“It just doesn’t make any sense! I’ve tried going through the portal both early in the loop and when it was almost over; I’ve gone through by myself and alongside Princess Twilight. I even took a chance and brought my journal with me hoping that whatever connects it with the one in Equestria would help... the result is always the same and I’m no closer to figuring out what’s wrong with it than I was at the beginning!” Sunset slumped down in her seat, closing her eyes and massaging both temples with her fingers. “It’s so freaking frustrating!”
“I, um… I’m sorry, Sunset, I’m not sure what I can do to help,” Twilight fidgeted as she spoke, her eyes focusing everywhere but on the girl across the table from her. “If you’re really stuck in some kind of magic time loop, wouldn’t it be better to ask Princess Twilight about it?”
“You mean the girl over there trying to set a world record for tissues soaked through in a single night?” Sunset jerked a thumb at the table across the room, where the rest of their friends sat surrounding a despondent and tearful Twilight Sparkle. “She can barely get two words out between sobs... and besides,” she added with a sigh, “this whole thing with Flash is really doing a number on her. As much as I’d love to have her help right now she needs to sort out her own feelings before she’ll be any good to anyone. That’s gonna take time, and unfortunately time is the one thing I can’t give her.”
Sunset sighed again and shook her head, gazing out at the rest of the party that was still happening, albeit a little more muted now that the incident between Twilight and Flash--not to mention Sunset’s seemingly sudden irritability--had put a damper on everyone’s mood. Having lost the opportunity for a rematch against Rainbow Dash, Indigo was now grouchily reigning supreme on the furry fighting game, trouncing challenger after challenger, regardless of the school they came from. No matter how many opponents she flawlessly took down, the disgruntled frown never left her face for long.
“Have you tried stopping them from breaking up in the first place?” Twilight asked, her finger on her chin and her head bowed in thought.
Sunset nodded without turning back to face the other girl.
“More than a few times, but so far the best I’ve been able to do is delay it for a while. Flash is determined to make this the night he finally asks Twilight out for real, and Twilight is just as dead-set on making sure the relationship ends before anyone gets hurt.” She snorted and turned her eyes in the Princess’ direction. “Fat lot of good that’s doing them, right?”
“Hmm…” the Twilight seated near her narrowed her eyes as Sunset continued.
“Anyway, that’s besides the point,” Sunset shook off her languid pose and pushed herself back up to a proper sitting position. “Regardless of what happens to Twilight or Flash, none of it matters unless I can find a way to cancel out this Celestia-damned time loop. I’ll happily help them pick up the pieces of their relationship once this is all over.”
“That’s sensible,” Twilight admitted with a nod.
Sunset smiled. “Thought you’d say that. It was your idea, after all.”
“Really?” Twilight’s eyes widened.
“In fact, pretty much every good piece of advice I’ve gotten this whole time has been from you, Sparky. Oh, that’s your new nickname, by the way.”
“Oh, uh… thanks?” A slew of emotions mixed across Twilight’s face. “Is that why you pulled me aside and aren’t talking about all this to the others?”
Sunset nodded. “Trying to explain everything to everyone each loop is exhausting, even when I try to speed things up by answering questions before people ask them. I know the girls are all willing to believe me, and that means a lot, but keeping them all on board just doesn’t seem like it’s really helping.”
“I was under the impression that the magic you girls have is at its strongest when you’re together,” Twilight said. “Won’t you still need their help to fix this?”
“Probably,” Sunset admitted, “but first I need to get a better handle on what’s actually going on. Rainbow lasers are cool and all, but shooting them off without a target isn’t going to get us anywhere. That’s where you come in.”
“Me?” Twilight gave a start, her hand automatically rising to push her glasses back into place. “I-I… are you sure?” Her eyes fell to the tabletop as he shoulders slumped in resignation. “Things didn’t go so well last time.”
Sunset gave her a comforting smile. “I’m not asking you to break out the spectrometer; I just need someone to bounce ideas off of; a sounding board, y’know?” She shrugged. “Think of it as library research instead of field work.”
“I guess that does sound safer,” Twilight nodded. “I’m not sure how much help I can really be, though.”
A sigh escaped Sunset’s lips.
“Stop selling yourself short. I couldn’t even figure out how to properly measure our magic using this world’s technology; every time I tried it blew up in my face. Or dropped apples on my head, or sprayed me with…” She shook her head. “Nevermind; not important. You, on the other hand, built a device capable of detecting and absorbing magic in a frickin’ broom closet using leftover computer parts. I think it’s safe to say that despite my or Princess Twilight’s knowledge on the subject, you’re this world’s leading expert on magic.”
Twilight’s eyes grew wide as she took in a long, slow breath.
“The… the world’s leading expert,” she reverently whispered the words, “on magic?” A dopey grin spread across her face as she blushed and began giggling, only to catch herself a moment later when she noticed Sunset watching her with an amused grin.
“Sorry,” Twilight mumbled, coughing into her hand as the tint on her cheeks deepened. “The, um… the whole 'world’s leading expert' thing is-”
“It’s been a fantasy of yours to go on the news and be introduced as the world’s leading expert of something,” Sunset finished for her.
Twilight froze, her only motion the rapid blinking of her eyelids.
“... We’ve had this conversation before, haven’t we?”
“Repeatedly,” Sunset replied without skipping a beat and shooting a glance at her phone. “I think next loop I’m gonna try opening with the ‘expert on magic’ bit; it always seems to be the clincher.” She shoved her phone back in her pocket and stood. “So, shall we?”
Twilight gave her a confused frown as she slid from the booth. “Where are we going?”
“Your old lab at Crystal Prep,” Sunset explained as the two of them made for the front door, pointedly ignoring the confused stares she knew were boring into her back from the rest of her friends, “it’s quiet and secluded so no one will bother us, and it’s familiar so you’re comfortable and do your best thinking there.”
“... Is it okay for me to be a little freaked out about how well you know me all of the sudden?”
Sunset smiled as she opened the door, her other hand snatching up her motorcycle helmet and holding it out for Twilight to take.
“Wouldn’t be the first time.”
“Okay,” Sunset breathed a sigh as she set down the chalk and dusted her hands, “so this is where we’re at.”
Twilight, seated in her computer chair with a small notepad, tapped a pen against her chin as her eyes danced over the rough diagram sketched on the chalkboard. A stick figure with wavy hair--Sunset, presumably--sat surrounded by a circle of arrows that--again, presumably--represented time looping on itself. Also inside the circle of arrows were two smaller circles; one with spiky hair and one with long, straight hair, which themselves were surrounded by a heart with a jagged crack down the middle, followed by a question mark. Outside the circle of arrows were images of the Wondercolt statue at CHS and Sunset’s magic journal, both covered by a large ‘X’.
“That’s… not a whole lot to go on.”
“I know,” Sunset’s shoulders slumped. “Aside from knowing that I’m stuck in a time loop and that the portal to Equestria doesn’t seem to be working, everything else is still more or less guesswork.”
“And we’re sure that Equestrian magic is the cause of it all?”
“Unless your world has some other force capable of messing with the fundamental laws of the universe that I don’t know about, then yeah,” Sunset sighed as she sat on the edge of a nearby desk, “though to be honest, this Starlight pony that Princess Twilight told us about is the first one I’ve ever heard of using time magic on such a massive scale… I don’t get how we might’ve managed to stumble into something on the same level by accident.”
“Hm,” Twilight’s eyes narrowed. “Maybe... we didn’t.”
Sunset turned to look at the bespectacled girl, who remained focused on the blackboard.
“Back before the Friendship Games when I was still trying to analyze the readings coming from CHS, I noticed two things,” Twilight began. “One: there was a sort of lingering trace of energy left behind everywhere magic was used; almost like low-level radiation.”
Sunset nodded. “In Equestria it’s referred to as an imprint. Any powerful magic leaves one behind, but it fades over time.”
“Two,” Twilight continued with a nod, “not all of the magic I took readings on was the same. The measurements came back showing modulated frequencies, dissimilar wavelengths; things like that. I didn’t figure it out until later, but I think that the magic from you and the other girls is different from the magic that the portal uses. The readings I picked up a few months ago were also a little off from the others.”
“A few months ago?” Sunset crossed her arms as her lips twisted into a grimace. She stayed like that for a brief moment before snapping her fingers. “The Battle of the Bands! That must have been the Dazzlings!”
“What’s a Dazzling?” Twilight blinked. “Some kind of creature from Equestria?”
“No,” Sunset started to answer before she caught herself. “Well, yes, but--nevermind, the details aren’t important. When we defeated them they lost their magic; what does that have to do with the time loop?”
“It has to do with these,” Twilight said as she set down her pen and paper, stood, and stepped over to a nearby filing cabinet, pulling open the top drawer and lifting out what looked like a small, metallic, fireproof case. She undid the latches, holding it out to Sunset and gently lifting the lid as a soft red glow leaked from within.
Sunset sucked in her breath, her eyes widening as she took a reflexive step backwards. Inside the case lay about a dozen ruby fragments; fragments that Sunset instantly recognized as the shattered remains of the Sirens' pendants.
“But… but Princess Twilight took these back to Equestria for safekeeping. How did...” Sunset shook her head. “Have those been here in your lab this whole time?”
“My early scanners detected a disturbance that night in the park, so I went to investigate,” Twilight explained as she closed the case and locked it. “The whole amphitheater was a hotbed of magical activity, but there was also a very faint trail leading off into the city. I followed it for a while and eventually found these,” she patted the top of the case, “in a dumpster about four blocks from the park.”
Sunset nodded slowly. “The Dazzlings must have thrown them away, now that they’re useless.”
Twilight snorted and gave a small grin. “They’re far from useless. I’m guessing you already know, but these shards react in the presence of other magic and naturally draw in and contain any nearby magical energy. They were the entire basis for my second-generation spectrometer.”
“That sounds about right,” Sunset said, still eyeing the case nervously even as Twilight placed it back in the cabinet. “To think that Adagio and her sisters would still be causing trouble after all this time.”
“That’s exactly it,” Twilight said. “Even after all this time, the magical signature present in these shards carries some of the same properties as the magic itself. Now…” Twilight returned to her seat, a devious smile beginning to curl the corners of her lips, “who do we both know who’s recently been in contact with what--by your own assessment--is an unprecedented level of time magic?”
Sunset’s eyes snapped open.
Twilight nodded.
“It’s only been a few days,” Sunset continued, “of course Princess Twilight’s whole body is probably saturated with residual time magic…” She trailed off with a shake of her head. “But how does that translate into getting me stuck in a time loop?”
“I’m not sure,” Twilight admitted, scooping up the notepad and pen from the desk. “Did anything happen between yourself and Princess Twilight around the time that the looping first started? Any kind of magical interaction at all?”
Sunset puffed out her cheeks, shrugging. “Not that I can think of.”
“Are you sure?” Twilight insisted. “No weird sensations, or lights or energy that you couldn’t explain?”
Sunset shook her head. “No, and even if there was, I can’t imagine how a leftover trace of time magic could have had such a powerful effect. It’s not like Princess Twilight is a foal who still gets...” She trailed off, gasping as she leaped up from her seat. “That’s it!”
“What is?”
“Magic surges!” Sunset practically shouted as she sprouted a massive smile. “Sweet Celestia; I can’t believe I didn’t think of this sooner!”
“Huh?” Twilight frowned.
“Here,” Sunset darted over to the blackboard, snatched up a piece of chalk and swept their current diagram away with a nearby eraser.
“Hey! I thought we needed that.”
Sunset ignored her, frantically sketching out a series of stick figures, each with varying, simplified hairstyles, and a larger one that looked like the ‘Princess Twilight’ she had just wiped from existence, except this time it was surrounded by wavy lines, an hourglass, and a small heart with a crack down the middle.
“Here’s the deal,” Sunset spoke as she continued to draw. “In Equestria, it’s not uncommon for Unicorn foals to have uncontrollable magic surges; it’s sort of like puberty is for Humans. Most of the time these surges are unpredictable and fairly harmless, but on rare occasions they can be triggered by severe emotional stress.”
“Okay,” Twilight said slowly, “but Princess Twilight isn’t a foal… is she?”
“No, but that’s what got me thinking,” Sunset said as she finished her work and turned back to face Twilight. “Here in this world our magic is brand-new; we’re just learning how to use it--just like foals would be.”
Sunset pointed to the smaller figures, specifically one with short, somewhat messy hair.
“The first time Rainbow Dash ponied up on her own was during a pep rally, when her and everyone else’s emotions were riding high.” She moved her hand to the next figure, sporting an ornate, curly coiffure. “Rarity did it when she was gushing over how much she loves giving gifts or doing things for her friends, and Pinkie Pie,” Sunset indicated a stick figure with curly, poofy hair, “did it when she saw how much fun everyone was having at that party the two of you threw together.” She turned from the blackboard. “Do you see?”
“I see that despite all these loops your drawings could still use some improvement,” Twilight groused, pointing to one with a hair bun and goofy, coke-bottle glasses. “I do not look like that!”
Sunset rolled her eyes. “Fine, I’ll try and draw you less dorky from now on, but do you see what these all have in common?”
“They all happened when your friends were displaying the truest part of themselves; you said so yourself right after the Friendship Games.”
“Right, and that’s what I thought at the time,” Sunset nodded, “but then what about this?” She quickly drew a guitar on Rainbow, a set of drums around Pinkie, and various other instruments near their respective players. “We pony up when we play music together as well. We’re not expressing our inner nature when that happens, are we? But what we are doing is sharing a collective emotional response; that’s the common factor!”
Twilight’s eyes lit up.
“And what’s more emotionally stressful than getting your heart broken?” She blanched. “W-well, according to Cadance, anyway.”
“Exactly!” Sunset tapped her chalk on the picture of Princess Twilight. “Princess Twilight’s emotions triggered a surge in her natural Equestrian magic, which interacted with the trace elements of time magic left in her body and boom!” She punched one hand into her own open palm. “Instant time loop!” She spun around, surprised to see a frown in her partner’s face. “What?”
“Well… if all this is true, then why are you the one stuck in the loop? Why not Princess Twilight?”
“I think I know the answer to that, too,” Sunset sat down backwards in one of the spare chairs. “The first time Flash and Twilight’s breakup happened--before any of this time looping stuff started--I went to try and comfort Twilight and got a huge shock from touching her shoulder. I didn’t think anything of it at the time, but looking back now I’m pretty sure I haven’t gotten that shock on any of the subsequent loops.
“What if that shock was some kind of… I dunno, some kind of magical jump-start? A sort of link between Twilight’s Equestrian magic and my own?”
“Hm,” was all Twilight offered in response, her brow furrowing in thought. “I suppose it’s possible.”
“You don’t sound convinced,” Sunset stated.
Twilight sighed. “I’m sorry; I just wish we had more facts and data to go on. Right now all of this is just a theory.” Her gaze fell to her lap, where her hands idly wrung one another. “The last time I acted on theories without testing them… well, you know.”
“Hey,” Sunset said softly as she reach forward and took Twilight’s hands in her own. “This isn’t going to be a repeat of what happened at the Friendship Games. I promise you that.” A warm smile turned up her lips. “Besides, this time we get as many do-overs as we want.”
“I suppose you’re right,” Twilight said with a giggle, “although there is still one thing we were wrong about.”
“What’s that?”
“It looks like you’ll be helping Princess Twilight and Flash with their relationship after all,” Twilight said with grin. “If we want to break the loop, we need to stop their breakup.”
“I…” Sunset’s smile wavered as she let go of Twilight’s hands, “Yeah, I guess that’s our best bet.”
Twilight frowned. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” Sunset was quick to reply as she stood and turned to face the blackboard. “Nothing, it’s just… so far I’ve had zero luck trying to keep them together.” She crossed her arms over her chest, her gaze focusing on the drawing of Princess Twilight. She took a deep breath and let out a mighty sigh.
“I guess I’m just going to have to try harder.”