//------------------------------// // Chapter 9 - On the Importance of Flexibility in Scheduling and Time Management // Story: Synchrony // by Fangren //------------------------------// “Okay, looks like that's settled then,” Sunset said, leaning back on her hands. She was still sitting on Twilight's bed, its owner facing her from the chair at her desk. “Four pairs of eyes might not find her right away, but I wouldn't be surprised if one of them spots her within the next few days.” Twilight smiled, giggled, and adjusted her glasses. “Well, the exact probability of one of us seeing her even in the next several days is probably pretty small,” she said with a thoughtful look, placing a single finger on her chin and tilting her head up. “But it's still plausible at least.” She tilted her head down, curling her finger and frowning. She abruptly spun around to face her computer, and started muttering things like 'population density' and 'demographics' under her breath as she began to type. “Uh, is now really the time to be figuring that out?” Sunset asked, raising a brow. “I don't want us to fall behind even more than we already are.” That gave Twilight pause, and she spun back around to face Sunset with a bashful smile. “Good point. The exact probability of success isn't important since knowing it won't actually effect anything. And we still have so much other work to do!” she said, motioning to the parts and papers they'd gathered for their projects. Her stomach growled, and Twilight blushed. “Also lunch. We should have lunch, too.” “I thought you scheduled us for a late lunch?” Sunset asked. “That was before we got sidetracked by Amethyst Shine,” Twilight told her with a knowing nod. “So, instead of pushing to finish the detector before lunch, we'll wait to start it after lunch when we'll have more energy.” “Fine with me,” said Sunset as she sat up and stretched her arms. “So, what do you wanna do for lunch?” Twilight just sort of stared at her for a moment, then blinked and stammered out “Oh, well, I was just-” She was cut off by a yawn, and both girls looked down at the small dog bed by the door to see Spike stretching his paws. He blinked blearily a couple times, then looked up at them. “Somebody mention lunch? Cause I'm totally game for some lunch right now.” The girls giggled. “Like I was saying,” Twilight said to Sunset, “I was just planning on having lunch here like I usually do. We have plenty of food in the kitchen.” Then something occurred to her that made her suddenly more nervous. “U-unless you'd rather go out to eat? I'm sorry for just assuming you wouldn't mind having lunch here, I'm sure it's a little strange since it's your first time and all...” “Actually, I don't mind eating here at all,” Sunset told her, smiling. “Better than the same old fast food or instant noodles, right?” The frown that briefly passed across Twilight's face was more than enough reason for Sunset to regret her candidness, but she brushed it off with her continued smile as she stood up. “Come on,” she told Twilight. “The sooner we eat, the sooner we can get back to work.” “Exactly!” Spike chimed in, more eager at the prospect of food than anything else. “Right,” Twilight said after a moment, standing up and smiling back. “I'd still like to finish the detector this afternoon so we can start our initial data-gathering before you go home.” “Hey, I'm fine staying longer,” Sunset said as the three headed for the door. “It's not like I have anywhere else to be right now.” “Are you sure?” Twilight asked, her face filled with the uncertainty she was expecting from her friend. “I-I don't want you to feel like you have to stay and help me if you'd rather go look for the other you...” The two stopped when Sunset placed a hand on Twilight's shoulder. “Twilight, it's fine. Seriously. I know I made a big deal about looking for Amethyst, but right now I'd much rather spend my time here with you than spend the rest of the day wandering around the city for either a girl who doesn't want me to find her, or a girl that might not even be around anymore. Besides, figuring out this world's magic is something I'm interested in too, remember?” Twilight smiled and blushed, though more out of embarrassment than anything else. “Right.” The three soon arrived in the kitchen to find Twilight's parents having their own lunch at the table, putting a damper on the girl's own plan to eat away from their workspace. Questions of how the girls were doing with their project were deflected or answered with vague assurances that things were going well, and they quickly set to busying themselves in meal preparation. Spike was first, requesting something wet and bacon-flavored that Twilight happily obliged him with. Then the girls started on their own meal; after several minutes of scouring fridge and pantry for options and debating each one (to the amusement of Twilight's parents), they settled on a fresh salad. Just about every kind of vegetable in the home's clean and well-stocked fridge was used in it, and they chose their dressings separately – Sunset ranch, Twilight vinaigrette. But despite the insistent invitations from Night Light and Twilight Velvet, both girls were apprehensive about joining them for the meal. They had already reached an unspoken agreement that they'd go over Twilight's ideas for the new magic detector as they ate to save time, but with her parents still in the dark regarding magic they wouldn't have the liberty to do so. And so, with great reluctance, Twilight assented to using her room to eat – on the condition that they confine the activity to the floor. “Fine with me,” Sunset shrugged as they re-entered the bedroom with salad bowls in hand. She took a seat on the small rug next to the bed and leaned against the bed itself with her legs sticking out into the room, and motioned for Twilight to sit next to her. Twilight did so only after an awkward giggle and a blush she hoped Sunset hadn't noticed, sitting alongside her best friend so close their shoulders were practically touching. More than a few of the following moments were spent in silence, neither girl acknowledging the contact or even one another in the eye. In the legs, yes, but not the eyes. “So, have you decided how you're gonna improve the design yet?” Sunset finally said, unwittingly just as Twilight stabbed a bite of salad with her fork. “Well, I'd like to find a way to control for our own magic first, as well as the inherent magic of the portal,” she said with a thoughtful expression. She laughed, adding “The last thing we need is a detector that only detects its user.” Sunset laughed as well once she swallowed her bite. “Yeah. I can't see that getting us anywhere very quickly.” Once she was able to, Twilight continued. “Once that's complete, I'll expand the interface to include more than just a dowsing feature. Displaying the distance to the target will be my top priority, of course, and with enough processing power we might even be able to track multiple sources against a map of the city!” “You really think something like that will be necessary?” Sunset questioned. Twilight shrugged happily. “I'm keeping our options open. But implementing multi-target tracking depends heavily on how much magical signals vary between sources, so first I'll have to add a waveform display to the interface. But that'll be trivial,” she finished with a wave of her hand. “If you say so,” Sunset said, smiling at her in amusement. Then she got a text, and that amusement was consumed by utter shock as she read it. She even let her salad bowl slip out of her hand, and it spilled onto her legs upon hitting her lap. “What is it?” Twilight asked, her surprise morphing into concern as she looked at Sunset's wide-eyed, slack-jawed expression. “What's wrong?” “It's from Applejack,” Sunset answered in a strangely level tone, slowly turning her head towards Twilight. “Her sister found the other me.” “What?! Seriously?!” Twilight squeaked, her own meal abandoned without thought as she leaned over to get a better look at Sunset's phone. The other girl obliged by tilting it towards her friend, and after Twilight's eyes made short work of the message they slowly looked up into Sunset's. Then both girls looked back at the message. Finally, after several seconds that ticked by like ages, Twilight spoke again. “What are you going to do?” Sunset flopped back against the bed and stared at the opposite wall, eyes moving as she thought. “I don't know, this is all so sudden.” Then, in one quick movement, she brushed her spilled salad aside, folded her legs under her, and set to work typing out a reply as fast as her thumbs could move. “I have to know what she's like.” She sent it off in seconds, and turned to see that Twilight was now facing her – though distracted by picking up stray bits of lettuce and cucumber off her bedroom floor. She smiled sheepishly when she noticed Sunset's gaze. Sunset returned it with an awkward laugh. “Yeah, I guess I made a bit of a mess, didn't I?” she said, helping her friend deposit the stray greens and things back into the bowl they'd come from. “Sorry.” “No no, don't worry,” Twilight said quickly, waving her hands from side to side. “It's no big deal. I mean, you just got a lead on your alternate self and I know from experience how shocking just learning they exist can be. N-not that this is the same as what I went through or anything,” she said, looking away slightly as she began to ramble leaving her unaware of the beep from Sunset's phone. “Cause I mean, obviously our situations are pretty different, and-” “She's some kinda cool-looking biker chick, apparently,” Sunset answered, transfixed by her phone again. Twilight blinked. “Biker chick?” she repeated uncertainly. “Yup,” Sunset nodded before screwing up her face a little. “Also a jerk, maybe? AJ isn't being very clear, but I guess that's what happens when you try to get information from a secondhand source.” “Even so, this is a big deal, isn't it?” Twilight asked. “You've finally found the other you! Well,” she reasoned as she leaned back slightly, “assuming you leave as soon as possible to go meet her in person, of course.” She noticed Sunset frowning while she texted, and felt her mouth do the same. “Are you going to meet her in person?” Sunset sent off the text, then leaned back and sighed as she stared up at the ceiling. “That's the thing, now that the opportunity is in front of me I don't know what I actually wanna do about it. There's so much I'd like to ask her, but at the same time I don't know if I wanna just...,” she waved her hand vaguely, “drop myself into her life like that. What if she freaks out? What if something goes horribly wrong?” “But what if this is your only chance?” Twilight countered, worry in her eyes. “What if you never find her again?” “Y'know,” Sunset chuckled lightly and looked back at her, “I never expected you to be the one to talk me into something.” “I just didn't want you to do something you might regret later...,” Twilight admitted, looking down at her fidgeting hands. Then she laughed and added “Which is ironic considering that statement usually implies a desire to prevent action instead of encourage it.” “Yeah,” Sunset said, and the two shared a quiet look that lasted just long enough for them to be aware of how long they'd been staring, blush, and turn away from each other. “S-so, I asked Applejack to try and get more information from her sister. I know I'm risking never seeing the other me again, but I'd like to be careful with this and find out as much as possible before I make a move. Even just a picture of her would be good.” She paused, then looked back at Twilight and asked “That's not creepy, is it?” Twilight shrugged. “Seems fine to me. I know I would've liked more information... and warning... before I met my alternate-dimension counterpart.” That got another laugh from Sunset. “Yeah, that just kinda... happened, didn't it?” “Yup,” Twilight chuckled. “One minute we're having a picnic in front of the statue, the next minute my Equestrian counterpart stumbles through it apologizing for being late!” She paused, and her smile faded. “It wasn't the weirdest thing that's ever happened to me, but it was still pretty weird.” “Hey, at least it all turned out well in the end,” Sunset told her, voice warm and a hand on Twilight's shoulder. “True,” Twilight admitted, hunching a little and shooting bashful glances at her friend. “Hopefully it'll work out well for-” Twilight phone went off, startling both of the girls. “-you too,” Twilight finished, more out of impetus than anything else as she pulled out her phone. Her brow quickly furrowed. “Who is it?” Sunset asked, worry creeping into her voice. “Is something wrong?” Twilight shook her head. “It's just Fluttershy's reply to the group text about Amethyst Shine. She says she's sorry about not getting back to me sooner, and that she's too busy right now to actively go searching for anyone. But she says if she sees anyone matching Amethyst's description, she'll let us know.” Sunset frowned, leaning back once more. “That's...” she began to say, searching for the rest of the words. “...kind of disappointing?” Twilight suggested. She nodded. “Yeah. But in a weird way, y'know? Since we have another lead on the other me now I'm not sure how important finding Amethyst Shine even is anymore. Do you think we should tell the girls what happened and call off the search?” Twilight leaned back and tapped her chin in thought for a few seconds, then shook her head. “I don't think we should call off the search just yet. It's entirely plausible that we, or rather Applejack's sister,will lose track of your counterpart leaving us with no immediate leads on her whereabouts,” she said in a scholarly tone, closing her eyes and holding up a single finger. “In that event, having an additional person we can track down for information will significantly increase our chances of relocating your counterpart.” She looked back at Sunset. “But we should probably tell the others what Applejack's sister found, yes.” “Right,” Sunset told her, briefly glancing at Twilight's phone. “You text Fluttershy back first, I'll send the others a group text.” Her phone went off in her hand, momentarily startling her. “After I find out what Applejack's learned,” she finished, opening up the latest message. Once more, a frown crept on to Sunset's lips. “She says Apple Bloom isn't texting her back,” she told Twilight without looking away from the screen of her phone. “And Rarity isn't getting a response from Sweetie Belle either?” she added, raising a brow. “I guess they must've already met up,” Twilight said, leaning over to look at the message before looking at Sunset herself. Sunset didn't look back. “I guess so,” she said. “But still, something must've happened if their sisters aren't keeping in touch. I'm gonna ask what happened.” Her thumbs moved in a flurry, and once the message had been sent off she shook her head and sighed. “This is so surreal. I thought for sure we'd be focused entirely on figuring out magic today, but we've barely had any time for it.” She looked over at Twilight, and added “Sorry for taking us off-track with all this. I know how much you were looking forward to our research project.” Twilight put on a smile and shook her head. “It's fine. This is important too, isn't it?” “You're really okay with getting so behind schedule?” Sunset asked, the healthy amount of skepticism in her voice causing Twilight to look down at her hands briefly. “Well...,” she began, still not quite meeting Sunset's eyes. “I am a little uncomfortable with not following the schedule, but I understand that these things happen.” She finally looked back at Sunset, and smiled. “I'd rather take things as they come than force you to follow a schedule when there are other things going on.” “Thanks,” Sunset said softly, smiling back. “But I-” Whatever she was about to say was cut off by the sound of yet another text, and her frown soon returned as she saw what it said. “Apparently, Apple Bloom and her friends wanted to follow the other me or something, but Big Macintosh said no so she asked AJ if it was okay?” Sunset read, brow furrowing more and more with each phrase. “And AJ told her to just stay put because she wanted to hear what I wanted to do about it first, but when she asked the girls for more information they never replied...” “Okay, okay,” Twilight said, nodding along. “What happened then?” “Then Big Macintosh called her and said the girls just... ran off!” Sunset answered, waving a hand in disbelief. “They just ran off?” Twilight repeated incredulously. “Apparently!” Sunset replied, eyes wide as she shrugged. Twilight frowned. “I hope they're okay...” Sunset looked at her phone again, touched her forehead, and sighed. “Applejack thinks they probably turned their phones off so they could sneak around better, or something.” “Still, I hope they're alright,” Twilight said, shifting onto her knees and leaning slightly towards her friend. “Me too. The last thing I want is my friends' little sisters getting into trouble because of me.” Sunset sighed, and started working on the next text. “I'm gonna tell her and Rarity to call off the other searches and just focus on finding their sisters before something bad happens. Probably ask Pinkie and Rainbow Dash to do the same thing...” “Don't you think that might be overdoing it a little?” Twilight asked. “I'm worried about Apple Bloom and her friends too, but our friends can handle themselves, can't they? You can just... tell them to be careful and stay in touch.” Sunset scrunched her face up uncertainly. “I mean, I guess, but I still kinda feel like maybe this was a bad idea.” Twilight put a hand on her shoulder. “It isn't,” she said, immediately – and awkwardly – adding “I mean, at least I don't think it is. But my perspective is different, and-” she shook her head quickly- “that doesn't matter. My point is, you shouldn't call trying to find your counterpart a bad idea just because something none of us could have predicted happened, especially when we don't have control over it and we don't even know if anything bad actually happened! That's just... just...” “'Dumber than a hog tying itself'?” Sunset answered, looking at her phone. Twilight stared at her for a moment before saying “Well, I wasn't gonna put it like that... I'm not even sure what that means!” “It's what Applejack said,” Sunset answered, looking at her friend. “She's pretty against calling off the search, and says Rarity is too.” She let out a single, pathetic laugh. “They're not even worried. Or if they are, they aren't telling me.” “I guess it's because they don't want you to worry, right?” Twilight told her. “They want you to trust them to be able to take care of themselves, and their sisters too.” Sunset sighed, looking back at the far wall. “I know, I know. It's just this is all so sudden and unexpected, and I don't want anybody getting hurt because of me again.” Then, to Sunset's surprise – and after no small moment of uncertainty – Twilight shifted her entire body and linked arms with her. “I know I wasn't there back then, but after everything I've heard about you, I'm confident that this situation is completely different. This isn't you going around making other people miserable, this is just you worrying about something bad happening to people who want to help you. Right?” Another short laugh, and Sunset closed her eyes and smiled. “Yeah, I guess.” She leaned her head back, then opened one eye and looked at Twilight. “When did you get to be so good at talking to people?” Twilight smiled, and blushed a little. “What can I say? I learned from the best. And if I've learned one thing from being around you and the others, it's that friends look out for each other no matter what. That includes when they're having sudden doubts about letting their friends do something for them, right?” “Right,” Sunset laughed, more genuine this time though she still closed her eyes and shook her head. When she opened them again she looked straight into Twilight's, and for a moment both girls found themselves suddenly lost in one another, wanting just a little bit more... But then the moment passed, insecurities caught up, and Sunset and Twilight alike turned away to hide their blushes and clear away the thoughts they each were sure were unrequited. “S-so...,” Twilight stammered in an attempt to fill the resulting awkward silence. After a few seconds pause to think about what she actually wanted to say, she added “If you'd like to go out into the city yourself and look for your counterpart personally, I'd understand.” “No no,” Sunset said quickly, “I'd rather stay here with you. Because... I...” She, too, paused for a good while to figure out what to say. “I'm... still not sure I even want to meet her right now. It'd probably just be, I don't know, weird, right?” she said, looking away and rubbing the back of her head. “I mean, I do wanna know more about her, but I think I need to plan any potential meeting between us pretty carefully since she'll probably be pretty freaked out no matter what I do. That makes sense, right?” She looked at Twilight with her anxious uncertainty plain on her face. “I... guess so?” Twilight answered, even her lips uncertain as she shrugged her shoulders. It relieved Sunset nonetheless. “Plus I do still want to help you out with everything,” she said, motioning to the parts and plans scattered around the room. “I'm not really the type of person to ask for help on a project and then bail when it's time to get to work.” “Oh, I don't mind,” Twilight told her a little too quickly, which she herself soon realized. “Not that I don't want you around or anything,” she tried to explain, “in fact I really enjoy having you around! B-because you're my friend! It's just that I'm totally fine doing projects on my own, and I don't really need any help building the new magic detector! N-not that I don't think you'd be able to help, just that I'm not sure what I'd even need you to do, and-” “Twilight, Twilight, relax, I get it!” Sunset said, smiling as she motioned for her friend to calm down. Twilight let her breath out as a small sigh. “Good. Because I was starting to get worried that I didn't.” “But still,” Sunset admitted after a brief glance at the loose fists her hands had balled themselves into, “I'd rather just... stay with you for now. Maybe if something more happens with the other me or the girls need help we can go check it out, but for now I'd rather just stay here and try to relax a little.” The girls looked at one another for a few moments, then Twilight nodded. “Okay. Let's finish up with our lunches and get to work.” Sunset looked down at her lap and legs, seeing the bits of lettuce and dressing and such that still speckled them and laughing awkwardly. “Yeah, I should probably clean up a bit, shouldn't I?” “Probably,” Twilight told her with a small smile. It didn't take very long at all for the girls to get the remains of their lunches cleaned up, even with Sunset insisting on doing most of the work. A few paper towels and a good rinse for the bowls later, Sunset returned to Twilight's room with Spike in tow. Together they carved a safe work area out of the cluttered room, and began the first steps of Twilight's construction plan. What followed was over an hour and a half of them 'helping' Twilight build a device that Sunset barely understood the mechanics of. Mostly she just watched her friend work, passing the occasional tool and asking questions when she became curious about whatever Twilight was doing in the moment. But with the answers outpacing Twilight's ability to build, those moments were far between. “You really weren't kidding about not needing help for this,” Sunset quipped, now sitting ready on the floor playing a light game of tug-of-war with Spike. Twilight hummed a little as she inspected her work, glanced over at Sunset. “Well, yes. I'm not exactly treading new ground with this. At least,” she turned a thoughtful look upward as she spun back around, “not yet.” She turned her attention back to the casing, picked up her soldering iron, and got back to work. Sunset watched her for a moment, then absentmindedly started scratching Spike between the ears while checking her phone again. “Mmm... that's good...,” the dog said, tail thumping against the ground and thick, knotted rope he'd been playing with forgotten for the moment at his paws. Sunset slowed her scratching just long enough for him to take notice, and when he did he looked up at her and frowned. “Is something wrong? You've been looking at that thing like every five minutes since I came back up here.” “I'm just waiting for another text from Applejack,” Sunset answered over the sound of Twilight's soldering iron. “I haven't heard a word from her since she let me know that Big Macintosh lost their sister. I'm getting worried.” Twilight paused her work again to lift her mask and shoot Sunset an incredulous look. “'Getting'?” Sunset rolled her eyes. “Okay, I'm getting more worried. Even with Applejack and Rarity assuring me they'll track them down and make sure they're okay.” “I'm still fine with you leaving to check on things,” Twilight said in an almost singsong voice, shifting into a happy hum as she resumed her work. “I know, I know,” Sunset sighed, leaning back to rest on her hands. “Call me stubborn, but I'd still rather just stay here with you in case you need me.” “Well, if you're sure,” Twilight said after a moment, not turning her head or raising her mask this time. Silence fell back on them for a good while more as Twilight worked and her two closest friends played. Sunset kept on checking her phone to no avail, and even her requests for an update from Applejack and Rarity were met with nothing but apologies. A dropped screwdriver caused her to eagerly spring to action to return it to Twilight, but all that resulted in was bumped heads when Twilight bent down to pick it up as well. “Sorry...,” Sunset said, rubbing her head with one hand and handing the screwdriver up to Twilight with the other. “It's fine,” Twilight said, her mask up and smile patient as she accepted the tool. “You know, if you'd really like something to do right now that doesn't involve tracking down your counterpart, you could always tell me more about how magic works in Equestria.” “Don't you need to focus on building the detector?” Sunset questioned, sitting back on her knees. “Yes,” Twilight admitted without hesitation, “but I can still spare some brainpower to asking you questions that'll help guide our research.” Sunset looked away, her face blank as she thought. But in mere moments she was looking back, and giving Twilight a shallow nod. “Yeah, okay. Might as well do something productive.” “Hey, scratching me is productive!” Spike protested, standing his front paws on Sunset's lap. She laughed. “Sure, sure,” she told him, resuming the physical affection. She then turned to Twilight, and asked “So what do you want to know first?” Twilight tapped her chin a few times before answering. “Well, what is magic exactly? I get that it emits energy and has all these crazy effects, but what actually is it? A particle? A wave? Something else?” “Beats me,” Sunset answered, shrugging. “That kind of thing is pretty far ahead of Equestrian science, at least as far as I know. But if I had to guess, probably a particle? Ambient magic is a pretty big thing, and I can't imagine that being only a wave of energy or whatever. But then again,” she said, bringing a finger across her chin as she frowned thoughtfully, “does that explain how it's produced by ponies and other magical creatures?” “Produced?” Twilight asked, the bulk of her focus still on her work. “Yeah. The magic in our cutie marks, and the magic that lets unicorns cast spells and pegasi manipulate the weather and gives earth ponies a knack for growing things, is something that comes from within us,” Sunset explained, looking at the sunny sky through the room's sole window and placing her hands over her heart. Twilight paused her work to look at Sunset. “Is it possible that your bodies are converting that 'ambient magic' you mentioned into what I assume is a more useable form?” Sunset shook her head. “If it is, then it's never been proven. Not in normal situations, anyway.” “Normal?” “Like, everyday stuff. Some big spells do end up taking in ambient magic as fuel, but most spellwork ends up raising the ambient levels a little bit depending on how skilled the unicorn is.” “So... it's a matter of efficiency, I assume? The more skilled a unicorn is, the better they are at using their own magic without it being lost as ambient magic?” “Exactly,” Sunset nodded. “Anyway, if pony bodies really were converting ambient magic into a more usable form, that raises the question of why the AIE is even a thing.” “AIE?” “Ambient interference effect, sorry. It describes how ambient magic interferes with a unicorn's ability to cast spells. Generally speaking, the more ambient magic in the area the harder it is to cast.” Twilight looked at her ceiling, lost in thought. “I suppose it could be a matter of the conversion rate between ambient magic and pony magic...” “Could be,” Sunset shrugged, eyes drifting down to Spike who was laying half on her lap, watching them with confused silence. Sunset began to pet his back, causing him to close his eyes and wag his tail. “It's true that high enough levels of ambient magic can have catalyzing effects, but the turnover points are... well, there's a bunch of them depending on how old the ambient magic is, what its original source was, what spell is being attempted, and a whole bunch of other factors, but for the most part they're high enough to make the ambient catalyzing effect extremely rare.” “Hmm...,” Twilight murmured, tapping her chin. Her work on the detector had, for the moment, been forgotten. “So time is a factor, and I take it there are distinct types of magic, then? Sounds a little like radiation if you ask me, which is consistent with the hypothesis that magic is, at least in some form, a particle.” “If you say so,” Sunset replied, shaking her head a little in her uncertainty. “I used to have all the equations and laws that described it memorized, but it's been so long since I had to actually use any of it that I'm getting rusty. Sorry.” “Don't worry, I understand,” Twilight told her, eyes on her part of the project once more as she recalled what she'd been doing. “And at the very least, it's given me a better idea of what it is I originally detected, assuming this world's magic is similar in that respect anyway.” “That's the thing, though, I don't know if it really is,” Sunset said. “Before I stole the Element of Magic and brought it here, this world's ambient magic was so low I almost thought it was nonexistent. But I don't know if that's because there's no native magical creatures to produce it, or-” “-if there aren't any magical creatures in the first place because there's no ambient magic to sustain them?” Twilight finished. “Pretty much,” Sunset said. “Though I'm leaning towards the former, because how else do you explain our magic? Even before we got our geodes,” she looked down at her chest and clutched at a necklace that wasn't there, “we still had enough magic to let us pony-up when we were showing the truest parts of ourselves. That has to mean the magic we have comes from inside us!” “I suppose...,” Twilight answered, her pursed lips showing her skepticism when her words didn't. Sunset didn't notice it, too wrapped up in her own thoughts as she was. “But if the magic is coming from inside of us like it does on Equestria, then why don't its actual effects follow the rules they're supposed to?” “What do you mean?” Twilight asked, setting her work down once again and shifting her entire body to devote her attention to Sunset. “Well for one thing, how come we got our powers before we actually made contact with the geodes they come from?” Sunset asked, her petting of Spike halted as she began to gesticulate. “Why don't we ever seem to get tired while we're ponied up, even though we know from experience that our magic can become depleted? Why did Spike permanently gain the ability to talk when he went through a portal to Equestria for all of five seconds?” “Beats me,” Spike said, raising his head from her lap just enough to look at her better. “And what the heck was with those results I got from my initial experiments?” Sunset continued, growing more heated as she motioned to the notes she brought that were still on Twilight's bed. “I mean, I get that the equipment I used wasn't built to handle magic, but still. That was just weird.” Twilight laughed a little. “Yeah, you mentioned that on the bus. I still think we're going to have to repeat those experiments if we want to figure out what happened in them, though.” “Yeah, I think I see your point about that now,” Sunset replied. “Though part of me still thinks it's a better idea to establish what we can and can't do now, with our current powers.” “Well, I suppose we can wait to decide which we focus on once the detector is finished,” Twilight said, turning herself back to her work. Sunset chuckled. “Yeah. I feel bad for distracting you from it again.” “So much for my ability to multitask, again,” Twilight said, giggling a little as well. Just as she began attaching a wire between two components, though, her phone went off and startled her into dropping it. “Who could that be?” she wondered aloud, pulling off her insulated gloves to reach into her pocket and pull out her phone. “Rainbow or Pinkie, maybe?” Sunset answered, becoming concerned as Twilight suddenly gaped. “It's Rainbow Dash alright,” Twilight said, eyes widening in shock as another text came in. “She's found Amethyst Shine!” “Wait, seriously?!” Sunset exclaimed, bolting to her feet and grabbing Twilight's phone. Sure enough there was a text from Rainbow Dash proclaiming mission accomplished, followed by a selfie of her – still fully powered-up – with her arm around an incredibly terrified-looking Amethyst Shine. “Holy crap, she did!” she said, her disbelief so strong she nearly dropped Twilight's phone. “What do we do?!” Twilight asked, her panic rising rapidly. “This possibility was so unlikely, I didn't even think to prepare for it! I expected a few awkward questions and where she lives at best, and only after days of searching! I didn't think Rainbow Dash would capture her!” “Me neither!” Sunset exclaimed, running fingers through her hair as she stared at Twilight's phone in hopeless desperation. Another text arrived from Rainbow Dash, eliciting a groan. “And now she wants to know if we wanna help interrogate her!” Twilight let out a strangled squeak. “I know!” Sunset looked back at the string of messages, and groaned. “We seriously messed up the wording on the first text if this is how Rainbow Dash interpreted it.” “What do we do?” Twilight moaned, sagging in her seat as words finally returned to her. “Ohh, Shining Armor's going to be so mad when he finds out!” “I- wait, your brother?” Sunset asked, suddenly screwing her face up in confusion. “What's he got to do with- never mind, it doesn't matter.” Forcing herself back on track before Twilight could launch into an explanation, Sunset gave her head a shake and began replying to Rainbow Dash. “I got us into this, so it's up to me to get us out of it.” “By telling Rainbow Dash to let her go and hope she doesn't call the cops?” Twilight asked through a wide and nervous grin. “No, by going over there and explaining to Amethyst exactly what's going on,” Sunset answered, tossing Twilight's phone back to her and making for the door. “I-i-isn't that risky?” she asked, clutching the phone in both hands. “Won't it just make things worse if Rainbow Dash keeps detaining an innocent person?” “Yeah, but it'll get worse anyway if that innocent person goes running to the police over a misunderstanding,” Sunset stopped and told her, one hand on the doorknob. “At least this way we can all get some answers without making things more complicated than they already are.” Twilight looked at her phone, not really taking in the words on the darkened screen while she thought. Then she took a breath, looked at Sunset, and stood. “Alright. I'll come with you.” “No,” Sunset replied, shaking her head. “I appreciate the offer, Twilight, I really do, but I've distracted you enough today as it is. I think it'll be for the better if you stay here and keep working on the detector while I go take care of this mess. Since I wasn't able to help you much, this'll be more efficient, right?” She offered Twilight a smile, though it did little to reassure. “Don't worry. I'll stay in touch and tell you if I need you for anything, alright?” Twilight was quiet for a good long while before nodding, and murmuring “Alright...” Sunset returned the nod, and left. She only gave Twilight's parents a quick excuse of something having come up as she passed them before racing out into the afternoon, and the sun beat down on her as if in anger as she ran all the way to the bus stop. She knew going out was probably a bad idea, she really did. But Sunset had promised herself she'd get involved if anything else happened after her friends' sisters went missing just a few hours ago, and if now wasn't the time to do that she didn't know what was. She owed it to Rainbow Dash to try and personally get her out of any trouble caused by Sunset's desire to find her counterpart, right? That's what she told herself on the bus, at least. And it was true, though not the full truth. But she couldn't quite admit to Twilight that she really, really wanted to ask Amethyst about the other Sunset herself. Even if Twilight would probably understand. She was worried about what she'd do when she got there, worried about whether she'd do or say anything that was a little closer to how she'd been a year ago than she really wanted. That wasn't a side she wanted Twilight to see of her. Rainbow Dash was one thing; Rainbow Dash had already seen that side and the way she was acting would probably want those old tactics. But Twilight? No, she couldn't risk Twilight seeing that. She pulled the cord to signal her stop, and got off in front of the building she lived in. CPU. The standard gauge and waveform projector from the beta model predating her disastrous clam-shell design. And, of course, the all-important receiver she'd invented that was sensitive to the peculiar form of energy she now knew as magic. Twilight worked in silence connecting those components, knowing that she'd have to ensure they were fully operational before she could even attempt to proceed with her new designs. Sunset was counting on her to produce a functional model so they could test their hypotheses regarding the magic. Sunset was also acting strangely, right? More nervous than usual. Something was on her mind – just her counterpart, right? And yet, Twilight wasn't so sure. Why had Sunset been so insistent on staying with her when she didn't need the help and had already made a point to be understanding about Sunset's desire to leave? Again, Twilight wasn't sure. She wasn't about to complain about it, but... But she was getting mentally off track. She needed to focus. Boot up her computer, hook up the skeletal device to it and turn it on. The needle moves, the waveform goes wild. As expected. Run diagnostics; everything is working as it's designed to. Detach the device, remove the older display modules. Connect the new display modules one at a time, and test the device between each one. After spending so much of the day in Twilight's home, Sunset couldn't help feeling that her apartment was nothing but a disappointment. Just a single room filled with whatever furniture, appliances, and knickknacks she'd been able to scrounge up over the years from bargain stores, junkyards, and suburban yard sales. It was distinctly hers, and she did love it, but... ...she couldn't help feel embarrassed by it when she thought about one day bringing Twilight over. Especially if it was as more than friends, as she'd long imagined. At one point she had thought Twilight might find it as cool and quirky as Sunset herself was, but that had been before seeing what sort of place Twilight was used to. But now wasn't the time for those thoughts, and Sunset gave her head a good shake to force them away. She dashed up to her loft as quickly as she could, retrieved her geode from the bedside drawer it was in, then slid back down the ladder and raced out the door. She needed to catch the next bus to where Rainbow Dash was before her friend did something she'd regret. Both girls raced to complete their tasks in the hopes it would lead them to the knowledge they were seeking; and both girls tried hard to focus on them by shutting out thoughts of each other. And even after all the messages they'd sent out and received over the course of the afternoon, neither could have been prepared for the one that struck their phones simultaneously. It was from Pinkie. Her sister had been robbed.