Princess Twilight couldn't help but grunt with effort as she lugged a heavy bag through the corridors of Canterlot High. It was packed full of magical crystals sent directly from the Crystal Empire. Twilight was glad that Cadence and her brother had responded to her request so quickly, but her gratitude didn't make carrying a sackful of crystals any easier. Thankfully, she didn't have far left to go.

Pausing outside the Diviner room, Twilight put the bag down just long enough to open the door, then grabbed the handles to drag it inside. Inside, Starswirl and Micro Chips were hunched over the Diviner's console while Vice Principal Luna was standing behind them with her arms folded, staring up at the Diviner. Luna and Starswirl both looked around as Twilight shuffled into the room, then quickly hurried to help her.

"What is all of this?" Luna asked as they hefted the bag onto a desk.

"Magic from the Crystal Empire," Twilight replied. "Hopefully enough to help us make a stable portal to wherever the girls are."

Luna gave the bag an impressed look. "It's about time we got some good news. How long will it take to set them up?"

Starswirl shook his head. "A few hours at best, more likely a day or so. It won't be easy to calibrate them all to the correct magical frequency. Once that's done it's simply a matter of opening a portal, seeing if it's the correct world, and adjusting the frequency if it's not, but setting it all up in the first place is not going to be the main problem."

"At least it's a step towards getting the girls home," Luna said with a sigh. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"I don't think there's much that can be done beyond what you're already doing. Unless you've found anything out about Tempest?"

"Not yet. Celestia and Cadence are making some quiet enquiries with relevant authorities, but they haven't turned anything up yet," Luna replied. "What about you? Have you managed to get in contact with your world's Fizzlepop?"

"I've sent a letter, but the last I heard she was on the other side of Equestria," Twilight told her quietly. "It could take a while for her to reply."

Starswirl patted the two on the back. "Do not worry overmuch, we may not know our opponent or their objectives, but we at least have the advantage in that we still hold both the Diviner and the portal to Equestria. I assume that the portal is guarded on the Equestrian side?"

Twilight nodded. "The rest of the Pillars of Harmony are on their way to Ponyville as we speak, and my friends are holding down the castle in the meantime." Her cheeks flushed and she rubbed her neck awkwardly as she added, "I, er, think some of the students of the School of Friendship may have heard what's going on and written home, too. At least, that's the feeling I got from the letter that King Thorax sent me asking if I needed somecreature to talk to."

Luna opened her mouth as if to speak, then closed it again and shook her head. "So, the castle is safe?"

"The castle is safe," Twilight replied. "Don't worry, we'll get started on calibrating the crystals right away."

Adagio Dazzle bit back a groan as she watched Sonata and Aria bicker over the TV channel for the hundredth time. Still, as annoying as the two were, at least it was a familiar annoyance. Between babysitting the human Sunset Shimmer and waiting for the increasingly irritable Tempest to fulfill her end of their bargain, Adagio found herself almost longing for the days when putting up with her fellow Sirens was the worst part of her day.

The sound of the front door opening grabbed the attention of the three, and a moment later Tempest herself stalked into the room. Adagio hated to admit it, and would never do so out loud, but Tempest had raised effortless intimidation to an art form. The woman was tall, lean and muscular, with deep purple skin and a dark pink mohawk, and she moved with a predatory grace that belied her height.

"Sirens, I need a word," Tempest said without preamble.

Adagio scowled at her. "We have names, you know."

"I'm not in the mood for playing around," Tempest growled warningly. "I need information and I need it fast."

"Why not ask your pet upstairs?" Adagio said with a roll of her eyes. "She's been saying that she's bored-"

"Do you want to go home or not?" Tempest snapped. When no-one said anything, she gave a curt nod. "That's what I thought. As I was saying, I need information. Have any of you ever heard of a pony named Starswirl?"

"Starswirl the Bearded?" Adagio asked in surprise as Aria scowled and Sonata hissed like a cat. "We've met before, but that was a very long time ago."

Tempest frowned and crossed her arms. "It appears that, while I was away shoring up our finances, Starswirl came through the portal to assist Twilight Sparkle in fixing their little project. Do you know anything that might help us to gain an advantage against him?"

"We don't," Adagio replied quickly, before either of the others could chime in. "Like I said, it was a long time ago, and it might not even be the same pony."

Adagio kept her expression carefully neutral, with just a hint of condescension, as Tempest eyed her suspiciously. Finally Tempest sighed with irritation and turned to head back out. "I'll go and do some more reconnaissance. Try not to burn the house down while I'm gone."

The Sirens waited until Tempest was definitely gone before turning to each other.

"There's no way it's the same Starswirl," Aria said flatly. "That wrinkly old sack must have died years ago."

"I'm not so sure," Adagio said quietly. "I wouldn't put anything past him and those annoying Pillars of his."

Sonata blinked and gave them a blank look. "Pillars? I thought they were ponies?"

Adagio groaned and slapped a hand to her forehead. "Just go back to watching TV, Sonata." As Aria and Sonata predictably returned to sniping at each other, Adagio looked over at the door Tempest had left through. Everything was going wrong and it didn't look like that was going to change anytime soon. At the rate things were getting worse, it was going to be practically impossible for the girls to get back home to Equestria.

"What do you mean, we won't be able to go home?" Aria asked.

Adagio silently cursed herself; she hadn't meant to say anything out loud. Glancing at the door to make sure that human-Sunset wasn't in earshot, she said quietly, "Things are getting out of control. It was bad enough that the Raingoons ended up getting sent to who-knows-where, but with Sparkle and now even Starswirl here, I don't see how we're going to be able to get back to Equestria. Not without doing something drastic."

"Like what?" Aria frowned. "You don't want us to try and force our way through, do you? Cause I don't think that'll end well for us."

"Don't be ridiculous," Adagio spat. "Even if we managed to get through the portal, we'd have half of Equestria chasing after us and we'd just end up back where we started."

Aria raised an eyebrow. "Uh, why not just ask Tempest? She said she'd help us get back, it's time she kept her promise."

"That's if she even has any intention of keeping her promise," Adagio countered. "No, we need to do something ourselves."

"It's been a really long time, and we don't have our magic anymore, so why not just ask Starswing if he'll let us back through?" Sonata asked.

"It's Starswirl, you moron, and he's not going to let us through just because we ask nicely," Aria said roughly.

"Hang on a second," Adagio cut in. "As impossible as it sounds, I think Sonata might be onto something." She paced up and down the room as a plan slowly came together in her mind. "We'll have to play this carefully. Tempest knows we're not idiots. Or, at least," she paused and grinned evilly at Sonata, "she knows that I'm not an idiot."

The Citadel was many things; a fortress, a sanctuary, a training ground, and a laboratory, just to name a few. Unfortunately, one of the things it wasn't was romantic.

There were plenty of Knights and Scribes who got together; going on dates to the occasional dances that were held in old halls or going on late-night walks through the lesser used corridors, but neither of those options were particularly appealing to Rarity. Sitting on the roof and looking up at the stars at midnight sounded wonderful, but getting permission to do it was worse than getting teeth pulled. The laser turrets installed for defence also detracted from the atmosphere somewhat.

With her preferred methods out of reach, Rarity had been left with few other options. She had conferred with Tabitha, naturally, but while her counterpart had sympathized with her desire to build a romantic atmosphere, her suggestions had been geared towards pragmatism and a level of daring that Rarity wasn't certain that she possessed.

After a week of being chased in circles by her own mind, Rarity had decided to take a break from her scheming, at least temporarily. Thankfully, Pinkie was always good for providing a distraction, and so Rarity found herself sitting at a table in the Citadel's courtyard with Pinkie, Fawkes, and Twilight in her wheelchair, taking it in turns playing a game of checkers on a borrowed steel plate using painted metal nuts as pieces.

Rarity hummed thoughtfully as she considered her next move. Fawkes, her opponent for this particular match, was proving to be a surprisingly good player, able to give any of the girls a run for their money. "I think this will do nicely," Rarity said as she shifted one of her pieces forward.

Fawkes nodded and casually took three of her pieces in one smooth move, dropping his piece in her starting line. "King me."

"Oh, for the…" Rarity scowled and kinged his piece before settling down to decide her next move.

"Wow, you kinda suck at this," Pinkie said bluntly.

"To be fair, I've only played against Twilight and Fawkes so far," Rarity retorted. Twilight couldn't quite move her arms enough to play, so she resorted to using her magic to move the pieces. This didn't stop her from using some mathematical wizardry to annihilate everyone she played against. Even Pinkie's utterly random play style couldn't beat her.

Still scowling, Rarity moved one of her pieces forward. A moment later she let out an exasperated groan as Fawkes took two more pieces and gained another king. "It is not like you to be so inattentive to detail," he said quietly. "Is something on your mind?"

Rarity sighed and lowered her head. "No. Yes. I don't know, I'm just… stuck with something of a personal matter." She raised her head just in time to see the others sharing a concerned look.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Twilight asked.

Rarity shook her head. "I appreciate the offer, darling, but I'm not sure that it's something you can help me with."

"If you're sure," Twilight said.

"I'm sure," Rarity replied, though it wasn't entirely true. In fact, Twilight or Fluttershy were both perfectly placed to help her with questions about romance, but this was something she wanted to do on her own, not to mention the painful feelings such a conversation would bring up in them.

"If I may ask, how is your research on the FEV coming along?" Fawkes asked Twilight, tactfully changing the subject.

Twilight groaned in response. "It's a lot harder than I expected. Learning about nuclear fusion under Doctor Li was hard enough, but this is a very specialized subject in a completely different branch of science. Between the painkillers and the physiotherapy, I hardly feel like I'm making any headway whatsoever. Fluttershy is making a lot more progress than I am with it."

"She does have some experience as a nurse, I'm sure that helps," Rarity put in. "Besides, it's her body that has been affected, I'm not surprised that she's studying the FEV as hard as she can."

"I know," Twilight sighed. "I just wish there was more that I could do."

Rarity gave her a reproachful look. "Twilight, darling, you are pushing yourself too hard as it is. Even when you're supposed to be taking a break you end up helping the Scribes update Liberty Prime's programming."

"That is a break for me!" Twilight insisted. "I enjoy working on Liberty's programming. It makes a change to actually do something I'm good at."

"Darling, there are lots of things you're good at," Rarity said firmly. "I know things are difficult right now, but we'll get through this." She absently moved another of her pieces forward. "As soon as this dreadful war is over we can put our minds together and, with the help of the Brotherhood and the Exodus team, figure out a way to get home."

"Assuming the Brotherhood wins, and the Exodus team don't get wiped out," Twilight grumbled.

"It will be fine," Fawkes said quietly but confidently. "There will be much bloodshed, but Liberty Prime is with us, and Eden's information has proven incredibly useful."

Rarity shivered at the reminder of the creepy little spider that had been given the occasional tour of the courtyard, riding on the shoulder of a Knight like some bizarre pet. She was still having trouble believing that the horrid creature was the former President of the Enclave.

"He still wants to speak to us, doesn't he?" Pinkie asked.

Twilight nodded. "I've been considering it, but I'd rather wait until I'm healed up a little more. I don't want to have my mind muddled by painkillers when I'm dealing with him."

"Rather you than me, darling." Rarity reached for one of her pieces, then blinked dumbly and frowned at the board. "Where have all of my pieces gone?"

"You lost," Fawkes said flatly.

"Oh." Rarity sighed and let her shoulders slump. "Well, I wish I could say 'well played', but I fear I didn't put up a very good showing this time around."

Fawkes chuckled as he started resetting the board, but before they could decide on who was playing next they were interrupted by a voice calling out, "Hey, Miss Sparkle!" The group looked around to see a Squire hurrying towards them. She made a crude attempt at a salute as she said, "Elder Lyons wants to see you, he wants help sorting out some magic stuff."

Something about the girl seemed familiar to Rarity, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. She shook her head and put it to the back of her mind as she asked, "Does he just want Twilight, or should we all go?"

The Squire shrugged. "Fuck if I- uh, I mean, I don't know. Maybe the three of you should come, just in case."

Rarity rolled her eyes and apologized to Fawkes as she got to her feet. She frowned at the Squire as they fell into step behind her, Pinkie dutifully pushing Twilight's wheelchair. Something about the Squire was definitely familiar, she just couldn't figure out what.

Horrigan breathed in deeply as he waited, feeling the air hissing in through his helmet's filters and flowing through metal tubes before they filled his lungs. He was currently strapped into a huge frame reminiscent of those used for working on power armor. Doctor Bohn, though she insisted that he call her Sienna, was busy checking the readouts of his armor and life support systems on a nearby terminal.

Strange as it seemed, Horrigan quite enjoyed times like this. Whenever he was being examined or having his armor adjusted was an opportunity to relax and not have to worry about keeping an eye out for potential threats; a rare luxury for a former bodyguard.

"How are you feeling, Horrigan?" Sienna asked. "Any pain?"

"No, Doc," Horrigan replied. He knew that the good doctor was only doing her job, but it still amused him that she thought a pathetic little Super Mutant could hurt him. He had faced a small band of them on his morning patrol. One of them, a foul-smelling beast with purple hair and a bony horn poking out of its forehead, had managed to get the drop on him, jamming a crystal spike into his shoulder joint from behind. The feeble attack had barely scratched Horrigan's armor. He had made sure that the Mutant didn't live long enough to get a second chance.

"What about your fusion cores? How are their power levels looking?" Sienna asked.

Horrigan checked his armor's power source with a thought, the information getting delivered directly to his mind through the chip in his brain. "Still staying steady at 50%."

"Good." Sienna put on a bulky set of headphones. "Now can you push all of your armor's settings to normal, please?"

Horrigan did as he was asked. It was an odd sensation. It almost felt as if he was relaxing some intangible mental muscle, freeing the power stored in his armor and allowing it to flow as it was supposed to. "FUSION CORE OUTPUT IS BACK AT 100%."

Sienna winced at the volume, even through the protective headphones. "Okay, can you drop it down for me again?"

With a sigh, Horrigan focused and brought the power back under control again. He would much prefer to keep the power flowing at all times, but he had to keep himself in check if he didn't want to deafen everyone in the vicinity every time he spoke. "Back at 50%."

"Thanks." Sienna pulled the headphones off and rubbed her ears gently. "It looks like your magic is definitely what's causing your volume issues. I'll have a word with Doctor Strong and see if we can figure out some way of isolating your speakers from whatever channels your magic is flowing through. At least then you'll be able to talk normally without having to restrain yourself."

"I'm still surprised that magic even exists," Horrigan said flatly.

Sienna nodded in agreement. "You're not the only one. The whole world has gone bat shit crazy over the last month or so."

"Do you know why my fusion cores aren't running down normally?" Horrigan asked.

"I haven't got a clue; I'm a doctor, not a physicist," Sienna replied bluntly. "You'll be better off asking Doctor Strong about that one."

Horrigan just grunted and shifted his shoulders slightly to get more comfortable. He waited patiently as the doctor ran through several more tests, answering the occasional question thrown his way, until finally she was satisfied.

"Ok, you're all set," Sienna said as she switched the terminal off.

With his moment of peace over once again, Horrigan sighed and helped Sienna disconnect the diagnostic cables from his armor. It took a lot longer to do than it had in his old facility, but, given that most of the equipment here had been cobbled together in a hurry from whatever the team could get their hands on, that was only to be expected.

Just as they finally disconnected the last of the cables, Horrigan heard the sound of booted feet approaching. A few seconds later there came a knock on the door and Lieutenant Colonel Strong poked his head in. "Is everything going smoothly in here?"

Horrigan snapped to attention and saluted crisply. "Sir, yes, sir!"

Sienna's lips thinned at having her work interrupted, but she nodded anyway. "As far as I can tell, Horrigan is perfectly healthy. Well, as healthy as he can possibly get while missing his legs, skull, and several internal organs."

"I'm fine," Horrigan insisted. "Everything that's missing has either been replaced or I didn't need it anyway."

"Good," the Lieutenant Colonel said before Sienna could reply. "I've received orders directly from the Senate. You're to provide support and protection for a mining team at the remains of Raven Rock. You'll be leaving in fifty minutes."

Horrigan would have raised an eyebrow if he still possessed them. "I thought I was supposed to stay here, in case those Brotherhood maggots send their toy soldier our way?"

"That was the original plan. Unfortunately, if the Senate wants to dictate military operations, there's very little I can do to stop them," Strong replied, his expression clearing showing that he dearly wished that he could. "We should be alright while you're gone. The Brotherhood hasn't attacked us yet, so we might be lucky. In the event that they do launch an attack while you're not present, we'll do our best to hold them off until you return."

Horrigan growled angrily. He didn't like civilians interfering with military matters, and he especially didn't like being used as a pawn in a petty political tug of war. Still, as the Lieutenant Colonel had said, there was little that could be done about it. "I'll get ready to leave immediately."

"Not yet, you need a nutrition intake first," Sienna cut in.

Lieutenant Colonel Strong nodded. "Doctor Bohn is right, you've got fifty minutes yet. Take your time."

Horrigan sighed and sat heavily on the floor as the Lieutenant Colonel left the room. As Sienna got to work opening the panel on his armor that allowed nutritional supplements to be pumped directly onto his stomach, Horrigan rested his helmeted head on his fist and pondered what was happening with the Enclave. They were already at war with the Brotherhood of Steel but, with the way things were going, he almost felt like the Enclave was just as much at war with itself.

And so the plot thickens...

Next chapter, magic in the Citadel...