One of Our Twilights is Missing

by FanOfMostEverything

The First Guard and the Finest Student

The moment Twilight was through the portal, Sunset had her phone out and began contacting the other Rainbooms. Within the hour, everyone had assembled in her apartment and she explained the situation as it stood.

Rarity put on a judgemental moue once Sunset was finished. “And you just let her go?”

“What else was I supposed to do?" said Sunset. "We both agreed that letting Equestria descend into chaos wasn’t an option, and Twilight is the best body double in either world for the princess.”

Rarity sighed, patience audibly straining. “Yes, darling, I’m aware. I’ve seen them next to each other in this world and in Equestria. You let her go by herself?”

“She had two Royal Guards with her," Sunset said with a dismissive wave. "She was fine.”

That got a deep breath and the slow tone that meant Rarity would be pulling her hair out if it weren't perfectly coiffed. “You let. Her leave. Without you?”

Months of friendship with Pinkie had taught Sunset the value of obfuscating obliviousness. “If the princess did come to this world to escape the pressures of the throne, I have a few choice things to say to her.”

Rarity gave a grudging nod. “Understandable given the circumstances, but we as a group can cover far more ground than just you.”

"Obviously. That's why I called you. But I'm still going to help look for her here. I've been trusted with this part of the search and I'm not abandoning my post until I'm satisfied that the princess isn't in this world."

“Fair enough." Rarity dipped her head to acknowledge the point, then immediately presented a sly grin. "We'll simply have to settle that quickly, so you can go be our Twilight’s knight in autumn colors. Especially after the debacle with Timber Spruce.”

Sunset sighed. “Did everyone hear about that but me?”

Applejack shrugged from the couch. "News t' me."

Next to her, Pinkie held up her phone. "Timber updated his orientation on MyStable."

"Yes, yes, the two of you are troglodytes who wouldn't know what to do with social media if it bit you on the bum, and I love you both dearly." Rarity placed herself on Applejack's lap with a shared smile. "Now, to business. How are we finding Twilight?"

Sunset turned to Rainbow Dash. "Think you could handle it?"

Dash grimaced and shook her head. "I mean, running from end of town to the other is simple, but a block-by-block search?" She fiddled with her geode necklace. "That's probably pushing it."

That got several grim nods. The last thing any of them wanted was their powers cascading out of control from overuse again.

"I could do it a little at a time," Dash continued, "but it's not like Princess Twilight's going to hold still while I look."

"Not if she doesn't want to be found," added Fluttershy. "Runaways are never easy to deal with."

Applejack rubbed her hands together and scooched out from under Rarity. "Reckoned we'd all have t' pull our weight."

Rarity had her phone out, pondering her contacts list. "Many hands make light work, as they say. If we call a few friends, and they call a few friends, and so forth, we could have the whole school looking for her in short order."

"Which might raise some uncomfortable questions about who this girl is and why an entire student body is looking for her," Sunset said with a grimace.

Applejack put her hands on her hips. "Sunset, yer callin' for a manhunt."

"Girlhunt, but yes." Rarity turned to Sunset, one eyebrow raised. "Do you want it done quickly or quietly? I cannot see how we are to manage both."

"I can!"

All eyes turned to Pinkie Pie, who'd been deep in thought up until now. The others' expressions were a mixed bag. For her part, Sunset said, "I'm listening."

"Oh good. I was worried everyone would brush me off and then we'd spend the whole weekend looking and we'd only try my idea on Monday morning when we could've done it a lot sooner." Pinkie smiled her way through that sentence and the awkward silence that followed.

Fluttershy bit her lip. "Do we really brush you off that much?"

"Not really, but even I think this one is a long shot. It's just a long shot that will take twenty, thirty minutes tops."

The other girls traded looks, and all of them saw none of the others had any better ideas. Rarity nodded. "Very well. Pinkie, the floor is yours."

"Do I have to pay Sunset's rent?"

"Pinkie," the others chorused.

She giggled. "Sorry, reflex. It's really simple. We're just going to need one of Rarity's sleeping masks, a bucket, and Flash Sentry."

---

Twilight was conflicted.

On the one hand, while sociology was hardly her strong suit, she still appreciated the opportunity to experience the culture of another nation, world, and species firsthand. On the other, that last sentence had two more hands than she did at the moment.

She knew from past experience that the species dysphoria would lessen over time (and, ideally, fondue.) But knowing that an entire nation was depending on her to fill her counterpart's horseshoes did. Not. Help.

The horseshoes—"hipposandals," apparently—were one of the many matters she wished she could take the time to investigate. They were made out something that seemed like platinum, only with an iridescent sheen and the same vague sense of awareness as her geode when worn. Rarity had called them "starmetal" when Twilight had asked, and nopony had been able to tell her what that actually meant. There was simply too much going on preparing her for anything and everything she might have to deal with for her to get in another question.

Thankfully, everything went at least a little quiet once the bespectacled mare with a brown bun and a clipboard herded most of the crowd out of the room, leaving just Twilight, Trixie, and the harness Trixie was attaching to her.

Twilight looked at one of the satchels hanging from the harness, shifted her weight, and asked a question she knew she'd regret. But she'd regret not asking it even more. "What's in these?"

"Mostly gunpowder," Trixie said far too casually.

"Ah. I see." Twilight echoed that calm for two more words. "Next question: Why did you strap explosives on me!?"

That got a chuckle. "It's funny. Hearing you yell at Trixie, it's like Sparkle never left."

Twilight gritted her teeth. Random bits of energy unintentionally spouted from her horn. "Trixie."

"Hey, hey, watch it with the sparks!" Trixie licked a hoof and pressed on the tip of Twilight's horn, sending a weird numbing sensation down a good portion of her spine. "We don't want these going off prematurely!"

"I don't want them going off at all!" Twilight cried, skin crawling from whatever that had been.

Trixie rolled her eyes. "Look, we aren't all archmage-level genius powerhouses. Some of us actually need some extra components to make the more advanced spells work."

Twilight knew Trixie stood between her and the door. She still backed away from the other mare. If nothing else, she could activate the mirror. "What spell are you casting that requires bombs?"

"Please." Trixie waved a hoof dismissively. "That much couldn't decorate a small room."

The resulting confusion was enough to remind Twilight that she barely knew anything about this world, and what little she'd learned today had been political rather than chemical. "What?"

Trixie actually looked abashed for a moment, something Twilight had never seen on either of her before now. "You didn't actually think I'd use black powder, did you? That's pink powder in there. Party-grade. Mostly good for noise and enough of a shockwave to scatter confetti." She grinned and reared up, horn aglow. "Or to produce enough smoke for a certain great and powerful illusionist to..."

She let her actions speak for her from there, firing a magenta bolt and setting off twin booms that by all rights should have blown out Twilight's eardrums, to say nothing of her ribs. Yet all she felt were a pair of shoves. And by the time the oddly glittery smoke cleared, the satchel charges had been replaced with a pair of purple wings. Twilight had to peer closely at them to spot the slight transparency.

After due consideration, she gave her initial report. "Huh."

"Ta-da!" It was the most anemic "Ta-da" Twilight had ever heard out of a Trixie, but to be fair, this Trixie didn't look up to a more enthusiastic one, mane limp and sweat dripping off her face. "We'll need to bolster those once a day." Her knees shook for a moment before she steadied herself. "And I won't be doing much else while you're here."

Twilight bit her lip. A Trixie referring to herself in the first person was never a good sign. "You okay?"

"Just need a minute." Trixie sat gingerly, wiping her forehead with a foreleg. "This is pretty much the biggest spell I can cast, and that's with a catalyst and my special talent. But it's still longer-lasting and more stable than what Starlight could put together. You can't just throw raw power at illusions and expect it to work." She tilted her chin up, some pride working its way back into her voice. "It takes finesse. You didn't think they just called Trixie to Canterlot for her good looks, did you?"

Twilight couldn't help but grin. "Thanks. Really."

Trixie returned the expression. "Look, nopony's willing to tell me what the deal is with that magic mirror, but I can tell we both got dragged into something bigger than we're used to because Sparkle decided she needed a vacation. No sense taking it out on you just because you're her weird mirror-world clone thing."

"Sure, let's go with that." Twilight sighed. "Honestly, right now, I just want to..." She shook her head. "No, it's juvenile."

"Trixie prefers 'in touch with her inner foal.' Or that chuuni-thing that kirin called me once; it sounds much more exotic."

"That actually means— Wait. That's it." Twilight turned to the mirror, then the city of pony Canterlot below. "I want to go home and have Mom tell me everything's going to be okay."

Trixie nodded. "I still feel like that sometime. Actually, I should visit her while I'm in town."

Twilight shook her head. "No, no, think about it. If I feel that way after a few hours of princess prep..."

That got a gasp as Trixie sprang to her hooves. "Imagine how Sparkle feels!" She galloped out of the portal room. "Eureka! Trixie has it!"

---

Finding Flash Sentry was a simple matter when Pinkie Pie was involved. Her ability to track the comings and goings of everyone at Canterlot High would have been terrifying in less whimsical hands. In hers, it led the Rainbooms to the playgrounds at Canterlot Park, filled with activities ranging from hopscotch boards to foursquare courts to the baseball diamond that Pinkie homed in on like a bloodhound.

Fluttershy looked like she wished she was holding the leash. Not for the first time, she asked, "Why do we need Flash again?"

And not for the first time, Pinkie shouted back, "There's no time to explain!"

Applejack rolled her eyes. "We've been drivin' an' walkin' for almost twenty minutes. You've had plenty o' time t' explain."

"I said there's no time to explain and I stand by that!"

Thankfully, as they drew close enough to the diamond to see the field through the fence surrounding it, Sunset found the perfect way to cut off that argument before it could get going yet again. "There's Flash!" she cried, pointing at home plate.

Their target crouched behind it and the catcher, wearing a similar mask. He spared them the barest glance and shake of his head before the pitcher threw. Once the batter swung and missed, he called, "Strike two!"

Looking over the field, Sunset soon spotted why he was there. "First Base!"

"Who?" said Fluttershy.

Sunset pointed at the benches on the other side of the field, where one of the boys waiting to bat looked like a preteen version of Flash. "Flash's kid brother. Good kid; he never liked me when Flash and I were dating. I should've known; Flash loves volunteering for umpire duty."

"Ah. A sport," Rarity said with clear distaste. "Rainbow?"

Dash looked at her like she was some bizarre alien species. "It's baseball."

Rarity nodded. "Thank you," she said sincerely. "I don't suppose you could swap in for Flash?"

That got a shrug. "I can call strikes and balls, but I don't want to get in the way of sibling bonding."

"Some things're sacred," Applejack said with a nod.

"Plus, I'm pretty sure half of the players still think girls have cooties." Dash gestured towards the closer benches, where a few boys were staring at them with a mix of awe and fear. "I'd have awesome ones, but still."

"Well, I suppose we could work around this if we knew why we needed Flash..." Rarity turned to give Pinkie a meaningful look, only to find her missing.

A cry of "There's no time to explain!" came from the concession stand.

Rarity sighed. "Of course there isn't."

In the meantime, a player had gotten a good hit on the ball, and a series of throws concluded at home plate with a dramatic slide. Flash sliced his arms through the air, called "Out!" and prompted a shuffling of players.

Sunset smiled, not least because she'd reached the limits of her baseball knowledge. "At least it's over."

Dash shook her head. "Not if that scoreboard's accurate." Sunset followed her pointing finger to a display she hadn't noticed. One with more blanks than numbers, even after another "0" lit up. "Middle of the fourth. Little League games go for six innings, so there's still almost half of the game left."

"Oh." Sunset took a deep breath, running her fingers through her hair and trying not to think about time compression spells. "Okay, new plan. Pinkie can keep an eye on the game and let us know when Flash is available."

A cheer went up from the bleachers as Pinkie waved her arms, a differently colored giant foam finger over each hand and a jumbo tub of popcorn in her lap. "Go both teams!"

"That works." Sunset turned to the others, still gathered around her. "In the meantime, check places you've taken the princess. Anywhere she might know in this world, any possibilities we can eliminate."

After several nods and affirmations, the group split up.

Sunset stayed in place, opening her contacts list and calling a number that had been given to her only for dire emergencies. If this didn't count, she didn't know what did.

"Sunset," Vice Principal Luna said with measured neutrality. "I take it you have yet to track down our wayward 'exchange student'."

"That's why I'm calling, ma'am. We've hit a delay with our current plan, so we're trying to cover as much ground as we can in the meantime. And, well, you do have a set of keys to Canterlot High."

"I do, yes." Sunset could practically hear the rising eyebrow. "Notably, she does not."

"Hey, if I could..." Sunset trailed off as her mind, already putting together several other contingency plans, realized just what her mouth was saying to whom. "Um..."

"As long as you haven't significant-pause ummed since that fateful Fall Formal, I will overlook that."

"Thanks, ma'am."

"It's the least I can do given the circumstances," Luna said with just a hint of light-heartedness. "Meet me at the front entrance; we'll have this sorted out shortly."

---

This wasn't the first time guards had been dispatched to Princess Twilight's childhood home, nor was it the first time the two guards approaching it had been here. That had been in a much less official capacity, back when they were still in the academy, as had been Shining Armor. Indeed, they had been chosen for their familiarity with the subject.

Valorous Stance rang the doorbell and both stallions set themselves into the patient, familiar stance that could wait out continental drift.

Twilight Velvet proved more prompt. After she opened the door and took one look at the identical armored unicorns, her mouth curved into a small smile. "Valor. Resolve."

Two trained soldiers stared at a middle-aged housewife. Unyielding Resolve broke first. "Uh, Mrs. Velvet."

She cleared the doorway, beckoning them in with a wave of a foreleg. "Please, come in. I made lemon squares."

"Ma'am," Valor tried, "we're here on official—"

Velvet turned her gaze to him, and coming eye to eye with the will that had raised Twilight Sparkle and Shining Armor nearly sent the stallion to his knees. "I said, 'Come in.'"

After a moment to steady himself, Valor gulped and nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

The interior was largely as the guards remembered it, perhaps with a few more bookshelves. It was hard to tell when the house was practically wallpapered with them. The kitchen at least made room for appliances and counter space amid the many cookbooks.

Both stallions tried not to think of crossing the house as a forced march. Neither succeeded.

Resolve spoke up once they were seated. "Mrs. Velvet—"

She floated a plate and a fork in front of each of them, the former loaded with a generous serving of sugar-dusted lemon curd. "I'm not answering anything until you at least try these. I've been tweaking the seasoning in the crust."

"Ma'am—"

"You were always such well-behaved colts." Velvet's smile didn't shift an inch, yet the temperature seemed to drop twenty degrees. "I'm sure you weren't involved in any house parties Shining might have had while my husband and I were away. Certainly none that left red wine stains on the carpet."

As one, each guards cut a corner off of his lemon square and brought it to his mouth. "It's delicious, ma'am," Valor reported.

Velvet beamed, and the guards dared to breathe. "Glad to hear it."

"Is Princess Twilight here, Mrs. Velvet?" said Resolve.

She glanced upstairs. "For what it's worth, I would have gotten her out of the house before dusk." Both guards started to rise. Velvet's expression fell. "Sit down, gentlecolts."

It wasn't a spell that made their legs give out from under them. It was sheer Authority with a capital A, the same force of personality that both stallions had experienced from Celestia herself, a tone of voice that went directly for ancient herd instincts and said "Obey."

"Mrs. Velvet—" Resolve tried again.

"No." She sat, still scowling. It was a circular table, yet she was at its head. "Gentlecolts, you need to hear this, and you're not the only ones who do. I have not seen my daughter this upset since she was eight years old and had just gotten her first B. She needs time away from the throne, and she will get it whether we like it or not. Dragging her back like a convict, even if any of us could, would only delay the inevitable and lead to an even longer absence."

"Ma'am, Equestria needs its princess," Valor insisted.

"And its princess needs the peace of mind necessary to rule it. You guard her physical welfare, gentlecolts. I've looked after her emotional welfare since well before you swore your oaths. She needs more than just crying into her fillyhood pillow." Velvet smirked. "Fortunately, the Princess of Friendship has finally realized that she's allowed to call on her friends and family for a few personal favors, not just the other way around."

The guards shared an uneasy glance. Valor looked back at Velvet and nodded. "We'll convey the message, ma'am, but we do still need to get her back to the castle."

Resolve glanced at the ceiling. "If we may?"

"Oh, that." Velvet shrugged. "You can see if she left any leads in her room, but she left half an hour before you knocked."

Both stallions got to their hooves. "She what!?"

"But you—"

"I never said she was still here." Velvet's gaze went distant, looking back at memories. "Besides, I've dodged enough authorities with A. K. to appreciate the value of a good diversion."

After another traded glance, Resolve said what both stallions were thinking. "What?"

She waved it off. "Oh, that's all in the past. And the statutes of limitations have all expired. Another lemon bar for the road?"

---

Kibitz adjusted his monocle and sighed, the wind ruffling his voluminous mustache as he looked over report after report from the guard patrols across the city. Really, he should have retired alongside the diarchs. Raven had learned much of his hard-won wisdom, and young Spike could likely teach both of them a thing or two on the care and feeding of alicorns. But momentum was a harsh mistress, especially for a royal seneschal. And so, not for the first time, Kibitz found himself at the head of a rapidly expanding search party seeking a wayward princess.

The door to his office opened yet again, and the flutter of pages came to rest atop the stack in his in tray. He didn't bother looking up; he'd have never gotten anything done if he did every time something new came in. "Thank you, gentlecolts," Kibitz said automatically.

The expected answer of departing hoofbeats never came.

He spared a glance at the fidgeting unicorns. Odd that they were so nervous; their rank insignias implied far more experience than he'd expect from that level of jitters. "That will be all."

"We, uh, brought lemon bars, sir." Strictly speaking, Kibitz was outside of the guard's chain of command. Practically speaking, the stallion who made sure the princesses stuck to their schedule outranked everpony else as well.

He considered the plate for a moment, then pulled up their report and gave it a cursory overview. The moment he saw one name in particular, he understood. "Courtesy of Twilight Velvet."

"Yes, sir," said either Valorous Stance or Unyielding Resolve.

"Kind of her to remember my nut allergy. She'd been making pecan squares when Mi Amore Cadenza last went missing." Kibitz sighed and floated a bar off the plate. "I should have sent somepony to her the moment this whole kerfuffle began. Age truly does show no mercy."

The guards left him to the imposing stack, likely assigned to hoof out the treats on pain of maternal disappointment. Only a fool underestimated the will that raised both Twilight Sparkle and Shining Armor, after all, and even fools heeded her polite requests. And the treat did provide a pleasant counterpoint to the bitter conclusion that Kibitz soon reached.

Princess Twilight had left not just Canterlot, but the entire province of Cantershire. The stallions had found a few potential leads, but that still left the remainder of Equestria and beyond for her to sequester herself.

With another sigh, he dug out Raven's initial summary of the mirror double. A photograph of an understandably terrified young mare stared back at him, paper-clipped to the folder.

"Pray forgive us, my dear," he muttered. "We have much to ask of you."

Author's Note:

Human Dash is worried about the overload that first happened in the EqG short "Overpowered."

The only canon data we have on Trixie's mother is one panel from the comics, suggesting not only that she lives in Canterlot (or at least escorted Trixie when Sunburst's parents couldn't be bothered to make the trip) but that Trixie spent at least some time at Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns.

First Base is a background colt (seen here, far left) who hasn't actually appeared in Equestria Girls, but his coloration is close enough to Flash that I've seen a familial relation between them proposed in the past.

I am fond of the idea that Daring Do's early adventures involved her future editor. (Note the awards on the top left of the linked panel.) This concept is especially well demonstrated in Spectrum of Lightning. (Not canon to this story, just a great read.)

Kibitz is from the IDW comics. I hadn't originally intended to bring him in, but it felt wrong for a fracas in the palace to not involve him.

Comments

[Herald of Opera]

"Yes, yes, the two of you are troglodytes who wouldn't know what to do with social media if it bit you on the bum, and I love you both dearly."

Sunset: To be fair, I grew up on another planet that has only just now invented the telephone.

[Venerable Ro]

This might have been resolved faster if yon guards had mentioned the emergency body double situation...

[Kiue Jin]

11890386
No, I suspect telling her that would end the monarchy as Velvet launched a coup.

[TheGJ90]

The (former) Princesses, when they figure out WHY Twilight ran off, will no doubt feel a terrible sense of guilt and shame.

Reminder: Season 9 was the end result of good intentions, making the most of a bad situation, and G4's long-standing behind-the-scenes problems (ex: communication issues, ill-conceived Hasbro mandates, and the revolving door that was the writing team).

[Thought Prism]

Applejack rolled her eyes. "We've been drivin' an' walkin' for almost twenty minutes. You've had plenty o' time t' explain."

"I said there's no time to explain and I stand by that!"

I was expecting a 4th wall break here where she complains about the scene break which would have skipped over her explanation had she given one.

[Stahlseele]

Velvet would probably let Equestria burn if she thought it was best for her Daughter.

[Neece]

The princess might need get rest, but going " this shit I'm out!" in the middle of the night is a rather horrible way of doing it that will earn her a lot of justified face slaps with horseshoes.

Mare could've reached for help. Arranged a vacation. Gotten some therapy. But, well, Twiggy wouldn't be Twiggy if she had that much self awareness, would she?

Curious to see what shenanigans will come next!

PS: Trixie's effort to get that illusion going is a rather nice worldbuilding touch

[Speckle]

Firstly, SQUEE!

Secondly, I need to get these off my chest:

but to be fair, this Trixie 'didn't look up to more enthusiastic one'

Trixie nodded. "I still fell like that sometime.

My OCD strikes again

"First Base!"

"Who?" said Fluttershy.

My Mom's favorite comedy duo and skit

Unyielding Resolve broke first.

After a moment to steady himself, Valor gulped and nodded.

The irony is so perfect

And oh my God, I love Twilight's mom Lemon squares make everything better 🍋

This all begs the question, though: what the hay were Celestia and Luna thinking? -_-

[Herald of Opera]

11890415
Pretty sure that is the fourth wall break, just more subtle about it.

[B_Munro]

11890404
Season 9 (and 8, for that matter) made some... interesting choices, and I remain impressed by how the fanfic community has managed to deal with them.

[Lurks-no-More]

Looking over the field, Sunset soon spotted why he was there. "First Base!"

"Who?" said Fluttershy.

What you did there. I see it.

[Malandy]

So much history and backstory being revealed all in order to find Twilight!

That Twilight Velvet has history with Daring Do! Nice use of the comic!

What would Velvet think about the plan to use the mirror-clone of her daughter like this? Does she not know?

Then there's questions about the human version of Twilight Velvet...

...

She giggled. "Sorry, reflex. It's really simple. We're just going to need one of Rarity's sleeping masks, a bucket, and Flash Sentry."

They're gonna blindfold Flash and have him lead them to Twilight, somehow??

...

Cool First Base!

Hope human Twilight will do okay, and this delay in finding pony Twilight won't be too bad...

[The Voice in the Water]

Pinkie's plan can only end in chaos and confetti.

Also, Velvet scares me.

[ScisetShimmerEvan]

"Do I have to pay Sunset's rent?"

That's not what Rarity meant!

She giggled. "Sorry, reflex. It's really simple. We're just going to need one of Rarity's sleeping masks, a bucket, and Flash Sentry."

I'm just wondering what those will be used for?

She let her actions speak for her from there, firing a magenta bolt and setting off twin booms that by all rights should have blown out Twilight's eardrums, to say nothing of her ribs. Yet all she felt were a pair of shoves. And by the time the oddly glittery smoke cleared, the satchel charges had been replaced with a pair of purple wings. Twilight had to peer closely at them to spot the slight transparency.

Still an odd addition just to make everyone think she's an alicorn.

""Well, I suppose we could work around this if we knew why we needed Flash..." Rarity turned to give Pinkie a meaningful look, only to find her missing.

"Well,*

Sunset stayed in place, opening her contacts list and calling a number that had been given to her only fire dire emergencies. If this didn't count, she didn't know what did.

only for dire emergencies.*

"Sunset," Vice Principal Luna said with measured neutrality. "I take it you have yet to track down our wayward 'exchange student'."

Was thinking the number was Celestia's but Luna was my second guess.

"No." She sat, still scowling. It was a circular table, yet she was at its head. "Gentlecolts, you need to hear this, and you're not the only ones who do. I have not seen my daughter this upset since she was eight years old and had just gotten her first B. She needs time away from the throne, and she will get it whether we like it or not. Dragging her back like a convict, even if any of us could, would only delay the inevitable and lead to an even longer absence."

Wait, so the princess is still in Equestria!?!

"Oh, that." Velvet shrugged. "You can see if she left any leads in her room, but she left half an hour before you knocked."

Then where did she go!?!

"Pray forgive us, my dear," he muttered. "We have much to ask of you."

I have a bad feeling about this.

[The Iguana Man]

...to the baseball diamond that Pinkie homed in on like a bloodhound.

Fluttershy looked like she wished she was holding the leash.

Both out of apprehension toward the plan and for other reasons she desperately told herself weren't there and totally involved Pinkie also wearing more than just that.

"Flash's kid brother. Good kid; he never liked me when Flash and I were dating.

If this were anyone else, I'd be very concerned, but coming from Sunset that's weirdly heartwarming - seeing how comfortable she is talking about her old self without downplaying it.

11890449

Huh? No, he's on second - not even mentioned in the story.

Sunset stayed in place, opening her contacts list and calling a number that had been given to her only fire dire emergencies. If this didn't count, she didn't know what did.

for

***

Some interesting developments, definitely. Though I do wonder whether Velvet confirming Twi was there means they can call off the search in the human world, since it seems unlikely she could have slipped through the mirror after her disappearance was discovered. Admittedly, Velvet could have been lying to misdirect the investigation, but this still seems like information Sunset and the Girls could use.

[Herald of Opera]

11890969

it seems unlikely she could have slipped through the mirror after her disappearance was discovered.

Spring Breakdown was alluded to, so there is at least one other portal she could have used. And it leads to a deserted tropical island, at that.

[Mystic Sunrise]

She glanced upstairs. "For what it's worth, I would have gotten her out of the house before dusk." Both guards started to rise. Velvet's expression fell. "Sit down, gentlecolts."

It wasn't a spell that made their legs give out from under them. It was sheer Authority with a capital A, the same force of personality that both stallions had experienced from Celestia herself, a tone of voice that went directly for ancient herd instincts and said "Obey."

"Mrs. Velvet—" Resolve tried again.

"No." She sat, still scowling. It was a circular table, yet she was at its head. "Gentlecolts, you need to hear this, and you're not the only ones who do. I have not seen my daughter this upset since she was eight years old and had just gotten her first B. She needs time away from the throne, and she will get it whether we like it or not. Dragging her back like a convict, even if any of us could, would only delay the inevitable and lead to an even longer absence."

"Ma'am, Equestria needs its princess," Valor insisted.

"And its princess needs the peace of mind necessary to rule it. You guard her physical welfare, gentlecolts. I've looked after her emotional welfare since well before you swore your oaths. She needs more than just crying into her fillyhood pillow." Velvet smirked. "Fortunately, the Princess of Friendship has finally realized that she's allowed to call on her friends and family for a few personal favors, not just the other way around."

And that right there. ladies and gentlemen, is the most dangerous and powerful force in the multiverse. A mother protecting her children and in full on mama bear mode .