Come on Shimmer, gotta focus.

I stared down at the page that should have been full of math homework but instead looked more like a surreal art project invading from the margins. It’s not like I wanted to fail my class, but plans for the weekend drew my mind away to the awesome party Pinkie Pie would be hosting tomorrow night. How could I possibly focus on trigonometry when every shape I drew kept morphing into a balloon or slice of cake? Having friends sure was nice, but it really put a damper on my studies.

Background noise from the stereo filled in the gaps between commercials on the TV. The extra distraction probably wasn’t helping my concentration. I could try and make some kind of excuse that the dog ate my homework, except Spike went back to Equestria over a week ago, and I lived with the Principal and her sister—I still can’t believe that foreign exchange student story actually worked. It sure wasn’t the same as Canterlot Castle, but their house had everything I needed—and it was free. Even so, studying under Celestia sure was easier back when I was a pony.

Dinner break. Gotta stop for gas.

I tossed the math book aside and walked over to the kitchen. The sisters went out to eat, and I was on my own tonight. Nothing really sounded good though. It was nights like tonight where a sampler of local grasses might have hit the spot, but this human body had an unpleasant way of disagreeing with my former equine diet. A little fruit—maybe some toast—I wasn’t in a position where I could be all that picky.

Vegetable lasagna! Yes!

I thought we’d cleaned up the last of that days ago. Thank goodness there was a slice hiding in the back of the fridge. I checked it for mold and gave it a sniff. That’s another thing I miss—my sense of smell is terrible. I can barely tell the difference between fresh and boiled cabbage, let alone a leftover slice of lasagna that’s still good to eat versus one that went bad more than a month ago.

I brushed the thought aside given the rumble in my belly. I was as hungry as a horse, and I wasn’t going to let even a slightly questionable lasagna go to waste. The microwave took a few seconds to zap my dinner into shape. That’s something I’ll never be able to live without if I ever think about going home. Although, I’m sure if I put my mind to it, I could always put together some kind of magic oven. I wonder how well hay reheats?

The time ticked down to zero and out popped my piping hot dish. Staring at the plate, I couldn’t help but facepalm when the knock came from the front door.

“Always at dinner. If it’s not the phone, it’s the door. Why can’t people interrupt homework time instead?”

I tossed the plate back in the oven and went to go see how quickly I could dismiss whoever wanted to visit this late at night. It was probably someone wanting to see one or both of the sisters, so I had a pretty good chance of making it back to my food before it would need another zap. On the other hand, it might be one of my friends. Not that I didn’t love them all to pieces, but the personal time I had going tonight was something I needed more than clingy friends. Unless, of course, they could help with math, then I would be okay with a visit.

I opened the door.

It took a moment to process what I was seeing. “Oh, no,” I said, trying to shut the door as quickly as I could. How stupid of me to open up without checking the peephole first. Now her dumb foot was stuck in the jamb.

“Let me in, Shimmer. I just want to talk.”

I held the door in a losing battle against the wedge of her foot. “No way, Aria. I don’t want anything to do with the Dazzlings ever again.”

“Hear me out, Sunset. It’s not what you think.”

I grunted and heaved my entire weight against the door. It wasn’t much leverage and I certainly wasn’t going anywhere with the giant boot rock in the way. “Move your foot and get lost, Aria. I don’t want any trouble tonight.”

“I’m dying.”

I rolled to the side and flung the door open. “You’re what?!”

“More or less.” Aria Blaze strutted past heading straight for the good chair in the living room. “It’s not like I can actually die here in this cage. What’s for dinner? Swamp-water stew?”

I shook my head and slammed the front door shut. The former siren clearly owned round one. This match was going the distance, however. I stormed after her, mentally preparing to physically toss her out on her tail if it came to that. She was about my size and I was pretty sure I could take her down if I had to.

Rounding the couch, I laid right in. “Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna will be back in an hour. You can come back later or make an appointment. Right now, I think you need to leave.” I really needed to work on my delivery. It was all so much easier when I had no idea what it meant to be a friend. Darn friendship getting in the way of trying to throw someone out.

“Why would I want to talk to them?” Aria gave me one of her signature smirks, but other than that looked a little unsure of herself. The way she sat on her hands without crossing her legs or her arms caught me a little off-guard.

“Don’t tell me you came over to talk to me.” I gave her the stare. “It’s not like we’re friends or anything. Why don’t you go talk to your gal pals, Adagio and Sonata?”

“I can’t talk to them,” Aria pleaded with her wide eyes quickly breaking down her tough girl facade. “We broke up.”

“Heh. I guess you want me to feel sorry for you then?” I folded my arms and glared at the intruder. “That is, of course, if you aren’t just lying to me again.”

Aria slouched forward with her elbows on her knees staring at the floor. “Look. I’m sorry that I lied to you. You weren’t going to let me in and I had no other choice. You’re the only one that can help me.” She raised her head and looked at me straight on. “Just hear me out, okay?”

“Fine.” I plopped down on the couch and crossed my legs and arms. The roll of my eyes probably wasn’t necessary, but I did that too. “Tell me why you’re here so I can get back to my dinner and hopefully finish my homework sometime tonight.”

Aria giggled. Given the current situation, I couldn’t help but wonder why. Was this the part where she would fess up to lying again? I almost wanted to feel sorry for her, but I couldn’t quite get past the recent battle we fought. Still got a lot to learn about this friendship thing and Twilight’s a whole lot better at forgiveness than me. Having a former demon pony sitting in the next chair, one minute on the verge of tears, and the next giggling like a lunatic didn’t sit right with the old self-preservation instincts. There were a lot of ways in which this wouldn’t end well for one or both of us.

“What’s so funny?” I asked with a flip of my hair.

“Just you.” Aria flopped back in her chair. “Here I thought you were smart and knew what you were doing. I guess I was wrong.”

“I’m not going to sit here and take your insults.” Standing up, I pointed toward the door. “You can leave right now for all I care, little miss Aria Blaze.”

Aria just shook her head. “Sunset, how old do you think I am?”

“I have no idea.” The game was starting to annoy me even before it started. “I don’t see what that has to do with anything.”

“Humor me.” Aria’s smirk was back. “At least tell me how old you are—or more precisely, how old you think you are.”

“I’ll be 21 next month.” I still didn’t see how it mattered. At this point I was just going to buy some time until the sisters got back. They could deal with the ex-siren and I could get back to my homework.

“And how long have you been here?” Aria continued with her questions.

“A little over thirty-six moons,” I replied as politely as I could through gritted teeth. “Why does it matter?”

“I doubt you’ll believe me, but what if I told you I have been here for nineteen-thousand, two-hundred and sixty moons?” Aria’s evil grin looked slightly less menacing given her skewed pony tails and total disregard for sitting like a lady.

I sat back down, careful not to stare. “If I didn’t know you were a siren, I’d be laughing at you right now.”

Aria leapt to her feet and lunged forward. She stopped just an inch away as my reflexes yanked me away into the seatback cushion and my hands shot up to guard my face. “Don’t you ever call me that again! I’m a pony—same as you!”

“O—kay.” I peeked over my hands and set my feet back on the floor as Aria disengaged and returned to her chair. “Whatever you say, Aria.” I could feel my heart pounding in my chest. Adrenaline shot through my veins as my body’s delayed reaction ran its course. Flight or fight, and somehow I chose flight.

Aria grabbed my math textbook and flung it across the room. The binding snapped as it hit the wall leaving a dent in the wood panel. “You’re living in your own worst nightmare, Sunset Shimmer, and you’re too dumb to even realize it. Adagio was right, I am screwed.”

“Settle down, Aria, or I’m calling the cops!” This was getting out of hand. If I could trust that either of the sisters actually had their cell phones or that either of them were charged, I would be making that call right now. As it was, I could already see Luna’s phone sitting in the key basket on the counter. Help could be minutes away, or hours.

“You think I care about the cops? You think any of this even matters?” Aria shouted as she slammed herself back in her chair and buried her head between her legs. “This whole place is a prison! Why is that so hard to see?”

I took a hard look at the broken girl sobbing though tortured gasps of air to support her whiny moan. She was a lot like me—I was just too stubborn to admit it, until now. Maybe Twilight had taught me something. Maybe it was my turn to pay it forward. In any case, I knew one thing for certain. Aria needed a friend.

“Aria,” I said in the most calm and steady voice I could manage, “how can I help?”

---

I lifted up my head and reined in the tears. This girl was the only chance I had to make it home, and I wasn’t doing myself any favors by fighting with her. I needed her on my side. More importantly, I needed to find out if she knew a way out of here.

Adagio’s ego would never let her try my plan. Sonata was just too dumb to understand. This pony knew something, and I was going to find out what that was. Without my magic, options were pretty hard to come by. I had to gain her trust if there was any chance of ending this nightmare.

“Can we start over?” I asked as I drew my arm across my face. Makeup was the last of my worries and it really didn’t matter what I looked like anyway. Maybe a rabid raccoon would seem less threatening.

Sunset just sat there tapping her finger on the armrest. “Alright,” she finally relented, “with a few conditions. No more lies and no more crazy.”

“Done and done,” I shot back without a moments hesitation. “I haven’t eaten in forever, and that smell is driving me nuts. If I’m going to have to keep it together, I need to eat. So, what have you got for dinner?”

So much for earning her trust. I barge into her place, nearly take off her head, and then demand she serve me food. Smooth, Aria. Real smooth. At this rate, you’ll be back home in no time.

“I don’t know,” Sunset replied as she shrugged her shoulders. That silly little grin of hers looked even more silly now. “My food was ready to eat when you barged in, but I guess you can take a look in the fridge and help yourself to whatever you like. I don’t think the sisters will mind.”

“I’ll just have whatever you’re having.” No need to be picky about it. Food was food. “Unless you’re having meat. In that case, I’ll have a salad.”

Sunset laughed. “I guess you are a pony after all. Come on, let’s see what we can find.”

I’d never seen a fridge so full, and yet, so empty. Half the stuff was old enough to have spawned a new colony of intelligent life. The rest was a barely edible byproduct of the most evil form of potential nutrition in this jail—soy. Luckily, I found an apple that wasn’t completely rotten and some grape juice to wash it down. Just that little bit helped calm my nerves and clear my head. Hunger drives some pretty raw emotions.

I stared across the table as the young pony girl gobbled down her meal. One question burned in my clear thinking brain. “Sunset, why are you here?” I asked. “I mean, what did you do back in Equestria to get sent here?” The question was blunt, but I had a curiosity that needed to be feed answers.

“What do you mean?” Sunset replied before swallowing the last bite. “I came here on my own. Nobody forced me. I figured out how the mirror worked and came through the portal to get away from my old life.” She paused, and I could tell she was still holding back. “At least, that’s what happened the first time.”

“The… first time?” I stuck a finger in my ear to make sure I heard that right. “Do you mean you’ve been back to Equestria since you first set hoof through the portal?” Please tell me I’m not dreaming. She may be naive, but I don’t care how deluded she was as long as she knew a way out.

“Well, yeah. Once.” Sunset put down her fork and took a long drink. “I was the one that figured out the activation spell for the portal. I wasn’t stupid—I put in a failsafe. I planned to go back once I had enough power to take over Canterlot. Things sort of didn’t work out like I planned though.”

I jumped to my feet, eager to know more. “Can you open the portal again?” I begged. I must have looked pathetic.

Sunset crossed her arms and gave me the look. “Of course, but that’s not going to happen without talking to the Princess first.”

I sat back down. Another roadblock. I had waited over sixteen-hundred years—what’s a few more? “How long do we have to wait for that?”

“I can send a message whenever I want, but before I do, I want to know more about you—and why you’re so eager to get back to Equestria.”

There it was—the big question: can I be trusted? Of course I knew the answer. My problem was getting Sunset to believe me despite all my lies. That was going to be a pretty big bite to chew off. At least I wasn’t starving anymore.

I took a deep breath. Here goes nothing. “Sunset, I want to die.”

Her reaction was exactly what I expected. “Why would you say something like that? Didn’t you promise no more lies or crazy talk?”

“It’s not a lie, and it’s not crazy.” I stood up and started walking back to the living room. “Can we go find someplace more comfy to talk? This might take a while.”

My story wasn’t all that complicated, but what I had to say would probably rock her little fantasy world. I had to take it slow or risk sounding like a nutjob. It was obvious she had no clue where she was or what that meant. If I was going to get her help, I couldn’t straight up attack everything she held to be true. I had to rattle the walls before I could tear out the foundation.

Slipping into the couch across from the chair where I took up temporary residence, Sunset launched the first volley. “So, Aria, why do you want to go back?”

“Let me explain.” I bit my lip and and exhaled through my nose. “I’m not lying and I’m not crazy. What I said was the truth. I want to go back to Equestria so I can die. Believe me, if you ever live to be sixteen-hundred and twenty-five years old, you’d want to die too. Especially when almost all of that time was spent locked up in this cage.”

Sunset smoothed out her skirt and tried to maintain eye contact with me. “I guess when you put it like that it makes a little sense. But, why do you need to go back to Equestria—to die?”

“Because, pony girl, you can’t die here in Starswirl’s prison.”

“Wait, what do you mean?” Sunset squirmed in her chair. “How is that possible and why do you keep referring to this place as a prison?”

“I’ll try and keep it simple. You just try and understand, okay?” I pulled back my hair with both hands at once. It took everything I had to keep from bursting at the seams. “This entire world is one big prison.”

I stopped for a moment to let that thought sink in. The look on Sunset’s face spoke volumes. I could see the wheels turning in her head. She was still having trouble putting the pieces together.

What have I got to lose? I went in for the kill. “In case you didn’t notice, you’re an inmate in the most elaborate prisoner reformation system ever concocted by pony magic. Starswirl built this place to ‘help’ prisoners he deemed ‘worthy of reform’. All the others got sent to Tartarus. Seems he forgot about us at some point along the way.”

Sunset’s silence finally broke. “I don’t get it. There’s hundreds of people here. Are you saying we’re all inmates in some giant magic prison? Frankly, I find that a bit hard to believe.”

“Look around, Shimmer. The truth is right there if you open your eyes to see it. Don’t make me spell it all out for you.” I knew she wasn’t as dumb as Sonata, but I had to wonder why it was so hard for her to see what was right in front of her face. “C’mon now, you’re a smart pony.” A little positive reinforcement couldn’t hurt.

“Sorry, Aria. I’m going to need a little more proof if you want me to believe your story.”

I threw my arms in the air, frustration getting the better of me once more. “Fine. Don’t say I didn’t warn you though. The truth is going to hurt and I’m not the one you should blame. If you want, I’ll prove it to you.”

“I’m all ears.” Sunset leaned forward and crossed her arms over her knees. “This story better be good.”

I take it back, this was worse than talking to Sonata. It was more like arguing with Adagio. “I did a lot of horrible things back in Equestria, but before I became a siren, I was just a pony like everypony else. When I was captured and tossed through the portal, I was given a few instructions. At first, I blew them off. As far as I was concerned, it was a one-way trip since the door only opens from the other side.”

“That still doesn’t explain anything,” Sunset interrupted.

“I wasn’t finished.” I rolled my eyes and folded my arms. “I’m trying to explain and you aren’t even listening.”

“Whatever.” Sunset crossed her legs and sank back in her seat. “Just, get to the point already.”

“The point is that we’re caught in a bubble. Time doesn’t change here. Nobody grows old; nobody dies.”

“Well that’s a lie,” Sunset countered with a smirk. “I know for a fact that all my friends have grown up.”

I slapped a palm to my forehead. “I’m not talking about them. I’m talking about us. We’re the inmates—they’re part of the system.”

“Okay, now you’re just talking crazy.” Sunset stood up. “First you say I’m stupid. Then you attack me. Now you’re bringing my friends into it? I’m done with this. You need to leave.” Her outstretched finger pointed to the door.

“Fine.” This wasn’t going anywhere. There was only one last thing I could say to try and convince her. “If you think I’m crazy, then answer this: If everyone here is just a mirror of a pony back home, why haven’t you ever met your human double?”

Sunset sat back down.

“You can’t answer that, can you? You’ve never met your double.”

She ran her fingers through her hair searching for an answer.

Time for phase two.

“This whole world is fake, Sunset Shimmer. Everyone here is just a reflection of a real pony—none of them are real. When you stepped through the portal, you became your mirror image. You can’t die, you won’t age, and you’re stuck here forever in the living nightmare of endless high school hell.”

Something was starting to click.

“Look at me, Sunset. I’m just like you. I’m a prisoner in a make believe world stuck in the body of a high school girl for the past sixteen-hundred plus years. You said it yourself—you’re a twenty-one-year-old pony. Take another look at yourself. Right now, you’re an eighteen-year-old high school senior and you will be forever unless you know a way out of here.”

“That…makes total sense,” Sunset exhaled along with her dwindling disbelief. “Why didn’t I see it before?”

“It’s part of the magic.” I ventured a smile. She was on my level now. Her whole world had just collapsed around her. “Kind of like these prison uniforms—ever wonder why you’re always wearing the same clothes every day?”

“The whole clothes thing did seem kind of strange…” Sunset picked at the edge of her skirt. “I just thought it was part of the local culture. As a pony, I never gave it a second thought being naked all the time.”

“I’ve done my time, Sunset. I want to go home and live out the rest of my life in peace. No games. I just want to grow old and die.” I stared down at my hands. “I sorta miss my hooves as well.”

Sunset chuckled. “It may sound silly, but I kinda miss my tail.”

“So it’s settled then? You know a way out of here and you’re going to help me get home?” All these years in limbo, locked in a jail without a key. Could it really be happening? Was it too good to be true?

“I can’t promise anything, Aria.” Sunset got up and started walking toward the hallway. “I’ll be right back. I just need to get something from my room.”

“Can I come with you?” I stood up as well. Being so close, I couldn’t let my ticket home out of my sight.

“Sure, if you promise to behave,” Sunset replied waving her arm in a ‘follow me’ gesture.

---

My journal sat undisturbed right where I left it. Occasionally it would glow and buzz indicating that I had a message waiting from my friend, Twilight. With Aria right on my tail, I walked over to my nightstand and scooped it up. I also pulled a pen from the drawer before settling up on my bed.

“So what’s the plan?” Aria asked as she plopped herself down at my vanity. “You got some kind of magic key to unlock the portal?”

“No, but I have a friend that does.” Maybe this was wrong and I shouldn’t drag Twilight into it. Still, if Aria was right, I was just as much a prisoner here as she was. “Before I ask her to open the portal though, I want to be absolutely certain that you are telling the truth. How can I trust you?”

“You can’t.” Aria got up and crossed over to the bed where she sat down next to me. “I got real good at telling lies and making ponies believe anything I wanted. Of course, the magic was a big part of that.” She held a hand up to the broken necklace chain around her neck. “Without my magic, I can’t make you believe a word I say. You just have to trust me.”

Now I was confused. Was she telling the truth? Did she have enough magic left to make me believe some part of her story? The whole perception that I was having this struggle suggested I was thinking for myself. Twilight was only a few strokes away. Maybe she could help? The only way to know for sure was to let this play out and see where it led.

“Alright,” I said shaking my head out of the clouds. “I’ll write a message to Princess Twilight. If she believes your story, she can open the portal and we can go home.”

I stopped right there. If Aria was right, then I needed to ask one more thing before I brought in the Princess. I wouldn’t have thought to ask her before, but the idea of writing a letter to my friend jarred the thought loose.

“Aria?” I asked. “What about Adagio and Sonata?”

“What about them?” Aria’s cocky reply caught me off-guard. “Sonata’s too scared to go home and Adagio knows she can’t take over Equestria, so she’s settled on trying to take over the prison instead.”

“That’s not really fair to your friends if we leave them here, is it?” The moral quandary could be debated, but given my recent brush with the power of friendship, I wanted to lean toward saving them too.

Aria grunted and folded her arms across her chest. “They aren’t my friends, so what does it matter?”

I shook my head. “What do you mean, ‘they aren’t your friends’? Haven’t you been together, like, forever?”

“Yeah, but we aren’t friends. The only thing that kept us together was the magic.” Aria fumbled with the strand around her neck. “We used to be friends back when we were ponies, but the siren spell changed all that.”

I set the book back down on the side away from Aria and laid the pen on top. “Okay, if you want to earn my trust, I need to hear the whole story. What happened with the magic? Tell me everything.”

“There isn’t a whole lot to tell, honestly.” Aria dipped her chin looking down at the shattered jewel clutch that used to be the focus of her power. “We were just three young fillies with raging hormones—same as everypony else. We had our eyes on a few colts, but they never seemed to be interested in hooking up with us. That’s when we made our big mistake.”

“How old were you, and how big a mistake are we talking about here?” I didn’t like where this was going.

“It’s not like that, trust me,” Aria scoffed. “We were just a trio of messed up earth ponies looking to score a date. Our big mistake was getting involved with magic.”

“Okay, well, that’s a relief.” Granted, magic could be a pretty tricky subject as well. “I’m just glad were aren’t talking something super crazy. I totally understand magic—I’m a unicorn, if you didn’t know.”

“Yeah… You don’t understand anything about this magic though.” Aria hopped down off the bed and began to pace across the floor. “He said it would solve all our problems. He told us we could have anything we wanted. All we had to do was let the sirens take over.”

“Didn’t that sound too good to be true?” I asked. “I mean, why would you trust somepony who said magic could solve all your problems?”

“We we young. We were stupid.” Aria stopped her circular dance. “Did I mention that we were earth ponies?” She resumed her pace. “What did we know about magic? For all we knew, horns and wings and whatever shiny crystals he gave us would solve all our problems in the blink of an eye. Like I said, it was the biggest mistake of my life. I’ve been paying for it ever since.”

“So what happened next?” I tried to get the conversation back on track.

“You know the rest. I became a siren—creature of magic that uses her voice to make everypony else do whatever she wants—enemy to all and friend to none. I did some pretty awful stuff back then, and then I got locked up in here. The door closed, the key got tossed, and the rest is history.” When she finished with her dramatic performance, she flopped down on the bed face first.

“So, what if we got you back to Equestria? Wouldn’t you just go back to being a siren?”

Aria rolled over and pulled her arms up over her head. “Look, Shimmer, I’ll say this one more time. I’m not a siren, I’m a pony. The magic that turned me into that flying monster was destroyed with my jewel. I don’t have any magic and I never will again. You can be sure of that.”

I had heard enough. “Alright, I’ll write the letter and we can see what Twilight says.” I picked up the pen and opened the book to a fresh page. “Let me make it clear, however—either we all go home, or none of us leaves.”

“Whatever. I don’t care what you do with the others, I just want to go home.” Aria slid off the bed and crumbled to her knees. “Stick me in the deepest dungeon in Canterlot for all I care.” Falling forward, she landed on her wrists. “I want my hooves, and I want my tail, and I want to die an old fuchsia mare.” She hung her head with her hair falling around her face. Crumpling up into a little ball on the floor, the once-powerful siren pony let it all go.

I set the pen to the paper and began writing: Dear Princess Twilight, I need you to open the portal. I’m coming home and I’m bringing some friends with me. You probably have a lot of questions, but there’s no need to worry. Meet me at the statue and I’ll explain everything. Your friend, Sunset Shimmer