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// 13: Taking It from the Top 
// Story: Shining Together 
// by Bookish Delight 
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The giggles died down. Both Starlight's and Sunset's expressions sobered. Sunset folded her hands in front of herself, took a deep breath, slowly exhaled... and began the conversation. "How much did Twilight tell you about me?"

Starlight 'hmm'ed. "Not all that much. You were Celestia's old student, you ran away to here, went back to steal her crown, Twilight had to come over here to get it back, which she did. Then when some old-school monsters from Equestria attacked this dimension, you and she teamed up. And you've been amazing ever since."

Silence passed before Sunset rolled her eyes with a rueful chuckle. "I wish I'd been as nice as that story paints me."

"Yeah, I always felt like there were holes in it, too? But I was dealing with my own stuff, so I didn't pry." Starlight tapped her fingers together, her gaze shifting back and forth before she directed it back to Sunset. "Hey. If this stuff hurts to think about, to talk about... believe me, I really get it. You don't have to. Not for me."

Sunset shook her head. "No, it... helps if you know. Plus, I sometimes need to remind myself." She sighed. "I was spoiled from day one. A magic prodigy who knew what I had going for myself, and who thought power and status should have been mine because, well, I'd been gifted with a lot of it already. Princess Celestia didn't agree, though—and neither did Princess Twilight when I tried to use her crown to brainwash the students and faculty of Canterlot High School, so I could use them as my own personal army to take over Equestria."

"Wait. Students and faculty?" Starlight crossed two fingers on one hand with her other's index. "Including a certain couple of principals who totally would have turned into their pony analogues if they'd gone through the—"

A smile crossed Sunset's lips, in a slant she hadn't felt in years. Allowing herself to be nostalgic for a few precious moments, she nodded. "Figured that theory was worth a shot, too, yeah."

Starlight gaped, with a bemused, breathy giggle. "You... whoa, you thought big! Like, don't take this the wrong way, but I'm actually kind of impressed!"

Sunset giggled back. "Don't worry, I take it as a compliment. Anyway: I fought Princess Twilight and the friends she made on this side of things, but they won pretty easily, by hitting me with the Elements of Harmony... more or less. The crown awakened the magic of friendship in the human versions of Twilight's pony friends. Whom you've already met."

"Huh. Guess it thought they were good enough in a pinch." Starlight shrugged. "Still, though. Getting hit with ancient Equestrian magic is no joke—personal experience speaking—but... the Elements?" Starlight leaned in, her eyes wide and twinkling. "What's that like?" 

Sunset closed her eyes, allowing herself to think of that lonesome, painful night in the rain for only a few seconds, refusing to fall back into that sadness again, back into that conflict of mind and heart that felt like it would last forever.

"After hearing what's happened to Discord and Luna, and seeing what it's done to some of the people here, the best I can come up with is... it's sort of like jump starting a power source. Only instead of a battery or a mystical conduit, it's your conscience. And by jump start, I mean full power, all at once. It doesn't rewrite your mind or heart anything, but... everything and everyone has the capacity for good inside of them. 

"And the Elements give that capacity the biggest loudspeaker you've ever seen." Sunset fingered the orange geode pendant around her neck. "Honestly, the girls and I only use our harmonic powers as a last resort for that reason. It's a lot to take if you're not ready for it—and no one ever is."