Twilight was huddled in the corner of the small white room that the soldiers had placed her in. A medic had come by earlier to remove the bullet in her shoulder and give the wound proper attention, a process which had caused her an excruciating amount of pain. After that, however, she had been left alone to observe the few semi-notable aspects of her cell and let her mind wander.

She thought about her family back home, trying so hard to figure out how to open the Breach Gate. Once again, she was facing the prospect of never seeing them again. Only now, instead of being murdered by a psychopath, she was being taken captive by this country's government.

She wondered what was going to happen to her. She knew the feds wanted to interrogate her for information on how to get to Equestria, but what methods would they use? Would they resort to torture? What would they do with the information she gave them?

She had no doubt that they would eventually get what they wanted from her, whether she was willing to cooperate or not. The only thing that could prevent them from reaching Equestria after that was finding out where the portal would appear and getting there before it closed, but she doubted that would stop any creatures as persistent and technologically advanced as them.

For a moment, out of dread for what was coming, Twilight quietly wondered if she’d made the right decision by giving herself over to the feds. Then she mentally slapped herself for the second time that night. Of course she had.

Her capture had been inevitable. The outcome of their last encounter with the feds had been the most desirable, especially considering what they’d been about to do to Allen.

Thinking about Allen made her contemplate what he’d said to her right before her capture.

You’re worth so much more than that. What did he mean by that? she thought as she stared at the opposite wall, then shrugged in dismissal. It didn’t matter anymore anyway.

In a couple of hours, she’d be on her way to the country’s capital for her interrogation, and then she’d have plenty of other things to worry about.

Her thoughts were interrupted as the door to her cell suddenly opened. Her eyes narrowed as the source of her misfortune stepped in and closed the door behind him.

Simmons looked over and smirked at her angry look. “You look like you really want to kill me.”

“Kill, no. Disfigure, maybe.” she replied icily. Her magic had recharged quite a bit while she’d been sitting in the cell, and already several oddly enticing ideas for retaliating against her captor were swimming around in her head.

“But you won’t. Why? Because you know if you do, your slim shady of a boyfriend will be dead where he stands.”

Twilight said nothing as she continued to glare at him. Simmons shook his head as he leaned against the wall opposite her and crossed his arms.

“I’m going to ask you a few questions, and I want some honest answers in return. Understood?”

“Fine.” she replied shortly.

“Why did you come to our universe?”

“For research purposes.”

“What was so interesting about our universe that you wanted to research it?”

“It wasn’t about your universe. It was about understanding the Breach Gate, and before I could go any further with my research I had to know how to operate it.”

Simmons raised an eyebrow at that. “What do you mean? Didn’t you already send someone through it a few years ago?”

Now it was Twilight’s turn to raise an eyebrow. “A few years ago? The only other pony to figure out how to activate the Breach was Star Swirl the Bearded, and he vanished over a thousand years ago. I only managed to figure it out a few days before I traveled here.”

Simmons stared at her for a moment at the term ‘pony’ and of the use of such a strange name, then mentally shrugged. Remus had told him that the first ‘visitor’ hadn’t used to be human. That and, quite honestly, it wasn’t the strangest thing he’d heard all week.

“So what are you saying?” he continued, an edge creeping into his voice. “That my boss is lying to me?”

“It’s possible. After all, honest people seem to be in extremely short supply in this universe. There does, however, seem to be a surplus of armed gunmen willing to follow orders.”

“That’s cute coming from you.” he said with a smile.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, if all you were doing was testing the Breach gate, then why are you still here a good week later?”

Twilight sighed. “I was attacked by three gang members shortly after arriving, and they knocked me out before I could get back to the portal.”

“All your power and you couldn’t handle three guys?” Simmons asked. “I find that hard to believe.”

Twilight visibly blushed at that. “Look, I didn’t realize they were dangerous until it was too late, alright!? I was hit in the head with a pipe, which prevented me from using my magic and…wait. Why am I trying to justify myself to you?”

Simmons said nothing, instead continuing to stare at her in thought. Was she acting? It seemed likely, and maybe she could’ve used that ‘magic’ to fake her blush. She could be trying to manipulate him into letting her go.

Or she could be telling the truth.

Simmons shook his head in annoyance. You idiot. You’re thinking exactly the way she wants you to.

She suddenly interrupted his thoughts. “Can I ask you a question now?”

“No.” he said without hesitation. She continued anyway.

“Why are you here? Why can’t you just let me enjoy the last few hours of my interrogation-free life in peace?”

Simmons put his hands in his pockets. “I’m trying to determine whether or not you can be honest with me.”

“Why does that matter?” she asked.

Simmons sighed, wondering why he was even wasting his time with this. “Let’s just say your little act of heroism at the parking garage caught me off guard. I was told that I was hunting down a cold-blooded terrorist, and as far as I know cold-blooded terrorists don’t go sacrificing themselves for random people.”

“Well, gee! I wonder what that could possibly mean!” Twilight replied as sarcastically as she could.

“Look, I know what you’re trying to tell me, but I also know what my boss has told me. Who am I going to believe: the esteemed Cabinet member whom I’ve worked for and who’s helped prevent terrorist attacks for the past two years, or the weird interdimensional chick with superpowers?”

“That’s a good question, actually.” she said. “Do you trust the girl who’s been doing her best to avoid, not only you, but any human being other than the two she’s already met? Or should you trust the man who’s sent you halfway across the country to kidnap said girl, bring her back for interrogation, and get ready to invade a country that you’ve probably never even heard of until just recently?”

Simmons opened his mouth to respond, but she cut him off. “Another question: what did he promise you in return for doing this? Nobody in this universe does anything for free, so what did he promise you?”

Simmons thought briefly about the Cabinet position that awaited him back in D.C., and about Myles’ huge budget increase. Could they have been nothing more than bribes? Incentives to do as they were told without asking too many questions?

He shook his head angrily and glared at her. “That’s none of your concern.”

“Considering it’s probably the main reason I’m here, I disagree.”

“Look, it doesn’t matter what I’m getting out of this. What matters is why you, who supposedly aren’t even supposed to be here, would bother giving yourself up for a complete stranger, and a cold-blooded murderer at that.”

“Maybe because he’s not as cold-blooded as you think he is.” she spat. “And also, says the man who would’ve watched him get torn apart by gunfire without even flinching.”

“I do what I do in service of my country. It may not be pretty, but it is necessary.”

“Are you serving your country? Or are you serving one man?”

He stared at her for a moment, contemplating her question as well as her body language.

She glared back at him, silently daring him to continue.

He suddenly straightened up and opened the cell door, turning around just before he left. She simply continued to glare at him. He lingered for another moment before exiting the cell, shutting and locking the door behind him.

Twilight sighed and leaned her head back against the wall, once more alone with her thoughts.

((((((*******))))))

Simmons exited the trailer and walked over to stand on a nearby ridge, away from the rest of the operation. Once he was sure that no one was going to overhear him, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and put it to his ear. “So? What do you think?”

“I’m no master at reading people like you are, but it sounds like she’s telling the truth.” replied Myles, who’d been on speakerphone during the conversation.

Simmons grunted and began to chew his lip in thought.

“Simmons? Do you really think we’re being used?”

He was silent for a moment as he considered the question, then sighed. “Quite honestly Myles, I don’t know. The more I talk to this girl the more I’m convinced that she’s telling the truth. Remus might have lied to us about the first incident, if there even was a first incident. He might have a more personal interest in whatever is on the other side of that Breach. If that’s the case, then there might be more at stake than national security.”

“So…what do we do then? We’re so far into this mess that we don’t exactly have many options. If someone finds out that we know what we do, Remus will know eventually. Then, God only knows what’ll happen to us.”

“Which is why I’m giving you a chance to save yourself.” Simmons said. “You tell Remus that I’ve gone rogue, and that should absolve you of all responsibility. I’ll figure out what I’m going to do about this, then go into hiding and hope for the best.”

“You’re joking, right?” Myles asked flatly.

“Myles, listen. I-”

“No, you listen. You and I have been working together since freshman year in high school. We’ve always had each other’s backs, and that’s not going to stop here. Got it? Whatever half-baked plan is rattling around in that government-issued cranium of yours, count me in.”

Simmons couldn’t help but smile. “Don’t ever change, Myles.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it. Now what’s the play coach?”

Simmons began pacing along the ridge, contemplating what their next move should be. As soon as Remus found out that they were acting against him, they’d become priority targets. They needed to keep their defection a secret for as long as possible, or they’d never be able to bring him to justice. The problem, however, was that Remus was privy to the operation’s every move. Trying to do anything without him noticing would be impossible.

Unless they didn’t do anything.

Simmons grinned as a lightbulb went off in his head. “Myles, are you ready for a challenge?”

“Bring it.” Myles answered.

“I need the name and number of a man who we know absolutely nothing about, and I need it within the next hour.”

“Ghost?”

“Ghost.”

“I’m not sure he’s going to be entirely thrilled with the idea of helping us, considering all the hell we’ve put him through tonight, let alone the rest of this week.”

“On the contrary, my friend. He won’t be able to say no once I tell him what we’re offering.”

“You sound like an evil mastermind, and I love it. Luckily for you, I decided to record both of your conversations with him, which means I have a pretty mean voice print of our soon-to-be associate. Just give me a few minutes, and I’ll give you an audience with the most dangerous man in Las Vegas.”

“Sweeeet.” Simmons said happily.

There was a few minutes’ silence, broken only by the repetitious clicking coming from one end of the line. Then Myles spoke up.

“Holy shit…”

“What? Did you find out who he is?”

“Of course I did, and my decryption software’s working on retrieving his number. However, I also found a whole bunch of other things that I’m not sure I want to know.”

“Spare me the details. I just need his number.”

“Right, right, sorry. The encryption on his phone is surprisingly heavy, so this might take about fifteen minutes. I suggest you figure out what you want to say to him, and try to keep it short.”

“Alright, see you in fifteen minutes then.” Simmons said before hanging up and resuming his thoughtful pacing.

Author's Note

Aaahh...good to be back.
Be sure to leave a comment and give me a thumbs-up if you enjoyed.
Peace.