Celestia entered Canterlot High School an hour after getting back from the school board meeting, her sister close behind. Neither said anything until they reached Celestia's office when Celestia turned around and said, “I'd like to be alone for the rest of day. I have some…work to do.”

Looking down with a sigh, Luna nodded and left. When she closed the door behind her, her right hand balled into a tight fist as her anger bubbled up. Needing a distraction, she decided to get some much-needed coffee and walked quickly down the hallway toward the teacher's lounge, her expression letting everyone know not to bother her.

It wasn't long before Luna reached the lounge. She rushed inside and practically slammed the door, eliciting a surprised squeak from someone in the room. Shoulders sagging, Luna turned to face Pearl Dusk, the only other occupant in the room.

"Hello, Pearl. Sorry, I startled you,” Luna said tiredly.

"Oh, it's okay. You didn't startle me that badly," Pearl said as her breathing slowed down. When she noticed Luna's expression, she said, "What's wrong, ma'am? You seem upset."

“It’s nothing, Pearl. Don't worry about it.” Luna’s jaw quivered slightly at the thought of lying to her close friend and ex-lover. She quickly changed the subject. “Do you have the assignments for today?”

“Er, yes, I do. I placed them on your desk." Reading the tense air, Pearl added, "Um, I’ll get back to work, I guess.”

“Thank you, Pearl. I’ll take a look at them later today.” After Pearl left the room, Luna found herself cradling a freshly-poured mug of coffee as she contemplated her next action. “Okay, think, Luna. Your sister has given up on herself. You can get her through this." Luna paused in thought for a moment, before her eyes lit up in inspiration and she pulled out her cell phone. "And I know exactly who to go to. I just hope he's still living in town.”

She quickly dialed a number, then held the phone to her ear and waited.

“Hello,” came a soft voice, old yet wise.

“It’s Luna. I--er, we--need your help. Badly.” Luna fought back her tears as she continued, “It’s Celestia. Something terrible's happened, and we're at the end of our rope. I need your help.”

There was a pause. “I’ll be there in two days. And Luna?”

“Yes?”

“Let me handle this my way. Whatever it is, I can fix it, but you need to trust me. Understand?”

“Yes, I do.”

"Good. Now, tell me everything that's happened."

Luna filled him in on everything that happened over the last few months. Her friend was silent, and the conversation quickly ended. After Luna hung up, she took a moment to collect her thoughts. Silently, she went back to her office, hardly noticing when Pearl greeted her, and pressed a button on her intercom, calling Twilight to her office.

It wasn't long before Twilight gingerly knocked on Luna's door and entered. “You wanted to see me, Vice Principal Luna?” Twilight asked, confused.

“Yes, Twilight. Please, come in.” Luna gestured towards a chair in front of her desk, and Twilight quickly took a seat. “I think it is time we tell Celestia the truth about Eventide.”

Twilight was about to ask why, when she noticed Luna's slumped shoulders, damp cheeks, and overall sorrowful expression. Worried, Twilight said, “Luna, what’s wrong? What happened at the board meeting?”

“Celestia was fired, that's what happened. Anon-a-Miss, the expulsions, Sunset's suicide, it all came back and bit her.” Luna took a moment to rein in her emotions. “That's not to mention what happened last night at the dance. Two girls grievously injured, another missing. Guess the board didn't catch wind of that yet."

"Oh, yeah, I heard about that. Are they... Are they alright?" Twilight asked, worried.

"Well, they're alive," Luna said, "but the one who the bookcase fell on has fractures all over who body, especially in her ribs, and a punctured lung, not to mention the amount of internal bleeding from the blunt-force trauma. The one who was tossed from the balcony had her spine broken between her shoulder blades, along with some lacerations and other minor fractures. She'll never walk again." Luna finished her report with a sad sigh.

"T-Tossed?" Twilight said, her breath leaving her. "Someone threw her from the balcony?"

Luna gulped, knowing that this would be a difficult subject. "Yes, she was thrown. And you may have a hard time believing who did it."

"Who?" Twilight said, righteous anger building. "Who would do such a terrible thing?"

Luna paused, taking a deep breath. "Sunset Shimmer," she finally said simply.

Twilight paused in surprise. "W-What?" she asked incredulously.

"Sunset Shimmer showed up to the dance and...did those things."

"But... But how?" Twilight asked, confused and slightly angry. "Sunset's dead. How could--" An idea suddenly struck Twilight. "There's another Sunset in this world. Or, at least, a girl who looks exactly like her. I met her while Sunset was in the hospital. Maybe she..." Twilight trailed off as she saw Luna shaking her head sadly.

"Whoever that girl was, she wasn't the one at the dance," Luna explained. "Sunset recognized all of her former colleagues, especially her former friends. She even sang and danced with Rainbow Dash. It was Sunset Shimmer, alright. And if she's capable of doing that to two new students she's never even met, I shudder to think what she's going to do to Trixie, the girl she took." Luna paused while she let her words sink in. "As for how Sunset's alive, I...have an idea about it, but if you don't mind, there's something a bit more pressing to attend to than how Sunset came back."

Twilight thought for a moment before reluctantly saying, "Fine. But we're talking about this later, and you're going to tell me what you know." When Luna nodded in agreement, Twilight calmed down and continued, "Okay, so you said it's time to tell Celestia about Eventide."

“Right. Celestia's had a very rough time of it over the years and especially over the past two months. And now that she's lost her job, she's lost all hope in herself and her happiness. We need to reinstill some hope, even if it's just a little. Knowing that her daughter is still alive and where she can be found will do that for her...I hope.” Luna walked over to her door and opened it, signaling for Twilight to follow.

Getting to Celestia’s office a few moments later, Twilight gulped when she saw Celestia packing her personal things into a white box on her desk. Twilight knocked on the open door, and Celestia's head snapped in her direction.

“Y-Yes, Twilight. How may I help you?” Celestia said, relaxing a little when she saw that is was just Twilight, though she did shoot an accusatory look to Luna, who merely returned the glare with a raised eyebrow.

“Actually, I think I might be able to help you, Principal Celestia.” Twilight and Luna both took a seat as Twilight continued, “I have something to tell you. It’s... It's about your daughter Eventide.”

That immediately got Celestia's full and undivided intention. Before Twilight could get another word in, Luna quickly said, “I think you better sit down, Tia. It's a bit of a shocker.”

“A-Alright.” Celestia half lowered, half dropped into her seat. With a slightly confused and suspicious look on her face, she said, “H-How do you know about Eventide, Twilight?”

Reaching up behind her neck, Twilight took off Eventide's locket, saying softly, “I know about her because...I met her.” Celestia's jaw dropped in shock, but she said nothing in response, so Twilight continued her tale. “We were looking for Applejack's little sister--she fell off a mountain path and was missing--when we met a pegasus named Brave Heart, who said she was looking for her charge. Eventually, we heard fighting coming from down below us. When we arrived on the scene, we saw that Eventide had just got done fighting a minotaur named Iron Will.”

Celestia's eyes narrowed in recognition. “There's an Iron Will in your world too, huh? Figures she'd get into a fight with another one. And he's a minotaur? Like, a bull-man?” Celestia’s eyes widened in worry. “How badly was she hurt, Twilight?”

“She looked pretty bad, honestly. Her face was a mess of scars from some time long before that fight, and the battle gave her a lot of internal damage, though honestly, Iron Will looked worse. I don't know the details, only that she looked bad; once we got her to Snowflake Monastery, I left to try to help Sunset." Twilight sighed. "Look how well that turned out."

The women shared a moment of guilty silence. When the moment ended, Twilight handed the pendant to Celestia, who held it to her chest as if it were her daughter in person. Tears started to well up in her eyes as she said, “Words can't express how happy I am to know that my daughter is alive, even if she's hurt.” Celestia paused. "Speaking of which, you said that she had a lot of scars on her face. When she disappeared, she only had two. Do you know what caused them?"

“No," Twilight replied. "I can guess, though. Thinking back to what I saw, it looked like something raked its claws or talons across her face several times. Maybe a griffon or a giant bird or a young dragon?”

Celestia nodded solemnly before something clicked. "You said that you left the monastery to go help Sunset." When Twilight nodded, Celestia continued, "That means that this took place before Sunset died, which means..." Celestia's eyes widened in anger. “You knew where my daughter was and kept it from me for two months!?”

Startled, Twilight quickly said, "It was Luna's idea!"

Celestia turned her fiery gaze upon her sister, and Luna quickly said, "In my defense, you were going through a lot, and this would've just made you more emotional and impulsive."

“Well, I hope it was worth it because this little deception destroyed my trust in you!" Principal Celestia snapped.

Luna reeled back as if struck. She opened her mouth to reply, but Twilight beat her to it. "Celestia, please. She was just trying to help."

“Help! She held me in her arms when Officer Shield told me he couldn’t work on her case anymore! And now, you both have the gall to hide this from me!” Twilight cowered under Celestia's tirade, guilt spreading throughout the princess's face. Forcing herself to calm down a little, Celestia said through gritted teeth to Luna, "We'll talk about this later, Luna. Right now, I'd like to talk to Twilight. Alone."

Wordlessly, Luna got up and left her sister's office, her head bowed low. Turning her attention fully to Twilight, who flinched, Celestia continued simply, “I'm going to Equestria."

Taken aback by Celestia's suddenness, Twilight said, "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"I don't care," Celestia said determinedly. "I have no job, a missing daughter who was finally found, and a sister who kept this from me for two months. I waited for two years, Twilight. I'm ready to reunite with her, and you're not going to stop me!" Celestia quivered slightly as her anger began to resurface.

Seeing that Celestia wasn't going to budge, Twilight decided not to argue and instead said resignedly, "Okay, when do we leave?"

Celestia paused, her mood changing immediately. She bit her lip nervously before saying hesitantly, "Uh, about that..." Sighing deeply, she continued, "I sort of made a promise to my counterpart.”

Confused, Twilight said, “And what promise was that?”

Celestia closed her eyes and sighing again. “Your mentor asked me to make sure that you…don't return to Equestria.”

Her eyes widening in shock and anger, Twilight blurted out, “What!? W-Why wouldn’t she want me to come home?”

Looking away as she balled her hands into fists Principal Celestia forced out, “Because Equestria might very well be at war!” Looking back to a very shocked Twilight as her own tears threatened to flow, Celestia added, “She didn't want you to know the horrors of war, Twilight! And I'm inclined to agree.”

“What do you mean?” Twilight asked hesitantly.

Celestia took a deep breath. “I wasn’t always a teacher, Twilight.” She took a photo out of the white box and handed it to Twilight. Looking at the photo, Twilight saw a man dressed in army fatigues next to a happy-looking Celestia in a nurse's uniform. “I actually went to nursing school, agreeing to work with the Army in exchange for their paying my tuition. I met my late husband after joining.”

Gently taking the photo back, Celestia added, “I was shipped overseas with him, and what I saw changed me. I saw the terrible deaths and horrific acts and endless, senseless battles. It still gives me nightmares." Celestia paused, forcing the flashbacks away. "After one too many deaths in the infirmary, after one too many soldiers shot to death practically right in front of me, after one too many dead civilians in the crossfire, I had enough. I decided I wanted to leave medicine, the military, war, all of it behind. So after the war, I served my remaining time, and my husband and I left the army, and I went on to become who I am today.”

Twilight was silent for a while. “That's...wow. I never would've thought just by looking at you." Celestia nodded wordlessly, eyes closed, before Twilight continued, "And I can understand why you and Princess Celestia don't want me to go through that, but I'm going.”

Celestia opened her eyes, startled. "What?"

"Oh, yeah. I'm going to Equestria with you, regardless of what Princess Celestia says. I'm just going to have to disobey her this time. I'm not going to stand by while all those I care about get hurt or worse. And besides all that, you need me,” Twilight finished with a hint of smugness under her determination.

"What do you mean?" Celestia asked.

"Well, ignoring the fact that you have no idea where Snowflake Monastery even is and have no idea about the intricacies of how ponies' social interactions work, you are Princess Celestia's counterpart, which means that you're going to look exactly like her. What do you think will happen when you inevitably run into some ponies who think you're their princess? What do you think they'll think when they see a stumbling, clumsy, socially awkward princess who can't control her magic or fly? Because remember, you're going to be a pony, not a human."

"Uh, well--"

"They'll panic!" Twilight interrupted. "They'll think you're a changeling, or they'll think their princess was cursed, or they think some even wilder theories. You need me to diffuse that situation because, at that point, you either confess that there's another world, or you just make them panic more.

"And what if you're attacked by a monster? You'll be so uncoordinated, you'll be easy pickings for anything looking for a quick meal. You need me to protect you."

"Alright, alright!" Celestia snapped. "You can come with me, but you're taking the fall if the princess gets angry."

"Agreed. So, when do we go?"

"I'm not sure yet. I need to get geared up."

"Geared up?" Twilight parroted.

"Yes. Sunset told me about some of the dangers of your world, and given that Equestria's at war, I'm going to need some more personal protection." Celestia took out a few photos of her times at various Renaissance fairs and showed them to Twilight. "I still have a lot of this armor. It's real armor, too. Sunset told me that, fortunately, a lot of Equestrian armor and weapons are close to the medieval and Renaissance-era stuff in our world, so it shouldn't look out of place. I can wear some of the lighter stuff so I'm not too weighed down. I'll also take a weapon or two. I know I won't be able to really use them in my new body, but I'd say blindly swinging a weapon is better than having no weapon, in this case. Overall, I really hope we don't have to get too into the war to find Eventide, but if we do end up fighting something, I'd like to be more than just a sitting duck, even if I have to settle with just looking intimidating." Celestia sighed. "I just hope it all makes it through the portal."

"The weapons should; handheld items like those tend to make the trip. The armor's more of a toss-up, though. It would make sense if the armor made it, seeing as we have very similar armor in Equestria, but I'm not entirely sure," Twilight explained.

“Well, I guess that's a bridge we'll have to cross when we get there,” Celestia said. “Anyway, I need to finish packing so I can go make my arrangements. You should head to class, Twilight. I’ll see you, later on, today when I'm ready to leave.”

Seeing Twilight out of her office, Celestia smiled lightly to Twilight, trying to reassure the young woman of her plans for saving her daughter. She closed the door and locked it, returning to packing with a bit more pep in her step.

---

Boots stomped down a sun-baked, dirt road, the owner too preoccupied with her own thoughts to enjoy the rustic scenery or pleasant weather. Finally, after cresting a hill, she stopped and beheld her destination.

Sweet Apple Acres.

Sunset Shimmer narrowed her eyes and continued her journey, a deep, dark frown on her face.

Next Chapter: Taken (Edited and Titled by Icecreammac) Estimated time remaining: 7 Hours, 3 Minutes