“... and this young man was, of course, George Washington.”
The group of students ooh’d appreciatively; all except one who sat in the back. The teacher noted her discomfort, the way her eyes darted between her fellow students, and she gestured warmly to her.
“Sunset! Do you have anything to add? Perhaps,” the teacher led her gently, “something to do with Mr. Washington’s anecdotally-famous honesty?”
Sunset Shimmer tensed. “Well... with a name like Washington, he had to be good at ... washing, right? So maybe he washed the lies to look like the truth?”
The entire class fell silent for a beat, then erupted into laughter.
“Class!” their teacher shouted, trying to quiet the outbreak. “Sunset, I can appreciate a joke as much as anyone, but I think there’s a time and place for comedy, don’t you?”
“Oh, yeah,” Sunset sneered, affecting a disaffected air as she leaned back in her chair, kicking her feet up onto a neighboring student’s desk. “You’re a real jokester, Miss Bumblesweet.”
Miss Bumblesweet frowned at her. “Sunset, I’m warning you. You can give me an answer about George Washington, or you can give it to the principal.”
“Oh yeah? How about, ‘George Washington can kiss my -’”
“PRINCIPAL’S OFFICE! NOW!”
The class hooted and hollered at Sunset Shimmer as she stormed past them; a few of the rowdier boys held up their hands for a high five. Sunset ignored them, her head held high. She stalked out of the classroom, down the hallway, and all the way past the principal’s office, right out into the parking lot. She walked all the way home in fact, and it wasn’t until she was in her apartment that she allowed the icy sneer to drop, and the tears began to fall. Not the first tears today, by far.
On the floor, mocking her where it laid, was her amulet.
[***]
Sunset! I heard about what happened in history class - is everything okay? Do you need to talk?
You know I’m here for you, right sugarcube? Is something going on?
Darling, I know your fashion trends towards the ‘hard rock’ look, but you know that you don’t have to have the attitude to match, right?
Is something going on? This isn’t like you - not anymore. I know you’re better than this.
Sunset kicked her phone out of reach, and when it continued its incessant text alert beeping, she threw one of her pillows at it, muffling the sound. Once it was quieted, she rolled over onto her other side, and threw the blanket over her head. Maybe when she woke up again, things would be better.
BANG BANG BANG
Or someone could beat down her door, that would be great too.
Sunset Shimmer got to her feet with a groan and slumped her way to the door, opening it with a glare. “What.”
Her doppelgänger stood there, fixing her with a matching glare.
Sunset Shimmer slammed the door in her face.
“Sunset!” her voice shouted at her from the other side of the door. “Don’t make me uh - ugh! You don’t have a fire escape!”
“I guess you’re stuck out there.”
“Let me in! Or else I’ll go to the super again and tell him I’m you and I got locked out!”
Sunset Shimmer groaned, vocal in her annoyance, and yanked the door open. “Just get in here.”
“Your complex really needs to take fire safety more seriously,” Sunset Shimmer’s clone huffed as she entered, and folded her arms, affixing her twin with an expectant frown. “Well?”
“Well, what?”
Sunset Shimmer’s match groaned.
It was a funny thing, befriending yourself from an alternate universe. Sunset Shimmer had been banished from Equestria several years ago, and (with her stolen bits, made of gold which turned out to be surprisingly valuable in this universe) managed to find herself an apartment. Then she found a high school, cemented herself as HBIC, had a good couple years of that, turned into a screaming demon formed of her own anger, got defeated, and found herself.
No, literally; she found the version of herself that already lived in this realm.
It had been unsettling, at first; looking at a mirror version of herself, but maybe a mirror version that had a kinder life. Less banishment, more traditional teenage drama. She dressed more demurely than Sunset did, that was for sure, but she’d picked up a few black and studded accessories since she started hanging out with Sunset. Since they had the same name, Human-Sunset went by Sunny in their friend group - ‘it’s always been my nickname, why wouldn’t I keep it?’ she’d shrugged.
She fit in with the other girls (Rainbow Dash, Rarity, the whole gang) easily, but it was Sunset she’d really bonded with. Why wouldn’t she? They had everything in common - literally. Their upbringings had been very different (no hooves, for starters), but they had the same temper, the same sense of humor. Their histories were different, but what one lacked, the other picked up the slack.
Aside from a few differences, they could have been the same person. But right now, those differences felt insurmountable.
“Well? Care to explain?”
Sunset Shimmer’s eyes had glazed over, and she snapped to attention; Sunny was holding her cell phone up in front of Sunset’s face, and as she watched, panicked texts rolled over the screen in an unending cascade.
“Bad day at school,” Sunset grumbled and folded her arms, curling in on herself as she dropped her eyes away.
“Okay, how bad? Did you go full rage-demon?”
“No!”
“Then it can’t be so bad. C’mon - let’s have a soda. We’ll order some takeout or something, I skipped out before lunch period.”
“Won’t you get in trouble?” Sunset asked, but followed her match to the kitchen, despite her dour mood. On her way, she spotted the dropped amulet with a thrill of terror, and kicked it under the sofa.
“Meh, I told them there was a family emergency.” Sunny grinned, and shrugged brightly, holding out a soda for Sunset.
Sunny went to a fancy private school uptown; absences weren’t really a ‘thing’ for them. It made sense their paths didn’t cross for a few years.
“Careful, if you get too good at lying, you might turn into me,” Sunset laughed bitterly, and focused on her soda can when Sunny fixed her with an odd look.
“Alright, what’s going on? From what I can gather from the furious texting, you either spat in a teacher's face then threw up double deuces on your way out,” Sunny was chuckling now, “or you vomited, threw it at another student, and got thrown out of school for the day. I’m hoping it’s the first. I didn’t skip out on school just to enter the Splash Zone, you know?”
“It’s neither. I just -“ Sunset felt the now-familiar shame creep up the back of her neck, and she tried to shake it off as usual. “Can we order takeout first? I’m starving.”
“Yeah, sure. Let’s see if anyone’s offering free delivery today!” Sunny said brightly, and pulled up her delivery app.
An hour later, the pair were finishing up their sushi plates; Sunset’s favorite, but not Sunny’s. She made a note of it, but Sunny said nothing, and nibbled on the last bit of her gyoza. It seemed like Sunny was trying to give her space to talk about her day, but Sunset was staunchly silent. Eventually, Sunny ran out of gyoza, and took to staring at Sunset.
“Alright,” Sunny said at last. “You know what I’m gonna ask. Spill.”
Sunset felt the unsettled, nauseated feeling grip her middle again, which was made all the worse because now she was full of her favorite food. But it had to come out, eventually; didn’t it? Or maybe Sunset could get banished from this realm, too. No; her problem would still follow her, or at least one of them would. Presumably, other realms didn’t have George Washington.
“I just made some stupid joke about Jeff Washingtone, and Bumblesweet sent me to the principal’s office. So dumb,” Sunset said, as casually as she could, and pushed her ginger around the little plastic tray.
Sunny made a face. “Jeff Washingtone! That’s pretty good ... Wait.” Sunset wasn’t laughing when Sunny tried to appreciate her joke, and instead looked even more uncomfortable. “George Washington?”
“Whatever,” Sunset shrugged, frowning at the wall.
“Well, it’s - did they have a George Washington where you’re from?”
Sunset frowned at the wall.
“Oh no,” Sunny whispered, her eyes widening. “Oh my God. You’re in American History now, aren’t you?”
Sunset’s frown deepened. “So?”
“Yeah, but this is just basic American Hi- No, you tested out of that, didn’t you? You took that placement test!”
Sunset’s folded arms tightened.
“You told me you cheated on that test!”
“Yeah, so? Why am I supposed to take a stupid test to tell me what classes I’m supposed to be in in an alternate freaking universe?” Sunset snapped, falling into the familiar pattern of letting her anger do the talking for her fear. “I had bigger fish to fry at the time. I didn’t think I’d still be here, and I’d need to - to graduate or whatever!”
“Sunset, you have to tell the teacher! You’ll never be able to keep up!”
“I’m already not keeping up, Sunny!” Sunset Shimmer was shouting, and she wasn’t sure when that had started. “I’m going to fail the class! I’m failing most of my classes! I’m not going to graduate! And - and all of my friends are going to move on, and leave me!”
Not only because they wouldn’t graduate together, Sunset thought suddenly, and her eyes darted to the sofa without thinking.
“What?” Sunny’s eyes were wide, stunned into a temporary silence by the shouting. “Sunset, no! That’s not going to happen! We’ll get you a tutor, or something! I can tutor you! But even if we don’t graduate together, everyone will still be your friends! Look, they’re - see, they’re crazy worried about you!” Sunny snapped, pausing only temporarily to pull out her phone and show Sunset Shimmer all of the messages, still waiting on her screen. “That’s all the girls! Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Twilight Sparkle! Everyone is worried about you!”
The sick feeling in Sunset Shimmer’s stomach faded, a little, as she listened to Sunny’s insistence. The anxiety about school was still crushing, but it sounded less awful when Sunny had such easy solutions ready at hand.
“It’s going to be okay, Sunset. I promise. You don’t have to be scared, it’s all going to be okay,” Sunny soothed her, and reached out to take her hand in her own, trying to be comforting. But Sunset snatched her hand back before she could quite get a grip on her, and she all but jumped up from the table, shoving her chair away. “Sunset!”
Sunset stormed to the sofa, as if it had done some personal wrong to her, and dropped to her knees roughly. She rooted around only for a moment, then returned to the little table she and Sunny had been sitting at; with a BANG she slammed the amulet onto the tabletop.
Sunny stared. It was tiny, smaller than her pinkie nail, and appeared to be a frosted-over clear gem wrapped in elegant gold filigree. It almost looked like some kind of smoked quartz; but it was dull, somehow.
“This,” Sunset tried to snarl, but her voice was thick with tears, “is not going to be okay.”
Sunny looked at the amulet for a long moment, then looked back up at Sunset, deeply confused. “What is it?”
“It’s my amulet,” Sunset Shimmer said at last, her eyes closed as her expression crumpled, waiting for Sunny’s disgust. “I’m a Magic Girl.”
“Like Sailor Moon?”
Sunset Shimmer opened one eye; Sunny wasn’t horrified, but instead looked at her with confused wonder.
“Oh! Can I be Sailor Mars? She was always so cool, with the fire!” Sunny gasped, clapping her hands together a little in excitement.
“What? No, who’s Sailor Moon?” Sunset Shimmer frowned.
“She’s a magical girl! She uses a magic compact to turn herself into a superhero, who uses magic to fight bad guys! Is that - is that like this?” Sunny asked, pointing down at the amulet. “Magical Girl?”
“No! It’s - it’s nothing like that!” Sunset Shimmer snapped, and despite her attempts to stop them, the first few tears fell, angry and afraid all at once. She hated that Sunny didn’t know, that she’d have to explain to her exactly why Sunny was going to hate her now. She hated Sunny for it in that moment, because she didn’t have the decency to already know.
“Oh, well - what is it? Why are you crying?” Sunny asked, her brows knitting as she watched Sunset Shimmer angrily brushing them away.
“It - it’s magic that kept me from growing up as a stallion. A boy.”
Sunny frowned, and looked between Sunset Shimmer and the amulet, trying to understand. It hit her suddenly, and her eyes returned to Sunset sharply, wide now.
“In - in Equestria,” Sunset Shimmer began shakily, the first real tears beginning to fall now, “you can be a - a girl, or a Magic Girl. A Magic Girl is one who - who wasn’t born like this, like a girl. When you are very small, when you realize it, you go to your local magesmith, and they braid a tiny amulet into your hair. And it - it makes you grow up into a girl. And it’s so small, you can almost forget it’s there; even when you get banished into another world.” Sunset Shimmer stared down at the amulet now, avoiding meeting Sunny’s eyes. “But they don’t last forever, eventually the magic runs out and they fall off. And - and now, I can’t go back to get - another one, and - and -”
“Oh, Sunset,” Sunny whispered, rising to her feet, and instantly she was at Sunset’s side. She buried her twin tightly into her arms, clutching her fiercely to her chest. “Sunset, you must have been so frightened.”
“No!” Sunset protested, fighting her arms as fiercely as she could - which wasn’t very, just then. “It’s not - it’s not f-fair!”
“I know it’s not, Sunset, but we’ll figure something else out!” Sunny insisted, holding onto Sunset tightly. “It’ll be okay!”
“It’s not okay! Because you only date girls!”
Sunny pulled away so she could stare again, continually caught off-footed by this conversation. “What?”
“You - you only like girls! And - and I’m not a real -” Sunset couldn’t finish her sentence; she wasn’t a real girl. The thought had sat in her belly since that morning, rotting, twisting and tangling her guts. By comparison, school didn’t even matter. But Sunny? Sunny mattered. And Sunny liked girls. Sunset twisted to pull away, but Sunny surprised her; she held onto her hands fiercely, and squeezed them when Sunset tried to pull back.
“That’s not true.” Sunny’s expression, usually so easygoing, was fierce now. “That’s not true, and if anyone told you that, you tell me who, and I’ll punch their lights out.”
Sunset’s brows lifted sharply.
“You are a real girl. Amulets don’t make real girls.” Sunny sniffed sharply, and Sunset realized that she was tearing up, too. “You’re the realest girl I know, Sunset Shimmer, and I won’t let anyone tell you otherwise, even if it’s you.”
Sunset Shimmer considered her, then lifted one of their entangled hands to rub her eyes with their knuckles. “Really?”
Sunny nodded fiercely, her eyes ablaze. “Really.” Sunny looked down at their hands, and gave one of Sunset’s a little tug. “I don’t … I don’t know what your feelings are about me, but … I think we should wait to talk about that later, if that’s okay with you. I want that part to be happy. And I don’t want you to think I said yes just to make you feel better.” Sunny lifted her eyes to look at Sunset, and although they were glassy with tears, she offered her a little smile. “I’m only afraid of losing my best friend. What do you think?”
“You wouldn’t lose me,” Sunset Shimmer murmured, but nodded. It was a lot to throw at one person, she supposed; it had overwhelmed her in the matter of a few hours. But Sunny was … okay, surprisingly. And she felt so much lighter, when she had someone else to share the burden with. “I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“I didn’t mean to throw all of this at you. I didn’t know who else to talk to.”
“It’s okay, Sunset.” Sunny rubbed her knuckles with her thumb. “I’ll always be here for you. But - I think this is bigger than both of us. I think we need to talk to my dad.”
Sunset’s eyes widened. “No.”
“Yes, really!” Sunset tugged at her hands again, but Sunny held on. “He’s a nurse, remember? He’ll know where we can go. He’ll know the best doctor.”
“Why do we need a doctor?”
Sunny paused, then shook her head, offering Sunset a little smile. “Right. We don’t have magic amulets where we are, but we have medicine that will do the same job. It’ll be okay, Sunset. You won’t even need your amulet anymore.”
The weight that had been resting on her heart lifted sharply, and Sunset realized that she hadn’t even felt its presence until it was gone. “Really?”
“Really. And you know just how stubborn I am, I’m just gonna keep holding onto you until you say yes.”
Sunset couldn’t help but laugh. “Yeah, I know how stubborn I am,” Sunset teased.
Sunny laughed, and gave her hands a wiggle.
[***]
Explaining to her father that she had an alternate-universe twin had been hard over the phone, but her father had laughed along, placating her; seeing his daughter standing next to herself was an entirely different story. The fact that her alternate-universe self would need to find an endocrinologist had been an easier pill to swallow, relatively.
Relativity was a funny thing, because relatively, her mother took it easier. As a physicist, she had more questions about how Sunset had come across than anything else. (“Banished by an alicorn princess through a magic mirror” hadn’t made things any clearer for poor ol’ Mom.)
Ultimately, with both parents there to help (Mom had to be called in after Dad sat on the sofa and went quiet for a long time, mumbling “ponies” to himself), things seemed to clear up very quickly for Sunset Shimmer. Sunny’s father made some calls, and found a trans-friendly endocrinologist who could see her immediately. (“That’s what they call it here, dear; not Magic, but trans,” Dad had explained gently, patting her shoulder in a way that made Sunset Shimmer miss home, for the first time in a very long time.) Mom made a call to the school, and explained that Sunset Shimmer would need to make some changes in her class schedule. (“I told them you came from a background where female education wasn’t valued; if anyone asks for details, just tell them you don’t want to talk about it, alright? And if they grill you, you tell me and I’ll come down there and rip them apart.” Sunset realized abruptly where Sunny got her stubborn streak from; and maybe herself, in a way.)
It was funny, how things that seemed like they would destroy her life just … didn’t. It was strange how different her experience was here, compared to Equestria. When she made mistakes in Equestria, the adults in her life banished her from the entire universe. When she made mistakes on Earth, adults she didn’t even know stepped in to protect and defend her. They were on her side, and they barely even knew her.
Maybe that’s why Sunny hadn’t gotten overwhelmed. She knew that when things got scary, she had someone there to back her up.
In the matter of a few hours, it seemed that everything was fixed, and the quartet were sitting around Sunset’s little kitchen table again, enjoying more takeout. Sunny’s mom was telling some story about a coworker not crediting her properly on a paper, and everyone was laughing.
“... so I told him, okay buddy! If you don’t want to list me as first author, that’s fiiiiiiine with me! I’ll just clear it up with our department head! And oh boy, when I tell you his face went white…”
The group laughed, and Sunset looked at Sunny; she was laughing, too. Everything was going to be okay.
While Sunny’s mother launched into another chapter of the saga of her coworker, Sunny slid her hand over, and gently took Sunset’s hand in her own. Sunset looked down, then looked at Sunny; the pair shared a secret smile, and Sunset returned Sunny’s gentle squeeze.
Everything was going to be even better than okay, Sunset Shimmer decided.
