It has finally come to this. She spent months preparing for and/or postponing this important moment, but it was still one of the few situations where Sunset Shimmer, former student of a pony princess and at least twice savior of the world, didn’t know what to do. There was no turning back now for the unicorn-turned-human. Here she was, standing in the school’s music room, alone, surrounded by the six people (talking dogs not included) she called her best friends and about to reveal her third biggest secret (she would never show anyone her browser history) to them.
“So… what’s tha matter, sugarcube? What’s so important that yer wanted to meet us all here after school?” Applejack finally broke the silence.
Sunset took a deep breath. “Alright. Girls, what I’m about to tell you is something very big and important. So big, in fact, that it might affect our friendship forever. Once it has been said nothing will be as it was.”
“Can you then please stop beating around the bush and tell us?” Rainbow interjected bluntly.
Sunset took another deep breath. “Here it goes… Girls, I’m a magical girl!”
Silence reigned over the group again. I’d hoped for at least a gasp.
Sunset had predicted that far and continued. “It started a few months ago, when I discovered that I somehow got my magic abilities from Equestria back. Probably some aftereffects of all the magical adventures we went through. I wanted to use my powers for good, so I became... ‘Magical Girl Sunny’ and started to fight crime.”
“Wow…” Rainbow’s was the only response.
“Yes, I know it can be a lot to take in at first, but I’m sure we can work around that. I just couldn’t stand keeping it a secret to you anymore, and I never understood that ‘protect your loved ones by lying to them’ cliche anyway, so–”
“No, what I meant was ‘Wow, that’s all?’. I expected a bit more when you said ‘mind-blowing news’. And your backstory is basically non-existing... not counting the whole transdimensional unicorn stuff. And that name ‘Magical Girl Sunny’?”
Sunset looked down at the floor, obviously embarrassed. “…I’m not good with names.”
“This does explain some things,” Pinkie spoke up next.
Sunset and her friends were hanging around the Wondercolts’ statue doing nothing in particular. Sunset got a message on her phone and looked at it.
“Uhh… Guys, I… just remembered I left something on at home, so… I have to go now. Bye!” Sunset hastily said before running away.
“In retrospect, it was kinda obvious.”
“At least tell us you’re wearing a good-looking outfit while fighting crime.” Rarity added her own two (polished) cents.
“Of course I got one, it’s a mainstay, after all. I usually use my magic to teleport the clothes on my body when I need them. I have someone that makes the outfits for me. She’s a shy but cute girl from Crystal Prep. Remind me to introduce you to each other. I’m sure you’d all get along–” Sunset did a double-take. “Wait, wait, wait, what’s going on? This is getting way too casual. I just revealed to you that I not only have mysterious magic powers, but also that I’m risking my life on a weekly basis fighting criminals. Everyone but me should be freaking out right now. It’s like all of you have experience in that kind of stuff, too.”
An embarrassing silence came over the group as every girl tried to avoid looking into each other's eyes.
“Please, don’t tell me I just hit bullseye…” Sunset said, unsure of her own suspicions.
“Hehe… Good one, Sunset. It was just… uh… very obvious in your case, Sunset, you know, like, ‘most likely to secretly be a superhero’,” Rarity said.
“I-I mean, just imagine Applejack or me in one of these frilly dresses,” Rainbow answered.
“Or me and Fluttershy fighting real criminals, hehe,” Pinkie added.
“What would be the odds of more than one secret superhero per group?” Twilight threw in.
Fluttershy just continued avoiding everyone’s gazes.
“Y-yeah, th-that’s j-just ridi-diculous,” Applejack stammered.
Nobody was very convincing.
Silence fell over the group again. A heavy silence. It weighed down on each girl. The pressure rising with every second. It wouldn’t take long for one of them to break.
“GIRLS! I’M A MAGICAL GIRL!” Fluttershy blurted out before covering her mouth.
Everyone gasped. Why does she get a gasp?
Most of the girls were at a loss of words. Except for Rainbow, kinda.“You, Fluttershy?! But when? Or why? And how didn’t we notice?”
Pinkie thought about the last question for a moment.
“Uhh… Guys, I… just remembered I left something on at home, so… I have to go now. Bye!” Sunset hastily said before running away.
“Uhmm… I actually need to go now, too. I… uhmm… have to feed Angel.” Fluttershy ran off, too.
Pinkie couldn’t come up with an answer.
Fluttershy pulled out a blue-and-white device whose shape resembled an old cell phone. “Well, one day I found this shining box at home and in it was this card commune. Although it actually is Mipple, a fairy from the Garden of Light, and I use this device to become Cure White.”
She opened the card commune, revealing the face of a pink dog-like creature in it. And then it started talking. “Hello, my name is Mipple. It’s a pleasure to meet you. Fluttershy told me so much of you.”
“Together with Cure Black we are Pretty Cure,” Fluttershy continued. “We’ve been tasked to protect this realm as well as the Garden of Light from the dark creatures of the Dotsuku Zone. Also, we kinda become stronger the closer we two become.”
“Wow, this does sound kinda awesome.”
“I never would have expected that from you, Fluttershy.”
“I’m pretty sure you look stunning in your outfit, darling.”
“So… which secret comes next?” Sunset asked.
“W-Well… I’m living with a dragon maid and my twin sister is a vampire–”
“Wait, Fluttershy, I didn’t mean you (although these sound interesting). I meant the others. I’ve got the feeling we two aren’t the only ones with secret identities.”
“C-Come on, Sunset. D-Don’t ya go a bit too far assumin’–”
“SIGH!”
A dramatic sigh interrupted Applejack. Everyone turned to its source, Pinkie Pie. Pinkie sighed again for dramatic effect. Then she grabbed something in her hair and pulled out a strange staff. It was completely pink and about one meter in length. The top of the staff is shaped like a bird's head with red gems for eyes and a beak as well as tiny wings on the back.
“Girls, I’m a magical girl.”
Everyone gasped. She too?
“One day I just found this weird book in the basement and maybe accidentally released those magical ‘Clow Cards’ and scattered them around the town. No biggie. And now their winged guardian-lion (who was totally sleeping on his job, by the way) forces me to capture them all again, so they don’t cause too much chaos.”
“And how does your outfit look like?” Rarity asked eagerly.
“I actually don’t have a cute outfit that poofs into existence when I need it.” Pinkie grinned sheepishly. “So instead I usually secretly borrow fitting outfits from you, Rarity.”
“Oh, that’s ni– Wait, what?! You’re the shop breaker that ruins my dresses?”
“Only a few of them,” Pinkie defended herself. “And you’ve been making so many lately. And it’s not like you’ve been using any of them.”
“I was just very inspired lately.”
“Geez, it’s not like there could be another reason for all of this, right, Rarity?” Sunset’s voice was dripping with sarcasm.
“Well… It’s also because…” Rarity looked down at the floor embarrassed. “...Senketsu doesn’t like it when I wear other dresses.” At the confused looks of the others she continued. “Girls, I’m a magical girl.”
Everyone gasped. It has been obvious for the last three minutes.
Rarity took off her shirt and skirt revealing a second outfit under it. At first glance it looked like a navy blue sailor uniform. Her shirt was a crop top with mid-length sleeves that bares her midriff. A sailor-style collar with red stripes was tied by a multicolored scarf. The skirt was held up by suspenders attached to a belt.
“This is Senketsu. He’s a uniform completely made out of a special thread, called life fiber, that gives its wearer superhuman abilities. I use him and my scissor blade to fight others with similar uniforms that also have life fibers in them. Oh, and of course Senketsu can also talk, although only I’m able to hear him.” Rarity finished with a smile.
The others shared some worried glances. “And you’re wearing him all the time since you got him?”
“Except for sleeping, yes, I do. But don’t worry I’m washing him every day, which he really enjoys.” Only now the others seemed to notice the nervous twitching in her eyes.
Sunset inched closer to Rarity’s outfit. “Ehh… Senketsu, was it… Maybe you should let Rarity wear something else from time to time or else she might have a mental breakdown,” she half-whispered into his… scarf.
For a moment it seemed that Rarity was listening to Senketsu. “He said he’ll swallow his pride and let me wear other clothes if it is for my well being,” she told the others. Rarity looked like a huge burden fell off her shoulders.
The group took a moment to enjoy helping their friend. Then Sunset turned to Twilight, Applejack and Rainbow. “Who wants to go next?”
With unexpected determination Twilight took step forward. Suddenly a pillar of light and digital numbers engulfed her and when it faded, it looked like a new person was standing there. She still had the same figure as Twilight, but besides that her hair turned light blue, nearly white, and became messier with two long strands on the sides of her head almost reaching her stomach, and one strand standing on top of her head. Her eyes turned red in color and you could see a “power”-symbol in each of them. Her new outfit resembled a white bathing suit with black and light blue markings and unattached sleeves ending in claw-like gloves. She also seemed to have grown a few centimeters.
“Now listen up, because I’ll only tell you once.” Her voice was deeper and uncharacteristically aggressive for Twilight. “First, yes, girls, I’m a magical girl!”
Everyone gasped. This is just getting ridiculous…
“Don’t worry, I’m still Twilight, this is just my Hard Drive Divinity ability, which turns me into White Heart to access my full powers. I’m the CPU (Control Patron Unit) of Lowee, a country on the continent of Gamindustri, which lies in a different dimension. I’m basically a goddess there. I use my powers to protect the citizens of Lowee and to fight the goddesses of the other countries in the Console Wars. And if any of you joke about my appearance I’ll kill you with my axe!”
The pillar of light enveloped her again and the normal Twilight was back. “*Phew* Sorry, for some reason the HDD is making me a bit more aggressive.”
“Do we even want to hear the story of how it came to this?” Sunset asked.
“It’s long, complicated and I’m not in the mood to tell it.”
“Yeah, I think that’s better. Let’s just move on. How about you, Applejack?”
“W-W-What m-makes you think I-I’m k-k-keeping a s-secret from y’all?” Applejack stammered out.
“You’ve been either awfully silent or only stuttering since this crazy conversation began.”
“Y-You’re im-imag-gining things, I’m j-just s-surprised that all m-my friends are m-magical s-super heroes,” Applejack stuttered. Meanwhile her face went through most of the tells of a liar known to mankind (and a few only known to ponies).
“Wow, you’re a bad liar. How did we never notice?”
Pinkie thought about that.
“Uhmm… I actually need to go now, too. I… uhmm… have to feed Angel.” Fluttershy ran off, too.
“Oh, yes, I actually have to go and… work on some designs,” Rarity said before walking away.
“Aaaaand I forgot I have training.” Rainbow ran away.
“I… I… I… have to watch the cake twins.” Pinkie decided for a quick walk.
“Ehhh… There’s a new book coming out today.” And Twilight was gone, too.
“Ehhh… Uhhhm… I-I have t-to w-w-work on t-the f-f-farm t-t-to–”
“You’re the only one left, Applejack,” a squeaky voice came from under her hat.
Applejack looked around for confirmation. “Oh, yer right. Well, that’s mighty convenient.”
“Beats me,” Pinkie answered.
Applejack felt cornered. Just when she wanted to try and talk herself out of this situation again, a squeaky voice spoke to her from under her stetson.
“It’s okay, Applejack, you can tell them.”
“I-If ya say so, alright.”
It only took a second for Applejack to compose herself and get her usual confidence back.
“Ahem, girls, I’m a magical girl,” she now proudly announced.
Everyone gasped. Inferiority complex rising…
Applejack lifted her stetson revealing a small fairy-like creature under it. It was pink with black dots and had some features of a ladybug. It flew down into Applejack’s open hands, sat down and smiled and waved at the other girls.
“This is Tikki,” Applejack started. “She’s tha Kwami of my Miraculous, the Ladybug earrings. They turn me into Ladybug to fight bad guys, like Hawk Moth, who turns normal people into super villains with his akumas. Oh, and there’s also that Cat Noir guy that helps me.”
“I actually wanted to ask since when you’re wearing earrings, darling,” Rarity pointed out.
“Yeah, they give me superpowers, an unbreakable super yo-yo and my ‘Lucky Charm’-ability,” she let out a whistle. “Wow, it feels good ta finally get this off ma chest. Now, Rainbow, only you’re left. What’s yer secret?”
Applejack looked down at Rainbow, who at some point had made herself comfortable on a chair.
“If everyone’s already come clean, I can do as well. But you won’t hear from me something like ‘girls, I’m a magical girl’.”
Everyone gasped. Now you guys are just messing with me.
“As I said, no frilly dresses for me,” Rainbow said smugly. “All I need for epic battles is my 「Stand」. It’s some kind of manifestation of your fighting spirit with super powers. I could try to show you, but most of the time only stand users can see other stands.”
A ghostly figure seemed to come out of Rainbow. It was humanoid in nature, but had wings for arms and talons for legs. Its face and figure resembled Rainbow’s. The other girls were surprised by this sudden appearance.
“Uhh… Please tell me that ‘Stand’ is that thing behind you that looks like a harpy-version of you?”, Fluttershy asked slightly terrified.
“Oh, you can see it? Cool, saves me some explaining. So yeah, that’s my stand 「City Escape」, it allows me to create wind currents.”
“Shouldn’t you question how we’re able to see it?” Twilight asked.
“If there’s one thing you should learn about stands, Twi, accept that it just works. Otherwise you might end up worse than Sunset when she tried to figure out this world’s magic.”
“I’m still occasionally coughing rainbows,” Sunset admitted.
“So… That was everyone?” Rarity asked.
“As long as it doesn’t turn out Spike is a secret agent or something, I think so,” Pinkie joked.
Twilight laughed. “Come on, that would be ridiculous. But… hey, where’s Spike?”
The girls looked around the room for the talking dog. They didn’t notice a purple dog in a brown fedora flying past the window in a hovercar.
Twilight stopped the search after a few minutes. “He’ll probably find back as always. He’s a smart dog.”
Sunset sat down on a free chair. “Alright, let’s recap: I came here today with the intention to say to you ‘girls, I’m a magical girl’...” Sunset paused. No reactions. “But it turned out each of us has super powers and somehow we managed to go out of each other's ways enough to not notice anything. I personally never heard anything of life fibers or ladybugs or stands.”
A message on her phone stopped Sunset. She quickly looked what it said. Then she addressed her friends again. “Oh, I… eh… have to go now. Important school assignment that…” She noticed the inquisitive stares of her friends. Then she facepalmed. “Right… Apparently a girl with superpowers is causing havoc in the city. I have to stop her before civilians get hurt.”
Before Sunset reached the door Applejack grabbed her by the wrist. “Wait, Sunset! This sounds like an akumatized villain. Ah’m the only that can purify it. Ladybug should go!”
“Wait, Applejack!” Rarity voiced her concerns. “This sounds more like someone with a life fiber uniform, which only Senketsu and me can destroy. I should go!”
“Wait, it’s obviously a stand-power and that makes it my job. I’ve been itching for a good fight anyways.” Rainbow threw in.
“Okay, first we have to sort this out,” Sunset halted everyone. “We don’t want to end up sabotaging each other, now that we know our secret identities. Somehow this worked before and somehow we have to make it work now.”
“Or we could work together as a team!” Pinkie added.
“Come on, Pinkie, that’s… that’s actually a good idea. What do you guys think?”
“It makes sense. That way we could cover more ground with our diverse abilities,” Twilight observed.
“Sounds awesome.”
“Senketsu has no problems with it.”
“Ah wanted to fight with someone other than Cat Noir for some time.”
“Alright, then let’s go, magical girls!... We’ll think of a name later, Pinkie.”
The girls left the room one after another.
“Um… I’m not sure if I can even transform without– Eep!” Fluttershy was pulled along by Pinkie.
Lightning Dust’s life hasn’t been easy for her in the past weeks. Since she got kicked out of the Wonderbolts, her dream job, it was a terrible downward spiral. But this all changed last night, when strange lights and black mist appeared in the sky over the town. Contact with the mist gave her the superpower to control lightnings. And with powers like these rampaging through the town seems like the logical thing to do. This’ll make them give her back her job, right?
Though her progress was stopped by the sudden appearance of seven girls (at least half of them in ridiculous costumes) before her. The first one had fiery hair and a cream-colored dress with several sun-symbols. The next one had light-pink hair and a short white dress with blue stripes and a big white bow. The “outfit” of the purple-haired one nearly completely exposed her breast and waist with only a bit of black armor covering her neck and shoulders and a short skirt connected by strings. She also carried a huge scissor-blade. The blonde one was the complete opposite with a red bodysuit with black dots and a domino mask with the same colors. Then there was the white-haired girl in what looked like a white techno outfit with a big matching battleaxe. The last two, with pink and rainbow hair, wore, unlike the others, normal street clothes.
Lightning decided to address them first. “Where are your Nightmare Night costumes?”
“Come on, I’m too cool for that stuff,” the rainbow-haired one replied slightly offended.
“And I didn’t have enough time to steal– uhh… borrow one,” was the pink one’s answer.
“Alright, evil villain,” the red-haired one spoke up. “We are here to stop you and your... evil plans in the name of friendship… and harmony… and… Does anyone else want to take over? I usually don’t do that speech-stuff.”
The replies were shrugs and head-shakes.
She sighed. “Let’s just skip *rainbow-cough* right to the battle. So… Any suggestions what to do?”
More shrugs.
“Hey, lightning-girl!” Rainbow shouted over. “Do you have a stand? And if yes, what is your exact stand power? That’d make things much easier!”
“Even if I understood what you just said, why would I tell you my powers?” Lightning shouted back annoyed.
“Well, that’s everything I could do, I have no more ideas.”
“We can’t just give up! What do you usually do in this situation?” Magical Girl Sunny addressed her friends.
“Ah usually just have ta destroy the object with the akuma in it,” Ladybug responded.
“And in my case it’s enough to destroy the uniform with my special attack, darling,” Rarity answered.
“We should just kick that bitch’s ass with my axe!” White Heart… suggested.
“Wow, you weren’t joking with the ‘aggressive’ part.”
“Ehm… I’m not sure if I (or Pinkie for that matter) can even help in this situation,” Cure White said.
“Why not fire all of our attacks at once?” Pinkie supplied.
“Pinkie, that’s… actually a good idea, again. Alright, let’s–” Sunny turned to face the villain. “Where is she?” Sunny turned around, where Lightning was causing havoc again. Sunny groaned. “Let’s just catch her, girls, alright?”
A boy in a (literal) black catsuit landed on the sidewalk. Cat Noir may have been late for this week’s villain, but he hoped he could still help his Ladybug. He looked around. He spotted a lightning-shooting villain. He spotted Ladybug. He spotted… six other girls fighting alongside her.
“Ehh… Does this mean I’m not needed?” he voiced his thoughts.
“Hey you, cat-boy, over here!” the voice of a girl called him.
Cat Noir turned in the direction of the voice and saw a weird group of characters sitting together outside a café. “Can somebody tell me what’s going on?”
A ginger-haired girl wearing a black top with a black skirt and drinking a chocolate spoke up, “Let me guess, you just came here and were surprised to see your partner fighting with some other girls you don’t know?” Cat Noir nodded. “Happened to us, too. We decided to make the best out of it and enjoy this. By the way, you can call me Cure Black. I belong to the pink-haired one in the white dress.”
A young woman with long black hair in a white student uniform spoke up next, “They seem competent enough to handle it themselves.” She took a sip of her tea.
“We’re obviously just here for a funny cameo appearance, anyways,” a girl in light purple messy hair with gamepad-shaped clips and a white hoodie continued. “But I don’t care, because the author gave me pudding!” She resumed enjoying her pudding.
A two meter tall man in a long white coat and a white cap stayed silent and watched the others fight.
“So, uhh… do you think this’ll be a one time thing or should we worry?” Cat Noir asked.
“Lucky Sun Marble「Wind」Zerstörung Soshitsu, Release!”
A big rainbow explosion shook the streets causing the eyes of several viewers to go wide.
“... You know what, I’ll take a milkshake…” Cat Noir responded.
“Give me a break,” the tall man and Cure Black said at the same time.