Back at her childhood home, Sunset was busy locking herself in her room. She’d been there since the moment they had gotten back, and despite any attempts to get her to leave, she had yet to open the door.
It was after the latest attempt that Twilight came back downstairs and found Hot Air sitting on his sofa, staring at a photo that rested in the feathers of his wing. To say she had mixed feelings about the situation was an understatement. The worry for her friend, the frustration and confusion towards the stallion who was her friend’s father, all of them danced about in her head, and she knew that it had to be far worse for Sunset.
Just how? How could he lie to his daughter for so long?
“Princess.” Hot Air’s somber tone snapped Twilight out of her thoughts. “Thank you, for earlier.”
Twilight was taken aback for a moment, blinking in confusion. “What for?”
“For getting onto me back in the tent.” Hot Air turned to look at the princess, a rueful smile on his lips as he set the photo down. “I probably would have kept shoving my hoof in my mouth if you hadn’t.” He sighed and turned to look out the window again. “I’ve been too afraid to admit the truth to Sunset for so long, that I haven’t been able even to be truthful to anypony anymore.”
The young princess’s confusion only grew as she walked closer. “Then, why thank me?”
Hot Air’s eyes moved back to the photo, and Twilight could see it was the same one of Sunset and her mother that she’d seen earlier that day. “Because now that I got even a little bit out, I know Sunset’s going to force me to say the rest eventually.” A grunt escaped the stallion as he stood, and started for the stairs, only to stop in the doorway and look over his shoulder. “Line said it best. I’m a coward. I always have been, and I probably always will be.” Hot Air let out a chuckle as he shook his head. “It’s a good thing Sunset takes after her mother and not me.”
Twilight could barely bring herself to speak. The princess was hesitant to trust Hot Air, yet he sounded sad and resigned. He admitted that he had problems with lying, but she couldn’t figure out just how much of what he just told her was truthful. “I...”
“You don’t have to say anything, Princess.” Hot Air waved a hoof as he pulled himself up off the couch with a grunt. “As soon as Sunset comes out to talk... You have my permission to use the memory spell I asked about, as long as she agrees.” He glanced towards his missing wing for a moment before turning back to the princess. “I might have trouble telling the truth anymore, but a spell like that’ll force it out of me, and I have a feeling she’ll go for it.”
For the lavender princess, her breath caught in her throat, and a concerned grimace began to form. “Hot Air, casting the spell, if anything goes wrong, there may be consequences. Spells like these can easily become two way, jumble memories, deteriorate minds or worse if not handled by somepony with the talent for it. While I may be a princess, I only received the bare minimum training for this spell. Are you sure you want to risk that?”
The ease at which Hot Air nodded only made Twilight’s worry grow. “Whatever happens to me doesn’t matter. Sunset deserves the truth, and it’s high time I stopped beating around the bush.” Trotting past her, the grounded pegasus started for the stairs, pausing at the bottom of the steps. “I’ll be in my room when she’s ready. Just,” a sigh passed through his lips again as he shook his head, “please, make sure she knows the risks too.”
The atmosphere left in the room was far from homely, and Twilight discomfort was quick to agree. Eager to get the earlier topic of conversation off her mind, Twilight headed up the stairs herself and went back to Sunset’s door.
In Twilight’s opinion, the gentle tap of her hoof on the wood echoed far more than it should have. “Sunset? Can I come in?” At first, the door remained closed, leaving Twilight’s heart to sink, only to creak open gently as the princess was about to leave. Inside, she could see Sunset laying on her old bed, looking out the window. The amber unicorn had her back to Twilight. The princess closed the door behind her and walked up to her friend, and placed a hoof on her back. “Sunset?”
Sunset’s eyes moved to her hooves before she looked to her friend with tears glistening in the light, seconds from falling. “Twilight, which world do I belong to?”
Surprising Twilight, as it turned out, may have been a family trait. This time, however, her worry quickly had the lavender mare frowning. “What?”
Sunset’s gaze turned back to the window as she stared at the ponies passing by, completely unaware. “Since we got back, I’ve been thinking; about all the implications of what Dad said. If my dad is from here, in Equestria, but my mom came from the mirror--.” A trembling doubt began to show in Sunset’s heart, as a tear hit her hooves. “Did I ever belong here in Equestria? Or did I belong in the human world all along? Am I some kind of anomaly that doesn’t belong in either? Is this the reason I could never find anything on the second version of me in the human world; because there wasn’t ever one, and I’m the only me?” She tried to hold it back, but the dam continued to break as a second tear streaked down Sunset’s cheek, chasing the first. “What am I, Twilight?”
Wrapping a wing around her friend, Twilight pulled Sunset into a hug as she sat next to her. “You’re my friend, Sunset, and that’s all that matters.”
Sunset continued to sniffle as she wrapped her hooves around Twilight’s neck and tightened the hug. “Thank you, Twilight.”
“Anything for a friend.” Twilight smiled a little and let the hug loosen until she only had a wing resting on the amber unicorn’s back. “I think getting your mind off this would do some good.” Wordlessly, Sunset nodded and wiped her face of any lingering tears. “Would you like to let your friends know about your mother? It’s been a while since they’ve heard from you.”
Sunset thought about it for a moment, before looking over to Twilight. “I was wondering if the girls would be willing to do something for me.” The princess raised a curious eyebrow. “I was hoping they might be able to find out anything about my mom. If she was from the human world, there should be some trace of her disappearance.”
Twilight tilted her head a bit, and her ears perked as a particular detail caught her attention. “If?”
The amber unicorn frowned and turned back to the window, glaring at nothing as she levitated a piece of paper and quill from her desk, and started writing. “I... I don’t know what to think right now. I mean, yeah, I just had an emotional breakdown over it, but Dad lied to me so much I don’t know if he was actually telling the truth back in the tent. For all I know, this could have been yet another story he made up to dodge the question.” Sunset’s glare softened as she sighed and used a quick flash of magic to dry the letter's ink. “That wouldn’t explain how he knew about the mirror though, and the thought that he told the truth right then-- it scares me, Twilight. More than I thought it would.”
Twilight pursed her lips and took the letter from Sunset. With a nod of confirmation, she teleported the message away. The room was silent for a time; just the two of them on the bed, looking outside. Neither could bring themselves to break that quiet, though both of them hoped the other would soon.
For Sunset, her thoughts were answered, but not in the way she hoped. “Your father gave me permission to use the spell while you were in here.”
Confusion crossed the amber unicorn’s face as she turned to look at Twilight. “What? Didn’t he already agree to that last night?”
Twilight nodded, frowning in thought. “He did, as well as this morning, which is why I’m now rather apprehensive about using it. It’s possible he just forgot after what happened today or was trying to hint that I should use it already, but not-so-subtly.” The alicorn trailed off, looking at the doorway nervously.
“If his memory is starting to fail, this could further degrade his mind into a rapid onset of dementia.” Sunset finished for her, as all the lessons from her time in Canterlot echoed in her head. If there was one thing she could thank Celestia for, it was hammering in the importance of learning how a spell could potentially fail before trying to cast it.
A grim nod was all Twilight could do in response. “That’s one of the ways this could go wrong, yes, but there’s another problem.” Sunset looked confused as Twilight looked over. “The specific spell we need for this was designed to require a stable mind to work properly. When cast on one that’s failing, or even a pony who can’t focus on the memory properly, the spell might supplement itself with the caster’s mind, or in most cases, the third party intended to view the memories, instead and make a two-way link to ensure stability.”
Sunset’s fur got a shade paler as her eyes widened. “B-but that would mean--”
Twilight looked her friend in the eyes and gave a sad nod. “Your father would either see my memories, or your memories, as you see at his.”
“He’d see all of all the things I--.” Sunset throat felt dry as she tried to swallow. She searched through Twilight’s eyes for any sign she was lying; an act that unintentionally made her feel a small amount of guilt. “Are you sure?”
“I’m not sure exactly how the spell will react Sunset. With all of those risks on top of his current health, I don’t think I can bring myself to cast the spell in good conscience.” Hopping off of the bed, Twilight took a moment to look over her shoulder with a small smile. “We can double check your family’s history on your father’s side to see if he has any ties with somepony else that had memory failure, just to be sure though.”
Frowning with worry, Sunset sighed and hopped off the bed herself. “Well, that’d be a better use of time than pouting in my room all day.” Following the lavender princess out of the room, Sunset took one more glance around. “We’ll check up with Dad’s doctor, and see where to go from there. Sound good?”
Twilight nodded with a more genuine smile and opened the door. When they left the room, however, their train of thought was brought to an abrupt end. The moment they turned into the hallway, both stopped in their tracks and blinked in surprise, before Sunset leveled a sizable glare forward.
For standing before them, Hot Air was holding a stethoscope to the wall and was staring back in equal surprise.
The older pegasus gave them a sheepish smile as he chuckled. “Uh, just checking for mice?”
Moving forward, Sunset stopped just in front of her father. “How much did you hear?”
Lips pursed, Hot Air rubbed the back of his head. “To be completely fair, nothing.” He hoofed over the stethoscope and had a small frown. “They make that look so much easier in the movies.”
“Mr. Air,” Twilight walked over a touch calmer than her fiery friend, “We’ve decided it may be for the best to have a doctor evaluate your current health before Sunset can make any choices about the memory spell’s use.”
Blinking for a moment, Hot Air only stared at the princess before taking a step back and sitting down in the hallway. “Well... I do have an appointment later in the afternoon. I was originally gonna go alone and let you two have the house to yourselves for a bit, but I guess you can come along. Might be a bit hard to explain to the doc why a princess is joining me this time.”
Twilight nodded and looked to her friend. “This work with you, Sunset?”
The amber unicorn kept glaring at her dad before sighing and rolling her eyes. “Let’s get this over with.” As the three headed out of the home, Sunset's eyes darted to the window. I hope the girls can find out something, anything about this.