It was one long, tiring day for the four girls, but night had finally fallen and the commotion of the dual battles had come to an end. Twilight and Sunset, along with Rainbow Dash and Applejack, adjourned to the barn where the girls could talk in private. Both Sunset and Twilight had glasses of fizzing water next to them, both glasses half emptied. The mental strain of maintaining their fusions was giving them a headache, oddly enough, they didn’t recall feeling this when they had fused into Hel.
Twilight deduced that, because Rainbow and AJ did not have Firestorm Matrices, the majority of the mental energy strain was put onto Twilight and Sunset in order to maintain their forms. Which explained why when they all met up, the surprise of seeing each other like that made them lose focus and forced them into de-fusing from each other.
For the past five and a half hours Sunset and Twilight had been explaining what the Firestorm Protocols were, the Organization, the battles they fought, and their dual origins. Amidst the gasps, looks of shock and horror, confusion, and at times disbelief, neither Applejack nor Rainbow Dash had run from the room, or given them looks of disgust. Guess a little fusion went a long way towards understanding each other, at least a little.
By the end of their tales, Twilight and Sunset were slumped up against a bale of hay, rubbing their temples from their long story and explanation of the events up till now. Rainbow Dash and Applejack, surprisingly, were taking it pretty well.
“I feel like I just stepped into some freaky manga story,” said Rainbow Dash as she plopped onto her rear on the floor.
“And my head feels more stuffed than Granny’s turkey on Thanksgiving Day,” said Applejack as she held her right hand to her head and leaned against a support beam.
“Welcome to our world.” Sunset chimed in.
Long drawn out sighs echoed in the barn, followed by a few moments of silence as each girl took a moment to digest everything. Finally Rainbow Dash spoke up.
“So, there’s absolutely no way to stop these guys from coming after you two?”
“Not unless we find their headquarters and blow them to kingdom come,” said Sunset.
Twilight shot her a glare but declined to comment on that. “For now though, we need to monitor news sites and stations, find out what – if anything – the press knows about what happened. And, I hate to ask this of you Applejack, but can Sunset and I hide out here? I don’t want to put your family in danger, but as it stands –”
“Twi, you can both stay as long as need be.”
Sunset and Twilight stared at Applejack with shocked expressions.
“Way Ah figure, those Organization guys know about meh family’s farm, and they know who ya are. If they attack again, at least the fightin’ will be far enough away from the city, and honestly, Ah feel safer knowin’ that the two of ya are here rather than not,” said Applejack with a kind and sincere tone of voice.
“T-Thanks, AJ,” said Sunset still shocked.
“I wish we didn’t have to ask this of you, but really, thank you,” said Twilight.
Applejack nodded her head towards the couple, tipping her hat to them in the same motion. Rainbow Dash sighed and rose up to stand, brushing off the straw that was on her shorts. “Well, guess I’d better call my Dad and tell ‘em I’m staying over the night.”
“What?!” Twilight gasped.
“You really didn’t think that I was going to ditch you guys after all that mess! And I’d sleep better knowing the two of you were close by and alright,” said Rainbow Dash.
Sunset smirked, running her hand through her red and yellow hair, Rainbow Dash had included Sunset herself in that concern, even though they both had feelings for the same girl.
“Well, best we get some sleepin’ bags and spare clothes for the two of ya. Rainbow, wanna give me a hand?” Applejack asked.
Rainbow nodded and walked with Applejack out of the barn. Both girls kept their pace calm and slow, breathing in the cool night air and breathing the fire of battle out of their lungs. Even though it had been hours since the battles ended, both AJ and Rainbow could still feel the fervor, the flame of invigorating power and strength flowing their bodies. A likely side-effect of the fusion, something they were sure would pass.
Applejack kept her gaze downward, arms crossed across her chest as she thought over the events of today. Rainbow Dash had put her hands behind her head, tilting her gaze skywards to view the unpolluted starry sky.
“So, did ya tell her? Sunset Ah mean.”
“Yeah, I did. I told her I loved Twilight.”
“Guessin’ she didn’t take that too well?”
“Nope, not in the least.”
Applejack sighed. “Ya both seem…a little different around each other. Ya kinda look lighter.”
Rainbow smirked at AJ. “That your way of saying I was fat before?”
The cowgirl bumped against Rainbow Dash, earning a chuckle from the athlete. “Ah’m serious, and no that’s not what Ah meant! What Ah mean is, ya seemed to be holdin’ a lot of tension towards Sunset, and Ah’m guessin’ it also had to do with how ya feel for Twilight. But now, ya look like all that weight’s gone.”
“I wouldn’t say it’s gone…completely.” Rainbow Dash sighed heavily, gazing towards heaven again. “I always saw Sunset as a monster, a black hearted bitch that wanted to make everyone bow to her or make them miserable if they didn’t. A tyrant in the works, ya know?”
As much as Applejack didn’t want to admit it, she had a point, Sunset was like that and she did exhibit some those traits.
“But, after finding out she’s been fighting alongside Twilight, protecting her, protecting everyone from those Rogue Firestorms, putting her life in danger for complete strangers and the people who hated her…I couldn’t bring myself to stay mad at her. She saved me, and after fusing with her, I feel…connected, in a way.” Rainbow shivered a bit. “Feels creepy.”
“Ah kinda know where yer comin’ from, Ah feel it too with Twilight. Even from this far away it feels like she’s close by,” said Applejack.
“So, yeah, I don’t think that about her anymore. That may’ve been Sunset a year and some months ago, but that girl in the barn isn’t that same Sunset. If that makes any sense?” AJ nodded an affirmative to the question. “And since I went and told her, I guess I don’t feel as…jealous…now that she knows. Still wish I took a shot though, at least one date with Twi…”
Applejack saw her friend’s features droop a little. She reached out and patted Rainbow on the shoulder, giving her a supportive gaze. “Hey, don’t get all down in the dumps. They need us now more than ever, and we’ll need to be on our toes with this Organization knowin’ about us, too. We’re all in this together.”
Rainbow Dash smiled and nodded to Applejack.
“‘Sides, maybe now that ya understand Sunset better now, y’all can ask her to join the band? The Rainbooms could use another member, or two.” Applejack added.
Rainbow Dash halted in her tracks. “Oh please, what can she do for the band? Twilight I get, she may not play, but she does have an awesome voice! I wouldn’t mind her doing vocals, but Sunset?”
“Ah don’t know, from what Ah gleaned from Twi’s mind, Sunset is pretty damn good with a guitar.” Applejack said as she kept walking.
Rainbow Dash’s mouth hung open. “Wait, how good is she?”
“Not tellin’.”
“Better than me?!”
“Nnnnnn – Maybe.”
“‘MAYBE’?! Applejack!”
Applejack broke into a sprint for her house, making Rainbow Dash growl in frustration as she gave chase, yelling and demanding that her friend disclose such crucial information to her.
In the barn, Twilight had taken to hugging her legs to her chest, staring at the straw covered floor, her mind feverishly working to understand what was happening to Sunset and herself. Fusion had taken place without either one of them present, and with two people who had no Firestorm anythings inside them. It defied reason and logic.
On that note, how was Twilight able to fuse? Sunset was the one with the magic, her magic acted as the catalyst to initiate the fusion. Rainbow was, somewhat, understandable, but her and Applejack?
“Penny for your thoughts, Sparky?”
Twilight was snapped out of her inner machinations, glancing over to her girlfriend. Sitting there, left up as she draped her left arm over it, staring at the nothing with a bewildered expression. Twilight sighed, knowing that there was no way to avoid this.
“I just don’t understand, fusion without Protocols, and now the Organization knows who we are and that we live in the city. On top of that, two of our friends are now involved in this chaos, everything I’ve been trying to do to keep them away from this has failed, and now they may be targeted! They’ll be killed, and it’ll be all my fault!”
“Twilight, stop and think for a minute! It’s bad, but I don’t think it’s that bad, not yet anyway,” said Sunset.
The purple girl quirked an eyebrow at Sunset. “What do mean that?”
“Think about it, if they knew where to hit us, don’t you think we’d be swarmed with Firestorms by now?”
Twilight opened her mouth to rebut that statement, but after thinking it over, Sunset was right. Why haven’t they been swarmed with Firestorms or the stereotypical Men in Black?
“The fight with Gilda and Lightning Dust, they were manipulated by magic. And not the usual kind I use. Equestrian? Yes. But the type was different, manipulative, controlling, and malevolent. And then those androids, I don’t think these attacks were planned to happen at the same time, rather, one just happened to be taking place at the same time as the other. The guy you spoke to sounded like that’s what was happening.”
Twilight bit her lower lip as she rubbed her chin, pondering the notion. “It’s one theory, but a theory that’s a good as any. So you think that our identities are being kept from the Organization as a whole, and a rogue faction is watching us? Yes, that would make sense.” The genius girl sighed heavily once again, stumped by everything at this point. “Still doesn’t explain the reason why I fused.”
Sunset finally looked at Twilight, she moved her right hand closer to Twilight’s left, slowly, yet carefully, laying hers atop Twilight’s. Twilight flinched a little, afraid of initiating fusion, but Sunset held her hand firmly. Both girls locked eyes with each other, Sunset’s eyes gave a confident and yet pleading look, while Twilight’s were filled with both uncertainty and longing. She wanted Sunset’s touch, to feel her holding her again, but fear kept her from doing so. But, at the very least, this small amount of contact would be good enough.
Twilight relaxed, allowing Sunset’s fingers to interlace with hers. Sunset smiled happily, and so too did Twilight. At that moment, something happened, a warm glow encompassed their hands, but it did not feel like the power of the Firestorm Matrix, but it did feel familiar. Sunset and Twilight both looked to their joined hands and gasped at the sight.
Aquamarine light swirled with rosy-violet light. Twilight recognized this color, it was the same as the bands of energy that ringed around the Matrix in the Firestorm Universe when she was Gaia. She knew that the other color was that of Sunset’s magical energy, but why was this other color mixed in with it? Twilight looked to her lover and saw an awestruck expression adorn her face, mixed with elation.
Sunset slowly raised both of their hands up, Twilight still feeling a little uneasy about the twin glow. “Relax, it’s alright Sparky.”
The fiery haired girl slowly released Twilight’s hand, and as she did the aquamarine magical light was being drawn away from the rosy-violet light, following its point of origin. When their hands were at least five inches apart, the mystery of the new color was made clear. Twilight’s hand was now covered in the rosy-violet light, she could feel its warmth, its power, wrapped around her digits and flowing down her arm, following some unknown pathway to the core of her being.
“What…What’s happening?!” Twilight asked in a panicked tone.
“Twilight…you…you have magic!” Sunset blurted out.
“WHAT?! NONONONONONO, I DO NOT HAVE MAGICAL POWERS!”
“Apparently you do now, Sparky.”
“Be serious, Sunset! I’m not from your world! And you yourself said that the amount of magic in this world was small compared your home!” Twilight countered.
Sunset had to admit, she had a point. Theoretically, every person had the potential to wield magic, it just lied dormant in them, without any instruction in the mystic arts, and the low amount in the world it was no wonder the humans hadn’t learned how to harness it to better their world. But in spite of Twilight’s panic, Sunset couldn’t help a giddy smile from splitting her face at the fact that Twilight now had access to her magical power!
“Twilight this isn’t a bad thing, this is a good thing! This explains part of the fusion!”
“Okay…Okay…” Twilight employed Cadance’s calming technique to reign in her nerves. Once calmed down, she spoke. “Yes, it kind of does, but how in the world did we pull AJ and Rainbow into fusing with us?! They don’t have magical powers!”
Sunset thought hard again, a metaphorical lightbulb clicked on and she smacked her forehead. “Elements of Harmony, parallel worlds, of course!”
“Sunset, mind sharing what your big ‘ah-ha’ revelation is?!” Twilight asked in annoyed tone.
“Ugh, I should’ve made the connection a long time ago, but I never thought it would affect this world, too!” Sunset waved her hand in front of her, summoning her magical power.
A screen made of aquamarine magic light appeared before them, slightly startling Twilight. Sunset got up and walked towards it. Using her finger, she drew six crystal objects on the light-screen and pointed them.
“In my world, there are ancient artifacts that hold power beyond that of our ‘demi-goddess’ ruler, in fact, you could go so far as to say that it’s these very artifacts – rather the power they possess – that governs the balance of good and evil in my world. They’re called the Elements of Harmony. Each one corresponds to a particular trait: Honesty, Loyalty, Generosity, Laughter, Kindness, and finally, Magic.”
Sunset wrote out the names of each Element on the light-screen, creating interconnecting lines to show how each one was part of a whole.
“When used together, they can use a magic so powerful, that you could say they can perform actual miracles. They can purify the wicked who repent their actions, and banish evil from the realm. Once, a long time ago, my Celestia wielded these magical items alongside her sister, Princess Luna.”
Another image formed on the light-screen, displaying Celestia and Luna, Twilight’s Principal and Vice Principal, as tall, equines with a long horn and wings. Despite the oddity of this whole thing, Twilight had to admit, they looked rather majestic and regal.
“According to history and legend, they used the Elements of Harmony to defeat a being known as Discord, the Spirit of Chaos. Later on though, Celestia had use these Elements on her own…”
Twilight noticed the sorrowful tone in Sunset’s voice. “Why’s that? I thought Luna and Celestia were needed to make them work?”
The light-screen shifted, showing Celestia and Luna. Luna was then covered up by a swirling mass, transforming her into a taller – if not more menacing – version of herself.
“Luna became jealous and envious of Celestia as they ruled, ponies shunned her beautiful nights and basked in Celestia’s warm days. It all became too much for her, and that jealousy and envy boiled over, making her turn to dark magic and letting it consume her. Luna was changed into a creature known to the terror of all foals as Nightmare Moon. Celestia used the Elements of Harmony, being the only one she was not strong enough to purify her, so the Elements did the next best thing…They banished her, sealing her in the moon itself.”
The image of Celestia wielding the Elements of Harmony appeared, blasting forth a beam that struck Nightmare Moon and threw her all the way to the moon, imprinting the lunar surface with the image of a unicorn. Twilight felt sadness overtake her heart, seeing the Celestia on the light-screen look so sad and alone, not even Sunset was immune to her former mentor’s plight. Even to this day, Sunset could not fathom the kind of heartbreak and guilt she felt at having sealed her own little sister in the moon for a thousand years.
“Of course, that was way before I was born, before my mother and father, and even my grandparents were born. The Elements went dormant after that, the connection severed from Celestia and Luna.”
“I don’t get it, how does this tie into what’s happening to me?”
“Because the Elements of Harmony found new bearers.” Sunset drew the horse statue in front of Canterlot High School. “The statue was how I got here. It opens once every thirty moons, and stays open for three days. There’s still a long time before the portal opens, but in the meantime, it acts like a window, only allowing those with a connection to the other world to view into it. It was thanks to that that I was able to learn that the Elements found new bearers for each one.”
The light-screen erased the drawings and made the Element jewels reappear, except now they were in the shape of a balloon, diamond, lightning bolt, butterfly, and a six-pointed star. Twilight’s eyes bulged at seeing the sixth drawing, the very six-pointed star she had been unconsciously drawn to and loved, having it in some shape or form on her clothing. Pictures of each of Twilight’s friends appeared to the corresponding gemstone, human and pony.
“This world is a parallel world, Twilight. So it stands to reason that there are counterparts. Just as there is a Celestia and Luna in my world, so is there in this one. Which stands to reason that each of your friends has a pony counterpart, and those pony versions of themselves are the current Element Bearers.”
The images shifted, lining them up in a row.
“Rainbow Dash represents Loyalty, Applejack represents Honesty, Pinkie is Laughter, Fluttershy is Kindness, Rarity is Generosity, and…” The sixth image appeared, showing Twilight and her equine counterpart standing next to her. “You represent the Element of Magic, the lynch pin of power that connects the other five together.”
Twilight looked upon this image, the image of her pony self and the pony versions of her friends. Each had an uncanny likeness to her current friends, albeit they were a little cuter being in the form of ponies. She wondered what Rainbow would think about her pony self, it sported wings, which if she remembered correctly was a “pegasus”.
Flying free through the clouds at great speeds, pushing herself to the limit. Yep, sounds like Rainbow would enjoy being that kind of creature, thought Twilight.
It was then that Twilight noticed something different about her pony form. “Sunset, why does mine have wings and a horn? I thought that represented a princess or something?”
Sunset released a heavy sigh. “That’s because you are a Princess in my world, don’t ask me how, but you apparently did something so spectacular that Celestia deemed your pony self worthy of Ascension, granting you wings and the strength of the Earth ponies, completing you as an alicorn.”
The images shifted, separating the pony forms from their human forms. The human forms occupied the right side of the screen, and the ponies the left. The Element of Harmony gems remained at the center as lines connected to their representative on both sides.
“I believe that the magical energies of the Elements, despite being in another world, somehow connect both the human and the equine parallels. Even you, Twilight.”
The genius girl was still having a hard time wrapping her head around all this, still, the evidence was right at her fingertips, tingling like little electrical sparks dancing around her digits. Magic existed, and she – apparently – represented the very essence of this power. At least her pony self did.
“Okay, granted that theory is sound, but if that’s true why now? Why did I start having magic now and not earlier?” Twilight’s mind snapped back to the incident long ago, when they were Hel and they stood within the Firestorm Universe. “HEL!”
“What about her?” Sunset asked with trepidation.
“When we fused the first time, your magic initiated the fusion. At that moment, the Matrix was whole and we were one! What if your magic acted as a catalyst to jump start my magical abilities?!”
Sunset’s eyes went wide with realization. She cleared the screen and started jotting down notes on it, Twilight watched as numbers, equations, and even rune and sigil markings appeared on the board. All of it seemed like a random assortment, but Twilight could see there was a rhythm, Sunset was a woman possessed. When she was done, Sunset had written down an equation that strung together both scientific and magical theory. Seeing Sunset so focused, so intense in her work, it kinda made Twilight’s face heat up.
“Of course, it’s so simple, my magic was the key to connecting the magicks on this side of the gateway! My magic reacted to Rainbow Dash’s loyalty, which fed into the Matrix and created Iris. For you, it was Applejack’s steadfastness and honesty, resulting in the creation of Gaia! I can’t believe it!” Sunset exclaimed while pushing back her bangs.
“Well, I’m glad we’ve figured out some of this, but now what? I don’t want to pull Pinkie Pie, Rarity, or Fluttershy into this – especially Fluttershy!”
Sunset had to agree there, combat did not suite that girl and she could only imagine the fusion Firestorm that would be produced. “Yeah, let’s just make sure that any combat is done away from the others. But…”
“But what?”
“Look, we already fused with Applejack and Rainbow Dash, and we were each pretty powerful. Why not do that as an alternative to becoming Hel?”
Twilight gawked at Sunset as if she had grown two extra heads. “Sunset we are NOT putting them in danger like that!”
Sunset pinched the bridge of her nose. “Twi, I don’t want to put them danger, that’s the last thing I want! But at this rate, if this rogue faction comes at us again, we’ll need an ace in the hole. And since I’m not keen on becoming a demon again, let’s just agree to keep this on the backburner. Besides, I need to make sure you can at least control that magic power before something happens.”
10 MINUTES LATER…
“Ya think we gave ‘em enough time to talk it out?” Applejack asked as she hauled some sleeping bags.
“I guess…dammit, I want them to make up, and then there’s that part of me that hopes that they’ll break up and I can show Twilight that I can treat her better…” Rainbow Dash stopped in the tracks, staring at the ground in dismay. “Am…Does that make me a horrible person? To wish that whatever potential happiness they might have die out so I can swoop in?”
Applejack stopped as well, taking a moment to think over Rainbow’s question. “Honestly, Ah don’t think it makes ya any worse than any other person. People can be jealous, especially when it comes to someone we really care about. ‘Member when that Trenderhoof fella followed me around like a lost puppy and Rarity tried to make him notice her?”
Rainbow Dash gagged. “Yeah, she acted so melodramatic and kept trying to show that guy that she was as much country as you. Still, I’ll never forget her famous line: I LOVE BEING COVERED IN MUD! HA-AHA-HA! And she actually jumped into a mud wallow! Oh my god that was freakin’ hilarious!”
Applejack couldn’t help but grin, remembering that little incident with a small amount of sadistic glee from seeing the normally posh and proper girl actually dive headfirst into mud. But then she shuttered when she remembered having to dress up in a fancy dress and become “Apple Jewel” to snap her out of it.
“Yeah, well, Ah just hope you don’t do anythin’ like that.”
“What? Dive head first into mud? I’ve done that like a hundred times on the soccer field.”
“No, Ah mean try to be someone yer not to try and get Twilight to like ya, or just generally resortin’ to somethin’ drastic.”
Rainbow started walking, with Applejack following close beside her. “I’m not going to do that, I wouldn’t. If I want Twilight to like me, she’ll like me for me, and not because I act like Sunset or do something outrageous.” The prismatic girl sighed as she smiled at her friend. “Geez, why couldn’t your barn door swing my way? You’d make a nice girlfriend.”
Applejack blushed at the compliment. “Well…thanks Rainbow. And, Ah’m sorry Ah don’t feel that way towards gals like you do, but at the very least Ah’ll be a better friend now that Ah know a little more about ya.”
“Thanks AJ.” Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow and grinned deviously at that moment. “You sure you’re not even a little curious how good a kisser I am?”
Applejack’s freckled face went red at hearing that. “R-Rainbow Dash! N-NO!”
“Aw c’mon, if you’re secure in yourself, just a kiss isn’t going to kill you. Heck, straight girls have been known to mess around with other girls, just to know what it’s like.”
The cowgirl’s face was becoming even redder as she could not stop her unconscious mind from creating lewd images of her and Rainbow entangled in each other’s arms and legs on a bed of hay. Applejack shook her head fiercely and gave Rainbow a death glare.
“RD, Ah don’t bat fer that team! Ah get hot and bothered when Ah see a guy, and Ah’ve…!” Applejack clamped her mouth shut.
“You’ve what? Got off to naked guys?” The spluttering sounds and subsequent steam rolling out of AJ’s ears was enough to confirm it. “Relax Applejack, not like you’re the only girl in the world who does.”
“Just…Just, shut up.”
Rainbow Dash’s grin widened, feeling a little giddy that her normally stoic best friend could get flustered and blush like any other schoolgirl. Still, Rainbow had to admit one thing though.
“Y’know, you do look cute when you’re embarrassed like that. The freckles just make it even hotter.”
“Ah’m seriously goin’ to kick yer ass into the next county if ya don’t let up with the teasin’.”
“Wasn’t teasing that time.”
Applejack looked upon Rainbow Dash, seeing a sincere smile. Applejack lowered the tip of her hat, trying to hide her face from Rainbow. “Thanks…”
Soon the duo arrived at the barn door and were about to open when…
“Just like that Twilight, flex your fingers and let it flow through and over them.”
Rainbow Dash and Applejack went slacked jawed.
“Sunset, it’s starting to tingle a little, is that good?”
“Yep, don’t be afraid of it.”
“But-But I…”
“Let me help you.”
Applejack and Rainbow Dash looked to each other and then to the door. Both girls dropped what they were carrying and quickly pressed their ears to the barn door, listening in on the goings on inside.
“They are seriously not doing what I think they’re doing in there?!” Rainbow hissed in hushed whispered.
“Dashie, Ah know Sunset’s a little…forward at times, but there ain’t no way Twilight’s goin’ to be doin’…that!” Applejack retorted.
“You have to feel it here –”
“Aaah~”
“ – and let it drift through your body and then –”
“That’s it! Ain’t no way Ah’m havin’ any foolin’ around on my farm!”
Rainbow Dash gave Applejack a deadpan expression. “Really? No fooling around, at all?”
“W-Well, Ah, well…Ah hell, ya know what Ah mean! Ah just don’t need Big Mac – God forbid Apple Bloom – and heaven have mercy on our pitiful souls if Granny Smith winds up seen this – walkin’ in accidentally and seein’ that!”
Rainbow rolled her eyes, but she did concede the point to Applejack. “Still, you sure you don’t want to wait maybe a couple of more minutes?”
“Ah ain’t runnin’ no peep show here Dash!”
With that said Applejack quickly opened the doors, threw Rainbow Dash in along with the stuff they had carried over there, and just as quickly shut the door behind her. Applejack shut her eyes and put her right hand over her eyes for double assurance that she would not see anything.
“Okay, Ah know the two of y’all are close and are a couple, but Ah can’t have ya doin’ this kinda of thing here in my barn! What if my family sees ya?! How am Ah goin’ to explain this?!”
“Um, AJ, you might want to look. Trust me, it’s not that.”
Deciding to trust her friend, and preparing to throw her through the wall if she was wrong, Applejack slowly opened her eyes and parted her fingers to peek at what was before her. There stood Twilight and Sunset, with the latter standing behind the former. Sunset had her right hand over the center of Twilight’s chest, and her left extended to the length of Twilight’s, keeping her left hand placed atop it.
Swirling light could be seen wrapped around their left hands in dual colors, making AJ drop her hand and stare at the sight with wide saucer sized eyes.
“Um…Hi girls…I, uh, I apparently can use magic now and Sunset was helping me learn to control it a little.”
“So…all them weird noises…sugarcube, we heard ya…um…”
“We heard you squeal a little, Twi, and it was kinda sexy,” said Rainbow Dash, not at all ashamed of how that sounded.
Twilight’s face went bright red as Sunset’s just tinted red, remembering the embarrassing sound Twilight released when she placed her hand on the center of her chest, inadvertently touching her breasts. Applejack face palmed herself and dragged said hand down her face as she groaned loudly.
“This is definitely gonna take some gettin’ used to,” said Applejack.
“What exactly did you two think we were doing?” Sunset asked with a questioning lift of the eyebrow.
“Each other,” said Rainbow Dash as she grinned like a Cheshire cat.
And just like that, Twilight went limp, her mind shut down due to an overload of images that she couldn’t process all at once. Sunset, luckily, was able to catch her deadweight and lower her to the barn floor, using her own lap as a makeshift pillow. She spared a glance to Rainbow Dash who was blushing and a little annoyed at the scene.
“Jealous?”
“Yes.”
“Just checking.”
During the night at Sweet Apple Acres the four girls slept inside the barn, under the guise of a sleepover. The sleeping bags were comfortable and roomy enough to move around in, which helped because Twilight couldn’t sleep a wink.
She had just learned that she could access magic, a power she slightly feared as an unknown was now residing within her body. Twilight needed some air, so she quietly made her way out the barn and went outside. She found a wooden bench and sat upon it, looking up to the crescent moon and starry sky.
The things she knew about this world, what she was taught and what she observed, all were conflicting within her mind. Yes, the Firestorm Protocols were very much out of the realm of ordinary science, possibly higher than super-science, but they at least worked within a feasible realm of probability, using the atomic and nuclear energies that resided within every object around her.
But this magic, it was born from myth and legend, a power as old as the Earth itself and every bit as mysterious. Such a power was unpredictable, and possibly unstable, well, no more than a living nuclear reactor that was inside her and Sunset.
“What am I going to do…?”
‘Not much one can do, except embrace it, Twilight.’
Twilight jumped to her feet, hearing a voice ring out from every direction. “Who’s there?!”
‘Calm down love, I’m not here to hurt you.’
Suddenly, the air in front of Twilight became distorted, the world around her felt as if it was slowing down as if time was being manipulated. She watched the air take shape, forming bat-like wings and a tall female figure. The distortion took full form, revealing Firestorm Hel in an astral form. Twilight’s breath hitched as she unconsciously began backing up away from the demoness.
‘Sparky, come on, I’m not that scary.’
“Keep away from me you monster! How is this possible?!”
‘You should ask Sunny, she’s been able to see and talk to me ever since that night. I didn’t think I’d ever be able to talk to you, but now that you have magic I can connect to you! Hopefully you’ll be better company, Sunny’s a bit of a tightwad.’
Twilight kept backing up until her back smacked against the barn wall. She was keeping her breathes calm and steady, she needed to keep some of her wits about her, she couldn’t afford to let herself fly into a full on panic attack in front Hel.
“W-Why are you here?! What do you want?!”
Hel stretched her arms and cracked her neck, working out the kinks. ‘I want to talk, silly. I haven’t been able to converse with anyone else, and I need to scold the both of you for cheating on me!’
“C-Cheating?!” Twilight croaked.
‘Yes, cheating. You two go and fuse with those two hussies and create those bastards Gaia and Iris! I thought I was your child, the true manifestation of your powers!’
Twilight clutched at her heart with her right hand, trying to keep strong. “It wasn’t something we planned on happening, the fusions were just on accident! And really, at least Iris and Gaia didn’t fly off the handle!”
Hel groaned as she ran her talons through her fire hair. ‘For the last time, I was protecting you! I did what you two could not!’
“You took a life! He was a murderer, yes, but he didn’t deserve to be executed in such a manner!”
Hel approached Twilight, making the purple girl stiffen and press herself against the wall. ‘And what would you know about what he ‘deserved’? Did know of his past before the fight? Seen the atrocities he’d no doubt committed? There was no trace of remorse or even forgiveness for what he had done to Lyra and the people who got caught in the crossfire. Atomic Skull was a killer, and I put him down like a rabid dog.’
The demoness pressed her right hand against the barn wall, leaning down to look Twilight in the eye as she loomed over her. ‘Or would you rather have died and let hundreds of thousands of innocent people die as well?’
“I’m not a killer, I’m not!” Twilight insisted.
‘I know, neither you nor Sunset is, despite her badass flare and tomboy attitude. And that’s fine, because I’ll get my hands dirty, I’ll stain them with the blood of our enemies for you both!’
Hel’s right claw crept up towards Twilight, the tip of the index claw catching her skirt and lifting it up slowly. Twilight held her breath, hoping beyond hope that Hel wasn’t about to…
The demoness drew back her claw, letting the skirt fall back to its original position. Twilight sighed in relief, but only for a moment before feeling that same claw press against her stomach and slowly drag upwards.
‘I care about you and Sunny, because I am both you, and both of you are me. I feel your love, you strength, your knowledge…’ Hel leaned forward and nuzzled Twilight’s cheek, her right claw then stopped right between the cleavage of Twilight’s breasts. ‘Your lust for each other…’
“Stop it!” Twilight demanded.
Hel smiled and withdrew. ‘It’s alright, I would never hurt you or Sunny.’ The demoness chuckled as she began to walk away. ‘This was fun, Sparky, maybe we’ll talk again soon. But for now you’d better rest up, no telling what tomorrow might bring.’
With that, Hel disappeared into nothingness and the world around Twilight seemed to resume its normal pace. Twilight felt as if she was going to have a heart attack from seeing the demon she feared to become again, manifest itself before her and actually touch her. Her legs felt like jelly, making her collapse to her rear on the ground. Twilight looked at her hands, now trembling in fear. She held them close to her as she curled in on herself.
“What am I going to do…?”