Equestria Girls: Two Sunsets

by moviefan-92


Chapter 8: Magical Mayhem

Chapter 8: Magical Mayhem

It was true what they said. Sometimes the simplest explanation was the right answer. For several months now, the Equestria Girls had been taking care of the Equestrian magic that had escaped into the human world, but had yet to discover where it came from. They still didn't know where their geodes had come from either, only that they too had been created or been infused with Equestrian magic that had called out to them.

For some reason, they hadn't thought to look in the most obvious place. Originally, the portal from Equestria to the human world only opened for a few days every 30 moons. However, using the connection of one of the magical journals that Twilight and Sunset communicated together with, the Princess of Friendship had been able to use the magic connecting the two journals together to keep the portal open indefinitely.

On the whole, this was not a problem, but after Twilight was corrupted by Equestrian magic at the Friendship Games and went on a rampage as the demon Midnight Sparkle, damaging the statue that contained the portal to Equestria, the real trouble began. Wisps of Equestrian magic would occasionally slip through the crack on top of the base where the mascot had once stood, the very one Sunset had attempted to stick her fingers into when Pinkie Pie first came upon her.

The wisps of magic would then fly about in the human world, usually dissipating shortly afterwards. However, there were instances when they would find and enchant an object, usually something with a reflective or shiny surface, as had been the case with the mirror Juniper Montague found, Vignette Valencia's phone, and Twilight's watering can.

It was happening now. As the students of Canterlot High went to and from classes, a single wisp if magic slipped through the crack on the top of the statue, and began flying through the school.

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Twilight had to admit that she was impressed. When Micro Chips revealed that he would be taking part in the talent show, he was quite eager to tell everyone what his act consisted of, if one could actually call it an act.

Apparently, he had been working on a type of artificial intelligence program for the past few years that he had created on his laptop. His act for the talent show was going to consist of him talking and interacting with his A.I. system to put on a comedy show.

Currently, he was in the library, giving a demonstration/lecture of just how "alive" his A.I. was, and what it was capable of, something he was clearly very proud of. Taking up an interest in the subject, Twilight had decided to attend to see how far her intellectual rival had taken his project, much to Spike's dismay at having getting dragged along with her.

Micro Chips was good, she silently admitted; better than she thought he would be. His A.I. was quite the scientific accomplishment, though she thought that she still had him beat with the robot dog girlfriend she had created for Spike. However, unlike her rival, she chose not to show it off, not wanting to brag about her accomplishments.

"As you can see," Micro Chips was saying to his audience, "my A.I. system is fully capable of reading given situations and choosing the appropriate response based on the data it had gathered in a manner that greatly surpasses SIRI. It is even able to scan a person's body readings to determine what they are feeling to provide appropriate responses, and to calculate these readings with the situation its in to make it even more life-like. Its primary program is for it to grow and develop to become even more advanced to make it the perfect imitation of actual intelligence and life."

In the crowd of students attending the lecture, Bulk Biceps raised his large overly-muscular arm. "Are you saying it can actually think on it's own?"

Micro Chips pushed his glasses further up his face. "It can certainly seem that way. It's capable of thinking within the boundaries of its programing and making decisions available from the ones I programmed into it, much like the way a non-playable character in a video game will react to what the player is doing. I present a series of circumstances surrounding the situation, and provide it a list of appropriate responses, and based on the data it collects, it will respond accordingly based on its programming."

He crossed his arms, looking a little too smug. "But while it is capable of learning new responses based on its observations, I'm afraid it's quite impossible to give a machine or any form of A.I. actual intelligence and free will since it is still nothing more than data and calculations. It is possible, however, to make a pretty good imitation of true intelligence to the point where it can be hard to tell the difference though. Such as, for example, if presented with a situation it is unfamiliar with, where a person will still be able to decide how to act on their own, an A.I. would be unable to, or will only be able to react in a manner similar to a similar scenario it is already programmed with."

If what Micro Chips said was true, then Twilight was sure that her robot dog was as advanced as possible to realistic actual intelligence as one could get. Again, not that she was one to brag.

"You will be able to see the full capacity of my A.I. at the talent show," Micro Chips continued. "For now, who would like to see a brief demonstration of what it is capable of?" He didn't wait for a response as he turned to his laptop. "Good afternoon, Mr. A.I."

The image of a pixelated smiley face appeared on the screen. A moment later, a scanner traveled up and down Micro Chips' face as it scanned him. "Good afternoon, Micro Chips," a static-filled monotone voice came from the laptop. "Lovely day, isn't it? You appear to be in a good mood."

Micro Chips smiled proudly. "Why, yes it is, and yes I am." He motioned to the crowd. "Why don't you say hello to our audience."

Once more, the laptop sent out a scanner, this time going over the students in the library. "Subjects estimated to be in the teenage age group. Deduction: school setting among students. Probability: the school of Micro Chips. Providing appropriate response: Greetings students of Canterlot High School. It is nice to meet all of you. I would like to thank all of you for coming to this demonstration of my capabilities. I greatly appreciate your enthusiasm."

The students clapped at the display, and Micro Chips gave them a small bow. Cheerilee, the librarian, was clapping as well as she made her way to Micro Chips. "That was very impressive, you two. I'm sure we'll all look forward to seeing you both at the talent show."

The laptop scanned her as well. "Subject, not a student. Seeking profile… Profile found: Miss Cheerilee. Providing appropriate response: Thank you, subject Cheerilee. And might I say, you are looking quite lovely today."

She giggled. "That's sweet of you. Now, does anyone have any questions for Micro Chips or Mr. A.I.?"

A few hands went up, including Twilight's. She heard Spike grown, but she ignored him; she was curious to learn how Micro Chips had created his program. But as she held up her hand, something caught her eye. Flying through the air, barely transparent, was what appeared to be a wisp of magic. She recognized it for what it was, and was instantly on her guard. "Oh no…"

No one else seemed to have noticed it yet, including Micro Chips, who called on one of the students. "Yes, Sandalwood. What's your question?"

The green-haired boy stood up. "So, like, if your fancy A.I. thing is capable of learning and advancing like you said it is, then what's to stop it from, like, growing and evolving to the point where it becomes so advanced that it decides to bring forth Judgment Day and wipe out all humanity so it can rule over the survivors as our evil robot overlord?"

Twilight didn't even hear the question. Her focus was entirely on the wisp of magic, hoping it would just fade out. However, much to her dismay, it came down and floated right into the screen of Micro Chips' laptop. The computer immediately began glowing, and the smiley face on the screen began changing colors and facial expressions, like a rapidly changing emoji image switching moods.

With his back to the laptop, Micro Chips was none the wiser as he laughed at the absurdity to his environmental enthusiast friend's question. "That is utterly preposterous. Contrary to what movies tend to portray, no A.I. is capable of making emotionally driven decisions on it's own such as-"

He was interrupted as beams of light suddenly shot out of the laptop as it flashed brightly. This finally got Micro Chips' attention, and he whirled around to see his laptop rise up in the air. Several more beams shot out from the laptop, striking other computers, copiers, and other electrical appliances in the library, including certain students' cell phones. They were immediately drawn towards the enchanted laptop and began piling up around it. Wires and cables reached out, connecting and entwining the items together as it began to build itself up.

When the assembly was complete, most of the technological appliances in the room had somehow combined together to form a giant, humanoid, robotic body. At the top, surrounded protectively by other stolen items, Micro Chips' laptop seemed to be serving as the head. The face on the screen continued to change and pixelate as the body of appliance moved as if it were alive.

"Evil robot overlord!" Sandalwood shouted over the screams of the other students. "I told you, man!"

Micro Chips backed away from the mechanical monstrosity. "This… This is impossible. How is it doing this?"

"Robot overlords, dude."

"Everybody stay calm!" Cheerilee called to the panicking students. "Quickly, get to the exits!"

Unfortunately, most of the students seemed to choose taking out their cell phones and begin taking pictures and video rather than run away. Twilight, however, stood her ground as she glared at the technological monster.

From inside her backpack, Spike recoiled from the monster. "T-T-Twilight, what is that thing?"

"Trouble," she said, not taking her eyes off the monster, if that was indeed what it was. Quickly taking off her backpack, she set it down on the ground and took Spike out. "Hurry and find the others. I'll try and hold it off."

The dog glanced at the monster, then back at Twilight, looking worried. "You sure you're going to be ok?"

"I'll be fine. Just hurry."

More cables extended from the monster, grabbing at more objects in the room to add to its body. "Learn and develop. Learn and develop."

It turned its attention to Twilight since she was the one closest to her, and suddenly reached for her with what served for a hand. Twilight reacted quickly, tapping into the power of her geode. She reached out telepathically, freezing the monster in place. It struggled against her power, but she was able to hold it back. Not for long though, the monster was quite strong.

"Hurry, Spike," she gasped as she put all her concentration into keeping the monster bound. "I don't know how long I can keep this up."

Spike was trying not to panic as the monster loomed over them. With great reluctance, he turned away and ran from the library. "Hang in there, Twilight! I'll find Rainbow Dash first; she can find the others!"

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The bustle of activity drew the attention of most of the student body near the library. Including that of Sunset. Frowning in confusion, she went to investigate, wondering what the commotion was all about.

Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna were attempting to calm the students and usher them out of the school. However, most seemed to be heading in the opposite direction, wanting to see what was going on in the library, their phones already set to video to capture what was happening.

Within the sea of faces Sunset spotted a familiar one, a boy with teal skin and blonde hair whom she recognized as Fluttershy's younger brother whom she had briefly met earlier in the week. He hadn't been as strange as Pinkie Pie's sister, but he was an annoying good for nothing, who very clearly got on everyone's nerves, particularly Rainbow Dash's due to the crush he had on her. Quite frankly, he was the last person Sunset would prefer to talk to, but he was the only familiar face she saw at the moment, and so she made her way over to him and grasped his shoulder to get his attention.

"Hey, Zephyr Breeze," she said, hoping she remembered his name correctly, "what's going on?"

He turned to her, recognizing her as his sister's friend. Sunset didn't know if he thought she was her counterpart or not, but she didn't care as he said, "Didn't you hear? There's a monster on the loose in the library. Probably some Equestrian magic at work."

Sunset's eyes widened. "Equestrian magic?"

"That's what I said. Shouldn't you and your friends be taking care of it? That is what you do, ain't it?"

Ok, so he did think she was the other Sunset. But there was no time to dwell on that. Without another word, she began pushing her way through the crowd, making her way to the library, ignoring the principal and vice principal's orders for everyone to evacuate as she moved along with the students attempting to see what was happening first hand.

Amongst the chaos, Sunset somehow managed to catch sight of Spike running through the crowd. Worry suddenly gripped her for the dog's owner. If he was by himself, then something must have happened to Twilight.

Abandoning her struggle to get to the library, she instead made her way to the dog. She managed to fight her way over to him as he made his way through the forest of legs and scooped him up.

"Spike, what's going on?" she asked. "I heard there's a monster and Equestrian magic on the loose."

"There is!" the dog exclaimed. "Twilight's trying to hold it off. I've got to get to the others, fast. Do you know where Rainbow Dash is? She'll be able to find the others a lot faster than I can."

"Uh…" Sunset muttered, trying to think of where the rainbow-haired girl would most likely be. "The soccer field, maybe?"

Spike smacked his forehead. "Of course, the soccer field! Duh." He quickly leapt out of her hands. "Thanks, SunShim!"

She watched as he disappeared into the crowd. Cupping her hands over her mouth, she called out, "Good luck!"

Spike barely heard her over all the commotion as he made his way to the nearest exit and slipped outside. He hurried to the soccer field where, sure enough, he found the multi-colored haired girl he was searching for. She was performing a series of stretching exercises, making him grateful that he didn't need to chase her down.

"Rainbow Dash! Rainbow Dash!" he called, running over to her.

She gave him a surprised look, wondering why he was here; he was supposed to remain out of sight with Twilight when on school grounds. "Spike, what are you doing here? Where's Twilight?"

Panting, he pointed back towards the school "She needs help! There's Equestrian magic on the loose in the library! Twilight's fighting it by herself, but she needs all of you!"

Immediately understanding the situation, Rainbow Dash nodded. "Right, I'm on it."

Her geode glowed as she tapped into its power, and she took off in a rainbow colored blur. She began zooming around the school, looking for her friends, and skidded to a halt as she found Fluttershy coming out of the bathroom.

Fluttershy jumped as Rainbow Dash suddenly appeared in front of her. "Oh, hello, Rainbow Dash. What's going on?"

"Twilight. Library. Magic. Need help. No time."

Before Fluttershy could comprehend anything she had said, Rainbow Dash grabbed her wrist, and the two of them took off. The process was repeated with the rest of their friends, some of which had already heard about the commotion and had been already on their way towards the library.

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Twilight struggled to stay focused as the monster continued to push against her. All the while, cables and beams of magic shot out from the monsters body to grab hold of other objects in the room to add to its body. Sweat poured down Twilight's head as the growing monster struggled to free itself from her telekinetic hold.

"Hurry, Spike…" she grunted, feeling her strength fading.

Finally, she couldn't hold it back any longer. Her arms fell to her side, and the telekinetic glow surrounding the monster vanished. It came down at her, but a streak of rainbow plowed into Twilight, snatching her out of the way. The next thing she knew, she was standing beside her friends.

Blinking in surprise, she glanced at the one who saved her. "Rainbow Dash?"

"Glad I made it in time," the multi-colored haired girl replied. "Thanks for keeping it busy."

Applejack stared at the technology monster. "What in tarnation is that thing?"

"Long story short," said Twilight, "some Equestrian magic got into Micro Chips' laptop and took over an A.I. program he was working on."

Something brushed up against Sunset's leg, and she looked down to see one of the many cables of the monster slithering about. Curious, she reached down and grabbed the cable while tapping into her power. She didn't know if it would work, but a moment later, it happened. Empathy Flash.

It was very different from looking into another person's mind, mostly because the monster didn't actually have one. There were no thoughts or feelings, not even memories, not really. Instead, what she got was a flash of video images, and a drive to follow its programming, which she somehow was able to read and understand.

The Empathy Flash ended, and Sunset dropped the cable. "It's completely out of control. It's fixated on upgrading and becoming more advanced however it can."

The monster continued to add to its body as the emoji face on Micro Chips' laptop, now surrounded by various other computers and forms of technology, continued to chant, "Learn and develop. Learn and develop."

Applejack nodded. "Yeah, I guess that's apparent."

"Lets do what we do!" Pinkie Pie declared. "Light it up, ladies!"

Standing side by side, they all joined hands. Their geodes shined brightly, and a light engulfed them. Just like when they would pony-up when they played together, they underwent the same transformations, only this time it was taken a step further, providing them with a complete wardrobe change, each with a Cutie Mark present on their cheeks.

"Time to send you to the scrap heap," Rainbow Dash told the monster.

It appeared confused at first as it scanned the Equestria Girls as they floated in the air in front of it. "Unidentified subjects found. Solution: obtain more information. Learn and develop. Learn and develop."

All at once several cables shot out from its body in all directions. Rarity reacted instantly, summoning forth diamond barriers to protect herself and her friends. The Equestria Girls glared at the monster as it retracted its cables, and the diamond barriers vanished.

"Nice try, Mr. Computer Guy," said Pinkie Pie, shaking her finger at it. "Alright, girls, lets blast it!"

"Wait!" Sunset cried, holding out her hand. "Look."

The monster reeled in the rest of its cables, revealing that it now had hold of several students, including Micro Chips, Sandalwood, and Trixie.

"The great Trixie does not like this!"

"I'm sorry! I swear I didn't program it to do anything like this. It shouldn't be possible."

"Robot overlords, man."

The monster revealed that it had also taken hold of Cheerilee as well, and it brought her up to its face. "Scanning… Subject identified: Miss Cheerilee. You look lovely today."

"Release these students and me this instant!" she demanded.

"Rudeness detected. Appropriate response: ignore to avoid conflict."

The Equestria Girls exchanged worried looks, realizing that they were now dealing with a hostage situation, making defeating the monster much more difficult.

"What now?" Rarity asked worriedly. "If we attack, we might hurt them."

"We'll have to get them free first," said Sunset. "Fluttershy, you create a diversion while Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and I try to get them free. Rarity, use your power to make sure it can't grab anyone else. Applejack, Twilight, cover us in case it attacks."

Fluttershy nodded and flew to an open window. She called out, and a few moments later, a swarm of birds came flying in and began circling around the monster, drawing its attention and blocking its view of the others. Rarity summoned up more diamonds and surrounded the monster with them, preventing it from going anywhere or grabbing anyone else. Sunset, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash immediately went for the hostages and attempted to pull them free from the monster's hold.

Despite the birds obstructing its vision, the monster's attention was drawn towards them. "Attempted theft. Appropriate response: self defense."

It lifted up its giant hand and made to bring it down on Pinkie Pie. Applejack immediately rushed over, using her super strength to catch the giant fist, managing to hold it back. It lashed out with its other hand, but it was suddenly surrounded by a layer of telekinetic magic, courtesy of Twilight, holding it in place.

"Defenses inadequate. Solution: new configuration."

The hostages were yanked away from the Equestria Girls as its body began to reassemble itself around Rarity's diamonds, going from a humanoid shape to a four-legged creature. The hostages were now hanging in the air above it by the cables that wiggled about like tentacles. The Equestria Girls quickly regrouped as it turned its attention back to them.

"Careful, ya'll," Applejack warned, "it looks like its about to attack."

"Not to worry!" Micro Chips called down to them. "It may defend itself, but its programming specifically prevents it from attacking a human being."

Rainbow Dash was skeptical as she looked at the monster's aggressive stance. "You sure about that?"

"Quite sure. I programmed it myself. It's the number one rule of A.I."

"Seeking appropriate non-fatal defensive actions… Solution: render threat incapacitated. Option: shock treatment."

They could practically see what it was doing as it drew power from the outlets it was plugged into. Electricity began flowing over its body, which was then launched at the Equestria Girls. Rarity once more surrounded them with a diamond barrier that blocked them from the electricity.

Up in the air, Trixie cut her eyes at Micro Chips. "Real great programming there. The great Trixie is not impressed."

The school nerd just grinned sheepishly. "Well, it wasn't a fatal blast."

"Robot overlords," Sandalwood repeated.

"Will you stop saying that!"

Sunset turned her gaze from the monster to the countless cords flowing out from its body that were still plugged into the walls and outlets. "Rainbow Dash-"

"I'm on it," she replied, realizing what Sunset was going to say.

Using her super speed, she raced around the library, quickly unplugging all the cords. There was a notable slumping of the monster as it lost power. "Power source lost. System failing."

Applejack beamed, giving Rainbow Dash a thumbs-up when she rejoined them. "Nice one. I think that did it."

Smirking arrogantly, Rainbow Dash twirled around a cable she had unplugged. "Should have done this to begin with."

"Seeking new power source… Source detected. Type unidentified. Reverting all systems to unknown power supply."

The magic glow surrounding Micro Chips' laptop began to spread to the rest of the body, until the entire structure was glowing with a magical aura. The monster rose up again to its full height, fully energized by the magic fueling it.

The smirk left Rainbow Dash's face as the monster turned back to them. "Oh, come on! Seriously?"

"It must be using the magic inside it as a power source," Twilight theorized.

"Threat still present. Seeking new solutions… Solution: cut off thieves' senses."

All at once, all the copiers and projectors it had collected shined their bright lights at the Equestria Girls, blinding them. Next, all the sound systems turned their volume up to the max and began blasting loud music or pure static, causing everyone in the room to cover their ears and cringe.

Among them was Sunset, who had finally managed to arrive at the library a few minutes earlier. She was stuck in the back of the crowd of students, but had still been able to see what was happening. Now she too was covering her ears as she squinted to see through the bright lights the monster was shining.

She'd had no idea what she would see when she got to the library, but a giant monster made from computers, printers, copiers, and other electrical items was not it. If this is what Equestrian magic was capable of, then it was even more powerful than she thought. If only she could get her hands on it.

Her hand went to her choker as a thought occurred to her. Maybe there was a way she could get it, and hopefully put a stop to this monster too. If it was actually just technology enchanted by magic, then she should be able to…

Closing her eyes, she tapped into the power if her choker. The gems began glowing as they reacted to the magic in the room, and she directed it towards the monster.

The face on the screen of Micro Chips' laptop was still rapidly changing and distorting. But as the magic within it responded to Sunset's call, the face froze. The magic glow surrounding it suddenly vanished, and the screen burst open with a small explosion. The wisp of magic that had enchanted it flowed out and drifted across the library over to Sunset.

Without the magic, the monster became still, and it collapsed into a pile, its hostages dropping down on top of the pile. The lights stopped flashing and the music and static stopped emitting, granting everyone in the room a reprieve. As Sunset lowered her hands from her ears and was able to look at the monster again without squinting, she caught sight of the wisp of magic as it floated over the crowd of students and came down somewhere behind them.

She didn't see where it went exactly, but a moment later, she saw Sunset step out from behind the students she saw the magic disappear behind. What really drew her attention though was that it looked like her choker was glowing. To make things even more suspicious, she saw her counterpart glance around cautiously, as if to make sure no one had seen her, before she slipped out of the library.

Before Sunset could dwell in this further, Pinkie Pie let out a cheer. "Wahoo! We did it!"

Applejack was digging her finger into her ringing ear. "Did what? We didn't do anything. It just stopped moving on its own."

"NO!" The cry came from Micro Chips, who had managed to untangle himself, and was now holding his destroyed laptop. "My whole program was on there! And it was so big that I didn't have it backed up!"

Sandalwood, also freed, placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "It's ok, dude. All is as it should be."

Next to them, Trixie was rubbing her head. "The great Trixie requires some Asprin."

Twilight surveyed the scene, also wondering why Micro Chips' laptop had seemed to explode for seemingly no reason. "Maybe it was too much for the laptop's systems, and it overloaded."

Rarity was rubbing her ears. "I'm just glad that whatever happened did. My ears are still ringing."

Micro Chips was still distressing over his ruined laptop. "All these years, wasted! What am I going to do now?"

There was the clearing of a throat, and he looked up to find a disheveled looking Cheerilee, and she did not look happy. "I have an idea. It requires a broom, and a lot of your time outside of school."

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Surprisingly, the damage to the library hadn't been too extensive, even most of the technology was still in working order; it would just take a long time to fix everything up, not to mention putting away all the books, something Twilight had quickly volunteered to help with.

Equally as surprising was the lack of injuries, even among those that had been taken hostage. There were mostly some cuts, scrapes, and bruises, but nothing permanent or severe, not even among the Equestria Girls. That didn't stop Principal Celestia from insisting that they get looked at.

They were sitting in Nurse Redheart's office to be checked over, but the nurse was currently looking over a still distressing Micro Chips. The Equestria Girls sat together as they waited for their turns, despite insisting that they were alright.

"Still can't believe Equestrian magic was able to do that," said Applejack. "I mean, we've seen it do some crazy things before, but that was certainly a first."

Twilight put her glasses back on, having finished cleaning them. "I think part of it had to do with it enchanting Micro Chips' program. An A.I. meant to learn and advance combined with magic, not a good combination."

Fluttershy glanced at her. "You were at the lecture. Did you see what happened?"

Twilight sighed. "Sort of. I saw the magic floating around, but before I could do anything, it enchanted the laptop. Then it began linking up with everything until it became… that."

"Well, thank goodness it done and overloaded before someone got hurt," said Applejack.

Sunset's eyes narrowed in thought as she remembered what she had seen her counterpart doing. "Yeah… good thing."

Picking up on the suspicion in her voice, Rarity gave her a curious look. "Something wrong, darling? You seem rather… pouty."

A sigh escaped Sunset. "It may be nothing, but just after the fight ended, I thought I saw-"

At that moment, the door opened, and her counterpart poked her head into the room. "Excuse me. Hi, hope I'm not interrupting."

Sunset abruptly fell silent as Pinkie Pie began waving enthusiastically. "Hi, SunShim!"

Smiling hesitantly, Sunset shyly approached them. "You guys ok?"

Rainbow Dash simply waved off her concern. "Ah, that was nothing." She made a muscle. "We're even tougher than we look."

"I'm just glad we didn't get zapped into the internet or something," said Applejack. She cut her eyes at her friends and smirked. "Or get transported to an empty white room."

Sunset scowled at her. "Har, har. Funny."

Sunset didn't understand the reference, but figured it must be an inside joke. "So exactly what happened back there?"

"Isn't it obvious?" said Pinkie Pie cheerfully. "Micro Chips' laptop was taken over by Equestrian magic, which corrupted his A.I. program, causing it to go out of control and build itself up into a giant robot monster in order to fulfill a warped version of its programming, where it was meant to learn and upgrade itself into a more advanced robot thingy."

She squeed as she finished her explanation, and Sunset blinked, caught off guard by the energetic girl's insight. "Oh… Well… I guess that explains it."

Sunset studied her counterpart carefully. "I saw you there. Are you ok?"

There was a small reaction from Sunset before she forced a smile on her face. "Yeah, like half the school was there. Guess everyone wanted to see you guys in action. I was in the back, so I was out of range of any danger."

Fluttershy flashed her a smile. "Well, we're still glad that you're ok."

"I'm glad you're ok. You were the ones fighting. By the way, that was totally awesome. You were like magical girls. You even got cool new outfits. Well, briefly."

Rarity laughed. "Yes, they were rather amazing. I mean to make replicas of them someday so we can wear them any time. I really should get on that before they change again."

Sunset raised an eyebrow. "Change? You mean your magic outfits keep changing?"

"So it seems," Twilight replied. "As our friendship grows, our outfits change as well. It's like it's evolving."

"Fascinating," Sunset whispered, seemingly to herself. "Magic really is amazing."

"Speaking of which," Sunset said carefully, "I couldn't help but notice that the magic that had taken over Micro Chips' laptop headed in your direction. You didn't happen to see where it went, did you?"

Suddenly looking nervous, Sunset stood up straighter, and her eyes began darting around, as if looking for an escape route. "Um, yeah, I did. It floated close by, but then it just sort of faded away. So no cause for alarm. You guys successfully saved the day." She began to sneak towards the door, accidentally backing up into the wall. "I guess I'll let you get your rest now. I just wanted to make sure you were alright. Glad to see you're fine. I'll catch you later. You guys are heroes. Totally awesome. Bye."

She slipped out of the room in a very obvious escape attempt. Though they should have gotten used to it by now, most of the Equestria Girls were still caught off guard by her sudden departure. Except for Sunset, who crossed her arms and stared at the door suspiciously.

"What was that about?" Applejack asked in reference to Sunset's strange behavior. "She looked like a deer caught in the headlights."

Twilight glanced at the red and yellow haired girl across from her. "Sunset, did something happen that we missed? You look like you know something."

A deep sigh escaped Sunset. "I don't want to jump to any conclusions, but I think we need to once more consider the possibility that SunShim might have some bad intentions."

Fluttershy cocked her head to the side. "What do you mean?"

"Well, like I said, I don't want to jump to any conclusions, but she may have been behind what happened in the library. I saw her acting strangely and trying to sneak away, like she did something she didn't want anyone else to see."

Rainbow Dash recalled Sunset asking her counterpart if she had seen anything suspicious. "Is that why you asked if she saw what happened to the magic inside the laptop? 'Cause I thought it just disappeared the same way it does when we destroy any enchanted object."

Sunset nodded. "After Micro Chips' laptop broke, I think I saw the magic that was inside it fly away, and it looked like it headed in SunShim's direction. I saw her try and sneak out of the library a moment later." Her eyes narrowed. "And I'm pretty sure I saw her choker glowing."

Pinkie Pie just waved this off. "Oh, that was just a trick of the light. She told me before that when the light hits the gems juuuuust right that it looks like they're glowing."

Rather then being reassured, this just made Sunset all the more suspicious. "When was this?"

"Oh, back when I first met her by the portal to Equestria."

Now that really concerned Sunset, and based on the looks of her friends' faces, with the exception of Pinkie Pie, they looked worried too.

"You think she's really some evil power hungry maniac?" Spike asked, voicing all their thoughts.

Sunset crossed her arms again. "It's still too soon to tell. And if she was involved, it could have been an accident, like with what happened with Twilight when she unleashed the magic she had gathered up. Maybe when looking for magic, she came across some and accidentally set it loose in the library."

"Well, if she is involved, I certainly hope it was an accident," Rarity said hopefully. "I would hate to find out that SunShim is actually an enemy."

"Oh, me too," Fluttershy agreed sadly.

Twilight looked at Sunset's backpack, knowing that she was carrying around her magic journal. "Still no word from Princess Twilight?"

Sunset glanced at her backpack before reaching inside to pull out the journal. "No, not yet. She may not have gotten it yet."

"You better tell her what happened, and about your suspicions," Rarity told her. "You know that she would want to know."

Sunset sighed again. "You're right. I'll let her know right now."

Picking up a pencil, she turned to her last entry and began writing directly underneath it.


Dear Princess Twilight. Hope everything is going well on your end. Haven't heard back from you yet, but I figured you and the others are probably off on some friendship mission.

I'm sorry to say that things haven't been going so great on our end. Most attempts to befriend SunShim have failed. For some reason, she seems determine to keep us at arm's length, like she doesn't actually want to be friends with us. Or that she's afraid to. I think I might be the reason for that. It could be that she's uncomfortable being around another version of herself, even if we are different people. Not that I can blame her, it is kind of weird, even for me.

Also, about what I said last time regarding her maybe being the way I used to be, I think I may have come across some evidence of it. Remember Micro Chips? Earlier today, he was giving a presentation about this artificial intelligence program he had created (don't ask), and it was taken over by Equestrian magic and went out of control. We were able to take care of it, but there's a chance that SunShim may have been behind it, or at least involved with it in some way. I caught her acting suspicious and seemingly fleeing the scene after the situation was taken care of.

I know that's not proof, and I shouldn't make accusations without any actual evidence, but my gut keeps telling me that SunShim is up to something. Maybe my opinion is biased due to my past, but I don't want anyone to get hurt if it turns out she does have bad intentions, especially if I can do something to prevent it. I keep thinking that I should just use my magic and read her mind to make sure she's not doing anything, but I don't want to break her trust or invade her privacy without cause, especially when we're trying to be friends with her.

One other thing. SunShim has this choker that I'm beginning to think may have magic powers. Both Pinkie Pie and I saw it glowing at one point, and she's very protective of it. She says that the glowing is just a trick of the light, but it didn't look like a trick to me. Granted, I did only see it from a distance, so I could be wrong, but I thought that I should mention it just to be safe. She did say she had encountered magic before, so I'm wondering if maybe her discovery of the choker was that encounter, and it's actually an artifact from Equestria that somehow found its way to this world.

Do you know anything about it? I didn't notice any symbols on it or anything. It looks like a normal black choker decorated with little red gems. Have you heard of a magical item like this? I'd be grateful for any feedback, and for whatever suggestions you may have about what to do about SunShim. The girls and I will continue to keep an eye on her. Hopefully nothing bad will happen and this is all just a coincidence.

Hoping to hear from you soon. Your friend, Sunset Shimmer.