Chapter 158

Three weeks had passed since the takedown of the Ministry and its leader, Father Tirek. News of the incident between him and the entity known as the Dark Mistress that happened during the early service at his church had spread like wildfire, and although public opinion on the Mistress were initially mixed, the slow but steady spread of information--like her not being responsible for the fire, and her accusation of Tirek as a massive drug lord being proven correct after a massive investigation.

Not only was the late reverend found to be a menace beyond anyone’s expectation, a massive swath of police officers, public officials, media members and many others were discovered as being accomplices to the kingpin, all of them having established a lucrative relationship with him in exchange for their services. The seeds of these discoveries were not planted by the police, however, but by anonymous tips given to them, presumably by the Dark Mistress herself or the ‘sisters’ she had referred to at the church.

It was unknown how many of them there really were, but no city official or public citizen could fathom how these women were able to go toe-to-toe with a massive and violent organisation like the Ministry and walk away unscathed, nor could they understand how they were able to gather so much damning information about the group and its associates; in fact, in a press conference, the Big City Chief Investigator made a point of saying it was ‘like they could read minds.’

Luckily, the identities of the girls were never made public, leading us to believe that no one who was privy to that information was left alive after the coup--either that, or they were simply too afraid of wiped from existence.

In the meantime, we had been busy setting up the meeting with the Princess. Time was required for Adagio to recover from her injuries, and so it was used to contact the Principals of Canterlot High to let them know what was going on. The meeting had been planned for the middle of the night to avoid attention being drawn, and we thought it only fair to apprise the sisters of the situation so they wouldn’t be alarmed by the news of a late night gathering on school property.

They gave the OK with no hesitation, but with one stipulation: they wanted to be present for the meeting. Their official reason for this was to meet Princess Twilight once again, which we had no doubt was true, but our suspicions also told us that they really wanted to meet their own counterparts from that world.

No harm was seen in this by Sunset or Princess Twilight, so it was quickly agreed upon and the meeting was set for the wee hours of Sunday, May the 28th.

It wasn’t a warm night, by any means, but it was comfortable, thanks in large part to the complete lack of wind. The air sat around us still as a statue, to the point where we could every little event happening in the surrounding city.

Odd as it was, no one present seemed to be bothered by it as they were anxiously awaiting the arrival of the other-worlders. I stood in row with the girls, Sunset and the front door of the school on my left, and Fluttershy and then Rarity on my right with the rest of the girls beyond, lining the edge of the sidewalk that led to the circular concrete pad that the Wondercolt statue sat upon. Most of them waited patiently with the exception of Rainbow Dash, who was visibly nervous, her hands constantly rubbing together in front of her chest.

When asked by Applejack what her problem was, she confessed that it was because of her behaviour that Princess Twilight had made a recent visit, and that she was worried that the princess would call her out for being angry and disloyal to her friends. To no one’s surprise, the farm girl shrugged it off and told her that she was just being an ‘igit.’

Across from us stood the sirens, looking somewhat nervous as well--aside from the odd time Sonata would wave back and forth with Pinkie Pie, giggling like a pair of little school kids. Their anxiety was justified, however; they were, after all, about to meet the ruler of the world they’d been banished from centuries earlier, and for reasons still unknown to them.

To the left of them stood the principals, the sisters Celestia and Luna. They stood calmly, hands folded as they watched over the event like they were still in charge. It was funny, to be honest, how the girls still treated these women like they were still in charge of them, despite the fact that any one of us could easily snuff them out of existence. All of them, even Sunset, referred to them by their title, listened attentively when they spoke, and answered promptly and politely each and every time.

At last, after waiting until nearly 2:00am, a soft shimmer of light emerged from the portal. Anyone who was talking went silent, and everyone turned to watched the pedestal as a purple boot sprang forth, quickly followed by the slim figure of Princess Twilight.

After a yelp and the frantic thrashing of arms, she fell to her hands and knees, prompting Rainbow Dash to dart forward to help her.

“Whoa! You OK, princess?” Dash asked as she helped Princess Twilight to her feet, temporarily forgetting her reservations about the meeting.

The princess groaned as she was helped to her feet, rubbing the ache from her elbow after it’d hit the concrete. Looking up, she quickly paused when she found herself face-to-face with the rainbow-haired girl. “I… Rainbow Dash,” she said, turning to search the rest of us until her eyes landed on me. Then she faced Dash again. “Hi,” she continued, smiling a bit. “It’s good to see you here… with your friends.”

“Uh…” Dash took a moment to give Princess Twilight’s blue blouse and violent skirt an awkward dust off before retreating to scratch the back of her head. “Yeah. Little bit of a hiccup, but it’s all good now. Everyone’s cool, thanks.”

The princess cocked her head, noticing the athlete’s trepidation. “Why so nervous? You didn’t do anything wrong; things like that tend to happen.”

Dash rubbed her arm, her eyes downcast. “I know, but… I was kinda being a jerk at the time. I know that now, looking back on it.”

Princess Twilight reached out to pat her shoulder. “It’s OK. You had your reasons. Golden Arrow understood this, but he didn’t know how to approach you. That’s why he came to me for help.”

“I was kinda wrong, though.”

“Pffft!” The princess waved her off. “Who HASN’T been?” she chuckled as she pulled Dash in for a hug. The two embraced for a moment, resting their chins on one another’s shoulders. “I’m just glad I was able to help; and I’m glad you allowed yourself to open up and let him in.”

Rainbow Dash’s eyes popped open and began to dart around. “Ehh… yyyyeah…”

The pair separated, and after a final smile, Dash backed into the lineup again while Princess Twilight stepped along, stumbling a bit along the way.

“Heh heh!” Applejack chuckled. “Getting yer sea legs again, eh Princess?”

“Every time!” the princess laughed, stepping in for a hug. “It’s good to see you again, Applejack. How are you?”

“Never better,” AJ replied, being careful not to hug the princess too hard. “No complaints here.”

“That’s great news,” the princess said as she backed out of the embrace and moved down line to Pinkie Pie. She stopped for a moment in front of the grinning, bouncing party-girl, shaking her head with a smirk. “My gosh… you girls all look so grown-up,” she remarked.

“I know, right!? TIME!” Pinkie squealed as her arms sprang out to snatch the princess up. “OOOOOH! It’s been so long! You wanna come over for a slumber party!?”

“Mmmmrrrph…” Princess Twilight managed to pry her face loose from Pinkie’s bust to answer. “Maybe, Pinkie Pie. But there’s some business to attend to first. Plus, I also wan--”

“HAHA! Okie-dokie, Lokie!” Pinkie giggled, releasing the princess to lean back and look at her. Then her face went blank, save for a pair of furrowed brows. “Hey…” she said, eyes narrowed as she leaned closer. “You still look… kinda young!”

“Oh, well… yeah,” Princess Twilight brushed her hair with her hand to straighten it. “It has to do with not spending time here,” she explained, reaching out to poke the party-girl’s arm. “And as I was about to say earlier: I’m glad to see you’re in good spirits, too. Not to dampen the mood, but what I was devastated to hear what happened to your family; I’m so sorry for your loss, but it’s good to see you moving forward.”

A warm smile crossed Pinkie’s lips. “Thanks, Princess Twilight. I do miss them --and I always will-- but I know I still have my friends, and Maudie…” She nodded across the walkway next, gesturing to the sirens. “And some new friends, too.”

The princess turned to face the trio to find Sonata smiling and waving back. The other two looked like a couple of kids who didn’t want to be at church. After a cordial smile was sent their way, Princess Twilight brought her attention back to the party girl. “Good for you, Pinkie Pie,” she said after a short pause. “Good to see you again.”

With a little pat on the arm of a smiling Pinkie, the princess took another step to stand in front of the slightly older-looking Twilight Sparkle.

“Hi,” she said.

“Hey,” Twilight replied, somewhat awkwardly.

“How are things?”

“Good. Good,” the lavender girl nodded.

The princess brought her finger up to wave it around her eyes. “You, uh… you got rid of the glasses.”

Twilight brought a hand up to brush her temple, missing, for the first time in a while, the feel of those thick, plastic frames. “Oh… yeah. I, uh… don’t need them anymore.”

“You got your eyes fixed?” the princess asked, cocking her head with interest.

Twilight nodded. “You could say that.”

“Wow, fascinating!” Princess Twilight chuckled. “How did they do it? Wait! Don’t tell me… I think Sunset was telling me about this once.” She paused for a moment, tapping her chin. “Oh! It’s lasers, right? Isn’t that what they use for something like that?”

“They do,” Twilight replied “but that’s not the procedure I used, which was… more of an injection, really.”

Sunset snorted and covered her face.

The princess poked her bottom lip out, giving an impressed nod. “Very nice. Well, you look good--not that I would say any different!” Princess Twilight chuckled, giving a small wave as she moved onto Rarity. “Wow. You… look… amazing.”

Rarity forced a modest laugh and waved the princess off. “Oh, come on, princess! You’re just saying that! This is simply me being casual.”

The princess shook a finger at her. “Now Rarity, don’t forget: I live with another version of you; don’t think I don’t know all your little tricks.”

Rarity placed her hands at her side and paused, smirking through a pair of pursed lips as her eyes went to the sky. “Alright, you got me,” she confessed, letting out a giggle as she leaned in to plant a kiss on each of the princess’ cheeks, followed by a hug. “You look wonderful as well, darling. Exactly as I remembered you.”

“Aw! Thank you, Rarity. Always the charmer, you are.” Princess Twilight reached out to give the fashionista’s hand a gentle squeeze. “It’s good to see you again,” she said, before moving onto Fluttershy with a friendly smile.

“Um… hi,” the shy girl greeted softly, her cheeks turning rosy before bring hidden by her hair as it slid in front of her face.

“Hi, Fluttershy,” the princess replied, smiling at the sweetness in front of her. Then she let out a happy sigh. “Wow. I can’t believe the amazing young mare you’ve grown into. Er… I mean--”

Fluttershy snickered as she cleared her hair from her face again, looking down at the princess with those big, doe eyes. “I know what you meant. And thank you, but you didn’t have to say that. I just try my best to be me, that’s all.”

“OK, now… unlike Rarity, I know you’re being modest,” Princess Twilight laughed. “But yes, really. How are things with the animals, by the way?”

“Oh, um… good.” The shy girl nodded and folded her hands. “I own the animal shelter now, did you know that?”

“I did!” the princess nodded. “Sunset told me all about it. I was so proud to hear it, Fluttershy. Good for you!” Princess Twilight reached out to touch the blushing girl’s arm as she turned to continue down the line. “I’m glad you’ve followed your passion, Fluttershy, and I know the animals will be in good hands with you in charge of the place.”

“Thank you, um… Twili-- … I-I mean, princess. … … Sorry.”

The princess chuckled. “That’s OK, Fluttershy. It was nice to see you again.”

“Um… you too.”

Princess Twilight stopped in front of me next, giving me a suspicious smirk.

“What?” I asked, shrugging.

She laughed. “Have you been staying out of trouble, Golden Arrow?”

“No, but… at least there’s no shortage of stories to tell,” I replied.

“Well I can’t disagree with that.” Her eyes took a deliberate trip downward to look me over. “I certainly went home with a few stories that night… some of which I couldn’t really tell anyone,” she said, sending a coy smirk my way before turning her attention to Sunset.

“Where’s Starbright?” I asked, drawing her attention back to me.

“Uh, StarLIGHT preferred not to come--I can’t imagine why.”

I glanced to my right at Fluttershy, shrugging, while the princess continued on to Sunset.

The pair immediately came together for a hug, with Princess Twilight giving the red-head several firm pats on the back. “It was so good to hear from you again. I’d been meaning to get in touch this past little while, but the time just isn’t there.”

“Tell me about it,” Sunset replied as they released each other and stood back enough to face one another. “Life’s been crazy, especially this past year. Like, you have no idea.”

“Oh, I’m sure I could imagine,” the princess chuckled.

“I wouldn’t be so sure,” Sunset smirked, followed by a deep breath that she released very slowly between a pair of pursed lips.

Princess Twilight’s expression changed to one of slight concern. “Don’t worry, Sunset. I know you’re nervous, but everything’s gonna be OK.”

“I know, but…” Sunset raked her fingers through her hair. “I can’t help it. Even after all the times I’ve rehearsed this to myself over the years, now that’s it’s actually about to happen, I have no idea what I’m going to say to her. I [i[certainly didn’t expect it to be happening here, in this world.”

“Neither did I, to be honest,” the princess replied. “But… she insisted on it, for whatever reason, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned about Princess Celestia, it’s that she does everything for a reason and I probably shouldn’t question it.”

“True enough,” Sunset replied, drawing another breath to calm herself.

“Don’t worry,” Princess Twilight said, patting Sunset’s arm. “It’s going to be fine, I promise. Nothing bad is gonna happen.”

After a short pause, Sunset gave a trusting smile and then a nod.

Returning the smile, Princess Twilight took a step back, stumbled slightly, and then turned to cross the sidewalk after regaining her footing. The principals smiled cordially as she approached, each of them reaching out for a handshake.

“It is good to see you after all these years, Princess,” Luna said as the princess took her hand.

“Likewise,” the princess replied with a smile. “And thank you for hosting us here tonight.”

“It was the least we could do,” Celestia said, taking the princess’ hand. “Anything to witness an event from another world--so fascinating!”

“Well… heh! It would be a lot bigger if it was in Equestria, but hey, I guess we’re having it here. Princess’s orders!”

“Regardless, we are honored to be a part of it,” the principal insisted.

“You are always welcome, Principal Celestia. You as well, Vice-Principal.” With a nod, Princess Twilight gave one last smile before turning to approach the sirens.

Drawing a breath, she stood before the three sisters, locking eyes with each of them one at a time before ending with Sonata. The blue siren smiled nervously and raised her arms, stretching them out to offer the princess a hug, which she gladly took.

“It’s good to see you too, Sonata,” she chuckled, patting the siren on the back before retreating from the embrace. She then turned her attention to the other two, her smile taking on a more dubious tone. “Thank you both… for doing this.”

In a mild show defiance, Aria folded her arms and pursed her lips, licking teeth inside her mouth while Adagio shifted her weight onto one leg.

“I don’t think any thanks are owed to us, princess,” Adagio said, bringing a hand up to inspect her nails. “Are actions were a product of circumstance; our allegiance with the Rainbooms was one of convenience, not the desire for truce.”

“Keep telling yourself that,” Princess Twilight smirked. “That may have been true three weeks ago when you had no other choice, but you had no obligation to be here tonight. You could have skipped town a week ago… but you didn’t, did you?”

After a sharp glance at the princess, Adagio rolled her eyes and let out a huff.

“Don’t worry,” Princess Twilight reassured, “no one will think you’re going soft. And I really don’t think Princess Celestia has anything bad in mind for you.”

“Where is ‘her grace,’ anyway?” Aria asked, adding that obligatory hint of snark. “Does she always have a thing for being fashionably late?”

“She’s not late,” the princess replied. “I asked if she could wait a few minutes for me to say hi to all my friends before she came through, which means she should actually be here any second.”

Just as she said this, a flash of light pierced the side of the pedestal, and everyone turned to see a long, white leg emerge, shrouded in silky, white fabric. A golden high-heeled shoe decorated the foot, which came to rest on the concrete step as the patch of energy expanded, allowing the tall figure of a robed woman to pass through.

Stepping into this world, Princess Celestia moved with a grace unattainable by most, her heels coming to rest on the sidewalk without so much as a stumble. As with the Twilights, she bore an uncanny resemblance to the principal, aside from her attire, which consisted of a long, white silk robe with golden lace lining the neck and sleeves; she had the same head of turquoise, blue and pink hair laced with hints of white near her ears, although it was a touch longer, nearly reaching her shoulders as opposed to the principal’s, which didn’t even reach the back of her neck.

Her height was the same, taller and both Applejack and myself, and she had the same face: big, bright eyes, the corners of which sprouted faint crow’s feet, matching the lines that went from the sides of her nose, past the corners of her mouth before fading into her chin.

Her age seemed to match that of the principal’s, which reminded me of the conversation I had with Princess Twilight at the Sweet Shoppe, and I was about to turn to Sunset to ask her if this was Princess Celestia’s first visit to this world.

Before I had the chance, however, I caught the sight of Princess Twilight dropping to one knee to bow to the taller, more majestic princess. The sirens followed suit rather quickly, surprisingly, and it was only a second later that I felt a tug on my left shirt sleeve, prompting me to turn to find a very pale Sunset signalling me to drop as well.

Not wishing to disrespect her world’s customs, I knelt down along with Sunset, glancing down the line as the other six girls followed suit, along with the principals across the way. I was quick to notice Sunset closing her eyes and bowing her head --something that Princess Twilight and the sirens were also doing-- so I, along with everyone else, did so as well--though, out of curiosity, I kept my eyes up just enough to see what was happening.

After taking a long look around with an expression of wonderment, Princess Celestia brought her attention to the strange-looking creatures that surrounded her. She appeared to recognise Princess Twilight first, at which point her eyes moved to the left to scan the girls, taking note of each of their defining features, like hair and skin colour, before moving on to the three siren sisters and then finally, the principals.

She stared inquisitively for a moment, her eyes fixated on the familiar colours of Principal Celestia’s hair as she contemplated the situation to herself; being thrust into a completely alien body and then coming into the presence of an identical version of that body was enough to throw anyone for a loop, even an ancient being of omnipotence like Princess Celestia.

She brought a hand up to touch her face, feeling its new shape: its lack of a muzzle, its bare skin. She paused suddenly, however, when her fingertips brushed over the lines at the corner of her mouth. Furrowing her brows, the princess felt her cheeks and the corners of her eyes, feeling the age in them, the lines forged by many years of raising other people’s teenagers.

“Oh my…” she said softly, her eyes dropping to her counterpart once again, noting her age compared to everyone else. “I didn’t expect to look so… mature… in this body.” The princess scanned the girls once again, followed by the sirens, who by then had lifted their heads to peer up at her. “Even you three still look young… and you’re just as old as I am!”

She abruptly covered her face with both hands, looking like she was upset by this. Everyone watched for a moment, wondering if she, the ruler of another world, was going to break down over her appearance, which she must have known was only temporary.

What happened instead was even less expected. Princess Celestia slowly wiped her hands upward, combing her fingers into her hair; when her face was once again uncovered, it was smooth and radiant, her skin tight and her lips soft and full. It was as if she’d washed the years away, but it didn’t end there: as her fingers reached the tips of her hair, it began to grow, following her hands outward as its colour became fresh and vibrant. Her hair continued to float in an invisible current, even after her fingers had slipped free of its soft locks, rippling slowly as if she was underwater.

The rest of us, including Princess Twilight, stared in awe at what now appeared to be a twenty-year old woman: tall, majestic and stunning.

I turned to face Sunset, quite impressed by the display of ability. “That was pretty cool.”

“SHH!”

Sighing, I rolled my eyes and shook my head, turning back to watch the princess. Sunset was clearly on edge; I figured it was best not to bug her.

“That’s better,” she said with a satisfied smile, bypassing Princess Twilight and the sirens, surprisingly, to make her way toward the principal and vice-principal. Standing in front of her counterpart, the princess held her hand outstretched, offering it to the bowing Principal Celestia. “Here,” she chuckled, prompting the principal to look up at her. “You don’t have to bow to me; you are me.”

Principal Celestia’s eyes locked onto the hand offered to her, pausing for a moment before reaching out to take it. The princess helped her to her feet and then proceeded to do the same for Luna, placing a hand on each of their shoulders afterward.

“You are looking well,” the princess announced, making the principal sisters glance at one another, brows cocked. “I am pleased to see that life in this world has afforded you both good health and fortune; well done. Also, it is with sincere gratitude that I am able to attend this assembly, here, on the steps of your great palace of learning,” Princess Celestia gestured to the massive tower of brick and glass behind them. “It is a pleasure to finally meet you both; I admit, I was quite thrilled to learn that you would be hosting Princess Twilight and myself for this visit.”

“Uh…” Principal Celestia blinked several times at the face looking back at her. To her, it was like seeing a photo of herself during her college years. “It was… the least we could do, your majesty.”

Princess Celestia laughed. “Oh my! You don’t need to call me that. Please, consider me your equal.”

The principal’s mouth dropped open. “Equal? But I’m not the leader of this world; I’m just the principal of a high school--and not even the best one in town.”

The princess took her hand from her counterpart’s shoulder to raise a finger. “Ah… but you and I are more similar than you think.” She swung her hand to the right, gesturing at me and the girls. “You were once a mentor to these bright, young individuals, as was I, in Equestria, to the very same bunch of fillies. In both worlds, it seems, they have become a significant force for good; without them, all would have been lost many times over.”

Principal Celestia drew a breath as she glanced over to study the row of girls, feeling a small bit of nostalgia as she remembered the countless acts of heroism they’d performed. “I suppose you’re right… in that particular context.”

“I would like to think we’ve both done well in our respective roles--for the most part,” the princess added, giving Principal Celestia a little wink before bring her eyes over to Luna. “I must apologise for my sister’s absence tonight; Princess Luna had to remain in Equestria, unfortunately, as she, like the rest of us, has a duty to protect the land. With Princess Twilight and me here, there would have been no one left to watch over Canterlot and the surrounding area. The only other princess, Cadance, is posted too far from the portal, and would be unable to act quickly if something were to happen in the capital.”

“I understand completely,” Luna replied with a respectful bow of her head, causing her glasses to slip down her nose a bit. “Another time perhaps?” she suggested, using a finger to lift the eyewear back into place.

“Perhaps,” Princess Celestia replied, giving Luna’s shoulder a gentle squeeze before turning back to approach the sirens. “Rise,” she commanded, waving her hand upwards.

The three sisters did as ordered, rising to their feet, Adagio in particular with a look of distain on her face as she had little choice to obey, which would have dealt a rather heavy blow to an ego like hers.

Celestia paid the siren’s arrogance no mind, and instead took a moment to observe all three of them one at a time. Smacking her lips, she drew a breath at last, preparing to speak.

“For centuries, you three led a rather sordid existence… until now. Tonight, you have gathered here in peace with you former enemies to meet with me, the ruler of the land you were banished from all those years ago. How did this happen?” She turned her attention to Sonata. “Someone took the first step.”

Sonata shrunk into herself, but was unable to hide the prideful smirk that tugged at the corners of her mouth.

“You, Sonata Dusk, should be very proud for what you’ve done,” the princess said, making the siren blush at the compliment. “Where the motivation, or the idea came from is irrelevant; it was you, and you alone, who made the heart-breaking decision to leave your sisters in search of something better for yourself, and in doing so, you laid the first stone in the bridge that would one day connect the three of you to the elements of harmony. Those first steps, it seems, did not go unnoticed.”

Princess Celestia’s eyes shifted onto Ari a next. “The noble acts of one can, will almost always, inspire others. When others see the brave path taken, and the goodness they find there, they will invariably follow. Aria Blaze, you, despite your mistakes, stretched yourself in two directions to reconcile with the sister you hurt in an act of desperation… in order to join forces with an enemy to help your other sister, who was in grave danger. This was an act of bravery on a level I haven’t witnessed in a very long time.”

Despite not even cracking a smile, her posture, raised chin and the pride in her eyes told a vivid story about how she felt inside.

Finally, after giving a smile and a nod to the purple siren, the princess’ attention came to the siren leader. “Adagio Dazzle. You stand here today by your own choice, but the events leading to this were not in your control, were they? It would be fair to say the same of Aria, I suppose, since her actions, although noble, were forced onto her by terrible circumstance. Do not feel small, though; your sisters know that, had you been given the chance, you would have swallowed your pride to do the same thing.”

Adagio drew a breath and sighed, her eyes dropping to the ground. She knew her role in everything had been minimal, and that as a leader, was helpless and had to rely on others to be saved.

“Your act of bravery,” Princess Celestia continued, “has yet to play out. You pride yourself on your ingenuity, your unbreakable focus, and your resolve to accomplish what you set out to do. These are fine traits, but recently you’ve learned that even you can be backed into a corner, to be out of options, to be unable to escape--to be a victim. This has made you feel weak, while those around you have accomplished great things. Weakness is not a bad thing, however; it can be a very enlightening experience, and it can teach you new things about yourself: like how to show gratitude to others for what you have.”

The princess turned partway to gesture across the walkway, directing the siren’s attention to Fluttershy. “You know, deep down, that you would not be standing here tonight if it hadn’t been for that young filly over there. Now, I know she is not someone you aspire to be: timid, unimposing, a wallflower. But you’ve learned that those things haven’t stopped her from doing what is necessary, and because of that, your very existence is owed to her. Do not be embarrassed that you needed help from such a meek soul; instead, I want you to open up to her. Show her what her actions mean to you. You can learn a great deal about kindness and humility from her. These traits can be powerful weapons, and I am sure she can learn much from you as well.”

The siren stared across the way at the shy girl, who returned the look with one eye, the other hidden by that soft, pink hair.

“You don’t have to do it right now,” Princess Celestia clarified, noticing the exchange. “When you are ready. Now then…” She looked down to her side, reaching into the folds of her dress to produce the necklaces, each decorated with a large amulet at the center, one amber, one violet and one blue.

After looking down at them for a moment, brushing her thumb over the sparkling jewels, the princess brought her eyes up to meet the trio of curious sirens. “I have heard about you struggles as of late. Losing your powers has left you floundering, unable to use your influence to get what you need to survive. It has been a constant fight, not knowing how to fit into this society.

“Because of this, you have focused the blame on the elements of harmony, holding them responsible for your hardships because they took away your magic. Deep down, you know the truth: your magic was taken for the good of the inhabitants of this world. Had you been responsible with it, and not power-hungry, bent on domination and the manipulation of others, you would still have your magic. It is time to accept this and move on. Become contributing members of society, earn your own way in life, take responsibility for yourselves.

“This will earn you the respect of others, in particular from the seven individuals behind me. It will also earn their trust, which will be an exercise unto itself, which is why what I am about to give you will be a challenge to them just as much as it is for you.”

She held the three necklaces up, turning slowly for all to have a chance to see them.

“What these are, are magical amulets that will give you back your singing voices like before, but with certain exceptions,” Princess Celestia said as she slipped the blue one over Sonata’s head. “First and foremost, you will not have the ability to absorb the negative energy of others--or any other energy, for that matter. Such a thing has no purpose; building yourselves up at the expense of others is an act of malice and cannot be allowed.”

She moved onto Aria next while Sonata held the blue jewel in her palm to study it.

“Secondly, your voices will have the power to influence the mood of others, but unlike before, where you could only sew anger and rage in your victims, you will now be able to make them feel happy, encouraged, or even sad. No emotion is off the table, however, you can inject whatever feelings you see fit.” She slipped the violet amulet over Aria’s head as she continued. “Therein lies the challenge to the others: they must allow you the freedom to act as you will, and you must earn their trust by not using these powers for malevolent purposes. Do you understand? Is this a fair compromise?”

Aria drew a deep breath and looked down at the sparkling jewel on her chest. Then she faced the princess and nodded.

Smiling, Princess Celestia moved on to Adagio, holding the amber necklace up and then pausing, pursing her lips as she sized-up that massive head of curly orange hair. “Hm… perhaps I’ll have to unclip this one,” she chuckled, opening the clasp at the rear before reaching over the siren’s shoulders to fasten it around her neck. “How about you? Do you agree with your sister?”

Adagio paused for a moment as she felt the weight of the amulet come to rest on her bosom, and she took a moment to look down at it before drawing a breath to give her answer. “It is… a generous offer, one that we don’t deserve.”

Smirking, Princess Celestia placed her hands on the siren’s shoulders. “You’re welcome.”

Closing her eyes, Adagio bowed her head to the princess, who withdrew her hands and turned toward me and the girls, reaching into her gown once again. She took a few steps in our direction, but then stopped midway to produce a golden bracelet, which was adorned with a red jewel in the center.

Everyone’s eyes were immediately drawn to it.

“This,” the princess announced, “is a control amulet. It has the power, if desired, to inhibit any one, or all of your amulets, thus removing your magic. It shall be worn by one of the elements; someone very special.”

The sirens gave a collective scoff, with Adagio looking particularly indignant. “I thought this was supposed to be about building trust?” she asked scornfully. “I must have missed the part where you said it was forced trust.”

Princess Celestia raised a finger. “Patience, Adagio Dazzle; let me explain before you jump to conclusions. This amulet is not meant to be a ‘leash’ for the three of you, to keep you under the elements’ control--granted, it could be used as such, but that’s the entire point.”

The sirens glanced dubiously at one another. Sonata looked more confused, unsurprisingly.

“There has been a longstanding feud between your groups,” the princess continued, gesturing to both sides of the aisle, “and the animosity went both ways. Therefore, it would be unfair to place the onus on one side to earn the trust of the other. The elements will be putting their faith in you, the sirens, not to use your magic for evil deeds, and now, you will be putting your faith in the elements of harmony to respect your ability to treat you as equals, to not strip your magic unjustly. Trust is not a one-way street, and it is now their job to earn yours well.”

Princess Celestia turned to face the girls once again. “Can the sirens trust you to this? Do they have your word that you will not abuse such power?”

The girls nodded immediately, Applejack reaching up to adjust her hat.

“You can count on us,” the farm girl said with a nod.

Celestia faced the sirens. “Is this satisfactory?”

Adagio and Aria hesitated slightly, but Sonata did not.

“Yes!” the blue siren said. “P is my best friend; I already trust her, and she trusts me. There’s no way they would do that to us!”

The response drew a smile from the party-girl.

“It’s settled then,” Princess Celestia announced, turning to head for me and Sunset. She stopped in front of the red-head, who was still kneeling along with the rest of us. Holding the bracelet in one hand, the princess waved Sunset to her feet with the other. “Rise, Sunset Shimmer.”

Keeping her eyes to the ground, the red-head gulped and gave a quick glance my way, to which I gave an encouraging nod. Drawing a breath, she stood slowly, looking like she might bolt in the opposite direction if anyone decided to make a sudden movement.

“To you, I bestow this responsibility,” Princess Celestia announced as Sunset reached full height, but was still unable to make eye contact with her former mentor.

It was a bizarre sight; Sunset was usually so calm and collected, so in control --except in situations of extreme peril, like anyone-- but I’d never seen her so intimidated by a person’s presence.

“This bracelet belongs to you now,” Celestia continued. “It is your responsibility… to guide these three, to help them when they find difficulty, and show them the magic of friendship.” She opened the bracelet like a butterfly and held it up, prompting Sunset to raise her arm to accept it.

As the Princess closed it around her wrist, her fingers touched Sunset’s skin, causing her to tense up quite noticeably. Celestia picked up on this, and she paused for a brief moment to glance up at the red-head’s face, which was still down, her eyes elusive. Then she squeezed the necklace shut with a click and brought her index finger to Sunset’s chin, bringing her up to meet one another face-to-face.

“Sunset Shimmer… is there something wrong?”

Those big turquoise eyes stared into those of the princess like they were searching for something --an easy answer, perhaps-- but before long, she faltered and her eyes closed, sending a pair of streams down her cheeks as the corners of her mouth pulled downward and began to tremble, and she quickly turned away.

I brought my eyes down and turned to look over at Fluttershy and Rarity, who were still kneeling beside me, watching on anxiously.

Princess Celestia lowered her hand and sighed. She turned to look over her shoulder at Princess Twilight, who returned a rather concerned look. After a moment, however, she closed her eyes and gave Celestia a nod.

After a brief hesitation, the princess turned back to face the red-head, reaching out to place her hands on those leather-clad shoulders. “While I haven’t forgotten our past --as one should never do, lest our mistakes be repeated-- it is precisely that, and is now exactly where it belongs: behind us. You don’t need to worry about judgement from me; your time in this world has proven one thing, which that you stand before me now, a changed mare. The pony you once were is no more.”

The princess tilted her head slightly, trying to see Sunset’s face. She reached out to place her fingertips on the red-head’s jaw with her fingertips, feeling the moisture of fallen tears as she gently coaxed her around to lock eyes with her again.

“Look at me; whatever happened between us, all those years go,” Princess Celestia said softly, “it is in the past. I have forgiven you many times over in the time since, and I have missed you so very much, Sunset Shimmer.”

Sunset brought a hand up to wipe her eyes with the heel of her palm, smearing some of her make-up across her temple. “I’m so sorry…” she sobbed, her bottom lip trembling.

“Shhh.” Celestia gave the red-head’s shoulders a squeeze. “There’s no need for that. You’ve learned from your mistakes, grown, and evolved into a new Sunset Shimmer. Your participation in this world has been one of bravery and selflessness, and you’ve made an astonishing impact of the inhabitants here by saving them from certain doom many, times over. If I am certain of one thing, it’s that you are not a shame to our kind; no, Equestria is proud to have you represent us here, and it is my honor to name you the official Ambassador to this world, effective immediately.”

Sunset paused suddenly when she heard this, blinking her eyes to clear the moisture from them as her mind quickly tried to process what she was just told. She looked down at me, eyes glistening and wide, and I gave her a little smile back.

Again, she faced Princess Celestia, mouth hanging open. “You… want to make me the official Equestrian Ambassador here? Is that even a thing?”

“It is now,” Celestia replied. “You would be the first to represent Equestria in an entirely different realm. And why shouldn’t it be you? You’ve already been doing an exceptional job of it for a decade now. The abilities you’ve displayed as a leader are second to none, which is also why I’ve charged you with this bracelet; it’s essentially your only new responsibility since you’ve already mastered your other one.”

Sunset looked down at the bracelet for a moment, running her fingers across the massive, red jewel as her eyes slowly rose to meet Celestia’s again. After gazing into those sparkling, violet eyes, the red-head stepped forward to wrap the princess in a tight hug. “Thank you,” she whispered.

Applause broke out from across the way, starting with the two principals and then quickly spreading to Princess Twilight, the girls and myself. Even the sirens joined in eventually, starting with Sonata, of course.

“YEAH! GO SUNSET!” the voice of a certain rainbow-haired girl shouted out from the far end of the line.

Laughing, Princess Celestia broke the hug to face the source of the cheer. “Haha! Now that must be Rainbow Dash,” she said, about to step off in that direction, but stopping briefly to look back at Sunset for one last smile. When Sunset finally cracked a smile of her own, the princess made her way along the line, heading straight for the athlete. “Rise. I would love to have a talk with you--ALL of you. How many chances will I have to meet the six of you for the first time all over again?”

Rainbow Dash stood and put her hand up for a high-five, a gesture that Princess Celestia turned out to need a bit of coaching on. After some small talk and a bit of casual laughter, the princess moved down the line, prompting Applejack to stand for her turn to speak.

I turned to look up at Sunset while the princess made her way down the line to greet the girls one-by-one. She was studying her new bracelet, rotating it back and forth slightly with her other hand when she noticed me watching her; stopping, her eyes locked onto mine, still sparkling with moisture, her makeup blotted slightly.

She looked beautiful, though, despite all this. The relief in her face was plain as day, the pride that beamed from the smile she gave me seemed to light up the night sky.

I gave her a smirk in return, pointing at my wrist to indicate the bracelet, followed by a thumbs-up.

She responded with a bite of her bottom lip, her eyes gazing deep and amorous. I knew precisely what this mean: as soon as she got me alone someplace, she was going to be all over me like a bear mauling a hapless camper.

I was OK with this.

The sound of Fluttershy’s voice drew my attention suddenly, and I turned to find her standing face-to-face with Princess Celestia. Stiff as a board, she stammered her respects softly while the princess listened, smiling warmly; logically, she already knew how to deal with this timid creature, which appeared to be the case as she was able to get the shy girl to open up before too long, and with seemingly little effort.

I was now the only person still kneeling and I felt a bit out of place over it, but I decided I’d better not break decorum. Everyone else, after all, had waited until they were addressed by the princess.

After a little nod and a “it was lovely to meet you,” Princess Celestia contined toward me, and I quickly brought my eyes down to the ground, waiting for her to give me the command to rise. Looking down at my boot and my faded jeans, I began to wonder if I should have dressed a little nice while I waited for her to address me. The seconds passed, however, longer and longer as I began to wonder if she knew who I was; maybe she would simply bypass me because I wasn’t one of the ‘elements’ as she called them. I knew she was right in front of me, though, as I hadn’t heard her walk away, and the temptation to look up to see what she was doing began to grow rather quickly.

I didn’t want to look up, just in case I wasn’t supposed to, but I couldn’t understand what was taking so long, or what she was doing, just standing there looking down at me. No one else was saying anything either, and eventually I began to wonder if they were playing some sort of prank on me.

Unable to endure the awkwardness of it all and not knowing what else to do, I made the decision to speak.

“It’s uh, an honor to meet you, Princess.”

A second or two passed before I got a reply, her voice startlingly close.

“No, the honor is mine, Golden Arrow.”

Alerted by the princess’ proximity, I raised my head to look and was shocked to find her down on one knee, her head bowed fully.

“Whoa… did you fall?” I asked, glancing up at a surprised-looking Fluttershy and then to my left at Sunset, whose eyes and mouth were gaped, wide as can be.

Laughing, the princess lifted her head to face me, our noses less than a foot apart. It was strange to see her this close; while she certainly was the same person as the principal, seeing her so much younger like this was striking to my male eyes.

She was pretty hot, I won’t lie.

“Haha, no,” she chuckled, shaking her head. “I must confess, while the main reason for me coming here was because of complications with letting the sirens through the portal, part of what helped urge my decision to come here was having the chance to meet you.”

“Me? Why? How d’you even know about me?”

“After Princess Twilight visited here a few moons ago, she told me of her encounter with you. At first, it struck me as odd that she would meet someone from this world who is so old, but there was something familiar about it, and something told me I should go check my personal library and sure enough… I found it.”

“Found what?”

“Before I continue, shall we rise first?” she asked.

“Oh, uh…” It caught me off guard that she felt the need to ask. “Sure.” I stood and reached a hand out to take hers, helping her up. She was tall, easily two inches above my height; it was strange looking up to her.

“Thank you,” she said, brushing her robe. “Now then, you want to know what I found. Well, quite simply, it was something from my youth, something that sparked a memory of mine, from long ago. You see, when my sister Luna and I were just fillies, we learned about you from our elders. I can remember the professors telling us many fantastic tales, tales of magic, distant places and parallel realms, and one time in particular, I remember hearing a story of the unbreakable being from another world--who, even at that time, was many, many centuries old.”

Hearing this sent a chill through me. My existence here on Earth had, for the most part, been largely secret, usually considered a fictional legend by those in the know. I had no idea that beings from other realms were telling stories about me.

“As I understand from what Princess Twilight has told me,” Celestia continued, “you are not aware of how you came to be, nor do you know how old you actually are.”

“That’s right,” I replied.

“Well…” She brought her hands together. “Perhaps I can help shed some light on at least some of these mysteries. Now then…“ Keeping her fingers laced, Princess Celestia began pace in front of me and the girls, looking like she was trying to find a point at which to start her story from. She stopped in front of me again, taking a moment to study my face before drawing a breath. “There have been tales told in recent history by the people of this world, tales that have been drawn from ancient paintings and sculptures. They theorize that the birth of your race was the result of ancient visitors from the stars; advanced cultures from other worlds that had the ability to engineer a race by splicing their own DNA with a more primitive version of you humans, a race that was intelligent and resilient enough to fulfill the role of slaves to these aliens.”

The girls, as well as the principals, glanced at one another, brows furrowed dubiously, prompting Celestia to shrug her own statement off.

“There is, of course, no evidence to support these theories, however --aside from circumstantial and contextual conveniences-- and as such they’ve been almost universally ignored.”

I raised a finger. “Not to disagree, princess, but this world has received a number of visitors--aside from you bunch,” I said, gesturing to the princesses and Sunset, and then the sirens when I said this. “And, I mean… it hasn’t happened very often, but it does happen.”

“And you would be correct,” Princess Celestia replied. “Many stories told, even the wilder ones, are borne out of at least some morsel of truth, but they invariably evolve into fairytales over time, or are misinterpreted by late discoverers who try to retell them to the world, either for fame and fortune or our of simple incompetence. But you are right, Golden Arrow: this world has been visited by advanced forms of life from elsewhere in your universe, and like you said, it has not happened often.

“The reason for this is quite simple: this world is one of the most dangerous places in the universe. The ground itself is unstable and will often unleash quakes, volcanoes and atmospheric storms upon its inhabitants, which themselves can be quite dangerous to those unaware of their nature. This world has dangerous plants and spores, massive powerful creatures armed with sharp claws and teeth, and even tiny creatures with dangerous venom that can prove deadly, even to creature many times their size. Equestria has many of these things as well, but they are much tamer by nature, as well as our magical ability to communicate with them; the creatures here live on pure instinct, and will lash out at anything that threatens their survival--or looks like a good meal.

“It is for this reason that many beings from other worlds refuse to visit here. Very few have the physical or technological ability to avoid attack or to be wiped out by disease, which is a testament to the resilience of your race. That is not to say, however, that no visitors were able to cope with this place; there is one race, one that hasn’t visited in a millennium. This race, Golden Arrow, is the one that fathered your existence, and they were able to come here at little risk because, like you, they are indestructible… and the live forever.”

I shifted in place as I listened.

Aliens. The answer was so simple, almost disappointingly so.

“Ancient Equestrian texts describe these being as being geometric in appearance; dark in colour, with flat, angular edges and sharp points at each joint. It is unknown how they flex or move, and those who witness them describe them as machines, although this comparison does not stand well. Machines can be damaged, they require maintenance, they can break down; these creatures cannot.

“Their bodies, and in fact, their entire world and everything in it, are comprised of an element that is not found on your prehistoric table; thus making it impossible for the scholars of this world to understand its properties.”

Princess Twilight cleared her throat at this and she raised a finger to interject. “Uh, it actually called the periodic table,” she said, to which Celestia turned and looked over her shoulder in response. “Heh… sorry,” Princess Twilight added, withdrawing her finger.

“It’s quite alright,” Princess Celestia smiled. “You’re the expert on these things; that’s why I always make sure to bring you along!”

Princess Twilight smirked bashfully and put her hands behind her back as Princess Celestia continued.

“Now, where was I? Oh! Since these beings do not die, their technological advances have been proven great, transcending most other races that must re-teach what they’ve learned from one generation to the next. With a lifetime that never ends, they are able to amass such knowledge that they were able to achieve expedient travel through space, and have been able to design a form of reproduction, which is where you come in, Golden Arrow.”

“They created me,” I said, head cocked.

“But not from scratch,” Celestia clarified. “Upon visiting this world and observing the durability and ingenuity of the human race, they decided to ‘convert’ several human beings over to their genetic makeup, which means that you, Golden Arrow, are made up of the same elements I mentioned earlier. Even though you still look human, you still share their appearance and many of their instincts, but you possess the damage-proof physical makeup and everlasting life of these beings. Functions like sensory and thought processing work on their systems, which allows your body to function as it should while avoiding the issues that would arise from the lack of cell change.”

This time, it was our world’s Twilight to cut in. “That’s interesting, actually; I’ve wondered myself how certain functions are able to occur, like the effect that the absence of sleep would have on learning, for example.”

“Right!” Princess Twilight interjected. “When we sleep --and this goes for ponies, too-- our short term memories, IE our experiences from that day are moved to long term memory during ‘deep sleep’ stage, which makes up about twenty percent of a person’s sleep each night--provided they get a full night’s sleep.”

Twilight snapped her fingers and pointed at her royal counterpart. “Exactly! And that is what’s been keeping me stumped all these months: without sleep, how do w-- er, beings like Golden Arrow retain their memory? How is able to learn anything?”

“I have several theories on this,” Princess Twilight replied, raising two fingers this time. “One: what if h--“

“OK… ALRIGHT!” Sunset shouted to stop the lavender duo, throwing her hands in the air. “You two can dork-out about this later. In the meantime, can we let Princess Celestia tell the story?”

Twilight folded her hands and nodded quietly while Princess Twilight rubbed the back of her neck and cleared her throat.

“Sure. Sorry,” the princess said.

Seemingly back on her A-game, Sunset faced Princess Celestia and gestured to her. “Sorry, Princess; go ahead,” she said, before suddenly waving her hands and shaking her head. “Wait, wait! Sorry, I have a question.”

“Go ahead,” Celestia giggled.

Sunset cocked her head, brows furrowed. “Did you say they converted… several other humans as well? Does that mean that there are others just like Golds running around somewhere?”

I was glad I wasn’t the only one who caught this, and the rest of the girls’ attention quickly focused on the princess as she gave her reply.

“Yes… and no,” Princess Celestia replied. “They did create more like Golden Arrow, but no, they did not remain here in this world. They were taken by the alien beings and distributed around other worlds throughout the galaxy, where they their progress was observed by their creators over the following centuries. Golden Arrow was the only one chosen to remain here, and he too was observed by these beings for many centuries--but this arrangement did not last. Fate, unfortunately, had other plans.”

I was standing with my arms folded, rubbing my chin as I listened intently, wondering how much I had actually forgotten over the centuries--and how much might be revealed to me during the next few minutes.

“Oh dear. What happened?” Rarity asked.

“As it turns out, Golden Arrow was not left completely alone in this world,” Celestia explained. “A small group of regular humans were carefully chosen to watch over him. They would assist him any way they could; they were to teach him, guide him, go out on scouting missions to find out what was happening in other parts--anything they could do to help him serve his purpose the best he could. The alien beings gave them explicit instructions, and as I said before, they returned every few centuries to check on his progress.

“The human guides served him for a lifetime, each generation passing the torch to the next, teaching everything they needed to know, but unfortunately… inevitably… they grew corrupt, and they sought to use Golden Arrow’s abilities to their advantage.” The princess faced me to address be directly. “They became greedy, power-hungry, but they could not force you to do their bidding; centuries of conditioning by their ancestors taught you the difference between right and wrong, so they resorted to manipulation tactics to convince you to do what they wanted.

“Gradually, they wore down your resolve, and over the years convinced you that the people were violent and crime-ridden, and that they needed to be forced into submission, that it would be for their own good. They told you that the people were plotting against you to remove you as a threat, so they could indulge in a lifestyle of decadence and debauchery, and at last you made your move. You took their capital by force, you bore down on them with a rule so violent they had no choice but to cower and submit.

“But they were innocent. And your disciples took every advantage of it, lavishing in the riches of hyper-taxation while using you as a control mechanism. They let you think it was you pulling the strings, but you weren’t the one in charge. It was them. And when the people became fed up, when they’d had enough of seeing innocents killed off, they revolted--not against their true aggressors, but against you.”

I froze when she said this. Everything was starting to click, and I knew exactly what event she was talking about.

And I was sure Sunset did as well.

“They stormed your castle,” Princess Celestia continued. “They bombed it to the ground with you inside, along with your beloved wife, Somnambula. She was crushed to death at your side, and you were buried there, helpless to escape, and trapped for… let’s just say ‘a very long time.’ The disciples were turncoats and joined the rebellion once they knew it could not be stopped, and they quickly left once the revolution was over and the dust had settled. They were left with a conundrum, however: what would they tell the creators when they returned to check on your progress?”

By then, I was rubbing by brow, deep in thought. I could only remember bits and pieces from those days, but after the princess’ retelling of it, it had begun to make much more sense. Realising I’d been asked a question, I looked up at the princess. “Hm?”

“What would your disciples tell the creators when they returned?” the princess repeated. “They hadn’t just failed their objective; they’d outright and intentionally dismantled it. Fortunately for them, they knew that the creators were not expected to return for nearly a century, so that was when they began ‘the big lie,’ which they told to their successors, erasing the true events of the revolution so the lie would be told to the creators when they finally arrived.

“It was assumed that the alien beings had the ability to read minds, so it was imperative that the next generations believed the lie to be true or the creators would see right through it--and that part of the ploy worked. When the beings arrived and found that you were missing, the disciples told them that you had found a way to leave this world and had ventured into space to explore the galaxy.

“To this day, it is unknown if the aliens fell for the scheme; it would not have been difficult for them to detect you buried beneath the rubble --if they felt the need to look, that is-- but either way, they must have viewed their project here as a failure, because they left after hearing the news of your ‘departure,’ and haven’t returned since.”

“What about the disciples?” Rainbow Dash asked. “What happened to them?”

“They continued on with their evil deeds and their lust for power, especially when they heard the news of Golden Arrows rediscovery by a foreign invasion, which had taken the city and was in the process of clearing away the rubble when they uncovered him.”

Celestia looked at me, and I nodded.

“I remember,” I said.

“It is unfortunate,” Princess Celestia said. “I am sorry that you had to struggle with these people for so many centuries, hiding and being found, and then being chased until you managed to hide once again. This group is relentless, and it continued on throughout history, wedging themselves into many significant event in your worlds history, interfering with governments, causing wars, poverty, controlling resources and information--right up to this very day.”

That last tidbit prompted Sunset and I to glance at Fluttershy and then at each other, our eyes widening when we realised who the princess was talking about.

“’Us’…” Sunset said softly.

“Ohh…“ the shy girl covered her cheeks at the thought. “I don’t like those people.”

“They came for you, didn’t they?” Celestia asked, rather candidly.

Fluttershy nodded quietly.

“Because you are one of them now. Correct?”

The shy girl froze, as did the others.

“Yes,” the princess continued. “I am aware that you have become like Golden Arrow… all of you,” she said, looking down the line at the others. “I can feel it in you--the energy.” She faced me again. “After all of your years here… the creators would be impressed if they were to return here. I can only imagine the knowledge you’ve amassed; it’s astounding to think about, really, especially in such an unassuming package.”

I reached up to rub the back of my neck. “Yeah… I uh, generally try to act like a dumbass to hide what’s really going on in here,” I explained. “Even those who think they know me well, don’t really know me all that well.” I glanced to the right at the girls when I said this, and then to the left at Sunset, who narrowed her eyes in return.

“Remarkable,” the princess smiled, shaking her head incredulously. “I can only imagine what the creators would think if they found out you’ve learned how to spread their power to others. What a thrill it must have been to achieve such a thing; I must admit, I am somewhat curious as to how you did it.”

The girls glanced around at one another, wide-eyed and tight-lipped.

I cleared my throat. “I could… maybe give you a demonstration later?”

Rainbow Dash snorted. Sunset pinched the bridge of her nose and groaned.

Princess Celestia bowed her head politely. “It would be my pleasure, thank-you.”

I chuckled in response, glancing over at Fluttershy, who just smiled, rolled her eyes and shook her head.

“There is much to discuss, I am sure,” Princess Celestia said, hand raised. “And we will, in time, but for now, we must move on. I believe Princess Twilight has an announcement she’d like to make, so I will leave her with the floor.”

“Thank you, Princess Celestia,” the much shorter and less imposing princess said as she stepped forward to take center stage. “Now, as we all know, Rarity’s shop --the Carousel Boutique-- was burned down.” She quickly turned to face the sirens, raising a finger before Aria could say anything. “It’s OK, we’re not here to punish or place blame; we want to offer a solution that would serve as a gesture of goodwill, from one group to the other.”

The sirens glanced dubiously at one another. Then Adagio folded her arms and faced the princess. “We’re listening.”

“OK…” Princess Twilight rubbed her hands together. “I’m assuming you remember our last encounter; does everyone remember what happened?” she asked, looking back and forth between the groups.

“Uh, we… fought?” Rainbow Dash replied, brow cocked.

Princess Twilight shrugged. “Well… yes, but how, specifically? What happened at the school?”

Pinkie Pie threw her hands in the air, bouncing up and don with excitement. “OOH! THE BATTLE OF THE BANDS!”

Princess Twilight pointed at the party girl. “That’s right, Pinkie Pie! And that is what I’m proposing again here tonight: a second battle of the bands.”

“What, like right now?” Applejack asked, looking understandably confused.

“No, not tonight, and not to battle as enemies,” Princess Twilight explained. “It will be held as a fundraiser to help rebuild Rarity’s boutique; I know the building is covered under insurance, but insurance can’t cover sentimentals, and it can’t bring back things that can’t be replaced. The money raised will go toward extra touches on the new boutique once it is built, and the event itself will be the start of a new era, a new set of memories that we can all share together. What do you say?”

The girls glance at one another and then shrugged, nodding to the princess afterward, which prompted her to turn and face the sirens.

“And how about you three?”

Sonata immediately brought her hands together and then gave two thumbs up, grinning with excitement. “Count me in!”

Aria nodded in agreement, surprisingly. “Same here. It was technically me who started the fire, and I do feel kinda bad about it, so… seems like the least I could do to help.”

All eyes fell on Adagio next. After glancing around at everyone, she rolled her eyes and sighed. “Fine.”

“Great!” Princess Twilight said, gesturing to Sunset. “I will leave Sunset Shimmer in charge of setting everything up, and stating the terms of the contest. And try to remember: the better the show, the more money you’ll raise.”

“Um… OK? Gee, thanks for the sudden huge responsibility, princess,” Sunset grumbled, giving a wink to Princess Twilight, who let out a playful giggle when she saw it. “OK…” The red-head rubbed her hands together, paused, and then pointed to Twilight. “Twi? I’m gonna put you in charge of setting up the fundraiser. Start a GoFundMe or something --or whatever you want to use; something the people can donate to on the spot-- and you, AJ and Pinkie will be in charge of advertising. Get the word out, use a tagline like ‘Carousel Boutique needs your help!’ or something like that. I dunno; you guys figure it out.”

By then, Dash’s face was completely lit, and she was shaking her fists with excitement. “Oh man, this is gonna be. So. Awesome! We haven’t played in public for like, ten years! What songs are we gonna play? Man, I can’t wait to shred in front of everybody again!”

Sunset nodded, folding her arms with a smirk on her face. “I don’t think it’s been quite ten years, Dash… but anyway, yeah. What do you want to play? I was thinking we could… um…” The red-head trailed-off suddenly, glancing over at the sirens. “Hang on,” she said quietly as she approached the rainbow-haired girl, prompting the rest of the girls to huddle in closer. “What about them? Their magic is literlly music; what if they try to misuse it?”

Pinkie scowled at this. “Notty wouldn’t do that! And I betcha she’d keep the others in check too!”

Sunset chewed her lip. “Yeah…” she sighed. “You’re probably right.”

“Ain’t we s’posed ta be trustin them anyway?” AJ asked.

She had a point.

Sunset rubbed her forehead, thinking about what to so. This was her job now: she had to trust the sirens while showing them that she and the girls could be trusted. “OK. Fine. But the problem remains: their voices are being magically enhanced. It gives them a huge advantage over us.”

“Well, we’ll just have to play better than them,” Rarity replied, giving her hair a little flip. “And write better music.”

“Pfft! Are you kidding?” Dash protested. “Don’t you remember how Sonata wrote that song in Pinkie’s basement that one Saturday? And that was just her! Imagine what all three of them could write?”

Sunset huffed and swore. “Fuck. How do we even the odds then?”

“What if we pick the genre?” Dash suggested.

“Like circus music!?” Pinkie squealed.

“Why in the hell would we play circus music?” AJ barked, facing the party-girl.

“What about metal?” Dash suggested. “Remember how at the first Battle of the Bands, the sirens played nothing but that pop shit? They’d be totally lost trying to play metal! We could blow their heads off with some good old fashion distortion; we’ll win this fucking thing by a landslide!”

“I’m not so sure that… a metal music fundraiser is quite right for a fashion boutique though,” Rarity pointed out.

“Pipe down, Rarity! This isn’t about you,” Dash waved dismissively.

“Er, it kind of is, actually, darling…”

“I kinda like that idea, actually,” Sunset admitted. “I mean, if you think about it, a lot of the people who will come will be people that we went to high school with, and a lot of them were into that kind of music, so… I think it’ll be kinda fun to be honest.”

“Let’s do it!” Pinkie grinned excitedly. “Thrash metal drumming is the funnest kind there is!”

“Exactly.” Sunset looked around at the others. “What do the rest of you think?”

Applejack, Twilight, Rarity and Fluttershy all looked at one another, and then, one by one, faced Sunset and nodded somewhat reluctantly.

After a quick glance at each of them, Sunset nodded. “OK then.” She broke from the huddle abruptly to face the sirens. “Alright. These are the terms of the battle: we’re gonna be playing metal.”

The siren’s mouths all dropped open at once, and Adagio’s surprise quickly morphed into an irritated sneer.

“But that’s not all,” Sunset continued, folding her arms and taking that confident stance that she was famous for. “I’ve decided that the use of magic will be forbidden during the battle. That means no lyrics, no vocals.”

“What!?” Adagio roared. “How is that fair? I thought it was on you to trust us with these powers?”

“The ‘no magic rule’ goes for both sides,” Sunset explained as she looked over her shoulder at Rainbow Dash. “And that means that Dash can’t use her magic to shred on guitar.”

The athlete’s shoulders dropped, and she let her head fall back, groaning. “Uuuugh… seriously?”

“It’s only fair,” Sunset shrugged. “This battle is going to take place exclusively on instruments.”

Sonata perked up when she heard this, realising what it meant. Gasping, she brought her hands together, her face lit with elation. “Instrumental only? For realsies!?”

Sunset smiled and nodded.

“Yes! Did you guys hear that!?” she asked, turning to grab Aria arm to shake it. “This is gonna be SO much fun!”

Ignoring Sonata, the other two faced Princess Twilight and Celestia, looking somewhat disenchanted.

Princess Twilight simply shrugged. “Hey, don’t look at me; Sunset’s in charge. I will say, though, I think this is more than fair. You guys are pitting pure skill against skill--who can write and play the best music?”

At this, the three sisters faced one another, appearing to consider the terms in this context.

In the meantime, the girls had formed a circular huddle once again, hashing out their game plan.

“OK,” Sunset was saying. “We gotta get some song together and figure out what we’re playing. Dash, you and Flutters will be in charge of that.”

The shy girl recoiled slightly, putting her fingers on her chest. “Me? But… I don’t know anything about writing… metal music.”

“Aw, it easy, Fluttershy!” You just get a nice rhythm going with some power chords, and you throw in some guitar solos, like ‘squibbily pabbabow SQUEEEEE--“

“Shut-up,” AJ cut in, rolling her eyes.

Chuckling, Sunset faced Fluttershy. “Don’t worry about it, Flutters. You’re a great songwriter; you’ll do fine.” The red-head turned to Twilight next. “Well, I guess since there’s no vocals and you don’t play anything, that kinda leaves you out of the band, Twi. But there’s lot of other stuff for you, like stagehand--maybe you could even be the MC for the night.”

Twilight smiled at this. “I’d be OK with that. I’m sure there’s lots of stuff I could do, like lighting and pyro effects--the sky’s the limit, really.”

“Sounds good to me,” Sunset replied. “I know you’ll do a great job, Twi. You and anything to do with fire is usually pretty spectacular.”

“UGH!” Twilgiht groaned. “That happened ONCE! You’re never gonna let me live that down, are You?”

Stepping back and laughing just outside the circle, Pinkie Pie happened to glance over at the sirens and quickly stopped, having noticed a diabolical grin forming on Adagio’s lips as she watched the Rainbooms planning their show together. The party-girl’s smile quickly faded and she began to tap the shoulder of the nearest girl, her eyes widening as an ominous feeling began to overtake her.

“Guys? GUYS!” she shouted, prompting Rainbow Dash to turn and face her.

“What?”

“I don’t like this.”

“Don’t like what?”

“Adagio’s making a scary face!”

Dash snorted. “So?”

“I feel like… what if… What if they have something up their sleeves?”

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “Nah, Pinkie. We totally picked a genre that we’re better at; they’re gonna be totally lost, and we’re just gonna walk all over them.”

“But Dashie! They look like they’re gonna do something… and it’s gonna be really good!”

“No way!” Dash waved her off. “We got this!”

“DASHIE!” Pinkie stamped her foot, fists clenched in frustration. “Have you never seen ‘Space Jam’!?”