The Phoenix's Guardian

I stepped through the mirror portal with a smile on my face, I took a deep breath and let it out. My trip to Equestria and meeting the counterparts of my friends and one of my girlfriends had been interesting and enlightening.

Smile still on my face, I smoothed my skirt and headed home.

A scant fifteen minutes later I reached the house that Sunset and I shared. Looking in the driveway, I saw that Sunset’s motorcycle, a nice cruiser model, was gone. Realizing my girlfriend was probably at work I headed into the house.

After locking the door, I headed to the bedroom and unpacked the modified clothes and put them away.

That done, I walked around the house doing some general tidying up, a glass here, loose papers there, and a couple of DVDs that were left on the table were all put in there place.

As I looked around the living room, I was shaken from my musings as a window shattered and a black cylinder came flying in with the glass.

Suddenly the device detonated in mid air, the flash blinding me as I staggered back, my ears ringing.

I shook my head to clear the spots from my eyes. I was able to see the silhouettes of figures kicking in the door. As I staggered towards them, I felt impacts on my thighs and stomach.

Looking down, I saw six darts sticking out from my skin.

My head began swimming as the massive dose of tranquilizers began to take hold, the dosage overwhelming the Mako in my veins.

I tried to fight back as the figures grabbed me, but my movements were sluggish and clumsy from the effects of the drugs.

I was forced to the ground as I felt the zip cuffs tightening on my wrists and a bag was pulled over my head.

My last conscious thought was for Sunset and Twilight.

I awoke sometime later in a cell of some kind. Without moving, I develed into the lessons from survival school. The cadre might have been right bastards to all of us, but they had reason for their cruelty. The lessons would save our lives if we were captured.

A few quick twitches of my limbs showed that I had all of my extremities and a bit of soreness showed that my handling had been a bit rough. Thankfully, I was still wearing the outfit I had been wearing and my Materia still sang against my skin.

I smirked internally at the foolishness of my captors as I channeled a low level Cure spell to heal any bruising and purge any remnants of the sedative they had hit me with.

Slowly opening my eyes, I took in the room I had been placed in as I sat up.

The room was about ten by ten, generous space for a cell. A heavy steel door, most likely reinforced, stood against the wall. Looking towards the ceiling, I spotted likely places for hidden cameras.

Again smirking internally, I formed a wicked plan.

I sauntered up to on of the cameras, exaggerating the sway of my hips as I loosened the tie from around my neck and began to unbutton the top of my blouse, exposing some cleavage.

Putting a sultry smile on my face, I looked at the camera with lidded eyes.

“You didn’t need to go to all this trouble to show me that you noticed me senpai.” I said out loud, for once very thankful that Rarity seemed to enjoy making Japanese schoolgirl themed outfits for me.

My sensitive ears picked up the sound of boots pounding on the floor of the hallway outside my cell.

Smirking, I fixed my clothes, neatly adjusting my tie as two soldiers in black uniforms and body armor with helmets and full face shields entered the cell.

“About time.” I said smirk fixed in place. “I have always wanted to say this: Take me to your leader.”

I was handcuffed with traditional steel cuffs and taken to another room when they connected the cuffs to a eye hook in the center of a steel table and forced me down into an uncomfortable steel chair.

My smirk stayed in place as I wanted. The two soldiers had stayed in the room, and were currently standing a couple of feet behind me as I looked at the door.

Feeling a bit froggy, I decided to unnerve the men in the room and the ones listening from the observation room.

Pitching my voice to a more ethereal pitch, I began to speak.

“Tick, tock. Tick, tock.” I said, moving my head side to side with each word.

“Hear the seconds tick away, slipping through your fingers, like wisps of smoke from a fire.” I said, eyes locked on the door.

“Feel the dread in your soul as the wind howls outside the window while you cower in the dying light.” I continued, hearing the men behind me shuffle a bit, the rasp of their ballistic vests on their uniforms betraying their mounting nervousness.

“Hear the crunch of stone on the path to your door. Hear the scratching at your door.” I said, my smirk turning blood thirsty and my eyes becoming catlike slits as they began to glow with power.

“Hear the rasp of my blade as it is drawn from its sheath, hear the steel singing for your blood.” I said as I turned let my head fall back and to the side, my gaze meeting on of the cameras.

“Feel the terror coursing through you veins as I knock down your door. Feel the ice clench your heart as you look upon my visage, steel in hand as my cloak billows in the wind. You shake as I approach, my heels clicking loudly on the stone floor. I can taste your fear as you watch me, the instrument of your destruction approach. I raise my blade and with naught a moment’s hesitation bring it down upon you, cleaving you head from your shoulders. Your body falls, and I turn to leave. Reaching the threshold, I turn to the room once more, a flick of my wrist removing the blood from my steel before it is sheathed once more. A raised hand, a whispered word of power, and fire appears in my hand, flowing out into the room, igniting all it touches. Turning again, I leave the house, drawing up my hood as I walk away, your home turning to ash and dust on the wind.”

As I finished, the door slammed open. A man in fatigues entered the room.

A quick glance at his eyes showed that despite his outward appearance, he was as unnerved as the men behind me.

“Hello, what can I do for you General?” I purred out, my voice husky and dripping with power.

“You can start by telling us how you got the power you have.” He said, his eyes widening slightly as I guessed his rank, despite there being no insignia on the uniform.

I smirked. “I was granted these powers by fate and happenstance. The circumstances are not ones that can be replicated.” I replied.

“I’ll be the judge of that.” The man replied tersely.

“So you wish to plunge this world into a nuclear winter for a chance to gain power that you are not worthy of? That is how I came to be in this world and be granted these powers.”I replied, my lips twisting in a sadistic smile.

“Hmph, so that is your story then? Sure you want to stick with that?” He asked.

My eyes flicked towards the open door where I saw two more soldiers standing outside.

Smile still in place, I cocked my head at the man.

“This is an off the books operation isn't it? You tried to go through the normal chain of command and were told to stay the hell away from me. But you saw my abilities and you wanted them for you own.” I said, my hands clenching into fists as I began to pull at the cuffs, the metal biting into my wrists as I did so.

The man’s silence was as good as admitting his guilt out loud.

“So you would sacrifice your men on this?” I said, shaking my head as I chuckled darkly. “Boyo, you have no idea the hell you have just wrought upon you and your men.” I said before I pulled my wrists apart, snapping the metal like it was cheap plastic.

The two guards behind me who were on edge still jumped to restrain me.

I grabbed the one to the right, and spinning, I drove his face into the edge of the table, the face shield shattering before the bones of his face turned to powder from the force.

Rolling over his back, I grabbed the shoulders of his vest pulling his body on top of mine preventing his fellows from shooting.

This gave me the time to pull the dead man’s side arm from its holster and fire.

The soldier in the room and the two that had come in from the hall each took a round to the face, the rounds easily piercing the face shields. The General took a round to each knee cap.

As the man groaned in pain, I rolled the corpse off of me and stripped the vest and weapons off of it.

Reloading the pistol and holstering it, I quickly checked the rifle and ensured that it was loaded and there was a round in the chamber.

Kneeling down, I grabbed the man’s chin and forced him to look me in the eye.

“The blood of these men is on your hands. If the rest lay down arms and let me leave unmolested and turn themselves into the next level of command, I will spare them.” I said.

“And if they don’t?” He asked, pain leaking into his voice.

“Then they die.” I said as emotion drained from my face as I stood.

As I walked out of the room, I heard the radio on the vest crackle to life.

“Attention all personnel, the prisoner is escaping. Eliminate her with extreme prejudice.”

I shook my head. Some people never learn.

The room was at the end of the hallway with a dead end to the right. Carefully looking to the other end, I saw soldiers begin to make their way down the hall.

I charged up and threw out an overpowered Firaga spell. There was an explosion of fire and heat as the spell hit home. Most of the men barely had a chance to scream before they were immolated or killed by their ammunition and grenades cooking off.

Ensuring I had gathered what ammunition I could carry, I made my way through the halls of the building.

As I walked, I keyed the radio on my vest.

“Total slaughter
Total slaughter
I won't leave
A single man alive
La dee da dee die
Gen-o-cide
La dee da dee die
A ocean of blood
Let's begin the killing time.” I sang out, my voice sounding much better than Vash’s.

As I stalked the corridors, I heard men scrambling. A few ran out of rooms as I approached, firing blindly at me. I dropped them with barely a thought, only feeling the recoil of the rifle bucking into my shoulder.

I eventually found the control room, which was empty. Looking around I found a bag and began shoving documents and hard drives into it. Slinging the bag over my shoulders, I left the room to continue my dread work.

After a few more minutes, I found the exit. Carefully looking outside, I saw many of the men climbing into vehicles and fleeing. Performing a quick check for any injuries and casting a few healing spells to repair them, I stepped outside.

A few men remained, but they threw down their weapons as I approached.

“Vehicle, now.” I commanded.

One pointed a shaking finger at a tactical vehicle across the way.

I nodded and walked over to it. After doing a walk around and opening the doors to check for booby traps, I stowed the bag of intel, got in the vehicle and started the engine.

Grabbing the map I had found, I checked the position of the facility I was at and located Canter City. I was over a hundred and fifty miles away.

Checking the fuel gauge, I was pleased to see the tank was full.

Putting the truck into gear, I drove off.

It was getting dark when I reached the house.

I had to park on the street due to the amount of vehicles in front of it. I recognized Applejack’s truck, Rarity’s sedan, Fluttershy’s hybrid and Aegis’s police cruiser.

Shutting off the truck, I grabbed the bag of intel and the rifle I had taken and walked up to the house.

The window that had been shattered by the flashbang had been boarded up with a heavy sheet of plywood. I sighed as I walked inside.

I walked into the living room and saw a host of distraught faces.

Sunset and Twilight were holding each other on the couch while the girls comforted them.

Twilight’s parents and her brother were off to one side, speaking quietly with each other.

Sunset’s eyes lifted and she saw me as I entered, she nudged Twilight.

“Talisman!” They both cried out as they practically teleported across the room to embrace me.

I dropped the bag and rifle and embraced the pair tightly as they sobbed into my chest.

Looking to Aegis I asked. “How long was I missing?”

“Nearly two days. What happened?” She asked.

I related the story to them quickly.

“There is a map in the bag that has the location of the facility marked on it. I grabbed as much intel as I could before I left. That should help deal with the situation.” I replied.

Aegis nodded and collected the bag and the rifle before heading out to her car.

I gently separated Sunset and Twilight away from me so I could remove the vest and set it on the floor.

Once I did so, I pulled the girls tightly to me.

“I’m sorry that I worried you. The bastards caught me flat footed with that flashbang.” I said as I rubbed their backs.

“I know you did what you could. I’m just glad you’re safe.” Sunset said.

“Me too. I was so worried about you.” Twilight added.

After a bit, Twilight’s family said goodnight and headed home.

I went and took a shower to was the last couple of days away. After getting dressed in my night clothes, I went into the bedroom and found Sunset and Twilight on the bed, leaving a space for me in the middle. The rest of the girls were arrayed around the bed in sleeping bags on the floor.

I smiled as I climbed in between my two girls. As I pulled them close, Fluttershy was kind enough to hit the light.

There were a few murmured goodnights as everyone settled down to sleep. I smiled again at the group of friends that I had as I kissed my two girlfriends goodnight.

I settled down to sleep, fully expecting a few nightmares that night, but with my two ladies next to me, I was able to settle into a peaceful slumber.