Elements of Planeswalking

"What's got you all excited?" Spike asked.

"I just got a message from Sunset Shimmer saying she wants to teach me about a new kind of magic that exists only in her world!" Twilight explained, "Could you maybe send Princess Celestia a letter for me? I want her to know there's a whole new kind of magic that we don't know about yet".

"I don't think she'd let you'd go," Spike said.

"Oh, please... I'm the very element of magic incarnate, why would she deny me this opportunity?" Twilight asked.

"Maybe because she sees you as a daughter of sorts?" Spike said.

"And yet, she's sent me into more danger than anypony else, and without a detachment of guards at that," Twilight pointed out, "Just send her a letter, will you?"

"Alright, but don't even try to blame me when she shows up and stops you from leaving," Spike said before picking up a quill and paper.

Dear Princess Celestia,

I recently heard from Sunset Shimmer that there's a brand new kind of magic that only exists in the world she now calls home. I'll be taking off for a little while to learn everything she can teach me, and will give you my findings when I get home.

Your fellow Princess,

Twilight Sparkle

"That's got to be the shortest letter I've ever sent," Spike said after breathing the scroll away.

"I can't wait to get going!" Twilight said, dancing in place like a giddy schoolgirl who had just been asked out on a date by her crush.

BELCH

"What'd she say?" Twilight asked.

Spike unrolled the scroll and read it aloud.

Dear Twilight,

I know how excited you must be after hearing this news, however I must warn you of the dangers of unknown magic. You do not know what this magic could do. You are taking quite the risk by accepting this invitation, and I want you to be extremely careful while you're gone. Sunset Shimmer should have a good grasp on the subject if she feels comfortable teaching it to you, and I want you to listen to everything she tells you. If it helps, pretend that she is a teacher from my school for gifted unicorns.

Before you go, I'm enchanting a couple of books similar to the pair Sunset and I used to communicate back when she lived in Equestria. This way, you can tell me what you've learned when you learn it, instead of waiting to come home.

Your friend,

Celestia

P.S. When are you going to just call me by name instead of by title?

BELCH

"Ow, that one hurt," Spike said as his fire materialized into two books and another scroll.

Dear Twilight,

I've enchanted a second pair of books so I can get back in touch with Sunset Shimmer. Please, give her the other book that has her cutie mark on it when you see her.

Your friend,

Celestia

With that, Twilight put both books into her saddlebags, lacking a backpack from the human world, and then she and Spike headed off to the portal room.

"Next time I say I'm bringing saddlebags to CHS, slap me," Twilight said weakly, recovering from the sudden squeeze of her saddlebags against her larger human form.

As Twilight and Spike walked up to the doors of CHS, the bell rang for the end of the day. By the time the two reached the doors, students were walking through them, greeting Twilight as they walked past. One thing that Twilight took notice of was tiny little boxes hanging from everybody's belt. If it had only been a few here and there, it wouldn't have seemed too off, but the fact that EVERY person Twilight saw hand one made her think something was up. She wondered if maybe Sunset had started teaching the CHS students about this new magic and those boxes were used to harness it's abilities somehow. Well, she'd soon get her answer.

As the young woman walked into the band room, the agreed to meeting place since the battle of the bands, she was almost immediately tackled to the ground as her friends greeted her with a tight hug.

"Glad to see you girls too, but uh... kinda need to breathe," Twilight said weakly.

"Sorry about that," The girls said as they back off.

"Hey, what's this?" Rainbow asked, grabbing Twilight's saddlebags, "Some kind of new fashion belt or something?"

"Actually, those are saddlebags," Sunset pointed out, "Ponies don't, at least last I checked, have any need for belts".

"Yea, and I wish I would've known the difference in proportions between humans and ponies," Twilight said, "Soon as I stepped out of the portal, they nearly cut me in half".

"At least they didn't smack you across the face," Sunset said, "When I first came through, I got a nice gold buckle right to the face. I was lucky to have not lost an eye to it".

"If that'd happened, I think you'd hear Twilight crying long before you saw her," Spike said jokingly before being slapped on the back of the head "Ow".

"That's not funny," Twilight said sternly.

"By the way, aren't you forgetting something?" Spike asked.

"Oh yea!" Twilight said, before grabbing a book from her saddlebags and handing it to Sunset, "Pri- er... Celestia wanted me to give you this. Said she wanted to get back in touch with you".

"Thanks, Twilight," Sunset said, taking the book, "Mind if I write to her before we get started?"

"Go ahead," Twilight said, "I think it would mean a lot to her".

With that, Sunset pulled out a pen and sat down to write.

Dear Princess Celestia,

It's me, Sunset Shimmer. Boy, it feels like I haven't said anything to you in a thousand years. How've things been since I left? I've heard about some things from Twilight, but I want to know how things have been going for you personally.

About me? I've been doing great, even more so since I started making friends. When I learn something new about friendship, it actually kind of reminds me of my lessons with you back when I was a filly. Oh, those were the days... I do wish I could back to those days sometimes. Oh, remember the time you walked into my room and got hit in the face with pie meant for the maid I didn't much like? Good times, those...

Anyway, would it be too much to ask if I could come back and visit from time to time? I feel like my place is in this place, but I'm still a unicorn deep down. I'd very much like to say hi to you in person again. I'd also like to meet Twilight's friends in Equestria. Oh hey, would it also be ok if I bring them with me one weekend since we don't have school on the weekends? I have my own place, so we could just call it an extended sleepover and everything should be fine.

There's so much I really want to say, but I can't just put it all into one letter... I uh... don't wanna bog you down with text or anything. But anyway, I look forward to hearing from you again soon... er, well, getting a letter in this new book.

Your former student,

Sunset Shimmer

With that, Sunset closed the book and set it inside her backpack.

"So, ready to learn some Magic?" Sunset asked.

"She's been looking forward to it since you sent that letter," Spike said, "She was dancing around like a school filly when I came home from Rarity's".

"Didn't expect you to get so excited over a trading card game," Sunset said.

"What do you mean?" Twilight asked, "You said you wanted to teach about a new kind of magic that exists only in this world".

"Did I really?" Sunset asked, "I could swear I told you it was a game".

"If it's just a game, though, why call it magic?" Twilight asked.

"It's called 'Magic: The Gathering'," Sunset said, "It doesn't involve actual magic, but it's still pretty fun".

"So, then we got Celestia worked up over nothing?" Spike asked.

"Wait, what are you talking about?" Sunset asked, "What did you say to her?"

"We told her that I'd be coming here for a while to learn some new magic that only exists in this world, and that you'd be my teacher," Twilight said.

"I'll have to clarify that later... after she tells me to be careful with her prized pupil who is now a princess herself," Sunset said, facepalming, "But for now, let's not worry about that. You came here to learn, so, one way or another, I'm going to teach you something".