Author's Note

What is supposed to be a short trip turns into an awfully hilarious conversation~

DISCLAIMER: This story includes references to depression, depressing thoughts, insecurities, anxiety, self-harm, blood, and thoughts based around all of these concepts. If you do not want to read a story with slight references to these, I would urge you to click off.

This chapter is a short little update before my next big chapter for this story~ This is not part of the birthday surprise for my friend, Mon668, but if you want to see those, check out It's Just Us and the two bonus chapters on A Dazzling World~

Testing Your Hypothesis

Chapter XIII: Testing Your Hypothesis

“What are you talking about? Of course everything will be alright~” Sunset reassures me, nudging me with her hip. Despite the kind intentions of Sunset’s words, a part of me still feels unsure as I think about the friend we’re going to see… Twilight Sparkle is… predictable, kind and anxious. She has a tendency to overthink things and she lacks the charisma I used to have, but she has the ability to bring people together. At least, all of these attributes can be traced back to Princess Twilight. She’s the one I met a long time ago… This new version of her, on the other hand, is someone I’ve never met and no matter what Sunset says, it’s still nerve wracking to think of the ways she could be different. I have no idea what would qualify as a good impression to her, especially after what she’s probably heard about me from her friends… “Adagio…?”

Shaking my head slightly, I grip Sunset’s hand a little tighter and sigh to myself, closing my eyes as we walk. “I’m just nervous about what she may think of me, that’s all.” Surprisingly, a cool wind passes by us, providing us a nice change of pace from the usual hot air during this time of the year. Though, I suppose the winter will return sooner or later…

“Don’t worry, Adagio~ I’m sure she will like you~ She’s one of my best friends and she knows what it’s like to try and change someone’s perception of you, just like you and me.” Sunset moves her head from my shoulder to look at me, the same warm smile that I fell in love with presenting itself as she presses the cup of her snow cone to my cheek, making me raise my eyebrow.

“Um. Sunset? Why are you holding your snow cone against my face?” I ask, trying to hold back a confused giggle.

“Well, I would hold my hand against your cheek~ But you have my only free hand in a death grip and I can’t just drop my snow cone, so this is the best I can do~” In unison, both of us laugh at Sunset’s cheeky joke, making my heart feel warmer at the sight of Sunset’s amusement. Before I can say anything, however, Sunset brings her face closer to mine, pressing her nose against mine and closing her eyes. It doesn’t take long for Sunset to close the distance, finally connecting our lips only to make me feel that warm and fuzzy feeling deep in my soul. I guess you could call that feeling love~ After all, Sunset is… really perfect. No matter the situation, she finds a way to make me feel happy~

“Why are you so random?” I mutter after our far too short kiss, my lips craving more.

“It made you less worried, didn’t it~?” Sunset asks me in a cheeky tone, still rubbing her nose against my own.

“That’s cheating and you know it~” I try to say with a straight face. This, in fact, fails horribly since I can’t help but giggle at Sunset's remark, feeling my cheeks flush once more. She always has this effect on me, even though I’ve been trying to get used to it for the past few months. Then again, why would I ever want to get used to this? Wouldn’t that mean the magic of these moments be lost?

Stopping in the middle of the sidewalk, Sunset looks back at me with a curious expression, still as cute as ever. “Alligator? Is something wrong?” she asks me as gently as ever, making me feel so… so lucky. I’m so lucky to have her in my life.

Wrapping my arms around her, I pull Sunset into my embrace, resting my head on her shoulder with a happy breath exiting my lips. I guess I’m just a sucker for her in general. Being near her and being able to talk to her brings me a smile most days, even if I don’t expect it. “Just… let me have this moment. Please,” I tell her quietly, hiding my face in her neck. Even though we’re about to meet Sunset’s friend today, it doesn’t change the fact that I wish she and I could just hold each other for eternity and more.

“Hey, you don’t have to feel so anxious about meeting Twilight~ It’ll be alright, really~” Sunset tries to reassure me, scratching the back of my head gently.

“No, no. That’s not it. I’m sure things will turn out okay, I just… As random and silly as our adventures are, I just want you to know that I love you so much,” I state quietly, hugging her tighter. “I don’t think I tell you enough to adequately show just how much you truly mean to me.”

“Aw, Alligator~ You tell me almost every day that you love me with all your heart, so I think I understand~” Sunset whispers in my ear, holding me closer to her. The cool breeze blows past us again and the surprisingly quiet city offers some sense of privacy, but I don’t think I could care if someone did see us. It’s not their problem. Once again, Sunset’s fingers run through my hair, gently tracing along my scalp as she hums to me. “You don’t have to go today if you don’t feel like it~ It’s alright~ We can just go back and hold each other if that’s what you need? It seems like you’re carrying around a lot~” Sunset always has a way to find the core issue in my mind, reading me like a book she’s memorized ten fold. As tempting as that offer is, I know how important this meeting with Twilight is to her.

“No, we can still go~” I whisper, kissing Sunset’s cheek before grabbing her hand again. “I just needed a moment~” Pulling her along, I walk down the sidewalk with a big smile on my face, almost every problem fading away easily.

“Okay then, my sweet Alligator~” Sunset coos with a wink, resting her head on my shoulder once again. “And just so you know, I love you so much too~”

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To be honest, I wasn’t really expecting Twilight to live in a place like this… If anything, I kind of assumed she would be living in a cramped apartment like Sunset and I, but here we are, standing in front of a house. Given, the house isn’t that big, but it’s a house nonetheless with a front yard and mail box. There are even some dog toys laid out on the front porch, being the only things in the front yard except for the bare house. Surprisingly, the house has wood panels on the outdoor walls in a dark purple color, but to be honest, I think the color looks kind of hideous for house decor…

What would help with the outside appearance is some sort of garden, but the garden bed has long since been overrun by weeds and grass. Any semblance of flowers long since destroyed. It seems Twilight spends most of her time inside… Despite my initial reluctance, Sunset walks ahead of me and up the porch’s steps, knocking on the door as loudly as she can. “Sometimes, Twilight sleeps in and all~” Sunset explains to me before I walk up behind her, still nervous about what sort of impression I should try and portray.

“How is it exactly? Being friends with two different versions of the same person?” I ask quietly, looking at Sunset’s cheerful expression. From what I remember, Sunset keeps in contact with Princess Twilight with some magical book fairly often and texts glasses Twilight at the same rate. I really need to come up with a better name than glasses Twilight to differentiate them… I can’t just call them Twilight 1 and Twilight 2, right? God, why does it have to be so difficult? Just thinking about doppelgangers is confusing by itself since it implies there might be another version of Sunset out there. Or even me… Would she be a bitch or what? Given, I kind of… like being a bitch. It’s fun to tease people and be annoying half the time, but now I mean it in a more joking way than anything else. A doppelganger of mine might not…

“It’s confusing sometimes when talking about Twilight to someone else. But overall? Not that much different from having normal friends. The Twilight from Equestria is more obsessed with magic and friendship than the Twilight from this world. She’s more into science and knowledge, but friendship is also a big part of her life too.”

“Don’t forget their physical differences,” I tease Sunset, laughing slightly. “Seriously, I can’t understand why one version of her has such drastically different vision and all.”

A quizzical look comes over Sunset, seemingly thinking about the words I just said. “Actually, I never thought about that. Maybe it’s because of Equestria’s magic? But some ponies needed glasses too…” Sunset pouts slightly, looking off into space as she ponders the question for a moment further. “what the fuck…?” she slowly whispers to herself.

“I know, right? It’s a weird question,” I tease her with a chuckle pushing my shoulder against hers for a moment.

“Thanks, now I won’t be able to stop thinking about it for the rest of the day. Maybe forever,” Sunset sighs in annoyance, resting her head on my shoulder. “Though, I guess it just shows how smart you are. So, I’ll let you off the hook.”

“I was on the hook for posing a legitimate question?” I am barely able to ask before laughing out loud at the absurdity of her statement.

“Well, you made me think about a question I don’t have the means of finding the answer to, so it’s kind of unfair.” Sunset’s response loses its humorous tone by the end of it, being overtaken by a thoughtful look on her face. “I suppose it would be like… asking why you’re so beautiful,” she whispers, her gaze looking at me slowly. Instantly, my cheeks flush to the compliment, being embarrassed but unable to avert my gaze from Sunset’s eyes. “You were born like this and there’s no real rhyme or reason as to why you look so beautiful. You just are~” Sunset whispers in my ear, kissing my cheek as slowly as she can. Why does she always take every opportunity to fluster me by the throat? It’s like my blush is her reward and her kiss is mine…

Before I can respond, the sound of the door’s lock turning alerts us both, making our gaze turn to the door. Every time I’m about to respond to one of Sunset’s antics, something gets in the way… Though, I can’t really blame it this time since Sunset did knock on the door. Opening it slowly, a purple girl with messy hair and squinting eyes looks at us in her pajamas, rubbing her eyes. Bringing her glasses to her face, her gaze is instantly directed at me, her eyes widening at the sight. “Hello…?” she whispers, still looking at me.

“Twilight~” Sunset greets her with a smile. “This is-”

“Adagio Dazzle,” Twilight interrupts her in a monotone voice, her surprised expression still aimed at me. Okay, this is… a little awkward… “You’re a siren, right?” she asks quietly, her eyes glued onto mine. A nervous expression comes over me before I finally nod to her question, her gaze lighting up. “Come with me~” Without giving me a warning, this nerdy version of Twilight grabs my arm and drags me into her home, instantly walking past the entrance hallway and living room. Sunset tries to say something to us as she follows behind, but Twilight pulls me down the stairs to her basement faster than I can hear her. What the fuck is she doing? Where are we going? Did Sunset bring me here to die…?

“Don’t hurt her, Twilight~” Sunset is barely able to say through her laughter of the situation. Hurt me? What the fuck does she have in this basement?! Torture devices? What did you just get me into, Sunset? What is… down here…?

Okay, now I feel confused… Entering the basement’s entrance, I see a bunch of lab equipment like beakers, microscopes and tools, but nothing necessarily to torture someone like me. Unless she has scalpels somewhere here… There aren’t technically restraints, so I could just run from her if she does try something. Though, I think a good punch would be the better option. Looking to the right of the room, there’s a purple and green dog stretching in the bed, yawning slowly. “Can I take a sample of your blood?” nerd Twilight asks me excited, her eyes sparkling at me with a big grin plastered on her face.

“What the fuck? No!” I exclaim, ripping my arm from Twilight’s grasp with a confused expression. Why would she need my blood? So far as I’m concerned, she would do unspeakable things with it…

“Relax, Honey~” Sunset whispers in my ear, catching me from my quick retreat. “Twilight is just… very excited about science. She’s particularly interested in studying-”

“The difference between Equestrian individuals and Earthly individuals~” Twilight interjects, quickly walking over to a blackboard in the back of the room. Who has a blackboard in their house…? Much less their basement… On the board, there’s a crude drawing of Sunset as a pony and a human version of Twilight Sparkle, scribbled in notes beside each of the drawings. Of course, the drawing of Twilight has glasses on as well, likely basing it off herself instead of the… pony one. “When Sunset told me about you, I was excited to meet you since I’m not sure how siren DNA is manipulated by this world and the interdimensional travel between universes!” Suddenly, a confused look comes across Twilight’s face, her eyes being directed at the board once more. “Although, I’m still not fully sure if the pony world is actually a different universe since our two worlds seem connected in more ways than one. But that’s besides the point.” Walking over to one of her file cabinets set up next to a table, she eagerly pulls out a file and flips through the pages, her wide eyes not matching her tired appearance.

“Apparently, our DNA isn’t fully human,” Sunset whispers to me to try and explain Twilight’s rant.

“Exactly~” Twilight interjects again, pulling out a specific page from the file in her hands, smiling at the contents. “From my research of Sunset’s blood, there’s one line of genetic code that’s different between her and I. The full extent of this difference is unknown to me yet, but from what I can tell, it doesn’t affect much. If I had to take a guess, it’s left over magical code inherent to almost every creature that comes from Equestria.” Twilight, reconnecting her eyes with mine, smiles a little wider. “Something that backs up this theory is that DNA taken from Rainbow Dash when she was fully transformed due to magic has a very similar trace, but it only lasts as long as she’s transformed. Problem is, I only have a sample from Sunset here and I’m not sure if this is inherent to just ponies or if each creature from Equestria has similar strains of code.”

“You’re talking about my blood… as if it’s a computer,” I state quietly, a little annoyed at the use of ‘code.’

“Well, our DNA is what programs us~ It tells our body how we should look like, how we should heal, what certain cells are destined to do and a bunch of other stuff.” Raising my eyebrow, I can’t help but find this whole situation a little… humorous. I was pretty worried how my first impression would be with the purple girl, but here she is, practically begging to have a sample of my blood just for the sake of scientific discovery. In a way, I suppose it’s cute and makes our whole interaction easier on me.

Chuckling slightly, I brush my hair off my shoulder and look at Twilight with a smirk. “You really want to know what makes this siren tick, huh?” I ask her in a teasing tone, but the nerd doesn’t seem to pick up on my tone.

“Yeah? I mean, it’s important to try and understand the reason why this world is connected with your world and why you change. I mean, I’m still trying to understand the whole logistics of why you two changed into humans upon coming here.” For a moment, a quizzical look comes over Twilight’s face, seemingly pondering the question she brought up, but it quickly goes away as her smile comes back. “Does that mean I can have a sample~?”

“Depends. You’re not going to try and clone me, are you?” I ask with a short laugh, placing my hand on my chest. “I think this world can only handle one of me~” My confident statement makes Twilight raise her eyebrow quickly, her hand coming to her chin.

“Well, I wouldn’t clone you or anything, but there is a distinct possibility there’s another version of you in this world,” Twilight responds to me, looking for a reaction to her theory.

“I already thought of that, but it’s not that likely they are exactly like me, Sparkle,” I state with another short laugh. To be honest, there’s no way another version of me would be like me, right? I’ve gone through thousands of years of turmoil and I’ve traveled to another world. Surely, a version of me from this world wouldn’t turn out exactly the same or have the same thought process I would… Right? I mean, if anything, she would probably be less patient than me due to… well, a limited life span. “I mean, you are clearly different from your pony counterpart, with your lack of vision and different fashion sense.” Sunset shoots me a glare that tells me to behave, but Twilight has a completely different reaction to this.

“Actually, you’re right about that. Hmm… I didn’t even think about physical differences between individuals… Maybe the different code Sunset has alters her physical traits from her counterpart? Of course, we don’t know the other version of Sunset, so this has yet to be tested.” Taking a deep breath to collect herself, Twilight looks back at me, seemingly concentrating. “Anyway, I promise I won’t clone you or anything serious like that~ Although, I wish I had that sort of technology.” Raising her hand out to me, Twilight’s eyes look hopeful that I will take her deal, letting her see just a little more into Equestrian biology.

Knowing that Sunset would not stop pestering me if I refused, I take Twilight’s hand in my own and shake gently. “Fine. You can have a… sample. But just one. I’m not quite a fan of needles.”

“Oh, it won’t hurt~ I promise~” Twilight states with a big grin, walking me over to a chair right next to the dog bed before she takes out a syringe.

Looking down at the dog next to me, I see the collar has the name Spike engraved into it. Spike’s eyes slowly open right as I sit down next to him, his head looking around the room at us before yawning again. Stretching and scratching his ear, he walks off his bed and looks up at the purple girl preparing my arm. “Are you done talking about the science stuff yet, Twilight? I couldn’t help but fall asleep to all that talking,” a male voice comes from thin air right as the dog opens his mouth… Did the dog just talk…?

“What the fuck?!”