Away From Home

A pair of wooden doors swing open and give way to Twilight, the young woman walks towards her small desk and places a bunch of documents in it, but before she proceeds to take sit, Twilight places her hands on top of the desk, then lowers her head, the shining smile on her face disappearing a bit.

The young woman finds herself deep in thought, even though, today´s a big day. Twilight had found more interest in the weapons research program inside the organisation. The high position inside the science committee actually bored her more than she thought.

Her decision had caused some fights with the man she saw as a father figure, the man who had helped her ever since she arrived, this man was general Graves. Graves had taken notice on her keen intellect, which far exceeded some of the brightest minds in the world, as such, he pulled some levers so that she could have a high position inside the pentagon, an offer she refused, and instead focused on the organisation Graves took part in, the organisation she finds herself working now, Twilight could never regret her decision.

These three years were really hard for her, and not just because of the fact that she was ripped from her home, but because she practically had to start from zero. Her bright mind sure helped, but the ample array of information about history, and biology proved to be quite a challenge. Sometimes she found herself perplexed on how several things this place shared in common with her home.

Stretching from her position, the young woman walks towards a coffee table. Her delicate hand grabs a cup with the words ´For Science´ and proceeds to fill it with the hot drink.

Twilight returns to her desk, and goes to take a sit, ready to organize her things before she can proceed with the transfer. ´just a few more documents, Twilight´ she thinks to herself.

The young woman pushes her glasses with her index finger, and proceeds to grab one page from the rest of the documents inside the purple folder, then rests her left hand under her forehead. She tries to focus for a few seconds before her attentions directs somewhere else.

Twilight reaches her lab coat, and pulls a small picture from it, her heart sinking as soon as she sees it... it is a picture of the alicorn princess and her friends back in Equestria.

The night she appeared here, Twilight had totally forgotten about the picture, which was stored inside her mane during the battle against Tirek. It was good luck that unicorn´s, alicorn´s... and Pinkie´s manes had special properties, even in a world different from them.

That picture was the token that convinced Graves not to send her to an asylum, but the value it had on Twilight´s heart, was bigger than anyone could even comprehend, it was her old life, the life were she learned friendship was the most powerful magic, a thought held by her to this day.

Twilight can´t help but to release a small smile, as she begins to wonder ´Will I ever go back? Am I going to see my friends again? What has been of their lives?´. It has been three years since she left Equestria, and even though she had found a home in this new world, Twilight can´t forget about her old perfect life, a life where war, violence, and insanity weren´t present every day.

Twilight sighs as she stares at the photo for a few seconds before three knocks are heard from outside her office.

"Come in!" Twilight says, her head lifting up, as she uses her hands to wipe some of the tears falling from her cheeks.

Soon enough, a man in a very familiar uniform, enters the room. His face sporting the insignia gray mustache. Graves enters the room, a warm smile appearing on his face as she approaches Twilight´s desk, where an equally grinning woman stands up.

Without letting the smile disappear from his face, Graves speaks with a jokingly serious tone. "Attention, soldier!"

Twilight answers his grin with one of her own. "Twilight Sparkle reporting for duty!" She salutes the man.

The scene lasts for a few seconds before the two broke into laughs, then reach each other in a warm embrace.

"Good morning Skits." Twilight, as intelligent as she was, seemed to be incredibly naive, and extremely innocent, this caused some rather funny and exaggerated reactions with things she wouldn´t understand first hand. This was accompanied by her almost psychotic urge to fix things that weren´t broken, giving way for some rather hilarious mental breakdowns. It all seemed like a comedy play, hence the name ´Skits´.

"Good morning Graves." Even though she doesn´t call him father, the man has been the closest thing to one for. Twilight´s real father had died shortly after Celestia took notice of her magic prowess, causing an indelible mark on her, sometimes making her insecure and sociably awkward, this was the reason why she didn´t have friends back in Canterlot, the reason why she preferred to stay inside the castle and study all day. Sure, her real father used to work extra hours, and the amount of time she spent with him was very little, but still it caused some psychological repercussions in her persona.

Graves released himself from Twilight´s embrace, and made eye contact with her. "So?"

"So what?" Asked a confused Twilight.

"So, what do you want for tomorrow?" Graves could notice her confused expression, telling him that the woman had no idea of what he was talking about, this caused him to release a small smile. "It doesn´t surprise me you forgot about it... I guess turning twenty three comes with the downside of amnesia for you."

Twilight wide opened her eyes at the sudden realization, her face releasing a sheepish smile. "Oh! That!" Graves waits expectantly, as he prepares for the answer the man already knows he´s going to receive. "I... actually haven´t thought about that, and to be completely honest, I really don´t want anything." Twilight gives the best of her smiles, so that she could impede the insistence of the man, who keeps holding a small grin. It is in moments like this where remembers the legendary Pinkie parties.

Graves releases a small chuckle before speaking. "I was sure you would say that, so I took the liberty to take a few steps ahead of you, at least for once..." Twilight waits for him to finish. Graves releases a wider grin. "How does the Louvre sounds to you?" He finally says, as he pulls two plane tickets with Paris as a destination.

Twilight eyes wide open, she had heard about the museum while studying the history of this world, and instantly took a lot of interest in it. Her now dream to visit it, was foiled with all the work she found herself deep into, plus one alien invasion which lasted a year and a half, but things had already settled down.

However, Twilight has always been known for her obsessive necessity to study and work. Sometimes, Graves wondered whether this actions were only because of obsession, or a simple psychological reaction thanks to her loss, making her feel the necessity to get the approval of the parental figure she didn´t have. Graves feared it was the later, but he was sure as Heck she didn´t need to prove herself.

Twilight was the classic ´perfect daughter´, noble, intelligent, innocent and hard working, admirable qualities in the eyes of the man... the second and third qualities completely differed from his other boy, though.

He had talked about him on a few occasions, but never gave away too much detail about him, with the only things Twilight knew being the facts that he had left the army roughly two years before her arrival, and that he had lent a very helpful hand against the invasions. Aside from that, she knew nothing.

Twilight took a few minutes to realize what had just happened, and did her best to hide her excitement. "I-I don´t know what to... WE´RE GOING TO THE LOUVRE!" ...At least she tried to hide it. Despite almost turning twenty, and her amazing brain, Twilight sometimes seemed more like a little child. "I don´t know what to say, I mean, don´t we have a lot of work to do here? What about my new job?"

"Twilight, you work too much, and you don´t turn twenty three a second time, I say you´ve more than earned this trip." His face released a warm smile.

Twilight hugged him in excitement for two seconds before breaking the embrace. "Oh my! Oh my! I´m going to visit one of the largest museum, and not only that... we´re going to Paris!" Graves couldn´t help but to smile at the whole scene. "Just imagine the amount of history guarded in that place, the amount of knowledge left behind! A true arc of history!"

"I´m glad you like it, gather your things for your transfer, let everything ready. We leave tomorrow morning." Graves says, as Twilight relaxes a little.

"Yeah you´re right, I only have to prepare a few documents before I proceed with the transfer." Twilight replies, reaching towards her desk to continue with her work.

Graves approaches her. "Are you sure about this change, skits? We don´t need you blowing up the place." Graves mocked, taking into considerations Twilight´s obsessiveness.

"When have I ever done something like that?" Twilight replies in defense, getting a deadpan look from Graves.

"Don´t tell me you forgot about that little fiasco back at Polaris."

One year ago

Twilight found herself alongside Graves, stationed inside the Polaris space outpost. She had been called along a team of scientists to help increase the effectiveness of the base´s shields.

The young woman had invented a small artificial horn, which helped her use her magic in limited amounts. Twilight was surprised that even though she lacked wings and a horn, magic still cursed through her body, thankfully she had found a way to channel that power through an artificial appendices, without the need to connect the artifact inside her body.

While under Celestia´s wing, Twilight had learned a few magic spells, which didn´t need the use of her horn. These magical words required a lot power from the pony, but packed quite a punch. The newly alicorn princess found a certain spell that allowed her channel magic through an exterior object.

With these in mind, Twilight created a small metal horn, but thanks to the limited amount of magic she could use (mainly due to the nature of her new body) sometimes there was risk of collateral damage, and results she didn´t intend.

Once the new shields were tested in the hangar, Twilight headed towards the missile room to install the last defenses, Graves awaited there for her return.

The warheads were varied in power, from the nuclear type, to the less powerful ones. Sadly for everyone, the control panel of one of the missiles began to malfunction, but not to the point to accidentally fire a warhead... at least until Twilight stepped in to ´fix´the problem.

"Um... Skits? I don´t think we should rely on that horn of yours to fix the problem, as far a I know, It sometimes malfunctions." A puzzled Graves inquired.

Twilight found herself in four legs, and under the panel, trying to fix the problem with the metal horn on her head, it was a rather funny position.

"Nothing to worry about, the probability of me failing a spell is rather dim."

"It´s not you the one I don´t trust, but rather that thing on your head." Graves replied, catching from the corner of his eye one of the soldiers staring at her behind, which caused the old man to launch a dead glare towards him, immediately making the soldier cease his actions. "We need the proper tools to fix the problem, not magic, at least not one that tends to blow things up or do something you weren´t expecting."

"I´ve tested this horn enough to be sure it won´t fail." Twilight said in her defense, forcing Graves to place a hand on his forehead while sighing in desperation.

"Didn´t you test it only once? And ended up sending the neighbor´s conscience into his dog and vice versa?" Twilight released a small sheepish chuckle.

"Maybe it didn´t work as planned then, but I´m sure it will right now." Graves had to admire her optimism, it was one of the things that made her special, that and her amazing ability to screw things up, an ability that was about to shine once again.

The control panel suddenly let out a few sparks, as it began to turn on. "Aha! I did it!"

Graves could feel a small smile forming in his face... until a red light began to flash, followed by the sound of an engine starting.

Graves placed both of his hands on his face, as he sighed. "I don´t want to look at this."

Twilight went out from under the console, and stood up just in time to spot a small missile launched with directions towards the earth.

Graves wasted no time in walking towards the panel´s screen. "Where is that missile going to collide?" He asked one of the soldiers, who quickly calculated the place, then showed it to the man, who simply hummed in response.

The missile would collide at an establishment, thankfully it was three of the morning on Earth, which meant there were no people inside, plus the missile wasn´t one of the powerful ones, it would only destroy the place and nothing more.

The whole team watched at the big screen hanging from the top of the ceiling, waiting for the collision, and once it finally arrived, Graves turned to face Twilight with a kill look on his face, the young woman sheepishly smiled before talking. "At least we only lost a Walmart."

Graves facepalmed.

Twilight did her best to release the cutest of her smiles, before the general spoke. "We went through a lot of problems to cover up that little incident."

"I´m deeply sorry about that, but trust me on this one." Twilight placed her hands together pleading for the opportunity.

Graves couldn´t help but to sigh in response, secretly releasing a smile on his face. It took him a few seconds before he talked. "Very well, but no more screwing up, okay?"

Twilight smiled. "Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!" That was all he needed to completely trust her. Twilight had talked too much about her old friends, and she seemed to love them so much to hold a Pinkie promise sacred.

Graves simply nodded, as Twilight sat once again on her desk, never realizing the picture of her friends slipping from her coat and falling to the ground. Graves took notice of this and went to grab the photo.

The smile on Twilight´s face diminished once she saw the object, and lowered her head. Graves sighed in sadness, as he got closer to Twilight. The man took a good look at the photo on his hand, before clearing his throat to speak. "I know you miss them Skits, and believe me I have done everything in my power to find a way to return you home." The man placed a hand on her shoulder. "But I promise I will continue doing the impossible to find a way."

Between sobs, Twilight raised her head to stare at the man, her eyes watery and red. "You Pinkie promise?"

Graves gave her a warm smile, then made the gestures with his hand. "Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye."

Twilight broke into tears as she wrapped her arms around Graves, who naturally returned the embrace a loving father would. The first time Twilight said she was a pony, he had seriously considered sending her to an asylum, at least until she showed him the photo.

It was hard for him to actually believe the story, even after witnessing the evidence, but there was no other explanation for the multiple anomalies surrounding her, which left him with the only option to believe her.

He learned a lot about her friends. Applejack, Rainbow, Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie (This one had caught his interest); as well as the existence of the princesses, her number one assistant Spike and the kingdom she comes from. All of it was hard to digest, especially for a man who lived in a world that was the complete opposite of Equestria, it was complete madness, but it was the truth.

Then came the topic about magic, thankfully this one was even easier to confirm, as Twilight had proven again and again of it´s existence, with the fiasco at Polaris being and example.

Graves wasn´t joking when he said he would do the impossible to find a way to return her, as millions of dollars were wasted in research, even suicide missions inside the alien ship to search for a portal, nothing had worked, but he was still willing to do anything in his power to help her, even though, deep inside him he wasn´t sure if he really wanted...

Twilight was completely aware that Graves had lost his daughter and wife twenty years ago, and sometimes he would tell her that if she were alive right now, his daughter would probably be just like her.

Graves however, would never tell anything more about the matter, even to the point of changing the subject, it was a normal reaction, especially after such a horrid loss.

Twilight cried for a few more minutes, until Graves spoke.

"Come now Skits, I´m sure you don´t want to present yourself like that when you´re introduced to your new co-workers."

Between sniffs, Twilight lifted her face, as her tears were cleaned by Graves. "You´re right." With that, she let go of the hug and prepared once again to finish checking the documents, doing her best to regain composure. "I should hurry up and finish re-checking these."

Graves gave a puzzled look. "What do you mean by ´re-checking´? I thought you didn´t even start."

Twilight lifter he face once more, he face calmer than before, as she released a thin smile. "I finished this yesterday, but there was a slight problem with one of these, so I had to give it another go."

Graves returned the grin as he prepared to head out of the office. "Very well, I´ll be waiting for you at the weapons research lab, join with me once you´re finished to begin the transfer, alright?"

"I will." Twilight was about to continue on her work, until she was interrupted by the man, who had half of his body out of the office.

"Twilight," he said, using a serious tone, "I swear to you, I will find a way to get you back to Equestria."

Twilight gave one small chuckle, then cleared her throat to speak. "Thank you for all of this, if one day we succeed, I would love for you to meet my friends."

Graves released a small laugh. "Just don´t let that Pink one close to me."

"No promises!" Twilight joked.

The doors her office were now closed, and she found herself alone once more, and resumed her work. She knew she had to remain positive, to have hope, but she couldn´t, not when the odds were against her. There was simply nothing on Earth, or with the aliens that could bring get her back to her world, at least not inside their ships. But there was another problem, Were here friends missing her? Or they just forgot about her? What if Celestia just found another student, another princess of friendship, and Spike? He is sure that it was him the one that would suffer her disappearance the most, her poor, little baby dragon.

Shaking the thoughts from her head, and trying to breath calmly to stop the desperation inside her chest, Twilight proceeded with her work, the sooner she finished the better.

Twilight had recently finished the documents, and headed out of her office. She made her way through the several hallways inside the building.

The place was rather peaceful nowadays, mostly because the aliens weren´t attacking anymore, as one year and a half, earth had succeeded in fending off the invaders.

After the attack had ended, the weapons research program took on a bigger role, and Twilight was full of ideas that could help Earth in case another invasion began. Sure they had won, but Earth´s forces were running low.

Soon enough the young woman could spot the big transparent walls of the lab´s entrance, her new job place.

Once she made it, she could spot Graves waiting for her, a scientist stepping to his right, she immediately figure he was in charge of the operations inside the lab.

Scientist seemed like a very serious guy, his stature matching hers. He had no facial hair, and sported a pair of glasses (the usual), hair was the funny part, it was large ad with a very unusual ´Elvis-like´style, lastly, he was a bit chubby.

Twilight finally arrived with the two men, and tried to release the friendliest of smiles.

"Twilight, this is Doctor Bernard, he is the head of the weapons research program, and your supervisor." Graves introduced the scientist, who proceeded to shake hands with the woman. The scientist face never releasing even the hint of a smile.

Finally they stopped shaking hands. "A pleasure meeting you Dr. Bernard." Said Twilight, the grin never leaving her face.

"The pleasure is mine miss. Sparkle, I must say, I had been eager to meeting with you, especially after those impressive stories about you keen intellect, which I hope are true." Bernard replied, his face serious but his words completely honest.

"Likewise, and I hope I can reach your expectations Dr. Bernard." Twilight said.

"And I´m sure you will." Twilight nods in confirmation. Bernard continues talking. "You start on Monday, and I hope you´re ready for the hard work. I´m telling you on Monday, because general Graves informed me that tomorrow is a special day for you."

Twilight´s smile widened. "Indeed it is."

"Very well miss Twilight, I don´t wish to entertain you with anymore chat, let me show you your work area." With that, he motions with his hand for her to follow him.

The scientist gives Twilight a tour of the lab, showing her the multiple rooms and safety zones, as well as the locker she will be occupying and finally her work area. Finally he introduces her to several scientist she will be working with on Monday.

A woman in her thirties approaches Twilight. "Nice to meet you miss Sparkle, I´m Jennifer, it´s nice to have you on board." She smiles, as she removes a few streaks of her black hair from her face. Twilight returns the shake.

"The pleasure is mine Dr. Jennifer, I hope we can work as good as we can for the sake of science."

"Likewise miss Sparkle."

The next one to introduce himself, is a colored man, his head was bald, and sported a short beard. His smile was probably one of the friendliest she´s ever seen, even rivaling that of pinkie. "Pleasure miss Twilight, I´m Dr. Dakarai, and I must say, you have one of the most beautiful eyes i´ve seen in my life, still not enough to surpass my daughter."

Twilight released a chuckle, a slight blush appearing on her face. "The pleasure is mine Dr. Dakarai, I´m sure your daughter must be the most beautiful girl on this earth."

"That it is, miss Twilight, but please, just call me Dak." Dakarai ads.

"And you may call me only Twilight." Dak nods in response.

Another scientist stands up, this one looks as serious as Bernard. "Greetings Twilight, I´m Dr. Daniel." He introduces himself, his accent slightly different from the rest of the scientists present. "I hope you can speak spanish." Finally he says with a thin smile.

Twilight returns the grin. "Don´t worry Dr. Daniel, I´m on my way there." The man smiles once again behind his large black hair, contrasting with his glasses. Twilight can´t help but to feel something familiar about him, she doesn´t pay it any attention though. Finally he sits again, giving way for the last scientist of the team to introduce herself.

This one is a tall redhead woman in her twentys. "Hello miss Twilight, I´m Dr. Lauren, just call me Lauren."

"It´s a pleasure meeting you Lauren. I feel like I´ve seen you before." Twilight says, releasing a puzzled face, matched by the scientist.

"I highly doubt it Dr. Sparkle, although I feel the same." The scientist says. Without any other word, she shakes Twilight´s hand and sits again.

"It was a pleasure meeting you all." Twilight replies, getting a few cheerful nods as a response. Once done, Bernard accompanies both Graves and Twilight to the exit.

"It was a pleasure miss Twilight, I´m looking forward to work with you." Bernard says, shaking the woman´s hand, then turns to Graves. "Goodbye general Graves, you can rest assured she´ll feel right at home when she starts working at the lab."

Graves gives a simple nod, the two of them head out, and towards the exit of the building. The way there is quiet, but not in the awkward way, it is a peaceful silence. Graves could spot Twilight´s look from the corner of his eyes, telling him she was excited for the new position.

As part of the science committee, she did nothing more than to propose and move staff around, and he could clearly understand why she decided to change the position, the lab was her place, the domain where she could make magic... the scientific one at least. Graves could never take tat satisfaction away from her, if that made her happy, then he was happy.

The due kept walking until they came across the immense food area, and just as they were about to pass it, a woman reaches them from behind.

"Excuse me general Graves!"

The man turns around to give her a slight smile. "Yes? What is the matter?"

"We discovered an anomaly at the coast." The woman says, her face clearly showing a worried look.

Graves turns to Twilight. "I have to take this Skits, wait for me here, I wont be long." With that, he turns to face the woman and nods in confirmation before following her.

Twilight meanwhile decides to buy some juice from one of the bending machines. She moves towards the machine and inserts a coin, then selects an apple juice. The small can comes out from the machine and she proceed to crouch down ready to grab her, when suddenly she hears a whistle, but not a friendly one, this one sounds pervert.

She begins to sweat, just as she hears an all too familiar voice.

"yo! Sweetie! Has anyone told you you have the nicest ass around?"

Twilight releases a frown as she turns to face the man speaking. The guy is wearing a set of black pants, and a gray t-shirt. His hair is black and small, covered by a black bandanna. His face hold the expression of an animal in search of copulating.

Twilight calls him by name, speaking with annoyance. "Dylan..."

"Correction baby! Captain FUCKING Dylan of the EDF! BOOYAH!" Twilight simply rolls her eyes, and much to her dismay, he keeps talking. "Hey! How about we go to the barracks so I can present to you my good old shotgun!" He point at his crutch, the turns to face his other three friends sitting at the table with him, waiting for the laughs of approval, which eventually came.

"I´m sorry Dylan, but I have better things to do than to watch something non existent (referring to his ´shotgun´)." Twilight hears ´ooooh´s coming from his ´crowd´, and releases a small grin, until she hears steps coming towards her.

"Listen sweetheart," Dylan begins, "I like you, but I don´t appreciate you insulting me in front of my friends," Twilight narrows her eyes, "so, how about you repay me by giving me that sweet purple pu..."

"That´s enough Dylan! Cease this at once or you will be dismissed from the EDF!" Her salvation finally comes in the form of Graves, who sports a look full with fury, a look that makes Dylan take a few steps back before speaking with trembling voice.

"G-g-g-gen-neral!" Twilight releases a smirk, as she watches the look of fear Dylan has. "I-i-m sorry, it was just t-t-hat..."

"I don´t give a crap about anything you have to say, now give me two hundred push ups, and circle the entire base two times." Dylan does his best to nod, and proceeds to do as he was asked, only to be stopped once again. "I´m leaving, but don´t even think you´re saved, there are cameras all over the place, and if I find out past tomorrow you didn´t finish your punishment... you´re dismissed, are we clear!?"

"Sir! Yes, sir!"

With that Dylan starts his punishment, the same time both Twilight and Graves leave the area. On their way, Graves could swear he heard Dylan curse him, but he decided to pay it no mind.

"I don´t understand how you can accept people like him in the EDF!" Twilight finally breaks the silence, her face showing a frown. Graves sighs as he begins to talk.

"Whether we want it or not, Dylan´s good at what he does, even if he doesn´t have the best personality around."

"Actually, almost none of these soldiers have a good personality!" Twilight replies, getting a warm look from her father figure.

"Skits, if I had to dismiss every soldier with the same personality as Dylan´s, the EDF would not have any soldier at all." Graves spots the look of concern in Twilight´s face. "Don´t worry, I´m not going to let anything happen to you, are we clear?"

Twilight nods with a small grin on her face. With that out of the way, the duo exits the building, and prepare to go home.