“Absolutely not.”

Twilight’s expression was thunderous. Her declaration was even moreso.

“Twilight, surely you must realize—”

The purple alicorn didn’t even bother to shake her head, cutting off Celestia with a definitive “No.”

“But using the Elements of Harmony would be the easiest way to—”

“I said ‘no’,” Twilight repeated.

“But why?” Flurry Heart demanded hotly, stomping her hooves on the floor. “We have access to a powerful tool. One that by all rights should have worked before. And now that nothing stands in our way this time, the Elements will work. All we have to do is—”

“I will repeat myself once more,” Twilight said coldly. “I will not allow the Elements of Harmony to be used against the mirror again. Not now, not ever.”

“I… but…” Flurry faltered, her mouth working as she tried to come up with a rebuttal of some kind. Sunset watched the proceedings warily, only halfway understanding what was really being discussed. The goddesses were currently caught in an argument about whether they could use the so-called Elements of Harmony to break Twilight free of Starswirl’s Mirror. Cadence, Flurry Heart and Celestia agreed that the Elements could, in theory, be used, and now that Sunset was here to wield the sixth Element — Loyalty, apparently — they should consider that as a very real solution.

On the other hand, both Luna and Twilight seemed to be against the idea; Twilight very adamantly. And while for the most part, three against two seemed to be pretty straightforward, with Twilight currently being the sole bearer of all six Elements, it seemed like the final decision was ultimately hers to make.

“I think you misunderstand, Flurry Heart,” Luna spoke up from beside her sister. “It’s not that Twilight doesn’t believe the Elements would work this time; it’s that she doesn’t wish to risk the safety of her family and friends.” She paused, her gaze lingering on the other goddess. “Not after losing so much the first time around.”

Twilight didn’t nod, but her stony expression was all the confirmation anyone needed.

That seemed to mollify Celestia and Cadence, who looked down at the table in deep thought. But Flurry wouldn’t be deterred.

“Okay. That’s understandable. But surely you realize that we’re goddesses.” She unfurled her wings slightly as if to prove her point. “We’re the most powerful beings in Equestria. We have been so for thousands of years. Celestia and Luna wielded multiple Elements themselves when they were still young against Discord himself and came out unscathed. You yourself have held all six for five thousand years and are no worse for the wear...” She cocked an eyebrow at Twilight. “...if a little grumpy at times.”

Twilight scoffed, and Flurry smiled. “Just… my point is that we’re tougher than we look. And if there’s even a chance that the Elements can be used to save you… I’m willing to try it.”

“So am I,” Cadence added softly.

“Me too,” Celestia said simply. She turned to face her sister. “Lulu?”

Luna hesitated, her eyes flicking around the room in a slow rotation until her eyes found Twilight’s again. “I think it’s clear we all want to help Twilight Sparkle, and are willing to go to great lengths to do so. But I think we are forgetting one thing...” She looked at Sunset. “That Sunset Shimmer is a human, not a pony.”

“Does that even matter?” Cadence asked curiously.

After a moment, Twilight announced, “Technically, the elements can be wielded by anyone — no matter the species.” She cocked her head to the side, her expression hovering somewhere between resignation and irritation. It was clear she wasn’t sold on the idea of using the Elements, but she still wanted to get everything out in the open. “No… the problem comes from Sunset herself. She’s a human, not from this world at all.”

“Meaning…?” Flurry rotated her hoof in a clear ‘move things along’ gesture.

Twilight looked at her niece like she was a particularly dim-witted child. “Meaning she has no innate magic, Flurry Heart. No human does.”

That seemed to take the wind out of Flurry’s sails. Her face fell and her ears dropped. Her wings fell to her side and she murmured, “Oh…”

“What?” Sunset spoke up for the first time since the Elements had been brought up. “What, oh?”

The alicorn all went silent for a moment, digesting this new — or not-so new — information. Then Luna said, “she means that, because you do not have magic, Sunset Shimmer, that it may be impossible for you to wield the Element of Loyalty. Or any Element, for that matter. We do not know why Humans have little to no magic. Everything in Equestria has magic; even non-living things simply by being around those with magic. But everything on your planet is simply… devoid of it. Only a handful of organisms and sentient life on your planet have magic, flukes of evolution.”

“Oh… like what?” Sunset had to know.

“The duck billed platypus, for one,” said Twilight, rolling her eyes. “I mean, really. Such odd creatures, but a faint trace of innate magic nonetheless.”

“Huh.”

“Yeah. And there are humans born with magic from time to time throughout the years, but it’s often difficult to tell between the real ones and the fakes.”

“I see… and I have no innate magic?” Despite the situation, Sunset couldn’t help but feel left out.

Shaking her head, Twilight looked at her. “Not even a little bit. Sorry, Sunny.”

Sunset shrugged. “Eh. It’s alright, I’ll survive.” Taking a deep breath, she asked, “So… what does this mean us for right now? The Elements.”

“It means that, even if you could use wield the Element, it might not be safe for you to do so,” Celestia explained. “With no magic to draw upon, the Element may instead see your life force as a substitute.” Her expression turned grim. “It may consume your very soul.”

Sunset swallowed. “That’s… not good.”

“Gonna have a bad time,” Flurry agreed.

“I should say so.” Celestia nodded in agreement. “Though, that is only if the Element accepts you at all at a suitable holder at all.

“Are you saying Sunset is not worthy of the Elements?” Twilight asked, a note of challenge in her tone.

Shaking her head again, Celestia looked at the both of them. “No. It’s clear to me that, despite the method of your interactions together, and the reasons for your initial bonding, you two have a close friendship. I do not doubt that Sunset is loyal to you, or that she would not be worthy of any of the other Elements.” She stopped, her lips drawing into a sympathetic frown. “I only worry that in doing so, Sunset would lose far more than her life.”

“I’m willing to take that risk.” Sunset declared without hesitation.

“It may be a risk that you are willing to take, Sunset,” Twilight retorted. “But I’m not.” She turned to fully face her, and Sunset could almost feel the weight of Twilight’s words as she said, “You’re too important to me to risk like that. Not even for my life.”

Sunset was floored. She swallowed heavily, managed a raspy “I… um,” before she wrenched her gaze away from the goddess before her to look at the others, pleading silently for their help.

Not that any help was forthcoming. The rest of the gathered party only watched them in silence, their faces a study in contemplation.

After a moment, Flurry said, “I… guess you’re right. It’s too much of a risk. We can find another way.”

Her words kicked Sunset back into action, and she jumped up. “No! I mean, using the Elements is the best way, right?”

“It is the fastest method, yes,” Luna confirmed. “And, provided each of us can safely wield them, the surest way to fix the mirror and therefore free Twilight’s immortal soul.”

“Okay, so let’s do it,” Sunset said, looking at Flurry Heart. “Screw the risk.”

Flurry let out a long, dejected sigh. “No… Twilight is right. It’s wrong to risk your life like that. There are other ways.”

“But those other ways will take time. Time that Twilight doesn’t have,” Sunset pressed.

“Sunny,” Twilight muttered from her side, “it’s not like I’m going to disappear tomorrow. There’s still decades before—”

“I don’t care!” Sunset snapped. Her patience had worn thin again; but this time, instead of being angry at Twilight for being too cavalier about her own life, it was for everyone skating around the fact that she was the one in danger here.

Didn’t they understand? Didn’t they know what she risked by coming here? She knew her life was forfeit the moment she took Flurry’s hand in her apartment, the moment she decided to give up everything on the slim chance that she could help her friend, when she stood in her presence — weathering the anger of a goddess as she ranted and raved — and knew without a doubt, that she would do anything to help her, and it was then that Sunset realized she loved Twilight.

...She loved Twilight.

Sunset’s eyes widened so much that they almost fell out of her sockets. All in the span of a moment she could feel everything sliding around in her head, slotting themselves into new, amazing places, and even though she knew she was staring at the same girl — or, pony — as she was a second ago, her best friend, but it was totally different now. She didn’t know what exactly she had felt before. She knew she had felt something; maybe not love, but definitely something. But it was completely different now, like those ink blot tests that looks like two opposing profiles facing each other; the same, but totally opposite.

She started shaking, and she forced herself to draw a shuddering breath. Everyone was looking at her, concerned. Damn it, talk, girl!!!

“I… I don’t care,” she repeated faintly. She trembled like a leaf, barely able to stay standing.

“Sunset, maybe you should—”

“I. Don’t. Care!” she suddenly snarled, with more feeling this time. “How many times do I have to tell you? I don’t give two shits about what happens to me! I already gave everything up when I came here, so that’s not really an issue.”

“But you could die…” Luna protested.

Stomping her hooves on the floor, she barely felt the stab of pins and needles in her legs as she cried, “I don’t care about me! I only care about Twilight!!!”

Everyone went silent at that. Even Twilight stared at her, eyes wide and mouth agape. But she wouldn’t be distracted, she reared up and planted her front hooves directly on the table. “Twilight is a great person! Way better than most people... or, ponies, or fucking whatever… way most than most of the people I’ve met, and she deserves better than — than to have to answer to whiny brats on their periods like me who just want guys to stop grabbing their asses in the quad! So there’s no fucking point in going on about whether it’s ‘safe’ for me or not when it’s my decision, because it’s mine, and not yours!”

“Sunny, stop,” Twilight whispered. “You don’t have to--”

“No, I really fucking do!” Licking her lips, she leaned further onto the table and went on, “I’m a bad person, that’s fine. I may have done bad things with good intentions, or even with bad intentions, so fucking what?! The fact of the matter is that because of Twilight, I’m a better person; I have friends now, and I actually know what a shitty person I was before. I’ve made peace with that. And now I can do something really good with the rest of my life, even if it means I may die doing it! Well, let me repeat myself: I care about Twilight more than my fucked up self, and I’ll do whatever it takes to help her!”

“No, I mean it,” Twilight said more firmly putting a hoof on her shoulder and tugging her away from the table. “You’ve made your point.”

Sunset allowed herself to be pulled off the table, setting herself firmly on the floor. “I damn well hope so,” she growled.

She was prepared to argue her point further if anyone objected, but… strangely enough, the room was utterly silent. She blinked, her frown slipping as she saw every eye in the room on her.

Or… not on her… but right behind her.

“Um… what?” She turned, but saw no one. “What’s going on?”

“Sunset…” Twilight said quietly. “Your flank.”

“My what now?” Sunset repeated, but instinctively cranked her neck around to her backside—

—and saw what everyone was staring at.

A picture of the sun was there, plain as day, on her flank. Three distinct colors; the sun itself was stylized with a deep red and orange — like a colorful yin-yang symbol — but with the orange on the left and the red on the right. Surrounding the sun were the coronae, visible as arms in red on the left and yellow on the right.

Sunset Shimmer had a cutie mark.

A cutie mark.

...huh.

For a long moment she stared at the symbol, unable to form words. Was… this a good thing? A bad thing? She didn’t know. Looking up to see Twilight’s expression was no help; the goddess just stared blankly at the symbol as if she’d never seen such a thing before. Turning to look at the others, she was met with similar shock and confusion.

Celestia was the only one that seemed solemn; she stared at Sunset with a look of such bleakness on her face that she had to look away.

After another few seconds of uncomfortable silence, Sunset cleared her throat. “So… is this… bad?”

No one answered for another few seconds -- that is, until Flurry Heart said, “Holy… fucking shit on a shingle!”

“W-what?!” Sunset gasped, her heart pounding. What she going to die?! From a tattoo?!

“Now we get to throw you a cute-ceañera!” she cried, her eyes wide and her smile widening with childlike glee. “Fuck yeah!”

A low groan spilled from Cadence. “Oh… Flurry Heart… please, now is not the time—”

“Oh, don’t you worry about a thing, Sunny,” Flurry continued, totally ignoring her mother. “It’ll be the best cute-ceañera you’ve ever fucking seen. It’ll have punch, cake, dancing, hookers… the whole package.”

“I…” Sunset stammered. “Just, what the…”

“Hookers, Flurry Heart?” Twilight deadpanned. “Really?”

Flurry sighed loudly. “Okay, okay… courtesans. Expensive ones. Ones that know how to keep their mouths shut. Or open, as the case may be. Happy?”

“Marginally,” Twilight grunted. Turning back to Sunset, she said, “Hold still Sunny. I want to see if I can examine you.”

“I… sure,” she replied numbly. She turned, presenting herself to her friend, and opened her mouth to ask a question—

—when she was suddenly stricken with pain; horrible, searing pain. It started from where her cutie mark was, and quickly traveled up through her body. It went down her legs to her hooves, and up her chest to the tips of her ears. It felt like thousands of tiny needles digging into her body through her fur, hooking in deep and peeling back her skin leaving only muscle and bone all in the span of a moment. She felt… something deep inside her body, burrowing, searching. When it finally found what it was looking for, something new and unknown, she felt it tug. Nothing happened at first, and she felt if tug again, harder this time. The thing inside her gave way then, and tore free from Sunset, leaving her distinctly hollow and cold.

The shock of it all was so acute and harsh that she didn’t even have time to cry out. She simply collapsed, her legs giving out from under her as she convulsed, her vision blurring and her ears ringing.

Through the blinding pain and disorientation, she heard the distant sounds of shouting.

“What —ed?”

“—on’t know!”

“.... mirror…”

“....I don’t…”

As the pain clouding her vision slowly ebbed and gave way to creeping blackness, she felt a prickle of warmth seep into her — and she distantly recalled the time that Twilight used magic to sooth her cramps. It immediately made her feel nice, warm, and absolutely safe.

“...’ailight?” she heard herself mumble.

“It’s okay, Sunny,” someone whispered into her ear, hot breath puffing and tickling her ear. “I’m here. Don’t worry. Just sleep. You’ll be fine.” There was a pause, and Sunset wasn’t sure if a second had passed or hours before she heard the voice again, very faintly.

“I’ll always be here for you.”

The cloud-floaty sensation that Sunset always associated with waking was always the same. Whether she was rousing from a night’s sleep, or waking from passing out due to summoning a goddess from another world in her bathroom. And, from past experience, waking from blacking out from pain shouldn’t be too different from the former instances.

Luckily for Sunset, it wasn’t different at all.

Her vision grew sharper as her consciousness returned to her, and with it the feeling of soft warmth and comfort that a nice bed always instilled in her. Once the fuzzy shapes around her solidified to reveal furniture — a bedside table, a desk, a wardrobe, among some others — she turned and found the purple form of Twilight Sparkle beside her.

Sitting on the floor next to the bed, the Goddess of Friendship was silently staring at a small pile of photographs, held aloft by a dark pink cloud of magic. She examined one picture for a few moments, then floated it away to place it gently on another table beside the bed, and then looked at another. All the while Sunset quietly watched her, wanting to say something, but the words not coming to her.

After a long while, Twilight finally reached the final picture, and looked at it the longest. Her face was tired, resigned, sad, and she made a small movement — as if she was about to say something to Sunset — but then she faltered, her face falling and her ears drooping. The picture floated down to join the others. Sunset caught a glimpse of what was on the picture, a group of ponies, all different colors, some with wings and some without, and she was about to ask about it when the soft, dulcet tones of Twilight’s voice made their way to Sunset’s ears:

“Is there more I could have said?” she sang quietly to the small pile of photos. “Now they’re only pictures in my head.”

Sunset’s mouth snapped shut, the her question sucked away from her as if by some unseen force. Instead, the faintest tinkling of a piano could be heard. It grew in pitch as the melody became familiar to Sunset. And then she realized the message was clear; this was Twilight’s time.

“That’s why my fur is feeling grey… sometimes even I have rainy days.”

Standing up from her place beside the bed, Twilight turned and walked slowly across the room, her voice growing louder as she moved. “Remember the Grand Galloping Gala? We were totally rocking out. Who’d of thought your apple pies would be hard to live without?” She stopped by an open window, and paused to swallow. “If we could do it all again… just another chance to be together. Would anypony know, or even care? Or did something break we can’t repair?”

Turning away from the window, Twilight stalked back across the room, the music swelling around her as she sang, “Your sonic rainboom, it always always gave me hope. They may have been unbearable, but I still loved your jokes.” She reached the far wall, and faltered, her wings falling limply at her sides.

“Is there more I could’ve said? Now they’re only pictures in my head…”

The music stilled as Twilight stood there, her head hanging. Sunset hesitated, unsure if she should say anything yet, or wait until Twilight acknowledged her. It seemed like the kind of time a friend was needed, after all. But, before Sunset could come to a decision, a new voice could be heard; echoing as if coming from a great distance, but still clear and perfectly understandable.

“Remember, you Pinkie Promised! Nopony ever breaks a Pinkie Promise!”

The cheerful, lilting voice seemed to come out of the air itself, and it took Sunset only a moment before she somehow understood:

This was one of Twilight’s friends. Somehow, she was hearing Twilight’s friend in the song. Despite being long dead, the Magic of Music was allowing her to hear Twilight’s friend. But… if that was the case…

“Girl, you worry too much. Don’t you know you’re as awesome as me?”

The next voice was decidedly cocky, arrogant, but filled with a confidence Sunset only wished she possessed. It was also familiar to her, but not enough to warrant a second thought as the voices continued..

“Darling, you really should do something about your mane… how long has it been since you’ve been to the spa? A mare needs to care for herself, after all.”

“Don’ you worry none about us, Sugarcube. Jes’ go an’ do your thing.”

“Oh… well, I know it’s hard but, I know you try your best. Just remember: we’ll always be your friends.”

The voices came one after another, some more recognizable than others, and Sunset saw the impact they had on Twilight as they each said their piece. They seemed to hit with physical force, Twilight nearly crumbling to her knees before they were done, and just when the music started to slow, the first voice came back, a bright, cheery trill that Sunset couldn’t help but smile at.

“Aw, come on! This sadface tune is absolutely most positootly bringing me down! Come on girls; let’s belt one out for old times sake! One, two, and a half!!!”

And, in perfect harmony, all of Twilight’s friends chimed in, each one lending their own voice to the song, and each one filling the room as they sang.

“Could we do it all again? Make em laugh like we did then? We could harmonize for one last song… even now, after far too long!”

And then, just as quickly as the voices started, they stopped, and Twilight’s quiet murmur took over.

“But I’m standing here instead…” her voice trembled with the weight of her words, but she forced out the rest, concluding the song. “Now they’re only pictures... in my head.”

Then the music ended, and Sunset could finally suck in a breath. She lay on the bed, her legs shaking despite not having moved at all. She watched as Twilight took a minute to compose herself, and finally turn to her.

“I still hear them sometimes,” she admitted softly as she looked at Sunset. “In my head. They’re part of the Elements, you see. And since the Elements are a part of me now, they are also part of me. I can’t talk to them… but I can sometimes hear them… when there’s enough magic in the air.”

That… somehow made sense to Sunset. A lot of sense, now that she thought about it. And even as the implications rolled around in her head — and how Twilight often seemed so… different, like when she had been exacting Sunset’s revenge on her victims — she couldn’t help but chuckle, “Well, yeah, but… the Muppets? Really?”

Twilight cracked a watery grin, giggling through the tears that Sunset finally noticed when she approached. “Probably the best group of characters ever made,” she admitted. “In your world or mine. Kermit the Frog is something of a personal hero of mine.”

Sunset snorted. “No shit?”

“Really. I cried like a little filly when Miss Piggy broke up with him.”

Laughing aloud, Sunset pushed herself up to a sitting position. “Wow. That’s nuts. Were they some of Flurry Heart’s ideas, too?”

Twilight’s grin became indulgent. “Nope. The Muppets are one-hundred percent human-created. I was actually a little jealous when you guys thought of them and I hadn’t.” Her smile then turned a bit rueful. “But, knowing now how much I had changed from before… I guess it isn’t too much a surprise.”

Sensing that now was the time, Sunset reached out to place her hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. “You really miss them, don’t you?”

Nodding, Twilight said, “More and more each and every day.”

The two of them were silent for a long time. Sunset shifted on the bed as Twilight watched her, either unwilling or unable to say anything further. Eventually, Sunset couldn’t stand the silence anymore and she blurted out, “What happened?”

Twilight looked away. “You… got your cutie mark.”

“Yeah, I kinda got that,” Sunset replied dryly, craning her head around to look at the mark in question. It was still there — that orange, yellow and red sun right there on her ass. Great. She had no idea what that meant, but didn’t spend more than a few moments contemplating the thing. Her mom was so gonna kill her when she found out. If she ever got back to Earth. “I meant all that stuff after.”

“What do you remember?”

Sunset frowned. “I remember… pain. Just, really sudden and intense pain. All on my body. Inside… everywhere.” She looked up to find Twilight’s intense gaze on her. “Is… it always like that? When you get your cutie mark?”

“No,” Twilight shook her head. “Definitely not.”

“Then why?”

Twilight hesitated visibly, but said, “Well… I guess you could say there’s good news, and bad news.”

Sunset blinked. “Okay… what’s the good news?” Always pick good news first. Especially after waking up in a strange place.

“Well, apparently, after getting your cutie mark, you also got magic.”

“I… what…?” Sunset stammered, her eyes widening. “Magic?”

Shrugging listlessly, Twilight nodded. “Yup. Magic.”

“Like, abrakadabra?”

“Don’t forget Alakazam.” Twilight smiled slightly. “Or his mega evolution.”

Sunset was too stunned to even laugh at the reference. “I can… do magic?”

“With some practice...” Twilight said slowly, as if considering the implications. “Yes, I’d say so. It’s not like my magic, though. I mean, it can, in theory, do the same things, but it’s inherently different at its core. It’s not equestrian magic… it’s human magic.”

“But I thought humans didn't have magic. I didn’t have any before… what changed?”

The goddess frowned in thought. “Well, I’ve had some time to consider that — you’ve been out all night, by the way — but after talking with Celestia and Luna about it, we came to the possible conclusion that when you got your cutie mark, you somehow opened up yourself to the Equestrian magic that everypony is exposed to here. And you, being human and not native to Equestria, took that ambient magic and… changed it, for lack of a better term, to something more in tune with your own life force.”

“I… literally have no idea what that means,” Sunset said.

Snorting, Twilight rolled her eyes. “It means, My Little Pony, that you used equestrian magic to jump-start your own human magic. Like the sparking of a bonfire, you used a spark of our magic to get your own.”

Sunset sat back, exhaling heavily. “I… have magic?” she breathed. When Twilight nodded, she leaned forward again. “How do I do it?”

“I don’t think that’s the best idea…” Twilight said. Her tone was careful, but her smile was pulling at the corners of her lips. “I mean, you just woke up, and—”

“No. You don’t understand. I need to know. Right. Now.” Sunset wasn’t going to budge.

All-too easily, Twilight gave in. “Alright. Alright, fine. Just… don’t blame me if you get a migraine so soon after waking up.”

“I’ll take me chances. Lay it on me, sensei” Sunset climbed her her hooves and planted herself firmly on the bed. She felt and must have looked like a dog begging its master for a treat, but God dammit she wanted to learn how to magic shit up!

“Okay. Look. Magic for unicorns is focused on the horn. So what I want you do it is to focus on it, and nothing else.”

“Okay,” Sunset said, and did just that. Her horn — which, until this point, she had been doing her utmost to ignore — wasn’t as long as Twilight’s, but it was noticeable enough if Sunset actually paid attention to her peripheral. “Okay…”

“Focus on it, and nothing else,” Twilight repeated softly.

Nodding slowly, Sunset sat there, focusing on the horn jutting out from her forehead like some kind of hood ornament on a car. “You know, there is something inherently phallic about these horns, isn’t there?”

“Just…” Twilight blinked, and groaned loudly. She paused for a long moment, and growled, “Damn it, now that’s all I can think about.”

Sunset laughed, her friend’s bemused expression fueling her laughter as she fell back on the bed, both sets of legs kicking in delight.

“It’s not funny,” the goddess grumbled, which only made Sunset laugh harder. After a few seconds, Twilight smiled as well, and began to chuckle.

“Hey Twilight,” Sunset gasped. “Stop staring at my horn, you’ll give me inadequacy issues.” And then she was off again, squealing with laughter.

This time Twilight laughed as well, climbing on the bed to settle in beside Sunset, which was trembling with laughter. “Okay, it’s kind of funny now,” she admitted.

“Of course it is!” Sunset agreed, grinning widely as her friend lay down beside her. “Whoa, hey now, be careful; you might cross ‘em.” Snorting with laughter, she barely noticed Twilight had pressed the tip of her horn to Sunset’s until she had actually done so. With a sharp intake of breath, Sunset’s laughter died away. Her eyes widened as a sharp mote of raspberry light prickled at the tip of Twilight’s horn, touching the end of her own.

“W-what—”

“Shh,” Twilight whispered. “Just relax. Let me show you, My Little Pony.”

And then, somehow, Sunset felt it. Magic. She felt Twilight’s magic — warm and comforting — reach out and take hers, pulling her along, showing her how to be. It was new, and somehow felt so familiar, like being taught how to walk, or to swim, or ride a bike for the first time.

She imagined being pulled up on shaky legs, Twilight reaching out with strong hands to seize hers, holding gently but firmly as she straightened from an unsteady crawl. Her gait was slow, uncertain, but Twilight guided her every step of the way, holding her carefully, giving soft, unspoken encouragement through feeling and thought.

“Yes… that’s it, Sunny,” her voice was in Sunset’s head, filling her with warmth and... affection. Love? Was that Twilight’s feelings, or her own? She wasn’t sure, but she somehow she knew that Twilight was feeling exactly what she was feeling at that moment.

“I know,” she heard the reply, unspoken but still clear. “Oh, Sunny, I know.”

And then, before she knew it, Twilight pulled away, her amethyst eyes watching her closely.

“I... “ Sunset said once she could force herself to speak. Her mouth was dry, cottony. “What… was—”

“Look.” Twilight motioned her her head towards the side, and Sunset reluctantly broke her gaze away to look at a cup floating a few inches above the bedside table. It was surrounded by a brilliant amber haze, flickering softly with small motes that looked like embers from a flame.

“Is that…?” Sunset asked, but somehow knew the truth even without confirmation. She could feel it, after all. It was her magic, a part of her. She could feel it as clearly as if she had reached out and touched the cup with her own hands. Licking her lips, she focused on her horn and, as Twilight had somehow told her when their horns had touched, felt what she wanted to do.

And just like that, the cup floated a few inches higher.

“Holy fucking shit.”.

“Eloquent,” was the goddess’ reply.

“Holy fucking shit!” Sunset repeated, jumping up and staring at the cup. She willed her magic to lower the cup, and — just like she wanted it to — it fell back down to the table. “I—” she stammered, looking back to Twilight. Back to the cup. Back to Twilight.

“You…?” Twilight repeated, climbing to her hooves as well.

Sunset looked around the room, searching for something else. In a moment she found it, a bookshelf laden with thick-looking tomes. A moment of vanity consumed her, and with a flourish she stood up on the bed, lifted a single hoof and gestured to the bookshelf. A little bit of focus was all it took, and a single book slid off the shelf, surrounded by a murky cloud of amber magic. It floated directly to Sunset, who opened it and stared at the Equestrian symbols blankly for a moment before slamming it closed. She kept it floating there with her magic, but turned back to Twilight.

“I’m a fucking jedi!” she declared, her shit-eating grin so wide it nearly hurt. “I’m a fucking magical jedi!” Cackling madly, she leapt off the bed and ran around the room, crowing, “I can do magic! I’m a fucking witch! A jedi! All you bitches better watch out when I get home! Sunset’s got magic and she’s not afraid to use it! Bwahahahaha!!!”

It was at that moment that the door Sunset had neglected to notice before creaked open, and she turned in place to see Flurry Heart, Cadence, Luna and Celestia standing in the doorway, eyes wide and expressions rightfully wary.

“Um… what’s going on? Is she okay?” Cadance was the first to ask.

Dashing up to Flurry Heart, Sunset grinned manically. “I’m a fucking jedi, Flurry Heart,” she said. “You can be my Obi Wan, and Twilight will be my Yoda. We’ll have the best fucking time… ever!”

“Huh.” Blinking rapidly, Flurry looked past Sunset. “Did you tell her about the mirror?”

The mention of the mirror brought all of Sunset’s elation to a grinding halt. She frowned, turning back to Twilight. “What about the mirror?”

Grimacing, the purple alicorn lowered her head. “That… was the bad news I mentioned,” she said. Climbing off the bed, and walked up to the group. “I said you were exposed to Equestrian magic, and that’s true. But what I didn’t tell you was that the moment you did, and your life force began to change the Equestrian magic to human, the mirror… reacted.”

“Reacted how?” Sunset asked, suddenly afraid of the answer.

“We’re still ascertaining why the mirror did what it did,” Twilight said slowly. “I can only speculate that when the mirror bound me to it all those millennia ago, it was to correct some sort of imbalance. The schism that started The Catastrophe brought about disharmony between worlds, and to try and fix it, it bound my magic to it. Magic from this side to counteract magic from the other side. Simple math to balance it out. But it didn’t equate. My magic was either not enough, or too much. It was like a scale that suddenly had too much weight on one side, and became even more uneven. It’s why the mirror has slowly been breaking. At least, that’s what we think.”

She took a deep breath. “So, when you suddenly gained magic, the mirror once again tried to balance itself out… by using your human magic.”

Sunset’s eyes widened. “Wait… are you saying…?”

Nodding solemnly, Twilight’s eyes bore into hers, both sympathetic and and fearful. “Yes, Sunset Shimmer. I’m afraid that you are bound to the mirror, just as I am.”

Author's Notes:

A/N: And the hits just keep coming.

Please note (Because I know some people are going to jump to conclusions): Sunset is not immortal. She's just stuck to the mirror like Twilight is, the poor girl.

Also, gotta love the Muppets.

On that note, I received more than one (polite) messages on the usage of licensed lyrics in the story. While I was not aware of that rule at first, I am currently aware of this, and am choosing to include them anyway. I think it makes the story better, since the context calls for these particular songs. If anybody *is* upset by my breaking of the rules, by all means let me know (again, politely), or if you feel like going to the admins anyway, go ahead. Honestly, its fanfiction; no one is getting paid for this, and I'm doing this for entertainment purposes only.

Worst case scenario is I'll be forced to remove ST from this site. And if that does occur, I'll make an announcement and give interested parties a googledocs link to keep up with the remainder of the story until its end.

The sequel will likely have all original songs anyway