The night was beautiful, a full moon with stars scattering around it—the perfect time to stargaze with your beloved.
"It's so beautiful, isn't it?"
"Yeah. I can keep looking at this all day, but I can't."
"Hm? Why is that?"
"Because there's something far more beautiful."
"Really? What could that be?"
"Your eyes," Aiko said. The person in question looked at her in surprise before they moved closer. Their lips are getting ever so closer. They closed their eyes in preparation.
"NOO!!!"
"Ahhh! Oki teru yo! Oki- (I'm up!) Twilight?" Aiko said, looking up at Twilight from her bed. It took a moment for her to realize that Twilight was floating. "Twilight!" She shouted while jumping out of bed just as Twilight lost control of her magic and plummeted to the ground.
"Twilight, you okay?" Aiko asked, helping Twilight get off the bed.
"Oh no, it happened again," Twilight said in distress.
"Hey, hey, it's okay."
"No, it's not okay. I keep using magic, and I keep seeing these stupid nightmares."
"Look, Twi, I really think we should talk to Sunset-"
"NO! No, we don't."
"Yes, we do. She can help you. I don't know how to help you. Only Sunset can."
"Then you can help by SHUTTING UP!" Twilight shouted at Aiko.
Aiko was taken aback by this sudden outburst that she looked at Twilight with wide eyes. Realizing what she had just done, Twilight muttered a quick apology before running out of the tent. Everything was in silence for the next few minutes as Aiko stood there wondering what had happened.
"Uh... you know she didn't mean that, right?" Spike asked.
"Uh... y-yeah... I..." Aiko said before she left the tent, leaving Spike.
Aiko looked around to see where Twilight went, but she couldn't find her anywhere. She thought about trying to find her, but quickly decided against it and decided to take a walk in the forest. She thought maybe giving her some time might be the best option. Also, she needed to gather her thoughts first. So Aiko got back in the tent to get ready for the day before leaving for the woods.
After wandering in the woods for a while, she found a small clearing with a log fallen on the ground. She walked up to it and took a seat before taking in the surroundings. Despite all the calming sounds and woodland creatures, her thoughts crept back to Twilight. She wanted to help her. She really did. And she knew the best option was to tell Sunset, as she was the magic expert here and knew Sunset was more capable of helping Twilight. But she can't just go and talk to her behind Twilight's back. Twilight would lose her trust in Aiko, and then she would lose Twilight as a friend, maybe even more if it ever came to that. But from the way things are going, she might actually have to, even if Twilight was going to hate her forever.
"Because that's what friends do, right?" She thought to herself, unsure. It felt like the right thing, but she's not very familiar with these kinds of things. Even in her previous school, she didn't have a lot of friends. Even the ones she had are more like close classmates than friends, save for a few childhood friends. But when she started at CHS, a lot of students actually talked to her. First, Pinkie greeted her at the entrance with a cupcake like she was expecting her. Then Sunset came to her and asked her to join their club. She became part of their group and even learned magic. She traveled to a land full of ponies watched her friend become a princess. Everything was going great. But then she found out one of her friends was hurting, and she couldn't do anything about it.
While she was thinking about all of this, she heard the sound of someone talking. Before long, she noticed that it was Twilight and Timber. She silently made her way towards them and looked at them from behind a bush. Timber was clearly flirting with Twilight.
"She looks happy," Aiko thought. "Maybe I should let them be. She needs to get her mind off of magic." She backed off before she silently made her way away from them. On her way back to the camp, she met Sunset.
"Oh, hey, Aiko, can I talk with you for a second?" Sunset asked.
"Oh yeah, of course."
"Listen, did anything weird happen to Twilight recently?"
"What do you mean?"
"It's okay, Spike told me. About all the magic. It really is weird that she can do levitation. But that's beside the point; I'd like to know if she's experiencing anything else other than that," Sunset said. "Please, Aiko."
"W-well... she actually has nightmares."
"Nightmares?"
Aiko nodded, "She's been having them for a while, but she asked me not to tell anyone. I really wanted to tell. I was actually going to talk to you if she keeps hiding it."
"I see. The nightmares happened to me too, but I don't think it's the elements that do it. It's probably PTSD. For her, I mean. For me, the elements really wanted to show how bad I was. I really gotta talk to her. I think she thinks what happened at the docks is her fault."
"What? What happened?" Aiko asked.
"Well, the boat Derpy and Sandalwood was on crashed at the docks. According to them, there was no wind there. Even if there was, it has to be pretty powerful to destroy the whole dock."
"The dock is destroyed?"
"Mhm. We are trying to fix it again. I came here to find Twilight. Do you know where she is?"
"Oh... she's in the woods with Timber. She looked happy, so I left her with him."
"Oh, I see. Well, I guess that's okay. Where are you going now?"
"I don't know, you?" Aiko asked.
"I was thinking about trying out rock climbing. You coming?"
"Nah. I'll look for something else," Aiko said before walking back to the camp while Sunset shrugged and walked towards the climbing wall.
When she finally arrived at the climbing wall, she saw Twilight with Timber Spruce. She quickly walked up to them in hopes of talking to Twilight.
"Hey, Twilight? Can I talk with you for a while?" Sunset asked, walking up to Twilight.
"Oh... um yeah," Twilight said.
"Go on, I have some stuff to do," Timber said before leaving them.
"Okay... well... guess I'll cut to the chase. Are you okay?" Sunset asked.
"What? What do you mean?"
"I know what's been happening to you."
"Y-you do? D-did Aiko tell you about this?"
"No... I mean, yes- I... Look, Spike told me. I then asked Aiko. She didn't want to tell me anything, but I convinced her. It's a good thing I did because this is serious."
"Oh, so you know everything," Twilight said.
"Yes, I do. Why didn't you tell us anything? It's not good keeping things like this a secret," Sunset said.
"I-I... I don't know. I was scared. I'm sorry."
"Twilight, hey, it's okay. Well, it's not okay to hide something like this, but I understand where you're coming from. I went through something similar, and it's okay to be scared. I've been there. In fact, I had it worse. I was left weak after they used the elements on me. I couldn't even properly walk before I got so tired it felt like I ran a marathon. And then there were all the nightmares. You are not alone. I'm fine because I had a lot of support from my family and friends. You are not alone either."
"B-but... then why do I have these powers. I shouldn't have them. It's not normal."
"I don't know if you've noticed, but we are not normal anymore," Sunset said, placing an arm around Twilight. "We'll figure out what's going on, okay. We just-"
Whatever Sunset was about to say got interrupted as they felt the ground shake and the students screaming.
"What the, was that an earthquake?" Sunset asked.
"But we aren't near any fault lines," Twilight said.
"I'd like to get down, please!" They heard the sound of Rarity shouting as Applejack fumbled with the ropes to get her down, almost making her fall.
"Applejack! What are you doing?!" Rarity shouted.
"What just happened? I know Applejack is strong but not that strong," Sunset said. They quickly walked up to them to see what had happened.
"... let me help you with the harness," Applejack said, moving closer.
"No, thank you!" Rarity said, raising her arms when all of a sudden, a light construct in the shape of a diamond pushed Applejack into the lake.
"What the, did she just make a shield?" Sunset asked.
"Oh no, it's happening to them too," Twilight said. "And it's all-"
“AAAHHHHHH!”
"FLUTTERSHY!!" Sunset shouted before running off to where the sound came from, Twilight following close behind. They quickly arrived at the cafeteria and barged in.
"Fluttershy! What... happened here?" Sunset said, looking around the cafeteria. The whole cafeteria is covered from top to bottom in cookie dough.
"I-it just exploded?" Aiko said, picking off some dough from her clothes.
"Exploded?" Twilight asked.
"We were just decorating the cookies and-"
"And I was like, you need more sprinkles, and you need more sprinkles," Pinkie said, interrupting Fluttershy.
"So... standard Pinkie stuff?" Sunset asked.
"This is normal for her?" Aiko asked.
"I was just tossing sprinkles to Fluttershy when all of a sudden they glowed pink and exploded," Pinkie said, tossing a handful of sprinkles. Fearing what's about to happen, Aiko quickly ducked down just in time when it exploded. "Just like that, only earlier."
"Okay... maybe you should stop touching things for a while," Sunset said, taking Pinkie's hands away from the sprinkles.
"Um... Fluttershy? Were you just talking to the birds?" Sunset heard Aiko say and saw Fluttershy with a bunch of birds perched on her arms.
"Um... yes?" Fluttershy said, unsure.
They were soon joined by Rarity, Applejack, and Rainbow, who all got some kind of power. And with the realization that they get powers from something inside the camp thanks to Rainbow, Twilight felt even more guilty.
"Being at camp is giving us all new magical abilities!" Pinkie said.
"Not all of us. Aiko or I haven't got any. But Twilight-" Twilight quickly shook her head. "... hasn't either."
"So much for my theory that leaving CHS would mean leaving any new magic business behind," Applejack said.
"Maybe it's the forum?" Rainbow asked.
"No. This doesn't seem like something the forum would do. Plus, I've been checking on the forum since we got here just to be safe," Sunset said. "Something at the camp must be making this happen."
"Um... Gaia Everfree?" Fluttershy asked. But before anyone could respond, the doors to the cafeteria swung open. "Ahhhh!" Fluttershy screamed at the shadow, who became Gloriosa with a bunch of clothes for Applejack after she stepped out the blinding doorway.
That night Aiko couldn't sleep. Too many things were going on in her head. They were just supposed to have fun in the camp, but now they are all trying to figure out what's up with all the powers they are getting—everyone except her. And then there's the whole thing with Twilight that she's still trying to understand, and she thinks everything is happening because of her. She even sat away from them when they made paper lanterns. She really wanted to help her, but how. While thinking about all this, she heard the sound of clothes rubbing each other and the sound of someone walking. She had a pretty good idea who it was but pretended to be asleep until she left. She looked at the other side of the tent, and sure enough, Twilight was nowhere to be found. She also found out that her bag is also lost along with Spike. Without thinking twice, she quickly got up from her bed and made her way outside the tent. She saw Twilight running off into the forest with Spike. She quickly ran after her. After a bit of running, she quickly caught up to her.
"Twilight!" Twilight stopped dead in her tracks before looking back. "W... where are you going?"
"I... we are meeting a cab to take us home," She said.
"What? Why? Is it because-"
"Yes! I'm infecting everyone. Don't come close to me. If I leave now, then everyone will be safe."
"And then what? Keep running? Leave us? Do you think that's going to work?" Aiko asked, unable to believe what she was hearing.
"M-maybe. If it will keep you safe-"
"Then who will keep you safe? We can help you."
"No, you can't. She's in me. I can feel it," Twilight said.
"No, she isn't. Please Twilight. Let's go back to the camp. We can talk about this in the morning with the other-"
"I said no! Why do you keep trying to help me! I'm just going to hurt you and everyone else! Just leave me!"
"I can't- I won't!"
"Why!"
"BECAUSE I LOVE YOU!!" Aiko shouted. Everything went quiet after that. After she realized what she just said, she gasped and looked at Twilight in fear.
"Y-you... what?" Twilight asked in shock.
"I-I... I..." Aiko choked on her own words. "I... love you, okay?" She finally said, looking away.
"W... why...?"
"I-I don't know why exactly. I just know. It's been like this for a while now. I just feel really weird around you. A-and I c-couldn't stop thinking about you. B-but I was a-afraid."
"A-afraid?"
Aiko nodded.
"I-I didn't know if you are o-okay with it. A-and I didn't understand what I was r-really f-feeling. B-but then when we g-got here. Timber s-started flirting with you, and I hated seeing it. And then Flash started talking to you and I was afraid you'd get together with him or something. And... I- I, it just dawned on me suddenly when I saw you talking with Timber earlier... what exactly I was feeling."
"W-why didn't you say anything?" Twilight asked.
"I felt like I-I didn't have a c-chance. A-and I was afraid that... you wouldn't l-like me back..."
"Aiko..." Twilight said, getting closer to Aiko. She stopped for a while, thinking about what she should do before she hugged her.
"I-I'm sorry..." Aiko said, burying her face on Twilight's shoulder.
"I-it's okay, Aiko. It's okay."
"Huh... asking you to stay is out of the question now, isn't it? You wouldn't want to stay with me," Aiko said.
Hearing the hurt in her voice, Twilight broke away from the hug and quickly responded.
"What no! I... I'll stay..."
"Y-you will?" Aiko asked, surprised.
"Y-yeah... I don't mind... s-staying with you. B-but I don't know much about relationships. I'll need to do research first. I need to ask Rarity about teen romance books, when things are appropriate, and at what stages of the relationship. I like holding hands or cuddling, and when k-kissing can start," Twilight said with a slight blush that went unnoticed in the night while she brought her two pointer fingers together.
"We could start with some hands-on experiences until we get back to Canterlot. We can learn together? How does that sound?" Aiko suggested keeping Twilight from a downwards spiral of research muttering.
"I-," Twilight started before she was interrupted by the sound of footsteps. "What's that?" Twilight asked.
"I don't-" Aiko was cut short when they saw the moonlight shining off of an ax blade.
"Ahhhhh!" They both shouted in fear, hugging each other before they were engulfed in a flash of light. When the light dimmed, they were nowhere to be found.
"What the? What was that?" They heard the ax wielder say, who turned out to be Timber. "Ugh, Gloriosa, what did you do now?" He whispered to himself.
"Why did something happen?" a voice asked behind him.
"Ahh!" Timber jumped in surprise before he saw it was just Sunset holding Spike. "Oh, it's just you."
"Yeah, you seem jumpy what happened?" Sunset asked.
"Nothing! Nothing. Uh... what... what are you doing here?" Timber asked.
"I just got a little thirsty, and I heard Spike running off into the forest. I just came to get him. What if something happened to the little guy?" Sunset said, hugging Spike. Spike, for his part, looked annoyed. "What are you doing here with an ax in the middle of the night?"
"Oh, I... was chopping down firewood," Timber said, pulling a cart filled with wood. "I saw we are out of firewood for tomorrow's campfire. If I didn't do it now, it's just going to be another thing for Gloriosa to worry about."
"Oh."
"Yeah. Are you coming?"
"No. It's beautiful tonight. I'm going to stay for a while."
"Aren't you afraid? Because Gaia Everfree~" Timber said in a spooky voice.
"Huh. I'm not afraid of an old story. She's probably someone you made up."
"Well, suit yourself. Just scream if you need help."
"Yeah yeah, like how you did just now," Sunset smirked. Timber smiled at her joke before going back to the camp pushing the cart. Sunset's smirk quickly faded when she saw gem dust falling off of Timber's pockets. "Huh, interesting."
After he went out of sight, Sunset looked up at a nearby tree.
"Do I need to know what you two are doing up there in the middle of the night?" Sunset asked, looking at the two girls hugging each other in fear.
"Y-yeah about that, we-" Twilight started, but all of a sudden, she lost her hold on the tree. "Ahhh!"
"Twilight!" Both Aiko and Sunset said while Sunset lifted her hands to catch them in her telekinesis. Aiko quickly grabbed Twilight's hand when they were engulfed in a bright light before reappearing on the ground.
"Huh, so it was you," Sunset said, lowering her arms and giving Aiko a hand.
"Y-yeah, b-but I don't understand. I'm not a unicorn," Aiko said, getting up and helping Twilight. "Nor is she, so how can we do unicorn magic?"
"Hm... there's something else giving us these powers, just like Rainbow said. So it doesn't have to be what your pony forms can do," Sunset noticed how Twilight flinched. "Twilight? What's going on? Why are you two here? And why do you have your- are you leaving?"
"I-I..." Twilight stammered.
"Twilight, please talk to me," Sunset said, but Twilight kept looking away. "Well, you leave me no choice. I'm sorry."
"What do you-" Twilight got interrupted when all of a sudden Sunset touched her, and everything went white. When she regained her vision, she saw Sunset looking at her in concern. "What- What did you do?"
"I looked into your memories," Sunset said.
"You- what?"
"Yeah, that's the power I got. But it doesn't matter. Twilight, why didn't you talk to any of us?"
"B-because... I... I'm infecting you."
"What are you talking about?"
"It's just like Rainbow said. Something at the camp is giving these powers. It's me. I'm the one doing it," Twilight said, pointing to herself.
"What? That doesn't make any sense. It's not you," Sunset said.
"Then who? She's still in me. I can feel her. She's the one doing all this!" Twilight yelled.
"Twilight," Sunset said, placing a hand on Twilight's shoulder. "Listen to me. I'm talking from experience so you know I'm right. Scientific fact and all that, she's gone, Midnight Sparkle is not here. Those nightmares aren't real. You just had a traumatic experience, so it's normal to have those nightmares. That's why you need to talk to us. Your friends, your family. We can help you."
"B-but, what if you are wrong?" Twilight asked with tearful eyes.
"I'm not. I can feel magic. I don't feel anything bad about you. If you did have dark magic, I'd be the one to notice first. For multiple reasons, one I was trained in magic, so I know what to look for. Two, I'm extra sensitive to dark magic, having experienced its effect from the crown and the dazzlings. And three, I'm an alicorn that was created by the Elements of Harmony. The magic I feel from you is more similar to harmonic magic than dark magic. We've been together a lot. If you were filled with dark magic, I would have known already and taken steps to free you from it," Sunset said. "Come on now. Let's head back to the tent. After all, you two have more pressing matters to worry about, don't you?" Sunset said, winking at Aiko. The two girls visibly blushed as Aiko stammered.
"W-what are- what are you talking about?" Aiko asked.
"Spike told me what happened here," Sunset said, walking back to the tents.
"Spike!" Twilight said.
"What? Weren't you gonna tell them?" Spike asked innocently.
"We- well- I... just... let's just go. We are gonna have a talk about personal privacy later, okay, Spike?" Twilight said, glaring at Spike before she dragged Aiko away. Unseen by either of them, Sunset raised a fist to Spike, who happily bumped his paw against hers. Sunset smiled before gently placing him on the ground and reaching in her back pocket to toss Spike a milk bone before walking back to her tent. Meanwhile, Spike happily munched on his bone before also heading back inside with Twilight and Aiko.
The next morning, everyone gathered at the docks to finish repairing it. Twilight wanted to stay alone for a while to get her thoughts in order, and Aiko respected her wishes and joined the girls. But even while hammering at the wood planks with Applejack, her mind kept wandering over to what happened yesterday night.
She still couldn't believe that she confessed to Twilight accidentally, and she seemed okay with it. They still needed to talk more about it, but Twilight didn't seem like she hated her, so she would take that as a plus.
"I know I said we should stop thinking all this magic business, but I can't. What if I hammered the wood into splinters?" Aiko heard Applejack say, but unfortunately for her, she stopped paying attention to what Applejack was saying. "Aiko!"
"Y-yeah, what?" Aiko said, startled.
"I asked if you have any more nails," Applejack said.
"O-oh yeah, I... I... where are they?" Aiko said, looking around her.
"Here you go!" They heard Pinkie say while throwing a box full of nails at Applejack.
"Pinkie, no!!" Fearing what was about to happen, Applejack jumped onto the ground while Rarity summoned a shield that knocked over Rainbow and Fluttershy. Aiko, in her panic, teleported away and landed with a thud on one of the arts and crafts tables from yesterday.
"Urgh..." Aiko groaned while sitting up.
"Here," Aiko heard Sunset say as she gave her a hand.
"Wait, Aiko got a power too?" Rainbow asked.
"Yeah... I can teleport now," Aiko said, walking up to them with Sunset.
"I'm really sorry, girls. I didn't mean to. I don't know how to control this," Rarity said.
"It's okay," Rainbow said, reassuring Rarity.
"None of us do," Fluttershy said.
"That's why we shouldn't be afraid of this," Sunset said.
"Oh yeah, you got another power," Rainbow said, a little annoyed.
"You do? What is it?" Applejack asked.
"I can read people's minds when I touch them."
"Really!? Try me try me!" Pinkie shouted, holding out her hand. Sunset touched her hand, activating her power, which she soon came to regret.
Her face turned into one of horror before shakily saying, "I going to need to find a way to forget that."
"Hehe, sorry, Sunny," Pinkie said.
Shaking her head, Sunset addressed the girls, "Pinkie's mind aside, we shouldn't just try and forget about these powers, just because it doesn't seem like it is not the ideal time to get them. Trust me. You'll feel a lot better knowing how to use these powers if the time ever comes. We can make things better with this. So what do you say?" Sunset asked.
Everyone looked at each other before they all nodded.
"Let's do this, girls," Applejack said while everyone shouted in agreement.
With their newfound determination, the seven girls started to rebuild the dock with their powers. Sunset helped them as much as she can to get their hang on the powers, and they were able to finish the dock in record time.
"That was awesome!" Rainbow shouted while looking at the finished dock with the rest of the students.
"It was fast," Applejack said.
"Hey, are any of you tired after using your powers?" Sunset asked.
"I'm not," Aiko said.
"Me neither," Rainbow said.
"Hm... just like I thought. Whatever is giving us these powers is also powering us up; otherwise, you would all be exhausted zombies by now," Sunset said, ignoring how Pinkie giggled and began imitating a zombie. "We gotta find what that is before leaving. For now, get some rest. I'll go find Twilight. Come on, Aiko," Sunset said, beckoning Aiko to follow.
"Do you think something happened that we don't know about?" Rarity asked as Sunset and Aiko left, using her shield to push a slobbering Pinkie away from her.
"What do you mean?" Fluttershy asked.
"Well, Aiko looked like her mind was elsewhere the whole time. And, Sunset asked Aiko to come with her to find Twilight."
"Well, she did seem distracted, but this ain't one of your fictional detective novels, Rares. She probably asked Aiko because she's her roommate," Applejack said, unknowingly causing Rarity to begin ranting about her mystery books being perfectly realistic.
Back with Sunset and Aiko, they had to pass a storage cabin to get to the tents. While passing the cafeteria, they heard the voices of Timber and Gloriosa talking about something from inside. And whatever it is, it didn't sound like a friendly talk.
"Wait, Aiko, listen," Sunset said, walking up to the door.
"Uh... should we be eavesdropping on them?" Aiko asked.
"I know it seems wrong, but something fishy is going on with those two."
"Like what?"
"Shh..."
"Argh... this is all too much for you. You have to let it go!"
"Like that," Sunset said as they heard Timber shouting from the inside.
"What?"
"Yest- they are coming, hide," Sunset said as she and Aiko ducked down when the door suddenly swung open. They watched as the two in question walked back to the camp without them noticing.
"Listen, something is going on. I think Timber wants the camp to be closed," Sunset said.
"What? Why would he want to do that?" Aiko asked.
"I don't know. But when the dock got destroyed, we found that the water got colored by something, and Rarity found some rainbow-colored dust when the earthquake hit. Finally, yesterday, when I met Timber that night, I saw some of that dust falling from his pockets."
"So you are saying Timber is the cause for the magic?"
"I'm not sure, but we have to find out. I'll go keep an eye on him. You find Twilight."
"Hai," Aiko nodded as they turned to leave, only to be stopped by Flash.
"Sunset? Aiko? What are you two doing hiding there?" He asked.
"I... we... uh... Aiko was helping me look for my earing," Sunset said, the first thing that came into her mind. "There it is," Sunset said, quickly picking up a random rock from the ground.
"Oh, that's good. I think I'll go find Twilight then. Bye!" Aiko quickly said as she was still uncomfortable around Flash. Sunset narrowed her eyes as Aiko ditched her high and dry with Flash.
"Sunset? Did something happen?" Flash asked.
"What no, nothing happened, why do you ask?" Sunset asked awkwardly, smiling.
"We used to date. Yes, you didn't actually like me, but I know that something's bothering you," Flash said.
Sunset let out a sigh, "Well... you know everything's been strange since coming here? I have an idea who might be doing it, but I'm not sure if it's actually them. And my friends are also going through some issues of their own that I can't help them with," Sunset said.
"I see... looks like you have a lot going on. Listen, I don't know what's actually happening or how to help you, but I will be there for you, okay? I mean, uh, I know you and Fluttershy are a thing now, but I was thinking. Maybe we, uh you and me that is, could start over? As just friends?"
Sunset opened her mouth to respond but seeing something behind Flash made her stop.
"Um... yeah, sounds good. Sorry, I gotta go," Sunset said before quickly walking towards the forest.
"Y-yeah... great talking to you..."
Aiko quickly made her way towards the tents. She needs to find Twilight quickly so they can show her that she is not doing anything and it's all someone else. It didn't take long for her to get to her tent as she quickly walked inside.
"Twilight!" Aiko shouted.
"Uh- what?" Twilight asked, looking up from the book she was reading while her cheeks dusted red.
"Um... Sunset wanted to talk to you."
"Talk to me? Why?"
"Well... you see... we managed to finish repairing the-" Aiko stopped when she heard the sound of her phones, notification sound going off. She quickly pulled out her phone and checked the message.
"It's Sunset. She wants us to meet at the rock quarry," Aiko said.
"Isn't that off-limit?" Twilight asked suspiciously.
"Yeah... well... we found something. Come, she'll explain everything when we get there. Now we have to go," Aiko said.
"Fine..." Twilight said before getting off the bed and following Aiko to meet Sunset. They entered the woods and took a path towards the rock quarry.
"Aiko?" Twilight said nervously. "Um... I... about... yesterday..."
"Y-yeah?"
"D-did you really... mean what you s-said...?"
"Y-yeah I did- listen... i-it's okay if y-you-"
"No! I-I mean... um... m-maybe we can... s-start off... somewhere?" Twilight asked, looking away from Aiko as her cheeks turned a bright red.
"Um... y-yeah I-"
"Aiko! Twilight! There you are," Their awkward conversation came to an end as Sunset called them from the side. "Come on, this way," They walked towards a brush and looked at a cave in front of them. There was a purple light coming from inside.
"What's happening here?" Twilight asked.
"Gaia Everfree, or someone that wants us to think that she is back," Sunset said before walking towards the cave, waving to the other two to follow.
They entered the cave and looked around at the scene before them.
"Sugoi... this place is beautiful," Aiko said, looking around.
Twilight nodded.
"There's... equestrian magic here. I can feel it," Sunset said.
"Wait, I thought Gaia Everfree wasn't real, so Timber lied to us?" Spike asked.
"Timber? What does he have to do about this?" Twilight asked.
"Nothing," They heard someone saying from the shadows interrupting Sunset. The person then walked out of the shadows revealing Gloriosa. "It was all me."
"G-Gloriosa? I thought it was Timber that wanted to make it look like Gaia was back. It was you? Why do you want to scare us away?" Sunset asked, confused.
"I would never. All I ever wanted was to save this camp," Gloriosa said, walking towards a pedestal with three gems on it. Sunset, thinking quick, caught Gloriosa's hand when she moved past her as she activated her newfound magic. Sunset's eyes glowed white as she saw Gloriosa's memories. She let go of her hand as she saw everything that she wanted to know.
"Ti... Timber wasn't talking about letting go of the camp. He was talking about letting go of the magical geodes," Sunset said, looking at the five geodes around Gloriosa's neck as she finally figured out what was going on.
"How did you know that?" Gloriosa asked, surprised. "And how do you know about magic?"
"Oh, we know about magic," Sunset said. "And we also know that you should give those up before it harms anyone."
"No! I need more power. I need to save this camp."
"Sunset is right. Too much of it can corrupt you if you don't know how to control it. Trust me, I speak from experience," Twilight begged.
"Oh, I know how to control it. Don't worry. I got this!" Gloriosa said as she palmed all three geodes from the pedestal and used their power to bind the girls in vines before adding them to her necklace.
"No, stop!" The girls shouted. But they were too late as the necklace glowed in a sickly green color as the geodes combined into a necklace. In bright light, Gloriosa transformed in front of their eyes.
"Sorry girls, I know what I need to do. But I feel like we are not on the same page," Gloriosa or Gaia Everfree said while floating towards the exit.
"Oh yeah? We'll see about that!" Sunset said before she was engulfed in fire. She spread the fire around her in an explosion as it incinerated the vines binding them.
"WHAT!? How did you?" Gloriosa quickly moved away from a small fireball that Sunset sent her way. She tried to use that moment to take the geodes, but Gloriosa was faster. "NO!!!" She shouted as she sent even more vines blocking the girl's path. Gloriosa quickly moved out of the cave before using her magic to close the exit using two large boulders.
"She's getting away!" Aiko shouted. She tried concentrating her power to teleport.
"Aiko, no!" Sunset shouted as Aiko stopped. They were already too late as the boulders closed the exit.
"What- Why?" Aiko asked in confusion. Sunset used her magic to send out another wave of fire to incinerate the vines.
"Don't use your powers here. You are still getting used to it, and using it in an enclosed unfamiliar area could be dangerous," Sunset said, walking towards the exit.
"How?" Aiko asked.
"Think about it, if you make a mistake and you teleport a part of your body near or in a wall, what will happen to that part of your body?"
Aiko and Twilight's faces paled as the mental image forced itself into their minds.
"O-oh, I-I see," Aiko said, shuddering.
"Yea, that's why when unicorns practice that field of magic, they do it in a wide-open space. Only unicorns that master it are allowed to use it without supervision and it takes a lot of time to do it."
"But what do we do now? We are trapped in here," Twilight said.
Sunset concentrated her powers on the boulders hoping to lift them up. But all that happened was the boulders glowing in a light red color.
"Ugh... I can't. It's too heavy, and the magic here is still very weak. If this happened in Equestria, I might be able to move them, but telekinesis isn't my strong suit," Sunset said.
"Can't you teleport us?" Aiko asked.
"No. It'll take too lot out of me. The only reason I can use pyromancy here is that the elements help me," Sunset said. "But, Twilight, you should be able to lift these."
"What! How am I supposed to do that if you can't do it?" Twilight asked in fear.
"Because the geodes power you up. You should be able to do this. I'll help you, but I'm going to need your help."
"B-but... what if..."
"Twilight, listen to me," Aiko said, getting in front of Twilight and holding her shoulders. "Twilight, I know you are afraid, but you saw with your own eyes that it's those geodes that give us powers, not you. Gloriosa even admitted that everything happened because of her. Nothing is going to happen, Twilight."
"I-I... but I can still f-feel her."
"Of course you can because everyone has a dark side. You, me, Sunset, and everyone alive have two sides of themselves. But what matters is that you control them. Do you want to let them control you, or do you want to control them?" Aiko said, looking at Twilight's eyes.
"But... what if I-I fail-"
"You won't! Do you know why I love you? It's because you are strong, smart, and you think a lot about your friends. You don't back off from a challenge. All the time we spent together, I saw a girl that I could look up to. I'm not as bright as you. I'm not sociable like you. You made a lot of friends outside the girls while I can't. And knowing how you used to be and how you are now, I want to be like you. You can do this Twilight. I know you can."
A silence spread among them. No one said anything for a while. Aiko looked away from Twilight and sighed before she walked to the side. Twilight, on her part, couldn't believe what she was hearing. Everything Aiko just said felt unreal to her.
"Maybe there's another exit?" She heard Spike saying from the background.
"Maybe, but it'll be a while before we can find anything," Sunset said. "Maybe you can slip through the boulders and warn the others. But then again, she may be already-" Sunset stopped when she heard the sound magic and looked behind her.
"Twilight?" Aiko said.
"We are getting out of here," Twilight said in determination as she tightened her eyes in concentration.
"Yeah, Twilight, you can do this!" Spike shouted in encouragement.
"Woah, your telekinesis is stronger than I could ever imagine," Sunset said as they watched in amazement at Twilight lifting two giant boulders away from the cave exit. Once they were out of the way, Twilight let go of the magic and huffed in the exhaust.
"Huh huh there-" Twilight was interrupted as she felt someone crash into her and hugged her tightly.
"Yes! Yatta ne (You did it)!" Aiko shouted in delight but soon realized what she was doing and let go of Twilight.
"U-um... w-we should go," Aiko said as she walked past Twilight with a very bright red face.
"As much as I wanna see more of these, she's right, let's go," Sunset said as she ran back towards the camp. Aiko started to follow her, but Twilight stopped her.
"Aiko? Um... do you... really look up to me?" Twilight asked, looking down.
"U-um, y-yeah," Aiko said quietly in embarrassment. Twilight smiled lightly with a blush adorning her face.
"Thanks," She said before she ran after Sunset. Aiko stared after her before she came to her senses and quickly ran to catch up with Twilight.
When they both caught up to Sunset, they saw her trying to burn down a wall of vines blocking their way.
"Sunset? What's the matter?" Aiko asked.
"Ugh... it's no use. They're growing faster than I can burn them. She might have used her magic to make them resistant to my fire. It's taking too long to burn them now," Sunset said.
"What do we do now?"
"Allow me," Twilight said, stepping forth with a determined face. "If I can hold them apart, we'll be able to move past them," Twilight said before closing her eyes. After a quiet moment, her magic quickly enveloped the vines and pried them apart.
"Let's go," Sunset said, quickly crossing the wall through the newly made hole with Aiko, Twilight, and Spike behind her. They saw that Gloriosa was using the geodes to cover the campground in a giant vine cocoon.
"Sunset! Twilight! Aiko! You guys are okay!" Rainbow shouted.
"Gloriosa, stop! This isn't you. You have to stop this!" Timber shouted, trying to get his sister's attention.
"That isn't your sister. It's someone who's been consumed by magic," Sunset said, helping Timber to get back up.
"Whoever you are, you have to let my sister go. Please, Gloriosa, come back. I need you," Timber begged to no avail before a bunch of vines trapped him like the rest. Sunset and Twilight moved away just in time.
Gloriosa suddenly sent out a wave of magic as the vine cocoon closed from above, and a bunch of vines started to appear all around them, trying to crush them. All the girls gathered together in place, trying to fight back.
"Ahhh!" Rarity screamed as one of the vines grabbed Rarity by hand. "Let go!"
"Rarity!" Applejack shouted, but before she was able to help her, an ax came on top of the vine severing it.
"You okay?" Aiko asked as she lifted the ax she was holding.
"Where did you get that?" Rarity asked, throwing the vine aside.
"Just found it lying on the ground."
"It's gonna crush us!" Rainbow shouted.
"Rarity!" Applejack shouted, to which Rarity used her power to make a diamond shield around them.
"Ugh... it's too strong," Rarity said, holding the shield up. They could see cracks appearing on the shield.
"Can't you burn them?" Rainbow asked Sunset.
"Not anymore. Her magic made them resistant to my fire," Sunset said, hugging Fluttershy tightly. "Twilight, maybe you can pull the vine apart like before and take the geodes."
"B-but... there's a lot of them," Twilight said.
"Besides, if Rarity lowers the shields now, we'll be over," Aiko said.
"Maybe you can teleport me up there."
"B-but Sunset said-"
"It's the only way."
"She's right, Aiko. You have to do this," Sunset said. "You already know the way around the camp. Just make a clear image of where you want to go in your head. You need to really focus on it."
"I... I..."
"Aiko?" Twilight said, holding Aiko's shoulders. "Let's do this together," Twilight said, looking at Aiko's eyes.
"I don't mean to sound rude, darlings but hurry!" Rarity shouted.
Aiko nodded before holding onto Twilight and closing her eyes.
"I can do this."
"They are counting on me."
Aiko released her breath, she didn't notice she was holding. Then she, along with Twilight, pony-uped as they were suddenly engulfed in a flash of light before disappearing. They then reappeared above, just beside where Gloriosa is.
"Ha! You did it!" Twilight said.
"Ha, yeah. Now it's your turn," Aiko said. Twilight nodded before she glared in concentration as she used her magic on the vines covering Gloriosa. They were proved to be harder than the wall, but sure enough, they slowly began to move apart. Unfortunately, Twilight didn't notice the vine that was trying to hit her from the side.
"No, you don't!" Aiko shouted before swinging her ax at the vine. More vines started to attack them as Aiko tried her best to cover Twilight.
"Almost..." Twilight said, gritting her teeth.
A vine smacked Aiko from behind, and she lost the weapon from her hand. A couple more grabbed her by the arms, and she flew backward to resist them.
"Twilight!" Aiko shouted. Just then, the vines covering Gloriosa pried open as Twilight grabbed onto the geodes using her magic.
"Gotcha!" Twilight said while pulling the geodes away from Gloriosa, and the vines stopped attacking them.
All of a sudden, the geodes started to glow brightly, blinding them all. When everyone opened their eyes, they saw the geodes floating in front of all the girls. That was when the geodes flashed again before they were engulfed in a flash of light. The geodes transformed in front of their very eyes into a necklace. Their clothes also changed into a more regal-looking outfit. Once the transformation was finished, they released a wave of rainbow light that destroyed all the vines covering the campground. Once all the light show was over, the girls descended back down to the ground as the now free students cheered on them.
"Wicked," Aiko said in disbelief as she looked at her outfit and her green necklace. Her outfit was changed into a Japanese kimono, with her family Kamon near her shoulders. Her Cutie Mark was also etched on her right shoulder on her undershirt. She also had a traditional hairstyle with white makeup on her face like a geisha, with her glasses changed into a visor, like Twilight's, that was hovering over her eyes. Speaking of, she looked up to look at Twilight and saw that she was staring at her with wide eyes. Aiko did the same as she looked at Twilight, with both of them turning red as the same thought ran through their heads.
"She's so beautiful."
"What are these?" They were snapped out of their trance when they heard Applejack talk.
"I'm not sure," Sunset said. "But clearly, we have some kind of connection to them."
"I almost don't care what they are. They are absolutely gorgeous," Rarity said. "Ohhh, and they will totally go alone for the other collection I was working on for the camp fashion show!" Rarity said before she realized something. "That's... probably canceled, isn't it?"
"Not if I can help it," Sunset said.
Once the camp was saved from magic, it's now time to save the camp from Filthy Rich. It wasn't that hard with the girls using their powers to clean up the camp and set the crystal cave for a musical showcase so they can place a fundraiser to save the camp. Aiko was able to play with Rainbooms on an actual show for the first time, and she had a lot of fun.
Once the musical showcase was over, the girls opened up the stage for other people to perform, and they all joined the other students to enjoy the party. Twilight was currently fixing some light bulbs that were loosely hanging on the cave ceiling when she heard Timber's voice.
"Not to brag or anything, but it was pretty cool how I saved all the campers from those Rubus fruticosus," Timber said before further explaining at the confused looks around. "Blackberry brambles."
"I'm familiar with the genus," Twilight said, giggling. "It's just a little weird that you say you saved the campers. I thought I did."
"Yeah. But I saved you from falling on the docks so that you could save the campers. So technically, it was all me."
"Hehe... I'm glad I met you, but... well..."
"I know. I'm too late," Timber said, smiling sadly.
"Oh, you knew?" Twilight asked, surprised.
"It didn't lose on me how she looked at me whenever I was near you. Especially at the docks when I caught you, that was... intense," He said with a shudder. "Well... maybe we can be... friends?"
"Yeah... of course," Twilight said.
"Hey, Timber?" They heard the voice of Gloriosa. "Can you come here for a while? There are some donors I really want you to meet. They were good friends with mom and dad."
"Yeah," Timber said before turning back to Twilight. "Well... see you around," Timber said as Twilight looked at the retreating form of Timber. She then looked back only to see the dumbfounded faces of her friends except for Sunset and Aiko, who were absent.
"T-Twilight? Did you just reject him?" Rarity asked.
"And you're already seeing someone?" Applejack asked.
"Yeah... actually... I... do..." Twilight said awkwardly.
"Who's is?" Rarity asked.
"Well... it's-"
"Here you go, Twi," She heard Aiko calling her as she passed her a cup of punch.
"T-thanks," Twilight said, taking the cup as she held Aiko's hand with her other arm while blushing.
"Y-you two?" Rarity said in disbelief. "Oh, I knew it. I told you something was going on between the two of them, Applejack. You know what that means, right?"
"Come on now, Rarity. You aren't really going to make me wear a frilly dress, are ya?"
"Darling, there is only one option for you."
"What option."
"Why, what color do you want your dress to be?"
"Dang it."
"When did you get together?!" Rainbow asked.
"It... just happened...heh," Twilight said while smiling at Aiko.
"Ohhhhhh, this is sooooo great!!!" Pinkie shouted in delight. "I'm going to hold the greatest party for you two!!!" Pinkie shouted while hugging the two girls in question in a bear hug while the girls laughed at her antics.