“I’m going, Twilight. Sunset is our friend, and it sounds like this dark magic stuff at the other school is getting bad. I’m not going to let you go alone—what if you need my help again?” Spike’s face held a stubborn set to his jaw and a glint to his eye that reminded Twilight of her brother when he got protective.

The mare sighed. “Okay, Spike. You can come if one of the girls agrees to watch the journal for our trip back. If not, I need you here.”

He beamed. “Already done! Applejack should be here soon.”

Twilight stared at him long and hard until he squirmed a bit, restlessly fidgeting his claws together. “…I asked her yesterday, because I didn't want you to go by yourself…” he confessed, not quite able to meet her eyes. It reminded her of when he was a tiny hatchling, unwilling to let her out of his sight, toddling determinedly to cling to fetlocks or tail to avoid her leaving him in the palace daycare or with her parents.

“Oh, Spike…” she murmured, scooping him into her magic to bring him close enough for a hug and a nuzzle of her cheek across warm scales. “I really don't deserve a dragon like you…but I’m so glad I have you.” He was such a good hearted little drake, and growing up faster than the alicorn was ready for.

His arms viced around her neck, and she could feel his breath tickling her mane as he made several false starts with something he wanted to say, before settling on, “I’m glad too. You're the best, Twilight.” A hesitation, and even softer, “…thank you.”

“Am Ah interruptin’?”

Spike let go. “Nope,” he said with a happy smile, reaching down to pick up Twilight’s heavy saddle bag and helping her strap it on. “Last minute preparations.”

Applejack shrugged, choosing not to press. Instead, she tugged something out of her own bags. “Rares sent this over fer Sunset,” she said, offering out a slim book and a small bag. “Something about runes and rays?”

“Oh! Runic arrays for protective enchantments! We’d talked about that! I didn’t know she’d finished.” Twilight took both and added them to the bag on her back. “Tell her thank you if you see her before I do!”

Her friend waved her on. “Ah’ll let her know if she comes by. Now, g’wan, before yer late.”

Twilight nodded and scribbled a note in the journal to tell Sunset she was on her way, and then set it in the housing to activate the Lunar Lock Mirror. “We should be back by tonight. Time is still a little bit in flux, but Sunset will be meeting me after school, and I doubt we’ll be in the human world for more than a few hours. It's a little before lunch now, so maybe dinnertime? Feel free to make use of the kitchen while we’re out, of course.”

The earth pony grinned. “Ah sure as sugar will! After Ah check the saplings Mac’n’Ah planted outside. Need ta make sure they don't need nothing ta grow big and tall.” Green eyes flicked her way. “Any word yet about them deer fellers ya sent a letter to?”

“Not yet, but they do live far away, and a diplomatic courier still has to pass their checks to be allowed into their forest home. I’m sure I’ll hear back eventually—I just hope they are willing to help with the trees. I loved living at the Golden Oak, and…maybe if they can shape some of the new trees into out-buildings around this castle…it might start to feel more like home.”

She felt Spike hug her as she stared down at her hooves. A princess wasn't supposed to be like this, and it was ungrateful of her to be so negative when the Tree and the Elements had grown this crystal tree castle for her, but it just felt so empty and austere…so…lifeless.

“Don't worry, Twilight. The castle is getting better—if it's like the Tree and the Elements, and Sunset’s right, then maybe the castle is alive and learning what we need. Like, it was super cold during winter at first but then after we started making it warm it got warmer in the castle over time on its own and we didn't need to use so many fireplaces all the time!” Her young drake was smiling encouragingly. “Maybe it's like a foal or a hatchling? We have to teach it what we like and what we need? You could talk to Sunset while we’re visiting. She might have learned more about the Element magic on her side of the portal.”

Smiling back, she flicked the switch to activate the portal machine. “You're right, Spike. Once we take care of what Sunset needs to talk about, we can see what she thinks about the castle.” Adjusting her saddlebags one last time, she took a breath and trotted through the portal, bracing herself for the disorienting trip that always left her feeling like her body had been turned inside out and put back together sideways.

The portal did not disappoint. She found herself flung through at speed after feeling like she’d been flushed down a drain and pulled inside out through her left nostril. Her senses were scrambled as she anticipated the hard landing, but warm arms caught her and lowered her gently to the ground.

“Easy, Twi. I've already cleaned up one bloody nose today—Rainbow and AJ got a bit enthusiastic in practice and I caught Applejack’s flying elbow by mistake.” Sunset’s voice was light, but even with her ears feeling like they’d been stuffed with wool, Twilight could tell she sounded tired. And a bit nasally.

Blinking the spots out of her eyes, she glanced up just in time to see the redheaded former bully catch Spike as he came through. Her nose did look a little red…but so did her hands, which was worrying. “Thanks, Sunset. I’m still combing through Princess Celestia’s research on the portal to figure out a way to adjust for the temporal variance, but it's slow going with everything else that has been happening. So it's still going to be like getting shot from Pinkie’s party cannon for the foreseeable future.”

“Yeah, thanks for the save,” Spike laughed. “Falling hurts worse as a dog.”

Sunset set him down. “I get it. Humans are kind of squishy and fragile.” Despite the tired lines and dark circles under her eyes, she smiled at them both. “How are things in Equestria? No major catastrophes or ancient evils cropping back up this week?”

The alicorn shook her head. “It's been pretty quiet since Tirek. We’re figuring out this Cutie Mark Map table in the castle, other than that and a few personal research projects…it's been a quiet year.” She rose to her feet now that her senses had finished the strange sort of reset the portal caused. “But what about you? Are you okay? You don't look well.”

Her friend gave a loose shrug, not quite meeting her eyes. “That's a complicated question with a multifaceted answer. The short hand is ‘I’m as okay as can be expected given the circumstances.’ Rarity and the girls have made me take the week off.”

That was what felt off—the girls were nowhere to be seen. “Where are they anyway?”

Shuffling awkwardly, Sunset half turned away, towards the building. “…I didn't tell them you were coming because I’m not ready to let them know what I need to talk to you about. In fact, come on. We need to get to someplace we can talk without being overheard or seen.”

Alarms bells were going off in Twilight’s head. Something was definitely wrong. Sunset’s behavior was cagey and suspicious, and she was casting furtive glances around as she ushered the two other Equestrians into the school. “Sunset…” she started to say, “…you're starting to worry me.”

“Yeeeeeah,” Spike added, “because this is totally starting to feel like you're about to tell us something dangerous.”

Sunset’s protracted silence didn't do anything to dismiss either of their comments. Twilight exchanged a look with Spike, frowning. “Sunset?” she ventured as they reached the second floor.

“I’ll explain everything, Twi…but not here.” She followed a path to the magic studies room, pushing open a door that was so out of place it derailed Twilight Sparkle’s train of thought.

The princess of friendship stared in surprise at the door that looked like it belonged in Canterlot Castle. “Is…that what your magic did?!” she exclaimed. “You described it, but…” Her thoughts swirled. Radiant sun, the door was a work of art as much as it was a feat of impossible magic. She could feel it, the way it hummed and sang against her senses, defensive magics intertwined with the familiar and potent thread of Harmony’s energy. Twilight couldn't resist running fingers along Harmonic crystals inset into the door’s frame; they felt and looked identical to the ones that littered the earth and soil of the Everfree, and a match for the very material the Tree of Harmony was made out of. A dozen enchantments of incredible complexity and surprising beauty were woven into every part of the door. “…you're right…this should never have been possible, even in Equestria.”

Spike walked into the room, looking around. “Twilight,” he said. “I dont think it's just the door.”

“It's not,” Sunset said, nudging her forward so she could shut the door, leaving them in a room that had more defensive enchants than the Royal Treasury. “Our magic affected the whole room. Cabinet, lights, door, walls, even the windows. Everything is shielded and enchanted to a ridiculous degree, and most of it’s impossible by all the laws of magic Equestria knows.”

Mind racing, Twilight took in the room, already trying to formulate theories. Between Sunset and herself, they had more experience with Harmonic magic and the Elements of Harmony than anypony the last ten thousand years, but it was such a difficult subject to research. The Elements did not seem to respond outside of extreme circumstances in Equestria, and now even that avenue was closed since they’d been returned to the Tree. “This is so fascinating, but so confusing,” she admitted to her friend. “I really wish I had other ways to study Harmonic magic. Are the Elements in Equestria capable of the same thing, or is there something missing? And what about you? How does your magic factor into it—it interfaced seamlessly with the power of the Elements magic in myself and our friends, but is it Harmonic or something else? If it's tied to the Elements, is there a seventh Element that has been lost in Equestria? Or is this just an example of world divergence because this world has different needs or humans possess different values? Or are you perhaps taking on aspects of different Elements that are already claimed and just making them stronger somehow? Was your exposure to my Element enough to alter your innate magic somehow, the way it seems to have permanently altered our friends?”

Sunset leaned against the door, arms crossed, thinking. “It's possible? I mean, each of the girls touched the Crown at the end there, during that game of keep away…but so did Snips, Snails, and Spike. None of them are exhibiting bouts of Harmonic magic—or magic at all in the case of Snips and Snails. I’ve had them come in for tests periodically, just to make sure I didn’t accidentally ruin their lives by turning them into monsters. The only thing that seems to have happened to them is that their grades have gone up, and they aren't quite as…” she searched for a word. “…intellectually challenged…as before.”

“Which could simply be a result of their exposure to magic repairing any injuries or minor biological defects,” Twilight commented. “The way it does for ponies.”

The other mare nodded. “That was my thought. Snails noted that they’ve taken him off his asthma meds—chemical inhalers that compensate for a chronic condition of the lungs that makes the airways constrict under any form of stress or shock.”

Her dragon cleared his throat. “…and I wouldn't be affected as much—I’ve got magic in me already because of how Twilight hatched me.” He and Sunset shared a meaningful stare, even as he leaned against Twilight’s leg and hugged her as tight as he could in his current body.

Nodding, Sunset ran a hand through her mane with a sigh. “Right. A surge of the strength to bring the egg back from a fossilized state and hatch you would mean your natural magic is near identical to Twilight’s in resonance, and you’ve been present for multiple incidents involving the Rainbow, or at least close enough to be exposed to it already. If it was going to affect you, it likely would have happened before the formal.” She blew air out her nostrils tiredly. “Look, what I know is what I’ve already described—there is something in the girls’ essences…their…minds, souls, magic…their cores. Each one is a little different, and seems to make them more themselves…but it also seems like a separate…subconscious awareness? It doesnt think like ponies or humans. No words, no pictures…just…impressions. Ideas, or emotions, I think, that my brain is translating into concepts that are as close as I can get. None of them are hostile, but I can't help this weird vibe I’m getting that they are important to the magic. It’s something I’m trying to keep an eye on…”

Sunset’s voice faded out as Twilight’s mind raced. She turned the data over in her mind, making vague connections here and there as she put the puzzle together in new ways. The suggestion that the Elements had some kind of autonomous sentience, Spike’s comments about the castle learning, reacting to the inhabitants…Sunset’s description of what she found in her friends…the growth of magic and the way the girls were seeming sources of magic themselves…

Her own words came back to her abruptly. “…is there a seventh Element that has been lost in Equestria…”

What if…was it possible that the use of the Element of Magic and the Rainbow of Light had either woken up or created a new set of Elements of Harmony in this world? Ones that the girls were somehow connected to and drawing on without realizing it?

“…ight…”

Without her being here…someone would have to be the Bearer of Magic…was that Sunset? The unicorn’s approach was different to Twilight’s, but she definitely served as the leader for the group of human girls now, especially since she’d stepped up as the official Magus to train them and research what was happening.

“…ilight…”

That might explain what was happening…but if there were Elements here…where were they? They couldn't be too far from the girls, or they’d never be able to draw on them, but if they were nearby, then they should be able to locate them with a thaumometer designed for tracking environmental fluctuations—useless in Equestria for finding the Elements because the Everfree was already a thaumic hotspot and massive leyline nexus…or maybe that was the key to—

She was ripped from her thoughts by Sunset’s sharp voice close to her ear. “Twilight! Focus!”

Twilight let out an undignified noise, jolting like a startled foal. “I’m sorry…” she apologized, then gave Spike a dirty look because he was rolling around laughing. “It’s not funny, Spike.”

“You wouldn't say that if you’d seen your face! And that noise!” He let out something that sounded like a donkey being stung by a bee.

Sunset was smirking. “He’s got a point, Twi. It was pretty funny.”

The dragon continued to giggle in between mimicking the sound repeatedly, and Twilight seriously contemplated denying him dessert for a couple of nights if he didn’t drop it. He still needed reminders sometimes about the boundaries for friendly teasing and how far he could push them before it became hurtful. Collecting herself and making a mental note to talk to him later about it, she rubbed her face. “I was lost in thought. I apologize, Sunset.”

One hand made a loose waving gesture that Twilight judged by her next words to be a gesture of friendly dismissal of any need for apology. “It's fine, Twilight. All the stuff that’s been happening here in the last few months is pretty nuts, and I’ve got about six new theories every couple of weeks, so I get it.” She winked. “Besides, I did make you bray like a zebra who took a wet sponge to the rump, so we’ll call it even.”

Cheeks hot, the alicorn scowled. “I did not bray.”

“You did. It's the human larynx, I think. It can't really hit the right register for some of the sounds ponies make without some definite practice. Happens to me too—Flash, Pinkie, and Rainbow have made a game of trying to get the drop on me because of it.” A loose shrug of her shoulders and another smile soothed Twilight’s ruffled feathers, and then she offered the much appreciated ‘change of subject.’ “Anyway, I didn't really intend to discuss magic today…”

Oh, ponyfeathers. Twilight felt guilty—she had gotten so distracted by the magic talk that the real purpose of her visit to this world had completely been set aside. “Right, I’m sorry. I wasn’t quite expecting the room. What did you want to talk about, Sunset?”

Amber fingers turned the lock on the door, and the other pony motioned for Twilight to join her in sitting in a couple of the wheeled chairs humans liked. “Right…” Sunset fidgeted, and even with Twilight’s limited grasp of Sunset’s body language, with its amalgamation of pony and human gestures, she could tell she was nervous. “So…I…haven't really told you everything, and this is kind of a big thing. It's…very important to me, and I’m…I’m not really sure how you're going to react.”

Without hesitation, Twilight reached over and rested a hand on her arm. “You are my friend. I promise I will listen to what you need to tell me with an open mind, and do my best to understand your point of view and reasons for not disclosing whatever it is to me sooner.”

“Yeah…” Sunset laughed weakly. “This is kind of a doozy though.”

Spike snorted, finally over his giggle fit. “Is it a bigger doozy than finding out that she was the only one who didn't know her brother was engaged to her old foalsitter?” he asked snarkily. “Cuz if so, she might need a few minutes after you tell her.”

Twilight expected a laugh, not a moment of confusion followed by a grimace. “To be fair, I only needed a minute until I learned it was Cadence. I had no idea who Princess Mi Amore Cadenza was—I thought she was some snotty unicorn related to Prince Blueblood,” she explained to Sunset. “My brother is sweet, and I had thought he would choose someone better than…Blueblood, but a mare. And that…you know, he, or at least my parents, would have told me about the engagement in a personal letter…or face to face. I found out via the royal wedding invitation sent by Princess Celestia.”

Blue-green eyes widened. “…oh…yeah. No. Um…wow. I’m sorry, Twi. That’s really…”

“…it is.” Twilight sighed. “My family hasn't really been as close as they used to be since Shining joined the guard and I started staying in the tower at CSGU. I don't think about it much, but sometimes…it hits me. That was one of those times…so I think you should be okay, whatever you have to tell me.”

Shuffling in her seat, Sunset gripped her elbow with one hand. “…okay…so you know my friend? The one the girls don't know about?”

“The one going to the school saturated with dark magic that you had to help recently?” she asked for clarification. “The one that has been present when your magic starts to try and surge sometimes?”

Sunset nodded. “Yeah. Her. Except…I wasn't entirely honest. She’s…not just my friend. She’s a lot more than that.”

Now it was Twilight’s turn to be confused. “Okay…? That is a somewhat vague qualifier, Sunset.”

“I mean we’re a lot closer than I am to my other friends.”

She considered the statement with what she knew of Sunset, and remembered the last time she’d come through, when the other pony had confessed to being able to interact with Twilight in a way she couldn't with the girls because they were both ponies, and trained magi. She recalled giving Sunset an understanding explanation of friendships being different, but maybe she hadn't quite made herself understood? “Friendships are incredibly complex and no two are alike, Sunset,” she reassured. “It's also perfectly normal for some friendships to be stronger or closer than others. Our friendship, for example, has the added dimension of being intellectual peers and colleagues in thaumaturgical studies, which allows for a point of relation that I can't engage with in say…Applejack, for example. Plenty of ponies have some friends they simply are closer to than others for a variety of reasons. If this friend of yours is particularly close because you have a lot of common interests or your personality meshes really well with hers, that's nothing to be upset or worried over. The ‘best friend’ label exists for a reason…what?”

Wide eyes stared at her, and Sunset worked her jaw soundlessly for a few seconds too long. “…you're…not serious, are you? This is a joke, right?”

Twilight huffed a little. “I would never joke about something like the inner workings of friendship, Sunset. It really is okay to have somepony you feel closer to than others.”

“…I…that’s not…I mean…yeah, she’s my best friend too…” Brows furrowing, she stopped. “That’s…not really what I was getting at, at all.”

A sigh came from near her foot. “I think Sunset’s dating the human she’s talking about, Twilight,” Spike informed her.

Dating? Mind whirling, she thought back to the awkward attraction she’d had for Flash—once that had faded, she’d found herself wondering why she’d been attracted in the first place. Humans were…an ugly species by pony standards, and she was not particularly interested in romance anyway. She was still chasing down knowledge on friendship, and she wasn't even thirty yet! She still had a decade or two before she would even want to consider anything in regards to that aspect of her life…something she had assumed was likely even more a thing for Sunset, living in a world of just humans.

However, as she studied the other pony, she came to the realization that her logic had been flawed. Sunset, the new Sunset, was vibrant and passionate, and much more extroverted than herself. She thrived in a situation that Twilight had merely acclimated to, in a world surrounded by a foreign culture and species that could match her intensity with their own. Perhaps it wasn't too out there for her to find a human that suited her as a companion and partner…and if that was the case, then this was something worth celebrating—Sunset had come so far from the angry, hostile, violent tyrannical mare Twilight had first met, and if she was capable of finding love, then she had healed and grown far more than Twilight had realized.

First though, she had to verify if that was the case. “Is…is that true?”

Sunset rubbed the back of her neck. “…um…yes. We’ve been dating since…a few weeks before the Sirens showed up. There's a lot of reasons we’ve kept it mostly just between us, but…it's…serious. I…really care about her.”

Twilight let out a happy laugh and leaned forward to pull Sunset into an exuberant hug. “Oh, I’m so happy for you, Sunset! It sounds like you found your Special Somepony! Why would you worry about telling me? It's something to celebrate!”

Her friend returned the hug, and Twilight thought she was trembling a little. “…I’d like her to be,” Sunset admitted in a voice barely more than a whisper. “But…it's a little more complicated than just that, because of who she is.” She pulled back from the hug, looking down at her lap.

“Why?” Twilight asked, laying a hand on her arm again—it was as close as she could get to leaning against her fellow pony’s side given the circumstance and species differences. “Why does who she is make it harder?”

Blue-green eyes squeezed shut, and Sunset seemed to brace herself. “Because she’s this world’s Twilight Sparkle.”

Spike made a startled sound. “Whoa. Was not expecting that.”

He was more right than he knew. Whatever Twilight had been expecting to hear, it had not been that. Her brain blanked for a good half minute or more, before even trying to comprehend what Sunset had said. Her counterpart? Sure, she was friendly with the dimensional counterparts of her closest friends and even mentor, as well as duplicates of various ponies from Ponyville and Canterlot, but somehow, the idea that she might have a copy in this world had never crossed her mind.

Yet here Sunset was, not only confirming that another version of herself was present, but that the Twilight in question was Sunset’s Special Somepony—Somehuman? Someone? She’d figure out proper nomenclature later. The rest of it was more important to deal with, because she was trying to wrap her mind around the implications. This revelation meant that on some level another Twilight had seen Sunset Shimmer and found a loving partner.

She felt paws brace on her knee as she inspected Sunset critically. Blue-green eyes were watching her warily, but Twilight didn't respond. The metric for human attraction was unknown to her, but given Sunset’s prior popularity and what little she had gleaned from her excursions to this world, she hazarded a guess that Sunset fell under an above average level of physical appeal for the humans…not that she could see it. She had seen her briefly as a mare in Equestria, and in her recent snooping, had uncovered a few old photos, and Sunset had been…unusual but average for a pony. Her most stand out feature had been her mane…but to a lot of ponies, that may not have been enough to make her personality more attractive.

It wasn't that Sunset was a bad pony, or an unpleasant one…but…there was something about her that Twilight could not pin down with a hoof. In any other circumstance, she might have decided that it was simply an expression of traits that had evolved out of ancient ponies with the right traits to be a lead mare: ambition, leadership, assertiveness, intelligence, stubbornness. Yet this was something deeper, in Sunset’s volatile temper, which she had witnessed in their confrontation, her drive and focus, and just the raw intensity she brought to the table in every thing she did. Most ponies would shy away from her or end up butting heads with her in a losing battle, from some deeper instinct warning them.

“Twilight?” Sunset sounded worried.

A paw prodded her a few times, before waving in front of her vision. “…Twilight? Don't freak out,” Spike offered unhelpfully. “…I think she’s about to freak out…got any ideas for how to stop a total Twilight Sparkle Freak Out?”

Sunset’s face reddened. “…um…none I can use on this Twilight, only on mine. Sorry.”

Spike made a gagging sound. “Gross, Sunset. I didn't need to have that picture in my head.”

“You asked.”

“And? You could have done with implying that. How would you like it if somepony talked about doing that to Princess Celestia?”

The former unicorn shuddered. “Okay. Point made, but…you do realize it's going to come up in this conversation, right?”

“If we can stop her from freaking out.”

Right. She needed to stop this before it got to the point where she would freak out because they kept interrupting her. Exhaling tightly, Twilight held up a hand. “I am not freaking out. I am attempting to process the rather reality altering knowledge that has been given to me.” She shifted to squeeze Sunset’s hands before letting them go. “I am not angry or upset, but it is a great deal to take in, this idea that another me not only exists here but that you have kept it a secret while getting to know her well enough to form not just a friendship with her, but to be in a long term romantic partnership with her.”

“Trust me, no one was more shocked than I was,” Sunset told her with a crooked smile and a slight laugh.

Twilight shook her head, only half hearing her friend. The dam had been breached and the words had to come out now. “Yes, but a friendship is significantly easier to understand than you being her Special Somepony. In a way she is me, and I had never considered you for anything of the sort—not that I’d exactly considered anypony for the position in my life. I’m too busy with Friendship and magic…but she isn't, and clearly the two of you have found that you are compatible, and I’m trying to understand exactly how and why that happened, because I cannot see it in myself.” When Sunset winced, she hurried to explain, “Not because you aren't a great pony, Sunset…but…I fail to see the appeal, from an internal perspective, beyond your level of intellectual capability and our somewhat shared personal perspectives. While helpful in establishing a rapport as good friends, it does not form the foundation necessary for more in my eyes…which begs the question what am I missing?”

Hopping out of the seat, she began to pace the open space in the room. “I suppose it could be some socio-cultural factors, since humans are so very different from ponies. Or perhaps there's more to your history with her than I know, which could theoretically craft a shared set of experiences that would allow for deeper bonding but—”

Sunset was suddenly in front of her, interrupting her pacing. “Twilight,” she said, tone firm and a faint frown on her features, hand coming down on the pacing alicorn’s shoulders. “Stop a minute and breathe, okay?” As she complied, realizing that she had been neglecting that somewhat vital necessity during her rambling, her friend guided her back to her chair. “Okay. First misconception I think we need to clear up—she’s not you, and you can't think of her that way. My Twilight might look and sound like you in a lot of ways, but she's a completely different person. Her own person. You’re similar, but you're not the same, and you can't use yourself to understand or gauge what she and I have between us, okay?”

Her voice softened, and those eyes weren’t really seeing her. “She’s…she’s everything I never knew I needed in my life, and she’s been there for me since the night you hit me with the Rainbow…and she’s definitely not you, Princess. I might not be your type, but to be honest, you're not mine either. We make good friends, fantastic colleagues in terms of working out magical puzzles, and you're a cute mare, but…you're not my Twilight…and that’s a good thing.”

Tension leaked out of Twilight, and she nodded, considering Sunset’s words. “…I…had not considered that she might be that much diverged from me…that…is something of a relief, I suppose.”

“I can imagine,” Sunset chuckled. “I had to deal with something similar when you were here fighting the sirens with us. I’d only been dating her a short time, and it…was a bit disorienting to interact with you when I was so used to interacting with her. I managed to sort myself out finally when we talked in the kitchen that night—I realized that you and I are more alike than you and Sparky are.”

Several parts of that contributed to the way she arched her eyebrow, but Twilight settled on one of the more egregious bits. “Sparky?”

The other mare turned red all the way to the tips of her ears. “It's…what I call her. She’s Sparky, you're Twi. Keeps it separate in my head. Her family calls her ‘Twily’ but I figured your family probably does that for you too?”

“You…guessed correctly.” Studying her friend, she asked, “She really makes you happy, doesn't she? This other Twilight.”

Blue-green eyes met hers, and Sunset hugged herself. “I feel like I’m home, Twilight, in a way I never felt anywhere before. Sparky…her family…” Tears shimmered, refusing to fall. “I belong with them. With her.”

Twilight couldn't help but smile, and she drew Sunset into a tight hug. “Then I am happy for you, Sunset. This is a wonderful thing, and you more than deserve the chance to find your home and happiness. You’ve come so far from when we met, and I couldn't be more proud of the mare you’ve become, even if you’ve done it as a human.”

Sunset leaned into the hug, never quite breaking into tears but still trembling faintly. Twilight let her soak up the hug for a long time, until the unicorn-turned-human pulled back on her own. Only then did Twilight clear her throat and address the bigger picture. “I can see where her being a Twilight Sparkle would be problematic, but…that's not the entirety of what you wanted to talk about, is it?”

“No, it’s not.” Sunset rubbed her face and finally flopped back in her own chair bonelessly, the furniture protesting with some loud squeaking. “I want to tell her the truth. About me, about Equestria, about magic. About everything. If this is going to work, I…have to be honest.” She sighed heavily. “And…that's where I…need your permission…and maybe your help. I trust Sparky’s immediate family—I’m sure you understand why I would, and I trust her…but she’s stuck at Crystal Prep until she can get a passing grade on her project from the principal—and there's a hydra in the water supply if I’ve ever seen one. What’s worse, her project is on the ‘strange energy’ she’s detected…”

Twilight frowned. “Strange energy.”

“Yeah. You’d recognize it as thaumic discharge, courtesy of the Element of Magic and then our big showdown at the Battle of the Bands…she had no idea what she’s looking into, and while I’m sure having Sparky involved in my research team can only help, I don’t want whatever or whoever is involved in the dark magic at her school catching wind of it. Or Equestria.”

Taking a deeper breath, Sunset was on her feet, pacing restlessly—it was her turn to expel some nervous energy it seemed. “The less humans know about our world, the better, Twi. Our friends are wonderful and most humans are okay…but…they scare the horseapples right out of me. This is a species that goes to war constantly over little things, who built a weapon so terrible that their scientists didn't know whether detonating it would ignite their own atmosphere—and then they did it anyway, twice! On enemy cities! Every legend or myth about humans doesn't even come close to what they can and have done, and there's seven billion of them on Earth.”

She stared. “Seven billion? That's roughly two hundred and thirty times the number of ponies in Equestria, and we’re one of the most populous sentient species on the planet! And why would they make a weapon like that…?”

“To be fair, some of the stuff that happened during the Warring Tribes Era was pretty awful, Twi. And humans…I don't know. It's just how they are. Rarity tried to explain it to me…but I don't understand it because I’m not human, even if I’m more like them than the average pony.” Sunset shook herself. “The bulk of them are decent, they really are. They want to be good and be happy and have friends…but some are just rotten, and they have no problem using whatever means necessary to take what they want.”

The pacing stopped, and Sunset stood before Twilight, towering momentarily over her seated form, blocking out the mage light crystals in the ceiling. “I…want to tell Sparky the truth, but I don't want to endanger Equestria, and I won't do it unless I have your permission, Princess. I know I don't really deserve that consideration considering I actually intended to invade Equestria with an army of humans, but…I’m asking for it. Not being able to tell her the truth is eating me alive.”

It wasn't until Sunset lowered herself to kneel before her in supplication that Twilight realized she was asking not as her friend, but as a subject. It was…disorienting and disconcerting, to have somepony she considered a peer prostrate themselves before her like this—especially because the human way looked so alien. That it was Sunset made it particularly unsettling—even in the moment of her defeat at the formal, she had never submitted like this. This was a mare, who, crying and covered in snot and dirt and bruises, had hauled herself out of a crater in the earth and stood all on her own with only the barest assistance at the end.

What must it mean for her to cast aside all control and what pride remained in her to plead in this fashion?

Twilight swallowed heavily, and reached out, gently, and touched her upper arms, tugging lightly. “Please, Sunset, no…please get up. You're my friend, and friends don't need to ever do this, even if I’m acting in my role as a princess of the realm. Just because I’m an alicorn does not make me better than anypony…just more specialized, and with extra responsibilities.”

“I…it's not like asking permission to eat fish at a formal dinner with the deer,” Sunset pointed out. “This is a lot more serious than something small, since it could affect all of Equestria and not just me.”

Guiding the other mare unresistingly back into the other chair, she gave her a warm smile. “I am taking it with the gravity you are presenting it, Magus Sunset Shimmer,” she stressed, using her friend’s full name and academic title to drive the point home. “…and as your friend, I would say yes in a heartbeat, because this is a human you obviously care for very much. As a princess, I do want to know a bit more about your Twilight and her immediate family, as well as exactly what you want to let them know about Equestria, so that I can make an informed decision…and you have made it clear I cannot base my perspective on myself and my own family.”

Spike, who was now helping himself to a bag of dog biscuits he’d apparently sussed out of Sunset’s bag, pointed one at her. “I dunno,” he said, between crunching sounds, “I’m willing to bet Shining is a total dork in any universe. Also a pretty awesome uncle.”

Sunset snorted out a laugh. “I wouldn't know about the second—the Spike here is Sparky’s dog—but Shining is a big dweeb. And a fantastic police officer. He was promoted to detective a few months ago, and he’s training under a more experienced detective.” She paused, then translated, “local law enforcement, with promotion from street patrol to crime investigation.” Her eyes softened. “He’s a good guy—and even though he did some digging into where I live and stuff, he treats me like he does Sparky. He’s even told people he works with that I’m his ‘other sister,’ apparently.”

While that did sound like the Shining Twilight remembered from her fillyhood, it did make something twist inside of her at the distance that had grown between her and her brother, who was as busy as Prince-Consort of the Crystal Kingdom as she was as the Princess of Friendship. “So he’s law enforcement and still plays Ogres & Oubliettes on weekends then?” Focus, Twilight!

“Here it's called Dungeons & Dragons, but yes. He even LARPs…with Vice Principal Luna, of all people. That is, he dresses up as his character and they go play it in the woods as sort of a blend between O&O and theater.”

Spike’s eyes went wide. “Oh that sounds soooo cool! Wait til I tell Big Macintosh! We might have to see if some others want to join us for ‘Dungeons & Dragons!’ as a new campaign!” He bounced over to Sunset, paws on her knee. “Can you get me the books? Please? I’ll trade you for it?”

An amber skinned hand dropped to his head and ruffled his ears playfully. “You don't need to trade me, Spike. Consider it an early birthday present or something. You want the core set or should I talk to Shining about supplemental materials too?”

His tail wagged furiously. “Anything he would recommend is great! Our Shining taught me and Twilight to play O&O, so I know he knows what he’s talking about.”

Meanwhile, Twilight was now frowning. “Luna’s counterpart plays O&O? How’d you find that out?”

Her friend rolled her eyes. “Oh, that's the part that still makes my brain hurt. So Cady has been telling stories for months about her best friend and former college roommate. All kinds of funny stories, because she and Shining and this woman are super good friends even now. Except, come to find out, when I had to go to Crystal Prep to bring Twilight her meds and Miss Luna took me so that I wouldn't get turned away at the door, I learned that the ‘Lu’ from the stories was my vice principal. Very weird experience, I assure you, realizing that the woman in the story about drunken antics in a dorm room involved the same woman who hands out punishment at my school.”

“Cady?” Sunset knew this world’s version of her sister-in-law too? “You interact with Cadence too?”

Sunset winced. “…I…get on better with the one here. I didn't almost set her on fire when she was eleven, so she just knows me as Sparky’s girlfriend-slash-best friend.”

Her eyes felt like they were going to fall out of her head. “You set Princess Cadence on fire??!” Twilight squeaked.

Guilt flickered across those features. “…no. I set the study on fire and almost burned down a wing of the palace in the process. It…was a surge, and I didn’t mean to, but I got really angry with something she said when she showed up for her magic lesson with me. Princess Celestia wanted me to teach her the basics of unicorn magic after her Ascension…I look back now, and I think she was hoping we would be friends…but…well. Spilled oats.” She shrugged and rubbed the back of her neck uncomfortably. “If it matters, I feel really bad about it and intend to apologize if I ever see her again. Especially because the Cadence I know has been so nice. She’s….really helped me understand what I’ve been feeling, and given me some good advice on navigating my relationship with Twilight.”

Twilight was bothered to learn that there was animosity between her much beloved sister-in-law and Sunset, but she did feel relieved to learn that the human versions of both her big brother and Cadence seemed to be much like the ones she knew. It made her feel much more positive about the situation she was in. “…I’m glad to hear the Cadence here is the same kind and caring being that I know. Are…she and Shining together, romantically, here?”

A smile broke out on Sunset’s face. “They got engaged over the holidays a few months ago. I’ve already been promised a wedding invitation, and Twilight’s the human version of Best Mare for her brother. According to Sparky—and her cousin, Glamour, those two have been together forever. Cady practically grew up in their house, because her parents traveled a lot for business or something. Mrs. Velvet didn't really go into it in detail or anything, but I’ve managed to piece a few things together.”

Her stomach felt a little sour and Twilight began to regret the daisy and daffodil sandwich she’d had for lunch. “…what…about…my parents' counterparts? It sounds like your Twilight still lives at home with them? What are they like?”

“…They're great,” Sunset began, before taking a moment to gather her thoughts into some kind of order. “I…never really interacted with a lot of stallions that were not members of the guard when I was a filly. There weren’t any I even knew by name until Princess Celestia hired Mr. Slide Rule as my tutor when I was five. So I don't know what having a father is like, but…I like Mr. Night. He’s dorky too, but smart, and I can see where Sparky gets her humor from. They make these dumb jokes all the time, and they aren't funny, but the two of them laugh like it's hilarious, and that makes me laugh, how happy they are to make silly math or science jokes. He cares…and he's not loud or aggressive like a lot of adult male humans seem to be, but…he's also fair. Shining and Twilight got into an argument with Mrs. Velvet once, and he made Shining go outside with him to explain why he was upset, and then made him take a walk to calm down. And…he listens, really listens, to me, to Twilight. They both do, and they care about my feelings and what I’m comfortable with.”

It was weird to hear her friend describing her dad so well, but then make reference to an aspect of his relationship with her counterpart that she hadn't seen herself in years. Twilight swallowed a lump in her throat as she remembered her own dad telling silly math jokes when he’d taught her algebra, and tried to squelch the faint jealousy she felt for both her own counterpart and Sunset for getting to bond with the human versions of her parents.

“Mrs. Velvet…if your mom is anything like her, Twi, you are the luckiest pony in Equestria,” Sunset said softly. “She loves her family so much. She’s smart too, but it's not the same kind of smart as Mr. Night, and she makes the best meals—she always makes sure to have something I can eat when I go over there, but she…she talks to me, and encourages me. I think the room they gave me was her idea, and when I got hurt from thaumic backlash and needed to have someone make sure I didn’t have anything more serious wrong, she was worried.” She laughed, but her voice was laced with something that felt like wonder. “Sparky has joked that we have to tell them we’re dating before Mrs. Velvet decides to try and officially adopt me.”

Silence descended, but not an uncomfortable one. Twilight mulled over what she had just learned, and how deeply what Sunset had said had touched the core of who she was as a pony. In the time before she had friends, her family had been the central foundation of her life…as was to be expected, and she alone could read between the lines of what the other pony was describing, and see exactly what her counterpart’s family intended.

The human Twilight Velvet being willing to adopt Sunset…that was no joke. Her own mother was, despite any failings she had, one of the most open hearted and welcoming ponies Twilight knew. And for the mare of the house to make a call like that…

She imagined what her mother’s wider family would say to that. Grandma would smile and demand to meet her new grandfoal—grown or not, you did not disobey Grandma or Great Grandmother. Her aunts would probably find ways to make up for missed birthdays, and her uncle would probably keep away to prevent his wife from making snide remarks about how her family’s bloodline was too pure to even consider letting in someone without the proper family reputation…but her uncle’s wife was also a sour mare whose family had been trying to marry up into nobility for centuries.

…it recontextualized everything, she decided. Sunset wasn't looking to tell them out of guilt, or because they were kin to her Special Somepony. This was a family wanting to add her to their number, who loved and looked after her friend the way they would someone tied by blood… Even as a princess, it was not her place to interfere in family matters like that—and to deny Sunset’s request would mean permanently creating a barrier between her and her new family.

She couldn't do it. Not with what she had learned about Sunset since her last visit, and what she and Luna were starting to suspect about the unicorn’s past. Princess or not, to Tartarus with Equestria’s safety…she could not break Sunset’s hope a second time. Sunset had already given so much to an Equestria that failed her, had been denied a family once.

Twilight could not do that to her a second time.

Taking a deep breath, she cleared her throat and did her best to compartmentalize her feelings. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Spike watching her, and knew they would be talking later. Probably at a meeting with Luna. “Tell me about Twilight. Your Twilight.” That would buy her time to compose what she wanted to say at the end of the discussion.

“….Sparky’s…she’s…sweet sunfire, where do I start?” Sunset asked with a laugh. “Like you, she’s beyond brilliant and so very talented, though she focuses on math and science instead of magic, and she’s refreshingly upfront about what she’s thinking or feeling, compared to most humans. When we met, she didn't care that I was an awful person, only that I had saved her from being attacked, and that I was hurting and alone. She…saw me. Just me…and that was enough to make her decide we were friends. That my past was the past, and she only cared to consider evidence she witnessed herself rather than ‘anecdotal observation from a third party….’”

Once before, the young alicorn had compared Sunset’s smile to Princess Celestia’s solar charge, and to the princess herself with how it felt to have that smile directed at her. What happened as she began to speak about the human girl who had captured her heart put that smile to shame, like comparing a candle to the majesty of that self same solar body. Everything about Sunset radiated joy, passion, and love to the point that it flowed over Twilight like a warm summer breeze; the feelings soaked into her skin and fired through her synapses and senses with magic. A pleasant shiver went through her as muscles knotted with months of tension suddenly released, leaving Twilight loose limbed and limp in the same fashion as one of the specialty massages from the Ponyville Spa, with the same revitalized levels of energy.

The effect was so strong that it took her some time to adjust and focus her attention back on Sunset, the other pony seemingly oblivious to what she was doing. “…can't explain it, really, because humans are so horribly ugly, but she’s cute—not just physically. She laughs over really dorky jokes and does horrible impressions, but I could listen to her talk all day, even if she was reading the most dry and boring history book in human existence; Sparky just has this way of making it interesting, and she gets so invested in learning and sharing knowledge. We’ve taken to reading books on myths together, along with stargazing, because humans also tie constellations to stories…and she’s been so patient with all the things she knows I’m not telling her about where I’m from…”

She was beginning to see why her counterpart would be drawn to Sunset, if this was even a tenth of how Sunset’s presence affected the human Twilight. There was an underlying draw to the warm presence Sunset gave off, as though she could bask in the feelings drifting across her with a gentle push-pull on her own emotions. Her friend truly was something special—Equestria had lost not only a powerful unicorn with Archmagus potential, but a mare of charisma and majesty that rivaled that of both Princess Celestia and Princess Cadence—and it took everything Twilight had not to hug her while she was talking. Even Spike was looking a little glassy eyed, and as she observed, he padded over to Sunset and climbed into her lap, tail swishing in contentment as she started absently scratching his neck and ears.

“….you stopped me from making an awful mistake, and the girls have helped me understand friendship,” Sunset was saying, “but Twilight…my Twilight…she’s the reason I’ve worked so hard to change the pony I am. I want to show her I can be what she thinks I am and more. I want her to be proud of me.” She blinked rapidly, clearly getting emotional. “She believes in me, supports me, encourages me, and listens to me when I need it. She’s my best friend, and I want to make this work, Twi. It's why I want to tell her the truth. All of it, good, bad, and terrible.”

Twilight had already made her decision, but this had made her even more confident that it was the right one. Taking a moment longer to arrange the words she wanted to use, she let out a slow, deep breath. She had to do this right, as a princess, not just as a friend, because Sunset had petitioned her as the Princess of Friendship, and that was who was making the judgment call, not Twilight Sparkle, friend and fellow academic.

Standing up, she faced Sunset, expression serious. “I have heard enough, I think, to come to an informed decision,” she told the mare in front of her. “You have expressed a desire…and a need, to tell your Special Somepony and her family the whole truth…to reveal magic and Equestria and your own nature as a pony to them. Is that correct?”

Sunset straightened. “It is, Your Highness,” she replied formally. “I have learned the lesson that no relationship can be built on a foundation of lies and secrets.”

“You are correct—Honesty is not just a virtue in friendship, but in all relationships, and it is an important one. You need to tell the human Twilight Sparkle the truth…and you will. She has a right to know, and you have every right to be the one to tell her. That’s my decision, as a princess of Equestria.” Blue-green eyes stared in bewildered shock, and she decided to soften it. “Sunset…it is evident that you have found happiness here—a happiness that was missing from your life before, in Equestria. You’ve spent the last half hour describing in detail your Special Somepony and her family, and how you want to live up to their belief and trust in you. I am…heartened by how your first consideration was a selfless one—the well-being of Equestria and all those who live there—but…you have made yourself a home, a life here, with a Special Somepony and a family who clearly loves you. I cannot—will not—take that from you.”

Lifting her chin in a defiant, stubborn gesture that was less impressive with a human face than a proper muzzle. “More than that, I will support your decision and back you against anypony who objects, even the other princesses.”

“….I….” Sunset looked down at her hands that were still petting Spike. “….thank you,” she finished after a minute.

There was one more thing she needed to say, to make something clear. “Sunset, I consider this no different than if you were still in Equestria and a pony family desired to add you to their family tapestry. You have every right to be part of your family, to have their support in your life, and to share yourself with them, without any outsiders interfering.”

The redhead bit her lip. “…but they aren't ponies. Are you sure—”

“That they are a different species or located in another world is irrelevant, Sunset. The truth is, Equestrian law—in actual legal wording, as well as long standing precedent and tradition are clear. Internal family matters are not the concern of outsiders or the government so long as no higher laws are broken. This is not species dependent, and there is no greater law that would supercede the right to privacy in family affairs, other world or not.” She gave her friend a somewhat grim smile, one with just a hint of teeth. “There’s a few cases that set a precedent, involving foals adopted into cross species families for one reason or another.”

Brows furrowing, Sunset nodded slowly. “…I didn't dig too deeply into law when I was at CSGU. Mostly I focused on how to work around the school policies and professors without getting caught. Other than that I was pretty focused on magic.”

“I’ve been brushing up,” Twilight replied. “I’ve got a project I’m working on, and I have also been doing it because it's my responsibility as a princess to understand those things.” She smiled brightly. “Now…is there anything I can do to help you with explaining magic and Equestria to your Twilight?”

Sunset’s answering smile was lopsided and tired. “You could help me come up with a way to prove I’m telling the truth, if you want. My Twilight is a scientific, analytical mind, and she’s going to want to see evidence to back up my words—not because she doesn’t believe me as much as…it's just how she is. I can't use my magic, since it's unstable and erratic again. Plus…fire…always a safety hazard?”

Recalling the early moons with Spike, Twilight chuckled. “I’m familiar. We had to enchant everything for Spike to be fireproof when he was a hatchling…and I still make sure all his bedding is, whenever we replace it.”

One eye opened. “Sheesh, get sick and sneeze the crib to ash one time and they never let you forget it.”

“I almost burned down an entire wing of the castle more than once, and singed Princess Celestia’s muzzle fur off on my third birthday,” Sunset told him. “It's a legitimate concern for any creature with a tie to fire.” Then she looked back up at Twilight. “So…any suggestions?”

She thought about what she would accept as evidence for something outlandish…like Pinkie’s ‘Pinkie Sense.’ “If it were me,” she said slowly, “I would want something easily testable that could not be replicated easily by other means. That would allow me to throw out more obvious methods of debunking in favor of more complex ones, and such analyses often follow the principle of ‘the solution with the fewest complexities is often the right answer.”

The other pony nodded. “I was thinking the same thing, but I don’t have much I could show her. I've got myself and the girls, the research equipment, my saddlebag that is now a bookbag, and that's about it.”

“What about an enchanted grooming kit? Comb, curry comb, hoof care tools?” she asked thoughtfully. “One of the Ponyville unicorns makes and sells enchanted tools meant for earth ponies and pegasi to use, so they're rune activated rather than needing interaction from unicorn magic. I could send one through the portal—it's only like ten bits for a complete set.”

Tilting her head, Sunset considered the suggestion. “That could work. It's fairly basic and humans don't have combs or brushes that style their hair for them. And they use similar hoof care tools for their domestic equines. They even shoe them the same way a lot of the guard does for rough terrain, so that’d be points in favor of proof of pony, too.” Her eyes brightened. “Oh! What about the journal? We could let her write to you—you’ve learned their alphabet here so it wouldn't be too hard to read and write something back.”

That was when Spike piped up, never even opening his eyes. “At that point, why not just use me and Twilight? Kinda hard to not believe an extra Twilight and a talking dog.”

The two ponies stared at him and then each other.

“Huh,” Sunset mumbled. “Why didn't we think of that?”

Twilight made her way carefully down the steps of the school. “I’ll stop by Runeworks first thing after breakfast tomorrow,” she told Sunset. “And I’ll keep the journal close by after lunch. Just message me when you're ready for me to come through.”

Sunset adjusted her bag as they walked to the statue. “That’ll work, and Flash said he was free tomorrow evening, so I’ll talk to him in the morning about the details of the plan. He knows where she lives, so having him drive you over should be easy.” Flashing Twilight one of her crooked smiles, she let out a relieved sigh. “Thanks, Twi. You’ve really helped me out with this. I was sort of thinking myself in circles trying to decide how and when to tell her.”

Without hesitation, the princess of friendship pulled the other pony into a hug. “You are my friend, Sunset—I will always do my best to help you when you need it…and something like this? This is something wonderful that I get to assist on, instead of a world ending disaster.” Realizing how that sounded, she laughed awkwardly. “Not that I wouldn't help with that too if you asked! It's just nice sometimes to be able to help a friend with something good.”

“Trust me, I get it, Twi. After the way this year has gone, I’m looking forward to Spring Break and summer vacation just to have some downtime.” A bus rumbled nearby as Sunset squeezed tightly before letting go. “I’ll message you later. I might need a last minute pep talk or three if my nerves get the better of me.”

“Stay safe,” Twilight responded, glancing back one final time as Spike hopped through the portal. “And Sunset? It’ll be fine.”

The last thing she heard before stepping back through to Equestria was Sunset’s timorous, “I hope you're right…”

Right. So this was a busy chapter. Long too.

Lots of stuff has been going on in Equestria too, it seems, while Sunset's been busy. We touch a little on the Crystal Tree Castle, and Twilight's mixed feelings around it.

Spike is such a good dragon. Huge heart and he works hard to look after Twilight. As always I'm more inclined to view their relationship as parent/child than siblings, though I freely acknowledge its not a standard parent/child dynamic. Doesn't mean they both dont know it, or that they ignore it...its more that they just dont feel the need to constantly demonstrate it in a performative fashion.

Looks like Twilight is developing theories about the magic on the human side, now that she's seen the room.

Lessee...there's some stuff that mentions the Everfree, and Harmonic crystals. THats a touch of worldbuilding in Rubicon, honestly. The idea is that the Everfree is a nexus of power, where many leylines come together--there's a reason the magic is wild and overflowing, and why the tree is sitting in the center of that forest...that has nothing to do with Starswirl the Jackass and his merry band of idiots pissing on a seed. It also connects to why Equestria is so mineral rich...and the answer is magic. THe magic in the ground, in the water, bonds with and crystalizes in the same processes that create all kinds of mineral deposits and crystals...So the earth in the Everfree is absolutely lousy with crystal formations and tiny gems, including a large number of the same kind of crystal the Tree is made of.

It also makes mention of something I dont think I've addressed yet: the way a pony's magic works to help them be healthier. This is actually part of a thing in Rubicon of why Scootaloo cant fly but Bulk sort of can, why Snips and Snails are....bad at magic...and even incorporates into how ponies age and reproduce. A pony has an internal magical pool, varying in size depending on the pony, and as part of their biology, their bodies can and will draw on it to repair or correct health issues. This happens both before they are born and all through their lives, which eventually means that as they age, more and more of their internal magic goes to countering the issues of aging...until a tipping point is reached and there's just not enough to do so anymore. Its also why Scootaloo cant fly in Rubicon. She had some kind of birth defect that was serious enough that a large portion of her magic was used to correct it before she was born, leaving her with slightly stunted wings and enough pegasi magic to do things like walk on clouds, but not enough to be able to fly on her own. Likewise, Snips and Snails (the pony ones) have problems using unicorn magic for a lot because both have some medical issues that their magic has to correct. Sunset is making the connection that to her is obvious, because she is a pony, and Twilight understands, because for them, the idea that a being's magic helps with their health is...just a fact of life.

There's also mention of Spike's egg, and the fact that Twilight hatched him with magic... Spike there is a very unique and special little dragon, though he hasnt entirely figured that out yet. :P

....

Right. Twilight completely missing the boat on the "we're more than friends" speech. I couldnt resist. The character is so...relationship blind at times it was completely in character, but also hilarious.

She's happy for Sunset though, not weird or jealous. It was a bit weird at first, but ....ya know, Sunset fixed that.

Second point where we touch on some Equestria stuff...its loosely been mentioned before, but the way we've got ponies written is that for them, family (even extended) is super important. Its one of the most important social connections in a pony's life, especially because it ties into their metric for success, which seems to be about renown and legacy, rather than gold or net worth. A pony can trade on family reputation to get started in a business or career or craft, because "Oh, she's a member of the Apple family, even if she makes furniture...they're always honest and fair with customers, so surely she will be too." This goes the other way as well, of course. "Oh, you're so-and-so's cousin? That's fantastic! She is the best enchanter we've ever seen! What is it you do? Gardening? Amazing! I'd love to see your work, if its anything like your cousins, we're going to have to get your help with our flowerbeds!" Family is lineage, legacy, reputation, support network, all in one for ponies. Orphans are typically only held by authorities as caregivers until someone from their extended family can make the trip to get them, and one of the greatest social punishments that can be given to a pony is being cast out from their family. (See Flim and Flam, who in Rubicon are distant members of the Apple Family who were disowned for being dishonest, shady business ponies that cheated customers...after trading on the family name.)

Twilight making note of her family no longer being as close is a little more heavy hitting under that context...as is Sunset's status as an orphan with no known family ties. And it makes Sunset's inclusion by Sparky's family matter that much more to the two ponies. :P

More background shared on Sunset's history with Princess Cadence. Something about setting her on fire? Yeah. Can't see that as having a good outcome.

*skims* Sunset's magic apparently doing things when she gets emotional. Twilight being a good friend, but also trying to be a good princess. More hints at things going on in Equestria...

And then of course, Spike suggesting the obvious with proving things to Sparky. Thank you, Spike.

And now we're caught up to the previous chapter, hahaha.

>.>