The peaceful days that Sunset Shimmer had enjoyed for a long time with her friends were over. She had used them all while trying to be happy and use the opportunity to understand friendship and magic in this world, but she knew that this would happen sooner or later. She couldn’t escape her sins or the fact that she was a creature from another dimension.
It had started with a tug on her heart, pointing somewhere deep into the east as if there was something calling for her, asking her to find it. Sunset could feel something inside her responding to the call and it scared her because she was feeding on it. Just last week she had seen proof of her theory when without even trying she had been able to avoid every single dodgeball thrown at her at gym. It was pretty obvious something had happened to her when she even disarmed a mugger before he could even react.
Sunset knew that it was a bad idea to keep the gun with her but something inside of her told her that it was better that the magic of friendship would not be enough in the next few days. The Sig Pro 2022 was a nice weapon and she had grown strangely attached to it once she knew how to correctly use it much to her surprise.
But a single weapon couldn’t save her or her friends now that Sunset knew what to look for. People walking around the city and the school was not an enough reason to feel worried, but the way they walked and kept looking at certain points just made her feel on edge. At first sight there was nothing bizarre on new people arriving to the city, but she hadn’t become one of the greatest unicorns in the history of Equestria just because she was good at academic topics, she was also a little paranoid and seeing all these people made bells go off in her brain.
At the end she had relented, knowing that all of this was because of her and like Tartarus she would let her friends be hurt. She knew what was going to happen and she texted each and every one of her friends, saying goodbye to them and that maybe one day she will see them again. She had already ‘forgotten’ the journal at Fluttershy’s house so there would be no way that magical object could fall in the wrong hands, now the only thing she could do was wait.
Then she heard the van stop in front of her apartment and Sunset knew what she had to do. Standing up and walking to the van Sunset presented her hands feeling then the cold metal of the handcuffs. None of the men were surprised to find Sunset waiting for them or if they did they were capable of hiding it.
Canterlot was left behind and even if Sunset couldn’t see where they were going she still heard the roar of the plane as they traveled across the ocean and into another continent, leaving behind everything she had known. She was now as lost as she was when she arrived at the human world but she wasn’t afraid, she just wanted to know what would happen to her. Would she be used for experiments? Would they kill her and dissect her like in those silly movies? Or worst yet, will they try to get all the information she had about Equestria? Whatever may come Sunset knew that not even Princess Twilight would be able to save her from this.
The moment she arrived at whatever place they landed she was immediately put into a van without knowing anything, seeing nothing from the back of the van as streets flew by. Next thing she knew she was on a laboratory and soon the experiments began; first her blood, her physical capacities but never questions about who she was or where she came from. No torture or pain beyond the discomfort of the needle that took her blood.
Whoever they were they seemed to have a lot of money and equipment so that could only mean one thing. What could the British government want with her? Not that the whole ‘being form another dimension’ wouldn’t be a great target on Sunset, but beyond that there was nothing of value on her, magic wasn’t something that could be used or weaponized so then what?
Her answers came once she was in her own little crystal clear prison cell. Sunset was not uncomfortable, she had been at worst places than that but it was the series of cameras and equipment that made Sunset raise an eyebrow in wonder, what was the reason to keep her contained and monitored all the time?
The woman walking closer to her cell was all she needed to know that she in serious problems without even knowing the reasons. The portly older woman radiated authority and no-nonsense so strongly that Sunset felt herself stood straight without even realizing it.
“Ten years ago a young girl and her parents found themselves in the middle of a terrorist attack. The three died there so imagine the surprise of the government when that same girl who should be dead was not only walking around but apparently acing every test and competition she was involved in” the woman said showing Sunset a couple of photographs and Sunset had to blush at how stupid it was of her to be appearing in those considering she was supposed to be hiding not putting neon signs over her head.
The woman didn’t even blink at Sunset’s facepalm and continued talking in a completely professional voice. The redhead was extremely impressed by the way the woman acted and talked, it was as if feelings were something optional when she was born.
“Then -as if by magic- sudden spikes of energy readings began to appear on the United States and lo and behold, you were not only present but were part of. Our experts were baffled by the amount of energy and the repercussions it had on the world. Apparently the whole reality began to tear apart with only you capable of fixing the damage to our world.” The woman then showed her several photos of Sunset’s transformed state and her fight with the nicknamed Midnight Sparkle. How much of a fool she was, apparently they all thought that nobody had known what had happened that day but it was obvious several governments were very interested in them.
“I suppose you want me to tell you what happened that day.”
“Oh indeed, but that is not why we brought you in Miss Shimmer -if that is your name- we want you here because there is a situation around the world that has to do with the energy that was shown that day. A week ago we, as well as the CIA, lost several of our agents in the middle of an investigation about another energy signature similar to yours.”
“What do you mean another energy signature? Is that what’s going on? You think I have anything to do with it?”
“What we think or not does not affect the end results. What we do know is that the energy signature seems to be planned to be used as a weapon by this man.” She said showing Sunset the photo of someone that reminded Sunset of a story Princess Twilight had told her about the Crystal Heart “his name is Sombra; he is an extremist who sells weapons to all kinds of groups. Whatever he found seems to have caught the attention of many groups that have little to no interest in peace and order. Sadly, four days ago the signature disappeared and our researchers theorize that he found a way to shield its emissions in such a way to avoid detection or any way for us to track him down. We were about to send one of our agents but with so little information it would be practically impossible to find Sombra, that is until one of our researchers found a certain similarity between you and the weapon.”
“So let me guess, you want to use me as a living radar”
“Indeed, because what could happen to the world if someone is capable of harnessing the same power that almost destroyed the world, well, I do not want to think that kind of power in the hands of a madman”
“I’m pretty sure you are not ‘asking’ me to help you”
“Sunset Shimmer, this is not a favor. You do not exist, you are a ghost and as one you technically have no rights in this world, we can keep you in here indefinitely but I’m giving you an alternative. Find Sombra alongside my agent, neutralize this menace and not only will you be released but also you will finally have an identity and legal papers as a British citizen.” The woman said with the same aplomb but Sunset saw the bait that was being dangled in front of her. They could keep her there in the laboratory and become their guinea pig for all eternity -or at least until Princess Twilight brought the place down- but they were scared of what could happen; it was obvious by the extremely good deal they gave her. The woman knew she already had her in her hand and Sunset was in no mood to reject it no matter how much it smelled like a trap.
“You got yourself a deal”
“Good, my men will return your things and also give you all you need for the mission. You obviously don't know this but in MI6 we tend to give our agents codenames, usually in the form of letter or numbers. The man you will be working with has the number of 007. You on the other hand, as an external agent would simply be called Phoenix… maybe one day you will be able to earn your number”
02 - The Name is Bond, James Bond
Besides the monitoring and sporadic testing that Sunset had to go through as the gust of the British secret service she was bored. Usually if she felt bored she began to read or work on one of her projects, but being inside a clear plastic cell was not something conductive to her current mood. She had to be thankful that everything was resolved quickly and beyond some uncomfortable parts –the handcuffs were a bother- it wasn’t as unpleasant as she might have thought from watching old sci-fi movies.
Thankfully her mood began to change when she saw the leader of MI6 accompanied by an interesting man at her side. The plump, severe woman was a scold as always but it seemed as if the man was cut out directly from an iceberg. His cold blue eyes made the temperature drop at least ten degrees at least.
Seeing M walk to the front of her little prison made Sunset a little weary of what her future would bring. From being an almost normal teenager girl that went to high School and sometimes fixed a magical mischief to a forced agent of one of the biggest secret agencies of the world in search of an extremist and terrorist to save the world. If she survived this she was sure no one would believe her.
“Your time to start working with MI6 begins now Phoenix, you are free to leave your cell.” the woman said making Sunset raise an eyebrow in surprise. Did the woman already knew what she had done already or was she reading her wrong? By the look of impatience that the woman had Sunset realized that she had been busted.
Without another word Sunset quickly took off her handcuffs with ease and simply pushed the door of her plastic cell to open it. Just watching the face of the other researchers and operatives of MI6 was worth a lot more than her simple freedom right now.
“How… no, WHEN did you know?” Sunset asked M leaving the now useless handcuffs in the palm of the stretched hand of M as this one simply looked at her like a mother who just caught her kid lying.
“Since the moment you were brought into MI6 you never showed worry or fear and after checking some of your belongings it was clear that you knew more about escaping that one might thought. In fact, the only time you showed any kind of worry was when we took a sample of your blood. Care to enlighten us in your abilities Phoenix?”
“Is not that big of a deal, I just watched a guy do that in TV and researched how to do it.” Sunset said blushing a bit at the way the other people in the room were looking at her.
“And the door of your cell?” One of the guards asked still baffled at the ease in which Sunset opened a cell door that could withstand the impact of an automatic weapon.
“You guys didn’t check very well.” Sunset said before taking something from inside her long and wavy hair. The small square device seemed to be some kind of Bluetooth wireless that left most people surprised “I used it to hack onto the main door to deactivate the alarms and lock.” she said getting redder and redder as the second passed and her explanation left her guards with a sense of shame and pride for some reasons. To think that someone so young could not only maintain her calm but be able to do something like that in the middle of what could be a hostile zone if she was found really took guts and brains.
“And where pray tell did you found something like this? Nowhere in our records show you as a hacker.” M said wanting to know more about her newest agent. Meanwhile, the cold man haven’t talked, he just simply watched Sunset with a neutral expression on his face.
“I made myself with the help of a friend.”
“Would that friend be Twilight Sparkle?”
“Yeah, she… was being a little paranoid after the whole fiasco at the Friendship Games and convinced me to create a smaller version of her device. I ended up creating a wireless transmitter that could jam signals. Guess Twilight was properly paranoid this time.” Sunset said nervously smiling at what could be her new boss but M simply arched an eyebrow.
“Indeed, and I give thanks that you are not on the other side. It would have been a shame to see your abilities and cunning used by terrorist or worst people.” not to mention that Sunset was sure now that if she had went on with her plans of world domination, the last thing she would have seen would have been the crosshair of an MI6 weapon “In any case, this is the man you will working with, agent 007”
“Double zero?”
“It means that I have a license to kill” the man with a voice that seemed as cold as his appearance. Sunset could only imagine what it must to meet this man in the wrong circumstances, like with him holding a gun to your head.
“So I should just call you 007? Is that your name?” Sunset asked still awed by the man’s presence.
“My name is Bond, James Bond.” For some reason the redhead felt as if that line had been practiced for a long time but it was still quite the introduction in her opinion.
“If you are quite done with introductions then we can talk about something really interesting that we found in your apartment before my agents left Canterlot” One of the researchers then opened up a silver briefcase and inside Sunset found one thing that she had found extremely beautiful and useful. Her Sig Pro 2022.
Rarity had basically screamed at her when she took it home and much to her distaste Applejack and Rainbow were head over heels in excitement at the handgun. Rainbow because she thought it was an awesome weapon, not that she wanted to touch it or get close to it until she knew how to handle a gun, say what you want about Rainbow but she wasn’t stupid enough to gamble with her life. Meanwhile, Applejack knew all about guns considering her grandfather was an army veteran and her dad usually took her on hunting trips from time to time.
“Care to explain us why we found this thing in your apartment?” M’s voice was stoic as ever and she seemed to be only asking how the weapon came to her hands instead of why she even had it considering Canterlot’s rather strict law in handguns. Hunting rifles were one thing but to be able to get her hand on a gun like that it wasn’t normal.
“Two months ago a guy tried to rob me after one of my friend’s party. My neighborhood wasn’t the nicest but there had been no assaults so it took me by surprise. The guy suddenly found himself empty handed” Sunset had found that day that under really stressful situations she was capable of teleporting objects “he was captured a few days later when he began to scream about witchcraft and aliens in the city.”
Whatever the case may have been the three then walked to the shooting range once the agents found out that Sunset had little to no training in shooting. She was capable of taking care of a gun, which was obvious considering the good conditions of the gun.
After watching James use his Walther PPK on the unarmed paper silhouette, Sunset found herself intrigued by the way the man moved and never flinched after every shot, always looking at the front as if he was looking at someone before he put a bullet through the person.
Then came her turn and she was quite amazed by these people considering they were giving her a license to be armed. It was clear how much they were relying on her and giving her the tools to not only help them save the world but probably find a home in this place. If that was the plan then she had to say M was as good as her when it came to planning.
After putting several holes in a new paper target she quickly took the magazine off of her weapon and the bullet on the chamber for safety reasons just like James had done before her. One of the agents in charge of the shooting range seemed to be quite amazed at her shooting ability.
“You look about the same age as my daughter and you can shoot as well as any of our agents Miss…” the agent said obviously wanting to know the name of the redhead.
“Shimmer, Sunset Shimmer.” she said while M simply glared at the man at her side as if already blaming him for that phrase.
“She not only took your introduction but she also mimicked the way you shoot. I shudder to think she will mimic the way you go about missions too 007.” Fir his part, James could only smirk at her boss’ reaction.
