All of the Above

by Wolftamer54

Chapter 2: Lovers?

Time marches on. Years pass, and the world evolves. Nothing can escape change, not even the closest of siblings. From lovable dorks to a Royal Guard and prized student, and now Prince and Princess. But titles hardly convey the most significant changes.

---

“Come on Shining! We’re gonna miss it!” Twilight exclaimed, bolting down the street with fervor.

“I’m coming! I’m coming!” Shining replied, breaking into a trot to catch up to his sister. He soon drew even with her, and together they rushed ahead. Ducking and weaving around other ponies, stands, and whatever obstacles were in their way, the siblings moved relentlessly.

Their mad dash soon brought them to their destination, an ornately decorated movie theater. The marquee advertised “Power Ponies: The Final Stand”, and the inside of the theater was packed with lines of ponies, all trying to get their tickets. Resolute in their goal, Shining and Twilight dove into the crowd. Soon swallowed up by the rush, they were only barely able to stay together. As they waited, they noticed some of the other patrons stealing surprised glances at them.

“I think we’ve drawn some excessive attention,” Twilight whispered to Shining, shrinking down slightly from the stares.

“Just ignore it. We came to this theater all the time as foals. Why should it be any different now?” Shining replied out of the corner of his mouth.

“Well, we weren’t part of the royal family then. Most ponies don’t expect to see royalty in line at the movie theater.” Twilight countered.

“True, true. But we’re still the same old Sparkles, and nothing’s going to stop us from seeing this movie. Especially not some little old gawking.” Shining said, continuing to hold his head high.

“I suppose you’re right.” Twilight acquiesced, giving her brother a playful nuzzle on the side of his neck.

By this point, they had finally made their way to the front of the line, and were greeted by the cashier. The elderly stallion did a brief double take when he saw his next customers, and then broke into a wide smile.

“Shining! Twilight! I haven’t seen you two in years!”

“Corny?! Is that you?” Twilight exclaimed in surprise, and Shining’s eyes widened in shock.

“Sure is! Heck, I never thought I’d see you again, what with you growing up and saving Equestria and all. It sure is nice to see you back at our humble theater.” he answered with a content grin.

“No problem. Could we get our tickets though? We’d love to stay and chat, but we shouldn’t hold up the line too much.” Twilight asked.

“Coming right up,” Corny replied, ringing up their tickets on the register and hoofing them over.

Moving away from the admissions line, Twilight and Shining entered the concessions line instead. While this wasn’t quite as long it still ate up a couple minutes, and the pair had to rush to their seats, junk food in tow, in order to make it in time. Making their way up the stairs and down an aisle as quickly as they could without stepping on anypony, they just barely managed to settle into a seat as the previews started. Drinks in cup holders and tubs of popcorn cradled in their laps, they soon became riveted to the screen.

The lights in the theater went out, drenching them all in darkness. The screen stopped playing its last ad (buy one get one free at the hayburger chain), and showed the usual “the following preview has been approved for all audiences” message.

A whisper of wind playing over the surround sound, the screen faded onto a desolate plain, bathed in soot and ash. Flat as far as the eye could see, stretching out in all directions. After a few seconds to soak it all in, the scene changed to the lifeless, skeletal husk of an enormous dead tree. Its lifeless limbs and trunk poking jaggedly into the sky. A second cut brought the scene to a destroyed city, the empty shells of buildings falling into themselves.

The silence was abruptly broken by the jarring sound of gunshots ringing out, echoing through the streets and into the emptiness beyond. The camera shifted focus one last time, as spent bullet casings cascaded down into frame. The shot slowly panned upwards, showing the one responsible for the noise. First, a quartet of gray hooves, soon followed by blue and black fatigues, and a green glowing magic enveloping the ivory handle of the revolver being reloaded. The gun snapped back into place as the camera completed its journey, finishing on the tired face of a certain small, brown-maned unicorn.

Just as the audience had time to take this all in, the screen flashed bright gold as a slow, sad piano began to play. The flash soon turned into streaks of golden thread criss-crossing all over the screen. As the piano climaxed, the shot zoomed out to show Fallout: Equestria written in glittering golden letters. As the title proudly displayed on screen, the audience was silent for a moment, before erupting into cheers. One very vocal stallion could be heard shouting “Yes! YES!” at the top of his lungs.

For her part, Twilight leaned over and whispered slyly into Shining’s ear, “Great, now I wanna see that movie instead,” to which he chuckled and nodded in agreement.

Unfortunately, the rest of the previews were not nearly as impactful, and the audience was soon once again thirsting for some super-pony action. They didn’t have to wait long, as the opening logos took their turns on screen, finally signifying the start of the film. Triumphant music played over rapid flashes of the comic book source material before turning into film clips from previous installments. Each showed off a particular hero and their abilities, and the images soon came together to form an elaborate title screen.

As the film played, the audience seemed as one, a single-minded entity that cheered together, laughed together, and cried together. Popcorn buckets emptied down to the kernels, slushies sucked clean of all their flavor, and candies munched away. As the action intensified, the audience was bathed in multicolored lights from explosions, attacks, and the almost too brightly colored superhero costumes.

Twilight and Shining were no exception, enjoying the film just as much as everypony around them. However, they did still add in their own thoughts from time to time.

During a scene where the sidekick Humdrum was separated from the rest of the team, and sought help from a friendly stallion, Shining coyly remarked: “You know they put that in just to pass the Braeburn Test.”

“Oh hush,” Twilight chided, though still with a smile.

In another scene, a combination of slow motion and extreme close up shots revealed just how tightly the costumes fit the forms of the ponies. Toned thighs and backs shown off in all their glory, gripped by the shiny smooth latex. Shining and Twilight were less than impressed though.

“Those suits look like they’d be impossible to move around in”, he said.

“Oh believe me, they were,” Twilight muttered under her breath.

“What?” Shining asked, looking to his sister in confusion.

“Oh nothing, let’s just watch the film,” she said quickly, attempting to redirect his attention. The ploy worked, and Shining turned back to face the movie screen.

---

About two hours later, the film had finished, the audience trickled out one by one, and a few die-hards stayed behind to catch the post-credits scene. Shining and Twilight were among this group, and exited the theater a good while after the rest. Hyped up on all the action and emotions, they could barely contain themselves from belting out all the new quotes, and spoiling them for all the ponies waiting in line for the next showing. Still, they managed to contain themselves until they were out on the street and well away from any prying ears.

“So, did you like it?” Shining asked.

Twilight let out a small laugh. “Of course I liked it, couldn’t you tell? We were practically floating out of the theater.”

“I know, I know. I just meant… actually, hold on.” Shining cut off, and went down a side alley. Twilight followed closely, curious to hear what her brother had to say. When they were both tucked away in the shadows, he continued. “I knew you liked the movie, I meant more, did you enjoy our little ‘date’?”

Twilight was thankful for the darkness, as it concealed the blush spreading across her face. “Oh, well um, yes. It was very nice.” She glanced around quickly, even though she already knew that they were alone. “However, I would enjoy something a little more, personal,” she whispered tenderly in his ear.

“As you wish, my princess”, he replied, nuzzling against her neck. “I’ve got just the thing. But first,” he said, lighting up his horn, “I want it to be a surprise.” A strip of cloth levitated out of his bag, and tied itself around Twilight’s eyes.

---

“Ta-da!” Shining exclaimed, removing the blindfold. As light flooded back in, Twilight’s vision adjusted as she tried to figure out where she was. Despite not being able to see, she had correctly surmised one of the city park’s, having been able to smell the dirt and trees. However, she now saw that they were tucked away in a familiar knot of trees, light only barely filtering in through the gaps in the branches.

“What do you think?” Shining asked, gesturing with his hooves spread wide. He had set them up a small picnic, complete with quilted blanket, sandwiches, and a small pile of apples.

Twilight smiled warmly, touched by the gesture. “I love it. Thanks Shiny.” She laid down on the blanket. “Now, you spent so much time putting this together, let’s enjoy it.”

“Yes ma’am,” he said, grinning while giving a short salute before plopping down next to her. Together, they began to dig into the food.

Several dishes later, Shining looked up from his food and regarded his sister. He swallowed what was in his mouth to allow himself to talk. “Hey, can I ask you something?” he ventured.

Glancing up in response, Twilight shrugged and said “Sure.”

“Why me? I guess, I don’t entirely understand. You could’ve chosen anyone in Equestria, and they probably would have been ecstatic at the chance to be with ‘Princess Twilight’, Element of Magic. I know that guard, Flash, he definitely had an interest in you. And Sunset was always dropping hints. So why, with all the options in the world, did you pick your own brother?”

Somewhat surprised at the unexpected question, Twilight pondered for a minute before responding. “Well, it’s pretty simple really. Just because I could be with anybody doesn’t mean it would be a great idea. So I thought, who would love me? Understand me? Appreciate me for who I am, not what my title is. And the answer was obvious. You always read about ponies who start off as best friends, and everyone sees how well they go together, but it takes them a long time to figure it out for themselves. So, why couldn’t it be the same for us?”

Shining shook his head, smiling. “Well, I’m awfully flattered. Though most ponies would say that there’s a very good reason why we shouldn’t be together.”

Twilight scoffed. “Well, ‘a lot of ponies’ is not us. I love you B.B.B.F.F., and I’d rather try to find happiness with the pony that loves me the most than spend the rest of my life wishing I’d done it differently.”

“Yeah, I know the feeling. You’ve got to go for what you want, make it happen for yourself. In fact, I can think of something that we probably both want,” he teased, leaning forward and giving Twilight a suggestive smile.She smiled in kind, and leaned in as well. Tucked away, out of sight of the world, with no one to tell them they were wrong, the brother and sister kissed.

Comments

[DreamCatcher-Caster]

A whisper of wind playing over the surround sound, the screen faded onto a desolate plain, bathed in soot and ash. Flat as far as the eye could see, stretching out in all directions. After a few seconds to soak it all in, the scene changed to the lifeless, skeletal husk of an enormous dead tree. Its lifeless limbs and trunk poking jaggedly into the sky. A second cut brought the scene to a destroyed city, the empty shells of buildings falling into themselves.

The silence was abruptly broken by the jarring sound of gunshots ringing out, echoing through the streets and into the emptiness beyond. The camera shifted focus one last time, as spent bullet casings cascaded down into frame. The shot slowly panned upwards, showing the one responsible for the noise. First, a quartet of gray hooves, soon followed by blue and black fatigues, and a green glowing magic enveloping the ivory handle of the revolver being reloaded. The gun snapped back into place as the camera completed its journey, finishing on the tired face of a certain small, brown-maned unicorn.

Just as the audience had time to take this all in, the screen flashed bright gold as a slow, sad piano began to play. The flash soon turned into streaks of golden thread criss-crossing all over the screen. As the piano climaxed, the shot zoomed out to show Fallout: Equestria written in glittering golden letters. As the title proudly displayed on screen, the audience was silent for a moment, before erupting into cheers. One very vocal stallion could be heard shouting “Yes! YES!” at the top of his lungs.

I felt that.

All the hype of seeing an amazing teaser trailer for a beloved franchise getting a surprise movie? And how you artistically portrayed lil pip giving bits and pieces of information that true fan would recognize? I was almost as excited as the audience when it was revealed that it was infact Fallout: Equestria.

Bravo

...also, super cute fic

[Wolftamer54]

10736106
Thank you, that means a lot.