Chasing Treasures

Chapters

2 - Target: Daring Do
3 - Recruitment Drive
4 - Magic DOES Exist
5 - Debriefing
6 - Agent Sombra
7 - Finding a Lead
8 - Shopping
9 - Ambush
11 - Radiant Hope
12 - Target: Catrina
13: Operation: Storm the Bunker
14 - It's a Trap!
15 - Beware a Siren's Wrath
16 - Nothing Can Stop...
17 - Shopping Trip Cancelled
18 - The Panda's Lair
19 - Calm Before the...
20 - Prince Scorpan
21 - To Equestria
22 - Catrina's Island
23 - Rescue
24 - Declawing the Cat
25 - Ponyville
26 - Liberation
28 - Tirek Strikes Back
29 - The Cornered Rat
30 - The Final Battle
31 - The End
1 - The Search for the Sage's Stone
10 - Diana Thorpe
27 - Confrontation

2 - Target: Daring Do

Scorpan grunted as he clambered to the top of the steep hill, the only one around as far as the eye could see, and the only vantage point that he would have of the lonely shack in the middle of the vacant valley.

"Why does she live so far out in the middle of nowhere?" one of his followers asked, stopping to kneel down and pet the hounds that accompanied him.

"Because she makes enemies, and she doesn't want them to find her. Unfortunately, she made enemies of the wrong group, this time." Scorpan looked through his binoculars. He gritted his teeth as he found the house's curtains drawn, but there was a flickering light inside that revealed a silhouette, seemingly sitting down and staring intently at something below. "She's already working on her novel! We must act swiftly. Send in the hounds, and then burn the cabin to the ground."

"You want to sacrifice my pups?!" The man stood, his dogs growling through their muzzles to either side of him. "Send your own damn pet in there!" Scorpan raised his gun to the man's face, and he hesitated. "K-Kill me, and they'll be out of your control."

"Those dogs have been bred to kill by any means, even giving their own lives. They're nothing more than sacrificial pawns. You knew that from the moment you started breeding them."

A woman yawned as she took up her position near the edge of the hill and aimed through the scope of her sniper rifle. "Why go through all that bother when I can just kill her now?"

"You don't have a clear shot. There's no guarantee that she'll die, and Lord Tirek wants to be sure of her death. No mistakes, or else every last one of us will pay the price." He turned back to the hounds' keeper. "Release them, Cybil."

The man, Cybil, looked down to his dogs for a few more seconds, before resigning and leaning down to release their muzzles. "They won't fail to kill her."

"She's fought off lions, tigers, and even bears before."

"Oh my," the female sniper replied. "But that's just in her books, right?"

"Her books are not works of fiction. At the very least, Lord Tirek seems to take them seriously. We'll use the hounds to cut off her escape, and burn her to ashes. Unless one of you would like to volunteer to attack her?" A silence passed between the seven people gathered at the top of the hill. "No? Then we will proceed as I have instructed."

Cybil took in a deep breath, and then nodded. He ordered his hounds towards the shack, and then watched as they raced along the valley.

Daring Do tapped her quill to the paper as she read over what she had written. Her latest adventure had ultimately ended in failure, but the journey itself had given her all that she needed to form a great novel. Still, something seemed to be missing. It lacked the same punch that her previous adventures had, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

"Was it because Caballeron gave up so soon? I should be happy for that, but for him to give up on a treasure like that… Something else is going on. Something big. I just wish I could see it…"

She heard the howls and gasped. No wolves lived in this part of the country. Quickly, she rose from her desk and grabbed the pistol to her side.

Her door flew off of its hinges and two great beasts charged in, growling at the author as they crouch down, ready to attack. She fired at one of them, crippling it with an accurate shot to the shoulder, but the other lunged before she could shift her sights.

Swiftly, she dodged to the side and rolled over her bed, reaching for the shotgun that lay beneath. As she re-emerged, the hound was already on her, and she had to use her shotgun as a makeshift muzzle to keep its gnashing jaw from reaching her face.

"Take a nap!" she shouted, releasing one hand to punch the dog in the stomach. It whimpered from the blow, and backed off just long enough for Daring Do to release her shotgun and aim it at the creature's face. She never had the chance to fire, though, before several arrows came crashing through her window, their heads ablaze in alcohol-soaked rags.

The fire spread rapidly, startling the wounded hounds and consuming them in mere moments. Daring Do cried out as she backed herself against a wall, watching as her home and her work were all consumed at once in a sea of flames.

"Damnit! Who are these guys?!" Something fell from a nearby shelf, and as she crouched to avoid the smoke filling the room, she picked up the item. It was a phone. An old one that was horribly outdated, but one that she could not afford to throw away, because it held the numbers of many important people that she dared not store on her actual cell phone.

She put the device in one of her pockets, and then turned to the wall behind her. There was a loose stone that stood out, and upon pushing it, a small section of the wall was pushed back. The smell of sewage filled the room, but it was a welcome scent compared to the burning wood and the smoke all around her.

"Good job I put this here," she said, grinning as she slipped through the hole, where a rusted old ladder waited for her. "Guess I should've invested more in the upkeep, though." Without delay, she descended down into the sewers below, panting heavily now that she was free from the smoke-filled house.

The last sound she heard before she sprinted through the long, cool tunnels was that of her house collapsing above her. Daring Do never looked back. She just ran, occasionally touching her hand to her pocket to ensure that the old phone was still there.

"No body has been found," Cybil reported with a glare. "No human bodies, that is."

"She could not have escaped," Scorpan reasoned. "We had eyes on the entire shack and there is nowhere around here to hide." Looking around, Scorpan noted the state that the charred bed was in, with the covers thrown to one side, and approached. He examined the mattress. There was a palm print in it, along with several small holes. "She vaulted over the bed. The wolves chased her over it. She never jumped back over."

"Hm?" The female sniper approached the wall beside the bed and kicked away the loose bricks. "Well well…"

Scorpan looked up and clenched his hand into a fist. "A tunnel? I ordered a full sweep of this land! Why did this never come up in the report?!"

"Hey, it was a rush job!" one man shouted, running over to Scorpan with a laptop tucked in his left arm. "Besides, I never saw anything about any underground tunnels. Either it was created off-the-record, or she paid good hush money to keep it secret."

"Or perhaps you're just not as good as you claim," the sniper chided.

"Watch it! You're only safe from a distance, you coward!"

The sniper pulled out a knife and regarded the man threateningly. "Wanna see about that?"

"Enough!" Scorpan shouted. "Find out where this tunnel leads! The longer we wait, the farther away she gets, and Lord Tirek expects results soon!"

"Not our problem," the sniper said.

"Isn't it?" Scorpan asked. "Sarah, you believe that I am the only one who will suffer Tirek's wrath if we fail, don't you? Then you are a fool!"

The man with the laptop adjusted his glasses. "D-Do you really think that Tirek will kill all of us for your failure?"

"We are all in this together. If we fail this task, then it means that either we were incompetent, or he was wrong to assign us. And Lord Tirek is never wrong."

A tinge a fear crossed Sarah's face, and her face hardened. "… What do we do, then?"

"Find out where the tunnel leads," Scorpan repeated. "We'll cut her off and kill her before she can reach the authorities."

Sarah peered down the hole and held her nose. "Smells like a sewer down there."

"A sewer? Impossible!" the man with the laptop said. "The nearest sewer systems don't stretch anywhere near this plot of land. Even Daring Do couldn't get away with building her own private sewer beneath her house."

"What about a mineshaft?" Cybil asked. "Were there any mineshafts around here at any point, Dexter?"

Dexter held his chin as he thought. "Yeah, but that was well over a couple centuries ago. They all closed after a massive earthquake collapsed the majority of them and caused many gas explosions. The people of an oppressed town thought that it was the wrath of God signalling a rebellion, and soon civil unrest spread over the whole region.

"By the time it had calmed down, the mines were all but forgotten." Dexter sat down and opened his laptop, punching some keys to bring up some diagrams on his screen. "Well what d'ya know? Turns out there was a mineshaft that ran under here, but it was among the few that sat outside of the affected areas of the earthquake. In other words, it was left intact, but because the only resources down there were things that the government had started to buy cheaply overseas, they closed it down a little over fifty years ago… Around the time that this plot of land was bought by Daring Do's grandfather."

"That man had connections in the government," Cybil said, crossing his arms. "He may have been able to buy the rights to the mine, and the join it up with the sewers of the nearby city, to hide its true purpose as an escape tunnel."

Dexter nodded his head, and grinned. "Well then, I guess this is where I hack into the security feeds of the sewer systems and find out where she got out…"

"When we find her," Sarah started, pulling out her rifle and adjusting the attached scope, "I'll put her down with one bullet."

"Don't destroy the brain," Cybil said. "The pups I'm raising love them. It's their favourite organ."

"Got it!" Dexter shouted triumphantly. "Oh… Oh no… Of all the places, she…"

"She climbed out of a manhole on one of the airport's runways," Scorpan confirmed, watching said manhole through his binoculars, before sweeping across the airfield, his hands shaking. "Then she boarded a plane, but which one?"

"There are only two planes that left in the time between when she emerged and we got here," Dexter announced. "One headed for England, one for Germany."

"She's on neither one," Scorpan assured him. He recalled the footage that Dexter had shown him, of how Daring Do waited in the sewer for a long time, occasionally peeking up through the manhole. "She waited for a specific plane to arrive. Whichever one landed just before she emerged is the one."

"Couldn't she have been waiting for security to lighten up?" Sarah asked, peering through her scope at one of the runways. Her sights followed a women in a suit, wondering whether it could have been Daring Do in disguise. She wanted to shoot her regardless.

"She could not tell that from the glances that she took. I'm certain that she was waiting for a specific plane to come down."

"Well, the only one it could be would be the one to America that has yet to leave."

Scorpan gasped. "America…" He found the plane and examined its wheels. There, he saw some crates positioned in ways that would allow somebody to easily climb into the plane, and an open toolbox on the ground. To top it off, there were muddy footprints around that area.

"Give me the phone," Scorpan said, reaching his hand back to Dexter. He felt the phone in his hand and he dialled a number. "Let me do all the talking."

He waited, and waited, and then, somebody answered. "This is Dark Rainbows, hottest nightclub in town! Would you like to book a reservation?"

"No. I would like to speak to your boss. I'm a VIP customer. Name's Steve Timms."

"Ah, Mr. Timms! One moment please!" A moment of silence followed, and then a new voice greeted Scorpan.

"Mr. Timms, it is nice to speak to you again. I trust business is going well."

Scorpan swallowed hard. "Actually, T, that 'errand' I had to run has taken a bit of a detour." He waited, and received no reply. "Y'see, turns out the girl got her schedule mixed up and boarded a plane to America. She left me the key to her house so I managed to retrieve the manuscript."

"She trusts you to the key to her house? Didn't realise you were that close to her."

Scorpan laughed. "Well she's a busy girl so I help her out sometimes. I paid her back today by cleaning the whole house."

"… That's good. And you say she's now in America?"

Scorpan hesitated. "Yes. I wanted to talk to her about her script, y'know, make some changes. But I don't think we have to worry."

"Oh?"

"Seems she went to attend an interview of some kind. You know writers. She wouldn't reveal anything in the script until the finished product is on the shelf."

"Ah, right you are. Oh, I have a client coming in soon. Tell me, what did you want to discuss?"

"I was hoping to fly over and surprise her, but getting tickets on such short notice is hard. Think you could use some of that influence of yours?"

"… Very well, but just this once."

Scorpan breathed a sigh of relief, and his followers all grinned. They were safe. For now, at least. He looked up and gasped. Daring Do's plane was leaving.

"So? What flight were you after?"

"Ah, one moment…" Scorpan turned to Dexter, who pointed on his laptop to the flight that had just left. "Uhhh, the next available flight to Maine. Preferably to the airport in 'Canterlot'."

"Very well then. I'll have my associate meet you there and offer you the full VIP treatment."

Scorpan tensed up, and his fear disheartened his team. "T-Thank you, sir. I appreciate it, really."

"Oh, and do say hello to your little pup for me, okay?"

With that, the call ended. Scorpan gripped the phone in his shaking hand and gritted his teeth together. "… We've got the go-ahead to America, but this time, he'll have one of his men watching us, to make sure we don't fail."

"I just got the tickets," Dexter said, amazed at the fast work. He frowned as he checked them over, and turned to Scorpan. "Um, he was only able to send five."

Scorpan raised his head and narrowed his eyes. He looked over his crew one-by-one.

Sarah, a sniper. Cybil, useless without his pet wolves, but still valued by Tirek because of his ability to tame wild animals. Dexter, a professional with all things ICT. And then, he also had one more sniper, this one mute and new to the game, brought along simply to observe. Nobody knew his name, and simply called him Mute.

The other two were simply hired goons who were brought along mostly to accompany them to the house and provide more eyes to watch over the shack. They served little use from this point on.

Scorpan knew that Tirek wanted the extra baggage gone. He cursed himself, for they probably would have survived if he had been successful the first time.

"What's wrong?" Dexter asked, and then gasped as Scorpan pulled out his gun, fitted with a silencer, and shot the two extras before they could even react. "Ah…"

"Now we only have five people," Scorpan said. "Cybil, call in your people to collect the bodies. Your pups will get an appetiser before dinner."

Cybil hesitated for just a moment, before a glare from Scorpan made him flinch into action. He put out his phone and stepped to the side. Sarah simply whistled her admiration. "I suppose you're Tirek's number one for a reason."

Scorpan closed his eyes and sat. "… How long until we leave?"

"Plane leaves in three hours," Dexter answered. "Weather looks favourable so there should be no delays."

"When Cybil's people arrive, we hand over everything. Weapons, laptop, phones-"

"You want me to walk around unarmed?!" Sarah shouted.

"You want me to leave my laptop to those barbarians?!" Dexter added.

"You want Tirek to find out you were carrying sensitive goods around airport security? Or worse yet, do you want to be caught by airport security?" Scorpan turned to Sarah. "Weapons will be given to us when we arrive. We're going to America, the land of guns, after all."

Sarah's face brightened a little at that, but she still seemed displeased.

Scorpan simply continued waiting, his hands shaking the entire time. No matter where he was, waiting was always the most painful thing. "We wait here. We ditch everything. We follow Daring Do and kill her. And then we return, and we live.

"We live to see Tirek's new world come to life."

3 - Recruitment Drive

"This is it! This is the end of me for sure!"

"Sunset, you're overreactin'," Applejack said as she walked alongside her friend through the school. She rolled her eyes as Sunset pushed the school's doors open with more force than necessary and stomped outside of the building.

"Overreacting?! I'm going to have to leave this world soon and you think that's 'overreacting'?!"

"Just because he's our president now, don't mean y'all will have ta leave us."

"I'm an ill-" Sunset stopped and looked around cautiously, before whispering to Applejack, "I'm an illegal alien – in more ways than one!"

"But the FBI are coverin' for ya, aren't they?"

Sunset cupped her chin and paced in circles around Applejack, drawing many odd looks that made the farmgirl feel uncomfortable. "That's true, but even they have limited power here. If the president orders it, will they have to obey? Wait, maybe…" Sunset snapped her fingers. "That's it! Maybe Shining Armor can help me forge some documents so I can live here legally!"

"Ah don't think that's a wise idea. Sounds kinda… illegal."

"Hey, why break a habit?" Sunset took out her phone and dialled a number. It rang several times, but there was no answer. "Typical. Just when you need the guy…"

"Ya know, ma cousin Braeburn's lookin' for a girlfriend right now. If y'all marry into the family, y'could get yer green card that way."

Sunset raised an eyebrow. "Braeburn? Isn't he gay?"

"'Course not! … Ah don't think, at least."

"Eh, I'll pass, anyway. I can track Shining Armor's phone using the tracer I put in it when he wasn't looking."

Applejack slammed a hand into her face. "If y'all get arrested for anythin', it won't be illegal immigration!"

Sunset's phone began to beep, and her face brightened as she looked up to her friend. "Ah, he's nearby! I can catch him if I hurry…"

"Want me to come with? Or stay here in case y'all need a bail?"

"You should probably stay here. I'll call you but not say anything if I'm trouble." With that, Sunset bid her friend farewell and rushed off away from the school, heading towards the Canterlot's downtown area.

Meanwhile, Adagio Dazzle was finding it difficult to concentrate on her driving whilst the two nuisances in the back bickered and squabbled with each other, despite her repeated warnings for them to stop it.

"Adagiooooo! Aria called me a bad word!"

"Well she keeps putting her foot on my side! You know I hate that!"

"I can't help it! That last job sprained my leg and I need to stretch it!" Sonata leaned forwards, putting her hands on the back of Adagio's chair, and asked, "Hey, can we stop at the McDonald's on the way?"

"We're about to rob a bank! The fast-food can wait!" Aria shouted.

Sonata whined. "I only want an ice-cream! I'll be super quick!"

Adagio slammed one of her hands on the wheel, silencing the two behind her. "We'll stop on the way back, after we lose the cops!"

Sonata sighed, and flopped back into her seat. "Fiiiiine."

"You gotta stop spoiling her, 'Dag."

"I'm sorry, do you want to take her role of keeping us alive out there?"

Aria said nothing, and few almost a full minute, the three continued to drive in absolute silence. And then, Sonata started singing. "Shut up already! You're annoying me!"

"I'm just expressing myself through song!"

"Well don't! You know we sound bad without our magic!"

"You're not the boss of me!"

"Yes I am!"

"No you're not!"

"Yes, I am!"

Adagio felt a vein pop in her head and she slammed a fist onto the seat beside her. "If the two of you don't stop that right now, there will be NO HEIST, and NO ICE-CREAM! So-help me, I will turn this car around RIGHT NOW and return to our hideout!"

Aria fell silent after that, whilst Sonata peered out of her window, and then out of Aria's, a look of confusion on her face. "Well, you'd have an easy time doing that… There're no people anywhere."

Aria clenched her hand into a fist, but as she looked around at the streets outside, she realised that Sonata was right. Even the pedestrians were missing. "Hey, 'Dag, I don't like this…"

Adagio nodded her head. Just then, a horn sounded, and Adagio saw a red car speeding behind them. It drove alongside their own car for a few seconds, its tinted-windows preventing any of them from seeing whoever was inside.

As the windows lowered, Adagio recognised the woman driving it as Agent Chrysalis, and the one beside her was Agent Gilda. Chrysalis held her badge up, showing her status as an FBI agent, and said, "Excuse me, but could you pullover please?"

Adagio gritted her teeth and stepped down on the gas pedal, accelerating past the FBI car as she watched them in her mirror. "Why are they after us now?! We haven't done anything yet! … That's big."

"Look out!"

Adagio gasped and turned her attention back to the road, finding a blockade ahead of her, complete with agents pointing guns their way. She slammed a foot onto the braking pedal and applied the handbrake, skidding to a halt before the waiting agents.

At the head of the group, she recognised Shining Armor, walking her way with revolver in his hand. He seemed lax, but the ten agents keeping their sights trained on the sirens with automatic weapons did not, so she did not risk reaching for her pistol.

As Shining Armor approached the car, he gave an appreciate whistle. "Nice convertible," he said, reaching the side of the vehicle and leaning over to speak to the three girls inside. "Where'd you steal a ride this good from?"

"Nowhere, actually," Adagio said. "We won it in a poker match. Gambling's legal in this state."

"If you're old enough… Which, I suppose you are, actually, but that's besides the point."

"We did cheat, to be fair," Sonata added, earning a facepalm from Aria.

"Why did you tell him that?" Aria grumbled into her hand.

"Look, you said we could go free so long as we don't leave Maine, we don't use any jewels to harness magic, and we don't commit any crimes."

"Yes, and since then, you've committed thirty-nine petty thefts, three major robberies, two acts of aiding a drug trafficking offence, and have planned one heck of a heist." Chrysalis chuckled as she approached the three, putting away her notebook and reaching forward to cup Aria's chin with her hand. "We've kept our eyes on you, but let you go because these crimes were so small and easy to remedy."

"Oh. Well, that was nice of you," Sonata said, earning a jab to the arm from Aria.

"There's a catch," Aria told her.

"That's right," Chrysalis said. "The three of you have something valuable to us: your knowledge of magic, and magical artefacts."

"We've recently received intel that a high-value target is making moves to secure magical artefacts, and a witness has backed this up for us. Therefore, we need your expertise," Shining Armor explained. "Accept and we'll extend your parole to allow you to leave Maine, so long as you stay within the United States and agree to wear tracking devices at all times. Refuse, and it's back to the bureau's private prison cells, where we can hold you for as long as we want because, legally, you three don't even exist."

Adagio bared her teeth, but remained calm. "How dare you threaten us?"

"Very easily, actually." Chrysalis' phone rang, distracting Shining Armor for a moment. He watched as she walked away to answer the call, and then turned his attention back to the three girls. "So? Is it a deal?"

"… Like we have any choice," Adagio said, turning off her car's engine and handing the keys to Shining Armor.

"We'll take good care of your ride, and even return it to you upon your release. Now, Adagio, you're with me. Aria, you ride with Chrysalis, and Sonata can ride with Gilda."

"You're separating us?" Aria asked, looking worried as she glanced over to the woman still on her phone. "Uh, can I go with the dyke, instead?"

"The fuck d'you call me?!" Gilda shouted, reaching for her gun, but stopping when Shining Armor held out his hand. "… Remember, you're only allowed to even live because you have special knowledge!"

"Meaning you can't kill us," Aria returned with a grin, making Gilda growl as her veins began to bulge.

"Don't worry about her," Sonata comforted, taking Gilda's arm and nodding reassuringly at her. "Aria's just in one of her moods! I'll cheer you up with my wonderful singing on the way!"

Gilda tried to pull away from the beaming blue-haired girl, but found that grip to be too tight. "Uhhh, maybe I'll take the bitch, after all."

Chrysalis rejoined the group just as Adagio managed to pull Aria from almost ripping out Gilda's throat. "I'm afraid I have more bad news," she said to Shining Armor, ignoring the increasingly-loud yelling behind herself. "Sunset Shimmer's been arrested, after trying to sneak past our agents surrounding the area."

The yelling stopped suddenly, and all eyes turned to Chrysalis. Shining Armor sighed, putting a hand to his head. "… Just so we're clear-"

"Yes, I do mean the Equestrian Sunset Shimmer."

"Alright… Alright, just, let's get these three back first. Tell the agents to detain her, but treat her like a guest. No harm is to come to her. And then tell them to send Blueblood to explain that I'm busy and will get to her when I have time."

"I already told them to bring her here," Chrysalis said, pointing to something behind Shining Armor. He turned around, and sure enough, there she was, grinning sheepishly, until she saw the Dazzlings, at which point confusion spread across her face.

As Shining Armor turned back to glare at his partner, all that she could offer was a shrug, and a simple, "I thought that's what you'd want?"

4 - Magic DOES Exist

The drive was awkward, to say the least. Shining Armor and Sunset Shimmer sat opposite to Adagio, whose hands were cuffed. Sunset had explained herself to Shining Armor, but he had refused to say anything about why Adagio was present.

"I told you, this is not a civilian matter," Shining Armor said, much to Sunset's dismay. "I will drop you off at your home and I promise that I'll get back to you on securing your visa."

"There can be no reason you'd be seeking her out other than something to do with magic," Sunset reasoned, glaring over at the siren. "You'd honestly trust her over me?"

"Like you once did, she has a debt to repay to society. You, however, are now a free civilian." Shining Armor shook his head. "This case is simply too dangerous for you. Frankly, we shouldn't have even recruited you for the Kaitou Moon case."

"Children should not meddle in adults' affairs," Adagio said, smirking at how riled-up Sunset Shimmer was getting.

"You shut up! And besides, I'm not a civilian, technically! That's why I came to you, remember?"

"I'm not recruiting you on a technicality."

Sunset groaned. "You are… so stubborn! Look, I can handle myself, and you said it yourself that you'll need all the experts on magic you can get."

"I have no doubts that you can handle yourself-"

"Then why-"

"Because I have a responsibility to protect people, that's why!" Shining Armor took a deep, calming breath, and sighed. "I'm sorry, Sunset, but I'm not backing down on this."

Sunset fell back into her seat, crossing her arms and humming to herself in thought. "… Guess I've got no choice. I'll just have to follow you and check it out myself."

"No, you won't."

"If you think you can stop me, go right ahead. You'll have to arrest me, and then I'll have another debt to repay. Your boss will surely push you to recruit my help in this matter."

"Meanwhile, if she's left to her own devices, it will be harder to protect her," Adagio reasoned, chuckling as she pointed to the FBI agent. "Of course, you could just out her and have her deported. That would solve many peoples' problems."

"… Okay, how about this? I'll explain to you what's going on and why it's so dangerous," Shining Armor offered. "And then, you stay out of it. For your own sake."

"We'll see," Sunset Shimmer replied. "First, I want to know how magic's involved. I thought the people of this world didn't know about it."

"Well, as you know, magic isn't easily-wielded in this world. To be honest, it was only in the recent Dazzlings case that we learned magic can be harnessed through jewels. Before that, we only knew of certain objects with magical properties.

"In ancient cultures, magic was widely-known and used by the elite, but its powers were either misunderstood, or disguised as something else."

"Misunderstood?"

"For example, a gift from the gods, one that demanded a sacrifice. Or a pact made with a demon. Because of this, and the fact that only the elite were allowed to use such powers, knowledge of it was rarely retained, and as these cultures died out one-by-one, the power of magic remained only in myths and folklore.

"The Dark Ages, where 'witches' were hunted and burned, and the Salem Witch Trials – these are events that happened because, although people still remember that magic exists, they don't know of the exact details. They misunderstood science as magic, or blamed their misfortunes on it.

"As technologies advanced, though, our abilities to uncover true magic improved greatly. In fact, every major government agency – FBI, CIA, Interpol – they all have divisions where the knowledge of magic is known, and that are tasked secretly with the jobs of securing magical artefacts and keeping its power from being abused."

"Right, and your department was tasked with watching over me."

Shining Armor nodded. "The CIA left jurisdiction of any case related to Equestria with us. This current one is related to a man named Tirek."

Sunset and Adagio both gasped and shot towards Shining Armor at the mention of that name. "Tirek?!" Sunset shouted.

"Are you sure?!" Adagio added.

"Y-Yes… Do you know the name?"

Adagio gritted her teeth and clenched her fists. "If I'd known he was the man you were going after… No, if it's this world's version of him, it may be fine."

Sunset composed herself and explained, "Tirek was, in our world, a powerful, ruthless dictator from ancient times. He ruled the Castle of Nightmares with the Rainbow of Darkness, and enslaved ponies – turning them into monsters – to pull his chariot and expand his land."

"He drove the sirens to near-extinction," Adagio said, "Simply because they lived on the land that he wanted to build a second castle atop of. Nobody knows what became of him – some say he was killed by the Rainbow of Light, whilst others say he is locked in Tartarus, still living to this day…"

"Tartarus…" Shining Armor deadpanned, receiving a confirming nod from Sunset. "Okay, I'll just… take your word for it. Though to be honest, it fits the bill. Here, Tirek is the head of an underworld organisation, whose influences spreads to every corner of the world. He's a ruthless, dangerous man, who uses whatever means he has to get what he desires. Kidnapping, extortion, slavery, murder, and inciting wars are just the tip of the iceberg.

Recently, his branch here has been making moves… louder, than normal. They recently stole a magical artefact from a museum, but then discarded it without a care. We believed they were looking for something particular, and just yesterday, a witness confirmed our suspicions; Tirek is hunting the Sage's Stone."

"What's that?" Adagio asked.

"According to our witness, it is a stone said to act as a key to another world, a utopia filled with magic, inhabited by creatures who can use magic in their day-to-day lives."

Sunset cupped her chin, sweat pouring down her head. "That sounds like… Wait, you said that the FBI was handed all jurisdiction for cases related to Equestria. That means that…"

Shining Armor bit his lip. He thought of something to say, but he knew that no lie would fool this girl now. So he nodded his head. "Yes… We believe that Tirek intends to use this stone to invade Equestria, and use its magic to further his goals…"

Sunset slammed a fist into the seat beside her, fire in her eyes. "Okay, that settles it," she said. "There's no way you can keep me off of this case now. Not when it's my home that's being threatened. Now, tell me more about this witness…"

5 - Debriefing

Upon their arrival, Shining Armor was greeted by a harsh glare and a sharp tongue-lashing from Cadance. Sunset and Adagio decided to stay at a distance whilst Shining Armor was backed against his car, only managing to get out the occasional "dear" and "please".

"We agreed that we wouldn't involve her anymore! And yet here she is, with one of the sirens, no less!"

"She insisted!" Shining pleaded, finally able to get a sentence into the conversation. "She refused to leave it be! I swear I tried to-"

"You should have just dropped her off at her school!" Cadance turned her glare to Sunset Shimmer, who flinched and momentarily considered hiding behind Adagio. "And you! This is official FBI business – a civilian has no right to be getting involved!"

"B-But you need help with magic, right?" Sunset asked. "Look, I know you got these guys," she said, motioning to Adagio, "But do you really think they'll be that cooperative?"

"Oh, I have my ways," Cadance said, narrowing her eyes as she looked down at Adagio.

Adagio simply huffed and turned away. "Right now, you've given us little choice."

"Look, I just wanted to help," Sunset continued. "And now that I know Equestria is involved, I have to-"

"You told her that this involves Equestria?!" Cadance shouted, turning back to Shining Armor and stopping him halfway to the elevator. "Why don't you just tell her our secrets codes while you're at it?!"

"Now now, Cadie," Blueblood said as he approached the group, a foreign girl dressed for a jungle expedition to his right. "Think about it this way: with Sunset here, we no longer have to risk giving our jewels to the Dazzlings."

"'Jewels'?" the girl beside him asked.

"He must mean the jewels that allow us to cast our magic," Sunset explained. "Do I know you? You look familiar…"

Before the foreigner could answer, Blueblood took out a small ruby from his pocket and grinned as he saw the hunger in Adagio's eyes. "Oh yes. Ever since we learned that jewels are a source of magical conductivity, our department's been hard-at-work seeking and collecting any jewels in Canterlot that have even the remotest magic in them."

"So that's why we couldn't find any," Adagio surmised.

"So it's true," the foreigner said, approaching Sunset and Adagio with a fascinated look on her face. "The two of you can really perform magic with those jewels?"

Sunset grinned and puffed out her chest with pride. "Well to be honest, anybody could do it, but you would need to already be a very advanced magician to perform magic with just the jewel. Ordinary humans would need something to channel the jewel's magic with, first."

"'Ordinary' humans?"

"Speak for yourself," Adagio said. "We sirens are born with the natural ability to harness the magic inside of jewels directly. Magic is almost as simple as breathing to us."

"'Sirens'?!"

Cadance turned to Blueblood, and asked, "You haven't briefed her on everything yet, have you?"

"I thought it would be best for you guys to do that, since you have more experience with magic than I," Blueblood explained.

Cadance simply nodded. Just then, two more cars entered the garage and parked alongside Shining Armor's. From out of the first car came Aria and Chrysalis. Chrysalis looked over the group and said, "Ah, so the witness is joining us."

Shining Armor nodded, and watched as an annoyed Aria made her way to Adagio's side, whispering something into the other girl's ear as she cast glares at Chrysalis. "Eventful ride over?"

"Of course not," Chrysalis said with a wink. "I merely had to remind her of her position and the fact that, as a trained killer, I could end her life without her even realising it in more ways than she can count."

"Keep her away from me," Aria said as she turned her back to the group, crossing her arms with a huff.

"Chrysalis, try to play nice," Shining Armor whispered. "I know they almost killed you before, but-"

"For some reason, I really don't like those sirens," Chrysalis said. "I'm not sure why. Perhaps being a changeling for that short period of time affected me in some way."

From out the third car came Sonata and Gilda, the latter reaching into her ears and pulling out two corks that acted as makeshift earplugs. Cadance raised an eyebrow. "And… why were your ears plugged?"

"Because if I had to hear 'one hundred bottles of cider on the wall' one more time, I was going to compromise the mission objective!" Gilda explained, turning to Shining with a pleading look. "Please don't pair me with her again! I'm beggin' ya here!"

"Huh. Looks like you did something right, for once," Aria said as Sonata approached.

"Does that mean I get a pat on the head?" Sonata asked excitedly, lowering her head in expectance.

Aria gagged and moved away, but Adagio stopped her and said, "Pat her head, Aria."

Reluctantly, Aria patted her friend's head. Sonata giggled and then tackle-hugged Aria. "GAH! STOP IT! LEGGO!"

Sighing, Adagio left her two friends to their unusual ritual and approached the FBI agents. "So? When do we get started?"

"Well, now that everyone's here, we should proceed to the briefing room," Shining Armor said, before turning to Gilda. "Uh, you can take five, if you want. I'll brief you later."

"Oh, thank Christ," Gilda said, reaching into her pocket and pulling out three cigarettes at once. "If you need me to 'silence' the blue one, just say the word."

"That won't be necessary," Shining assured with a nervous laugh. "Alright, everyone! Please come this way!"

Once everybody was gathered in the briefing room, the first order of business was to introduce their witness, Daring Do, to Sunset and the Dazzlings.

"So that's why you seemed so familiar," Sunset said. "And all this time, I thought you were just a work of fiction."

"That was the idea," Daring Do explained. "You make a lot of enemies doing what I do, but you still need to get your heroic deeds known to the public. Criminals I haven't hit yet think I'm not real so they're not ready for me, and those I jhave hit will waste time trying to find me, only to fail… Until I got caught by Tirek's man, that is.

"To think, though, that you guys are from another world!" Daring's eyes were filled with stars as she studied Sunset and Adagio closely. "It's so incredible! A world, inhabited by talking ponies and by creatures from mythology, that can use magic!"

Shining Armor cleared his throat, returning the meeting to order. "Now then, Miss Do, if you would please tell them what you told us?"

Daring Do nodded. "Right. On my latest expedition, I was in search of a stone said to be able to grant the wielder a great source of unimaginable power: the 'Sage's Stone'. However, I've done some reading on the stone and it turns out that the stone doesn't grant this power directly; the stone is a key, with which one can enter another world – your 'Equestria'. A world filled with magic, thought by the ancients to be some sort of 'promised land'."

"And right now, Tirek has at least one of the stone's two halves," Shining Armor said. "According to Miss Do, the halves can only be reunited by a magical solvent, which we are currently looking into. However, assuming the worst-case scenario, Tirek would have access to Equestria, putting your world in much danger."

Adagio waved her hand dismissively. "Please," she said. "Not that I want to defend Equestria, but those guys aren't pushovers. I mean, look what they did to us."

Sunset nodded her head. "While I haven't attacked Equestria itself, I still know that it isn't a force to trifle with. You guys should know that, too. Tirek may have magic, but Equestria is a magical superpower."

"I'm afraid the situation's a bit more dire than that," Daring Do said, taking out a book from her backpack and opening it to a marked-page. "Here. According to this, the portal that the Sage's Stone opens is much bigger than the one you came through."

Shining Armor nodded. "Whilst the one you used was big enough for one person – or pony – to fit through, this one is big enough for an entire army, along with whatever weapons they have."

Sunset gulped at that, whilst Adagio simply huffed. "So he can take a few guns with him. Big deal."

"And tanks. And planes. And attack helicopters," Sunset corrected. "And, if he has any, weapons of mass destruction – of which Equestria has none."

"It… gets worse," Shining said, sending a chill down Sunset's spine. "Last week, we received a report that Tirek's men raided a military compound and stole one nuclear warhead."

"One is all they would need, if they get that portal open," Chrysalis said. "Even with just the one, demonstrating that level of power would put them in a position where Equestria would have no choice but to surrender."

"Not just Equestria," Sunset said. "The entire world would have to surrender to Tirek's demands."

"Right, which brings us to our two current objectives," Shining Armor said. "The first is to ensure Tirek does not get his hands on the Sage's Stone, preventing him from opening the portal. The second, which should take priority, is the removal of the nuclear warhead – disarming or extracting, I don't care. In the event our first objective fails, the second must succeed to at least give Equestria a chance of fighting back."

"So why is it just the FBI involved in this whole thing?" Adagio asked. "You told us you're not the only government body that knows about magic, so why just you guys?"

Shining Armor sighed and shook his head. "Unfortunately, the decision was made for us not to share this information with other agencies, nor to ask for their help. In the event we are successful, the US government wants full recognition by the Equestrian one – in short, they aren't willing to share any of the glory. The CIA will still help us, mind you."

"And what if we fail because we don't have enough aide," Sunset asked, gritting her teeth together. "What if millions of Equestrian lives are lost and Canterlot is bathed in the fallout of a nuclear blast?!"

"… It means that the American government is willing to accept that risk," Chrysalis said. "Under the guise of not knowing who they can trust and not wanting to endanger the soldiers of any other countries, they will place the lives of every Equestrian on us."

"That's cold," Aria said, a devious smile on her face. "I think I like these guys."

"Well, we do have some level of help," Shining Armor announced, pointing to a small country on a map behind himself. "The Vespanian government have agreed to cooperate with us in regards to recovering the nuclear warhead, and our own military will be assisting us in that regard. Since the warhead itself doesn't fall under the category of 'magic', we have a lot more at our disposal. I want Sonata to come with me on this one."

"Why me?" Sonata asked.

"I must admit, I'm confused by that decision, too," Chrysalis said.

"Because Sonata displayed excellent sharpshooting abilities beforehand, and we may have need of such skills in this case."

"Sonata's not goin' anywhere with you alone," Adagio said. "Aria, you're with her."

"What?!" Aria shouted.

"No arguments. Besides, if they're talking about skills they can make use of, your hacking skills will surely be needed."

Aria huffed, but said nothing in response. She simply fell back into her seat and grumbled angrily beneath her breath.

"The rest of you will be divided into teams – one to look into finding the other half of the stone, one for the magical solvent, and one for finding out how the stone is used to create a portal. There may be a specific location and if that's the case, we can secure it."

Blueblood rose from his seat, a nervous smile on his face as he approached the door to the briefing room. "Well then, I suppose this is where I spring the surprise on you…"

Shining Armor raised an eyebrow. "What surprise?"

"Now, just remember, it was the boss who ordered this." After clearing his throat, Blueblood gripped the door's handle and said, "Everyone, there will be one more member joining our team. And that member is…"

As the door opened, Cadance gasped, Sunset gripped the jewel around her neck, and Shining's face contorted in rage. "No…" he said.

At the doorway, Sombra stood in a clean, black suit, but with his hands cuffed, his feet chained together, and his mouth gagged. Despite his appearance, his arrogance still filled the air inside of the room.

"Agent Sombra," Blueblood announced, "Reporting back for duty."

6 - Agent Sombra

"I am absolutely against it!"

"It's the boss' orders," Blueblood explained as Cadance stood between him and Shining Armor. "He said that we'd need whatever help we can get-"

"'Help'?! From him?!"

"Now hold on a second, Shining," Cadance said. "Remember, he did help us during the Dazzling case."

"And it was a bad idea then, too, but this time we've got a much bigger enemy to deal with! We don't need the extra baggage!"

"I have to agree," Sunset said, glaring as Sombra shot her the most arrogant of looks. "This world's Sombra has the collective knowledge and memories of Equestria's Sombra, and that guy was a master of magic, powerful enough to even hold his own against Celestia and Luna.

"Not only that, but he already tried to take over Equestria once. Who's to say he won't join up with Tirek to try it again?"

"Because if he did, it would be his funeral," Blueblood answered. "The boss isn't stupid. He's taken precautions. The first is that he will be under constant watch, naturally. His arms and his legs will remain bound, and he will only be permitted to talk when a gun is to his head – if he so much as goes near a jewel without our permission he will be subdued and brought back.

"The final precaution is the bomb that will be strapped around his neck. It will be on a timer, and will detonate after twelve hours have passed unless the code is entered to prolong it. Attempting to disarm or remove it by force will trigger it early, so if he doesn't want his reign to be short, he will stay where we can see him."

Shining Armor shook his head firmly. "I'm still against it. What possible use could we have for him if he's going to be bound and gagged the entire time?"

"He will myself and Cadance in trying to capture some of Tirek's people here in the States. Sombra was a master of interrogation before. I'd imagine having his mind melded with a tyrannical demon from another world would help him break even the toughest of cases."

"You? And Cadance?" Shining asked, his fists clenching more the longer the conversation went on. "And who will watch him, then?"

"Gilda, and our two fine gentlemen here, of course… Um, dreadfully sorry, but what were your names again?"

"Agent D'Coolette, sir."

"Agent St. John, sir."

"Yes yes," Blueblood replied. "You can have faith in your fellow agents, Shining Armor."

"But-"

"It'll be fine, Shining," Cadance assured him. "And time is of the essence. Sombra can help us, and that's all that matters right now."

Gritting his teeth, Shining bore his eyes into Sombra's own. He stepped forward, grabbing Sombra by the collar, and brought their faces within inches of each other. "I'm only warning you once: if you do anything to hurt her, I will make you wish we had executed you. Understand?"

Sombra simply nodded, and Shining let her go. "Oh, and I will be fine, too. Thank you for your concern," Blueblood deadpanned.

"So," Shining began, "Myself, Sonata and Aria will be joining with a team from our own military and a team from the Vespanian military to secure and disarm the warhead. Blueblood, Cadance, Gilda and… Sombra, will follow a lead to some of Tirek's people in this country. Sunset, Daring Do, Chrysalis and Adagio, you four will investigate this solvent, as well as the Sage's Stone itself, and try to cut Tirek off."

"Question!" Sonata shouted, making Aria groan as she raised her arm. "Will there be tacos on the flight there?"

"… No," Shining replied flatly.

"Oh… Another question!"

"Yes, we can stop on the way," Shining said, filling Sonata with glee and making her jump for joy. "In fact, it'll be on Blueblood, so order as much as you can eat, okay?" He shot Blueblood a wicked grin, who fumed in response, mouthing a pox upon Shining Armor and his household.

After the meeting was over, everybody left the room, save for Blueblood, Cadance, Sombra, and the two armed guards. D'Coolette and St. John raised their guns, training them on Sombra, as Blueblood removed the gag, allowing him to speak.

"Sombra, before we begin, we need to know that you will cooperate with us," Blueblood said, approaching a suitcase that rested on a nearby table. As he opened it, Sombra took notice of the collar that sat inside.

"Do you need me to say it, or to understand it?" Sombra asked.

"The choice is always yours. Just pick the right one," Blueblood answered. "Know that there is no harm in refusing the mission now. You will be sent back to your isolated cell, fed through a straw until the time arises that we need your expertise again. However, if you help us here, the boss will offer you your old position back permanently, under a probationary contract."

"Know that Princess Celestia had no intentions of being so merciful," Cadance told him. "Had we not offered to bring you back, you would have been tried under Equestrian laws and locked away in a prison filled with monsters and-"

"I am well aware," Sombra said. "Remember that I have King Sombra's memories. I am aware of what fate I have escaped, only to wind up in a different prison altogether."

"Princess Celestia had no intention of trying to reform you, but we do. Before you found that accursed horn, you were a good man."

"Well, a man, at least," Blueblood said. "Only as good as an international spy and secret hitman could be."

"Ah." Sombra chuckled as the realisation came to him. "I see. This isn't about my 'interrogation methods'. You want me to knock a few people out of Tirek's forces."

Cadance gasped, and turned to find Blueblood giving a confirmatory nod. "Wait, I never heard anything about this!"

"I thought you would have figured it out," Blueblood said. "Tirek's forces have grown too strong, and our methods of getting information out of them haven't gotten us anywhere. Our job for now is to assist Chrysalis' team by taking out key members here in the US, and then round up the scattered remnants in the resulting chaos."

"But, we're trying to reform Sombra!" Cadance argued. "What's the point if we're just making him a monster under our own leash?!"

"Quite poetic," Sombra said, chuckling under his breath. "It seems I am fated to be a monster, no matter what."

"No!" Cadance shouted. "You're not a monster, Sombra! I know because you've saved my life three times in the past! Because if it wasn't for you, Shining Armor would have been captured by the enemy three years ago! I know because I've seen you laugh and get angry, just like any other person!"

Sombra's smile fell. "You still see me as a human?" he asked, and Cadance gave a resolute nod in return. "… Hmph. Such radiance is wasted on the likes of him." Grinning again, he said, "Have no fear. I will play my part, and I will do so without resorting to magic. I have grown quite tired of my bonds, and much desire the freedom to walk amongst the living once more."

"Very good," Blueblood said. "Then, for insurance, I will strap this collar around your neck. Remember that forcing it off will detonate it prematurely."

"I understand…"

Cadance frowned as the collar clicked, and the timer appeared on the small screen at the centre of his throat. "Please, Sombra. Let's work together, to make things like they were before."

The gag was replaced, and Sombra's guards lowered their guns.

7 - Finding a Lead

The FBI's library was emptied out that day, under strict orders to only allow access to Agent Armor and his team.

Agent Chrysalis, along with Sunset Shimmer, Daring Do and Adagio Dazzle, sat at one of the larger tables in the library, stacks of books all around them courtesy of Sunset and Daring's abilities to sniff out relevant knowledge like bloodhounds.

By the time she had gone through one book, Sunset had gone through five, and Daring was on her seventh. Adagio was half-way through her first, taking many breaks to yawn, check her hair, or simply to stop reading.

"Y'know, you could try to be a little more helpful," Daring Do said, to which Adagio simply huffed.

"I didn't sign on to read dusty old books about the history of my game," she said.

Sunset lowered her book and thought for a second. "Hmmm… Could it be that you don't know how to read?"

Adagio raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Ah, I see!" Daring Do said. "As a siren, you must have never learned how to read before! So sorry! That must be super embarrassing!"

Adagio slammed her book down onto the table and shouted, "I'll have you know that I can read just fine, thank you!"

"Maybe she can read," Sunset conceded. "Just not big words," she added, sharing a grin with Daring Do.

"I'll show you who can read big words!" Adagio picked up her book and buried her face into it, reading at a much faster pace than before.

Sunset and Daring Do silently bumped fists, before returning to their own books. "That was well-played," Chrysalis said, leaning over to speak to Sunset silently. "You found her weakness and exploited it to make her do your bidding."

"I had practice during my reign of Canterlot High School," Sunset said. "Ponies, humans, sirens… Doesn't matter what you are, just as long as you have needs and desires that can be exploited."

Chrysalis chuckled. "You know, it's a good thing that we're not enemies in this world. From what I understand, the Equestrian version of me is an enemy commander to your kind."

"It's funny how things work out, huh?" Sunset asked with a nervous laugh. "Over there, you'd be one of my sworn enemies, but here, you're an ally."

"Truth-be-told, that may very well have not been the case. Back before I ever joined the FBI, I was a criminal, you see."

Sunset lowered her book, listening intently to Chrysalis' story.

"A pirate, actually. I come from a country in the African continent, from a village that is poor and, back then, suffered from the effects of civil war nearby. One side would always be occupying us, as our village was located in a strategically-necessary area. The occupation would change back-and-forth, and our farmlands suffered for it.

"I have a family of fifteen, and I am the oldest one among them. As such, it was my job to provide for them, and the only skills that I had were trickery and subterfuge. It was a stroke of bad luck that my first target was an American military ship… I managed to hide in the hold until the ship docked in America and then I fled, and found myself in Canterlot.

"Desperate, I resorted to armed robbery to earn enough money to buy my way back home. Bet you can't guess who captured me."

"Shining Armor?" Sunset asked.

"The Prince of Chivalry himself. He was a newbie in the FBI, having just left the police force, and his superior wanted to have me shipped back to my village and left there as my country's problem. Shining, however, felt pity for me, and appealed a probationary period for me, highlighting my skills as assets to the bureau."

Sunset Shimmed hummed in thought. "So, you work for the FBI… and then what? Your family?"

"I sent them supplies regularly until I had earned enough trust from my superiors to have them moved here, under the Witness Protection Program. Most of my pay goes to them, so that they can live comfortably and healthily."

"And Shining Armor helped you win that argument, didn't he?" Sunset grinned. "He really is like a knight in his namesake, isn't he?"

"But he's still a dork. Let us not forget that."

Sunset rubbed a hand to her chin. "So why's he so reluctant to give Sombra another chance?"

"Probably because Sombra attacked Twilight, even if it was a Twilight from another world. When it comes to Shining, you can attack him all you want. But hurt his family and, well…"

"Hey," Adagio said, attracting everyone's attention. "I think I found something."

Adagio's findings had led the group to research an item called the 'Compass of Bermuda', a compass said to be enchanted by magic to help sailors find the location that the Sage's Stone should be used at.

Upon performing enough research, the group finally found an image of the compass. Daring Do smiled, as it was something that she recognised instantly.

"Good news and bad news," she said. "The good news is that I know exactly where to find it."

"And the bad news?" Sunset asked.

"… The guy who has it wants me dead."

"Offffff course he does," Sunset said with a roll of her eyes.

"What did you do, exactly?" Adagio asked.

Daring Do bit her lip and ran a hang through her own hair. "I miiiiiight have screwed him out of a deal to get some ancient maps to Blackbeard's buried treasures…"

"How much are we talking here?" Chrysalis asked. "Maybe the bureau could clear the debt."

"Eighteen."

"… Thousand?" Chrysalis asked. Daring Do shook her head. "Hundred thousand?" Daring Do cringed. "MILLION?!"

"A little out of your budget?" Adagio asked.

Chrysalis sighed and placed two fingers to the bridge of her nose. "Alright, so, sending Daring Do there will do no good. Is there anyway we can get the item from him?"

"The guy will sell to anyone with the right price, but his prices are high. Although, he does offer to trade treasures for other treasures. The more exotic, the better."

"Didn't all your stuff get destroyed by Tirek?" Sunset asked. "What do you have to offer him?"

"Nothing, yet, but I know a guy here in the States who might offer us a good deal for some antiques. A foreign antique might just do the trick."

Chrysalis nodded. "We should hurry along, then. Tirek might already know about the compass for all we know."

"Just… be prepared. This guy can be a little weird."

8 - Shopping

The girls arrived at the small shop in the city of Detrot, after riding by helicopter for three hours and driving for thirty minutes.

The shop was in the slums of the city, where buildings were condemned and beggars were sleeping wherever they dropped.

"Stay close," Chrysalis cautioned, making a point to 'accidentally' flash her holstered gun to a many approaching them with a hand in his pocket. He swiftly turned and walked away, and the four girls entered the shop together.

"Welcome!"

The shopkeeper was a shady-looking man, dressed in a black cloak with a purple facemask obscuring his features. He stood behind a counter, two blue flames shining brightly behind him.

"Got a selection of good things on sale!"

Daring Do stepped forward and waved. "Hey, how's it been?" The shopkeeper chuckled, and the two shook hands. "Listen, I'm looking for something that I can trade with PandaBubba for a magic compass to save the world. Long story."

"Got some rare things on sale, stranger."

The shopkeeper stepped out from behind the counter and led Daring Do over to a collection of statues, trinkets, and other ancient-looking items that the explorer seemed to see some value in that Sunset Shimmer could not.

Sunset's eyes caught a display case of firearms and she wandered over whilst Daring Do browsed the wares. She admired the collection of shotguns, SMGs, handguns, and grenades that could fuel a small army.

"What are ya buyin'?" the shopkeeper asked as he approached her.

"Oh, no, I was just, uh, looking…" Sunset's eyes fell on a particular pistol and she stared at it for several seconds. "I see you have an eye for things. Gun's not just about shootin', it's about reloadin'!"

"Well, I don't have any money on me, so…"

"This should do!" Daring Do exclaimed, holding up a blue statue that sparkled in the sunlight. "The 'Sapphire Stone'! You can give me a discount, right?" Daring Do approached the counter and threw down a wad of bills.

"Not enough cash, stranger."

"Oh, come on!"

"Perhaps this will do?" Chrysalis asked, offering the shopkeeper a small, golden locket with a ruby set inside.

The shopkeeper examined it and said, "Ahhh… I'll buy it at a high price." He turned back to Daring Do. "Is that all, stranger?"

"Yep! This should be a worthy trade for the compass."

"Eheheheh… Thank you."

After making the exchange, the girls began to leave the shop. However, as Sunset turned to follow, she felt a tug at her arm. She turned back to find the shopkeeper offering the gun that she was just looking at. "I told you, I don't have any-"

"On the house, stranger," the shopkeeper said, pushing the gun towards her until she took hold of it. "I sense you'll be needing it."

"… You sure?"

The shopkeeper simply laughed, and then returned to his position behind the counter. "Come back anytime!"

As she left and rejoined the others, Sunset asked Daring Do, "Where did you find that guy?"

"In Spain, I ran into some trouble and he helped me out… Though it cost me a fair bit."

"We should make preparations to leave for China soon," Chrysalis said. "I'll prepare a private jet and make arrangements for Sunset and Adagio."

The four girls got into Chrysalis' car and drove off through the city. About ten minutes into the drive, Adagio noticed a car behind them in the rear-view mirror. "… I think we're being followed."

"Hm?" Chrysalis checked the mirror, and saw a red dot appear in the centre. Then, the back window and the mirror both shattered. She accelerated and grit her teeth. "I've got weapons in the back! Keep them off us until we reach the helicopter!"

Daring Do took out her revolver and lowered her window, using the side mirror to find an opening and then leaning outside to fire. She punctured a tyre and the pursuing car skidded to a halt, but then two more appeared and fired on them, forcing her back into the car.

Sunset gripped her jewel and conjured a spell in her left hand. A ball of flames manifested, and she waited until the firing had stopped to fire it through the now-open back window.

One car was forced to stop as the flames engulfed it, whilst the other car swerved to avoid the spell and kept on them. Adagio found a pistol in the back and fired at the remaining car, narrowing her eyes and focussing on the sounds of the wind and of the other car's engine. When she heard the car moving to the left, she lined the shot up and fired. The bullet hit the driver in the head and forced the car to crash into a building.

"That's the last of them," Adagio reported.

"We're almost at the helicopter," Chrysalis announced.

Minutes later, they arrived at the landing site, and wasted no time abandoning the car and rushing towards the aircraft. However, before they could reach it, the helicopter exploded, bursting into flames before their eyes. The force of the explosion knocked them back, and the heat washed over them as smoke began to rise into the air.

Sunset helped Adagio to her feet, noticing a chunk of metal in the siren's ankle. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine!" Adagio yelled, ripping the metal out and cursing from the pain. "I-I'll be fine! I've had worse!"

"We have to move," Chrysalis said, taking out her handgun and looking around cautiously. "Can she stand?"

"I'll carry her if I have to," Sunset said.

"You'll do no such thing!" Adagio yelled, forcing herself to rise to her feet, wincing from the pain all the while.

"There's no time for being stubborn," Chrysalis warned. "We have to go now before Tirek's forces can-"

Chrysalis was cut off as the sound of an engine alerted the girls to the arrival of another vehicle. A porsche arrived at the scene, its windows tinted and its frame reinforced.

Chrysalis and Daring Do trained their guns on the car, whilst Sunset readied another spell. One of the rear doors opened, and from within stepped out a Spanish man wearing a cream-coloured shirt, casting a taunting look towards Daring Do.

"It seems you are in some trouble, Miss Do. Perhaps you would like a lift?"

9 - Ambush

"So you are Doctor Caballeron," Chrysalis said, breaking the cold tension in the car as she and her team sat opposite to the doctor and his two large bodyguards. The back of the vehicle had been modified to resemble the inside of a limousine, allowing for the two groups to face each other. "I should be arresting you right now. You hold the honour of being on Interpol's top twenty most wanted list."

"I am honoured," Doctor Caballeron said, flashing a smile towards the agent. "If I may ask, what position exactly am I in?"

"… Six," she answered. "Above you are Arséne Lupin, 1412, Tirek…"

"Ah yes, Tirek… I suppose then that I shall soon be number five." Caballeron chuckled as he reached for a bottle of wine nestled in a bucket of ice to the side of the car. "I have no idea what Tirek is planning, but it seems large enough to have drawn some of Interpol's attention away from me. Which means that I cannot afford to leave him alone."

"So you and Tirek aren't working together, then?" Daring Do asked.

"I would think you would know better than that, Miss Do," Caballeron said. "Tirek once offered me a position of employment, but I turned him down. After all, why would I ever work for another besides myself?"

"And why did you save us just now? Was it to get information?"

"Indeed." Caballeron poured a glass of wine and offered it to Daring Do. When she refused to take it, he took a drink from the glass himself. "After my men were confronted by Scorpan in our race to find the Sage's Stone, I fled, and told my men to keep an eye on you, to see if you would survive or not. When they informed me that Tirek had attacked you, I went over to your destroyed little hut personally."

"Why would you-"

"To get the stone, of course. However, I found no trace of your death, meaning that you were still alive. After that, it was simply a matter of hacking into Tirek's network to discover where he had chased you to."

"This is all simply fascinating," Adagio said, rolling her eyes. "But maybe we could get back to the whole reason why we're here in the first place? You want info, and so do we. So let's make a trade already."

Caballeron drank form his glass, and then turned to Chrysalis. "This new recruit is feisty."

"I still haven't decided not to take you in."

"Oh, you will. Once you learn what I have to offer."

"Then let's hear it," Daring Do challenged. "Give us a reason to hear you out."

"… Very well. There is one, very simply reason why you should hear my proposition: Tirek has both halves of the stone."

A tense silence fell over Chrysalis' group, and Caballeron leaned back into his seat, casting an expectant look over all of them. Sunset clenched her fists and turned to Chrysalis. "I hate to admit it, but he's right. If Tirek has both halves of the stone already, then we can't afford to turn him down on his offer."

"It's obviously a bluff," Adagio scoffed. "It's what I'd do."

"Caballeron doesn't make bluffs. He makes threats," Daring Do said. "If he says that Tirek has both halves of the stone, then we can trust that it's accurate."

"In that case, my hands are tied," Chrysalis said. "By chance, I happened to bump into Doctor Caballeron, who approached us as a witness in the Tirek investigation whilst wishing to remain anonymous. As I do not know Caballeron's face, I could not identify him at the time, and he got away before I realised I had been had."

"Then we are in agreement," Caballeron surmised. "Now, you go first, and then I will tell you what I can."

Chrysalis chose her words carefully, giving Caballeron the information that they had on the Sage's Stone without revealing the existence of Equestria, nor confirming the truth behind magic. She left details openly-vague and understated the facts of the case, catching the doctor up without revealing too much that could threaten them.

"And so now, you are on your way to Hong Kong to find this compass?" Caballeron laughed. "I see. In that case, perhaps I should go, too. PandaBubba and I have worked together. He might offer a generous discount if he sees a friendly face." He leaned closed and said, "Besides, it's not the kind of place for a cop to be in."

"We'll be just fine, thank you," Daring Do said. "Now, you said you had information for us. Spit it out!"

"So impatient. Very well. First, I can tell you that the solvent you seek is located in a store in San Francisco. How do I know this? Because I sold it to the shopkeeper myself."

Adagio cast the man a sceptical look. "That seems a little… convenient."

Caballeron's grin grew wider, and he could barely restrain himself from chuckling to himself. "You think that that is convenient? Well, my next piece of information will have you jumping for joy."

"BOSS! INCOMING!"

The car shook as something exploded outside. Everybody screamed as the car rolled onto its back, and then back onto its wheels, before halting suddenly. "What is going on out there?!" Caballeron commanded to his driver. However, question was answered as he saw a small group approaching the vehicle from the front. There were three people, two armed with AK47s and one armed with an RPG.

"… This looks bad," Chrysalis said, opening the door slowly and cautiously reaching an arm out. Nobody fired, so she dared to step out further. "I am unarmed! I am coming outside to talk!"

"Do so slowly and drop your weapons!" the man with the RPG shouted.

"That's Scorpan," Caballeron said. "Tirek's number one and a ruthless man if ever there was one."

Chrysalis stepped out, onto the empty highway surrounded by large, open fields, with nothing around to use as cover should a firefight breakout. She slowly reached for her handgun, making a point to place it onto the ground whilst avoiding the trigger.

"Can you get them?" she whispered to Sunset, whose hand was glowing with a purple flame.

"Not from this range. I need to be closer."

"If I could use magic, I could augment your abilities," Adagio offered.

"Forget it," she said. "Just get us closer."

Chrysalis nodded. "We have a wounded man in here! Please allow us to come closer, so that we can tend to him as we talk!"

Caballeron stared at Sunset's hand with blank curiosity, his gaze captivated by the corporeal flame surrounding it.

"You will stay where you are, or join your dying comrade!" Scorpan returned.

"Scorpan will never accept requests of his captives," Caballeron said. "… Floor it."

"What?!" Chrysalis shouted, but before she could argue, the driver of the car stepped onto the gas pedal. Chrysalis barely had enough time to get back in as the car pushed forwards, racing towards Scorpan.

Suddenly, a rocket was fired at the car. The driver swerved, avoiding the rocket narrowly but entering into a barrage of bullets from the other two targets. The car stopped suddenly, and Scorpan ordered the firing to cease. "That was your last warning! Try that one more time, and we will destroy you all! Now, step outside!"

"With pleasure," Sunset said with a grin, opening the door and jumping out of the car. As she did so, she thrust her hand to the group, sending out three waves of energy that coiled around her targets and constricted them.

As she lifted her hand, the three were lifted into the air, squirming and panicking at the unknown sensation. "Whoa," Daring Do said as she stared at the spectacle.

"Dios mios," Caballeron muttered as he watched.

"… Meh," was Adagio's unimpressed response. "If it were me, those three would already by dead by now."

"Now that I have your attention, let's talk!" Sunset shouted, her eyes attracted to the water tower in the distance. Surely, their sniper was there, and so long as she stayed behind the car's door, she would be safe.

Scorpan gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. He dropped his weapon and grunt as he focussed all of his might into pushing against his magical bonds. His blood boiled, his veins grew close to bursting, and his shirt ripped as his muscles bulged.

Sunset gasped, as she felt her control over the man weakening. She poured more energy into the spell, but it was useless. Scorpan gave one final push, and broke free of his bondage, falling to the floor and drawing shotgun from his belt. "You bitch! So you know magic, do you?! Well, I know that you can't use magic unless you focus, and so long as you have my crew in your grasp, you can't defend yourself from me!"

"Chrysalis! The gun in my pocket!" Sunset shouted, fear setting in as Scorpan aimed his gun towards her.

There was a sudden howl of pain, followed by the clang of metal hitting the ground. Scorpan fell to his knees and held a hand over his bleeding shoulder, trembling from the pain.

"W-What are you doing, Sarah?!" he demanded.

A voice came from the communication device strapped to his waist. It was a female voice, but not one that he recognised. "Sorry, not Sarah. And I can't stick around, but I promise that the FBI will take good care of you."

Chrysalis ran from the car, followed by Daring Do and Adagio, towards the three men. "Sunset, lower the other two so we can apprehend them! Daring Do, go find out what happened at the water tower!"

"I'm on it," Daring Do shouted as she ran off towards the tower. Chrysalis cuffed Scorpan, followed by the other two members of his crew, who she learned were called Cybil and Dexter.

"Well then, I imagine that things will be getting fairly heated here soon enough," Caballeron said as Sunset released her spell. "I'd rather avoid meeting your comrades at the FBI, so we shall part ways here."

"Wait!" Sunset shouted. "Your info!"

Caballeron simply grinned. "Simply think of it as my insurance, during my stay here in America. I trust you will keep my involvement here a secret, until we meet again."

And with that, Caballeron entered his car and left the scene. Adagio found a car nearby, loaded with weapons and high-tech gadgets, and Chrysalis had the three prisoners sit inside it whilst Sunset contact Blueblood for support.

"Hey guys! You there?" Daring Do's voice came through the device at Scorpan's waist. Chrysalis took the device and pressed the button on the side. "We're here. What have you found?"

"… I was a little too late. There was a woman up here, who I guess her hands tied, but she broke free and shot herself moments before I reached the top. She's dead."

"Sarah," Scorpan gasped.

"There's also a mounted rifle, but it doesn't look like it's been fired."

"But we know that Scorpan was shot from the tower," Chrysalis said, looking around the open fields surrounding the group. "It's the only vantage point around, and judging from the wound, the shot would have to have come from a high position."

"Right. That means that whoever was up here came prepared."

Chrysalis fell silent for a few moments, before responding, "We'll focus on that later. For now, rejoin the group. An extraction team will be here soon."

"On my way."

"Now then… It looks like we'll be able to have a nice, pleasant conversation, after all," Chrysalis said as she turned to Scorpan, grinning maliciously as the man simply stared back, his eyes cold as stone.

11 - Radiant Hope

Radiant stared at Sombra in disbelief. It had been such a long time since she had seen her childhood friend, and had certainly never expected to see him again under such… circumstances. Her eyes settled on the chains restraining his straightjacket, and when she finally made her way to his face, she couldn't help but notice the gag hanging loosely to the side, ready to be fitted at a moment's notice.

"You've uh… changed, Sombie," Radiant said, earning a stifled chuckle from Cadance.

"'Sombie'?" Cadance teased.

"Sombra ignored her, though, his eyes burning into Radiant Hope's as he tried to read her feelings. She was scared. Of him? Or of the agents? "I failed," he said after a long, tense silence. "I was never able to make it into the CIA, so I settled with the FBI."

Radiant gave a quick, nervous laugh. "This some kinda new uniform you're testing out?"

Sombra simply grinned. "Yes. It is for special agents who place themselves above the law. Who possess powers that make humans quake in their boots." The grin turned cold. "The power of magic."

"Hey!" St. John warned, pressing the muzzle of his gun into Sombra's back. Sombra stopped talking.

"It's fine," Cadance said, motioning for St. John to back off.

Gilda, standing behind Radiant Hope, focussed her gaze on Sombra. "Don't tell her too much."

"With respect, it seems that she already knows too much," Sombra said, noting how unfazed Radiant was at the mention of 'magic', save for a momentary flicker of fear at the mention of the word. "I daresay you've experienced it firsthand."

"… So that's it." Radiant sighed. "You're looking for Tirek, aren't you? And… you know what he's planning?"

"But you don't," Sombra said, his tone accusatory as he bore into her shivering eyes. "… Why are you working for such people, Radiant? Of all the people I've ever known, you have always been most suited to the definition of 'innocent'."

"Maybe when we were kids. Things change."

"What things?"

"Things." Radiant saw that that wasn't going to satisfy him, and so, she braced herself, and said, "You moved."

Sombra eased his gaze, and he felt his heart sink. He hadn't felt that since before King Sombra's memories fused with his own. "Yes… I was bullied quite intensely, for being a foreigner. My parents moved me to a smaller school in the countryside."

"You left me all alone," Radiant said, clutching her chest as her eyes fell to the floor. She tried, but she couldn't stop them from watering as she remembered her painful past. "We spent all our time together before you moved, and so when you were gone, the other children turned to me to pick on."

"… I see. I did not know that." Sombra turned to Cadance, wondering if he should ask her for some advice. She simply stood there. She wasn't going to interfere in this one.

"When I got to middle school, I started dating the most popular boy in the school. He thought I was cute, and I thought I could use him to keep the bullies away. But, he was part of a gang." Radiant clutched her arm and turned away. "He taught me how to be 'bad'. I didn't mind. We just did minor things, like vandalism and petty theft, and I soon was strong enough to fight my own fights. But then, I should have left, but I didn't…"

"What happened?" Sombra urged.

"When we were in high school, we stepped up our game. We tried to hit a bank. Took a few safety deposit boxes using a drill one of our boys made in the lab. One of those boxes belonged to Tirek."

Gilda and Cadance both turned to Sombra at once, but Sombra himself was unmoving. He simply stared at the girl in anticipating silence, waiting for the rest of her tale to unwind.

"We thought we had evaded the cops, but I know now that Catrina bought them off. So that she could catch us herself, and get the box back without it being searched. Perhaps if we hadn't opened it, they might have been spared, but when we saw what was inside…" Radiant wiped the tears from her eyes and straightened herself, clenching her fists. "I was the getaway driver, so I was still in the car while they sorted the take. When everybody started dying, I drove. I spent the entire night evading her goons and taking makeshift roads.

"By dawn, I thought I had got away. But I didn't. Catrina caught me, and she was impressed with how well I had done. In exchange for not killing me, she told me that I was working for her now. And that was it…"

The silence hung over the room for a long while. Cadance held her breath, not wanting to speak before Sombra did. However, it was D'Coolette who spoke first. "What level of involvement do you have with her."

Radiant turned to Sombra, who simply said, "Answer the question. At this point, you are our prisoner."

"… I see…" Radiant looked at each of the people in the room, and then settled back on Sombra again. Swallowing, she gathered her courage, and said, "I will tell you everything that you want to know, that I can tell you, but there's something that I want, too."

"Let's hear it," Gilda said.

"Kill Catrina. Do not take her alive. Simply kill her, and set me free."

12 - Target: Catrina

Scorpan had been subjected to intense interrogation almost more times than he cared to count. He had suffered torture that would make even the toughest cases break, all to prepare him for moments like this, when he would be captured by the enemy and subjected to their questioning.

Mi Amore Cadenza standing before him, at the other end of a small table – upon which were several photographs of people he recognised – and Sombra standing behind him, his hands unbound only because the room had been sealed. They were performing a typical good-cop-bad-cop routine, likely at the behest of Cadance, who was playing the 'good cop'. And playing the 'bad cop' was…

"He won't talk," Sombra said, grabbing the back of Scorpan's head and driving it down into the table. Scorpan grunted as the world shook and rang around him. "Yet."

Cadance stayed Sombra's hand. "Wait." She leaned down and checked the wound on Scorpan's forehead, treating it with the gentleness of a loving parent. "I told you to wait, Sombra. Go sit in the corner and let me handle this."

Sombra simply groaned, before moving over to one of the small room's dark corners. Scorpan's eyes followed him, and he could see, through the dim light of the room's sole lamp, that Sombra was sharpening something on a block of stone.

"Scorpan," Cadance said, gathering his attention, "We want to help you. We do. But we can't do anything unless you speak to us. If you tell us what we need to know, we will arrange for your placement into the Witness Protection Program. Tirek will never be able to find you, no matter what resources he has."

Scorpan knew of the program well. Indeed, there had been people that even Tirek had lost track of due to the meddlesome bureau's program, and Scorpan himself had considered it many times. But he couldn't. Living would be meaningless if it just meant running away, and abandoning his only friend in the world was unthinkable.

"Scorpan," Cadance urged. "Please."

"Forget it," Sombra said, approaching the two with a knife in his hand. "He's had his chance. He won't talk without appropriate 'encouragement'."

"Sombra-"

Before Cadance could stop him, Sombra struck the knife down into Scorpan's hand. Scorpan yelped, but he had endured worse. Was this their pathetic excuse for torture?

Sombra reached for something behind himself. It was a box cutter. What was we going to do with that? The slender blade was placed at the tip of Scorpan's fingernail. Oh. This was going to hurt.

"Sombra, wait!"

But Cadance's plea fell on deaf ears. Off one nail came, and then another. Scorpan flailed and screamed. His hand was unable to move with that knife pinning it to the table. Tears streamed down his face, but he did not speak. Not even to beg for mercy.

"STOP!" Cadance grabbed Sombra's hand just as he moved to remove the third nail. She turned to Scorpan, genuine panic in her eyes. "Please, just tell us what you know!" The tears were a nice touch. "Please stop this!"

Scorpan didn't speak, and after half-a-minute had passed, Cadance simply sighed, and let go. She turned around and covered her ears, whimpering as she awaited the inevitable screaming. But it never came.

Sombra, looking into Scorpan's eyes, could see that the man felt fear, but only the base, primal fear that any animal possesses in the face of a predator. There was no fear of the coming pain, nor the continued confinement, nor even for his own life.

"Do you not care how many finger you lose?" Sombra asked, bringing the cutter to the base of Scorpan's index finger. "Do you not miss the sunlight? Once we leave this room, you will be returned to the darkness where the passing of time becomes an enigma." Scorpan said nothing. Sombra brought the cutter to his throat, but still, nothing. "… I see. It seems that torturing you is truly useless." Sombra leaned forward, and whispered, "They must be important to you, the one whose life is at stake."

It was just a flicker, but there was definitely a new fear in Scorpan's eyes. He also gasped, before quickly getting his breathing back under control. Sombra's theory was confirmed. He knew then that Scorpan was a dead-end. So long as Scorpan was intent on protecting this important person to him, no level of torture would bear any fruit.

Sombra backed away just as the door to the room was unlocked and opened. Blueblood stood there, gagging and covering his mouth as he saw the blood pouring from Scorpan's fingertips. "My word! I said to get him to talk, not to mutilate the poor man!"

"How did you expect us to do that?" Sombra asked as he withdrew the knife, pocketing it as he approached the exit. "Sorry. I was under the impression that you knew what means I would take."

Cadance was the first out of the room, taking deep breaths as she was finally out. Scorpan was sure then that she really wasn't acting when it came to her being the 'good cop'.

Sombra was stopped before he was allowed to exit. His 'tools' were taken from him, he was searched thoroughly, and then, he was returned to his binds. St. John and D'Coolette were waiting to follow him as he walked with Blueblood and Cadance from the room, and a doctor entered shortly afterwards to treat Scorpan's wounds.

"It's time to meet Catrina," Blueblood told them, turning to the gagged-Sombra. "I will monitor the situation myself from a hidden location. Cadance and Gilda will meet Catrina, pretending to be rogue agents wishing to sell information."

"Chances are that someone at her level will run background checks on us," Cadance said. "We can't forge any backstories on such short notice, huh?"

"We have prepared the papers for Radiant Hope's entry into the program. Sombra, you will be the sniper. You will take the shot from the warehouse's catwalk. The lights may still be working, so make sure that they are shutoff."

Sombra motioned that he wanted to speak, so Cadance removed his gag temporarily. "I will have no problems sneaking into the warehouse, but what of these two?"

"You don't have to worry about them," Blueblood said with a grin. "St. John and D'Coolette are both assassins that could easily give even you a run for your money. However, neither are snipers, and so this task falls to you. The shot will not be difficult, but we will only get one."

"Miss Hope said that she will give us a detailed report on the placement of Catrina's goons," Cadance said, receiving a nod from Blueblood.

"We have it. Just as she claimed, it was delivered to a P.O. box under the name 'Sombie'."

Sombra's gagged was replaced, and as they walked, his mind filled with thoughts of Radiant Hope, and what she would do when she was free.

Perhaps, one day, he could join her, and they could be free together. King Sombra's voice suddenly fell silent.

Following Radiant's guidance, the two teams got into their respective positions with no incident. Cadance and Gilda were aware they were being watched going into the warehouse, but inside, there was nowhere to plant any henchmen.

Sombra and his tow escorts had made it to the catwalk without being spotted outside, and after sabotaging the fuse box, Sombra got into position, assembling his rifle and waiting. St. John and D'Coolette kept their guns on him, ready to fire if his shot hit a friendly.

After thirty minutes, Catrina entered. Cadance and Gilda stiffened, subjecting themselves to a brief check and allowing their weapons to be confiscated. And then, the talks began.

"So, the two of you have something I would be interested in?" Catrina asked, her tone clearly doubtful. "And how much are you expecting me to pay for this information?"

"Enough for the both of us to leave the bureau forever," Cadance said. "Naturally, we want safe passage out of the country, as well."

Gilda removed a flash drive from her pocket. "This… is a list of non-official cover agents in all American branches of your group," she said, enjoying the twinkle in Catrina's eyes. Of course, it was just garbage data, password protected for authenticity. "We will give you this now for the money, and the passwords when we're sure you haven't followed us out of the country."

"Hmmm, that is tempting. Let me think."

Gilda grew concerned. She and Cadance could take the two henchmen that Catrina had brought with her, even without their guns, but why hadn't Sombra taken the shot yet?

Suddenly, Catrina's phone range. "Apologies," she said. "I will put it on speaker, so that you can hear, too."

"… This is Diana." The voice was Radiant Hope's. "I've secured the catwalk. Area is now secure."

Cadance and Gilda gasped, and before they could act, the warehouse's doors burst open and an army of Catrina's goons stormed inside. The two agents raised their arms as they were held at gunpoint. They had been had.

"How many rats?" Catrina asked, looking up to the catwalk. It was dark to see anything but the flashes of Radiant's gun. Two flashes. "Diana?"

"Sorry. Just two. They thought they could tackle me."

Catrina laughed. "Oh well. Two agents is still a nice catch. Good work, Diana. Now wait there for clean-up to arrive."

"Got it," Radiant said, and then closed the call. She turned to Sombra, standing before her. Her gun was trained on him, and she was ready to pull the trigger, but something was stopping her. Out of some impulse, she had lied to Catrina. It was too late for regrets now, but maybe she could save herself by telling the truth immediately?

Sombra's chilling gaze bore into her's, and her resolve wavered. How could she feel this way about somebody she had not even spoken to since she was a child?

Slowly, she reached into her pocket. She took out a key, and threw it to Sombra, who caught it skilfully. "Go," she whispered. "Take the back entrance and leave. Security's light there."

Sombra looked at the key for a moment, and then at Radiant Hope. She had lowered her gun. Reaching behind his head, Sombra removed the gag, and then ran past Radiant Hope, sparing no words as he faded into the darkness behind her.

13: Operation: Storm the Bunker

Shining Armor watched the battle rage from the safety of the hidden command centre, grimacing as the sounds of gunfire and explosions accompanied those of screaming men and women, and confused cries that fell on deaf ears. Both sides were taking heavy losses, and the death counter would only continue to increase.

"This is why I opted out of the military in favour of the force," Shining Armor said, lowering his binoculars and turning to the Vespanian general behind him. "Many of the enemy numbers aren't even armed with firearms, General."

"It would seem that Tirek is trying to delay us however he can," the general said. "We cannot allow him to take that nuclear warhead away. We must seize it while we have our opening. As promised, any prisoners will be handed over to the U.S., provided you can indeed get us into that bunker."

"Tirek's security system is one of the best in the world, but we the bureau has been pursuing him for so long that we've developed a knack for breaking it." That was of course a lie. This general was not included in the Vespanian government's 'need-to-know' circle regarding magic. The Vespanian queen had allowed the FBI to accompany them to combat whatever magic defences Tirek may have in-place, but Shining Armor never could have imagined that ordinary troops would be using magic themselves to fight.

Aria groaned as she tapped furiously at her keyboard. Shining Armor was thankful that she was such a talented hacker, as it bypassed the need to bring their only other option – Cadance – to this hellish battlefield. Still, it didn't look like Aria was having an easy time of it.

And then there was Sonata, impressing even the Vespanian elites with her sniping prowess and hitting targets from eight-hundred yards away. According to Aria, Sonata was the calmest of the sirens, always in-tune with the sounds of nature and her surroundings as a result. Apparently, that's how she was always able to hit her mark. Eventually though, she ran out of enemies when the Vespanian troops secured the area she had marked, and she then proceeded to bug the troops behind her.

"Hey, what time's lunch. What're we gonna have? Do you guys have tacos in Vespania? I like this rifles you have! Can I keep one? Ooh, that's a big map! What are all these pins for? Oops! I think I just knocked one over! Say, why don't we just blow the troops away?"

"Sonata, be quiet!" Aria roared, much to the satisfaction of the poor troops trying to plan their next moves. "You might be done, but I'm not! This system's harder than I thought! I'm gonna have ta… get creative… No, this won't work…"

Sonata hopped over to her friend, kneeling down and placing her hands on Aria's shoulder. "Awww, sorry! Here, lemme help! You triiiied… turning it off-and-on again?"

Aria's eyebrow twitched. Shining Armor decided to intervene before the two sirens murdered each other. "Sonata, could you keep an eye on the battlefield for me?" he asked, handing the binoculars to Sonata. "Just focus and shout if the enemy starts to come towards us, okay?"

Sonata jumped to her feet and saluted. "Yes, sir!" She swiped the binoculars and put them to her face, and then gasped. "Everyone's so small!"

Aria sighed. "Try the other way around." She glanced over for just a moment to find Sonata realising her mistake and correcting it. The blue-haired girl was simply laughing, like it was some kinda joke to her. Aria wondered why Adagio put up with her. Or why she did, for that matter.

Minutes later, Aria finally found a weakness in the enemy's systems. "I'm in!" she cried. Shining Armor and the general approached her. On her screen, she had access to the enemy's camera feeds. "Memorise as much as you can. They might already know I'm in their system, so I'm gonna have to shut down their defences soon."

Shining Armor studied every feed carefully, taking in as much as he could in the few seconds he was afforded for each image. One-by-one, the camera feeds were reduced to static. After the last one, Aria started unlocking the doors and disabling the automated turrets inside.

"Okay, that should do it. Base is open for you," Aria reported, unable to help feeling pride in her handiwork.

"Good work," Shining said with a smile. He turned to the general. "We should move fast, before the enemy has a chance to reboot their systems."

"'We'?" the general asked.

"I have to verify the accuracy of our reports, and ensure that the enemy's leader does not get away."

The general hummed in thought for a moment, and then nodded his head. "Fine, but the girls stay here. No matter how talented they are, I can't let them get involved in such a dangerous task."

Shining Armor bit his lip. True, leaving the Dazzlings behind had crossed his mind, but protecting them wasn't a priority at that time. Plus, their magic could really help them out in a bind. "… Very well then. Shall we?"

The general moved to mobilise his team. "Leaving us on our own?" Aria asked, a grin spread across her face. "Perfect chance for us to flee, huh?"

"With no magic, how long can you last in this war-torn region?" Shining asked. "Besides, we still have Adagio with us, so it really would not be in your best interests to try to escape."

Aria clicked her tongue. "It was just a joke. I know it won't be so easy to get away. Go on, have your little adventure already."

"This isn't a game. Many lives are at stake-"

None of which are siren lives, so it really makes no difference to us."

Shining Armor frowned, but he couldn't argue that mentality. After all, it was a unique situation, one that a human would be unlikely to experience themselves.

Instead, he simply left without another word, following the general through the trenches dug out by the Vespanian troops that led towards the compound.

Over forty minutes had passed since Shining Armor's departure. Aria had started to listen to the radio communications of the troops behind her, she was so bored, and Sonata continued her job of surveying the landscape ahead of them for enemy troops.

Though she couldn't see anything, there was something strange about the way the wind sounded that caused Sonata some level of concern. She lowered her binoculars and closed her eyes, allowing her ears to focus on the noises around her. She blocked out the sounds of battle before her and the sounds of chatter behind. It was faint, but there was definitely a footprint to her side. The weight of it couldn't have belonged to a Vespanian military boot, nor could the metal clanging have belonged to the standard-issue gear that they all wore.

Gasping, she turned and shouted, "Incoming!"

But it was too late. The enemy – six large men armed with military-grade assault rifles – had undone the cloaking spell around them and taken everybody in the outpost hostage.

14 - It's a Trap!

The squad consisted of fifteen soldiers – ten carrying assault rifles, three carrying shotguns, and two carrying explosives in the event that the enemy restore their systems whilst they're inside – the general, and Shining Armor.

Together, they made it to the base and entered unseen. Inside, they encounter only a few soldiers, clearly lost amongst the confusion of their base losing power and not sure where to go, and followed their memories of the camera feeds towards where they suspected the target to be held.

Down one more corridor, there were again only minimal troops in their way. This concerned Shining Armor, who had expected a rush of troops to guard to front doors after the power went out. "Hey, doesn't this feel just a little too easy?"

"Yeah," the general replied. "They're either inviting us in, or else we've exhausted their soldiers already."

"In my experience, Tirek's traps aren't always so obvious," Shining Armor said. "Which means if this is a trap, it's not Tirek we're dealing with."

The squad came to a large, circular room that was the centre of six connecting hallways. As they reached the centre, a maniacal laugh halted their advance. "The lab rats have found their way to my testing grounds! What good little specimens they are!"

Suddenly, bright glows surrounded the six doorways, startling and confusing the troops. One of the men fired at the strange light, only to find his bullets bouncing off as though it were a solid wall.

Shining Armor felt sweat drip down his face. They had been trapped inside the room by some kind of magic, but thankfully, he had a magical jewels with him. He had been practising back at the bureau, and though his grasp on magic was still rusty, he was confident he could break down the surrounding walls, if not the barriers themselves.

However, before he could conjure a spell, the room was stormed from all directions by enemy troops, crying a bloodthirsty war-cry and armed with staves. Staves lines with jewels!

Shining gasped. "FIRE!" he shouted, drawing his weapon. "NO PRISONERS! FIRE BEFORE THEY-"

One enemy swung his staff, pointing its tip at a Vespanian soldier. The soldier was lifted off of the ground by an unseen force, and flailed helplessly as he was lifted further up.

"W-What's happening?! Someone, get me down! No! STOP IT!"

Another troop pointed his staff at the helpless soldier, emitting a beam that pierced the soldier's chest, silencing his cries in an instant.

"OPEN FIRE!" the general shouted, and his troops wasted no time following the order. Unfortunately, the enemies had erected a barrier that rendered the bullets harmless.

"Use a grenade!" Shining shouted, offering covering fire.

"In this space?! Are you mad?!"

Shining growled, and reached for a grenade strapped to one soldier's belt. He removed the pin and threw it, landing it behind the enemy barrier. Then, with his jewel grasped firmly, he formed his own barrier.

The grenade exploded, taking with it several enemy soldiers and disorienting many more, enough to force their barriers to shatter. Shining cast a spell to blow away the resulting smokescreen and fired at the open enemies, his allies helping him as they lowered the enemy numbers down to five.

Even then, the enemy had begun to recover and sent out magical attacks faster than Shining Armor could counter. Even when he put his barrier back up, the enemy's magic was far stronger than his, and it shattered easily.

He watched four of his allies fall, and then a fifth, and a sixth. The remaining enemies had regrouped and were huddled under one barrier powered by three men.

To make matters worse, he could hear footsteps approaching from behind. The general turned around long enough to confirm his fears. "They have more coming!"

Shining Armor closed his eyes and clenched the jewel in his palm. It shined brighter than he had ever seen it shine, and his barrier was revived, this time strong enough to fend off the enemy attacks.

He sighed. He didn't know how much longer he could keep this up.

15 - Beware a Siren's Wrath

"That's right. The magic worked like a charm and we've captured the enemy command post! There are two girls here that we don't believe are military…"

Aria glared at the two men pointing their guns her way, whilst the small group's leader conversed on a walkie-talkie behind them. Another man was keeping Sonata at bay, whilst the other two were stripping the place apart, having already killed the soldiers that were left to guard it.

"Yes? Yes. Ah, one moment. I'll check." The guy talking on his walkie-talkie turned to Aria. "Hey, empty your pockets!"

Aria glared for a few seconds, but complied when she heard the clicking of a gun. "Just so you know, if you don't let us go soon, you'll regret it," she said as she emptied her pockets. There wasn't much; a few coins and a retractable knife were all she had on her at the time.

"No jewels… You next!"

Sonata frowned. "Please mister, just let us go. Pretty please?" she asked with a nervous smile.

"Fuck it, I'll check," the soldier holding her hostage said, swinging his gun at the girl and smacking her in the face with the butt. Sonata yelped and fell to her feet, clutching her face as she shook and whimpered. The soldier knelt down and put a hand in one pocket. "Nothing."

Aria shook her head solemnly. "Nice knowin' ya," she said, to all of them.

The soldier reached for Sonata's other pocket, but was stopped by a hand suddenly grasping his wrist. "Hey, let-"

Sonata stood suddenly, pulling the soldier up with her, and delivered a kick to his stomach. The soldier passed out, and she grabbed his sidearm from his holster.

The squad's leader aimed and fired, but Sonata used the unconscious body as a shield as she fired three shots, all of them hitting her foe.

Aria took her chance as he two captors turned their sights on Sonata, and tripped one of them up with a sweep of her leg, and then sprung up to tackle the second guy to the floor. She looked up to see Sonata dodging bullets from the remaining three enemies, using her heightened attunement to sounds to weave a path towards a weapons cabinet in the corner of the room.

Aria took one of her captors' guns and fired a few shots at the three in the distance, forcing them back long enough for her to run to cover behind an overturned table. "You guys have done it now!" she warned, grinning as she sat and waited. "Sonata Dusk is the strongest siren there is, when she's angry! Even without magic, pissing her off is not something I would do!"

Sonata pried open the door to the weapons cabinet, and pulled out a grenade launcher from inside. She turned and found the two soldiers Aria had felled clambering to their feet, and smiled as she fired a grenade between the two of them.

Following the explosion, the sounds of screaming, accompanied with cries of 'Retreat!', told Aria that the three remaining soldiers were making a run for it. "Alright, now let's see if we can contact Shining Ar-" Aria climbed over the table and saw Sonata giving chase after the three soldiers, laughing maniacally as she fired grenades at the poor fellows.

"Or, we could storm the enemy stronghold and- Why am I even bothering?" With a reluctant sigh, Aria followed Sonata, choosing to stay low as she moved through the trenches, towards the enemy base.

Once inside, Sonata lost track of her prey, and stood at a fork in the path as she wondered which way to go. Aria caught-up, her breathing ragged. "S-Slow down, a-already," she said, stopping to catch her breath whilst Sonata closed her eyes and listened.

"… Sounds of fighting," she said, pointing down the left pathway. Suddenly, Sonata's eyes widened and she tilted her head. "Wait, what was I doing again?"

"Looks like you're back," Aria said in a deadpan voice. "Well, we've come this far. Let's go meet with Shining Armor. We'd stand a better chance with him than out there."

"You got it! Thought I don't know how we even got here, I'll just go along with it!" Sonata giggled as she walked down the left hallway, Aria following behind her, keeping her gun ready.

As they went on, they encountered no resistance. Aria noted that the cameras were not moving, suggesting that they were still off. However, eventually, the sounds of fighting had gotten close, and Aria told Sonata to step back so she could lead.

"Not that I care, but if something happens to you, Adagio would blame it on me," she said.

"Awww, that's so sweet!" Sonata said, before tilting her head. "I think?"

"Quiet." After the rounded a corner, they were greeted to a bright light ahead of them. As they moved closer and closer, they could see Shining Armor fighting alongside seven of the soldiers he had ventured into the base with. The general was not among them.

She rushed towards the light, soon finding the foes that he was fighting against. She recognised the barrier and knew she's be safe on one side of it, and would be trapped if she passed it. "Hey! Shining Armor!" she shouted, getting the agent's attention.

"Aria! What're you- No, never mind! You came just in time! Come in!"

"Are you crazy?!" Aria shouted, but gasped when she noticed the jewel in Shining's hand. "That's…"

"Aria… permission to use magic, granted."

Aria froze for a moment, and then grinned, before stepping forward, passing the barrier. Sonata entered, too, firing grenades to cover them as they approached the group at the centre.

"Hurry!" Shining shouted, giving the jewel to Aria.

"Heh, you can't rush art…" Aria took the jewel and held it to her chest. The warm, familiar feeling washed over her, and she felt a joy like none she had ever felt since her first time singing for a live audience. She realised that she had missed this power more than she knew, and a tear rolling down her cheek proved that.

Taking a breath, Aria stretched out her arms and sang. The song was in siren dialect, a language lost to her own world long ago, and unknown to the one she was currently trapped in. She made sure that only her enemies would be affected by the magic that her music carried, and as she hit her chorus, the fighting stopped. All around her, her enemies fainted as magic drained from their bodies.

Aria's wounds healed, her complexion brightened, and her singing grew more powerful as she was flooded with the magic that she absorbed.

And then, it was over. With hostiles down all around them, and the barriers shattered by Aria's song, what remained of Shining Armor's squad were free to move on.

"… Thank you," Shining Armor said, holding out his hand. "I'll be taking that back now, Aria."

Aria shook her head. "It's not over yet."

"Somebody's coming," Sonata said, pointing down one of the hallways.

All guns trained on that single door, and soon, the footsteps became audible to the humans as well as the sirens. From out of the shadows, something small emerged. It was a woman, old and limping and dressed in purple robes. She had two fangs protruding from her bottom jaw that compliment her wicked smile as she looked over the group.

"Well, well. Magic! Magic beyond even my years of expertise!" The woman cackled, and snapped her fingers. "You are all… very interesting!"

16 - Nothing Can Stop...

The soldiers fired immediately, not taking any chances after the hell that they had just suffered, but their bullets were rendered useless against the old woman's barrier. Shining Armor moved to give the jewel back to Aria, but a spell grasped it out of his hand and moved it into the old woman's.

"So this is what you use to cast your magic. A garnet, is it? Yes, and very potent, at that." The old woman pocketed it and snapped her fingers again, summoning a cauldron besides herself. Purple liquid bubbled from the top of it, making Aria gasp. "Pardon me. I haven't introduce myself, have I? My name is Hydia, though you need not concern yourselves with your names. No, I'll just refer to you as Subjects One-through-Nine."

"'Subjects'?" Shining Armor asked, reaching slowly into his pocket for his second jewel.

"Shining Armor! Stop her!" Aria shouted, panic seeping from her voice.

"You there, young lady," Hydia said, pointing to Aria. "You and the other girl, you are sirens, aren't you? I recognised that melody that you sang, and I can smell the magic coming out of both of you. How curious. So sirens really do exist." Hydia reached into her robe, pulling out a vial containing a green, frothing liquid, and grinned. "Too bad. There are about to be two less, now!"

"SONATA!" Aria cried. "DON'T LET HER DO IT!"

Sonata pointed the grenade launcher at Hydia and fired, but the shell was surrounded by a blue aura, and then failed to go off. She fired two more shells, but the same fate befell both of them. "She's defusing them in midair!"

Hydia cackled as she held the vial over the bubbling cauldron. "This will be the first time I've summoned him! I wonder what will happen? Come forth, my ultimate creation: the Smooooooze!"

Shining Armor reached for his magnum and fired, but found the barrier to be too strong even for that. The vial fell into the bubbling cauldron, and the room fell silent for just a few moments. And then, just as quickly as the silence started, it ended, as the cauldron began to shake, and then quake, and then, the liquid inside burst out, forcing everybody but to retreat into one of the corridors leading out of the room.

Inside, the purple liquid began to expand and solidify. Eyes and mouths appeared all over it, and a strange song echoed throughout the compound. Slowly, that goop began to rise, and it looked everywhere. It caught sight of the group hiding just outside of the room and began to move towards them.

"RUN!" Shining Armor shouted, and unnecessary order as everybody had started to bolt long before he had even gave it.

"KEHEHEHEHEHEHEH!" Hydia howled, watching as the intruders ran. "RUN! RUN AWAY! IT'LL MAKE NO DIFFERENCE! The Smooze is the ultimate in witches' brews! Run or fight, you're guaranteed to lose!" Hydia cackled once more. "NOTHING can stop-" She gasped. A pair of those eyes were staring down at her. The Smooze was still expanding out towards the intruders, but now, it had also started to move towards Hydia.

"N-No! Stop it!" she ordered, yelping as she felt something grabbing her leg. She looked down to find that the Smooze had taken her, and that it was starting to make its way up her body. "STOP! I'm your master! You're supposed to obey me!"

Hydia's cries were silenced as the Smooze encased her completely, and then flattened, almost as though it had swallowed her whole. The Smooze then continued its expansion in all directions, singing its song the entire time, refusing to let anyone, or anything, stop it.

As Tirek's helicopter approached the site, he felt the vehicle suddenly turning and his pilot muttering something incoherent. "What is it?" he demanded.

"Sir, we have reports that Hydia's experiment is loose and causing heavy casualties on both sides!"

Tirek sighed. He opened the door to his right and peered out of the helicopter. Ahead of them was the site of the battle, once in a lush, green jungle, now covered in a bubbling, singing purple mass. All fire was being directed at the creature, but nothing seemed to work.

Pulling himself back in, Tirek took out his phone and dialled a number. It rang three times before being answered by an unknown voice. "L-Lord Tirek, sir!"

"Where is Hydia?" he asked in a cold tongue.

"Sir, Hydia has been killed by the creature!"

Tirek closed his eyes and resisted the urge to crush the phone in his hand. 'Hydia, you fool. I told you to save the Smooze for a last-case scenario. Unleashing an untested subjects here of all places… It's a good thing I never gave you the final ingredient. Without it, I should be able to…'

"Sir, the warhead is secure. The creature has been unable to penetrate the bunker's doors."

"Good work. At least I can count on someone. Now, open the ceiling and prepare for extraction."

"What?!" the pilot shouted. "Sir, with respect, we can't lower our altitude right now!"

"It will be fine," Tirek said, putting his phone away. "Tell all jets to blast the creature with the napalm they are carrying. But tell them to not strike the base, no matter what."

"Napalm? Will that really be enough to-"

"Are you questioning me, pilot?"

"O-Of course not, sir! Uh…" The pilot opened a channel to the nearby jets flying with them. "Orders from Lord Tirek! Prepare to engage. Focus suppressive napalm fire on the purple mass, but take extreme caution not to strike the bunker! Repeat…"

Shining Armor fired round-after-round on the mounted minigun turret, but the rounds only seemed to go right through the creature as it continued to cover more of the land around it.

To one side, soldiers were firing rockets at the thing and preparing mortars, but they only seemed to bother it for a second each strike. To the other side, Aria and Sonata were conducting a joint-spell to push the creature back. It slowed it down, but didn't stop it.

"How long will it continue to grow?!" Shining asked the sirens.

"Until there's no more planet for it to cover!" Aria answered. "Or until it's defeated, but in my world, the only things able to stop it were a magical artefact and a dead tribe!"

Shining gritted his teeth. "We need more firepower!"

Sonata heard something and looked into the distance. There, she saw the approaching army of fighter jets. "Like that?" she asked, pointing.

Shining Armor followed her finger and frowned. "That's Tirek's… So we're too late." He stopped firing and watched. The jets passed overhead and dropped something onto the creature. Upon hitting the creature and exploding into a sea of flames, he knew what it was. Thankfully, they were at a safe distance.

The napalm made the Smooze howl, and it took swats at the planes in an attempt to stop them. It caught one of them, bringing it down to the ground, but then the rest of the jets unleashed a second salvo, one that caused the Smooze to flatten and stop its endless singing.

Shining Armor brought his binoculars to his eyes and watched as the Smooze collapsed in on itself and bubbled mildly, eventually settling. Those eyes and mouths disappeared. It had been defeated, and yet, it still remained, coating the landscape in something that would be difficult to cover-up.

"Helicopter inbound!" one soldier reported.

Shining Armor saw the helicopter over the bunker. He gasped as he saw who was inside of it. "Tirek!" he shouted. "Sonata, take a shot!"

"I get to kill the Tirek!" Sonata practically jumped for joy as she skipped over to her rifle, ensuring it was loaded, and got into a position to aim at the helicopter. She lined up her sights, thankful that the helicopter seemed to have stopped.

Shining Armor wondered why he would be sitting still like that, and noticed a wire hanging below. He followed it down.

Sonata took the shot, but nothing happened. Tirek was still alive. "What?! Awwww! He has bulletproof windooooows!"

"Ready to fire!" one soldier stated, aiming his RPG at the helicopter and checking behind himself.

"Hold your fire!" Shining Armor shouted, rushing to the radio behind himself and opening a channel to all Vespanian troops. "Everyone, ceasefire on the chopper! It's carrying the nuclear warhead! Repeat, we can't fire on that helicopter!"

Angry that they couldn't do anything, the soldiers settled for wiping out as many of Tirek's surviving forces as they could. Those that surrendered would have been shown some mercy, but none did. They were more afraid of Tirek than of the enemy.

Shining Armor and the Dazzlings simply watched Tirek leave into the distance, accompanied by his army of fighter jets all around him.

"Sir, should we not have wiped out the Vespanian forces before we left?" the pilot asked Tirek.

"No," Tirek answered. "Their backup is only fifteen minutes away. The priority is securing the warhead and ensuring that we are not followed. Now continue the path I have given you until we are in the clear."

"Yes, sir!"

Tirek looked down at his open laptop, viewing the camera footage from inside the bunker. For a while the footage went out, but when it returned, Tirek found two young girls performing powerful magic that rendered Hydia's staves unusable. No, it was worse than that. It drained the very magic out of those staves' wielders.

"What an interesting find," he said, pausing the video and focussing on the blue-haired man in a black suit. "Shining Armor. So the FBI has a force from Equestria on its side? No matter. This simply confirms that Equestria holds the power I need to rule both worlds.

"And soon, that power will be mine."

17 - Shopping Trip Cancelled

"What do you mean they've been captured?!"

Sunset removed her hands from her ears and frowned as she watched Blueblood falling backwards onto his butt, a fuming Shining Armor standing over him. "L-Like I said, it was a trap and-"

"And now Cadance and Gilda are being held captive by the enemy?!" Shining Armor punched the desk beside him, regretting his decision immediately as his hand throbbed from the pain and began to swell. "And to make matters worse, Sombra's MIA…"

"They really dropped the ball on this one," Adagio said with a grin, earning a fierce scowl from Shining that only amused her more. "And Tirek has the warhead. But thankfully, we have returned with information on where the solvent and the compass are."

Sunset nodded. "Daring Do is on her way to San Francisco now. Probably already there. I insisted on going with her, but…"

"That idiot…" Shining muttered. "I'll try to get in contact with her, to find out where exactly this shop is and see if I can meet her there. For now… we need to figure out where Cadance and Gilda have been taken."

"There is also the matter of Scorpan," Blueblood said. "He might know where Catrina would have taken her prisoners."

"True. I guess I'll have to pay him a little visit."

Sunset felt a vibration in her pocket and reached for her phone. She sighed. It was a text from Pinkie Pie, wondering where she had been lately and hoping she'd go back to school. "Well then, while you guys work on that, I think I'll dare to show my face back at school for a day."

"Yes, please take the time to rest," Shining Armor said. "We'll find out where Cadance and Gilda have been taken to, and form a plan to rescue them."

"I'll track down Daring Do and be sure she's okay," Chrysalis said. "And Shining… don't let your feelings get the better of you."

"Who do you think I-"

"A man with a great sense of justice, but who's also very protective of those he loves," Chrysalis answered, cutting him off. "That's where your weakness lies, and if Tirek discovered that, he'd use it against you."

"… I'll be fine."

"I'll keep him under control," Blueblood said, patting Shining on the shoulder.

With that, Sunset Shimmer picked up her bag and left the room, saying her goodbyes for the time-being.

Daring Do entered the shop, ringing the bell as she entered. The store was stocked with antiques, exotic goods, and medicinal herbs. But there was nobody at the counter. "Hello? Is anybody here?" There was no response. Daring Do wondered if she could search for the solvent and grab it before the store's owner returned. She wouldn't be against stealing if it meant saving a world or two.

Out of habit, she hit the bell as she approached the counter, biting her lip and hoping that nobody would respond. "One moment!" a voice called from the room behind the counter. Daring Do waited for a few moments, looking around the store to see if she could find the solvent.

On one shelf there were various masks in the shapes of animals. On a round table there was a collection of tea sets. In a display case was a fine arrangement of Asian weapons and accessories.

"May I help you?"

Daring Do jumped and turned around to face the storeowner, now standing behind the counter and wiping his glasses with a cloth. He was an aged man of Chinese descent, his hair greying and hanging low. He regarded Daring Do with a curious look as he replaced his glasses.

"Oh, yes," she answered. "I'm looking for a solvent. A special one that can repair anything."

"Does this look like a shop for 'do it yourself' goods? No? Then go across street to local Ikea!"

"I've been told you have this solvent in stock," Daring Do pressed, leaning over the counter and whispering, "One strong enough to repair even the Sage's Stone."

The man stared at her for several seconds, his eyes bearing into hers as he tried to place her. "What would a young archaeologist such as yourself want with the Stone of Sages?"

"Well, it's- Wait, how did you know that-"

"I see, in your eyes, in your spirit, and…" The man pointed to a bookstand to the side of the counter, upon which was stacked a single copy of each of Daring Do's book out at that time. "I am huge fan, Miss Do. Nonetheless, the Stone must not be repaired!"

"I don't want to repair it," Daring Do assured him. "Quite the opposite. I need it to stop it from becoming whole again."

"If what you say is true, then that would mean that one already has both halves of the Stone." Daring Do nodded. "Which means Equestria… is in grave peril."

Daring Do gasped. "You know about Equestria?"

"Know it? I visited it, when I was once little boy! Before moving to America, I lived in a poor, Chinese village. We had temple in heart of village, and inside that temple, there was a tree that was born of Equestrian magic. Very powerful magic, magic that-"

Daring Do's phone rang, cutting off the story that Daring Do feared was on its way to becoming way too long. "Sorry, I gotta take this. So, the solvent?"

"… I will get it, but I must first determine if you are worthy. Please wait here. I will be but one moment."

"Gotcha," she said, answering her phone and watching as the elderly man left into the room behind the counter. "What's up?"

"Miss Do!" Caballeron shouted from the other end of the phone. "They are on their way! I don't know how, but they know where the solvent is and are about to-"

"AIYAAAAAH!"

Daring Do lowered her phone and ducked behind the counter, reaching for her pistol and she kept an ear out for anymore sounds.

"GET OUT OF HERE!" the old man shouted over the sounds of glass breaking and pottery smashing. "YOU ARE NOT WELCOME! LEAVE AT-"

"Shut it!" a voice yelled, followed by what sounded like something heavy crashing into a table or a counter.

"Aiyaaaahhhh…"

The old man's voice stopped there, Daring Do slowly peeked over the counter to find him on the ground, covered in broken fragments of what was once a table. He was still breathing.

She saw a shadow on the floor, moving closer to the doorway, and she raised her gun. Just then, she felt the barrel of a gun pressed to the back of her head.

"I wouldn't try that if I were you."

Daring Do gritted her teeth. "… Ahuizotl," she said, raising her hands and allowing her gun to drop to the floor.

"Seems Tirek was right about this place."

"Working for Tirek now? Doesn't seem like your style to become somebody lapdog, Ahui.

"Do not confuse me with that Doctor Caballeron. I know which side it is safer to be on, and besides, Tirek is paying handsomely for that solvent. And not just him, either." Ahuizotl chuckled as he swung at the back of Daring Do's head, knocking her to the ground and causing her ears to ring for several seconds.

"PandaBubba has a huge bounty on your head. You wanted to see him so badly? I'll happily take you to him, and I will receive payment from him, and then from Tirek."

"Hey Boss! We found it!"

Ahuizotl grinned. "Well then, Miss Do! It seems that for once, it is Ahuizotl's victory! NYAHAHAHAHAHAH!"

Daring Do's vision faded as Ahuizotl's mad cackling filled her ears. The last thing she could remember seeing before she passed out was one of his minions standing over her, a coil of rope in his hands.

Sunset gathered her wallet and her gun, ensuring that it was loaded. After returning home from school, she was ready to enjoy a peaceful night before what was sure to be a gruelling battle against Tirek. This hope however was crushed by a simple text that she received from a mysterious sender.

'I know who you are. I know you are trying to stop Tirek. Meet me. I wish to share information that can help you and your friends. Directions to follow.'

After receiving the directions, Sunset weighed her options. The directions came with an instruction to come alone. It was surely a trap of some kind, but whoever it was could have attacked Sunset at any point throughout the day, if that was their intention.

Ultimately, she grabbed her magic jewel and left her house, walking into the streets of Canterlot in the dead of the night. Whoever it was, she was going to get this 'information', one way or another.

18 - The Panda's Lair

Sunset followed the directions in the mysterious text sent to her, keeping one hand on her holstered pistol at all times as she walked down the unfamiliar street, into the apartment building and up the rickety staircase to the top.

She followed the room numbers until she found the one mentioned in the text. The text told her that information on Tirek was waiting, if she came alone. She was sceptical, but when the sender revealed themselves to have been the sniper that had shot Scorpan, she knew that she had to check this out.

Cautiously, she opened. Simply one step into the room, she was held at gunpoint by two men in white suits, they eyes hidden behind shades that must have lowered their visions drastically in that dark room.

"Just two?" Sunset asked as the jewel around her neck shone, emitting a barrier that spread out, surrounding her body and pushing the two startled men into either wall of the cramped entryway.

"Sorry about that," a female voice called out, and Sunset drew her pistol and pointed it into the shadows ahead of her. "Naturally, we had to be sure that it was you coming in. Please, lower your weapon. We're on the same side here."

Sunset narrowed her eyes. "You… Who are you? Why is your voice so familiar?"

Footsteps drew closer, and a slender figured became visible as a candle was lit behind it. A few more candles were lit as the figure approached, and soon, Sunset could see the person clearly.

Her eyes widened. "Wait, I know you… You're from school…"

The girl had long, curly hair in two different colours: pink and blue. She wore a white one-piece dress with turquoise stripes, with a strap around the waist adorned with a ribbon shaped like a sweet.

"My name is Bon Bon," the girl said in introduction. "As you said, I am a student at your school. But, I am also an agent working for the British intelligence agency, MI6. There, my call sign is Agent Sweetie Drops. It is nice to formally meet you, Miss Shimmer."

"So good of you to join us, Daring Do."

Daring Do rubbed her head. She felt groggy and the world was swaying around her. She could see a large man in a white suit standing before her, and to each of his sides were men in black suits, wielding automatic weapons. As her eyes focussed, she could see the bars separating her from them.

"PandaBubba," she said, pushing herself to her feet and slowly approaching the bars. "H-Hey. It's been a while, hasn't it? Funny story: I was just on my way to meet you!"

"Were you, now? No doubt to steal yet another one of my treasures. What was it this time? The Eye of Dashi? Perhaps the Third Arm Sash was what caught your attention."

"No, I- You have the Third Arm Sash?" Daring Do shook her head. She had to focus on the task-at-hand. "No, I was on my way to pay you back! You know I'm a girl of my word!"

"Oh? Then I will humour you. What do you have to pay me back with?"

Daring Do felt around her pockets, but found them empty. "… Okay, I had the Sapphire Stone-"

PandaBubba sighed, and snapped his fingers. One of his henchmen produced a familiar item that made Daring Do gasp. "You mean this Sapphire Stone? Sorry, but Ahuizotl traded it to me for an audience. And then, he traded you."

"He traded me? What for?"

"A compass," PandaBubba replied with a grin. "One said to allow sailors to navigate unassailable waters."

Daring Do gritted her teeth and banged a fist against one of the bars of her cell. "Damnit! Now he has the solvent and the compass!"

"And now, my dear, the question remains: what do I do with you?"

"Let me go?" Daring Do asked, giving her best innocent smile that only scored a frown from her captor.

"No… Ahuizotl tells me that Tirek has his sights set on you. I think I might use that to my advantage."

"You wanna use me as a bargaining chip? Bad move. You know Tirek doesn't-"

"PandaBubba, sir," one of PandaBubba's henchmen cut in. "It's almost time for your two o'clock."

"Already? Such a busy time of the year, this is. Collecting debts owed by the local gamblers and what-not." PandaBubba turned to leave. "I will return to deal with you later. Until then, feel honoured that you were in my great presence."

Daring Do stuck out her tongue as PandaBubba and his goons left the room, leaving behind two snarling dogs that seemed like they hadn't been fed in days. Thankfully the bars kept them from her, but of course, all good things had to come to an end eventually. Especially if she wanted to escape.

Finding the cage's lock, Daring Do reached into her back pocket and felt around for a bit, rummaging for the small pouch that would not be noticeable to a quick search. Inside was a small skit for picking locks. Crude, but effective.

She reached around the bars and fumbled about with the lock. The mechanism was simple, and it didn't take much for it to click and for the cage's door to open. The problem was what was to come next.

The dogs were already right out of the cage's door, just waiting for it to swing open enough for them to reach the girl and tear her to shreds. Those claws looked sharp, and those fangs looked painful. Daring Do positioned herself to the same side of the door that the dogs were on and gulped. She crouched and stared at the dogs, and then, she swung the door open.

The dogs barked as they ran into the cage. Daring Do noticed how they kept low and, grabbing onto one of the bars, she swung over the dogs and landed outside of the cage. She spun around quickly and slammed the door on the two dogs, though one of them managed to keep it from closing with its legs. It howled from the pain, and Daring Do took the chance to thrust her fist into the cage, punching the dog's snout and forcing it to retreat.

The door closed, locking automatically without the need for a key. Sighing with relief, Daring Do backed away as she watched the door angry doors barking furiously at her. The noise wasn't going to go unnoticed, she realised, and so she hurried out of that room and into the hallway outside.

As she ran down the hallway, she heard the sounds of footsteps behind her. They were running towards the room she had been imprisoned in, meaning that it would not take long for the alarm to be raised.

Rounding a corner, Daring Do came face-to-face with a guard slouched against a wall, his gun resting at his side as he was typing away on his smartphone. The guard turned and gasped, quickly dropping the phone and reaching for the gun, but Daring Do moved faster and swept the guard off his feet with a swift swipe of her leg. She took the gun and aimed it at the guard, who raised his arms as he lay back on the floor, glaring.

"Where's the way out?" she demanded.

"You'll never make it out alive," the guard replied.

"I'll check down here!" The voice was accompanied by the sounds of running getting closer. Running short on time, Daring Do fired a warning shot.

The bullet hit the floor beside the fallen guard's head, and he gulped. "D-Down the hallway behind me, take a left at the junction, and then the third right. That will take you to the exit."

Daring Do wasted no time on thanking him, instead bolting down the hallway as fast as she could. As she neared the aforementioned junction, she found two guards standing there, chatting to each other. Stopping for a moment, Daring Do looked around her surroundings and found an air vent on the left wall.

Reaching up, Daring Do opened the vent and climbed inside. She almost gagged at the sight of cobwebs and discarded cigarette butts inside, but pressed on regardless, crawling through the tight space. It wasn't as bad as many of the tombs she had explored, but it was certainly cramped and the gun in her hand wasn't helping.

As she passed by a grate, she peeked outside carefully and found the hallway to be clear. Still, she had no idea where she was at this point, so she left the vent slowly and peered to the right. She could hear footsteps and slipped behind a nearby plinth holding a statuette. The guards ran past without noticing her.

"This way!" the guard at the front yelled, and she recognised him as the guard she had downed earlier. "She's heading to the courtyard! She'll be trapped there!"

Daring Do gritted her teeth. The guy had tried to trick her, and she was foolish enough to have fallen for it. She was thankful for the detour that had taken her off-route, though now she had no directions once more.

A lone guard left the room opposite to her, stretching his arms as he turned back and said, "I'm done for today! Catch ya later!"

"Yeah, same time tomorrow," a voice inside the room called, and then the door closed. The guard started walking down the hallway to the right, humming to himself. Daring Do slipped out of her hiding spot and tailed the guy, slipping between cover and staying close enough to follow his moves.

Eventually she was led towards a hug hallway, filled with fancy furnishings and ornate decorations. The guard left through the double doors at the other end and Daring Do waited for a full minute before following, making her way across the empty hall and reaching for the doors.

A bullet stopped her, striking the wooden door before her and forcing her to freeze.

"Lower your gun and turn to face me," PandaBubba's voice called out. Daring Do heard the clicks of guns all around her, and she could sense that she was trapped. Angry, she complied with PandaBubba's instructions, gently setting her gun down and then turning around with her hands in the air.

"So what now?" she asked.

"Hmph. I think now, I know just what I am going to do with you," PandaBubba said, standing atop a balcony that overlooked the hall. To either side of him stood one guard, and there were two more guards to standing on balconies to each side of the room. "Killing somebody of your skill would be a shame. No, I think you'll make plenty of money for me fighting in The Arena."

Daring Do gritted her teeth. 'The Arena' was a gruesome place in the underworld, where those unfortunate enough to get on the bad sides of the wrong people would be forced into bloody death matches with each other for the sake of survival, the only hope being that they are bought by somebody kind enough to treat them like a person. There, Daring Do would not have that hope. People there would pay to see her die.

"I am afraid I will have to object to that," the guard to PandaBubba's right said, before drawing his pistol and shooting the guard to PandaBubba's left. The remaining four guards set their sights on this rogue, but nobody fired as the barrel of his pistol was mere inches from PandaBubba's face.

"You're not one of my guards. Who are you?" The guard removed his helmet, revealing his face. "Doctor Caballeron…"

"Indeed. I hope you will forgive this roundabout way of going about it, but arranging an audience with you is such a tiring process."

"Well, not that I would particularly miss him," PandaBubba said, his eyes shifting to the injured guard beside him, "But normally, I do not take well to outsiders attacking my men. You had better have something good to offer me, Doctor."

"As a matter of fact, it has come to my attention that you have recently acquired a certain item," Doctor Caballeron said. "An adventurous young lass, one bold enough to steal from you, and elusive enough to evade your grasp. I want to buy her."

PandaBubba scoffed. "She's not for sale," he said. "The amount of money she'll fetch for me in The Arena is incalculable! Unless you think you can offer something that could top it?"

Doctor Caballeron snapped his fingers. Suddenly, two of the remaining guards lowered their guns, and made their ways over to Caballeron and PandaBubba. "Having your men hide their faces is a wise strategy," Caballeron said, "But it carries with it the ease of enemies to sneak into your ranks."

The two guards stopped before PandaBubba. One reached into a small satchel strapped to his waist, pulling out a small metallic box, whilst the other reached into his pocket and produced a key. The guards unlocked and opened the box, revealing inside a small red jewel, no bigger than a clenched fist.

PandaBubba gasped. "This is…"

"A ruby prism," Caballeron finished. "One of the last few of its kind, said to be packed with magical energy and very potent."

"May I?" PandaBubba asked, receiving a nod from Caballeron. He reached his hand out, touching it to the jewel and feeling it for a few moments as he closed his eyes. "It's… real…"

"Even I would not risk selling a fake to you."

"And yet… to trade such an item for one gir." PandaBubba grinned. "She must have captured your heart, Doctor Caballeron."

Caballeron simply grinned back. "I simply see that her value in the field is greater than her value in The Arena."

PandaBubba laughed, taking the jewel and waving a hand to his two remaining guards. Together, they lowered their guns, and so did Caballeron. "We have a deal. Daring Do! You are now the property of Doctor Caballeron! Do as you wish from this point on, but know that we no longer have a grievance!" PandaBubba smiled down at her. "Next time our paths cross, let's try to be friends, shall we?"

Daring Do returned the smile and nodded her head. "Next time we meet, I'll bring you something that makes up for what I stole!"

PandaBubba laughed. "No need! What Caballeron has given me makes what you stole a mere trinket!" He turned to Caballeron. "I will overlook your impudence today, Doctor. Leave with your girl, but know that she is quite the livewire."

"I know," Caballeron replied. "She is the one who almost killed me, after all."

"Then it seems that our business is at an end." With that PandaBubba left with his two guards, leaving Doctor Caballeron and his men to join Daring Do on the floor below.

"Well then, shall we?" Doctor Caballeron asked, as his two henchmen pointed their guns at Daring Do.

Daring Do opened the door and stepped outside, Caballeron following her and then leading the way towards his car, parked just around the corner. As he and Daring Do entered the back, he took out his phone and dialled a number. The car started up, and he started talking. "It's me," he said into his phone. "Yes, I have her here. As agreed, I will deliver her to the airport."

Daring Do wondered who he was talking to, but kept quiet until he put the phone down. "Never would've thought you'd go so far to save my life," Daring Do said.

"As I said, you are valuable to me," Caballeron replied.

"I'm touched, but to give away a ruby prism? You know you could've just slipped me some kind of tool in The Arena."

"Yes, but I needed you now." Caballeron pointed his pistol at Daring Do, his eyes cold as he locked eyes with her. "That was your FBI friend on the phone. I am to deliver you to her, but I made no promises as to the state you would be in when I do so.

"Now, I want answers, Miss Do. Word has it that Tirek is in possession of a nuclear warhead and is on his way across the ocean, heading towards America." Daring Do tensed. "Except… I don't think that that is his target. Tell me everything that is going on, and then…" Caballeron pulled back the hammer of his gun. "Then, I will decide whether or not you were worth my investment.”

19 - Calm Before the...

"MI6? … And what does a British intelligence agency want with an ordinary U.S. citizen?"

"'Ordinary'?" Bon Bon asked, grinning as she watched her two colleagues recovering from Sunset's attack. "I wasn't aware that magic was such a common trend in this country. And I suppose all American teenagers turn into demons?"

"Sure, it's called puberty," Sunset replied with a grin, one that was returned with a laugh.

"Very well. I suppose I'll have to answer your question, before you trust me. You see, MI6 has been investigating the Tirek case, too. Our investigation has led us to America, where we have been investigating one of Tirek's executives, Catrina.

"Unfortunately, this investigation is being done without permission from the U.S. government, so we've had to act in secret."

"Which is why you didn't simply reveal yourself back there when Scorpan attacked?" Sunset asked. "Wait, how did you even know about that?"

"That's because of you, Sunset," Bon Bon answered. "When you first arrived, I noted the strange occurrence of your sudden arrival and investigated you. It didn't take long for me to realise you were hiding something, but I never imagined that you were a resident of Equestria."

Sunset folded her arms. "You know about Equestria, too?"

"Of course. It's our business to know. After discovering that we suspected you might have ties to Tirek, but we concluded that you weren't related, and when we discovered that the FBI had eyes on you, we were forced to leave you alone. That's not to say that I haven't been keeping tabs on you, mind, and now that you're helping Shining Armor with the Tirek case, it seems that our interests have finally aligned."

"Then why take so long in reaching out to me?" Sunset asked. "And why in such a manner? Why didn't you come talk to us when we arrested Scorpan? Why did you want me to come alone?"

"As I said, we've been investigating in secret. I know Shining Armor, or at least, I know what kind of man he is, and I am sure that I can trust him. Nonetheless, we are breaking protocol by investigating in this country without permission, and if the bureau discovers that, it will become a political nightmare."

Sunset Shimmer took in a deep breath, staring into Bon Bon's eyes, and then slowly exhaled. "… Well, you don't seem like you're lying… and frankly, if you wanted me dead you’d have made a move by now. Okay, I'll bite. What is it that you wanted to tell me?"

"It's about Catrina, the woman we are investigating." Bon Bon reached into her pocket, producing a folded-up piece of paper and offering it to Sunset. "She is the one who took your friends away. This is the location of a facility owned by Tirek, managed by her, and it is there that we believe she has taken Cadance and Gilda to."

Sunset took the paper and unfolded it, her eyes narrowing as her hands trembled. "This is…"

Bon Bon raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"

"I can't read this," Sunset said flatly. "If your hope was that I'd be able to rescue them alone-"

"Of course not," Bon Bon interrupted. "There is more. We are willing to give you all of the information we have on Catrina and her second-in-command, 'Diana Thorpe', and all we ask for in exchange is complete anonymity."

Sunset hummed in thought as she studied the map one more time. It was definitely not something she could decipher alone. "Just that? I might be able to help there, but…" Sunset looked back up at Bon Bon, recalling the girl's skill demonstrated back during their encounter with Scorpan. "Say, you really want to help bring Tirek to justice?"

"Of course I do," Bon Bon said, the agents behind her agreeing enthusiastically.

Sunset grinned. "Well then, can I have your number? I think we could use somebody like you in this coming battle."

As Shining Armor studied the data Sunset Shimmer had provided him, Daring Do and Doctor Caballeron debriefed everybody on what had happened with PandaBubba. Adagio and Aria stood behind Caballeron, under Chrysalis' orders to neutralise him should he make a suspicious move.

"So in short, Ahuizotl now has both the solvent and the compass," Blueblood concluded, biting his nail as sweat dripped down his brow. "We're in a bind now."

"Lucky for you, I know where the portal is located," Caballeron said, drawing everyone's attention. "My eyes in Tirek's organization have helped me narrow down only one possible location, and it seems that Tirek is wasting no time in heading there."

"Well, where is it?" Chrysalis asked.

"Oh no no," Caballeron said. "I won't play my card so easily."

"He wants a guarantee from us," Daring Do elaborated. "He wants to be exonerated of all his past crimes and granted immunity so long as he is in America."

Chrysalis shook his head. "We can't do that. At the very most, we can grant him immunity only until this case is resolved."

"I figured as much," Caballeron said with a sigh. "No matter. I will accept your offer." Caballeron extended his hand and shook Chrysalis', a grin spreading across his face as Blueblood wandered over to Shining Armor.

"Okay, I've deciphered the map and studied all the info your 'friend' gave us," Shining said to Sunset. "If Cadance and Gilda are indeed there, we will need to send a team to rescue them, and soon."

"We can't let this chance to stop Tirek pass us by," Daring Do said. "So… splitting into two teams?"

Shining Armor nodded his head. "It would seem we have little choice."

"Then, as for the location of the portal," Doctor Caballeron started, "It would seem the portal is in the Bermuda Triangle, an usual area where, if I'm not mistaken, many unexplained disappearances have occurred over years, no?"

"You're attributing those unexplained events to magic?" Sunset asked.

"Most unexplained events usually are to do with magic," Shining admitted, before turning to Caballeron. "Hey, I just want to be clear on something: why are you so eager to help us, rather than Tirek?"

"As I have said, Tirek and I are not on the best of terms."

"No, but I figured you'd be all about exploiting a land rich in magic for your own gains."

Caballeron chuckled. "My, such harsh words, yet they ring true. Indeed, Equestria sounds like a gold-mine of wealth and power… and yet, it is precisely for that reason that we must not allow Tirek, of all people, to lay his hands upon it!" Caballeron cast an uneasy scowl across the entire group. "The most feared trait of man is ambition, and Tirek's ambitions put him on par with el Diablo himself. With that much power, even I fear what he may do to-"

The room was plunged into sudden darkness as all of the lights, including that from Shining Armor's computer, cut out without any warning. Startled, everybody gasped at once, but it did not last long as Chrysalis hurriedly ignited her lighter, whilst Sunset cast a spell to summon forth a small orb of light in the palm of her hand.

"What happened?" Daring Do asked. "A blackout?"

"No," Blueblood said, clinging to Chrysalis' arm as he stared nervously into the darkness around him. "This facility is equipped with two emergency generators, each hooked to different sources of energy. For all three to cut out simultaneously would be absurd!"

"Which means…" Chrysalis' thought was cut short as the alarm was raised.

20 - Prince Scorpan

"Newton's first law of motion is that an object at rest stays at rest, or an object in motion stays in motion at the same speed, unless acted on by an external force… Newton's second law…" Scorpan sighed, closed the book in his lap, and rose from his cushioned chair, walking across the large room atop the velvet rug beneath his feet. He reached a large bookcase, taller than him by a factor of five and filled with books recommended far beyond his age.

He put the book away and then moved towards the large window to his side, sitting on the windowsill and gazing through the bars that prevented him from opening it. In the courtyard below, the guards made their rounds, keeping the family safe from would-be intruders. Thieves and assassins tried regularly, but thanks to his parents' elite guard, the family was safe.

"I would like to go out and see the village," he said aloud, knowing what his answer would be.

Two guards stood at his door, their jobs to keep anyone without authorisation out, and to keep Scorpan in.

"We cannot do that, young lord," one of the guards said. "Your parents have requested that you stay inside today."

"And yesterday, and the day before, and the day before." Scorpan wondered if he could set up some elaborate trick to make them move, but nothing came to mind. They were trained soldiers, and Scorpan was no fighter; he knew how to handle a gun and a sword, but without either he was helpless.

His room had an attached bathroom with the vent locked tight, and food was delivered in a dumbwaiter that was too small for him to fit inside. Being a prince in a country that despised the monarchy meant that he had very few rights. Not the glamorous experience one might expect from a boy in his position.

"Just three more days," he said. "In three days, I turn ten, and will make my public debut." Maybe then, things would change. Maybe things would get better after his tenth birthday.

His tenth birthday happened, and then it was over. Just like his previous birthdays, his parents showered him with gifts – books for study, weights at his request for staying fit, a new home tutor for more advanced courses, and fancy clothing for the public events he was to attend in the future. And then, of course, toys. Being their only child, Scorpan was showered with presents from his doting parents. Toys that were meaningless, because he had nobody to share them with. Toys that he would happily trade from even just one friend.

After making his debut, Scorpan returned to his room for further study, and then returned at the end of the party to dance with a noble's daughter around his age. She wasn't very nice; she spoke as though she were a god, as if Scorpan was a treasure to be won, and as though the commoners outside of the palace were an infestation to be contained.

Scorpan had asked what life outside the palace was like, but all that did was invite her to brag about her own mansion for the entirety of their dance. Not once did she mention the town outside, where the 'peasants' lived.

After much insistence, Scorpan finally won a victory from his parents. Though he was still contained to the palace, Scorpan was allowed to walk freely around, even go out into the courtyard, though the Royal Guard was to keep him under stricter surveillance than usual.

Two weeks passed, and Scorpan was once again touring the courtyard, enjoying the fun shapes the gardener had made with the hedges at his request. Various animals he had only ever seen in books. One was a horse, another an elephant.

Scorpan was stopped at one hedge when he noticed something poking out of the leaves. Something round and red. He wondered if he should alert the guards, but before he could, the red thing moved. It had a face, and it looked at him with a curious look. Its face was dirty and its body covered in scratches, and it tilted its head to one side as Scorpan did the same. And then, it barked.

"A dog," Scorpan surmised as he approached the small animal. He looked around and found that the Royal Guard would not be able to see it from their vantage point across the yard. Smiling, he ducked behind the hedge and pet the dog's head gently. It took an immediate liking to him and pressed its head into his hand eagerly, its tail wagging. "No collar. Are you a stray?"

The dog barked again, and Scorpan motioned for it to stay quiet. "Hey, you hungry? Want something to eat?" The dog barked, quieter this time. "Alright, wait right here. I'll go get you a snack."

Scorpan rushed to the kitchen and picked up some biscuits, and then returned to where the dog was waiting for him. He broke them into suitable pieces and held them out in the palm of his hand. The dog sniffed his hand cautiously, and then dug into the snack.

Scorpan laughed, mostly from the tickling of the tongue against his hand. "Let's see, I guess you don't have a name… How about… Spike?" The dog's ears perked, and he looked up into Scorpan's eyes, lolling its head to the side happily. "Then Spike it is. Want to be my friend? You'd be the first I've ever had."

Spike barked merrily, jumping into Scorpan's lap and licking at his face. Scorpan laughed, pushing Spike away. "I'll take that as a yes!" He set Spike down on the ground and hummed in thought. "Okay, come back here tomorrow and I'll bring you something nice! Promise?"

The following day, Scorpan had brought Spike a collar, taken from one of the plush toys that his parents had bought from him. Spike was only a small thing, so he was sure that it would fit, and he was right.

The day after that, Scorpan had taken down a basket for Spike, which he placed deep in the bushes to ensure it wouldn't be found, and the day after that, he had taken a bottle of water so he could wash Spike's fur.

Spike seemed to understand Scorpan's word very well, and knew to stay out of sight of others in the palace, and not to bark too loudly. Scorpan had taken to studying outside, reading aloud so that Spike could hear him, too, and when he got bored of studying, he and Spike would play. Whenever we was stressed or worried, Spike was always a great listener, and whenever he just wanted to sit and mope, Spike would simply nuzzle up close to him, comforting Scorpan until he was feeling better again.

Two months passed. Scorpan was greeted by his parents one day at breakfast, who had a surprise visitor with them. A boy only a few years older than him, dressed in a grey suit and with a distinguished look on his face, with the friendliest smile he had seen from anyone besides his parents. The boy's hair was slicked-back, and an amulet around his neck showed that he was from a noble family, though he wasn't certain which one. He recognised the crest but couldn't quite place the name.

"Say hello to your new brother, Scorpan," his mother said.

"This is Tirek. His parents have recently passed away, and we've agreed to take him in and raise him as our own," his father explained.

Scorpan reasoned that Tirek's family had been big shots. Perhaps his father was the CEO of a large, influential company, or perhaps he was distantly related to the royal family. Regardless, he greeted Scorpan warmly, and as the two shook hands, Scorpan felt happy. Perhaps he would have another friend, now.

Each day, Scorpan would continue to feed and play with Spike in secret, and study outside, claiming that the fresh air was good for him. One day, however, he was caught. Tirek had noticed him moving strangely, and had followed him to his secret spot behind the hedges.

"Please, please, PLEASE don't tell my parents!" Scorpan pleaded, almost in tears over the fear of what might happen if Spike's existence was revealed. A filthy stray, who could be carrying anything, who could belong to a rival family, who could be a distraction to Scorpan's studies… These were surely the things they would have said, and Spike would be taken away and put down.

"Relax, bro," Tirek said, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "I won't tell, but there's just one condition."

Scorpan sniffed, wiping the tears from his eyes. "Y-Yeah?"

Tirek smiled. "You gotta let me play, too."

Scorpan smiled back, and nodded his head. He introduced Spike to Tirek, and Tirek to Spike. She showed Tirek how he and Spike played, how he fed him, how they studied together, the basket he had made, everything…

"You really care for him, huh?"

Scorpan nodded. "He's the only friend I've ever had. Well, before you, I guess. If it wasn't for Spike, I would've been all alone…"

Scorpan was happy that he now had somebody to share Spike with, though one thing bothered him… The entire day, not once did Spike stop growling at Tirek.

Three nights later, Scorpan was awoken to a strange sound. He looked around, and found the guards that were meant to watch him gone. Uneasy, Scorpan got up and left his room, walking through the mansion to find his parents. He stopped at the main hall, however, as he saw something that took him a while to process. Tirek, along with the two guard meant to watch Scorpan, were giving various jewels and weapons to a group of robed strangers. In return, they were given sacks of gold, which the three distributed amongst themselves.

Scorpan gasped, and everybody turned to look at him. "I will handle this," Tirek said, and dismissed the strangers. After they had left, Tirek approached Scorpan, who wasn't sure whether to stay and talk, or to run to his parents.

"W-What's going on?" he asked.

"Oh, just a simple trade," Tirek said nonchalantly. "Nothing serious. We found some trinkets around the house, just gathering dust, and felt that they would be more useful u few sold them to some wealthy 'investors'."

"Y-You were selling Mother and Father's things? After they trusted you?! Why?!"

"Ah, trust is such an easy thing to buy. Your guards were in the moment I showed them a sample of the money they could make, and even your own parents were willing to trust me. A short sob story about how Mommy and Daddy beat me, and they were certain of my loyalty to them."

"What do you mean?" Scorpan asked.

"Simple. I killed my parents, and your parents adopted me. That way, I, the heir to my father's company, could legally pass it on to them when I come of age."

Scorpan narrowed his eyes, tears streaming down his face as his fists shook. "But then you betrayed them. You're selling their possessions for money and bribing their soldiers behind their backs! I'm gonna tell them-"

"Wouldn't it be a shame if they learned of Spike?" Scorpan gasped, his eyes widening suddenly. Tirek simply grinned. "These trinkets, these little baubles, they mean nothing to your parents. They won't even be missed. Spike, however? That is a life that can never be bought back. A friend that you will lose forever." As Tirek passed Scorpan, the two guards following behind him, he whispered, "I trust you know what to do. You're smart, Scorpan."

Scorpan waited until he was alone in the hallway, and then, he fell to his knees, punching the floor in his frustration as he took care not to scream.

Over the months, Scorpan would continue to turn a blind eye to Tirek's deeds. Tirek would continue to sell various trinkets from around the house, and would set up certain high-ranking guards to get them executed and allow those he'd bribed to rise in the ranks.

Then, Tirek started to press Scorpan for sensitive information relating to the family. His parents' weaknesses, the palace's emergency procedures and panic rooms, details on trade partners and the routes they took… Scorpan supplied all of this under the belief that Tirek was simply selling it. He would act as an accomplice to Tirek's schemes, planting evidence to incriminate soldiers and conning information out of nobles, or picking their pockets using the techniques Tirek taught him.

So long as Spike was safe, Scorpan thought that it would be okay. It was too late to turn back, anyway. He had already dirtied his hands too much. The only way forward was to stay on this path, protecting his one and only friend in the world. Nothing else mattered…

Scorpan stood over the bodies of his dead parents, his face pale as a ghost and his hands trembling as he tried to convince himself that they were alright. His face was a mess of sweat and tears, and his sadness could only be trumped by the immense anger directed towards his adopted older brother, who had served the wine that they toasted on only moments before.

"Relax," Tirek said. "Yours was not poisoned. You'll be safe."

"Y-You… No, you-you killed…" Scorpan put a hand to his mouth, holding in the bile rising through his throat. He looked past Tirek, to the five soldiers guarding the only way out of the room. This wasn't a simple robbery anymore. It was a coup d'état.

"Thanks to the funds you helped me to raise," Tirek replied. "You helped me build an army, and I also have many partners ready to trade with me in exchange for pieces of the royal family's wealth. You really helped me a lot, Scorpan."

Scorpan gritted his teeth. "You bastard! You never said anything about this!"

"You did not need to know." Tirek chuckled. "Remember what I told you when you first found me that night? I told you that you were smart. That was a lie, Scorpan. You're not smart, you're simple. Easy to use."

"You-" Scorpan stopped. Tirek reached behind his chair, pulling out a muzzled-Spike. He wasn't moving.

"He's not dead. Merely sedated. Honestly, though, how little faith you had in your own parents and their troops. Did you honestly think they had no idea about your stray?"

"What? B-But they… never said anything…"

"Because they saw how happy you were, and wanted to let you continue believing you had your little secret for a while longer. Such sentiment also made your parents easy to use."

Scorpan fell to his knees, staring at his parents' bodies with a disbelieving look in his eyes. "Then… why did I… all this time?"

"You betrayed them for this mutt. You made your choice, and now, your hands are no cleaner than mine." Tirek pulled a gun out from his jacket and pointed it at Spike's temple. "If I killed him now, what would you have left? No family, no friends, no fortune… No future."

"No, please! Don’t!"

"Of course, I could let the two of you go, but… what then? What kind of future does a boy like you possess? The product of a hated family, who would sell out his fellow man for the life of stray dog."

"Please, don't kill him…"

Tirek grinned. "Whether he lives or he dies, there is no future for you. None… expect with me."

Scorpan gasped. "N-No, please… I-I don't want to do these things anymore…"

"Ah, but your skills have proved useful, Scorpan. So, you see, I would be very upset if you refused. Yes, very… So much so that I might just take it out on your pup here, and believe me, I can keep him alive for a very long time."

"NO!" Scorpan bolted to his feet, but stopped as the soldiers behind Tirek pointed their guns at him.

Tirek raised his hand, and they lowered their weapons. "… You have two choices. You can walk free, but your mutt stays with me. Or, you and your friend can finally live together, as you wished, but under my employment."

Scorpan clenched his hands into fists. His blood boiled, his body felt as though it were on fire. He fell to his knees again, clutching his head as he let out a blood-curdling scream that resonated throughout the entire mansion.

Dexter, who had used his expertise to hack into the FBI's system and send a virus that disabled all security programs for just enough time to break out his comrades. He checked the cameras of the safehouse, ensuring they were not followed.

Cybil, who had broke in FBI confinement and revealed sensitive information. He was chained to a wall with the barrel of a gun pointed at his forehead.

Mute, who had not revealed anything thanks to his inability to speak. He kept the barrel against Cybil's head.

And then Lars, Tirek's contact who had witnessed Scorpan's failure from afar. He was pointing a gun at Scorpan with one hand, whilst his other presented the man with a small wooden box. "A gift from Tirek."

Scorpan took the box, gritting his teeth as he opened it and peeked inside. His face twisted in anger. He knew that this was coming, but he held onto hope. Hope that perhaps Tirek was willing to give him one more chance. Hope that, perhaps, he was still useful to Tirek.

The decapitated head of his beloved pet inside that box told Scorpan that he had outlived his usefulness to Tirek. After these long years of service, Tirek no longer had any need for his skills, and this last failure had sealed his fate…

"Orders from Tirek himself," Lars said. "Your services are no longer required, Scorpan."

Scorpan put down the box, his body regaining its composure as he slowly rose back up, keeping his eyes on Lars the entire time. "Tirek… doesn't even realise, does he? That he has just made the biggest mistake of his life."

Lars simply laughed, and pulled the trigger. Scorpan turned in time to absorb the bullet with his bulking arm, and then rammed Lars, knocking his gun out his hand.

"Tirek sees me as weak because of my softness, and perhaps he's right. But, now that the source of my softness is gone, what does that mean for my weakness?"

Scorpan reached out and grabbed either side of Lars' head, lifting the man off of his feet and squeezing. Lars flailed his feet and demanded Scorpan to stop.

Mute turned his gun to Scorpan, and Cybil took his chance to tackle to sniper.

A shot rang out, passing Scorpan's face and causing him to drop Lars. Lars took the chance to pull out a knife and stabbed it at his assailant, but Scorpan was able to grab his wrist, and he twisted it, forcing the hand to open as Lars howled in pain.

Cybil kept Mute pinned to the floor as the two wrestled for the gun, occasionally throwing punches at each other's faces. Cybil overpowered Mute and managed to get on top of him, but Mute's finger was still on the trigger of his gun. Slowly, he started to inch it towards Cybil. Inch-by-inch, it got closer to its target…

It stopped once Scorpan drove Lars' knife into Mute's throat. A shot rang out, forcing Cybil to climb off of Mute as he held his ear and hissed in pain. Mute grasped at his throat, flailing and gurgling in the blood building up in his mouth. Soon, he stopped, and his body fell limp.

Scorpan and Cybil exchanged glances, both panting and wincing from their wounds. It only lasted for a moment, though, before Dexter came rushing into the room to see if everything was okay.

"I heard a gunshot. What-" He saw Mute's body on the floor, a pool of blood beneath it, and Lars' body thrown over a table, his neck twisted in ways not natural.

Scorpan picked up Mute's gun and pointed it at Dexter, who quickly raised his hands. He looked again at Cybil, and the two nodded to each other.

"From now on," Scorpan said to Dexter, "You work for us, or your life ends here. Understood?"

21 - To Equestria

"We have to move out now," Shining Armor announced as everybody gathered in the meeting room. Sunset Shimmer, Daring Do, Doctor Caballeron, Chrysalis, Blueblood, and the Dazzlings. "Tirek's fleet is already en route to the portal, located somewhere in the Bermuda Triangle. The American naval fleet and air force have been alerted and will move to intercept them, but Tirek has already reached Equestria, then we must go in there and stop him."

"We can't leave Cadance and Gilda behind," Blueblood said.

Shining Armor nodded. "That is why we'll split into two teams. You and Chrysalis will take the Dazzlings to the location Sunset has provided and check it out. Full use of magic is authorised should you encounter the enemy."

Aria grinned, though it didn't last long as Chrysalis said, "I'll prepare the bomb collars."

"Sunset, Daring Do and Doctor Caballeron, you three will come with me and move to intercept Tirek. Ideally, we'll reach the portal first, but if not, we will have to be ready to cross into Equestria to stop him."

"Sounds interesting," Caballeron said. "Let us not forget the warhead Tirek has."

"We will also have to locate and secure the nuclear warhead," Shining Armor continued. "This time, we must not fail."

Sunset raised her hand. "Since we're hurting for help, I've got a friend I'd like to call in. She's in the know about all this, and she's very talented with a rifle."

"A 'friend'?" Shining asked. "Who?"

Sunset simply smiled. "Sorry, but she's requested to remain anonymous. Trust me, though, she'll be a great help."

Shining Armor considered her proposal for a few moments, and then said, "Very well. Can't see how it could be any worse than trusting Doctor Caballeron…" As Sunset took out her phone and dialled a number, Shining Armor looked over everybody once more. "We'll be heading out soon. Make sure that you're ready, and whatever happens… try to make it back alive."

Hours later, Alpha Team – consisting of Sunset, Shining, Daring Do, Caballeron and Bon Bon – were alerted to Tirek's fleet coming up on their way to their destination. Sunset looked out of the side of their helicopter and gasped. Tirek's fleet was huge, and was engaged in combat with the American navy's. Though Tirek's air fleet was vastly inferior, Shining Armor and the surrounding helicopters were warned to keep their distance, as Tirek's fleet was armed with anti-air defences that had already downed several jets.

"Looks like we can't get any closer," Caballeron commented.

"We can," Sunset said, raising his hand. The jewel around her neck glowed, and her hand followed. "I can cloak the entire helicopter, making it invisible to our foes. We won't even show up on their radars, provided we don't draw attention to ourselves."

Daring Do stared ahead at the large pillar of light in the distance. It was thanks to that that the fleet were able to find Tirek at all, but the fact it was there meant that the portal was open. "Do all of these soldiers know about magic?"

Shining Armor, piloting the helicopter as Sunset's spell kept it cloaked, responded, "No. Only the black ops that have moved to secure the portal know. The regular troops have been told that the light is a natural phenomenon, that Tirek is using to navigate these seas."

"Alert! Nuclear warhead located, I repeat, we have eyes on the warhead!"

Shining Armor activated the microphone in the cockpit and asked, "Where is it?"

"The large red freighter, just south-south-west of the pillar. We're marking the area now."

Sunset noticed a flare coming out of a jet to her right, and looked below to find a large freighter, big enough to house a small village, staying just outside of the battlefield.

"Warhead is prepped for launch!"

"Calm down. Tirek is saving it for a last resort. Simply keep it marked for now, but don't engage. Repeat, do not fire on that freighter!"

"Ten-four!"

Shining Armor shut off the microphone, and said, "At least with Tirek in Equestria, we know that the warhead will not be fired yet."

Doctor Caballeron stood up, grabbing a nearby parachute and approaching the side of the helicopter. "Well then, this is where I get off. I don't think that I will be of much use in a world of magic, but here, I can disrupt the launch."

Daring Do also rose, grabbing her own parachute. "Like hell I'll trust you with a nuke. I'm going with you." She turned to Sunset Shimmer. "You guys have got this," she said in a sure tone. "We'll make sure Tirek can't launch this nuke, so you guys go all-out and do whatever it takes to stop him!"

"Oh, trust me," Sunset began, "We will. Tirek picked the wrong home to mess with."

Doctor Caballeron jumped from the helicopter, and Daring Do followed. The two fell for some time before opening their chutes and, soon, they were out-of-sight.

Sunset, Bon Bon and Shining Armor were the three left in the helicopter, the former keeping it hidden with her magic as the latter kept his eyes focussed on the portal ahead, drawing closer with each passing second.

Taking in deep breathes, the three passed through the portal.

22 - Catrina's Island

Chrysalis' group arrived at the small chain of islands described by Bon Bon, the largest of which housed many worn-down buildings in the middle of a barren wasteland. Apparently, the island was once inhabited by a small tribe, before being overrun by Tirek's men and used as a base of operations. It was legally owned by an American billionaire, who was forced to lend it to Catrina after she had blackmailed him with evidence of immoral activities.

Upon their arrival, the group was immediately greeted by an army of soldiers, wielding worn-down firearms. The Dazzlings, armed with jewels that granted them access to their magics, make swift work of these troops, singing an enticing song that captivated any who heard it, and then sucked the life energy out of them.

Chrysalis and Blueblood avoided the song's deadly allure by means of special earplugs that would block out any and all sound. The troops fell, the group pressed on, and more enemy soldiers emerged. The Dazzlings sang, and the bodies piled up.

It wasn't long until the group had reached a bunker, guarded by a steel door that was locked with a passcode. "I'll handle this," Blueblood said, taking out a small stick of C4 and attaching it to the door. "This should be enough."

"So, the rats have come to rescue their comrades." The Dazzlings turned around, prompting Chrysalis to do the same as Blueblood continued to work, unaware that Catrina was standing behind them. "I am surprised, though. You're using magic, yet according to Lord Tirek, you shouldn't be able to cast magic of this level. Even I can only accomplish so much."

Adagio stepped forward. "Too bad your master never knew about us. We're not from this world, you see."

Catrina cast her eyes over the three girls, gazing at the jewels at their necks, each glowing green as they brimmed with magical energy. "Interesting… So, this is how Hydia was defeated. I thought it strange she would resort to using the Smooze against mere soldiers, but now, it all makes sense… Well, it seems I must thank you for eliminating the competition for me! How about I do that by showing you something nice?" Catrina reached behind her back, drawing a broom and pointing it at the girl. The wood of the broom was grey, and the bristles were long-dead. "Do you know what this is?"

"Ooh! Ooh! I know!" Sonata said, bouncing up-and-down with her hand raised. "A broom, right?!"

"A magic broom, and one made of wood that is over two thousand-years old."

"Okay?" Aria replied. "And like, why should we care?"

Catrina grinned. "It seems you don't know. In this world, a magic broom is used to cast all manner of spells. And the older the wood…" Catrina's broom glowed purple all of a sudden. "The stronger the spell!"

A purple beam shot forward, and would have blasted Aria had she not jumped backwards out of the way. She, Aria and Sonata sang their song, but when it reached Catrina, it had no effect. Instead, all that happened was that a purple barrier around her shimmered.

"That won't work on me, girls!" Catrina fired a blast at Sonata, striking the siren and tying her to the ground with magical restraints. A second blast to the head knocked her out.

"Sonata!" Adagio cried, before hearing a gasp to her left. She turned and found Aria falling to the ground face-first. Behind her, she saw a girl holding a gun, blood dripping down the butt. The same blood trickled from the back of Aria's head. "Aria!"

The girl turned to Adagio and pointed her gun at her head. She fire, but Adagio deflected it with a screech that distorted the air. The ground shook as the screech grew louder, and the girl was forced to retreat. As she did so, she felt a hand on her shoulder and turned suddenly, finding a tall figure in a dark robe standing over her.

Chrysalis, holding her stomach as it ached from the waves produced by Adagio's voice, observed the figure and noticed the streams of black smoke coming from the hood. She removed her earplugs and said, "Sombra?"

The figure removed its hood, confirming her suspicions. Beneath that hood, Sombra's face had been consumed by smoke, and his eyes had turned a sickly-green with red irises. "Radiant Hope. You look well."

"You…" The girl pointed her gun to Sombra, but he did not even flinch. "Why are you here? I gave you a chance to run!" she hissed in a whisper.

"Because there is something that I must do…" Sombra turned to Chrysalis in the distance, who was glaring back at him with her own gun pointed at his head. "Cadance and Gilda are further inside. If you wish to rescue them, do so now."

Chrysalis tilted her head. "Oh? I didn't realise you still cared," she said, her finger pressing down ever-so-slightly on the trigger. "After all, it's not they're friends of yours, 'King Sombra'."

Sombra simply shrugged. "I… am not sure who I am anymore. But, even after I betrayed her, Cadance still showed me kindness and mercy. I want to at least repay her, before I decide where I stand with her."

"There will be no rescues today!" Catrina hissed, firing a blast of energy at Sombra. Radiant jumped out of the way, but Sombra remained, raising a single hand – jewels pierced into his skin – and creating a shadowy barrier that protected him from the attack.

Blueblood removed his earplugs and shouted, "Chrysalis, if we don't go now, we might miss our window!"

Chrysalis turned, finding that the door had been blasted open already, and grunted. "Guess we have no choice. We'll have to let Sombra go for now!" She ran towards the bunker, catching up with Blueblood.

Catrina pointed her broom towards them, but Adagio sped towards her position, forcing her to change her focus on the girl. Adagio screeched, and Catrina channelled magic through her broom.

Meanwhile, Sombra walked towards a panicking Radiant Hope, who was firing shot-after-shot at the man, only for every single bullet to bounce harmlessly off of him. "S-Stop!" she shouted.

"Radiant… It's me. It's Sombra…"

"No! You're not him!" Radiant argued. "The Sombra I knew was weak. He was helpless! Shy and lonely, but full of light! You… You're a monster!"

Sombra sighed. "Yes… It is true. I am not how you remember me. But, the same can be said of you."

Radiant reloaded her gun and took another step back, only to find herself pressed against a wall. "W-What do you mean?" she asked.

"The Radiant Hope I remember was… kind, and loyal, and the only one to approach the lonely, shy child that everybody else ignored."

Radiant glared. "I was only a child."

"And yet, you showed more character than most adults around us. You made the right decisions, even if they were not always so easy to make. I recall you suffered a lot for being my friend, and yet… you endured. So what changed, Radiant?"

"You left me, remember?!" Radiant fired another shot. "You left, and I had nobody to fall back on!" She fired two more shots. "I sacrificed my social standing for you! I became an outcast for your sake, and then you just leave!" Another shot. "You left me with nothing. It was easy to fight if I had somebody at my side, but what can I do all by myself? Nothing. That's why…"

Sombra noticed the tears falling down Radiant's face, and he extended a shadowy tentacle to wipe it away. She simply stood motionless as he did so. "I see… Things really played out differently for you here than they did in Equestria, didn't they?"

"W… What do you mean?"

"Some time ago, I inherited the memories of a great, powerful being, who had it all. An entire empire, slaves to do his bidding, power beyond his wildest dreams… But he had lost it all, to a group of heroes, and thus, his life ended, empty, forever remembered for his evil ways, never for his virtues.

"However, there was one who never gave up for the man. She kept hope, even when all hope was lost. She gave him chances even when he discarded them every time. Because she knew that it was the right thing to do." The darkness coating Sombra's face dissipated, revealing his humanistic features below. "That man's name was 'King Sombra', a version of me from a world that runs parallel to this one. And the girl? Her name was Radiant Hope."

Radiant gulped, and lowered her gun. "What happened… to the girl?"

Sombra shook his head. "I don't know. He died while she still lived, so her fate is thus unknown. However, before it happened, Radiant tried one last time to appeal to him. Before the curse that locked them away for a millennium, the girl pleaded for King Sombra to come to his senses, for he was treading down a path that would only lead to his suffering and demise."

Radiant lowered her head, and did not move as Sombra stepped closer to her. "He should have listened. And now, I bear witness to a similar situation. I, too, let power and hatred guide my soul, and I almost lost everything. It's one thing for it to happen to me. But you, Radiant Hope… You should never lose that light that makes you special."

Radiant shook her head. "I'm not special. I'm just afraid."

"Everyone is. Trust me, I know all about fear. I use it to control people, as does Catrina." Sombra leaned closer, and whispered, "Everybody is afraid, but that is why people like you are needed. You can drive the fear away and replace it with hope."

"I can't."

"Yes, you can. You did so with me. Thanks to you, I am now able to separate my own mind from King Sombra's. And now, the path I must take is clear to me." Sombra turned around, watching as Catrina stood over a downed Adagio, raising her broom into the air and preparing to finish the girl off. Sombra held out his hand. "I will rescue you. I will see to it that you are pardoned for your crimes. I will finish serving my time and then I will rejoin my comrades!" Sombra cast a spell to teleport Adagio a safe distance away. "If a lifetime of servitude is the price for protecting you, then I will gladly pay it."

Radiant looked down at her hands. They trembled as her mind ran wild. "Sombra, I don't…"

"If you are unsure, then simply stay here and mull it over." The darkness shrouded Sombra's face once more, and he stepped forward as Catrina moved towards him quickly. "There's no rush. Take your time, and find the right answer that you always found before."

Sombra raised his hand and fired a cloud of black smoke at Catrina.

23 - Rescue

Chrysalis led the way through the bunker as Blueblood followed her, panting and begging her to slow down the further they went in. Eventually, Chrysalis was forced to run slower to allow her less-able colleague to keep up.

Reloading her gun, Chrysalis peered around a corner and found a small blockade of troops awaiting her. She reached for a grenade and threw it, hearing many panicked-voices before the explosion. She then rounded the corner and fired at the two remaining troops left standing.

"We must be getting close," she told herself, rounding two more corners and finding herself in a large room. In the centre of that room, Cadance and Gilda lay unconscious on the floor, their hands tied and their mouths gagged. "… So this is a trap."

Blueblood, leaning against a wall as he caught his breath, nodded his agreement. "Y-You go… I'll… cover…"

Chrysalis sighed, and cautiously made her way towards the bodies. As she neared, she felt a hostile presence and looked around warily. A flash of light caught her eye, and she ducked to avoid the magical attack aimed at her head.

"Awww! I missed!"

A woman entered from the far door. She was tall and thin, dressed in filthy overalls and with long, orange hair topped with a pink bow. "Told ya you should've practiced more, Draggle!"

"Ahhh, shaddup!" Another woman emerged, this one much shorter, and also larger. She wore a red-and-orange dress and a frying pan atop her black hair, tied into twin pigtails. "They fell for the trap, just like I said, Reeka!"

"What?! The trap was my plan!" Reeka argued.

"No, it was my plan!" Draggle replied. She held a wand in her hand and pressed it to Reeka's chin. "Don't try to steal my thunder again, sister!"

"Why you! I'll show you not to-" Reeka gasped, and swung her own wand, creating a barrier just before a gunshot rang out. The barrier shimmered as the bullet collided with it, and the sisters cast fiery glares at Chrysalis. "Hey! We were talking here!"

Chrysalis fired another shot, but the barrier held. "We're with the FBI. You are under arrest," she said. "Surrender now and we'll go easy on you."

The sisters simply laughed, pointing at Chrysalis tauntingly. "Surrender?!" Draggle shouted. "Puh-lease! We hold the cards here!"

"Yeah!" Reeka added. "We have magic! We're the daughters of the great witch Hydia! What do you have?!"

Chrysalis reached for a flashbang and threw it at the barrier. The sisters looked at it inquisitively for a moment, and then it went off. They screamed and covered their eyes as they were blinded. Two more shots rang out, and their wands were knocked out of their hands.

When they could finally see again, they found Chrysalis holding two pistols, one on each of them, and Blueblood behind her waking the hostages, now freed from their bonds.

Reeka moved to swing her wand, but realised that she no longer held it. "Hey! No fair!"

"Now that you no longer have your magic," Chrysalis began, "Perhaps you'd like to reconsider my offer?"

Blueblood managed to awaken Cadance and Gilda, and the two rose to their feet, woozy and groggy. "We have to get them out," Blueblood said. "They're not strong enough to defend themselves."

Chrysalis nodded. "Last chance."

"J-Just hold on," Reeka said, taking a step back as she held her hands in the air. "There must be some mistake?"

"The only mistake is you not taking me up on my offer…" Chrysalis looked down at Reeka's feet, and gasped. Beneath her right foot, the floor sunk slightly. She fired a shot, but it deflected off of… something.

"Hah!" Draggle shouted. "Too bad! We're behind this invisible barrier now! No stopping us this time!" Draggle left the room, returning moments later with a cauldron. Inside the cauldron was a bubbling, purple substance.

Chrysalis had heard from Shining Armor about the creature that Hydia had summoned, and the description of the cauldron he gave matched this one. She saw Reeka pull out a vial labelled 'Phlume', and gasped. "RUN!" she shouted.

As Reeka poured the contents of the vial into the cauldron, Chrysalis and Blueblood fled the room, covering Cadance and Gilda as they tried to keep up. As they left, Chrysalis heard a song starting up from the direction of the cauldron.

24 - Declawing the Cat

Chrysalis fired at the pursuing Smooze as her colleagues ran ahead of her. She tried whatever she could to slow it down, but neither bullets nor explosives had any effect. If anything, the Smooze that spread about after she damaged it started to spread on its own, propagating its growth.

"How do we stop this thing?!" Chrysalis asked. She reached for her shotgun and fired it, but the Smooze continued to chase them. "Damnit, we need magic!" she concluded as she abandoned her weapons and focussed entirely on running.

The group ran on, that chilling song right behind them the entire time.

Sombra deflected Catrina's attack and charged her, spreading pillars of smoke towards her as he moved. Two beams of light dispelled the smoke, but Sombra was able to move close enough to swing a fist towards her.

Catrina dodged the fist, and drew a revolver from the holster at her waist. She fired a shot, but it only proved sufficient enough to make Sombra stumble.

"King Sombra's power is beyond mere bullets," Sombra boasted, pulling a knife from his jacket and thrusting it forward. Catrina dodged two strikes, but the third grazed her arm, causing her to flinch and drop her broom.

Sombra used his magic to grab the broom, and Catrina retreated some feet back. "Damn! Lord Tirek never mentioned any of this to me!"

"So, now that you no longer have any maigc-"

"Sorry, but did you think that that broom needed to be in my hands for me to use it?" Catrina grinned. "It's magic. Of course physical contact isn't necessary."

Sombra raised an eyebrow, but before he could ask any questions, he felt a shock through his entire body. One that caused him to howl in pain, before dropping the broom and teleporting himself away. "W-What?" he asked, watching as Catrina picked up her broom. "How?!"

"Simple," Catrina said. "I've put a piece of myself into this broom. So long as I'm conscious, I can use it from any distance!" Catrina swung her broom, sending a shockwave of energy out that forced Sombra to teleport away. She fired another wave, and Sombra teleported again, this time appearing behind her. "Got you now."

"Die!" Sombra's eyes glowed red as he reached his hands for Catrina, but before they could reach, tethers of light embraced them. He grunt, trying to shake them off, but they slowly spread over his body, draining his energy and forcing him to fall to his knees. "G-GAH!"

"Not bad for a newcomer to the field, is it?" Catrina asked, holding out a hand. A flash of light emerged from her palm, and gave way to a small, thick book with the word 'Hydia' scrawled across the front. "Though she was my rival, even I must admit that her magic is impressive. Now, let's see what kind of curses I can put you and your friends under…"

A shot rang out, and a bullet pierced Catrina's hand, forcing her to drop the book onto the ground. Losing her concentration allowed Sombra to break free. The two turned to the source of the shot to find Radiant Hope standing mere feet away from the two, her gun trained on Catrina.

"You… Are you betraying me, girl?" Catrina asked. "Don't forget who it was that saved your life! Who trained you and gave your life purpose for all these years!"

"I haven't forgot," Radiant said. "And now, I'm taking a page from your book, master. I no longer need you, and what we don't need, we destroy."

Catrina hissed, turning her broom to Radiant and charging her magic. She noticed that the girl was smiling, though, and narrowed her eyes. "You do not fear death?"

"I do," Radiant said. "But it's okay. I have my knight to protect me now. And he's not alone. NOW!"

Catrina gasped as her broom was once again knocked from her hand, this time by a ball of scalding water that forced her to let go and hold onto her wrist as she screamed in agony. As she tried to power through the pain, a pair of purple hands clamped around her neck, and a pair of blue ones picked up the broom.

"I'll take that," Sonata said, waving a finger to form a sphere of water around the magical item. "There! Thoughts can't pass through water this thick!"

"Never underestimate a siren!" Aria said as she squeezed Catrina's neck. "We have sensitive ears, so we wake easily. Especially when you go casting high-level magic with way too much energy like a newbie!"

Radiant pulled back the hammer of her gun, and pointed the barrel at Catrina's face. However, she didn't fire. Instead, she slowly kneeled to the ground, and placed the gun down. "… I'm better than you, Catrina. That's why I won't kill you." She smiled as she rose back to her feet. "I believe in second chances, that's why I-"

Aria and Sonata gasped. "Watch out!" they shouted in unison, before running away, taking only the broom with them.

Sombra cocked an eyebrow, but soon, he felt it, too. Something was heading their way. "Radiant!" he screamed, running towards his friend and reaching out to her with his shadows.

Aria and Sonata picked up Adagio together, but made it no further before the ground began to shake. They turned towards the bunker. There, Chrysalis, Blueblood, Cadance and Gilda came running out. Their faces spoke of the terror that was to come.

Catrina clenched her hands into fists as she stared at Radiant Hope, clinging onto Sombra like a security blanket as she wore the face of a teenage girl in love. "How… dare you…" Reaching to her waist, Catrina drew her pistol and pointed it at the girl. "You betray me… humiliate me… and believe you can get away with?! Here's your 'second chance', RADIANT HOPE!"

A shadow passed over Catrina, and as she looked up, a purple hand came crashing down, crushing her before she could even scream.

Sombra tried to teleport, but he was too weak to go any great distance. Adagio was still unconscious, preventing Aria and Sonata from fleeing. And Cadance and Gilda were still weak, barely able to run any further.

The Smooze looked down on its prey. It was easy pickings.

25 - Ponyville

Sunset recognised the forest below as the Everfree, and she knew roughly where she was from there. "Of course the Everfree is connected to a portal between worlds."

"This is strange…" Shining said, staring at his hand as he kept the helicopter steady in the air. "We didn't transform into ponies this time."

"Yeah. It must be that this portal works differently…"

"Wait," Bon Bon said, "You guys usually turn into ponies when you go through a portal?"

Sunset nodded. "Yeah, just like how I became a human when I crossed over to your world. Why?"

"… How were you planning to fly the chopper with hooves?"

Sunset and Shining exchanged silent glances to each other, their faces paling as they realised how quick they had come to their demise. "Yikes!" Shining shouted. "Dodged a bullet on that one!"

Sunset raised a pair of binoculars to her eyes and followed the forest to its exit. She found several vehicles travelling along the road. "Looks like he's heading to a small town just outside of the forest… Wait, that's Ponyville."

"Ponyville, Ponyville… Why does that name sound familiar?" Shining asked himself.

"That's where your sister is! Er, this world's your sister."

Shining's eyes widened, and he leaned the helicopter forward, picking up speed. "No way! He's not getting my sister!"

"It's only a small group," Bon Bon reported as she followed the convoy through a telescope. "Tirek's at the front. This must be the first team, which means they haven't done any damage yet. Can we catch up to them before they reach the town?"

"I doubt it," Shining said, seeing the town appear over the horizon. "It'll be close, and even if we ambush them, I don't know if we can wipe them out before they take us down with a rocket or a sniper."

"We should go to Celestia and alert her to what's going on," Sunset suggested.

"While they're heading for Ponyville?! No way!" Shining protested. "We have to get Twi out of there before he-" The helicopter hit some turbulence, shaking everybody a little before Shining got it under control. "We can't give him the time he needs to form a line of defence."

"Then how about Sunset and I go?" Bon Bon suggested. "She can use magic, which gives her an advantage here. They also won't be expecting such a small team to be chasing them, so we have the element of surprise."

Sunset thought about it for a moment, and then nodded her head. "She's right. We can go in there and evacuate the ponies. You go to Canterlot and alert Celestia."

Shining grunted, but nodded. "Fine. Just don't go getting caught before we can get there."

Sunset and Bon Bon grabbed parachutes, and as soon as the forest below was behind them, they jumped.

After landing some distance away, atop a hill that overlooked the small village ahead of them, Bon Bon took out her rifle and looked down the scope, observing the town. "Guards at the front, and I bet we can expect more around the sides. Looks like they're rounding up ponies, but… they're not resisting. Wait, is that Lyra?! Get your hands off my… er, friend!"

"Calm down," Sunset said, unable to fight the smile forming on her face. "Twilight's been to our world and I showed her some of our action films. She knows what our guns can do so she probably told everypony not to resist."

Bon Bon raised an eyebrow. "You sure seem confident of that."

Sunset shrugged. "It's what I'd do, and Twilight's kinder than me." A moment of silence passed. "You can argue if you want to."

"Demon form?"

"… One time, Sweetie Drops." Sunset looked through her binoculars. "I can't see Tirek."

"Must be further in town. The good news is that they're not killing anyone, just throwing them into cages. The bad news is that I don't see a way in. I don't suppose there's a sewer system we can use to infiltrate?"

"Maybe, but heck if I know where it is. I've only ever been here once and, funnily enough, sewage was not on my mind at that point."

"Well we have to get in somehow. Can your spell sneak us in?"

"It's harder to cast when I'm moving myself. If it was just me, then yeah, I'd be able to sneak past these goons. But two of us?"

Bon Bon hummed, and looked around the outskirts of the town. She spotted a large tower, and lowered her rifle. "… Okay, you go in. I'll head to that tower and provide you support from afar."

Sunset reached into her backpack and pulled out a small radio. She gave it to Bon Bon. "I'll try to get Tirek into a position where you can hit him. Use this to signal if you need help."

Bon Bon nodded, taking the radio and rising to her feet. "Well then, wish me luck," she said, before running off in a crouch towards the clock tower.

Sunset gripped the jewel hanging around her neck and faced the town. "Right, here goes nothing…" She cast her spell, and turned invisible.

26 - Liberation

Sunset crept through the alleys of Ponyville, sticking to the darkness to ensure her stealth as she observed the enemy movements. They were attempting to set up a base of operations, and seemed to be testing a radio to see if the waves could pass through the portal.

She moved on, focussed on finding the pony hostages and defeating Tirek second. As she moved, she found where the cages had been taken to. The very centre of the town was guarded in every direction, and behind those guards, ponies were weeping, and shouting, and banging on the bars that kept them trapped. Some unicorns attempted to use magic, but none seemed to be competent enough with magic to provoke their captors. Thankfully.

She noticed the cage with Twilight and her friends inside and clenched her fist. Seeing the pony versions of her human circle made Sunset feel angry. It was almost like Tirek was declaring war on her personally, but of course, she knew that that wasn't the case. He didn't even know she existed, which she was going to use fully to her advantage.

Sneaking past the guards, Sunset approached the cage with Twilight inside. She couldn't risk making too much noise, so she instead crouched down and dipped her finger into the dirt on the ground, writing, "Twilight, don't say anything. Don't draw attention. This is Sunset Shimmer."

Twilight gasped, before looking around to ensure they weren't being watched. Using her magic, she picked up a stick and wrote, "What's going on? What are you doing here? Who are these people?"

Sunset wrote, "If you can believe it, it's our world's Tirek. Yeah, he's real."

Twilight bit her lip. "Yeeeeah, we fought this world's Tirek recently."

"… We'll come back to that. Anyway, they've come to take over Equestria, and they're serious. You were smart not to fight them, but we need to get you out of here before their backup comes, or worse."

Twilight raised an eyebrow. "What worse? And how did you know I told everypony not to resist?"

"Because you're the only one they'd listen to unconditionally. You remember that super weapon I showed you before? The nuclear bomb? They have one."

"That's bad. What's your plan?"

"If I open your cages, can you teleport everypony here?"

"I'm a magical prodigy, but I'm not a god!"

"What about the Elements of Harmony?"

"They don't exist anymore."

Sunset had to restrain herself from grabbing Twilight and shouting. When Twilight seemed concerned by the lack of response, Sunset composed herself, and wrote, "Pardon?"

"Long story. I do know of a way out, though. There's a sewer entrance in the square. If you open the cages, we can sneak out when the guards aren't looking."

"We'll need a distraction… And I think I have the perfect plan! When you hear the signal, have everypony QUIETLY escape."

"Wait, what's the signal?" Twilight received no response. "Hello?"

Suddenly, the lock on the cage clicked open. Rainbow Dash was about to rush outside, but a message on the ground suddenly appeared. "Quiet. Wait for the signal, then quietly head for the ponyhole. The Royal Guard will handle things here. – Twilight."

The girls all turned to Twilight inquisitively, and she simply chuckled sheepishly under their gazes. "T-Trust me, it's for the best."

Sunset wrote the same message for every cage before magically picking their locks. Thankfully, nopony blew the plan by escaping too early, but that's what she expected considering everypony surrendered on Twilight's word to begin with. Simply pretending the message was from Twilight gave them hope, and hope was what she needed to keep these ponies from acting recklessly.

With the last cage opened, Sunset left the square and headed towards two vehicles parked just down the street. A few grenades had been carelessly left nearby. She grinned. Time for some collateral damage.

Bon Bon raced up the tower, dispatching foes swiftly with her pistols and dodging the storm of bullets that showered her from above. She heard shouting on the floors above, and knew that the troops there were trying to reach their friends in the town. Thankfully, her micro-jammer tucked away in her pocket solved that issue.

As she reached the middle of the tower, she was greeted to a hulking man in a white tanktop, his muscles bulging through the fabric and tearing it as he stomped towards the young agent. "This is what's been killing my comrades? Hah! Never send a boy to do a man's work!"

The brute threw his fist at the agent, but he missed as she dodged to the side and pointed her guns at the man. However, a sweeping arm knocked her aside, forcing her to drop her guns and leaving her unarmed as she watched her weapons slide away.

"Now we fight fair!" the man said, jumping up and falling down towards Bon Bon.

"Very well. I'm up a little melee…" Bon Bon pushed herself up and jumped aside. After the man landed, she jumped up and onto his shoulders. He stumbled about, reaching behind the grab her, but before he could do anything, Bon Bon swung a fist down on his neck, and then another, and a flurry of punches soon forced the brute to fall to the floor. She finished by grabbing the sides of his head and twisting it. Hearing the sound of bone breaking, Bon Bon released the man and allowed his body to fall to the floor.

As she jumped off, she reached into her jacket for a pair of shades and put them on. "Take a break…"

As the last pony made its way into the sewer, thanks to the explosion Sunset had caused as a distraction, Sunset made her way through the town in search of Tirek.
She found him at a large palace made of crystal that she was sure wasn't there before. Regardless, she drew her pistol and aimed it at him. She could end this with one shot. She fired.

Tirek bellowed, swatting a fist in the air and catching the bullet. As he opened his hand, the crumbled-remains of the bullets fell to the floor, and he glared in Sunset's direction. "Your magic cannot hide you from me, wench."

Sunset gulped. The attention drawn to her had rendered her spell useless, and now, all eyes were on her. Then, all guns were on her. Quickly, Sunset erected a barrier to deflect the incoming barrage of gunfire.

Casting another spell, Sunset created a whirlwind, and fired at the troops, causing it to circle around her and take out any soldiers within a twenty-foot radius.

Tirek grunted, and held out his hand. A gemstone was embedded into his palm! He fired a blast of magic, shattering Sunset's barrier instantly. Then he fired a second blast, forcing Sunset to jump back. The ground where she had stood became a smouldering crater as the magic hit it.

Sunset teleported away, only to find that Tirek was already pointing his hand in her new direction. "I can smell the magic, pony."

Sunset froze. A blast of magic raced towards her, and she was sure that she was going to die.

28 - Tirek Strikes Back

Daring Do and Doctor Caballeron moved through the ship without much difficulty. For whatever reason, the crew had been receiving false information about where the intruders were located, which gave them plenty of chances to either sneak past, or to surprise their would-be assailants. Whenever they were ambushed, the weapons they stole from the armoury made quick-work of their enemies.

Together, the two had reached the controls for the launcher fitted onto the freighter. And there, they were greeted not to a team of armed soldiers prepping the launch, but to a single man, his laptop hooked into the console amidst a sea of corpses.

“Who are you?” Daring Do asked, pointing her gun at the man.

“D-Don’t shoot!” the man cried. “I would raise my hands but I’m kind of busy at the moment!”

“You are one of Tirek’s men, if I am not mistaken,” Caballeron said. “‘Dexter’, correct?”

Dexter adjusted his glasses, nodding as he glanced at his laptop’s screen for just a moment. “I work for Scorpan now. He and Tirek had a er… ‘falling out’, and Scorpan forced me to help him sneak into their ranks!” Dexter sighed. “If Tirek ever found out, I’d be killed for sure!”

“So what are you doing here?” Daring Do asked.

“Isn’t it obvious? I’m rigging the launch so that it will hit Tirek.”

Daring Do gasped. “No! You can’t do that! You’ll hit innocent civilians, too!”

“A small price to pay to ensure Tirek’s death,” Dexter argued. “And Scorpan’s, too. Then I’ll be free!”

Daring Do shook her head, her finger inching towards the trigger of her gun. “Stop the launch, now. Or else.”

Dexter moaned. “Come oooooon! The people there are dead anyway! There’s no way they can beat Tirek!”

Caballeron hummed in thought. “A small price to pay for Tirek’s demise, indeed.”

“Don’t you dare, Caballeron!” Daring Do warned.

“However, there is no guarantee of success, and so I would rather you not squander this resource.”

Dexter’s clenched fists trembled as he reviewed the data on his laptop. “It’s worth a chance though, right? Even if I miss, there’s still a good chance he’ll be caught in the blast! Tirek’s a monster! There’s no way I can pass up a chance this great!”

Daring fired at his leg, causing him to fall to the ground. “Thanks for helping us get here. Cutting the power and sending out those fake reports. We’ll take it from here.”

“Fools! You don’t know what you’re getting yourselves into! You don’t! Tirek will come for you next, and he’ll kill you both! Don’t you see that?! GAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!”

Daring Do approached the laptop, and motioned for Caballeron to do his thing. “I’ll take my chances. I’ve come out of bigger gambles alive.” She smiled. “And this time, I even have one hell of a crew.”

Sunset stared in absolute horror. Bon Bon’s aim had been perfect, she could tell that much. But a glint in Tirek’s eye at the last second alerted him to the coming shot, and he ducked just in the nick of time, avoiding a fatal blow, but still sustaining damage to the top of his head.

As Tirek rose once more, Sunset saw that his anger had been increased tenfold. His eyes glowed red, his body was coated in a black aura, and the ground trembled beneath him.

And then, he laughed. “You… tried to kill me? Tried, to kill… me?!” Tirek’s aura exploded, and he reached for something inside of his jacket. “FOOLS! INVALIDS! I will show you the folly of your ways without mercy!” From within his jacket, Tirek pulled out a small brown bag. He opened it, and Sunset felt a great force from within pulling him closer.

“W-What is-”

“ALL OF THE WORLD’S MAGIC, BE MINE NOW! I, Lord Tirek, command it!”

Bon Bon fired another shot, but this one was deflected by a shockwave fired from Tirek’s mouth. Tirek then lowered the bag, faced the tower, and opened his mouth…

A blast of magic shot forth from his mouth, and it destroyed the tower. Sunset watched as it crashed-down in a blazing glory. “BON BON!”

“And now, your magic!” Tirek shouted, opening the bag and pointing it at Sunset.

Sunset felt herself being pulled towards the bag, and suddenly felt her power being drained. She fought to pull it back, and resisted the pull of the bag, but she could feel herself slipping. She looked at Tirek, and noticed that he was growing bigger with each second that passed.

Sunset pointed her gun at Tirek’s face, and he narrowed his eyes. She knew that he would not be able to defend himself so long as he kept the bag open… so she fired.

Tirek closed the bag, bringing his hand to his face and deflecting the bullet with a shield.

Sunset took the chance to run away, staring at the pistol in her hand. “Wow. I guess you really did save my life, huh?”

He wasn’t about to let Sunset leave just like that, though, and so Tirek opened his mouth, firing a beam of energy that chased Sunset, tearing-up the ground behind her and forcing her to fall to the side as it caught-up.

Picking herself up, Sunset found that Tirek was now standing over her. He pointed his bag towards her once more, ready to open it. But he never did. Instead, he jumped back, avoiding the white light that came crashing down from above.

Sunset looked up, and found two figures descending. They landed, and both Celestia and Luna stood facing Tirek, their horns flaring and their wings spread-out. A spotlight joined them, keeping Tirek illuminated as Shining Armor hovered above him in the helicopter armed with armour-piercing rounds.

“Give it up, Tirek,” Shining Armor said, his voice carried by a megaphone. “You’re surrounded.”

Tirek looked behind himself, finding Cybil approaching him with an army of his own dogs, tamed anew by the beastmaster. He wondered where his men were, only to find his answer as he saw the golden-armoured ponies subduing what remained of his fighting force.

Shining Armor glared at the man below, his finger twitching over the gun controls. “Princess Celestia, this is your land. Therefore, I require your permission to kill.”

Tirek turned to the two horses, his blood boiling. The white one nodded, and his eyes widened. “NO!” he shouted, opening his bag and sucking in the latent magic all around himself once more.

“Permission to kill!” Celestia shouted.

Shining Armor pressed the switch, and the gun fired, but with the turbulence created by Tirek’s magic-vacuum, his aim was not true. He struck the ground and a few buildings, but Tirek escaped unscathed. “Blast!”

“Good idea,” Tirek said with a grin. Closing his bag, Tirek took in a deep breath… and then, all at once, he released the magical energy that he had absorbed, creating a shockwave that spread around himself and produced explosive results.

As the smoke cleared, Sunset looked around for survivors of the attack. She found Celestia and Luna, surrounded by a barrier created by the latter’s magic, whilst the former had used her magic to pull in Shining Armor and Cybil.

She gasped, and turned to the clock tower. “Bon Bon…”

“Don’t let him get away!” Shining Armor shouted, wincing and clutching his bleeding shoulder as he fell to his knees. Sunset turned around, and found Tirek - now back to his normal size - fleeing to a jeep. He jumped into it and started the engine. “After him!”

“But-”

“They will be fine!” Luna shouted as she released her barrier. “My sister and I can tend to their wounds! We will be right behind you!”

“GO!” Shining Armor repeated, and Sunset nodded.

As the jeep left, Sunset raced towards a motorcycle and hopped onto it. She turned the key that was in the ignition and sped off after Tirek thankful that Equestria had no concept of speed limits. Thought their roads certainly left a lot to be desired.

As she chased Tirek, she saw him going into the Everfree Forest. She chased him inside, using her magic to blast away obstacles and clear a path. She gritted her teeth, slowing down as she realised his sturdy jeep was better-suited to this rough terrain than the bike she had commandeered.

Still, even as she lost him, she knew where he was going at this point: the portal. She sped towards the large pillar of light in the distance. Back to the other side.

She reached the portal and crossed through it, arriving on the island that housed it in the other world. To her horror, she noticed that the entire black ops team that had been assigned to guard it had been killed, and to make matters worse, the Sage’s Stone was missing from the pedestal that stood at the foot of the portal.

“Sunset Shimmer!” Sunset turned to find Daring Do approaching the island in a speedboat. She hit the shore and embarked onto the land, approaching her friend. “What happened in there?”

“We failed to kill Tirek, but we did force him back to here.” Sunset looked around. “Where’s Caballeron?”

Daring Do shrugged. “We got separated when we fled the freighter. He does this all the time.” Daring Do shook her head. “Forget about that! Tirek came back through here and he fled, taking the warhead with him!”

“Where did he go?!”

Daring Do pointed out to the sea, and Sunset narrowed her eyes to find the freighter in the distance. “I was just about to find out. You in?”

Sunset grinned, shaking Daring Do’s hand. “Oh, I’m in. Let’s finally end this once-and-for-all!”

29 - The Cornered Rat

Sunset Shimmer and Daring Do chased after Tirek's freighter, keeping at a safe distance to avoid being shot at without falling too far behind that they would lose sight of it. Eventually, the freighter stopped at an island.

"That's the island Bon Bon told us about," Daring Do said.

Sunset gritted her teeth. Her fist trembled. "Bon Bon… I swear I'll avenge her!"

"We'll get off over there," Daring Do said, pointing some distance away from where the freighter landed. "We'll sneak around and see if we can ambush him."

As the two disembarked, Sunset felt a chill descend her spine. She turned around as Daring Do secured the boat, looking over the barren landscape. In the distance, she saw something on the ground, but it was too dark to see what. Grabbing her flashlight, she cautiously approached whatever it was.

Sunset found the bodies of Sombra and Radiant Hope on the ground, coated in some sort of purple goop. She knelt down and checked their pulses, before hearing footsteps behind her. "They're alive," she told Daring Do. "What happened here?"

"I found the Dazzlings just over that hill," Daring Do said, motioning to her right. "Looks like they were hiding from something. There's this purple stuff everywhere!"

"Wait, didn't Shining Armor mention this? He said it was…" Sunset's face paled. "Oh no!" As she looked up, a large, dancing mass of purple rose over her. Its many faces looked down at the two girls, and it sang as it descended towards them.

Daring Do fell back, whilst Sunset teleported some distance away and threw a ball of fire at the beast. The Smooze didn't even feel the blast, and as it hit the ground, it began to spread. Daring Do noticed Chrysalis and Blueblood trapped within the creature and shouted, "It's got our friends!"

Sunset saw Cadance's head barely sticking out of the Smooze's side. She fired a magical chain and tried to pull her out, but found the task too difficult. "This is bad! I don't think I can stop this thing!"

"Forget Tirek! We have to stop this thing, before it eats the whole world!"

Sunset used her magic to push the Smooze back, but it only came at her again, faster than before. Daring Do's shotgun proved useless, and as she ran, she could feel it on her heels the entire time.

Then, a gust of wind brought the Smooze to a halt. Its song, too, ended, replaced by a groan of distaste as it retreated slightly, and looked up to the air.

"Sorry we are late," Princess Celestia said as she descended, landing beside Daring Do. "We've come to back you up. To think that the Smooze would exist in this land, too."

Daring Do's jaw dropped. Before her stood a large, majestic-looking pony, a grand horn atop her head and a large, elegant pair of wings spouting from each side. And it talked. It really talked. "Awe. Some."

Sunset ran to Celestia, keeping her eyes on the Smooze and watching as Celestia blew back its advances each time. "Y-You… What took you so long?" she asked with a grin.

Celestia simply smiled. Luna descended seconds later. "We have located Tirek, Sister, Sunset," she said. "He is headed towards a large tower, northwest from this location."

"There are two now!" Daring Do cried. "SO. COOL!"

Luna raised an eyebrow. "Is she okay?"

"This is new to her," Sunset explained. "And she's… kind of a fan of magic."

"TWO talking horses! Oh, this is so great! I HAVE to interview you at some point!"

Luna cleared her throat. "Yes, well, for now, how about we focus on the task-at-hoof."

"'HOOF'! AAAHHHH this is so cool!"

"You go after Tirek," Celestia said when Daring Do calmed down. "Get the Sage's Stone back. As long as he has it, he can potentially force the portal open from other locations."

Sunset gasped. "You mean it's not just this one spot?"

Celestia shook her head. "The Sage's Stone was a gift from our world, given a long time ago to the hero Megan. It has the power to open the portal, but it is so powerful that it could even create portals. Doing so could cause irreparable damage to our worlds, but…"

"I don't think Tirek will care much about that," Sunset surmised. "We'll go. How long d'you think it'll take you to beat this guy?"

Celestia and Luna exchanged smiles. "Not long. We'll exercise the Smooze and tend to the injured, then join you when we can."

Sunset nodded. "Alright. Daring Do, come-" Sunset frowned. Daring Do was still starstruck over the two alicorn princesses.

"Oh, and a thesis! I gotta write a thesis on you two!"

Sunset grabbed Daring Do's wrist. "Come on, already!" she shouted as she pulled the other girl away.

The Smooze saw the two girls fleeing the area, and it extended a purple appendage to stop them. However, a powerful gust of wind swept the appendage away, and it roared from the pain.

"Now then, Sister," Celestia began, "Shall I take the left, and let you have the right?"

Luna grinned. "Come now. Where's the fun in that?"

"Then, whoever cleans up most of it gets the other's desert for a week?"

"If I win, you have to present your speeches in a bridle for one week."

Celestia gasped, but she still smiled. "Then, when I, you hoof wash the Royal Guards' uniforms for a month. I warn you, they sweat a lot in summer."

The two shook on it, enraging the Smooze as it saw how they were ignoring it, and took to the air. As the Smooze closed-in on them, they flapped their wings, blowing it back.

As the two girls raced across the island, the lack of armed forces concerned them both. Daring Do had told Sunset how she and Caballeron had to flee the ship when they had been found and outnumbered, and how there were still many sailors left alive on that ship.

The tower neared them, and the two stopped at the top of a hill to survey the area. "Only a few guards," Sunset noted. "Where are the rest?"

"They have fled the island," a voice told them from behind. The two turned around to find Doctor Caballeron standing there, a serious look on his face. "They are leading the military away."

"Well, that works out for us, then!" Daring Do said.

"Not quite," Caballeron disagreed. "Tirek is waiting for his transport, and he's not willing to let anybody catch him. The warhead is still here, on this island, and it has been rigged to detonate in fifteen minutes."

Sunset and Daring Do paled. "… What?!" Sunset yelled. "We have to get out of here!"

"But the stone!" Daring Do argued. "We have to get it back!"

"Indeed," Caballeron said. "You had managed to push him back once, but now that he's failed, his second attempt will be much harder to crush. Trust me, I know from experience. We must stop him now, before he can recover and launch another invasion."

"But we don't have enough time to get the stone and leave the island," Sunset said. "We have to get the others out, too! Our boat's not big enough for everyone."

"Then, you two focus on getting the stone back," Caballeron said. "I will find the warhead and disarm it."

"Can you do it?" Daring Do asked.

"Do I have much choice?" Caballeron returned. "Or rather, do you?"

"… Alright then," Daring Do said, handing Caballeron a small radio. "Let us know if you have any problems, preferably in good time."

Nodding to each other, Sunset and Daring Do approached the tower. Sunset's magic dispatched the guards standing outside quickly. Caballeron simply chuckled as he looked down at the radio in his hand. "Now then, what was the frequency again?" He twisted the dials on it, praying that the signal would be strong enough.

"Doc', we ready?"

He grinned. "Not yet. Be ready for extraction in twenty minutes. Look for the large tower at the northwest corner of the island."

30 - The Final Battle

"Enemy incom- GAH!"

"M-Magic! Fall ba- AH!"

Sunset fired spell-after-spell, blowing enemies away and deflecting their rounds. A few enemies were packing explosives, but she was able to contain the explosions by creating barriers. Daring Do could see that it was taking its toll on the girl, and tried to shoot enemies whenever she could before they could attack.

After the second floor, no more soldiers seemed to be coming. The girls ascended the tower, following the sounds of a man shouting, raging. They reached the fifth floor, where the building started to resemble a ruin more than a piece of construction. The floor gave way to lots of holes, many walls were missing, and they could see that the stairs leading to higher floor were heavily-broken.

They could see Tirek in one of the rooms, holding the Sage's Stone in the air and yelling at it. "I TOLD YOU TO WORK FOR ME! HEAL MY INJURIES! MAKE ME POWERFUL!"

"It doesn't work that way, Tirek," Sunset said, prompting Tirek to turn to face the two girls. "That stone can only link this world to Equestria's. And if your own magic can't heal your wounds, then you're screwed."

Daring Do pointed her shotgun at Tirek and fired. He erected a barrier to block the shot, but winced in the process. "Guess this's as far as you go, huh?"

"SILENCE!" Tirek shouted, holding out his hand and firing a blast of light at the two. They dodged it, and as Tirek crouched and clutched at his arm, Sunset charged him, delivering a kick to his chin that forced him back.

The Sage's Stone fell out of his hand, and through a hole in the floor. "I've got it!" Daring Do shouted, jumping down the hole to follow it.

"And I got you," Sunset said, punching Tirek in the face, and then delivering another kick, this one to his chest. This forced Tirek back further, to the edge of an open window, and then over it.

Sunset watched as Tirek's arms flailed, and then, he fell over the edge, screaming on his way down. And then, he was silent. She breathed out. It was over.

She heard footsteps running towards her. She turned around to find Daring Do at the room's entrance, the Sage's Stone in her hand. She gave a thumbs-up, and Sunset returned the gesture. "So, we just saved the world," Daring Do said.

"Two worlds," Sunset corrected.

"Right… Guess we're pretty awesome, huh?"

"Guess so." A thought crossed Sunset's mind. "Well, I guess I sure earned that American citizenship."

Daring Do cocked an eyebrow. "Seriously? That's what it takes to get your Green Card these days? Man, no wonder no one wants to be American."

"Hey you, I'm a patriot now, so watch it!"

The two stood silent for a moment. They tried not to laugh, but it was impossible. Sunset cracked first, and then Daring Do. They both held their stomachs as they laughed, wiping tears from their eyes and milking the happy ending that they had worked so hard for.

The laughter died down, and Daring Do placed the stone into her back pocket. "Alright, let's get out of he-" Daring Do tilted her head, placing a hand to her ear. "Is that a… helicopter?"

An explosion sounded in the distance, and Sunset turned around. A flash of light shone in the air not far from the tower, and beneath that light was… "TIREK?!"

"He's alive?!" Daring Do asked, running to the window's edge to get a better look. She pulled out a pair of binoculars, and watched as a helicopter landed near him. She then watched as Tirek, his face twisted in rage, approached it. "He does not look happy." She then watched as Tirek, mad beyond all reasoning, shot the pilot and pulled his body out of the helicopter. She then watched as Tirek, his eyes staring their direction, lifted off of the ground, turned the helicopter's light towards them… "I think we should go."

Before they could even leave the room, the helicopter's light illuminated them, and a storm of bullets rained towards them, forcing both girls to hit-the-deck. The sudden gusts of wind and the close sounds of the helicopter's rotors told them that Tirek had closed-in on them, and they both wasted no time getting up and running. As Daring Do left the way they had come in, Sunset took a different door – one closer to her location – and found herself in an entirely different stairwell. "Up or down?"

Her radio went off. "Sunset! Head up! UP!"

Sunset picked up the radio. "Up?! Why?!"

"Just trust me! I have a plan!"

Before Sunset could respond, she was blinded by a sudden light. Tirek had circled the building, and was now aiming at her through the stairwell's windows. Sunset ran up the stairs, evading the bullets that chased her and taking cover wherever she could to catch her breath.

As she ascended the stairs, she found that one set had been destroyed, leaving a rather large gap between her floor and the next. With no time to stop and think about it, Sunset jumped. She grabbed the edge of the steps, screaming as the bullets passed over her and pelted the stairs above.

As Tirek stopped firing to adjust his aim, Sunset climbed up and ran again. "Oh yeah, teleporting," she told herself in hindsight. She clutched the jewel around her neck, but a sudden pain in her neck told her not to try. She was drained, and teleporting in that state that she was in could result in her passing out.

So instead, she ran. She ran until she could run no more, and yet, there were still more stairs to climb. She needed to rest. Upon reaching another floor, Sunset found an open doorway and ducked inside, keeping her back to the wall of the large room she had found herself in as the bullets passed her by.

This room was also lined with large windows, and she knew that it would not take Tirek long to circle around. Grunting, Sunset removed her jacket, hoping to at least lighten her load. As she glanced to the left, she noticed something poking out of a small closet…

Tirek circled the building, his eyes burning and his hands shaking. These girls… If it wasn't for them… Daring Do, snooping where she shouldn't have been and alerting the FBI to his moves. This pony-girl, whose magic thwarted his plans in Equestria. And then she had the gall to try to kill him!

After circling the tower, Tirek found the girl standing against a wall inside one of the rooms. He fired, tearing her to shreds with bullets. Her magic could not stop rounds designed to destroy tanks. He grinned, laughed, and rejoiced! One down, one to-

"Wait…" Tirek's blood boiled. "GGGGGRRRRRRRAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Sunset ran. It certainly felt lighter without her jacket or her trousers, and a lot cooler, too. Still, she had not been afforded too much time to rest, but thanks to the broom she had found, she had managed to distract Tirek and buy herself a short time of running slower than before.

She heard the helicopter drawing closer, and picked up her sped. The bullets returned, and she felt the stones of the building flying up and scratching at her now-exposed legs. She winced, but she kept going. She had to. She was so close to the top, now. Just a little longer…

Reaching the top of the stairwell, Sunset pushed the door to the rooftop open. The cold air was a welcome presence to her overheated body. "Sunset!" Daring Do shouted, standing beside a large floodlight that was pointed to the sky. "I need power!"

Sunset nodded, rushing to the floodlight and pressing her hand to it. Closing her eyes, she channelled her magic, powering the light. The helicopter rose then, buffeting them with powerful gusts and shining its light on the two girls.

"NOW!" Daring Do shouted, lowering the light to shine on the cockpit. Sunset used her magic to amplify the light, and the two then pulled out their guns, firing at Tirek while he was blinded.

Tirek roared as the blinding light forced his eyes shut, and he instinctively raised one hand to cover his face. He heard the sounds of guns firing, and of small objects hitting the glass before him. Thankfully, the glass was bulletproof.

Slowly, he lowered his hand, and fired blindly.

"Damnit!" Daring Do shouted. She and Sunset ducked to either side as the helicopter fired, showering the roof in bullets and shattering the floodlight. "Not good…"

With the light gone, Tirek could see once more.

His target was still. The wind was favourable. His sights were locked. Licking his lips, Doctor Caballeron fired, aiming through the open window in the helicopter's door.

Both Daring Do and Sunset waited for the inevitable. They stared at Tirek, at his face full of malice and murderous intent. And then, they saw his body jerk, before falling forward, draping over the controls.

The helicopter swayed slightly, and then started to fall backwards, then forwards, crashing into the side of the building. Both girls got down, and the helicopter continued to fall. Moments later, they heard an explosion.

Once all was quiet, the two rose. They approached the edge of the rooftop, gazing down at the flaming wreckage below. A noise behind the two startled them, and they saw a hook impaled into the ground, attached to a wire that extended to a nearby watchtower. Zipping along that wire was Doctor Caballeron, who landed gracefully on the roof and smiled at the two girls. "A fitting end, would you not agree?"

"So, I guess we have you to thank?" Sunset asked.

"If you feel so inclined."

Daring Do looked back over the edge. "… I take it you disarmed the nuke?" she asked.

"I did."

"You could've said something."

Doctor Caballeron approached her. "I did not wish to distract you." His eyes were drawn to Sunset Shimmer, just now noticing that she was missing her leggings. She followed his eyes down and yelped, retreating behind the ruined floodlight. "Ahahah… What a crew indeed."

"I've got some pants you can borrow, Sun-" Daring Do stopped as she felt something brushing along the back of her shorts. She gritted her teeth and spun around. "What are you touching, you-"

Caballeron stood before her, holding two objects in his hands. In one hand, the Sage's Stone. In the other, a small remote with a single button. "I'll be taking this now. I would not suggest fighting, as I can still trigger the warhead with this."

"… And just what do you plan to do with that? You know how dangerous it is."

Caballeron shrugged. "Who knows? Use it or sell it… I haven't decided yet. But if I don't get it now, I feel I will miss my chance forever."

"And you would risk blowing yourself up over it? I don't buy that."

Caballeron chuckled. "Do you really want to call my bluff?"

The two stood in tense silence, which dragged on for what seemed like minutes. Then, the sound of a helicopter approaching reached their ears, and all eyes turned to the small, fast aircraft approaching the tower. It hovered above, and released a rope ladder, which Caballeron climbed onto.

"Well then, until next time, Miss Do!" he said, before throwing the remote to her. As the helicopter left, he waved his hat to her, his laughter echoing for some time.

Daring Do picked up the remote, and sighed. "Should've called his bluff, after all…"

As Sunset approached her, the building began to shake. And then, the shaking increased, and parts of the roof started to collapse. "W-Whoa… Don't tell me…"

"Tirek's crash must've weakened the structural integrity! This place was already on its way out…"

"Quick, pull out a parachute or a… a hookshot, like what he had!"

"I don't have either of those! … Not on me, at least."

"Well we have to get down somehow!"

"Maybe we can help," Celestia offered, brining joyous gasps out as they looked up and found the two alicorn sisters hovering above them.

"Seems we missed the battle, but at least we made it for the daring rescue," Luna said, landing beside Daring Do. "Feel honoured! It is not every day that we permit anypony to ride us."

Celestia landed beside Sunset, and the girl grimaced. Slowly, she climbed onto Celestia's back, whilst Daring Do happily hopped onto Luna's. "This feels… weird."

"Oh?" Celestia teased. "I seem to recall you couldn't get enough piggybacks when you were a filly."

Susnet's face exploded into a sea of red. "T-That's a lie! And I was like, ten! And it's still a lie!"

"Thou doth protest too much," Luna said as she and Celestia took off, carrying the two girls with them just as the building began to collapse in on itself.

"This is awesome, Sunset!" Daring Do cried, waving her hat in the air as Luna picked-up speed.

"See? She has the right spirit," Celestia said with a chuckle. Sunset groaned, slamming her fists onto Celestia's back, but she simply chuckled again. "… You lost the stone?"

"… Yeah," Sunset admitted.

"It was my fault," Daring Do added. "I was careless."

"Well, it can't be helped," Celestia said. "For now, we must return to Equestria and ensure that everybody is okay."

Sunset nodded, her face falling as she recalled the state of things when she left Ponyville. "Shining Armor and Bon Bon…" She looked up, facing the portal in the distance. Her hands gripped the fur on Celestia's back. "At least… At least it's all over, now…"

31 - The End

Shining Armor cuffed Tirek and moved him forwards, reading him his rights as he led him towards the helicopter Chrysalis had brought through the portal. Sitting inside were Cybil, Dexter, Reeka and Draggle, with Gilda sitting opposite to them, watching them closely.

Sunset sat with Daring Do, letting Celestia treat her wounds begrudgingly. “So he got the Sage’s Stone. You’ll get it back,” Sunset said. “You always win in your novels.”

“That’s because I don’t publish my losses,” Daring Do groaned, slumping over as she tried to ignore the starry-eyed ponies to her left. “Ummm, by the way, am I being watched?”

“Hey,” said a blue pegasus, approaching Daring Do with a purple alicorn beside her. “You’re, like, the human Daring Do, right?”

“Yeah?”

“EEEEEE!” The pony jumped into the air, her wings flapping as she hovered for a few seconds. “I’m like, your bigggest fan! Well, I mean, biggest fan of you here, but also of you there, and like…” She presented a book to Daring Do. “Can I have your autograph?! I’ll trade you mine!”

The purple alicorn rolled her eyes, and then presented her own book to the author. “Um, if it’s not too much trouble…”

Sunset grinned. “Seems you’re already popular over here in Equestria. These are Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle, by the way.”

Daring Do chuckled, and took out a pen from her pocket. She took Rainbow’s book first, and raised an eyebrow at the cover. “Is this… me? Y’know, as a pony?”

“Looks like it,” Sunset said. “You’re a pegasus in this world.”

“So I can fly?!” Daring Do asked excitedly.

“Well, I mean, you can,” Rainbow Dash began, “But like, you always manage to break your wing during your adventures.”

Daring Do sighed. “Figures. Beats almost being killed or sold into slavery, I guess.” She signed Rainbow’s book, and then Twilight’s. As she observed the alicorn, her brow furrowed. “Don’t I know you from somewhere?”

“Uhh, you shouldn’t do.”

“Ah! I know! You’re the girl who’s been to every one of my book signings since she was five!”

Sunset snickered as Twilight blushed. “O-Oh. Is that so?” Twilight asked. “Guess the me over there is a big fan, too.”

“‘Big’ is an understatement. Hey, your older brother is Shining Armor, right”

Twilight nodded. “Uh-huh.”

“Well, your brother saved my life, y’know?” Daring Do pointed to the human Shining Armor in the distance, conversing with Chrysalis. “Twice, actually. I first met him in Spain - a country in my world - during an expedition, and then recently, he took me in when Tirek was after my head.”

Twilight allowed herself a smile of pride. “That’s my brother.”

“Princess Celestia,” Shining Armor said as he and Chrysalis approached. “As agreed, we will extradite the prisoners from our world and see that they serve their sentences there. However, we still need to discuss them.” Shining turned his head to the Dazzlings, sitting in the distance in the middle of a ring of Royal Guards. “They are originally from your world, and though they have committed no crimes here recently, it is our understanding that they have a criminal history here.”

“That’s true,” Celestia said. “But their sentence was banishment. That still stands; they are not welcome here.”

Shining Armor nodded, a smile on his face. “You may be pleased to know that were of great help to us on this case.”

“I see. Then it seems that Starswirl made the right choice all of those years ago.”

“Sister!” Luna shouted, running towards the group hurriedly. “We have found the female! ‘Bon Bon’, was her name?”

Sunset and Daring Do shot to their feet. “Is she okay?!” Sunset asked.

Luna’s smile told all. “She is fine. She must have escaped the tower before it collapsed, and we found her some distance away, lying in a field. She was obscured by tall grass but that black clothing of hers made her easy to spot.”

“What is her condition?” Celestia asked.

“Asleep, but in no danger.”

Sunset breathed a huge sigh of relief. “Thank god…”

Celestia raised an eyebrow. “Who?”

Sunset simply waved a hand, chuckling as she sat down. “Religious deity from the other side. Don’t worry.”

“I didn’t know you were so spiritual.”

“Anyway, it’s good that she survived. I’m the one who invited her along. It would’ve been my fault in anything had happened to her.”

“That’s not true!” Twilight objected. “You shouldn’t blame yourself over something like that! It was Tirek who attacked, not you!”

Shining Armor nodded. “She came along of her own will. She was aware of the risks when she took them.”

“You’ve changed a lot since you left here, Sunset Shimmer,“ Celestia remarked. “So much must have happened.”

“You have no idea,” Sunset chuckled.

“When you left, your heart was filled with nothing but the desire to be great. Now, you’ve shown bravery and camaraderie that I have only ever seen in the noblest of ponies. Watching you grow, I was filled with dread, because I knew I had appealed to your ego at too young an age.”

“Is this going somewhere?” Sunset deadpanned.

“But now, I am certain that I was not wrong in choosing you as my student. No, my instinct was not wrong at all; it was my methods that were flawed. For allowing me to realise this, I thank you.”

“… Well, if Twilight ever doesn’t want the princess position, I’m still up for it.”

“Thanks, but I’m still a little young for retirement.”

Celestia chuckled. “Sunset Shimmer, you have more than earned a second chance. Therefore, would you like to return here, to Equestria?”

Sunset’s jaw dropped. Of all the things she was expecting, this was not one of them. “Return… here? You mean… come to back to my old life? My old home?”

Twilight gasped. “Then we can hang out together! I can’t wait to show you around Ponyville!”

Sunset felt her face fall. She turned to Shining Armor, but he simply stared back at her. She turned to Daring Do, who simply shrugged. “Gee, that sounds… like something I would’ve wanted unconditionally a year ago, but now? I mean, I spent most of my time here with you, so I never got to see much of this land. I’ve seen so many places in the other world, and I’ve met so many people. Some more… interesting than others.”

Sunset pulled out her phone, looking at the desktop picture of herself with her five… friends, at Canterlot High. She looked displeased, but she knew that she never once complained when the picture was being taken. She looked back up, looking to the Dazzlings in the distance. They behaved themselves for the entire time, but they weren’t going to be fully-pardoned just yet. Wouldn’t it help if there was someone in their shoes there with them?

Turning back to Celestia, Sunset smiled, and said, “Thanks, but honestly, I saw this house on the other side I’ve been really looking forward to buying.” Celestia simply smiled back. “Besides, this world doesn’t have internet! I couldn’t trade that, even for all the magic in Equestria!”

Celestia laughed, though she wasn’t sure what she was laughing at. Daring Do laughed too, and playfully punched Sunset’s arm. Twilight frowned, and reached over to hug her friend. “It was nice to see you again.”

“Yeah, and sweet job on saving the day!” Rainbow Dash said. “Practically one of us, now!”

Sunset awkwardly patted Twilight’s back, before pushing her away. She rose to her feet and turned to Shining Armor. “Well then, that portal won’t be open for long, right?”

Shining Armor nodded. “Without the stone, it’ll close on its own by the end of the day.”

“Well then,” she said, walking past him with her head held high, “Let’s go! Back home to America!”

Two weeks passed since their return. Radiant Hope, along with the other captive conspirators of Tirek’s forces, had been imprisoned within the FBI headquarters. Though Radiant Hope’s case was unique; Sombra testified on her behalf, claiming that she was following orders under duress and played a key part to defeating Catrina. He offered his own surrender for his testimony to be considered in her appeal, and the result was that she was given a probationary sentence, much like what the Dazzlings were given.

Sombra himself was returned to his straitjacket and chains, though he was allowed to speak and walk about the headquarters freely, and was returned to duty. He knew that the only reason he was granted so much freedom was because Radiant Hope was essentially their hostage now… but it was fine. He had no qualms with returning to his work. In fact…

“I want to thank you, Cadance,” Sombra said one day, surprising both her and Shining Armor as they shared lunch together.

“Ummm… you’re welcome?”

“You treated me like you treated my old self, despite the fact that I had chosen to become King Sombra.” Sombra smiled warmly at her. “You also appealed on my behalf many times, hoping I would accept a chance at redemption. You never gave up on me, and I am truly thankful…”

Cadance smiled now. “It’s because we’re colleagues. We have to stick together and watch each other’s backs.” Cadance chuckled. “Really though, this has been the best day ever! And now, to hear you thanking me so sincerely, it feels like I’m winning all the greatest battles in my life!”

“Oh?” Sombra asked. “The greatest day ever, you say? What could- Oh.” Sombra shot a sly look to Shining Armor. “So you gave her the ring, huh?”

Shining Armor spat out his tea, and Cadance looked between the two confusedly. “Wait, what ring?”

Shining grabbed Sombra’s collar and pulled him down. “It’s the best day ever because Twilie got accepted into MIT!”

“So young?” Sombra asked. Then, he realised his mistake. “... Oh.”

“Shining, what ring?” Cadance asked, tilting her head.

“... This is where magic is okay to use,” Sombra decided, using a jewel hidden beneath his tongue to teleport out of the room.

“HEY!” Shining Armor shouted, slamming his table in frustration. “Damnit! I’m gonna counter-appeal so hard!”

“... Shiny?” Cadance asked, leaning across the table, her face inches from Shining Armor’s. “Were you going to propose to someone?”

Shining Armor blushed fiercely. “Er,well, y’see… I was kinda… I mean, maybe thought had crossed my mind, but...”

“Hmmm… Too bad!” Cadance said.

Shining Armor regarded her with a worried look. “What? Why-”

Cadance grabbed Shining Armor’s hand, and slid a small ring with a diamond on it onto his left ring finger. “I beat you to it!”

Shining Armor’s blush deepened. He was unable to say anything. His mind was a chaotic storm as he was torn between overjoyous bliss, and wounded pride.

Cadance quieted that storm with a kiss.

Sunset received a text from Shining Armor, informing her of his engagement with Cadance. She sent him one back, congratulating him and thanking him for his work in making her an official citizen of the United States.

“Would you just calm down already?!”

Sunset looked up from her phone, chuckling nervously as she watched Bon Bon chasing Lyra through the school’s entrance. “Looks like it’s not a happy ending for everyone.”

“You disappear for days to god-knows-where, you don’t respond to my texts, you call me to say you’re in the hospital of all places, won’t tell me how you got so injured, and now you’re moving?!”

Sunset gasped. Bon Bon had never told her that.

“Look, it can’t be helped! It’s my family!” Bon Bon explained. “Our work is- I mean,our visa’s up!”

Lyra turned to her, tears in her eyes. “Then get a new one!”

“It’s not that simple! It’s a long and a hard process, it’s expensive, we have family at home, it’s- There’s just too much going on, okay?!”

“Then marry me!” Sunset’s eyes widened. “Then there’ll be no problem, right? I’m American, and if I’m your family-”

“Lyra,” Bon Bon began, placing her hands on her friend’s shoulders. “... We’re not old enough.”

Lyra stomped her feet. “I’M TRYING TO THINK OF SOMETHING!”

Bon Bon smiled, and placed a single hand on Lyra’s head, patting her until she calmed-down. Lyra sniffed once, then brought a hand up to wipe her eyes. “Feeling better?”

“No…”

“Lyra, we can still talk, and we can meet during the summer. It;s not like this is goodbye forever.”

Lyra sniffed again, and looked into Bon Bon’s eyes. She couldn’t contain her rage, but she knew her friend was right. “ARGH, darn it! Fine! You go! But don’t you dare forget about me!” she warned. “I expect to see you online every day, and to spend every last second of your summers here!”

Bon Bon rolled her eyes. “Sure, whatever.”

“And when I graduate, I’m gonna visit you in England, and I’m gonna point out everything wrong it so you’ll come to your senses!”

“Can’t wait.” Bon Bon leaned forward and hugged her friend.

“And I’m gonna pass every single test without your help! I won’t even need you anymore!” Lyra cried as she returned the hug.

“Good, good.” Bon Bon patted Lyra’s back, and the two held the hug for a while, before Lyra pushed away and left. Bon Bon simply sighed and leaned against a nearby wall. That was when she saw Sunset Shimmer approaching her.

“Breakups suck, huh?”

“Eh, we’re just from two different worlds.”

Sunset nodded. “You country and this one do have a history together.”

Bon Bon raised an eyebrow. “I mean about how I’m… y’know.”

“Oh… Yeah. Wow. Can’t believe I forgot that. But, are you really okay to go back now. Those injuries weren’t light.”

Bon Bon gave a dismissive wave. “I’m mostly gonna be put on desk work while I recuperate. It’s too expensive keeping me here undercover. Soon, though, I’ll be back to regular job. Y’know, keeping the country, and the world itself, safe.”

“Never a day’s rest, huh?”

“For Her Majesty, it’s worth it.”

Sunset’s phone vibrated. She looked down at her new message and grinned. “Looks like you’re not the only workaholic who’s already back at it.”

“Oh?” Sunset showed Bon Bon the text, and the other girl sighed. “That Daring Do… One of these days, her next book will be her obituary.”

Sunset’s phone vibrated again, and she looked down again. “Well, looks like the girls need me in the music room.”

“I didn’t think you got along with them so well.”

“Oh, they’re annoying, trust me.” Sunset laughed. “But y’know? Annoying is refreshing, after an adventure like that. It’s just… normal, y'know?”

Bon Bon looked over to Lyra, standing at the bus stop just in front of the school, and nodded. “I know exactly what you mean.”

“Go have fun with her!” Sunset said as she turned to leave, waving as she walked away. “You’ll regret it later if you leave on these terms!”

As Sunset entered the school, she could see Bon Bon running towards Lyra through the reflection of the glass doors, catching her just as the bus arrived.

Daring Do looked up at the large casino towering over her, its lights defying the darkness of the night and its shape mimicking that of the Lighthouse of Alexandria. The casino owned by Caballeron.

“Keep the change,” she said as she handed a wad of bills to her cab’s driver, before adding, “Take the rest of the night off. Go drink so much you forget your customers.” She winked, and then left the cab.

The driver flicked through the bills and grinned. “You got it, lady! Happy bettin’!”

As the cab drove off, Daring Do approached the casino. Dressed in her finest, shimmering red dress with a slit down one side that elegantly showed off her slender leg, and with her identity hidden between a mask and long, blonde wig created by Chrysalis, ‘Lady Ambrosia’ entered the casino. Her eyes turned to a table where a group of men were playing poker, and she set her sights on one man in particular: Ernst Belloq, one of Caballeron’s informants.

Approaching the table, Daring Do waved to the men as she caught their attentions. “You boys got room for one more?”

1 - The Search for the Sage's Stone

A dark, cold corridor, decorated with cobwebs, moss, cracks in the wall and dimly-lit candles barely allowing any visibility to those inside. No windows, but many doors, and behind each one could be heard the tortured screams of those who had been imprisoned within this dungeon. That’s what it was: a dungeon. There were no other words to describe this place, and Toby was trapped within these dungeon walls.

No light, nor sound, nor any hint of the outside world could reach him there. Only nightmares. Only demons, disguised as humans, served as Toby's companions in the cold, damp corridor.

Opening the large pair of double doors at the end, each one decorated with centaur skulls and guarded by large, muscular thugs – both of which were easily twice Toby’s size – the bandit entered and walked into the room beyond, stopping before the throne inside and kneeling.

“You have returned,” the shadowy figure sitting atop the throne said as he gazed down on the bandit. “The items?”

Toby didn’t say a word. He merely reached into his rucksack and pulled out a small stone slab, with the image of a sun decorating the front. Its left side was cracked and uneven, and it was covered in scratches and dirt. He laid it down onto the floor and a long silence followed.

“And the other?”

“F-Forgive me, my lord. I could only find the one in the time you gave me.” Toby lifted his head and quickly added, “But I have a lead! Just permit me more time and I’ll-”

Toby could not finish. Before he could plead any further, the lord of the dungeon took one of the many daggers to his side and used it to silence him, forever. Blood trickled from the bandit's forehead as he fell backwards onto the ground, his face showing no fear, as he never even saw his death approaching.

“Guard, burn the body and dispose of the dagger with the worthless whelp’s blood.”

“Yes, my lord,” one of the guards said as he collected the body, removing the dagger from the forehead. Another guard moved quickly to clean away the blood.

“Scorpan, step forward.” As the body was carried away, another muscular man, just slightly shorter than the guards, stepped forward. “Scorpan, I want that second stone. One is useless without the other.”

“Yes, my lord,” Scorpan said as he kneeled. “I will not disappoint you.”

“See that you don’t.” The figure snapped his fingers. “I know that you do not think your own life to be worth much.”

Scorpan heard movement behind him, followed by a scared yelp. Turning around, he found one of the guards holding a small, light-purple dog in one arm and an axe in the other. The bloodlust seeping from the guard’s eyes and his malicious grin chilled Scorpan to the bone.

“If you fail me, Scorpan, your mutt will pay the price.”

Scorpan gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. Turning around and bowing his head deeper, he said, “I will not fail you, Lord Tirek.”

Deep in the jungles of South Africa, shrouded in thick trees and guarded by precarious cliffs and dangerous animals, was unfortunately the place that Daring Do's map pointed to. Her search for 'key to all magic', the Sage's Stone, led the young adventurer to this hot, hellish deathtrap of nature.

Thankfully, the young adventurer had all that she needed to safely navigate the jungle and make it safely to the ancient tomb. All that she needed was her map, a flask of water, her protective hat, and her keen, sharpened instincts.

Daring Do hacked away at the last of the foliage in her way and gazed up at the glorious, enormous pyramid standing before her. Putting her machete away, Daring Do took out her camera and snapped a few pictures. "It really does exist. And to think, I was going to take this week off before I found that last clue!"

Voices alerted Daring Do the presence of nearby hostiles, and she took cover quickly behind a nearby tree. Poking her head out, she frowned. Several men in suits were carrying large crates towards the tomb. The markings on the crates suggested that they carried explosives, likely to blast through the pyramid's wall. "Not very subtle…"

"Let's hurry along, lads!" one man shouted out, clapping his hands as he ushered more groups along. "Caballeron wants the treasure inside by sunset!"

"Why don't we just use the entrance?" one of the men carrying the crates asked.

"Because it's filled with puzzles and traps, and we can't afford to lose any more men on these expeditions. Now move it, and be careful with those! They're very sensitive!"

"Hmmm… So there's a front entrance with puzzles and traps, huh?" Daring Do grinned. "Just my kind of entrance!"

Daring Do ran off through the trees, circling around the tomb. She soon found the entrance and, to her surprise, it was unguarded. "Huh. Well, whatever! I'm goin' in!"

The first obstacle that the adventurer encountered was a large pit in the middle of a chamber, with very small, very fragile-looking pathways to either side. Daring Do studied the pathways and hummed. "There's no way I can make it across on those. I gotta think of another way across."

Looking across the pit, Daring Do concluded that she would not be able to reach the other side by jumping across. However, with her trusty grappling hook, she would be just fine. Taking a few steps back, Daring Do flexed her legs and prepared to run. She took off, making her way towards the pit and jumping at just the last moment. As she fell, Daring took out her grappling hook and fired it upwards. The hook caught the ground above and anchored her in the air.

Placing her feet against the wall, Daring Do scaled the side of the pit quickly, taking care not to hit any of the crumbling pieces of the wall. As she neared the top, she felt the rope give way just a little bit, and she gasped. "Oh crap!" Picking up the pace, Daring Do slipped on a jagged part of the wall and fell some way down. She gritted her teeth and scaled the wall once more, making it almost to the top before the hook fell out of its place and down the pit.

Daring Do jumped, swinging her hand towards the edge of the pit and grabbing it. She threw her other arm up and tried to push herself up, but the edge was slippery and the stones were rough on her hands. Grunting and groaning, Daring Do felt her blood boiling and her palms sweating, which meant that her grip was loosened even more.

"Grab my hand!"

Daring Do looked up, taking no time to identify her saviour before she reached for the large, gloved hand extended towards her. The stranger pulled her up, allowing her to climb to her feet on the edge of the pit, before wrapping his right hand around her waist and grabbing her wrist with his left hand.

"That was a close one, Daring Do," Dr. Caballeron said, grinning as he looked down into the startled woman's eyes.

"Ugh. If I'd known it was you, I would have just dropped to my death," Daring Do gagged.

"A dangerous tomb like this is no place for such a… delicate young lady." A click sounded through the room, and Caballeron looked down to find Daring's free hand pressing a pistol against his stomach. "I usually don't do this kind of thing on a first date."

"I won't let you have the stone, Caballeron."

"Oh, but that's not my concern," Caballeron chuckled. "That stone will fetch me a lovely sum to the right seller, and right now, I need that money! There's a penthouse in Florida with my name on it."

"It belongs in a museum!"

"Ugh, here we go," Caballeron said with a roll of his eyes.

"Look, I'll give you a choice. Take your filthy hands off of me and leave now, or I'll throw you down that pit!"

Caballeron simply stared down into Daring Do's steady eyes, the adventurer staring back whilst her body shook in his hold. "… My precious Daring Do… Very well. You have convinced me."

"I- Uh, okay?" Daring Do pushed the tall man back and pointed her gun towards him. "What are you up to?"

"It just so happens that something has come up, so fortunately for you, I will have to forfeit this one… for now." Caballeron looked past Daring Do, nodding to something behind her.

Gasping, Daring Do ran past Caballeron, evading the shots that we fired towards her and running down the long corridor ahead.

"Damn! She got away!" the man on the other side of the pit exclaimed.

"Let her," Caballeron said, watching as his men extended planks across the gap to reach him. "As I suspected, we are not alone here. We are pulling out."

"After coming all this way?"

Caballeron hummed, and then turned to face down the corridor ahead of him. "I don't like being in the dark. I will let Miss Do scout ahead for me, and if she finds the stone, I will take it from her."

The soldier nodded and holstered his gun. Caballeron crossed the gap, and then turned back towards the corridor with a curious look on his face. "That is strange. The explosions should have gone off by now." None of the soldiers had an answer for him, and he started to grow concerned. "… Radio the reserve unit in the jungle. Tell them to send the armoured convoy to pick us up."

Navigating the twists and turns of the tomb's labyrinth, Daring Do solved riddle after riddle, evaded trap after trap, and passed the bodies of the many adventurers before her who did not carry her same luck. A lot of them were fresh, telling her that Caballeron's men had also found navigating this tomb to be a difficult task.

"Something's not right," Daring Do muttered. "Some of these bodies show signs of being shot or stabbed by knives, and there's a thick smell of gunpowder in the air. Did these guys turn on each other?"

Daring Do reached a dead-end, and wondered if she had taken a wrong turn. "Hmmm… The dust around here is disturbed," she noted, crouching down and observing the floor. "Leading up the wall… Or maybe, it's not a wall, but…" Daring Do studied the bricks making up the wall and found one that was loose. Smirking, she pushed the brick in, and sure enough, the secret door opened.

"Heh. Amateurs." Daring Do heard a click, followed by a rumbling. "… What's that sound?" Daring Do looked up, and found that the ceiling was lowering. "… What?" The ceiling spat out some spikes, and Daring Do bolted forwards like her life depended on it – which it very much did.

"How did the last group make it through this?!" Daring Do screamed as she watched her imminent doom falling towards her. "There must be a switch somewhere that shuts it off! I gotta find it before… before I'm flattened and skewered!"

Looking around, Daring Do found bodies lying on the floor along the long hallway, some of them in the centre – likely caught trying to reach the end before the ceiling lowered completely – and some were along the walls, possibly searching for a switch the same way she was.

One body lay in shambles over another, though, in a manner that suggested it has been tossed aside by some force. Turning, Daring Do approached the wall there and felt it. Nothing. "What was here, then? Why would somebody move the body aside if it wasn't in the way?"

Looking down, Daring Do found her answer on the floor. A pressured pad, just big enough for her to place one foot atop it, was on the ground. She stepped on it and the ceiling stopped. She lifted her foot off, and it started moving again. Quickly, she returned her foot to the pad.

Looking at the disturbed body, she found marks around the skull and discarded bullet cases along the floor. "I see," she muttered. "Somebody used this body to disarm the trap, and then shot it from the exit to rearm it for anyone else who'd come by."

Carefully, making sure not to move her foot off of the pad, Daring Do reached for one of the nearby bodies, hoping to repeat the trick. Unfortunately, none were close enough for her to grab. With a grunt, she instead removed her backpack and searched through it. Just some essential items for surviving in the wild were in there, certainly not anything she'd miss. She removed the satellite phone and strapped it to her belt, and then leaned down to gently replace her foot with the bag.

The fact that the ceiling did not start moving again meant that it had weighed enough. Leaving the backpack behind, she raced out of the room and further into the pyramid.

A few more corners and she had finally found what she had sought. Before her stood a huge chamber, decorated with magnificent murals and illuminated by torchlight. The paintings were a history of the people who had built the tomb, and also of the man whom resided within its crypt.

But what fascinated her most of all was the stone that lay on the alter in the centre of the room. The Sage's Stone, said to be the ultimate in magical artefacts and the prize of any seeking to rule the world of magic itself, lay waiting for any adventurer foolish enough to try to take it. The five bodies around the alter indicated its kill count, but Daring Do could not ascertain their causes of death.

She knew that she would have to be careful. She took one step inside, and gasped. Shadows moved about, indicating that she was not alone in that room. She ducked behind a pillar and watched. From behind another pillar, a man appeared, his build tall and muscular and his open chest boasting a field of hair that even a yeti would be jealous of.

In his hand was a revolver, smoke rising from its barrel. He looked around the room for a bit. "I know there are more of you here. Come out now!"

Daring Do gulped. Suddenly, two mean jumped out from behind separate stone slabs. Each held an automatic rifle and each began unloading immediately on the giant.

The man ran forward, dodging the barrage of bullets, and pointed his gun to the man on his left. He fired, and without a moment of hesitation, he turned his gun towards the other man and fired again. Both dropped in an instant, and then he turned towards the alter.

"That's fifteen. All of Caballeron's men who made it this far are dead." Daring Do peered out cautiously and found that he was wearing a headset. "Caballeron himself isn't here… He left? Whatever, so long as he never saw us."

Daring Do pulled out her gun and readied herself. His back was turned, so if she was fast enough-

The man turned around and fired towards her. She clasped her hand over her mouth to stop her voice from giving her away. Gently, slowly, she inched her head to see what he had fired at… A small rat lay dead on the floor, turned into a pile of blood and guts from the accurate shot.

"It was a rat, that's all. Damn place has me jumpin' at every sound I hear."

Daring Do put her gun away and withdrew to the shadows. Whoever this man was, she was not going to surprise him, and his aim easily outclassed her own.

From the safety of a corner that escaped the light of the torches, she could see the man approaching the stone and examining it for a moment. And then, with a speed that she couldn't believe, he grabbed the stone and pulled it back, escaping before the deadly spikes that protruded from the floor could even be triggered.

Swiftly he left the room, and only after she could no longer hear his footsteps did Daring Do allow herself to breathe.

"W-Who the hell was that guy?"

"Scorpan…" Tirek watched as his grunt kneeled before him, offering the stone that he had recovered from the temple with his head low. The stone bore the mark of a crescent moon, and Tirek took it greedily. "You recovered the stone…"

"Yes, Lord Tirek."

"… And yet, you messed up, Scorpan." Scorpan looked up with a confused look on his face, before a sound behind him prompted the man to turn around. A guard held his dog, Spike, by the collar, and as it whimpered and struggled for freedom, Tirek continued. "You were seen, Scorpan, and you did not eliminate the witness."

"But Lord Tirek, Caballeron never saw-"

"I am not referring to him, Scorpan." Tirek motioned towards the monitor to the left of the room. The large monitor, big enough to cover the entirety of the wall, played an image of Scorpan leaving the tomb. It then skipped through roughly two hours of footage, before showing another figure leaving. A young woman.

"W-Who-"

"I had the entrance of the tomb monitored by a camera to ensure that you would not betray me, but it seems that, instead, you let yourself be seen… By Daring Do, no less."

"Daring Do?" Scorpan turned to Tirek, sweat dripping down his brow as his body shook. The buff man rose from his from and slowly approached his whimpering grunt. "P-Please, Lord Tirek, have mercy! I will find this Daring Do and correct my mistake! I promise!"

"… Very well," Tirek said, much to Scorpan's surprise. "You did bring me the stone, and so, I am feeling generous."

Scorpan dared to smile. "T-Thank you, Lord-" His praise was cut short, and Tirek rushed past him faster than he could blinked, and delivered his fist directly into Spike's muzzle. Scorpan turned and looked with horror and the dog's struggling stopped, and its whimpering was muffled to a silent cry as blood trailed down its face. "Wha- B-But you said-"

"I said that I am feeling generous. Be thankful that you are getting off so light." Tirek turned to Scorpan, looking down at the man with a fiery glare. "I am close, Scorpan, but I still need one more item before I can make my move. Do you understand? I cannot afford to be discovered just yet.

"I will give you one more chance, though. Fail, and he dies. Your next task is simple." Tirek motioned towards the monitor. "Before she writes and publishes her next book, kill Daring Do."

10 - Diana Thorpe

"Is that the place?"

Gilda nodded, shivering as she watched the congregation of robed figures walking into the building across the road from where they were parked. "I hate cultists… Are you sure our girl is here?"

"Yes," Cadance confirmed, looking down at the file in her lap. "Diana Thorpe, a receptionist at a strip club owned by Tirek's group and new member of this order. Our informant in the club has told us that her salary is pretty generous for a mere receptionist role. No doubt she's carrying out other duties in secret, which means we can probably get a lot of information out of her."

"So," Sombra began, looking across the road at some of the cultists conversing outside of the building, "What is this place?"

"They call themselves the 'Order of the Pony'," Cadance explained. "Seems our target leads an interesting life outside of work. Sombra, you stay in the car with D'Coolette and St. John. Gilda and I will enter under the guise of investigating a call about a bank robber hiding out here."

"We might not have to," Gilda said. "Looks like something's happened."

Cadance turned to look, and saw three people leaving the building, two of them carrying the third around their shoulders. She noticed that the third person's arm was bleeding, and he seemed to asking people to take as much blood as they wanted.

"Well, that works, too," Cadance said, exiting the vehicle along with Gilda. "Remember, don't attract too much attention. We don't want to alert the target."

"I think we might stand out," Gilda replied, noting their casual clothing in stark contrast to the dark robes of the cult ahead of them. An ambulance arrived to pick up the bleeding man, and as the girls approached one of the figures standing outside of the building, Gilda asked, "What's going on over here?"

Cadance pulled out a forged police badge and showed it to the group. "We just happened to be passing by when we saw the incident here. Is everything okay?"

"Yes, everything is fine," one of the robed figures said, gesturing to the bleeding man being loaded into the ambulance. "He does this at every meeting. We've become fairly well-acquainted with the police around here thanks to that, and they never even show up anymore." The man tilted his head. "I'm surprised you haven't heard of it yet."

"We're traffic control," Gilda explained, taking a moment to glance around at the various persons gathered around them, trying to catch a glimpse of their target under those hoods. "So everything's really okay over here?"

"Well, our brother's blood did draw the attention of the purple jabberwok, the most deadly of the jabberwoks, so I am afraid that our meeting will have to be cancelled tonight."

Gilda resisted the urge to punch this guy in the face. "Right, of course. You mind if we just take a quick look to make sure there's nothing else here?"

"… Didn't you say that you're traffic control?"

"It would only take a moment of your time," Cadance said. "Please, we just have to be sure there's no need to call for backup."

The robed figure simply shrugged. "I suppose, if it means that much to you. No offence, but you police folk are weird."

Gilda's fingernails dug into her hand as she clenched her fist. "Thank you," Cadance said, pulling Gilda away and into the building.

Many disappointed cultists were hanging about and talking, whilst some were starting to leave, filing out of the building in as organized a manner as how they entered.

The two approached the area where the man seemed to have cut himself and took out their cameras, taking photographs from many different angles as they subtly glanced about, examining the faces of everybody gathered.

As Cadance caught the face of their target in corner of her eye, she gasped, but did not turn to face her. Instead, she looked over to Gilda and said, "I think that's enough for now. Looks like we don't need to call in support."

Gilda nodded her head. "Yeah, seems that way."

Together, the two left, entering their car and starting the engine, but not moving right away.

"So did you find her?" Sombra asked.

Cadance nodded. "Yes, she's in there. But there's no telling when she'll leave. We'll pull back for now and come back later."

"Do we have the time for that?" Gilda asked. "Tirek's not gonna wait forever."

"We can't let her think that we're onto her. We took a big enough risk just pretending to be traffic officers."

Sombra nudged St. John beside him, and said, "Hey, I want to see what our little bird looks like."

"Do ya now, mate?"

"If I'm going to be of any help on this mission, I need to know who we're hitting."

"We're not 'hitting' her," Cadance said, frowning as she reached for the file and turned to face Sombra. "We're just going to ask her some questions, civilly."

"Hey, she's comin' out now!" Gilda announced. "She's got her hood down, so there's no mistaking it. Do we follow or not?"

Cadance handed the file to Sombra and turned back to look across the street. Indeed, their target was there, walking away from the building with her face visible to the entire world. "It is tempting, but… What would Shining do?"

"We're going after her," Sombra said, staring at the file as Cadance and Gilda turned to him in unison. "We're following this girl, 'Diana Thorpe'… Her real name is Radiant Hope."

The group watched as Radiant Hope rounded a corner, entering into an alleyway between two apartment buildings. They waited for thirty seconds before following, hugging the corner and peering inside very carefully.

"This's getting risky," Cadance said. "We'll have less cover in there."

"We had to abandon the car a few blocks back," Gilda said. "If we get ambushed, it won't be easy to get away."

"Relax," Sombra said, rounding the corner and glaring down the alleyway whilst his escorts followed closely behind. "She's hasn't noticed us yet, and we're not being followed. Let's go."

"How could you possibly know that?" D'Coolette asked, pressing the muzzle of his gun into Sombra's back.

"Instinct," Sombra replied, turning to Cadance. "Your husband must have told you some stories, I imagine."

"He's not my husband," Cadance said as she followed Sombra around the corner, passing him and taking the lead. The others followed her. "But yes, he has told me enough that I trust your judgement on this matter."

"Well I don't," Gilda said. "Isn't it just a little too coincidental that the girl we're after just happens to be your friend from when you were kids?"

"Fate has a strange way of working," Sombra said with a shrug. "Honestly, I had forgotten all about her until recently, when certain events caused me to gain the memories of Equestria's Sombra. His experiences with Radiant Hope were… less pleasant, to say the least. Meeting her now, while she is working for the enemy, it feels as though that Radiant is asking me to help her."

"So what happened between the two of you?" Cadance asked. "In this world, I mean."

Sombra considered whether or not he should answer, before a voice ahead of them forced the group to scatter and hide.

"The meeting was cancelled early, but I was there long enough to get what I needed."

Sombra's eyes widened. Her voice hadn't changed in all these years. Slowly, he leaned his head out from the side of his cover. Before him, he could see the kneeling form of Radiant Hope. And infront of her, a tall, regal-looking woman in a brown robe, surrounded by meowing cats, was viewing something on a tablet device.

"The solvent that Tirek seeks is not held by the Order," Radiant Hope reported. "Though they do have many interesting trinkets, but not what our master is seeking."

"I see," the woman said, sighing as she put the tablet away. "A shame. I was hoping to finally surpass that Hydia as Tirek's favourite."

"Lady Catrina, surely you don't think that Tirek values her more than you?"

"Tirek is counting on Hydia to supply him with magical weapons once we reach Equestria. I have to one-up her by being the one to bring him the key to Equestria!" Catrina reached a thumb to her lips and bit her nail. "It's the only way I'll be able to secure my place during the invasion."

"Lady Catrina, what is my next assignment to be?"

Catrina thought for a moment, and then said, "For now, lay low. I'll contact you later when I have another solid lead."

Cadance motioned for the group to move away slowly, and while Gilda was quick to obey, it took a few moments for Sombra to turn around and leave with the others.

Radiant Hope returned to her apartment just a few minutes before midnight. She frowned as she fumbled around in her bag for her key, thinking on Catrina's final words before she left.

"Radiant Hope, the time that we fight is approaching. When that time comes, I trust that you will be by my side, as you always have been."

It was true that Radiant had performed some horrible deeds over the years, under Catrina's direct command, but a war? She still didn't really understand what 'Equestria' meant, but she knew that, soon, it would be too late to turn back.

Radiant Hope sighed. "Who am I kidding? I passed the point-of-no-return long ago." She turned the key in the lock, and the door to her apartment opened.

Suddenly, the tip of something metallic was pressed to the back of her head, and Radiant slowly raised her hands.

"Good call," a female voice said behind her. "Now enter slowly. There's someone inside who wants to talk to you."

Radiant obeyed, stepping slowly into the dark room with her assailant following behind her. Once inside, the person holding a gun to her head closed the door, and then flicked the lightswitch, illuminating the apartment.

Her eyes widened, and her jaw fell slack. Standing before her was a man from her past. Somebody that she thought she would never see again. Somebody who had abandoned her, and set her down the path she was currently on.

Suddenly, Radiant Hope wasn't sure if she was happy or angry to see Sombra standing before her.

27 - Confrontation

Reaching the ship had been a simple matter for the two, and boarding it even moreso. Navigating it, however, would prove to be quite the challenge indeed. For not only was it crawling with enemies, but the interior was a long, winding maze, with the only signs in a language that neither Daring Do nor Caballeron could read.

"You'd think at least one of us would've Korean at some point," Daring Do said, ducking behind a barrel as a couple of guards passed them by.

"It was never useful to me," Caballeron admitted, cocking his gun as he watched a lone guard up ahead. He hadn't moved for two minutes, and it was starting to look unlikely that he ever would. "I thought you had been to Korea before."

"Only to the north. Doctor Solomon had been capture there and I had to break him out. Let's just say I'm now public-enemy numbers one, two and three there."

Caballeron pointed his silenced-pistol at the guard, and fired. The guard dropped instantly, and the two pressed forward. "I normally do not infiltrate an enemy facility without prior research. You should feel honoured, Miss Do."

"You are the worst type of person, Caballeron, but for now, I'll abide you. There are much bigger things at stake than bringing you to justice."

Caballeron grinned, and stopped to turn to Daring Do. "Oh? The 'worst', you say? Funny. I feel you had a different impression of me when we first met."

"Because you hadn't revealed what a scumbag you were yet," she said.

Caballeron moved closer, pushing one arm against the wall behind Daring Do. "And yet, despite how many times we run into each other, you never kill me. I wonder why?"

Daring Do simply shrugged. "You make it hard."

"Is that it? Or is it simply my charms?"

"Sorry, that's just you dreaming." Daring Do placed her pistol to Caballeron's chin. He didn't even flinch. "Keep moving, before I change my tune."

"Ahhh, my favourite waltz with you." Daring Do and Caballeron turned immediately and pointed their guns down the hallway, towards the sailors that had spotted them and were approaching fast. "It always ends like this."

"Let's just find that nuke before the alarm goes off," Daring Do said.

"Forget the nuke. All we need to do is to secure the controls," Caballeron said. "If we can sabotage the data, the weapon cannot be launched."

"You know I'm not good with that sort of stuff. I hack puzzle boxes, not computer programs."

"That's why I'm here." The two started firing, knocking down the sailors one-after-another. "I am an expert. I hacked your computer, after all."

Daring Do reloaded her gun. "I knew that was you! And you sent me that damn virus, too, huh?"

Caballeron shook his head. "No. That was from that website you visited."

Daring Do blushed, and suddenly, her shots were a lot more accurate. "T-That was from a different virus!"

"Uh-huh."

"I'm serious!"

"I believe you. By the way, our targets are all down now."

Daring Do realised she was still firing, her shots now simply hitting walls. Clearing her throat, she said, "Well, lead the way then, since you seem to be such an expert."

Caballeron nodded, and walked down the ship's hallway, taking a few turns and reaching a dead-end before declaring, "I'm lost."

And then, the alarm sounded.

"I think they know we're here," Daring Do said.

"Good news," Caballeron chimed, leading Daring Do to an open door beside them. The room inside was stocked with weapons and ammunition. It was an armoury, and some incompetent soldier had left it open to all.

Daring Do picked up an M60 and grinned. "Let's wait here, and ask for directions from the next person we see."

That poor unfortunate soul arrived soon after, having returned from the restroom to guard the armoury… only to be captured by a mad woman with a big gun. He cracked easily, and told the two exactly where to go.

"Sorry I scared ya!" Daring Do shouted back as she left with Caballeron down the hall. "I'll buy ya a drink sometime!"

The sailor simply sat, dumbfounded, as the two left him alive… And then, the power went out.

Sunset watched as a large, muscular man stood before her, deflecting Tirek's magic with a shield. He grunted, struggling to keep his footing as the magic bore into his shield. And then, the attack ended, and the shield, though cracked, was still whole.

The man turned to his right, and shouted, "Now! Get him while he's open!"

Another man jumped out from behind a building, a trio of timberwolves following behind him. He pointed a finger at Tirek and said, "Feed!"

Tirek narrowed his eyes. "Scorpan and Cybil. I thought I had ordered you two dead."

The timberwolves neared, and they jumped to pounce on their prey. Tirek held up his hands, and a magical barrier burst out from the ground, pushing the timberwolves back. They whimpered as their bodies hit the ground and shattered, but their magics soon allowed them to start healing.

"Damnit!" Scorpan shouted, aiming a grenade launcher at Tirek and firing two shells. The first one exploded in the air as Tirek swatted it with his magic. The second landed at Tirek's feet, and he was forced to shield himself before the explosion happened.

As it did, Scorpan took out a pair of pistols and fired blindly into the smoke, screaming as the barrage of bullets flew true to where Tirek had been standing. His clips emptied, and he threw the guns aside. He waited for the smoke to clear, the tension high in the air as nothing happened for some time… and then, a blast of magic struck Scorpan, pushing him back and sending him crashing into a small house.

Cybil watched with horror, before quickly turning his sights onto Tirek. He gasped as he saw another blast of magic, and braced himself. Sunset fired her own spell to deflect Tirek’s, drawing his attention onto herself. “You want an opponent?! You got one right here!” she shouted, firing her pistol at him. The bullets bounced off of his barrier, and she retreated quickly through the town, reloading and firing as she moved.

Tirek grunted, and gave chase after the impudent girl. As he ran, he fired a barrage of spells at Sunset, but each one was negated with ease by the girl. “C’mon, a foal could perform better magic than you!”

Tirek growled, his face turning red as his spells increased in ferocity. “Your death shall not be swift!”

Sunset saw floating rocks gather around Tirek, and then each one was thrown towards her, forcing her to weave about in her path in order to avoid them. Suddenly, Bon Bon’s voice sounded through the radio strapped to her waist.

“Sunset!” she shouted. “Sunset, I’m in position! Get him to the edge of the town!”

Sunset gritted her teeth, and made a sharp turn, narrowly avoiding a boulder that smashed into the ground beside her. She hadn’t realised how fast Tirek was, and as she turned, she found that he was right beside her, his fists raised in the air. Swiftly, she fired the pistol at his chest, forcing Tirek to abandon his attack to protect himself.

This gave Sunset the opening that she needed to make some distance, but she knew that she was running out of steam. As she neared the outskirts of the town, she stopped to catch her breath. She hoped that Bon Bon could get a clear shot from where she was.

“Finally, the chase is over,” Tirek said, walking towards Sunset from behind, his fists clenched and glowing with red auras. “You meddlesome pony! This will be the end of you!”

Bon Bon took the shot.