Three Little Words

Sunset Shimmer was never a believer in luck. For the most part it was because she only ever seemed to be unlucky; luck didn't favor her, so she didn't believe in it.

However, for just a moment, she believed that maybe luck or fate or what-have-you could be real.

Sunset had gotten a very bad feeling after leaving the group. It felt like something was trying to warn her-who or what she couldn't say. Her stomach was churning and the hairs on the back of her neck stood up on end as she walked to the back of the restaurant. She passed by numerous people on her way to the back, but found the restrooms themselves empty.

When she was finished she walked back out, only to find the bad feeling had doubled. Something was very, very wrong.

Sunset swore under her breath as she glanced around. She felt compelled to do something--to act on the feeling--but she couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. Her breathing quickened and she felt in her gut that something bad was about to happen.

Hoping to distance herself from whatever the problem was, she stepped out a side door and into the afternoon air. A slight breeze ruffled her hair a bit, and she moved her hand to rearrange it when suddenly a sharp crack tore through the air. Some distance away, a large decorative tree had begun to tilt to the side, towards WeJump. Sunset's eyes widened as the tree groaned and swayed under it's own weight. Ropes that appeared to have been previously holding the tree steady as it grew fell limply as their stakes were tugged from the ground.

While the tree wasn't incredibly large, at the rate it was falling it would crash right through the back windows, possibly injuring someone at the very least. Sunset knew this was the kind of problem to not jump into herself; the logical thing to do would be to tell one of the managers or perhaps warn people to avoid the back of the building. Sunset had always prided herself in being logical, and decided to run and get a manager while getting as far away from the windows as possible.

Then Sunset noticed the kids at the base of the tree. They weren't immediately noticable since they seemed to have come out from behind the tree only moments before. If Sunset had to guess, she would say that those kids probably had something to do with the tree falling over.

"You idiot!" An all-too familiar voice cried, "You broke the tree!"

"Nuh-huh!" The second half of the duo whined, "You did!"

Sunset felt her stomach drop out as she realized who the kids were.

"Snips! Snails!" She broke into a run as the two boys tried to wrestle each other to the ground under the tree. Said tree seemed to have finally given into its fate as it leaned forward even more with enough momentum to possibly hurt or even kill the two boys under it.

The thought of Snips or Snails getting hurt almost made Sunset sick. After the Fall Formal the trio had a bit of a falling out, which led to Snips and Snails going one way and Sunset another. Sunset understood... In time. She found out eventually that loyalty was earned, not demanded, and fully intended one day to befriend the two boys for real.

She couldn't do that if they were squished by a tree, not could she?

"Look out!" Sunset got to the boys just as the tree hit. She threw an arm around each of them and pulled them down towards the ground. From there they sat in a kneeling position as the tree fell down on top of them. A thundering boom echoed around them, but Sunset didn't feel anything...

At first. Confused, Sunset looked up looked up and saw the familiar shimmering blue of her own (thought to be long gone) magic. A sphere of translucent blue encased the trio and protected them from the tree, which had been knocked to the side. The spell faded with a flicker, and Sunset got a good look at the tree, which was now burned and splintered on the ground around them.

A defense spell? Sunset groaned as she felt the magic tax her human body. But... Humans can't do magic...

Snips and Snails looked up in awe and fear as the spell faded and they realized the tree would have fallen right on top of them. They shared a glance when they realized Sunset had-somehow-saved them.

"Sunset!" Twilight's frantic and surprised voice came from the side door, which had been narrowly missed by the tip of the tree. "Boys! Are you alright?"

The duo answered in the affirmative as Twilight knelt down by Sunset, who realized she had been sitting on the ground.

"M-magic..." Sunset mumbled as her head throbbed.

"I saw it," Twilight said gently, "But are you okay? That was an advanced spell for a unicorn, I'm surprised your human body could handle it." There was something in her tone that hadn't made it into words. What Sunset did was not only impossible, but it could have killed her. Should have, if either of them thought too hard about it, but they both tried to avoid that thought.

Sirens in the distance alerted the four to the fact that other people would be out soon to investigate the noise. Twilight looked at the tree-what remained of it-and figured it would be best if they left. There was no way they could explain why the tree had fallen and apparently been struck by lightning on a clear day.

"We have to go. You two get out of here." Twilight gave a pointed look to the boys.

"But Sunset-"

"Will be fine." Twilight assured them with a small smile, "I've got her. Come by Pinkie Pie's house tomorrow if you want to see her, okay?"

Looking unsure but not wanting to argue, the boys ran off. Twilight was touched at how much they seemed to care for Sunset. They seemed to have parted ways with her previously, but she wondered if there was more to that then there appeared to be. Twilight helped Sunset to her feet just as Rainbow busted out of the side door.

"Whoa!"

"No time to explain. We need to go." Rainbow was surprised but nodded and helped Twilight pull Sunset along. Sunset seemed to be exhausted, no surprise considering what Twilight had just seen. Though it seemed odd to her that Sunset had been able to cast a spell. Perhaps something had triggered her magic? But if that was true, was there a way to let them keep magic in this world?

Their other friends soon saw them, leading to more panic and confusion. Twilight hushed them all with promises of filling them in once they were back at Pinkie's house.

Twilight held an unconscious Sunset all the way there and glanced at her numerous times, worry written all over her face.

"Wait a second," Applejack held up a hand as Twilight recounted the events that had played out earlier, "The rest of us have to sing songs or play an instrument to activate our magic. Yet Sunset just... Did this spell?"

"I'm not entirely sure what happened myself." Twilight admitted. She glanced towards the stairs. Sunset was resting in Pinkie's room while Twilight filled the others in on what had happened. Sunset had managed to tell Twilight that Snips and Snails had done something to the tree before passing out again, and Twilight was trying to piece it all together.

"Maybe it was a self preservation thing-or a trying to save someone thing?" Pinkie wondered out loud. "I mean, she was trying to help Snips and Snails. Maybe that triggered something?"

"That's a good point, Pinkie," Twilight  looked thoughtful, "Maybe, since she and I are from Equestria, we have different 'triggers' to start our magic up?"

"Since we weren't born with magic, we only get it through our songs," Rainbow said, "But you two, if you knew how, could probably do it whenever."

"Even on vacation weird things happen." Twilight sighed. Of course, this whole thing meant that what had originally been a confession of love would now be a more in-depth analysis of how magic worked in the human world. Figures.

"Let's just hope this is the only weird thing to happen." Rarity said gently.

Twilight highly doubted it would be.