"HELP US!!! SOMEBODY PLEASE HELP US!!!"
The screams rang out through the whole village, as men, women and children all called out in horror at the sight that now greeted them on this morning. Their homes were at the base of a massive mountain which, until this very moment, had been thought of as just that and nothing more. But now they realised their fatal error, for a column of smoke rose from the top, and spurts of lava spewed forth from the exploding peak. It was a volcano, and more than that, it was one whose unmatched wrath was heading straight towards them. The villagers panicked, grabbing their families and whatever valuables they could carry, all in an effort to evacuate and get away from the deadly torrent of fire. But they knew their efforts were in vain, for that lava was flowing too fast, and would reach them within moments. One villagers, a young girl, fell to her knees, clasping her hands together and looking up to the skies, her eyes welling up with tears.
"Please...someone...help us!"
And her prayer was answered. For as she looked on in dismay at the veritable flood of lava fast approaching her, a solitary figure descended downwards from the heavens, colliding with the ground just before the lava reached her. Said lava was forced back, if only a little, by the arrival of this figure, and after the girl had shielded her eyes from the dust of the impact, those eyes widened when she saw who it was. Sunset Shimmer, Goddess of Fire, who stood defiantly against the devastation of the volcano. But in this one moment, she glanced back, giving a reassuring smile to the one who had prayed to her.
"Don't worry...everything's going to be fine."
The girl smiled, safe in the knowledge that all would be well, and as Sunset looked to the now-resumed flood of lava, her eyes narrowed and her mouth twisted into a smirk.
"Now then...let's see what we can do about you."
Raising her hand, she balled it into a fist, then slammed it down into the ground right as the lava was about to reach her. With her divine power, this punch sent the lava flying backwards, and a fair distance too. Many of the other villagers, stopping in their panicked retreat, looked back to see what was happening, and they smiled and cheered when they knew that a Goddess had arrived to save them. Sunset, for her part, ignored the cheers in favor of focusing on the more immediate issue of getting this volcano under control. So she struck the lava again, and then again, and on and on for several minutes, each time sending it back. It was a one-woman fight against this volcano, and Sunset was fast becoming the winner. She fought this elemental force with the kind of power and battle-skill that only one of the divine could have, and before long she was charging up the side of the mountain, the lava in full retreat.
"Time to finish this!" she yelled.
She leapt up, higher than any mortal human would have been capable of, and with great might she brought down her fist one final time, slamming it hard into the lava that still remained outside of the volcano's crater. There was a great flash of power, and many of the villagers who were still brave enough to witness this turned away, lest they go blind. But Sunset's power did its job, and the lava was gone, completely and fully retreated back inside the volcano. The smoke had ceased, and the skies cleared above, leaving nothing but blue from horizon to horizon. The Goddess had done her duty, and the village was saved, leading to an understandable smile on her part. Turning, she looked down at the villagers, many of whom had dropped to their knees to prostrate themselves before their savoir. Even here, high atop this mountain, the wind carried their words to her ears, and she heard their devotion and thankfulness to her.
"All hail Sunset! All hail Sunset! All hail Sunset!"
They carried on like that for quite some time, and Sunset placed her hands upon her hips, looking through the crowd far below. There, she saw the girl who had pleaded for help, the one who had prayed, and she saw her smile. The Goddess was happy to have helped, and happier still that nobody had been hurt, yet now that her work was done, she stopped, looking behind her to the crater of the volcano. Despite what it might have appeared like down at the village, there was still lava here. It simply wasn't at risk of erupting or overflowing anymore, and likely wouldn't do for some time, given what she'd done to it. But as she stood at the edge of the thing, looking down and feeling the immense heat, a knowing smile came to her, and she gave a quick shrug.
"Well...it'd be a shame to let it go to waste."
Quickly, she made sure that nobody was looking, not even any other Goddesses who might be within a thousand-mile radius. When she was certain that she had her desired privacy, she resumed her smile, and then, with swiftness of hand, she discarded her garb. Even faster, she dove headfirst into the lava below, a move that would have been suicidal for anyone other than one of her kind. For almost a full minute, she was down there, and then finally, she re-emerged, letting out a contented sigh.
"Oh, I've wanted to do that for ages!"
Chuckling to herself, she swam around for a bit, enjoying the soothing feel of the immense heat of the lava. But after a time, she decided to relax a bit more, and so swam over to the edge of the crater, leaning her back against it and just letting her eyes close.
"Oh...I could stay here forever!"
"I'd miss you if you did, Sunset."
Sunset smiled at the arrival of the second voice, and she cracked one eye open to see that it was her beloved Twilight. The bespectacled Goddess smiled sweetly to hear, sitting on the edge just an inch or two from where Sunset was, and before even another word passed between them, Twilight got to her knees, leaning forward to give her lover a tender kiss upon her cheek. Sunset smiled lovingly back to her, looking her right in the eye soon afterwards.
"You know, there's plenty of room in here, Twi."
Giggling, Twilight shook her head.
"Thanks for the offer, but I'm not as much of a fan of volcanoes as you, Sunset."
Instead, she simply laid down, reclining on her side right behind where Sunset was leaning against the edge. Though at first disappointed that her beau wasn't joining her proper, Sunset soon got over it, giving another quick shrug.
"Well, suit yourself."
Twilight gave Sunset a quick pat on her head, then glanced down to the village far below.
"You did good for them down there, Sunset. I'm sure they'll arrange quite a festival for you tomorrow."
Sunset smiled.
"I was happy to help...buuuuuuuuuut a few extra prayers certainly wouldn't hurt."
The two laughed together, and as Twilight laid down on her back, looking to the beautifully blue skies, she sighed.
"How's your practice with the sun coming?"
Sunset groaned a bit here.
"Uuuuuuuuuuugh! Don't remind me! How Celestia makes it look so easy I'll never know!"
Twilight giggled again, looking back to her.
"You'll get the hang of it, sooner or later."
Looking back to her, Sunset's smirk returned.
"And you? Any more trouble with your followers? Any 'terrible' moral choices they want help with?"
Twilight shook her head.
"Nope. Haven't even had any calls for help from Flash lately. And he's usually the most worried of all of them."
Sunset nodded, satisfied with that answer.
"Hey, always nice to have a few days off though, right?"
Twilight couldn't argue with that, and turned over on her side, bringing her head closer and giving her fellow Goddess another kiss.
"A bit of quiet time certainly wouldn't be amiss. Doubly so if it means I get to spend more time with you."
Sunset waved her off.
"You hopeless romantic!"
Twilight adjusted her glasses.
"Well, I did learn from the best of the best on that count, Sunset."
Sunset raised an eyebrow, still smiling as she did so.
"Ooooh, you're sassy today. I like it."
The two shared another laugh, and when they finished, they simply stayed where they were, close to one another, just relaxing and thinking to themselves.
"So...how long before you have some other heat-related problems to deal with?" Twilight asked.
Sunset shrugged her shoulders.
"Meh, knowing the humans? Probably a few minutes from now when one of them gets the bright idea that the best way to put out an oil fire is to dump water on it."
Twilight rolled her eyes.
"Oh yeah, they never learn their lesson on that one!"