Chapter 17 - Magical Exposition

Sunset shoved the factory’s main doors open, disturbing the thin layer of dust coating the floor. She looked around the empty processing plant, walking in and trying not to breathe the musk present in the air. The Dazzlings were close behind.

Sonata sneezed as she entered the room. “Jeez, this place gets grosser every time we come here,” she said with a sniff. “How did you live here?”

“You get used to it,” Sunset replied, trying not to sneeze as well.

Aria scoffed and plopped herself down on one of the broken conveyor belts. “Yeah, well, I’m glad you’re out of this shithole. You’re much better off with us.”

Sunset laughed and went over to ruffle Aria’s hair. “Aww, you care!” She said jokingly.

Aria stuck out her tongue, moving to ruin Sunset’s hair in return.

Adagio watched the scene affectionately. She’d never admit it to anyone, but she loved her family.

“I’m surrounded by idiots,” she sighed as she leaned up against the same conveyor belt Aria was occupying.

Sonata giggled, joining her sisters on the derelict machinery. “But you looooove us!”

Any protest Adagio might have offered was cut off when the factory doors were pushed open once more. Trixie strode into the room, the same backpack from their previous magic session slung over her shoulder.

“Hey guys!” She chirped, setting the bag on the ground where her friends were gathered.

Sunset’s brain malfunctioned for a hot second as she took in her friend’s outfit. Jean-shorts and a blue tank-top emphasized Trixie’s arms and hips, and Sunset had to fight a blush.

Aria held back a laugh at Sunset’s reaction, instead swooping in and saving the girl from embarrassment. “Hey Trix. You been practicing?” Sunset shot Aria a grateful glance.

Trixie smirked. She pulled out her wand with a dramatic flourish. “Absolutely,” she said, thrusting the wand upwards.

A strangely electric sound filled the air, and with a static pop-

-Trixie was gone.

There was silence for a moment while Sunset and the Dazzling’s jaws dropped.

A second ‘pop’ echoed across the factory floor as Trixie reappeared on the opposite side of the facility. “I mastered teleportation!” her voice was faint from the distance as she yelled to her friends.

With yet another ‘pop,’ Trixie was back. “Teleporting small objects got too easy, so I moved on to self-teleportation.”

Aria shook her head. “Okay, I seriously don’t get how you’re already this good at magic. I mean, clearly you have a lot of magical potential, but…”

Sunset nodded. “Self teleportation is an advanced spell.”

Trixie took a step back as Sonata poked at her wand. “Could it be the wand?” She questioned. “Maybe it’s making her better at this than she normally would be.”

“Actually, the opposite would be true,” Adagio said. “Weilding a powerful item means nothing if you can’t control it.”

Sunset averted her eyes. She knew the truth of that first hand.

The conversation continued, but Trixie was quiet, her face scrunched as she thought. “Well,” she said, interrupting the Dazzling’s theorizing. “I’ve been practicing human magic since I was a child. I think since Equestrian magic is blending rather well with the magic that was already here, it means that I pretty much have years of experience.”

Sunset hummed. “That would make sense. Magic is like a muscle. The more you use it, the easier it gets.”

“So, since you’ve been using it for your entire life,” Adagio added, “You’re already experienced enough to pick up on things very quickly.”

Trixie grinned. “Cool!”

***

The group spent the next few hours teaching Trixie various advanced spells. She was quickly becoming even more precise and powerful with her magic usage; it was as though she had been born a unicorn. Nothing proved to be a challenge for long. By midday, Trixie could summon a small rain cloud, bring a withered flower back to life, create a temporary magic shield…

“Aaaand now you can levitate living things,” Aria said, checking off ‘levitate ppl’ from the list Sunset and Adagio had compiled, alongside ‘weather shit,’ ‘growing magic,’ and ‘shield thingy.’ Sonata gave a loud whoop from her place upside-down in the air, surrounded by the purple glow of Trixie’s magic.

Trixie laughed and gently lowered Sonata to the ground. She wiped the sweat from her forehead and gratefully accepted the water bottle Sunset offered. Moving the sit on the ground next to Sonata, who hadn’t yet stood, Trixie yawned.

Sunset felt a flurry of butterflies in her stomach. “Damn she’s adorable,” she thought with a small smile. “I can’t believe she’s a prodigy. If we were in Equestria, I think her magic could rival my own, maybe even Twilight’s!”

“Heh, just wait until Twilight hears about this.”

“Hey Sunny, can we see if you can pony up on-command now?” Sonata’s question broke Sunset out of her thoughts.

“Oh yeah,” Adagio said. “We sorta forgot about that, didn’t we?”

Sunset snorted. “Eh, I don’t blame us. Trixie’s magical abilities were more interesting.”

Trixie blushed. “Well, I wouldn’t say that, but it was certainly fun learning more advanced spells.”

Aria punched Sunset lightly on the shoulder. “Well, let’s see it pony girl!” Sunset playfully glared at Aria before moving to stand in front of where the five had gathered.

The girl took a deep breath, closing her eyes. “Man, ponying up with music was easy,” she lamented as she controlled her breathing. “I don’t know if it’s even possible to do it without my horn or my music as an adaptor.”

The factory was quiet as Sunset tried to call upon her magic, using the same techniques she used as a unicorn. She felt the spark deep inside herself, though accessing it was proving to be quite difficult.

Seconds passed, then minutes. Nothing felt like it was working. No meditative breathing, mental centering, or spiritual reaching was bringing the spark forward. “It’s like it’s right there,” Sunset huffed, trying to keep her temper under control. “I just can’t fucking reach it!”

She was about ready to give up when she heard Sonata’s voice, no louder than a whisper.

“You can do it, Sunny!”

Then Aria’s, Adagio’s too.

“C’mon, pony girl!”

“Just breathe, focus!”

And finally, Trixie.

“I believe in you Sunset...”

And suddenly the spark wasn’t so distant anymore. Sunset inhaled sharply. “I can feel it...”

She thought of her friends. Adagio, Aria, Sonata, Trixie; their kindness and support, the generosity they showed Sunset when she was at her worst. All the times Sonata made her laugh. When Aria shared her pain with her in the school’s bathroom. Adagio’s unwavering loyalty when she hunted down the Rainbooms.

And Trixie. Everything about Trixie.

Sunset reached out, farther and farther until the spark was hot in her mind.

“Woah...”

Someone spoke, but it was all white noise to Sunset as she clutched tightly to the feeling of magic- the feeling of friendship- in her heart. The spark wasn’t just on the inside anymore. It was red and bright, radiating from Sunset, enveloping her in its warmth and lifting her lightly off the ground.

The light surrounded Sunset’s ears, transforming them into pony ears atop her head. Her hair shimmered and lengthened into a fiery ponytail. Finally, the red light gathered at the base of her forehead. A long unicorn horn formed, identical to the one she left behind when she fled from Equestria.

Sunset opened her eyes. Black rings circled the outsides of her glowing teal irises, a remainder from her first transformation in the human world. She floated to the ground, her feet touching the concrete floor ever so softly. Her long sleeved shirt and baggy jeans contrasted heavily against her now almost ethereal appearance.

Aria wolf whistled. “Hot damn, Sunset!”

“Holy fuck,” Sunset blinked, letting out small laugh. “I actually did it!”

“Wow...” Trixie uttered. Blinking out of her daze, the blue-haired girl smiled brightly at her friend. “That was… That was incredible, Sunset!” She leapt up and bounded over, nearly tackling the red-head in a hug. Sunset eagerly returned the embrace.

Soon, another pair of arms was thrown around Sunset. “Group hug!” Sonata shouted, pulling Aria and Adagio in with her.

Sunset smiled a bright, genuine smile.

She felt happy.

After a few moments, Sunset broke the group cuddle. “So, uh,” she started, “I guess ‘friendship’ is a viable adaptor.”

There was a beat of silence before Aria burst into laughter. The rest of the group dissolved into giggles soon after.

***

It took a few minutes for everyone to calm down, but when they did, Adagio announced that they should test Sunset’s magical capabilities while her pony form lasted.

“It may be possible,” she reasoned, “For Sunset to use her pony extremities in the same way she would if she were in Equestria.”

Sonata nodded. “The loud blue one used her wings when she ponied up, so why wouldn’t a horn work?”

“Worth a shot,” Sunset said with a shrug. She was internally excited at the possibility of having her unicorn magic back, but she didn’t want to be disappointed if it didn’t work.

Sunset closed her eyes and reached inwards, grabbing onto the magic she felt flooding her body. It was much easier than before. She mentally focused on the center of her forehead, feeling the magic rush to the spot.

She smiled. “It feels just like it did in Equestria.”

The familiar sensation was a comfort. Sunset had missed the feeling of having her horn, of having her magic readily available.

She exhaled, raising her chin.

“Wh- hey!”

“Wowie!”

“Uh...”

“Sunset, dear, please open your eyes.”

At her friend’s outcries, Sunset’s eyes snapped open. The teal aura of her magic surrounded her friends, holding them aloft in the musky air.

“Oh, uh,” Sunset tried to hold back a snicker. “Pfft- sorry guys!” She gently lowered her friends to the ground.

Adagio stood with a huff, brushing the dust off her figure. “Well, I guess that answers that question.”

***

Sunset reclined in her bed comfortably. “Man, having a real bed is great,” she thought with a smile. Her shared journal with Twilight was propped up against her legs, open to the most recent entry.

Dear Twilight,

Today was rather eventful. Trixie apparently isn’t just a prodigy- I think if she were in Equestria, her power could definitely rival my own. We think it’s because she already knew human magic before Equestrian magic mingled with it.

Also, I can now pony-up at will! It turns out, all I needed was my friends- no way are you fucking kidding me OKAY now I get it, alright, friendship is literally magic. Wow. Sorry for not listening the first time, I guess.

Anyways, how was that thing that Luna sent you to check up on? I hope it was a false alarm… If it was, and you aren’t busy, you should come by for a visit soon! It would be great to see you.

Sunset Shimmer

Author's Note

IM ALIIIIIIIIIIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am SO SORRY!!! Shit got really rough for a bit there; on the date I was initially going to upload I got into my first big car accident (luckily no one was hurt but my car was totaled and I had to deal with all that jazz) and then the next week I had to go to the ER, AND I got slammed with a ton of school work to juggle on top of all that. So, needless to say, I haven't had a ton of time to write...

...Until now! I present to you; the exposition chapter that might be important later (), immediately followed by the gay you've all been waiting for!

This story will being coming to a close pretty soon, but there will be all of the following: a spinoff following a TwiDagio story, a sequel to both this story and the TwiDagio one, and a bonus oneshot for SunTrix sexy times

Hope you all enjoy!

~Bitty Bug