I Don't Need Magic

by Undome Tinwe

Chapter 17: Aftermath

"Any signs of her?"

Sunset shook her head. "Nothing. Tracking teleportation more than a few seconds after the 'port is hard enough in Equestria. Over here? We'd be lucky to figure out how to do it before she dies of old age."

Twilight nodded, unsurprised. After Adagio had vanished, Twilight and Sunset had carefully swept the building looking for her. Sunset had used some kind of tracking spell that told her no one else was left in the building, right before the last of the magic empowering them had faded away.

Well, not faded away, exactly. As they'd returned to the room where Adagio had captured them, Twilight and Sunset had stopped glowing, and they'd lost their abilities to cast spells, but Twilight could still feel the power within her, dormant. It was a lot like before, when she'd first found the geode.

Strangely, although she knew it should disturb her that she was once again a vessel for magic, a strange warmth had instead enveloped her heart, and something deep inside of her rejected any arguments her intellect was throwing out that this power could be dangerous. Even the fact that Sunset was now likely running around with just as much magic barely phased her, which was actually a bit worrying.

That was the power of love, she supposed; it was hard to imagine it being used for evil, no matter what was rationally possible.

Speaking of love, neither of them had said anything about the kiss, or the nature of their magic, since Adagio had disappeared. On Twilight's part, she just didn't know what to say. It was one thing to make a sweeping romantic gesture as a last-ditch effort to save them, but starting a dialogue about where to go from there eluded her.

It was something that would have to be done, of course, but for now, Twilight concentrated on the task at hand, resolving, as she had before, to tackle the issue at a better time.

Not that there'd likely be a better time than this, but Twilight was incredibly good at rationalizing when necessary.

"So, no Adagio, no journal, and no idea where she's going next," Twilight summarized. "I guess we're not technically back to square one, but I'm not exactly looking forward to Adagio coming for us after she finishes her evil plan."

"Not exactly back to square one," Sunset said, bending over to retrieve the magic detector. Twilight kept a safe distance from the thing, the memories from Adagio's spell still raw in her mind. "Take a look at the spell circle."

Twilight did as instructed, not entirely sure what she was supposed to be seeing. When she didn't receive a response, Sunset kept speaking. "Most of these symbols aren't actually part of any sort of trap or memory spell. It looks like Adagio was using this for something else, and then added the extra runes for security.

"Also, I found this on one of the tables." Sunset held up what looked like a stone disc with various lines etched on it. "There's a couple of them over there," she said, pointing towards the back of the room.

"Looks like some kind of medallion with a spellform etched onto it," Twilight said. "You think this is what she was trying to create?"

"Well, a medallion like this needs to be empowered with an actual spell, or else it's just a nice art piece to hang on your wall. I'm guessing that was what Adagio was doing that triggered our sensors. and since none of these medallions have magic in them, these are probably spares and she's got the working one on her."

"So between the circle and these backup medallions, we might be able to figure out her next move," Twilight said, relieved that they weren't just going to be sitting ducks for whatever Adagio had planned.

"Yeah, hopefully. Mind helping me grab everything important and documenting the circle?"

"Sure."

They spent the next few minutes sweeping the room to ensure that they had everything they needed before they left. Sunset grabbed the medallions, and Twilight carefully extracted the cloverbloom from the center of the circle after confirming that it wasn't going to trigger any more complications. The light of the bloom was nearly non-existent now, and Twilight doubted that it had even a small fraction of its original power.

After taking several photographs of the arcane circle, they left the warehouse, emerging back into the light of day. Twilight blinked a few times as her eyes adjusted before heading over to Sunset's car, where they began the drive back to Sunset's apartment.

On the way back, Sunset placed a call to Starlight, giving her a very brief rundown of events – and leaving out the memory spell – and asking her to place a discreet call to one of their contacts at the CPD to get them to keep an eye for Adagio's whereabouts.

Twilight kept silent as Sunset talked, and continued to maintain her silence afterwards. Given that Sunset hadn't said anything to her either, it seemed obvious that neither of them wanted to address the elephant in the room.

Finally, as they got out of the car and into the elevator leading to Sunset's penthouse, the other woman spoke. "I thought I told you to run to safety," she said in an amused tone, her lips slightly curving.

Twilight scoffed. "There was no way Adagio was going to let me escape. She planned way better than to let that happen."

"So you decided to jump into the memory spell to keep me company?" Sunset's small smile turned into a smirk. "I didn't take you for the kind to do the stupid-but-noble thing."

"I'm not sure if that was supposed to be a jab at my intelligence or my virtue, but I'll have you know it was a calculated risk," Twilight replied. "We needed a way to divert the magic from the cloverbloom, and from what you told me about Equestria, the power of love is a potent force capable of doing exactly that. All I needed was some catalyst to activate it." Twilight felt her heart rate increase as she spoke that last line.

It was obvious what she was referring to, but by couching it in technical terms, she was able to put some emotional distance between herself and the act. Uncertainty still plagued her along with dread about how Sunset might respond once they actually started talking about it, and she wanted to hold off that conversation for as long as possible.

Sunset whistled softly. "That was some impressive quick thinking on your part, then. I wouldn't have come up with it if it were me." Her smirk vanished as she frowned. "I can't believe I fell for that trap so easily. I should've sensed the Want-It-Need-It spell in the building and drained it away. Instead, I walked right into its epicenter like some rookie apprentice at her first duel."

Sunset turned to give Twilight a more genuine smile as the elevator doors opened to reveal the familiar hallway leading to her suite. "Thanks for saving my ass in that warehouse. If it weren't for you, I'd still be stuck in that memory spell and I definitely wouldn't have figured out the trick with the arcane circle."

"Don't mention it," Twilight said as they reached the door. Sunset retrieved her keys and let them into the suite, where she dropped off the bag with everything from the warehouse besides the cloverbloom, which Twilight set down on the table.

"So, are we actually going to talk about that kiss and the whole 'love magic' thing or are we just going to keep pretending it didn't happen?" Twilight had a brief mental image of Sunset taking a large stick and giving the elephant a good whack on the rump as she said the words that brought their awkward tension crashing down.

"I suppose there's no point trying to deny that we have feelings for each other," Twilight remarked dryly, trying to sound flippant to hide her nervousness. "Having the Power of Love manifest itself as a magical force that we used to defeat a dark curse is pretty strong evidence against that."

"Yeah," Sunset shot Twilight a crooked smile. "I knew you had a crush on me back in high school, and I was pretty sure you still did, but that definitely confirmed it."

"Wait, you knew I had a crush on you back then?" Sure, there were other, more important matters to discuss, but Twilight couldn't help but feel a little miffed about that point. Why hadn't Sunset said anything instead of leaving her to pine?

"It was pretty obvious." Sunset shrugged. "Or maybe I'm just really good at reading people. Either way, I knew, but I was waiting for you to do something about it since it was kinda cute watching you flounder. If you hadn't said anything by graduation, I was going to ask you out right after the ceremony." Her smile faded a little. "But you know what happened instead."

Twilight nodded. After all, she had just had a front-row seat to the reliving of the worst week of her life. "I had no idea if you felt the same way about me back then. Over this past week, I've suspected that my feelings were reciprocated, but I wasn't entirely sure." She smiled faintly. "I was pretty nervous about jumping into that memory spell. It would've been really awkward if I'd kissed you and nothing happened."

She paused for a moment, unsure as to whether or not to keep speaking. In the end, she decided that Sunset deserved to know the truth. "I almost couldn't go through with it. When I jumped into that spell, the first thing I felt was you draining the life from me. When I woke up in the hospital, it was like everything had happened yesterday, instead of fifteen years ago, and a part of me was just so angry at you."

Sunset winced. "Yeah, I realized while I was in that spell just how much I regretted what I did. I can't blame you for being pissed off."

"If you hadn't given me that really sweet and heartfelt apology I'm not sure if I could've still gone through with it and had my feelings remain true enough or whatever." Twilight smiled. "So I guess you get to take some credit for saving us."

Sunset's returning smile was a lot weaker than Twilight's. "Well, it all worked out in the end, and that's what's important, I guess. You know, I was actually planning on asking you out after we resolved this whole theft thing."

"I- I thought about doing that too," Twilight said, slightly taken aback by the admission, though it shouldn't have surprised her; after all, for the past hour she had possessed definitive proof that Sunset had been harboring feelings for her. "But there's still so many things we have to work through, and our friendship is still so new. I wouldn't want to do anything to jeopardize it."

"I know. There are a million reasons why we shouldn't be together." Sunset took a step towards Twilight, closing the distance between. "We still don't see eye-to-eye on a lot of things. We've got a shared history that's messed up beyond what's humanly possible." Another step forward, and now they were standing face-to-face. Twilight could feel the heat radiating from her body. "We're also both really stubborn, so our first fight would probably break us apart."

"I can see that," Twilight said shakily. "Engaging in a romantic relationship is probably a really bad idea." She gazed into Sunset's deep cyan eyes, the determination and intelligence behind them making her heart race.

"Thing is," Sunset said, "I don't think I give a damn." Sunset leaned forward, and Twilight instinctually did the same, her mind lost in appreciating Sunset's beauty. They met in the middle of the space between them, their lips pressing against each other in a soft caress.

The last time they'd kissed, Twilight had been on the verge of death (or at least unconsciousness), and had barely enough strength to lean forward to kiss Sunset. She had also been on the verge of panic and desperately holding back her hysteria while also being bombarded with external emotions and memories threatening to overwhelm her.

Not to mention the fact that she had known she was trapped in Adagio's spell and that her life depended on that kiss. All in all, it had made for a very tumultuous storm of emotions that Twilight had been too busy focusing on, and as a result the kiss itself was a bit of blur. Twilight only had a vague memory of it being very pleasant.

This time, there was nothing to pull Twilight's attention away from the kiss.

Without any distractions, she could savor every moment of their embrace and commit every sensation to memory. The sweet taste of Sunset on her lips. The soft caress of Sunset's arms wrapping around her and pulling her in closer, and the warmth of the lush body that pressed itself against her. The musky smell of their mutual passion as their kiss deepened, stealing her breath away. The soft sound of Sunset's moans as their tongues danced against each other, vying for dominance and sending thrills of pleasure down Twilight's spine. The beauty of Sunset's eyes as they gazed deep into each others' souls, a cyan inferno that burned with lust.

Every wonderful moment was burned into Twilight's mind, and she knew she would never forget this kiss for as long as she lived.

An all-too-brief eternity later, they broke apart for air, panting from the exertions of their embrace. "Well," Twilight said between breaths, "to return to your previous statement, you said you wanted to pursue this relationship despite all the risks?"

"Yeah, I do," Sunset said, sounding much more composed than Twilight. Her hair was still a little dishevelled and her eyes still burned with desire, but otherwise she seemed to be back to her old self, wearing an easy smile on her face. "Look, I know it's probably a bad idea, but I've been thinking about you a lot lately, and I really do like you. And I know you feel the same. We work really well together and we're compatible on a lot of different levels." Her smile turned mischievous. "And you're pretty hot too."

"Y-you're not bad yourself," Twilight replied shakily, thrown off by Sunset's last comment. She wasn't sure if she'd ever seen this side of her before.

"So, what do you say? Do you want to take this risk with me?" Sunset's composure wavered for a moment, and Twilight could see the fear of rejection in her eyes. She quickly covered it up with an easy smile, but it didn't hide the fact that it had been there.

Twilight's first instinct was to say yes, the endorphins from the kiss still giving her a warm, fuzzy, happy feeling that she wanted to prolong, but she forced herself to take a step back and think logically about the question.

There was no question that Twilight wanted Sunset. The woman standing before her was beautiful, smart, driven, and many other positive qualities that Twilight didn't feel like listing at the moment. They worked very well together, and Twilight found herself at ease when speaking with Sunset in a way that she had never experienced with anyone else. She and Sunset truly shared something special, and Twilight wanted to see how much farther they could take this budding romance.

On the other hand, they still hadn't settled the original argument that had led to their initial separation. Twilight still believed that magic was too dangerous to release back into the world, and she highly doubted that Sunset had changed her mind since their last argument. Considering the positions they were in, this was a little more than some political disagreement – it was very likely that the time would come when they would be forced to make a choice, and when that time came, Twilight recoiled at the thought of what might happen.

And then there was the question of trust. Twilight had just experienced Sunset's betrayal of her in the memory spell, and while Twilight truly had forgiven her for it and believed her apology to be true, she couldn't say with certainty that she trusted her not to do it again. Even with her extremely limited knowledge of romance, Twilight knew a relationship wouldn't last unless both of them believed in each other, and Twilight herself had some secrets she wasn't ready to share yet. A preliminary analysis of their long-term compatibility looked grim.

Yet, the thought of rejecting Sunset made her heart ache. Twilight had harbored feelings for the brilliant mage for fifteen years, and even if those feelings had been muddied by betrayal, Twilight had to admit that Sunset was often in her thoughts, and not all of them were unhappy. She wanted to be with Sunset, to talk to her and to hold her, to share their minds and bodies with each other. The thought of another kiss sent excited chills through her body.

Upon further reflection, Twilight decided that their problems might not be so insurmountable. After all, they had already made good progress in the past week. Twilight had convinced Sunset not to research the magic at Camp Everfree, and had trusted her enough to dive straight into a dark magic spell in hopes of neutralizing it with the power of love. Perhaps, with time, Twilight could bring Sunset around and learn to trust her again.

And considering what she had seen this past week, maybe magic wasn't all that bad. She'd been so rigid in her beliefs for so long, but it was getting harder and harder to deny all the good Equinox had done. As long as Sunset had someone to temper her enthusiasm – like Twilight – it could be a good thing in the long run.

Yes, that would be perfect. Twilight could save the world and be with the woman she cared about most. It was a win-win situation.

With a bright, eager smile on her face, Twilight gave her response. "I'm not much of a gambler," she said, excitement and hope bubbling up inside her, "but this time, the reward is way too great to pass up. Yes, Sunset, I'd love to see where a romantic relationship can go with you."

Sunset's smile grew wider, the last remnants of her uncertainty washing away. "Great! That's great. I'm looking forward to being your girlfriend." Sunset's voice faltered a little on that last word, and Twilight felt a small thrill as she heard Sunset say it aloud.

"I'm sure we'll be great girlfriends to each other," she said, before pausing for a moment. "So, what should we do first as a couple?" Butterflies danced in her stomach as eagerly awaited Sunset's reply.

"Actually, I should probably write down everything I remember from how Adagio used the spell circle," Sunset said sheepishly. "I got to see it in action while she was casting the memory spell, and it might help me figure out what else she did with it."

"Right, of course," Twilight replied hastily, trying to quash her disappointment. Despite the wonder of their new relationship, they still had a job to do, and the fate of the world depended on it. "I should probably put the cloverbloom somewhere safe too."

The effect of the statement was immediate. Sunset tensed, and when Twilight realized what she'd said she did the same. It seemed they couldn't even go a minute without running into relationship trouble.

"A promise is a promise," Sunset eventually said. "Besides, there's basically no magic left in the cloverbloom; I don't know if Gloriosa can restore it or something like that but she deserves the chance to try. I'll bring it to her next time I get the chance."

"Okay." Twilight resisted the urge to breathe out a sigh of relief at dodging that bullet.

"Anyways, I think I should head down to the lab to start some analysis on this stuff," Sunset said, nothing in her tone or posture betraying their earlier tension.

"I suppose you won't need me for that – my expertise in magic pales in comparison with yours."

"I'd still appreciate a second set of eyes," Sunset said, inching closer to Twilight, "and it'd give us the chance to spend more time together. Now that we're a couple, I can think of all sorts of fun things we can do in the lab all by ourselves." Sunset's sultry tone coupled with her close proximity was an intoxicating mix, but Twilight stood her ground.

"Are you sure you won't be too distracted by my presence to do your research?" she teased, determined to stay on equal footing with Sunset. Her new girlfriend seemed to take to flirtation quite quickly, and Twilight would not allow herself to fall behind. "I wouldn't want you to miss something important because you were too busy thinking about making out with me."

"Well," Sunset replied, leaning closer to Twilight. "Maybe you could help me get it out of my system first. For the good of the project, of course."

"It would be my pleasure." Twilight pressed her lips against Sunset's, and for the next few moments, all the complications of their relationship and the fears of the future melted away in a sea of bliss.

Comments

[Shadow_Wolf]

I'm not sure which was more adorable, Twilight with her inner debates are Sunset flirting. Either way, great chapter

[Boltstrike58]

Aw, that was so cute.

[pabrony]

Sunset and Twilight have some new magic to study in the lab now.

[esplin10]

Cute stuff

[MEGA LM ShiroHige Pony]

I hope we can get some sex scenes between them. After 15 years of pain, they deserve a good moment of passion.

[Kittamaru]

Woowoo! About time they kissed hehe!

[MarvelandPonder]

There's a lot of well written elements to this fic, but I've gotta admit, you've done a better job of convincing me why they shouldn't be together than why they should. Despite the fact that as a diehard Sciset shipper, it's all but encoded in my DNA to root for them, I really can't cheer for them in this moment like I think I'm supposed to.

To the point that I'm debating dropping the story altogether. And I binge-read it in one night up until now.

It should be said it's an accomplishment to make me think that way about my favourite ship—and I really do commend a lot of elements like Adagio's inclusion to mirror Sunset, the technobabble being pretty darn convincing (even if I don't know what the hell they're saying lol) if not based in some sort of real logic—and the fic itself is worth finishing...

... but I don't know if I can. It's that much of a turn off. Just one person's reaction, mind you, but it was a strong one so I thought it worth writing this comment.

(I think it stems from the fact that I know in real life it doesn't matter how compatible you are in other ways, if you disagree about something of fundamental importance, being together won't last. I've literally been there, so I'm biased)

[Albi]

There's still like, 50k words left, so something's gonna explode.

[ScisetShimmerEvan]

This is probably my fav chapter in the whole story

[Avery Day]

9358057
I came here to post half of this exact same comment. This is my favorite ship as well, and the last chapter had such a wonderful break in the romantic tension between them, but I can't help but feel like everything about them getting together is a terrible idea. Their ideologies about magic clash too hard, and either something (or someone[and I know which one I'd rather it be]) is going to have to give, or they'll hit a deadlock real quick.

I also mirror the sentiment that it's very impressive for you to write these two in such a way where I don't want them to get together. That said, I live for The Drama™, so personally I am only further compelled to trudge forward in spite of this.