Sunset's apartment was the kind of place where a description said more about the person describing it than the apartment itself. Fluttershy called it "cozy", appreciating the simplicity of the place and overlooking any half-empty takeout containers of indeterminate age. Rainbow Dash called it "awesome" on the simple basis that Sunset didn't have to live with her parents. Rarity had called it "very fitting" the first time she'd seen the place, shortly after the Fall Formal, and hadn't offered her thoughts since.
No one could call it sinister, but Pinkie still tried her best to make the term work, sitting in Sunset's computer chair and stroking Gummy like an evil mastermind's cat. "So, you're probably all wondering why I called you here today."
Sunset quirked an eyebrow. "For one, I called us here. And it was explicitly because I'm worried about Twilight."
That got a variety of agreements from the rest of the Rainbooms strewn about Sunset's living space. "After school let out," said Rarity, "it was a struggle to drag her out of her laboratory. But as the summer has gone on, she's been acting most... peculiar, shall we say."
— — —
Rarity was normally all for quiet relaxation, especially at the beach, but that presupposed both quiet and relaxation. Twilight Sparkle shifting positions every few seconds on the towel next to her, making little worried noises with every motion, didn't qualify as either.
Finally, Rarity shut her romantic novel. "Everything alright, Twilight?"
Twilight jumped as though pinched, sending the thick paperback on some topic Rarity couldn't pronounce tumbling to the terrycloth. "Of course! Nothing's wrong." Twilight offered a smile so fake that Pinkie Pie might have had to smack her on principle. "Why would anything be wrong?"
Rarity's only answer was a flat, expectant stare.
After several moments of darting eyes and wringing hands, Twilight finally spoke again. "W-well, it's kind of embarrassing, but I was hoping you could help me with, um..." She trailed off into unintelligible muttering.
Rarity offered an understanding smile and a hand on Twilight's shoulder. "Whatever it is, darling, I assure you, I won't judge."
"Well, it's... Do you think you... Should you ever..." Twilight bit her lip, eyes once more looking everywhere but Rarity. They settled on the lifeguard station. "Can you teach me how to flirt?"
It took a moment for Rarity to think through her shock at hearing Twilight Sparkle say those words. "I beg your pardon?"
"I mean, I have a boyfriend," Twilight said as though just realizing that. Every word that followed had the same air of being directed to herself. "I should, you know, show my affection for him. Behaviorally. But not too behaviorally. So flirtation. But I have no idea how to actually do that."
"I... see," Rarity said, giving a slow nod more so her head had something to do than because she agreed.
Twilight looked back at her, eyes widening as she registered Rarity's shock. "Is everything okay?"
"Just feeling a bit surprised, and more than a little conflicted. I've been hoping for this moment for several of my friends. I just never thought you'd be the first to volunteer." Rarity cleared her throat. "No offense intended, of course."
"Oh!" Thankfully, Twilight smiled at that. Though she then pulled a honest-to-goodness notepad and mechanical pencil out of her beach bag. "Well, if you've been anticipating this, I'm sure you have a lesson plan in mind. So, where do we begin?"
— — —
"She asked me for help with flirting." Rarity shook her head. "Her. Twilight 'Seductive as a Potato' Sparkle."
Applejack frowned at her. "Hey now."
"Look me in the eye and tell me I'm wrong."
"No, yer right that Twilight ain't the type t' sweep folks off their feet, Timber or otherwise." Applejack's gaze darted to Sunset for some reason before she scrunched up her face and turned back to Rarity. "I just ain't gonna hear no one badmouthin' spuds."
Rarity raised an eyebrow. "This is because they're 'apples of the earth' in Prench, isn't it?"
There went the face scrunch again. "Maybe."
Sunset scowled. "Girls, can we get back on topic? I'm seriously concerned about Twilight."
"Of course, Sunset," said Rarity, dipping her head. "My apologies."
"Same." Applejack lowered the brim of her hat to a more sorrowful angle. One learned to read her hat language after a while. "'Specially since I'm worried about 'er myself. She keeps askin' t' help with farmwork, but, well..."
— — —
It was like watching a train wreck, thought Applejack. Worse, watching a train wreck in slow motion. She didn't want to stare, knew it was wrong... and yet she just couldn't look away from the unfolding disaster.
Finally, she shook herself out of her daze and said, "Sugarcube, y'know I'm yer friend."
Twilight didn't so much nod as let her head bobble. The rest of her was busy trying to hold up a barely full basket of apples and staggering towards Applejack's house. "Uh huh."
"So I'm sayin' this from a place o' love an' concern an' suchlike: Y' got arms like a pair o' sickly twigs." Applejack tried to take the basket from Twilight's shaky grip as gently as she could, only for the other girl to totter away from her and nearly into a nearby tree.
"It's healthier to lift with the legs anyway," said Twilight, who'd started weaving drunkenly after that maneuver and didn't seem to know how to stop.
Applejack shook her head. "Yer legs ain't much better, Twi. I don't expect you to do this th' way I would. You could move half th' Gala harvest at once with yer magic if'n you'd a mind to. Heck, I'm usin' my magic for some o' these hauls." She called on a little, moving her three baskets up and down for emphasis. "Ain't no shame in it."
"Thanks, Applejack, but, you know, I could use the exercise anyway." The smile grew wider, and faker than a three-dollar bill, especially given how the sweat trickled down Twilight's face. "Arms like sickly twigs, remember?"
"Is that so." Applejack didn't even phrase it as a question, daring Twilight to double down.
"It is so. So so. So..." Twilight stumbled, cutting herself off. Once she recovered, she gave a sheepish little chuckle. "Yeah, that kind of fell apart."
"You ain't far behind there."
What cheer Twilight had died there. She locked her gaze forward and sped up as much as she could. "I'm fine, really."
Applejack caught up easily. "Sure, an' I'm th' queen o' Prance." She reached out an arm again. "C'mon, Twi—"
They passed out of the trees at that point, and Twilight used the available room to dart away further. Her glare only intensified. "I'm. Fine."
Applejack huffed out a frustrated breath. "Fine, then."
They said nothing until they dropped off the apples. Twilight slumped against the side of the barn the moment she put her basket down. By the time Applejack came back with two glasses of sweet tea, she had barely recovered. She took one and, head bowed, said, "I'm sorry about that."
"Apology accepted." Applejack gave Twilight a worried look as she sat next to her. "But you ain't gonna help nobody if you tear somethin', Twi."
"I know. But I have my reasons, and I'd really rather not discuss them right now."
Applejack sipped her tea before answering. "It'd help if'n you did. Granny says anybody who just says they got their reasons usually don't got good ones."
Twilight took some time to respond, long enough for Applejack to get her hopes up. But in the end, Twilight shook her head. "I want to be certain first. I'm still in the data collection phase."
After a sigh, Applejack said, "Well, at least lemme know when you're ready."
"I will. But not until I am."
"Fair enough."
— — —
Sunset bit at a thumbnail as she thought about that. "That's... deeply concerning."
"She won't use magic when she helps at the animal shelter either," said Fluttershy. "Even when she tried to help clean out the litterboxes and had to run into the bathroom."
Pinkie hummed to herself as she spun on the computer chair. "I mean, she didn't use it when baking either, but you'd want to be close to those smells. Although she did get really nervous when I said it was chemistry you can eat. I thought she'd like that sort of thing!"
"She's started jogging with me," said Rainbow Dash. "Remember how Princess Twilight played soccer? It's about that bad. But she still keeps doing it. One time she said it's 'safer.'"
Sunset got off her couch and started pacing as she thought. "And she's nervous around me basically all the time. Flinching away when I even get close. She knows I'd never read her thoughts without her permission—"
"You do kind of do that a lot," said Dash, who'd lounged into the available space.
"Only when magic's running amok, not just because I feel like it. But Twilight's so nervous about hiding something that she's still wary of me." Sunset sighed. "And this definitely explains why she keeps turning down offers to talk about magic or test out what we can do."
The others traded uncertain looks. "It does?" said Pinkie. "'Cause I thought she thought my lab procedures were unsafe."
"Well, it establishes the pattern of reluctance around magic and science, at least. We need to talk to her to know the reasons for certain." Sunset nodded to herself with a look of determination. "Who's available tomorrow? I want to talk to Twilight about this as soon as possible, preferably in a way she can't disconnect."
Rarity shook her head. "I have a shift at work tomorrow."
"Ditto," said Pinkie, who'd somehow twisted herself upside down, her hair nearly brushing the floor.
"Volunteering at the shelter."
"Chores need doin'."
Dash smiled. "Don't worry, I got your back."
Sunset nodded. "Thanks, Dash. Tomorrow, we talk to Twilight in her lab."
"I'm there."
Sunset blinked. "What do you mean she's not there?"
"I mean she's not there." Dash jerked a thumb at the garage laboratory. "It actually looks dusty in there."
Sunset felt an eyelid twitch. "Where the actual hay is she then?"
A snort gave her a focus for her building frustration. "Did you seriously just use 'hay' like a curse?"
"Rainbow Dash."
"Like, I get you're a unicorn, but that's like if I stubbed my toe and shouted, 'Oh bread!'"
"We have a sub-critical Twilight Sparkle wandering around unattended." Sunset threw her arms into the air. "Is now really the time?"
Dash grinned, still snickering. "Hay if I know."
"Can I help you girls?"
Both blinked and turned to see a pale-skinned woman with white and lavender striped hair dressed in a light blouse and capris as she came out of the house. The house that, as Sunset's tunnel vision receded, she remembered was attached to Twilight's garage laboratory. "Um, hi, uh..." Sunset winced as she realized she didn't actually know the woman's name. "Twilight's mom. I presume."
Thankfully, the woman smiled. "You presume correctly. I'm Twilight Velvet. You must be Sunset Shimmer and Rainbow Dash." The next thing Sunset knew, Velvet had her in a tight embrace. "Thank you. Twily's told us so much about you and all you've done for her."
Sunset had been friends with Pinkie for long enough that surprise hugs weren't enough to fluster her, but someone who sounded so much like Twilight Sparkle threw her off kilter. "Um, uh, you're welcome?"
"Uh..." Dash cleared her throat. "When you say all we've done..."
Velvet released Sunset and scowled. "Including the incident at the Friendship Games. We were one hundred percent behind her transfer to CHS." She kept going, ticking off events on her fingers. "Also Camp Everfree, the mall, that cruise..."
Sunset gulped. "Uh, well, you see, Mrs. Velvet—"
The older woman crossed her arms, and the scowl softened into a pout. "I know you girls have had some close scrapes, but I'm still jealous. A shame she's never had you over. Something about giving me ideas even without magical mishaps."
"Wait," said Dash. "Twilight Velvet? As in the romance author?"
Velvet blushed, especially noticeable with her skin tone. "Well... yes. I mostly do editing, though I have cranked out a few potboilers."
Sunset turned to Dash. "How do you know that?"
"My mom's a huge fan."
"Really?" Velvet beamed. "Oh, you'll have to introduce us!"
"I mean, if you want. Fair warning, when I say huge fan, I mean huge fan." Dash rubbed the back of her head. "My family doesn't do anything halfway."
Sunset shook her head. "We're getting off-topic. Mrs. Velvet, we're looking for Twilight... uh, Twilight Sparkle. She's been acting strangely lately."
Velvet nodded. "I've noticed. I was going to call you girls myself, but Twily's the one with all your contact information."
"We can fix that after we figure out what's going on." Sunset looked around as though Twilight might pop out from behind the mailbox. "I don't suppose you know where she is?"
"I can take you to her."
Velvet guided them to the backyard. Shrubs and flowers surrounded a furnished patio. The younger Twilight squatted in front of a rosebush in a ratty T-shirt and cutoffs, pulling out weeds and tossing them into a trash bag.
They stopped far enough away that Velvet could quietly say "She never helps with the gardening, but this morning, she volunteered." She shook her head. "I thought she'd do it telekinetically, but..."
Sunset nodded. "Yeah, that seems to be part of the problem."
"I wasn't sure how it worked; maybe she just didn't want to waste it on something trivial. But now..." She approached Twilight and called, "Twily! You have visitors!"
"I have what now?" Twilight turned. "Rainbow?" Her eyes moved one person over and she bolted up, her latest handful of clover going flying. "Sunset! What are you doing here?"
Sunset approached as well, a sad frown on her face. "We're worried about you, Twilight."
"Worried? About me?" Twilight made a sound that might be called a laugh if one had never heard one before. "Wh-why would you be worried about me? I've been fine. Just fine! Nothing could be finer." She turned a desperate smile to Velvet. "Right, Mom?"
Her mother shook her head. "Twily, I've written too many horrible webs of lies to help you with this one."
"Thanks, Mom," Twilight deadpanned. "Real helpful."
"Also," said Sunset, "you're clearly afraid of me touching you."
"I mean, 'afraid' is a strong wo—"
Sunset took a step closer. Twilight all but launched herself backwards. Sunset just crossed her arms and waited.
"Okay. Fine." Twilight looked away, worrying at a sleeve of her shirt. "I especially didn't want to tell you, Sunset, but..." She took a deep breath and faced Sunset with a concerned expression. "I suppose you deserve to know more than anyone."
"Yeah, you two go get your nerd answers."
Sunset blinked and turned to see Rainbow Dash heading for the house's patio. "Dash?"
"Look, this is gonna be half technobabble, half touchy-feely stuff. You don't want me for either." Dash stopped by the sliding doors into the house. "Mrs. Velvet, you got any books you can autograph for Mom?"
Velvet glanced at the other girls, smiled, and followed Dash. "I do keep a few copies on hand."
Twilight blinked. "Wait, Rainbow Dash's mother reads Mom's novels?"
"Apparently." Sunset's casual expression hardened. "So, what do I deserve to know?"
Twilight hesitated for a moment before sighing and slumping. "Come with me."
They went back to the garage lab. Twilight visibly cringed when she flicked on the lights. Some was at the dust, but even after sweeping off the PC, she still touched the keyboard gingerly. "Okay, so we're going to need to look at a series of photos to appreciate the phenomenon properly." She opened a folder labeled only as "The Hypothesis."
"Ominous," said Sunset. "Also vague."
"I'm the only one who looks at these files. Spike just uses the video editing software." Twilight highlighted and opened a number of image files named only with numbers. "First, me at Crystal Prep."
"You look miserable." The Twilight in the picture had all but folded in on herself, looking at the camera with hopeless despair like she expected it to shoot a bullet and could barely bring herself to care.
"I was. I just didn't know it at the time. Now..." Twilight shuddered as she hit the down key. "Midnight."
Sunset barely registered the blurry cell phone picture. She was far more concerned about the girl she'd saved. "Twilight..." It took an incredible amount of Sunset's willpower not to put a hand on Twilight's shoulder. The last thing they needed were more touch trust issues.
"It's okay! It's okay." Twilight held the brave look for a few more seconds before her shoulders slumped. "It's not okay. But I need to do this. You all deserve to know what's been worrying me all this time. And the low quality of the shot helps, honestly."
Sunset just nodded. "So what are we looking at?"
"I'd like to show you more photos before I explain my reasoning. You should be able to come to the same conclusion that I did." Twilight managed a ghost of a smile. "Thank goodness for Rarity and Pinkie Pie. Given their MyStable, Snapgab, and Immediagram accounts, I barely needed any other sources." Another click of the down key revealed one of Sunset's bad memories. "Now, here's your yearbook photo from the year before Princess Twilight came to this world."
"Uh huh." Sunset wanted to punch that smug expression off the spoiled little monster's face. She took that as a sign of her growth.
"And now— Oh." Twilight looked up at Sunset. "Um, this next one is of... well, you. When Princess Twilight came to this world. And you were..." She looked away. "Well, I think you can guess. Would you rather skip it?"
Part of Sunset wanted to, but she shook her head. "You just faced your outer demon. This is only fair."
"Okay. Here she is."
It was clearer than the blurry image from the Friendship Games. The memories of that time were oddly distant things, like scenes from a movie Sunset had only seen once, years ago, but she definitely remembered spending much of her time hovering in place rather than tearing apart reality or clashing in a magical dogfight. She looked into the crazed pits the demon of Canterlot High called eyes, and she felt only pity. "I've come a long way since."
She felt a touch on her hand. Twilight smiled when Sunset turned to look. "Based on what the others have told me, you really have."
They shared a smile. A few seconds later, Twilight realized what she was doing and pulled her hand back like she'd burned it. Sunset cleared her throat and ignored the ache in her chest. "So, who else?"
"Gloriosa Daisy and..." Twilight hesitated after moving to the next monstrosity. "Should we call her altered form Gaia Everfree?"
"Debatable." Sunset probably should've cared more, but she couldn't pull her attention away from Twilight. "I'm afraid I don't see where you're going with this."
"To today. Or a few days ago, when this last photo was taken." It was all seven members of their inner circle. Twilight seemed just as nervous in the shot as she did in her chair. "Do you see the trend?"
"I—" Sunset's eyes widened as it all clicked. She still took a few moments to review her epiphany before saying anything. It seemed too ridiculous to be true. "Wait. Is this about your skin color?"
Twilight nodded, unable to tear her gaze away from the photo. "Midnight was several shades darker than my own skin, likely a reaction of the chromelanocytes to a massive influx of magic. Chromelanin having a partially magical basis would actually explain a lot about the pigment we don't understand. You and Gloriosa support the hypothesis. And now, we're all shifting darker over time. You, me, even the others, who haven't even experienced malicious transformations yet."
"Yet?"
"At the rate we're all going, it's only a matter of time. Even if it were constant exposure to our geodes doing it, we can't just stop using them. Wild magic is still drifting in from Equestria, and we're the ones best suited to deal with it. Rarity appears to be an exception, but it seems like it's only a matter of time before she'll have to put down the rest of—"
"Twilight." Sunset didn't know if she wanted to laugh or scream, but she knew she had to end this. "Shading."
Twilight finally turned away, blinking up at Sunset like she'd just switched to Equish. "Huh?"
"Chromelanocytes don't just respond to magic. They also respond to ultraviolet light. We've all been spending a lot of time outside in the summer sun." Sunset gave a lopsided smile. "Probably more than you have in years in your case."
"Well... Yes."
"The point is, we're not on the verge of magical overload. We just need to make sure we wear sunscreen."
"But what about..." Twilight trailed off and facepalmed. "White chromelanin doesn't shade, it glosses. Rarity becomes more reflective to ward off UV light. Ugh, even Juniper Montage defies this hypothesis."
"I think she put all her magic into sheer size." Sunset rested a hand on Twilight's shoulder. When she did immediately shrug it off, Sunset wrapped Twilight in a tight embrace. "Were you really so afraid that you forgot how skin works?"
Twilight sighed into her ear. "You remember how I behaved at Camp Everfree. Midnight makes me terribly irrational."
Sunset squeezed her tighter. "You don't have to fear her anymore, Twilight. We put her down at Camp Everfree."
"Did we?" Twilight pulled away. "Yes, you all dove into my mind and filled it with rainbows, but... the parts of me that made up Midnight are still there. They have to be. They're a part of me." She put her hands over her heart. "She is a part of me."
"Twilight—"
"I didn't say that was a bad thing!"
Sunset blinked and took a moment to restart her train of thought. "You're going to have to walk me through the logic here, because now I'm starting to get concerned."
"Midnight was my thirst for knowledge, my desire to better myself, my willingness to go to great lengths to fulfill my goals, and other attributes of my personality that are not inherently negative. She just took them to unhealthy extremes." Twilight got out of her chair and began to pace about the room. "And, now that I let myself think about this and say it out loud, I realize another aspect of her has driven my fear of her. We both have a need for control. That, more than anything short of her indifference towards taking lives, is what horrified me about being her. The rest of me, my morals, my empathy, my sense of restraint, it couldn't do anything but watch."
"I remember that much," said Sunset, shuddering at the Harmony-muted recollection. "It's like being in the back seat of your own mind, watching yourself do everything you fantasize about but would never do. Except now you're actually doing it."
Twilight offered a smile. "But just because those parts of me make up Midnight doesn't mean I have to fear them."
"But you do."
The expression fell. "I do. Because fear isn't rational. And any phenomenon can be replicated by recreating the conditions that caused it to happen." Twilight shut her eyes and grasped her geode. "And they're all here. We've already seen that all of our powers grow out of control if even one of us abuses them. What if we face some threat so great that we have no choice but to go over the line? What if all seven of us go mad with power simultaneously?" She shuddered. "I'm not just afraid of Midnight. I'm afraid of her friends. Who defends the world from its own defenders?"
Sunset smirked. "I'm pretty sure that's when Spike calls in Princess Twilight and her friends."
Twilight's eyes snapped open. "Oh. Right. Multiverse." She cleared her throat.
"And a lot of the equation that added up to Midnight is missing. That magic rightfully belongs to you, there's no Principal Cinch pressuring you to unleash it, and you have friends by your side to keep you from going over the brink." Sunset grinned. "Including one who's already gone through the whole 'mad with power' thing herself and would really rather not do it again. Just let us know before you spend half the summer denying yourself what you love."
"I mean, I did enjoy some of what I did. If nothing else, I had fun spending time with my friends, if not necessarily the activities we did together. That said..." Twilight wrapped her arms around the other girl with a smile on her face. "Thanks, Sunset."
"Of course." Sunset may have nuzzled Twilight. Not that anyone could prove anything.
The sound of a camera shutter challenged that.
"MOM!" Twilight shrieked directly into Sunset's ear.
Twilight Velvet smiled shamelessly from the other side of her smartphone. "Honey, if I'd had a girlfriend like that at your age, you wouldn't exist. Unless she had an open mind..." Velvet brought a finger to her lips and hummed. "Sunset, does your species exhibit herding behavior?"
Sunset blinked as she looked from mother to daughter. Part of her mind found herself considering what she had to look forward to in a few decades. "Uh..."
Force shoved her from behind as everything went purple. "Okay, crisis over, yay friendship, Sunset can go now."
"I mean, I didn't want to say anything, but—"
"Later, and not in front of my mother," Twilight snarled.
"Oh, come on, Twily," Velvet said as she followed them out into the yard. "You haven't had friends over since you were twelve."
"There's a reason for that!"
And, despite blushing cheeks and awkward flop sweat, everyone involved couldn't help but smile.
Author's Note
As I've said before, the term "tanning" isn't going to come up when the vast majority of the population is nowhere near tan. See here for more on the behavior and properties of chromelanin.
Also, I didn't intend this to be part of the Pride and Positivity event, but I suppose it kind of counts between the Sciset and Bilight Velvet? Kind of a stretch in my opinion.
