst follow.”

“Are they going to be alright?” Adikia asked looking at the illustrations, concerned.

“Well, let us see.” Ania said and turned the page. The next illustration showed the three ponies that had come together despite their differing races, gathered close with a light shining from them as pink heart of flame burned above them. Then the next showed many more ponies of each race gathering, following their example and the heart growing larger, while the windigos fled the pink flames. “’As Clover the Clever, Private Pansy, and Smart Cookie affirmed their newfound friendship, a new magic was born of their unity. The fire of friendship cast its warmth throughout the cave. And as more of the tribes followed their example, coming together in friendship, the fire of friendship grew stronger, driving the windigos away. In joy, what became known as the first hearth’s warming celebration was held in the caves that had almost been their tomb.’” She read aloud.

Turning to the next page, she continued. “’Eventually even the leaders were thawed and revived by the magical flames, and when they saw all their ponies laughing and cheering together in joy; they realized how much better life was when the three tribes lived and worked together in harmony. They vowed to share the new land, and to work together. In a few days’ time, under a bright sun and clear skies; they planted a new flag, representing their newfound unity and naming the land Equestria.’”

Adikia smiled, seeing the illustrations of the ponies celebrating in the caves, and then the pony leaders gathered on a hilltop planting a flag together. “So it didst all work out!”

Ania nodded. “Looks like it.” She wasn’t quite sure what to think about the story. It was definitely a simplified version of the actual event, and it did seem hopeful that the three tribes came together as they did. But in their time, the three tribes had also been united; against alicorns. What was more, the story never once mentioned any alicorns, and yet the flag they raised at the end had two alicorns on it.

Could this land really be as accepting of alicorns as Apple Bloom said? She hoped so… but she didn’t want to risk Adikia’s safety on a hope. She had to be sure.

The door to the other room opened and Trixie emerged, seeming happier than she had since they’d met. “Thank you again, Prin… Twilight!”

Twilight just smiled, following her out. “You’re very welcome, Trixie. Now go see your old friends. I’m sure they’ll be surprised. If you want to leave your wagon here for now, I’ll have Spike move it next to the library and it will be safe here.”

“I’ll do that, and I’ll be back in a few days,” she agreed, then looked over to see Adikia and Ania looking her way. “Bye, you two, I’ll probably see you when I get back!”

“Bye, Trixie!” Ania called, a little nervous that the last of their rescuers was leaving.

“Bye!” Adikia echoed.

Trixie smiled and with one last wave, left the library. Once she was gone, Twilight walked over to where they were. “Just finish the Hearth’s Warming story?” She asked, seeing what page the book was open to.

Ania nodded.

Twilight smiled and laid down next to them. “Have any questions?”

“I did wonder why the story never mentioned any alicorns, and yet this flag shows two,” Ania said pointing to the picture.

“Oh,” Twilight said understanding. “That’s because that’s actually not the flag they raised. Nopony knows what the original Equestrian flag looked like. All records of it were lost during the Discordian era, so everyone just uses the modern Equestrian flag instead when illustrating the Hearth’s Warming story. There actually weren’t any known alicorns at the time. Princesses Celestia, and Luna, the alicorns pictured on the flag, weren’t born until centuries after these events.”

“What is the Discordian Era?”

“That was a time when Discord the spirit of chaos took over Equestria.” Twilight explained.

“Him?” Ania asked, looking surprised. “He was able to take over?”

Twilight smiled at her confusion. “There weren’t any alicorns at the time to stop him,” she said shaking her head. “It’s actually because of Discord that the way ponies felt about alicorns began to change.”

Ania and Adikia looked up at her. “How so?” Ania asked.

“Well, the ponies of Equestria were so desperate for Discord to be defeated, that when Celestia and Luna were born, they decided to risk raising them, in the hope that they’d be able to defeat Discord someday. When they did, though many ponies still didn’t trust alicorns, most were so relieved to be free of the chaos, that they insisted that Celestia and Luna be made princesses and named the rulers of Equestria. Ever since then, Celestia and Luna have worked hard to change how ponies felt about alicorns. Now days, alicorns are so beloved in Equestria, that most ponies would be shocked to find out we were once hated.”

Ania looked up at her for a moment then glanced over at her sister, seeing Adikia’s hopeful expression. She wanted nothing more than for her sister to be happy, to protect her from the worst that she had suffered. Could they be safe here? Could Adikia be happy here? Have friends? Could she as well? It almost seemed too good to be true… but then she remembered. “Why is Deimos here?”

Twilight frowned, realizing she wanted the full story and took a moment to think of how best to explain. “Well, you see, when Starswirl and his followers finally defeated Achlys, they made a special prison for her, since he knew she’d be able to escape the ones they’d used for the other alicorns. He actually used Deimos as a part of the prison, drawing on his dragon magic to make the prison’s seal more chaotic and unpredictable. Achlys did still escape, but not until about twenty-five years ago. And when she did, she was greatly weakened. Still, she got into a fight with Princess Celestia, and because of how weak she was, the princess managed to defeat her, but before she could capture or kill her, Deimos rescued her and they escaped.

“She knew she’d need time to recover so she went into hiding. But to hide Deimos, she used an age spell on him to shrink him back into a baby, then locked away his memories and encase him in an egg. She didn’t realize how much that would change him. When I was just a filly, I hatched that egg. I named him Spike and raised him myself, with help from my parents and Princess Celestia. He was my companion and number one assistant for years.” She sighed. “Then Achlys returned.”

Twilight shivered at the memory of being only a passenger in a body that wasn’t really hers. “She restored his memories from before, and at first he was too afraid to go against her. Still, he didn’t like being Deimos again. He even went so far as to help the princesses in secret. Then when the Princesses prevailed, and Achlys again wanted Deimos to save her, he refused, and chose us over her. He wanted to be Spike again, so we reduced his age so he’d be more pony sized and he’s been Spike ever since.” She looked down at the two sisters and stretched a wing over them. “I know you probably have some bad memories of him, but please try to give him a chance. He isn’t the same dragon he used to be. I’m sure he really meant it when he said he was glad to see you were both alright.”

Ania looked up at her a moment more, seeming unsure. “Thou art certain that he hath changed?”

Twilight nodded and gave her a reassuring smile. “I’m certain.”

She looked over at her sister again. Adikia seemed unsure but shrugged and she understood; Adikia would follow her lead. She thought about it a moment more. So far, the princess hadn’t given them any reason not to trust her and Apple Bloom had seemed to think quite highly of the princess. Despite all they’d been through, she decided to take a chance in trusting the princess, even if that meant trusting that Deimos has changed as well. “Okay, we shall try to give him a chance.”

“Don’t worry, I think you’ll be surprised just how much he’s changed,” Twilight told her confidently giving them a gentle squeeze with her wing. “Was there anything else you wanted to ask me about?”

Ania looked up at her again. “Where art we going to live?”

“Like I said, you can stay here with me for now, which I do think is for the best.” She told them sincerely. “The ponies of Equestria think very highly of alicorns, so you don’t have to worry about ponies hating you. Quite the opposite actually. The ponies of Equestira think so highly of alicorns, it can actually cause other dangers I’m sure you’d prefer to avoid.”

“What dangers?” Ania asked.

“Well, Alicorns are so highly regarded, that there are many who would try to befriend you, or have their foals befriend you in the hopes of some political gain. And sometimes it can be difficult to tell when somepony truly wishes to be your friend, or simply sees you as a stepping stone to get closer to the princesses.”

“Oh… like the council…” Ania said softly.

Twilight nodded. “Yes, I imagine there was a lot of political games with that group, wasn’t there.”

Ania nodded. That was an understatement. She’d heard plenty of rants from their mother about how pathetic their petty little games were. Especially when one of the high council had had the audacity to actually suggest an arranged marriage between Ania and her son, something the son was all for; she knew she was considered quite attractive for her age after all… Achlys had not been amused by the suggestion; a seat on the high council had been vacated that night and a young alicorn gelding had needed a new home. Of course, he’d been captured and killed by the mortal coalition only a few weeks later.

“That’s why I think it would be best if you both stay here with me for now. We’re well away from the political scene here in Ponyville, and the ponies here are among the best I’ve ever known. Is that alright with you two?”

“How long?”

Twilight shrugged. “As long as you want really, or at least until we decide on a more permanent option. The library is very comfortable, and while it might be a little tight, I think you’ll like it here. Besides, like I said, in a couple months I’ll be moving into my castle, and then if you’d like, you could each have your own room.”

“Castle?” Adikia asked curiously.

The princess blushed. “Yes; Princess Celestia insisted I have a royal guard,” she gestured to the armored pegasus that was standing unobtrusively by the door across the room from them. “But that means I need a place with guards’ quarters, and if it’s big enough to have guard’s quarters, then I’d definitely need a staff to run it…” She sighed.

Ania looked up at her curiously a moment then smiled. “Thou doth not want it?”

“No! I love this place!” Twilight said gesturing around them. “But Princess Celestia does have a point; I am a princess and should have a royal guard; and… I know me having a guard will make her feel better.”

“She almost ordered the guard to Ponyville at least four times with orders to essentially tell you they were your guard whether you like it or not, before she finally worked up the nerve to tell you herself.” The armored pegasus said from across the room, confirming that she could hear the conversation.

“Really?” Twilight asked.

She just nodded. “The third time, I heard they’d already left Canterlot on their way to ponyville before Princess Celestia called them back.”

“Weren’t you with them?”

She shook her head. “She was still going to let you choose your captain, so just the guard was sent.”

Twilight groaned, shaking her head, then seemed to realize something looking at Ania and Adikia. “Oh, I’ve never introduced Feather, have I. This is Captain Feather, she’s the leader of my royal guard.”

“Hello.” Adikia said, perhaps a little nervous but trying to be friendly. Looking up at the guard, Ania followed suit.

“Hello.”

Feather smiled and gave a respectful nod. “I’m pleased to meet both of you,” she told them with a smile. Ania watched her a moment, she seemed sincere, there wasn’t any of the disgust or hatred they would have received from most pegasi in their time. Again, it hit her that it had been three thousand years. Could she really depend on anything to be the same?

She looked up at Twilight. For the first time, she really began to believe what Apple Bloom had told her, and have hope that she and Adikia would finally have a chance to be happy here. She’d still play it safe and keep an eye out for signs of trouble, but she actually started to have hope.

“Anyway, was there anything else you’d like to ask?” Twilight asked.

Ania looked up at her curiously. “How doth Apple Bloom know thee?”

Twilight smiled. “Well, I’ve actually known Apple Bloom since I first moved to Ponyville, before I even became a princess. Her older sister, Applejack, is one of my closest friends. And a couple years ago, I started taking some time to teach Apple Bloom and her friends about things they were interested in a couple times a week. Since then I’ve gotten pretty close to all three of them. She’ll probably want to introduce you to her friends actually, once they’ve made up anyway.”

“Made up? Didst they have a fight?” Adikia asked concerned.

“Yeah, they were both feeling a little jealous of Apple Bloom’s magic; but they both felt really bad about it, so they’re probably apologizing right now, if they haven’t already,” Twilight smiled fondly. “They’re good fillies.”

“Apple Bloom seems nice.” Ania agreed.

“They can get a little reckless though, especially when they’re trying to get their cutie marks.” Twilight said with a grin.

“Their cutie marks?” Ania asked raising a brow.

Twilight giggled and shook her head. “Those three get into all kinds of mischief trying everything they can think of to see if they’ll get a cutie mark.”

Ania looked confused. “That is not how it works…” she glanced back at her own jagged snowflake cutie mark, white as her mane and barely visible on her pale blue coat. “To gain one’s mark they must come to an understanding of their talent and choose how they wish to make use of it.”

Twilight smiled, “We’ve tried to tell them, but they’re convinced that if they just keep trying new things they’ll somehow find their special talent. They have a lot of fun though, so we don’t worry about it and are just waiting for them to figure it out on their own. They formed a little club that they call the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and if I know Apple Bloom, she’ll probably want you to join, Adikia.”

Her golden eyes widened under her matching mane, and she reflexively looked back at her pale purple flank. “Really, but I doth already know what I am good at.”

“She just has not had a chance to truly practice her talent, nor to decide how she wishes to use it.” Ania explained.

“Well you’re definitely closer than Apple Bloom and her friends then.” Twilight told her giving her a little tap on her nose with her wing tip. “So what is it you’re good at?”

She smiled. “Music.”

“Oh, really!? Well, I think you’ll probably get along with Sweetie Belle pretty well then. She’s one of Apple Bloom’s friends. She has a painfully obvious talent for music as well; but she sings and plays music all the time so that couldn’t possibly have anything to do with her cutie mark.” Twilight said sarcastically while grinning. 

Adikia giggled and even Ania smiled.

“But then again, who knows, she may end up choosing another talent as what she truly wishes to be and get her cutie mark for that instead.” Twilight said with a shrug. “And really, you could too, Adikia. It’s your choice that really determines your cutie mark.”

She smiled and nodded that she understood.

Twilight gave her a gentle pat on the back, then stood up. “Well, do you two want to read more? Or would you like me to show you around the library?”

Ania looked at her sister. “Dost thou wish to read more?”

She shook her head. “Let us see the library.”

Twilight smiled. “Alright, tour it is!”



The tour didn’t take very long, the library wasn’t very big after all. But it was starting to get around dinnertime, so Twilight decided to start preparing something to eat. When she told the fillies, they offered to help and she gladly accepted. So they were all in the kitchen preparing a meal when Spike finally returned.

They didn’t hear the door open over their cooking, and Spike didn’t call out. He quietly walked to the door to the kitchen, and there waited for them to notice him. Adikia was the first. Her eyes widened and she let out a gasp stepping away from him. Ania noticed her sister’s reaction and quickly stepped in front of her while turning to face him, her own eyes widening. At the same time, Twilight noticed their reaction and looked to see what had startled them.

“Oh, Spike, you’re back!” She said then looked over at the fillies. “It’s okay girls, remember what I told you.” Twilight reminded them gently.

They nodded and definitely tried to relax, but it was clear they were still wary of Spike. Seeing this, he moved closer to them and laid down in front of them, to put himself more on their level.

“Girls, listen. I know in the past, I was never really nice to you, or anyone really. Achlys raised me centuries before you were even born, but trust me, she was just as harsh to me as she was to you. She made me into the monster I was,” he sighed regretfully. “Then she turned me back into a hatchling and locked away my memories, and in doing so, she gave me a second chance. This time Twilight raised me. She taught me to be kind and caring, and always willing to help others. She showed me what it was to have friends and family, love and friendship. That’s why when I had to choose between going back to who I had been for all those centuries, or staying Spike, and keeping what Twilight had given me, I chose to stay Spike.

“I got a second chance at life, and I am not going to waste it on being a monster. I know it may take you a bit to trust me, and be comfortable around me, but if you’ll give me a chance; I would like to be your friend.”

Ania looked at him warily a moment more then slowly nodded. “Okay.”

He smiled, and reached out gently patting her shoulder. “Thanks.” He said before getting up and looking around the kitchen. “So, what’s for dinner?”


~~~


Applejack watched as Apple Bloom yawned yet again, she was clearly struggling to keep her eyes open despite how early in the evening it was. She and the other Crusaders had been talking ever since they’d gotten back to the farmhouse. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo seemed determined to make up for the time they’d lost being jealous of their friend’s magic.

Apple Bloom listened clearly just happy to have her friends back, but it was becoming more and more obvious that she needed a good night’s rest. When she yawned yet again mid-sentence, Applejack decided it was time for a sisterly intervention.

“Girls, as happy as Ah am that you’ve all made up; Ah think Apple Bloom could use some rest.” She said approaching the fillies.

Apple Bloom looked up, her eyelids drooping. “Nah, Ah had a nap in Trixie’s wagon;” she yawned yet again. “Ah’m fine.”

Applejack gave her a look, then slowly raised a brow.

Apple Bloom blushed. “Maybe Ah am a bit tired.”

“Even without counting how many times you reset time out there, you were still up the entire night; a nap isn’t going to cut it, little filly.” Applejack told her firmly.

“It’s alright, Apple Bloom, we can come back tomorrow.” Sweetie Belle assured her.

“Okay, Ah want to introduce you to Ania and Adikia too!” She yawned. “Ah hope they’re alright, we just left them with Twilight and Trixie.”

“You don’t need to worry, sugarcube; Ah’m sure Twilight will make sure they’re taken care of.” Applejack assured her. “Now say goodnight to your friends.”

“Alright. Goodnight, girls; Ah’ll see you tomorrow!”

“We’ll see you tomorrow!” Sweetie Belle said as she and Scootaloo headed for the door. 

“You can count on it!” Scootaloo added, then they were gone and Applejack closed the door behind them.

“Now let’s get you to bed.” She said giving her a nudge toward the stairs.

Apple Bloom yawned again and let herself be ushered up to her room. There she didn’t resist as Applejack guided her to her bed. She hadn’t realized just how tired she really was. Sleep did sound good just then. She crawled under the covers, letting Applejack tuck her in.

“Applejack… Ah’m sorry Ah made you and Big Mac worry.” She said softly, looking up at her sister.

Applejack smiled down at her. “That’s alright, Bloom. You’re safe now; that’s all that matters.”

“But, you know Ah was never in danger; you know that right?”

She gave a soft laugh. “Ah know; but you’re mah little sister, Bloom. It doesn’t matter how powerful of magic you have or how well protected you are; Ah’m still going to worry about ya.”

Apple Bloom smiled and reached up to give her sister a quick hug; “Ah love you, sis.”

Applejack returned the hug, holding her sister close. “Love you too, Bloom.” She said softly.
> Chapter 4: Evening Visits
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 4: Evening Visits
***


“Coming!” Twilight Velvet called as she made her way down the stairs into the entry way of the family home. Opening the door, she never would have expected who would be on her doorstep. 

“Trixie!?”

Her old friend smiled nervously, “Hi, Velvet.”

Twilight Velvet laughed happily and pulled Trixie into a hug. “Sun and moon, I haven't seen you in ages!” she exclaimed as she stepped back again to look her over. As she did, a bit of confusion worked its way into her expression. “And look at you! You... you haven't aged a day...”

Trixie gave her a wry grin. “Yeah, that's kind of why I haven't been around. I only just recently found out why myself, and until I did, I was trying to keep away from anypony who knew me and might realize I wasn't aging like a normal unicorn. Sorry I haven't been in touch.”

“That's quite alright Trixie,” Velvet assured her with a smile. “It's great to see you! Come on in!”

She stepped aside letting Trixie into the house and shutting the door behind her. “Pretty nice place. I think the last time I really heard from you was when you first moved in here.” 

Velvet nodded as she led the way into the living room. “Yes, right after Shining was born. Go ahead and have a seat,” she said gesturing vaguely at the various cushions and couch that were arranged through the living room. “Would you like something to drink?”

“Just water would be fine,” Trixie told her as she selected a cushion near the fireplace.

Velvet nodded and quickly retrieved a couple of glasses. “So, What do you mean you're not aging like a normal unicorn?... I mean it's obvious, but why?” She asked as she took a seat across from Trixie.

“Well apparently, I'm something called a wingless alicorn...” Trixie started and went on to explain what that meant. She then told Velvet all about how she'd realized she wasn't aging, that her magic was far stronger than most unicorns, and how she'd tried to hide it. Velvet listened intently.

“It was actually Princess Twilight Sparkle that finally figured it out and explained this all to me.” Trixie finished.

“Oh, you've met Twily?”

Trixie winced slightly. “A couple of times actually, before she became a princess... I can't believe I didn't realize she was your daughter...”

Velvet smiled. “She's grown into an amazing mare,” she said proudly.

“Yeah, I wish I'd realized that sooner. The first couple times we met weren't exactly under the best circumstances.”

Velvet looked up concerned. “What do you mean?”

“I, uh… Well the first time I was just putting on a magic show in Ponyville and well, during the show I may have boasted a bit claiming I defeated an Ursa Major…”

Velvet snorted at the thought. “Are you serious? Have you ever even seen one?”

“Well I hadn’t…” Trixie rolled her eyes. “But that night two colts from the town decided to go out into the Everfree and find one to bring back to town!”

Recognition flashed through her eyes. “Wait; you’re that performer!? Twily told us about a Showmare that came to town and inspired two colts to lead an ursa minor back to town, that was you!?”

Trixie blushed. “Yes…”

“She also told us about when you came back under the influence of a powerful dark artifact challenged her to a magic duel, and then tried to banish her from Ponyville.” Velvet said with a questioning tone in her voice.

“It was stupid, I know. I was having a rough time. I lost my wagon and most of my possessions in the Ursa incident. Then after Twilight showed me up with the ursa, word had spread quickly and none of the nearby towns would even let me perform, not that I had any of my props to put on a proper show anyway. And I blamed Twilight for it.” She sighed. “The Great and Powerful Trixie… that’s the persona I’ve gone by for my performances. I guess I wanted to prove I was more powerful than Twilight, even though I wasn’t. I thought it would restore my reputation.”

Velvet gave her a sympathetic smile. “Well, Twilight did say she thought you’d learned a lesson in the end.”

“More than one, I’d say. Don’t mess with dark magic artifacts is definitely a big one though.”

“Oh yes, definitely a good lesson to learn.” Velvet said with a laugh.

Trixie smiled and gave a soft laugh as well, recalling how foolish she had been.

“So why were you trying to avoid anypony that knew you before?” Velvet asked finally.

“Because they might have realized I wasn’t aging normally.” She told her again. “And I was worried that if anypony found out, they might want to lock me up and study me…”

Velvet couldn’t help giggling. “You thought somepony would lock you up for study? Really, Trixie?”

She blushed. “I thought somepony might want to figure out what I am, and why I was aging so slowly… to see if they can copy it.”

“Trixie, alicorns don’t age at all. You don’t see anypony trying to capture and study them. They don’t even have to, anyway. I understand Princess Celestia has voluntarily participated in numerous studies over the years focused on alicorn immortality.”

“I just…”

Velvet smiled. “You were just being your normal silly self.”

Trixie laughed softly. “I’ve missed you, Velvet.”

“I’ve missed you too, Trixie. I hope this means you won’t be a stranger from now on.”

“Now that I know what I am, and that I don’t have to worry about anypony finding out; you can count on it,” she said with a firm nod.

“Good.” Velvet said and took a sip of her water. “So how long are you in town?”

“Well, I’m only going to be in Canterlot for a day or two. Princess Twilight wants me to do some community service around Ponyville to make amends for what I did during the magic duel incident. So, I’ll probably be staying in Ponyville for a while.” Trixie told her. “She said it would take a few days to set everything up though. And since she found out you and I were friends back in school she suggested I come up here and reconnect with you and maybe some other old friends as well.”

“That sounds like Twily. She is the princess of Friendship after all.”

“Yeah…” Trixie smiled.

“What are your plans for after?”

She thought for a moment. She’s spent some time considering it on the train ride here but hadn’t really made any decisions yet. “I don’t know… I kind of like being a traveling showmare; it’s a fun life. But now that I don’t have to hide my full potential, maybe I’ll take some time to rework my act; perhaps work on improving my magic… I’ve spent so long hiding my full power, I haven’t really trained much at all. I’m probably a little out of practice.” She smiled. “Maybe I will do that; take some time to really train my magic, then go on the road again when I really am great and powerful.”

“Well if you want a magic tutor, there’d be nopony better than my Twily.”

“I wouldn’t’ want to impose on Princess Twilight’s time any more than I already have.” Trixie said, shaking her head. “She probably has too much on her hooves as it is. It might be a good idea to find a tutor though; just to refresh everything you know. It has been a while since Celestia’s school.”

“Well it wouldn’t hurt to ask. Last I heard, Twily wasn’t all that busy.” Velvet insisted.

“Even if she wasn’t before, she’s probably going to be now…”

Velvet gave her a curious look. “What do you mean?”

“Well, she’ll probably tell you about it soon; but me and a couple others happened to find an old ruin in a cave beneath the Everfree. Inside were two alicorn fillies that were apparently locked up just for being alicorns a few thousand years ago. We left them in Princess Twilight’s care.” Trixie explained.

“Oh my. You left them with Twily?”

“We thought it best to let the princesses decide what to do, with them being alicorns. I think Princess Twilight was just going to look after them for now.” Trixie shrugged. “I guess it will be up to her to decide a more permanent home for them.”

Velvet glanced toward the window in the general direction of her daughter’s home in Ponyville. “I hope she thinks to reach out to me if she has any problems, taking care of young fillies can be challenging at times.” After a moment she gave herself a little shake and turned back to Trixie. “So, what are your plans while you’re here in Canterlot?”

She shrugged. “Well, I mostly just wanted to see you, and maybe see if I could get in touch with any of our old classmates. Have you kept in touch with any of them?”

Velvet smiled. “A few. How about we go see if any of them are available and we can have ourselves a little class reunion.”

“That would be great!” Trixie said with a genuine smile of her own.


~~~


It was just before sunset, shadows stretching across the town, as two pegasi landed side by side outside the town library. Though most were heading home for the night, their arrival didn’t go unnoticed; several of Twilight’s guard were nearby, unobtrusively keeping watch. Twilight hadn’t wanted them standing guard at the library door. Instead, they kept watch from positions that allowed them to remain almost completely hidden unless you knew where to look. By now Rainbow was used to it and hardly noticed them anymore. “You know if you do this, it’s going to be pretty much impossible to keep it a secret that you’re real,” Rainbow reminded Daring Do once more as they headed toward the door. “Not unless you just don’t write about it.”

Daring sighed. “I know, but like I said, it’s probably already too late; and this is important.” She gave a rueful smile. “On the bright side, it looked like there were quite a few prisons; maybe I’ll be able to make this a multi-part series; the purge prison chronicles!”

Rainbow snorted, grinning. “I don’t know, might get a little repetitive.”

“Maybe. It will probably depend on if any of the alicorns have escaped. From what little I’ve found about ancient alicorns, they weren’t a very pleasant bunch.”

“Definitely not…” Rainbow said softly as they reached the library door. Being after hours for the library, she knocked.

Daring glanced at her as they waited; there had been something in Rainbow’s tone. She knew Rainbow had personal experience with the purge era alicorn that had already escaped, but it sounded like she’d been hurt personally by the experience. She didn’t have time to ask about it though, as the door opened; the princess’s guard captain answering.

“Rainbow, thanks for using the door,” she said with a smirk.

“Hey! I haven’t used the window once since you asked!”

Feather just smiled, and turned to Daring. “Miss Do.”

“The princess wanted to speak with me about the scrolls we recovered.”

“Of course, come on in, Princess Twilight will just be a few minutes, she and Spike are moving his things into one of the basement rooms.”

Rainbow raised a brow, looking over at the guard as she and Daring stepped into the library. “Spike is moving into the basement?”

“So that the fillies can take his old room for now.” Feather explained gesturing to the alicorn fillies as she closed the door. They were laying side by side in one of the library’s window nooks with a book in front of them, though at the moment both were looking up at them.

“Hey girls!” Daring called giving a wave.

“Hi, Daring!” They both called back together.

“Girls, this is Rainbow Dash; she’s a friend of mine that lives here in Ponyville, and she’s also a close friend of Princess Twilight.”

“Marefriend actually,” Rainbow corrected.

Daring looked at her surprised, she hadn’t mentioned that. “Really!?”

Rainbow smirked. “You haven’t been reading the paper much have you?”

She snorted. “Not as much as I should apparently; why?”

“Some photographer caught me and Twilight’s first kiss, and the next day it was on the front page.” Rainbow said, rolling her eyes.

“Oh, so you’re saying I’m just about the only pony in Equestria that didn’t know.” Daring said with a laugh. “Anyway, Dash, this is Ania and Adikia.”

“Hey, so Daring told me she found you in a cave out in the forest.” Rainbow said with a smile.

“Yes…” Ania said uncertainly.

“Wow, that must have been rough. But from the sound of things; you’re probably better off. Ponies are a lot cooler about alicorns these days.”

She blinked. “What doth temperature have to do with anything?”

“Uh, I…”

She smiled. “I am joking. I know, tis an expression.” Adikia giggled a little at her sister’s joke. Ania smiled. “Though I do think it an odd one.”

“Oh, Rainbow, you’re here, and Daring too.” Twilight said stepping out from the basement door, Spike right behind her.

“I was just introducing Rainbow to your guests.” 

“Good.” Twilight said joining them. She turned to the fillies. “Girls, Rainbow is my marefriend, so she’ll be around a lot.”

“Marefriend?” Ania said questioningly.

“Oh, uh, it means Rainbow and I are courting.”

Her eyes widened slightly, and she looked back and forth between them. “Oh! Okay. Marefriend didst use to mean simply a friend that is a mare, but the way thou said it, it didst seem to have more meaning.”

“Yes, now days, calling someone your marefriend or coltfriend usually means you’re courting which is often called dating now.”

“I understand.” She looked at Twilight seeming curious. “Is it common now for mares to court one another?”

“Yes, it is.” Twilight told her. “It probably wasn’t back in your time, was it?”

She shook her head. 

Rainbow looked at her surprised. “Really?”

Twilight couldn’t help smiling. She’d known Rainbow wouldn’t know that detail about pony history.

“Mares courting one another was discouraged.” Ania explained. “Mares that didst like each other would often court the same stallion so that they could be together. They would not dare court each other directly, lest they be outcasts.”

Twilight nodded. “At the time pony culture was more patriarchal, rather than the more matriarchal society we have now. Stallions were in charge.” Twilight clarified when Rainbow gave her a look. “And the stallions in charge discouraged mares from courting one another; they basically wanted all mares to be in herds under a stallion’s control.”

“Yikes. Yeah, you girls are definitely a lot better off now.” Rainbow said with a grin.

Twilight smiled, then turned to Daring. “Anyway, Daring, I haven’t had a chance to go over the records you recovered from the prison yet. I would appreciate your help though, if you’d be willing to stay here in Ponyville for at least a few days. I’d like to compile all the information we can find and see if we can place the prison locations on modern maps. Then we’ll need to work on finding these prisons and making sure that they’re still holding. Will you help with that? I know you have your secret to consider, so I suppose if you’d rather not, that would be okay.”

“It’s alright princess, I already decided that I’ll help; this is far too important. Besides, after putting Rainbow in my last book, it’s only a matter of time before my secret gets out anyway. I figure, it will be better to let the secret out myself”

Twilight winced. “Sorry about that.”

She gave a dismissive wave. “It’s not your fault, princess. I’m the one who put her in the book. Anyway, I’ll get a room here in town and come by tomorrow to help with the records.”

“Sounds good.” Twilight told her. “I’d offer to let you stay here, but with the fillies, we’re out of spare rooms.”

“That’s alright, it’s not like I’m hard pressed for bits.” She rolled her eyes. “I should probably get going before it gets too much later, though.”

“I won’t keep you then. I’ll see you tomorrow and we’ll see about those records you recovered.” Twilight said, following her to the door.

“See you then, Princess.” She said, giving a small bow. “I’ll probably see you around too, Rainbow.”

“Yeah, you can count on it! Later, Daring!”

“Goodbye, Daring Do!” Adikia called. While Ania just waved.

“I’ll probably see you two tomorrow as well.” Daring smiled and gave them one last wave before leaving the library. 

Twilight took a deep breath and looked over at the fillies for a moment thinking. After a moment she turned toward the stairs. “Rainbow, Feather, could you help me move the extra bed into the girl’s room?”

“Uh, sure!” Rainbow said and she and Feather followed Twilight upstairs to the storage closet that was mostly taken up by the dismantled bed.

“Since I’m pretty sure you levitate the bed down by yourself, I’m guessing you wanted to talk to us without the fillies overhearing.” Feather said quietly when Twilight turned to face them in the bedroom.

Twilight nodded.

“What about?” Rainbow asked curiously.

“I… those fillies, they’ve suffered so much; now they’ve been ripped out of their time and thrown into modern Equestria.” She shook her head. “I want to help them… to be the one to take care of them. But I don’t want to force them to stay; they’ve had so little control over their lives. I just hope they’ll choose to stay.”

“You sure about this, Twi? Taking care of two fillies can’t be easy, especially alicorns.” Rainbow asked, sounding a little concerned.

She nodded. “I want this.”

“Why? I mean sure they’re alicorns, but I’m sure the other princesses could arrange someone to take care of them. Why does it need to be you?”

She sighed. “Rainbow, promise to keep this to yourself?”

Rainbow nodded without hesitation.

“Ania and Adikia, they’re not just alicorn fillies from the purge era… They’re daughters of Achlys.”

Her eyes went wide. “What!”

“Shh.” Twilight clamped her snout shut for a moment. “It’s alright, Spike told us that Achlys treated them horribly, so much so that they ran away, and when they were captured, she didn’t even try to save them.”

“Really? She didn’t even try?”

Twilight nodded. “But don’t you see; I was created by Achlys…”

“Twi!” Rainbow hissed looking at Feather. Twilight glanced at the guard as well.

“Princess Celestia told you about that, didn’t she?”

Feather was unfazed. “She briefed me on it after you selected me to be your captain.”

Twilight had figured as much, and turned back to her marefriend. “Anyway, being created by Achlys, in a way, that kind of makes them my sisters… That’s why I want to take care of them myself.”

Rainbow looked at Twilight for a moment, seeing how serious she was about this, and slowly nodded. “Okay. I’ll help any way I can.”

Twilight smiled and stepped closer, pulling Rainbow into a hug. “Thanks, Dashy. I know this is a big change, one that will affect you too, with our relationship and all.”

Rainbow laughed softly returning the hug. “Well not as big as if they were newborns, that’s for sure.”

“True…”

“You of course have my support as well Twilight. As well as the guard.” Feather assured her.

“Thanks, Feather.” Twilight said sincerely. She smiled a moment more then took a deep breath. “Alright, let’s get this bed down to the girl’s room, if you two could get all the bedding, I’ll get the bed itself.”

“You’ve got it.”
> Chapter 5: Hints of New Friendships
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 5: Hints of New Friendships
***


Apple Bloom yawned widely as she made her way downstairs. Despite how early she’d gone to bed the night before, it was obvious she’d slept in quite a bit. She’d been more exhausted than she’d thought, and her family had let her sleep in because of it. She’d had enough sleep though, and now was ready for a good breakfast to start her day. She was just glad it wasn’t a school day.

“There you are!” Applejack said, seeing as Apple Bloom entered the kitchen. “Sleep well, sugarcube?”

“Yeah, Ah guess Ah was pretty tired. Sorry about sleeping in.”

Applejack smiled and went to the stove. “It’s alright, Bloom. The rest of the family already ate, but there’s more batter and fixin’s for some pancakes if you’d like.”

“That sounds good, thanks, sis.” She went to get herself a plate and silverware, while Applejack handled the cooking. She was just about to sit down at the table when there was a knock on the front door.

Applejack smirked. “Ah’ll bet that’s your friends.”

Apple Bloom blinked in surprise. It was almost unheard of for her friends to be up before her on the weekend. “How long did Ah sleep in?”

“It’s almost eleven.” Applejack answered, and Apple Bloom’s eyes went wide.

Applejack smiled at her expression and reached out to ruffle her mane, “Go answer it, sleepy head.”

She blushed a little but went and answered the door. Sure enough, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were both there smiling looking hopeful. “Hey, Bloom!”

Apple Bloom smiled, “Uh, hey girls, Ah was actually just about to have some breakfast. Ah slept in a bit…”

“No worries,” Scootaloo said with a dismissive wave. “We’ll go wait in the clubhouse for you.”

Sweetie nodded in agreement. “Yeah, take your time. We’ll just work on ideas of what to do today.”

Apple Bloom smiled. “Alright, Ah’ll only be a few minutes.”

“See you in a bit!” Scootaloo said and the two took off toward the part of the orchard where the clubhouse was built.

Apple Bloom closed the door smiling and returned to the table. “Is it alright if Ah spend today with mah friends, AJ? Ah know Ah haven’t done any chores.”

Applejack gave her a reassuring smile as she set a plate of cooked pancakes on the table. Apple Bloom eagerly scooped a stack onto her own plate and set about adding the toppings she liked. “That’s fine, Bloom; Ah couldn’t rightly call mahself one of the elements of harmony if Ah prevented you from restoring your friendship. Besides, Mac and Ah already took care of your normal chores; we figured you could use a day off.”

“Thanks, sis.”



It didn’t take Apple Bloom long to finish her breakfast and she was soon out the door heading toward the clubhouse. She’d just started down the path when she noticed movement by the main gate out by the road. Looking, she was more than a little surprised to see a certain pink filly looking toward the farmhouse. She shied back slightly seeming unsure when she saw Apple Bloom look her way, but then seemed to realize it would be no use trying to hide now.

Curious Apple Bloom headed her way. “Hey, Diamond, what are you doing here? Is everything alright? Did something happen?” She added remembering she’d told Diamond to contact her if anything went wrong concerning her father.

“No, everything is fine…” She said sounding a little unsure. “I was just wondering if… if I could hang out with you today.” 

Apple Bloom looked at her more than a little surprised. “With me? What about Silver Spoon?”

“She’s gone with her family for the weekend; and… I don’t have any other friends.” She admitted softly.

This was not like the old Diamond Tiara at all Apple Bloom realized and slowly smiled. “Kinda bored?”

She blushed a little. “Yeah…”

“Well Ah was just going to meet the other crusaders at our clubhouse, and we were probably going to spend the day crusading; but if you want to, you could come hang out with us today.”

“Really? You don’t mind?”

“Course not; the more the merrier.” Apple Bloom told her. “Just one rule, if you want to come crusading with us, no matter what we end up doing, you have to try everything.”

“Okay…” She said sounding a little nervous, not knowing exactly what she was getting into. “But I already have my cutie mark.”

“That doesn’t matter,” Apple Bloom told her dismissively. “Half of why we keep crusading is because it’s just fun trying new things, whether we get our marks or not.”

“Do you think Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo will be okay with me joining you?”

“Yeah, Ah’ll talk to them, Ah’m sure they’ll be fine with it. Come on.” She gestured toward the path that led to the crusader’s clubhouse and set off toward it herself. Diamond quickly followed.

“So, I heard there was quite a commotion yesterday. The royal guard was running all around Ponyville.” She said conversationally while they walked.

“Eh heh… yeah, that was kind of my fault.”

“Your fault?” Diamond asked raising a brow.

“Ah kind of got in a fight with Sweetie and Scoots and ran off into the Everfree on my own to… well… Ah had some things Ah had to work through.” She said not wanting to explain about killing herself over and over. “Anyway, Ah was out there pretty much all night. Ah knew my family would be looking for me, but Ah didn’t realize Twilight would send her entire royal guard to look for me as well.”

“You were out in the Everfree all night!?” Diamond asked, shocked.

“Yep. Ah was kind of upset, and then Ah ended up finding an ancient ruin in a cave out there. Exploring that took a good portion of the morning.”

“Wow… weren’t you scared?”

Apple Bloom shook her head. “Nah, my magic can protect me from anything… even death.”

Diamond looked at her sharply. “Even death, what do you mean?”

“RJ, he’s the one that gave me this magic; he taught me a protective spell: If Ah ever die, it turns back time to when Ah last cast it.”

“You mean you can’t ever die?”

“Well, not permanently. The way it works, Ah still experience dying, but then ah just wake up whenever it was Ah cast the spell.” Apple Bloom explained.

“Oh… that doesn’t sound very pleasant.” She said softly.

“It’s not, trust me. Being swallowed by a hydra is definitely not something Ah want to experience again.” She said just as they reached the clubhouse, and she quickly climbed the ramp up to the door leaving Diamond to follow wide eyed.

“Hey girls!” Apple Bloom greeted as she entered the clubhouse to find Sweetie and Scootaloo waiting. “Look who asked if she could join us crusading today!”

Nervously Diamond stepped into the doorway where they could see her. “Hi.” She said softly, seeing their shocked expressions.

“Diamond Tiara!?” Scootaloo exclaimed.

Apple Bloom. “Yep, Ah told her she could come with us on the condition that whatever we end up doing, she tries everything.”

“Oh… okay. I guess that’s alright.” Scootaloo sounded more than a little apprehensive, and Apple Bloom definitely understood: Diamond certainly had been the cruelest to Scootaloo in the past.

“So, uh… what are we doing?” Sweetie Belle asked, deciding to not make a big deal out of it and change the subject.

“Well first, Ah wanted to go to Twilight’s and introduce you to Ania and Adikia!” Apple Bloom told them.

“Who’s that?” Diamond asked, then her eyes widened in realization. “Wait, are you talking about Princess Twilight Sparkle!?”

“Uh, yeah.”

“You’re still friends with her!?”

“Yeah, we still have Twilight Time a couple days a week actually.” Apple Bloom admitted.

“And I’m her magic student.” Sweetie Belle added.

Diamond Tiara looked at her stunned. “Really?”

“Yeah, since last summer.”

“And you haven’t said anything!?” Diamond exclaimed wondering why she wouldn’t brag about having such a prestigious position.

Scootaloo snorted. “Oh yeah, like we want to repeat what happened when you first found out about Twilight Time… Twilight was so mad at us!”

Diamond winced, knowing she had more than a small part to play in what had happened, and felt a little ashamed that at the time she’d been glad she’d help cause the crusaders fall from the princess’s favor. “But, I mean… isn’t that something to be proud of?”

“You don’t have to brag about something to be proud of it.” Apple Bloom said with a shrug.

She stared back at Bloom as if that were a radical new concept that she’d never even considered before. “But… you could be famous! Princess Twilight Sparkle’s personal student!”

Sweetie Belle took a step forward, giving her a serious look. “Diamond, Twilight hates when ponies use their friendship like that; and we’re not going to betray her trust again! So if you want to hang out with us, you can’t ever brag about meeting Twilight, ever!”

“If you do, you won’t be hanging out with us again, got it!” Scootaloo said firmly.

She shied back slightly but nodded. “I… it’s still exciting though; meeting the princess… she probably doesn’t think very highly of me, does she?”

“Nah, probably not.” Apple Bloom told her bluntly. “Ah mean she’s known about you making fun of us ever since your cute-ceanera. But if you show her that you want to be better; she is pretty big on forgiveness and second chances.” She smirked. “Or even fifth or sixth chances.”

Diamond blushed. “I… I am sorry… I want to be better.”

“What brought this on?” Scootaloo asked seeming surprised by how sincere Diamond seemed to be.

“I’ve just… been doing a lot of thinking ever since daddy… since daddy almost died.”

“You mean when Apple Bloom saved him?” Sweetie asked.

She nodded looking down at the floor. “I’ve been horrible to you all.”

“Yeah, you have.” Scootaloo said, giving her a flat look.

“But as long as you’re honestly tryin’ to do better, that’s all that matters. Right, Scoots?” Apple Bloom said firmly. 

Scootaloo looked defiant for a moment, but then gave in, not wanting to start another argument. “Yeah, I guess.”

“Anyway, let’s head to Twilight’s!” Apple Bloom said, eager to get going.

“You still haven’t told me who… who those others are?” Diamond said.

“You’ll see when we get there!”


~~~


Ania raised her head from the comfortable bed and yawned. She wasn’t sure how late in the morning it was, but the light coming in the window was bright enough that it had awoken her. Movement at her side caused her to look down, finding her sister curled up next to her under her wing. She smiled, deciding to let her sister sleep just a little longer. It had been some time since they’d had such a peaceful sleep. For the first time since even before they’d run away, she had actually felt safe falling asleep. She really did feel safe here. There was just something about Princess Twilight that made her feel at ease despite all they’d gone through. Even having Deimos… Spike in the house/library hadn’t worried her.

She sighed contently and laid her head back down. Maybe life was finally turning around for them. It wasn’t much longer before she felt more movement at her side and Adikia raised her head, blinking drowsily.

“Good morning, sister.” Ania said softly.

Adikia yawned widely and looked up at her. “Good morning,” she said smiling, then tilted her head, seeming to notice something. “Thou doth seem happy.”

“I didst sleep well.” She reached down and gave her sister a gentle nuzzle. “How dost thou feel about this place and the princess?”

“Tis nice so far. The princess doth seem to be a kind pony.”

“She doth, yes.” Ania agreed. “And what of Deimos, or Spike now I doth suppose.”

Adikia thought for a moment, “He is different. Not at all like he was… he doth seem nice now.”

“He doth.” She said softly. “I am hopeful, sister. I am beginning to believe that we may be safe here.”

Adikia smiled up at her. “I hope so. Apple is nice.”

“I shall watch carefully still, but I think we shall give this place a chance.” Ania told her.

She smiled and jumped up, hugging her around the neck. Ania smiled as well wrapping her wing around her little sister. “Let us get ready for the day. I am curious to try this shower Princess Twilight showed us.”

“Oh! Yes, that looked like fun!”

“Well, tis meant for washing.” Ania admonished with a smile.



Twilight had to show them how to work the shower and adjust the temperature of the water, but in the end the sisters got themselves clean and ready for whatever the day had in store for them. The first thing being breakfast. They were just coming down the stairs from their shower when they heard the door open, and they both looked as Captain Feather let a pink earth pony mare in carrying a large box on her back.

“Hi Pinkie!” Twilight greeted her smiling. “What have you got there.”

“My tail was sproingy and my eyes were blinky all morning so I knew a friend had some guests that could use some super tasty treats for breakfast! I didn’t know who though, until Spike mentioned you had some new house guests!” She said cheerfully then looked up at where the sisters had paused on the stairs. “Hi there! Welcome to Ponyville!”

“Hello.” Anikia ventured. Reassured by Pinkie’s cheerful behavior, Ania continued down the stairs.

“Girls, this is my good friend Pinkie Pie.” Twilight introduced. “Pinkie, this is Ania and Adikia.”

“Pleased to meet you! I hope you’re hungry, because I brought you all kinds of tasty treats.” She set the box on the Library’s center table opening it. “There’s fritters, turnovers and danishes; muffins, sweet rolls and doughnuts. All the best treats to start your day!”

Anikia’s eyes went wide seeing all the treats and catching the sweet scent of the baked goods.

“Thanks, Pinkie.” Twilight said taking up the box in her magic and ushering the fillies toward the kitchen. “How ‘bout we take these to the kitchen and I’ll get us some juice to go with it. You’re welcome to join us Pinkie.”

“Okie dokie!” Pinkie said bouncing after them. There Twilight set the box down again on the dining table and quickly got out plates for all of them. 

“Feather? You want to join us as well?” Twilight called to the captain.

“I’m still on duty, princess; but I wouldn’t mind a quick danish.”

Twilight selected a cheese danish and sent it over to her with her magic, letting Feather take it with her wing.

“Thanks!”

“Go ahead and grab whatever you think looks good, girls.”

Ania looked over the treats which looked far fancier than even some of the best bakers in their time could have managed. Adikia quickly grabbed a lumpy looking pastry that looked to have chopped up apples in it, levitating it to her plate, while Ania eventually settled on a glazed pastry that was filled with some kind of red berry. Then Twilight took a more open-faced pastry filled with a different red berry and striped with frosting. Pinkie took a frosted spiral pastry that had what Ania recognized as cinnamon between the layers of the spiral. Cinnamon had been a rare and expensive spice in their time, but one she’d never cared for much herself. 

Adikia was already taking a bite of hers by the time Ania had chosen. Her eyes widened in surprise. “This is really good!” She exclaimed after swallowing the first bite and eagerly took another.

Ania took a bite of hers, and found herself wanting to echo her sister. The flavor of the pastry was better than any she could remember. The filling was cherry with a perfect balance of sweet and tart, while the pastry itself was wonderfully flakey with the perfect amount of glaze. “Tis very good, I thank thee!”

“You’re welcome!” Pinkie said taking a big bite of hers.

Twilight smiled. “Pinkie actually works at the local bakery, Sugarcube Corner,” she told them as she poured a glass of orange juice for each of them, before picking up her own pastry.

Little was said as they enjoyed their breakfast; though there were plenty of sounds of enjoyment, especially from the fillies. Pinkie had to get back to Sugarcube Corner after finishing her second pastry, but left the rest of the treats. The box Pinkie had brought had at least a dozen different kinds of pastries, and even after they’d all had a second, there were quite a few left, which Twilight put away for later.

Ania and Adikia were just looking for a book to read when there was another knock on the door which Captain Feather once again answered.

“Hey Captain Feather!” A familiar sounding voice said cheerfully. “Can we come in?”

“Of course, girls. They just finished breakfast a little bit ago.” Feather told them, holding the door open.

“Apple!” Adikia said happily seeing the familiar face. Ania smiled as well but at the same time was curious who Apple Bloom meant by ‘we.’

“Hi Adikia!” Apple Bloom waved back as she entered the Library.

Three fillies entered behind Apple Bloom, a unicorn, pegasus and another earth pony who followed a little after the other two.

Twilight came out from cleaning the kitchen to see who’d arrived smiled. “Hey girls.” She said then noticed the fourth filly and her smile faltered slightly. “And Diamond Tiara?”

“Hello, Princess Twilight.” The pink filly said bowing.

Ania looked between them. Who was this Diamond Tiara?

“It’s okay, Twilight; Diamond asked if she could go crusading with us today.” Apple Bloom said in explanation.

“She did?” Twilight asked looking down at the filly.

Diamond nodded timidly.

Twilight looked at her a moment more, then shrugged. “Alright then, I take it you came to see the girls?”

“Eeyup!” Apple Bloom said with a grin.

“Okay Big Bloom.” Twilight said smiling back and gestured toward the sisters. “I’ll let you introduce your friends.”

She nodded eagerly and hurried past Twilight leading the rest of the fillies over to Ania and her sister. “Hey Ania, Adikia; these are my friends: Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Diamond Tiara,” Apple Bloom introduced, gesturing to each in turn.

Ania noticed the pink filly, Diamond Tiara, throw Apple Bloom a surprised look at being included with her friends. But then really looked at Ania and her sister for the first time and her eyes widened when she realized they both had wings and a horn.

“Everypony, this is Ania, and her sister Adikia!” Apple Bloom introduced.

“You’re Alicorns!” Diamond Tiara blurted out.

Ania looked at her a little worried, but she didn’t seem scared or angry, just very surprised. She supposed if there really were only a few alicorns in this time, meeting two new alicorns would be surprising.

“Yep, and they’re from over three thousand years ago; we found them in an old prison.” Apple Bloom told them.

Scootaloo’s eyes widened. “You mean like… that other prison?”

She nodded. “But there was a note with them written by Starswirl himself saying they were innocent and were only locked up because they were alicorns.”

“Really!?” Sweetie Belle asked excitedly. “Did you actually know Starswirl!?” Sweetie asked, more than a little familiar with the ancient unicorn now, being Twilight’s student.

“Not very well… we didst only meet him once.” Ania told her. 

“Wait, wait! You were locked up because you’re alicorns?” Diamond asked, her confusion overriding her nervousness. Ania nodded, only confusing her further. “Why would ponies want to lock up alicorns!?”

“Oh, well alicorns and other ponies didn’t really get along back then.” Apple Bloom explained for them. “Kind of like how earth ponies, unicorns and pegasi didn’t used to get along.”

“And there were many bad alicorns in our time…” Adikia said softly.

“Really?” Diamond said looking surprised. Ania actually found it comforting that the filly seemed shocked that there were once bad alicorns.

“Diamond, remember when that alicorn tried to take over Canterlot? She was one of the bad alicorns from back then.” Apple Bloom told her.

Diamond considered that. “Oh, I guess that makes sense. So you’re like, thousands of years old?” She asked curiously.

Ania blinked. “Uh… I doth suppose so; but we didst sleep through most of it.”

“Oh hey, yeah! Technically you’re both older than even Princess Celestia!” Sweetie said grinning. “You have to say that when you meet her!”

Adikia giggled at the idea, but Ania was hesitant. “I do not know if that woulds’t be a good idea.”

“It’s alright,” Apple Bloom assured her. “Princess Celestia is super nice, and AJ says she has a great sense of humor; she’d probably think it was hilarious.”

“Okay…” Ania said still sounding unsure.

“Anyway, we’re going crusading!” Apple Bloom said excitedly. “You want to come with!?”

“Crusading?” Adikia asked curiously.

“To get our cutie marks!” She turned to show her blank flank. “I know you already have yours, Ania, but you can still come with; Diamond has her cutie mark already too.”

Ania looked over at Twilight. “I do not know…”

“It’s up to you girls.” Twilight assured her.

Adikia looked up at Ania, clearly wondering what they should do. Ania frowned. Apple Bloom seemed nice, but they’d never met the other three. And then there was the rest of the town… Twilight’s assurances aside, they didn’t know how the ponies of the town would react to her and her sister. But Apple Bloom seemed to really want them to come with. Being the closest they had to a friend in this time, she hated to disappoint her, but at the same time she was nervous. She glanced at Twilight again. Some of her worry must have shown, because Twilight stepped forward with a reassuring smile and addressed Apple Bloom.

“I think the girls are still a little overwhelmed by everything; they need some more time to get settled in before they’ll be comfortable going out crusading.”

“Oh!” Apple Bloom looked at Ania and Adikia seeming to notice what Twilight meant. “Yeah, okay; we’ll just let you get settled in then. You can come crusading with us some other time.”

“Another time.” Ania agreed. It was clear Apple Bloom was disappointed, but at the same time, she understood.

“It was good to meet you though!” Sweetie Belle said with a warm smile.

“Yeah, it was great to meet you!” Scootaloo agreed. “We’ll see you around!” 

Diamond Tiara looked back and forth seeming surprised that they were leaving already. “Oh, okay…um bye!” She waved and quickly followed the crusaders out.

“Goodbye, girls!” Twilight called after them, just before the door shut behind them.

The library was quite for a moment then Ania looked up at Princess Twilight. “I thank thee.” She said softly.

Twilight smiled and put a wing around her. “You’re welcome. I know things must be pretty overwhelming for you right now. And I’m sure Apple Bloom understands; she just tends to get excited and sometimes overlooks details like that.”

Ania smiled then looked down at her sister. “Sorry Adikia, I didst not even ask if thou wanted to go…”

She just smiled back and gave her sister a nuzzle. “Tis okay, sister. We can go another time.”

Twilight smiled and extended her embrace to include Adikia as well. “What do you say we just take it easy this morning and then maybe sometime this afternoon I can show you around ponyville? Would that be less intimidating if you were with me, and perhaps Spike as well?”

Ania hesitated a moment but then nodded. “That doth sound good.”


~~~


“It must be pretty crazy for them; I mean they wake up and it’s suddenly thousands of years later?” Sweetie Belle was saying as the crusaders and Diamond Tiara gathered in front of the library.

“Yeah, I should have thought of that…” Apple Bloom said with a wince.

“It was cool to meet them though!” Scootaloo said then stretched her wings. “So, what are we going to do for crusading?”

Apple Bloom thought for a moment. “How about we go to the gym; If Mr. Biceps is there, I’m sure he’d be glad to show us how to use the weight benches and stuff. We could try for weightlifting cutie marks.

Scootaloo frowned. “Well, as long as we don’t end up looking like Mr. Biceps; I’m having a hard enough time with flying as it is.”

“Let’s go then,” Apple Bloom said and took the lead heading for the local gym. Diamond followed and found herself walking next to Scootaloo.

“So… um, how are you doing on flying?” She asked conversationally, hoping to avoid an awkward silence.

Scootaloo looked at her suspiciously. “Why?”

“I… well I have seen you flying a few times, I was just asking how it was going.” Diamond said a little defensively.

“It’s going alright.” Scootaloo said finally, then jumped up in the air flying alongside them for a short ways before dropping back down to the ground. “I still have to focus on my magic a lot when I’m flying, so it takes a lot of concentration.”

“Pegasi have magic?” Diamond asked a little confused.

“Twilight says that all ponies have magic, just most pegasi and earth ponies use their magic… instinctually.”

“Instinctively.” Sweetie Belle corrected.

Scootaloo nodded. “Right that. So they don’t have to think about it. But when she tested me, she said that I wasn’t using my magic when I was trying to fly. So she taught me how to control my magic, so that I can use it to fly.”

“That’s why you couldn’t fly before? You just weren’t using your magic?”

“Yep, but now I can control it, so I just have to get used to using it when I fly. It’s a lot of work, but it does have a few bonuses.” She flicked her wing toward Diamond and she felt a small burst of wind, just enough to ruffle her mane and make her take a step to the side. Her eyes widened.

“How did you do that!?”

Scootaloo grinned. “Pegasus magic is all about controlling the air around us; and since Twilight taught me how to control it, I can make gusts of wind with just a thought!”

“If she wanted to, Scoots could probably make a small tornado with just a single flap of her wing.” Apple Bloom said, looking back with a grin.

Scootaloo blushed. “Well maybe not a tornado; I’m not that good at controlling it yet.”

“But that’s still amazing!” Diamond said, truly stunned. “I mean, I’ve never heard of a pegasus being able to do anything like that!”

“Well that’s not surprising since Twilight is the only other pony in the whole world who can.” Sweetie said with a bit of a smirk.

“Really?”

“For now,” Scootaloo confirmed. “She is trying to teach Rainbow Dash too; and she eventually wants to teach others.”

“She wants to teach some earth ponies to use their magic as well,” Sweetie added.

Diamond looked at Apple Bloom. “Are you going to learn earth pony magic?”

“Nah, I’m still spending a lot of time learning this magic,” she said, tapping the Sa’Dracori on her shoulder. “But if you show Twilight you’re trying to be a better pony, and that you really want to learn, she might teach you.”

Her eyes widened. Her? Learn earth pony magic from the princess? “You think she’d really be willing to teach me?”

“As long as you don’t just want it to brag about.” Sweetie told her with a serious look. “Twilight always enjoys teaching ponies who truly want to learn, but if you want to just so you can brag, you can forget it.”

“It’s also really difficult to learn, so you’d have to be willing to put in the work.” Scootaloo told her. “It took me weeks of training two to three hours at a time multiple days per week; before I was even able to cast any magic. And I was determined.”

“That does sound like a lot…” Diamond said hesitantly. Weeks of lessons to even be able to use her magic; then even more to learn to do anything with it? Was she willing to put in that kind of work?

“But hard work is almost always worth it in the end.” Apple Bloom said with nod. “Speaking of hard work…” she rushed forward as they reached the Ponyville public gym, opening the door for the rest of them. “Let’s see if Mr. Biceps is here!”
> Chapter 6: Gym Mice
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 6: Gym Mice
***


As she flew across Ponyville, Daring couldn’t help feeling a little… naked. She was once again not wearing her typical gear, but neither was she wearing her A.K. Yearling disguise. For the second day in a row. It was true even her fans often wouldn’t recognize her without her gear, but two days in a row in the same town was really pushing her luck. She had to keep telling herself that she was going to let the secret out anyway. Gliding down to the town library, and current residence of the local princess, she landed a few steps from the door.

She was well aware of the royal guards that were watching the entrance from unobtrusive hiding places nearby. Most ponies probably wouldn’t even know they were there, but Daring managed to spot at least three of them, and she suspected there were more. She didn’t let on that she knew, and instead simply went to the door and knocked. It was Captain Feather who answered.

“Welcome back, Miss Do. Come on in.” She said stepping back to let her pass.

“Thanks.” She said, gladly stepping inside and out of public view.

Princess Twilight and the fillies were all gathered in a corner of the main floor, resting on cushions with a book open in front of them. They all looked up as she entered, and the two fillies smiled.

“Hi, Daring!” Adikia said smiling and waving.

“Hi girls, princess.” Daring said with a wave and respectful nod.

“Just Twilight, please,” Twilight said almost on reflex. Then the realization hit her. “Oh, that’s right, we were going to go over those ancient records you found.”

Daring nodded.

“I knew I should have made a checklist,” she sighed and glanced back at the fillies. “Right… actually, do you think you girls could help with that? Did you know much about the alicorn imperium council members.”

“A little.” Ania said with a shrug.

“Well maybe you’ll be able to add to whatever Starswirl had to say about them. And actually, you might have an easier time reading these old records.”

She smirked. “Perhaps, but Starswirl’s horn writing tis very bad.”

Twilight giggled. “Yes, he’s still notorious for his horn writing among historians. You’d think living nearly two thousand years he would have improved, but even later in his life his horn writing was just as bad, maybe even worse.” She got up and stretched her wings briefly. “Well let’s get out those records and take a look. Hopefully we can place where all these prisons are on modern maps.”

“Hopefully,” Daring agreed. “And then I’ll be visiting them and making sure they’re still holding.”



In short order, Twilight retrieved one of the most complete maps of Equestria and the surrounding lands that she had and laid it across the table in the center of the main floor. The ancient scrolls they set in a pile to one side, as they began going through them one by one. Each had a record of the location of the prison, usually with a map showing nearby landmarks, then a record of the Alicorn imprisoned there and the crimes attributed to them. Most Ania and Adikia could only agree with, as they didn’t really know the alicorns in question. Though for many they had heard rumors that only seemed to confirm the crimes listed. Lastly, each record also had a description of the traps set on each prison to keep ponies from releasing them and how to bypass them.

“Ruby Sky and Latent Flame, imprisoned together… This one doesn’t list many crimes.” Twilight said somewhat surprised as she struggled to read the ancient writing. “Looks like they’re mostly just accused of enslaving mortal ponies. Though they were linked to a few crimes that were attributed to the council in general.”

Ania looked up from the scroll she and Adikia were looking at and frowned. “I doth remember mother saying once that Latent Flame was too timid a stallion for an alicorn. She did not think he belonged on the high council. Ruby Sky was his mate. Adikia and I didst only meet them once, when they came to make a request of mother, but I remember she seemed nice.”

Twilight frowned. “Do you think they might deserve a second chance?”

“I do not know… I didst only meet them once. Perhaps.”

Adikia nodded. “Ruby was kind. And their pony servants spoke well of them.”

Ania looked at her. “They did?”

She nodded. “I spoke with a couple when they didst visit the keep.”

Twilight looked at the list of crimes for the two. Really the only one they were truly to blame for was enslaving mortals and in the case of Latent Flame, forcing some of the mares he’d enslaved to be his mates. But if some of their “servants” spoke well of them; were they really forced? Or was that just the prejudice of the time that made them record it so? And Ruby; she wasn’t even a member of the high council herself. So, the charges of slavery were all that really applied to her. Perhaps they did deserve another chance. That was something she’d have to consider.

“They sound a lot more pleasant than this guy at least,” Daring said, reading over another of the scrolls. “Harrow. Crimes include: Enslaving mortals, of course, numerous counts of violent rape. Starswirl made a point of saying violent; one-hundred-seventeen known murders, another seventy-two suspected. Fifty-seven counts of torture; many of which included rape, murder or both…” She shook her head. “Definitely hope that prison is holding. The mortal coalition obviously wanted to make sure he didn’t escape either; they put some pretty wicked sounding traps on his prison.”

“He was one of the worst…” Ania said softly. “But the council didst let him do as he wished with the mortals he enslaved. They cared not.”

“It’s disgusting…” Twilight said softly.

“Looks like his prison is up to the northeast. In the crystal mountains east of Rainbow Falls. They really spread these out.” Daring said marking the approximate location on the map, then set about writing a translation of the listed crimes. Already near a dozen prisons were marked all over the map with only about half in Equestria itself, and they were only about halfway through the scrolls.

“Yes… By the description, this one is somewhere in the smokey mountains, but the lake it shows as a landmark isn’t on the map, so I’m not sure where in the range it is.” Twilight said 

“Three thousand years… The lake could have drained or dried up, or it’s just not large enough to be included on the map. If I need to, I can fly over the range to look for it, or any large basins that might have once been a lake.”

Twilight nodded and just put a circle around the mountains and marked it with the initials of those imprisoned, returning to her own translation.

Ania and Adikia were also reading and comparing what their scroll said and what it showed to the map.

“There!” Adikia said suddenly, pointing to a spot on the map.

Ania looked and compared it to the map drawn in the scroll and nodded. “That doth look like it.”

Twilight looked as well, and her eyes widened in surprise. “Ghastly Gorge?”

“Yikes. That one might already be quarray eel food.” Daring said.

“Quarray eels live there?” Ania asked surprised.

“Yes, quite a few actually. Who was imprisoned there.”

“Wisteria… We never didst meet her. By rumors she was… not pleasant, but not as bad as some others.”

Twilight frowned; she’d have to ask Spike about her later. She actually wanted to ask him his opinions on many of those imprisoned. But she didn’t want to do so while Daring was around. Spike’s ancient past was still very much a secret. Which was partially why she hadn’t asked him to help as well. That and she had actually forgotten until Daring had shown up, and Spike had already gone with Rainbow for the day to test his limits. Twilight couldn’t help smiling thinking of Rainbow. She’d been pretty excited to see just what Spike could do with his new wings. Especially after he’d mentioned that he’d often had to keep up with Achlys.

“Hows it going?” Feather asked, joining them at the table.

“Pretty good; most of them we’ve been able to place on the map, but a few we’ve only got a general area,” Twilight told her.

“They’re all hidden though, so they’re all going to take some searching no matter what.” Daring added.

Feather didn’t respond, causing Twilight to look up, finding her guard captain staring at one of the marks at the map looking shocked. She glanced at Twilight. “Uh, princess, a word please.”

“Uh, alright.” She said getting to her hooves. Feather led her into the kitchen, closing the door behind them. “Something wrong?” Twilight asked quietly.

“One of the places marked on the map. The one way out west; if where you marked it is accurate, that would put one of the prisons right beneath the main changeling hive.” She said softly.

Twilight’s eyes widened. “You’re sure?”

She nodded. “I remember there being a section deep in the hive that was off limits to all but a few of the queen’s guard and the queen herself.”

“You think she knew about it, then?”

“Possibly. Noling except those few the queen allowed knew what was in those tunnels, though.”

Twilight frowned. “We may have to investigate that one ourselves then. I wouldn’t want to send Daring without telling her, and she may wonder how I know if I told her.”

Feather nodded. “I… I suppose I should have told you where the hive was sooner…”

“It’s quite alright; I know all too well how ponies felt about changelings after the Canterlot invasion. I can certainly understand you wanting to protect your former home." Twilight assured her. "You don’t have to worry though: you have my word that Equestria isn’t going to attack the hive. And hopefully we can protect them from accidentally freeing the alicorn imprisoned there.”

“Thank you, Twilight.” Feather said with a grateful smile.

Twilight smiled in return and nodded. “Well, better get back to it. I’ll be sure and send Daring to check all the prisons in Equestria itself first, and we can make plans to investigate the prison at the changeling hive ourselves, though it may be some time before we can.”

She nodded. “If I’m right about those tunnels the queen restricted access to, then she’s known for some time. Hopefully that means she’s not intending on freeing the alicorn herself. But there’s always the chance she might accidentally free them.”

“Or they might manage to break free themselves,” Twilight agreed.


~~~


“So why does the gym have a wrestling ring?” Diamond asked looking over at the square platform surrounded by ropes.

“Cause wrestling or boxing can be good exercise, and a lot of fun!” Scootaloo answered, sitting on one of the benches and doing hoof curls with some weights. 

It had been a quiet day at the gym apparently. But Bulk Biceps had been there as he often was when he wasn’t working one of his multiple jobs. He’d been more than happy to show the fillies how to use each of the machines the gym had, though several were too big for them to really use yet. He’d also shown them several exercises they could do with just free weights, though Scootaloo and Apple Bloom had already known a few of those. Diamond hadn’t though, and while she wasn’t used to so much physical exercise, she had found herself enjoying trying out the different machines. 

Scootaloo looked at her with a decidedly devious grin setting the weights down. “You want to wrestle, Diamond?”

“Uh…” She glanced at Apple Bloom, recalling her promise to try everything they did. “Okay, but I don’t really know how.”

“It’s pretty simple really, you just try to pin each other down.” Sweetie said with a shrug.

“Well, there’s a bit more to it than that.” Apple Bloom put in. “There’s a lot of rules about things you can’t do; like you can’t kick or punch, and you can’t choke each other… basically you try not to actually hurt each other.”

“It’s just for fun,” Scootaloo said climbing up into the ring under the ropes. “Come on.”

Diamond nervously followed, climbing up and following Scootaloo to the center where she turned so that they were facing one another.

“You’ll probably want to take off your tiara for this,” Scootaloo pointed out.

“Oh, right!” She wore her tiara so much that she often forgot she was wearing it. Taking it off, she looked around for a safe place to put it. Going to one of the corners, she reached up, hooking it over the top of one of the poles that held the ropes. Returning to the center, she couldn’t help feeling like something was missing without the familiar weight on her head.

“Alright, first to pin their opponent for a three count wins the round!” Apple Bloom said, taking the role of the ref from the side of the ring. “Ready… and… go!”

Diamond was not ready for how quickly Scootaloo moved. The moment Apple Bloom said go, she slammed into her, catching her low against the chest and lifting her up, toppling her over backwards. The next she knew, she was on her back with the pegasus over top of her pinning her forehooves down above her head. She tried using her hind legs to push her off, but they were off to one side and Scootaloo was keeping low enough that she couldn’t get them under her to get any purchase.

“One… Two… Three! First round goes to Scootaloo!” Apple Bloom announced.

Scootaloo grinned and released her, letting her roll back to her hooves. “Wanna go again?”

To her own surprise, she actually did. She wanted to see if she could do better. “Yeah!”

“That’s the spirit!” Apple Bloom cheered. “Round two!”

Diamond took her position opposite Scootaloo again, this time taking a more stable stance, making sure she was ready to spring into action.

“Ready… and… go!”

Scootaloo leapt forward again, but this time Diamond lunged forward to meet her. They collided in the middle, each getting a foreleg under the other’s and for a moment Diamond managed to hold her there. But it wasn’t long before Scootaloo broke the stalemate. Without warning she spun to the side, getting out of Diamond’s hold and throwing her off balance. She was forced to put her forehooves down, and with Scootaloo now at her side, all she could do was brace herself. Scootaloo slammed into her side, trying to push her over. Diamond tried to hold, and for a moment succeeded in remaining upright, but then Scootaloo got a forehoof under her barrel and lifted while still pushing against her side. Diamond’s hooves on that side left the ground and there was nothing more she could do as she toppled over, Scootaloo landing on her side. Then she felt the pegasus wrap one forehoof around both of hers, pinning them. She tried to get her hind legs between them to push her off, but found they were trapped as well, unable to get any real purchase against Scootaloo’s back.

“One… Two… Three! Scootaloo takes round two!” Apple Bloom announced. 

“You put up much more of a fight that time.” Scootaloo said as she released Diamond once more. “You’re a lot stronger than you look.”

Diamond blushed a little. “I’m just glad I managed to hold you as long as I did…”

“Wanna try one more?”

“Sure!”

“Alright then, round three!” Apple Bloom said grinning.

Diamond and Scootaloo took their start positions again, facing each other.

“Ready…” As Apple Bloom began, Scootaloo suddenly got a devious grin, one that made Diamond a little nervous. “And… Go!”

Immediately Scootaloo jumped back, throwing herself against the ropes, and wings buzzing began pushing them back. Diamond could only stare as a recent school lesson they’d all had in potential energy came to mind. And with how far Scootaloo was stretching the ropes back… She lifted one hoof, considering running, but it was already too late. Scootaloo snapped her wings shut and all that energy in the stretched ropes propelled her forward. Diamond knew better than to try to stop the pegasus projectile. When Scootaloo slammed into her, wrapping her forelegs around her, Diamond let herself be tackled, the two of them tumbling across the ring to end up in a heap at the far side.

Despite perhaps gaining a few bruises, Diamond burst out laughing and a moment later Scootaloo did as well.

“Get away from my daughter you ruffian!”

Diamond looked up in surprise. “Daddy!?”

Filthy Rich was charging across the gym toward the wrestling ring, clearly intent on protecting his daughter.

“Daddy we’re just playing!” Diamond insisted.

“Yeah we were just wrestling.” Scootaloo insisted, getting up off of Diamond and letting her up as well.

“Scootaloo wasn’t actually trying to hurt her.” Apple Bloom added.

Mr. Rich skidded to a stop looking surprised. “You were just playing?”

“Yes, Daddy.” Diamond told him, going over to the side of the ring where he was. “We were just having fun.”

He looked between them clearly unsure, then decided to let it go, turning toward Diamond. “What are you doing here, honey?”

“I wanted to hang out with Apple Bloom and her friends today. They thought it would be fun, and it was! Mr. Biceps showed us how to use all the weight benches and some exercises to do with free weights, and then Scootaloo and I were wrestling.” She blushed. “Scootaloo won.”

“Diamond, these aren’t really activities for a proper young mare.” He admonished.

“I don’t care! It was fun!” Diamond was surprised herself to find that that was true. For once she didn’t care in the least that she wasn’t acting like a proper highborn mare.

“But you could get hurt!”

“Not with Apple Bloom here!”

Apple Bloom nodded. “Yeah, even if one of us did get hurt on accident, I’d just turn back time and stop it.”

His eyes narrowed looking over at Apple Bloom. “So you’re the one that’s been filling my daughter’s head with those nonsense stories. Diamond, I told you, nopony can turn back time! Now come along, we’re going home!”

Apple Bloom sighed and her shoulder lit up. The next instant they all watched everything reverse until when Mr. Rich had first arrived. When she released the spell, his eyes went wide. “What just happened!?”

“Ah reversed time.” Apple Bloom said simply.

He stared at her in shock for a moment then looked at Diamond Tiara.

“See, I told you.” Diamond said sounding rather satisfied.

“How…?” He gasped.

“Magic from another world.” Apple Bloom told him. “You don’t have to worry about Diamond’s safety, she’ll be safe with us.”

“And I don’t care about being a proper young mare!” Diamond insisted. “I’ll behave and mind my manners when I need to, but I’m not going to stay at home bored all the time just because that’s what being a proper young mare means! Life is short, I don’t want to waste it!”

“But Diamond, honey; if you want to get anywhere in life, you need to know how to behave in high society!”

“I already do! And I’ll behave properly when I need to, but not all the time! I want to experience things, to have fun! Besides,” She gestured to the crusaders, “except for Sweetie sometimes, they don’t act like high society ponies at all, but they’re friends with a princess! So maybe being a proper young mare isn’t the only way to move up in the world!”

He looked at her a moment more, then glanced at the crusaders and back to Diamond. “Honey, I just want what’s best for you.”

She smiled. “Then let me have some fun!”

He sighed. “Alright. Just be home in time for dinner. And tell me next time you decide to hang out with Apple Bloom and her friends.”

Diamond blushed, realizing she’d forgotten to tell her father her plans for the day. Usually, she and Silver Spoon would just be hanging out somewhere around one of their houses. So with Silver Spoon unavailable today, he’d probably expected her to be at home. “I will.” She told him reaching through the ropes to give him a hug. “Thanks daddy.”

He hugged her back then glanced at the others a little awkwardly. “Sorry for interrupting.” He said, before turning to go.

“Daddy, remember what I told you?” Diamond said stalling him. “Apple Bloom saved your life.”

He looked back, then looked at Apple Bloom. “Diamond did tell me what you did, and though I didn’t believe her at the time, I suppose she was telling the truth.”

Apple Bloom nodded.

“In that case, I am very grateful for what you did. You saved my life; I don’t know if I could ever repay you.”

“That’s alright, Mr. Rich. Ah couldn’t leave Diamond cryin’ like that, not when Ah could do something about it.”

“Well, in any case, I am in your debt.” He looked over at his daughter and smiled. “I suppose Diamond could do far worse when choosing new friends.”

“She’ll be safe with us, Mr. Rich.” Apple Bloom assured him.

He looked back at her and smiled. “I’ll let you get back to what you were doing, then.” He said and with that, finally turned to go. They were all silent for a few moments after he was gone. Eventually, it was Diamond who broke the silence.

“Sorry about bringing up you being friends with the princess.”

“That’s okay, you were just using it to make a point.” Sweetie Belle assured her.

“And Ah definitely get not wanting to be a high society mare all the time.” Apple Bloom assured her. “Mah sis told me she tried living the high society life in Manehattan when she was our age. She said it was the most boring few months of her life!”

“It’s not all bad…” Diamond said feeling a need to defend the high society lifestyle. “But it can be boring at times.”

“It’s just not for everypony,” Sweetie Belle said.

“Yep, definitely not for me.” Scootaloo agreed. “So you want to wrestle anymore, Diamond?”

She giggled softly. “I think it’s pretty safe to say you won.”

“How about we do a little tournament!” Apple Bloom suggested. “Scoots beat Diamond, so now Sweetie and I have to go, then the winner takes on Scootaloo!”

“Alright! I’ll ref then!” Scootaloo said moving to the side as Diamond also jumped down out of the ring.

Sweetie rolled her eyes. “Like there’s any question at all who will end up going against Scoots…” she said but got up in the ring anyway.

She wasn’t wrong. It ended up being Scootaloo vs. Apple Bloom for the final of their tiny tournament. And in the end, it was Apple Bloom who was the victor. Diamond had fun though, even though she ended up losing completely when she and Sweetie wrestled for third place. She was surprised by the unicorn filly’s strength; she was much stronger than most unicorns their age, probably due to all their crusading. Diamond did manage to win one round though, so that was something at least.


~~~


Twilight looked up as the door opened and Spike entered the library followed by Rainbow.

“Remind me not to race Rainbow ever again…” Spike groaned, going over to a convenient cushion and collapsing on it.

“Hey, you did great!” Rainbow said with a grin while heading for the table where Twilight, Daring and the fillies were still at work. “So how goes the translating?”

“Well not just translating. We’re also trying to place the prisons on modern maps.” Twilight told her. We’re most the way through, though a few locations are pretty vague.”

“Some of these alicorns though; the things they’re accused of…” Daring trailed off shaking her head.

Twilight nodded. “Yeah, most of them, it’s no wonder why they were so hated… There are just a few though, that I have to wonder if it would be worth giving them another chance.”

“Huh… So you going to go look for some of these prisons, Daring?”

“That is the plan.” Daring said, copying down the information from another of the scrolls.

“I was thinking; maybe I should go with you. That way I could take an amplifier and have a way to stay in contact with Twilight.”

“Amplifier?” Daring raised a brow.

“Amity Arcanum Amplifier.” Twilight clarified. “They use the power generated by the bonds between friends to amplify a pony’s abilities. But they also have a communication spell that also works off those bonds.”

“Really?”

Twilight nodded. “The second-generation amplifiers should have enough range for most the prisons in Equestria, maybe a bit further; but I’m not sure exactly what the range is.”

“Couldn’t you just give me one then?” Daring asked.

“Uh… well it probably wouldn’t have as long range for you wearing it.” Twilight said a little awkwardly.

“Why?”

“Well, they work off the bonds of friendship and well… I mean, I’d consider you a friend and all, but…”

“I get ya. We’re not nearly as close of friends, so they’d have less range, is that it?”

Twilight nodded. “And wouldn’t amplify your abilities as much. It would still be a good idea for you to have one, though.”

“You may want to take some time getting used to it, before you do anything crazy.” Rainbow warned. “They tend to amplify your weaker abilities a lot more than stronger ones. Anyway, I was just thinking it would be a good idea to stay in contact so Twilight will know right away if something happens. So far, the prisons we’ve seen have both had deadly traps.”

“Starswirl left descriptions of the traps on each prison as well as how to get past them,” Daring said dismissively.

Twilight frowned. “Yeah, well Rainbow does have a point. Even with knowing how to get past the traps, there’s always the chance something might go wrong or the trap could even malfunction. I’d hate for you to get killed for this.”

“Don’t worry, Princess; I do this kind of stuff all the time.” Daring said confidently.

“But just in case, I want you to stay in contact; that way if worse comes to worse, I can ask Rekaj to turn back time and warn you.” Twilight told her.

“Rekaj?” Daring asked.

“He’s the dragon that gave Apple Bloom her magic.” Twilight told her.

“Oh right, Rainbow mentioned him. She said he’s from another world?”

Twilight nodded. “That’s right…”

“Oh yeah, Twilight, last night Rekaj mentioned he was going back to his world for a time to take care of some things.” Spike said from where he was still resting. “He did say we’d still be able to contact him the usual way though.”

“Okay, that’s good to know. I guess if it came down to it I could just ask Apple Bloom as well.” Twilight said, thinking. “Anyway, I think it would be a good idea for Rainbow to go with you to the first few prisons you check. You can both take an amplifier, and while you’re out there, we can test the range you get from it. If you get enough range from it to stay in contact; you can probably go solo after that; but if not, then at least Rainbow will be able to.”

“Heh, alright. Guess you’ll be coming along for this one, Rainbow.” Daring said with grin. “Once we finish up translating all these and figure out where we’re going.”

“Yeah, that part isn’t something I can help with… reading ancient texts isn’t really my thing.” Rainbow said looking over at the scrolls.

“We art almost done.” Ania said adding another scroll to the pile of those they’d completed.

“So how many prisons are there anyway?” Rainbow asked as she scanned all the marks on the map. “Looks like quite a few.”

“Thirty-five.” Twilight told her. “Well thirty-six, but one was obviously Achlys’, so we crossed that one off the list.”

“I think we’ll check the ones in northern Equestria first. Maybe these in the northeast.” Daring said gesturing to a few marks that weren’t too far from each other.

Twilight nodded in agreement. “That would probably be as good of place as any. Let’s just make sure there aren’t any more in that area, then you can make your plans.”
> Chapter 7: Settling In
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 7: Settling In
***


It only took them a little longer to finish going through the scrolls and placing the last few prisons on the map. Twilight then made a copy of the map for Daring and also gave her one of the amplifiers, suggesting that she take the next couple of days to make plans with Rainbow and also get used to the amplifier. Daring had agreed and went to try it out on her own. Knowing she’d likely be gone for several days once they left, Rainbow decided to spend the rest of the day with Twilight and the fillies.

“Well, now that we’ve got that done. Would you girls like a tour of Ponyville, and maybe we could get some dinner while we’re out?” Twilight asked.

Ania and Adikia exchanged glances, and Adikia smiled and nodded. “Okay, that doth sound good.” Ania said looking back up at Twilight.

Twilight gave her a smile then looked up at the others. “Rainbow, Spike; you coming too?” 

“Of course!” Rainbow said, getting to her hooves.

“If that’s alright with the fillies.” Spike said, knowing they were still uncomfortable around him.

Ania looked at him for a moment then nodded.

He smiled. “Alright then. I’ll come with.”

“Great!” Twilight said happily and looked back at the fillies. “So I was thinking while we’re showing you around town, we could stop by a few of my friends’ places and introduce you. Do you think you’d be up to that?”

Ania glanced over at her sister and got a shrug in return. “Okay, I doth suppose that would be alright.”

“Alright, let’s get going then! We’ll stop by Rarity’s boutique first. Then you’ve already met Pinkie, but we can stop by Sugarcube Corner anyway so you can see the bakery. Come on!” Feather, waiting by the door, stepped out first while Twilight led the rest, closing the door behind them. She then led the way with the fillies to one side and Rainbow on the other with Spike trailing behind with Captain Feather.

“Rarity is actually a fairly famous fashion designer.” Twilight told the fillies as they walked. “Even though she started in a small town like Ponyville, she’s managed to make a name for herself, even in the big cities.”

“Did they even have fashion three thousand years ago?” Rainbow asked, rolling her eyes a bit.

“Yes.” Ania told her. “Many of the council would compete with one another with their fashion. Some didst put a great amount of effort into finding the best tailors and seamstresses among the mortals they didst enslave.”

Rainbow just groaned.

Twilight smiled at her marefriend’s reaction. “Did you girls have any dresses or gowns of your own?”

“No.” Adikia said sounding a little sad about it.

“Our mother didst not care for fashion… She didst believe it a waste of time.”

Twilight looked over at Rainbow raising a brow.

“Well, I mean… even I have to admit sometimes it’s nice to look good. To feel beautiful.” She admitted with a slight blush, remembering how it had felt when she’d gotten all dressed up for the Grand Galloping Gala.

With a smile, Twilight looked over at the fillies. “Well I’m sure Rarity would love to make both of you a gown or two. And it’s always good to have something on hoof; you never know when you’ll need formal wear.”

“Really!?” Adikia said sounding excited.

“I doth suppose it would be nice to have a dress to wear for formal engagements.” Ania said smiling, though she wasn’t quite as excited as her sister.

“The hard part will be convincing her to let me pay her for them…”

Rainbow laughed. “Heh, yeah. Rares does tend to be a bit too generous with friends at times.”

“Will they cost much?” Ania asked, sounding a little worried.

“Oh no, even if I convince Rarity to let me pay for them, she’ll likely barely charge more than they cost her to make.” Twilight assured them. “Don’t worry about the cost.”

Ania nodded and for a bit the just looked around as they walked. There were a few ponies out and about, and a couple waved, but though they clearly noticed the two fillies with Twilight and Rainbow, none seemed to notice that both sported both wings and a horn.

“Here we are.” Twilight said turning toward a large round and very fancy looking building. Being normal business hours, Twilight didn’t hesitate to open the door and go right in, the bell over the door announcing their arrival.
“Hello, welcome to carousel boutique… oh, it’s you Twilight.” Rarity said coming out of the back room. She smiled as the rest of the group entered. “Rainbow, Spike, and…” her eyes widened slightly as she looked at the two fillies. “Oh my, who’s this?”

Twilight smiled. “Rarity, I’d like to introduce, Ania, and her sister Adikia.” She then turned to the fillies. “Girls, this is my good friend, Rarity.”

“We art pleased to meet thee.” Ania said watching Rarity’s reaction.

Rarity looked shocked a moment more before responding. “I’m pleased to meet you as well, it’s not every day I meet two alicorn fillies. Where in the world did you two come from?”

Ania looked over at Twilight wondering if she should answer.

“You heard about Apple Bloom running off and spending a night in the Everfree, right?” Twilight asked.

“Of course, Sweetie was in quite a state she was so worried. She hardly slept at all.” 

“Well while she was out there, she and a couple others happened to find an ancient prison, and inside they found these two along with a note from Starswirl himself stating that they’d been imprisoned simply for being alicorns.”

Rarity put a hoof to her chest and looked down at the fillies, her eyes full of sympathy. “Goodness… that must have been horrible.”

It was reassuring to Ania, seeing such genuine sympathy for what she and her sister had gone through in yet another mortal pony. “Twas frightening… we didst not know what they intended when they didst capture us.”

“I can hardly imagine. Well you’re safe now in Equestria, don’t you worry,” Rarity assured them.

Twilight smiled, turning back toward the fillies. “Rarity is also Sweetie Belle’s older sister.”

Rarity glanced at Twilight looking surprised. “Oh, have you already met Sweetie?”

The fillies nodded. “They didst come to the library this morning,” Ania told her.

“Apple Bloom wanted to introduce them.” Twilight explained.

“I see, well I’m glad it sounds like they’ve all made up. Sweetie was so worried Apple Bloom wouldn’t forgive her for what she said.”

“Well she needn’t have worried. Their friendship is much too strong for one argument to break.” Twilight said smiling fondly. “Anyway, Ania and Adikia are going to be staying with me for now; so I thought I’d take them around to meet all the rest of the girls, and show them the town while we’re at it.”

“I see, that does seem like a marvelous idea. It’s such a nice day out, I do wish I could join you, but I’m afraid I have an order I need to get done by this coming Wednesday and I need to keep at it if I don’t want to fall behind.”

“Well, we won’t keep you from it.” Twilight told her understandingly. “Is it alright if the girls look around for a bit?” She asked noticing Adikia was already looking at one of the dresses displayed on a ponykin nearby.

Rarity smiled. “Of course! And I’m not so pressed for time that I can’t take a couple minutes to show you around.”

“Thanks, Rarity.”

“Yeah, it’s not like I could tell them anything about all these froufrou dresses.” Rainbow added with a smirk.

Rarity could only roll her eyes at that.


~~~


Rarity gave them a brief tour of the boutique, mostly letting the fillies look around and ask questions, they didn’t stay too long though as Twilight wanted to show them the rest of the town. Their next stop was Sugarcube Corner. Pinkie was working behind the counter, but that didn’t stop her from enthusiastically greeting them, which called a fair amount of attention to them, making Ania a little nervous as she watched for any negative reactions to her and her sister. Fortunately there weren’t any and after a quick treat, they were on their way again, heading toward their next destination.

Ania looked around the large, mostly natural yard along the path leading up to an adorable looking cottage just on the edge of the forest. There was a stream running through it, with a charming little bridge, lily pads in the water and cattails along the shore. Wildflowers were blooming throughout the yard while the trees were just starting to show some fall colors. There were also numerous animal burrows visible and quite a few bird houses hanging in the trees.

Leading the way to the door, Twilight knocked. A moment later the door opened and a yellow pegasus with a pink mane looked out. “Hello?” she said seeming a little nervous at first but relaxing as soon as she saw Twilight and Rainbow. “Oh, Twilight, Rainbow!”

“Hi, Fluttershy!”

“Hey, Flutters!”

Fluttershy smiled. “Discord and I were just having tea, would you like to…” She started then spotted to fillies and her eyes widened a bit in surprise. “Oh! Who’s this?”

“Discord’s here?” Rainbow asked before Twilight could answer, mildly surprised herself.

“Indeed!” The draconequus in question said appearing in the doorway. Ania looked up at him in surprise; Twilight had mentioned him being defeated by the princesses to end what they called the discordian era, but she hadn’t said anything about him still being around. She and her sister didn’t go unnoticed by him. “Well, well, well! If it isn’t the infamous Ania and Adikia!”

Adikia shied back slightly, hiding a bit behind Ania.

“Infamous?” Fluttershy repeated looking at the fillies in confusion.

“Oh yes, it was quite a stir for those boring alicorns of the imperium council when word got out that Achlys had had two alicorn daughters.”

Ania looked at Fluttershy worried what her reaction would be at the mention of their mother. The pegasus’ eyes went wide looking down at them in shock.

“It’s alright, Fluttershy.” Spike spoke up from behind them. “They’re not at all like their mother.”

Fluttershy looked up at him then seeming to relax a little looked back down at the fillies. “Oh, uh… okay.”

“Apple Bloom found their prison,” Twilight explained. “Apparently Starswirl had rigged it so it would draw ponies in to free them after a few thousand years, and left a message explaining that they were innocent and had been imprisoned just for being alicorns.”

“Oh my.”

“Yes, I suppose their infamy was entirely due to being Achlys’ daughters.” Discord rolled his eyes. “The council members were terrified they’d turn out to be just as powerful as Achlys herself.”

“Mother didst teach us a lot of magic…” Ania said softly. “As soon as we were able to use it, she didst train us.” Adikia nodded in agreement.

Twilight stretched a wing around them both in a comforting embrace. “It would probably be for the best if you both keep that to yourselves. We don’t want ponies to associate them with Achlys. They’ve already had a hard enough life thanks to their parentage.”

“Oh, of course!” Fluttershy agreed.

“If I must.” Discord said with a sigh.

“Twilight didst tell us that thou didst cause some trouble after the alicorns were gone.” Ania said looking up at him. “Mother didst teach us how to fight one such as thee if necessary.”

Discord groaned. “Not another one… as if Lulu and dear Twilight weren’t enough already.”

“It’s alright girls; I probably should have mentioned that we actually convinced Discord that having friends was better than causing trouble,” Twilight told them.

“Especially when those friends don’t mind a little chaos in their lives,” Discord added.

“Just so long as a certain draconequus keeps it away from my checklists and library.” Twilight said in a warning tone.

“You’re no fun.”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Well anyway, the fillies are going to be staying with me for now, so I was just taking them around to show them the town and introduce them to the rest of the girls. So let me introduce you and we’ll let you get back to your tea,” she told them, then gestured to each of the fillies. “This is Ania, and her little sister Adikia. Girls, this is my good friend Fluttershy, and I suppose you’ve already met Discord.”

“Pleased to meet thee.” Ania and Adikia said together both feeling a bit more relaxed.

“Oh, I’m very pleased to meet you too. Are you sure you wouldn’t like to join us for tea?” Fluttershy asked.

Twilight smiled but shook her head. “No we still need to get out to Sweet Apple Acres, and then see the rest of the town on our way back. Plus we were already planning on getting some dinner. So we’ll just let you get back to your tea. Thanks though.”

“Okay then.” Fluttershy smiled and looked down at the fillies. “I guess I’ll see you around!” she said, giving a wave.

“Goodbye!” the fillies both said together.

“See ya, Flutters!” Rainbow said waving back along with the others as they started back toward the road.

Returning to the road, Twilight turned toward Sweet Apple Acres. “Well, that just leaves Applejack, then we’ll get some dinner on the way back through town, sound good?”

“Yes. You didst say that Applejack is Apple Bloom's elder sister, correct?”

Twilight smiled and nodded. “Yep and they live out on their farm, Sweet Apple Acres; it’s just a bit further.”

They’d just about reached the main gate to the Acres when Captain Feather gave a soft laugh from behind them. “Incoming.”

Twilight was about to ask what she meant when they all heard the galloping of small hooves coming up the road behind them.

“Twilight!” Apple Bloom called grinning as she led the other crusaders and Diamond Tiara, trying to catch up. “Ania, Adikia!”

“Hi Apple Bloom!” Adikia called back happily, and Ania smiled.

“Hi!” Apple Bloom said reaching them. “Y’all heading out to the farm?”

Twilight nodded. “Yes, we’ve been showing them around Ponyville. Would you like to show them around and introduce the rest of your family.”

“Sure! Come on! AJ and Big Mac are probably working out in the orchard, but Ah bet Granny Smith is up at the house!” Apple Bloom said and hurried off, leading the way.”

Ania glanced up at Twilight looking a little bemused by Apple Bloom’s excitement.

Twilight just smiled and gestured for her and Adikia to follow. “Go on, we’ll be right behind you.”

Ania nodded and together she and Adikia took off after the other fillies.

Laughing softly Twilight glanced over at Rainbow, and together they followed at a bit more relaxed pace. It was clear Apple Bloom was eager to be Ania and Adikia’s friend; and as the princess of friendship, she certainly wasn’t going to get in their way. Twilight did notice that Diamond Tiara was still with them, and really the pink filly seemed happier than Twilight had ever seen her before. Perhaps she too was just in need of good friends.


~~~


Twilight glanced over her desk and the various forms and scrolls spread across it. It had been a few days now since the fillies arrived, and already she’d realized there were quite a few things she needed to take care of if she wanted to care for them. Including quite a few legal matters that she needed to take care of. Before her were the documents that would make them official citizens of Equestria, as well as registering herself as their legal guardian. Then there was another couple forms to register them for school; she wasn’t sure how ready they were for that just yet, but she knew it was something that would be good for them, especially when it came to helping them adjust to the modern times. So far none of the documents were completed. She needed to talk to the girls, and not just for the paperwork.

Also on the desk was a letter she’d received back from Princess Celestia asking to meet the fillies, as well as a letter from her mother asking the same; Twilight should have guessed Trixie would tell her. She was thinking she’d take them up to Canterlot the coming weekend after Rainbow and Daring set out on their trip to explore northeastern Equestria in search of the ancient prisons. But they’d barely had a few days to get used to ponyville so far; how would they handle being in a city like Canterlot? 

And of course, there was the political side to consider. Already word was getting around Ponyville; if she took the fillies to Canterlot, it wouldn’t be long before all of Equestria knew that there were two new alicorns. Even though they weren’t to be princesses; they were still alicorns, and just that carried significant weight in the eyes of the average pony. Fortunately, Princess Celestia would likely be handling most of that side of things.

She glanced toward the door. The fillies had actually gone out with Apple Bloom and the crusaders after the other fillies had gotten out of school, though Twilight got the impression that Ania was only going to keep an eye on Adikia. Being a few years older than the rest, she seemed to feel just a little out of place. She did seem happy though, and was relaxing more day by day. Perhaps eventually she’ll be willing to let Adikia out of her sight, then Twilight hoped she’d manage to find some friends her own age. Until then though, Twilight certainly understood her wanting to keep a protective eye on her little sister after all they’d been through.

She hoped they’d had a good time with the Crusaders, but they should be getting back soon. She had asked them to be back in time for dinner, which Spike was currently in the kitchen cooking while she filled out forms. Turning back to the desk, she took some time to look over what she’d completed so far; it never hurt to triple check after all.

She’d only just begun when the door opened and the sister’s entered.

“Welcome back, girls.” Feather said from where she’d stationed herself beside the door.

“Hello Captain Feather.” Ania said smiling while Adikia grinned up at the pegasus.

“Hi!”

Twilight smiled. “You girls have fun with the crusaders?”

“Yep, We didst play Keep Away!” Adikia told her cheerfully.

“Oh, really? Was it the version they use to practice their magic?”

She nodded. “I was on Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle’s team. Ania didst join Apple Bloom and her illusions.”

“Did they have special ruled for the two of you?”

“We didst have to be flying and could only hold the ball in our magic.” Ania told her and Adikia nodded in agreement.

“Sounds like a lot of fun.”

“Twas enjoyable.” Ania said smiling not nearly as excited about it as her sister but still she’d seemed to have had a good time.

“That’s great; Spike is in working on dinner, but while we wait, I actually have a few things I wanted to talk to you both about.” Twilight told them.

“What about?” Ania asked walking over to where Twilight was still sitting by the desk.

“It’s a few things; first of all…” she levitated up a couple of the forms. “These forms are to register the two of you as official citizens of Equestria; I’ve almost got them filled out, but it occurred to me that this is a perfect opportunity for the two of you to change your names, if you want.”

“Our names?” Adikia looked up at her curiously.

Twilight nodded. “Do either of you know where your names come from?”

“Names of spirits in the old beliefs.” Ania said in confirmation.

“Not nice ones.” Adikia added looking down.

“Yeah… that’s why I thought you might want to take this opportunity to change them.” Twilight said gently.

“To what?” Ania asked looking up at her.

“That’s up to you; It’s actually fairly common these days for ponies to change their names when they get their cutie marks. So would you like to change your names?”

The sisters glanced at each other then both looked up at Twilight and nodded.

Twilight smiled. “Okay; then why don’t you take some time over the next few days to think about what you’d like your names to be, then we’ll register you with your new names.” She set the forms aside on the desk and took up the next form. “Now, to go along with that. This form is to register me as your legal guardian.”

“What dost that mean?” Adikia asked curiously.

“It means that until you come of age, I’ll be responsible for both of you.” Twilight explained simply. “Is that alright with you?”

Adikia nodded without much hesitation. Ania smiled at her sister’s quick acceptance but nodded as well.

Twilight smiled as well, glad that they’d accepted. Putting that form back on the desk she took up the two letters. “The next thing I wanted to talk to you about, is that Princess Celestia has asked to meet you.”

Ania looked a little hesitant. “She doth want to meet us?”

“Yes. Don’t worry, she’s just being friendly, I’m sure. She really is one of the kindest ponies you’ll ever meet.”

“Okay.”

“However; that does mean going up to Canterlot. It’s a much larger city than Ponyville and primarily unicorns; do you think you’d be able to handle that?” Twilight asked.

“Thou wilt be with us, wilt thou not?” Ania asked.

“Of course, and probably Spike as well.”

“Then I think we shall be alright.” She said and Adikia nodded as well.

“Alright,” Twilight said with a smiled. “We’ll plan on going up to Canterlot for the weekend, then. And that brings me to the next thing I wanted to talk to you about. This other letter is from my mother. Since I’m taking care of you for now, she wants to meet you too.”

“Your mother?”

“Yep, my parents live in Canterlot as well, so if we go up there and I don’t bring you to meet them, I’m never going to hear the end of it.” Twilight said with a smile and roll of her eyes.

Ania and Adikia both giggled.

“So if we’re going to Canterlot to meet the princess, we’ll also be stopping by my parent’s house. That alright with you?”

“Yes, we would be happy to meet thy parents.” Ania told her.

“Are they alicorns too?” Adikia asked curiously.

“No, actually. My parents are both unicorns; and actually, I guess I haven’t told you, I was originally a unicorn myself.”

They both looked up at her seeming surprised. “Thou didst become an alicorn?” Ania asked.

Twilight nodded. “With the help of the Elements of Harmony.”

“Oh! Mother did say that Harmony could do such…” She said understanding. “Wouldst be strange to grow wings when thou didst not have them before.”

“It was!” Twilight said with a laugh. “And learning to fly! I was crashing left and right!”

The sister’s giggled imagining a grown pony just barely learning to fly.

Replacing the letters on the desk she took up the last two forms in her magic. “There was one other thing I wanted to talk to you about. These are forms to register you both for school.”

“Where the crusaders were earlier?” Adikia asked earlier.

“What is school?” Ania asked.

“School is a place where all the young fillies and colts in town go five days per week to learn some basic things; history, language, mathematics, and such.”

“I doth suppose we could still learn history; but we have been taught mathematics and language…”

“I figured you had, but I do think it would be good for both of you to go to school with the other foals. You’ll be able to spend time with others your age and even if you’ve had some teaching in the past, I’m sure there’s still plenty for you both to learn.” Twilight told them. “Like I said, you’d both be in a class together with the crusaders, and like I’m sure the crusaders will tell you, Miss Cheerilee is a great teacher.”

Ania looked down at Adikia. “What dost thou think.”

She frowned. “I think it might be alright if Apple Bloom and the others are there.”

“Okay… then we shall try it.”

Twilight smiled. “I do think it will be for the best. I’ll finish filling these out once you decide on your new names. Then I’ll speak with Cheerilee before we head up to Canterlot, about having you start school next week, does that sound alright?”

“Yes.” Ania said with a nod.

“Alright, well that’s everything I wanted to talk with you about. So how about we go see how Spike is doing with dinner?”

“He never didst cook before.” Adikia observed.

“He dost seemed to have learned well.” Ania said with a smile.

“Well with how often he’s cooked for me when I was studying, he’s had a lot of practice.”


~~~


Over the next couple of days Ania and Adikia spent quite a bit of time trying to decide on their new names. They even asked Twilight if the library had a book on names, which there was. They ended up spending most of the next day in the library. Finally, the morning after that, they had decided and went to find Twilight. They found her enjoying a morning coffee in the kitchen.

“Twilight?” Ania said as they entered the kitchen.

Looking up from her coffee she smiled. “Morning, girls, shall we get some breakfast started?”

“Um… first, we hath decided on our names.”

Twilight looked at her a moment, until it registered what she’d said. “Oh! Alright, let’s get out those forms!” She said getting up from the table and going back out into the other room. The fillies followed her to the desk and she pulled out the citizenship forms. “So, what have you decided on?”

Ania smiled down at her little sister and gave her a nudge with her wing, prompting her to go first.

“I want my name to be… Dawn Melody.” She said with a broad smile.

Twilight smiled. “That’s a lovely name. So are you sure?”

She nodded confidently.

“Alright.” Taking up a quill in her magic, she dipped it in the ink and quickly filled in the proper space on the form. “There we go; Dawn Melody, citizen of Equestria.”

Dawn Melody smiled then looked up at her sister.

“It doth fit thee, Dawn.”

“And how about you, Ania; what do you want your new name to be?”

She hesitated slightly, before answering. “I doth wish to be called: Winter Belle.”

Twilight raised a brow. “You’re not worried ponies will think you and Sweetie Belle are related?”

She blushed slightly. “I didst think of that. But Winter Belle is the name I doth wish for myself.”

“Okay, so long as you’re sure.” Twilight told her with a smile. Turning toward the second form, she added the name to the proper space. “And Winter Belle. There we go; you’re both officially citizens of Equestria, and will be identified by your new names on all official documents.”

Dawn Melody smiled up at her sister, Winter Belle.

“We’ll get these filed properly when we go up to Canterlot.” Twilight told them. “Now, how about some breakfast!”
> Chapter 8: Setting Out
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 8: Setting Out
***


“You be safe, okay,” Twilight said hugging Rainbow tightly and not really wanting to let go. “And listen to Daring when you do find one of the ruins; don’t just charge in. If she tells you to be careful then you had better be careful!”

“I know, Twi,” Rainbow said returning the hug. She was ready to go, with her saddlebags packed with all the supplies Daring had suggested she bring. “I’ll be careful. And we’ll contact you when we find each prison before we go in and contact you immediately if something goes wrong. You said these things should work just fine underground right?”

She nodded finally ending the hug and sitting back. “They work off of magic so it shouldn’t matter what’s in between.”

“Yeah, so we could even keep you updated on each trap we come across. Worse comes to worse, you have Bloom or Rekaj turn back time and warn us.”

“There’s still a risk… if either of them use the reset spell then they can’t reverse past that point.”

Rainbow snorted. “What are the chances that one of them will happen to use the reset spell in the few minutes or so that we’re trying to get past a trap? We’ll be fine, Twi.”

“Just be careful okay, I’d rather not have to rely on Rekaj’s magic. I still don’t know all its limitations.”

“I’ll be careful.” Rainbow said, looking her in the eyes. She then smiled and leaned in giving her a quick but affectionate kiss. “See ya when we get back! You be safe on your trip to Canterlot. Really, I think you’ll be in more danger. At least we have a cheat sheet for getting past the traps.”

Twilight giggled. “We’ll be safe.”

With a grin, Rainbow turned and went to where Daring waited at the door to the library. It was still early enough that there wouldn’t be many ponies out yet, which was by design. Daring was in her full gear and easily recognizable.

“You ready then?” She asked Rainbow as she approached.

“Yep, let’s get going, we’ve got a long flight ahead of us.”

Daring nodded in agreement then looked past her to Twilight. “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure she doesn’t get in over her head.”

“Thanks Daring; you be safe as well.”

“As safe as I can be,” she agreed. “We’ll keep in touch.” With one last wave, she stepped outside followed by Rainbow and they both took off into the early morning sky, flying north.

With a sigh, Twilight closed the door behind them. Part of her wanted to fly with them for the first little bit, but she had her own trip to get ready for. The fillies were already up and getting showered, and Spike was cooking some oatmeal for them to have for breakfast before heading out. Taking off and skipping most of the stairs, she headed up to her own room to check her own packing one more time.


~~~


“Why do we not simply fly?” Winter Belle asked as they waited on the platform of what Twilight had told them was a train station. “Tis not that far.” She said gesturing up to the mountain where the castle was clearly visible. Spike had pointed it out to them on the walk to the station and told them that it was Canterlot, where they were going. It was mostly impatience that made her ask; while there were a few other ponies on the platform, most hadn’t done more than give her and her sister curious looks.

“Because I thought you girls might enjoy a train ride.” Twilight told them smiling. “Plus, I find the ride up the mountain relaxing, and we’re not in a hurry.” She didn’t bother to mention that taking the train also allowed Feather to bring more than just pegasus guards giving the pegasi a bit of a break. She knew that she and Rainbow tended to work her pegasus guards rather hard.

“I want to see the train.” Dawn Melody said looking around. “When doth it get here?”

“It should be arriving any minute now.” Spike assured them.

Winter looked around as well but didn’t see anything. “Thou didst say it is a machine made to carry ponies along those tracks, correct? Would it not be quite large then?

A train whistle sounding in the distance had them both looking down the tracks in time to see the engine coming around the last bend before the stretch coming into the station. Twilight watched with a smile as both their eyes widened seeing the several passenger cars that followed.

“Tis huge!” Dawn said excitedly.

“Yes, how doth it work? Is it magic?” Winter asked looking back up at Twilight.

“No; it’s an Earth Pony invention, so there’s no magic involved. It actually runs off of steam.” Twilight explained.

“Steam?”

“Yes, the engine has what is called a boiler where water is heated to make steam. The steam builds up pressure in the boiler that is then used to power pistons that turn the wheels, making it move.” Twilight explained. “Stand back a bit, we’ll have to wait for ponies to get off, before we can board.”

They watched as the train slowed, finally coming to a stop perfectly lined up with the platform. A moment later the doors opened, and a number of ponies exited the train. Winter and Dawn kept close to Twilight, but otherwise seemed alright. Even when a few ponies noticed Twilight, and hastily bowed. Something which tended to make Twilight sigh once she’d acknowledged them and gotten them to continue on their way. Finally, they were able to board the train and found their seats in a private cabin of one of luxury cars. Twilight had found it impossible to buy just a general ticket since her coronation. When traveling with her friends, she’d always have one of them buy the tickets, but this time with just her and the fillies, there just wasn’t any getting around it.

A few minutes after they’d gotten settled in their private compartment, with Feather and the guard stationed in the connecting halls, the train lurched and began on its way up the mountain to Canterlot. “So when we arrive, we’ll be heading to my parents house first.” Twilight said, reviewing the plan for the trip. “Then in the evening we’ll be going to the castle to meet with the princesses, that way Luna will be able to meet you as well.”

“You didst say Princess Luna was the night princess?” Dawn asked.

Twilight nodded. “Yes, so she’s usually just getting up in the evening.”

“What is she like?”

“Luna is… well she can be a little intimidating appearance wise; but she’s really a kind and noble pony. She works very hard to ensure ponies can sleep peacefully; both by guarding them through the night as well as watching over their dreams and helping them overcome their nightmares.”

“She doth wield dream magic?” Winter asked, sounding surprised.

Twilight nodded. “Yes, in fact she’s quite powerful with it. Have you had any experience with dream magic?”

“Yes…” Winter said softly. “Mother didst teach me some.”

“Right... I suppose she did know quite a bit about dream magic, didn’t she.” Twilight said awkwardly.

“I would like to learn more.” Winter went on, not wanting to dwell on it. “Doth thou suppose she would be willing to teach me?”

“Perhaps; you could ask.” Twilight assured her. “I mean I could teach you the magic; but I don’t really have much experience using it; not like Luna.”

“You know dream magic?”

“I know spells and techniques; but like I said, not much experience in actually using it.” Twilight shrugged. “Luna also has a lot more balanced connection to dream magic; with only a small bias toward the nightmare/chaos side; while I’m almost exclusively connected to the harmony side.”

“Most ponies doth tend to be more harmony.” Winter agreed. “I am stronger with the harmony side of dream magic as well. Though mother called it ‘peaceful’; she didst not like calling it harmony.”

Twilight looked at her surprised. “Really? Because even the oldest records I’ve seen that spoke of dream magic always referred to the two sides as Nightmare and Harmony. Recently we’ve recognized nightmare side as chaos magic such as Discord wields, but as far as I know the harmony side of dream magic has always been called harmony.”

“Mother didn’t like Harmony.” Dawn said softly.

“No she definitely didn’t.” Spike agreed.

Winter nodded. “Twas only mother that refused to call it harmony, others in our time didst call them nightmare and harmony. She also didst not like teaching it; she focused on nightmare magic in my lessons.”

“Huh… I wonder why.” Twilight said, thinking for a moment.

“But thou didst say that Princess Luna is stronger in the nightmare side of dream magic?” Winter asked curiously.

Twilight smiled and nodded. “Yes, in fact that’s part of the reason for her rather intimidating appearance. She’s strong enough with nightmare dream magic that it actually shows outwardly. You’ll see when you meet her. She really is a very kind-hearted pony though.”

Winter looked at her curiously. “Doth she like looking intimidating?”

“I don’t think so, but it’s a side effect of her gaining more dream magic, so she’s decided just to accept it since she doesn’t want to lose that power.”

“Can she not simply change her form?”

“What do you mean?” Twilight asked, confused.

“Well… mother could change her form however she wished. She didst teach me some as well,” she blushed slightly. “I didst use it a little.”

Twilight stared at her. She’d never even considered that, but it was so obvious! Of course, Achlys could change her physical form! How else could a gray alicorn become a lavender unicorn; she’d completely transformed her entire body when she went into hiding. And Twilight knew the spells to do so; she could teach Luna to transform back into her old self! Except… no that wouldn’t work would it… “I don’t think that kind of transformation would work for Luna. Or rather, it would, but the first time she used her dream magic it would transform her back.”

“Oh. I see. Yes, that doth make sense.”

“I’ll have to ask her. I could still teach her transformation spells, if she doesn’t already know them; but she might not think it’s worth it if she’s constantly having to transform back.”

“Oh, Wow!” Dawn said suddenly looking out the window.

Winter looked to see what she was looking at, but didn’t see immediately what had caught her sister’s attention. “What?”

“Look! Tis a city in the clouds!” She said pointing. Winter looked up at the clouds as well and her eyes widened.

“That’s Cloudsdale.” Twilight told them without having to look herself. “It’s the largest cloud city in Equestria and the nation’s primary producer of weather.”

“Tis a pegasus City?” Dawn asked curiously.

Twilight nodded. “Primarily. There are a few unicorns that live there using cloud walking spells that help maintain some of the weather machines, but otherwise it’s just about all pegasi. Now that I think about it, Pegasi didn’t really build whole cloud cities back in your time, did they?”

Winter shook her head.

“I didn’t think so. That was something they started doing when the tribes divided after you were imprisoned. Back then it was for safety from the other tribes. But these days it’s mostly for weather production. As a cloud city, Cloudsdale is mobile and can move around Equestria as needed.” Twilight explained, gladly answering the fillies’ questions.


~~~


Traveling the city didn’t bother the fillies too much. They stuck close to Twilight and Spike, but they didn’t seem overly nervous. The group did draw a lot of attention from the ponies of Canterlot, but most of that attention was focused on Twilight, Spike and their guard escort. Mostly Spike really, most of the ponies of Canterlot were used to Royal guards. By the time they reached Twilight’s family home, Winter didn’t think more than two or three ponies had even realized that she and her sister were alicorns. And even those she wasn’t sure about.

When they reached the house Twilight knocked waiting for her parents to answer. They of course, knew that they were coming, and it was only a moment later that the door opened.

“Twily!” The off-white unicorn with a white and purple striped mane exclaimed happily.

“Hi mom!” Twilight said, stepping forward to give her mother a quick hug.
Velvet returned it gladly, then stepped back. “Come in, come in!” She said then called over her shoulder; “Night Light, they’re here!”

Without a word, Feather took up position near the door while the rest of the guard spread out around the house finding unobtrusive positions to keep watch. Twilight just gave the captain an approving nod and led the way into the living room. Winter and Dawn followed with Spike closing the door behind them. A moment later a blue unicorn stallion that Winter knew must be Twilight’s father, joined them.

Smiling, Twilight greeted him with a hug as well. “Hi dad!” 

“Good to see you, Twily!”

Twilight held the hug a moment more then stepped back next to the fillies. “So. Introductions! Mom, Dad; this is Winter Belle and her little sister; Dawn Melody.” Twilight said indicating each of the fillies in turn. Then turned to the fillies. “This is my mom: Twilight Velvet. And my Dad: Night Light.”

“We are pleased to meet thee.” Winter said politely, and she and her sister both gave small bows.

“Oh! We are as well!” Velvet said smiling warmly, “I’m a little confused though… Those aren’t the names Trixie mentioned.”

“Oh, well when I was filling out the paperwork to register them as citizens, I realized it was the perfect opportunity for them to change their names if they wanted, and they both did. So when they decided what they wanted their names to be I went ahead and registered them with the new names.”

“I see.” Velvet said smiling. “Well, it is wonderful to meet you both!”

“Miss Trixie was here?” Dawn asked, looking up at her curiously.

“Oh yes! Trixie and I are old friends.” Velvet told them. “I trust she got back to Ponyville alright?”

Twilight nodded. “Yes, and she got started on some community service work today. Hopefully it will improve her standing with the ponies there, seeing her trying to make amends.”

Velvet shook her head. “Part of me can hardly believe Trixie was the performer you told us about all those months ago. Another part of me can see it all too well.”

“I still can’t believe the two of you were best friends. Even after I found out that she was in your graduating class, I didn’t even consider that you might have known her.”

Velvet smiled for a moment more, then shook her head and turned back toward the fillies. “So why don’t you tell us a little about yourselves?”

Winter glanced over at Twilight, unsure what she should say. “What doth thou wish to know?”

“Well, what do you like to do for fun?”

“Oh… uh…” Winter looked at Dawn. “We didst not have a lot of time for fun.”

“There must be some things you enjoy doing…”

Winter and Dawn glanced at each other again. “Well Dawn doth love to sing…”


~~~


Though they were a bit nervous at first, the fillies soon opened up to the unicorn couple telling them about some of the things they’d enjoyed in the past; Winter even mentioned a unicorn friend she’d once had though Twilight noticed a bit of sadness in her voice when she did. Velvet noticed as well and didn’t ask more when Winter seemed reluctant. Then, when it came to light that they hadn’t had anything like cookies in the time the fillies came from, they’d spent the afternoon baking together.

By the time evening came around, both of them were completely at ease with Twilight’s parents. That Twilight had once spoken of Princess Celestia as a second mother to her went a long ways towards easing Winter’s nerves when it came time to meet the princess. And Dawn, sensing as much, began getting excited to meet the princesses. Excitement that was only enhanced as they made their way to the castle.

The guards were expecting them and directed them to the dining hall where Luna and Celestia would be waiting. With their charges under the protection of the castle’s day and night guards; Feather took the opportunity to give her subordinates a break while she checked in with the rest of Twilight’s guard. Only about a third where in ponyville as there wasn’t anywhere for the rest to stay in the small town. The rest were still stationed in Canterlot until the barracks at the new castle was finished. 

The fillies looked around in awe at the grandeur of the Canterlot palace as Twilight led them through the halls.

“Is that thou!?” Winter asked, stopping in one hall pointing toward one of the many stained glass windows; the one commemorating the second defeat of Nightmare Moon.

Twilight smiled. “Yes, it is.”

“Who’s the dark alicorn?” Dawn asked looking up at the window as well.

“That’s… well that’s Princess Luna, but at the time she’d been overtaken and corrupted by her darker emotions and called herself Nightmare Moon. That’s depicting when my friends and I used the Elements of Harmony to heal her and turn her back into Princess Luna.” Twilight explained.

Winter looked up at the window a moment more then looked toward the next one down the hall. “That one doth include thee as well. Is that when thou didst fight Discord?”

“Yes. I’m afraid my friends and I have kind of overtaken this hall with our accomplishments.” Twilight said blushing a little.

“This one does not include thee…” Dawn said looking at the next window down the line. “Who is this baby dragon.”

Spike laughed. “That’s me.”

She looked up at him in surprise. “Thou art too old!”

“That’s how old I was before I got my memories back.” He told her with a smile. “I thought about having Twilight change me all the way back to that age again, but I didn’t really want to go back to not having wings.”

“Oh, I see. What is that heart.”

“That’s the crystal heart.” Twilight explained. It is a powerful artifact that protects the Crystal Empire…”



It took them several minutes longer than it normally would have to get to the princess’ dining hall. But eventually they reached their destination and the guards let them in. Celestia and Luna both looked up from where they were seated at one end of the long dining table.

“Twilight!” Celestia said, smiling happily as she got up to greet them, Luna following suit.

“Hi… Celestia!” Twilight said, still feeling a little awkward not using her title, but quickly crossing to room to give her mentor a hug none the less.

Celestia gladly returned the hug. “I must say, I was rather surprised when I got your letter.”

“Pleasantly so, to be sure.” Luna added.

“Yes definitely.”

Twilight smiled stepping back and gesturing for the fillies to come forward. “Celestia, Luna, I’d like to introduce Winter Belle, and her sister Dawn Melody.” She said then turned toward the fillies. “Girls, this is Princess Celestia, and Princess Luna.”

“We art pleased to meet thee.” Winter said bowing, but Dawn, with a huge grin and mischievous glint in her eye stepped in front of the royal sisters. 

“We art thine elders, so thou doth have to do what we say!”

Winter looked at Dawn in surprise then glanced up at the princesses worried about how they’d react.

Celestia just looked at the filly smiling. “Oh, you mean you’re going to take over running Equestria?”

Catching her sister’s meaning, Luna’s eyes widened, while she too smiled. “Could it be true? Hath we found somepony to take over the extremely time-consuming and difficult task of running the kingdom? Can we finally retire!?”

Dawn didn’t miss a beat. “No, thou doth have to do as we say, and we doth say that thou must continue to rule the kingdom!”

“Alas, right when I didst believe us free from our toil.” Luna sighed dramatically.

Celestia giggled. “It is a pleasure to meet both of you.”

“Indeed, and I’m glad to see to see that the hardships you’ve endured have not crushed thy sense of humor.” Luna said leaning down and tapping Dawn’s snout with her wingtip.

It was then Dawn noticed one of the details of the night princess’s appearance. “Thine eyes…”

Luna smiled, her small fangs glinting in the light. “Quite unique, are they not. They give me excellent night sight.”

Dawn looked up at her for a moment more consideringly, then smiled in return. “I like them, tis different.”

“Well thank you.” Luna said, glad that she didn’t seem frightened by her appearance. 

“Actually, on that subject; Luna, have you tried any permanent transformation spells to change your appearance back?” Twilight asked recalling the conversation on the train.

Luna sighed. “Yes, I have.”

“Do you change back whenever you use your dream magic.”

“Indeed.”

Twilight frowned. “I thought that might be the case. I don’t think any of the transformation spells I know would work any better. I suppose it was worth a shot.”

“Do not concern yourself, Twilight. Ponies are getting used to my change in appearance and it is not without its benefits.” Luna told her waving the matter aside.

Nodding, Twilight smiled. “Well on the train ride, we were talking and Winter Belle told me she’s learned a little dream magic, and wouldn’t mind learning more, if you think you have time.”

Luna looked at Winter with interest. “Truly, not many have a strong enough connection to the dream realm to properly wield dream magic. Are you able to?”

Winter looked up at her and nodded. “My connection tis stronger than most, though not nearly as strong as thine.”

“Well, perhaps I shall have to make some time to teach you. It has been far too long since I had an apprentice in dreaming.”

Before they could get into further discussion, Celestia cut in. “Why don’t we all sit down, everypony, we can talk while we eat.” She said smiling.

Luna grinned. “Yes, indeed. Let us not let the cook’s hard work grow cold.”


~~~


Rainbow stretched her wings, groaning a bit as she felt her muscles protesting the long flight. She never was an endurance flier. Oh, she could practice for hours with the Wonderbolts, but that was usually just short bursts of flying and stunts, often with breaks in between when they would critique their performance. Not flying non-stop for multiple hours carrying gear.

But they were here now and had already finished setting up camp. It would be their base camp while they searched the surrounding mountains for the prison that was supposed to be in the area. In a natural cave, according to the notes Starswirl had left. Daring had already gone for a short survey flight to see if she could spot any of the landmarks that had been in the notes.

Daring had told her that the alicorn in this first prison that they were searching for was one of the worst, and that she really wanted to make sure the prison was holding. After hearing just the crimes Daring remembered from the list, Rainbow had to agree.

With nothing more to do, Rainbow gathered some wood to start a fire. She was just getting ready to light it when Daring got back.

“You find it?” Rainbow asked as she landed.

“Nah, but I did find a rock formation northeast of here that I think might be one of the landmarks that was in the notes. It’s a bit worn down now, but still looks close enough to the sketch.” She said stretching her wings a bit. “We’ll look for the cave in the morning when we have more light.”

Rainbow nodded. “Sounds good.”

“I also spotted a small village in the valley to the south.”

“Really?” They both knew that there was nothing on the map, which meant the village had to be fairly new and possibly undocumented. “Think we should stay there for the night instead?”

“Nah, it’s just a tiny little place; one road with a row of houses on each side. There’s no way they have an inn. We’d just end up staying in our tent anyway. Besides, if I’m right about that landmark, it’s even further from where the cave is supposed to be.” She got into her saddlebags quickly searching through them and got out some camp cooking gear. “Let’s get this fire going so we can have a hot meal before turning in. Should be an interesting day tomorrow.”

“Yeah, more exciting than today anyway.” Rainbow said striking a match.

“But hopefully not too exciting.”
> Chapter 9: Surprises and Shadows
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 9: Surprises and Shadows
***


The dinner had been long since eaten in the royal dining hall of Canterlot palace and they’d since turned to conversation. The royal sisters had asked the fillies how they’d been enjoying Equestria so far, which had gotten Dawn telling them about all the things they’d done, and the games they’d played with their new friends. Luna especially enjoyed hearing about all the things they’d done with the Crusaders in the past week as she’d become close to the three fillies and was glad to hear they were making the sisters feel welcome. She was surprised to hear of the new addition to the group, however.

“This Diamond Tiara; she has been spending time with the Crusaders?” Luna looked up at Twilight. “Is she not the one that used to torment them?”

Twilight nodded. “Until recently; but she had a traumatic experience not long ago that seems to have… Inspired her, I guess, to change for the better. From what I’ve seen she seems happier now than I’ve ever seen her before.”

Luna frowned. “Interesting… I did work with her recently to help with a bout of nightmares. I did suggest she try to make some new friends, but I didn’t suspect she would choose the crusaders considering their history.”

“She’s nice, a little quiet, but nice.” Dawn said looking up at Luna.

Luna smiled. “I am not surprised she is quite; she did have quite a scare. Her father nearly died recently.”

“He did die actually.” Twilight corrected, having asked Apple Bloom for the full story once she’d caught wind of it. “At first, anyway. It was a heart attack and by the time the doctor got there it was already too late. But with Rekaj’s magic, Apple Bloom reversed time and together she and Diamond Tiara managed to get the doctor there in time to save him.”

“Truly!?” Luna looked at her in surprise. “I had not heard that part of the story.”

“Apple Bloom doth have impressive magic.” Winter said, her sister nodding in agreement.

“Speaking of Rekaj,” Celestia cut in, “I’m still looking forward to meeting him when he gets a chance to visit Canterlot.”

Twilight looked at her surprised; with everything that had happened with Apple Bloom, it had completely slipped all their minds that Princess Celestia had invited him to visit. “Oh… well he went back to his home world to take care of some things, but the next time I see him I’ll be sure to remind him.”

“And I’ll remind Twilight.” Spike said with a knowing grin.

“We art looking forward to meeting him as well.” Winter said, with a hesitant smile. “He art one of the few that is our elder.”

“So I’ve heard…” Princess Celestia said then gave Winter a mischievous look. “Grandma.”

Dawn giggled, while her sister just looked surprised, then slowly gave a little more genuine smile.

“It’s okay, you look very good for your age.” Celestia said in a consoling tone.

Winter looked at her sister who looked about ready to fall out of her chair laughing. “Thou didst have to make that joke.” Dawn gave her a sheepish grin but couldn’t stop giggling.

Smiling, Celestia watched the two sisters reminded of when she and Luna were their age. Their physical age anyway. “I am glad you’re both enjoying your new life here in Equestria. You certainly deserve some peace after the hardships you’ve endured.”

Winter looked back at her reminded of what was, for them, all too recent. Looking down, she simply nodded in agreement, while Dawn grew quiet.

Celestia gave them a sympathetic look. “Luna and I were born into very much the same world you endured before your imprisonment. More than a millennia had passed, but the attitude toward alicorns remained mostly the same.” 

Luna nodded. “If Discord hadn’t been in power, tormenting ponies with his chaos, I have no doubt that my sister and I would not have lived a day past our births. As it was, we were raised not as foals, but as weapons to be used against Discord…” 

Celestia sighed, it was all too true. “We have worked hard to erase that prejudice so that no foal would ever suffer as we did.” She said and it was clear she was including Winter and Dawn in that statement.

Winter looked up at her with a serious expression. “We shall strive to prove thee right to do so.”

Celestia smiled. “You need only live good happy lives, and that will be enough.”

Suddenly Spike snorted as if he were trying not to laugh and as they all looked over at him it was clear that that was exactly what was happening. Celestia simply raised a brow questioningly.

He snorted again struggling to contain his amusement as he explained. “You calling them grandma,” He gestured to Celestia and the fillies. “And talking about struggles of living thousands of years ago; I couldn’t help but think of Twilight as the spoiled foal that had everything hoofed to her on a silver platter.”

“What!?” Twilight looked at him her jaw agape. Which only had the effect of causing the dragon to fall to the floor in laughter.

Celestia grinned, seeming on the verge of laughter herself as she looked over at her former student. “It’s okay, Twilight. You’re not that spoiled.”

Twilight could only pout in response as Luna and the fillies all giggled at her expense.

“Speaking of Spoiling…” Celestia said suddenly. “I received word that your castle should be finished enough for you to start moving in the week before the running of the leaves.”

Twilights eyes widened; that was only two weeks away. “What!? I thought it wasn’t going to be finished until spring!?”

“Well that was mostly because the work would have almost stopped during the winter months.” Celestia explained. “So I just had them accelerate the work a little bit so they could finish before then. There will be some interior work still being done throughout other parts of the castle into the winter months, but the residence wing should be finished.”

“You didn’t tell me you accelerated the work!”

She shrugged. “I figured you would have checked on the progress yourself, but I suppose you have been busy the past few weeks.”

Twilight just stared at her for a moment. It was true she’d been a lot busier since the fillies had shown up, but that was only the past week. For the castle to be almost done to the point that they could move in, Celestia must have given the order to accelerate the work at least a few weeks before then. She’d had plenty of chances to check on the progress of the castle in those weeks. She just hadn’t… she’d though she had months still before she’d have to move out of the library, but now. “Two weeks…” She said weakly.

“I’m told the barracks and staff quarters will need another few weeks to finish interior work; but once they’re completed, the rest of your guard will be transferred there, and I’ve arranged enough of a castle staff to get you started as well.” Celestia went on, well aware that the younger princess was still in a state of shock. “I understand your old friend Lemon Hearts volunteered to be your event planner; though I made sure she understood she’d likely have to work with Pinkie Pie for any event resembling a party.”

“Two weeks…”

Spike reached out and waved his claw in front of Twilight a couple times to no effect. “I think you broke her.”

Even Winter couldn’t help giggling.


~~~


A chiming sound came from the amplifier Rainbow wore as she flew over one of the small canyons they thought might house the cave they were searching for. In the light of the early morning sun however, it wasn’t proving to be an easy search. Tapping the gem twice she heard the ping indicating they were connected. “Yeah?”

“You there? Is it working?” Daring’s voice came through the amplifier.

“I hear ya, Daring. What’s up?”

“This canyon was even smaller than I thought; I flew up the entire thing but didn’t find any caves or either of the other landmarks.”

“Nothing yet here either, but then these shadows are making it hard to see anything; we may have better luck later in the morning.” Rainbow told her.

“Yeah… I’m going to make another pass on this canyon, see if I missed anything; then head to that one further south.”

“Gotcha.”

“These are pretty convenient. Sometime today we need to test the range, see if mine can reach the princess, and make sure yours can.”

“Yeah, we’ll do that later; don’t know if Twi would even be up yet.” Rainbow agreed. “I’ll finish up this canyon and do a quick pass of the last one; if we don’t spot anything, we can take a closer look later when we have better light.” 

“Alright, contact me if you spot anything, or when you finish.”

“Will do.” Rainbow told her and tapped the gem again, disconnecting. Gliding in the morning sun she found herself yawning again. She was used to early hours due to working as a weather pony; but Daring had gotten them up more than an hour before sunrise so that they could get ready and be in the air as soon as it was light out. After doing a high-level survey of the mountains, they’d narrowed their search down to four canyons that were near the first landmark Daring had found. The cave, according to the notes, was supposed to be on a north facing cliffside in a canyon visible to the west of the first landmark. Unfortunately, the notes weren’t very clear which canyon it was; the second landmark that was supposed to be on a ridge above the canyon they needed was nowhere to be found. As Daring had said, it was possible that part of the ridge had collapsed in a landslide in the three thousand years since the prison was made. For that matter, the cave could have been buried by a landslide.

This being a scouting mission, if they couldn’t find each prison within a day or two of searching, the plan was to mark it and come back later with a squad of guards and possibly Twilight as well to do a more in-depth search. Any prisons they did find they were to go ahead and check to see if they were still holding.

Scanning the canyon below her, she realized she was running low on cliffsides as she neared the peak of the mountain. There were a lot of shadows from the low angle of the sun, but still she hadn’t seen anything that looked like it could be the cave they were looking for. Hopefully the notes weren’t mistaken, and the cave really was on a north facing cliff. Flying up and over the ridge on the south side of the canyon, she turned and started toward the next canyon over, the last of the four.

As she glided toward the top of the canyon, she paused midair looking back down the ridge along the canyon she’d just left. For a moment she thought she saw movement along the ridge near the valley floor, but now she didn’t see anything. She watched a moment longer, but other than a slight rustling of leaves in the mountain breeze; she didn’t see anything. With a shrug she started down the canyon, carefully scanning the north facing cliffs.


~~~


“I’m surprised by how well the fillies seem to be doing.” Princess Celestia commented as she and Twilight walked through one of the castle gardens. “Considering what I know of the time and what you said they went through as Achlys’ daughters.

“Yes.” Twilight agreed softly. After spending the night at her parents house, she’d wanted to speak with Celestia further concerning her castle as well as the mission Rainbow and Daring were on. As Spike and her parents had occupied the fillies with baking cookies, she’d taken the opportunity to return to the palace. “Although… Winter definitely seems to be more reserved. I get the feeling she’s done what she could to shield Dawn from some of what she endured. She puts on a brave face for her sister, but she still won’t let Dawn out of her sight.”

“I could definitely see that.” Celestia said being the older sister herself. She had indeed tried to shield Luna when she could when they were young. If only she’d kept on doing so when they were older… “The shock and worry on Winter’s face when little Dawn made her joke… She almost looked like she was preparing to defend her sister if necessary.”

“I wouldn’t doubt it. It was actually the Crusaders that gave them the idea, but Winter clearly wasn’t going to make such a joke herself. I’m glad Dawn seems to be feeling safe enough to joke in such a manner.” Twilight smiled. “I think they’re really warming up to me. And though they were suspicious of Spike at first, he is familiar to them. So now that they’ve seen how much he’s changed, they seem to feel safer when he’s around. He did often protect them on Achlys’ orders after all.”

“Do you intend to continue watching over them?”

“Yes I do… I haven’t told them yet, but you know where I came from. In a way, it kind of makes me their sister as well.”

“Whether you’re a big sister or little sister is debatable,” Celestia said with a sly smile.

Twilight snorted a laugh. “Big sister; their real age is a technicality. Physically they’re fillies.”

“I do think you should tell them. There’s always a chance that they might figure it out on their own, and if you hid it from them…” Celestia trailed off.

Twilight nodded. “I know. I just want to let them get settled first.”

“And I suppose moving again so soon isn’t going to help in that regard?”

“I don’t think that’s a problem actually; they’re not attached to the library like I am…”

Celestia smiled knowingly and draped a wing over Twilight’s withers. “We did make sure your new castle has quite a large library.”

“The books aren’t the only reason.”

“But they are a reason…”

Twilight gave her an annoyed look.

“I’m only teasing.”

“I just wasn’t expecting to be moving in just a couple weeks.” She sighed, thinking about all that would need to be done. Really she’d have plenty of time; she’d already gotten started organizing her things at the library. She just wasn’t expecting it to be so soon.

“I know… but lately I just can’t stop thinking about what you said, about the tree of harmony only ever giving you what you’ll need. And I can’t shake the feeling that you’ll need your full guard sooner rather than later.”

Twilight nodded slowly. She’d worried about it a bit herself; especially with the purge era prisons coming to light. “I understand. And it will be good to have more space; though I doubt the fillies will want separate rooms just yet.”

“No, probably not.” Celestia agreed and for a moment they walked in silence. “So, you said Rainbow Dash went with Daring Do to check on some of the alicorn prisons?”

“To make sure none have escaped. Though from what we read about most of them, I think we’d know pretty quick if any of them got loose. But there are a few who might be devious enough to bide their time. Hopefully not; but if they find one of the prisons empty, at least we’ll have some warning.”

Celestia frowned. “Do you think you could handle them if any did escape?”

“Probably; most I think I could handle on their own, but if one of them gets out and tries to release the others… I don’t know. And then I’ve also considered...” Twilight sighed. “There were a couple at least, that didn’t really sound that bad; and the fillies even confirmed that they weren’t nearly as hated as the rest. I can’t help wondering if perhaps, a few of them might deserve another chance.”

“It might be worth more thought,” Celestia agreed even as Twilight’s bracelet started chiming. She raised a brow questioningly.

“That must be Rainbow; I asked her to check in if they found anything.” Twilight tapped the gem on the bracelet twice and they heard a different chime. “Hello?”

“Hey Twi! Sounds like you were right on the range of these things,” Rainbow’s voice came from the bracelet loud and clear. “Anyway, Daring thinks we’ve found the first prison up here; a landslide almost buried the entrance though, so she’s seeing if there’s any openings large enough for us to get in. You at your parents’ place?”

“Uh, no I’m actually at the palace right now with Princess Celestia.”

“Hello, Rainbow Dash!” Princess Celestia said, perhaps a little louder than necessary.

“Oh! Hey princess!”

“Are you sure it’s the prison?” Twilight asked. “If you can’t get in…”

“Nah we’re not certain; but it’s the most promising cave we’ve found; and we were lucky to find it, like I said it's almost completely buried. We also thought that we should test the range for Daring with these things.”

“Test the range?” Celestia questioned, a little confused.

“Oh, this enchantment is the same one I used on the amplifiers so it works off of the bonds of friendship. So Daring probably won’t get as much range since we’re not as close of friends.” Twilight explained quickly and Celestia nodded understanding.

“Yeah, so we wanted to test that while we’re out here.” Rainbow said having heard.

“That’s part of why Rainbow went with this time; we weren’t sure if Daring would get enough range with the enchantment to stay in contact. If she does, then she can go solo for future trips to check the other prisons within Equestria.” Twilight explained.

“I see.” Celestia said with a nod. “Were there many prisons within our borders?”

“Over a dozen of them, not including Achlys or the girls’ prisons; I’ll make a copy of the map for you when I get back to Ponyville.”

“Yeah we’re going to try and find this one and two others on this trip. Oh, here comes Daring… You find a way in!?”

They heard a reply a little too faint to understand, but a moment later there was the sound of wings and hooves hitting the ground. “Yeah, it’s going to be a tight squeeze, but I found an opening. It was dark, but I think I spotted some pony carved walls deeper in. You contact the princess?”

“Yeah, actually talking to them now.”

“Hello, Daring!” Twilight said to let her know they could hear.

“Oh, hey princess. Thought we’d test out the range on these since you wanted us to contact you anyway before we went in.”

“It’s good to hear from you, Daring Do, it’s been some time.” Celestia said by way of announcing herself.

“Princess Celestia!? Uh, hi. Yeah, it’s been a while.”

Celestia giggled softly. “Relax, Daring. Twilight and I just happened to be talking when Rainbow contacted her.”

“Uh, yeah… so that test.”

“Yes, Rainbow, go ahead and disconnect and have Daring try on hers.” Twilight said.

“Will do. If it doesn’t work, I’ll just call you back on mine in a minute or two.” Rainbow said and a moment later there was the descending chimes indicating that she’d disconnected.

“That is quite a useful enchantment; have you considered possibly making it available for the public?” Celestia asked. She’d used the amplifiers before but hadn’t known that the communication enchantment could be used separately. 

“I have actually. Now that I’ve got the enchantment so that you can contact specific ponies, it might work; the trouble is right now if you try to contact all it will connect to every enchanted device that anypony is wearing with that enchantment. Maybe if I make them so that they can only make direct pony to pony calls…” Her bracelet chimed again, and she tapped the gem to answer. “I’m here.”

“Oh nice, sounds like it works.” Daring’s voice came over the bracelet, considerably quieter than Rainbow’s had been, but still clearly audible.

“Yes, and it sounds like you should be able to get a good thirty percent more range before the connection will grow too weak.”

“Yeah, you’re quieter than you were on Rainbow’s, but I hear ya just fine.

“Where are they at?” Celestia asked curiously.

“The mountains east of Rainbow Falls,” Daring answered, hearing her.

“It should work just about anywhere in Equestria then; at least to reach here in Canterlot or Ponyville.” Celestia said, knowing her kingdom and the distances involved well enough to make some quick estimates.

“Great! Alright, so Rainbow and I are going to check out this cave, see if I’m right. If it is the prison, we’ll contact you again before attempting to get past the first trap.”

“Alright, we’ll talk to you then.”

“Later Twi.” Rainbow called in the background just before the descending chime of disconnecting.

“So, you were saying you’ve thought about making a version of the enchantment for public use…” Celestia prompted.

Twilight nodded. “Yeah, it would work for direct pony to pony calls, but I’d definitely have to disable open broadcasts for the public version… and you have to include group names in the enchantments, so they probably wouldn’t be able to do group calls. Unless maybe I could include a function to add additional ponies to a call already in progress… I’ll have to work on it. The other problem of course, is finding unicorns skilled enough to make the enchantments; I wouldn’t be able to do them all. I barely found the time to make enough for my guards in Ponyville. I did already find a way to keep groups of enchantments separate; so the ones I made for my guards’ can only contact other guards, and are separate from the ones I made for my friends and the amplifiers. Though mine is connected to both. I’ll make it another group entirely for a public version.”

“Well, if you do come up with a version for public use, I would be glad to help find unicorns skilled enough to begin manufacturing them. This could certainly revolutionize communications in Equestria. Instant communications from almost anywhere in Equestria…” Celestia shook her head, it was almost beyond imagining how such a thing would change the world.

With a frown, Twilight considered the possibility. “Well it would work between friends, and as we found with my guard; comradery works pretty well, but I don’t think you’d be able to contact someone you don’t really know. There has to be some bond there for the enchantment to use.

Celestia wasn’t deterred. “Even so, allowing friends and family members to stay in contact even at great distances; and it may even encourage new friendships and bring Equestria as a whole just that much closer.”

Twilight smiled. “I suppose there’s that. I’ll work on it, but no matter what, it will take quite some time before we can supply enough for everypony in Equestria. I’ll send you the version I made for my guard, for now, with instructions on how to make broadcast groups for the different divisions of the guard.”

“That would be great.”


~~~


“You weren’t kidding.” Rainbow grunted as she crawled through one of the tightest sections of the opening Daring had found feeling her wings pressed against the walls, and her ears brushing the ceiling. If she were even a little heavier built she doubted she’d be able to get through Daring had even taken off her gear.

“It opens up once you get past the collapse.” Daring told her from up ahead. It was fortunate she had her sunstone providing light, because Rainbow was pretty sure almost no light was getting past her at the moment.

She managed to squeeze through the tightest point and to her relief found the tunnel growing wider. A ponylength more and she could actually stand again, though she had to keep her head low. A bit further and she found herself climbing down the back of the collapse that had almost sealed the cave some centuries ago. She shivered slightly before looking around. Pegasi were not meant to be crawling through tiny holes in the ground. It was mostly natural cave, and it appeared a few different animals had made it their home at one point or another judging by the debris. “So, this it?”

Daring was at the base of the pile holding up her sunstone with one wing to illuminate the chamber. “Take a look,” she said gesturing ahead of them. Ahead, around halfway across the chamber, the ceiling dipped down low enough that a pony would have to duck, at least they would if the ceiling hadn’t been carved away at a comfortable height. Not much beyond that it appeared the tunnel became almost entirely pony made.

“Nice!”

“Something was built here anyway, and considering nopony has ever lived in these mountains as long as Equestria has existed, and the age of that landslide, I’d say this almost has to be the prison.”

“So, what are we looking for on the first trap?”

Daring pulled out the page she had tucked under her wing and looked it over. “First trap; a square chamber with a tile floor; large tiles.”

“Let’s go then!”

“Just don’t rush in when we find it.” Daring admonished and started leading the way along the path. As they made their way deeper into the ponymade tunnel, Daring took note of the stonework. It looked like purge era alright. They’d only gone a short way further when they reached the first trap chamber, looking almost exactly like it had been described, confirming it was the prison.

“So… how do we do this.” Rainbow asked, getting a little excited.

“This one has a magical trigger, so we can’t just fly across, and there’s no obvious loose tiles. But according to the notes Starswirl left, if we stay on the row of tiles, three from the left wall, we should be fine,” Daring told her.

“Alright! Let’s go then!”

“Hold it!” Daring said firmly, stalling her. “Aren’t you supposed to call somepony?”

Rainbow blinked. “Oh right,” she said and tapped the gem on her amplifier twice. “Twilight.”

A moment later it chimed that it was connected. “You find it?” Twilight asked.

“Yep, Daring was right. Took a bit to squeeze through the entrance; it was probably dug out by some animal after the landslide. Definitely not pony sized.”

“We’re at the first trap now, princess.” Daring put in. “Dropping ceiling like the one on the fillies’ prison, but without the obvious out.”

“Alright… I wish I’d thought to give Apple Bloom a bracelet so I could just call her if something goes wrong.”

“Nothing’s going to go wrong, Twi.”

“Rainbow…”

“It’s fine Princess, we know how to avoid the trigger, and how to deactivate it once we get to the other side.”

“Yes, go ahead and deactivate all the traps that you can; we know they won’t stop an alicorn anyway and I won’t have innocent ponies wandering into them… stars, I hope you don’t find any dead ponies in these prisons… We’ll find some other way of making sure ponies don’t disturb them.”

“Alright, we’re going to cross the room now, might as well stay connected.” Daring told her, then turned to Rainbow. “Follow me, stay on the first row of tiles.” She said and

The tiles weren’t much wider than a pony, so she kept right up against the wall as they made their way to the left from the door. Reaching the third tile from the wall, she carefully turned, trying to stay as close as possible to the center of the tiles.

“No telling how precise their trigger is so keep as centered as possible.” Daring advised around the sunstone, keeping her head forward. “Let me cross, then I’ll give you light to cross as well.”

“Gotcha.” Rainbow said, stopping where she was along the wall.

With a deep breath, Daring started across the room following the row of tiles designated in the notes.

“You make it?” Twilight’s voice came from the amplifier anxiously.

“Halfway, Twi, we’re being careful.” Rainbow said with a slight eyeroll.

Daring just kept going, carefully keeping herself in the center of the tiles. Finally, she reached the far side of the chamber and turned, again following the row of tiles right along the wall to the door. Once she was in the doorway, she took the sunstone in her wing again and held it just inside the door for Rainbow. “Okay, just stay in the center of the tiles.

“Okay.” Rainbow said and very carefully followed in Daring’s hoofsteps, managing to reach the far side without incident.

“Alright, we’re through the first trap.” She said for Twilight’s benefit as she stepped through the doorway out of the chamber.

“Oh good…”

“Can kind of tell they didn’t intend ponies to get through these traps, they didn’t even provide lighting like in the fillies’ prison.” Daring said holding the sunstone up and examining the wall. Unlike the previous tunnel this one had been built with cut stones rather than carved out of solid rock.

“Yeah, nothing says ‘you’re not welcome,’ like leaving the lights off.” Rainbow agreed.

“Now let’s see… left wall, three up two over.” She pushed on one of the bricks with her hoof. At first it wouldn’t budge, but then it turned inward almost like a lever. There was a loud crack and grinding of heavy stones moving, followed by a loud thud from the room behind them. Looking back they saw the upper part of the walls to either side had tilted inward, and the ceiling had dropped down, now resting on the new supports.

“Trap deactivated.” Rainbow said with a satisfied grin. “Alright Twi, I’ll call you once we’ve gotten through the rest. Try not to worry for an hour at least.”

Twilight sighed. “Alright, be safe. If you don’t call within two hours, I’ll get Apple Bloom to turn back time.”

“Two hours, got it.”

“Shouldn’t take that long; there’s only two more traps according to the notes,” Daring added.

“Talk to you later.” Rainbow said and ended the call. She smirked and looked up at Daring. “She is definitely going to get more and more worried for every minute we don’t call.”

“Well let’s get to it then.” Daring said turning and heading deeper into the darkness of the prison. “We shouldn’t make the princess worry longer than we have to.”
> Chapter 10: First Day
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 10: First Day
***


Walking side by side with her sister and Twilight, Winter looked up at the Schoolhouse as Twilight had called it. It was a friendly looking place, with bright colors, and large windows, and the foals in the yard laughing and playing before class was to start added to that image. Still, she was nervous. She and her sister hadn’t really interacted much with other foals. Mother hadn’t wanted them interacting with mortal foals at all, and she definitely hadn’t approved of any of the other alicorns. Before waking in this time, she’d only ever had one friend… that is until mother found out.

Dawn hadn’t ever had a real friend before now.

She took a deep breath. That could change here. Mother wasn’t around to stop them, and Princess Twilight encouraged them to make friends. Apple Bloom and the crusaders as they liked to call themselves had been nothing but welcoming to the alicorn sisters, eager to be their friends, despite Winter being a couple years older than them. Even Diamond Tiara, who she knew was a recent addition to the group. She hadn’t caught the full story yet; just that they’d been far from friends until recently. The crusaders had seemed almost surprised each time she’d shown up asking if she could join them.

Still, she was nervous. Though things were different, they still had very little experience with other foals. It helped knowing that the Crusaders would be in their class.

Twilight stopped at the fence along the road, turning toward them with a smile. “Alright, so I already explained the basics of where you’re from to Miss Cheerilee. It’s up to you how much you want to tell the other foals. Though I’m sure you understand, it would be best not to mention your mother by name for now.”

Winter and Dawn both nodded. They both knew all too well that mentioning their mother’s name never did them any favors.

“You both have your lunches, your school books, and quills. Was there anything else…” Twilight went on seeming almost as nervous as she was, though Winter knew it was for an entirely different reason. Rainbow Dash and Daring Do were searching for the second of the alicorn prisons today. And even after they’d found the first prison and made it past all the traps to find the prison still holding, she was still worried that something would go wrong. She suspected the princess would be just as worried every time they found one of the prisons; at least so long as her marefriend was one of the ponies exploring them.

“I think we doth have everything.” Winter assured her. “We didst double check before we left.”

“Right.” She sighed. “Alright then; I hope you have a good first day! I’ll come and get you once school is out.”

Winter nodded. Twilight had already told them as much. “We will see thee then,” she said and with Dawn by her side, started across the lawn toward the schoolhouse. Their arrival hadn’t gone unnoticed however and three fillies galloped across the lawn to meet them halfway.

“Ania! Adikia! You’re coming to school with us!?” Apple Bloom asked excitedly.

“Uh yes…” Winter said, realizing that with the trip to Canterlot, they hadn’t seen any of the crusaders since they’d decided on their new names. “But, uh, we didst decide to change our names.”

Apple Bloom blinked. “You did? Why?”

“Dost thou know where our old names didst come from?”

“Nope.” Apple Bloom said shaking her head and the other two fillies shook their heads as well.

The sisters exchanged glances. “Twas old beleifs, even in our time.” Dawn said with a shrug.

“Well our old names… they were from old beleifs, the names of spirits…”

“Bad spirits.” Dawn added.

“Really? Why’d your mom give you names of bad spirits?” Scootaloo asked.

“She was not a good pony…” Winter said, hoping they’d catch from her tone that she didn’t want to say more about it.

Sweetie Belle seemed to understand. “So what’s your new names?” She asked to change the subject.

“I’m Dawn Melody!” Dawn said, happy to share her new name.

“That’s a nice name.” Apple Bloom said smiling.

“Yeah, it really suits you.” Sweetie said and Scootaloo nodded in agreement. Then they all looked at Winter expectantly.

“And I…” Winter blushed, wondering how Sweetie Belle would react. “Well I didst decide on… Winter Belle.”

Sweetie’s eyes widened slightly in surprise as both the other crusaders looked over at her. Slowly she grinned. “That’s a great name!” She exclaimed, her voice squeaking.

Winter smiled hesitantly. “Thou art not worried ponies might think us related?”

“Nah, my family doesn’t really have a family name tradition; not like the Apples.” Sweetie told her dismissively. “Besides we’re friends so it wouldn’t matter even if ponies did think we’re related.”

Just then the school bell rang signaling all the colts and fillies that it was time for class.

“Better head in!” Scootaloo said. “Miss Cheerilee will probably want to have you introduce yourselves.”

Winter and Dawn followed as the three crusaders led the way into class. Already there were a few looking toward them curiously, though Winter was glad to see there was no fear nor hostility. Just foals curious about their new classmates. When they reached the door they found a magenta earth pony mare with a two tone pink mane greeting the students as they arrived. She smiled warmly when she spotted the sisters.

“You must be our new students!” She said sounding excited that her class was growing. “Please stay up here at the front so you can introduce yourselves.”

Winter glanced at Dawn and with a shrug went to stand at the front of the class while the crusaders went to their desks with the rest of the class. It wasn’t long before they had the attention of nearly the entire class. Winter saw Diamond Tiara, but other than her and the crusaders, there wasn’t anypony else they knew in the class. Which wasn’t really a surprise, but it did make her a little nervous, even if there wasn’t any obvious hostility from any of them.

“Welcome back everypony, I hope you all had a great weekend!” Miss Cheerilee said as the last of the students took their seat. “Before we get started today, we have a couple new students joining our class, so I’d like you all to give them a very warm welcome.” She turned and gestured Winter and Dawn forward. “Go ahead and introduce yourselves.”

Winter nervously stepped forward aware of Dawn following at her side. “Hello… My name is Winter Belle and this is my sister…”

“My name is Dawn Melody!” Dawn said, eager to give her new name.

Winter noticed Diamond Tiara looked surprised at their new names but didn’t say anything.

“Are you princesses!?” One of the fillies asked excitedly.

Winter blinked. “No.”

“But you’re alicorns! Doesn’t that mean you’re princesses?”

“No we art simply alicorns.” She replied. She supposed it was understandable; all the alicorns they knew of were the princesses.

“Where are you from?” One of the other fillies asked.

“Oh, uh.” Winter glanced at Miss Cheerilee and got an encouraging smile in return. “We art from a long time ago. We were um… imprisoned…” She trailed off unsure how much she should say. Fortunately, Miss Cheerilee saved her.

“Princess Twilight explained to me that Winter and Dawn were wrongfully imprisoned almost three thousand years ago. And that our very own Apple Bloom helped to find and rescue them.”

The entire class looked at Apple Bloom who blushed at the attention.

“Wait, you’re three thousand years old!?” A colt exclaimed looking back at them.

“Well yes, sort of… The prison didst keep us asleep and didst prevent us from aging.” Winter tried to explain.

“They didst put us in and the next we didst know, the prison was opening again and Apple Bloom was there with the others.” Dawn said.

“And twas three thousand years later.” Winter finished.

“Wow, that must have been crazy!”

“Twas unsettling.” She agreed.

“Well, I hope you’ll all make Winter Belle and Dawn Melody feel welcome in our class.” Miss Cheerilee said, deciding that was enough introductions. She turned to them with a warm smile. “You can go ahead and take your seats,” she said, gesturing to a pair of empty desks next to each other near the back of the classroom.

Winter watched the rest of the students as she and Dawn made their way back to their desks. They were all watching with curiosity more than anything else, and there wasn’t even a hint of fear or hatred. She couldn’t help smiling as she took her seat with Dawn next to her.

“Now, first off today we will be continuing learning about the collapse of the griffon kingdom and the decline of Griffonstone…” Miss Cheerilee began and the rest of the class returned their attention to the teacher, and before long, both alicorn sisters were listening intently as well.


~~~


Twilight looked around the room at the numerous boxes stacked full of books. Having lived in the library for so long, she hadn’t realized how few of the book were actually hers. Most of her collection was either back in her old room in Canterlot, or her parents house. She’d have to make arrangements to get them all moved to her castle once it was ready… Even so, they’d probably only fill a quarter of the new castle’s library. She smiled; that just meant she’d have an extra reason to add to her collection. After all, it wouldn’t do for her to have empty shelves in her library.

Scanning the room once more, she tried to think of anything else she could start packing up. She had less than two weeks after all.

A chime from her bracelet almost made her jump. She’d hoped working on packing would help distract her and keep her from getting too tense, but clearly it wasn’t working. She tapped the gem on her bracelet to answer. “Hello?”

“Hey, Twi.” Rainbow’s voice came through the bracelet, and immediately she felt a wave of relief wash over her at hearing her voice. “So looks like this one is going to be a no go.”

“What do you mean?” Twilight asked.

“Well we’re pretty sure we found it; but when we got to what should be the first trap, the entire room was collapsed. What we can see looks just like it sounded in the notes though; so we’re almost certain it’s the prison. Daring is looking to see if there’s a sinkhole visible from the surface that we might be able to get down through, but otherwise we’ll need a whole crew to dig this out; or an alicorn I guess; Achlys sure had no trouble melting a path out of hers.”

“Alright, well I’ll put a note on the map and unless Daring finds another way in, just move on to the next one.” Twilight told her trying not to sound too happy that they wouldn’t be risking their lives with any of the traps this time.

“Yeah, we’ll probably have to.” She groaned. “Well at least it’s only a couple hours flight to the next prison; we might be able to get there tonight and get to searching right away tomorrow.”

“Sounds good, and that will be the last one for this trip, right?”

“Yep. Then we’ll head back, pick a new group of prisons and head out again.”

Twilight winced, she hadn’t gotten around to telling Rainbow. “Actually, I was hoping you’d stay here and just let Daring handle the next set of prisons. I’m probably going to need your help for the next couple weeks.”

“With what?”

“Well Celestia hadn’t told me, but apparently she accelerated the work on the castle, and it’s going to be ready for me to move in less than two weeks from now.”

“What, really? It’s only been under construction a couple months!”

“Yeah, and it’s not going to be complete; there will be a lot of interior work left in some parts that will take another couple months, but the residence wing will be finished.” Twilight told her.

“So we’ll be moving you in?” Rainbow asked.

“Yep, preferably before the running of the leaves and Nightmare Night.”

“Heh, yeah that’s coming up isn’t it. Well alright then. Daring gets pretty good range with the amp so she should be fine on her own.” Rainbow said, and Twilight was glad that she didn’t sound disappointed at all.

“Yep, and really she probably will get even better range contacting you.” Twilight told her.

“Oh yeah… probably huh? Alright; I’ll plan on sticking around Ponyville then. The weather team will probably need my help with winter prep anyway.”

“That too.” Twilight agreed.

“There’s Daring now. Looks like it’s a bust. Guess we’ll be heading to the last prison then. My wings are going to be so stiff when we get back. I’m really not used to cross country flying.”

Twilight smiled. “Well how about when you get back, I’ll treat you to a spa day.”

“I wouldn’t complain; especially if it’s just the two of us.”

“I’ll plan on it then.”

“Alright, we’re going to go break camp and see if we can get to the last prison before nightfall; Talk to you later Twi!”

“Bye, Dashie; be safe!”

Twilight heard Daring giggle softly in the background just before the chime of the call ending and couldn’t help giggling a bit herself. She could just imagine Rainbow blushing adorably while trying to play it cool. Smiling at the thought, she decided to get started on dismantling some of the equipment she had in the basement. Everything needed to be packed up eventually and she didn’t think she’d be using any of it in the next couple weeks anyway.


~~~


After the morning lessons, recess had been interesting for Winter and Dawn. At first they’d been practically surrounded by the other foals all asking questions. It had taken Miss Cheerilee telling everypony to stop pestering them and go play to disperse them. Then not knowing what else to do, the Crusaders had pulled them into a game they’d called hoofball. They’d never really had any experience with team sports before other than the keep away game they’d played with the Crusaders, and hoofball was definitely more complex. But it was fun once they’d explained the rules. It had been nice really, to have a short break from the lessons of the day.

Once they’d gone back inside, Miss Cheerilee had begun a lesson on geometry; which fortunately hadn’t really changed too much in three thousand years. That had lasted until lunch where they’d once again joined the Crusaders at one of the tables out in the yard.

“So how was your trip to Canterlot?” Sweetie Belle asked as they were all getting into their lunch bags.

“Twas good.” Winter told her.

“We didst meet Twilight’s family and the princesses.” Dawn told them happily, making Winter smile. It had been some time since she’d seen her sister so happy.

“Oh, hey! Did you tell the princesses that you’re older than they are?” Scootaloo asked with a grin.

Winter groaned. “Dawn didst make a joke about it… then Princess Celestia didst keep calling me grandma!”

The crusaders laughed while Dawn giggled behind a hoof.

“See, I told you, the princesses have a great sense of humor!” Apple Bloom said with a grin.

“They doth seem to be very kind and friendly ponies.” Winter agreed.

“Um, is it alright if we sit with you?”

Winter looked to see Diamond Tiara standing nearby with another filly they hadn’t met. “Of course! Thou art welcome!” Winter told her gesturing to the bench next to them.

Diamond smiled and gladly took the seat next to her, the other filly following her lead. “So, did you change your names, or something?” She asked once she was seated.

“Uh, yes.” Winter told her. “Our old names didst come from beliefs that were old even when we were born, and were not good names. Princess Twilight suggested we could change our names when she didst register us as citizens, and we didst decide we wanted to.”

“Oh, okay. So Winter Belle, huh?” She looked past her to her sister. “And Dawn Melody?”

Dawn nodded. “Yep! Who is thy friend?”

Diamond’s eyes widened. “Oh my! I’m so sorry, I didn’t introduce you! This is my good friend Silver Spoon.” She turned to Silver. “They introduced themselves this morning but this is Winter Belle and Dawn Melody. We met last week while you were away on your trip.”

“Pleased to meet you.” Silver Spoon said politely, clearly a little off balance. If what Winter had heard about Diamond Tiara’s past concerning the crusaders was true, she was likely a little confused that her friend was suddenly a part of their group.

“Pleased to meet thee as well!” Dawn said cheerfully while Winter smiled and nodded in agreement.

“So did you go someplace fun?” Sweetie Belle asked, looking across at Silver Spoon.

“My father had some business in Manehattan, so we made a vacation out of it.” She answered.

“Oh, Manehattan! Rarity loves it there! I’ve only gotten to go once myself, but it would be fun to go back again!” Sweetie said, smiling. “Did you get to do anything fun or see any of the sights?”

Silver Spoon glanced over at Diamond Tiara. She was definitely feeling a bit off-balance with the sudden change in what she’d known. Winter could definitely understand that feeling after the past week. “My father had to work a few of the days we were there, but my mother and I went to some of the famous boutiques on those days. We did go see a musical on Bridleway one night.” Silver Spoon told them.

“Oh I love musicals!” Sweetie Exclaimed.

“What is a musical?” Dawn asked curiously.

“And what is Bridleway?” Winter added.

Sweetie grinned. “Musicals are great! They’re like plays only most of the story is told in songs with the performers singing as they act out each scene!”

“And Bridleway is the name of the road where the biggest and most famous theaters are; it’s where the musicals are performed.” Diamond answered Winter’s question.

“A play with singing? That doth sound fun.” 

“I would like to see one sometime!” Dawn agreed, and took a big bite of her own sandwich.

“I’m sure Princess Twilight would be glad to take you to one, if you asked her.” Apple Bloom suggested. “You’d have to take a trip to the city though; the only stage around here is the amphitheater at the park and it’s definitely not big enough for that kind of musical.”

“Maybe in the future then.” Winter said, and Dawn nodded eagerly.

“So how are you liking your first day of school?” Sweetie Belle asked before taking a bite of her daffodil sandwich. 

Winter shrugged. “Tis different. In our time, there were places of learning, colleges and such. But they were mostly only for the very wealthy,” she told them, leaving out that the very wealthy usually only included alicorns in those times. “They were usually not for young fillies and colts. Twas up to the parents to teach their foals basic knowledge like history and mathematics.”

“I like it. Tis fun learning new things with friends!” Dawn said, while Winter tried her own sandwich. It was something Spike had called Peanut butter and jelly. The jelly she was familiar with; but the peanut butter, that surprised her with its smooth savory flavor that went quite well with the sweet strawberry jelly.

“You say that now, but after a few weeks, you’ll be looking forward to the end of class right along with the rest of us.” Scootaloo told Dawn.

“Oh don’t be like that Scoot, some ponies actually enjoy learning.” Sweetie scolded with a roll of her eyes.

“It doth depend on what you are learning.” Winter said with a smile. She couldn’t help feeling at ease with the other fillies, they’d all been so welcoming. Though she’d been a little worried at first, she was quickly warming up to the idea of this school. And though some of the lessons might get boring if they were things she already knew, most were interesting as she did enjoy learning new things. Really it was the social aspects that she found most appealing, especially for Dawn’s sake. It was becoming abundantly clear that the ponies in this time really didn’t harbor any hatred of alicorns anymore, and she couldn’t help thinking that such a social learning environment could be good for Dawn. Her as well, if she were to be honest. If every day was like this, she didn’t think school would be too bad.


~~~


Afternoon recess saw the sisters again pulled into a hoofball game with the crusaders, though this time Diamond Tiara decided to participate as well, running, laughing, and playing with the other school foals. Partway through the game though, Winter noticed Diamond Tiara’s friend standing on her own, looking toward the game seeming conflicted. As if she wanted to join as well, but didn’t think she should. She frowned reminded of a filly she’d known long ago who’d been afraid to try and be her friend… of course she probably would have been better off if she hadn’t, but that was beside the point. Silver Spoon seemed to want to join the game, but something was stopping her.

Stepping away from the game, Winter decided to go talk to her. Silver Spoon saw her as she headed her way and seemed surprised, but didn’t say anything.

“Thou could join, if thou want,” Winter told her. “I do not think anypony would object.”

She almost stepped forward, but then hesitated. “It isn’t an activity appropriate for a proper young mare.”

Winter raised a brow at that. “That is silly. Thou dost look like thou doth want to play. What is the harm in having fun?”

“My parents would not approve,” she said with a hint of sadness.

Winter frowned. “Hast thou asked?”

“No…”

“Then how dost thou know?”

Silver Spoon looked down not knowing how to answer.

“Silver Spoon, my mother also would not have approved of this; she didst expect Dawn and I to learn and train with our magic almost every hour of the day. But she was not a good pony,” Winter said softly. “She did not care about our happiness.”

“I’m sorry… That sounds awful.”

Winter nodded sadly, then looked her in the eye. “Dost thou believe thy parents to be good ponies?”

“Of course!” She exclaimed.

“Then they would want thee to be happy.” Winter said with a smile, then turned to head back to the game. “There is still time, if thou dost want to join.” She said looking back over her shoulder.

Silver Spoon hesitated a moment more, but then, with a smile galloped after her.
> Chapter 11: School Days, Wings, and a New Arrival
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 11: School Days, Wings, and a New Arrival
***


Flying over Ponyville, Twilight tried not to look too impatient. She really did. But anypony who knew her at all, which included most of her guard now, recognized that she was just pacing in the air. Feather and a few of her pegasus guards watching patiently from nearby clouds knew exactly why she was as well. Rainbow Dash and Daring Do were due back anytime now.

Having found the third prison toward the end of the first day they’d searched for it, they’d explored it and deactivated the traps as planned the following day, then began the flight back that night. It was now Thursday afternoon and so long as they’d left as early as they’d initially planned; they should be arriving within the hour.

Glancing in the direction they’d be coming from again, Twilight paused as she saw something in the distance, almost at the horizon. Feather looked as well and could just make out two tiny dots. She smiled glad the wait was almost over. Twilight’s sky pacing had been starting to make her impatient as well. If it had gone on much longer she may have had to challenge the princess to a race, futile as it might be, just to get her to stop.

It was only a couple minutes later that the two approaching were close enough to recognize and as soon as she could tell for sure that it was them, she was off. Feather and the guards with her had been ready and followed at a respectful distance.

Twilight crashed into Rainbow, barely slowing enough to avoid injury and the two tumbled in the air for a moment before recovering, still holding each other in a midair hug. A hug that soon became a kiss. 

Daring, clearly feeling a little awkward spotted Feather and headed her way. “Geeze, we were only gone about a week…” she commented, rolling her eyes.

“It was a stressful week for her.” Feather told her. Twilight had told her a little about how she and Rainbow had gotten together; and how she’d agreed to give them a chance to see if love would bloom. Feather smiled. Twilight still hadn’t admitted it, but she could sense the feelings the princess had for her marefriend; and while she’d always loved her as a friend, that love was rapidly changing to a far more romantic variety.

Still smiling, she tapped the star on her armor in the center of her chest to unmute herself from the squad channel. “Alright, Delta formation, let’s bring them home,” she said, giving the order for the more distant escort formation to give the reunited couple some privacy. Glancing at Daring she gestured for her to follow taking up her own post in the formation. They still had to wait nearly another minute before Twilight and Rainbow started back toward Ponyville, but none of the guard complained.


~~~


The crystal palace was always quiet late in the evenings. Princess Cadence always tried to spend her evenings with her husband and so preferred holding court early each day and used the afternoons to take care of the other parts of running the empire. Though it wasn’t really an empire anymore. Jade Shard sighed softly, thinking back as he continued his patrol. He remembered when it truly had been an empire; when they had ruled over both the yaks and the caribou. Before the dark king had removed their capital from the world for over a millennia. Now the yaks were their own nation and he doubted they’d accept the empire’s rule again, and the caribou… well they’d moved far from the Empire’s lands.

Not that he blamed them. He’d been one of those forced into the dark king’s service, and though he’d been under the king’s control, he remembered everything they’d been forced to do. He remembered how the dark king had oppressed the non-ponies and destroyed the trust they’d once had in the empire. Once the city had been gone, it only made sense that they would seek to make their own way. And now after a thousand years of ruling themselves, why would they want to be ruled by ponies again.

It wasn’t just them though; there’d been numerous crystal pony settlements beyond the city itself as well; all of which had been abandoned in the millennia since. The crystal ponies that had remained had escaped to Equestria as the northern cold claimed their lands, and within a few generations had lost the crystalline sparkle that the Crystal Heart had given them. He knew that Princess Cadence was supposed to be descended from one of the royal family that had hidden in those outer settlements; but except for when the crystal heart was activated such as during the crystal fair, she didn’t look like it. If it weren’t for her having the crystal heart itself as her cutie mark, he doubted many would have believed it.

She was a good ruler though, and while she wasn’t likely to try and reclaim all the lands that the empire had once ruled, he really couldn’t complain.

“Something wrong?” His partner asked, walking alongside him.

“Just thinking about everything the dark king cost us.”

He gave a soft laugh. “Yeah, well we’re on duty, so don’t let your mind wander too much.”

“There’s no events tonight; the princess has already retired for the evening, and it’s not like any civilians could have hid out in the palace all afternoon.”

“Yeah, but if anyone were to break into the palace for any reason, this is most likely where they’d be.”

“I guess that’s true.” Jade conceded. Their patrol did include the lower halls where the royal vault and other secure storerooms were. “But when was the last time anypony tried to break into the palace?”

He turned the corner and the last thing he saw were two wide emerald eyes before a flash of crimson light filled his vision.


~~~


With a cheer a stampede of foals spilled out of the schoolhouse. Winter almost giggled at the younger foals excitement for the weekend, especially since her sister was among them, along with Scootaloo and Apple Bloom. Sweetie just rolled her eyes following alongside Winter at a more sedate pace.

As usual for the past week, Twilight was waiting by the road as they left the School house. What was different this time, was that Rainbow was with her. Winter smiled recalling how happy Twilight had been the night before that Rainbow was back, they’d spent most of the evening together, to the point that it had started to get awkward for the sisters and they’d gone to bed early. Not that they weren’t happy about it. They both liked Rainbow and wanted Twilight to be happy, and by the way she was cuddling with the pegasus last night, it was clear that Rainbow made her happy.

Dawn saw Twilight as well and headed her way, Winter and the crusaders following.

“Hi Rainbow!” Scootaloo greeted, running ahead of the rest.

“Hey, Scoots; you been practicing while I was gone?” Rainbow asked, giving her student a smile.

“You bet!”

Twilight smiled and turned to the rest of them. “Hey girls, excited for the weekend?”

“Yeah!” The crusaders cheered along with Dawn.

“And actually, would it be alright if Winter and Dawn hung out with us this afternoon?” Sweetie Belle asked. Dawn took her que and looked up at Twilight with pleading eyes.

“That would be fine.” Twilight told them.

“Bye girls!” Winter looked as Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon passed them on their way home. “See you Monday!” Diamond said waving and Silver Spoon waved as well, then they both gave a respectful bow. “Princess.”

“You don’t have to bow all the time girls,” Twilight told them kindly, and waved as they went on their way. Winter knew that their families already had plans for the evening, so they wouldn’t be joining them for the afternoon. Twilight watched them a moment more with a thoughtful expression, then turned back to Winter and the others. “You want me to take your school bags home for you?” she asked.

“Yes, that would be good, thank you.” Winter said levitating her bags off for Twilight to take.

Twilight took them in her magic along with Dawn’s. “Just be home in time for Dinner, okay.”

“We will, Thanks Twilight!” Dawn said.

“Thanks, Twilight! See you later!” The Crusaders all said together and took off down the road toward town, Dawn right alongside them.

Winter smiled and waved to Twilight, then took wing for a moment to catch up.

“So what are we going to do?” Sweetie asked as they headed into town.

“You want to play keep away?” Scootaloo suggested. “I could use the flight practice.”

Apple Bloom grinned and with the mark on her shoulder glowing, her wings appeared. “Sounds fun to me!”

“I suppose I can always use more practice.” Sweetie agreed a little less enthusiastically.

“It doth sound fun to me!” Dawn said, hopping in place, and winter just nodded. She was fine doing whatever the rest of them wanted.

“Great! Race you to the park!” Apple Bloom called out and took off flying.

“Oh you’re on!” Scootaloo shouted taking off as well. Dawn quickly followed with Winter right on her tail leaving Sweetie to gallop after them.

“Hey, wait for me!” she called in vain.


~~~


“So what’s the deal?” Rainbow asked as Twilight rejoined her at the start of the path, practically a road itself, that led to the nearly completed castle.

“The foremare says that I’ll be able to move in by Friday at the latest. So it looks like this weekend is going to be the big move.” Twilight told her.

“Alright, that will give me a few days to check in with the weather team, make sure nopony made a mess of things while I was gone.” she said looking up at the castle. It wasn’t even close to the size of Canterlot castle, but it was still huge compared to anything else in Ponyville. “It does look like a pretty nice place. There’s extra rooms, right? For if you need space for something you didn’t plan on?”

Twilight nodded. “I think there were at least eight extra rooms that weren’t designed for anything in particular. There’s also a dozen guest suites in the wing opposite the staff quarters…”

“You think I could set up a small gym in one of the extra rooms?”

Twilight looked at her surprised. “A gym?”

“Yeah, I mean I’ve always wanted a private gym, but uh… cloud homes and weight benches don’t really mix well. Not without a lot of expensive specialty clouds.” Rainbow told her blushing slightly.

Twilight smiled. “Well, there’s already a gym in the barracks wing, but that’s mostly for the guard. There are a few rooms in the Residence wing we could use for a gym, so how ‘bout we set one up there and it will be our gym.”

“Awesome!”

Twilight smiled and gave her marefriend a nudge. “You know, if you keep influencing me to exercise more, I might just catch up to you.”

Rainbow laughed softly. “All the more reason for me to keep pushing my limits; got to stay one step ahead.” They both took another moment to survey the new castle; more just a palace really but officially it was to be known as Ponyville Castle. With four wings spreading out from a central hub that included the entry hall, throne room, and six towers; it was a sprawling complex. “So what are the plans for the grounds?” Rainbow asked looking around at the large amount of open land surrounding the castle.

“Well most the area in front and around the sides are going to be gardens. There’s also going to be a private garden between the two wings in the back, behind the throne room. But they’re not going to be starting on those until next spring. Back by the barracks wing there’s going to be space for the guard to set up practice fields, target ranges, and whatever else they need. As for the area behind the residence wing, there’s already a small pond there, so I was thinking it might be nice to plant a grove of trees wrapping around the far side of the pond. My bedroom actually overlooks the pond, and I think it will make for a lovely view.”

“Not to mention your own private swimming hole.” Rainbow added with a grin.

Twilight laughed. “That too.” She looked out over the castle and grounds a moment more then with a sigh, turned and started back toward town. “One more week.”


~~~


Winter watched for a moment longer as Dawn worked on her homework, then confident that her little sister understood the concepts, returned to her own. After the fun they’d had over the weekend, Scootaloo especially had been rather dramatic in her dread of returning to school. She understood, she supposed; there were definitely some things that weren’t much fun to learn, and some ponies simply didn’t enjoy the pursuit of knowledge as much as others. But while a few of the lessons did get a little boring at times; Winter didn’t really find school to be as much of a trial as some made it out to be. Even Dawn seemed to mostly enjoy their lessons. Now two days into their second week, Winter was confident that continuing school wouldn’t be a problem.

She had noticed though, that she was the oldest in the class. Most the other fillies and colts were around Dawn and the Crusader’s age. Some even younger. She didn’t know exactly how school normally worked; but she was beginning to suspect that Twilight had made special arrangements so that she could be in the same class with Dawn. If so, she was grateful for it.

There really wasn’t anywhere better for them to do their homework than the main floor of the Library, so they both heard when there was a knock on the door and Captain Feather opened it letting Sweetie Belle in.

“Hi, girls!” Sweetie called, waving.

“Hi, Sweetie!” Dawn called waving back and Winter waved as well. A moment later Twilight appeared at the top of the stairs from the bedroom, having been working on packing.

“Hi, Sweetie!” Twilight called smiling as she started down the stairs. “Ready for your lesson?”

“Yep!”

Winter smiled and went back to her homework, they knew about Sweetie’s magic lessons with Twilight

“Great, let’s see, we were going to start on something new weren’t we? Anything you’d like to learn?” Twilight asked.

“Actually, could you teach me the flutterwing spell?” Sweetie asked and Winter’s ears perked up, that sounded like…

“Hmm. We could work on it. I think you could learn it; but it is a very difficult spell.” Twilight said.

That wasn’t right… Winter looked up from her homework. “The flutterwing spell? Is that a spell to give a pony wings resembling a butterfly’s?”

Twilight looked over at her and nodded. “Yes, have you heard of it?”

“I didst create it!”

“Really?” 

“Yes, only it should not be very difficult; Sweetie shouldn’t have trouble learning it.” Winter told her. “I didst make it for… for my friend and didst teach it to her. She was not as advanced as Sweetie but she didst have no trouble learning it.”

Twilight frowned. “Hmm… sounds like your spell isn’t the same one I know of.”

“Dost thou… you have a copy of the spell?” She asked, correcting herself. She and Dawn had been noticing the differences in how ponies talked now.

“Sure.” Twilight said turning toward the book shelves she scanned a few before finding the book she was looking for, pulling it out with her magic. “Here it is.” She said opening the book to the page she wanted and levitating it to Winter.

Taking it in her own magic, she looked at the spell forms on the page and her eyes widened. “This… this is all wrong! I mean it would work, but tis far more complicated than it dost need to be! And the wings this spell would create would be exceedingly delicate!”

“Your spell is easier?” Sweetie asked hopefully.

“Yes, much easier.” Winter told her confidently.

“Could you teach it to me!?

Winter smiled. “I wouldst be glad to,” she said then looked up at Twilight. “Dost… do you have a blank scroll I may use to write down the spell form?”

“Of course.” Twilight said, her horn lighting as she opened a drawer of her desk and levitated out a blank scroll.

“Thank you. It should only take a few minutes to write down.”

Twilight smiled. “Alright, thank you, Winter,” she said then turned back to Sweetie. “In the meantime, how about we review some of the other spells you’ve learned. It's always good to review once in a while to keep the spells fresh in your mind.”

Winter went back to where she and Dawn had been working on their homework and set to work writing out her version of the flutterwing spell. She had no idea how it had gotten so overcomplicated, but then she’d never really taught her version to anypony other than her friend. Perhaps somepony had seen her using it once and had tried to duplicate it? No matter. She could correct the spell now and would be glad to teach Sweetie. It was obvious why Sweetie wanted to learn it; it was the same reason why she’d created it in the first place. With Apple Bloom having a wing spell of her own, Sweetie was the only one stuck on the ground when the five of them were together.

It took a few minutes of work, but she soon had the spellform written out. Scanning over it once more to make sure there weren’t any mistakes, she nodded satisfied and got up, taking it back over to where they were practicing. Sweetie was levitating half a dozen books at once having them follow a complex path in the air. Seeing her though, she quickly sent the books to stack neatly on the center table.

“Here it is.” Winter said, levitating the scroll to her.

Sweetie eagerly took the scroll in her magic and began reading while Twilight examined the spell form over her shoulder. “Oh wow, yeah, that is a lot easier,” Twilight said approvingly.

“Thank you, Winter!” Sweetie said happily, grinning up at her.

Winter smiled in return. “Would you like to get started then? Learning to cast the spell is only the first part after all. I didst design the wings so that they wouldst be easy to fly with, but it doth still take some time to get used to them.”

She nodded. “Let’s get started!”



Winter watched as Sweetie made another attempt to cast the spell. It was nearing the end of her lesson at this point, but she was close. As she watched, the filly was lifted into the air and the glowing magic of the spell began to wrap around her. She’d gotten this far before, but it was the last part of the spell that was the most difficult. On her last two attempts the spell had fallen apart at this point, the cocoon of magic fading away, dropping her to the ground. As much as she wanted to encourage her, Winter knew that concentration was key here, so she simply watched, paying close attention to the magic in case she made any mistakes. This time though, the magic brightened and with a flash the spell completed.

“It worked!” Sweetie exclaimed even as the magic faded enough for them to see again.

Sweetie was floating there held up by her new wings. Mostly sky blue in color with teardrops of purple, pink, green and yellow and all translucent enough that they appeared like stained glass. Slowly she floated down to the floor, and took a moment to admire her new wings.

“Well done, Sweetie.” Winter said smiling.

“They’re so pretty!”

“The appearance was… my friend’s idea. At first, I didst intend to make the spell so that it would give you wings like a pegasus, as Apple Bloom’s spell does. But that was much too difficult, and she didst not want pegasus wings; she didst not want others to mistake her for an alicorn. So instead I didst make these, and didst design them so that they wouldst be easy to learn how to use them. Even so, I do recommend that thou… you practice with them a bit before flying too high.”

Sweetie nodded understanding, then ran over and hugged her. “Thank you, Winter!”

Winter hugged her back. “You are welcome, Sweetie Belle.”

The basement door opened making them both look as Twilight reemerged. With Winter teaching Sweetie, she’d taken the opportunity to work on packing up some of her equipment in the basement. “Oh, you got it to work!” She said seeing Sweetie.

“Yep!”

“Good job Sweetie,” Twilight said giving her a proud smile. “And just in time too, it’s just about time for you to head home.”

“It is!?” She looked at the clock and her eyes widened. “Oh… could we practice flying during my next lesson?”

Twilight nodded. “That would be fine, and then we should probably get started on the cloud walking spell after that.”

“Oh yeah!”

“I would be glad to help thee practice flying as well.” Winter told her.

Sweetie smiled. “Oh, but don’t tell the other crusaders, okay! I want to surprise them!”

“We’ll keep quiet.” Twilight said with a smile and Winter nodded in agreement. “Can I see the spell for a moment to make a copy?”

“Oh sure!” Sweetie said and levitated the scroll over to her. Twilight took it and a second blank scroll and with a flash of magic, copied the spell. 

“There we go.” She levitated the original back to Sweetie. “Now you’d better head on home.”

“Okay, see you later then! Thanks again, Winter!” She said and focusing for a moment, dismissed the wings causing them to burst into colorful sparkles that faded away even as they fell around her. With a grin she headed for the door.

“See you, Sweetie! We shall work on flying next time. Shouldn’t take long.”

“Bye, Sweetie!” Dawn called from where she was reading having finished her homework during the lesson.

“Bye, and remember, don’t tell the other Crusaders!” Sweetie called back.

“We shall not tell,” Winter assured her.

Sweetie smiled and with one last wave she was out the door heading home.

Twilight and closed the door after her, then took another look at the copy of the spell she’d made. “This really is a much easier spell. You mind if I add it to my collection? I’ve been putting together a collection of all the most useful spells I’ve come across over the years that I was thinking about publishing as a book eventually.”

“Oh, no, I do not mind.” Winter told her.

“I would list you as the creator of the spell of course,” Twilight told her. “I wonder why it got so overcomplicated. You said you taught your friend the spell, so if she had taught it to anyone it would have been this version…”

“I do not think that my friend taught anypony…” Winter said softly with a deep sadness that caught Twilight’s attention.

“What do you mean?”

Winter looked down.

Twilight moved over next to her and sat by her side, stretching a wing around her. “You want to talk about it?”

She sniffed softly. “Her name was Maple Leaf. I didst meet her… It was during Dawn’s lessons. I was supposed to be studying on my own, but I didst sneak out.” Winter told her softly. “She was the first filly that was ever brave enough to try to be my friend. I didst sneak out many times… For over a year we didst manage to keep our friendship a secret. Then mother found out.”

Twilight gave her a comforting squeeze, as she sniffed again at the tears that came to her eyes. “The next day… she was gone; her whole family. They were just gone. Nopony would tell me what happened…”

Twilight turned and pulled her into a full hug wrapping both wings around her. “Winter, I’m so sorry you went through that…”

“I never should have made friends with her… if I hadn’t…”

“It’s not your fault.” Twilight told her firmly.

With a soft whimper, Winter reached up hugging her in return. That had been what had convinced her that she needed to protect her sister, that they needed to escape their mother. It was when she’d realized that though they were safe from all those who hated alicorns, they could never truly be happy in their mother’s care.

“Winter, you know; you don’t have to worry about Dawn all the time. You could make some friends of your own if you want.” Twilight suggested softly.

Winter sniffed once more. “The crusaders are my friends too…”

“I know, I just meant some friends your own age.” Twilight told her. “Just something to think about.”

She nodded that she understood but held the embrace a moment more. “I did notice that I am the oldest in our class…”

Twilight nodded, not surprised at all. “I didn’t think you’d want to be separated from Dawn, and I thought it would give you some time to adjust to modern times. I was planning on suggesting you move on to secondary school at the start of the next term. I hoped by then you’d be alright being in a separate class from Dawn.”

“I… I do not know…”

“You don’t have to decide right now.” Twilight assured her. “Next term isn’t for a few months, and even then, it will be your choice.”

“I will think about it.” Winter said softly.

Twilight smiled and pat her back once more before releasing her. “For now, we’ve just got the move to the castle to worry about.”

“We do not have much to move.” Winter looked up at her and finally grinned.

Twilight snorted. “Right; I suppose it’s just me that has to worry about it…”


~~~


Looking around the library, Twilight sighed. Already it was feeling empty, and they had only just begun to move her things to the new castle. She was going to miss living here. But especially now, with Winter Belle and Dawn Melody, they needed the space that the castle provided in excess. Still, she’d miss the old tree.

A commotion at the front door stirred her from her thoughts, and she listened for a moment, hearing a shout then a cry of surprise. Curious, she went to see what was happening. Opening the door, she found Captain Feather and two of her other guards restraining another pony. They had her down on the ground, the two guards pinning her on her side while Captain Feather stood over her with a wing blade to her neck.

The pony, Twilight saw, was a unicorn. A unicorn with a golden amber coat and a red and gold mane. She sighed; there was no mistaking that mane. “What are you doing here, Sunset; not getting in trouble are you?”
> Chapter 12: Sunset, Portals, and Time
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 12: Sunset, Portals, and Time
***


“It’s not my fault!” Sunset Shimmer exclaimed from where she was held pinned by two of Twilight’s royal guards.

“We caught her trying to sneak into the library.” Feather said still holding a blade to her neck.

“It’s alright, you can stand down; I’m sure Sunset isn’t really here to cause trouble. Are you Sunset?” Twilight told them and raised a brow, looking at the downed unicorn.

“No! Of course not!”

Twilight gave Feather a nod and she stepped back while the other two guards released their hold on Sunset, allowing her to stand. Twilight looked her over. She seemed a little worse for ware, even more so than the little scuffle with her guards could account for. “Come on in.”

Sunset nodded. “Thank you, Princess.”

“Just Twilight,” she admonished letting her into the library, Feather following close behind. “You’ve already met, but Sunset, this is Captain Feather of my royal guard. Feather, this is Sunset Shimmer.”

“Heh… pleased to meet you.” Sunset said rubbing the back of her neck embarrassedly.

Feather gave a respectful nod. “I am well aware of who you are, Sunset Shimmer, and I’d ask that you don’t try to bypass the guard in the future. We take our jobs very seriously in Twilight’s guard.”

“I’ll uh… remember that.”

With that, Feather took up position just inside the door while Twilight led Sunset to the window nook where there were still a couple cushions for them to sit and talk.

“So what brings you back to Equestria? Last I recall, you were going to stay in the other world.” Twilight asked conversationally once they were both seated.

“Uh, I was, and well, things were going good at first. I was getting back on my feet, trying to make amends around the school and just, trying to do better, you know. And I think I did pretty good, by the time graduation came around, I wasn’t super popular, but I think most the school had actually started to like me at least, and almost everyone had forgiven me.”

“So, what happened?” Twilight asked, knowing something must have gone wrong.

She sighed. “The other me moved to town.”

“What?”

“The other me. That world’s Sunset Shimmer. I was out of School by then, so it wasn’t an issue right away, but then I ran into her at the mall.” She grimaced at the memory. “It did not go well. There were accusations of Identity theft, and they started investigating me. Then what happened at the Fall Formal got out and pretty soon there were accusations of witchcraft… which are kind of true, technically; I mean, we were using magic.” She shrugged. “They have a very general definition of witchcraft. Anyway, before I knew it, I was on the run. Fortunately, my friends helped me hide out…”

“Friends?” Twilight asked, with a bit of a smile.

Sunset blushed. “You did ask them to look after me.”

Twilight’s smile became a grin and Sunset smiled a bit as well.

“Anyway. They helped me hide out, but when things just kept getting worse, we agreed that it would probably be for the best for me to return to Equestria. So, when the portal opened again, they helped me sneak onto the school grounds to go through.”

Twilight blinked as one important detail suddenly occurred to her. “Wait a second; the portal wasn’t supposed to open again for thirty moons!”

Sunset just stared at her for a moment; “What do you mean? It has been thirty moons.”

“No it hasn’t, it’s only been seventeen moons since I came back.”

“It was definitely thirty moons over there…” Sunset insisted. “Could the temporal alignment of the portal be off?

Twilight frowned thinking. “Maybe, but if it is that’s a new occurrence; I did some research on the portal when I got back and Starswirl’s notes clearly indicated that it was thirty moons on either side between the portal opening.”

“It’s really only been seventeen moons over here? What could have thrown the alignment off that much?”

“I don’t know. We may need to take some time to study the portal; if something’s causing it to become unstable…” She trailed off thinking. 

“I hope it’s not growing unstable.” Sunset said sounding worried. “If it is, that would put their world in danger too!”

Twilight frowned a moment more, then sighed. “Alright, we’ll have to figure that out later.” She said and Sunset reluctantly nodded; without the portal itself to study, they couldn’t do much more than speculate. “That aside, from the sound of things, coming back was probably the best choice. But why did you sound so panicked when I asked if you were in trouble. You didn’t think I’d blame you for all that, did you?”

“No… but… well…” Sunset was rubbing the back of her neck again.

Twilight raised a brow. “There something else I should know?” She asked, then her eyes narrowed. “The portal is still in the Crystal Empire’s secure storerooms. How did you get here?”

“Ok… so when I came out of the portal, I had no idea where I was. I just knew it was the same castle from the first time. I had no idea what castle it was, or where. But I knew where I came out was probably restricted and I didn’t want to try to explain, so I tried to sneak out instead… I almost made it, but then out of nowhere a pair of guards came around a corner. I was already on edge and it’s been so long since I had magic… and they just startled me so bad I… I lost control.”

“What happened?” Twilight asked, worried she’d accidently harmed somepony.

She tapped her forehooves together. “I might have accidently, um… turned them into rabbits.”

Twilight stared at her for a moment then couldn’t help it. She snorted trying to stifle a giggle, and she wasn’t alone. Over by the door they could hear Captain Feather snickering at the thought of a pair of guards being turned into rabbits by a jittery unicorn.

“After that I managed to get out of the castle, and by the way, where the heck did the crystal empire come from!?”

“It was banished for a thousand years by King Sombra. It reappeared a few years ago. I didn’t even know about it until it returned and Princess Celestia sent me to save it…” Twilight told her.

Sunset blinked. “Okay, we’ll have to get into that later. Anyway, I asked around and managed to find out where you lived and fortunately, I still had a few bits left from when I ran away to the other world; so I bought a train ticket and came down here to Ponyville.”

“Alright, well I’m sure there was no harm done, those kinds of transfiguration spells usually wear off on their own and are easy to reverse anyway, so other than a little embarrassment I’m sure they’re fine. I’ll send a letter to Princess Cadence to explain so they don’t worry too much about the security breach.”

“Princess Cadence? She’s in the crystal empire?” Sunset asked, a little surprised.

“Yes. She’s the ruler there.”

“So princess pretty-mane finally got some real responsibility, huh?”

Twilight snorted. “Princess Cadence, Sunset. And besides being my fellow princess and a close friend, she’s also my sister-in-law; so try to show some respect.”

“Okay, okay… wait, she’s married? Wasn’t she dating that royal guard…?”

“Shining Armor, my brother.” Twilight provided.

“Shining Armor is your brother!?”

“Yes, you know him?”

She blushed, once again rubbing the back of her neck. “I uh… might have played a few pranks on him when he was guarding the wing of the castle I stayed in.”

Twilight raised a brow. “’Ha ha’, pranks or ‘you probably need to spend a night in the dungeon’ pranks?”

“Nothing that bad!” Sunset said quickly, “But… he might still be sore about a few of them.”

“Well then, perhaps we’ll have to take a trip up there, so you can apologize in person.” Twilight said half in jest.

“I… I guess that’s fair.” Sunset sighed. It wasn’t as if she was new to making apologies. The last couple years had been full of them for her.

Twilight regarded her a few moments more, then finally smiled. “I have to say this is much more pleasant than our last meeting.”

She blushed. “Yeah… not the best first impression, huh.”

“Definitely not.” Twilight agreed but smiled all the same. “You seem to have learned a lot since then, though. I guess it was the right choice leaving you with my friends in that world.”

Sunset sighed. “Yeah… I am going to miss them.”

“Well, maybe we can do something about that.” Twilight suggested. “I wouldn’t mind getting back in touch with the girls myself.”

She looked up hopefully. “You think so.”

She smiled and nodded. “Plus, having contacts in that world might help us figure out what’s going on with the portal. I’ll see what I can come up with, but for now, you probably need a place to stay.”

“Yeah, about that. Prin… Twilight, can you, uh, not tell Princess Celestia I’m here?” Sunset asked, nervously.

Twilight raised a brow. “She’ll find out eventually, you know, you can’t avoid it forever.”

“I know, I just… I just need a little more time. To prepare mentally, you know?”

“Alright.” Twilight said with a gentle smile. “We’ll wait a little while before telling her, and I’ll be sure and ask Cadence not to mention it either.”

“Thanks, Twilight.” Sunset breathed, relief filling her voice.

“But when the time comes, you’re going in person.”

She grimaced. “Ouch… and here I thought you were too soft…”

Twilight just continued to smile. “For now, though, you’ll be welcome to stay in one of the guest rooms of the new Ponyville Castle.”

“Ponyville Castle!?”

Twilight gave a sigh. “Yeah, Celestia insisted. Said I needed a royal guard, and that meant I needed somewhere for them to stay and anywhere large enough to house a royal guard would also need a staff to run the place… It’s really more of a palace than a castle, and nowhere near the size of Canterlot, but still.”

“Oh, is that what that place was on the edge of town? I saw it from the train.”

“Yep, probably… it’s the largest structure in Ponyville now. We just started moving my things over.” She looked around the library with another sigh. “I’m going to miss this place.”

Sunset looked around and nodded understandingly. “It does look like a pretty cozy little place. I was a little confused when I first heard that you lived in a library, but now that I’m here, it makes sense.”

“I suppose I always knew I’d have to eventually move on, that I couldn’t live here forever… but still, it’s hard to let go.”

“You live anywhere long enough, it doesn’t matter if it was meant to be temporary or not; it becomes home.” Sunset agreed sadly. “It’s going to be difficult adjusting back to life in Equestria. Especially in a whole new place. I’ve never been to Ponyville before.”

Twilight smiled knowingly as she heard a window open upstairs. “Oh, I think you’ll find a familiar face or two…”

“Hey, Twi!” Rainbow called out as she flew down from the loft.

Sunset looked up in surprise at her voice and her eyes went wide seeing the rainbow maned pegasus back-wing to land next to Twilight and give her a quick kiss.

“Rainbow,” Feather growled.

“What?” Rainbow asked looking over at her.

She just raised an eyebrow.

Rainbow stared at her for a moment, before realization hit her. “Oh come on! We’re moving Twi to her new place, what does it matter if I come in the window to save some time!?”

“Next time I’m tackling you again.”

Rainbow groaned, as Twilight rolled her eyes. “You did say you wouldn’t do that anymore.” She reminded her marefriend. 

“Alright…” Rainbow sighed. “So who’s this?” she asked, nodding to Sunset.

Twilight grinned at Sunset’s reaction. “Rainbow, this is Sunset Shimmer.”

“What, Really!?” Her eyes narrowed, looking at Sunset. “You’re not going to cause any trouble, are you?”

“Of course, she isn’t.” Twilight said scoldingly, nudging Rainbow with her wing.

“Rainbow Dash…” Sunset breathed, still in a bit of shock.

“Didn’t you wonder how I was able to connect with the girls over there so easily? How we were able to wield the power of the elements?”

Sunset looked at Twilight. “Are they…?”

“They were that world’s counterparts to my friends here.” Twilight confirmed.

“I knew that there were some counterparts to ponies in Equestria; I mean, my own, obviously, and Principle Celestia; and there were a few others that I remembered seeing around Canterlot, but I hadn’t thought… are they all here in Ponyville!?”

Twilight nodded. “This is where I met them.”

“Really?”

“Yep,” Rainbow answered. “First ran into Twilight just down the street by town hall.”

“Ran into is right.” Twilight said rolling her eyes. “Rammed me right into a mud puddle.”

“Heh, yeah.”

“And then dumped a small cloud’s worth of rain on me.”

“Not my best moment.”

“And let’s not forget your ‘patented rain-blow dry.’”

She blushed, giggling nervously. “Yeah… We had a good laugh about it later though.”

Twilight gave her a smile then turned back to Sunset. “Most the rest of the students I saw at Canterlot High have counterparts around Ponyville as well. So, you might just feel more at home here than you expected. And like I said, I’ll work on some way for you to at least keep in touch with your friends in the other world too.”

“Oh yeah, Twi told us about the other us’s over there.” Rainbow said grinning. “So did you end up becoming friends with the other me?”

Sunset looked at her and nodded. “Yeah, you, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie. Best group of friends I ever had.”

“We are pretty awesome.” Rainbow said, buffing a hoof against her chest. “I guess if the other me gave you a chance, I might as well, too.”

“Thanks.” Sunset said with a grateful smile.

“So anyway, we’re actually in the middle of moving all my things into the new castle.” Twilight told her getting to her hooves. “If you want to help us load another wagon, we can head on over and I can give you a tour. At least of the parts that are completed. There’s still some interior work to be done; Rarity is actually helping to decorate the guest rooms.”

“Uh, yeah, about that, Twi; you might want to get back and reign Rarity in a bit. I think she’s going a little overboard with the guest rooms.” Rainbow said, sounding a little worried.

Twilight raised a brow. “It can’t be that bad. Isn’t Spike still there?”

“Your dog?” Sunset asked.

Twilight looked over at her confused, then realized what she was missing. “Oh, Spike is actually a dragon here. He was the one that sounded the alarm when you stole my crown.”

“Oh! I hadn’t realized… Why’d the portal turn him into a dog?”

“I really have no idea.” Twilight said with a bit of a smirk. “Anyway, he was still at the castle, wasn’t he?”

“He’s been helping the fillies get settled in their new room.” Rainbow told her.

“Really, he’s not helping Rarity?” Twilight asked more than a little surprised.

“I know right!”

Sunset looked between them. “Does Spike have a thing for Rarity or something?”

Twilight shrugged. “Well he did… He used to take any opportunity he could to help Rarity. But that was before… Hmm.”

“Before he got big.” Rainbow finished. “You think he’s given up on Rarity.”

“I would say that just yet. But I suppose it makes sense that he’d be a bit more mature about it from now on and not just fawning over her every chance he gets.”

“That’s too bad. It was pretty funny to watch sometimes.” Rainbow said then grinned. “Of course it might be more entertaining to see how Rarity handles it now that he’s no longer a baby.”

“He’s grown? I thought you said it’s only been seventeen moons?”

“Yeah. He’s actually about the size of a large stallion now,” Twilight told her.

Sunset’s eyes widened. “That’s quite a growth spurt!”

“You should have seen when he went giganto with greed!” Rainbow told her. “He was using the water tower like a bucket to carry all the junk he stole.”

“What, really? Then how is he…”

“Greed growth is temporary, and can be reversed fortunately, otherwise he couldn’t live in Ponyville anymore.” Twilight told her. “His more recent growth is a bit more natural.”

“Okay… so who’s the fillies you mentioned?” Sunset asked, curiously.

“Oh, well actually why don’t we head over there; there’s a few things I should fill you in on along the way.” Twilight told her. “Then you can meet them.”

“And hopefully we can stop Rarity from making the guest rooms too ridiculously fru-fru.” Rainbow added.

“I don’t know… if she’s anything like the Rarity I know, it will be almost impossible to stop her once she gets started.” Sunset said with a wry grin.


~~~


Dawn smiled as she glanced back at Spike. She’d been nervous at first having him around again, but she was really starting to like the new him. He’d always protected them by their mother’s orders, but back then it had simply been his job; he’d never really cared about them. Now it was different; he was different. Instead of simply protecting them because he was ordered to, he was looking out for them like a big brother and seemed to genuinely care about her and her sister. Even Winter had noticed and was warming up to him. Her big sister didn’t seem nervous at all having him with them as they explored the completed sections of the castle.

“No plans for this room either?” Winter asked as they looked into another of the empty rooms of the residence wing.

“Nope, Twilight wanted a few extra rooms just in case she ended up needing additional rooms later on,” Spike told them looking around himself. The room wasn’t any different that all the other empty rooms they’d come across. 

The residence wing was two floors with their bedrooms, and a large living room on the second floor. Each of the bedrooms was generously sized and had their own bathroom attached as well as a closet that could be a pony’s bedroom by itself. There were several extra bedroom suites as well that Twilight had said were for family and close friends when they visited the castle. The first floor had a kitchen and dining room, as well as Twilight’s personal library and study. Otherwise most the rest of the first floor was empty rooms that didn’t currently have a purpose.

Dawn nodded. “That doth make sense.”

“Does.” Winter corrected.

“…Does make sense.” Dawn said with a slight roll of her eyes. She knew Winter was just trying to help; but it wasn’t like her big sister didn’t slip up and use their old way of speaking just as often!

“Are any of the other wings finished?” Winter asked.

“As far as I know, just the main kitchen and about half of the staff quarters are done. They’re still finishing the interior work on the rest. Though the guard barracks should be done in a couple weeks.”

“There’s two kitchens?” Dawn asked. They’d already seen the kitchen and dining hall in the residence wing.

“There’ll be three actually; the barracks has its own kitchen as well for the guard. The main kitchen is the largest since it will be used to prepare food for any banquets or other events held at the castle.” Spike told them, then smirked, “I’m not sure if Twilight has realized she won’t have an excuse not to host that kind of stuff from now on.”

“Do you think she will have to host such things often?” Winter asked. They were already going to have to get used to having a castle staff around, not to mention the rest of the guard. She was a little nervous at the thought of all kinds of other ponies they didn’t know coming to the castle for events.

“Not too often.” Spike assured her. “But probably for holidays and there will probably be some kind of ball to celebrate the completion of the castle in a few months; though Twilight may just want to combine that with Hearths Warming.”

Dawn looked up at him. Hearths Warming sounded familiar but she couldn’t quite remember why.

“Hearths Warming? The founding of Equestria?” Winter asked, and then Dawn remembered; that was what Twilight had called the story about the founding.

Spike nodded. “Nopony knows the exact date, so we celebrate the founding on the winter solstice. It’s a lot of fun, and a good way to bring a bit of cheer to the middle of winter. Plus the winter snow reminds ponies of the windigos and why it’s so important to maintain harmony.”

Dawn smiled up at him. “You are a lot more talkative than you used to be.”

“And a lot more informative.” Winter agreed with a little bit of a smirk.

Spike groaned. “Give it a few years, living with Twilight; and see if you don’t start going into lecture mode once in a while.”

Winter just gave him a grin then turned heading back out into the hall. “So, is their more of the castle finished that we can explore?”

“We could go see the main kitchen, and we might be able to look into the ballroom and banquet hall, but they’re still working on those.” Spike told them. He’d been sure to get up to date on the progress of the castle since they’d found out they were moving in.

“I would like to see the ballroom,” Dawn said.

“Alright, well that’s just off the main entry hall.”

Dawn followed Spike and Winter down the hall out of the residence wing. There was an entry room to the residence wing where the guard would be posted that was the only connection to the rest of the castle. All other entrances were from the grounds and were also guarded. The grounds surrounding the residence wing also weren't going to be open to the public. There’d be plenty of other gardens on the grounds for ponies to enjoy.

The residence wing entry room connected to the main entry hall. A grand open space that was nearly as large as the ballroom itself. As the castle was still under construction there were many ponies going about their work in the entry hall, as well as several of Twilight’s royal guard keeping an eye on things.

“Lemon Hearts?” Spike said sounding a little surprised and headed toward a yellow unicorn mare that was talking with one of the guards. She looked up at the name and smiled seeing him.

“Spike! Is that really you! I’d heard you’d grown but wow!”

He laughed softly. “Heh, yeah, quite a difference, huh. So what are you doing here!?”

She grinned. “I’m Twilight’s new head of staff here at the castle!”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I was originally going to just be her event planner, but when I heard they were still looking for somepony for the head of staff position, I thought why not. Twilight’s castle staff isn’t going to be that many more ponies than I was already managing at Canterlot. So I went ahead and applied!”

Dawn glanced over at her sister who was watching the new unicorn curiously, but without any of the suspicion she used to always have when meeting new ponies. They didn’t go unnoticed.

“Oh, you must be the fillies I heard about! I’m Lemon Hearts!”

“Hi! I’m Dawn Melody!” Dawn said happily.

“And I am Winter Belle. Didst… did you know Spike?” Winter said and Dawn couldn’t help smirking a little at her sister’s slip.

Lemon Hearts nodded. “Yep, I went to school with Twilight and she was actually raising Spike at the time. In fact, I think he was only three years old when we first met.”

“Three?” Dawn looked up at Spike questioningly. He just smiled and nodded.

“That’s right, Twilight hatched Spike when she got her cutie mark!” Lemon Hearts said smiling. “She loved telling that story! Getting her to talk about Spike was one of the only surefire ways we could distract Twilight from her constant studying.”

“You are friends with Twilight?” Winter asked curiously.

“Well I was back in school…” She shrugged. “After Twilight moved down here to Ponyville though, we kind of lost touch. She’s definitely changed a lot since I knew her. I couldn’t believe it when I heard she’d become the Princess of Friendship! Back when we were in school together she couldn’t care less about friendship! Studying was all she cared about!”

“Really?” Dawn found it hard to imagine Twilight not caring about friendship.

“Yep, it’s probably why we lost touch; she just didn’t really care about friends back when we were in school.”

“Well, I think you can count on her wanting to renew your friendship now.” Spike assured her. “In fact, I bet she’ll want to get back in touch with the rest of the fillies as soon as she sees you and remembers her old friends.”

“You think so?” Lemon Hearts asked sounding a little hopeful.

Spike nodded. “Yeah Twilight’s just been so focused on other things the last couple of years. I don’t think she’s even realized that Lyra lives here.”

She snorted. “Really? Oh, Twilight…”

“Who is Lyra?” Winter asked.

“She’s another one of our friends that went to school with Twilight and I.” Lemon Hearts told her. “She actually moved to Ponyville a couple months before Twilight did.”

“You’ll probably meet her sometime,” Spike assured them.

Lemon Hearts smiled. “Well, I need to check on the progress on the staff quarters to see how many rooms are available so I know what I have to work with…” Just then the main doors opened and Twilight, Rainbow Dash and another unicorn mare that Dawn didn’t know entered, followed by Captain Feather. “There she is!”

Twilight spotted them and headed their way. At first she looked confused seeing the unicorn with them but then recognition crossed her face. “Lemon Hearts!? What are you doing here!?”

She grinned. “I’m going to be your head of staff here at the castle, if that’s alright with you.”

“What!? Of course, it’s alright! I’m just surprised!”

Spike laughed. “Princess Celestia did mention it. But I think you were still in shock that the castle was going to be finished early. Hello Sunset,” he said giving the unicorn with Twilight a respectful nod.”

“Spike?” Sunset said. “Wow, Twilight said you were a dragon here and that you'd grown recently, but I definitely wasn’t expecting you to be quite so big…”

“Wait… Sunset Shimmer!?” Lemon Hearts exclaimed looking at the other unicorn, wide eyed. Dawn looked between them wondering who this Sunset was.

Sunset seemed surprised as well. “Yes… do you know me?”

Lemon Hearts nodded. “Well I know of you anyway. Everypony who went to Princess Celestia’s School knew who you were!”

Twilight blushed. “Well… uh.”

Rainbow snickered a bit, knowing that Twilight hadn’t ever heard of Sunset Shimmer until Celestia had told her after her crown was stolen.

“Almost everpony,” Lemon Hearts amended giving the princess a smirk as well.

“Why would everypony know her.” Dawn asked, wondering who this Sunset was.

“Oh, right, introductions!” Twilight exclaimed. “I suppose you already met, but this is Lemon Hearts, she was a classmate of mine at Princess Celestia’s School.”

“And friend,” Lemon Hearts added.

Twilight grimaced. “I wasn’t a very good friend back then.”

She grinned and stepped over to the princess’s side, putting a hoof around her in a brief hug. “Good friend or not, you were still our friend.”

Twilight looked up at her with a grateful smile, then looked back at the fillies and gestured to the other new arrival. “And this is Sunset Shimmer. She was my predecessor as Princess Celestia’s personal student,” she said and then turned to the two unicorns. “And this is Winter Belle, Dawn Melody, and of course Rainbow Dash.”

“Hello.” Dawn and her sister chorused while Rainbow just gave a wave with her wing.

“I’m pleased to meet you.” Sunset said sincerely. “Twilight told me a bit about what happened to you. Sounds like you two had a rough time.”

“It was difficult.” Winter agreed. “But things have turned for the better recently.”

“What about you, Sunset? Where have you been?” Lemon Hearts asked curiously. “I remember when you suddenly disappeared, there were all kinds of rumors going around the school but nopony knew for sure what happened.”

Sunset sighed. “I kind of got in a stupid fight with Princess Celestia and… well I ended up running away.”

“You ran away? But… wouldn’t Princess Celestia have sent the guard looking for you?”

Twilight frowned and glanced around the entry hall to make sure it was only members of the guard present outside of their group. “Actually, if you’re going to be the head of staff here; you probably should know since it’s likely we’ll end up moving the portal here.”

“Portal?” Lemon Hearts repeated surprised.

Twilight nodded. “When Sunset ran away, she went through a portal to another world that only opens every thirty moons. That’s why Princess Celestia didn’t search for her. She knew where she was, just didn’t have any way to reach her. I actually went to the other side the last time the portal opened and met Sunset then. She was going to stay there, but some complications recently forced her to come back when the portal opened again.”

Dawn looked at Sunset curiously. Other than the one Apple Bloom’s dragon friend used, she hadn’t even known there were portals that went to other worlds; Sunset had really been living in another world? and Twilight had gone to that world as well?

Lemon Hearts seemed just as surprised. “You’ve been living in another world?”

Sunset glanced at Twilight looking a little unsure, but then nodded. “Uh, yeah.”

“Wow… Most ponies thought you’d just been banished or something.”

“I might have been if I had stayed… Princess Celestia was pretty mad at me.” Sunset said sadly.

Lemon Hearts shivered. “I’d probably run away too if I ever made Princess Celestia mad at me… So you’re going to have this portal moved here?” She asked Twilight. 

“Yes, we need to do some diagnostics on it. You see it’s supposed to only open every thirty moons, but this time it opened again only seventeen moons after the last time. But Sunset tells me it was a full thirty moons on the other side.”

“Oh… that’s not good; sounds like the temporal alignment is off.”

Rainbow snorted. “Yeah, of course that’s what it means…” She said feigning understanding.

Twilight gave her a smile. “Some of us took advanced teleportation and portal dynamics.” She said and turned back to Lemon Hearts. “But yeah, we need to see if we can figure out what’s wrong and fix it if we can. Having the portal here will definitely make that easier.”

“Alright. So we’ll probably have a portal to another world in the castle. I’m assuming you’ll put it in one of the secure storage rooms?” Lemon Hearts asked.

“Yes, at least once they’re finished. I may have to keep it in the residence wing at first; it shouldn’t be dangerous, the portal just acts as a kind of magic mirror when it’s closed.”

Lemon Hearts nodded. “Still, it’s good to be aware of it. Alright, well I’ll let you all get back to what you were doing; I need to see how many rooms are finished in the staff quarters, so I know what I have to work with; then I’ll see about getting your castle staff up and running.”

“Alright. It’s good seeing you again, Lemon Hearts… I really should get in contact with some of the other girls from Celestia’s school.”

“Well Lyra should be easy. She lives just down the road from Rarity’s,” Lemon Hearts told her with a grin.

Twilight’s eyes widened. “What!?”

Spike laughed. “I was actually talking to Lyra just the other day.”

“Wait, Lyra went to school with you too?” Rainbow asked sounding surprised.

“You know Lyra!?” Twilight demanded.

“Well, yeah. I mean we’ve met a few times; she actually introduced me to Lemon Hearts at a party a while back, and another mare named Minuette.”

“You’ve met Minuette too!?”

“Yeah, Lyra introduced them as her friends from Canterlot.”

Twilight just stared at her marefriend a moment more in shock, then looked back at Lemon Hearts. “How long has Lyra lived in Ponyville!?”

“Since before you moved here.” Lemon Hearts told her with a grin. “I’ll talk to you later.” With that she trotted off toward the wing that held the staff quarters.

Twilight looked at Spike. “When were you going to tell me that one of my old friends lives here in Ponyville.”

Spike just laughed and gave Twilight a pat on the shoulder.

“Oh Twi…” Rainbow said putting a wing around her and giving her a squeeze.

Sunset smirked. “I take it, the Princess of Friendship title was definitely a more recent thing then?”

Twilight blushed… “I’ve learned a lot since I moved to Ponyville.”

Dawn and Winter both giggled.

“Anyway, we’re going to check on what Rarity’s doing, then I was going to take Sunset to pick one of the friends and family guest suites for her to stay in.” Twilight told Spike and the fillies.

Looking up at Sunset curiously, Dawn couldn’t help asking. “Thou… you are going to stay here at the castle with us?”

Sunset smiled and nodded. “Yeah, for now anyway.”

“We might as well join you; we were just going to look in and see how the ballroom is coming, and that’s on the way to the guest suites Rarity was working on.” Spike said and gestured toward the appropriate hall. “This way.”

The ballroom was a bit of a disappointment for Dawn as it was still very much a mess. There was scaffolding around most the walls and very little of the decorative work was completed. Even the stained-glass window that dominated one end of the room was still being worked on, and mostly blocked from view. They didn’t spend long there before moving on.

“It’s too bad the castle’s not going to be finished in time for Nightmare Night; you could have a party for the whole town in the entry hall and ballroom alone.” Rainbow said as they made their way toward the guest suites.

“What is Nightmare Night?” Winter asked. Dawn was curious as well; it sounded like a holiday, but why would ponies want to have a holiday celebrating nightmares?

Rainbow looked back at them in surprise, then turned to Twilight. “You haven’t told them about Nightmare Night yet? It’s only a few weeks away!”

Twilight shrugged. “It hasn’t come up.” She said continuing down the hall. “Nightmare Night is a very popular holiday. The town has a big party every year; ponies dress up in costumes and there’s all kinds of spooky decorations. It’s a lot of fun,” Twilight told them then added thoughtfully; “I wonder if Luna is going to come be Nightmare Moon again.”

“Princess Luna?”

“Yes… I told you the story about how she became Nightmare Moon, and how our friends, Rainbow and I saved her with the elements of Harmony?”

Winter and Dawn both nodded.

“Well Nightmare Night used to be the Blood Moon festival, but after Luna became Nightmare Moon, the name was changed and it became a celebration of her first defeat. She was… a little upset about that the first year after we saved her. She eventually got into the spirit of the holiday and enjoyed it, but now that she looks like Nightmare Moon again… I wonder how she’ll handle it.”

“You think she’ll be coming to Ponyville again this year?” Rainbow asked curiously.

“Actually I haven’t heard yet,” Twilight shrugged. “I guess I could ask. I know a lot of the local foals would love it if she did.”

“You said ponies dress up in costumes. What kinds of costumes?” Dawn asked curiously.

“Oh all kinds; some ponies go as monsters or other creatures, some as just other famous ponies. Some ponies even dressed up as me last year,” Twilight said with a bit of a blush. “My first year in Ponyville I actually went dressed up as Starswirl…”

The fillies looked at her in surprise. “The leader of the Mortal Coalition?” Winter asked a little surprised.

“He lived another thousand years after… after the purge. He’s mostly known now for the many innovations he made with magic in his later years.” Twilight told them. “Most ponies don’t even know about the purge.”

Sunset nodded. “I actually studied Starswirl’s life for a bit so I found out about the purge then, and Princess Celestia told me a little about it as well. But it’s not something taught in most schools.”

“Most don’t even know about Starswirl.” Spike added with a smirk. “Princess Luna was the only one who recognized her costume the entire night. Twilight was talking about holding history classes she was so annoyed…”

“Not even considering his involvement in the Purge, he was still one of the most influential wizards of all time!”

Sunset and the fillies grinned a little at Twilight’s frustration. “I suppose he didst try to protect us…” Dawn said recalling the message that he’d left in their prison.

“So, for Nightmare Night, would we need to dress up as well?” Winter asked getting back to the holiday.

“Everypony does, it’s a lot of fun,” Twilight told them. “We’ll have to talk about costume ideas later. Rarity usually helps us with making the costumes.”

“You mean she takes our ideas and makes them completely herself.” Rainbow corrected.

“Yeah… so we probably should come up with some ideas soon so she’ll have plenty of time. Speaking of, looks like she’s in here.” Twilight said spotting one of the guest suites that the door was open.

Dawn and Winter followed Twilight into the entry room of the suite and looked around. While the guest rooms in the residence wing had been nicely furnished, this suite was much more opulent, with ornately carved wooden furniture, decorative golden light fixtures and elegant drapes hanging over the windows.

“See what I mean?” Rainbow said.

“This isn’t that bad, Rainbow. It actually looks a lot like the guest suites at Canterlot Castle,” Twilight told her.

“That’s good to hear, darling!” Rarity said emerging from one of the suite’s bedrooms. “That’s exactly what I was going for!”

“Rainbow was worried you were going overboard,” Twilight said giving her marefriend a smile.

“Isn’t this a bit much!” Rainbow protested.

“Rainbow, darling, you need to understand that these rooms may at times host visiting dignitaries from other nations. As such, we must put our best hoof forward,” Rarity told her.

“It’s looking great, Rarity.” Twilight said still looking around.

“Thank you, I thought with you being the princess of friendship, that it would be appropriate to represent all the major cities, so I tried to decorate each suite in a style reminiscent of some of the most luxurious rooms you’d find in each city. This is the Canterlot Suite.”

“Oh, that’s a great idea!”

“You didn’t even know!?” Rainbow exclaimed.

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Rainbow, I gave this project to Rarity because I trust her with this kind of thing.”

“Well you definitely got the Canterlot look down. This looks just like some of the nicer suites I remember at the castle.” Sunset said looking around.

“Thank you…” Rarity said then looked again her eyes widening slightly. “Sunset Shimmer?”

“Uh, yeah.”

“Sunset had some trouble when she ran into the other world’s Sunset Shimmer, so she decided it would be best to come back.” Twilight explained and turned to Sunset. “Obviously you already met the other world’s version but allow me to introduce my good friend and one of Equestria’s premier designers: Rarity.”

“I’m pleased to meet you.” Sunset said, trying to be polite.

“Charmed, darling.” Rairty said smiling. “I do hope you’ve managed alright since that whole incident with Twilight’s crown.”

“It’s been alright,” Sunset said with a shrug. “It’s actually been a full thirty moons over there, so I’ve had plenty of time to make amends and I even became friends with that world’s versions of you, Rainbow and I guess the rest of Twilight’s friends.”

“Oh you did!? That’s wonderful, darling. In that case, I’m sorry you had to return and leave your friends.”

Sunset smiled sadly. “Yeah, Twilight said she’d see if she can figure out a way for us to at least stay in touch; but I’m going to miss them.”

“I was going to let Sunset take one of the residence wing guest suites for now.” Twilight told her.

Rarity nodded. “Of course, they’re all furnished already, and I kept them more cozy and homey feeling like you asked.”

“They are nice, I like them,” Dawn said with a nod.

“They are not as fancy as this. But very nice,” Winter agreed.

Sunset shrugged. “I’ve been living in a cheap studio apartment; pretty sure anything here will be an upgrade. Besides, even in Canterlot I had my room remodeled with simpler, more functional furnishings.”

Twilight smiled. “Well, it looks like you’ve got this well in hoof, so we’ll leave you to it. We’ll just get Sunset settled in one of the guest suites and get back to work moving the rest of my things over.”

“Just try not to go too crazy.” Rainbow said with a sigh.

“Relax, Darling, I may not be an interior designer by trade, but I know how to match styles.” Rarity told her. 

“Oh, and I guess we’ll need to talk about Nightmare Night costumes sometime soon.”

“Yes, preferably in the next week or so,” she agreed. “It was nice to meet you properly, Sunset, and I’d be glad to help you with a Nightmare Night costume as well if you’d like.”

“I might take you up on that, thanks. It was nice meeting you as well.” Sunset said and followed the rest of the group out.

Dawn found herself walking next to Sunset and they headed back toward the Residence wing. Looking over at her she grinned as a thought occurred to her.

Sunset raised a brow seeing her.

“I’m Dawn, and you are Sunset.”

Staring at her for a moment, finally Sunset smiled. “Heh, yeah, so I guess I should go before Twilight, and you should follow after her.”

“Oh, very funny!” Twilight said with a roll of her eyes while Rainbow snickered, then laughed outright as Sunset took the lead and Dawn moved to right behind the princess.
> Chapter 13: A Trip North
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 13: A Trip North
***


“There is snow!” Dawn exclaimed excitedly as she stood on her hind legs on the padded train bench to look out the window. Having finished moving into the castle, Twilight had decided it would be for the best to check on the portal sooner rather than later. She’d also decided that if they were going to the Crystal Empire, she might as well take the fillies along to meet Cadence and Shining Armor. They’d be missing a few days of school, but Twilight didn’t want to wait, in case something was seriously wrong with the portal.

Twilight smiled indulgently. “We’re going through the Crystal Mountains, there will probably be snow all the rest of the trip.”

“It is very pretty,” Winter agreed looking over her sister’s shoulder.

“Until I came back through the portal, I’d never been this far north before.” Sunset said looking out her own window on the bench across from them. “It is a pretty relaxing ride with nice scenery.”

Rainbow yawned sitting next to Twilight. “Yeah, but after a few dozen times, it gets kind of boring.”

Sunset snorted. “You just don’t know how to relax, do you, Rainbow.”

“Sure I do. I nap all the time! On clouds!”

“And in Applejack’s trees.” Twilight added, giving her a nudge with her wing.

“Only when there’s no clouds available.”

Sunset laughed softly. “You’re so much like the Rainbow I knew. I hope we can get in contact with them…”

“Well the mirrors we made work, it’s just a matter of finding a way to open the portal again.” Twilight said with a shrug. “And I think I can figure it out.”

“The mirrors work here; we don’t know if they’ll work through the portal or when the portal is closed.”

“We’ll figure it out,” Twilight assured her. “I just hope we can figure out why the temporal alignment is off.”

“Yeah… you told Cadence we’re coming?”

Twilight nodded. “And I did ask her not to say anything to Celestia about you being back.”

“Thanks.” Sunset said then stretched. “Got to say, I don’t know why you were complaining about them forcing you to take a private car. This is pretty nice.”

Winter looked over at Twilight with a grin. “Twilight does not like special treatment.”

“They always insist…” Twilight started but then her bracelet chimed, surprising them. Looking down, Twilight tapped the gem causing it to ping. “Twilight here.”

“Hey, princess.” Daring’s voice came through loud and clear. “Just reporting in. I’ve found another of the prisons, I’m heading in now.”

“Alright, Daring. We’re heading to the Crystal Empire at the moment, but I think we should still be in range. Just in case though, I asked Applejack to be a backup, so if you can’t contact me, just call her instead, and she should be able to reach me.”

“Got it. I’ll report back in when I have all the traps disabled.”

“I’ll be here. If I don’t hear from you in a couple hours, I’ll assume something went wrong and contact Rekaj for the failsafe.” Twilight told her.

“Understood. I doubt it will come to that, though, this one’s traps looked pretty easy.”

“I hope so.” Twilight agreed.

“Alright, Daring out.” The bracelet made two descending chimes and fell silent.

Sunset looked at Twilight raising a brow. “Daring?”

“Oh… uh, Daring Do, she’s been helping with the other alicorn prisons.” Twilight told her.

“Daring Do? From the novel series?”

“The books are totally real! And she’s just as awesome in real life!” Rainbow told her. “I went with her on the last trip.”

Sunset gave her a skeptical look. “You’re telling me those adventure novels are true stories?”

“They really are.” Twilight said with a nod. “Daring has just kept it a secret, publishing the books as ‘A.K. Yearling.’ But they’re actually just records of her adventures. She’s going to reveal the truth publicly soon since she’s helping with this alicorn prison project, but hasn’t quite yet.”

“Alicorn prison project?”

“She’s searching out all the other purge era alicorn prisons; making sure they’re still holding and disabling the traps that the mortal coalition left behind. Starswirl left scrolls in the fillies’ prison with the locations of all the alicorn prisons, the traps on them, and some information on the alicorn imprisoned inside each one. A lot of the traps were pretty deadly though, so I’m having Daring deactivate them. We’ll find some other way to keep ponies from disturbing the prisons.”

“So far all the prisons we’ve gotten into were still holding.” Rainbow put in. “The trip I went with, we found two of them and cleared out the traps, but the third, one of the trap rooms was collapsed.

Sunset looked between them a moment. “Huh, so there’s a bunch of ancient alicorns still imprisoned?”

“Nearly three dozen, and most are pretty horrible.” Twilight said shaking her head.

“Most of the alicorns of the high council were not nice ponies.” Winter said softly.

Sunset looked over at her. “That’s right, you would have known these guys, huh?”

“We did only meet a few of them, and did not know them well, but we did hear stories about many of them.” Winter told her.

“Yeah, some of what those scrolls said about them,” Rainbow said. “I almost feel like we were lucky it was Achlys that got out first; I mean, sure she was one tough cookie, but at least she didn’t go around torturing and killing ponies just for fun. I mean, in the end, wasn’t there only one pony who died?”

“Well, this time. The first time Achlys attacked Canterlot there was the battle of the Fetlock Hills.” Twilight reminded her.

“That was Achlys?” Sunset asked curiously. “I remember hearing about that battle a lot when I was a filly… there were at least four foals at the orphanage where I grew up that lost their parents in the battle.”

Twilight and Spike both winced, and both fillies looked down. “Yes… that was Achlys.” Twilight said softly.

“Dang… I heard that half the guard was wiped out in that single battle, but that Celestia won in the end.”

“It was more of a draw.” Spike said with a sigh. “Achlys escaped.” As Sunset didn’t know about his past, he didn’t mention that her escape back then was thanks to him.

“But Rainbow may be right. Some of these other alicorns, while they may not be as truly dangerous as Achlys, are much more brutal.” Twilight said to shift the conversation away from Achlys. “That’s part of why we’re checking on all the prisons; to make sure none of the others have escaped. We want to make sure there’s not another ancient alicorn lurking out there, somewhere. Once the rest of my guard comes to Ponyville, I think we’ll be sending squads out to the prisons that Daring wasn’t able to get into with a unicorn to at least check to make sure the prison is holding.”

Sunset nodded, understanding. “Yeah, sounds like a good idea.


~~~


Winter and Dawn stared up in awe as the group made their way to the crystal palace escorted by a squad of Twilight’s guard. The crystal spire was gleaming in the late afternoon sun as they reached the courtyard of the crystal heart beneath the arched legs of the palace.

“So is the crystal effect an illusion… or are the crystal ponies actually transparent?” Sunset asked softly, looking at a pair of crystal guards watching the courtyard. The fillies looked over at Twilight, clearly curious as well.

“It’s an illusion caused by the crystal heart. When it’s fully activated it causes everypony within its range to have that crystal look. But since the crystal ponies have lived under the protection of the crystal heart for generations, the illusion has basically been absorbed and become a part of their own magic. Though for them it varies by their emotions; the happier they are, the more crystal they appear.” Twilight explained as they approached the main entrance to the palace.

One of the guards stepped forward just as they reached the entrance and bowed. “Princess Twilight Sparkle; Her highness, Princess Cadence, sent word that you would be arriving. If you’d all follow me.”

Twilight smiled and nodded. “Lead the way.” The crystal pony guard gave a salute to her, then a second to Captain Feather which she returned. He then led the way into the castle, Twilight’s guards staying behind at the entrance. As a show of unity between Equestria and the Empire, they would be entrusting Twilight’s protection to the Crystal Empire Royal Guard while they were in the castle, the same as they would in Canterlot. Feather had explained it when they’d gotten off the train so that Twilight wouldn’t be caught off guard. It also gave Feather and the squad that had accompanied them some time to relax.

The Crystal guards led them through the halls of the palace not to the throne room, but instead to the royal quarters. There they found Princess Cadence and Shining Armor waiting in the royal suite’s large study, a nice fire going in the fireplace. Twilight led the group inside, smiling when she saw Cadence.

“You made it!” Cadence said happily. “No trouble I trust?”

“No it was a nice relaxing ride.” Twilight assured her. “It’s good to see you, Cadence, Shiny.”

“So these the two fillies we’ve heard so much about?” Shining asked.

Twilight nodded. “Yes, let me introduce; Winter Belle, and Dawn Melody.” She gestured to each in turn with one wing, then turned to the fillies. “Girls this is Princess Cadence, and her husband, my older brother, Shining Armor.”

“We are pleased to meet you!” The fillies gave a respectful bow.

“We are as well.” Cadence replied smiling. “I hope you’re enjoying modern Equestria, from the sound of things it must be quite an improvement over when you come from.”

“Much better!” Dawn said nodding vigorously.

“Oh good. And I hope you’ll enjoy your visit here to the Crystal Empire as well.”

“It’s very shiny!”

Cadence giggled. “It is that.”

Shining smiled as well then looked up at the one other unicorn in the room. “So, you are back, you old troublemaker.” He said with a bit of a grin to show he didn’t mean anything by it.

Sunset laughed nervously. “Uh… yeah, sorry about pranking you so much back in Canterlot. And… sorry for how I treated you back then, Princess. You definitely didn’t deserve it; I let my jealousy get the better of me.”

Cadence seemed surprised, but smiled all the same. “It is quite alright, Sunset; it’s in the past and as far as I’m concerned it can stay there. How about we just start anew.”

Sunset looked up and nodded. “I’d like that.”

“And honestly, your pranks made what would have been a rather boring post a lot more interesting,” Shining told her. “We had quite a few laughs in the barracks because of them.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, with the exception of the ones involving paint, most weren’t that bad. It actually became a bit of a routine for the squad guarding your Tower to report what pranks you played on them each night in the barracks before everypony turned in for the night. We had a lot of laughs because of it.”

“Heh… well I’m glad I provided you guys with some entertainment I guess.”

Cadence smiled a moment more then looked over at Twilight. “So, you said in your letter that you need to check on the portal?”

Twilight nodded. “Yes, it’s only been seventeen moons since I went through, the portal shouldn’t have opened again yet. But obviously it did, and Sunset says it was thirty moons on the other side. So it seems the Temporal alignment got thrown off.” Twilight explained though she had included the explanation in the letter as well. “So we need to check on that; and while we’re at it, we’d also like to try and get Sunset back in contact with her friends on the other side.”

“I see. Well, I’m glad to hear you made some friends, Sunset. I remember finding Princess Celestia pacing and worrying about you not making any friends more than once.”

“Pacing, really?”

“Pacing and mumbling to herself trying to come up with some crazy plan to get you to make some friends,” Cadence confirmed. “She does that a lot, actually, when she’s exceptionally worried about something or somepony close to her. I’ve caught her pacing and worrying about Twilight as well, and I’m sure she’s done the same for me at times.”

“Heh…”

“You have nothing to worry about, you know. Princess Celestia still cares a great deal about you; she’ll be ecstatic to see you again.”

Sunset looked down. “I… I just need some time.”

Cadence gave her a reassuring smile. “I understand; I won’t say anything about you being back, but try not to worry.”

“Thanks.” Sunset said softly, her throat suddenly feeling tight.

Twilight smiled putting a wing around Sunset in a brief embrace. “Anyway, since Sunset was able to come through the portal, we think it managed to realign itself, so it shouldn’t be dangerous, but even so I thought it would be for the best if we check on it right away, and I was hoping you, Shining and Spike could show the fillies around the Crystal Empire while we work on that.”

“We would love to.” Cadence said with a smile for the fillies. “I made sure to clear most of my schedule for today.” She glanced up at Spike. “And I’m sure the ponies of the Crystal Empire will be excited to see how much Spike the Brave and Glorious has grown,” she said with a good natured grin for the title that her subjects had given him.

“Spike the Brave and Glorious?” Winter repeated looking up at him with a raised brow.

“You haven’t told them about that yet?” Cadence asked in surprise, giving Spike a knowing look. “Well why don’t we get Twilight and Sunset started on their project, then we can tell you about how Spike the Brave and Glorious, saved the Crystal Empire while we show you around.”


~~~


Rainbow yawned, making Twilight smile.

“You know, you could have gone with the others, might have been more exciting for you.” Sunset said with a roll of her eyes while casting another scan on the portal.

“Nah, I’ve seen the empire plenty.” Rainbow said and yawned again. “Besides, I wanted to be here in case something went wrong.

“Not much that could go wrong really, we’re just doing diagnostics for the most part.” Sunset told her.

“Figure out what’s wrong yet?”

“So far it doesn’t look like anything is wrong.” Twilight told her. “The portal seems fine, even the temporal alignment seems fine. So whatever caused it to shift doesn’t seem to have done any permanent damage. I just don’t get what could have caused…” She paused for a moment then her hoof met her forehead. “I’m an idiot!”

“What?” Sunset asked. “You realize something.”

“Yeah.” Twilight said and looked over at Rainbow. “Apple Bloom.”

Rainbow looked back not understanding at first, then her eyes widened. “You think her time magic is messing with the portal?”

“Wait wait, Apple Bloom? As in Applejack’s little sister!?” Sunset asked looking confused. “She has time magic!?”

Twilight nodded. “You haven’t met him, but we’ve had another interdimensional visitor recently named Rekaj, who gave Apple Bloom access to his magic. Magic which includes some incredible time magic.”

“It’s pretty awesome.” Rainbow agreed.

“You think she’s used it enough to account for the amount the alignment is shifted.” Sunset asked.

Twilight frowned. “No; she’s used it a lot, but I don’t think it’s enough to account for over a year. My guess is that every time she’s turned back time, it’s broken the alignment; the portal then tries to realign itself but each time it’s off either an amount in some way proportional to time shift Apple Bloom caused; or possibly random amount each time. The good news is that it does seem to be pretty resilient at reestablishing the alignment, because if it is Apple Bloom’s magic doing it, it would have had the alignment broken dozens, possibly hundreds of times, and it's still managed to recover.”

“Hmm. It does sound like the most likely cause.” Sunset agreed.

Twilight nodded. “When we get the portal back to Ponyville we’ll have Apple Bloom or Rekaj help with an experiment or two to make sure, but for now I think it is the most likely cause.”

“In that case, as far as opening the portal goes, I think I found something that might help.” Sunset said then lit her horn highlighting a section of the enchantments on the mirror. “This looks like an array to gather and store magic.”

Twilight lit her own horn scanning the enchantment Sunset was highlighting. “You’re right… hmm.” She studied the enchantment for a moment and then some of the connecting enchantments. “Yes, that’s exactly what it is… and it looks like it’s almost half full again.”

“It must not take long to charge,” Sunset said.

“And only holds enough magic to keep the portal open a few days at a time,” Twilight agreed.

“But if it charges that quickly, why the thirty moons between opening?”

Twilight frowned thoughtfully. That was a good question. She continued to scan the enchantment, trying to discern what each part did. The difficult part about permanent portals like this, was that half the enchantment was on the other side. “Of course! The other side!”

Sunset looked at her curiously.

Twilight scanned the enchantment again looking specifically at the parts that were connecting to the other side. After a few moments, she found what she was looking for. “There it is! The trigger that opens the portal!” Twilight said highlighting it for Sunset. “I think its connected to another storage array on the other side that powers that side of the portal. And I bet that because that world doesn’t have nearly as much magic, it takes thirty moons for it to charge.”

“But… that would mean that that world has its own magic.”

Twilight nodded. “But it’s likely a much weaker field, so the humans never evolved to have a connection to it.”

“You think so?”

“That’s my guess. The good news is we should be able to set off the trigger and open the portal, but since that side has only had a few days to store magic, it will probably only open for a few minutes.”

“That’s not much time.”

Twilight nodded. “I know, but it should be long enough for us to send the mirror through… and then… maybe,” she thought for a moment trying to fit together the bits of magical knowledge that she knew came from Achlys. While the alicorn had had nothing to do with the portal, there were parts of the enchantment that were familiar, and she had worked with portals and other forms of instantaneous travel. “I think we might be able to use the connection between the mirrors to feed magic through the portal to charge the other side. Possibly even keep the portal open indefinitely if we need to.”

“You think so?”

“Yeah, but we can work on that later. For now, let’s see if this works so we can send the mirror through.”

Sunset nodded. “Alright.”

“So how do you know one of your friends will find the mirror if you’re just going to throw it through the portal?” Rainbow asked looking at the pair of mirror compacts curiously.

“I’m going to enchant it to follow the bonds of Sunset’s friendship to the nearest of her friends.” Twilight told her. “It’s actually not that hard if you’ve studied the amity arcanum.”

Sunset snorted. “That’s one field of magic I definitely don’t know much about.”

“I don’t think anypony does, other than Twilight,” Rainbow said with a smirk.

“Well… actually, Achlys knew a lot about it… she even knew some things that I didn’t.” Twilight told her.

“What!? Her, really!?” Rainbow looked at her in shock.

“She studied all forms of magic,” Twilight told her.

“Achlys, as in the ancient alicorn you were talking about; the one that attacked Canterlot?” Sunset asked.

Twilight nodded.

“How do you know what kind of magic she studied?”

“Oh… uh… Well it’s public knowledge so I suppose I might as well tell you. During the incident with Achlys, she… well, killed me.”

Sunset raised a brow. “Killed you?”

Twilight nodded. “But I was brought back by the Tree of Harmony.”

“You were brought back to life?” Sunset said not sure whether to believe it or not.

“It’s true,” Rainbow said stepping to Twilight’s side and putting a wing around her. “We were all pretty devastated. But there were these keys and a chest with six locks that the Tree gave to us, and after… after it was all over, we got the last key and opened the chest. Inside was this seed that grew into a flower and when the flower opened, there was Twilight alive again.”

“Really?”

Twilight nodded. “But what isn’t widely known, is that when the Tree brought me back, it also gave me all of Achlys’ magical knowledge.”

Sunset’s eyes widened. “All the knowledge of an ancient alicorn?”

“And not just any alicorn; Achlys spent most of her life studying magic; she knew more than any other pony that ever lived.”

“Dang… you probably don’t need my help at all for this then, huh.”

Twilight smiled. “Well this portal was made almost five hundred years after Achlys was captured and imprisoned; so while she definitely knew many of the magic principles that the portal is based on, she didn’t actually know about this kind of portal.” Twilight frowned as she recalled some related magic. “Although, she did know a few ways to create gateways from one place to another and also a method of long-range teleportation…”

“Long-range? How long of range?” Sunset asked interested.

“Theoretically almost anywhere in the world, so long as you know where you’re going. It does take some setup; it requires a physical array at the caster’s starting location, and it does still take more magic the further you go, so most unicorns probably would still have limited range; not the entire world. I’m definitely going to have to try that out though.”

“Definitely!” Sunset agreed. “I’m surprised you haven’t already!”

“Well, I didn’t know about it. I have all this knowledge, but I usually don’t know it’s there unless I specifically think about the subject. Like now that I’m thinking about teleportation and portals I’m recalling all kinds of variations and special techniques. There’s one fire portal that I’m pretty sure is the spell that the changeling queen used to capture me during the invasion a couple years back.”

Sunset looked at her sharply. “Hold on. Changelings are real!?”

Rainbow snorted. “Heck yeah, they are. The queen captured Princess Cadence and took her place. But Twilight totally figured it out.”

“Not that any of you believed me.” Twilight said raising a brow at Rainbow.

“Heh… yeah, sorry about that, Twi.”

Twilight smiled and leaned over to give her a quick kiss. “I’ve long since forgiven you and everypony else. But that doesn’t mean I won’t remind you of it from time to time.”

“I suppose we deserve that.”

“That was actually just a month or so before the Crystal Empire reappeared. And then a few months after that I became an alicorn and was crowned princess, then you came back and stole my crown… it was an eventful year.”

“Hasn’t really slowed down either.”

“No, I suppose it hasn’t.”

“Heh… maybe I should have stayed in the other world; sounds like things are just as crazy here.” Sunset said with a wry grin.

“It’s really not that bad. Anyway, should we see if we’re right about the trigger to get the portal open?”

“Yeah, let’s try it.”

Twilight nodded and lit her horn again focusing on the portal. “Let’s see, this part here definitely looks like the trigger, so if we feed a little magic into it right about here, that should activate it.”

Sunset nodded in agreement and Twilight went ahead and channeled a small flow of magic into the mirror. Almost immediately there was a flash and for a moment the surface of the mirror seemed to swirl. It was only a moment though, then it settled back into appearing as a normal mirror.

“I think that did it.” Twilight said doing a quick scan with her magic. “Yep, it’s open, but there’s no telling how long it will last, so lets send the mirror through.” Twilight took one of the mirror compacts that had a note attached to it, and cast a spell she’d worked up just a few days before. Almost immediately when the spell was cast, the compact leapt into the air and sped through the portal, disappearing with a flash.

“Nothing to do but wait I suppose. Sunset said picking up the second compact in her magic.”

“How long is it going to take?” Rainbow asked.

“It will go to the nearest of Sunset’s friends, so it really depends on how close they are to the portal. The note had instructions on how to call Sunset with it so it shouldn’t take them long to figure it out once they get it.”

“If they’re not too freaked out by a magic flying compact chasing them to read the note.” Sunset said wryly.

“I suppose there is that…” Twilight allowed.

“You really think they’ll freak out?” Rainbow asked raising a brow. “I thought they all saw a bunch of magic when you took Twilight’s crown.”

“Depends on who it is,” Sunset told her, but before she could say more the compact began to chime. Eagerly, Sunset opened it activating the communication spell. Instead of her own face a familiar blue skinned and rainbow haired girl appeared in the mirror.

“Hello?”

“Rainbow!” Sunset said smiling, glad to see her friend again, though it had only been a little over a week.

Rainbow Dash in the compact looked at her seeming to recognize her voice and her eyes widened. “Sunset!? Is that really you!?”

Sunset blushed realizing that this would be the first time they’d see her in her birth form. They all knew of course; the topic had come up often enough over last couple years. “Yeah, it’s me; the real me.”

“Hah! You really are a cute little unicorn!”

“Yeah, yeah…” Sunset said good naturedly. “So, uh. Obviously I got back to Equestria safely and found Princess Twilight. She made these mirrors so we can stay in touch. If it works with the portal closed anyway. We’re not sure about that.”

“Awesome!”

“Are any of the other girls around?” Sunset asked.

“Oh, hey yeah! I’m actually on my way to AJ’s, we’re all meeting up there!”

“Great! It…” She broke off as a flash from the portal mirror got her attention.

“The portal just closed.” Twilight said after a quick scan.

Sunset looked back at the mirror. “You still there?”

“Yeah…”

“Oh good!” Sunset said feeling a great deal of relief. “The portal just closed again so looks like the mirrors still work when it’s closed!”

“Awesome! Well hang on just a sec; I’m almost to AJ’s, looks like everyone else is here already!” The view on the mirror suddenly began moving violently as they heard the sound of Rainbow running the rest of the way, then they heard a door open, and they got a view of a large livingroom where the rest of Sunset’s friends were gathered. “Hey girls, check out what zipped up to me out of nowhere on my way here!”

“What is it, Darling?” They heard Rarity ask.

“It’s a communicator! And look who’s on the other side!” The view shifted again and this time Rainbow was in the foreground with all the friends looking curiously at them from behind her.

“Hi girls!” Sunset said smiling.

“Sunset Shimmer!” Pinkie exclaimed.

“What… Sunset, is that really you?” Applejack asked recognizing her voice.

“Yep, it’s me!” Sunset told them.

“Oh my!” Rarity started but didn’t have a chance to say more as Fluttershy suddenly moved closer. 

“You look adorable!” she said, her face taking up nearly half the mirror.

Sunset laughed and levitated the mirror out a little and turning slightly so they could see all of her. “Yeah, this the real me!”

“Oh my! Darling, you’re not wearing any clothing!” Rarity said her eyes going wide.

“Of course not; we’re ponies! Most ponies don’t wear clothes unless it’s a special occasion!” Sunset said rolling her eyes. “Even the local Rarity!”

“Local Rarity?”

“Yeah, remember I told you that there seemed to be a lot of people over there that had pony counterparts here?”

“Yesserooni!” Pinkie said nodding.

“Yes, I remember.” Rarity agreed a little more calmly.

“Well Princess Twilight’s friends here are all of your counterparts.” Sunset explained.

“Heh, and the pony you is a nudist apparently.” Applejack said with a smirk.

“Don’t laugh too hard AJ, your counterpart almost never wears anything but her pa’s hat!” Sunset told her grinning having met all Twilight’s friends before the trip up.

“Ok, I did not need that image in my head.” Rainbow said.

“And her sister only wears her bow in her hair.” Sunset added with a smirk.

“Definitely did not need to hear that!” Applejack groaned.

“What’s the big deal, running around naked is super fun!” Pinkie said and grabbed for her shirt.

“PINKIE NO!”

Sunset smiled as the friends rushed to prevent their carefree friend from stripping right then and there. “I know it hasn’t been that long, but it’s good to hear from you all; I’m glad this worked.”

“We are too, darling.” Rarity agreed.

“Oh hey, Rares!” Rainbow said and held up a jar.

“Oh dear… I said it again didn’t I.”


“Twice.” Rainbow said with a smug grin as Rarity dropped two coins in the jar.

“Heh. Old habits, eh Rares?” Sunset said smiling.

“What was that about?” Twilight asked a little confused.

“We’ve been trying to break Rarity’s habit of saying “darling” all the time.” Sunset explained. “Every time she does, she has to put a quarter in the jar.

Behind her Rainbow snorted. “Maybe we should try that with our Rares…”

“Oh yeah! Look who else is here!” Sunset said and turned the mirror toward Twilight.

Twilight smiled. “Hey girls! It’s been a while, so just in case you don’t recognize me; it’s me, Princess Twilight.”

“You’re a unicorn too?” Fluttershy asked eagerly.

“Uh, no, not exactly.” Twilight said opening her wings for them to see.

“Remember, I told you girls, the princesses are alicorns.” Sunset said from the side.

“Oh right, I think you did mention that.” Rarity said thoughtfully, managing not to end with darling this time.

“It’s good to see you all again.” Twilight said with a smile. “I’m glad this worked. And I was very glad to find out that leaving Sunset with you was the right choice. That you all became such good friends.”

“Of course.”

“We love our adorable little unicorn!” Rainbow said with a smirk.

Sunset snorted, turning the mirror back toward her. “Hey, I’ll have you know that I’m considered very sexy here!” She said striking a pose with one forehoof raised.

The Rainbow in the mirror snorted clearly trying not to laugh, but Sunset grinned wickedly. “Besides; look who else is here.” With that she turned the mirror to face the local Rainbow Dash.

“Uh, hey?” Rainbow said a little surprised at suddenly being included. In the mirror, the other Rainbow’s eyes went wide seeming to recognize who she was.

“Oh my! Is that…?”

“Rainbow Dash! Fastest pegasus in all of Equestria!” Rainbow introduced herself, jumping up and hovering in the air.

“Heh, looks like you make a darn cute pony too, Rainbow.” Applejack said with a smirk for her friend.

“I’d say I’m more awesome than cute!” Pony Rainbow objected.

“I think you’re all adorable!” Fluttershy said from the other side of the mirror.

Sunset laughed, turning the mirror back to herself. “I’m so glad this worked. Maybe in time we can send you all a mirror of your own, so we can all keep in touch. Until then, I guess you’ll have to decide who will hang on to this one. Twilight made it so that it will chime when I’m trying to contact you, then you just open it to answer. To call me, you just open it and say my name. And if we’re busy on one end or the other and miss a call, it will glow and display the person who called when you open it.”

“Sweet, seems simple enough.” The human Rainbow said with a nod.

“Oh, and when we do make mirrors for all of you; you should be able to use them to contact each other too, or even do group calls.” Sunset told them.

“Well we have our phones already, but I suppose the mirrors would make a good backup.” Rarity agreed.

“Just so long as we keep them secret.” Applejack said. “Magic has gotten pretty taboo as a topic around her of late.”

“Yeah, that would probably be for the best.” Sunset agreed. “Well, I’ll let you all get back to your plans for the day. We just wanted to test out the mirrors and see if they worked with the portal closed.”

“It was great hearing from you, d… I didn’t say it!” Rarity exclaimed as Rainbow held up the jar again threateningly.

“You were going too!” Pinkie said accusingly.

Sunset smiled. “Feel free to call any time; I’m not really busy here.”

“Oh, before you go!” Twilight said stepping into view next to Sunset. “We’ve had a slight problem with the portal; we think we know what caused it, but the temporal alignment has shifted significantly.”

“What does that mean?” The human Rainbow asked. 

“I know right!?” Pony Rainbow said from out of their view.

“It means that while it was apparently thirty moons over there, it’s only been about seventeen moons on this side.”

“Oh my, is it a problem?”

“Not a huge one, no, the portal seems stable now, and like I said, we think we know what caused it. But just in case, it would help if you keep track of how long it is between whenever you call Sunset; just a rough estimate would be fine. It will just help us know if it shifts again.”

“We can do that!” Applejack agreed for them.

“And if it seems like a long time since I last called, go ahead and call, in case the time shifted again,” Sunset told them.

“Will do!”

“Alright, it was great hearing from you all again, be sure to keep in touch.”

“We will!” Pinkie said enthusiastically.

Sunset smiled. “Talk to you later!”

“Later, Sunset!” They chorused from the other side.

Reluctantly, Sunset closed the mirror, ending the call.

“Yeah, that was kind of freaky,” Rainbow said after a moment.

“It was strange enough when I first met them all.” Twilight agreed. “I imagine it’s even worse seeing another you.”

“Yep, pretty freaky,” Sunset said recalling her own run-in with her counterpart.

“So… we done here?” Rainbow asked sounding a little impatient. 

Twilight smiled. “Yes, let’s go find Feather and see if she can lead us to the others.”
> Chapter 14: Keeping Promises
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 14: Keeping Promises
***


Transporting the mirror portal back to Twilight’s castle had proven to be a very simple matter, and for the time being it was placed in one of the extra rooms in the residence wing. With the portal closed there really wasn’t any danger, and the residence wing was under guard anyway.

Lemon Hearts had managed to get the castle staff started even with the limited rooms available in the staff quarters. It helped that other than the staff, there were only four residents for the time being, as the guard barracks wasn’t finished yet. Five if you counted Rainbow, but though she was a regular at the castle, she hadn’t actually moved in. 

Feather was looking forward to the barracks being completed. It would be good to have the full guard available and not just the bare minimum that were currently staying in the Ponyville inn. Right now, though, something else was on her mind. The fillies had gone out with their friends, with a squad of guards watching over them from a distance of course. She wasn’t sure if they’d realized yet that they had a guard escort wherever they went. Sunset was in the castle, though she was currently in her room practicing magic since she’d spent the past few years without it. Which left Twilight alone with Rainbow, currently in the main study, and while she didn’t particularly want to intrude, the princess had asked her to tell Rainbow, even if she seemed to have forgotten.

Stepping into the study, she found Twilight and Rainbow at the desk looking over the map of Alicorn prisons. “Princess?”

Twilight looked up from the map. “Oh, Feather; you need something? Daring just reported that she’s on her way back, so we were planning out which prisons to check next.”

“Ah, yeah, about that, Princess; you wanted me to tell Rainbow…”

“Tell me what?” Rainbow asked looking up as well.

Twilight looked at Feather confused at first then her eyes widened when she remembered. “Oh, right!”

“I didn’t want you to think I was avoiding it.”

“Oh, no, I’d completely forgotten with everything going on.” Twilight assured her, then cast a quick privacy spell to ensure no one would overhear.

“What’s this about?” Rainbow asked looking between them.

Feather took a deep breath. “To put it simply, I’m a changeling. Princess Twilight found out while we were searching for Apple Bloom a few weeks back, she wanted me to tell you.”

“What, really!?” Rainbow asked looking between her and Twilight seeming confused why Twilight wasn’t more upset. “Where’s the real Feather then!?”

“She is Feather, Rainbow, she made up her identity, she didn’t replace anyone.” Twilight told her.

Rainbow blinked in surprise. “Oh… I guess that’s okay.”

“I left the changeling kingdom years ago. I didn’t like the way things were going, and well, you’ve met the queen.” Feather explained.

“Heh, yeah.” Rainbow smirked. “Couldn’t stand her huh?”

Feather sighed and shook her head. “I decided to try to make my own way in Equestria. Feather was the identity I gave myself then. I uh… kind of panicked the first time somepony asked my name.”

Rainbow snorted, trying not to laugh.

“Yeah, I know, it’s a very generic name. Eventually I joined the guard. I was still stationed in Manehattan when the invasion happened, and I was as shocked as anypony else. I knew the queen was power hungry, but I never thought she’d try something that crazy.”

“It was pretty crazy.” Rainbow agreed. “So, uh… what now.”

Feather shrugged. “Twilight wanted you to know…”

Twilight nodded. “When I found out, she told me everything, and was completely honest about it. So, I told her she could stay on as my captain since she’s been nothing but loyal so far. However, we’re worried that if the Changeling Queen were to find out about her that she’d be considered a traitor, and her life could be in danger. So for now, it’s best that we keep Feather’s identity a secret. I’m going to inform Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, but otherwise keep it to yourself, okay Rainbow?”

With a nod, Rainbow looked back over at Feather. “Alright. You’ve been pretty cool so far. So I’ll keep your secret.”

“Thank you, Rainbow,” Feather said gratefully, then glanced at the map on the desk that showed the locations of all the alicorn prisons. “There is one other thing you should know.” She stepped over to the map and pointed to one of the marks far to the west of Equestria. “I already told Twilight, but if this mark is accurate, then that would place the prison directly under the main changeling hive.”

Rainbow’s eyes widened. “Really!? That’s where the hive is?”

“And I don’t know for certain, but I believe the Queen may know about the prison. There were some tunnels deep in the hive that were off limits to all but the queen and a few of the royal guard. Obviously, checking that prison may be a bit more complicated than the others.”

“Yeah…” Rainbow looked at the mark and the name written under it. “Mist, huh? Well hopefully old queeny doesn’t accidentally let him free.”

“I hope she doesn’t… I may have left but that doesn’t mean I don’t care about my former home. There’s a lot of changelings that probably wouldn’t be that bad if it weren’t for the queen. I wouldn’t want them to suffer or be destroyed by one of these ancient alicorns.”

“I can understand that.” Rainbow nodded, then looked over at Twilight. “So I’m guessing we’re not going to send Daring to check that one.”

“Not on her own, no. We’ll continue checking the remaining prisons in Equestria first. When we work our way out that far… I think we’ll have to go ourselves.”

Rainbow nodded. “Gotcha. You know I’ll be with you.”

Twilight smiled and nodded. “We’ll have to tell Daring why, but I think it will be a good idea to have her as well, along with a fair number of the guard.” She looked over at Feather. “Would the queen be able to detect you if you accompanied us?”

Feather shook her head. “She has spells that can force us back into our true form, but unless she suspects I’m a changeling already, she wouldn’t think to cast it on a random royal guard.”

“Alright, then there shouldn’t be any reason that you couldn’t come with. Is the hive hidden at all?”

“Not really, it’s just far enough from Equestria that ponies haven’t ever found it.”

“Good, then we can just claim that a scout spotted the hive when we were going to investigate the alicorn prison and we decided to approach them peacefully.” Twilight told her, then took a deep breath and let it out in a sigh. “It will have to wait, though. In fact, we may have to put checking the other prisons on hold for a while once winter hits.”

“Yeah, that’s true. The ones Daring and I found on the first trip were difficult enough; once everything is covered in a layer of snow it will be all but impossible.” Rainbow agreed.

“Exactly. In any case, I wanted you to know about Feather, Rainbow, but for now, keep it a secret, okay?”

Rainbow gave her a salute. “You got it, Twi.”

Twilight smiled and looked to her Captain. “Was there anything else?”

Feather smiled but shook her head. “I’ll let you two get back to your plans.”

With a nod, Twilight canceled the privacy spell. “Alright, thanks, Feather.”

Feather gave a quick salute and headed back to the guard checkpoint at the entrance to the residence wing.


~~~


Winter smiled following the other fillies as Dawn showed them on a tour of the castle. After a quick crusade as they liked to call them, the rest of the fillies had been excited to see the castle even if it wasn’t finished yet, and Dawn had been just as excited to show them around the parts that were finished. Not nearly as excited herself, she was trailing behind, just glad that her sister seemed so happy. They were in the hall where all the guest suites were when she sensed a complex form of magic being cast in one of the rooms. The room where Sunset Shimmer was currently staying.

Curious, and knowing that Dawn and the other fillies would be safe within the castle, she went to Sunset’s door and knocked. It was only a moment later that the door opened and Sunset looked out.

“Oh, hey Winter, you need something?” She asked, a little surprised.

“No, I was just curious what you were doing. It did feel like some powerful magic.” Winter told her.

Sunset raised a brow. “You could feel that?”

She nodded. “Yes. I know I am young, but I do know a lot about magic. Our mother was not a good pony, but she was a powerful alicorn and didst train Dawn and I in magic every day.”

“Really? Well you might be better than me then. I’m afraid I’m a bit out of practice.” Sunset said with a sigh. “I’ve been in a world without magic for nearly five years.”

“No magic?” Winter asked surprised. “The world where you were really had no magic?”

“Nope, the only magic there was whatever we brought from this side. Now that I’m back though, I’ve been trying to brush up a bit on my magic studies. I used to be one of the most talented unicorns in Equestria…” She sighed. “Now I’m trying to remember everything I used to know.”

“You want some help?” Winter asked. “I wouldst like to keep my own magic well trained.”

Sunset looked at her curiously. “You want to study with me?”

Winter shrugged. “It would be interesting to see what magics are still known, what has been lost, and what might be new. And perhaps we could teach each other some things; I do know more spells than even many alicorns in our time did.”

“Hmm. Well do you know anything about portal spells? Not interdimensional, of course, just from one place to another.”

“Like we spoke of on the train? Yes, they can be useful for transporting multiple ponies without the increased magic cost to do so with teleportation. Though in most cases teleportation is still better.”

Sunset smiled. “And anchored portals?”

“I think in my time they were called gateways. Portals permanently enchanted into an object.”

“Yeah, I thought that was what Twilight meant when she mentioned gateways.” Sunset smirked. “It does sound better…” Stepping back she gestured for Winter to follow into the entry room. “I was actually studying portal spells just before I left to the other world. It was how I came across the information about the portal to that world to begin with. One of the main problems with portal spells is their limited range; even basic teleportation can go twice as far for the same power unless you’re transporting five or more ponies. Even gateways take a lot of power.”

Winter nodded. “Running off ambient magic a gateway large enough for an alicorn would only have enough range to cross half of Ponyville.”

“That’s about right. I knew it was a neglected field of magic, but it sounds like it really hasn’t improved in the last couple thousand years. Back before I left, I was trying to find a way to improve the range, make gateways more useful.”

“If you directly power them, you can get a longer range for a short time.” Winter offered.

“Yeah, but then they can’t be open for very long, and you have to have a unicorn that knows how charging it.” She sighed. “It may be futile, but could you imagine how it would change things if we could make gateways that could reach from one city to another running off of ambient magic alone? Gateways that anypony could use?”

“That does sound very useful if it could be done.” Winter agreed though she didn’t know if it was possible.

“It definitely would, anyway, I was thinking I’d work on it again now that I’m back, but first I need to review everything I used to know; try to remember it all. Fortunately, Twilight has a pretty good library, so I found a couple books on portal spells and was working on reviewing all the portal spells I know.” She gestured to the book open on her desk.

Walking over, Winter took a look at the book and the portal spell it was currently open to. She immediately recognized it. “I know this one.”

“You do?”

Winter nodded and lit her horn casting the spell. The air shimmered in front of her then opened into a hole, at the same time another hole appeared on the other side of the room. Without hesitation she stepped through, crossing the room instantly.

Sunset smirked as Winter closed her portal and walked back across the room. “Heh, yep that’s it. Guess that is one of the most basic portal spells, I shouldn’t be surprised that it’s been around a while. There’s also this variation that has to be cast on a wall.” Aiming at a blank spot on the wall she cast the spell creating what looked like a hole in the wall while another hole opened at another spot on the wall next to them, letting them see themselves from the side. “It’s a little more complex, but a bit safer and more stable than the free floating portal, and doesn’t take any more energy to cast.”

Winter nodded. Without seeing the spell, she couldn’t be sure if it was the same, but she had seen such a portal spell before. “What about this one?” Winter cast another spell and icy blue energy looking almost like flames rose in a circle around her. Sunset watched surprised as she was encased in a dome and seemed to sink into the floor. As soon as she’d vanished from sight and the icy flames winked out, another circle appeared on the other side of the room, and she reappeared seeming to rise out of the floor within a dome that dissipated as soon as she fully emerged from the floor.

“Nope, haven’t seen that one. It’s definitely a different kind of portal,” Sunset agreed. “Is that the one Twilight mentioned?”

“I think so. It is not an open passage like most portal spells, but it is also not quite the same as a teleport spell either. Because of this it will not be affected by wards made to stop most portals or teleportation. You would have to make a ward specifically for it.” Winter told her.

“Really? That’s… huh, I actually hadn’t thought about that, I guess Twilight hasn’t put up any wards yet.” Sunset said looking at her portal that was still open on the wall.

“She does have some basic monitoring wards up over most of Ponyville, and more complex ones over the castle and grounds. But not any to prevent teleportation or portals.” Winter told her having sensed most of the wards when Twilight had first cast them.

“I’d have to move my work, but she probably should at least put teleportation and portal wards around the residence wing.” Sunset said frowning. “Speaking of; she said something about a long-range teleportation array. I wonder if she has time to teach it to me; maybe we could set one up in one of the extra rooms. Make it a designated teleportation room.”

“I have used a teleportation array. My mother made it though and never taught me how to make them myself,” Winter told her.

“Oh yeah, how far did you go?”

“I do not know the exact distance… but probably more than twice the distance to Canterlot from here. And it was not a strain; I could have easily gone much further with the array.”

“Dang.” Sunset said and grinned. “Now I definitely want Twilight to teach it to me. Being able to teleport anywhere in Equestria with a single jump? That would be awesome. For now, though, you think you could teach me that fiery portal you did?”

Winter smiled and nodded. “I would be glad to.”


~~~


Twilight glanced at Rainbow and gave a bit of a smirk as they both heard the sound of more than a dozen small hooves as a small herd of fillies rushed down the hall just outside the door. Then the door opened in the soft golden glow of Dawn’s magic.

“This is the study. Oh, hi Twilight, Rainbow!” Dawn said, leading the herd into the room.

“Hi, Rainbow!” Scootaloo called waving enthusiastically.

“Hey, Scoots!” Rainbow waved back.

“You giving them the tour, Dawn?” Twilight asked, noticing that besides the crusaders, Diamond Tiara was once again present, but this time so was her friend, Silver Spoon.

“Yep!”

“Well, stick to the completed sections, okay. We don’t want to interrupt the ponies working on the rest.”

“Okay!” Dawn said with a nod. It was then that Twilight noticed who was absent.

“Where’d Winter go?” She asked.

Dawn looked back at the other fillies and they all looked around realizing that the oldest of the group was no longer with them. “I don’t know,” she said sounding a little surprised.

“She was with us when we got to the castle…” Apple Bloom said with a shrug.

A little curious herself, Twilight used one of the wards she’d cast over the castle to quickly locate her. “Hmm, looks like she went to talk to Sunset about something,” she said then gave the rest of the fillies a smile. “Well I’m sure Dawn can handle showing you the rest of the castle.”

Dawn smiled and nodded.

Twilight smiled but then remembered something. “Oh, before you go; Apple Bloom, do you know if Rekaj is back?”

“Yeah, he got back yesterday.” Apple Bloom said with a nod. “Why?”

“Princess Celestia still wants to meet him sometime. I’ll have to talk to him about going to Canterlot and set up a time.”

“Oh, okay; I think he said he was going to spend the day in town.” Apple Bloom told her.

“I’ll see if I can find him then.” Twilight told her. “And one other thing; I’m going to have to ask you to only use time magic when absolutely necessary for now, and I’ll be asking the same of Rekaj.”

“What, why?”

“Did your sister ever tell you about the time I went through a portal to another world?” Twilight asked.

Apple Bloom nodded. 

“Well we think your time magic might be messing with that portal. It’s not that big of a deal really, but I do think it would be best if you limit yourself to using it as little as possible.”

“Oh… okay then. Ah’ll try not to use it unless Ah have to.”

Twilight gave her a thankful smile. “Alright. Have fun on your tour, girls.”

“We will!” Dawn assured her and led the way from the room. “Come on! The library is next!” She said heading down the hall. 

The last to leave were Diamond and Silver Spoon who paused to make a quick bow. “Princess!” before galloping after their new friends.

Twilight watched them for a moment smiling then looked over at Rainbow. “Winter actually left Dawn’s side.” She said softly. “Just here in the castle but still…”

Rainbow grinned putting a wing around her. “Well who wouldn’t feel safe with you around.”

Twilight smiled and nuzzled her neck affectionately.


~~~


Not wanting to forget again, Twilight decided to go ahead and find Rekaj while the fillies finished their tour, so she and Rainbow found Spike and headed into town with her usual guard escort. Fortunately, finding Rekaj and arranging a time for him to meet with Princess Celestia didn’t take long. With Spike’s help they were able to arrange a time for them to meet and Rekaj had assured her he knew the way. By then, though Rainbow had to go check on a few weather tasks, so it was just her, Feather and Spike heading back to the castle. 

Talking with Rekaj and arranging his meeting with Celestia had gotten her thinking though, that she’d need to convince Sunset to go to Canterlot soon as well. It had already been over a week since she’d arrived, and she doubted they could keep her being back a secret for much longer. And really, she didn’t want to. Sunset definitely needed to see Celestia; Twilight was certain it would be good for her to close those old wounds and allow them to heal.

Checking her wards when she reached the castle, she found Sunset and Winter were in the library now, while Dawn and the rest of the fillies were in the staff wing. It seemed Lemon Hearts had joined them, probably helping with the tour while at the same time keeping them out of the staff’s way. Trusting her old friend had things under control there, she instead headed for the library. Sunset and Winter looked up as she and Spike entered, and she smiled. “Hey, you two; what have you been up to?”

Sunset laughed softly. “Well we were talking about portals and gateways and sharing spells we know, but then we got talking about comics and graphic novels. I’m surprised you haven’t shown them any!”

Twilight blinked in surprise. “Oh… well I never really got into comics myself.”

“Really?” Sunset said sounding almost shocked. “Wow, I thought all us nerdy unicorns from Celestia’s school would be into comics. I guess that explains why we couldn’t find any in the library.”

“She did get into one.” Spike said with a grin.

“Only because it literally pulled us in!" Twilight rolled her eyes. "You’re still banned from the House of Enchanted Comics, by the way!”

“House of enchanted comics?” Sunset asked.

Twilight nodded. “It's a store in Canterlot." 

"What kind of enchantments do they do?"

"Ever hear of Haycarts Method?”

“Yeah.”

“Basically that, except it puts you in the role of one of the characters," Twilight told her.

“Dang, that sounds pretty fun.” Sunset said with a grin. “I might have to check that out.”

“Their comics are licensed but they're all non-canon,” Spike warned.

“Still sounds fun.”

“These comics do sound interesting.” Winter said. “We did have fiction in the past, but never fully illustrated as Sunset describes.”

Sunset nodded. “I was actually kind of hoping I could get caught up. Kind of missed the last few years, you know.”

“What comics were you into?” Spike asked curiously.

“Well there were a few, but the big one was Power Ponies.” Sunset said and Spike smiled.

“You’re in luck, I have every issue all the way up to last month’s.”

Her eyes widened in excitement. “Really!?”

He nodded. “You’re welcome to borrow them, so long as you’re careful. You too, Winter, if you want to check them out.”

“That would be great! When I left it was in the middle of the Mayor Lexia arc where she’d almost turned the entire public against them.”

Spike grinned remembering that particular story arc. “That was a good one,” he told her but didn’t say more knowing she wouldn’t want it spoiled.

Twilight rolled her eyes. “I still don’t get the appeal.” 

Sunset laughed. “Come on, Twi; you can’t always study, you know. You have to be able to unwind sometime.”

“Hey, I read fictional novels all the time! Well… I guess Daring Do isn’t really fictional, but I’ve read other series as well! I just don’t get the regular comics; they’re all pictures with barely any words per page; there’s hardly any story in each issue!”

“A picture is worth a thousand words,” Sunset countered with a smirk.

Twilight sighed. “Whatever, they’re just not for me,” she said, and Sunset just shrugged accepting that. “Anyway, I wanted to talk to you, Sunset, about going up to Canterlot.”

Sunset visibly tensed. “When?”

“I was thinking this weekend,” Twilight told her. “Celestia’s going to find out you’re here eventually, Sunset. You might as well get it over with.”

“Does it have to be this weekend?”

“You’ve already put it off long enough,” Twilight told her firmly.

She sighed heavily but reluctantly nodded.

“Celestia is very kind; I do not think you need to worry.” Winter assured her, having picked up a bit about Sunset’s situation over the past week.

“I know, but in a way, that only makes it worse… after what I did; what I said. I don’t know if I deserve her forgiveness,” Sunset said looking down at the floor.

“Of course you do, Sunset!” Twilight assured her gently. “You’ve come a long way since then.” She smiled. “Sure, you needed a rainbow to the face at one point…”

Sunset snorted, remembering looking up at Twilight and the other five girls that had later become her friends from the bottom of a crater. “Because I’d let myself become a literal demon.”

“But every step since then has been all you.” Twilight reminded her. “You made amends, you made friends, you’ve become a better pony.”

“I like to think so.”

“It’s true. And trust me, Celestia will see it almost instantly.”

Sighing once more, Sunset looked up at her and gave a hesitant smile. “Thanks.”

“I’ll make the arrangements.” Twilight told her then gave a soft laugh. “Hopefully it will be the last trip for a while. I’d hate for us to miss out on the Running of the Leaves or Nightmare Night.”

“Yeah, it will be my first Nightmare Night in a while.” Sunset said, glad to change the subject. In the human world, they have a similar holiday they call Halloween, but unless you get invited to a costume party, adults and even older teens usually don’t dress up. Not like in Equestria.”

“Really? That’s no fun. Don’t worry, Ponyville has a huge party every year, in fact I think the Apples are planning on setting up a haunted maze this year.”

“Great! So I’ll definitely need a costume then; guess I’ll have to come up with an idea.” Sunset said and smiled. “You know, as much as I liked living in the human world, sometimes I think they were way too concerned about looking foalish and often didn’t allow themselves to have fun.”

“Well, nopony is discouraged from having fun at our holiday celebrations!” Twilight assured her. “I think Rarity is working on Pinkie and Applejack’s costumes this week; probably her own as well, but we definitely should get her our ideas for costumes by the time we get back. Perhaps we could talk about some ideas on the train. I really have no idea what I want to be this year.”

“I have to actually think of costumes for ponies; I keep thinking of ideas for the human world.” Sunset said, rolling her eyes.

Twilight laughed softly. “Well, we’d all better think of something.”
> Chapter 15: Reunion
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 15: Reunion
***


“You alright?” Winter asked, looking across at Sunset sitting on the bench opposite them.

Sunset sighed, taking her eyes away from the train car’s window. “Yeah, I’m just…”

“You seem tense.”

“Yeah…”

Twilight gave her a sympathetic look. “You’ll feel better once you get this over with.”

“I hope so.” She said and finally turned away from the window, not wanting to watch Canterlot draw closer any longer. It was just her, Twilight, the fillies and Spike for the trip up to Canterlot. Winter was actually a little surprised Rainbow hadn’t come as well. She and Twilight at times seemed inseparable. Instead, she and Daring were planning their next trip. Rainbow had decided to accompany her for what would likely be the last trip to check on a few more alicorn prisons before winter began.

So it was just the five of them, once again in a private car for the ride up the mountain, not counting Feather and their guard escort in the next car. Winter was looking forward to seeing the princesses again in person. Luna had appeared in her dreams a few times, but never for very long. Even so, they had had a couple short discussions about dream magic and what Winter had already learned.

Twilight and Spike both seemed relaxed; in fact, Spike looked like he was asleep on the next bench. She knew they’d made this trip numerous times over the years. Dawn also seemed at ease. She had one of Spike’s comics open in front of her and had hardly said a word since they’d boarded the train, entranced by the story. Winter definitely understood; she’d read that issue the day before. It was the seventh issue and the last in the first story arc of the Power Ponies, she knew, having finished it the day before. She and Dawn had started reading them together, but Winter hadn’t been able to help herself and had continued reading after Dawn had fallen asleep one night. When Dawn had found out, she didn’t want her spoiling the story and decided to read the rest on her own. Winter had decided to take a break for the trip to Canterlot though, before starting the next arc.

Sunset, however, was tense. Winter knew this was to be the first time she’d see her mentor again after saying some hurtful words and running away for almost four years; over five for Sunset.

“I really do not think you need to worry, Sunset.” Winter tried, hoping she could help her relax at least a little.

She sighed heavily. “I know. It’s just, until the trouble in the other world forced me to come back, I’d kind of made peace with leaving all this behind me. Now here I am suddenly having to face it.”

Winter nodded understanding. “It is probably for the best.”

“I know; let’s just try to enjoy the rest of the ride; I’d rather not dwell on it.”

Giving another nod, Winter wasn’t sure what else to say and for a time the sounds of the train were all that could be heard. Only broken when Dawn turned a page in the comic and let out a giggle.

Sunset glanced over at Dawn, then caught Winter’s eye and gave a smirk. Winter grinned back.


~~~


After waking up Spike when they arrived, the walk across Canterlot to the castle didn’t take them long at all. At the castle gate, Feather and her squad again left them in the care of the castle guards who directed them to Princess Celestia’s study. Twilight had sent word that they were coming, though she hadn’t mentioned Sunset by name, so it wasn’t really a surprise that she’d arranged for them to meet in a less formal setting.

“You ready?” Twilight asked Sunset softly pausing just outside the door.

“Not really.” Sunset said sounding resigned. 

Twilight gave her an encouraging look, then reached up and knocked. Almost immediately the door opened in a golden glow. “Come in.”

“Hi Celestia.” Twilight said, stepping past Sunset into the room followed by Winter and Dawn, then Spike.

“Hi, Princess!” The fillies called waving with their wings as they entered.

“Hello girls, Spike, Twilight.” Sunset heard Celestia say, tensing at hearing her mentor’s actual voice for the first time in years. “It’s good to see you again, though I’m curious what brings you back to Canterlot again so soon after your last visit.”

“Well, it’s mostly for somepony else who needed to see you,” Twilight said, and Sunset knew that was her que.

Taking a deep breath, her heart racing, she stepped into view. The study hadn’t changed much, she noticed recalling all the lessons she’s had there. Then saw the Princess even as she looked toward the door where Twilight was pointing. Princess Celestia, after five years… Their eyes met and she saw the shock and recognition before she lowered her eyes in shame remembering the harsh words she’d said the last time they’d met. “H-hi, Princess… long time.” She said not knowing what else to say in that moment.

“Sunset.” Celestia gasped, for once sounding truly shocked.

For a few moments the room was silent as Sunset kept her eyes on the floor standing just inside the door. Then she heard hoofsteps crossing the room toward her until the princess’s hooves stopped right in front of her.

The next instant she felt herself pulled into an embrace she hadn’t felt in far too long. The princess’s hooves and wings wrapped around her holding her tightly. Sunset tensed, breathing in sharply, but the princess just held her. “I’ve missed you, Sunset Shimmer.”

It was too much. “Princess… I’m so sorry! What I said…”

“I’m sorry, too, Sunset. We both said things we didn’t mean that night.” Princess Celestia said softly, gently squeezing her. “I never would have actually banished you from the castle.”

“I… I’m sorry.”



Twilight stood aside and just watched with a small smile as Celestia and Sunset held each other close, tears coming to both their eyes for being reunited after so long. Reaching out she wrapped Winter and Dawn both in her wings, holding them against her side. Winter looked up at her and smiled, while Dawn simply leaned against her side as they watched in silence.



It was sometime later that Sunset looked up at Celestia and hesitantly smiled, still held in the princess’s wings. They’d both apologized enough and by unspoken agreement, they both knew it was time for them to move forward.

“I’m glad you’re back, Sunset.” Celestia said smiling back, but then a realization crossed her face. “How are you back, though? It’s only been a little over seventeen moons, the portal shouldn’t open again for another year.”

“There’s been a slight problem with the portal’s temporal alignment.” Twilight spoke up, reminding them that they weren’t alone. Celestia looked over at her, folding one wing, but keeping the other around Sunset.

“It was thirty moons on the other side,” Sunset told her.

“Is the portal unstable?” Celestia asked concerned.

“No, it seems fine at the moment. Right now we think it was Apple Bloom’s time magic that threw off the portal’s alignment,” Twilight told her. “We plan to do an experiment or two with her or Rekaj to make sure; but the important thing is that the portal appears completely stable.”

“Oh, that reminds me; thank you for arranging for Rekaj to come to Canterlot. It was quite refreshing speaking with another leader that’s even older than I am,” Celestia said with a grateful smile.

Twilight smiled. “You’re welcome, Rekaj said he enjoyed speaking with you as well.”

Celestia smiled a moment more then looked over at Sunset again. “So, what brings you back? Not that I’m not ecstatic to see you again, but when Twilight came back, it sounded like you were going to stay in the other world?”

“I was… but, well there’s already a Sunset Shimmer there, and she wasn’t too happy to see someone else with her face when I ran into her at the mall…”

“What’s a mall?” Celestia asked looking a little confused.

Sunset giggled softly, but did go ahead and explain. “It’s like an indoor market with lots of stores all in one huge building.”

“I see, so this other Sunset Shimmer drove you out?” Celestia asked sounding concerned.

Sunset sighed, knowing that was a little unfair. “It’s not really her fault, but that’s what started everything. I’m sure Twilight told you; they don’t usually have magic over there and in fact there’s some rather dark history when it comes to those they believe used magic, so when they found out about what happened between me and Twilight… Things just kept getting worse. So my friends and I decided it would be best for me to return to Equestria.”

Celestia gave her an understanding smile. “I’m sorry that happened and you were forced to leave, but I am glad to hear you made some friends.”

Sunset laughed. “Well Twilight did ask them to look after me, but yeah, we became good friends.”

“I’m sorry you had to leave them.”

Sunset smiled. “Thanks, I’ll miss them, but at least Twilight already figured out a way for me to keep in touch. So, it’s not that bad.”

“And keeping in touch with the other side will help us monitor the portal,” Twilight added.

“Oh that’s good,” Celestia said and patting Sunset’s back one last time got back to her hooves. “So, what do you plan on doing now that you’re back?” She asked sounding curious.

“I… well I haven’t really thought about it too much. For now, I’ve been staying in Twilight’s castle and I was thinking I’d work on that old portal project I was working on before I left.”

“Trying to make a longer-range portal that anypony can use?” Celestia asked.

Sunset blinked a little surprised, she hadn’t really expected Celestia to remember that much about her old project; she figured the princess would only remember that it had to do with portals at most. “Yeah. Winter was showing me some of the portal spells she knows, but it seems like there hasn’t been much advancement in the field.

“Some of the spells in the modern spellbooks are the same spells I learned back before we were imprisoned,” Winter added.

“It really hasn’t advanced much.” Celestia agreed. “The only portal I know of that goes any significant distance requires an alicorn to charge it and then it only stays open for a few minutes at a time.”

Sunset looked up at her curiously. “Having to be charged by an alicorn isn’t ideal, but how far does it go?”

“I can’t remember the exact distance, but it’s at little further than from here to Los Pegasus.”

Sunset’s eyes widened. “Dang, if it weren’t for needing an alicorn to charge it, that would be exactly what I’m going for.”

Celestia smiled. “I’d be glad to let you study it sometime, it’s actually here in the castle; but I’m not sure it would help. I don’t think it’s that much different from other anchored portal spells.”

“Winter said they used to be called ‘gateways.’”

“Really? That is easier to say; I wonder why anypony would change it,” Celestia mused.

“It is silly.” Winter agreed.

“I’ve never really studied portals much myself, but yeah, gateway does sound better, and honestly makes more sense.” Twilight shrugged. “Maybe if you make a breakthrough, you could get ponies to start calling them gateways again.”

“Or Winter could just set everypony straight; we should all respect our elders after all.” Celestia said giving the filly a smirk. “Grandma.”

“Dawn was the one that made the joke!” Winter objected.

Meanwhile said filly was grinning at her sister’s expense.

Spike, having been relaxing by the fire snorted in laughter as well.

Sunset looked between them a little lost. “I’m missing something.”

Twilight laughed. “The first time I brought the fillies to meet the princesses, Dawn made a joke about them being Celestia and Luna’s elders and so they had to do what they said.”

Sunset snorted, trying to hold in a laugh at the image of the pre-teen filly telling the princesses they had to do what she said. “I see.”

“And yet I am the one they keep calling grandma!” Winter complained though it was obvious she didn’t really mind.

Celestia smiled and gave the filly a wink before turning back to Sunset. “So do you plan to remain at Twilight’s castle for now? You would certainly be welcome to move back into your old room here at the castle.”

Sunset smiled thankfully but shook her head. “Maybe sometime, but for now, I think I want to stay in Ponyville. A lot of the students at the school I went to in the other world have counterparts there, so it kind of feels more familiar, even if I don’t really know them here.”

“I see,” Celestia said, sounding just a little bit disappointed. “Well it’s an open invitation if you decide you’d like to move back to the castle.” She grinned, “Or if Twilight decides she needs more room for books and kicks you out.”

“I wouldn’t do that!” Twilight objected. “Besides, you know very well that I made sure my castle’s library would have plenty of space!”

Celesita giggled and was soon joined by the fillies and Spike as well.

“The library is pretty big,” Sunset agreed. “I’d say I have at least three or four months before she runs out of space.”

Twilight gave her a deadpan look. “Ha, ha.”


~~~


Twilight and the others had planned to stay at the castle for this trip, so Celestia had already arranged for them to have one of the guest suites usually given to visiting dignitaries. Having six bedrooms connected to its own sitting room, dining room, and study, it was far more than they needed really, but it did mean that Celestia didn’t need to make additional accommodations for Sunset. Sunset merely took one of the extra bedrooms.

It was clear a great weight had been lifted from Sunset. The afternoon visit with the princess had led into dinner and they’d all enjoyed a pleasant meal together. After the meal, unfortunately, Celestia had other duties she had to take care of before Luna would take over for the night. Already evening, they hadn’t really had any other plans so the five of them had decided to simply relax in the guest suite.

Eventually they’d all ended up in the study, relaxing on the comfortable chairs and couches arranged around a large ornate fireplace with a pleasantly warm magical fire burning. Dawn was again reading the comic she’d brought, while Sunset and Winter had found a chess set and were playing while Spike watched. Winter had been excited when she’d seen the game as it hadn’t changed at all in the past three thousand years, with the exception of the kings being replaced by alicorn princesses.

“That is where it ends!?” The exclamation from the youngest in the room had most of them almost jumping out of their seats.

Twilight looked up over her book to see Dawn was staring at the last page in the comic clearly in shock. Over at the chess game she could hear Winter and Sunset both giggling at the young alicorn’s reaction to what must have been quite a cliffhanger.

Dawn looked over at them wide eyed. “I thought you said this one was the end of the arc! Why would they end it there!?”

“Because it sets up the next arc,” Spike told her smiling. “They have to get you excited for the next issue after all.”

“But… I want to know what happens!”

“See, they did their job.”

“Aaaaarrrrrgh!” She fell over on the couch, laying on her back and kicking her hooves in the air.

Twilight couldn’t help giggling softly at Dawn’s dramatic cry as she set her own book aside. “Well, since you’re done with your comic; we really should talk about ideas for Nightmare Night costumes; I’d like to get Rarity our ideas as soon as we get back. We’ve only got a couple weeks left now, and there’s still the running of the leaves next weekend as well.”

“I want to be one of the power ponies!” Dawn said immediately, sitting back up.

“One of the power ponies, huh? Which one?” Sunset asked, looking up from the chess game.

Dawn thought about it for a moment then grinned. “Mistress Mare-velous!”

“You will have to hide your wings and horn then.” Winter said as she made her move on the chess board.

Dawn nodded, and lighting her horn with her soft golden magic, her wings seemed to vanish and a moment later her horn did as well, even the glow fading away. Twilight’s eyes widened; she knew the spells of course, but she definitely hadn’t expected Dawn to know such advanced illusions; not at her age. But then, they had been on their own after they’d run away; perhaps it was something she’d learned out of necessity. 

“Dang, that’s a pretty good illusion.” Sunset said sounding impressed as well.

“And if I get a golden rope and carry it with my magic, it will look just like her magic lasso!”

Sunset nodded. “Yeah, that would work pretty good.”

“Would it be alright if I dressed up as a power pony as well?” Winter asked.

“If you want to, there’s no reason you couldn’t,” Twilight assured her.

“Who do you want to be?” Dawn asked.

Winter grinned and got to her hooves. “Fili-Second.” Her horn lit up and without warning a streak of her icy colors sped around the room too quickly to follow. They all felt a rush of wind as the streak sped past them, finally resolving into Winter again as she came to a stop back at the chess table.

“You know Accelero!?” Sunset exclaimed, clearly recognizing what Winter had done.

Winter just grinned.

Again, Twilight was surprised. She knew that Achlys had been training both of them in magic on a daily basis before they’d run away, but until now she hadn’t really considered just how much they may have learned.

“It took me five months to learn that spell back at Celestia’s school!” Sunset groaned. “Then I went to the other world and forgot it! Haven’t been able to cast it since.”

“We could practice it sometime, if you want,” Winter offered.

“Yeah, maybe we’ll have to.”

“What about you, Sunset, you have any ideas for a costume?” Twilight asked, trying to keep the conversation on track.

Sunset thought for a moment. “Actually, what if we all did Power Pony characters, did a whole group costume thing, maybe even see if Rainbow or anypony else wants to join in.”

Dawn’s eyes widened in excitement. “Can we!?”

Twilight couldn’t help smiling. “If you want to, I guess I could handle being the Masked Matter-horn again.”

“Again?” Sunset raised a brow.

“The enchanted comic Spike got was a Power Ponies comic.”

“Ah.”

“So who would you want to be?” Twilight asked.

Sunset grinned. “I was kind of thinking I’d be Mane-iac!”

“The villain?” Twilight asked with a raised brow.

“Yeah, I think I know a way to pull off that crazy mane. We could even make a whole show of it having the power ponies defeat me!”

“That does sound like fun. How about you Spike? You want to be Humdrum again?”

“I think I’m a little too big to be Humdrum now.” Spike said, though he definitely didn’t sound disappointed. “Actually, I think I’ll join Sunset on the villain side and go as Darkstar.”

“Oh really, going to pull rank on me?” Sunset asked with a grin.

“Only if you misbehave.” Spike replied with a smirk.

“Darkstar?” Twilight repeated, not knowing who they were talking about.

“Who’s that?” Dawn asked, curious as well.

“He’s a villain that shows up later on in the comics.” Sunset told them. “I don’t want to spoil it, so I’ll just say he’s an alicorn in the comics and one of his powers basically allows him to control other ponies.”

“An alicorn villain?” Winter said a little unsure.

“The first one ever.” Spike said with a nod. “It was quite a big deal, actually. Until then, alicorns in the comics had always been portrayed as kind and benevolent like the princesses; hardly anypony in Equestria had even considered the possibility of an alicorn being a villain.”

“It is still hard to believe how much things have changed.” Winter said shaking her head.

“Well, if Spike is going to join the villain side, we might need a few more heroes.” Sunset said and looked over at Twilight. “Do you think any of the rest of your friends would be willing to join in.”

“Well I’m pretty sure half of them already have their costumes. But Rainbow might be willing to join in and play Zap. That’s who she ended up being when we got pulled into that enchanted comic.”

“You could call her and ask,” Winter suggested.

Twilight smiled and nodded. “Good idea, hopefully she hasn’t already picked something else.” She tapped the gem on her bracelet. “Rainbow.” A moment later there was the ascending chime that meant they were connected.

“Hey, Twi.” Rainbow’s voice came from the bracelet.

“Hi. How’d you know it was me?”

Rainbow laughed. “You’re still the only one who calls me on these things.”

Twilight sighed. “Yeah… maybe we should make a point of calling the other girls with them sometimes. Get them all more used to using them.”

“Heh, I guess we could try. So what’s up?”

“Well, we were just discussing ideas for Nightmare Night costumes and Sunset suggested doing a group theme. So we wanted to know if you or any of the other girls would be interested in joining in,” Twilight told her. “I know a few already have their costumes, but we thought we’d check.”

“A group theme, huh? So what’s the theme?”

“You remember the Power Ponies?”

Rainbow laughed. “That was actually pretty fun.”

“Well, that’s the plan. Winter and Dawn are going to be Fili-Second and Mistress Mare-velous and I guess I’m going to be Masked Matter-horn again, while Sunset and Spike are both going to be villains, so they were wondering if you’d like to go as Zap?”

“They’ve really gotten into those comics haven’t they. Yeah, I’d be down for that.”

“Great! You think any of the other girls might be interested as well?”

“Maybe, but I think most have their costumes already. I know Pinkie does.”

“Yeah, I think Rarity was already making Applejack’s costume as well. And I suppose there’s not much point in asking Fluttershy.”

“Nah, you know Flutters, she’ll be hiding in her cottage all night.”

“Hiding?” Winter asked.

“Fluttershy doesn’t like all the spooky decorations and costumes on Nightmare night,” Twilight explained.

“She hides out every year.” Rainbow added through the bracelet.

“Yeah, it’s too bad she can’t bring herself to join the rest of us. Oh well, I guess it will just be the four power ponies versus a pair of villains. We’ll have to talk to Rarity about the costumes when we get back.”

“What about Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle?” Dawn asked. “Have they already picked out costumes?”

There was a pause. “Actually, I don’t know. It’s a little late now, but I could check with Scoots tomorrow if you want, and see if she or the other crusaders want to join in.”

“Yeah! Ask them please!”

“I’ll do that then.” Rainbow assured her. “If they want to, I’ll try to get them all together tomorrow afternoon and call again so they can decide on who to be.”

Twilight smiled. “Sounds good, we’ll talk to you then!”

“Talk to you then!”

There was a descending chime and the bracelet stopped glowing.

“Well that should be fun,” Sunset said with a grin. “I’ll definitely have to test out my idea for doing Mane-iac’s crazy mane.”

“Do you think you will be able to move around with your mane like Mane-iac does?” Dawn asked curiously.

“I don’t know about that, maybe if my idea works well enough. It would probably take a lot of magic to do that if it does work; definitely couldn’t move around like that all night.”

Before she could say more a knock at the door of the suite got all of their attention. Curious, Twilight got to her hooves and went out into the sitting room that doubled as the entry to answer it. She wasn’t expecting to find the princess on the other side. “Oh! Princess Celestia! I didn’t know if you’d have more time to visit tonight.”

She smiled though she seemed oddly nervous; not obviously so, but Twilight knew her well enough to notice. “I managed to take care of everything I needed to do. And I actually wanted to speak with Sunset.”

“Alright; She and Winter were just playing a game of chess.” Twilight told her, leading the way back to the study.

“Hey, princess! What you want to talk about?” Sunset asked having heard.

“Actually, let’s speak in private.” Celestia said again sounding unusually nervous, at least for her.

Sunset seemed to catch it as well and got to her hooves wondering what this was about. “Uh, sure; here lets just step into the bedroom,” she suggested, gesturing toward the door to the room she was going to be staying in.

Celestia nodded and followed her into the room.



Sunset closed the door after them and selected a large cushion for herself levitating a second over for Celestia. “So what’s this about?” she asked when they were both seated.

Princess Celestia hesitated before speaking softly. “Sunset, I want you to know that I never would have banished you from the castle.”

Sunset blinked a little confused. “You said as much earlier.”

She nodded. “I know, but it bears repeating. I was angry and even more disappointed when I found out what you’d been looking into; that you’d gone against my wishes. But even so, I never should have threatened to banish you. Especially since I could have never gone through with it. I was on my way to find you; to apologize; when I received word that you’d gone through the portal. In fact, even knowing that I’d most likely end up trapped with you in the other world, I would have followed you that night had the portal not already closed by the time I got there.”

Sunset looked at her, wide eyed. She could tell that Celestia meant it. “But, what about Equestria; your duties?”

“I would have left them all behind. It probably wouldn’t have been the smartest move, but I wasn’t exactly thinking rationally at the time.” She sighed. “I suppose in a way it was fortunate that the portal had already closed.”

“Yeah… probably for the best.” Sunset agreed, more than a little shocked by the revelation. She couldn’t even imagine what Equestria would have done if they’d lost Princess Celestia for thirty moons.

Celestia nodded sadly. “For the first few moons after you left, I kept the portal in the throne room. But it was just too painful of a reminder. I moved it to one of the vaults, but even then, I saw it far too often. Finally, when the Crystal Empire returned. I sent it there for Princess Cadence to watch after. Then when the portal was scheduled to reopen, I planned a summit just so I’d have an excuse to be there in case you came back.”

“And then I went and stole Twilight’s crown…” Sunset said with a grimace.

“I’ll admit, I was a little disappointed. But still, I was again tempted to follow you back to the other world myself, but in the end, I decided to send Twilight. She had brought my sister back to me, I had hoped that she would bring you back to me too.”

Sunset gave her a wry smile. “Well, she did…”

Celestia gave a small smile. “When she came back without you, I was a little upset and terrified that something had happened to you. But she assured me you were alright, and since the portal was again closed, I had no choice; except to wait. I had intended to go through the portal the next time it opened to find you and hopefully convince you to come home.”

“You were going to come yourself?” Sunset asked, surprised.

She nodded. “But, now here you are.”

“I… princess; why are you telling me all this?”

“Because I want you to know how much I care about you, Sunset. You’re more important to me than anypony else, except perhaps my sister.”

“And Twilight?” Sunset asked.

Celestia shook her head. “If I ever had to choose between you and Twilight, I would choose you without hesitation.”

Her eyes widened in shock. “What? Why?”

Celestia looked up into her eyes. “Because you’re my daughter, Sunset.”