Sunset only had a day to discover the secret of this strange world.
Technically speaking, she had two days plus a few more hours of evening. But Sunset was not one to cut things close. She had always turned in her assignments with time to spare. She also wanted to avoid being trapped in this world, since thirty moons was too long, and Sunset wanted to be a princess now.
Fake Celestia owned a few encyclopedias, which Sunset devoured. There was an incredible amount of information on them, but one thing stood out the more Sunset read those books. A thing that, as hours passed, made her sweat cold droplets and lose her appetite entirely.
There was absolutely no mention of magic of any kind. Not a single word about Hamonic Theory, not a reference about spellcrafting, not even a passing mention to any other sort of alien magicks, this being a different world and all.
She flipped through the pages as best as her clunky fingers allowed, and she felt her jaw getting stiff after hours of note taking. Her having lost access to her horn had been infuriating and terrifying, but all of that had become humiliation when she realized she would need to write like a filly all over again. She had forced herself to ignore those feelings as she threw everything she had into her reading. She ditched History and Geography, and focused entirely on Biology and Technology. When that failed, she flipped through Mathematics and Physics.
But despite everything, she found nothing that could solve the conundrum of this world. Why was it connected to Equestria? Why did Princess Celestia keep it under such secrecy? And more importantly, how would it even begin to transform Sunset into the alicorn princess she was destined to become?
She was very rudely distracted from her thoughts by a hand placing a plate of sandwiches in front of her. Sunset turned narrowed eyes at the offending human.
“You haven’t eaten anything since breakfast,” Fake Celestia said, completely unphased by Sunset’s glare. “I know you probably think this an unnecessary distraction, but we don’t want to risk you passing out and missing your chance to return home, now would we?”
Sunset clicked her tongue, unable to argue. She put the Physics encyclopedia out of the way and begrudgingly grabbed a sandwich. It looked like a regular salad sandwich with some strange brown dip. A bite confirmed that it was a pretty decent dish, though it couldn’t be compared to a proper flower-based salad.
“So,” Fake Celestia said as she got comfortable on the seat beside Sunset, “what exactly are you looking for?”
Sunset sighed. She hadn’t wanted to reveal anything important to these humans, but she had already met a wall, and she didn’t have the time to brute force her way through. “I can’t find anything relating to magic. I’m never going to figure out the connection between our worlds if I don’t understand the basis of your magic. Does it even work the same way? I need you to tell me everything you know.”
Fake Celestia regarded her with an even glare for a few seconds. “There’s… no magic in this world.”
Sunset raised an eyebrow. “You should know there’s no point in trying to deny it. It is physically impossible for life to thrive in a magicless world.”
“I’m not lying,” Fake Celestia said. “People have always believed in the existence of magic, but it just doesn’t exist. There’s a million and more scientists who would be thrilled to discover and study a new form of energy, but, if it does exist, nobody has ever been able to prove it.”
Sunset stared at the woman. She didn’t seem to be lying. But then again, that could be simply due to humans’ lack of understanding of magical laws. Much like many Earth Ponies didn’t really understand how their own magic worked, and had it not been for Unicorns studying it, they would still believe that they weren’t doing anything special.
“There is magic in this world,” Sunset said stubbornly. “Like I said, life would be impossible otherwise.”
Fake Celestia grimaced, and Sunset recognized that expression. It was the same one Princess Celestia had when Sunset was giving an incorrect answer to one of her many riddling lessons. “Well, those books on biology explain how life is possible in this world. Look, I know it’s not the answer you want, but…”
“It’s just not the correct answer,” Sunset interrupted her. “If there’s no information in these books about this world’s magic, and you humans don’t even know how to prove its existence, then…” She stopped herself, feeling a pit form in her stomach. If humans, in however many years they’ve been inhabiting this world, had never been able to properly harness their own magic, then what hope did Sunset have of doing so in a single day? She balled her hands, which didn’t feel nearly as satisfying as balling her hooves.
A touch to her shoulder took her out of her thoughts.
“I’m sorry we can’t help you with this…” Fake Celestia said with the same patronizing tone Sunset had grown to hate. “Unless you want to read some fairy tales, which are clearly fiction, you won’t find anything magic related in any self-respecting encyclopedia.”
Sunset swatted Fake Celestia’s hand away with a huff and stood up. Maybe she had been too hasty in crossing the portal. Maybe she should have given the princess a half-baked apology and continue studying the portal from Equestria. But no, she had let her temper get the better of her and she had attacked royal guards. For all her smarts, Sunset certainly had done some pretty stupid things in the past few days.
But what now? Return to Equestria with her tail between her legs? What would that even accomplish? Princess Celestia had terminated her apprenticeship and exiled her from the castle. She didn’t have a house of her own, and her status as graduate from Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns meant she couldn’t use the dormitories anymore. She didn’t have anywhere to go, and nopony to go to.
“Are you ok?” Fake Celestia asked.
Sunset groaned. “No, I’m not ok!” She turned around and stared… up… at the woman. Her righteous fury evaporated somewhat as she was reminded how much taller Fake Celestia was than her. “I…”
“You told me you just needed to figure out how it is that our worlds are connected through the portal, yes? Maybe it’s just your world’s magic doing all the work.”
That was impossible, Sunset reasoned. Without magic on this side, the portal wouldn’t be able to exist in the first place. But, if in the most improbable scenario, that was true, then it would mean… “I came here for nothing,” she said out loud. And the words hurt so much she could feel tears forming in her eyes. She had sacrificed everything for this opportunity, and it had been in vain…
“I wouldn’t say that,” Fake Celestia offered. “You were under the impression that magic exists in this world, but now you know for a fact that it doesn’t. Isn’t the confirmation of something a huge deal in any research?”
Sunset looked away and sighed. She understood that Fake Celestia was just trying to cheer her up, but it did nothing of the sort. Sunset had no confirmation of anything. In fact, she was just as much in the dark as she had first learned of the mirror, even more so, since she had even more questions. Why had the princess shown her the mirror in the first place? Why had it promised Sunset the power to become a princess herself? Why did it lead to a world inhabited by these strange human creatures who didn’t understand the laws of magic?
Outside the window, the sun had started its slow descent on the horizon. Sunset had been reading nonstop since sunrise, which meant she had completely wasted the day she had allotted for her research. Sure, she had one more day, but what did it matter? With no reference materials of any kind, Sunset was completely in the dark. Ignorant to the workings of this world’s magic potential. It had taken generations of prodigiously talented unicorns to properly understand the ways of the Harmonic Veil. Even Starswirl the Bearded had needed years to completely understand concepts they only had small bits of knowledge of.
Sunset didn’t have bits or even hints of any knowledge.
“Sunset?” Fake Celestia called.
But Sunset didn’t want any more fake compassion.
“I’ll go to sleep, then be out of your mane tomorrow morning,” she announced and dragged her feet towards the guest room. She let herself fall onto the bed and allowed her consciousness to drift off to slumber.
The next day, with barely an apple for breakfast, Sunset stood in front of the portal to Equestria. After a troubled night of nothing but nightmares, Sunset had decided to try and convince Princess Celestia to take her as a pupil once more. Sure, she had yelled at her, and insulted her, and attacked her with a book, and hurt two royal guards, and used a highly illegal artifact to jump to another world… But she could just say sorry and start over, right? The princess was all for second and third and six-hundred-fifty-eight chances.
“Are you sure everything’s going to be fine?” Fake Celestia asked. She and her sister Luna had decided to see Sunset off. If only to give Luna the proof she desperately needed to believe that the portal was real.
“It will,” Sunset replied, looking straight at the deceptively stale stone statue. “I’m sure this isn’t the only way to achieve my goals.” Truth be told, Cadenza had become an alicorn through strange methods Sunset still didn’t comprehend. That meant that, surely, there was more than one way to become an alicorn. The strange mirror world had been a dead end, but that only meant Sunset needed to find another way.
“If you’re sure, then I wish you good luck,” Fake Celestia said.
Sunset rolled her eyes. Not wanting to waste any more time, she reached out with a hand, letting her fingers cross the magical field of the portal, parting the stone as if it was a vertical pool of water.
“After this, I’ll have to consider my whole worldview,” Luna said, her voice full of surprise. “I didn’t want to believe you, sister, but… I guess I’m glad I’m wrong this time…”
Sunset frowned at that. What did she mean by that? She shook her head. It was of no concern to Sunset. She began pushing her hand through… And stopped when she felt a rhythmic thumping in the distance. Her breath caught in her throat as the thumping grew louder, but it wasn’t in her ears. No, she recognized this like she recognized the colors. It was a very common phenomenon in Equestria, one that was only possible when an individual or a group resonated with the Harmonic Veil. The Resonance reverberated throughout the fabric of existence, and in turn it filled those individuals with a very specific kind of magic that was only possible in creatures with sufficient levels of magical potential.
She turned around, taking her hand from the portal as the thumping evolved into a single note, and the single note vibrated and became a set of notes, and within Sunset’s head, the notes inevitably became a song, and Sunset set her eyes on the source of the Resonance.
Celestia looked up at her, tears in her eyes, and opened her mouth.
In a silent room she sat
A longing in her heart
A million questions she asked
No one thought she’d part
Sunset gave a single step towards the woman and stopped. The music resonated within her as well. She didn’t quite understand the hidden, personal meaning of the lyrics, but she could feel part of what Celestia was feeling. A regret so heavy it almost made Sunset clench her stomach in pain.
A golden sky so bright
Soft whispers in the breeze
Radiant clouds of scarlet light
Shadows hiding deep beneath
Luna placed a hand on Celestia, and the older sister shut her eyes, hugging herself as the tears kept falling from her face.
“It wasn’t your fault, sister,” Luna said, barely a whisper, but the Resonance still carried her words, loud and clear, towards Sunset.
“You know as well as I do that I could have prevented it,” Celestia replied. “If only I had been more attentive, or if I had cared enough.”
“Celestia, why won’t you believe me when I say that there was nothing else you could have done to help her?”
“Because—”
In my dreams I recall all the signs of distress she displayed...
“You reached out to her.”
In my dreams I recall all the signs of distress that I missed...
Celestia’s knees buckled, and she fell to the ground. Luna barely managed to ease the impact by grabbing her by the arm.
Now the silent room is bare
Her heart can’t be heard
Unasked questions in the air
Left without a word
Celestia looked up, and Sunset felt the Resonance around her vibrate more strongly.
A golden sky so bright
Soft whispers in the breeze
Radiant clouds of scarlet light
Shadows clawing from beneath
Finally the Resonance ended, and the pure Harmonic magic left their bodies, leaving them staring at each other in silence for what felt like minutes. Eventually, Celestia’s sniffing subsided and the woman found herself once more on her feet.
“I apologize, Sunset…” she said. “I shouldn’t keep you any longer…” She nudged Luna to help her turn around.
“Wait,” Sunset said, not really knowing what she had wanted to say, but knowing that she needed to say something. As Celestia once more turned to face her, Sunset flapped her lips noiselessly, struggling with words, until finally she found them. “Magic does exist in this world. I just confirmed it.”
Celestia blinked. “What do you mean?”
“Did… Did this whole experience not convince you?” Sunset asked. Both Celestia and Luna simply blinked at her. “The Harmonic Resonance?” Another blink. “You know, breaking into song at the drop of a hat? Music playing out of nowhere? Everypony somehow knowing the lyrics and when to step in without interrupting the flow of the song?”
Celestia and Luna looked at each other. “To be honest, Sunset, that’s been a subject of study for hundreds of years,” Luna said, still helping her sister with her balance. “But it’s more of a Psychology thing. I can lend you a book about it if you…”
“This is not a psychological phenomenon!” Sunset yelled. “This is Harmonic Resonance! It’s proof that magic does exist in this world!” She gave another step towards the sisters. “Your feelings resonated with the Harmonic Veil of this world, and the magic took shape in accordance with those feelings. Then you broke into song, music and all! Don’t you see? This is magic at work!”
Looking at the dumbfounded faces of the humans before her, Sunset thought she finally understood what she had to do.
“I have to stay here,” she announced.
“What?” both sisters asked at the same time.
“This world has magic, and you guys are at least a bit in tune with it. If Harmonic Resonance can affect you, it means you have some latent magic within you. I think my job is to study these effects and completely unravel the magical potential of this world!” Sunset felt excited. If she could do it, she would most definitely become an alicorn.
“But… don’t you have to return today?” Luna asked.
Sunset spun on her heels and looked at the portal. She knew that, if she returned now, she was going to face Princess Celestia’s fury and be judged before she could even mutter a single word. If she stayed, she would not be able to go back for thirty whole moons, but that would simply give her time —more than just one day— to find this world’s secrets and become an alicorn princess.
She turned back to the sisters. “As long as I achieve my goal, it doesn’t matter that it takes a bit longer.” She then considered her options and, with a lot more reluctance, she added. “That is, if you’re willing to let me stay with you for a while longer…”
Once again, Celestia and Luna looked at each other, except that they spent a whole minute like that. Finally, they both turned to Sunset with small smiles.
“Sure. You can stay with us, Sunset,” Celestia said, smiling.