Delicate teal eyes fluttered open to be met with darkness.

Attempting to not immediately panic, Sunset reached up and felt a stretchy surface covering her face. Grabbing the object off of her, equations and messy handwriting greeted her.

Throwing the paper over the bed, purple walls and astronomy decorations entered the amber skinned teens vision.

Sitting up, the red head saw her textbooks strun about her girlfriend's bed and said purple girl sitting at her desk in a trance of mathematical focus.

Sunset shuffled off of the bed and made her way to the indigo haired genius.

Twilight's attention had finally been harmed as she lifted her head to the touch of two leather covered arms wrapped around her shoulders and a light kiss made contact with her cheek.

“How long was I out?” Sunset's warm voice questioned.

With a glance at the clock, Twilight answered, “Mm, about forty minutes. Did you sleep okay?”

“Yea, I actually did. Your bed is so comfy, and your presence helps.” The redhead said, moving to kiss the girl's opposite cheek.

Sunset’s focused on the circular object laying on the bespeckled girls desk. “What’s that?” The redhead said pointing to the magenta object.

“Oh it’s an EMDCD.”

Sunset blinked.

“Huh?”

Twilight giggled, “Electromagnetic detector capture device. It allows me to detect and capture the strange random bursts of energy that have been happening around the city for a couple months. I made it myself.” The young scientist said proudly.

“By a couple of months, how many?” Sunset said with concern scratching at her chest.

“Since mid fall. The first burst was extraordinary! It actually oddly happened at your school-”

Sunset swirled the other females desk chair around to face her as the red head grabbed Twilights shoulders. Her violet eyes stared wide into intense teal eyes.

“Twilight, what you're detecting is magic.”

“Huh?”

“It’s magic.”

Twilight adjusted her glasses, “...Oh…I’ve actually been meaning to talk to you about that.”

Sunset removed her hands and stood up straight, “What about it?”

“Can I see it?” The scientists requested.

Sunset’s growing smirk turned to a laugh, “You want me to show off my magical sparkles.” She said slyly.

A blush lightly crept on the lavender skinned cheeks, “Well I'm curious of the hows and whys of magic. Plus you haven't proved it yet. So do so.”

Sunset lightly bit her lip, “Sorry babe, It’s triggered by music and I didn’t bring my guitar.”

The indigo haired teen tapped her chin in thought, “...Does singing work?”

Sunset nodded, “Yes actually.”

“So, sing for me.”

“Jeez aren't you busy.” Sunset said, leaning her poster back.

The glasses adorned female blushed yet again, “Sorry, sometimes I don't realize it.”

“Hmm, you're lucky I like it coming from you.” The blazed haired female winked, “What do you want me to sing?”

“Whatever comes to your mind Sunnybun.” Twilight smiled warmly.

“I have a little song I’ve been working on.” The redhead said sitting back on the edge of the bed.

Sunset took her staring breath, deciding to sing a lower key than she originally had planned for the song.

‘Power was all I desired, but that grew inside me was a darkness I acquired.’

Sunset closed her eyes and smiled, as she already felt the warm buzzing building in veins.

‘When I began to fall and I lost the path ahead, that's when your friendship and love found me and it lifted me instead.’

A light wind swirled the singer as a citrus orange glow began to surround Sunset.

‘Like a phoenix burning bright in the sky, I'll show there's another side to me you can't denyyy.’

A faint amazed gasp could be heard coming from the scientist in front of her.

‘I may not know what the future holds, but hear me when I say. That my past does not define me, cause my past is not todayyy.’

As the amber skinned females singing came to a stop, equine ears and a slender tall amber horn sprouted from Sunset’s head. The horn had the slightest curve to it, showing off her ancestry.

As Sunset opened her eyes, the sight of her girlfriend's amazed and curious face with a phone in her lavender hand met the former unicorn.

“T-this is extraordinary, Sunset! You have actual horse ears and a horn! Can I?” Twilight's exclamation turning into question as she reached her hand out to touch the amber spiral horn.

“U-uh, Sparkes.” Sunset blushed.

Twilight recoiled, bringing her hand back, “I’m sorry, I just got a bit excited.”

The magic infused teen shook her head, “No, it’s okay. If this horn is anything like mine was in Equestria, then it's pretty sensitive.”

Picking up her notebook and pen, Twilight asked, “How so?”

Sunset thought for a moment. In Equestria a unicorn's horn sensitivity was based on their magic. The more sensitive, the more intune with magic. The human world doesn’t have a lot of magic though, does that mean that sensitivity was much less?

“Well for me, back in Equestria, my horn was sensitive to magic which caused my powerful magical outburst. So, if some pony, which was only ever Princess Celestia, did touch my horn it just gave a really weird feeling. Like someone touching an exposed bone.” The fiery teen explained.

“Fascinating.” Twilight whispered as she wrote her note.

The amber skinned female touched her own spiral horn in her own curiosity. It definitely still has that weird tingly, uncomfortable feeling, though at a much less degree.

“Ok, you can do what you want, but just so you know, this is a pretty intimate thing, where I come from…” Sunset blushed and looked at Twilight's equally blushing face, “I trust you.”

“Thank you, I promise I won't go totally crazy scientist, just a little.” Twilight joked.

The redhead giggled.

The former full unicorn closed her eyes and bowed her head allowing her human companion to explore and analyze her spellcasting appendage.

Sunset could feel delicate lavender fingers lightly brush against the base of the horn. Sunset took in a breath as she felt the index and thumb fingers touching the sides of her horn, giving small strokes and squeezes until they reached the top.

The sensation caused a weird tingling in her head and horn.

Sunset opened her eyes as she heard Twilight writing frantically in her notebook.

“What did you feel with the different interactions on your horn?” The bespeckled female asked, looking up at the magical girl with wide curious eyes.

“It wasn't bad, It basically feels like how you would with my arm but with more pressure and a ton of tingling. My guess is that sensation happens because of the underlying magic being stored in my horn.” Sunset explained.

“So, in Equestria, do other types of ponies have magic or is it only unicorns?”
The young scientist asked with her pencil at the ready.

“Every pony has magic but in different ways, Earth and pegasi use magic internally, with the earth ponies have better skills and abilities with nature and pegasi having control over the weather and power of flight. For unicorns, we use it more externally, also our sensitivity of magic for a unicorn is based on their special talent. Unicorn’s who are talented with magic have more sensitivity with it and as foals we are more prone to magical outburst. For me, my surges were so powerful that only the princess could counter them.”

“What happens when a magical surge happens?”

“It depends for some, mostly it’s just a bunch of magic shooting into the sky that will disperse itself. For others, particularly with me, can be naturally intune with elemental magic. Mine is fire, my surges involved spews of fire that would continue on, and with it being magical fire only magic could kill it, which is hard to do if the spellcaster isn't doing it, hence why only Princess Celestia could help.”

“Mhh, I see…” Twilight snapped her not book shut as Sunsets pony up form faded away. “We’ll have to discuss this more later. It's all so amazing, I’d love to learn more.”

“I'll be happy to provide, Sparkes.” The redhead smiled with a scratch of her arms over her head. “It’s pretty late, I guess it’s time for me to go.”

“I’ll walk you out.” Twilight was with disappointment dipping into her tone.

As the two made their way down the stairs, Night Light and his wife, Velvet were spotted cuddling with wine glasses.

“Hi girls, how was your homework session?” Velvet's smooth voice asked.

“Wonderful! We learned quite a lot!” Twilight answered with enthusiasm. Sunset held back a giggle, knowing that horn touching and magic explanations aren't technically homework.

“That's good, Twily. Sunny, it’s always good to see you. Make sure to drive safely on that bike, especially at night.” Night Light said earnestly.

Sunset qave a quick head nod, “Yes sir, will do.”

With that the couple headed out the front door and to the bikers vehicle.

As Sunset threw her backpack into the seat’s storage and adjusted her helmet strap, she asked, “Hey, do your parents even know we’re dating?”

The nerdish female blushed and stiffened, “No…not yet. They’d have no problems with it, I’m just a nervous overthinker, is all.”

The fiery haired biker smiled gently and placed a hand on the lavender skinned girl's cheek, “That’s okay, whenever you're comfortable and ready.”

Twilight paused for a moment before leaning up on her toes to give her girlfriend a kiss.

“Text me when you get home?” The indigo haired teen asked as she pulled away from Sunset’s lips.

Resting her forehead on the shorter girls, Sunset nodded, “You know I will.”

Pulling apart, the amber skinned teen hopped on her bike and waved farewell to her lover.

***

The night has not been particularly bad but Sunset still found it hard to sleep, spending her night tossing and turning.

After taking Luna’s offer for a ride that morning, the sleepy former unicorn made her way to her locker. Nervousness and anxiety nipped at her nerves but it was barely felt as Sunset's brain was too foggy from lack of sleep to care.

As the redhead entered her combination to her locker in the empty hall- having arrived much too early thanks to riding with the vice principal of the school, Sunset emitted a stifled startled noise at seeing something unknown sitting in her locker.

Cupcakes. More specifically, red velvet cupcakes with buttercream vanilla icing.

Who in the world put cupcakes in her locker?

Also apparently she needed to switch lockers if it were really this easy for others to repeatedly get into it.

Sunset picked up one of the cupcakes. This was either a terrible trick to poison her or someone deciding to be nice.

Cupcakes. Not just any cupcakes, but her favorite kind. Suddenly it hit her, thankfully only figuratively.

Pinkie Pie. These are from Pinkie Pie. Sunset shrugged, beginning to lick some icing off, trusting that Pinkie wouldn't be evil enough to poison her.

With her textbooks and notebooks at her side, the redhead decided to waste her time in the library. A head start never hurts.

Just ten minutes until the study session the school was now bustling with students at their lockers, saying greetings to their friends.

“Hi Sunset!” A small exclamation announced from a high pitched voice.

Looking up, the amber skinned teen was greeted by the sight of the very pink party planner that gave her treats.

Sunset felt a bit of sympathy brush her at the sight of the pink girls still deflated hair, at least some bounce and color was back.

“Did you enjoy your cupcakes this morning?” The baker asked, rocking back and forth on her heels.

“How do you know I had any?” Sunset questioned.

“There was one missing in your locker, silly.” Pinkie Pie smiled.

“Why does everybody think they can just do what they want with my locker? That’s it, I'm getting a new one.” The redhead deadpanned.

“Sorry, I just wanted to make sure you got them.” Pinkie pouted, poking her two pointer fingers together.

Sunset sighed, “Well yes I had one, it was good of course coming from you, but you can’t just buy me back.”

“I know, I’m sorry, I just meant it as a beginning.” The pink girl said sitting at the table across from Sunset.

“I’m assuming Rarity told you we came to sort of a truce?”

The curly haired teen nodded quickly.

The fiery girl attempted to resist rolling her eyes, “Why did you decide to wait for someone else to talk to me before you? I wasn’t even upset with you.”

Pinkie's hair seemed to deflate more at the truth. The usually cheerful female sat in thought for a moment.

“To be honest, the whole situation confused me. It made me sad. I didn’t want to lose you as a friend. I didn’t want to lose the other girls again. It made no sense for you to be Anon-A-Miss and I knew that.” Pinkie's frown deepened to something Sunset had never thought she would see on the girl's face, “In the end I chose the girls. I don’t have an excuse for that. I was so confused and sad, it felt like how I did as a kid before I found my love of throwing parties. I just started disassociating, all the time. I’m so sorry I had been a part of what made you lose your smile.”

The redhead sighed and stood up. Sunset bent down to Pinkie and enveloped the crying teen in a hug, “I’m not totally ready to forgive, but I am ready to move on. Thank you for your apology Pinks, it means a lot.”

Pinkie returned the hug with volume and color returning to her being, “I understand. I’m ready to be a better friend. Even though we used to have magic and be the harmony people, we still need to learn lessons.”

Sunset nodded, “True that.” Suddenly a realization came to Sunset, hearing Pinkie's previous words, “Used to have magic?”

“Yeppy deppy, we’ve tried but we don’t pony up anymore. Plus AJ and dashie haven’t had that random magic surge again since you-.. since that night.” The curly haired girl explained throwing her legs get back and forth.

So the girls don’t have their magic anymore. Is that because they aren’t feeling enough friendship magic to muster up some? Or is it that they lost their places as the virtues? If that was it, did that magic return to Equestria somehow? No, Sunset had just ponied up last night. So does that mean the virtues switched to other people? Summer sun, Sparkes would have a field day with this.

“Well I don’t know anything about that. Magic in the human world is very strange, even more so with foreign magic. You’ll let me know if that changes?” Sunset said, with a thoughtful hand on her chin.

“Absotutely Lutley!” Pinkie smiled with a hand to her forehead in salute.

As the first class bell rang, the girls stood up and gave farewell, with Pinkie of course giving a crushing bear hug which did startle the redhead, it also was admittedly something the teen wasn’t ready for Pinkie to start doing again.

Walking in the opposite direction, Sunset shaked the uncomfortable feeling off. As she got closer to her classroom, a tall pale pink woman with wavy aurora hair stood by the doorway, welcoming students.

“Principal Celestia? What are you doing here?” Sunset questioned.

“Good morning, Sunset Shimmer. I’m your substitute teacher today, Miss Harshwhinny couldn’t make it in.” The radiant woman said.

“Mhm, well this should be fun.”

The woman chuckled, “I may not be as strict but I promise to provide for your education as much as Harshwhinny does.”

The redhead nodded, “I’ll hold you to it. Oh, and by the way, I need a new locker.”

Author's Note

Howdy doo!

I hoped you enjoyed this chapter! It’s the calm before storm mahaha