Within the walls of one of the more private libraries in the Castle of Friendship two ponies were waiting. Both were sitting in front of an ornate mirror. Definitely a nice mirror, but it was set apart by the complicated clutter of apparatus that Twilight had constructed around it. This mirror was a gateway to another world, the reason for its out of the way location. One of Twilight's first adventures as princess had been a trip through the mirror in order to retrieve the element of magic. The antagonist of that tale was the very one the two ponies were waiting for. Though times had most definitely changed.
The mirror shimmered, the surface rippling like water as the portal became active. Someone was coming through. Even though this was a prearranged meeting Twilight felt her heartbeat increase a little. Her wings twitched as her body readied itself. So far nothing sinister had ever used the portal but there was a first for everything.
All of the tension melted away when a golden unicorn wobbling on her hind legs came through the portal. Her stance stabilised when she was able to get down onto all fours. The mare was of similar build to Starlight, though her mane was a mix of deep red and bright yellow. Her green eyes surveyed the room and she broke out into a small grin when she spied the two waiting ponies.
“Morning,” she said brightly, waving a hoof through the air.
“Good to see you again Sunset!” Twilight smiled, sweeping the golden mare into a hug.
“Every Saturday we said,” Sunset Shimmer chuckled.
One week ago Sunset had first come back to Equestria as the new Sunset Shimmer. After abandoning the teachings of her mentor Princess Celestia, she had fled into the world beyond the mirror. With evil intentions she had made a brief trip to Equestria to steal Twilight's crown. That had been the turning point and now several misadventures later she had fought the evil Sirens, helped another misguided soul find her way and finally reconciled with the Princess whom she had failed.
After that, very awkward and emotional, meeting she had discussed her situation with Twilight. She missed Equestria and as much as she loved her friends in the other world, her heart had been aching with homesickness. That was when Twilight had came up with the idea. Every weekend, Sunset could come to Equestria through the mirror and spend the day. That would hopefully help with her homesickness. It was decided, and a week had just passed.
Now once again back in the land of her birth, Sunset Twilight pulled away from her, smiling at her friend. Sunset shot her a teasing grin in return, before moving around her and resting her hoof on Starlight's shoulder. She knew that the lilac unicorn was not one for hugs.
“Good to see you again too.”
“You too,” Starlight nodded, touching Sunset's shoulder with her own hoof.
Twilight's wings fluttered excitedly and an adorable wide smile illuminated her features. The pair had hit it off almost immediately, and Starlight had been able to help Sunset steel herself before the meeting with Celestia. Both unicorns knew what it was like to have their whole world view shattered. While the outcome was for the best, both Starlight and Sunset had been left shaken and unsure of themselves. Sunset gave Starlight a friendship she could go into without any hesitation or fear of judgement.
Sunset chuckled and settled down onto her haunches. Adjusting to her pony body came with an ease that still surprised her. While she had grown very used to living as a human, the two anatomies were so different that it was almost impossible to mix them up. Though, as a slight tugging pain reminded her, there were some things that were less easy to fall back into. Shifting herself, the unicorn flicked her tail so that it was away from her body before resting down again. Neither of the other occupants of the library made any comment, simply getting themselves comfortable.
“So...what should we do?” Starlight asked, deciding to break the silence.
Twilight brought a hoof to her chin and let out a thoughtful hum. What could they do? That was something she had not really considered. Spike was helping Rarity, so they did have the whole castle to themselves. Unless of course one of her other friends decided to pop in. If that happened then the dilemma of not knowing what to do would evaporate almost instantly. Though was there anything they could do that only they could do? Having three of the most powerful magic users in the one place was an opportunity not to be passed up.
The answer came from Sunset. She had observed the same as Twilight, that the room had become a congregation of three extremely gifted mages. An idea formed from her competitive nature caused a slight smirk to curve her lips. Who among them was the most powerful? She and Rainbow Dash often clashed in the other world, it was all friendly competition. So why could this not be the same? There was no difference really, between a magical contest and a friendly running race or a video game battle.
“How about we have a little contest,” Sunset suggested, looking around to gauge the reaction.
Starlight looked rather confused, but she piped up first regardless. “What kind of contest?”
“A magical one of course!” Sunset exclaimed. “Might as well really get our hooves dirty and test our magic. I know for a fact that when I was Celestia's student finding a partner to really test myself against was difficult. I can only assume that you both have the same problem.”
Both mares looked a little sheepish at this, causing Sunset to raise an eyebrow. Twilight cleared her throat and shrugged.
“Well, while I do certainly enjoy having someone around who I can discuss magic with...I never really felt the need to test myself against anypony.”
Starlight swallowed a little before saying. “And I...had my own goals. Before that Sunburst and I did everything as a team, there was no real need for competition.”
An adorable pout crossed Sunset's face, now twice as effective because she was once again a pony.
“Well, that's that idea gone,” she huffed, narrowing her eyes and furrowing her brow in concentration.
“Not necessarily,” Twilight corrected her. “I personally would enjoy seeing just how much I have learned... without the fate of Equestria hanging in the balance.”
“And I would not mind a little challenge.” Starlight chimed in. “After Sunburst left I had to teach myself, so it would be nice to see how well I stack up in a formal contest.”
Sunset's visage immediately brightened. “C'mon then, it'll be fun. I promise. Though, if Starlight has no formal education I say we should level the playing field with a little crash course. If Starlight is up for that of course.”
Starlight chuckled a little. If Sunset wanted to make this, as she put it, fair then by all means Starlight would oblige her. She was proud of her own talents but knew that her spell pool was most definitely lacking compared to two of Princess Celestia's prized students. Though there was no way that she would let Sunset get one over on her that easily. So she shot back,
“That would be nice, and it would help you brush off some of the rust.”
Twilight rolled her eyes a little. A study session sounded like a nice relaxing time before they allowed themselves to get swept up into any heated competition. Though Starlight and Sunset had already sparked a little rivalry. She allowed herself a little inward smile. Sunset was going to get a surprise if she underestimated Starlight. Despite her lack of formal education the mare had dueled Twilight to a standstill and reworked a complicated time travel spell to suit her own needs. Even if this was just a friendly contest Twilight felt herself get excited. Maybe this was because it was a friendly contest. Her only other magic duel had been with Trixie where the stakes had been high. Now all that was in store for the loser was maybe some bruising to their pride.
“Let's go to the main library, its the best place to brush up,” Twilight stated, suppressing her newfound excitement so she could speak clearly.
With that the three unicorns started towards the library. As always Twilight locked the door behind her. It was merely a precaution, more to stop visitors to the castle accidentally wandering in. Anything coming through the portal that would be a worry to her, could most likely unlock the door with ease. However, it made her feel a little safer sleeping in the same castle as a portal to another dimension. Even if that dimension contained a great group of friends. Friends who of course had other means of contacting her if required.
The main library was Twilight's pride and joy. This room was where she spent most of her time in the castle. Shelves as high as the ceiling were stacked full of every book Twilight thought was appropriate. From the fictional stories that a parent would read to her foal to tomes about the history of magic so thick they were almost as heavy as Spike, Twilight had a huge selection. Several Daring Do posters were also dotted around the walls, filling most of the limited empty space. Sunset felt awe fill her as she looked up and down the huge shelves.
Twilight lead the pair to a small alcove at the very back of the library. A soft rug, a large plush sofa and a sturdy table made up the furnishings of the alcove.
“You two can get comfortable, I'll go grab the books we need,” Twilight smiled, trotting towards a nearby shelf and taking to the air.
With practised ease the alicorn moved parallel to the bookcase, grabbing several books in her magic. By the time she was done her two friends were comfortable on the sofa. Twilight placed the heavy stack of books down on the table. The sturdy frame held under the weight.
“That is, a lot of books,” Sunset blinked, tilting her head as she started to read the titles.
“Oh this is nothing,” Starlight grinned. “You should have seen the list of B's for my friendship lessons... Just the B's mind you...”
“I like to prepare,” Twilight snorted, landing in between the pair and getting herself comfortable beside them.
“So, where should we start?” Starlight asked, deciding to simply grab the top book in the stack and open it. The last time she had played book jenga, things had spiralled out of control.
Twilight took a peek over Starlight's shoulder at the book she had picked up. Not a bad place to start, though perhaps a fair bit simple for everyone involved. Evidently the lilac mare thought so too. After reading the contents Starlight put the book aside with a grumble, the disdain in her voice equal to the expression etched onto her features.
“Okay... I learned all that when I was a foal...I don't think we'll get anything from that.”
“Maybe not,” Twilight admitted.
“What about this?” Sunset asked, grabbing a particularly large book and lifting it from the pile. The book was titled, “Magic: A Comprehensive List of Hints.”
“Blatantly titled,” Starlight said with a little dryness in her tone.
“Magic books do tend to be fairly straight forward in their titles,” Sunset chuckled. “Probably to compensate for the fact that most of the spells have rather...interesting names. They want unicorns to actually open the book not run away.”
Twilight smiled. “I always preferred the more intricate titles, they always had the more difficult spells.”
“Each to their own,” Sunset said as she flicked through the book. “Looks advanced enough to not be patronising, but nothing that would take us an entire day to go through.”
“Well let's begin!” Twilight exclaimed, rubbing her hooves together in anticipation.
An hour passed and Sunset was quickly getting herself back up to speed. Her old lessons had been a breeze, and retracing them brought all her old knowledge rushing back to the forefront. Twilight was in a similar position, merely refreshing her memory on some of the more difficult spells. However, Starlight was quickly feeling herself get frustrated. As her peers easily demonstrated spell after spell she was struggling to comprehend just what she was supposed to do with a spell to produce pure water. A spell that Twilight and Sunset had already breezed past. No matter how large her pool of magic power was, no matter how much effort she could force into the spell, nothing would come to fruition. She had even swallowed her pride and grabbed the book she had previously discarded, though quickly decided once again that it was not going to assist her.
Starlight groaned and flopped her head forward, slamming her face into the book. Twilight jerked up from her reading. While they had all agreed to try and brush up on their own to make the competition more fair, Starlight was trying to learn new magic while Sunset and herself were retreading old ground. The alicorn moved over and laid a wing on Starlight's back.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“Yes...I just... I don't know why it's so hard...” Starlight groaned. “It looks simple enough but I just can't grasp what exactly the book is telling me to do.”
“Here, let me help you,” Twilight sighed, sitting beside her.
“That's against the rules,” Starlight said flatly, before wincing at how bitter her tone sounded.
“Sorry, I know you mean well...but I don't want to be unfair. It's not your fault I'm no good at learning spells.”
“No,” Twilight said gently, “Though it is not your fault that you were not given the opportunities that Sunset and I were. I want to help, and I think that supersedes any little rules we may have made up.”
Behind the two purple ponies, Sunset spoke up. The mare had looked up from her latest practice spell at the sudden conversation. Hearing Starlight get so frustrated had brought a little bit of reality back to the situation. As much as the mare was able to conceal herself behind a smile or a quip she let things get to her. Matters that would seem trivial were blown out of proportion in her mind. Sunset had only known her a short while but even so this fact was very apparent. With a deep sigh, she tried to calm the lilac mare.
“Twilight's right...I got a little swept up in the competition there. I never considered how difficult this might be for you...We can call the thing off.”
“No...I want...I want to do this...but seeing you both make this look all so easy made me feel a little... pressured. I never realised just how little I knew.” Starlight sighed, turning around to face the golden unicorn.
“You know more than you think,” Sunset replied. “You got that cutie mark in magic for a reason. Twilight wrote to me about you a few times. She told me about your confrontation in the past, the town you founded and how you could remove cutie marks.”
“Not really stuff I have any reason to be proud of...”
“Been there done that, as you know. Anyway, the point is no matter the outcome of this little competition you still rank up with two of Princess Celestia's personal students. You have your own way of doing things. I'm pretty sure that if we just went into this duel right now Twilight and I would be in for some fierce competition. I've been watching you a little and while I was sceptical of Twilight's claims it seems she was right.”
“What claims?” Starlight asked, tilting her head quizzically.
Sunset chuckled. “She said in one of her messages that she was pretty sure you were the most magically gifted unicorn she had seen. I didn't think anyone with that power could slip under Princess Celestia's radar but I was wrong. Your magical power trumps even mine and I presume Twilight's. Just, do things your own way. Twilight and myself can guide you, but you've gotten this far on your own. Don't compare yourself to us. I spent a lot of time trying to be something I wasn't. If it takes you a little longer to learn a spell just keep calm and know that once you grasp it there are few who'll be able to match you.”
“That was... deep...” Starlight chuckled, finding herself a little speechless at the heartfelt tirade that was meant specifically to reassure her.
“I learned from some of the best,” Sunset grinned, winking towards Twilight. “Though as I was saying, even as you are now you would give me a real run for my money. We can keep studying a little bit longer, with Twilight and I dropping you a few pointers if you need them, or we can just get to the main event and see what happens.”
Thinking about it for a moment, Starlight shut the book after a few seconds. While staying in the library and studying would be the more logical idea, she much preferred to just jump into things. That was where most of her past mistakes had come from but even so it was still an integral part of her. She just had to make sure not to jump into the wrong things. Besides, all the books were doing were frustrating her.
“That answers that,” Sunset said excitedly, almost skipping on the spot as she spoke. “Let's go then!”
Half an hour later and everything was set up. They had decided to do their practise behind the castle, this gave them enough space while protecting the town from any stray spells with the walls of the castle. Pooling their efforts the three had created an addition layer of protection. The large dome shield was an amalgamation of their magic, meant to dissipate any spell that came into contact with it.
Now the three were positioned in a triangular formation within their created dome. Twilight looked between her two friends, taking a deep breath before saying,
“Let's begin.”
“I'll start,” Sunset called, her horn glowing a bright turquoise, she stepped forward and created a fountain of water from her horn.
The jet of cool liquid sprayed towards Twilight. The alicorn let out a cry of surprise before activating her own magic and turning the water into a swan and sending the watery bird flying towards Starlight. The lilac unicorn braced herself and sent a beam of energy at the swan. The bird exploded as the massive burst of heat turned the water into steam. Soon steam filled the dome, obscuring the vision of the three ponies.
Sunset dealt with it using a cooling spell, causing the steam to condense back into water droplets. These droplets fell onto the coats of all three mares, soaking them through quite effectively. Still glistening with water droplets Twilight summoned rain clouds above Starlight and Sunset. Sunset dealt with hers using a creating a gentle breeze to blow the clouds away just before they started to unleash their contents upon the ground.
“We are going to all need a warm bath after this,” Sunset giggled, now taking the moment of reprieve to try and shake herself dry.
Only a moment later the cloud that had been summoned above Starlight was sent flying into the barrier by the unicorn's repulsion shield spell. When the magical creation hit the barrier it dissipated, spraying water all over Sunset. Starlight brought her hooves to her mouth and gasped as she realised just where she had sent the cloud.
“I'm so sorry!” Starlight mumbled into her hooves. “I didn't mean to send it that far!”
Sunset just narrowed her eyes and shook herself dry again. Twilight was trying and failing to restrain her giggling fit. Starlight's look of horror faded rather quickly when Sunset joined in with Twilight.
“Yes... I am definitely having a warm bath after this,” Sunset laughed, tossing her head back as she did so.
Starlight rolled her eyes. “Either way, I think it's my turn now.”
Twilight and Sunset both nodded, their laughing immediately ceasing. The pair turned serious, facing Starlight. Their gaze bored into her. Nervousness filled her as she tried to think of an appropriate spell to cast. She could try and crystallise them both, but Twilight would probably see that coming. Casting her memory back she tried to remember one of the spells she and Sunburst had worked on. There was one that they had tried, which would swap the positions of two targeted objects. That would hopefully allow her to follow up with a crystallising spell afterwards due to the disorientation her first strike would cause.
The air hummed as Starlight gathered her magical energy. Twilight and Sunset had started fairly small but as Sunset had said she had to be herself. Being Starlight Glimmer meant throwing everything you had at a goal. Having one of her spells easily deflected was not something she was willing to subject herself to. When she had gathered enough power she started to focus the spell, giving the magic both targets. Her eyes closed tightly as held the spell ready for a moment, then fired.
The two beams of light flew straight and true, speeding towards their targets. Twilight and Sunset had no idea just what was coming at them and both opted to warp themselves out of the way. Starlight snorted under her breath. She had not considered that course of action. She watched as her spell hit the barrier and then...bounced straight back.
“I thought it would dissipate if it hit the wall!” Starlight yelled, barely able to dodge her own reflected spell.
“Uuhh...maybe I made a miscalculation with the barrier!” Twilight replied frantically, ducking to the side to avoid another rebound.
“What spell was it anyway?” Sunset demanded.
Starlight was about to answer when the two rapidly bouncing beams collided with each other. When the two identical streams of magic connected a ball of illuminating teal energy rapidly expanded, filling the whole dome and engulfing the three mares. The light persisted for a few seconds before slowly fading and revealing the three ponies laying on the ground, a little ruffled but unharmed.
Sunset was the first to wake. Her eyes flickered open and she stood up. Everything seemed a little lower down than usual, or was it that she was taller. It was the same sensation that she felt every time she changed from pony back to human. Only this was much less extreme. Her flanks also felt warm, as if something was pressing against them. She lifted her head to get a proper look around, only to see...herself?
“What the hay is going on here?!” Sunset asked, only to gasp as she spoke with Twilight's voice.
She tried to take a step forward to where she, or rather her body at least, was laying but the moment her hoof lifted from the ground she felt herself fall to the side. All of a sudden her balance had left her, and she was sent crashing back down to the dirt. The commotion stirred Twilight, now in the body of Starlight Glimmer. Seeing herself struggling to get up, she rushed to her feet only to end up in the same position. It seemed that...not only was she in the wrong body, her sense of balance was completely gone.
Starlight groaned as she pulled herself up a little. Both the eyes of Twilight and...herself were upon her. She felt herself wilt a little under their gaze, and a lock of fiery red mane with golden streaks fell in front of her eyes. How...how did that happen? There was no way she could have mixed up an object spatial swap spell for a body change spell.
“I...I...don't know what happened,” she stammered in Sunset's voice. “Honest.”
“What was the exact spell you used?” Twilight asked. “It might help us fix this.”
Starlight was a little taken aback at being asked a question by herself but answered quickly. “It was an object spatial warp spell... I only wanted to change your positions so I could crystallise you for a moment while you were disorientated.”
“Smart,” Sunset said. “Though that doesn't explain this... How did this happen?”
“Maybe when the two beams connected they amplified and swapped everything they could find...” Twilight suggested. “Though I have no idea why it seems none of us have any sense of balance.”
“We don't?” Starlight queried, trying to push herself to her feet. Standing was fine but the instant she tried to move she felt the whole world lurch and she was sent sprawling.
“Nope...We don't...” she groaned into the ground.
“Okay well we need to fix this one thing at a time... Our sense of balance will be easier than trying to perform a proper body swap.” Sunset reasoned. “And I'd rather hurry up on it... I'm feeling more than a little dizzy.”
“Okay...” Twilight started. “We're all able to use magic, so the different bodies shouldn't affect us too much. I'll try a balance spell. If that doesn't work...then maybe we can all levitate ourselves, like you do sometimes Starlight.”
“That, might work. But we could also just end up bumping into even more things, plus...like Sunset says, if we get too dizzy to cast spells then levitation won't work.”
“Right...” Twilight murmured. She had forgotten about that. Her own head, or Starlight's, was spinning rather rapidly. While she could still think clearly the discomfort was growing each time she tried to look around.
Closing her eyes helped with some of the dizziness, though Twilight had to be quick about this. She concentrated and used Starlight's magic to cast the desired spell, targeting herself. A fuzzy feeling enveloped her whole body, lingering for a moment before leaving her feeling as she had before. There was no change, but that meant nothing. There was only one way to test if she had been successful. Slowly she moved to her hooves.
“So far so good...” she whispered, taking a few small steps forward.
Her movements were wobbly, but the spell seemed to have done the trick. At least for the time being. Switching targets she once against tapped into Starlight's magic to replicate the spell on her friends. With their balance restored they stood up. Just like Twilight they were shaky but the ability to move without collapsing every step would help immensely.
“Now what...” Sunset asked. “Library?”
“Of course.” Twilight nodded. “I'm sure we will find something in one of my books!”
“Why is that always the answer?” Sunset muttered, but made her way towards the entrance to the castle without complaint.
As the Castle of Friendship had no back entrance they would have to all walk around into full view of the rest of Ponyville while stumbling around as if they had partaken in a touch too much cider. Though their problems were just about to get worse.
“Princess Twilight!” the mayor called suddenly as she rushed up to the trio.
Twilight was about to respond on instinct but was stopped by Starlight, who hissed in her ear.
“Not a good idea... Either she'll think you're crazy...or that Sunset and I did this on purpose.”
“No she wouldn't...” Twilight tried to start, but Sunset cut her off out of the corner of her mouth.
“Don't worry... I'll handle this...You two just find a way to fix this...”
“You sure?” Twilight asked, reaching out with Starlight's hoof and placing it on her own, or rather Sunset's shoulder.
“Yeah...Don't worry about me. Just fix this quick.”
“Okay...Good luck.”
With that the two unicorns dived into the castle, making sure to close the doors behind them. Sunset turned back to the mayor and put on her best Twilight smile.
“Sorry about that...Just a little predicament we're sorting out. What's the problem?”
The mayor looked exhausted. Something was clearly wrong, and Sunset was finding herself regretting her decision. Hopefully it was just a magical issue the mayor needed some assistance with.
“Well... first off, a group of business ponies from Manehatten arrived and want to set up a shop here, but they won't even discuss the proposition with me. They demand to see you! Then while I was trying to reason with them apparently a dispute broke out between Spoiled Rich and Mr and Mrs Cake. It seems that Ms Rich does not think she should have to pay for a cake because of a slight change the Cakes had to make due to practicality. They have tried to reasonably reduce the price but apparently Ms Rich won't have it.”
Sunset gulped. She knew a fair amount about dealing with these kind of situations thanks to her teachings under Princess Celestia but would have much preferred a magical problem. It was certainly not her place to be telling ponies what they should be doing. Even if it were not for the fact she was a stranger in her own land, this was a Ponyville problem. Outwardly trying to appear calm, she racked her brains for a suitable solution.
Meanwhile Twilight and Starlight were back in the library, forcing their way through book after book. Twilight already had a huge stack of useless books to the side of her. Starlight was explaining for the third time the exact thought process she had cast the spell with.
“I was trying to perform an object spatial swap spell so that I could disorientate you both in order to perform a crystallisation spell.” she grumbled in a monotone voice.
“Sorry...but sometimes intention can change a spell in unpredictable ways. That's why we ended up so disorientated. I just need to be sure that in no way was this current situation an intended outcome, even in your subconscious.”
“I understand...I'm just... I messed up again. It's all I seem to do.” Starlight mumbled.
She was immediately cut off by Twilight who was not about to let this train of thought continue. Starlight needed to realise that not every mistake was something she was going to be punished for, or that an honest failure would have her thrown out and left in the cold. She was doing well, she just needed a bit more confidence. Time was bringing it out in her again, one little road bump would not get in the way if Twilight had anything to say about it.
“Don't blame yourself. We'll fix this, we always do.” Twilight said firmly
“Hopefully...I really don't think you wanna be stuck as me for much longer.”
She was trying to put a little humour in the situation, in order to lighten her own mood and the mood in general. However, Twilight's response confused her.
“I can think of worse ponies to be stuck as,” she smiled, before diving back into her book.
Starlight sighed and started flicking through her own book. She was looking for any mention of the object spatial swap spell. Unable to find anything in her current book she placed it on Twilight's ever growing pile. Hopefully Sunset was doing a little better than they were with her own predicament, whatever that was.
Said mare was at this moment trying to wave off the mayor's concern as she stumbled her way to the town hall. Sunset was trying to put as much focus into walking in a straight line as she was into the task at hand. A sharp pain told her that she had bumped Twilight's wing into the door frame while trying to walk through the doors. It was a weird thought, being an alicorn had been all she had ever wanted but now all she wanted was her old body back. Even if it was a body she only used temporarily now, it was hers. Maybe if she had her own wings she could enjoy them but she would rather just not be bumping into everything.
“Are you sure you're okay?” the mayor asked, staring at Sunset through her glasses.
“Fine, fine!” Sunset said quickly, nodding as eagerly as she could. “Just a little distracted in my thoughts. I'm still new at this and I'm working out just what to do.”
“I understand,” Mayor Mare nodded. “Well I'm sure it'll be fine. I just hope together we can calm everything down. With you here the Manehatten ponies should at least talk to us.”
Sunset smiled, trying to sound much more confident than she was. “Shall we go in then?”
“Yes. Though... I should probably deal with the Cakes and Ms Rich as well... We do not want to keep anypony waiting.”
“You're right. You do that, and I'll try to at least placate everyone enough so that we can discuss their proposal more civilly.”
The two ponies parted ways, each making their way to a different door. Mayor Mare looked back in concern as she saw what she thought was her princess bash her shoulder into the door. Something was amiss here and she did not like it.
Sunset gulped once again, wetting her lips with her tongue quickly to make talking a little easier.
“You wanted to see me?” she asked, walking into the room.
The three ponies were all dressed in immaculate suits, making Sunset feel very underdressed. Regardless of whether eighty percent of the population, including the highest authorities, went unclothed or not the remaining twenty percent always seemed to make others uneasy. She sighed and settled herself down in front of them all. The middle pony, a large dark blue stallion with steely grey eyes gave a curt nodded and said in a smooth voice.
“Yes, we would rather deal with someone in power, not a small town mayor. I'm sure you can understand.”
“Actually I can't.” Sunset replied shortly. She was almost certain that this was not the approach that Twilight would take, but she was on a tight schedule and would rather sort this situation before she was found out.
“I beg your pardon?” the stallion asked, appearing affronted by her sharp response.
“Apologies,” Sunset said, softening her tone a little. “I simply cannot fathom why you would feel that the mayor is not a suitable candidate to hear your proposition.”
Here she tried to draw on her past knowledge. Mayor Mare had been in charge of Ponyville when Sunset had still been under Princess Celestia's tutelage. From what she could recall, aside from winter being a little late each year, there had been no complaints or concerns. Princess Celestia herself often quietly commended the mare in her skill at running a small town so close to the Everfree forest. Mayor Mare was fair, and knew a lot about the place she called her home. That counted for a lot, as Sunset was about to teach these stallions.
“Mayor Mare has been running this town for years. Far longer than I have been a resident here. Yes I may technically outrank her but it's Mayor Mare who knows what is best for Ponyville. If you want to create a business here then you must go through her, not me. It will be much better for all involved in the long run.”
“I don't think you quite understand who you are speaking to...” the blue stallion started.
Sunset had to force herself not to smack her head with her hoof. This was the part where ponies tried to inflate their importance to the princess. She had seen it happen many a time. It was a long and boring process, which she was now in for. Forget her previous sentiments, she was very glad these wings were only temporary. Twilight would owe her!
Back at the library Twilight and Starlight were making progress. Starlight had found an exact copy of the spell she had been trying to accomplish and Twilight was busy at work deconstructing it. The Princess of Friendship was scribbling furiously onto several parchments at once. Every so often she would glance up at Starlight, who was now trying to look through historical records of spells being miscast. Twilight was starting to feel a little funny. She chalked it up to the fact she was in another's body and maybe a little bit of Starlight was rubbing off on her. Having more magic in a unicorn body than she had possessed in even her alicorn body was making her restless.
“Something wrong?” Starlight asked, noticing that Twilight was shifting in place on the sofa.
“Huh? Well, no...just feeling a little restless,” Twilight admitted. “I think it's just a side effect of being in your body.”
“Huh? I'm not feeling anything,” Starlight blinked. “If anything I'm feeling a little calmer.”
“Probably because you have a fair bit less magic running through you,” Twilight said thoughtfully. “I'm just not used to having quite this much magic, especially in a unicorn body. It is fascinating, maybe I should do some tests later to see what effects having an abundance of magical power can cause. It may explain your impulsive nature.”
“Maybe I'll let you do some tests on me at a later date,” Starlight chuckled. “Just maybe. Though you should go for a walk and try ease off a bit, I can take over the spell. It shouldn't be too hard compared to Starswirl's.”
“No I'll be fine...I'm almost done with this spell anyway. Thanks though.”
Starlight looked unsure but decided to go with it. She moved from the rug to the sofa and planted herself down next to Twilight. Both mares gave each other a small smile before getting back to work. Twilight shifted a little, her discomfort spiking a little. What did it all mean?
Back at the town hall Sunset was at the end of her patience. She was a rather short tempered person at the best of times but this was ridiculous. Had business ponies somehow gotten even more stuck up in her absence? With a snort she stood up to Twilight's full height. Having just listened to all the ways this stallion was above the small town's politics she decided to ask.
“Then why exactly do you want to set up shop here? If you won't deal with the ponies in a civilised manner then you can't possibly want a business here. You say that you have simply run out of space in your own city and want somewhere cheap to build a warehouse and a small shop. Well I say to you that if you want to set up anything then you will have to go through the mayor. Contrary to your belief you are not above her! Ponies are all equal, no matter how much money they have or land they own. If the mayor thinks that you will be a prosperous addition to Ponyville then that is her decision but until you put aside your false importance then you simply won't be welcome here!”
Sunset was breathing heavily by the end of her tirade and her chest was heaving. Everything she had said she had meant. They were also things that she herself had needed to hear several times, particularly the part about false importance. Though she would have to replace money with power in order to apply it to herself. Either way, the looks on the three business ponies faces gave her a hint of satisfaction. She had gotten through that they would not be able to bully their way through any more. Being yelled at by the Princess of Friendship was probably a bit of a shock for most ponies. The stunned silence gave her ample opportunity to walk to the door and leave them to their thoughts.
As she was closing the door behind her she heard Mayor Mare exiting the other room, along with two mares and a stallion. The air was frosty but the three parted ways with each other calmly enough. The stallion and the blue mare walked off, giving her a cheerful wave when they noticed her. Sunset waved back with a smile. The pink mare with the purple mane did nothing of the sort, simply striding off towards the main exit. Maybe it would be a good idea to catch her up and give her some treatment as well, Sunset thought. Though perhaps she should keep from painting Twilight as someone to be wary of any more. While she did not regret her words to the ponies, she would have some explaining to do when all this was over. Hopefully that was the last of her large speeches today, her voice was getting hoarse.
“How did it go?” the mayor asked, stepping over to Sunset.
“About as well as I could have hoped,” Sunset replied. “They should at least be more pleasant to deal with now.”
“Thank you Princess Twilight. I shall go in and have another talk with them,” the mayor nodded, gratitude emanating from her tone.
“No problem,” Sunset chuckled. “It was...enlightening. Though I do have to get back to the castle now. Slight problem that I need to address still.”
“Of course,” Mayor Mare nodded. “I'll be getting back to work as well. Thank you once more Princess.”
Sunset gave another smile, before walking towards the door. Perhaps Twilight and Starlight had already worked out what had went wrong. Preferably before another problem that required Princess Twilight's attention came up. Or before her friends decided to show up.
“I got it!” Twilight yelled suddenly, snapping the book shut with a loud thump.
Starlight had been absorbed in a particularly wordy passage when her own voice exploded beside her. Sunset would probably have some new bruises if that fall was anything to go by. Holding her now throbbing head she pulled herself back up onto the sofa. Just her luck, she had landed on the hard cold floor rather than the perfectly good rug in front of her.
“I presume you have a solution?” she asked.
“Yes! I think so!” Twilight grinned. “It does need all three of us so we should probably wait on Sunset to return. Would be better not to rush in on her and all that.”
“If you say so,” Starlight shrugged. “Should we get everything ready then?”
“Yes, I'm going to have to teach you the spell of course,” Twilight nodded. “It isn't too complicated but...”
“I understand,” Starlight smiled, moving a little closer to her mentor so she could read the spell that had been created.
Their shoulders now touching Twilight levitated the spell over to Starlight. She was feeling even more restless now. Try as she might, she could not calm herself. There was something she wanted to do, though she could not understand why she wanted to do it. This was an urge she had never felt before. Focusing on teaching Starlight, she tried to resist the foreign feelings her temporary body was giving her.
Starlight was oblivious to Twilight's distress, her mental capacity taken up by learning the spell. It was only when Twilight fell completely silent that she realised something was wrong. Turning to face Twilight, she started to ask.
“What's wro-?”
She was cut off when Twilight pressed her own lips against her. The pair stayed locked like that for a moment, both of them too stunned to move. Twilight could not believe what she had just done and Starlight could not believe this was happening. The unicorn could not deny that it did feel nice though. Wait, what was she saying? Twilight was her teacher, and her friend...not, whatever this was. There was also the question...just who was she kissing anyway?
“S-sorry!” Twilight squeaked, backing away. “I...I don't know why I did that... I just... I...slipped for a moment...and...”
“Who? What? Why? What?” Starlight garbled, unable to form any more coherent thoughts. The warm wet feeling of the kiss was still lingering, gentle and unlike anything she had felt before.
“I'm sorry...” Twilight squeaked again, shrinking into the corner of the sofa as far away from Starlight as possible.
Starlight jolted out from her stupor when she saw Twilight shaking in the corner. Whatever had just happened, Twilight was just as surprised as she was so there was no point getting angry. Instead she just reached out and gently touched Twilight's hoof.
“It's okay, we're all just feeling a bit off right now... Once we get the spell finished and we're all back to normal we can worry about it...or even forget about it. Okay?”
Twilight gave a weak nod and sat straight up once more. Starlight removed her hoof and sat herself up a little straighter as well. Twilight's eyes were wide and staring, as if she still did not know quite what was going on. Starlight sighed and nudged the revised spell at her. Giving her any physical form of affection would only make things worse.
Taking the parchment within a levitation spell, Twilight once again started running through the intricacies in casting it. Starlight listened, though kept a closer eye on Twilight this time. The awkwardness was quickly broken when Sunset walked back through the door. She had gotten the hang of walking without crashing into things just about. The disorientation part of the spell was probably wearing off by now. Could have happened sooner but at least the balance spell had been somewhat effective.
“Any luck?” she asked, only to pause when she saw a very worried looking Twilight.
“I'm...guessing not?” Sunset asked hesitantly, edging her way closer to the pair of unicorns.
“No, we have the spell, just...stuff happened,” Starlight sighed.
She was unsure of just how much she wanted to tell Sunset. For all she knew it was Sunset Twilight had been kissing. Technically, sort of...oh this was far too confusing.
“Do I want to know?” Sunset asked.
“Maybe...we can discuss it later,” Starlight sighed. “For now let's just get back to our old selves again.”
“Okay, now that Sunset's here we can do this.” Twilight whispered.
Sunset cast a worried gaze towards the princess and then nodded. She cast a quick spell at the scroll and split the parchment into three identical copies. Passing one copy to each of them, Sunset scanned the spell for herself. It looked simple enough.
“Shall we get started then?” Starlight asked, eager for this insanity to end. The whole day had been ruined by this craziness; what was supposed to have been a fun day between friends had become a mess.
Nodding, Sunset and Twilight created a triangular formation with Starlight. They would have to all cast the spell simultaneously and meet their magic in the middle. Then they would just have to hope everything worked as planned.
“On three,” Twilight commanded. “One...Two...Three!”
As one the three magic users cast their spells. The three horns ignited with light and released beams of energy. The three beams met in the middle and started to merge. The different energies mixed and melded into a sphere of magic. The sphere rapidly expanded, just as it had before. Light engulfed the three mares once more, and their vision was obscured by the blinding illumination.
Once again they were laying down when the light faded. This time Starlight was the first to wake. Her eyes fluttered open. Immediately she looked down at her hooves, lilac. Her cutie mark was her own, as was her mane and tail. Elation filled her and she felt herself relax.
“Back to me again! Perfect!”
“Seems so,” Sunset chuckled, the golden mare now back to her old self as well. “Good to be me again. No offence Twilight.”
“None...none taken,” Twilight murmured weakly, standing up and turning away from them.
Sunset gave Starlight a worried glance. The lilac unicorn sighed and walked towards Twilight.
“Somepony wanna fill me in?” Sunset asked, raising an eyebrow. Something was going on here and the air was thickening because of it.
Twilight gulped and looked back at Sunset. “It's...well...basically...the thing is...”
“She kissed me, as me, when I was you.” Starlight blurted out, unable to take the heavy tension in the air any longer.
Sunset blinked, her eyes widening to their fullest extent. That possibility was not even on her list. That did explain why her mouth felt a little funny. The question that had occurred to Starlight came to her as well, just which of them had she been trying to kiss.
“Oh, I...I see,” the unicorn muttered, still staring wide-eyed at Twilight.
“Yeah,” Twilight sighed. “That...It just slipped out. I felt like there was something I wanted to do, and then I just felt myself jump to it. Before I was even thinking about what I was doing it was already done.”
Sunset bit back the question she desperately wanted to ask. “Do you want to be alone right now?” she asked instead. “Starlight and I can clean up here...”
“I think so.” Twilight nodded, turning to face Starlight. Her face was apologetic, Starlight was probably just as affected by this as she was.
“Go...we got this,” Starlight assured her. “Just...be okay...got it?”
“You too,” Twilight muttered.
Starlight watched as Twilight walked away. Be okay? Was that really what she had just said? With a huff she threw herself into her hooves and cried out in frustration once she was sure Twilight was out of earshot.
“This is a mess!” she snapped at the air, kicking out with her back hoof and almost flipping the heavy table upside down.
Reactively Sunset grabbed the table before it could topple. Carefully she set the table down on it's legs then laid down next to Starlight.
“Want to talk about it?”
“Maybe...I don't know. I never knew Twilight to do something like that. It came out of nowhere. We were all in the wrong bodies so it was like I was kissing myself. That was weird enough. Then to top it all off we don't know for sure who she was kissing. If it was you that would make sense, she's known you longer and you have more in common. You're both book smart, good at magic and were Princess Celestia's prized pupils. I'm just the crazy mare who almost doomed Equestria. What do I do with this?!”
Once again Starlight buried her face into her hooves, hiding herself from view. Sunset moved in a little closer. She herself was confused, but Starlight had been the one who Twilight had actually kissed. Putting herself in the other unicorns hooves she could imagine everything that was running through Starlight's mind right now. Add in everything else she knew about Starlight and the lilac unicorn was probably imagining every possible scenario, emphasising on the very worst ones.
“Again, been there done that. Though I didn't even come close to what I was attempting. Anyway that's not important. What is important is that you're amazing. You're turning yourself around despite all your past actions. One day you'll see what everypony else sees in you. I don't know who it was Twilight was aiming for, only she can answer that. When she's ready she will. If it was me, I'm flattered, but I admit that living in a whole other world has given me some...weird tastes. If it was you, then that's for you to decide. Don't be worried about it... Whether it works out or not you'll both be fine. We'll all be fine. Things like this happen.”
“I wish I could be as confident as you were...” Starlight mumbled, lifting her head from her hooves. The stuffiness was getting to her. Why did hiding oneself have to be so uncomfortable?
“You were before, and you will be again. Just take the ride for what it is. A learning experience.”
“It certainly is that,” Starlight nodded, giggling despite herself. “Thank you Sunset.”
“Any time. Now, shall we clean up all these books? Before we trip over one of them.”
“Good idea.”
The remainder of the day was much less eventful. Twilight had returned to the library after an hour. The subject of the kiss was not broached, and the three instead spent their time chuckling at some of the more amusing texts written by unicorns who had very little idea of what they were writing. Time flew quickly after that and after a hearty meal at the hayburgers restaurant it was time for Sunset to leave. Now they were back in the room with the mirror, saying their goodbyes. At least until next week.
“By next week I'll have done some practising.” Starlight promised. “No more unintentional side effects.”
She pulled back from the light hug she and Sunset were exchanging. The two unicorns smiled at each other.
“Just remember what I told you. Promise me that,” Sunset said gently.
“Promise.”
Sunset nodded and Starlight let her go, stepping back to allow Twilight in. The alicorn was back to her usual self, all previous worries forgotten. Pulling Sunset into a tight hug she said,
“Take care of yourself. And say hi to everyone for me.”
“Will do. You keep yourself safe as well. I'll be back next week.”
“I'm looking forward to it.”
Sunset waved as she walked through the mirror. The glass shimmered until the golden unicorn was fully back in the other world, before becoming still once more. Turning back to Starlight, Twilight asked with a smile,
“So, what do you want to do now?”
“Honestly, I was going to take that bath we were talking about earlier. It has been a long day.” Starlight answered, giving herself a shake.
“Sure thing. Don't be too long though. I just remembered that we were going to meet Rarity just before sundown to see what she and Spike were working on all day.”
“Oh yeah. Don't worry I'll be out long before that.” Starlight laughed as she moved towards the door.
“See you soon!”
Twilight nodded and turned back to the mirror. One day she herself would have to go through to see everyone again. Apparently her human self had more than a few questions to ask her. With a small inward chuckle she started to leave the room behind Starlight. A faint buzzing stopped her though. Curious she turned to see that the book Princess Celestia had given her. It was glowing a light purple and vibrating softly. That meant there was a message. Why would there be a message already. Using her magic she pulled the book to her and opened it at the latest page.
“Hey Twilight,
Sunset here. Obviously. Anyway, I just had to ask this between us two. Who was it you were kissing? Me or Starlight? Answer when you can, or want. Sorry, I need to know. For a few reasons. I'll explain after you reply. Thanks.
Your Friend, Sunset.”
Twilight felt her stomach twist a little. Of course she would want to know. Surprisingly though Twilight was less worried about it now. Maybe because of the answer. Talking to Sunset about it might help. Grabbing a quill she scribbled down a response.
“Dear Sunset,
I'm guessing you have already guessed by the way you wrote this but anyway, here goes. It was Starlight. Even though she looked like you, and ironically enough I looked like her, I could still see her. But she's my student, I can't feel like this can I? I'm sorry you got wrapped up in all this and I'm sorry that I don't know what to do.
Your Friend, Twilight."
Sunset rolled her eyes at the response. Twilight was hopeless at this. It was probably the one thing she was truly hopeless at. First Flash now this. Though admittedly Flash wasn't an incredibly powerful unicorn who was known for overreacting. Still this was going to be a painful process for both of them. Her pen moved across the paper as she wrote her response.
“Twilight,
Yeah I thought so. I wasn't sure but I thought so. Well all I can say is good luck. She's a good mare and she's going to grow into an even better one with your help. If you have feelings for her I say go for it. I would hurry though, she was a bit of a mess today. Take your time and don't rush it but don't let her be confused too long. She can put on a facade but when it breaks it breaks. As I told Starlight, you'll both be fine. I'm here if you need me.
Your Friend, Sunset.”
Twilight read the message three times. So, Sunset was telling her to go for it. The alicorn cast a quick glance at the door. Was she ready though? Was Starlight ready? The mare was still confused. Sunset was right though, leaving it was only going to make it worse. She would broach the subject tonight, after the meeting with Rarity. A quick scribble in the book later told Sunset of her plans and that she would respond later. Bathing sounded very good right now. Her wings were sore and her legs were stiff. Sunset had filled her in on everything that had transpired. While her actions had been commendable, Twilight would probably hear about this down the line. Not tonight though, tonight was for a bath, and then a talk with a friend.
Meanwhile in the human world Sunset was clutching the book to her chest and looking up at the blue evening sky. Next Saturday could not come soon enough. Until then she had plenty of great friends in this world. Though she was curious about just what would have changed when she returned. A week could be a long time for these kinds of things. Smiling slightly, the fiery headed girl whispered into the winds.
“Good luck, to both of you...”
Author's Note
Okay well that one was, not how I intended it to come out. Once again this story ran away from me and I was just along for the ride. It was fun to write, though difficult which is why there was bit of a delay. I hope you all enjoy.
And yes I do like the Twilight/Starlight ship. It just seems like they were both searching for each other without knowing it. At least that's how I see it. Plus Spike would have his work cut out for him if they ever did get together. That'd be funny.
See you all next time.
