WARNING: Mentions of suicidal/intrusive thoughts.
Volume One, Chapter Two
“You’re not alone anymore.”
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
Click!
Sunset Shimmer once again woke up to the sound of her alarm clock, and carried on with her morning routine as normal. However, the memories of the previous afternoon refused to leave her thoughts.
She was aware of the existence of magic in other worlds, but… This one wasn’t supposed to be one of them. So what’s up with all of this? Magical girls? Witches? A talking cat-with-bunny-ears freak? It was weirder than anything she’d ever seen in any other world. Apparently, humans like her weren’t supposed to be able to see witches like she did. Sunset figured her background as a magic interdimensional traveller could explain that abnormality.
Whatever this all meant, she hoped Twilight knew what she was doing.
“I have no idea what I’m doing!” Twilight Sparkle skipped nervously around her room.
“Don’t worry!” the small white creature, who referred to itself as ‘Kyubey’, carefully groomed its fur in a corner. “If you ever need any help, you can always ask me.”
Twilight couldn’t help but roll her eyes.
“Yeah, that’s real reassuring. The last time I asked for your help, You-“
Her train of thought was crudely interrupted by a knock at the door.
“Sweetie?” Her mother’s voice called. “Are you okay in there? You’re gonna be late if you don’t come out soon!”
“Shoot! I’d better get going!”
She left her home in a hurry as to avoid being late, despite her family’s attempts to tell her she still had twenty minutes until her usual time of departure. With a half-eaten sandwich in her hands and a trusty Kyubey over her shoulders, she was surely ready for another day as a high school student AND magical girl!
Huh?
Twilight Sparkle suddenly felt a strange weight on her chest. looking down at the soul gem ring on her finger, she noticed it emitted a strange glow.
“What’s all this now?”
“Your soul gem is reacting to magic,” kyubey answered. “There must be a witch nearby! We have to go after it!”
“NOW?! I can’t go after a witch NOW! I couldn’t even finish off the last one, and if I take too long fighting it… I’ll be…”
She gulped, terrified.
“…TARDY!!!”
“Twilight! You’re a magical girl now, the future of humanity relies on you battling witches!”
“I know, I know… But… Like, can’t you do it or something?”
“Unfortunately, there’s nothing I can do about witches in their physicial form. But once you defeat the witch, I can collect its grief seed and make sure it never comes back!”
“Ughhhh!!! Fine, I’ll do it, I’ll do it…”
Her soul gem’s magic led her to a beautiful hedge maze just outside an ancient history museum.
“Wow… this place looks so peaceful. Odd spot for a witch to make its lair.”
“You’re right, Twilight. Usually, witches will try to hatch in locations where they can collect the despair of nearby victims. But this maze is a total ghost town…”
“Well, then that must mean this one doesn’t feel like it needs any extra power, huh?”
“Yes. We’d better get ready; we’re about to enter the labyrinth, quite literally.”
As Twilight moved towards the center of the maze, she could feel reality around her become more and more distorted. But she noticed a strange consistency among the chaos.
“These patterns… these creatures… This is the same witch from yesterday!”
Kyubey backed up against Twilight’s legs, looking for refuge. “Looks like we got real lucky then. If we had decided to fight it then, with a human tagging along, things would have gotten real dangerous.”
Twilight spared no time - casting her magical power, she transformed into her magical girl self and barged through the horde of familiars with her shield. The familiars, however, laughed at her futile attempts. Their torn bodies sewed themselves back together to take on another form.
“P…Principal Celestia…?” Twilight felt an enourmous weight fall onto her shoulders.
“Twilight Sparkle,” said the mirage. “What are you doing here, when you should be at school? You used to be such a good student…”
“U-Used to be? No, no, I still am! In fact, I was on my way back-“
“It’s too late for that now. You’ve already been expelled from Crystal Prep, do you want me to expel you from Canterlot High as well? That won’t look good on your records.”
“No! I wasn’t expelled! Candace just thought it would be better for me if…”
Her legs were shaking.
“I… I’m… You’re not supposed to be here!”
Mustering up her strength, Twilight attacked the illusion of Celestia with everything she had. The familiars, however, simply dissolved themselves while laughing, leaving Twilight to fall to the ground, crying and defeated.
“What’s happening… Why am I… So weak…?”
The laughter around her turned to chants.
“End it!”
“What good is a magical girl who can’t fight a witch?”
“End it!”
“Give up your soul gem and feed us!”
“End it!”
“End it!”
“End it!”
Her vision was starting to get blurry. Why did she accept this awful offer in the first place?! She didn’t have what it took to be a magical girl at all!
Oh,
That’s right…
The reason was…
“Hold on tight, sugarcube!”
From the skies, a mysterious sillhouette came down to Twilight’s aid. Once it landed, she was surprised to see another magical girl, just like her!
Well, maybe her clothes were a little different. Very country. And instead of a shield, this girl took out five mint-condition flintlock muskets from her stylish cowboy hat. With the aim and confidence of a professional, she took down the monsters without missing a single shot. Then, she whipped her hair around, adjusted her hat, and turned to a baffled Twilight on the ground.
She smiled and reached out her hand.
“You alright over there?”
Before she could even say anything, four other girls made their way to Twilight and the mysterious magical girl.
“AJ, no fair! You said this one was mine!” A feisty girl with rainbow-colored hair rushed in first, clearly very upset.
“Oh, darling, please, that was clearly not the witch. You’re making a scene for no reason.” Added a purple-haired girl dressed in gorgeous modern-victorian couture.
“Wait,” said the multicolor girl. “Who’s that one over there?”
“I-I’m… Twilight… Twilight Sparkle…” She clumsily adjusted her glasses and got up.
“Pleasure to meet ya, Twilight.” The girl with the muskets smiled. “Name’s applejack.”
“I’m Rainbow Dash!” the spunky girl added.
“My name is Rarity, but you may call me Miss Rarity if you’re a fan.”
“Oh, I’ve heard your name before! You’re like, a prodigy star of the design world, right?”
“You’re quite right, darling! And those two over there are Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy.”
“W…Woah… So, you’re all magical girls…?”
“ALMOST all of us. Flutter can’t seem to come up with a wish, so we just drag her along as moral support.” Rainbow Dash cut in with a sarcastic tone.
“Rainbow, don’t say that!” Applejack reprimanded. “Don’t you worry, sugarcube. I know how scary it is to fight them mean witches all by yourself, but you’re not alone in this no more. We got your back!”