Tried to make this one longer. Hope I succeeded. :P Also, this chapter begins the tie-in with Four Echo Niner. More of the tie-in will be revealed shortly in this story and in Four Echo Niner. One last note: Majestic Wren PMed me with the line Pinkie delivers (starting with "Your sister is..."). I edited it slightly to fit the story better, but other than that, verbatim from the PM. Thanks MW! Anyway, enjoy, and please remember to review! :D

Savannah opened the door and watched warily as the six girls walked in. Something seemed off about them. Something…unusual. Not the least of which was their names. How many girls are named Sunset Shimmer, after all?

"So you're Savannah Swift," Sunset began, "and I'm Sunset Shimmer, of course. This is Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie." Each girl smiled and nodded or waved as her name was mentioned.

Pinkie, on the other hand…

"We came to tell you about Tara! Your sister is the most powerful pony princess in a hidden land, and she defeated this monster that was about to ruin the whole kingdom, and now she has magic and wings and complete power!" As she drew breath an irritated Rainbow Dash stepped in front of her. "What Pinkie is trying to say is—"

Sunset Shimmer held up a hand. "Maybe I'd better do the talking, girls."

Savannah indicated the couch in the living room with her hand. As the six girls squeezed onto the couch, Savannah made herself comfortable in the armchair across from them. "Now," she said quietly, "I assume there's a logical explanation for my dream and for my sister's disappearance and for Pinkie's…outburst."

"Well, there IS an explanation, but whether or not you believe it is entirely up to you," the one named Rarity answered delicately.

"Did you see the newspaper reports about the crazy stuff going on at Canterlot High in town?" Applejack asked.

Savannah nodded. "Everyone was talking about it for weeks. But it seemed pretty hard to believe."

"Well, Principals Celestia and Luna did try to keep it quiet," admitted Sunset. "But they couldn't stop the rumors from spreading. Most of those rumors were greatly exaggerated. But some are still true." She leaned forward. "For instance, the ones about a girl appearing and then returning to a portal to an alternate world are very much real."

Savannah laughed. "Sure they were!"

Sunset sighed. "I was afraid you wouldn't believe me. But at least hear me out. That portal leads to a world called Equestria, inhabited by ponies, griffons, dragons, sirens, all sorts of creatures considered mythical here. I know it's real because…well…because I come from there. I made horrible choices back home and came here to the human world to try and seize power. But Twilight Sparkle—the girl from the portal—she destroyed my evil body and turned me around."

Savannah's arms were folded as she scowled at the girls. "You actually expect me to believe all this nonsense?"

"Ma'am, I expect you to totally disregard our story. But if you do, you'll never really know what happened to Tara."

Savannah rolled her eyes. "What harm can it do? Go on."

"The pawn shop where Tara was last seen contains a magical mirror—the portal into Equestria. Somehow she must have fallen into that portal. Twilight found her and saved her from the dangerous Everfree Forest." Sunset frowned. "The details are a bit fuzzy from here, but from what we've heard, a unicorn king who wields dark magic attacked and captured the Equestrian capital. His name is King Sombra and he almost succeeded. He would have, in fact—but Twilight hid Equestria's most important magic in a necklace she gave to Tara. As Tara tried to control the magic, she learned she fulfilled an ancient prophecy by the unicorn Starswirl the Bearded. He foretold that a fifth princess alicorn—a winged unicorn with Earth pony strength—would arise and defeat the shadow king. Twilight and her friends used their magic to give Tara her alicorn form and magical power so she could defeat Sombra. Now she's in the position of highest power and authority in Equestria."

"So you're telling me my sister has been transported to an alternate world where she turned out to fulfill some crazy prophecy and become the highest princess of all? And you're telling me she's now a—what's the word?"

"Alicorn," Sunset Shimmer repeated patiently. "And with all due respect, Ms. Swift, the Armonia Prophecy is the most widely known and revered work of Starswirl the Bearded in all of Equestria."

Savannah sighed. "Ok, listen, girls. I appreciate you trying to make me feel better. I really do. But I simply can't believe everything you're telling me. There is no such thing as a magical mirror that whisks people into a world full of talking ponies!"

"Would you like to experience it for yourself?" Sunset asked dryly.

"I'll pass, thank you," Savannah retorted in a similar tone.

"I'll tell you one thing, lady," Rainbow spoke up. "Applejack here (she pointed to the blond girl wearing a cowgirl hat) never told a lie in her life. We're telling you the truth."

"Would you like proof?" asked Rarity, the one with curly purple hair and three diamonds on her skirt.

Savannah sat back and chuckled. "If you think you can convince me, go ahead."

"Okay." Sunset Shimmer leaned forward and rested her hands on her knees. "In the first place, the jewelry Tara was going to sell—there were six pieces. Five were necklaces, and each necklace had one gemstone of a different color and shape from all the others. One had a blue balloon, one had a pink butterfly, one had a red lightning bolt, one had an amber apple, and one had a purple diamond. The last piece of jewelry was a golden crown and it had a lavender star as its gemstone."

Savannah's eyes grew wide. The last thing she had ever seen Tara do was show her the jewelry as she announced her plans to sell it. "How did you know what the jewelry looked like?!" she demanded.

Pinkie spoke up now. "They're called the Elements of Harmony and they're from Equestria and they're actually magical elements that are all connected and can do a lot of neat stuff like defeat raging she-demons (Sunset Shimmer facepalmed) and defeat crazy sirens and turn monsters into stone and they're used to protect Equestria but somehow they got washed through a river into our world and Tara—"

Applejack's hand met its target on Pinkie's still-moving lips.

"But I'll give you the most powerful proof of all," Sunset quickly added. She handed Savannah a book with a blazing sun on the cover. "Turn to the page I've got marked there."

"If you're expecting me to see a note from Tara confirming your story, you have no proof you didn't just write it yourself!" Savannah asserted angrily. She stood up. "I think this has gone far enough, girls."

"Ms. Swift, please just open the book!" pleaded Applejack.

"If you wouldn't mind, that is…" Fluttershy practically whispered.

"The message will appear!" Rarity insisted.

Sunset looked up at Savannah seriously. "Ma'am, that book is my only connection home to Equestria. Whenever anything is written in that book, the message appears in another book in Equestria, and vice versa. Tara knows we are here and she will be writing a message to you any minute. Please. I know you'll be much more at peace if you just let us and Tara show you that our story is true!"

Savannah's anger subsided at Sunset's near desperate pleas. Despite her still-skeptical attitude, she had to admit these girls sure didn't act like liars.

But their story couldn't possibly be true.

Right?

Savannah sighed. "Fine. I'll look in the book—but only to prove to myself that none of this is true." She sat back down and took the book from Sunset Shimmer's offering hands.

But before Savannah could open the book, a knock came at the door.

Back in Equestria…

Twilight opened the book on the table. "All ready, Tara?"

I nodded. "I can't tell you how grateful I am that you did this, Twilight. But you're sure Sunset Shimmer can get a message to my sister?"

"Of course! If what I've heard is true, she's actually at your sister's house right now." Twilight levitated her pen. "Go ahead."

I sighed. "OK. Here goes.

" ' Dear Savannah, you probably won't believe what I'm about to tell you…

"By now Sunset Shimmer and the others would have told you what happened to me, and that I fulfilled Equestrian prophecy. Sis, it's all true. Starswirl the Bearded used his time spells to travel briefly to the future and record what he saw. He saw me! I'm part of Equestria now.

"I miss you, sis, and I wanted to be sure you wouldn't be afraid for me. Don't worry. I am perfectly safe here in Equestria. And whenever you want to talk to me, ask Sunset Shimmer to loan you her book. We can write back and forth as long as you want.

" '…Your favorite little sister in the world, and now in Equestria, Tara.' P.S. Say thank you to Sunset Shimmer.' "

Twilight set the pen down and closed the book as the message was magically transported. Gently she put a hoof on my shoulder. "I'm glad you decided to send a message to your sister."

"Do you think I should go back?" I asked and sighed.

"It's your call."

"But I don't want to leave Equestria right after finding out that I'm the final princess! What if Sombra comes back?"

"Like I said, your decision. But if you do choose to go back, remember that the portal is always open now."

I didn't answer. Something was bothering me…something I couldn't put my finger (or maybe hoof) on.

Twilight noticed it too. "Tara? Something wrong?"

"I don't know. Just…off." I moved toward the window and spread my wings. "I'll be back soon, okay?" Without waiting for a response, I took to the sky and flew in the direction of the Everfree Forest.

Anypony who asked what was motivating me to go to the Everfree Forest, of all places, wouldn't have gotten a definite answer. I didn't know what was wrong, but I did know something had happened. Something that definitely shouldn't have happened.

I touched down just outside the forest and walked along a beaten trail, looking for something, anything, that may tell me just what I had sensed.

As I rounded a bend in the path, something on the ground caught my eye. It was white, flat, and rectangular, like a sheet of paper. Basically, not something that belonged on the forest floor.

Picking the paper up to examine it, I saw it bore a series of numbers and four letters: "MCPD". Immediately a sense of deja vu overwhelmed me. MCPD stood for Mount Christopher Police Department—the police of the town where I had gone to the pawn shop. But what was it doing here?

I turned the paper over and gasped as I recognized a picture Savannah had taken of me at her birthday party that January. She must have turned the image over to the Mount Christopher police. Were they looking for me?

I couldn't help but chuckle. "Not that anyone will find me now. Still though, what's it doing here?"

A glance up at the sky told me the sun was already beginning to sink toward the horizon. "C'mon Celestia, a little bit longer! Please!"

I almost began to run as I hurried down the path, knowing that every second was dangerous as I lost light. The Everfree Forest was creepy enough in the daytime. I tried not to think about what could be in there come nightfall when Luna's moon graced the sky.

But I immediately stopped when I rounded another curve in the path and saw the last thing I had expected to see.

A human man.

I looked down at my anthro body and knew that was not what I wanted him to see. Ducking behind a tree, I performed my transformation spell and turned back into an ordinary human. The man further down the path didn't seem to notice the brief burst of magic and light that my spell gave off.

Slowly, nervously, I advanced forward.