The sun was shining brilliantly on the town of Canterlot, as this beautiful Saturday afternoon yielded the expected result of the locals coming out in droves to enjoy the day. The shops were busy, the streets were filled with smiling and happy people, and all around there was just a sense of relaxation and contentment. Nowhere was this more evident than in the town's local park, where many had come to have a nice time. The birds were chirping, there was a cool breeze, and all-in-all, things were about as pleasant as one could imagine. And a good thing too, for today was the day chosen to host a very special picnic, taking place in a particularly scenic corner of the park. There was the usual massive red-and-white chequered cloth draped over the grass and all the customary food and drink present, but what was particularly special about this picnic was who was involved in it.
For there, sitting on either side of the cloth, were the students of both Canterlot High and Crystal Prep. The former group consisted of those who recently took part in the Friendship Games for their school; Sunset Shimmer, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Applejack and Fluttershy. And on the other were their one-time rivals, otherwise known as the Shadowbolts. Lemon Zest, Indigo Zap, Sugarcoat, Sunny Flare and Sour Sweet. And there, sitting somewhat meekly at the end of that latter group, was Twilight Sparkle, currently drinking a soda quietly. The two groups were, admittedly, enjoying the food presented here, and generally enjoying the company. But even so, some things just never change, and it wasn't long before a new, and terrible contest emerged between these groups, threatening to shatter the wonderful peace that had emerged between them.
"Okay, first to drink a whole bottle of soda wins!" Rainbow called out.
"You're on!" Indigo replied with a smirk.
And with that, the two girls got started, guzzling down as much soda as possible while their friends watched with varying levels of amusement. As for Twilight, she was sitting beside Sunset, letting out a sigh of contentment, which did not go unnoticed by the latter girl.
"Enjoying yourself?"
Twilight turned to her, smiling sweetly and giving a nod.
"I am. There was a time when, well...when I never thought I'd have any friends. Now...I’ve got all this."
Sunset's smile widened at that, as she gently placed a hand upon the younger girls' shoulder.
"Believe me, I know the feeling."
Twilight turned to her, and there was a brief moment of understanding, of shared experience between the two girls. They smiled warmly at one another, which ended when Twilight turned from her and to her friends, who were still watching Rainbow and Indigo having at each other in their little contest. She giggled slightly at this, and soon turned her attention to a small sandwich on the cloth before her. Reaching for it, she opened her mouth, ready to take a bite, but before she got the chance to do so, something else caught her eye. A pair of boys she didn’t recognise were walking nearby, passing by the entire group. But, as they glanced in their direction, they noticed Twilight in particular, and, in a move that confused her, gave her a sly smile and a wink. She had no idea how to react to this, and so kept silent as they walked on. When she looked back to the group, however, she noted that a lot of them were giving her similar looks, prompting her to start looking somewhat nervous.
"Wha...what’s wrong?"
Scooting closer to her, her old classmate, Lemon Zest, gave a brief chuckle before replying to her.
"Well now, Twi. Looks like you've caught someone's eye there."
Immediately, a blush formed on the girls' face, as she turned away from her.
"No! It's...it's nothing! I'm sure they mistook me for someone else, that's all."
But it wasn't long before another voice was added to the mix; Pinkie's.
"Well, they're kinda doing that. I mean, you're good now, so it's not the same."
At that, Twilight raised an eyebrow.
"I'm...good? What are you talking about?"
Pinkie opened her mouth to speak, only to have Applejack slap a hand right over it, silencing her.
"It's nothing, sugarcube! Just...er…ya know…"
Twilight was starting to frown now, as she looked from girl to girl in their group, all of whom were now starting to look a little uncomfortable.
"Okay...what's going on?"
There was silence amongst them, and after a long while, many of the girls soon turned to Sunset. Knowing that there'd be little wiggle room in this, the older girl let out a sigh before turning to face Twilight again.
"Twilight...I'm not quite sure how to say this, but...you may have possibly gotten yourself a few...admirers."
Immediately, Twilight looked taken aback by that.
"Wha...really? But...why?"
Sunset started to speak, but was interrupted when Pinkie, having broken free of Applejack's hold, just blurted it out.
"They liked your demon form, silly!"
At that, Twilight took on a look of sheer horror.
"Wait...what?! How...how can that be? I was a monster! I was blowing everything up! How can anyone have liked me when I was like that?"
Sunset looked to Pinkie, making it clear that she was to be silent during this. Thankfully, the latter seemed willing to listen this time, giving the former a chance to get her words out.
"Well, Twilight...I think that...some people may like certain...um..."
But, Sunset had not counted on a certain rainbow-haired girl, who now just groaned in annoyance before speaking up herself.
"Ugh! They thought you were sexy like that!"
Twilight's face became as white as a ghost, and everyone, Sunset especially, looked to Rainbow as if she'd just committed a crime or something. As for Rainbow herself, she just folded her arms, looking proud of her outburst.
"What? Somebody had to say it!"
Sunset groaned at that, turning with a look of concern towards Twilight, who seemed deep in thought over the matter.
"S...sexy? But...nobody's ever called me that before!"
Looking around the group, she soon gained an expression of incredulity.
"You're...you're joking, right? This is all a big prank, right?"
But they did not say anything. Instead, they all looked to each other again, as if silently begging someone to speak up again. In the end, it was the often-quiet Sunny Flare who let out the next sigh, catching Twilight's attention. She watched as Sunny reached over for her nearby backpack, and pulled from it an old laptop. Resting in on her lap, she turned it on, and after a few moments of clicking and typing, she seemed satisfied with what's she'd done, and handed it over to Twilight. The spectacled girl took it, though wasn't quite sure what to expect. When she saw what was on the screen though, her eyes widened with shock, as there, as clear as day, was an image of her in her transformed state, no doubt taken on the night of the Friendship Games.
"Is that...is that what I looked like?"
Sunset turned to her with some confusion.
"Wait...you didn't know what you looked like?"
Twilight shook her head.
"No, I...I kinda of had other things on my mind."
Sunset nodded, acknowledging her point, but nevertheless kept her eyes on Twilight. As time passed and the girl kept studying her altered mage, she maintained a look of great embarrassment.
"Oh my...just look at what I was wearing! That skirt is so...I mean, you can look right up my...oh God!"
Raising both hands, she buried her face right in them. The other girls couldn't help but stifle a few giggles as she was like this, and Fluttershy soon took up position near her, patting her on the back.
"There there. I know it was a bit more...risqué than what you're used to looking like, but there's no need to worry. And all those people online will probably forget about..."
But she didn't have the chance to finish, as Twilight's head snapped towards her.
"Wait...online?! This has gone online?!"
Fluttershy covered her mouth, only now realising what she'd just revealed, and Twilight immediately got to work, looking at other sites that she could find with her image during that night. She was not found wanting for it, as she'd become quite a celebrity in this regard, with her expression becoming more and more mortified with every passing moment.
"Oh no! It's true! These guys all think I'm some...some..."
"Super sexy she-demon?" Pinkie exclaimed.
In unison, all the girls turned to look at her, prompting her to shrug her shoulders.
"What? We're all thinking it! Ooh! And it looks like you’ve got a big fan-club over at the St Faust School upstate!”
Twilight raised an eyebrow at that.
“Wait…isn’t that an all-girls school?”
Pinkie nodded enthusiastically, leading to an even more shocked look on Twilight’s face. Sunset rolled her eyes, before then scooting over to Twilight and placing a hand upon her shoulder once more.
"It's alright, Twilight. None of us are going to think less of you because of this."
But Twilight looked to her, still seeming quite embarrassed.
"But I'll never be able to live this down! I mean...after all I did at the time, how can anyone think of that evil me as...as...sexy?!"
The group looked at each other, and after a while, it was Indigo who spoke next.
"Well...I guess it's kinda like those old romance books. You know, the ones where this shy wallflower gets ignored by everyone, but then when she goes to the ball in a pretty dress she gets all the attention?"
Immediately, the other girls all looked to Indigo, who instantly looked away with a blush on her face as she folded her arms.
"Not...not that I actually like that kinda thing."
Embarrassment was plastered all over Indigo’s face, prompting many of her classmates to chuckle in a mischievous manner, much to the former’s chagrin. Ignoring the girl for the time being, Rarity then moved over to Twilight herself, speaking up in a soothing voice.
"My dear, far be it from me to make you feel more uncomfortable, but I have to say, you did look rather ravishing at the time. Ooh! Maybe I can make a dress just like that one!"
But, far from making Twilight feel comfortable, the fashionista's words just made her sink lower, burying her face in her knees. After seeing her like this, Sunset let out a sigh, which actually made Twilight look up to her soon afterwards.
"Wait...you changed too, Sunset! Aren't you getting this kind of attention?"
At that, the older girl just shook her head.
"Sorry, but no."
Twilight looked at her with confusion.
"But...your form was so beautiful...so angelic...so..."
But Sunset raised a hand, stopping her.
"Thank you for your kind words, Twilight, but pure and ethereal doesn't quite get as many heads turning as dark and powerful. Don't ask me why."
Twilight opened her mouth to get out some kind of theory on that, only to be beaten to the punch when Sugarcoat gave one of her own.
"Perhaps this attraction people have for your demon form stems from some unspoken and subconscious desire to be dominated by a powerful female figure?"
The group all looked to her, not quite sure how to react to that, while Sugarcoat merely adjusted her glasses, looking like she wasn't bothered by their stares in the slightest. Shaking her head after that, Sunset looked to Twilight, speaking as calmly as possible.
"Twilight...ignore what all those guys online and stuff say. What matters is how you felt about it. I know you regret a lot of what you did that night, but...is there perhaps some part of you that, maybe...liked being that way?"
Twilight's blush returned with a vengeance, as she looked down at the ground in a desperate attempt to avoid Sunset's gaze. But, as time passed, she found herself unable to avoid replying, and so, after poking her index fingers against one another, began to speak in a meek manner.
"Well...I suppose...I kinda felt like I was...like...like..."
But it was Rarity who finished her words for her, flinging some of her hair in a dramatic fashion before speaking up.
"Feminine? Desirable? The rightful centre of everyone's attention?"
Although taken aback by that, Twilight, remaining as silent as the grave, gave a slight nod, embarrassed at having admitted to it. Seeing this, Sour Sweet scooted closer herself, wrapping a single arm around Twilight and holding her close, smirking the whole time.
"Awww! Our little bookworm is all grown up and coming out of her shell!"
At that, Twilight let out a groan, looking away from her former classmate, instead looking to Sunset.
"Thank you. Thank you for trying to make me feel better about this."
Sunset smiled, giving Twilight a quick pat on the back, which the latter girl replied to with a smile of her own. As the last few moments sank in for her, she couldn't help but let out a brief chuckle.
"You know, it's kinda silly that I'm worrying about what all those strangers think of me. I mean...it's not as if you girls ever had any weird fantasies about me as a she-demon, right?"
But, as she looked to the rest of the group, she found herself noticing that, on top of the silence that followed her words, every one of the girls was starting to look very nervous and guilty about something, most simply trying to avoid looking at her. After a while, a look of realisation crossed Twilight's face, as she slapped her forehead in frustration.
"OH COME ON!!!"
