I Don't Need Magic

by Undome Tinwe

Chapter 4: A Chance Encounter

"This is way too much," Twilight grumbled as Sunset stepped out of the car. "I'm not letting you buy me dinner here."

The drive to the restaurant had passed by calmly enough. Twilight had decided to focus on the task at hand and not her past with Sunset, and as a result they'd enjoyed a pleasant, productive conversation about what to do next.

Twilight had told Sunset about her intentions to revive the work she'd done on modeling magical decay. If they were lucky, she'd be able to develop some method of detecting the physical effects of the magic either coming from the journal or from whatever magic source was used to facilitate the theft.

Sunset, meanwhile, had already pieced together a general idea of how the spell to disable the camera had functioned, and had theorized that the colorful pattern on the screen might be connected to the signature of the magic used to cast it. A few back-of-the-envelope calculations with Twilight's help seemed to agree with that assessment, though a more precise analysis would be necessary to confirm.

As they drove through the city, Twilight found herself becoming lost in the conversation, in the exchange of ideas and theories and equations. It was just like when they were in high school, working together to figure out the solution to some magical problem or other.

For a few minutes, she allowed herself to return to a simpler time, when the world was still filled with wonders just waiting for her to explore. A time where Twilight had spent her days engaged in similar conversations on magical theory with Sunset, reveling in the merging of their intellects. A time before the difficult moral and ethical choices had reared their ugly heads.

Before Sunset had betrayed her.

The sound of Sunset turning off the car had brought Twilight back into the present, and when she'd looked out the window, her jaw had nearly dropped.

De Savoir was the magnum opus of Savoir Fare, created when the world-famous chef had decided to settle down in Canterlot. Back when Twilight still lived here, it was considered to be the best restaurant in the city. It was also the most expensive, and as such Twilight had never stepped foot inside. She suddenly felt very underdressed in her simple cardigan and pants.

Sunset, on the other hand, seemed perfectly at ease walking into De Savoir with only a casual blouse, a pair of jeans, and a leather jacket, even if it was a very nice and likely very expensive jacket. "Don't worry about it, Twilight. It's not a big deal."

"De Savoir isn't a big deal?" Twilight echoed, her voice rising in pitch at the end.

Sunset shrugged. "I can afford it. C'mon, let's go. I'm getting hungry."

Twilight considered arguing the point, but in the end, this was Sunset's way of trying to mend fences between them. Twilight wasn't ready to forgive her yet, but she recognized the need to be able to work amicably with her for the greater good. Gritting her teeth, she allowed Sunset to lead her into the restaurant.

Inside, she was greeted by an immaculately dressed hostess. Her eyes lingered over Twilight judgmentally before cutting to Sunset and widening in recognition. A wide smile graced her face. "Miss Shimmer, so good to see you again. Welcome to De Savoir. Will you be dining with us today?"

"Yes, Silver," Sunset replied. "Table for two, please."

"Of course. Right this way, if you please." Silver led them through the beautifully decorated halls of the restaurant towards a secluded table in the corner of the main dining room.

For the next minute or so, neither of them spoke, focusing on the menu. For Twilight's part, she tried not to think about the fact that none of the items had prices next to them.

Twilight's decision process was interrupted by the arrival of an older, impeccably-dressed man. "Bonsoir, mademoiselle Shimmer. It is always a pleasure to have you here." He turned towards Twilight. "And who is your friend here?"

"Hey, Savoir," Sunset said. "This is Twilight Sparkle. She's an old friend from high school that I lost touch with."

"Ah, it is always good to reconnect with old friends, n'est-ce pas?" Savoir replied.

"Yeah, it is." Sunset nodded while shooting a quick glance at Twilight. "So, what do you have for us today?"

"Our vegetarian special today is a three-course treatise on mushrooms. The first course is a medley of wild mushrooms lightly seared and served with..." Twilight listened as Savoir listed off the daily specials, eventually deciding on the non-vegetarian three-course meal. Sunset had gone with the vegetarian option, of course; Twilight had never figured out if it was due to actual biological issues with consuming meat, or simply a psychological holdover from her previous life as an herbivorous pony.

After Savoir had taken their orders and left, Twilight turned back to face Sunset. "So, you seem quite friendly with Savoir. Do you come here often?"

"I like to have lunch meetings here," Sunset replied. "It's the best restaurant in town, after all."

"It also probably costs more than I spend on food in a fortnight," Twilight pointed out, still uncomfortable at the thought of eating at a place she wouldn't be able to justify putting on the university credit card.

"Then I pity your taste buds," Sunset said with a smirk before her expression turned serious again. "Anyways, about the whole theft thing, I think I can piece together the general spellform used on the camera, but without a strong magical residue it'll only be a high-level reconstruction."

Twilight thought about Sunset's words for a moment. "I'm not sure if that'll be enough, but I'll need to get a better idea about how important spellform details are in determining emission patterns first."

"Sunset! I didn't know you were eating here today!"

Twilight froze as a familiar voice called out from across the room. Heart pounding in her chest, she slowly turned around and beheld a very pink woman in a puffy, frilly blue dress with a huge grin on her face waving from across the room. Next to her was an embarrassed white-skinned woman who was nervously brushing her flowing purple hair with her hands.

"Pinkie Pie! We are in a cultured establishment. Loud outbursts are most uncouth and..." the other woman trailed off as she stared at Twilight, who was staring right back at her in borderline panic.

How could she have been so stupid? She should have known that returning to Canterlot would come with the risk of running into one of her own friends. It was a stupid slip of the mind, and now she wasn't ready to face the ones she had once called her closest friends.

"Twilight? Is that you?" Rarity was the first to speak, breaking the stunned silence in the room as her shocked expression turned to one of hopeful disbelief.

"Hi, Rarity," Twilight said weakly, giving her a half-hearted wave. She tried to say something else, but suddenly found herself being wrapped up in a very tight, very pink hug.

"Twilight! It's so good to see you again! Where have you been all these years? And what are you doing here with Sunset? Do the other girls know you're here? If not, we definitely need to tell them. Oh, did you and Sunset make up? Are you here to visit or are you moving back to Canterlot?"

Twilight stared blankly as Pinkie's stream of questions overwhelmed her brain. She had forgotten how exuberant the party planner could be. "Pinkie!" she managed to shout as she carefully extricated herself from her friend's grasp. "I didn't expect to see you here."

"Well, normally I'd be having dinner in Sugarcube Corner with the Cakes like I do every Saturday but Rarity wanted to talk about Dash's Wonderbolt exhibition so we decided to make it a dinner meeting and Rarity wanted to eat at Savoir's so here we are!" Twilight took a few seconds to process Pinkie's words. While she did that, Sunset waved Rarity over.

"Why don't you two join us? I'm sure they won't mind us switching to a table of four."

"That would be most delightful," Rarity turned to speak to the hostess standing a polite distance away and ask her for a larger table. The hostess obliged, and soon Twilight found herself sitting with Rarity and Pinkie as well.

"So, Twilight," Rarity said as she picked up her menu. "I must admit, while I am glad to see you here in Canterlot, I'm also curious as to what brought you back."

Twilight glanced at Sunset. It was obvious that Rarity and Pinkie didn't know about the theft, and Twilight wasn't sure if she should tell them. Perhaps Sunset had withheld the information for a reason?

It occurred to her that she didn't really know Rarity or Pinkie Pie that well anymore, what with fifteen years separating them. It would probably be best to let Sunset decide how to handle it.

Luckily, Sunset stepped into the conversation. "She's helping me with a research project. I need Twilight's expertise in physics for some of the experiments I'm doing."

"Oh?" Rarity looked at Sunset with narrowed eyes before turning back to grace Twilight with a cool stare. "It must be quite the important project to bring you back to Canterlot."

"It has some very far-reaching consequences," Twilight said, trying to sound detached, "and I'm not one to let personal problems get in the way of science."

"I see." Rarity nodded, her expression unchanged. "Twilight, dear, after all these years you are still terrible at lying. An admirable trait, and one Applejack would surely approve of, but it does mean that I can tell quite clearly when you're hiding something from us."

Twilight bit back a retort about Sunset being the better liar. "Sorry, Rarity, but we're trying to keep the nature of our project under wraps. It's safer that way."

"Twilight, I assure you I can keep a secret," Rarity replied. "That hasn't changed in the past fifteen years."

Twilight winced slightly at the implication of what she had shared with Rarity a lifetime ago; given Sunset's behaviour, she assumed that Rarity had never divulged her confidences, which she supposed was a point in favor of her.

Deciding to trust that Rarity hadn't changed too much in the past fifteen years, she went with the truth. "Someone stole the journal Sunset used to use to communicate with Equestria. We think that they want to establish a connection to Equestria with it, and probably not for a good reason. Sunset asked me to help track down the journal since I'm the most qualified person on the planet to study the effects of magic on the physical world."

Pinkie's eyes widened at the explanation. "Ohh, that's so cool! You're like two heroes who use their brains to stop dangerous villains. That would make a really cool cop show." Her voice deepened comically. "One's a scientist. The other's a magician. Together, they fight crime." Her voice returned to normal as she asked, "are you going on any big adventures that end with giant rainbow friendship lasers like we used to do?"

"I sure hope not," Sunset replied. "We're trying to resolve this all quietly and without too much excitement."

"Well, this all sounds quite serious," Rarity said, reaching for the wine glass before realizing it was empty and withdrawing her hand. "While I was hoping to have put my adventuring days behind me after high school, know that I am always willing to help in whatever way I can. Although, I don't know how much I could do without magic."

"I'm sure we won't need the help," Sunset replied smoothly. "But thanks for the support."

"Anytime, darling. So, how long do you plan on staying in Canterlot?" Rarity looked at Twilight, and Twilight for the life of her couldn't read Rarity's emotions behind her eyes.

"I'm only here to help Sunset catch the thief," Twilight replied. "I'll probably return home in a few weeks."

"Oh, that means you'll be here for Dash's Welcome Back Party!" Pinkie Pie was practically bouncing in her seat. "Should we make that a Welcome Back Dash and Twilight Party or should I throw another Twilight's Back Party?"

"I'd rather not have any parties dedicated to me," Twilight replied.

Pinkie deflated, her hair losing its bounce and her eyes growing sad and wide, like that of a kicked puppy. It tore at Twilight's heart, and she soon found her resolve crumbling to dust. "Fine. You can throw a joint party for me and Rainbow Dash if Dash is okay with it."

"Yay!" Pinkie's return to cheerfulness was explosive. "It'll be so great to have everyone together again! Like a class reunion, but smaller. Oh, I'll need to add another cake then! And change the theme from Rainbows to Rainbows and Stars. So that means different colored frosting on the cupcakes."

"Yes, I'm sure there's a lot of work to be done," Rarity cut in, breaking off Pinkie's increasingly fast-paced rambling. "But that can wait another day, no?"

"Yeah, I guess." Pinkie took a deep breath. "So, Twilight, what've you been doing for the past fifteen years? We tried writing to you, but you never wrote back."

"I'm currently a professor of physics at Hayvard University," Twilight said, trying to ignore the guilt gnawing at her from Pinkie's last statement. "My research deals mostly with the synthesis and testing of metamaterials. Before that, I was a postdoc at..." Twilight gave a brief summary of her academic life, pausing to allow Rarity and Pinkie to order.

After she told her story, Rarity and Pinkie shared their own. She'd heard the abridged version from Sunset already, but this time she was able to get a more complete picture of how Rarity had started her own boutique in Canterlot that had eventually grown it into the world-renowned brand it was today. She also came away with more questions than answers about how Pinkie was somehow able to run a successful business of her own despite her complete lack of business sense.

By the time their appetizers arrived, they had moved on to reminiscing about their shared past. They laughed at Rarity's attempt to throw a fashion show in the middle of the woods, and Rarity retaliated by bringing up Twilight's crush on Timber Spruce. Sunset shared the story of how she found Doctor Tirek's brother and convinced him to help distract the mad doctor long enough for the girls to strike him down with their magic. Pinkie talked about all the preparations that had gone into making Prom Night a success.

The topic of their graduation was carefully avoided.

The main course was occupied by more immediate topics. Rarity and Pinkie had come here to discuss business, after all, and that business affected Sunset as well. Twilight stayed mostly silent, opting instead to simply listen to her friends iron out the details of the exhibition show Dash was taking part in.

They worked surprisingly well together, the three of them, sharing ideas and criticism of said ideas freely to create inventive solutions to problems. Seeing how close the trio had grown was just another reminder of how much Twilight had missed in her time away, and she found herself longing for days long past as the night went on.

Finally, it was time to leave. Rarity and Sunset argued about who would foot the bill, with Rarity eventually winning out and Sunset promising to get the next one. They split off at the parking lot, and Rarity and Pinkie told her once again how glad they were to see her and how they would see her again at the party. Twilight bid them goodbye as well before following Sunset to her car.

"It's getting late," Sunset said. "I'll drive you back to your car?"

"Sure, thanks."

The journey passed by in almost complete silence. The evening had been mentally and emotionally draining to Twilight, and it'd also given her a lot to think about.

Seeing Pinkie and Rarity again, as unplanned as it had been, had brought back those feelings of longing that she was sure she'd gotten over years ago. And yet, in the restaurant, as the four of them talked, Twilight had been transported back into the past, back when she had called these girls her best friends and they had shared some of the greatest moments of her life together. She felt a deep melancholy settle in her heart at the thought of all those days that were gone forever, never to return again.

Sunset drove into the parking lot of her apartment and stopped next to Twilight's car. "Is this the one?" she asked softly, breaking the silence.

"Yes. Thank you." Twilight unbuckled her seatbelt and placed her hand on the car door to open it, but Sunset placed a hand on her shoulder, stopping her.

"Twilight." Sunset turned her gaze on Twilight, her eyes piercing into her heart. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Twilight said, putting on a plastic smile.

"They missed you, you know. We all did. It wasn't the same without you."

"I'm sorry," Twilight said, trying to ignore the warmth of Sunset's hand on her shoulder. "I had to break all ties though. I couldn't let them drag me back in. A clean break."

"I'm not trying to make you feel guilty about it," Sunset said. "I just wanted to let you know that it's okay to be hurt. It was a rough time for all of us, and being reminded of the good times we lost can suck too."

"I've made my peace with the past," Twilight said. "I moved on when you didn't." She exited the heated confines of the car without another word.

Sunset sighed. "I'll see you tomorrow morning, then?" she asked, calling out from her window.

Twilight nodded and Sunset drove off, leaving her standing alone by the curb.

She had moved on, hadn't she?

Sunset was the one stuck in the past, chasing a dangerous dream that risked the fate of the world. Twilight had made her own way in life, finding success and happiness doing something she loved.

Then why was it, as she had watched her old friends converse with a closeness she had never seen from them before, that it felt like she was the one trapped in the past while the others planned a future together?

Comments

[p61blkwidow]

thank you for such afine story.the way you wrote the girls feelings and emotions is so outstanding. well done to you.

[pabrony]

The suspense of wanting to know what broke Twilight apart from the rest of the group is killing me.

[RDDash]

I just don't see the appeal in this story, sorry. You can't expect people to care to what happened to them some 15 years later in the highschool. That just doesn't work that way.

[BlueMoonHarlot]

10029588
I mean, it sounds just like Starlight Glimmer's whole life path pre-Princess Twilight's Intervention, when Starlight lost her only friend Sunburst and that was that. Twi lost all of her friends and never made ones as close as them again, it makes sense to me that they still affect her years later if nothing ever replaced those holes in her heart.

[Killer20]

The one thing about this that is frustrating is that I want to know more about sunsets company and how she founded it and just in general I think you could go into a lot more detail with this, like how you said that rarity , sunset and pinkie talked in this chapter....I would've loved to actually hear that conversation! I know that that's not the main point of the story but this is still such an interesting concept and I would love to see more of it .

[ScisetShimmerEvan]

Seeing how twilight isn't opening much to sunset is making me feel sad inside