Learning To Live

by Nekron Smauzog

A sensitive man was always trying his best to deal with life, whether his struggles with friendships or maintaining the best motives. Everything changes when he is supposedly killed in a deadly chase dealing with a dangerous criminal gang, and he appears in Equestria. What is his purpose there? But most to notice, why is he even there?

35. My Past is Not Today

A/N: Wow, of all the chapters I had done... This is the longest chapter that I have written as of so far.

I am too excited beyond words. The 100th episode will be airing soon and I am quite excited by far to celebrate how long the show has been running for. But it's not just that, I am also excited because I finally got tickets to go to Mayhem Fest and see other artists like Smashing Pumpkins and Slipknot.

Alas, Review Response Time!

sonic3461: How did you know!?

Raven 105: I am. :)

jvs12: It seems so, but you'll like what happens later on in this chapter.

billykilly: Just read on and find out for yourself. :)

P.S. The song that is performed near the end of this chapter is the classic Loverboy song... "Working For The Weekend" and what a coincidence to because I'll be seeing them real soon.

---

I was being kept by the Dazzlings inside of this building all caught up in this sticky situation and not to mention, tied to a chair. Through the night, I was rather soaked and wet; by nevertheless I had to wait until the sun rose over the window in order to warm me up from the freezing chill of the night.

Sonata, one of the Dazzlings kept an eye on me overnight to make sure that I was alright but at the same time… she was keeping quite an eye on me to make sure that I did not find a way to make my escape out of the building they held me inside. I was kept here against my own will and it felt like they would eventually resort to torturing me as long as I did not say anything to them. I don't think they would have the tools on them though to proceed with that.

Throughout the night while Sonata kept an eye on me, I was very cold. She just sits there at the bench and just keeps a close eye on me. I did want to ask her to get me something warm, but I wasn't going to start talking to her, and if I would not talk to Adagio or Aria either, I would not say anything to them at all. The only thing I am able to do now is just glare at the three of them rather threateningly. Sonata did try again to come up to me until she saw the glare on my face. After that, she goes back to the bench to sit and just keep an eye on me.

I just could not believe that I could not see this coming. Why the sirens would want me as part of whatever plan they had in mind I would never know. Damn them though for taking part in their original evil plan to make this world bow before them as their new masters, for I wish that one day friendship will be able to find them and redeem their hearts pure. Besides Sonata who I can see as an outcast to their group, as I was still mad at her for being a part of her… somewhere inside me told me that I was feeling quite bad for, even to be treated this way by the other two sirens.

I allow my mind to drift off from what was happening around me. I really needed to have a break from the three sirens and their desires ahead for what they would have done if they had their gems with them still. My mind wanders off from all the stress of it all and I can see myself flashing back into another part of me being younger.

---

I was in the ninth grade… or so it felt like the ninth grade. But it felt like I was walking in a total hell by the time I was entering the school for a fresh start after being scarred for life in the seventh and eighth grade after the other middle school I had gone to.

I originally wanted to do all of grade six, seven and eight at the first middle school I had gone to after elementary, but there was some troublesome moments that caused my grades to drop pretty low but were nevertheless still at a decent level. I don't think the school really wanted me after that, so comes the transfer to that other school that I didn't want but did not complain about it.

At the beginning, I was struggling to find my place in the class and the school yard while trying my absolute best to have the good grades as I could. I didn't want to disappoint my parents as I have done many times for the trouble I caused like refusing to do my work according to my elementary school teachers that would eventually spread to here, the other middle school and only the first few years of high school. Yes, that was true. But if you knew me at the time, I was really big into Science so I would be talking about outer space.

I liked a girl. Or rather she befriended me in Science after I had failed a test based on a part of the subject of Astronomy. Soon and eventually, we built our friendship up together and she was really friendly and nice to me, even helping me out on some work that I was struggling with. We had a few things in common as well, as her taste were more based on a bit of Country/Pop but my own was Classical music at the time. We had a few things in common but it was no big deal.

The friendship was blooming through the months ahead and I was leading to believe that she was a real true friend for me minus how I never really went to her house to visit her since I didn't know where she lived. But then, getting closer to take it to me just crushing on her in secret… there came the backstabbing.

She had led me to believe that she was my friend for the couple of months ago and then she just runs away and ditches me there for some other friends who thought that I was really annoying and told me off very easily. I was very upset and starting to become very lonely again and I was in tears by the time this backstabbing had happened. From there on forward in class until the beginning of summer vacation, she would be a lot more mean and rude towards me and what I did. But hey, I was a little more immature at the time and we all are sometimes. She would state that I was stalking her when overall I just wanted to be her friend.

Not only did that affect me, but the ways of everyone around me just shoving me out of their life was enough to further affect my mentality and I was absolutely miserable for the rest of the last few months there, but overall there were a few good highlights.

But it is always the backstabbing that I always remembered and that had been stuck with me for the longest possible time.

I walked outside in the school yard among everyone who was just playing a game of soccer in the fields or just running after one another as if it was a game of tag. My eyes were all perched out on what was ahead of me or if I had turned my head in a specific direction. I am looking for my friend, who I knew was either in the field or behind the portables where she would sometimes be. Even with the few clouds in the sky it seemed like would be a beautiful day.

Usually, I would have brought my Game Boy Advance SP with me to play when she was absent from school, but I forgot to bring it with me and not only that there was the valuables rule that I couldn't bring any with me. Sad, really but that's the rules.

I can feel a bit of disappointment in me when I realize that she was not out in the field with the other students playing soccer or running about. But I have not given up yet. I can still sense some hope inside of me when I turn towards the portables knowing she must be there. If she wasn't I would assume that she was absent for the day.

I start making my way towards the portable, with only a few students sometimes almost bumping into me. A few would be kind and apologize, but others would just tell me to watch it. Talk about being rude in middle school. A few teachers keeping an eye on the students is walking about on the concrete by the school building with all other students just being chill there, but few not going behind the portables. After passing a few kids, I walk by the side walls of the portable and turn to my left to face what would eventually traumatize me after.

There she was sitting there on the fresh planted grass, just talking away with some friends of hers. I didn't really know any of them so I just had my focus on her the whole time while I wanted to surprise her, but I wasn't sure if she would not like it. So I had abandoned that plan and just straight up walked up to see my friend… or so who was my friend.

"Abby…" I said to her in an energetic happy tone of mine. She just looks up at me and sees my smile, but I do not notice that annoyed look on her face. "Hi!"

Abby pauses for a few moments with both her and her friends just staring at me. She finally lets out a sigh that sounds like she is annoyed with me. As a young kid I wouldn't be able to tell anything about what sounded annoyed or just a sigh in general. She turned to her friends. "Will you excuse me for a moment I need to talk to Brayden." She tells them. They nod in understanding and they share an uneasy look on their faces when they look at me.

She finally walks past me and I follow her like a puppy following its mother on the day it was born. We are on the other side opposite of the side walls for the portable. Finally she stops and I do the same thing when she turns around. She still looks a bit annoyed with that glare on her face. By the time I had realized this, my happy thoughts and feelings were turned down a bit.

"Abby, is something up?" I had asked with a questioning tone in my voice. "Why are you giving me that look?"

She finally snaps. "I'll tell you why! You are now just so annoying to me and I do not want to hang out with you anymore, stat!"

I paused in that rather now upsetting silence between the both of us. "Wh-What?" I asked with the sadness inside rising.

"I'm tired of making all talk with you as if I was the only one without friends! I am also tired of doing everything with you whether it's school, home or anywhere even though we never had snuck off from school!" She says to me.

I scratched the back of my head in confusion. "I don't get it, I never did any-"

"Yes you did!" She shouted a bit with the volume of her voice raised a bit. "You have annoyed me to the point where I no longer want to be your friend like EVER! I'm sick of helping you with your school, I'm sick of helping you out when you're frustrated, I'm sick of it all!"

I can feel the tears starting to ebb up inside of my eyes with the stress level rising inside of my head. "But Abby-" I managed to stumble out.

She slams her fist against the portable wall in an angry, but yet frustrated manner. "Dammit Brayden! Your dumb mind is never going to understand that I will not be your friend again. You are stupid and I want you to go away. Like right now, as if anyone is going to be your friend in your sad life."

"I TRUSTED YOU!" I screamed at her as the tears began crawling down from my eyes while I had a finger pointed at her from my right hand.

Her hand moves and shoves my hand pointing at her down. "Stop it Brayden, you are acting like a child right now! Go away and leave me alone!" She shouts at me. This time I could tell that she was really pissed off by the sound of her voice.

I place the both of my hands onto my face and just began to weep, covering my face so she couldn't see how upset I really was, as if she would care in the end. I can hear her walking away from me, probably to join up with her other friends and I move my hands off of my face and shout "I HATE YOU!" right in front of her.

"So does everyone else." She says sarcastically to anger me further. She just walks away back to the other corner of the portable where her friends were sitting. A few seconds later, I can hear her friends laughing.

She was turning everyone against me, but I don't think everyone followed her all the time. Just the students she made friends with and talked to most of the time, she turned against me or talked badly about me behind my back. But at this point, I run off crying and just hide in one of the corners at the school.

I cried and cried for hours after school was done and it felt like a piece of me had shattered inside. I thought I wouldn't be able to go on, as I felt my grades starting to rapidly descend down to the pits of shame and sorrow. I knew my life would come to an end then, but somehow it couldn't or at least I would not let it.

The school year ended soon though and I never did see Abby again, so nevertheless if something bad happens… she sometimes appears in my mind. But I don't think I'll ever forget that though and how it changed my life forever.

---

"Brayden?"

I feel myself snap back into reality. I am still tied up in that chair, forced to endure the heat of the daytime that the blue sky brought in through the window. Something feels off though. I can feel someone's hand touching the top of my right hand.

I turn my head to my right to see who was touching my hand. Lo and behold, I can see that it's just Sonata. Her face seems to look a little concerned about me. Her mouth is curved right into a frown and I could tell that it was her voice that got me back to what was happening around me. I don't try to shove her hand off of me and tell her to not touch me this time.

"Are you alright Brayden?" She asked me, sound a bit concerned about me. "You seemed rather out of it while I was keeping an eye on you."

I let out a bit of a sigh. "I'm fine." is the only two words that I manage to take out from my mouth when I speak to the siren.

Sonata's frown on her face remains, but she steps up in front of me with that look on her that told she was feeling a bit bad for me. "No, I can tell that you are not alright," She says to me, knowing that I cannot lie to a siren. "Please tell me what is bothering you."

"Why are you concerned as to what I have been through back where I came from?" I asked her, not wanting to burst out at her.

"Because I care," Sonata says to me. "If you keep bottling up what is or was on your mind, it will only destroy you inside."

"I've been told that many times." I commented blandly.

Sonata began to quietly shush to keep me as calm as I could to explain perhaps. She finally inhales and exhales and has the both of her hands on top of my hands. With that sigh, she begins to tell me. "Yes, I'm sure you have as well. But if you do not tell your problems to someone or… somepony, it'll eventually make you worsen mentally."

"It's because of my school troubles and how upset, stressed and eventually depressed I became every step of the way." I explained to her to catch her attention on why I would look this out-of-it.

"I still don't understand… you're not from Equestria?" She asked, letting go of my left hand.

"No, I come from another world called Earth," I said to her to try and get her to understand in my best possible way without bringing confusion into the conversation. "It's too far from Equestria though. It's all in the stars of the galaxy and it will be really impossible to find out where it is exactly. Every constellation is inverted on this side. That is what I theorize."

"And your world has humans?" She asks. "You almost look like everyone here in this world."

"I believe that there are similarities between here and Earth itself as if it was connected. Just like here, Earth is full of cars, traffic and all types of new generations being born every second. However, the society there is quite fearful of the unknown and of war."

"War?" She asks again.

"Nowadays from where I came from, it always seems to be based on the religion of what an opposing leader believes on the other side of the world. It's mostly a battle to see which one is correct in the end." I explained to her. "Some were even fascists, wanting to wipe out the blood of different others for the superiority of themselves."

She gasps and with her right hand, she covers her mouth for a few moments, then moving out away from her mouth to continue. "That sounds like there are a few mean others from where you came from."

"Yes, so I had hoped there would be somewhere I would go to where no war exists as a young teenager," I told her. "But these things happen and I can't just simply alone go into the battlefield and tell them to stop fighting, I'd get sniped or have myself blown up."

"Looks like you did make a right choice to arrive in Equestria." She commented.

"Oh I didn't find it out of nowhere," I claimed with a bit of a chuckle. "Princess Luna, an alicorn princess found me before I died and brought me here."

"Alicorn, hm?" Sonata says, placing two of her fingers onto her chin. "I think I heard of that term before I was banished here with Adagio and Aria a long time ago."

I nod my head up and down, feeling a little bit more comfortable with Sonata since she was not interrogating me into giving the location to the portal. "Yes, and Sunset told me that it was Starswirl the Bearded that had sent through the wormhole of a spell he had cast to bring you here." I told her.

"Well… Sunset seems to know her Equestrian history well. For us, we do not need knowledge of the Equestrian race and do not care to see how it works," She said with a bit surprise. "The only history we know well enough is what happens back in Siren Cove. We don't even know if it is still the same since we ran off."

"You wanted to cause trouble?" I asked her.

She nods innocently and with honest truth by the look of her. "Yes, Adagio and Aria wanted to divide and conquer to show off against the cove that we could do something for a living. I just followed along with them." She tells me.

"I can see by the way they treat you sometimes, you're almost like the outcast of the group." I claimed to her.

She turns her head and looks down at the ground. "Yes… often times I've come off to be just listening to what they do and say and following with the plans. I feel like that sometimes when I just let my big mouth open."

"You're not alone Sonata," I said to her. I gently move my right hand where her hand is on top of and touching, taking her hand with mine. "I was that way as well as a young kid. AS long as you have someone that trusts you, it'll be okay in the end."

Sonata's head perked up and she looks at me. "You know Brayden, you're not so bad a human as I thought originally." She says to me, perking a smile upon her face.

"You're not so bad a siren as I thought either." I exclaim to her in that friendly tone. "By the way, Brayden is fine to just call me by."

There is the loud sound of a door slamming shut and I let go of Sonata's hand and turn to look in the direction that the sound of the door came from. Then there are the sounds of footsteps and I can see Aria coming in with a tan colored paper bag in her left hand. She holds that smile upon her glaring face at me.

"Sonata," Her now happy-dull voice sounds off and I can hear the rustling of the paper bag. "Feed our prisoner here his lunch. I also packed you something in there as well."

Sonata unpackaged the bag to get what in was there. Her eye pupils shrink a bit and she looks rather surprised and joyed. It was none other than tacos themselves. "Yay! Tacos! I don't even care if I'm breaking the Taco Tuesday regulation, this is fantastic!" She exclaims happily.

"Enjoy it while you can," Her happy tone in that dull voice became dull once again. "I think Adagio has a plan for tonight, so brace yourself human."

"I told you my name is Brayden!" I said to her, sounding really annoyed with her calling me a human. That would be like if I were Sunset Shimmer and I was being told that I was a raging she-demon who tried to take over the school.

"Whatever you say, human." Aria says one last time and then turns and leaves on the opposite side of the room to enter another in this building we were in.

Sonata takes out a taco from the paper and cuts a rope off of my right arm for me to allow me to take the taco. "I still don't get why she follows blindly with Adagio either. Ever since our gems shattered, she's been rather uneasy to be around." She says to me as I grab the taco which was my lunch for this afternoon.

"I'm not sure if it matters anymore Sonata," I said to her. "You know, you don't have to always follow alongside with them. You could come with me to Equestria."

"You-" Sonata paused with the possible realization that she knew that I knew where the portal would be. "You would take me back to Equestria?"

"I plan on asking Sunset to come along with me as well as there is something that she might want to clear up with Princess Celestia from what she did long ago." I said to her.

"Well, I have wanted to leave the Dazzlings after we tried to initiate the last stage in our plan. I'll have to think about it until tonight." Sonata says to me, too distracted by the beauty of her taco to even look at me. "It's taco time at the moment."

I nod in understand and take the first bite of my taco. My god, among how mildly spicy that it was… this tasted really good. I chew up the pieces of meat and soft wrap that surrounded it, and then swallow it down.

I think if I can win the effect of having Sonata to get onto my good side, I could convince her to come along with me to Equestria as long as she swears to me that she'll never have anything to do with the other two sirens Adagio and Aria ever again. Even then, those two could still have a chance at being redeemed just like Sunset after her mistakes.

I think a plan inside me is already being set out and planned carefully. I'm pretty sure the girls are also planning to rescue me in some possible way. But I think it's time to get this taco out of the way before I think out this plan anyway.

It's not Taco Tuesday, but this lunch feels special.

---

Night. The infinite darkness.

My right arm is tied up right back the way it was again, but another set of the same rope. Sonata stayed in the corner as she was keeping an eye on me, though it seemed that she was unaware of what I had in mind even though she was already having a hard enough time to make her decision on whether she should leave the Dazzlings or not.

From what I heard, they had pushed the dance that I was supposed to go to yesterday towards tonight according to me overhearing what Adagio was telling Aria and Sonata. I don't think Sonata listened all the way through though as I can tell that behind Adagio's back that she was going to leave and take my side minus her being a siren in the end. With the dance pushed forward, it's no doubt that they'll have something in mind then to bring me there as a hostage and go into drastic measures of threatening my new friends for the portal's location.

I can hear the sound of footsteps in the dark. I pretty much knew who it was, but I wasn't planning on even saying a word to Adagio nor Aria, no matter how much they were calling me human. Adagio comes in from out of the shadows with Aria right behind her.

I turn my head towards Sonata. She has turned her head towards the two others and gets up off of that spot on the bench she had been sitting after lunch to this evening. She gets up and over towards the other two and joins up with them. I turn my head back towards Adagio who is right up to my face with that glare and curled smile upon her lips. My glare returns and I just have my mouth kept shut.

"How is our prisoner on this fair night, hm?" Adagio asks and moves her hand, placing a finger underneath my chin, which made me feel very uncomfortable with her even laying a finger on me. "Are you well? Are you finally going to tell us where the portal is?"

All I did was just as I had thought of doing and even stated it before. I wasn't going to say a single word to her, even if she was going to torment me with insults probably coming up next afterwards.

She chuckles in the few seconds after and looks back at me, taking her finger off from under my chin. "Nothing to say to me, hm?" She said, continue to glare and smile. "Well don't worry, I might not be able to get the truth out of you, but I think Sunset will tell us. After all, we know she came through the same one as well. We just have to find it from their words."

Aria walks up beside Adagio and in her dull tone; she says "Shall I get the rope off of his legs?"

"Do so Aria," Adagio said, taking a few steps back from the table while Aria comes forward and begins to untie the ropes from underneath my legs. I dare not try to run away from them from now, for with Adagio close by, it would be obvious she would outrun me and catch me easily. "You'll distract the girls from the dance and lead them to us and the human boy here in the end."

"What can I do?" I heard Sonata ask as if she was playing along to fit in with the other girls.

Adagio looks at Sonata who is behind me. "You Sonata, can help me keep a hold onto the human until the girls get there as part of our trap and trade." She tells me. I can really tell that she has really planned something out.

Aria unties the ropes from off my legs. "Stand up." She tells me. I have no choice, but to comply and stand up, keeping an ear open for what Aria is telling me. She frees me from the ropes around the armrests and I could move my hands again, but only for a short time until she tied the both of my hands together.

"You know, you're quite lucky that you're quiet," Adagio comments to me. "Most others we interrogated didn't know when to stay quiet when we asked them about this portal. They were downright refusing. You might not be telling us at the moment, but just wait and see…"

I feel myself being pushed forward after having my mouth tied up. I could tell that it was Aria herself, pushing me forward and beginning to have a really surprising grip on me from behind. I still felt very uncomfortable even with her hand almost around my neck as if she was going to choke me to death. Nevertheless, I will have to listen if I want to get my plan out of the way to escape.

"This way human!" Adagio commands me, laughing as I follow behind her with a glare still on my face. "We're not going to wait all evening to fail this plan this time."

I follow with what they are saying, because I don't want to get in trouble if I didn't listen. But it doesn't even look like they were planning to hurt me though. It's probably like they were doing this for a joke, but more rather less of a joke.

I walk out of the building past those double metal open doors. Then we make a turn to the right down this dark alleyway and out into the streets. I turn my head to look behind me and past Aria. It seems as though I had been kept inside of an abandoned movie theater this whole time that had not used since whenever. I don't exactly know the history behind this mirror world. I could tell that it could have something to do with the same kind of evolution humans went through on Earth.

I turn my head back forward and keep my eyes directly ahead of me. I can sense that Sonata is on my left side, so I didn't have to worry about her being past Adagio as a head start. That would probably catch on to both Adagio and Aria that she was going to betray them, but she would have to keep it secret as I remember her telling me that she'll think about it.

A few more streets passed and in the distance, I can see Canterlot High standing there, still alit for the dance tonight. We cross the street onto the opposite where the school grounds would be located. I turn around to look at Aria. She just glares and growls at me to keep moving forward, which is pretty much all she does anyway. She smiles dully again and I turn my head back forward.

"Ah, here we are." Adagio says, stepping onto the cement, bridging between both the crosswalk and the school grounds, and that recognizable monument in front of it… the horse statue. But worst of all, it had to be really close to the portal where this opportunity for the sirens would be. Advanced or not, these sirens know how to strategize their plans by themselves in a group.

"Cut the ropes off of his arms, Aria." She said to Aria, turning around and looking past me to Aria whom was right behind me.

I felt a bit of a knife between the ropes and my hand and the sound of scratching on the ropes themselves. After a few moments, my arms feel free after a restless night of not being able to go anywhere. But after being pushed forward by Aria, I was being gripped onto by the back of my neck by Adagio herself, as if she would choke me at any moment. "Anything else Adagio?" Aria asked.

"Yes," She says. "Now is your big chance to go in there and distract the girls to bring them out here. They'll be in for quite a surprise."

Aria walks past me while Adagio was telling her this. She turns her head to look past me at her friend. She nods with a smile on her lips and then turns back and began heading straight into the building. Now, this does seem familiar in a way, but I was positioned on the right side of the statue. For example: if anyone was leaving the building, they would be seeing me and the sirens on the left.

Once Aria had swept into the building, I turn my head to the right to look at Adagio. The best thing to do now was talk about what she had in mind when after the portal's location been told to her and the other two. I couldn't run, cause of that firm grasp around my neck will tighten as I fear.

"Why?" I ask out loud to break the silence over the gentle wind. "Why would you unleash terror to Equestria again?"

"Well, since you're curious," She says, an eyebrow rose with a smile upon her face to make herself seem innocent. "I plan on returning to Siren Cover and corrupting the other sirens that stay there alone on their rocks to make an invasion and finish what we had started what seemed to be thousands of years ago."

I gasped when she mention a full-scale invasion of the sirens that probably still had those gems around their necks. "You wouldn't have a chance!" I exclaim.

"Do we?" She questioned, but with a chuckle at the end.

"What I say is true!" I said to her again. "Without your gems, you wouldn't be able to convince them. It would be a sign of dishonor for them at the cove."

"Why would it be dishonoring?" She returns to me, as if she did not care about what I needed to say. "I clearly stated before that we would not need our gems. If the others want to count it as dishonoring, let them do so. They'll listen to us though."

"On some parts of where I came from, it's all about the movements of culture like for example: their food," I began to explain to her and Sonata because she was listening to this conversation as well. "You have to eat the food that they offer to you, if you downright refuse; it's dishonoring and it's a bad thing if you do that."

"Whatever," She comments. "I'm not from where you came from, so I wouldn't know."

"Equestria also holds that sign too," I said to continue. "They've been at peace with the sirens from Siren Cove as long as they don't get loose."

"Alright quiet now," Adagio said quickly to shush me and keep my mouth closed. "I can see Aria coming from the front, so she must have got their attention after all." She turns from me and puts on a glare with a cruel looking smile.

My eyes turn to the front of the school building and I can hear Aria pulling open one of the doors in front of her and then running down the stairs and across to get to me, Adagio and Sonata who was remaining quiet the whole time.

"They're coming." She warned her.

Adagio smiles again, clearing the glare to an impressed look on her face that they were falling for the bait as easily as she had expected. I can sense that Sonata has her eyes ahead on what was bound to happen next. She and Aria as well, keep an eye on the front doors into the school ready for the heat that was bound to come in next.

The doors burst open and from out of the school come those six familiar figures that I knew about now. Sunset was leading the charge with both Rainbow Dash and Applejack next to her with the others right behind her. I smile when I saw them coming forward with bravery in their hearts to save me. I feel the grip of Adagio's hand on my neck tighten for a bit, so I lose the smile. They manage to move closer until they came to a stop in a gap between the cement, keeping a couple of feet away.

Silence comes on in between me, the sirens and the girls in front of me. They had angered glares filling up on their faces, but I am relieved that it wasn't meant towards me. They were aiming their glares at the sirens before me. Sonata was behind me, but she was probably faking that clever grin upon Aria and Adagio's faces right about now.

Adagio finally lets out a chuckle and looks at the girls. "Welcome girls," She stated in a tone that sounded happy. "Glad you came after hearing your friend was taken away."

"Don't you even think of laying a finger right on him!" I can hear Rarity shouting at her with such aggression in her voice. "Do not harm him either!"

"What do I look like? Do I look like a siren who loves to bring harm to anyone different from Equines?" Adagio questioned whilst she was mocking Rarity with that fake tone in her voice. "No, 'darling'. I would never harm him in any way."

"Well, I never!" Rarity exclaimed, sounding rather offended.

Sunset steps forward to take care of business. "Don't worry Rarity, I'll take care of this." She tells her, turning her head to look at her. She turns her head back towards the sirens and glares darts towards Adagio keeping her grip on me. "Give him back to us."

"Of course," Adagio says. I can feel her hand move from around my neck and letting go of it, allowing me to breathe some air I had lost. "I wasn't planning to bring any harm to him whatsoever."

I walk away from the sirens and join up back with Sunset and the girls, standing next to Sunset. She turns her head to look at me and smiles at me. I return my smile to her. I took that opportunity to briefly glance at the other girls who were just as happy to see that I was alive. This doesn't last long though as we can hear the sound of a throat clearing and I could tell that was her wanting to continue forward.

I turn back towards Adagio who I suspected did that throat clearing and even then it was obvious that she did it. "What do you want from us now?" I asked her. "You gave me back to my friends, but now what else is on your mind?"

"You forgot something…" She said, with a chuckle at the beginning.

I glare at her, taking one step forward. "I didn't forget anything!" I yelled at her which amused Adagio.

"Oh yes," Adagio says. "If your friends could, they will now tell us the location of the portal. If not, we would be glad to take you right back with us to keep until you tell us in the end. It's all a fair trade isn't it?"

"I did not decide anything on a trade!" I exclaim angrily, heavily breathing through my nose. "When did you even decide that?"

"Just now," She chuckles. She exhales a bit and then says. "Well how about it? You are being returned to your friends for the location of the portal to Equestria."

My new friends and even Sunset gasps herself at the revelation of how this trade between her, the other two and the girls beside me would go. Aria is smiling with Adagio, but Sonata herself has a look of guilt right behind the other two sirens that I just noticed that she didn't want to take part in this anymore.

"Well?" Adagio just commented with question in her tone. "What will it be?"

Sunset was going to open her mouth, but another voice sounded out before she could even say a word. "NO!" I could hear that voice shout out, but it was not from the girls. It even surprised the two sirens themselves and they turn around to see who surprised them in the end. They have rather shocked looks on their faces. I'm sure the girls beside me with equally as surprised as well.

It was Sonata Dusk herself who shouted out loud. A frown was upon her mouth underneath the eyes that had been curved into a glare towards the two other sirens. She took a few steps past between them and turned to face them.

"Sonata…" Aria exclaims softly but with surprise in that dull tone. "What are you doing?"

Sonata sounded quite angry for the first time that I had ever seen the siren do when I first started interacting with her. "You should know exactly what I'm doing!" She shouts at them with sheer disappointment towards Adagio and Aria. "You're both being too greedy about wanting to have your revenge back on Equestria!"

"WHAT?!" Adagio cries out in an outrage that she suspected that Sonata was betraying them. "Sonata, don't tell me that you're going to take sides with those foolish ponies!"

Sonata crosses her arms. "You are definitely correct on that Adagio!" She said. I couldn't see her face, but I could tell that it was some kind of face that would tell them off big time. "I kept pointing out to you that Brayden looked innocent, but both of you are too caught up with this 'portal'."

Adagio lets out a shocked but rather angered gasp. "You don't mean…" She managed to get out before Sonata interrupted her.

Sonata nods her head as she spoke and spoke "Yes. I quit the Dazzlings." I was impressed that the awkward and misfit of the Dazzlings stood up for herself and just flat out quit on the other sirens she had followed for many years. She turns her head to look at me for a moment. "If it weren't for Brayden, I wouldn't have known that there would be more waiting for me."

Aria just places a hand onto her face and forehead, letting out an annoyed groan. Adagio in the meantime just has a low growl emitting from out of her mouth. "You know what Sonata, if you really want to be one of those ponies after all…" She managed to get out before she snapped on her. "WHY DON'T YOU JOIN SIDES WITH THEM THEN?!"

Sonata has the nerve to shout back at her. "Maybe I will after all!"

"Good!" Aria and Adagio both yell at the same time with angry toned voices.

Sonata turns away from the two Dazzlings and walks over beside Sunset Shimmer. The rest of the girls only seem to show mild glares on their faces when Sonata had approached the group. The young siren quickly glances at the rest of the girls, but turns her head back towards Sunset.

"I'm so sorry." She apologized which I suspect was all about what happened with the girls and the sirens previously before.

Sunset just smiles and places a hand on Sonata's shoulder. "It's alright," She says to her in the honest way of forgiving her. "I know that it must have been hard for you to take our side. I too was once on that dark side of my life."

"I know," Sonata said. "It was when you turned into a raging she-demon and tried to mind-control the whole school. No offense."

She just giggles and says "None taken."

I could hear the sound of a throat clearing behind us. I turn my head and I realize that both Adagio and Aria are still standing there and looking so impatient as ever. I unleash a glare right back towards them while what used to be glaring smiles with frowns upon their glare.

"Now," Adagio commands me as if I were her pet. "The portal's location if you please."

I paused for a few moments and I can hear footsteps moving behind me of the girls ready to defend themselves in case the sirens got offensive. I couldn't believe that they didn't know the portal was right beside them. Still, I shook my head and simply stated "No."

Adagio's bare teeth showed when I had refused to tell her where it was. She was going to say something, but I had more to say to her. It wasn't just her though; it was also Aria who had been listening to this conversation the whole time. "Now you listen here human!" She managed to exclaim before I gladly interrupt her.

"No, I'm afraid that you need to listen to me Adagio," I began to speak to her. "As much as your demanding would go to get through this portal… It's not going to happen… not today! Not tomorrow! You need to show me that you have a lot of change in your heart before I would even let you step into the portal. The damage you've done is too far still for me to start forgiving you and Aria here."

Adagio wanted to speak but she still remained quiet as I continued while still firing that angered fiery glare from her eyes. "What you did to these civilians in this world is downright unbelievable for you both to do. I am almost convinced that I don't even want you to go back to Equestria. I stand by the princesses and their rights that all races should be at peace with each other, no matter how much a grudge they have against another race. But what you did to these people… unforgivable!"

"Sonata here is shown that she had been following you around the whole time, and she had believed to have been doing the right thing with you two," I continued with Aria just leaning on the column by the portal that she still does not notice. "But you have been treating her like she was the outcast of the group. The runt of the litter or rather the poor while you two seemed to be at the top. And if you dare try to make your escape through the portal, you're going to not only go through me, but Equestria's entire nation. In fact, I'd even be surprised if Siren Cover banishes you both."

"I beg your pardon?" Adagio finally rose her voice towards me for that last statement. "Siren Cove is our home! They would not send us into exile to live alone amongst ourselves."

"Oh we'll see about that," I said with a smile forming from my frown. "Just wait until I ask Princess Twilight to initiate a peace treaty to the sirens."

Adagio's hands grip onto my shirt and pull me towards her. "Never!" She shouts at me and then pushes me backwards in the full force of her hands, sending me to the cement ground. I land on the ground, and I only am a little bit stunned by the realization that I had been pushed to the ground by a siren in a human like form.

"I would end up ripping that treaty in half before even trying to deal with those Equines!" She exclaims angrily.

Both Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash step over towards me with caution in case the two sirens planned to attack them both. They both help me get back up onto my feet.

"Are you alright Brayden?" Fluttershy asks me in a concerned tone.

I nod my head and look at her. "I've never been better." I commented and then turn back to the two sirens.

"Eight against us two? It seems like we might be both outnumbered Adagio." Aria commented.

"Quiet! I know how I can handle this Aria," Adagio remarks, then afterwards stepping forwards towards me and grabbing me, pulling me away from Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. "For the last time Brayden, where is the portal?!"

"I told you quite well," I said and then taking in a breath to say more. "I will not tell you where it is."

Adagio growls and moves her right arm back. I definitely wasn't able to react quickly, but this was something that has never happened to me before and I am shocked that it did. Adagio had used her right hand to form a fist and punch me right across of the left cheek. It felt like I was being pelted by a cheek-sized stone there. I am knocked to the side by the front of the portal and I can hear the girls gasping at this revelation.

I begin to get up slowly, with Sunset, Sonata and the other girls rushing over to help me up while I was in pain. But I can feel a foot against the right side of my face push me back down to the cement, pinning me right there. I could tell that it was Adagio herself standing on top of me, and it seemed like she would be ready to pummel me down with her own foot.

"Nu-uh girls," She says to them. "It's my business now between me and the human!"

"Let him go!" Rainbow Dash shouted at her sounding brave. She tries to run at Adagio, but Applejack begins to hold her back.

"Whoa there now!" Applejack commented while she was trying to keep Rainbow Dash from assaulting the leader of the Dazzlings as Aria could attack her right back.

"You see there?" Adagio said with a chuckle. "We may be a lesser number from dealing with you girls, but I think this human has to be dealt a lesson with from trying to mess with sirens period."

"Don't do this!" I said to her. It all came to me to try and persuade her to stop before things got out of control here. "Search yourself inside! You don't want to attack me!"

"Why else should not attack you for any reason whatsoever?" She questioned, still having her foot on top of my head resting hard and uncomfortably on the cement. "Go on, give a reason."

"Because you must realize that once I and Sonata disappear back to Equestria, you'll never know where this portal is." I claimed to her. "Even if you were to try and leave this place, the magic of the mirror portal would reflect you right back into this world since you must have a heart of good in you. But that's a theory I guess could be true."

"Oh shut up!" She exclaims to me in disbelief. "It would not just simply take me back here to this dump of a world. I would experience my freedom and the right to tear it apart again, even with the dismissal of our gems."

"We?" I could hear Aria say to her. I try to move my head to see what is happening judging by the sound of footsteps, but I am still unable to move. "Who said anything about us, Adagio?"

"You too, Aria?!" She shouted in an angered raging shock. "How dare you also turn against me, leaving me by myself…"

"I believe that if they gave Sunset a chance, Aria will do just fine with them." Sonata says to her. I smile for a few seconds, glad to hear that Sonata was truly starting to stray off the path of darkness Sunset once had been on.

I can see the girl's expressions change and they gasp in horror. I wonder what's going on and tried moving my head. All my neck is met with is a sharp switchblade pressed right there on my throat and ready to cut at any moment. Dammit, I'm already at another moment when I am facing death, but I fear this could be permanent death for me.

"Adagio, you're crazy!" Aria shouts to her, trying to apparently snap some sense into her. "You're really going to take his life?"

Adagio firmly pushes harder against my throat and I began to build up sweat inside in this really tight situation. "I will do it if I have to!" She shouts in that impatient tone. "So I am going to give him one more chance to tell me where the portal is! If you do not confirm it… he is going to get it!"

At this point at the brink of being close to death, I was trying so hard inside not to break the truth out to her. With the switchblade at my throat, any sudden moves I make would result in instant death. Sunset and the other girls stand there; they do not know what to do to help me out in this. Her foot is still against the side of my head, so I cannot get up.

Finally, there was a great silence between them all including me. I don't think I could really hold in the truth about the portal's location was. Seriously Adagio had a blade against my throat, ready to slash at any moment. I inhale a breath of air in panic and stupid me lets out the truth.

"Okay! It's right behind you! The portal is right behind you!" I shouted to her and sounded frightened by this.

She moves the switchblade from off of my throat and I can hear it being retracted. "Wise choice." She says to me. She takes her foot right off of my head and I begin to get up slowly. Sunset and the rest of the girls come forward to help me.

"Are you alright Brayden?" Sunset says to me, taking my hand and helping me up onto my two feet.

I nod my head and turn towards Sunset with a rather saddened look upon my face. "I'm sorry for revealing the location to Adagio."

She just pats me on the back and says "Brayden, its okay. I just hope you're right that it would take her back here."

Both me and Sunset turn our heads towards Adagio. She is facing the portal in front of her and moving a hand forward to touch it. It gets closer and then it makes contact with her hand, creating that water ripple effect when you enter the portal. The siren let out a chuckle and ends up walking through it, disappearing.

"No…" I cried out quietly.

I had failed all of Equestria and would be seeing its impending division yet to come from the armies of sirens that would invade the skies and absorb hatred with their own gems. I let everypony down… Twilight… Fluttershy… everypony… I was destined to be stuck here in this world if that was the case.

The ripples on the portal begin to ripple again, but in a more reversed way. I take a few steps back just in case, as I think the mirror is having a bad reaction to quite a bad heart. There are the sounds of what seems rather warped space like sounds, and then both the rippling and strange sounds had ended so abruptly that I ended up thinking that there would be more in the oncoming process.

All was silent between all of us and the portal, with the exception of the ambience around us like the soft summer wind blowing in the night and the muffled loud music inside of the school. I take at least two steps forward because I was curious to know if something did happen to Adagio if she had gone through the portal after all.

On the portal's shining pearl white surface, I stare at it whilst a very tiny ripple appeared on it. Something was moving inside of the portal between the bridge here and Equestria. More ripples began to appear by every few seconds that had passed after another ripple. Then there is another, and little did I know what to expect when the ripples expanded more.

A large octopus like tentacle came bursting right through the portal's walls. The scales themselves I could tell where not similar to that of your octopus back on Earth as this seems to be more textured and looks rougher by its scaled surface. I didn't react in time when it managed to take a hold of one of my legs and force me back down onto the tiled cement below my feet.

It was beginning to pull me into the portal with it, and I am trying to grip onto something close by for dear life while Sunset and the girls take my hand and pull me towards them with the tentacle pulling me towards the portal where Adagio had gone through. What if this is all part of a negative reaction like that Adagio was going through just like what had happened to Sunset in the first place when she placed the Element of Magic upon her head.

"Don't let it pull me in!" I shouted with desperation in my voice as I do all that I can to not let whatever Adagio had become in there get me through the portal.

"Come on girls," I could hear Applejack shout out while pulling onto my hand. "Pull harder! Brayden ain't gonna last much longer if he enters that portal with that siren!"

Here I was now, trapped between life and death now whilst it was trying to pull me in with it. What would this version of Adagio look like between bridges of two worlds? I might be guessing that she end up being in a warped form of herself, but who knows at this point.

I can feel the tentacle start to loosen its grip around my leg, slipping its slimy tentacle from off of my leg. Sunset and Rarity having gripping onto my hand the whole time during all of that crazy stuff, pull me right back up onto my feet. I turn my focus back towards the tentacle and was wondering what other plans it had next.

The tentacle turns its attention towards Aria who was helping out Sonata and the girls to pull out of that situation with that tentacle and stretches quickly towards her, wrapping itself around the siren's waist. I ran forward to stop this tentacle from taking her in through the portal.

I was really sure that the tentacle itself was aware that I was trying to save this siren who helped Adagio, so it swings forward while keeping a grip on Aria, using her as a weapon to knock me right back onto the ground. When am I even not going to be knocked to the ground at all when dealing with these types of situations? The tentacle drags Aria right through the portal while she screams briefly and then she disappeared with only that short scream echoing for a few seconds.

All was quiet again. But there were more ripples than usual emitting from the surface of the portal itself. I can feel a chilling essence of darkness growing from that part of the portal's bridge before me and I take couple of steps back, passing Sunset and the girls. They followed suite as they caught onto what was coming through the portal by the large ripples.

Something was coming out… and judging by the rippling, it was big…

A foot began to emerge out of the portal's shining surface and it seemed rather sea-like for a monster that lived under the ocean floor like the Kraken that Coco mentioned to me once. I can see the part of its large body beginning to stumble right through the end of the portal. At first, the face of this drastic, fearsome creature was hidden by the shadows, but once the entire body and head had gone through the portal back here, it had all been revealed.

What was standing right here before me was what seemed to be a mixture of two different races with two different colors representing both Adagio and Aria. Their bad hearts were must of what created this creature out of the portal's magic as an attempt to spit them back out, but with terrible consequences. The head of the creature had large bullish horns and didn't have two eyes, but rather four deep purple colored eyes staring down at all of us. The body itself had large tentacles emerging from its back and maintained a slimy appearance that would probably disgust Rarity herself.

"What… is that?!" Sonata asked loudly, pointing a finger right towards this creature of unknown origin standing before us.

"Oh you mean…" The creature spoke, before taking a leap right into the air with the tentacles supporting it with a boost. After it flies right over our heads to the other side of the school, it makes a hard landing on the stairs and continues to stare us down. I mean for crying out loud, this thing is taller than all of us. "Who we are, Sonata."

"What did you do with Aria and Adagio?!" She returns towards this creature after it had opened its mouth.

The creature just lets out a muffled chuckle and says "Whatever are you trying to talk about?" When it spoke, in its mouth I could see rows and rows of sharp dagger-like teeth that could take off anyone's arm or rather anypony's hoof. "That is who we are. We are both Adagio and Aria. But just in case you forget… our new name is Adaria."

Me and Sonata gasp while this creature began to laugh, but with a bit of distortion in its own voice to sound like there was a deep voice talking in sync with their voice. We couldn't believe this? How could this mirror do something like that to make Adaria or rather… combine them both together!

"Surprised, hm?" Adaria says, their eyes tinting down a bit to glare at us with a smile growing on its face while it spoke. It had been talking this whole time in Adagio's point of view. "When I stepped into the portal, I thought I was going to go through to Equestria, which isn't completely done yet as you Brayden were right this whole time."

"Only hearts of good can go through!" I shouted back at her.

"I know that quite well now human," She says, rolling those eyes in a circle in annoyance that I would state that again. "But I'm going to need some Equestrian magic in order to disguise my own bad heart as something good in order to go through."

If only I had brought the Song of Order along with me, then I wouldn't have had to deal with this type of situation. I take a few steps forward below Adaria whom stands on the school steps. "You're not going through Equestria. If you are, you'll have to go through us first!" I said again, with fury filling my voice.

Adaria keeps a mild smile upon her face while glaring down at me. I do not seem to notice that one of her tentacles has moved behind her. It was as if she was planning a surprise assault against me while I wasn't looking. "Noted quite well." She commented to me in a bored tone in her voice. This is when this tentacle began to take action.

The tentacle had gripped my left leg from underneath and made a quick sudden movement, flipping right up into the air. I feel gravity starting to force me down as I was caught in mid-air flipping about for a few moments. My body makes impact onto the grass beside the cement path towards the school. I take a look up at the current situation.

A crowd starts to form up against the windowed front doors of Canterlot High, watching in horror on what was going on to interrupt their dance. Adaria turns towards the doors for a few brief moments, putting on a smile when she saw the crowd. She just pushes them aside from her sight to allow them to watch what was yet to come for my new friends.

"Here's a little easter egg I didn't tell in case you didn't know," Adaria says to the girls, seemingly ready to defend themselves. "With this form after I or we have gathered your magic that was used to shatter the gems on our necks, we will not use the sirens in the end… It will just be us, ruling Equestria and dividing it one at a time."

"That's what you think will happen!" Sonata shouts to her.

Adaria simply goes 'pfft' and uses another tentacle to whip her right onto the grass that was on the opposite side of the school front on the other side from where I was, lying on the grass and being forced to watch and unable to move just yet from the shock of being thrown.

"It's crazy," Sunset says to her. "You lost your magic when your gems shattered by the blast of our power! You won't be able to absorb it out of us!"

"Oh about that…" She says. She raises her large right clawed hand and opens it up before them all, conjuring a green ball of what would be used to absorb their magic. "By the way this mirror combined us that might not entirely be true. We still hold some dark magic. And you and the girls here are the bearers who hold Equestrian magic."

"Oh my…" I could hear Fluttershy say as Adaria blocked my view of her. "I don't think I like the sound of what might be coming next."

"You're not going to take our power as long as we have each other, Adaria!" Sunset exclaimed proudly while Adaria just listens to what she was saying. "I might have not understood it the first time, but I know that our friendship is strong against yours no matter what!"

"I beg to differ!" The large hybrid exclaimed while its tentacles from behind began to move.

The tentacles whip forward underneath the girls and climb up to take hold of them by around the chests. I can hear Rainbow struggling to get the tentacle of Adaria's off from around her chest. I can hear the rest of the girls struggling and Fluttershy panicking a bit when a tentacle took a hold of her. I was unable to do anything as of now, just watching as my new friends were being lifted and trapped by the tentacles of this hybrid.

"Let us go!" Rainbow demanded, moving about to try and get away.

"Nu-uh!" Adaria scolded with laughter afterwards. "Don't try to struggle now. I assure you that this draining will be as painless as ever. When I am all done, you won't even remember having this magic in the first place."

"Try to realize that this is wrong Adagio!" Sonata cries out, while trying her best to get up off of the ground.

"Quiet, weakling of a siren!" The hybrid barks at the girl below her, turning her head to look at her for a moment. "I am not to be disturbed while I am draining the magic out of these girls!"

I watch as Adaria turns her head back towards the girls and her clawed hands began to rise up high. Emitting green energy began to flow from her hands and I look in horror as I can see green mist beginning to rise out of all six of my friends, who were completely helpless against what Adaria was doing to them.

"Help us Brayden!" Sunset cries out as every speck of magic is being drained out of her, making her become weaker and a lot more tired than she was before the magic began to get drained.

Adaria lets out a victorious smile and says "I can taste the magic… and the strength that I am achieving." This was followed by a laugh while the girls were stuck in place on the tentacles that held them tightly.

I get up slowly off of the ground and began to make motion towards Adaria standing there. Sneaking towards her from behind quietly, I didn't want to make a single sound. Sonata is trying to get up as well, slowing going to follow me behind Adaria as if we had a plan in mind. I slip past underneath the hybrid's tentacles that weren't used and Sonata follows from the other side.

"Alright Sonata, we need a really extremely quick plan to stop Adaria before she takes their magic away completely." I said to her, deciding to tell her the first stage in my plan. "I want you to start climbing up a tentacle all the way to the top of the hybrid's head."

Sonata looked confused. "Sounds dangerous, like riding a bull and believe me that already happened here in this world." She tells me as if she was precautious.

"It might feel like that, but it's not." I claimed, avoiding a tentacle from making contact with me when it moved. If it felt me, it would have flipped me right back towards the school wall and I would run out of time faster. "I'm going to go inside of the school and head to the upper left wing's rooftop. I will then leap off of it and onto her."

"What is my role in this?" She asked.

"You, good Sonata will hold her in place and distract her while I make my way there. Once I had latched myself onto her, you are free to get off. It's a simple job for you."

"Alright, sounds good." She says.

"Alright, on my mark, I will start running for the indoors and head towards the roof to make the strike attempt. Once I start running, distract for as long as you can." I said to her. I slightly bent down a knee and begin to count silently in my head when to start running.

A few seconds pass and then I began to sprint right away towards the school doors. I can hear Sonata's footsteps for a brief moment before I turned my head to see her climbing one of Adaria's tentacles. My footsteps are heard as I was running up the dry cement stairs and in through the school doors where everyone was surprised to see me.

I made my way past everyone who was watching me head towards the nearby stairway with them telling me where to go which seemed rather helpful. I make my way past the cafeteria and the hallways of what seemed like endless lockers and dark classrooms closed for the night. But I did find the door that would lead me in and up towards the roof.

I ran into through the dimly-lit stairwell while I could hear the sound of my own heart pounding and my breathing starting to intensify while making my way up the steps. There are only three parts to the stairwell, but I make it to the top. Thank goodness that there were no other stairs, otherwise it would seem to go on endlessly.

I stop for a moment to pant, gripping a hand onto the stair's railing and trying to catch my breath from all that running. I knew I couldn't stay here to catch most of it for too long as the more time I waste, the more magic that is drained from my friends. I managed to take in a few breathes and then head towards the door that would take me to the roof accompanied by a very short flight of stairs. Climbing that, I grab onto the door's large handle and push it open.

I was right outside back into the night again from the dark but dim room. I can still hear the pulsating sound of Adaria draining the magic and I make my way towards the edge of the roof to see Sonata was climbing on top of Adaria's head, ready to distract her immediately. I scan the area of the roof with my eyes and move a little bit to the right if I really want to get a boost towards the hybrid as a head-start.

Sonata begins to take a tight grip around the hybrid's horns and all hell broke loose as soon as this had happened. The magic was continuing to be drained during the distraction, and Sonata held on tight while Adaria was trying to shake her off.

"Brayden…"

I could hear that rather calm voice that I knew speak to me from inside of my mind. It was the Song of Order itself. But how? I was past the border of Equestria for it to even contact me from there. But I was so sure that it might be contacting me in some way.

"The Song of Order?" I said in the silence. "How did you manage- I mean, how can you speak to me when you're not here? You're back in Equestria where you are back at Fluttershy's cottage!"

"The portal's powers had managed to reach me and I am only able to last for a bit of time before this out-of-form disappears. You might only have a limited time to pull that off before I end up back in that same position at your best friend's cottage." It spoke to me through my mind. "When you have distracted it shortly enough, I will make my way to your right hand to begin the purification."

"But how?" I asked. "I have never seen the blade warp all the way over here… well okay, there was the Nightmare Moon when you appeared in my hand."

"That was because I recognized you as the chosen one to take the blade in your hands," The blade's voice said to me. "While the portal is working for these brief times, it's like an out-of-body experience that any human has, but nevertheless I, the Song of Order will appear in your hand for a brief moment as the magic of the blade is connected to the portal for a short time."

I nod my head in understanding. "Then I will risk it!" I stated, putting some bravery into my voice and without question.

I began to leap forward and down towards the distracted Adaria that continued to try and get Sonata off of her head from the horns she was gripping onto. Everything felt slow at first, but I manage to take grip of Adaria's face and turned her focus off of Sonata and towards me.

"Foolish human!" She shouted with arrogance filling the tone of her voice. "Release yourself from my face this instant!"

"Bite me." I comment back while she growls, trying to shake me off of her face. I let go from across her face and land on the tentacle that keeps Sunset ahold.

I glance upward towards Sunset and the other girls. They were beginning to look tired and their eyelids were slightly down as if they were trying to go to sleep, but keep themselves awake from this. Rainbow Dash, who had been struggling before I headed up the stairs wasn't struggling anymore and I could even see the tired bags underneath her eyes. I glance back to the tentacle gripping onto Sunset. I needed to act quickly or all of my friends would be drained completely.

My head quickly moves forward and I open my mouth to bear my own teeth as an offense. My teeth sinks right into the tentacle and grips onto it tightly.

Adaria began to let out a shriek and this of course interrupts her from taking any more of the magic from my friends. The tentacle cuts Sunset free from its grip and she lands up back on the dry cement while she is trying to shake me off from that tentacle. With the connection for the other tentacles while flying around, I latch onto the tentacle gripping Rarity, taking a bite out of that. Rarity is set free and Adaria wasn't about to let me best her, forming some wet fluids around the tentacle to free me off of her, but with a twist.

I can feel myself slipping from it and me trying to grip on tightly, but with a single fling my hand slide right off and I can feel myself flying back again to the same spot, but to my shock to be headed for the school's brick wall. But I knew what to expect next when I saw myself slow down before I could hit the brick layers and a glowing and shining object in my right hand. The Song of Order.

I can feel the power of the claymore flowing throughout my veins and can see when I looked behind me that the blade appeared right on time to conjure those ethereal wings that would last for the time I activated its magic for flight or battle. I only wish I had real wings, but I don't think it would even be possible for human life. But you never know one day.

"What?!" Adaria cries out in shock. "You're supposed to be done for! Squashed like a bug!"

I turned away from the wall and faced the hybrid down there below me. "That is when you are wrong Adaria!" I said to her with a brave smile on my face and my left hand pointing to her. "You can't stop the power of friendship from trying to make you go through to Equestria, and not even the legendary Song of Order would allow it either!"

"It can't be the legendary blade though," She said, sounding really annoyed. "That was only a part of Equestrian myth! There's no way it cannot exist!"

"But it does Adaria!" I said to her. "And no matter what happens, the friendship between my new friends here and my friends back in Equestria will always be powerful no matter what! As long as I conjure the blade and wield it, I will not let bad hearts like you get through!"

I raised the claymore high up into the air, placing the both of my hands onto the grip. I can feel the power of friendship and Applejack's spark of honesty inside when I had earned it from her at my 21st birthday. It all helped inside to power up the blade. The symbol of Twilight's cutie mark on both sides of the crossguard began to shine brightly, along with the quaver note on the pommel. Finally, the color of a rainbow shines in the blade.

The power had reached inside to a maximum and the rainbow beam surrounds the blade itself slowly before making its way towards Adaria who just stands there unable to do anything. The rainbow beam fires around her legs and covers the entire body while crawling upward towards the hybrid's head slowly and carefully.

"What! This cannot be true!" I could hear her shout while the power of the rainbow began to release a blinding light to cover the hybrid completely to begin the purification.

I still had some words inside of me. "No matter what happens, you'll always find that friendship is there no matter how bad you are now, and you can always go to it at any time!" Finally, I close my eyes and there are the bursts of light that would have been quite blinding. But no matter what, this will all be done with.

---

The light had eventually faded and I began to fly down towards the grassy surface of the school's front yard, letting my feet touch down onto the lawn made of dry, lush green. I power down the Song of Order and smile at it with its shine reflecting for a moment and then disappearing out of sight, back to where it would originally be standing in my room back at Fluttershy's. The ethereal wings it made for me also disappear.

The girls didn't seem to be weak anymore as they no longer looked tired from the magic that had been drained as the rainbow must have took back the magic that Adaria had taken from them. They were in shock at first, but smiles slowly grew onto their faces and they walk towards me, joining around me.

Rainbow Dash was the first to come up to me, smiling. "Brayden," She said that had my full attention to her. "That was so awesome!"

I nod to her. "You have that magic back, so you can still do your solos and get these neat wings you get every time you unleash your magic." I told her, with her smile brightening more.

"Well now," I could hear Applejack say as she was next to talk and probably compliment me for what I did. "Brayden didn't just save us by himself, Sonata was also a great help ta him."

"It's true." Sonata commented. With the praise that she got from Applejack, a blush of pink appears on the both of her cheeks.

"Brayden?" I could hear Fluttershy say to me when she came up next after Applejack made that thankful comment for both me and Sonata. Fluttershy's pale yellow hand gently took my right hand and I look at her cyan eyes as she got my attention. "I am so proud of you for showing bravery to save all of us."

"Thank you Fluttershy," I said to her with a smile adorned across my face. She lets go of my hand and I turn towards the others with a now concerned look growing upon my face towards the two sirens past us lying there on the cement. "But before we make any preparations for me to get going, we have a siren to deal with."

All of us make our way towards the two waking sirens getting up off of the ground. Aria is the first to get back up onto her two feet with both Pinkie and Rarity taking a hand to help her up off of the ground. She looks utterly confused and tired as if she had woken up during a nasty and wild house party.

She groans and places a hand on her forehead for a few brief moments and then moves it to look at us. "What happened?" She asked.

"You were taken through the portal and combined with Adagio to form into a large hybrid of a mythological sea creature, sirens and something horned," Pinkie began to comment. "Not to mention that you tried to drain the magic out of us. But other than that, we forgive you for that accident."

"Thanks," Aria said to us. "I was too blind to realize what I was doing was really the wrong way around, but now I think I'll be much happier with you girls than the way Adagio made me and Sonata did wrong to all of you."

I take my eyes off from them and have my eyes set on Adagio who was making her way up from the ground. My eyes form together a mild glare towards her. She moves a hand onto the cement. Her head moves upward and she is shooting me with a nasty glare. She tries to suppress a growl out of her, but finds herself unable to do so in the end.

"All you had done to my friends, the students and everybody in this world and Equestria years ago has gone far enough." I began to scold her. She didn't dare say a word to me. "Your heart is still bad inside and it would take a lot more to heal it to become a good soul yet again if you can remember that. Until the proof comes along that you are of good heart, then maybe Twilight herself would be willing to give you a chance yet again to return."

"You…" She said rather lowly and deep. "You ruined the perfect plan for me to have my revenge, as I should have done. There was nothing else left for us all until you came into the picture."

I nodded at her. "Indeed, but arrogance and forcing powers beyond any other to take control is not in any way for your blood," I continued speaking to her. "But these girls behind you… They taught Sunset the right path to take when she went in the same fate. If you give it a chance, you'll find more than you bargain for, but it's all about if you are willing to choose this, or face being alone. Trust me; being alone is something you don't want."

She gets up onto her feet and takes a look at me with a glare upon her face and she sounded rather annoyed when she spoke "Fine then. But don't expect me to give you a warm welcome if I change."

"But first…" I said, turning around to face the girls. "I think Adagio here still has to owe a load of apologies to everyone here."

My friends turn to look at each other and they nod in agreement at me. A smile comes upon my face from their agreement. "She does owe a lot of that. But I think a few days in detention will serve her just fine." I could hear a familiar voice say to me from behind me.

I turned around and looked rather surprised and happy at the same time. It was Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna standing there at the top of the stairs outside. I take a hold of the railing with my right hand on my way up to see the two of the staff of Canterlot High.

"We were wondering what the commotion was going on outside and it seems that someone has now saved the school yet again from something dangerous that threatens us," Vice Principal Luna told me with a smile upon her face. "I really don't know what to say."

"Oh don't worry," I said to her. "It wasn't after your students that time, it was trying to take over Equestria again."

"Oh yes, Princess Twilight's been here to save us at least two times now. It's relief to see a new face we've never seen before." Celestia said to me, bearing that warm smile upon her face. "But you helped bring Adagio to justice. High school justice, of course."

I nod with a smile, agreeing with her. "Now I still wonder how the girls managed to find out that I was captured?" I asked myself out loud out of my own curiosity.

"I told them you were gone," I heard a male voice say to me. I turn my head to the right and could see Flash Sentry coming out and approaching me for he was the one who spoke. "I was lucky to have witnessed the Dazzlings stepping in and kidnapping you in the first place as I heard a few noises and you were unconscious. So I ran off to tell Sunset and the others and they were worried until tonight."

"I know, and you did the right thing." I said to him. I guess I thought about him a little too harshly every time.

Principal Celestia turns to face the rest of the students and informs them immediately that the dance is still a-go. Luna on the other half, manages to take the wrecked Adagio with her to detention to miss out on the dance. Aria and Sonata got to stay with the other girls.

"I'm willing to join along with the girls," Aria comments. "So it will be a while before I decide to go through the portal to Equestria."

"Alright Aria," I said, nodding in understanding. "Take all the time that you need."

Sunset approaches me at the top of the steps and I turn to look at her as I can tell from her face she wants to ask me something. "I know you have to get back to Equestria so soon, but would you like to stick around at the dance to perform at least one song and one dance?" She had asked me, forming a smile on her face.

I paused for a few moments to think about this. The portal isn't going to close until the next night, so I would pretty much have enough time to just do this dance and perform one song. I take a look at those eyes of hers and say "Sure. What song do you have in mind to perform?"

"It's all on the house," Sunset says. "Just give us the brief runthrough of the song and we'll perform it with you."

"Sounds good," I reply to her with a smile and then turn my head towards Rainbow Dash. "Hey Rainbow, you're up to do a solo for this song we'll be performing."

"Alright!" Rainbow Dash exclaims excitedly with a smile. "Let's rock the dance, shall we?"

---

It was all dark backstage and we were waiting patiently for the curtain to move and show us to the audience of the gym before us. I felt a little nervous at first, but then remembered that I had friends with me to back me up so I would be fine in the end.

I was not holding onto a guitar for this one-time performance, so I would just be doing lead vocals to which Sunset, AJ and Rainbow would be doing backing vocals to power the voice of this oncoming song. I looked nervous about this at first as I always was, but I can feel a pat on the back. I turn my head around to see that it was Rainbow Dash who had done it.

The curtain began to slowly unfold and reveal ourselves to the audience. The lights at the top of the stage turn on and reveal a colored tone for that what resembled to be like a rainbow. The high school students see us stand before them and they clap their hands together with smiles on each of their faces when they see us.

I can hear Pinkie behind us on the drums; begin to tap hard onto the closed hi-hat at least three times to count us into the song with a hit of the snare as the fourth. After the fourth tap to the rhythm, the guitars behind me with the bass and tambourine start make that unique rhythm for the song that was bound to come up. Then, there came the rhythm that was aligned with the guitars, keytar and tambourine along with the beating of the drums.

Seeing how this would be my first time ever singing to a crowd that wasn't like ponies, but more of humans which apparently made me more nervous back on Earth, I knew that I couldn't be too nervous about this, I take the microphone into my hands and began to sing.

Everyone's watching

To see what you will do

Everyone's looking at you, Oh

Everyone's wondering

Will you come out tonight

Everyone's trying

To get it right

Get it right

Everybody's working for the weekend

Everybody wants a little romance

Everybody's going off the deep end

Everybody needs a second chance

Oh, you want a piece of my heart

You better start from start

You wanna be in the show

Come on, baby

Let`s go

Everyone's looking

To see if it was you

Everyone wants you to come through

Everyone's hoping

It'll all work out

Everyone's waiting

They're holding out

Everybody's working for the weekend

Everybody wants a little romance

Everybody's going off the deep end

Everybody needs a second chance

Oh, you want a piece of my heart

You better start from start

You wanna be in the show

Come on, baby

Let`s go

I stop singing for a moment to allow Rainbow Dash that time to allow her to start shredding right into a very catchy yet melodic solo to go along with the song. She hit those high notes on the songs, getting down on her knees and making her guitar wail like no tomorrow. She does get back up onto her feet once her solo is done.

Sunset uses her flying V guitar and creates a rather surf rock sound just like how it almost sounds like in the song. This really pumps energy through my veins and once she is finished, I head back into the song for the big finale with that catchy riff that Sunset made to lead to the song's outro.

Hey, you want a piece of my heart

You better start from start

You wanna be in the show

Come on, baby

Let's go

You want a piece of my heart

You better start from start

You wanna be in the show

Come on, baby

Let's go

Rarity held down the long chord on her keytar to end the song while Pinkie totally ends the song with the crashing of both the ride and crash cymbals. After Rarity has finished the synth sound of the keytar, I take a look at the audience and hope that all of us did well.

The audience has smiles on their faces and they applaud our performance with clapping a few other students whistling in congratulations for all of us. While they are applauding, I do the usual honor of being on stage and give a thankful bow to the audience along with my friends behind me. I wasn't able to look back to see, but I somehow could tell by the quiet muffled sounds of the instruments being put into the stands or Pinkie getting off the drum set.

I turn towards the steps that would take me down from the stage, with the girls following right behind me. They were rather impressed by my own ability to sing. But I don't really think it's a biggie, I just try my best to train myself on how to better the vocal parts for me.

"You did a really good job Brayden," Fluttershy compliments me. "Your voice sounds really wonderful when you sing."

I take a look at her and said "Alright, just in time for one more dance. Then I need to get back home."

"Oh, umm… okay," She says to me as if she had something that she wanted to say to me. "I- I was just wondering about something since you'll be here for only this last song."

I nod to her in understanding. "Ask away Fluttershy."

Fluttershy's head turns away shyly for a few moments, but turns right back to have her cyan eyes meet with my brown eyes. "I was wondering if you want to share this dance with me, if that is okay with you," She said to me with question in her tone. "I mean, you don't have to if you don't want to."

"Fluttershy…" I softly exclaim with a happy tone in my voice. I can feel my hand gently taking her soft right hand and holding it gently. "You don't have to be afraid to ask me; of course I can share this dance with you."

Her smile lit up once again and the both of us exchange gazes into each other's eyes. "Oh, thank you so much for accepting my offer to dance with you." She tells me in the same soft tone.

"You're welcome Fluttershy," I said to her, hearing that the music was turning into a rather slow-paced as if it were in a ballad. "I have a small bit of experience of dancing with someone, but I will do just fine with this."

She nods and the both of us head towards the dance floor where the others students are gathering with someone to dance with. I gently move one arm around Fluttershy's waist and my other free arm has my own hand take her own hand to hold onto whilst we dance.

Fluttershy kept her cyan eyes on me the whole time whilst we slow danced together. This dance wasn't going to give off anything romantic between me and the human Fluttershy, as I just considered her offer to dance as in more friendly terms. Nevertheless, my brown eyes were on her eyes the whole time as well, but on more friendly terms as well. She and the other girls knew about my relationship with Twilight already since I told them about it on the night I first met them two nights ago.

Once the ballad was over and done with, both I and Fluttershy separate from each other on the friendly terms that we were just friends. We both walk alongside each other back to the western side of the gym where my other friends are waiting. Meeting up with them, they nod with smiles on their faces and join up with me and Fluttershy along with the two sirens Sonata and Aria out of the gymnasium and into the hallways on the way outside to the portal.

During my walk there, I turn my head to look at Sunset who seemed rather solemn about me leaving back to Equestria. But I think I knew what was going on in her mind. She was somehow missing Princess Celestia there? I'm pretty sure that I should speak out, for I believed her words that the princess would forgive Sunset for her past mistakes.

"Sunset?" I ask her which pretty much has her attention to when she turns her head to look at me while we walked alongside each other.

Sunset has a look of curiosity in those eyes of hers. "What is it Brayden?" She asked.

I open up my left hand to her as an open offer for what message I was trying to get across to her in the next few moments. "Come with me," I stated to her with the kindest tone in my voice. "Come with me back to Equestria."

She pauses for a few moments and turns her head away from me. I knew that I had asked her this sort of question back yesterday before I was captured, but I knew what to expect. If she said no, I wouldn't need to say anything against it for this world would be her new place. But if she is to say yes, then I think her visit to Canterlot would ultimately surprise the princess.

She turns back to me with a smile on her face and says "Wait until daybreak. I will give you my answer then, so in the meantime you should get some rest."

I let out a bit of a yawn and once finished with that, I smile at her and say "Take all the time you need to think about it."

"Can I come with you back to Equestria?" I could hear an excited siren say right beside me. Oh yes, Sonata. She felt bad for me and I think I trust her enough after she was helping me stop the hybrid earlier from taking the magic from my friends.

I let out a chuckle and give her a pat on the back. "Of course you can, but just in case I will warn you of this. You don't have your gem on you, so there is a risk you will become a pony upon stepping through the mirror." I told her with some wise caution in my tone.

She comments to herself "I hope there are tacos in Equestria."

I turn back towards Sunset as soon as she began talking. "I need some time alone to think about this, but don't worry I will be at the portal tomorrow in the morning." She had told me and stopped to go in another direction inside of the school.

I nod in understanding before she turns away and begins heading down another hallway. I continue along with the other girls. I hope that Sunset Shimmer herself can find it in her heart to make the right decision. After all, Celestia misses her and all wrongs that were caused between the two could be undone should she accept. I just have to wait and see.

---

Sunset's POV

The next morning…

I open my eyes to the waking sun just about peeking out over the eastern horizon of this mirror world, taking a look at the wonderful observation that reminded me of home every time I had watched it.

My thoughts were deep on what Brayden had asked me about coming with him and Sonata back to Equestria, my own home world. At first I question to myself because I still have my doubts inside about what had happened especially after being too blind from what caused me to be jealous in the first place and transform into a demon.

Twilight made me follow the right path though, after she had confronted me after stealing her crown which eventually would be something to give her the castle of her own on the next occasion after dealing with an angry centaur that she mentioned to me. I had even proved that I was still a good soul inside after my great help in stopping the Dazzlings which earned my trust back to Canterlot High. But at least Sonata found it easily, as she didn't want to commit any more trouble.

I get up onto my two feet again and take a look over the ghostly, waking horizon with the night sky changing in a tint to a waking tint of dusk purple while the sun rose so ever slowly. I knew that I needed to think clearly about what the future holds in store for me though it was still too far to matter and not the terror I had caused in my past.

In the silence besides the wind and the spare leaves that go rustling by with the wind, I found some courage in my heart and take in a deep silent breath, and begin to sing.

Power

Was all I desired

But that all grew inside me

Was the darkness I acquired

When I began to fall

And I lost the path ahead

That's when your friendship found me

And it lifted me instead

Like a phoenix burning bright

In the sky

I'll show there's another side to me

You can't deny

I may not know what the future holds

But hear me when I say

That my past does not define me

'Cause my past is not today

Ambition

Is what I believed

Would be the only way

To set me free

But when it disappeared

And I found myself alone

That's when you came and got me

And it felt like I was home

Like a phoenix burning bright

In the sky

I'll show there's another side to me

You can't deny

I may not know what the future holds

But hear me when I say

That my past does not define me

'Cause my past is not today

I already knew now what the decision I had chosen to do, and I would tell Brayden straight away by the next hour. I think he'll be in for quite the surprise to him when I tell him my honest decision.

---

Brayden's POV

I and the rest of the girls have arrived back by the horse statue outside of Canterlot High where the portal would be located. As usual, I had the usual good dreams of my friends both in Equestria and here in the mirror world. Breakfast was also really good, and it was good to share a couple of talk before me and Sonata, plus hopefully Sunset once she has had time to think it over last night.

"Are you sure that you don't want to come with me back to Equestria, Aria?" I could hear Sonata asking her other siren friend about coming to Equestria.

I turn my head to see what's happening. All Aria does herself is smile and shake her head. "Not now Sonata. I think I also need to see what friendship really is like with these girls." She tells her in that assuring tone though she still has a bit of a dull tone, but I think that might how it had developed in the first place.

"Suit yourself," Sonata says to her. "I'll miss you while I'm gone."

I think even the girls are going to miss me when I head back to Equestria. I only got to know them for such a short few days, but nevertheless I managed to befriend them on such short notice. I knew it wasn't easy trying to adjust being back in a world that was somehow similar to all of humanity back on Earth, but overall I had a fun time.

I can hear the sound of footsteps approaching by the sound of it making contact with the cement below. Turning my head all the way to the side to view the front of the school, I pretty much expected right away that it was Sunset herself who was usually with the girls most of the time. She bears a warm smile on her face when she approaches all of us and joined with the group once again.

I keep right where I am standing there. "Well," I was just about to ask. "Did you think about it through the night?"

Sunset approaches me and places a hand right onto my left shoulder. She nods and says "Yes, I thought about it carefully and I have made a final decision. I have decided to come back with you to Equestria."

I smile and the girls walk a little closer to allow Sunset to start talking to them. "I know that I've been here for now and a long time," She begins to explain to them. "But nothing does end up lasting forever, except friendship for we will always be friends. Equestria is my true home though, but do not worry because I will make sure I will visit you all from time to time."

"We will miss you Sunset," Pinkie says to her. "It was really fun being able to attend all those parties with you that I have done while you were with us."

I step up next to Sunset and take a look at the girls. "What about Adagio? What will you do about her?" I had asked.

Applejack began speaking to me in that southern accented voice that I knew. "Don't ya worry one bit Brayden. She'll be in good hands. After all, that siren has lots of apologies to give to everyone here. Aria will be fine with us as she is curious now."

"They'll both be fine," Rarity says. "If we had helped Sunset, we'll surely help those two out. We'll still keep an eye on Adagio in case she tries anything funny."

I suppose now is good time to start going now, so I take a look at all of the girls. "Goodbye all of you," I said to them with that joyful tone in my voice. "It was fun being able to see all of you."

The girls begin to approach me and Sunset. I can feel them move their hands around me and most likely Sunset herself as we begin sharing a group hug. I was hugging Fluttershy, Applejack and Rarity while Sunset is also hugging Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Rarity in the group hug. But don't worry, it felt rather heartwarming to have these new friends of mine.

After a couple of moments in the hug, all of us let go and separate from it. I turn my head to both my left and right to look at both Sunset and Sonata. "Are you two ready to go?" I had asked with an assuring tone.

"Always willing and ready when you are Brayden!" Sonata says to me excitedly. Sunset nodded in agreement, seemingly ready as well.

I turn towards the portal itself and I knew what was going to probably happen as soon as I stepped out from the portal. Flying between the gates of this world and Equestria would probably result in me flying out from the mirror when I come back to Twilight's castle. But nevertheless, I take a few steps forward and make contact with the portal's surface.

I can see the rippling as usual and the sound of both Sonata and Sunset's footsteps behind me as in following me. Noticing that as a good time now, I continue forward and step through and into the portal's wormhole yet again. The portal's grey surface disappears when I pass through and knew what was expected next.

I found myself flying upwards and away and out of the white hole. Ahead of me was that cutie mark symbol that knew was the representation of Celestia's cutie mark, the sun. Into the infinite realm I went through flying, managing to take a hold on that grip I could not on my way to the mirror world, but I was more careful and firmer about it and through the rainbow tunnel.

I can hear Sonata and Sunset behind me having the time of their life and surfing on the unknown right behind me. I can tell that Sonata was having a fun time like being on a board and surfing underneath a large tidal wave of the mysterious. From when I turn my head a bit to take a look outside of the swirl, I could see the same thing as I saw before on the way through. Planets were rotating to themselves with different appearances with the stars shining brightly with the sight of a supernova in reverse turning right back into a red giant as if it seemed we were going backwards in time, though we were not. A comet made of ice and dust pass over the swirl and towards another star system far from this imaginary system we were in, sort of like a hallucination.

I was stretching for a little bit, and I knew this meant that were really close to the event horizon to the enchanted shining gate of Equestria's magic border. The illumination of Celestia's cutie mark in the distance grew closer faster and I knew I could not just simply end up flying through the mirror again. I keep myself prepared and my two feet steadfast and ready to act in case I was flying too close. At the speed I was at though, I didn't need to panic as it was more rather slow than going fast from my way to the other side the first time.

I moved the both of my stretching legs to unveil some walking so I can get a little bit of control over it. Only 5 seconds until I hit the event horizon, so I just keep trying to walk over thin air in the swirl and close my eyes so that I am not blinded in any way whatsoever. After those few seconds, there is a whoosh and then a calm serene sound that could tell that I have managed to keep myself in control and made it to the end of the gate.

My feet take the invisible steps forward and then I can feel that strange non-liquid fluid upon my own face again. My right foot managed to make contact with a surface so hard and I open my eyes to see past the mystical essence and back into where my new home was.

I take the first few steps out of the mirror and off of the crystal platform where it was resting. I take in that deep breath to get that Equestrian air into my system and exhale it out. How I missed my new home while I was gone. I turn around to see the mirror shine a few bits momentarily and watch Sunset in pony form and Sonata coming out.

I was rather surprised by what Sonata looked like when she came out of the mirror portal. She was in the form of an Earth pony, and her cutie mark was a crazy looking note from music with a heart right behind it on her flank. She still maintains the same mane as her hair back in the mirror world. After she had gone through, she takes a look at her new form excitedly, but finds it having a hard time to trot on four legs.

I take a look at the environment around us. We were right back inside Twilight's castle in the library section where it had originally been left off in the same spot I came in. It was strange though as we can hear hoofsteps coming towards us from the hallways of this large crystalline castle. I knew that it was Twilight herself coming in with a few of her friends that I knew.

Sonata trots over to us in a rather struggling way though she kept on slipping from trying to trot normally like Sunset was. "Is that company coming to see us?" She asked.

I turn and nod to her. We keep our eyes on the open arched doors that were lit by Celestia's sun in the closed stained glass window. Shadows begin to appear in the hallway's end as the light began to unveil their forms to us.

I did know that the first to come trotting in was Twilight herself and alongside her were both Rainbow Dash and the young dragon Spike. They were rather surprised at first, but Twilight's face gleamed with happiness and joy when she saw me return by the look of that positive emotion on her face beaming.

"You're back." She says while she and I move forward to get closer.

I bent down a bit to get down to her size and move the both of my arms around her neck gently. I can feel my head move towards her and the both of our lips gently meet, sharing a returning and welcoming kiss with each other. The kiss is brief though as we'll probably save the more major kissing for another date that me and her will go on sometime soon.

"I missed you while I was gone," I said to her in a soft and gentle tone. I move my right hand to her mane and begin stroking it gently while the both of our foreheads are pressed together. "It feels good to see that beautiful face of yours again."

I can see the both of Twilight's cheeks glow pink again as her heavenly violet eyes stared deep into my brown eyes. Her wings unfold and wrap around me gently. This moment felt just like I was in Paradise though I only believe that Heaven is a place that exists. This was the first time again being able to see my loving special somepony.

This moment between the both of us doesn't last forever though. There is the sound of Rainbow Dash just about pinning somepony to the floor with her own hooves, that causes the both of us to turn and look to see what is going on.

Rainbow Dash had Sunset Shimmer pinned to the ground and was overshadowing the unicorn and keeping her between the pegasi's hooves and her face grown really close to Sunset. "Why are you even here, thief?!" Dash shouts at her to try to get her to speak the truth. "You came back to steal something else, huh? Guess what, there isn't a single thing here you can take!"

"Rainbow Dash!" I said, with Twilight taking her wings off of me so that I can go and confront Rainbow Dash who was being a little too overprotective and loyal at the moment. "I know that your element is loyalty, but please give Sunset a break. She has already been through enough."

Rainbow Dash paused for a moment, but complies within the next few to get off from pinning Sunset to the ground. "Okay okay," She says with a bit of annoyance in her tone. "It's not like I was trying to get her right back through the portal."

"It's alright Rainbow Dash," I said to her knowing she would probably apologize for her behavior later. It would best now to forgive her early. "She's on our side now so it's all good and Twilight was there when she had redeemed herself completely of the darkness that overcame her."

"Thanks Brayden." Sunset says to me, putting a smile upon her face.

"Who's that?" Twilight says with a tone of question in her voice. "She looks really familiar…"

I could see that Twilight managed to notice Sonata Dusk who was still struggling to stand up properly on all four hooves just like everypony else. Figures that now would be as good a time to introduce my new friend to Twilight and hope she doesn't overreact after I tell her she was one of the sirens from Canterlot High.

"This here is my new friend Sonata Dusk," I said to introduce her to Twilight. The alicorn turns her head to watch me walk over towards the earth pony and join up beside her. "She once was a bad heart, but something inside her changed her for the better good just like with Sunset. She was one of the three Dazzlings."

"WHAT?!" Twilight shouted in a rather outraged and surprised tone of voice. "YOU BROUGHT BACK A SIREN TO EQUESTRIA?!"

Oh boy, I knew that something like this was going to come up when I told her that Sonata was a siren, or at least used to be. I really needed to calm her down before the situation got out of control. I raise the both of my hands up into the air as a sign to keep her calm. "Twilight, relax. She's on our side now and she helped me out to save Sunset and my other new friends back in the mirror world," I explained to her in calm and maintaining professional tone. "She passed through the mirror because she has a good heart inside that she regretted ever doing what she did back when it was the Dazzlings."

Twilight still looked a bit surprised with only a bit of a disappointing glare. Finally, she closed her eyes and proceeds to do an in-and-out breath to take the stress off of her that Cadence had taught. After she sighed, she trots up towards me.

"Well, I can't get mad at you for doing that," Twilight says to me, looking at me with those violet eyes of hers. "I hope that I don't have to get angry, but in the end I am really proud to see you have also helped out a few others to change their ways and…" The stress that she had on her was gone and she releases a happy smile at me. "I am really proud for what you did."

I share the same smile with her and bent down on one knee, opening my arms up. Twilight moves closer towards me and the both of us share a gentle, romantic hug together. "I'm sorry for accidently yelling right there." She whispers in my ear sound apologetic.

"It's alright Twilight." I whisper back to her, knowing deep down that she didn't really mean it.

Twilight presses her horn gently against my forehead, but not too hard. She lights it up and I don't feel anything tickle while she was doing that for a few brief moments. But I was curious enough as to why she would light up her horn pressing against my head.

"What'd you do?" I had asked her.

Twilight giggles a bit and says "Oh, I managed to copy out the memories of your trip to Manehattan and the mirror world and I am curious to see and watch what you did with Coco in the big city and the others at Canterlot High."

"I guess that is okay then," I said to her, giving her a gentle scratch behind her left ear which stood up. "After all, such memories I want to share about the fun I had with the one princess I love dearly."

Twilight had a sweet look on her face that could tell that she felt happy again in my presence. "But I was wondering now," She says while she briefly glances at Sunset with a smile still on her face. "Why did Sunset came back with you and your friend Sonata?"

Sunset decided to open her mouth and start explaining briefly about why this happened while trotting forward towards the both of us. "He had invited me to come back to Equestria and I thought about because I still feared about Princess Celestia still being a little bad for what I did. But Brayden here told me his story of how he saved and helped to redeem Nightmare Moon, and heard the mention of me that the princess would forgive me," She had told her while Twilight listened. I had my head turned to look at Sunset while she spoke. "I have a bit of confidence about this, but I am still afraid of being rejected of fixing the friendship bridge between me and her because I was once her student."

"Don't worry Sunset," Twilight says to her. "If you think you can do it, there is no stopping you from asking for forgiveness from the princess."

Sunset nods with a smile. "I suppose you two are busy together, so I'll leave you two for a bit of time." She says to us, joining up beside Sonata.

"Who wants to see the Wonderbolt figures I have?" I could hear Spike call out to the both of them.

Sunset turns her head to look at the young baby dragon she recognized as the puppy in the mirror world. "Well, I haven't been too interested in what Wonderbolts were, but sure I'm interested." She says, trotting to join up with Rainbow Dash and Spike with Sonata following her.

"You don't know about the Wonderbolts?! They're the greatest ever!" I could hear Rainbow Dash comment with a bit of surprise to this revelation as they made their way out of the library to leave me and Twilight to ourselves for now.

"What happened while I was gone Twilight?" I said to her. I wanted to know by curiosity what had been happening in the enchanted lands of Equestria while I was out past the mirror.

Twilight's eyes move for a bit with a smile. "Trust me on this Brayden," She said. "You really don't know what it was like having been on a part of Equestria and having your cutie mark removed and replaced with an equal sign."

I was surprised. Removing a cutie mark was even possible? "Yeah, I'm not really sure I want to know what it is like, but you can tell me about it some other time." I said to her, taking her gentle right hoof and stroking it gently with my left hand's fingers to make her feel comfortable.

I was back home again and was ready to see my friends from Ponyville again where I step out from the castle, ready to greet Celestia's newest day around. I don't really know where Sonata would be staying, but I am just sure that Pinkie will allow her to stay with her until she found a place. The Cakes are some friendly folk, so I am sure that they'll approve.

My next date with Twilight will be soon, so I should be ready for that shortly enough.