//------------------------------//
// Chapter 6 
// Story: Twilight Falls, Sunset Dawns 
// by DrakeyC 
//------------------------------//


Twilight Falls, Sunset Dawns



Chapter 6




Sunset scanned the library shelves with her eyes narrowed in thought. Finding what she was looking for, she seized the book in her magic and pulled it off the shelf and set it on the table in the middle of the room next to four other books. The embossed gold title read "History of Magic and Psychology." It's a weak link, but I'll take what I can get. This library has nothing. Sunset had been up late into the night cross-referencing materials, and most of the books said the same thing: "Equestrian law forbids body-swapping magic, the zebras know more about it than we do, and we prefer not to ask." Ridiculous. They've never kept these materials on-hoof for when something like this happens? Twilight is a princess and bearer of the Element of Magic. If you can't trust her with the most powerful and forbidden magical arts in Equestria, then who can you trust?

There was a knock on the door and Sunset turned her head. "Come in."

The door swung open to reveal Spike. He gave her an awkward grin and waved. "Hey, Twilight. Um, I was told to ask you to step into the hall."

"Asked?" Sunset narrowed her eyes. "Why?"

"Can't tell ya, but it's safe. Really."

Sunset rolled her eyes and walked past Spike to stand in the hall. She noticed a glare of light to the side and turned her head. The doors to the balcony at the far end of the hall were wide open, the morning sun beaming down. "Why are those open?"

As she said the words, Sunset saw a streak of colour shoot through the air and arc down towards the doors. Her eyes widening, she teleported back into the library. There was a loud thump and the screeching of hooves, and Rainbow Dash skidded into view in the hall, stopping just before making contact with Spike.

"Hey, Twilight." Rainbow grinned and waved. "You got out of the way."

Sunset let out a groan. "I'm busy, Dash. What is it?"

Rainbow flew into the library and circled overhead. Sunset tilted her eyes up to watch her. "Since you've been all moody over that Sunset Shimmer incident, I figured I'd come and invite you to a fly-along with me and Fluttershy." Rainbow landed in front of her and gestured to the door.

"I'd love to, Dash, but I'm in the middle of a big project." Sunset waved her hoof at the table and the books on it. Spike picked up one of them.

"Mind and Body; A Guide into Spirituality by Resonant Harmony?" Spike looked up at Sunset and raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, so it's a project that's a bit more esoteric than my past ones," Sunset said.

Rainbow rolled her eyes. "Throw around all the big words you want, egghead; you need some chill time. Ya know, get out of here, stretch those wings, have some fun."

"I told you, I'm—" Sunset paused. Stretch those wings? She looked at her side and extended the feathery appendages into the air. She had wanted to try flying since the first day in this body. But with Rainbow Dash? She looked back to see the pegasus smiling expectantly. Sunset smiled back and lowered her wings. "Sounds great."

Rainbow whooped and pumped her hoof. "That's more like it! C'mon, I'll race ya to Fluttershy's place." Before Sunset could reply, Rainbow was in the air and out of the room in a blur of cyan. She sighed and shook her head.

"Spike, do me a favour while I'm gone and pick out any books having to do with mental magic."

"Sure thing, Twilight!" Spike responded from behind her as she headed into the hall and looked down at the balcony. She took a breath and began trotting, then extended her wings. Sunset smirked and went faster, the outside world beyond the doors coming closer. She reached the balcony and leapt, holding out her hooves and sailing over the railing. The sun shone on her face; the wind whipped her hair out behind her. Sunset looked over Ponyville stretching below and grinned.

Then she noticed Ponyville was rising out of her field of vision.

Sunset tilted forward and saw the ground rushing up to her. She braced herself and fell hard, slamming face-first into the grass. Her body stuck up into the air for a moment before falling behind her.

"Twi-Twi-light-light-light?"

Sunset pulled her head from the ground, her vision swimming. Three blurry blue forms with rainbow-streaked hair appeared in front of her and leaned forward, and six magenta eyes blinked in unison. Sunset shook her head, and the three Rainbow Dashes merged into one. She moved her mouth to reply and almost gagged. She tilted her eyes down to look at her mouth. With a groan she let her jaw go slack, and the spit-covered clump of dirt and grass in her teeth fell into the small hole in the ground it had come from.

Rainbow gently tapped a hoof on her head. "Are you okay?"

Sunset glared. "Peachy."

Rainbow laughed as Sunset looked over herself. Of course she now had an incredible migraine as well as general soreness. She made a mental note to check Twilight's books when she came home to see if there was some sort of headache-relief magic she could adapt from pain spells. As she pondered the concept, Sunset felt a hoof brush her mane. She froze, her eyes wide.

"See, this is why I told you practice is important." As Rainbow Dash spoke, Sunset turned her eyes to see the pegasus brushing the dirt and grass off her neck and mane. "You gotta keep your wing strength up or else you end up crashing like that. You spend way too much time in that castle studying."

"What are you doing?" Sunset was tense as Rainbow finished cleaning her.

"Just brushing you off." Rainbow tilted her head. "Are you in a touchy mood today?"

"Um, no?"

"Cool. As for flying, let's start slow. Start flapping to try to get a good rhythm going. Once you're in the air we can focus on speed."

Sunset looked at Rainbow suspiciously, but the earnest smile she was giving her was wearing down her resolve. Well, it is Rainbow Dash. I guess if anypony would know, she would.

Sighing and resigning herself to obedience, Sunset lifted her wings and began a slow, steady rhythm. After only a few flaps she was rising into the air with her hooves dangling beneath her. She looked down at her shadow below her and smiled. "I did it!"

Rainbow snorted and Sunset looked up to see her flying over her head. "Of course, Twilight. You say that like it's your first time."

Sunset remembered and discretely swallowed a lump in her throat. "I just mean, you know, it only takes a few flaps." She tried to think of something else to say, and before she realized it was blurting out, "Pegasi bodies are designed for flight: you have a lighter bone structure and a more aerodynamic build, so it's easy for you to get airborne. Alicorns don't have those features so our innate magic has to compensate for it." She stopped and blinked as she processed her own words. Since when did I know that? The last time she had studied anything related to pony physiology was years ago.

Rainbow looked away. "Uh-huh… geez, you really do spend too much time studying." She muttered the sentence under her breath but Sunset heard it anyway. She shook off the memory and began flapping her wings with more force, and then tilted them to get forward momentum. She moved up into the air and closer to Rainbow Dash, smirking when she was at eye level.

"See? Not hard at all." Sunset barely felt tired and thanked Twilight's body for being more used to flight than she was.

Rainbow nodded. "Good. Then I'll see ya at Fluttershy's place!" Before Sunset could respond, Rainbow spun in the air and took off in a streak of prismatic light.

Sunset let out an indignant gasp and glared. She flapped her wings faster and flew forward at a considerably slower pace than Rainbow. Sunset pushed herself harder and her body responded. She saw Rainbow Dash come into view and smirked. I'm not gonna let that little show-off have this!

Then Rainbow looked back and grinned before picking up speed.

Sunset faltered for a moment. She's toying with me! The realization made her rage bubble up with renewed fervour and she charged forward. She lowered her head and stuck out her hooves to streamline herself. Her mane fluttered in the wind behind her, her heart pounded in her chest, her face stretched tight in into a confident smile. She drew closer and saw the point where the rainbow streak merged into the like-coloured tail.

Ahead Sunset saw a cottage coming into view and poured on as much speed as she could muster. Her wings were starting to ache, and she was gasping for breath. I'm not gonna make it… Sure enough, Rainbow Dash began to pull ahead again. Sunset thought and looked at the cottage. She closed her eyes and concentrated, her horn glowing violet.

Sunset teleported. She reappeared in the air in front of Fluttershy's cottage and her momentum carried her forward. Sunset had just enough time to realize she hadn't targeted the spell very effectively before she slammed into the chimney. She slid down to the roof and bounced to the ground.

Sunset groaned. Why does life hate me today? She lay on her back and stared at the sky overhead. Rainbow’s head poked into her field of view.

"You really haven't flown in a while, huh?" She asked.

Sunset turned over on her side and shook her head as she positioned her hooves to stand. "It doesn't matter. I won the race, that's what counts."

Rainbow pulled back and scoffed. "As if! I went easy on you, Twi. Besides, you teleported – that's cheating."

Back on her hooves, Sunset made a show of smirking and rolling her eyes. "Whatever you say, Dash." Rainbow responded likewise and flew over her head to the door to Fluttershy's cottage. Sunset approached as Rainbow knocked and waited.

The door cracked open and Fluttershy poked her head out. "Oh. Hi, Rainbow, Twilight. Did you hear that? Something really shook the cottage."

Rainbow smirked. "Some of us felt it." Sunset scowled and lifted a hind hoof to kick her. Rainbow snickered in response.

"So what exactly are we doing today?" Sunset asked.

Rainbow shrugged. "We're going flying. Ya know, just hang out. There's an emergency unscheduled rainstorm tomorrow to help with the crops, so now's the best chance to get in air time." Rainbow poked a hoof at Sunset's wings and she recoiled from the touch. "Besides, you clearly need the practice. You can barely fly straight."

"I can fly just fine, thank you!" Sunset glared and lifted a hoof to knock Rainbow's away. The pegasus made a face and took a step away.

Fluttershy opened the door wider. "We just want to help you relax, Twilight. You seem tense after what happened with Sunset Shimmer, so we thought maybe some time outside flying would be nice." Sunset turned her eyes Fluttershy's way, and she shrank back. "Unless, um, you don't… think so…" Fluttershy looked away and brushed a hoof against the doorframe.

Sunset inwardly groaned. Must she be so meek and kind? It's hard to say no when she's acting like this. The other Fluttershy just made Sunset angry with how much of a doormat she once, but this one seemed endearing for it. That makes no sense. Sunset pushed away the thought and turned her attention back to the conversation. "It's fine. Rainbow Dash lost a race to me, so she has to insult me to soothe her ego."

The response was instantaneous: Rainbow zipped up in Sunset's face, so close their muzzles were almost touching. "I didn't lose anything! I went easy on you."

Sunset smirked. "I got here first, didn't I?"

"Because you cheated!"

"So did you – you took off without giving me a warning and got a head start."

Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to respond, but, instead, after a moment, groaned and backed down. Sunset giggled. She always was the most fun to antagonize.

"Um, girls?" The two turned to Fluttershy. "Shouldn't we get going?"

"Right on!" Rainbow smiled and nodded. "C'mon, Twilight." Rainbow shot into the air in a streak of color.

Sunset watched her vanish into the clouds and flapped her wings to follow. She looked down to see Fluttershy slowly following, her smaller wings working harder than Sunset's. Turning her head forward again, she saw the signature rainbow trail far ahead of her. Some friend she is. Sunset poured on the speed, and when she was close enough, she teleported, appearing beside Rainbow. "Hey, Dash!" If we're gonna do this thing, we're gonna do it right.

"Not this time, Twilight!" Rainbow reared back as if to jet ahead. Sunset scowled and wrapped her in a telekinetic aura. "Hey!"

"Simmer down." Sunset dragged her down to a nearby cloud and sat down, releasing Rainbow from her magic. "Fluttershy's catching up." Rainbow turned her head and winced as she saw her fellow pegasus significantly behind them and lower to the ground.

"Oops… guess I got carried away."

"Really? That doesn't sound like you at all."

Rainbow gave Sunset a slight glare but didn't respond. Sunset looked back at Fluttershy and the two waited in silence while she caught up to them.

"Sorry… girls…" Fluttershy panted, landing on the cloud and slumping. "Didn't know… you'd go that fast."

"It's gonna be a lame time hanging out if we need to wait for you to catch up every five minutes," Sunset said.

"Oh…" Fluttershy looked down. "Well, if you want, then, I could stay home…"

Oh, sure, like that'll go over. "I'm thinking more we pick an actual place to go to and hang out at. That way Dash and I can fly around and you can relax there." Idling around doing nothing was not Sunset's style, even among the five in the alternate world. Whenever they went to the mall or a carnival or other such places, they wandered around looking for anything to do. Sunset just got bored with it and met up with them later after hitting specific places she wanted to go.

Fluttershy nodded. "That sounds all right. Where should we go?"

Sunset thought. She had no ideas herself. She hadn't been to Equestria in years, and the last time she had been here long-term it was without wings. What would a pegasus consider a good place to go flying?

"How about Winsome Falls?" Sunset and Fluttershy turned to Rainbow Dash as she spoke up. "There's some awesome cloud formations there, and it looks great in the morning like this."

Never heard of it. "Sounds great. Lead the way." Sunset watched Rainbow lift up and fly off, and glanced to see Fluttershy gaining altitude herself before following. Two is better than five, and one of them barely talks. I can handle this. Might even be fun.





"Princess Platinum, Chancellor Puddinghead, Commander Hurricane, Clover the Clever, Smart Cookie, and Private Pansy."

"Very good." Rosen nodded and took a sip of his tea. Twilight took the reprieve from the quiz to lean down and take a bite out of her half-finished sandwich. Rosen set his cup back down. "When was the Council of Equestria formally created?"

"12 BTS."

"And who led the first council?"

"Star Swirl the Bearded."

"When was it that Luna and Celestia came before the council?"

"10 BTS."

"What were the original five pony colonies?"

"Canterlot, Cloudsdale, Everfree, the Crystal Empire, and New Buck City."

Twilight thought she saw Rosen's mouth twitch into a smile for a second. She swelled at the sight. I haven't seen him smile once since I came here. Well, that's one benefit of studying. The previous night, she had read the history chapters she had been assigned three times before going to bed. She could probably recite entire passages.

"I concede, Sunset; you impress me." Rosen took another drink of his tea before continuing. "One last question. When was the Equestria-Griffon peace treaty signed?"

Twilight smiled, confident. "7 BTS."

"Excellent." Twilight took another bite of her sandwich as Rosen spoke. "Not a question wrong. It is good to see you can buckle down and take studying seriously."

"Thank you." Twilight bowed her head.

Rosen took one more drink from his cup and used his magic to lift a napkin to wipe off his mouth. "When we finish lunch, I will be continuing my astrological studies for some hours. I trust you studied the lessons on alchemy I assigned last night?"

"Of course."

"Then I shall presume you would have no trouble mixing a sample of calamine and silver nitrate?"

"None whatsoever."

"Do so. That is your assignment for the afternoon while I conduct business upstairs." Rosen lifted Twilight's plate and gestured to her. Twilight bit into the remains of her meal and flicked it into her mouth, chewing. Rosen gathered up the dishes and levitated them into an adjacent kitchen. "Any further questions?" Twilight shook her head. "Very good. I will return to check on you within an hour to make sure you are doing well. If you require any magical aid, call on me and I shall provide it."

Rosen moved to the stairs to the upper floor, his hooves echoing off the walls. Twilight swallowed her meal and headed into the alchemy lab. She paused and listened, the distant sound of hooves on the next floor moving in steady rhythm. She heard a door open and shut, and let out a long sigh.

"Okay, I got in the lab, perfect." She moved between the shelves and looked at the ingredients available. After ensuring she was ready for Rosen's quiz that morning, she had reviewed her other books and their discussions on anti-magic. Anti-magic was itself a form of magic, and just like normal magic, anti-magic too could be dispelled, if one knew how.

Twilight ran down her mental checklist of compounds. Silver nitrate, cuprite, marcasite… Looking over the labels she saw the raw ingredients to create what she would need. Some of the mixtures would be more unorthodox than what she normally used, but she could do it. I can't let him figure it out though. He'll be suspicious if he finds me mixing other things, and if he realizes what I'm doing, there's no telling what might happen.

Twilight pulled down the jars one by one and set them on the floor. They were heavy, but she was getting used to handling objects with her hooves. Balancing on two hooves for long periods of time than normal was a bit more challenging, and she wavered on the hoofstool as she reached for the higher shelves. There. All we need for calamine. Silver nitrate… Twilight spied the jar of silver shavings on a lower shelf and pulled it to the floor. Nitric acid… even if he had samples I can't risk handling them with my hooves. She thought and looked at the shelf. She thought of an alternate method and grabbed another jar.

If Rosen needed calamine and silver nitrate for his next experiment, she'd produce it for him. And with her knowledge of alchemy it would be simple to do, leaving her plenty of time to get down to procuring the other materials she'd need. With the proper mixture of ingredients coated on the loadstone, the charm would become a magic amplifier while still being an anchor for the anti-magic spell. Then all it would take would be a concentrated burst of magic, effectively overloading the spell and destabilizing the enchantment. The stone would lose its power and become little more than a lump of black iron.

Of course, I'll need to figure out how to get that burst of magic to trigger the reaction. Twilight began pulling bowls down from the table to gather her ingredients in. That was the part of the plan she was blanking on how to carry out. The only idea she had for it was to attempt to goad Rosen into attacking her and using his magic for the purpose, but he didn't seem the type to lash out like that. I could probably come up with some sort of alchemical bomb that releases a burst of magic… but I can't work safely with just my hooves, and it would be far too dangerous mixing with components like that.

Twilight set aside the problem to figure out down the road. She had a lot to do before that point. The lab was huge, but if Rosen was as detail-oriented as her, he would notice something out of place. I can't keep my supplies here. I could slip back up to my room for a minute to hide them. If Rosen asks, I can just say I needed to look up something in the alchemy book. She turned her attention back to her task. She had a plan now, and depending on how often she could get in here and work without Rosen knowing, she could gather the materials she needed in a few days.

Twilight lifted a jar of dried lotus leaves and shook a few of them into the mortar in front of her. She added the other ingredients and began to crush them together with the pestle. As she ground her thoughts drifted to Sunset Shimmer. Rosen would have made mention of something happening in Ponyville if she was doing anything. She said she was going to take my life, so it's not like she would jeopardize anything, right? Twilight nodded. That made sense. She's not stupid. This soon after taking my body, she's probably lying low.





"Incoming!"

Sunset snapped her wings out and pulled up, racing towards a field of tall grass. Her horn lit up in magic and thin shields of energy shimmered over her wings. The magic barriers acted like a blade, slicing the grass apart behind her in a blur of green. She reached the edge of the field and skidded to a halt. Smiling proudly she looked back at the path of cut grass she'd left.

"Pft, big deal!" Sunset scowled at the voice from behind her. Rainbow Dash flew up and landed beside her. "Yeah, it's cool and all, but you used magic to do that. A real flyer does it freestyle."

Sunset sniffed. "I can't help it that my natural gifts outclass you, Dash, but don't act so jealous of it."

"Jealous?" In a split second Rainbow was in front of her, glaring. "Excuse me? Are you calling me out? Egghead?"

Sunset smirked. "Maybe I am. Dashie."

Rainbow returned the smirk. "You have no idea what you're in for. Stand back and watch the lake!" She rocketed up into the sky. Sunset tilted her head and watched. The trademark rainbow trail zipped between clouds, moving them into place for some trick. Sunset flew over the field of grass and headed back to the lake on the other side.

Fluttershy was lounging in the shade of a tree by the shore, and turned her head as Sunset approached. "You must have really said something to get Rainbow Dash fired up like that."

Sunset landed next to Fluttershy and shrugged. “Show offs will take any excuse. I just decided to have some fun doing it." Fluttershy giggled, and Sunset raised an eyebrow and looked at her. "What?"

"I'm glad you're having fun. That's why we wanted to spend time with you today."

"Oh. Right… thanks." Sunset looked over the lake. The waterfall on the far side crashed down the mountain rising over them, and rainbow arcs shot through the light from the water. Spending the morning flying around scenery like this had made for the best day she'd had since leaving Canterlot. I'm having fun. With Rainbow Dash, of all ponies. Weird. In the other world, if Sunset had acted this way towards her, Rainbow would have gotten angry and told her off. But here, she brushed off whatever she said and took it as a joke. Of course she does. Because it's not Sunset Shimmer saying these things to her. It's Twilight Sparkle. Sunset frowned. The only reason I'm here is because they think Twilight was upset about something and want to cheer her up. They wouldn't care about Sunset Shimmer…

"Here I come!"

Sunset looked up and saw the distant speck of colour that marked Rainbow Dash in the sky overhead. She began her descent, racing towards the ground with her hooves stretched in front of her. As Sunset and Fluttershy watched, Rainbow plowed through several clouds, lumps of fluffy condensation sticking between her hooves. As Rainbow came down closer to the lake, she spread her wings and glided down in front of the waterfall.

"Oh no." Sunset turned her head to see Fluttershy flap her wings and fly up to perch in a tree branch. She stood up and tilted her head.

"What is it?" She looked back towards the lake. Rainbow reached the bottom of the waterfall and came forward. The water of the lake rippled in front of her as she came faster, the surface rising up in the pressure wave. Sunset's eyes widened as she realized what had gotten Fluttershy's attention.

Rainbow skidded to a halt just before she reached the shore. The force of her speed sent a wave of water crashing over Sunset, and the pocket of cloud in Rainbow's hooves shot forward and engulfing her head. Sunset cried out and stumbled back, falling on her side. The sound of Rainbow's laughter filled her ears as Sunset stared into a mass of white fluff. She growled and stood, shaking her head to disperse the cloud. She saw Rainbow standing in front of her with her head thrown back in laughter.

"… Cute." Sunset spread her wings and flew into the air to head back to Ponyville.

"Oh, come on Twi!" Rainbow flew up beside her. Sunset looked and rolled her eyes: Rainbow was flying on her back with her hooves folded behind her head. "It was just a joke. You should have known better than to call me out on stunt tricks."

"Uh-huh." Sunset flew a bit faster to put Rainbow behind her. She heard movement from her other side but kept her eyes forward.

Fluttershy smiled at her. "It's okay, Twilight. We really need to head back to Ponyville anyway."

That got Sunset's attention. She frowned and turned her head. "We do?"

"We do?" Rainbow Dash echoed the question.

"Remember, Rainbow?" Fluttershy gave her a pointed look. "Rarity wanted to see her."

"Oooh yeah!" Sunset turned her head the other way to see Rainbow nodding. "Yup, Rarity wants to see you, Twilight. It's important."

"Oh goodie." Sunset sighed. Great. I'm going to have to spend all day with these morons. How could things get any worse?





"Oooooooooh sweet mercy…" Sunset groaned and smiled happily. The pink hooves kneading her back hit every tense and sore muscle with the skill of a practised masseuse. Sunset wasn't even sure she'd be able to move when it was over. Not that she'd want to, anyway. "Rarity?"

"Hm?" Beside her, laying on another pillowed stand with Lotus Blossom tending to her, Rarity cracked an eye open.

"Would it ruin the atmosphere if ah!" Sunset winced slightly as Aloe struck a particularly tense spot in her right hindhoof. Aloe rubbed and massaged for a moment and the pain vanished. "If I said I love you for bringing me here?"

"Mmmm, not at all, darling. I love me too when I bring me here."

Sunset lay her head on its side and closed her eyes, letting Aloe continue her work. Okay, if I have to spend the afternoon doing this, I'm pretty sure I can survive. Rarity's about the only one of the bunch I really liked. After splitting up the five friends in the other world, Sunset had considered taking Rarity under her wing. She had seemed perfectly compatible with Sunset's interests and personality. Then Rarity had tried to get her own name on the ballot for Princess of the Spring Fling, and Sunset had to take her down.

But she forgave me. She never brought up the Spring Fling after we became friends, even when our friendship was falling apart. Heck, she let me stay at her place for months, and never pressured me to leave. She smiled at the late nights they had spent gossiping. Sunset hadn't had any way to repay Rarity, but Rarity had never asked her to. Element of Generosity. Makes sense she'd be the one I could rely on most. Not like the other four.

Sunset was starting to talk herself into a bad mood again, but Aloe's hooves pounding at her back did much to ease that. She turned her head around on the stand. "Excuse me?"

Aloe stopped and looked her way. "Yes, Miss Twilight?"

"How do the words 'royal masseuse' sound to you?" Aloe giggled, and Sunset heard Lotus do the same on the other side of her. I was being serious…

"We were thinking we'd move on to the herbal bath, followed by the hooficure and horn filing, if this is permissible?" Lotus asked.

"Quite, dear." Rarity waved a hoof.

"Do we have to get up?" Sunset asked.

Aloe smiled. "I'm afraid so."

Sunset rolled her eyes and put a hoof out on the floor to slide off the stand. Her body felt like jelly and she stumbled a little. Aloe came beside her to hold her up, and Lotus Blossom did the same for Rarity. The four walked up the small stairs to the platform that ringed the hot tub, and the spa ponies helped Sunset and Rarity slip in.

Sunset inhaled deeply. The smell of various herbs and oils in the water filled the air. This is more like it. When she had looked around the castle – though she'd not seen everything yet – Twilight didn't have a hot tub. Or a masseuse. Or someone to give her hooficures and horn filings. It suddenly occurred to Sunset that maybe she had Spike do those things for her. No, Twilight wouldn't do that to the kid. He works too hard already, I can't ask him for more. Besides, he might appreciate some extra help as much as I do. She made a mental note to bring up the idea of Lotus and Aloe coming to work for her in a more serious atmosphere later.

Lotus and Aloe stepped down and Aloe looked back at them. "We'll be back to check on you in a bit. Until then, just relax."

Sunset snorted slightly. "You need to tell us that?" The two ponies laughed again and left the room. Alone with Rarity, Sunset sank down and leaned her head back until her mane was fully submerged in the water. With her mane soaked, she came back up and leaned on the side of the tub, her hair pooling over the edge. "Rarity?"

Across from her, Rarity had her head back on the side of the tub and her hooves held up on the edge. "Yes?"

"Thanks so much for this."

Rarity leaned her head forward and smiled. "Of course, dear. I've never understood why you keep turning me down. Even Rainbow Dash relents and comes along now and then."

Sunset smirked. "Oh? How often do you come here?"

"Once a month, at least. Fluttershy joins me sometimes. I think Rainbow Dash is coming to appreciate the wing preenings they offer, not that she says it aloud, of course."

"Well, I'll have to come along more often to see that for myself."

"Good to hear. A princess ought to look her best at all times, shouldn't she? Even if you're just spending your days cooped up in that castle doing magic research, there's no reason you can't look and feel fabulous."

"I couldn't agree more."

Sunset thought to herself. How much can I trust Rarity? Sunset had a lot of questions about Twilight's lifestyle. But she had been afraid to ask Spike about such details since obviously 'Twilight' would understand her own decisions. Rarity, however, seemed to share Sunset's distaste for Twilight's habits. This could be my chance to vent, if I choose my words right.

Sunset took a breath and began. "When I came back from Canterlot, I spent a lot of the night in my room looking around at things, just thinking. I never realized how empty my dresser is."

Rarity snorted and waved a hoof in the air. "Tell me about it. I can't believe you store your crown in the same place as that old Star Swirl costume. I understand nostalgia, darling, the library and everything, but really."

"Well, it's not like I have anything else to put in the drawers."

"I should say not, and you're welcome, by the way." Rarity sniffed slightly. "I still can't believe you had that gala dress I made for you folded up and put in a drawer like some common frock!"

"I did? I don't remember that."

"I'll never forget it. I had to take it off your hooves and make sure it's properly stored and cared for in my collection."

Is that so? "Could I maybe get it off you sometime?" Rarity raised an eyebrow. Sunset shrugged and tried to look sheepish. "It's just… since Sunset Shimmer and what she said to me, I was wearing my crown around the castle sometimes, and it made me feel a bit better. Maybe I could wear the gala dress too? I'll take care of it this time, promise."

Rarity gaped. "Good heavens, no. You obviously have no sense of fashion. I made that dress for the Grand Galloping Gala! Not only that, I made it for a unicorn librarian! One with excellent cheekbones and a lovely coat, of course, but a librarian, not a princess! I can't let you wear something like that in private, it's unsuited for your current station and a complete betrayal of the dress itself."

Oh, to Tartarus with your fashion nonsense. "Right. Sorry."

"If you want something to wear, just go to your storage rooms and pick out some regalia there. Last I heard you have plenty of options."

Storage room? Sunset put aside that thought for later pondering. Twilight might have been content walking around like some common pony, but Sunset had higher standards. An idea came to her. "Remember that Pinkie Pie offered to throw a party to help me feel better?"

"Of course. That filly will throw a party for any pretense."

"Well, judging from my journal notes, we're nearing the two-year mark since my defeat of Tirek. I was thinking of throwing a celebration at the castle, and, well, I'd need something to wear…"

Before Sunset could blink, Rarity was in front of her face, their muzzles pressing together as Rarity leaned into her. Her eyes were wide. "Twilight. Are you asking me to design an official royal dress to be worn by a princess at a royal gathering at said princess' castle?"

Sunset darted her eyes back and forth. "Um… yes?" Rarity pulled back and swooned, raising a hoof to her forehead and falling back. Sunset watched her sink into the depths of the tub, bubbles bursting on the surface. "Rarity?" Her horn glowed and she pulled Rarity back up to float over the water. The unicorn was giggling hysterically and hugging her hooves. Sunset rolled her eyes.

"I'll take that as a yes."





Twilight crested the stairs and edged closer to her door, a small brown bag hung from her mouth. She reached the door to her room and stopped to listen, but the room where Rosen was busy at his telescope remained quiet. She pushed open her door and rushed inside, shutting it behind her. She ran to the bed and stuck her head under her pillow and then let go of the bag and dumped the contents out. Three small, dark red cuprite crystals spilled on the mattress. Their purity was low since she had to synthesize them, but quantity could substitute for quality in terms of this spell. She stood up and turned to head back down when her door swung open. She quickly dropped the bag in her mouth and stepped on it to hide it.

"Sunset?" Rosen stood in the hall, watching her. "What are you doing?"

Twilight gulped. "I, uh…" she patted a hoof on the table beside her. "I was just checking something in the alchemy book. To make sure I'm doing the mixtures right."

"And?"

"Your silver nitrate is coming along just fine. But, since I didn't want to handle the nitric acid with my hooves, I had to use alternative materials. It's going to need time before the reactionary ingredients are ready to apply to the silver. I can finish it by tonight, but your calamine will need to wait."

Rosen nodded. "Very well. I confess it slipped my mind that having you handle the acid in your current condition is a hazardous affair, but it is good you solved the matter yourself. If there is nothing else then, I leave you to return." Rosen turned and headed back into his study, the door closing behind him.

Twilight relaxed and looked back at the pillow. One ingredient down…