Twilight turned around to grab something from a nearby desk. “So, before you girls get started with your training…” she turned around again with a crazed look on her face while holding a dripping syringe, “Mind if I take a--”
“NO!” Adagio stood defensively in front of her sisters while they tensed up and shuddered behind her. “You are not about to inject me or my sisters with any of your weird...pointy objects.”
Sunset glared at the purple nerd. “Twilight, we’ve been over this. You can’t just draw blood from people who show signs of strange magic. Some people are more squeamish than you, ya know.”
“Fiiiine,” Twilight replied with an eye roll as she put the syringe away and grabbed another container. “Some sweat will do--”
“Sweat?” Aria raised a brow, “Just what kinda tests do you wanna run?”
Sunset applied her palm directly to her face.
Twilight simply carried on with her chipper explanation, “I just wanna see if any of you will have any potential discomfort from this new magic.” She then pulled out a pair of tweezers with a wide grin on her face. “How about a lock of hair--”
Sonata looked at Sunset. “...Is she always this freaky when it comes to magic and other people’s bodies?”
“Not always,” the orange girl snickered as she finished sending a text message, “You should’ve seen her when she thought demons were invading the school a few months ago. She thought Berry Punch and Treehugger were possessed when in reality they were just on a high from those fruit incense sticks they sell.”
“That could’ve been anything!” Twilight protested as the Sirens giggled. “You don’t need a spellbook to accidentally summon a goat monster from another dimension!”
“Riiiight,” she winked in Twilight’s direction, and turned her attention to the sisters, “Anyway. Remember when I said I was getting us some help?”
Adagio nodded and asked, “Yes? Who’s going to be helping us understand our abilities?”
“You’ll see when we get there,” Sunset explained as she stood up, “Go get on some workout clothes and meet me at the gym.” She was about to walk away, but was stopped when she heard Sonata ask…
“Okay! But uh, quick question: What’s a gym?”
Sunset stopped and looked at them with a blank look on her face. “...You don’t know what a gym is?”
The trio of sirens all shook their heads.
“...Do they not have gyms in Equestria?” Twilight asked, looking for an answer from Sunset.
“They do, but they aren’t really common now that I think about it,” she said whilst tapping her foot and looking up into the ceiling, “Most ponies and other creatures are born with sufficient muscle mass that they really don’t need it. But humans are completely different. We need to work out to consistently keep ourselves healthy.”
“Well that’s lame,” Aria moaned, “Is that why I’ve felt heavier after eating so much?”
“There’s way more to these bodies than I initially thought…” Adagio muttered, “But I understand. If it’s going to help us get a better handle on our abilities so we don’t go crazy, then I’m all for it. Just give us an hour to find some...gym clothes.”
Twilight leaned forward, placing her hands on her desk, “And if any of you have any excess sweat once you’re done, then--”
Plonk.
No chance. The very next time Twilight blinked, Sunset and the Sirens were already long gone with one of the chairs they were sitting in toppling over--indicating a sense of haste.
“Hmph. Later, I suppose. I guess I can get back to my research for now. And our upcoming school schedule.” She picked up a clipboard. “So...who’s our new math teacher gonna be again…?”
The Sirens went to the nearest clothing store and acquired some workout clothes. Then, Aria drove their van to the gym parking lot once Sunset had sent them directions.
“Huh, here we are, I guess,” Aria said as she stepped out of the van wearing a dark purple set of yoga pants, a matching hoodie and tennis shoes.
“I have to admit, these clothes are pretty good,” Adagio commented while looking down at herself. She too had yoga pants and shoes that were a solid gold color along with a hoodie. “Nothing like this exists in Equestria from what I recall.”
“Nor does this Gymmie place,” Sonata skipped out of the van wearing cyan yoga pants and shoes also. “But it sounds awesome! Who’s ready to learn how to control our power?!”
“What I wanna know is who’s gonna be helping us,” Aria commented as she walked towards the building, “But I guess we won’t know until we get there, huh?”
“If it means we’ll be able to fend off anyone that tries to ruin our Thanksgiving, then I’m all for it,” Adagio said as she walked, “But I’m more curious as to how this place operates…”
“Well, let’s go already!” Sonata chirped, running ahead of them.
They got inside where they could see various rooms dedicated to exercise in various forms. A yoga room, a karate room, even a room for the senior citizens to work on keeping their bones intact.
However, one room in particular caught the attention of the Sirens…
“...Oh my,” Adagio muttered as she stopped in her tracks.
Curious, Aria would question why she had stopped. “What’s the deal, A-daw….oh.”
“Whatcha lookin’ at, sis--wow!” Sonata gasped.
They were gazing into the weights room through a wide, doorless arch that led into the area. There, they could see various boys lifting weights, pumping iron, and running on treadmills. Some of which were shirtless.
“Why am I staring--why am I staring--” Aria muttered to herself as she focused on the boys.
Adagio’s eyelid twitched, and she tried to cover Sonata’s eyes with one of her hands. “...L-look away, Sonata. Nothing to see here!”
“Hey, I’m just as old as you two!” the youngest siren huffed and shoved her sister’s hand out of the way, “I’ve never seen such...strong equipment before.”
Thankfully, none of the boys noticed that they had observers. The siren’s little observation session would be interrupted by a familiar raspy chuckle.
“Ha-ha--browsing the eye-candy store, girls?” It was Rainbow Dash who was already in her workout gear--which consisted of her usual attire.
They all turned to face her, blushing a bit.
“Hm? What? No--” Adagio cleared her throat and spoke, “We were looking for Sunset. But I guess you’re going to be helping her...help us? Is that right?”
“Something like that,” Dash replied while cracking her knuckles, “Seems like you guys still have some magic according to what she said. But it’s a tad different from the singing you used to do, right?”
“Right,” Aria replied, “Twilight said it comes from someplace called the ‘Aether’,” she said with air quotes, “Whatever that means. I don’t really care where these powers came from, though. I just wanna be able to use ‘em without causing any accidents.”
“Or blowing up toasters,” Sonata said with a visible shudder, “Yeeesh...that image will forever haunt my brain.”
“Ohhhh,” Dash came to a realization, “That’s it. She called us over to help train you three. That’ll be easy. Follow me.” She started walking to another room with the sirens close behind.
And when they finally arrived in the gym room with a boxing ring, Dash called out to her friends.
“Hey guys, they’re here!”
Sunset Shimmer could be seen in one of the corners of the room, stretching her arms and wearing flame-patterned sweat-pants and a black sports bra. “Oh hey, you made it. This’ll be perfect. We can start helping you three get used to your new magic whenever you’re ready.”
“Ooh…” Sonata looked around the room, and fixated her eyes upon the boxing ring in particular. “This looks pretty fun.”
“Does, don’t it?” a deep, southern voice said from nearby. Applejack was sitting in a chair wearing apple-patterned yoga shorts and a plain white tank top. “Finally gettin’ use outta mah gym membership so this here’s a net gain fer me.”
“So all three of you are helping us?” Aria asked, “That’s...pretty nice of you.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Rainbow replied as she walked past them, “Besides, any chance to get a glimpse at more magic is fine by me. Now….who wants to go first?”
“A-tut-tut--Dash, hang on a second,” Sunset walked over, “Let me go first against Adagio. I wanna see what she’s capable of.” She looked at the eldest siren. “Is that cool with you?”
She shrugged her shoulders, and removed her hoodie, leaving her with only a sports bra of her own--matching the gold color of her hotpants. “Alright then. I’ve been dying for a rematch against you anyway, Shimmer,” she said with a devious, competitive grin on her face.
Sunset returned the grin with one of her own as she stepped into the boxing ring, beckoning her with an open palm. “Oh it’s on, girlfriend. Come at me.”