• Published 25th Sep 2016
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Spectacular Seven - Albi



As graduation draws near, magic begins to awaken in the human world, drawing out old rivals and opening the doors to new adventures. It's up to Sunset and her friends to keep Canterlot safe, all while dealing with their looming futures.

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7. Star-Crossed

Sunset could only stand to be inside the house for so long, even if she did have Spot for company. Lucky for her, Twilight was on another magic kick and demanded Sunset’s presence. So, Sunset took Spot over to the Sparkle’s house. While she and Twilight tried to science the heck out of magic, their dogs shared a puppy playdate.

Spike and Spot got along pretty well, spending the first two minutes of their introductions circling and sniffing every inch of each other. Spike then leapt at his favorite chew toy, and Spot grabbed the other end, initiating a friendly game of tug-o-war.

Twilight whipped out her phone and snapped a few pictures. “They’re so cute together! Just like us!”

Sunset blushed and giggled. Twilight remained the only person who could get her to do that. “Come on, let’s leave them to get acquainted.” They ventured into Twilight’s lab, Twilight immediately pulling out a new set of notes.

“Okay, first thing’s first: how did Fluttershy pony up without music?” She tapped a pencil against her lip and paced the lab in a circle. “More importantly, how did she heal Rainbow’s arm? Fluttershy gave me a sample of her mom’s medicine and it’s just a composition of natural herbs, so it can’t have been that. No, it was definitely magic. But where did it come from? Last time she ponied up, all she could do was shoot butterflies, which I still have questions about as well!”

Sunset took to a rolling chair and spun herself around as she listened. She had given it a lot of thought after Pinkie’s party. “I might have a theory as to why she ponied up.”

Twilight rushed over with an eager smile, paper and pencil ready.

“Well, they were first exposed to magic with the Elements of Harmony and the giant rainbow and blah-blah-blah,” Sunset said, rolling her hand.

“Don’t just say ‘blah-blah-blah’, I need details!”

Sunset groaned. “You know that whole story though. The point is, they got their Equestrian magic at the Fall Formal. That magic has been interacting with what’s left of the magic in this world, which up until now, the best way to do that was through music.” Sunset tapped her chin. “But there’s something else Artemis said. ‘Magic attracts more magic.’ Maybe, and this is a big maybe, the magic in this world is starting to come back?”

“How?”

“Well, we summoned a giant alicorn to shoot a rainbow at the Sirens,” Sunset said casually. “Maybe that generated more Equestrian magic into the world for other magic to be attracted to.”

Twilight pursed her lips as she scribbled. “I’m not quite sure I follow. How would this attraction even work?”

Sunset got up and walked to the whiteboard. “Well, magic’s a little like radiation.” She drew a unicorn horn and a squiggly blob around it. “Unicorns have to use external magic to interact with the world. It kinda leaves invisible residue behind. Normally, it doesn’t do anything. But, I have read reports of highly concentrated areas of pure magic. Weird stuff starts happening there. Things levitate on their own, animals are more sentient, the weather can’t be tamed. The most infamous area in Equestria like that is the Everfree Forest.”

“That doesn’t quite explain why magic is attracted to itself,” Twilight said with a frown.

Sunset made a poor attempt to draw protons and electrons. “It’s kinda like atoms. There’s a certain bond in magic that causes it to seek more out. It’s probably a lot more prominent in this world because there’s so little of it.”

“It’s desperate to find more of its type of bonding. Fascinating! It almost sounds sentient!”

“Yeah, magic sometimes feels like it does what it wants instead of what you tell it,” Sunset said with a hint of bitterness.

“Imagine if we could somehow track and contain that magical radiation!” An excited gleam filled Twilight’s eyes. “Think of how far in my research it could take us.”

Sunset couldn’t help but snicker a little. “Good luck with that, Sparky. You’re a genius, but I’m not sure even you could build something that could catch magic. I’m not even sure if magic could be used to catch magic.”

Twilight just hummed in thought. “Maybe if we just got something saturated in magic. Perhaps I could design something that would allow me to study it like a type of wavelength. The monitors at school got close.”

“Sounds a little more feasible.”

Twilight shook her head, snapping out of her scientific reverie. “We’re off topic though. How does more magic in the world correlate with Fluttershy ponying up without music?”

“Because…” Sunset drew a music note, an equal sign, and a six pointed star. “Music was our catalyst to interact with this world’s magic. But, if there’s more magic in the world now, maybe we don’t need music anymore to cross that threshold.” Sunset made a slash across the equal sign.

“But then, what triggered Fluttershy’s transformation?”

Sunset returned to her seat. “That, I don’t have an answer to yet. I also don’t know where her healing powers came from. Pegasi in Equestria can’t do that, I know for certain.”

Twilight made an annoyed grumble. “I guess that’s as far as we’ll get with this mystery for now. One of you girls needs to pony up again before I can make a clear hypothesis.” She sat down in the other rolling chair with a forlorn sigh.

“I can still give you your magic lesson. There’s plenty of things left to discuss.”

Twilight brightened and picked up her notebook again, listening intently as Sunset talked about the laws that governed magic.

“Sort of like the laws dictating the conservation of energy, Magus’ First Law of Magic states that pure magic cannot be created or destroyed. It can be dispelled, disrupted, moved, changed, etc.”

“Wait, wait, wait, wait!” Twilight threw her hands up. “Two major questions! One: if it can’t be destroyed, then what happened to the magic in this world originally? Where did it all go? And two: didn't you just say you generated more magic with that rainbow? Isn’t that creating?”

“Yes, we generated Equestrian magic. I should have said we expelled a giant amount from our bodies. We got that magic from Equestria and released it into the world, we didn’t create it.” Sunset leaned to one side. “As to where this world’s magic went… you got me beat. And keep in mind, this is how Equestria works. I could be completely wrong about how magic works in this world.”

Twilight slapped her notebook against her head. “And this is why we have these sessions. One day, I’ll make sense of this world’s magic!”

She took less offense to the remaining laws, like the inability to conjure food from nothing, or create true life from something other than reproduction.

“I mean, necromancy is also a thing, but you can’t bring anything truly back from the dead.”

Twilight nodded and wrote. “Quite a common thing in most fantasy novels. Gives credence to the idea of the soul I suppose. Once the soul goes to… whatever happens next, it can’t come back.”

“Do you believe in souls, Twilight?”

She bit the top of her pin. “If you had asked me a year ago, I would have told you no. Now? I think… yes, souls exist. I don’t know what they are… but we all have one.”

Sunset wasn’t sure why, but the answer made her smile.

After an hour of discussion, Twilight slumped back in her chair with a sigh. “I think that’s enough for today.” She looked over her notes. “This is all so fascinating, but it’s just notes. I need testable data—something physical to analyze.”

“Sorry, Sparky. I can’t help you there.”

“Not yet. But when we find out what’s triggering these pony transformations, we might be able to turn them on and off at will. Imagine all of the scientific possibilities then!” She organized her notes, stood up, and stretched. “In the meantime, let’s do something a little less mentally stimulating.”

“Watch T.V?”

Twilight shook her head. “I was thinking more violin practice. You haven’t done it in a while, and you just spent the last hour or so teaching me. I thought I could return the favor.”

Sunset stood up and nodded as she stretched her arms over her head. “Yeah, that sounds good. I guess I could torment your ears for a while…. Though I see your eyes are having a good time.”

Twilight shot her eyes up from Sunset’s displayed chest. Her face turned scarlet. “I-I mean…. They were right there! You were probably doing it on purpose anyway!”

Truth was, Sunset might have been showing off just a little, but there was no way she’d admit it. She just laughed at Twilight’s flustered face and followed her out of the garage. Spot and Spike were curled up together on the living room rug, a sight that made Sunset and Twilight d’aaww. They left the puppies in peace and moved to Twilight’s room, shutting the door behind them.

“I’ll try not to sound too terrible,” Sunset said, getting comfy on Twilight’s bed. “I’d hate to wake them up.”

“I’m just happy they got along so well,” Twilight said while she rummaged under her bed for her violin case. “Imagine if we lived together and our dogs didn’t get along.”

Sunset’s ears stopped at ‘lived together’. Her brain conjured up an image of her and Twilight living in a small two-story house on the edge of the city. Not in the suburbs because Sunset hated the cookie-cutter design. Theirs would be unique, maybe Mediterranean style. And she’d have a strawberry bush in the backyard. And of course, there’d be a room for all of Twilight’s lab equipment. And a big kitchen! Sunset was learning to cook from Selena—she’d make home cooked meals for Twilight every day! Well, not every day, Sunset knew she’d be tired coming home from work and they’d just order a pizza and then curl up on the couch by the fireplace and—

“Sunset?”

She blinked, not realizing just how far into her fantasy she had gotten. Twilight held the violin and bow in front of her.

“Sorry. I, uh, dozed off there for a sec.” Sunset took the instrument, keeping her eyes down. She didn’t know why she bothered thinking that far ahead. Twilight’s future laid somewhere else.

Twilight instructed Sunset through the basic strokes. It had been over a month since Sunset had last practiced, but she managed to not get a wailing sound out of the violin, producing a decent facsimile of music. She moved up and down the scales a few times, then moved on to playing easy songs like ‘Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star’ and ‘Mary Had a Little Lamb.’

“That was really good for a month without practice,” Twilight said. “Hopefully we can be more consistent from here on out. I think you could become really good at this.”

Sunset looked at her fingernails. “Yes, well, people have called me a prodigy. It’s only natural I excel at everything I try.”

Twilight playfully nudged her in the ribs. “Okay, miss prodigy. Let’s see if you can play something like this.” She took her violin back and settled into position. Two quick strokes, then a flurry of short notes. She repeated it four times then moved onto longer, deeper sounding chords. It actually sounded rather ominous to Sunset, like the march of some invading force, and a dark one at that. She liked it a lot but didn’t expect Twilight to play anything like it. She reached a softer part of the song where her bow barely flitted over the strings, making it sound even more sinister. It returned and ended with grandiose flair, and Twilight looking quite proud of herself.

Sunset clapped. “I’ll admit, that’s a hard act to beat. Wouldn’t expect something so dark out of you though.”

“It’s the Imperial March, of course I’d learn how to play that. And it’s not that dark.” Twilight paused. “Okay well, maybe.”

“The Imperial March?” Sunset asked.

Twilight blinked. “You know, Darth Vader’s theme?”

It was Sunset’s turn to blink. “Who what now?”

“You’ve never seen Star Wars?” Twilight screeched.

Sunset rubbed her ears. “Heard of, yes. Seen, no.”

Twilight gently set her violin down, then yanked Sunset by the arm and dragged her downstairs. “Shining! Shining!”

Shining was sprawled out on the couch, eyes drooping shut when Twilight hit the ground floor and screamed his name again. He sat up and stared in agitation. “Yes, Twily?”

“Sunset’s never seen Star Wars!”

Some of the bleariness left Shining’s eyes and he looked at Sunset with curiosity and amusement. “I’m starting to believe you are from another world. Well, get comfy you two. I guess we’re having a marathon today.”

Twilight sat Sunset down, bouncing in excitement. “I’ll go make popcorn! You’re going to love this!” She ran off into the kitchen while Shining set up the television.

My girlfriend’s a nerd in reading, science, and movies. Well, at least she’s well-rounded.

*******

Less than an hour later, Sunset was well hooked on this ‘space opera’ as Shining and Twilight called it. The effects were a little outdated, but the story and universe were quite interesting, even more so with Twilight whispering trivia into Sunset’s ear. Sometimes, Sunset had to get her to stop so she could actually enjoy the film.

Them, when the giant space station showed its true power…

“Twilight, can we build a Death Star?”

“No!”

*******

“Okay, so, Darth Vader used to be the old dude’s apprentice before he joined the dark side because, power?”

“It’s a little more complicated than that, but, yes.”

“And that didn’t remind you of anyone else? Like, at all?”

“... Oh. Sunset, I’m so—”

“Don’t say it. As long as you’re aware of the parallels.”

“And you’re on the good side now!”

“Mmm.”

*******

“Twilight, can we build a lightsaber?”

“... Maybe.”

*******

“You know, I take back my previous complaints. If I’m compared to Darth Vader, I might take it as a compli—holy crap, he’s Luke’s father? How did I not see that coming?”

“Yeah, this kinda invented that cliche.”

“This movie is awesome!”

*******

“Twilight, can we please build a Death Star?”

“No!”

*******

After three films and over seven hours, the credits of the last movie rolled. Twilight pushed herself off Sunset’s shoulder and yawned. “Well, what’s your final verdict?”

Sunset rubbed her weary eyes. “I’ve have been seduced by the powers of the dark side. Who would’ve thought being a nerd would be this exciting.”

Twilight clapped her hands together. “Yes! I knew you’d like it. And see, Vader ended up being good in the end, too!”

“He also died.”

“The point,” Twilight said loudly, “is that he made the right choice in the end. And even with him being evil, Luke still cared about him.” At Sunset’s noncommittal grunt, Twilight rolled her eyes and continued. “And now that you’ve seen Star Wars, I can show you something even better! My personal favorite, Star Trek!”

“Didn’t you say there were prequels to these?”

Shining blew a raspberry as he got up from the couch. “Don’t even bother with those, they’re all terrible.”

Twilight whispered into Sunset’s ear. “I’ll show you when he isn’t around. They’re… not the best compared to the original trilogy, but they complete the story. And if you grew up with them, they’re good enough.”

Sunset wondered just how far into nerdom she was falling and if it was too late to climb out. But the giddy look in Twilight’s eye, and the fact that they now had something else to bond over made it worth it.

The grandfather clock in the next room struck nine, and Sunset decided she had imposed on Twilight’s hospitality long enough. She gathered Spot up and kissed Twilight good night, promising that, yes, they could watch Star Trek tomorrow.

“Are you sure you don’t want to spend the night?” Twilight asked.

“She’s sure!” Shining called from the kitchen.

Sunset gave her another kiss. “Maybe next time.”

*******

Only twelve hours later, Sunset knocked on Twilight’s door, holding Spot with her other hand. His tail was already wagging in preparation for his playmate. Spike barked on the other side of the door, and Spot responded.

The door flew open, unleashing Spike, followed by Twilight with a cocktail of emotions stirring in her eyes. They flickered between hope and despair, and her smiling lips quivered in nervous anticipation and hopeful anxiety. She waved a stack of letters in front of Sunset’s face.

“You’re just in time! You won’t believe what came in the mail today! Come on! Mom’s waiting in the kitchen! I’m glad you’re here though! Shining and Dad left for work, but I wanted more than one person here when I open these! Or maybe it would be best if you left and came back later! I don’t want to have a meltdown in front of you! Unless I get in, in which case, I want you here so we can celebrate! But not like a rubbing it in your face celebration, just a—”

Sunset clapped a hand over Twilight’s mouth. “Hey, Sparky. I’m fine. Yes, it is a nice day. I had a dream about Star Wars last night. Now, when I move my hand, you’re going to start from the top and calmly tell me what you’re babbling about. You sound like Pinkie.”

Twilight nodded and Sunset put her hand down. “I got my acceptance letters today! Or rejection letters! I haven’t opened them yet!”

Today’s butterflies were toxic, as Sunset felt both excited and nauseous. “That’s… wow, yeah, that’s nerve wracking.” She put a hand on Twilight’s shoulder and pushed her back inside so she could also step in and finally put Spot down. Spike had been doing a good job at clawing up Sunset’s pants. “Don’t worry, acceptance or not, I’m here for you. But come on, let’s be honest, with grades like yours, I’m sure you got in.”

“But they want more than grades! What if I didn’t do enough extracurricular activities for them? Yes, I was in orchestra and I did the Summer Space Cadet Program five years in a row, and I’m sure the science fair helped too, but other students have been part of the student government or already studied abroad! Some of them have five-hundred hours of community service! Why didn’t I go down to the soup kitchen once in awhile?”

“Twilight, sweetie—” Sunset was echoed by Mrs. Velvet, stepping into the front room. “I know you’re nervous, but I think you’re overthinking this now,” Velvet finished.

“I’m not overthinking, I’m underprepared!” Twilight took several short breath before a crooked smile crossed over her. “I know, I’ll just not open them! I can’t be rejected if I can’t read them!”

“You also can’t be accepted,” Sunset said pointedly.

“Yep! Schrodinger's letters! I’ll just stay here, master the violin and join the symphony.”

Mrs. Velvet plucked the letters out of Twilight’s sweating palms. “How about we save that for a plan C? Twilight, you’re smart, well-rounded—”

“Not in sports!”

“—And brave,” Velvet finished. “You can open a few letters. And Sunset and I will be right here with you. We could even wait for your father and brother to get home if you want, but you’re opening those letters today and meeting your future head on.”

Twilight took several more gulps of air and made a loud swallow. Her face remained pale, but she nodded and took the letters back, taking a seat at the dining room table. “Okay, okay, I can do this. First… Oxford.”

Hearing the envelope tear open, Sunset felt her own heart tearing in two. Having Twilight move away was one thing, but moving to another country? Another continent? It was insult to injury. Be supportive. This is about her, not you.

Twilight pulled the folded letter out and began to read, her mouth moving, but words remaining inaudible. She quickly slammed the letter against the table and pushed it away like it was contagious. “That’s fine! I didn’t want to go to Europe anyway!” she said in a high-pitched voice.

“Sweetheart…” Velvet hugged her from behind. “It’s okay, it’s okay. You’ve still got plenty of other choices.”

Eyes wet, but tears refusing to fall, Twilight stared pensively at the first letter. “They said they wanted me to get some real college experience here first before considering taking me as a transfer student. It’s fair I guess… I was just looking forward to seeing the world.”

“Just because they said no doesn’t mean you still can’t,” Sunset said, mentally kicking herself for the slight relief she had upon seeing the rejection. She wanted to feel more disgusted with herself, but too much of her was glad Twilight was staying on this half of the world.

“Okay.” Twilight took a fresh breath. “Let’s look a little closer to home. I probably would have gotten homesick anyway.” She picked up the second envelope and tore it open, putting another tear in Sunset’s heart in the process. “This one’s from Yale.”

“Fingers crossed!” Velvet said.

Twilight’s eyes scanned over the letter. She bit her lips and tossed it aside to join Oxford, then buried her head in the crook of her arm.

“Sweetie, it’s okay! It’s gonna be okay!” Velvet cooed while Sunset moved in for a tighter hug.

“I was right! I should have done more outside of school!” Twilight sobbed into her arm. Sunset wasn’t sure which killed her more: Twilight’s pain, or her own selfish joy. “If Yale said no, then Harvard’s going to say the same thing!”

“You don’t know that,” Sunset said. She kneeled by Twilight’s chair and took her hand. “Hey, look at me. If they’re dumb enough not to accept you, then that’s their loss. They don’t know what they’re missing. Twilight, you’re brilliant and compassionate and driven, and one of these schools knows that! Come on, don’t give up yet.”

Velvet rubbed Twilight’s back. “Listen to her, Twily. Do you know I got rejected from five out of the seven schools I applied to? Yes, it stung, and yes, I didn’t get my first choice. But all those rejections just made my acceptance letters all the sweeter. And I guarantee at least one school here said yes.” She slid another envelope in front of Twilight.

She raised her head and wiped her eyes on her sleeve before taking and opening the manila slip. Sunset watched her face as she read, and there was not a look of devastation or pain, but disbelief that quickly rose to euphoria. “‘D-dear Miss Sparkle, we hope this letter finds you well. After a long examination process from thousands of worthy candidates, we are pleased to inform you that you have been selected to consider enrollment at MIT this autumn!’” Twilight hugged the letter and screamed, causing both Spike and Spot to bark in alarm.

Velvet jumped up and threw her hands in the air. “There you go! I knew you got into at least one! Congratulations!

“MIT is one of the best science schools in the country! It was one of my top choices! And I got in! I got in! Sunset, I got in!”

Sunset smiled wide, hugging and kissing her on the cheeks. “I’m so happy and proud of you, Sparky!” She meant it, too. Seeing tears of joy flowing behind Twilight’s glasses, Sunset’s heart soared. She wanted to be there for Twilight’s victories and defeats and root for her every step of the way. It crashed back down when she remembered that it wouldn’t be possible, the letter in Twilight’s hand proved as much.

But Sunset kept smiling. She smiled when Twilight got into Harvard and Polytech and the Institute of Science. Every acceptance letters for Twilight was a defeat for Sunset, but she refused to dampen Twilight’s moment. By the end, Twilight could barely get any words out, she was sobbing with joy.

“It’s okay,” Velvet said, kissing Twilight’s wet face. “I’ll call everyone and tell them the good news. You two enjoy the moment.” Velvet hurried off to the kitchen, leaving Twilight to throw her arms around Sunset’s neck.

Sunset closed her eyes and just held her. Remember this moment. Soon, that’s all you’ll have left. Memories. “I’m so happy for you,” Sunset repeated for umpteenth time.

Twilight hiccuped and set her glasses down as she pulled herself off Sunset. “I-I don’t e-even know wh-which one to ch-choose. I was t-too scared of getting rejected from everyone.”

“Whichever you choose, they’ll have gotten a great girl,” Sunset said.

“Wait until the girls find out. Oh my gosh! They must have gotten their letters, too! I hope they all got into the schools they wanted! This is all so exciting! I can’t believe this is happening! This is happening, right? I’m not dreaming, am I? Ow!” Twilight grabbed her arm.

Sunset rubbed her fingers together. “Does that answer your question?”

Velvet returned, phone in one hand and tissues in the other. “Here, your dad wants to say congratulations!” She handed Twilight the phone and quickly wiped up her face before she could speak.

“Hi, Dad! I know, I can’t believe it either!” Twilight got up and went into the kitchen.

“You should be getting your letters any day, too,” Velvet said.

“Huh? Oh, right! Yeah, can’t wait!” Sunset said, smiling straining. She had almost forgotten about the string of lies she had told the Sparkles last year. Most of them still hadn’t been resolved with anyone other than Shining. She couldn’t wait to tell them she hadn’t gotten into any schools.

“Imagine if you and Twilight went to the same college together. It’s be so romantic. Plus, Twilight needs all the help she can get when it comes to making more friends.”

“I’m sure she could manage on her own. She’s really come out of her shell.”

Velvet walked around and gave Sunset a hug. Sunset locked up for a second but forced herself to relax. “And we owe a lot of it to you, Sunset. You and the girls are a great influence on her.”

Sunset could only laugh, trying her best not to make it sound nervous. “Well, you know… heh, heh.”

Velvet let up and pat Sunset on the head before joining Twilight in the other room. Sunset watched Spike and Spot chase a ball around, barking when the other got a hold of it. It served as an amusing distraction for a minute, but Sunset couldn’t hide from her sour thoughts. She looked at the pile of acceptance letters on the table: roads Twilight could take toward a promising future, options on how she wanted to shape her life. Sunset had no such luxuries.

Stop making this about you! But Sunset couldn’t help it. Because whatever Twilight did would affect her, for better or worse. And Sunset knew if she said anything, there was a chance it would influence Twilight’s decision, and Sunset couldn’t allow that.

She wanted Twilight to be happy and successful. And for that to happen, Sunset knew she couldn’t fit into the picture.

Twilight stepped back into the room, and Sunset put her smile back on. “I’m sorry. I wanted us to watch more movies, but Mom is going to be calling everyone nonstop and having me talk to them—”

Sunset held her hands up. “Hey, it’s your big day. I’m not going to get mad because your family wants to congratulate you. A little jealous maybe…”

Twilight gave her a gentle nudge before throwing her arms around Sunset again. “I’m really happy you were here for all this too.”

Sunset leaned into her and sighed. “Yeah. So am I.”

Author's Note:

Alternate Chapter Title: Revenge of the Nerd

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