CANTERLOT GENERAL HOSPITAL...

Lime Grass felt immense relief when he entered the room his daughter was occupying and found her safe and sound, even more so when the medic staff told him she would be dismissed tomorrow if no more complications appeared, he was very glad.

After so many horrible and busy days he was happy to have a bit of normalcy returning to his life. " Dad? ". Lemon Zest asked from the bed. " You ok? You've been staring for a while now ".

" Was I? Sorry, just happy to see you in good health, can I seat next to you? ". The green head didn't answer but she scooted a little giving him chance to seat in the bed with her instead of the chair like he expected, her action while small, it warmed his heart.

" Thanks, I really appreciate it ". Said the chief.

" I don't mind, it looked like you were about to crumble ".

" Hm, you're probably right, the city is in chaos, I have the Mayor and the Council on my back, we have crazy people doing God knows what and my only daughter end up in the hospital, so yeah, I don't feel like a month ago, I don't feel like a week ago! ". Grass let out a tired sigh to prove his point.

" What about Big Mac? ". Lemon asked much to the chagrin of her father who growled and passed a hand over his face .

" What about Apple? You should be more worried about yourself! The Rescue team will get to find him as soon as things get a bit better, but this just proves that I was right when I told you to be careful around him and his people, the Apples are trouble magnets and anyone involved could end up bad ".

" But, but Teach, I mean Big Mac is nice, and his sisters are cool, and Granny is fun too". Lemon asked in confusion, wanting a proper explanation of why her father wouldn't let them be around each other.

" Been Nice, cool and funny doesn't make you immune to trouble, instead of wondering about the ones alive in the family wonder about the ones missing, is better to keep yourself away from that family and the Regals ".

" What do you mean about ' the ones missing '. Are you talking about the parents? Do you know what happened to them?! ".

Grass growled even louder but Lemon didn't drop the issue. " Is an private issue and a police issue so I can talk about it ".

" But you already mentioned them, if you don't explain the whole thing then how do you expect me to take the right decision by myself Dad? ". As much as Grass wanted to avoid keeping talking about the issue, her comment made sense, maybe she would understand his worry if he told her.

" Tsk, Fine! It what I'm going to tell you stays with you, you hear me? You brake that rule and not only will you be in big trouble but I may even lose my job ".

" Ok Dad, I promise ". Grass watched her with scrutiny and finally relented.

" Ok, back before becoming the Chief, almost six years back, there was an accident in the same bridge where you and Macintosh had yours, by then the bridge was the old model made out of wood and rotting away so the route to it was blocked. The day previous to the accident there was a huge rain and the roads were muddy and a car could easily slide if the driver wasn't careful ".

" I was one of the first officers to respond at the site when a driver called saying he saw a overturned truck over the old road, the vehicle turned out to belong to Bright Mac Apple, he and his wife were doing a delivery and apparently the truck had some malfunctions, that together with the bad terrain caused the truck to drift off the road and end up upside down ".

" Now, this is the strange part of the incident, officially, the Apple couple died form the crash, head and internal injuries were present so the cause of dead was declared as so, but, there were inconsistencies ".

" Like what? ". Asked the girl. Grass took a moment to rattle his memory, something he didn't want to do since that meant remembering what he saw, but he had to.

" For starters, their faces. Been a cop, I have seen many mess up stuff in people, even in this town when was more quiet, but never have I seen faces like those in them, those were faces of suffering, of terror, anguish, it was... awful, their expression was that of pure pain. Only a few good, the paramedics, and Granny Smith saw their faces, so no one else now about that ".

" The other thing that didn't made sense was the blood, a few feet away from the crash there was blood in the ground, one possible explanation was that before dying, their were attacked by some animal, maybe a coyote or a wild cat, that also would explain the expressions on their faces but, I don't know ".

Lemon tried, really tried not to imagine herself helplessly hanging down and trapped while some feral animal approached you slowly, that mirrored her own condition back when she and Mac were kidnapped by the evil equestrians as the other girls called them. " What about their children? What about Big Mac? ".

Grass wondered how hard was Lemon's infatuation with the male Apple, he couldn't understand why she was more worried about an old story that her own actual condition, he hoped she wasn't in love with him. " He took the news bad, very bad, apparently he blamed himself, I didn't interrogated him but the guy who did said that he was hysterical, said that he broke down completely ". Lemon absorbed the information and her hand clenched the sheet of the bed so hard her knuckles turned white.

" Things kept getting weird after the accident ". Lemon turned to her father as he continued with the grim tale. " Macintosh was offered psychological help due to the trauma but he rejected it, his condition seemed to get worse after the funeral, he stopped assisting to school and even end up in the hospital a few times, but the more bizarre thing was that he went missing a couple of times and both times he was found near the place of the accident in bad shape, he got so bad that there were even talks about admitting him into a psychiatric asylum ".

" You mean they thought he was looney? ".

" Something like that, in the end he avoided that, thanks in part to the Regals as well as his own family, the Mayor may have had something to do too, she and Smith are friends after all. After that whole disaster he seemed to go back to normal or at least that's what people think ".

" What do you mean? ".

" Well, I didn't know him that well before the accident, but he was known to be a bright and cheerful kid, he also talked a lot, I think your mother and I saw him one time while he chased squirrels in the park when he was still a kid, he was also very attached to Luna Regal and both got into trouble quite often, but after that, he became what you have seen now, and that's it, now please, Im telling you this for your own good, keep your distance from him and his family, that guy is bad news, specially more since he and Sunset Shimmer got together, you know they are a couple, right? ".

" Yeah, I know ". There was a tone of resignation in her answer that Grass didn't like a bit, just another reason as to why he wanted his family away from the Apples and the Regals.

" Listen, I have to prepare a report for the Mayor, please try to rest, I'll come back as soon as I'm done with it, you won't be going to school yet but you can call your friends tomorrow, I think they deserve to know how you're doing, ok? ".

" Yes Dad ". There was not much emotion on her voice which of course worried the Chief but he didn't want to keep discussion with her, specially now that she was back to normal.

" I'll see you later sweetheart ". Lemon only offered a faint smile and a nod, as soon as he was gone, she let out a sigh, her mind was still confused about many things, but she wasn't done yet with the whole magic thing. " You have to be alive somewhere, you have to, please.

THE NEXT DAY...

Despite the incident from last night a few of the girls still decided to show up at School.
Silently, Pinkie, Fluttershy and Rainbow joined on the way there, Fluttershy and Pinkie would normally met if neither used the school bus or other transportation but Rainbow's presence was due to the lack of her bike.

Finally, the silence was too much for Pinkie. " Soooo, can someone let me copy Geography's homework, I totally forgot to do it ".

" Sorry, I didn't have the time Pinkie ". Responded Fluttershy.

" Sure thing, here ". Rainbow surprised both by actually having done hers.

" Thanks ". She took out her own notebook and started copying the information while walking, something she seemed to do flawlessly. " Wow! So the capital of Japan is ' that place that make anime ' , hm I had my suspicions but I wasn't sure, thanks! ".

" Pinkie, I don't think that-! ".

" Darlings! So glad you're ok! ". The girls reached CHS and found Rarity already waiting for them, she ran to them and hugged each one. " I just saw the message you send me last this morning, I was so worried, I'm so happy to see you unharmed! ".

" Yeah? You didn't SAW the messages? What is this? The second time? ". Rainbow asked with anger in her tone.

" Ra-Rainbow! How could you say that!? I, I mean, is true I may have been too busy and-! ".

" Listen, sorry, ok? We had a thought night, really thought night, we'll tell you later but for now is better if we just get this day rolling first, come on girls ". Fluttershy and Pinkie followed with Rarity awkwardly joining last.

" Oh! Capital of Egypt, that place with sand and the gargoyle cat thing, got it! ".

" Pinkie, I think is better if we do it ourselves ". Said Fluttershy.

REBEL HIDEOUT, EQUESTRIA...

Emerald Breeze felt as if a thousand needles were imbedded in every nerve of her body. Every inch of her body hurt and ached just by breathing, through her scales she felt the cold and hard sensation is stone floor under her, she was back in the hideout, safe for the moment or at least, that's what she thought.

" Would you look at that? The most powerful Siren in Equestrian history, reduced to shambles by a mere band of bipedal monkeys, like master like apprentice, you and Dazzle are all bark and no bite ". Emerald recognized the pompous voice as much as she loathed it.

" Bottom, Purse ". Emerald snarled, she was one of the last ponies she wanted to meet right now when all her body and nerves screamed in pain, as sadistic as she was, there was a few things she would not torture herself into and a chat with the annoying mare was one of those.

" Not, now, bitch, fetch me, Abby, need to, talk, to her ".

" Oh she'll talk to you alright, but not before you and I have a little fun ". Said the unicorn.

" Fun? I'll, show you, fun, you, piece, of charred meat, ugh! I can smell you, from here, a piece of, overcooked, mule, you are, hu ha ha ha! Ugh ".

Emerald expected her to lash right away as she did everytime she and Adagio would cross paths, but to her surprise she didn't. Emerald managed enough strength to turn and see where the mare was, or more exactly, what was between them, a set of strong metal bars separated siren from unicorn, she recognized the room right away for she had been on the other side when there was a prisoner, just like the rest of the giant rock that conformed the base, the bars absorbed magic like a sponge, she was locked up and in her condition she couldn't hope to escape.

" Why am I here? WHO put me here? ". Emerald roared, or tried, as bad as her throat was it came out more like a raspy growl.

" Who do you think? Fish brain! It was obvious from the moment that you brought your sorry snake ass body through the portal that you had failed miserably, you and Ebony were nothing but smucks trying to pretend to be something equal to Lady Abigail, in true however, you're just another 3rd rate villain! ". The once rich mare said with pure venom. " And now, for such failure, this is your reward, hahahaha! ".

Emerald felt tired of the unicorn's insolence and decided that it was high time she got rid of her annoyance, but as long she was behind bars and in that weak state that was just impossible at the moment. " Call her, call Abigail, she needs to know, I, I must warn her! ".

" You mean about the portal? Hm, don't worry, the moment you were found in that sorry condition she knew that the portal was now in jeopardy, she's taking care of it as we speak, what you should really sorry about, is about this ". The mare use her magic to pull something from behind her, Emerald's eyes opened wide when she saw her gemstone in her grasp, not the one Abigail created for her but the one she had since becoming a full grown siren.

" Who! Who give you permission?! ". Emerald dropped to the floor as all of her strength went to fuel her rage rather than keeping her steady, her gem was as personal a possession as the skin of her body.

" Nopony, not that I need to ask, once you were thrown inside this room you lost the right to own anything ". Bottom Purse said.

" Give, it, BACK! Do it! Or I'll turn you into shreds when I get out of here! ". Emerald roared even while buying her throat even more.

" I don't feel like doing it, and I have plans for it, I'll ask Lady Abigail to turn this gem into something Incan use, then I'll grow more powerful! ".

" Keep, dreaming bitch, no amount, of power, will fix that burned and ugly face of yours! ". Emerald said with the last of her energy, her body and mind demanded rest despite her resistance.

" Later Emerald, enjoy your time, ha ha ha ha! ". The mare left the siren to growl in pure hatred and, as much Emerald hated to admit it, without her gemstone and her voice, she was doomed to be a prisoner of her own allies, at the mercy of the ponies she hated the most.

Just outside of the hideout, Abigail, followed close by Adagio and Rawhorn, made their way to the portal. Abigail was currently fuming inside despite keeping a poker face, this second defeat had brought her operations into the human world into a halt, which meant that from now on they would have to be more active on Equestria and that would put them in direct sight of the Princesses.

While it was true that there was another portal near Canterlot City, it wouldn't be as effective as that one, the only two good thing so far was that Adagio and she herself were getting better into controlling the stones she had created with the information she stole from the private library of Celestia and soon they would have another Alicorn amulet at their disposal, she just needed more magic, and there's were the second good thing came about, with the Changeling sisters gone, she could use her magic to had the remaining drones under her command, then she would use them to gather more magic from around the kingdom.

" You two, stay here and keep watch ". The unicorn/human told them, she levitated herself all the way to the middle of the river where the portal was located, the portal had been a valuable asset but now with the humans so close to find it thanks to the sirens it was now a hindrance that could not be left alone.

Breathing deeply, Abigail commanded the magic within the amulet to answer her need, at first there seemed to be no response and Abigail was afraid that whatever that magic from the stallion that appeared in her bath chamber did damaged it, but soon the forbidden power made itself present. If flooded her with its power and as always, it tried to touch into her mind and invade it but Abigail pushed it back with her own willpower.

Finding no success, the temptation drew back and Abigail was free to use its power as she wished. She focused in the shape of the portal which immediately was made visible as the magic closed around it, then she expanded upon the edges of the portal and forced it to close like a hole been covered with wet clay, the process was slow and it took quite a lot of focus and energy, been a product of nature, the portal resisted every inch that lost and fought until it was gone, completely covered.

When she was done, Abigail found herself panting and sweating from all the effort she just used. Still keeping her poker face, Abigail returned to shore just to instruct her two subordinates to return to base while she got busy with something else.

" What do we do about Breeze ". Asked the bull.

" Nothing until I return, Bottom Purse was there for that, Adagio, keep practicing with the stone while while keeping the changelings locked, Rawhorn, you and Grand Mustache must prepare for an expedition, you'll be send to cause disruption around Stalliongrad, now go ".

Adagio nodded and left without a word but Rawhorn remained in place. " Hm, yes? ".

" My Lady, what would you have me do with the... stallion? ". Rawhorn asked trying not no let his emotions became too visible.

" Him? ". Abigail thought about it, she hadn't thought really well in what to do with him, she couldn't just throw him out now that he new where they were hiding but if he were to stay he needed to be put to use, maybe a few minor chores to start and if he showed some progress he could be moved to do more important things, but the main reason the human unicorn had to keep him near was the mysterious magic he was carrying, she wanted to see if his magic could help somehow, or if it was potential threat to her plans, then she could have it within her sights.

" For now just keep him in his room, feed him and tell him that I'll talk to him when I get back ". Abigail said.

" Are, are you sure? ".

" Yes Rawhorn, now go back and begin preparations, I'll be back soon ". Despite not wanting, Rawhorn too nodded and left to fulfil her lady's commands.

Once alone, Abigail used her magic to teleport to another area within proximity of the river, despite knowing what was coming, she ventured there once more so that her plans could keep moving forward. Her body disappeared from the shore and reappeared a few meters on the other side of the river, right inside an old submerged cave that now was only accessible if you knew where to look, otherwise the chance of drowning was very high.

Inside the cave, she waited a little to get some of her strength back but more importantly, to prepare her heart for what was coming, she started the small walk through the tunnel/corridor, the sound of her hooves as always ricocheting from wall to wall and making her ears hurt, but again, that was mundane compared to what was coming.

Abigail stopped just behind the last curve before the end of the tunnel, one last stop to make sure she was ready. " I know you're there child, and I know what you have done. And I know, what you have come to do, do it and leave. Do not torture me further with your presence child ". Came the voice from the crystal pony.

Abigail flinched by the harsh tone of the voice, despite years since betraying her former guardian and teacher she still loved her like the mother she tried to be for her. With a hurt look, she rounded the corner to see the red crystal pony.

" Do you need to hurt me so bad? ".

" I could ask the same child, you coming to see me knowing what you did, knowing what you're trying to do, and to top it all, bringing ' that ' around your neck, I say your doing more to me that the other way around, at least you can go anywhere and distract yourself with whatever fancies your little mind, me? I'm stuck here until my body crumbles into dust or until you find it in your heart to end my suffering, but until then, all I can do is think, and think, and think some more about the mistakes I did that got me here ". Her eyes set on her left no doubt of what that ' mistake ' was.

" ENOUGH! How many times do I have to tell you that I don't enjoy this! I feel disgusted with myself every single time I have to take pieces of you to feed the amulet! But it is the only way to resolve things! To restore order! ".

" And to achieve your revenge against Celestia ". Said the older mare in a matter of fact way.

" Yes! Yes! Also, to fulfil my revenge! Because is fucking unfair that only that white feather bitch obtained what she wanted while you and I suffer! Because it is unfair that, because she wanted her fucking little sister back, I had to lose my parents and been drag into this world, and you! Look at you! She opted to abandon you when she didn't needed you anymore, and yet here you are, forgiving her and wanting her safety over you're own life! Completely unfair! That's why she deserves my hatred, and it deserves yours as well! ".

Abigail felt fire entering her lungs and every single vain in her body, she wanted to spit out the hatred she felt inside as if it was venom, her eyes felt the the pressure of hundreds of years wanted to force their way out, but most important was the pain that griped her hearth like a vice.

While Abigail struggled to control back her emotions, Sophie Stone watched her with her own pained expression. " Abigail, if you truly want to stop the pain, then for the love of everything you ever loved, cease this foolish endeavour of yours ".

After a while, Abigail finally managed to calm her cries into sobs, she then removed the last few tears with her leg, what was left was the very face of determination, walking to her tutor, she grabbed with her magic the biggest pieces that once formed part of her body, she then turned to leave but stopped before rounding the curve. " Never ". Said the human unicorn, then she was gone.

Alone again, Sophie Stone left out a sigh of nothing but sadness. " Then you doom us all my child, you doom us all ". Sophie's voice echoed around the whole cavern despite how soft they were spoken, in the mind of the old made an old memory flicked on, a memory of a time long past, triggered by the destruction of the portal, the very same portal that she used when she thought that perhaps, she could fix her mistake and Celestia's, and when by obstinacy of destiny, she came across a world different from her own.

MANY, MANY, MANY YEARS AGO...

Running at full speed, a hooded pony made her way inside the dangerous maze that was the mysterious forest, named like that because it was just exactly that, a mysterious forest, unexplored, dark, and full of creatures and natural dangers that made the Everfree forest look tame by comparation.

Yet she hurried, not long ago she delt with a search party send from Canterlor to find her and bring her back, the fight had been brutal despite her efforts of not injuring anypony, but those guards were send with special orders to catch her at all cost, must likely and order from Clover the Clever and some of the nobles.

Finally, finding a good spot, the mare removed the hood and inspected her body for injuries, not surprised, she found a lot of them, this wasn't the first group send after her, nor was the second, but the seventh, each better prepared than the last one, each more tougher than the last one, each more ruthless than the last one.

The last batch didn't even fought like real guards, the were more akin to mercenaries. One of them even used a forbidden spell only used by the dark agents of King Sombra, Sophie was sure some were even assassins secretly mixed in with the rest to make sure she never returned, they wanted her dead.

Sophie Stone felt so much hatred, so much, what right did they have to decide her fate, to separate her from Celestia, how much fear did they have that she would take her attention and turn her against them, a lot apparently. " Is their own fault for mocking me and call me an abomination, all because that fool! ".

Nopony earned her animosity more that the pony responsible for her abandoning the palace, Clover, he had poisoned everypony against her and also caused Celestia to distant herself from the crystal pony.

" I have to find a way, some form to change destiny, but how? ". The magic made pony cried at her own uselessness, she started walking as she contemplated the irony of her existence, she was made was made with powerful forbidden magic, literally, her very body was made with dark knowledge that through years of research and experimentation, the evil unicorn Sombra gathered from every corner of Equestria, there was even rumors that he somehow was able to go beyond even that, to a different world were science surpassed anything seen in the kingdom, enough power to defeat Celestia and take over the whole world, and yet, she couldn't do anything, she couldn't find an answer to the problem she wanted to fix.

Deeply submerged in her own pessimism, Sophie didn't realize that she walked all the way out of the forest and into the shore of a river. She was surprised to see her own reflection in the water, suddenly feeling tired, she sat down and let her body been caressed by the waves, her mind just half paying attention the here and now, slowly, sleep started to creep at her, her eyelids now weighing heavily.

However, before her mind could drift completely, something caught her attention, for a brief moment she saw a disturbance in the middle of the fast flowing river, increasing her attention to it, she saw it again, in the surface, there was a part where the normal and clean water coming from the river was been mixed with dark muddy water that just seemed to appear out of nowhere.

It was maybe a minor thing, something to just dismiss with a second look, but Sophie couldn't get her eyes off of the water, now with more focus over the spot, she saw a shimmering effect over the surface, right over where the dark water mixed with the clean one. " What could that be? It couldn't be sunlight, the day is to cloudy for that, maybe something shinning from under the surface? No, the shimmer clearly is a reflection of light, then what?

Not able to calm down without having an explanation of this phenomenon, Sophie used her magic to levitate over the current and investigate, as she came closer she saw now what that light was coming from, it emanated from a weird shaped tear in the middle of the river, half submerged, Sophie floated around it trying to decipher what was she doesn't, the tear, she concluded was probably a portal, a magic made getaway to another place, and that place also contained water, although it looked to be dirty at the moment.

" No way! A portal, a real bucking portal! But how? How could it get here? ". Sophie marvelled at her finding, the creation of portals were said to be among the highest form of magic possible, so far only four beings in all equestrian history were known to be capable of creating them, Princess Celestia, Star Swirl the bearded, Discord, and King Sombra. More surprising was the fact that this portal didn't look to have been created by any of them, this portal was set in place and apparently, stable.

" How can remain open? This doesn't make any sense! ". Then an idea appeared.' This must be a natural made portal! A portal fueled by the very magic of this world! That's why the portal is set and doesn't disappear! '.

" But then, where does it goes? ". Sophie send herself as the dirty water continued to pour in from the portal and mixed with the clean water of the river.

" She must be close! Look everywhere, and shoot at sight! ". The voice came from the forest, another Squad was searching for her.

" Damn you Clover! ". Sophie cursed, it was too soon, the cracks on her body were still fresh and she was tired from running with days without rest, even if she won this encounter too she would be very exhausted and chances were that even a third group was in waiting, Clover wasn't called ' the clever ' for nothing, he must likely knew that tiring her out first, then moving stronger ponies when she was weakend was the best way to defeat her.

She couldn't even teleport away, her eyes turned to the portal, it was a desperate solution, a crazy route, she didn't know where she would end, maybe at the bottom of a deep river, maybe just feet from a waterfall, it was a dangerous gamble, Clover played in logic, Sophie would use luck then, she just hoped it was the good kind. She jumped in.

Once inside, Sophie felt as if her body suddenly accelerated at high speed, been her first time inside a portal she didn't know if the feeling was normal, be she already hated it, she almost threw up during displacement but she forced the time down her throat, traveling along her she saw blobs of water travelling back and forth, she new she was going in the right direction because the clean water blobs went along her while the dirty ones did so against her. Finally a bright light appeared on the sensation ended, Sophie was received by the cold muddy waters of a different river.

As quickly as her reflexes would allow it, she started moving her arms and legs trying to fight the current dragging her away, the fact that the water was so cold and her arm and legs felt weird made the task all the more difficult, still she fought on, she trashed as hard as she could until she felt her feet touch the bottom of the river.

Once away from the danger, she dragged her body to land, and dropped facing up, it was raining hard, the water was turbulent and muddy and now she understood why it looked dirty.

Panting, she extended a leg over her face to cover her eyes from the rain, then she screamed. " Wha-what is this?! My body! My..? ". Adrenaline got her to stand up and she inspected the rest of her. " My, my hooves are gone! My body is not crystal! I have no horn! What's going on?! Where am I?! ". Sophie Stone looked around but could find no sign.

" Girl! What in God's name are ya doin' here? ". Came a hell from behind Sophie.

She turned to see a creature similar to what she looked, a furless female primate wearing clothes. " Are ya ok child? Why are ya here outside in this weather? With no clothes no less ". Asked the woman as she took something out of a bag she was carrying.

" I, I don't know, I, I just..! ". She felt to her knees shivering. The woman hurried and used a coat to cover her.

" Is ok, is ok, ya don need to answer if ya don know, God, yer cold like a dead fish, we have ta get ya out of here, come with me girl, come, the town ain't far ".

" T-town? ". Asked Sophie as she let the woman take her.

" Why yes, ain't very big yet but it has all we folks need, now let's, mah carriage is just passing the trees ". Sophie nodded and went with her, to her further shock, the carriage was pulled by horses, not like the ponies from Equestria, but tall, brown colored horses. Sophie had so many questions but her mind was in overload and as soon as she was inside the carriage she felt sleep.

" Poor thing, hope mama has soup waitin' ". With a whiplash the horses started moving, as the carriage advanced, it passed near a sign at the side of the road.

Canterlot Town. Population : 216.

END OF THE CHAPTER.

Author's Notes:

Thanks for reading and as always hope you're back for the next chapter. Until next time.