As the others explained to Luna what GGO was about, Sunset couldn't help but compare the princess to her Luna. This one seemed more extroverted, just as secure and strong as her human counterpart, but she had an openly-teasing aspect that the vice-principal lacked.

Could things really be that different in each world? Or was her Luna simply holding back? Here Princess Luna seemed to be friends with everypony. Rainbow Dash was comfortably leaning on the couch and nodding excitedly as Celestia told her about what she had heard, and Twilight provided some clarifications from her understanding of the subject.

Her Luna seemed more lonely. Well, except when she was with Sunset. She was all smiles then, and engaging conversation.

Sunset found herself smiling as he watched Princess Luna animatedly discuss the idea with the others. She could see her Luna there, even if it was only at specific moments, when the princess would share some of her friend's mannerisms. It would be wonderful to have her Luna act so comfortable around people one of these days.

It brought forth how much circumstances helped shape a person, or pony. From Rainbow Dash's surprising acceptance, encouragement and eagerness for Sunset's hobby, to Twilight's wiser disposition than their human counterparts.

Even Celestia had changed in the few years since Sunset had last seen her. Perhaps it wasn't noticeable to the ponies that had more casual contact with her, but the way she looked at Twilight and herself was almost truly maternal now. When she had been Celestia's student, there was warmth, for sure, but Celestia was guarded and a bit more distant... more like Principal Celestia acted in the human world. Well-meaning and caring, but holding back that emotional connection just enough.

But now, the princess allowed herself to care more, and Sunset was willing to bet that it was because Luna was back, in no small part.

This world was so similar, and yet so different.

"What's on your mind, my student?"

Sunset started, then looked at Celestia, who was smiling at her. She chuckled, sharing the smile and pausing for a moment to contemplate how to best answer the question. "Nothing much, Princess. Just thinking about how the more things change, the more they remain the same."

Celestia nodded, wrapping her wing around Sunset, who leaned in, resting her head on her teacher's shoulder. "It has been my experience that despite similarities, it is the small things that really make us unique."

Sunset nodded as well and noticed that the others were now taking their seats around her.

"Sunset Shimmer," Luna spoke then, once everypony had sat down comfortably, "the others have brought me 'up to speed' as you say in this age. Please, do continue your story."

Sunset nodded. "I was going to mention your counterpart, Princess... but I think I should cover some other things first." She looked around at the others. "Equestrian magic has a strange effect on GGO players... but Twilight and I discovered that you must be able to generate magic for that to work. When we discovered we were being affected by it, we experimented with some other students that had been exposed to it, but they didn't show any secondary effects."

Twilight Sparkle nodded. "That's right, I have the notes Twilight sent me, and I would have to agree with your assessment. Just like casual exposure—even as intense as it was during the band battle with the Dazzlings—won't empower people to 'pony up' or be able to use magic, and this same effect extends to the VRMMO. I am fairly sure that any of the Rainbooms would experience magical interference, given that they initially channeled the elements of harmony through me and remained active as magical nodes in the human world."

"What?" Rainbow Dash asked after a moment.

"They contain real magic and that makes them different," Spike explained. "The other students don't have magic, even if they have been close to it."

"Ooooh!" Rainbow nodded. "Carry on!"

Sunset was about to do so when Twilight spoke up.

"There is something that bothers me, though, Sunset." Twilight narrowed her eyes. "You said that both you and Twilight had secondary effects as players, but when you were saying earlier that you feel pain when damaged, you were beginning to tell us—before you were interrupted—about Human Twilight's experience, and it sounded like she had a different effect in place."

Sunset nodded. "It happened after Butcher, Wallflower, Avalon and I fought the boss-level monster they had intended to help me fight."

Desert Mirage rolled under the legs of the giant troll as a shower of laser blasts scorched its upper body. The greenish-gray monstrosity turned around just in time to receive a shotgun blast to the back, courtesy of Avalon, which drew its attention to her, exposing his side to yet another shotgun shot from Wallflower, who seemed to emerge from thin air.

The troll roared, swinging its giant mace around and scrapping the metal floor with its weapon, sending a shower of sparks flying, while still missing Wallflower by inches.

"Mirage, now!" Butcher shouted.

Wallflower smirked, back-flipping high into the air and allowing Mirage to charge right under her, both guns aiming up at the monster's head.

Mirage fired the guns at the same time, and watched with a grin as they hit the troll straight in the eyes, passing through its head and leaving scorch marks on the ceiling above.

A little star on her HUD announced they were critical hits just as the monster itself started dissipating into fragments of energy. Mirage sighed, leaning against the wall and sliding down to sit.

The victory fanfare played around them and a screen appeared in front of all of them. In front of Sunset, the "Killing Shot" bonus screen appeared, with a description of her item.

Rare Drop: Twilight

Ultralight Materials Desert Eagle .50 semi. 8-shot special.

When Mirage saw the name of the gun she started laughing.

The others approached, looking just as singed, scraped and bruised as she was, grinning at her.

"Well done!" Wallflower exclaimed, jumping up in her excitement. "And you got the rare version of the item too!"

"Congratulations on the victory." Butcher nodded. "You didn't need us much for leveling, and you did great."

"Good job, Desert Mirage!" Avalon laughed, sitting next to her and looking at the screen. "Make sure you wield Twilight carefully."

Mirage gaped at her. "You knew?!"

Avalon grinned. "Of course I did."

Mirage chuckled, shaking her head and closing the window before looking at the others. "Thank you guys, I couldn't have done it without you."

"Pshaw." Wallflower waved a hand dismissively. "It would have taken you a little more time. We're always glad to help."

Butcher nodded with a small smile, which turned into a slightly embarrassed grimace. "However, we need to get going for now." He sighed, then stretched before looking down at the pair of friends. "Well if you girls see us around don't forget to say hi."

"We won't!" Mirage promised.

Wallflower grinned and saluted before she faded away alongside Butcher.

"Well, that certainly was intense, wasn't it?" Avalon said, standing up. "Want to go to the bar?"

"Sure," Mirage groaned. "Just give me a few minutes tho, my whole body aches from when I got a glancing blow from that troll."

Avalon stopped and looked down at Mirage. "Wait, what? Are you in pain?"

Mirage nodded, glancing up at her. "Of course. Don't tell me you don't feel those?" she motioned at the several scrapes, dents and cuts Avalon sported.

Avalon kneeled next to her. "Su-Mirage, you're not supposed to feel pain at all."

Mirage's eyes widened. "But... how? I mean, I've felt everything every time I'm hit!"

Avalon's face had turned from mild confusion into panic, and Mirage could already see her start to breathe fast, her eyes wide. "Avalon!"

Around her, the world seemed to twist just so and suddenly there was a small window of some sort, and Mirage could see through it into... "Twilight's room?" she gasped, being able to see Twilight unconscious body in her bed, covered in sweat and breathing hard. She turned around and grabbed Avalon's shoulders. "TWILIGHT!"

That seemed to snap her friend out of her panic attack and both of them stared as the little hole in the air shimmered and disappeared.

"I-I can't stay here!" Avalon stammered, summoning her menu. In a second she was gone.

"Dammit!" Mirage growled, pushing herself up and forcing herself to drink her last healing potion. Slowly the pain subsided and she made her way out of the labyrinthine spaceship they had cleared.

She would have just logged out, but she needed to think.

"It didn't take us long to figure it out... Twilight was infused with the full dimensional magic from the portal, but thanks to her not being a unicorn originally, her powers seem to have been limited to that." Sunset grimaced. "I say limited, but... it's a very scary idea that in GGO she can use that power, or that through her experiments she can do it on a similar scale with the diary as a focus point. She's terrified of going back right now. In my case... if we use the diary as a focus for GGO, I have full access to my unicorn magic, but it doesn't feel right. While I can use some magic outside of the game, its feel is different, more natural. In there... it feels addictive."

Twilight nodded, looking over her notes once more. "And you have actually attempted opening portals again, correct?"

"A couple of times, when Twilight is not too afraid," Sunset said. "We've managed to keep them to a minimal size and once threw an apple through into GGO so I could throw it back at her, but for the most part we're trying to see if I can learn to control my full power in there... although the temptation to use this magic is very strong."

The three princesses were looking at her very seriously. "Dimensional magic is not to be trifled with lightly, Sunset Shimmer," Princess Luna said. "You can let in—or let out—very dangerous things indeed."

Sunset nodded soberly. "I know... and Twilight knows too. Outside of GGO and without her technology and the diary together, she's completely incapable of doing anything with her power, and she's too afraid of what happened the first time to try and use it in GGO or even pony-up in the real world."

Celestia shook her head. "Fear won't help her. Once we have more information we can think of a plan of action, possibly even bring her here for some time to learn to control her power, in the meantime please be careful, Sunset."

"I promise I will, Princess." Sunset nuzzled her mentor, relishing the fact that she could finally do it again. Had she ever done that before leaving? She couldn't recall and that caused a stab of pain in her heart.

"Another thing that worries me is this unnatural feel you say your magic has when within that world," Luna spoke up again. "I can see that it worries you, Sunset Shimmer."

Sunset sighed. "I think that the magic feels strange because it's not supposed to exist in that world... but it doesn't have an evil essence to it. It's just..." she trailed off.

"Sunset," Twilight spoke up. "We're here for you and we all know a lot about magic, maybe we can help."

Sunset nodded. "I'm afraid I will relapse," she confessed, focusing on the floor. "When I use magic... beyond levitation or a few flame spells, I feel such a rush and nostalgia and power... it's difficult to explain. I fear that if I let myself be one with the magic again, I'll end up hurting everyone."

She remained silent as the others silently looked at each other. The weight of it was killing her and just as she was about to stand, Celestia nuzzled her. "It's okay, Sunset. We trust you."

Sunset nodded, her face buried in her teacher's mane, and thus missing the look Celestia gave Luna.

"Well then," Luna spoke up, making Sunset look at her. "You were going to tell us about my counterpart?"

Sunset smiled, forcing her worries away. "Ah, yes. It was a couple of months later that I met her, after I had leveled up considerably which was a good thing, since the tournament I'm part of has a minimum level requirement of 80..."

"...and that's the last thing we did before coming here. Luna saw me off at the statue, and well, here I am."

"Your adventures are very interesting, Sunset," Celestia said and Sunset could have sworn there was a touch of pride in her tone. "Learning to follow a leader, especially when so much rides on it is a very important skill, and this 'Surgeon' friend of yours seems like a capable tactician."

Luna snorted. "What kind of leader sacrifices himself first thing in the whole battle?" she challenged. "What if things had gone wrong?"

"I imagine that since this is a game, dear sister and the stakes not as high as life or death, he decided to prove his trust to his followers by taking a hit for his team," Celestia pointed out. "Recall that they have just recently joined, and him callously sacrificing a player when he wouldn't take that risk himself would probably strain some relationships."

While Luna pondered her sister's words, Celestia stood up. "There is something I must attend with the help of Princess Twilight, however," she said with a small nod to Sunset. "We will be back soon, my student, so don't worry. Spike, please accompany us."

Twilight blinked in surprise, but shrugged and nodded. "Sure thing princess!"

"Dang it," Rainbow Dash said, standing as well and glaring outside. "It's my turn to hold the front for the Weather Team," she said with a disgusted grunt before walking up to Sunset and lifting a hoof. "Hey, it's been real cool to meet you Sunset, if you ever come back, let me know so we can hang out okay? You're officially in my book of awesome."

Sunset gulped down and nodded, trying not to show how much Rainbow's words had affected her. She bumped her hoof with Rainbow Dash's and smiled. "Thank you, I think you're awesome too, and I'll definitely let you know when I visit. I'd like to hang out with you and meet your gryphon friends."

Rainbow Dash chuckled. "Try not to be too rough on them, or Octavia will never forgive me if Angus arrives all battered." She saluted and flew off, leaving behind a very confused Sunset.

"It seems it's just the two of us, young Sunset," Luna spoke up, reminding Sunset that she was still there. "Come, we shall speak someplace else."

Sunset nodded and followed the princess out of the room. They walked in silence through the long, empty hallways made of purple crystal, their hooves producing the only sound in the air.

It reminded Sunset of a dungeon level of some sort—not that she would ever tell that to Twilight—but the resemblance to some of the underground levels of GGO was uncanny.

After climbing up a spiral staircase, they finally arrived at a balcony overlooking Ponyville. The sun was well on its way to the horizon, and the air felt cool and refreshing after a long day of sitting inside.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Luna asked.

"It is," Sunset agreed, taking a deep breath. "There's no other place like Equestria."

Luna nodded. "And yet, once upon a time I would have doomed it to eternal night."

Sunset's eyes widened and she looked at Princess Luna in surprise and pity.

Luna smiled at her. "It's a sad truth that fear and jealousy and desperation can blind us to the things that we are meant to protect and nourish, isn't it?"

Sunset nodded, not trusting herself to speak.

Luna looked away from her, at the distant horizon. "Oftentimes, I dream of my return and my last night as Nightmare Moon." She placed a hoof on the balcony rail. "I am healed by the Elements of Harmony, but as soon as my sister arrives to welcome me back, I raise again as Nightmare Moon and destroy her and the Elements, laughing, victorious and crazy as once again I doom the world.

"When I wake up, I'm afraid. Terrified of raising the moon if it's the appropriate time. I'm at times completely paralyzed, my thoughts a fractured kaleidoscope of myself and visions of Nightmare Moon rising once again, Canterlot burning, the Elements dead or dying.

"I have to take a breath. Remember who I am, center myself. I find comfort in the thoughts that Twilight is an alicorn now, and that Cadance as well is here. Surely the two of them, with the aid of Celestia, the other element bearers and even Discord would bring me down if I were to lose myself.

"But... the fear remained for a long time. So much so that I punished myself nightly to ensure it would not come to pass." She looked at Sunset with a small smile. "I understand your fear Sunset Shimmer, for it is very similar to my own."

Sunset didn't know what to do. Should she say something?

When Luna wrapped her wing around her and pulled her close, Sunset was shocked enough to not even think of resisting.

"You cannot let your fear define you," Luna whispered. "Already you fight it, learning your limits in this new world of yours. You control your access to it, focus on it and fight the rush of power. This is good my friend, it takes courage, far more than many would understand. But you must remember, it's not just a matter of control; your magic is part of you. It's intrinsic to your very existence. The fact that you arrive here an alicorn is proof of this.

"But you are not alone, just as I am not alone. Your friend—the scientist Twilight Sparkle—is suffering from the same fears and uncertainties, and she only has you to support her on this level of significance. Help her see her friendships, the love of her partner, the strength of your will. We are all here for you, and by extension her. Reinforce this knowledge once you impart it on her.

"Neither of you must run away from it. It might hurt. It might be scary. It might challenge you both. But you are creatures of magic, and denying it will only damage you both."

Sunset let out a long breath and cuddled up to Luna, opening her eyes to look at the vast expanse of Equestria. "And if I fail?"

"You will not fail," Luna responded firmly and without a moment's hesitation. "For you are Sunset Shimmer, student of Princess Celestia, maker of your own Destiny. And you are also Desert Mirage: warrior, hunter, leader." She smiled down at Sunset. "Such a pony, or person, cannot lose to their own fears, for it is anathema to Sunset Shimmer."