Chapters Sweetie Belle watched as her sister trotted back and forth from one side of her messy creation room. It would take Sweetie hours to clean this mess up. Papers lay crumpled up in the trash can beside Rarity's desk. The trash was overflowing with sketches of dress designs that weren't perfect, Rarity being, after all, a perfectionist. Sweat ran down Rarity's forehead, and as she gently used her magic to pick up a cloth to clean the sweat, she noticed her sister standing in the door.
"Hello Sweetie Belle," Rarity said.
"You really should stop taking on so many orders all the time, sis," Sweetie replied.
"I... I suppose your're right," Rarity sighed. "This is the biggest order I've ever had to fill, and not only am I running short on time and have only a few dresses finished, but I'm also running out of materials too!" Sweetie looked around at the creation room.
"Maybe I could help!" Sweetie beamed.
"I couldn't possibly ask such a thing of my little sister. Besides, this is my problem and I'll handle it," Rarity said with a smile. Sweetie looked at her sister unimpressed.
"Just promise me you'll go to bed, sis. It's pretty late after all and you've been working a long time," Sweetie suggested. Rarity looked at Sweetie puzzled. She then turned to the digital clock sitting on her desk.
"It's only 1:30, I've got plenty of time," Rarity said.
"1:30 AM, Rarity!" Sweetie replied, pointing a hoof at the clock. Rarity glanced over at it again. Indeed it was that late. "Maybe if you weren't so tired you could focus enough to see it," Sweetie said.
"Oh... look at that. You're right!" Rarity said with a grin. Then her horn began to glow a bright blue.
"What are you doing?" Sweetie asked.
"You should have been in bed hours ago," Rarity said with a smile. Sweetie Belle began to levitate off the ground and out of the creation room.
"Hey! No fair! Put me down!" Sweetie demanded. Rarity didn't listen, she simply walked out of the hall and trotted to Sweetie's room with her sister levitating right above her the whole way. "Rarity!" Sweetie yelled, with a squeaky voice. Rarity giggled as she levitated Sweetie down to the bed and tucked her in. As soon as the levitation spell was broken Sweetie jumped up and ran for the door but Rarity closed it and locked it behind her.
"Now let your sister catch up on her work, will you?" Rarity asked. Rarity re-entered the creation room and for the first time saw the mess. Her eyes moved slowly from the right to the left. She smiled. "Organized chaos, of course," She said to herself.
It truly was late. Even if she didn't want to admit it, it was. Rarity could barely keep her eyes open. She swayed from left to right like she had been given a tranquilizer. She managed to reach her desk and see yet another blank piece of paper.
"What am I going to do?" Rarity thought to herself. Rarity remembered something that happened to Twilight that was like this very situation. Twilight had forgotten to send a letter to the Princess and thus went a little over board on how she dealt with it. Rarity made a promise to herself that she would learn from Twilight and not turn a big problem into something major. She smiled to herself and closed her eyes, falling to sleep at last.
The doorbell to Twilight's house rang. Spike, who had gotten up early to serve Twilight breakfast in bed, rushed down to see who it might be. Spike grabbed the knob and opened it to find Rarity standing in front of him.
"Ra-Rarity... I didn't know you were coming over today otherwise I would have made you some haybacon and eggs or if you didn't want that I could have fixed you anything. Even if Twilight doesn't have it! I would have found a way. Anything for you Rarity," Spike said with a smile.
"Aren't you so kind, Spike. But I'm afraid all I want is Twilight, not breakfast," Rarity said.
"Sure! I mean, she's eating but I'll get her for you!" Spike said. He then ran up the stairs with great speed. Rarity walked inside Twilight's library and took a seat on a nearby couch. The walls were covered in books. Some fictional, some non-fictional. Rarity was sure Twilight would know and of course understand what she wanted. A portal to the human world. That was all. Of course Twilight may say no. Portals are, after all, extremely dangerous. But it was for her best friend! And Rarity really needed her help. With clothing from the human world, Rarity would be able to make designs never seen by pony eyes. She would shine across Equestria just as she had dreamed.
Twilight, still a little tried, walked down the stairs to meet her guest. Her horn was glowing with a mane brush brushing her mane. She reached the floor Rarity was on and opened her eyes.
"Hello Twilight," Rarity said with a grin. Twilight closed her eyes and shook her head. When she reopened them Rarity was the same. "Is there something wrong my dear?" Rarity asked in a concerned voice.
"I uh... like the new uh... mane. Really nice," Twilight said uncomfortably. Rarity was confused then she realized it. With how late she had stayed up and how early she awoken she had forgotten to brush it. It was probably a horrific mess.
"I was busy and... I guess I forgot," Rarity replied.
"Busy with what?" Twilight said sitting down beside her. "You usually put your mane above most things, so I imagine that whatever you're busy with is very important. Why are you here?" Twilight asked.
"Well Twilight it is true. The order I'm working on is very important and yes, I'm running short on time. The dead line is in four days," Rarity said.
"Well, not to be rude, but... shouldn't you be working on the order then instead of coming here?"
"I need your help with it Twilight"
"I'd be happy to help!" Twilight smiled. "But I'm no good at dress making"
Rarity swallowed hard. It was like asking a colt out for the first time back in high school. She didn't want Twilight to say no. It would mean the time she spent here was wasted and the order wouldn't get finished. Rarity may even be fired and replaced by a pony who could get the job done. Twilight had to say yes. She just had to!
"Twilight... do you believe in humans?" Rarity asked. Twilight raised an eyebrow. Why would she ask that? Where did this come from? Playing along, Twilight responded.
"I... I'm not sure, I mean I've read of magic Portals that lead a pony to the human world. I never have performed one though...or have even cared to do so. Why do you ask?"
"Twilight, there is no way I'll fill these orders in time. But if I had the chance to go to the human world and acquire some of their clothing, I would be able to make all new designs with all new material! I would be a star. A star that would shine brightly across Equestria," Rarity explained. Twilight sat there, not sure what to make of this. Portals were among the hardest spells to cast...not to mention she had no experience with them.
"I'll see what I can do," Twilight smiled. Rarity's eyes lit up.
"How marvelous, thank you, thank you, thank you!" Rarity yelled with glee.
Twilight had sent Rarity home after that and demanded that in exchange for Twilight casting a portal to the human world Rarity would rest. Twilight could tell Rarity needed it. From there, the purple unicorn spent the rest of the day studying portals. She learned nearly everything there was to know. Even if that wasn't very much. Portals weren't cast very often, and thus, not many ponies knew about them. But she had promised Rarity she'd do it. So she had to gather as much information on them as possible.
"Are you ok?" Spike asked. Twilight hadn't even heard him come up to her room. She was lying on her bed with five closed books on portals to her left and the sixth portal book open in front of her. How long had he been here? Twilight thought to herself.
"I'm fine, thanks number one assistant," Twilight smiled. Spike blushed.
"Oh gosh, if you say so," Spike said, walking back downstairs. Twilight went back to reading; in a few hours she'd have to cast the real thing. She looked at her five finished books.
"I think I've studied enough. I'll need my energy for tomorrow after all," Twilight looked at a nearby clock... 8 PM. "Actually, I guess I can finish this book off." She giggled to herself.
The next morning was filled with excitement. Twilight had gathered up her friends and asked them if they'd be present when she cast the portal. She felt more confident around them. The power of friendship is truly a remarkable thing. All six of them were in Twilight's back yard. Rarity was biting her bottom lip with excitement. Pinkie Pie had baked cupcakes to see Rarity off through the portal. Applejack had bucked the finest apples she could find to make sure Rarity had food to eat in the human world. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were the last to arrive.
"Sorry guys," Rainbow said with a frown. "We would have come sooner but Fluttershy's rabbit is a little cranky today." Everyone turned to Fluttershy, who was holding Angel in her hoof.
"He's sick, well, he was. I think he's getting over it," Fluttershy said.
"What's wrong with him, sugar cube?" Applejack asked.
"I'm not sure. I woke up when Rainbow arrived this morning. I invited her in when I saw that Angel was moving very funny and his face was tinted green," she said, petting her bunny. "I gave him some medicine and now he's asleep. I really hope he's ok, poor little guy. I don't know what I'd do if I lost him." Fluttershy landed with Rainbow and the two stood next to the other four.
"Sorry to hear that, Fluttershy," Twilight said in a concerned voice. "If you'd rather go home and care for Angel I'd understand." Fluttershy considered it.
"No, Angel is doing better since the medicine. You need my support-casting a Portal can't be easy," Fluttershy said.
"You're right Fluttershy. Thank you again Twilight, you have no idea how much this means to me," Rarity said. Twilight smiled to her. These were the best friends a pony could have.
Twilight positioned herself for the spell. Her horn began to glow purple. A faint spark appeared a few feet in front of her. It was the portal, not complete, but there it was nevertheless. Twilight bit down and focused everything she had into the spell. The glow from her horn grew in size and sped up in movement. The Portal grew bigger as well-it was two feet in height and width, but still incomplete. The five other ponies watched in amazement at Twilight's spell. Twilight dug into the dirt below as if a force was pushing her down. It had to be the spell. Sparks flew like wild fire from her horn. The portal was nearly finished. All she had to do was end the spell. But it wasn't that easy. She had felt this way before, back when she had to do an entrance exam for the School for Gifted Unicorns. Her magic was getting out of control.
Unknown to any of the ponies, Angel had been woken up by the spell. His eyes grew big at the sight of the portal. It was a blue circle with sparks flying from it, and the surface rippled like a lake after a rock has been thrown in. Angel was mesmerized at its magic.
"Angel!" Fluttershy screamed. She raced toward him. He was fast and knew that Fluttershy would chase. He sped up, he had to know what was on the other side. The other ponies noticed Fluttershy and yelled for her. But she didn't listen, she had to save Angel.
Quickly coming up with a plan, Applejack sprung into action. She raced toward Twilight. Fluttershy was nearly to Angel-her hoofs inches away-but Angel had nearly reached the portal. Using his forward momentum he leapt up with all of his strength, straight into the portal. Applejack tackled Twilight to the ground and broke the spell to the portal. It closed fast, but Fluttershy was already too close. She went through with only milliseconds to spare. It was so close it cut a few strands of her tail off. Twilight had fainted from the spell and the other four watched as the pink strands of Fluttershy's tail fell to the ground.
It was cold. About 50 degrees. Fluttershy awoke to find herself in a bush.
"Where am I?" Fluttershy thought to herself. She looked around and saw that she was in a wooded area. Leaves fell from the trees and one hit her hoof. She examined it but stopped when she saw her hoof. It was bleeding. She must have scraped it when she went through the portal.... the portal! It was gone! She stood and looked around.
She was alone. No friends. No Angel. Not even any woodland creatures. She curled up into a ball and began to cry. She wondered if she'd ever see her friends again. She wondered if she'd ever see a pony again! This was the human world. She didn't belong here. Finally something came. She heard it rustling in the nearby pile of leaves. It was a snake. Fluttershy's tears stopped for a moment. At least the human world had some animals...even if they were snakes.
She reached out with her good hoof and just as she was about to pet it, the snake bit her.
They spoke again in their language. Fluttershy didn't know if she was hidden very well. She was, after all, bright yellow. The two humans looked around the area. Were they looking for her? No, that's impossible. No one knew she was here. The two humans looked around some more until one pointed at something, and they both walked closer to another bush, east of Fluttershy. As they got closer, another human sprang up from the bush; he was so fast that Fluttershy couldn't see what was happening. She closed her eyes and moved back further into the bush. She heard yelling in that language and then... nothing. She opened her eyes to find that the two humans from before were on the ground, they had been knocked out. The last man crouched down and produced a device from his side. Like a phone or something, the device lit up. He studied it for some time. Fluttershy pushed a few branches of the bush out of the way to get a better look.
This was a bad idea. One of the branches broke and the man quickly brought his line of sight to her. She moved back further into the bush and hoped that he wouldn't check it out. She was wrong. The man placed the device back on his side and got into standing position. He slowly crept over to Fluttershy's bush.
"What am I going to do?" she thought to herself. She looked at the man again and saw that he had a sickeningly sharp knife. Fluttershy was trapped. The man was inches away. He lowered his hand to the bush and pulled the branches away.
Fluttershy was curled in a ball, shivering. The man looked at her and his jaw dropped. He put the knife away and looked at Fluttershy for a good 30 seconds before he finally backed away. The man was shocked-he had no idea what kind of animal this was. He placed his fingers on his ear and began to speak.
"This is Sigma, Alpha are you there?" the man said. Fluttershy was shocked. This human spoke the same language as she did. She poked her head out of the bottom of the bush and looked at him again. "Alpha, I've encountered... some sort of strange animal," he said. He must have been talking on a radio of some kind. "It's bright yellow, with pink hair. Can I get some information on this thing?" Fluttershy slowly walked out of the bush. This was her chance to get away.
"Where are you off to?" the man said to her. She froze and slowly turned around. He was standing again and looking directly at her. Fluttershy was stunned; she wasn't going to get away now. It was over.
"Please... just let me go," Fluttershy pleaded. The words took the man by surprise.
"You... did you just...." the man began but couldn't finish.
"I just want to get out of here," Fluttershy replied.
"No... I'm going crazy... you're not real," the man said to himself. Then he closed his eyes for a few moments and reopened them again. "You are real." Fluttershy began to slowly walk backwards. The man began to rub his face with both hands. His mind was in shambles. Had he ate some sort of strange fungi out here? Was he hallucinating from it?
"This is all a dream! That's what it is!" he said to himself. Fluttershy stopped backing away. She could tell this human was just as scared of her as she was of him. She had cared for many animals, and humans couldn't be that different...could they? She walked closer to the man until she was about a foot away.
"Um... are you ok?" she asked. The man looked at her. She smiled at him.
"What are you?" he asked.
The human took Fluttershy to his "camp" while he was on his mission. It was a long dark cave on the other side of a waterfall. It was nightfall when they finally reached it. The inside was colder then it was in the woods. The man took out some matches and lit a fire for them to stay warm. They both sat next to it.
"So... you have some form of intelligence, being as how you can talk and all. That means you have a name... right?" The man asked.
"Fluttershy," she answered. Despite being afraid at first, she had gotten over it. This human obviously had no intention on hurting her. Perhaps the opposite was true. Maybe he wanted to help her. Why else would he have allowed her into his camp?
"Fluttershy... strange name. I suppose you should call me sigma," he told her.
"Sigma? And you said my name was strange," she giggled.
"It's a code name, not my real one," he explained. He took out the device he had when she first saw him. He clicked a few buttons and it lit up.
"What is that?" she asked.
"It's... a sort of map of the surrounding area. It sends out a pulse of about 200 yards. After that it reports its findings back to me and gives me the layout of the landscape. It's pretty much the same concept of how bats manage to “see“ while being blind," he said, tilting the device over to her so she could see. She looked at the screen. It was a map. But there was something strange about it. There was a figure, like a wall, out on the far northern tip of the screen.
"What's the thing up there?" she asked, pointing a hoof at the figure.
"Where I'm going," he replied. He looked at Fluttershy, who was still fixated on the screen. "I have never seen a pony like you. Where did you come from again?"
"It's a place called Equestria… Ponyville to be more precise. My friend Twilight cast a portal with her magic and... well..." She began but could find the strength to finish. Remembering what had happened reminded her of how hopeless it was to think about going back. A tear rolled down her cheek. She was never going to see her friends again. Sigma looked at Fluttershy and then into the camp fire. He was never good at cheering people up. Nevertheless, he had to try. He lifted his hand and placed it on Fluttershy's head. She looked up at it and then to Sigma.
"I'm sure your friends wouldn't give up on you. They’re doing everything they can to get you home... I'm sure of it," Sigma told her. Fluttershy's tears stopped and she looked at him for a long time. There was truth to what he said. Perhaps it wasn't hopeless. She just had to keep her head up. She would return home!
Sigma turned back to the fire and watched as it cracked in the dark of their cave. Fluttershy moved closer to him and rested her head on his lap. He looked at the yellow pony again and considered pushing her off. Eventually he decided against it. Fluttershy quickly fell asleep. Sigma, on the other hand, never slept. He had to keep a look out. He was being hunted, and the hunters would never stop until he was captured or... dead.
Fluttershy awoke in the cave. She looked around but Sigma was nowhere to be found. Where had he gone? Did he abandon her? She got up. It was easier to see now that it was daytime. Even so... he was gone. Fluttershy heard strange noises by the entrance. Someone was coming. She quickly hid behind a rock. The human passed through the waterfall and into the cave.
"Fluttershy?" the man said. She recognized the voice-it was Sigma. She jumped out from behind the rock and ran towards him, but stopped when she saw what was in his hand. It was a dead rabbit with a blood drenched coat. "I was out of MREs, so I had to go hunting. Sorry, I would have told you but you were asleep," Sigma said.
"Why did... How..." she began.
"Survival, I've been on this mission for two weeks. My supplies didn't last. A pony such as yourself wouldn't understand," Sigma explained. She watched as he sat down by their old camp fire and lit it up once more. There was no point in protesting about him eating the rabbit. Fluttershy walked toward the waterfall. "Where are you going?" He asked.
"I don't want to be around to see this," Fluttershy said, and she walked outside. The woods were alive with creatures. Creatures much different from the ones back home. It was much like the Everfree Forest. Animals and plants cared for themselves. Clouds moved on their own.
"Head Up!" Fluttershy said to herself. She wasn't about to break down again. She had to be strong if she was going to survive through this. She looked around. Suddenly an idea came to her: She had been sad this whole time, and not even thought that perhaps the human world had something to offer. Then, as if it had been perfectly planned out, a white rabbit hopped out of the bushes. Fluttershy couldn't believe her eyes. It was Angel! She had given up hope of finding him as soon as she arrived here. It was good he hadn't done the same. She raced toward him with all of her speed and scooped him up off the ground. She hugged him so tightly, he indicated he was choking. Fluttershy laughed and loosened her grip on him.
Her wings opened and she lifted off the ground, high into the sky. She zoomed toward the clouds and burst through. Up here in the clouds... she forgot all of her troubles. She didn't care. It was too great a feeling that even the worst of news couldn't dampen. She soared low and cut a cloud in two. It was almost as if she were home. Angel turned his head from the ground to Fluttershy. She was soaring freely through cloud after cloud. It made him happy to see her so happy.
She suddenly remembered that she had left Sigma in the cave. She looked around from her cloud city and found the waterfall. She made her descent and landed with Angel on her back. She entered the cave and found a note. It read:
"Fluttershy, not sure if you'll find this but I needed to go. I found an opening in the complex. Please don't follow me, It's too dangerous." Fluttershy gently placed the note on the ground.
Fluttershy took to the clouds. By doing so she'd be able to spot the complex and get in. After five minutes of flying, she came across the complex...although the sight of it scared her. There were guards everywhere, and there were towers to the left and right of the main gate with mounted machine guns. It was obvious that there was some big secret inside there. Fluttershy wasn't concerned with their secrets though-she had a bad feeling that Sigma was in danger. She looked around the complex for a clearing where she could land without being seen.
A small ventilation duct was on the roof of one of the buildings. She saw her chance and went for it. She landed on the roof without anyone spotting her. The duct was small... perhaps too small for a human. She began to wonder what "way in" Sigma was talking about. It was obviously not the ducts on the roof. Although it didn't matter much-if he found a way in, he must be inside.
Fluttershy dove into the duct. She fell quite far until she hit the bottom with a hard thud. She slowly got into crawling position, it was the only way to fit through. She looked up the duct and smiled to Angel, signaling that it was OK to come down. Angel jumped and Fluttershy caught him. He jumped from her arms and led the way through the vents.
It was near pitch black inside the vents, so the pair stayed close to one another. Fluttershy's back began to ache; the vents were a tight fit even for a pony. The two reached an opening in the vents where air flowed down to the inner complex. Angel looked at Fluttershy, and she nodded in agreement. Angel began to unscrew the bolts that held the bars in place. Fluttershy thought about her current situation. It wasn't too late to back up and fly out. Who knows? Maybe Sigma was OK... but she had a nagging feeling he wasn't.
Angel unscrewed the last bolt and jumped up and down with all of his might to make the bars give way.
"Mind if I try?" Fluttershy asked. Angel shrugged and hopped aside. Fluttershy held out her front hooves and brought them crashing down on the bars. She quickly regretted it. For the first time in her life, Fluttershy had used too much strength. The bars fell to the ground with a loud clang. Angel looked at her, eyes wide and jaw dropped. The pair began to hear footsteps coming from further down the hall. Fluttershy backed up deep into the vent, and Angel did the same. The guard reached for the bars and picked them up. He shook his head and took out a radio. He said a few things into it and walked away with the bars in hand.
Fluttershy wasn't sure if she had been caught or if he thought the vents were too small for a human to fit through and that the bars had just come loose. Either way, she wasn't going to stick around to find out. She quickly jumped down from the vent and stretched out her back. Angel followed and landed on her back. She wasn't sure how deep she was in the complex, but she was definitely in some kind of basement. There were no windows and the walls were of a pure grey. Vents and pipes were covering the ceiling. Perhaps the secret Sigma was after was down here. Maybe he was too. But there were hallways and doors everywhere-where was she going to start? She looked at Angel for advice. He looked at their options and closed his eyes. Then he pointed to take the hall to the right. Fluttershy nodded and set off. She was doing everything perfect so far... but for how long would her luck last?
Rarity had read book after book on portals ever since she had volunteered to cast the second one. Immediately after she left Twilight's, with several of Twilight's books, she started studying. She had expected portals to be a tough spell but... this was a whole new ball game. She read about the dangers of casting portals. A long time ago, there was a unicorn who tried to assassinate princess Celestia. He failed, of course... but not because he was caught. He actually never was. He was on the top floor of a skyscraper in Hoofington. The royal guard had surrounded him and were slowly making the ascent up the stairs to him. Out of ideas, the unicorn attempted to summon a portal and escape into another dimension. He nearly had it completed but he couldn't end it... just like Twilight. Unfortunately for him, he didn't have friends to save him from the portal. It exploded, taking him with it. When the guards reached him, all they found was a charred floor with ash falling like snow, and the horn of the unicorn assassin.
The story chilled Rarity to the bone. She was so afraid of it that she jumped when she heard Sweetie Belle enter.
"Sorry sis," Sweetie said. "I thought that with all the studying you're doing, you may have gotten hungry," she continued, and sat a tray of food on Rarity's desk.
"Thank you very much Sweetie. I'm famished," Rarity said with a smile. Sweetie smiled back and left the room. Rarity frowned at the sandwich and water Sweetie had brought her, but not because she was upset with Sweetie. No, Sweetie Belle was the best of sisters. It was because of the haunting fact that there was a great chance that this would be the last time she'd ever taste this food...or see her sister.
She quickly brushed that thought out of her mind then turned to the digital clock... 1:00 PM. She had loads of time left and she was determined to not waste a second of it. She wolfed down the sandwich and water in about 30 seconds, all while still studying. She wouldn't fail, she couldn't! Everypony was depending on her. She studied until every book she had was finished. She closed the final book and looked at the clock again: 10:00 PM.
Her eyes widened. Had she really been studying for that long? It didn't feel like it. She felt like there was more she could learn... but there wasn't. She was as ready as she would ever be for tomorrow. She opened up the first book and began to read again... but didn't get far. All the studying had taken its toll on her and she fell asleep, as if somepony had wanted her to stop, knowing that she would need her energy.
The next day, the situation seemed all too familiar. Rarity stood in the same spot as Twilight. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie stood behind her. Rarity looked at her friends. Would this be the last time she saw them? Applejack smiled to the white unicorn, and Rainbow followed suit.
She positioned herself just as Twilight did. She closed her eyes and her horn began to glow a bright blue. A flicker of light appeared just in front of Rarity. Sparks appeared from Rarity's horn. The small flicker grew into a mini portal about a foot in diameter. She focused harder then ever before in her life. Her hooves dug into the ground. Her three friends watched in anticipation.
Rarity had surprised herself. She didn't expect to make it this far into the spell. The portal grew again. It was around two feet in diameter now, but the spell was taking its toll on her. Sparks flew from her horn as the portal grew even bigger. She was doing perfect but she was losing energy... and fast. She knew she had to end this as fast as she could. She gritted her teeth and lifted her front hooves off the ground. Her horn became surrounded by lightning. She slammed her front hooves down and the lightning shot from her horn straight into the portal. The portal grew again. It was now complete. All she had to do was end it.
Rarity blocked everything out. She had to focus. She didn't care that this was the hard part. She didn't care that even Twilight couldn't do this. She only cared about the portal's completion. Rarity's horn lit up with a blinding light.
"If this doesn't work..." she thought, but quickly hushed that thought. It must work! She stepped closer to the portal.
"Come on, Rarity!" Pinkie cheered. Rarity stepped closer again. It took all of her strength for each step. It was like the portal didn't want to be completed. Rarity took another step forward. Her legs were shaking. She couldn't move forward any more. She was struggling to even stay on the ground. The portal was pushing her back with its magic. Rarity wasn't going to finish it. She began to step back slowly.
"Rarity, No!" Applejack yelled.
"I can't!" Rarity screamed.
"Yes you can!" the three ponies yelled to her. Rarity was surprised again. They really believed in her. Maybe she could do it! Maybe the key was just believing in herself. She bit down and stepped forward. As if insulted by this newfound strength, the portal pushed back harder then ever. Rarity closed her eyes.
"I can do this," he said to herself. She stepped forward more. She was inches away from the portal. If she could touch it with her horn it would be finished. She inched forward. She was so close. With one last thrust she connected her horn and the portal. There was a loud bang, as if it was thundering. Rarity was thrown back and slid into Twilight's house. The three ponies ran to her aid.
"Ya did it Rarity!" Applejack yelled. Rarity lay still on the ground. She turned her head to the portal and opened her eyes. There it was. She let off a slight smile. It was all she could do. The three others helped her up. Pinkie lent her a shoulder so she could stand.
"Don't... you have... somewhere to... be?" Rarity asked in a weak voice. Applejack nodded and walked to the portal.
"Hey wait!" Rainbow said. She ran up to Applejack.
"I thought we already decided this Rainbow," Applejack stated.
"I know, but... what if we both went?" Rainbow asked.
"I don't want to lose any more ponies to this portal thing. Stay here where it's safe."
"Neither do I," Rainbow replied. "Good luck." Applejack smiled. "Oh, um AJ, one more thing," Rainbow said.
"What is it, sugarcube?" Applejack asked.
"I'm... sorry," Rainbow said. AJ gave her a strange look. Then AJ knew, but it was too late. Rainbow quickly delivered a right hoof into Applejack's stomach. Applejack collapsed on the ground. Not wasting any time, Rainbow delved face first into the portal. She was gone. Applejack stood up. She should be mad at Rainbow... but she wasn't. Rainbow represented loyalty, and she upheld it. She couldn't help but respect that. Rainbow was willin' to dive into... wherever she was to save her best friend. Maybe she was the right choice. Rainbow must have known this all along.
"You better know what you're doin', Rainbow," Applejack said with a smile.
Rainbow Dash looked at her surroundings. She was on top of a hill, with woodland below her on all sides. She turned around to the portal, which, since Rarity had finished, was still open. The only problem was, Rainbow wasn't sure how long it'd stay like that.
Due to being so far away from home, many ponies would have considered leaving this place right away. But Rainbow was different... she smiled. She knew from the moment that she jumped through the portal that she would have to commit everything to finding her lost friend.
Rainbow spread her wings and shot towards the clouds to get a better view of the landscape. Wherever she was... it was thick with trees. They spread out for miles. Finding Fluttershy would take more then luck.
"Where to start?" Rainbow said to herself. She looked around some more and saw a mountain off in the distance. She raced toward it and the closer she got, the more she saw. When she got close enough, she found that the 'mountain' was actually a waterfall, and she landed on a rock at the base of it. She considered if Fluttershy had been here. If she was in Fluttershy's position she would have come here... but she wasn't Fluttershy. Rainbow investigated the area, but didn't find much. Still... she knew something was off about this place, so she persisted.
Suddenly, strange voices could be heard off in the distance... but they were getting closer. Ranbow realized she had to hide, so she jumped behind a thick tree. The humans walked up to the waterfall, just a few feet from her.
"Rainbows... what great camouflage," she thought to herself. The humans talked to one another and looked at the waterfall for nearly five minutes. Rainbow took a deep breath and (against better judgement) looked at them. Both of them were too preoccupied with other things to notice a rainbow pegasus staring at them. One was sitting on a nearby rock lighting a cigar. The other was standing farther away, but still looking off in a different direction. Suddenly, he walked to the waterfall and quickly jumped through.
Rainbow was shocked! How did he see that? Did he know about it before coming here? One thing was for sure Rainbow had to get in. She considered sneaking... but remembered the time when she broke into the Ponyville hospital. The man sitting on the rock took a few puffs of his cigar. Rainbow snuck up behind him and delivered an Applejack-style buck to the back of his head. The man fell violently forward and hit the ground with a thud.
The other man was still inside the waterfall. With the sound of tons of water hitting rock, it was impossible for him to hear that his comrade had been knocked out. Rainbow silently crossed through the waterfall to the inside. The man was looking at a piece of paper. Rainbow slowly crept up behind him, but before she was close enough to knock him out, he quickly turned around with his pistol in hand. The man was stunned at the sight of her. How often did a human see a pony like her? His initial shock soon faded and he shot at her. Rainbow rolled out of the way and ended up behind a large rock. The man fired his pistol again hoping for the bullets to bounce off the walls and hit his target. Rainbow looked around for something to defend herself with, but found nothing besides rocks.
"Well, I guess they'll have to do," she thought to herself. She picked one up and waited. The man fired more shots but ran out of ammo. As he reached to switch clips, Rainbow made her move. She threw the rock, and although she missed his head, the rock hit his hand with enough force to knock the pistol out of it. The man clutched his hand in pain. Rainbow quickly took advantage of the chance and jumped from cover to deliver the knockout kick. Her back hooves hit the man directly in the face. He fell straight to the ground, unconscious.
Rainbow picked the note up off the ground and read it to herself. It read:
"Fluttershy, not sure if you'll find this but I needed to go. I found an opening in the complex. Please don't follow me, It's too dangerous."
Rainbow looked at the note, confused. What did this mean? Had Fluttershy actually befriended a human? If she had, this waterfall must have been their hiding spot.
Rainbow Dash stomped a hoof on the ground. This was the only clue she had but it didn't tell her anything! All she knew was that Fluttershy had made a human friend... and that she was at some complex in search of them. She had no idea how long ago this note was left here, or if Fluttershy even made it to this complex. She didn't know if Fluttershy was even alive! She kicked a nearby rock and jumped out from the waterfall cave. She opened her wings and took to the clouds in search of her only lead: the complex.
The complex became darker as Fluttershy went deeper inside it. She didn't know why, but she knew that Sigma was near the bottom. She didn't know why, but she was almost certain that Sigma was near the bottom. She hadn't seen many guards; they must've figured that their security was too good for anyone to have made it this far.... but not any 'pony'. She had another theory about the lack of guards, though, and it was one she truly feared. The security may have been lifted because Sigma had been captured. She hoped that she was wrong- that this trip was all a waste of time and Sigma had returned to the camp to tell her he couldn't get in. But she 'knew' that he was here...somehow.
She found a staircase at the end of the hall and made her descent. How many flights of stairs had she gone down now? Three? Four? She hadn't kept track. At the bottom of the current staircase was a long narrow hall with jail cells to her left and right. It was lit only by small, dim lights that hung from the ceiling. This place frightened her to no end. It was like something out of a horror movie.
"Are you real?" voice said from the dark cell to her right. Fluttershy jumped, then slowly turned to the source of the voice. It was pitch black inside the cell, and impossible to see who it was.
"You must be the... pony Sigma told me about," the voice said. Fluttershy could tell it was the voice of a female, but it sounded weak and dying. "I thought Sigma was losing it... I guess not... but... no time for this," she said weakly. Fluttershy came closer to the cell bars.
"Is Sigma here?" Fluttershy asked, still trying to get a look at the woman. But it was impossible to see in there.
"Probably... I shouldn't have told him I was captured. He's always been prone to brash decisions," the woman replied.
"Who are you?" Fluttershy asked, still trying to get a glimpse of her.
"I'm Alpha." Fluttershy suddenly remembered back to when she first met Sigma and when he contacted Alpha over the radio. This was his partner.
Fluttershy began to hear footsteps at the top of the staircase.
"The cell across from me," Alpha said. Fluttershy nodded and sqeezed through the bars on the cell directly across from Alpha. She moved back to the darkest corner. For the first time in her life, she was happy to not be able to see her hoof in front of her face.
Moments later, two guards and a man in a black suit walked up to Alpha's cell.
"Congratulations, you will be set free today," the man in the black suit said to Alpha. Strange... Fluttershy understood this man... he must be the leader of this place. "Still don't feel like talking to us? Well that's alright. I'm sure your friend will after he sees that your life depends on it," the man in the black suit stated. "Take her to the interrogation room, and bring the other one too," he ordered. One guard opened the cell. All Fluttershy heard was a strong-sounding punch, and Alpha was dragged out of the cell.
She was wearing a tank top and military camouflage pants with boots. Blood was running from her mouth, nose, and forehead. She also had cuts and gashes of all shapes along her arms, most old and dried. But the most shocking thing was her fingers... or lack thereof. She was missing three from her left hand. What kind of people were these?!
As Alpha was dragged by her arms, Fluttershy saw something. Alpha looked directly at her, as if she was trying to tell her something. Fluttershy stayed silent until she heard the door at the end of the hall open and close.
"That must be the interrogation room," she said. Fluttershy was shivering. She was too afraid to move. Angel hopped in front of his yellow companion and gave her a smile. Fluttershy looked at him and gave a slight grin; it was all she could muster. Fluttershy took a few deep breaths and eventually calmed down. She squeezed through the bars and was now in front of Alpha's old cell. Alpha had left something for her but it was impossible to see inside. Perhaps that was the point.
If she could see inside, then so could the guards. Since it was pitch black, it was impossible for them to see what Alpha left for her. She squeezed through the bars to Alpha's cell and began her blind search. She slowly moved her hoof around on the floor, hoping that whatever Alpha left she'd bump into. After about a minute of searching, Fluttershy was ready to give up. Maybe Alpha didn't leave anything for her. After all, what could she have left? She must've been searched when she was captured.
Suddenly she felt 'something' on the floor. It was flat and kind of hard to pick up, but it was something. Eventually she got it and took it out into the dimly lit hallway. It was a key. Alpha must have snatched it off the guard when he hit her. But it wasn't much help to Fluttershy; after all, this complex was like a maze. How was she supposed to know what this key went to? She couldn't stick around to find out, though- someone was coming.
Fluttershy quickly got back into a cell and into the darkness. There were three guards and one other man... Sigma. He was handcuffed, shirtless, and had a bag over his head. The guards walked him to the interrogation room and led him inside. The door slammed shut behind them.
Rainbow found the complex. She watched the activities going on from her bird's-eye view in the clouds. Guards were stationed on the roof and on the ground to protect the complex from intruders.
Fluttershy must be inside. Rainbow looked around the complex for a way in. There were air ducts on the roof... but snipers had been placed up there. That way was out of the question.
"One step at a time," Rainbow told herself. She needed to get over the fence that surrounded the complex. It would be easy to just fly in, but flying around was an easy way to get spotted. She would have to stay grounded to get in... or not. Rainbow noticed a tree limb hanging over the top of the fence, with no guards around it. She quickly flew down from her clouds and into the tree. She inched her way through the leaves and branches to the one limb she needed, climbed it to the edge, and dropped down to the complex. Then, she quickly ran to and hugged a nearby wall for cover, using extreme caution. Stealth was never her strong suit, but she had no choice.
She noticed a door to her left and reached a hoof out to its knob. However, before she could touch it, it began to move on its own. Rainbow hid behind the opening door and watched as a guard walked out. He didn't notice the rainbow pegasus right behind him and continued to walk towards the fence. Rainbow stopped the door before it closed completely and rushed inside. She was in.
The door led her to a long, office-like hallway. She walked down the hall and ended up in an office area. Cubicles were everywhere; some empty, some not. Luckily for Rainbow, the humans at the desks were too caught up in their work to notice her. She looked around the office, and noticed two hallways leading out of the room not counting the one she came from. She slowly crept around the cubicles and entered one of the halls.
She slowly walked down the hall, watching and listening for anyone. Signs were hanging beside each door in the hall, but the language on them was indecipherable to her. She kept walking until she got to the final door at the end of the hall. She tried to open it but it wouldn't budge. There was a card reader beside the door. The light on the card reader was red, and she figured that meant it was locked.
Rainbow knew that she would have to get a keycard. She walked back down the hall when she heard talking in another room. Rainbow would have normally looked for a hiding spot, but this was different. She understood this language. She reached up a hoof and turned the knob. Finding that it was unlocked, she slowly and silently opened the door. Inside, a man in a red beret was looking out a window and talking on a radio.
"The final stage is about to begin," the man said into the radio. Rainbow looked around the office and saw a knife on the man's desk. She slowly approached the knife. "Our enemies won't see this coming. It's too perfect," he said to the radio. Rainbow picked up the knife. "We'll speak again soon," he finished, and clicked a button on the radio. He sat down in his chair, still unaware of Rainbow. She positioned the knife in her right hoof then struck.
Rainbow placed her left hoof over the man's mouth and the knife by his throat. The man panicked a little at first but after feeling the blade at his throat he calmed down.
"I'm going to let you speak, but no screaming. Got it?" Rainbow said in a harsh tone. The man nodded. Rainbow lowered her left hoof and the man let out a deep breath.
"Who are you?" he asked, but after seeing the hoof holding the knife, altered his question. "What are you?" Rainbow ignored the questions.
"The room at the end of the hall. You're going to help me get in there," Rainbow ordered. The man couldn't get over the horror of his current situation and just nodded. He slowly reached into the front pocket of his uniform and produced a keycard. It was black and white with black numbers printed in the white section. "Thank you," Rainbow said. She took the card with her left hoof and slowly put the knife away. The once the knife was out of sight the man let out a sigh. Rainbow quickly moved the knife back to his throat.
"If you EVER tell your friends I was here... I'll kill you," Rainbow growled. The man nodded nervously. Rainbow set the knife back on the desk and ran out of the office. She ran back to the keycard door and used the card. The light turned green and a lock from inside the door was released. She opened the door and found a staircase, which led down to a dark area. But somehow, she knew that this was the right way. She considered going back for the knife... but she knew she couldn't use it. She could never bring herself to kill somepony... or human, in this case. Even if she could, where would she carry it?
She descended the stairs to find a small room with a concrete floor and walls. There was a couch and some chairs here, along with a door to her right. But those things didn't concern her. Right in front of her was an elevator. She walked inside and looked at her floor options, but they were all in that strange language that was on the signs. So, she clicked the button closest to the bottom, hoping it would take her to the lowest floor. Rainbow recalled that in some spy books she had read, there was always some sort of top secret item on the bottom floor of the enemy's complex. Perhaps that was what Fluttershy's human friend was after, and maybe that was where Fluttershy herself was at. Rainbow braced herself for whatever was on the other side of those doors, but before they opened, the elevator stopped.
"I can't be all the way down yet!" Rainbow said out loud. And she was right... someone else had stopped the elevator.
Fluttershy stood outside 'the room'. She didn't want to go inside... but she knew she had to. Every second she spent out here was another Sigma would be tortured. Not only that, but Alpha was in there too! Now Fluttershy had to save two people.
Her hooves were shaking. Could she pull this off? Even if she went in, what would she do? Fight the man in black and save Sigma and Alpha... No. It was hopeless. At that moment, Angel hopped down from her back and looked her in the eyes.
"I know this is the reason I came here," Fluttershy said. "But what am I supposed to do?" Angel put his paw on his chin and considered their options, which, admittedly, were limited. Suddenly, Fluttershy and Angel heard sounds from the other side of the door. Fluttershy pressed an ear against it to hear what was happening. Angel tapped her on the hoof. She looked at him to find that he was pointing at a small space between the bottom of the door and the floor.
"The silence will get you nowhere," the man in black said. "Just tell me how much they know and I won't harm you." He then turned to Alpha, who was tied up in a chair bolted to the ground. "Or further harm your partner," he finished. Sigma was silent. Fluttershy finally got a look at Sigma's face, which was no longer covered by the bag from before. He was bleeding from the mouth and nose, and obviously in serious pain.
The man in black shook his head. "Have it your way then," he stated, and walked over to a desk. He picked up some sort of stick from the desk- a stun rod. "You have one last chance," he warned. In her mind, Fluttershy was begging Sigma to talk, but he didn't say a word. The man in black shrugged and hit Sigma in the side with the stun rod, making electricity surge through him. He tried to move away but he was restrained and helpless to the torture. Sigma screamed in pain. Fluttershy nearly screamed herself but quickly turned away and put both hooves over her mouth. The man in black removed the stun rod and looked Sigma in the eyes.
"You know... most of my employees ask how I stay sane with all the interrogations I've done and all, and you know what? At first, these things kept me up at night. I thought I'd go crazy! Then, one day, I found out one of my own was leaking information. So I invited him into my office. I offered him some... special coffee, he drank it, and he... fell asleep! Rather fast too!" the man in black said with a grin. "He woke up in here. Chained up, just... like... you. Of course, he was different. He quickly admitted to what he had done and asked for forgiveness. What a coward! Unlike you," he laughed. "No... he was nothing like you. This man was a coward, and even after I smashed all his toes with a sledgehammer, he begged for forgiveness. He never faced his death with pride. I had a fantastic two hours with him, until he finally died of blood loss.
Fluttershy felt sick. Images of this torture rolled through her mind. She tried her best to block out the images but it was no use. She swallowed hard and tried her best to keep from vomiting. The man in black set the stun rod down on the desk and turned to Sigma.
Fluttershy gasped and ran away from the door. The man in black turned to Sigma.
Moments later, guards opened the door and unchained Sigma from the ceiling while leaving his handcuffs on. They dragged him out of the room and into a nearby cell. Sigma walked in without resisting. What was the point? He wasn't going anywhere. He sat down in the darkest corner of his cell. The man in black stepped out of the interrogation room and looked into Sigma's cell.
"You should have given me the information... was that so hard?" he asked Sigma. Sigma didn't respond. The man in black walked with the two guards out of the prison and left Sigma alone. He placed a hand on his face.
"I should have told them!" he thought to himself. He slammed his fist into the ground. It was too late. Fluttershy watched silently in the cell across from Sigma. She got up and squeezed through the bars. Sigma looked up and saw her in the dim light of the prison.
"Fluttershy?" he asked. Fluttershy didn't respond. She squeezed through the bars of Sigma's cell and hugged him.
"I'm... sorry," she told him. Sigma was a bit confused, but then he realized that she must have been outside the room the whole time. He looked at Fluttershy, who had a tear running down her cheek.
"You must have been really strong to have made it this far... keep it up," he told her as he cleared her tear away. Fluttershy smiled. Sigma hadn't given up, even after losing someone dear to him. Angel hopped over to Sigma and held up the key they had found in Alpha's cell.
"What's this?" Sigma asked.
"Alpha left it for us," Fluttershy explained. Sigma examined the key. He recognized it from when he was caught. It was the key they used to lock his handcuffs. He signaled to Angel to unlock him. The key worked.
"What now?" Fluttershy asked. Sigma looked at her.
"We escape," he told her.
Rainbow Dash stood firm in the elevator. Whatever was happening, it wasn't good. She quickly looked for an escape route. The only way out was a ceiling hatch that led to the elevator shaft. She pushed the hatch open and was now on the roof of the elevator. Suddenly, a bright red light fell down into the shaft and landed by her hoof. It was blinding, so she turned away from it and looked towards the top of the shaft. There, she saw the man that she threatened with a knife moments ago. He had pried the elevator doors open and was waving at her.
"Hello," he yelled down the shaft. Rainbow growled at him. She knew that humans couldn't be trusted. She should have killed him when she had the chance. "You're the first per-.... thing to ever get the drop on me. I must admit that I was a bit careless-since we had captured two spies, I thought the threat was taken care of-but who would have suspected you!" he said with a laugh as he produced a pistol from his side.
Rainbow jumped into action. Her wings opened and she began her ascent. The man fired his pistol and two shots zoomed past her. Rainbow was almost to the man, but he fired a third shot which hit her right wing. She crashed into the man at the top of the elevator shaft.
The lack of air was beginning to make Rainbow panic. She struggled with all of her might, but the man was too strong. She began kicking, desperatly. Luckily for Rainbow, one of her kicks hit the man between the legs. He immediately dropped Rainbow and fell to his knees. Rainbow wasn't proud of what she had done, but it worked. She turned around and delivered a buck to his face. He flew back and slammed the back of his head against the wall behind him. Then he fell to the floor.
Rainbow struggled to regain her breath. Then she looked at her wing. It was bleeding badly, and with adrenaline leaving her body, she could feel all of the pain. She sat down on the nearby couch and looked at her wing. The bullet was still inside of her wing; it didn't go through. Regardless of the lack of guns in Equestria, Rainbow knew that the bullet had to come out. She touched the spot with her hoof and instantly jerked away. She looked around the elevator room for anything helpful. There were chairs, the elevator shaft, and the door. She hadn't gone in it before, and she wondered if by sheer luck, there would be medical equipment inside.
Rainbow opened the door and was almost instantly disappointed to find a bathroom. It wasn't all bad though; she now had a way to stop the bleeding. She went over to the sink and picked up the roll of paper towels. She took about a fourth of the roll and wrapped her wing up with it. Still... this wasn't good enough. She had to find a medical station.
She walked out of the bathroom and over to the elevator controls. After pushing the button to summon the elevator, the elevator door closed. While she was waiting for the elevator to arrive, she turned and looked at the man who was still out cold on the ground. She felt like attacking him again out of sheer anger for what he did. She was nice once; why give him a second chance? She could put an end to him right now... he wouldn't even have the opportunity to resist. She continued to look at him, though, and realized that even if he did deserve it, she wouldn't be able to do it. She wasn't a killer.
The elevator doors opened again and Rainbow stepped inside. She pressed the bottom floor button and the door shut. She was back on track again. The elevator descended into wherever she was going, and she imagined what was at the bottom. Finally, the doors opened again, and Rainbow was greeted by a hallway. She walked out and saw a large window. What was on the other side was horrifying: a missile, bigger then any other. Whoever the enemies of these guys were, they were in big trouble. Rainbow turned away from the window. It wasn't her problem. It just made her want to get back to the portal even more.
She looked at her options: left or right. Making up her mind, she headed right. She ran down this new hall and came to a left turn. This led to more stairs, which she promptly headed down. She ended up in a very dark room, with no windows, pure grey walls, and vents and pipes covering the ceiling. She looked up and noticed that one of these vents was missing the bars that went across it. Had they taken it off to repair it, or... maybe... was this how Fluttershy got inside? Maybe when she was here, there were no guards on the roof.
Of course, that was the only clue she got. This basement was like a maze. Maybe that was the point... to confuse intruders. Before she let it get to her, she quickly picked a path and took it. She ran and ran, not thinking about where she was going. Right. Right. Left. Straight. Left. Right. Suddenly, Rainbow heard a scream and the sound of a loud clang. She found a staircase and ran down it to find a prison block. Near the end was a guard who had fallen to the ground, and a familiar yellow figure squeezing through the bars and grabbing the guard's keys.
"Fluttershy!" Rainbow yelled, rushing toward her long lost friend. Rainbow tackled Fluttershy with hug.
"Ra-Rainbow Dash?" Fluttershy mumbled. She could barely talk. It was unbelievable that Rainbow was here. "Rainbow... How are-"
"Rarity created a portal!" Rainbow explained with glee. Fluttershy was surprised. Her friends were still trying to save her after all. Fluttershy smiled at Rainbow Dash and hugged her. Fluttershy then noticed Rainbow's wing bandaged in paper towels.
"Rainbow, what happened?" Fluttershy asked in a concerned tone. Rainbow looked at Fluttershy and then her wing.
"It's... just a scrape, don't worry," Rainbow said. Sigma turned his attention to Rainbow's wing.
"Doesn't look like a scrape," he said. Rainbow turned to Sigma for the first time. She hadn't paid attention to him since she'd been here.
"Who are you?" Rainbow asked in a harsh tone. After what had happened to her, she wasn't the biggest fan of humans.
"Rainbow, this is Sigma; Sigma, this is Rainbow Dash. She's a friend from Ponyville," Fluttershy explained. Sigma looked at the new pony and knelt down on the other side of the cell.
"What happened?" Sigma asked in a concerned tone. Rainbow glared at him.
"Why do you care?! You're a human!" she growled. Fluttershy could tell that Rainbow must have had a bad run on her way here, and that Rainbow wasn't nearly as lucky as Fluttershy had been. "The last human I met tried to kill me! How do I know you won't try and do the same?" Rainbow asked.
"He's not like them, Rainbow!" Fluttershy explained. Rainbow looked at Fluttershy. She wasn't completely sure if she could trust the human... but she trusted Fluttershy. Rainbow let out a sigh and began to explain what happened to her wing.
"There was a human... he had a device that fired small... things... they were really fast. I managed to dodge a few but the last one hit me. Now I can't get it out," she said. Sigma looked at Rainbow's wing.
"We need to find you a medical station. That bullet needs to come out," he stated. "Fluttershy, unlock me." Fluttershy used the knocked out guard's keys and released Sigma. "Alright... stay behind me. I'll lead the way," he finished. Fluttershy nodded. Rainbow rolled her eyes. Fluttershy may trust him, but she didn't.
The group walked up the stairs and were back in the maze of a basement. Angel hopped off Fluttershy's back and looked around. Rainbow and Sigma looked puzzled.
"What's he doing?" Rainbow asked.
"I'm not sure why, but somehow Angel knows which path is correct," Fluttershy explained. Angel ran to the left path, and the group followed. It took about a minute, but Angel found the way. "Good boy Angel," Fluttershy smiled. Angel hopped on her back and Sigma took the lead again. They slowly walked up the stairs and all ended up in the hall. They began to walk down the hall... until they came to the window. Sigma peered through it at the massive missile.
"So... it is true," he said to himself, looking at the behemoth. Fluttershy looked out the window and gasped. Suddenly the elevator door opened. The man that had shot Rainbow appeared with a gun.
"Hello again, Skittles!" the man said to Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy slowly knelt down by Sigma to try and hide. Sigma didn't even seem to notice the man a few feet behind him. "Round three then? And I see you brought a friend," he said, looking directly at Fluttershy. Rainbow jumped, but without her ability to fly she wasn't as fast. The man hit her across the face with his pistol. "Down girl!" he laughed.
Fluttershy looked up at Sigma and was surprised to see a smile on his face. He winked at her, and then the panic began. Sigma, at a near impossible speed, whipped around and grabbed the man by the wrist. He twisted it and the pistol fell to the ground. The man growled at Sigma and threw a punch at him with his free hand, but it did little good-Sigma was ready. He caught the punch and broke the man's hand. The man screamed in pain as Sigma let him go. He fell to his knees clutching his hand. Sigma delivered the final punch: a powerful uppercut which connected perfectly to the man's jaw. He wasn't getting up after that... at least not for a while. Sigma picked up the pistol.
"That was... awesome!" Rainbow yelled. "You were so fast! How did you do that?!"
"It's really dangerous. I'd rather not teach you," Sigma told her. Rainbow let out a sigh of disappointment.
"Fine... so what now? Escape?" Rainbow asked. Sigma turned to the window again.
"No, I still have something I need to do," Sigma said. Rainbow was stunned. This was their best chance to escape and he wanted to go back in? "Rainbow, you and Fluttershy should head up to the surface. I have things to take care of here." Rainbow nodded, but Fluttershy wasn't going to let Sigma go.
"There's no way I'm letting you go. Not after seeing what they did to Alpha," Fluttershy stated. Sigma smiled at the yellow pegasus.
"I appreciate the concern, but I don't plan on getting captured," Sigma replied.
"I'm sure. I'm also sure you didn't plan on getting captured the first time either," Fluttershy protested. Sigma let out a sigh. She wasn't going to let this go.
"Rainbow Dash," Sigma stated. The comment caught her off guard.
"What?" She replied.
"Please take Fluttershy to the surface... I'll meet you there," Sigma said, and then he turned around and ran down the hall. Rainbow grabbed Fluttershy by the hoof.
"Rainbow, no! He needs our help!" Fluttershy protested.
"Actually, I think he's more than qualified to complete his mission," Rainbow said casually. Fluttershy tried to get away but Rainbow was much stronger then her. Rainbow stepped into the elevator and tried to pull Fluttershy in too.
"Come on Fluttershy!" Rainbow pleaded.
"No!" Fluttershy replied. Just then, an idea came to Fluttershy's mind. But she had to be quick to pull it off. Rainbow pulled Fluttershy forward with all of her might, and that's when Fluttershy's plan was ready. She launched herself at Rainbow Dash and delivered a hoof to Rainbow's stomach. Rainbow let go of her and fell to the ground, clutching her stomach. Fluttershy quickly pressed the top floor button and moved out of the elevator. The doors slid shut with Rainbow inside.
"I'm so sorry, Dash," Fluttershy said. She ran in the direction Sigma had went off to. Rainbow wasn't hurt too bad, just shocked.
"I hate karma," Rainbow said with a grin.
Fluttershy ran down the steps to the giant garage where the bomb was being housed. When she reached the bottom, she hid behind a barrel. The garage was huge, and many guards and scientists were inside. Forklifts drove freely through the area delivering barrels of some kind. Scientists sat at chairs, their eyes fixed on computer screens. The guards patrolled the area, and thanks to their numbers, it was near impossible to sneak around.
While looking for an opening, Fluttershy spotted a familiar face: the man that killed Alpha. He was speaking in the strange language to three guards. She sincerely hoped that Sigma would be careful. This man was a monster; if Sigma was caught... Fluttershy brushed the thoughts away. She had to keep her eyes on her goal: finding Sigma and assisting him in any way possible. Fluttershy looked around again. Finally, no guards were looking her way. She looked for her next destination. Giant steel crates were only twenty feet away from her. She took Angel off her back and set him in front of her.
"You go first. Run to those crates over there," she ordered to Angel. Angel nodded. Fluttershy looked one last time to make sure it was still clear. "Go."
"Good so far," Fluttershy whispered. She gave herself a few moments to calm down before checking for a new destination. She wasn't sure where her final target was, and so she thought for a moment. If Sigma were in here, he'd probably be close to the bomb; after all, that was why he came down here in the first place. She smiled to herself. "That's where I'll go."
Although... what if she could still help him? She looked around and noticed the guards were turning around and heading back the other way. Fluttershy quickly looked for a new spot and found one in a parked forklift with a crate on it. This spot was further away, but it was also very close to the bomb. Fluttershy looked one last time, then released Angel first. Angel got to the cover at great speed and wasn't spotted. Angel looked around, but this time it wasn't clear. One guard was heading for the forklift. Fluttershy signaled to Angel to stay low.
The guard reached the forklift and looked inside it. He was only a foot from Angel, and Fluttershy could have been in sight; all the man had to do was look directly left to see her. The guard continued to look around the forklift until he found what he was actually looking for. He picked up a pack of cigarettes and turned around to head back to the others. Fluttershy and Angel let out a sigh of relief. That was too close.
Wasting no more time, Fluttershy quickly crawled to her companion. She had a bad feeling about this place, and knew that if she didn't get Sigma and escape fast... No... it was just fear. Sigma had told her that she was strong, strong enough to have made it this far. Now she only had to make it a little further. She looked over to the computer terminal Sigma was at. It was empty. This meant one of two things: either Sigma had deactivated the bomb and was sneaking his way back to the elevator; or he was hiding from the incoming guards. Either way, she couldn't stick around-she needed to find him.
The guards were making their return towards her, but they were still closer to where Sigma was just at. She decided to take a chance and get to the bomb. It was close-only ten feet away. She sent out Angel first, and after he made it, she got into crawling position. Angel held a paw up, telling her to stay put. She looked out... the guards were approaching. Although, they were still far enough away to where she could make a journey of ten feet. She ignored Angel's warning, and began crawling to him.
Angel's jaw dropped. What was she doing?! He looked at the approaching guards again, and they were getting very close now. He gritted his teeth-was she going to make it? Fluttershy sped up and reached Angel behind the bomb, if only just. Angel glared at her.
"Sorry," she whispered. Angel put a paw on his face. That was way too close. Fluttershy looked around. Here she was, at the bomb... so where was Sigma? She began to get worried. He hadn't returned to the computer terminal. Where was he?! Suddenly Fluttershy heard yelling. She peeked around the bomb and saw her worst fears come to life-four guards were holding Sigma at gunpoint.
Fluttershy watched as the man in the black suit approached Sigma. The man smiled to himself and at the guards. The four guards let Sigma free, making him look around in confusion. What was happening?
"I'd say you were an awful spy but... that'd be a bit harsh. You're just bad at sneaking," the man laughed. Sigma looked around. He knew he wasn't getting out of this one. "How does it feel to be a failure? Your partner is dead, your mission wasn't finished, and you... you will die." The man in black removed his jacket. Under it, he had a shoulder holster with a pistol inside. He removed the pistol and pointed it at Sigma.
Fluttershy didn't have time to think; she had to act. Leaping out from behind the barrels, she flew towards Sigma. The man fired the pistol and everything seemed to slow down. Fluttershy collided with Sigma, the bullet missing Fluttershy by a hair. The two fell to the ground, as everything returned to normal speed. Sigma grabbed Fluttershy by the hoof and ran for cover behind a steel crate.
They reached their cover before any of the guards recovered from shock of seeing a yellow pegasus pony save Sigma. Sigma looked at Fluttershy with anger.
"What are you doing here?!" he screamed, as bullets began hitting the crate.
"I thought you'd need some help!" Fluttershy replied. Sigma looked at her with a fury. She could have been killed! Still- as much as he'd hate to admit- she was right. He was careless... again. More bullets hit their cover, trying desperately to hit the targets on the other side. He had to think fast- they were running out of time.
One of the guards decided that he had had enough of this spy and rushed to Sigma and Fluttershy's cover. The guard turned towards the two but had made the mistake of facing Sigma at close range. Sigma grabbed the guard's rifle and pulled the guard to the ground. Then, he quickly smashed his elbow into the guard's head, knocking him out. Sigma looked at the rifle. Now the playing field was even.
Fluttershy looked out, but quickly went back to cover after seeing more approaching guards.
"What is it?" Sigma asked.
"They're coming!" Fluttershy said in a fearful voice. Sigma quickly looked at his options and made a plan. He picked up the knocked-out guard and used him as a shield. Sigma and his shield exited cover. The guards aimed at him but didn't fire- they couldn't chance hitting one of their own. Sigma noticed that there were only three guards; the others must have left to escort the man in black to safety. Sigma inched up closer to them. The guards were all directly in front of him, and it was time to strike.
He threw his human shield at the guards. They moved out of the way, but Sigma wanted this. He fired his rifle, killing two of the three guards. The third aimed at Sigma as Sigma aimed at him.
"I'd suggest you get out of here. Otherwise..." Sigma said. The guard was shivering. He nodded, dropped his rifle, and ran away. Sigma turned to Fluttershy, who came out of cover and looked at him. "We need to get out of here," Sigma said.
"Yes," Fluttershy replied. The two ran for the stairs and to the elevator. The man that Sigma had knocked out to save Rainbow was gone. But they didn't care, they had to escape. They got in the elevator and rode it to the top. "Where are we going?" Fluttershy asked.
"There are vehicles parked outside. If I can get to one, we can get out of here." The elevator door slid open, and Fluttershy and Sigma ran into the room and up the stairs.
"What about Rainbow?" Fluttershy asked.
"She's probably waiting for you outside this place," he replied. As they entered the office area, an alarm began to sound. Sigma cursed under his breath. He knew that they were running out of time. Sigma and Fluttershy ran through the offices and busted out the door Rainbow used to get in. They were finally outside. Sigma wasted no time breathing in the fresh air, but he remembered that he had to find the vehicles... and fast. He scanned the area and found the garage, but it was too late. Three motorcycles appeared from within the garage and sped towards them.
"Get down!" Sigma yelled. Fluttershy got low to the ground. Sigma aimed his rifle and fired one shot, taking out one of the guards on the bikes. The other two were still coming, though. He took aim again and fired, hitting another guard between the eyes. His bike swerved and crashed. There was still one remaining, but he was getting close. Sigma aimed again, but when he pulled the trigger, his rifle merely produced a click... it was out of ammo. He tossed it aside and turned to Fluttershy. "Hold on to me!" he yelled.
Fluttershy grabbed hold of Sigma by his waist. The bike was closing in. Sigma gritted his teeth. Was he serious? Could he do it? When the bike was just a few feet away, Sigma jumped, grabbed hold of the guard on the bike, and threw himself on the back seat. The guard was so shocked that he nearly lost control of the bike. If he did, all three riders would most likely be dead. Fluttershy continued to hold tight to Sigma. Sigma grabbed hold of one of the handlebars with one hand and used his other to throw the guard off. As soon as the guard was thrown off, the bike began to swerve a little, but Sigma grabbed both the handlebars and leveled out the bike.
He sped toward the front gate. But it was too late; the guards were ready. They aimed at Sigma and began to fire. Sigma turned and sped off in the opposite direction.
"We're trapped!" Fluttershy yelled. As if things couldn't get any worse, a helicopter appeared far ahead of them piloted by the man in the black suit.
"They aren't playing around!" Sigma yelled. Still, he sped toward it.
"What are you doing!?" Fluttershy screamed.
"Be ready to let go when I say!" Sigma yelled. Fluttershy nodded. As the helicopter's miniguns began to spin, Sigma pushed the bike to its max speed. The miniguns began to fire, spraying bullets all over the ground around the bike. Sigma was struggling to keep the bike steady, but there was no use doing so. "Let go!" he yelled. Fluttershy loosened her grip from Sigma's waist and was thrown from the bike. She hit the ground hard and rolled a few times. It certainly hurt, but she knew she was okay. Instead, she was more worried about Sigma. She looked over in his direction, and saw that he was only a few feet from the helicopter. Suddenly, he stood up on and jumped from the bike, into the air. He crashed right into the front window, stunning the pilot. The man in black lost control of the helicopter and did the only thing he could... crash.
The helicopter crashed on the roof of the complex, and Fluttershy's mouth dropped at the sight of the flames slowly engulfing the helicopter. She quickly got ahold of herself and brushed away thoughts about Sigma's chance of surviving the crash. Her wings spread open and she flew up to the roof, to the crash site.
After reaching the roof, she landed on the helipad and looked at the wreckage. The scene was horrific. She looked everywhere for Sigma and eventually found him, but the sight did not make Fluttershy any happier. He was lying on his back, with gashes and cuts all over his body; he must have let go of the helicopter just before it crashed. Fluttershy ran to him, and found that he wasn't breathing. And now that she was closer, she could see just how badly hurt he was- a pool of blood had appeared beneath him. Was he dead? Fluttershy heard a noise behind her. The door to the roof opened slowly and the man whose hand Sigma broke, was standing in the doorway. He was holding a pistol with his good hand. His other was in a cast.
"So... this is how it ends, huh?" he said to Fluttershy. Fluttershy remained silent. Sigma still wasn't breathing. "Speak! I know you can!" he demanded.
"Yes... this is how it ends," Fluttershy said, looking him in the eyes. A tear rolled down her face. She was right. Without Sigma, she was defenseless.
"You and your friends have been entertaining," he began. "It's a shame it has to end." More tears ran down Fluttershy's face. Suddenly she remembered what Sigma said:
"You must have been really strong to have made it this far... keep it up." If this was the end, she had to be strong. She should be proud of how far she made it... how close she was. She sniffed and wiped the tears from her face. If this was her final moments... she would face them with pride.
"I'm ready," she told the man. He gave her a warm smile- a smile that someone would get to make them feel better after losing a competition. He aimed his pistol. He wasn't going to miss. Fluttershy calmly closed her eyes and was ready to welcome death's embrace. The sound of the hammer of the pistol clicked. All that was left was to pull the trigger.
"All of a sudden, the door to the burning helicopter fell to the ground." The door to the burning helicopter fell to the ground. Fluttershy and the man looked at the door, and a man appeared from inside the helicopter. He was wearing a charred black suit, and he was bleeding from his forehead, nose, and mouth. He stumbled out of the helicopter and walked to the other man with a limp.
"Boss... you're alive?" the man with the pistol said in a surprised tone. His boss said nothing. He just looked at the man and then to his pistol. The man surrendered his pistol to his boss, who then turned to look at Fluttershy. He limped up to her until he was only a foot away.
The shot fired, but it didn't hit Fluttershy. She opened her eyes to see that Sigma had gotten up and hit the gun away, making it fire as it hit the ground. He was alive! The boss was stunned to see the man he thought he had surely killed was still alive. Sigma put up his fists, and Fluttershy backed away from the two. The boss smiled and put up his fists too.
"What... a surprise we... have," the boss said.
"It's not over, not yet!" Sigma said. How he was alive was a miracle. How he was standing and willing to fight was impossible. The boss moved closer to Sigma and threw the first punch. Sigma caught it and countered with an elbow to the ribs. The boss fell back holding his ribs, and then looked up at Sigma. He hurriedly got back into fighting stance and was ready to go again. He could see Sigma was hurt- the man couldn't be invincible. The boss moved closer to Sigma. As much as Sigma didn't want to show it, he was indeed hurt. His vision was blurry and his limbs felt numb. He found it hard to focus on the easiest of things, but he knew he had to try.
The boss swung with his left hand, but it was a fake-out. His right hand soon connected with Sigma's face, making Sigma fall to his knees. Sigma tried to regain his breath but before he could, the boss delivered another punch to the face. Sigma fell to the ground. Fluttershy gasped. The other man picked up the pistol and watched as the fight went on. The boss let out a weak laugh.
"Path..etic!" he managed. He walked closer to Sigma but Sigma was ready. He grabbed the man's leg and flipped him on his back. The boss slammed down to the ground back first, knocking the wind out of him. Sigma quickly got on top of him and delivered a punch. As his fist collided with the right side of the boss' face, he balled his other fist and delivered the second punch before getting back up to his feet. Sigma stood up and was now back in fighting position. The boss slowly got back to his feet, his face bleeding even more now.
The other man aimed the pistol at Sigma. Sigma saw this and jumped out of the way just as the man pulled the trigger. The shot barely missed him.
"Stay out of this! He's... mine!" the boss yelled. The man growled, but did as he was told. Sigma and the boss were now both in fighting stance. "May... we... continue?" the boss asked. Sigma nodded. Not more then a second after he did, the boss attacked, punching Sigma in the stomach. Sigma grasped his stomach in pain, but learned from his mistake and focused. He blocked the next punch, but the boss didn't stop. He swung a right hook at Sigma, and again Sigma blocked it quickly countering with a kick. The kick hit the boss in the left leg, sending him to his knees.
The other man could see Sigma had the upper hand again and he had a clear shot. Disobeying his boss, he aimed again, but he was suddenly tackled to the ground. The bullet fired into the sky. Fluttershy couldn't believe her eyes... it was Rainbow Dash!
"Rainbow!" Fluttershy screamed.
"You know I couldn't leave my best friend hanging," Rainbow said with a smile. The man got back up and glared at the rainbow pegasus.
"You again!? Fine! I'll take pleasure in killing you!" he yelled. Meanwhile, Sigma and the boss didn't even give the others a glance. They were both seriously injured and had to focus. Sigma threw a left hook, but it was caught. Sigma then threw a right hook, but it was also caught. The boss smiled at his work. Sigma smiled back, and headbutted him. The boss fell to the ground in pain, and Sigma fell back to his knees, grasping his head.
The other man ran to Rainbow Dash, but she was fast and ready. She jumped over him, and once he was behind her, she raised her hind legs and delivered a hard buck to his spine. He fell to the ground, holding his back in pain. However, he soon got back up and brushed himself off for round two. He noticed the bullet wound on her wing. It was her weak point, no matter how much it had healed.
Rainbow rushed him, but it was a bad move- he was ready for it and caught her by the throat. He then slammed her down on the ground. She struggled to get away, but it was hopeless. With his good hand, he formed a fist and punched her wing. Rainbow let out an agonizing scream- it hurt unlike any pain she had experienced before. He formed a fist again and gave Rainbow a dark smile. But then, he heard something behind him. Still holding Rainbow, he turned around to find Fluttershy. Fluttershy glared at him and gave him a hoof to the face. The man fell to the ground grasping his face in pain.
"Thanks Fluttershy," Rainbow said. Fluttershy helped Rainbow back up and the two stared at the man. He got back to his feet and looked at his two opponents.
"You think just because there are two of you, that you can beat me?" He laughed.
"Only one way to find out!" Rainbow said.
"I... won't... lose!" he spat out.
The other man charged at Rainbow and Fluttershy, but they moved. Rainbow was behind him again and delivered another painful buck to his spine, sending him to his stomach. He punched the rooftop. Why couldn't he hit them?! Blinded by anger, he got up again. He had been made a fool of one too many times, and it wasn't about to happen again! He rushed them both again, but this time he had a plan. At the last second he focused on Flutteshy and tackled the yellow pegasus off the roof top.
"Fluttershy!" Rainbow screamed. Rainbow ran to the edge and peered down. Fluttershy was flapping her wings as fast as she could. But the man was simply too heavy. He had a hold of her back hoof.
"If I go... so do you!" he screamed. Fluttershy could barely stay in the air, let alone fly back up to the top. Rainbow had to help, but she was grounded because of her bad wing. She had to do something, otherwise Fluttershy was going to crash to the ground below. Rainbow looked around and found her only hope- the pistol that the man had once had was lying close to her. She picked it up and aimed. She had never fired such a thing, but she knew how it worked after being shot at as much as she had. She held it with her front hooves and managed to get a grip on the trigger. This was it- she had to make this shot count. She aimed again. Fluttershy was running out of time.
"Rainbow!" Fluttershy yelled. Rainbow fired the pistol and the bullet was sent straight into the man's chest. He narrowed his eyes and looked at his chest. Suddenly all his strength was gone. He loosened his grip and fell down to the ground below, dying near instantaneously. Fluttershy flew back to the roof.
Sigma delivered a punch to the boss. The boss nearly fell backwards into the helicopter wreckage. He slowly got back up and threw a punch at Sigma, but Sigma caught the punch and gave the boss one of his own. The boss fell back to his knees and tried to recover his breath.
"It's... over... Sigma... even if you... kill me... the missile..."
"No... it's not," Sigma finished. The boss laughed.
"We found... the terminal... we... re-armed..." the boss managed and let out a slight smile, but stopped when he saw a smile on Sigma's face.
"No... I took the fuse off the bomb... it's useless now... why do you think... I let you catch me by... the terminal?" Sigma grinned.
"What?!" The boss said in a angry tone.
"I had... for once... a backup plan. So much for... that retirement fund," Sigma laughed weakly. The boss glared at Sigma.
"You... no... it's... not... ov-"
"It is now," Sigma finished. The boss stood up weakly but couldn't sustain it. He fell into the helicopter wreckage- he was dead. As if right on cue, US army helicopters flew in.
"Bout time," Sigma said. Fluttershy looked at Sigma. Sigma smiled to her.
"You were caught on purpose?" Fluttershy asked. Sigma was silent. Fluttershy knew what he was going to do... he had planned on sacrificing himself for his mission. If they caught him at the terminal, then they would think he was at it to disarm the bomb, when really he already had. Sigma knew that Fluttershy knew his original plan.
"Thanks for saving me," he said with a smile. Fluttershy began to cry, but for the first time... in a long time... it was tears of joy. She hugged Sigma tight, and he did the same to her. Rainbow watched as the two hugged. A tear rolled down her cheek.
"Darn it! Now you got me acting all sappy!" Rainbow told them.
"What are we gonna do, y'all?" Applejack asked in a concerned voice. "We've lost Fluttershy, and Twilight is out cold." Rainbow Dash was hovering around the library's ceiling, as if she was looking for something. Rarity watched in disgust as Pinkie Pie chewed a cupcake loudly. Crumbs from the little cake dropped to the floor.
"Pinkie Pie... honestly," Rarity said. The pink pony looked at Rarity. Then at the floor. Then back at Rarity.
"Oops, almost lost a piece!" Pinkie said happily. Then she licked it up off the floor.
"That is gross!" Rarity exclaimed.
"No, it's actually really tasty! Wanna try one?" Pinkie smiled, picking another crumb up off the floor.
"No... I'm uh... full, yeah," Rarity said.
"Whatever, more for me!" Pinkie replied.
Applejack watched as the two talked. It was almost as if neither of them knew the seriousness of the situation. She then looked up to Rainbow Dash who was buried in a book.
"What'cha got there, sugar cube?" Applejack asked. Rainbow closed the book and landed next to Applejack.
"A book on portals, but it's talking about a lot of complex stuff. Guess only unicorns understand it," Rainbow explained. Applejack looked up to Twilight's room where the purple unicorn was sleeping.
"Twi's in no shape to do that again. And after what happened today, I doubt she'll ever do it again," Applejack said. Rainbow looked at her, concerned.
"But she has to! Fluttershy's trapped in there. Who knows what's happening to her?" Rainbow said. Applejack rubbed her hoof against her chin. Rainbow was right, they had to save Fluttershy. But there was no way to open the portal up without Twilight, and it had already nearly killed her. Who knew when or even if she'd ever be ready to cast it again?
"I could do it," a voice said. Rainbow and Applejack turned to the source. It was Rarity. "In theory any unicorn could. It's just very... difficult." She finished. Pinkie spit out her half chewed cupcake.
"Are you loco in the coco?!" Pinkie said.
"Pinkie's right, no offense Rarity, but Twi's just better with magic. And you saw what happened to her," Applejack said. Rarity knew it was true and took no offense.
"I know, but it's our only shot. I'm the reason Twilight and Fluttershy are in this situation, it's my obligation to clean this up," Rarity said. Rainbow and Applejack looked at each other. Rarity was right. She was their best hope at this point.
"But, we saw what happened to Twilight-even if you pull off the spell, you'll be so exhausted that you'll have no energy to go through the portal to look for her," Rainbow said. Applejack nodded in agreement. "We need someone fast. Someone strong." Rainbow continued.
"Oh, oh! Pick me!" Pinkie screamed with excitement. The other three laughed.
"I'll go, Fluttershy and I have been friends since we were fillies," Rainbow said.
"Now hold on there," Applejack said. "We need someone who can keep calm in a situation like this. I've already showed how calm and collected I am by saving Twilight when the rest of ya just stood around like a bunch of statues"
"You should really let the element of loyalty do this," Rainbow replied.
"I can honestly say that you're just not right for this job!"
"Am too!"
"No ya ain't"
"Stop this insensate bickering!" Rarity shouted. Rainbow and Applejack looked at Rarity. "Neither one of you deserve it if this is how you act!" she remarked. She then picked up a bit from a near by table. "Heads, Rainbow Dash, tails, Applejack," she said calmly. She placed the bit in the center of her hoof and threw it into the air. Her horn began to glow and as the bit fell it was caught in her levitation spell.
"What is it?" Rainbow asked. Rarity looked at the bit and gave a sigh implying that their argument was over.
"Tails, looks like Applejack will go into the portal," she announced. Rainbow looked down at the floor in defeat.
"I'll bring her back, Rainbow," Applejack said with a smile. Rainbow smiled and gave Applejack a strange look. A look that she used when looking at a Rival before a big race.
"You'd better," Rainbow said with a grin. The two ponies spit into their hooves and shook on it.
"That's still gross," Rarity said in disapproval.
Chapter 18 (Epilogue)
The sun was setting in the human world. Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Sigma, and a man that Sigma refereed to as "Major" were all standing on a hilltop next to the portal to Equestria... home. The complex was seized and everyone inside was arrested. The Boss and his right hand man were dead. It was finally over.
"This 'mission' is closed. Sealed under the highest rate of security," the Major said. "The only people that know of this will be sworn to silence." Sigma nodded and turned to Fluttershy who was looking out at the horizon towards the setting sun. Sigma walked over and knelt down beside her.
"Why the long face?" he asked. Fluttershy turned to him. He had been bandaged up by a paramedic and already looked better. "You're finally going to return home."
"That's what bothers me," Fluttershy said softly. Sigma looked confused.
"Why is that?" He asked.
"I'm... I'm..." She couldn't finish. Sigma smiled.
"I'll miss you too," he finished for her. She looked at him with watery eyes. She didn't want to stay here. But she didn't want to leave... not if it meant leaving Sigma behind. Even though she had only known him for a short time, she had come to depend on him. They had saved each other's lives on more accounts then one. Now... it was time to say goodbye.
"Maybe you could come to Equestria!" Fluttershy suggested. Sigma looked out at the horizon.
"Fluttershy... this place... is my home. It's where I belong. Just like you belong in Equestria. It's where we were meant to be," he said. His words hit Fluttershy, and she knew it was true. A tear began to roll down her cheek.
"Will I ever see you again?" Fluttershy said, trying not to cry. Sigma gave her a smile and reached into his pants pocket. He pulled out a locket and grabbed Fluttershy's hoof, carefully placing the locket in the center of her hoof. Fluttershy examined it. She opened it up and saw a picture... a picture of Alpha and Sigma.
"It belonged to Sarah," he said. Fluttershy knew who he was talking about.
"Thank you, Sigma," Fluttershy smiled. Sigma wiped away her tears.
"Jack," he said with a warm smile.
"Thank you... Jack," Fluttershy replied.
Rainbow Dash looked at the portal; she could tell it was getting weaker.
"Fluttershy..." Rainbow said. Fluttershy looked at Rainbow and then to the portal.
"You'd better go," Jack said. Fluttershy nodded. She got up and grabbed Rainbow's hoof. The two pegasi walked to the portal. Just as they were about to enter and return home, Fluttershy let go of Rainbow and ran to Sigma. She jumped up into the air and hugged him. He knelt down again and lowered her to the ground.
"I... promise... promise you won't forget me," she said, tears running down her face.
"You must have been really strong to have made it this far," he began.
"Keep it up," Fluttershy smiled. She was strong, but letting go was her final test of strength. She grabbed hold of Rainbow's hoof once again and followed Rainbow into the portal. Just before she entered, she gave Sig- Jack one final glance. They would never forget each other.
Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash fell through the portal and hit the ground in Ponyville. Applejack, Pinkie, Rarity, and even Twilight were there. Twilight had a bandage on her head but she looked well and in perfect health. The four ponies rushed Rainbow and Fluttershy, engulfing them with a massive hug. Fluttershy looked down at the ground and saw Angel. During all that happened, she forgot he was with her. She rubbed him on the head and let out a deep breath. She was finally home.
