“I told you, Twilight. You can’t stop me. Nobody can stop me and now... Now I’ll take what’s mine.”
Twilight watched in horror as Midnight Sparkle used her magic to capture her friends, her body unable to move due to being held down by that very same magic.
Turning to Twilight, Midnight gave an evil grin. “I’m going to destroy everything you love.”
“No! Please, stop! Don’t do this! Do whatever you want to me! Just don’t hurt them!” She cried out, tears streaming down her face as her friend’s disappeared one by one, evaporating before her very eyes, their screams cutting through her like she was nothing, until only one remained; Sunset.
With the others now gone, Sunset was powerless against the demon. There was nothing she could do, and they both knew that. Sunset looked over at Twilight, and have her one last watery smile before her image shattered into a million pieces, gone forever.
Twilight screamed out, the scream louder than anything she had ever heard before. Her body felt broken as she came face to face with Midnight, who still that same grin on her face. One of her long fingers went under Twilight’s chin, forcing their eyes to meet.
“Goodnight, Twilight.”
And with that, everything went black.
~~
“Twilight? Twilight!”
Twilight’s eyes popped open to be met by Sunset gripping her shoulders and shaking her back and forth. Without thinking, her body reacted on it’s own and she pushed Sunset away, almost sending the redhead off of the bed.
“Argh!” Sunset yelped, quickly getting her balance as to stop herself from falling.
Upon realising what she’d done, Twilight’s eyes went wide and she recoiled right against the tent wall. What the Hell was going on?
“S-Sunset, I-I am so sorry. I didn’t mean to—“
“It’s fine, Twilight.” Sunset almost cooed, scooting over to Twilight and opening her arms for her. Twilight instantly went into her arms, wrapping her own arms around Sunset. Having already seen Twilight’s nightmare, Sunset held her close and rubbed her back gently with one of her hands. She needed to get Twilight calm and make her feel safe.
“Now... I saw what happened, Twi. That isn’t going to happen, you know that right?” Sunset said softly, her hold on Twilight tightening slightly. She would never let anything happen to her ever again.
“I-I know it’s just... She’s still in there, I-I can feel it... I-I don’t want to lose you...I don’t w-want to lose anyone...” Tears fell down Twilight’s cheeks and she gripped onto Sunset, burying her face into the other’s shirt. Gosh, she hated feeling so weak.
“Hey, hey... We aren’t going anywhere, okay?” Sunset gently stroked Twilight’s hair. “You’re safe, and we’re safe. Nothing is going to change that, I promise.”
Sniffling, Twilight gave a weak nod and pulled back from Sunset’s shirt. The poor girl gave Sunset a weak smile, the nightmare having clearly taken almost all of her energy. Twilight put the tip of her thumb in her mouth and gently chewed on it, a habit Sunset had noticed her pick up a few days after the incident with Midnight Sparkle. Her clothes were sticking to her skin due to the sheer amount of sweat she had produced from the nightmare, and her face was tearstained. She definitely needed cleaning up.
“Hm... Oh! I have the perfect idea.” Sunset said, a small smile forming on her face. She pulled back from Twilight, and got up.
Raising an eyebrow, Twilight sat up and crossed her legs, pulling the blanket close to herself. Despite being boiling hot, Twilight found a sense of comfort in being wrapped up in a blanket way too big for her. “W-What are you doing?” She asked, squinting her eyes a little. Her eyes sight wasn’t the best as it is, but in the dark? Boy, that was asking a lot.
“Just wait and see.” Sunset said, going over to Twilight’s backpack. There was a hint of mischief in her voice.
Being careful not to wake Spike, Sunset went back over to the bed and placed down a fresh shirt for Twilight on it.
“Okay, c’mere.” Sunset held up the shirt. “Let me help you.”
“H-Huh?” Twilight’s face went a dark shade of red.
“Look, Twi, I know you’re tired. Let me do this for you, okay? Besides, I can tell you aren’t in *ahem* your normal headspace right now so... Let me take care of you.”
Now that set Twilight off. Before, she was only feeling a tiny bit little, but she was sure she could handle it and go back to sleep and repress it till they were back from camp. But hearing Sunset want to take care of her? Boy, that got to her. If they were back in town, Twilight would have already regressed for Sunset and they would have had a nice little session. But being out in the woods and with all the magical things going on had taken it’s toll on Twilight, and she was almost constantly on edge and couldn’t relax. It was almost like a switch had been flipped in Twilight’s mind, and she pulled the blanket’s right up to her face, covering it.
Giving a quiet giggle, Sunset reached over and slowly pulled the blanket down.
“Boo.” She said, causing a small giggle from Twilight. At least she seemed happier.
“That’s more like it. Now, arms up.” Sunset said, putting the shirt she had in her hand over her shoulder.
Giving a slight pout, Twilight reluctantly put her arms up in the air. She squeezed her eyes shut tight as Sunset quickly pulled off her shirt and replaced it with a new one in just mere seconds. The shirt she had been given was one of her old ones from Crystal Prep, and even though it was old it was still a little too big for her.
Sunset sat down on the bed after throwing Twilight’s old shirt onto the other bed they weren’t using. She poked Twilight on her nose, causing the other girl to giggle.
“Cute as a button. Do you feel better now you’re in a new shirt?”
“Y-Yeah...” Twilight mumbled, instantly becoming shy as she chewed on her thumb tip.
“...It’s okay, Twi. You can relax, okay? I’m the only one here. Nobody else is gonna see you, or hear you. Okay... baby?”
There it was. Twilight’s face instantly lit up and a wide grin spread across her cheeks, and a smaller one appeared on Sunset’s. Much better.
“Now, is there anything else I can do for you before you go back to sleep?” Sunset asked, brushing a few stray hairs out of Twilight’s face.
“Hmm...” Twilight mused, puffing her cheeks out in a slight thought. “Maybe... Cuddle? Oh! And kiss!”
Smiling, Sunset shook her head. Typical Twilight.
“Alright. But only for a little, okay? You need your rest, little one. We have a big day tomorrow.” Sunset leaned over and gave her a kiss on the forehead.
As soon as Sunset was lying down on the bed, Twilight had clung onto her and had almost wrapped her entire body around her. Sunset pulled the blanket’s over them and held her close. A part of her couldn’t help but be a little angry with herself for not bringing more things to help Twilight out. Sure, she wasn’t anticipating Twilight regressing in the middle of their trip but it certainly wasn’t unwanted. She would rather this that have her suffer multiple panic and anxiety attacks. Sunset made a mental note to herself to be sure to prepare for any situation next time, no matter how big or small it may be.
Twilight nuzzled her face against Sunset and gently slid her thumb into her mouth, sucking on it gently. Like Sunset, she was also mentally kicking herself for not bringing any gear with her. God knows how useful it would be right now to cuddle up with all her cuddly toys right now. Buuuuuut... She supposed Sunset would have to do.
The pair stayed like that for a while, with Twilight occasionally asking for more kisses from Sunset before they fell asleep in on another’s arms. Twilight slept peacefully till the morning, and while her fears of Midnight Sparkle were still present, she knew that she had friends who would protect her, and she had Sunset who would never let harm come to her.
Author's Note
I’ve had this idea ever since I first watch Legend of Ever Free back when it first came out, and I finally got around to writing it! I may write more featuring these two & age regression in the future, but who knows?