Dear Princess Twilight,

The girls miss you already, even though it’s only been a few days here, and I have to admit, I wish you could have stayed longer, if for no other reason than to have somepony else who understands magic to see firsthoof what is going on with it here.

Where to even start? This is so strange for me—I’m sure you’re probably used to writing stuff like this, but even when I was writing to Princess Celestia in this book, they…were more correspondence and less reports and research collaboration. I’m sure I’ll get the hang of it soon enough, but try to be patient with me until then—there’s a lot going on to talk about.

No sign of the Sirens around the school or the nearby areas of Canterlot after their defeat, but I’m sure if they turn up again, we’ll hear about it pretty quickly. The students weathered their spell fairly well, though it seems like some of them are concerned about the Sirens returning. I’m actually more concerned about the teachers of the school, especially after talking with both Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna. I suspect the Sirens used the faculty much the way the Windigos used ponies back in the Warring Tribes Era (knowing you, you’ve probably read the accounts in the palace archive too, so I waste paper going into details—just trust me when I say I think it was bad.) However, it’s made some things clear to the principals, which comes to the first request I have for you. Principal Celestia has requested that we devise a method to protect the school that doesn’t rely heavily on magic, given the lack of it in this world, and Miss Luna was inquiring about non-magical self-defense against magic, domination magics in specific. I thought maybe some of the Minotaur works might be useful for both, and maybe Zebra works or theories for the first? Regardless, anything you can send over that I could use would be great.

I also was hoping you could do some research into the Elements; there’s no logical reason the girls’ powers should be manifesting without you here as the Bearer of Magic, because the Elements don’t work without it in Equestria, but for whatever reason, its working here. More than that, SOMETHING has obviously affected my magic too, letting me tap into it and “Pony-Up” (their word for it, and I’ve not been able to come up with anything better, so that’s what we’re going with, I guess) like the others do. I sincerely doubt it’s magic from the Elements, even if I did make use of yours at the Formal.

We ponied up the other day, and I ran a few quick tests while I had a horn. I CAN access my magic, and even direct it into my horn, but the human body is really not meant to do so—from the strain and discomfort, I don’t think this body has the right pathways to make it easy, and that the magic is piggybacking along the nervous system, since it’s already designed to carry bio-electrical signals. I don’t know if it was the lack of pathways, my low reserves (I used everything I had against the Sirens, and I’m going to be low on power for a few weeks, given the lack of ambient magic in this world), or just that it’s not going to be something I can do, even with a horn, but I couldn’t even manage to pull off basic levitation or any kind of real spell.

I DID learn that my magic’s aura has changed color—Fluttershy took a picture of it to show me, and it’s not even remotely the same. It used to be a sort of…teal? Turquoise? Something like that, but now it’s red. I can’t recall anything other than magical artifacts that can change a unicorn’s magic to a completely different color, but I didn’t exactly dig into thesis level reading on the subject of arcanobiology, so I was wondering if you could dig me up some of the books on that too—I want to see if I can find any human comparisons on magical pathways in the body. Despite their world being low-magic, when I started looking for it after I first arrived, I remember reading that a bunch of different groups of humans have beliefs on magic of one kind or another, and maybe I can find something useful there…but it would be helpful to have actual researched material written by specialists in the field who weren’t tying it to some strange religion. (Sweet sunfire, humans are so weird. I’ve been here for years and I barely understand just the ONE human culture I deal with regularly.)

…I feel bad asking for so much, but I feel it’s probably important to learn if Starswirl (or any OTHER Equestrian natives) sent any more dangerous magical threats “to another world.” There’s a lot of overlap in human mythology with Equestrian denizens and fauna that I’m beginning to think may have its origins in more of our problems being dumped here. Or anything to do with legends about humans, or the human world. There’s just so much we don’t know, about this world and its history with Equestria.

Despite the looming threat of potential Equestrian monsters coming at us for the magic here, or the portal, things are looking up, I think. People at school are…actually treating me like a person instead of like diamond dog droppings they’ve trod on, and school is out here starting the end of the week for the human’s winter holidays. It’s…not the same as a Hearth’s Warming celebration, but the humans do have a tradition of gift giving to friends and family for the “Christmas season” (which seems to last anywhere from one to as many as six moons, depending on where you look). I’m planning on giving the girls gifts… Which brings me to the strangest request in this letter. I’ve got some bits remaining from when I left (not many, but enough for what I’m going to ask for) and I was wondering if I could ask you to be the middle-mare in the purchase of two blank books. Humans don’t make good blank books—or good quality books at all, really, and the ideas I have require some real Equestrian tomes.

Once I’ve recovered and the holidays are over, I plan to start running experiments and tests with the magic. We need some sort of baseline readings, though my previous attempts were a about as useful as a pegasus with clipped wings is to a weather team. I’m hoping once I’ve recovered some magic, I can come up with some way to use a diagnostic spell in this body. Barring that, I might have to ask you to get me a thaumometer.

Talk to you soon, and tell Spike I said hi!

Your Friend,

Sunset Shimmer

Dear Sunset Shimmer,

Tell the girls I miss them too, and I’m sorry I couldn’t stay longer—things are just a bit hectic here in Equestria right now. (That’s a very long story that involves Tirek, Discord, and this strange…map…table…thing that came with the castle, courtesy of the Elements. I’ll have to tell you about it later, when we have time.)

I’m glad the Siren problem is thoroughly resolved, though I wish we could have talked to them before they ran off. Without their magic or their gems, I wonder if they could be reasoned with…though if they are like the Windigos in the accounts—yes, I’ve read them too, and they gave me nightmares for a week—then perhaps there is not much we could do to bring them around. It would still be good to try if you do see them.

I’m more than happy to find you the books you mentioned, though I may have to send a request to Canterlot. I’m still…rebuilding Ponyville’s library after it was destroyed and most of its collection lost. I’m just glad I kept multiple copies of the catalog list so I know what was lost! And I can do more than get Zebra writings if you would like. There’s a Zebra that lives near Ponyville, and she’s extremely well versed in their various practices to ward off dark magic and other threats. It might take a while to get them all, but I should have no problem finding what you need. That includes research on any other beings that might have been sent to the human world—Do they have a moniker for their planet, by the way? I forgot to ask before.

…Although, I’ve never heard of a unicorn’s magic aura changing color spontaneously like that. Not without a powerful magical object or amplifier involved—like the time Trixie Lulamoon got her hooves on the Alicorn Amulet. It’s actually a fascinating puzzle, all things considered, and I’m curious to know what caused it. Was it your exposure to the magic in my Crown? Or was it from the Elements cleansing you? Or perhaps a side effect of being in the human world? Or is it that you’ve stumbled across a source of magic IN the human world that we’ve never seen before? So many possibilities—this research project is turning out to be more interesting and amazing than I could have imagined! I’ll see what I can find on that front too!

I have to admit I’m intrigued at the thought of human culture—maybe you can get me some books on that? Their world is so strange and I’d love to see the history of a species that developed in a world without any real magic at all. It makes me wonder, what raises and lowers their sun every day, or handles their weather? It all seemed pretty orderly when I was there. And their machines! So many advancements I barely got to look at! Maybe after we research the magic in the human world , I could get you to help me do a research project on humans? That would be amazing—no pony has ever actually studied humans before! We would be the first!

Happy Hearth’s Warming a little late—Or…is it “Happy Christmas?” since you’re celebrating with the humans? I’m curious as to the significance of their winter holiday—is there some manner of historical tale associated with it like we have with Hearth’s Warming? I’d be happy to help you get the blank books, and I insist you keep your bits. I probably have some blank books here anyway that you can have, and if they’re gifts for our friends, it’s worth the bits they’d cost. Which raises another question—are you well fixed for finances? I’m not sure how well bits convert to human currency, but considering you’re working with me on behalf of Equestria for a research—and diplomatic goodwill—project, I’m sure I could justify a stipend if you needed it. (I could probably even take it from mine—I keep telling Princess Celestia that I really don’t need as much every moon as I get from the treasurer, but she just tells me to use it to help Ponyville’s economy—though if I’m purchasing things here that you need across the portal, I suppose I am doing just that, if in a rather roundabout way...) At least enough for you to be able to purchase the supplies for your experiments and documentation…

I’ll see what I can get, and we can work out a time for me to pop through with what you’ve asked for. Spike says hello back, by the way.

Your friend,

Twilight Sparkle

This chapter is an example of something that will be sprinkled throughout subsequent arcs: Correspondence between Princess Twilight and Sunset, typically in regards to their research project. It will be paralleled by a similar type of "chapter" I intend to refer to as "Research Logs" that are the human Twilight's notes on magic, for a look inside that nerd brain.

The image of the book was kindly passed to me courtesy of one Pauly Sentry. Huzzah!