The Charger weaved between the few cars on the pitch-black road as it made its way northward. The passengers were having a blast as their driver, an orange pegasus with a blue mane, kept his eyes focused on the road. Within a few minutes of leaving the complex, the trio were approaching a well-lit side street up near Midtown. Before they could pull into the lights, the car turned down an alleyway, stopping inside a garage a few yards down. The driver and his passengers all breathed a sigh of relief, followed by a few chuckles from each of them. That was when the lights all came back on. As they got out, Record softly punched the driver on his shoulder.

"Great driving Flash," he said, "you probably outran them by a week and a half."
"Thanks, Rec." Flash replied smiling. "Soooo....does this mean I'm part of the group now?"
"You already are." Vinyl said. "You became one when you showed up with the car." Vinyl and Record both burst out laughing, with Flash joining in soon after. "There's a diner just up the street. Let's get some breakfast."

The trio got into Flash's own car then took off out of the alleyway. A few minutes later, they pulled up to a retro-style diner up near Times Square. There were three more ponies sitting outside, waiting for them. Flash didn't even get one foot out the door before his marefriend, Sunset Shimmer, threw her arms around him and kissed his cheek. Flash just laughed at the affection.

"Great pick Sunny." Record said. "Guy was a pro."
"Told ya." Sunset exclaimed. "They don't call him Flash for nothing."
"Not bad for a narc." Vinyl said.
Sunset and Flash seemed confused. "What do you mean?" She asked.
Vinyl turned to the duo and laughed, "You fully well know what I mean." She then turned to Flash. "Listen. We're not mad but tell your idiot boss if he wants to spy on us, just ask politely next time."

"Yeah," Record said, "we don't bite. Well maybe once." The group laughed as they went inside. Flash and Sunset ran in behind them.

"Wait!" Flash cried, "How did you guys know?"
"Relax Flash." Vinyl said, "You're still part of the crew."
"You didn't answer my question." Flash replied now annoyed.
The two siblings turned around and looked Flash dead in the eyes. "You want the long or short version?" Record asked. "Surprise me." Flash said, now getting frustrated. Vinyl pulled up her phone.

"Flash Sentry
Age: Twenty-Four
Born in Las Pegasus. Parents died in a car accident at the age of twelve. Has a brother named First Base who lives with aunt and uncle in Ponyville. Joined the Junior Royal Guard Cadet Program in highschool at age fifteen. Was fully recruited at age eighteen...blah blah blah." She then scrolled down a bit before continuing. "Ah here we are. 'Became part of Special Ops during the war...yadda yadda yadda. Was one of only three survivors from Operation Bow and Arrow.'" She then looked Flash dead in the eyes. "Damn. Three survivors?"

"Out of a platoon of twenty-five. Rumor mill at home says someone tipped off the Unicornians. We still completed the mission, and I got a busted leg and some pretty nasty nightmares as a fuckin 'thank you'." Flash snarled. He stared at the siblings, his blood already starting to boil. "So, what the fuck are you two yahoos gonna do? Huh?"

Record then got into Flash's face. "First: You're gonna drop the tough guy attitude. We don't need it and YOU don't need it. Second: You're gonna come have breakfast with us. Then we're going to figure out what to do next." The siblings then turned and went into the diner, Sunset following behind them. Realizing he was about to be left alone, he followed them into the restaurant.

Immediately his nose was hit with the smell of omelets, bacon, pancakes, and grilled cheese being made on the flattop. Old rock n roll music was playing on the jukebox near the door. The counters and tables were chrome-lined with white tops. The stuffed seats were covered with red faux leather and the walls were white with splashes of color on it, topped off with pictures of rock stars, movie posters, rockets, and more. Several ponies and dragons were sitting, drinking coffee and having their breakfasts.

Flash and Sunset followed closely behind the Scratch siblings to a corner booth where the other two ponies were already sitting, one of them with his laptop on the table. The four pulled up a spot on the large seat.

Vinyl turned to the blue-grey unicorn typing on the laptop. "Sooo....what do we got Neon?" Vinyl asked quietly, but almost giddy with excitement.

Neon turned to look at Vinyl. "What we got, my dear friend, is a fuckton of data, and most of it is useless bs." He then turned his attention back to the screen. Vinyl was just about to facepalm. 'Great. Another bust.' She thought just as her friend continued, causing Vinyl to lean in. "BUT! Though this pile of useless garbage I was able to pick out a few good gems."

"I'm listening." Neon then turned the laptop towards Vinyl, then pulled up a video.

"Now watch." He said. The video was from five years prior and showed footage of a crash test of a sedan. After a minute of watching the car ram into the wall at full throttle, the video showed a two camera angles from inside the car itself. The others leaned in to take a peek at the screen. As the car impacted the wall, the airbag deployed. As the crash test dummies made contact with the airbags, something shot out the back of one's neck while the other had something shoot through its head and torso. The gang collectively recoiled in shock and disgust.

"This was dated about two days before the car was shipped to the lots." Neon said, before opening another couple pages. This time, the screen showed a statement from the CEO telling the lead developer to release the car anyway.

"There's definitely a lot more, and not just with this car." Neon continued. "There's falsified emissions data, the malfunctioning ignition switches, you name it."

"Shit. That's a ton of data." Record said. "How long before we can release the next video?"

"Probably a week max." Neon confidently said.
"I'll get a script ready." Sunset said.
"I already designed a new mask." Another pony, Coco, added.
"And I'll start looking into the next company to expose." Vinyl said. "I'm hearing novel of horror stories about Everfree."
"Let's just get through this first V." Record said.

Just then the waitress came over, a pot of coffee in her hand. She then set it down before taking out her pen and notepad. One by one, each pony placed their orders.
"And you?" She asked turning to Record.
"I'll just have chocolate chip pancakes." He spoke.
The waitress then turned to Vinyl. "How 'bout you sweetheart?" Vinyl said nothing. Record turned and saw her staring, seemingly, off into space. "Sweetheart?" The waitress asked again.
"Yo. Vi." Record said tapping her shoulder. Vinyl then jolted before shaking her head then turning to her brother.
"What's that?" She asked.
"What do you want?" The waitress asked again.
Vinyl then pointed her thumb at her brother. "Oh. Just the same thing as him." Satisfied, the waitress went back behind the counter. Record, meanwhile, looked at Vinyl with a bit of confusion.

"What's with you?" He asked.
She then pointed to a pony sitting at the counter across the restaurant. "That mare in the grey hoodie." Record turned to see a unicorn mare sitting, hood over her head, drinking a coffee. "What about her?" Record asked.
"Remember Shining Armor, he was the guy with the band of geeks in high school?"
Record turned and nodded. "Yeah. So." He said, seeming uninterested.
"That's his sister, Twilight." Vinyl said, "She lived in Ponyville when me and Tavi lived there."
Record cocked his head to the side. "Wait," he began, sounding confused, "I thought he had a brother. Dust or Starshine."
"He has two older brothers. She's his younger, and only sister." Vinyl replied, getting up from the table.
"You going to say 'hi'?" Record asked.
"Of course. Keep my pancakes warm for me, will ya?" Vinyl said walking off, Record throwing a rolled-up napkin at her head in response.

Twilight starred down at the new mug of coffee, having barely touched her own breakfast. Not a thought passed through her mind as it almost seemed to be in a fog. Her eyes fixated on the creamer as it mixed I to the black liquid as if it had hypnotized her. She wasn't even sure how she got to this point; the last fourteen months had been nothing but a blur. She hadn't made any real contact with anyone since she left Canterlot. Not her parents, her brothers, Cadance, Luna, or especially Celestia. She did write a few letters to Spike and even sent him and the rest of her family a few birthdays presents, but other than that, nothing. While she did attempt to make new friends, they didn't last long, which made things worse for her. At this point all she had was her job at the local bookstore and her apartment. She was already set on the idea of being alone forever. That's when she felt a tap on her shoulder, bring her out of her trance.

"You seem lost." A voice said. Twilight looked up to see a cream-colored pony with strands of light and dark blue hair in her mane. Twilight almost didn't recognize the mare.
"I know you." She said in a slight raspy voice. "You DJ'd at my brother's wedding."
"That's right." Vinyl said. "And you're Pinkies friend, Twilight." Twilight nodded as her gaze seemed to sink towards the floor. Vinyl then grabbed the seat next to her.
"I heard what happened to her and the others." She began, her voice full of sympathy. "I'm sorry. Pinkie was a great friend, and I know she was an even greater one to you."
"Thanks," Twilight said, her voice low and full of sadness, "she was a great friend. They all were. Just---" She then began drifting off into an incoherent mumble as she remembered that awful night. She didn't know how long she had been in her thoughts till she saw a pair of fingers snap in front of her, causing her to jolt back to reality. "Oh! I'm sorry."
"Don't be," Vinyl said. "I was like that when I lost my folks."
"Oh," Twilight said shocked, "I'm sorry I didn't know."
"Eh. It's ok. It happened a long time ago." Vinyl said matter-of-factly. "I don't even remember them to be honest." She then pointed to the booth the others were at. "Thankfully I have that big doofus over there."
Twilight looked over to the booth. She saw the small group of ponies sitting eating her breakfast. A few of them were looking and waiving at her. Twilight smiled a bit and waived back at them. "Your friends?" She asked.
"Yeah." Vinyl said, "The redhead is my brother, the dork on the laptop is my pal Neon, the little creampuff next to him is Coco, and the two lovebirds playing with their food on the end are Flash and Sunset.

Twilight looked at the unicorn with the red and yellow colored mane, who was actually looking back at her. She couldn't put her finger on it, but the unicorn looked oddly familiar to her. Sunset smiled and nodded at her. Twilight became so focused on the other unicorn, that she jolted when Vinyl brushed against her shoulder.

"Woah! A bit jumpy?" Vinyl exclaimed while chuckling.
"Oh. No. I'm sorry." Twilight said. "What were you saying?"
"I was just talking a bit about my bro there and how he raised me after our folks died." Vinyl said, she then looked at the purple unicorn. "Are you ok? You look exhausted."
"I am." Twilight sighed out. "I haven't slept the last few nights." Vinyl looked down at the still full coffee mug before saying, "No offense, but I don't think a cup of coffee is helping you here." Twilight said nothing and just slid the mug over to her. Vinyl picked it up and took a big gulp from it. She looked down at the sad unicorn, as she was starting to play with her food.

"Why don't you come join us?" Vinyl asked. Twilight perked and looked up at Vinyl.
"You sure?" Twilight asked," I mean...I don't want to impo---" Vinyl quickly raised a hand to shush her before taking her arm.

"I'm positive." Vinyl said. Twilight then picked up her plate and followed the other unicorn over to the booth. The other occupants shuffled and moved about to make room for her. When she got to the table, she was expecting there to be groaning and moaning about having to move.
"Gang," Vinyl announced, "this is Twilight Sparkle."
To Twilight's surprise, they all smiled and warmly greeted her. Vinyl sat back down next to her brother, Twilight taking a seat on the other side. Most of them, those who could reach, stuck out their arms to shake hands with her. Twilight began to smile as she did so. It was then she began to feel something inside her, something she hadn't felt in a long while. She felt warm, welcome, happy. Twilight happily sat and finally began eating her breakfast and chatting with the group.

The sun was finally coming up in Manehattan. A new day for the city. And for Twilight, maybe, the beginning of a new chapter.

Author's Note

I'm not really happy with this chapter and how long it took to write. I suck at slow scenes. The next chapter, and a few after will be imported from the original version of the story. Because not only will it make up for lost time quickly, but they work with the storyline. The club chapter will be a bit rewritten.