The Home That You Made

A few years later

Twilight moved around in her bed as she felt very warm and hot. She kicked off her blanket, but the warm feeling didn't stop. She woke up and saw everyone was gone, so she carefully got out of bed, went to the bathroom, opened it, turned on the water, and let it fill the bathtub. She was sweating a lot, and she didn't know why. After a few minutes, the tub was complete, and she got undressed. She got into the tub and relaxed in the cold water before washing her body and hair. But she still felt hot, like she was burning alive.

She quickly got out but didn't dry herself off. She checked the temperature of the room and saw it was very warm, and her breathing became fast.

"Ow... My body..." Twilight whispered as she could feel her body ache from the heat, and she didn't know what was happening. She turned on the air conditioning and waited as the cold air came on, and then the cold air started to cool her down, and her breathing calmed down. She finally felt cooled. She quickly got dressed in her shrine priestess dress and headed out of the room. She could hear the bells ringing, so she walked up the stairs and saw Fluttershy at the entrance.

She was shaking but wasn't like always. She looked terrified.

"F-Fluttershy? What's wrong?" Twilight asked, walking over and grabbing her hand to see if she was okay.

Fluttershy jumped and screamed, "AHHHHH! T-Twilight, d-don't do that!" She was shaking like a leaf but then calmed down.

"What's wrong? Why are you scared?" Twilight asked again, confused and worried about her.

Fluttershy leaped on her Twilight chest and started to cry. "I don't know! My body is hot like it's burning! I don't understand! What's happening!" she yelled, scared and confused.

Twilight tried to calm her down, telling her to go down stairs and wait in the cold bedroom but Fluttershy kept crying, grabbing her harder.

"Please... Please..." she cried, begging for an answer.

Twilight didn't know what to say or do, but she hugged her and patted her back. "It's going to be okay, Fluttershy. It's going to be alright. It's the summer heatwave. It'll be over soon. Let's go inside and sit down."

The two sisters walked back downstairs and sat in Dash's bed as Twilight complained about how messy it always was. But they stayed there, and she watched as Fluttershy started to calm down and stopped crying before falling asleep on her lap.

Twilight sighed and gently patted her head. "Fluttershy, you can be such a crybaby sometimes," she whispered, loving her cute, shy sister.

A few minutes passed, and Twilight noticed that Shy was completely still. She realized she was in a deep sleep and quietly removed her head from her lap. Then, she started to clean Dash's messy bed and area.

"Tiny wings, you are such a pig! I swear! Why can't you clean after yourself, sheesh." Twilight whispered as she fixed the bed while not waking up Shy and then cleaned up the area around the bed.

Twilight stopped and looked around the room. She noticed everyone's bed was a mess, which made her sigh as her OCD kicked in.

"I swear, I have to do everything around here." She sighed again before picking up Dash's pillow and carefully putting it under Shy's head. But she could feel Shy was now cold, finally cooling down at long last. "Sleep well, Shy. I'll fix your bed first, okay?"

The young unicorn started to fix Fluttershy's bed, picking up her blanket and pillows and fixing her sheets.

After a few minutes, her bed was nice and clean, and Twilight was glad that Shy was the second cleanest sister.

The young unicorn turned and saw Shy was gone now, and she was confused. "Shy? Where are you? Fluttershy?" Twilight called out, looking around the room, but she could not find her.

"Twilight."

Twilight could hear the voice and turned, and she saw Celestia with her usual warm smile: "Mom. What's up? I'm sorry I woke up late. It was so hot today, and Shy was crying about the heat. I brought her down here, but she's...mom?" Twilight was telling her about what happened but could see Celestia was upset. Twilight became worried seeing her mother walk up to her and kneel down to her.

"I see... I see. Twilight, come with me. We must talk," Celestia said, giving a small nod, standing up, and heading out.

Twilight quickly followed behind and then exited the temple. Outside, they were soon standing near the gate, looking at the sky.

"What's wrong, mom?" Twilight asked, a bit worried about her.

"Nothing, it's nothing." Celestia turned around and opened her hands. "You'll start your next magical spell training here. Take my hand."

Twilight grabbed her hand and closed her eyes as her body was lifted from the ground.
Celestia took a deep breath and began,

"Today, I'll show you an ancient and powerful magical spell."

Twilight opened her eyes and saw the world was different. It was now a white void, with only the sun and moon visible. Birds, the grass, the clouds, the water, and everything around her were white. She turned around and saw Celestia standing before the gate, looking around and watching the area.

"M-Mom? What happened?" Twilight asked, a bit shocked and worried, as her voice echoed in the area.

Celestia turned her head and saw her daughter, confused and worried. "Calm down, Twilight. I just showed you a powerful spell, a special type of magic. But you are not allowed to tell the others," Celestia said, looking into the gate and sighing.

"W-Why can't I tell them, Mom? Is this something bad?" Twilight asked, a bit unsure.

"It's not something bad. But it is not something you are ready for." Celestia replied, a sad look on her face.

Twilight is now confused and worried. "Not something I'm ready for? What do you mean, mom?"

Celestia didn't say anything and looked up at the white sky before closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. "The world we are in right now is the 'Between.' It's a pocket of reality that's a gateway between dimensions. A world where there are no people. Only holy trees."

"Gateway between dimensions? A world where no one lives? holy trees?" Twilight is confused and worried now.

"There is a place between worlds, a realm with a golden holy tree, where fate lives and rules over everything. You know the saying of 'Fate is written in the stars' or 'someone's destined for a special fate' and 'we are all fated for our futures' or even 'we are born to a destiny that was set in stone.' All these are true." Celestia explained, not moving or turning around.

"Are you saying that everyone is born to a certain fate, and it's already decided and cannot be changed? That we are all slaves to our fate?" Twilight is worried and unsure.

"Yes, my child. I am saying exactly that." Celestia answered, looking up at the sun and sighing.

"W-What?! No! That can't be true, Mom! There's no way something like fate is real!" Twilight yelled, crying, not believing what she was hearing.

Celestia finally turned around. "Calm down, my child." She touched her head, softly petting her. "Do not cry, please."

"I'm sorry, mom. I just..." Twilight said, tears streaming down her eyes.

"I understand, my child. Fate can be a frightening thing. I knew you weren't ready for this spell. But I had to show you." Celestia said, looking into the distance and down at the gate before kneeling.

Twilight rubbed her eyes. "Why did you have to show me this, Mom? If this spell is something you shouldn't use or have."

Celestia closed her eyes. "A friend showed me this spell. It's meant to guide the spark, the power of a goddess who shines brighter than a star. She goes against fate and will shine a light on the future and the one she chooses."

"The one she chooses? What do you mean? What does any of this have to do with us, Mom?" Twilight is still confused and worried.

Celestia opened her eyes, looking down at her dear daughter. "You have that spark, my dear sweet daughter. Your friends are the same."

"Spark?" Twilight is still confused.

Celestia smiled, "Yes, the spark. The goddess's spark shines brighter than a star—so bright that fate fears it. Look up, my dear. Tell me what you see."

Twilight turned and looked up, seeing the white sky, the sun, and the moon, but also a light, a glowing rainbow light shining brighter than the moon and sun.

"That light is the spark. The power that fate fears the most." Celestia told her, looking up and smiling at the light.

"Fate fears it?" Twilight whispered, looking up and staring at the light.

"Yes, because you have the spark. And it's up to you to be chosen by the goddess. She is the one who will protect and love you, my dear daughter." Celestia explained, looking down at Twilight, and smiled.

"Protect and love me? What are you talking about?"

Celestia opened her hands and clapped them together, ending the spell and returning everything to normal.

"Always asking questions. You'll understand in time. But I can't let you use the Between spell until the time is right. I'm sorry, my dear."

Twilight sighed. "It's fine. I'll wait."

Celestia could see her daughter puffing her cheeks up, making her super cute. She couldn't handle it, scooping Twilight up and nuzzling her cute face.

"M-Mom? What's up, why are you doing this?" Twilight asked, her face bright red, feeling embarrassed.

"Sorry, but your cute face and how you puff out your cheeks! So cute!" Celestia yelled, hugging her tighter and nuzzling her.

"S-Stop it! Let go!" Twilight yells, her face bright red.

Celestia smiled and finally stopped, putting her down. "Sorry, it's just too cute! I can't help it. Come, my child. Your sister is waiting for you." She pointed back to the temple, and sitting there was Fluttershy, looking at them and waving at them. "I want you two to gather some berries from the woods for today's meal. Go and have fun."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Yes, mommy."

Twilight and Fluttershy walked towards the woods and headed in. Celestia kept smiling, but her smile faded as she looked up and started crying.

The two sisters walked along the trail as they headed deeper into the woods.

"Twilight, do you know how to pick good berries?" Fluttershy asked, following behind.

"Of course I do. I have been studying berries and fruits for a while. Mom says if I'm going to be the shrine priestess, I must know about food and farming." Twilight replied, smiling at her and pointing ahead like they were on a quest.

Shy placed her hands on her chest. "Wow! I wish I were like you, sister!"

Twilight spun around, smiling hard, as she never heard Shy say that before. "R-Really, Shy? You really think so?"

Fluttershy smiled and nodded. "Yep, I do."

"T-Thanks, Shy. Um... I mean, thanks, s-sister!" Twilight felt awkward saying it and couldn't help but blush.

Shy giggled. "You're welcome, sister. Now, let's go pick some berries."

"Y-Yeah, let's go!"

The two walked on the path as they came up to a split in the road, and they took the left path and continued.
Twilight is now happy and feeling proud. She has someone who admires her and looks up to her. She's happy. She's glad it was Shy, too, the sweetest of her sisters, who always tries her best.

"You know, Twilight, you're beautiful," Fluttershy said, blushing and smiling.

"Thanks. So are you, sister. I hope I can be a great role for you!" Twilight replied, smiling back.

Fluttershy giggled and blushed harder, "You're so cute, Twilight."

Twilight is now the one blushing, "T-Thanks. S-Sister."

Shy hurried to her side and played with her Miko skirt, wanting to ask her a question. "Sister, do you like anyone?"

Twilight froze and blushed harder, not knowing how to answer, "U-Um... w-what do you mean? W-Why are you asking me that?"

Shy stopped playing with her skirt and looked down, embarrassed. "Sorry, I just thought we could discuss that stuff together."

Twilight is now confused and worried. Something bothers her as she sees the hurt in Shy's eyes and the sadness in her voice.

"Shy, what's wrong? Why are you looking so down?" Twilight asked, walking over and lifting her head.

Shy could feel Twilight's hands, and she blushed hard. Her face was now completely red, her eyes started to water, and her lips were trembling.

"Twi... I mean, sister... I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I-I... I have feelings for someone, and I thought maybe since you like Dash so much, you could help me, " Shy said, trembling with her fear.

Twilight blushed and said, "I don't like Tiny Wings! Why does everyone think that so much!? And if you like someone, tell them! Stop being a scaredy cat and talk to her."

Shy couldn't take it anymore and started to cry. "You don't like Dash?"

"Of course not! Why does everyone keep thinking I like her!? I love her as a sister and nothing else!" Twilight yelled, puffing her cheeks and not caring about Shy's tears.

"B-But you spend so much time with her and always try to get her attention, and you always hug her. How am I supposed to not think you like her, sister!?" Fluttershy yelled back, tears and snot coming out.

Twilight patted her sister's head, hoping to calm her down, which did work.

"Look, don't tell Tiny Wings this, but..." Twilight slightly turned her head from her. "But, she is cool and amazing. I can't help but want her attention, and I try my hardest to make her look at me. But... But... I don't like her. I can't like her because she doesn't like me like that. She sees me as a nerd and hates my big horn... And that's okay." Twilight said, turning her head away, trying not to cry or show her genuine emotions.

"Your horn isn't bad, Twilight. And I'm sure she likes you, you are a wonderful person. Why wouldn't she like you? You're smart, nice, kind, sweet, and pretty." Fluttershy said, placing her hand on her head, petting her now.

"Thank you, Shy," said Twilight, with a slight smile on her face.

The two girls return looking for berries, while above them in the air, watching the two, is Celestia. Her arms crossed, she sighs, her mind lost and deep in thought. She looks up at the sky and cries a bit.

"Please hurry, she's running out of time now."