The Sunlight In Her Eyes

by DigitalPhoenix

Journey To Equestria

After bidding Sunset goodbye the following morning, Twilight got dressed and made her way to Canterlot High. She had opted to take a trip through the portal rather than use the journal to contact Princess Twilight; she knew Sunset would be furious with her if she knew that Twilight was still pressing the issue, and a message in the journal would be way too obvious. Ducking through the bushes, she took a quick peek to ensure that no one was at the school. It was still summer, but the courtyard was often a place for the students to meet up for whatever plans they had. After ensuring the coast was clear, she slowly walked up to the face of the portal.

She hesitated as the full scope of what she was about to do dawned on her. This was the first time she had ever considered going to Equestria, despite her massive curiosity. After the Games, she had decided it was better to wait until Sunset offered the journey. It was unlikely, but she figured at some point Sunset would be just as curious as she was.

This was different, though. She had to do this, not for her sake, but for Sunset's. She wanted to help Sunset with whatever her problems were, and she wasn't going to let her hesitation or Sunset's pride get in her way.

She slowly brought her hand up to the statue's surface, checking to see if it was even open. Her fingers caused a slight ripple effect on the material, giving her hand the sensation of being in a jelly-like fluid. Pulling her hand back, she took a deep breath and steeled her nerves.

"Here goes nothing," she told herself as she passed through the portal.

---

That could've gone a lot better.

Twilight stirred, her head pounding like a thousand drums. She never thought inter-dimensional travel would be so dizzying. As she attempted to stand, she lost her balance and found herself once again face-first in the floor. Right, four-legged ponies, different center of gravity and gait...

"Can I help you?"

Twilight looked up to see the princess standing over her, or who she thought was the princess. the entire room around her was so blurry. It was always hard for her to make out details without her... wait, my glasses are on.

"Um, hello?"

Twilight looked up to where she believed the princess's face was. "Could you please remove my glasses for me?"

She saw a magenta aura surround her vision, followed by a much clearer view of the scene around her. She appeared to be in a library; more specifically, it appeared to be a historical wing, based on what few titles she could see. The walls were crystalline, colored in various cool hues. In fact, the whole structure seemed to be made from the material; the walls. the floor, even the bookshelves. The few windows installed in the room were patterned with a lattice lining and stained a pale-lime green. Oddly enough, the only things about the room that matched its owner were the color scheme and the thousands of books lining the shelves. Otherwise, the style didn't seem to cater to the princess all too much.

Princess Twilight extended a hoof to her new visitor, helping her to stand up straight. Twilight had to admit, this was a lot stranger and certainly a lot more difficult than she had anticipated it to be.

"So, who exactly are you, if you don't mind me asking?" Princess Twilight inquired.

Twilight responded to the question with an incredulous look. "Uh, duh, I'm you. The other you, I mean."

Princess Twilight eyes went wide at the assertion. She slowly levitated a mirror in front of her guest. "Um, you certainly don't look it."

She was right. The reflection staring back at Twilight was nothing like her counterpart. She was shorter, with a relatively small horn and no wings to speak of. That makes sense. Her coat was a darker violet, her signature bun mane and free-flowing tail a blackberry hue with magenta and cyan highlights. Her cutie mark contained the same six pointed star as Princess Twilight, but was more symmetrical and was contained within a cyan prism.

She looked like she was Midnight Sparkle, only without the crazy eyes, wings, crooked horn, and terrifying presence. If any were to take a passing glance between the doppelgangers, they could've easily mistaken them for just sisters.

Princess Twilight lowered the mirror. "What are you doing here, anyway?"

"Well," -Twilight hesitated,- "I wanted to talk to you about some stuff. I didn't have any access to Sunset's journal at the time, so I just decided to pay a visit."

Princess Twilight placed the small mirror back onto a small table by the entrance. "Well since you're here, I was talking to Sunset earlier about how we could differentiate each other in conversation should we ever be in the same place at the same time. It would get rather confusing for everyone. Sunset hasn't been able to give me an answer, so maybe we could figure something out."

So maybe she was thinking about visiting.Twilight glanced at her reflection in the mirror portal, an idea coming to her. "Call me Midnight."

Princess Twilight look surprised. "Are you sure? Sunset told me about what happened at the Games and at camp, we kinda figured that would be too uncomfortable for you."

"It's fine," Midnight continued, "I've gotten over it."

"Suit yourself," Twilight returned to sorting through various books. "So what did you need to talk to me about?"

"Well, it's about Sunset," Midnight said, gazing at several of the books in the library. "I don't even know where to start. I suppose the first thing I should ask is what she's told you about her powers."

Twilight pulled a book down from the shelf and began using her magic to skim through it. "That's actually what I'm working on right now. She's told me her powers are getting a little out of control, despite the rest of your friends hardly using their geodes. So far all she's told me is that she is starting to not only hear people's thoughts without any conscious effort to do so, but she can also feel their emotions. From what she's told me, it's taking a toll on her."

"I think it's getting worse," Midnight turned her attention to the book held in Twilight's aura. "I have a hunch she's broadcasting her emotions as well. Several times when she was with me yesterday afternoon, I kept getting these strange feelings. I couldn't place their cause, but they all seem to correlate to Sunset's change in mood."

Twilight swapped out her current book for another one. "If that's true, then that can have some serious ramifications. Sunset's abilities have been increasing exponentially, and to my knowledge, there is no limit. Sunset could overload both her mind and somepony else's if their emotions ran high enough. Even if it doesn't reach that point, I don't think it would be a good thing if Sunset was broadcasting anger or fear everywhere she went."

Midnight attempted to scan the shelves for another book that may aid them. "So far nothing serious has happened, though I will have to let Sunset know when I return so she can try to rein it in a little."

Twilight brought a small scroll to her attention. "I've also tried looking within her family history to see if any of her ancestors had similar powers, but there's no records of any empaths within her bloodline." Twilight tossed the scroll back onto a nearby table and resumed perusing the book she held.

The scroll reminded Midnight of her true purpose in coming here. "By the way, there's something else I wanted to know."

"What's that?" Twilight responded, her eyes still glued to the tome she held.

"Has Sunset ever talked to you about her life before Canterlot High?"

Twilight turned to her counterpart, a confused look on her face. "Why do you care about that?"

This was the hard part. While Midnight knows how to convince her counterpart, that also meant that any mistake would likely leave Twilight as mute on the subject as Sunset, leaving her straight back at square one.

"Something else has been bothering her as of late, I can feel it. I've tried asking her, but whatever it is, it's too painful for her to recount, and considering that she can speak of last year's 'Fall Formal' without hesitation, I worry what else could've possibly happened. Not to mention she shouldn't be carrying that kind of baggage around with her powers; she could possibly scar who knows how many people, if it's as bad as I think it is."

"I don't think she'd be able to do that. Her situation is very... unique, let's say, and anyone who could feel the same thing would likely have no idea how to comprehend it," Twilight explained. Well, that's one worry put to rest.

Twilight sighed before she continued, "Honestly, there isn't really much to discuss about that time. I've tried asking her to return to Equestria on multiple occasions, but she always refuses, saying that she still hasn't made up for the 'terrible things she's done here'. Honestly, I don't know what more she thinks Celestia wants; I mean, she's saved an alternate dimension three times, for Celestia's sake!" Twilight placed the book back on the shelf. "I don't know what her plan is, all I know is that she's not going to be able to put it off forever."

Midnight just stood there, dumbfounded. From the way Twilight talked about this, it was as if... "Twilight?"

"Hmm?"

"Is Sunset... from here?"

"Uh, yeah." Twilight turned to see the look of shock on Midnight's face. "Wait, she never told you that??"

It took all of Midnight's remaining brain power to shake her head.

She had no idea what to make of this, any of it. One answer just brought about a world of new questions, all of them swirling around her head in an attempt to be the first one she spoke aloud to the pony princess. However, one thought pushed its way to the forefront, one that wasn't even a question, but a realization.

I'm in love with a magical unicorn alien from another dimension.

"Um, ok, I think I've heard enough on that." she muttered. "Hey, is it possible you could teach me how to do a levitation spell so I could help you?"

Twilight gave her a sideways glance, knowing all too well that she was trying to change the subject. "Hmm, sounds like somepony else has something they're hiding."

"Huh, uh, no, I don't know what your talking about." Midnight turned away to 'marvel' at some of the other books in the room. "This is a, um, really impressive collection you've got here."

"I do my best, and nice try. That's exactly how I acted when my friends kept needling me about Flash. So, did you and Sunset already get together or not yet?"

Midnight groaned; she was practically an open book to her counterpart, so it was no surprise how much Twilight could figure out from just a few choice words on Midnight's part. Still, it might help her get some other answers. "We actually admitted our feelings to each other yesterday, but..."

"But?"

"I don't know how much of what she felt was because of me. If her powers were still going haywire yesterday, and I do believe they were, then she could've just been riding off of my own emotional high, and anything she said and did might not have been because of her own feelings for me. I want to believe she was genuine, but I have no way to tell."

"Hmm," Twilight took the journal from its pedestal and skimmed through their conversation for the past month. "All of your powers come from these 'geodes', right?"

"Yes, why?"

"Then the solution is simple. Ask her to remove the geode, place it at a safe distance, and ask her if she feels any different. Then you'll know for sure."

That could work. "Ok, I'll try that. There's one last thing I wanna know, though."

Twilight simply waited for Midnight to voice her query.

"What about Sunset's family?"

Twilight once again pulled up the scroll of Sunset's heritage. "This is literally all I know of them. Sunset doesn't talk about them whatsoever, and I've never really bothered to ask about them. Considering she's still hesitant to talk about her time as Celestia's student, I figured she'd shut me out if I even made the attempt."

Midnight brought her gaze down to the crystalline floor. "That's what I was afraid of."

---

After some more discussion about Sunset's time with Celestia, magic basics, Midnight's unusual appearance and some possible hypotheses to explain Sunset's burgeoning powers, Midnight decided it was time to head back.

"You're welcome to use the journal to contact me whenever you feel like it. If Sunset gives you a hard time, just tell her I gave you permission."

"Thanks, Twilight." Midnight turned towards the portal, only to feel a hand placed on her shoulder.

"Just be careful telling Sunset about what I told you today. I know you're just looking out for her best interests, but she's still very sensitive about her time here. Make sure it's just the two of you; I doubt she would want the rest of her friends to know just yet."

"Look at you, the Princess of Friendship, telling people - er, ponies - to keep secrets."

Twilight gave her a lighthearted smirk. "Yeah, yeah, get going."

Midnight gave one last wave goodbye before retrieving her glasses and heading back home.

She emerged from the other side of the portal a little unbalanced, but had a much easier time regaining it than her first passage, though the sudden blurriness every time she exited was something that would take a while to get used to.
She placed her glasses back over her eyes...

Only to come face-to-face with Sunset Shimmer.

Author's Note:

As of this chapter, any time both Twilights are present, SciTwi will be referred to as Midnight, and Princess Twilight will be just Twilight.

Comments

[Shalifi]

I understand Sunset. She wants Celestia to reach out first. Not through Twilight. But personally. Until then she thinks she is still banished and won't go back

[Akwolfgrl13]

Ooo i love midnights description! Super cute and unice. Hope sunsets not to mad. But then again i lov her anger issues makes her feel real.

[OmniFox]

Oh Bucko!

[Pr1deM0rn1ngstar]

Only to come face-to-face with Sunset Shimmer.

Oh s*** she's in trouble

[Zyke]

"Thanks, Twilight." Midnight turned towards the portal, only to feel a hand placed on her shoulder.

A hand? More like a hoof

[ScisetShimmerEvan]

After bidding Sunset goodbye the following morning, Twilight got dressed and made her way to Canterlot High. She had opted to take a trip through the portal rather than use the journal to contact Princess Twilight; she knew Sunset would be furious with her if she knew that Twilight was still pressing the issue, and a message in the journal would be way too obvious. Ducking through the bushes, she took a quick peek to ensure that no one was at the school. It was still summer, but the courtyard was often a place for the students to meet up for whatever plans they had. After ensuring the coast was clear, she slowly walked up to the face of the portal.

Not to mention she'll be pissed as well.

Princess Twilight look surprised. "Are you sure? Sunset told me about what happened at the Games and at camp, we kinda figured that would be too uncomfortable for you."

Yeah I agree.

"Suit yourself," Twilight returned to sorting through various books. "So what did you need to talk to me about?"

I hope sci twi doesn't regret it later.

Twilight pulled a book down from the shelf and began using her magic to skim through it. "That's actually what I'm working on right now. She's told me her powers are getting a little out of control, despite the rest of your friends hardly using their geodes. So far all she's told me is that she is starting to not only hear people's thoughts without any conscious effort to do so, but she can also feel their emotions. From what she's told me, it's taking a toll on her."

For a second there I thought it was a sign of the short "overpowered" coming up.

Midnight attempted to scan the shelves for another book that may aid them. "So far nothing serious has happened, though I will have to let Sunset know when I return so she can try to rein it in a little."

Yep since she'll have quite the freakout on what sci twi did.

Only to come face-to-face with Sunset Shimmer.

Uh oh!