Rainbow pulled her old civic into the garage, head bobbing happily along to her tunes. The Charger was going to be stuck in its cocoon for probably quite a while yet, but her civic had yet to let her down and it’s not like she intended to abandon the old workhorse once the ‘chrysalis’ was complete anyway. So no, contrary to popular perception, Dash had no problem still driving her first car, as 'boring' as it was. Especially not with how good of care she’d taken of it over the years.

The sight of another clearly ‘well loved’ vehicle she didn’t recognize met her in one of the spaces reserved for the repair bay. It wasn’t in her spot but the sight of the unfamiliar old truck, browned with time and rust, furrowed her brow. The additional sight of an older man looking over her repair bay also raised questions as well. Pulling into her reserved spot, she stepped out to get a better look at him and realized, while she didn’t know the truck, the man was actually someone she’d seen before, and somewhat recently at that.

“Hey uh, Mr… Douglass, right?” she tried to remember. The man turned away from the lift to return a small smile, fanning himself with a cowboy hat similar to mechanic’s freckled friend.

“Douglass is right. And while I’d hate to presume, I feel pretty safe this time guess’n you would be Rainbow Dash, yes?” a glimpse of his teeth shined as his smile widened and he offered his hand.

“I know that’s a tricky one but yeah, that’s me.” Dash smirked back and she shook his hand. She’d long since accepted her obvious namesake and learned to just have fun with it. Satisfied his offered quip landed, Mr. Douglass let go of her hand and gestured behind him.

“Sorry if I made you fret there Ms. Dash” he said “Was just admiring your set up here. It’s a sight nicer than my old lift, with significantly less rust if nothing else.”

“Eh, no worries,” the mechanic waved off. “So what brings you all the way up to Canterlot?”

“Your Doctor Sparkle; she offered to set me up here for a week in exchange for lett’n her poke and prod at Flint” he shrugged “With him being infected, I thought I’d eventually be bringing him up just to be safe anyway, but there you go.”

“Yeah, Twi can get a little excited about things. It’s a good thing she’s rich or she’d have bankrupted herself a hundred times over by now.” Rainbow chuckled “So how ya liking your stay?”

“A damn sight more than I expected to, I can tell ya that. I figured it’d be a nice little break from the heat and dust while gettin' in another road trip with the old hound but even just the couple days I’ve been here has made me really start consider’n yer Director’s offer…” he rambled off. The last part didn’t escape Dash’s notice though, triggering a tilt of her head towards the older man “Oh right, sorry. Wasn’t supposed ta say anything till ya talk to your boss. You should probably get to that, think they’re actually wait’n for ya.”

That’s right, Rupert had texted her to see him first thing when she got in. After exchanging partings with the man, she broke away and made her way upstairs. She paused to giggle at the sight through the lab window; Fluttershy and Twilight were laughing as they tried to calm an overjoyed hound enough to run their tests. Having not found the director in his office, she checked Shining’s until finally finding the two men, along with Aya, in one of the briefing rooms looking over what looked like satellite images of the city’s forest.

“Heya Boss People, what’s up?” she gave casually. She was a little disappointed it didn’t get the reaction she was hoping for but they were well used to her antics, so she moved on. “Saw we have a guest this week. Said something about you making him an offer?”

“Yes, I did,” Rupert returned. “With his automotive and scrapyard experience, mixed with him also being more familiar with the truth of Neo-Mitochondria than even the average infected NMH, I’ve decided to offer Mr. Douglass the position as MIST’s primary mechanic.”

“Wait, what?! Am I being fired?! Rup, I know I can sometimes be a pain but I never meant-” Dash started off before the director raised a hand to stop her.

“Calm down Dash, you’re not fired” he assured her, a ghost of a smile on his lips flashing a moment before he continued “However it was decided with your increasing hunter duties and your new responsibilities coming up, that it was best to not spread you too thin. You’ll still have access to the bay of course, though you may have to work out an arrangement with Mr. Douglass if he accepts the position.”

“...New responsibilities?” she repeated back after a moment with a small hint of worry. Yeah she was pumped about getting to be more of an actual hunter and not just back-up, but she actually liked her mechanic job. The leads however just shared a knowing look before sending a trio of smiles her way.

“Yes. With the escalations in NMC incidents and mutations, as well the more recent needs for quick response and searches of broad areas, the FBI has agreed to increase our funding; Particularly in the area of air support.” he delivered evenly, though his smile remained in place. Rainbow blinked, eyes growing ever wider as the words sunk in.

“You don’t mean-”

“Rainbow Dash, your new assignment is to begin officially researching what kind of helicopter would be most appropriate for MIST’s needs.” Rupert instructed. For a moment Dash simply stood there, mouth open wide in a goofy, slowly growing smile until finally:

“AW FUCK YEAH!” she literally jumped for joy and thrust her fist into the air, earning a hearty round of chuckles from the leads. Shining then held a hand up to calm her himself.

“Now try not to get TOO excited there Dash; I know it’s cool but there are unfortunately still some caveats that come with this” he tried to brace her. Rupert then listed the first.

“The first is as I said; we need a bird appropriate to our needs” he emphasized “And while the budget’s increased, it still can’t be outside our means either. We can’t put ALL of the new funds into the copter. Not when we also have to share the wealth with the other branches.”

“Don’t worry boss.” Rainbow returned confidently “This won’t be like me sticking a pike on my rifle instead of a hammer. As awesome as an Apache would be, I know better than to not f- mess around in the air. Even if my talent for finding cars doesn’t transfer at all, I won’t quit until I find us a good fit.”

“Well, you won’t have to find it alone” Shining piped in, earning a frown from the prismatically maned woman “Which brings us to the bureau’s main condition; They insist on having an experienced pilot at the helm if they’re going to front the bill… So at least to start out, I’m afraid you’re not going to be the primary.”

“Experienced-” she whispered befuddled before finding her voice again, and finding it a little louder than usual at that “I AM experienced! I get my renewals before they're even due every time! Full tests and everything! I make sure I get up in the air as often as I can just to stay frosty! Shiny I-”

“I know Dash! …I know. And I did everything I could but they wouldn’t budge on this. I’m sorry.” he offered sympathetically. Rainbow slumped with more than a heaping portion of disappointment on her face and she gave a heavy sigh.

“So, I finally get my wings and have to immediately put them in the hands of… what? A fed pilot? Some Airforce flyboy?” she bemoaned before leaning her head back and glaring dejectedly at the ceiling.

“No. No, we thankfully were able to talk them down from anything like that being necessary. They were willing to settle on someone with enough practical experience in a similar position so long as they were also well versed in the air traffic systems of the city” the liaison elaborated before offering her a smile “Cheer up Dash. It's not like you could have done it all on your own anyway. And it’s not nearly as bad as you think. While the fire department is a bit cross about us poaching one of their pilots, I can guarantee that you’ll like who we picked out.”

“Wait, Fire department?” her head snapped back down with surprise.

“Well she damn well better like it!” a new voice sounded from behind her. Rainbow wheeled around to the young woman standing in the doorway whose her choppy, cerise hair contrasted the light tan of her skin “I’d hate to have pissed off my station just for her to be a bitch about all this.”

“Scoots?!”

“Heya Dash” Scootaloo grinned cheekily.

“Holy shit!” The part time hunter ran up to scoop the firefighter up into her arms, spinning her around to earn a laugh from all gathered. She set her friend back down, still beaming “You’re gonna be my co-pilot?!”

“Well, technically I’m gonna be your lead. At least for a little while” the younger woman corrected “Think you can live with that?”

Rainbow opened her mouth, though hesitated. She then rolled her eyes and gave an overexaggerated, begrudging shrug.

“Yeah… I mean I guess if it’s you then I can put up with it for a bit” she sighed dramatically. Snagging the now former firefighter in a side hug, Dash’s smile returned, even amongst the look she then shot at the leads “You got me all riled up about this on purpose, didn’t you?!”

“Would you have been able to resist this good of a set up?” Aya smirked from her seat.

“...Yeah alright, fair enough” Rainbow relented with a laugh. She then looked back at Rupert “So is that it? It’ll all official then?”

“Ms. Peters signed all the paperwork yesterday.” He nodded with a soft smile “You two have your assignment. Get to it.”

“Yes sir!” They both returned and, with Scoots still under Dash’s arm, retreated from the room. Giving the girl another squeeze, the older woman led them towards the break room. If may not be ideal but she didn’t have an office of her own they could work in after all.

“So ya decided it was worth giving up your cushy rescue pilot job for us, huh?”

“I may not have called it that cushy but yeah; my now former station ain’t too pleased with me but this seemed like a good move. MIST made a pretty damn good offer,” she shrugged. “That and it’ll be nice to still fly without the risk of having to deal with fire everyday.”

“Well maybe don’t jump the gun on that idea; you haven’t met Sunset yet” Rainbow cracked. They passed the lab again, seeing that Mr. Douglass apparently had to join them to get enough of a hold on Flint’s excitement. While she wasn’t there today, the room’s second most common occupant still came to mind. “Well shit, all we have to do is figure out how to get Sweetie into the fold and we’ll have the whole Crusader collection!”

“Not sure where you could fit in a skill set like hers” the pilot pursed her lips “Even if Rarity would let her get anywhere near the rear line here.”

“Where WE would fit her in” Dash gave her a playful bump “Though yeah; Rares does still get a little weird when Sweetie comes in for her tests. Like it’ll somehow put her in danger just acknowledging she’s infected.”

“Speaking of…” Scoot gave as they took a seat at one of the break room tables “How’s your whole… transition been going?”

“Eh, better now. Hot flashes ain’t nearly so bad anymore and Twi’s pretty confident I’ll be able to get off the suppressants on schedule. And with how I’ve stayed stable during the few patrol encounters, I can probably start actually developing my powers soon too.”

“Hmmm” the younger woman hummed somberly. “So it’s just me and Pinkie left uninfected then, huh?”

“From that night, yeah” Dash sighed “Sorry kiddo, looks like you’re the last normal ones.”

“Normal?” the short haired girl scoffed “Need I remind you I’m already- or rather was already a rescue pilot at my age, and Pinkie’s... Pinkie?”

“Playful Jab retracted” Rainbow threw up her hands in mock surrender as they shared a giggle. She smirked warmly at the girl across from her as it petered out. “Welcome to the family Squirt”

“Happy to be here Dash.”

Sunset pulled her jeep into her typical spot. It was weird how it was open more often than not but she guessed that if she liked parking in the same spot every time, then maybe everyone else just did too. She made a note to maybe pay more attention to the possibility, if nothing else just to sate the new curiosity. One related and now increasingly familiar sight was Mr. Douglass’s old truck in the spot reserved for the station’s mechanic. She stepped out of her car to find Flint happily strolling up to greet her.

“Heya boy” she cooed, giving the loveable hound some pets. She sent him back to his owner along with a wave for him as she passed, a gesture the man returned before itching at the bandage along his elbow. As it turned out, Flint hadn’t been the only one that ended up with a low key neo-mitochondrial infection. Fortunately for Gary, or Douglass as he insisted they call him, it was exceptionally low key. Twilight didn't even feel the need to put him on suppressants, and doubted he could even develop any abilities with how very subtle it was. She hadn’t even caught it until his second test, and this was Twilight they were talking about.

Putting the distracting thought out of her head, she continued on to the break room to clock in. She found only Adagio sitting in the lounge alone, flipping idly through one of the offered magazines.

“There a reason you’re down here alone?” the redhead asked as she typed in her credentials “Or you just the only one not doing anything?”

“Something’s going on upstairs” she answered dully. “Everyone seemed rather tense about it so I decided it’d be best to just stay out of the way.”

“What’s going on?” Sunset followed up, receiving nothing more than a shrug from the woman that had yet to look away from her article. “Well, don’t you think it’d be good for us to find out?”

“No.” she answered bluntly and went right on reading. She was distracted however by the pony girl continuing to stand over her, waiting expectantly. She let out an aggravated sigh but set her magazine down and stood to grumpily walk out with her new partner.

Sure enough when they reached the upper hall, a thick air of tension met them. Most all the currently scheduled staff, and even a few that weren’t on the clock, stood scattered about with anxious expressions frequently darting toward the Lab. In front of the window was Shining on his phone, having what had to be a difficult conversation based on his posture and the way he was pinching the bridge of his nose and frequently shaking his head. Through the glass behind him, Sunset could see Twilight and Applebloom hurriedly pacing about, their own attention also darting past the frame a lot as well.

“What’s happened?” she asked as they approached Lyra and BonBon leaning against the infirmary window, the former’s leg bouncing nervously.

“One of the Manhattan Hunters transformed” Drops answered darkly “They just brought him back in…”

“Is he… y’know, still in there?” Sunset asked delicately, “Can they bring him back?”

“No,” Lyra’s frown deepened, making the former pony’s heart sink. “Cause he already did it himself.”

“Wait, What?!” The sinking stopped, turning sideways as her head snapped back up to stare at the casual woman befuddled.

“I know, right?” Heartstrings continued “Can’t tell you the details but word is he and his partner hit a much bigger pack than they expected and almost bit it. Then all of a sudden, he goes full greater stranger and tears the fuckers apart before just… turning back! Not even disfigured if what we managed to gleam is right!”

“He’s fine?” Sunset blinked “Who was it?”

“Their newest, Mister… Arc, I believe.” Bonbon answered more calmly than her partner but was still clearly as surprised. Sunset of course recognized the name but before she could ask, the more professional hunter had already turned her attention to Adagio “Has Ark Shadow accomplished anything like this?”

“There’s never any consideration of changing anyone back with them” the siren grumbled with a slight scowl “Though once they catch wind of this, I have no doubt we’ll start seeing their attempts at it sooner than later.”

“Like hell we’ll just let this get out!” Lyra gave defensively “Assholes won’t be learning it from us!”

“Not much you can do about it” the Dazzling commented, seeming bored again. The golden-eyed hunter’s lip curled as she glared back at the siren, but any rebuke was cut off by her partner.

“She’s right Ly’. Just because the bugs are gone doesn’t mean they’ve stopped listening.” Bonnie explained before heaving out a soft sigh “We’ll just have to be ready for it.”

“Well, fuck…” the more casual one of the couple voiced the shared sentiment better than any of them could argue.

“So is this a good thing, or a bad thing?” Sunset probed further. They looked to one another but neither seemed to have an actual answer. Down the hall, the door to the lab opened to reveal Rarity and Applejack exiting, the cotton swabs gauzed to their arms telling why they were allowed in. Just behind them, Rupert poked his head out and scanned the hall until landing on their little group.

“Shimmer! Dazzle! You’re up.” he called out and gestured for them to join them. Breaking from the pair, they made their way to the lab with Sunset offering Shining a brief, consoling smile as they passed. His frown stuck but he seemed to appreciate the gesture anyway.

Once inside, they saw Aya leaning against one of the counters as well, looking tense next to Cadence standing by. Beyond them was a trio of large screens along the back wall that, instead of their typical displays of whatever Twilight currently was working on, showed a set of faces of varying familiarity. The large one in the center showed a young man laying in a medical bed hooked up to a multitude of monitoring devices. She hadn’t actually seen his face before but based on his messy blonde hair, striking blue eyes and the vibrantly red-headed hunter sitting anxiously next to his bed, Sunset felt confident she knew who he was. Her theory was only confirmed when he spoke.

“Hey Sunset” he gave with an uneasy smile and small wave.

“Hey Jaune” she returned with a matching expression “I’d say it’s nice to finally have a face to put with the voice but…”

“Happier circumstances would have been nicer, yeah.” he shrugged but continued on a lighter note, even shooting his worried partner a reassuring smirk “For what it’s worth though, I feel fine.”

“Which is a very good sign, Jaune, but we still have to figure out why.” the older, somewhat disheveled Japanese man gave from the screen on the right. Sunset questioned the need for the scientist to have his own camera when he could simply stand with the pair that could be seen just behind him in the background, especially considering the doctor looked over his shoulder to say it to them rather than through the screen. He smiled warmly when he turned back around to them, “And as said, while better circumstances would have been appreciated, it’s still very nice to see you again Miss Shimmer.”

“I suppose it has been a little while, hasn’t it Dr. Maeda?” she smiled back. She had been less than impressed in her first meeting with the foreign doctor. She found him bumbling and even a bit creepy, but further interactions over the months had given him the chance to amend that impression. His creepiness ended up being no more than a rather acute awkwardness and he really was brilliant, and just an earnest sweetheart under it all to boot. She then looked to the last screen on the left, showing a young brunette with a sweetheart air all her own “Though I suppose not quite as long as it’s been for us Dr. Chambers.”

“Oh I’ve long since resigned myself to these two always bogarting the world’s Awakened. Even if one now has FIVE of them and still won’t share.” She waxed dramatically before delivering the last comment pointedly at the screen, though not without the ghost of a smirk behind the words.

“Hey, if you find your own out there in LA then we promise we won’t try to take her from you” Twilight returned a little too innocently.

“How generous of you…” Dr. Chambers droned before she and Twilight broke into amused grins. Sunset didn’t know much about their relationship but she knew they went way back, as in two pre-teen prodigies in the same college way back. The doctor on the screen then regarded the fiery haired Awakened again “But yes, it’s nice to see you again Sunset.”

“Likewise. So I’m guessing we’re just here for comparison samples?” Sunset looked to Twilight now readying the equipment in front of them.

“Mostly” the doctor answered, wrapping the disposable tourniquet around Sunset’s arm. She did then glance at the woman next to her “But we do also have some questions for Ms. Dazzle.”

“As I already told the bor- Miss Drops: Ark Shadow is rarely concerned about changing anyone back.” Adagio reiterated to her new audience “Though with this now a possibility, they’ll undoubtedly be far less ethical then you three in figuring out how to it happened.”

“Well yes, that was one of the questions… but the other science leads here did have a few more specific ones of their own and since we’re all on the line, we figured it would be best to just conference them. All this after the comparisons of course.” Twilight quickly corrected, seeing the questioning looks of the pair of hunters on the screen “Finding out if you’re at any risk is still the top priority Jaune, don’t worry. As is figuring out why this has never happened before.”

“Never with an infected at least…” the siren muttered absently as she fidgeted with the uncomfortable strip of rubber around her arm. However, while she had only made the comment offhandedly, it certainly didn’t go unnoticed. Sensing all eyes on her, she looked back up before arching a skeptical brow “Surely none of you have forgotten Brea here has not only ascended to a ‘liberated’ form herself, but has done it more than once.”

“That… is a very good point” Dr. Chambers admitted slowly from her screen “I suppose Aya being an Awakened doesn’t change the fact she did still have a conscious, controlled transformation that she completely reverted back from as well. The form may have been exceptionally advanced but I suppose it could still be counted as an NMC transformation. Or at least a significantly more evolved state of NMH.”

“I’d say it can definitely stand as precedent” Dr. Maeda concurred, clearly also considering the comparison seriously. “And while not as powerful as Aya’s, Jaune’s mitochondria are rather notably symbiotic and with a fairly impressive reserve of their own, particularly for someone so recently infected.”

“Correlation hardly means causation…” Twilight murmured, frequently glancing at the blonde to her side “But it also doesn’t rule it out either.”

“Aya, can you still ascend?” Dr. Chambers finally asked, making the veteran hunter shift uncomfortably.

“I’m… not sure,” she replied with an uneasy grimace, her arms crossing into a loose self hug “It’s not exactly something I’ve cared to find out. I… think I’ve come close a couple times, when the situation grew particularly stressful and there were a lot of NMCs around but even then… I’ve frankly tried to resist it.”

“Hmmm” the brunette scientist gave with tight lips “Well, even at the risk of angering your counselor, I feel I still need to at least ask: Do you believe you could still achieve your liberated form with the proper stimuli? Do we think there may even be a way to induce it?”

“Becca…” Twilight sighed at the brunette sadly.

“I’m not saying we should actually do it… though it might not be the worst thing,” she muttered as an aside “I’m just asking, since she just admitted that she consciously avoids it; does that mean she still can?”

“I’m sorry Aya,” the japanese man added somberly “I know you’ve never wanted this, but now that it’s been put on the table, it’s important to know if you're still capable of it without an active EVE present. If nothing else, we should at least try to find out if there’s any correlation between your own Liberated state and what’s happened to Jaune.”

Sunset cast her mentor a sympathetic look, seeing that while she was maintaining her composure rather well, she was still notably distressed by the idea. Cadence stepped closer to the blonde, placing a hand on the woman’s arm before frowning toward the doctors.

“Whether she can or not, I think we can at least let this wait until later.” she gave evenly, though not entirely without the inflection of her own feelings “You all still have your cross country sample exchange to complete either way, right?”

“Yes.” Twilight announced definitively “Samples that will already have lost a bit of their viability by the time they arrive. We should focus on our original plan before delving into any… newly revealed avenues before it’s necessary.”

The other two accepted the direction without argument. Dr. Maeda even seemed a bit relieved to follow the original plan and, while she had been the one to push the issue, Dr. Chambers didn’t seem at all put off by postponing the discussion. She did however give just one last note in relation to it:

“Thank you Ms. Dazzle” she offered with a slight, though no less genuine smile “We may not have even realized the avenue had you not mentioned it.”

“...You’re welcome” she returned, a bit subdued by the unexpected gesture. It wasn’t much really, but it was the first thank you she had received from a MIST leader that felt like it wasn’t just out of formality. Or the first she could discern as genuine at least. Granted, having the young doctor state that Aya’s future difficulty being basically her fault wasn’t likely to help endear her to the station, particularly with the hunter herself. But as she wasn’t terribly concerned with earning their affection in the first place, she took it for what it was.

With the samples taken, Sunset was dismissed as Adagio stayed to continue answering the science leads’ questions. She was told to expect to have to give another round once Jaune’s samples arrived, but for now she was no longer needed in the lab. She had asked Rupert before leaving if she should go on patrol but AJ and Rarity had already beaten her to it, so she was left to her own devices.

Unfortunately, she was already mostly caught up on all her paperwork and with the patrol already covered and all the leads preoccupied, she wasn’t sure what to do. She glanced back through the window; She could see Pyrrha staring at the floor grimly and constantly wringing her hands, even from her angle of the screen. Sunset pursed her lips to the side before a naughty thought struck her and she pulled out her phone.

{Nice catch}

She looked back to the screen to see Pyrrha pull out her own phone, only to stare quizzically at the screen.

{He’s CUTE <3}

That one landed. The unicorn turned human snickered as the woman’s face lit up to almost the same shade of her hair before being promptly hidden behind it and taping out an almost frantic response.

{It’s not like that. We’re just partners.}

{For now maybe ;3}

{Sunset!}

{Be nice Sunset}

The pony girl blinked at the second thread popping up. She double checked she couldn’t be seen from her angle to the window before beginning to type her response. She had only gotten the word ‘how’ down before the counselor’s next text.

{Who else would it be right now?}

{I’m just having a little fun}

{I didn’t say it wasn’t funny. I’m just NOW telling you to be nice. This wasn’t easy for her either}

{Yeah yeah, I know doc. Switching from teasing dick to shoulder to cry on now}

{You better, I can very easily have Shiny shoo you away}

She rolled her eyes and looked at the Agent still on his phone. Even without taking it away from his ear, he shot just the briefest of glances through the window before his eyes snapped back and narrowed at her in warning.

“Okay, I get it! Geez!” she threw hands up in defense before walking away. She then switched back to the first thread and continued.

{Sorry. I’m just teasing. How are you doing? Really.}

It took a few moments but the little flashing dots of Pyrrha writing her response appeared before too long.

{I was scared. Not only were we far outnumbered but then he just suddenly changed after I was thrown across the room. No warning, no hot flashes, not even much of a signal to my senses…}

{He just suddenly wasn’t Jaune anymore…}

{Did he attack you?}

Several moment’s passed as Sunset made her way down to the breakroom. She had just sat down when the distant hunter’s response finally came.

{no}

{Sounds like he was still Jaune enough to me. Especially if he changed back once you were safe.}

{Which is another whole new development that I don’t know how to feel about either}

{Him wanting to protect you? Sounds pretty romantic to me <3}

{Sunset please…}

{You got to keep your partner.}
{He did something scary that leaves a WHOLE lot of questions for -Everybody- true, but you didn’t lose him.}
{Everything else aside, that’s something to feel happy about, right?}

{Yes. Yes it is.}
{Thank you Sunset}

{Part of the deal Pyr-Pyr}

{...He really is pretty cute though}

{Sunset, really now!}

{You’re a lucky girl}

{That’s enough!}

{ ;p }

Sunset continued to giggle as she imagined the girl’s flustered state. Yes, Cady told her to be nice but she was still sort of being nice: She was giving Pyrrha something to be mad at instead of dwelling. And she already left the window, so Shiny couldn’t very well shoo her away now. Plus, if Pyrrha really was upset, she’d just have to stop responding. Easy as that.

As she continued doing her best to keep the girl both simultaneously flustered and comforted, Sunset began to find her own thoughts a bit divided herself. The whole idea of controlled transformations, let alone Aya’s possible potential to still ascend, had certainly piqued her interest. She had learned of the Veteran Hunter’s transformations fairly early on but they had always been framed in a strict set of limitations, the most significant being the presence of an active EVE. The idea of a controlled ‘infected libration’ wasn’t even considered possible as a result. But now here they were; with a hunter having essentially gone lycan on them and the concept of a controlled, if still situational, ascension was now in play.

She had always been afraid of turning back into that twisted thing Aya saved her from, even if no one would actually give her a straight answer of just what it was. Then, after her manifestation, she’d be lying if the very real worry of her becoming an EVE wasn’t always somewhere in the back of her mind now. But with this new information? She was thinking there just might be an alternative; something between the extremes, between what she was and a full blown EVE. Something other than what she gathered was the demonic NMC she became when first awakened.

Or even if it was that form, if she could remove the threat of it smothering her identity again, then it would certainly be an undoubtable step up in power. Scary as it may be, if it could help her fight the more dangerous threats that seemed to be gathering, or protect her new friends like Jaune protected Pyrrha then maybe it wasn’t something to be scared of, but to take control of.

After all, while perhaps in a notably different manner; it Had always been her dream to ascend to alicornhood, which was really just a transformation into something greater in its own right.

‘Maybe I’ve just been aiming for the wrong form…’

A couple more weeks had gone by and Sunset had fallen into a comfortable, if still somewhat cold routine with her new partner and housemate. While not nearly as aggressive as the unicorn girl feared she could have been, the siren was rather obstinately distant about pretty much everything she could be. Paradoxically not unfriendly, but completely uninterested in actual friendship; trying to spend as little time with others as necessary. Even when she did ‘grace them with her presence’, she wasn’t much for conversation.

A fact evidenced at the moment by her silent presence as she and Sunset watched over Aya instructing Rarity and Dash on the other side of the range’s safety glass. True to Rainbow’s prediction, Aya didn’t feel up to teaching all three of them at once. While disappointing, Sunset didn’t take it personally. She’d honestly been kind of hogging the veteran Awaken’s time since she started teaching her anyway. Not that there had been much demand for her instruction until now but still, Sunset had plenty to keep her focus. She was just finally getting the hang of the very useful energy shot technique and was starting on ‘antibody’ next, so that she wouldn’t have to rely solely on her chicken plate to help her weather the hits in the future.

Of course all that didn’t mean she couldn’t still watch the lessons. Apparently Adagio thought the same and, despite her already knowing the most basic technique of the branch, felt she might still glean something new considering the knowledge she did have was more programmed than personally learned.

It was around the time the trio seemed to be discovering it might be better to start with the more forceful technique of plasma instead of necrosis that Applejack came rushing up to the range with a beaming smile. She flashed it toward Sunset before stepping up to hit the window’s intercom.

“HEY! Y’all get yer butts up ta the infirmary! Somethin big's happen’n!” she announced before starting back toward the stairs. She paused and shot a look to the Dazzling “You too new girl! Everyone needs ta hear this!”

Following the freckled hunter to the medical room, they entered to find the rest of the staff on duty gathered around Cadence and Shining. The latter was standing next to the bed his wife was sitting on, looking dazed. He was clearly happy but also pretty overwhelmed looking. The counselor had a similar look but was positively glowing despite it. The couple’s sister scientist was meanwhile bouncing on the balls of her feet, ready to burst with excitement.

“What’s up?” the redhead asked. The therapist’s gaze turned toward the new arrivals with a slightly dopey smile.

“I’m pregnant.” she answered simply.

“Oh my god!” Aya cheered as she rushed up to embrace the woman, earning a joyous laugh from her “About damn time!”

The woman laughed harder, with several of the others joining in as well. The blonde awakened let her go and hugged Shining next, only somewhat breaking him out of his trance. Sunset stepped up next; she didn’t move in to hug her like Aya, she wasn’t sure if they were that close yet, but she smiled brightly nonetheless.

“Congratulations!” she offered before the woman rolled her eyes and snatched her arm, pulling her into a hug as well. She then released her so Dash and Rarity could have their turns, the fashionista finally letting out the loud squeal she’d been holding in when she was up. Dash chuckled at the sound before lightly punching the liaison in the arm.

“So you’re finally gonna be a dad, huh?” she grinned mischievously.

“Yeah… I’m… I’m gonna be a dad…” he gave breathlessly, still hardly believing it himself. While obviously pretty scared about the prospect, it was also clear as day he was over the moon about it. It just wasn’t quite so overt a display as his little sister bouncing around the room before landing on him with what was probably just the latest of several embraces.

“You’re going to be a DAD! Cady’s going to be a MOM! I’m going to be an AUNT!” she squeed before leaping in to join Rarity still squeezing her sister-in-law “Oh this is incredible!”

During all the jubilation, Adagio had stood back without comment. It wasn’t that she was unhappy for the couple, but considering her status in MIST, she didn’t feel the cowgirl’s insistence that she needed to be there was called for. With that in mind, she turned back to the door to slip out when it almost hit her in the face.

“CAAAKKKEEEEE!!!” the pink one yelled in what was almost a warcry as she slammed into the room, hefting the multi-tiered confection over her head. The Dazzling stepped aside to let her pass, using the distraction to continue in her retreat.

While she wasn’t sure if anyone else noticed the siren’s absence, Sunset frowned at the sight of her leaving. But she quickly shook it off and brought her smile back. This was a time for celebration, if Adagio didn’t want to be a part of that then she wasn’t about to let that ruin it for her. Others swung by as the news spread. Rupert soon arrived despite his day off and even his usually cool exterior simply melted away to congratulate the couple and share in the joy.

However after a little while, a thought occurred to Sunset. She was sure she wasn’t the only one to have thought it but she may have been the only one that didn’t know the answer. Seeing Shy happily watching from the edges of the group, she tried to casually saddle up next to her while keeping the worry from her face.

“Hey so, I don’t know the answer to this so it may be nothing... but it’s gonna be okay, right?” she asked quietly. The nurse frowned at her, but in a more perplexed way than concerned. “Well, I mean we inherit our mitochondria from our mothers, right?”

“We do” it was actually Cadence that answered. Sunset winced as she realized she hadn’t been as quiet as she hoped, and then tried not to grimace at the drop in the counselors tone “You don’t have to make that face Sunset, it was something we’ve thought about long before today. And while there are NMH parents out there, I’ll be the first on record to give birth after being infected.”

“You’re stable, Cady. More than most actually” Twilight offered encouragingly “There’s no reason to expect any problems.”

“Not much precedent to not expect them either though” the counselor sighed, turning her gaze down “They could come out blue and glowing for all we know.”

“And we’ll love them all the same” Shining put his arm around her as he sat next to her. She leaned against him for support.

“If we get the chance. If they're not… at risk…” she trailed off without actually saying what it implied.

“I really didn’t mean to kill the mood” the fiery haired hunter scratched the back of her head and shuffled awkwardly in place before trying to regather herself “But hey, even if things do get weird, you’ve got all of MIST right behind you! Including FIVE Awakened with Aya and the mega brain that is Twilight among them. And that’s just what’s in the same city. We won’t let things go bad.”

A smile tugged at the mother-to-be’s lips as she picked her head up to regard the girl. A smile that grew as she continued to study her patient.

“You really have come a long way, Sunset” she returned warmly.

“H-hey, this ain’t about me…” she blushed and looked away “You’re the ones having a baby!”

“Yes. We’re having a baby,” she repeated before her cheeks lit back up and the glow returned. She snuggled up closer to her husband when she couldn’t contain the happiness still bubbling up inside her anymore “We’re having a BABY!”

“Yeah you are!” Pinkie cheered as everyone came back around with the counselor “So let’s get back to partying!”

The mood quickly returned to the group, and kept growing as even more of MIST showed up to celebrate the announcement. As the couple were laid upon by the recently arrived Eve, her sister broke away and found her self-appointed protégé now hanging along the celebration’s edges.

“I know you feel like you screwed up Sunset, but it’s not like it didn’t need to be addressed” she consoled her “Sure it probably could have waited, but you don’t have to hide along the sidelines like this.”

“She’s right Sunny” Dash came up to join them, cups of punch in either hand before offering one to the former pony “Especially when you managed to salvage it well enough with that little reminder we all got each other’s back.”

“Well, most of us anyway” Sunset grumbled “I’m not sure we can actually include Dag in those five I mentioned.”

“Eh, she’s not that bad” the pilot admitted a bit begrudgingly “She may not want to join the family but it's not like she’s completely heartless.”

“She’s honestly been a lot less objectionable than I thought she’d be. Reliable even…” Aya added before giving the redhead a bump “So you gonna stop sulking and rejoin the party?”

“Yes. I’ll stop sulking” she relented. She then thought a moment longer before deciding something “Though I think I’ll take an extra moment before jumping back in. I’ll be right back though.”

The veteran hunter arched a brow at her but didn’t stop her as she left.

Downstairs, Adagio was reading her book again. She felt she probably could have just left without anyone noticing, but then remembered she still had to clock out and leaving would only cause her a headache if they checked the times later. She probably would have been doing the same thing at the house anyway, so she didn’t mind being stuck there too much. Especially not with everyone busy with the party, leaving her to shirk her responsibilities without much worry.

The subtle scrape of a plastic fork on a paper plate drew her attention from the text. She looked up to see a slice of cake and cup of punch being set down in front of her. Her passive gaze lingered on the plate a second before looking up to the redhead that delivered it.

“You can really stop trying to ‘reach out’ to me pony” she stated plainly. “I’ll admit I’ve so far enjoyed our little exchanges of information to a degree but once we find my sisters, I very much doubt we’ll be sticking around.”

“What about getting back to Equestria?” Sunset proposed. The siren broke eye contact, those dazzling purple irises shifting slightly as she remembered the unicorn’s offer.

“Even if we do follow that course, that has little to do with you trying to indoctrinate me into your cult” she eventually answered “I’ll never be a part of MIST’s ‘little family’. I barely even know your counselor, let alone care that she’s pregnant.”

“Yeah well… So what?” Sunset countered, putting the Dazzling a bit off beat “You don’t have to care to still celebrate. And you sure as hell don’t have to even like your co-workers to still enjoy a slice of their cake.”

Adagio arched her brow at her.

“Yes I know how that sounded, shut up. You know what I mean.” she crossed her arms and leveled a stern frown down upon the singer “I know from experience that even if you don’t care about making friends, things here get a lot easier if you just go along with the good times. Especially since we don’t always have them to go along with… So eat the damn cake and just go with the good vibes Dag, even if it has to be down here by yourself.”

Satisfied she had said all she wanted to, Sunset turned and walked out of the room, leaving the siren behind. The party upstairs did eventually wind down, with those with the day off returning home and the rest of them getting back to work. That’s not to say the high was completely gone, especially for the lucky couple, who Rupert let have the rest of the day, along with the next few, off to celebrate. It seemed however that the people that they most wanted to share their joy with were those at the station, so they stuck around the rest of the day anyway. They only left when Twilight surprised them with reservations at a very nice restaurant and arrangements to pick up the tab no matter what they ordered.

Sunset had been a little disappointed that Adagio never came back upstairs to join the party. She did however still receive just the smallest victories, accepting it even for as minor of one as it was. She had found the plate she had brought down for Adagio sitting along the top of the break room’s trash, with the slice of cake itself nowhere to be seen. Again, it was all but nothing.

But it was still something.

Sunset sat tensely in the passenger seat of her own jeep, trying to not fidget too much or show her apprehension. She’d been like that for around ten minutes now, doing everything she could to keep her knee from bouncing as the Siren behind the wheel drove them the rest of the way back to the station. They had just picked up something to eat after finishing their patrol when Adagio had asked if she could be the one to drive them back.

The only person Sunset was really at all comfortable with driving her car was Dash, and that’s mostly just because she’s the one who taught her how to drive it in the first place. She knew it was irrational; In fact she felt a good number of the MIST staff were probably better drivers than both her and Dash, despite the latter's automotive knowledge. It bugged her, but in the spirit of trying to forge a connection, she let the siren drive. It wasn’t far. In fact they were already reaching the station, with the singer pulling into the garage only moments later. Yet she still couldn’t help the relieved sigh that escaped her when they pulled into her spot and exited the vehicle.

“See Shimmer? I didn’t scratch your baby,” Adagio snarked. “I did get my license before they took us, so you really didn’t have to freak out so much.”

“I wasn’t freaking out!” the pony girl gave a little too hurriedly in her defense “I’m just… not used to having anyone else drive her yet.”

“Suuure.” Her partner delivered slyly before she sauntered away to the break room with their food. The unicorn girl gave a huff but let it go before following. They were just finishing when Sunset received a text from Rupert, asking both of them to join him in his office. When they arrived, they found him seated behind his desk with Aya standing over his shoulder, leaning in braced against the wood as they were watching something on the director’s computer screen rather intently. Not so intently that they failed to notice their entrance, but enough that it didn’t shake their troubled looks.

“We’ve received some troubling news from the LA office” he jumped right to business, his tone low but professional “And unique enough that they’ve requested our support in the investigation. You two will be joining Aya in that support.”

They both blinked at the simple, but thoroughly unexpected news. They shared a surprised glance before Sunset stepped forward.

“Not that I’m at all complaining sir, but why us?” she began questioningly “I haven’t even completed my training for local investigations yet. Wouldn’t this be better suited for the likes of the OC, or Mags’ and Spear’?”

“Normally yes, though when it’s assisting another branch, individual investigative ability usually tends to not be as important as the man power.” he explained calmly “However Dr. Chamber’s requested you two specifically.”

“Are we sure she isn’t just wanting to finally get a chance at studying both of us directly?” Adagio asked, her tone dropping to a slightly duller octave.

“Oh she absolutely is” Aya answered as dully “But that doesn’t change the fact the original cause is still more than enough to warrant support, and that you two may prove crucial to understanding what’s happened, even if it is just by letting her study you directly.”

“What is the original cause?” Sunset returned to the initial issue with the query. Rupert gave a small sigh before explaining.

“Their hunter’s encountered a sizable group of worms out in the desert. Not maggots or caterpillars; full sized NMC worms.” he turned his screen to them, showing the body cam footage of a hunter firing upon the large greyish pink tubes popping out of the dirt. While the smaller species of NMCs he mentioned weren’t terribly uncommon, the man sized worms weren’t encountered very often at all, and certainly not in the kinds of numbers the video was showing “They managed to recover three of the corpses-”

“Three?!” Sunset gawked. For something that was supposed to be so rare it seemed to be happening a lot lately.

“Yes.” he continued after the interruption “Which brings us again to why we’re sending you two. Every one of their NMH’s on staff has described a distinct ‘extra layer’ when probing the remains with their senses.”

“Extra layer…” Sunset parroted, sharing an uneasy glance with Adagio “Are we sure it’s the same as ours?”

“Without any of their NMHs having sensed either of you before we can’t be sure” he admitted “But there’s not too much doubt that it is.”

“So all of those had… an extra layer to them?” Adagio gestured to the video, the footage having moved on to the pair of hunters running sweeps over there area.”

“Not those…” Aya gave quietly, waiting as she watched the video with them. Rupert skipped ahead, to a point when another trio of worms attempted to ambush the pair “Those. It would seem you’re not the only ones this extra layer causes some interesting side effects in.”

The pair leaned in, now transfixed by the footage. The worms weren’t much bigger than those before, still only appearing a little over six feet long, but it was their colorization that made them truly stand out. They were covered in what were almost neon purple and green stripes, randomly spread across their tubular bodies like dozens of jagged slashes. While it was hard to tell in the Sunlight, the former pony could also swear they almost looked luminescent. What happened next however, is what made them shoot rigid in their stooped postures.

A trio of long, barbed tendrils erupted from each of their tooth filled maws as they hissed at the hunters. The long tongue-like appendages weaved menacingly with a vicious, purple ichor dripping along their lengths.

“You said Ark was experimenting on you and your sisters trying to figure out the extra layer” Rupert stated, drawing Adagio’s scowl his way. She didn’t direct it at him, which he seemed to understand, but she still didn’t much feel like trying to force it away at the moment “Have you seen anything like this before?”

“No. They did manage to make some disturbing things studying us, but this?” she looked back to the screen, her tone growing grim “This is new…”

“Hm” he gave quietly, lips tight as his eyes breifly grew distant. He worked his jaw a moment before continuing “You have the rest of the day off to pack and rest. Your flight’s tomorrow at eight.”

“How long do we expect this investigation to last?” Sunset asked, her voice a bit strained.

“Until it’s done. We can rarely tell in these situations.” the director returned. Aya then cut in with a bit more elaboration thankfully.

“I usually pack for a week and just accept I may have to end up doing laundry” she offered. The corner of her lips tugged as she continued “And since this is your first outing, I’ll warn that there can be some long stretches of downtime. Since we need to be available though, it’s not like we can fill it by seeing the sights like a vacation. So I'd also pack something to help with that if I were you.”

Sunset couldn’t quite bring herself to return the slight smile her mentor offered, but she appreciated the attempt at levity.

“If there are no more questions,” Rupert concluded “You’re dismissed. Good luck out there.”

The trio left the man’s office and made their way down to their cars. Aya said they’d be given a ride to the airport from the station, so they should make sure they’d be functional enough that early in the morning. She bid them a good night before heading to her own car.

It was only after Sunset pulled out onto the street she found the strength to ask:

“Was that really what I think it was?”

“It sure looked like it” the siren returned darkly, her still present scowl panning over the passing scenery. The former pony took a deep, shuddering breath.

“This could be bad, Dag. This could be really, Really bad…”

“Maybe it’s just a coincidence; Not the actual corruption but just a similar manifestation from them twisting magic they don’t understand,” the siren offered with a sigh of her own. “And even if it is, those wurms lacked the miasma that comes with contagious tatzl corruption. This may not be that serious…”

“And if it is?” Sunset proposed with a deep grimace “Dag, our secret isn’t worth putting this world in that kind of danger.”

“You’re over selling it Shimmer,” the siren retorted shortly. “You ponies managed to keep yourselves mostly free of it. If I remember correctly you even managed to sort of quarantine it to the barren lands, and that was just in my time. Surely you’ve developed better counters to it in all this time.”

“Well… yeah,” the redhead relented some “We’ve managed to isolate the wurms themselves to maybe all of three pretty remote regions, and even most of them aren’t overtly contagious anymore… We can even sometimes manage to restore the identities of those corrupted. Growing up there was even an afflicted mare working in the castle as a maid…”

“Then there’s no need for us to tell them,” the Dazzling concluded. “If you ponies of all species can control it-”

“We have MAGIC Adagio!” Sunset cried and began to hyperventilate “Humans don’t have that kind of power! You and I don’t have that kind of power! Even in our original forms, with no restrictions on our magic, we still wouldn’t be able to contain this on our own!”

“Calm. Down.” the siren ordered, her gem glowing briefly as the words echoed with an arcane tempo. The unicorn girl felt her panic forced to cool, not completely extinguished but significantly doused. That seemed to be the extent of the effects on her though thankfully, as the light had already faded from the siren’s focus and her voice returned to normal “Calm down… before you wrap us around a tree.”

Sunset took several deep breaths, not as smoothly as she would have liked to but she regained control over herself.

“I’m sorry.” She panted “But this-”

“Could be bad, yes.” Adagio interrupted, carefully keeping her discipline in place. “But we don’t know that yet. We’re not even sure if this is magic. Besides, with how limited our magic is here, there’s a good chance that even if they have somehow recreated a contagious tatzl corruption, it’ll be just as handicapped by the lack of ambient mana as we are.”

“That’s… Okay that is a pretty good point” the fromer pony continued to relent against the siren’s logic “But this still isn’t something we can take lightly.”

“And we won’t. But running to Rupert and telling him we’re magical aliens before we even know what’s happening will only make things worse.” she pointed out. Her tone, while still not exactly soothing, softened nonetheless “Don’t freak out. We’ll just have to take things as they come.”

They were just reaching the house as the back and forth dwindled. They climbed out of the jeep and made their way toward the door. Sunset spoke back up as the Dazzling’s hand landed the knob however.

“You’re surprisingly good at this,” she commented, prompting the siren to pause and turn back to stare at her quizzically “Calming people down I mean, even when not using magical commands to do it.”

“I’m the alpha of my ensemble, pony.” she stated like it was just common sense. When she saw it wasn't as self-explanatory as it should have been, she rolled her eyes and continued “I have a lot of experience keeping my subordinates in line. Sonata in particular could get pretty worked up when she would actually catch on that things weren’t going to plan. With her not susceptible to a forced calm though, I had to learn other methods.”

The siren didn’t wait for a response before continuing into the house, leaving the pony girl to ponder the explanation. It made sense, and further supported the siren’s claim that their families weren’t much different than pony’s. Not that she would really know much when it came to traditional families, being orphaned herself when she was just-

“Hey wait a minute!” she shouted and stormed in after the purple eyed hunter “I am Not your subordinate!”

The door to the garage slammed behind her as the siren chortled nefariously.

Author's Note

So yeah, I ended up giving Pyrrha a little bit more of a part than I originally said, let alone planned. She and the other parallels introduced still wont be primary characters by any means but a thought occurred to me when considering her role this chapter:
With Equestria Girls already being a world of parallels, maybe having alternates of more than just those of the main two properties wouldn't be so big a deal. Fun even. Again, you don't have to worry about this turning into some several property crossover extravaganza. BUT don't be surprised in you see some more familiar names still ending up as monster hunters in this universe, even if not the same kind as their established counterparts.

But yes, here we go about to set out on the first branch cooperation chapter as a new possible threat looms.

But until that flight departs, as always: Thanks for reading and I hope to see you for the next chapter! Have a good one!