The bell attached to the door jingled when it opened, Twilight pulling Sunset by the hand into the small store crammed wall to wall with bookshelves, creating a maze of narrow aisles made up of books on both sides. The scent of aged paper and ink assaulted her nose, and had she not already been grinning from ear to ear because of her friend’s exuberance and childlike delight at showing her ‘the best bookstore in the city’, it would have made her smile. Twilight dropped her hand to spread her arms wide, presenting the store to Sunset. “Isn’t this place amazing?” the bookworm gushed happily, looking at her with eager hope.

Sunset let her eyes wander the store, shelf after shelf of texts new and old, hard and soft cover. “…Oh yeah,” she murmured. “I’m disappointed I didn’t know about it sooner…” Blue-green eyes flicked back to Twilight. “…This was a great idea.”

The dark haired girl gave Sunset one of her brilliant, brighter-than-the-sunrise smiles, and grabbed her hand again to pull her down a particular aisle to show her some of the books there. The pair began browsing the selection of used books, pulling titles off to read the summaries or flip through the pages. In very short order, Sunset found herself with a moderate stack of novels that had piqued her interest, and she realized that she needed to be careful, otherwise she would be inclined to spend far more than she should. At the same time, it had also been a long time since she’d splurged on anything for herself, so maybe spending a little bit extra on some books to fill her evenings during the week would be a nice change of pace.

Twilight’s arms were also loaded with a considerable stack of books, and she motioned with her head. “I’m going to check the next aisle,” she told the redhead. “I’ve got enough for a few more, I think.”

Giving her a nod, Sunset picked up another novel, eyeing the cover and recognizing the title of the series. As Twilight ducked around to the next row of shelves, she wondered if it would be similar to the series of the same name in Equestria…though with a human protagonist instead of a pegasus mare.
She heard Twilight give a startled and pained yelp, followed by the sound of a body thumping into a bookshelf, and an apologetic male voice. “Oh, I’m so sorry! Are you okay?” Sunset looked up when she didn’t hear Twilight immediately respond—instead, the sound of books falling to the floor and a whimper reached her ears.

Almost before she realized she’d commanded her body to move, Sunset had rushed around the corner herself. “Twilight?” she questioned worriedly, her eyes falling on her friend. Twilight was pressed awkwardly back against the shelves, eyes wide and only half seeing the young man who had steadied her from falling by catching her arm. He was older than both of them by several years, likely a student from one of the local colleges, and the nametag pinned to his shirt implied he worked in the store.

“Sparky?” Sunset tried again when Twilight let out another whimpering sound. That was enough for the dark haired girl to wrench herself free of the young man’s hand—not that he’d been holding on hard—and throw herself into Sunset. The former unicorn staggered, dropping her own books to the floor to catch her friend’s shaking body, hugging her carefully.

Twilight still gave no verbal answer, but she clung tightly to Sunset, burying her face in her collar and trembling. It was then that Sunset’s brain caught up with the situation, realizing that the other girl had clutched her like this once before: on the night they met. She looked to bookstore clerk who had backed off a few steps and was watching in obvious concern, then back at the smaller form in her arms. “…Hey,” she said softly, trying to keep her voice level. “I’ve got you, Sparky. You’re safe.”

The young man watching them held his hands up, in a non-threatening gesture. When he spoke he kept his voice low, and calm-sounding, "She do this often, do you know?"

The redheaded teen was rubbing slow circles on Twilight’s back, not doing anything to fight the death grip on her. “…sometimes, I think? This is…only the second or third time I’ve seen her get like this.” Shifting her stance, she added quietly, “She got harassed by some creeps in the park a few weeks ago, but I chased them off. It's…left her kind of on edge?” Twilight’s breath stuttered, like she couldn’t manage a full inhale, making Sunset frown. “…Twilight,” she soothed, her attention on her friend again. “You’ve got to breathe. I promise, you’re safe. No one is going to hurt you…”

The clerk, whose nametag read “Quill”, nodded. "Definitely a panic attack; those can happen sometimes after something traumatic. We ran into each other, and I kept her from falling. It's probable that the unexpected contact reminded her of her harassers for a moment, and now her mind is stuck on that.” He observed them both for a minute. “Just keep doing what you're doing—you’re the person she seems to need right now. See if you can get her to match your breathing, it’ll give her something else to focus on other than what’s frightening her."

Sunset nodded. “…C’mon, Sparky,” she coaxed. “Look at me.” Purple eyes that were wet with tears looked up at her, still not entirely seeing her current surroundings. Sunset smiled encouragingly, before taking several slow, deep breaths of her own, ones she knew Twilight could feel as much as she could see. After a half dozen or so deep breaths, she could feel the trembling form starting to lose a little of the tension as Twilight echoed her breathing.

She focused on getting the smaller girl to breathe, continuing to offer quiet reassurances, trying to get Twilight to realize she was in no danger. “…We’re in the bookstore still, Twilight…we’ve made a bit of a mess though. There are books all over the floor, yours and mine…” Twilight’s shaking had almost stopped, and her eyes were less vague and distant as she watched Sunset’s face. “…Might take us a few minutes to sort out what belongs to who, but you’re good at that, so maybe it wont take so long…”

Quill had been quiet, letting Sunset work to calm down her companion; he spoke in the lull of conversation. “…Once she’s a little more put together, go ahead and bring her into the back room.” He pointed to a door by the back wall that read ‘Employees only’. “Mrs. Prose keeps tea bags, and a hot drink in hand can help, plus there’s a sofa that you can sit on.”

“Thanks.” Sunset gave him a nod, barely registering how curt her worry for Twilight made her sound as she turned her full attention back to the dark haired girl. “…You back with me yet, Sparky?” There was a slow, tentative nod. “What do you think? Do you want to take our books and go back there to sit?” Twilight nodded her head again, still stuck to Sunset like a burr. The parallels between this and their first meeting were striking enough that the former unicorn found herself adopting the same tone of voice and issuing instructions. They squatted down together to pick up the books, and Sunset kept an arm around Twilight the whole time, directing her to the backroom.

The backroom was a mixture of storage area and employee lounge, with a small kitchenette on one side and a few pieces of mismatched furniture amid boxes and crates of books on the other. Sunset guided Twilight to sit on a hideous couch—it was a mixture of creams, dark browns, burnt orange, and golds in some sort of fall foliage design that really served to make it a massive eyesore. “This is the ugliest sofa I’ve ever encountered,” she whispered as they sank into the cushions. “And that’s no small feat. I shop at thrift stores.”

Twilight actually let out a soft laugh, despite still clinging to Sunset. The redhead gave her another smile, squeezing her friend around the shoulders. “I’m not going anywhere. Deep breaths, take your time. We don’t have anywhere to be.” For a handful of minutes, they sat there in silence, Twilight leaning into her side.

A pair of mugs were sent gently on the end table near Sunset’s other side. “Here. Hot tea to calm the nerves. I have to head back out to the shelves, but take as much time as you need. No one will bother you back here.”

Sunset exhaled in a deep but relieved sigh. “...thank you...” she told the young man, not sure what else to say. He waved off any further words and exited back out to where there were customers browsing the books.

She passed Twilight one of the tea mugs. “Drink this. It helped before, it ought to help now, right?”

Twilight gave a tiny nod, sipping the drink slowly.

“…How do you feel?”

The other girl took off her glasses so she could wipe her eyes on her sleeve. “…better…” she mumbled. “I’m sorry...”

Blue-green eyes blinked in confusion. “Why are you sorry?” she asked, tilting her head slightly.

Another sniffle, and she put her glasses back on, staring pensively into her tea. “...I ruined our trip here...I wanted to show you this place because I love it here and I wanted to share it with you...” Her hands shook slightly. “Instead, I had a panic attack over what was essentially nothing...”

Sunset frowned, before turning herself on the sofa so she was almost facing the dark haired girl. “Twilight, look at me,” she instructed firmly. Startled, worried purple eyes met hers. “You did not ruin this trip, not in the slightest bit—when we go back out there, I’m going to spend more money than I probably should on several dozen new books that I question how I’m going to find room for. We might have to hit the thrift store later so I can scrounge for a new bookshelf to put them on.” An amber skinned hand rested on Twilight’s shoulder. “As for reacting so strongly to ‘nothing’....” Sunset chewed on her lip, trying to figure out how to say what she wanted to say without it coming out all wrong. “...I’m not sure I’d handle what happened to you half as well as you are,” she finally settled on. “Having an adverse reaction to being grabbed, even if it wasn’t meant to hurt you...that seems pretty normal to me. It happened, we got you through it, and we can still enjoy the rest of the day when we leave here.”

Twilight was quiet, absorbing the words and thinking on them. Her hands fiddled with the mug she was holding until Sunset laid one of her own on her friend’s wrist to keep her from upsetting its contents too badly. For the moment, the redheaded teen was at a loss for what to do; she’d studied a lot of things in both worlds, but any psychology she’d read into had to do with making it easier for her to manipulate others, not on how to deal with what Twilight was going through.

—Face it,— that irritating little voice in the back of her mind whispered. —You barely have a handle on your own issues these days, even with Sparky’s help.—

As much as she hated to agree with the part of her that seemed to exist to mock her in the most inopportune moments, it was a valid point. She was beyond ‘out of her depth’ in with this, something that she felt the need to rectify. Sunset sighed, and leaned her head against the sofa. “If anything, I feel like I should be apologizing to you. I...I didn’t know what to do to help you.”

“Sunset...” Twilight gave her a wan, somewhat tired smile. “You were here for me, and I knew I was safe with you. That did more to help than you might realize.”

“It doesn’t feel like it was enough,” Sunset argued, hating how useless she had felt. “If it happens again, I want to know what I’m supposed to do to help you. How do I do that, Sparky? How do I help fix it?”

Purple eyes regarded her for a moment, before Twilight set her mug to the side in order to pull Sunset into a hug. “Sunny,” she murmured. “There’s no fixing me; I have a diagnosed anxiety disorder, one I have had for years—it has nothing to do with what happened the night we met. Anxiety and panic attacks are part of my life. It means so much to me that you want to help me, it really does, but the only help you can give me is helping me manage them when they occur.”

Sunset frowned, her brows furrowing deeply. “I...don’t understand,” she admitted, the feelings of shame and frustration mingling weirdly in her chest. “I thought this happened because of that night in the park...? What do you mean its something that you’ve had for years?”

Twilight pulled back from the hug a bit. “This particular panic attack was triggered because of the...park...” She took a few breaths to steady herself. “But I have been having panic attacks since I was little—I see a therapist twice a month in regards to my mental health. Dr. Soft-Spoken diagnosed me with a severe anxiety disorder years ago.”

The former unicorn’s brain was trying to wrap itself around what she was being told. “I...had no idea that was a thing...” she said with a shake of her head. “...and there’s no way to stop it from happening? You just...have to live with it? What caused it in the first place?”

The other girl looked away—briefly, Sunset wondered if she’d pushed too hard in her need to understand—before she sighed. “...its complicated, but it’s not something that was caused by a specific event, Sunset. My own mind just...won’t stop thinking, and I get overwhelmed by not just what my senses are perceiving, but by all of the extrapolated simulations my mind sees fit to provide me with.”

Falling silent, Sunset considered the information she had been presented with. She had no frame of reference for any of this...sure, there were ponies in Equestria who were incredibly high strung and sometimes freaked out, but she had never interacted with any of them more than absolutely necessary. To learn that humans had devoted time and effort to areas of study that could identify and label such personality problems took some time to process...and learning that her new friend dealt with these horrible panic attacks for years was extremely upsetting.

“Sunny...?” Twilight’s timid, nervous voice disrupted her train of thought, and the redhead redirected her attention to the other girl. With a start, she realized that Twilight looked worried and on the verge of more tears. “...I’m sorry...I should have told you earlier...I understand if this is all too much for you...”

“Hey...” she was quick to pull Twilight back into the hug they’d only half parted from. “I’m still here. I’m not going anywhere.” She could feel the slight tremor go through her companion. “I told you I was going to mess up at some point. Consider this the ‘I told you so.’ I’m sorry if I said all the wrong things...but I really do want to know how to help if I’m with you when one of these panic attacks happens.”

She could feel the smaller body relax. “You did everything right, Sunny. You were there, you didn’t push me away, and you talked me down. All of that was what I needed to know I was safe and to have something to focus on besides my stress and panic.”

“So, if..."

Twilight interrupted her, "When. It's not if, it's when. It'll happen again, and no, it's not your fault, even if you do something that triggers one, okay? It's just something to do with how my brain works. So, when it happens again, just do exactly what you did now. Reassure me, tell me I'm safe, help me to get somewhere quiet if you can, and stay with me until it's over."

Sunset nodded, filing the instructions away for what sounded like ‘later use.’ “Okay. I can do that.” She squeezed Twilight tighter in the hug. “Are you ready to buy our books and enjoy the rest of the day? Or do you want to sit here longer?”

There was a nod against her collarbone. “I’m ready to go. Can we get take-out on the way back to your place?”

A chuckle escaped her. “That sounds like a great idea—there’s a large veggie tossed sesame noodles and an order of kung pao tofu calling my name.” Her stomach growled grumpily at her. “...and maybe an order of their donuts.” As they disengaged from the hug, Sunset reached out to tweak Twilight’s nose—a playful gesture to try and restore a little levity and equilibrium to them both. “It’ll even be my treat.”

“I couldn’t ask you to pay for mine too,” Twilight protested. “Sunset, that’d be way too expensive!”

The redhead was neatly stacking their books up. “Sparky...let me have this? I can afford it, and I want to...” she fumbled around what she wanted to express. “I...want to...do something nice? Something that will...help you feel better?” It came out more like a question than any kind of confident statement, and Sunset studied the really ugly human world version of a Purrsian rug under her feet like it held the secrets to the universe.

She could feel Twilight’s eyes on her, questioning, probing, and her ears reddened, her whole body shrinking in on itself. Had she done something wrong? Overstepped? Said the wrong thing? Frustration bubbled inside her again, this time directed at her own ignorance.

Fingers touched her hand. “Okay.” Her head snapped up to find Twilight smiling at her. “I won’t fight you on this...this time. But next time we get milkshakes, I’m buying.”

She felt her lips lift into a half smile of her own. “Deal.” She offered the dark haired girl her books. “I think these are yours.”

They exited the backroom after dumping their used cups in the sink there, and made their way to the front. Quill grinned pleasantly at them. “I see you ladies had a great deal of luck today. Who’s first?”

As he rang her purchases up, Sunset blurted out, “Thanks...for helping me with what to do...”

“No need to thank me—you had it pretty well in hand already. I know how overwhelming it can be to see it the first few times. Having someone help out makes a world of difference...or at least, it did for me the first time I had to help my brother through one.” He handed her her change, waving cheerfully as they headed for the door. “You have a good rest of your day, both of you! Don’t forget to come back sometime, and you can always trade in books that you don’t want anymore for store credit.”

Sunset packed their purchases in her bike’s storage, then held out the helmet to Twilight. “Think you can handle a ride right now?”

Grabby lavender hands snatched the helmet. “Try and stop me,” Twilight grinned. “I can always ‘handle’ a ride on your bike!” The helmet went on quickly, and she ran one hand over the seat longingly. “Maybe someday you’ll let me try driving it?”

She laughed. “In your dreams, nerd. You should count yourself lucky—you’re the only other person I let ride my bike at all.”

Twilight’s mock pout broke apart as they both dissolved into giggles.

Sunset's psychology isn't the only one I've done a bit of a dive into. Twilight Sparkle the human presents quite an interesting character to me because she is actually very different from her pony counterpart in a variety of subtle ways, even if you compare the human to the early season 1 and 2 pony. This starts to make more sense if you take into account that the two Twilights have probably the most disparity in upbringing--pony Twi was off living pretty much alone with Spike at a very young age, as Celestia's student (Essentially a boarding school situation), whereas human Twilight clearly still lives at home despite attending a very ritzy over priced private school.

Couple that with what I suspect are some distinct culturally different approaches to mental disorders or struggles, and you get the basis for some sharp differences in characters. Ponies seem to focus more on showering their odd members with love and kindness and accepting their quirks as "part of who they are," while humans get hyperfocused on "why are they like this and how do we fix it to make them normal?" Case in point, there are jokes made about Pony Twilight's Freak Out arias, but while everyone accepts that Twilight does that, none of her friends or family try to do anything to mitigate the things that trigger her anxieties, or her OCD...except maybe Spike. Even in later seasons she's still prone to meltdowns and thinking herself in circles.

Anywho, rambling. The jist is that I'm going to be doing psychological dives into more than just Sunset. *cackles* Some of them will be fun, some horrific, others just...sad.