Dear Princess Twilight,

Sorry for not writing to you sooner—it's been a long week for us here on this side of the portal. Tirek’s teeth! Do I have information to share with you!

On the research end, I can confirm that the baseline SET levels you established for the girls and the school grounds were not flukes, nor was it interference from the portal to Equestria. The subsequent daily readings have been well within the margin of error every single time. I can also tell you that the effect seems to be centered on the school, likely due to the events with the Element of Magic last fall—the SET level decreases fairly steadily away from the school until it reaches a background reading of about 0.2481. I’ll be taking a bit of a drive out of town soon to confirm this as an approximate standard baseline for this part of the human world. That's a significant difference from CHS, but also about what I suspected given the extremely low levels of magical energy in this world.

It's too early to tell, but if what my own senses and observations are telling me are true, I suspect we will see the girl’s magic levels continue to increase—though that is more of a hunch than anything at this point. I just don't think the power they've come into possession of is done growing yet, not with the bits of spontaneous magic still happening—I hesitate to call them surges, as they lack the volatility of a surge.

As for my magic, surge is definitely the right word for what is happening to me, and I’m worried, Twi. I was prone to dangerous surges as a foal and even later when I got my magic under control, fits of temper could still cause them. The last thing I want is to have a massive surge around people I care about and accidentally hit one of them...

Sunset? Are you still there? The message ended abruptly.

Hey, Twi. No, I’m still here. Just...trying to collect my thoughts, I guess.

That’s understandable. Have you narrowed down what is inducing your surges, or is there no seeming pattern?

Well...sort of. They’re caused by extremely powerful emotions...but for once in my life, it's not my temper that’s doing it.

You mentioned that before—were your surges as a foal only catalyzed by rage?

As far as I can remember, yeah...though you’d have to check with Princess Celestia about the ones I had when I was really little.

Hmm. Have you had any fits of temper recently that should have caused a surge but didn't? (Any variable we can eliminate is helpful.)

...I’d say there were at least a couple of moments that should have qualified.

What about the magic in the surge itself? I know it can be excessively difficult to analyze one’s own surges, but...

...but it's helpful to know if there’s abnormalities in the energy and its flow. Yeah, I remember. It's...a little hard to describe. The magic was definitely my own, it came from my own reserves and not from an outside font...but it also didn't feel quite the same as my magic has always felt before.

What do you mean? Do you think it could be related to your magic’s abrupt color change?

Maybe? It's not the same as the powers from any of the Elements, I can tell that much—it's still very much my magic, but there’s a quality it did not have before, one I can't quite describe. It's not dark magic....at least, I don't think it is.

I’m not sure I can do much more than make educated guesses without more information, Sunset. Do you think it might be possible for you to try and trigger a surge while I’m there so that I can get some direct readings and observational data?

...Sunset?

Sorry, Twi...I’m...not really sure I can recreate the surges under “laboratory conditions,” to be honest. The emotions involved are usually pretty intense and focused on a singular individual.

I see. Is it always the same individual or does it just require somepony to be your focus?

Same individual.

Is there any way they could be present for such a test?

...not really. Look, can you keep a secret?

Of course I can, Sunset. I promise I won't share what you tell me here without your permission.

Okay. Here goes...

I have a friend that the girls don't know about. She...doesn't go to CHS, and I’d...introduce them to her but...she’s not really comfortable with meeting a lot of people right now. She doesn't know I’m a unicorn from Equestria, or about anything that happened at the Fall Formal or with the Sirens, or that magic is even real.

...Princess Twilight?

Oh, that’s fantastic! I’m so happy to hear you're branching out beyond just the girls and making more friends! And I completely understand having a friend who struggles with large social groups—Fluttershy—that is, the Fluttershy I know in Equestria—still doesn't like large groups of ponies focusing on her.

So that's out, then, and it explains your worry about the surges! Maybe I can do a bit of research here...would it...be alright to ask Princess Celestia about the subject? She might have some ideas or information on the subject. I might also be able to come up with something that can passively record data on the surges?

....you’re not mad that I’m keeping a secret like this from the girls?

What? You mean your other friend?

Yeah.

Sunset. I understand that Honesty is an important virtue for friendship—telling lies only hurts a friendship long term...but a secret like this sounds like something you are not keeping out of malice or selfish gain. If your friend is as uncomfortable with large groups as you say, then you sound like you are acting in accordance with your friend’s wishes. I know better than anyone just how overwhelming the girls can be—I was a socially incapable shut-in who had no idea how friends worked when I first met them, and just between you and me, if it hadn't been for the world-ending peril of Nightmare Moon, all of them at once would have had me locking myself in my tower in Canterlot and never leaving again.

I’m glad you're not upset. It's not that I really want to keep it a secret, but...I’ve brought up introducing her to them, and she’s said that she’s not ready, and I don't want to push her, not before she’s ready. It would just be a disaster, and I don't want to hurt her like that, not after everything she’s done for me since we met.

You’ve offered some very rational reasoning for keeping it a secret, and no one is being hurt from it. I can respect the decision, and I am honored you trusted me enough to tell me, since it's apparent that you are exceptionally close to this friend.

I’ll see what I can do to come up with some form of discreet sensor for you to carry with you. Do humans wear jewelry for things besides formal attire?

...they do, but if you go that route, Twi, please keep the gems small. I showed you what common gemstones are here, so imagine what large sized Equestrian gemstones are worth to a greedy human. I would really rather avoid getting attacked because I’m walking around with a hoof sized diamond. I’m already investing in a safe to keep the spell kit in at the school for just that reason.

I’ll see what I can come up with. Would a pendant work better? You could hide something like that under your clothes.

A pendant would be ideal—humans have some special customs shaped around rings, based on which finger of which hand you wear it on.

Hmmm. I suppose having ten digits perfect for rings would allow humans to come up with complex traditions around them. Do they use them the same way unicorns do for weddings?

Sort of. That's one of the customs I was referring to. A ring on one finger signifies a betrothal, and another signifies a marriage bond...except humans are expected to wear them all the time, not just for the ceremony. It's...strange, really.

Strange? I find humans to be absolutely fascinating—well, once I got past the whole no horn, hairless yeti with no magic thing. I don't suppose you've had a chance to find me a few books on human culture? I could learn more about them than any other pony other than you, maybe publish a few papers on them, correcting the falsehoods in some of the old legends...and even if I didn't, I would love to learn just how different their customs are from ours. Like with the jewelry, do they use specific gems to signify different things? Or the styles for different types of jewelry—are there some only meant to be used under a specific circumstance? What about taboos? On just that alone, I have so many questions!

Twilight, focus! I know you’re interested in studying humans, and I promise you, I will find you some good reference books, but I’d appreciate it if you’d rein in your enthusiasm for now...at least until we figure out the magic that's come to this world and is affecting our friends?

You're right, Sunset. I’m sorry, I just love a potential new field of study.

Trust me, Twi, once we figure all of this magic out, I will buy you any and every human text you want if it’ll make you happy...but one thing at a time.

Right. I need to look into magic surges in adult unicorns—I’ve actually never heard of them occurring, but I’m not a doctor, nor do I commonly dabble in medical texts. In the meantime, have you tried some sort of meditation, or found a way to channel your magic in that body? It might help if you can find a way to expel some of the excess power you're building up and not using.

I did do a bit of meditation one of the days when I was on the verge of a surge and it helped some.

I’d recommend making that part of your routine then. What about using some of your magic? Have you tried again while ponied up?

Oh! That was one of the things I had meant to mention! Yes! It's...the other day, I had an impending surge, and I managed to get a moment alone. I used a little music to trigger a pony up, and then shunted the power through my horn! They're not just decorative, and they act as the same form of arcane resonator as in Equestria! It wasn't a specific spell that triggered—it was more like an energy wave—but I intend to experiment more.

The more data you can collect, the easier it will be to narrow down the problem, and knowing the problem will help us formulate a solution, Sunset. Run as many different experiments as you can safely, and record what happens for me?

...Spike has actually brought up a good point. When he was just a hatchling, we had the palace healers run numerous scans of him regularly, especially once his unique fire manifested itself. (My mother suggested it initially as a precaution against the lack of knowledge about dragon physiology in the event that he got sick.) Do you know if there were medical scans done when you were a foal? Since you indicated your magic surges were abnormally powerful and continued on into a much older age than most young unicorns, there's a chance that there might be something in your medical files.

I...you know, Spike might be onto something there. You’d have to check with the palace physician...I used to get seen by Ivory Aura, but I actually don't know if she’s still there. Unless you guys changed the calendars since I first came through the mirror, it's been a few decades, and she was older when I was still a filly. If she’s not, they probably archived my records. Raven might know where they cache those. Barring that, Princess Celestia MIGHT have a copy, since I was technically her ward.

Then with your permission, I'll start with looking for Dr. Aura—the name isn't familiar, so I don't think I ever met her at the Palace myself. What do you want me to tell the Princess, if I end up needing to ask her? I don't want to lie to her, but I also don't want to share things you might not like me to.

...truthfully, Twi, I’d be surprised if she cared as long as I’m not back to being a power mad egomaniac with delusions of conquest.

That’s not true! If I go asking her where your medical records are with no context, I know she’ll be worried sick!

Princess, she hasn't been that concerned with me since I was eight years old. I sincerely doubt she’ll start now.

Twilight?

Are... are you still there?

I didn't... I know Princess Celestia’s still your teacher and you probably have nothing but respect for her...and for you, she probably is amazing, because as a teacher, I know better than just about anypony else how good she is....it's just...she and I...there were a lot of problems for a long time between us, and...what happened between her and I isn’t so easily glossed over and made new again.

Twilight, please don't be mad with me. I...I didn't mean to upset you...

Princess?

I'm sorry. If you still want to do the research after I was a bitch like that, then... you can say whatever you think best...

I’ll talk to you later.

Bruhahaha.

Yeah, theres some hilarity in Sunset telling the princess she has another “friend”. And in the Princess Twiligjt’s response.

Hmmm. Its not like A Twilight to bail from a conversation…i wonder whats going on in Equestria?