Fairies and Firelight

by MLfan

2: The Ascent of Mount Backpack

Sunset was disappointed in herself. She thought that by making it clear this wasn't Twilight's fault, it would be enough. Clearly, that was a stupid thought. And then she brushed her fears aside at every opportunity! She was supposed to be all about reading people's emotions, and it took her how long to figure this out? She'd cheered her up alright for now, but she could see she was still struggling. Now that she was paying closer attention, every few minutes, she could see Twilight's face drop, if only for a moment. Whenever that happened, Sunset flashed her the brightest smiles she could muster. That did seem to help, but she wished she could do more. She needed to find a way to make it up to her.

After around 10 minutes of travel, they reached the backpack. They should've gotten there sooner judging by distance alone, but the carpet slowed the journey down. Now that they were here, the backpack was certainly looming. Even if it was shorter than the desks, it stretched upwards easily 40 feet. A rough climb on a ladder, and this would be far more tiring. Even worse - at a glance, the fabric seemed smooth. She frowned. She could worry about it being tiring later, how were they supposed to get up if there were no footholds?

She took a step closer and pulled at the fabric. Sure enough, at such small scales, the even weave had a bit of give, at least. It took a bit of work, but she managed to push the dense weave to the side just wide enough for a handhold. Okay, hands were good. What about feet? She tried kicking the fabric, and sure enough, like a needle through a blanket, it slid on through without breaking a single thread. On impact, the weave shook slightly, but it held. It was going to be a rough, tall climb, but she was confident they could get it done! She took a step back. "Seems safe enough. After you!" she said.

Twilight approached the backpack warily. She kicked a bit too weakly first, not breaching the weave. A bit harder, though, and she managed to secure a foothold on the side of the backpack, digging between the dense fabric. She took a moment to make sure it stayed steady, dug out a few indents for her hands, then began working her way up. She was slow to secure her footholds, but otherwise, she was making good progress. Sunset stayed on the ground for a few moments in case she needed help, but she was doing just fine. Satisfied Twilight was moving forwards, she grabbed onto the pack herself, taking a route up a few feet to her left.

From the first step, she knew it would be even harder than it looked. The handholds were easy enough to dig into, but her feet threatened to throw her off with every step. On the ground, kicking into the weave had seemed easy enough. From the mountainside, it was a lot less simple. Whenever she jabbed her foot into the backpack, it caused the nearby fabric to shake, threatening to throw her off. She had to brace for every kick, digging her hands deep into the fabric to ensure she didn't slip. She could handle it, though. So long as she was careful, she wasn't in that much danger of slipping.

But as their height rose, so did the tension. Thirty feet up, and the pressure of what would happen if she screwed up was starting to get to her. The fabric dug into her fingers with every kick, making it harder and harder to grip every time. She began wincing as she climbed. Unfortunately, at this point, turning back wasn't even an option. It would be more steps down than up. So, she just had to keep going. Each time she got a new handgrip, she clutched a little tighter. With each kick into the weave, she hit a little less hard, to lessen the impact. She wanted to avoid looking down, but it was unavoidable. It was a long drop already. She wasn't sure how their tiny bodies would affect a fall like this, but she knew if they were normal size, a drop from here would break bones, fabric at the bottom or otherwise.

She took another step upwards, jabbed her foot in, and... the fabric refused to budge. In her caution to avoid shaking the cliff face, she didn't kick hard enough to breach the layer of fabric! The force of the kick instead spread to the fabric around it, shaking it more than ever before. She held tight to the wall with her remaining hands and foot. Her hands pained from the effort, but held firm. Fortunately, her caution ensured she had a good grip.

"You okay!?" called down Twilight, a few feet ahead of her.

She didn't answer straight away. Instead, she took a moment to breath, hanging on with only the one foot. She took a breath, reoriented herself, and jabbed into the fabric again, harder than before. And this time, the weave gave way to a foothold. Position secured, she looked up to Twilight. "I'm okay!" she said.

Twilight looked down warily. "Okay. Be careful, though."

Sunset continued her ascent, heart running just a little bit faster than before. She could feel the pain in her hands, yes, but then she remembered the pain of being burned alive. And suddenly, this didn't feel so bad. So, with a final burst of energy, she managed to climb the last few feet, and pull herself over the lip. She collapsed on the flat surface, breathing heavily. She wasn't really all that tired, maybe due to the mechanics of being small, but she needed to give her hands and feet a moment to rest. Then, she let out a laugh. "Yeesh, we weren't kidding about 'Mount Backpack, were we?'"

Twilight smiled. "Yeah, it was a bit of a climb, wasn't it?" She paused and cocked her head. "Though, technically speaking, a mountain has to be above 1,000 feet. It's an arbitrary distinction, sure, but even speaking relatively, that was only around 40 feet, which isn't even close. It was more of a cliffside, really, or a steep hill."

Sunset sat up and looked her friend in the eye. She let the silence stew for a few uncomfortable moments before talking. "Twilight?"

"Yeah?"

"Let's make this clear. You tell our friends we climbed "Steep Hill Backpack" when we were shrunken down, and I might need to reconsider our friendship."

Twilight laughed. "Noted." She looked into the (thankfully unzipped) maw of the backpack. "So, what's the plan now?"

Sunset sighed. "Well, rest a bit for now. Then, I guess we'll need to climb down. My poor, poor hands."

Twilight's face fell. "That's not... exactly what I mean. You really should really take a look at this."

Wait, her phone was there, right? Confused, Sunset peered down into the abyss that was her backpack. It took her a moment to spot it, but yeah, it was right where she left it, off in a side pouch. She placed it there so it wouldn't get damaged in the bag proper proper. …Oh. It's screen was completely pressed against the fabric of the backpack, with no room for movement on it's other side. She could tell at a glance, using it from there would be all but impossible. Even if they managed to find a way to access the screen, with it's positioning, they'd be using it completely blind. If they wanted to contact their friends, they would have to get it out. And given its weight, that almost seemed harder than using it as is. She pursed her lips. "I'll be honest, I didn't see this problem coming." She looked to Twilight for ideas.

Twilight looked down the backpack's shaft. "Normally, I could try to whip up some sort of pully system, but I don't know where to get the tools to make it, let alone materials for it at such a small size."

Sunset nodded, looked to Twilight's left... then mentally facepalmed. "You know, this is normally when I'd turn to my other friends for help. Main problem being, the reward for solving this problem is getting our other friends' help. If I'd known I was shrinking down, I'd at least have put it in the main pouch..."

"Yeah..." They each began pacing back and forth atop the backpack. Sunset looked at the area around her. The problem was, they needed to lift an object several times their size from an awkward, cramped space. Even if they did have some sort of insectoid super strength, which they hadn't tested yet, it wouldn't help much if they couldn't grip the walls and push upwards at the same time. They'd already climbed this backpack once, she knew how hard it was. Doing that while trying to lift a massive weight? Utterly pointless.

Some sort of magic, then? Well, ponying up wouldn't do them much good, for one. Sunset didn't get much of note other than the ability to occasionally shoot friendship lasers. Twilight did get some wings, but she wasn't the skilled flier Rainbow was. She didn't have the lift needed to get the phone out of the pouch. Side note: she wished she remembered Twilight could fly before they climbed a mountain by foot. Could've helped them get to the bear, too. She would keep it in mind for later, she supposed.

As for their geodes, Sunset's abilities were useless here. What about Twilight's telekinesis? Immediately, she knew it was their best shot so far, no contest. It was also her least favorite plan by a mile. Twilight had never lifted anything even close to this heavy. Asking her to do this, it was just putting all the weight of their success on her shoulders. If it failed, it would utterly crush her spirit. Even if it worked, she'd be exhausted by the end of it. What kind of options were those? With everything she'd gone through, Sunset just wanted to give Twilight a break. She refused to even think about a plan that could hurt her friend. Fine, she would save it for a last resort, but until then, not a chance. And once they had their friends back, she would organize a feast among feast for Twilight's tiny body!

She glanced over at Twilight. Was she still doing okay? She hoped she didn't miss another one of her panic attacks while she was busy working on a solution. Thankfully, Twilight was still engrossed in figuring this all out, herself. Her eyes were laser-focused on the gap before her, trying to find her own solution to the problem. She was muttering under her breath, probably seeing what she could engineer with the tools provided. Judging by the frown on her face, though, she wasn't having any more luck than her. The more she looked at it, the harder it seemed to get. Would she really have to ask Twilight to...?

No. No, she wasn't going to give up so easily! She would find a solution, a real one! Any solution that hurt her friend was no solution at all! Maybe she just needed a new angle on this. Pulling the phone upwards was clearly impossible. Twilight was still working on that angle, anyways, another head wouldn't help there. So if they couldn't lift the phone upwards, what could they do? Yeah, that was the question, wasn't it. Again, she found herself wishing she'd just put her phone in the main pouch. Hell, at this point, she'd settle for wishing she'd left the backpack on it's side. Pushing it out would be hard, but at least it would be possible!

Wait. The backpack wasn't on it's side now, of course. But could they get it there? Hmm... easier said than done. The backpack was heavy, far heavier than the phone could ever be. They wouldn't have to lift it, but the amount of force they would have to expend to get it down, well, it just changed the problem from one impossibility to another.

Or... did it? The phone, it was stuck in a ditch. They would have to force it upwards with everything they had. The backpack, on the other hand, was leaning against the wall, practically vertical. If they were to push against the wall, they wouldn't have to push that hard to make it fall. After living on Earth for a few years, she knew how easily a backpack could fall when off-balance. So once they gave it a little nudge, gravity could to the rest! It might be a bit tough keeping grip, but manageable. This could really work! Sunset smiled. "Hey, Twi! Got an idea!"

Twilight looked up from her pacing, finally breaking eye contact with the backpack's gaping maw. "What is it?"

"Well, why don't we push the backpack over? Would be a lot easier to push the phone out than try to lift it."

Twilight's eyes widened. "Of course! Why didn't I think of it! The bottom of the backpack would act as the fulcrum to a lever, so we wouldn't have to work that hard to get it down, and pushing requires much less work than lifting. When it's vertical, it's all potential energy. Gravity does most of the work, while we do practically nothing. Sunset, you're a genius!"

Sunset scratched the back of her neck. "It's nothing. I saw you were laser-focused on lifting the phone, so I just thought you could use a bit of perspective, you know?"

Twilight grinned. "Well, it's appreciated. Let's do it!"

The pair lined up at the edge of the backpack, and with a bit of effort, got their bodies between it and the wall. Sunset clutched tightly to the backpack with her hands, feet bent towards the wall and ready to push. "On my mark," she said.

"Ready," Twilight responded.

"Three... Two... One... PUSH! And hold on!" In sync, the pair pushed against the way. The backpack pushed away from the wall. It moved outwards at a steady pace, but it was slowing. For a painful second, the backpack's decent completely stopped, too far away from the wall to push again! But just a moment later, gravity took over, and it started tipping, ever so slowly, towards the floor.

Twilight cheered. "YES! Wait, what do you mean, hold on?" She looked down, and her eyes widened. And she screamed. If Sunset wasn't clinging for her life, she would have facepalmed. Did Twilight seriously not realize until now they would be on top of the backpack as it fell? For someone as smart as her, she could be a bit stupid sometimes. Well, it was too late to warn her now!

The backpack tipped towards the floor, bottom-heavy weight ensuring it didn't fall too fast. At such small size, though, it was a RUSH! She felt the wind rippling in her hair as the surface beneath her shifted shifted from flatland to hill to sheer cliff! Her hands complained at the pain of holding the backpack, but this time, she didn't care! She was having a blast! She held on tight all the way. Twilight may have been screaming in fear next to her, but Sunset was screaming in exhilaration! This was like the best thrill ride she'd ever been on!

But all rides must come to an end. After maybe 5 seconds of descent, the backpack settled on the ground, carpet softening the impact. From there, Sunset dropped the last few feet to the ground. She looked at the sight before her in awe, backpack's opening forming the maw of a cave. And up at Twilight, who was still clinging on for dear life.

"You can open your eyes now, Twi."

Twilight peeked one eye open. She saw she was around a foot off the ground, and smiled sheepishly. She dropped the last bit to the ground, carpet softening even the small impact she might have made. "You could've warned me, you know," she grumbled.

Sunset chuckled, but said nothing. Twilight sometimes didn't seem to understand basic cause and effect very well. For now, she gazed into the mouth of the backpack, the opening to a massive cavern. It was impressive, really. At normal scales, the landscape hardly changed. You couldn't just tip over a building. But with little effort, they'd just terraformed a mountain into a cave! With the light now blocked by the backpack's top, the dark interior had an unsettling edge to it. Still, they had work to do. She ducked under the upper lip of the backpack, and made her way towards the phone.

Twilight jogged in after her. "Fine, ignore me, why don't you. It was scary, okay!?"

"To be fair, you really should've seen it coming yourself."

"Come on, really? I had, like, 20 seconds to consider the plan before we pushed it down."

"We were on the backpack. What did you think was gonna happen?"

Twilight scowled. At that, Sunset tensed up. Knowing Twilight's current mental state, she didn't want to hurt her any further. Fortunately, it all seemed in good fun. Twilight was a bit frustrated, maybe, but she wasn't stewing on it. So, she relaxed. Maybe Sunset was a bit too uneasy, It had been a good while since she'd seen Twilight have a rush of guilt. Maybe Twilight really was doing better, and she could let her be.

Or, a darker part of her thought, maybe she'd just gotten better at hiding it from her. Twilight was hurting worse than before, and Sunset didn't see it. For a moment, she was tempted to use her geode to check Twilight's memories, just to be safe, but... no, what was she thinking? Twilight was her friend, she had to have more faith in her than that. If she was hurting, then Sunset needed to trust that Twilight would tell her. And if she didn't tell her, then she had to trust that meant Twilight was okay. By that logic, Twilight really was feeling better. So she smiled, satisfied that her friend was happy.

They continued their journey, Sunset's spirit's risen. The phone pouch was strapped to the ceiling at this point, but that wouldn't be an issue. Her backpack wasn't otherwise empty, after all. She used a textbook as a sort of ladder-staircase hybrid, clambering on top of it to get closer. From there, she could reach the pouch above and pull herself upwards. It was a tight squeeze, she had to crawl her way through, but there was room. And it only took them a few more moments of crawling to finally, finally reach their prize.

It was big. Really big. The sheer scale was only more apparent in such close proximity. Pushing this thing, it would be like pushing a truck. For a moment, Sunset hesitated. Could they even get this thing to move at all? But she pushed away that concern. It was worth a shot no matter what. They'd gotten this far, no use stopping now! And you know what, people did push trucks, so they could push this dang phone!

It was hard getting a good position in such a small space, but she managed. She placed her back against the phone, and her feet gripped into the weave below. Twilight took a similar posture opposite her, nodding once in position. "On my mark," Sunset said. "PUSH!" She heaved as hard as she could, but the plastic didn't budge. Instead, the fabric beneath them gave, pushing backwards. Soon, even that drew taught, and nothing moved at all. She clenched her teeth. Okay, one more, now that their ground was stable! "PUSH!" She strained against the phone with all she had. Her legs shook, forced to brace against threads. And slowly, oh so slowly, the phone moved, inch by inch. Oh my god, they were really doing this! But after that little nudge, she lost traction, and their momentum stopped. Well, one millimeter down...

It was a slow process. They needed to be in perfect sync with every push, or they went nowhere. If either one of them lost their grip, the fabric's weave would work against them, causing their feet to slip clean through. Even if everything went right, they only moved forwards a tiny nudge at a time. But slow it might be, they made progress, bit by bit. And this time, it got easier as they went. The slope of the backpack bent to the weight of the phone, meaning they had to push a little less to get the phone to move every time, each step pushing a little farther. They were still tiny, tiny steps, but the fact that they were longer each and every time just spurred her to push harder!

And with a final push, after what felt like an eternity, the phone finally slid out of the last part of the pouch! She and Twilight pushed, and it just kept sliding, sloped pouch leading it into the floor below. With a soft thud, it landed on the soft backpack fabric below. It was still under the lip of the backpack proper, but at least it wasn't smashed against fabric on either end! They could actually use the phone. Sunset grinned. They did it! They really, really did it. She yelled in exhilaration, pumping her fist in the air. "YEEAAAAHHH!" For her part, Twilight was breathing too heavily to join into the cheer, but she raised her fist all the same.

After taking a few moments to catch her breath, Sunset hopped down to get a better look at their prize. She struck a triumphant pose, one foot on the phone, confident smile adorning her face. "We conquered the treacherous carpet jungle, fought the terrifying giant flies, climbed and spelunked the dangerous caves of Mt. Backpack, and pushed the immovable Cellphone! It's been quite the journey, but as the bearers of the elemental geodes and the magic of harmony, we made it through it all!" She turned to Twilight dramatically, leaning against the phone casually. "With our adventure complete, we only have one more thing to worry about. Call? Or text?"

Twilight completely ignored her grand posturing, instead carefully considered the question. "Well, each have their merits. Calling would be a bit awkward, since one of us would need to be on each end of the phone, one to talk, and one to listen. But for texting, it might be difficult to read the-"

Sunset cut her off with a sigh. "Twilight?"

"Yeah?"

"That was a rhetorical question. Like, a dramatic quote. The texting app is open. Unless you feel like navigating to the phone, we're using that."

"...Oh." They stared at each other awkwardly. "Well, the speech was cool, I guess."

She sighed. "No, the moment's gone. Let's just get to texting. Could you hit the power button? I'm gonna try to get facial recognition to-"

Creak...

The door to the classroom creaked open, for the first time since they'd arrived. Twilight and Sunset froze. A chill ran down Sunset's spine, and her skin constantly prickled. Something... something was wrong. But in an instant, Sunset brightened up. What was she worrying about!? If the door opened, that meant their rescuer was here! She grinned. "Hey, looks like we won't need the phone after all!" She began jogging her way out of the backpack.

Twilight grabbed the back of her shoulder, stopping her. "Hey, wait. This could be someone dangerous. Something feels wrong about this whole thing. I don't know if it's instinct, or a magical sixth sense, but I don't like this. What if this is who did this to us here to capture us? Worse, finish us off?"

Sunset hesitated. She had to admit, there was this tingling on her skin as well. Maybe they should be a little more careful...

"Hey, eggheads?" Rainbow's voice echoed through the room. "I finished lunch early, and wanted to check out your science thingy. How's the experiment going?" They heard the footsteps of her entering. "Hey, you hiding or something? Twilight wouldn't usually leave an invention of hers unaccompanied..."

Immediately, Sunset's fear faded as she smirked at Twilight. "Instinct, huh?"

Twilight grinned sheepishly. "It could still be some sort of shapeshifter?"

She rolled her eyes. "C'mon, what are the odds of that. I bet you're just mad all the work we went into getting the phone was for nothing." She began walking out of the backpack cave.

Twilight hesitated, but she shook her head and followed. "I guess you're right. I'm probably just being paranoid. Maybe it just seems too easy."

She spread her arms. "Sometimes things are easy, Twi! This doesn't have to be some massive adventure, it could just be an afternoon-long mishap. I just did that big old speech about all the stuff we did, isn't that all adventure enough for ya?" She giggled and breached the edge of the backpack, lifting its lip to make way for the pair, and smiled, even as the strange prickling on her skin intensified. She could ignore it, though. Her friend was right there!

Rainbow... the sight warmed her heart. Yes, she was currently turned away from them, looking at Twilight's Pulsar, but she recognized that hair of hers anywhere. After all this work, she was so close to getting her friend back. Her heart swam with all the pleasant memories they'd had together. Playing in the band together, going on their impromptu trip to Equestria with her and Twilight, playing sports together, and too many more to count! And now, she was just a few steps away. "HEY, WE'RE OVER HERE!" Sunset yelled.

Rainbow didn't even react. "Is this some sort of demonic teddy bear?" Rainbow said, poking the device before her.

Despite the lack of reaction, she couldn't help but grin. She pumped her fists. "Ha, in your face! Team Demon Teddy for life!"

Twilight rolled her eyes. "You know what, you guys can call it what you want. It looks like she can't hear us all the way over there. Seems our voices have gotten quieter, that confirms that hypothesis. Now, then, how do we get her attention?" She thought for a moment, and... Sunset could almost see the lightbulb go off over Twilight's head. "The phone! if we can get something playing on it, we should get her attention. Seems it wasn't as useless as you thought! Let's do this thing!"

Twilight darted back into the cave, but Sunset hesitated. If this went well, she would only be leaving for a few moments, and then Rainbow would find them. But she didn't even want to lose that much. She'd only been shrunken for an hour, but she didn't want to miss a moment more. This was one of her friends, the people who pulled her out of the darkest moments in her life. She just wished for nothing more than to see her, to be with her.

And Rainbow, perhaps spurred on by Sunset's wish, or maybe just by coincidence, turned and looked at Sunset's backpack.

Fire. Sunset's veins burned, painful as the when the Twilight first activated the Pulsar. Everything was pain. Blisters and scorch marks formed all over her skin, like her whole body was covered in an invisible fire. She screamed. She wanted to do more, to move, run, do anything, but she could do little except watch her friend look to the backpack, completely oblivious. And in every bone in her body, she knew. Somehow, Rainbow's gaze was killing her. Her friend was killing her. She started to cry, and her tears evaporated as she cried them.

Why?

And then, she felt a jerk from behind. With a single hand, Twilight pulled her back into the backpack, and the overwhelming pain disappeared an instant. All she was left with was that little tingling she felt when Rainbow first arrived, and a dull pain from the burns across her body. She lay on the ground, panting heavily, still crying. Harsh blisters covered her body from head to toe. Everything itched, everything was raw, but... she was alive.

From there, Twilight didn't hesitate. "Come on, there's no time to lose. We need to go in deeper to hide. She could have seen you. We can't let her see us again." Twilight grabbed Sunset's hand, pulling her behind her. Sunset barely noticed.

A million thoughts were swirling in her head. That didn't just happen. It couldn't. It was a coincidence. Rainbow had just hurt her. But she wouldn't hurt her. She couldn't. It wasn't in her nature. No, this wasn't happening. It was a dream. No, it was all a big coincidence. If she just went out there again, she could prove it. If she just saw her friend again, it would all be okay. She just had to go out there again. So, she stopped suddenly and shook off Twilight's hand.

Twilight looked back, confused. "What are you doing?" She whispered. "Come on, the further in, the better."

"I'm going back."

"WHAT!?" She yelled. She covered her mouth due to the noise and looked around, as if someone could have heard. Then, she continued whispering. "Are you crazy? We need to hide until she leaves."

She held her voice steady. "No. She's still Rainbow Dash. She wouldn't hurt me."

She recoiled in shock. "Are you serious? What's wrong with you!? Your whole body is covered in blisters, you wouldn't survive going out there again! Are you willing to risk that if you're wrong?? This is magic on our hands, who cares if Rainbow wants to hurt you or not!? Now, get back here!"

Sunset took a shaky breath. "No."

She tried to walk back towards the entrance, but she was stopped when Twilight gripped her wrist. "I promised you, I would protect you next time. I'm going to protect you, Sunset, like it or not."

Sunset stared her in the eyes. "Let go of me."

"No."

She bared her teeth. "Don't make me do this."

"Do what, huh!? Fight me!? I'll do it if you're not dead by the end of it! Listen to yourself!"

Sunset wrestled against Twilight's grip, but Twilight stood firm. Sunset's eyes flashed with rage. She raised a fist, ready to throw a punch. Twilight just turned her head and closed her eyes, waiting for the impact. Sunset held her fist in the air for a few moments.

Sweet Celestia, what was she doing?

She lowered her fist. Her rage faded to the fear hiding beneath, tears forming in her eyes. "I'm sorry, Twilight. I would never hurt you. I... I'm sorry." She sniffed. "I'll ask you nicely. Just let go of me, please. Do it for me. She's right there, okay!? You can stay back if you want, but she can help us! Please, let me go. Please."

Twilight held firm. "No."

"You don't get it, it was all a coincidence, okay!? Rainbow didn't cause it, she would never. It was just... an aftershock, from the initial blast! I can get her attention, and then-!"

Twilight snarled. "An AFTERSHOCK? Look at me, Sunset!" She held up her hand. The one used to grab her was covered in scorch marks, much like Sunset's whole body. "Does this look like an aftershock to you? She looked at you, you got burned. She looked at me, I got burned. I don't care how you feel about it, look at the facts, for goodness sake!"

Sunset squeezed her eyes shut. "No. No, you're wrong. She wouldn't hurt me. She'll help me, I just have to go out there, and everything will be okay."

"She can't help you if you're dead!"

"JUST LET GO OF ME!" she screamed.

SLAP

Sunset froze. Twilight... she slapped her.

Twilight pulled her closer in the moment of shock. "Get a hold of yourself! I can't protect you when you do everything you can to throw your life away. Please, Sunset. I don't want to lose you."

She looked back and forwards between Twilight, her blister-covered hand, and the mouth of the backpack cave a few times. "I just..." She slumped, collapsing into Twilight's arms and letting her tears run. "I don't want to be alone again."

Twilight hugged her close. "I'm here, Sunset. I promise."

"I'm sorry," Sunset whispered. "I'm sorry."

Author's Note:

Hi! This is the first longform fic I've made in ages, and I hope you enjoyed the first two chapters! I made a few Steven Universe and Pokemon fics over on Fanfiction a few years back, but even then it's been a good while! I hope you all enjoy the fic, I put a ton of work into it. I'm gonna try to get chapters out weekly from here on out.

I hope you like the intrigue as to why the shrinking occurred! As I'm sure is clear already, it's a lot more complicated than "they got shrunk by magic lol." To be honest, unravelling the mystery of a strange new magic, it's kind of a trope of mine in my writing, and this story is no exception. I really enjoy writing about magical mysteries, and I hope you like its execution and eventual reveal here!

Also, if the tags and content of the story didn't make it obvious, there will be SunLight in the story, because that is the best ship in MLP canon, with the possible exception of FlutterDash. Fight me XD

Comments

[Carol Heart]

Well done. I look forward to what you have in store for these two. (Also you will get no fight from me.)

[MLfan]

10875838
Hey, thanks! I'm already hard at work on the next chapter, I hope you continue to enjoy the fic! And thanks for the comment, they always make my day ^_^

[Nodqfan]

Interesting start I'll be following this to see where it goes. Usually in shrinking stories interaction is one of the key components of the story.

[everydaygamer]

pretty good so far. It's rare to see a shrinking story that isn't porn.

The fact that being seen hurts them is certainly a unique twist but I'm not sure if it really adds anything to the story.

Guess we'll just have to wait and see how it plays out.

[Starlight Nova]

Before I read this, I must know: Why does being looked at make Twilight and Sunset's bodies burn?

[MLfan]

10890705
Answering that would be a massive spoiler, sorry! There is a specific reason, but as of this point in the story, we don't know.