“Like Sailor Moon?”
Sunset Shimmer opened one eye; Sunny wasn’t horrified, but instead looked at her with confused wonder.
“Oh! Can I be Sailor Mars? She was always so cool, with the fire!” Sunny gasped, clapping her hands together a little in excitement.
“What? No, who’s Sailor Moon?” Sunset Shimmer frowned.
“She’s a magical girl! She uses a magic compact to turn herself into a superhero, who uses magic to fight bad guys! Is that - is that like this?” Sunny asked, pointing down at the amulet. “Magical Girl?”
“No! It’s - it’s nothing like that!” Sunset Shimmer snapped, and despite her attempts to stop them, the first few tears fell, angry and afraid all at once. She hated that Sunny didn’t know, that she’d have to explain to her exactly why Sunny was going to hate her now. She hated Sunny for it in that moment, because she didn’t have the decency to already know.
“Oh, well - what is it? Why are you crying?” Sunny asked, her brows knitting as she watched Sunset Shimmer angrily brushing them away.
“It - it’s magic that kept me from growing up as a stallion. A boy.”
Sunny frowned, and looked between Sunset Shimmer and the amulet, trying to understand. It hit her suddenly, and her eyes returned to Sunset sharply, wide now.
“In - in Equestria,” Sunset Shimmer began shakily, the first real tears beginning to fall now, “you can be a - a girl, or a Magic Girl. A Magic Girl is one who - who wasn’t born like this, like a girl. When you are very small, when you realize it, you go to your local magesmith, and they braid a tiny amulet into your hair. And it - it makes you grow up into a girl. And it’s so small, you can almost forget it’s there; even when you get banished into another world.” Sunset Shimmer stared down at the amulet now, avoiding meeting Sunny’s eyes. “But they don’t last forever, eventually the magic runs out and they fall off. And - and now, I can’t go back to get - another one, and - and -”
“Oh, Sunset,” Sunny whispered, rising to her feet, and instantly she was at Sunset’s side. She buried her twin tightly into her arms, clutching her fiercely to her chest. “Sunset, you must have been so frightened.”
“No!” Sunset protested, fighting her arms as fiercely as she could - which wasn’t very, just then. “It’s not - it’s not f-fair!”
“I know it’s not, Sunset, but we’ll figure something else out!” Sunny insisted, holding onto Sunset tightly. “It’ll be okay!”
“It’s not okay! Because you only date girls!”
Sunny pulled away so she could stare again, continually caught off-footed by this conversation. “What?”
“You - you only like girls! And - and I’m not a real -” Sunset couldn’t finish her sentence; she wasn’t a real girl. The thought had sat in her belly since that morning, rotting, twisting and tangling her guts. By comparison, school didn’t even matter. But Sunny? Sunny mattered. And Sunny liked girls. Sunset twisted to pull away, but Sunny surprised her; she held onto her hands fiercely, and squeezed them when Sunset tried to pull back.
“That’s not true.” Sunny’s expression, usually so easygoing, was fierce now. “That’s not true, and if anyone told you that, you tell me who, and I’ll punch their lights out.”
Sunset’s brows lifted sharply.
“You are a real girl. Amulets don’t make real girls.” Sunny sniffed sharply, and Sunset realized that she was tearing up, too. “You’re the realest girl I know, Sunset Shimmer, and I won’t let anyone tell you otherwise, even if it’s you.”
Sunset Shimmer considered her, then lifted one of their entangled hands to rub her eyes with their knuckles. “Really?”
Sunny nodded fiercely, her eyes ablaze. “Really.” Sunny looked down at their hands, and gave one of Sunset’s a little tug. “I don’t … I don’t know what your feelings are about me, but … I think we should wait to talk about that later, if that’s okay with you. I want that part to be happy. And I don’t want you to think I said yes just to make you feel better.” Sunny lifted her eyes to look at Sunset, and although they were glassy with tears, she offered her a little smile. “I’m only afraid of losing my best friend. What do you think?”
“You wouldn’t lose me,” Sunset Shimmer murmured, but nodded. It was a lot to throw at one person, she supposed; it had overwhelmed her in the matter of a few hours. But Sunny was … okay, surprisingly. And she felt so much lighter, when she had someone else to share the burden with. “I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“I didn’t mean to throw all of this at you. I didn’t know who else to talk to.”
“It’s okay, Sunset.” Sunny rubbed her knuckles with her thumb. “I’ll always be here for you. But - I think this is bigger than both of us. I think we need to talk to my dad.”
Sunset’s eyes widened. “No.”
“Yes, really!” Sunset tugged at her hands again, but Sunny held on. “He’s a nurse, remember? He’ll know where we can go. He’ll know the best doctor.”
“Why do we need a doctor?”
Sunny paused, then shook her head, offering Sunset a little smile. “Right. We don’t have magic amulets where we are, but we have medicine that will do the same job. It’ll be okay, Sunset. You won’t even need your amulet anymore.”
The weight that had been resting on her heart lifted sharply, and Sunset realized that she hadn’t even felt its presence until it was gone. “Really?”
“Really. And you know just how stubborn I am, I’m just gonna keep holding onto you until you say yes.”
Sunset couldn’t help but laugh. “Yeah, I know how stubborn I am,” Sunset teased.
Sunny laughed, and gave her hands a wiggle.
[***]
Explaining to her father that she had an alternate-universe twin had been hard over the phone, but her father had laughed along, placating her; seeing his daughter standing next to herself was an entirely different story. The fact that her alternate-universe self would need to find an endocrinologist had been an easier pill to swallow, relatively.
Relativity was a funny thing, because relatively, her mother took it easier. As a physicist, she had more questions about how Sunset had come across than anything else. (“Banished by an alicorn princess through a magic mirror” hadn’t made things any clearer for poor ol’ Mom.)
Ultimately, with both parents there to help (Mom had to be called in after Dad sat on the sofa and went quiet for a long time, mumbling “ponies” to himself), things seemed to clear up very quickly for Sunset Shimmer. Sunny’s father made some calls, and found a trans-friendly endocrinologist who could see her immediately. (“That’s what they call it here, dear; not Magic, but trans,” Dad had explained gently, patting her shoulder in a way that made Sunset Shimmer miss home, for the first time in a very long time.) Mom made a call to the school, and explained that Sunset Shimmer would need to make some changes in her class schedule. (“I told them you came from a background where female education wasn’t valued; if anyone asks for details, just tell them you don’t want to talk about it, alright? And if they grill you, you tell me and I’ll come down there and rip them apart.” Sunset realized abruptly where Sunny got her stubborn streak from; and maybe herself, in a way.)
It was funny, how things that seemed like they would destroy her life just … didn’t. It was strange how different her experience was here, compared to Equestria. When she made mistakes in Equestria, the adults in her life banished her from the entire universe. When she made mistakes on Earth, adults she didn’t even know stepped in to protect and defend her. They were on her side, and they barely even knew her.
Maybe that’s why Sunny hadn’t gotten overwhelmed. She knew that when things got scary, she had someone there to back her up.
In the matter of a few hours, it seemed that everything was fixed, and the quartet were sitting around Sunset’s little kitchen table again, enjoying more takeout. Sunny’s mom was telling some story about a coworker not crediting her properly on a paper, and everyone was laughing.
“... so I told him, okay buddy! If you don’t want to list me as first author, that’s fiiiiiiine with me! I’ll just clear it up with our department head! And oh boy, when I tell you his face went white…”
The group laughed, and Sunset looked at Sunny; she was laughing, too. Everything was going to be okay.
While Sunny’s mother launched into another chapter of the saga of her coworker, Sunny slid her hand over, and gently took Sunset’s hand in her own. Sunset looked down, then looked at Sunny; the pair shared a secret smile, and Sunset returned Sunny’s gentle squeeze.
Everything was going to be even better than okay, Sunset Shimmer decided.