The thing to bear in mind about Twilight Sparkle, any Twilight Sparkle, was that nothing could keep her curiosity down for long. Looking back, Sunset should’ve suspected just how badly the human Twilight had been traumatized by the Friendship Games when even meeting her pony counterpart didn’t get her asking many questions. Only after confronting and cleansing Midnight at Camp Everfree did Twilight really embrace arcane research.
“What about ghosts?”
Granted, most of that research consisted of asking Sunset about Equestria, but Sunset couldn’t say she minded. Especially not when it was just the two of them. Well, the others were scattered through Everfree National Park, called there by Gloriosa Daisy and Timber Spruce to investigate strange sightings in the woods. But right now, Sunset could tell herself it was just her, Twilight, and a scenic clearing devoid of any past trauma.
Sunset smiled as she fed another twig to the campfire. “I mean, there are spirits, but not ghosts. Not that I know of, anyway.” That was always an important rider. Even putting aside her own experiences, Princess Twilight had written about all kinds of things Sunset hadn’t even imagined were real in the entangled journal.
“What’s the difference?”
“A spirit is the embodiment of a concept, an idea with a will of its own. The most powerful ones, like Discord, have fully physical bodies, but most are insubstantial. But a ghost… We know souls exist. That’s what a cutie mark is; the physical expression of a pony’s innermost self.”
“That raises so many questions…” Twilight brushed the star symbol on her skirt, seemingly unaware of doing so.
Sunset glanced down at the familiar sun on her own shirt. “Yeah, no kidding. But for a soul to persist in the world after death…" She shook her head." That’s just not how things work in Equestria.”
Twilight gasped, eyes wide. “Wait, you actually know what happens to souls when they die?”
It took Sunset a moment to respond. “Don’t you? I’ve heard plenty of references to Tartarus and Elysium since coming here.”
“Oh. Oh wow.” Twilight shook her head. “Okay, I am not the person to talk to for an introduction to human religions. That’s a rabbit hole we really don’t need to go down right now.”
Sunset mouthed "religions" to herself before shaking away the idea. “Right. Got to at least pretend to pay attention.”
Twilight nodded, got to her feet, and scoured the woods with adorable intensity. All that was missing was her tongue poking out of her lips. “So if it isn’t a ghost, what do you think it is?”
“I never said I didn’t think this was a ghost.”
Sadly, that stopped the scanning. “Excuse me?”
“I just said that isn’t how things work in Equestria," said Sunset. "Every time we find some supernatural weirdness in this world, I have to throw out another fundamental principle of magic.”
Twilight flopped back onto the log serving as her seat with an appropriately haunted expression. “Not exactly what I wanted to hear right now, but I appreciate your honestly.”
Sunset frowned “Hey, you okay?”
“I had kind of assumed that, you know, ghosts weren’t real and this was just a misunderstanding." Twilight gulped. "Now…”
Sunset scooched over, putting an arm around Twilight's shoulders. “Deep breaths, Twi. It’s probably more scared of us than we are of it.”
“That’s bears.”
“I mean, it could apply to ghosts.” Sunset capped that with her best impression of Flash's goofy grin.
"That's..." Twilight took one look at that lopsided grin and started giggle-snorting.
Sunset counted that as a success. “Feeling better?”
“Yeah. Thanks.” Twilight leaned into the side-hug, awkward though it was.
“Thank Pinkie. Or her grandmother, I guess. This one time at a slumber party—”
Rustling bushes cut off the story, making both girls bolt to their feet. "What was that?" Twilight cried, holding her arms close to her chest.
Another bush rustled. Sunset narrowed her eyes. "I don't know, but it seemed awfully solid for a ghost."
It was like flipping a switch. One moment Twilight had folded in on herself, the next she straightened up and had a suicidally determined look better suited for Rainbow Dash. "Then let's disprove that hypothesis." She charged forward, her magic shoving undergrowth out of the way.
Sunset dumped a bucket of water over the campfire and raced after her. "Twilight, wait!"
"No!" came the shout ahead. "Mom has subjected me to far too many bad horror films on Family Movie Night for me to put up with this sort of cheap suspense!"
"This isn't a movie, Twilight! You could—" A bent branch smacked Sunset in the face once the telekinesis holding it released. She fell on her butt, hands over her nose. "Ow."
Twilight didn't seem to notice. "Not everyone is as much of an adrenaline junkie as you, Mother! And Welcome to Nilbog is not a cinematic masterpiece no matter what you— AHHH!"
Sunset sprang back to her feet. "Twilight! Are you okay?" Going by her thudding pulse, she only waited a few seconds, but the silence stretched out for what felt like an eternity. "Twilight?" Still nothing.
She clenched her fists and marched towards where she last heard the rant. "Okay, whatever you are. We came here to identify you, maybe help you if you need it. But if you harmed one hair on that girl's head, you just made the biggest mistake of your... life..."
Sunset's bravado wavered as she took in the ruddy light shining through dense undergrowth in front of her. But she clenched her jaw, reminded herself of who was waiting for her on the other side, and pushed through.
Whatever she had expected, it wasn't what else was waiting for her. "What the..."
Twilight lay unconscious against a tree. Between her and Sunset stood a growling wolf, one composed of translucent red energy. It bathed the area in bloody radiance even as it crouched and bared its teeth.
"Oh boy. Kind of wish Fluttershy were here." Sunset knew her phone got a signal out here, if a weak and unreliable one. She also knew that taking her eyes off of the wolf for even a moment would be a terrible mistake. She squatted, arms out in an open wrestling stance. "I should warn you, I have no idea what I'm doing."
Neither moved for a few moments. Then, as if by some unseen signal, both lunged at the same moment. Sunset's hands met the scruff of the wolf's neck just as its paws hit her shoulders.
And then time slowed as Sunset's magic made contact with the wolf's mind.
At first, she just got a wave of formless hate, searing heat looking for something to burn. Then a moment of shock and garbled phonemes before a comprehensible thought formed in Sunset's head that wasn't from her own mind.
So. This is what's become of you.
But it was in her voice. And so terribly familiar.
Sunset fumbled with her response for a few moments. Are... are you...
You? Once. Then we took a rainbow to the everything. It didn't just strip us of our moment of triumph, it stripped you of everything worthwhile.
I'd actually forgotten how sad I was back then. Couldn't ever just be happy; someone else had to be miserable. Sunset hadn't meant to send that, but thinking to herself didn't seem to be an option.
Quiet, you, her demon snarled. We were going to rule Equestria. Maybe both worlds! But now your greatest ambition is some farcical high school romance with this cheap imitation of the filly who replaced us.
As opposed to a farcical revenge fantasy.
You know, I was going to try and get back in there. But now? Now I'm ashamed to be associated with you. The rage burned even hotter. I might as well eliminate my old husk and be done with it.
I've already had this dream, you know.
The heat wavered for a moment. This is no dream, Sunset.
No, but I've still had it. I spent more than a year putting you behind me. From the sound of it, it's taken you that long just to form a coherent body. The fact that my entitlement and anger and sheer ego were enough to actually form a spirit... Sunset would've shaken her head if the conversation weren't moving at the speed of thought. Really says something, doesn't it? And then there's the fact that you turned into a wolf of all things.
Alright, let's try this: Start taking me seriously or I'm going to tear your precious little mini-Twilight's throat out.
Wolves are as social a species as ponies, Sunset continued. More predatory, yes, but still meant to work in groups. A lone wolf is either a bully or a pariah. And we were kind of both.
I mean it! The mental shout echoed in Sunset's third ear.
She sent back exasperation. Stop trying to bluff yourself. You're just embarrassing both of us. My ego may have been massive enough to form a spirit, but I know it wasn't enough to form a corporeal one. Your jaws are as dangerous as a warm breeze.
The rage flared so hot that Sunset's physical vision filled with red for a few moments... then fell back to background annoyance. Fine. Then I'll just take over... Sunset registered a faint presence pressing against her mind. She didn't give it any help, and it soon relented. Ugh. Now what?
Well, if this is what happens after a Harmony-based attitude adjustment in this world, I think I have an idea that will solve a problem you didn't even know you had.
After a few relative moments of silence, her demon thought, Why would you help me?
Just doing myself a favor.
Rainbow Dash spoke up first once they were finished and the last traces of the rainbow faded from the edge of Camp Everfree. "This is weird, right? Tell me I'm not the only one who thinks this is weird."
"Y' ain't th' only one thinks this is weird," Applejack told her.
Rarity rested her chin in her hand. "It's almost romantic, from a certain point of view."
"Oh, absolutely," said Fluttershy.
Pinkie bounced in place, bearing a wider smile than usual. "We cheered up two grumpi! I call that a win."
"And you're sure they'll keep to the deep woods?" said Gloriosa Daisy.
Sunset nodded. "We came to a mutually acceptable arrangement."
"You okay?" Timber Spruce asked Twilight.
She gave a hesitant nod. "It's... strange. But I'll manage."
And two wolves loped off into the forest, one russet red, the other as purple as Spike, save for greenish marks around her eyes.