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The Sun & the Rose

by soulpillar

Chapter 19: Epilogue (Part 1)

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"Everyone, I promise… I'll see you all again soon," the Princess said.

A knee-high boot, wrapped in pink and soled in purple, hit solid crystal as the shape-shifted alicorn mare stepped through the mirror.

She transformed mid-step; fingers bound into hooves, legs turned digitigrade, a frilly, purple dress recessing into a short horse's coat, while her long, pink-streaked, purple hair swirled back into a simple mane. Forelegs hitting the ground, Twilight exhaled pollution and perfume, and inhaled the scents of crystals and meadow-breezes. She was back in the Crystal Empire.

The Crystal Mirror flashed again. A silhouette of a dog shifted mid-form into a chubby little baby dragon. Purple scales covered his spherical body, while a line of green trailed up his underbelly and tail. Spade-shaped spikes grew out of his head, all the way down to his tail. Spike, Twilight's assistant, clapped onto the ground, holding his hands high in a 'ta-da'!

A weight lifted from Twilight's mind. Good, she wasn't sure how the mirror would affect Spike with his draconic anti-magic nature.

Cries of their names, spoken in relief, echoed around the room. Their awaiting friends took turns hugging, pulling Spike and Twilight close, and revealing their worries and relief at their survival. The retrieval of the element of Magic felt like an afterthought. Even the very pony who’d sent them, Princess Celestia, seemed more interested in their survival and adventure than the fate of the artefact.

Twilight felt… she wasn't sure what she felt. Everything in the last three days had felt so vivid, so surreal. Three days ago she’d said goodbye to her friends, then hello to them. Three days later, she’d said goodbye again, and then hello again.

Together, they shared their story; of chasing the Element of Magic, defeating Sunset Shimmer's plot to enslave the population of Canterlot High, the humans and their strange culture.

Their words were met with wide eyes and disbelief. The occasional clarification followed, but stunned silence was their true answer. Although they tried to show support as best they could, but they didn't understand.

A pit opened in Twilight's stomach. How could they understand? They didn't see the Otherworld, or their other forms. She wanted to drag them through the mirror and say 'Here! Can't you see them!? They're you, and you're them! You're all my friends!' But the mirror remained closed, and would be so for another 30 moons. Perhaps in time, they would understand, but for now, this burden was her own.

Within thirty minutes her friends departed, casting concerned, compassionate glances in her direction. Spike, child as he was, simply didn't notice, following after.

Twilight gave them a weak smile. She'd be fine. She hoped.

The door closed, but Celestia remained. Her horn glowed golden, lifting the headpiece of the Element of Magic into its protective case.

"Princess Celestia?" Twilight said. "You… you believe me, right?"

The case snapped shut. "I do," she said, face impassive. "You've been through serious trial, Twilight, and I'm willing to listen if you want to talk some more."

Twilight wanted that, a lot. "I just… I find myself stumped by what I found there. Everypony on the other side were, well, mirrors of Equestrians. But, I couldn't find any rhythm or rhyme to it! If it were geographic, then they're just be duplicates of ponies from Canterlot, or of ponies in the Crystal Empire, but I found ponies from all over Equestria!"

"Indeed?" Celestia turned. "What is your theory?"

"That's just it, I don't have one! I need to do so much more study to even formulate a hypothesis! Nothing there made sense!"

Celestia gave a thoughtful hum. "Did you meet a human duplicate of yourself?"

Human-duplicate? What's a 'human'? She shook her head. "No… and I specifically sought her out! At first, it was to avoid her, then it was to get help, but then as I was running out of time I… well, you know the rest. Still, I did find a duplicate of you, princess, so I think the mirror copies anypony regardless of their level of magical power."

A faraway look overtook Celestia's features. "A human Celestia…"

"…What's a human?" Twilight asked.

Celestia tilted her head. "The creatures on the other side. That's what you called them, remember?"

Twilight shook her head. "Uh, forgive me your highness, but I don't know what a human is."

"Hmm." Celestia glanced away, unconcerned. "My apologies, Twilight, perhaps I've mixed up my mythology. There are descriptions of similar creatures in Equestrian history. Maybe they're one and the same?"

"D-do you really think so?"

"Maybe. Maybe not." Celestia gave a vague nod, turning to the door. "Maybe that's something worth researching."


The long train ride home from the Crystal Empire via Canterlot to Ponyville was far from restful. At long last, the front door to Golden Oak Library creaked open. Books lay in carved-out shelves, wrapping wall-to-wall around edges of the hollowed-out tree. Dust hung in the air, its interior frozen in time by the last two weeks of their absence.

Twilight stepped forward, withers weighed down by travel bags and her head weighted down by questions.

"Fowar!" Spike burst in from behind, claws spread high. "It's GOOD to be back home, eh Twilight?"

"Yeah…"

"Tired?" Spike asked, giving her a sympathetic smile.

"I'm surprised you're not," Twilight remarked, levering down a bag onto the centre table.

"Excitement, mostly. I think I'll crash pretty soon."

He wasn't wrong, Twilight thought. If he had to hear him recount that story about how the 'Other-Rarity' hugged him ONE more time…

"Hey Twilight, what did you think about the 'Others'?"

Oh great. "I don't know what I think."

"…Oh. Darn."

Twilight looked back, raising a brow.

"Sorry, it's just, I was kind of hoping you could help me understand them." Spike sat down on a log-stool, scratching his chin. "I mean, you turned into one of the 'Others', but I was just a dog. That won't stop bugging me; I mean, are dogs like dragons over there?"

An answer burned on Twilight's tongue, but she had nothing to back it up with. "I…I don't know, Spike, but that's bugging me, too. I mean, I think it was because the Crystal Mirror wanted to give us useful forms, but that's nothing more than conjecture."

Spike's head bobbed once. Twice. He flinched up. "Woah, nearly nodded off."

"Took you long enough," Twilight said, smiling. "Why don't you head off the bed? I'll work on this mystery."

"Mm-yeah," Spike yawned, toddling off. "See ya' in the morning, Twi'."

She waved him off before turning to the shelves. Alright, Twilight thought, she had the start of a breadcrumb trail, and she was going to get the truth the only way she knew how: dozens upon dozens of hours of sleep-defying study!


Twilight snorted awake in a pool of her own spittle.

Half of the Golden Oak Library's many books now lay scattered across desks and floors, with the formerly-unconscious princess lying upon the centre table.

She checked her notes again and yes, it was as she thought: last night had got her nothing but sleep deprivation. As embarrassing as it was for its librarian to admit, there just weren't enough materials here!

Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, Twilight travelled upstairs. "Spike, you up?"

"Ngh!" The baby dragon filched awake from his balled-up form. "Twilight? Nuurgh… what did you find?"

"Nothing… there just isn't enough to go on."

Spike sat up, cradling his chin. "Hm... have you spoken with the others?"

"No. Why would they know any more?"

"You never know! I mean, Celestia mentioned that 'humans' were mythological creatures, right?"

"Yeah?"

Spike gave a flat look. "And… who do WE know that would know about that?"

A thought snapped through Twilight's mind. "Oh, of course: Fluttershy! Spike, you're a genius!"

"I prefer 'best assistant'," he grunted, crawling out of bed, "But 'Genius' will do. You have fun, Twi', 'Imma go clean up the mess you no doubt made."

"Hey!"

"Twi', you study like Rainbow Dash flies; with sheer brute force."


Fluttershy's house lay in the meadows outside of Ponyville. The pegasus mare had training as a veterinarian, a Cutie Mark pertaining to animals (well, butterflies), a host of pets, and a voracious interest in exotic beasts. If there were anypony in Twilight's close circle of friends who could help, it was her.

"A human?" The beige-yellow mare echoed. "You mean the 'Others'? The creatures from the Crystal Mirror?"

"Yes. Have you heard of them before?"

Fluttershy hummed, stroking her pink mane in thought. "I don't think so… I-I thought they sounded wonderful, though."

Twilight's heart sank. She sighed, allowing her eyes to wander.

In the corner of the room, a humble bookshelf lay packed underneath a cabinet. Books, old and new, sat arranged without pattern. One book sat ajar, half pulled out.

The librarian's instincts drew Twilight's body towards it. Politeness be damned, she needed to rearrange that shelf.

With a simple push, the book slid in, ending with a satisfying thud. Now in line with the others, the rest of the book titles read in a text crawl. Most were books on plant and animal care; modern, crisp, well cleaned and taken care of, but one was not. A particularly ancient tome: 'Ye Guide to Pets and other Animals, complied by Noble Era'.

Noble Era? Twilight knew that name; he was one of her ancestors! Very prolific too, a major force in writing 15th and 16th century Equestrian history. Without thinking, Twilight levered out the tome.

Leathery pages flicked open, showing old, hoof-drawn sketches and dry instructions.

Old memories rushed back. A young Twilight poured over its texts back in her old room in Canterlot, cramming for a written report due next week. 'Ye Guide to Pets' was one of the oldest books on animal ownership in the Equestrian language. After accompanying a historic boom on pet-ownership in Canterlot, this book would cover the shelves of pet owners for centuries to come! Ah, Magic Grade School, it felt so long ago.

"Oh, do you like it?" Fluttershy asked, appearing next to her.

"GAH!" Twilight yelped, flinching away.

For once, Fluttershy didn't cringe at the noise, instead her interest was completely absorbed by the book in Twilight's hooves. "I'm not a very big reader, but that's one of my favourites. I loved reading it ever so much as a foal."

Twilight blinked. "As a foal? Really? But isn't it a little… dry?"

"Oh it is!" Fluttershy nodded. "But it's very practical. I can turn to any page in there, find an animal I need to help, list their symptoms, and then get the steps I need to help them with." She smiled, hovering closer. "Do you want to know a secret?"

Twilight found herself leaning in.

Flutershy blushed. She looked over her shoulder, over her other shoulder, between her legs, before looking back and gesturing Twilight even closer. "The book wasn't written by Noble Era."

Twilight's look went flat. "Fluttershy, that's not a secret, Noble Era states in the foreword that he only edited and published it. Nopony knows who wrote it."

Fluttershy's face went pale. "Oh… oh dear, really? Nopony knows? Then perhaps Applejack was mistaken. She said that she it was 'hand-written' by a pony named 'Gar-eth'."

"Wait… did you just say 'hand-written'?"


"Ah surely did," Applejack said. The orange coated, blonde-maned earth pony pushed open the front door to the Apple farmhouse, beckoning Twilight to follow.

Twilight smiled, joining her. "And you're sure… Gareth had 'hands'? Wait, am I saying that right?"

The interior matched its occupants; rustic, tough, with a humble charm. Applejack swiped off her cowpony hand and threw it up onto the nearby hat rack.

"Yes, and no: it's Gar-eth." Applejack said, turning to look Twilight up and down. "Y'ain't never heard of Gar-eth before, have ya? I tell ya, Granny Smith used to turn our ears all the time about that old monster ancestor o' ours."

"Monster? Ancestor?! Wanna run that by me again?"

Applejack sighed, ushering her into the kitchen, fixing the kettle and sinking into a chair. "Wow, where to start? A'ight, how's this, Gar-eth was a monster from a far-off realm. Y'know the Equestrian Civil War?"

"5th century Solar Reign; of course."

"Well, around that time there was one of the most important Apples who ever lived: Styre. He went from a grunt, to a hero, to a big ol' politician. In that time, he made friends with the Prince-Consort of that period; a monster named 'Gar-eth'."

"Wait, the Prince-Consort?" Twilight spluttered. "There's no Prince-Consort by that name!"

Applejack frowned. "Simmer down, Twi', you came to me wanting to know who Gar-eth was, and Ah'm telling you. Anyway, they were friends. Gar-eth was a private kind of pony, he didn't like speakin' about what he was or were he came from an' Styre was the same way, so they got along swell. They got up to all kinds of crazy stuff, ah'm not sure ah believe half of it. The details about Styre never really gets out of hoof, but Gar-eth? Hoo-wee, the stories Granny Smith could tell you. Apparently Gar-eth couldn't be seen by the naked eye, or he could turn his skin to metal, or even fight a whole bushel of Royal Guards with nothin' but sheer grit an' a bunch of arrows!"

"That… sounds far-fetched," Twilight said, frowning. What's more, none of that matched anything she'd seen of the 'humans' from the other side of the mirror.

Applejack shrugged, leaning back. "It's jus' tall tales, Twi'. Gar-eth was probably a normal pony, like you an' me. Except, y'know, a monster. Not a pony."

"What did he look like?"

"Well…" Applejack rubbed a hoof over her chin. "If you believe the stories, he had hands, an' stood on his hind legs."

"Sounds like a minotaur."

"Maybe. Minotaurs are rare around these parts. He could'a been mistaken for a monster."

"Maybe," Twilight murmured. That sounded close, yet, something nagged at her. "Applejack, does your family have any of Gar-eth's personal effects?"

"Wha-- like clothes or something?" Applejack looked up to the ceiling. She twitched in her seat. "Hold, on a tic… yeah, I think we do."


Rarity goggled down at the white-gold, silk scarf. Despite the age of the garment, It almost vanished into the purple-maned mare's white coat. She ran a manicured forehoof over the stitch, admiring every crevice and surface. With each stroke, her jaw inched closer and closer to the floor of her baroque fashion boutique.

"Do you recognise it?" Twilight asked.

"Recognise it?" Rarity exclaimed. "Twilight, dear! This is a 5th century Le Feuer original! Why, he revolutionised fashion of the time. Scarves, jackets, full body dress, clothes the likes of which Equestria had NEVER seen before! His styles and methods took Canterlot by storm!" She turned, gesturing a shaking forehoof to a troop of models dressed in an array of dazzling ballroom gowns. "Even now, in my very shop, you can see echoes of his noble vision!"

Twilight couldn't see it.

A frustrated growl emanated from the nearby stage. Rainbow Dash, a blue-coated Pegasus with a dazzling, multi-coloured mane, glowered at them, half-stuffed into a cross-hacked Wonderbolts costume. "Yeah, yeah, awesome. Now if you're done distracting Rarity, Twilight, we still need to get this costume right for this year's Nightmare Night."

Twilight blanched, flashing an apologetic grin.

With reverence due to a most holy artefact, Rarity walked over to a nearby padded box and folded the scarf over and over inside. "My dear, tell Applejack it would be my utmost pleasure to restore this garment for her." She sniffed, turning back. "Now forgive me, but what brings you here?"

"Well, uh. I'm in the middle of some research… about the 'Others'."

Rarity and Rainbow Dash shared a worried expression. The fashionista forced a cheerful expression. "Uh, w-what about them?"

Twilight narrowed her eyes. "Well, for starters, I think they're actually called 'humans' and every human I saw wore clothes. When I travelled through, the portal made me clothes for me to wear. Ergo, clothes are important to humans." She pointed to the padded box. "And I think that scarf used to be worn by a human."

Rarity twitched. "A… human wore that?" She gave a thoughtful pout. "I'm… well, I-I'm not entirely sure what to say, dear!"

"Tell me about Le Feuer, Rarity. You said he a great fashion designer?"

"Well, YES, dear!" The gears began to grind in Rarity's head. "Wait, you don't think that he got inspiration from 'human' clothes?"

Twilight wanted to nod. She wanted to shake her head. She couldn't do either: she had no evidence. "I… I don't know. Yet. I need to find out more."

Rainbow Dash cleared her throat, ending in a nervous laugh. "You, uh, think humans wore armour? Y'know, because of all the armour forging techniques and small-group tactics that were invented in the 5th century?"

Twilight drew on her vast intellectual knowledge of historical figures. Thousands of books dedicated to memory. Passages and passages flowed through her mind. She got nothing. "Uh…"

Disbelief replaced Rainbow Dash's nerves. "For real, Twilight?! Purple Dart's memoirs, c'mon! Read the classics!"

Wow, okay. Twilight couldn't say she had expected that. True as that may be, she still didn't have enough evidence to prove if 'Gar-eth' was a human, or just a regular monster who happened to be foreign—

Wood slapped against wood. A shrieking pink blur exploded through the front doors of the boutique.

"GAH!" Twilight flinched, turning her horn.

"EVERYPONY!" The pink blur screamed, ending in a hoof-burning screech. Her form sharpened into a thin, pink Earth pony with the distinctive bouncing mane. Pinkie Pie held aloft an ancient scroll, basking in a beaming yellow light of mysterious origins. "I HAVE DISCOVERED THE TRUTH!"

Feeling began to return to Twilight's folded, aching ears. "Pinkie… volume control."

Pinkie blinked. "Oh, sorry!" She hissed loudly. "Here, look at this! It's a family history of the Apple family, and there's a Pie on it! I'm related to Applejack. Yaaaaaaaay!"

"Woah, really?" Twilight asked. Pinkie had been trying to confirm that for ages.

"Yeah really!" Pinkie echoed. She pulled the scroll open. A cascade of names and accompanying portraits listed on it. Leaning over, she pointed to a section near the bottom. "See this? Butter Pie and Styre, with Apple Pie underneath! See the proof? Related! Yeeeeeeeee~"

Twilight frowned. "Uh, Pinkie Pie, I'm happy for you, but I don't think that's—"

A pink hoof shoved into Twilight's mouth. "No, no, this is how this works. I'm related, end of story." She pointed back to the scroll. "See?" Another name connected from Styre's generation. A godfather with a flat face and blanked out portrait.

Twilight's mind filled in the blank with the faces of smiling high schoolers. That portrait looked human, and the name was—

--Pinkie yanked the scroll away. "'Styre' plus 'Butter Pie' equals baby 'Apple Pie'. Apple-Pinkie-Pie confirmed!!! I just HAD to tell you guys before I went to Apple Acres, bye~!" She turned and skipped out the doors.

Twilight's heart lunged into her throat. "Wait Pinkie, stop, STOP! I need to see something on the--!"

Skipping in backwards, Pinkie Pie returned. In one smooth motion, she turned, opened the scroll, and pointed down to the blanked out portrait at the bottom of the list. "Here's the name you're looking for. The godfather/father-in-law, to Apple Pie: Prince-Consort Grey Spear, or 'Gar-eth'."

The truth burnt in Twilight's throat. Or maybe it was dehydration. No, doesn't matter, she thought, that blanked-out portrait looked close enough to be human! She—wait… "Hang on, Pinkie. How did you know that was the name I was looking for?"

"Pinkie Sense told me."

Of course it did, Twilight grumbled. Irrational as it was, she was beginning to envy that ability.

"And that's not all it told me." Pinkie trotted closer, inches away. Any amusement vanished from her face, replaced by stone-cold severity. "Be careful of how closely you look, Twilight. You might not like what you discover."

A chill ran up Twilight's spine.

Letting out a delightful snort, Pinkie pulled back, "--Because your ancestor could be a REAAAAL jerk! Just saying!" She pointed to a portrait one line below Butter Pie and Styre's, belonging to a gleeful looking pony called 'Chucky Larms'. Tapping her temple, and sounding out 'CA-RAY-ZEE'.

Hrm. Twilight had everything that she could probably get from her friends. Time to more research. Next stop: Canterlot.


A day-long train ride later, and Twilight stood in the State Library of Equestria. Ancient tomes listing arcane theses sat across the aisle from last year's boilerplate romance and action novels.

Heroically ignoring the pulp novel's siren calls, she made a beeline to the oldest sections of the library. Her first point of call would be biology. If there was anywhere that listed humans, they'd be in there.

They weren't in there.

Twilight groaned, massaging the bags under her eyes. Okay, that was a wash, perhaps she'd find something in the historical records of the 5th century Celestial Rule? Surely they'd hold something!

They didn't.

The twitching in Twilight's eye grew stronger. Fine, Twilight thought, you wanna play hardball, 'Gar-eth'? Well, you picked the wrong mare! It was time for her to drag out the Royal Marriage Ledgers and go straight to the source!

Pages upon pages filled with the names, lives and details of every Prince-Consort known. The biographies grew more and more detailed the closer they came to the present day. She'd flicked over the first page of the 4th century consort, the Earth pony: Doctor 'Ride-on Llull'.

Twilight found herself reading his entry anyway, even now, when she was so close. Taking ten minutes, she absorbed the life of this philosopher, logician, and writer. Did you know he penned the first piece of romance literature ever written in Equestria? And that he did it to woo Princess Celestia? Or that he helped formalise early-modern logical thought? He wasn't the only amazing pony here, either. All the Prince-Consorts led such interesting lives. She couldn't wait to turn the last page and…

That's it! His name appeared on top of the next biography: Grey Spear!

A rush pumped through Twilight's veins. This was it. She did it! Now she'd have everything she needed! Of course, as with any study session, let's see how many pages this entry went on for. She flicked the page over.

'Mr. Hammer Chink'

The voice of triumph went silent in Twilight's head. She goggled at the page. That couldn't be right. She flicked forward.

'Moving out of his blacksmithing apprenticeship, Hammer Chink began on his first task; the recreation of the aquifers of Canterlot. This would help influence his life's work of revolutionising and formalisation of the Equestrian hygiene standards and—' this went on for another twenty pages.

"No…" Twilight flicked a few pages back.

'Ride-on's health deteriorated in his old age. Unable to stand, he nevertheless refused to accept his frailty and worked from his bedside. In this time he laid the seeds for some of Equestria's greatest mathematical—'

"No, no!" She flicked one page forward.

Grey Spear's page stared back with nought but four scant paragraphs.

"NO!" Twilight clapped hoof onto the table. He’d done it again! He'd hidden himself from—

"SHH!" A librarian hissed from down the aisle.

Twilight cringed. Okay… so she was being a little loud, but could anyone blame her? This 'Gar-eth' had so little information attributed that she needed to dive into official records to prove his mere existence! Okay, take a breath Twilight, get a grip. Read what you have:

'Grey Spear was the prince-consort of the 6th Celestial era. Little verifiable information survives of his appearance, origin, or even species. He appeared weeks before the beginning of the Equestrian Civil War and, according to legend, was key to helping Celestia re-establish her sovereignty.

'The biology of Grey Spear's species is the source of much conjecture. The best source of information is comes from medical scripts of the era. According to the script, penned by Doctor Il Legittima Legata, Grey Spear appeared 'magickally deceased' (sic) and being 'difficult to perceive'. Further conjecture notes that Grey Spear may have been a 'non-magickal construct', found by Celestia in her self-exile. His true form appeared to be 'Taur of some subspecies, with fleshy hands and feet. However, Legata noted that over time Grey Spear might be 'filled' by magic, becoming easier to see, losing his 'non-magickal' traits.

'There is evidence that Grey Spear came from a tool-using species. A diary from a Royal Guard noted him to be 'gifted with spear and bow'. The same diary states that Grey Spear drilled the Guard of the time, making plans to establish the 'Rangers'. (An Earth-pony-centric unit with the same name still exists today.)

'Grey Spear continued to reign by Celestia's side until his death thirty years later. In his passing he left behind no blood descendants, relics, or scripts.'

Twilight exhaled, leaning back in her seat. Everything listed sounded so close to a human, but those non-magic traits… she didn't see anything like that in the human world. Then again, the human world didn't even HAVE magic! Argh, this was driving her mad!

Sunset Shimmer’s demonic form cackled overhead. Batwings propelled her through the skies, hailing magic upon the innocent high schoolers below. The Element of Friendship burned in her hair, a pale blue eye staring upon destruction the likes of which this world had never seen.

Twilight twitched upright. She pulled back the tome and read over the passage again. 'Filled by magic', that's what the tome said. Given Canterlot High's proximity to the portal, magic could have been flowing through and 'filling' the surroundings for a very long time. Wait… wouldn't that be like magical radiation? Was that harmful to humans? It didn't seem so, Grey Spear survived for a good period of time while in Equestria. She should check the mirror after she was done here, Twilight resolved to herself. Now she had even MORE reason to confirm if Grey Spear was human or not! She checked back over for the doctor's name.

'Doctor Il Legittima Legata'.

Hmm. It sounded familiar. Time for more digging. Twilight took a trip down to the registrar for any works under the Doctor's name.

The results appeared. Doctor Il Legittima Legata, 5th and 6th century Solar Reign, notable works include; 'Magical Connections', 'On Ye Nature of Cutie Marks', and 'Ye Meta-Magics of Love, Romance, and Friendship'.

The hamster wheel cog in Twilight's brain cracked, dropping her jaw. This was THE Doctor Legata, mother of love magic! She discovered that a unicorn’s magic was inexorably affected by the nature of their Cutie Marks. First and foremost, for a pony to master love magic would take more than just study and skill, but a natural inclination to use it safely!

According to the registrar, all of Doctor Legata's works were held up in the Star Swirl wing of the Canterlot Library.

That would be Twilight's next stop. She could only hope there would be more information on Gar-eth there.


Twilight never felt welcome inside the spiral tower of Star Swirl the Bearded. It could be the imposing gothic architecture, or the wealth of forbidden magical knowledge inside, maybe it was even the constant Royal Guard presence keeping watch. Or maybe that it was because of the fact that it had been the historic domain of royalty.

The pinions of Twilight's purple wings dug into the back of her neck. She shuffled them back. Even months later, she hadn't got used to the reminder of her new station as an Alicorn Princess. Well, Princess or no, she hadn't been here often enough to know where she was going. She stopped a Royal Guards for some directions.

"Oh thank Celestia, you're here!" The Royal Guard said.

"Uh, what?"

He gestured towards the central staircase. "Please your Majesty, head directly to the upper floors. Princess Mi Amore Cadenza has been waiting for hours!"


The guard lead her to a pair of heavy iron doors, studded with some serious rune protections. He waved a horn over the top, unlatching a series of springs, locks and mystical runes. With a magnanimous smile and a polite wave, he ushered Twilight inside.

Twilight looked about with wide eyes, holding the awe back in her throat.

The upper levels of Star Swirl’s study were always a serious affair. Nopony came here lightly. You were in, then you were out. The dangers contained within were nothing to be underestimated. Each shelf contained a lock, each section was littered with alarms, the windows shined, the rats paid, the dust mites dusted, and the floors contained enough spit and polish to run a spit 'n’ polish shop out of business. Well, under normal operating conditions it did. Somepony seemed to have missed the memo because there was a small mountain of scrolls laying haphazardly atop the centre table.

"Uh, hello?"

"Twilight!" Cadence's voice came from within the landslide of scrolls. A pink horn poked out from within, belonging to a familiar pink alicorn. Her pink and white streaked mane tied back to a bun; studious, yet royal, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, Princess of the Crystal Empire, wore a relieved smile on her face.

"Uh, hey Cadence. You called for me?"

"Sorry about all this," She said, stepping over the pile. "I was in the middle of this study, and I thought, who better to get help from than little Twilie? To be honest, I was worried about that mail-mare getting to you at all."

Twilight frowned. "Uh, what mail-mare?"

The colour drained from Cadence's face. "Don't tell me…"

Twilight rubbed her shoulder. "Sorry, Cadence… I was here for another reason."

"Great…" Cadence moaned, shoulders sagging as she cast a forlorn gaze to the scrolls behind her. "I'm doomed."

"W-well, I guess it can wait? What did you need help with?"

Cadance's eyes perked up. Blue light swirled around her horn, tugging over a scroll. With a flick, the leathery scroll unfurled, depicting a diagram of the Crystal Mirror. "Recognise this?"

"Of course, that's the Crystal Mirror. Spike and I went through it a few days ago."

"Yep!" Cadance rolled it up with another flick. "Princess Luna and I have been burning the midnight-- err, 'mid-day' oil trying to find out more about the Mirrors. You see, Celestia thinks they're a magical dead-end, but Luna and I think we can't afford to be ignorant about them. I mean, what happened if something came through one of them?"

"Ah-ha-ha… yeah, crazy," Twilight murmured. She cleared her throat. "I'm actually on the trail of something like that."

"Really?" Cadence craned her swan-like neck in. "What've you found?"

The flash of hope in Cadance's eyes sent Twilight cringing. "Well, uh, it's nothing concrete, but I think that a pony in the past may have been a human; a creature from beyond the mirror."

"Oh. I think Luna is going to freak—"

"Could be true! Could. I don't know yet!"

Cadence pondered for a moment. "Wait, are we talking about one of the creatures you described from 'Canterlot High'?"

"Yes, have you heard of them?"

Cogs turned behind Cadence's eyes. "Maaaybe… What else do you have?"

"That Doctor Legata did a physical on him, I was hoping to see that scroll."

Cadence nodded once. "I think I know the one, follow me!"


The crystalline doors to the Crystal Heart wing lay closed in the distance, opening at her approach.

Even accompanied by Cadence, Twilight felt reluctant to go inside. The Crystal Heart wing was off-limits to the general public for good reason. Flagrant use of love magic could result in such wonderful consequences as love potions that tore apart kingdoms, or desire spells that could drive a small village into riotous lust over a stuffed toy…

Celestia still teased her about that.

Cadence's tall form brushed past. "C'mon Twilie, this way," she said, heading straight to the 5th century shelves.

Cobwebs shook from Twilight's mind. She turned, following.

"Do we have a name, Twilie?"

"Look for a scroll called 'Grey Spear' or 'Gar-eth'."

"Cool," Cadence said, running a forehoof over the shelving. She tapped in the middle of a mound of scrolls. Extracting it with a tug of magic, she trotted to a nearby table. The leathery parchment unfurled with a satisfying flumping noise, ending at around 3 feet. Cadence gave a short gasp. "Oh wow."

Twilight joined her, looking down. "What is—"

Complex diagrams and statistics spread out before her. Old Equestrian combined with some truly woeful hoof-writing spiralled into a miasma of hellish chicken scratches and gobbildy-gook. Little was legible, and those pieces that were seemed to conspire to do such tortuous things to the Equestrian language that Twilight found to be both grammatically and ethically wrong. Half of it looked to be in doctor's code, or slang, of the time. Perhaps even encrypted.

"I can't read this," Twilight admitted.

"I needed to read through her biopsies as part of my thesis on Love Magics," Cadence sighed, pulling it over. "I STILL don't know half the things she's on about."

Minutes went by. Cadance mumbled to herself, mouthing the words.

Twilight allowed her eyes to drift out of focus, sliding over the page. She twitched up, nudging Cadence. "What does it say?"

Cadence pursed her lips. "Something interesting." She tugged the page over, pointing to a primitive sketch of a humanoid figure. "Is this familiar?"

Air stole away from Twilight's lungs. She stared, brushing a forehoof over the page.

The page crinkled, folding away. "Thought so," Cadence said. "The biopsy notes that the 'subject', 'Gar-eth', had bone growths around his left arm, possibly from physical stress, along with extreme stress levels, battlefield trauma, slight dehydration, an ill temper, a poor sense of humour, and a full bladder." She peered at the page. "He was also married to Celestia."

Twilight froze up. Oh, right, she forgot to mention that…

Silence hung in the air. Cadence put the page down, took off her glasses, rubbed her eyes, put her glasses back on, and looked again. She nodded to herself, humming louder than was considered polite, before turning to Twilight with a baffled expression. "How did I miss that before?"

Twilight spared Cadence a sympathetic look. "Yeah… I just came from the Archives. I felt the same way."

"I… I just—" Bridging her forehooves, Cadence sucked in a sigh. "I mean, wow. Celestia married an 'Oth'— a human? I mean, why didn't she tell us? When I asked her about the other side, all she told me was that—" Cadence's words died in her throat. She turned to Twilight with a strange look on her face.

"Uh, Cadance? W-what did Celestia say?"

Cadance bit her lip. "Twilie… can I cast the Red-string spell on you?"

Twilight took a step back. Casting the Red-string spell was… "Isn't that a little… private?"

"I know, Twilie. It's okay if you're not cool with it."

After a moment of thinking, Twilight allowed herself to nod. "Okay… I guess I was a little surprised to hear it, but I guess if there's anypony in the world who I trust to cast it… it's you."

A heartwarming smile appeared on Cadance's face. Her horn glowed blue, drifting over to Twilight's cutie mark. "Okay, this won't hurt a bit…"

Twilight braced herself anyway.

Magic intertwined with Twilight's deepest connections, a rainbow of strings sprang out, drifting off into all directions of the room. A tight corded band of chromatic lights strung out to the west, to Ponyvile, each one symbolising the other Elements of Harmony. Another chromatic chord stretched towards Cadence's chest while several smaller strings extended out in all directions.

Twilight stared up, heart pounding in her chest. She hadn't had a Red-string reading since she was a filly. Back then it was only a hooffull of cords, now… there were more than she could count.

"Wow," Cadence breathed.

"Yeah," Twilight agreed.

Pink hooves plucked through the strings, digging through ones leading to the Crystal Empire. Another set of smaller chromatic bands led that way, the same number that led to Ponyville. "Your heart is confused," Cadence said. "It sees your friends on the other side as similar, but recognises that they're different."

The word plucked at Twilight's heart. "Yeah…"

Gently pulling them apart, Cadence peeled the chromatic bands aside… revealing a pair of red strings underneath.

Red string… a RED string. A peeling sensation pulled at Twilight's hammering heart.

Cadence looked up, smiling. "Does the name 'Flash Sentry' mean anything to you?"

Memories of a blue-haired human flashed in Twilight's mind. From his goofy smile, to the thunder-crossed shield design on his shirt. His warm hands clutching hers, and the smell of his soft leather jacket. Then, when she returned, she saw a stallion that she swore looked so much like him. That must have been the other string. Twilight wasn't sure if what she felt was love, but the presence of the Red-string confirmed it. "I… y-yes."

Nodding, Cadance pulled back, sending another pulse of magic towards Twilight. Whipping chromatic strings coiled back into Twilight's cutie mark. The last cord recoiled with a snap, sending Twilight into a rump-whipped flinch.

"Wow, hey!" she mumbled, rubbing her hiney.

"I think I understood what Celestia meant now," Cadence said with a mysterious smile.

"Understood… how exactly? Because I'm still pretty confused," Twilight grumbled.

A gentle forehoof linked around Twilight's neck, pulling her into Cadence's side. "You'll get it soon. In the meantime, I think understand what Celestia was doing a bit better."

"Well… I don't," Twilight said, unwinding herself, "And I'm going to find out."

Cadence nodded giving Twilight a quick pat. "Okay… go speak with Luna, she's down in the Royal Tombs. I'm sure she can help."

Next Chapter: Epilogue (Part 2) Estimated time remaining: 29 Minutes
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