“Oh dear…”

“What?”

“Dwarf Down!”

“Ah.”

“No worries, I got ya.”

“Zippity!”

“I’m sorry...”

“Don’t sweat it, seriously.”

“But I keep going down”

“You’ve literally just started, we’re not expecting expert plays on your third ever game. I mean, you don’t even have any gear unlocked. The pressure is very low.”

“You remember what to press though, right?”

“Oh. Um…”

“Rock and Stone!”

“Rock and Stone!”“For Karl!”“By the Beard!”

Sunset’s smile widened as she heard Pyrrha’s almost musical titter come over her headphones. It turned out her pen pal’s new partner had been trying to get the girl to branch out in her hobbies, and when Sunset heard he gifted her a certain game, she felt it a perfect way to further her own connection with the distant hunter. Add in Rainbow now being back home for the rest of her recovery and Wallflower having most of her time free anyway, she was quite pleased to have this little session fall into place like this.

That and it was just nice to hear the woman laugh so openly. Not that she expected the hunter to be depressed or anything like that, but even after Sunset stopped trying to keep their exchanges purely professional, there was still a bit of a barrier between them. Sunset knew part of that was her fault, for intentionally maintaining that barrier for so long. She did however take some small solace in the fact her pen pal did just seem to be a very formal and somewhat isolated person in general. It also further helped salve her regret after getting the chance to briefly speak with Pyrrha’s new partner, who admitted a similar concern; hence his attempts to expand her hobbies.

She’d have to thank him later, as not only was the game a good starting point that she was already familiar with, but was just fun in general. Pyrrha seemed to be enjoying herself, so that was enough for her either way.

They played through another match before an abrupt groan doused her mood like a bucket of ice water.

“Dash?” She asked as the mechanic’s avatar suddenly stopped mid fight, allowing itself to be swarmed.

“Yeah sorry… I just…” Rainbow returned strained, her breathing growing heavy enough to be picked up by her mic. “I… Aw fuck-”

Sunset’s senses went off like a bomb and she was on her feet in an instant, ripping open her door and sprinting down the hall. The sense hadn’t gone unnoticed by Fluttershy either, as Sunset saw her tear out of her own room ahead of her before several loud thumps echoed through the house's walls.

“RAINBOW!” the medic cried as they barreled through the door. The mechanic's chair laid on the floor as the computer’s mouse and keyboard dangled over the desk’s edge. The sound of a shower reached them through the open door to the room’s connected bathroom. They closed the distance and squeezed in to find her laid out in the tub while a torrent of freezing water poured over her very pink skin and soaked her clothes through completely. “Rainbow!”

“I’m... I’m okay” she panted out, eyes closed tight as she weakly lifted up a spent suppression pen to them. She slumped back and let the arm fall as the water continued to drench her and soon Fluttershy as well as she leaned in to examine her. “I just need a minute.”

“Nice try Rainbow, but we’re still taking you to the station” Fluttershy returned bluntly, earning an aggravated murmur from the woman. Without looking back, the nurse continued gently “Sunset will you call Twilight and get one of the cars ready? It’ll be best to let the water keep lowering her temperature and I don’t want to leave her alone.”

“Yeah, yeah of course. No problem” the redhead fumbled out a bit breathless herself before returning to her room. She picked her phone off her desk, just about to open her contacts when she saw movement on her screen. They were back in the lobby and both Wallflower’s and Pyrrha’s characters were staring at Sunset's while concerned questions could now be seen in the chat. A somber, but still soothing warmth tugged at the corner of her lips. She quickly typed out Dash had a flash burn, but didn’t fully destabilize thankfully and that they were taking her into the station. She then refocused onto her phone, returning to the immediate task at hand.

Sunset waited in the hall, arms crossed as she swayed back and forth in place. Rainbow had already started recovering on the way in but Twilight had cleared the infirmary of all non-medical staff. She let out a distressed sigh and rubbed her head before giving a slight jump when a hand landed on her shoulder.

“Ease off the panic there Darl'n, she’ll be fine.” AJ gave her an encouraging pat and consoling smile “I know it’s damn scary ta see from the outside, but this is just kinda par the course fer us infected. ‘Specially when we're just start’n off.”

“I know but-” Sunset started before catching herself “Well okay, I don’t Know know but-”

“It’s fine Dear, we understand what you mean” Rarity stepped up and put an arm around the younger hunter “But like Jacquelyn said, this isn’t just common for infected but expected. Admittedly this was a bit of a bad one, but she was also allowed to go home sooner than most. Like Jackie told you though, she’ll be fine, if she’s not already.”

Sunset nodded mutely, still not feeling much better.

“So it hits all infected this bad?” she asked after a moment.

“Well technically it hit most folks a lot worse. What with most go’n NMC and all-OW!” AJ flinched away, holding her freshly flicked ear as the well coifed woman that delivered it leveled a mild glare her way. A small blush creeped up beneath the cowgirl’s freckles before she continued a bit more abashed “Er- but for us fully stabilized and all, it hits us all a different. Rare’s here weren’t as strong as most but tended ta last longer. Meanwhile mine knocked me on mah ass nearly every time, but then I was the worst off of all of us, have’n already been damn near half transformed ‘fore the team got my buggers ta finally calm the hell down.”

“Yes, it can vary quite a bit; even amongst those infected by the same strain. For example, while Fluttershy says her flashes were fairly minor, they came much more frequently than expected. Contrast that to the woman she was working with during the outbreak, who had a more balanced reaction, if that’s even an appropriate way to put it. Needless to say, this is all still a rather imprecise process” Rarity explained.

“But there are still times things end up going really bad, aren’t there?” Sunset gave darkly, eyes to the floor. The pair frowned, sharing a glance before responding.

“Yes, there are still those unfortunate times. Even worse they’re not all simply because they refused to take their suppressants or ran off to one of the cults” the fashionable woman admitted “But with every one we learn a little more, and that’s not including everything we hunters bring in for Twilight and the rest to poke and prod at. Rainbow will be fine Sunset.”

“Damn toot’n! Not only is she too damn stubborn to lose ta the buggers but she’s got all us right behind her, yerself included” Applejack declared before giving the redhead a playful bump “So cheer up. This just ain’t that serious, ‘kay?”

Before the young Awakened could respond, the door to the infirmary opened, revealing not only Twilight and Fluttershy emerging but an exhausted Rainbow as well.

“See? Told ya!” AJ bumped the girl again, earning an embarrassed chuckle.

“Don’t tell me you’ve been standing here freaking out this whole time” Dash shot her a look, and then rolled her eyes when Sunset scratched at the back of her head sheepishly “Aw come on Sunny…”

“Well I was worried, okay?” She practically whined “We didn’t even know how my mitos would affect you! And having that bad a flash when I’m all fire inclined and… I’m still new to this whole worrying about people thing.”

A small round of giggles filtered through the group as Sunset shrunk into herself. Twilight stepped forward and tilted her head around to find the girl’s eyes.

“It’s okay to be worried Sunset, but as I’m sure Cadence would remind you; you have to remember not to let it get the better of you too.” She offered warmly “We told you we expected this and while yes, this was a bit harsher than we were hoping, we can maybe do something about that right now!”

“Yeah?” the redhead looked back up hesitantly.

“Maybe, we’ll have to head to the lab first though” the doctor concluded and started back to her domain. AJ and Rarity gave her another pair of reassuring smiles before returning to their own duties. The trio entered behind the scientist, seeing Applebloom already within at her typical station.

“Hey alright, back on yer feet already. Least we know ya can still bounce back better than Jackie could” the younger Apple quipped “Guess that means yer almost as tough as Ah am.”

“Almost” Dash returned a tired grin.

“So then! I think I may have an answer why this flash was harsher than we thought” Twilight began as Sunset and Dash took seats at the ‘testing stools’ as they’d long since been dubbed “So from what I can observe, it would seem there’s still some conflict between the infectious mitochondria and Sunset’s still asserting Dominance over them so strongly.”

“So this is my fau-OOOWWW!!” the former pony cried when a fist abruptly slammed into her arm. HARD. “What the hell Dash?!”

“For fuck’s sake Sunny, give it a rest already!” the mechanic glared at her “Listen we’re all glad you’ve started to open up and all, but you didn’t have to go full pantywaste levels of soft on us like this!”

“Pantywaste!?” Sunset gaped “I haven’t gone that soft!”

“Oh please, you’ve been squishier than melted butter for over a week now” Rainbow countered.

“Hey fuck you! It’s been a rough time, alright?!” the redhead shot back “Not that your unconscious ass would’ve known!”

“~Hey fuck you~” Rainbow mocked in a high tone “Well I guess a tiny nibble is better than no bite at all.”

Sunset’s lip curled as her scowl grew deeper and her eyes narrowed at the mechanic.

“Bitch.”

“Pussy.”

“Ladies.” Twilight scolded lightly as Fluttershy and Applebloom both let giggles escape them “Are you done? I think Sunny gets the point.”

Sunset made an indignant noise and looked away with a pout. Sure, she may have been a bit sensitive lately but she felt it had been more than justified. It wasn’t like she was needed in combat or anything this whole time. It didn’t mean she’d gone that soft, friends or not. She huffed a snort out her nose as they continued to smirk at her.

‘And my hair is NOT bacon!’

“Back to what I was saying…” Twilight continued after a moment and took her seat in front of her fellow Awakened “It really isn’t your fault Sunset. In fact I was rather impressed how well you were able to instruct your mitochondria despite having no experience in stabilizing others. The issue is that they’re still following your instructions.”

“But how is that a bad thing?” Sunset furrowed her brow “I told them to stabilize Dash.”

“You told them to stop the infection” Twilight corrected “Which was the right call, again this wasn’t anything you did wrong. But just as we were concerned about using your mitochondria for this kind of thing, they’re indeed acting a bit differently than we’re used to. While most would have relaxed and started working with the now subdued infection, yours are still trying to keep the whole down, complicating the process and triggering a stronger reaction like this.”

“Geez Sunny, even your mitos have your crazy need to be on top…” Dash teased with a cocky side glance. The former pony stuck her tongue out at the mechanic before turning back to Twilight.

“So how am I supposed to help? Do I just have to tell them to chill out or something?”

“Well it won’t be quite as simple as that; they’re in a kind of transitional state where they’re no longer yours but also not all together Rainbow’s yet either” Twilight explained “So I’m hoping another small transfusion, with new instructions will… ‘set an example’ for lack of a better term, at least any either of you would be familiar with. Were you to just give the existing ones new directions now, they might buck at it. If they get a fresh infusion of their own strain however, they might catch on that they can finally ‘chill out’ a little.”

“I have to instruct new ones?” Sunset confirmed with a hint of apprehension.

“Don’t start freak’n Shimmer” Applebloom piped in from behind her screens “She wouldn’t make ya do it alone.”

“Aya’s already on her way in.” Twilight elaborated “Between her and I, we should be able to guide your own guidance enough to avoid any further problems like this. You’ll still undoubtedly get more flashes Rainbow-”

“Fuuun...”

“BUT, they shouldn’t be nearly so unpleasant.” the doctor continued despite the mechanic’s less than thrilled response. “If this all goes according to plan, you should be home by tomorrow!”

“So I’m still stuck here again… great” Rainbow slumped in her seat.

“At least for the night, yes. Sorry” Twilight shrugged.

“Guess that means I’m missing our night with Tree” she gave to Shy.

“Oh no, I texted her already. She’s already switched our night with Timber’s” Fluttershy returned with a smile “You know how easily she adapts. Though I still do need to give her a ride from the bus station.”

“Oh! Do you need my keys? I hadn’t even thought about that when-”

“It’s okay Sunset.” the nurse quickly cut in “She doesn’t get in for at least a couple hours.”

Before the conversation could continue, the arrival of Aya entering the lab drew attention away. Though it was the sight of the veteran hunter’s younger sister following in behind her that really made the room grow quiet. This was the first time Eve had come to the station since the mission to the Ark.

“Oh, Hey Evie!” Rainbow beamed at the younger Brea, blissfully ignorant.

“Hey Dash” she smiled a bit uneasily back with an uncertain tension shared by the rest of everyone present. The younger blonde's attention then turned to Sunset “Hey Sunset.”

“H-hey Eve.” she winced at her stutter but opened her mouth to continue. She unfortunately didn't make it much further than that “I…uh… um…”

“It’s okay Sunset…” Eve gave as she looked away, hugging herself lightly “Aya told me you guys… 'found my old room'.”

“Okay, I definitely missed more than I thought, didn't I?” Rainbow murmured as she didn’t fail to notice the total shift in mood “Am I allowed to know?”

“Eve.” Twilight softly interrupted when she spotted the younger blonde open her mouth.

“It’s my secret to tell Twi. And If we can’t trust Rainbow of all people then we really are screwed.” Eve countered somberly, causing the doctor to relent. “Dash, I’m not Aya’s little sister. I’m a clone.”

The mechanic blinked at the blunt confession. She tilted her head as her brow furrowed, before one half then arched up.

“...Temporal or Test-tube?”

A loud snort escaped the younger Brea that brought a hand to her face to fruitlessly try to fight off the smile that forced its way there.

“God damnit Rainbow!” She laughed out begrudgingly before staring at the mechanic incredulously “I reveal I was technically never really ‘born’ and that’s your first question?!”

“So that would be test-tube then” Rainbow deduced with an absent nod “But how does that make you and Ay' not sisters?”

“That I’m genetically closer to her daughter than anything else?”

“Okay, but so what?” Rainbow shrugged “Flutters and I aren’t related at all but it’s pretty damn clear we’re basically sisters at this point. And you two have the whole legal thing on your side t- oh. OH!”

“What?” Eve’s downturned expression turned worried.

“You were the second…” Dash murmured at it came together “Weren’t you?”

Eve let go a heavy sigh and nodded darkly.

“THAT’S AWESOME!”

“RAINBOW!” half the room immediately scolded.

“What?! No! Not like that!” she leveled a flat look back at her accusers “Come on girls, I’m not that much of an asshole! No, I mean that she’s here! With us right now, as Herself!”

“It is pretty comforting that, even That far gone, you were still able to be brought back and become the most normal of any of us…” Sunset gave quietly after finally finding her voice “I know it’s given me at least little hope that I may not be totally fucked if… y’know…”

“I didn’t come back on my own…” Eve shuffled in place.

“None of us have Evie” Twilight countered consolingly.

“I told you they wouldn’t care.” Aya gave her sister a gentle bump.

“Well, I wouldn’t say we don’t care.” the former pony offered “It’s just in our ‘messed up family of mutants’ kind of way.”

“Thanks girls…” the young blonde looked away with a growing blush and muted smile. The group began to fidget awkwardly as they failed to know how they were supposed to proceed from there.

“Well now that that’s settled, we should be able to get started, yeah?” Twilight drew attention back to herself to spare the young woman further scrutiny. Though she did blink after a moment and looked to Eve with concern “Unless you’re here for something more urgent.”

“Oh! Oh no, I… actually thought I might be able to help” the younger Brea shrugged. “And yeah, get that whole bit out of the way while I was at it…”

“Great!” the doctor beamed “I’d love to have your stability added into the mix!”

"I thought you didn't want to develop you powers" Sunset commented as Twilight arranged them about for the process.

"I didn't" Eve confirmed before shrugging "But it obviously happened anyway. And more and more lately, I've been thinking I might as well do something good with them. Even if it's just safe stuff like this."

"You sure you're up for this?" Aya asked, Eve's eye roll suggesting it wasn't the first time the elder Brea had asked.

"I'm sure I can handle a bit of assisted guidence Ay'" she nearly snarked in response "I did kind of used to be the big bad."

The older sister clearly didn't like it being joked about but she didn't push any further. For Sunset's part is actually gave her just a little more of that previouly mentioned hope.

'If she can come back AND joke about it, maybe I really don't have to be quite so scared...'

“So it still bothers her that much? That you're technically not 'real' sisters?”

Aya was sitting in the lab with Twilight, where it was just the two of them now that Dash’s treatment was finished. The mechanic in question had returned to the infirmary while her house-mates went to pick up the pair’s friend. Eve had gone to also ‘get it out of the way’ with AJ and Rarity, with Applebloom as support. Which left the two of them alone as Twilight decided to get the hunter’s own regular exam out of the way as well.

“Not as much as this made it seem, but it still nags at her when it comes up” the older woman said “I think it’s more the memories the subject always brings back up that really bothers her though.”

“You could always just tell her.”

“Tell her what?” the blonde returned, though she suspected she already knew.

“That at this point she’s genetically closer to Maya than you” the scientist pointed out “Making her that much more your sister, biologically speaking.”

“Or my niece,” the hunter countered.

“You know what I mean. I’d make her feel better about it.”

“Or that much more scared, considering what happened to Maya” the blonde returned, giving the doctor pause.

“...Does she-”

“No.” Aya was quick to respond “No, but I think she’s put a lot of it together at this point. Even with how tight a lid we keep on it, she’s been in the middle of all this too long to not suspect at least something resembling the truth.”

“Hmm” Twilight hummed in lack of any better response, to which Aya just nodded absently. “Would be nice if the recovery rate really was the one out of two the few people that know think it is, instead of three…”

“It’d be a lot better if we could also count the early ones that didn’t actually transform, if they’ve actually existed that is.” the blonde finished with an off put grumble.

“Yes well, we’ve been down that rabbit hole enough to know not to dwell on it.” Twilight murmured “Though you did tell us yourself that it was like Maya was still trying to protect you, even back then. So I guess one and sort of a half out of three is almost as good, right?”

“I suppose it could be worse,” the blonde admitted “I just hope we won’t have to see if whoever's next has to get that lucky again…”

“So she’s a hippie?” Sunset cocked an eyebrow at the nurse also leaning against her car as they watched the most recent bus unload its passengers.

“Pretty much” Fluttershy admitted “She’d call herself a free spirit but would also probably be just fine with the hippie title too.”

“Easy going then?”

“To a fault,” Shy said with a warm smile.

“Oh then that HAS to be her” the redhead quipped as she spotted a distant looking woman in a colorful poncho with an over-long shirt, short shorts (assumedly), tall boots beneath it all and heavy dreadlocks above ambling breezily through the throng of passengers. To confirm the Awaken's deduction, the woman’s hazy smile grew as she spotted the pair against the Jeep.

“Fluttershy, happy reunions sister” the woman closed and embraced the nurse.

“It’s great to see you Tree” Fluttershy returned the hug before stepping back and gesturing to the younger NMH “Tree this Sunset, Sunset this is Rainbow’s and I’s old friend, Tree Hugger.”

“Good vibes” hugger offered airily as the two shook hands. “Cool horn.”

Sunset blinked at the sudden, confusing compliment.

“W-what?”

“Your Aura” the woman clarified, reaching a hand up to swirl a finger around in front of Sunset’s forehead “You’re sporting a righteous spiral.”

“I am?” The fiery haired girl reached up to feel her still very smooth forehead.

“Totally” Tree Hugger returned “Something to be cherished for sure. Even a novice would have little trouble focusing their chi with that clear a focus. I’m admittedly a bit envious myself, though will remember my own blessings should it grow too green.”

The woman gave her a lazy wink as Fluttershy giggled softly behind her. The nurse opted to join her friend in the back seat on their way back to talk more easily.

“So Rainbow’s new mitos are still harshing her balance, huh? Bummer.”

“Yeah, it hit pretty hard. She’s fine now though and hopefully we managed to mitigate the cause” the medic delivered the last bit more delicately, glancing slightly toward their driver.

“Doc Sparkles was top notch during our episodes, so I’ve faith she’s only gotten better” Tree consoled her friend “Even if she’s still so determined to ignore the spiritual side of things.”

“So what have you been doing all this time?” Shy scooted closer, adorably eager to hear her most well traveled friend’s stories “I know we’ve talked but I still haven’t seen you more than twice since the shelter closed!”

“Smooth waters there Flutters” Tree gave with a soft chuckle “Not just passing through this time, not so quickly at least. We’ve got time, even beyond our circle night. Speaking of, will you be joining us Sunset?”

“Oh, um…” Sunset fumbled slightly at the sudden, well relatively sudden in this case, question “I’ll be in the house but I won’t be indulging.”

“Sunset doesn’t smoke” Fluttershy answered for the former pony.

“Not that I have anything against it,” the driver was quick to clarify “No judgment. I’ve just… I think I’ve had enough new experiences these past few months. Figured I could at least try to space out the ones I can actually control.”

“We’re going to do the whole coaching thing when she’s ready, like you did for me” the nurse added.

“Oh righteous! I’m so glad the practice has caught on more lately” the free spirited woman grinned “Too many souls jumping in without guidance, it’s too much risk of some seriously bad karma. Or at least some really bad trips, like Rainbow’s.”

“You did warn her not to start with edibles,” Shy agreed quietly. The conversion continued at a casual pace until they reached Timber’s house, though Sunset was beginning to wonder if Ms. Hugger was even capable of anything beyond a ‘casual pace' by then. They bid the pair adieu and made the rest of the short trip home, already inside before Shy spoke up.

“Hey, so um… Thanks,” She gave as they crossed into the kitchen “For not making fun of her or anything. Not that I expected you to of course! But well, I know Tree can be a little out there for even the most open minded people.”

“Hey no problem” the awakened shrugged. “It was actually pretty interesting. Unlike Twilight, I’m perfectly accepting of that kind of stuff, what with-”

Sunset cut herself off, realizing just how close she came to saying it and shocked by just how easily it was about to come out. Her face fell pensive for a moment as the nurse frowned, tilting her head with concern.

“Is everything alright?” she asked, her worry so genuine it tugged at the former pony’s heart. She raised her head back up to look into the medic’s eyes, feeling the conflict playout in her mind. A conflict surprisingly one sided in its efforts, which was all it took to finally cinch it for her.

“Yeah. Yeah everything’s fine. I just… Come sit with me for a moment. I…” she took a deep breath and steeled herself as she led the befuddled woman to the couch.

“I have something to tell you.”

Sunset sat next to the nurse, trying not to wring her hands too much as she waited. At first the opal eyed woman thought she had been trying to prank her, not unreasonable all things considered. However after a demonstration of turning a pen into a pencil, a straw, and a pipe cleaner before reverting it back into a pen, Fluttershy began taking the story a whole lot more seriously. She had barely said a word as the redhead continued explaining the truth and was now just quietly starting down at the pen in her hand, and had been for a good few minutes now.

“...Wow.” she finally breathed out.

“Well, I suppose I couldn’t have expected everyone to take this as well as Dash did…” Sunset murmured.

“You told Rainbow?” Shy’s gazed turned to the former pony.

“Oh, well... Technically no, not like this. She sort of just… Figured it out” Sunset winced at the smallest note of hurt she saw in those opal eyes at the news “It was actually a damn good thing she did though. It was when I had my manifestation. I was using powers that, as far as MIST knows, only an EVE is capable of. Telekinesis to be precise. Mix in the fiery aura I was covered in being shaped like a pony, the glowing horn I apparently still sort of have sticking out my head, and a joke I tried to play on her once, she thankfully saw what she hoped was the truth and gave me a chance.”

“You can use telekinesis?” Sunset grimaced as the note of hurt was replaced by a greater note of fear. She gently held up her hands to try and calm the nurse before gesturing to the pen she still held. Fluttershy gasped as it was encased in a shimmering aura and lifted from her grasp to dance slowly through the air.

“It’s not nearly as strong as it used to be,” Sunset explained as she twirled it soothingly in her grasp “Like all my magic in this world, it’s limited in this body. Or at least I thought it was, until Dash told me some of the things my mitochondria did with it…”

A hand landed softly on her shoulder, making her lift her gaze back up to the nurse who somehow found enough sympathy in the middle of all she just learned to comfort her.

“I'm sorry I didn’t tell you, and I ask you don’t blame Dash for not telling you either. It was me that asked her not to.” Sunset gave guiltily “It’s not that I didn’t trust you, I just… I wasn’t expecting anyone to know at that point at all and it’s not like there's a book about how to deal with this kind of thing. Not that I'm aware of. For the record, she really didn’t like keeping it from you.”

“It’s okay Sunset. I suppose that’s not what's really important right now anyway, is it?” the elder NMH relented “And if I know Rainbow, she probably made you prove it like you had to do to get me to listen.”

“Yeah well, at least I got a bird out of it.” The unicorn girl shrugged, not thinking much of it until she spotted Flutter’s wide eyed look “Oh uh, yeah. I felt I needed something pretty drastic considering Dash seemed one bad move away from trying to shoot me so… Yeah, we didn’t find her out by the street. I… kind of made Tangerine… out of a tangerine.”

The nurse’s wide eyed expression didn’t falter. It only gradually tilted as she turned toward the cage holding the finch currently pecking excitedly at one of its toy mirrors, joyfully oblivious to the implications of its creation. Her brow furrowed as she continued to stare.

“Well now we definitely can’t release her into the wild” she huffed before turning her eyes back to Sunset “Ready or not, looks like you got yourself a pet anyway.”

The giggles bubbled up and there was nothing the pony girl could do to stop them. THAT was Fluttershy’s take away from her basically creating life. Not really, it was more like converting honestly, but Shy didn’t know that. The nurse herself joined the jovial release after a moment, smiling even after it petered out and let go of a sigh.

“Thank you for telling me Sunset. I very much suspect it can’t be easy trusting anyone with this, especially with your concerns about the Bureau” she said calmly, before perking up anxiously “But I’m not going to tell them! You can trust me!”

“I know Shy” Sunset returned quickly “I wouldn’t be telling you at all if I didn’t. And I think that you’re the first I’ve done so voluntarily speaks for itself. Celestia knows I didn’t see this coming when I first got here though.”

“OH. Yes, I didn’t say anything at the time because, well I doubt I even could have, but..” Fluttershy squinted as her eyes darted around confused “So in your world, Cadence and Celestia are… Queens?”

“Princesses” the younger woman corrected “The title of queen has some… complicated history in our culture. But yes, they’re alicorns, and thus they’re princesses. THE princess in Celestia’s case, seeing as she’s led our kingdom for around a thousand years at this point. That would also be why I still use her as an epithet occasionally when I’m not paying enough attention.”

“We did think it was a little odd that you used our old principal’s name as a curse sometimes” the medic admitted with a smirk “Though we figured it was just a coincidence; her name is a little divine sounding.”

“It's well deserved in the Princess’s case” Sunset returned, an unmissable edge of melancholy filtering into her words.

“You miss her, don’t you?” the pink haired girl asked consolingly. Sunset nodded.

“I messed a lot of stuff up towards the end, even before I possibly stranded myself here” she returned mutely “I don’t know if I’ll ever get the chance to apologize, even if I am still able to get back.”

The medic’s hand returned to her shoulder, a warm look of assurance on her face as she smiled at the former unicorn.

“If she’s even half as wise as you make her sound, then I’m sure she’s already forgiven you. Even if she hasn’t, she’d have to be very cold indeed to not be at least a little proud of how far you’ve come. The rest of us are.” Sunset felt her stomach knot at the words, though not in a bad way. It was like a tender embrace that spread through the rest of her, even making her eyes begin to moisten.

“Thanks Shy…” she managed to croak out. She then gave a vigorous shake of her head and straightened up right before wiping her face and clearing her throat pointedly “But hey, enough of me and how I’m absolutely Not going soft. Dash had loads of questions, and is still coming up with more everyday, so I’m sure you’ve come up with at least a couple by now yourself.”

“Oh geez, where do I even start?” the nurse humored her, accepting the girl’s redirection with a sly smirk. She brought a finger to her cheek as she thought of a good beginning. Said finger curled a moment later though as she pressed her lips tighter and looked to the girl, more than a little apprehensive “Is… Is Adagio also a pony?”

“Oh! Oh shit… yeah, I didn’t even get that far, did I?” Sunset ran a hand through her hair, her own apprehension showing as she pushed the red and golden locks back “Yes, she’s from Equis, but she also not a pony. She’s a siren. One with a pretty bad reputation if she and her sisters are who she claims they are.”

“So that extra layer you and she have, that’s your magic?”

“Yeah. Well, I’m ninety nine point nine percent sure it is. With how little I know about the minutiae of Mitochondria, I’d be remiss to Twilight if I didn’t allow some possibility it’s not” she quipped, earning an amused scoff from the nurse before returning to a more serious tone “But yeah. Until two weeks ago I thought I was the only one from Equis on Earth, but the second our eyes met it hit me like a tidal wave. She has magic, and now neo-mitochondria, just like me.” She related before crossing her arms with a frown shot toward the floor “I just wish she didn’t turn out to be such a cryptic bitch about everything. Though admittedly it was still better than the angry drifting she’s been doing since our chat in the park; I could at least gleam some idea what she was hiding when she was taunting me with it. Now I can’t get anything with how she’s just not talking anymore.”

“What did happen in the park? It was hard to miss that was when her demeanor shifted.” Shy asked, to which Sunset sighed.

“Adagio and her sisters were banished from Equestria over a thousand years ago, but for them, it’s been barely a decade” the unicorn girl explained “Which means either they were thrown into the future too, or the temporal discrepancy between Earth and Equeastia is massive, with just a year here being more than a hundred there. For my own sake I sincerely hope it’s the former, but as far as Adagio’s concerned, they’ve lost any sense of their home to time either way. Not that she said as much, but I can only imagine that’s a big part of it.”

“Hmmm” Fluttershy hummed sadly, her own empathy still getting the better of her despite Ms. Dazzle’s annoying habits. Her lips pursed to the side as she looked away, lost in thought. When she spoke again it was barely more than a mutter “There is Zepher’s old room…”

“Shy?”

“Oh sorry I was just- Well, with Adagio’s recovery reaching the point she can leave observation, we’ve been having a bit of a time trying to figure out what to do with her,” The nurse elaborated. “Similar to when you first arrived, it's not really practical for her to live at the station. She also has the complication that we can’t leave her on her own anywhere either. Be it the risk of her recapture or just not knowing what she may be doing behind our backs, it’s not really an option. Soooo… We do still have my brother's old room that's not being used.”

“You want her living here?!” the redhead stared at the medic like she’d grown a second head.

“Well if I’m being honest, no, not particularly.” she admitted with an abashed shrug, though rebound quickly after “But with her being from the same place, dealing with the same condition and with both Rainbow and I knowing now; it seems the most obvious way to make things easier for you is to have her here, where you can both be open about things without anyone else finding out until you’re ready.”

“While I definitely appreciate it, seriously thanks, you really don’t have to put up with her just to make things easier for me. I’ll figure something else out.”

“Well it’s not just for you, like I said,” the nurse shrugged again “Between two hunters, a combat trained medic, and her own abilities, she’d be a far less enticing target than alone in whatever run down apartment the feds would drop her in. So I’d be willing to tolerate her for the others' sake too… even if she is a smarmy bitch.”

The redhead blinked and stared at the medic wide eyed.

“Oh don’t give me that look, you’ve caught me during my cursing fits before” Shy returned bluntly.

“Well yeah but I figured those helped you keep them out of your normal speech.”

“They do,” Fluttershy brightened. “I guess Ms. Dazzle really is just that aggravating though.”

“And you’re still willing to let her live here?”

“Yes well, it’s my house. Even if only by the virtue of my parents giving it to me, it’s my choice” she gave with the fiery note of a final decision.

“Can’t argue that” Sunset chuckled softly, before shooting the woman another grateful smile “Did I ever thank you for letting me live here?”

“Yes, but you’re welcome again” Shy smirked back “It’s not a decision I regret. Even if you hadn’t come around, the extra savings from you also paying the utility costs has been nice either way.”

“Dash actually made a loan payment!” Sunset gave over excitedly, mimicking the mechanic in question.

“And might actually pay them off before she’s dead!” Fluttershy finished before both broke down into giggles. From there the nurse's questions flowed freely, with Sunset happily answering all she could and feeling more and more secure with her choice with each one.

‘And to think I was even the slightest bit worried about telling her...’

“SERIOUSLY?!”

Rainbow’s shout echoed loudly in the range, making the two other women present flinch. It was the next day and while Dash had been cleared to return home, Shy had asked her to stick around until the start of her shift to talk. The new NMH had figured it was more than just about groceries or something, since she wouldn’t say what it was over the phone, but she hadn’t expected it to be nearly so unpleasant as what was just suggested.

“I don’t care if she needs a place to stay and it worked out with Sunny!” the prismatically haired woman continued “She’s a bitch! Why would you even think of this?”

“Because Sunset told me,” the medic replied plainly. Clamming right up and straightening with a jolt, the mechanic glanced nervously between the two.

“She told you… what exactly?”

“That I’m an interdimensional unicorn with magic not too dissimilar to the aforementioned bitch” Sunset delivered just as plainly “It’s okay Dash, she knows. It’s why we’re in the range; so no one else can hear us, her included… hopefully her included.”

“Oh… cool.” Rainbow accepted easily, though her frown remained “But still, living with us?”

“I know it’s not the most pleasant prospect,” Fluttershy admitted “But it really does seem like the best course of action. Not only would it allow her and Sunset to engage openly without suspicion, but she’d also be hard pressed to get the security she might need otherwise. Unpleasant, but unfortunately also practical.”

“So I’m guessing by your already decided tone, this is one of the few times you're pulling the ‘your house, your rules’ card, huh?” Rainbow asked, simply receiving a gentle smile back “Yeah alright, I still don’t like it but I’ll trust you know what you’re doing. Not like you use that card enough for me to argue anyway.”

“This is all assuming Rupert and the rest are okay with it too” the nurse returned “But who knows? Maybe she’ll come around after being shown a little kindness.”

“I did,” Sunset added with a smile, and then a shrug “Or y’know, eventually.”

“Fair enough” Rainbow relented with a grin and, after the briefest of explinations to Dash what just what they were going to offer, they made their way out of the range and up towards the infirmary. Though they only made it about halfway before Dash spoke up again, “Hey so listen, I get were cool and all but I still wanna say sorry for not tell’n ya. I wanted to, but-”

“It’s okay Dash” the nurse gently interrupted. “I’ll admit I was a little hurt when I first heard you were keeping it from me but after only a couple more seconds of consideration, I realized it was for the best and that you were only trying to help. There’s nothing to be sorry about.”

“Harmony help whatever soul that tries turning you two against each other” Sunset chuckled as she held the door to the infirmary open.

“Damn straight!” Dash proclaimed proudly.

“Harmony?” Fluttershy looked at her quizzically as she passed.

“It’s a pony thing” Adagio’s unamused voice answered as they approached her bed “So I gather you’ve told the soft one.”

“My name’s Fluttershy” the medic asserted with a frown.

“I know” the siren returned simply before looking over the group “So does this mean I get to be privy to whatever whispers you were sharing down in the dungeon?”

“Cut the cryptic shit seahorse, you’re gonna have ta start talking straight to hear this offer.” Dash growled back, putting the siren off a step. Just one though.

“Offer?” she parroted innocently “I’ve already made my offer.”

“You made your offer to MIST” Sunset countered “This is us talking to you now.”

The siren’s brow arched at the phrasing. She panned over the group again, face carefully kept passive.

“Continue.”

“You need a place to stay, one safe enough that Ark Shadow won’t just grab your ass again” Sunset went on “Fluttershy has very graciously decided her house’s remaining guest room could be that place.”

“So what you’re offering me is security that’s technically already a given?” Adagio looked unimpressed.

“And…” Sunset continued unflapped, though gave a sigh before saying “And we can see what we can do to convince the rest to accept at least the main concessions of your own offer.”

Now That hooked the siren’s earnest interest. Granted she felt the chances of success were already in her favor but three insiders, including two long term trusted members of the group, all subtly vouching for her wasn’t something she could afford to ignore. Still though…

“I assume this isn’t a selfless act of charity” she narrowed her eyes at them “What are you expecting in return?”

“Well first of all, you gotta stop jerking us around” Dash spat at the woman “We ask a question, you answer. No smarmy quips, no misdirection, no bullshit.”

“Not unexpected…” the Dazzling commented idly, only breaking her stare a moment to inspect her nails “And?”

“And that includes things about Equestria, your magic and our similar condition” Sunset laid out next “You’ve been dealing with this a lot longer than I have and I’d appreciate avoiding any more missteps you may have already learned the hard way.”

“Also understandable” she commented evenly “Though the missteps may be less than you expect. I’ve been in a control helmet most of my time as an NMH.”

“We also expect you to live up to your end of being MIST, wholeheartedly” Dash added in, drawing her house-mates own attention. They hadn’t really discussed the details with her, given they didn’t really have any time to since telling her, but neither could disagree with the point she was making “That means boring ass patrols, counseling with Cady, the works. We need to know you’re actually gonna be part of this team if any of us are going to trust you to not just let one of us die when you could stop it. You also need to stop always eavesdropping on shit you plain don’t need to know.”

“Counseling?” the siren’s lip curled at the thought.

“You want to be part of MIST? That’s part of being part of MIST.” Dash shot back at the Dazzling without missing a beat “Whatever deal you cook up with the originals, you’re not gonna be just some outside hired gun that gets to sit in on the briefings. It’s all in or totally out here at MIST Seahorse.”

“Hmmm” Adagio hummed back, features still largely unimpressed until a smirk curled back onto her lips and her signature arrogance reemerged “Well as so very enticing all that sounds, I am afraid I’ll have to make a counter offer-”

“No.”

“Excuse me?” The siren blinked as the up until now silent nurse cut her off.

“I said No.” Shy glared back at her unerringly “No counter offers, no games. This isn’t up for negotiation. This is our home, which I’m offering to open up to you. But I won’t risk it to someone not even willing to abide by what are really very simple, easy rules. As someone who’s just learned how completely they’ve lost their own home, you can appreciate me wanting to protect mine.”

To say Adagio wasn’t the only one stunned by the abrupt low blow would be an understatement. Even Dash, who knew the hidden depths of her friend better than anyone, was still all but gawking at the nurse now scowling at the siren. To her credit, Adagio managed to sneer right back, if still a bit wide eyed. It held until she rolled her shoulders and set her jaw.

“I’ll think about-”

“No.” the medic cut her off again and earned a not nearly so subtle twitch of the woman's eye “You decide right now. Not before whatever advantage you think you can get out of Rupert, not before you hear your other options; Now. You don’t want to talk? Then we walk. Take or leave it Ms. Dazzle.”

“This is hardly fair” the siren didn’t whine, but nevertheless didn’t hide her anger from the unflinching nurse.

“Deal with it.” Fluttershy shot back darkly “So what will it be? Accept our help on our terms, or keep floundering ahead on your own, stuck on the outside of not only everything of how we’ll find your sisters for you, but whatever Sunset can share about your long begotten home too. Your choice.”

Any attempts for Adagio to keep her poker face were long forgotten as the siren’s infuriated expression twitched madly while glaring at the nurse. The deadlock broke as her eyes darted about, clearly struggling with the sudden ultimatum.

“Well?!” Fluttershy raised her voice an octave.

“FINE!” Adagio finally snapped back. She screwed her eyes shut after the answer, her body trembling as she literally growled in frustration, before stopping with a final huff through her nose. Her eyes opened, burning holes in her sheets until snapping back up to the nurse “Fine… it’s a deal.”

“Not quite yet,” Sunset piped in, drawing the siren’s fury her way. She held her ground though “Before we can cement any of this, I need to know what your real intentions are.”

“I wasn’t lying pony, I really am just trying to find my sisters” she answered through clenched teeth.

“I mean after that.” Sunset crossed her arms “Say we pull this off and you’re all safely reunited, what then?”

“Then we burn those Ark Shadow fuckers and everything they’ve built to the ground.” she delivered menacingly.

“An idea we can all certainly get behind,” Sunset shrugged in agreement before continuing “But you know what I mean. You three have a nasty reputation back home and, while I admit you probably didn’t deserve a punishment this questionable, I can’t ignore history if I don’t want it to repeat itself.”

The siren continued to glare daggers her way a few moments longer, but then fell back with a slump, sighing heavily.

“Well, as per our new arrangement, I won’t lie: To say my sisters and I didn’t have plans for this world would be inaccurate. I won’t even claim I didn’t get some ideas about exacting our revenge on you little land kelps when you showed up and represented a possible a way home” she gave grumpily, opening her eyes and staring distantly toward the ceiling as she spoke “But that was before I learned all those ponies are now long since dead and my sister’s are all I have left. So to answer your question, Shimmer; I have no idea what we’re going to do. I doubt it’ll be of any real threat anymore though, even if all our gems are intact.”

“Your gems?” Dash cocked an eyebrow, wresting another sigh from the Dazzling.

“Consider this an olive branch Rainbow Bright.” She quipped darkly, draping an arm across her face as her tone grew more defeated “Sirens work best in an ensemble. Duets, Trios and Quartets are easily the most efficient. We need to be able to resonate with one another to use our abilities to the fullest. We need our gems to resonate properly, at least with any magic. My gem’s already cracked and will be a massive pain in the ass to repair without my sisters, assuming they even managed to keep theirs. If they didn’t, then it’d be even more laughable to think we could still pose any real threat on a scale of any importance.”

The three looked at each other, pondering the offered branch until the siren spoke again, eyes still hidden under the limb.

“So is that it? Is it a deal now?” she asked, sounding very tired. The others looked to Fluttershy, who just regarded the woman a moment or two longer.

“Yes Ms. Dazzle, it’s a deal” she delivered stoically “For both our sakes, I hope we’ll get along better than I’m sure either of us are expecting to. We will be living together after all.”

“I now know I overlooked something when sizing you up at least…” she returned without any particular inflection, face still subdued with tiredness beneath her arm. Without anything else to establish, not at this soon a juncture at least, they turned to leave. Sunset hesitated as they reached the door however, looking back to the beaten Siren.

“I know it may not be worth as much now, but for whatever it is still worth; I MAY know a way back to Equestria if it's still working” she informed her. The siren actually reacted, finally pulling her arm up a little to look at the former pony “Modern Equestria does have a statute of limitations and, even if still a bit too xenophobic, we’re a lot more accepting than we were back in your time. It may not be some grand crusade of revenge but, when all this is over, you might still be able to go back home without it being much of an issue.”

She didn’t say anything, or even react much, but she did seem just a little less lost as she retreated back under her arm.

“If you let it happen that is,” Fluttershy added, her tone then growing threatening again “But if I get even the smallest inkling you’re playing us, that you’re not holding up your end of the bargain well enough, then not only will I drop your ass on the curb faster than you can blink, but I’ll do everything I can to let Ark Shadow know it myself.”

“...Noted” the siren gave quietly after a moment.

Satisfied, the nurse led the other two out of the room and back down stairs, making sure they weren’t drawing too much attention as they returned to range. Dash was the first to speak the instant the second door closed behind them.

“Holy Shit Flutters!” she exclaimed, a lopsided grin plastered across her face “You know I hate the word so believe it when I say; That was fucking Epic!”

“I sure as hell didn’t see it coming…” Sunset muttered, making the nurse shuffle in place.

“Sorry…”

“Sorry nothing!” the redhead brightened, gaining a beaming smile of her own as she gestured toward the direction of infirmary “Shy that was awesome!”

“I knew this was serious but I never thought it’d bring out the Legendary Flutterbitch!” Rainbow continued to laugh, pulling her friend into a tight hug “And here I thought it’d take ages for Sunny to finally to bear witness!”

“I’m glad I didn’t miss it” the former pony chuckled at the medic now sheepishly blushing in her surrogate sister’s arms “She definitely won’t be calling you ‘the soft one’ anymore, that’s for sure.”

“‘You don’t wanna talk? We walk!’” Dash imitated before being overtaken by her giggles “God I’m so fucking proud of you right now!”

“Well it needed to be said!” Fluttershy defended herself unnecessarily “She needed to know we’re not going to just let her walk all over us, especially when she needs our help a lot more than we need to know what she knows. I am sorry I leveraged your knowledge of your home without asking you though.”

“You’ll hear no arguments from me, especially since it worked.” The pony girl waved off “Admittedly you did kind of undercut my gesture at the end there but I’d say you definitely drove the point home. Plus I guess it works for the whole good cop/bad cop thing, so at least there’s that.”

“That was the truth then?” the mechanic tilted her head at her “You’d guys would really take ‘em back, just like that? No questions?”

“Well there’d still be questions, not to mention probably some kind of probationary period but… yeah, probably.” The redhead shrugged “I might not have put too much stock in the sentimentality of it all myself but even I always accepted we ponies are pretty big on the whole forgiveness and redemption thing. Starswirl may have been trying to make them someone else’s problem but it’s a problem I’m sure the princess would be willing to make hers now, if they were genuinely open to reform.”

“All that and you’re still worried she won't forgive you?” Rainbow looked at her incredulously.

“I know, when it’s put like that it does sound silly, but that’s not really the angle I’m working from,” Sunset explained, head sagging as she let go of a heavy breath. “I’m not worried she’ll banish me or even just hate me or anything like that. She’s too noble for that kind of spite. I’m just… afraid I burned the bridge. That she'll never be able to trust me again. That what I messed up is gone for good and we’ll only ever be divided by it.”

“Well, her loss if she can’t move past it” Dash reasoned, pulling the redhead into the hug too “Least you’ll still have us, right?”

“Right” Sunset agreed before looking toward the ceiling “And who knows? Maybe at least one other Equestrian, eventually… big maybe, but still…”

“Stranger things have happened” Fluttershy offered.

“Have they?” Rainbow piped up “We are talking about magical aliens here.”

“Aliens from a world where friendship is literally a force of nature, so if not here then crazier things have definitely still happened over there” Sunset countered “Maybe I was lucky enough to drag a little of it here with me. And it’s not like there aren’t still plenty of things on Earth that can’t be explained anyway.”

Rainbow gave an acknowledging shrug but while she seemed about to continue, she stopped short and straightened at what she saw through the range’s safety glass.

Pinkie was leaning in from one side of the reinforced window, looking at them quite curiously and all things considered, not undeservedly so. Dash gave each of the women in the embrace a quick glance before looking back up to the rangemaster and waved her in. No sooner had the beaming Pie darted out of view than she was already pressing into the hug with a loud squee, sending the whole group into a fit of laughter.

‘Case and point.’

“To say again, this is a hell of an exception we’re making here, Dazzle” The director delivered in his serious baritone. “Even compared to Shimmer's questionable recruitment, this isn’t something we’d normally even humor.”

“I understand” the siren returned evenly.

“Do you? Because if we’re to trust you to keep people safe, to keep your fellow hunters safe, you damn well better” he relayed with no small hint of warning “If you can’t remember that, it’ll be more than just whoever you fail that’ll face consequences, understand?”

“Yes, sir” she kept her tone disciplined. The dark skinned man gave a heavy huff before sliding the last page of the paperwork forward for her to sign. She made her mark and slid it back for the Director, Brea and the Bureau Liaison to sign off on. As Mr. Broderick put down the last signature, that was it; she was a hunter. Or one of their hunter’s now rather.

“Welcome to MIST Dazzle” he gave without much note of sincerity “This better be worth it.”

“What I know is far from nothing” She confirmed, gaze still lingering on the paper. She closed her eyes and gave a light huff, proceeding to roll her shoulders and crack her neck. She took a final, long and deep breath before gaining a defeated frown “...Thank you.”

“Geez” Aya scoffed at the sight “With how painful that looked just to say, I think you might actually mean it.”

“Yes, well… While we all already knew it, it’s been subtly reiterated to me over the past weeks that you all don’t need me as much as I need you” the Dazzling begrudgingly admitted, before leveling a her gaze with the director’s “But I can do the job, and do it well. Not just because it’s been literally programmed into me either but because we have the same enemy, one I have no doubt we’ll both love to see finally go down in flames. I know we’ll never be 'besties'. I don’t expect to be sent off with a party and cake when it’s time for me to leave, your rangemaster notwithstanding… But I’m not going to screw over your family, not when it’s helping me find mine. You have my word.”

Rupert worked his jaw as he returned the woman’s stare, studying her with a slightly new perspective. He eventually gave a simple, non-committal hum before dropping the look and pulling out a rather thick folder, one matching those in front of both the others.

“Yes well, you also gave us your word you’d stop holding back once you were a hunter.” he gave as he unwound the latch string and opened the folder “Do you have anything specific you feel we should start with?”

“You’re the lead now” She answered tiredly “You ask, I’ll answer.”

“Very well” he clicked on a recorder before starting at the top.

With Rupert and Shiny leading the questioning, Aya was free to sit back and study the woman as she began finally talking straight with them. She answered simply and directly, reviewing the photos and documents they showed her thoroughly before divulging not only everything she thought relevant, but almost always elaborating further; volunteering information they didn’t ask for or had considered asking about and even surprising them with unexpected connections in a couple instances. And not for a moment did the blonde feel like she was lying to them. Now she’d be lying if she hadn’t fully expected the woman to keep screwing with them to at least some degree even after compromising on her terms. It was a rather pleasant surprise to have been proven wrong in this case.

A major factor in that was undoubtedly Ms. Dazzle’s thirst for vengeance. True, the woman had stated her hatred for them more than once so far, but hearing the sheer venom that would coat her words during some of her answers gave the claims significantly more credence. With her position now secured, she was ready to give them everything she could and then some in just the remote hope of seeing them use it make those that took her sisters really feel it. Aya now believed Adagio had been completely honest in her early lamenting of the loss of her control helmet, and for all the insight it could have given them, despite the casual tone it was delivered in at the time.

And yet the hunter couldn’t help but feel, while definitely the primary reason save perhaps her sisters themselves, it wasn’t quite the only reason for this shift. It was no secret Shy, Dash and Sunset announcing they were willing to take the artificially awakened in had tipped the scales into Ms. Dazzle’s favor, and they weren’t quite as subtle as they were probably hoping they were in also trying to maneuver their newest NMH to their own ends. However if these were the results, Aya couldn’t bring herself to disapprove. Admittedly, had it just been Sunset coming forward she would have been far more suspicious, not that the girl was trying to work against them after how far she’d come of course, but the similar extra layer they shared couldn’t be ignored in that case either.

But with both Dash And Breeze behind the decision too, even if it all was still to try help the young Awakened, she knew she didn’t have to worry. If anything happened they would need to worry about, she knew they wouldn’t put the rest of them at risk to hide it. Such secret agendas wouldn’t be tolerated in the bureau or even normal police, but wherever the trio were working at, they were fortunate enough it didn’t matter to MIST so long as it didn’t interfere with the work. Not when they earned as much trust as they had at least.

‘Whatever you three are up to, especially if it keeps getting us results like this, then god speed...’ she internalized before returning her full attention to Adagio answering Rupert’s latest query.

“No, as far as I know they haven’t managed to get any moles into MIST since you broke from the Bureau. They have people in virtually every other agency, in positions of varying influence, but other than a cleaner at the L.A. branch that I later learned was fired less than a month later, you lot have proven impressingly incorruptible. Though to repeat, it wasn’t really my area, so I wouldn’t drop your vigilance at my word alone.”

“Can you point us to any of those in the other agencies?” Shining followed up.

“Not really. While I was aware they existed, most details of who any actually are were kept far more secure” she frowned and sucked at her cheek “There is one whose identity I might be able to figure out, but…”

“But?”

“While it may seem hard to believe, there Are rare, sympathetic souls that find themselves within the cogs of the organization” she looked down somberly “The shelter wasn’t my first slip up after my escape. I should have been caught, I was caught frankly, but the person who caught me not only looked the other way, but actually pointed me in a safer direction.”

“All the more why we should know who they are,” the federal agent reasoned “If they’re willing to help a runaway, they could already do a lot more good if they’re willing to work with us.”

“If you insist I’ll tell you” she sighed “But you’ll have to forgive me for waiting until I know you’ll be able to get them out before your attempts at making contact get them killed. I don’t like leaving debts, and it’s almost literally the least I can do to repay it at this point… I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for them. Well, them and Madigan.”

“Wait, What?!” Aya bolted up in her seat, all but jumping out of the chair at the name. In her defense, the name had hardly gone unnoticed by Rupert or Shining either “KYLE Madigan?!”

“That would be him” Adagio returned simply before noticing the veteran Hunter’s intense look “Oh… oh right, you wouldn’t know, would you?”

“Wouldn’t know what?” The blonde brought her chair closer, placing her interlocked hands on the table before her as she waited for the girl to elaborate.

“Buckle up there Brea. Your little ‘P.I.’ crush has been a very busy boy since the Ark fell…”

“You’re over two weeks late for your check-in. We’d already written you off for dead.”

“Well I’m so sorry I was left abandoned in a massive fucking hole in the middle of a damn desert with no extraction sent!”

A badly burned ape-man sat in a dark, humid room grimacing at the row of dimly lit screens in front of him. None showed anything more than vague, silhouette busts of the figures they held. Even as one of the more masculine shapes took a deep drag of its cigar, it failed to illuminate anymore than the smoker’s hand. He slowly exhaled the noxious haze before continuing.

“What’s your report?”

“The fuck do you think it is?!” the cyborg’s deep rumble snapped back with unrestrained venom “We got our asses kicked! The few drones you sent with me we’re all but completely fucking useless against a Squad of hunters and MIST launched my ass across the whole fucking cavern, obliterating my armor in the process!”

“That’s not possible,” a feminine voice stated sharply from another screen.

“It is when one of them can bypass the enhancements like they’re not even there!” the golem shot back “MIST’s new hunter, she’s like the trio.”

A moment of silence passed after the statement, only broken by the voice of a different male.

“Y-you’re sure?”

“Pretty fucking sure,” the ape-man growled. “Bitch knocked me down with nothing more than a damn fireball, and that was before her and Brea blasted my ass all the way to fucking Middle-Earth and back with an attack more like a damn laser cannon than any mito technique I’ve ever seen.”

“Hmmm” the cigar smoker gave with another puff “We suspected Shimmer had some uniqueness to her, but if she has it as well…”

“Even if she does, it’s not like we can do anything about it!” A different female snarled, though the effect was mostly lost amongst her almost sickeningly sweet pitch “Forget how costly it’d be just getting the Alpha back, MIST would never give up their newest hunter without a hell of fight. Definitely not one we can afford to risk the level of exposure we’d have to.”

“The little hunters are due for a siege if you ask me” the golem muttered to itself.

“We’re not asking you. Know your place, tool.” The last voice sneered down upon the golem. He couldn’t actually see their face on the screen, but didn’t need to see them to know they were doing it. Nevertheless, the cyborg checked his tongue. The snob would end up a mindless slug in the end all the same, assuming they didn’t piss someone off bad enough to keep them from making it even that far.

“We still have the others” the second male offered “And the artifacts. So long as we have a source, we don’t need any specific users to continue our research.”

“Still not a good idea to leave the Alpha with MIST” the second female countered “Not with everything she could tell them.”

“Could tell them? Yeah no, that bitch has long since spilled her guts. MIST’s now her best chance at making us bleed” the cyborg’s deep voice aped with a hearty chuckle “She fucking HATES us!”

“Silence Dog!” the arrogant shadow slammed a fist on their desk “Lest we fit you with an even tighter muzzle!”

“Ooooooo~” the golem feigned in mockery, wresting a deeper growl from the silhouette. “Come strap it on yourself and I’ll show you a good time p-”

“That’s enough 23” the first female delivered coolly “Stay where you are, we’ll send someone to collect you. You can finish your report in a more secure location after your repairs.”

“Whatever” he gave before all the screens turned off. Or they turned off on his end; the figures remained in each other’s views.

“This somewhat complicates matters…” the cigar smoker commented.

“Does it? It’s not like her existence was a problem before.” the snobbish voice countered “I fail to see how us learning she’s had the unique energies all along actually changes things.”

“Alone it might not have” the colder female conceded, though then continued “But with her and the Alpha now available to one another, even if we don’t account for everything she’d certainly already told them, they could prove legitimately threatening if they manage to correlate their energies like the trio can together.”

“Even that was hardly a factor the first time” the snob waved off.

“They didn’t even know we existed the first time, moron!” the sweet sounding female snapped “But what are we supposed to do about them thrown together now!?”

“We Wait.”

The five froze at the interjection of the sixth, unseen speaker delivering the thought in its typical, mechanically distorted manner. Yet even that couldn’t hide the cold, intelligent malice it always held.

“...May we ask why?” the smoker queried, his voice kept carefully flat as the other silhouettes began to stir uncomfortably.

“They may develop new threats against us, true” it stated plainly “But that is still progress that’d be otherwise unobserved if we act too soon. The trio we’ve studied. Their connections are known. The girl’s new though. The results they reach could be very useful to further our own understanding, so long as they’re allowed to occur.”

“We could always just take her and make her discover those things ourselves” the snob offered cautiously.

“We’ve already learned they can’t be forced to share their powers like that.” the cold voiced female stated, her tone notably less differential than the others, though still not devoid of it “Not in a truly meaningful way with how the energies work in actual application.”

“Exactly. So we wait.” the voice concluded “You are dismissed. Return to your duties.”

Without a single word further, each silhouette’s image clicked off in quick succession. The last unseen voice now stared at their reflection in the blank monitor for a time before bringing up the dossier of the red and gold haired hunter. Fingers drummed on the desk. First she shows up from nowhere, wearing a dead girl’s face. Now they learn she had ‘magic’, same as the trio, whatever the force really is…

“Congratulations Miss Shimmer. You’ve officially earned our attention…”

Author's Note

SEEDS! Oh god they're everywhere! Why can't I hold all these seeds!?
Seriously though this chapter did kind of just get away from me. I wouldn't say it was in a bad way but well, You all can see how long it is!

Also I -Promise- there will be some actual action next chapter. I know these last few have been pretty dry on that front so yeah, even I'm getting a little antsy for some shit to go down again.

Also, for a another peak behind the curtain for any interested:
The scene of Dash having to throw herself into the shower was actually one of the very first I came up with, as in before I even had a solid Plot in mind. It was a bit different then of course; she hadn't been infected yet and the flash was actually accidently caused by Sunset. Obviously the story didn't end up flowing in quite that direction but I was happy to find it could still fit into the story. (Unlike some of my other yet to be manifested ideas...)
Sunset's and Shy's imitations of Rainbow managing to actually make loan payments were also part of a following scene, though they were made by the mechanic herself. So I figured I could still fit in one sidelined idea, might a well bring one of the jokes it spawned with it too!

There's even a couple more 'restored' tidbits like that in this far too long chapter but I'll stop before these already overlong notes get away from me too!

But for now, you know it, As Always: Thanks for reading and I hope to see you for the next chapter which I again promise will absolutely have at least Some action in it! Have a good one!