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Twilight Falls, Sunset Dawns

by DrakeyC

Chapter 1

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Twilight Falls, Sunset Dawns

Chapter 1


Twilight Sparkle hummed to herself as she stared into the mirror. Two hair brushes wrapped in auras of violet magic combed through her hair. It was an unconscious act: Twilight had set the come-to-life spell on them to go through the motions of her morning grooming, while she concerned her active mind with what was ahead of her that day.

"Are you sure you don't need me to come with you, Twi?" Behind her, Spike was putting the spell books she'd need into a saddlebag, along with supplies of parchment, quills, and ink.

Twilight turned to watch him in the mirror and shook her head. "It's just a few days, Spike. I'm going to spend most of it studying and researching. You'd be bored. Besides, I need my number one assistant to stay here to take care of the castle and Owlowiscious."

Spike finished putting the books in the bag and clicked the cover shut. "Okay, but if you're not gonna be here, that means I'm in charge of the castle, right?"

Twilight narrowed her eyes and turned her head slightly. "Spike," she said with a hint of warning in her voice, "what are you up to?"

"Nothing!" Spike feigned innocence. "I was just thinking, you know, that if I wanted to do something on the behalf of the Princess…"

"Just say it."

"Can I use some of the tribute fund to buy Rarity something? I saw this really pretty brooch in a shop last week." Spike gave Twilight his most adorable wide-eyed look. She smiled. They both knew her answer before she gave it.

"Go ahead, but don't spend the entire fund," Twilight replied. "It's going to help pay for a field trip for Cheerilee's class next week."

"No problem!" Spike gave a mock salute. "Glory to the Princess of Friendship and her generous subjects!"

Twilight rolled her eyes. "Spike, I've told you not to call me that."

"You tell everypony not to call you that. Since when do they listen?"

Twilight shrugged slightly. After the appearance of her castle in the wake of Tirek's defeat, ponies from across Equestria had begun flocking to Ponyville to see her. And with the visitors came the tributes to their princess. Twilight found herself virtually swamped in material gifts – crowns and tiaras were particularly abundant, of course – and had been forced to allocate most of her basement to storage for them. The more common monetary gifts she had received were put towards projects of interest around Ponyville.

I've been able to do so much for so many ponies. Twilight smiled when her hair brushes finished their task, and she dispelled her magic and slid them into the drawer of her dresser. Hopefully, come this time next week, I'll be able to do even more. She had been waiting for this chance for months. When she wasn't fielding visitors, Twilight's time was taken up with magic research. She had gleefully plundered the library in the Castle of the Two Sisters for all it had, discovering dozens of ancient spell tomes. She had even made a breakthrough in long-range teleportation. The guards in Canterlot almost arrested me when I appeared in the gardens. Twilight giggled at the memory. It was her research on that spell that had inspired her to pursue her current course of research.

"Okay, we're all set." Spike clipped the saddlebags closed.

"Thank you, Spike." She walked over and lifted the bags over her back. "Do you need anything else before I go?"

Spike tapped a claw on his chin. "Permission to eat ice cream for dinner?"

"I don't think so. I've asked somepony to come over and eat with you to make sure you get proper meals."

"Aw, come on!"

Twilight smiled and pulled out her secret weapon. "Well, if you insist, I'll stop by Rarity's on the way and let her know—"

"Never mind—I'm cool!"

Twilight laughed and knelt to put a hoof around him. "Be good, Spike."

Spike patted Twilight on the back. "Have fun."

Twilight headed towards the stairs to the ground floor. "Spike, I'm going to spend a week studying one of the most mysterious magical relics in Equestria! How can I not have fun?"


In hindsight, Twilight was far more surprised than she should have been when she arrived at the train platform. She had told everypony she was going to Canterlot weeks ago and made regular mention of it in conversation when her friends talked about plans for the days she would be gone. She had figured it would be a simple, quiet trot to the train station, and she would be able to catch her train in peace.

The streamers, tables of sweets, and a giant banner reading, 'Goodbye Twilight!' that decorated the platform suggested otherwise.

As Twilight neared the spectacle, she saw four of her friends coming into view. They turned and came up to her, smiling widely.

"Howdy, Twi." Applejack raised a hoof in greeting. "Welcome to your goin' away party."

"Thanks, Applejack." Twilight looked around, confused. "Where's Pinkie Pie?"

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "It's a secret. But a bit of advice – when you go to cut the cake, announce it loudly." Twilight giggled.

"Are you sure you can handle this little project alone, darling?" Rarity asked.

Twilight nodded. "I'll be fine; there's not much you would be able to do to help me anyway. And I'm not going to go out into the city, just staying at the castle while I conduct my research. If you want to come and see the city, that's up to you, but there wouldn't be much to do around the castle." She looked sheepish. "Besides, no offence, everypony, but Celestia and I haven't spent a lot of time together since I moved to Ponyville. Usually the only times I see her are special occasions, or when there's some impending disaster we need to deal with. I'm looking forward to being able to visit her like old times without something stirring up trouble for us."

Fluttershy smiled. "It's all right, Twilight. We know how much you and Celestia mean to each other."

Applejack scoffed and waved a hoof. "Yeah, we get it. You just take it easy and say ‘Hi’ for us."

Twilight approached the table Pinkie had set up. There were platters of candies, cupcakes, and bowls of punch, all beside a large cake decorated with swirls of pink and violet icing. A novelty candle in the shape of Twilight's cutie mark emerged from the top. "This seems a bit understated for one of Pinkie's parties."

Rainbow Dash came up beside her and grabbed a cupcake. "The ticket office said they'd have to ask her to move if she went any bigger. Some ponies are actually here to board trains." Rainbow gestured her hoof to the Ponyville citizens standing on the platform. Looking at the crowd, Twilight noticed a few had helped themselves to the snacks and smiled.

The speaker over the ticket booth blared to life. "Now arriving, express train from Appleloosa. Next stop, Canterlot."

Twilight looked down the track and saw the train approaching. "Well, I'd love to stay and enjoy the party with you, girls, but that's my ride." Twilight was suddenly swamped by four pairs of very affectionate hooves wrapping around her in a group hug.

"Y'all Princesses better have fun together."

"Take care. Bring us back a memento, preferably something collectible and in-season."

"And don't worry about us – we'll be fine. We'll take care of any petitioners that show up for you."

Twilight blushed under the attention, at the same time hugging back. "I'll miss you, too. But you're really making a big deal out of this. Remember, we'll see each other again in just a few days." Behind her, the train pulled to a stop and the doors slid open. Twilight pulled away from the four and trotted to the nearest car. She stepped over the threshold and turned to wave. "Bye, girls!"

As her friends waved back and shouted varying farewells, Twilight saw the cake on the table move. She began to call out a warning to the group, but the train door slid shut first. A pink mane covered in frosting emerged from the cake, the owner's eyes wide. Pinkie Pie leapt into the air, and her hind hooves spun for a moment before she shot forward to smack against the door window. Twilight recoiled from the impact.

"Did you get to try the cake?" Pinkie screamed through the window, her face pressed against the glass and distorting her visage. "I made it just for you!"

Twilight laughed and shook her head. "Save me a slice for when I get back!" The train began to move, and Twilight saw Applejack bite down on Pinkie's tail to pull her away. "Bye, Pinkie!"

"Bye, Twilight! We love you!" Applejack yanked Pinkie Pie off the door with an audible pop. Frosting smeared in the shape of a smiling pony's face remained where she had been.

Twilight turned from the door to see the conductor watching her, an eyebrow raised. She chuckled nervously. "Um… very attached friends."


Two unicorn guard ponies bowed their heads and parted as Twilight approached. The doors of Canterlot's entrance hallway creaked open from guards’ magic. A pair of greeters at the bottom of the stairs inside raised their horns, but a voice from above cut them off.

"There'll be no need for that. I'm quite aware of who she is." Princess Celestia descended the stairs and smiled at her former student. "Welcome once again, Twilight."

Twilight grinned and rushed up to her, embracing her eagerly. "Hello, Princess." Celestia patted a hoof on her back. After a moment, Twilight stepped away. "Thanks for giving me this chance. I really appreciate it."

"Not at all. I'm happy to host you any time you wish." Celestia turned and led Twilight up the stairs. "I told Kibitz to have the cooks prepare dinner for three, if you would care to join Luna and me? I'm sure you're hungry after your trip."

"Very, but if you don't mind, I'd like to see it first," Twilight replied. Celestia nodded as they reached the top of the stairs and headed down the hall.

"It arrived from the Crystal Empire yesterday morning." Twilight noted her mentor's voice had taken on a darker tone, but said nothing. "Based on the measurements you provided me, the moon's alignment will begin tonight. I consulted Luna. She confirmed that she cannot distort the portal's magic via the moon, so it will only be open for three days at most, the same as before. I trust that will be enough time for your research?"

Twilight tilted her head and thought. "I'd prefer a full week at least, under ideal circumstances, but I can make do. I brought all the instruments and books I might need to make the most of the time, and even after all the direct experimentation, it could take weeks or even months to go over all the data. Not to mention there'll be further tests I can do at home, so tack on a few more months there. It'll be fine in the long run."

Celestia chuckled. "It is good you have such studies to focus your attention on. Not since Star Swirl the Bearded has Equestria known a pony with such a thirst for magical knowledge."

Twilight blushed and shook her head. "I wouldn't say I'm as good as Star Swirl. I mean, he discovered some of the most fundamental principles of magic. The spells unicorns use every day to live their lives owe it to his studies. I can't even begin to compare to that."

The two had now reached a hallway in a lower area of Canterlot's castle. There were fewer guards here, and the halls and rooms seemed a bit less bright, at least to Twilight. They turned a corner to another hallway, and Twilight's eyes swept over the room. So it really isn't just me, after all. The hallway reminded her of her storage rooms in her castle, but much larger with proportionately larger inventory. The carpet underneath them ran between rows of statues, paintings, jewellery, tapestries, and other items.

Celestia looked at Twilight out of the corner of her eye. "Do not be so modest as to downplay your achievements, Twilight. You have done much already, yes, but the future holds even more to do. With all you may discover in the years to come, Equestria could see the dawn of a new era of magical enlightenment." Celestia paused and smiled down at her. "This is the destiny you received the day your cutie mark appeared." Twilight looked at the six-pointed violet star on her flank. "That mark is one of greatness. It belongs to a pony that will change Equestria. Embrace it and be proud."

"Well, I am. I think. Should I be proud of things I haven't done yet?" Twilight tilted her head. Celestia laughed again and turned forward to continue on. Lost in thought, Twilight took a moment to notice and then trotted to catch up. "I mean, sure, I've made a lot of discoveries. And my friends and I have saved Equestria about half a dozen times or so. But I'm just doing what anypony else in my place would do, right?"

"Perhaps, but other ponies are not in your place, nor could they ever be. You are a princess, Twilight. I above most others understand the need to rein in one's arrogance and self-importance, to keep a clear head and be the true, hard-working pony that made you what you are." Celestia turned her head and winked. "But on the other hoof, what is a bit of indulgence now and then?"

Twilight thought back to the tribute fund and grinned sheepishly. "Well, the position does come with perks besides a castle and a crown."

Celestia stopped when they reached the door at the end of the hall. She turned to Twilight with all humour gone from her eyes. "I've ordered patrols of the area to begin tonight. I've informed the guards of your presence, so you'll be free to come and go as you please, but nopony else will be permitted." Twilight nodded. Celestia's horn lit up in golden light and the doors swung open behind her.

Inside the room before them, a mirror stood on a small platform. The frame bore the shape of a purple horseshoe with violet gemstones set in it, and metal wiring twisted into swirl patterns danced up the sides. The windows of the room cast beams of sunlight on the relic, making the frame seem to almost glow as the light gleamed off the polished surface.

Twilight stared as memories of the other world she had thought she'd forgotten about flooded back to her. Meeting the counterparts of her friends, Flash Sentry, the fall formal… Sunset Shimmer and the Element of Magic.

Celestia approached the mirror and looked over it, ignorant to Twilight's daze. "While I trust you will be careful while studying the mirror, one thing concerns me that you must make clear to me before I let this proceed." She turned her head and Twilight roused herself from her thoughts.

"Yes?"

"Do you intend to pass through it?"

Twilight thought for a moment or two but eventually shook her head. "There's plenty of residual magical energy around the mirror itself to take up my time. If I had more than just three days, maybe, but for now I don't see this going any further then slipping an object partway through the portal and seeing how it's affected. Besides, there's no magic in the other world, so I wouldn't be able to do much there."

"Good." Celestia looked back at the mirror, her expression dark. "Passage between worlds has caused enough harm already."

Twilight held in a sigh at her mentor's shift in attitude. “It’ll be fine, princess. I doubt anyone in the other world even remembers when the portal is due to open. There’s no danger anymore.”

“For the mirror’s sake, I would hope so,” Celestia said sharply. She shook her head. “We should have sealed this beneath Canterlot months ago. After what happened with King Sombra in the other world, we should take no chances with these relics.”

Twilight looked up at her. “It isn't the same as that time. This mirror only opens for three days every two and a half years. No one in the other world besides Sunset Shimmer knows how it works, and she’s reformed, now.”

“So you have told me.” Celestia’s response didn't leave much room for rebuttal, and Twilight decided to drop the matter. Celestia had intended to have the mirror destroyed after the incident with King Sombra, but Twilight had cited that the mirror was a priceless magical relic with invaluable spells wrapped up in it. After Luna reminded her of the thirty moon time limit, Celestia had relented and the mirror was saved.

“After these three days pass, I am shipping the mirror back to the Crystal Empire.” Celestia picked up the conversation again. “It is only here now for your research, as requested, but I’ll not have it in my castle any longer than is needed.”

Twilight nodded. “I understand. Thank you, princess.” She'd spent the last few months writing to Celestia to organize this trip, getting the mirror brought to Canterlot so she could have access to it. Dimensional teleportation was long thought impossible, even by the most renowned scholars, but this mirror was proof it could be done. Twilight looked over the mirror and felt a swell of excitement rise up. I can leapfrog over the theory to the practical. I might even be able to reverse-engineer it. My studies of this mirror could revolutionize the field of space-time magic.

Twilight approached the mirror. She felt Celestia's eyes on her and ignored them. She put a hoof out and carefully touched it to the mirror, her hoof reaching for its reflection. The two lavender hooves made contact on cold surface. "I guess it doesn't open until tonight."

"So it would seem."

Twilight lowered her hoof. "Well, I guess there's nothing to do for now." She turned to Celestia. "Is there a place I could unpack my materials?"

Celestia's expression brightened. "I've had a room set aside for you already." She turned to leave, Twilight following her. "It's a guest room of sorts, you could say, but I believe it suitable for a princess. Once you're settled in, would you care to join Luna and me for a discussion before dinner? You'll be busy with research tomorrow, and I wouldn't mind spending time with you when you're not thinking about other things."

"Of course. That was part of my plan for the trip." Twilight smiled up at her, and then looked ahead as they headed down the hall. Celestia turned to glance behind her, the doors behind them still open and the mirror beyond shining in the sunlight streaming from the room's windows. With a flick of her head and the soft glow of her horn, the doors swung shut.


The storage room of Canterlot's castle was lit only by beams of moonlight that cast a silver glow over the relics within. The mirror in the centre of the room reflected the light onto the floor.

Then the mirror's surface rippled like water, sparkles of light glimmering over the waves. With a flash, an orange hoof stepped out and touched down on the floor.

Sunset Shimmer had her eyes closed as she emerged from the portal and didn't open them until her fourth hoof felt cool tile. Transformed, she stopped to take a breath and look over herself. Her other body was a wreck, but to her relief, it didn't carry over to her pony body. She was just as she remembered, save for some minor physical aging. She still felt tired, sore, and hungry, but at least she didn't look it.

"Halt!" Sunset whipped her head around to see a guard by the door approaching her. "Miss, identify yourself and – urk!" The guard cried out as Sunset lifted him in her magic, his body glowing light blue. She cast a second spell, and the guard's eyes slid closed. He began snoring, and Sunset lowered him to the ground.

Safe, Sunset looked around the room and thought aloud. "Canterlot storage… they moved it back." Good. Her task had just become much easier. Her horn lit up in teal magic, and she seized a black cloth draped over a suit of armour. She shook the dust out and wrapped it over her neck and head. Her colouring was ill-suited for creeping around a castle stealthily, and she didn't care for the guards to see her.

Why not? Her brain argued with her as she moved to the door. What's stopping you from walking up to Celestia's room and seeing her? Telling her the truth? Sunset paused. Her brain had made that argument for a month, ever since she had resolved to return to Equestria. As before, she told it to shut up. Celestia won't want to see me. It's been five years, and the last time I returned I stole her student's crown and plotted to conquer her world. She's more likely to throw me in a cell than welcome me with open arms… hooves. Sunset frowned and she mentally corrected her terminology. She'd have to get used to that again.

Sunset opened the door, and saw a guard pony walking away from her, a cone of light from his horn reflecting on the relics in the room. She closed the doors behind her and slipped into the rows of royal tributes and gifts. She peeked out at the guard and paused when he turned and came back, and then moved on when he passed her. Leaving the hallway with the guard ignorant, she recalled her memories of the castle. Down this hall, make a left, short flight of stairs up, right. She only saw two guards on her trip through the halls and ducked into side-passages to avoid them. Finally, she reached her destination. She raised her eyes to the star-decorated blue panel over the bars in front of her and activated her magic. The keyhole in the bars glowed, the tumblers slid up and clicked open, and Sunset Shimmer entered the Star Swirl the Bearded Wing.

Sunset let out a breath at getting inside without being found, and then walked into the centre of the room. She tossed her cloak to the floor and looked around. The strongest, most forbidden spells in Equestria lay at her hooves, waiting for her to discover them. I just need to figure out which type of spell I need. She moved to one shelf, looked between the books, and tossed one of the books on the carpet behind her. Might be worth looking at. A second book joined the first soon after. Sunset moved on to a third book when she heard voices from the hall. She gasped in horror; she had forgotten to close and re-lock the gate. She pressed herself against the shelf and listened. The voices came close enough for her to make out what they were saying.

"So then I said 'oatmeal? Are you crazy?'" She heard the speaker laugh – a guard pony from the sounds of it.

A second voice, deeper than the first, chuckled politely. "Well, joking aside, she was trying to be polite, and – hey!" Sunset heard the door to the wing creak and braced herself. She was sure she could evade them and slip out if they came inside, but she didn't have what she needed. "Was somepony in here earlier? Why is this unlocked?"

The first guard responded, "Princess Twilight is staying here doing some sort of magic research. You know what she's like sometimes. She probably just forgot to lock it when she finished." Sunset heard the gate shut with a jingle of keys and the click of a lock.

"We'll give her a reminder tomorrow. We don't need ponies sneaking in here." Their voices grew further away as the two continued to discuss their earlier story. Sunset relaxed and slumped down the shelf to the floor. She then tensed up again as she remembered what they had said.

Twilight Sparkle is back in Canterlot. A flurry of confused emotions erupted within her: hatred, gratitude, jealousy, admiration, bitterness. She pushed them aside. She doesn't matter. Once I find what I need here to start a new life, I can leave Canterlot and spend the rest of my new life never even thinking of her name.

A new life. A second – well, third – chance to start over with a clean slate. Once she found the right kind of spell here, she could do it. Go across Equestria, far from any of the Princesses and any of the memories they brought up, and make a new life for herself. There must be something for that here. Something to speed-learn a craft, or change my appearance. Or a memory spell… Sunset shook her head. No. After all I've been through, erasing the memories would probably make things worse. Okay, no memory spells. But surely there was something here. She didn't care how it was done, as long as she found the opportunity she needed, she'd take it.

Sunset Shimmer lost track of time in the shelves. The few books on the carpet behind her became many. Once she decided it was enough, she stopped and browsed through them. Nothing she saw seemed of any use and she floated them back to the shelves. After three batches of books and two hours, her search had still turned up nothing. Sunset snapped her current book shut and flung it at a stack of them on the other end of the shelf, knocking them over. She took the last book from beside her and held it up, eyes narrowing as she flipped through it. Finding nothing, she scowled and tossed it behind her.

The most powerful magical minds in Equestrian history, and none of them made some sort of… life-reset-button magic!? Sunset let out a groan of frustration. Looking up at the top of the shelf, she grabbed a random book with her magic and pulled it down. She repeated the task, books hitting the carpet behind her. Before she had looked for books that were likely to have what she needed, but now she took whatever she happened to see as her eyes scanned the shelf. One almost hit her as she pulled it down, and she narrowly pulled aside to avoid it. Sunset let out a long sigh and hung her head. Exhaustion, sleep-deprivation, and hunger were causing her not to think clearly, and she knew it. She also knew she didn't care, because there was nothing she could do to solve those problems until she found the type of spell she needed. Come morning surely somepony would come into the wing itself and then she was lost.

A thicker book floated from the shelf and something came with it. A small wooden box clanged to the carpet, the lid flapping slightly. Sunset jumped and looked at the box, then up at the shelf. It must have been on top of the books and came down with this one when she pulled it out. She glanced at the cover of the book – a waste of time to even read that much – and then looked at the box. She clicked it open and slowly lifted the lid. She gasped, her eyes widening.

Nestled against a soft red satin interior was a smooth stone, pale white and shaped like a sphere flattened on two sides. The inside of the sphere was glowing, swirls of white and black clouds circling around each other. Three finely cut black stones framed the edges of the stone, forming a triangle-shape in their positioning with the stone in the centre. Sunset carefully extracted the relic from the box. An aura of power radiated from it, a magic she was unfamiliar with. And there was not much magic with which Sunset Shimmer was unfamiliar.

She turned the object around in the air to inspect it. "Okay, what do you do?" She noticed a parchment in the box beneath it and picked it up as well, the light of the stone illuminating the page. Her eyes widened at what she read. She could barely believe it. She had thought Celestia had outlawed this kind of magic in Equestria centuries ago. Finishing, Sunset looked at the stone and thought.

So the question now is… whom do I use it on?

It didn't take long before she had an answer. She smiled, eyes shining in the stone's glow.


With the box tied around her midsection with a torn strip of her cloak, Sunset again moved stealthily through the hallways of Canterlot, ducking behind statues and pillars to avoid being seen. She didn't know precisely where her target was, but she could take a good guess, and she knew the route by heart. Left, two flights of stairs, down this hall – ducking into a side-passage to avoid a guard – up one more flight of stairs, left…

Sunset peaked around the corner and pulled back. As she expected, there were two guards standing vigilant. They hadn't seen her, but she knew that wouldn't last if she tried to pass them. She had come too far to back down though, and she had taken so long that morning could be here any moment. Taking a breath, Sunset focused, her horn glowing. With a flash of teal light, she vanished and appeared just inside the doorway of the room the guards were defending.

Sunset smiled widely. I've never teleported that far before, nevermind to a place I couldn't see. Her pride at her accomplishment was short-lived as she turned her attention forward. I knew it. The pony she was looking for was sleeping in the bed across the room, the blankets rising and falling softly with only her head and mane visible. Sunset looked away from her to examine the room. It was all exactly the same: the bed, the dresser and mirror, the desk. Not only were they in the same spots, but they were the same pieces that had been here five years ago.

How appropriate. Celestia shunts her off into my room.

Brushing aside the nostalgia, Sunset slowly crept towards her prey. The two of them were alone this time – no dragon. Good; he'd ruin this. Coming around the bed, Sunset Shimmer found herself staring into the sleeping face of Twilight Sparkle. Watching her rest, the confused emotions from before welled up again. This time she didn't bother to block them out.

Celestia's prized student. Princess of Equestria. Alicorn. Her rage and jealousy grew above the other emotions. You're just so perfect, aren't you? You got everything a pony could want without asking. Everypony loves you. Not me… Sunset brought the box out from under her cloak and set it on the ground. The glowing white and black stone floated up in front of her. She looked down at Twilight's blanket and gave a soft tug. The covers pulled away enough for her to see Twilight's hooves, one outstretched to the edge of the bed. Sunset smiled. It was too easy.

It is, isn't it? She floated the stone up to Twilight's hoof and lifted her own on the other side of it. Just, push forward… and it's done. She hesitated, glancing back up at Twilight. She was still sleeping, completely unaware of what was about to happen. Sunset took a breath, steeled her nerves, and lunged forward, pushing her hoof into the stone.

By a twist of fate, Twilight chose that moment to roll over on the bed.

Twilight's hoof pulled away, leaving Sunset to lose her balance and collapse on the bed. She hit the mattress and let out a cry of surprise. Twilight stirred at the unfamiliar motion of the bed, her eyelids fluttering. Sunset froze, eyes wide, and silently mouthed for Twilight to go back to sleep. Then she caught sight of the stone: when Twilight moved and Sunset lost her concentration, the stone had fallen on the bed. Before she could grab it, Twilight shifted on the bed, and one of the points of the stone dug into her back.

"Ah!" Twilight's eyes snapped open at the jolt of pain. She arched away from it, turning on her back and sitting up. Sunset pulled back off the bed at the same moment, the stone laying on the mattress between them. The two locked eyes, purple and teal meeting in the darkness. Neither said a word, though Twilight's eyes betrayed her surprise. Sunset wondered what she was thinking and quickly decided it didn't matter. She had obviously snuck into Twilight's room and was up to no good. There was only one thing to do before Twilight came to her senses, and when the idea came to her, she acted on it.

Sunset dove, tackling Twilight off the bed and to the floor of the bedroom. Twilight cried out, not fully awake yet and caught by surprise by the attack. Sunset snapped her head back, glaring at the stone on the bed. Her magic pulled it over to her faster than she had moved any object before. Twilight tilted her head back to look at the door.

"Guards!"

Sunset mentally cursed, but kept her focus. The stone floated by her side, and she raised her hoof. Twilight's hooves were held up in front of her, her attention on the door. Her eyes flashing, mouth curling in a grin of triumph, Sunset slammed her hoof down on the side of the stone and pushed it down, the other side meeting Twilight's hoof.

The two mares froze, their eyes glowing brightly. The three black stones around the central sphere pulled apart from it to float in the air. Currents of magical energy shot over the stone's surface between the three. The white and black energy in the stone clouded to grey, and the three stones began to rotate in the air around it, the trio spinning on their points.

The act only took a moment or two. But during those two moments, Sunset felt like the floor had dropped out from under her, and Canterlot and Twilight beneath her vanished. She plunged into a dark void where time and space lost all sense of meaning. Her head felt like something stretched it out and then pounded it back into place; then it happened again and again in different directions. Eventually her descent reversed, some force pulling her up towards a speck of white light that grew from a distant dot to fill her field of vision within a split second.

And as her mind contorted, beneath her in the real world, Twilight Sparkle was feeling the same sensations.

The sphere between their hooves gleamed, the swirls of energy clearing to orange and purple and beginning to turn over each other once more. The black stones finished a single rotation and locked back on the central stone. The entire relic flashed brightly, and a pulse of magic knocked Sunset's body off of Twilight's to land on the floor by the dresser. She hit on her stomach and grunted, the wind knocked out of her by the impact.

Across the room the alicorn princess lay on her back, eyes wide. Her vision swam, the ceiling blurred. Her body was numb, and she sucked in a breath. Wow… that's a rush. Her vision cleared and she rolled onto her stomach. She saw the lavender hooves on the ground beneath her and grinned widely. It worked… It worked! Sunset looked behind her to see a pair of wings folded against her sides.

The doors to the room burst open, the two guard ponies rushing in. "Princess Twilight!" They looked between the two mares, hesitating.

Sunset turned her eyes from her wings to the other mare, who was now rubbing her head with a pale orange hoof and groaning. Sunset looked at the guards and thrust a hoof at her. "She attacked me!"

Sunset's former body looked at her and her eyes widened. "Wait, no! I—" She didn't get to finish her sentence before one of the guards thrust a hoof at her head, and the blow knocked her unconscious. Sunset watched in awe as her own body slumped to the ground and her eyes drifted shut.

No. Not my eyes. Not anymore.

"My Princess." Sunset turned. The other guard approached her and bowed his head. "My deepest apologies. I do not know how this intruder bypassed our watch. Rest assured she will receive just retribution for this crime."

"I… yeah." Sunset blinked, watching the other guard lift her body on his back. "I…" She turned back to the first guard and rose on shaking hooves. "Please, don't tell Celestia."

"Princess?"

Sunset shook her head. "I know who that is, but it's complicated. Let me tell her. In the morning." The guard look skeptical, so Sunset continued. "It's best if it came from me."

The guard nodded. "By your command, Princess." The guard bowed his head again, and the two began to leave. Sunset watched them go, the guard she had spoken to lighting his horn to close the door behind them. When they were gone, she stood still in the room, processing what had happened. Above all else, one word kept circling her mind.

Princess… He called me…

Sunset turned and rushed across the room to the full-length mirror next to the dresser. She caught a full glimpse of herself and gasped. Her reflection copied her every movement as she turned her head to either side, raising her hooves one by one. Then she turned her body, her cutie mark coming into view – a six-pointed violet star.

Princess…

Staring at the body of Twilight Sparkle giggling back at her from the mirror, Sunset collapsed on her side, her dark purple and pink mane falling over her face.

"I did it… I did it! It worked!”

Next Chapter: Chapter 2 Estimated time remaining: 6 Hours, 37 Minutes
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