A Phoenix Beyond the Veil - The Philospher's Stone

by gerandakis

[RVS] 1 - First Steps

Act One

A Different World

---

Chapter One

First Steps

---

Emma Granger had just left the bathroom to exchange her dressing gown for some real clothes, when she heard the flapping of large wings. That was odd to say the least, she was certain she hadn't left any windows open and no bird with wings large enough to create such a sound would mistake one of them for an aperture to a possible nesting place anyway.

Slowly blinking, she turned around, looking for the source of the sound. The perpetrator was easily identified. A large bird with a gorgeous red and golden plumage had perched itself on the sink. The window at the opposite end of the room was, indeed, closed.

She didn't have long to puzzle where the mysterious bird had come from as mere seconds later a young girl came flying out of the full body mirror stood against one wall, promptly falling to her hands and knees and, in the process, also explaining where the bird had come from.

If it wasn't for the fact that Emma was well attuned to the general weirdness that seemed to be following her daughter around, she was certain she would have fainted from her brain failing to process the situation. Even so, she found that she could do little more than stare at the fiery haired girl that had just come out of a mirror.

The girl raised one of her hands up to her face, turning it and repeatedly forming a fist. "Yup. That's just as weird as I expected it to be." She turned around, slowly looking at the room she was in, before turning to the mirror. "Well, that isn't a statue. That was what? Five seconds? And we've already gone off the rails."

The girl seemed to be about Hermione's age and had hair in streaks of golden blonde and bright red – not just bright red for hair, but actual bright red – falling in waves over her back. That it actually touched the ground only added to the surreal situation.

She was muttering to herself, saying something about an altered body type before closing with the words, "but still, definitely a bathroom."

Still on all fours, the girl pressed a hand against the mirror. "Huh, closed already. I knew we were cutting it close, but I thought we'd have a few minutes at least. Oh well, not like I had any plans of going back."

For some reason, her bathroom mirror being treated like some kind of portal, was the thing that snapped Emma out of her stunned silence. "Hello?"

The young girl's head snapped around, focusing on Emma, giving her a great view of the pair of bright teal eyes. "Oh, hello. Is this your house?"

"Yes. Might I know your name?"

"Oh, of course. Sunset Shimmer, a pleasure." She shook her head for a moment. "Sorry, this isn't exactly going to plan. The terminus was supposed to be in the base of a statue. And, for that matter, outdoors." She turned to the bird. "Guess you really did screw up the calibration. Good job, Philomena."

The bird looked down, giving a quiet, apologetic trill.

"Portal? You mean our bathroom mirror?"

"I guess that's where it leads now. Oh well, you needn't worry about that. It'll be thirty moons before it opens again."

Emma was now convinced that floating toys and numerous color changing items had not adequately prepared her for this situation. "Moons?"

"Assuming your years are about as long as the ones I'm used to, about two and a half of them."

"I see. Say, how long were you planning to crawl around on my bathroom floor?"

"Huh? Crawl?" The girl looked confused for a moment, before her face brightened up. "Oh, right, bipedal locomotion." Pushing herself up with her hands, the girl got to her feet, wobbling slightly. "Woah, that'll take some getting used to."

Feeling an oncoming headache, Emma turned to around. "Dan, could you wake Hermione? We have a guest."

"Guest? I didn't hear the door bell," her husband quietly called back.

"They used the bathroom mirror."

"Pardon?"

"Just wake Hermione. You won't believe it 'till you see anyway."

"If you say so, honey."

That matter dealt with, Emma turned back to the girl who was once more examining her hands, the bird – Philomena, was it? - now perched on her shoulder. Emma internally winced, she was fairly certain that those claws would have dug into her shoulder if it weren't for the leather jacket she was wearing. "Well, I guess we could offer you breakfast." When the girl looked up, she pointed down the hallway. "If you go that way and down the stairs, just turn right and you'll find the kitchen, you can wait there while I get some proper clothes on."

---

Hermione blamed her clouded mind for not noticing that something was off earlier. She had not expected to be woken up so early, and wasn't quite there yet when she entered the kitchen. Only when she had turned to the counter and gotten herself a glass of milk, did her brain catch up with what her eyes had seen.

She slowly turned around.

No, it turned out, she hadn't imagined them. Sitting on a chair, next to her mother, was a girl she had never seen before, absently stroking the bird perched on the arm of her black leather jacket. All three of them were looking at her expectantly. Even the bird.

Hermione was just coherent enough to realize that she was not yet coherent enough to form an intelligible sentence, so she just stared at the unknown girl and her equally unknown bird.

Her mother gave her a sly grin before pointing at the girl. "Hermione, this is Sunset Shimmer, she came out of the bathroom mirror."

"How?" Not a sentence, per say, but it got the message across.

The girl shared her mother's sly look. "Magic." She then pointed at the bird. "Oh and this is Philomena, my familiar."

"Right. Magic." Getting there.

The girl simply turned to the small candle placed in the teapot warmer. Her eyes narrowed as she stared at it. She snapped her fingers ...

... and nothing happened.

"One moment, I'm used to having better physical focus than this."

Once more she stared at the candle for a few seconds, then she closed her eyes. Her expression completely calmed and she brought her fingers together again.

This time, when she snapped them, a small teal flame appeared atop the wick, quickly growing and changing to a more normal yellow-orange color.

"Like I said. Magic." The girl smiled again. "More advanced magic than lighting a candle, of course. But the same basic thing."

"Can you teach me?" There we go. A coherent sentence.

"If you have magic, sure."

"Do I have magic?"

The girl got up. Watching as the bird perched itself on Sunset's shoulder, Hermione managed to see her mother rolling her eyes from the corner of her eye. The faint teal glow from Sunset's hand quickly refocused her attention. It was flickering wildly, sparks of light jumping off it on occasion.

"We'll know in a moment." She took Hermione's hand. "Can you feel that?"

She could. It was a faint, tingly sensation, not unlike the feeling of the little hairs on one's arm standing up in proximity of a static charge. The tingle ran up her arm until it ended up somewhere deep within her chest. She nodded.

"Good. Then yes, I can teach you. If you'll teach me what I need to know about this world. I'm kinda new here."

Now it should be said that Hermione wasn't exactly a very social person. She preferred learning over making friends, but if there was an opportunity to do both at the same time, she'd take it. Getting to teach as well was just a bonus. "Okay."

It was then her turn to smirk and suppress a giggle as her father entered the kitchen, having offered to let her take the bathroom first. She had to agree with the others, his expression was priceless.

---

With the basic idea of what they would do set up, Sunset managed to enjoy breakfast. Fortunately the book that had informed her of the mirror had also mentioned that humans were omnivores, so eating meat came as no surprise. It was still odd and she only managed not to throw up by keeping her mind occupied with other matters, but she couldn't deny that it was tasty. The food did seem to have a notable lack of sugar, however. The pony diet Sunset was used to, was about one third sugar.

While they ate, she used the opportunity to iron out the arrangement with the Grangers. In exchange for some help around the house, an easy feat for a skilled mage such as herself once she got used to not having a horn, and teaching their daughter magic, the Grangers would let her stay at their house. They happened to have a spare bedroom.

Over breakfast she also learned that her arrival had coincided fairly well with the start of the 'spring break', apparently a short holiday from school. A fortunate side effect of that was that she'd have two weeks to learn how to blend in with human society. The first issue was soon identified. Pens, it seemed, didn't usually move on their own. While she fully intended to keep using her kinesis to write while in the house, Sunset agreed with Hermione that she would have to learn how to write using her hands by the time school started back up.

Once they knew that she would simply need practice, Sunset decided to give Hermione her first lesson in controlling her magic, as that was another matter that would need practice. That way they could practice together and correct one another.

From the discussion over breakfast, Sunset knew not only that Hermione had used magic before, but also that she was completely unaware of that fact. That first part would definitely make her job easier. The second would almost certainly have the opposite effect.

The first lesson, thus, had to be getting her to use magic on command, more specifically helping her find her magic reservoirs. The basic exercise was simple. Sunset, having practiced controlling her magic the entire morning, conjured a simple orb of teal light and handed it off to Hermione, watching in interest as it changed to a pale green and giving her the task of sustaining it. She had made sure that it had a sufficient internal reservoir to compensate for short hiccups in her output, something she would gradually remove later.

Over the next two hours, they practiced. Sunset was far from confident in her writing, and fully intended to practice it further, but Hermione had confirmed that it was, if not pretty, so at least legible.

Hermione herself had, in the mean time, grown more and more frustrated, seeing how she had failed to keep the orb of light stable for any longer than she had on her first try. She only calmed down when Sunset explained to her that she had been surreptitiously increasing the difficulty of the exercise every time she conjured the orb. To be perfectly honest, she was impressed with Hermione's progress. The girl had talent.

Now that she could access her magic, it was time to teach Hermione a way to put it to use. In other words, to teach her her first spell. The understandable excitement at this development took several minutes to quell. Once she had sufficiently calmed Hermione down, Sunset started instructing her on the spell. A basic light spell, it was little more that the simplest possible version of the conjured light from before, but as a starting point, it would do.

Of course Hermione first needed a basic introduction to spell forms, more or less the first lesson one would be taught on arcane theory. Once more, the girl proved herself to be a fast learner, taking to the concepts like a fish to water. After a few minutes, Sunset started making a game out of simply hinting at the concepts and letting Hermione figure the rest out for herself, which she did with impressive accuracy and, it seemed, great joy.

Half an hour later, Sunset watched with mild amusement as Hermione stared at the mildly flickering bead of pale green light on her index finger. Holding up her hand, a far more constant bead of teal light sitting atop her own index finger. Sunset smirked at her new pupil and held up her hand. It only took a few seconds for Hermione to recognize the gesture and return the high five.

And so the learning continued, Hermione kept on giving Sunset the basics of what she needed to know to blend in, or as much as a girl with bright red and blonde hair could blend in, and Sunset continued monitoring her progress while making notes, practicing her writing at the same time.

---

Dan and Emma Granger were on their way home from work. They didn't always go to work on Saturdays, both of them going to work on a Saturday was even rarer, yet the sheer number of appointments the pair of dentists had gotten for that day had made it necessary. While such a thing was unusual, it wasn't unprecedented. Normally they would be talking about that on their way home. Today however, a less mundane matter took priority.

"Think they're getting along?"

Emma turned to her husband. "I sure hope so. Hermione could use some social contact with children her age."

"And it only took one from another dimension to make it work." They both shared a laugh, Dan never taking his eyes off the road.

"Seeing how she behaved when she first arrived, I'm not entirely sure Sunset was even originally human."

"I can believe that. From how she kept staring at her hands at breakfast you'd think she'd never had them before." Dan smiled for a moment. "Still, I can't get over the fact that she's at our house right now, teaching Hermione magic."

"We always knew Hermione was special."

"No kidding, the floating books weren't exactly subtle."

"Still, we should probably make sure the two keep that quiet. What are the chances of Hermione being the only human able to use magic?"

"Slim."

"And seeing how we've never heard anything credible about magicians on earth, they're probably hiding."

"Yeah, probably best to make sure no one else knows about it." The two stayed silent for a while until Dan brought the car into the driveway and they got out.

As he was about to open the door, Emma spoke up once again. "Just so were on the same page, we both know that the only reason they get along so well is that Sunset is just as smart as Hermione and not intimidated by her intellect, right?"

"Of course."

As they entered, they found the house as they knew it. The only change came in the form of muffled conversation in the living room. When the door fell closed behind them, the conversation fell silent, replaced quickly by footsteps.

"Mom! Dad! You're home."

Dan watched as his daughter hugged his wife, before turning to the end of the corridor where Sunset Shimmer was leaning against the door frame, an amused smile on her lips. She lifted her hand, a point of light at the tip of the index finger, and pointed at the light switch for the hallway lights. The switch was engulfed in a soft teal glow for a moment before flicking into the on position, bathing the hallway in soft yellow light. Extinguishing the light on her finger tip, she let her hand fall back to her side, seemingly content to watch.

He was still recovering from witnessing such a casual display of magic, when his daughter came over to hug him in turn. "Dad! I can do magic! Sunset taught me!"

"Oh?" Emma was enjoying seeing her daughter so happy. "Show me."

"Okay." Focusing for a moment, Hermione first stretched her hand out toward the light switch, flicking it back off, then lit the hallway with a flickering point of light on her own index finger.

Dan and Emma shared a glance before congratulating their daughter on her success. Somehow they couldn't shake the feeling that their lives had just gotten a lot more exciting.

Author's Note:

Before that comes up, I guess I should explain something. I have read the entirety of 'Magic School Days' and I actually help edit 'If Wishes were Ponies', as such some elements from these stories have found their way into my personal head-canon. In places where they don't contradict the official Harry Potter canon, these elements will find their way into this story.

The first names of Hermione's parents are one such element.

That aside, I've decided to provide a bit of bonus material. Certain things that are not required to know in order to understand the story, but provide background knowledge for those who want it.

As such, it is time for the first ever episode of:

Lore of the Veil

Wands, Horns and other Implements - The Meaning of Focus

Magic, in its natural form, flows freely, in any direction. It is, however, also very dispersed and rarely comes in sufficient concentrations to have more than a negligible effect. As such, magic in it's natural form is of very limited use to spell casters. It needs to be directed and concetrated or, as magicians call it, focused.

Focus, at it's most basic, comes in two varieties: Physical Focus and Mental Focus. Physical focus is immutable and unchanging as it is based on some form of physical object. Be it a wand, a horn or even just the nerves and bones in the caster's hand and arm. Mental Focus, on the other hand, is entirely dependant on the caster's will and concentration. As it is entirely intertwined with the will that causes magic to work in the first place, magic cannot be used without it, whereas Physical focus is, technically, optional. Any lack of Physical Focus can be compensated for in Mental Focus, at the cost of making the magic more draining to cast, both in terms of energy expended and in terms of the mental effort necessary as only Physical Focus, not Mental Focus, can serve to make spells more efficient.

Focus is a gradient commonly represented in a percentile scale. 0% refers to a complete absence of focus, only truly present in the ambient field or in incorporeal beings. 100% is a purely theoretical state in which all magic channeled is concentrated into an infinitely small angle forward from the caster.

As it stands, the Physical Focus provided by the horn of a unicorn roughly ranges between 40% and 60%, with values of less then 50% rarely found in adult unicorns. Sunset may be young, but she is a talented caster, as such, her horn, at this point, provides a focal value of 45%.

The wands used by wizards on earth are much stronger foci, ranging between 85% and 95%.

A caster not using either, could only make use of their own nerves and bones which rarely serve to provide more than 5%.

Comments

[zachary12]

nice work.

[prism heart]

I see good quality writing and nice story potential so far.

[kitkataddel]

A lot of potential in this story, I'll be sure to keep an eye on it.

[everydaygamer]

Off to a solid start. This I like so far:

• I like that you paired Sunset up with Hermione instead of Harry. It's a small detail but it really helps distance this story from the other 2 it's most likely to be compared to.
• I like that you're setting this prior to Hermione getting her Hogwarts letter since it actually provides an explanation for Hermione's skill at magic.

Hopes for this story:

• A single coherent plotline. Love the other stories but my god can the authors not seem to be able to settle on what they are actually supposed to be about.
• Dumbledore to be an actual character instead of a punchline. I'm not saying Dumbledore has to be a major character, honestly it's fine if he's just kept to the background like in the books, but if he does have to be important just don't make him a walking joke where we're meant to laugh at how everyone hates him or how stupid he is. The very least do something new we've had evil Dumbledore and idiot Dumbledore in the other stories so just try not to repeat those two.
• Try and keep critiques of the books to a minimum. It's fine to poke fun at how silly or dumb somethings are but it's okay to just let the characters take the situation seriously. Not everything needs to be a joke and we don't need Sunset breaking into a rant about how stupid some aspect of the original books are.
• Also if Sunset is meant to be Overpowered try to keep it reasonable. It's fine if she outclasses most of the students but try to keep her below at least some of the teachers who specialize in specific types of magic.

Really excited to see more of this it shows a lot of promise.

[RolkFlameraven]

Ending up in muggle society with Hermione should prove to be most interesting. The sorting is going to be hell on them though. While this Sunset doesn't seem quite as nasty as one would expect going by The Fall of Sunset Shimmer comic or the first movie, she is still going to fit in with the Slytherins far more than she would the Gryffindors.

I wonder, just how old are they? Hermione is still in school with no letter or McGonagall talked about, so that puts them at 10 at the most and possibly, even probably younger. Just wonder how much time Sunset is going to have in the muggle world before going to the human magic one.

Next chapter could be interesting as well. Hermione and Sunset are doing magic outside of school and so against the rules, but are doing so stans wand and so can get away with it at the same time. However Sunset is doing structured wandless magic... seeing how the ministry deals with her, or trys to deal with her, is something I want to see.

[everydaygamer]

9507630
I'm assuming this is the year prior to Hogwarts so Hermione would be 11 (her birthday is in September so she had to wait an extra year before she got her letter), not sure How old Sunset would be but probably 10 or 11. Curious hold old she was prior to going through the portal.

[gerandakis]

9507648
Sunset's birthday is about two months after Hermione's so at this point, they are both eleven.
An interesting quirk of this timeline is that Sunset is actually younger than Twilight.

[everydaygamer]

9507674
Oh? I'm so used to Sunset being aged down I didn't consider she was actually 11 in both worlds. Interesting, although since this isn't an older Sunset in an 11-year-old body I really hope you don't take the OP aspect too far.

That said even if she is younger than she would be in canon it's odd to think that Twilight could be older. Really has me questioning just when in the timeline Sunset left. Are there any aspects of mlp canon in this story or are we going full AU?

[gerandakis]

9507681
We are not going full AU. The only reason the story is marked 'Alternate Universe' is because FimFiction doesn't have a 'Divergent Timeline' tag.
As far as this story goes, the whole divergence was caused by Philomena being there to mess up the calibration of the mirror. Had she remained behind as she did in canon, Sunset would have come out in the world of EQG instead. In my personal headcanon, Sunset left Equestria three cycles of the portal (i.e. 7.5 years) before the events of EQG. This story is thus set several years before the events of FiM.

[everydaygamer]

9507694
I meant more in regards to your comment of Sunset being younger than Twilight. Did you mean she is younger after going through the portal or was she younger prior to going through the portal and if that's the case how does that work?

[gerandakis]

9507710
She was younger before going through the portal. That works by way of Celestia noticing Sunset's talent when she was four and Twilight's when she was twelve. Simple as that. But I'm afraid for more details you'll have to wait for the story itself to reveal them.

[everydaygamer]

9507733
Okay, thanks for the clarification. It's an interesting idea, I don't think anyone has ever made Sunset younger than Twilight before since based on canon it makes sense for Sunset to be older. It is an interesting way to get around the age difference without the use of time dilation, or just having the portal age them down. That's assuming Twilight isn't too much older than Sunset, I'd guess maybe 1-2 years older would make the most sense.

[Poet Knight]

9507630
Sunset could go to Ravenclaw with her intellect, and depending on how their friendship evolves before the owls come or some other factors could very nicely fit into Gryffindor. I will wait to see how this plays out.

[RolkFlameraven]

9507764
Sunset isn't going into 'Claw for the same reason Hermione didn't. Yes, Sunset can be a good Griff, and if given the time Hermione might even be able to change her enough to do so. But pre-rainbowed Sunset is a slyth through and through going by what we know of her.

[gerandakis]

9507850
Is she really? I remind you that 'pre-rainbowed Sunset', as you call her, spent three years as the top-dog bully of a high school, and going by my conclusions on the continuity, only after years of isolation completed her fall to darkness, Sunset here found Hermione before either of those things could happen. She has the cunning of a Slytherin, certainly, but is that truly all she has?

[everydaygamer]

9507886
Being a Slytherin doesn't mean being a jerk they just have a nasty habit of going hand in hand. Slytherin values ambition, cunning, leadership, and resourcefulness all of which describe pre-reform Sunset to a tee who ran off because she wanted more than what Celestia was willing to give.

[gerandakis]

9507912
Did she? The movies never went into detail on her motivations, and, seeing how I haven't read them, the comics are not canon to this story.
As for her qualities. I do suspect she only developed leadership skills during her years of ruling a high school, she may have some experience in politics, but not leadership per say.
And again, is Slytherin really the only house she would fit? Once she found friends, Sunset certainly proved herself to be brave, and I doubt one can spend years under Princess Celestia without developing a strong sense for what is right and wrong, so Gryffindor is covered.
Sunset can certainly be sincere and compassionate, and loyalty is one of the principles her homeland is founded upon, so Hufflepuff would fit as well.
Intelligence and quick wit? No question there. Ravenclaw fits as well.

The trouble in finding the house Sunset fits best is that she fits all of them. Especially considering that the Sorting Hat not only considers the qualities you have but also those you have the potential to develop.
Still you shall see which house she is sorted into ... in chapter 34 ... yeah ... I did say this story takes its sweet time to get going, didn't I?

[everydaygamer]

9507931
Even if you disregard the comic the movie made it clear Sunset wanted to rule over Equestria that shows ambition, she was able to survive in a new world with a new body which shows resourcefulness, we see her cunning in how she is able to take over the school with subtle manipulation and the way Snips & Snails are willing to do whatever she asks shows her leadership skills. No matter how you look at it Sunset is a total Slytherin.

Post-reform I could see her going into either Hufflepuff or Gryffindor, not Ravenclaw though because while smart she doesn't really value knowledge in the same way they would she sees knowledge as a way to further her own goals, but unless you plan to have her go through the whole reformation process before arriving at Hogwarts Slytherin is the only house she could logically go into.

[gerandakis]

9507972
If that is how you see things, I'm afraid we'll have to agree to disagree. But let me remind you one last time, that the Sunset we see in EQG is seven and a half years older than this one. There is a reason the word reformation starts with 're'. A reformation often undoes previous development, as it did in Sunset's case. At this point in the timeline, most of that development hasn't happened yet. Sunset spent half a year dissatisfied with Celestia, not eight.
And for what reformation there is to be done, there is half a year's time.

[everydaygamer]

9507981
Well, it doesn't really matter if this Sunset isn't the same as she was in canon. Just pointing out that canon Sunset is a total Slytherin. But even without the extra years, in this story Sunset still ran to another world because she wanted more than what Celestia was willing to give her that's not something anyone other than a Slytherin would do. You just don't abandon your life and start over because you were dissatisfied with your teacher unless you feel you can't fulfill your ambitions staying where you are.

That said It's clear from chapter one that this Sunset isn't gonna be the one described in the movie:

Princess Celestia: Sunset Shimmer. A former student of mine. She began her studies with me not long before Twilight. But when she did not get what she wanted as quickly as she liked, she turned cruel and dishonest. I tried to help her, but she eventually decided to abandon her studies and pursue her own path. One that has sadly led to her stealing your crown.

Which I admit is a shame since I like seeing Sunset go from evil to good in these kinds of stories and learn the value of friendship. This Sunset doesn't at all resemble the one Celestia eventually had to expel. But I'm sure it'll be fine.

[gerandakis]

9507995
Indeed, Sunset wanted 'more' ... but what is this 'more' thou speakest of?

[everydaygamer]

9508008
If you read the comic it's revealed she wanted to be a princess:
vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/mlp/images/6/6d/MLP_Annual_2013_page_3.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20140322055847

and in the movie, her end goal was to rule Equestria otherwise she wouldn't have stolen the Element of Magic. Her canon motivation is pretty clear, not that it matters for this story if you're going with a non-canon version of Sunset.

[Poet Knight]

9508008
It's your story,write it how you want!

I just want a good story!!

[World Theory]

Ooo! I can't wait! (I will though; waiting simply isn't an optional.)

I like the lighthearted feel of it so far. It's nice that we didn't just get dumped into breeding ground for angst right away. I haven't much of a clue what the future may hold though. I'm just well acquainted with the Harry Potter books and fandom. So I know that statistically, there's a tendency for the mood to get darker. Of course, there are many stories in the fandom that steer away from that. I'm writing far too much about something that doesn't matter much, though; the story could stay cheerful throughout, or keep with the typical Wizarding Britain gloom, it's not my story, but I'll read it either way. (I'll be rooting for a happy ending (or a happy continuation (That's probably getting way ahead of things, though!)), though.)

Err, anyway… I'm so excited for more!

[keybounce]

Oh, thank you for that comic page. So Equestria had a Mirror of Erised as well.

And yes, it is something to consider. Basically, Harmony woke up in this story.

In Canon, I've considered that Harmony has basically been asleep from Luna's banishment until her return and Twilight's call. But here?

Sunset went from a world where she would have to survive on her own, with no aid, and nothing but revenger on her mind, to a world where she is accepted, welcomed, and both being able to teach and be taught. She is able to be more now than she was before.

Spring break? So about 4 months before sorting. 4 months of kindness and friendship to see what changes ...

Ahh, who am I kidding. She will find out what Riddle had planned, take over his plan for herself, raise an army of Magical Zombie Students, and use that to revenge on Celestia, with her faithful right-hoof follower, Hermione, who will jump at the chance to help eliminate a Tyrant from a horribly repressed queendom.

Proof of how horrible she is? Exiled her sister, refuses to teach someone that might be a challenge to her rule, disallows any foreign immigration, rules a society with a strong sense of segregation (earth pony towns, pegasi-only cloudsdale, unicorn-heavy Canterlot, etc.), etc.

[LucarioFan2066]

Even so, she found that she could do little more than stare at the fiery haired girl that had just come out of a mirror.

Congrats; you just met an alien. An alien magically changed into a human, at least physically, through a process wizardkind knows absolutely nothing about, but an alien nonetheless.
Now help her learn how to be human, since she's stranded here and all - and hope you're not caught by the feds for hosting an undocumented alien; that would be quite bad.

Also, Celestia, this is the second known pony you loved, gotten angry with and caused to be banished - though this time it was willingly rather than forced. You definitely need to work on that. Oh, and if a pony acts completely different than their usual self - regardless of whether it's her wedding or not - it's almost certainly an impostor. If nothing else, Celestia, believe in that pony's long-time friend when she realises something's off. That'd save you a lot of heartache.
Unless you like disappointing others, and causing heartache in them and yourself, you sadist masochist? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

The girl shared her mother's sly look. "Magic."

"An interdimensional, species-changing portal to a foreign principality's castle; alas, it is now closed for thirty moons, so I cannot provide proof of my claim whatsoever save for my and Philomena's being here and your mother's witness testimony."

[Ariel Schnee]

a great few of the pair of bright teal eyes.

should be

"a great view of the pair of bright teal eyes."

---

Focusing for her moment, Hermione

should be

"Focusing for a moment, Hermione"

[Warrior Kitten]

They seem way too flippant, to be entirely honest. As well as the fact that this is pre-crown Sunset, so I don’t think she’d be so open. Granted, this is AU, biggest change being Philomena is with her. Also excuses the wandless magic, especially in Hermoine’s case. Hope the Ministry doesn’t catch them using magic freely.

The story’s going a bit fast, everything’s happening so quickly. Slow down, it’s not a race :P

[Flame Heart]

9507607
I've been seeing you everywhere lately

[Detsella Morningdew]

Okay, this chapter cemented this as one of my favorites.

The first chapter was surprisingly complex and well-written for a setup chapter (and for EQG fics in general), but this shows that you can create original content that fits with both source materials - not exactly a common feat.

It is rare for a fic to get on my favorites list after two chapters.

[SWEETOLEBOB18]

The first lesson, thus, had to be getting her to use magic on command, more specifically helping her find her magic reservoirs. The basic exercise was simple. Sunset, having practiced controlling her magic the entire morning, conjured a simple orb of teal light and handed it off to Hermione, watching in interest as it changed to a pale green and giving her the task of sustaining it. She had made sure that it had a sufficient internal reservoir to compensate for short hick-ups (hiccups) in her output, something she would gradually remove later.

In Harry Potter, they were able to cast spells without wands but it was a VERY advanced concept

[Silent_Knight]

The food did seem to have a notable lack of sugar, however. The pony diet Sunset was used to, was about one third sugar.

Its actually 4 half divided by fun

[VcSaJen]

5%

Well, at least we won't be seeing overpowered wandless magic, so that's a good start.

[ama]

“She came in through the bathroom mirror...”

[TheArcticWolf]

The fact that this is the sixth or seventh time I've reread this story is a good sign in my mind of how gosh darn great this story is.

[Mahtan]

So hermione magic is light green huh?
Well we already know Hermione is evil in this one =)

[gerandakis]

9926128
Have you seen Sweetie Belle?

[Eternal Samson]

It was at least legibal
More than I can say and I've been human all my life;)

[TheArcticWolf]

9926133
That doesn't necessarily disprove their point. Just look at what Sweetie accomplishes in the kitchen.

[redmar]

This is an interesting story already.