Problematic Manifestations
Twilight’s POV
All of my friends and I gasped in unison. Gloriosa Daisy has magic?!
N-No, no, no! Please! I want nothing to do with magic! Too dangerous! Although it would help me to teach Sunny Flare and the others a lesson if I see them again… Wait. Bad thoughts, bad thoughts!
"Magic…?" Sunset said after several moments of silence. "Are you completely sure of what you saw, Aria?"
I huffed, tapping my foot as Sunset went on with that skeptical tone in her voice, as if she were accusing Aria of lying. Of course she didn't imagine it, Sunset! Don't be an idiot. The thought came so quickly to my head that I barely recognized I had it. That wasn't nice of me! Why was I thinking such rude things about my friends!? The thought came as such a shock I had to take a moment to relax and center myself, while trying to keep up with the conversation.
Thankfully I was used to being distracted while working so I was able to listen in as I collected my thoughts.
We all glanced at Aria as I cooled off. My girlfriend nodded without hesitation.
"Yeah, I am pretty sure I saw my boss' eyes glow green and then some huge plants popping out of the ground to do her bidding, there's no 'gas leak' or 'special effects' that can justify that! Heck, I even saw when those plants caused that blonde girl to fall into the lake."
"What did she do with the plants?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"The blonde girl and some guy were on a sailboat adrift on the lake. Gloriosa tried to use the plants to give the boat wind to move, but she ended up knocking her into the water. Tree Hugger saved her, though. Don't worry."
"So Tree Hugger knows?" Applejack asked.
Aria nodded at my friend and crossed her arms staring off in the distance.
"Yeah, but she wasn't happy because Gloriosa caused problems instead of helping."
"If she's doing magic to help, then we don't have to do anything, right?" Rainbow Dash asked. "She's a good person."
"Didn’t you hear anything Aria just said?" Adagio said as she stood up. She was clearly upset. "Gloriosa tried to help, sure, but she almost caused someone to drown! We should keep an eye on her. Weren't you magic experts? What happened to the powers you used to stop us?"
"We do go through a magical makeover when we play music, darling, but without the Equestrian Twilight? We have no idea how to do more than that, sadly."
“Yeah, plus, we never asked for that magic. We just used it to defend ourselves.” Applejack continued. “We just want a normal life without magic.” As Applejack finished speaking, everyone but Sunset nodded in agreement. I glanced at the latter. She was looking down sadly. Well, Sunset, what were you expecting? Magic is dangerous!
Adagio crossed her arms and let out a small almost feral growl clenching her teeth. “We should still keep an eye on that, Gloriosa Daisy woman. She can’t use her magic well. Not to mention the incidents that happened earlier today at the kitchen.”
“Maybe there was something volatile in there?” Rainbow Dash said, raising her arm with a rare show on intellectual intuition. “It’s a kitchen and all.”
Adagio groaned. “I think the fomer magical beings would know better, Miss Dash.” Adagio said with a hiss at my friend.
Aria’s older sister groaned and facepalmed. Sonata, on the other hand, stood up and placed her hand on her hips. She looked uncharacteristically annoyed at that. “Yeah, I mean, it made no sense! I work in a kitchen and I never saw an explosion like that!”
“Besides, we Sirens are able to sense magic.” Aria spoke next, looking serious as well. “We needed to track it to feed after all. The sensation was vague, but I could sense the magic when the explosion happened and when Fluttershy spoke to the birds.” Aria took a step forward and glared at each of us. “Like it or not, you’re involved with magic again and you can’t ignore it. Someone could get seriously hurt!”
I watched as Aria rubbed her arm with a very sad look. “I would know.”
"But no one got hurt!" Rainbow Dash said defensively. "Gloriosa is a good person using magic to help!"
"Have you forgotten that she threw someone into the lake?" Aria said as she got closer to our athletic friend. She didn't look happy. "She could have drowned!"
"Muffins had a life jacket and you said that Tree Hugger saved her fast."
"That's not the point!" Aria said as she stomped a foot on the ground. "Gloriosa obviously can't fully control her magic! I mean you tried to stop us! Where’s the same determination you all had when you thwarted us and stripped us of our powers?”
“Well that’s different!” Rainbow retorted. “You guys were evil and had to be stopped!”
Everyone stared in disbelief at Rainbow. Although she wasn’t wrong, it still hurt to hear her say that. She realized what she’d said, and gave a quick, quiet apology, then tried shifting the focus off herself.
"Well, anyway, why does it need to be us?" Rainbow Dash asked after a moment of silence.
I could see Aria was ready to snap at her, she was clearly holding back and while I appreciated her for doing that, I wanted to hear what she had to say. Strangely enough I had faith that what she had to say was worth hearing, she has a way of seeing things at their simplest. Aria opened her mouth to say something, but the reply came from the girl sitting next to me.
"Because we're the only ones with experience." Sunset said as she stood up, frowning. "Even if Gloriosa's intentions are good, Aria has a point. We have to do something. Not just for Gloriosa, but for us too. Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie had displays of magic, which means that any of us could be next. We must find out why this is happening." The fiery girl slammed her fist into her hand when she finished speaking. She looked determined, but none of us were convinced. Only Aria and her sisters were. I glanced at Trixie. I think she was trying to support Sunset.
"Ah'm sorry, Sunset." Applejack said as she and the rest of our friends stood up. "Unless something really bad happens, we want nothing to do with magic." After she finished speaking, everyone but the sirens, Sunset and Trixie retreated to their tents. I saw Sunset drop her head in defeat and Trixie rushed to comfort her girlfriend.
Adagio frustratedly groaned and stood up. "I can't believe they did that! How could they ignore something this huge?!"
"They’ll change their minds… right?" Sonata worriedly asked.
Sunset placed a comforting hand on Sonata’s shoulder. This enticed a friendly smile from her.
"Leave them be for now." Sunset said before raising her head. "We're all tired. Let's go to sleep and think on what to do later."
Tired… I yawned. I should try to sleep… I stood up and glanced at Sunset. "I'm going to bed right now. See you at the tent."
"Sure, good night, Twi." Sunset said as she gave me a small smile.
"Good night, Twilight." Adagio said while Sonata and Trixie waved at me. I waved back, but then my eyes met Aria's. She gave me a small smile.
“Good night, Twilight.” She said, with her arms still folded
“Good night.” I replied, happy that Aria finally said something to me. I then turned around and walked in direction to my tent. As I walked, I looked at Spike between my arms and scratched his head. He wagged his tail happily and snuggled against me. That made me smile wider.
Once I was out of sight, I ran. I still have no idea why Aria was ignoring earlier and why she said something to me just now, but I can't deal with that now. I want to sleep. I need to sleep.
I ran, taking the most direct route back to the tent. As soon as I reached it I threw myself onto the bed feeling like a lead weight in the water, sinking to oblivion. I laid there for what felt like hours wondering what I did wrong or why Aria was ignoring me. Despite how tired I was, I couldn't avoid wondering about Aria's behavior. Why she's acting that way? It really hurt to think about the possibilities.
Then I had a thought. What if she might be losing interest in me? I was not as outgoing or athletic as Rainbow, I wasn’t as confident or as energetic as Pinkie and while I like animals and love my cute pup, Spike, I’m not as enthusiastic as Fluttershy either. I also lacked the grace that both Rarity and Adagio showed. Was I just… boring?
Aria kept telling me she was fine with how I was, but was she telling the truth or was there more? Maybe I was overthinking things and a good night's rest would give me time to clear my head and think clearly. Yes, please! I'm yarning for a proper sleep. A good rest to recharge like Cadence always said, that’ll make my mind clear and tomorrow will be a better day. With my mind made up, I rolled over and petted Spike once more before closing my eyes to embrace the darkness of sleep to take me to the dawn of tomorrow.
Darkness is what I wanted, and that’s what I got. I was surrounded in the empty void and fog… again… Every single time I try to sleep, this happens. Each time it happens I get less and less sleep.
I walked across the fog. I couldn’t really do anything but wait for the imminent meeting with my doppelganger. I was anxious. I can’t find a way to get rid of her. The less sleep I get, the less clearly I think. It didn’t take long for my evil self to show up, cackling like she ruled the world. I backed away and pointed a finger at her. “S-Stay back! Stop tormenting me! Leave me alone!”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk.” Midnight wiggled a finger at me, smirking maliciously. “This would be much easier if you simply accepted the offer. What’s to refuse? Our power would be unmatched!”
“I don’t want power!” I said as I kept backing away. “I want a normal life without magic! You’re proof of how wrong it can be!”
“Wrong?!” Midnight glared at me, offended. In a blink of an eye, she appeared right in front of me. “There’s nothing wrong with power! What use does magic have if we’re not going to use it to rule over others? Freedom is wrong. Humans, ponies,” She smirked evilly at me. “Sirens. All of them need to bow to power! Our Power! It’s our right! We must bring order to the chaos of magic with our hands!”
“No, never!” I was disgusted by her words. “I’ll never be part of your twisted plans!”
Midnight cackled, kicking off and flying above me, leaving a void in the fog where she stood. Flying around me in circles, the evil me floated around, mocking me.
“Didn’t you hear what Aria and Adagio said? They too want to control the magic and Gloriosa! It’s the law of nature to rule with power. They can’t control it, so they have to use your friends to do it for them!” Midnight laughed at me as I gave it some serious thought.
She wasn’t wrong. From what I heard Aria and her sisters were quite the magical forces to be reckoned with, but now they were more or less humans as I was. Sure Aria had her strength, and presumably her sisters too, but what good was it against magic? My silence seemed to give the false impression Midnight had me and she continued to speak. “With this power you can control everything! You’re lonely aren’t you? You want our Aria-”
“She is not yours! She’s my girlfriend! You’re just a monster trying to manipulate me!” I snapped, how dare she call Aria hers, even remotely? She didn’t love her like I did, she could never understand. “I’ll never help you and you’ll never hurt Aria! I won’t allow it!”
My evil self laughed maliciously. “As if you had a choice. You can’t escape from your destiny forever. One day you’ll have to accept or else-”
“My body will give up and I’ll die, and so will you!” Despite death being possible, I still looked at Midnight and tried to smirk. I was afraid to die, especially in such a horrible way, but… it was better than the alternative.
Midnight looked scared for a moment, but she quickly smirked at me. “That won’t happen. You wouldn’t let us die.” She laughed menacingly, confident that she had me trapped. But I’m not giving up.
“I don’t want to die. I love my friends, my family, my girlfriend. I don’t want to lose them.” I paused and took a deep breath. “Accepting your hideous offer would hurt them. I would hurt a lot of people and I would never forgive myself. That fate is worse than death itself. Dying is better than becoming a puppet of your despicable schemes.”
I managed to form a full smirk. I was confident. I had her on the ropes. Midnight got scared again. I have her! All my confidence died when Midnight cried in rage and glared at me again. Her eyes were red with fury. My evil self grabbed me and lifted me into the air. I was terrified. I screamed and tried to set myself free with no avail.
“Fool! Wasting the opportunity of a lifetime for such stupid reasons! Our reign will happen! It’s our destiny!” She gave me a toothy grin dangling me over the void. I desperately grabbed her arm trying to hold onto her. “See? Even now you struggle to survive, while you may actually believe you’ll die for others you’re just as selfish and scared as any living man or beast. No amount of love or friendship will change that. And remember what I told you.”
She tossed me up into the air and flew in a loop around me, catching me by the arms she spun and threw me up again, and again, and again, all the while chuckling like she was having the time of her life while I screamed in fear. With five loops she finally stopped grabbing my arms and hung me over again. “Remember Twilight, might controls everything. Sirens know this very well. You best learn it too. Until next time. Oh, and be sure to send Aria my regards.” She hissed into my ear.
After her last words, Midnight threw me into the darkness. She opened her mouth and what looked like a dark cloud came from her mouth and eyes. The cloud launched towards me as I fell, entering into my own mouth and eyes. I was no longer able to breathe so I started to cough. Someone… anyone, save me!
“Aaaaaah!” I shot up on my bed, panting.
My vision was blurry, which means that I’m out of that horrifying nightmare. I sobbed into my hands and quickly hid my face in my pillow dreading the nightmares I was having making me feel sick to my stomach. They’re getting worse!
“Twilight!” Sunset called from her bed. I put on my glasses and looked to my side where my friend was. Both Sunset and Spike were worriedly looking at me. “What happened? Why did you scream?”
“It was nothing!” I said as I jumped off the bed. “I’m going to take some fresh air.”
“But it’s the middle of the night. You can’t-” I ignored Sunset and stormed out of the tent.
“Wait, Twilight!” My pet followed me. I turned around to demand him to leave me alone, but another voice called me. One which made my heart skip a beat.
“Twilight?” I slowly turned to where the voice came from, and a bright flash of light blinded me and I was astonished to find Aria approaching me. Her expression showed signs of worry and confusion. “What are you doing out of your tent at this hour? You need to get back before you get lost or hurt.”
"I-I needed some fresh air." I said while avoiding Aria's gaze. It felt weird talking to her after all the time I didn't hear a word from her.
"But shouldn't you be asleep? You really looked tired all day-"
"Oh, so NOW you care about me? After ignoring me for all this time!? I'm fine! Worry about your own business!" I got enraged. I would love to sleep, but that nefarious demon won't let me! I panted, still feeling the fury within me. I was about to raise my voice again when-
"Twilight…" My pet called me as he nudged my ankle with his paw. I glanced at him to see his puppy eyes. His look calmed me down enough to make me realize what I just did.
I moved my gaze to Aria again, who looked hurt like I just destroyed her world. My heart sank. Oh, no! What did I do that for!? I mentally kicked myself.
I gasped and covered my mouth with my hands. I didn't know what to say. "Aria… I'm so sorry… I didn't mean to… I’m sorry..."
My girlfriend recovered and adopted a serious posture and a stern look that made me shiver. "Twilight, we need to talk. Now."
"O-Okay, just let me get changed real quick."
"I'll wait." Aria said before taking a few steps back.
I turned around and quickly got into my tent with Spike. Sunset was there and quickly sat up in her bed after I entered.
Sunset looked at me, "What's going on, Twilight?"
"Aria and I are going to talk so I have to get changed." I replied as I quickly undressed and put on my camp outfit. "Don't wait up for me." I glanced at Spike next. "Stay here with Sunset."
"Don't worry, I understand. You and Aria need privacy."
I smiled a little and patted his head. "Good boy."
Once I was changed, I headed out of the tent and looked back one last time. Sunset gave me an encouraging nod and waved her hand and Spike wagged his tail. I nodded at them and left the tent.
Aria was leaning against a tree and had her arms crossed. She moved away from the tree when she saw me.
"Ready? Follow me. I know of a place we can talk in private."
I nodded and followed her without saying a word. My gaze saw her free hand and I considered taking it… but I wasn't sure if I was still allowed to do so.
I was afraid of this talk. Aria avoided me for weeks and is now looking very serious. What is she going to tell me? Has she lost interest in me? Is she going to-?
Don't think such things! Maybe it's something else. But… what else could it be? What other reason could she have to ignore me? C-Could she… be seeing someone else behind my back? Maybe she's going to tell me that she met someone more interesting than a nerd like me!
Don't be ridiculous! That's one of the reasons she loves us-me! She loves me! She still does, right? I thought with worry as she led me to a secluded part of the camp.
"Twilight." I was woken from my thoughts when Aria called me. I looked at her and saw her smiling a bit. "We have arrived."
I looked around and saw that we were by the lake. More specifically, by the broken apart docks. "What are we doing here?" I asked, confused.
"Here we're far away from the camp, from our friends and my boss." Aria said before crossing her arms and frowning at me. "Now we can talk. Starting with the way you yelled at me just now."
I sighed and looked away. "I-I'm sorry, Aria. I have been in a bad mood lately."
"Why?" My girlfriend asked with concern.
I felt rage within me again, but I internally took a deep breath to calm down and avoid exploding again. "I-I really don't want to talk about it. Sorry. Please, don't ask."
"Oh… o-okay…" Aria seemed to be hurt. Sorry, but this is my problem and mine alone. Besides, you have some explaining to do as well, missy.
“Aria...” My girlfriend glanced at me when I called, still hurt. I took a deep breath. What I’m about to ask… I hope my heart isn’t broken. “D-Do you still… love me…?”
Aria's eyes widened. She looked extremely distraught. "What?! Where did that come from?"
I looked away feeling my anger and sadness swelling up inside me.
"You have been avoiding me for the past two weeks and you ignored me all day." I could feel my tears running down my cheeks. I couldn’t tell what Aria was doing because I hid my face behind my hair as I tried to keep my tears under control. "Aria, if you no longer have feelings for me, just tell me! Are you seeing somebody else?"
Aria looked disgusted and gasped, stomping her foot down hard.
"No!" Aria closed the distance between us and placed her hands on my shoulders. She gazed directly into my eyes. "I'm not cheating on you, Twilight. I love you and only you." She said before using her hands to clear my tears. "I would never hurt you in such a way. I'm really happy with you. Please, don't cry."
I sniffed, but couldn't stop crying. There's still an incognita. "Then why have you been avoiding me? Why make me suffer like this?"
"I…" Aria looked down. "My boss doesn't want me to get distracted while I work. She forbade me from talking with you, and with her cousin, Tree Hugger, watching me, I had no way to warn you.."
I gasped. "She did?" My girlfriend nodded. I fumed inside with anger. Why that no good bit- Hold on, cursing is not like me! I repressed the bad words and sighed. Then, I placed a hand on Aria's cheek, making her look at me. "I suppose I can't be mad at you for obeying your boss. But what about the past weeks?"
Aria looked away. "A-about that… I was in training since then and I wanted to surprise you, so I didn't call you to avoid spoiling the surprise by accident on my first job." Aria glanced back at me, ashamed. "If I had known you were going to feel rejected, I wouldn't have kept you in the dark. I'm sorry, Sparks."
I again felt a tinge of anger condensing down inside ready to explode at a moment's notice. That's her explanation?! Her reasononig was so dumb! I shocked myself at what I was thinking. What am I saying? How could I think such awful things about her? She meant well. She just wanted to surprise me, which is cute. I was fine with it until she started to ignore me. I can't blame her for that, though. Her boss seems strict. She sounds problematic and needs to be dealt with, but that would have to wait.
It was obvious that Aria wasn't feeling well. Her face said it all. She means too much to me. I don't want to lose her. I don't want to be mad at her. So I hugged her tightly. Aria didn't return the hug immediately, but eventually she did. She had to bend her knees a little to bury her face on my shoulder.
"Twilight… I missed you so much." My girlfriend said against my neck. It tickled, but I repressed the giggles with a smile.
"I missed you too, Aria…" As soon as I said the last, I moved my head to look at Aria. When our eyes met, I jumped onto her, wrapping my arms around her waist and kissed her deeply. It has been so long…
My girlfriend gasped in surprise, but she returned the gesture after the initial shock. She cupped my face with her hands as the kissing continued. I really missed her so much. Her voice, her face, her lips… oh, how I love her. I want to be with her forever.
When we were apart these past weeks, I got to think that I bored her. That she didn't want to be with me anymore. Even now I still have that fear. She's so confident, so strong, and I'm… me. Just a nerd who can't stand up for herself. I have to show her that I'm capable of more. I can be as mighty as a siren! We need to step up the game to prove how much we love her! Yes! We must-
"W-Whoa! Twilight!" Aria yelped and broke the kiss before taking a step back. She looked very flustered. Did you just-?
I blinked, feeling as if I was just waking up. But I wasn't asleep, right? It all felt real. The hug, the kiss, her bottom… hold on, did I really just touch her butt while we were kissing?!
"Aaah!" I stepped back as well and put my hands on my face as I turned my back on her. What was I thinking?! It was as if my hand moved on its own! "Aria, I'm so sorry! I don't know what came to me! I-"
"Twilight." My girlfriend called me as she placed a hand on my shoulder. I turned around and dared to look at her through my fingers. She looked calm now and was giving me a small smile. “It’s okay. Your hand slipped. You’re tired so it’s normal that it happened.”
Yes! That’s surely what happened. I’m really, really tired. As if on cue, I yawned. I was struggling to keep my eyes open, but if I sleep… “Anyway, can we go for a walk around the camp to make up the lost time?”
“No way, cub. You’re going back to bed. You need to sleep.” Aria said as she crossed her arms.
“N-No! I want to stay with you. Please.” I pleaded, but my girlfriend shook her head.
“I’m taking you back to your tent.” After saying the last, she picked me up. No, her superhuman strength! The way she was carrying me, though, I have seen it before. I think they call it… b-bridal carry!
Aria started to walk back towards my tent while I watched her, feeling completely flustered again. I couldn’t really struggle, so I might as well enjoy the little time we have. She’s so beautiful. Her face was the last I saw before my eyes gave up and closed. I fell asleep before reaching the tent.
Just as I expected, I had another uneasy night of sleep. If I could call it sleep. I turned over and over. All I could see was that face. The horrible face w-who wanted to take over my body.
I also felt lighter, as if I was flying. Was it a normal dream at last? It felt real, though. But it can't be…
"Twilight, wake up!"
"Huh?!" Sunset's voice woke me up. When I opened my eyes, I gasped. Even without my glasses I saw something wrong. My bed and I… were floating in the air!
I panicked and grabbed onto the head of my bed as I screamed until, suddenly, the bed fell back on the ground. I also heard and saw more objects fall on the floor. Sunset and Spike rushed towards me as I put on my glasses. I couldn't put them on in one try since I was shaking.
"Are you okay?" Spike asked. No! I'm not okay! What was that?!
"I don't believe it." Sunset said, catching both Spike and my attention. "I think I recognized that aura."
"What was it?" I asked. My heartbeat was still accelerated.
"Magic… but not any magic." My friend said before smiling. "It was just like the magic Unicorns have back in my world!"
"Why are you smiling? That's awful!" I said as I sat and hugged my knees. "Why do I have it? How do I get rid of it?" Having magic could give the evil me more power. I can't allow that!
Sunset lost her smile. She looked hurt now. "I don't know where it came from. Something is going on with us lately. The sirens and I did propose to investigate further last night, but-"
"If you're going to investigate, do it without me. I want to stay away from whatever's going on." I said as I felt how fear made my heartbeat go even faster.
"But, Twilight-" Sunset tried to convince me but I didn't want to hear.
"No, Sunset! I'm serious. Leave me out of it!"
Both Sunset and Spike backed away, shocked. I gasped and covered my mouth with my hand. While I fear magic, I didn't want to sound so harsh. I took a step back and was about to get dressed, but I realized that I was already dressed.
"I-I'm going for a walk…" I said before turning around and walking out of the tent. I walked at first, but once I was far from Sunset and Spike, I started to run. I ran until my lungs couldn't take it anymore. When I stopped, I placed my hands on my knees and panted with my eyes closed. When I opened them I realized that I was by a pond. I could see my reflection. However, when I blinked, I saw Midnight instead of me. She smirked maliciously at me and I yelped.
“Our love is growing tired of us. Last night she saw that we’re ready to step up the game. You should be thankful for my interference.” She said while swaying her hips side to side.
“No… no! That was gross! I’m not like you! Get away from me!” I tried to take a step back but I lost my balance and fell on the ground.
"Twilight?" A familiar voice called me. I followed it and saw Aria approaching me. She looked worried. "What are you doing here?"
"Aria!" I quickly stood up and rushed towards my girlfriend to give her a hug. She immediately returned it. I sobbed once I was safely in her arms.
"Twilight, what happened?" Aria asked with clear worry in her voice. I moved my head to look at her and cleaned my own tears before speaking.
"I-I yelled at Sunset. I didn't mean to…"
"Twilight." My girlfriend said as she stroked my hair. "Why did you yell at her? Were you arguing?"
My eyes widened. I didn't think things through. Of course she would ask me why I yelled at my best friend!
I didn't panic, though. Aria gave me an idea of what to reply.
"We were arguing, yes. But you shouldn't worry about it. It was nothing big. We'll make up."
"You sure?" Aria asked. Please, stop asking!
Something inside me screamed for me to take the initiative. To do something. It was a feeling that if I didn’t act I’d lose her forever, no. It had to be Midnight trying to make me do something I shouldn’t, so I fought back the urge and tried my best to answer Aria.
"Y-Yes." I said, trying to sound calm. I smiled and caressed her cheek. "Anyway, I'm happy to see you this morning. How are you?" I blushed deeply after remembering what happened last night. "I'm sorry again for… you know, last night…"
"What?" Aria blinked confused. Then, she chuckled and smiled. "Oh, you're still thinking about that? Twilight, it's okay. Like I said, it was an accident. Stop worrying about it."
"But-"
Aria interrupted me by placing her index finger on my lips. "Enough, okay? I'm not mad. Go back to Sunset. Apologize and enjoy the camp." Aria said before giving me a sweet smile and a kiss on the cheek. "Also, if I may suggest an activity, you should try a boat ride. You'll have fun."
"A boat ride, are you sure?" I said, feeling a little scared. "I-I don't know, Aria. You know I can't swim."
"You don't need to." My girlfriend said, still smiling. "The rides are completely safe. Plus, you'll be wearing a life jacket. You'll be fine." Aria said before stroking the cheek she just kissed,making me blush. "Just think about it, okay?"
I nodded and took some steps back, but she grabbed me by the shoulders and whispered in my ear, “If you fall in and have trouble, just call me and I’ll come save you, my little guppie.”
I blushed more, pushing her away with a giggle. She smiled back confidently pounding her chest. "I will, I promise. I'm going to apologize to Sunset before I take too much of your time. See you around, Aria."
My girlfriend waved at me. "Don't worry, I'll see you." She said as she winked at me. Still blushing, I turned around and started my way back, but Aria called me again. "Hey, Sparks!"
I turned around and glanced at her. "Yes?"
"There's dirt on your butt. I would clean it if I were you."
"Oh, thank you!" I said before blushing again."Wait, does that mean that you stared at my-?"
Now Aria was blushing too. "N-No! The dirt caught my eye. That's all, I swear!" She said before turning around. "I have to go. Later!" And just like that, she ran away from me. I giggled and cleaned my bottom before heading back to Sunset. I'm really happy that I didn't lose my girlfriend. But in the back of my mind was that nagging voice again poking at me. Weakling.
Later that day, my friends and I were hanging out by the broken docks. We came here specifically to be far away from everybody else because there has been more magic manifestations besides the one I experienced this morning.
"So, let's recap." Sunset said as she massaged her forehead. "Twilight made her bed float this morning and just now Rarity pushed Applejack away with something she created out of nowhere."
"I'm so sorry, Jackie!" Rarity apologized as she hugged our farmer friend. "I don't know what happened!"
"It's okay, Rarity. Ah didn't get hurt." Applejack said with a smile. "Ah just got a little wet. No biggie."
"I-I also have something to say…" Rainbow Dash said as she raised her hand. "This morning upon waking up, I walked out my tent to stretch and I ended up running all the way to Canterlot City and back in like two seconds."
"Wait, really?" Applejack asked. She, like the rest of us, was surprised. Rainbow Dash nodded in reply.
"Why didn't you tell us?" Adagio asked as she frowned and crossed her arms.
"I thought on hiding it so you guys wouldn't make a big deal of it, but since there's more magic stuff happening…"
"Of course it's a big deal!" Sunset exclaimed. She seemed mad. "Something's clearly up with this forest, something huge and you all prefer to look the other way!"
"Why do we have to do something about it?! Rainbow Dash asked, getting angry as well.
"Because we're the ones affected by it! We need to investigate." The equestrian girl said. I noticed that her hand touched Applejack's arm during her outburst. "I know that you and I haven't been affected yet, Applejack, but it's a matter of time before we are."
"Ah said nothin' Sunset." Applejack said, confused. We all were. Why did Sunset speak as if Applejack talked to her? Our farmer friend widened her eyes shortly after. "But Ah did think that…"
"What do you mean you didn't say it out loud? You heard her, right?" Sunset asked as she glanced at us. We all shook our heads. "Wait, really?" Sunset's eyes widened as well. "Hold on, did you say that you thought about it? Did I just… read your mind?"
"Read mah mind?" Applejack blinked in shock. "Ah didn't know you could do that."
"Me neither." Sunset frowned in thought. "I was-am a talented unicorn, but mind reading wasn't one of my skills."
"If magic got to you too…" Rainbow Dash said. "Then what do we do?"
Sunset glanced at each of us. Magic still terrified me, but we were all looking to her for guidance. The equestrian girl took a few moments to think, and then she sighed.
"Listen, I know that you don't find the idea of having magic great, but it found us as if it was fate." Sunset looked at us with determination. "I understand your fear, but magic can be wonderful too if you give it a chance."
"B-But what if it hurts us?" Fluttershy asked and all of us but Adagio and Sonata nodded.
"It might, I won't lie." Sunset said sagely. “Some of the greatest minds in Equestria abused magic for their own gain, but if you respect it, it can be a great thing.”
"Magic is like any other skill you want to learn." Adagio spoke next. "You can't learn to walk without falling on the first tries."
“We can find a way to control it. Make magic be a part of you.” Sunset said. “You only have to be willing to try.”
I glanced at my friends. They were looking away and thinking about what Sunset said. Please, don't-
"Okay, okay…" Rainbow Dash said after a few moments of silence. "If our magic won't go away, I suppose we better look for a way to control it."
"Yay!" Sunset jumped and clapped excitedly.
"We knew you would come around… eventually." Adagio said with a smirk. Most of my friends weren't excited, and I was no exception. I'm not ready to start investigating magic again!
"Don't worry, girls. It won't all be about magic. We can still have fun." Sunset spoke again. "We can think of what to give to this camp."
Like Principals Celestia and Luna's sun clock?" Applejack asked.
"Exactly." The fiery girl nodded. "Anyone have any ideas?"
"We could build a fountain." Applejack suggested.
"Lame!" Rainbow Dash said. "What we should do is build a racing track."
"That's not good for the forest, Rainbow." Fluttershy said. "We would have to cut down too many trees. It would hurt the camp more than it would benefit it."
"She's right." Adagio said, making Rainbow Dash groan.
"We'll think of something else." Sunset said. "We have time."
I placed a hand on my chin and looked away to think. I gazed at the lake. It's a key part of the camp. Moving my head my eyes found the broken docks. Since I saw them last night, they have been in my thoughts. It's so damaged that it barely qualifies as docks. Gloriosa seems to be too busy to fix them, and- wait…
I raised my hand to catch my friends' attention. When they turned to me, I spoke. "What about the docks? We could rebuild them."
"Manual labor?" Adagio commented, not fully liking the idea. Rarity looked a little uneasy as well.
"You know, that’s not a bad idea." Sunset said with her hand on her chin.
"Can we do that, though?" Applejack asked. "The docks are property of the camp. Are we allowed to tamper with them?"
"Let's ask, then." Rainbow Dash said before whistling and waving at someone in the distance. "Hey, Blaze! Get over here!" When I heard my friend calling Aria, my eyes widened. I couldn't force myself to look at her and I felt my body getting hot. I heard footsteps getting closer and my heart skipped a beat when I heard my girlfriend's voice.
"Yeah? What's up?" I still couldn't make eye contact with Aria, even as she spoke. Since we made up, I have been having weird thoughts of her. S-Sexy thoughts. Something’s messing with me.
"Aria." Sunset spoke. "We were wondering if Gloriosa had plans for the docks."
"Plans for the docks?" There was a small pause where I'm sure Aria used it to think. "Hmm… not that I know of. She didn't say anything about it. Why do you ask?”
“We want to rebuild the docks to help give back to the camp.” Sunset said with a straight face. Aria stayed silent for sometime before replying.
“I’ll check in and let you know. Be careful on the docks until then.”
"Thank you, darling. Tell her that we'll be careful." Rarity said.
"I will, don't worry." There was another silence, so I peeked. Aria was looking at me. She smiled when we made eye contact. I panicked and got behind Adagio for cover.
"Well, that sure brings memories of our early days." Aria said, surely smirking, before I heard her footsteps fading. "I'll get back at you. You keep having fun!" My girlfriend said as she walked away.
"Thank you!" Pinkie Pie said as she and my friends waved at Aria. Once she was far away, Adagio turned around and looked at me with motherly concern.
"Twilight, why are you acting so weird?"
"Yeah, what gives?" Rainbow Dash asked. "I thought you said you and Aria could talk."
"Hmm… oh!" Adagio lifted her finger triumphantly. "I think I know. It's my gift to you, right?"
"Gift?" I asked, now confused myself. "What gift?"
"Why, Aria's uniform of course!" The eldest siren said with pride. "I made it especially for you to enjoy. I simply had to when Aria told me of your tastes."
"Tastes? What tastes?" Trixie asked.
My body instantly heated up. A-Adagio! "Nevermind that! It's too embarrassing!" I said as I covered my face with my hands.
"I knew you would like it." Adagio said. "You're welcome."
So, Aria’s uniform was Adagio’s gift… to me?! She’s the reason I can see my girlfriend’s sexy legs so often. Ugh, that word again! Stop it with the dirty words, Twilight!
"Attention everyone!" Tree Hugger called all nearby campers as she approached the lake. "Canoes and boats are available if you want to explore the lake. Or if you want to stay on land, we're about to form groups for nature walks!"
"Oh, nature walks!" Fluttershy excitedly said before heading towards Tree Hugger.
"That sounds fun! I'm going too!" Spike said before following Fluttershy.
"Boat ride, huh?" Rainbow Dash said before turning to me. "You should come, Twi."
"I-I'm not sure…" Aria suggested the same, but I'm scared…
"It will be fun, Twilight. Ah promise." Applejack spoke next.
"I'm going to do some fishing." Trixie commented before giving Sunset a kiss on her cheek and walking away.
"Have fun." Sunset said as she watched Trixie walk away.
"I'm going to look for more bug repellent." Rarity said as she tried to shoo away some bugs. "These mosquitoes are becoming an annoyance again."
"I'll go with you! Adagio said before following Rarity. “Ugh I miss my beautiful scales! No pest could penetrate them.”
Rarity giggled, swatting another bug. “Sounds very useful, darling. These bugs! EEE!”
Meanwhile, Pinkie Pie and Sonata looked at each other and smirked conspirationaly.
"Snack raid?" Sonata asked.
"Snack raid!" Pinkie Pie replied. They high fived and ran in direction to where the kitchen was.
Only Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Sunset and I remained while Pinkie and Sonata ran off with gleeful squeals. Applejack glanced at the fiery girl.
"What are you going to do, Sunset?"
"A boat ride sounds tempting… but I think I'm going for a nature walk with Fluttershy."
"Sure, go do that boring walk." Rainbow Dash said. "We are going to have fun!"
Sunset chuckled and waved at us as she walked away. "Okay. See you guys later!"
"Sweet!" The athletic girl said before taking me by my wrist. "Come on, let's go!"
"But I don't- ah!" It was no use. I was dragged to the boats. As we got closer to them, my nervousness increased. The lake looks deep. If I fall in there…
Don't be ridiculous, Twilight! You'll be wearing a life jacket! It's perfectly safe. You can do this! Y-You can…
"Alright, here we go!" Rainbow Dash excitedly said as she passed me a life jacket. "I want to see the camp from the middle of the lake!"
"Hold it, Rainbow." Applejack said as she accommodated Rainbow Dash's life jacket. "You must first make sure everything is in order. "
"What's the point? We'll be fine!" The athletic girl complained. "It's just a lake, not a river or the ocean.
"Lakes are just as dangerous, Rainbow. Don't underestimate them." The farmer girl said before approaching me to check my life jacket. "Everything okay, Twilight?" Applejack asked with a smile.
"Not really." I said, avoiding my friend's eyes in shame. "I-I never learned how to swim."
"Oh, sorry, we didn't know." Applejack apologized. "You can back down if it's too much for you."
I glanced to the side to look at Aria. She was busy helping Trixie and her companions with their fishing rods so she didn't see me. She said a boat ride might relax me so I'll give it a chance. There's no way that sexy siren would put me in danger… wait, that word again?! Where is it coming from? This isn’t me!
I forced myself to look at Applejack, who was patiently waiting for a reply. With luck, she wouldn't notice my blush. I opened my mouth and spoke. "I want to try it. I know it's safe, so… it might be fun." I finished with what I hope was a convincing smile.
"Facing your fears head on. I like that!" Rainbow Dash commented with a smirk. Applejack gave me a concerned look, but she said nothing else.
The line moved and our turn arrived. Rainbow Dash practically jumped into the boat. Applejack got in carefully and turned around to give me a hand. I accepted it.
"Thank you." I smiled at my farmer friend.
"Yer welcome." We sat down and set sail. Applejack controlled the boat while Rainbow Dash looked around. As for me… I held tightly onto the boat and avoided staring into the water. So far, so good.
"Could you make this thing go faster?" The athletic girl said after groaning.
Applejack stared unamused at our friend. "It's not a speedboat, Rainbow, so, no."
"Aww, man!" Rainbow Dash laid on the floor. "Could you at least make it go a little faster?"
I decided to focus on my thoughts to stay calm. My heartbeat was beating fast due to how uneasy I was.
I must figure out why I am thinking and doing things to Aria I wouldn't normally do. I touched her bottom, I felt the urge to stare at her chest and now I'm calling her sexy. I love her, but… I fell for who she is, not her body. All I can think of is touching her instead of listening to her, which is irrelevant-important! Listening is more important!
Ever since I started to have those nightmares, I haven't been able to think straight. Wait… the evil me is obsessed with Aria. Those dirty thoughts I'm having… it's her! It must be! Oh, no… not Aria… I can't let her treat Aria like that! But how do I stop her? She was so powerful and I was so weak. I felt my mind wander. Without being able to sleep, I can't think of how… I'm feeling tired… so tired… so-
"Twilight! Look out!"
"Huh?!" I shook my head awake and I noticed that my life jacket was flying away because of a magic aura. I tried to reach for it but I forgot that I was at the edge of the boat and I fell into the water.
"Twilight!" Rainbow Dash called me. I turned around to see my friends on the boat but I started to sink.
"Hel-!" My mouth got filled with water and I kept fighting to stay afloat, but the panic made me waste more energy! No, no, no! Please, not now! Not like this! I sank without being able to stay on the surface anymore. Before sinking again, I saw that Applejack was about to jump after me, but she stopped for some reason. I took a deep breath and got underwater.
Desperation was taking over me! However, just a few seconds later, someone grabbed me and pulled me to the surface. I gasped for air and coughed as I looked at my savior. It was Aria!
"Hold on tight, Twilight. You're safe now. Just don't let go of me!" My girlfriend said as she swam towards dry land. My heroine!
I held tightly onto Aria until we made it to the shore. Once on land, I got on fours and crawled a short distance before I started to cough. I immediately felt someone patting on my back.
"That's it. Spit out all the water." It was Aria. She patted and stroked my back until the coughing stopped.
When I started to feel better, I sat on the ground and hugged my knees. My heartbeat kept racing. Not being able to touch the floor with my feet and sinking… what a terrifying experience! I think I better avoid the pool for a while. I didn’t want to feel that helpless again.
"Twilight!" I heard a different familiar voice. I raised my head to see Sunset, Trixie and Fluttershy running towards me. I couldn't stand up but I got on my knees just in time to be hugged by my friends. As I returned the hug, I saw Applejack and Rainbow Dash docking.
"Are you okay?" Trixie asked.
"That was so scary!" Fluttershy said. "Did you cough all the water?"
"I-I…" I tried to speak, but suddenly, I heard a voice inside of my head. It was the evil me.
"How foolish of them to worry. They'll be the first ones to taste our powers as soon as you accept our destiny." Every word of hers made me sick. "Just surrender! We only need each other and Aria. She had to do all the work while the rest just watched. These… 'friends' are worthless!"
"No! Go away!" I stood up and turned around as I put my hands on my head. I was fed up with her. I just want her out of my mind. "You're always telling me what you think is good for me, but you're wrong! You're an annoyance! I don't want you anywhere near me!"
"I-Is that how you feel about me?" That voice… oh, no. I raised my head to see Aria, looking at me heartbroken and with tears in her eyes. "I just wanted you to feel better since I noticed you have been too tired lately."
“N-No, Aria! You don’t understand-!” I desperately tried to explain myself, but Aria raised a hand to stop me.
“I do understand, Twilight. I’m not dumb.” My girlfriend said, her voice cracking.
I got confused. “I never said you were.”
“No, but Twilight…” Aria cleaned her tears before continuing. “It’s clear that something’s happening to you. Something serious you’re not telling anyone. Why aren't you telling us what's wrong?”
Why is she asking? She can't know! No one can! Midnight is my problem to deal with. Just mine. "I'm fine, Aria. Nothing's wrong." This is for the best.
However, my lie didn't make my girlfriend happy. She glared at me and sighed as she shook her head. "Lying to my face? Twilight, you just had an argument with yourself! Nothing's ‘Fine’." Aria massaged her forehead and when she looked at me again, she didn't look happy at all.
"If you're not going to tell me what's going on, I won't bother you anymore. I can't help you if you hide things from me. When you're ready to be honest, come see me." After saying the last, Aria turned around and started to walk away. All of our friends moved aside to not block her path.
"Aria…!" I called her, my voice cracking. I was fighting hard to not cry. I-I can't talk to her anymore?
Aria stopped walking and spoke without looking at me. "Get changed before you get sick." With that said, she left. I could see Applejack and Trixie going after her before dropping on my knees and sobbing.
I heard footsteps rushing towards me. I looked up and saw Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Sunset beside me. Not being able to hold myself anymore, I started to cry on Fluttershy's shoulder while my other two friends placed their hands on my back to try to comfort me. No… please, Aria, don't stop talking to me!
First of, I'm so sorry for the late update! Given the ending, we had to make sure this chapter was as close to perfect as possible before releasing it. This chapter was a nightmare, but it will all be worth it if you enjoyed it 
I want to thank Windsor, Quantum Logic and Zalla661 for proofreading and editing this chapter before its release 
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I know how Twilight feel, I can't swim either.
I feel so bad for Twilight right now, and she SERIOUSLY needs to be honest with Aria right now. I really hope they can make amends soon.
Also, am I the only on who would love to see Aria teaching Twilight how to swim together on a date? I think that would be an adorable scene.
This chapter hurt, I want cute date moments, not painful emotional moments.
10669242 I want that too, but drama is always needed
10669239 True. Hopefully she will realize she doesn't have to deal with her problems alone soon
Didn't this chapter satisfy you? Both of them were in the water at the same time
10669252
Seriously. And it makes matters worse since Twilight's starting to get dirty thoughts of her girlfriend.
Technically, yes......but I think it would be cute to have Aria and Twilight swimming together ALONE, and preferably at night.
Then it could be a date.
10669246
I know, I just miss the cute date stuff, hopefully they finally talk what's bugging them soon. Hopefully before Adagio or Rainbow suggests they settle their problems with a pillow fight.
10669246
Drama isn't always needed, nor is it always avoidable.
Life, is drama after all.
10669254 Yeah, Midnight is influencing Twilight's behavior more and more each passing day she refuses to ask for help
It would take a while, though. First Twilight has to lose her fear of water
10669281 Yeah, give them time
10669389 But the entire fic has been fluff, no big dramatic problem since Twilight first confessed and Aria asked for time to figure if she felt the same. Something had to go wrong, and Midnight offered the perfect reason for things to go down.
10669410
Yeah. It's both worrying and sad.
That's very true, I just think it would be a really touching scene.
10669415
Something inevitably goes wrong. That too, is life.
Also, I had hold myself back a bit from launching into a tirade about how carelessly and casually this fandom still treats magic.
To see someone actually recognize on at least some level how stupidly dangerous it is when mishandled is a distinct change from that "It's magic, I don't got to explain shit." attitude.
I am so fucking sick of that.
And lastly.
This line is a tad clumsy, so try this wording instead.
Besides, we sirens are able to sense magic.
That should run a bit more smoothly.
10669527 I hear you. Magic is a touchy subject
Thanks, I have fixed that
Man... this chapter hurts to read. Poor Twilight!
I knew Midnight is slowly influencing Sci-Twi, but this is worse than I feared. I really hope Twilight will finally tell Aria and the others what's wrong, or else things will get worse for her. 
And poor Aria! I bet she was all torn up that she decided to distance herself from her girlfriend. I understand why, but I hope it didn't make things worse between the two of them.
10669599 Yeah, Midnight is a serious problem and Twilight can't handle her alone
Maybe some time apart will help Twilight to see she's not doing the right thing
10669558
Isn't it just though?
Still, after nearly 40 years of exposure, exploration (at least as much as I can), and explanation it is one of a very few things that can get under my skin.
No probalem.
It easy to spot these things when helping others.
10669558
I looked the line over, you still need to replace the us with we.
That will fully smooth it out.
10669924 Done
10670424
Nice, now, back to my curiosity about what's coming next.
10670843 A little drama for now
10670960
Well, a problem of this nature doesn't get solved instantly.
I mean really, that would be poor storytelling.
10670993 Exactly. It's one of the reasons this chapter took so long to be updated. The argument at the end had to be convincing enough.
10671017
That makes sense. Execution is key after all.
10671077
I have a feeling Princess Twilight would be proud of her counterpart
Didn't Aria explain in the last chapter why she didn't call Twilight for two weeks and why she can't spend all day making googly eyes and tongue wrestling with her? She was training for her new job. And she's at work now. But no, it's not that Aria doesn't want to jeopardise the first real job she's ever had, it must be because she's cheating on Twilight. Genius move, Twi. And why is Aria taking this crap from Twilight instead of telling her to grow up and get a grip?
10672032 Twilight's obciously not thinking straight. Midnight has been messing with her head for too long and isn't being herself.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
THE ANGST!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
anyways, love this owo
10676448 Thanks! And I love your Avatar
10676458
thanks!!
well damn, now i ave to wait for updates lol.
Ooo, well this is going in the read later and watch list!
10736176 I'm glad to hear that!
The fic is actually almost over