I Don't Need Magic

by Undome Tinwe


Chapter 19: Perspectives

"So, what are we going to tell Rarity? About us, I mean."

Sunset's question broke the comfortable silence that she and Twilight had been enjoying. The two of them were currently sitting in Sunset's car as she drove them to the original Carousel Boutique, where the seamstress in question was waiting for them for their fitting.

The morning had started pleasantly enough, with the couple exchanging a thorough kiss that had left Twilight feeling faint the whole walk to the car. The discussion afterwards about the results of Sunset's analysis of the spell circle and spare medallions she had extracted from the warehouse was likewise invigorating.

According to Sunset, Adagio intended to use the enchanted medallion in conjunction with the journal to drain some of Equestria's magic and transfer it to herself. Twilight had looked at some of the sketches Sunset had made of the effective spellform, and it was actually quite ingenious, assuming it was correct.

Since the power required to open a portal between worlds was far beyond what the cloverbloom could provide, Adagio was simply exposing a section of their world's fabric to Equestria, creating a vacuum that would draw power from the magical gradient across the divide and channel it into a collection matrix in the medallion. From there, she could use the magic in the same way that any other Equestrian could, and from what she'd seen from Adagio, that would be very bad for all of them.

The good news was that the talisman required an astronomical trigger to activate it and serve as calibrating factor. Specifically, the channeling spell could only be cast during the same alignment of the sun and moon that signalled the opening of the original portal in Canterlot High.

The next alignment was this Sunday, which gave them three days to come up with a way to find Adagio and stop her.

In theory, as the alignment approached, the enchanted medallion would begin to resonate with it, which meant that it might be possible to track its signature right before it was used, but it was hard to tell how much forewarning they'd have with that system, so for now, their search continued for some other insight to aid them.

After agreeing that further discussion would have to wait until Sunset had more time to further analyze the design, their conversation had slowly petered out as both of them took the opportunity to enjoy each other's company in peaceful silence. Twilight took the time to collect her thoughts about all that had happened since the beginning of yesterday.

After their terrifying encounter with Adagio and their somewhat awkward declarations of affections for one another that had led to their pledge to begin a romantic relationship together, Twilight had been very much on edge as their first date had begun, adrenaline coursing through her body and making her equal parts nervous and excited. That edge had quickly melted away as she found herself being drawn deep into conversation with Sunset

As they shared their stories, it had quickly become apparent that becoming a couple wasn't going to change their relationship dynamic too greatly, to Twilight's immense relief; she never wanted to lose that easy camaraderie she shared with Sunset, one that was unique and precious.

In fact, their budding romance only served to heighten the connection between them. Without having to hide her feelings, Twilight found herself much more relaxed, able to speak her mind freely without fear of saying the wrong thing and making things awkward. She had learned so much about Sunset, and shared so much about herself, which only strengthened their bond. And the occasional flirtatious asides were quite pleasant as well, especially the more physical expressions of affection that those asides had sometimes led to.

It wasn't all sunshine and rainbows, though. Several times during the date Twilight had been reminded of dark past that had driven them apart in the first place, and as she relayed her own story to Sunset, she had become very aware that the road ahead for them would not be easy. She had forgiven Sunset, yes, and they'd renewed their relationship with each other, but the shadow of betrayal still hung over them like a dark cloud, and it would take time before Twilight would be able to give herself fully to Sunset.

And of course, the question of what to do once they had caught up with Adagio still plagued her. She didn't know what exactly Sunset's stance on magic in this world was, but she was definitely still a champion for bringing the dangerous force over, and Twilight would have to confront her on it one day.

On the other hand, they had spent much of their first date talking about how to substitute technology for magic, coming up with a number of potentially world-changing developments if they ever panned out. Sunset had spent the better part of a decade-and-a-half figuring out how to replicate advances from her world with modern technology, and had learned to adapt to a world without magic.

With each conversation, Twilight felt like she was closer to showing Sunset that magic – and its dangers – wasn't necessary to make the world a better place. Perhaps the former mage was closer to that realization than she thought.

With that hopeful thought cheering her up, Twilight turned to face Sunset as she answered her question. "I'm pretty sure Rarity will somehow be able to tell the moment we walk through the door no matter what we say. She's known about my crush on you since high school, and she's been rather direct about wanting me to hook up with you."

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised," Sunset replied dryly. "She always liked playing matchmaker with me. Still, are you okay with her knowing?"

"Of course I am. It's not like I'm ashamed to be with you or anything." A dark thought crossed Twilight's mind and she felt a chill course down her spine. "Wait, are you ashamed to be dating me?"

"No, no, nothing like that!" Sunset hastily replied. "I'm honored that you picked me of all people and I want to shout it from the mountaintops or whatever people who are proud of who they're with do. But I'm not exactly nobody either. There's a lot of politics involved in running a billion-dollar company, and I'm kinda in the middle of it all. If we go public with our relationship, you're going to get sucked into that."

"I'm no stranger to politics," Twilight replied with a wave of her hand to show her disdain. "I'm the youngest tenured professor at Hayvard, and while I'm not the most social person, I've had to learn how to navigate the world of academic politics. It's not something I enjoy doing, but I can do it."

"That's good to know. I was a little worried that it might be a deal breaker." As Sunset spoke, Twilight looked ahead and saw an elegant-looking building up ahead on her right side. It was circular in shape, with colorful but tasteful patterns adorning its sides that gave the Carousel Boutique its namesake appearance. Twilight recalled seeing sketches on the building's design in Rarity's notebook back when they were students, and she felt a swelling surge of pride at seeing a physical symbol of her friend's dream becoming reality.

They turned into the small parking lot beside the shop and Sunset and Twilight climbed out into the morning sun. On a whim, Twilight reached out and grabbed Sunset's hand with her own, savoring the sensation of having a physical connection with her girlfriend. They shared a playful smile before pushing open the front door and stepping into seamstress' lair, a soft chiming of silver bells accompanying their entrance.

"Welcome to Carousel Boutique!" Rarity's cultured tones floated towards the pair as they beheld her shapely form standing next to a rack of dresses of all sizes and colors, her eyes focused on some elusive detail on a dress hidden from Twilight's view. "How may I help – oh!" Bright blue eyes snapped towards them as their friend noticed who had stepped into her shop. "Twilight, Sunset, it's so wonderful to see you again! How have you been since..."

Twilight suddenly felt very self-conscious as Rarity's gaze shifted downwards to where her hand was intertwined with Sunset's and her voice turned sly and knowing. "Well, well, well, what do we have here? Do you two have anything you wish to tell me?"

"Hey, Rarity," Sunset said casually. "Twilight and I are dating now."

"I see." A warm smile graced Rarity's lips as she addressed Twilight. "I must say, given our earlier conversation about your feelings, I wasn't expecting your romance to blossom so quickly. Still, this is a most marvelous surprise. Now, come in and have a seat." Twilight felt a frisson of nervousness at the hungry look in her old friend's eyes. "I'll make some tea, and afterwards I want to hear the whole story of how you two got together."

With little choice but to comply, the couple soon found themselves seated on a pair of luxuriously padded recliners, sipping a delightful black tea and recounting the events of yesterday to Rarity, who was resting on her own couch and listening with rapt attention. They started with a quick overview of how they had tracked down the cloverblooms before describing the confrontation with Adagio and the date that followed.

To Twilight's surprise, Sunset quickly took control of the conversation when it came time to talk about the memory spell, and deliberately avoided mentioning the love magic they had conjured up, simply stating that they'd managed to escape by turning Adagio's magic on herself. Upon further reflection, however, she found herself quite happy with that decision. The experience they had shared in that awful spell was something intensely personal, private, and intimate, and it was something she would never speak of to anyone but Sunset.

"Oh my, that's quite the tale you've told," Rarity said as they finished speaking, sounding suitably riveted. "Rainbow Dash is going to be quite cross at you for not inviting her to help storm the castle, as it were."

"Yeah, we didn't really have time to wait," Sunset said. "Not with the information we had. I'm sure Dash will get over it. Eventually."

"Well, I can't say that I'm sorry to have missed out on seeing that horrid woman again." Rarity grimaced into her tea before taking another sip. "I don't fancy the thought of having to face her again, but if you can spare the time before your next encounter, please inform us. I wouldn't have you fighting her alone."

"Will do." Twilight nodded in agreement with Sunset's words as they finished their tea.

"Excellent." Rarity set down her cup before rising gracefully to her feet. "Now, down to business. I've completed both of your dresses according to your measurements, and they should be in wearable condition right now. However, I will need to see you actually wearing them to determine if there are any final alterations that need to be made. So, who wants to go first?"

Twilight shrugged as she stood up. "Me, I guess, since I'm the first one on the schedule."

Sunset nodded. "Sure. I can't wait to see how great you look in your dress."

"I'm afraid you'll have to wait a few more days for that, dear. Now that you and Twilight are an item, we can't have either of you seeing the other's dress before the big day."

"Uhh, isn't that for weddings?" Sunset asked, head tilting in confusion.

"Oh, this has nothing to do with bad luck or tradition. I simply want to wait for the right moment for you two to see each other. A dress fitting two days before the main event in no place to be spellbound into silence."

Rarity's eyes lit up with stars as she grinned broadly. "Oh, I can just see it now. Twilight, waiting on the steps of her front porch, seated in such a way as not to sully her attire, of course. A jet black limousine pulls up in front of her, the doors opening to reveal her lover, come to sweep her off her feet and take her to the Exhibition. And then, at that moment when your eyes meet, you two should behold my creations for the first time."

The dressmaker let out a dramatic sigh, brushing aside her violet curls with her hand and gently collapsing back onto the couch.

"You okay there, Rarity?" Sunset asked with a mixture of amusement and concern as Twilight stood by awkwardly.

"I've just been looking forward to this day for so long," Rarity replied as she stood back up. "The designs for your dresses have been haunting my sketchbooks for over a decade, ever since Twilight first confessed her feelings to me. I had hoped to use them for prom, but alas, it was not meant to be. And now, I have the chance to finally give you the complementary dresses I've perfected."

"Wait, I thought you said that you weren't expecting us to get together?" Twilight asked, eyes narrowing. "Why did you design dresses specifically for us to complement each other?"

"A girl can dream, no?" Rarity smiled, mischief dancing in her eyes. "And even if those dreams didn't come to pass, I had hopes that seeing how well you looked together would give you cause to rethink your decision."

"Ever the matchmaker, huh?" Sunset commented. "Well, I'll leave you two to do whatever you need to do. See you in half an hour?"

"That will be fine. I shall be ready for you then."

Once goodbyes were exchanged and Sunset stole one last kiss from Twilight (to Rarity's ecstatic delight), she left the shop, leaving Twilight at the mercy of the scheming seamstress.

"Now then, let me just nip over to my studio and bring you your dress." Rarity walked gracefully over to the back of the shop before disappearing behind one of the doors, leaving Twilight to wait patiently and observe her surroundings.

So much of the interior of Carousel Boutique looked familiar to her. She remembered seeing the plans and layout for this store in Rarity's notes, and she amused herself during her wait by seeing how many details she could recall from those memories.

About a minute later, as Twilight recalled how she had helped in designing the central changing area, she heard the sound of the back door opening and turned to see Rarity delicately clutching a bundle of opaque wrapping.

"Shall we?" Rarity asked as she gestured towards the corner of her shop where a pedestal and a series of mirrors were set up. Twilight nodded and walked over to the center of the fitting area, waiting for Rarity to pull down the screen before stripping down to her intimates as instructed.

"Now, close your eyes," Rarity instructed as she walked up to Twilight. "I want you to see the dress in all its glory, and for that, it must be worn by the one it was created for."

Deciding to humor Rarity after all she had done for her, Twilight complied, shutting off her visual senses and relying on sound to keep herself aware of her surroundings.

"Thank you, darling." Twilight heard the sound of a zipper being pulled down, followed by the sound of rustling cloth. A rush of air surrounded her as she felt something being pulled above her, and a moment later the smooth, gentle caress of silk slid down her head as the dress was slipped onto her body, the cloth resting against her hips as she felt its comfortable embrace surrounding her.

There was a bit of shuffling as she heard the zipper on her back being pulled back up and felt the tightening of the fabric around her body, followed by some random tugging in various places as the dress was adjusted. Finally, Rarity guided her hand through a pair of straps that had come to rest on her shoulder, providing extra structural support.

"There. Perfect." Rarity's voice filtered through the darkness. "You may open your eyes now, dear." Twilight did so, and her jaw dropped at the breathtakingly beautiful sight before her.

The dress began as a pair of light blue straps that hung around the shoulders, complementing the purple tones of her skin. The blue slowly transitioned to a bright cyan and then a deeper blue in a soft gradient that flowed down the small ruffles that made up the layers of the dress. Right below the neckline, swirls of very familiar red and yellow danced around the middle of the dress like a warm flame. As the colors spread down to the skirt of the dress, the red and yellow grew more dominant before abruptly transitioning to a dusky violet at the fringes of the dress.

Various gemstones were scattered precisely throughout the dress, from the clear gems at the top in small clusters to the what appeared to be rubies and citrines around the center and finally the onyx crystals lining the edges. The dress painted a perfect picture of the transition from day to night, the setting of the sun that was her girlfriend's namesake, and the colors blended perfectly with her own in a medley of symbolic elegance.

As Twilight stood transfixed, her gaze locked on the vision in the mirror, she distantly heard Rarity's smug voice beside her. "It's been a while since I've rendered a client speechless. I'd forgotten how intoxicatingly pleasant the feeling could be. I take it you approve of the dress?"

Twilight nodded fervently in agreement, her mind struggling to come up with words. Finally, she managed to speak. "It's perfect, Rarity. More than I could ever have imagined."

"Thank you for the praise." In the mirror, Twilight saw Rarity approach her from behind. "However, it's not quite perfect yet. I still need to make a few minor adjustments. Hold still, if you please."

For the next minute or so, Rarity worked in silence, poking and prodding and taking various measurements with her tape measure before jotting them down in her notebook. Twilight took the time to observe herself in the mirror. The dressmaker really had outdone herself, making Twilight look better than she ever had and making her truly believe she was beautiful rather than just having a vague idea that she wasn't unattractive.

She couldn't wait to see Sunset's reaction to it. The idea of dazzling her girlfriend with her beauty sent little spikes of youthful joy through her brain. And of course, she was looking forward to seeing Sunset in her own dress as well. If Rarity could make someone like Twilight look this good, she couldn't even begin to visualize what Sunset would look like.

"So, it seems that you've disregarded your own advice on the matter of romance." Twilight's musings were interrupted by Rarity's words.

"Huh? Oh, yes, that." Twilight did her best not to fidget in embarrassment. "I suppose it's one thing to try to apply logic to determine a proper course of action in a highly emotional situation, and another to actually go through with that course. Us getting together was very much a heat of the moment thing. Although, now that I've at least had half-a-day to think on it, I believe we can make it work."

"Really?" Rarity adjusted the straps on Twilight's shoulders, pulling them back and forth slightly as she continued to take notes. "Does this mean you've resolved the original tiff that led to your parting?"

Rarity made a spinning gestured with her hand and Twilight turned until her back faced the mirror before replying. "Sort of? I've forgiven Sunset for what she's done, at least. And as for our argument over how to treat magic in this world, well, I think I'm making progress. It won't be easy, but I went into this relationship knowing that it'd be hard to change Sunset's mind, and I'm going to stick with it until she sees the light, as it were." Determination filled her voice as Twilight made her declaration, feeling like a princess standing atop her dais.

Rarity bent down and fiddled with a few of the crystals on the hem of her dress, her eyes focused on the jeweled pattern before her. "Not to out myself as the world's largest hypocrite after pushing for you two to get together," she said hesitantly and somewhat distractedly, "but are you sure this is a good idea? I've met many couples in my line of work, and most all of the ones that began with one half trying to change the other failed miserably in the end."

"I'm familiar with the popular consensus, yes," Twilight said, her voice cooling as she felt her hackles rise a little in response, "but it's a risk I'll have to take. In some ways, this is far more important than just the two of us – we're talking about the potential fate of the world here. I'm not even sure if the normal dating rules apply to us."

"Normal is not a word I'd ever think to apply to either of you." Rarity stood back up and brushed herself off primly. "You are both extremely remarkable women in your own ways, and I have no doubt you'll persevere just as you always have.

"That said, if I may offer some advice: no matter how grand the stakes may be, remember that at the end of the day, you are both human – for the moment, at least – with human emotions and failings. If you treat each other as ideals to fight against and don't take the time to listen and understand each others' sides of the argument, then that's a sign of a lack of respect that is so vital to any successful relationship. After all, you can't know for certain if Sunset's philosophy is without merit, no?"

"I guess you have a point there," Twilight conceded. "You know, I don't think I ever asked you where you stood on the whole magic thing. Would you have sided with Sunset or me in the end if things hadn't gone the way they had?"

Rarity was silent for a moment, her hands busy putting away the tools of her trade. Finally, she answered in a subdued tone. "Wielding Equestrian magic was one of the most wonderful experiences of my life. As an artist, the ability to bring forth the creations of my mind into the world with just a thought is… well, there's nothing quite like it. Even if my constructs were temporary, there was so much potential in what I could achieve. I have always been an adherent of the spectacle, after all."

Twilight stared into Rarity's conflicted gaze as the other woman turned to face her. "I don't approve of what Sunset did, of course, but I can understand it. I can still feel the call of magic sometimes, that urge to create things that no mortal ever could. Surely you can understand that, no?"

Twilight smiled sadly. "I think we all loved our powers. Some of us maybe a little too much."

"Perhaps. I'm loathe to pass judgement myself, but then again, these debates about morality and progress are far beyond my forte, so I suppose I have the luxury of being able to recuse myself from the discussion for that reason. I just hope you can work things out with Sunset to the satisfaction of both of you. And the world at large, I suppose."

Twilight smiled, more genuinely this time. "I think everything will be just fine. I mean, assuming we can stop Adagio, of course. It'd be kind of a moot point if she managed to pull off her evil plan."

"Well, in that endeavor, I have no doubts as to your chances of success," Rarity said with her own smile. "Now then, let's get that dress off you and retire to the lounge to wait for Sunset, shall we? We haven't truly had a chance to talk alone since your return, and I am so very curious about how you've been."

"Sure." Twilight allowed Rarity to undo the straps of her dress, eager to sit down and talk to her old friend. A small part of her mind couldn't help but dwell on Rarity's words, however.

Despite all that had happened, Twilight and her friends had shared a number of good experiences with their magic. After she'd left Canterlot High, Twilight had spent so much of her life trying to resist its temptation before Sunset had come along and ruined all of her efforts. In the past couple weeks, she had been reminded both of how wonderful and terrible magic could be.

None of that changed her belief that magic was too dangerous to bring into this world, of course, but Twilight would be lying if she said that she didn't wish she could indulge herself a little, even knowing the dangers of being seduced by power. For a moment, she envied Gloriosa, who could use magic to her heart's content without fear of being caught up in a larger conflict and endangering the world.

Suppressing a wistful sigh, Twilight followed Rarity to the lounge area, banishing pointless thoughts of what could never be from her mind and focusing on the joy of having her old friend back to talk to. She was so close to her happy ending, and after what she had gone through, she was going to enjoy it as much as she could.


After Sunset had returned and had her fitting while Twilight stepped out and got some work done at a nearby coffee shop, the two of them stayed for a little while longer to chat before bidding Rarity farewell and heading out to their next destination: the home of Sonata Dusk and Aria Blaze.

"How much do you know about what happened to Sonata and Aria after you defeated them?" Twilight asked as they passed the Canterlot City Limits and drove out into the countryside.

"Not too much, actually," Sunset replied. "After the Battle of the Bands, they ran off, and we didn't really chase after them. Without their powers, we didn't think they'd be much of a threat, and it's not like a bunch of teenagers would've been able to convince the cops that three other teenagers were actually monsters from another world who tried to use magic to mind-control everyone at our school.

"And after graduation, I had too much crap going on in my life to keep tabs on them, and it really didn't seem that important to do. Honestly, if they hadn't come to see me a couple years after I started Equinox, I probably would've forgotten all about them."

"They came to see you?"

"Yeah, I didn't see it coming either." Twilight listened to Sunset's story while staring out at the passing landscaping, watching as mall complexes and suburbs faded into farms and forests. "Apparently, they'd heard about Equinox and figured out pretty quickly where I was getting my inspiration from.

"It turns out Aria has a knack for magic and did a bit of research into sonic magic while she was on this side of the mirror. They came to me to make a deal to turn some of their ideas into something we could sell for a profit, since the money they'd saved up was starting to run out.

"Obviously, I was suspicious, but everything seemed on the level, and Aria's amplifier design was light-years ahead of what everyone else was working on, so we struck up a contract and starting marketing their ideas. Equinox makes a good chunk of money off of it, and we send them royalty checks to whatever address they give me. We're heading over to the current address I've got listed for them right now."

"And you trust that they don't have anything to do with Adagio?" Twilight saw a brownish-colored horse nuzzling a pile of rocks next to a creek, and for a moment she wondered if that was what Sunset really looked like. She felt a sudden surreal calm pass through her as she realized that everyone they were talking about came from a different world than this one, and that they were casually talking about business dealings with them.

"I can't be one-hundred percent sure, but over the years I've seen Aria and Sonata change. They used to be a lot like who they were in Canterlot High, but every time I see them again to renew our contracts or discuss other ideas they might have, I've noticed that they're nicer and kinder people.

"I mean, Aria is always going to be pretty abrasive, and Sonata can still be a little mean at times, but I can sense that they're really trying to be better, and I think I'm pretty good at reading people. But just in case, I've got a little surprise in my purse if they try anything."

"Alright," Twilight said, "I trust you."

As she spoke, they drove past a small theatre with a large sign advertising the movies they were showing. "Hey, the new Daring Do movie is coming out next week."

"Another one?" Sunset glanced over at the sign. "Didn't they just make one last year?"

"Yep. Ever since they hit it big with the reboot, they've been trying to squeeze out as much money as they can from the franchise." Twilight watched as the empty parking lot passed them by and was replaced with a small strip mall. "Did you know that I almost got us permission to visit the set where they filmed the original version of the movie?"

"Oh, really? That would've been cool."

"Yes, it turns out the director, Canter Zoom, went to Camp Everfree, and stayed friends with the counselors at the time – Timber Spruce's parents. Timber offered to get us exclusive access to the set, but then we broke up and it was a little too awkward for me to bring up." Twilight wondered what Timber would think of her dating Sunset now – it seemed like everyone had seen that they would end up together, even her ex-boyfriend.

"Maybe it's better we didn't go anyways," Sunset pointed out. "I remember reading about a bunch of bad stuff happening on the set, and then the lead actress quit on them halfway through filming."

"They ended up getting the director's niece to fill in for Daring." Twilight grimaced as she recalled the unpleasant experience of watching the movie. "Juniper Montage almost single-handedly ruined all hopes of a movie franchise."

"Honestly, there were a lot of other problems with the movie too. Like, they completely screwed up Stalwart Stallion's reveal. And some of those props..."

"Don't remind me," Twilight said with a shudder. "Alright, maybe it's better we weren't there to witness that train wreck. At least the new movies are pretty good, even if they deviate a little too far from canon for my tastes."

"I thought they did a good job staying true to the books, at least as much as you can with movies. I didn't see any huge things missing or changed, anyways."

"What about Ahuizotl? Don't you remember how they completely botched his personality? For example, in Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Stone, he clearly intends to trap Daring in the temple, but in the movie, it paints the trap as an accident, which completely undermines the purpose of the quicksand scene. And furthermore..."

As Twilight found herself getting caught up in a heated debate over Daring Do canon, she allowed herself to forget about the Sirens and Adagio's evil plans and focus on enjoying her time with Sunset, even if her beautiful, kind, and normally intelligent girlfriend was dead wrong about the movies.

Eventually, they crossed a wooden bridge that marked the end of the farmland and small towns they'd been passing through and the beginning of White Tail Woods. Twilight watched as the trees surrounding them grew denser and denser, until they formed two solid walls that pressed in on them from either side as they continued to traverse the winding road deeper into the forest. Up ahead, the covering from the trees also become thicker, blocking out more and more sunlight until only a few beams filtered down from the canopy.

Finally, just as it seemed like the forest was going to swallow them up completely, they burst through the foliage and back into the light of day, entering what appeared to be a small town. Quaint wooden houses lined the roads, each with a different design that gave them their unique charms. Further down the road, an old two-story building advertised cheap lodgings for the night, and next to it was a convenience store with flickering neon lighting.

They passed through a good chunk of the town until Sunset pulled into a tiny, one-lane road that was barely more than a walking path winding up a hill, guided only by the car's GPS system. To Twilight's surprise, a large mansion stood at the end of the road, overlooking the town from its perch at the top of the hill.

Looking at the colorful yet faded exterior and the large garden surrounding the house filled with all manner of statues and plants, Twilight could easily imagine some lord or lady from olden times living there while ruling over the town, like in one of those romance novels Rarity used to read when they were teenagers.

"This is... grandiose," Twilight commented as Sunset stopped in the parking area and they stepped out onto the slightly overgrown lawn. "I suppose it's appropriate for someone named after the mythical Sirens. Come to think of it, I wonder if the actual Sirens from ancient mythology were inspired by something magical."

"Oh, I'm pretty sure Aria, Sonata, and Adagio are the actual Sirens from those myths," Sunset said casually as she stood in front of the imposing wooden door and rang the doorbell. "Star Swirl the Bearded sent them through the portal thousands of years ago. The chances of the Siren legends popping up at around the same time would be a huge coincidence, so I figure they have to be the ones who started them."

"They're thousands of year old?" Twilight barely remembered to keep herself from shouting as they waited for a response.

"I thought you knew?" Sunset looked confused, like she had stated something completely obvious. "I did mention that they knew Star Swirl the Bearded."

"First of all, I don't have your knowledge of pony history," Twilight hissed, "and second, with all the magic being thrown around, I just assumed that there was some time mismatch between realms. You're telling me that Sonata and Aria are old enough to have seen the rise and fall of most of the major civilizations in human history?" Twilight's mind reeled at the implications of those words.

They were about to confront the two oldest beings in the universe to ask about stopping the third oldest, one who had literally thousands of years of experience to her name. The two people they were here to see were literal myths, creatures from ancient times long forgotten. Twilight felt a slight panic at the thought of the sheer time scales they were dealing with, but before she could get too worked up, however, they heard the sound of a latch being undone and saw the door creaking open.

"What do you want?" Twilight's mind froze as a familiar voice sounded out impatiently from behind the door. It was older and more worn than she remembered, but even after fifteen years she recognized that regal tone dripping with disdain.

"Chrysalis?" It seemed Sunset had recovered from the shock first, though her surprise was still evident in her tone.

A pair of bright green eyes peeked out at them, and a moment later, the door swung open, revealing a tall, slender woman with skin as black as night and hair the color of dark moss. She was wearing a pale green dress that wrapped around her graceful form, and her face held a frown that skirted on the edge of hostility.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't Sunset Shimmer and Twilight Sparkle." Her voice was cold and mocking, with a hint of bitterness, just as it had been all those years ago. "What brings you to our little corner of the world? I didn't think that you would come all this way just to see little old me."

"We're looking for Aria Blaze and Sonata Dusk, actually," Sunset said equally as coldly. "Is this the right address?"

Chrysalis didn't answer Sunset, instead turning her head and shouting back into the house, "Aria, Sonata! Sunset Shimmer is here, and she's brought Twilight Sparkle too!"

For a few seconds, the three of them stood at the doorway awkwardly glaring at one another. It seemed that both parties hadn't expected to see each other ever again, and weren't entirely happy about this new development. Twilight still remembered the emotional pain the former heiress had wrought on them when she had gained access to Equestrian magic that granted her the ability to alter her physical form at will, turning her into a changeling like in the stories.

Chrysalis had proceeded to use her abilities to try and tear apart the relationships between the students of Canterlot High as retribution for losing her social standing within the school after she misplayed the rumor game. Teenagers could be so petty at times.

She'd impersonated various students and broken up friendships and romances, leaving behind a trail of broken hearts and bad blood in her wake that had taken weeks to patch up even after they'd finally depowered her. As such, Twilight wasn't exactly feeling friendly towards the woman standing in front of her who seemed to have retained her haughty arrogance.

Just when Twilight was about to say something, anything, to break the awkward silence, they heard the sound of footsteps coming from inside the house, growing louder and louder until two women eventually appeared in their sights. Both looked to be in their mid-thirties: one with pale, almost ice-blue skin and a long light-blue ponytail with dark blue stripes and the other with pale pink skin and dark purple streaked with brilliant aquamarine that was bound into two tresses. Both were dressed in plain, casual clothes that looked more comfortable than fashionable.

The pink-skinned one frowned. "Sunset, we weren't expecting to see you here," she said coolly, her voice rough but polite. Her purple eyes narrowed as she took in the sight of Twilight standing in front of her. "And you brought the pony princess too."

"Actually, I'm the Twilight Sparkle from this world, not the one from Equestria." Twilight felt a mild sense of déjà vu as she recalled all the times she had to explain that to the students of Canterlot High. It had been one of the more surreal experiences of her life, having to specify repeatedly which universe she came from, even considering how much time she had spent doing magic.

"Oh? Then we haven't met before, but I guess you know who we are, huh?" This time, the woman's gaze was more curious than cold.

"The Sirens," Twilight replied. "Creatures from myth who possessed the ability to hypnotize mortals with their singing. Their songs were said to be sweet enough to lead sailors to their death." Reciting her textbook knowledge helped her gain a handle on how vulnerable she felt being scrutinized by an immortal magic-user.

The pink woman snorted in reply. "Not anymore, thanks to your friends. I'm Aria Blaze, and this is Sonata Dusk." She gestured at the blue woman as she spoke. "Now, why are you two here? It's not about business, or else Twilight wouldn't be here."

"I need to talk to you two about Adagio," Sunset said plainly. "Have you seen her lately?"

"I haven't talked to her in years," she replied. "What did she do?"

"She stole something from me." Twilight noted that Sunset seemed to be speaking in deliberately vague terms. "I'm trying to find her and get it back."

"We didn't have anything to do with that," Aria immediately snapped back, "and we don't know where she is now."

"You don't know anything about where she might be hiding out?" Sunset pressed, stepping forward a little in response to Aria beginning to close the door on them.

"I said we don't know anything!" Aria moved to slam the door closed on them, but Sonata reached out and gently grabbed her by the arm.

"Maybe we can help them?" The other Sirens voice was a bit higher pitched and more cheerful than that of her partner, with a youthfulness to it that Aria's did not possess. "Like, we don't where Adagio is, but we spent a lot of time with her."

Aria glanced at Sonata, their gazes meeting for a moment before she sighed. "Fine," she said, opening wide the door. "Come in and let's see what we can do." Her tone clearly indicated her scepticism about the potential productivity of their meeting.

"Thanks." Sunset and Twilight followed Sonata, Aria, and Chrysalis into the house, their nerves tense as they took in the interior. Just as with the outside, the main foyer was large, open, and beautifully decorated if somewhat neglected.

The quintet walked beneath a beautiful but eerie chandelier composed of many uniquely-shaped crystal globules that hung from the ceiling like some kind of pupated insect and illuminated the room with a dull light that revealed the cobwebs attached to its base. Turning to the right, they entered a small sitting room decorated with plush velvet couches.

Aria and Sonata took one couch while Twilight and Sunset sat down in the other, leaving Chrysalis to rest herself on an ornate chaise lounge. As they all manoeuvred themselves into more comfortable positions, Twilight took a moment to admire the old oil paintings that lined the walls of the room, idly wondering if the Sirens had actually known the original artists. Dwelling on the immortal nature of their hosts was better than acknowledging the tension in the room.

Only Sonata seemed to have any sort of positivity left in her, a hopeful eagerness dancing in her eyes coupled with a small smile that lit up her rounded face. Aria looked defeated, a tired, resigned expression gracing her visage, while Chrysalis simply glared at Twilight and Sunset. Twilight felt nervous and vulnerable, having stepped into the Sirens' lair of sorts, and she could feel a similar emotional discomfort from Sunset even as she seemed to sink gracefully into the soft cushioning.

Finally, Sonata spoke up. "So, umm, what did Adagio steal from you two?" she asked, a little hesitation in her normally bubbly voice.

Sunset shot a quick glance at each of the three people living in the house before sharing a look for Twilight. Twilight could see the indecision on Sunset's face and nodded subtly, trying to give her a small encouraging smile. She could tell that Sunset wanted to share more information, but wasn't sure how much she could trust the Sirens and Chrysalis. To Twilight, however, it didn't matter; either they had something to do with the theft, in which case they already knew, or they were being honest, in which case their help could be invaluable.

"There's an artifact I used to communicate with Equestria," Sunset finally said. "It hasn't worked since the rift between worlds was closed, but it still has a connection to Equestria through an Entanglement enchantment."

"So she stole your little walkie-talkie or whatever. You think she's gonna try to go back to Equestria with it?" Aria still had her devil-may-care attitude, but Twilight could hear genuine interest in her voice as well.

"She doesn't have enough magic for that," Sunset said. "We think she wants to use the artifact to draw magic into herself, but we're having trouble figuring out the spell she's planning on casting."

"She's using an osmotic sieve to create a fixed source with the artifact as a targeting focus, right?" Everyone turned to look at Sonata in surprise as the Siren who had been described as "ditzy" to Twilight by Sunset and her other friends spoke up, a confident tone in her voice.

"Yeah." Sunset turned her head slightly towards Sonata. "That's what we think. How did you know?" Suspicion tinged her voice.

"It's something I helped out Adagio with," Sonata replied in her usual tone. "This was like, a hundred years ago, when Adagio was totally obsessed with trying to power up our gems with something besides human strife since, y'know, the power we got from that was kinda icky."

Sonata stuck her tongue out, disgust clear in her grimace. "So she thought that if we could, like, access the veil between worlds or whatever, we could get real Equestrian magic to feed off of instead. We worked on a spell for creating the vacuum, but we couldn't figure out how to point it at Equestria, so I kinda forgot about it.

"But if you have something with a connection... Boom! Equestrian magic, and oodles of it. She would be a lot more powerful than she ever was in this world." Sonata frowned. "That would be really bad for us. Adagio was always a meanie, and now she doesn't need us, so it would really suck if she had magic and we didn't."

"So, can you help us stop her?" Sunset asked. "We know she needs a lunar alignment to cast the spell, but I'm not sure if there's anything else that might help us nail down her location."

A thoughtful look graced Sonata's face. "Uhh, I guess you could make a counterspell to resonate with the targeting matrix and mirror the vacuum to destroy the spell focus."

Sunset reached into her purse and pulled out a few photographs of the medallions and spell circle. "Could you design a spell to counter this?"

Sonata took the drawings and studied them for a few seconds. "I guess," she said uncertainly. "It's been like, forever, since I did magic though. I might be a teensy bit rusty."

"I can help, if you want," Sunset offered.

Sonata beamed. "Sure! I think if we all work together we can do this for sure. Let's go to the study. It's kinda hard working in here."

"Well, I'm not going to be any help here," Chrysalis said as she suddenly stood up. "If you'll excuse me, I'll be in my chambers while you engage in your little friendship project." The disdain was clear in her voice as she briskly walked out of the room.

"Don't worry about her," Sonata said dismissively after a few seconds. "She can be a real grumpy-pants sometimes. The study is in the East Wing. Do you want to grab a drink before we start?"

Sunset and Twilight politely declined, and without further ado, they headed to the study to continue their work. Sunset and Sonata walked ahead, discussing something incredibly technical that was beyond Twilight, while Twilight herself walked with Aria. The scientist took a moment to study her companion; Aria Blaze was a Siren who had once tried to take over the world with powerful mind magic, yet right now she seemed like a normal, if somewhat standoffish, woman. It made her wonder about her, what her story was and how she came to be where she was now.

Curiosity overcoming her, Twilight turned to face Aria. "So, is it true that you're actually thousands of years old? And that the three of you are responsible for the myth of the Sirens?"

"Yeah." Aria looked ahead as she spoke. A smirk graced her features. "We did a lot of crap back in the day. Never got any sailors to jump off their ships, though – can't feed off suicide, after all. We just made them fight until there weren't enough people left to pilot the ships, and I guess when people found the empty ships or the ones with just a few survivors, the story got mangled a bit."

A tinge of sadness entered her eyes she continued to speak. "And that was just the start. You wouldn't believe how many wars or battles were started so that we could feed. Not that people needed much help from us; you humans really like to fight over literally anything. We hated feeding off of human emotions, but damn was it everywhere. Like a crappy, cheap buffet. It wasn't hard to just see humans as food when they acted like animals." There was a mix of bitterness and distaste in her voice.

"And now?" Twilight asked, trying very hard to reserve judgement until after she had heard the whole story. Admittedly, that wasn't too difficult. The scope of what Aria was talking about was so big that her mind was having trouble grasping the true extent of the evils she had perpetrated. "Do you still think we're livestock?"

Aria was quiet for a moment. When her voice returned, it was much softer and more subdued. "After the Battle of the Bands, when your friends and your counterpart destroyed our necklaces, we got to experience mortality for the first time. We realized just how hard it is not to have magic, to be weak and powerless and have a clock counting down the days we had left.

"And then Adagio left us, and we realized that we weren't any better than anyone else when it came to fighting, either. We only stuck together because of our powers and because we thought we could help each other go home. Once she realized that we weren't going to be of any use to her, Adagio bailed and left us to fend for ourselves."

Aria sighed. "I guess going through all of that crap and not having Adagio around to fill our heads with thoughts of power or how much better we were compared to the mortals gave us a chance to develop empathy or something like that. Don't get me wrong," she added hastily. "we're not about to join in on your friendship singing circle or whatever it is you girls do when you're not fighting evil, but we won't be trying to take over the world, either. It just doesn't seem worth it anymore."

"Well, I'm glad to see you've changed," Twilight said encouragingly, trying to not sound patronizing. "It's good to find someone else who's found life after magic."

Aria snorted, startling Twilight. "You call this a life? Sitting around in the middle of nowhere, wasting away the last years of our very long lives? No, all we managed to do was find peace in our deaths, so that we can meet the Ferryman comfortably and slowly instead of being pissed off and doing something stupid like Adagio.

"Maybe us losing our powers was good for humanity, but it was the worst thing that could have happened to us. If I had a soul, I think it'd be like losing that. Sonata and I decided that we weren't going to go back to what we were to get our magic back, but we'd still give up a lot for it."

"Then why are you helping us stop Adagio?" Twilight asked, suspicion and unease growing. This had not been the response she'd expected.

"Because Adagio having magic would really suck for all of us," Aria replied as they finally reached a room filled with old bookshelves and a single large desk in the center, "and because helping the two of you understand the spell will help us bring magic back into this world."

A genuine, earnest smile appeared on her face for the first time since they'd entered the house. "I'm not normally this sappy, but you and Sunset have given us hope for the first time in over a decade, and I can't thank you enough for that. Now, let's figure out how to kick Adagio's ass get our magic back."

Twilight was stunned into silence as they sat down around the large table, Sunset laying out the drawings on its wooden surface. She couldn't bring herself to dash Aria's hopes, not after seeing how happy and excited the former Siren was. Her mind roiling with turmoil, she watched in silence as Sunset explained what she could of the medallion's design.

A couple hours later, as the sun finished cresting and was nearly halfway through its descent, Twilight's mind was spinning with ideas and conversations far beyond her expertise. She might have been able to call herself the leading human expert on magic, but compared to the actual Equestrians she felt like a child learning about electricity for the first time while the adults talked about wave propagation and electroweak forces.

Sunset and Sonata were absolute geniuses in the field, and Aria managed to at least follow the conversation and occasionally give out some insight or other. Meanwhile, Twilight found herself struggling just to keep up with the terminology and concepts they were casually throwing around.

The last time she'd managed to contribute something had been near the beginning, when she'd figured out that the energy required to cast Adagio's spell would require her to cast it at a point where the dimensional membrane was already weakened, say, by being the former site of a tear in the veil between worlds. Knowing that Adagio would have to be at Canterlot High to cast the spell at least gave them a lot more options in creating stationary counterspells.

Other than that insight, though, she'd basically been completely lost.

"Why don't we target this inversion matrix with a Repeat-After-Me spell?" Sunset said, pointing to a collection of lines on the page that looked to be very deliberately placed. "That should be enough to nullify the vacuum pressure."

"Nuh uh." Sonata shook her head emphatically. "The alignment you need for that is too perfect. If it's even a teensy bit off then you'll amplify the gradient instead, and I have no idea what happens then. Probably something bad."

"Still, the inversion matrix might be the weak point of the spell," Aria pointed out, "since it's the keystone of the medallion."

"I think I'll take you out on that offer of a drink." Twilight blurted out her first words in nearly half an hour as she finally couldn't take the suffocating fog that was clouding her mind from the advanced topics being discussed.

The others looked up at her in surprise. "Sure," Sonata said. "The kitchen's on your right, at the end of the hall. Grab whatever you want from the fridge."

"Thanks," Twilight muttered as she left the room, her mind starting to clear as the sounds of discussion faded away with distance.

She found the kitchen right where Sonata said it would be. For an old house that looked like it came out of a black-and-white movie, the kitchen was surprisingly modern. Twilight walked up to the stainless steel fridge and opened it, grabbing a soda before closing the door. Opening the can, she took a small sip of the sweet liquid inside, leaning against the marble counter as she enjoyed the peace and quiet.

Said peace was ruthlessly cut down by a familiar condescending voice from the kitchen entrance. "Finished with your saving-the-world brainstorming session yet?"

"No, they're still going," Twilight said coolly. "I just needed a drink to refresh myself."

"I see. Just can't help playing the hero, can you?" Chrysalis sneered. "Even after all these years."

"I never wanted to be a hero," Twilight replied. "But someone needs to clean up all the messes that magic keeps leaving behind."

"And that someone isn't you," Chrysalis scoffed. "Oh please, I can hear your ramblings from my chambers. It's not hard to notice the lack of one particular voice in the discussion. And now you're here, sulking all by your lonesome."

"Are you here for a reason?" Twilight demanded, what little of her patience that remained rapidly fading.

"This is my home, if you'll recall," Chrysalis replied. "I don't have to answer your question. But, since I'm feeling generous, I came down for the same reason as you: food and drink." She walked over to the fridge and grabbed a jug of milk, pouring it into a glass sitting by the sink. She took a long drink from her glass, and Twilight took a moment to admire the contrast between the white glow of the milk and the dark, almost black, gray of her companion's skin.

"Being able to pick apart your insecurities was just a fortuitous coincidence," Chrysalis added after finishing her drink.

"I can see that the passage of time hasn't done much to improve your disposition." Twilight mentally debated whether or not it was worth returning to the discussion she knew nothing of rather than stay with her former enemy. "I assume you picked up another group of sycophants as soon as you left Canterlot High?"

Chrysalis flinched. "I didn't think you were the type to go for the throat like that," she said, her composure cracking. "I supposed I deserve it, though."

"What?" Twilight stared at Chrysalis in confusion. She'd definitely hit a nerve, but the other woman seemed to think it was deliberate.

"You don't know? Did you decide to live under a rock after graduating?"

"Okay, now I definitely don't know what you're talking about. And I was a little busy with my studies to pay much attention to the news in Canterlot."

"Well, after your friends stripped me of my powers, I had nothing left in my life, and I sought to find meaning in any way possible. I'll spare you the sordid details, but after making the front page of the local newspapers one too many times, my family decided that it would be best to sequester me far away from where I could do any damage to their reputation." The heiress met Twilight's gaze, her eyes searching for her reaction.

"Oh." Twilight wasn't entirely sure what to say to that. Telling her that she deserved it seemed a bit harsh, especially given how far she had fallen. On the other hand, Twilight was still having a little trouble sympathizing with her former tormentor. Eventually, she settled on sating her curiosity. "So how did Aria and Sonata end up living here?"

"Pure serendipity. We met at a concert of the Baltimare Philharmonic Orchestra. Music was one of the few pleasures I partook in, and I was enjoying a rousing performance of Shoe Burr's Erlkönig when I was surprised by the sight of the Sirens in attendance.

"I was content to leave things be and continue being ships passing in the night, but it occurred to me that those two might still have access to magic. Thus, I resolved to establish a rapport with them in hopes of restoring some of my power."

Chrysalis downed the rest of her drink before continuing to speak. "Since then, I've allowed them to live with me here. Even without magic, the money they've brought in have been a wonderful supplement to the stipend my family gives me, a stipend which they have not increased to account for inflation." The last words were accompanied by an annoyed pout before being replaced by a warm smile. "And I suppose we've grown used to having each other around. Misery loves company, as they say."

"I see," Twilight said neutrally. "Well, good to see that things have worked out for you."

"And how about you, Miss Sparkle? Given the company you keep, I can only assume that you finally managed to confess your feelings to the real Sunset Shimmer. Unless you've been suffering from unrequited love for fifteen years. That would be quite the tragedy." Twilight's sympathy was quickly evaporating in the face of the small smirk that Chrysalis wore. "Come to think of it, it is curious that Miss Shimmer wound up as the founder of Equinox Labs, yet you were never by her side until now."

Twilight answered the unspoken question in Chrysalis' words. "If you must know, we only recently became a couple after an extended separation."

"That was around the time that the magic flowing into this world disappeared, yes? I guess Miss Shimmer didn't have the same allure without her powers."

"The opposite, actually," Twilight said, bristling at the implication that she only wanted Sunset for her magic. "We disagreed on the handling of magic in this world, which led to me leaving Canterlot."

"So that's what happened. There was talk after you left, but I could never glean anything more than rumors. And yet, I notice you standing here today, with Miss Shimmer by your side. The call of magic was just too powerful resist, hmm?"

"Hardly," Twilight retorted. "I'm just here to stop Adagio, and then I can go back to a life with minimal magical interference." The words felt oddly hollow even to herself, and the perspective socialite picked up on that.

"You think you can be with a powerful mage from another world and live a normal life?" Chrysalis let out a mocking chuckle. "Let me give you some advice from someone who's spent the better part of a decade living with two former immortals: even if everyone fails to bring magic back into this world, you'll never to free of its grasp.

"However bad the call of magic is for us humans, it's a thousand times worse for those who have magic in their lifeblood. They'll constantly be reminded of what they once had, and in turn, will remind you as well. You'll never find happiness down this path, Miss Sparkle."

"We'll see about that." Twilight wished she had a stronger comeback, but her mind was still stuck on the other woman's words. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go back and help save the world. It was nice seeing you again, Chrysalis." She didn't even care about sounding insincere – she just wanted to be away from the former shapeshifter's poisonous words.

"Ignore my warning at your own peril," Chrysalis said as she moved to leave the kitchen. "I'll be waiting to get my powers back with bated breath."

Twilight waited a few seconds until she was sure Chrysalis was gone, and then she took a deep, calming breath before returning to the discussion between the magic experts. As the discussion progressed, Twilight found herself unable to focus on the technical details of the spells they were designing, her mind replaying the conversation she had just had with Chrysalis.

Sunset herself had said that magic was a fundamental aspect of her soul, her destiny or true calling or whatever. She'd spent fifteen years working towards bringing magic back into this world.

Could she be happy giving up that dream? After all, it wasn't the only thing she had in her life. She ran a successful business that had revolutionized the world and had all the fame and fortune a woman could ask for. Her work was challenging and rewarding, and she had a good life even outside of Equinox, with great, supportive friends and now a girlfriend. Surely that should be enough for anyone.

And yet, Twilight herself understood the call of magic, the desire to unravel its mysteries and feel the rush of arcane might flow through her veins once again. And as she listened to the three mages around her talk, she realized that what she had experienced was only the tip of the iceberg of what magic had to offer. She was sitting with two women who had seen the rise and fall of civilizations, lived countless lives, and likely influenced the course of history in ways she couldn't even comprehend.

How could she understand what magic meant to them?

There were no easy answers to the dilemmas she faced, but Twilight had known that would be the case when she had agreed to date Sunset. Looking at her girlfriend's eyes light up with joy and excitement, she resolved to never let that light die. She would find some other way to give Sunset's life purpose.

Nothing was going to stand in the way of their happy ending, not even Sunset.