Darkness.

Silence.

She couldn't really tell what was different from before.

She could feel herself floating; adrift in ethereal winds in a world of absolute deprivation. No sound. No heat. No cold. No light. No food. No air. No water. No body.

And yet, she existed.

Silently voices called to her. Sounds she heard without anything or anyone creating them... and the feeling of someone, far beyond, outside the void around her. Reaching for her, and warming her despite the absence of heat or chill.

How curious.

Words. Or concepts? Could they be words where there was no sound?

What had happened?

Outside of the stillness and absence, she could sense the world move. She was encased in a world encased in a world encased in a world.

Unable to call for help. Unable to communicate. Unable to fully comprehend much of what was happening, except for understanding what had changed.

Now... she was aware.

The sky crackled ominously above the island, long streaks of purple-red lightning crisscrossing through the dark clouds far above them.

"Uh, no creo que esa sea una buena señal..." Coyote muttered.

Nightmare Moon shook her head. "It followed me." She glanced at the others. "I'm not sure who or what it is, but it seems to be behind everything. It was hiding away in some sort of lost area. I wouldn't have found it if it wasn't thanks to... a friend helping me."

And I'm still here, sister, Princess Luna's voice echoed in her head. I fear, however, that I must go. I will attempt to get in contact with "Science Sparkle". If my theory is correct, and with what Princess Twilight is telling me right now, we must make haste."

"Understood," Nightmare Moon said, drawing the attention of the others. She smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, talking to my friend. She's gone now."

"You can talk to people outside the server in the middle of a tournament?" Coyote asked, blinking.

"I'm more worried about whatever it is that followed you here," Thunderbird said, looking at the island with evident apprehension.

"Not to mention XCOM is probably already moving," Heavy Collar said, "worst case scenario we'll end up being attacked by both of them at the same time."

Lion nodded. "I can't imagine them helping us."

"Well, whatever it is, we can't stick to the plan..." Surgeon muttered. "I'm pretty sure we would have managed with XCOM, but this unknown could potentially harm us in the real world, am I correct?" He turned to Luna, who shrugged.

"I'm afraid I don't know," Nightmare Moon said. "Mirage would have been the one to ask. I don't think so... but... well, I didn't think things from this world could ever go to the real one until now." She took a deep breath. "However, I find it unlikely that anything here would affect those of us that not are affected by Mirage's unique situation. Beyond the fact that none of us is trapped in a real life version of their character, we are all wearing Amuspheres. The hardware itself would prevent anything serious from happening to us."

"Well, that's a relief," Thunderbird muttered.

Surgeon tapped his chin before nodding. "No point in staying here waiting for either XCOM or your enemy to find us." He looked around, pulling out a small projector, which produced a map of the island. "Unlike the Bullet of Bullets, we can't see the exact location of everyone else at any point, but as you can all see, this tournament is planned to go long."

"Yeah, this map much bigger than the ones from before," Lion observed. "I guess they didn't want it to end as quickly as the previous ones."

"The island is almost 50 square kilometers," Surgeon said. "It's basically mostly jungle in there except for a few places of interest, like the abandoned small town, the school and the lighthouse. We could bunker up there but it would be too obvious and most likely one of the first places both XCOM and the enemy will check."

"So the jungle?" Heavy Collar asked. "We seem to do a lot of shooting in jungles."

Surgeon nodded. "Either through fate or luck we've ended up like that, but in this case it's an advantage. We are more familiar with this type of territory, where XCOM has done more urban settings for the tournament. The main differences this time are that we're surrounded by water instead of a map barrier; we have a lot more terrain to work with, and there's plenty of places to hide." He smirked. "If this game follows the same pattern as the ones before, XCOM is right on the other side of us."

Nightmare Moon nodded. "I suggest we message them if we can and warn them about the enemy, but they'll follow their standard procedure, which means we need to circumvent them."

Thunderbird blinked. "What?"

"Go around them," the Lion clarified.

"Oh."

"We also need to cover each other as we move," Surgeon continued. His finger traced a route on the holographic map, close enough to the shore but still within the cover of trees. It roughly followed the coast until it reached a river that went inward to a small lake. "We go here. It's very defensible, and if we make it there, we might find someplace to hide and wait for Nightmare Moon's friend to get in contact with us before moving forward."

Heavy Collar glanced over the map. "Yeah, I can see a few places where we could set a good ambush. If we can figure out a way to control the territory... maybe set some obvious traps so that they try to go around them instead of risking setting them off... yeah, that could work." He gave Surgeon a look. "It's not going to be as effective as your original plan, however. I don't think hunkering down is going to stop XCOM."

"It's better than running around with an unknown monster ready to pounce on us," Surgeon replied, turning off the map. "At least as fast as XCOM moves, they will be expecting us to move cautiously rather than fast, and if it's a huge creature like the one from before... well, a defensible position is better than out in the open." He started walking. "Come on, we the sooner we get there the quicker we can take control of the area."

Princess Luna emerged from the statue outside of Canterlot High, quickly gaining her balance. Taking a deep breath, she rehearsed what she needed to do in her mind and started walking.

"Luna?"

She stopped and turned around. "Principal Celestia!" she gasped, then smiled. "Truly the fates smile upon us today." She stepped up to the befuddled headmistress and took her hand. "We must make haste. Is there any way to contact Twilight Sparkle?"

Shaking herself out of the surprise, Principal Celestia grimaced. "I'm sorry, it takes some getting used to having doubles," she confessed. "I thought you were my sister for a second."

Princess Luna smiled. "I consider you, Celestia and Luna my sisters," she said. "What else would we be?" She chuckled, before looking at Principal Celestia in the eye. "However, I am not here for a social visit, as ponies say these days. We have little time to lose, for our chance of saving Sunset Shimmer grows dimmer as we hesitate."

Principal Celestia blinked. "But I thought—"

"We all did," Princess Luna interrupted. "But our sister, Luna, made a new discovery and now is protecting what Princess Twilight and I believe to be Sunset's very essence."

"What do we need to do?" Principal Celestia asked, already guiding Princess Luna towards the parking lot.

"We need Twilight to take Sunset Shimmer to the Rainboom's concert and meet us there," Princess Luna explained. "Once that step is achieved, we can proceed with the plan."

Pulling out her cell phone and car keys, Principal Celestia unlocked the car and speed-dialed Twilight. As the phone rang, she and Princess Luna got in. She glanced at the princess. "It'll take them a little bit of time to get her out of the hospital even with the release papers and Cadance's help. Is there anything else we need?"

Princess Luna pondered before shaking her head. "Unless you know another source of Equestrian magic besides the Rainbooms, we don't have much of an option."

"I wonder..." Principal Celestia muttered.

With a final jump, Rainbow Dash landed, posing, as the echoes of their song faded around them. The crowd in front of them cheered, clapped, whistled and shouted in excitement.

Despite the weight of the last few days, she couldn't help but smile a little. 'Sunset would have enjoyed that one.' The smile faded.

She shook off her stupor when she heard surprised murmurs from the crowd. Frowning, she looked up, blinking in surprise when Principal Celestia, Luna and none other than The Dazzlings walked up to the stage.

"Um... what's going on?" Fluttershy squeaked, hiding behind Applejack, who frowned and exchanged worried glances with Rarity.

"That's what I want to know!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air in sheer frustration. "Why are you interrupting the concert?! And what are they doing here?!" she pointed at The Dazzlings with a disgusted sneer on her face.

"We missed you too, Rainbooms," Adagio said with a smug smile.

"Dazzlings," Luna spoke up, and Rainbow Dash realized this was not the Vice Principal. "If you want our agreement to remain, then you will comport yourselves in a fashion appropriate to the situation."

The three sirens cringed. "Y-yes, Princess," Sonata said meekly, while Adagio and Aria looked like they had swallowed something sour.

"We have come here to secure your help, and with the aid of the sirens, right a wrong that affects us all." Luna motioned at The Dazzlings. "The sirens have agreed to return to Equestria for trial and to rejoin our world as forces of good, rather than destruction."

Applejack cleared her throat. "No offense, your highness, but how exactly did you get them to agree to that?"

Princess Luna pondered. "Unless you know another source of magic besides the Rainbooms, we don't have much of an option."

"I wonder..." Principal Celestia muttered.

"Yes?" Princess Luna asked.

Principal Celestia shook her head, then frowned. "Well... there is someone... I'm not sure if they would be any help."

Princess Luna raised an eyebrow. "If we need to await for the hospital's release of Sunset Shimmer and her transfer to the festival, why not attempt to contact these potential allies?"

"There's nothing to lose, I suppose," Principal Celestia said, pulling out of the parking lot and taking off for the city. "Twilight Sparkle and Sunset Shimmer have always insisted on giving people second chances... but these girls were not allies of ours and attempted to control and corrupt several of us."

Luna said nothing for a few minutes, simply watching the other cars move about. "Everypony deserves a second chance," she said firmly. "If there's an honest wish to change, to become better... then we shouldn't deny it to them."

Principal Celestia simply smiled and kept driving until they reached a fairly nice apartment complex. "Apparently they've lived in this world so long they have amassed enough money to live comfortably despite everything. I... heard that they were exiled from your world a long time ago," Principal Celestia said, turning right. "By some wizard named 'Starswirled'?"

"Starswirl the Bearded," Princess Luna corrected with a nod. "Under our orders no less. I assume you speak of the sirens?"

"Goddess, I keep forgetting how ol—um, how long you and Princess Celestia have lived."

Princess Luna chuckled. "Indeed. A long time."

Principal Celestia and the princess stepped out of the car and approached the glass doors. Princess Luna watched as her sister's counterpart traced her finger down a list of names, and pressed a silver button.

"Are you sure you can convince them to help?"

Luna shrugged. "Tis their decision in the end. Alas, sirens are not meant to exist without external magic, and them remaining in this world will cut their lives short by several centuries as their bodies feed on their own magic in a futile effort to nurse their diminished magical essence. Something that will, inevitably, result in their untimely deaths."

They waited for a second before a voice answered. "No soliciting!"

Before the principal could say anything, Princess Luna stepped forth. "Adagio Dazzle," she spoke up, voice demanding attention. "This is Princess Luna, of Equestria. You will open this gate now and allow us into your home."

"OH GODDESS! THEY'RE HERE TO KILL US!"

Both the principal and the pony princess had to lean back from the shout, but Celestia recovered quickly. "Sonata, we're not here to kill you. This is Principal Celestia. Princess Luna has an offer for you three..."

"Indeed," Princess Luna affirmed. "'tis an offer you can't refuse."

Principal Celestia raised an eyebrow at that, but shook her head and spoke to the intercom again. "You'll want to listen to what she has to say, and you need to decide quickly."

"...and that," Princess Luna stated, "is how it happened."

"So basically, they help or they magically starve to death?" Rarity asked, glancing at the three sirens—now looking decidedly less smug than when they had arrived—with a little pity.

"That," Luna agreed with a soft smile, "and everypony deserves a second chance to do better."

The Rainbooms exchanged dubious looks, but shrugged. The Dazzlings stared at Luna with almost unreadable expressions, clearly unsure of how they should feel about her words.

"Okay?" Rainbow Dash asked. "So you got them to help. With what? Is there another monster coming around?"

Principal Celestia frowned. "Rainbow Dash, please don't be so hostile."

"Why not?" Rainbow asked, stepping back. "We already lost one of ours, I already messed up a friendship and now again we're thrown into some magical situation when the only thing we wanted to do was to sing for Sunset! Why can't anyone even respect that?!"

"Because it's for Sunset Shimmer that we are gathered here today," Princess Luna said firmly, hushing all the chatter as her voice carried through the small Amphitheater where the festival was taking place. "There is a chance to bring her back. With your help," she stated, looking at Rainbow straight in the eye, "and with theirs," she motioned with her hand at the sirens, "...and them," she motioned at the Rainbooms, "and finally, them." She moved back, allowing everyone to see Cadance, Lemon Zest and Twilight Sparkle pushing a wheelchair to which the unconscious body of Sunset Shimmer was strapped into.

"Sunset?" Rainbow Dash whispered.

"If you may, Twilight?"

Twilight Sparkle nodded and walked over to the side of the stage, fiddling with the computer there. The giant screen showing the stage behind the Rainbooms fizzled for a second, then their image was replaced by a group of people running through the jungle.

"Hey!" Sonata spoke up, grinning ear to ear. "It's the GGO finals! I had been watching that earlier! This is so cool!"

"What does that even have to do with why we're here?" Adagio asked, frowning at the screen.

"Aww, are you still sour because we lost to Team Surgeon?" Sonata teased, poking her sister on the ribs and making her jump.

"They cheated!" Aria muttered. "There's no way Nightmare Moon can move so quickly from the top of one tree to another!"

The trio stopped muttering and glanced at the stunned group around them.

"What?" Sonata asked, blinking. "You don't like GGO?"

"You—" Twilight shook her head. "Never mind," she sighed. "Princess, what do we do now?"

Princess Luna looked around. "Hark, for all your efforts together are needed," she declared. "We shall open a portal back into Gun Gale, and allow Sunset's body to cross. She needs to meet with Nightmare Moon and the Surgeon, for them to unite her soul, magic and body once more."

"But, without the diary I can't do that," Twilight Sparkle said nervously. "I don't even know how to control my magic without a computer to guide me." She felt a hand rest on her shoulder and give it a comforting squeeze.

"Fear not, Science Twilight," Luna said with a grin. "That is indeed where we," she motioned at herself and the sirens, "'step in', as you say in this age."

She looked at the Rainbooms. "If you wish to save your friend, this is your chance. You must sing from the heart; project as much magic as you can through your song." She turned to the sirens. "You will channel the raw magic, and focus it with your own voices... and you will resonate with my song, which will transform the energy into a source of power for Twilight.

"Once Twilight opens the portal, Principal Celestia and Cadance will push Sunset Shimmer through it, where Nightmare Moon already awaits her arrival."

Luna took a deep breath. "We have but one chance to do this, do not waste it."

"No pressure," Aria whispered.

"It doesn't matter," Rainbow Dash replied, walking to stand next to them. "We have a chance to bring our friend back... and you have a chance to change your lives. Whatever the cost, we will meet it."