"Alright, that's it. Twilight, what's going on?"

Twilight raized her gaze. The pale sunlight of late Winter bathed the left side of Flash's face, making his deep blue eyes stand out against the pale light. The police uniform was partially hidden by a scarf tied around his neck, for even inside Sugarcube Corner it was kinda chilly.

They both had busy days ahead of them. Today, Twilight and the girls had the operative to catch their virtual intruder, and Flash had a long shift at the police station. Neither of them was sure if they were going to meet afterward, so they decided to have breakfast together instead of dinner. They had managed to make their relationship work even in the time Twilight spent attending the ATIDA's Academy, and they enjoyed being an item, but both of them were aware that their lines of work weren't the safest. They never knew which goodbye, which date, which kiss or hug was the last.

No one really knew, but it was especially true for them.

Twilight had tried to keep focused on their date. She tried hard, she really did. But it was hard to ignore the fact that she was about to put her life out there, in danger, and that it could be the last time she saw those eyes and that uniform fitting that particular shape. How could one focus like that?

He had no idea. Twilight hadn't told him because she didn't want him to worry. He had a demanding job as such, why make it harder?

But Flash was one perceptive guy. He knew something was troubling her, and it was no use denying it, for he would give her one of the 'You're lying' looks and she would spill it anyway.

Damn, she wasn't good lying.

"It's just... Today's a dangerous day."

"Aren't all days dangerous?" Flash took his cup of coffee between his hands. "I'm a cop, you're a special agent," he whispered. "We're risking our lives all the time, what makes today different, hm?"

Damn it, he's good!

Twilight looked at her own cup. "I... Today I'm doing..." she leaned over the table a bit. Flash turned his head a bit to listen. Twilight whispered: "Today I'm doing fieldwork."

"Oh, that's great!"

Twilight frowned. "Great!? Did you really just said that?!"

Flash nodded. "I mean... It's your first time, right? It's great that you're finally breaking through your fears."

Hold up. "My fears?"

Flash chuckled.

"Sometimes you're a little too transparent, Twilight. Also, it's my job to notice fear."

Twilight stared at him for ten seconds straight, then huffed and leaned back in the cushion. "You should be a Detective, you know?"

"I take that as a compliment. Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but you don't seem too thrilled about this. Could it be that you're afraid of messing up your mission?"

Twilight gaped. "First Sunset, then you. Are you sure you're not using magic on me? Are you not reading my mind?"

"No magic, we're just people who care about you." Flash smiled. "You know, there's no reason for you to be afraid of messing up. Sure, you lack experience, but you're smart and clever, and just as capable as all your friends. And you're a scientist: you must know better than me that mistakes aren't a bad thing."

Twilight groaned. "I know! I'm just... scared. Not only of messing up but also... scared of getting hurt. Or worse." Twilight raized her gaze at him. "Has it ever... crossed your mind?"

Flash dedicated her a sad smile. He extended his arm and grabbed her hand. His fingers were warm of holding his cup, and they quickly warmed Twilight's cold hand... and her heart.

"All the time," he admitted in a whisper. "And I admit sometimes I can't focus just on thinking something could go wrong..."

"Exact-"

"Could being the keyword." Flash cut her off. His grip around her hand tighten. "I like to believe that the less I think about, the less it's likely to happen. I trust you. All of you. I know that you'll always do your best to get back home. Accidents are bound to happen when you live such a dangerous life, and wounds are inevitable. But Twilight," he grabbed both her hands. "I know that you are capable of getting through this. You're stronger than you want to let yourself believe."

Twilight stared at him for a while, not sure of what to say. Before she could say anything, though, FLash winked at her.

"Also, you have a little trick up your sleeve... Or more exactly, under your blouse." he poked Twilight's geode with his finger. Twilight laughed.

"Thank you, Flash."

"That's what I'm here for."

Twilight leaned over the table and softly kissed him. He gladly returned it.

It wasn't like she didn't appreciate Sunset's words. She did. And her words still circled her head, but sometimes you need to hear something twice to get it. Simple teaching concept.

Also, it never killed anyone to be told they were useful.

When they were done with the kiss, she smiled at his blissed look.

"You're right, it could happen. And I'll make sure not to let it happen."

Twilight breathed in and out for the fifth time in the past ten minutes. The tactic Cadence had shown her, long ago, seemed to really work under the pressure of the situation. And the pressure was high. She had been so stressed that she had put on the vest the wrong way, and Rarity, noticing this, decided the poor girl needed a hand and was currently helping her to put it back on.

She felt slightly stupid, but at least she remained mostly composed.

"You're doing an amazing job keeping yourself calm, Darling." Rarity tried to reassure her, but Twilight shoot her an unamused look. Rarity smiled while securing the last straps at her side. "Just remember you won't be alone out there. We'll be by your side. There, this is done."

"Worst case scenario, you have this." Rainbow Dash put a gun on Twilight's hands, who put it on the holster hanging at the side of her belt.

She felt weird wearing the uniform her friends proudly wore. It felt slightly wrong. In the locker room, she had watched the girls put on their uniforms with ease, knowing the procedure to the heart. When she had taken one of her uniforms from her rack, she stared at it for a long moment. She remembered getting her measures taken for these, so the spandex would suit her perfectly; however, the spandex shirt, of a greyish purple, the black spandex pants, and the military boots had been abandoned in her closet before they had a chance to be worn.

Instead of feeling like a representative of her position, the uniform felt like a disguise. A disguise to hide her fears and insecurities. All the other girls wore the uniform with confidence in their strides (especially Dash), while she couldn't stop rubbing her hands in her tighs to dry the sweat.

Rainbow Dash tapped two fingers on Twilight's forehead. She winced. Rainbow Dash arched an eyebrow. "Listen to me when I'm talking to you. Remember to never put the gun back on the holster immediately after shooting, alright? Let it cool a bit first. And careful with the secure. Oh, and another thing: never shoot blindly, understood?"

Twilight nodded, a bit amused. "You know I know how to use a gun, right? We were in the same shooting practice, like, all the time."

Dash chuckled. She crossed her arms with a smirk. "It's been so long since last time you've needed it, I'm just worried."

"Don't worry, Dashie. She won't shoot herself," Pinkie giggled. She was sitting in the flor of the van, securing grenades to her belt. "She's smarter than that!"

"If you ask me, I think we should give her rubber bullets, just in case."

"Now, Spike, that's not very nice of you to say. If I can handle it, Twilight can handle it too."

Twilight let out an amused sigh. "Unlike you, Spike, I can hold a gun. I have thumbs and I'm perfectly capable of aiming and pulling a trigger."

"But remember to stand right," said Applejack from the front. Sitting next to her, Sunset turned to look at the group through the window.

"Applejack's right. You have to stand correctly to shoot, or else you'll end up in the floor."

"I know, Sunset, stop worrying so much. All of you. I may not even need to use it in the first place." Twilight sat down. "After all, I'm just going to retrieve some data."

The girls on the back looked between each other. In the front, Applejack and Sunset exchanged looks Twilight couldn't read. The only girl with glasses there arched an eyebrow at their friend's sudden awkward demeanor. She opened her mouth to ask about it but decided against it at the last minute. They already had enough to worry about.

"Anyway, enough chit-chatting. We're here."

Those simple words from Applejack made the rest of the girls hang onto something as the van came to a stop. One of Pinkie grenades rolled along the floor and hit the doors, startling Fluttershy before Pinkie reassured her that it was locked. She hoped.

Twilight's heart started racing as she purring of the engine died.

Then she obliged her heart to calm down. They had no time to waste. Fear and insecurities could wait right now.

Earlier on the day, a scout team had combed down the place instead of the girls, under Celestia's clear instructions. Disguised as homeless people, street vendors, and random passersby. It took them a while to find anything on such a busy street, that got only busier at night, but they finally managed to find something: a motel, but one that wasn't renting rooms, and had a suspiciously high level of security. They didn't get past the front door.

They used a drone to spy inside the windows, but all the shades were down. However, they could see that there were armed guards walking around the corridors when they spied between the shades. Quick research had led them to discover that the motel's owner, an old man with no family, had disappeared under suspicious circumstances months ago. No one knew how the business was "still running". It was suspicious from anywhere you looked.

So, that was where the team was going. Applejack pulled a block away, but in the back of a closed Chinese restaurant. The girls on the back of the van readied themselves in front of the doors. Even from inside they could hear the noise from the outside. Somewhere out there, other squads were undercover, pretending to be people having dinner at the nearby restaurants and bars, ready and alert to act if the things got out of hand for the Myths.

Which didn't happen too often, but one never was too cautious.

The doors swung open, and the girls climbed down with Applejack and Sunset. All seven girls had just finished putting on their commlinks. They had agreed that, once their commlinks were on, they would try to use them only if needed and only with their code names. Twilight's suggestions. It might have sounded like paranoia, but since Twilight wouldn't be on a computer and they would be within reach of a hacker, one never was too cautious. They weren't taking any risks.

The van had parked on a narrow alley, filled to the brim of trashcans and bags. Rarity furrowed her nose at the odor but said nothing. Instead, she gave a long coat to Sunset and another to Applejack and kept a third for herself. The three girls put on their coats, and Sunset turned to the other girls as Rainbow Dash arranged a few locks of her grey wig.

"Do you have everything?" Sunset asked, and while Twilight checked her bag to make sure, the other girls nodded. Twilight blushed at the awkward silence that followed until she finished and also nodded to Sunset, who had a sympathetic smile on her face.

"Alright then," she checked her wrist screen. "the satellites say that there are no guards near the back door, so you should be in the clear while we do our part."

"You know, we know how to do our job, Clio," Dash claimed, but there was a hint of humor in her voice. Sunset shot her funny look.

"Well then, Myths, let's get moving. Make it quick, and good luck!" and she left, followed close behind by Rarity and Applejack. Twilight gulped down.

This was it. It was starting. Now she had to do her part, and, heavens above, was she determined to do it right.

Twilight turned around and followed Rainbow Dash through the alley.

Applejack led the group up to the front of the building. She quickly spotted the other squads. She was familiar with them, so they were noticeable for her, but perfect strangers for everyone else. The leaders of each group acknowledged them in subtle ways, with a tip of the head or a quick movement of the hand. One even cracked a smirk.

The guards on the doors looked weirdly at the four young women approaching the door of the motel. Before the girls had the chance to say anything, one spat with harsh words:

"Turn around, ladies. No rooms available."

Rarity blinked with faked bewilderment. "Oh, my. Are you certain? It's been a long day, we'd loved to lay down. Can't you get us a room?"

"We said no. Now leave before we make you."

"Well, so aggressive!" Applejack huffed.

Sunset took a step forwards. The men tensed. "Now, there's no need to-ah!" she tripped and stumbled right into one of the guards. The rest of the girls faked a jolt at Sunset's 'sudden fall'. She gripped the man's shirt right at her forehead level. The mand tried to get her off with one hand pulling her coat.

"Oh heavens! I'm so sorry!" she tapped her finger to the man's forehead. It glowed fuchsia for a fraction of second before the glow dissipated and seemed to be absorbed by the man's skin. The man's yellow eyes suddenly sparkled fuchsia and Sunset 'regained her balance'. She dusted her coat and smiled at the man. "Now, would you help us get through?"

The man nodded with a blank stare.

His companion gaped. "Are you nuts? We have-!"

Sunset, in a single swift motion, tapped the other man's forehead with her middle finger. The process occurred in him as it had on his teammate, and soon both guards had blank stares aimed directly on the front. With a movement of her mind, she had the two opening the front door, leading to a dark lobby with no one sitting at the front desk.

Applejack grinned in satisfaction. Behind her, Rarity flipped her hair over her shoulder.

Sunset smirked at her friends and pressed her commlink. "Girls, we're in."

Pinkie's bombs proved to be too loud, no matter how much she tried to silence them or how much time she spent in the stealth practice. The bubbly girl just wasn't made for long-period stealth. So while the explosion of the hinges was useful when they almost had the situation in the bag, they couldn't risk alerting anyone right now.

Dash's attempt to kick the door opened wasn't better either, so Twilight went for the Science option.

Out of her pocket, she took a disk she pressed next to the knob of the door. The disk glued there and glowed a faint blue before they heard a click. Fluttershy turned the knob, and the door opened.

Twilight retrieved the tiny disk and put it back in her pocket as the girls and dog entered. Once she was inside, the door closed behind them and they were swallowed by the darkness. Dash lifted her gun and turned on the light in it, and Twilight, Fluttershy and Pinkie did the same. The girls heard rustling and soon, Spike's collar started to glow too.

Twilight breathed in a sigh of relief when she realized they were on an empty kitchen, the only light coming from their flashlights and the one coming from under the door on their back... and the door a few feet in front of them. Seeing this, Twilight perked up and hit Dash's arm. She glared at Twilight, turning to look at her, but Twilight pointed at the light before Dash could protest. The young woman nodded at Twilight and mouthed 'nice catch'.

Dash guided the team towards the said door, dodging anything that could possibly make noise and they stood at both sides of the door as Spike pressed his paw and sniffed the door. He remained in this position for a few moments, moments during which Twilight's heart pounded in her chest of out sheer anxiety before the dog finally said something.

"All clear,"

On cue, Dash opened the door and held it open until everyone was out. She closed the door making absolutely no noise before she turned to the team.

"Alright, this is it. Let's split up. Remember, try to keep it down and attract no attention. That one's for you, Thalia."

"Okie Dokie!"

"Cool, now let's go."

Twilight simply obeyed Dash's instructions. As the team split up in the next corridor, she went through the plan in her head. They were supposed to remain silent and move within the shadows to look for whoever was responsible for infiltrating their system. Sunset was using her mind-control magic to get the guards in the front to guide them there. Of course, with so much security giving Twilight heart attacks every two minutes it was bound to happen soon, but if by some sort of highly-improvable miracle they managed to find the source without being caught they would take what they came for, leave and arrest all the fellas in about an hour after that. Easy as pie.

Too lost in her thoughts, she yelped when Dash pushed her back by the shoulders and slammed her into one of the walls. Twilight cringed but bit her tongue as she saw a guard pass in front of them without noticing them.

Dash sent Twilight a glare.

"Sorry..."

"Awareness is a cue for survival, Urania," she whispered. "I know you can do that."

She could do that. She would. And until they got Sunset Shimmer's instructions, she had to.

Rarity closed the door of the tiny office. When she turned around, Applejack was tying the two men to two chairs in the middle of the room, Sunset patiently waiting against a wall. Rarity walked to her side.

"Are you certain they won't escape?"

"With Polyhymnia's knots? Absolutely."

Applejack quickly checked the men for anything that might help their case. She retrieved two pocket knives, a lighter, and a pair of walkie talkies.

"Who uses this thing nowadays?" Applejack wondered as she put everything in one of the pockets of her bag.

"People who'd rather stay out of the internet," Sunset claimed as she left the wall and stood in front of the first man. She stretched out her hands and pressed two fingers to his forehead. The blank stare left with the same spark that it had appeared, and the man blinked repeatedly. His eyes widened for a fraction of a second before Sunset pressed her whole palm to his forehead. Both his and her eyes glowed white.

Rarity and Applejack waited patiently for a few seconds as the white eyes stopped, and he was unconscious thanks to Sunset's magic the second after. Then she repeated the process with the other man. When she was done with both of them, Sunset put back on her gloves on her way back to her companions.

"Anythin'?" Applejack asked.

"Not much, just the hacker's general location," Sunset shrugged, and her friends smirked. The second after, Sunset also smirked and they laughed, making their way out of the room.

But when they opened the door, there were two men walking right outside of it. The girls tensed as they made visual contact with them.

"F*ck,"

"Darn it."

"Dear God..."

Twilight jolted at Sunset's sudden cry through the commlink.

"Shoot! Girls, we got caught!"

The moment after, the communication was cut. Rainbow and Twilight exchanged looks of alarm. Twilight jolted for a second time as she heard a few shots, awfully close, and her heart began racing. Out of all the possible outcomes, this was the worst-case scenario. The worst truly.

Dash and herself stepped back into the shadows of an open door when a set of heavy footsteps approached. A group of men came running by, hollering about a commotion in the front of the building, and shouting orders to look for police.

After a while, in which Twilight was worried her heartbeat might betray her, she finally heard someone speak up. It was Applejack.

"They found us, gals, time to run!"

"Second floor, everybody! Quick, quick, quick!" Sunset's voice was no longer hushed. Her breath was heavy, she sounded like running. Twilight understood the message, and, without question, followed Dash ut of their hiding spot and towards the closest stairs.

Everything seemed to happen in a rush. Twilight had a million mixed emotions boiling inside her: fear, anxiety, and behind that.... a hint of excitement. Maybe it didn't sound right, maybe she was out of her mind. But the adrenaline... it was exhilarating in a way, in a very alarming way; it also felt a bit like flying. Maybe that was what Dash felt with every mission. Maybe that was the reason she liked the field so much and trained all the time to get better at it.

"Do you find it fun?" Twilight turned to look at Dash, who ran with a smirk on her face.

Twilight puffed her cheeks, making her way upstairs with Rainbow Dash. "N-No!"

"Sure not." Dash swiftly turned in one of the top steps, took out her gun and shoot. Twilight yelped, and when she reached the step just behind her teammate. Rainbow Dash had shot a guard in the leg, and he fell down on one knee while crying in pain.

Twilight just acted. The moment she saw him trying to reach for his own gun, she activated her magic and wrapped him in it, throwing him against the wall. He hit his head against it, resulting in him falling unconscious.

"Good one." Dash congratulated her. Twilight puffed her chest with pride. Both girls reached the top of the stairs but stopped when they heard footsteps behind them. They turned, Dash aiming her gun, but stopped when they noticed it was their friends. Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy also stopped dead in their tracks, with Spike being the only one to keep running, before also stopping when he noticed his companions had stopped.

"C' mon, we don't have time!"

"Well, warn them it's us in the stairs!" Rainbow Dash claimed, and the other girls ran upstairs. The team met on the second floor, and Twilight was surprised no one had looked for them yet. In a few seconds, Dash had instructed the other team to look for the hacker's location. Twilight ran behind Rainbow Dash, occasionally glancing back. Dash was kicking doors open, glancing into empty rooms. Twilight was doing the same thing, only she just opened them, despite the fact that it took her longer than desired to open each door. She couldn't kick open a door anyway.

Twilight turned to see the very moment two men came around the corner, apparently startled at the sound of kicking and doors opening. Since she had just opened a door, and upon seeing them taking out their guns, Twilight jumped inside the room. She heard a swishing sound. Rainbow Dash exchanged some punches with them, and Twilight heard some painfully familiar grunts of pain.

Peeking over the threshold, Twilight saw the exact moment Dash was punched in the gut.

Once again, she didn't think it thoroughly. She just acted.

In a flash, she seemed to remember everything she learned at the Academy. She remembered the shooting practices, hours and hours in a training room alongside her closest friends, each picking up the ability at their own pace. Twilight took the issue like math. She calculated the distance and angle, and the wind trajectory when she was practicing outside. Thanks to this quick calculations, she had one of the beast aims of the team, right after Sunset's and Rainbow's.

That was the reason, despite the slight delay she had to ready her gun, she was able to shoot the man that had just punched Dash.

The bullet hit him in the back of the knee, and he fell to his knees. Dash saw the opportunity and punched him hard. The man fell unconscious. She elbowed the other man in the face, and he stepped back holding a bloody nose before Dash kicked him in the gut and he fell to the ground.

Twilight ran to her friend, placing a hand on her back when she heard Dash coughing. "Are you alright?"

Dash nodded, pressing a hand in the spot where she had been hit. "Nice shot. But next time, try to shot when I'm not close. What if you failed?"

"Me? Fail? Do you really trust me so little?" Twilight helped Dash to stand upright. "My calculations have a failure probability of zero."

Dash chuckled and patted her friend's arm. "C'mon, let's go after our friend."

"But we haven't checked all the rooms..."

"And we don't need to. If these guys weren't here, it was for a reason."

Dash's eyes widened. "They were protecting the hacker!"

"Exactly. Now, move, he or she must be around this corner."

Twilight pressed her commlink, following close Dash. "Girls, we got it!"

"On our way!" claimed Pinkie.

"I'm afraid we're quite busy down here, darlings," replied Rarity. "You're on your own right now!"

"Thalia, Euterpe, meet up with us here. Urania and I will get a head start."

"Okie Dokie Lokie!"

Around the corner was only another long corridor, and a single door at the end. Twilight and Dash speed to it. The corridor widened a bit there, looking like a tiny lobby, and Twilight stood at the side of the door while Dash kicked the door open.

When they entered, they met with a gloomy room, which looked a bit like a not-very wide living room that was turned into a bedroom. There was a cot on a corner, with a bedside table with a single lamp there and an empty cup. Besides that, in the room there only was a dresser a wooden table with a chair, with a stack of disposable plates; no trace of a hacker. Twilight and Dash walked inside and approached a corridor. There were only two doors and the first one was a tiny bathroom.

"Look at that, Urania," Dash whispered, elbowing her friend. Twilight looked away from the disgusting sight of a filthy bathroom and to the other door (likely what was meant to be a bedroom). Under the door, she saw a dim blue light.

Twilight and Dash approached the door. Dash took the handle and turned it...

Twilight heard a click coming from inside the room.

Dash opened the door...

And a gunshot was heard.

White dots appeared in Twilight's vision and she let out a sharp cry. Dash, from the floor, looked in alarm at her friend. The back of Twilight's shoulder was bleeding, and the girl with glasses was holding a hand above her wound, tears of pain squeaking out of her eyes and falling to the wooden floor.

"Twi!" Dash slipped up but didn't care. Twilight had never, ever received a gunshot. It was the worst experience to have on her first day in the field.

"I-I'm okay" she wasn't okay. She was in pain, big pain, and felt like just crying until she died out of dehydration. But she couldn't. She had a job to get done.

On the other side, she couldn't believe she had dared to do such a thing. In fact, next time she better thought it twice, because damn, this hurt. She had never thought she would have the guts to push Dash away and take the bullet herself, but she had and she found herself feeling pretty relieved. It was almost like she knew the bullet wouldn't kill her. It was only causing her an immense amount of pain. At least I'm left-handed.

Twilight wiped away a few tears threatening to escape.

Both girls perked up when they heard sobbing. It wasn't coming from Twilight. Both turned to the room.

It was a woman. A young woman, probably just out of her teen years, with long burgundy hair and tan skin. She was sitting on a chair, surrounded by computers. Between her trembling hands, she was holding a gun. Rivers ran down her cheeks, wiping away subtle traces of sweat in them; her messy, greasy hair hiding part of her face and the dark circles under her eyes, and her clothes screamed they needed a good wash. Twilight was alarmed of detecting stains of blood in some part of her sweater.

She was even more alarmed when she noticed in the screen of the computers behind her, a loading bar was shown with a text above: Files transferring 63%.

Twilight was up and running before Dash had a chance to react.

The girl yelped. "D-Don't get any closer! I-I'll shoot you again!"

Twilight felt a rush of wind by her side, and the next thing she saw was the girl tied to the chair, and the gun she was previously holding between Dash's fingers. Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Spike appeared on the threshold. Dash looked at the girl with contempt.

"First of all, trembling so much, you're only gonna end up hurting yourself. Second, how old even are you?"

The girl replied with wails.

Twilight bit her tongue to stop herself from screaming, her whole body tensing and her fingers squeezing the edge of the training table she was sitting in.

Sunset shot her a look. "Told you it was going to hurt. Are you sure you don't want anesthesia?"

"Very. If Applejack and Dash can do it, so can I." Twilight puffed her cheeks and relaxed her body.

In front of her, her friends burst out laughing. All seven girls were grouped together in their private infirmary, that despite not being big was as useful and equipped for Sunset to heal any wounds that didn't need a hospital. Many times Twilight had witnessed one of her friends being treated here. She knew Applejack and Dash were quite capable of giving themselves stitches, and doing so without any anesthesia, and that was what kept Twilight from asking for it.

But Sunset had just given her two stitches and Twilight stopped her before she could get started with the third.

"Alright! Alright! I've put on a brave face enough for tonight!" Twilight gasped.

The girls burst out laughing again before Sunset reached to the counter and took out a bottle of local anesthesia. As the young doctor, in the future pediatrician, got back to work, Twilight turned to see her friends.

"So? How did it go with that girl?" she asked. Rarity, sitting in the table in front of her, was the one to speak first.

"She refused to talk whatsoever... She was terrified! The poor thing was devasted and claimed over and over she couldn't say a thing." Rarity sighed. "They had her threatened... She said the men who kidnapped her had threatened to kill her family if she ever dared to accuse them... It was only after we told her her family would be safe that she spoke,"

"She said they told her to hack her way into some computers, with nothing out of the ordinary," Dash explained. "If she tried to refuse, they would hit her."

"Oh, dear. Poor thing... And she's only twenty." Fluttershy sighed, sitting on the floor with Spike resting his head on her knees.

"Then she was asked to hack ATIDA... Before she knew, she was spendin' 'hole nights plannin' her move."

"She didn't sleep for five days!" Pinkie exclaimed.

"Heavens! That explains those horrid dark circles!"

"Did she know anything that might help us?" asked Twilight. "Maybe what they were looking for?"

"She did," Applejack nodded. "They told her to look for somethin' called The Vault."

Twilight gasped. The Vault was barely mentioned by anyone else than Celestia and Luna. It was almost a myth itself, but the girls were aware it existed. It was where ATIDA kept all the magical artifacts they retrieved, such as the fragments of the Memory Stone they already had; it was also where they kept most f the evidence they retrieved that the police did not need. Not even the Myths had visited it. It was a mystery to Twilight and the rest as it was for the rest of ATIDA.

"The Vault? Why would they want to know about the Vault?"

"She said she heard some of them talk over the phone... They said something about ancient magic." Rarity said. "Of course she thought they were nuts, but she was told to do something or else her family would die. It didn't matter if she thought it was ridiculous. She had to do as she was told, and since they told her to find the Vault, she did just that."

"She found it?"

"Of course she didn't." all girls turned to see Celestia approaching them. The woman was just crossing through the door. "Any information that may exist about the Vault's location is, certainly, not in our system. In fact, there are barely any files about it on paper. Its location is one of ATIDA'S best-hidden secrets. So I'm afraid if they wanted to know the Vault's location, she was just wasting her time."

"What will happen to her?" asked Pinkie.

"She's committed some heavy crimes and will be indicted because of it, but since she willingly confessed and gave us information, her sentence will be reduced a few years." Celestia relaxed and smiled at Twilight. "How's your shoulder?"

"I actually can't feel a thing right now," Twilight chuckled. She shrugged with her good shoulder. "Better? I hope. At least it isn't infected. It really hurt when I was extracting the files from their computers, though."

"That's because the bullet struck the muscle. You probably will have to stop using this arm for a while." Sunset reassured her. Twilight didn't turn to look at her friend since she knew the moment she turned she would notice the wound and panic once again. She was feeling surprisingly calm at the moment, so she wasn't taking any risks.

After exchanging a few more words with the girls, Celestia exited the room, which was soon filled with chattering as the girls entertained Twilight while Sunset worked. Even Sunset talked every now and then. Not once her smile left Twilight's lips, despite the fact she knew she was wounded or how cold she was feeling for not wearing a top. Even after such a grueling night, filled with boiling emotions and danger, they were by her side, supporting her...

What had she done to deserve such amazing friends? They were truly the best... Yes, their life was dangerous, but it had been since the first time they met anyway. Standing next to this amazing group of people, she knew there was no darkness in which she wouldn't find a light, and no hardship they couldn't overcome together.

With them by her side, Twilight knew she would always be brave.

"And done!" Twilight heard a snip of scissors and Sunset put herself in front of Twilight, her surgical gloves stained with blood. Sunset took them off and threw them into a tray. "Everything's fixed now. I'm gonna cover it with a dressing. Movement is going to hurt for a while, but as soon as you don't move it too abruptly, it should be fine." she placed the dressing and secured it with tape. "It's gonna leave a scar, though."

"Her very first scar!" Dash exclaimed, mocking a mother talking about the first steps of her baby. She placed a hand over her heart. "They grow up so fast!"

Applejack hit her in the back of her head, sending some strands of her real hair to her face. Dash laughed.

Twilight smirked while putting on her shirt. "I hope this shoulder gets better soon. I need quick movement in the field, after all."

Silence fell upon the before-chuckling group. Twilight buttoned her shirt a few seconds before noticing the silence and looking at her friends, who stared at her with astonished expressions. Twilight arched an eyebrow. "What?"

"Did you just say what we think you said?!" a smile was slowly creeping into Pinkie's face, and it soon started to grow into her other friends again. twilight thought back on her words and realized what her statement implied.

"Oh. Well, yes..."Twilight finished buttoning her shirt. "I mean, it was scary as hell, there's no doubt in that. But it felt... good to leave my comfort zone. I'd like to keep doing it." she smiled. "And if I can do it with my best friends, then it's even better. I admit it's going to be hard at first. I definitely need to start practicing for real, since I'm very rusty with my close combat techniques, but otherwise... I think it's a good idea. Don't you think so?"

She looked at her friend with hopeful eyes. And the girls were smiling like Pinkie Pie did all the time. Said girl was squealing in delight before literally jumping to Twilight to give her a bear hug. Twilight squeaked when the pressure made her shoulder hurt a bit, but she smiled and hugged her friend back despite the pain.

"Of course it's a great idea!" Pinkie screamed. "It's the most wonderful of ideas in the history of wonderful ideas!"

Applejack chuckled. "We're proud of ya', Twi."

"And I promise to help you train!" Dash puffed her chest. "You'll be an expert in no time! We'll begin as soon as that shoulder's healed."

"And it'll be healed even sooner if Pinkie Pie would let Twilight go..." Rarity gently pressed Pinkie shoulder's to get her oof Twilight. "Darling, you're going to rip the stitches if you keep hugging her like that."

"Sorry!" I'm just so excited!" Pinkie giggled.

Twilight laughed. Indeed a weird group, but she wouldn't have it any other way. She loved these girls.

In the back of her mind, she was still thinking about the breach in the security and the fact that the girl had been looking for the Vault. What did they want from the Vault? Who knows. Some sort of magic, surely, but what exactly? Somewhere deep inside of her, she knew this was just the tip of the iceberg, Somewhere deep inside of her, she knew things were only just beginning. A whole new deal of things awaited them just around the corner, and she knew better now than ever that they needed to be ready for it.

And heavens above would they be ready.

Author's Note

Hey! So this closes this arc! How was it? Did you like it? I sure enjoyed writing it! I really liked exploring Twilight's character a little more, and you can be sure this is gonna happen with all the girls. I like to combine each girl with the arc. And yes, the story's plot has already advanced a bit here, can you tell? Well, it's gonna be clearer in future chapters!

Until next time!

~Midday Giggle