Sunny sighed, flopping bonelessly onto her bed with the grace of a dead fish. She stared through the dark at her ceiling, her energy so low that she didn't know if she was more annoyed or relieved that her mission was complete. All she wanted was a boring normal day with her friends. What did she get instead? A whole day of sneaking around trying to get the most obnoxious person she knew reflected on a hand-mirror. Were it not for her friends, she was sure that she would've lost her mind halfway through the experience.
She grimaced as she fished the mirror out of her pajama pocket and brought it up to her face. She flinched when a small migraine reminded her of its presence as a result. Her tired scowling face stared back at her as she mulled over the whole ordeal.
***
"Is this supposed to be this frick'n annoying?" Sour groaned, her two-toned voice barely holding its form.
The trio stood by the mall's front doors, all of them showing signs of both fatigue and irritation. No matter what they tried, something kept literally getting in the way. While the rules for the mirror's abilities were simple, there was a little more to it than, 'shoving the artifact into the target's face'. Upon activation, the mirror needed to have an unobstructed view of its target for exactly ten seconds. If anything interrupted the process at any point, then the mirror would restart the timer and focus on the interruption.
When they tried to catch Twilight's reflection at the food court, one of her allies would shove themselves in the way at the last second for one reason or another. The same happened when they followed them into a bookstore. Every time it looked like they would succeed, Lemon would come back to show her whatever graphic novel caught her eye and they would have to start over. They had to switch to stalking the group when they entered the arcade, the potential constant interruptions something that they knew would only add to their growing frustrations. It looked like they had a chance when Twilight's group entered a clothing store, but the girl's summon killed that idea. While the rest of the group entered the changing rooms, the punk girl had decided to stand guard by the door. Neither Sour or Sunny wanted to test their luck, so they sent Stygian.
Initially, it looked like he was going to succeed.
One of the many useful abilities Scathex gave Stygian was light repulsion, a power that effectively granted the user invisibility. Taking advantage of this, he casually made his way towards the changing room with little concern. This came to a grinding halt when Petal subtly grabbed his belt before he could cross the threshold.
"Cool trick," she whispered. "If you don't want me to show you a cooler one, you better turn the fuck around."
The two traded side-glances, neither of them showing any emotions throughout the whole exchange. The fact that her eyes locked with his own put him further on edge. With a small nod, he slowly backed up, earning a small smile from the girl as she let go of his belt. Neither of them broke eye-contact until he eventually walked out of the store and rejoined his friends.
From that point on, Petal would occasionally move into their general direction every time they followed Twilight's group into a store. For that reason, the trio now found themselves in there current location, furiously trying to think of some way to progress. With the constant interruptions and Petal Wasp's patrols, tempers were quickly starting to come to a boil among them.
"No Sour. It isn't supposed to be this difficult," Sunny growled, glaring at her friend.
"This is certainly more annoying than it should be," Stygian wearily nodded, leaning his back against the mall's nearest silver wall. "I think we are going to need to find a way to distract Twilight's friends-"
"They aren't her friends!" Sunny barked, grinding her teeth as she glared a hole into a startled Stygian.
Both of her friends stared at her with wide eyes, the girl in question seething as she met their gazes. The shock in their eyes froze her heart, forcing her to pull herself back with a long shaky breath. After a few minutes of this, she slowly regained some level of composure.
With a much calmer tone, she started to plead her case.
"Until her Awakening, Sparkle refused to have anything to do with any of the students in the school. Even before she became an Elite, just talking to others was beneath her. Interacting with her in any way that didn't further whatever ambitions she had at the time was equally fruitless. Sparkle doesn't do friendship; never has and never will."
Sour nodded in agreement, but Stygian did not seem all that convinced. He had heard similar things from his friends on multiple occasions. Considering the kind of students that attended Crystal Prep, he was more than willing to believe their claims in the beginning. This gradually started to wither over time as they rose through the school's ranks and their claims became more extreme. The possible influences of the Seeds inside of them also made him add a pinch of salt to some of the stories as well.
"It did not look like that to me," he frowned, crossing his arms.
"Everyone has an image they put out there," Sunny spat, matching his posture. "That goes double for those with useful idiots."
"Is that what you see or the way you think?" he asked, refusing to back down.
Both girls took a step back form that, eyes wide with a shock that killed their ability form a rebuttal to his argument. A quick glance at a nearby store deepened the boy's scowl. Before either girl could snap out of their trance, he walked up to Sunny, pulled the mirror out of her pocket, and started walking towards it.
"Hey!" Sour squawked, starting after him. "Where do you-?"
"Scathex," he hissed.
A second later, both girls were frozen in place, a quick glance at their shadows showing what looked like a snake coiling tightly around them. Once they fought past their panic, they watched their friend walk into a store that resembled a mid-evil castle. Their confusion spiked when they saw him approach Twilight and Petal in an aisle near the front window display. Petal gave him a guarded look, while Twilight kept herself at a cautious distance behind her. They traded words, both Summon and Summoner seeming to slowly relax the longer they conversed. Eventually, he brought out the mirror and showed it to them. If they could've, their jaws would've dropped as they watched Twilight unknowingly allowed herself to be targeted by the artifact. Once the deed was done, Stygian put the mirror back into his pocket, continued to talk to the pair for a few more seconds, then waved goodbye before walking away.
When he rejoined his group, he put the mirror back in Sunny's pocket.
"Think about what I asked," he calmly stated, then made his way towards the Mall's front doors.
Ten seconds after he crossed the threshold, Scathex's influence slowly started to fade. By the time it vanished completely, he was long gone and any desire for retaliation had passed. Sour wasted no time colorfully voicing her disapproval of their friend's actions, but that was as far as Sunny's focus was willing to go. Numbly, her hand drifted to her pocket as she tried to figure out just what her friend was trying to tell her.
***
"What the devil was he trying to tell me?' she mumbled to herself, continuing to frown at her reflection. "Whatever. I will solve that riddle later. For now, though."
Her grimace shifted into a tired smile, a faint pulse from her heart traveling up her arm to activate the mirror. Her reflection slowly started to distort, colors and shapes constantly shifting across the mirror's surface in a small whirlpool. Slowly, the colors reshaped themselves into an overhead image of a neatly organized room, the sudden light coming off of the scene briefly blinding her. Once her eyes adapted, she could see Twilight sitting at her desk appearing to be studying. Meanwhile, Petal was laying on the girl's bed seemingly bored out of her mind while reading a book.
"Are you done yet?" Petal groaned, the sudden noise making Sunny jump.
"Almost," Twilight offhandedly said, not taking her eyes off of her work.
Petal groaned at that.
"You know you don't have school tomorrow, right?"
"I know," she replied, still working. "I still don't want to fall behind."
"Fucking work-a-holic," she muttered, marking her page before setting the book aside and rolling to face her. "Is there any point to all of this? I mean, haven't you already gone over the material, like, twenty times already?"
"Twenty seven times," Twilight flatly corrected, turning a page in her text book.
"I rest my case," she sighed, sitting up and aiming a deadpan at her room mate.
Twilight blinked at that, seemingly coming to terms with what she had just said. With a small sigh, she pushed her seat back and staggered to her feet. Sunny balked at the girl's condition, fatigue heavy in her features as she staggered towards her bed. She could see Petal's worry, the Summon scooting over a little to make room for Twilight. With a small smile, Twilight nodded in thanks before she gracelessly took a seat beside her.
"It's not that," Twilight sighed, staring down at her lap and fiddling with her fingers. "Well... not really. I just....I need a distraction."
"A distraction?" Petal blinked. "From what?"
Twilight didn't answer, still staring at her fidgeting fingers.
"Twilight?"
Twilight's lips trembled, shaky breaths crawling past them. Both Sunny and Petal's eyes widened, the former witnessing the latter gently pulling the girl into her side. When tears started to fall, Sunny's stomach lurched, more so when Twilight tightly returned her Summon's embrace.
"I....I don't know what I want to do with my life!" she sobbed.
"What?" Sunny and Petal unknowingly asked in synch.
"Where the hell did this come from?" Petal asked, stroking the girl's back.
"R-Remember when Indigo and I hung out a few days ago?" she sniffled.
"Yeah?" Petal nodded.
"W-W-Well, we started talking about what we planned to do after graduating and...and I realized I don't have one."
"That's why you're all bent out of shape?" Petal asked.
Twilight nodded, her grip on Petal tightening.
"What am I going to do?"
Petal didn't say anything as she held her close, letting the teen cry herself out. At the same time, Sunny struggled to make sense of what she was seeing. Certainly, she was aware of the heavy pressure the school put on its students, her weekly meetings with Dean Cadence was evidence of that, but she thought Sparkle could handle it. Given how easily she rose through the ranks, she was sure the girl thrived under that kind of pressure. She barely even flinched when she and Sour used to tease her at lunch.
Perhaps I didn't need to be so cutthroat about it, she mused, a hint of shame coloring her heart. B-But I needed to knock some air out of her sails! Surely she can't be that soft.....right?
Her resolve cracked a little more the longer she watched Twilight cry. When she eventually regained her composure, Twilight gently pulled herself out of Petal's grasp. The Summon smiled softly at her mistress, gently wiping away her tears with her thumb.
"Better?" Petal asked.
"A-A little," Twilight sniffled.
Petal chuckled softly at that.
"Geez, Sparky, you need to tell people about this shit. Just cuz I can sense your emotions, doesn't mean I can read your damn mind."
"I....I know," Twilight sighed, shoulders sagging. "I'm just....I don't know how. I've been alone for so long...that..."
"I get it," Petal sighed. "This whole 'friendship' thing is new to me too."
"You're better at it than I am," Twilight snorted.
Petal did the same.
"You've got me beat by a country mile. Trust me."
Twilight frowned at that.
"You were willing to give the girls a chance. I thought they were out to get me. I think that gives you a higher friendship score."
"Hey," Petal growled. "You were only like that because those two cunts fucked with your head. If it wasn't for them, I bet you would've been friends with all of the other Elites a long-ass time ago."
"We don't know that," she sighed.
"Maybe," Petal allowed, then wickedly smirked as she added, "But I think that guy you've been chatting with online would beg to differ."
"T-T-Timber is just a gaming friend," Twilight stammered, her face turning bright red.
Petal's smile grew a little more mischievous at that.
"You can say that all you want, but we both know you're full of shit."
Twilight huffed at that, crossing her arms and turning away from her Summon with scarlet cheeks.
"Stupid Wraith super senses," she muttered.
Petal laughed at that, while dread dropped into Sunny's gut like a frozen stone.
"W...What did she say?" Sunny stammered, struggling to swallow past a suddenly dry throat.
"You're really cute when you pout like that," Petal teased, poking the teen's back with her elbow. "Bet Timber would go nuts if he saw you right now."
"I'm not cute!" Twilight snapped, glaring over her shoulder at the Wraith.
"You're a total kitten!" Petal laughed. "Cute with claws!"
Twilight whirled to face her, her face a mix of indignation and fluster as she met Petal's eyes.
"W-Well, you can be a total...um...Canis lupis familiaris!"
Petal and Sunny both reeled back at that, blinking in confusion, the latter doing so in spite of her growing dread.
"Canis...Lupis...What?"
"You know," Twilight muttered, sheepishly wilting. "A...um....female...dog."
"Seriously?" Petal Deadpanned. "Okay, now I know I need to teach you how to fucking swear."
"Sorry," Twilight mumbled.
"Don't worry about it," she sighed, then cringed when she turned her head towards Twilight's desk clock. "Yikes. You really should start getting some sleep."
"I am starting to feel a little tired," she nodded, eyelids already starting to droop. "What time is it?"
"A quarter past too-fucking-late," Petal sighed, already standing up and laying Twilight down.
"I can do this myself," Twilight grumbled, barely putting up any resistance.
"Can it," Petal frowned, pulling the covers over her.
In spite of the Wraith's rough tone, Twilight let out a small giggle, closed her eyes, and got comfortable. Nodding at her work, Petal dropped her human form, her punk clothing turning into a gothic minidress with small gray flower-prints. The sight almost made Sunny drop the mirror, panic running through her pounding heart as she watched the Wraith turn off the lights. Twilight remained completely oblivious to the danger, even smiling up at the creature when it walked over to her bedside.
"Good night Petal," she smiled, letting her eyes drift shut.
"Night Sparky," the Wraith smiled, then awkwardly added, "And about all of that future stuff? Let's bring it up with the others tomorrow and see if they can help us figure it out. Might make things a little easier, ya know?"
Twilight just nodded, most likely only half listening to her at this point.
Seeing little else to do with herself, Petal's body turned into a Miasmic cloud and slithered into Twilight's pendant. The second the Wraith returned to her nest, Sunny deactivated the mirror. For a few seconds, she laid in her bed, her numb mind barely registering when the artifact slipped out of her hand onto her bed or when her arm limply fell to her side. Slowly, her mind tried to make sense of what she had just saw, but it just refused to cooperate. At the same time, a single truth echoed in her mind like a blaring siren. A truth that managed to help her pull herself back to reality and finally make a move.
She quickly staggered out of bed and made her way towards her desk. Upon reaching it, she snatched her phone off of her charging pad. With shaky hands, she scrolled through her contacts, then nearly stabbed her finger through the device when she found the number she needed. Her hands still shook when she brought the phone up to her ear, her foot nervously tapping on its heal. After two rings that felt like two years to the panicked girl, the call finally connected.
***
Petal was at peace, something that rarely came to her or most other Wraiths for that matter. The term you are what you eat was literal for her kind, a large portion of a Wraith's personality being heavily based off of their preferred negative emotion. As such, stress and irritation always sat at the back of the New Born's mind. Granted, she was more in control of it than most other New Borns, but it was still something that kept her from enjoying any form or true peace.
In this rare moment, she laid on her back in the middle of an open field, Twilight doing the same at her right in a similar state of zen. The shade of a nearby tree kept the early morning sun from becoming overbearing, the birds in its branches chirping as they went about their business. The sounds of early morning traffic and the voices of other early-risers droned on in the background like white noise, barely worth the effort needed for the two girls to notice them.
While Six Pillars Park was as tranquil as always, the real reason Petal was so calm was the girl next to her. Even after a full night's sleep, Twilight was still stressed out over her recent revelation. After getting a large portion of her stress siphoned away and some encouragement from her family, Twilight let Petal take her to the park to clear her head.
It was slow going at first, but the girl did eventually find her zen.
Petal smiled at that, but the girl's problem kept gnawing at the back of her mind. For her kind, worldly ambitions were pretty straightforward; find food, grow strong, and move up the Queen's pecking order. Even with all of the things going on in her life, Petal's ambitions largely followed this path. Feeling a small trace of frustration over her lack of guidance, she tried to force it to the back of her mind for the moment. Maybe Lily or their other friends could offer some advice, but that was a task better reserved for later.
Maybe we can talk to them later, she mused, taking a long breath and closing her eyes. Do all humans have to put up with this kind of shit? I mean, sure, plenty of food for me and other Wraiths, but that seriously sucks.
Her hand twitched, suddenly much more aware of how frail her human form was compared to her natural one. Wraiths could feel things like temperature or texture, but it was lightly dulled, like trying to touch things while wearing rubber gloves. Having a body made of mostly energy meant that her ability to feel pain was also muted, but to a much heavier degree. The first time she felt actual pain in this form was extremely jarring, even more so when she saw her own blood.
To be so vulnerable was a novel experience for her, one that she was not sure how she felt about.
Before she could ponder that any further, she sensed three people start to close in on her. One of them gave off a familiar Aetheric Aura while the other two had a faint trace of Miasma coming off of them. They stood in a wide triangular pattern, each about fifty feet apart, but gradually shrinking that distance as they closed in on her location. The traces of animosity she sensed from them put her even further on alert. Cursing under her breath, she nudged Twilight's side with the back of her hand and dragged herself to her feet.
Blinking away the cobwebs in her head, Twilight leveled a curious frown at her friend, only for it to take on a nervous lilt when she saw the Wraith's tense stance.
"What's wrong?" she whispered, worriedly looking around.
"We've got three people closing in on us," Petal growled, both of her hands balling into fists. "Do you have Lemon's number?"
Twilight nodded, already pulling her phone out of her pocket.
Petal maintained her vigilance, letting her human form fall back just enough to access some of her Miasma.
No point keeping up the act if they already know, she thought with a huff. Now, how the fuck do we get out of this?
She knew that it was going to take Lemon a few minutes to get here, so that left her with only a small handful of options. She could try to kill time with a barrier and hope that their attackers couldn't find a way around it, but that was assuming that they couldn't just bash through it to begin with. They could run, but that would just make it harder for Lemon to find them in time. She could try to fend them off, but that would just put Twilight in even greater danger.
An image of Twilight getting hit by an energy beam flashed through her mind, her friend's eyes wide with terror as blood pooled past her lips.
What the fuck can I do!? she thought, her jaw set into a deep scowl. I need some way to keep her safe that won't lock me into defense. How the hell am I gonna do this?!
Her frustration clouding her mind, Petal turned her head to see if Twilight had any ideas only to freeze when a small flash caught her eyes. Her Nest sat safely on Twilight's bosom, the sun's rays drawing her eyes straight towards it's jet black surface. Petal's scowl turned into an ecstatic grin, an admittedly crazy idea already forming in her mind.
Feeling the trio closing in, Petal grabbed Twilight's pendant and immediately went to work.
Twilight yelped as she fell through a black portal in the ground, her pendant's chain phasing through her neck as she dropped. Petal let out a sigh of relief, feeling a quagmire of fear, confusion, and indignation from within the dark crystal. With one less thing to deal with, she put on the pendant as she turned towards the nearest approaching threat.
Burning rage flared inside her when Sunny stepped into view, the girl meeting her glare with an arctic frown while she fiddled with something in her skirt pocket. The next person to come into view was Stygian, a shadowy snake coiled casually around his left arm as he looked down his nose at her. At the same time, she could feel a pair of eyes marking her from a distant alley behind her.
She grit her teeth, refusing to let her rage boil past her control just yet. At the same time, Sunny took a step forward, contempt creeping past her mask as she pulled a small gold cylinder from her pocket. Petal eyed it with caution, but refused to show the teen any fear.
"Where is Sparkle?" Sunny demanded, tightening her grip on the object.
"Why do you care?" Petal snipped, forcing a crooked smile onto her lips. "I thought you hated her guts."
Sunny's glare sharpened, her knuckles turning white as she tightened her grip on her presumed weapon.
"Where. Is. She?" she pressed.
Petal dropped her smile, a cold glare taking its place as she said, "Far from you, bitch."
Sunny seethed at that, something Petal took full advantage of. Already, she could feel her reserves building as the teen aimed as much hate at her as possible. At the same time, she desperately tried to sense Lemon's Aether Aura to get an idea of just how far away she was.
Need to buy time.
"So, you're with this cunt?" Petal asked, shifting her attention from Sunny to Stygian. "I thought a guy like you would want better friends then her."
"I fail to see how that is any of your business," he coldly stated.
"Right," Petal snorted. "So, are you the top or are you a power bottom?"
"Shut it you foul demon!" Sunny snarled.
"Bitch, I'm not talking to you," she growled, then dawned an almost bored expression as she gave her attention back to Stygian. "So, how are we going to do this?"
"What do you mean?" he asked, a hint of confusion crossing his face. "Aren't you going to take us to your Nest?"
"My place isn't that big," she shrugged. "Plus, I don't want you bastards fucking up my shit!"
Anger and disgust turned into shock at that.
"No matter," Stygian allowed, reclaiming his pokerface. "I'm nothing if not adaptive."
"Says the smuck with a mirror fetish," Petal snorted, rolling her eyes. "So, are you guys gonna kill me or just stare at me all day?"
"As you wish," Stygian frowned. "Scathex! Form seven!"
"Gladly," the snake hissed, rushing off of his arm onto the ground.
Fuck! Petal thought, quickly dropping her human form.
The snake's form stretched into a wide circle, instantly surrounding the open field the trio occupied. Dark energy filled the space, a howling gale of power swirling around Petal as she tried to keep her footing. When it finally stopped, the Wraith was met with an unusual sight. Everything was a black as night while what should've been shadows were shining white light. Sound came to her as faint echoes, their alien presence as unnerving as the cold chill that hung heavy in the air.
"Eery, isn't it?"
Petal growled, turning towards the voice, spear already in hand.
Sunny stared down her nose at her, cold indifference radiating off of her like the rays of an ancient sun. She alone looked normal in this inverted world, the artifact in her hand glowing with an eery golden light. Petal assumed her stance, teeth bared in rage as her hands threatened to snap her spear. Miasma flowed off of the weapon like smoke from an inferno, her rage fueling her weapon's power.
Sunny was unfazed by the display, assuming a stance of her own as she pointed the top half of her tool at the Wraith.
"This is the Shadow Plain, a world accessible only through Stygian's Summon. Here, we can fight without fear of harming the world beyond. It will also keep you from running away should I be unsuccessful in eliminating you, demon."
"Is that a fact?," Petal growled, fangs forming in her mouth. "Good. That means I can fuck you up without dragging anyone else into this."
"You can try," Sunny coldly stated. "Come, Solaris."
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vMDWoqCzkCg
In a brilliant flash of golden light, the cylinder turned into an ornate mid-evil mace, its head styled to look like the raging surface of the sun. Golden flames poured out of it, practically screaming its celestial heritage to the darkened heavens above. Petal shuddered at the sight, the weapon's power bringing every one of her nightmares to the front of her mind. Fear soaked her core, weakening her grip on her weapon as every cell in her body screamed at her to run.
The world seemed to slow to a crawl as Sunny ran towards her, murder in her eyes as she pulled the weapon back to take a swing. Her heart echoed in her ears, her arms moving her weapon into position to block the incoming attack, only for it to fall short at the last second. Flames and spikes ran through her gut, the power of Sunny's blow sending her flying across the inverted field.
Hacking coughs along with black blood fell past her lips, the Wraith struggling to pull herself to her feet just as Sunny closed the gap between them. Petal blocked again, only just barely managing to catch a blow aimed for her head. Sunny smirk just seconds before her weapon released a golden inferno onto the deadlocked Wraith. The flames were relentless, tearing away at her body almost as fast she could heal. All the while, true terror held Petal in a paralyzing strangle hold. What tears she could shed were taken by the flames as her nightmares turned real. She couldn't tell if her screams were from pain or fear.
In desperation, she sent a blast of Miasma through her foot into the ground, shooting her opponent back a couple steps. With her free hand, she sent a blast of dark energy at the girl before frantically running to the other end the arena. Sunny knocked the attack aside and cut her opponent off half way through, letting out a battle cry as she slammed her flaming mace into her gut. Petal let out a wet choking sound as the top half of her body was ripped clean away form her bottom and flew to the other end of the arena.
She stared blankly up at the darkened sky, her dazed and panicked mind struggling to stay conscious. She could sense Sunny closing the distance. Terrified tears started to slide past her cheeks, the end staring her straight in the face. She closed her eyes, silently cursing her weakness, her failure.
A faint, familiar voice made her open her eyes.
She could hear Twilight, her voice muffled as if it was being said through a thick pane or glass. Even so, she could hear the desperation in her words. She was begging her not to give up, to keep fighting. Just like that, a new feeling cut through the fear; a burning fury unlike anything she had ever felt before. This was one of the people that pushed her friend to the brink. This was the person that was trying to kill her. This. Would. Not. Stand!
Riding the burning rage within her, she reached up just in time to catch Sunny's finishing blow. She hissed in pain as the mace's neck burned into her palm, but showed no other signs of discomfort as she pushed her back with a blast of Miasmic energy.
Sunny let out a surprised yelp as she flew across the field, only to just barely managing to land on her feet at the last second.
A snarling hiss fell past Petal's lips, the Wraith forcing herself to sit up as she regrew a new lower half. Flecks of fear leapt into her when she saw the girl's mace, but a small spark behind her core pulled her back into present. The spark grew as memories of all of the time she spent with Twilight came to her. The time she helped the girl step out of her shell. Their fight when she was so resistant to making friends. The time they spent together making her gag character. The time the teen comforted her when she was at her absolute lowest. When Twilight pushed her to move past her fears and reveal herself to Lemon. When Twilight told her about how lost she was.
The rage turned into something new, guided by the spark flaring around her core, it shifted into a determination that burned hotter than Sunny's flames. The girl in question chose that moment to charge, eyes wide with fear as she swung her burning mace at Petal's head. Her Miasma responded in kind, raging around her in a dense cloud that pushed the girl back. HIdden in the dark tempest with body and dress restored, Petal rose to her feet and leveled a burning glare at the girl.
"You know, I've gotta say, I've got some real bullshit luck," Petal growled, her glowing golden pupils the only thing visible in the whirling Miasma surrounding her. "I finally get a chance to deck the bitch that's been giving my friends a hard time and she's got a fucking fire weapon. I'd say 'fuck me', but I think you'd get off to that kind of thing."
"You dislike fire?" Sunny blinked, then smirked as she added, "Seems like I may have a greater advantage than I thought."
"Not really," Petal snorted. "You wanna know why?"
"Why?" Sunny asked, trading her smirk for a glare.
A smile formed on Petal's lips as the spark around her core grew. The Miasma poured back into her, her body changing as it bonded with the spark. When it cleared, the Wraith had gone through some very noticeable changes. A thin Miasmic Aura surrounded her, the energy giving off a faint lavender glow. A pair of moth-like wings made from the same discolored energy were on her back. The energy had also formed a pair of small animal ears on top of the Wraith's head, both of them giving off small black and lavender mist.
https://youtu.be/DyXF8dfl0Ao
"Cuz I fucking hate you more than I'm afraid of fire."
In a blink, petal closed the distance between them and threw a Miasma-covered right hook. Sunny had just enough time to look shocked and block the attack with the shaft of her mace. A thunderous explosion filled the air as Sunny was launched straight to the other end of the arena. A choking sound fell past her lips the second she slammed into the field's invisible perimeter wall, eyes wide as she tried to take back some of her breath. Petal again closed the gap, wild smile gracing her lips as she prepared to throw another Miasma-charged punch at the girl.
"Round two, bitch!" she growled, taking a swing.
Sunny ducked under the blow and rolled away from the wall at the last second. She quickly backed away from the Wraith, willing a bracelet on her left arm to activate just as her opponent started to close in on her. Said bracelet turned into a glowing gold buckler as she stopped to face her enemy, blocking the her punch at the last second and filling the air with another thundering boom.
They stood their ground, Miasmic fists being traded with burning Aetheric metal as the two fighters tried to overpower each other. Sunny grit her teeth as she tried to parry earth-shattering punches and kicks while taking any chance she could find to attack. Petal avoided said attacks with ease that surprised even herself, the Wraith seemingly able to know the exact angle of the human's incoming blows. Not only that, but she was moving as if she had been fighting like this for years, her body using reflexes she didn't even know she had. In addition, all her attacks seemed much more precise than usual, using more directed blows instead of the overwhelming force she wanted to fall back on.
What the hell is going on? she thought, side-stepping a swing from Sunny. How come I'm not using my spear? This is so fucking weird!
"Petal?"
"Twilight?" Petal blinked.
The Wraith jumped back, risking a look around before jumping into a boxing battle stance.
"Where are you? How are you talking to me?"
"I'm still in your Nest."
That particular fact brought a small relieved sigh out of her, relief that vanished when Sunny tried to take her head off with her mace. Ducking under the strike, Petal tried to land an uppercut on the way back up. She let out a frustrated growl when the human stepped back at the last second.
"As for how I'm talking to you.....well.....I'll...um....can I tell you later?"
"Sure. Whatever," Petal muttered, dodging a slam from Sunny's buckler. "Just stay there and let me handle this."
"O-Okay," Twilight gulped. "J-Just...just be careful."
"I'll try," she smirked then charged back onto the offensive.
Sunny met her half-way, roaring a battle cry from behind her buckler as she prepared to swing. Fist met mace as the two fighters met in the middle of the arena, the weapon's flames being pushed back by the oddly-colored Miasma swirling around Petal's fist. Sunny tried to follow up with a shield bash, but Petal held that back with a punch from her free hand. The two glared hatefully at each other, neither of them willing to break the gridlock for the other.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Petal growled, digging her bare feet into the ground. "Why do you hate Twilight so much?! What the fuck did she do to you?!"
"Why do you care?" Sunny sneered, struggling against her opponent's strength. "You're a Wraith! We humans are nothing, but prey to you!"
She felt another spark shoot around her core.
"She's not my prey," Petal growled, the lavender tint in her Miasma growing slightly brighter. "She's! My! FRIEND!"
At the end of her declaration, Petal slammed her head into Sunny's, stunning the girl long enough for her to send a jab straight into her gut. Sunny let out a pained wail on contact, her body once again flying across the field into the arena wall, knocking what little air she had left clean out of her. She slid bonelessly to the floor, desperately gasping for air as Petal slowly closed in on her. Her vision swam, well aware that she would've died just now if it wasn't for her shield and the Aura Armor it naturally generates. She tried to lift her weapon, but her arm was just didn't have the strength. At the same time, Petal's form slowly slipped back to normal, the changes literally falling off of her like black and lavender smoke with each step she took.
Before Sunny could let fear claim her, Petal dragged her up by the collar of her shirt and slammed her into the invisible wall. She kept her there, golden eyes drilling into moderate cerise with a rage hot enough to burn the sun. Sunny met her gaze, eyes unfocused as she struggled to stay awake and continue her mission.
Feebly, Sunny coughed out something that added a hint of confusion to Petal's fury.
"I...Won't let you...eat her....."
"Eat her? Eat who?" Petal asked, raising a brow. "Do you mean Twilight?"
Sunny nodded, somehow finding enough strength to glare at her.
Petal met her glare with one of her own, before she let the girl drop to the floor.
"Didn't you hear me earlier?" she growled, walking away from the fallen girl.
With I tired breath, she sat cross-legged in the middle of the field facing Sunny, the former bearing a irritable frown while the latter looked dazed and confused.
"That...is a lie," Sunny managed to force out. "Wraiths....eat....humans."
"Never said I didn't," she shrugged. "I just don't kill them."
"Liar," Sunny hissed. "All Wraiths-"
"You're not dead, are you?" Petal cut in. "But you're not wrong. I'm just a....what's the word I'm looking for?"
"Exception."
"Thanks Sparky," Petal snorted, earning a raised brow from Sunny. "I'm an exception. I only take enough to keep Twilight stable and keep assholes like you from fucking with her."
"A...likely story," Sunny frowned, just barely starting to regain her senses.
Petal rolled her eyes at that.
Fucking Gifteds.
"Speaking of stories," Petal continued, her tone and demeanor turning cold. "Since it looks like its going to take your friend a while to notice something's up, why don't you help me figure out something that's been bugging me for a while?"
"Like...what?" Sunny asked, mentally cursing to herself as she felt her power start to leave her weapons.
Not once dropping her cold demeanor, the Wraith asked the girl the same question form earlier one last time.
"Why do you hate Twilight so much?"