Students of Heaven

[Gentian]

7 – Ad Sumus

The Everfree Forest
Present Day

The forest's humid stench washes over me as my teleport spell completes, depositing me onto a soggy stretch of grass and mud in the Everfree's lowlands. A fraction of a second later, Cadance pops into being beside me.

“Where is it?” she hurriedly asks, paying no mind to the squishing beneath her hooves. Luna indicates the direction with her nose.

“It was there, for a moment.” Cadance follows Luna's gesture, then stares at the ground, tears welling in her eyes.

“Did you see Twilight?”

“No, Princess Cadance, we are sorry.” A single sharp sob pierces the darkness as Cadance's head bows. Luna tenderly nuzzles her, sharing breath and soothing her, then softly: “But as we said, there was not much time.”

I look at our surroundings. This part of the Everfree is notorious. More swamp than woods, and filled with dense fog, ghost-lights and strange, dangerous things. Even the few ponies who regularly brave the forest's outskirts, or its few, lonely paths avoid this area at all costs. Yet, here my fearless sister had come, alone, at night, without a moments hesitation. For Twilight. My heart would swell with pride if I weren't so worried.

I trot over and stand with them, wrapping my wings around their withers. Their own wings wrap mine, and we hold each other tightly, until at last, Cadance is calm, again.

With a final nuzzle behind Cadance's ear, I turn to my sister. “Please, tell us everything you can.”

Luna closes her eyes, head drooping and brow furrowing in concentration. “First, we felt great mirth overtake us. It was as if laughter, humor itself were a presence. Then a purple glow appeared, and opened into a rift.

“We rushed closer, and heard music. It was strange, of a kind we have never heard before,” her snout scrunches in consternation. “We could not even recognize the instruments. There were also voices, but we could not hear what they were saying.”

Cadance speaks up. “Could you see anything through it?”

“Yes. There was a wall, of sorts. It was of horizontal wooden boards, secured to an iron frame. There were gaps between the boards, and a strange creature was peeking through.”

“Did it see you?” I asked.

She shook her head. “We don't believe so; the portal closed before we cold approach it.”

“Well,” began Cadance. “At least you found something” - She smiles and gives a strange laugh - “Really, since it disappeared so quickly, we're lucky it opened closely enough for you to find it.”

“Oh, it was not mere chance, Princess Cadance; we used a beacon spell to draw it to us.” Again, I am impressed by my sister's selfless bravery.

“That's very dangerous,” says Cadance, echoing my thoughts. “Especially here, there's no telling what else might have come instead.”

“No, but we are as desperate to find Princess Twilight as you, or Sister. We would be remiss if we did not use all of the tools at our disposal.”

I set my wing on her back. “Sister, please,” I whisper. “Don't do that again, not alone.” She looks at me with a small frown, then nods.

“Not alone,” she agrees, pressing her neck to mine. We stand in silence a few moments, sharing breath, then quietly, Luna continues.

“There is more. The magic was a tangled mess, but we could recognize a few distinct signatures within it. One was the portal itself. Others were the Elements of Harmony: Generosity, and Laughter.” Cadance's gasp tells me she is surprised as I am.

“But how is that possible?”

An odd expression sweeps over Luna's face, as though she is hesitant to speak. “We suspect it's because the largest portion...” - she pauses, looking me in the eyes in an almost pleading manner - “...was siren magic.”

That would explain it. Sirens absorb life and emotion, some were known to have been able to temporarily drain magic, too, but I'd never imagined a siren could become powerful enough to destroy the gate.

“Twilight said the trio on that side were defeated, and their gems broken. You're sure it was siren magic?”

“We are,” she nods. “It was unmistakable, mangled though it was.”

“Mangled?”

“Yes...” Luna frowns. “We don't know a better word to describe it.”

“Prismia used the heart of a siren as jewelry, and as a weapon,” says Cadance. “Could somepony there have made something from the fragments?” A look of comprehension sweeps across Luna's features.

“That's it!” She says, stamping the sodden ground with a forehoof. “The wall partially blocked our view, but through the gaps, we could see the creature was wearing a locket.” Cadance looks at me worriedly. “It glowed with the same violet light that preceded the rift, and when the creature closed it, the portal disappeared.”

“A locket?”

“Yes! That was the source of the magic, I'm sure!”

“Then we've learned something,” I say. “Is there anything else, sister?” She shakes her head.

I take a few thoughtful steps past them and stand, gazing silently off into the black woods. Ideas turn themselves over in my mind, and the stink of the air, the clamminess of the mist, and the spongy give of the land on which we stand all fade into the background.

Like Cadance said, this would be a clumsy attack on Equestria, but it would be a good first move if the sirens simply wanted revenge; kidnapping Twilight, and closing the portal would isolate Sunset, and the humans from our help. However, Sunset's newest letters to Twilight didn't mention them, and my alarms would have been tripped if anypony had crossed through. Also, without their gems, they are powerless, certainly incapable of this, or of defeating both an Alicorn and an extremely gifted unicorn working together.

It's probably not them. In fact, its unlikely that Twilight is on their side of the portal at all; my alarms again, and the fact Sunset wouldn't be asking for her help via the book if she were. If Twilight isn't there, that makes Siren involvement even less likely. But then where could she be?

If I knew where the mirror's portal led, I could open one myself, and find out immediately, but I never bothered to trace the mirror to its destination, and it would do no good to open gates randomly in an infinite multiverse, hoping to chance upon the right place, and right time in the right one. It would not only be a terrible waste of time and resources, but expose my world and its inhabitants to great danger. However, the very portal we seek is likely to reappear in this vicinity, especially with Luna calling it, and when it does, I can discover all we need to know. It's our only lead, and thus, our greatest chance for success.

“There's nothing for us to do now, but wait for it to reopen. Cadance,” I say, turning to her. “It seems even less likely than ever that this is an attack, but I would like you to return to Canterlot, both to alert us if Twilight returns, and to coordinate a defense if it becomes necessary.” She nods.

“We'll contact you at midnight, dawn, noon, and dusk. If you don't hear from us, you may use farsight to search, but don't come looking for us. A royal must remain in Equestria.

“Sister,” I say, turning to Luna. “I will remain here with you, and we'll continue the beacon, together.” She nods, too. “Are there any questions?”

___________________________________


Midnight came. My dear sister wrought her magic, and I kept her safe.

Dawn, and Princess Cadance's voice speaks from thin air, asking to replace one of us. “I have never needed sleep,” I tell her. “And Luna has been an Alicorn far longer than you. Enjoyable though sleep can be, I doubt she requires it any longer.” Reluctantly Cadance acquiesces, and we continue our vigil.

Noon, but you would not know it by my sun, hidden beyond the dense, moss-strewn tree-tops. Here, the waters are deep, and the shadows dark, no matter the time of day or night, but my gaze penetrates all. I see things lurking around us: nightmares oozed, putrid and malevolent from cracks in reality. Products of evolution and feral magic also slink and crawl. None of these are creatures born of my work, but still they know me, and they dare not approach.

Hours pass in uneventful, if oppressive silence. I look at my sister, her eyes are open, but unseeing and she's still as a frozen lake. Exactly as she has been since Cadance left us. The steady light from her horn is the only clue that she is more than a statue, or a corpse, and even that is swallowed by the hungry gloom.

Suddenly, I feel it, a warm glow of swelling empathy: Kindness! Luna's eyes bat furiously as she pulls herself from her trance. Our gazes meet for an instant, then wordlessly, we look about, scanning frantically for what we know is coming.

There! Across the swamp, a purple light among the vine-cowed trunks, fantastically bright in the darkness. Then another, and another, each following as quickly as thought. As one they open into gates, and Luna rushes toward them.

Something leaps through from the swamp, and immediately returns, pursued by a small, though terribly loud animal. They leap from puddle to tuft, and from one portal to another, their distorted shadows casting wildly about in the sunlight spilling from the portals' mouths.

The glare doesn't hinder me, and I look through them. Bushes, grass, portions of a brick wall, 2 humans, and there, just as Sister said: some of the creatures Luna spoke of, one of them with a pendant floating around her neck, and blazing with an insane melange of sorceries.

She's almost there, but already I can see one of the humans wrapping her hands around it. Sister won't make it in time; the gates are already too small for her to fit through. As quickly as only a goddess can, I reach through them with my mind. My senses stretch, searching for Twilight and...

Sunset! Oh Sunset!

My heart leaps as I brush her essence, then, without warning, I see only the swamp again. The portals have closed, but that doesn't matter. I have already discovered what I needed to know. The amulet's base magic is undoubtedly siren, but the one wearing it is only human. Worryingly, contained within it, were also the elements of Generosity, Laughter, and Kindness. But more than anything else, there was Sunset.

“Sister, are you hurt? Why are you crying?” I blink in surprise as happy tears fall from my eyes.

“No, Luna, I found Sunset.” She stoops her head and approaches, touching my nose with her own.

“Tears of joy, then?”

“Mm-hmm,” I nod.

“And Twilight?”

I shake my head. “She's not there.”

“That is why you let them collapse?”

“Yes. And Sunset...Sunset is close.”

Luna looks at me quietly in response, her own thoughts nearly hidden behind her deep, placid eyes. “So she must solve this problem on her own.”

It wasn't a question.

It didn't need to be.

A few more tears fall, and I whisper so softly that not even Luna can hear. “Good luck.”