“I can’t believe Granny Smith forced this pie on us,” Shepard said as she walked into her house pie in hand.
“She didn’t force anything Shepard,” Liara said following the soldier inside. “I think it was a nice gesture.”
“Yeah besides, her pies are the best,” Sunset said closing the door behind her.
“I suppose,” Shepard said examining the pie with narrowed eyes. “Still did it have to be an apple pie? Why not raspberry or cherry?”
Sunset chuckled, “Don’t let the Apples hear you say that, otherwise they’ll drown you in apple products to prove their superiority.”
Shepard looked terrified for a second, “Right I’ll watch out for that.”
Liara chuckled as well, “What Shepard can’t handle a few apples?”
Shepard put a hand up in a placating gesture, “Hey now, I like apples as much as the next person. I just prefer my fruit with a bit of tang is all.” She turned and walked through a doorway to her left shouting over her shoulder, “Feel free to look around Sunset. I’m going to order some food for us. I’ll find you when it's here.”
“I’ll go make sure she doesn’t get anything too extravagant,” Liara said as she turned to follow Shepard. “Does pizza sound good?”
“Pizza? Really?” Sunset asked with a raised eyebrow.
“I blame Shepard, that’s what she always got for us on leave and I’ve gotten hooked,” Liara said with a smile.
“Pizza sounds great,” Sunset said smiling back at the asari.
“Good anything special?” Liara asked
“Nope, I’m good with anything,” Sunset answered shaking her head.
Liara nodded then left Sunset alone to explore. She turned to take in the room around her. There was a couch with two overstuffed chairs on either side sitting in the middle of the room facing a large screen in one of the corners. A large table sat in front of the chairs with a few coasters strewn about on its surface. Sunset wandered past the chairs to a small alcove built into the wall. Pillows filled the alcove and a window looked out to a grassy lawn.
She moved past the alcove to a staircase that led downstairs. The door at the bottom was open revealing a lit room. She went down the stair to find a large room with various weight machines lining the walls. A circular mat took up the center of the room with stands on one side holding sparring gear.
She walked over to the gear and picked up one of the helmets. It looked well-worn though still sturdy enough to provide protection to the wearer. As Sunset was placing the helmet back on to the stand a flanged voice sounded out behind her, “I see you found the sparring room.”
Sunset reacted quickly spinning around and delivering a magic enhanced kick behind her. It connected with a solid thump and the person behind her fell to the ground emitting a loud grunt of pain. She used the momentum to turn completely around and look at the fallen person. A turian lay on the ground clutching his midsection. He wore a blue and white uniform and had blue markings on his face. The right side of his face was marred with old scarring.
Sunset recognized who she had just assaulted. Her hands flew toward her mouth as she gasped. She rushed over to the fallen turian offering a hand to help him up, “Oh my gosh I’m so sorry I-“ She was interrupted by loud cackling laughter coming from the doorway. Sunset spun to look at where the laughing was coming from. Shepard and Liara were standing there with another woman, hunched over laughing. She was wearing a black leather jacket over black jeans and a white shirt. Her hair was shaved on the sides with the top pulled back into a long ponytail. Tattoos covered most of her exposed skin with her face being the only part of her not covered in ink.
“Oh man that was fucking hilarious,” The woman said after calming down enough to stand straight. She was promptly hit in the back of the head by Shepard causing her to whip around to glare at the soldier. “What the fuck!”
“Language Jack,” Shepard said glaring right back.
“You fucking serious, I’m nowhere near the Academy right now,” Jack said gesturing around her. Shepard gave a pointed look at Sunset. Jack followed her gaze and scoffed. “Oh come on Shepard she was livin’ in the fucking streets, she’s probably heard way worse than that.”
“That’s not the point,” Shepard growled her glare hardening.
Jack returned the glare for a moment before scoffing again, “Fine, I’ll watch my language warden.”
Sunset watched the exchange with wide eyes before a groan drew her attention back to the turian on the ground. “Oh here let me-“She started once again moving to help the turian onto his feet.
She was waved off as the turian stood up. “I’m fine just a little winded is all,” He said standing to his full height to tower over Sunset. “I’m Garrus, Garrus Vakarian and the loud one over there is Jack.” He extended a talon towards Sunset, “It’s good to finally meet you.”
Sunset shook his talon, “It’s good to meet you as well”
Garrus nodded at her returning his talon to his side when it was released, “That’s a pretty mean kick you got there.”
“Sorry about that, it was a reflex,” Sunset said rubbing the back of her neck.
“It’s fine,” Garrus said waving a talon about in a dismissive gesture. “I shouldn’t have snuck up on you like that.
“She did the same thing to me when I met her,” Shepard said stepping onto the mat. “I think that’s how she greets people.”
“No! That’s not-“ Sunset stopped, noticing the smirk on Shepard’s face. Sunset rolled her eyes at Shepard as she crossed her arms. “Oh ha, ha.”
Shepard chuckled, “All joking aside, that was an impressive display. You ever have any training?”
“Yeah my dad taught me a few thing,” Sunset said her eyes widening as she realized exactly what she said.
“Really? Was he military?” Garrus asked.
“Uh yeah, he was,” Sunset said.
Shepard raised an eyebrow, “Maybe we can find him for you?”
Sunset shook her head eyes darting between Shepard and Garrus, “No… its fine he was declared KIA a while ago.”
“We have some connections,” Garrus said stepping forward. “Maybe we can find something the Alliance missed.”
“N-no that’s fine really,” Sunset said backing away from Shepard and Garrus. “I don’t think that-“
“Oh come on,” Jack said interrupting Sunset. “Just ask her the damn questions already.”
Shepard hung her head and ran a hand down her face sighing, “Jack… there’s such a thing as subtlety.”
“Fu- Screw subtlety, just ask her what you want and get it over with,” Jack said leaning against the door frame.
“What questions?” Sunset asked.
Liara stepped forward, “When Shepard first found you she and I did some research. What we discovered was… interesting to say the least.”
“Oh,” Sunset said looking down at her feet. “I suppose you would have questions.” She breathed in then out closing her eyes. She opened them again as she spoke, “Go ahead ask away.”
“Just like that?” Shepard said.
Sunset sighed, “My friends pointed out that of all the people in the galaxy to find out about our magic, you and your crew are probably the best option.” She ran a hand across her face, “We can’t keep this hidden forever, plus with me being from a different dimension-“
Sunset was interrupted once more by Jack, “Whoa wait for a f- minute.” She stepped away from the door frame approaching the rest of the group. “Different dimension? Are you serious?”
“It’s… it’s complicated,” Sunset looked towards Shepard. “Is there someplace we can sit down this might take a while.”
Shepard nodded, “Sure we can go upstairs.” She turned and walked to the doorway the other following closely.
They all got settled in the living room with Shepard and Garrus taking the couch along with Liara. Jack and Sunset took the chairs on either side of the couch. “Alright,” Shepard said leaning forward to place her arms on her knees. “Start from the beginning and tell us everything.”
Sunset sighed, “Ok well… are any of you familiar with the multiverse theory?”
Liara nodded at Sunset’s words, “Yes the theory states that there are infinite possible dimensions beyond our perception. However, no proof in either direction has been found leaving it more as a thought experiment than an actual theory.”
“What if I said I had proof of at least one dimension,” Sunset said.
“What kind of proof?” Liara asked.
“I’m... actually from an alternate dimension,” Sunset said gesturing to herself. “One with magic, and populated by unicorns and pegasi as well as other mythological creatures.”
“Bullshit,” Jack said crossing her arms. “Come on, really, unicorns? How fucking stupid do you think we are?”
“Jack,” Shepard said glaring at the woman again.
“No Shepard this is fucking bullshit,” Jack said standing up. “And notice she doesn’t have proof just a story.”
“There’s proof in my bag though, I don’t remember where it went,” Sunset said looking around.
“We put it in the room you’ll be staying,” Shepard said. She turning to Jack, “Why don’t you go get it and calm down.”
“Fine, I’ll go do that,” Jack said turning and walking towards the hallway behind them. “It’ll get me away from this bullshit.”
“Sorry about that,” Shepard said turning back to Sunset.
“It’s fine,” Sunset said with a shrug. “I know this sounds crazy.”
“If you truly lived in this world, how did you end up here?” Liara asked.
“There was a magic mirror in my world. Every thirty moons it would open a portal to this world,” Sunset said.
“So you just decided to go through it one day?” Garrus asked leaning forward. “Seems rather reckless. Did you even know where it led to at the time?”
“It wasn’t like that,” Sunset said as she looked down at her feet. “At the time I thought I was being exiled.”
Shepard sat up, “Exiled, what for?”
Sunset glanced up to meet Shepard’s eyes quickly looking away, “I was accessing dark magic tomes. While that’s not necessarily forbidden, I had been told not to study those books.”
So you ignored your teachers so what?” Shepard said with a shrug. “Why does that mean exile?”
“Cause my teacher was also the ruler of the country,” Sunset said with a grimace.
“Oh,” Shepard said leaning back into the couch. “Yeah, I can see why that would change things.”
“So she was the queen of… What was the country’s name?” Liara asked.
“Equestria,” Sunset said. “And she didn’t call herself a queen, she preferred princess.”
“How long has she been the princess then?” Liara asked
“About as long as Equestria has been around,” Sunset said. She looked up at the asari a hand on her chin in thought. “Which would be around twelve hundred years or so?”
Shepard and Liara’s eyes widened. “She’s been around for that long?” Shepard asked.
“Longer actually,” Sunset said.
Before she could continue Jack walk back into the room holding Sunset’s bag. “Here,” She said dumping the bag in Sunset’s lap. She walked back to the chair and flopped down into it crossing her arms and refusing to meet Sunset’s eyes.
Sunset opened her bag and took out a book and a pen. The book was rather large and leather bound with a picture of a dual colored sun on the front. She handed both the book and the pen to Liara gesturing for the asari to open it.
Liara rifled through the pages, “It appears to be some sort of journal how is this-“ She stopped and stared at a page before turning the book to Sunset. “Is this name accurate?” She asked.
Sunset leaned forward to look at the page, “Yeah that’s Twilight.”
Jack sat up, “Wait, Twilight as in Twilight Sparkle?”
“Yeah… Why, Oh” Sunset’s eyes widened. “You know about this world’s Twilight.”
“It is the reason Jack and I are here,” Liara said placing the still open book on the table. “We are going to see if she would be interested in joining Grissom Academy.”
“Makes sense,” Sunset said nodding. “She was the princess’ personal student after I left.” Sunset shook her head before continuing, “Anyways you wanted proof that book is it.”
“What do you mean as far as I can tell it is just a book,” Liara said with a shrug.
“Back when I was the princess' student we both had books like that,” Sunset said gesturing to the book. “When she would be too far away to see personally we would use the book to write each other.”
“So it’s a communication device?” Shepard asked picking the book up and looking through it as well.
Sunset nodded, “It was one of the items I brought with me from Equestria. I found out later I could still use it to communicate even across dimensions.” She gestured to the book, “Go ahead and write in it, just make sure to mention I gave you permission.”
Shepard and Liara stared at each other seeming to come to a decision. Liara took the book from Shepard, picked up the pen and started writing. When she was done she placed the book closed on the table. “How long will it take for a response?” Liara asked.
“Depends could be a few hours,” The book started buzzing and glowing interrupting Sunset. “Or a few seconds.”
Shepard picked up the book causing it to stop bussing as she opened it. She quickly scanned the page eyes widened. She glanced up at Sunset before starting to read, “Dear Dr. T’soni, It is a pleasure to hear from you. I am glad Sunset has found both you and Shepard and has started to tell you her story. Please feel free to write anytime with questions. I would be more than happy to answer them for you. Also, I would like to meet you pony to pony at some point. I read a lot about the Commander and her crew during my stay in the human world and I would love the chance to talk with you. Sincerely, Princess Twilight Sparkle.”
They sat in silence for a moment before Jack stood up and yanked the book from Shepard gasp reading the page. Her eye widened as well and she slowly sat down in her seat again. “This is fucking impossible,” She said after a moment longer.
“Obviously not as impossible as we’d like to think considering we all saw it happen,” Garrus said.
“How does it work,” Liara asked taking the book from Jack and examining it.
“It’s a few different spells combined,” Sunset said leaning forward and folding her hands together. “I knew them by heart at one point be I haven’t needed that information for a while. Twilight would be better for the mechanics side of it anyways.”
“So magic then,” Shepard said with a raised eyebrow.
“Yes magic,” Sunset said.
“Fucking bullshit,” Jack said standing up again and point at Sunset. “Magic doesn’t ex-“
She was interrupted by Sunset standing up with clenched fists. A nonexistent wind blew through her hair giving it the appearance of fire. The lights in the room dimmed and flickered and her narrowed eyes glowed with power. “I assure you,” Her hands were surrounded by a red glow as she took a step forward. “Magic does exist.”
They all stared in shocked silence for a second. Jack then took a step forward as well igniting her biotics, “You think you scare me girly. Magic. Doesn’t. Exist.”
Sunset’s eyes narrowed even further. She turned stretching out a hand behind her. A pillow from the alcove floated over the group surrounded in a red glow. As it levitated above the table the glow around Sunset’s hand intensified before a red bolt shot out and hit the pillow. There was a loud pop and a flash as the pillow transformed into a cluster of raspberries which dropped to the table.
Sunset fell as well nearly hitting the table before Liara caught her and her back into the chair. Sunset’s hair was frazzled and she had noticeable bags under her eyes. Her entire body trembled from exhaustion. Eventually, she managed to speak between shallow breaths, “There… is that… real enough… for you?”
Jack stared at the raspberries on the table. The doorbell rang causing the group minus Sunset to jump. Jack quickly walked away towards the door without saying a word.
Shepard turned a concerned eye to Sunset, “Are you alright?”
Sunset nodded, “Yeah I’m fine… Just took a lot out of me.”
“You shouldn’t have done it if you knew it would exhaust you this much,” Liara said placing a hand on Sunsets shoulder.
Sunset shook her head, “No I had to prove-“
“You didn’t need to prove it like that,” Garrus interrupted. “You already had the book. No point in putting yourself in danger just to prove a point.”
“I’ve done it before,” Sunset said with a shrug. “Besides, I’ll be fine once I get some food and rest.”
“Then you’re going to bed after you eat,” Shepard said. “You obviously need the rest. We can continue this later.”
Sunset nodded as Jack returned with the pizza, placing it on the table before stealing a slice and walking off refusing to look a Sunset. Sunset ignored this and took half a pizza for herself. When she was done she stood up legs trembling though now able to hold her weight. “Where’s my room?” She asked.
“Up the stair second door on the left,” Shepard said. “You want any help?”
Sunset shook her head and headed upstairs. When she found her room she collapsed onto the bed not bothering to take even take her clothes off. Exhaustion soon took its toll sending Sunset into a dreamless sleep.