Twilight fought to keep a wide grin off her face, trying her hardest to keep a Celestia-like gentle smile in place instead. Spike was trying as well, but judging by how the dragon was stuffing his claws in his mouth in an effort to contain his laughter he was having an even harder time of it than she was. It couldn't be helped though, the sight before her was just too adorable.
Her library was transformed into an aviary of paper, books flying left and right in red magical auras as they danced across the room, some flipping open to riffle a few pages, others stacking and unstacking like a flock of birds looking for a branch to settle. And in the middle of this storm of paper sat a sun coloured mare with a mane of flame, her head dashing to and fro as her eyes tracked the books she made fly through the library.
It had started with a tour of her castle. Not that there was much in it yet, aside from the handful of rooms they actually used, but it was still a big place and some of the amenities were a bit spread out. They'd gone up to the balconies, the observatory and the pool on the roof before going back down again where she'd gone through the living areas, the kitchen the dining area and her library.
And that's where they encountered a little snag. Sunset was immediately fascinated by the device Twilight had constructed around the portal, and while she had guessed most of the operating functions on seeing them there were a couple of details where Sunset had scratched her head. As it turned out, magic hadn't been sitting idly in the decade Sunset was away and Twilight, always ready to talk science, had immediately fished the books with the relevant information of the shelves and hoofed them over to Sunset. Or tried to, as Sunset reached out to the books with a hoof and promptly let them drop to the floor. It took a moment before Spike had not so subtly coughed and poked Twilight's horns from his position on her back, and Sunset's eyes went from confusion to lighting up like Luna's starlit sky, right alongside her horn.
Fast forward to the present and the dragon and Princess observing their guest with amusement. Several minutes later.
A sharp snort followed by a chuckle signalled the end of Spike's control over his mirth. A yellow ear flicked and Sunset's head turned to the duo. "What?" Twilight couldn't help it, the look off oblivious confusion on Sunset's face as she tilted her head was just too much and a small giggle escaped from her as well. It didn't help when Sunset frowned as confusion mixed with a small amount of indignation. "What's so funny?"
"Sorry Sunset" Twilight replied, no longer bothering to hide her smile. "You just looked so adorable weaving your magic around like that. Like a foal who just mastered their first spell."
Sunset spluttered, her ears folding back as a blush crept on her cheeks, her eyes darting across the room. "Yeah, well, you try living without magic for ten years and try not to be excited."
Twilight felt her ears droop halfway as well. "Oh, that's right, we've got no magic on the other side of the mirror."
"Well, I know we've still got it, we just don't have any real way to access or channel it without our horns."
Twilight nodded. She never did get around to going back and forth and seeing how far the mirror's transformation restricted their magic, but they'd had no problems channelling the magic of the Elements of Harmony during the Fall Formal battle, and the Battle of the Bands showed that there definitely was a way for humans to channel magic. "So how does it feel to have it back again?"
Sunset beamed. "Amazing. It's like I just got back a limb that had been cut of and I'd almost forgotten about. I've had brief flashes of magic while playing music, but it was like drinking through a leaky straw. I just feel so much more... complete like this."
"That's no surprise, given your cutie mark" Twilight noted, nodding her head at Sunset's flank where a two toned sun was proudly displayed. "Magic is a part of who you are, I can't imagine giving up mine for so long for anything, really."
"It wasn't easy, I'll tell you that. Sometimes just knowing that as long as I'd stay there I wouldn't have magic was almost enough to make me go back." Sunset sighed. "Too bad I had my head too far up my own rump to act on it."
"You really went without magic for ten years?" Spike asked, to which Sunset nodded.
"Except for the few times I snuck back, yeah. The first couple of years were the roughest, but once I got the hang of the whole hands thing things got easier."
"They are pretty awesome" Spike agreed, flexing his claws. "I'm glad I was raised by ponies, I honestly don't think I would have coped that well as a dog without my claws if I hadn't grown up alongside Twilight under mom and dad's care."
"So he says, but dad was happy when you finally outgrew your bitey phase." Twilight teased with a grin. Spike stuck out his tongue and just like they did when they were younger Twilight responded in kind. They slowly leaned forward to one another in a chicken race to see who would back out first, but before they could get close Twilight caught Sunset staring at a book in her magic field. "Sunset? Are you alright?"
The unicorn blinked and turned to Twilight "Hmm? Oh, yeah, I'm just.. wondering."
"Wondering what?" Twilight pressed.
"Have you... ever heard of magic auras changing colour?"
There was a slight note of worry in Sunset's voice, which made Twilight move next to her friend. She looked at the book held firmly in a red magic field. The field itself seemed to be a perfectly healthy red magical field. She shifted her gaze from the book to Sunset's horn, but found nothing immediately out of the norm there either.
"You mean your field wasn't always red?" she asked.
Sunset shook her head as she turned to Twilight. "No, it used to be cyan. Remember the castle when I stole your crown?"
"Well I was a bit too pre-occupied with somepony stealing my crown and one of the Elements of Harmony to really pay attention to what the colour of her magic was" Twilight responded dryly.
Sunset had the grace to cough and look away embarrassed. "Ah, well, it was. And now it's red."
Twilight tapped a hoof to her chin. "Hmm, well it's not entirely unknown for a magic field to be a different colour when casting more specialized spells. My own changed to a purple-black-greenish mix when using dark magic once."
Sunset's jaw dropped. "You? Miss Princess of Friendship? Using dark magic?"
"I didn't have much of a choice at the time. It was when we had to save the Crystal Empire from King Sombra, he'd hidden a secret entrance behind a dark magic lock. Anyway, how long has it been red?"
"Uhm, I only realized just now. This is the first time I've used actual unicorn magic since that day we first met." Sunset admitted.
"It was red during the fight with the Sirens."
The two ponies turned to the young dragon, who shrugged with a smile. "I kind of had a front-row seat. When you ponied up and joined the other girls, you all shot beams of magic that turned into that huge rainbow into the sky. Sunset's beam was red."
Twilight hummed. "Well, that gives us a narrow frame of reference. That means the change took place between Sunset stealing my crown and the battle with the sirens. Did anything happen in that time?"
"Yeah." Sunset gave an awkward smile. "I turned into a raging she-demon and you and the girls blasted me into the dirt."
Twilight hummed to herself for a moment before lighting up her own horn. The scattered books once again took to the air, flying to their assorted shelves. Once they were all settled, Twilight plucked one back from the shelves. "I recall reading something about this in 'Sunseeker's Exposition on Personal Magic.' Let's see, magic, horns, thaumatic pathways, mana cores, magic fields, magic colour... Aha! "While it is rare, there are ponies, often unicorns, who have seen colour of their magic change. A pony's magic is, at its core, the reflection of that pony's soul, and as such this colour can change with a pony. The most common example of this is through possession or corruption, where the magic of another being or artefact overwrites the magic of the pony. Another, less common example comes from ponies going trough or healing from significant trauma. Ponies going through such hardships can sometimes find that the colour of their magic changes to reflect their own changes within." It then goes on to list a couple of... questionably historical examples."
Spike perked up. "Hey! That reminds me, didn't Trixie's magic turn red when she was using the Alicorn Amulet?"
Twilight nodded. "Yes, and it turned back the moment she took it off. That must be the corruption type the book was talking about. Sunset, I'm willing to bet that yours is a sign that you're healing, changing as you work to be a better pony."
"You mean getting blasted by the power of the Elements of Harmony changed my magic?"
Twilight snapped the book shut and returned it to its shelf. "No and yes. The Elements never actually changed you. I've talked about this with Luna and you know this from actually going through it, but the Elements can only help you to find harmony, they can't just 'make you good.' If they could, we wouldn't have gone through all that trouble we did with Discord and Tirek. But at the same time, because the Elements helped you find harmony, you had a chance to change who you are. It's that change that's changing your magic colour."
Sunset raised an eyebrow. "So because I went from power hungry mare to good girl, my magic went from cyan to red?"
"Pretty much."
"...Magic needs better colour coding."
Twilight snorted. "My brother is in the guard, and his magic colour is pink. Trust me, I've been there."
"Ouch" Sunset winced. "That must be rough on him. That's not something the armour enchants can hide."
"Oh don't worry about Shining," Spike scoffed with a grin. "He's done pretty well for himself in the guard."
Twilight noticed Sunset giving Spike a rather sceptical look, and she barely suppressed a grin of her own. 'Done pretty well' indeed, that guardpony turned captain turned Prince consort brother of hers. She shook her head in amusement and turned back to Sunset. "So beyond the change in colour, is your magic feeling alright?"
"It's... kinda stiff, like I've sat on my tail for a couple of hours and trying to move it again. Which feels doubly weird saying after not having a tail for so long" she said as she gave her tail a swish.
Twilight smiled and stretched out a wing to wrap around Sunset's withers. "I remember being so confused in that human body, but I can imagine that to you it's probably the other way round, after being in a human body for so long."
Sunset leaned into the hug and hummed her agreement. "It does feel weird, but the right kind of weird. I've been a human for so long that I started to grow used to thinking as one. But now that I'm back, I keep finding all these things I'd almost forgotten, and I begin to realize how much I missed them."
"You know there is a reason I left the portal open beyond just making it easier to visit you, right?"
Sunset sighed. "I know. I just.. wasn't ready to return. I'm amazed I even did at all, really. In all honesty, it was a coin toss between this or confronting the girls again."
"Do you think things would have turned out differently if you had?"
"Maybe," Sunset admitted. "I was thinking of showing them my conversations with you, thinking that if I couldn't convince them, maybe their trust in you would."
Twilight raised an eyebrow. "Would these be the same conversations we've been writing down in horn writing?"
"...Okay, so maybe there was more than a bit of leap-of-faith involved" Sunset admitted glancing away. "That's probably why I went for coming back, even if I wasn't sure what I'd find on the other side of the mirror this time around. Like I said, coin toss between two uncertainties."
"Well for what it's worth, Spike and I are happy to have you. Right Spike?" she called to the dragon, who had been staring off to the side. At the mention of his name he jumped and turned to the two mares.
"Huh? Uh, yeah, sure but uh, Twilight?" he said, pointing to the portal. Twilight and Sunset both followed his gaze to the top of the portal, where the journal was glowing and buzzing in its frame.
"Did you give your journal to anyone?" Twilight asked.
"No, but I told Flash where to find it. It was in my locker though, so maybe he told one of the teachers?" Sunset said as a red hue enveloped her horn and the journal, lifting it of the stand to hover in front of her. The book opened and pages quickly riffled to the first empty page. Twilight squinted as new text started flooding the pages.
"This is the language of the other world, isn't it?"
"English, yeah. One of many." Sunset nodded. "Not Flash though, this neat writing is Vice Principal Luna's. Looks like he did tell them where to find the journal."
"What is she saying?" Spike asked.
"Hold on, she's writing a lot. Let me find the beginning." Sunset flipped a page back and cleared her throat.
To her Royal Highness Princess Twilight Sparkle, and Sunset Shimmer, from the teachers of Canterlot High.
Forgive the impropriety of writing in a language of our world, for we do not have the ability to write in yours. If you are reading this, you have doubtlessly encountered Sunset Shimmer as she returned to her home. We hope she has opened up to you over her troubles, but if she has not we feel it is our duty as teachers to inform you as to why she has chosen to return.
A little over a week ago, someone whom we have yet to identify has chosen to begin to slander many of the students here at Canterlot High and implicate Sunset Shimmer as the cause. Many of the students seem to unfortunately believe Sunset is involved in this and the pressure has driven her to head home.
We would like to formally inform you that the teaching staff at Canterlot High does not share this unfortunate belief. While we are still working on a solution, rest assured we will do everything we can to uncover the true culprit of this incident and see this matter settled.
Until then, we would respectfully request Sunset Shimmer be looked after in her homeland. It is the staff's opinion that Sunset's decision, while hasty, was not without merit and that rest in her homeland may be what she needs most. Rest assured she will not be considered unduly absent, and we may, with your permission, seek the use of this journal in the future to discuss how she might catch up with her studies when she returns.
To Sunset Shimmer if she is reading this: We're sorry.
Regards,
Yours faithfu
With greatest respe
With sincere thanks,
The teaching staff of Canterlot High.
Twilight's smile continued to grow as Sunset read the message. Not just because of what it said, but because of what it did to Sunset. The fiery maned mare had begun to tear up halfway through and let several drops fall on the floor when she reached that last line. Twilight draped her wing around her friend again even as Spike hopped in for a hug on the other end. "See?" she whispered to her friend. "You're not alone."
More tears hit the floor as Sunset smiled. "They believe me. They're actually helping..."
"Do you want to go back and join in?" Spike moved over and punched a fist in his palm. "Tracking down the bad guys, superhero style!"
Sunset let out a bark of laughter and wiped her eyes. "I doubt they're going to do any superheroing over there, Spike. But no. It's good to know that there are people over there beyond Flash who care about me, but I like being here right now. So I'm going to be taking up your invitation and stay for a while."
Twilight chuckled. "Well, you're more than welcome." The princess let her eyes scan the unfamiliar script of the still open journal. "Still, I know she seemed rather strict when I met her, but I didn't know Vice Principal Luna was this... stuffy."
"Ah, that might be my fault" Sunset admitted. "I may have told her and Principal Celestia that your title as Princess of Friendship is not as symbolic as they thought it was."
"They didn't think my title as Princess of Friendship meant something?" Twilight felt a frown settle on her muzzle. Maybe it was because off all the trouble she had gone through to get it, or all the trouble since, but for all that trouble and as odd as the title still felt to her at times, for some reason hearing it dismissed as symbolic irked her.
Sunset chuckled, a small grin on her muzzle. "Twilight, they thought you were just a high school girl playing pretend princess. Royalty normally doesn't go chasing after lost crowns alone over there."
"Well, this one does!" Twilight huffed.
"Hey!"
Twilight rolled her eyes and leaned over to nuzzle Spike. "Okay, maybe not alone, but I did come over myself to try and fix the problem." She was complaining, but between Sunset's grin and Spike's huffy protest she could already feel her frustration fading. As she turned back to Sunset she decided to switch the subject. "So Vice Principal Luna is really stuffy?"
Sunset nodded. "Sometimes, really only when she has to do official things." She scrunched up her nose. "I don't think I've ever seen it this bad, though. I guess she's trying to be formal to compensate for her lack of formality when you first visited, and is now overcompensating? There's a lot of words, but not a lot said in there."
Twilight snorted. "If you think this is bad you should try and sit in on Princess Celestia's day court sessions. Some of those dignitaries can talk for hours without actually saying anything."
Sunset groaned. "I have sat in on some of those, actually. Trying to afterwards convince Princess Celestia to install a trap door that opens after a certain time has passed to eject those hobnobs who take too long was a far more productive way to spend the time." Sunset's grimace turned to a smirk as her mind wandered off at the memory.
Twilight, on the other hand, felt her jaw drop to the floor. "You did what!?"
Sunset's smirk morphed into a full blown grin. "It would greatly cut down on court time, force dignitaries to keep their points simple and concise and give us something to laugh at for those who can't." She turned to Twilight and raised an eyebrow. "Don't tell me you never had ideas like that?"
"I did not!" Twilight huffed. "Sure, those sessions could be boring, but that was the perfect time to check and double check the lessons of the day."
"I tried that once, but the nobles got huffy when I started practising magic while they were going on." Sunset tapped her chin. "Of course, that could have been because the teleportation misfired."
Twilight winced. "Oooh, had that happen once. Landed a guard right into the fountain next to the throne."
"Good aim." And there was that grin again.
Twilight jumped up and leaned into Sunset's nose. "No! Bad aim!"
Sunset laughed. It was a hearty laugh, a laugh Twilight had grown fond off. It was the kind of laugh shared between friends having a good time, and it felt good hearing it from Sunset.
"You look like you feel even better than this morning."
Sunset smiled and stretched, getting back on four legs. "Yeah, I guess I do."
Twilight smiled, a little sparkle in her eyes. "Well, that's good. Because I have an errand for you."
Sunset blinked. "Me?"
Twilight nodded, the smile still on her muzzle. "Yup, you. Here is a bag of bits." Twilight lifted over a decently wallet sized bag of bits. "Your errand is to find the Ponyville spa and have a good time."
A single eyebrow arched upwards. "Your errand is for me to go to the spa."
"Just staying cooped into the castle isn't going to be good for you. Besides, when was the last time you went to a spa? From what you told me, spas on the other side are pricey and you didn't exactly make loads of money."
Sunset winced "Not since I first ran away."
"Exactly, it's been over ten years." Twilight noted.
"Twilight Sparkle," Sunset growled, pushing against the purple alicorn's nose as she narrowed her eyes. "Are you implying I smell?"
Not the slightest bit intimidated, Twilight just kept smiling. "I'm implying that you deserve an hour or so of pampering. Don't worry about finding it, I'll get you there myself."
"Meaning what?" Sunset asked, leaning back with eyes this time narrowed in suspicion. Almost as if in answer, Twilight's horn began to glow. Twilight's eyes sparkled like her namesake as she watched Sunset's eyes widen in realization. "Wait, Twilight Sparkle don't you dare-!"
"Have fun!"
With a flash of purple light, Sunset Shimmer vanished from the castle library. Twilight took a moment to confirm the teleport's destination and nodded, her lips curled into a smirk. "'good aim', huh?" she muttered, before straightening her neck and turning around. "Spike?"
"Right here!" the dragon called. Her number one assistant stood ready with parchment and quill in hand and gave her a nod.
"Let's make everything perfect!" Twilight said, returning the nod.