I never wanted to be back here, Sunset Shimmer thinks to herself as she gazes forward at her family mansion. I basically left this world just to avoid this place. There were other reasons. There were other problems, but this is at the heart of it. This is where it all started.
How much can one's birthright, and one's family, shape the destiny of the pony born from it?
I suppose Diamond Tiara knows the answer to that question very well. That's why I sympathized with her so much.
Sunset Shimmer closes her eyes and places a hoof on her face as she groans. She struggles to remind herself why she is standing there, and the fact that later may be too late. This might be her last chance. In fact, it amazes her how close she came to losing even this opportunity. She came to this world for someone else's sake, but that gave her cousin a chance to inform her about a bigger picture going on.
Same old Sunburst, Sunset thinks with a fond smile. As usual, he's the source of new information to me. Like his human counterpart, and like a certain purple alicorn I know.
She takes a deep breath, holds it for two seconds, then slowly releases it as she attempts to harden her resolve. After that, she advances forward enough to reach the front double doors of her family's mansion and knocks on it.
It takes a while for anyone to answer the front door. When someone does, Sunset hears the tell-tale sound of the jingle of magic. Glancing down, she notices that the doorknob is encased within a dark purple aura. Shortly later, the doors are pulled open. When that happens, Sunset is face to face with a very tall, elderly unicorn who has a sharp, angular face and bright red eyes. Her mane, which only has small hints of black strands left in it, is done up in a neat bun between her pointy ears, both of which are currently directed towards Sunset. This lady is wearing a pristine and neat Victorian-style dress which is dark red with hints of brown. The dress is open in the front area with a V formation, an opening that reveals a fluffy white blouse beneath.
“You are late,” the Headmaid of the estate accuses coldly.
Or, at least, she was the Headmaid last time Sunset was here. If this lady still is, she pretty much has worked at this estate for the vast majority of her life.
“I honestly didn't know I was expected,” Sunset admits sheepishly. “Unless someone wrote a letter declaring that I would be coming, but even then . . . it couldn't have been sent any earlier than yesterday. All things considered, I think I came rather quickly.”
“I mean you are late in returning to Equestria,” the lady says sharply while maintaining an accusing, narrow eye stare at Sunset.
“Ah . . . again, I'm surprised you are aware that I ever left it,” Sunset says while rubbing the back of her neck in discomfort. “Can I, ah . . . can I come in?”
“There is no 'ah' in a lady's speech,” the Headmaid reminds. “You are a high lady of this estate. Time to resume acting like it.”
“I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend,” Sunset replies sheepishly. “I haven't been back in a very long time.”
“That much is obvious,” the Headmaid replies curtly. “If you were here recently, you wouldn't be adopting this sheepish attitude. There will be none of that in this estate. Keep your nose in the air like a proper lady.”
Sunset's expression sinks to a droll one as she starts to lose patience, then she asks, “May I come in or not? I'm here to see Mother, and it is my understanding that I don't have much time.”
The Headmaid widens one eye and lifts her other eyebrow as she asks, “You don't even remember my name, do you, Miss Shimmer?”
“Ah . . .” Sunset begins which immediately causes the Headmaid to narrow her eyes accusingly at Sunset. Meanwhile, Sunset pauses in consideration of that answer, then admits, “You know what? You got me. It's been so long that I have forgotten your name, but I do recognize you personally. You're not as young as I remember, but neither am I. After all these years, I still am not taller than the bottom of your neck. I remember when I could barely stand above your kneecaps.”
This reply causes the Headmaid to roll her eyes drolly for a second, but her expression shifts to a small hint of fondness as she says, “My name is Missus Karmichael Bellwether, and it's good to see you too, Miss Shimmer.” She finally steps aside and gestures inside with a grand wave of a hoof. “Please, do come in, Miss Shimmer, and welcome home.”
“Karmichael! Yes! Now I recall!” Sunset declares triumphantly as she steps inside. “I knew I'd recognize it once I heard it again. That was the name of your late husband, yes? You're still a widow?”
“I have not remarried, if that's what you mean,” Missus Karmichael says stiffly as she uses her magic to close the front doors. “Your niece is currently upstairs in the second guest room.” She gives Sunset a sharp, questioning look as she raises an eyebrow. “I trust you still recall where your mother's master bedroom is?”
“I don't think it will take me too long to get my bearings again,” Sunset declares with a slightly uncertain tone as her eyes scan about the place. “I believe I can find my way about this place.”
“Oh, please!” Missus Karmichael says in annoyed dismissal. “Even as a foal, you could hardly find our way around this place. I expect even less from you after all these years of absence.
“A moment, if you please,” the Headmare requests before trotting up next to the door. There, she stands in front of a series of bronze pipes. She uses her magic to turn a valve on one of the tubes. Doing so opens up that particular pipe. After that, the Headmaid leans forward and speaks into the pipe. “Fluffy Muffin, you are needed at the front door of this estate at once.”
“Oh, really?!” Sunset asks brightly. “Fluffy still works here?”
Missus Karmichael lifts her head from the bronze tube as she ceases her magic. Gravity causes the lid of that pipe to shut itself. She looks back at Sunset and gives a mostly curt nod, but again there is a faint hint of fondness in her bright red eyes.
“How is she doing?” Sunset asks with an affectionate smile. “I haven't seen her in so long.”
“Do you mean Miss Fluffy?” Karmichael checks with a slightly raised right eyebrow.
In reply, Sunset just nods.
“As well as to be expected,” the Headmaid answers. “Adjusting, I'd say. Considering all the changes that have happened inside and out of this estate, I have to say she's been holding together pretty well. Her smile and jolly laughter seem about as bright as it always was.”
“That's good to hear,” Sunset says with happiness mixed with relief. “I've counted on her a lot to cheer me up whenever I've been depressed.” She narrows her eyes at the Headmaid while growing a playful grin before saying, “Unlike you. No offense.”
“I maintain a strict policy when it comes to tidiness in this estate,” Miss Karmichael replies sharply, and she does indeed appear offended. “I might be more militant than most ponies are accustomed to, but I make sure that the job is done and done right. I don't need your approval to know that I'm good at my job. I should know. I've been doing this for fifty-five years.”
A reminder of the length of time that has gone by gives Sunset a sharp wake-up call for a moment. After that, she glances off to her side as she asks, “Has it been that long?” She looks back at the Headmaid. “Time sure flies by. I, for instance, have not stood here in decades, yet I vividly remember every corner of these rooms. Even the smell is nostalgic.”
“I don't smell nostalgia whenever I trot into this place,” Karmichael informs with a slightly distant look to her eyes. “Instead, I simply see this place as home. Nothing more, and nothing less.”
“I hear ya,” Sunset agrees.
For using shortened slang word in her sentence, Missus Karmichael silently scolds Sunset with an annoyed look before saying, “I see you are as rebellious as ever, Miss Shimmer.”
“I'm just being me!” Sunset informs back sharply. “Same as I ever was.”
“Not when you lived here, as I recall,” Karmichael corrects.
Sunset thinks back, then gives a droll look as she says, “True. Back when I lived here, I was still attempting the futile effort of impressing my mother and to be accepted.”
“Your mother has always accepted you,” Karmichael argues. “She just isn't obvious about it. She follows the same strict rules of conduct that she tried to impress upon you.”
“Which is why I can't imagine raising my own foals in this place,” Sunset growls in annoyance. “I can't stand any environment where showing genuine emotion is strictly forbidden.”
Sunset's wording caught Miss Karmichael off guard, which is why, for a brief moment, she actually gasps before asking with high interest, “Do you have foals of your own, Miss Shimmer?”
“Ah . . . no,” Sunset replies. “I suppose I should have said 'if' I had foals of my own.”
“Any plans to?” Missus Karmichael continues to ask in interest.
“Not at the moment,” Sunset admits more calmly while rubbing the back of her head with a hoof. “I mean, I thought about it a lot, even when I was a foal, but what mare doesn't consider that at least a few times as soon as she learns where babies come from? My curiosity on what it's like still hangs in the back of my mind, especially considering where I went to, but it's not a priority, and I'm not just going to force it.” She replaces her hoof back to the ground as she shrugs. “If it happens, it happens. If it doesn't, it doesn't. I plan to accept it either way.”
Sunset tilts her head at the Headmaid as she asks, “What about you? Ever thought of having kids? Or have you?”
Missus Karmichael shakes her head a bit, then says, “I've thought about it, of course, but sadly discovered that I'm not blessed with that ability.”
“Oh!” Sunset looks surprised, then her expression sinks into sympathy. “I'm sorry.”
“It’s not your fault,” Karmichael says mostly stiffly, but there was a hint of regret in her voice. “Come to think of it, I believe I only found out after you left.”
“There are other options,” Sunset proposes in an attempt to inject some hope into this conversation.
“I know,” Missus Karmichael replies curtly then nods to indicate something behind Sunset. “And your friend is here. With that, I'll take my leave.” Missus Karmichael starts trotting off. She says as she proceeds away, “Good day to you, Miss Shimmer. Please be sure to visit your mother one last time while you can.”
Sunset Shimmer did not even manage to turn her head before already being glomped with a hug with enough momentum to nearly knock her over. That, and the fact that the mare who did this has quite a bit of weight to her.
“Ooo!” the mare expresses while squeezing Sunset in a tight hug. “It's so good to see you again, Sunset Shimmer! I missed you most dearly.”
“It's good to see you too, Fluffy Muffin,” Sunset replies fondly as she finally manages to turn her head about to gaze over the head of the dark purple mixed with lime green wavy mane which is attached to the light purple hide of the chubby earth pony mare who is wearing the traditional black and white maid outfit. Since the skirt is short enough, it does not hide Fluffy's fat brown muffin cutie mark. “You are one of the few things about this place I actually do miss.” She sighs sadly. “I only wish we could catch up under better circumstances.”
“Yeah,” Fluffy agrees sadly as she pulls back from her hug. As she does so, she wipes a tear from her left eye. Whether it is from happiness or sadness, Sunset isn't sure yet. Probably both. “A lot has changed in this town. Multiple times, in fact.”
“Agreed,” Sunset concurs with an upraised eyebrow glance at the exit of the mansion. “From the air, I hardly recognized this place.” She quickly looks back at Fluffy as she adds, “The town, I mean. The mansion itself doesn't seem to be all that different.”
“Not from the outside,” Fluffy partially agrees. “I wouldn't say there is much different architecturally, either, but the spirit of this place has changed quite a bit. A lot of it stems from the differences in your mother, actually. I mean, before she got ill. That's a change too. Yet another change.
“On top of that, some of the staff of the mansion has changed as well. A lot of ponies have quit, got fired, or retired. Gradually, a lot of them have been replaced with non-pony races.” Fluffy nods to the exit as she says, “You may have noticed that some of the population of the town isn't as uniform as you may once recall.”
“Believe me, I've noticed,” Sunset assures.
“That's your mother's doing,” Fluffy informs. “She has a big heart, or maybe just a devious scheme. It is true that there are a lot of talents and materials beyond Equestria that we have never seen, and vice versa. Whenever two or more cultures meet and each has too much of something and not enough of another, economic opportunity ensues for those cunning enough to capitalize on it, or at least that is what I suspect your mother has been up to.”
“That wouldn't surprise me,” Sunset says a bit emptily.
“However, she's been unusually generous to the newcomers,” Fluffy says more brightly. “She's built a lot of new homes for them and gave them a job to help pay for it. Often those jobs are devoted to helping the next wave of incomers. It's kind of ingenious.”
“Now that does surprise me,” says Sunset with some skepticism. “Mother has always been a strict traditionalist as far as I recall. It's not like her to be an entrepreneur and philanthropist.”
“Well, whatever her reasons are, it's working,” Fluffy informs. “The economy of Sire's Hollow, maybe even Equestria at large, has boomed like never before, though I do have some concerns about the changes. For instance, I see lots of fights break out on the streets. They're not too bad to ponies, at least not yet, but many of the new immigrants are bullying the newer incomers.”
“Something like that once happened in the history of the country I went to,” Sunset informs. “I guess it is a mode of thinking that if a quantity of a cake is static, then the more people that come, the smaller slice each person gets.”
Fluffy Muffin bows to Sunset slightly as she says, “I was thinking the same thing, hence my concern.” She rises from her bow. “I'm especially concerned with the pace of all these changes. Nopony is given time to adjust, or any of the new races, for that matter. There is a lot of tension boiling over because of it.”
Fluffy Muffin’s look shifts from concern to hope as she asks, “How long are you planning on staying in Sire's Hollow anyway?”
“Not long, I'm afraid,” Sunset admittes with regret. “I actually came back to Equestria for the sake of another. While I was here, Sunburst happened to catch me and informed me of my mother's sad state of affairs.”
“Yes,” Fluffy agrees as tears rise to her eyes and she starts to sniffle. “Many of us are concerned about our Lady.” Fluffy's look shifts to a questioning one. “Speaking of which, do you wish to see her now? Or perhaps you'd care to visit your niece first. For her part, at least she'd be able to respond to you better. Right now, I'm not even sure if your mother can hear you at all even if you tried to talk to her. Plus, I hope we can spend some time to catch up before you leave.”
“Oh, that is definitely on my to-do list,” Sunset promises. “But, for now, take me to my niece.”
“Come in,” calls the mare in the room in reply to Sunset Shimmer's knock. Oddly, a weird part of Sunset had hoped for refusal or that the mare wouldn't be in the room. All so she could have an excuse to avoid this nervous encounter, but that is not what happened. She's there, and she just gave Sunset permission to enter.
In an attempt to gather her courage, Sunset places a hoof to her chest as she breathes in deep. When she exhales, she throws the hoof on her chest in a forward direction. After that, she adopts an overly happy, fake, and nervous smile on her face before igniting her horn and using the magic to open the door ahead of her.
Inside, Sunset can see her niece sitting across the room. She is sitting on a stool while pouring over a desk ahead of her. The mare's dull pink and slightly purple back faces Sunset's direction, along with a good view of her golden brown and bright yellow mane. A quill, that is ignited within a golden aura, lifts up high enough on occasion so that Sunset can see, only to return back to the desk moments later while she writes something.
“Just leave the documents on the edge of the desk,” Sunset's niece requests while she is busy working. As she spoke, she sounds a bit flustered and tired. “I'll get to them as soon as I can.”
“Documents?” Sunset reflects questioningly with a confused look on her face for a brief moment, then she shakes her head in order to clear it before speaking again. “Luster, it's me . . . your Aunt Sunset Shimmer.”
“Aunt Shimmer?” Luster Dawn asks as she lifts her head off of a hoof which helped to prop it up, the elbow of that hoof resting on the desk. After that, she turns her head enough behind her to see Sunset Shimmer with her left eye as she gazes back over her left shoulder. “Oh my goodness!” Luster gasps. “It is you!” Luster pushes on the edge of the desk to spin her direction on the turning stool until she fully faces Sunset. “Please, come in! Come in! Make yourself comfortable.”
“Thank you,” Sunset says happily mixed with a bit of relief. After all, she wasn't certain how this encounter would turn out. Part of her mind played out several possible darker scenarios because of her long, frequent absence from this world mixed with the recent stress of losing a family member soon.
Sunset steps inside then looks over her left shoulder at the door. She ignites her teal-colored horn and uses that to close the door behind her. When she looks forward again, she notices that Luster had already floated another wooden stool in front of her. Upon looking, Sunset also notices Luster lean forward and pat the stool ahead of her invitingly.
Sunset adopts her fake smile again as a nervous defense mechanism, but it isn't as bright this time because she's honestly starting to relax already. If Luster had yelled at her or been colder instead, Sunset realized she might have cringed, shriveled, and possibly retreated instead.
Sunset trots up to the stool she was invited to then crawls up to sit upon it. This time she sits upon it with all four of her hooves beneath her. While sitting there, she gazes forward at the very much adult niece. While gazing upon her, it quickly occurs to Sunset how much the age gap between them had closed due to the time differentials between both worlds. Sunset is still clearly older, but the gap between them is much thinner than it should be. If others had to judge their relationship from the outside looking in, they are more likely to guess that they are sisters rather than aunt and niece. It is mind-boggling for Sunset to realize that, in another twenty years or so, Luster might actually appear and be older than her own aunt!
It's as if I've been in frozen sleep, Sunset thought to herself. I feel like a living time capsule. How wild!
“It's so good to see you!” Luster says with cheer as she claps her forward hooves together three times which makes a sound akin to two empty coconut shells being clapped together. Her attitude catches Sunset by surprise considering their recent circumstances. “How are you?”
“To tell you the truth . . . surprised, and relieved,” Sunset reports honestly. “I feared you'd be more upset at me or something.”
“Why?” Luster asks with a curious tilt of her head.
Sunset rubs the back of her neck as she adopts her thinner nervous smile again as she says, “Because I've been absent from your life for so long.” She lowers her hoof back to the stool beneath her. “On top of that, there is the stress of soon losing a family member.”
Luster straightens her head again as she says, “You've known my grandaunt longer than I have. It seems to me that this would affect you far more profoundly.”
“Well, yeah,” Sunset admits as she gives a troubled expression in a downward direction. “I've certainly been in better mental states before. Honestly,” she looks back at Luster, “just being in this mansion is causing me some stress. I have a lot of bad memories here.”
“I'm sure this recent situation is not helping either,” Luster acknowledges as she looks to the wall to her left in her grandaunt's direction. “But,” she looks back at Sunset more brightly, “on the bright side, at least this means I get to see you again. It's been a long time. I didn't expect this encounter despite our present circumstances. I figured it would be my teacher, Twilight, who would inform you of what happened, and probably too late to do anything about it. Although she tends to be punctual, I'm also aware that there is a time difference between our two worlds.”
Luster seems to realize something that gives her a start, then she lifts a hoof to her lips and giggles as she squints her eyes a bit. “Listen to me! I'm speaking as if this isn't your native world anymore.”
“It will always be the place I came from,” Sunset assures.
“So what brings you here?” Luster inquires. “I realize that might sound like a stupid question, but I've been known to leap to conclusions before so I want to give you this opportunity to explain yourself.”
“I came here to see Mother,” Sunset reports honestly. “I came to this room to see you because your father told me you were in town.” Sunset waves a hoof outwardly. “He's also the one who originally tipped me off to my mother's deteriorating condition.”
Luster looks down with a crestfallen expression. After that, she warns, “It won't be much longer now. It's lucky you came as soon as you did.” Her eyes return to Sunset. “She might not even make it through this night.”
“Luck has much to do with it,” Sunset agrees. “I originally came back to this world in order to help another who is in trouble. While here, I ran into your father who used that opportunity to update me about this situation.”
“Trouble?” Luster asks while looking at Sunset fully in alarm. “What trouble? Who else is in trouble? How can I help?”
Sunset smiles softly at her niece as she says, “I'm touched that you offered to help, but I can take care of this. As for the trouble itself, it has to do with the human counterpart of Cozy Glow in my world. The Twilight of that world also adopted her there. In fact, she did it first. That's what probably gave your teacher the idea to do the same to the Cozy in this world.”
“I'm aware of their relationship in the other world,” Luster assures, “but I wasn't aware of her recent problem. What is it?”
Sunset cuts a hoof across the air between them as she says, “Like I said, I'm taking care of it. Currently, that problem is under investigation. We do know that the human Cozy is under some kind of magically induced coma and that it has to do with the memories and reawakened spirit of King Sombra.”
“King Sombra?!” Luster gasps while looking greatly aghast. “That's . . . very alarming and unexpected.”
“He's not as bad this time,” Sunset quickly assures, then sighs. “It's . . . complicated. I shouldn't go into details. You have enough to worry about on your hands as it is.”
Luster snickers, then comments, “Hands?”
“Uh . . . yeah.” Sunset rubs the back of her neck again while wearing a sheepish grin. “Sorry. Force of habit.”
Luster waves a hoof as she says, “Oh, that's okay. I understand. I'd probably make the same mistake if I lived in your new world for as long as you have.”
Luster realizes something that makes her excited, then clomps her hooves together three times as she asks, “Ooo-ooo, how is my younger human counterpart doing?”
“Young,” Sunset reports. “She's brilliant . . . and she's deeply fascinated about this world, too, but I think that's an extension of her interest in ponies in general, including horses in her native world. She has all kinds of drawn pictures of our kind hanging in her room. She asked me to promise her to take her to this world someday. I told her I eventually would, but I wanted her to be more grounded in her own world first.
“She also claims she'll be the world's first ambassador between our worlds someday when she grows up. Who knows? Maybe she will someday.
“Compared to your own youth, I think she socializes more than you did when you were young, but she mostly does it online.”
“Oh!” Luster looks fascinated. “Is that that magic information thing you told me about earlier? You said there was all kinds of machines with windows that could access that information. Father says that it has the ultimate library, and it kills him with envy to realize that. If I was there, I'd probably never stop reading them myself.”
“There is that, but the internet can be used for so much more,” Sunset assures.
“The internet,” Luster says with strong, almost hypnotic fascination.
“She has an interest in astronomy as well,” Sunset adds. “Her ability to name distant stars and systems far exceeds my capacity.”
“Great minds think alike!” Luster brags smugly.
Sunset glances behind Luster at the desk for a moment, then focuses back on her niece as she asks, “By the way, what were you doing before I came in here?”
“Oh, this?” Luster floats one of the scrolls off the desk and hovers it between them for a moment as she looks up and down at it. “I was signing a bunch of legal documents.” She floats the scroll a bit off to the side to give her easier line of sight to Sunset again. “Very unexpectedly, Grandaunt Eventide left everything to me. The whole town and family estate.”
“WHAT?!” Sunset gasps in extreme shock.
“I know, right?” Luster agrees. “That was my reaction too.” She looks at the document. “I would have expected her to leave all of this to my gradmare, Stellar Flare. Not only that, but she actually wanted the job.”
“And you don't?” Sunset guesses.
“Uh-uh,” Luster answers as she floats the document back on the desk. “Because that would mean I would have to leave Ponyville and the friends I made there.” She sighs as she looks down. “Although, to be honest, some of them already moved away before for other reasons.” She looks back at Sunset with more hope in her eyes. “But they promised to write to me often. I gladly told them that I would return the favor. We've done so over these past few years.”
“Well,” Sunset rubs a hoof under her chin, “I suggest you still take this place because, once it's yours, you are legally free to give it to whomever you want after that.” Sunset drops her hoof back to the stool. “At that point, you could give it to Stellar Flare as she wanted, and you kind of wanted.”
“I know. That's why I'm signing these documents right now,” informs Luster. “For the moment, I figured it would keep my options open, but in the long gallop . . . I'm honestly not certain what I'll do. I admit, I want to stay in Ponyville and Stellar wants to become the new Duchess of Sire's Hollow, but I’m not altogether certain things really are that simple.”
“You're concerned about the reasons why my mother gave you these titles instead of Stellar, aren’t you?” Sunset figures wisely.
“Yes,” Luster bluntly agrees. “I wish I could ask her why, but she's in no condition to talk to anypony. As it stands,” she looks out the window in the room, “I suspect it has something to do with the new policies she's recently enacted over these years.” She looks back at Sunset. “Perhaps she feared that Stellar would be an obstacle to that path.”
Luster closes her eyes as she sighs, then says while her eyes remain closed, “I didn't have the nerve to ask my grandmare if that is so.” She opens her eyes again and resumes gazing at Sunset. “Even if I did, I'm not sure she'd tell me the truth. Normally I wouldn't peg her to be the dishonest type, but a great deal of money is riding on this decision. More important are the lives that are riding on this town. Both those who came and those who plan to come. This decision could even have a major impact on all of Equestria, especially in the long gallop. As more and more non-pony races continue to flood in, it could have a major impact on our entire society moving forward.”
Luster places a hoof to her chest as she assures, “I don't have a problem with non-pony races. Really, I don't. Most of my friends are members of other races. I've learned to look past that so frequently that I sometimes forget that they aren't ponies. I've even included them in my terminology, such as 'everypony' just out of sheer habit. For their part, they are long past rolling their eyes at that.”
Luster looks worried as she looks down.
“Maybe Eventide knew that I got along with other races and also knew about my training with Princess Twilight,” Luster went on. “Perhaps she figured that a mare who got along with other races frequently and had superior connections would make the ideal next Duchess of this community.”
“My information about my mother may be grossly out of date, but I seriously can't reject that possibility,” says Sunset. “That honestly sounds quite plausible.”
“Not everypony is as tolerant about other races,” adds Luster. “Perhaps Stellar Flare isn't actually like that, but all it would take is for Eventide to fear that. That alone might have shaped her decision to pass on the family fortune, and all of the political power thereof, to me.” Luster looks to her side with regret.” I really wish I could just ask her.”
“You can,” Sunset promises. “Or, more specifically, I can.”
“Really?!” Luster asks brightly. “How?” Then she realizes something. “Oh! You're talking about your magic crystal, aren't you?
“However, that crystal only allows you to scan memories. That strategy might be enough to answer my question, but not enough to communicate to her.”
“Your information is out of date,” Sunset corrects. “I've learned some new tricks with my magic geode.”
“Do you even have . . .” Luster began to ask but then focuses her eyes on the geode worn on Sunset's neck right now. “Oh. That's it, isn't it? Wow! I wish I had a chance to study it.”
Luster looks cornerwise up as she recalls something as she says, “Actually, I can.” She focuses back on Sunset. “May I have your permission to borrow that for a moment?”
“Ah . . . sure, but what are you going to do with it?” asks Sunset.
“You'll see,” Luster assures as she ignites her horn. As a result, one of the drawers to the desk opens. Out of that levitates an apparently blank scroll. At the same time, Sunset's geode teleports and hovers above Luster's right hoof. Shortly later, she closes her eyes slowly as she concentrates. As a result, many layers of star-shaped symbols appear around the geode. Each layer of stars then proceeds to rotate around it in different directions for each layer. This goes on for eight seconds. During that time, the blank scroll Luster levitated out of the desk starts to shine. At first it is only the upper region that shines but the glow gradually spreads to the bottom of the document. After that, the light gradually fades across the whole scroll.
A moment later, Luster pops her eyes open and teleports the necklace back onto Sunset's neck. After that, she floats the scroll that recently glowed in front of her.
“All done,” Luster reports simply.
“What did you do?” Sunset asks with strong curiosity.
“I used a scanning spell that a friendly librarian, Scripted Scroll, had once taught me,” Luster answers. “With it, I am able to analyze the magical properties of that which I scanned and transfer that information to a spell scroll. Now I can just read the information I gained at my leisure, and I also have a record for reference later.”
“That . . . is . . . awesome!” Sunset cheers with the enthusiasm of a fangirl. “You have got to teach me that spell!
“Also, I want a copy of the information you just gained,” Sunset adds in a more serious tone. “I've been trying to study this geode for years. I want access to that information just in case it has something I didn't come up with before.”
“Sure thing, Aunty,” Luster says happily as she rolls up the scroll then floats it back to the desk. “Give me a little time for that, though. There are a few details I need to work out first. After that, I'll magic you a copy of the scroll.”
“My goodness, it boggles my mind how often a spell like that would have come in handy in the past,” Sunset realizes in awe. “That seems like the kind of spell Star Swirl the Bearded would have invented and direly needed.”
Luster shrugs as she says, “Maybe it was. Scripted didn’t tell me how she got a hold of a spell like that, but she seemed to imply it’s been passed down her family for several generations,” Luster informs.
Luster's expression grows worried as she asks, “Do you really think that crystal will help you communicate with your mother?”
“If she really is in a coma, then I doubt it,” Sunset answers. “I've already tried that with the unconscious form of human Cozy. It didn't work at first. Eventually I was able to get something, but it was Sombra's memories instead.
“However, it's recently come to my attention that I can also scan the memories of sentimental objects. As an extension of that practice, perhaps I can learn to gather information from my mother’s body, regardless of whether it is living or dead. However, if she really is in a coma, then I strongly doubt I'd be able to communicate with her.”
“Coma might be too strong of a word,” Luster corrects herself. “Sometimes Eventide seems to weave in and out of it. It might not be something as deep as a coma, but she definitely can't hold her consciousness.”
“It's the best shot I’ve got right now,” Sunset says with a grim expression.