Chapter 40: My Twisted Guardian Angel

(House by the hill)

Sunset slumped down to the couch feeling herself rather deflated. After escaping by the skin of her teeth from Vignette's clutches she felt like she could use a break.

"Hold up." Applejack raised a finger calling their attention. "Let me get this straight. Vignette is in cahoots with Hoity? And she tried to kidnap you two?"

"She's not working with him." Sunset corrected with a sigh. "She was being controlled. I think everyone who participated in the pageant is affected."

Rainbow Dash scratched her head confusingly. "So wait. Are you saying that he's mind controlling people… with clothes? Are you sure about this? That sounds… pretty skeptic, and I've seen a lot of things."

"I'm definitely sure. It has all the same properties as the spell I used in school when… I tried to turn everyone into mindless zombies." It was still a hard pill to swallow no matter how many times she says it. "Those clothes they wear had some weird magic stitched to them. When I laid my hand on it, I felt that Shadow Monster creeping into my head. It was not a pleasant experience. Any later, Rarity here would've been part of that group."

"It is absolutely atrocious!" The said fashionista exclaimed. "I can understand taking over the world with dark magic, mind controlling students to become your own personal army, even trapping us all in a camp forever! But to use fashion to implement your plan for world domination!? Ooooh, Hoity Toity has taken things too far this time! To take advantage of our designs and our imaginations to further his own goals!? How selfish can he be!? I say we march right up to his doorstep and take him down this instant!"

"Now we're talking." Rainbow Dash gave a high-five which she returned. The others simply rolled their eyes.

"But why would he want to take mind control a bunch of fashion designers?" Fluttershy inquired.

"Most likely to take their creative imagination and pass it on as his own." Rarity huffed. "What cheek."

Sunset disagreed. "I think his plans go further than just cornering the fashion industry. I think he has something bigger in mind. I'm just missing a few pieces of the puzzle." She turned over to Rarity. "Hey Rare… you wouldn't happen to get that list we asked for, did you?"

"No. But I did catch a glimpse of it. Many big names are included in the guest list. Celebrities, politicians, CEOs, producers and such. It's bound to be a gathering of stars." The list of positions alone was enough to snap everyone into realization. "You don't think he'd…"

"Mind control everyone who comes to his pageant show?" Applejack droned. "Wouldn't put it pass the guy."

"He'd have control over everyone there." Rainbow Dash put the pieces together, gasping in awe. "Every celebrity, politician. Everyone who goes to Filthy Rich's resort will be turned into puppets. And that Hoity guy will be pulling the strings. It'll be like the spinoff of Daring Do! Dr. Caballeron and the Puppet Master. We can't let that happen! I say we strike at him now before he pulls his plan."

"Here here!" Rarity chimed in. "That two faced snake gives us fashion designer a bad name. We'll sweep the rug from under him and he wouldn't even know what hit him."

"Yeah!" Even Pinkie seemed motivated. "I'm dying to try out my banana boat bonanza ice cream. It'll be a taste for them to remember!"

"Now cool your jets people." Applejack protested. "We talked about this. Charging head in to the fight ain't gonna cut it. We all saw how that worked out last time. And Rainbow Dash. You just agreed to lay low earlier. Don't you be backing out on the deal now."

"That was before we discovered that he's trying to secretly mind control everyone with clothes."

"Applejack's right." Sunset took the cowgirl's side. "Like it or not. Hoity is simply too powerful for us to take on in a direct fight. The pageant is still a few days away. That should give us enough time to come up with a plan to stop him. And firstly we need a way to reverse the spell that Hoity cast on those he already controls. Rarity. You still have those designs you made during your first round at the pageant?"

"Of course. I keep all of my masterpieces. But what does that have to do…?" Her eyes snapped open. "You don't think my designs are infected too!?"

"If my hunch is right, Hoity must've cast some kind of control spell with all the designs. If I can get a good look at it, I can probably create a counter-spell to free those already in control."

"Ugh… and while you're doing that, Hoity's probably selling off a dozen more of his clothes to unsuspecting customers! We need to strike now!"

"And I say you're just gonna get yourself nabbed!"

"Rainbow Dash has a point! Sitting around here is useless."

"Now just calm down!"

Fluttershy backed away at the argument heated up. She'd prefer to stay out of it entirely if she could have it her way. But her attention was quickly captured by Spike who held up Sunset's phone in his mouth which buzzed on the couch. She picked it up and saw the caller's face.

"Uh… everyone." Her voice barely pierced the heated debate. "G… guys? H… hello?" Applejack threw in a lama comment but it was roughly brushed off by RD's insult. "Guys? GUYS?"

Oh for the love of…

"WILL YOU ALL JUST BE QUIET FOR A MINUTE!?"

…

…

…

That certainly got their attention.

Fluttershy coughed then answered the call, putting it on speaker.

"Sunset? You there?"

"Flash!?" Their attention lit up as they crammed over to the phone, all thoughts of the earlier argument vanishing entirely.

"Flash? Is that you?" Sunset grabbed the device.

"Holy cow. It worked! Twilight it really worked!"

"Really?" Another voice chimed in making the gang restless. "Sunset? Can you hear me?"

"Twilight?" Sunset gasped. "You're ok?"

"We are. Sorta. Kind of hard to tell right now."

"Where are you!?" Applejack shouted. "We've been worried sick for you, girl! We've been trying to call you for days!"

There was static coming from the other line. "It's a long story. But we're fine. Mostly. Lis*Bzzzt*. Flash and I jumped through the po*Bzzt*al when the castle collapsed. We *Bzt* on't have a lot of time befor*Bzzt*this signal fades. I'm sending you a text wi*Bzzzzt*all the details. I'm…" The signal was cut off mid-sentence.

"Twilight? Hello? Twilight!" Sunset looked to her phone again and noted a single text came through. It was a rather long message, probably typed down beforehand when they called. "Hey girls. Hope you get this message. Right now, Flash and I are trapped on the other side of the world in a small town called Perilous Peak. No phone signal here. Using unorthodox methods to communicate. But we're safe. Trying to get back as soon as we can. Found another magic portal here but no Portal Stone. Hope you're all doing well. Twilight. P.S. Check and make sure my binders are still in order. I think I left a few unattended. And look after Spike for me."

"She put her binders before me?" The purple mutt complained.

While the message might've been short and the call lasting no longer than a few seconds, it was certainly more than enough to deflate the whole tension around the room.

Rarity's body went limp at the message. "This is a miracle!" She cheered. "Oh thank the heavens they're alright. I was beginning to fear the worst. Really now. That girl is a handful. All that stress was getting my hair all frazzled."

"I'll say." Applejack readily agreed. "That's a weight off my shoulder. But where in the heck is this… Perilous Peak? Never heard of it before."

"Ooooh~~~ sounds… perilous."

"Pinkie." Sunset scolded. "The important part is that they're both safe. That's enough for me. From what she says in her text, they're trying to find a way back. But it might take a while. In the meantime, can we all just hold off striking Hoity? Until we can get a workaround on his magic." And reluctantly, after a few more debates, the gang agreed.

(Autumn's Ranch)

Twilight let out a yelp as Flash grabbed her and Autumn and ducked away as the portal collapsed on itself sending out a powerful blast of energy causing a minor tremor in the area. They were safe. Though he can't really say the same for her clone. The poor thing shattered like glass and vanished into thin air when the magic went out of control.

"Whoa…" Autumn was first to break the silence, turning to the portal with wide eyes. "That. Was. Amazing! That was magic! That was REAL magic! Genuine hocus pocus magic!"

"More like loud magic." Flash muttered painfully as his ear rang from the explosion. He turned over to Twilight who looked equally dazed. "You think they got our message?"

The bespectacled girl groaned. "I hope so. The portal lasted for about half a minute. And we were able to call them with our cellphones. The odds of them receiving my text is extremely high. But as long as they know that we're ok, they should be alright. So~ I'll count that as a win. However our main problem still remains."

"Problem?" He choked. "Didn't you see what you did earlier? You were able to create a portal between two places! That's amazing!"

Twilight shrugged plainly. "Meh. Once you've seen one portal, you've seen it all. The problem is stabilizing it. If we go through that while it's all hazy, we might be sent somewhere else entirely."

"That was INCREDIBLE!" Autumn shouted across the mountain shaking the very sands themselves. "I couldn't believe it. Seeing stuff like that for the first time is like… wow. You really CAN do magic!"

"Yes. I think that was obvious the first time." The nerd gal droned.

"What else can you do!?" The hyperactive girl approached looking like a kid in a candy store holding a golden coin. "Can you pull a rabbit out of a hat? Do you have laser eyes? Can you see the future or predict the lottery? Can you rearrange the stars and make a constellation that looks like me? I have so many questions!"

Twilight pushed her away. "Ugh… personal space here." She sighed. "Like it or not. There's just no way I can maintain a portal without a medium to hold it together. The only way we can open this portal is to find a Portal Stone."

"A what now?"

"It's a magical item." Flash explained though he didn't go into details. "But where are we going to find something like that around here? This place looks like it's been abandoned for hundreds of years. For all we know, it could've been destroyed."

"You're not exactly being helpful around here."

"Hey, I'm just giving my input." He groaned. "I just wish the portal didn't send us to some random location."

"Hey, hi, hello." Autumn waved her hands at them. "What's this Portal Stone you guys keep talking about?"

Twilight rolled her eyes, deciding to humor her. "It's a statue around this high." She quickly drew a figure on the sand with her finger. "It's the thing we need to open a stable portal. We used one to get here. They're extremely powerful and extremely rare. They're practically one of a kind in every portal. Closely guarded and well-kept behi—"

"Oh I've seen one of those."

…

…

Twilight's eye twitched as her head cranked slowly in Autumn's direction. "Eh?"

xxxxxxxxxx

It stood right there in front of her, in the store back in town. The object of their desire stared back at them behind rows of figurines. One of the most powerful magical artifacts in the whole world, whose value exceeded that of the most precious gemstones, which was most likely guarded by golems and other mechanical contraptions, put on display like some item to be sold by some passerby.

"Huh…" Flash mumbled, looking equally dumbfounded. "Well that was surprisingly easy."

Twilight banged her head on the counter.

(Luna/Celestia's Apartment)

Luna paced around her room looking at her phone. She wanted to dial the number back but knew deep down that she won't get an answer. She wanted to believe that her students were all trust-worthy citizens and that they could do no wrong. But ever since magic decided to rear its ugly head around their school, trust has become quite the issue. Even more so with those girls.

Sunset was definitely hiding something. Her tone was way off, and the way she dodged her questioning seemed highly suspicious. There was no doubt in her mind that she and the other six girls in her group had something to do with the incident in Freefall Island. The whole castle collapsing was all over the news with reporters saying that it was… strange. Dang it. If those girls were onto something dangerous, then it was her responsibility to get them out of it.

"Ugh…" Grabbing her bag, Luna decided that it was time to take matters into her own hands. She might not proficient in magic but perhaps she could help those girls in another way.

She opened the door, readying herself for a stern lecture with the ringleader only to stumble head first onto someone else.

"Luna?" The older gentleman gasped, catching her.

"Sombra?" She sounded equally surprised. "Wh… what are you doing here? No. How are you here? I thought you were still in Manehattan?"

"I took my private jet." He said that line like it was just an afterthought. "I'm so sorry. I couldn't sleep. Flash hasn't been returning any of my calls and he hasn't returned home since I left. I came straight here from the airport, worried out of my mind. Have you had any luck?"

"Ok first… calm down." She pressed one finger on his lip to silence him. "Secondly, remind me to ask you more about your private jet. And third… I thought I told you that I would handle it."

"I'm sorry. But I panicked. Flash has never done this before. Even before I came back to Canterlot he always tells me or Edmund where he is or where he's going. This is so unlike him." Gee, you don't say. "Is Lesty here?"

Her eyes rolled. "My sister is out on a meeting with the Board of Education. I haven't told her anything yet because I think this is all just a misunderstanding."

"But Flash…"

"Is fine." That was a lie. Knowing what she did now, there was a good chance he might be in some magical conundrum.

"Did you call his friends?"

"I did…"

…

…

…

"And?"

"They… haven't seen him since the Winter Holiday party."

"Oh goodness." The man's face turned pale. "I knew it. He's fallen with the wrong crowd and got himself in trouble. It's like one of those movies where a neglected child becomes bored with his life and decides to join a nefarious criminal organization to find purpose! I'm a terrible father."

Wow… that went on a much darker path than she thought.

"It's nothing like that." Luna reassured him. Though honestly she was pretty much blowing hot air at this point. "I know your son. He's a loving and helpful boy who cares deeply about his friends. He'd never do anything that would get him or anyone else in trouble."

He looked up to her with hopeful eyes. "You… really think so?"

"Well he never got detention and he's never been called to the Principal's office. He's probably out gallivanting just like an ordinary boy on his holiday mode. You know how kids are."

Sombra blinked, placing one hand on his chin in thought. "That… does make sense. I heard that children of his age tend to interact less with their parents."

"See? I'm sure th…"

"But that can't be!" He blurted panicking, much to her surprise. "Flash and I were just starting to get back together! We're bonding! We had a moment the other night at a dinner!"

"Calm down!" She whacked him on the head. "For crying out loud. This isn't the time to be panicking." She let out a sigh. "Look. I'm going over to his friend's house. She probably knows where he is."

"Really?" Sombra jerked up. "Let's go then!"

"Oh no. It's probably better if I do this on my own."

"Luna, please. This is my son we're talking about. I need to know." Damn it. She knew he was gonna play the dad card eventually. That was low even from a totally reasonable stand point.

"Alright fine. But I assure you, he's probably just having fun with his friends. I'm sure he's alright."

xxxxxxxxxx

They stood in front of Sunset's apartment not twenty minutes later seeing it in a smoldering ruin with little more than a few bricks and burnt out scaffolds. A hazard sign was put outside behind a police line. The snow had piled on top what remained crashing it down hard.

Luna's lips curled. "Or… I could be wrong."

Her point was exaggerated by the sound of timber cracking and falling to the ground below.

Sombra's face hardened as he pulled out his phone, dialing a number. "Edmund. It's me. Get the Police Commissioner on the line, now." Oh this wasn't going to end well.

Dang it Sunset! What kind of mess did you get yourselves into?

(Perilous Peaks)

Twilight resisted the urge to slam her face on the counter a third time.

… or was it her fifth time? She wasn't quite sure. The concussion from that last smack made her dizzy. She felt like an idiot not noticing something as obvious as this.

How did such a thing escape her notice during their last visit? A powerful relic from a bygone era was just sitting there, waiting for someone to purchase. It hummed with a feint trace of magic but there was no doubt about. That thing was the real deal. A genuine one-of-a-kind Portal Stone. The artifact that the old Yaztec Shamans used to traverse the world. Their literal ticket home. And to think that it was just sitting right there gathering dust and sand for god knows how long. She couldn't believe that such a powerful relic was standing here this whole time.

"I can't believe that such a powerful relic was standing here this whole time!" See? Told ya so.

"I told ya things would work in the end." Flash coyly smiled at her. "It's a little anti-climactic but I'll take the easy route this time."

"With this, we can use the magic to stabilize the portal! Don't you get it? This is our ticket home! We're finally going back!" Her smile widened so much that they practically split her face in two. "And to think that it was right in this store. Who would've thought?"

"Yeah. Apparently the people here have been stripping that place for everything they can sell." The boy shivered. "Talk about an archeological nightmare. If my dad hears about this, he'd flip."

Twilight opted to argue but stopped when Autumn returned. "Well? What'd she say?"

The girl bobbed her head sideways, seething her teeth ever so slightly. "Well there's good news and bad news. The good news is that the shopkeeper is willing to sell that thingamajig. The bad news is that he's trading it for a pretty steep price." The said shopkeeper gave them a toothy smile from behind the counter.

That didn't sound good. "How much is she asking for?"

"50 bags of wool!" She exclaimed. "Can you believe that? 50 bags of wool for a statue!? I don't normally say this, but she's a total money grubbing enabler. That's like… two months' worth of my stock. There's no way I'm making that kind of trade with what I have."

Twilight groaned. She had to know that things would never be that easy as reciting all the elements in the periodic table. "Well is she willing to trade it for something else?"

Autumn took a glance at the clerk and shrugged. "Well… she said she's willing to trade it for your necklace."

Twilight's face went white as she clutched her geode tucking it in her shirt. "Would she be willing to trade it for a chemical formula?"

"Sorry. But unless that formula can turn sand into gold, you're out of luck." Damn it! Another roadblock. As if things weren't bad enough already. If they had that thing for a moment they could probably go home. But it looks like they have to jump a few more hoops before that can happen.

"Grrr!"

"Ok. Let's not blow things out of proportion." Flash quickly grabbed Twilight and brought her out before she blew a gasket. "Let's think this through. Maybe we can come up with a way to buy that statue. I don't suppose the good lady would be willing to trade it for something else."

"Not that I know of. But at least we know that your magical thingie is here. That's a win, right?" It'll only be a win if they can get their hands on it.

Twilight groaned as she watched the Portal Stone remain on the display case, mocking her with its beautiful carving. Her dream of a quick return home was dashed by greed. She could even swear that it was winking at her.

"So close… and yet so far."

"Gah!" She flinched when her reflection spoke up first, morphing into her alter-ego. "What are you doing here?" She whispered. "People will see you!"

"Oh please." She brushed it off. "I've been moving around here for hours now, you just haven't noticed. People would've been screaming when they see a person floating in mid-air." The dark angel scoffed. "But enough about me. Why don't you go ahead and steal that Portal Stone already?"

"What? No! I'm not going to steal it."

"Come on. I know you were thinking it. I am part of your mind after all. You were thinking about using your magic and taking it from the store in the middle of the night."

"Pfft… no."

Midnight chuckled softly suddenly turning to a leaning posture as if she was lying on air. "Yeah. You're right. You're too much of a goodie-two-shoes to do something that drastic."

"What!? I am not…" Her alter-ego gave her a cheesy grin. "Ok maybe a little. But I am still capable of doing all those things!"

"Oh please. When you found a quarter on the street you dropped it off the nearest police station saying that it would stimulate the local economy." She laughed. "Face it Twilight. Evil just isn't in your blood. You were raised to be timid and law-obeying citizen. Nothing more."

"That's not true!"

"Then prove it." Midnight challenged glancing over to the statue. "Use your magic. Take the Portal Stone right here and now." Her tone was tempting and seductive. "The window's open. And the shopkeeper is busy. She doesn't even need to know."

Yes… it was such a simple plan. The Portal Stone was right there. With a simple wave of her hand she could probably snatch the artifact and replace it with another one of the store's many replicas and the store owner wouldn't even know the difference. It would be so easy. Hardly anyone would even bat an eyelash at such a theft. Heck if anything, she'd be doing her a favor.

And for a brief moment, she actually thought about it.

With all the power she possessed, all that magic in the palm of her hands, why shouldn't she? All she had been doing with that power was waste it on petty things like lifting band instruments or simple objects. Why waste such power on the mundane stuff when she can use it to benefit herself? She could do whatever she wants with it. That shopkeeper couldn't possibly know what she had in her possession. I would open literally open doors for her, to anywhere she wanted.

It would get her home.

Slowly the girl raise her hand, staring deeply at the object. But then in a moment of weakness, she immediately pulled it away out of fright.

"See? A Goodie-two-shoes."

"Twilight?" She later vanished when Flash returned, putting his hand over her shoulder. "You ok?"

She blinked. "Y… yeah. I'm fine. Just… a little tired."

"It'll be fine." He reassured her once more. "Don't sweat on it. At least we know it's here. We'll find a way to get it."

"You seem pretty confident."

"I prefer to look at things from a positive light. Makes things easier for me." He smiled. "And look on the bright side. We got a message to our friends. And at least here the portal is somewhere we can see and not hidden under some cave."

Twilight's eyes widened. "Wait… what did you say?"

"Uh… the portal? It's out in the open?"

Her eyes turned upward, towards the mountain.

(Equestria) (Castle of Friendship)

Starlight paced around the library that afternoon, shuffling through books and artifacts, doing some tedious research on shadow magic. She kept a close eye over her music box. It's been a while since she contacted Sunset. Sadly, calling her now would just be a waste of time.

She was hoping that Princess Twilight's personal library would have some greater reference than that of the school. But it would seems that the knowledge of shadow magic was just as rare as finding water in the desert.

Sunburst has been keeping her updated on his findings in Canterlot as well, shifting through Starswirl's collection but unfortunately he was turning up empty as well. That pony might be an amazing spell user but he was definitely not the tidiest of them all. His whole darn alchemy lab looked like it has suffered explosions and accidents on a regular basis.

"Headmare Starlight?" A light green Earth-Pony spoke up from the door as he pushed a literal box full of books into the room. "The books you ordered from Canterlot just arrived. Do you want me to arrange them or…?"

"Just put them over by the table. Thank you Sandbar." She sighed. "I don't suppose there are any books there labeled 'Shadow Magic' by any chance?"

Sandbar shrugged uncaringly. "Uh… not that I'd know. Counselor Trixie just told me to bring these here along with the rest." He gestured over to the door where Yona was handling the other boxes that were stacked up, notably all from Canterlot Castle.

"Looks like I'll be going on another all-nighter."

"Are you looking for something in particular?"

She shook her head comically. "No. Well… yes. But for a totally different reason. Anyway, just bring those in. I'll arrange them myself."

"You got it."

But before Starlight could get back to her research, the door smashed open, followed by a bombastic voice coming from the other side.

"Behold, dear friend and… Sandbar. The Great and Powerful and most Wonderful Trixie, has returned!"

The Headmare rolled her eyes at the new arrival. "Hello Trixie. You know you don't always have to do that when you come in."

"Oh I know. But how else would people know that I'm here?" The egotistical pony winked. "But enough about me for a moment. For I, Trixie, have come bearing wonderful news that will bring progress to your research!"

"You found a book that explains Shadow Magic?"

"Uh… no. But Trixie has found the next best thing! Drumroll please!"

…

…

…

"Ahem! I said: Drumroll please!" She glared at Sandbar who immediately tapped his hoof on the floor. "I have found… Starswirl the Bearded!"

Starlight's eyes gleamed. "You did!? How? No. Never mind that. Where is he?"

"He's at the Crystal Empire visiting Mistmane's Crystal Garden. He's taking a little break from his travels."

"That's wonderful! His help will make things easier around here. I should write him a letter."

"Already did." Trixie declared oh so proudly. "I wrote a formal letter via Princess Cadance requesting his immediate presence here in Ponyvile. It was sent out earlier this morning."

"Wow Trixie. That's… umm… amazing?"

"I am amazing, aren't I? Hopefully he'll get here by next week. Now…" The blue unicorn used her magic to pull the book away from her friend. "I believe it is now time for our usual lunchtime meeting."

"Oh…?" Starlight darted to the clock on the wall noting the time. "Wow. It's that late already? Sorry Trixie. But I need to organize all these books and find out…"

"Ah tut tut. Even the greatest of magicians require rest and recuperation. These books will still be here when you return." She gave a pleading face. "Come on. Just a quick bite? We hardly hang out anymore."

The Headmare couldn't help but sigh in submission. Her research was really taking all her time even from her work in the school. She didn't want it to affect her friendship as well.

"Alright. If you insist. I could go for something to eat."

"Yes!" She puffed her hoof. "I know just the place. There's this restaurant that just opened in town and they're giving out special prices for today only! I'll be saving bits for every purchase!"

(Perilous Peaks) (Portal Ruins)

"Can you please explain to me why you decided to come back to this place without the Portal Stone?" Midnight whined boringly as she hovered above her host. "Don't tell me you're gonna try that duplication trick again."

"Of course not. We all know how that ended." Twilight tilted her head. "Something Flash said got me thinking though."

"You mean that idiot friend of yours made sense?"

"He's not an idiot. He's just… carefree." She traced her hand over the gateway as if seeing that it'll react. "But he made a good point. Out of all the portals we found, they've always been hidden inside isolated rooms with no direct access. The one in the caves of Everfree Woods and the one underneath Hoofbeard's Castle."

"Yeah? So?"

"So why is this one here, out in the open?"

"Maybe the guys who built it decided to have an outdoor version."

"No. The ruins here indicates that there used to be a building around the gateway. But it decayed." She looked over to the portal and then the mountain behind her. "And look here. This whole place shows degradation."

"Ugh… is this whole monologue going somewhere?"

"It means that there used to be something here that covered the portal room." She quickly pulled out the black gem and saw it spark. "It must've been destroyed some time ago. Then that means…" Putting a bit of magic in, she tried out her hypothesis one more time. And like clockwork, the gem shined, pointing in the direction of the mountain walls. "Aha! I think we got a bite!"

She quickly followed it, only to pull an immediate stop when she found a rockslide blocking her way.

"You sure that thing ain't broken?"

"It's pointing me in this direction." Twilight inched closer to the rocks noticing a cave behind it. "There's definitely something here." With a wave of her hand a little help from her magic, the rocks that blocked her path moved aside, revealing a hidden stairwell that led deep into the mountains. "Yes! I was right! There is more to this place than the portal. Score one for theoretical deduction." She was about to head in when her floating angel blocked her path.

"Whoa. And where do you think you're going?"

"Uh… investigate the cave we just found? Duh."

"And you think it's a good idea for you to just go there on your own?"

"I'll be fine. I can handle myself."

"Oh sure. Like everything that happened so far has been pretty fine. Need I remind you that you don't exactly have the best track record when it comes to dark, damp locations? The parking lot back in Canterlot, the cave in Everfree Woods, the trap in Castle Hoofbeard?"

"Those were just accidents. And they worked out fine in the end. I'm sure there aren't any traps here. And even if there are, why do you care?"

"Technically, I don't." She countered. "I'd be more than happy to see you get crushed by a rolling boulder trap. But despite my feelings on this relationship, I'm still a part of you. We're linked together whether we like it or not. And if something were to happen to you, it won't just be your end, but mine as well."

That was… logical. But Twilight didn't seem to mind the risk.

"I'll take note of your concerns. But seeing as you can't stop me, I'm going in anyway."

"What do you even hope to find anyway? For all we know it could just be an empty room or a death trap!"

"It's not." She said with such confidence.

"And what makes you so sure?"

"Because of what Flash said before." Twilight took a glance at the portal, processing her thoughts. "He said that the portal sent us somewhere random. Like it just spit us out to another place across the world." Her alter ego raised a brow. "But what if it wasn't random? What if the portal sent us to the last place it was used?"

"You're not making any sense."

"Think about it. The only person who could've used the portal was Captain Hoofbeard. He had the black gem bracelet and the Portal Stone. We can surmise that he knew how to use them at the very least." She paused for a moment building that dramatic effect. "He was also notorious for stealing treasures from various places. And where do you think a pirate like him would hide his loot?"

Midnight's eyes snapped open in realization. "Some place where others can't get to."

"Somewhere like… half-way across the world, in a cave, far in a remote location where folks have never even heard of."

They both turned to the cave entrance, now equally enticed by the prospect of what lay hidden inside.

"Hmm… untold riches from across the world, all ours for the taking?" She grinned. "I'm in."

"Not bad for a goodie-two-shoes, eh?"

"Don't push it.