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Seeing the Light

by SilverStar7

Chapter 1: A Magical Mishap

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Drapes had been placed covering all of the entrances to the small courtyard underneath the Crystal Palace.

They were not there to hide anything per se, instead it was a safety precaution. The work being done there was an experiment and, therefore, potentially dangerous, so nopony was allowed inside with the exception of Sunburst, Starswirl the Bearded, and their patron, Princess Cadence.

At the center of everything was the Crystal Heart, floating gently between the twin spikes that held it in place. Beside that was a simple three-legged stool holding a somewhat withered potted plant. Everything else was safety precautions and housekeeping. Two wooden barriers had been set up about 10 paces away, one for Sunburst and one for Starswirl. A yellow sticker had been placed on the ground next to Starswirl's barrier to show him where he needed to stand so that the angle of his spell was just right.

And that was it. A whole history changing experiment simple enough to appear unremarkable.

"So how is this going to work, exactly?" asked the Princess, looking at the rather simple setup.

"If I'm correct," said Starswirl, "the Crystal Heart's magic holds the key to showing a pony the power of love and joy. I'll fire a spell at the Heart. After a few moments of drawing magic from it, the spell will ricochet off and hit the pony allowing her to see what her life would be like if she reformed her behavior."

"Have you made any more progress in finding out details for what the spell will do?" asked Cadence.

"Not much," admitted Sunburst. "As far as I can tell, nothing like this has ever been attempted before. That's why we're starting with a plant; we need to figure out what happens to a living thing when the spell hits it."

"This is an ambitious endeavor," said Starswirl. "However, I think the benefits are worth the long process. We will be performing the first test here in a few minutes. If all goes according to plan, this plant should change its behavior following the experiment. If that is successful, we can begin more detailed calculations to determine what exactly happened to it and move on to higher levels of testing."

"Well, if you need anything else from me, don't hesitate to ask," said Cadence.

Starswirl shook his head, a few of his bells gently jingling on his hat. "You have given me more than enough, Princess. The use of your palace, permission to conduct an experiment with the Heart and, of course, the help of your Royal Crystaller, whose impressive knowledge of magic has been invaluable to this project. I sincerely believe I could not have done it without him."

Cadence smiled. "I'm so glad to hear that!"

Sunburst shook his head. "It's nothing, really, I'm just assisting."

"Nonsense!" Starswirl said. "It would have taken me months to gather up as much information on modern magical theory as you have provided in the last few days."

"Oh, that hasn't been that important," said Sunburst. "Modern theory is only... tangentially related. The basis for this spell was sitting in a book in the Crystal Library for a thousand years."

"But it was you who recommended that I read that particular book because of your modern knowledge. I would never have considered using thaumaturgy in this manner."

"I'm sure you would have figured it out. Besides, it's not--" Before Sunburst could continue, Cadence put a hoof on his shoulder, causing him to look up at her.

"Sunburst, don't sell yourself short. You're doing a great job."

Blushing, Sunburst cleared his throat and said to Starswirl, "Uh, you're welcome. I'm glad I could help."

In response, Starswirl gave a light bow to Sunburst, then looked back to the Princess. "Princess Cadence, would you like to be here to witness the first test?"

"I would, but I actually need to get back inside. I put Flurry down for her nap about an hour ago and she usually wakes up with a lot of energy. I'd better go check on her. But good luck!" With that, Cadence gave a wave to the two stallions and made her way back to the doorway into the castle.

Sunburst smiled looking around at the experiment. It looked so easy that a little colt could set it up, but the theory behind it had already filled pages of notes. And putting that theory into practice was surely going to fill many more.

"Are we ready to perform the first test?" asked Starswirl as he approached his mark.

"Ready," said Sunburst, moving to stand safely behind the barrier.

"Alright. I'm firing the spell in 3... 2... 1..." Starswirl's horn ignited as magic surged into its tip. "Firing." A beam of white magic blasted forth and into the Crystal Heart, causing it to spin rapidly and glow in a multitude of colors. Starswirl then moved himself to stand behind his own safety shield.

Sunburst waited patiently. He knew he could probably look at the Heart during the test without any problems, but it was better to be safe than sorry. After all, he wasn't just being safe for himself anymore. He had responsibilities now, like being the Royal Crystaller and helping to look after Flurryheart. That reality brought a smile to his face. He could practically hear her giggling voice now.

No. He could literally hear her giggling voice now.

Looking toward the Heart from behind the barrier, Sunburst's eyes bulged at the sight. Flurryheart had somehow made her way into their experiment. The baby alicorn gave a soft "woo!" as she gleefully flew circles around the Crystal Heart.

Immediately, Sunburst leapt around the wooden barrier. The colors around the Heart began to pulse now. The beam could fire again at any moment and Flurryheart could end up directly between the Crystal Heart and their test subject.

There was no time to do anything else.

"Flurry, no!" shouted Sunburst. Diving forward, he pushed the baby alicorn out of the way of the plant - just in time for the beam to release and strike him instead.


Sunburst blinked several times as he looked around the throne room. It wasn't that he didn't know where he was, it was that there was no reason to believe he was really there. This throne room was not the one in the Crystal Palace. It was Twilight's throne room in Ponyville. And it was decorated quite elaborately.

A huge purple cloth was draped over the table. The centerpiece was a golden version of the Crystal Heart. Each place at the table was set with fancy china dishes and napkins folded into swans. Intricate sun-catchers had been placed on the high windows, half displaying Twilight's cutie mark... and half his own. Ribbons colored in saffron and lavender spiraled around every column. Sunburst couldn't help but notice that the tone of saffron perfectly matched his coat.

When Sunburst moved, he felt something on his chest and looked down. He saw that he no longer wore his robe, but instead a suit-coat and dress shirt. The coat was, indeed, the dark cornflower blue of his usual attire, and the shirt the cyan of its designs, but he had never seen this outfit before, much less worn it.

That spell definitely did something, but what? Sunburst wondered to himself as he lifted a hoof to examine his suit. It certainly felt real enough, but that didn't necessarily mean anything. Illusions were certainly possible and...

"What do you think, Sweetie?" came a voice from behind him.

Sunburst turned around and saw Princess Twilight approaching him. Though the primary color was more a dark navy, Twilight was also wearing blue. She wore a blue dress with light blue accents along with her crown and a broad smile.

"Twilight," said Sunburst. "What is this?"

The alicorn gave a light laugh. "I know it's a bit much for a planning dinner," she said. "I told Rarity she didn't have to, but she wanted us to feel inspired." When she reached Sunburst, Twilight planted a kiss on his cheek and pulled him into a hug.

Now the stallion was doubly confused. All he knew at this point was that he, well, didn't know anything about what was going on here. A part of him doubted if any of this was even real, but the mare pressing herself into his body certainly felt real. If this is an illusion, it is a very convincing one. Pulling himself out of the hug, Sunburst cleared his throat. "Twilight, listen. I... I don't know how to tell you this, but I have no idea what's happening right now."

Twilight looked directly into Sunburst's eyes. "Sunny, that's okay. Nopony is saying you have to be totally prepared right now. That's what tonight is all about; we're going to figure this out together."

"No, no, no. You don't understand, I'm saying I--"

At that moment Sunburst was cut off by a kiss from Twilight, causing him to freeze. The stallion couldn't even think. He had never been kissed before and the sensation of her soft lips first pressing into his and then gently shifting to close around his lower lip was draining all of his brain power. When the mare pulled away, all he could do was take in a deep breath as he gaped at her.

"Sunny, you don't need to worry." Twilight smiled against the confused expression on Sunburst's face. "It'll be fine. Even if you don't figure it all out, you'll have me with you every step of the way. Don't forget: your fiancée is the most organized mare in Ponyville."

"Fiancée?!"

Next Chapter: A Puzzling Predicament Estimated time remaining: 1 Hour, 26 Minutes
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