A Destiny of Their Own

by Hakuno

Rating: teen
Tags: Other, Romance, Drama, Equestria Girls, Sunset Shimmer, Twilight Sparkle (EqG)
Length: 97247

After her fallout with Celestia and self-imposed banishment to the human world, Sunset decides to carve her own destiny from the ground up. The world might not be ready.

Sunset Shimmer's ambition grew along with her power and knowledge, and she decided to become an alicorn princess and rule at Princess Celestia's side. When the princess didn't turn her into an alicorn, Sunset jumped through the portal in a last show of rebellion and into another world.

A world devoid of magic but much more advanced technologically. Sunset figures that if she solves the conundrum of this strange new world and manages to combine magic with technology, she'll ascend into a princess and take her rightful place.

With a familiar face assisting her and the help of an inquisitive girl, Sunset sets out on the path of research and development. The world might not be ready for what is to come, but Sunset will still spearhead a revolution bigger than any world has ever seen.

Cover art by yours truly

Teen rating for teenagers.

6/15/24 - Featured! Thanks a lot!

Published 2024-06-15 00:00:01 UTC
Last updated 2025-02-14 00:30:23 UTC

Volume I. Seeds Unplanned — Chapter 1. New World

Original Cover Art for Volume I

Sunset could hear nothing but her own heartbeat, so loud in her ears that she thought they were explosions. She spun and twisted around, surrounded by colors so bright she had to close her eyes. None of that mattered, as she could think of nothing but the fact she was now a criminal. She had regretted attacking those guards as soon as she had done so, and her hooves had moved on their own, trotting to and jumping into the mirror’s portal.

She had briefly thought of apologizing. But what would that achieve? She had been kicked out from her apprenticeship, and she had effectively become a criminal. Even if she apologized, she would be banished from Canterlot at best, and she would still not become a princess. But in the new world she was going? Well, she could at least see what all the fuss was about and determine for herself just how useful it would be to her.

During the few seconds that had transcurred since jumping into the portal, Sunset had been feeling like flying on a pegasus chariot during a storm, tossed around by violent winds, unable to see or even feel where she was even going. At some point, however, she felt like something pushed her forward, her stomach hurled as she fell onto the ground. She groaned, feeling cold grass underneath.

She gasped and quickly sat up, regretting it immediately when her whole world spun nauseatingly.

“Are… you alright?”

Sunset’s heart skipped a beat, and she felt like she was splashed by a bucket of ice water. That was Princess Celestia’s voice. Had she followed her? Slowly, fearfully, Sunset turned her head to look at the princess.

Except it wasn’t the princess. It was a creature Sunset had never seen before. She could recognize ponylike features in its face, like big eyes and what resembled a snout and a mouth. The rainbow hair was eerily familiar to that of the princess, but there was absolutely nothing else in this creature that could be confused as a pony.

“I…” Sunset’s voice was shaking, half because of all the adrenaline running through her veins, half because the chilly air was biting at her skin. “Yeah…”

The creature lifted a thick book and offered it to Sunset. The journal Princess Celestia had given her so many years ago had somehow managed to accompany her through the portal. “I think this is yours,” it said, offering it to Sunset. “Can I ask your name?”

“Sunset Shimmer,” Sunset replied as she reached out to take the journal. She froze when she realized her hoof wasn’t a hoof anymore. “What the…” she sat on her haunches and looked at herself for the first time since crossing the portal. She wasn’t a pony anymore! “What am I?!”

“That’s what I’d like to know,” the rainbow-haired creature said, tilting its head. “You came out of the statue right as I was passing by. Strangest thing I’ve ever seen. I have so many questions I don’t even know where to begin.”

Sunset ignored the creature as she kept inspecting her new body. No wonder she was so cold; she didn’t have fur anymore. She was wearing some clothing, fortunately. Pajamas, if she had to guess by the texture of the fabric and the soft teal color. She turned to the portal, wanting to see her new appearance in the mirror, but instead she saw a solid stone statue. Blinking, she tentatively pressed a paw against the surface, watching it go through the stone as if it were water. She retrieved her paw immediately. She didn’t want to go back to Equestria after what she’d done. Not so soon, anyway.

Another paw pressed into the portal, and it also went through. The creature leaned back, eyes widening. “So this is a portal of some sort? Where does it lead?” It looked at Sunset, clearly expecting an answer. But Sunset didn’t feel like replying. Not to some creature that sounded awfully similar to Princess Celestia. The rainbow hair certainly didn’t help.

Sunset tried to stand up. The creature stood up as well, which told Sunset she was supposed to balance on her hind legs only. She wobbled and fell back to the ground. Sunset ignored the offered paw for help and instead used the portal’s edges to help herself up. When she finally managed to stand up properly, she decided to look around.

The sky was dark, with the moon shining brightly. Behind the statue, Sunset spotted buildings that looked similar in design to those in Manehatten. Many had the lights out, but the lamp posts illuminated the streets anyway. The statue itself was at the edge of what looked like a large garden, which in turn was right in front of a much larger building that sort of looked like a castle, but it was too small for that. Perhaps rulers in this world didn’t like big castles or palaces. Or perhaps governors modeled their offices after real castles?

Sunset needed to understand this other world if she was to become an alicorn and rule Equestria. She turned towards the creature and frowned. The more Sunset looked at it, the more it reminded her of Princess Celestia. Not only what little similarities she could spot in its physical appearance, but the look of fake concern in its face made her stomach heat up. She pressed her teeth together, hating everything about what she was about to do.

“This is indeed a portal to another world,” Sunset explained slowly, thinking about the right words to say. “I came here on royal business to study this world.”

“Royal business?” the Celestia look–alike asked.

Sunset lowered her head. She needed to choose her words carefully so that this creature wouldn’t be suspicious. Not that she particularly cared about its opinion, but it knew about the portal, and Sunset definitely didn’t want it wandering into Equestria and asking the princess for help.

“I am… the Royal Archmage’s apprentice,” Sunset lied. “The task given to me to finish my apprenticeship and become a rightful archmage myself is to study this world, figure out why and how it was connected through a portal to my world, and report back my findings.”

The best lies were the ones sprinkled with truths. Now, if this creature happened to go to Equestria, she’d talk about the archmage’s apprentice, not about the princess’ prized pupil. Sure, that could get the archmage apprentice in trouble, but that wasn’t Sunset’s problem.

The creature held its chin with a hand. “So your world is one where magic exists? It’s very difficult to believe, but then again, after what I’ve just seen…” It shook its head. “In any case, it’s very late. Since you just arrived, I’m sure you don’t have anywhere to stay, do you? Would you like to stay at my place? I’m sure my sister will love having you around.”

Sunset frowned.

“Don’t look at me like that,” the creature said with an infuriatingly condescending smile. “I just want to help. If you really want to know about this world, what better place to start than with the principal of a high school?”

“Principal?” Sunset asked. The word was not entirely unfamiliar. She was used to the more appropriate Headmare or Headstallion titles for the head teacher of a school, but lately, schools had started using the word Principal. It was a stupid and unnecessary change, in Sunset’s opinion.

“Ah, I guess I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Celestia. I’m the principal of Canterlot High School.”

Sunset felt a pit open in her stomach. “Celestia?” She asked. Was this a trap? Was this world an illusion? A magical dungeon? Was the princess playing some sick games on her?

“Is… there a problem?” Discount Celestia said, and the fake worry in its voice made Sunset’s anger flare up.

But she forced it down. She had already screwed everything up by letting her temper get the better of her. She needed to be smart about this. She took a deep breath, though it did nothing to lessen the shaking of her legs.

“No,” she said. “You’re just called exactly the same as the princess of my world.”

“Oh!” the creature giggled. “Well I consider it an honor, then.”

“Why do you want to help me, anyway?” Sunset asked. “What do you stand to gain?”

Fake Celestia tilted its —her?— head. “Do I need a reason to help someone in need? Besides, I don’t know about your world, but here you look like a kid, barely a teenager. I just can’t let you waltz around and get yourself in trouble. This world can be a very dangerous place for someone as young as yourself.”

“I’m not a kid!” Sunset retorted, anger bubbling in her stomach again. “I turned thirteen three moons ago!”

“Barely into your teen years,” Fake Celestia said, apparently immune to Sunset’s yelling. “Your reaction tells me you’re supposed to be an adult in your world, yes?”

Sunset’s prepared retort died in her throat. She considered the question, then nodded. “We’re considered legal adults at age ten, though not with full legal rights…”

“What do you mean by that?”

Sunset tried crossing her forelegs, but she almost fell to the floor, so she kept them glued to the statue. “We can travel, get a job, open a business and all sorts of things. But we cannot drink alcoholic beverages or get married just yet. For that we must wait until we’re sixteen.”

Fake Celestia nodded. “Well, I’m afraid that things work differently in this world. While you're not a kid anymore, you’re still not an adult. For that you must be eighteen.”

“Eighteen?!” That was practically old age! Most ponies already had their lives figured out by their fourteenth birthday!

“Also, did you bring any money with you?” Fake Celestia asked. Sunset shook her head. Of course she hadn’t brought any, she had lost her saddlebags when she had attacked the guards, and she had crossed the portal with absolutely nothing else but her ambition. “Getting a job at your age would be extremely difficult as it is, but seeing as to how you’re not even from this world… Oh dear, I’m having a headache just from the implications…”

“This world seems very difficult to traverse,” Sunset mused to herself.

“It is, and it will be even more difficult for you,” Fake Celestia said. “All alone, with no money nor anyone to help you? Bad people will take advantage of you. I just can’t bear the thought of it. Hence why I’m offering you my help. The least I can do is give you a place to stay until you put your report together and must return… Which begs the question. Do you have a time limit?”

Sunset thought about it. She had three nights until the portal closed. She supposed that, if she had a school principal helping her, she could discover the truth about this world by then. She would be able to return to Equestria with the knowledge to become a princess! Hay, she could even return to Equestria having already become a princess!

She held Fake Celestia’s gaze. “I must return the day after tomorrow,” she explained. Technically, the portal would remain open until the third full moon started its descent in the sky. But cutting it close like that would risk being trapped in this world for thirty moons.

Fake Celestia smiled. “Then that settles it. You can stay in our spare room, and I can help you with your report if you want. In exchange, I’d like for you to tell me about your world. I’d say that’s a fair trade.”

Sunset considered it. It did sound fair. Sunset would simply have to be careful not to reveal state secrets or anything that would endanger Equestria.

“Alright,” she said. Finally, pushing her own anger against the princess down, she accepted the offered paw and let Fake Celestia help her find her balance.

Sunset followed her for about twenty minutes, in which she finally managed to learn how to walk with just her hind legs, until they arrived at a tall building. Six stories high, but strangely narrow. It was like a mansion but built up instead of wide. Sunset let herself be awed at the fact that Fake Celestia was rich enough to have a house this big… Until she realized it was just an apartment complex and thought about the tiny space she’d be confined in for the next few days.

Upon entering the apartment, Sunset saw another woman —Fake Celestia had explained some things on their way there— of pale blue skin and dark blue hair sitting on a couch.

“You told me you just forgot something, sister. Why did you take so long?” The woman asked, then her eyes fell upon Sunset. “Who’s this?”

“Luna, this is Sunset Shimmer. She will be our guest for the next few days,” Fake Celestia replied.

Sunset regarded the woman, curious and surprised. Princess Celestia definitely didn’t have a sister. Was this another difference of this world, or was it yet another secret the princess had kept from everypony? The woman, Luna, stared at Fake Celestia for an uncomfortably long time with narrowed eyes.

“I thought the correct procedure when finding lost children was to take them to the police.”

Sunset frowned, already angry at this woman.

Fake Celestia simply giggled. “There is much we must talk about, sis.”

Sunset sat on the couch right in front of Luna as Fake Celestia prepared some tea. The following hours were spent with Sunset and Fake Celestia convincing Luna that she was from another world, which wasn’t what somepony would call a success, but at least the younger sister allowed Sunset to at least stay the night. Sunset could always take her the following day to the portal for proof.

As Sunset tucked herself in the spare room’s bed, she thought back to her argument with Princess Celestia, feeling anger once again rising up in her stomach. She’d show her. She’d learn the truth about this world and return to Equestria to rule as her equal. Nay! As her superior!

Sunset was going to get her due, and she’d show them all!

Author's Note

Heya! It's me again!

This time with a little twist. No Sunset x Trixie (gasp!). This time, while it'll seem Slice of Life at first, as the description suggests, it will eventually evolve to something more, but since I have to start from somewhere... In any case, I've alredy written 25 chapters, and I will be publishing them on a weekly basis so that I have time to get out of writer's block when it strikes (which is embarrassingly frequently to be honest)

I do have plans to returning to my other stories (If anyone still cares...) but for now I really want to explore this. In my other EQG fics I've shied away from magic. Well, no more! The EQG universe does have magic canonically (I'll fight you on this!) and I (Sunset) will prove it!

Please do leave your comments with your impressions and thoughts. I'm particularly proud of what I've done with this story and the plans I have for it. And that includes a bit of mystery and a lot of guessing and a truckload of fantastical science and a sprinkle of romance.

Oh! Also, I do not currently have an editor. If anyone wants to help me, please DM me. I prefer working with Google Docs.

This note has already been going long enough. Please enjoy!

Chapter 9. Beach Treasure

Sunset looked out the car’s window and gazed upon the scenery. Open fields of grass and distant trees, with a cloudless bright blue sky behind. It hadn’t changed much in the past two hours. She was used to riding pegasus pulled chariots for long voyages, though a single memory of taking the Friendship Express came to mind, so spending over twelve hours in this tiny car was all sorts of uncomfortable. At least in a chariot there was enough space to stretch the legs.

This was one of the many different things she had been experiencing since coming to the human world.

Only one week after Twilight’s birthday, it was time for humans’ version of Hearth’s Warming Eve. Just as Sunset had expected, the holiday had been accompanied by many Harmonic Resonances. Three times, Sunset had participated in the city-wide chorus, though adding her own lyrics about just joining out of wanting to understand this world’s magic. During one of those, however, as she was walking down the street, a random pink skinned girl had given her a cupcake.

The cupcake had improved her mood, but it had still been quite random.

What hadn’t been random was when Sunset managed to trigger a Harmonic Resonance. Seeing Celestia and Luna so chirpy throughout the day, she had asked them what the fuzz was even about, and they had regaled her with a twelve minute duet about what the holiday meant to them. After that, Sunset hadn’t been able to refuse telling them about Hearth’s Warming Eve. Of course, she had told them the old foals tale about the Windigos, but leaving out the fact that the rest of the characters were all ponies.

Though, a clear difference from the human holiday was that Hearth’s Warming was celebrated two days before Winter Wrap Up, instead of at the beginning of winter. Luna had found this particularly interesting, for some reason.

Well, there was another big difference right after that holiday. Apparently, humans celebrated their new year merely a week later! Still at the beginning of winter. Sunset really didn’t understand why that was, and Celestia had only managed to say that someone in the past had decided it so and apparently the whole world had listened. So unlike Equestria, where the Summer Sun Celebration was their new year.

It definitely carried more meaning.

After the new year, Luna celebrated her birthday on the final day of the first month. The younger of the two sisters was content with a simple, small celebration in which Celestia took Sunset to buy her a small blueberry cake and a brooch in the shape of a white moon, which Sunset was reasonably sure was the woman’s Cutie Mark.

Celestia’s own birthday, which was when humans officially recognized the seasonal switch to spring, was very different from her sister’s. She took them both to an amusement park for, in her own words, ‘a full day of limitless fun’. Sunset had heard from passing conversations by the maids and guards at the palace that Las Pegasus hosted these strange structures called roller coasters, and that they were very popular, but Sunset had never cared for pegasi inventions.

So when she looked up at the human’s version of roller coasters, Sunset understood why those ponies had talked with equal amounts of excitement and trepidation. The monstrous structures had so many twists and turns that Sunset felt dizzy just looking at them from the ground. And when her stupid pride had denied her the relief of chickening out, Sunset had felt even dizzier as she sat down to try the largest and most twistiest roller coaster there had been at the park.

And she had found herself loving every single moment. The tense moments of slowly crawling to the highest point, the hurl of her stomach as the car took a nose-dive to the ground at speeds only pegasi could reach, the howling wind in her face and ruffling her hair, the rush of adrenaline at the twirls that turned the whole world upside down. All of that combined had made up for the best non-magical experience in her life. So much so that she had been unable to hide her excitement from the sisters and even had outright asked to go again.

A month later, Twilight invited Sunset to spend Easter with her family. That was a holiday that didn’t have a direct translation to any Equestrian holidays. Sunset read all about it and arrived at Twilight’s house fully prepared with knowledge so as to not have to ask stupid questions. However, as it turned out, Twilight’s family didn’t quite partake in everything Sunset had read about Easter. Instead, they had a very simple tradition where Twilight’s parents would hide a hundred small decorated chocolate eggs around the house, and whoever found the most would win.

And of course, Twilight’s big puppy eyes had forced Sunset into competing as well. Though by the end of the day, Sunset had to admit, if only to herself, that she had gotten quite engaged in the challenge, and had it not been for the fact she still didn’t quite know her way around Twilight’s big house, she would’ve won. Completely ignoring that Twilight had beaten her with a difference of over sixty eggs.

The months after also had various holidays, but neither Celestia, Luna, nor Twilight seemed to celebrate them in any meaningful ways, or at least, not ways that Sunset was made aware of, and Sunset found herself enjoying her uninterrupted research time. She was very close to finishing Twilight’s lesson plan, which had only gotten more and more complicated as Sunset progressed.

Then she had gotten to electronic circuitry, and found it to be quite similar to how magic worked, but different enough that she had her doubts of it helping her. However, just as she started making progress there, Twilight once again interrupted her research time by inviting her to spend a week of summer vacation with her family at the beach.

Sunset had wanted to reject the invitation. That very week was going to see the month’s full moon, and she wanted to be near the portal. She was already used to feeling the pulsations and was very close to putting apart the different arrays. She was very close to understanding the many enchantments that made up the portal!

But Twilight had insisted, saying that she wanted to spend the summer with her BFF. Sunset wondered why Twilight thought they were even friends. And right as she was about to reject the invitation, Twilight had started Resonating, and she sang about friendship and magic and science, and by the time Sunset realized what was going on Night Light had finished loading her luggage into the car.

And now she had spent half a day sitting in a car with Twilight at her side. Shining Armor and Cadence were in a different car, which Sunset was thankful for, as she didn’t think she’d be able to take such a long journey while being even more cramped. Celestia and Luna had made up excuses for not going, like having to work for summer classes or something like that.

“Have you ever been to the beach, Sunset?” Twilight asked.

The sudden question distracted Sunset from her thoughts, and she took her gaze away from the never changing landscape to look at the bespectacled girl. “No,” she replied. She had been born in downtown Manehatten, and as soon as she became Princess Celestia’s student, she moved to the palace in Canterlot, which was as far away from the shore as one could be.

“We go to the beach every year,” Twilight said, waving her hand at the window, which still showed the same green landscape. “It’s our family summer tradition. I’m really glad you could come. We’ll have lots of fun!”

Sunset held back a sigh. The problem wasn’t having fun —she had to admit she had enjoyed herself the times Twilight had invited her over. The problem was that it was going to be a whole week where she wouldn’t be progressing in her studies. She had brought her laptop along, but if Twilight insisted on distracting her, then it had been a completely useless thing to do.

Two hours later, with the sun starting to hide in the horizon, Night Light pulled the car to a stop and announced their arrival. Sunset got out first to stretch her cramped legs and took a look at the place she’d be spending a week in.

The house was two stories high with a large garden in front of the entrance, which was surrounded by neatly trimmed bushes and flowerbeds. The building itself had soft tones of yellow colors and large windows, and was almost completely rectangular in shape. All in all, it wasn’t as flashy as Twilight’s house, but it certainly didn’t come off as cheap in any way.

“My aunt lives here most of the year,” Twilight explained as she led Sunset inside. “She leaves during summer to travel the world and lets us use the house in the meantime.”

The interior was very simple. White walls decorated by photographs of people Sunset didn’t recognize and other various ornaments. Anything made of wood was light in color, while couches and other appliances were yellowish white. It did feel like people lived there, but they were very clean and orderly.

The room she was to share with Twilight for the week did, however, feel rather empty. A single small bed of wooden frames and white sheets, a tall wardrobe, and a night table. Sunset was glad Twilight’s parents had packed the inflatable mattress. She didn’t want to share a bed with this heat.

By the time they finished unpacking, the sky had already darkened. Sunset was surprised to find herself so tired after spending almost fifteen hours sitting inside a car. She barely managed to stay awake for a light dinner before falling asleep on the mattress.

The next day, after a quick shower and a hearty breakfast, Sunset allowed Twilight’s family to take her to the beach. And as soon as they arrived she discovered that she hated it. It was so packed with people there was barely any space to spread towels and raise parasols, which Cadence and Shining offered to keep an eye on.

“Are you sure you don’t want to get a swimsuit?” Twilight asked for the millionth time.

“No,” Sunset replied. While Twilight was wearing a blue one-piece swimsuit, Sunset was content with thin shorts and a sleeveless white shirt. “I’m not going to swim.”

“Well, me neither, but you’ve got to wear a swimsuit when you’re at the beach or at the pool!” Twilight said. “Otherwise, you’re not dressed properly.”

Sunset rolled her eyes. “Twilight, nobody cares about my clothes. That man over there is wearing shorts and a shirt like me.”

“That’s a lifeguard, Sunset. He’s working.”

“Whatever. I’m not getting a swimsuit that I’m only going to wear for a few days.” Sure, Celestia had given her some money, but Sunset thought she could just save it for later, for something actually important.

“Ok, fine,” Twilight relented. She looked around for a moment. “So, what do you want to do?”

“Go back to Canterlot to study the portal.”

Twilight frowned. “I meant here, at the beach. Come on, Sunset, let’s have some fun! You need a real break to let your mind rest or your performance is only going to stagnate. Working the mind is almost like working the body. If you just keep training without rest, you’ll get worse results than with rest.”

Sunset threw her head back and let out an exasperated huff. “Fine! It’s not like I can go back on my own, anyway.”

Twilight grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her. Sunset could feel a couple grains of sand touching her feet as they walked, and was immediately grateful for her sandals. She hated to think what it would feel like to step on this burning sand with her bare feet. “There are many things we can do even if we don’t go swimming. We can build sand castles, or play volleyball, or collect seashells, or—”

“Wait,” Sunset said as she felt a rhythmic thumping in the distance. She turned towards the direction the soundwaves were coming from, pulling Twilight along, who let out a yelp at the sudden movement.

It didn’t take long for Sunset to arrive at the source of the Harmonic Resonance. A section of the beach had been covered by a wooden floor that led to a hallway of sorts where a line of one story high buildings sat to sell either cold treats or random trinkets. A small part of the wooden structure had been covered with a purple rug, and besides the rug, a blue-skinned man squatted down and placed a hand on the shoulder of a girl that looked to be around Twilight’s height.

As Sunset got closer and the Resonance grew stronger, she managed to get part of their conversation.

“...if I screw it up?” the girl said.

“You’ll be fine,” the man said with a smile. “You’ve been practicing for months. You’ve got this.”

“But…”

The girl was interrupted when the man grabbed her other shoulder.

“My sweet little princess…”

You better believe, you’ve got tricks up your sleeve
And you’ll captivate, ‘cuz you’re powerful and great

The girl smiled as her cheeks reddened. She took a deep breath.

You better believe, I’ve got tricks up my sleeve
You’ll see me dominate, ‘cuz I’m powerful and great!

The man nodded, then they hugged. And just like that, the Resonance ended. Sunset pursed her lips. That had been exceedingly short. Most likely a reprise. Sunset sighed with disappointment. Reprises tended to be so short that they were useless for her current research of human magic.

She was about to turn around when Twilight spoke at her side. “Oh, a magic show? I didn’t know there was one scheduled. This is most likely impromptu. Do you want to watch, Sunset?”

“Humans don’t use real magic in their magic shows. I’ve researched this on the internet, and I know how their tricks work. I’ll admit that some are impressive, what with the level of skill they require, but I’m not interested in sleight of hoof.”

“Oh, come on. It got your attention, didn’t it?”

“There was a Resonance. Seriously, you should be able to feel them by now.”

Twilight nodded. “Which means it might lead to something. Harmonic Resonances are magical phenomena, so they’re important for our research. Which means we should watch this show.”

“Not all Resonances are important, Twilight. I just use them to feel the magic so that this body doesn’t forget. If not, I wouldn’t have sat through your aria about how much you like final exams, last week.”

Twilight’s cheeks reddened, but she forced a frown. “They are the best medium to evaluate the learning process of—”

“Ok, fine! We’ll watch the stupid magic show!” Sunset crossed her arms and turned to look at the blue-skinned girl, who was almost finished setting up. She’d rather watch this than listen to Twilight’s lectures that could drag on for literal hours.

The girl walked to the middle of the rug and took a deep breath. “Come on, come all! Come watch the Great and Powerful Trixie’s magic show!”

“I already hate her,” Sunset muttered.

Twilight elbowed her on the side. “Don’t be a jerk.”

Much like Twilight, this Trixie girl was wearing a one piece purple swimsuit with yellow stars and blue moons. She also had a matching cape and hat. And that was the most interesting thing about the whole show. Just like Sunset had predicted, all the tricks were pretty mundane. Sure, the card tricks were always interesting to watch, and Trixie performed two or three tricks that Sunset didn’t know how they worked, but none of that had been true magic.

Twilight enjoyed herself, however. “... because it’s a simple 52 factorial. The result would give an eight and sixty-seven zeroes, which is a larger number than the amount of atoms on Earth.” Well, enjoyed herself in her own way.

“Thank you! Thank you!” Trixie said as the small audience that had gathered when Sunset wasn’t looking applauded. “Trixie would like to stay, but it is time for a dramatic exit! Until next time!” She raised a hand above her head and quickly brought it down, and a massive puff of smoke erupted from whatever she had smashed onto the ground.

Sunset gasped as she felt a small wave of swirling mana hit her. The smoke dispersed, and the Trixie girl was no longer there. Sunset looked both sides and barely managed to spot the girl turning a corner with the man. Not wanting to lose them, Sunset broke into a sprint behind them. She heard Twilight calling her name, but Sunset ignored her. She needed to ask that Trixie girl a few questions and then some more.

Unfortunately, by the time she rounded the corner, neither girl nor man were in sight. Sunset felt her throat burning as she struggled to breathe. Had she really been neglecting physical exercise to such an extent that she was exhausted after this short of a run? She rested her hands on her knees, heart thundering in her chest.

“Sunset!” Twilight said as she reached her. “What’s going on? Why did you run away like that?”

“That… was… magic…” Sunset replied. She took deep breaths. “When that girl did the smoke thing I could feel magic…”

“Are you certain?” Twilight asked.

Sunset huffed and returned to where Trixie had held her magic show. Her heart skipped a beat when a bored looking man carried a broom to clean the place. “Wait! Don’t clean it yet!” She ran towards the man and placed herself between him and the rug-stage.

“Listen, girl, I gotta clear this up ‘fore noon,” the man said with a bored expression. “So unless you’re plannin’ on doin’ it yourself…”

“I’ll clean for you, just don’t touch it yet!” Sunset said, pushing the broom away from the rug.

The man smirked. “A’aight, suit yourself.” He gave her the broom. “Jus’ do it ‘fore noon.” And with that, he left.

“Sunset?” Twilight said as Sunset placed the broom against a nearby wall.

Sunset knelt in front of the rug, which had a dark mark where the smoke exploded. “The girl might have escaped me, but I may be able to figure out what was that magic wave I felt…” She ran a finger through the rug and it came out blackened with soot. “Twilight, I know there are machines that produce bursts of smoke in professional stages, but there are no such things in here.”

“Well, she clearly used a smoke bomb,” Twilight said as she knelt at the other side of the rug. “But real smoke bombs don’t produce nearly that much smoke. They’re actually more explosive in nature and a serious fire hazard.” She ran a finger through the black mark as well. “This isn’t even warm.”

“She used magic somehow,” Sunset said as she kept running her fingers through the rug. “I can still feel it, swirling around in the air.”

“Swirling?” Twilight asked. “I thought it pulsated.”

“Spells pulsate because they are actively interacting with the Harmonic Veil,” Sunset explained. “What that girl used was mana, raw magical power that generates within magical creatures.”

Twilight cocked her head. “Wait, mana is energy from people, but magic is energy from the Harmonic Veil?”

“It’s a lot more complex than that, but yes, sure.”

“You guys need to come up with better names for things. This is very confusing.”

Sunset sighed. “Yeah, well, I’ll let you come up with better names for human magic. Now help me figure out what…” She stopped talking as her fingers brushed something hard and rough. She picked it up and held it in front of her. It was a tiny rock. White but blackened with soot. She would have dismissed it as a grain of sand, but holding it in her fingers, she could feel the faint swirl of mana inside. “This thing contains mana.”

Twilight seemed to find another grain of the same rock. She took a few minutes, but eventually widened her eyes in surprise. “I can feel it. It’s indeed very different from the portal. Though it’s so faint I wouldn’t have felt anything if I didn’t know what to look for.”

Sunset covered her mouth with her free hand. This was huge. There were humans out there that could manipulate their mana, or at least they had means of getting some, somewhere. Not only that, whatever it was that she was holding was able to store magical energy. Finding that Trixie girl would be ideal to get answers, but since she had disappeared, almost literally, Sunset would have to settle with figuring out what was the material she was holding.

“It’s very small, so it’s hard to tell,” Twilight said. “But this looks like some kind of quartz.”

Sunset blinked. “Quartz?” She dropped the tiny grain of rock and stood up. “Of course! Quartz! Why didn’t I think of that before?!” She turned around and walked towards one of the stores that sold trinkets.

“Sunset? What are you doing?” Twilight asked, walking up behind her.

“The best materials for enchanting and general mana and magic manipulation are cut gemstones,” Sunset said as she kept walking. “When I learned that those are ridiculously expensive in this world, I decided to forget all about them. So, even as I read some of those geology books you lent me, my mind just didn’t connect the dots.” She stopped in front of the store and, before the woman could react, Sunset spoke up. “What kinds of quartz do you sell? Also, are they natural or treated?”

The woman blinked for a moment, then smiled.

“Looking to make your own sets? I have both natural and treated. Let me see… Did you have anything specific in mind?”

“I want to test with all possible kinds,” Sunset replied.

“Well, let me see,” the woman replied. She picked a box with what appeared to be samples and placed it on the counter. “All I got is clear quartz, milky quartz, smoky quartz, rose quartz, some citrine and soladite as well, and uh, I ran out of amethysts, sadly. Oh, but I have some jasper and howlite.”

“Wow,” Twilight said. “I didn’t know there were so many different kinds.”

“Oh, dearie, there are so many more, but the rarer they are, the more expensive they get,” the woman said with a chuckle.

After an hour, Sunset had used all the money Celestia had given her to buy as many quartz rocks as she could. Most of them were the cheapest, milky variety, but Sunset wasn’t in a position to get many of the good stuff. She only got two pieces of the other varieties and almost two pounds of milky quartz.

She may have needed to clean the mess Trixie had made, but Sunset didn’t care. Sure, she had cheap stones, but they were still the best medium she could afford to advance her magic research. With them, she was sure to progress much faster than expected. Even as she sweeped, she couldn’t stop smiling.

Author's Note

Something big just happened this chapter! And I'm not talking about the fast-forward (That does have a reason to happen). Other humans can do magic too! (Trix cameo ftw)

Whatever will happen going forward?

If you liked it, please leave a comment!

Chapter 2. Harmonic Resonance

Sunset only had a day to discover the secret of this strange world.

Technically speaking, she had two days plus a few more hours of evening. But Sunset was not one to cut things close. She had always turned in her assignments with time to spare. She also wanted to avoid being trapped in this world, since thirty moons was too long, and Sunset wanted to be a princess now.

Fake Celestia owned a few encyclopedias, which Sunset devoured. There was an incredible amount of information on them, but one thing stood out the more Sunset read those books. A thing that, as hours passed, made her sweat cold droplets and lose her appetite entirely.

There was absolutely no mention of magic of any kind. Not a single word about Hamonic Theory, not a reference about spellcrafting, not even a passing mention to any other sort of alien magicks, this being a different world and all.

She flipped through the pages as best as her clunky fingers allowed, and she felt her jaw getting stiff after hours of note taking. Her having lost access to her horn had been infuriating and terrifying, but all of that had become humiliation when she realized she would need to write like a filly all over again. She had forced herself to ignore those feelings as she threw everything she had into her reading. She ditched History and Geography, and focused entirely on Biology and Technology. When that failed, she flipped through Mathematics and Physics.

But despite everything, she found nothing that could solve the conundrum of this world. Why was it connected to Equestria? Why did Princess Celestia keep it under such secrecy? And more importantly, how would it even begin to transform Sunset into the alicorn princess she was destined to become?

She was very rudely distracted from her thoughts by a hand placing a plate of sandwiches in front of her. Sunset turned narrowed eyes at the offending human.

“You haven’t eaten anything since breakfast,” Fake Celestia said, completely unphased by Sunset’s glare. “I know you probably think this an unnecessary distraction, but we don’t want to risk you passing out and missing your chance to return home, now would we?”

Sunset clicked her tongue, unable to argue. She put the Physics encyclopedia out of the way and begrudgingly grabbed a sandwich. It looked like a regular salad sandwich with some strange brown dip. A bite confirmed that it was a pretty decent dish, though it couldn’t be compared to a proper flower-based salad.

“So,” Fake Celestia said as she got comfortable on the seat beside Sunset, “what exactly are you looking for?”

Sunset sighed. She hadn’t wanted to reveal anything important to these humans, but she had already met a wall, and she didn’t have the time to brute force her way through. “I can’t find anything relating to magic. I’m never going to figure out the connection between our worlds if I don’t understand the basis of your magic. Does it even work the same way? I need you to tell me everything you know.”

Fake Celestia regarded her with an even glare for a few seconds. “There’s… no magic in this world.”

Sunset raised an eyebrow. “You should know there’s no point in trying to deny it. It is physically impossible for life to thrive in a magicless world.”

“I’m not lying,” Fake Celestia said. “People have always believed in the existence of magic, but it just doesn’t exist. There’s a million and more scientists who would be thrilled to discover and study a new form of energy, but, if it does exist, nobody has ever been able to prove it.”

Sunset stared at the woman. She didn’t seem to be lying. But then again, that could be simply due to humans’ lack of understanding of magical laws. Much like many Earth Ponies didn’t really understand how their own magic worked, and had it not been for Unicorns studying it, they would still believe that they weren’t doing anything special.

“There is magic in this world,” Sunset said stubbornly. “Like I said, life would be impossible otherwise.”

Fake Celestia grimaced, and Sunset recognized that expression. It was the same one Princess Celestia had when Sunset was giving an incorrect answer to one of her many riddling lessons. “Well, those books on biology explain how life is possible in this world. Look, I know it’s not the answer you want, but…”

“It’s just not the correct answer,” Sunset interrupted her. “If there’s no information in these books about this world’s magic, and you humans don’t even know how to prove its existence, then…” She stopped herself, feeling a pit form in her stomach. If humans, in however many years they’ve been inhabiting this world, had never been able to properly harness their own magic, then what hope did Sunset have of doing so in a single day? She balled her hands, which didn’t feel nearly as satisfying as balling her hooves.

A touch to her shoulder took her out of her thoughts.

“I’m sorry we can’t help you with this…” Fake Celestia said with the same patronizing tone Sunset had grown to hate. “Unless you want to read some fairy tales, which are clearly fiction, you won’t find anything magic related in any self-respecting encyclopedia.”

Sunset swatted Fake Celestia’s hand away with a huff and stood up. Maybe she had been too hasty in crossing the portal. Maybe she should have given the princess a half-baked apology and continue studying the portal from Equestria. But no, she had let her temper get the better of her and she had attacked royal guards. For all her smarts, Sunset certainly had done some pretty stupid things in the past few days.

But what now? Return to Equestria with her tail between her legs? What would that even accomplish? Princess Celestia had terminated her apprenticeship and exiled her from the castle. She didn’t have a house of her own, and her status as graduate from Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns meant she couldn’t use the dormitories anymore. She didn’t have anywhere to go, and nopony to go to.

“Are you ok?” Fake Celestia asked.

Sunset groaned. “No, I’m not ok!” She turned around and stared… up… at the woman. Her righteous fury evaporated somewhat as she was reminded how much taller Fake Celestia was than her. “I…”

“You told me you just needed to figure out how it is that our worlds are connected through the portal, yes? Maybe it’s just your world’s magic doing all the work.”

That was impossible, Sunset reasoned. Without magic on this side, the portal wouldn’t be able to exist in the first place. But, if in the most improbable scenario, that was true, then it would mean… “I came here for nothing,” she said out loud. And the words hurt so much she could feel tears forming in her eyes. She had sacrificed everything for this opportunity, and it had been in vain…

“I wouldn’t say that,” Fake Celestia offered. “You were under the impression that magic exists in this world, but now you know for a fact that it doesn’t. Isn’t the confirmation of something a huge deal in any research?”

Sunset looked away and sighed. She understood that Fake Celestia was just trying to cheer her up, but it did nothing of the sort. Sunset had no confirmation of anything. In fact, she was just as much in the dark as she had first learned of the mirror, even more so, since she had even more questions. Why had the princess shown her the mirror in the first place? Why had it promised Sunset the power to become a princess herself? Why did it lead to a world inhabited by these strange human creatures who didn’t understand the laws of magic?

Outside the window, the sun had started its slow descent on the horizon. Sunset had been reading nonstop since sunrise, which meant she had completely wasted the day she had allotted for her research. Sure, she had one more day, but what did it matter? With no reference materials of any kind, Sunset was completely in the dark. Ignorant to the workings of this world’s magic potential. It had taken generations of prodigiously talented unicorns to properly understand the ways of the Harmonic Veil. Even Starswirl the Bearded had needed years to completely understand concepts they only had small bits of knowledge of.

Sunset didn’t have bits or even hints of any knowledge.

“Sunset?” Fake Celestia called.

But Sunset didn’t want any more fake compassion.

“I’ll go to sleep, then be out of your mane tomorrow morning,” she announced and dragged her feet towards the guest room. She let herself fall onto the bed and allowed her consciousness to drift off to slumber.

The next day, with barely an apple for breakfast, Sunset stood in front of the portal to Equestria. After a troubled night of nothing but nightmares, Sunset had decided to try and convince Princess Celestia to take her as a pupil once more. Sure, she had yelled at her, and insulted her, and attacked her with a book, and hurt two royal guards, and used a highly illegal artifact to jump to another world… But she could just say sorry and start over, right? The princess was all for second and third and six-hundred-fifty-eight chances.

“Are you sure everything’s going to be fine?” Fake Celestia asked. She and her sister Luna had decided to see Sunset off. If only to give Luna the proof she desperately needed to believe that the portal was real.

“It will,” Sunset replied, looking straight at the deceptively stale stone statue. “I’m sure this isn’t the only way to achieve my goals.” Truth be told, Cadenza had become an alicorn through strange methods Sunset still didn’t comprehend. That meant that, surely, there was more than one way to become an alicorn. The strange mirror world had been a dead end, but that only meant Sunset needed to find another way.

“If you’re sure, then I wish you good luck,” Fake Celestia said.

Sunset rolled her eyes. Not wanting to waste any more time, she reached out with a hand, letting her fingers cross the magical field of the portal, parting the stone as if it was a vertical pool of water.

“After this, I’ll have to consider my whole worldview,” Luna said, her voice full of surprise. “I didn’t want to believe you, sister, but… I guess I’m glad I’m wrong this time…”

Sunset frowned at that. What did she mean by that? She shook her head. It was of no concern to Sunset. She began pushing her hand through… And stopped when she felt a rhythmic thumping in the distance. Her breath caught in her throat as the thumping grew louder, but it wasn’t in her ears. No, she recognized this like she recognized the colors. It was a very common phenomenon in Equestria, one that was only possible when an individual or a group resonated with the Harmonic Veil. The Resonance reverberated throughout the fabric of existence, and in turn it filled those individuals with a very specific kind of magic that was only possible in creatures with sufficient levels of magical potential.

She turned around, taking her hand from the portal as the thumping evolved into a single note, and the single note vibrated and became a set of notes, and within Sunset’s head, the notes inevitably became a song, and Sunset set her eyes on the source of the Resonance.

Celestia looked up at her, tears in her eyes, and opened her mouth.

In a silent room she sat
A longing in her heart
A million questions she asked
No one thought she’d part

Sunset gave a single step towards the woman and stopped. The music resonated within her as well. She didn’t quite understand the hidden, personal meaning of the lyrics, but she could feel part of what Celestia was feeling. A regret so heavy it almost made Sunset clench her stomach in pain.

A golden sky so bright
Soft whispers in the breeze
Radiant clouds of scarlet light
Shadows hiding deep beneath

Luna placed a hand on Celestia, and the older sister shut her eyes, hugging herself as the tears kept falling from her face.

“It wasn’t your fault, sister,” Luna said, barely a whisper, but the Resonance still carried her words, loud and clear, towards Sunset.

“You know as well as I do that I could have prevented it,” Celestia replied. “If only I had been more attentive, or if I had cared enough.”

“Celestia, why won’t you believe me when I say that there was nothing else you could have done to help her?”

“Because—”

In my dreams I recall all the signs of distress she displayed...

“You reached out to her.”

In my dreams I recall all the signs of distress that I missed...

Celestia’s knees buckled, and she fell to the ground. Luna barely managed to ease the impact by grabbing her by the arm.

Now the silent room is bare
Her heart can’t be heard
Unasked questions in the air
Left without a word

Celestia looked up, and Sunset felt the Resonance around her vibrate more strongly.

A golden sky so bright
Soft whispers in the breeze
Radiant clouds of scarlet light
Shadows clawing from beneath

Finally the Resonance ended, and the pure Harmonic magic left their bodies, leaving them staring at each other in silence for what felt like minutes. Eventually, Celestia’s sniffing subsided and the woman found herself once more on her feet.

“I apologize, Sunset…” she said. “I shouldn’t keep you any longer…” She nudged Luna to help her turn around.

“Wait,” Sunset said, not really knowing what she had wanted to say, but knowing that she needed to say something. As Celestia once more turned to face her, Sunset flapped her lips noiselessly, struggling with words, until finally she found them. “Magic does exist in this world. I just confirmed it.”

Celestia blinked. “What do you mean?”

“Did… Did this whole experience not convince you?” Sunset asked. Both Celestia and Luna simply blinked at her. “The Harmonic Resonance?” Another blink. “You know, breaking into song at the drop of a hat? Music playing out of nowhere? Everypony somehow knowing the lyrics and when to step in without interrupting the flow of the song?”

Celestia and Luna looked at each other. “To be honest, Sunset, that’s been a subject of study for hundreds of years,” Luna said, still helping her sister with her balance. “But it’s more of a Psychology thing. I can lend you a book about it if you…”

“This is not a psychological phenomenon!” Sunset yelled. “This is Harmonic Resonance! It’s proof that magic does exist in this world!” She gave another step towards the sisters. “Your feelings resonated with the Harmonic Veil of this world, and the magic took shape in accordance with those feelings. Then you broke into song, music and all! Don’t you see? This is magic at work!”

Looking at the dumbfounded faces of the humans before her, Sunset thought she finally understood what she had to do.

“I have to stay here,” she announced.

“What?” both sisters asked at the same time.

“This world has magic, and you guys are at least a bit in tune with it. If Harmonic Resonance can affect you, it means you have some latent magic within you. I think my job is to study these effects and completely unravel the magical potential of this world!” Sunset felt excited. If she could do it, she would most definitely become an alicorn.

“But… don’t you have to return today?” Luna asked.

Sunset spun on her heels and looked at the portal. She knew that, if she returned now, she was going to face Princess Celestia’s fury and be judged before she could even mutter a single word. If she stayed, she would not be able to go back for thirty whole moons, but that would simply give her time —more than just one day— to find this world’s secrets and become an alicorn princess.

She turned back to the sisters. “As long as I achieve my goal, it doesn’t matter that it takes a bit longer.” She then considered her options and, with a lot more reluctance, she added. “That is, if you’re willing to let me stay with you for a while longer…”

Once again, Celestia and Luna looked at each other, except that they spent a whole minute like that. Finally, they both turned to Sunset with small smiles.

“Sure. You can stay with us, Sunset,” Celestia said, smiling.

Author's Note

Tell me she's not—

She is!

This fic was partly inspired by a few jokes here and there in FiM and EQG where characters mention the songs as things that actually happen. (Cue Trixie fastforwarding Wallflower's song while saying 'long song, huh?').

And so, this fanfic will contain songs, though only sporadically. This will be my first time including songs in writing, so there's gonna be some experimentation on my part.

As a final note, I've decided to play around with an AI to make music for the lyrics I wrote. This is an experiment with the sole intention of creating a melody that you can use to follow the lyrics instead of just reading them in silence (if you want, that is). I debated for the longest time whether to do this or not, so I'd really like your opinion on the matter. And for show you'll find the embedded video down below. I hope it is of your liking.

Special thanks to Crow for helping me with the lyrics. Turns out I'm really bad at rhyming.

Chapter 3. Research Partner

It had been one week since Sunset had decided to stay in the human world until the portal opened up again. Since she was no longer a unicorn, she couldn’t feel the Harmonic Veil, which meant she would have to do everything as if she were a mere earth pony. But instead of letting herself feel humiliated, she decided to take it as the greatest challenge. If she could unravel the secrets of this world’s magic without her unicorn connection to it, then she would prove her superiority.

Firstly, she devoured each and every book in Celestia’s bookshelves. Her being a principal meant she had many educational tomes, which were perfect for Sunset to learn as much as she could about the human world. Since she was now basically an earth pony in terms of magic perception, she would need to instead figure out a way to detect the Veil some other way. And in order to do that, she first needed to understand everything humans could possibly know already, even if it was wrong. That way she’d at least have a frame of reference.

She was distracted from her notes when Luna pulled the chair next to her and sat down. “I still find it impressive how you can write with your mouth.”

Sunset spat the pen onto the table and straightened up. “It would be more impressive if I could use my magic,” she replied through her teeth. The loss of her horn was hard enough, but she couldn’t even feel her mana pool. It had to be there, of course, since she had Resonated with Celestia’s song a week ago, but being unable to feel it was worse than being unable to feel her horn. One was a physical limb, the other was a spiritual part of her very being.

“Are you sure you don’t want to learn to use your hands?”

Sunset rolled her eyes. Both sisters had been pestering nonstop to learn to use her hands for everything. Sure, the extra appendages called fingers looked like they provided extra dexterity, and Sunset had needed to learn how to dress and use cutlery and other stuff with them. The human mouth could only do so much, and her teeth didn’t feel nearly as strong as they should. She feared she’d break them if she stressed them too much.

“Fine,” Sunset relented. “Just let me finish this section first. I don’t want to lose track.”

Picking up the pen once more, Sunset continued reading the tome Luna had lent her. It was about Harmonic Resonance, or, as humans called it, Abrupt Melodic Impulse. Humans, stubbornly refusing to see the truth, tried to explain the phenomenon in a myriad of ways. Some simply described it as individual or collective hallucination. Others gave more thorough explanations that involved the body’s nervous system and the brain’s still majorly unknown functions. Either way, they all agreed that it was very difficult to study, since there was no way to know when it happened. Some people experienced it on a daily basis, others could go about their whole lives having sung only once or twice to this phenomenon.

That last part of information was indeed an appropriate description of Harmonic Resonances. It was impossible to predict. Well, almost impossible, as it were. A lot of ponies Resonated during important events of their lives. Getting their Cutie Marks, for example —which was one of the very few times Sunset had Resonated, was sure to get a lot of ponies singing, before, during, or after the event. Then again, the moment a pony got their Cutie Mark was impossible to predict.

Sunset leaned back on the chair, stretching her arms behind her head. “Why is it that you humans deny the existence of magic during research, yet write stories where it does exist?”

Luna froze mid coffee sip, then lowered the cup and looked at Sunset. “Well, magic is not scientific, now is it? It used to be the de facto explanation when something wasn’t understood. When scientists started figuring out how the world worked, we simply stopped using magic to explain everything.”

“Magic is scientific,” Sunset retorted with a huff. “It can be explained rationally, and it can be harnessed and used, just like any other source of energy.” Seriously, even earth ponies knew this.

“Maybe in your world, Sunset,” Luna said. “But here things don’t work like that. Sure, you found something that seems similar to something magical you’re used to, but here, it’s just something that hasn’t properly been explained yet. Just like everything else about the world.”

“But I’m telling you I know why Harmonic Resonances are a thing!” Sunset insisted.

Luna glared at her for a few moments. “Alright, please explain it to me.”

Sunset frowned. She didn’t like teaching, but she supposed she could at least do this much. After all, she needed the help of these humans, as much as she loathed to admit it. “Strong feelings can vibrate against the Harmonic Veil, and it vibrates back in turn, creating waves that resonate within an individual or a group, and these waves, which carry Harmonic Magic within, are so strong that they are forcefully expelled in the form of a song.”

Of course, many other factors were at play during a Harmonic Resonance, such as the personality of the individual, if it was a solo Resonance, or the importance of the event, if it was a group one. City wide Resonances were certainly common during holidays, and Sunset had caught herself humming a random chorus on more than one occasion.

“What’s the Harmonic Veil?”

Sunset blinked. Right, she needed to begin from there, didn’t she? Why had she thought of trying to explain an effect without going over the bases first? It was like trying to teach advanced spellcraft circuitry before teaching basic pulse theory. She mentally facehooved.

But just as she was about to continue, another voice interrupted her.

“Sunset, I think you’d like to know that your, uhm… book…” Celestia said, nervously glancing in the direction of the guest room. “It’s glowing and vibrating.”

Sunset’s heart skipped a beat. She got up, knocking the chair down, and ran towards the room, ignoring whatever chastising Celestia gave. Sure enough, the journal, which she had placed upon the nightstand, was receiving a message. Feeling short of breath and swallowing dryly, she picked it up and opened it.

Dear Sunset Shimmer, the message started. Sunset already felt a painful tug in her chest at the words, or lack thereof, as the princess skipped the ‘my faithful student’ part and continued the letter.

I hope this message reaches you in good health. After much thought, I came to realize that I was perhaps a bit unfair to you. I showed you the mirror, sparking that curiosity in you which drove you to research further, and then tried to deny you a proper explanation as to why exactly I was hesitant to share more knowledge. I am sure you can now understand.

The world which you now inhabit is magically inert. That much I have confirmed through my own investigation, though I have never dared step hoof. This is the reason why I did not want you to get so thoroughly involved. I don’t know what dangers you may face, and I worry you may get hurt. I apologize for pushing you into crossing the portal. I should have known better.

As the portal is due to open once more in thirty moons, I urge you to contact me through the journal to let me know you are safe. I will be expecting you back in Equestria. The guards chose not to press charges against you, so you will not be in legal trouble.

Please use this time to reflect, as I myself will, so that we can have a pleasant conversation upon your return. And, who knows? We could reinstate you as my personal student.

Yours truly,
Princess Celestia of Equestria

Sunset re-read the message several times, feeling her body shake more and more with every passing minute. She gritted her teeth so much she could hear them squeak.

How dare she?! The letter was full to the brim with condescension! The princess spoke as if Sunset had only reacted due to her actions, as if Sunset could not make decisions of her own! And what was that about maybe reinstating her as her personal student? They both knew Sunset was beyond that! There was no way in Tartarus that Sunset would ever study under the alicorn again.

Besides, Sunset knew something the princess didn’t. The human world was in fact not magically inert. This was just further proof that Sunset was on the right path to become an alicorn princess in her own right. By discovering the secrets not even the all-powerful sun princess could, Sunset was sure to achieve her goals.

She forced her mouth into a smirk, blinking away tears. She walked back to the dining room, where the two sisters waited for her. Sunset pointedly avoided looking at Celestia’s eyes and instead set her gaze upon Luna.

“I have a favor to ask.”

The following day, Sunset decided she needed to walk around town. The books could tell her only so much, and she’d always been more of a hooves-on pony anyway. She needed to experience a Harmonic Resonance again to properly study it. She had felt it a week ago, which meant there was a chance she could feel the Harmonic Veil as well. If she could understand the exact way the waves of magic vibrated, it was possible to compare them to those of Equestria. Depending on her own experience, she could draw hypotheses and properly start her research.

And thus, she asked Luna to give her a tour to the city. Luna agreed, mentioning that she was available only because it was the weekend. Sunset understood this, of course, and she didn’t mind. As long as she knew where the main landmarks were, she’d be able to go on her lonesome at later dates. This last statement prompted the woman to thoroughly explain to Sunset exactly which streets to take, at which times, and to never ever stray from them. Sunset wanted to roll her eyes, but she supposed that it would be remiss to ignore the warnings of the locals.

Having read all those encyclopedias, Sunset had come to be familiar with human’s technological advancements, but seeing the progress with her own eyes solidified it in her mind. They had taken the workings of a steam engine and perfected it so much that they had automobiles of all sizes and shapes and she spotted an airplane surveying the city. And if the books were to be believed, they had even managed to go all the way to the moon. Sunset was marveled by it. It seemed that their lack of understanding of magic had prompted them to perfect every other source of energy.

Which meant that there was a chance Sunset could use their technology to study the Harmonic Veil. But in order to do that, she first needed to study what they had developed. As it were, mathematics alone was a lot more developed than in Equestria. Sunset had to learn everything she could as fast as she could. After all, she only had thirty moons.

They arrived at a massive building, almost as big as the High School Luna worked at. The design was a bit more modest and thick pillars supported the higher stories. The Canterlot Public Library towered over her, imposing but inviting. Upon entering, Sunset was immediately filled with the scent of dust and sunlight, carried over by the few people that walked about, holding books and having whispered conversations.

“I will admit,” Luna said as she gazed over the main foyer, “a thirteen year old asking to go to the library is a very much welcome change.”

Sunset made a beeline towards the front desk, where an older woman of pale lavender skin and graying pink hair sat, quietly reading a book. “Excuse me.”

The woman looked up from her book and offered Sunset a smile. “Yes? What can I do for you?”

“I want to issue a library card,” Sunset said. While she had had access to the royal library’s sections, she was well aware that public libraries cared not for her status, and would always require her to have a card. Sunset’s top drawer in her night stand back in her royal quarters was full of library cards.

“Absolutely,” the woman said, leaning over her desk and placing her hands on the machine that sat atop. “If you give me your student ID, I can process it in five minutes.”

Sunset froze. Student ID? “Can’t I just give you my name?”

The woman eyed her. “I’m sorry, but I need a form of ID to process a library card. Honestly, it can be just about anything.”

So human libraries required identification cards? Equestrian ones simply took a magical signature sample… which Sunset should have thought would not be the case, as humans did not believe in magic.

“Perhaps this can help?” Luna said as she produced a small card of her own.

The woman looked at Luna, and her smile returned to her face. “Oh, Vice Principal Luna! It’s been a long time, hasn’t it? The job has kept you quite busy, I imagine. Though not enough to prevent you from helping young minds willing to learn, I see. Yes, I can register you as a tutor quite easily.”

“Thank you, Dusty Pages.”

The process of issuing the library card took around five minutes indeed. Dusty Pages took a photograph of Sunset, typed something on the typewriter look-alike, and another machine printed Sunset’s card almost immediately. The process had been only slightly longer than in a regular Equestrian library.

With her new card in her pocket, Sunset began her search for the best books that would teach her whatever humans had developed in terms of science. Luna was a big help, of course, as she was well acquainted with the topics, and it only took a few minutes for Sunset to carry a small stack of books towards one of the public desks. She brought out her notebook and her pen and got ready to read.

“I’ll be in the fiction area if you need me,” Luna announced, then left Sunset alone with her studies.

To Sunset’s surprise, human mathematics was so advanced that she had trouble wrapping her head around it. That, and she struggled to find practical applications. Maybe she could interview experts in the subject for that. The study of physics was something that surprised Sunset even more. Unable to use magic to manipulate the laws of physics, they had instead studied them so thoroughly that their understanding was beyond what Sunset had ever expected, even after reading Celestia’s encyclopedias. With this kind of knowledge, Sunset could revolutionize Equestria to a degree never before seen.

“Excuse me,” a voice said, rudely distracting Sunset from her notes. She turned around and found a human girl looking at her from behind thick glasses, with her hands on her hips and a big frown.

“What?” Sunset said, already angry at being interrupted.

“You’re damaging the books,” the girl stated.

“I’m doing no such thing.”

The girl pointed an accusing finger at Sunset. “Then what are you doing writing with your mouth?”

Sunset blinked, then looked down at the pencil between her lips. She grabbed it with a hand and lowered it, then glared back at the girl. “What’s it to you how I write? I’m taking notes in my notebook, not in the books.”

The girl, however, didn’t relent. “You could accidentally get drool on them. Those are public books, you know? People besides you read them. The idea of holding a book stained with someone else’s drool is gross.”

A flare of anger erupted in Sunset’s stomach. She stood up, finding that the girl was half a head shorter than her. “I’ll have you know I do not drool when I write. And I always take care not to damage books.”

Crossing her arms, the girl lifted an eyebrow and pursed her lips. “Well, I have no way of knowing that, now do I? I’ll have to let Missus Dusty Pages know and have you kicked out.”

“Hah! Do you even know who I am?” Sunset said, then immediately closed her mouth. Of course the girl wouldn’t know. They weren’t in Equestria anymore, which meant Sunset had no authority nor even her own earned reputation.

“I know you’re probably here begrudgingly working on a school project or another, wanting to finish as quickly as possible, and have no regard whatsoever about the library or the books or even other people who want to read those books.” And with that, the girl spun on her heels and began her way towards the front desk.

Sunset bit her lip. According to Luna, this was the city’s largest library by far. If she got kicked out, Sunset would have a much harder time studying human technology. She gritted her teeth, pushing her pride back, working through the remaining feeling of humiliation.

“Wait,” she said, and the girl stopped, turning her head to look at her. “I’m not damaging the books, but I can see why you’d think that. I was taught to write with my mouth, and only yesterday I started learning to use my hands, so I’m still not used to it.”

The girl lifted an eyebrow and looked Sunset up and down. “Are you… serious?”

“Yes,” Sunset said. Of course, she had concealed the fact she hadn’t needed to use her mouth for writing since she learned levitation.

“Alright…” The girl said slowly. “I… I’m sorry about that… But, really, you shouldn’t be using your mouth to write. You could also hurt yourself.”

“Sure,” Sunset said through her teeth. “Well, if that’s everything, I must return to my research.” She sat back down. However, she noticed that the girl hadn’t left. Sunset held back a sigh and turned her head to her again. “What now?”

The girl fidgeted, and a light blush appeared on her cheeks. “Well, you said you’re doing some research, but you have books on very different topics. I was just wondering what kind of research you were doing.”

Sunset shook her head. “You wouldn’t believe me, and I’d rather you not look at me like I’m crazy.” She had enough of that back at Celestia and Luna’s apartment. Even if they accepted that Sunset was from another world, which they had to since they had seen the portal with their own eyes, they still refused to believe that magic existed in this world.

“Why would I think you’re crazy?”

Sunset sighed. Well, she supposed that one more human looking at her funny was a small price to pay in order to continue uninterrupted. “I want to prove that this world does indeed possess a Harmonic Veil, but I need to understand your technology and scientific progress if I want to be able to build a machine to properly study it.”

“What’s a Harmonic Veil?”

Right. Humans didn’t even know that much. “To put it simply, the Harmonic Veil is nature’s own magical energy. It envelops the entire world, but not quite evenly, as it ripples and folds in certain places, creating zones where there’s a larger amount of magical energy. It can be interacted with by magically powered individuals or artifacts to create a myriad of effects, but it also can interact with the world and with individuals on its own. One of those ways is through Harmonic Resonance, though you humans call it Abrupt Melodic Impulse. When I learned of this, I knew there was a Harmonic Veil, but apparently you refuse to call it magic. My research, thus, aims to prove the existence of magic through the study of Harmonic Resonance.” She took a breath as she finished her explanation.

“You think magic is real?” The girl said. There was no mockery in her voice, but there was indeed clear disbelief.

“I know so,” Sunset said with a deadpan. “But anyway, I don’t care if you don’t believe me. Once I prove it, you’ll have to change your opinion.”

“Wait, hold on,” the girl insisted, eliciting a groan from Sunset that went unnoticed. “You think the Abrupt Melodic Impulse is actually a result of magic?”

“Like I said, I don’t think so. I know so,” Sunset replied. “If you’ve ever experienced it, surely you’ve felt it course through your body, drawn to your feelings, empowering them until you just had to sing. Surely you’ve realized that, no matter how bad you are at karaoke, your voice is always in perfect tune and pitch when you Resonate. You people want to explain it as a mere hallucination or something, but how then can you explain the perfection of your voice during that one moment?”

The girl cocked her head and looked up, humming as she considered Sunset’s words. “You know, I’m not an expert on Abrupt Melodic—”

“Harmonic Resonance,” Sunset corrected.

“... that,” the girl continued. “I’m not an expert, but I have noticed what you mention. I think it’s just such a natural part of life that I never really gave it a second thought, like how I breathe or how my heart beats.”

Sunset blinked. “Wait… You’re actually considering whether what I’m saying is true?”

“Well, the existence of magic does sound farfetched, but it is true that no one has been able to properly explain the root cause of Abrupt… I mean, Harmonic Resonance… Uhm… But I have a question. What does that have to do with all these books about physics and mathematics? If you claim it’s magic, then science…”

“Magic is scientific,” Sunset said, repeating what she had told Luna the day before. “If I can understand how your technology works, then I may be able to build a machine that properly detects the Harmonic Veil, and from there I’ll be able to interact with it and explain how it works with physical proof.”

The girl nodded absentmindedly. “But how are you so sure about all this? I mean, you sound like you’ve been able to prove it before…”

“I’m from another world where we use the Harmonic Veil’s magic energy on a daily basis,” Sunset explained, lifting a finger. “Though I can’t say if the reason you humans can’t feel it is simply because you’re not as sensitive to magic, or because the Harmonic Veil in this world is much thinner. I should be able to study this as soon as I can detect it.”

“You’re from another world?” The girl asked. “Are you…”

“Yes, I’m serious,” Sunset said. “If you’re going to ask that every single time I tell you something, then I don’t see the point in telling you anything else.”

“Wait,” the girl said. “You say that, how was it? Harmonic Resonance? You said that it’s a phenomenon byproduct of the magical interaction between people and the, uh… Veil?”

Sunset raised an eyebrow. “That’s on very simple terms, but yes.”

“And how do you intend to prove it?”

“That’s exactly what I’m trying to figure out,” Sunset said. “A woman Resonated near me a week ago, and I could feel it just the same as I could back in my world. That means it’s real, but me being a human too means I cannot interact with the Harmonic Veil anymore, so I need to find a way to detect the Resonance's waves, and from there… Well, I guess I’ll need to do a lot of experimentation.”

The girl stared at her for a moment. “You’re… not human?”

Sunset looked at the ceiling for a second. “No more questions. I already told you too much. This research is mine, now go away.”

However, the girl remained standing there. “I want to help.”

“No.”

“I know a lot about technology,” the girl offered. “Even though I’m just eleven, I’ve already been offered to skip grades and a scholarship to Crystal Prep Academy, though my parents want me to go through middle school anyway. I’m sure I can be of use!”

“No,” Sunset repeated. “I’m not sharing credit for this research with anyone.”

“I don’t want credit,” the girl insisted, stepping towards Sunset. “I just want to know. If what you say is true, then it will revolutionize the world, and by working alongside you, I could simply take whatever you publicize and immediately use it to advance progress or to create practical applications! It would get me into any college I’d want! Heck, I could even open my own research facilities! The dream of any scientist!”

Sunset was about to reject the girl again, but something about her little speech gave her pause. She just wanted to understand and study and do even more research. Just like Sunset herself when she had first started studying magic. And, well, she had to admit that having someone who understood human technology would be a great boon to shorten her research time.

“You won’t get any credit,” Sunset said, causing the girl to smile. “And you won’t pester me about your lack of belief in magic. This is magical research, and you constantly questioning everything I say will only drag me down and I’ll be forced to kick you out.”

The girl nodded firmly. “Understood. I’ll keep my opinions to myself.”

“And lastly…” Sunset bit her lower lip as she glanced at her stack of books. “I’ll need a crash course on… well everything about technology.”

“I can help you with that! I actually created my own syllabus back in first grade after I learned the school’s one during my first week. It should bring you all the way to high school level in only a couple of months… Well, depending on your current level, which I don’t know.”

Sunset considered it. “Sure, let’s give it a try.”

“Great! You can come over to my house if you want. My parents will be very happy if I bring a friend along!”

Sunset cringed at the word friend, but she supposed she could use this human girl to her advantage. As long as she made herself useful, Sunset could pretend to be her friend. After all, Sunset didn’t intend to stay in this world any longer than necessary, and she didn’t really care what the girl chose to do once Sunset was gone.

“I’ll ask Luna to take me there,” Sunset said.

That made the girl light up. “My BBBFF is waiting for me in the comics section! I’ll go ask him if I can have you over!” She was halfway down the hallway when she stopped, then returned and, with her face now a deep shade of red, she spoke again. “Uhm.. What's your name again?”

“Sunset Shimmer.”

The girl offered Sunset her hand. “I’m Twilight Sparkle. Nice to meet you.”

Reluctantly, Sunset grabbed the hand and gave it a light squeeze. “Sure.”

Author's Note

A wild Twilight has appeared!

On another note, as you could notice with this chapter, there's going to be a lot of magical theory in this fanfic. I've done my best to sprinkle it and reiterate on it just enough not to feel like too much, but that it's easy to understand and remember.

All comments are welcome!

Chapter 4. What More Is Out There

Twilight Sparkle’s chaperone, an older human called Shining Armor, had narrowed his eyes upon seeing Sunset Shimmer, as if he thought she was out to get him or something. He asked Twilight several times if she was sure she wanted to invite Sunset over, which Sunset thought was very rude since she was standing right there. However, as soon as he realized that Vice Principal Luna was accompanying Sunset, he immediately welcomed them both to hop onto his car.

When Sunset asked how the car worked, Twilight regaled her with all the intricate mechanisms of a car’s engine. The explanation was easy to understand, and it made Sunset wonder how it was that ponykind had not developed something similar before, since the physics behind the mechanism were simple enough. They had already created trains with steam engines, after all.

“Alright, we’re here,” Shining Armor said as he stopped the car, interrupting Twilight’s explanation of the physics behind the seat belt.

As they got out, Sunset looked up at Twilight’s house. The building looked like a small castle. Walls made of stone, a small tower-like structure on top of the entrance, held by a pair of thick pillars. A chimney hid behind the tower. The left side of the house, however, resembled more a small palace in design, with the windows hiding under archways and a pointed triangular roof. It was a strange design, but somehow made it work.

Shining Armor led them inside. Almost immediately, a human woman stepped into the hallway.

“Oh, hello there!”

“Hey, mom,” Shining said. “These are Sunset Shimmer and Canterlot High’s Vice Principal. They’re Twily’s guests.”

The woman blinked at him. “Twilight’s guests?”

“Sorry to bother you,” Luna said. “It seems the girls really got along.”

Sunset frowned, hating the feeling of being treated like a child. However, Luna spoke so matter-of-factly that there was no trace of the patronizing tone Sunset had come to expect from Princess Celestia.

“It’s no bother at all!” the woman said, stepping towards Luna and offering her hand. “I’m Twilight Velvet, Twilight’s mom. Please, come in! Twilight, dear, why don’t you take Sunset to your room?”

Before Sunset could react, Twilight grabbed her by the arm and pulled her up a flight of stairs and into one of the rooms. Twilight’s bedroom was practically a miniature library with bookshelves adorning almost every wall. There was a desk with books neatly piled on the side, and a swivel chair. The bed was the only thing that looked out of place.

“Just wait a moment,” Twilight said as she walked towards her desk, pulling a binder and turning a few pages. She put it back and then swiftly made her way to the closest bookshelf, where she found a notebook. “Here it is.”

Sunset accepted the notebook and opened the cover. The first page announced in large, bold, beautiful calligraphy the title of the content. ‘Supplementary Lesson Plan to Garden Grove’s First Grade Syllabus’.

“It’s divided into three sections,” Twilight said. “First you’ll start with basic arithmetic and geometry, then basic physics, chemistry, and biology. National history and geography. And local and federal laws.”

Sunset flipped through the pages. “I already know these fields of mathematics. I learned the content of natural sciences over the past week. And while knowing the local laws will be useful, I don’t think I need history or geography.”

Twilight bit her lip, groaning, then continued. “The second section continues with advanced arithmetic, abstract algebra, and a basic rundown of number theory. Classical physics, of which we can focus on acoustics, thermodynamics, electromagnetism, and mechanics. I consider advanced chemistry important, since you never know when it’s going to be useful. We have anatomy, too. And, uh… I’m thinking you’ll want to skip contemporary history and international geopolitical landscape.”

Sunset nodded as she gave a quick overview on what Twilight mentioned. “All of this is already well beyond what I know, sans a few things, like thermodynamics and mechanics.”

Stepping closer, Twilight explained the third section. “This part is outside the common core of basic grade and middle school, but I think they will interest you. There’s applied electromechanics, electronic circuitry, boolean algebra, logical operators, and computer science.”

This caught Sunset’s interest. Everything in this third part of Twilight’s self-made lesson plan looked more complex than anything ponykind had even developed. Yet at the same time, it looked oddly familiar. This contradicting feeling filled Sunset with excitement, and she couldn’t wait to tackle these fields of study. But, of course, like the self-respecting scientist and researcher that she was, Sunset would never dare skip the basics. So she closed the notebook and looked at Twilight.

“Alright, let’s get started, then.”

~~~~~~~~

It had been three weeks since Sunset met Twilight at the library. They could only meet up on weekends since Twilight had to go to school. There wasn’t much Sunset could do since Luna and Celestia both had to work as well, and Twilight’s house was far enough that Sunset couldn’t walk all the way there. That didn’t mean it was wasted time, however, as Sunset spent her days in the library, studying the materials Twilight’s lesson plan referenced.

As Sunset absorbed the knowledge, she started to realize that the reason ponykind had not reached these levels of scientific development was due to the use of magic.

Pegasi controlled the weather instinctively. They didn’t need to know how storms worked on a physical level, they just needed to gather the correct type of cloud, squish them together, and give them a few kicks. Earth ponies, on the other hoof, didn’t need to know any more than basic arithmetics in order to build entire towns; their magic let them know by instinct, just like with pegasi, how to manipulate materials in order to craft what they needed.

Even unicorns, Sunset realized, tended to manipulate things by instinct alone. Levitation and light producing spells were performed without a single thought on exactly how they were affecting the world around them. Only when attempting to learn other spells did unicorns require more advanced kinds of knowledge. But even so, this knowledge was a field that only unicorns were interested in studying, and so when complex needs arose, a unicorn simply lit up their horn and things would happen.

That had stagnated Equestria’s technological development, Sunset reasoned.

“Why are we in the park again?” Twilight asked, snapping Sunset out of her thoughts.

“Have I told you about Cutie Marks?”

“If that’s a concept from your world, then no,” Twilight replied. “You’ve refused to tell me anything about it aside from the fact that it has magic.”

Sunset didn’t fail to notice the tinge of distrust in her voice, but decided to ignore it. “Cutie Marks are the maximum exponent of Identity Magic. It is a mark that appears on our f… our thighs… that represents who we are and what our talent is.”

Twilight hummed. “So you’re saying you're marked for life with one set of character and skill traits?”

Sunset chuckled. Such a gryphon way of thinking. “Not at all. They represent our passion and what we’re best at, but they don’t define our personality or, as some might say, our destiny. Why, many members of the royal guard have Cutie Marks that have nothing to do with the guard. But that’s not the point right now. The point is that obtaining our Cutie Mark is the biggest event in our lives.”

“I see…” Twilight said, scribbling something on her notebook. “And… What’s yours?” She blinked, then turned an apologetic frown at Sunset. “Unless talking about it is taboo. Then forget I asked.”

“It’s ok. Most of us will happily regale you with the story of how we got our Cutie Mark,” Sunset said. “Mine is a double-sided sun,” she said as she began doodling on her own notebook. “It represents my passion for magic and my ingenuity. I got it when I accidentally cast a spell that made the afternoon sun’s light bend in such a way that made the palace garden's flowers look like they were on fire.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “How do you accidentally cast a spell?”

“How do you accidentally start crawling?” Sunset shrugged. “Random spellfire and uncontrollable magical outbursts are part of growing up. Many times, a magical outburst is the reason for getting a Cutie Mark, as it happened to me. But anyway, that’s not the point here.” She pointed towards the children in the playground. “Getting your Cutie Mark happens when you’re very young, and more often than not, it leads to a Harmonic Resonance.”

Twilight looked at the kids, then back at Sunset. “But humans don’t have Cutie Marks.”

“I thought the same when I couldn’t find mine in this body,” Sunset said. “But then I started to realize that a lot of humans carry a personal symbol with you at all times. A symbol that is eerily familiar to a Cutie Mark.” She should know. Many of Celestia’s accessories had a perfectly accurate representation of Princess Celestia’s Cutie Mark. That alone opened a whole new can of worms to Sunset’s understanding of this world, but she decided not to share that specific piece of information with Twilight.

Twilight cocked her head. “That’s just a drawing children draw randomly and feel attached to. There’s a book about psychology that…”

“It’s not psychology,” Sunset interrupted her. “Though I can’t say it’s the same phenomenon as Cutie Marks. But I’m sure it has to do with magic.” She shook her head. “Regardless, the important thing here is that Harmonic Resonances tend to happen around kids with more frequency than adults.”

“So… we’re going to wait here until it happens?”

Sunset leaned back on the bench they sat at. “Yup. This is what field research is all about, Twilight, especially with unpredictable events. The silver lining is that we don’t necessarily have to put all our attention to watching those kids. As soon as a Harmonic Resonance happens, we’ll know, and we’ll be able to write down our notes.”

“If you say so…”

Sunset looked at Twilight, who was writing something down. Her eyes downcast, Sunset couldn’t make out her expression, but she could see her pursing her lips. A question popped up in her mind, and she spoke before she even thought it over.

“You haven’t had that experience yet, have you? Drawing something you feel that strongly attached to, I mean.”

Twilight stopped writing and sighed. “No. And I think it’s a dumb practice. Why waste time and resources to get that drawing on everything you own? That’s time and resources that could be spent elsewhere.”

“That sounds like resentment,” Sunset said, “for not getting something everyone else does. But don’t worry, if it’s the same as Cutie Marks, then you’ll get your chance eventually…” And that was a big if. Sunset wasn’t sure that the symbols she’d seen were in fact Cutie Marks.

“It's not resentment,” Twilight said. “Everybody’s going on about their drawings, like they’re some kind of milestone or something. But it’s just a waste of time.”

Sunset shrugged. “If you say so.”

“I mean, even if they were similar to your world’s Cutie Marks or whatever, I don’t need one to know who I am or what I’m good at. I’m a scientist, you know? I only want to understand the laws of this world.”

“Uh-huh.”

“What’s the point anyway?” Twilight continued, making Sunset look at her. “I can understand how they’d be useful and important in your world, but here? It’s just a stupid drawing! It does absolutely nothing of use. Yet people treat them like they’re super important or something. You know what’s important? Learning and discovering and then using that knowledge to further advance humanity’s progress. That’s what’s important to me!”

“Why are you so agitated?”

“I’m not agitated!” Twilight yelled. “It’s just…” She took a deep breath, then hunched over herself as she calmed down. “My family keeps telling me that there’s more to life than books and research, as if what I’m doing is somehow less important than being a cop or a teacher or a writer. What’s wrong with being a scientist?”

Twilight stood up, and right at that moment, Sunset felt the rhythmic beating of a Resonance, coming so suddenly she barely had time to react. She looked up at Twilight just as the younger girl opened her mouth.

I've had this argument before
People tell me I should strive for more, oh-whoa-oh
But they ignore that this is what I chose

Spinning swiftly on her heel, Twilight turned to look back at Sunset with a small frown. Sunset could feel the girl’s frustration through the sound waves of the song.

In every class my grade’s the best
The highest score on every test
Does this not mean that I should have no woes?

“I do think it’s important that you do whatever you feel passionate about,” Sunset said. She couldn’t be sure that humans really did have their version of a Cutie Mark, but from what little Twilight had said, it seemed a safe bet to encourage the girl that was helping her with her research.

Twilight looked away. “But that’s the thing, Sunset.”

They say there's more that's out there
and I just haven't found it yet
You say there's more that’s out there
that there is magic we don’t get

“I don’t know why you humans refuse to believe in magic,” Sunset replied, knowing instinctively that she could talk and not cut off the Resonance. Back in Equestria, it was very poor manners to interrupt one unless there was a good reason. “But you are Resonating right now, Twilight!”

As that last word left her mouth, Sunset felt Twilight’s Resonance vibrating much more strongly inside her, and she felt compelled to join. She thought of refusing; it was an easy thing to do, like choosing not to blink at any given time. She didn’t like Resonating herself, but then again, if she was to study it properly, what better way than to experience it?

So she took a deep breath and stood up, confidently facing Twilight. “Don’t you see?”

Everyone here just sings unplanned
And it is from a magic spell’s command, oh-whoa-oh
You dismiss my entire world as folklore

She smiled as memories of Equestria flashed before her eyes.

But there’s these crazy quests
Mythical creatures, magic tests
Books are great, sure, but don’t you want to know more?

“I… I do want to know more,” Twilight said, her whispers carried through the wind and, empowered by the Resonance, reaching Sunset loud and clear enough to be understood. “I always want to know more. But it’s like people think that life has no meaning if you don’t go out or throw parties or what-have you. I just want to learn!”

Sunset shrugged. “Well, you can keep learning human science at the same time you learn human magic. To be honest, I myself will be learning alongside you with only peripheral understanding.”

Twilight walked over to the bench and picked up her notebook.

It’s not that I don’t trust you, but if I can’t perceive
that there’s magic to discover, how can I believe?

“Twilight, you are experiencing a Harmonic Resonance right this instant,” Sunset insisted. “I’m sure that you can hear the same music I’m hearing. How can you explain this outside of a magical manifestation? Listen to me.”

I know there's more that's out there
It is magic, nothing else
I know there's more that's out there
Because I've seen it for myself

Twilight opened her notebook. “If this really is the manifestation of magic, then how would we be able to prove it? Anyone that so much as mentions the word ‘magic’ on a published paper will be the laughingstock of the entire world. There’s absolutely nothing in any scientific book that could help us with this.”

Sunset placed a hand on Twilight’s notebook and lowered it, making the girl look directly at her.

There's only so much safety can offer
And I'm not saying that’s so bad
But I know there’s more that’s out there
And I can help you understand

Twilight’s lips trembled a little as she clearly struggled to speak up. Her frown became more confident as she gathered herself. “Sunset, please tell me more about your world. If I’m to help you with magical research, shouldn’t I know what your bases on magic are?”

Sunset considered it for a moment. “I suppose you’re right. Let me tell you about the land of Equestria…”

They sat back down on the bench, and Sunset told Twilight everything about her world. She told her about the three main pony races, about the princess that controlled the sun and the moon, and about the different magics that formed part of ponykind's everyday lives. She told her about the many other creatures that coexisted with ponies, and she told her about the lands beyond Equestria. She told her about her own life as a graduate from the most prestigious magic school in Equestria, and she told her about her mentorship with the very princess that ruled the princessdom.

She left out the fact she’d been kicked out of said apprenticeship, however.

It took about two hours to convince Twilight that Sunset was not in fact pulling a prank on her, and that everything she said was the honest truth. All the while, even though no more music was playing in her ears, Sunset still felt the Resonance vibrating within her soul, knowing that it would seamlessly continue as soon as they both were ready.

When their conversation was finished, a lull fell between the girls, in which Twilight simply looked up at the sky. Sunset took the chance to write some notes on the Resonance that was still present between them. Soon enough, as the vibrations of the song intensified and the phantom music returned to Sunset, Twilight took a deep breath.

Beyond the rules of this world’s walls
So much to learn I can't see it all

Sunset smirked. “I see you’re finally starting to believe.”

Just trust in me when I declare
I guarantee I know that magic must be there

Twilight took her eyes from the sky and turned to look at Sunset again, offering a small but confident smile.

I accept there's more that's out there
So much knowledge to explore

Sunset nodded eagerly.

And I know there's more that's out there
You’re not wrong for wanting more!

Just as Sunset hit the end of her crescendo, Twilight once again picked up her notebook, and as if she had practiced the motion a thousand times, she spun her pen between her fingers, finding a blank page at the end of her most recent notes. Sunset leaned in to look and realized that Twilight was not writing, but drawing. A very simple drawing of a big, six-pointed star with six other points that signaled another star behind the first one, and five more smaller stars around it.

The drawing didn’t take more than a couple minutes, but it felt like time slowed down as Twilight completed it, and her eyes widened once the pen closed the final star. The lines were too straight, too perfect, for a drawing made sitting at a bench, with the notebook precariously held against her knees.

A wave of pure magical energy exploded from Twilight, making such strong ripples in the Harmonic Veil that even Sunset could feel it. There was no flash of light on Twilight’s body, and even if they tried to look, they would not find anything new or different. And yet everything was different, for Twilight had experienced what all ponies did when finding themselves. Somehow, on a completely different world and as a native of a completely different species, Twilight Sparkle had gotten her Cutie Mark.

Twilight gasped for air, as if she had stopped breathing while drawing, or as if remembering that she wasn’t alone. She looked at Sunset, and Sunset looked at her. And, bonded by the shared vibrations of the Resonance, they both smiled and opened their mouths at the same time.

We both just witnessed what has happened
This is the proof we’re looking for
Now we know there’s more that’s out there
And we’ll find out what’s in store

Twilight leaned over and grabbed Sunset’s hands, squeezing them with an excitement Sunset herself could feel coursing through her veins.

As we’re searching for the answers
We will not be led astray
We’re confident there’s more that’s out there
And we'll find out someday!

We’ll find out someday…

Finally, the magical notes slowly began to fade away back into the Harmonic Veil, giving Sunset ample time to remember the moment as the Resonance ended, not wanting to forget it before she could write down her experience.

She could feel her cheeks a bit heated up, and a single droplet of sweat running down her neck. When she had decided to participate in this Resonance, she hadn’t expected to be such a big part of it. Her role had not been to complement Twilight’s song, but instead it’d been just as big as Twilight’s, creating a proper duet. Up to this point, all of Sunset’s Resonances had been solos or just chorus.

Twilight let go of her hands, her breathing a bit labored, her cheeks reddened, and her forehead bright with sweat.

“This is the first time I feel like this after an Abrupt… I mean, a Harmonic Resonance,” Twilight said with a trembling voice.

“I’m guessing it had less to do with the song and more with you earning your Cutie Mark,” Sunset replied.

Twilight looked at her drawing, gently pressing her fingers on it. “I don’t understand why I drew this, I just… I suddenly knew I had to draw it. The image appeared in my mind and wouldn’t leave me until I replicated it in my notebook… But I don’t know why I did it.”

“It seems that, because the Mark can’t manifest on your body, it forces you to produce a physical representation,” Sunset guessed. “The process is longer and different from ponies, since it simply appears on our flanks.” She tapped the drawing. “But I’m positive this is a Cutie Mark.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because I could feel it,” Sunset replied. “Cutie Mark magic is so powerful that it leaves a huge impact on the Harmonic Veil. I was so focused on the Resonance that, when it happened, I could feel the energy of your own personal magical signature rippling through my body. That is not at all different back in Equestria.”

Twilight, who hadn’t stopped staring at her drawing, took a few long seconds to reply.

“You said that a Cutie Mark represents who I am and what I’m best at, but… What does a big star surrounded by five smaller ones even mean?”

Sunset leaned back, humming as she considered it. “Cutie Marks can be very difficult to interpret. But considering what we were singing about, it might describe your curiosity or your ingenuity. I’m not saying this is the case, but back home, Cutie Marks that are mainly stars or other celestial bodies often mean an innate talent for magic.”

“Yeah, I don’t think that’s the case,” Twilight said with a snort.

“Neither do I,” Sunset agreed. “But maybe it’s related. Maybe it means your desire to understand this world’s magic.”

Twilight stared at her notebook for a while longer. Sunset didn’t interrupt her silent musings. The earning of a Cutie Mark was one of the few events she felt deference for. After a couple more minutes, Twilight finally closed her notebook.

“Can we go back to my house? I want to write about this, and I don’t think this notebook will be enough.”

Sunset smiled. “Sure.”

Author's Note

At the moment of publishing this chapter, I've written 34 chapters for this fic, and yet this one remains my favorite. I hope you like it at least half as much as I do!

Friendship Games is my favorite of the Equestria Girls movies, and to this day I bemoan the fact that Twilight and Sunset's duet was modified and became a solo for Twilight, and an entire subplot was erased from existence.

This is my way of bringing back that original concept, though with obvious differences.

I want to thank my good friend Crowscrowcrow for helping me with tweaking the lyrics of this song.

Chapter 5. Prodigy

Twilight placed a hesitant finger on the stone. After a second, she gave it a light knock. Then pressed the palms of both hands and pushed. The stone didn’t give in.

“It’s kind of hard to believe this is a portal,” she said, turning to look at Sunset. “I mean, if it opens on its own every now and again, wouldn’t someone have accidentally wandered through before?”

Sunset paused, hovering the pen above her notebook.

The day after Twilight and Sunset had Resonated together was the first full moon day after the portal had closed, so of course Sunset wanted to do some research on it, see if she could feel any magic from it as it was bathed in full moonlight magic. It hadn’t taken much to get Celestia to drive them to Canterlot High School and let them camp in front of the statue in order to study it. Twilight, however, had needed to beg for hours and promise to do more chores around the house and even try to talk to the other kids at school until her parents had finally relented, and her brother had offered to accompany and chaperone them along with Celestia.

So of course Sunset had been forced to disclose the real nature of her research to him. Or, really, it had been Twilight who had told him everything on their ride to the school. Apparently she told him everything.

“I hadn’t considered that,” Sunset said as she mulled over Twilight’s words. “The portal in my world is locked under heavy security, but in here it’s a statue that literally anyone could walk up to. We would’ve known about random intruders in the palace every thirty moons or so.”

“Maybe this portal has a security system in place,” Shining Armor offered as he joined his sister and knocked twice on the stone. “Like some sort of identification feature.”

He had taken the knowledge of the existence of magic and another world in stride. When questioned about it, he simply replied that he trusted Twilight, since she wouldn’t lie about something like this. For some reason, Sunset didn’t quite like that level of blind trust in him. Hence, she had asked Twilight not to divulge that Equestria was a land of ponies. It had taken her over an hour to convince Twilight that talking ponies did in fact exist and did in fact inhabit Sunset’s world and she in fact was one of them. She did not want to go through that again.

Twilight had reacted with strange glee, saying it would be a secret just between the two of them. So much for her telling her brother everything.

“Of course you’d think like a cop,” Twilight said with a roll of her eyes but a small smile nonetheless. “What kind of security system would keep everyone out, but then let Principal Celestia stick her hand inside?”

Which was, of course, one of the reasons Shining Armor believed their claims about magic. Celestia and Luna’s words seemed to mean a lot to other humans.

“I don’t know,” he replied. “Any guesses, Sunset? You’re the expert here.”

Sunset didn’t fail to notice the pep in his tone. He seemed to be enjoying all of this a bit too much.

“Considering what little I myself know about the portal,” Sunset replied, “my best guess is that there’s some kind of awareness spell preventing anyone who doesn’t know the truth about the portal from using it. Random people leaning on it while it’s open wouldn’t go through, but since Celestia saw me crossing it, she was made aware of it, and thus she could cross it.”

“And Luna saw your hand going through as well,” Celestia said as she finished unfolding the chairs. “So she’ll be able to cross the portal too when it opens up again.”

“And since I also know about it, now that you’ve explained it to me, I guess I would be able to cross it too,” Shining said. He crossed his arms and nodded. “Pretty smart security system if you want to hide something. But maybe we should keep this to ourselves. Wouldn’t want people actually going to your world, huh, Sunset? Considering the portal is at your ruler’s palace, it could be considered an invasion.”

It wouldn’t be much of an invasion, anyway. Even if humans transformed into unicorns, they’d be nothing against the all too powerful alicorn of the sun, no matter how many of them tried to invade. She nodded, however, since she didn’t want any more humans interfering with her research than there already were.

They fell relatively silent as Shining helped Celestia set up the portable stove, an invention that got Sunset’s curiosity in its simplicity.

“Man,” Shining said after settling the kettle on the stove, looking up at the school. “Never thought I’d be back here. It feels kind of nostalgic.”

“I’d appreciate you not littering at my school again,” Celestia said.

Shining flinched. “Uh, right… I should probably apologize for that.”

Twilight, who so far had kept probbing at the portal, snapped her head to the side so fast Sunset swore she heard a pop. “Shining Armor, did you litter at a school?!”

The question seemed to hit Shining like a bag of bricks to the stomach. His already white skin seemed to pale further. “I uh…”

“Not only did he litter,” Celestia said as a small smile formed in her face. “He dressed up the statue that’s on the portal in a ridiculous costume and used spray paint to draw mocking words.”

Twilight gasped so loudly it was almost comical. “You vandalized school property?!”

What happened next was a full twenty minutes of a red-faced Twilight scolding her big brother so intensely that the man couldn’t even get a word in between “how could you”s and “I trusted you”s. For a girl half Shining’s height, she could be really intimidating as she kept yelling at him.

“Alright, Twilight, I believe that’s enough,” Celestia said just as Twilight paused to take air. “I think he got the message, and I’m sure he’s feeling quite sorry now.”

Twilight scrunched up her face and pointedly narrowed her eyes at her brother. “Are you?”

“Yes, I am!” Shining said, holding both hands in front of him. He turned to look at Celestia. “I’m really sorry for that, Principal Celestia. I was a stupid kid.”

Celestia nodded. “All is forgiven.”

Twilight looked like she still wanted to say some more words to Shining, but she seemed to accept Celestia’s words as final, and instead crossed her arms, her cheeks a bit puffed, and turned back to look at the portal. Sunset found herself smiling at that.

One hour later, with the tents set up, the sleeping bags unrolled, and the stove heating up cocoa, it was time to get the research properly started. At quarter to midnight, the moon had finally reached its full luminosity, and its magic was at its most pure and influential. If it had any effect on the portal at all, Sunset would be able to perceive it.

Or at least she hoped so.

Leaving her notebook on a chair she’d pulled close to the statue, Sunset placed a hand on the surface that held the portal and closed her eyes. One of the first things unicorns learned to do upon enrolling in Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns was to detect the magic in enchanted items. An experienced unicorn would be able to feel the complete array of pulsations that made up the enchantment, and translate them into the spell within. However, what a first-timer could feel would simply be a phantom vibration.

Without her horn to potentiate her connection to the Harmonic Veil, Sunset at least hoped she could feel this vibration. She didn’t like going back to the basics, but solving the mystery of this world wouldn’t be a challenge otherwise.

And so she stood there in silence, feeling the cold, rough stone with her hand, listening to the ruffling of nearby trees and the whistling of the wind and her own breathing. And she willed herself to ignore all of those stimulations, as they only distracted her. She forced her focus on searching for the magic vibration of the portal. No matter how weak it was, it was impossible for it not to be there. Even if the portal opened only once every thirty moons, it was still infused in magic, and thus whatever many spells it contained would be pulsing.

She didn’t know how long she stood there; long enough for the coldness of the night wind to finally filtrate through the many layers of clothing she was wearing. Still she ignored her shivering body and continued focusing. Minutes passed in the silent darkness, yet she remained focused.

Until finally, within that darkness, she started feeling a very faint vibration coming from within the stone. She suppressed the gasp that threatened to break her concentration and pressed on. Now that she had finally felt it, she needed to accustom herself to it. Her untrained human body needed to remember the sensation of magical energy coursing through. And as time passed, her fingers started getting numb, and heat spread from them, down her arm, and into her chest. And the heat remained in her chest, swirling placidly, content with simply being there.

Sunset did gasp, opening her eyes and stepping away from the statue.

“Sunset?” someone said, but Sunset paid it no mind. Her heart beat so fast she could hear it in her ears.

She placed a hand on her chest, and above her thundering heart and her labored breathing, she could easily feel the heat swirling within her, and she realized, after a few shameful seconds, what it really was.

“I can feel my mana pool,” she whispered. The revelation shouldn’t have felt like such a grandiose achievement. Of course her mana pool was there! All magical creatures had one. She supposed that her human body concealing it had made her believe otherwise.

“Sunset, are you ok?”

Sunset snapped out of her musings, only to realize that Twilight’s face was mere centimeters from her face. “Y-Yes, I’m fine,” she said, shaking off Twilight’s hands from her shoulders. She snatched her notebook from the chair she’d pulled earlier and sat down. “Give me a moment.” She needed to write her discoveries and what she had felt as accurately as possible. When she was done, she found both Twilight and Shining pressing their hands on the portal.

“What exactly are we looking for?” Shining said in a loud whisper.

“I don’t know,” Twilight replied in the same fashion. “But Sunset seems to have felt something.”

“A vibration,” Sunset said, and she noticed that her voice was a bit shaky. The heat within her had cooled down somewhat, but she could still feel that her fingers were a bit numb. “Ignore everything else that you’re feeling right now, like the cold, and ignore every sound, including my voice. Just focus on the stone, and you should be able to feel the vibration within.” Though, whether they’d be able to feel it was a question in itself. Sunset could because she was originally a unicorn, so she wondered if humans were capable of it as well.

She stood up, leaving Twilight and her brother to their concentration. First-timers could need anywhere between minutes to hours, or even multiple tries on different days, to even start feeling the vibrations of enchanted items. She walked up to Celestia and accepted the mug of hot cocoa the older woman offered. Only then did she notice how cold her hands were.

She sipped a bit of the chocolatey goodness and let out a content sigh, looking up towards the moon. Ever since deciding to stay in this world, she had felt the absence of her horn like a void that weighed down on her stomach, like she had suddenly become blind to a light she had always been able to see. But now, that sensation, while not completely gone, had diminished enough that Sunset could almost feel complete again. After all, her mana pool swirled within her, and while currently inaccessible, the sole knowledge that it was there was enough to bring a smile upon Sunset’s face.

“I take it you got the results you wanted?” Celestia said.

Sunset sat down on the chair further from the woman. “Yes.”

Celestia stared at Sunset, as if waiting for her to explain. She didn’t. Instead, she slowly savored the cocoa, feeling it warm her body quite pleasantly. Looking back at the portal, where the siblings were still concentrating, Sunset pondered what her next steps should be. She had already proven to herself that the Harmonic Veil was working properly even in this world, so she now needed to find a reliable way to detect and represent it in a visual way. Easier said than done, she supposed, but she still had twenty-nine moons left.

Plenty of time, considering she only had to rediscover what she already knew.

Shining Armor stepped away from the portal, careful not to distract Twilight, and sat down on the chair next to Celestia, accepting a mug of hot cocoa on his own.

“Giving up already?” Sunset said, raising an eyebrow.

“Yup,” Shining said with a smile and a tone that let Sunset know he was not the least bit sorry. “Doing research is not my thing. I’ll help you girls as much as I can, but I’m more muscle than brains.”

“Says the top student of his generation,” Celestia said.

Shining cleared his throat and proceeded to sip his hot cocoa, which Sunset found odd. If he had been the top student, why try to conceal it? Sunset didn’t miss a chance to gloat about graduating early and with honors. After all, why work so hard if no one recognized it?

“You know,” Shining said as he brought his mug down to his lap and turned his head to look at the portal. “I haven’t seen Twilight this excited since dad took her to the university he works at and gave her a tour to the science labs back when she was in fourth grade. And I have you to thank for it, Sunset.”

Sunset cocked her head. “Me?”

Shining gave her a smile. “It’s because she finally found someone that shares her passion for studying and learning. I guess what I’m trying to say is, thank you for being her friend.”

Friend? Sunset fought the urge to roll her eyes at that. They weren’t friends, they were research partners, and even that was already stretching the truth of their relationship. Twilight simply helped fill Sunset’s gaps in human’s scientific knowledge, and in turn, Sunset let Twilight know the nature and progress of her magical research. A simple give and take and nothing more.

But before Sunset could begin to correct Shining, she was interrupted by Twilight gasping. She turned to see the girl standing in front of the portal while looking at her hand.

“I think I felt it!” She announced, practically hopping towards Sunset. “But if I’m honest, it felt a lot like electricity rather than a vibration. My fingers got a bit numb and all!”

For some reason, that made both Celestia and Shining stand up and start probing at the portal. Sunset, however, leaned back on her chair and frowned at her mug of still steaming cocoa.

At Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns, which had a very high level entrance exam, they measured every second it took students to perform certain tasks, and they averaged these times to keep a tight record of unicorn’s innate magical prowess in Canterlot. Sunset, of course, had taken a look at these numbers to make sure she was the best of them all. As such, she knew that students that first tried to feel the vibrations of enchanted items took an average of twenty-three minutes of concentration before they started feeling them. Sunset herself had only taken three minutes, breaking the record of five.

In the human world, despite knowing what to look for and what to expect, she had needed about nine minutes to get her body acquainted to the magical vibrations. Three times as long, which she could understand, given the circumstances.

However, if her sense of time was correct, Twilight Sparkle had been concentrating for no more than eleven minutes before she felt the vibrations. If those numbers translated to unicorn prowess in Equestria, that meant that Twilight would have also broken the previous five-minute record by a landslide, and was very close to Sunset in innate skill. Considering, even, that up to this point Twilight had never even believed in magic, it meant that Twilight was not only incredibly smart, but also a natural genius in magic.

She could even rival Sunset.

Sunset’s instinct flared with red alerts, telling her that Twilight was a threat to her status as the most powerful unicorn in Equestria and to her destined ascension to alicornhood. And threats had to be removed.

She looked up from her mug, plans already starting to form to get rid of the competition… and was met with Twilight’s expectant eyes. The girl’s cheeks were a bit reddened, though it was difficult to see behind the massive toothy grin on her face. At that moment, Sunset felt stupid. This girl was no threat to her! Sure, she could be a magical prodigy like Sunset, but she was still a human. She had no business going to Equestria.

Besides, if Sunset thought about it carefully, she could have Twilight become her personal student. That way, when Sunset returned to Equestria and became a princess, she would have Twilight do her bidding on this side of the portal. Sunset would practically be ruling two worlds!

Crossing the portal was proving, once again, to have been the smart choice, after all.

“We couldn’t find any nearby electrical sources,” Shining said as he walked back with Celestia in tow.

“And there are no underground connections near the statue either,” Celestia confirmed as she returned to her chair.

Twilight turned to look at them. “Which means that what Sunset and I felt is magic!” She said excitedly. She once again looked at Sunset. “So what should we do now?”

Sunset thought about it. “For now, we’ll rest for ten minutes, then attempt to feel the magic again, then rest ten more minutes. We’ll keep at it until we can feel it by simply touching the stone. Then we’ll return next month for the second step of the process, which is putting apart the vibrations into pulsations. And when you manage to do that, I’ll teach you how to interpret them… Though this will be too advanced for you. Well, we’ll see when we get there.”

Twilight nodded and accepted a mug of hot cocoa from her brother. Yes, this girl was eager to learn but lacked the ambition to become something greater than a simple researcher. Sunset could use her to her advantage. The only thing she needed to do was keep an eye on her, just in case Twilight did end up developing an ambition that interfered with Sunset’s plans.

Author's Note

And the magic technobabble commences! This chapter is just the tip, so get ready for the next one.

I hope you like it!

Chapter 6. The Science of Magic

Sunset spread her fingers apart from each other as much as she could. The ten long, slender appendages were still weird to manipulate, even three months after coming to the human world. She could now do most things with them without looking clumsy, but actions that required finesse were still a massive work in progress. Her writing was wobbly and hideous, and she still dropped the cutlery one out of ten times. The logical part of her brain told her it was normal to struggle with brand new appendages. The prideful part screamed that she should have already mastered them by now.

“We’re here,” Luna said, snapping Sunset out of her thoughts. “I’ll come back for you on Sunday at noon. Is that alright to you?”

“Yeah,” Sunset replied as she got out of the car.

Twilight had invited Sunset to have a two-night sleepover, starting Friday, with the excuse to keep studying her lesson plan. Sunset didn’t mind the excuse. She herself needed a few days away from the sisters’ apartment. The two women were quiet most of the time, but they could also start arguing at the drop of a hat, and once they got started, they could keep at it for hours. And since the apartment’s walls were rather thin, they made it impossible for Sunset to focus on her studies.

She hoped that Twilight’s house would offer a better studying environment.

Twilight’s mother led her in, waving at Luna from the door. “Twilight’s in her room,” she said. “I’ll call you girls when it’s time for dinner.”

Sunset hefted her backpack and made a beeline to Twilight’s room. She was surprised to find a fully dressed mattress right next to Twilight’s bed.

“Hey, Sunset!” Twilight said from her desk.

Sunset let her backpack fall to the floor next to the door and stepped towards the desk. Apparently, Twilight had been going over some equations. “What are you doing?”

“Just passing the time,” Twilight replied as she closed her notebook. “So, I’ve been thinking, and I have reason to believe that what we feel from the portal is not vibrations.”

Raising an eyebrow, Sunset sat on Twilight’s bed. “I’m pretty sure I know what they are, Twilight. I’ve been studying magic since before I got my Cutie Mark.”

“Just hear me out,” Twilight insisted as she picked another notebook from the small stack on her desk and offered it to Sunset. “While it’s true that the energy feels like vibrations, the way you then describe it as pulsations makes me think otherwise.”

After those first days of studying the portal, the next three full moon nights had happened in the middle of the week, and so they’d only been able to go after class and only for a couple hours. While Twilight was still stuck in just feeling vibrations, Sunset had managed to finally start picking out the different pulsations that made up the enchantments. Twilight’s initial ease in feeling the magic had been surprising, but she was now falling behind in her progress. Of course, the decisive factor there was the difference in their respective experience levels.

“You see, a vibration is the propagation of elastic waves that produces tensions and deformations in an equilibrium point,” Twilight explained. “Whilst pulses, in the way you talk about them, are rapid changes in the amplitude of a signal from a baseline value.”

Sunset opened her mouth to retort, but closed it as she considered Twilight’s words. She’d never looked at it that way. Then again, Equestrian knowledge about the way of the physical world was sorely lacking in comparison to the human world. It was possible that ponies had been using such different concepts interchangeably for lack of better definitions.

“Alright, I’ll bite,” Sunset said. “What else have you got?”

“Since we can only practice feeling the magical energy of the portal every month, it’s going to take me a long while before I can corroborate this myself,” Twilight said. “So, I need you to explain to me how these pulsations become magic spells.”

Sunset opened the notebook Twilight had given her and found it completely blank. A single pencil sat next to the metallic spiral. She snorted and began making some notes.

“There are two major ways in which the Harmonic Veil interacts with the world,” Sunset said as she wrote with uncertain fingers. “The first way is called Macroscale Influence, and it deals with phenomena that are easy to perceive. The Harmonic Resonance is one of these phenomena.

“The second category is called Microscale Influence.” Sunset continued. “This is almost exclusively a unicorn-only field of study, as we are practically the only ones that can affect and detect the Harmonic Veil in such a way.” She took a mouthful of air as she considered how to explain a concept to someone that didn’t have the right appendage to understand. “Basically, the Harmonic Veil can be punctured in fixed points in space, which will create a pulse. If many pulses are combined in a specific order, you get arrays that perform a simple action. Put together many arrays and you’ll get a spell.”

Sunset smiled, feeling quite pleased with herself. She had managed to dumb down the basics of spellcraft circuitry.

Twilight finished writing her own notes, then looked up at Sunset. “That sounds a lot like binary code.”

“Like what?”

It only took Twilight ten minutes to give Sunset a quick explanation of what binary coding was and gave her a few examples. To say that Sunset was surprised would be an understatement.

“Of course, there are some differences,” Twilight said. “There’s no computing machine or compiling software, for one, but it seems that this Harmonic Veil does that on its own.”

Sunset had no idea what a software was, but nodded anyway. “Although that’s the explanation of how spells work in the Microscale Influence. In practice, the pulse arrays can be performed by what we call Spellcraft Circuitry. Unicorn horns, you see, allow us to memorize the patterns of the pulse arrays, then conjure them to put them together with other arrays in the correct sequence that will eventually produce an effect. We call that spellcasting.”

“Can you give me a simple example?” Twilight requested.

“Sure,” Sunset tapped the pencil on her notebook for a moment. “Light producing spells are usually the first unicorns cast by instinct alone, but when you get down to studying them, they are reduced to the following pulse arrays: light production, intensity, duration, manipulation, stability, consumption, and dissipation.”

Twilight nodded and spoke while still writing. “All of that is processed in the Harmonic Veil?”

“Yes. Though the amount of mana required to create such a spell comes from the unicorn’s mana pool. It's possible to use other sources of magical energy to power spells, but that's within the realm of Enchanting.”

“So the difference between Spellcasting and Enchanting is the source of the magical energy?”

“In a nutshell.” Though it was a lot more nuanced than that, but Sunset didn’t want to go over that tangent at the moment.

“And of course you can describe a light producing spell in both the Macro and Microscale Influences,” Twilight muttered. “Fascinating.”

Sunset let herself smile at how easy it was for Twilight to understand Harmonic Theory. Back when she was a student at Celestia’s school, Sunset had always found baffling how unicorns struggled to understand these concepts even after they’d been simplified. So the fact that Twilight, who didn’t have a magical upbringing, understood this easily only reaffirmed Sunset’s confidence in her superiority over all those other unicorns.

Twilight picked some books from her shelves and opened them on the bed around Sunset. “If the Harmonic Veil works the same in this world as it does in yours, then we should be able to build a machine that detects the pulsations and translates them into a visual representation.”

“Yeah…” Sunset said as she picked one of the books, barely managing to recognize what the symbols were meant to represent. She pursed her lips as she mulled over the speed at which Twilight had been absorbing every little bit of knowledge Sunset had given her about magic. It was as if her previous understanding of human technology was accelerating her understanding of magic, instead of the other way around.

Sunset felt a sense of unease as she kept reading the books Twilight was giving her. Each more complex than the last. How was it that a society that refused to believe in magic had developed technological concepts that were so similar in practice to magic?

She gasped quietly as an idea popped in her head. Was this the secret to this world? Was understanding human technology what Sunset was supposed to do in order to learn why it was connected to Equestria? Or was it perhaps that Sunset was meant to help humans understand and harness magic, then go back to Equestria and bring them technology? Was the way to becoming an alicorn reaching a balance between both worlds?

But of course! What other reason could there be?

With restored confidence and a grin on her face, Sunset grabbed her pencil with a hand and a book with the other and followed Twilight’s lead into learning more and more advanced concepts. And the more she learned about binary code and computer programming, the more she could see the similarities between the two.

A knock to the door broke the girls’ concentration. How long had they been studying? A glance at the wall clock told Sunset it had been about three hours.

“Come in!” Twilight called a few seconds after the knock. When the door opened, however, Twilight became a blur, moving so fast Sunset almost wondered if the girl had been a pegasus all this time. “Cadence!” Twilight cried out as she tackled an older woman.

Sunset flinched at the name as her eyes properly settled upon the newcomer. The woman’s skin was pink, her eyes violet, and her long hair was partitioned in three very distinct sections of purple, pink, and yellow. All of those were colors that Sunset could perfectly relate to the one name Twilight had called. Not only that, but a look at the woman’s neck showed a thin gold chain that held a die cut piece of metal in the shape of a blue crystalline heart.

Mi Amore Cadenza’s Cutie Mark.

Sunset brought a hand to her mouth and looked down. The thought had crossed her mind upon learning Celestia’s name and seeing the Sun Princess’ Cutie Mark around the Principal’s belongings, but it had long been archived in Sunset’s memory as a single freaky coincidence. However, with yet another freaky coincidence right in front of her, Sunset had to seriously consider the possibility that the mirror aspect of the portal extended further and that… The whole human world was somehow mirroring Equestria.

Of course, that alone raised many other questions. Especially around Celestia herself. One was an immortal alicorn who had lived for well over a thousand years, while the other was a regular human whose district ID said was only thirty-nine. If that was true, then it meant this world couldn’t possibly be an exact mirror. It meant that there was yet another secret to unravel, another conundrum to solve, before Sunset could ascend into an alicorn herself.

“Sunset?” Twilight asked, and her face was only a few centimeters away. “Are you ok?”

Sunset blinked. “Yeah…” Had she really zoned out so much she had completely ignored everything else? She couldn’t afford being so careless. “I was just thinking about… something.”

Twilight gave her a slow nod, then smiled and straightened up. “Well, I just wanted to introduce you to Cadence!” She said, stepping away so that Sunset had an unobstructed view of the woman, who was still standing at the door. “She used to be my babysitter, and then started dating my brother!”

Cadence giggled, and the sound brought flashbacks to a certain pink alicorn. “It’s nice to finally meet you, Sunset. Twilight’s told me a lot about you.”

Sunset turned her head to Twilight and lifted an eyebrow. “A lot, huh?”

“That’s right!” Cadence said chirpily. “How you girls like to study together. Honestly, I’m really glad Twilight found a friend that shares her interests. Anyway, I came here to tell you that dinner’s ready.”

“Okay!” Twilight said. “We’ll be down in a minute.” When Cadence left, closing the door behind her, Twilight spun her head towards Sunset and crossed her arms, giving her the smuggest grin Sunset had seen on the girl. “You really thought I told her the truth about you, didn’t you? I’ll have you know I take my promises very seriously.”

“Yeah, ok, fine,” Sunset said. “Let’s go have dinner.” Not that Sunset felt especially hungry, but she wanted to see if this Cadence shared any more similarities to her pony counterpart. Granted, Sunset hadn’t really known Cadence that well, choosing to avoid the alicorn that so shamelessly claimed the title of princess without knowing the first thing about politics or economy or even the basics of magic.

As it turned out, human Cadence was every bit as annoying as the pony one. Laughing at every stupid joke she heard, softly touching the people around them on their shoulder to remind them that she was still there, always joining in the conversation despite not being invited, and asking questions to know about things she ignored.

Her only saving grace was the fact that she wasn’t an alicorn princess. As long as she was kept in the dark about Equestria, Sunset didn’t need to be on the lookout. She had enough with Celestia breathing down her neck about every little thing she did.

“So,” Cadence said as soon as the previous conversation finished. “What are you girls studying?”

Sunset narrowed her eyes, but before she could tell her to beat it, Twilight replied. “Computer programming.”

“What brought this on? I thought you were studying, uh…”

“The properties and effects of vibrations through different mediums,” Twilight said happily. “But we already dropped that in lieu of recent discoveries. However, I can’t say any more. Our research is top secret.”

“I don’t see why you can’t tell Cadence, Twilight,” Twilight’s mom said. “You already told Shining, after all.”

Cadence turned a smiling face to Shining. “Is that so?”

Shining didn’t seem surprised or even taken aback. He simply kept his expression neutral as he matched Cadence’s gaze. “Sorry, Cady. Sibling code, section two, article third. It's very clear on sibling-shared secrets.”

Cadence pursed her lips and harrumphed, though the smile didn’t quite leave her face. “Well, I suppose I can accept that.”

Sunset didn’t dare look at Twilight, knowing that the girl was most likely being a smug brat about her brother being perfectly capable of keeping a secret.

But just as the conversation was finally going to steer away from topics Sunset would rather avoid, her fingers shook and she dropped the fork half-way to her mouth, making a loud clunk as it hit her plate. She frowned at the offending appendages. She had thought she had already moved on from dropping cutlery.

“Are you alright, Sunset?” The question was asked by at least three different people.

“Yeah, I’m just…” She bit her lip. If she said she wasn’t used to having fingers, she’d have to explain why.

“She’s a bit clumsy with her hands,” Twilight offered.

Sunset blinked, thankful for the save. “That’s right. Can’t get these darned things to work properly.” She added a little demonstration by wiggling her fingers.

Unfortunately, the next one to speak was the pink menace. “If you want to improve your finger dexterity, might I suggest learning a musical instrument?”

A musical instrument? Sunset had only seen some of those when visiting the theater, though the royal guards were trained to play trumpets and drums. They were made to be used with hooves, wings, or magic, but then again, she supposed humans would have adapted them to be operated with hands and fingers. In any case, she thought of refusing the suggestion simply because it had been Cadence who had proposed it.

“That’s a wonderful idea!” Twilight exclaimed, joining her palms together in a quiet clap. “You could play the violin.”

“Violin?” Sunset asked. She had a vague idea of what a violin was. If her memory served her right, it was an instrument oftentimes used in high-class plays and during noble soirées. Refined was the word used for such things. Appropriate for a soon-to-be princess such as Sunset herself.

She hummed, then looked at Twilight. “There’s no harm in at least trying.”

Author's Note

This chapter has been full of technobabble. I hope it was easy to understand the general idea I'm going for. Later chapters will build upon this one's concepts and expand on them.

A wild Cadence has appeared! Sunset used stinky eye. It's not very effective.

I hope you liked it!

Chapter 7. Sleepover Results

Very coincidentally and very suspiciously, Twilight just happened to have a violin lying around in her house’s storage room. Her dad helped fish the case from the mountain of random things in the tiny room, then cleaned the dust that had grayed out the black case.

“Two years ago, when Twilight started playing the piano, she convinced Shining to learn the violin,” Twilight’s dad said as he carried the case to Twilight’s room. “Unfortunately, he was very busy with the police academy and didn’t even start. We’ve had this violin gathering dust ever since.”

“So you suggesting I learn the violin was simply because you already had a violin?” Sunset said, crossing her arms.

“In my defense,” Twilight said as she opened her room’s door, “I do think the violin is actually a good choice to help you with your dexterity and strength. Plus, it might lead to more, uhm…” She eyed her dad. “Research samples.”

Sunset deadpanned. “Right.” Though playing an instrument didn’t increase the chances of triggering a Harmonic Resonance, Sunset decided to still give it a try, if only to get her pesky fingers under control. Besides, she did need something to do whenever Celestia and Luna started bickering with each other.

“Alright,” Twilight’s dad said, placing the violin upon Twilight’s bed. “I’ll leave you girls alone. You can go to sleep any time, but try not to make too much noise after eleven.”

As soon as he left, Twilight opened the case and picked up the bright brown instrument. She hefted it onto her shoulder, pressed her chin on the pad, and placed her fingers in a very weird shape upon the strings.

“I don’t know much about it, but I learned the chords to help my brother before he had to quit,” Twilight explained. She then picked the strange stick from the case and placed it on the strings. She then drew the stick across the strings, producing a very unpleasant screech. Twilight blushed. “Whoa, it detuned horribly after two years.”

“I’m glad that’s not how it’s supposed to sound,” Sunset said, still cringing from the sound.

Twilight reached into the case once more and brought up a strange box. She pressed a button, which made the little screen on the box show some lines. Twilight connected a cable to the box, then placed the other end of the cable, which was a sort of clip, and attached it to the far end of the violin.

“This is a tuner,” Twilight said. “If I plug the strings, it’ll tell us whether they’re tuned or not, and how to tune it.” To demonstrate, she plucked one of the strings, producing a single note. The tuner’s screen quickly changed into something, but before Sunset could read, Twilight manipulated some valve-looking objects at the end of the instrument, then plucked the string again.

The process continued, with Twilight explaining the different parts of the violin as she manipulated them. Finally, she removed the tuner and put it back into the case.

“Do you know anything about music, Sunset?”

Sunset shook her head. “Not any more than the basics.”

“Alright. Then, since you’re doing this to master your fingers, let’s start with a simple chord.” She handed the instrument to Sunset and explained how to place it on her shoulder. The final position was incredibly uncomfortable, and it got worse when she had to hold the violin with her left hand and put her fingers in the most unnatural positions she could imagine, even more so when Twilight told her to keep them there and not move them at all.

“How can you even play like this?” Sunset asked.

Twilight shrugged. “I guess people get used to it. Now, grab the bow like this and carefully draw it through the strings.”

Sunset did so, and the screech she produced made her ears ring painfully.

“Softer, more gently. Also, stretch your arm from the elbow, not the shoulder. No, like this, see? And turn your hand like this to move the bow in a straight line. Yes, like that.”

Little by little, Sunset started getting the hang of it. It took her twenty minutes to stop making the horrible screeching, but her hand on the bow was wobbly, and her fingers on the strings were starting to hurt. Ten more minutes later, she had to put the instrument away. Her fingers and her hands were sore and shaky that she just couldn’t keep playing.

“I’ll lend it to you so you can practice at home,” Twilight said as she put the violin back into the case. “But if you need to, I can recommend a good music school. That’s where I learned the piano.”

“We’ll see,” Sunset replied. “For now, let’s get back to studying.”

~~~~~~~~

Sunset stared at the screen. She had seen these computers before, and Twilight had given her a very basic explanation of what they were and what they could do, but it had been so basic that Sunset had barely understood. Now, however, after learning about binary code and electronic circuitry and basic computer science, she was marveled at this specific piece of technology.

The basics were almost identical to how magic worked, except that they used electricity and electric pulses instead of magical pulses from the Harmonic Veil. However, one thing stood out to Sunset, and it was the fact that computers could connect and interact with other computers in a very complex web whose reach and possibilities simply baffled her. Could she do something similar with magic? Could she connect several spells or enchantments together to form a magical computer?

The idea alone excited her.

“So, even though it tries to gather all the knowledge of humankind, it’s an open-collaboration by world-wide volunteers,” Twilight said. “A lot of people, myself included, do our best to keep the facts straight and the information accurate, but sometimes there are ill-spirited individuals that will modify an article and add jokes or inaccuracies just to mess with others. So always remember to cross-reference the information with peer-reviewed papers and books.”

Sunset nodded. She didn’t like the idea of reading potentially adulterated information, but she had to appreciate the effort, especially when the articles did include references to actual papers and books. And she could always go to the library and make sure everything was accurate. And, of course, the fact that she could see this online encyclopedia from any device with internet connection was a plus.

She’d only need to get her hooves on one of these devices. Somehow.

A knock to the door distracted them. “Come in!” Twilight said, and Shining entered the room with a large cardboard box on one hand. “Oh, pizza’s here!” Shining snickered at how quickly Twilight ran and stole the box from him, then left without a word.

“You’re awfully excited,” Sunset noted. She knew pizza was also a thing in Equestria, but Canterlot ponies tended to turn their noses away from such foods, so there weren’t many restaurants that served them. It was also said to be a greasy and fatty kind of food, so Sunset, who always took care of her own health, had never even wanted to try it.

“Well, my parents almost never let me have pizza,” Twilight said as she opened the box, revealing the disc-like dish. “I think they were ok with it today simply because this is my first sleepover.” Without waiting another second, she grabbed one of the slices and gave it a large bite. She hummed happily.

Sunset rolled her eyes and leaned in to look at the pizza. She picked a slice, which was quite hot, watching the cheese stretch and some of the sauce drip down. She gave it a sniff and noticed that her mouth started watering. There probably was some kind of spice in there. With a shrug, she gave it a tentative bite.

To her surprise, it was actually pretty good. With her other hand, she picked one of the red round slices. It looked like nothing she’d ever seen before. “What’s this?”

“Pepperoni,” Twilight said, already picking a second slice. “You know, sausages of cured pork seasoned… with…” Her eyes widened as she turned a horrified glance at Sunset. “Oh, no, I’m so sorry!”

Sunset blinked. “Sorry for what?”

Twilight blushed and bit her lower lip. “I mean… You…” She briefly turned her face towards her door, as if making sure no one was there to listen, then continued in a much softer voice. “You’re a pony, aren’t you?”

“Unicorn, but yes,” Sunset said, raising an eyebrow at the girl’s odd behavior.

“Well… I mean… You’re not supposed to eat, uhm… meat… do you?”

“Oh,” Sunset said. “Oh, I see.” She eyed the red slice of meat in her fingers. Then put it in her mouth, enjoying both the flavor and Twilight’s dumbfounded expression. “Yes, ponies don’t usually eat meat. Seafood, sometimes, but never something like you humans do. However, Celestia doesn’t know I’m a unicorn, so during my first week here, she prepared eggs and bacon for breakfast. I’ll admit I had to… run to the bathroom… as soon as I realized what I had just eaten. But the anatomy encyclopedias do mention that you humans are omnivorous, and more surprisingly still, that most flowers are poisonous to you.”

Twilight cocked her head. “Flowers?”

“Oh yes, we ponies eat flowers. Not all of them, but most. Daisy sandwiches are very good, but I can’t have them in this body. So after a few days of consideration, I decided to adhere to your species’ dietary needs. As long as I don’t think too much about it, I’ll be fine.”

“Ok…” Twilight said. “I’m glad I didn’t make you uncomfortable. I should’ve asked you before letting my brother order for us.”

“It’s all good,” Sunset replied. “Now, let’s finish this so we can return to our studies.”

~~~~~~~~

“Did you have fun?” Luna asked as soon as Sunset entered the car. The three-day sleepover had come to an end, and it was time to return to the sisters’ apartment.

“It was very productive,” Sunset replied as she fastened her seatbelt. “I learned quite a lot about this world.”

Luna started the engine. “And you decided to pick up a hobby, too,” she said, eyeing the violin case on the back seats. “We’ll have to set up times for you to practice so that we don’t bother the neighbors.”

“Sure.” It wasn’t like Sunset was particularly interested in the instrument, so even if she only had an hour a day to practice, that’d be good enough to master the use of her fingers and hands. In fact, another thing was taking most of her mind, so she decided to speak. “Say, how can I get a computer?”

Raising an eyebrow, Luna briefly glanced at her before looking back at the road. “Well, computers are fairly expensive.”

Sunset hummed. She supposed that a machine that powerful and versatile couldn’t be cheap. But, well, she was sure she could use Twilight’s computer, seeing as to how she visited her house practically every weekend.

“By the way, Sunset,” Luna said. “Are you aware that Twilight’s birthday is coming up?”

“I am now,” Sunset replied.

“Her mother asked me to invite you,” Luna continued with a smile. “It’s going to be in two weeks.”

Sunset shrugged. “Sure. I mean, I already go to her house every week.”

“And…” Luna said slowly, and Sunset braced herself for what she knew was coming. “Any ideas of what you’ll get her as a present?”

“I don’t know,” Sunset answered honestly. “I don’t have any money to get her anything in the first place.”

“Well, I’m sure I can help you with that, as long as it’s reasonably priced… But, well, you have two weeks to think it over.”

“Uh-huh.”

They didn’t say anything else the rest of the way.

During the next week, Sunset fell into a nice routine. Since students had to go to school and adults had to work, the apartment complex was mostly empty during the first hours of the day, which meant that Sunset had that much time to dedicate to her violin practice. She had initially seen it as just muscle workout, but as soon as she moved on to playing scales, she realized that she found the sounds of the instrument to be quite agreeable. Plus, having her mind rest from all her studying for a few hours actually improved her concentration.

After her violin practice, Sunset would get lunch, which Celestia prepared before going to work, and if needed, Sunset just had to throw it into the microwave. And of course, she had found the machine to be quite interesting. It seemed that a lot of humanity’s technology relied on electrical energy while ponykind was still stuck on steam and firewood.

Once lunch had been properly consumed, Sunset would read the many books she’d both taken from the library and from Twilight. Human scientific and technological developments were so thorough that it was impossible to completely learn one subject without at least knowing the basics of ten more subjects. Everything was related somehow, and Sunset was simply fascinated.

On Thursday night, Sunset was surprised when Celestia, during dinner, presented Sunset with a small flat cardboard box.

“What’s this?” Sunset said, accepting the rather heavy box.

“Well, Luna told me you wanted a computer,” Celestia said. “This one is rather cheap, I admit, but it’ll work just fine.”

Sunset opened the box, and sure enough, there was a small, silver portable computer. She opened it, finding that the screen was rather small, at least compared to Twilight’s own computer. “Thanks,” she said slowly. She didn’t really know how to feel about Celestia giving her such an expensive item. What was the woman’s game? Sunset narrowed her eyes as she brushed her fingers through the keys.

“I hope it can help you with your research,” Celestia added with a smile. “How’s it been progressing, by the way?”

“Good,” Sunset replied.

“... Anything of note?”

Sunset sighed. She really didn’t want to tell Celestia anything, but she supposed she needed to keep the woman willing to keep providing her with a place to stay, food, and, apparently, random but useful gifts. “We’ve been doing some discoverings on the nature of magic. Your world’s technology has offered some interesting insights.”

That seemed to satisfy Celestia, as the woman nodded. “I’m glad to hear that. If you need anything else, you can always knock on my door.”

Sunset fought the urge to roll her eyes. Those were the same words Princess Celestia had said when Sunset became her student. Such a big lie to tell a filly that used to worship her.

“Sure.”

Author's Note

A sort of transition chapter, though a few important things were established.

I did consider having Sunset learn the guitar, but the violin is a much more common partner to the piano, and I really wanted Twilight to play the piano.

Also, I didn't want Sunset to be a vegetarian as a human because how could I prevent her from enjoying things like pepperoni or bacon? Though you won't find her eating a raw, bloody piece of meat like I've seen some people get (shudder)

Hope you liked it! Leave a comment if so!

Chapter 8. BFFs

Sunset had always refused invitations to private gatherings. Ever since she had become Princess Celestia’s personal student, Sunset had turned into the center of attention of everypony who was anypony in Canterlot. Nobles and ponies rich enough to act like such had done their darndest to get their foals to befriend Sunset so that they could, by proxy, get closer to the princess. Sunset had never been stupid enough to be fooled, so she had always refused any invitation, even to hang out.

She had never thought to actually accept one such invitation, but there she was, being ushered inside the house by Twilight Velvet along with Celestia and Luna and led into the living room, where streamers and balloons decorated every corner and a huge banner that read ‘Happy Birthday’ hung right above the stack of presents, to which Sunset added her own.

“Twilight! Sunset’s here!” Shining called from the bottom of the stairs, then immediately stepped aside as the girl hurried down.

“Hi, Sunset!” Twilight said, waving her hands excitedly. “I’m glad you could make it! We’re going to have so much fun! I got a few board games to play. Are you familiar with Whodunit? It’s a game where we have to put together clues to solve a mystery crime! I’ll go get it!” And like that, she ran back up the stairs.

Twilight’s father, Night Light, chuckled. “And that’s why we control the amount of sugar she consumes.”

Celestia and Luna giggled, but Sunset simply nodded. She didn’t care for playing games. This whole party was just wasting her research time. She had actually expected to get over with the party part quickly so she could have Twilight help with brainstorming ideas for magic detection machines, but from what she had just seen, it was quite apparent that Twilight was thinking of anything but research.

Sunset sat down on one of the sofas farthest from where Cadence was sitting. She supposed there wasn’t much harm in wasting one day. She had already made quite a lot of progress learning human knowledge, and she had already started playing scales on the violin thanks to convenient instructional videos on the internet. A single day of distractions wouldn’t hurt, she reasoned.

“I’ve got it!” Twilight announced as she returned, holding a large box in her hands. “Can’t believe it was hidden deep in my closet, beneath my fifth grade final project! Anyway, since we’re eight players I can write up a more complex mystery to solve so that it’s actually challenging and then you can take turns coming up with different mysteries for Sunset and me to solve and then—”

“Twilight, honey,” said Night Light, placing a hand on Twilight’s shoulder. “Don’t you want to open your presents first?”

Twilight turned to her dad. “But you said we could play anything I wanted as soon as Sunset arrived!”

Huh, didn’t think she could be that childish and obnoxious, Sunset thought. Everyone suddenly turned to look at her, making her flinch. “W-What? Did I say that out loud?”

Twilight Velvet smiled. “I think the final decision rests with you, Sunset. Should we all play a round of Whodunit before moving on with the rest of the party?”

“Uh… sure?” Sunset replied. Why they were asking her was a complete mystery, but her answer made Twilight squee and everyone let out relieved sighs, so she supposed everything was fine.

Twilight opened the box in the middle of the living room and unfolded a large sheet of cardboard, which looked like a top-view of a mansion. She then grabbed some blank cards and quickly scribbled on them. As she worked, Sunset realized that Celestia and Luna were engaged in conversation with Twilight’s parents, while Shining decided to help Twilight.

That only left…

“I’m glad you came,” Cadence said as she sat next to Sunset, holding a plastic cup with what looked like orange juice. “Twilight’s been jumping off the walls the whole week.”

“Uh huh,” Sunset hummed. She knew, on a logical level, that this Cadence wasn’t the same that had beaten her at becoming an alicorn, but the similarities were so evident that Sunset just couldn’t stop feeling angry around the woman.

“You’re her first real friend,” Cadence continued. “She’s been a lot more cheerful since she met you, and I know this is the push she needs to go out and make a lot more friends.”

Sunset fought very hard the urge to roll her eyes.

“Because of that, it bothers me that you seem to dislike me so much,” Cadence said. Sunset blinked and turned to look at Cadence, who had a small frown. “I’m sorry if I did something to upset you.”

Sunset barely managed to keep herself from sneering. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she calmed down, she noticed that Twilight and Shining were still writing stuff on their cards.

“It’s not you,” Sunset said through her teeth. “You just remind me of someone else.”

“I see,” Cadence said with a relieved sigh. “Then I hope I can show you I’m not like this other person. I’d really like for us to get along.”

Sunset didn’t reply, and thankfully, Cadence didn’t press her. Honestly, Sunset really didn’t want anything to do with this Cadence. She just reminded her too much of the pink alicorn, and that, in turn, reminded her of her failings. And being reminded of her failings only made Sunset more anxious to return to her research.

That’s when Twilight and her brother finished whatever they were doing and called for everyone to begin the game.

A game that was, to Sunset’s surprise, quite enjoyable. Twilight gave all of them a few cards that described who their characters were, and one of them was the murderer, and then she proceeded to narrate the scene and everything around them. They could ask questions, and she would reply with as much or as little information to keep them guessing the clues. Twilight was so thorough that Sunset actually found herself invested, and ended up being the one discovering that the murderer had been Luna because her character had claimed to be left-handed, yet there were ink stains on her right wrist due to a faulty fountain pen.

All in all, Sunset couldn’t deny the fact she had a fun time.

Twilight wanted a second round of the game, but her parents convinced her that they could do that after the celebration. She pursed her lips, but ultimately relented. The celebration was very similar to any birthday in Equestria, with them (sans Sunset) singing the Happy Birthday song, and then Twilight blowing out the candles. Afterwards, they moved back to the living room, where Night Light placed the presents upon the coffee table. Twilight sat on the floor in front of them.

“Ooh,” Twilight said as she picked the first present and started to slowly unwrap it. “Judging by the weight and the size of the packaging, I’m going to guess that this is a three hundred plus page book, which means that it’s either the newest Daring Do installment, or the revised version of the first book that corrects the continuity error in which Daring Do is wearing the bracelet of Mictlantecutli on her left wrist instead of the right one.”

Sunset blinked at the sudden barrage of words. She had thought that Twilight’s sugar rush had dwindled.

Cadence leaned over. “Twilight’s favorite part of opening presents is trying to guess what they are,” she told Sunset in a low enough voice that Twilight didn’t hear. Sunset nodded in acknowledgement.

Twilight squeed as soon as she freed the book from its wrapping. “It’s the newest book! Thank you so much!” She stood up and gave her mom a hug before carefully placing the book on the coffee table. Then proceeded to fold the wrap paper into a neat square. Once done, she placed the paper next to the book and grabbed another present.

“Mhm.” Twilight gave the flat box a few shakes. She moved it around, tilting it this and that way, then started unwrapping it. “You’re not fooling me this time either, Shining. This is without a doubt a new scarf.” And just as she predicted, when she opened the box, there was a light blue scarf with yellow stripes and, for some reason, a few rocks glued to the box.

Shining shrugged unapologetically. “One of these days I will, Twily.”

After repeating the process of carefully placing the scarf on the coffee table and neatly folding the wrapping, Twilight placed the empty box to her right and continued on with the third present.

“This is most definitely a DVD case,” Twilight said. “But that’s all I got.” When she unwrapped it, she let out a loud gasp. “T-This is the director’s cut version of the documentary on the development of human technology from the stone age to the information age!”

Celestia gave out a nervous chuckle. “I hope it is of your liking? Your mom told me you were looking for this specific version.”

“I was!” Twilight replied with a massive grin on her face. “It goes more in depth in the mechanics of the electron field. Thank you very much, Miss Celestia.”

Celestia nodded as Twilight went through the same steps of her previous gifts before moving on to the next one. She gave it one single shake. “This is a jigsaw puzzle game!” When she unwrapped it, she found indeed a five-thousand piece puzzle that would become a very stylized picture of the solar system. “This is really amazing! Thank you, Miss Luna!”

Luna blushed a little. “I’m glad you like it.”

Twilight picked the next gift, and immediately smirked at Cadence. “Tricky as always.”

Cadence puffed out her chest in a prideful gesture. “I’m confident you won’t guess this time.”

With a lot more care than the other gifts, Twilight turned this small box around in her fingers a few times before giving it gentle shakes. She hummed several times, hefting the box in her hands in an attempt to weigh it. Finally, she began unwrapping it. “It’s not very heavy, but it’s not light either. I could hear several metallic things clink when I shook it, so it’s something for me to build. You know me just as much as my brother, so you have a pretty decent idea of what I already have and what my tastes are.”

Cadence didn’t even flinch.

“I’m going to guess that this is a Science Maker kit for young scientists.” And, once again, she was spot on. As soon as she removed the wrapping, she revealed the box stating her exact words. Apparently, it had materials and instructions to build a strobe light animator… whatever that meant. “Thanks a lot, Cadence!”

“I’ll get you next time,” Cadence replied with a smile.

Now there was only one gift left on the table. Sunset wondered how fast Twilight would guess her present. Even if Sunset had known about Twilight’s habit of guessing the contents, she had bought the first thing she’d seen at the store Celestia had taken her. And now that she thought about it, her present was the odd one out of all of them. Would that make Twilight angry? It would certainly slow down Sunset’s research speed if Twilight decided to stop helping her.

“Jewelry,” Twilight guessed as soon as she gave the box a shake. “A long chain, so a necklace, most likely.” Sunset shrugged, having given Twilight absolutely no challenge. When Twilight opened the box, however, she let out a tiny gasp before her cheeks reddened and her smile widened. “Oh, this is amazing!”

“What is it?” Cadence asked.

Twilight took the double chained necklace out of the box. “It’s a friendship necklace!”

Sunset blinked. A what now?

Before she could react, Twilight broke the trinket at the end of the double chain, a piece of metallic plastic in the shape of a heart. To Sunset’s surprise, however, the double chain also divided, and soon Twilight was holding two necklaces, each ending in one half of the heart. Twilight hopped towards Sunset and held one of the necklaces in front of her.

“Put it on me!” She said, practically shoving the thing into Sunset’s hands.

Not wanting to admit she had no idea what was going on, Sunset followed Twilight’s instructions and put the chain around Twilight’s neck. When she was done, Twilight immediately grabbed the other chain and put it around Sunset’s.

“Thank you so much, Sunset! I’ll cherish this forever!” And with that, she gave Sunset a rather constricting hug.

“Ack! Breathe! Can’t!”

Twilight stepped back immediately. “Sorry,” she said, having the decency to blush.

Night Light chuckled. “Well, now, Sunset. I guess you just got done and outgifted me!”

That made Twilight snap her head towards him. “Oh, right!” She looked around for a moment.

“It should get here any minute,” Night Light said with a smirk. “Can you guess what it is before it arrives?”

“Oh, now this is a challenge!” Twilight said happily. She paced in circles, humming and glancing at her dad every now and then. “One could immediately think it’s something you ordered from the internet, but it would be wrong. It’s impossible to predict what time the delivery people will arrive, so you knowing it’s almost here is a dead giveaway.”

Night Light’s smile didn’t falter.

“So it’s something you bought from a physical store and asked to be delivered at a certain time.” She narrowed her eyes. “That’s why you wanted to move on to the present opening right away. You thought it’d be here way earlier.”

“Guilty as charged,” Night Light said with a shrug.

Twilight tapped her finger against her chin. “I don’t think it’s anything edible. You would’ve stored it in the fridge. Plus, there’s nothing in particular I’d like to try so much it would make an amazing birthday present. That’s more of a Shining thing.”

“Corndog pizza was an amazing combination and you know it, Twily,” Shining said.

Ignoring her brother, Twilight kept pacing. “The question is, why would you have my present delivered during the party and not a day or two earlier? You could have picked it up after work and hidden it quite easily, so why do it like this? The answer is that it’s something that you can’t hide in your room for days, or even for a couple minutes. It’s something that, as soon as it’s in the house, I’ll be aware of it, which would ruin the surprise if it came early.”

At that, Night Light’s smile started trembling. Twilight stopped pacing and looked at her dad with narrowed eyes. When he didn’t give her any more information, Twilight turned her gaze towards her mom, and she immediately gasped.

“Mom’s doesn’t like what you’re giving me!” Twilight announced.

“Honey!” Night Light said.

Twilight Velvet shrugged. “I didn’t do anything. She can be very perceptive when she wants to.”

“And now you just confirmed it!” Twilight said, pointing a finger at her mom. “And there’s very few things mom’s never wanted to give me as presents… So if I relate all of the clues…” She froze, then gasped. “No way…”

“Did you figure it out?” Cadence asked happily.

Twilight glanced at Cadence for just a second before she looked back at her dad. “You didn’t… You didn’t!”

“Didn’t what, Twily?” Night Light asked, his smile widening.

Before Twilight could reply, there was a knock at the door. Night Light stood up and walked towards the front door, with Twilight following him with her eyes. Sunset noticed that the girl started trembling. There was a brief muffled conversation on the other side of the wall before the door closed. A moment later, Night Light appeared around the corner holding an animal carrier.

“You did!” Twilight yelled, but still didn’t move as her dad walked up to the middle of the living room and gently placed the carrier on the coffee table.

“I certainly did,” he replied, opening the carrier and sticking both hands inside. A moment later he turned around and showed Twilight a fist-sized purple dog with green ears. “Twilight, meet Spike.”

Silently, Twilight took the little pup from her dad with both hands. It gave out a series of whines, wiggling its tail so fast it was blurry. Twilight beamed at her dad. “This is amazing! Thank you so much dad!” She turned to look at Sunset. “Come on, let’s show Spike the house!”

Once again, Sunset found herself dragged around before she could protest, listening to Twilight explaining, in excruciating detail, every single room and corner of her house to a pup that simply whined and barked and licked her fingers. Through the barrage of words, Sunset learned that Twilight had always wanted a dog, but her mom had always refused because she didn’t want to be the one cleaning after it. It appeared that she’d finally decided to trust Twilight would do it.

“And this is my room!” Twilight explained as she carried Spike inside. “You’ll be sleeping here with me! Oh, we need to get you a bed of your own!” The words barely left her mouth before she dashed away and down the stairs, leaving Sunset alone.

Sunset sighed and sat on the swivel chair, wondering if it was too late for her to ask to be taken back to Celestia’s apartment.

Author's Note

Spike the Dog has arrived!

Friendship necklaces are a thing, right? I honestly have no idea, so I just went with my gut feeling.

I hope you liked it! If so, please leave a comment!

Chapter 10. Confirmation of Progress

It was already July. That’s what humans had named their equivalent to the Equestrian seventh moon. Only two more months and Sunset would officially have spent a whole year in this world. It had been a long and arduous journey with many bumps along the way, but she felt like she was ready to reach her first milestone: Use human technology for magic purposes.

She still felt quite stupid for having overlooked quartzes. Sure, as Princess Celestia’s protegé, she was used to having unrestricted access to the royal gemstone depository and using only the most perfectly cut gems to work with. She even had the authority to request custom orders to the royal courier. She was so used to the best materials that she had never once thought about the inferior ones.

And that had set her research back almost a year. But there was nothing she could do except learn from her mistakes and move on.

After a bit of investigating, Sunset had more or less figured out how the Trixie girl’s smoke bombs worked. “Crystals and gemstones permit the flow of magical energy to pulsate along with the Harmonic Veil,” she had explained to Twilight. “Their resistance threshold is extremely low, which is what makes them so good for enchantments. However, they can also be used to store mana. This is usually done with uncut gemstones. They’re not particularly better at it than cut ones, but they’re cheaper and get the job done just as well.

“I believe that that magician girl infuses quartz chunks with her mana —or someone else’s mana— and surrounds them with black powder. The quartz chunks are filled to the brim, which makes them brittle, so when she smashes them, the energy gets out in a violent burst of energy, which sends the powder everywhere and creates the sudden cloud of smoke.”

Of course, whether her hypothesis was correct or not was irrelevant. What mattered was the fact that humans could use magic in some shape. The simplistic method told Sunset that they either didn’t know what exactly they were doing, or they did but the smoke bomb was the limit of their skill.

Regardless, it was of no importance. Sunset had always known there was magic in the human world. Her job was to prove it with scientific methods and create ways to help humans harness it. And to that effect, she had spent the past three weeks working with Twilight to build a detector machine. Twilight had dubbed it Harmonic Reader, claiming her right to name anything relating to human magic, previously granted to her by Sunset herself.

Sunset had only rolled her eyes. She didn’t particularly care, but even if she did, she supposed she could give that to Twilight. After all, the girl was the one getting her parents to provide the necessary funds to build the Reader. Which, in all fairness, wasn’t much. Sunset and Twilight had disassembled various other machines to get what they needed.

Sunset looked up, breathing in. The night was warm, the sky was cloudless, and there was a gentle breeze that ruffled only the ends of her hair. The three full moons of this month happened in the middle of the week, but since it was still summer vacation, it meant that they could go study the portal without issues. As always, both Celestia and Shining Armor were with them, setting a small camp post in the front yard of Canterlot High School.

“So, what’s all this?” Shining asked, pointing at the various wires and machines connected to each other and to Sunset’s laptop, all sitting on a table next to the portal.

“Twilight decided to call it Harmonic Reader,” Sunset said with a wave of her hand. “Even though we don’t know whether it works or not, yet.”

“And we named airplanes before we made them work,” Twilight retorted, pulling a pair of chairs next to the table. She turned to Shining. “After much theoretical consideration, we’ve built a machine we hope will detect the enchantments the portal has. It will send the signals through here and into the pulsator. Sunset says it will amplify the signals just enough for the detector to catch them. Then they’ll be converted into electrical signals and go into the laptop, where they’ll be interpreted in a visual manner.”

Shining nodded through Twilight’s explanation. “I’m surprised you made this out of human tech. Didn’t think our stuff was enough to interact with magic.”

“It’s not,” Sunset replied. “I replaced many parts in your machines with much of my quartz. The range of failure is still rather high, but it’s the best I could do, given the resources I have. But even if we don’t get the interpreter to work, it’ll still remember the pulsations, which is already going to be a success in itself.”

“Uh huh,” Shining said, leaning over the machines. “Well, good luck, girls.”

“Thanks, Shining,” Twilight said.

As Shining retreated to help Celestia with dinner preparations, Sunset started the last step of their own preparations. Using transparent tape, she stuck the detectors on the portal’s surface. They were six wires attached to flat rectangular quartz pieces, which Sunset had made sure were of as similar in size as she could, and all of them were connected to the pulsator. Technically, only one would suffice, but she hoped that having six of them, spread in equidistant locations along the surface, would increase the chances of them detecting the pulsations.

“So,” Twilight said right as Sunset finished getting the detectors into position. “I’ve been meaning to ask, but it kinda kept slipping my mind, so I’m sorry it’s taken me so long…”

Sunset turned to look at her. “What?”

Twilight blushed. “Uhm… when is your birthday?”

Sunset blinked. “My birthday?”

“Well, I realized that in two months you’ll have spent a whole year in this world, so I wanted to know, you know… You gave me this and…” She fiddled with the necklace Sunset had given her. She never took it off. Even when they had been at the beach, she’d been wearing it. Sunset didn’t take hers off either, but it was because the chain wasn’t large enough for her to simply take it over her head, and no matter how much she tried, she couldn’t will her fingers to operate the ridiculously small hook.

“If you must know,” Sunset replied, “I was born in the new year.”

Twilight gasped. “You should’ve told me! We could have had a joint birthday party!”

Sunset cocked her head, narrowing her eyes as she processed what Twilight said. “Oh, my bad. I was born in the Equestrian new year, not the human one. Seriously, why do you guys celebrate it barely a week after winter starts?”

“Uhm… So you weren’t born in January?” Twilight asked. “Then…”

“In Equestria, we have something called the Summer Sun Celebration. We celebrate the defeat of Nightmare Moon. Princess Celestia makes it a solstice as part of the celebration. I was born during the solstice.”

Twilight frowned, then looked up, then frowned again. “Wait, does that mean your birthday is at the beginning of summer?”

“Yes.”

“But that was a month ago! Why didn’t you say anything? We could have thrown you an early birthday party at the beach!”

Sunset shrugged. “I don’t really care.”

“But…”

“Twilight, don’t make a big deal out of this,” Sunset said. “You always celebrate your birthday, that’s good for you. I don’t. Simple as that.”

Before Twilight could talk again, Sunset stepped away from the portal and sat in front of her laptop. The clock barely marked a few minutes past ten, but the moon was already reaching full luminosity. Sunset hated that neither the moon nor the sun followed more consistent patterns in the human world. All their technological advancements and they still couldn’t properly control them.

“Alright, the moon will reach full luminosity any moment,” Sunset announced, which prompted everyone to get closer and stare over her shoulder at the laptop.

Twilight had gotten her hands on something called an educational software that interpreted morse code, which was a pseudo-language that dealt with pulsations. The software had some functions that let the user come up with their own codes, which Sunset took advantage of to input all the magic arrays she could remember so that when it detected the portal’s pulsations, it would interpret them and show them in a visual manner.

The only problem was that the software was very limited in the input speed it allowed. After all, it was made for speeds humans could achieve when pressing a button to make the morse codes. However, magic arrays pulsated at least ten times faster than what the software could handle. Fortunately, after Sunset explained that the arrays repeated themselves ad infinitum, Twilight had come up with a solution. She had managed to get into the software’s programming and made a series of changes that forced the software to remember whatever pulsations it detected, then it would wait for the arrays to repeat and try to catch the pulsations it couldn’t during the first loop. The program would do this ten times before trying to interpret them to increase the success rate.

This meant the program would be slow, but then again, they had more than enough time.

There was no sudden hum, no ominous breeze, no strange flash of light. The only indication that the detectors were picking something up was that the software produced a single message saying ‘translating’. Sunset swallowed dryly as she waited for the results of her work. She had spent a whole week racking her brain to remember as many arrays as she could. The loss of her horn meant she couldn’t access that information as easily and instead had to recall the information normally, which resulted in a very sad amount of arrays saved in the software.

The first word in the list appeared, and Sunset found her heart skipping a beat. Battery. She had named it as such, and seeing the word pop up was the confirmation that her work had bore fruit. The quartz detectors were picking up the pulsations, and the modified machines were working as intended. After almost a year of work, she was finally seeing some tangible progress in her research.

“Sunset, are you ok?” Twilight said.

Sunset breathed in, noticing the shakiness of her movements and some moisture in the corners of her eyes. She quickly dried the tears off with the sleeves of her sweater and shook her head.

“I’m fine.” She clicked her tongue, angry for allowing herself to show such weakness in front of others.

The next few arrays the software translated into simple words told Sunset all the specifications about the battery. Just as she suspected, the portal used moonlight magic to power its many enchantments. It made sense, since moonlight was the most reliable source of renewable energy. Solar magic could get the job done in a fraction of the time, sure, but it was also unstable enough that it could easily overload the battery arrays and render the enchantments useless. Moonlight magic was always consistent, so there was no risk of that.

After the battery’s arrays finished showing, the next word that appeared was ‘Unknown’.

“What does that mean?” Shining asked, pointing at the word.

“There are thousands of spells made up of thousands of arrays,” Sunset explained. “I can’t be expected to remember them all off the top of my head.” Even if she still had her horn, she doubted she’d be able to remember the more obscure ones she’d only read in passing.

The following arrays were a mixture between known and unknown ones.

“‘Spatial Axis Referential’?” Twilight asked. “What does that mean?”

“Enchantments need an enclosing cage that determines the area the arrays will affect. Without it, the spells either fail or go out of control,” Sunset explained. “This part is the array that determines the dimensions of the cage.”

She wasn’t surprised by these either. All enchantments required enclosing cages. No self-respecting mage would attempt otherwise. Whoever made the portal understood this much. There were a few unknowns mixed in between, but the overall idea was much as Sunset expected of the foundation of any enchantment.

However, just as the arrays for the enclosing cage finished, the program detected a very long list of unknowns. Sunset blinked. She had included whatever she could remember about teleportation spells, but none of those were being detected. Had she made a mistake? That was unlikely, since she had mastered teleportation a while ago and could remember all the necessary arrays. If the portal had no teleportation spells, then how did it work?

As Sunset thought about this, various arrays were recognized again.

“Identity Perception. Mana Signature Referential. Identity Referential…” Twilight read. “What do all these mean?”

Sunset studied the arrays and the order they appeared in. “These make up the awareness spell of the portal. It seems I was correct when I said this was the reason only those who know about the portal can interact with it.”

She was proven correct when a bunch of arrays related to the awareness spell started showing signs of a barrier that would appear only when the portal was open. Which was interesting to say the least. If the objective of the enchantments was to make a portal between worlds, why reject entry to those unaware?

Not only that, as soon as the awareness spell’s arrays were all detected, more similar arrays started showing up. They were mostly about mana and identity, but some strange ones, like time referentials and other unknown ones made the mix. Sunset was dumbfounded by these. What kind of spell was that last one?

Finally, the program started looping back the arrays, which meant that there were no more enchantments to detect. Sunset leaned back on her chair and pursed her lips. She couldn’t call this a huge success, but it wasn’t a failure either. She had proven a few theories, while others had to be discarded. The overall result was a good one, she had to admit. Just getting human technology to interact with magic was enough to lift her spirits. She was slowly but steadily closing the gap between her and her destiny.

The next step of her research would be to analyze all the unknown arrays and see if she could figure out what they were. She wasn’t looking forward to that, if she had to be honest. The shortest arrays were made of more than one hundred pulsations. A look at the program’s registry told her that these arrays were everything but short. She let out a sigh. Analyzing all those unknown arrays would take anywhere from weeks to months, and even then, there would be no guarantee that she’d be able to know them all.

Her reason for being in this world wasn’t to understand how the portal worked, was it? No, it was to help humans harness their magical potential, and Sunset already had all the tools she needed.

There was a Harmonic Veil in this world, humans were as receptive to Harmonic Resonances as any Equestrian, at least some humans were capable of manipulating their mana to some extent, and their technology could be modified to interact with magical energies.

Using those as a base, Sunset was sure she could kickstart a huge magical revolution in this world. It would take much trial and error, but she was certain she could build a machine that would serve as replacement for horns.

She looked towards the tent she’d be sleeping in. Knowing that they were going to test the machines, she had brought a sort of back-up in case the detectors weren’t enough for the portal’s enchantments. Since they had worked, there was no need to use the back-up… But, then again, there would be no harm in trying. She had gotten all the information she needed from the portal.

Before she could chicken out, she stood up and went towards her tent and to her bag. She returned, aware that everyone was looking at her, with a large journal in her hands.

“What’s that?” Twilight asked as Sunset placed the journal on a free space on the table.

“A journal,” Sunset replied dryly as she sat back down on the chair. She made sure to save all the data she had collected from the portal, then a backup, before she stopped the program. “It’s the only thing I brought with me. It’s also enchanted, so I figured we could use the machine to detect its spells and make sure the interpreter works.”

Twilight cocked her head and narrowed her eyes. “You know all the spells of that journal?”

“Yes.”

“And you added all those spells in the interpreter.”

“I added the arrays, but yes.”

“So we could have used the journal to make sure the Harmonic Reader works perfectly.”

“That’s literally what I just said.”

Twilight’s left eyes twitched. “We could have tried the Reader on the journal before the portal! What if it hadn’t worked?! We would’ve come here for nothing!”

Sunset didn’t like being spoken to like that. She wanted to give Twilight a piece of her mind, but instead found herself sighing. “I know… I just didn’t want to use the journal.”

That made Twilight calm down. “Why not?”

“It’s connected to an identical one, owned by the princess. Whatever happens to one, happens to the other,” Sunset explained, feeling a strange pressure in her chest. “We… used it to talk to each other when she was in other cities.”

“So like, instant letters or something?” Shining asked.

“It sounds more like text messages,” Celestia offered.

Sunset fought the urge to roll her eyes. “Except that the text appears instantaneously in the other journal. You can’t correct any misspellings, for example.”

“It also glows and vibrates,” Celestia said with a chirpy tone that did make Sunset roll her eyes. “It does that on a weekly basis, but I don’t know what it means.”

“It means the princess is writing on it,” Sunset muttered, placing a hand on the cover. Every single week, Princess Celestia wrote in the journal, asking if Sunset was alright and requesting her to reply. At first, Sunset had been angry at the words, so full of superiority and condescension at the same time. Sunset had not replied to any of those. If the princess didn’t see Sunset as her student anymore, Sunset saw no reason to see her as a mentor, either.

But a few months back, the princess’ entries had started including more apologies. Half-baked explanations that somehow felt less condemning and more regretful. Her words had stopped being so overly formal and started sounding more familiar, more similar to how she had acted during the happy days of Sunset’s apprenticeship. Sunset hadn’t replied to those either, though she couldn’t exactly say why. She simply read them a few times, then closed the journal again.

Last weekend, to Sunset’s surprise, the last entry had been extremely brief.

Sunset, please tell me that you’re ok, that no harm has come to you. Please reply.

Sunset hadn’t been able to sleep. Perhaps that had been the reason she’d brought the journal in the first place.

“So,” Twilight said, snapping Sunset out of her thoughts. “Do you want me to connect the Harmonic Reader to the journal?”

“Yes,” Sunset said. She watched as Twilight removed the detectors from the portal and started placing them on the journal’s cover. For some reason, she almost stopped the girl from touching the journal, a knee-jerk reaction she barely managed to contain. Instead, she focused on the program, and once everything was ready, she started the process with a single click.

Just as she expected, the program detected each and every single array that made up all the spells of the journal. She could remember them all quite easily, as she had committed them all to memory as soon as Princess Celestia had given her the journal.

“There’s so many arrays,” Twilight said in wonder as she stared at the screen. “Even more than in the portal. Why is that?”

“Because, unlike what you might believe, the two journals are not copies of each other,” Sunset replied as memories surfaced in her mind when the princess explained this to her. “It’s only one journal that was divided in two. The two parts are connected so much that if you moved one, the other moved as well. They had to be enchanted with several other spells to avoid that from happening, so that only the content of the pages would be registered in both. She also added the spells to make them glow and vibrate whenever there is a change.”

“Fascinating,” Twilight replied, scribbling something on her notebook.

Sunset waited for a few minutes. Shining Armor had gotten bored and stepped away to keep preparing dinner. Celestia followed suit a few moments later. Still, Sunset waited a bit more. She knew what she wanted to do, but hesitated. Was it even a good idea? But that last message… It had almost distracted Sunset from her work. She couldn’t keep them distracting her, not until she made a glorious return home.

“Twilight,” she said, hearing her own voice low as a whisper. “I’ve got a favor to ask of you.”

Twilight lowered her notebook and smiled. “Sure, what can I do for you?”

Sunset reached out and grabbed the journal, taking the detectors off, and opened it to the last entry. She read it again, then flipped the page so that nothing could be read.

“I need you to write a message for me.”

Twilight blinked at the journal. “A message? Me? But isn’t your princess going to read it? She doesn’t know me! What if she gets mad or—”

“Twilight,” Sunset insisted. “Please.”

For a few, long seconds, Twilight looked between Sunset and the journal. “What do you want me to write?”

“You have to promise you won’t repeat these words to anyone,” Sunset said. “And you won’t ask me anything about it. If you do that… I’ll do one thing for you, whatever you want, no questions asked.”

Twilight bit her lower lip. “A favor for a favor, huh?” She let out a nervous chuckle. Then, after a whole minute, she finally nodded. “Alright… I’ll do it. I promise I won’t repeat this message to anyone and I won’t ask you anything about it.”

Taking a deep breath through her nose, Sunset nodded. She had Twilight memorize the message before letting her write in the journal. After which she closed it and put it back in her bag. It wouldn’t be until weeks later that she’d confirm that her plan worked exactly as she had expected, for Princess Celestia never wrote back again.

Still, every night, Sunset would remember the exact words of the message Twilight wrote to the princess during the moments it took her to go to sleep.

To Your Royal Highness, Princess Celestia of Equestria,

I am a native of this world, and I write these words to you on behalf of your former student Sunset Shimmer. She is well and comfortable, and she has found the nature of her destiny in this world. She has begun pursuing it in earnest, having made several discoveries already. In the moons yet to come, I foresee that she shall achieve greatness and lead groundbreaking developments.

She shall return to Equestria your equal or she shan’t return at all. This world is no more dangerous than yours, and she has surrounded herself in better company. The journal shall be archived and stored, so any and all future attempts at communication shall go unheeded. Please do not waste any further ink.

The portal is known to only a quartet of highly trusted individuals, myself included, so you can be rest assured that there shan’t be any disturbances coming from this world.

I finish this missive wishing you health and prosperity.

Best regards.

End of Volume I

Author's Note

And here we are! End of the first volume! All the cogs are in place and ready to start spinning.

Before volume 2, there are going to be a couple of special chapters. I'm particularly excited to start publishing those, so I hope you find them equally interesting.

If you liked it, please leave a comment! They give me life!

Interlude — Twilight Sparkle

The moon had long since hidden behind the skylines and the tent’s fabric was thick enough to envelop everything inside in darkness. And yet, Twilight could still see her hand as she held her necklace in front of her. It was a very simple, very cheap piece of brass in the shape of a half heart, held by a thin and brittle chain of aluminum.

It was her most precious possession.

Up until Twilight was in third grade, she had always enjoyed the random weeks in which she’d be the most popular kid in school. Everyone wanted to talk to her, and everyone gave her nice things in the name of friendship. Twilight always felt warm and fuzzy inside. Then she felt confused when the other kids stopped wanting to hang out with her. Sure, they claimed to be busy, and Twilight understood that, but it still felt weird.

And then someone had decided to inform her that she wasn’t popular. It was only because she was the smartest girl in school and everyone wanted her to tutor them during midterms and finals, and they gave her all those nice things to try to bribe her. And to add insult to injury, according to that someone, the only reason she wasn’t the butt of everyone’s jokes the rest of the school year was because her brother was a police officer and very protective of her.

Twilight had been heartbroken. She had asked her parents to let her skip grades, but they wanted her to go through all the grades like all the other kids, saying that she should make friends her age. But Twilight didn’t want to make friends with them. She had tried, convinced that they liked her for who she was, and she had been betrayed by them all.

So she had shut down to everyone. As soon as she started refusing to help them and stopped accepting their gifts, they all simply stopped talking to her altogether. It had hurt, but Twilight shoved those feelings aside and focused on her studies. Who needed friends anyway? She would get herself ready for college and get a good job and maybe become a world renowned scientist.

And then she met Sunset.

A chance encounter at the library that had changed Twilight’s perspective on everything. It had shattered everything she believed in and given her a much higher goal in life in the form of magical research. And it was all thanks to Sunset who, unlike the kids at school, had only requested Twilight’s help after Twilight had convinced her to let her join.

Sunset had proven to be determined and disciplined, learning most of the contents of Twilight’s syllabus in a few months and incorporating it into her research.

Sure, she could be a bit rude and mean and more than just a bit prideful, but she wasn’t above asking for help or accepting suggestions. She was down to Earth, which was kind of ironic, considering that she was a girl from another world. A fact that was still quite difficult for Twilight to believe. Yes, she could feel the pulsations of the portal, and she could now perceive the vibrations of the Harmonic Resonances, but the knowledge of another world was something that Twilight would have to experience in order to be one hundred percent convinced.

Movement distracted her from her thoughts. Twilight lowered her necklace to see Sunset stirring in her sleep and shivering slightly. She had learned that Sunset didn’t do well in the cold. Perhaps because she was used to having fur, which was yet another thing Twilight still needed to wrap her head around.

Sunset wasn’t originally a human.

Twilight grabbed the extra blanket she’d brought and placed it over Sunset, waiting until she stopped shivering. With that taken care of, Twilight crawled towards the tent’s door, letting in a breeze of fresh air as she unzipped it. To her surprise, there was light coming from the small table they had used for dinner. As she got out of her tent, she noticed that it was coming from a flashlight.

“Shining?”

Looking up from his book, Shining raised an eyebrow. “Twily? What are you doing still awake?”

Twilight made sure her movements wouldn’t wake Sunset as she closed the tent behind her and walked up to her brother. The air was fresh, which was a nice change from the heat of summer days. Even at four in the morning, Twilight didn’t feel like she needed more than a light jacket to protect herself from the weather, and only because they were camping in a public place where, despite the hour, some people could walk by and see her in her pajamas.

“I can’t sleep,” she said as she sat next to him and accepted the mug of hot cocoa he offered. “This isn’t yours, is it?”

“I can make another,” Shining replied with a smile and waited for her to take a sip. “So, what’s on your mind?”

Twilight sipped on the cocoa some more, dragging the time long enough that she knew Shining knew she was just delaying. He waited patiently, like he always did. She appreciated it, though it also made her feel guilty for what was coming next.

Before long, there was no more cocoa left in the mug. She entertained the idea of asking for more to keep delaying, but she knew Shining would press on, and she’d end up speaking up anyway. Though there was another way, now that she had time to think about it. She only had to keep him talking.

She placed the now empty mug on her lap. “Are you suffering from insomnia as well?”

“No,” he replied. “Miss Celestia and I take turns to keep watch. Safety’s sake and all that.”

Darn, Twilight thought. A concise response that gave her no time at all to think of more questions to ask.

“Twi-”

“I’m sorry, Shining,” Twilight said, accidentally interrupting him. “I promised Sunset not to tell anyone.”

“You don’t have to tell me,” Shining said almost immediately, as if he had already known what Twilight was about to say. “Not about whatever she told you or had you do, in any case. But you can talk about how you feel about it.”

Twilight frowned. How was it that he always knew what to say when he talked to her, but he had almost literally stuttered his way into asking Cadence out? She pursed her lips and felt her mouth dry, despite having just drunk half a mug of cocoa.

“It’s just… she asked me to write something,” Twilight started, trying not to give too much information. “I think it’s something she’s been meaning to write, but didn’t want to do it herself. And it wasn’t anything damning, or illegal, or anything anyone should worry about. But it still makes me worry, because even though it was a very formal… document… and even though it was me who wrote it, I think it hurt Sunset, somehow.”

“What makes you say that?”

Twilight shook her head. “I don’t think I can answer without telling you what it was, and I’d be breaking my promise to Sunset. It’s just… I don’t know…”

“Do you know why she asked you to do that?”

“No. She didn’t want to tell me the whys, and she requested I don’t ask. But from… the contents… I think I can gather something…” Sunset had initially told her that she was the personal student of Princess Celestia, but the letter she’d written stated the opposite. And the rest of the contents… “But that’s not the problem. I think… I think the problem is that it made me realize that I don’t really know Sunset at all…”

Shining took the mug from her and refilled it with cocoa before giving it back. “How come? I’d think you’d know her better than anyone else.”

Twilight wrapped her hands around the cocoa, relishing the sensation of her fingers warming up. “That may be so, but she’s still concealing many things about her…” Like the fact she intended to never return to her own world unless she… ascended into princesshood? How would that even be possible if she didn’t return to follow whatever procedures her world had for such a thing? Unless it was customary for their royalty hopefuls to go to other worlds. Though the letter hadn’t felt like a routine report document and—

“Twily,” Shining said, snapping her out of her thoughts. “We all hide things from people. We all need to have our little secrets.”

“Do you hide things from Cadence?”

“Of course I do,” Shining replied without an ounce of remorse. “I haven’t told her about this research or the other world, for example.”

“Oh.”

“So we all hide things,” Shining continued, “and for many different reasons. And being from another world, I can’t blame Sunset for wanting to keep things to herself. Instead of focusing on that, Twily, I think you should appreciate that she confided in you just enough to ask for this favor, and that she’s told you more than she’s told anyone else.”

“I… I guess you’re right.”

Shining smiled. “Just keep being her friend, Twily, and if she feels comfortable enough, she’ll eventually open up to you. And if she doesn’t, well, I think she’s entitled to her privacy.”

Twilight nodded, tightening her grip on the mug. “Alright…”

“I know you’d rather friendship was easy. That you could just ask and she’d just reply. But that’s not how it works. And the older you are, the more complicated it gets. The only thing I can advise you to do is to be patient and be there when she needs you.”

Twilight felt a smile forming in her face. She sipped some more cocoa. “I think I understand. Thank you, BBBFF.”

“You’re welcome, LSBFF,” he replied. “Now, how about you try to get some sleep? I’m guessing you girls are going to have a busy day tomorrow.”

Twilight chuckled. “I believe we’re going to have a very busy year. Today we started crawling. Next we learn how to walk.” She gave the mug back to Shining. “See you in a few hours.”

“Sleep well, Twily.”

Author's Note

I have grown to love it when stories take a sort of break to explore other characters' POV.

I have decided to write these kind of chapters for this fic, but they'll only be between volumes in the form of interludes so as to not interrupt the story too much. These interludes will never advance the story, so you can safely skip them if you care not for them.

Anyway, I hope you liked it! If you did, please do leave a comment! I love reading comments c:

Interlude — Celestia

Celestia was not unaccustomed to making mistakes.

As the centuries passed and her knowledge grew, she learned how to deal with most problems so swiftly and efficiently that she could make the princessdom work seamlessly with just the right words to the right ponies.

That didn’t mean she didn’t make mistakes. It just meant that the very few she did make were the result of her flaws, and the flaws of a thousand year-old pony tended to develop into mistakes that ended in horrendously bad consequences.

She could remember off the top of her head the last three mistakes she made in the past century. She had ignored the warnings of Archmage Swirling Dust about Arimaspi’s escape from Tartarus some sixty years ago, and that had ended up practically destroying Griffinstone. She had failed to read an urgent letter from Rain Shine in which she described how all the Kirin had become Niriks. Celestia’s delay had resulted in Rain Shine ordering everypony to step into the Stream of Silence.

And finally, she had neglected to nurture Sunset Shimmer’s good nature, focusing instead only on her wits. This had resulted in her becoming so corrupted she had broken into the restricted section of the library and convinced herself that she could be made an alicorn by simply wishing for it. The book that had given her that information gave hints about assistance from external sources, but that particular passage had been written by a biased pony who knew Celestia could nudge ponies in the right direction, but purposefully ignored that she couldn't actively transform ponies into alicorns at her will.

Of course, her mistakes with Sunset Shimmer had not ended there. She had sensed the darkness growing within the unicorn, and had deemed it best to terminate her apprenticeship. In Celestia’s mind, this would have forced Sunset to reflect on her actions and at least become more receptive to the lessons Celestia wanted her to learn.

Unfortunately, she had gravely miscalculated just how deep Sunset’s ambition ran, for she had made one last show of rebellion and jumped into the mirror portal, completely uncaring of what would happen to her.

Celestia had almost followed her. Who knew what the world on the other side was like? But that was precisely the reason she had chosen not to. She knew that the other world didn’t have magic, which meant that, whatever dangers that lurked within, Celestia would be powerless to stop them. And as much as it broke her heart to admit, she couldn’t leave Equestria unprotected just to chase one pony.

Luna’s return was coming soon, so soon in fact that it was due to happen only a few moons after the portal opened again. That wasn’t nearly enough time to correct Sunset’s behavior. Her animosity towards Celestia was so great that there was no telling what she’d do if she was tasked with overseeing the thousandth Summer Sun Celebration.

Celestia’s last desperate attempt to set Sunset in the right path had been showing her the mirror. The mirror that held the portal to another world also had an enchantment that showed the reflected pony’s most desperate ambitions. Celestia had hoped Sunset would have gotten a goal to strive for, and having her say her ambitions out loud would have helped Celestia nudge her in the right direction.

But Sunset had become fixated on the mirror to such a degree that she wouldn’t talk about anything else and she wouldn’t listen to any of her lessons. Her ambitions ran deep and dark, and Celestia’s frustrations had grown so much she had reacted rather heatedly by terminating Sunset’s apprenticeship.

And now Sunset was gone.

Celestia wanted to think as objectively as she could. She wanted to consider her position as a princess first and a pony second. Sunset having left Equestria meant that Celestia had to look for the actual pony that would fulfill the prophecy of Luna’s return. Celestia wanted to focus on that. But all she could think about was Sunset. All that came to mind was images of the poor unicorn, alone in another world, frightened and hurt and begging for help that wouldn’t come.

But the portal had closed. Celestia had not been brave enough to cross it and take Sunset back with her. Her sense of duty had won, and now she could barely sleep at night. What was that other world like? Was it an untamed zone like the Everfree Forest? Or a barren prison like Tartarus?

Unable to sleep and focus on anything else, Celestia had spent countless minutes staring at her journal. Sunset had taken hers when going to the other world, but, would it even work through dimensions? Celestia decided to at least try, but then paused to consider what to write. Anything she wrote would be met with anger at best, but she couldn’t just not at least try.

And so, when her duties finally allowed her some free time at the end of the day, she thought long and hard of the right words to send to Sunset. Finally, one week after Sunset left, thinking it would have been more than enough time for Sunset to have found shelter or made her own, Celestia finally sent her a letter. She tried to keep it formal since trying to appeal to Sunset’s emotions would be a bad idea. Celestia didn’t even want to consider the possibility of Sunset getting so angry she’d end up destroying the journal.

Celestia hadn’t expected Sunset to reply. She could be stubborn like that. But that didn’t stop her from fearing the worst. What if the lack of response meant that Sunset had gotten herself in trouble and not that she was simply ignoring her? Celestia forced herself to ignore these thoughts and to believe Sunset was fine. She’d just need to send her a letter every week. Eventually Sunset would have to reply.

Or, at least, that’s what Celestia hoped for.

Only a moon later, Celestia was holding day court when an explosion erupted in the distance. She looked outside the throne room’s windows and witnessed the tell-tale signs of a sonic rainboom. But before she could even begin to marvel on the sights, a second explosion reverberated throughout the palace. This one had happened much closer. She paused day court to investigate.

And she found a frightened filly, levitating in the middle of her school’s auditorium, with her horn channeling a monstrous amount of mana —enough to make the archmage herself dizzy. Not only that, but the overgrown baby dragon sitting next to her was overflowing with the filly’s mana. Celestia didn't even need to focus to notice that the whole room was brimming with magical energy and it just kept growing at a frightening rate.

Very few ponies could get close without being affected in some way by the filly’s rampant mana. Why, Celestia could feel that the potted plans at the opposite wall were actually ponies that got caught up in the initial wave and had been transfigured.

She quickly constructed the proper circuitry and cast some dampening spells around the filly to prevent any more accidental spellcasting. That done, Celestia made her way to the filly, who was herself suffering from her outburst. Placing a hoof on the filly’s shoulder, Celestia allowed the little unicorn’s mana to flow through her own body, letting it swirl around, then used her horn to disperse it without causing damage.

With the flow of mana contained, the filly was able to regain control of herself and could restrain the rest of her magical energy. That caused the accidental transfiguration and growth spells to be canceled, returning both ponies and baby dragon to normal.

A small part of her tried to worry about the reparations to the auditorium and all the paperwork it would entail. The vast majority of her, however, focused on the most important matter at hoof; making sure that the little filly wasn’t hurt.

Once she, Twilight Sparkle, had been delivered to the nurses, Celestia spent a few hours questioning everypony involved to get the picture of all that had transpired, and she wasn’t happy about it.

Apparently, the now former test proctor of her school was a member of a noble house that was at odds with the noble family Twilight was a member of. So he decided to give the filly the impossible task of hatching a cold dragon egg he had bought from an exotic itinerary merchant some moons ago. Honestly, Celestia had grown tired of minor noble houses and their petty rivalries. He, like the other now former proctors that had allowed such a petty move, were sure that a filly couldn’t do what even the archmage would call impossible.

Then she had gone and done so anyway.

Sure, it had been the result of her mana going haywire because the sonic rainboom had scared her out of her hide, but there was no denying that her magical potential was superior to most unicorns.

That alone would have made her the next candidate to become Celestia’s personal student, but on top of that, there was her Cutie Mark, which she had gotten sometime during her magical outburst. It was almost the exact same symbol that appeared on the trunk of the Tree of Harmony.

After discussing it with Archmage Star Radiance and her apprentices, Celestia had come to the conclusion that Twilight was not only just the pony that would fulfill the prophecy of Luna’s return, but a very important pony in the future of Equestria. How exactly, Celestia wasn’t sure, but she’d be remiss if she didn’t give her the best education possible. Especially so close to the thousandth Summer Sun Celebration.

Celestia’s relief was short lived as she imagined a hypothetical scenario in which Sunset hadn’t gotten obsessed with the mirror. Even if she wasn’t the pony of the prophecy, Celestia still cared about her, and she wished she and Twilight would’ve met and maybe become friends. A bit of healthy competition would’ve helped them both.

But alas, it was not to be.

Though there was a chance that, when the portal opened again, Sunset would return to Equestria, having had thirty whole moons to reminisce about her actions. Celestia would gladly take her back, and in what little time there would be between her return and the Summer Sun Celebration, Sunset could assist Twilight and become a part of something greater than them both.

Celestia’s hope was shattered when, ten moons after Twilight became her apprentice, she finally received a response in her journal.

She had expected anything between apologies and condemnations, from formal to unsavory words. But she hadn’t expected that the letter would have been written by some creature from the other world. A creature that claimed to know Sunset and learned about Equestria. The creature, who had chosen to remain anonymous, had informed her that Sunset wouldn’t be replying no matter how much Celestia asked her to. Not only that, but Sunset had decided to either return to Equestria as an alicorn princess, or not return at all.

It broke Celestia’s heart.

Throughout the centuries, many explanations had been made about the existence of alicorns. Many had been so ludicrous that even foals rolled their eyes at them, though some had seemed so feasible that they had been recorded in books as facts. One of these books had been the one that had convinced Sunset that Celestia could turn her into an alicorn at will, when it couldn’t be farther from the truth.

No, the truth was that it was the magic of Harmony itself that chose the ponies that would become alicorns, and how relevant and how powerful these alicorns would be. Celestia had become an alicorn when she had bonded with the sun, and Luna with the moon. And then Cadence had manifested a horn when she had bonded with the very concept of love.

Other alicorns had popped up in Equestria, but their bonds had not been as strong or as relevant, so they had ended up being forgotten. So far, only Celestia and Luna had become effectively immortal. But there was no way to tell which ponies would achieve such a thing. Those who believed Celestia could prompt the transformation thought so simply because Celestia had developed an instinct, after many centuries, to sniff out potential alicorns.

Though that only meant one out of every one hundred of these ponies had actually managed the transformation.

That all meant that, with Sunset being in a magicless world, even if she had been meant to become an alicorn, the magic of Harmony being unable to reach her would mean that she’d never fulfill this destiny.

And it meant that she’d never return to Equestria.

Celestia allowed herself to cry that night. Sunset had been a most difficult pony to teach, but underneath her blind ambition and her temper, there was a good pony that deserved to be loved. Celestia saw much of herself in Sunset, and it broke her that Sunset had chosen the path of darkness.

So it was with a heavy heart that Celestia placed the journal in a secret shelf she kept in her chambers. A shelf that only contained similar journals. Some still in pairs, some only one half, all of them exhausted of magic, having become nothing but regular books with aging pages and vanishing ink.

As she got ready to sleep, however, Celestia held to the hope that, even so, Sunset would someday return to her.

Author's Note

Second interlude! This time from Princess Celestia herself. It can be difficult to make sense of all the contradictions and conflicts the first Equestria Girls movie has, especially when you try to add the comics into the mix, but here's my attempt.

If you liked this, please leave a comment. They are my water in the middle of the desert.

Next week: Volume II

Volume II. Bright Beginnings — Chapter 11. Enchanter

Original Cover Art for Volume II

As the months passed by, Sunset found herself forgetting about the letter she had Twilight write for the princess. She had placed the journal on the bottom drawer of the wardrobe, upon which she’d placed old blankets and pillow cases. If it signaled a reply from Equestria, Sunset was none the wiser.

With the absolute success of the Harmonic Reader, Sunset started the second phase of her plans for manipulating human magic. Creating a pseudo-horn; an appendage-like machine to allow humans interaction with the Harmonic Veil just like unicorns.

It took her only a month of practice, but she managed to make her mana flow into a quartz and back into herself. She trained this process for another few weeks until the action came as naturally as it had been back in Equestria. Mana flow was essential for spellcrafting and enchanting. Nothing else could be done without it. And once this was achieved, she started building prototypes.

Still unable to get her hooves on proper gemstones and materials, however, she soon found herself at a dead end.

With the help of Shining Armor, Sunset built an intricate set of iron wires with indentations at appropriate intervals to allow carefully molded quartz stones inside. The whole thing was an exceptionally heavy helmet that covered most of Sunset’s head.

Unfortunately, it didn’t work. She tried channeling her mana through the quartz that touched the middle of her forehead and tried to make the flow reach the other quartzes. However, the flow quickly met a wall as it tried to leave the first stone, unable to get into the metal. With a frustrated huff, Sunset increased her mana flow to overpower the metal’s threshold.

And then all the quartz stones in her helmet cracked, and her mana dissipated into the air. She had panicked for only the brief moment she had thought it had been her actual horn that had broken under the pressure. Two more tests, replacing all the stones with sturdier ones, had ended up exactly the same.

She had been forced to accept the fact that she couldn’t recreate unicorn horns with her current resources.

Of course, she had reacted with dignity and grace.

“Are you quite done?” Twilight asked with an infuriatingly calm tone and an eyebrow rising above her glasses.

Sunset growled, breathing heavily as she finished smashing her proto-horn with her foot, leaving the thing completely unrecognizable. She sat down and huffed. “Yes, actually. And I feel much better.”

“Look, I understand your frustration,” Twilight said. She flinched when Sunset glared at her. “... Somewhat. But from what you’ve told me, recreating magical pathways and nervous terminals is just not feasible right now. Let’s focus on what’s next.”

“What’s next?” Sunset said, slamming a hand on the table. “Without a horn there’s no way for unicorns to cast spells!”

“But we’re not unicorns,” Twilight replied, then continued before Sunset could yell at her. “We’ve already established that humans can do magic to some extent, yes? Even I have learned how to make my mana flow into quartz and back, which is still a very weird thing to say. What I’m saying is, if we can do this much, and the Harmonic Reader works just as intended, then there must be a way to do magic without the need for horns.”

Sunset crossed her arms. “Are you going anywhere with this?”

“Yes, as a matter of fact,” Twilight said. She pushed back her glasses and opened a notebook. “Every time you talk about the mechanics of spellcrafting, you say that the Harmonic Veil is punctured, and that creates a pulse. And a certain amount of pulses and lack thereof in a certain order creates a spell. But what if what you do is not a puncture?”

Sunset raised an eyebrow.

Twilight turned her notebook around and showed it to Sunset as she explained the contents. “If you use your own mana to make the pulses, then it stands to reason that instead of making a puncture, you are energizing a fixed point in the Harmonic Veil. And if we can make our mana flow through quartz, which is sensitive to magic, then I believe we can build a machine to cast spells, as long as we provide the correct arrays and feed it with mana.”

Flipping the pages and reading Twilight’s hypotheses, Sunset had to admit that it was worth a shot.

There were many things interfering with their progress. One was a lack of resources, of course. Celestia gave Sunset only so much, and since Sunset refused to let others in on her project, they didn’t have many reasons to invest in it. Shining Armor helped when he could though, mainly by carrying stuff or using power tools when needed.

The other thing that got in the way was that Twilight went to school, and so they could only meet up properly on the weekends. Sunset spent much of her downtime drawing different designs for the machine they wanted to build, working on the numbers, trying to remember more spells and adding them to the Reader, and even practicing with the violin.

When Twilight’s birthday arrived again, Sunset had worried that she’d have to actually put some thought into her gift this time to keep the girl happy, but fortunately, Twilight had preemptively asked her that, instead of an item, Sunset would play the violin with her in a duet. Sunset had agreed immediately. It beat having to find another trinket. And so she spent a week learning the right notes, then a weekend before, where Twilight played the piano with her so they’d learn how to play together. And when her birthday arrived, they performed in front of everyone.

Sunset felt quite proud of herself as she was regaled with a round of applause and cheers, and didn’t even stop to consider before agreeing when Twilight asked her to spend the holidays. And so Sunset, Celestia, and Luna joined Twilight’s family, which always included Cadance. Sunset refused to sing her lines in their family Resonances, but did join in the choruses.

The human new year arrived, and with Twilight on winter break, the girls managed to build their first Enchanter prototype —Sunset had given up on stopping Twilight from naming all machines related to human magic, though she still voiced her disagreement at calling the whole of magic-related machines ‘Magitech’.

The prototype didn’t work. It was to be expected as it was only the first instance, and even Sunset was delving into new territory. But it still had made her want to smash the thing.

“Sunset, you can’t smash things when they don’t work,” Twilight had admonished her.

“I haven’t done anything!” Sunset had yelled.

“Your foot is still in the air.”

Sunset had not entertained her with a reply. Instead she had huffed and sat down to read their notes to try to figure out what had gone wrong. The quartzes had not cracked like they had done with her proto-horn, but the Enchanter had also not done anything, which only made it more difficult to track the problem.

And of course Twilight’s break ended and had to return to school, greatly reducing the time they could work on fixing it. Sunset tried not to let her frustration get the better of her, but it was difficult whenever she thought that the Enchanter was so big they had to use Twilight’s garage to store it, which meant Sunset had to wait for the weekend to work on it.

It was weeks before Sunset had the brilliant idea of using the Harmonic Reader to make sure the Enchanter was actually doing something. Which it was, but not the way it was supposed to.

For starters, they discovered that the quartzes the Enchanter used to create the pulses were not sending strong enough signals. The reason was not clear, however, so Twilight suggested they brute force their way through. Which, of course, meant that they had to make tiny changes like differently shaped quartzes, or quartzes of other kinds, or of other sizes, or maybe the metals they were using the make the mana flow wasn’t conductive enough, or maybe the quartzes they were using to store mana weren’t efficient enough.

Their progress had slowed down to an excruciating crawl.

“Alright,” Twilight said chirpily. “Enchanter activation test number fifty-six. Jasper batteries at full capacity. Hexagon shaped twelve-ended howlite pulsators, variation sixth, caged in duralumin at ninety-six percent aluminum purity. Common copper wires. Physical enclosing space, variation second, barrier made of glass. Target object, lightbulb. Spellcraft circuitry arrays for illumination enchantment verified. Ready to engage.”

Sunset scoffed. “Well, at least you’re having fun.”

Twilight blushed. “Just… start it up.”

With a groan, Sunset looked at the machine Twilight had dubbed Enchanter. Though calling it a machine was probably a stretch. It was barely more than a bunch of cables connected with each other and to a small machine plugged into Sunset’s laptop, and at the other ends they held the cages that contained the ‘pulsators’, the quartzes that would interact with the Harmonic Veil and create the spell they input in the software. Since they had to work with their hands, they had needed to make these cages by themselves —by asking Shining Armor to make them— which resulted in them being larger than a fist each.

All the pulsators, cages and all, were suspended by wires around a glass box they used to measure the magical enclosing cage they needed for the enchantment to work. Inside the tube, there was a solitary lightbulb. This all meant that the Enchanter took up half the garage’s space.

Sunset turned to look at her laptop. “Ok, fine. Test number fifty-six. Activation in three, two, one.” She clicked the ‘start’ button. Immediately, the Enchanter’s pulsators began to hum. They had started doing that last week, but Sunset could feel the humming this time was stronger. After a few seconds, the lightbulb flashed once, twice, and the third time it finally settled into a low white glow.

There was silence as the Enchanter’s humming subsided, and Sunset couldn’t stop the sob from coming out of her mouth. “It worked…”

“It worked!” Twilight cried out as she stood up, knocking her chair down.

She didn’t know when she had stood up, nor did she notice who started the hug, but Sunset paid it no mind as she and Twilight cheered, tears streaming down both sets of eyes. Finally, after a year and a half, Sunset had managed to successfully cast a spell. It was a very basic spell, one that all unicorn foals could do by instinct alone, but she had done so without her horn, instead building a machine.

Sunset broke the hug and turned around, hoping that Twilight wouldn’t see her drying her tears.

“This is huge, Sunset,” Twilight said as she walked up to the lightbulb. Though it was giving off light, it was dim enough that one could see it directly. “This will change humanity forever.” She used a lever to lift the glass tube, then grabbed the lightbulb. It lost its enchantment. “Huh?”

Sunset felt her stomach fall. “Lemme see that,” she ordered, snatching the lightbulb from Twilight. She focused on it but couldn’t feel any pulsations.

“What happened? I thought the enchantment was supposed to last three hours.”

“It is,” Sunset said, turning the lightbulb in her hand. She gave it back to Twilight and went to her laptop. “If the enchantment didn’t stick, it means that I messed up the circuitry.” An idea popped in her head. “Check the batteries.”

Twilight hurried towards the jaspers they had set to store their mana. “I can’t be sure, but I’d say they were drained by twenty percent or so.”

“Both of them?”

“No. Combined.”

Sunset nodded as she started going over the arrays. “That’s within my expectations. I’m relieved there’s not much mana loss…”

Twilight stepped next to her. “You know, I’m surprised you’re taking this so well. You’ve been wanting to smash the Enchanter for months.”

“Because it didn’t work,” Sunset replied. “But it does now. The only thing left is to figure out why the enchantment didn’t stick. We’re back to something I know how to solve.”

“I see,” Twilight said. “I’ll refill the batteries and record the Enchanter’s parameters. We’ll think of improvements when we can make it work consistently.”

Author's Note

Your eyes do not deceive you. There is indeed a new cover art for this fanfic. Will I make a new one with every volume? Only time will tell.

Now Sunset and Twilight had created the Enchanter. This is but a small brick in the castle they'll eventually build.

If you liked it, please leave a comment! They're the brakes in my old bycicle.

Chapter 12. Make a Wish

“So, I was wondering if you’d like to do something different next week.”

“No.”

“You don’t even know what it is!”

Sunset rolled her eyes. “Twilight, we’re very close to making the Enchanter work properly. Why would I want to be distracted from it?”

“Because you haven’t done anything besides working on the arrays for months. No, don’t say it, I’m well aware that I can’t help you with it. But you still need to take a break. You know it’ll help you.”

Letting out a sigh, Sunset leaned back on the chair, narrowing her eyes as she studied Twilight. After almost two years of working together, Sunset had started picking up on Twilight’s mannerisms. The way she bit the left side of her lower lip and how her eyes seemed to look everywhere, or how she shifted her weight from foot to foot. She was hiding something.

“And the real reason?”

Twilight’s eyes widened as she let out a soft whimper. “W-What makes you…”

“Out with it,” Sunset said. “Or this conversation is over.”

Frowning, Twilight took two seconds to think. “I want us to go to the amusement park. I already asked Shining and he’s willing to take us there.”

“Why?”

“Miss Celestia said you really like roller coasters.”

Sunset crossed her arms. “Seriously, why?”

Twilight huffed. “Fine. Next week is your birthday and—”

“No,” Sunset interrupted her. “I don’t celebrate my birthday. Didn’t I tell you this before?”

“Yes, but you didn’t say you don’t like celebrating it. So I figured that I’d take you to a place you like, to do things you like, on a day that just so happens to coincide with your birthday. And uh… maybe get you a slice of cake.”

Sunset closed her eyes for a moment. She wanted to be angry, but all she could feel was a certain sense of amusement at the thought that Twilight -subtle-as-a-punch- Sparkle had even attempted to manipulate her into having a birthday party. The very idea was so ludicrous it actually made her chuckle.

“Is… Is laughter a good thing?” Twilight asked. “I can never tell with you.”

“That’s got to be the lamest invitation ever,” Sunset said, letting out another snicker at Twilight’s scrunched up nose. “Ok, alright, I’ll go.”

Twilight gasped, then squeed. “Really?”

“Yes, really. You’re right that I need a break, and I’ll at least enjoy the roller coasters if nothing else.”

“Alright! I’ll go tell Shining!” Twilight said before dashing out of the room.

Sunset shook her head with another chuckle and returned to work.

~~~~~~~~

Shining Armor let out a long, suffering groan as he finally managed to find an empty parking slot. Cadence patted him on the shoulder.

Sunset observed the pink skinned woman as she unbuckled her seatbelt. After so much time of having to interact with her, Sunset had finally managed to stop seeing the pony princess in her. This Cadence had not become a princess and moved to the palace to rub it in. No, this Cadence was a genuine, if nosy, woman who only wanted everyone to get along.

“So, where to first?” Shining asked as they entered the park. It was a lot more crowded than Sunset remembered from the few times Celestia had taken them there.

“I think we should let Sunset decide,” Cadence said, shooting a smile at Sunset. “She’s the birthday girl, after all.”

Sunset looked around, already familiar with the general direction of her favorite rides. “Let’s go to The Rainboom.” In Equestria, it was no more than an old filly bedtime story. In this world, it was the largest, fastest, and twistiest roller coaster to have ever been conceived by human technology.

Twilight whimpered. “A-Are you sure about that? Don’t you want to try the tamest ones first and slowly build your excitement up?”

“The best way to start and end a trip to the amusement park is with the best ride. I’m supposed to be amused, right? That’s the whole point of this.”

They arrived at the hour-long line for the ride, then kept walking towards the fifteen minute-long one, for which Shining had purchased special tickets. She had been about to use some of the money Celestia had given her, but he’d insisted on covering the costs since he was technically the one inviting her. Sunset didn’t try to argue, since it meant she could use that money to get better materials for the Enchanter.

“I don’t take well to roller coasters,” Cadence announced. “I’ll wait at the exit.”

“I’ll be with Cadence,” Shining said. “You girls have fun.”

“Wa-” Twilight squeaked, hand raised, as she looked at the adults disappear in the crowd. She groaned, pressing both hands onto her chest.

Sunset raised an eyebrow. “Are you scared?”

“Sca-no!” Twilight said, offering Sunset a forced smile. “I mean, logically, I know that this ride has been tested and undergoes regular maintenance, and the G forces involved are nowhere near what astronauts go through. That’s not to say I want to be an astronaut! I wouldn’t be able to, anyway, thanks to my poor sight. Well, my sight and the fact I’m not in good enough physical condition, though of course that could be remedied, but then again, why bother when my sight can’t—”

Sunset shoved her hand to cover Twilight’s mouth. “Stop talking.” She lowered her hand. “You don’t have to get in if you don’t want to. Go wait with Shining and Cadence.”

“No, I… I want to go,” Twilight said, though her eyes betrayed her apprehension.

Sunset rolled her eyes. “Alright, then.”

For a minute Twilight remained silent. Then Sunset discovered that when Twilight was extremely nervous, she talked. Not like her sugar rush energy talk, but a kind of hissy, whispery avalanche of words about random trivia and scientific facts about anything and everything that crossed her eyes or her mind.

“... so getting that specific shade of purple was so tedious and time consuming that the dye became so expensive that only the wealthiest people could buy it, and so it became a status symbol.”

The people around them gave them funny looks as Twilight kept jumping from idea to idea, torn between mild interest and just wanting her to shut up. Sunset found it all quite entertaining.

“... that’s why, despite popular belief, shaving doesn’t actually make beards grow faster…”

“Twilight,” Sunset said, shaking the girl by the shoulder. “It’s our turn now.”

Twilight flinched and turned around just as the car stopped. The people still inside grinned and giggled and told each other just how much fun they just had. Sunset had thought that seeing that would have eased Twilight’s nerves, but the girl didn’t seem to notice the people, and instead just glared at the car as it emptied.

“Excuse me, uh, miss?” said one of the staff members, stepping close to Twilight. “I’m sorry, but you should take off your glasses and store them away. Otherwise they will fall off.”

“Oh, uhm, right,” Twilight said. She reached into the waist bag she’d brought and pulled a case where she put her glasses, then saved them back into the bag. She squinted as she got in the car right beside Sunset.

“For a moment there I thought you’d take the chance to flee,” Sunset said.

Twilight gripped the lap bar with shaking hands. “I-I said I wanted to get on,” she said in a high pitched voice. “At least seeing everything blurry will make it easier.”

“Twilight, seriously, you can still get off,” Sunset insisted. Why was Twilight forcing herself? Did she think she’d offend Sunset somehow?

“No, I’m fine!” The nervous twitch of her eyes wasn’t very reassuring. “This is just a big, dumb piece of steel that uses inertia and centripetal acceleration to produce sensations which the human body was not built for! You hear that, The Rainboom?! You don’t scare me!”

Fortunately, she didn’t seem to hear the giggles from the other passengers.

The car hissed and shook, finally starting the ride. Twilight let out a short meep as her hands locked pale fingers on the lap bar. She became deadly silent as the car took a soft turn to the right and began its very, very long ascent. It probably didn’t help Twilight’s anxiety that they were at the very front of the car.

With every metallic click the car made as the chain pulled it up the ramp, Twilight’s body became more and more rigid, to the point that Sunset started to worry that she might pass out or worse.

“Sunset,” Twilight half-whispered half-hissed when the car was only a few meters away from the top. “I know this is just the adrenaline talking but if we die I want you to know that you are my very best friend.”

Sunset blinked. Hadn’t it been obvious before that Twilight considered her as such? She shook the thought off and looked forward, the car already turning over the ramp and looking down at the path ahead. Sunset felt herself smile widely and shot her hands up. The car picked up speed, the wind howled, Twilight screamed, Sunset cheered.

The ride was every bit as exciting and thrilling as Sunset remembered it. Never in her life had she ever envied pegasi as much as she did when the roller coaster ride came to an end and she was forced out of the exhilarating feeling of pseudo flight. With a sigh of disappointment, she turned to her side to see if Twilight had indeed fainted, then blinked in surprise.

Twilight was smiling from ear to ear.

“I cannot believe it! It was so much fun! I don’t even know why I was scared in the first place.”

Sunset snickered. “I thought you said you weren’t scared?”

Twilight blushed. The lap bar raised, and she quickly fished into her hip bag to retrieve her glasses. “Yes, well… I propose we don’t talk about that, and instead go to the next ride.”

With the agreement made, they did just that. Sunset felt a strange glee growing in her chest as she showed Twilight all her favorite rides in the amusement park. She had thought Twilight would faint or at least refuse to go on any more rides after The Rainboom, so the fact she not only liked it but actually wanted to experience more made Sunset smile for a reason she didn’t understand.

Most of the rides she took Twilight to were roller coasters, but Sunset liked all those that had her feeling the air in her face and cheering at the top of her lungs, her favorite being a ride called The Hurricane, which was an unassuming rectangle-shaped contraption that turned and twisted, up and down and right and left, and even diagonally.

“I think it’s time we take a lunch break,” Shining said as they walked out of their latest ride.

There was a rather large area with picnic tables scattered around a building which served refreshments and light snacks. It was relatively crowded, but they managed to secure a table a little far away.

Sunset took a bite of her sandwich and looked up. The sky was a beautiful blue, practically cloudless, and the sun shined with comfortable warmth. Sunset was still feeling the excitement of the rides, and this moment of rest was definitely going to make her enjoy the rides a lot more afterwards. The cold soda definitely helped restore her energy.

With a content sigh, Sunset allowed herself to just enjoy the moment. Tomorrow she’d be back to fixing the arrays and worry about the next steps. But for now, she was going to enjoy her break.

“So, Sunset,” Cadence said. “Are you enjoying yourself?”

Sunset shrugged. “Yeah. Thanks for inviting me.” She could admit to being glad that she had accepted.

“Twilight said you don’t usually celebrate your birthday, but we’re happy you let us do it anyway. You don’t turn fifteen every day, after all.”

Sunset replied with another shrug and a bite to her sandwich.

Cadence seemed to hesitate for a moment, but her smile seemed to settle down. “I must admit, we wanted to give you some presents, but we don’t really know what you’d like.”

“I do,” Shining said with a smirk. “You got some more quartz waiting for you in the garage.”

“Rocks do not make good birthday presents,” Cadence argued.

“Well, my big sister would disagree.”

Sunset flinched as the new voice spoke from behind her. The newcomer rounded the table so that everyone could look at her. She was somehow pinker than Cadence. Pink skin and pink curly hair, though her eyes were an intense blue. Her shirt was pink with drawings of blue and yellow balloons, and her skirt, also pink, ended in frills past her knees.

“She loves rocks! Also stones. And pebbles. And boulders!”

There was silence as everyone stared at the girl. For some reason, Sunset felt like she recognized her, but she couldn’t put her hoof on it. Before she could tell her to leave, Sunset felt the strong vibrations of a Resonance, and she could already hear the soft beat of a song coming from the girl.

“Hi! My name is Pinkie Pie!” the girl said, looking directly at Sunset with a smile that was very close to being creepy for how wide it was. “Little birdie told me today’s your birthday, and I, as the professional party planner in training, offered to throw you a big, impromptu birthday party, right here, right now!” Without waiting for a response, she twirled on her heels and shot a finger towards the restaurant building. “Hit it!”

On cue, the speakers at the sides of the building started playing music. Pinkie Pie stepped back and started sort-of-dancing to the beat.

Get your hands up, party’s starting out right now!
Everybody, everybody get down!

The Harmonic Resonance seemed to have reached the other guests, and they all started cheering along with Pinkie’s song. That was all Sunset noticed of them before Pinkie strolled next to her. She produced a rather large slice of chocolate cake out of… somewhere, and placed it right in front of Sunset. There were two lit candles on top of the slice which together took the shape of the number fifteen.

Time to make a wish, better make it right now!
It’s been a year and today is your birthday party!

Pinkie dashed around the table, tying balloons to it.

Make a wish, it’s your birthday!

Another dash, and a large banner, tied between two trees, suddenly appeared right above the table. It said ‘Happy Birthday, Sunset’. How on Equestria…

Make a wish, it’s your birthday party!

Before Sunset could finish her thought, the pink blur of a girl passed through, and a single, small box wrapped in shiny orange paper and tied with a sparkly red ribbon appeared right next to the slice of cake.

Make a wish, it’s your birthday!

Finally, Pinkie once again appeared at the head of the table, a shower of streamers bursting from her as she struck a pose.

Make a wish, it’s your birthday party!

The Resonance continued in a low hum, expectantly waiting for Sunset to do or say something. She didn’t feel any compulsion to join in the song, which was a relief.

A look around showed that Shining, Cadence, and Twilight were all glaring expectantly at her. Sunset rolled her eyes and lowered her gaze to her cake slice. She had never believed in that silly tradition of making a wish and blowing a candle so that it’d become true, but she supposed there was no harm in pretending.

She blew the candles, which was followed by a round of applause. Pinkie cheered loudly, and Sunset realized that the people at the other tables were clapping politely. Fortunately, the Resonance did end at that point.

“Yay!” Pinkie exclaimed. “I’m sorry this wasn’t a proper party, but I promise next time I’ll throw you the most amazing, incredible, tremendous, super fun, wonderful, terrific, humongous birthday party ever!” Without waiting for an answer, Pinkie bowed, her puffy hair bobbing and dropping candy, of all things, onto the table, then dashed away and out of sight.

Sunset blinked, then glared at Cadence and Shining. “This is why you two refused to come to the rides with us, isn’t it?”

Shining shrugged. “Not really, no. It was only after you girls got into the third ride that we saw her holding a sign promoting her party planning services. I only asked out of curiosity, since I didn’t want to pressure her into planning a party so soon, but she seemed to take it as a challenge.”

“And I think she delivered,” Cadence said as she eyed the sudden decorations. “I must say, she’s quite something. If this is what she can do unprepared, I can only wonder what she’d be capable of with time.”

Sunset let out a snort. She removed the candles from the slice of cake and used a plastic fork to give it a bite. It was incredibly delicious.

“That looks really good,” Twilight muttered, then blushed when Sunset looked at her.

With a chuckle, Sunset grabbed a second fork Pinkie had included for some reason and handed it to Twilight, who happily dug into the cake.

The rest of the day would be very much the same as the first half, but Sunset would find herself enjoying the rides a lot more. Despite her general jadedness over her birthday, Sunset had to admit that the little celebration, but mainly the cake, had really improved her already good mood.

Sunset picked the little gift box Pinkie had thrown beside the cake and opened it, finding a gift card from a retail store valid for one brooch. She’d be able to take it to the store in question and get a customized brooch in the shape of any design she’d want, like her Cutie Mark. She closed the box and set it aside for the moment, deciding to give priority to her quickly vanishing cake.

Maybe celebrating her birthday wasn’t all that bad. It only happened once a year, after all.

Author's Note

Ponka never disappoints.

If you liked it, please leave a comment!

Chapter 13. Showcase

Sunset returned to work with renewed vigor and a fresh mind, and felt she progressed much faster. She managed to make the illumination spell work on the light bulb properly the day after the trip to the amusement park, which put her in such a cheerful mood that she joined Twilight in a celebration consisting of pizza and soda.

Now that she had finally managed to cast a spell in the human world, although in a roundabout way, Sunset felt she had finally taken a step closer to her goal. So, during the next few weeks, she threw herself into the program they had dubbed Interpreter, racking her brain to remember all the arrays she could in order to produce as many spells as she could. If she wanted to fully bring magic to the human world, she had to pour every bit of knowledge she had into the program.

Twilight convinced her to take breaks every now and then, and Sunset stopped trying to reject those. Not only had she felt the positive effects of taking breaks, but she also admitted that she had fun whenever she did something different with Twilight. Most of the time it was practicing with their musical instruments, though Twilight did introduce Sunset to Daring Do, and while not her favorite, she had to admit the books were quite entertaining.

When Halloween, the human version of Nightmare Night, came around, Twilight convinced Sunset to go trick or treating. Sunset had never gone around asking for candy, so it was a nice experience to dress up as a mummy —Twilight was a vampire— and go house by house with an ever growing bag of candy. The best part was that they didn’t have to offer half of it to Nightmare Moon, and so they enjoyed their whole treasure.

Twilight’s sugar rush kept both of them awake until the sun rose.

But as much fun as Sunset was having, she wouldn’t allow herself to grow complacent, and she kept working when she could. And only a week after Halloween, she managed to make her second spell work. It was then that she and Twilight talked at length about the future of magic in the human world and, after many hours, came up to a conclusion.

And so, on the second weekend of November, Sunset and Twilight cleared the garage from all the boxes containing broken quartz, spare parts, burnt cables, but mostly notebooks. They then carried chairs for their audience, which consisted of Twilight's parents, Shining, Cadence, Luna, and Celestia. Spike was already napping on Cadence’s lap. They donned lab coats Twilight had in her wardrobe and set up a curtain to hide the Enchanter for some theatrics.

As the last chair was occupied, Twilight closed the door of the garage and stepped next to Sunset.

“Alright, girls. What’s all this about?” Twilight Velvet asked.

Sunset struggled not to frown at the woman’s tone. Sure, she had agreed to let them use the garage as their workshop, but she always acted like it was just a childish club in which they played board games or something, instead of something serious. Well, that was going to change today.

“We have gathered you here to showcase the results of our project,” Sunset announced. “Some of you have marginal knowledge of what Twilight and I have been doing, but for everyone else’s sake, we’ll explain from the beginning.”

Twilight stepped up, holding a notebook. “Through trial and error, we have managed to discover and harness a new kind of energy that can perform a myriad of tasks, given the correct inputs.” She took a deep breath. “I wanted to name this energy something different to avoid ridiculing looks, but Sunset wouldn’t budge, so it will officially be known as Magic.”

Sunset studied the reactions of their audience. Celestia, Luna, and Shining already knew, so they simply nodded. Twilight’s parents seemed to be confused, though Cadence was definitely bewildered since she kept looking between Twilight, Sunset, and Shining.

“I know it’s difficult to believe,” Twilight said. “But there are many phenomena in this world that can only be explained through magic, as Sunset proved to me. Today, however, we won’t talk about the natural aspects of magic. Instead, we’ll talk about the technological aspects. Sunset?”

Sunset nodded. “Magic can be harnessed and used to craft spells. Unfortunately, humans lack the innate ability to interact with it. Thus, we spent the past two years building a machine that can do just that. This is why we brought you here today, to show you the result of our effort. Behold: the Enchanter.”

She stepped aside just as Twilight pulled the curtain open, revealing the machine that took over half the garage’s space. Large cables suspended in mid-air around a glass box, connected to a few other machines, which were in turn plugged into Sunset’s laptop. Shining Armor was the only one unsurprised, since he had helped build it.

“Twilight…” Night Light said slowly. “What is this?”

“The Enchanter,” Twilight replied simply without looking from her notebook.

Sunset cleared her throat. “This machine is currently capable of performing two spells consistently. I’m already working on adding more spells, but for the purposes of this presentation, the two will suffice.” She walked up to a side table and picked a light bulb from a small box. “Luna, can you verify that this light bulb has not been tampered with?”

Luna accepted the light bulb and turned it around in her hand a few times. “Well, I’m no expert, but this looks pretty normal to me.” She handed it to Celestia.

Sunset only felt herself frown a tiny bit as the older woman inspected the light bulb. Originally, Sunset had only intended Luna to inspect it, but the light bulb was shared by everyone until Cadence gave it back. It was only with mild annoyance at having to wait that Sunset grabbed the light bulb and walked up to the Enchanter. She opened the glass box and placed the light bulb inside, then closed it again.

“We will first demonstrate what an illumination spell can do,” Sunset said as she sat at her laptop. She had set it up beforehand, of course, so she only needed to click a button for the Enchanter to hum to life.

Thanks to all the practice she’d done, she was able to easily feel the pulsations in the Harmonic Veil as the circuitry was built around the light bulb. To the audience, nothing seemed to be happening, but Sunset —and maybe Twilight too— could perceive the spell, or in this case, the enchantment, being built at a speed that was excruciatingly slow for any unicorn worth her salt. It took three minutes for the spell to be completed.

The light bulb didn’t light up with the same near-instantaneous speed as a normal one. Instead, the light, which embraced the whole light bulb —including the cap, slowly grew in intensity until it was almost hard on the eyes. Sunset wanted it to be observed, after all. As soon as the Enchanter stopped humming, Sunset took the light bulb from the glass box. She could feel the enchantments pulsating against her skin.

“As you can see,” she said, showing the light bulb to the mostly confused adults. “It’s giving off a light dim enough not to hurt the eyes.” She once again allowed them to inspect it. “That was, of course, intended.”

Everyone, including the three that had already known about magic, stared at the light bulb in awe. Sunset was filled with so much pride she thought she would burst.

“This is remarkable,” Night Light said as he held the light bulb in front of his face. “How is it producing the light? Even the cap is shining. How long does it last?”

“It’s magic,” Sunset deadpanned. “And it’s set to last for fifteen minutes.”

She could have made the light bulb shine almost indefinitely. The spell had required little mana, only about five percent of what they had fed the Enchanter, and she knew the arrays to make the spell feed on the Harmonic Veil itself. But an illumination spell was too simple, and she didn’t want it to overshadow the second spell the Enchanter could produce.

“Magic,” Cadence said in a low murmur. “Is that truly it?”

“I completely understand your hesitance, Cadence,” Twilight said. “But take it from me. This is magic we’re talking about. I contributed half the mana required to make that light bulb shine.”

She had also helped build and register all the variations of the Enchanter and she had helped bring Sunset up to speed with human technology, which had been the only reason she had managed to perform magic in the human world so fast. Sunset shuddered at the thought of having been alone. Without Twilight’s lesson plan, it would’ve taken Sunset at least three times as long to reach this point.

Sunset wasn’t going to tell her any of that, of course. She didn’t want Twilight getting any ideas.

“I can’t see anything else that is making it shine,” Celestia said as she turned the light bulb in her hand. “This is incredible. And you said it’ll last fifteen minutes? Can you make it last longer?”

Sunset felt her eyebrows twitch. “Yes, it’s possible.”

Fortunately, that seemed enough for the woman, as she handed the light bulb to Luna without another word. Sunset nodded to herself and walked next to Twilight.

“Now, as for the second demonstration,” Twilight said. “Shining, could you get an apple from the kitchen?”

Shining perked up. “Are you going to make an apple shine?”

Twilight snorted. “You’ll see.”

With the giddiness of a filly in love, Shining stood up and dashed out of the garage, returning only a minute later with a bright red apple in a hand. Sunset accepted the apple and placed it inside the glass box. Once again, she sat at her laptop to cast the second spell.

Unfortunately, the software program she used to send the instructions to the Enchanter was a morse code learning software, and one of its limitations was that, in order to switch spells, Sunset had to delete all the loaded arrays and then import the correct ones. The loading process took five whole minutes as the software took its sweet time. When it was ready, she clicked start and the Enchanter began humming again.

Sunset turned towards her audience. “This will take about five minutes,” she announced.

Cadence raised her hand, careful not to disturb the sleeping dog on her lap. “Then, while we wait, may we ask some questions?” When Sunset nodded, Cadence continued. “How did you girls manage all this? I mean, this is magic we’re talking about, right? How did you know?”

Shining tensed up at that, which Cadence definitely noticed as she raised an eyebrow at him. Before he could break, Sunset decided to take the lead.

“I knew about it,” she said. “Where I come from, magic is as normal as breathing.”

At that, both of Twilight’s parents stared at her. “Where you come from?” Twilight Velvet asked. She looked at Celestia and Luna, then back at Sunset. She looked like she wanted to ask more, but nervously bit her lower lip. Now Sunset knew who Twilight had gotten it from.

“I come from another world,” Sunset explained slowly. After much thought, she had decided to come clean about that fact, though she’d still hide as many things as possible, including the portal’s existence. “I came to study this world and its magic. But you guys don’t believe in it, and don’t even think it’s real. So, in order to properly study it, I need to prove its existence. That’s why I’ve spent two years working on this Enchanter.”

Cadence narrowed her eyes, though her frown looked more concerned than angry, as she looked at Celestia and Luna. “I know you said you’re her guardians, but… Did you know?”

Celestia nodded. “I witnessed first hand when she came to this world. I must say, I…”

“Hold on,” Sunset interrupted her. “Say no more about the circumstances. More people knowing will only become a hazard to me and to my world. Surely you understand.” She looked at the two women, then at Shining, who gave her a solemn nod.

Cadence looked at him. “So you’re not even going to tell me?” Despite the question, her small smile and her tone told Sunset she wasn’t offended. Though whether she was joking…

“Suffice to say that magic does exist in this world, and that it’s my duty to study it,” Sunset said, interrupting whatever Shining had been about to say. “I may tell you more at a later date, but for now, I’ll appreciate it if you don’t try to dig up more information.”

Twilight Velvet gave her a warm smile. “We understand, honey. You’re practically family now. We’ll listen when, and only when, you are ready to tell us.”

Sunset nodded appreciatively. “The spell should be finishing by now.” She knew that because she had been focusing on the pulsations, and the current array was one of the last ones that needed to be set up. She stepped aside to let her audience look at the apple.

About thirty seconds later, the apple suddenly turned a bright navy blue, eliciting a few gasps. Sunset retrieved it from the glass box and held it aloft to show it. The color softened quickly, briefly becoming turquoise before settling on a vibrant green.

“This is called a rainbow shifting spell,” she said just as the green gave way to a radiant yellow. “The name alone is pretty self explanatory, and it doesn’t take a genius to understand the effect.” The apple’s color strengthened to a shimmering orange. “Still, does anyone want to take a guess?”

As the apple returned to its previous red, Sunset looked, amused, at six hands shooting to the air. She chuckled, then nodded towards Night Light. The apple had become a gleaming violet by the time he started speaking.

“It’s making the apple go through all the colors of the rainbow,” he stated.

“Correct,” Sunset said, satisfied. “It’s as simple as that. Nothing else is different.” To demonstrate her point, just as the apple once again became blue, Sunset gave it a big, crunchy bite. She enjoyed both the taste and the surprised looks of the adults at the fact that the inside of the apple was also changing colors.

Everyone looked at her with wide eyes, but it was Celestia who found her voice first. “Is that… safe?”

Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, Sunset offered the apple to Celestia. “Try it.”

It was a funny sight, watching Celestia hesitate. After two years of living with the woman, Sunset had seen so many things that were different from the two that there was no doubt in her logical brain that they were, indeed, different individuals. Yet the small part of her that was still ruled by emotions still cringed when she saw Celestia doing anything unbecoming of a princess, like washing dishes or sweeping the floor.

And that part took hold of her, and she couldn’t stop the giddy grin on her face as she saw Celestia nervously reach out for the apple and bring it close to her face. After a few seconds of contemplation —and the apple starting its fourth rotation of the colors— she gave it a meek bite.

“Well,” she said while chewing, “it definitely tastes like a regular apple.”

“Let me see,” Luna said as she snatched the apple from Celestia and gave it a much larger bite. “Yup. Affirmative on the apple.”

And so the apple was shared and consumed. Cadence stared in wonder at the apple remnants and how they, along with the seeds, were still changing colors. “How is this even possible?”

“The mechanics are very easy,” Sunset explained. “The spell simply modifies the range of visible electromagnetic radiation absorption in a looped pattern.” It was part of the final evaluation in the beginner’s course for Enchanting at Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns, but it was a beginner level spell nonetheless.

“And… when is it going to stop?”

“In about ten minutes,” Sunset replied. “I didn’t expect you’d eat all of it so soon.” She snickered at the blushed cheeks her comment caused. “In any case, now that we’ve showcased what we can do…”

Twilight hopped to her side. “We need you to help us raise money for this project,” she stated, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose. “Technically speaking, we can keep working as we’ve been doing so far, but our progress is excruciatingly slow. If we could get better resources, we’d be able to significantly improve the efficiency of the Enchanter.”

“Adding more spells is my department, but I could use some help creating a software program specifically designed to handle the spells’ information,” Sunset said. “I looked it up, and getting a professional that knows what they’re doing is very expensive.”

“However, we’re just teens,” Twilight said with a sigh. “Sunset’s fifteen and I’m barely going to turn fourteen next month. There’s not much we can do besides selling lemonade on our lawn.”

“Which I won’t do,” Sunset muttered.

“We need your help,” Twilight repeated. “Sunset has told me about some of the spells she’ll be able to make the Enchanter perform. One of them can preserve food for longer than refrigeration can with none of the flavor loss. Can you imagine? But we need someone to sponsor us. Preferably someone we trust will have our best interests at heart.”

“We’re currently the only ones who can power this machine with mana,” Sunset said. “But it’s not really difficult to learn. Twilight learned how to manipulate hers in but a month, after all. If someone learned how to build the Enchanter and the spell circuitry, we’d lose everything. I, especially, would lose a lot more than you can’t even understand. Twilight suggested we get a patent, but as it turns out, that’s expensive too.”

Twilight nodded gravely. “And that’s why we’re telling you first. You can guide us and help us. This is going to change history forever, but we have to start somewhere.”

Their speech was met with silence, and they stared at each other for so long Sunset started thinking time had stopped. The one to break the silence was Shining Armor.

“Did you say you can preserve food better than fridges?” He asked with an overeager smile. Cadence nudged him on the arm, making him laugh. “What? It’s an honest question.”

Despite herself, Sunset decided to answer honestly. “I never memorized that particular spell. I can extrapolate the arrays I do know and craft the correct circuitry with time, but considering how much time it took me to recreate the much easier illumination and rainbow shifting spells, it might take me two or so years.”

“That’s… quite a long time,” Luna noted.

“It is…” Sunset admitted. She had been thinking about it for a while, and there was only one solution to that issue. The problem was that the issue required Sunset taking a huge risk. Still, if she was to bring magic to the human world, she needed to take risks. She let out a suffering sigh. “But I can return home next spring. I may be able to grab books on spellcrafting.” And some gemstones too if she was even luckier than she’d need to be not to be spotted by Princess Celestia and imprisoned.

Twilight spun on her heels. “You didn’t tell me about that!”

“I’d just be gone for a day.” Even if her room had been cleared of all her stuff —which she hoped it hadn’t— any self-respecting bookstore would sell spellcrafting books, and Sunset did have money in the bank that she knew Princess Celestia wouldn’t take from her, no matter the circumstances.

“But…” Twilight bit her lip.

Sunset understood her reluctance. She had written that letter to the princess, after all, and she was a smart girl. Sunset had no doubts that Twilight understood, at least to some extent, the risk Sunset would be taking by returning to Equestria. Still, it was something she had to do if she wanted to see any progress.

Of course, that would only happen if the adults currently present helped them.

Celestia cleared her throat. “Well, I don’t think Luna and I can help you much in the money department. But we can definitely help you with legal matters. That is, we know people who are experts and can lend a hand.”

Twilight Velvet leaned forward. “We may be able to talk to some of our colleagues that would definitely be interested in these ideas.” She turned to Celestia. “If we band together, we can make this work.”

As the adults kept discussing, Sunset found herself smiling, feeling a nice warmth in her chest. She was glad she had come across people willing to help her ambitions like this. She shuddered to think what would’ve happened if Celestia hadn’t taken her in or if Twilight hadn’t become her partner. Would she have progressed so much on her own? Would she have been taken advantage of?

She sat down at her laptop and sighed, dismissing those thoughts. Though more terrifying ones came to mind as she remembered what she’d offered to do.

Returning to Equestria was easy enough. Simply cross the portal come next spring. But what if Princess Celestia had decided to station guards outside the artifacts vault? Sure, she had claimed that Sunset was not in legal trouble, but she had still been banned from the castle. Technically speaking, her returning would violate that order, and disobeying a direct order from Princess Celestia was punishable by law.

And that was without considering all of Sunset’s belongings. Sure she hadn’t owned much to begin with, but she still had many magic-ready gemstones and books she’d bought with her own money. Were they still in Sunset’s old room? Would Princess Celestia have cleared her room and moved her belongings somewhere else?

As those and many more questions swirled around her head, Sunset realized she still had about four months before she could return. It was more than enough time to think about all possible scenarios.

For now, however, she decided to lean back on her chair and force herself to pay attention to the increasingly animated discussion about the future of human magic technology.

Author's Note

Sunset has come out... as an illegal alien! Also, going back to Equestria?! Dun dun duuuun!

If you liked it, please leave a comment? They give me life.

Chapter 14. Agreement

The garage fell silent as the adults took their discussion to the living room. Sunset took the light bulb, dim now that the enchantment had worn off, and stared at it. The spells had worked as intended with a mere click. Sure, she had struggled for two years, but after many tests, she had confirmed that, so long as the jasper batteries had enough mana, the Enchanter could perform the spells with a reliability of one hundred percent.

No matter how much a horn helped remember the arrays to cast spells, unicorns still needed a great deal of study and talent to perform them reliably. Sunset had talent and had studied and practiced more than anypony else, and it had taken her years to reach a level where she could easily cast spells without mistakes, and new ones only required some amount of practice to get right.

But the Enchanter only needed to know the correct arrays and be fed enough mana. Sure, it still needed somepony to operate it, somepony who knew what she’s doing. But it was as simple as inputting the correct arrays and clicking a button, and there was no need for years of practice or talent. The Enchanter would do it. And the more they improved on it, the faster and more efficient it would become.

Sunset wasn’t sure why the thought sent shivers down her spine.

“Sunset?”

Startled, Sunset dropped the light bulb. Fortunately, she’d been holding it right above the cardboard box it’d been stored in from the beginning, so it didn’t even crack. She turned to Twilight. “What?”

Twilight was standing next to the Enchanter, looking at Sunset with a small frown. “I… I promised I wouldn’t ask, so I won’t.” Her voice was a little shaky. “But I can’t pretend I don’t know… And neither can you.”

Sunset turned her whole body towards Twilight, feeling a raging heat in her stomach. “What are you trying to get at?”

To her credit, Twilight only barely flinched but kept her eyes squared on Sunset. “I may not know what happened between you and the princess, but I know that going to Equestria is dangerous somehow. I…”

“Save it,” Sunset said. “I don’t want to hear it.”

“Sunset-”

“No,” Sunset interrupted her. “You’re right to say you don’t know anything. Whatever it is you want to say to me, just… don’t.”

Twilight crossed her arms. “I’m not going to try to convince you not to go, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

That was exactly what Sunset had been thinking. “Then what? Why bring this up?”

After a hesitant sigh that seemed to drag for a bit too long, Twilight nodded to herself. “I want to go with you.”

Sunset felt her frown deepen, and this time Twilight did step back. “No.”

To Sunset’s surprise, however, Twilight took a step forward. “I… I-I wasn’t asking.”

“Excuse me?!”

“You owe me one,” Twilight said before Sunset could react further. “For writing that letter and not asking about it. You owe me a favor. Well, I want to go to Equestria with you.”

“Wha-no!” Sunset said, and she found herself more surprised than anything. “Why would you want to go?”

Twilight gave another step closer. “You know, I could go on a very long tangent about how no self-respecting scientist and researcher would pass up the opportunity to go to, witness, and study an alternate dimension where magic is as prevalent as modern electric power. But I’d be lying if I said that was my main reason. My main reason for going is that I’m worried about you.”

Sunset raised an eyebrow. “You are worried about me?”

“Yes,” Twilight said, stepping closer. “I only know what you had me write, but it didn’t feel like you left on the best terms with the princess. I want to make sure that nothing happens to you.”

“You-” Sunset chuckled. “You think you’d be able to do anything to stop Princess Celestia from doing whatever she wants?”

Twilight faltered for a moment, then turned her hands into fists. “No, but I can tell her all the good you’re doing in this world, and that whatever happened that made your relationship fall apart surely can’t be that bad.”

Still chuckling, Sunset leaned back and crossed her arms. “Oh, really? What if I told you that I’m a wanted criminal?”

Twilight replied with a smug smile. “I would say you’re being rude for insulting my intelligence. I recall the contents of the letter. You are not a criminal.”

Sunset frowned. Twilight had closed the distance so much she was only a step away. At some point during the past year, Twilight had gone through a growth spurt and was now almost as tall as Sunset. Her eyes sparkled behind her thick glasses, big amethyst irises staring at her. Sunset felt a strange, uncomfortable bubbling in the pit of her stomach.

“I…” She licked her surprisingly dry lips. “What if I refuse?”

“You can’t refuse,” Twilight replied. “You owe me.”

“Well maybe I’m not one to keep my promises.”

Twilight shook her head. “I’d rather you are.”

For some reason she couldn’t understand, Sunset looked away. Why was Twilight being so insistent? Sunset’s plan was to simply get her gemstones and buy books and then return. That was, of course, if she hadn’t already become an alicorn, which then would mean she’d be staying to rule. If that was the case, Twilight could do whatever she wanted with her knowledge about human magic.

Then again, those last words… They resonated within Sunset, making her feel physically ill, like she’d been punched in the gut. Not that she’d ever been punched in the gut, but she thought the feeling was very similar to how people often described it. Sunset wasn’t above breaking promises, especially if they didn’t benefit her. But the more she thought about it, the worse she felt.

‘I’d rather you are’.

Sunset supposed that not feeling sick benefited her enough not to break that promise.

“Fine…” she relented as she looked at Twilight, frowning again at the ear to ear smile. “But there will be rules.”

Twilight nodded energetically. “Rules. Right.”

“First, you will do everything I say you do. We’re not going to the library. As soon as we cross the portal, we’ll be in an access-restricted vault within the royal palace. Just being there is punishable by imprisonment. If we’re discovered, you’ll simply be thrown back through the mirror, and I…” She shook her head. “I want to grab spellbooks and gemstones to improve the Enchanter, so it’ll be better if we’re not spotted at all.”

That erased Twilight’s smile. “That makes it sound like you’re going to steal.”

Sunset chuckled. “Nothing further from the truth. I would only get things I own or buy them with my money. However, if Princess Celestia discovers I’m there… Well, I don’t really know if I’ll be able to return to this world at all.”

Twilight’s eyes widened as her pupils shrank. “Why not?”

Sunset shook her head. “I don’t want to talk about it. If you’re coming with me, then you’ll have to do everything I say to reduce the chances of being found out.”

Pursing her lips, Twilight gave her a slow nod. “Fine.”

An idea popped in Sunset’s mind, and she couldn't help but smile. “Also, make sure to ask your parents for permission.” She snickered when Twilight’s face paled. “I’m guessing this is at the same level as asking them to let you visit another country for a few days. Except there’s no internet connection between worlds.”

Twilight stepped back and took a hand to her chin. “That’s true… Sunset, you have to help me convince them.”

“I don’t have to do anything,” Sunset said with a grin. “I don’t want you to go in the first place.”

“Sunset!”

“Good luck!” Sunset singsonged as she turned around and exited the garage.

The adults were still discussing in the dining room, drinking what looked like orange juice from glasses and writing on loose sheets of paper. A plate at the center held several halves of sandwiches. It was still a few hours from lunch, but they didn’t seem in the mood to cook anything. Sunset sat at one of the empty seats to listen in on the conversation. Cadence offered her a glass of juice and a plate so she could grab a sandwich.

Sunset had always taken pride in her intelligence. She could learn the most complex spells and enchantments with ease, and she had educated herself in many other areas. The day after she’d decided to become a princess, Sunset had studied economics and had found it challenging in its own right, but nothing she couldn’t understand. So it was a massive hit to her ego when she couldn’t follow the current discussion.

In Equestria, opening a business was as easy as getting it registered. A pony could sell or offer services related to their Cutie Mark or otherwise, and then pay taxes off their earnings. In the human world, however, there seemed to be so many procedures and so many technical terms that Sunset found herself bewildered. It all looked like a massive amount of work. Would she even have time left to dedicate to her project?

After about twenty minutes of having arrived, Sunset spotted Twilight coming into the dining room. She didn’t sit down and instead looked around like a lost child, frowning a little when she briefly looked at Sunset. Eventually, her mom realized she was there.

“Twilight, what are you doing there? Come sit down.”

Twilight remained standing. “Uhm…”

Her hesitation seemed to stir something in her family, as everyone turned to look at her, which made her hunch over herself. Sunset barely managed to stop herself from snickering, though she still smiled at the scene. Twilight fidgeted, wriggling her hands and shifting her weight from one foot to the other.

“Twily?” Shining asked.

Twilight took a deep breath. “Remember that Sunset said she’d go back to her world?” She waited for everyone to nod. “I… I want to go with her.”

Twilight’s parents looked at each other, then at Twilight, then at Sunset. “You know,” Night Light said, “I think we glossed over that fact really quick. Sunset, how did you come to this world?”

Sunset shook her head. “The way here is a state secret. I already informed the princess that only four people know of it. I wouldn’t like to become a liar.” She grinned at Twilight’s raised eyebrow.

“So…” Twilight Velvet said. “Can you tell us anything about your world?”

Leaning back on her chair, Sunset hummed as she thought about how to answer. “I don’t really know how to answer that.” Especially considering she wanted to hide the fact they were all ponies. “It’s very different from this world. For instance, you guys are a lot more advanced when it comes to technology.”

“Really?” Luna asked. “I would never have guessed, considering that you use your laptop normally and you girls built that machine.”

Sunset shrugged.

“I have a question,” Shining said, raising a hand. “I know that… upon going to your world…” Sunset nodded, appreciating his attempt at secrecy. “I know that you’ll arrive directly at the princess’ castle. Will that be safe?”

Everyone turned to look at Sunset. She cocked her head. “Why wouldn’t it be?”

Shining stared at her with a baffled expression. “I… Ok, how do I say this? Under heavy security?”

While everyone looked at him funny, Sunset understood what he was trying to say. The portal was inside a restricted vault that only Princess Celestia had access to. It would be considered a criminal offense to enter without clearance. That was the reason Sunset wanted to go alone; it was easier to sneak around without having to worry about somepony else messing it up.

“Well,” Sunset said slowly. “The worst that can happen is that Twilight would be sent back right away.” Being a native from this world, Princess Celestia would have no right to incarcerate her or give her any other punishment.

Shining frowned slightly. “Are you certain?”

“Are you calling me a liar?”

“No,” Shining replied almost immediately, as if he had expected the question. “I’m just worried about Twilight. I mean, I’m guessing we wouldn’t be allowed to come with you.”

That made Twilight’s parents frown. “We wouldn’t?” Her mom asked.

Sunset sighed. “Look, I’ll be straight with you. I came to this world to study magic. Since I haven’t finished doing that, I can’t… really return, yet.” She paused to think of the right words to say. “Me going back without achieving my goal will be taken as a failure, so I don’t even plan on announcing my return, since I’ll just be gathering materials and resources.” A truth by technicality. Sunset was impressed with herself. “At most, I’d only be there for two days. The only reason I’m even considering taking Twilight with me is because I promised.”

As they considered her words, Sunset crossed her arms and glared straight at Shining. “If I’m spotted, I won’t be permitted to return to this world. Twilight, being an outsider, will simply be forced back here. Prin…” She briefly glanced at Celestia. “The princess wouldn’t hurt someone simply for being in the wrong place.” She chuckled. “At most she’ll very firmly request Twilight not to return before sending her back.”

After all, after everything Sunset had done, Princess Celestia had simply terminated her apprenticeship and banished her from the palace. She could have banished Sunset from Canterlot altogether, or worse, thrown her in a dungeon cell.

Twilight senior looked at her daughter. “And why do you want to go?”

With a gasp, Twilight stepped forward. “Why? It’s an alternate world where magic is common! Imagine all I’d learn by simply being there! Who wouldn’t like to go and experience it?”

Night Light rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Sweetie-”

“Please,” Twilight insisted. “I… I’m willing to go without presents for my birthday.” That froze her parents mid reply. “And Christmas!”

“Twi-”

“For two years!”

“Twilight!” Night Light said forcefully but not quite yelling. “Come sit down.”

Twilight looked like she wanted to keep talking, but instead simply nodded and sat down next to her dad.

“Twilight, we’re not saying no,” her mom said. “We just want to know as much as we can. This is highly irregular, after all. I mean, we can’t even know how you’d get there? That’s concerning, to say the least.”

“I…” Twilight glanced at Sunset for a second. “I know how. I can’t tell you that, but I can say it’s nothing unsafe. Riding a car is a lot more dangerous in comparison.”

At that, everyone looked at Sunset for confirmation. She shrugged. “She may experience a little dizziness.”

Shining barked a laugh. “And considering she loved riding those crazy rollercoasters, that might not even apply.”

“And…” Night Light said. “What exactly would you girls be doing there?

Sunset thought it over. There weren’t many things she’d be able to do, considering she’d be hiding from Princess Celestia the whole time. “I haven’t thought up a schedule, but if I had to say something off the top of my head… I’ll be gathering spellbooks in order to easily recreate spells with the Enchanter. I also want to visit some gemstores and metallurgic shops…” She trailed off. Now that she thought about it, having Twilight with her wasn’t that bad of an idea. She could help carry the materials, which meant Sunset would be able to bring twice as much.

“That sounds like too much work and not enough fun,” Cadence said with a smile.

“I’ll say,” Celestia agreed.

Sunset felt herself sneer and barely managed to contain it. “I’m not going there to have fun.”

“We know,” Cadence said, giggling. “But Twilight definitely will.”

Sunset looked at Twilight, who had the decency to blush. “Look, if you have your parents’ permission, you can come with me. But we’re not there for vacation. Actually… Luna, can you lend me your phone for a moment?” Startled at the sudden request, Luna unlocked her phone and handed it to Sunset. After a few minutes, Sunset found what she’d been looking for, and couldn’t help but grin. “The days we’ll be gone will be in the middle of the week.” Her grin widened along with Twilight’s eyes. “That means you’ll have to skip class.”

Everyone turned to look at Twilight as she paled every so slightly. “I…” She looked at her parents, then at Sunset. “Are you sure?”

Sunset nodded.

“Wait,” Cadence said. “Why not schedule it for a weekend?”

“Because I have no say in it,” Sunset replied. “If I did, I’d go tomorrow instead of in four months.”

Night Light cleared his throat. “Well, Twilight. Considering you have a perfect attendance record, I personally wouldn’t mind you missing one or two days of class, but…” He didn’t say more, and he didn’t need to. It was quite obvious that Twilight took her studies quite seriously.

Twilight simply stared at Sunset, eyes narrowed, lips pursed, and cheeks red. The sight was almost cute. “You…” she said, sounding like she wasn’t quite sure the words were the right ones.

“And,” Sunset continued, enjoying the strained face Twilight made, “you can’t bring homework with you, or any kind of school work for that matter. We’ll be going with nothing but the clothes we’ll be wearing.” Considering she had been wearing pajamas when she arrived, despite having been naked, Sunset wondered if the portal had interpreted fur as clothes, and if so, if a naked human crossing the portal would result in a furless pony.

By this point, Twilight was shaking so much even her parents started giving her worried looks. After a few minutes, she finally stopped, then took a deep breath, taking a hand to her chest, only to then breathe out slowly. To Sunset’s surprise, she actually smiled.

“I’ll go.”

Author's Note

Twilights has successfully invited herself to a roundtrip to Equestria. I'm sure nothing can go wrong!

If you liked it, please do leave a comment. They're the bread for my hunger.

Chapter 15. The Missing Girl

Sunset lifted her pencil and regarded her work. Finally, she had managed to draw a competent blueprint, one that didn’t look like a filly’s doodle. She still wasn’t happy with it, but it was progress. She guessed that if she kept practicing, she’d be able to draw a blueprint she wouldn’t be ashamed to show by the time she went to Equestria.

“What’s that?”

Sunset raised her head just as Celestia sat next to her. Ever since she’d seen the Enchanter at work, she’d become more insistent in trying to make small talk with Sunset. It had quickly become quite tiresome.

“I’m trying to design better versions for the Enchanter,” she replied. Now that she had decided to go back to Equestria to get proper materials and they were going to get financial help, Sunset had decided it would be a good idea to go ahead and make improvements so that she could start working right away.

Celestia stared at the blueprint for a long time, despite being unable to understand what anything meant. It was such a weird feeling to Sunset, knowing that there was something Celestia didn’t know, even if this wasn’t an immortal alicorn princess. Still, the calm demeanor was very similar and made Sunset nervous.

“I’ve… been meaning to ask,” Celestia said without looking away from the blueprint. “Whenever you talk about the princess of your world, you make it a point not to mention her name.”

That wasn’t a question, so Sunset didn’t reply.

“At first I thought it was simply because her name is the same as mine, and you wanted to avoid confusion. But after a while, I began thinking that that might not be the case at all.” Her eyes narrowed ever so slightly, and Sunset could see in them something she’d never seen in the princess, something she now remembered she felt two years ago, when she decided to stay in this world. “Is your world…” Celestia said, hesitantly licking her lips. “Is it, maybe, more similar to this one than you’re letting on?”

Sunset frowned, but Celestia wasn’t looking at her. “What do you mean?”

Celestia gently placed two fingers on the sheet of paper, careful not to smudge the drawing. “I have the same name as your princess,” she said. “Would I be wrong to assume that we’re also similar in other ways?”

Sunset felt her stomach fall. She should’ve guessed that even this Celestia would be astute enough to notice things. “Yes,” she replied begrudgingly. “Same hair, same eyes, and overall same personality.” She was being vague on purpose since she really didn’t want to spend too much time talking about the princess.

“I see,” Celestia said. “And… How about our age? Is it the same?”

Sunset snickered. “Absolutely not. She’s much older.”

Celestia nodded, as if she had expected that answer. “Have you… encountered others that are similar to people from your world?”

“No…” Sunset said by reflex, but that wasn’t true, was it? She considered lying, but she was curious where Celestia was going with this. “Actually, yes. There’s also a Cadence in my world.”

“Really?”

“Yes. She’s also a princess.” She barely held back the urge to gag at the admission. “Same hair, eyes, etc.”

Celestia leaned back on her chair. “They are sisters in your world?”

Sunset shook her head. “Princess Celestia adopted her as her niece… It’s complicated.” And she really didn’t want to talk about that. She had started liking human Cadence, and thinking about the pony one ruined it.

“Once is mere happenstance,” Celestia said. “Twice is a coincidence. But three times is a pattern.”

Sunset blinked. “Three?”

Celestia looked at her with a frown, and even though she was a different species altogether, Sunset still recognized it. It was a frown the princess always had when she was about to deliver bad news. Sunset braced herself.

“Sunset, what I’m about to tell you might be difficult to process, but I think you deserve to know.” She waited until Sunset nodded. “About twenty years ago, when I first became a teacher… I met a girl called Sunset Shimmer.”

Sunset felt a chill run down her spine. Twenty years? That was such a big temporal difference! Then again, Princess Celestia had been around much, much longer than the human one. What was up with that?

Celestia didn’t seem aware of Sunset’s thoughts, as she kept talking. “She looked exactly like you do. Same face, same hair… You really surprised me when you came out of the portal.”

“I guess so,” Sunset said. “Where is she now?” If there was a much older version of her running around, she’d like to ask her some questions, see if she could help her solve this temporal conundrum.

However, Celestia simply shook her head. “I don’t know,” she whispered. “She went missing.”

For some reason she didn’t understand, Sunset felt a sharp pain in her chest. She looked down at her blueprint, but instead she saw the mirror and her reflection looking back at her right as she lunged for it.

“I know the answer will most likely be a no, but… I was wondering if there are more portals between our worlds.” Celestia looked at the blueprint as well. “Maybe she… stumbled upon one and…”

“There’s only the one portal,” Sunset said. She had read as much in the book she’d found in the restricted section of the royal library. Then again, it was also a possibility that there were indeed more portals and Princess Celestia had censored their existence, much like she had with the one Sunset knew of.

“I understand,” Celestia said, though her voice was so low Sunset barely heard it. She made to stand up, but Sunset interrupted her.

“What was she like?” The question surprised even Sunset. Why did she even care?

Celestia gave her the smallest of smiles. “Smart. Kind. A bit of a lone wolf, but with a great eye for art. She once told me she was considering becoming a teacher.”

A teacher? Sunset would never consider such a thing. She had no patience for teaching.

“Anyway… I just wanted to ask you this,” Celestia said as she stood up. “Thank you for indulging me.” Without waiting for an answer, she left.

Sunset wasn’t sure what to think. All of this had come so suddenly that she needed a few minutes to gather her bearings. A human Sunset Shimmer seemed to prove her theory that the human world and Equestria were mirroring each other on an individual scale. The difference in species was baffling. Why did ponies have counterparts, but those counterparts were not ponies themselves? She could understand the difference in geography and history, given the overabundance of magic and magical creatures in Equestria and the lack thereof in the human world. But the change of species was… confusing, to say the least.

And that was without taking into consideration that, as far as Sunset knew, humans very rarely lived up to 100 years old. But in Equestria, not only was Princess Celestia over a thousand, but dragons also tended to live for many centuries, and some other creatures were thought to be near immortal as well.

That meant that the mirroring aspect was not a hundred percent.

As Sunset pondered these questions, she kept going back to thinking about the other Sunset. Her human counterpart, who was much older than she was and had gone missing. Celestia hadn’t given her any more details, and Sunset hadn’t even thought about asking her. Where was she? Why had she disappeared? And why did Celestia look so troubled about it?

Had Celestia driven her away, like the princess had done with Sunset? But Celestia had been a mere teacher back then, not an all powerful alicorn princess.

By the time she snapped out of her thoughts, Luna had begun preparing dinner. Sunset decided to put those thoughts away since there was no use in entertaining them. If that other Sunset ever returned, then Sunset could ask her a question or two, out of pure morbid curiosity if nothing else. If not… Well, Sunset really didn’t care.

That same weekend, she told Twilight about her conversation with Celestia. Not because she had wanted to, but because Twilight had already passed the six minute mark on her aria about midterms and Sunset really needed her to shut up.

“So, let me get this straight,” Twilight said after munching on her burger. They had set up a small table in the garage, next to the Enchanter, to draw up designs and, as was the case at the moment, eat lunch. “Everyone has a pony counterpart in your world?”

“I wouldn’t say everyone,” Sunset replied. She had already finished her burger and was lazily munching on one of her fries. “So far there are only three confirmed instances.”

“That’s already a pattern,” Twilight said without missing a beat. “Especially considering one of those instances has to do with you.”

Sunset ate another of her fries. “Still, there’s no real way to prove anything. The portal opens only every thirty moons. Studying whether the worlds mirror each other would be extremely difficult and, honestly, a useless endeavor.”

“Useless?” Twilight said, offended. “Where’s your scientific curiosity? What do you think would happen if you were to meet your counterpart? Would you keep saying the exact same words over and over? Would you somehow establish a connection to each other and be able to read each other’s mind? Would you feel attracted to each other due to a potentiated narcissist drive that many have when looking at a mirror?”

Sunset looked at the ceiling. “Shouldn’t have told you anything.”

Twilight blushed. “I was joking!” Her nervous chuckle didn’t support her claim. “In all seriousness, though. This all begs the question, how are we going to hide?”

“Hide?” Sunset asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Well, you don’t want to be spotted by the princess,” Twilight explained. “And if we have counterparts in your world, there’s a chance I have one too, right?” She poured some ketchup on her fries. “If we happen to walk by someone who knows her, they’d know something’s wrong. I’m guessing you don’t want anyone getting suspicious, do you?”

Sunset stared at her for a moment. “I was planning on casting some illusion spells to avoid detection at the palace, then getting some mane and tail dye and something to cover up my Cutie Mark to freely roam about the city.”

Twilight nodded. “Dye and…” She blinked. “Cover up your Cutie Mark? You… you did say it appears on your thighs, but…” She trailed off, frowning. “But you’re ponies, so…”

“It’s on our flanks,” Sunset said. “A skirt should be enough to cover it up.”

“I see…”

The rest of the day was relatively quiet, with Twilight mainly asking questions about magic. Sunset didn’t mind replying, since Twilight would eventually have to learn about it if she was to ever operate the Enchanter on her own. However, as the day came to an end, Sunset couldn’t shake off the feeling that Twilight had wanted to talk about something else. Well, whatever it was, it couldn’t have been important.

Author's Note

Short chapter this week, but kinda important (?)

The big day is approaching!

If you liked it, please do leave a comment!

Chapter 16. Thirtieth Moon

In the end, Twilight did receive presents for both her birthday and the Christmas holiday. Sunset had laughed at her bewildered expression when her parents explained to her that she had earned a couple days of missing school. Sure, they were worried about her leaving not the country, but the world entirely, but they said they also trusted Sunset when she said it would be safe.

Sunset had felt a strange warmth in her face when they had said that.

As the months passed, Sunset’s drawing skill improved just as she had expected. She had gone from vague shapes to actually well proportioned blueprints of possible designs for the Enchanter. Of course, she took into consideration what she knew about reagent minerals for more efficient spellcasting. Though more than a few times she went a bit crazy and drew some outright impossible blueprints, simply because she found herself in a good mood.

However, as March came around, Sunset started feeling a certain sense of dread overcoming her. She shoved away her drawings, her violin practice, and she even stopped going to Twilight’s house. Instead, she locked herself in her room and kept writing plans and schedules and routes to take when the time came to return to Equestria.

Sure, the letter she had made Twilight write said that Sunset wouldn’t return until she was the princess’ equal, and considering that Celestia wouldn’t think of Sunset that way, it was a safe bet that she wouldn’t expect her to return so soon. That was, of course, if Celestia took the words at face value. If she didn’t, then Sunset would cross the portal and find the princess lounging on a divan right next to the portal, gorging herself on cake and tea, ready to throw Sunset into a dungeon or something.

That would be the worst case scenario. And just like she had told Twilight’s parents, Princess Celestia would simply turn the girl around and shove her through the portal again. And that was the main reason Sunset had spent the past three months making improved designs of the Enchanter and putting together a comprehensive guide of all the arrays she could remember and the many situations they could be used in to create spells, as well as writing a guide on basic magical manipulation.

If Sunset couldn’t return, she could at least make sure Twilight would continue her work. The human world would get a magical revolution either way, and Sunset would hopefully be rewarded with ascension. And if not… Well, at least Sunset would have the satisfaction of knowing something that the princess didn’t; that the human world did have magic, and that Sunset was the one to prove it and make it commonplace. Her name would go down in history, and there was nothing Princess Celestia could do about it.

Her heart hammered in her chest as she finished writing that scenario. Even though she tried to remain positive, it definitely wasn’t a scenario she wanted to play out. She took deep breaths to calm herself before she started writing other possible scenarios.

Her final scenario was the best possible outcome. Upon returning to Equestria, Sunset would discover she’d become an alicorn on her own accord. Princess Celestia would be forced to recognize her, and they’d then rule Equestria as equals. Sunset would rule the north and east, and Celestia could retain the south and west. Canterlot would be the only city they’d rule together. And of course, Sunset would make Twilight an official ambassador between worlds, visiting every thirty moons to report on the progress of magical technology in the human world.

After writing all the possible scenarios she could think of, Sunset started making plans to improve her odds from the bad ones. What if there were guards stationed outside of the vault? What if there were magical wards around the vault? What if the princess had lied and there was an issue for her arrest? What if she got recognized?

Those and many more questions were written as a list, and Sunset spent every waking moment answering them all with possible solutions. She was the smartest and most powerful unicorn in all of Equestria; there were very few things she couldn’t do, and so there were very few things she couldn’t plan for. As it stood, the only thing that would thwart all of her plans was Princess Celestia.

Even Cadence wouldn’t pose that big of a problem. She barely had any experience with unicorn magic, so Sunset was pretty confident she could easily fool her. But Celestia? If she got involved, there was little Sunset could do about it. So all her plans regarding the white alicorn required Sunset to flee and hide.

Despite how much she hated it.

“Sunset?”

Sunset yelped. She hadn’t heard the door opening. She turned from her desk so fast that she knocked over her stack of papers. Twilight was standing at the door, looking around. Her surprise turned to shock, then realization that this was the very first time since they had met that Twilight had visited her and not the other way around. And Sunset found herself astonished when she felt a pang of nervous excitement at the fact that Twilight was gazing at her room.

Her messy room. With an unmade bed, clothes on a pile in a corner, and now a bunch of stray paper sheets on the floor. She then chastised herself. What did she care?

“What are you doing here?” Sunset asked, and blushed at the strange shakiness of her own voice. What on Tartarus was happening to her?

Fortunately, Twilight didn’t seem to have noticed. “You’ve holed up in your room for two weeks, barely going out to eat anything. Miss Celestia asked me to come since you wouldn’t even answer them. I’ve been worried too, you know?”

Sunset huffed. “Well, as you can see, I’m fine. Now leave me be. We still have ten days before the portal opens.”

Instead of leaving, Twilight entered the room, which sent a very strange shiver down Sunset’s spine. “Are you sure you’re fine?” She eyed the paper sheets on the floor, and before Sunset could stop her, she picked one and read it over.

“Hey! That’s-”

“Sunset,” Twilight said with a small frown. “Are you worried about going back?”

Sunset snatched the paper from Twilight and gave it a quick glance. It was a sketch of the palace’s gardens, along with detailed descriptions of the best hiding spots and three marked routes to avoid guard patrols.

With a growl, Sunset started picking up all the sheets from the floor. “I’m not worried. I’m being cautious.”

Twilight crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. “Uh huh.”

Sunset sneered at her, standing up and placing the sheets on her desk. “Alright, what’s your problem?”

“I don’t have a problem,” Twilight said calmly. “Do you?”

Her equanimity was so stable that Sunset faltered. Since when did Twilight become so serene? It infuriated Sunset. “I don’t have a problem!” she yelled.

This time, Twilight did step back with a flinch. Sunset paused, then forced herself to take a deep breath. She let out a long sigh as she sat back on her chair. When Twilight followed suit and sat on the bed, Sunset felt a sudden void in her stomach. She was about to tell her to leave again, but Twilight spoke first.

“Look, I’m not going to ask you to talk to me,” Twilight said. “But if you need an ear, you know I’m here.”

Sunset felt herself seething. She wanted to yell at Twilight for barging into her room unannounced and confronting her about something she didn’t want to share with anyone. Twilight didn’t —couldn’t— understand how Sunset felt, yet she was acting as if she did, as if she had suddenly become a sage or something. And to top it off, she was still sitting on Sunset’s bed!

Blinking at that last thought, Sunset’s raging fury evaporated. Why was she fixating on that? She once again took a deep breath to calm herself.

“Look, Twilight,” she said after a while. “I don’t want to talk about it, ok? My issues are my own and I’ll deal with them my way.”

Twilight nodded slowly. “Alright. But you got everyone worried. At least promise me you’ll get out of your room more often?”

“Fine,” Sunset said. Now that she was done there, Sunset decided to tell Twilight to leave. Instead she said, “Want to go over some new improvements for the Enchanter?”

Huh.

As Twilight’s face brightened, Sunset pulled a folder where she had her blueprints. They spent a few hours talking and discussing, and Sunset made it a point not to sit on her bed for as long as Twilight was there.

~~~~~~~~

Ten days later, on Tuesday evening, Sunset stared down at the slab of stone that held the portal to Equestria. A fresh breeze embraced her, making her shiver ever so slightly. The weather had been getting warmer as winter came to an end, but nights were still rather cold. Even with her jacket, Sunset could barely handle it.

“With Miss Celestia’s permission, I’ll have my car parked at her designated space in the faculty lot,” Shining was saying to a serious looking Twilight. “If anything happens and you’re sent back, you can meet me there.”

“If school’s in session, you can come to my office, since it’s closer,” Celestia said. “Luna and I will make sure that at least one of us is there at all times, just in case.”

“You look just old enough to be a freshman,” Luna added. “So don’t worry about standing out. Just walk with confidence and no one will get in your way.”

Shining cleared his throat. “Of course, that’s only if you get sent back. Ideally, you’ll be back on Thursday evening. Isn’t that right, Sunset?”

Sunset didn’t turn to look at him. She simply nodded. She placed a hand on the cold, rough surface of the portal and could feel the pulsations of the arrays as easily as if she were a unicorn, which was a stark contrast from where she had started. Closing her eyes, she focused on the arrays. Unlike all the other times she had done this, this was the night the portal would open again, and she wanted to see if something would be different.

It didn’t take her long to prove herself right. But what she felt was unlike what she had been expecting.

The four battery arrays, which she could now pinpoint where located at the corners of the stone slab, were almost completely drained. She felt her stomach fall. Were the enchantments malfunctioning? She quickly went over the rest of arrays, even those she didn’t know or couldn’t quite remember. But she didn’t find any disruptions in the pulsations. In fact, she noticed that some of the remaining magic of the batteries was slowly swirling around the rest of the arrays uninterrupted. This was the telltale sign that one of the enchantments was being activated.

She recognized it as the Awareness Spell, which was connected to a solidifying spell that would prevent passage to anyone unaware of the portal.

So the enchantments were all working. Sunset tried to analyze the information she had. The batteries weren’t completely empty, which was fortunate since that would result in all the enchantments to stop working altogether. If Sunset had to guess, by the current rate they were being drained, they could last another week on their own. However, the moonlight magic they would receive for the following three nights would be more than enough to fill up the batteries again.

That was so strange. It went against everything Sunset had assumed about how the portal worked. Unfortunately, she didn’t have time to keep investigating, since her hand felt a sudden tingling sensation, and it began sinking into the stone. Out of instinct alone, Sunset retrieved her hand with a quiet gasp, then mentally facehooved at her panic.

The portal had just opened.

“It’s time,” she announced, turning around to look at the others. She snickered when she noticed Shining’s shocked face. Sunset had probably interrupted him mid lecture.

Shining hunched over and grabbed Twilight by her cheeks. “Follow Sunset’s lead. Don’t get so distracted that you lose sight of her. And do establish a reunion point in case you do get separated. Obvious landmarks are best. And-”

“Shining!” Twilight said through squished lips. “I’ll be fine.”

“I know,” Shining said, then gave her a kiss on her forehead. “Take care.”

“S-Stop!” Twilight said as she struggled out of his grasp. Her face turned a deep shade of red. “I’m not a kid anymore!” She escaped his reach and stepped next to Sunset.

“Sunset,” Celestia said, making Sunset flinch slightly. “You take care too.”

Warmth spread through Sunset’s face. She turned fully towards the portal before Celestia could see her blushing. “I will.” Then she stepped through.

Author's Note

The time has arrived. The girls are going to Equestria to ~~have fun~~ gather materials.

If you liked it, please fo leave a comment!

(Yes I know I usually publish on Thursdays... Sorry about that)

Chapter 17. The Royal Palace

Sunset was ready for the vortex of light blinding her with so many colors she couldn’t remember them all. What she wasn’t ready for was the uncomfortable sensation of her body twisting and reshaping itself. She was sure she remembered something like that from the first time she had crossed the portal, but her mind had been focused more on what she had done than on what the portal did to her.

She felt bones being enlarged and others shrunk, and some disappeared while others grew. Her entire body was being reshaped, and she was really glad that it didn’t really hurt. Though it was definitely uncomfortable to feel her fur growing out of her skin, and her fingers retreat to give way for her hooves. However, she did feel elated at the feeling of her horn jutting out of her forehead. Finally.

Something that felt like a particularly strong gust of wind pushed her forward. She knew from experience that that feeling heralded her arrival, so she braced herself. Since she was ready, she was able to perceive the exact moment she crossed the mirror’s surface. Stepping on wobbly legs, Sunset felt her stomach hurl as her sense of balance was suddenly way off, as if her body was trying to fall…

She huffed at her own stupidity, letting herself fall on four legs.

She looked at her sides, even if the darkness didn’t really let her see much of herself. There were no wings attached to her sides. She sighed disappointedly, then looked around, searching for white fur, be it from an alicorn or a royal guard. She looked to her left, then to her right. She was alone.

Something smashed onto her from behind, as if somepony had dropped a bag of potatoes onto her, and fell to the ground. Of course, Twilight had crossed right after her. Sunset wanted to be mad at her, but she should’ve stepped out of the way in retrospect.

“Ow…” Twilight moaned from somewhere above. Sunset couldn’t blame her.

Still, they couldn’t afford to dawdle. Sunset pushed Twilight off her and scanned the room. It didn’t look like the artifacts vault. In fact, it didn’t look like any room she was familiar with. To the left of the mirror there was a nondescript wall that split into two small hallways, each leading to a red door with golden frames. To the right there was a curtain. Looking up, Sunset realized that the room was extremely tall. She couldn’t even see the ceiling, considering they were in almost total darkness.

“On your hooves, Twilight,” Sunset whispered, looking at the near-black blob that she was reasonably sure was Twilight’s body. “Something’s not right.”

The blob shifted, confirming that it was indeed Twilight. “Am I a pony? I can’t see my arms. Oh, is that a tail? This feels so weird.”

Sunset considered casting a light spell, but since she didn’t know where they were, she decided to hold off on that. She didn’t want to risk triggering any magic sensitive alarms. Instead, she walked, as silently as she could, towards the curtain. Carefully, she slid her hoof between the curtain and the wall, and pushed it away just enough for her to take a peek. She gasped, recognizing the room beyond even if she had never seen it from this angle.

It was the throne room.

Why was the portal right behind the throne room? Did Princess Celestia move it there to capture Sunset as soon as she returned? But if that was the case, then, where was she? The princess was many things, but Sunset was sure she wasn’t the kind to play around. If she wasn’t there, ready to throw Sunset in a dungeon, that meant that the princess either didn’t intend to, or simply believed the letter Twilight had written, saying Sunset wouldn’t return.

And that still begged the question of the portal’s location.

Hesitant, loud steps sounded from behind. “Walking on all fours feels really weird,” Twilight said as she approached Sunset.

Sunset let the curtain fall, covering them in almost total darkness again. She hadn’t planned for the mirror to have been moved, but it didn’t really ruin her many plans. She just needed to adjust the route, which was decidedly easier now. She was more well acquainted with the palace’s layout of the general areas than she was of the restricted ones.

“You better get used to them fast, Twilight,” Sunset said. “I need you to follow me as silently as you can.”

“I can do that,” Twilight replied, though she didn’t sound very confident.

It would have to do.

“Alright, come on then.”

Sunset crossed the curtain, careful not to disturb it too much. Despite the hour, the throne room was illuminated by the moon, its light filtering through the massive windows on the eastern side, casting dark shadows on less than half of the room. Sunset walked carefully, acutely aware of the slight echoes their hooves made. There were no other sounds, so she could hear her own breathing. To say that she was tense would be an understatement.

Halfway through, Sunset became aware that only her hooves were making sound. She held back a huff and turned around to see what Twilight was doing and tell her a thing or two.

She froze just as she opened her mouth.

Twilight had indeed stopped walking, right above the thin shadows of one of the windows’ frames. She was looking outside at the night sky with a mesmerized expression on her face. A face that Sunset was seeing properly for the first time.

Bathed under the silver moonlight, Twilight almost appeared to glow. Her big amethyst-violet eyes, somewhat clouded by the lens of her thick glasses, reflected an almost perfect image of the mare in the moon. Her mane, a blue as deep as the night sky, fell in neat, straight bangs to cover most of her forehead and the side of her neck, with two neat streaks running across, one pink and the other purple. The glasses that had come with her sat neatly upon her delicate muzzle, which lifted a bit at the tip of her nose and made a soft curve down to her mouth, where thin, soft-looking lips hung ajar. Her cheeks were a bit puffy, giving her jaw a slightly rounded curve down to her neck, around which was the best friends necklace she’d given her.

Said neck led to the rest of her body, which Sunset now noticed was covered in soft lavender fur which seemed to shine silver at the very tips, giving her an ethereal look. Twilight’s shoulders were small and arched tenderly to her forelegs, which followed a slender curve to her knees, bending ever so slightly to her thin pasterns, upon which her fetlocks caressed her hooves.

Twilight’s withers established her rather short stature, cresting at little more than a hoof from the ground. Her belly and her back both made a deliciously gentle curve towards her hindquarters, giving her a most feminine figure. Her flanks, adorned by her Cutie Mark, spoke of a lifetime sitting around to read, but with a decent enough lift one wouldn’t notice unless looking for it. And her tail, which followed a similar straight cut pattern as her mane, was giving soft, absentminded flicks —a sign of Twilight’s captivation by the night sky.

The last thing Sunset noticed was the horn that jutted out of Twilight’s head. Average in length, with a soft rounded tip and a thick base. While some in Canterlot favored long and sharp horns due to a stupidly misguided belief that longer horns meant larger mana pools, any unicorn worth their salt would know better. Twilight’s horn was the picture of health, as the ridges spiraling down from the tip looked wide enough to allow for proper mana flow.

“So beautiful…” Twilight whispered.

Her words seemed to awaken something inside Sunset. She broke out of her trance and noticed that her breathing was hot against her face, and her heart was beating with fast and furious beats. And when she remembered to close her mouth, she felt her lips uncomfortably dry. She tried to speak, but her jaw felt like it was made of jelly, and the pit of her stomach felt as if she had swallowed a swarm of parasprites.

Sunset swallowed dryly as warmth spread through her entire body at the sight of Twilight's glimmering form. She wanted to deny, right there and then, that she was most definitely not feeling what she was feeling, but the rational part of her brain refused to let her play dumb. Still, acknowledging those feelings didn’t mean that she had to accept them. It didn’t matter that Twilight was impossibly beautiful as a pony, Sunset couldn’t allow herself to be distracted at the moment. They needed to keep moving.

“Twilight,” Sunset hissed. “Get moving.”

Twilight flinched, snapping out of her reverie. “Right, so-” she stopped when she looked at Sunset. “Oh my goodness! Sunset, is that you? You look adorable!”

Sunset felt herself blush in equal amounts flattery and indignation. “Can you tone it down?” She said, still hissing. “Or do you want the whole castle to know we’re here?”

“Sorry,” Twilight said, taking a hoof to her mouth.

Huffing, Sunset turned around and continued the trek towards the room’s entrance. This time, her heart sounded louder than the clopping of their hooves in her ears. She reached the massive double doors and, signaling Twilight to stop for a moment, pressed her ear against them and waited.

She knew that the antechamber to the throne room was usually unguarded at night, but she didn’t want to take any chances. When she was reasonably sure that her knowledge was true, she pushed one of the doors ajar and slowly stuck her head out. Confirming that the coast was clear, she held the door so that Twilight could go through first, which meant she left her soft lavender fragrance lingering in the air for Sunset to fill her lungs with and—

Focus! Sunset admonished herself, ignoring the heat in her face and making sure the door made as little noise as possible when it closed. Once in the antechamber, which was almost as big as the throne room itself, Sunset felt brave enough to try casting a spell.

She closed her eyes and started channeling her mana through her horn. The action came so naturally to her that she barely had time to register the relief she felt. Recalling the different arrays she had learned was also extremely easy, and this time she did marvel at the thought. She had never thought much about it, but her horn really did help in spellcasting in more ways than just mana channeling. For while she had struggled to remember arrays as a human, now she did with as much clarity as she did the colors.

She pictured her magic flowing in the air around her horn, energizing fixed points in the Harmonic Veil in a specific pattern. Hundreds upon hundreds of pulsations made up the different arrays that made up the spell she wanted to cast, and eventually became a full magical circuit. What had taken her two years of hard work, several failures, and minutes on end waiting around for a stupid machine to work, she did in only a couple seconds.

Her horn flashed a dim light, and the light became a translucent wave that spread through the antechamber. It was a basic scanning spell. It detected any alterations in the Harmonic Veil and returned the values. To her surprise, there were no magical wards or alarms anywhere near the throne room. At least, not any that her basic scanning could detect. Still, she wasn’t confident enough to try teleporting, at least not within the castle. The effects on the Harmonic Veil would remain for days, and she’d be alerting anypony that cared to pay attention.

Sunset let her scanning spell dissipate safely. It also hadn’t detected any unicorn magic, which wasn’t exactly good news. It meant that the guards outside the antechamber —and she knew there had to be at least two— were earth ponies or pegasi, and Sunset and Twilight would be unable to outrun them.

However, it also meant that they would be more easily fooled by magic than a unicorn.

Once again Sunset channeled mana through her horn, constructing the circuitry for a muffling spell on both hers and Twilight’s hooves. It was an intermediate level spell that suppressed soundwaves. Sunset had used it to sneak into the restricted section of the royal library the first few times. Why had she neglected to use it that last time was a question for the ages.

Twilight gasped, no doubt at the tingling sensation from the spell, and raised a hoof to look at it. Sunset shoved hers onto Twilight’s mouth to shut her up and spun her ears to listen to the door. There was a slight shuffle, but otherwise it didn’t seem like the guards had been alerted.

She pushed Twilight into the corner adjacent to the exit and stepped next to her. Ignoring the warmth that irradiated from Twilight and her own thundering heart, Sunset concentrated to construct the much more complex circuitry for a light bending spell. It created an invisible bubble around her and Twilight, then, from their perspective, the bubble seemed to break into hundreds of ethereal triangles and shifted languidly in the air, shrinking and growing and returning to their original place. From the outside, it would look like an inconspicuous shadow in the corner of an already dark room.

Her preparations complete, Sunset moved on to the distraction phase. This next spell was easy to craft, the circuitry taking form in a mere second. The difficulty began when Sunset wrapped the arrays with her mana and detached them from the air around her, then carefully moved them to the other side of the antechamber. When they reached the doors to the throne room, Sunset fed them with mana, starting the spell.

The sound of rattling windows came from the double doors, loud enough to be heard. However, Sunset had modified the soundwave production, suppressing the highest and lowest notes, which meant that the sound gave the impression of coming from inside the throne room, instead of from the doors.

The doors to the antechamber opened, obscuring them further from sight. Twilight flinched, but fortunately didn’t make a sound as a guardstallion —an earth pony— walked into view, his golden armor reflecting the dim light of the corridor’s lanterns. Sunset waited with baited breath as he reached the middle of the antechamber, and to her massive relief, a second guard, this time a pegasus mare, followed him inside. The sound of rattling windows within the throne room was indeed strange enough to make both of them investigate, but it wouldn’t be that big of a deal that they’d raise any alarms when they found nothing.

Sunset stopped feeding the spell with magic, and the sound immediately went out. The guards flinched, looked at each other, then nodded before they pushed the doors open to investigate.

As soon as they turned towards the windows and were effectively out of sight, Sunset walked around the antechamber’s open door. Her movement destroyed the bubble for the light bending spell, but she paid it no mind. Taking a peek at the main corridor, she confirmed with a silent sigh that there were no other guards in sight.

She signaled Twilight to follow her and quickly made her way out of the antechamber. Or as quickly as she dared to walk. The muffling spell on their hooves was fragile, and a casual trot would break it.

The main corridor was a very wide hallway that served as a direct path from the palace’s entrance to the throne room, with clearly designated waiting areas for ponies to wait their turn for day court and stay out of the way for the palace staff to still walk around. It wasn’t as tall as the throne room, but it still had enough space for pegasi to fly comfortably.

There were two hallways at each side of the main corridor, and a massive gate at the other end, which was the entrance to the palace. The pillars separating each hallway had lanterns that held pearls enchanted to give off soft white light, illuminating the corridor just enough to see properly, but not so much that the guards would be blinded.

Sunset eyed the main gate for a second. It was too far for them to try to reach it, considering they had to walk. The guards would be back before that, and they’d be in big trouble. Fortunately, Sunset had already accounted for that. She went to one of the hallways on her left, making sure that Twilight was following her.

From there, the trek through the palace was much easier. The increase of furniture and tapestries provided a myriad of hiding places, which they took whenever a guard walked by. Sunset cast light bending spells whenever they hid, just for good measure, which was starting to take a toll on her after the twentieth time. Those who thought the palace was empty at night were idiots.

“Are you alright?” Twilight whispered as Sunset dropped the bubble.

“Yeah,” Sunset lied. The spell wasn’t impossible to cast, but it did consume a large amount of mana. She was developing a headache and was getting exhausted. She wouldn’t be able to cast it many more times.

Fortunately, they had finally reached their first destination of the night. Turning a corner, Sunset walked up to a nondescript door made of dark wood. It was locked, but it was a very simple hook latch. Simple manipulation with her mana got the door open. She ushered Twilight inside and closed the door behind her, letting out a long winded sigh.

“What is this place?” Twilight asked as she turned around inside the room. It was dark, but a small, well placed awning window on the western wall, which bordered one of the inner gardens, let in enough light to see.

Two rows of shelves lined the other two walls while a single desk sat at the windowed wall. The shelves held cardboard boxes, each marked with a name tag and a number.

“It’s the uniform storage room,” Sunset replied as she walked to one of the shelves. “We’re going to dress up as palace staff so we don’t have to sneak around as much.”

“Oh,” Twilight said. “This feels more and more like a heist.”

The chirpiness in her voice made Sunset roll her eyes. “What are you… Oh, right, you wouldn’t know.” She looked into a box and saw a bunch of uniforms neatly folded inside.

Unlike regular spellcasting, levitation didn’t require circuitry. She channeled her mana through her horn, then used it to bend the Harmonic Veil around the clothes. Carefully manipulating it to hug the fabric, she made sure to employ just enough mana to fully envelop them, but not too much that they’d even get wrinkles. There were important aspects like control, balance, and strength. But the key aspect was establishing a proper mana flow to absorb back most of the expended mana. Otherwise, levitating something ridiculous like a slip of paper would exhaust her mana pool in seconds.

With her aura gently hugging the clothes, Sunset levitated them towards Twilight.

“You look like a ten,” she said. “If it’s too big we’ll simply use a lace.”

Twilight lifted a hoof, and the clothes fell on it, then to the floor. “Uhm…”

Sunset closed her eyes and sighed. “Right… Lift your left foreleg.” Twilight did so, and Sunset levitated the black sleeved shirt, manipulating it within her aura to unfold it and properly slide it down the leg.

After the shirt was properly buttoned, she fastened an equally black skirt around Twilight’s barrel, which was a bit loosely fit, so she used a lace to fix that. Then came the heavy white apron, which used laces to tie itself behind the neck and over the back. By the time the cuffins and the headband were in place, Sunset’s heart was beating in her throat.

Maybe dressing Twilight as a maid hadn’t been a great idea. Sunset was glad the uniforms no longer included stockings nor hindleg cloth rings or she was sure she’d be having a nosebleed.

“This is so cute!” Twilight said as she looked at herself. “This feels like dressing up for Halloween!”

Sunset rolled her eyes, which had the unintended —yet welcome— effect of taking them off Twilight. She huffed at her stupid body betraying her and forced herself to focus as she took another uniform, size eleven, and put it on. It was rather snug on her shoulders, which meant she’d grown quite substantially while in the human world.

“Oh my goodness, Sunset! You look adorable!”

Sunset felt herself blush, and this time even her tail swatted nervously. She frowned. “Stop calling me that!”

Twilight offered her a sheepish smile. “Sorry.”

“Now, follow me. And stay quiet.”

Sunset led Twilight out of the storage room. Now that they were in disguise, Sunset allowed herself to walk more confidently and a bit faster, but without breaking into a trot, as she didn’t want to draw attention.

“So,” Twilight whispered beside her. “Where are we going now?”

Sunset looked around to make sure there were no guards on sight, then replied also in a whisper. “The administrative office of palace affairs. I need to know the current situation so that we can move around better.”

“What if someone sees us and asks us things? You know I’m not a good liar.”

“Keep your gaze forward and your gait confident,” Sunset replied. “Then they’ll assume you’re just there doing your job.”

She was proven right as they crossed paths with five different guards on patrol. They all looked at them for a brief moment before nodding and continuing on their way. Maids working at night was a more common sight than ponies realized, after all. The palace was really big and there weren’t enough maids to clean all of it in time. Though it was true that the night shift had the least active staff, and only the new hires and those being punished ever got assigned to it.

Three sets of stairs, four corridors, and one roofed bridge later, Sunset and Twilight arrived at the office of palace affairs. Just like the uniform storage room, it was locked with an easy to maneuver hook latch. Sunset wondered if maybe Princess Celestia was too trusting on her guards to fend off intruders. Then again, nopony ever expected said intruders to pop into existence right inside the palace.

With a light shake of her head, Sunset entered the office, urging Twilight to follow her, and closed the door. She cast a dim light spell and moved the light to a corner so that it wouldn’t be as noticeable from outside, then quickly stepped to the desk and started reading through anything that was already at hoof.

Twilight’s clothes shuffled as she reached out to take a binder from a shelf. Sunset looked up just in time to see her struggle to keep a grip on the binder and barely managing to balance it on her toe. The way her muzzle scrunched up in concentration was simply adorable, and the way her eyes seemed to glitter…

Sunset shook her head. Just stop! She levitated another sheet of paper and read it. Then read it another time just to confirm she hadn’t misread it.

It was a notification to all palace staff that Princess Celestia had gone out on an emergency political summons up south earlier in the day and would return in three days. The notification didn’t specify what the summons was about or in exactly which city, but if it would take her so long, Sunset could only guess that something big was happening.

And that was such good news she barely contained the urge to dance in joy.

With the big alicorn out of the picture, all her plans were suddenly much easier to accomplish. Speaking of which, Sunset rummaged through the desk’s drawers until she found a level two cleared map of the palace. Not fit for public viewing, but not showing the locations of any vaults or secret passages or anything of the like either. Perfect for the staff to do their jobs and know where everything was.

Gulping dryly, Sunset unfolded the map until she found the section for the northwest wing, fourth floor. Thirty moons ago, only one of the four rooms of that specific section had been occupied. By Sunset. And according to this map, which Sunset made sure to confirm was up to date, nothing had changed.

She still had a room assigned to her. Not only that, but a maid called Gusty Skies was assigned to clean it every moon. Sunset couldn’t understand why, since Celestia had terminated her apprenticeship and banished her from the palace. Why keep her room? It didn’t make any sense.

Regardless, this opened a golden opportunity, and Sunset always took all the opportunities life threw at her. She put everything where she had found them, going as far as snatching the binder Twilight was reading and putting it back in its place.

“Hey! I was reading that!”

“Change of plans, Twilight,” Sunset said, dismissing her light spell after reaching the door. “Follow me, and remember to look like you belong.”

“Change of plans?” Twilight asked, tilting her beautiful head. “I don’t even know the original plan.”

Sunset huffed. “Just shut up and follow.”

“Geesh.”

The administrative office of palace affairs was, unfortunately, located in the north-eastern wing, third floor of the palace. Which meant they had to walk for a whole thirty minutes through corridors and stairs. By the time they reached the door to Sunset’s chambers, her hooves were as sore as if she had run a marathon. A quick glance at Twilight told her she wasn’t faring any better.

Sunset stopped right in front of the door, which was made of the finest wenge wood of a natural dark wine coloration. It was decorated with very intricate swirling patterns made of gold and silver, trying to depict the swirling of unicorn mana. This door alone cost the same as a house in any given village.

“Where is this?” Twilight asked as she gazed at the door.

“It’s my room.” Not letting Twilight ask more questions, Sunset lit up her horn and cast a scanning spell, directing it at her room. The returned values told her that her old wards were still there. Weakened and almost faded, but there. Of course, they were completely pointless, since she hadn’t used her room in thirty moons, but the fact Princess Celestia hadn’t removed them was… strange.

“Come on,” Sunset said, shaking her head. She didn’t know what the princess’ intentions were, but it was no use trying to figure them out. She opened the door with her magic and entered, closing the door after Twilight.

The walls and doors were thick enough that almost no sound made it through, however, just as a precaution, Sunset cast a muffling spell on the door.

When she turned around, she saw Twilight looking around with her mouth slightly ajar. She couldn’t fault her. Her chambers were almost as large as Twilight’s house, though the ceiling wasn’t much taller than one story. A massive princess-size bed sat at the middle of the far wall, made of expensive wood by the best craftspony in Canterlot. The mattress was covered in the finest cotton and silk sheets, dyed red, and a delicate, white canopy hung from the ceiling to cover the three open sides.

Night tables of the same wood flanked the bed, each holding expensive potted plants Sunset didn’t remember the name of. A large desk made of mahogany sat at the other side of the room, a solitary lantern on one side. She knew that the drawers held falcon feather quills, ink bottles, and quality parchment. On the wall above the desk hung a solar clock, enchanted to detect the position of the sun in the sky with a margin of error of only three seconds.

On the wall opposite to the door, there was a huge window with a great view of the mountainside, though it was currently hidden behind dark red silk curtains. A massive wardrobe sat neatly at the window’s left side. A slightly hidden door next to the window led to her personal washroom. The rest of the walls were covered by shelves with dozens of books.

“I think I’m in paradise,” Twilight said, walking up to the middle of the room and turning her head around, trying to look at everything at once.

Sunset cranked her neck up, looking at the chandelier, and sent a single spark at the ruby located at its base, which activated the enchantment that made the crystalline stones at the ends of its arms shine a white light.

“You can take that off, now,” Sunset said as she removed her own maid uniform.

Twilight blinked, then looked down at herself. “Oh, right!” She sat on her haunches and tried to pry the laces free with her hooves, failing miserably. “Uhm, a little help?”

As it turned out, undressing Twilight was worse than dressing her. Sunset wouldn’t be surprised if her whole fur turned a deep shade of red. Fortunately, Twilight seemed too enthralled by the books around her to notice.

“We’ll sleep here for the night,” Sunset announced as soon as she calmed herself. “If all my things are still here, we won’t need to search around the city. Not for books, at least.”

Twilight nodded. “Ok.”

Sunset sat at her desk and let out a tired sigh. She was back in Equestria after so long, but her room was just as she had left it. She had made many plans to avoid Celestia, to trick the staff room into believing they were just random newcomers and sleep in the staff dormitories. But instead she could use her room and didn’t have to worry about Celestia.

She allowed herself a smile. Things were going better than expected.

Author's Note

A bit of a long chapter, and it's only the first night. Also, what's this? Sunset's feeling feelings? Outrageous!

If you liked it, please do leave a comment! I wanna read everything you have to say!

Chapter 18. Morning in Equestria

Sunset awoke to a softness she hadn’t felt in so many moons she had forgotten it. She moaned, nuzzling her pillow and smelling the scent of orange mixed with ink and enjoying the smooth texture of her cotton and silk pillow cases. Only a small part of her brain was awake, so she decided to ignore it and keep sleeping.

She felt shuffling behind her, and she was immediately forced awake. What on Tartarus was that? She opened her eyes with a start and sat up, becoming alert so suddenly her head started spinning. Still, she powered through and looked to her side to see what the disturbance had been.

It was Twilight.

Relief washed over her, then was immediately replaced by a violent and very confusing heat that began in her chest and quickly spread to her cheeks, and her stomach felt like she'd swallowed a swarm of parasprites. Of course she had let Twilight sleep on her bed with her. It had been the only option, seeing that there wasn’t anything else, and her bed was big enough to comfortably fit five ponies. She had begrudgingly accepted that fact last night, and she regretted it now.

Especially when her heart fluttered at the sight of the sleeping unicorn.

When she had gone to sleep, she had hoped that her sudden infatuation for Twilight had been a simple confusion within her mind, what with all the mixed feelings running through her head, such as excitement at being back, fear of being caught by the princess, and adrenaline for sneaking around the palace at night. She had reasoned that her finding Twilight so attractive had happened simply because she was the first pony Sunset had seen in thirty moons. But apparently, she wasn’t so lucky.

The only word in Sunset’s vast vocabulary she could use to describe Twilight’s sleeping form was ‘adorable’. Her messy mane covered half her face, but Sunset could still see her slightly open mouth, and her soft breathing moved her chest up and down in slow, gentle motions. Her hooves twitched slightly in response to whatever she was dreaming about.

Sunset watched her for a long while, her entire focus quickly centering on Twilight alone. Even before becoming Princess Celestia’s personal student, Sunset had never cared about other ponies. She had nothing in them that she needed or wanted. Not their money, not their connections, and most definitely not their looks. Sunset had only ever cared about knowledge and power, both magical and political. She had her sights on princesshood and had no interest in pointless socializing.

That is, until she’d been forced to interact with Twilight on a mostly weekly basis. Well, ‘forced’ was maybe a bit too strong a word. ‘Compelled’ was probably more appropriate. Regardless, she had spent over two years interacting with Twilight, and she had to admit she hadn’t hated it. No, she had actually enjoyed herself. Twilight hadn’t cared if Sunset had power or connections, she had only wanted to share knowledge for knowledge’s sake.

When Sunset tried to remember the past years with Twilight, she could clearly picture the times they spent playing their instruments in duet on Twilight’s birthday. Or when they had gone to the amusement park. Even their trips to the beach came to mind. And of course, their many, many study sessions. Sunset was surprised by the realization that she liked spending time with Twilight, regardless of what they did. At some point during the past year she’d stopped seeing Twilight as a means to an end, and, even if unbeknownst to her, started seeing her as a friend.

And now she found herself attracted to her.

Twilight murmured something. Sunset yelped and pushed herself back so fast she fell on her back, then rolled over and fell to the floor. Ignoring the pain on her side and the painful thundering of her heart, she got to her hooves and took a peek. Twilight was still asleep. With relief washing over her, Sunset decided to get the day started. She eyed the solar clock above her desk. Princess Celestia had raised the sun not too long ago.

Sunset walked into her washroom and took a moment to let the nostalgia wash over her. Marble tiles decorated the floor, with a large red fluffy rug spread in the middle of the room. The sink was also made of marble, though the cabinet was made of dark wood. A large mirror above was held on a golden frame. A small set of three-step stairs led to the bath, which was wide enough to fit three ponies comfortably. However, Sunset set her sight on the toilet, which was hidden by a large panel made of frosted glass.

She had missed squat toilets so much.

After relieving herself, Sunset used her magic to open the bath’s faucets. While she waited, she rummaged through her cabinet, pulling a toothbrush and some paste, which she was reasonably sure were new. When she finished, she set up the mane-care products on the sink and some hoof polish. She was thankful to find her favorite brushes in the sink’s drawer.

“Sunset?”

Twilight’s groggy voice sounded so low and far away, Sunset knew she was still on the bed.

“In the washroom!” Sunset called before she opened the door with her magic. “Come on in.”

Twilight yelped right before a thud resounded within the room. Some shuffling later, Twilight finally managed to get up and walk towards the washroom. She kicked back to finish untangling her leg from the sheets and offered Sunset a smile from behind askew glasses.

“Whoa, I’m sorry,” she said. “I slept way better than I thought. Your bed is so soft I feel like I slept on a cloud.”

Sunset snickered at Twilight’s wild bed mane. “Well, that’s because it’s a cloud.”

“Oh, that explains… wait, what?”

“Packed cirrocumulus wrapped in pegasus-treated cotton fiber, pressed into a rectangular shaped quilt,” Sunset explained, smiling at Twilight’s progressively more bewildered expression. “Yes, Twilight. You literally slept on a cloud, or as close as non-pegasi can.”

Twilight’s mouth moved silently for a few moments. “I’m really in a magical world…”

“I guess being a magical unicorn isn’t enough for you?”

“I’m a unicorn?!”

Sunset blinked. “You haven’t noticed? Take a look at the mirror.”

Twilight walked up to the sink and jumped a little to place her forehooves on the surface, looking at herself in the mirror. “Whoa… This is freaky.” She tapped at her horn and immediately flinched in pain.

“Yeah, hooves are hard. Try not to knock on your horn until you learn how to control your strength unless you want a massive headache.”

“Duly noted,” Twilight said, falling back on four hooves. She looked at the slowly filling bath. “Did I interrupt you?”

Sunset stepped towards the bath, closing the faucets. “No. I was actually about to wake you up. Let’s take a bath.”

Twilight blinked. “Together?”

“Unless you want to try on your own? It took me a whole week to learn how to properly take a shower as a human.”

“No, well, I mean…” Twilight groaned nervously. “How do you even do anything with hooves?”

“With practice,” Sunset said with a smirk. “Don’t worry, I’ll just brush you.”

She let Twilight into the steaming bath, which was only half full. The bath was enchanted to maintain the water’s heat at the perfect temperature, and Sunset sighed happily as her fur was soaked. How she had missed this feeling. After Twilight settled inside, Sunset opened a second faucet, which activated a showerhead located in the ceiling, raining hot water on them.

“Ohhh,” Twilight cooed as the water hit her. “This feels amazing.”

Sunset levitated her fur brush and started working on both Twilight’s body and her own at the same time. The split concentration wasn’t enough to ignore the situation, so Sunset forced herself to focus on literally anything else. She thought about going through her room to record what she had available and what she could take to the human world. She thought about what stores to visit when going into the city. She thought about where to eat. And she still thought about the fact she was brushing Twilight’s pretty fur.

Twenty minutes, lots of brushing, blushing, and a quick rinse later, Sunset used a pair of fur dryers on her and Twilight. Sure, their furs would be a bit unruly, but she absolutely refused to dry Twilight with a towel. Her heart would explode if she did.

Sunset did help with brushing Twilight’s mane, discovering that it was very easy to work with. She felt very jealous of that fact, since Sunset always had trouble with her mane, even in the human world. Since she didn’t want to spend hours brushing, she did only the bare minimum, then used a red lace to tie her mane into a ponytail. It wasn’t the most original style, but it’d have to do. Plus, it’d give her another level of disguise without actually having to dye it as she had originally planned.

With their general grooming done, Sunset returned to her room proper and used her magic to pull a large chest from underneath her bed. It was a boring looking box made of wood with golden corners and a faux latch.

“What’s in there?” Twilight asked.

Instead of replying, Sunset channeled some mana through her horn. The chest’s latch was just there to dissuade the maids from attempting to open it, since there was no key. The thing keeping the chest closed was a mana sensitive lock spell. Only Sunset’s mana signature could unlock it. With a click, the chest’s lid jolted. Sunset levitated it to open it completely.

She smiled at the sight. Golden bits lined up in tall stacks, occupying about a fifth of the chest’s area.

Twilight breathed out. “What’s all this?”

“Some spending money,” Sunset replied. There were about fifty thousand bits in there. While a small fortune in its own right, it was a sort of readily available emergency fund in case Sunset wanted to experiment with expensive materials. The rest of her money was in her personal vault at the bank, which would have required her to expose herself and possibly alert Princess Celestia.

“And this?” Twilight asked.

“This is part of what we came for,” Sunset replied. The rest of the space in the chest was taken by a stack of large boxes, each divided in nine sections that opened by sliding the lids. Inside each section there were many different kinds of high quality magical reagent gemstones of many different sizes and shapes. She opened a few so that Twilight could see. “With these, we’ll be able to build a better Enchanter in no time.”

“Whoa…”

Sunset smiled smugly. “And the books in my shelves are all about magic. We’ll have to sort through them to decide which ones to take back with us, but we won’t have to search for bookstores anymore. That saves a lot of time.”

Twilight’s grin faltered at that. “Oh. That means we won’t be going into the city, right?”

That made Sunset’s grin widen even more. “So you did want to treat this as a vacation!”

“N-No! That’s not…”

“Well, fortunately for you, we still need to go to the city proper,” Sunset said. “Even if we dress as maids, using the staff cafeteria would be too risky, and I’m guessing you don’t want to spend two days without food. We’ll use some of this money to eat out.”

“Oh, that’s, uh…” Twilight said, clearly struggling not to look too happy about it.

“Besides,” Sunset continued. “It’ll be worth it going to the city anyway. You’ll get to see something that the human world doesn’t have.” Since she’d seen the general schedule for the palace staff, she now knew the exact day they had arrived. “You’ll get to see an Equestrian Winter Wrap Up.”

“A winter what now?”

“The last day of winter,” Sunset replied. “Ah, but I think it’ll be better if you see it with your own eyes. Trust me, you’re gonna love it.”

And on that point, Sunset reached out with her mana and opened her wardrobe, searching for and levitating several pieces of winter wear onto her bed.

“What’s this for?”

Sunset lined up a bunch of boots on the floor. “You don’t notice because the palace’s temperature is regulated, but it’s still winter, and it’s very cold outside. And even if it weren’t, we still need to hide our Cutie Marks, but we can’t go around wearing maid dresses outside the palace.”

Twilight nodded as she stepped next to the bed and eyed the clothes. They were mainly just coats and scarves of different colors. Sunset had always favored practicality over fashion, after all. It didn’t take longer than ten minutes for Sunset to choose their clothes. She then stuffed them into her old saddlebags, along with some bits from her chest.

With that taken care of, Sunset levitated the rest of her clothes back into her wardrobe. She walked to the space in front of her bed, eyeing it carefully, then nodded.

“I’m going to create a beacon,” Sunset said. “Give me a few minutes. I need to concentrate for this.”

She didn’t wait for Twilight to reply, but the other girl’s silence let her know she had heard her. Sunset took a deep breath and started channeling mana through her horn.

Teleportation was one of the most difficult spells any given unicorn could learn. It required a high level of skill creating the uberly complex circuitry, the ability to calculate spatial coordinates with a glance, precise control of mana flow, and a larger than average mana pool. It was so difficult that it was an optional spell to choose for the graduation exam at Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. As it was, there were less than twenty known unicorns in all of Equestria capable of teleportation, only three of which could do so without beacons.

On a technical level, teleportation could work with coordinates gathered at a glance. That is to say, it was possible to cast it as long as the destination was on sight. However, that became increasingly unreliable the farther the destination was, and could lead to very unwelcome results. Teleporting to locations not within sight almost always ended up badly.

Beacons had then been developed to assist with and solve those issues.

First of all, Sunset created an enclosing cage, much like she’d do with an enchantment, however, instead of it being the size of the object to enchant, it occupied a circular area three hooves in diameter and five hooves in height. She attached the base to the floor. The next part was to calculate the measurements within the enclosing cage and translate them into fixed coordinates, which she then saved into a storage array.

Next was building the circuitry for a detection spell to work within the enclosing cage. It would detect empty space as cleared, and anything going inside the area would be recognized as an obstacle, and its dimensions measured. If it was a small enough object, it would be possible to teleport around it. But if the obstruction was too big, she would be safe deciding not to complete the teleport.

The last part of the beacon was a relay spell. It would be connected to her horn at all times, requiring a negligible amount of mana. The relay spell would tell Sunset all the parameters of the beacon, both the coordinates and whether it was safe to teleport.

When she was done creating her beacon, Sunset let out a sigh and stepped back. The connection with the relay spell was a bit distracting, like a constant buzz at the base of her horn, but she would eventually get used to it to the point that it would get unnoticeable until she actively recalled it. She took a moment to marvel at how easy casting spells came to her now that she had her horn back. She'd thought so last night, but being in the human world really was crippling. Hopefully she'd be able to solve that particular issue soon.

“Alright,” she said, feeling a bit winded. “Let’s get ready.”

“Huh? Wait,” Twilight said. “What did you do?”

Sunset chuckled. “You can’t see it, but there’s a teleportation beacon in here. I’ll use it to teleport us back here when we’re done in the city. We won’t have to sneak into the palace again.” She’d have to make another one in the city, but that was for later.

“Wait, teleport?” Twilight grabbed Sunset’s face with both hooves. “You can teleport?!”

“Uhh, yeah,” Sunset said, her heart beating faster at how close she was from Twilight’s face. She pushed Twilight away. “I’ll tell you how it works later. For now, let’s dress as maids again. It’ll be a long way out of the palace.”

Once again dressed as maids, Sunset adjusted her saddlebags on her back and led Twilight through the palace’s halls. There were many more guard patrols, but just like the previous night, they simply assumed they were carrying off one task or another. Even other staff members didn’t give them much trouble. Of course, if they came across somepony who cared to pay attention and recognized Sunset, that would be a really big problem.

So, in order to avoid that as much as possible, Sunset took a long detour through the less transited areas of the palace, carefully navigating her way to the public-open zones and even going back and taking other halls if she thought she recognized a face. It took them the better part of an hour to reach the ground floor of the south wing, one of the only areas where it was common to see palace staff and regular ponies cross paths.

Making sure nopony was around to see them, Sunset entered one of the public lavatories, Twilight in tow. Luckily, it was empty. Without wasting time, she removed their maid outfits —blushing intensely when she did so to Twilight— and pulled out the clothes she’d stored in her saddlebags.

For Twilight, she had picked an open coat a shade darker than the blue of her mane with white, fluffy cuffs and collar made of wool. It had been designed with a split tail that could be clasped in place around her hindlegs, which meant that it wouldn’t lift in the air, since Twilight’s tail would be free to move around. Sunset had also picked equally blue winter boots of a low cut, a baby blue scarf she left loose, and a light yellow knit cap.

Sunset herself was wearing a dark green fluffy coat with the same back clasp as Twilight’s, green high cut boots, a red scarf, and red earmuffs. Both of them, however, still wore their necklaces. Sunset had considered removing hers now that she could manipulate the stupid hook with her magic, but decided against it.

Their change in wardrobe done, Sunset put the maid outfits back in her saddlebags. She would dispose of them later. She hefted them onto her back and went out of the bathroom.

“Hey,” Twilight whispered. “I can understand why they wouldn’t recognize you with the maid outfit. But, won’t they do so now that you’re wearing normal clothes?”

Sunset smiled. “I never wear anything unless it’s a formal event. And I hate the cold, so I never went outside the palace during winter. Technically speaking, me wearing anything and going outside is a disguise in itself.”

“Ah.”

Just as she said, no pony paid her any mind as she walked about. Even if Princess Celestia was away and day court had been canceled, ponies still waited around just in case she returned. The small crowd was perfect to conceal themselves. Sunset wanted to laugh at how easy it was to move around the palace without being noticed. Another part of her decided she needed to do something about it when she became a princess.

When they crossed the entrance gates, Sunset laid eyes, for the first time in thirty moons, upon Equestria’s Canterlot. The frontal garden of the palace was only decorative, so it wasn’t very large, which meant that it was easy to see where the palace ended and the city started. Said city was covered in a thick layer of white snow, and ponies walked about their business wearing warm yet overly expensive clothes. Sunset took a deep breath of chilly air, and despite loathing how it felt in her lungs, she relished the scent of pure, unpolluted air.

She looked at Twilight, who was staring ahead with her mouth hanging open. “I think it’s finally appropriate to say this,” she said, then waited for Twilight to look at her. Sunset grinned. “Welcome to Equestria.”

Author's Note

First morning cleared successfully. Next mission: observe Winter Wrap Up. Will Sunset clear this level?

If you liked it, please do leave a comment! I thrive on them!

Chapter 19. World of Magic

Sunset had to remind herself that Twilight was not from this world every time the girl stared at something wide eyed. There were things ponies visiting Canterlot for the first time looked at with the same wonder, but Twilight did so to the most mundane things, like unicorns levitating stuff they’d just bought, or pegasi flying overhead.

Sunset thought she could understand, however. She had been marveled at cars and televisions and technology that was centuries ahead of Equestria. So she understood that Twilight felt similarly as she gazed upon the floating signs that announced shops with animated letters, or potted flowers that hummed placid tunes outside of many balconies.

After ten minutes of walking, they arrived at a large corner restaurant. Like many buildings in Canterlot, the facade arched outwards the higher it went, and the roof was made of grayish violet tiles. The slowly rotating sign announced its focus on flower-based dishes with the drawing of a sunflower, below which the name “La Fleur du Soleil” could be read. Sunset rolled her eyes at the pretentious name and went inside.

They were fortunate that the restaurant was mostly empty since they could grab a table near a window, where Twilight could gleefully glance outside. Sunset levitated the menu and placed it on the table in front of Twilight. Upside down.

“Uhm…” Twilight said.

“You’re going to be a unicorn for only two days,” Sunset explained. “But I think you should experience levitation anyway.”

Twilight’s eyes sparkled. “You think I can do that?”

Sunset nodded. “You already know how to manipulate your mana. It shouldn’t be too hard to teach you levitation.” When Twilight nodded energetically, Sunset got into a lecturing mindset. “Focus on your horn. You should be able to feel your mana pool through it. When you can do that, make your mana go to the tip of your horn and back in a constant flow.” Just as Sunset expected, it took Twilight mere seconds to do that, and her horn was enveloped by a faint and pretty pink aura. “Good. Now, whatever you do, keep that flow going. If you feel like your concentration is waning, cancel the flow immediately.

“Remember how you picture your mana like swirling water when you make it flow into quartz. The exception now is that you have to picture it moving through a denser liquid, like molasses. That's the Harmonic Veil. Use your mana to make the Veil around the menu bend and wrap around it. You will be able to feel it through your mana. Yes, it’s different than touching it physically, but your brain interprets it as such when your mana feels resistance. That’s right, use it to force the Harmonic Veil fully envelop the menu. Don’t let the flow break. Good, just like that. Let yourself get accustomed to the feeling of having your mana interact with the world. When you feel ready, try to imagine the mana round the menu going upwards.”

Twilight grunted, a telltale sign that she had tried to lift the menu, only for her horn's aura to blink a few times. What many non-unicorns and unicorn foals didn’t understand about levitation was that it required a lot of effort to move even the lightest objects. Forcing the Harmonic Veil to move according to your will was a lot more difficult than anypony expected. Besides mana flow, which ensured that as little mana as possible would be expended, there were three aspects to take into consideration at the same time.

Control, to move your mana through the Harmonic Veil to the right location and into the right shape so that the target was properly enveloped, required a lot of concentration, which was already being shared with the flow of mana. This was especially true when trying to levitate several objects at the same time.

Balance was something nopony ever thought about. Since the Harmonic Veil was shapeless and the mana was in a perpetual swirling state, anything within the aura without balance would swirl along with the mana. Some argued that it wasn’t important when learning to levitate things like apples or practice balls, but the earlier you learned to correctly balance with your mana to stop things from swirling, the better.

Strength was misinterpreted as the amount of mana required to grab an object and move it. Physical weight was a critical aspect, of course, since the heavier the object was, the more mana was required to levitate it. However, strength actually referred to the grip within the aura. Too little and the object wouldn’t budge no matter how much mana you put into it, too much and you could squash an apple by accident. Too strong a grip, regardless of levitated object, would quickly become so strenuous on the horn that it could actually injure the unicorn, especially one unaccostumed to it like Twilight.

Sunset explained all of this as she guided her through every step along the way. And thanks to her previous experience with mana manipulation, Twilight only needed a few minutes of practice to levitate the menu, though it was very wobbly, showing a weak grip and not enough control over the balance. Still, she had managed to levitate something incredibly fast. Sunset felt a nice warmth in her chest.

Somepony cleared their throat, breaking Twilight’s concentration and making her drop the menu. Sunset turned to see a bored-looking waiter. “Are you ready to order?”

Sunset levitated the menu over to herself. “I’ll have the spinach omelet, the hellebore salad, and orange juice. She’ll have the daffodil oatcakes and grape juice.”

“Right away, ma’am,” the waiter said after writing the order in his notebook and left.

“Did you say daffodil?” Twilight asked. “Isn’t that poisonous?”

“You’re a pony now, Twilight. You’ll be fine.”

Twilight nodded slowly. After a second she smiled, then started giggling. “I can’t believe I did magic! Sunset, I did magic!”

Sunset snorted amusedly. “Twilight, you’ve been doing magic for months.”

“This is different, Sunset!” Twilight replied, still grinning. “All I’ve ever done is fill quartz rocks with mana. But this?” She focused, lighting up her horn, and the menu slowly floated in the air within her wobbly aura. “I can levitate stuff!” Her aura faltered and she dropped the menu back on the table.

They shared a laugh until the waiter returned with their orders. Sunset’s mouth watered at finally being able to eat proper food again. Sure, human cuisine wasn’t bad, but nothing they made could ever compare to pony-grown vegetables and a proper flower-based dish. She’d tried eating rose petals as a human and the experience had been miserable. Twilight, for her part, eyed her oatcakes with distrustful eyes. She used her recently learned levitation skills to cautiously navigate her fork, cut a small chunk of pancake, and take it to her mouth. The effect was immediate.

“Oh wow,” she said through her mouthful. “Oh wow. Thish ish…” She swallowed. “This is the most delicious thing I’ve ever eaten in my life!” Disregarding any sense of decorum, she stabbed the top oatcake and shoved it all in her mouth. She moaned in utter pleasure, her cheeks puffed and reddened and her eyes watering with tears of joy.

In other times, Sunset would’ve been disgusted. Instead she found her cute.

They finished eating rather quickly and found themselves walking through the snowed streets of Canterlot once more. Sunset looked at the sky, watching the sun, then led Twilight through the maze of streets. They passed by several stores Sunset wanted to check out, so she made a mental checklist before hurrying along. Earlier that morning Sunset had had a brilliant idea and she didn’t have much time to go through with it.

Twenty minutes later, the buildings finally gave way to a large open area. It was the western outer plaza of the upper ring. A few trees decorated the place here and there, and there were some benches for ponies to relax and some street lamps for night owls. A large cart in the middle offered hot beverages.

“Whoa, this is so cool!” Twilight exclaimed as she trotted towards the edge, which was protected by a stone fence tall enough that she had to stand on her hindlegs to see beyond. “We’re so high up!”

“Of course we are,” Sunset said. “You didn’t think the royal palace would be built on the lower rings, would you?”

Twilight flicked her head to look at her. “Rings?”

Sunset smiled. “Come on, I’ll show you.”

A section of the plaza was occupied by a line of about ten golden chariots. The fact that there were so many was enough confirmation that they were running out of time. Sunset picked up the pace until she reached a small booth at the end of the line of chariots, where she found a large group of pegasi talking amongst each other.

“Excuse me,” she said, and about twenty heads turned to look at her. “I want to rent a ride.”

Twilight stepped next to her with a questioning look.

The pegasus closest to her, a stallion of light blue fur and dark blue short mane stood up and walked to her. “Are you sure, ma’am? Winter Wrap Up will begin in about ten minutes.”

“I know,” Sunset replied. “We’re cleared.”

The stallion raised a distrustful eyebrow, but ultimately shrugged. “Alright, go to the sixth chariot. I’ll send your drivers in a minute.”

Sunset nodded and walked towards the chariot. Twilight hurried to her side.

“What’s going on?”

“I told you about it this morning,” Sunset said. “Winter Wrap Up, the end of winter, is today. I’ll take you on a chariot ride around Canterlot so you can witness it from above.”

Twilight blinked. “So it’s like a festival? Will we see fireworks? Wouldn’t that be dangerous? It’s dangerous, isn’t it? That’s why that pegasus asked you if you were sure, right?”

Sunset snickered at the barrage of questions. “It’s not dangerous at all. The reason he asked is because all unicorn residents of Canterlot older than ten are required to participate. I’m technically not a resident anymore, and you’re not even from this world, so we’re cleared from that obligation. Instead, we can watch the whole thing from the sky.”

“Why only unicorns?”

“You’ll see.”

Twilight frowned, of course. She didn’t like being kept in the dark, but Sunset was sure she was going to love the sight. Sunset had seen it once when she was eight. She had just earned her Cutie Mark and become Princess Celestia’s student. The princess had taken her to watch Winter Wrap Up from a chariot. It was one of her most treasured memories.

They arrived at the designated chariot, and almost immediately a pair of pegasus stallions —one green with red mane and the other white with orange mane— flew towards them and started strapping the chariot to themselves. Sunset helped Twilight onto the chariot, then used her magic to close the back door.

“Where to, ma’am?” The white stallion asked.

“Full tour,” Sunset replied. “We want to see all of Canterlot.”

“Right on!” The other stallion said.

The two pegasi broke into a sprint, making Twilight yelp, and guided the chariot towards a ramp that faced the very edge of the plaza. They spread their wings, and with powerful flaps, they took to the air, pulling the chariot with them.

Twilight immediately recovered from her initial shock and leaned over the side of the chariot, gazing in total rapture at the magnificent sight of Canterlot as a whole. Of course the royal palace was impressive in its own right, as it seemed attached to the mountainside and rose like a thorny flower. However, it was far from being the only impressive thing. Canterlot itself was a combination of five rings built on the side of the mountain, held in place by ancient enchantments that fed on both the sun and the moon, with wide rivers that fell as waterfalls all the way to the mountain's base. The palace was located on the top ring, which was also home to both the high, middle, and low nobility, along with the lucky few who’d managed to open their businesses there.

Two rings spread below and to the sides of the top one. The north middle ring was occupied by the rich and the famous. Anypony who was anypony fought teeth and hooves for the right to buy a house as near to the top ring as possible. Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns was located on the south middle ring, along with the Canterlot library. This meant that the south middle ring was home mainly to students, researchers, and their families. Many national businesses also had their central headquarters in there, which meant that not-quite rich ponies lived there.

The final two rings, which grew below the middle rings, were home to regular ponies —those who wanted to move to Canterlot for the prestige but lacked the funds to go to the upper rings. Those lower rings were host to many parks and large venues for entertainment.

As the chariot rose into the air, Sunset could see the white rooftops and gray smoke coming from the chimneys. The air was cold, but the magic of the pegasi pulling the chariot protected them from the brunt of the freezing breeze. Twilight certainly didn’t seem to notice the temperature. Her eyes and her mouth hung agape as she took in the sights.

Sunset was about to say something, but she stopped herself when she felt mana coming from the city. It was a massive amount, something only thousands of unicorns could achieve together. Even under the midday sun, the city shined with thousands of lights, and sparkles of a million colors surrounded the structures.

The air surrounding the rings seemed to warp in wide heat waves, and soon enough, the blankets of snow were pulled upward, flake by flake, and turned into a thousand different whirls that spun slowly but purposefully, and then gathered in the air in the form of pristine white clouds that floated languidly around the mountaintop, depositing the snow back on the highest peaks.

As the snow disappeared, the real colors of Canterlot came into view. The dark cobblestone of the streets, the royal violet of the rooftops, the golden edges of window frames and balcony fences. Green spread vibrantly through the city as trees and bushes and grasslands in parks were uncovered, and spring flowers bloomed in as many colors as the rainbow had. Colorful birds came flying from the south in massive flocks, returning to their nests on the trees or the artificial lakes along the city rings.

Since Sunset had already witnessed the sight of Canterlot’s Winter Wrap Up, she spent the whole time gauging Twilight’s reaction. She didn’t need to have been worried, however, as Twilight could only stare in absolute delight at the spectacle. Her eyes wide, shimmering in the sun, her cheeks a bit pink with mirth, and her mouth hanging wide open in a massive beam.

And that sight was more beautiful to Sunset than anything else Equestria had to offer.

By the time winter was properly wrapped, the chariot tour came to an end and the pegasi pulled the chariot back to the same plaza they’d started at. Sunset helped Twilight down the chariot and guided her to the nearest bench. Even if they’d been sitting within the chariot, Sunset knew from experience that the constant rattling was hard on the legs.

“I can’t believe it,” Twilight whispered, still enraptured by what she’d witnessed. She looked at the now green trees that surrounded her. “You guys make the seasons happen.”

“I knew you’d like it,” Sunset said proudly.

“Like it?” Twilight sounded almost offended. “I loved it! That was the most magical thing I’ve seen in my life!”

Sunset snickered. “Yet.”

Twilight gasped loudly. “What? No. What could possibly be more magical than watching thousands of unicorns making the seasons change in a city built along the side of a mountain while riding a golden chariot pulled by pegasi?”

“Oh, you’ll see.”

Sunset got two hot cocoas from the cart that sold beverages and gave one to Twilight. Even if Winter Wrap Up had just happened, spring was still one day away, so the temperature was still rather chilly. It was also the reason why it wouldn’t be thought as strange that they didn’t take their coats off.

Having to concentrate on levitating her cocoa without spilling it helped Twilight relax further. Which was a good thing, since Sunset could sit back and enjoy hers as she watched the horizon. A small part of her wanted to get moving, to hurry up and visit the shops that had caught her interest earlier and return to her chambers to get everything ready for their return to the human world. But the other, increasingly large part of her told her to just enjoy the moment. The air was cool, the drink delicious, and the company warm.

Sunset felt comfortable. Simple as that.

When they finished their cocoas, Sunset levitated the empty cups into a nearby trash can. She allowed the silence to stretch for a bit longer, enjoying the simplicity of just being there. Twilight seemed content with doing the same, though her still shaking legs betrayed the fact that she was still riding the excitement of watching Winter Wrap Up from the air. Sunset couldn’t decide whether that was fortunate or not, since the thing she was sure would top that was coming into view little by little.

Well, no time like the present, she supposed.

“Twilight,” she said, waiting for Twilight to lazily look her way. “Ready for the most magical thing your human mind has ever seen?”

Twilight’s eyes widened in surprise, as if she had forgotten about that. “What is it?”

With a grin, Sunset pointed a hoof towards the horizon. “Take a look for yourself.”

Twilight leaned over and glared in the general direction Sunset was pointing. She was silent for a minute before speaking up. “I… I don’t see it. Is it some kind of magical construct I have to learn how to feel or something like that?”

Sunset shook her head. “Just keep looking, it’s getting closer.”

“What, that cloud? It’s rather big. Should we get worried that a storm is coming?”

“Keep looking,” Sunset insisted, barely managing to suppress a giggle.

Twilight groaned but kept looking as the cloud grew larger and closer. She narrowed her eyes when, upon closer inspection, she realized that it wasn’t just one massive cloud, but a series of clouds that followed each other in sectioned levels. Her mouth hung agape when she saw structures, actual solid buildings on top of those clouds, and the black spots moving around the buildings were actually thousands upon thousands of pegasi.

“No way…” Twilight whispered. “No way!”

This time, Sunset didn’t suppress her chuckle. “Yes way. Behold the largest cloud city in Equestria. Cloudsdale.”

Cloudsdale was already so close to Canterlot that it was easy to see the many buildings that rose here and there, and the massive rainbow that jutted out from behind which marked the location of the rainbow factory. Hundreds of pegasi flew in neat, organized lines towards the mountain, where they met with the aerial section of the royal guard before continuing on with their trek to the peaks.

“What are they doing?” Twilight asked as she watched the pegasi fly back to their city after spending less than a minute at the mountain peaks.

“They’re picking up the snow,” Sunset replied. “Cloudsdale is in charge of coordinating and regulating the weather in Equestria. When spring comes around, the city comes to Canterlot to gather the excess snow so they have enough resources to produce rain. Some sections break off to gather the snow from smaller towns, but Canterlot is large enough that the main city needs to get close.”

Twilight’s mouth worked silently for a few seconds. “I duh, uh… Y-You mean to tell me you don’t have a natural weather cycle? That you have to create it so that the seasons are possible?”

Sunset hummed. “Not quite. The weather and the seasons have always existed. We just regulate them so that we always have the perfect weather for each season. Thanks to that, we don’t experience droughts or food shortages or anything like that, unlike the other nations.”

“You manipulate the weather,” Twilight said slowly. “You… created an enclosed ecosystem the size of a country where everything works perfectly and according to your needs… That’s…”

Sunset grinned. “I told you it would be more impressive.”

Twilight snapped her head towards Sunset. “Do you think we could achieve this in my world?”

Sunset thought about it, then shook her head. “Proper weather control can only be performed by pegasi. And as you can see,” she pointed towards the pegasi flying to and from the mountain, “it requires the work of hundreds of them on a daily basis.”

“But I just saw the unicorns manipulate the weather not even twenty minutes ago!”

“That’s different,” Sunset said. “Cloudsdale is on a very tight schedule all year long, and it can’t afford to spend much time in one city or another. So Winter Wrap Up was devised as a way for all towns and cities to lend a hoof. Ponies take the snow to a designated area for Cloudsdale and its smaller sections to collect it. That’s why all unicorns in Canterlot are required to help, so that we assist Cloudsdale with its duty to Equestria as a whole. But without them, it would be no different than simply shoveling the snow and hoping for the best.”

Twilight groaned disappointedly, but she recovered rather quickly as she gazed up at the massive cloud city, and her frown gave way to an awed smile. Sunset tried to join her in watching Cloudsdale, but she kept looking back at Twilight, enthralled by the way the soft wind made her mane dance and her fur ruffle slightly.

“You were right, Sunset,” Twilight said without looking away from Cloudsdale. “This is the most magical thing I’ve ever seen.”

Sunset agreed, though for a completely different reason.

Author's Note

This chapter serves a few purposes.

Wolrdbuilding, of course. The only Winter Wrap Up we've seen in the show is the one happening in Ponyville, but they do mention that Canterlot just magics it away. I decided to go with that explanation, but make it a bit more nuanced and be a joint effort with Cloudsdale.

Then there's a bit more of how magic works. Specifically levitation. In this fanfic's canon, levitation is an entirely different thing from any other unicorn spell. While spells require the "arrays" and "circuitry" to work, levitation is more physical in nature. Any given unicorn can learn how to levitate stuff on their own, but for spells they will have to study.

And finally, Sunset's crush on Twilight growing as the day goes by.

Winter Wrap Up mission complete. Next up: Gathering materials. Will they survive?

If you liked it, please do leave a comment! I may not reply (because I'm an idiot) but I read 'em all and make me wanna keep writing!

Chapter 20. Familiar Face

Gonna work, work, work
Got so much to do
But I don’t mind the work
‘Cuz I get to work with you!

Sunset rolled her eyes as she stepped out of the way of the two fillies that had just finished building a lemonade stand at the edge of the park. A futile effort, since Canterlites of the top rings were mostly nobles, which meant they only ever ate in the finest restaurants and would never be caught consuming anything less than that. Still, one of the fillies —a pegasus— had a Cutie Mark in the shape of a glass of lemonade with a little umbrella on top, which meant that her product couldn’t be bad.

Sure enough, Sunset bought two glasses and found herself enjoying the flavor. Not too sweet and with just enough sourness to make it interesting.

Upon returning the now empty glasses, Sunset led Twilight through the streets again. Twilight had wanted to keep looking at Cloudsdale, but the city was going to drift along the mountain for a few more hours, and Sunset wanted to get on with her shopping so that she could spend the next day going through her books to decide which ones to take back to the human world.

And so, after several minutes of navigating the streets, Sunset reached one of the stores she’d seen during their earlier walk. It was a one story high building of faint purple-gray stone, like most of the others in the city. The first difference came with the sign, which hung by chains to the roof’s rain pipes instead of with magic, and it had the drawings of three different gemstones. It was a reagent supply store.

Sunset pushed the door open and immediately felt herself smile. There were large tables on the side walls and in the middle space, upon which wooden boxes sat, each holding different kinds of items fit for enchanting. Gemstones occupied the central tables, calling for the customers’ immediate attention. The tables on the walls, however, held other things like herbs or fibers or even metals. On the wall adjacent to the door there was a wide shelf with books. At the far end sat an earth pony mare behind a counter, probably the owner, and the wall behind her held jars containing different liquids and powders that Sunset couldn’t recognize at a glance.

Twilight took in a long, loud gasp as she entered the store. Sunset snickered.

“Don’t touch anything or they’ll charge us for it,” she said. “Aside from that, feel free to look around.” Twilight didn’t need to be told twice as she started reading the titles of the books.

With an amused shake of her head, Sunset made her way towards the metals section. Unlike businesses that catered to construction or crafting companies, reagent shops had magically treated metals only in their purest forms, and their alloys followed very strict guidelines. They could be sold in flakes, but that wasn’t common. Instead, Sunset found the boxes full of rings, necklaces, bracelets, earrings, and other forms of jewelry-like shapes. They were good for novices who were starting out, but they weren’t what Sunset was looking for.

She walked to the counter, and the mare, with a dull pink fur and graying yellow mane, turned her head to look at her with a small smile.

“What can I do for you?” she asked.

“I want to see your catalog on platinum metals,” she said.

The mare’s eyes twinkled and her smile morphed from customer service to actual interest. Platinum metals were extremely rare, even more so those treated for magical purposes. If Sunset found what she wanted, she’d be spending a small fortune. Of course the mare would become giddy with excitement as she pulled a sheet of laminated parchment and placed it on the counter.

“What are your preferences?” the owner asked.

Sunset eyed the list. She knew what she wanted to do, but not what the right materials were, so she appreciated the mare going straight to the point. “I want something malleable and with a low threshold.”

The owner hummed. “Both for mana?”

“Yes.”

“That’s a bit contradictory.”

“I know,” Sunset admitted. “Do you have any suggestions?”

Tapping her hoof to her chin, the mare looked over her list for a good minute. She clearly wanted to ask what exactly it was for, but prying into the customers’ projects was considered bad manners. Plus, being an earth pony, she probably had had nasty experiences with pretentious unicorns and wanted to avoid such a situation again.

“Depending on how much mana flow you intend to have it withstand, and how often, I can recommend one of two alloys,” she said, pointing at her catalog with a hoof. “Iridosmium is very malleable, but will also bend under heavy mana flow. But if you expect a large amount of mana to flow through, osmiridium might work best, since it doesn’t bend under sunlight magic. However, you’ll have a hard time shaping it.”

Sunset considered her options. Of course, when talking about metals, all descriptions had to be thought of as understatements. Any shaping she’d try to force upon them would require insane amounts of mana. Sunset knew she could work with them as a unicorn, but since she was going to work with them in the human world, she couldn’t be sure.

“I’ll take the iridosmium,” she said, then hesitated. “How much is it?”

The owner gave her a knowing smile. “Twenty thousand for a standard sheet.” She giggled when Sunset flinched. “But, I can throw in the book your friend is reading.”

Sunset turned around to see that Twilight had picked a book from the shelf with her magic and was reading it.

“Twilight!” Sunset yelled. Twilight yelped and her magic faltered, dropping the book on the floor. “I told you not to touch anything!”

Twilight had the gall to look offended. “But I didn’t! I used my magic!”

“That’s irrelevant,” Sunset said. “You’re lucky I won’t be charged extra for it.”

“Sorry.”

Sunset huffed and turned to face the grinning mare. “I guess I can’t back out now.”

“On the bright side,” the mare said, “that tome is a comprehensive guide on reagent minerals and their magical properties.”

Sunset already owned a copy of that book. She decided to cut her losses and pay for the sheet of iridosmium. It was five centimeters in height, thirty in width, and very thin. At a glance it looked like an unassuming piece of metal, but upon closer inspection, Sunset could see the very slight blue tint to the mainly silver surface. She stored it in her saddlebags, along with the book Twilight had picked, and exited the room before the owner changed her mind.

“I’m really sorry,” Twilight said as they exited the store. “I really thought that magic didn’t count as touching.”

“It’s ok, as long as you mind yourself next time.”

Twilight spoke again after a minute. “So, what is it that you bought? It sounded expensive.”

“A sheet of magically treated iridosmium,” Sunset replied, falling into lecture mode. “Magically treated metal can be shaped with your mana so that you get the exact shape you want without having to melt and cast it again. The treatment is very laborious, so the price is ten times more than it is non-treated.”

“I see…” Twilight said with a slight shake in her voice. “What are you planning on doing with it?”

“Remember when I tried to recreate a horn?” Sunset asked. “I did some thinking, and I came to the conclusion that one of the reasons it wouldn’t work was because untreated metal has a very high mana threshold, requiring a lot of effort to make it flow through. So when I tried channeling my mana through the contraption Shining Armor made for me, I had to force my mana through, and so the quartzes took the full strain and cracked under the pressure.”

She turned around a corner, then continued talking. “I could have gotten treated iron for a fraction of the money and I’d most likely succeed, but I don’t really want to take any chances, so I got the very best. Of course, I’ll use some of my rubies instead of quartz to make sure they no longer crack.” Ruby was not only a very tough gem physically, it also was almost impossible to break with mana overload.

“You know,” Twilight said, trailing off the second word for a few seconds. “I was thinking. You keep talking about bringing gemstones with us and… Well, you probably already know they’re very expensive in my world, so…”

“I also thought about it,” Sunset said with a nod. “But my gems are all magically treated. They’ll be better put to work as part of magical artifacts. However, if we ever need the extra money, I guess I could bring regular gems we can sell.”

“We could also bring a bunch of those coins and melt them,” Twilight offered. “Gold sells well too.”

Sunset blinked, then chuckled. “Oh, bits aren’t made of real gold.”

“What? Really?”

“Mhm. They were at first, but some ponies, following your same mindset, started melting them to sell them for profit. The Equestrian Bank then decided, with Princess Celestia’s seal of approval, to change the metal for bits from gold to pinchbeck, which is really just another form of brass.”

“Huh.”

Twilight asked more questions about Equestrian culture, and Sunset was happy to provide her with answers. She had never liked teaching, finding it a bothersome and time wasting activity, but she felt a nice fuzzy feeling whenever Twilight’s eyes sparkled with unbridled interest every time Sunset explained something. At this point, Sunset didn’t even try to deny it to herself.

She had a crush on Twilight, and she loved impressing her and overall spending time with her. How had she not noticed before was anypony’s guess, but Sunset could think back on their previous interactions and see the signs from quite a few months back.

The real question was: what to do about it?

Sunset had a clearly defined goal in the human world. She would develop magical technology until it was commonplace and earn her wings. And when she became an alicorn she’d come back to Equestria and rule as was her right. But that would mean parting ways with Twilight. Then again, Sunset didn’t know how long it would take her to achieve her goal. Another thirty moons? More? If so, she could pursue a relationship with Twilight no problem. But then, when the time came that she ascended, could she leave Twilight behind? Would she ask her to come to Equestria?

Those and more questions floated around her head as she walked around the streets of Canterlot. She had always known that socializing was a pain in the tail, but this was a tad too much.

After a while, Twilight complained that her hooves were getting sore. Sunset had barely noticed that hers ached as well until she pointed it out. She looked around and saw a restaurant nearby. It was around time for lunch anyway, so she made a beeline to the entrance.

The building was rather large, with big windows and an outdoor dining area. The place was full, but they managed to get a table at the outdoor area, on account of the air still being quite cold. Not that Sunset minded. Having spent thirty moons as a human had made her feel the coldest she’d ever been, so she could weather a few gusts of end-of-winter cold wind.

“Oh, the steamed cauliflower sounds delicious,” Twilight said as she read the menu. “I think I’ll get it.”

She did order that, along with some radish juice and a blueberry muffin for dessert. Sunset herself got grilled eggplant with cheese and a side of sliced carrots, roselle juice, and cranberry pie for dessert. And just as she had thought during breakfast, Equestrian cuisine was several magnitudes better than anything humans could ever produce. Though the different flavors of meat were kind of exotic to Sunset, so that was a bit of a silver lining.

When their main dishes had been consumed and their desserts arrived, a unicorn mare walking down the street stopped right next to their table and looked at them.

“Twilight Sparkle, is that you?” the mare asked.

Sunset choked and felt like a bucket of ice water had been poured on her back. Twilight herself had frozen just as she had been about to take another bite to her muffin. Her magic faltered and she dropped it on the table with a loud clunk. Even if they had dressed up, somepony had recognized Twilight. Sunset shouldn’t have been so surprised, considering that she knew nothing about Twilight’s pony counterpart. But still, the day had been going so well, she had forgotten they were supposed to be hiding.

The unicorn, oblivious to their predicament, kept talking. “Honestly, if you were going to eat out with a friend, you could have told us. We wouldn’t have minded, you know?”

“Uhm…” Twilight said, her eyes darting back and forth nervously.

Sunset managed to gather her wits and come to her —both of their— rescue. “I’m sorry, but you’re mistaken,” she told the mare. “Her name’s Gleaming Eve.”

“Oh, wow, are you sure?” the mare asked. “You look a lot like my friend Twilight, except you’re wearing glasses.”

“Oh, yeah!” Twilight said, forcing out a smile. “My name’s Eve! Gleaming. Gleaming Eve.”

Sunset facehooved.

“You sound just like her, too! This is so freaky.” The mare said. “I’m Minuette. Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you, too, Minuette,” Twilight said with a shaky nod.

Minuette gave her a more energetic nod. “I’m sorry for confusing you, and I’m sorry for interrupting your lunch.”

“Oh, don’t worry about it,” Twilight said, and her smile began to relax. “I’m actually new to town. My friend Sun-” Sunset glared at her. “-shine! Sunshine. She was showing me around.”

“That’s so nice!” Minuette said. “Canterlot can be a bit stuffy with all these ponies looking down on you, but it’s actually quite nice if you have good friends with you. Why, me and my friends hang out loads. If you want, I can introduce you to them! We can give you a tour to the middle rings if you haven’t been there already.”

Twilight’s smile stiffened once again. “Oh, I wouldn’t want to impose. Besides, we’re just about finished already. We were planning on going back to our, er, lodgings and relax.”

Minuette nodded. “I totally understand. And now that I think about it, I don’t think I’d be able to get Twilight to join us anyway. She’s always so busy, between school projects and private lessons with the princess. It’s rare she ever has time for us!”

Somewhere in her rapid speaking, Sunset felt five particular words stand out like spilled juice on a white rug. She opened her mouth, and as she prepared to ask the question, she felt her heart beating in her throat, and a sense of dread overcome her. She had time to close her mouth, to avoid saying anything and keep on living in sweet, blissful ignorance. But the intellectual part of her brain, for the first time in her life, was the one to betray her, as it knew she would be unable to let go and forget.

So she asked.

“What do you mean, ‘private lessons with the princess’?” Her voice was anything but stable. It wavered between a normal, if low, tone, to a whisper, and back again in as many words as the sentence was long. Her lips trembled as the question escaped her. She didn’t want to know the answer, but she couldn’t move to cover her ears or tell Minuette not to answer. She simply sat there, watching as the stranger turned her head to reply with an obliviously happy smile.

“I guess you’re not from Canterlot either, huh?” Minuette giggled. “Twilight became Princess Celestia’s personal student some thirty moons ago. She’s kinda famous…”

The world around Sunset seemed to dim out. The corners of her vision were consumed by darkness, and her ears could hear nothing but her own breathing and the muffled, incomprehensible voice of the blue mare in front of her. Her body felt heavy as if another pony was holding her in place, but the coldness of the air felt more pressing in her skin.

Princess Celestia had another student. She had replaced Sunset. Not only that, she hadn’t waited long before replacing her. She had replaced Sunset. But she had no longer been her student; Celestia had terminated her apprenticeship. No matter how much her logical mind screamed that it had been inevitable, a much louder voice within her whispered that she had been betrayed. Betrayed by the princess that had promised her greatness.

Princess Celestia had never intended to make Sunset an alicorn. What had been the purpose of making Sunset her student, then? Tradition? Habit? Whimsy? Whatever the reason, it was clear now that the princess had not thought of Sunset as anything but disposable. Why else, if not that, had the princess allowed her to learn all she needed to know to rule Equestria, but then refused to turn her into an alicorn?

Unless Sunset had been nothing but a practice round. One the princess could make all the mistakes with and not worry about. All so she could properly raise the next princess of Equestria.

Sunset turned to look at Twilight. Her factions obscured, her voice muffled. All Sunset could see was a pony she’d never met, a pony she’d been replaced for. A pony that had taken everything away from her. A pony that—

Sunset choked in a breath and forced her mind to derail from that line of thought. With a start, her vision cleared and her hearing returned. She found herself breathing heavily.

“Sunset?” Twilight said.

A look around told Sunset that Minuette had left at some point. She tried to take deep and slow breaths to calm herself, but her heart wouldn’t slow down, pumping freezing blood throughout her body.

Gritting her teeth, Sunsetlit up her horn and started building the necessary circuitry for teleportation, and after finding the beacon she’d made in her room thanks to the relay, she activated the spell with her mana. From her perspective, the whole world compressed within itself in an infinitely small dot of white light, and not a moment later, the light exploded in all directions, and Sunset felt her stomach hurl as the sight of her room came into view with the speed of a cracking whip.

She ignored the thud that was undoubtedly caused by Twilight losing her balance and falling down, and walked towards the edge of her bed, pulling her chests from underneath with her magic.

“Ow…” Twilight moaned as she managed to stand up. “Where… Uhm… What…” She mumbled a few more words. “What are—”

“We’re leaving,” Sunset said, and hated the way her voice cracked, betraying her effort not to cry. “Tonight.”

“But—”

“I said we’re leaving!” Sunset yelled.

Tears fell down her eyes as she grabbed the bits from inside her first chest with her magic and tossed them away and filled the now empty space with some of the books from her shelves. Books on the principles of magic, mana manipulation, and flow control. One on spellcraft circuitry, and some of basic spells for novices.

She closed the chest when it was full of books and gemstones and pushed it to the side, then opened the second chest. Her heart skipped a beat as her eyes fell upon a neatly folded dress. Sunset levitated it as memories washed over her. She had just become the princess’ student and was about to participate in the Grand Galloping Gala for the first time. She had been nervous because she needed to get a dress of the best quality to not look out of place, and her family didn’t have enough money. The princess had gotten her the dress as a gift, and Sunset had loved it as it had made her feel special.

She used her magic to tear it apart, and felt something within herself break along with it. She tossed it unceremoniously to a corner and began filling the chest with more books. Intermediate and advanced spell circuitry were obvious choices. Some tomes on spells for those levels were mandatory as well. Some books talking about the mechanics of the Harmonic Veil would come in handy, along with others about the logic behind arrays.

By the time Sunset filled the chest with books, her shelves were already half empty. She read the titles of the remaining books and decided that they were useless. History, geography, politics, economics… All related to Equestria. None of which would be of use in the human world.

Once that was done, Sunset opened the drawers of her desk, making them fall to the floor. The ink bottles rattled, some spilling, but she didn’t care. She didn’t need ink or parchment or quills. Instead she picked a flat box that contained her lapidary tools, made with magically treated obsidian specifically to work with gemstones. She put them in her saddlebags after making sure nothing was missing.

Finally, she decided to lock herself in the washroom and take a long bath, casting a muffling spell on the door so that she wouldn’t hear Twilight’s insistent pleas for her to talk. Sunset didn’t want to talk —she didn’t want to think— about anything related to the princess. She wanted to get away and continue her work so that she’d ascend into an alicorn as soon as possible. She would become a princess in her own right and show Celestia how wrong she’d been to replace her.

When night fell, Sunset cast an illusion spell on the chests so that they’d look like nondescript wooden boxes full of sheets, undid the teleportation beacon, dressed herself and Twilight as maids again, then led the way back to the throne room. Instead of taking the front route, however, Sunset used the personnel-only hallways and corridors so that they arrived at the throne room from the back. Just like she had expected, nopony gave them more than a glance as they walked.

Upon arriving at the space that contained the mirror, Sunset undid the illusions from the chests and set them down. She then used her magic to rip the laces that held their suits together. Their shirts remained, but that wasn’t an issue.

“Go,” Sunset ordered Twilight. “Get Shining so that he helps us carry the chests. You have five minutes before I start sending them through.”

Twilight hesitated. “Uhm…”

Sunset groaned, then pushed Twilight through the mirror. She waited exactly five minutes before levitating the chests through the portal. She tore the rest of the maid outfit off her and made sure her saddlebags were properly settled on her back, then cast a fire spell on the discarded clothes.

With a final look at the curtain that hid the rest of the throne room, illuminated by the flames that consumed the outfit, Sunset turned towards the mirror and jumped through.

End of Volume II

Author's Note

And here we are, the not so surprising twist.

In the first drafts of this chapter, I had considered them running into the pony versions of people they know. I had thought of Cadance spotting them and talking to them. I had thought of a random NPC recognizing Twilight and her having to wing it. I even entertained the idea of Twilight's parents being the ones showing up at the restaurant.

In the end, I didn't like any of those ideas. I wanted the pony to recognize Twilight to be close enough to know the pony version, but not so much that she couldn't be deflected by a simple "she just looks alike" situation. Enter the cheerful, loud, and very friendly Minuette.

Overall, I'm happy with how this turned out. It's a bit of a low note, but not all volumes will end with high hopes. You've been warned.

Next up: Interludes. How many? Yes

If you liked it, please do leave a comment! I love reading your thoughts on every chapter!

Interlude — Celestia

The urgent summons had taken her all the way to Mount Aris. It was a full eighteen hours at full speed by chariot. She could’ve flown there and make it in ten, but there were certain expectations that just couldn’t be ignored when dealing with international politics. Plus, if by mere happenstance she arrived to witness fighting, she’d be needed at full strength to help.

She wasn’t needed to fight, which was a massive relief. However, Queen Novo had taken Celestia not to the throne room or to a tea room, but to a strategy room. Surrounded by generals, the queen had explained to Celestia that she had reason to believe that the yetis were planning an invasion. Their evidence was a startling increase in mining and smithing operations, overtaxing of their citizens, and espionage reports on the construction of massive airships that certainly didn’t give off vibes of being for tourism purposes.

The meeting had stretched for almost twenty hours, with regular breaks for refreshments and lunch. The hippogriffs, being one of Equestria’s oldest allies, had wanted her to listen in on the meeting and share her conclusions. Celestia refrained from confirming their fears, but if their information was to be believed, then it was true that the yetis would attack, and that their military force was beyond anything the hippogriffs could handle.

Celestia had offered help, but Queen Novo had declined. She hinted that she possessed an item of the last-resource kind. Something that would protect her subjects if the yetis did attack. However, whatever that object did could also affect ponies, and if they were there when it was used, they’d either be protected or left to bear the attack on their own. And protecting them, by the way she spoke of it, meant that the ponies would never return to Equestria.

No, what Queen Novo had wanted was for Celestia to have a first-hoof account on what was going on in the southern part of the continent, so that she wouldn’t be easily fooled in case the yetis tried to play innocent. Queen Novo also mentioned that it was very unlikely the yetis would ever attack Equestria, considering that they didn’t have magic, and Celestia was known far and wide as the single most powerful creature in the world.

However, being caught off guard would be dangerous even for her.

Celestia had tried to convince Queen Novo to let her send help, but the queen remained stubborn. Her pride wouldn’t let her see to reason. Besides, they didn’t know when the yetis would attack. Sending ponies all the way to Mount Aris would drain Equestrian resources, and if the attack never happened, they’d live in constant fear. Queen Novo didn’t want to do that to her allies.

At the very least, after spending the night in Hippogriffia, Celestia had convinced Queen Novo to consider opening free trade relations with Equestria as soon as the whole situation with the yetis was resolved. Celestia tried to remain hopeful and think that it was all just a big misunderstanding, but in her personal experience, she knew that the invasion was imminent.

So it was with a heavy heart and a promise to help if the Hippogriffs changed their mind that Celestia returned to Equestria.

But apparently, she wouldn’t be allowed to take a breather, for as soon as she returned, Captain Titanium requested an urgent meeting, where he informed her that they had spotted burnt clothes in the throne room’s accessway, and after some investigating, they had reason to believe that at least two ponies had infiltrated the palace, but they didn’t have any suspects yet.

Celestia dismissed him after promising to look into the matter. She wanted to let herself sink into her chair and lay on her desk, but she’d have to eventually get to work, and it was better if she took matters into her own hooves sooner than later.

She already had an idea of who the infiltrators were, or at least one of them. Still, she walked around the palace, reading reports and speaking with all the staff heads for anything they could share. The picture became clearer the more she investigated. Of course, she was several steps ahead of everypony else on account of being the only one to know about the mirror’s hidden purpose.

What she knew was that no less than two ponies had gotten into the palace on the evening of the day Celestia had been summoned. It wasn’t a coincidence that it was the same night the portal in the mirror had opened.

Also, as soon as the guards had gotten notice of the intruders, the pair guarding the throne room’s antechamber spoke of having heard the window rattling. Then, many who were on night duty reported seeing maids they’d never seen before wandering about, but they’d dismissed them as new hires. Descriptions varied because it had been dark, but they all agreed that they were unicorns. The same unknown maids were seen carrying large boxes full of blankets the following night, when the burnt uniforms had appeared.

In a panic, though with enough grace that only the veteran guards noticed, Celestia visited each and every vault within the castle, even the secret ones. Thankfully, after thorough scannings, Celestia was confident that none of them had been breached.

As Celestia paced along the corridors, she wondered what Sunset’s goal had been. She had mentioned in that letter that she didn’t intend on returning to Equestria unless she became an alicorn, so then, why come at all? And with a native of that world in tow, no less. And something else was bothering her. The boxes they’d been carrying before they left. Sunset hadn’t taken anything from the vaults, so what had she…

Celestia stopped, making her guards grow alert and look around for an unseen enemy. She walked as fast as she could without breaking into a trot, which meant that her guards did need to canter. Eventually, she made it to Sunset’s chambers, all the way to the fourth floor of the northwestern wing. She scanned the room, finding a startling combination of old, neglected wards, and the usual warping in the Harmonic Veil that remained after teleportation.

She entered the room, and her heart stopped for a fraction of a second. There were bits strewn about the floor, the desk’s drawers were scattered as well, stained with the ink that had spilled from the bottles. And more than half the books on the shelves were missing, all of which Celestia knew had to do with magic in some way or another. The bed showed signs of use as well, with wrinkled bed sheets and askew pillows.

Scratch marks under the bed told Celestia that the boxes Sunset had been carrying had actually been her personal chests with illusions. It didn’t take a genius to understand that the missing books were all in those chests. But then again, why take books about magic to a magicless world? Celestia recalled the contents of the letter that had been written in Sunset’s journal. It had mentioned that Sunset had found her destiny in that other world, but had that been a misdirection? Had Sunset found a way to bring magic to that world? If so, what was she planning on doing with it?

Something on the corner of her eye caught her attention. She turned her head to see a dress torn in half. She recognized it as the dress she had bought for Sunset for her first Grand Galloping Gala. Sunset had looked absolutely adorable, especially with the big smile she had the whole night. For the dress to be in such a state, and considering the rest of the room, it meant that Sunset had been in considerable distress.

Was she still angry because she couldn’t force her way into alicornhood?

No. Something about the state of the room told Celestia that it was something else. Sunset wasn’t the kind of pony to throw a tantrum by destroying her own things. Her tantrums involved days and nights of study and planning until she either got tired or got what she wanted.

Unable to find any more clues to understand Sunset’s actions, Celestia allowed the guards to study the room until they were satisfied. Their investigation would be inconclusive, she reasoned, and the case would remain open until everypony but Celestia forgot about it. The only thing Celestia didn’t like was that the guards would quickly come to the conclusion that Sunset was one of the intruders, if they didn’t know it already.

That would mean that not even Celestia would be able to overturn an issue for Sunset’s arrest unless she trampled over her own carefully constructed delegation system. Sunset would become a wanted criminal all throughout Equestria, and Celestia wouldn’t be able to help her anymore.

Unless, of course, Sunset couldn’t return to Equestria.

Celestia returned to her study, where she kept powerful spells that reminded her of soon to come threats to Equestria that she knew of. Luna’s return was coming in only a few short moons, and Celestia was now sure that Twilight was indeed the pony of the prophecy that would save her sister —she had been carefully organizing the Summer Sun Celebrations so that the thousandth one would happen in the town nearest to the Everfree forest.

Were Twilight to succeed, which Celestia was confident on, it would be Cadence’s turn to live to her destiny. Her Cutie Mark and her name were already dead giveaways of her heritage and rightful place as heiress regent of the Crystal Empire. As soon as Sombra’s curse died off, the empire would re-emerge, and Cadence would have to defeat him and rule over the empire.

Which gave Celestia the perfect excuse to move the mirror there. She could already picture it. In thirty short moons the portal to the other world would open again. Celestia would remain awake overnight, waiting for Sunset to return so she could hold her back and talk, or if worse came to worst, to deal with her herself. If, on the other hoof, Sunset didn’t come back, then Celestia would entrust Equestria to Luna and cross the portal to search for Sunset.

One way or another, Celestia was not going to allow Sunset to keep trudging down the path of darkness and keep hurting, both others and herself.

Only thirty more moons before Celestia was allowed to fix things.

Author's Note

First interlude!

Yes, this is my excuse for having Celestia away during Sunset's and Twilight's visit. Since the movie is canon, I could use it for this. Haha!

I hope you liked it! If so, please do leave a comment!

Interlude — Rose Petals

Sometimes, Rose dreamed of the sea.

Those dreams always started off the same, with bright blue skies and beautifully sparkling waters. And then the storm came. It turned an idyllic scenery into a horrifyingly chaotic one. The waves rose like mountains, the winds howled angrily, the lightning blinded her and the thunder deafened the sounds of panicked yelling. She’d then find herself surrounded by thick, warm arms, wrapped in a protective hug, as the sea tried to knock them over and swallow them whole.

These nightmares had been very common when she was a filly, forcing her awake in the middle of the night, wailing terrified until her parents came and convinced her that everything was fine. As she grew, the nightmares became less and less common, until she had them once only every several moons, when she found herself stressed, or when something reminded her of the sea.

That’s why she had moved to Canterlot, the furthest city from the sea there was, as soon as she had turned ten. She loved her parents dearly —they had taken her in and raised her with love— but she couldn’t keep living in Horseshoe Bay. She had considered going to Cloudsdale to work in the weather control corps, but decided against it as soon as she learned that she’d be required to go to coastal towns every few moons to gather water through steam whirls. She could have chosen other central towns, but as a blank flank filly, there wouldn’t be much she’d be able to do for a living.

The Royal Palace, however, had a system to help ponies like Rose. Blank flanks could be hired as maids or butlers and work doing different tasks. Maybe they’d find something related to palace keeping, or maybe they’d figure something else while they walked through the city on their off days. Some had become chefs, accountants, assistants, and even guards.

Rose had quickly learned that she wasn’t very good at cleaning. She wasn’t terrible by any means —her parents had raised her right, but it just wasn’t fulfilling. Next she had tried cooking, and while the other maids had liked her dishes, she was nowhere near as good as the royal chefs. She also failed the recruitment trials for the royal guard, and even her attempts at gardening had ended up in a mess.

She was fortunate enough that the head of maids at the time, an old unicorn mare called Fizzy Glitter, had seen something in Rose that not even she had. Apparently, Rose had an eye for administration and for keeping ponies focused on their jobs. Fizzy had taken her under her metaphorical wing as her personal assistant, and by the time she retired, Rose had already earned her Cutie Mark, a single sheet of parchment and a quill, and was ready to take the position as head of maids.

And so Rose had found her destiny in an often mocked and heavily misunderstood position. On a daily basis, she had to deal with new employees’ over enthusiastic attitudes, old ones’ jaded mindsets, and everything in between. She had to keep them all properly assigned and working all throughout the palace despite the horribly massive staff turnover. And she had to keep them from blundering their way into angering one noble or another.

Still, Rose loved her job, and despite the regular stress, she rarely, if ever, dreamed of the sea.

That is, until one young unicorn filly had become Princess Celestia’s personal students after the position had been vacant for the past fifty years. Sunset Shimmer was the embodiment of everything that made Rose develop intense headaches. She was proud, rude, arrogant, whimsical, and ambitious. All the traits of a noble, but without the title and the responsibility towards a house.

That little ball of chaos would smash her way through the palace on a daily basis, demanding that her every need was seen to as soon as possible, regardless of the problems she caused to Rose's careful organization. Even when Rose assigned her personal maids from her more experienced staff, Sunset always found ways to scare them away, and Rose had to waste time convincing those poor souls not to quit.

So when she was informed by the captain of the royal guard, a good, if old, friend called Titanium Shield, that Sunset Shimmer had disappeared without a trace, Rose’s initial reaction was to let out a very long sigh of relief. She had felt bad afterwards, of course. Ponies disappearing never ended on happy notes. But she was sure that everypony who had ever had to deal with Sunset would accompany her on the sentiment.

Especially when Princess Celestia took on a second student, barely a moon after Sunset’s disappearance, and that filly called Twilight Sparkle ended up being diametrically opposite in attitude. She had chosen to live in the eastern garden’s spiral, which was taken as a foal’s whim by the most inexperienced staff, but Rose had seen the truth right away. Twilight treasured learning over anything else, so much so that she requested her meals to be taken to her spire three times a day and that no maids were sent to clean, since she’d do the cleaning herself.

Some complained that she was raising a dragon —of all things— in that spire, and there were rumors that she was planning some nefarious scheme or another. But Twilight wasn’t as reclusive as ponies made her out to be. She went out to her classes at Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns, and she’d casually traverse the palace’s halls for her private lessons with the princess.

Rose had seen Twilight walking down the corridor many times, and she noticed that, while she tended to bump into other ponies because she always had her nose buried deep in a book, she always apologized, bowed, and continued on her way. Sunset Shimmer, i contrast, had always yelled at ponies, even if she was at fault.

Life at the royal palace had returned to its usual state, much to Rose’s delight. She still had to scramble to replace ponies that quit and rework the schedules and she had to deal rewards and punishments to those who deserved them, but it was pretty much business as usual, and Rose loved her job in spite of its quirks.

Then, one night, she was awoken by a nervous knocking on her door. Being the head of maids granted her use of a private room only a couple hallways down her office, which she appreciated, since she was already getting along in years and neither hooves nor wings worked like they used to. She got out of bed, worry seeping through her movements. If somepony was waking her up in the middle of the night, it could only mean trouble.

“Yes?” She said as she opened the door to reveal a maid, a young unicorn mare, nervously shifting her weight through her legs. Her name was Grape Sorbet, if memory served Rose right.

“Uhm, sorry for waking you up, ma’am,” Grape mumbled. “Captain Titanium Shield said he wants you in the throne room. He won’t say what for.”

Rose stifled a groan and followed Grape Sorbet. She usually went to see her son in the north middle ring of Canterlot during Winter Wrap Up, but Princess Celestia had needed to step away from the palace for an emergency summons, and Rose just couldn’t leave the palace unattended for so many days. Just like experience had proven time and time again, every time the princess mysteriously left, something happened.

This time, the something had happened in the throne room, or more precisely, in the staff accessway behind the throne. The place was swarmed with guards, mostly to keep the curious night staff away. Rose ordered the maids to go back to work, and the rest of staff followed them in a mild panic. Rose had enough authority to punish even those that weren’t maids if they deserved it.

Of course, since she had been summoned, the guards let her through.

The throne room accessway was an empty space covered by a massive curtain behind the throne. Its purpose was mainly for messenger ponies to carry the princess’ orders during day court to the rest of the palace if need be. Thirty moons ago, however, Princess Celestia had placed a very large mirror set upon a dais and held by a sturdy and expensive looking frame, both decorated with flawless gemstones. According to the princess, it had been a gift from a foreign dignitary and had ordered that no pony was to touch it or it could be considered an offense and lead to a political mess.

Rose had dared to question why keep the mirror in the accessway. If it was so important, why not keep it in her study or in one of the many vaults within the palace? The princess had explained the dignitary could return any time and request to see the mirror, and Celestia had to show that it was always kept in the throne room, even if out of sight.

Rose saw no reason to distrust the princess. What would a normal pony like herself accomplish by trying to understand the thought process of an immortal alicorn?

Tonight, however, besides the mirror, there was another thing decorating the accessway. A small pile of dust.

“Ah, Rose, there you are,” Titanium said as she approached. His build was still powerful even if his face was full of wrinkles. “I’m sorry for calling for you this late.”

“You better be,” she said, raising an eyebrow. “Why does a pile of dust require my personal attention? I have maids working the night shift for a reason.”

Titanium looked around, making sure his guards were far enough that they wouldn’t hear a whispered conversation. “This is no regular dust, Rose. These are ashes, and they came from this,” he said as he levitated something from within the ashes. It looked like a lace, though it was burnt. “This is the same fabric that is used for the maids’ uniforms. Not only that, but judging by the marks on the floor, they were burned right here.”

Rose felt a chill run down her spine, and her wings ruffled in a knee-jerk reaction. “What are you trying to say?”

“I think somepony infiltrated the palace,” he said. “I’ll have guards interrogating your maids, and I need you to ensure their cooperation. And I’ll need your authorization to have them search the dormitories, the storage rooms your maids frequent, and your office.”

“My…”

“I’m not suspecting you, Rose,” Titanium said with a reassuring tone. “But we don’t know if the infiltrators got to your office, and if they did, what they were looking for.”

Rose nodded. “I understand. Of course you have my permission to do whatever it is you need to do. Just don’t let your guards scare my maids or interrupt their jobs more than necessary.”

Titanium nodded, then let out a tired sigh. “I don’t like this, Rose. Something’s not right about this.”

“What do you mean?”

“This,” Titanium said as he pointed at the pile of ash. “Why burn the outfit here? It’s the only reason we know something’s wrong. If it wasn’t for this, you and I would still be asleep and blissfully unaware. This feels intentional. Like a message.”

Rose snickered. “I think you’ve been reading too many novels.”

“Or maybe I’m just too old for this,” he replied, shaking his head. “I think I’ll retire as soon as this is over. I was planning on doing so for a few moons already.”

“Oh,” Rose said, losing her smile. “I’ll miss you, Titanium.”

He gave her a weak smile. “You know where I live. You can visit me anytime.”

“I will. Now, if there’s nothing else, I’ll write up a notice to my maids so that they comply with your guards’ instructions, and then I’ll try to get some sleep.”

She walked to her office and got to work, penning a notice that she ordered Blossom Thorn, the maid in charge of the night shift, to make copies of and distribute among the night staff and through the dormitories so that the day staff would read them first thing in the morning.

And when Rose finally went to sleep, before her body even started to relax, she knew that, for the first time in thirty moons, she would dream of the sea, and of the storm.

Author's Note

This is it, the odd one out, the interlude where the POV is from an OC. For months I debated whether to publish this one, but in the end, here we are.

There are a few books I've read, and even a fanfic or two, where you have chapters centered around a character you'll never see again. Because the character is just not important to the story. And the actions they take in the chapter are not important either. However, there is something in the chapter itself that is important to the story. And I always wanted to do something similar. This is my attempt.

Rose Petals will never appear again. She may never even be mentioned again. But she will always have a special place in my heart for allowing me to experiment with this idea.

I hope you liked it. If so, please do leave a comment with theories or whatever!

Interlude — Shining Armor

Shining Armor knew he was one of the luckiest men in the entire world. He had a loving family, graduated with honors from one of the most prestigious High Schools in the country, a job that fulfilled him, and the most beautiful girlfriend. Though as soon as the moment was right, he’d ask her to make him even luckier by marrying him.

And lately, he’d even witnessed real magic. Not make-believe or pretend like when he played with his highschool pals, but real magic. And it was thanks to the most brilliant little sister in the world and her friend, who was apparently a denizen from an alternate universe. Shining loved it every time those two girls asked him to build this or carry that, since it was all related to their magical experiments.

Of course, it helped that Sunset had become part of the family. She was Twilight’s best friend, and Shining could almost see her as another little sister. Almost, because he saw the way Twilight looked at her. Honestly, everyone but Sunset herself knew that there was something more than friendship in Twilight’s eyes. Though whether that came to something was another story entirely. They all had agreed not to meddle and just let the girls figure things out… If they ever stopped working on their projects long enough.

In any case, Shining considered himself a happy man with a happy life.

That, of course, didn’t stop him from worrying about the people he cared about. Especially when two of them were currently walking around in another world where a myriad of dangers could potentially await them at every corner. His worry showed in the form of his foot constantly rapping at the floor and his finger tapping on the steering wheel.

“They’re fine, dear,” Cadence said from the co-pilot seat. She had wrapped herself in a fluffy blanket to fend off the coldness of the night. “I know you promised not to tell me anything Sunset hasn’t told us already, but I do know you. If you thought they were in real danger, you wouldn’t have allowed them to go. At least, not Twilight.”

She was right, and on the intellectual level, Shining was aware of that. But he couldn’t do anything about his nervous anxiety. He was a worrying big brother before he was a logical man. Why, he shuddered in terror every time he pictured Twilight being old enough to drive and having to deal with all the other people that wouldn’t respect traffic laws.

“Here, have a cookie,” Cadence said, lifting a package of chocolate chip cookies.

Shining smiled as he took one. “Thanks, Cady. I’m glad I have you with me.”

She gave him a kiss on the cheek as he munched on the cookie. He truly was a lucky man.

He looked to his left and immediately became alert. Someone was running towards them. He leaned over and narrowed his eyes. He’d recognize that hair anywhere. Getting out of the car, Shining hurried to meet his sister, then saw her fall flat on her face and skid a few feet.

“Twilight!” He yelled as he finally reached her. “Are you alright? What happened?”

Twilight moaned as she lifted herself. She accepted Shining’s hand and stood up on wobbly legs. Her nose was a bit scratched, but otherwise looked fine.

“I’m fine,” she said. “But I guess walking on two legs again is messing up with my balance.”

Shining blinked. “What?”

Twilight shook her head. “Never mind that. Sunset is bringing heavy luggage with her. Could you help us carry it?” She looked behind him and brightened up. “Cadence! You’re here too?”

“I was keeping your brother company,” she replied, and Shining noticed the slight tone of concern she tried to hide. “Everything alright? I thought you girls would be back tomorrow.”

“I…” Twilight bit her lower lip for a moment. “I’ll tell you later. For now, we need to help Sunset.” She eyed Cadence warily.

Cadence picked up on her apprehension. “I’ll be here so I don’t know the way to Sunset’s world. But you better hurry. It’s not proper to leave a girl all alone in an empty parking lot.”

Shining kissed her appreciatively, then followed Twilight towards the school’s front lawn. He could already see that a massive box was sitting at the foot of the statue. “Is that it?”

“Yes,” Twilight said. As they reached the statue, a second chest came through, materializing into existence from the surface of the stone and falling onto the first chest. “Come on, let’s get them out of the way before Sunset crosses and trips on them.”

Shining pushed away his giddiness at watching such a magical phenomenon and helped Twilight pull the incredibly heavy chests out of the way. What on earth had they brought from magicland?

Before he could even think of opening the top chest, the portal’s surface rippled as if it were water, and out came Sunset Shimmer, who only stumbled a little before standing upright. Shining didn’t fail to notice that while Sunset had arrived with the same clothes she’d left —though she was wearing a backpack now, Twilight was wearing a black long-sleeved shirt that looked to be very high quality and she most definitely had not owned.

Sunset looked at him, and Shining felt a chill run down his spine at the expression on her face. There were faint shadows under her eyes, which were a bit reddened both in the white part and around the eyelids.

Wordlessly, Sunset stepped towards the chests and tried lifting one. It didn’t budge. She huffed and tried again, and it barely moved a smidge. Then, to Shining’s bewilderment, she let out a harrowing scream, as if it was being forced out of her. Her face turned red with rage and she started kicking the chests, screaming all the while. Shining instinctively grabbed Twilight by the arms and pulled her away.

With one final kick, the chest on the top fell to the ground with a loud thud. It went completely ignored, however, since Sunset fell to her knees and began hitting the ground with her fists. Over and over again she hit the ground, screaming and crying. So loud she was that Cadence came running, and she placed a hand to her mouth at the scene.

After what felt like hours, Sunset finally started to calm down. Her voice came out raspy and her breathing was so heavy it sounded as if she had been drowning. And when she looked like she was finally done, her eyes closed with a final choky breath and her body fell like a wet rag, hitting the ground rather hard.

Shining and Cadence rushed to her to make sure she hadn’t hit herself too hard.

“Is she going to be ok?” Twilight asked so low that Shining had barely heard her.

Letting Cadence check on Sunset, Shining stood up and turned to look at his sister. “Twilight, what happened over there?”

“I…” Twilight hugged herself and looked down. “We learned that the princess replaced her with another student. Sunset got really angry and decided to return tonight, but… I-I didn’t know she’d get like that!” She started crying. “I-It’s all m-my fault!”

Shining knelt down and grabbed Twilight by her shoulders. “What? Of course it isn’t your fault, Twily.”

“But it is!” Twilight yelled as tears ran down her cheeks. “If I hadn’t insisted on going, she wouldn’t have taken me to that restaurant, and we wouldn’t have met that girl that told us about the princess’ new student! It’s my fault Sunset got hurt!”

Shining had no idea what she was babbling about, but it was useless to try to reason with her in that state, so he simply hugged her and let her cry on his shoulder, caressing her head all the while. It was another twenty minutes before Twilight calmed down.

“She’s going to be fine,” Cadence announced as she held Sunset’s head on her lap. “She just passed out, and she’s breathing normally. We should take her to my dad’s clinic to make sure she didn’t get hurt when she fell, though.”

“Can you call him?” Shining asked.

Cadence smiled. “Already did. He’s on his way.”

Shining smiled at her, then looked at Twilight. “Now, Twily, we’re going to spend the night at Cadence’s house. We can load these heavy chests on the car for now. Do you want to help me?”

Twilight only replied with a nod.

“I’ll go get the car so we don’t have to carry them for long. Stay here with Cadence for the moment, then you’ll help me with the chests.”

Twilight walked towards Cadence and wordlessly knelt down in front of her, looking at Sunset. Shining suppressed a sigh and hurried towards his car, thinking about what he had just witnessed. Whatever happened on the other side of the portal had shaken Sunset to her core, and that was going to affect everyone around her, including Shining himself. He saw her like a little sister, and it broke him that she had been hurt so much.

He only hoped that she would see him at the very least like a good enough friend that she’d confide in him and talk. Shining doubted he’d be able to solve her problem or protect her from what had hurt her, but the least he could do was listen, and sometimes, that was all one needed to feel better.

Fortunately, he was lucky enough that he was surrounded by loving people who all would do their best to help Sunset get through these tough times.

Author's Note

You know how some fanfics of this kind have Shining as either an antagonist or a too-suspicious older brother? Yeah, none of that here.

This was a bit too short, but I hope you liked it nonetheless. I'll be awaiting your comments on the matter!

Now, I do have a bit of an announcement to make. Because of the holidays and other stuff, the fic will go on hiatus for the next month. Do not worry, the next volume is completed and ready for publish, so don't worry, A Destiny of Their Own will be back. When specifically? On January 9th.

Meanwhile, feel free to comment and even post on my mainpage if you wanna talk or something. Happy holidays and remember to drink plenty of water!

Volume III. Shadows of Light — Chapter 21. That Which Was Lost

Sunset awoke to the sight of a pink ceiling, faded out from age. A clock somewhere nearby ticked off the seconds with echoing hammering in her ears, feeding to her incipient migraine. Her lips felt parched, but raking her tongue around her mouth did little to gather any moisture. When she swallowed a dry gulp, her throat sizzled painfully.

Blinking away the last vestiges of slumber, Sunset attempted to sit up, but as soon as she pressed her hands against the mattress, pain flared up from them. She hissed and fell back onto the pillow. Raising her hands, she noticed that they were bandaged. Memories flashed in front of her eyes and felt ridiculous. Screaming? Kicking? Punching the ground in a tantrum? What was she, a filly?

She forced herself to sit up with awkward motions so as to avoid her swollen hands from hurting and took a look around. She was on a comfortable bed of light sandy wood, wrapped with light blue sheets. Soft pink walls surrounded her, some decorated with paintings of sunny landscapes. A large wardrobe sat nearby, with some framed photographs she couldn’t see and a few potted plants. On the far side she spotted a vanity table of pink dyed wood and white surface, and its mirror’s frame was completely covered in loose photographs. The window beside the bed was slightly open, letting in a breeze that rippled the thin white curtain.

Sunset didn’t recognize this place, but she hated it. It was too cheerful, and it felt like it was mocking her. Telling her that her feelings didn’t matter, that she wasn’t allowed to feel betrayed, that everything she’d done to achieve her goals had been for nothing. Princess Celestia had used her as a trial round, as a disposable pawn, and Sunset was just supposed to nod and accept it like a good little pony. All those letters asking about her wellbeing had been nothing but attempts to deceive Sunset.

Her hands flared in pain as she pressed them into fists.

Being a princess must be earned. Those had been some of the last words Celestia had told Sunset. Words that had still given her hope that there was a way, a path, a means to become an alicorn. Those words, along with Mi Amore Cadenza’s ascension, had been the reason Sunset had kept going, ignoring everything else until she achieved her goals.

Those words had been a lie.

Princess Celestia had never intended for Sunset to become a princess. In retrospect, it was blatantly obvious. She had taught her magic but not how to run Equestria. And when she had gotten bored, she had shown Sunset the mirror, dangling its mysteries in front of her, knowing that Sunset wouldn’t be able to ignore them. Getting into the restricted section of the royal library had been laughably easy, no doubt on purpose, so that Sunset would have no issues searching for and finding the answers. And when Sunset had returned, Celestia had been conveniently absent, most likely expecting Sunset to run into trouble to have an excuse to throw her in the dungeon.

But had she also planned for Sunset to know about the new student? No, that couldn’t be. That mare had only stopped because she had recognized Twilight’s face. There was no way that Celestia could’ve known that Sunset would bring her to Equestria. Which meant that she had never intended for Sunset to find that out.

Maybe Sunset could use that knowledge somehow.

But to what end? Even if Sunset became an alicorn, would Celestia allow her to rule when she’d found a replacement? No, she wouldn’t. If Sunset returned to Equestria in thirty moons and sprouted wings, Celestia would most likely confront her, and that time wouldn’t end with Sunset being escorted out of the palace. An alicorn would need to be banished from Equestria entirely, if not outright imprisoned in Tartarus. And no matter how powerful Sunset was, she’d be no match for the ancient alicorn.

Her chest tightened with every breath she took. There was no more future for her in Equestria. All her effort, her plans, and her pain had been for naught. She sucked in a short burst of breath, then another, and soon tears followed as she grit her teeth and the pain in her hands was as faint as the breeze coming from the window. And something within her grew so fast it scared her for a moment, though as soon as she felt the familiar vibrations in her mind, she relaxed.

She threw the blankets away and turned her body to let her legs fall off the side of the bed, then opened her mouth.

I had it figured out
So much I’ve sacrificed

She’d distanced herself from her family back in Manehatten for the one-in-a-lifetime opportunity to become Princess Celestia’s personal student. She’d thrown herself into her studies to prove that she deserved the position, that she deserved everything she’d ever want. And for a few years, she’d felt fulfilled.

I have worked without rest
Just to be recognized

When she learned there was a way for her to become something better, her mind had narrowed towards that goal, and her ambition had seen an all-time high. Nothing else had mattered, and she’d rebuilt her entire life around that singular objective.

I wished for the throne
Become part of history

But the princess had never intended for her to become anything better. Her life, her struggles, her passions, her tears. It all was mote in the princess’ eyes. And anything Sunset threw would crash and die against an immovable wall.

But none could be my own
It wasn’t meant to be

She pushed herself to her feet, barely registering the pain in her hands, and walked up towards the vanity table to look at the mirror. Her disheveled reflection stared back at her. Hair that curled and stretched in every direction, dark shadows under reddened eyes, cheeks moistened with running tears, and grayed cracked lips.

Part of me wants to forget
To pretend I can still go far
But I know the sun has to set
And I’ll never shine like a star

She looked at the mirror’s frame, covered in photographs. Cadence with Shining Armor. Cadence with Twilight and her family. Cadence with people Sunset didn’t know… Sunset’s eyes fell on a photograph that included her. One that had been taken last year, when Sunset had turned fifteen. Cadence, Shining, and Twilight surrounded her, and all four smiled around a half-eaten cake at the amusement park.

Sunset looked at Twilight, and she choked as she remembered just who was her replacement as Princess Celestia’s student.

Replaced by her reflection

Why did it have to be Twilight?

Bereft of all protection

Why did it have to be Twilight?

For I longed to shine like a star

She hated that she’d been replaced simply because she’d dared raise above her station. She hated that she’d been betrayed by the one pony that was supposed to be above everypony else, both socially and morally. But still, if it had been something that was going to happen either way, Sunset wished that she’d been replaced by literally any pony other than Twilight Sparkle.

Why do I feel like this?

Sunset hated Cadence the alicorn because she had become what Sunset couldn’t and had the gall to rub it in her face by cantering around the palace day and night. And she hated Twilight the pony because she’d taken away what was rightfully hers. It didn’t matter that Sunset was no longer Princess Celestia’s student, she’d worked hard for years to deserve that position, only for this nopony to swoop in and take the place as soon as Sunset had vacated it.

There should be nothing but scorn

When she thought of Twilight the human, Sunset did feel a sense of betrayal and bubbling rejection. But there were also many warm sensations recalled from memories of everything she’d done with Twilight. Thirty moons of interactions couldn’t be thrown away just like that.

Yet my heart is only torn
It all feels amiss

There were two Twilight Sparkles. One was an opportunistic thief, while the other was someone Sunset could genuinely call a friend. A part of Sunset still wanted to unleash her rage at her, but she couldn’t bring herself to do so. Especially when it would be such a futile effort. She had already screamed and kicked and it had done nothing.

She closed her eyes and gripped the vanity table, trying to make the physical pain of her bruised hands overpower that of her heart. It didn’t work. The Resonance became more urgent, and for a moment Sunset thought of refusing, but with her nose clogged, she was forced to take a shaky breath through her mouth, and she couldn’t stop it.

I wished for the throne
Become part of history
But none could be my own
It wasn’t meant to be

There was nothing left for her in any world. Princess Celestia had cast her out and hindered any chance Sunset could’ve had to return or start again. And her projects in the human world now lacked any meaning and purpose.

Part of me wants to forget
To pretend I can still go far
But I know the sun has to set
And I’ll never shine like a star

If she had played her part as the good, obedient little student, Princess Celestia would have kept her around, and if she hadn’t let her temper get the better of her, she could’ve concealed her ambition and achieved ascension on her own. If she had gotten her jealousy for Mi Amore Cadenza under control, she could have formulated plans to get information on alicornhood out of her.

Replaced by her reflection!

She’d been too blinded by greed and too consumed by her hubris to pay attention to anything but herself, so Princess Celestia had decided to take in another student after making Sunset get herself expelled.

Bereft of all protection!

She used to have it all. She had set her sights on having even more. But the princess of the sun had not allowed it, going as far as getting another student just to get the point across. And just because Sunset had wanted more.

For I longed to shine like a star…

Her legs faltered, and she found herself falling to her knees, her hands dragging along the table’s legs.

For I longed to shine like a star…

The magic of the Resonance left her, and suddenly her throat flared up in pain. She barely registered it, as her chest throbbed laboriously, forcing out quiet yet powerful sobs out of her.

She hated it.

She hated crying and being unable to stop. She hated that she couldn’t settle on the exact reason for her tears as feelings clashed with each other inside her, all mixed within a thick pool of uncertainty and confusion. She hated feeling so vulnerable, lost without her aspirations and her purpose in life, feeling like the world became a dark tunnel and the exit stretched far into the distance and out of her reach.

The door opened with a loud creak, making Sunset flinch. She turned her head just in time to see Twilight entering the room, holding a tray in her hands. Sunset felt her stomach sink as she turned away with a gasp. She felt her face blush and her chest throb even more pressingly at the thought of being seen in such a sorry state, doubled down by the fact that it was Twilight of all people.

Her life just kept getting worse. Big things and little things, all bad things, combined into a perfect storm that just didn’t seem to stop blowing. Not until its winds had torn everything apart and her soul was as barren as a land destroyed by droughts.

“Sunset…”

Sunset covered her ears. She didn’t want pity or condescension, especially not coming from Twilight. She shut her eyes, hoping that her tormentor would take the hint and leave her alone. Though her labored breathing and her sniffing betrayed her, and she hated her inability to control herself.

Despite her best efforts, Sunset heard the metallic clank of the tray against the vanity table. Her hopes of Twilight leaving her alone were snuffed out as she felt the familiar vibrations of a Harmonic Resonance. She didn’t want to listen, but her hands picked that moment to remember they were hurt, and so they refused to press her ears any more, so she braced herself for whatever pity Twilight had to impart.

Many things I want to say to you
But where is the right place to begin?

Sunset opened her eyes in surprise, though she forced herself to keep her hands on her ears.

The words may be many or too few
But know that all come from within

Her gaze fell to the floor, an uncomfortable warmth in her chest. Twilight was probably going to complain and bemoan what had happened. The news of her pony counterpart replacing Sunset had ruined their trip to Equestria, and Sunset herself had reacted rather harshly. But how else was she supposed to take it? She—

Twilight placed a hand on her shoulder, making her flinch.

I know the storm has been through
Leaving your world in disarray
But the clouds, they just withdrew
You can start a brand new day

Twilight’s arms surrounded Sunset from her shoulders, and she could feel the girl’s weight on her back. And as Twilight leaned in, Sunset noticed that she had a pleasant scent of lavender and detergent.

Be it in darkness or in light
There’s no reason for you to fear

Sunset felt Twilight’s warmth spread through her back and into her chest, and her chest squeezed another sob out of her. New tears replaced the old ones as her body shook out of control.

If you need help with a plight
You’ll always find me here

Sunset didn’t want to be pitied like this. She wanted to be left alone and vent as she needed in solitude, then build back her composure and start planning a new future for herself. She especially didn’t want Twilight to feel sorry for her, to think she was some fragile little filly that needed to be comforted every time she scraped a knee.

So why was it then that she spun on her knees, using her aching hands for assistance, and buried her face onto Twilight’s shoulder?

Want to cry, just use my shoulder

And her crying became louder when Twilight embraced her.

If it’s to talk, I’ll lend an ear

Sunset grabbed the sides of Twilight’s shirt and pulled at them with trembling hands. And she didn’t know anymore why exactly she was crying. She just knew that she couldn’t stop.

Just know it’s never over
You’ll always find me here

“I hate being pitied.” She tried to say, though her aching throat allowed nothing but a raspy whisper.

“It’s a good thing this isn’t pity, then,” Twilight whispered back, and Sunset shivered even though Twilight’s breath was hot in her ear.

“Then what is it?” Sunset asked, still forced to whisper. “You can’t understand what I’m going through.”

Twilight nodded. “That’s right…”

What it’s like to be in your shoes
I won’t pretend I understand
But I see your heart’s in pieces
And I want to lend a hand

“You can’t help,” Sunset whispered stubbornly. “I lost more than you know. All my plans relied on the fact that I could become a princess. But I can’t do that anymore…”

She felt Twilight’s fingers gently brushing her hair. That single motion made all of Sunset’s complaints and retorts vanish before they reached her mouth.

I know you had plans before
And now you think your life is astray
But the clouds, they just withdrew
You can start a brand new day

Twilight broke the embrace, then softly pushed Sunset back by the shoulders. Even through her tear-blurred vision, Sunset could see that Twilight was smiling.

Sunset felt her cheeks blush. She wanted to say something, but nothing came out. Twilight didn’t give her much of a chance anyway, since she grabbed her by the hands and pulled both of them to their feet. Sunset stumbled just a little bit, but Twilight provided her with enough balance.

Twilight took a napkin from the tray she’d brought into the room and used it to clean Sunset’s tears. A part of her flared up in anger at the thought of being treated like a little filly, but another part, one that won her inner battle by being loud, enjoyed being given so much care and attention by Twilight. What on Tartarus was happening to her?

When she was done, Twilight put the napkin back on the tray and grabbed Sunset by the hand.

“Come with me,” she said, then started pulling Sunset without waiting for a response.

Sunset wanted to refuse, but her mind froze for a split second as, with her sight finally cleared from tears, she took a good look at Twilight’s face. Sunset still remembered her as a pony, and a part of her had wanted to cling to the fact that that was the only reason she had developed a crush on her. That as soon as she saw her again as a human, Sunset’d be back to feeling nothing but mild appreciation.

But she saw the bright amethyst violet of Twilight’s eyes and the way they sparkled under the light. She took notice of her tiny nose and the way it arched towards the end. She peeked at her lips, thick for pony standards, but delicate and thin for human ones. She eyed her weirdly shaped ears, jutting out from the sides of her head, and didn’t find them strange as she had in the past.

Sunset couldn’t say that she could bring herself to see beauty in human features any time soon, but she could accept the fact that Twilight was the most beautiful of them all.

Twilight led Sunset through the house. The hallway’s walls were covered in framed pictures of what Sunset assumed was Cadence with her family. Some of those pictures included Shining Armor and his family as well. The closed doors didn’t let her see what was in the other rooms, but Twilight wouldn’t have given her a chance to take a peek anyway. She wasn’t rushing, but she was leading Sunset with purpose.

They went down the stairs and took an immediate right, stopping at the threshold that separated them from the living room. Large couches sat comfortably next to the walls, where more framed photos and paintings were hung, surrounded by large potted plants at the corners. A large bookshelf decorated the nearest wall, while an unlit fireplace took up most of the opposite wall. But above everything else, Sunset noticed that she recognized all the people sitting on the couches.

Twilight spun on her heels, still holding Sunset’s hand, and the Resonance picked back up again.

Be it in darkness or in light
There’s no reason for you to fear
If you need help with a plight
You’ll always find us here

Sunset looked at her, then at everyone in the living room as each of them leaned over on their seats and smiled at her. There were Twilight’s parents, Shining and Cadence, and even Luna and Celestia. And Sunset discovered that, much like with Twilight, she had mixed feelings about the human version of the princess, but she couldn’t settle on loathing as she wanted. Not while the Resonance helped her catch the feelings coming from everyone, which were mostly concern and relief.

And powered by the magic of Twilight’s song, they took a deep and quick breath to join in with the chorus.

Want to cry, just use our shoulder
If it’s to talk, we’ll lend an ear
Just know it’s never over
You’ll always find us here

Sunset brought her hands to her face as she started sobbing again, and the aching in them was so faint she barely registered it. Why was she feeling like this? She barely knew these people. She had purposefully avoided paying attention to their lives so that she wouldn’t grow attached to them, much like she had done all her life back in Equestria. And still, the warmth they offered her wrapped her chest like a cozy blanket, making her feel like she’d never be cold again.

Because of the tears, she didn’t notice when they all stood up and picked the Resonance back up.

Be it in darkness or in light
There’s no reason for you to fear
If you need help with a plight
You’ll always find us here

And suddenly, Sunset felt herself trapped in a group hug.

Want to cry, just use our shoulder
If it’s to talk, we’ll lend an ear
Just know it’s never over
You’ll always find us here

All seven people surrounded her from all sides, preventing any possible escape. And as Sunset felt her crying grow louder, she realized she didn’t want to escape. She realized, with one last painful twist in her heart, that she had in the human world what she had forsaken back in Equestria.

You’ll always find us here

She would never become a princess as long as Princess Celestia had anything to say about it, and even her silence spoke louder than a rioting crowd.

You’ll always find us here

All her hard work had been for naught, and now she found herself stranded and without a purpose. But that which she had found in the human world was something that only now she realized had been a grave mistake to abandon in favor of her ambitions.

You’ll always find us here

And that something was a family, and a place to belong.

Author's Note

First things first: Happy new year! I wasn't late, I was just working!

This is, without a doubt, the most difficult chapter I've written so far for this fanfic. Not only because there are two songs, but because this is the pivotal chapter of the entire fic. The way Sunset reacted would define not just her character, but the theme of the whole story. I had originally planned for her to react badly, but it didn't really fit with the many other plotpoints I had planned, so this was the result. I hope it is of your liking!

On to another announcement. I have decided to have a 1-ish month hiatus after every volume. I do need time to write, yes, and I work from Monday to Saturday, so there's not much time in any given day. But I also want to be able to go back to previous chapters and fix things that may contradict plotpoints. As an example, all the chapters of this volume were fixed several times.

Now, to the thing everyone (?) love the most. The songs! I wish I had the money to hire people to make these, but alas, I have only my (dubious) songwriting talent, and a musical AI. In any case, I hope you enjoy them.

Which one do you like most? My personal favorite is Shine Like a Star (Sunset's song) c:

I hope the chapter was to your liking!

Chapter 22. Reprise

When Sunset was led to sit on one of the couches and given a mug of hot cocoa, she had expected to be bombarded with questions. After all, she had forced their return from Equestria one day early, then passed out after screaming and punching the ground. She knew that she wouldn’t be able to avoid answering at least a few dozen questions.

So she was surprised when none came her way.

Everyone else returned to their seats, with Twilight occupying the space beside Sunset, and started casually talking to each other over some drinks that looked like cider for the adults and a sparkly green soda for Twilight.

Celestia and Luna talked about all the crazy things students did to get out of detention and their favorite ones. Night Light joined in with some stories about excuses college students had for not turning in their assignments on time. Some were so ridiculous that even Sunset snickered. Then Shining talked about ridiculous excuses for people to try to get out of getting a ticket. He found them funnier than everyone else, so he asked Cadence to talk about her job, and Sunset learned that she had just been promoted to dean of student discipline for a private school after the previous one had to retire early. The name of the school, Crystal Prep, rang a few bells in Sunset’s memory, but she couldn’t remember why.

Then Twilight Velvet, the only one that didn’t have to deal with people trying to get out of self-caused trouble, spoke at length about some drama going on in the editorial her books were published at. Some kind of nepotism gone wrong or something.

Throughout their talk, Sunset enjoyed her cocoa in blissful silence, thankful for being allowed to take all the time she needed to sort out her thoughts. It hadn’t been obvious at first, but Twilight’s awkward way to keep the conversation going was enough of a clue. It would’ve been annoying if it wasn’t cute in its own way. At some point, Spike had climbed onto her lap. Her first impulse was to push him away, but instead she let him lie down and nap. It felt… strangely comforting.

Sunset looked down at her hands holding the now empty mug. Apparently, after passing out last night, she had been taken to a clinic owned by Cadence’s father. After punching the ground like she’d done, it had looked like she’d only scratched her dorsals, but it turned out that she had bruised the bones. While not the worst of injuries, Sunset would need to take painkillers and be very careful not to put too much strain on her hands. Which meant no violin practice and as little writing or typing as possible for one or two months.

Cadence had told her all that as soon as Sunset had been released from the group hug, all while removing her bandages and cleaning the scratches in the bathroom. Sunset had remained silent the whole time, too tired to get angry at being scolded, even in as gentle a way as Cadence’s.

Sunset gripped the mug just a bit —even with the painkillers, her hands still hurt pretty badly— and took a deep breath. That simple action caused everyone around her to stop talking and turn their heads to look at her. They’d definitely been keeping an eye on her, just waiting. Even Spike’s ears flickered for a moment. Sunset breathed out slowly. Might as well talk sooner than later.

“I suppose…” she began, hearing her own voice coming out ragged and cracked. She’d really hurt her throat last night too. She hoped it would heal soon. “I should explain…” There was some shifting and nodding, but no one spoke. Sunset glanced at Twilight. “How much have you… told them?”

Twilight hunched over herself. “I… I let some things slip to Shining Armor last night, but…”

Sunset looked at Shining, who only shrugged. “I barely understood what she said, so feel free to say only what you want.”

Sunset nodded appreciatively. “I guess I should start by…” She cleared her throat, feeling it tickling painfully.

Cadence got up, swiftly walked to the kitchen, and returned a moment later holding a clay pitcher. She grabbed Sunset’s mug and carefully refilled it with hot cocoa, then placed the pitcher on the coffee table. “You can get as much as you want. It’ll make your throat feel better. I thought of giving you tea with honey, but I know hot cocoa is better.” She smiled and winked.

Sunset took a sip. It did help, and cocoa was definitely better than tea. “Thanks,” she said. “As I was saying, I should start by getting everyone on the same page…” She took another sip, though more out of want for delaying her next words. “The world I come from, the country, is called Equestria. As the name suggests, most of the citizens are equines.”

She sipped more cocoa as she waited for that to settle in. Their looks of confusion were amusing.

“What do you mean?” Night Light asked on behalf of the others.

“Equines,” Sunset said. “Ponies, zebras, donkeys. You get the idea. But unlike in this world, we’re as intelligent as humans, who don’t exist in my world.”

More silence. This time it was Shining who ended it. “‘We’?”

“I’m originally a pony,” Sunset replied. Since she had already expected the disbelief, she cringed only a little bit. “I’m actually a unicorn. And no, I’m not joking. The reason I didn’t want to tell you was because I spent two hours convincing Twilight I was telling the truth and didn’t want to go through that again.”

All eyes fell on Twilight. “You knew?” her mom asked.

Twilight nodded meekly. “Yes. She told me shortly after we met. And since I visited Equestria, I got to see it all. I…” She looked at Sunset for approval. When Sunset nodded, she continued in a more lively voice. “I actually got turned into a unicorn myself.”

At once, everyone leaned back on their seats. It seemed like a multiversal gesture of getting into thought. Sunset took the opportunity to drink a bit more of the chocolatey goodness. It was very tasty. She continued speaking when a sufficient amount of time had passed.

“You can come to terms with that later,” she said. Her throat still hurt, but the constant stream of hot cocoa made it bearable. “There’s another thing. I really can’t say it’s confirmed, but there is enough evidence to support this hypothesis. Judging from my own experience, both worlds seem to mirror each other on the individual level.”

“Mirror?” Cadence asked.

“Yes…” Sunset took a deep breath. “The ruler of Equestria is Princess Celestia.” At once, all eyes fell on the principal. Since Celestia already knew that, she simply nodded as confirmation. Sunset continued. “There is also a Cadence, who is, too, a princess.”

“Oh, my,” Cadence said with a giggle.

Sunset didn’t feel like laughing. “And apparently, Celestia met a girl called Sunset Shimmer many years ago. These instances lead me to believe that everyone has a counterpart in my world. I don’t know why, but I can say that the counterparts are separated from each other in personal history. Like dimensional twins.” She tried to sip more cocoa, but found her mug empty. She didn’t feel like filling it up again. Instead, she looked up at Celestia. “I mention this because I lied to you.”

Celestia raised an eyebrow but didn’t ask the obvious question. Sunset answered anyway.

“When we first met, I told you I was the archmage’s apprentice,” she explained. “But in reality I was Princess Celestia’s student.”

With only a faint frown, Celestia cocked her head. “Why hide it, if you don’t mind me asking?”

Sunset took in a shaky breath. “Because I had a disagreement with the princess and I didn’t want you crossing the portal and turning me in or something. I don’t know, I wasn’t thinking straight.” She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter anymore, anyway. The point is that I didn’t come to this world to study its magic. Not really…”

She closed her eyes, mostly to avoid whatever condemning or pitying gazes she would receive after she told them the whole story. “Being Princess Celestia’s student is not something just anypony can do. The position had been vacant for fifty years before I took it up, after all. That alone gave me a lot of prestige. Once I finished my formation under her, I’d be able to work anywhere I’d want. I would even be able to become Archmage if I wanted to. I basically had succeeded in life…

“But then she showed me that cursed mirror…” She felt her chest throb, so she grit her teeth in an attempt to hold herself from crying again. “The mirror showed me a vision I thought was of my future. It showed me as an alicorn, which meant I’d be a rightful princess. When I asked Princess Celestia about it, however, she refused to answer. But my curiosity had been piqued, and I spent weeks trying to get her to answer, but all she said was that I wasn’t ready. And eventually she got so mad she forbade me from asking again.

“So I decided to find the answers on my own… And I did. I found a book in the restricted section of the royal library that said that Princess Celestia had the knowledge to turn ponies into alicorns. But just as I read that passage, she found me reading that book. I told her I was ready and deserved to be a princess and rule alongside her, but she refused. We argued, and she terminated my apprenticeship and… And she kicked me out…”

A sob escaped her, so she paused in an attempt to hold it back. She felt something on her shoulder, and opened her eyes to look at Twilight smiling at her. Sunset took a deep breath and managed to calm herself enough to keep talking.

“However, I had also read that the mirror had another function,” she said, gripping her mug. “It was a portal to another world, and it opened every thirty moons. And since it just happened to be open at that moment and I wasn’t ready to give up yet, I jumped through and came to this world. You don’t have to tell me it was reckless, I’m already aware of it. In any case, while in here, I figured that if I learned this world’s secrets, I’d be able to become an alicorn by myself and return to Equestria as a princess. That’s basically the purpose behind everything I’ve done for the past two and a half years.”

She made a pause and went to serve herself more cocoa since her throat was starting to act up again. That had the unintentional effect of giving everyone the time to process what she had just said. That included Twilight, since even she was hearing all of that for the first time.

“Well, it does make sense now that you’ve been so focused on that,” Shining said. “I thought it was a bit strange that we had to practically drag you away from all your studying to spend time with us. Even Twilight’s not that difficult.”

“Shining!” Twilight whined through her teeth.

Sunset simply nodded. “Going back to Equestria was just a means to that end. I just wanted to gather some resources and books to hasten my progress here. I had no intention of being there for more than a couple hours, but I had promised Twilight to do one thing for her, and she chose to visit Equestria, so I changed my plans.”

Twilight flinched visibly as her face fell. “I…”

“So I decided,” Sunset continued, interrupting Twilight, “to give her a tour. I showed her the city and even taught her a bit of magic. Might as well make it fun, right?” She sighed and shook her head. “But then, as we stopped to grab a quick bite at a restaurant, somepony recognized Twilight.” She saw everyone’s eyes darting back and forth, and she found it amusing enough that she let out a single chuckle. “She recognized Equestria’s Twilight, that is. And you’ll never guess what she’s doing right now. Don’t even try, I’ll tell you anyway.”

She forced herself to chuckle again, if only to stop herself from crying again. She knew she failed when she felt a tear running down her right cheek.

“She’s Princess Celestia’s personal student,” she said, and it came out as a whisper. “Not only that, but she became her student as soon as I left.”

“Oh, Sunset…” Cadence said. Sunset hated the condescension in her voice.

“So!” Sunset said, forcing out a smile. “Everything I did for the past two and a half years was for nothing! I began to think that, even if I couldn’t become a princess, I’d still earn Princess Celestia’s recognition by bringing magic to this world, and I’d at least go back to being her student… What a joke…”

Shining sighed loudly. “Now I understand why you reacted the way you did. I’m sorry to hear that, Sunset.”

Celestia raised a hesitant hand. “I’m sorry if this sounds ignorant on my part, but… Can’t the princess have more than one student?”

Sunset shook her head. “She rules Equestria. That requires so much of her time she barely has any to spare on one student. Her having more is unheard of, and with good reason.”

“I’m sorry,” Twilight said. “If I hadn’t made you take me with you, none of this would’ve happened.”

Sunset eyed her for a moment. “It’s better this way,” she said after a while. “If you hadn’t, I wouldn’t have known that my efforts were in vain. It would be worse to spend another thirty moons working for nothing.”

Twilight looked away but didn’t reply.

“I'm sorry, Sunset,” Luna interjected. “But nothing you've done here has been in vain.” Sunset looked up at her and corked an eyebrow. Luna smiled. “In two short years you did something that humanity as a whole hasn't been able to do in millennia. You proved that magic is real.”

Sunset perked up at that.

Night Light leaned forward with an eager smile. “That's right! Not only that, but you also built a machine capable of casting magic spells. How cool is that?”

A smile formed on Sunset's face. “I… I guess I did do that.”

“And,” Twilight said, making Sunset look at her, “you brought a lot of books and gemstones. Now you can easily kickstart a magical revolution in this world. I know it may not give you what you wanted, but…” She bit her lower lip, unsure.

“But it’s something that you can do,” Cadence added. “Just because a door closed doesn't mean there aren’t others for you to explore.”

Then, Twilight surprised her by wrapping her hands with hers. Sunset flinched a little, but Twilight’s touch was soft and careful, and they didn’t hurt. She turned her head to look at Twilight and saw the girl smiling at her.

I know there’s more that’s out there
And you just haven’t found it yet
I know there’s more that’s out there
A destiny for you to get

The Harmonic Resonance ended as suddenly as it started, but its relevance wasn’t lost on Sunset. Twilight had reprised the song they had dueted all those moons ago. And it made Sunset’s chest swell with emotion. And as tears fell down her cheeks, she found herself doing something she’d never started on her own before.

She hugged Twilight.

She wasn’t sure why. She was aware that everyone was watching her with all kinds of patronizing glares, and she felt embarrassed as she was unused to showing this kind of affection. But Twilight hugged her back, and Sunset’s worries melted away. She buried her face on Twilight’s shoulder, enjoying the warmth and the scent of lavender. Sunset decided she’d make sure Twilight never ran out of that perfume.

Finally she leaned back and used her sleeves to dry away her tears. She took a deep, shaky breath, and turned to look at everyone else in the room, prepared to take in their pity. She found it remarkably easy this time.

“I’ll continue working on the development of magical technology,” she announced. She thought she’d feel a sense of realization or hopefulness or something, but she was just tired. “It’ll keep me occupied if nothing else.”

“Speaking of which,” Shining said. “You brought quite a lot of stuff with you. There’s a bajillion books in those chests. Are all of them about magic?”

Sunset couldn’t help but smile at his eagerness. “Yes. From the basics of magic to advanced spellcraft and everything in between. I also brought reagent gemstones to replace the Enchanter’s quartzes. That should make things a lot easier.”

“Gemstones?” Twilight Velvet asked.

Sunset nodded. “I actually wanted to go through my collection and only bring the most reactive, but I ended up bringing them all…” She paused when she saw the adults growing nervous. “What?”

“How… many gemstones did you bring?” Cadence asked with an uncharacteristic anxious tone.

“I can’t give you an exact number, since I purchased most of them in bulk,” Sunset replied with a light shrug. “Off the top of my head I remember I have several dozen jades and corundum gems, at least a hundred emeralds, a few peridots, garnets, aquamarines… And some others that I rarely used and can’t remember right now.”

Everyone looked at each other in silence for a few seconds. Luna was the one to speak first. “So you brought a small fortune with you.”

Sunset tilted her head in thought. “I mean, I guess you guys give gemstones a lot more value, but mine are treated specifically for magical purposes. I’d rather not sell them if I can help it.”

“You did say something similar when I asked,” Twilight said. “But what do you mean they are treated for magical purposes?”

“Well, they go through a lengthy and laborious process that I’m not too knowledgeable about, but that process prepares them for magic use,” Sunset explained. “They all have lower thresholds than regular gems, which is needed for making mana flow through them. And they all contain the same minerals in the same proportions so that it’s easy to predict how they’ll behave. For example, natural grown ruby contains chromium in different percentages. It’s impossible to tell at a glance, but this difference directly affects how well enchantments work and how long they last.”

She smiled amusedly at their confused expressions.

Night Light turned to look at Twilight. “I’m guessing you understood that?”

Twilight lit up. “Well, I don’t know about the magical properties, but I do know about gemstones. I’m guessing the chromium disrupts mana flow?”

Sunset moved her head this way or another, unable to decide whether to shake it or nod. “Well it has to do with its retention properties for mana. Chromium makes mana drain faster, so if we don’t know exactly how much there is in any given gem, we won’t be able to be precise in the calculations of how long it will last.”

The conversation quickly became a lecture as Sunset answered more and more followup questions regarding gemstone properties. And despite her usual aversion to teaching, she found herself enjoying giving a lecture. Maybe because it felt good to talk without time constraints, or maybe because she helped herself to a third —and eventually fourth— mug of cocoa. She just knew that she was comfortable.

And that was all that mattered at the moment.

Author's Note

A bit of a recap chapter, but a necessary one. This way, everyone is on the same page and have, mostly, the same information. Magic technology is still a go, though it has lowered in the list of priorities.

Twilight reprising What More is Out There to Sunset was one of the many reasons the previous chapter ended up the way it did. Sunset had to be in the proper state of mind to be receptive.

Let me know what you think!

Chapter 23. Reagent Gemstones and their Magical Properties

Sunset decided, after requesting permission, to store her chests in Twilight’s garage, next to the Enchanter. They were too big and wouldn’t fit in her room, and she didn’t even have space to store all her books and materials. Both Night Light and Shining Armor ended up exhausted after carrying the heavy chests.

When the weekend arrived, Luna took Sunset to Twilight’s house again. Her saddlebags had become a backpack, but the contents had remained the same, which she was grateful for. She had the sheet of iridosmium she’d purchased, the book on reagent minerals Twilight had picked, and an ornate wooden box that contained her lapidary tools.

“What are those?” Twilight asked as Sunset opened the box on the little table they used to have lunch in.

Sunset turned the box around so that both could easily see the contents. “These are obsidian lapidary tools. They’re for shaping the gemstones in the exact shapes you want them. This knife, for example,” she said, pointing at the tool with the hook-like blade, “is for cutting off large sections.” She pointed at another tool with a smaller, straight blade. “This one is for small and precise cuts.” The next tool was an inconspicuous-looking flat sheet of rough obsidian with a steel handle at the back. “This is the sander for polishing the facets. And this other one,” she said as she pointed to a similar tool, except that it was slightly curved,” is the sander for polishing cabochon.”

Twilight looked at the tools with wide eyes. “I thought gem cutting needed larger, more precise tools.”

“Maybe normal gemstone cutting,” Sunset said, remembering the contraptions she’d seen in book illustrations. “But these tools were made with mana-treated obsidian.” She picked the hook-knife, feeling it heavy in her hand. “On its own, obsidian already has a low threshold, which is perfect for letting mana flow through, and is rich in both sodium and potassium, which are the best metals for mana storage. However, it has the particularity of being impervious, which means that it cannot be enchanted.”

“At all?” Twilight asked as she admired the knife.

“At all,” Sunset replied. “But, when magically-treated, obsidian becomes slightly tougher than corundum, doubled down when charged with mana. Let me show you.”

Sunset went to the chest that held her gemstones, which were inside large boxes. She picked the top box and brought it to the table. Sitting down, she opened one of the nine compartments and took out a square-shaped ruby the size of her palm. She snickered at the way Twilight’s eyes shined upon seeing the gem. Sunset gave it to Twilight and then handed her a pair of large scissors that had been lying around the garage.

“Try to cut it,” Sunset said. Twilight looked at her like she’d grown a second head. “You won’t be able to damage it. Try it.”

With hesitant hands, Twilight did just that. She timidly slashed the scissors’ blade across the ruby’s central facet. It did nothing. She tried again with more vigor. Still nothing. She placed the ruby on the table, then stabbed it. The gemstone flew away and hit the garage’s door with a loud clank before falling to the floor with several more clanks. When Twilight recovered it, she found it still spotless.

“If you know about gems, you should be aware that ruby is a corundum gemstone, which means it’s very difficult to scratch,” Sunset said, taking the ruby from Twilight’s hands. “It also happens to be really tough, which means it’s not easily broken. It’s tougher than diamond, mind you. So, no matter how much you try, you won’t be able to make a dent in it. But what if I need this particular gemstone to be half its size?”

In order to answer her own question, Sunset brought the obsidian hook-knife next to the ruby. She took a deep breath, focusing on her mana pool, then willed it to flow towards the tool. Thanks to its high sensitivity, the obsidian accepted her mana more readily than quartz, and Sunset could feel the knife getting comfortably warm. When the tool was full of energy, Sunset tilted it to an angle, then carefully slid it through the center of the ruby.

It cut it with the same ease a scalpel would paper. There was almost no resistance as the blade sliced the gem in half. In only three or so seconds, Sunset went from holding one to two rubies.

“I don’t believe it,” Twilight breathed out, eyeing the knife with a lot more caution than before.

Sunset smiled at her, then placed her thumb against the blade, chuckling at the way Twilight gasped. “It’s ok. Sure, it’s sharp, but it won’t cut me like it did the ruby. As long as you’re careful, nothing will happen to you.” She offered the knife to Twilight, who accepted it with shaking hands.

“It…” Twilight said as soon as she held the knife. “It has mana?”

“I infused it with mine. That’s why it works so well,” Sunset replied with a satisfied nod. “Without mana it would require so much effort it’d be dangerous.”

Twilight observed the knife with renewed curiosity. After a spell, she looked at the ruby halves in Sunset’s hand and pursed her lips. “Are you sure it was ok to ruin it just to show me how the lapidary tools work?”

Sunset smiled widely, having waited for that question. She reached out to the box containing the tools and removed the top shelf, revealing more tools beneath. She picked the sealer, which was a small, flat piece of obsidian attached to a handle similar to the knives. She used a hand to press the ruby halves together, then infused the tool with her mana, and proceeded to press the obsidian side against the gem, all throughout the cut. When she finished, Sunset gave the once-again whole ruby to Twilight.

“So you can just… fix them?” Twilight said as she inspected the ruby.

“Pretty cool, huh?” Sunset said. “It only works with pieces of the same gem, and only if you use it within thirty minutes of having made the cut. But it’s a real lifesaver when you make a mistake.”

“It is impressive,” Twilight said. “What are the other tools for?”

There were two more tools in the box. Sunset pointed at the first one, which was a very small, flat horizontal blade. “A chisel. It’s mostly used when you want to decorate a gemstone by inlaying it with something else. The results can be pretty, but they’re mostly useless.”

Sunset pointed at the last tool, a very sharp and thin needle-shaped piece of obsidian attached to a handle. “This is the drill. As the name suggests, you can drill holes in the gemstones. It’s not a very common practice since it’s very easy to break the gem, and even easier to just inlay it into a piece of metal. I only used it once and didn’t really like the result.”

“I see,” Twilight mumbled. “These definitely will help. I saw the way you struggled to find quartzes of similar sizes and shapes.”

“Right,” Sunset said, relieved. “And now we’ll be able to use proper reagent gemstones for the Enchanter. They should improve its efficiency at least tenfold.”

Twilight perked up. “Oh, that’s great!”

Sunset nodded. “But first, I need to document all the gemstones we have at our disposal. I brought my entire collection, but since we can’t just go back to Equestria to buy more, we’ll need to be careful not to use them carelessly.”

Twilight nodded energetically, producing a notebook and a pen, making Sunset smile. They spent the following four hours recording and documenting all the gemstones Sunset had brought, which were a lot more than she had calculated. Variety wise, her collection was pretty standard, but it made it up with quantity with well over four hundred gemstones. It was a small fortune even in Equestria, so it wasn’t strange that Twilight had become frazzled as she counted the final gem.

“Why do you have so many emeralds?” Twilight asked. The final count was well over one hundred of the green gems.

Sunset shrugged. “They’re good for practice when you’re learning how to enchant, but eventually fall short as soon as you move into advanced spells. Since I always bought gems in bulk and stopped using emeralds… Well, you see the result.”

Twilight blinked slowly. “So, do all gemstones have different properties?” She asked as she placed her pencil down.

“Yes,” Sunset replied. “Some are better for certain kinds of spells than others. Some do better as batteries. Knowing your gem is half the job for enchanting.”

Twilight nodded, then picked an oval shaped orange gem. It shined under the light, though the many tiny white dots that sprinkled it made it look like it glittered as well. “What can you tell me about this one?”

Sunset frowned as she looked at the gem. “That’s a sunstone. They’re useless.”

“For enchanting?”

“Yes,” Sunset said with a curt nod. “They’re easy to scratch and break, are very resistant to mana flow, can barely hold any arrays at all, and are even worse than quartzes as batteries. And if you ask me, they’re not even pretty to look at.”

Twilight looked back at the gem between her fingers, rolling it a few times. “Is that why you only have one? I kind of thought it was because they were super rare and expensive.”

Sunset snickered. “They’re very common. The only reason they have any worth is because of their symbolic nature towards Princess Celestia.” She felt herself sneer, then shook her head. “Keep it. It might be worth a bit more in this world, like all other gems, so sell it if you want.”

Twilight blinked a few times. “Are you sure? I-I mean…”

“I don’t want it,” Sunset said, looking away. “It’s useless anyway. Now, moonstones?” She smiled as she picked a spheric gemstone. It had a sort of milky transparency, with a soft blue luster and a beautiful luminous streak that ran through the stone’s diameter. “These are the best gemstones for batteries, especially when powered with moonlight magic. They’re also quite a pretty sight, wouldn’t you agree?”

“I… I guess so,” Twilight said with a small frown. She twirled the sunstone a few more times before she gently placed it on the table. “Can you tell me more about their properties? I want to help you as much as I can.”

Sunset cocked her head. “Well there’s the book you grabbed at the reagent store.” She took it out from her backpack and gave it to Twilight. “It’s about minerals and their magical properties. It should tell you all you need to know about the gemstones we have at our disposal.”

Twilight smiled as she accepted the book. “Thanks.”

As Twilight read the book, Sunset went ahead and started analyzing which gems would be the best to replace the quartzes of the enchanter and how to cut them for the most efficiency. She may have many gems, but just like she had told Twilight, they wouldn’t be able to get more anytime soon, so she couldn’t afford to waste them carelessly. And as she drew comparison tables and other diagrams, she took the book from Twilight on several occasions to get more complex data like impurity ratios per carat and the like.

Hours later, and after having lunch, Sunset began drawing ideas for how to improve the Enchanter. Up to this point, the machine worked entirely with quartz. Most varieties of quartz were poor enchanting materials as all their properties related to mana were worse than those of gemstones, and they tended to break quite easily under strain, both from mana and circuit complexity. So now that she had gems at her disposal, Sunset wanted to make sure all were used appropriately.

First of all, the jaspers they used for batteries had to be replaced stat. Of all the quartz varieties Sunset had been able to get, they had been the ones to retain the most amount of mana, but still they tended to lose it all in only a few hours anyway and needed to be recharged constantly. Literally any gemstone was better to work as a battery. She had told Twilight moonstones made the best batteries, but she ultimately chose one of her smallest jadeite gems, a two by one centimeter rectangular stone. It was about the same size as one of their jaspers, but it could hold about twenty-five times more mana and if left unused, it would hold it for many moons.

A moonstone of the same size would be twice better, but Sunset had very few of those. Plus, they were very fragile, and Sunset didn’t want to risk breaking them before she was sure her improvements worked as intended. Jade, on the other hoof, was very difficult to break, so there was no need to worry in case of accidents.

She had Twilight fill it up with mana.

“Oh wow,” Twilight said, wrapping her hand around the jade. “It really can hold a lot more! Why, though? Is it because of the chemical composition? The mineral impurities? The—”

“Twilight,” Sunset interrupted her with a snicker. “All of that’s in the book.”

Twilight blushed. “Right. Sorry.” She looked down at her hand as she kept filling the jade with mana.

Sunset took a break from her notes to look at Twilight’s focused frown. The way her nose scrunched up and her lips pursed as she concentrated was adorable, and Sunset thought she’d never get tired of it. Maybe she should have Twilight fill the battery every time now.

A part of Sunset tried to reject those feelings and turn them into loathing, desperately clinging to a need to vent her frustrations and sense of betrayal. But the larger and ever growing part of her preferred to simply sit back and bask in the nice warmth she felt whenever she laid eyes on Twilight. She felt annoyed when Twilight attacked her with a barrage of questions about magic, but she also liked the sound of her voice and didn’t want her to ever shut up.

Her feelings were so all over the place that the knowledge that Twilight’s counterpart had stolen her apprenticeship was at the very bottom of the pile of things bubbling up in her mind. It still stung, and Sunset would not try to convince herself that it would ever stop stinging, but she was reasonably sure that it would be worse for her if she tried to push Twilight away.

Twilight let out a sigh, a small droplet of sweat running down the side of her face. “I think it’s full now,” she said as she opened her hand, showing the jade. “That… took a lot out of me…”

“Oh, yeah,” Sunset said as she grabbed the gem. It felt relatively cold to the touch, but she could feel the unmistakable swirl of mana inside. “Jade’s threshold for mana flow is very high, which means that it won’t accept the mana flow unless you manage to overpower the threshold. You’ll get used to it with practice.”

“I hope so,” Twilight replied, leaning back on her chair with a tired huff.

Sunset knew that feeling. Making your mana flow into something with a low threshold like quartz was something that required some practice but was ultimately easy to learn and do. But making it flow into objects with higher thresholds required more force behind the flow, like trying to push a door made of steel after being used to pushing cardboard ones. Twilight would eventually develop that strength, and she’d be a step closer to being the perfect scientific partner, both knowledgeable and skillful.

“Wait,” Twilight said after recovering her breath. “If jade requires that much effort to get mana flowing, won’t it make the Enchanter work even slower?”

“Very well thought, Twilight,” Sunset replied, then picked a bright ruby from its compartment. This one was an octagon the size of her pinky nail. “That’s why we’ll be using this. Corundum has one of the lowest thresholds amongst gems, and rubies in particular have the second highest drain rate. If we enchant this one with a mana pump spell and connect it to the jade battery, it’ll easily overcome the jade’s threshold and power the Enchanter without issues.”

Twilight hummed and nodded, then smiled. “We’re using the Enchanter to create better components for itself. It really does feel like we’re making progress, huh?”

“Definitely.”

“Do you remember the arrays for that mana pump spell?” Twilight asked. “How long will it take for you to add them to the Interpreter?”

Sunset smiled. “I don’t think I remember them completely. But that’s why I brought all those books.” She walked to her chests and rummaged through them until she victoriously lifted the book she was looking for. Upon returning to the table, she gave the book to Twilight.

“‘Enchanting for Novices. All the spells you need to know to start the journey through the wonderful world of enchantments’.” Twilight finished reading the title and proceeded to immediately open it. “Oh, the light producing spell is the second one!” She flipped through the index. “Ah, here it is! Page one hundred and twelve.”

Sunset couldn’t help but snicker as Twilight flipped the pages with a determined look. Her chest and face warmed up, and though they certainly felt comfortable, Sunset didn't hate it.

She still wasn't sure what she wanted to do going forward. Working on the Enchanter was just something to keep her occupied, but she really needed to settle on a real objective. But before that, she had to decide whether she'd return to Equestria or not. There were many downsides, considering that her reputation was tarnished by Celestia ending her apprenticeship, and she most likely had a warrant for her arrest for attacking royal guards and infiltrating the palace.

Even if the princess gave her a pardon, which Sunset highly doubted, there wouldn't be many places that would hire her as a sorceress, and so all her studies had been for naught.

On the other hoof, the human world was inconvenient in all sorts of ways. The weather behaved on its own with no real schedule. The food wasn't very tasty. Her human body was all sorts of uncomfortable, what with the lack of fur to keep her warm, or the lack of a horn for spellcasting! She was planning on building a prosthesis of sorts, sure, but there was no guarantee that it would work like she wanted.

If she thought on the flip side of things, the human world offered the possibility that had been denied to her in Equestria; she could become forever recognized in the history books as the one to ‘discover’, study, and apply magic for technological purposes. Her name would be synonymous with greatness and scientists would study her notes for generations. There was a legacy for her to build. Plus, she couldn’t deny the fact that, despite strangely conflicting feelings in her stomach at the thought, she had people who cared for her in the human world. And of course, Twilight was there as well.

Equestria, however, was a world of magic. Weather was controlled properly, food was actually good, she had a horn, and she knew what to expect. And despite everything, it was still her home.

It was a tough decision to make. But, well, there really was no rush, was there? She had a whole thirty moons to think. For now, she could just rest her head on a hand and quietly watch Twilight as she read a book.

Author's Note

You would not believe the amount of research that went into making this chapter. I spent many, many hours reading about gemstones and minerals in wikipedia and other gem related websites, and I watched several videos as well.

I made a list of a some gemstones detailing all their information, both physical and magical, and I made a list of concepts. If you want, I can copy those lists in this author's notes or somewhere else. But for now, I hope the explanations within the story proper are enough. I'd like to see if you can guess the logic I used regarding the properties of the gemstones Sunset describes this chapter!

If you liked it, please leave a comment!

Chapter 24. Enchanter 2.0

Sunset had never loved books more than she did right now.

It had taken her thirty moons to build the Enchanter and make it work properly because the lack of horn made it fifty levels of magnitude more difficult to remember the correct arrays. But since she had brought her books with her, it only took her a few hours to input the arrays for the mana pump spell into the Interpreter. After that, it was only four minutes for the circuitry to build around the ruby she’d placed in the glass box.

And just like that, she had an enchanted ruby in her hands. She could easily feel the pulsations against her fingers.

“I see,” Twilight said as she compared the arrays described in the book and the ones Sunset had inputted. “The ruby will only activate the mana pump upon feeling the electrical pulses going through the wires. It’ll consume some of the mana, though. Is that going to be alright?”

“The word of the day is ‘negligible’,” Sunset replied. “It’ll need a very small amount of mana to work. And considering the upgrade from quartz, you won’t even notice.”

They replaced the jaspers with the now conjoined jade-ruby battery, which Twilight had wrapped together with some thin wire she had lying around. Sunset thought the ruby was too big for such a simple task, but she could worry about perfecting things later. Next she replaced the pulsators —the twelve howlite stones encased in crudely made duralumin cages. For this she had Twilight cut two by six millimeter sapphires with the obsidian tools. Two in total. Sunset had tried doing that herself, but such fine work required straining her hands, making them hurt a lot.

She had chosen sapphire for two reasons. Just like rubies, they had very low mana thresholds, which was perfect for such precise work that was creating the pulsations in the Harmonic Veil. And just like rubies, again, they were corundum, which made them very difficult to break. Considering how small the pieces were, all precautions were too few. Sunset would have to replace the cages for something that could properly hold the new pulsators, but for now, tying them with thread was the way to go.

The final part to replace was something Twilight had dubbed ‘the hub’. It had originally been a machine that controlled electrical current, but Sunset had replaced many of its parts with quartz. By doing that, the hub read the electrical pulses Sunset’s laptop sent from the Interpreter, then tricked the battery into releasing mana to the system in the exact pulsations, reaching the pulsators and ultimately constructing the appropriate circuitry.

She replaced these with a single hexagon-shaped nephrite that was about a quarter the size of her thumb nail. Unlike its cousin jadeite, nephrite could hold less than half the mana and lost it over twice as fast. However, it had a much lower mana threshold, comparable to that of quartz, which meant that it would let the battery’s mana flow without issues. And unlike the quartz it was replacing, nephrite wouldn’t crack under such pressure.

Sunset threw away the cracked milky quartzes to the trash with a shake of her head.

Once Sunset loaded the illumination spell into the Interpreter and Twilight placed an apple in place, it was time to test the improvements.

Twilight cheerfully cleared her throat. “Enchanter version two point oh. Activation test number one.” Sunset smiled at her. “Jade-ruby battery at full capacity. Rectangle shaped two-ended sapphire pulsators, variation first, caged in duralumin at ninety-six percent aluminum purity. Nephrite hub, variation first. Common copper wires. Physical enclosing space, variation second, barrier made of glass. Target object, apple. Spellcraft circuitry for illumination enchantment verified. Ready to engage.”

Sunset thought about adding more parts to verify just to have Twilight talk more. She playfully rolled her eyes when Twilight shot her an expectant glare.

“Test number one. Activation in three, two, one.” With a single click, the Enchanter began to hum. The apple within the glass box began to give off a white light after a moment. Previously, the Enchanter needed three minutes to build the circuitry for the illumination spell. This time it took only one.

“Well, that’s a sixty-six percent improvement in speed,” Twilight said as she scribbled on her notebook. She then verified the battery. “It still feels practically full, whereas this same spell consumed about forty percent of one jasper battery. We need a better way to detect the amount of mana in gemstones. But this is definitely promising. The fact that the Enchanter worked on the first try is also really good.”

“Definitely,” Sunset said as she grabbed the apple. The light was white, but the red of the apple made it seem like it was slightly reddish. She giggled as she gave it a bite.

They ran the spell ten more times, at which point Twilight said that the battery felt about eighty percent full still. She did some rough calculations and decided that the illumination spell, combined with the mana pump one, took less than two percent from the battery each time. That was well over a ninety percent improvement, at least until they figured out a proper way to measure mana.

“The improvement of speed is most likely due to the new sapphire pulsators,” Twilight said, still writing in her notebook. “Considering we reduced the number from twelve to two, will having more increase the speed?”

“Doubtful,” Sunset said. “Sapphire’s mana threshold is already very low. My guess is that we need to change the wires. Copper is good for electricity, but for mana it’s not very good. Platinum wires would be the most ideal to reach normal unicorn casting speed. Gold would be second best.”

Twilight tapped her pencil to her lips a few times. Sunset decided she liked that habit of hers. “As a unicorn, how long does it take you to cast an illumination spell?”

Sunset thought about it. “With the same specifications? One or two seconds.”

“Huh… I guess we still have a long way to go.”

After finishing her notes, Twilight took the glowing apples back into the house. Shining Armor laughed so loud Sunset had no issues hearing him, and she herself snickered when Twilight returned with a small frown. With a light huff, Twilight sat down and opened the book about novice enchantments. Sunset decided to use this lull in their project to start working on her own.

She picked the last thing that was left in her backpack. A thin sheet of silvery metal.

Sunset had purchased it with the idea of making a sort of prosthesis for her horn. She had brought a few books on unicorn anatomy, specifically those that talked about their magical appendage. She’d use those as reference in her attempt to replace the bone with metal, the keratin with shape, and the synaptic tissue with gemstones. She didn’t know if it would work, but to Tartarus she’d try.

But before any of that, she had to make sure she’d even be able to start. All her books and gemstones would be useless if she couldn’t shape the iridosmium in her hands. She took a deep breath as she focused on her mana pool, feeling it swirling inside of her, waiting to be used to bend the world at her will. She willed it to flow from her chest and through her arms until it reached her fingertips. She was already used to this process, so it came naturally to her.

Then her mana encountered a barrier.

That was to be expected. Physical objects had a certain resistance to mana flow. She’d already explained that to Twilight. The threshold was a sort of gateway that had to be pushed open. Obsidian was the one material that offered next to no resistance at all, feeling like pushing a door made of soap bubbles. Gemstones had varying degrees of resistance, going from cardboard-like weight, like rubies, to steel, like jadeite.

Then there were metals. Platinum was the metal with the lowest mana threshold, lowered even further when magic treated, and its resistance was almost double that of sunstones, which were the most resistant of all gems. Sunset had told Twilight that gold had the second lowest threshold, though it hadn’t quite been a lie. Both gold and platinum were very ductile, which meant they could be turned into fine wire. Between the two, however, there were a few other metals that offered low thresholds.

Osmium and Iridium were two such metals, but they weren’t meant to become wires, and they were also relatively easy to break. That’s where their alloys came into the equation. Iridosmium, the one Sunset had ultimately chosen, offered a very low threshold while being malleable enough to be shaped with mana.

Easier said than done, of course. Sunset pushed her mana through, but the metal didn’t accept it. Her mana swirled back and forth, and some of it spilled through her body in the form of heat, making her chest and arms warm up rather quickly. She increased the flow, pushing with an exertion she hadn’t required in many years. Still, the metal refused to give in. Sunset huffed, noticing that her breathing was getting heavier, and a single droplet of sweat ran down her face. She was making too much mana flow through her body too fast, but without a proper release, it just kept coming back to her, increasing the force she needed to keep it moving.

“Sunset?”

Sunset grunted, ignoring the worry in Twilight’s voice. She kept her eyes focused on the metal. Her now red fingers were searing hot, and more sweat ran down her face and neck. Still, she kept pushing, increasing her flow one last time.

Finally, something in the metal gave in. The transition was so sudden that Sunset was knocked off balance, with her mana rushing into the sheet and back. She let out a dry gasp as the world suddenly spun around. She dropped the sheet and tried to hold onto the table, but her grasp failed and she fell from the chair onto the floor.

“Sunset!” Twilight cried, rushing to her side.

Sunset’s head spun nauseatingly. “Ugh…” She saw four Twilights enter her field of vision. She would’ve found it funny if she didn’t want to hurl.

“Sunset! What happened?”

Sunset cringed at the way Twilight’s voice rang in her ears. She shut her eyes and grit her teeth. Fortunately, Twilight seemed to get the memo, since she stopped talking and instead helped Sunset sit up carefully. After a few minutes, Sunset recovered from her dizzy spell, though that made her aware of how tired she felt all of a sudden.

Yet she still found the energy to laugh. “Sweet Celestia, that was horrible!” She laughed some more at Twilight’s confused expression. “I’m ok, Twilight. I just misjudged how much effort I’d need to overpower the iridosmium’s threshold. Whew! I haven’t struggled that much since the first time I tried to lift a boulder. Talk about being out of shape.” She allowed Twilight to help her sit back on the chair, then waved her off. “I’m fine, really.”

With a distrustful glare, Twilight sat right next to her. “What happened, exactly?”

Giving herself some more time to recover, Sunset grabbed the metal sheet and smiled at the very clear marks her fingers had left, like impressions on clay. “You see how charging the jade with mana was difficult for you?” Twilight nodded. “Well, this was about a hundred times harder.”

“A hundred?!”

“Give or take,” Sunset said with a shrug. “Pure platinum would’ve been much easier, but I wanted something more resistant. Ah, thank goodness I didn’t pick osmiridium. That would’ve been near impossible.”

Twilight blinked a couple of times. “Sunset, are you going to get that sick every time you try to work on that metal?”

Sunset let out a dragged out sigh. “Unfortunately. At least until I get used to it. I am not looking forward to that, I’ll tell you that much.”

“Then…” Twilight bit her lip for a moment. “Promise me you’ll try that only when there’s someone around to catch you. It’s dangerous if you keep falling to the floor like that.”

A warmth spread through Sunset’s chest. Not like the uncomfortable heat her mana overuse produced, but a nice, cozy warmth that was more like drinking hot cocoa on a cold day. She couldn’t avoid smiling at that.

“Sure. I promise.”

Two weeks later, Sunset was still not used to making her mana overpower the iridosmium’s threshold. She could feel the process getting slightly easier every time, but it always left her dizzy and dehydrated. She’d mostly kept her promise to Twilight, having people ready to catch her in case she fell, but when she was alone in Celestia and Luna’s apartment, she practiced in her room, where her bed would easily break her fall.

With all the attempts she made, the iridosmium sheet was getting warped, her fingers having left many marks during the short moments she’d been able to shape it like wet clay. That was the only reason that kept Sunset going back. There was physical proof that, given enough time, it would be entirely possible to shape the sheet in the exact way she’d need.

Eventually.

~~~~~~~~

“Hey, Sunset?”

Sunset looked up from her book. She’d been resting from her latest attempt with the iridosmium by reading and making notes on unicorn magical anatomy. “What is it?”

Twilight twirled a strand of hair with a finger. “So… I’m going to finish eighth grade next month, and my school is going to hold a graduation ceremony. Nothing too big. Just people talking for a while before they give us our certificates. And I thought… Well, I was wondering if you’d like to go?”

“Uh…” Sunset blinked a few times. “Sure?”

Twilight’s face lit up with a bright smile, and Sunset felt her heart skip a beat. “Great! It’s going to be on the twenty-eighth at five o’clock. Miss Celestia and Miss Luna might be busy, so if they can’t take you, I’ll ask Shining Armor or my dad. Oh! The dress code is formal-casual. Uhm, it’s not mandatory per se, so you don’t have to buy clothes just for that. You can show up in your regular everyday outfit!”

Sunset listened with only half an ear, focusing on her own chest. She already was very aware that she had a crush on Twilight, so it wasn’t a surprise that she liked seeing her happily ranting about something important to her. What confused Sunset was the intensity.

It wasn’t just that her heart beat faster and more strongly whenever she saw Twilight smile, or that she found herself blushing when Twilight did something cute. No, it was that even when she was alone in the apartment, eating or reading or doing whatever, she’d randomly think of Twilight, and all those sensations would attack her at once, and then she’d be unable to take her out of her mind for hours.

Never before had Sunset spared a thought to the concept of romance. Not like some foals who stupidly claim it to be gross. Instead, Sunset had simply not been interested at all. Even as she grew and started noticing other ponies, she simply shrugged those thoughts off and continued with her life. It wasn’t like she was burying her nose in books to force herself not to think about it. She simply had never felt attracted to anypony, and she’d been fine.

But then she’d met Twilight and started spending time with her. And before she’d realized, she had begun seeing her as a friend, an actual friend, with whom she could talk about her interests and receive smart responses. Then she’d seen Twilight as a pony and her heart had decided to squash her brain into mush, and even after they’d returned to the human world, Sunset still saw Twilight shine beautifully.

Sunset would be lying if she said she didn’t think of asking Twilight out. She did, on a daily basis. But she would also be lying if she said that the knowledge of Twilight’s pony counterpart stealing her life didn’t affect her. It was a stupid thought, she was aware of it, but it still held her back. It hurt to think of the reason she’d lost everything, and she didn’t want that feeling to negatively impact what she already had with Twilight.

So, at least for now, she decided to let time pass. Maybe, when she figured out what she wanted to do with her life, she’d be able to separate her feelings properly and make a decision.

Twilight moved on from talking about her graduation ceremony to her expectations for high school. Sunset leaned back, her book forgotten, and let herself enjoy the sound of Twilight’s voice.

Author's Note

Progress has been achieved! Soon, they'll conquer the world!

... Or not. We'll see.

If you liked it, please leave a comment! They're my fresh air in a scorching day.

Chapter 25. Everton's Headmaster

When Celestia told them that she’d talked with the headmaster of a school called Everton, Twilight had squealed in delight. When she said that the headmaster was interested in their research, Twilight had started vibrating. And when Celestia informed them that the headmaster wanted to see their invention in person, Twilight had almost fainted due to hyperventilation.

But as soon as Celestia said that the headmaster would arrive —with Twilight’s parents’ permission— in two weeks, Twilight had recovered and dragged Sunset to the garage to start working on their presentation.

Sunset, of course, made the mistake of asking what the deal was even about.

“The Everton Institute of Science, Technology, and Innovation, or just Everton, is the single most prestigious science-centered university in the entire world,” Twilight explained with a scary manic look in her eyes. “The greatest minds have studied there since its foundation five hundred years ago, greatly contributing to all scientific fields. Its many research departments continuously work to develop better technologies for the betterment of humanity. And the headmaster himself is going to see our Enchanter! Don’t you see, Sunset? If we impress him, we might convince him to invest in it! In us! He could even personally invite us to study in Everton! We’ll practically have our whole careers set for life!”

Sunset felt a strange twinge of pain in her chest at those last words. She tried to hide it, but Twilight definitely saw her reaction since her excitement evaporated almost instantly.

“I…” Twilight said, and Sunset could almost see her dimming out. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean…”

“It’s ok,” Sunset said with a sigh. “I may not know what I want to do with my life right now, but that doesn’t mean you have to pretend you don’t either.” She gave Twilight a small smile. “Besides, having a goal to work towards, even a temporary one, sounds like something I need.”

Twilight smiled, and that was enough for Sunset’s to become genuine. “Alright. Then, let’s get to work. We only have two weeks to prepare.”

“Don’t you have finals?”

Sunset smacked her hands to her mouth as soon as the words left her, but it was too late. Twilight’s eyes widened, her pupils dilated, her arms shook, and the unmistakingly beat of a Harmonic Resonance filled the room as she started singing. Sunset let out a defeated sigh. Hopefully, Twilight’d be done before dinner.

~~~~~~~~

To say that the following two weeks were mayhem was an understatement. Sunset knew that Twilight took her studies very seriously, even more than Sunset had ever done when she was a student back in Equestria. The fact she had final exams for middle school added another layer to her bizarre panic. And coupled with the imminent visit by Everton’s headmaster, it all just sent her into a frenzy no one was prepared to deal with.

Twilight had Sunset write an index of all the books she’d brought with her from Equestria and underline those that were even remotely relevant to the Enchanter. She then detailed a very specific schedule for them to read the different titles, review them, and summarize the most important information. Meanwhile, both of them would be working on a draft for their paper. Sunset had it easy, but Twilight also kept studying for her exams all week long.

When the weekend arrived and Sunset got to Twilight’s house, she was surprised to find Twilight in a state of utter exhaustion. Her hair was shooting out in every direction, and her bloodshot eyes sat upon heavy bags. Her skin was pale and her gaze unfocused. But the thing that made her look creepy was the grin upon her face.

“Sunset! I did it! I finished with finals! They are done! Finito! I can now focus on our paper! Speaking of which, I have several questions about my latest draft. Did you read it? Oh, what am I saying? Of course you did! I’m not really sure I properly explained the way mana interacts with the Harmonic Veil. Could you point me in the right direction? Also—”

“Twilight. Sit,” Sunset said, grabbing Twilight by the shoulders and pushing her down on the couch. “How much did you sleep last night?”

“Four hours and thirty-two minutes,” Twilight replied instantly. “Which is the most efficient—”

Sunset placed a finger on Twilight’s mouth. “Twilight, listen to me. Finals are over, and you aced them all. We still have a week before Everton’s headmaster comes, and we have everything we need in your garage. But we won’t get anywhere if you’re sleep deprived. Do you understand that much?” Twilight nodded slowly, and Sunset brought back her hand. “Now, go wash your face. We’ll take it easy today, and tonight you’ll sleep eight hours minimum. Go.”

Twilight moved begrudgingly, deliberately taking her time to walk towards the bathroom. Sunset shook her head, amused at her antics. When Twilight was out of sight and no one else was around, Sunset looked down at her hand, at the finger she’d placed upon Twilight’s lips. She could still feel the warmth in the tip. Sunset blushed as an idea popped in her head, and before she could start getting cold hooves, she pressed her finger against her own lips.

She sighed, suddenly feeling stupid. When did she get so cheesy?

Putting that in the back of her mind, Sunset made her way to the garage. Despite her frazzled state and tendency to panic, Twilight was as organized as ever, and it showed in the way she kept the garage easy to navigate. The books were organized in neat, labeled piles of ‘read’ and ‘unread’, and notebooks on their own piles, though their labels spoke of the level of summarization she’d done of the books.

Sunset picked the last notebook Twilight had been working on and started reading it. She got a few pages in when Twilight returned. She had not only cleaned her face, but also combed her hair and tied it into a neat bun. Sunset preferred how she looked with a ponytail, but this look wasn’t bad either.

Just like Sunset had said, they took it easy, simply comparing their notes with each other’s and cross-referencing them with the books. Sunset already knew everything by experience alone, but even she knew the importance of proper language when writing an academic paper. And since they were going to conceal the existence of Equestria, they needed to get all the facts straight without mentioning the books, even by mistake.

When night fell, Sunset made Twilight turn off her alarms before going to sleep. She was surprised to find four different alarm clocks, plus a smartphone, all set to wake her up at five in the morning. Twilight didn’t even have the decency to look embarrassed, and instead grumbled something about wasting time. But, of course, she was a lot less cranky in the morning after a good ten hours of sleep.

The rest of the week happened without issues, though Sunset was surprised when Twilight asked her parents permission for Sunset to stay the whole week. She argued that school was practically over, and the final week would only serve for teachers to give out grades, and even if she tried getting extra credit, none of them ever wanted to accept her projects and instead played some random documentaries until classes were over. She could use that down time at school to review her notes, then come straight back home and continue working with Sunset.

Of course, she made special emphasis on the fact that their meeting with Everton’s headmaster was a once in a lifetime opportunity and they needed to be prepared, and since her parents had already agreed to that, surely they understood that much.

When she finally stopped to take a breath, her mom said she had no issues, since she could stay home and look after them. And so Sunset spent the week there, which honestly wasn’t all that different from the extended holidays she’d been with them.

It was a bit weird, though, spending her free time in Twilight’s garage instead of her own room. She felt a strange fuzziness in her chest whenever she accompanied Twilight to the door in the mornings and greeted her home in the afternoons. And she quickly realized she didn’t dislike that feeling, though she couldn’t exactly say why.

Friday arrived with frightening speed, and even Sunset started feeling the pressure. The moment Twilight got home from her last day of school, they focused all their attention into putting together the paper, working relentlessly to finish as soon as possible without sacrificing quality. By the time they finished, Sunset could see sunlight streaming through the garage’s windows.

“Well, Twilight, we did it,” Sunset said. Or she thought that’s what she said. She could barely see straight. “Let’s go to sleep. Tomorrow’s going to be a big day.”

Twilight gave her a goofy smile and giggled. “Your hair’s on fire.”

Sunset had a hard time not laughing at that.

They woke up late in the afternoon. Though it was more accurate to say that Twilight woke up panicking about missing the deadline, then woke Sunset up by tripping on her stomach and face planting into the wall. Sunset fought an inner battle between anger and amusement the rest of the day at Twilight’s adorably reddened nose.

They did one last checkup on their paper, making sure it was flawless, then printed a few copies. And before they knew it, it was Sunday.

“Is it askew?” Twilight asked as she fiddled with her necktie for the millionth time. “It’s askew, isn’t it?”

“It will be if you keep touching it,” Sunset replied. They were in the living room, having finished breakfast an hour ago, waiting for Celestia to bring Everton’s headmaster. Sunset wanted to keep herself busy with a book, but Twilight was making it impossible.

“Why are you so nonchalant about this?” Twilight said, placing her hands on her hips. “In fact, why aren’t you dressed up? You can’t meet the headmaster wearing jeans! First impressions are important!”

Sunset flipped a page. “I don’t have formal clothes, Twilight.” That was a lie. Celestia had actually gotten her something slightly formal, but she was saving it for Twilight’s graduation ceremony.

“I can lend you something. I have a lot of formal shirts and skirts! Surely we can find something that’ll fit you.”

Sunset tried, and failed, not to blush at the thought of wearing Twilight’s clothes. “No. If he’s the headmaster of a prestigious science university, then he’ll care more about our paper than our appearance. If he pays more attention to what we’re wearing, then he’s not someone I want to deal with.”

Twilight opened her mouth to retort but paused. “I… I guess that’s true…”

“Now, please sit down and try to relax. Panicking will get you nowhere.”

Sunset looked up from the book to watch Twilight sit down on the couch with her back as straight as possible. She had let her hair down, though a pair of tresses appeared from behind her ears and circled her head neatly. Her pink necktie sat perfectly aligned with her light blue blouse, whose sleeves ended stiffly around her wrists. Her straight violet skirt, which was decorated with her Cutie Mark on the left side, ended just above her knees. And her dark gray short-heeled shoes hugged her feet and raised her to Sunset’s height when standing. And of course, her thick glasses sat primly atop her nose.

Apparently, that was the exact same outfit she planned on wearing for her graduation. Sunset would be lying if she said she didn’t like how Twilight looked, but a part of her still preferred her usual attires.

The doorbell rang loudly, and Twilight flinched so hard she actually stood up. Sunset giggled and joined her, looking at the living room’s entrance. Twilight’s mom answered the door, and after a few muffled words, she returned. Celestia was next, and behind her, the unknown man that was obviously Everton’s headmaster.

Sunset raised both eyebrows as she looked upon the man.

Her first impression was that he was really tall, standing a full head above Celestia, who was already taller than Shining Armor. Her second impression was that he looked like a statue in almost every sense of the word. His whole body was full of straight lines; an almost perfect triangle for a nose, a squared jawline, straight shoulders, and a polished black suit that was free of any wrinkles. His dark gray skin contrasted with his black hair, which was neatly combed backwards, not a single hair out of place. Even his briefcase was of sleek, shining black leather. His eyes, a red as deep as rubies, were the only thing giving him some color.

“Girls,” Celestia said, giving a single step to the side. “This is Sombra, headmaster of Everton Institute. Sombra, these are Twilight Sparkle and Sunset Shimmer.”

Twilight reacted first, nervously stepping forward and raising a hand. “M-My name is Twilight Sparkle. I-It’s a pleasure to meet you, Headmaster Sombra.”

Sombra’s lips proved that he was indeed not a statue when they formed a small smile. “The pleasure is mine, Miss Twilight,” he said, giving her hand a firm shake. He turned his eyes towards Sunset with a fluid motion and extended his hand towards her. “You too, Miss Sunset.”

As Sunset shook his hand, she couldn’t stop thinking that he looked like the definition of elegance. His every move, the intonation of every word, and even the shape of his eyes felt deliberate. Rehearsed. Nothing was accidental or disturbed by personal inclination so that the emotions he conveyed were exactly the ones he wanted to convey.

This was a man that was in full control of himself and of how others regarded him. Sunset wondered if the respect she felt for him was because that’s what he wanted her to feel, or because she was aware of it.

“Celestia told me you girls are working on a very interesting project,” Sombra said as soon as he finished his handshake with Sunset. “She refused to elaborate, however. No doubt knowing I wouldn’t be able to contain my curiosity.” Celestia simply smiled at him. “Well, I am here now. Shall we?”

Twilight snapped out of whatever trance she was in. “R-Right!”

They led Sombra into the garage, where they had already set up chairs and a curtain to hide the Enchanter. Sunset had also covered her chests with a blanket. She doubted Sombra would ask to open them out of the blue, but she thought it was better to be overly cautious. Shining Armor and Cadence hadn’t been able to attend, so it was only Twilight’s parents who sat next to Sombra, with Celestia to his other side. Twilight Velvet carried Spike onto her lap as he growled at Sombra.

Without changing his pleasant expression, Sombra rubbed the underside of the pup’s chin, and that was all it took for Spike to wiggle his tail.

Twilight took deep breaths for a few seconds. Her hands trembling, sweat already dripping down her neck. Still, she looked ahead with a determined expression and grabbed a stack of papers from the table.

“Before we begin, I’ll pass copies of our paper to each of you,” she said, barely managing to keep her voice steady. “You may read them during the presentation, but please hold your questions until the end.”

Sombra accepted his stack of copies and immediately quirked an eyebrow upon reading the title. Sunset and Twilight had written over a hundred different drafts until they were satisfied with the wording. and Sunset had committed it to memory.

The Harmonic Veil: Its physical properties and influence over the world.

Theorized and proven by way of Harmonic Resonances and direct interaction through experimental technology

by

Sunset Shimmer

and

Twilight Sparkle

A Research Thesis on Theory and Practice

Submitted in person to the Headmaster of Everton Institute of Science, Technology, and Innovation

Sunset and Twilight took turns explaining in detail everything they could about the Harmonic Veil. How it enveloped the world like any other field such as the electron one. How it behaved like fabric, folding and rippling. And how it resonated with people’s emotions, triggering a Harmonic Resonance.

Of course, proving the relation between the Veil and the Resonances was difficult simply because there was no basis within human science. Sunset was sure it sounded like she was just making up an entire physical phenomenon in a desperate attempt to explain another one. However, that was only one part of the paper. The second part was the practical demonstration, and she was betting everything on that.

“And so, after two years of experimentation, we’ve built a device capable of interacting with the Harmonic Veil,” Twilight said, pulling the curtain open. “We have dubbed this device the ‘Enchanter’.”

Sunset cleared her throat. This was when they couldn’t keep beating around the bush. “The Enchanter operates under a primary source of energy we’ve dubbed ‘mana’. There’s a detailed description of mana in pages fifty-two through fifty-four. The short version is that mana is energy that is born within a spiritual core inside living beings. Now, it may be the only way to directly interact with the Harmonic Veil, but unfortunately, the laptop does require electrical power, so that’s technically a secondary energy source for the Enchanter.”

“Before we continue explaining the exact workings of this device,” Twilight said. “We will provide a demonstration. Headmaster Sombra, I believe Miss Celestia requested you to bring a fresh fruit?”

Sombra didn’t flinch at being called, not even his eyes quivered. Instead, acting like he had foreseen the exact moment he’d be addressed, he picked up his suitcase and produced a sealed plastic bag with a bright green pear inside. Without a word, but with the smallest of smiles, he handed it to Twilight.

Twilight took the pear out of the bag and gave it to Sunset, who placed it inside the Enchanter’s glass box. Sunset swiftly made her way to her laptop and made the Interpreter start sending the signals to build a circuitry for a combined spell she’d created for this specific presentation. She could feel the pulsations in the air as the Enchanter hummed to life.

Since this particular enchantment required about four minutes to finish, Sunset started explaining exactly what was going on. How their mana was being sent in carefully organized pulses into the Harmonic Veil around the pear, slowly but surely building a circuitry that would create the desired effect. By the time she finished —she had timed it pretty well— the pear started glowing. Unlike the regular illumination spell they’d been casting so far, however, this one modulated its intensity in waves around the pear, moving with fluid motions across its surface.

“This,” Sunset announced as she held the pear so that everyone could see it, “is one of the many spells the Enchanter can produce.” She handed the pear back to Sombra, who looked at it with his mostly inexpressive eyes. Honestly, his equanimity was so solid that he could easily best Princess Celestia.

Twilight straightened up, ready to begin explaining how the Enchanter was built and its many parts, and why it was set up in the way it was. However, she fell silent when Sombra stood up, gracefully, but with an air of finality. Twilight paled as he grabbed his suitcase.

“I believe I have seen enough,” he stated, his voice so even there wasn’t a trace of his real thoughts. “I apologize for my abrupt departure, but I have business to attend to. It was a pleasure meeting you both, Miss Twilight, Miss Sunset.” And with that, he walked towards the door.

Sunset was stunned. She had known that there was a big chance that he wouldn’t believe them, but she had thought he’d at least stay for the full presentation. Before she could react, however, Celestia stood up, fast enough that she knocked over her chair.

“Sombra, wait,” she said. Sombra stopped walking, then looked up for a moment before turning to face Celestia. “At least give them a chance to finish their presentation.”

“For what purpose?” Sombra said. There was just a tiny bit of exasperation in his tone, though he hid it well. “Celestia, when you told me this project was something I’d be interested in, I trusted you, so I agreed to your request to come here and to even bring this pear.” He held the glowing fruit aloft. “But I haven’t the time for parlor tricks.”

Anger flared up inside Sunset. She could understand people not believing in magic —she had done so for years, but she absolutely refused to let him compare her spells to simple tricks. She opened her mouth, but was beaten by Twilight.

“Headmaster Sombra,” she said with a serious expression, though her trembling voice and fiddling fingers betrayed her nervousness. “We assure you these are not mere tricks. In fact, that pear was enchanted with a second spell.”

Sombra looked at her but remained silent.

Twilight gulped and began to deflate, having spent all her courage. Sunset placed a hand on her shoulder and took it from there. “We were going to finish our presentation with the reveal of that second spell,” she told him, staring straight into his deep red eyes. “But since you’ve chosen to end it here, then I’ll at least request that you keep that pear for a month. Put it in your pantry or next to the oven, it doesn’t matter. After a month, you’ll see the effect of the second spell, and you’ll know that this is real.”

Sombra glared at her in silence. Sunset knew he was trying to break her composure with the intensity of his gaze, but she didn’t give in. She’d been on the receiving end of Princess Celestia’s fury —though only briefly— so he wouldn’t be able to intimidate her anytime soon.

Before the tension could grow denser, however, Celestia stepped in between them and spun on her heels to look up at Sombra. “I didn’t bring you for entertainment, Sombra,” she said. “And I know even you realize that this,” she grabbed his wrist and lifted it, forcing him to look at the pear, “is not a parlor trick. These girls are on the verge of changing the world, and I want someone I can trust to support them. I’m not asking you to blindly believe in them, but I am asking you to keep this pear for a month and observe it like they asked.”

Sombra looked at the pear for a second, then at Celestia for several more. His eyes rapidly darted from side to side in the first show of emotion since he’d gotten there, though Sunset couldn’t tell which emotion it was. He lowered his hand and stepped back.

“Only one month?” he asked.

“Only one month,” Celestia replied.

He huffed through his nose, then turned to look at Sunset and Twilight. “Alright then. What am I supposed to expect?”

Sunset held back a sigh of relief. “The glow will disappear by tomorrow morning,” she replied. “As for the second spell…” An idea popped in her head. She allowed herself to grin. “You’ll start noticing its effect in a week.”

That got a raised eyebrow out of him. “Shouldn’t you disclose it so that I know what to look for?”

“I would have, if you’d bothered to stay until the end.”

“Sunset!” Twilight hissed.

“I see,” Sombra replied. He looked at Twilight’s parents. “It was a pleasure meeting you as well, and I thank you for your hospitality. For now, I must be going.” He turned to address Celestia. “May I have a word with you?”

“Yes,” Celestia replied with a frown. “I also want to have a word with you.”

The adults led Sombra out, leaving Sunset and Twilight alone, though Spike pawed at Twilight’s legs until she picked him up.

“I can’t believe you talked to him like that,” Twilight said. She looked down with a frown, idly scratching Spike behind the ear. “Now there’s no way he’ll ever consider supporting us.”

Sunset was about to retort, but something in Twilight’s voice gave her pause. She wasn’t sure what it was, but she absolutely didn’t like it. Not one bit. She scratched the back of her neck and looked away. “Sorry, I just… He made me really mad.”

“I know. I got angry, too,” Twilight said, hugging Spike closer to herself. “But… His reaction was actually pretty tame. I expected him to laugh at us, or ridicule us. This is magic we’re talking about. Instead he simply wanted to walk away. Miss Celestia convinced him to give us a chance anyway, and then you…”

The way Twilight trailed off made Sunset cringe. “I…” What could she say?

Twilight let out a heavy sigh. “I guess it doesn’t matter anyway. Two weeks ago we weren’t expecting this opportunity. Even if he ultimately decides not to back us, we’ll just go back to working as usual. The thesis doesn’t mention how to transfer mana into the Enchanter, nor that some of its parts are gemstones, or even the specific arrays, so we’re not at risk of him stealing the project from us.”

Sunset nodded.

“Just…” Twilight said as she looked at Sunset, still frowning. “Promise me you won’t antagonize future possible backers?”

“I promise,” Sunset replied.

Twilight smiled, and Sunset’s tension washed away with relief. Sunset decided that having Twilight angry at her was something she didn’t want to experience again. So, this time, she vowed to keep her promise.

Author's Note

And Sombra enters the scene! As I was reaching this chapter in the writing process, I still didn't know who the headmaster would be. Eventually I thought of Sombra, and suddenly everything seemed to click. He's really fun to write, considering I have to pay special attention to how he talks and behaves.

If you liked it, please leave a comment! They truly make my day!

Chapter 26. Tempting Offer

Chapter 26. Tempting Offer

When Sunset saw herself in the mirror that afternoon, she thought that, for the first time, she liked how she looked.

That wasn’t to say she didn’t know she was quite the looker. After all, she had retained her fiery hair which she took great effort into keeping in good condition, and she still had her turquoise eyes which she knew demanded attention. However, that was the extension of what she could confidently appreciate about herself. The weird facial features, the furless skin, and the oddly shaped body were things that she just couldn’t relate to beauty.

Until that moment, that is.

Celestia had carefully tied her hair into a high ponytail that jutted out from the left side of her head with a beautiful green bow and, to her surprise, a pin in the shape of her Cutie Mark. The dress Celestia had gotten for her was a pretty dark green sundress with thin straps over the shoulders and a long layered skirt that reached a bit past her knees. And her feet were hugged by pretty sandals of the same shade of green as the dress, reaching with laces just above her ankles. And of course, the best friend necklace she shared with Twilight sat primly upon her collarbone.

She twirled to her right, then to her left, and finally leaned over to get a better look at her face, which Celestia had enhanced with a hydrating cream. As she contemplated herself, she thought that not only was she comfortable with how she looked as a human, but also recognized that she had features that were considered attractive, such as long and slender limbs, and a bust that, according to Luna, was quite large for her age.

As she made another twirl, making the skirt of her dress billow, she wondered if Twilight found her attractive. She didn’t ponder whether Twilight liked her the same way she did. That was a completely different question altogether. She just wondered if Twilight would see her and think she was attractive.

Thirty minutes later, Celestia parked the car right outside Garden Grove Elementary and Middle School’s parking lot. Twilight could only invite up to three people to her graduation ceremony, two of which were her parents, and the third one was Sunset. This meant that Celestia wouldn’t be allowed to enter. Not that it mattered anyway, since once the ceremony was over, Sunset’d spend the night at Twilight’s house, and the next day they’d be on their way to the yearly trip to the beach.

“Before you go,” Celestia said just as Sunset unbuckled her seatbelt. “I want to apologize for how the meeting with Headmaster Sombra ended up. He, uh… He had other expectations when he went to see your project.”

Sunset looked at her for a moment. “I get it. I’ve lived in this world long enough to know that any talk about magic is met with ridicule.”

Celestia shook her head. “Still, I should’ve told him instead of trying to surprise him. In any case, I talked to him, and he’s going to keep his word and keep that pear for at least a month. I hope that whatever you did to it will be enough to convince him that this is real.”

“Me too,” Sunset said. If anything, Twilight deserved to be noticed by such a prestigious university.

“Have fun, Sunset,” Celestia said. “I’ll see you next week.”

With a curt nod, Sunset got out of the car. It was still a strange feeling, having Celestia apologize for anything and being earnest about it. The woman could be overbearing at times, but never spoke in infuriating riddles and didn’t see life as just a bunch of lessons to learn. Instead, she was always straightforward and offered explanations instead of wanting Sunset to figure things on her own.

She actually made Sunset feel like she was worth the time.

Twilight’s parents met her right away, and after waving Celestia goodbye, they led Sunset around the corner towards the entrance of the school. The front yard was covered in folding chairs, half of which were already occupied. A podium sat at the bottom of the stairs that led to the entrance, upon which more chairs were placed, facing towards the street.

Sunset sat between Twilight’s parents, which wasn’t very comfortable, but it was better than sitting next to strangers and having to endure their small talk as they waited for the ceremony to begin. Fortunately, the wait wasn’t long. When almost all the chairs were occupied, a rather old man of wrinkled light blue skin and balding head walked towards the podium and started talking.

And Sunset thought there had to be a spell in either his voice or the microphone, because as soon as his ashen, dry voice reverberated through the speakers, Sunset was overcome with a powerful need to sleep. Some random laughter in the audience told her that the man, who had introduced himself as the principal, made a joke or another, but she just couldn’t care to pay attention to him.

A round of applause snapped her awake, and she barely turned her head in time to see a long line of students walking from the side of the school, in between the audience’s chairs, and onto the seats that were placed behind the podium.

It didn’t take Sunset long to spot the silky sway of Twilight’s hair and the bob of her bangs against her glasses. Her appearance was almost the same as the day before, when they had met Everton’s headmaster, except that she now wore a pink shirt of short sleeves and a blue necktie. She wasn’t overdressed, compared to the other students, but she was the only one wearing a necktie.

Twilight waved energetically at Sunset and her parents as she followed her soon-to-be ex classmates towards the raised chairs. She was in the back row, which meant that Sunset could barely see her behind an unfortunately seated boy.

In her attempt to remain awake through the principal’s dry speech, Sunset entertained herself by trying to get a good angle from which to see more of Twilight’s face. It wasn’t long before Twilight spotted her, realized what she was doing, and started playing a sort of hide and seek with her, moving behind the boy and back into view. The kids at her sides gave them odd looks, but Twilight didn’t seem to notice, and Sunset didn’t care.

Some students were called to make speeches on their own. Sunset thought Twilight would be called to the podium, but she wasn’t. Not that it mattered, really, since the speeches were full of platitudes anyway.

Finally, the principal started calling each student by name. Each of them went towards a teacher that gave them a folder, and then walked through the same path they had arrived from as the audience applauded. Once the last student disappeared from sight, the principal cleared his throat.

“The ceremony might be over, but the celebration is not. Please follow the path to the gymnasium for one last dance.”

A few people chose to leave, but most, including Sunset and Twilight’s parents, went to the gym, which was in front of a small garden. The outside of the building was pretty bare, like the rest of the school, but the inside had a lot more color. There were a few tables set up for people to sit and talk, though the middle area was completely empty to serve as a dance floor. Streamers and balloons decorated the corners and the ceiling, and a large banner congratulating the eighth graders hung from the opposite wall.

A woman stood behind a laptop, playing some light music as the gym accepted the guests, while the teachers Sunset recognized from earlier flanked the entrance, welcoming the flood of people with handshakes. Sunset stayed away from them and instead looked around for Twilight. She found her standing by a large table at the left side of the gym, awkwardly holding her folder in front of her skirt.

“Twilight, honey!” Twilight Velvet said as she trapped her in a hug. “Congratulations. I’m so proud of you.”

“M-Mom!” Twilight said, tapping her mother in the arms. “You already congratulated me this morning!”

“What, am I not allowed to be proud of my little Twily?”

“Mom!” Twilight’s face turned a cute shade of red.

“Oh, fine.” Twilight senior took the folder from Twilight junior. “We’ll let you girls be on your own. Have fun.”

Night Light cleared his throat. “We are leaving at seven, though. Gotta wake up early tomorrow.”

They left to talk with other adults. Twilight huffed, though her blush didn’t disappear. She turned to Sunset, and her eyes traveled down and back up, making Sunset shiver.

“I thought you said you didn’t have formal clothes?”

Sunset shrugged. “Celestia got me this dress for today. I didn’t want to get it dirty yesterday.”

Twilight gave her a slow nod. “You, uhm… You look really pretty.”

Sunset’s breath faltered, and her heart picked up the pace so abruptly that she could feel it in her ears. Did that mean Twilight found her attractive, or was she just being polite? Should she ask? No, that would be stupid. Twilight would definitely know that Sunset had a crush on her if she did, and Sunset still wasn’t sure what to do with her life, which meant it wasn’t the right time to open that can of worms.

“Sunset?”

Blinking, Sunset realized she’d been silent for who knows how long.

“Oh, uh, thanks.” Smooth. “You look good, too.”

Twilight smiled. “Thank you. Do you want some punch?” She poured some in two red plastic cups and gave one to Sunset, then led her away from the table to allow others help themselves to some punch. “Thank you for coming. I know you’d rather work with your synthetic horn project.”

They reached a corner of the gym. While some adults were enjoying themselves on the dance floor, the kids mingled with each other in small groups, keeping a distance from their parents. Their corner was far from the speakers playing music and devoid of people. It was perfect for talking about magic research.

Sunset shrugged. “I brought the iridosmium sheet with me. I’ll practice plenty on the way to the beach.” At least she’d have something to do during the fourteen hours she’d be trapped in the car.

“Of course you did.” Twilight giggled as she leaned on the wall, holding her cup of punch with both hands. “You know, I still can’t quite wrap my head around the fact that I’m going to be a high schooler soon.”

Sunset sipped some of her punch. She didn’t like it. “How come?”

“I don’t know,” Twilight said, raising her head to glance around the gym. “I guess I just spent too much time in this school.”

“You humans do spend too many years in school,” Sunset noted. Compulsory education in Equestria had ponies going to school until they were ten, though they could choose to extend that time until they turned sixteen. Universities existed for research purposes only.

Twilight smiled. “I guess. But there’s something else.” She sighed. “You know how I have a scholarship for Crystal Prep?”

“You only mention it every time you have exams. In song form,” Sunset replied. The way Twilight blushed made her smile. “What was the last one? ‘Crystal Prep is waiting for me’?”

“Stop,” Twilight whined, eliciting a chuckle from Sunset. “I’m trying to be serious here.”

“Ok, ok. Continue.”

Twilight glared at her for a moment, then looked down at her punch. “Well, I’ve been reading Crystal Prep’s website to get a feel of the school. I read what their updated syllabus for all four years is like, and let me tell you, it’s quite impressive.” She started rotating her cup in her hands. “But then I found an unaffiliated website where both students and alumni talk about the actual classes. As expected, Crystal Prep is really demanding, and students are flooded with homework, papers, essays, projects, and a large etcetera, and the teachers never accept sub-optimal results.”

“Sounds like your dream school,” Sunset said. If there was something she knew about Twilight, it was that she loved studying and learning with a passion even Sunset lacked. So why was it, then, that Twilight didn’t look excited?

“It is,” Twilight replied. She bit her lower lip for a moment, still looking down at her spinning cup of punch. “But between all the academic work, the compulsory extra curricular activities, and the fact that the school is almost an hour away by bus… Well, I don’t think I’d have time left to keep working on magitech with you.”

“Oh…” Sunset felt a void open in the pit of her stomach, and her heart fell right into it. She had originally wanted to work on her lonesome, but Twilight had been a part of it from the beginning and Sunset couldn’t see the project even existing without her. She couldn’t see herself working without Twilight at her side.

Twilight didn’t continue right away, leaving Sunset to drown in the suspense for almost a whole minute.

“So…” Twilight said, taking a deep breath before. “I’m considering turning down the scholarship and enrolling at a different high school.”

Even though she wasn’t drinking anything, Sunset still managed to choke. “You what?”

Twilight gripped her cup, almost spilling its contents. “I know. Crystal Prep is one of the best high schools in the country, and practically all its students are guaranteed to succeed. I’m being stupid for even thinking of wasting this opportunity. But I really think that magitech is going to revolutionize the world, and I want to be there when it does. A-And…” She raised her head and looked at Sunset. “And I really like working with you.”

Sunset’s heart was pushed from the void of her stomach with the force of a volcanic eruption, and it beat in her chest with the fury of a stampede. She knew she was blushing profusely because her own breathing was hot against her face.

“I…” How was she supposed to reply to that? She was happy. Flattered, even. But she also knew that Twilight had been looking forward to studying at Crystal Prep for years. She’d worked so hard to attain and retain the top student status by a wide margin all her life just for this opportunity. And yet she was willing to throw it away just to be with Sunset?

Of course, Sunset wanted to keep working with Twilight. She wanted her to go through with that idea so bad it was almost painful. But did she dare? Encouraging Twilight to do so would be extremely greedy of Sunset, so much so that it was on par to her wish of becoming an alicorn princess, and that hadn’t ended well. Being greedy then had gotten her hurt, but if she was greedy now, Twilight could be the one getting hurt.

And so there was only one question to answer. Would she risk Twilight’s happiness just so she could feel better about herself?

“I…” Sunset grit her teeth, knowing the answer as well as she knew her name, “I like working with you, too.”

Twilight’s face brightened with the intensity of a thousand stars, so resplendent that Sunset was blinded to everything but that smile. Her eyes glittered like the fireworks Sunset felt in her chest, shining like beautiful amethysts… No, that was wrong. It was the amethyst that struggled to compare with the intense violet of Twilight’s eyes, and it was the stars that failed to measure up to Twilight’s glow.

“Then…” Twilight’s silky voice was somehow louder than Sunset’s thumping heart. “I’ll talk to my parents… after the beach trip.”

“Aft…” Sunset lost her voice entirely, so she simply nodded.

Was it really right to let Twilight do this? Just so Sunset could have her way? Could she really let her greed go and ruin everything she cared for a second time? Her mind whispered no, but her whole body screamed yes.

She only had to make sure Twilight wouldn’t regret this decision.

Author's Note

So, apparently middle schools don't usually hold graduation ceremonies, though some do. It took me asking around and watching a video or two in order to get this as accurate as possible. Still I hope I didn't get anything wrong.

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