The sunset painted itself slowly on the sky over the Everfree Forest, twilight was approaching. But the girls hadn’t returned yet. Something had to be done and Principal Celestia feared greatly for her students. After a discussion over a course of action with Luna, she took a flashlight with her and started to search for the girls. She had to find them and hoped that the creature hadn’t harmed her students.

Her sister would stay behind with the rest, keeping them safe. She had two half-moon shaped knives, with, appropriately, a half-moon symbol engraved into the blades at her disposal and would wait for their return.

Celestia took the same direction as the Rainbooms and followed their deep footprints in the mud. She was lucky some of the girls wore stronger built high heels. The principal encountered strange critters and plants she'd never seen or heard before in her life on the way, the trail led to a cave, which of course she entered, deeply worried about the safety of her students. The principal wished she hadn't. Celestia found things beyond her fears and worse, the trail of the girls, too.

They had to see such terrible things... was it a mistake she made? Should she have demanded for them to stay in the bus, no matter what? Why didn't they come back already despite the fact that they found out the disturbing truth? Was there another reason, and if so, what? After Celestia left the beast's lair she decided to go to a nearby big hill, which was visible from her position, in the hope to find the girls from up there, or at least a hint on their whereabouts.

There they stood, curiously in the outfits they wore in Camp Everfree as they fought Gloriosa, may her soul rest in peace, and they didn't move a single muscle. Celestia couldn't be happier. She'd finally found them at the top of the hill! But something wasn't right. They all stood still, staring in the same direction, in a paralyzed state of.... was it horror? Desperation? Why? Her knowledge about body language told her only so much so the principal closed the distance between them to find out the reason for their strange behaviour.

Then she saw it; Canterlot City, was burning, the entire city ablaze. How was that possible?! Celestia was rarely out of her element. Someone had to do quite a bit in order to get a reaction out of her, but that? A rare event took place in this very moment, Principal Celestia was speechless.

What could she say to them? 'Everything will be alright'? Or 'Don't worry, I'm sure it will be fine'? She, too, was horrified to the core. That something like this could happen would never have entered her mind. Celestia was greatly disturbed about the cause of this. Did another magical being from Equestria attack? Or was it something else entirely?

She could see it, even from their location; The burning skyscrapers, the inner city, the parks, outer districts... CHS.

The principal prayed with all her heart that the citizens escaped the flames in time, but the hope was small. A building could be rebuilt, lives, not so much. But she had to mourn the dead at a later time. Now she had a much more important task to attend to. She had to give these young girls hope. Celestia always could trust in her instincts. They never let her down and they told her in this moment that the Rainbooms would play a bigger role in the upcoming future.

So she finally decided to make her presence known.

"Girls..." their principal started with a tone they never heard from her before.

Compassion, kindness, worry, fear, faith, determination and a hint of anger, all in one word. They switched their attention slowly to Celestia, with empty, sad eyes, void of hope, and a little bit of curiosity in Sunset Shimmer's case. Celestia took a deep breath, looked every one of her students into the eyes, one by one, and prepared herself mentally.

Then she started, "I can't say for sure what you might feel right now, especially young teenagers like you. But I have an idea. This act of insanity made you desperate. But please, believe me when I say that you can overcome it. Maybe your loved ones escaped the flames. Maybe not, but we can't possibly know that, yet. Most things can be replaced in time and new homes can be built, but, whoever did this can only win if you surrender now and stop fighting back. When you give into your desperation and surrender. Believe me when I say that I share your pain and suffering. People we call friends, people we call colleagues, people we call family..."

Her audience started to awake from its despair-induced state.

"I fear many lost their lives in the process of this disaster, but you know what? They wouldn't want you to give up, to despair, to stop dreaming, because they can no longer be with you physically. But they will always be with you in your heart and never be forgotten, as long as you live, and they would want for you to continue. The world is clearly changing. Magic, what we believed would only be possible in fairy tales or in Equestria, becomes now more and more a part of our world. I saw plants on my way here and little animals I never encountered before in my life, they shouldn't exist like they do. Flora and fauna, they adapted both to the new rules which came into existence, we have to do the same. We have to adapt in this new world. We have to fight for what we believe is right and we have to defend our loved ones from those who wish to take everything away from us. You saw what happened to the poor people in the cave. They died, because they were killed by something stronger than them, they had nobody who defended them. But sometimes there is only so much we can do."

Sunset smiled softly, Twilight and Rarity glanced at each other in a mix of sadness and acknowledgement of what was said and the rest of the girls developed a faint shard of acceptance.

"We try our best, we believe that our way of life is the right way, that we follow a moral code which should be followed by all. And in the end all of our efforts could result in nothing, but we forget two things: The world is not always simple and life is not always easy. Both can be much more complicated. No, both are much more complicated. There are times in life when we are forced into things we didn't want to take a part in. Sometimes we have to fight our battles with words and sometimes with weapons. We have to take on responsibilities, leadership, risks, injuries or even lives. Not because we want to, but because we have to. If we wouldn't make these sacrifices and choose our own well-being before everything else, then we have to live with the consequences." Celestia sighed sadly. "I'm an adult; older, wiser, more experienced in life. We learn from our mistakes, or so it is said. In my job as a principal I always wanted to help my students. I wanted to prepare them for life, to assure them that the future is nothing to be feared, but something to embrace."

Their principal was right. They could mourn another time, their fellow classmates were counting on them, waiting for their return.

"Growing up is an unavoidable part of life. You have to live on your own, follow your dreams and make hard decisions. You girls should still be protected from life, but I had to understand that my opinion did not matter. That I had to let you go already, even before you reached adulthood. I had to understand that I could not protect you any longer. At the times of the Fall Formal, the Battle of the Bands, the Friendship Games, or lately Camp Everfree, I never could support you in these magical events, only in spirit. And still... I want to be there for you, if you accept. You girls are able to help, to make this world a better place, even if only for a little bit, to defend the defenseless. So I want to let you know that you can count on me, always. The sun will always step aside for the night, the time of rest, the time of dreams. But the sun is the symbol of a promise to this world and all its inhabitants. The sun will always return to us. There will always be another day, there will always be another dawn. In the end, no matter how dark and uncertain these times are, there will always be hope," she finished passionately.

The girls weren't interested in the words of the woman at the beginning, but as the speech progressed, the spark of life returned to their eyes and they listened attentively to every word Celestia had to say.

At the end of her speech the seven friends had, once again, tears in the eyes. Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Twilight even cried openly. Only this time they were no tears of sadness or desperation, but hope, determination and gratitude towards the encouraging principal and her words. Pinkie Pie's hair puffed back into all its gravity-defying glory.

Sunset was deeply touched by the speech of their principal, of Celestia, this motherly warmth and compassion reminded her much of the days with her former mentor, Princess Celestia, when she was a filly. She just wanted to thank her, but suddenly Celestia's body started to glow in a golden light, like the sun itself. The girls had to close their eyes because of the brightness.

Once the light had dimmed and they could open their eyes again, the Rainbooms were in for a surprise. Principal Celestia's appearance had changed. Before she still wore her attire from Camp Everfree, but not anymore. Her entire body was clad in armor, golden in color with silver accents on the gauntlets. The upper half of the helmet had glowing silver lines that dissolved from the end of the feet to the upper chest over her entire armor in beautiful flourishes. Her helmet had two sharp wing shaped additions on the sides of the top. That was not everything that changed. She had now a great golden heater shield in her left hand. In the center was an emblem Sunset recognized, Princess Celestia’s Cutie Mark. Not the full mark, but about half of it breaking over the horizon as if symbolizing the dawn of a new age. In her right hand was a sword with a golden hilt and a 1.6 meter long blade with two edges, its form reminiscent of the traditional swords of Templars. The blade itself was pure white, adorned with a gold line from the pommel to the hilt. The blade itself looked like it gleamed in a golden light.

Celestia put aside her sword and took off her helmet, "I didn't expect that," she said in a monotone, but stunned voice.

"That. Is. So. Awesome!" Rainbow Dash fangirled.

"Principal Celestia, your new armor is simply divine! These gorgeous color pattern, the adornments! It looks so... breathtaking," Rarity expressed her appreciation for her principal's outfit.

"It looks wonderful," Fluttershy supported her friends in a familiar timid voice.

"Well, Ah'll be. Ya look readier for a fight than an untrained, angry bull before a rodeo," Applejack said in all her countryish wisdom.

"I have to give you your own personal 'You-are-an-extremely-awesome-super-fantastirific-shiny-knight-party'!" Pinkie Pie fired word after word.

This earned a look from her friends.

“It's a working title?” Pinkie said, sheepishly.

Twilight changed the topic, "Thank you very much, Principal Celestia. That was one of the best speeches I ever heard and... I..." She sniffled, wiping new tears away with her sleeves. She admired and respected the principal for her conviction even more now.

Sunset was astonished by this. Celestia got her own magic, it seemed. But how? Then she remembered something the chimera said to her in their private conversation.

"As I already stated, this world has its own magic since its very dawn. That means that every being can be bequeathed with a form of magic. If you want to find and learn to master it, you should concentrate and search for your inner sanctum. In time you may find the answers you seek, Sunset Shimmer. Or, if you are lucky, your power will find you."

So their faith and conviction would help to awake the magic inside of them? Sunset had to verify her assumption, "Sorry, Principal Celestia, can I ask you something? Maybe it is important, maybe not, but do you have any idea what your power is exactly or do you feel anything? I heard from... someone that this world and its inhabitants can have their own form of power inside of them and now, because magic started to awaken, some people might be able to use it."

Celestia tapped her chin with an armored finger and thought about Sunset's words, "Now that you mention it, in the moment this magic surrounded me it felt like an important part of me, well, woke up, you might say. It felt not only like some sort of outer force or strange power, but my magic, if you know what I mean, I can't really explain it otherwise. I just felt the warmth, I felt like I always was incomplete without the magic in my life before. It gave me its name, yes. My magic is called 'Solar Magic'. And before you ask, I have no idea how I can use it or what I can do with it. I've never had such power before in my life. Hmm. I never thought I would say something like that," she finished her explanation.

That information was indeed important for Sunset. The principal confirmed the chimera's words and that opened a whole new can of worms. She made a mental list, because it meant that:

Every human and all other beings on this world had a spark of magic inside of them.

Not every person could access his or her inner magic, meaning that not everybody could become a mage.

Which kind of magic was even possible? Celestia had Solar Magic, similar to the princess, but without the ability to control the sun, till now. Could someone have something like Arcane Magic? Air, Dark, Fire, Shadow, Light, the possibilities were endless.

How would the magic from Equestria influence the magic of Terra? Would more people 'pony-up' or would they change otherwise? Not every human on this world had a Pony counterpart, after all.

And most importantly for her, would she even be able to use magic from here? She originated from Equestria and wasn't born as a human. Would that change anything for her? And what about other beings from Equestria, like the Sirens?

The group began their return to the school bus. Celestia said she or Luna would drive despite Applejack’s offer to do so. The principal was wondering though, why didn't they see any cars? Couldn't anyone escape the city before that, whatever it was, happened? As they got closer, the group heard noises, it sounded like a fight. They needed to return, fast!

"Girls, hurry! That came from the direction of the bus!" Celestia directed and charged ahead.

Rainbow Dash wanted to fly to the bus, but before she could do that, Applejack stopped her and pulled the annoyed teenager back to the ground by the chromatic hair extension.

"Whoa, Nelly! We hafta stay together. Ya have no idea what's happenin' there," Applejack lectured, even if she wanted to storm ahead, too. Rainbow just was the first who tried.

"I have never used my magic, but I have this equipment now, so I should manage, let's go!" Celestia ordered them.

They hurried and what they found at the bus was... not what they expected.

The bus was being attacked, they just didn't expect that the attackers would meet their inglorious demise in the form of two void-black scimitars, which looked like they sucked in the light. They were 1.4 meters long, and had one sharp edge. On the sharp side of the blades were three thin silver lines. The midnight blue hilts each had a symbol in the center, a waxing crescent moon, the first phase of a new moon, lay upon a black background that looked like an inkblot. The hilts had brandished adornments and a noble form, like only known from the best crafted swords of old. The wielder of the swords wore full body armor. The armor was, like the sword hilts, midnight blue. It had very sharp edges on the knees, knuckles, elbows, and the helmet, accompanied by accents in the form of fine, dark orchid flourishes upon the armor's chest. The wielder himself had two jet black wings on the back, angelic in their appearance and not small like the Pegasus wings Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy received when their own pair appeared. On a second glance, the figure appeared to be very feminine in appearance, so it had to be a woman.

"Oh, come on! She looks so freaking awesome, too! And her wings! Why are my wings not as big as hers?" Rainbow pouted in jealousy.

Pinkie Pie looked at her friend with a very smug expression and started, "Cheer up Dashie. She might be better assembled, but you know how the saying goes: 'It is not the size, but the technique that matters'." Rainbow Dash blushed in response and the other girls chuckled politely. Except Rarity, who mumbled something about 'uncouth behaviour' under her breath.

The enemies themselves were nothing the girls, except Sunset, ever saw before in their lives. The amber Unicorn-turned-human was surprised; They looked more dangerous than their Equestrian counterparts and more aggressive to boot. Had this world their own versions of every being from Equus? Even creatures which were not natural, too?

Shaped like wolves, but way bigger, with a shoulder height of 170 cm and made entirely of ebony colored wood with dark red glowing eyes. They had sharp, hardened thorns as teeth and thicker, but no less dangerous, claws in a dark brown coloration and yellow maple-leaves on their ears, Sunset knew what they were.

"What are these hideous things?" Rarity asked fearfully.

"Timberwolves. We have them in the our world's Everfree Forest, too. They just look a lot different here," Sunset elucidated for her friends and Celestia.

"Yes that too, I guess, but I was talking about this crime of fashion! Their entire body is made of black wood. That was last season!" the others groaned at Rarity's lack of priority.

A lot of destroyed timber laid around the bus, which had its share of scratches and bite marks over its whole length. Luckily it appeared to be still intact and the students inside all seemed to be unharmed.

Only two wolves remained; they circled around the dark knight and waited for an opportunity to strike, enraged that she destroyed the members of their pack. One of them was two heads bigger than the other; the alpha.

The figure just chuckled in a familiar sounding voice and propelled herself in the air with her wings, "Have at thee!" The knight landed with an fast downswing on the smaller wolf and destroyed it with two well-aimed cuts.

"Magnificent style! She knows how to handle herself!" Rarity said, impressed.

The alpha was now truly angry and howled out loud, a howl which echoed into the sky. Its eyes vibrated in an unholy light. Suddenly the entirety of the wood around the bus flew to the alpha and surrounded its body. It grew in size to 11 feet and growled dangerously at the midnight blue stranger.

Because of the helmet nobody saw it, but the woman smirked behind it in glee and shouted enthusiastically, "Huzzah! The fun has been doubled!"

Celestia groaned, facepalming, "I should have known," she whispered in annoyance.

The figure charged at the giant wooden wolf with inhuman speed, which made itself ready to strike her with one of its claws.

"Is she crazy?!" Twilight demanded to know, pulling her bangs a little bit with her hands.

"I can't look!" Fluttershy added in her soft voice and closed her eyes, praying for the knight's survival.

The timberwolf swiped with a paw, snarling, but the figure dodged easily, jumping above the claw. Still, her foe didn't give up so easily and tried to kill her with multiple bites in quick succession. The knight evaded every attack thanks to her wings and flew around the alpha in circles. She cut deeply into the wood with her swords without any problem. After cutting off the hind legs and partially immobilizing her opponent, she landed shortly on the wolf's back, vaulted high in the air with a somersault, pointed her swords downward and rammed both blades into the skull of the ligneous lupine with full force. The alpha couldn't even cry out in pain and it’s massive body just fell down to the ground, causing a little earthquake for a few seconds. It was dead.

"You were a worthy opponent, but in the end the midnight blue avenger, the shadow of the nights, the-", someone tapped her shoulder and the knight turned around, Celestia was in her face with a very angry expression, "Hehe... oops. Welcome back sister."

"Sister?!" the seven girls screamed in common disbelief.

The figure took off her helmet and indeed, Vice-Principal Luna's face was now to be seen, "And you said my sword lessons would be a waste of money and just as useless as my video games. Look how I defended our students!" Luna exclaimed proudly. Just now she noticed her sibling's own armor and reacted visibly surprised, "Oh, did your magic awake as well? Tia, that is great! Think about it. Now that our power has been increased we can defeat the next threat from Equestria on our own," the vice-principal said in a happy tone.

Celestia looked very frustrated and sighed, "Luna, please don't call me that in front of our students. Now... what was that!? I know you can handle yourself, but you toyed around with these things and could have been seriously injured in the process!"

Luna snorted, "Calm down. I just had a little bit of fun, that's all. I wanted to test my new abilities and you won't believe it. I waited for you and the girls.” She switched her attention for a few moments to the Rainbooms, “And by the way I'm glad you are all OK,” before she turned back to face her twitching sibling. “We feared the worst after you didn't return-" Luna smiled, reassured at the girls' presence, "-and some time ago we heard noises from all sides of the forest and twenty-" Celestia raised one eyebrow, "-okay, six of these wooden wolves surrounded the bus and immediately started to attack. After the windows began to crack I had to do something to protect our students. Then... I'm not really sure. Suddenly I was engulfed in a white light that reminded me of the moon and the next moment I opened my eyes, I had my armor and my swords, though my knives are now lost. Then I left the bus and attacked the enemy.”

"And what is with these sweet wings?!" Rainbow demanded to know, still jealous, and pointed at the huge angelic wings on Luna's back.

The vice-principal thought about her answer, not noticing the aggravated tone, "Well, I knew that I had no chance on the ground and was frustrated. Suddenly some of my magic kind of reacted and my wings came into existence out of nowhere. Don't ask me how. Though, let's just say that if I was being serious I could have been done with them in seconds. So, what is the name of your magic, sister? Mine is called 'Lunar Magic'.”

"Solar Magic," Celestia answered shortly.

When the two sisters focused on their magic, under Sunset's guidance, the co-principals' attire returned to normal and the weapons vanished. The Rainbooms followed shortly after. They went aboard the bus and the other students asked many questions immediately, like if they found the bus driver or what Luna and Celestia just did. They were very distressed by the news about the cave, but the group and Principal Celestia had bigger problems. They had to inform everybody about the fate of Canterlot City.

Suddenly Twilight's second bag moved and her dog, Spike, poked his head out of it, earplugs in his ears. He looked around, still very sleepy, but he managed to take out the plugs with his paws, however the canine managed to do that and yawned, "Hey, Twilight! You were right! These earplugs are amazing. I slept like a little puppy. I had the most amazing dream, too; I was chasing squirrels and rabbits and cats and I always won." He noticed then the scratches and dirt on the Rainbooms, or the blood stains upon their shoes. "Err, what did I miss?" Everyone laughed wholeheartedly in response, the first time since the the entire incident started.

Sunset Shimmer was nervous. What now? The city was lost and they couldn't return to it. A much worse thought entered her mind and she started to panic inside. Canterlot High was surely destroyed as well. What about the portal?! Was it destroyed?! Had she no way now to return to Equestria at all?!

She took the book she used to communicate with Princess Twilight and stared at it uncertainly. Should she write to the Princess of Friendship? What could Twilight even do?

Whatever happened to the city was much more than a simple attack, she was sure of it. This was planned. She wanted to believe in the teachings of the princess. She saved her from herself and brought her and the Rainbooms together after all. But this place was not Equestria. You couldn't solve everything here with some force like the Magic of Friendship, like Twilight did on the other side of the mirror-portal.

Sunset found that out the hard way in the chimera's cave.

Still, she wondered how the Ponies of Equestria would react if such a thing happened there with one of their cities. What would Princess Celestia do? She lived the most part of her life with Ponies and in her time there her old self was always annoyed by the always-happy-and-chipper-attitude most Equestrians had.

Sunset just wanted to study for her princesshood and be left alone. OK, the Unicorn nobles of Canterlot were another thing, even in her worst times they topped her. Sunset always disliked them. She was maybe a big bully earlier, but she never used her influence to jail other Ponies or trick them out of their houses just to build a bigger pool.

The Unicorn-turned-human really didn't know how to proceed. With her actual state of mind she would think that her friends were right, as they once all talked about Equestria and compared it to this world.

It was like a fairy tale.

No documented wars in the immediate past, major conflicts, terrorists, murder, the weather was controlled by Pegasi, the harvest was nearly always perfect because of the Earth Ponies and the Unicorns did the more detailed work with the help of their magic. Ponies even controlled the seasons in Equestria on their own. She had to live in this world for years now and needed to understand how life worked for non-Ponies.

Back home dragons, Gryphons, Zebras, minotaurs, Diamond Dogs, Yaks, the Horses of Saddle Arabia, Thestrali and all the others had to live on their own, like the humans here. No control of seasons, weather, crops, she wondered why there weren't any books about other races in greater detail in the history section of the castle. Most of them were feared by other Ponies, especially the carnivores.

Sunset remembered how a new maid in the palace once reacted as she saw a Gryphon for the first time in her life. The former Unicorn swore she never saw a mare that fainted so fast before in her young life.

Great, now she felt ashamed.

It was strange how your view on something changed when you didn't have it anymore.

Well, it was time to face the music and to tell the other students about Canterlot, Principal Celestia must have felt the same as Sunset, because she announced, "Attention, students! I have something important to tell you. Ýou have the right to kn-" Twilight's cell phone started to ring loudly. Pinkie and Rainbow chuckled at her.

With slightly pink tinted cheeks she answered the call, "Shiny? What is...? I... yes... hmm... I understand, but I already know about that... yes, don't worry about me I'm with my friends and we... where?...OK, I will tell them. Bye BBBFF! We'll talk later."

Twilight ended the call. Her friends and Principal Celestia, much to Luna's confusion, looked worried, but relaxed, as Twilight smiled at them, "Don't worry, he is fine, but I have to tell you something." she looked at Celestia and announced for all to hear, "My brother told me that he and Dean Cadence are safe and that they are waiting with a few others at Sweet Apple Acres for us. I don't know why, but he said we would be safe there and 'they' are not around the farm yet" Twilight frowned. "He didn't tell me who he meant."

Applejack was never happier in her life, "Land's sake! Ah sure as sugar was never more at ease. Ah hope ma' family is alri'ht," she exclaimed worriedly.

The students had no idea what Twilight and Applejack were talking about. Luna got a very bad feeling in her gut and glanced nervously at her sister.

Celestia took the driver's seat, started the motor and began to drive the bus at a moderate speed in the direction of the infamous farm of Sweet Apple Acres. She coughed to get the attention from everyone in the bus. "Luna, my dear students, you were surely wondering where the girls and I were all this time. I will tell you, because I have to bring you terrible news..."

The principal told them about the findings in the cave in greater detail, including the camp directors’ state, and the fate of their once beloved home. Never before in the nearly 100 year long history of CHS was a bus journey so filled with tears, despair, depression, terror, anger and hatred.

After a few minutes, students started to accuse Sunset Shimmer and Equestrian magic for everything, tossed the most insulting names at her, ‘she-demon’ and ‘bitch’ counted among the most harmless ones. Some took knives out of their pockets in their anger and stormed in Sunset's direction, but before worse could happen, Twilight levitated all students at once in the air and the girls were desperately trying to calm the others down. Spike growled at everyone who even looked in their direction.

Vice-Principal Luna took the news calmly, like her sister, on the outside. But her inner world was a cocktail of many feelings all at once. She swore to herself and every victim that she would avenge every person who was killed and to make the ones responsible pay. She summoned her armor, without weapons this time. Sunset shortly explained how the sisters could feel and command their inner magic, they took to it very fast. It was the same principle as in Equestria for a Unicorn.

Luna positioned herself between the seven friends and the rest and declared in a cold voice that she would punish everybody who would try to harm Sunset Shimmer any further. This promise calmed most students down. They were maybe fueled by anger and hatred in this moment, but trying to disobey the lunar knight wouldn't be the best idea, or the healthiest for that matter.

But the damage was already done. They were right to be angry, Sunset thought bitterly. But when did it happen? What- or who did that? Did it come from Equestria? Worse, was she somehow responsible? She had a lot to think about on the way.

Sweet Apple Acres, the most traditional orchard between Canterlot and Appleloosa, founded by Granny Smith. A farm in the third generation of the widely distributed Apple Family. Of course they used machines to ease their workload nowadays, but they didn't use pesticides or too much fertilizer. That could make the fields overused after some seasons. They had a lot of orchards, mostly different kinds of apples and furthermore crops like rye, hops and some farm animals like cows, chicken, pigs and horses. The Apples used the hops in order to produce their famous Hard Apple-Cider and sold it in their very own ‘Cider Season’ in autumn. But they didn't just sell the harder version, but normal Apple-Cider with naturally fermented apples, too.

The girls sometimes visited Applejack over the weekend, helped her at the farm and enjoyed the country style of life. In the process, Rarity was inspired with more rural designs, as she explained to her friends. Everyone had a good laugh. Applejack just smiled thinly at the time.

"Look, the others are waiting already. I can see Cadence, my brother, the Apples and... the Shadowbolts?!" Twilight was now really confused, but couldn't really say that she wasn't happy they survived; the contrary, in fact.

"I'm glad they are all alive. I would feel so awful if something would have happened to them," Fluttershy said, relieved.

The door of the bus opened and the girls, under the watchful eyes of the principals, so that the other students wouldn't do something stupid, left first.

"Twily!" Shining Armor shouted and ran up to embrace his LSBFF happily, glad that she was unharmed.

The girl in question hugged her brother back. After that she turned around and saw someone she didn't talk to since the teenager left CPA, "Moondancer?!"

"Hey Twi, it is nice to see you. I know we are not really friends anymore, but- OOF!" Moondancer couldn't finish, because Twilight tackled her to the ground, tears in her eyes.

Her emotions got the better of the book lover, "I'm so glad you're OK! I was so worried about everybody when I saw the city! Sorry I haven’t seen you since I transferred to Canterlot High, but I just... forgot. I know that's no excuse and I ignored you earlier in my life. But I always enjoyed your company, I just never thought about it, only after the other girls helped me to see that friendship is something important. I remembered our time together, I found out that you always tried to befriend me, but I was so caught up in learning something, that I never thought about it. Please, forgive me!" Moondancer teared up too, Cadence watched them and was rarely prouder of her little ladybug.

"Sweetie Belle, thank goodness!"

"Apple Bloom! Big Mac! Granny Smith!"

Rainbow Dash walked up to Scootaloo, "Hey squirt! Are you alright?" Rainbow Dash tried to ask in a cool voice so that she wasn't too mushy.

"Hey, Rainbow Dash, I'm OK, all... extremely frightening stuff aside." Scootaloo gave her idol a fist, trying to be relaxed in order to imitate the chromatic athlete's awesomeness.

"I'm so happy you are all alive! Next time you could hurry up and help before everything goes to Tartarus, you know?!” Sour Sweet tried to be happy to see them.

"Hey, Sunset Shimmer! Are you alright?" Sunny Flare questioned the depressed looking girl in question.

"Hmm? Oh. Yes. Don't worry about me. We just had a hard time before we found you," Sunset answered with a perfected fake smile to avoid further questions. It worked.

"Vice-Principal Luna-" Dean Cadence wanted to start.

"Oh, be quiet and come here niece!" Luna embraced the clearly flustered woman. Celestia smiled at them.

The matriarch of the Apple Family cleared her throat to get everyone's attention. "Welcome to Sweet Apple Acres! Ah hope ya young 'uns are hungry. We prepared more'n enough for everyone. No one will starve on our lands. That there is our famous Apple Hospitality fer ya," Granny Smith announced proudly.

"Apple Bloom, yer friends and ya should come too, Big Mac, please help me out. Ma' old bones are just not the same anymore." She smiled at her grandson as he turned around to follow her plea.

Granny Smith looked knowingly in the direction of the principals and they nodded their heads thankfully in response.

Most students of CHS, Moondancer and the kids followed Granny Smith and Big Mac to the house. In the meantime Principal Celestia led the rest to an older barn in the western orchards, where only old tools and hay were kept. The Shadowbolts, the Rainbooms, Shining Armor, Dean Cadence, Spike and the sisters sat around in a circle.

Then Celestia started, "Alright, I think we all know why we are here-"

"A party?" Pinkie Pie asked in her usual chipper tone.

"No Ms. Pie-"

"A surprise party?"

"Pinkie, I-"

"A birthday par-"

"MS. PIE!" the younger sister finally shouted. She had quite enough of her student's antics.

"Thank you Luna. As I wanted to say, we are here now to update each other on what the others here present missed and should do that in a chronicled order, if possible. I will start..."

The others were astonished that something like that happened when they heard about Camp Everfree and how the girls transformed shortly with the geodes into their magical forms to prove her point. The Shadowbolts were envious of their new outfits and Shining muttered something about a ‘magical-girls-cliche’.

Afterwards she explained the events of the kidnapping of their driver, her findings in the cave and the Rainbooms later, but surprisingly for the principals and the seven friends, the others didn't react as disgusted as they thought.

They wondered why.

She proceeded with telling them about the timberwolves they encountered and Luna's fight. The others asked for another demonstration and Celestia and Luna equipped fully. Shining was now very jealous, because he always dreamed of being a knight. Cadence and Twilight giggled at his plight. She finished her side of the story with their decision to come to Sweet Apple Acres after Shining's call.

Luna filled the group in about their little problem with the students and their accusations regarding Sunset Shimmer. The others were upset about that. They didn't share their side yet, but they could tell it was unfair to blame her for anything, especially because the elementals were at fault. Shining promised to be on guard around the other students and to watch out for them, if they planned to harm her. Sunset thanked him.

Now it was Sunset's turn. She told the group about everything, including her private conversation with the chimera, this part interested her friends, too. The others couldn't really decide how to react to that.

Shining and Indigo Zap were angry and wanted to hunt the chimera down for what it did to those people. Luna, Celestia and Cadence were curious. They were disgusted at the chimera's crimes, yes, but they could understand them. The other humans were easy prey and naturally they were predators. Additionally, in the end they helped the girls and answered some of Sunset's questions. And, most importantly, they didn't harm them.

The rest of the Shadowbolts were very interested in the information they received. Up until now they saw the fire elementals, but timberwolves? A chimera? What was next? And maybe they could discover their own magic. Who knew, right? What Sunset didn't tell them about was her fear that in the end it could be her fault that all this happened in the first place.

Shining Armor and Dean Cadence reported about their experiences, including the earthquake at Crystal Prep, the confrontation of the police with the elementals, the downfall of Canterlot City and how they found the three younger girls on their way before they escaped and came to Sweet Apple Acres.

The last part made Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Rarity especially happy and they thanked them in deep gratitude.

Now it was the turn of the people of CHS to be surprised. They already wondered what or who was responsible for the city's demise. They never would have thought that some creatures like the so-called ‘fire elementals’ did that, but they understood now why the rest didn't get ill or something like that after they were told about the cave. They couldn't believe that those things would do something horrible like that; so many humans died in such cruel ways as the beings of fire burned down their homes to ashes.

It made them upset, sad but mostly, angry. They feared about the rest of their families and friends. Fluttershy was even worried about her big brother Zephyr Breeze. The situation was truly terrifying.

Lastly, Sunny Flare told their side of the tale and after she ended with their escape from Canterlot with Moondancer's help, the others' jaws dropped. Except Shining and Cadence for some parts, who knew most things already, again.

It was certainly a surprise when they were told that the founder of Crystal Prep was some crystal obsessed lunatic, this Sombra. Not only that, but he was a so-called ‘Scion of Fire’, Cinch’s predecessor, so to say.

Then there was an ancient society, the ‘Scions of the Elementals’, who worshiped these beings. So those elementals weren't from Equestria? At least Sunset never heard of them in her time as Princess Celestia's student.

But the most important part was about the person who blackmailed Twilight into participating in the Friendship Games in the first place, Abacus Cinch. She made a pact with that elemental, that High Recruiter Igniticious. She transformed, infused by some kind of magic, they guessed, and was ready to harm the girls without hesitation.

Was she really that petty? Just because the woman didn't win the Friendship Games she sold her soul? At least that was what happened in their opinion. Luna, Celestia and Sunset wanted to do nothing more than to find and to confront her for her crimes. How dared she endangering innocents for her hurt feelings?! Maybe it was even her fault that the fire elementals attacked the city in the first place. It couldn't be a coincidence; the elementals attacked shortly after she disappeared? Likely story. They were sure it was somehow Cinch's fault.

"Wow, that was a doozy!" Pinkie Pie announced and summed up this conversation for everyone.

"I say, darling, I think we should return to the house, I'm worried about Sweetie Belle, especially around these ungrateful brutes. Hmph!" Rarity said, disgusted by the earlier behaviour of some of their fellow students.

Sunset sighed heavily, "Rarity, don't be too angry with them. Many most likely lost everything because of the attack and I can't really blame them for their actions. I mean, yes, Cinch and these... elementals played a role and destroyed Canterlot City, but what if I'm, at least in a large part, responsible for everything? I brought the Element of Magic into this world because of my ambitions. That was the reason the Dazzlings came to Canterlot High in the first place. Both events encouraged Twilight to create this magic absorbing device and it endangered her. I was so overjoyed by the discovery of magic and my only wish was it to understand it. I never thought about you girls. Once again, I just followed my own desires..." Sunset finished her apology, upset with herself.

"Sugarcube, Ah think ya misunderstood somethin' fierce. Sure, ya told us to stop fearin' this fancy magic in Camp Everfree, but we decided to use it on our own. Ya never forced us," Applejack started soothingly.

"AJ is totally right, I mean, my own wings? How awesome is that? We kicked the sirens' a-", Principal Celestia coughed, "I mean, we licked those sirens together!" Rainbow Dash supported.

"You were very brave, Sunset. When Twilight was corrupted by Equestrian magic you helped her and saved us all in the end." Fluttershy smiled at her.

"Yeah, those meanies from the bus are just grumpy. But you are still the best, Shimmy," Pinkie Pie voiced her opinion. Sunset was mildly annoyed by the nickname the girl used for her.

“They are right,” Rarity added gracefully. “It may be a little upsetting that our homes are gone, but you aren't to blame. I'm sure of it,” she opined

"You saved me from my inner demon and supported me the most after the Friendship Games. It was you who gave me the necessary courage to use magic again later in the Camp and together we saved the day. I believe in you," Twilight encouraged her friend further.

Spike barked and licked Sunset's cheeks after he jumped into her arms, she laughed.

The former prized pupil of Princess Celestia looked around and saw that every single one of them was looking at her with a warm smile, tears made themselves known in the corners of her eyes,"I-I don't know what to say. Thank you, girls. I mean it. But I have to sleep on all that. I think I'll go back now." That being said, Sunset left the barn and returned to the house.

The others looked at each other, a little bit disappointed that their attempt to cheer her up didn't work out completely.

"What now?” Indigo asked into the round, “I can understand why Sunset is upset, but I hope she understands we just wanted to help her."

"Give her time. She needs to sort out her feelings and thoughts and I think we all should do the same. Let us go back and sleep on everything that happened. We certainly had an eventful day," Celestia explained calmly.

Everyone agreed and made their way back.

I opened my eyes and found myself upon a gigantic, pure marble-white platform. It was formed in a octagonal shape, and in its center was a large, imprinted symbol; my Cutie Mark.

Everything around the stage was darkness, nothing more.

“OK, I know that this can only be a dream. Maybe, if I'm lucky enough, Vice-Principal Luna learned to visit dreams like her Equestrian counterpart,” she said to herself, being half-serious.

"I don't think so."

I turned around to face whoever spoke to me. As I saw her red skin, her hair, her clothes, claws and demonic eyes I knew who she was in a heartbeat: My inner demon.

"What are you doing here?! I thought the Elements of Harmony destroyed you and purified me from your influence!" I was not sure how she was able to survive, but I wouldn't fall for her tricks ever again.

My darker half shook her head in disappointment, "You naive, little girl. You really don't understand, do you?" she said in my voice, but somewhat distorted. The demon looked at me with... pity?

"W-what do you mean with that? Explain yourself or leave me alone!" This had to be a trick. Why should she pity me?

The demoness crossed her arms beneath her huge bust, "I was never your 'evil' side. I represented your desires, your ambitions, your dreams, your pride. You just lost yourself on your way. That was the reason why you failed as Celestia's student and you know that. Don't worry, I didn't come to play some cliched 'good-vs.-evil-fight-for-control' game. In fact, I came to help you, to make you understand that you need me."

Now she looked at me with pleading eyes. It made no sense!

"Stop it! I don't know what you're trying to accomplish here, but I won't go back to my old ways. The Elements-"

My demon cried out in annoyance, "GAAHH! You fool! You stupid fool! Think, Sunset! Really! Think! What do you know about the Elements of Harmony because of this 'Princess of Friendship'? Honesty, Generosity, Kindness, Loyalty, Laughter, Magic. The Ponies of Equestria once labeled them like that and thought since this day that their society, no, Equus can only exist in 'True Harmony' when you acknowledged these virtues as your virtues, if you follow the 'Path of Friendship'."

"W-what are you talking about?" What mind games did she plan?

My evil counterpart sighed in exhaustion, strange, "Since you left Equestria and saw the outside world, even when in this case a parallel world, you saw how it normally works. Equestria is not the rule, but the exception. Ponies fear the unknown and think of many reasons why someone or somepony is 'evil'. They fear Gryphons, minotaurs, dragons and others already, because they eat meat. Only one or two of maybe ten ponies don't run away in fear as a first response. They think in black and white, they refuse to understand that life is much more complicated."

I couldn't really deny it that especially the Canterlot nobility saw itself as superior to others, but that wasn't the rule, "Not everypony is like that! Yes, Ponies are much more peace-loving than humans, but Princess Celestia always says that everypony, no matter the race, is a breathing and living being that deserved to be respected."

The demoness rolled her eyes at my sentiment, "Not everypony, but most. The Ponies grew soft through living over a millennium in peace. You saw the truth. These 'elementals', whoever they are, don't talk with you and ask for nice relationships, at least the ones who attacked Canterlot City. You have to take up arms in order to defend yourself! You don't have to become cruel or malicious or arrogant again. We learned from our mistakes in this regard. But you won't be able to defend your friends with nice speeches, or are able to bring back the dead with friendship and you know that. You saw the cave, the city. The others told you what they witnessed!"

I growled angrily. How dared she?! "So what?! Should I just ignore everything the princess ever taught me? Both princesses? We both know how that ended for us!"

She shook her head again, "I don’t say Princess Twilight was completely wrong. She saved you from making a terrible mistake, learned an important lesson and took the long road to friendship with the other girls. Still, the princess is wrong in her naive way of thinking. She wants to solve everything with 'friendship'. Seriously, when she and the others took each other at their hands and she shouted in the auditorium, 'Friendship is Magic!', I thought I would die laughing."

I remembered that situation easily enough. I thought the Dazzlings would be stopped by the princess and then... that happened. I could have sworn that I heard crickets in that moment.

The demon walked around me, like a predator stalking its prey, "The Elements are powerful artifacts, no doubt, but in some way I think they follow the wishes of their bearers. You read the history books. The Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony, Discord, was imprisoned by the Celestial Sisters in stone for 1000 years. He had to suffer, to watch the world changing around him, every second, without being able to really sleep, as a statue. He was surely aware the whole time, Twilight once wrote you in the journal about their encounter with him and how he already knew everything. If he wouldn't be an immortal god I'm sure he would have gone truly insane. I know most would. I don't believe Celestia is such a saint how you want to believe."

I didn't let her blame Princess Celestia, "Don’t give me that! I'm sure the princesses didn't know that Discord would be awake the whole time. I mean, come on! If someone is nothing more than a piece of stone, how would you get the idea that the bad guy you imprisoned could be aware in such a state?"

The corrupted entity continued calmly, "Oh? How about the next case? Princess Celestia banished her own sister to the moon for 1000 years, she had to endure, too. Only her corruption as Nightmare Moon saved her sanity."

"That was never her plan! We are talking about her own sister! Princess C-"

She stopped her pacing and raised an eyebrow, "King Sombra of the Crystal Empire. By the way we only read about him, because we found it in the forbidden section. Face it, Celestia hid the truth we read about with our own eyes from the public, from her subjects. He could avoid imprisonment with his magic and took an entire empire with him as the prize. I think such an event is worth being mentioned in the history lessons, don't you think?"

I stomped with my foot, "He was evil! Nothing more than a cruel tyrant, who-"

The demoness yawned as if everything I tried to say was unimportant to her, "Lastly, Lord Tirek, Twilight talked about him. He was banished, too. Back to Tartarus. Do you see the pattern? Every threat was banished, jailed, turned to stone. Fates, in many opinions, surely, worse than death itself. The Ponies, especially the princess, are so obsessed by their form of 'harmony' that they give you two choices. Follow the way of friendship’ or essentially 'Get sealed away'. There is no third option. You have to learn the errors of your way or face the 'unfortunate consequences'. But what if a threat comes that can only be defeated by something more than to simply shoot the beam of friendship? I can tell you, they surrender. Maybe the princess even disposed of some dangers in a more permanent way, but that happened in the hidden shadows, where her subjects wouldn't witness it. She shows them in the public only her known face of pure benevolence."

I pushed my face against hers, not caring that she might smite me where I stood, "Are you done?!"

She grinned maliciously, "Not yet, patience Shimmy. You heard about the Canterlot Wedding, about the Changelings. That they infiltrated was already sad enough. I mean, hello? If the changelings couldn't just take the memories of their victims then they had to play the Pony they imitated blind and nopony found that out? And even after they were able to pass the barrier the Changelings just could conquer Canterlot without big problems, because the Ponies were too shocked to act, not expecting such violence to be a part of the agenda. The princess herself, from what I understood, lost the short confrontation with the Changeling queen, because she just wanted to stun her for interrogation and not to truly harm her. And what happened? This 'Queen Chrysalis' defeated and imprisoned her, the end. Just, because she really, really held back, instead of actually defeating her and to spare her subjects from more suffering. The Element Bearers, obviously, couldn't do anything against an entire army alone."

I snorted in distaste, as a Pony was such a gesture always much more effective to get your point across.

My demon chuckled mockingly, "Tirek could steal all the magic from every single Pony with Discord's help, but all that could have been avoided, if Celestia had just eliminated him. Sometimes you can't spare a life, even if it goes against everything you were taught. Her subjects paid the price. What about the young, the old, the very frail? The risk was much too high that they wouldn't have survived such a drain. I'm sure what nopony mentioned were the casualties. I think Princess Celestia, and maybe Princess Luna, kept it under wraps so that the Ponies wouldn't rebel against them when they would have found out the truth. And once again innocent citizens suffered for their rulers' naive way of thinking."

I didn't like to admit it, but she wasn't wrong. Magic was the very basis for life, especially for the weaker Ponies with illnesses or the old, such a complete draining process could have ended fatally for them. Much to my annoyance it made sense when she worded everything like that, but I couldn't just believe her that Princess Celestia acted irresponsible at times. Or could I? She was kind of right. Even when I didn't like it one bit, Princess Celestia's benevolence sometimes caused much more harm in the long run of history, than if she just eliminated the very dangerous threats in the first place. She just pushed her problems back for Future Celestia to handle.

No, I refused, "B-but that isn't the Pony way! We always give second chances, nopony is beyond help! Ending a life is the easy way, but not the right way!"

The demoness sighed and shook her head in disappointment, "You still have so much to learn. Nevermind. My last point is: Tell me, after the Elements shot you, did you feel different?" Did she want to tell me something with that question?

"Of course I was changed! I saw the err-" I couldn't end my sentence, she interrupted me rudely.

My darker half shook her finger in front of my face like I forgot something important, "I know what you want to say. Same person, remember? Yes, you wanted to change, you saw 'the error of your ways', but in more ways than one. You changed in a way, which was much too fast to be normal. You did things you never were interested in before, you jumped at every opportunity to help - and I mean literally every opportunity. It was like the old you didn't exist anymore. I can't say for sure, but that sounds very much like Ascendancy Magic to me. I had the feeling the Elements changed you too much, just so you would embrace 'Harmony'. They forced you to live like they wished you to. Their purpose, created by the Ponies and the beliefs of the bearers, is first and foremost to 'redeem'. Tell me, when was the last time you lived only for yourself? With your friends in mind, yes, but where you didn't behave like a slave any longer, who wanted to please their master."

That couldn't be right! "Wait, wait, wait, are you serious?! But I thought... no... no, no, no! That can't be!"

"Ah, I see you understand now." She looked at me smugly.

Indeed, since the Fall Formal I wanted to change my ways. I wanted to find another path in life. The girls wanted to help me. Sometimes, when they asked for help or wanted to ask me something personal, I wanted to tell them half lies, or nothing, because I didn't want anything to do with them after the Fall Formal. I just wanted to be left alone. But something… pulled at me and in the end I told them the truth and always said yes to every activity. I always ignored that feeling of wrongness in the back of my mind, but now, because of the demon, no, my other me's words, I understood.

Wait! Didn't that mean that the Elements of Harmony under Princess Twilight forced me to be friendly? Were my relationships with the oth-

The demoness cut me off immediately, "Stop right there. Your friendships are real, don't worry. But your behaviour sometimes wasn't. Don't misunderstand. The Elements are not 'evil', they are just magical artifacts. They just adapted the way their wielders think and feel... be honest... be kind... be loyal... be generous... make others smile... and magic connects them. The Ponies of Equestria just wanted to-" This time I interrupted her.

"They wanted to make others 'more harmonious', to make them see that there was a better way, the way of their form of life..." The implications disturbed me.

She nodded firmly, "Yes. I don't think they really know what they are doing with others and that the bearers, nor any other Pony, not even the princesses, are really evil in the sense of the word. But they are so blinded by their way of life that they want to show all how 'right' this way is, that this is how someone or somepony 'should' behave. A fantasy made true."

My eyes widened in wonder, "But I didn't feel this pull on my mind in a long time now. Wait a minute, was that your doing?!" Did she really... help me?

She grinned proudly in response, "Yes. I am you and I wanted to be a part of you again, but the Elements didn't want 'pride', 'arrogance' or 'overconfident dreams' to interfere with their version of harmony, so I had to work in your mind and cleansed it of the Elements' influence."

I chuckled dryly, "I guess It was an annoying thing to do?"

My other half groaned at my question, "You have no idea." Suddenly she looked at me with expectation, "Could we be one again? I think one reason you haven't found your magic at last is because we were separated. Our soul, our mind couldn't search for our magic any longer, because we were divided."

I scratched my neck, that was a tough request, "I don't know. Won't that change who I am?"

Now she really smiled at me, sincerely, wow, "Not at all. You are and will always be your own person. I'm just a part of you and can finally return to your side. I wouldn't be any longer some separated spirit created by magic, but a normal part of your mind again, like it always should have been the case since the Fall Formal." Her smile was replaced by a frown, "But I'm serious. You have to learn that life is not always a wish concert where you get what you want. I fear you will soon find yourself in situations where you have to make decisions which will be against everything you were taught as a filly. But I'm sure Princess Celestia does somehow the same, just more, you know, regally."

I could see it in her eyes, she was truly honest with me. Well, time to do what had to be done then. Though a part of me had still its misgivings about her, my gut told me that she didn’t try to trick me, not anymore, "You are right. I don't say I will listen to everything you said, I need time to organize my thoughts before I decide what to do next. But the point is, I always wanted to abandon you, to forget you. I always ran away from my past, but... you are a part of me, somethi-no, somepony I should have embraced a long time ago."

She chuckled at my words, yeah, I even surprised myself a little bit. I guess times changed.

The demoness had a cocky expression on her face all of sudden, “Please. We both know that we are too prideful for such sentiments. Just think about my advice, that is all I ask. I believe Princess Celestia truly loves her little Ponies, but she didn’t keep an era of peace for over a thousand years by doing nothing else than smiling and being nice. She surely did many things she regrets in order to protect the country and its citizens, but most Equestrians are just too naive and don’t ask the right questions.”

I had the impression she could be right. Perhaps my former mentor told me the truth in her own way? The princess gave me a few pointers how to rule, another reason I was sure that I deserved to be an Alicorn.

Of course she never said it out loud, but there were enough hints. Did she fear that I wouldn’t understand her if she stepped down from her pedestal as the pristine Princess of the Sun?

I sighed and locked eyes with my other half, who stared at me with a soft smile. I hugged her firmly and whispered into her ear that everything would be better, that we wouldn't fall again. We learned from our mistakes, and this time for real.

"Thank you," she whispered back and her body started to dissolve into light brilliant opal blue flames, the color of my Unicorn magic. The Cutie Mark on the ground flashed and the flames streamed inside me. I felt like I found something long forgotten. Then I heard it.

"F...o...u...n... y...o..." what was that?

"I found you, Mistress! Finally!" the unknown voice said in great relief, this time clearer. It sounded powerful, young and female, but what did it mean by ‘mistress’?

"What do you mean? Who are you?" It made me nervous. Who was that? I'm very sure that this voice was no part of my conscious.

"I am your magic. The magic that belonged to you since you started to use the geode. Not only magic from your realm exists in you now, but from this world as well, me."

OK, I really didn't expect that to happen.

"So, you can talk to me?" I inquired unsurely.

A sad undertone was noticeable in the voice, "Only this one time. The magic inside a chosen mage or magician will tell its wielder the own name once and implements afterwards basic knowledge into the chosen master's mind so that the mage in question is able to wield his new power to some degree, learning from that point on in their own pace. After that we will never talk again, but I will always be a part of you, Mistress."

Wow, that sounded, well, kind of depressing and sad. But when I could use magic again in this world, aside from just looking into somepony's mind like some creepy stalker, and became a real magician again, then sign me up!

Still, I wasn't completely satisfied with her explanation, "If you would normally only tell me your name and send me basic knowledge into my head, why did you explain everything to me now?"

I could have sworn the voice laughed, "Because you are Sunset Shimmer and you can't accept it when something happens you can’t explain, Mistress."

I gave the voice's direction my best deadpan face, "I'm not that bad. But what has my personality to do with anything?"

Now it giggled in amusement, "Every magic represents the own wielder's soul, Mistress. Every person is different, or Pony in your case. I help you now to understand, because you were cut off from your magic for years. Except maybe that one time when you turned all power hungry and tried to steal Princess Twi-"

I could literally feel how my cheeks burned, "OK, OK! You made your point."

She was suddenly much more serious, "And you are in a very special situation. The only living Unicorn with two forms of magic in one body. The other reason why I talk to you now is, because I couldn't reachvout to you as long as your mind was divided in two. Every form of magic handles the situation fitting the personality of its wielder and I decided to talk with you about everything. There is no law against it, most just prefer the silent route."

Interesting, it must have talked about my former demon-half, "Does that mean that my friends will be able to wield their own magic as well?"

Her answer wasn't what I wanted to hear, "I can't say for sure, forgive me Mistress. Not everybody can simply wield magic and become a mage. It is a little like with a Pony's Cutie Mark. If your Cutie Mark symbolizes your talent for magic itself you may become one of the strongest Unicorns in Equestria, but most, as you know, are only able to levitate objects. Perhaps your friends will be able to use magic, perhaps not. Only time will tell. Is your thirst for knowledge satisfied?"

I closed my eyes, took a deep breath and opened them again, "Yes. I'm ready," I announced with determination.

"So be it," the voice whispered softly.

The darkness that surrounded the plateau started to flicker and flames penetrated the void around me. They were colored in a radiant gold and vivid red. Soon I was completely surrounded by the fire and all darkness perished. I could feel how the power penetrated my very body and soul.

The last thing I heard before I woke up were two words, the name of my new magic. For one last time I heard the voice of my new power speaking up, "Phoenix Magic."

Author's Notes:

Edited version uploaded: 02/23/19
Proofread by: Javarod

Greetings my avid readers!

I hope you enjoyed the chapter.

And I want to thank everybody, who gives this story a try. I know it's something unexpected.

Opinions are desired. I don't know how you guys feel about this story or if I should improve somewhere, if nobody uses the comment-section.

*watches the tumbleweed rolling past the comment-section*

Thank you very much for reading and stay tuned!