//------------------------------// // Focus 1 - Twilestia Collab // Story: Ultra's Hot Shots // by ultra1437 //------------------------------// “More on the left!”  signalled over a radio out to gunners on the wall.  Gunfire rippled out from the wall, tearing the mindless horde apart, leaving corpses missing body parts from sheer volume of fire. A commanding voice shouted “Halt!” and the gunfire petered out.  And so the battles went after the end of the world came. Some weird pulse passed through the solar system.  Scientists had seen it coming for months, but didn’t think it would do anything.  Then, it passed the Earth.  And the dead rose, literally overnight.  When individually killed, the dead wouldn’t rise for another month unless the bodies were incinerated or too damaged to move on their own. There were other reports of some living humans getting some kind of superpowers, but society the world over collapsed within the week, so nobody could put it all together. Twilight returned to her spotting station’s balcony.  Last week, she’d requisitioned a few extra bodies to assist her, along with some extra ammo to pick off stragglers. Command had delivered, alright.  She got her two new roommates, Celestia and Luna. Celestia was supposedly some kind of impressive sniper, but entirely too cheery and familiar with others she worked with.  Her twin sister, Luna, was almost her exact opposite.  Luna couldn’t hit anything worth a damn, but she could pick out a rat scurrying at night like an owl, and kept the same hours as one. Though they were twins, they didn’t look alike.  Celestia’s was built like an amazon of old, with nice curvy hips and large bust that put her at odds with Luna’s petite frame.  Luna was Twilight’s height, but carried herself with far more grace than either her sister or Twilight.  She had the air of a dancer about her whenever she moved. As opposite they may physically be, they got along better than most married couples did before the world ended.  And it just annoyed Twilight to no end. Twilight grunted.  Within six months, the tower would either need replacing or reinforcement.  The little tower they used kept in constant radio contact with the city they helped protect.  It was rusting and leaning.  One of the remaining few bastions in the world, it was called Dawn. Celestia’s voice carried from inside the tower, “Twi?  Did you fill out the report like I asked?” Sighing softly, Twilight turned and called back, “Yes mom, I did.  It’s over on the counter.” Celestia squealed happily.  “Ah, thanks love!” The sound of boot steps echoed before a chair scraped and Twilight tuned out Celestia delivering their report. Turning back to her spotter’s scope, she eyed several hordes as they wandered, literally miles from their location.  She took notes on those that might make their way toward Dawn. “How goes it?” Instantly, her body moved on autopilot, reaching for her sidearm.  A hand grabbed hers before she could rack the slide.  Twilight looked up and met Luna’s cerulean orbs. “Sorry, Twilight.  Didn’t mean to scare you.” Relaxing Twilight replied, “No problem, Luna.  What are you doing up?” as she returned her sidearm to its holster. “Celestia’s singing to herself again.” Twilight nodded.  “Ah.” Luna put a hand on Twilight’s shoulder.  “So, my question?” Twilight showed Luna her notes.  “Nothing headed our way, from what I see, anyway.  I only just got started for the day.” Luna nodded.  “Right.  Sorry.  Mind if I hang out here?”  She took a seat next to Twilight. “Sure, go ahead and catch a nap.  I’ll keep a good lookout.”  Shifting, she reached into her pack and handed Luna a pillow. Luna took it gratefully.  “Alright.  Thank you.” A few hours later, Luna woke up and took her shift on watch, leaving Twilight and Celestia inside as they killed time before bed. Celestia sidled up to Twilight, leaning into the smaller woman.  “Hey Twi?  Where’d Luna get to earlier?” “Outside, napping next to me.  Apparently you were being too loud.  Again.” “Oh, sorry.  I’ll try to it keep down next time.” “Do try, she has a hard enough time sleeping as it is.” “Oh?” “Half the time I leave you alone in here, she comes out and sleeps next to me.” Celestia quirked an eyebrow.  “Really…” “Tia?  Got a straggler!” Instantly, Celestia was all business.  “On my way!” Suddenly on her feet, she seemed to teleport to her weapon, snagging it in a single hand and hefting it over her shoulder before heading outside.  Twilight always seemed to wonder how Celestia could lift a massive anti-material rifle in a single hand, but didn’t question it.  She slipped out behind her a pair of binoculars in her hand. “Where away?” “030 degrees north, four clicks.  It’s a big Hulk.”  Luna moved over but held the scope steady to allow Celestia to see.  Mentally following Luna’s directions, she zoomed in on it.  Celestia and Luna had seen this before, but Twilight’ hadn’t. Some of the odd ways people had been buried in the past produced different kinds of Risen.  Shamblers were your everyday zombie, effectively.  Slow, easy to avoid, mindless.  A Hulk comes only from mass graves.  The bodies sort of congeal together, to produce a single, huge mass of flesh.  Somehow, the flesh was as tough as tank armor, and needed similar weapons to break it apart to kill, unless one found the correct head to shoot.  The others were vestigial, but only one seemed to keep its ‘awareness’. Pulling the binocs down, she heard Luna say, “I think I found the master head.  ”Half-bald woman.  Redhead.” “Oh, I see it.  I bet she was a pretty little thing.” Hefting her weapon, Celestia slid the skids on her bipod underneath the railing and hooking in next to Luna.  She sighted in on her target.  “Winds?” Twilight scanned the trees.  Autumn had come and trees were shedding leaves slowly this year.  “Calm.” “Distance?”  Celestia asked as she dialed in her scope. Luna propped up a laser rangefinder.  “3.1 kilometers.” “Oh, that’s a real big one then.  Good thing I had you check.”  One last twist and she was set. “Cover your ears, girls.” Twilight’s hands shot to her noise cancelling headset slididng it over her ears quickly.  She saw Celestia’s lips move, but couldn’t hear what she said.  Luna seemed to react, nudging her before she slipped on a pair of sound muffling earbuds. Celestia held up five fingers and counted down, when she reached two, she dropped her hand, instead steadying her gun with both hands.  Mentally following her countdown, Twilight brought the binocs up and watched the Hulk. Next to her, the rifle’s muzzle flashed, the gun kicked hard into Celestia’s shoulder, and a muted boom sounded in her ears. Twilight watched as the round soared downrange, striking the target Luna called out.  It bored through the neck-flesh, severing the head entirely, before continuing through into the Hulk itself.  A second later, the left half of the Hulk blew to pieces.  Body pieces scattered as the rest of the massive Risen collapsed to the ground, burning. Pulling her headset off, Twilight heard Celestia say, “Oh.  Oops.  I forgot I had an explosive one loaded.” “Tia!  We only have a few of those!”  Luna slugged her sister in the arm. Rubbing the spot sheepishly, Celestia hefted her rifle back up.  “I used it for what it was meant for!” Luna sulked.  “Still.” “Sorry, Lu.  It was an honest mistake.” “Just like this morning?” Celestia seemed to deflate a little.  “I said I was sorry.” “No you didn’t.” “I did!” Twilight piped up.  “You told me, not her.” Celestia blushed in embarrassment.  “Oh.”  Immediately, she turned and hugged her sister.  “I’m sorry, Lu.  I know I wake you up early far more often than you would like, but…” Sighing, she returned her sister’s hug.  “I know.  I know.” Ignoring the rest of the conversation, Twilight brought her binocs back up and inspected the Hulk.  Something was wrong.  It was still moving.  “Celestia? Luna?  It’s still moving.” Luna said what they were all thinking.  “Oh shit.” Celestia slammed her weapon back into position and scoped in.  “Ah, that must not have been the right head.” “How can you tell?” “You normally can’t.”  Celestia replied.  “Luna’s got a gift that lets her see weak points in everything.” “Oh.”  Twilight shook her head.  “Isn’t that like… cheating?” Celestia reached out and tapped Twilight’s shoulder gently.  “Only if it’s a competition.” “Ah.  Right.”  A second later it clicked.  “Wait.  How?” Luna replied, “Dunno.  Tia’s always been a good shot.”  Luna motioned to Celestia, holding the massive rifle steady.  “If I got this gift, she got super strength.”  Luna shrugged.  “Like, if I asked her to, she could take this tower down with her bare hands.”  Looking closely, Celestia didn’t even look to be trying hard to hold the rifle. Celestia chuckled.  “Like I would.  I like you two too much to destroy our home.  Temporary as it may be.” “Then maybe you can vacate the premises with your lives.” Cold steel pressed against Twilight’s back and she froze.  ‘Fucking looters.’ Slowly Twilight put her hands up as Luna saw and froze. “Tia…” “Hold on.  I found it!  Five...” Making eye contact with the person behind Twilight, Luna covered her ears. Twilight dropped the binocs and covered her ears slowly, just in time for Celestia’s countdown to finish. Celestia fired and three things happened.  First, the Hulk fell and didn’t get up again.  Second, Twilight felt heat and pain as the assailant fired, hitting her in the gut.  Third, Luna lunged for the assailant. Nary a sound from her lips, Twilight fell forward.  She blacked out before hitting the floor. Snarling, Luna tackled the assailant.  The man was unable to bring his weapon to bear against Luna and it was knocked from his hand.  “Tia!” Setting the weapon down, she looked over at where she heard a gunshot.  Dramatically, Twilight was face-down on the floor, and Luna held down the attacker.  She froze, torn between what needed to be done, and what she wanted to do. Luna pointed to the man.  “Tia!  Get ahold of yoruself!”  She stood slowly, a foot holding the man’s head down.  “Take care of this asshole!  I’ll get Twilight!” Shaken from her fugue, she replied, “Right.” Trading positions, Celestia held up the man with one arm.  “Why?” Eyes wide in fear, the man yelled, “What?” “He’s deafened.  He didn’t cover his ears when you fired.  Give it a minute.  Strip his equipment.  Never know what else he’s hiding.” Celestia’s other arm parted the man of his coat, revealing two more handguns, a grenade, and six spare magazines. Luna, meanwhile rushed inside to get the first aid/trauma kit.  She knew it wouldn’t be enough, but it would be worse to not try. Returning, she knelt down and flipped Twilight.  The girl was flushed, losing blood fast.  Turning her over, she set about getting the clothing off the young woman.  It would have to do for bandages. “Let… me… go!” “Why?” “Tia!  Kill him or knock him out and tie him up.  I need your help!” The man swiftly met Celestia’s other fist and saw no more.  It was a simple matter to break his neck, use a pistol to put a bullet in his brain, and chuck him as far as she could.  She returned to see Twilight’s clothing off and Luna attempting to fish the bullet out. “How is she?” “Losing blood.  Fast.  She won’t survive an hour unless we can get it out and stem the blood.” “Have you got it?”  Celestia set out two needles threading them shakily. Luna’s tweezers poked around, her hands shaking uncontrollably.  “I can’t… I can’t find it.” Celestia knelt down next to Luna, and tried to take the tweezers from her sister.  Luna shrugged her sister off, still fishing around for the bullet. Several minutes passed before Luna pulled the tweezers out.  Slowly, she started sobbing. Celestia’s voice was soft.  “I… how do we save her?” “I don’t know.  If we radio, nobody will be here in time other than to… help send her off…” Tears in her eyes, Celestia eyed her rifle.  “Lu?  I… have a crazy idea.  I have no idea if it will work.  Just hear me out.” “What is it, Tia?” “I shoot her with my rifle.”  Luna surged to her feet, eyes blazing.  “Where she was shot before.  The bullet is much faster and generates a whole lot more heat.” Luna flung herself forward into Celestia’s chest beating on her sister.  “No!  I won’t let you hurt her more!” Pulling Luna into a hug for a few seconds Celestia replied, “If I do it right, I should knock the bullet free and cauterize her wound.” “No.  No!”  Luna disappeared into the tower, “If you have to do it, use something that won’t literally take a chunk out of her!”  She returned with Twilight’s much smaller-caliber rifle.  Meticulously cleaned and taken care of, it would hopefully save its owner. Gripping Twilight’s rifle gently, she brought the much lighter frame to bear.  “Alright.  Hold her steady.” “Okay…” Luna croaked as she sat Twilight up and helped lean her against the metal wall.  Her skin felt clammy, and she was pale. Celestia kneeled down and placed the rifle’s barrel against Twilight’s wound.  “Ready?” Luna nodded. “Three… two… one…”  Celestia felt something in the air change. Ka-boom! Lightning struck the tower as Celestia fired, drowning out all sound.  The flash at her back, Luna watched two bullet fragments sail free from Twilight’s body, off into the distance. When Celestia pulled away from the wound and turned to get the sewing needles, Twilight seemed to move. When she turned back, Celestia smiled softly. Luna looked down at the young woman.  Somehow, the clamminess was gone, and she no longer felt cool to the touch. The arm in Luna’s grip moved.  “W-what happened?”  Twilight asked.  Looking over her shoulder, she saw Luna, crying. “Twilight?”  The girl turned and met Celestia’s teary eyes. “Celestia?”  Celestia surged forward, hugging Twilight from behind and unintentionally groping the young woman’s breasts. Feeling herself be felt up, Twilight blushed profusely.  “Um.  Why am I topless?” “I dunno, why were you not wearing a bra?”  Celestia teased. Twilight meeped softly, her blush deepening. Luna joined the hug, chastely, and distracted Twilight.  “You got shot.” “How?” Luna thumbed over to where the man’s coat lay.  “That asshole shot you as Tia took down the Hulk.”  Celestia removed herself before handing Twilight a shirt. “Oh.” “We tried to save you.”  Celestia replied softly. Twilight quirked an eyebrow.  “Tried?” Celestia returned to the hug. “I’m not sure how you’re alive, and honestly, I don’t care.”  She reached forward toward one of Twilight’s hands.  “You’re alive, an–yowch!” A small electrical shock passed to Celestia when she brushed against Twilight's fingers. “What?” She touched Twilight’s fingers and was shocked again.  “You shocked me!” Luna looked up right as a raindrop splashed onto her nose.  She grabbed Twilight and tugged at her arm, surprisingly unshocked.  “Inside.  Now.” “Why?” Luna looked to Celestia.  “Electricity.  Water.  Do the math.” A small “What?” was ignored as Celestia stood over Twilight, covering her. “Right!”  Celestia ushered the smaller girl inside. Twilight felt cross, but let herself be pushed inside.  “Why do you want me inside?  I love the rain!” Celestia and Luna exchanged looks.  Luna shook her head. Kneeling down, she hugged Twilight softly.  “Not right now, Twilight.  Something happened, and we’re pretty sure being in the rain right now might kill you.” Anger snapping over her like a twig, she shouted, “What happened to me?” Luna watched as blue arcs passed over the pair.  Celestia seized up, her arms locking around Twilight, holding her in place. “Twilight!  Stop!” Luna begged, afraid to come closer. Twilight’s head turned and her rose eyes shone with little arcs of blue.  “Stop what?  What am I doing?” Luna shouted, “You’re hurting her!” Surprised, Twilight looked back to see Celestia’s entire body clenched like a fist, twitching, and all of her muscles clearly defined, like she was trying to put all of her strength into something. Feeling like something pricked her hands, she looked down to see electricity flowing from her hands into Celestia.  “A-ah!”  She yelled as she pulled her hands off Celestia.  Almost instantly, Celestia released a breath and toppled over to the side, her muscles relaxing. Twilight looked between her hands and Celestia.  “W-what happened to me?!”  Tears shone in her eyes. “I am not sure, Twilight, but I have a guess.”  Luna moved over to her sister and knelt down.  Celestia was alive and breathing, just passed out.  ‘Good.’  Standing up again, she folded Twilight into a hug.  “When Celestia was trying something, lightning struck the tower.  You were leaned against a metal wall.  Some of the electricity must have passed through you.” “How did–” “We don’t know.  Somehow, you gained some sort of control over electricity.  Whether it’s temporary, or permanent, we also don’t know.” Celestia stirred softly, rolling onto her back.  “Wow.  Haven’t felt this bad since I stopped that bus in Old London.” “You did what?” “It wasn’t moving fast.  Or that big, really.” “My point remains!” “Shh.  It wasn’t really a big deal, Twilight.” Celestia sat up, leaning against the couch.  “Twi, can you come here?”  She pat the spot next to her. “Uh, sure.”  Twilight moved over and plopped herself down, careful not to touch Celestia with her hands. “So.  You’ve got some kind of freaky electricity powers now.  Whether they’re permanent is another question.”  Leaning gently into Twi, she looked concerned.  “How do you feel?  Any different?” Gathering her feelings, Twilight felt that, “No.  Not really.  I feel sore, but otherwise fine.” “Good.”  She wrapped an arm around Twilight and lifted Twilight.  Suddenly, Twilight felt Celestia’s lips press to hers. “Mmf–” Twilight sputtered against Celestia, her hands rushing up against Celestia. “Tia!”  Luna shouted, a blush starting on her face. Celestia pulled away softly, staring Twilight in the eye.  Slowly, her hand brought one of Twilight’s up into Twilight's vision.  “See?  I had a feeling.  A shocking revelation if you will.” Blushing profusely again, Twilight groaned softly at the pun.  Slowly, she brought a hand up to brush some of Celestia’s hair out of her eyes. A pillow plonked against Celestia’s head, “Tia!  That was horrible!” “Oh, relax, Lu.  I had a hunch and that was the easiest way to check.” “By kissing her?” Luna shrieked. Surprising everyone, Twilight, red as a beet asked, “So… that meant nothing?” Taken aback, Celestia was speechless. Seeming to deflate a little, Twilight turned away from both Celestia and Luna.  “I knew it.  Nobody likes the nerd.” Spurred into motion, Celestia's thumb turned Twilight’s head back to face her.  “Hey.  I never said that.”  Twilight looked almost hopeful.  Sighing softly Celestia explained, “You never showed any interest before.  I honestly thought you weren’t interested in any romance at all.  I mean, you let Luna sleep with you all the time and never made any moves on her.” Looking Celestia in the eyes she confessed softly, “I… might be interested.” “Alright!”  Celestia leaned forward intent to kiss Twilight again. Twilight’s soft hands pushed her away.  “What about Luna?” “What about me now?” “Get over here, Lu.  Got somethin’ to say.” Skeptical, Luna plopped down on Twilight’s other side. “What now, Tia?” “She says she’s interested in me.  Romantically.” Luna quirked an eyebrow.  “And?  I gathered as much a minute ago.” Celestia smirked.  “She wants to know about you.” “And?” Twilight meekly added, “What do you want, Luna?  Are you alright with me and your sister?” Luna smiled devilishly.  “No.” Celestia’s smile dropped, and Twilight looked devastated.  “Lu…” Twilight’s tears threatened to fall. “What?  Why?” The smile turned seductive.  “We’re a package deal, Twilight.  You get both of us, or neither of us.” “W-what?” “Let me put it in another way you can understand.”  She leaned over and kissed Twilight with Celestia watching. Several seconds later, Luna pulled back and she asked, “That enough of an answer, Twi?” “But…” “We may not be lovers with each other, but we do share lovers.  Is that alright with you?” Twilight gulped softly.  She looked both in the eyes and said, “Okay,” before gently guiding Celestia’s lips to her own again. Pulling back she leaned into Luna’s embrace.  “Okay.” Feeling Celestia’s hands creeping up her navel, she swatted it with one of her own.  Celestia recoiled with a soft “Yowch!” “Down girl.  I just said yes to dating both of you.  That doesn’t mean I want to jump in bed right away…” Reaching to the side, she felt Luna’s cheek jump under an index finger.  Startled, Luna asked, “How did you do that?” “If I seem to focus on wanting to shock something, it works.” Celestia wrapped both Twilight and Luna in a proper bear hug.  “Well, love, I can think of some uses for it.” Luna laughed.  “Yeah, to keep you in line.” Twilight wheezed as the air was forced from her.  Before she could start truly suffocating, Celestia released them.  “So, do you accept?” Twilight shared a look with both sisters, before nodding.  “Yes.” Luna, completely straight-faced, said, “Awesome,” before bursting into a wide smile.  She winked at Twilight.  “Now that that’s settled, I’m gonna get back on the scope.”  Standing up, she made her way to the door and called out, “You two have fun!” “What does she…” Twilight’s mind went to lewd places at Luna’s implication.  “We’re not gonna be doing that!” Celestia chuckled softly. “Besides.  I’m too tired.” “Oh?” “Yeah, um.  The last hour or so has really taken it out of me.” Celestia grinned.  “Well, you can cuddle up to me.  I don’t mind.” Twilight did just that, and was out in moments.