“Whaddya mean we aren't playing today?” Rainbow demanded, waving her hands. “How are we supposed to do magic if we don't play?!”

Sunset leaned back against the desk, arms crossed over her chest. “Because the music is just a shortcut. Your magic is starting to manifest under other circumstances and you girls are starting to exhibit actual magical abilities beyond summoning the Rainbow of Light and growing pony appendages.” The redhead indicated the magic cabinet with a tilt of her head. “It seems like it's all fun and games right now, but you have to learn to control your magic actively if it's going to be effective the next time we have something show up.”

“I take it you have something in mind to help us do that, darling?” Rarity asked from the desk’s chair where she was carefully stitching something onto her school bag.

Nodding, Sunset waggled a hand in the air in a ‘maybe’ gesture. “Sort of. When I was a filly, Princess Celestia had to work with me a lot to get my magic under control, and I was…a lot younger than most foals are when they start learning, so she had to start with getting me to learn what my magic felt like.” She ran a hand through her hair. “I thought that might be a good place to start, since you all aren't used to feeling magic at all.”

“You are quite right there, Sunset,” the tailor agreed. “I know I do feel…something when our magic activates, but…much of it feels more akin to a personal emotional reaction than an active sense, and it is quite difficult to put into words.”

“I know I feel all warm and good inside when we use our magic,” Fluttershy offered, “like I know there's nothing to be scared of.”

Dash is frowning. “I know I felt something…when we did the magic that day in here, when we zapped the school. But it just felt like you needed our help, Sunset.”

The former unicorn blew a breath out her nose in something that was more than a sigh but less than a snort. “That’s a good start, but now we have to get you to feel your own magic and each other’s…when it isn't a crisis or a surge. I don't want any of us to accidentally hurt someone.”

Applejack took off her hat to scratch her head. “Alrighty then, where do we start? Cuz Ah ain't got the slightest notion on what I’m s’posed to be feelin’ around for.”

That would be a bit more complicated, Sunset knew. “Honestly, I’m afraid that is going to have to be a bit more trial and error, girls. We…don't usually have to teach this kind of thing as ponies.” The redhead searched for a way to explain. “It’s like humans and hands. You didn't have to be taught how to use them. They’re part of you, and while doing more complicated skills with them—like playing guitar or writing—had to be learned, using your hands didn't.”

Rarity’s eyes were sharp. “But you did, didn't you? You didn't come with an instinctual grasp of how to use them, and you had to learn.”

“I had to practice a lot, yeah. It's why I took up guitar, actually. It's good for learning and practicing finger manipulation.” Sunset paused for a moment. “I kept it up more than any of the other hobbies because I like making music, but in the beginning, it was about learning how to do what humans already knew. Same with some gymnastics. I had to learn this body and what it could do.”

Rainbow Dash stared at her. “That sounds like a lot of work.”

She laughed a little. “It was, Dash. Learning a completely alien species’ body and culture good enough to pass as one of them is hard.”

The soccer star squinted. “How the hell did you find time to take over the school, plus get straight A’s, if you had to do all that?!”

“Consider me a chronic overachiever,” she responded dryly. It was more complicated than that but Sunset wasn’t interested in detailing the lonely days and nights of an angry, friendless, wannabe tyrant with a huge chip on her shoulder. “But we’re getting off topic. The point I was trying to make is that I don't know exactly how to go about teaching you how to sense your magic, because it's innate for me. I’m going to do the best I can to guide and help, but we may have to try a bunch of different methods before we find one that works…and there's no guarantee one method will work for everyone.”

Her friends absorbed that, and Sunset took the chance to take a sip from a bottle of water she’d snagged from the vending machine. It gave her a minute or two to consider the basics that she could build off of, and an idea came to her from one of those early lessons with the princess.

“Alright,” Dash said, flopping onto a beanbag chair. “So how do we do this? I wanna learn to fly whenever I want…goodbye bus!”

Sunset laughed. “Hey, you're the one that hasn't told me when you want to work on that bike I got you. I know some guys who can get us good deals on parts.”

“Can't get a real bike license until I take a course. Dad’s orders. Can't do that til summer—I have to pay for it myself, and that means summer job money. So wings before then’d be great, Shimmer—chop chop!”

Shaking her head, she stepped away from the desk, feeling more comfortable if she could move while she talked. “So each of us has this…reservoir of thaumic essence inside…like a tank, but for magic instead of water. Yours are all new, but growing and filling with magic pretty steadily. I have one too, but I was born with mine because I’m a unicorn. Yours were created when you channeled the Elements at the Fall Formal. Princess Twilight and I are still looking into why your powers seem to be growing, but for now, what we do know is that you girls act as if you are in possession of the Elements all the time.” She found herself pacing the length of the room. “Theoretically, you should be able to feel not just the energy inside you, but also the energy given off by other sources of magic. Rarity, you mentioned feeling something when AJ lifted the truck?”

Blue eyes blinked. “Why…yes, darling, I did. It was…well it reminded me of the way that first sip from a mug of hot tea or cider feels when you are quite chilled. A sort of warmth that spread from core to extremities.”

The former unicorn bobbed her head. “Then it’s definitely there. So I’m going to…demonstrate since I can still…manipulate my magic to a limited degree. You girls don't have to do anything but close your eyes, breathe, and feel.”

“Sit…and like…'use the Force, Skywalker?' Sounds pretty boring,” Rainbow joked.

Pinkie giggled, then pitched her voice to a creaky warble, poking the colorful athlete with a drumstick. “Patience you must have, young Padawan. Feel the Magic you must.”

She shook her head with a low laugh. “It's not a bad analogy, honestly. Magic and emotions are connected, and you’ve all seen what happens when they get twisted up. You get a raging she-demon instead of a Sith Lord, but the principle is the same.” There was a hint of self deprecating humor in the wry expression she gave them. “Just lucky for everyone I didn't know what a lightsaber was at the time.”

“We’ve also seen what happens when someone lets go of their anger and resentment, and comes back to themselves, Sunset,” Rarity pointed out, stopping Sunset’s pacing with a hand on her elbow. “Unlike in fiction, it does not ‘forever dominate your destiny.’ The past taught you lessons, and it will influence your future choices, but it doesn’t define who you can become, and it does not have to always hang as a stone around your neck.”

Warmth suffused her bones, and her magic pulsed in response. Her lips quirked into a real smile. “I…know that now, and I’m trying. It's easier because I have friends who’ve forgiven me, who remind me that I’ve changed for the better. I’ll…get there…someday.” She blinked back moisture and cleared her throat to dispel the lump lodged in it like a whole apple. “Anyway. Just…feel. And don’t worry if you don't feel anything. It's...not a pass or fail, it's…an experiment.”

Maybe this was a bad idea, Sunset mused, but as long as she didn’t think about Sparky too much it should prove okay. She grasped the feeling of gratitude and friendship and trust Rarity’s words had evoked, letting it trigger even more positive emotions in a cascade of memory, of moments with these five girls, of times spent with Twilight’s family, even of recent conversations with Flash. Her magic responded, and she felt the crawling sensation followed by the disorienting POP! of ears suddenly able to hear in a much greater range than humans that signaled a Pony-Up.

“Um,” Fluttershy started, “you aren't going to try and cast any spells, are you? That really hurt you, Sunset, and we don't want that.”

She smiled at her soft-spoken friend. “I’m not going to cast any actual spells, no. What I’m going to do is just project a little magic out through my horn near you guys, to see if you can feel any of it.” Carefully, because she truly had no desire for a migraine, she tried to just let the power rise up and flow more naturally out of her horn, the way smoke rose to the highest available point. Crimson light tinted her world view, and while it was definitely not as easy as it was for a unicorn body, it didn't feel like her nerves endings were being fried.

“Ooooo….” Pinkie giggled. “It's like a warm hug and hot chocolate! And maybe some of those cinnamon candies!”

“The really spicy ones?” Fluttershy asked.

Pinkie grinned. “Yup!”

“Ah don't taste or smell candy,” Applejack muttered. “But Ah do keep catchin’ a whiff of woodsmoke. Like from a firepit or a bonfire. The warmth though…that Ah feel.”

Sunset watched them for a moment, mulling over what she was hearing. Having the humans register magic as if they were perceiving them with their already existing senses was interesting, and that both examples so far were associating her magic with heat and fire when she herself had always done so was even more intriguing.

Dash shook her head in frustration. “I don't really feel anything but bored. Isn’t there a way to do this that doesn't involve sitting around like I’m trying one of Treehugger’s stupid high-on-drugs ‘meditations?’”

“Dashie,” Fluttershy chastised. “That's not very nice. Treehugger takes cannabis for medical reasons.”

Sighing, Sunset ran a hand through her hair. “It’s okay if you don’t, Dash—like I said before, I’m kind of making this up as I go. I still have a few more things to try.” She knew Dash’s pony energy was that of the pegasi, and so the former unicorn thought for a minute about what she knew about pegasi arcanobiology, even flipping through one of the text the princess had loaned her. “Okay. Idea. Stand up, Rainbow, but keep your eyes closed, and take three steps into the middle of the room.”

Her colorful friend laughed but obeyed. “Okay, Ben Kenobi, now what? You going to make me dodge lasers with my eyes shut?”

“Kind of, yeah.”

“Wait, what!?”

Without giving her a chance to really react, Sunset just held on to the magic, letting it fill her extremities too, and started swinging an open palm towards Rainbow’s head. The first swing ended in a light but firm tap to the other girl’s skull, followed by two to her shoulder. “Feel for the energy in order to avoid me. Don't think about it, just…feel. Just do what feels right. You're supposed to be fast, right?”

The flurry of strikes, modified from the fighting arts she’d been taught, still struck at vulnerable points but without the violent intent to cause harm. It did serve, however, to get Rainbow Dash’s attention in a way she couldn't ignore: a challenge.

The first dozen or so hits got through, but abruptly, something changed. An expression crossed her face that Sunset couldn't quite identify, and she watched as Rainbow ducked under the next two blows. The third hit, but the soccer star twisted away from the fourth, and intercepted the fifth. Three more strikes after that were danced around, and the redhead could see the expression on Dash’s face turn into one of dumbstruck surprise.

“Holy shit, Shimmer—that’s you? That’s what magic feels like with you? To you?”

Sunset backed off, taking a drink from her water. “What does it feel like to you?”

The short teen frowned. “Like…you ever gotten a face full of really hot air when you open an oven? Or felt it when there was one of those really hot summer storms coming? It's like WHOOSH! Hot air that burns a little rushing you? And it just makes you feel overheated instead of relieved?”

Applejack snickered. “So what yer sayin’ is that Sunset’s a blowhard who’s full of hot air?”

That set off laughter, even from Sunset, who shook her head good naturedly. “Thank you for that wonderful assessment of my character, Dash,” she said dryly.

“Dude! You know I didn't mean it like that. It's like with Pinkie talking about hot cocoa, and AJ about the campfire. You’re hot.” It took about two and a half seconds for the words to register, and it set off the entire group into laughter again, especially because Rainbow Dash turned red and looked like she’d swallowed a bug. “Oh, c’moooooon!” she whined. “That’s not how I meant it! I mean Sunset’s magic or whatever, we’re all talking about it like its hot things, things that can burn the shit out of you if you're stupid.”

Sobering, Sunset took another drink from her water, and noticed Rarity had an intense look on her face. “Hey, you okay?” she asked.

“I am beginning to think Rainbow Dash may be on to something, and that perhaps the…emotional response is not what I thought it was.” The pale skinned girl met her gaze. “Especially if I stop and consider the way certain elements have particular traits associated with them in various aspects of myth and mysticism.”

Sunset wrinkled her nose. “With all respect to your species’ beliefs, I’m not sure much stock can be put in anything religion says about magic.”

Rarity nodded. “In respect to modern monotheism, yes, but we do have older beliefs on record, ones that talk about magic. And some of those older beliefs have common threads that are far too common to be coincidental.” She pulled out the sketchbook she often used for her design ideas, and flipped to a new page, scratching down what looked like loose notes. “Because, given what Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack have said, all three have interpreted your magic as was just suggested: something burning, hot, intense. You’ve also suggested that your magic, when out of control, manifested ‘explosively.’ And I too, have interpreted what I perceive from you in a way that calls up fire and flame and the blazing brilliance of the sun.”

The former unicorn arched a brow. “I had noticed the correlation, yes, and I know my magic always feels like fire inside me, something I have to control as much as my temper or it will burn me and everypo—everyone else.”

Fluttershy spoke up. “But isn't that an easy one for each of us to apply? Sunset is named Sunset, and she’s very…fiery…in appearance, plus…well…tempers and anger can be seen as ‘hot’ too.”

Blue eyes remained fixed for a moment on her before dipping to the paper. “Perhaps, but…Sunset has also detailed that magic is tied to emotions…and I’m not just talking about Sunset’s magic. Applejack, darling, what did you feel when Rainbow Dash was dodging Sunset?”

Put on the spot, the farmer blurted without thinking, “Smelled more woodsmoke, but also that weird smell that tells ya a big storm is almost on top of ya.”

Sunset’s eyes widened. “Grogar’s oversized bells…you might be on the right track.” She’d caught a flicker of Dash’s power responding to hers, and she could remember it always raking across her magical sense like a bolt of lightning, going all the way back to the formal.

“I think,” Rarity continued, “that lacking our own unique sense, our minds are translating the information to a language we do understand.”

“And with a common cultural background, emotional ties, and deep familiarity with each other, you're perceiving our magic as a representation of the individual in a way that ‘feels’ like them?” Sunset asked for clarification, trying to make sure she was following the tailor’s thought process.

Before Rarity could respond, Dash broke in again with a frustrated groan. “Oh come oooon. Who cares why it works like that? Egghead won't help me fly faster—can we go back to focusing on the actual magic?”

Sunset rubbed the bridge of her nose, resisting the urge to snap at the soccer player. “Because it could be important, Rainbow. You have to understand how your magic works and why to be able to actively bring it out…and honestly? This feels like a good thing—it means all of you might have a better sense for each other's magic than I thought. Which means we can look more at teaching you to find your own, and work on bringing it out.”

Raising her hand, Fluttershy asked, “How do we do that?”

The redhead found herself shifting her weight from foot to foot in an effort to control her urge to pace. “That's…a little harder, but thanks to Princess Twilight’s notes and some of the texts I have, I think I know where to at least start. We’ve talked about the Elements of Harmony and the Magic of Friendship before, and how it comes from our friendship with each other…but there's more to it. Each of the Elements corresponds with a virtue, and each of those matches up with one of you girls.” She started ticking them off, pointing to the girl she connected to each Element. “Honesty. Loyalty. Kindness. Generosity. Laughter. And Princess Twilight is Magic in Equestria.” Though once more, her mind conjured not the image of the princess, but of her human counterpart, who had been the one who had truly brought friendship’s magic into Sunset’s life.

“So what does that make your virtue, darling?”

Pulled from her distracting thoughts, Sunset stared at Rarity. “What?”

“If each of us has a virtue, then what is yours? It assuredly was not the same as Twilight’s at the Battle of the Bands, and it has continued when we play, or like what happened when you collapsed.” Rarity tapped her chin. “Is there another Element of Harmony?”

Her brows furrowed. “I…don't know. None of the texts I’ve read mentioned any such thing, so if there was another, its been gone for over five thousand years. Possibly closer to eight or ten thousand, because there aren't even stories left.” She rubbed her face, trying not to think about the nightmares involving her demon side. “It’s…more likely that my powers are a side effect of putting on the Element of Magic, turning into a murderous she-demon, and then getting my soul scrubbed by the Rainbow of Light. Any one of those could have left lasting changes behind, but all three together? On a unicorn with an overabundance of magic that was already unstable?” Sunset shrugged, turning towards the wall so she didn't have to look in their eyes. Her arms crossed in front of her chest, knowing she words had just a tinge of bitterness to them. “It's better if we keep my case separate, because I can skew the data for a bunch of reasons.”

An acid voice whispered in her memory, echoing her words with ones she’d heard more than once. “I’m sorry, Miss Shimmer, but given the unstable and erratic nature of your magic, we simply cannot in good conscience count your scores with the other students’—it's simply not an accurate reflection of the situation, since your magic skews the data with inaccuracies.”

Giving her head a sharp shake, the former unicorn focused back on the present, pushing the memory away. Her friends were watching her now, and Rarity replied, “I don't think that discarding yourself from information we’re gathering is a wise idea, Sunset. You seem to be tied into our magic as much as we are.”

Applejack frowned. “Ah dunno, Rares. Sunset might have a point—but not fer some nonsense about ya being unstable, so don’t even try that. Yer not unstable in any way, not more’n any of us, Sunset. We’d’ve noticed if ya were.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “But…ya are right about skewing data…because of other reasons. Yer a unicorn, we’re human. Yer trained, we’re not. Yer magic is somethin’ that was part of yer whole life an’ where yer from. Any of those things is gonna make ya different from us in magic.”

Blue-green eyes blinked. “That’s…actually a much better point, Applejack,” she conceded.

“It's also not a reason ta dismiss yerself from the study entirely. Way Ah figure it, what’s important is that ya are part of our magic. Ya pony up with us, ya were part of that big rainbow thing against the Sirens, and yer magic called ta us ta do it here at school again. Whether that means yer one of them Elements or not, Twi was right. Our magic needs Sunset Shimmer ta work right.”

Sunset found herself falling silent as she turned the words—and the feelings they evoked—over in her head. The quiet conviction in the blonde farmer’s voice vibrated with magic, a sense of veracity as solid as the stones of the earth and just as stubbornly adamant as the speaker. It filled her with a strange sense of comfort and a reprieve from the unpleasant feelings that had been twisting her insides. “…that’s…as much as I might want to argue…you aren’t wrong about a lot of it. I…hadn’t considered the fact that I’m a unicorn being more likely to skew data…and I have nothing to debunk the statement that I am some integral part of this magic. Whether that will change in the future…well, I’m not good at divination, so I have no idea.”

“Uh…can you repeat that in plain English?” Rainbow asked.

Giggling, Pinkie poked the athlete’s shoulder. “Silly! She said that being a magical pony makes her different from us when she studies the magic, and that she can't say she’s not super important to our magic yet! And that she’s a reeeeeeally bad palm reader, but that's probably because ponies don’t have palms to read!” Pinkie beamed at Sunset. “You don’t have to worry about reading palms, Sunset! Rarity knows how to do that!”

Rarity sighed. “Pinkie, I read that book out of curiosity, not so I could make up futures for my friends.”

Blue eyes went wide. “Does that mean you won’t tell me if Friday will have a fantastic, super amazing and delicious dessert? I need to know so I can prepare!”

“Prepare?” Fluttershy asked in confusion.

“Yup!” Pinkie responded, popping the ‘p’ enthusiastically. “If it's lime jello and not cake, I’m bringing cake!”

Sunset arched a brow, and pointed put dryly, “Pinkie…why don’t you just check the school site on your phone? They post a monthly cafeteria menu there. Besides, you’d probably be better off using math to predict it than…whatever ‘palm reading’ is.”

There was a scoffing sound from Rainbow. “We don't need math, Sunset. Of course there’ll be cake on Friday!”

“And how do you know that?”

“Duh! Pinkie just said she’s bringing it! One hundred percent chance of cake!” Dash looked inordinately pleased with herself.

Most of the girls giggled, especially when Sunset rolled her eyes. “Right. Anyway…back on topic. I thought I could have you girls try—”

The bell rang, cutting her off and signaling to six hungry teens that it was time for lunch.

More of Sunset struggling with magic lessons. Poor Sunny. Teaching sucks, don't it? Bet she feels a little bad for some of her own shenanigans, now that the horseshoe is on the other hoof, eh? :P

They seem to be making progress though, so, hooray!!

Of course you know this just means things are going to go tits up sooner or later.

>.>

Probably sooner rather than later.

After all, things always go pear-shaped for Sunset Shimmer.