A Certain Scientific Twilight

Chapters

02 - Sunset - What Price a Goddess?
03 - Sunset - The Goddess Awakes
04 - Sunset - The Goddess of the Hunt (Day 1)
06 - Sunset - The Goddess of the Hunt (Day 3)
07 - Sunset - The Lair of the Goddess
08 - Twilight - The Goddess Ascendant
09 - Twilight - The Goddess of the Hunt (redux)
10 - Twilight - First Blood
11 - Twilight - The Girls Part 1
12 - Twilight - The Girls Part 2
13 - Twilight - Endymion
14 - Twilight - The Ziggurat
15 - Twilight - The Fate of Endymion
16 - Twilight - The New Player (Part 1)
17 - Twilight - The New Player (Part 2)
01 - Sunset - The Bloody Goddess
05 - Sunset - The Goddess of the Hunt (Day 2)

02 - Sunset - What Price a Goddess?

Monday, September 8, 8:00 AM Tokyo time.

Sunset woke to the gentle but insistent buzzing of the alarm. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes she noted Twilight gently snuggled up against her. ‘She’s so adorable!’ Sunset whispered with a smile. ‘I’ll never let anything bad happen to any of my friends.’

She turned off the alarm then grabbed her bathroom bag and went to the bathroom for her morning ablutions.

When she returned fully dressed, she leaned over and kissed Twilight on the cheek. Twilight’s eyes fluttered open, and her hand rose to rub her cheek, now blushing. “Good morning, my beautiful shield!” Sunset grinned when Twilight, now fully blushing, turned to face her. “Time to rise and shine! I’ll go start breakfast,” she smiled.

Twilight grinned. “You’re such a dork!” she laughed, still rubbing her cheek. “Okay, I’ll come join you as soon as I’m ready.” Sunset rolled out to the kitchen to start making a pancake breakfast just like her mom used to make for her. While the first batch was cooking and the vegan bacon was sizzling in the microwave, she made a cup of coffee for herself, sipping it as she cooked.

Sunset smiled, her heart full of peace. Her dear friend, her beloved Shield, her BFF, had warmed her heart and filled her dreams. She loved her dearly and was so glad to be with her now.

Flipping the pancakes onto the serving plate and starting the next batch, her thoughts returned to the night before. “Twilight,” she whispered. “Never again.” She would never let her guard down again, never would anyone have a chance to hurt the woman she loved more than her own self. More than death, she feared losing her friend. The thought of going through life without her BFF by her side pained her more than she could imagine.

She watched as Twilight left the bathroom, smiling with a shy wave. She was so precious to her. Her resolve steeled in her heart. Never would she allow anyone to hurt her friends. Never. She loved them completely, they were precious to her, and she would guard them with her life, whatever it took.

She thought about Index and Toma, and realized that yes, she loved them too. They were hers, she would protect them also, and cherish them as her own. No one would be allowed to hurt them. They too were tucked into her heart, surrounded by her loving concern.

She flipped the pancakes and put on the next batch. Twilight emerged from their bedroom fully dressed as Sunset smiled.

“Hey Sunny, what’s the goofy grin for?” teased Twilight as she hugged her. “I thought I made all the goofy faces around here?”

“I was just thinking about how much I love all of you, how I never want anything bad to ever happen to any of you,” smiled Sunset, answering honestly. “I would do anything for you, Sparky. And I realize now I feel that same need to protect you, and the girls, and all our friends. I would raze the world to save you, all of you.” She shook her head.

Twilight tightened her hug. “I feel the same way. I’ve never been a particularly brave person, but I would face the world for you, and for them. That’s how I feel, and that makes me happy.”

“Yeah,” answered Sunset. “I hear you. I have all these feelings, and I know they are right. But the depth of them? That’s new. It’s like I grew up overnight. It feels right.” She pulled her friend close and kissed her cheek. “I love you, Sparky. Thank you for being my friend.”

Twilight hugged her tightly back. “Back at you, Sunny!”

Sunset extracted herself from the hug. “Okay, breakfast is almost ready.” She flipped the last set of pancakes onto the serving plate, then took everything over to the table. Taking her place, she joined hands with Twilight, leading the harmonic grace, then passed the serving plates of food as she made Twilight’s coffee.

Twilight served apple juice to go along with the breakfast. Sunset finished up the last of the pancakes, bringing them over to the table and preparing a plate for herself. “We’re in this together,” Sunset smiled.

They finished eating, then cleaned up the table. As they were cleaning up, Twilight came up behind her and wrapped her up in a tight hug. “Sunny, you’re not alone. You’re surrounded by friends! We love you and need you. This is the time for joy! Be happy, Sunny, we survived, thanks to you! Thank the Maker!”

Sunset smiled, joining her arms with Twilight's. “Thank you, Sparky. What would I do without you?”

“Let’s never find out!” Twilight smiled.

“Amen to that!” Sunset agreed, pulling Twilight in tight. “Never ever.”

Sunset rolled back over to their room. “I’m going to finish getting dressed. Be right back.”

“No worries, Sunny. I got this,” answered Twilight, finishing up cleaning the breakfast dishes, and putting the leftovers away.

Sunset smiled as she grabbed her bags and clothes, then rolled into the bathroom. A few minutes later, she rolled out, ready for the day. She swapped out her bathroom bag for her daypack and joined Twilight by the front door. “Ready Freddy!” she called out with a grin.

“Ready Freddy!” agreed Twilight, opening the door and heading out and into the elevator. Once past the concierge, whom they greeted with a respectful bow as always, they passed through the lobby and gathered on the sidewalk.

As they neared the school, Sunset turned to Twilight. “I’m an idiot,” she groaned.

“What do you mean? Why would you say that?” asked Twilight at her side.

Sunset clarified. “I thought of this last night after what happened. We really need to give all the girls TACIT fobs, just like the ones you made for Index and Toma. Then we could reach each other no matter what in an emergency. Plus the girls could teleport directly to us if anything happened or the fobs were triggered. I have a really bad feeling about this. I want to know that everyone is safe. In fact, we should have fobs too. Our fobs can be the automatic anchors for the girls' teleports. Plus they may be useful for us in other ways at some point.”

Twilight smiled. “That’s actually a great idea! Okay, I’ll put together six more of them, and we can pass them out to the girls when we see them again. Good thinking, Sunny!”

Sunset agreed. “It will be one less thing to worry about.”

“I’ll take care of it before dinner after we get back from Judgment this afternoon,” promised Twilight.

After passing through the academy gate, Sunset and Twilight headed to their first period. Taking their seats with time to spare, they set out their textbooks and began to study.

The bell rang for homeroom to begin. Everyone settled down and the teacher took roll. Afterward, they studied quietly.

Eventually, the bell rang for the end of the period. Sunset and Twilight hugged then headed for their respective classes.

Sunset paid attention in class but was distracted. At least part of her attention was taken at every moment, listening for any alerts from her phone, or keeping an eye on her surroundings, actually, magically, and metaphorically. She was determined never to be caught short again. In her mind she relived almost losing her BFF the night before. The constant awareness of her situation was a strain at first. But she found the more she did it, the more it began to feel second nature.

‘Thank the Maker for small miracles,’ she whispered to herself in relief.

After class Sunset joined Twilight for lunch in the cafeteria. They sat down and ate their Bento box lunches, discussing their plans for the day and enjoying the comfort of each other's presence.

The bell rang for the next period. Sunset pulled Twilight into a hug. After the embrace, Twilight bent over, and tenderly placed her hands on Sunset’s cheeks, pulling her in and kissing her on the forehead.

“I love you, Sunny. Thank you for everything!” Twilight said, then leaned back to smile at her BFF, hand still cupping Sunset’s face lovingly.

Across the cafeteria, they heard a chair scrape back loudly, then someone stomped over towards their table. To no one’s surprise, it was the class officer who had repeatedly reprimanded them before for public displays of affection.

“You have got to be kidding me,” Sunset whispered to Twilight as she stormed over to their table.

“You have been warned!” bellowed the class officer. “This is the last straw! No public displays of affection! Detention for you both, and possible suspension!”

Sunset saw red.

Seeing her BFF about to completely lose it, Twilight leaned over and wrapped her arms around Sunset. She whispered into her ear. “She’s not worth it, Sunny! Let it go! Let it go. Deep breath.”

Sunset closed her eyes. Reaching up and holding on tightly to Twilight’s arm, Sunset took a slow, deep breath. Eyes still closed, she let it out slowly, then took another deep breath, letting it out slowly as well. Six breaths later, she appeared considerably calmer and opened her eyes.

“So, you’re still here?” Sunset tersely asked the class officer. “I was hoping you would take the hint and make yourself scarce.”

The class officer looked like she was about to blow a gasket. “Who do you think you are talking to?” she demanded. “How dare you speak to me like that! Do you have a death wish?”

Sunset’s face darkened. “Sunny, she doesn’t know!” Twilight whispered.

Taking another deep breath, Sunset again calmed herself. “Thank you, Twilight,” she replied calmly.

Turning to the class officer, Sunset answered. “That’s a rather poor choice of words. Last night, a mage entered our apartment and tried to end the life of my dearest, best friend, right in front of me. So to answer your question, no. I most decidedly do not have a death wish. I don’t wish for my own death. I don’t wish for my dearest friends’ death. I don’t wish for the death of any of my friends. I don’t wish the death of anyone, not even you. You know what though?

Sunset leaned towards the officer. “I did wish for someone’s death. Just last night. When I saw that mage about to kill my dearest, best friend? The girl I love so completely I can’t even imagine spending my life without her beside me? Do you know what? At that moment, seeing that woman about to kill the person I cherish more than my own life itself? I did have a death wish.

Sunset held her hands out in front of her. “I wished death to that woman. With no hesitation. I wanted her dead so completely and wholly there was no room for even the smallest doubt.

She held her hands up, holding them out in front of the class officer. “Do you see these hands? I wished death on that woman. And with these hands, last night? I took her life. She’s dead. I killed her. And no, I don’t regret it one bit.

Sunset’s hands shook a bit. She pulled them back and grasped Twilight’s arm again. “I love this woman. And I will protect her with my life. And anyone…” She looked at the officer. “Anyone who tries to hurt her? Or any of my friends? They had better be ready. Because I am never going to let that happen again. Not on my watch. Not while there is a single breath in my body. No one will ever hurt my friends. Ever.”

The class officer had blanched at this point. “Sorry,” she mumbled, then backed away and hurried back to her table.

Sunset glared at the officer as she packed up her bags and left. As she left the room, Sunset’s head dropped, and her shoulders sagged, and she started crying profusely.

Twilight held her tightly as she bawled her heart out.

After the afternoon classes were over, Sunset and Twilight headed over to Judgment.

When they got there, Sunset turned to Twilight. “Do you think you could ask Mii if we can research the attack on us this afternoon instead of doing our usual patrols? I’d like to see if there is anything in the academy database on the knife from last night, or on the mage who tried to use it.”

“I’ll go ask!” Twilight agreed, heading down the hall to the desk of their supervisor, Mii Konori. She came back a moment later. “She said no problem. She was already briefed about the attack. She figured we would want to do something like that anyway. She also said she would also be happy to arrange anything we needed to investigate what happened, we only need to ask.”

Sunset smiled. “That’s a relief. I’m glad we have friends looking out for us.” She smiled. “Can you retrieve the knife? We can scan it into the database and see if anything matches.”

“No need,” answered Twilight. “I have the photos I took last night, and I’ve already started the search.” She was bent over her terminal, reviewing pages of data the search had returned, refining her criteria to find more relevant matches.

At a second terminal, Twilight pulled up all the information she could find on the researcher who had tried to kill her last night. Sunset sat by her side, one hand on her shoulder in comforting support. Together they dug through the academy databases to pull the information on the woman together for review, hoping they could find some clue to where she had really come from and who had sent her after Twilight. And honestly, after them both.

They gathered all the information they found into a protected archive, which Twilight transferred to her secure fob as she had before.

The search on the runes only confirmed what they had determined the evening before. The translation she had made of the spell runes on the blade the night before was correct. And the blade-style was one used by the magical covens. Regrettably, there was no information to pinpoint which of the covens were responsible for the blade.

Sunset turned to Twilight. “I don’t think we’re going to find anything more here. Let’s call it an evening.”

Twilight nodded, logging out of her terminal session. They headed out of the office and back to their apartment.

They bowed in greeting to the concierge as they passed by on the way to the elevator. Twilight quickly went over to her and made a quick request. Then they went straight up and into the apartment.

Sunset turned to Twilight. “I think we should head over to Tranquility Base. I’d like to see if maybe Dr. Heng’e knows anything about what happened last night. Do you mind terribly if we do that instead?”

“That sounds like a good idea,” agreed Twilight.

The doorbell rang. Sunset rolled over and answered the door. The concierge had brought up some noodle dinners with meat and veggie toppings, and bowls of miso soup.

Thanking her, Sunset rolled aside, allowing the concierge to enter. She rolled the cart with the food over to the dining room table and placed the cartons of food on the table for them.

As she prepared to leave, Sunset thanked her again. “Arigatōgozaimashita!” she said with a bow.

The concierge returned the bow. “Dōitashimashite,” she said, then rolled the cart back out of the apartment, leaving the girls to their dinner.

Taking Twilight’s hands and bowing their heads, Sunset led them in grace.

Twilight served up the noodles and toppings. Sunset passed Twilight her soup. Twilight served Sunset a plate of noodles with veggie topping, then got up and pulled sodas for both of them from the fridge.

They tucked into their food. Dinner was finished in short order. Sunset collected all the cartons and disposed of them, placing the empty bottles in the recycling.

Twilight called out. “Okay, off to our evening’s adventures.” Holding Sunset tightly, in a flash of Magenta they disappeared.

Sunset led them out of the Tranquility base TACIT receiver and looked around. It was relatively quiet. There wasn’t a line for the transporter, and only a few people were around working on anything.

“I guess that makes sense,” Sunset mused aloud. “It is after midnight. I wonder if Chang’e is around.”

“Looking for me?” asked Dr. Hang’e sweetly, bent over her shoulder. Sunset started, then laughed.

“You really are determined to give me a heart attack, aren’t you,” she teased.

Dr. Hang’e just smiled and ruffled Sunset’s hair. “So, my second favorite prankster decided to pay me a visit! To what do I owe this delight?” she asked.

“What? We can’t just come and visit for fun?” teased Sunset.

“My dear child, you can come to visit any time for any reason!” smiled Chang’e back. “But, I know what happened. And I imagine you want some help, which I am happy to give in any way I can.”

Sunset sobered. “Yes. Anything you can tell us about the group that attacked Twilight. We need to know who and what we are up against.”

Chang’e led them out of the bay and down the hall. “Come with me. We can rest in my quarters and discuss what is needed.” They followed her down the hall and into her crew quarters. As they passed into her quarters Chang’e gathered up more notes and gifts from the table by her door, smiling as she took them inside.

Placing the gifts and notes on the counter, she waved the girls over to a pair of couches in the common area. Sitting on one, she waved to the girls to join her.

Sunset rolled over next to her. Twilight sat next to Chang’e on her other side.

“So how much do you know about what happened?” asked Sunset.

“I know enough,” replied Chang’e. “May I see the blade?”

“Sure.” Twilight manifested the portal and floated the blade over to Chang’e, who took it into her hands.

“This is a dark and evil artifact,” she hissed. “I have not seen one of these since before the dawn of harmony. These were used in dark ceremonies, offering sacrifices to the fallen gods.”

She turned it over in her hands. “Yes, there is the ancient tongue. And the curse. I despise these artifacts and all those who ever used them. The fallen gods are not to be trafficked with. And anyone who would offer them the soul of another is depraved beyond redemption.”

Sunset nodded. “Twilight translated it. It was supposed to not only tear the soul from the person it was used on but bind them into hell for eternal torment and suffering.”

“That is correct,” nodded Chang’e. “It is used to offer the soul of the victim sacrificed to one of the fallen gods, who would feast on their torment for eternity. If a boon was asked of the fallen god, this was used to offer a soul in payment.” She scowled. “When harmony overtook the Astral planes, these practices were banished. It pains me to see there are those who would practice them still.”

Chang’e placed her arm around Twilight, drawing her into a hug. “Even more, that they would try to sacrifice someone so dear to me.” She held tightly to Twilight.

“So do you think they were going to use Twilight and me as sacrifices for some favor?” Sunset asked.

“I am certain of it,” nodded Chang’e. “That is always the purpose of these evil artifacts. And for a sacrifice of a pair of goddesses? I am sure the boon was substantial.”

Sunset mused. “I wonder what they wanted then.”

Chang’e responded. “I am sure it is related to the coming battles.”

Sunset looked confused.

Chang’e continued. “Forces of darkness have been gathering against harmony and the Maker for some time. There are whispers and portents hinting that the time for their final battle is soon. These forces are those who wish a return to darkness, who spurn harmony seek a chance to overthrow creation. They would seek any advantage, including the power of the fallen gods.

Chang’e placed the blade on the table before her and pulled Sunset into a hug as well. “I do not doubt they would willingly trade any number of goddesses who oppose them for the favor of the fallen gods.”

“Not on my watch,” Sunset stated resolutely.

“Nor mine,” agreed Twilight.

“Nor mine,” agreed Chang’e. “I am not a warrior like you girls, nor my beloved husband. But I will oppose this evil with every bit of my being.”

Twilight and Sunset returned Chang’e’s hug as Chang’e smiled brightly.

After their visit, the girls thanked Chang’e for her hospitality. They made their way back to the TACIT receiver.

Twilight entered and Sunset rolled into the transporter, taking her hand. Together they teleported back to their apartment

To their surprise, Kaori and Stiyl were sitting on their couch waiting for them.

Seeing the girls, Kaori smiled.

Sunset grinned. “So what brings the exalted mages of Necessarius to our humble home?” she teased.

Kaori lost her grin.

“We heard about what happened, and have come to offer whatever help we could,” she stated sadly. Turning to Twilight, she added. “I am so sorry you experienced that.

Turning back to Sunset she added, “And we’re sorry you had to experience that too. Having had to take another’s life defending my friends and self, I have some idea of what you may be going through. And it’s not anything I would wish on anyone. Though I am certain you will come through this stronger and better than you ever were. You have a strong and beautiful heart, Sunset.

Kaori smiled again. “And neither of you are alone. You have many friends, including us. And we will do anything we can to help you.”

Sunset smiled. “Thank you. I can't tell you how happy it makes me to hear that.”

Sunset rolled over to Kaori and took her hands. “Thank you, Kaori.” She turned to Stiyl. “Thank you too, Stiyl. I’m really glad you are both here.” Stiyl smiled and nodded.

Twilight sat down beside them. “Me too!” she agreed, smiling at them both. “So do you know anything about the coven that attacked us? We tried looking through the Academy databases, but couldn’t find anything specific.”

Kaori nodded. “I’m not surprised. Unless they had direct experience going up against the individual coven’s they wouldn’t have that kind of information. Do you still have the blade? I could take a look and see if it seems familiar, as I have had direct experience fighting against the known covens and cults.”

Knives out. Twilight manifested the portal and floated the blade out and over to Kaori in a Magenta glow. The portal shut and disappeared with a loud pop. Kaori took the blade in her hands, turning it over and examining the runes and inscriptions.

She nodded her head. “Yes. This is the ceremonial sacrificial knife used to offer souls to the fallen gods. This is a style I haven’t seen in a while though.”

She handed the blade over to Stiyl, who also examined the Runes. “Yes. These Runes are unique to one of the covens we’ve gone up against before. They haven’t been active for a while. I guess we know what they were doing in the meantime now. Clearly biding their time.”

Stiyl handed the blade back to Kaori, who continued to study it. He turned to Sunset. “Those Runes are the marks of the Coven Sorores Deorum Veterum. The sisters of the elder gods. They believe the only true gods are the fallen gods, so it’s not really surprising to see they are still attempting to traffic in human souls. They despise harmony and its precepts, seeing it as a weakness and affront to nature, which they teach seeks the destruction of the weak by the strong.”

Sunset nodded and scowled. “Sisters of the Elder Gods. Sounds so quaint for a bloodthirsty group of ruthless magic users.”

Stiyl nodded. “They are as twisted as they come. They firmly believe that the only way to achieve true immortality is as a servant to their true gods - the fallen gods. If they’re involved, it’s a sure bet that they were trying to advance their agenda of destroying anything that stands in the path of the ascendency of the fallen gods. That means pretty much all of the Realm of men, including Academy City and all esper-based magic. And all the gods and goddesses that have switched to the ways of Harmony,”

Sunset nodded. “Which is the entirety of Elysium and most of the Astral Plane, excluding the Outer Realms.”

Twilight nodded. “So, how do we find this coven? How do we stop them from doing anything like this ever again?”

Stiyl nodded his head. “That’s the right question. I wish I had a better answer for you. We’ve been trying to track them down for a long time. They are very secretive, and do not often leave clues behind that can lead back to them. The only reason you have this here is because of the quick and efficient way you dealt with the threat. If the mage who attacked Twilight were still alive, you would never have recovered this knife, and we would still be guessing.”

Kaori nodded in agreement. “That said, we have never been able to track them back to any headquarters or permanent site. Our hope is that with this slip-up, they may do something less cautious and you two might have a chance to track them back. Now that you know they are targeting you, you can be on your guard, and perhaps with that catch them unawares.”

Twilight agreed. “It’s worth a shot. I’ll be extra vigilant going forward.”

Sunset nodded. “Me too! No one gets attacked on my watch.”

Kaori and Stiyl smiled. “And that’s why we are glad to have you both on our side. We need to keep our friends safe,” agreed Kaori.

“So how are we going to track any coven members trying to track or target us?” asked Twilight as she sat down. “How will we know if they are part of the coven?”

“You won’t,” stated Kaori. “There’s no way you can know until after the fact. Unfortunately, that means that you will have to be a little paranoid for now. Anyone hanging around consistently that shouldn’t be. Anyone acting or even seeming suspicious. Anyone who threatens you. At this point, you have to assume the worst. And eventually, the hope is, awful as it is to say, you’ll be right.”

“That’s basically it,” agreed Stiyl. “At some point, you will see something suspicious, track it back, and hopefully hit the jackpot. That’s our hope.”

“So are we looking for a specific type of magical signature? Anything that might stand out?” asked Sunset.

“Nope,” stated Kaori. “At this point, anything magical fits the bill. You will need to keep your metaphorical eyes open all the time. It takes some practice, but get’s easier the more you do it.”

“Okay. I have some fobs to make. Back in a bit.” Twilight got up and went into their bedroom.

“What’s that about,” asked Stiyl.

Sunset explained. “We are giving magically keyed TACIT fobs to each of the girls. That way, if they are ever in trouble, they can teleport directly to Twilight or me. We will have TACIT fobs too that will anchor the girl’s teleports.”

“Smart thinking. Do you think Kaori and I could get a set? It might be handy to be able to reach you in an emergency like that,” requested Stiyl.

“I think that sounds reasonable. Can you go ask Twilight to make you two sets as well then?’ requested Sunset.

Nodding, Stiyl got up from the couch and knocked on the bedroom door. Twilight invited him in.

“Penny for your thoughts?” asked Sunset, seeing Kaori looking pensive.

Kaori replied. “I’m just a bit concerned about all this is all. Still quite a few unknowns. And honestly? I was not expecting any of the covens or players to come after you girls so soon. I really thought we had more time.”

“Me too,” agreed Sunset.

Stiyl returned from the bedroom. He had two fobs in hand. He handed one to Kaori and placed the other over his head and under his shirt. “There, that’s sorted. Kaori, we should let them get some rest. Let’s say good night and head out.”

“Agreed,” Kaori nodded, placing her own fob over her head and under her shirt as well. “Okay. Please tell Twilight we said good night. Good night, Sunset.” They both bowed to Sunset, and she returned the bow, then gave them a parting hug.

“Thank you for stopping by, and for the information. It’s nice to not just be shooting in the dark any longer,” she said as she walked them to the door. “Have a great evening you two!”

“You too, Sunset,” smiled Kaori as they left. Sunset locked the door behind them, then wheeled over to the bedroom to check on her BFF.

“So that was quick. I didn’t think you would be able to put theirs together so quickly,” she commented as she rolled up behind Twilight and hugged her around her waist as she worked.

“I had one of them already made, so it didn’t take as long as you would think,” she smiled, still working. “And good idea on that. All our friends should have them. We need to be able to reach any of them in a pinch.”

“I thought so, too. It seemed like a good suggestion,” agreed Sunset, snuggled against her friend. “So going to be up a while?” she asked.

“Nah, I got this. Give me like 20 more minutes tops,” smiled Twilight back. “Go ahead and get ready for bed. I’ll join you as soon as these are done, and we can give them to the girls when we see them.”

“Sounds like a plan, Sparky,” agreed Sunset. She rolled over to her desk and gathered her bathroom bag, snagged a pair of PJs from her dresser, then rolled out and into the bathroom. Several minutes later, her evening ablutions completed, she transferred into bed, reading her phone while waiting for her BFF.

Twilight finished up a short while later, placing the fobs into a drawer, then snagging a pair of lavender-shaded PJs for herself and heading to the bathroom. A few minutes later she slipped into bed next to her friend and snuggled up. “Good night, Sunny,” she smiled happily.

“Good night, Sparky,” smiled Sunset back, setting the alarm on her phone and turning out the lights, but leaving the window clear so they could enjoy the city lights. She put her phone away and turned to Twilight. “I love you, Twilight Sparkle,” she smiled, eyes shut.

“I love you too, Sunset Shimmer,” smiled Twilight back. A few moments later, both girls were sound asleep.

Author's Note

Sunset and Twilight are a step closer to finding the coven trying to kill them. And their friends are there to help.

SciTwi on patrol for Justice, finding lost parents and keeping the students safe.

03 - Sunset - The Goddess Awakes

Tuesday, September 9, 8:00 AM Tokyo time.

Sunset woke to the gentle but insistent buzzing of the alarm. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes and turning off the alarm, she noticed Twilight snoring gently, a small puddle of drool on the pillow under her cheek. Smiling, Sunset rolled over and pulled her into a hug, kissing her cheek.

“Good morning, Sparky! Sleep well?” Sunset grinned.

Twilight’s eyes fluttered open. She blushed. “Hi Sunny,” she mumbled, smiling. She closed her eyes and snuggled up into her friend's hug.

Pressing her head against her friends, Sunset smiled. “None of that, Sparky. School day! We need to get up and get going. Do you want to shower first, or fix breakfast?”

Twilight stretched and grinned. “I’ll hit the shower. You can be the cook today.” She kissed Sunset back then pulled back the sheets, got up, put on her glasses, and pulled her uniform from her dresser. “Love you, Sunny!” she said as she headed out for the bathroom.

“You are such a brat,” Sunset called after her with a grin. She turned over and transferred to her chair. Yawning, Sunset stretched, waited for a minute, then rolled over to the bathroom and poked her head in. “How’re you doing, Sparky? Need any help? Want me to wash your back?” she teased.

Twilight poked her head out of the shower and threw a sponge at Sunset. “Get out, you dork!” she laughed. “Weirdo!” She pulled her head back behind the curtain to finish her shower.

Sunset laughed. “All teasing aside, I’m making porridge for breakfast. Come on out when you're ready.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. You just wanted to tease me in the shower. I’m onto you, Shimmer!” laughed her BFF.

“Guilty as charged, brat!” laughed Sunset as she pulled back out of the room and shut the door. Rolling over to the kitchen, she started breakfast. Pulling out the pot for the porridge, she filled it with water and put it on the stove to boil. Next, she pulled the box of porridge mix out of the pantry, along with a measuring cup, wooden spoon, and bowls for their breakfast.

“Four cup pot, half full,” hummed Sunset as she worked. While she waited for the water to boil, she made two cups of coffee, one for herself, and one for Twilight. As she was mixing the cream and sugar into Twilight’s coffee, her BFF snuck up behind her then wrapped her in a hug.

“You spoil me, you dork!” she laughed, hugging Sunset tightly. She let go and took the coffee. “Thank you, Sunny,” she smiled.

“Anytime, brat!” grinned Sunset back, taking a sip of her own coffee. “Just waiting on the water.” She grinned. “Hope you left me some hot water,” she teased.

“Hahaha, Sunny. You know it’s all-electric. We can’t run out,” laughed Twilight. “Not that you don’t test that often enough.”

Sunset rolled her eyes. “Hey, pot! Kettle here! Black!” she snarked. Twilight grinned and gave Sunset’s shoulder a gentle shove. “Whatever, dork!”

Sunset put her coffee down, having barely avoided spilling it with the shove. She reached over and pulled Twilight into a hug. “We’ve really got to work on your comebacks! Your snark-fu is weak, my padawan.”

Twilight put her own coffee down, grabbing a towel to wipe off the spot where it spilled on her lap when Sunset pulled her down. “You really are a dork sometimes, Sunny,” she grinned. “Are you trying to make me have to change before I leave?”

“Can I help?” grinned Sunset back.

Twilight grabbed both Sunset’s cheeks in her hands. “Stop! Teasing! Your! BFF! Sunset Shimmer, I swear you are completely incorrigible!”

They both laughed. Twilight grabbed her coffee and continued to sit where she was.

“Uh, Sparky? Are you sure this is where you want to sit? Kind of hard to work with you here like this,” laughed Sunset.

“Best seat in the house. I’m not moving,” teased Twilight. The water started to boil. “Water’s boiling, Sunset. Best get cracking.” She sipped her coffee again.

Sunset grinned and shot her friend a stink eye. “Okay Sparkly. If that’s how it’s going to be…” She grabbed her friend's sides and tickled her mercilessly.

“Gah!” Twilight nearly spat out her coffee. She hurriedly placed it on the counter before she dropped it. “That’s it! You’re going down, Shimmer!” she laughed. She turned on Sunset and started tickling under her arms.

“No!” shouted Sunset, laughing hysterically. “Not there! That’s my ticklish spot!” She tried to push her friend off to no avail.

Twilight laughed evilly. “Don’t I know it!” She continued to torment her friend.

After a few moments of shared happiness, Sunset called out. “Okay! I love you dearly. But please… Off my lap! I need to finish breakfast!” Twilight got up, then bopped Sunset on the nose. “Sure thing, Sunny! You just had to ask.”

Sunset rolled her eyes. “You are so lucky you’re irresistibly adorable!” she grinned.

Sunset measured and mixed the porridge into the boiling water and stirred it. Twilight brought over the pitcher of apple juice and two glasses, pouring for both of them.

A few minutes later, Sunset served up the porridge, bringing both bowls to the table. She passed Twilight her porridge. Twilight got out the cream, chopped fruit, and honey and put them out on the table. Breakfast served, they sat and held hands as they said Harmonic grace.

“I miss having the girls around. I can’t wait until they get back from their trip,” mused Sunset.

Twilight nodded. “The place has been much quieter without them,” she agreed wistfully.

Breakfast over, Twilight cleaned up while Sunset grabbed her uniform and bathroom kit, then rolled into the bathroom. Several minutes later, she emerged dressed and ready for the day. She rolled into the bedroom to swap out the bathroom kit for her daypack, then rolled out to Twilight. “Ready Freddy?” she called out.

“Ready Freddy!” agreed Twilight.

“Then let’s ride! Ready Freddy!” She rolled to the door, which opened for her, and headed down to the waiting elevator. Twilight shut the door behind them. They entered the elevator, which took them automatically to the lobby.

As they rolled out, they both bowed in greeting to the concierge, who grinned and returned their greeting. “Ohayō!” they called out.

As they were strolling, Sunset’s phone alerted her to a text message. Smiling, Twilight stepped behind her friend and started pushing. “Go ahead Sunny, I got you,” Twilight grinned.

Sunset nodded and smiled. “Thanks, Sparky!” She pulled her phone out from the pocket on the daypack and read the message. “It’s from Dr. Long! Some good news!” she informed Twilight.

“So, what’s the news?” asked Twilight.

“NASA is starting on the Martian base. One of the first things they did is bring over a rover we can use. It’s an eight-seater, all-electric. Sweet! We can finally take that trip with everyone to the caldera!” enthused Sunset.

“That’s awesome! So I guess I know what we’re doing this weekend,” added Twilight.

“Don’t you know it! We’d better let Dashie know, she did beg to come along,” agreed Sunset.

“And we should bring the girls,” added Twilight.

“It’s a date! Okay, I’ll text her back and let her know what our plans are. And text Dashie,” Sunset nodded, sending out the reply and the notice to Rainbow.

They pulled up to the Academy gates. Twilight got out their IDs and handed them over.

Collecting back their IDs, Twilight put them away and pushed them past the gate and into the Academy. Sunset continued texting.

“So who’re you texting now?” asked Twilight as they rolled towards their homeroom.

“I am sending a message to Kaori. Not sure if she and Stiyl want to come too. Figured I’d offer at least,” replied Sunset.

“That makes sense,” agreed Twilight. They arrived at the class. Putting away her phone, Sunset wheeled in while Twilight held the door for her. They took their places at the back of the class, prepared to study. The bell rang, roll was called, and everyone studied for the remainder of the period.

When the bell rang for the next period, Sunset and Twilight parted with a friendly hug, both heading off to their next classes.

After their classes, they gathered together for lunch before heading out to their internship for the afternoon.

Sunset turned to Twilight. “Can you ask our Judgment supervisor Mii if it’s okay for us to investigate? Normally I’d ask Kuroko to do it, but with the girls still gone, guess it’s up to us. We need her to get us access to the missing mage’s stuff and dorm room. I’d like to examine her belongings. I’m hoping we’ll find some clues about who else is involved, and maybe something that might lead us back to the coven she was working for.”

“On it!” agreed Twilight, typing into her phone. A minute later, she nodded and looked up. “She agreed. It’s all set, we have full access to her office, dorm room, whatever we need. We just tell them it’s Judgment business, and refer them to her if they have any questions.”

“Thanks, Sparky!” smiled Sunset

They finished lunch, then headed off to the Institute, this time to investigate.

When they arrived, Twilight informed their supervisor they had Judgment work they needed to do at the Institute today. She referred them to Mii. A quick phone call later they had access to the missing mage’s office as well as the keys for her room and personal lockers. Together she and Sunset went to the mage's office and let themselves in.

The first thing she noticed was that the room was well organized. Bound notebooks filled the bookcase over the desk. The shelves of the office were filled with boxes, labels handwritten and neatly displayed on each one. The papers on the desk were stacked in trays, the trash can was empty. Several bookcases lined the far wall, filled with titles on magic and esper powers. There wasn’t a spec of dust anywhere in the room.

“Wow,” said Sunset, looking around. “And I thought you were meticulous, Sparky.”

Twilight flashed her an annoyed look. “I am meticulous. This is something else. It looks like it’s been cleaned since she left. No way there wouldn’t be more dust in two days.”

“Sorry, didn’t mean to offend you,” said Sunset, rolling over to her friend. “And yes, that would certainly make sense. I wonder if they put anything away that was out while they were cleaning.”

Twilight rolled over to a terminal and attempted to log in. “Gah, annoying. She has some high-level security in place on this terminal. I’m going to call Kazari and see if she has any ideas on how to get into this thing without breaking it.” She took out her phone and dialed their friend.

While Twilight spoke with Kazari, Sunset began looking through the journals. They were written in Japanese, so she couldn’t do her usual speed reading on them. She skimmed through them, noting that most of them dealt with research on the incompatibility of esper and magic energies. As she skimmed she saw a reference to an artifact that supposedly mitigated the destructive nature of magical energy for espers.

“That’s new,” she noted. Reading further, she saw that apparently she had several samples of such artifacts she was testing for their properties. Noting their designations, she moved over to the shelves of boxes and looked for matches.

Finding one of the boxes, she carefully removed it and placed it on the workbench before the office windows. Opening the box, she saw a small red amulet, with a central gem, shaped as an alicorn head and wings in the setting. She breathed out in awe. “No way! Sparky! She was researching artifacts. I think she found this realm's version of the Alicorn Amulet!”

Twilight nodded to her and gave her a thumbs-up, still on the call with Kazari.

Reaching out with her magical senses, Sunset probed the amulet. She could feel dark magic deep in the amulet, so deep it was not easy to discern. She carefully flipped it over, examining the back. She could see runes etched into the edges of the amulet, but it was in a writing that was unfamiliar to her. She placed the Amulet back into the box, and set it aside on the workbench.

With a find like that, Sunset decided to scan the rest of the boxes, looking for any magical signatures, however slight. After running through all the shelves she found a total of seven boxes containing similar magical artifacts. She carefully set them all aside on the workbench with the amulet and went back to scanning the research notebooks.

Twilight hung up the phone. She typed several more commands. Seconds later, the terminal was at the normal workstation interface screen. “Thank you, Kazari. Whoever set that up really didn’t want anyone getting in. I wonder what we’ll find?” She started searching through the files and directories.

Sunset found some boxes and proceeded to box up the journals and artifacts. She pulled out several Judgment evidence labels she’d printed before they came over, applied the labels to the boxes then proceeded to input the inventory for each one into her phone. Twilight took a brief break from her work and moved the evidence boxes into her hammerspace portal.

Sunset continued to examine the office, looking for any further signs of magic or artifacts. She used her telekinesis, moving boxes and looking through drawers for anything that may be important or of interest. While she did that, Twilight continued to examine the files on the terminal. She created an encrypted archive of all the files on the terminal in a temporary directory on the system. When completed, she took out her fob, then used quantum entanglement to link the memory to the fob, and copied the archive over.

“Okay, I got it,” Twilight noted. She scrubbed the temporary directory and blank space on the drive to remove any evidence of what they'd done.

Sunset finished her search of the room with no further interesting finds. “You done there, Sparky? We got a dorm room to search if you are,” she grinned.

“Ready Freddy!” smiled Twilight.

“Okay then, onward!” smiled Sunset, opening the door. Twilight locked up the office as they left.

They left the Institute offices and headed over to the Institute dorms. They took the elevator to the second floor and strolled over to the room of the missing mage. Twilight used the keys to let them in.

Sunset rolled into the middle of the single-room apartment, extending her magical senses out. “There is strong magic in her,” she noted.

They spread out, searching for anything of note. Sunset especially looked for any additional magical artifacts.

As she rolled around the room, she looked for the source of the dark magic. Passing by the foot of the bed, she reached over and pulled up the mattress. There, under the bed visible through the frame slats, was a medium-sized box. Sunset could feel the magic radiating out from it.

She pulled the box out, and carefully opened the lid. Looking in, she let out a shocked gasp.

“Sweet Celestia! There’s another one!” she called out.

Reaching into the box carefully, she pulled out a blade almost identical to the one that had been used on Twilight. The only visible difference was some of the artwork and a few of the runes. The evil intent radiated from it. Sunset quickly put it back into the box.

“Ugh!” She shook her hand, wiping it on her opposite sleeve. “It makes sense they would have a backup, maybe one for each of us. But I seriously hope I never see another one of these again.

She turned to Twilight. “Sparky, can you toss this garbage in with the other one? I’d like to get our friends’ opinion on this one as well.”

“Sure thing, Sunny.” Twilight opened the portal and floated the box with the blade into her hammerspace. “I’ll keep it safe until we can show Necesarius.”

“Thanks, Sparky,” Sunset said, relieved. She continued to search the room, looking for other artifacts.

Twilight had found a box of notebooks and was going through those. “Okay, some interesting stuff here, but I don’t have time to go through all of it now.” She turned to Sunset. “Sunny, can you tag this box as evidence for me?”

“Sure thing!” Sunset answered, rolling over. She opened the box for a quick inventory, then closed the box and affixed a Judgment evidence sticker on it, recording the inventory and tag into her app on her phone. “All done!”

“Thanks, Sunny,” nodded Twilight, opening her hammerspace portal and moving the box in with the other evidence they had collected. Closing the portal, she went back to searching the room.

Sunset resumed her search. Near one of the bookcases, she found rocks, with runes on them. There were several boxes of them in the bookcase. Sunset examined one of the stones. “I can’t read these Runes. This is not a script or language that I know,” admitted Sunset in frustration. “I guess we will need to ask our friends about these as well.”

“Not like we weren’t going to anyway,” commented Twilight, skimming through the books in the bookshelf. “I’m sure even if they can’t read it, they’ll know someone who can.”

“Good point,” agreed Sunset as she continued rolling through the small apartment in her search for artifacts.

Twilight came over to tag and inventory the boxes of rocks found in the bookcase. When she finished, she moved them into her hammerspace as well.

A brief while later, they finished their search of the dorm room. They straightened everything up, then left. Twilight locked it up, and they returned to the institute where Twilight returned the keys to Mii, thanking her for the cooperation. Mii thanked them for their discretion.

They sat at the table in their small kitchen, sipping hot chocolates.

Twilight went to the door. She thanked the concierge for bringing up the take-out they ordered for dinner. Bringing it over to the table, she set the bags down.

“Okay,” Twilight said. “We’re just waiting on Stiyl and Kaori. They said they’d join us for dinner. They should be here soon.”

Shortly, Sunset’s phone pinged her with a message. Checking it, she rolled over to the door. “That was the concierge. The mages are on their way up,” she informed Twilight as she opened the door. Stiyl and Kaori were just stepping off the elevator. “Come on in!” Sunset invited, rolling back to let them by. The door shut as they passed by. They joined them at the table.

“Hope you didn’t have to wait too long,” offered Kaori as they sat down.

Rolling up to her spot next to Twilight, Sunset smiled. “Nah, only a bit. Happy to wait for you. Okay, grace, then let’s eat!”

She took Twilight’s hand. Everyone joined hands and bowed their heads as Sunset led them in harmonic grace. “Dig in please!” enjoined Sunset, passing the servings around.

“So, did you find anything interesting?” asked Kaori as she filled her plate.

“We did, in fact,” offered Twilight between sips of soup. “And we found another blade, similar to the first one. Nasty piece of work,” she shuddered, then took another sip of soup.

“It was. I really hate those things with a passion. I would love to meet these so-called old gods and show them what I really think of them,” Sunset growled, as she nibbled on her vegan tempura. “Anything that gets off on eternal torment deserves to be permanently dealt with in my book.”

“No disagreement from me,” nodded Stiyl as he tucked into his sushi. “A warning though, there’s a reason the old gods are old gods. Even as OP as you think you are, I would hesitate to face off against one of them. As powerful as you may be, I’m fairly certain any one of them would wipe the floor with you both.” He sighed. “Much as I would love to see anyone put them in their place.”

“Maybe someday,” agreed Kaori, also enjoying her soup. “I agree with Stiyl though. Girls, stay away from the old gods, at least for now if you can. Save that fight for another day. Maybe you’ll get more power. Or something. I know gods and goddesses grow. Honestly though, having had to deal with them before? Please don’t.”

“That’s disappointing,” sighed Sunset. “But it's good to know. Thanks for the warning.” She finished off her tempura and started on her soup.

“What else did you find?” prompted Kaori, filling the brief pause.

Twilight refilled everyone’s tea. Sunset thanked her. “Well,” stated Twilight, “We did find a great deal of notes. And several artifacts full of dark magic. We were hoping maybe you two might be able to read, or at least recognize the runes and the make of them.”

“Sure, we’ll take a look after dinner,” agreed Stiyl, finished with his sushi and sipping his soup.

“Sounds like a plan,” agreed Sunset, finishing up her soup. “Who’s up for dessert? We have servings of sweet noodles, as well as pastries and cupcakes.”

She got up from the table, clearing out the empty dinner trays, and exchanging them for the dessert trays on the counter. Twilight passed the trays to the mages. She set aside two servings for herself and Sunny, placed on the table by their empty dinner plates.

Sunset grinned at her BFF. “Thank you, Sparky!”

“For you, Sunny? Anything,” Twilight smiled back.

Kaori laughed. “You two are absolutely adorable,” she teased. Twilight blushed.

“Shuddup you,” grinned Sunset. “Just enjoy your dessert already.” Everyone laughed.

Dinner finished, kitchen cleaned, they sat in the living area, gathered around the boxes Twilight had pulled from her hammerspace with the artifacts and notes they collected during their investigation.

Sunset pulled out the first of the artifacts, the faux Alicorn Amulet, and handed it to Kaori to examine. Sitting next to her, Stiyl leaned over to examine it as well. “I see what you mean,” he commented. “I can feel the dark magic radiating out just as you stated. Clearly dark intent in this one.”

Kaori flipped it over to read the runes etched into the back. “What do you make of this?” she turned to ask Stiyl.

“Ancient Sumerian,” noted Stiyl. “Moloch, it’s tied to his magic. It’s sealed with Blood Magic, as are most of his artifacts. One of the worst of the old gods.” He shook his head. “Nasty piece of work, that one. This artifact essentially makes the wearer his avatar, giving them godlike power, but also his nasty thirst for human blood and suffering. It darkens the soul of its user, making them more like their master the more they use it.”

Kaori passed it back to Twilight, who placed it back into the box. She passed them the next artifact.

This one had three spikes in its center, stained with red that appeared to be dried blood. Stiyl took this artifact directly. Turning it over, he examined the runes with Kaori.

Stiyl shook his head. “This one belongs to Xipe Totlec, the Flayed God. Another nasty being, she was a Fertility god in the new world.”

Back in the box it went. The next one out had three pink fish surrounded by blue waves. “That’s Chalchiuhtlicue, goddess of birth and suffering,” Stiyl noted.

Then next one was three shredded red human hearts. “That’s Tonatiuh, the Sun God. He traded human blood for the strength to battle darkness,” continued Stiyl.

The next featured three diamond-shaped stars. “That’s Coatlicue, the night mother,” added Stiyl.

This was followed by an artifact with three ghosts in lightning bolts. “And that’s Huitzilopochtli, the collector of spirits,” continued Stiyl.

The last one was three crowned flies. “And that is Baal Zebub, prince of the flies, Lord of all suffering and master of the Outer Realms.”

Stiyl shook his head. “And this after I warned you to avoid the old gods. Well, I guess it can’t be helped. Nasty business.”

Twilight hugged Sunset. Sunset smiled. “I’m not going to worry about that. When the time comes, I’m sure things will work out.” She hugged her friend back.

Twilight returned all the artifacts to her hammerspace. She then removed the second ceremonial blade they recovered. She floated it over to Stiyl, who took it from her magic.

Turning it over, he and Kaori examined the markings on it. “Yes, as you suspected, this is a second sacrificial dagger,” Stiyl confirmed. “This one was meant for you, I believe Sunset, as it is tied directly to Baal Zebub.” Sunset shuddered, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.

“I can’t wait for the day when I can face that demon down and deal with him directly,” she shuddered. “It hurts me deeply to imagine something so foul hurting others.”

Twilight nodded, hugging Sunset again. Kaori and Stiyl nodded too. “If the Maker Wills it,” added Stiyl.

“Amen to that,” agreed Twilight.

Back into its box it went, and back into Twilight’s hammerspace. Next out were the boxes of notes. Stiyl’s eyes opened wide at the number of boxes. “Wow, that’s a lot of stuff to go through.”

“These are all the notes we collected. We were hoping you two could help us go through them and flag anything you find of note,” commented Sunset.

“Happy to help,” agreed Kaori, “Though this looks like more than an evening's worth of effort. Let’s table these for now, and find a time to go through them together later.”

The girls agreed, so Twilight returned them all to her hammerspace.

It was getting late, so Kaori and Stiyl excused themselves for the evening, agreeing to return tomorrow to begin going over the notes.

After they had left, Sunset turned to Twilight. “Okay, do you have time for a little fun? Or are you tired out and ready to head to bed?” she asked with a twinkle in her eyes.

Twilight grinned, “Just what do you have in mind, Sunny?”

“I think it’s time to visit a friend of ours again, and let her know what we’ve found,” answered Sunset. “Not that she probably doesn’t know already.”

Twilight smiled. “She does seem to stay remarkably well informed. I blame your great grandmother,” she laughed.

Sunset smiled. “They do seem to share. A lot.”

Sunset took Twilight’s hand, and they disappeared in a flash of Teal.

Looking around as they appeared in the Tranquility base receiving bay, the girls felt a pair of arms surround them.

“Oh my goodness! What a delight!” teased Chang’e, hugging them tightly. “Coming to visit me yet again! How delightful!”

“Hi Chang’e!” called out Sunset. “We found out more about the group that is after us. Have time for a chat?”

“For my dear friends, always!” smiled Chang’e, letting them go then taking Sunset’s hand. “Come! Let’s retire to my room and discuss what you’ve found.” She led them down the hall towards her, or rather ‘Dr. Hang’e’s’ quarters.

“Do you spend all your time here now?” asked Twilight as she pushed her friend.

“I still keep up my fortress,” answered Chang’e. “But I spend my time here. I have so missed having company. And everyone here is so kind and friendly. I delight in helping out with what I can.”

“And how is that?” questioned Sunset.

“Admittedly, it’s mostly with relationship advice,” smiled Chang’e. “Although I was able to help Dr. Long with a problem she was working on. The advantage to an extremely long life, I have seen techniques long forgotten. I was happy to share them with her.”

Twilight smiled. “I can’t wait to hear all about that. I’m always up for learning new techniques.”

Sunset turned to her friend with a grin, eyebrows wiggling.

Twilight laughed and smacked her arm. “Not what I meant, Sunny!” she laughed.

Chang’e smiled at them both. “You too really are a matched set,” she grinned. They arrived at Dr. Heng’e’s quarters. She opened the door and let them in. They moved over to the living room area, taking seats on the couch. Twilight sat on the end, next to Sunset in her chair.

Chane’e gathered up the gifts and notes from the table outside her door, taking them to her kitchen, where she set them on the counter next to a smaller pile already there. “I’m falling behind,” she noted with a smirk, returning to the living room area to sit with the girls.

“So,” Chang’e began, “What happened? Fill me in.”

“We searched the office and quarters of the woman who tried to kill me,” answered Twilight.

“And we found tons of notes, and several artifacts,” continued Sunset. “She also had another sacrificial knife, apparently this one was for me? I was to be offered to Baal Zebub.”

Chang’e blanched. “There’s a name I haven’t heard in a while. I’d always hoped someone would come along and put a nasty end to that nasty piece of work.”

Sunset nodded. “I volunteered. But was informed that I wasn’t up to the task and would just end up as another sacrifice.”

Chang’e nodded. “As much as it pains me to admit, few are. I myself would be in the same predicament. Maybe someday my dear. For now, you would not do well against him.”

Sunset nodded with a sigh. “Understood. I get it. But I look forward to the day when I don’t have to avoid those who make others suffer for their enjoyment. The day I can take down the elder gods and their sick fascination with eternal torment will be the most delightful day of my life.”

She turned to look at Twilight. “No one will ever think of hurting my dear ones again.” Her eyes flashed with a Teal burst of light, then went completely white. “No one,” she repeated in a lower voice.

Twilight looked concerned, but before she could say anything, Sunset’s eyes resumed their normal appearance. Sunset smiled at her. “So, want to hear the names of the elder gods we are apparently set against?” Sunset asked.

Twilight proceeded to relate the names Stiyl related to them when they reviewed the artifacts with the mages. At Chang’e’s request, Twilight brought out the artifacts, which she reviewed in interest.

“You have knowledgeable friends,” Chang’e agreed, returning the artifacts to Twilight. “Indeed, these are the anti-artifacts, opposing their Harmonious elements. Though the elder gods chosen to back these are a rather odd set. I am curious why Chalchiuhtlicue and Coatlicue for example would want anything to do with this mess. They never really struck me as the blood thirsty types, more interested in helping their followers than any really demented interests. Unlike Baal Zebub and Tonatiuh, both of whom have always delighted in the suffering of other creatures.”

Next Twilight brought out the sacrificial knife they had found. Chang’e opened the case, but did not touch the blade herself, turning it over in her magic. “Yes, this is Baal Zebub’s blade,” she commented, returning the knife to its box and sending it back to Twilight, who returned it to her hammerspace. “Everything about that creature is wrong. If ever there was a force that opposed Harmony, it would be him.”

Closing her eyes and shaking her head, Chang’e sighed. “I am sorry that you are the one that has been chosen to oppose him. You have my prayers and support, dear one,” Chang’e said, taking Sunset’s hands in her own. “Anything I can do to aid you in your efforts, I will do. You need only ask.”

Sunset smiled, squeezing Chang’e’s hands in return. “Thank you, Chang’e. You’re a dear friend.” She smiled.

Twilight pulled her into a hug. “We’ll get through this together, Sunny,” Twilight promised.

“Yes we will, Sparky. Together forever,” Sunset promised. A tear rolled down her cheek.

Chang’e smiled. ‘You have chosen well, Maker,’ she thought to herself as she watched the heartfelt exchange before her.

A while later, Sunset, Twilight, and Chang’e sat with Rainbow Dash in Chang’e’s castle gardens. Despite the lateness of the hour, they were clearly still having a delightful time.

“Thank you again for bringing this joy back into my life,” smiled Chang’e.

Sunset smiled at Chang’e. “And thank you and my dear great grandmother for being a part of our lives,” she answered.

“It was the Maker's Will,” smiled Chang’e.

“Indeed it was,” sighed Sunset, content. She sipped her tea.

Twilight served tea while they enjoyed some of the sweets Chang’e had set out. Dashie enjoyed the pastries that were set out, except for the pies Sunset and Twilight were clearly enjoying.

A while later, filled and content, they bade their hostess farewell for the evening, and returned to their apartment.

Sunset pulled her friend into a hug on her chair. Twilight hugged her tightly so Sunset wheeled them both into their bedroom to get ready for the night.

Once in the room, Twilight looked into her friend's eyes. “I love you, Sunset Shimmer,” she smiled.

“And I love you, Twilight Sparkle,” Sunset smiled back. She kissed her friend on the cheek, then gently lifted her into bed. “There you go! Curbside delivery!”

Twilight laughed. “You mean bedside, dork,” she grinned, leaning over and kissing her friend on her cheek. “Always have to kill the romance before it starts, don’t you,” she laughed.

“Romance, what’s that?” teased Sunset. “Isn’t that a type of lettuce?”

“That’s Romaine, dork,” laughed Twilight as she changed for bed. “You eat enough of the stuff, you ought to know.”

“Are you saying I eat like a horse?” accused Sunset, affecting shock. “I never! How could you say such a thing! I’m no horse. I’m a pony princess!”

Finished with her change, Twilight rolled onto the bed. Grabbing her friend, she pulled her into bed with her. “Really!” Twilight said, snuggling up to her friend who was not struggling very hard to escape. “You seem a little horsey to me,” she teased. She kissed her forehead, sniffing her hair. “Mane and Tail. Yup, a bit horsey.” She laughed as Sunset finally broke away and rolled back over to her side of the bed, transferring back to her chair.

“Oh hahaha! Make fun of my hair products, why don’t you!” she grinned. “I’ll have you know that brand is all the rage where I come from,” Sunset laughed.

“Don’t I know it,” smirked Twilight. “And tack is considered bedroom foreplay.”

“I regret the day I ever shared that with you,” sniffed Sunset in mock offense as she changed for bed. “Who knew you would use my very words against me!”

“I learned from the best!” agreed Twilight, scooping her friend back into bed with her when she finished dressing for bed.

“I wasn’t done yet, Sparky!” snarked at Sunset. “I still need to brush my pearly whites! And other stuff!”

“No worries! Let’s go!” Twilight rolled off the bed, looping Sunset’s bathroom bag over her shoulder. She scooped up her BFF and set her on her back. “Piggy back rides to the bathroom now in service!”

Sunset laughed, burying her face in her hands. “What would the girls say?” she groaned.

Twilight grinned as she carried her girlfriend into the bathroom.

Twilight waited outside the bathroom. “Alright, I’m ready! Come on in,” called out Sunset from the bathroom. Twilight opened the door and poked her head in.

“So, need me to scrub your back?” She snarked to her friend.

“Not going to let that go, are you Sparky?” sniped Sunset, sitting on the toilet, dressed and ready for bed.

“Nope,” Twilight grinned. “Hop on Sunny! Your chariot is ready!” She crouched down before Sunset, who leaned into her and held onto her shoulders. Twilight grabbed her legs and settled her onto her back, then stood heading back to their bedroom. “Sunset express, next stop bed! All aboard!”

Sunset blushing and hiding her face, laughed. “You’re enjoying this entirely too much I think!” she accused.

“Oh, don’t you know it!” agreed Twilight with a grin. Sitting down on the side of the bed, she lowered her friend into bed, then took the bag from her and placed it on the end table by Sunset’s side of the bed.

“Just like old times,” snarked Sunset, giving Twilight a kiss on the cheek. “Good night, Sparky!” she smiled, turning off the lights. The citiscape twinkled through the clear window as they dropped off to sleep, smiles plastered on their faces.

SciTwilight Sparkle and yes that is Tokyo Disneyland in the background. :twilightsmile:

04 - Sunset - The Goddess of the Hunt (Day 1)

Wednesday, September 10, 8:00 AM Tokyo time.

Sunset woke to the gentle buzzing of the alarm. The window had already opaqued. Twilight stirred gently in her arms.

“Good morning, Sparky,” smiled Sunset.

Twilight’s eyes fluttered open. She smiled. “Good morning, Sunny.” Twilight hugged her tightly, then sat up. “Rise and shine! Hump day! Another day of school.”

Sunset smiled. “What a way to start the day. My love batteries are completely topped off!” she grinned, pulling her into a hug. “Okay, love refills complete. Time to get up, hit the showers, then we start on breakfast.

“Actually let’s do breakfast first, then we can just go in together. It’ll be twice as quick!” grinned Sunset.

“Down girl!” teased her friend. “There is nothing quick about you in the shower.”

“What!?” countered Sunset. “Are you saying I’m slow?”

“More like, distracted,” smirked Twilight. “You think too much. I think the water lubricates your brain until it’s soaked and you have to get out.”

Sunset facepalmed. “Sparky, you are such a dork,” she laughed. “Come on, let’s go make some pancakes for breakfast.” She transferred over to her chair, grabbing her friend and pulling her into her lap. “Sparkle express, coming through!” she called out laughing as she rolled out into the kitchen. “Next stop, pancake junction!”

Twilight hopped off, then turned and took her friend's cheeks, pinching them lightly as she placed her forehead against her friend's head. “Sunny, you are such a dork,” she teased, kissing her friend's forehead. “Okay, let’s make some pancakes.”

Sunset had just rolled into the kitchen when her phone beeped with a message. Sunset read it and grinned. “Better triple the recipe,” she laughed. “That was the concierge. The girls are heading up for breakfast.”

“That’s odd,” smiled Twilight. “I didn’t think we would see them so soon. I thought they were still off on that trip they won.” She pulled out extra ingredients to accommodate their larger breakfast.

“I guess they got back early. Can’t wait to hear all about it,” agreed Sunset, rolling back to the door and opening it as the elevator pinged and four happy girls spilled out, followed by the concierge. “Come on in, girls, we’re making breakfast now,” she called out, smiling and bowing in greeting. The concierge smiled and bowed, then departed in the elevator with a grin.

The girls returned with Sunset to the kitchen. “Have a seat girls while we finish this up. Will just be a few moments.” The girls sat around the table chatting as they waited.

Twilight pulled out the ingredients while Sunset got out the pan, mixing bowl and utensils. Twilight dumped the ingredients into the bowl, handing it to Sunset to mix. She fired up the burner and oiled the pan, placing it on the burner. Sunset started making the pancakes while Twilight set the table and put out the condiments for breakfast.

“Nice nightgowns you two are wearing. No time for a shower today? Too busy with something else?” snarked Kuroko from the table. Twilight immediately turned beet red from embarrassment.

From her place by the stove Sunset turned to Kuroko. “Little sis, I will smite you!” she laughed. “Get your head out of the gutter. We just decided to eat first, and what we didn’t do is nobody's business. Behave girl!”

Kuroko and the girls all laughed.

“We just had quite an adventure! Magical Aztec magicians attacked the island we were staying on. We fought them off, but the island got destroyed. So we came back a little early and wanted to join you guys,” explained Mikoto.

“Wow, that sounds like a real adventure!” smiled Sunset as she rolled over and made two cups of coffee, extra dark as her BFF loved, then added cream and sugar to them both. She placed both cups at their places at the table as Twilight sat down to enjoy her coffee. Sunset brought over the pancakes then started working on the eggs and vegan bacon.

Twilight smirked as she watched her friend work. “You go girl!” She laughed as she raised her coffee in salute. “I could watch you work all day!”

“Slave driver!” teased Sunset, bringing over the tray of eggs and bacon. “You just like watching my moves!”

“Guilty as charged,” admitted Twilight with a grin. “I like watching you, period.”

Sunset rolled back over with the last of the food, and lightly punched her friend on the arm. “Such a dork!” she teased. She took a sip of her coffee. “Mmmm, just what I needed.”

“Anything for you, dear,” smirked Twilight.

Kuroko appeared right in front of Sunset. “You guys are so cool!” she chirped happily.

“Ah, that's so sweet of you to say,” smiled Sunset, pulling her into a hug. “Thank you little sis!” Kuroko beamed.

Twilight plated up the pancakes, eggs and bacon for the girls and BFF and passed their plates to them. When everyone had their food, Sunset led them in Harmonic grace.

Twilight and Sunset ate quickly. Sunset turned to the girls. “Girls, please clean up the kitchen so Twilight and I can finish getting ready. Arigato!” She turned to her friend. “Okay Sparky, shower time! Let’s see if we can do this in under ten minutes.” She rolled into the bedroom, grabbed her bathroom bag and school uniform, then headed out to the bathroom.

Twilight met her at the bedroom door, laughing and shaking her head. “Sunny, I swear you are such a dork. Do not make us late!” She grabbed her uniform as well then followed Sunset out and into the bathroom.

Sunset had already started her daily ritual, so Twilight closed the door. Sunset explained, “I guess it’s time for the mask to come off. No more secrets from you, Sparky. This is what I have to do every day.” Sunset completed her program while Twilight got into the shower and started bathing. Sunset rolled over to the shower. Twilight helped her finish getting undressed, then she transferred to the shower bench. Turning back on the shower, Twilight bathed her friend's back and legs while Sunset worked on her hair and the rest of herself she could more easily reach.

Twilight finished scrubbing up herself as well, then rinsed them both off. She stepped out of the shower, grabbing towels for them both, and handing one to Sunset, who proceeded to dry herself still sitting on the shower bench. She wrapped her hair in the towel, then transferred over to her chair from the bench and dressed in her school uniform.

Twilight, finished with drying, dressed in her uniform as well. She looked into the mirror, then flashed a minor spell, setting her hair in the style she liked. She then took out her makeup and touched up her face for the day.

Sunset, now dressed, smirked at her friend. “Such a cheater!” she laughed. She then proceeded to use the same spell, setting her hair as well.

Twilight smirked. “What’s that you always tell me? Pot, kettle, black?” She finished her makeup. Sunset rolled over and joined her.

“How are we doing on time?” asked Sunset as she applied her mascara.

Twilight checked her phone. “Wow, we are good. See how quick we can be when someone doesn't mess around?” she grinned. “We still have three minutes to spare.”

Sunset gathered up her kit, putting everything away. “Go us!” she laughed, rolling out of the bathroom and into their bedroom.

“Oh, la la!” teased Kuroko as she passed them by.

“Stuff it, little sister. We were good,” laughed Sunset as she rolled into her bedroom, trading her bathroom bag for her daypack.

Twilight grinned as she walked by Kuroko and the girls. “She’s always good!” she smirked. The girls all burst out laughing.

“Do not encourage them, Sparky!” called out Sunset as she exited the bedroom. “You are filling their young, delicate heads with silly thoughts!”

The girls all laughed, lining up by the door to go. Twilight led them all out, Sunset bringing up the rear, the door locking as it shut. They entered the waiting elevator and descended to the main lobby where they bid the customary good morning to the concierge.

They dropped off Ruiko and Kazari at their middle school, then rolled quickly to their academy.

As they headed to their school they were blocked by a line. Sunset was about to just teleport them past it when Mikoto excused herself seeing someone she knew at the front of the line. Grabbing Kuroko, Sunset teleported the three of them to their school gates, where after entering they said goodbye to Kuroko and headed to their homeroom. They rolled into their homeroom and took their seats just as their teacher entered.

“Welcome students! Please take your places for attendance,” she called out. When everyone was seated, she called roll. They then took out their books and began studying. When the bell rang, Sunset hugged Twilight goodbye, and they parted for their classes.

Classes were uneventful. Even Kuroko was well behaved today. After class they joined Twilight and Mikoto in the cafeteria. The pair had already picked up box lunches for Kuroko and Sunset so they sat down to join them in eating.

“Thanks, Sparky! Sorry we ran late. The teacher ran over, so she didn’t let us out at the bell. I guess she figured we could miss some lunch time to hear what she had to say,” explained Sunset as she scarfed down her rice.

Twilight looked at her friend askance. “You weren’t that late,” she commented. “You have plenty of time to eat. No need to try to shove it all in at once.” She ate her meal at a more normal pace.

Sunset nodded, taking smaller bites. “Yeah, good point, sorry about that. Just really hungry today.” She finished the last of her rice and moved onto the rest of her lunch. “I think I may go back in line and get another soup.”

“No need! I’ll get it for you!” chirped Kuroko. “Mikoto, do you want more too?” she asked her friend sweetly.

“Nah, I’m good. Thanks for asking, Kuroko,” grinned Mikoto, finishing the rest of her lunch.

“Okay, Twilight? Anything for you?” she asked.

“If you’re offering, yes please, I would like more miso soup as well. Thank you,” grinned Twilight.

“On it! Two more miso soups, coming up!” She ran over to the lunch line, taking her place at the end.

Mikoto laughed. “I don’t know what you’ve done to my roommate, but thank you!”

“She is just on her best behavior to impress you and her big sis,” grinned Twilight. “Sunset is a good influence on her. Mostly.”

“Oh har de har har,” grinned Sunset. “Mostly, Kuroko is a sweetheart. She just needed some encouragement to live it.”

Mikoto grinned. “She does have her moments,” she smiled. “Kind of like you two.”

“Hey, we have more than moments,” laughed Twilight. “We’re much more sophisticated than that.”

“If you say so,” grinned Sunset. “If I got any more sophisticated, you’d think I was Rarity.”

Twilight smirked. “We can’t have that! I fell in love with you, dork, not some suave sophisticated lady. Don’t go changing on me now.”

“No chance of that at this point,” agreed Sunset with a grin. “I may just have to get out my booty shorts, tie off my flannel shirt and wear my straw hat so I can do a little line dance for you.”

“I so regret ever telling you about that,” groaned Twilight. “Sunny, do not tease your BFF!”

“I think you would look good in that outfit,” smiled Kuroko, balancing three soups as she sat back down at the table with a gleam in her eyes. “I’d be happy to join you,” she offered.

“Do not encourage my beloved roommate, Kuroko. And for myself, do not put such silly thoughts in my little sister’s head,” Sunset admonished. Mikoto shook her head, grinning at their inane banter.

Kuroko passed the soup to Twilight and Sunset, keeping one for herself. “I decided I was still hungry too,” she noted. “Do you want to share it with me, Mikoto?” she asked her friend sweetly.

Rolling her eyes, Mikoto grinned at her roommate. “Sure, Kuroko, I’ll split it with you,” she laughed and scooted next to her friend. “Here, we’ll even share the same bowl. Happy now?” She asked, scooping up some soup and slurping it up.

“Oh, sissy! You’ve made me so happy!” chirped Kuroko, hanging on her roommate's arm.

“Boundaries, Kuroko. Respect your friend,” reminded Sunset, enjoying her soup as well.

Kuroko straightened up, still holding on to her friend's arm. “Sorry, sissy! Sorry, big sis!” She smiled and took her own spoon, sharing her soup with Mikoto.

“Ah, you two are so cute together,” grinned Twilight. Mikoto blushed while Kuroko beamed happily.

“Thank you so very much for the soup, little sister,” thanked Sunset. Twilight nodded as well.

“It was my pleasure,” grinned Kuroko, enjoying her moment sharing with her roommate.

Outside they could hear the sound of more rockets taking off. The sound and light of the rockets’ takeoff was hard to miss.

“So what’s up with that? Those rockets have been doing that since this morning,” asked Sunset.

“It’s probably rockets launching for the venus probe contest,” replied Mikoto. “They started launching this morning.”

They finished off their soups and cleared their places. Sunset and Twilight excused themselves, and with hugs all around the girls parted for their afternoon classes. “See you both at Judgment!” called out Kuroko as they parted.

After school, they all met at the Judgment branch 3 offices. Kuroko got their assignments from Mii then they departed to their assigned patrol. At Sunset’s request, they were assigned to patrol together, which Mii agreed to readily as she was also concerned for Sunset and Twilight’s safety after the attack on Twilight earlier.

Arm badges in place, the girls, joined by Mikoto and Ruiko, left for their customary patrol in the entertainment district. They stayed together loosely, in three groups. Sunset and Twilight took the lead, while Kuroko and Kazari worked the opposite side of the street. Mikoto and Ruiko trailed them, watching both sides for anything suspicious and reporting anything they observed via the girls' cells.

The evening wore on, with the usual busy work of clearing up budding arguments, finding lost parents for concerned children, and the occasional thwarting of a purse snatcher or running sneak thief. Sunset was beginning to think that maybe it was too soon to expect the coven to try anything again.

Sunset received a text from Mikoto. “Suspicious individuals spotted. Two tracking teams seem to be trading off, letting you pass them, then reappearing ahead of us a short time later. Pictures attached.” Four slightly grainy long range full body shots of student-aged young women appearing to be busy shopping or otherwise engaged, all while facing the street in the direction of the person taking the shots.

“Excellent work, Mikoto,” sent Sunset back. “Did they see you taking the pictures?”

“I don’t think so,” replied Mikoto. “I had Ruiko pose for them, and pretended I was photographing her. We’ve been acting like ditzy shopping school girls the entire time.”

Sunset smirked. ‘Not too much of a stretch for Ruiko,’ she grinned.

“What’s that look for?” smiled Twilight, leaning over from behind her friend to whisper into her ear. “Good news?”

“You could say that,” agreed Sunset, looking ahead and smiling. “It appears our unbanded helpers have found our tail and marked them. Today could end up being a very good day.” She turned and grinned at her friend. “Time to get some coffee. When we get to the StarBurst Coffee shop up ahead, let’s go in and rattle some cages.”

Twilight smiled. “So you spotted them?”

“Yup. One of them is sitting in the shop now. Time to join them for some coffee I think,” Sunset quipped.

Twilight grinned ear to ear. “Your wish is my command, Sunny.” She took hold of Sunset’s chair, and announced loudly, “Coffee break, Sunny. Let’s go, I’m buying,” then proceeded to push her towards the coffee shop then into the shop. Following Sunset’s glance, she parked her at a table next to one of the only other girls in the shop. “Wait here, sweety. I’ll go get us some coffee.” She got into the line to order.

Sunset took out her phone, playing with it for a few moments. Looking up, she smiled at the other girl at the next table over. “Hi! How’s it going?” she asked nicely. “Come here often? I’ve never tried this place myself, what would you recommend?”

“Oh, no, I just stopped in to get a quick energy boost while I’m shopping,” covered the other girl with a smile. “My friends went ahead without me. I just needed to take a break from all the shopping.”

Sunset laughed. “I can relate to that. My girlfriend will shop me to exhaustion if I let her. I admire her energy.”

“So you’re shopping now?” asked the girl.

“Nah, on break now. We’re with Judgment, doing our afternoon patrol. You know, breaking up fights, finding missing parents, the usual. Boring but busy,” Sunset answered. “So what school do you go to?”

“Sakugawa Middle School,” replied the girl, sipping her coffee calmly.

“Oh wow! I have some friends that go there!” responded Sunset excitedly. “Do you know Toma Kamijo?”

The girl laughed. “I think everyone there knows Toma, and his silly roommate. Some nun or something. I swear every time I see her she’s eating.”

“Yup! That’s him. Yeah, I swear that girl is going to eat him out of house and home,” laughed Sunset. “Hey, want to sit with us? Unless you need to go or something. We were just taking a quick break anyway.”

“I have to leave when my friends finish, but sure! I could use some company while I wait for them to finish their shopping.” She got up and took a seat next to Sunset. “My name is Sally, by the way. Nice to meet you.” She bowed.

Sunset bowed back. “Sunset, and my friend heading back with my coffee is Twilight, my girlfriend.”

Twilight handed Sunset her coffee, and took a seat next to her. “Who’s your friend, Sunset?” she asked. Turning to the girl, Twilight bowed and smiled. “Hi! I’m Twilight. Who might you be?”

The girl smiled and bowed back. “My name’s Sally. I was just chatting with your friend here while I waited for my friends to finish shopping. Personally, I was done shopping hours ago.” She laughed.

Twilight laughed. “A girl that hates shopping as much as you, Sunset? Oh no! I better keep my guard up!” She quipped. “Personally, I’m with your friends. Shopping is fun.”

“If you say so,” smirked Sunset, sipping her coffee. “Thanks Twilight, this hits the spot.”

Sally smirked. “Yeah, if you say so. You would definitely get along with my friends.” She sipped her coffee.

Sally’s phone buzzed. She checked the message and frowned. “Well, that was brief. Sorry, I have to join them, they’re done. It was nice meeting you both!” She finished up her coffee.

“Oh, hey, if you have to leave, I’ll clean up for you. Don’t want to keep your friends waiting.” Sunset reached for her hand with the cup.

“Nah, no worries. It’s just one cup. I’ll just toss it on the way out. Nice meeting you two!” She got up, waved, and headed out the front of the shop, throwing her cup out as she passed the trash on the way out the door. She met up with three friends, and they continued down the street.

“Should we follow them?” asked Twilight, going to get up.

“Nah, I got a tracker on her. Mikoto has it covered,” answered Sunset, pulling Twilight down next to her. Sunset turned up the volume on her phone.

“We’re blown, I was made,” they heard Sally say. “Let’s head back.”

Twilight’s eyes got big. “When the heck did you get that on her? You never even touched her.”

“I misdirected. While she thought I was trying to lay a tracking spell on her hand taking her trash, I landed a tracker on the bottom of her blouse. She never saw or felt it,” grinned Sunset.

“Dang girl, you're good!” nodded Twilight.

They watched Mikoto and Kuroko trade pairs. They headed out down the street after the girls, keeping to the edges of the crowd and out of sight. “Now there’s a pair to watch. Look at the smooth way they cover for each other. They clearly have more practice at this than they let on,” noted Sunset with approval. They finished their coffees and followed from a distance, Ruiko and Kazari now on the opposite side of the street marking them.

Ahead of them, they saw the girls dart down a side alley. “They’re making their move! On them!” called out Sunset. Twilight grabbed the back of Sunset's chair and started sprinting down the street, Sunset holding on tightly to keep from getting pitched from her chair. Kazari and Ruiko ran down the street, then down the alley after their friends. Sunset and Twilight rounded the corner to the alley just in time to see the amber flash as the four girls teleported away, Kuroko and Mikoto right on their heels. Mikoto was left holding a black sweater. Kuroko reappeared a few moments later, covered in frost.

“Damnit, I missed them,” she groused, slamming her fist into the wall at the back of the alley.

Sunset rolled up to them. “Hang on a second, I can still sense their ethereal trace. It hasn’t completely faded.” She held her arms out, closing her eyes. A teal glow surrounded her, lighting up the alley they were in. Her eyes opened, completely white and glowing intently. “Got ‘em. The trace comes out in the Northern Kingdom,” she said, electricity crackling from her outstretched hands. She pulled her hands together, and a beam of pure light shot from her straight up into the sky, lighting up the alley and the surrounding city.

“Well, if they had any friends watching, that wasn’t subtle,” noted Kuroko, still out of breath and covered with frost.

Sunset blinked, her eyes returning to normal. “No, that was me being the opposite of subtle. I dropped a little door prize on their coven. Just a little calling card to let them know I’m coming for them,” Sunset smiled. “Nothing they can do about it now. Too bad for them.”

In northern Scotland on the grounds surrounding the Coven of the Sorores Deorum Veterum, the sisters of the elder gods, now burned into the acres surrounding the manor was the outline of a blazing phoenix. An angry goddess had left her mark. Mars was coming. The hunt was on and her prey had been marked.

The girls returned to the coffee shop, Sunset treating them to a well deserved rest after the action they had just seen. As they quietly sipped their lattes and ate their danishes, Sunset recapped.

“Okay, that turned out much better than I expected. We have them tagged, we know who they are, and they know not to mess with us. I think the display I left them will give them pause. We can regroup for a bit. That said, don't let your guard down. I do not want to lose any of you, especially not when we are this close to wrapping this up,” Sunset directed. “Everyone, keep your wits about you. No one is alone from this point forward. For now, you girls are moving in with Twilight and I until I say otherwise. We’ll make the calls to make that happen.”

Kuroko did a little fist pump, Mikoto grinned, and Ruiko and Kazari hugged happily.

“What about Toma and Index?” noted Twilight.

“Good point. I’ll get a hold of Toma and find out what he thinks. They are welcome too if they feel threatened,” agreed Sunset.

Kuroko scowled. “Really? Tell me he isn’t going to live with us?” she groused. Mikoto looked conflicted.

“No, we don’t have enough beds for everyone in the apartment. But I have a solution for that if it comes to it,” responded Sunset. “We’re not leaving anyone exposed at this point. Anyone they might try to hurt to get to us, we protect.”

“We need to let Necesarius know what happened. Especially as you just stirred up a hornets nest in their backyard,” added Twilight.

Sunset nodded. “True that. Okay, I’ll call them right after Toma. I can do that while you file the action reports.” Twilight nodded in agreement.

Everyone finished their snacks and cleaned up. Kuroko led them on one more sweep of their patrol, then they all retired to the Judgment Section 3 offices to file the reports for the evening before heading back to the girls’ apartment.

While they worked on the reports Sunset called Toma.

When he answered, Sunset replied, “Moshi Moshi. Sunset desu. Toma san wo onegaishimasu.”

Toma replied, “Hai, Toma de gozaimasu.”

Sunset switched back to English. “Toma, the coven that tried to kill Twilight may come after you and Index. Do you want our protection?”

“What do you think they might do?” asked Toma.

“I have no idea at this point. I did a light attack on their Coven grounds, just to let them know we know where they are and mean business. They may do nothing at this point, or they may come after you two and our other friends. I’d rather play it safe and have you both come stay with us than be sorry later,” Sunset admitted.

“So things are escalating. We’ll see then. I’ll call back later if we can go,” Toma replied.

“We’re going to bunker down. We have the tokens to get to you in an emergency, but with your track record on magical artifacts, I’d rather not depend on them at this point,” Sunset responded.

“We’ll see. Sounds like fun if we can. I’ll let you know,” Toma grinned.

“Okay. Shitsurei shimasu.” Sunset hung up.

Sunset waved to Twilight, giving a wrist roll. Twilight smiled, gave a thumbs up, then went back to the reports with Kuroko.

Sunset dialed Kaori. “Hi Sunset, what’s up?” Karoi answered.

“I tracked down and attacked the coven that tried to kill Twilight,” answered Sunset.

“Damn girl, that was fast. What happened?” Kaori asked, concerned.

“We noticed a team of them shadowing us during our patrols. So I confronted one of them, without letting on that I knew anything. They spooked, bolted, and teleported to the coven. I followed the trace and left a three acre calling card at their doorstep,” related Sunset. “Basically, I burned a Phoenix onto the grounds surrounding the coven. I didn’t want them guessing who had tracked them down, so I made it easy on them.”

Kaori laughed. “Sunset, you don’t disappoint! Wow.”

Sunset groaned. “Yeah, I may have overdone it a bit. Whatever.”

“A bit,” agreed Kaori. “So what’s next?”

“Well, Twilight and I invited Toma and Index to come stay with us for a bit in case the coven decides to attack them to get at us,” related Sunset. “And we invited Mikoto and her friends to stay with us as well.”

“Toma and Kuroko in the same apartment? Hope you have good insurance,” quipped Kaori.

“They promised to get along, and I have some ideas that might help there,” noted Sunset.

“I’ll come join you, maybe I can help out as well,” agreed Kaori.

“Okay, see you for dinner then,” noted Sunset. “Shitsurei shimasu.” She hung up.

“Kaori will be joining us for dinner as well,” she called out to Twilight. Twilight nodded and gave a thumbs up.

When the reports were finished and submitted, they checked out for the day, returning to Sunset and Twilight’s apartment. Twilight let the concierge know they would be entertaining the young girls for the foreseeable future, plus one more adult. She arranged for a large traditional Japanese dinner to be delivered, along with several orders of large pizzas and drinks. Twilight thanked her with a bow, then returned to join the girls as they entered the elevator.

“Dinner is sorted. We even got extra pizzas to keep everyone happy,” smiled Twilight as the doors closed.

When the doors opened, Twilight led them over to the apartment and let them in. The door closed behind Sunset as she rolled in. “Everyone pack up! We’re moving the party to the bunker. Gather what you need for the night and tomorrow, then we’ll go,” informed Twilight, heading into the bedroom to pack her things. The girls ran into the guest bedroom to gather anything they had left, then sat on the couch waiting for Sunset and Twilight to be ready.

Mikoto ran up to Sunset. “I have to get our things from our room. I’m just going to run over and get them then be right back. Start without me please?” she requested.

Sunset agreed so Mikoto left the apartment and took the elevator down to the lobby, off to run her quick errands.

Sunset rolled over to Twilight as she finished in the bedroom. “Can you go ahead with the girls to the bunker? I’ll wait here for Toma, Index, Kaori, and Mikoto, then join you with them and our dinner. Sounds like a plan?”

“Sounds good to me, Sunny,” Twilight agreed. She walked over to the girls. “Okay girls, who’s first? Time to head to the bunker.”

Kuroko took Twilight’s hand. “I'm ready!” she grinned.

Twilight pulled her close. “Okay, on three!” And they disappeared in a flash of magenta.

“She didn’t even let her count!” gasped Kazari.

With a magenta flash, Twilight appeared before Kazari and Ryoko. “Boo!” she called out, pulling them both into her arms as they shrieked in shock. With a flash of magenta, they all vanished.

Sunset facepalmed, laughing hysterically. “Oh sweet Celestia, you are horrible!” she laughed. While she was still laughing the door opened. The concierge let in Kaori.

“What did I miss?” grinned Kaori.

“Twilight just pranked the girls with a surprise teleport. I’m surprised you couldn’t hear the terrified screams from the hall,” she laughed.

“Damn, sorry I missed it!” laughed Kaori. “So, who are we waiting on?”

“Just waiting on the food and Mikoto, and Index and Toma if they are coming,” noted Sunset.

“The food’s been ordered. It should be ready in another twenty minutes or so,” noted the concierge as she went out the door.

“Thank you!’ called out Sunset as she left. Sunset’s phone rang. She answered it then hung up after a brief conversation. “Sounds like it’s just us. Toma and Index are staying to help Stiyl.”

“I just hope Toma and Stiyl can get along. I know Stiyl still isn’t exactly fond of him,” laughed Kaori.

“I’m sure they’ll be fine,” Sunset laughed. “Now we just have to wait for the food and Mikoto.” She took out her phone and started browsing through her messages, laughing at several from Rainbow Dash relating the pranks she and Chang’e were playing with the base staff.

Eventually she received a text message from the concierge. “The food is here. Bringing it up now,” she read. She rolled over to the door and opened it as the concierge rolled two large carts full of food out of the elevator.

“Wow, that’s a lot of food. Thank you!” she said as the concierge rolled it through the door and into the living area. “Okay, I got this. Domo arigato!” The concierge bowed and left, shutting the door behind her.

Sunset resumed reading messages on her phone as they waited for Mikoto. Sunset got a ping from the concierge, rolling over to the door as Mikoto stumbled in with a full backpack.

“I ran into Toma and Index. I reminded them about the curfew then raced back over,” she informed them as she caught her breath.

“Good! Grab ahold girls, and we'll head out,” advised Sunset. Mikoto and Kaori both placed their hands on her shoulders as Sunset took a cart handle in each hand, then in a flash of Teal, they and their food disappeared.

With a flash they appeared in the bunker control room. She wheeled out of the room and into the main room. “Food’s here! Come and get it!” she called out.

Twilight went into the control room and brought out the carts, setting the serving trays on the table. Everyone took a place at the table where Sunset led them in harmonic grace, then they all dug in.

Everyone sated, Sunset suggested they enjoy the spa for a bit while they let their food settle. She and Twilight cleared away the leftovers and cleaned up while the others changed for the spa. The girls all piled into the bedroom to grab swimsuits if they wanted, then ran into the bathroom to change and bathe.

“I got this, Sparky! Go ahead and join them. I’ll join you as soon as I’m finished,” smiled Sunset as she shifted trays around to fit into the fridge. “We really need to eat more of this. Not that it’s going to go bad with the enchantments we put on it, but we are running out of room,” she laughed. “And I refuse to hammerspace our fridge!”

Twilight laughed. “Good point. Okay, see you in a few!” She gave Sunset a hug then ran in to join the rest of the girls in the bath. Sunset combined a few trays, managing to get everything in the fridge to fit that way. She washed out the extra trays and placed them onto the carts, then wheeled them into the control room to return later.

Finished, she wheeled into the bathroom. Half the girls were already in the bath, while the rest were finishing scrubbing up on the stools. Sunset wheeled over to her stool, stripped down, putting her uniform into the basket, then transferred over to the stool. She then filled the bucket, sprayed herself down and started scrubbing up.

“Hurry up, slowpoke!” teased Twilight, sitting in her usual spot. “I’m saving your space, but this bath is filling up fast!”

“Hey, you can’t hurry perfection,” snarked Sunset back. “Almost ready!” She finished scrubbing then dumped the bucket of water over herself, rinsing her hair and body. Ready at last, she transferred back over to her chair and rolled up to the rig to lift her into the spa. Buckling herself in, she nodded to her friend, who swung her out over her seat and down into the warm spa. Settled, she unbuckled from the rig and set it on the side.

“Ah, that’s what I needed. Warm water, a good scrub, and my dear friends,” she smiled, eyes closed.

Twilight pulled her into a side hug. “You and I both, Sunny,” she agreed. Sunset snuggled into her hug, nodding, eyes still closed.

Kuroko squeed quietly. Hearing her, Sunset opened one eye, and smiled at Mikoto with an evil grin.

“You know, it’s too bad Toma couldn’t join us, then you could have snuggled with your boyfriend,” she teased.

“Shuddup! Toma’s a jerk!” yelled Mikoto, blushing fiercely.

Kuroko shot an evil look at her big sissy. “I hate you so much right now,” she groused.

Sunset reached across the spa and pulled her into a hug. “Ah, but I love you so much, Kuroko! I never want to share you with anyone!”

Still grumbling, Kuroko snuggled into the hug. “Still hate you,” she grumbled as she snuggled up to her big sister. Mikoto laughed, still blushing madly.

Twilight chuckled. “I swear, you three are absolutely adorable,” she teased.

“You’re one to talk,” teased Sunset back, pulling her into the hug too.

“People pile!” shouted Ryoko, snuggling up to Twilight. Mikoto and Kazari joined her while Kaori just laughed.

“Oh my gosh, your herd is adorable,” she teased, alone on her side of the spa. “What a pair of mama bears you are.”

“Hey, who said you could sit this one out?” snarked Sunset from the middle of the pile of people.

“Raincheck,” snarked Kaori back. “I’m getting enough of a sugar rush just sitting here.”

“Whatever. I’ll get you later,” promised Sunset with a grin.

The girls sat snuggled up for the remainder of the soak, Kaori smirking the entire time. When it was time to get out, they reluctantly got out of the spa, dried off, and got dressed for bed.

Kaori decided to bunk in the middle room. The herd moved into Sunset and Twilight's bedroom, snuggling around them in the bed as they usually did. Sunset grinned happily as she laid in bed with her dear friends. “I love you all so much,” she said with a happy smile. Kuroko snuggled up closer, smiling back. “I love you too, big sis,” she said, closing her eyes and falling asleep. Twilight, snuggled up with Mikoto, Ryoka and Kazari at her feet, drifted off to sleep smiling happily as well.

Author's Note

And we start the next arc, just as the Venus Probe contest kicks in on the Road to Endymion. Looks like Stiyl, Toma and Index will have their own thing to do with some occasional interaction from their friends.

And our little newly minted redheaded goddess is on the hunt. No one hurts her friends. No one. :trixieshiftleft:

The Hunt begins.

06 - Sunset - The Goddess of the Hunt (Day 3)

Friday, September 12, 8:00 AM Tokyo time.

Twilight woke to the alarm; rolling over she shut it off. With a stretch and a grin she turned to Sunset at her side, who was facing her while a smile graced her sleeping features. Looking over Sunset’s shoulder, she saw Kuroko also grinning happily in her sleep snuggled up tightly to Sunset, her big sissy, with her arms wrapped around her sissy tightly.

“That girl,” thought Twilight with a wry smirk. “I need to keep an eye on her. And do I even want to know what she’s dreaming?”

“Probably not,” yawned Sunset with a smirk, eyes still shut. She opened them slowly and smiled at her BFF. “Good morning, Sparky. Have I told you how beautiful you are?”

“Only every chance you get, flatterer,” grinned Twilight. “Back at you. And good morning to you too.” She leaned forward and planted a kiss on her friend's cheek. “You look pretty cute yourself, Sunny. First dibs on the shower!” She laughed as she rolled off the bed and grabbed her school uniform, leaving the room to take her shower.

“You dork,” teased Sunset back. “Way to volunteer me for herd patrol and breakfast.” She extracted herself from Kuroko’s grasp and sat up on the bed by her chair. Kuroko reached out in her sleep, wiggling towards the center of the bed until she felt Mikoto, who was still snoring, sound asleep. She wrapped her arms around Mikoto and snuggled into her, smiling in her sleep.

Feeling herself being pulled into the embrace, Mikoto woke. She looked over to see who was hugging her so tightly. Seeing the happy face of her roommate, she raised an eyebrow then turned to Sunset.

“Uh, what is going on here?” she asked in confused concern.

“Friendship, I think,” smirked Sunset in reply. “Though, with your sissy, you never can really tell.”

“She’s not my sissy!” insisted Mikoto, looking askance at her roommate. “She’s your sissy.”

“Nah. I hear her call you sissy too all the time,” smiled Sunset.

“You do know what the little pervert means by that, don’t you?” asked Mikoto, looking at Sunset confused.

“Well duh. Sissy is short for sister,” replied Sunset, still smiling.

“No. With my roommate, the pint sized pervert, sissy is what she calls any girl she has fallen in love with. Which it seems is now both of us,” replied Mikoto.

“Fallen in love? Like sisters, right?” confirmed Sunset, now looking confused.

“No, like concubines,” snarked Mikoto, grinning at Sunset’s confusion.

“Ah. Wait! No no no. That can’t be right, can it?,” Sunset replied. She blanched. “She thinks of both of us like that?”

“That’s why she has the nickname The Pint Sized Pervert,” confirmed Mikoto with a straight face.

Sunset pulled Kuroko off of Mikoto and over to her, setting her in her lap. Kuroko woke, and seeing herself in her sissy’s lap, threw her arms around her in an embrace, snuggling tightly. “Good morning, sissy!” she called out happily.

Taking Kuroko’s head gently in her hands, she kissed her forehead. “Good morning to you too, little sister.” She faced her little sister, looking into her eyes. “We need to have a serious talk.”

Sunset woke the rest of the girls, sending them to get ready in the other room while she had a chat with their little friend. They gathered their clothes and moved out to the bathroom. Twilight was just stepping out, fully dressed and ready for the day.

“Good morning, girls!” greeted Twilight as they smiled, bowed, and rushed into the bathroom behind her. “Where is Sunset? I thought she was making breakfast. And where is Kuroko?” she asked in confusion.

“Sunset said she had to have a serious talk with her, and told us to get ready without her,” stated Mikoto. She leaned in and whispered to Twilight, “I told Sunset what sissy means to Kuroko. It means concubine,” she stated sagely.

Twilight grinned in response. “I take it she didn’t realize that. So I can imagine that’s what their talk will be about, not that it’s any of our business. Right?”

“Right,” agreed Mikoto, following the other two into the bathroom. They shut the door and started getting ready for the day.

“Guess I’ll start breakfast myself then,” mused Twilight. She headed into the kitchen. She put a pot on the stove and started the porridge. Grabbing herself some coffee while she waited for it to boil, she reviewed the data from the drone on her phone. The blooms were continuing to grow and multiply.

The water started boiling, so she put in the mix and set the table then returned to her coffee and data.

A short while later the girls emerged from the bathroom dressed and ready for the day. Twilight served up the porridge to the girls, who pulled the toppings and juice from the refrigerator. They served themselves and started eating.

“Girls, I’m going to go check on Sunset and Kuroko. Be right back,” Twilight informed them. She left her coffee at the table and walked over to their bedroom. She could hear Sunset talking from behind the door.

Twilight knocked twice gently on the door then opened it just a bit. She poked her head in. Sunset was just finishing her discussion with Kuroko, who was now crying and sitting on her lap looking sorrowfully and intently into her big sister’s eyes.

“And that’s why you need to stop. Mikoto loves you, Twilight loves you, and I love you. Dearly. With all our hearts. But not like that. You need to stop trying to force others to love you that way. When the time comes, and the relationship is right, you will find the love you are looking for. But right now, trying to force us into something we are not ready for and not comfortable with is just hurting everyone. It’s also hurting you, and we love you so much! We don’t want you hurt and we don’t want you hurting yourself. Do you understand?” Sunset asked.

Kuroko nodded sadly. Sunset pulled her into a hug and a kiss.

Twilight felt a tear roll down her cheek. She opened the door fully and sat down on the bed beside them and pulled them both into her embrace.

“Sunset is absolutely right, Kuroko. We love you with all our hearts! I never want to see you or any of you hurt!” Twilight kissed Kuroko’s cheek. “Please don’t be sad! You are a beautiful young girl! And someday, someone will be so lucky to have you. For now, though, we have you and love you so much we never want you not to be a part of our lives!”

Kuroko sobbed and smiled, held tightly by the girls. Sunset and Twilight held her in a loving, tight embrace. Even Sunset was crying at this point. After a few minutes, Kuroko stopped sobbing. Twilight gently rubbed her back while Sunset stroked the back of her head. Both of them snuggled her tightly. Eventually Kuroko looked up at them, smiling through her tear stained face. “Thank you. Thank you both. I love you both so much!” she exclaimed.

Sunset kissed her cheek. “We love you too, little sister!”

Twilight kissed her other cheek, “Yes we do, and always will. You are and will forever be our little sis.”

Pulling Kuroko gently off of Sunset, Twilight set her down and instructed her, “Go get your stuff to get ready for school. I’m taking you out for breakfast. My treat. Come on.”

Kuroko rushed over to grab her bag and clothes then went back to Twilight’s side.

“Be right back, Sunny,” smiled Twilight as she dried her tears. She kissed Sunset on the cheek then took Kuroko’s hand. “Ready Freddy?” she asked.

“Ready Freddy,” smiled Kuroko at Twilight.

“Back in a flash, Sunny!” called out Twilight happily. They disappeared in a flash of magenta.

“Literally,” smiled Sunset as they disappeared. She dried her tears as well then gathered up her things for the bathroom in order to get dressed for the day. She rolled out into the main room.

“Girls, Twilight and Kuroko had to go out for a bit. They’ll be back. I’m going to get ready for the day. Save me some breakfast, please?” Sunset asked.

“Sure thing!” agreed Mikoto. “I didn’t get Kuroko in trouble, did I? You’re not getting rid of her, are you?” she asked, starting to look alarmed.

“No, we’re not getting rid of anyone,” assured Sunset. Mikoto looked relieved. “Twilight is just helping Kuroko get ready. We’re running a bit behind, so she took her to another shower to get cleaned up for the day while I use this one. And to breakfast so she can have a chance to talk with her I would imagine.

“But no, no one is getting tossed out.

“I’ve said it before. So has Twilight and we meant it. We love you girls. We consider you family. Family is forever. Even if you make a mistake. Actually, especially if you make a mistake, because that’s when you need your friends and family the most.”

The girls all smiled in relief. Sunset continued. “So I’m going to get ready then grab a quick bite to eat. We will head out for school after that. Get your things ready. We’re going to have to roll quickly to stay on schedule.” She rolled into the bathroom to start getting ready for the day.

The girls finished up their breakfasts and coffees then rinsed their dishes and put them in the dishwasher. They left out the covered pot of porridge and Sunset’s setting as well as the condiments. After that, they rushed into the room and grabbed their backpacks, then waited at the table for Sunset to finish her shower.

Sunset rolled out of the bathroom a few minutes later, cleaned, dressed, and ready for the day. She rolled up to the table and served herself a portion of the porridge with some tasty toppings. She quickly drank the coffee one of the girls handed her.

While Sunset scarfed down her breakfast, the girls put the porridge and the rest of the food in the refrigerator, then rinsed the serving dishes and placed them in the dishwasher. Sunset finished up then rinsed her own dishes, adding them to the washer. The girls dropped in the pellet and turned on the machine. While they finished that, Sunset rolled into the room and traded her bathroom bag for her daypack.

Rolling back out, she called out to the girls, “Ready Freddy?”

“Ready Freddy!” they called back, racing over to join her.

“Shortcuts today. Everyone hold on to me,” Sunset called out. Once everyone had a hand on her, they disappeared in a flash of Teal.

They appeared in front of Ruiko and Kazari’s school and she dropped them off. They waved, hurrying off to their classes as Sunset took Mikoto by the hand.

“Okay, our turn,” Sunset grinned. In a flash of Teal they disappeared.

And reappeared in front of the Tokiwadai gates. The student on duty looked up from the textbook she was studying. Seeing who it was she waved them in, lifting the barrier from her booth.

Sunset and Mikoto bowed in thanks to her as they rushed through the gate and to their classes. “See you at lunch, Mikoto!” called out Sunset as they headed their different ways. Mikoto waved as she entered her classroom building.

Sunset rolled quickly over to her own class building and entered with a few other girls who were running late, then she made her way down the halls towards her homeroom class.

As she did a magenta flash brightened the hall and Twilight appeared beside her.

“There you are!” called out Twilight happily as she took her handles and pushed her quickly towards their homeroom.

“Where’s Kuroko?” asked Sunset over her shoulder.

“Just dropped her off at her homeroom. She just joined Mikoto,” informed Twilight as she wheeled them into their homeroom and towards their desks.

“Ah. Makes sense,” nodded Sunset as she got out her books and settled into her desk.

“Yeah. We were running late getting back so we weren't sure where you’d be. I was surprised to find you here already,” continued Twilight.

“Used the pendant?” asked Sunset as she pulled out a textbook in front of her in order to prepare to study.

“I used the pendant to track you and the girls, yes,” confirmed Twilight, at her desk and now ready for homeroom with a book in hand.

“That makes sense,” agreed Sunset. “So where did you guys go?”

“Stole a page from your playbook,” snarked Twilight. “I took her to the bunker. We took a quick shower and bath then dried off. After that we dressed then ate leftover pancakes from the fridge along with more coffee.” She grinned. “Can’t forget coffee.”

Sunset laughed at that. “No. You can’t have a happy Sparky without coffee. Does not compute,” she snarked.

Twilight lightly punched her in the arm. “Dork. Don’t be knocking my coffee.”

“Never, Sparky,” teased Sunset. She gave her friend a quick shoulder squeeze then turned back to her book. At that moment the bell rang and the teacher started taking attendance.

As usual Twilight and Sunset met Mikoto and Kuroko for lunch. They sat at their customary table and ate their Bento box lunches.

While they were together discussing and laughing over some of the events of the previous day, the monitors around the room went blank then filled with static.

“That can’t be good,” noted Twilight. She looked around the room at the surprised faces of the other students.

Sunset also looked around as she said, “Something is taking out our electronics.”

“Yes! We’ve noticed that, Marconi,” snarked Twilight.

Sunset laughed and gave her BFF a light smack on the arm. “Thank you Einstein. So, what’s happening? Is it something we need to be concerned about?” Sunset asked.

“I don’t know, but I’ll find out,” answered Kuroko. She promptly grabbed Mikoto and teleported away.

“Damn it, little sis. That’s not what I meant,” growled Sunset as she tracked her little sister through her fob. Sunset sighed.

Several minutes later Kuroko returned, teleporting next to Sunset.

“Mikoto is working on it with Kazari,” Kuroko reported. “She’ll give me a call when they figure it out.”

“Won’t the phones have the same issue as the other electronics?” Sunset checked. “You know we can use the fobs to bypass that.”

Kuroko facepalmed. “Yeah. Didn't think of that,” she groaned. “I’ll teleport back and tell Mikoko.”

Sunset reached over and stopped her. “No. Don’t worry about it. If she can’t get a hold of us, we’ll know. Just in case, I’ll teleport us both over and she can explain that way. No sense in popping off on your own again,” Sunset added protectively.

“Fine,” agreed Kuroko, sitting back down. “So how will we know if she can’t get a hold of us?”

“Her frustration will spike,” answered Sunset. “Biometrics. It’s on the fob.”

“Wow, you’re a little stalker,” teased Kuroko just like a little sister. “I like it.”

Sunset wrapped Kuroko up in a hug, mussing up her hair. “Way to make it weird, little sis,” she laughed. Kuroko grinned, smoothing her hair back as they waited to hear from Mikoto. A bit later Sunset sensed that spike of frustration from her, so she teleported them both to Mikoto.

Mikoto looked up from her phone, hanging up as she watched Sunset and Kuroko materialize beside her in a flash of Teal. Seeing Kuroko sitting in Sunset’s lap without her phone out, she frowned.

“So I take it you didn’t just get my phone call,” Mikoto sighed. “I thought I heard someone, but there was so much interference I couldn’t tell if it was you or not.”

“Not,” answered Kuroko as she hopped down from Sunset to stand next to her friend.

“Okay. Well then, I’ll try again,” smiled Mikoto. She explained what she found about the Debris Storm and how it had been triggered as part of a test, which was now causing the interference they were experiencing.

Sunset then showed both girls how to pair their phones to their fobs so they would not be as critically affected by the interference, though normal phone functions were still scrambled due to the larger issue with electronics throughout Academy City and beyond. Point to point apps worked so they agreed to use them while the outage was ongoing. Thanking her and Kazari for finding the information, Sunset teleported Mikoto, Kuroko, and herself back to their school so they could rejoin their classes.

When they returned Mikoto explained to Twilight what they had found. When she finished, Twilight explained to everyone the importance of keeping their phones paired up with their fobs, especially given what was currently happening. Twilight and Sunset already always kept their phones paired up to their fobs to run the biometrics app.

Lunch over, they went to their afternoon classes then gathered together at the District 3 Judgment offices for their afternoon work. Ruiko and Kazari met them there. Kazari had already started on her paperwork while they waited for them, while Ruiko was in the corner studying one of her textbooks.

Mikoto laughed when they entered the office then went to sit by her friend.

“Ruiko, studying? That’s so unlike you!” Mikoto teased as she sat down with her own textbook in hand.

Ruiko looked up at her over her textbook, one eyebrow cocked. “I can study! What are you implying, hum?”

“I never said you couldn’t study,” Mikoto smirked. “Just that I think I can count the number of times I’ve seen you actually do it on one hand.”

“I study when it’s important,” answered Ruiko, returning to her book.

“On one hand, and still holding my soft drink,” teased Mikoto with emphasis. “Without dropping it. Or unwrapping my thumb from the can.”

“I’m ignoring you now,” smirked Ruiko, still reading her book.

Mikoto shoulder checked her. “Then I’ll join you,” Mkoto decided with a grin. She leaned up against her friend and started reading, smiling the whole time.

“Fine, whatever,” grinned Ruiko back, still reading.

Watching them, Twilight turned to Sunset with a grin. “I really love our girls, but they can be so weird sometimes.”

“Yup. They fit right in,” agreed Sunset with a grin of her own. “Shall we?”

“Let’s!” nodded Twilight.

The girls took their seats at the terminal next to Kazari. Twilight opened her hand, and with a magenta pop, a usb drive fell into her hand. Kazari looked up at the pop, watching her.

Twilight inserted the usb drive into the terminal and started reviewing the information they had found yesterday. Sunset read it with her silently. After a few minutes, Twilight sighed, turned to Sunset and said, “Well, you know what this means.”

“Sadly, yes,” Sunset agreed. “They’ve started it back up again. Damn it.”

Hearing the words ‘started it back up’, Mikoto looked up from her book. “Started what back up again?” she asked with a scowl. Hearing her friend’s tone, Ruiko looked up in concern too.

“It looks like it’s a project called Level 6 shift,” supplied Sunset.

“I swear by the Maker, if those shits are coming after my sisters again, their heads will roll!“ Mikoto swore with a growl. Her scowl darkened.

“No. It’s worse, I think. Accelerator has no part in this. He would be right by your side slaying anyone who even thought of harming your sisters. This is something else. It seems they are coming directly after you this time,” amended Twilight.

“What?” Kuroko called out in surprise, looking over from her terminal. “Who in their right mind would come after Mikoto now?”

“Yes, who?” growled Mikoto, her eyes darkening.

“Not certain yet,” answered Sunset as she continued to scan the data with Twilight.

“I’m not sure who, but I am fairly sure at this point about what,” supplied Twilight, still reading. “Short answer, whoever it is, they plan to force your ascension to Level 6, though it is clear from the data here you would not survive the ascension and they know that. It looks like they plan on using you for the brief time you are ascended as a weapon, then letting you fade out. You will then basically die of madness.”

Mikoto blanched. Sunset turned to Twilight. “Blunt much?” she asked.

“Sorry. It is what it is,” replied Twilight sadly. She looked over to Mikoto. “You know your friends, Sunset and I, we won’t let that happen,” she comforted. Mikoto nodded, still pale.

“Between two goddesses, Toma, Index, the mages and the rest of your friends, we will keep you safe and sane,” promised Sunset. “Mikoto, we have your back. Try not to worry.”

Still pale, Mikoto had growled at the mention of Toma. “Why Toma? How is that jerk supposed to help me?” she asked.

“Yeah, why Toma of all people,” snarled Kuroko.

“Think about it,” answered Sunset, rolling over to Mikoto and taking her hands. “You know he cares about you, deeply.”

“He has a lame way of showing it,” groused Mikoto. “He calls me bug-zapper. And Bzzt Bzzt! He just mocks me! How is that caring?”

“He’s just teasing you, like you’re his little sister,” smiled Sunset, holding her hands firmly. “Brothers always tease their little sisters. It’s a brother thing,” she assured her.

“Well it’s a damned annoying brother thing!” scowled Mikoto. “And how is he supposed to help anyway? He’s a level 0! Level 0 for pity's sake! That’s nothing. Beyond nothing. It means he has no psychic talent. At all! How is that supposed to help in any way?!”

“You know he’s not a real Level 0, right?” responded Sunset kindly. “He has talent. It’s just the Academy won’t validate it because it has a magical component. How else do you think he can stand there and talk to you while you are throwing everything you have at him to shut him down? He just cancels all your attacks, right?”

Mikoto scowled and pouted. “That’s true,” she acknowledged. “Level 0 my dimpled butt.”

Sunset bowed her head as she giggled. “I really didn’t need to know about your butt dimples, honey.”

Mikoto blushed, still scowling. “Whatever. It’s not like you haven’t seen them already anyways.”

“That’s true,” agreed Kuroko with a grin. “And I, for one, think they are adorable!”

Both Twilight and Sunset turned to look at Kuroko. “Boundaries, Kuroko,” they both said sternly at the same time. Kuroko blushed and bowed her head.

“Sorry, Mikoto, but you do have a cute butt. Just saying,” she apologized then wisely remained silent. Twilight lifted an eyebrow at her while Sunset rolled her eyes and smirked.

“Adorable butt aside,” Sunset continued, causing Mikoto to blush even more fiercely. “He can help, and he cares about you deeply. We want him there if anything happens to you. And if he weren’t there to help you, I don’t think he would be able to live with himself. We need him. This is also for the same reason we need Index and the mages. If anyone else is trying something, they should be able to help us shut them down.”

“Fine. Whatever,” grumbled Mikoto. Kuroko continued her glower.

Twilight resumed reviewing the data on the Level 6 shift. The further she read, the more fiercely she scowled. Finishing up, they closed up all the files and purged the workstation.

“We need to plan carefully on this,” Twilight growled. “There are so many ways this could go wrong and permanently hurt you. If I knew more I would just shut them down and never allow it to happen, but whoever planned this was skilled enough to keep their dirty fingerprints off of it, so we’ll just have to prepare and be ready to counter them when they rear their ugly head.”

“When they rear their ugly head, I intend to chop it off,” growled Sunset. “No one threatens one of my friends.” Her eyes glowed bright white while she said this. Everyone backed up a few steps in concern.

Twilight pulled the usb drive out of the terminal. It disappeared from her hand in a flash of magenta.

Twilight turned to the girls. “Come on, girls. It’s time to head to the apartment. I think we have had enough of this for one day.” She turned to Kuroko. “Please go tell Miia that we are calling it a day and are all heading to our apartment. I’m sure she will understand.”

Kuroko ran down the hall to let their supervisor know they were done for the day.

While she did, Twilight walked over to Sunset and pulled her into a hug, then said, “That was a pretty powerful oath there, Sunny. I completely agree as well. We have your and Mikoto's backs. She’ll get through this. I promise.” She stepped back then stepped behind Sunset taking the handles to her chair. “I’ll drive, Sunny.” She turned to the girls, including Kuroko who had just returned. “Okay, everyone, let’s go. Place a hand on me and we’re going.”

“Place a hand on you? Aren’t we walking?” asked Kuroko, confused.

Twilight just turned and looked at her. Kuroko scampered over and placed her hand on Twilight along with the rest of the girls. When they were all holding on, there was a flash of magenta and they all disappeared.

They appeared in Twilight and Sunset’s apartment. The girls all let go and ran to the couch to sit down. Twilight bent over and whispered into Sunset’s ear.

“You okay, Sunny?” she asked.

Sunset turned to her and nodded. “I’ll be fine. I meant what I said. I will slay whoever is behind this if I catch them.”

“I know you will,” agreed Twilight. “And I’ll be right there with you if that happens. No one hurts our friends.” Looking into Twilight’s eyes, Sunset nodded with a brief tight lipped smile.

“Okay. I am going to take the girls to the base. Can you stay here and get some dinner? Maybe invite Kaori and Stiyl to join us? I think we could all use a break for now,” requested Twilight.

“You got it, babe,” Sunset smiled back. Twilight hugged her tightly then stood up and turned to the girls.

“Okay, slight change of plans. Let’s all head to the bunker for some fun. Sunset is going to wait for our friends and dinner. Come on girls. One more time. Grab hold. Hands on me.” Twilight stood in the middle of the room, her arms outstretched inviting the girls to join her. They ran and took her hands and arms.

“Okay, on three! Off we go. And, three!” With two squeals and a pop, they disappeared in a magenta flash.

Sunset pulled out her phone and called Kaori.

“Kaori here. What’s up Sunset?” Kaori asked on the other end of the line.

“We’re still on for the expedition tomorrow, right? You know you and Stiyl are invited to go with us?” asked Sunset.

“Wouldn’t miss it for anything,” confirmed Kaori.

“Are you two doing anything tonight? Want to join our sleepover and have some fun before we head out?”, asked Sunset.

“Stiyl is busy right now, but maybe when he is finished,” Kaori answered.

Just then there was a huge flash outside her window as Sunset felt a surge of concern from Index.

“Something just happened! Gotta go!” Sunset called out urgently before hanging up the phone. She teleported directly to the location of Index’s fob, coming out next to Index and Stiyl. Looking over she saw Toma fighting with another powerful magical user.

“We have to go help him!” said Sunset, rolling towards their battle. Stiyl grabbed her chair, stopping her.

“No, we don’t. Sunset, he’s fine. He’s got this. He convinced her to just attack him instead of the rest of the world. Don’t mess this up. Let him finish this.”

Sunset turned, scowling at Stiyl. “Look, I know you don’t like him, but I made a promise and I keep my promises. I have to protect him and Index.”

“And you are, and you will, but not right now. Sunset, let him end this. He can do this. As much as it pains me to admit, he’s doing a good job of it,” answered Stiyl while still holding her chair. “Trust him.”

Sunset scowled, turning to Index. “Do you agree with him?” she asked. Index nodded, watching the battle intently. Sunset sighed and sat back in her chair, watching the end of the battle with them.

Toma stood and raised his right hand as a tornado of magic rained down upon him. When it was all over he was still standing though clearly exhausted and shaking. The magician he was battling was gone as well as the young girl who was watching while standing off to the side of the battle earlier.

Index rushed over to Toma, with Stiyl and Sunset behind her at a slightly slower pace.

Toma stood exhausted, staring at the towering structure before him. Index grabbed him.

“Toma, you’re staring at that tower. Did something happen to it?” she asked in concern.

“No,” answered Toma as Sunset and Stiyl caught up. “But if anything tries something, I will take them on too.”

Rolling over, Sunset grabbed them both pulling them into a hug. “And you won’t be doing it alone. We have your back,” she agreed. She turned to Stiyl. “Are you going to join us?” she asked.

“Yes, but I still have a few things to take care of. I’ll call you when I’m ready,” he answered walking away.

Sunset released her hug captives, taking their hands. “Okay. I know the perfect place for you two to recover. Let’s go.” With a flash of teal they disappeared.

Sunset, Toma and Index appeared in Kaori’s room as was packing her bag for the trip. She looked up in surprise at the pop and flash of Sunset’s teleport when it went off next to her.

“Kaori, I am so sorry for violating your privacy,” Sunset bowed, still holding Toma and Index’s hands. “These two and Stiyl just finished dealing with the rouge hindi mages. I’m taking them to the Bunker, and I’ll take you too if you’re ready.”

“No worries, Sunset,” smiled Kaori as she finished packing. “I was just about to call you. I’m just finishing getting my bag ready for the trip.” She put the last item into the bag then shut it. She stood behind Sunset and placed her hands on Sunset’s wheelchair handles. “What’s that phrase you always say?” she smirked.

“Ready Freddy?” Sunset asked.

“Ready Freddy!” agreed Kaori, Index, and Toma. In a teal flash they disappeared.

They appeared in the Bunker control room next to the TACIT receiver.

“Go ahead and join everyone,” said Sunset, letting go of their hands. “I have to head back to wait for Stiyl and arrange our dinner. I’ll be back then.”

Kaori nodded with a smile, leading Index and Toma out to the main room while Sunset flashed away again.

She appeared in their apartment and immediately phoned the concierge to arrange dinner for her hungry herd. That settled, she waited for Stiyl to call and let her know he’d finished his business and was ready to join them.

The concierge eventually brought in two carts filled with food, drink and snacks. Thanking her, Sunset texted Twilight then teleported with both carts into the control room where Twilight met her. Taking the carts, she gave Sunset a quick hug and wheeled them into the main room.

“I’ll be back as soon as I have Stiyl,” said Sunset as she teleported back away.

In the main room, Twilight set out the dinner trays and pizza boxes on the main conference table, setting out drinks, plates and utensils with them. “Dinner is here if anyone is hungry!” she called out.

Kaori came into the room followed by the rest of the herd.

“Good thing we ordered several pizzas. Index can have quite an appetite,” laughed Twilight. “I don’t know where she puts it.”

“It’s magic,” laughed Kaori.

“I know, right? She never gains an ounce. I admit I’m a little bit jealous of her sometimes. A bit,” Twilight teased. “It sure seems like magic to me.”

“No, really, it’s magic,” said Kaori.

“Huh?” responded Twilight, confused.

“All the magic spells she uses, including the autonomic and automatic ones, burn off a huge number of calories so she literally burns off more calories a day than anyone else I know. It’s magic. That's simple,” explained Kaori.

“That actually makes so much sense,” Twilight mused. “Wow. That girl is more of a mage than I thought. Pretty impressive.”

“Yeah. It’s easy to underestimate her with how childish she acts sometimes, but she can pack a punch when she has to,” agreed Kaori. “I’m still very glad that you two and Toma are looking out for her. She could use the help.”

“And happy to do it. Anything else you need?” Twilight asked.

Twilight passed out plates of food while Kuroko helped with the drinks. “Thank you, Kuroko! That was very helpful,” Twilight complimented.

Kuroko beamed. “You’re welcome!” she said happily. She took her seat as Twilight passed her a plate of food.

“Okay everyone! A quick prayer of gratitude, then let’s dig in!” called out Twilight. She led them in Harmonic Grace, then everyone tucked into the meal before them.

There was a flash of teal from the control room then Stiyl and Sunset rolled out and joined them at the table.

“Sorry we’re late!” Sunset grinned. “What did we miss?”

“We already said grace. Dig on in,” laughed Twilight. Grinning, Stiyl grabbed a plate loading it up with food. Sunset was right behind him doing the same. They grabbed a drink and some utensils then sat at the table. Sunset sat next to Twilight while Stiyl next to Kaori.

Twilight turned to her guests, especially Toma and Stiyl. “I was thinking we could take turns playing a game of something, and take turns in the spa. Last time we had the ladies go first, and frankly we took a rather long time, so I think our guy friends got a bit short changed. This time, the guys can go in first, while us girls play video games for a bit and you clean up. Then, after you've had a decent soak, us girls can have a turn and you can play video games or watch a movie.”

Twilight asked Stiyl and Toma. “Does that sound okay to you two? You are the only guys in this crew,” she grinned.

Stiyl nodded. “Sure. Fine by me,” he agreed. Toma just nodded while pushing Index back away from his plate with his index finger. He served her more food instead from the serving platter in front of them. Index sat back happily and resumed her eating.

“That settles it then. Okay guys, you get the spa after dinner. Just let us know when you’re done and we will take our turn,” Twilight offered. She grinned mischievously, “Unless you would rather go in with us?”

Across the table, Mikoto choked on the food she was swallowing. Kuroko patted her on the back, glaring furiously at Twilight. Ruiko looked up, thought for a second, and stated, ‘I’m okay with that.” She then resumed eating.

Kazari looked at her friend with an askance expression on her face. “I’m sure not!” she stated in disbelief. Mikoto nodded her head vigorously in agreement, blushing hard. Index looked up from her food, shrugged, and went back to eating.

Toma looked around at everyone. “Uh, don’t take this the wrong way. I love you all dearly,” he looked over to Kuroko, “some more than others,” he snarked. “But I really don’t feel comfortable with that. If it’s all the same with you, I would rather just keep doing guys, then girls.”

Kuroko burst out laughing at that. “So you do both?” she teased with a mean grin.

“Huh?” asked Toma, “I’m lost. I don’t get it. I do what now?” He took another bite of his dinner as the girls started giggling.

Sunset leaned across the table and put a hand on Toma’s arm. “Ignore them,” she stage-whispered to him. “They are being juvenile.” She glared at Kuroko. “Some more than others.”

Kuroko gave Sunset a mischievous grin. “Who? Me? Sissy, are you calling me juvenile?” she teased.

“More like calling you out, missy. Behave!” Sunset grinned. “Good one though. He did walk right into that.”

“Yes he did,” agreed Kuroko, grinning. “And it couldn’t have happened to a nicer person.” She glared at Toma.

Sunset smiled at her little sister. “Behave, Kuroko. Toma is our friend. Yours too. So behave and be nice,” she scolded playfully.

“Sissy, I’m always nice!” grinned Kuroko.

“No, you’re always good. Not the same thing,” teased Sunset.

Stiyl looked at the two of them as he ate his pasta. “Do you two need a room?” he snarked. Kaori punched him lightly in the arm.

“Don’t encourage them,” Kaori joked.

“Tell me about it,” Stiyl shot back, still grinning. “I swear sometimes the two of you really are related.” He smiled, shook his head, and went back to eating his dinner.

“Sisters from another mister,” agreed Sunset, smiling at Kuroko, who grinned and nodded happily.

‘So, all kidding aside then. I was just teasing. Yes, Toma, just you guys, and you can start as soon as you're finished with dinner. Just let us know when you come out so we can switch,” explained Twilight.

Toma nodded, smiled and went back to eating. Everyone had a good laugh at the exchange.

Toma and Stiyl finished. They cleared their spots, gathered up their things, then disappeared into the bathroom. MeanwhileTwilight looked around. “Almost done, girls?” she asked. “I only have four controllers, but I can get you started on Melee Battle mode, and Kaori and I can play something else.” She looked over to Index. “Do you want to play with us too, Index?” she asked.

Index, still eating, responded between bites. “Nope! I’m good.” She continued piling food onto her plate and powering through it.

“Okay, that’s fine. But if you change your mind, you are welcome to join us,” Twilight invited while giving Index a gentle side hug as they ate. Index just smiled and nodded while not stopping her feast.

“Okay then. Just let me know when you’re good, and we can start.” Twilight sipped her coffee while she waited.

A bit later, the girls all finished. They cleared their places then joined Twilight in the den where she was setting up the melee game in PVP deathmatch mode for the girls. As they came in, she handed each a controller. They took turns setting up their characters then launched into the death match with gleeful screams and shouting.

Index decided to take her snacks with her and watch them play.

Twilight shook her head, laughing. She turned to Kaori. “Want a laptop? I can set you up with a game on it if you want.”

Kaori laughed. She sat down on the couch next to Twilight. “Just the laptop is fine. I’m not really in the mood for battle games and there are a few things I wouldn’t mind taking the time to research,” she answered then sipped her soda.

“One laptop coming up then,” agreed Twilight. She got up and took the two laptops sitting on the counter in the main room. After that, sat down next to Kaori and handed her one.

“Do you have the password and login?” Twilight asked Kaori.

“Yeah. I’ll use the stuff you set up for me last time,” Kaori affirmed as she took the laptop.

“Just let me know if you need anything,” Twilight responded. She opened her laptop up and logged in. She immediately went to the data from the modified selfie-drone and reviewed the bloom growth.

Sunset cleared the dishes from the table and placed the leftovers into the fridge. She then loaded up the empty trays onto the carts and pushed them into the control room. On her way back to the kitchen, she stopped to knock on the door of the bathroom.

“What is it?” she heard Stiyl call out.

She opened the door a crack and leaned in. “It’s nothing. Just checking if you two need anything before I start the dishes. Everything okay?”

“Yup. We’re fine!” answered Toma, blushing a bit. Both of the boys were sitting in the spa, relaxing.

“Well, since you are offering, could we please have something to drink? I don’t know about my friend here, but I forgot to bring a drink in with me and would really appreciate it.” Stiyl turned to Toma. “Do you want one too, Toma?”

“Yes, please,” Toma nodded, still blushing madly.

Sunset couldn’t resist. “Coming right up. Toma, do you want me to come in and pour it for you?” she teased.

“No!” Toma answered immediately, face completely red. “I mean, no thank you. Just a drink, thanks. I can pour it myself.”

“If you're sure,” teased Sunset, smiling widely. “You are the guests here. We do want you to be happy!”

Toma’s face looked bright red, and his nose was starting to bleed. “Sunset,” he shot back. “I think you need to stop watching so many anime. That’s not how it works.”

Sunset laughed. “You are so easy to tease, Toma!” She smiled. “I know that’s not how it works. I was just kidding. I’ll be right back with your drinks.” She pulled back from the door and shut it.

Twilight looked up from the couch, spying on her BFF being a PITA to their friends. “Be good, Sunset!” she called out, grinning.

Sunset grinned back. “Girl, I’m always good.”

Twilight laughed, still looking at her laptop. “Girl, being good at is not the same as being good. Behave!”

Sunset laughed as she rolled into the kitchen and grabbed two cold sodas from the fridge. She rolled back over to the bathroom. Twilight looked up. “I’m watching you, girl!” she called out playfully from the couch.

Sunset grinned. “Good! Take notes!” She pulled the door open and rolled into the bathroom.

Toma looked up and sputtered. Stiyl just shook his head and laughed.

Sunset greeted the guys. “I have your drinks! Just a second while I open them for you,” she stated, then opened the cans. “Sure you don’t want me to pour it for you, Toma?” she offered sweetly, rolling towards the spa.

Toma leaned forward, curling into himself, arms wrapped around himself. “No! I’m fine. Thanks. No. Just put them there on the side!” He looked like he was ready to submerge himself at the bottom of the spa.

“I don’t mind, if you want. I can get in and help you with it,” snarked Sunset.

At this point, Stiyl was shaking with laughter. Toma looked over to him. Only his eyes were above the water line. “Not helping, Stiyl. Jerk,” he complained. Stiyl laughed even harder.

Sunset put the two drinks down by the side of the spa, smiling. “Okay. If that is what you really want. Here you go.” She grinned and winked at Stiyl who just laughed even harder, shaking his head. “Call me if you need anything. Okay?” she called back sweetly over her shoulder as she exited the bathroom.

Twilight called out to her friend as she shut the door. “Just couldn’t resist, could you?” she laughed.

“Would you have?” teased Sunset back.

“Yes, Sunset. I would have. I don’t have your pathological need to be a complete tease,” grinned Twilight at her BFF.

“And yet, you love me anyway,” Sunset grinned, heading back towards the kitchen.

“And darn lucky I do, girl!” called out Twilight with a chuckle. She went back to her data.

Still grinning, Sunset set to work cleaning the dinner dishes.

Grinning happily, Kuroko watched the whole exchange from her position on the couch over her joystick.

“Hey, Kuroko, head in the game, silly! You just got killed again while standing there like a loon,” teased Ruiko.

“Don’t care,” grinned Kuroko back. “Seeing something way more entertaining.”

Ruiko leaned out from the couch to see what her friend was looking at. She saw Sunset go into the bathroom.

“Uh, aren’t the guys in there? What’s she doing?” asked Ruiko in confusion, her controller held motionless before her.

“She’s being my delightful big sissy, that’s what she’s doing. She’s tormenting that dofus Toma,” Kuroko reported happily.

“No way! Wow, she has some brass, right?” grinned Ruiko.

“What about Toma?” asked Mikoto from down the couch, looking over annoyed. “Why are we talking about him?” She groused.

“Don’t pretend you don’t like him,” teased Kazari as her character swooped in and killed them all. “You know you do! Every time someone even mentions him, you go all tsundere.” She laughed. “And now you’re all dead. I am ahead!”

Kuroko turned back to the game and chased her friend down, killing her with a hail of machine gun fire. “Really? How about that huh? And no way my sissy Mikoto likes that dofus. She is into me!” she crowed.

Pausing in her battle, Mikoto looked over to her roommate. “I am not your sissy, you little pervert. Stop calling me that. I know what you really mean by that!”

Kuroko looked over at her roommate. “Your lips say no no no, but your cute dimpled butt says yes yes yes!” She laughed, slaying her friend's character again.

Mikoto’s scowled. “Why you little..”

Twilight looked up from her laptop. “Boundaries, Kuroko!” she reminded her. “Respect your friends.”

Kuroko rolled her eyes. “Yes ma’am,” she answered, turning back to her game. She saw Sunset roll out of the bathroom with a grin on her face and laughing to herself. Kuroko grinned again.

“I need to check something. I’ll be right back,” she said as she put her controller down and got up.

“Kuroko, remember what I said,” reminded Twilight without looking up from her laptop.

“Yes ma’am,” nodded Kuroko as she slipped out of the den. Seeing Sunset was looking the other direction and working on the dishes, she slipped over to the bathroom. She stripped down to her panties and trainers then entered the bathroom, sauntering over to the benches. She studiously ignored the two boys in the spa.

Hearing the door open Toma looked up from the seat he had resumed when Sunset left. Seeing Kuroko walking into the room in just her underwear his nose started bleeding. He immediately curled into a ball and ducked back under water with just his eyes above the water as he watched the little menace wander into the room.

Stiyl opened his eyes and noticed Kuroko putting her clothes into the hamper by one of the stools. She then dumped the bucket of water over herself and started scrubbing. Filling the bucket by the faucet she then dumped it over herself again to wash off the soap.

Toma was beet red at this point. He was up against the far corner of the spa and trying desperately to look invisible. Stiyl just rolled his eyes and laughed. He leaned back and shut his eyes again, completely relaxed.

“Hey Kuroko!” Stiyl called out cheerfully. “I thought you girls were going to wait until we were done. What’re you doing here?” he asked.

Kuroko turned to him, and grinned. “Hey Stiyl. I got tired of waiting, so figured I would just join you two for a bit. You don’t mind, do you?” She looked at Toma and grinned evilly. Toma gulped and pulled his head as low in the water as he could, still tracking the dreaded menace.

Finished with her rinse, Kuroko walked into the spa. She sat on the bench beside the not as invisible as he wished Toma. She leaned back in the seat, stretching out her arms and crossing them behind her head as she leaned back. “Now this is relaxing,” she grinned, closing her eyes. “Nothing like a warm spa to soak away all your aches and pains. Am I right?”

Still crouched down in front of the seat, Toma raised his head high enough above the water to reply. “It was, until a major pain showed up and pranced her backside into my spa. Why can’t you just leave already?!” he growled.

“Why? We’re all friends. Just relax and enjoy the soak,” answered Kuroko, head still back. She opened one eye and turned to Toma, then added with an evil grin, “And apparently enjoy the sights too, eh Toma? Can’t take your eyes off of me? Must really like what you see!” She leaned her head back again, eyes shut. “I always knew you had a thing for me,” she teased.

Toma sputtered. “As if! You’re a carpenter's dream, Kuroko!” he sputtered. “Whatever!” He sat back up in the seat beside her then leaned his head back and looked at the ceiling with his hands crossed over his lap. “You’re such a pain in the behind,” he growled at her from his seat.

“Whatever yourself, Toma,” teased Kuroko back. “Sorry. I’m just not that into you to notice. You’re not my type.”

“Yeah, we all know your type just fine, Kuroko,” Toma shot back, still looking at the ceiling. “And I thank the Maker I’m not your type. As if. Ever!”

Stiyl, eyes closed and hands crossed behind his head as well, was grinning at their exchange. The door opened a crack and Sunset peaked in. “Kuroko, are you in here?” she called out with a smile.

“Right here, sissy!” Kuroko waved. “We’re having a soak together.” She leaned back again, chest out and fully relaxed.

Toma looked briefly over to Sunset at the door. “Help me!” he mouthed, then quickly resumed looking at the ceiling.

Sunset laughed. “So, boys, you changed your minds and decided to have some company? I’m hurt that you didn’t invite me. We can’t have that. I am one of the hostesses after all!” She rolled into the room and over to her stool.

Toma’s eyes just about bugged out of his head. “Wha…” he said, looking over to Sunset. She undressed then transferred over to the stool, dumped the water over herself and started washing. Seeing this, Toma's nose started bleeding again and he quickly looked back up at the ceiling. “Sunset!” he called out in a panic. “What are you doing?”

Sunset rinsed off with a second bucket of water and smirked at Toma. “Uh, it’s called bathing, Toma. I know you’ve heard of it. Never seen someone bathe before?” she teased.

Toma shook his head, sighing. “Not like you, no,” he groaned. He looked over at Kuroko and growled. “At least, not before today.” Kuroko just stuck her tongue out at him. He turned back and looked at the ceiling, wiping off his face with a washcloth from the side of the spa. “I really hate you two right now,” he sighed.

Sunset transferred back over to her chair, wrapped herself with a towel, then rolled over to the spa and put on the harness. She pushed herself out over the spa seat then twisted the handle to release herself down into the water. When she was submerged and seated she removed the harness and placed it beside the spa.

Shimmying along the seat her towel accidentally slid off, prompting Toma to quickly avert his stare back at the ceiling. She casually fixed the towel then finished positioning herself beside Kuroko who was still sitting right next to Toma. Sunset reached out over Kuroko and took one of his hands. Toma immediately went beet red again as his nose again resumed bleeding. He reached out with his other hand and grabbed his washcloth using it to staunch the flow of blood as he crossed his legs. “Sunset!” he called out, staring at her with his mouth agape. “What the heck are you doing?” He was so red she he looked about to have a stroke.

Sunset pulled his hand to her lips and kissed it. “You really look like you need a friend right now, Toma. You know we all love you, right?” Sunset assured him, holding his hand tightly to her heart

Toma, eyes scrunched tightly shut now, nodded his head. Kuroko was still stuck between them with her big sissy leaning over her. She grinned as she watched Toma’s reaction.

Sunset scooted over a little more then pulled Kuroko over to her other side and into a side hug. “And you, little stinker. You know we all love you too, right?” Sunset smiled at her, still holding Toma’s hand with her other arm as she scooted over right up against him.

Toma was still looking up to the ceiling. HIs eyes were tightly shut, his embarrassment clearly evident. Stiyl still was grinning, his eyes shut, clearly enjoying the silliness going on around him.

Kuroko beamed in the grasp of her big sissy. She nodded happily. “I love you too, sissy,” she said happily.

“And all our friends?” asked Sunset, hugging her little sissy tighter.

Kuroko sighed. “And all our friends,” she agreed, still smiling.

“Including Toma, and Index?” smiled Sunset.

Kuroko frowned a bit. “Including Index,” she stated reluctantly.

Sunset gave her another squeeze. “And?” she asked.

Kuroko looked over at Toma, then rolled her eyes. “And all our friends.” She took a deep breath then turned to Toma. “Including Toma.”

Toma looked over in surprise. “What?” he asked, incredulous.

“Including you, Toma. I love all of you. Including you,” answered Kuoko. “I just wish you would stop trying to steal my roommate.”

Toma cocked his head to the side in confusion. “Huh? Steal what now? What are you talking about?” he asked.

“Nothing,” replied Kuoko. “Forget I said anything. It’s nothing.” She reached across Sunset and took Toma’s hand. Sunset reached across him and grabbed his other hand. His eyes went big when she took it and squeezed it tight.

Kuroko continued. “Friends, Toma. We both like Mikoto, and want to protect her. And we both want to protect our other friends as well. We’re friends. It’s what we do,” Kuroko squeezed his hand again, then let go.

Toma’s eyes went big. “You mean that, Kuroko? Friends?” he asked.

Kuroko turned back to her sister, leaning into the hug. “I sure do,” she promised. She grabbed Toma’s hand again as it headed back to its previous battlestation. She pulled it close to her heart, pulling Toma closer to her and Sunset in the process. “Friends,” she smiled.

Toma was pulled tightly against Sunset with his hand clasped in Kuroko’s against her chest held tightly to her bosom. He smiled though his eyes were still screwed shut.

“Friends. I like that,” Toma conceded. “Yes. We are definitely friends,” he agreed while holding tightly to the hands of his two friends. His head was leaned back and his eyes were still shut. But he was smiling. “We are friends.”

Stiyl turned to them, one eye open and grinning. “I think that was sweeter than even the dessert we had tonight. I may be a little sick from the overdose later,” he snarked.

Sunset, head back and eyes closed, enjoying the moment of peace with two of her dear friends, responded. “Shuddup you!”

They all laughed and enjoyed the moment.

The door propped open a crack, Twilight let out a little squee of delight. Behind her, the girls grinned happily. Index was smiling ear to ear. “I want in! Let’s go!” She started to slip out of her habit.

Twilight turned and pulled Index into her. She quietly closed the door. “Not yet, Index. Let’s let them have this moment. We can jump into the spa in a bit,” she answered. She led the girls back over to the den. They sat on the couch and waited.

A few minutes later, Toma and Stiyl appeared in the bathroom doorway, towels wrapped around their waist and clothes baskets in hand.

“What are you waiting for, girls? I thought you were all going to come in and join us?” Stiyl teased, holding the door open. The girls laughed and rushed into the bathroom past him.

“Thank you, Stiyl-san!” said Mikoto happily as she dashed past him and over to the stools. The girls started stripping down and washing so they could join their friends.

Stiyl grinned and turned away, “And that’s our queue to leave. Enjoy yourselves, girls,” he said as he let Twilight pass and moved to shut the door.

“Yeah. Some of us are not as, let’s call it adventurous? As adventurous as our friends,” grinned Twilight as they passed. “Thanks for thinking of us, though,” she snarked. She shut the door behind her. Stiyl grinned and followed Toma into the bedroom to get dressed.

Twilight stripped down and placed her clothes in the basket by her stool. She sat, rinsed, and began washing like the others. One final rinse later, she joined Sunset and the girls in the spa.

“Well, aren’t we the adventurous ones,” she grinned at Sunset and Kuroko. She sat down next to them. Kuroko was still leaning back, snuggled into her big sister's hug, smiling contently.

Just then, Index dove across the spa, landing in Twilight’s lap. She wrapped her arms around Twilight and buried her face on her shoulder. “I love you guys!” Index laughed. Twilight grinned and pulled her into a hug.

“We love you too, Index!” she smiled, rubbing the girl’s back. Index just smiled and hugged her tighter.

Sunset smiled at her friend. “Looks like you have a fan,” she teased with a happy smile.

“Not a fan. She’s family. Just like you all are,” smiled Twilight, hugging Index tighter. She smiled and looked into Index’s eyes. “Isn’t that right, Index?” Twilight grinned. Index nodded happily, smiling adorably.

Sunset squeed quietly. “Sweet Celestia, you two are adorable!” Sunset chirped.

Twilight just smiled as she continued to gently rub Index’s back.

Kuroko beamed. She was still leaning into her sister and happily hanging onto her arm as she sat snuggled up against Sunset. Sunset looked over and saw the other girls looking at them with huge grins and wide eyes.

“Does that mean we are family too?” asked Mikoto hopefully.

“Absolutely, positively, 100%” agreed Sunset with a happy grin. “Always. You girls are forever a part of our family.

The door to the end stall opened and Kaori stepped out. She walked over to a stool, stripped and scrubbed, then entered the spa in order to join the girls. Smiling at her friends, she grinned. “Mama bears,” she smirked then leaned back to enjoy the warm water.

Sunset smiled. “Don’t you know it,” she grinned. “I wondered where you went. I didn’t see you come in.”

“Nature called. I answered,” Kaori answered simply. “Enough said.”

Sunset nodded. “Say no more. Glad you are here,” she agreed.

Twilight grinned. “And yes, you are family too.”

Kaori smiled back at her. “Likewise,” she answered. She closed her eyes. “It’s so nice to have somewhere to go where I can feel completely safe. Thank you,” she stated.

“Agreed!” nodded Sunset. “Thank you for inviting us into your life. None of this would have happened without you and Stiyl.”

“I should be thanking you,” nodded Kaori. “But, you're welcome. I’m happy we met.”

“Me too,” agreed Twilight, still rubbing Index’s back. Index had her eyes closed, happily basking in Twilight’s love.

The girls just sat there grinning, soaking in the moment. “Best friends ever!” sighed Mikoto. The other girls nodded in happy agreement.

An hour later, Sunset and Twilight led their now pruned friends out of the spa. They wrapped themselves up in towels, grabbed their clothes baskets, and moved en masse to the bedroom.

“Everyone, I kept the pajamas we used before in the middle drawer. Pick your’s out and get dressed, then we can join the boys for movie night,” Twilight informed them. Twilight tossed Sunset her PJs and grabbed her own. “Leave your clothes in the basket. We’ll wash them up for tomorrow.”

Sunset shimmied into her PJs, then grabbed her bathroom bag, rolling out the door. “Be right back!” she called out.

“Meet you in the den when you’re done!” called out Twilight as she left. Twilight finished adjusting the pull over shirt to her PJs and turned to the girls. “Ready Freddy?” she asked.

They were all dressed for bed and ready to go. “Ready Freddy!” they called out. Together they marched into the den, where the boys were waiting, already dressed in their bed clothes.

Toma smiled at Index, who had opted for a long white robe for her bed clothes. “It’s so you, Index,” he snarked. She punched his arm, laughed, and sat down between him and Stiyl. They put their arms around her, grinning.

Sunset rolled up to the door. “So, does anyone want a snack to start out? Drinks? And what movie are we watching?”

All the girls called out their snack preference, drink preference, and choice for movie. At the same time. Repeatedly. Sunset smiled, face in her hand, laughing. “Okay, that one’s on me. Not sure what else I expected with this crowd.”

She started over. “One at a time, please. Just tell me what you want to drink. Bear in mind we mostly just have sodas,” Sunset instructed.

Staring from the closest end of the couch, they took turns requesting their drinks. “Awesome. That was much better,” nodded Sunset. “Okay. I will go get those while Twilight helps you figure out what to watch.” She grinned at her BFF. “Good luck!”

Twilight smirked. “So that’s what the underside of a bus looks like!” she teased. “Thanks, Sunny!”

“Anytime, Sparky!” Sunset waved as she headed out to the kitchen to get the drinks.

“Alright everyone. One at a time, tell me the movie you want to see. When we’ve all made our suggestions, we will vote on them, and the winner will be what we watch. Kuroko, you start,” Twilight instructed.

While they sorted out the rest of the evening’s entertainment, Sunset started popping corn for them to munch on, as well as some bowls of chips and dips. She also included a box of cold pizza for Index, knowing exactly what she would be looking for. She gathered everyone’s drinks then placed them, and the snacks, into a large basket. When the last of the popcorn was finished, she added that to the pile as well and rolled back into the den. “Snacks and sodas. Special delivery!” she called out. Sunset put the snacks out on the coffee table in front of the couch then passed out the drinks to their requestors. As expected, Index pulled the box of cold pizza into her lab and started in on it. Several of the girls opened the popcorn bags. They ate them and shared them with those beside them.

“So, what movie are we watching?” Sunset asked, taking her place at the end of the couch next to Twilight.

Twilight entered the movie selection as she answered Sunset. “By the democratic process of nomination and election, we are watching StarWars The Phantom Menace. It was the only movie nominated to get more than two votes,” explained Twilight.

“Good choice,” agreed Sunset, moving one of the bowls of chips and a bowl of dip closer to her on the table. She dipped a chip in and ate it. She took a sip of her black cherry soda.

The movie started. Everyone was snacking and enjoying each other’s company.

Midway through the movie, Sunset started. “What in the name of harmony?” she muttered. She pulled out her phone and queued up the app that connected to the nanny cams in the girls’ apartment.

Twilight turned to her friend. “What’s up?” she whispered, trying not to interrupt the others watching the movie.

“I just got pinged by the sensors in the apartment. Someone entered and looked around. I would have just figured it was the concierge dropping something off, but I got a weird vibe at the same time. I don’t see anyone there now, so looking back through the recorded footage,” Sunset explained quietly.

In the girls apartment there was a flash of light. When the light faded, there was a hooded young woman crouched, a ceremonial sacrificial dagger grasped in each hand. Her eyes swept the dark room, searching for any sign of movement or life.

Seeing nothing, she quickly darted into the kitchen, then each of the bedrooms and the bathroom. Finding no one, she raised her wrist to her face. “There’s no one here. Looks like I missed them. Heading back now,” she hissed.

With a flash of light, she disappeared.

Watching the footage, Sunset’s face blanched. “Sonofabitch!” she swore softly. “How in the hell did she get past the wards? No one, besides us, should be able to teleport into our apartment!” she hissed. She turned towards Twilight, setting her almost empty soda down on the table in front of her. “I’ll be right back. I need to check our wards and see if our guest left any surprises,” she whispered to Twilight. Twilight nodded.

Sunset rolled quietly out of the den and into the control room. With a flash of Teal, she disappeared.

And reappeared in their apartment. She called out, “Lights on, please.” The apartment lights came on as she wheeled around, looking for anything suspicious. She shut her eyes, allowing her magical senses to permeate the apartment, scanning for anything suspicious or out of place. Sensing nothing, she turned her attention to the wards that were supposed to protect her and Twilight from exactly this kind of nonsense. The wards were all still in place and functioned perfectly.

“Son of a bitch! How the hell did she get in here then? All magical teleports in and out are blocked, except for Twilight and myself,” she groused to herself, looking around. Seeing nothing out of place, Sunset called the concierge on her phone.

“Pardon the late night request, but did you see anyone coming up to our floor or apartment out of the ordinary? I only ask because our security system just alerted me that someone broke in and I have video of a young woman in a robe skulking around our apartment,” explained Sunset.

“No. No one has come or gone on the penthouse floor since your guests arrived,” answered the concierge. “The only thing out of the ordinary is three guests arrived with arrangements for special accommodations on the floor below yours. They weren’t wearing robes or anything though. They just looked like a bunch of continental tourists.”

“Can you ring them up and see if they are still here? If they are, maybe I can ask them some questions. They might have seen something suspicious,” requested Sunset.

“Hai! Give me a minute. I will check it out,” confirmed the concierge. Sunset thanked her and hung up.

A few minutes later, there was a knock at her door. “Who is it?” Sunset asked the intercom.

“It is me, the concierge,” came the answer. “You might want to see this. Can you come with me?”

“Hai! Coming,” answered Sunset. She rolled to the door and opened it. The concierge led her back to the elevator. The door shut and locked behind Sunset as she followed.

“Dumb question,” asked Sunset. “Do you ever sleep? I swear you are here every time I call. I know about job loyalty, but dang!”

The concierge laughed. “You have no idea how often we get asked that question!” she grinned.

“We?” questioned Sunset. The elevator door opened. The concierge led Sunset over to one of the apartment doors, and entered her combination on the keypad. The door opened, and they entered.

“My sisters and I,” she explained. “We’re triplets. We each work a shift so there is always someone on call if something is needed.”

Sunset laughed, groaned, and rolled her eyes. “I’m an idiot. Of course! Sorry for asking!” She apologized.

The concierge laughed. “No worries. Happy to explain it. I’m actually kind of impressed you took so long to ask. Most people blurt the question out within days of meeting us.” She moved into one of the bedrooms. Sunset rolling in behind her. “This is what I wanted to show you. What can you make of this? Clearly the girls are no longer here, and given that they never actually left, they must have made a hasty retreat some other way.”

Sunset looked around the room. Take out food boxes were thrown on the beds. Other than that, and the lingering magical stench of dark magic, there was no sign anyone had been here. “Yeah. I bet it was them. I sense dark magic here, and the lingering traces of a teleport. One sec. Let me see if I can trace it back.” She shut her eyes, following the trace of the teleport through the ether to its exit point. Projecting her senses past the exit, she came out of it in a field in front of a large manor. She could see the burned outline of a Phoenix surrounding the property.

Her eyes shot open, glowing completely white. “Son of a bitch!” she swore. “God help them if I get my hands on them!”

“Ms. Shimmer, are you alright?” asked the concierge in concern.

Sunset’s eyes returned to their normal color, and she turned to the concierge. “It was them. It was the same damned coven that tried to kill Twilight before. That’s why she had the knives in the video. Bitch was coming to finish the job they started before. This means war.”

“War, Ms. Shimmer? Now? Really? Should I alert the authorities?” asked the concierge in concern.

Sunset nodded. “Tell whomever you have to. No one threatens myself or my friends. They have signed their own death warrants.”

The concierge paled. “Certainly, Ms. Shimmer. Please let us know if you need anything. Meanwhile I will keep you apprised of the authorities' response.”

Sunset nodded. “Thank you! I think I’ve seen enough. I’m going to join Twilight and inform her of what we found.”

“Very good, Ms. Shimmer,” the concierge agreed. “Where shall I say you are going?”

Looking around, Sunset sighed. “Probably better if you don’t ask. Not feeling exactly safe saying anything around here. If you need me, call me. I will have my phone on me at all times.”

The concierge nodded. “As you wish, Ms. Shimmer.”

Sunset nodded her thanks, and disappeared in a flash of Teal.

And reappeared in the bunker control room. She wheeled out to Twilight, who was waiting for her at the table. Index sounded asleep in her arms.

“So what did you find out?” asked Twilight quietly as Sunset rolled up next to her.

“It was that damned coven again. They came back to finish the job. They used a psychic teleport to get into the apartment from the floor below. They must have used charms similar to the ones we found in the assassins office to use both psychic powers and magical powers without killing themselves.” She turned to Twilight. “The bitch had two sacrificial daggers with her. Clearly she intended to finish what they started,” she growled. “I know it was them because they used a magical teleport from the bedroom of the apartment they were in below us. I tracked it back to their damned coven.”

Twilight blanched. “Damn. So good thing we got to the bunker.”

“Yeah. Very good thing,” agreed Sunset. “I hesitate to think what she might have done to the girls or mages, or Toma, once she realized she was outmatched against us.”

Twilight gulped. “Yeah. Very good thing,” she agreed. “So, next step?”

“Next step, we stay here and enjoy the rest of our weekend. No way in hell they have the power to track us here. Here we are safe,” sighed Sunset. “Don’t tell the girls. It would just freak them out. We can fill in Kaori and Stiyl later.”

Twilight nodded. “Good plan. Okay, let's head back in and watch the rest of the movie. Don’t want to seem too suspicious.”

Sunset nodded and followed Twilight back into the den where they took their places and watched the end of the movie.

“Did you see her? Were you able to track where she came from?” asked a very nervous witch, looking over her associate’s shoulder into the scrying portal she was maintaining.

“Ssh! Trying to concentrate!” growled her fellow witch in frustration. She muttered an incantation. Her eyes went milky white, as she mumbled, staring into the portal. With a snap, she closed her eyes. When they were opened, they were normal again. She turned to her fellow witch with a grin.

“Found them!” she cackled. “She apparated out right in front of the portal. I was able to track her back to her destination. They’re on Mars!”

Movie ended, Sunset and Twilight moved the girls into the extra bedroom, tucking the still sleeping Index into bed with them.

“Ah. I want to sleep with you guys,” whined Kuroko. “I love it when we all snuggle together.”

“Not tonight girls, Twilight and I need some alone time,” answered Sunset honestly. “Maybe another night.”

“Ah man. Now I really want to be with you guys!” complained Kuroko.

At the same time, both Twilight and Sunset looked at Kuroko askance. “Boundaries, Kuroko!” they both said at the same time. They looked at each other, then both shrugged.

Still grumbling, Kuroko climbed into bed with her friends. Twilight and Sunset left, closing the door. They entered their bedroom to find Toma, Kaori, and Stiyl sitting on their bed waiting.

“Okay. Spill. What’s up?” asked Karoi in concern.

“Noticed, did you?” commented Sunset. The mages and Toma all nodded their ascent.

“An assassin from the same coven that tried to kill Twilight last time teleported into the apartment. She had two knives, and looked pretty intent on finishing what they had started. When she didn’t find us, she teleported out,” informed Sunset.

“I thought you used the spells we taught you to ward the apartment! There’s no way they should have been able to get in,” commented Kaori.

“We did. They didn’t apparate. They used psychic teleportation,” answered Twilight. “Apparently they were staying in the apartment below us so range would not be an issue.”

“How?” asked Stiyl, confused. “Any mage trying to use psychic powers like that should drop dead from the effects.”

“Apparently, they used charms like the ones we originally found in the assassin’s apartment. Charms that negate the negative effects of psychic power on magical users,” continued Sunset.

“Holy hell! That’s a thing? I thought you said those were experimental and didn’t work right?” blanched Stiyl.

“Apparently they figured it out,” Sunset confirmed. “She clearly used one, and didn’t seem to be suffering any ill effects from using a psychic teleport. She was clearly using scrying magic while she searched the apartment. I think we have to assume those are a thing now.”

“Damn. That complicates things considerably,” noted Kaori. “So what are your plans for now?”

“There’s no way they can follow us here. We stay put, and follow our original plans for the weekend. We get some rest, go on with our exploration tomorrow, and wait for the authorities to contact us. We can go over whatever footage of the assassin group they find and make plans from there,” answered Sunset.

“Okay. There it is then. I’m heading to bed. I want to be rested for tomorrow,” Kaori stretched.

Stiyl nodded. “Ditto,” he said. “Come on, Toma. Let’s get some sleep.” The two of them left to return to their room.

Kaori moved over to the second bed in the room, and hopped into it, pulling the covers up. “You don’t mind if I stay with you tonight, do you? I told the guys they could have the room.”

Sunset smirked. “No, Kaori. We don’t mind. Good night.” She wheeled over to her side of the bed, and transferred in. Twilight climbed into her side of the bed and snuggled up with her BFF. Sunset turned the lights off from her phone.

“Hey, you two aren’t going to keep me up all night with your, um… passion, are you?” teased Kaori in the dark from her bed.

“Good night, Kaori!” Sunset growled from her bed. Twilight laughed. Everyone drifted off to sleep.

Author's Note

And the plot thickens. So the coven now knows where the girls are hidden. I don’t see this going well for the girls.
And Sunset is a stinker.

07 - Sunset - The Lair of the Goddess

Saturday, September 13, 8:00 AM Tokyo time.

Sunset woke, smiling. She rolled over to face her BFF, who was snoring gently, still asleep, a smile gracing her beautiful features. Sunset kissed her gently on the cheek, trying not to wake her.

“Hmmm,” groaned Twilight happily. “More please,” she muttered, still half asleep. Sunset giggled, and kissed her again. Hearing a quiet laugh, she remembered their current roommate.

She raised her head slightly to look over her BFFs head. Kaori was laying on her bed, facing them wearing a sly smirk. She raised an eyebrow, then teased, “Is this where you make me want to run from the room in embarrassment? You were both so good last night. Saving it up for the morning?”

“I will smite you,” laughed Sunset. “Friend or not.”

“I dare you try,” laughed Kaori back, grinning.

“You’re just jealous,” teased Sunset.

“You’ll never know,” teased Kaori back.

Still smiling, Twilight’s face turned beet red. “She’s watching us, isn’t she?” she asked, eyes still shut.

Sunset laughed, and Kaori as well. “Don’t stop on my account,” she teased again. “Go on right ahead with whatever you are doing.”

Twilight opened her eyes. “Way to kill the moment, Kaori!” she joked.

“Not my fault you two are so shy,” Kaori rejoined, getting up. “I’ll be right back. Going to use the bathroom.”

“TMI, Kaori,” Sunset teased her back.

Twilight kissed Sunset on the cheek. “Roommates! Am I right?” she laughed, getting up grabbing her and Sunset’s clothes and Sunset’s bathroom bag. “Hop on, love. Sunset express is leaving the station!” She sat on the edge of the bed by Sunset.

“Now you’re just trying to embarrass me!” laughed Sunset, sitting up and putting her arms around Twilight’s neck. Twilight positioned Sunset’s legs around her, and pulled her up onto her back. “Maaaaybe….” she teased as she stood up. “Or maybe I just really love my BFF, and want to be a special part of her morning.”

Sunset flushed, leaning into her BFF. “I so love you right now, Sparky,” she sighed.

“I love you too, Sunny! Now and always! Now, to the bathroom!” Twilight opened the door and stepped out into the main room, Sunset on her back and bag and clothes in her arm.

The girls were up, their bedroom door open. “Duh’ah!” gushed Mikoto, seeing the Twilight and Sunset. Her eyes lit up with happiness. The other girls turned to see what she was looking at, causing them to gush as well.

“So jelly right now,” muttered Kuroko dreamily, watching as Twilight waved to them as they headed into the bathroom. Sunset turned to the girls and winked with a smile, wiggling her eyebrows. The girls excitedly jumped off the bed and grabbed their clothes to follow them in.

Stiyl and Toma watched their antics from the Den where they were browsing on the laptops. Toma turned to Stiyl with a grin. “Girls, am I right?” He laughed.

“Don’t I know it,” Stiyl laughed. They turned back to their laptops.

The coven was bustling with activity. They had found where their targets were hiding, and now needed to find a way to get to them to complete the sacrifices they had promised their gods.

That was the problem. They now knew exactly where they were hiding. But no one had the power to actually pull off a teleport off the planet, let alone to Mars. But those they served did. The only problem was, their gods were greedy gods. They wanted a human sacrifice for everything they did. That was problematic, as placating their gods had over time given the coven a bit of a reputation in the surrounding area, even if the locals couldn’t actually see or find them due to the magical warding. The rumors and tales were enough to drive off anyone from living nearby. So they had to recruit their sacrifices from other places, and most of those were either watched or protected in some manner.

Because of this, they were looking for a way to use the old gods magical strength without actually using a sacrifice. It was an ancient magic, rumored in the later coven teachings, but the actual spell and ritual were only mentioned as a listing in more ancient texts of the coven. So they were digging madly through the coven library, looking for any sign of the ritual needed.

“We really need to get a librarian to straighten this mess out,” grumbled one witch as she poured through a pile of old tomes and scrolls where she sat at a library table.

“We had one,” commented the witch next to her without looking up from the scrolls she was pouring through. “An emergency came up, and she was sacrificed to get the power we needed to meet it.”

“That sucks,” agreed the first witch, still reading as well. “You would think we could have found a replacement by now.”

“The librarian association black listed us,” grumbled the other witch. “Too many of the librarians they sent us went missing. They suspected us, so we’re on the blacklist.”

“All the more reason to find this spell. This isn’t the middle ages, we can't just go around kidnapping people every time we need something. Too much communication now, everything gets noticed,” noted the first witch.

“Agreed,” nodded the second witch. “Confound it, where is this infernal spell? Are we going to have to read every scroll and book in this damned library?”

From across the room, a witch called out. “Found it! I think I’ve found it! Come take a look!” Everyone raced over to her, as she read out the ritual and spell from a crumbling scroll.

“Finally!” called out the first witch. “About damned time! Thank you eternal ones!”

They rushed out of the library, led by the witch that had found the passage, scroll in hand.

The girls were all laughing, splashing each other in the spa, taking a quick soak after their morning ablutions and washing. Kaori sat with them, laughing at their antics.

“You girls have a lot of energy for the first thing in the morning,” joked Kaori.

“Ah, the energy of youth,” grinned Twilight from her spot next to Sunset.

Sunset laughed. “You’re only four years older than them, oh goddess mine,” teased Sunset. “And you’re pretty chipper most mornings yourself.”

“The miracle of caffeine,” laughed Twilight. “Behold, it makes all morning possible.”

“It does help,” agreed Sunset with a grin. “Some mornings more than others.”

“Speaking of mornings and caffeine, who’s ready for breakfast? I think we’ve played around in here long enough. Any longer I’ll be feeding a group of cute young prunes!” teased Twilight.

Index nodded happily. “I could go for some breakfast!” she called out cheerfully, hopping out of the spa and running over to the stool and basket with her habit. She dried off quickly and donned her clothes. The other girls followed her at a more leisurely pace, drying and dressing as well.

Twilight lifted her friend, carrying her over to her stool to get dressed.

“Oh la la!” called out Ruiko, teasing.

“Shuddup you! I will smite!” teased Sunset back. The girls all giggled while Kaori rolled her eyes and grinned.

All dressed and ready for the day, the girls headed out to the kitchen.

They found the boys already at the stove. Toma was wearing an apron while cooking pancakes. There were two piles beside him, the smaller one containing burnt samples of his cooking. Stiyl was just taking the tofu bacon out of the microwave.

Sunset laughed. “Absolute A for effort, you two! Thank you!” She rolled over to Toma. “So good job! More edible than burnt, always appreciated,” she teased. “Need a hand with anything?”

“I think I finally have this down,” Toma grinned. “The first batch or two may be a bit less than edible.” He eyed the burnt pile. “I think I should be done in a few minutes. Probably a good time to set the table. I know the eggs cook fairly quickly.”

Twilight nodded, already whipping the eggs in a mixing bowl. “Good point, Toma.” She turned to the girls. “Girls, set the table please? Pancake breakfast, juice and coffee for everyone, and the toppings of course.” She looked over at Index, smiling happily at her place. “And leftover pizza for Index as well. I don’t think a small stack of pancakes and some eggs and bacon are going to be enough for our hungry friend.”

“Thank you!” Index called out happily. Mikoto put a box of leftover cold pizza in front of Index, which she happily started eating.

Places set, everyone got in line for a turn at the coffee maker. Toma finished the last of the pancakes, setting both plates on the table. “All yours, Twilight,” he smiled as he got in line for coffee.

“Thanks!” called out Twilight as she used the tofu bacon oil to grease the pan and cooked the eggs. By the time the last of the line had their coffee and sat down, the eggs were done. She plated them up, turning off the stove, then placed them on the table.

Sunset smiled, pulling the chair out for her BFF. Twilight sat, and sipped the steaming coffee waiting for her at her place. “Thank you, Sunny!” she smiled.

“For you, anything, Sparky!” grinned Sunset, sipping her own coffee. Turning to everyone, she called out. “Let’s say grace, then eat this feast!” She led them in Harmonic grace, then they tucked into the food.

Everyone satiated, kitchen cleaned and food put away, they were ready to start their adventure.

“Okay everyone! Sunset and I are going to pick up our missing guest, and our ride for the day. Go ahead and play or whatever you want, and we’ll be back in a bit. Shouldn’t take more than an half hour or so I think,” Twilight called out. She looked down at Sunset, who smiled and nodded. “Okay, stay inside and stay safe. We’ll be back!” She grabbed the handles of Sunset’s chair, and with a flash of magenta, they disappeared.

With a flash, they appeared inside of Twilight’s garage. Sunset rolled out the side door, and over to the gate in the side yard where Dash was waiting for them.

“Hey, slow-pokes! Where’ve you been? I’ve been up for hours,” Dash teased.

“They’re called timezones, Dash,” snarked Sunset. “Not rocket science.”

“Whatevs!” grinned Dash, giving Sunset a hug. “So everyone else is already at the bunker?”

“Yup,” answered Sunset, rolling back into the garage. “Coming?”

“Would not miss this for the world!” agreed Dash, following her in.

Twilight looked up from her phone. The latest bloom data could be seen on the screen. “Hey Dash! Anyone else coming along? Or are you it for today?” Twilight asked.

“The girls all had work,” answered Dash. “But Chang’e mentioned she might come along. Can we pick her up?”

“Chang’e is coming? Wow, okay. Sure, one moment,” Twilight texted Drs. Moonshot and Long at NASA that they were heading to Tranquility base. She got an almost immediate affirmation from them.

“Okay. I let NASA know we are coming for a quick visit. Let’s head there first, then back to the NASA site on Mars for our ride for the day,” commented Twilight. She put a hand on Sunset’s back, and took Dash’s hand. “Ready?” she asked.

“Ready Freddy!” Sunset agreed. Dash nodded. In a flash of magenta, they disappeared.

And appeared with a flash by the Lunar transporter in Tranquility Base. “Dang, Sparky,” commented Sunset. “You’re getting better at this than I am.”

Twilight laughed. “Plenty of practice. Where is Chang’e?”

She felt someone hugging her from behind. “Hello, dear pranksters!” greeted Chang’e from behind her.

Leaning into the hug and clasping her hands over Chang’e’s, Twilight greeted her back. “Hi Chang’e! Heard you were interested in joining our little adventure. Feel like a trip to Mars?”

“I thought you might never ask,” joked Chang’e. “Yes, I would not want to miss this. A chance to once again visit the lair of the old God Mars.”

“Alright then,” smiled Twilight. “Let’s do this!” She placed a hand on Sunset’s shoulder. Dash held her hand, while Chang’e continued to embrace her friend. With a flash of magenta, they disappeared.

And appeared in the hangar of the NASA Martian Base, beside the TACIT transporter.

Twilight looked around, and spied an engineer walking through equipment racks with his clipboard. She walked over to him.

“Hello! We’re your neighbors! We were told we could borrow one of the rovers for the day?” she greeted.

The man looked up, eyes widening. “Oh! Oh my! Hello! Yes, we were told you might be showing up. Which one would you be?” he asked.

“Sorry, my apologies for forgetting to introduce myself. My name is Twilight Sparkle. I’m the inventor of the transporters you’ve been using. My partner over there with the shockingly beautiful red hair is Sunset Shimmer, with our friends Rainbow Dash, and Dr. Henge from Tranquility Base.”

The man held out his hand. “Pleased to meet you, Ms. Sparkle. And delighted to meet the inventor of the transporter. I can’t thank you enough for that. It’s such a delight to be able to move around the solar system. It’s truly a dream come true!” he gushed, shaking Twilight’s hand. “Oh, I’m Dr. Larson. I’m one of the researchers assigned to this station. And certainly, I was asked to help you out when you showed up.” He walked towards the rovers, parked by the airlock.

Twilight waved to the rest of the group, who moved to follow them. Dr. Larson stopped by one of the large rovers. “I was told you had a large group to shepherd around today, so you would need one of the largest rovers. It’s an eight seater, hope that’s enough.” He opened the hatch for them, allowing them to enter and look around.

“It will do, thank you!” smiled Twilight. “Where do I sign? I assume you have the temporary requisition on you?”

“Absolutely! Right here please? And initial here, here, and here. Also here.” he held the forms for her while she signed and initialed the paperwork. When she was done, he pulled out some papers stapled together. “Here is your copy. Thank you! And I hope you have a wonderful time! Just contact control on channel 7 with the radio when you are ready to leave, and they will help you work through the airlock procedure.” He smiled, waving as he walked back to the racks he had been inspecting.

“Wow, that was friendly and efficient. He works for the government?” snarked Sunset.

“He works for NASA. If the government ran as well as NASA, I think the world would explode in shock,” replied Twilight dryly.

Chang’e laughed. “Well at least some things never change,” she observed.

Dash and Twilight helped Sunset get into the rover, folding up her chair and stowing it behind the seats. Chang’e climbed in, sitting behind the driver's seat. Dash and Twilight moved to the front, Dash taking the pilot seat while Twilight took the copilot spot. Twilight flipped on the radio, setting the channel control to 7. She keyed the mike.

“Control, this is Twilight Sparkle, in rover…”, she looked over to Dash. “Dash, what rover is this?”

Looking around, Dash called out. “It’s MU-8a.” she answered.

“In MU-8a,” continued Twilight to control. “We are requesting egress to the Martian landscape, and need instructions on navigating through your airlock procedure. Please advise.”

“MU-8a, one moment please while we prepare,” confirmed the control operator. A moment later, he came back on channel. “MU-8a, confirmed for egress to the Martian landscape. Prepare to receive airlock authorization and instructions.”

“MU-8a prepared,” confirmed Twilight.

A red light appeared on the airlock door panel before them. “Airlock is being cycled in preparation for your departure. Please prepare to enter. The light turned green, and a large door rolled up before them. Fully opened, operations resumed instruction. “The door has been opened, and the airlock is ready to receive you. Please pilot your vehicle into the airlock being sure to pull forward to the blue line before the egress door. Stop just behind the line, and notify us when ready.”

“MU-8a acknowledging. Will advise,” Twilight confirmed. Dash flipped the motor switches, and gently moved the rover into the airlock, just behind the blue line. She turned to Twilight. “All set, Twilight.”

“MU-8a confirmed behind the blue line and ready for airlock cycle. Repeat, MU-8a confirmed ready for airlock cycle,” Twilight confirmed.

“Operations acknowledges. Please stand by,” reported operations.

Both Dash and Twilight checked their stations for any issues with containment. All checks came back green. “MU-8a confirms double greens on containment check. All systems are go,” reported Twilight.

“Operations confirms containment checks are go,” confirmed the operator. The door behind them closed as red lights started flashing in the airlock bay.

“MU-8a, be advised that airlock cycling has begun,” reported the operator.

“MU-8a acknowledges, airlock cycling has begun,” repeated Twilight.

The door behind them closed with a soft clang. They could hear the chugging of the compressors removing the air from the airlock. They grew softer and softer, until they could barely be felt through the skin of the rover. A moment later, the red light on the panel before them switched from a red light to a green one.

Operations came back on speaker. “Operations confirms, airlock cycle has completed. Please prepare for egress.”

“MU-8a acknowledges, airlock cycle completed. Prepared for egress,” confirmed Twilight.

“Operations confirms, MU-8a prepared for egress. Acknowledged,” confirmed the operator.

The door before them rumbled, slowly raising. As it opened, they could see a ramp leading up to the Martian surface. The door completed opening, locking into position. “Operation confirms, egress enabled. You are go for egress, MU-8a. Godspeed,” the operator informed them.

“Woo hoo! Let’s get this party started!” Dash whooped. She throttled the rover forward, angling it up the ramp and out onto the Martian surface. After they cleared the tunnel, Twilight confirmed their exit with operations.

“Operations, MU-8a here. MU-8a confirms successful egress. We are outside. Thank you and best wishes!” reported Twilight.

“To you as well, MU-8a! Please advise when you require return access. Operations out,” confirmed the operator.

“Okay, homeward bound!” smiled Twilight, returning the mike to the radio.

“Which way?” asked Dash of her copilot.

“Second star to the right, straight ahead ‘till morning,” smiled Twilight.

Dash grinned. “We’re not flying to Neverland, dork. Really, which way?”

Twilight laughed. “Look around you, Dash. Did you ever think you would be sitting here doing this?”

Dash laughed. “Okay, got me there,” she admitted.

“Neverland. I present to you our Neverland,” Twilight teased. “Okay seriously, set your heading to 0.7. We should be only a dozen klicks away.”

Dash turned the rover to the desired heading and moved out. “Yeah, it really is Neverland, isn’t it? I never even imagined,” she smiled.

The door to the bunker opened, and Twilight walked in, fully ponied up into her angelic form. “Party time, crew! Time to head out!” she called out. Everyone cheered and headed up the ramp. When the last of them had exited, Twilight shut and locked the door.

Following them up the ramp, they were greeted by the sight of Sunset and Dash, both also ponied up, a meter off the ground.

Sunset called out to them. “Slight change of plans. The party is a bit bigger than we originally planned, and the rover only seats eight. So four of us are going to be outside while the rest of us ride in comfort.”

Kuroko waved her hand wildly. Sunset laughed. “Yes, Kuroko. You can be outside.” Kuroko did a little happy dance.

“Dash and Twilight will be outside with me as well. Inside, Dr. Heng’e has agreed to pilot the rover, as she has experience with these models. Karoi will act as her copilot. And the rest of you will be in the first class section behind the pilot,” Sunset quipped.

Twilight checked everyone’s packs as they clambered into the rover. “Headsets on, radios active,” she reminded them. “Otherwise we won’t be able to talk together, and where is the fun in that?”

They pulled out their headsets, powering and checking them, then placed them on, buckling themselves into the seats. Chang’e turned around to face them. “Okay, when everyone is settled, we will get this show on the road.” Making sure her headset was active and keyed, she called out to Twilight. “Everyone is in, shutting and locking the door.” Kaori nodded, scrambling back and pulling the door shut, dogging the door tightly closed. She scrambled back to her seat. “Everyone buckled and ready?” Kaori called out.

Everyone confirmed they were set. “Okay Twilight, we’re good to go here,” Kaori called out.

On the roof of the rover, Twilight sat, Kuroko cradled in her arms. Sunset and Dash sat just before them, hanging onto the luggage railing. “Good to go, Chang’e! Let’s rock!” Twilight called out.

“Hang onto your shorts!” laughed Dash. Inside the rover, Chang’e smiled and started the rover forward, heading for Olympus Mons.

“I’m bored! This is boring,” groaned Dash an hour later, as the rover lumbered towards the pass up to the caldera.

Sunset rolled her eyes with a grin. “Classic Dashie,” she teased.

Dash turned to her. “What’s that supposed to mean?” she whined.

“You, Dashie, are an adrenaline junkie,” smiled Sunset. “If there isn’t something going on that triggers your adrenaline high, you shut down and just go to sleep.”

“That’s a load of crap,” yawned Dash, eyes drooping. “I just need a lot of sleep because I am so energetic the rest of the time.”

“You sleep anytime we are not doing something you like,” came Chang’e’s voice over the headset.

“Not helping, mistress,” growled Dash, valiantly fighting another yawn.

Sunset giggled. “Now who is acting like an old married couple?” she teased.

Dash shot her a dirty look. “Hey, it’s not like that!” she growled. “You know I don’t swing that way. And my mistress is married for pity's sake!”

Sunset smiled, then cocked one eyebrow at Dash. “You sure about that swing of yours?” she teased.

Dash turned away, settling back into a semi-comfortable position against the roof. “Whatever,” she growled. Several chuckles were heard over the headset. Dash scowled, staring off into the horizon.

Relenting, Sunset reached over and placed a hand on her friend's shoulder. Dash stiffened.

“Hey Dashie. Want to stretch those wings out? How about we take a flight together,” suggested Sunset.

Dash turned back around, facing Sunset with a hopeful look. “For real?” she asked.

“For real, Dashie. You and me, flying together. Take a break from bouncing around like luggage on a train. What do you say?” Sunset asked with a grin.

“I say Heck Yeah!” called out Dash, spinning back around and immediately fully awake again. “Let’s go.”

Sunset turned to Twilight. “You okay with that, Sparky? Mind holding down the fort here?” she asked.

Twilight smiled. “No problems, Sunny. You two go have some fun,” she laughed. She looked down at Kuroko, who was smiling, sound asleep in her arms. “I’ll just stay here with our little sissy.”

Sunset smiled. “You’re the best, Sparky. I love you!”

“Love you too, dork!” Twilight smiled back. “Go on, keep Dashie awake and go have some fun.”

Dash rolled her eyes. “Ha ha ha,” she deadpanned. Turning to Sunset, she grinned. “Alright, Sunset! Let’s get this going!” She crouched to launch into the air.

“Wait up, Dashie. Let’s fly together,” called out Sunset, flapping her wings and rising a few meters above the rover. Dash matched her, and together they rose up above the Martian landscape.

“Now this is more like it!” called out Dashie happily, twirling in the air beside her friend. “Way better than just sitting on top of that tin can.”

A minute later they were far above the rover, the Martian landscape spread out beneath them. Dash stopped her spinning and took Sunset’s hands. “Hey, Sunset! I have an idea?” she grinned wickedly.

Sunset looked at Dash, eyebrow cocked. “You know we’re wearing headsets, right? If you’re thinking of showing me which way you really swing by inducting me into the mile high club, everyone is going to know,” she teased.

Dash laughed. “You wish, pervert. Get your mind out of the gutter. No, I have a way better idea,” she grinned. She let go of Sunset’s hands, then yelled out. “Last one to the caldera is a sore loser!” She blasted off in a rainbow of color.

“No Dash! Wait!” Sunset called out. Too late. Dash was a blur of prismatic light shooting towards the mountain side. Sunset started after her, holding her face in her hands. “Dash, dammit you dork!” she sighed.

At about that moment, Dash's rainbow petered out. She crested, then started angling towards the base of the mountain, still moving fast.

“Shit! Shit shit shit!” called out Sunset, putting on a burst of speed to catch up with her boneheaded friend.

Before she could catch up, Dash augered into the side of the mountain.

The witches of the coven were all gathered in a large room, bloody sigils powering a large blood drawn spell circle in the center of the room. They were all looking a little peaked, as although the ritual did not call for the usual sacrifice, it was powered by blood magic. Enough blood that all of them had donated a pint each to the cause. Some energy snacks and fruit juice later, they were ready to try the ritual.

“This better work,” growled the first witch to her fellows. “If I have to donate for a second try, I may just faint.” That got a few laughs from the others.

One of their assassin sisters stood beside the circle, a sacrificial dagger in each hand, limbering up and shaking off any stress before the ritual started. If everything worked correctly, the ritual would provide her with enough magical mana to make the teleport to Mars, take out her two targets, then return. She visualized the attack in her head to keep focused.

Around her, the rest of the coven lined up around the circle. “Let us begin!” called out the lead witch. They began chanting a litany to the old gods, as proscribed by the scroll to begin the ritual. When the chant was complete, the lead witch called out, incanting the spell in the language of the old gods, imploring them to grant their faithful this boon of power with the gift of their sacrificial blood. The runes glowed red, then spread to the entire circle. The air shimmered with dark power, warping the view of the assassin in the circle’s center. With a slam and a flash of amber, she disappeared.

Sunset raced to where Dash had crashed at top speed. At the last moment, she slowed to land gracefully next to her fallen friend. And crashed to the ground next to her, legs folded up under her uselessly.

“Damn it!” she swore. She dragged herself over to Dash, rolling her over and inspecting her friend. “No sign of broken bones,” she said to herself. Several relieved sighs were heard over her headset. “Checking for internal damage,” she commented, feeling her friend's abdomen and using her magical sight to verify that Dash was indeed just knocked silly. “Ah shit! She’s not breathing!” Sunset called out in a panic.

She pushed herself into a sitting position, then cradled Dash in her arms. She put her mouth over Dash’s, holding her nose closed. She breathed into her friend, then let the air back out. Repeat. Breath in, let the air out. She did this for a minute while everyone on the radio was completely silent, hearing only Sunset’s breaths in, and Dash’s lungs expelling the air.,

Dash twitched in Sunset’s arms, then coughed and started gasping, then breathing on her own.

“Thank the Maker!” Sunset called out happily, cradling her friend, tears rolling down her cheeks. Over the radio, cheers broke out.

Dash slowly opened her eyes, looking at Sunset. “Hiya Sunset,” she called out groggily. “What happened? And why are you crying? Did someone get hurt?” she asked, still clueless.

Sunset clutched her tightly to her. “Yes, you bonehead! Someone got hurt! Someone I love dearly!” she cried.

“Man, I hope they're okay,” she responded groggily. “What the heck hit me?” She pulled away a bit from Sunset, looking around. “Hey, weren’t we flying a moment ago? Are we already at the caldera?” She turned and saw the slope beside them. “I guess not. Why did we take a break here I wonder?”

“Dash, you idiot,” sobbed Sunset. “Don’t you ever do that again, you dope!”

“Do what?” asked Dash. She rubbed her eyes, then shook her head and took a deep breath. She started, then turned back to Sunset. “Now I remember. I challenged you to a race, and took off for the cladera. I did something stupid again, huh?” she asked.

Sunset hugged her friend. “Yes, Dash, you did something wrong.” She pulled back and looked her friend in the eyes. “Do you know what it was?”

“It wasn’t the magic. I felt it, I was fine. I was staying close enough that I wasn’t going to deplete myself like last time. And the magic was there, I felt fine,” Dash mused.

“It wasn’t the magic Dash, though I am happy you gave that a thought. What else is missing on Mars? Besides magic,” asked Sunset.

Dash thought for a bit, then facepalmed. “Air,” she replied simply.

“Good girl, Dashie. A bit slow to get there, but correct. Next time, try to think of that before you choke yourself out, black out, crash, and stop breathing,” agreed Sunset, playfully slugging her friend in the arm. She dried her tears. “So, want to try again? This time not racing to the caldera, but going together like I said in the first place?”

Dash hugged her friend, then stood up, pulling Sunset up with her, holding her in her arms. “That sounds perfect, Sunset,” she smiled.

Sunset flapped her wings, lifting out of her friend's embrace, and held out her hand. “Okay, Dashie. One more time! To the caldera!” she called out.

Dash leapt up and joined her, staying right by her side. “You don’t have to ask me twice!” she agreed.

Sunset laughed. “Yeah, apparently I do,” she snarked. Everyone laughed over the headsets.

Dash laughed as well. “Okay, got me there. Good one, Sunset!” Together they winged their way up the side of the mountain towards the caldera.

The assassin apparated inside of the bunker, crouched into a tight combat stance, daggers at the ready. Looking around, she didn’t see any sign of anyone, including the two goddesses she had come to sacrifice. Staying low, she darted from room to room, looking for any sign of her quarry. Finding no one, she spoke into her sleeve. “It’s a bust. They’re not here,” she reported in disappointment. With a flash of amber, she disappeared.

Sunset and Dash crested the mountain, and began flying around the caldera, looking for signs of the lair. Sunset called out. “Chang’e, do you know where he kept his lair?” she asked.

“Not really,” answered Chang’e. “The few times I was ever able to visit, we just went directly to the lair. I don’t recall anything about exactly where it was, except that it was located in the caldera of an inactive volcano.” She thought for a moment. “There was also a great amount of plants, and vegetation. Like myself, he had a love for the fruits of the land, and had many orchards of fruit trees, vines, and fields.”

“Hm. From the measurements we made with the drone, and our field examination, there was an indication of large amounts of life along a vector that bisects the caldera. One sec,” Twilight mused aloud. A few moments later, she came online. “Looking at the satellite photos now. The line roughly passes between the twin spires behind you, close to where you are now, and the large peak on the far side of the caldera. So somewhere between those might be the best place to focus your search. We’ll join you when we crest and enter the caldera ourselves.”

“Got it, Sparky! Thanks!” called out Sunset. Her and Dash set out for the twin spires to start their search for the old God of Mars’ lair.

An hour later, the rover crested the mountain and descended into the caldera. They headed for the area of the line crossing through the caldera most likely to include the lair.

“How’s it going, Sunny, Dash?” asked Twilight, watching the two of them crisscrossing, searching for any sign of the lair itself.

“Not great. We’re on our second pass, going slower this time. Didn’t see any sign of it on the first pass, obviously. So we’re going a little wider, and slower,” replied Sunset over the helmet. “I’m hoping to get a ping from my magical senses at least when we are close enough. It must be either deep or well shielded, I suspect.”

“Sunny, I see a fissure off to the far right. It looks promising, we should go check it out,” called out Dash on the headset.

“You have good eyes, Dash. I don’t see it,” responded Sunset.

“Yeah, it’s past where we were looking. At the very edge. And it’s not that big. Follow me?” suggested Dash.

“Sure thing, Dashie. I’m on your six,” responded Sunset, following right behind her friend to ensure Dash stayed within the bubble of air she was maintaining.

As they got closer, Sunset called out, “I see it now! Dash, dang you have good eyes. Good find. And it looks big enough for a vehicle to go through. Here’s hoping if it is the entrance, we don’t have to all get out and walk.”

Hovering before it, they could see the fissure extended for several hundred feet, deepening as it progressed, until it ended in a canyon wall. At the base of that wall was a cave opening, as wide as the fissure and just as tall.

“Woo hoo! Now that looks like the start of a Daring Do adventure!” called out Dash happily.

“Way to jinx it, Dashie!” laughed Sunset next to her. “Hey Chang’e, Sparky. How soon do you think until you can join us?”

Chang’e responded first. “I cannot really run this rover any faster than this on this uneven terrain.”

“Given that, I estimate we are at least 30 minutes from you,” added Twilight. “You could wait, or…”

“Or we could go in together and start exploring to clear the path for when you get here!” Dash exclaimed excitedly. “Daring Do, eat your heart out!”

Sunset facepalmed. “Dash, I swear, if we run into pitfalls or traps now after you said that, I will smite you.” They both laughed.

Chang’e joined in the laughter. “No smiting my avatar, Sunset!” she called out playfully.

“Okay, I guess we are going in. And so very glad you set up our radios to use TACIT channels so we can stay in touch. Thank you for that Sparky,” stated Sunset. “See you guys soon.”

Sunset and Dash flew into the cave slowly.

The assassin sat in the middle of the now inactive circle, the witches of the coven sitting where they had been standing. They were reviewing the attempt, trying to determine their next course of action.

“So if they are not in their Lair, then where are they?” questioned the lead witch of the Coven.

“I did not see any trace of an apparation leaving the lair,” reported the assassin. “However, that doesn’t mean they didn’t return back here to a different location.”

“How do you figure that?” one of the witches called out.

“They had one of those devices we keep hearing about. A TACIT transporter. It was in one of the rooms I searched. They’re always paired units. It’s likely it’s paired to something on Earth, allowing their followers to come and go directly,” responded the assassin.

“That actually makes a great deal of sense. And there is also the fact that they can survive on the surface. With the goddesses power, they can shepherd their followers all over the surface. Perhaps they found out we were onto them, and escaped to the surface to avoid us,” mused another witch.

“But what would that gain them? They have to return at some point,” commented another.

“Wait. I recall there is another base only a dozen or so kilometers from them. NASA I believe, whom they gave TACIT technology to. Perhaps they escaped to them,” the coven leader speculated.

“Perhaps. But they also could have just gone far enough in some direction to make it difficult for us to trace them, then apparated back themselves. With the goddesses' power, they could have done that without difficulty,” mused the assassin.

“So we are back to square one,” sighed the coven leader. “We have to put our feelers out, and find them. Then run them to the ground again, and finish what we started.” She nodded resolutely, standing up. “Okay, ladies. The hunt is on. Let’s find these goddesses and placate the elder ones.”

The walls of the tunnel were bathed in teal light. Above Sunset, a teal orb glowed, bathing the walls around them with its light.

“Well this is boring,” commented Dash. “Where are the traps? Aren’t old lairs supposed to have traps, and magical guardians, and riddles and stuff?”

Sunset looked over, scowling playfully at her friend. “Smite, Dashie. I will Smite!”

Dash laughed, flying along next to her. “It doesn’t work that way, Sunset. You can’t actually jinx yourself. That’s just silly superstition.”

“Smite. Smite smite smite smite,” chanted Sunset playfully.

Suddenly the tunnel shook. Dust fell from the top of the tunnel, only missing falling on them as it was stopped by the surface of Sunset’s shield and rolled and drifted down around it.

“What was that?” asked Dash in excitement.

“Oh crab nuggets,” Sunset responded. She could hear crashes, stone scraping stone, and thunderous roaring as something massive worked its way towards them. “Dash, get ready to retreat!” Sunset called out.

“What? Retreat? Aren’t you just going to zap them or something?” Dash asked in disappointment.

At the very edges of her light, Sunset saw the massive boulder rolling towards them, scraping the sides as it bounced with very little room on either side of it. “Now Dash! Retreat now!” She spun, heading towards the entrance again.

Dash sputtered. “But Sunset…” Dash was gripped in Sunset’s magic and pulled after her. Together they raced the boulder to the cave entrance.

The two of them shot out just as the boulder crashed into the entrance and stopped with an earth shattering collision heard even through the thin Martian atmosphere.

“Oh, hells no!” shouted Sunset. She shot a teal beam of magic at the boulder, reducing it to a pile of rubble which she quickly levitated to the side of the canyon.

“Ah, come on, Sunset!” cried out Dash. “Now you hit it with the magic blast? After making us run like chickens back to the entrance? Why didn’t you just blast it when it came at us? This is so lame!”

Sunset shot her friend a scowl. “This isn’t some video game, Dash! We can’t just respawn if we get it wrong, or lose health points and drink some magical potion. If that damned boulder had hit us, we would be dead! No take backs! No reset. Not a game, Dash! Quick acting like we’re playing one!”

It was completely quiet. No one said anything, not even over the headsets. Dash hovered below her and off to the side, head down.

Sunset was crying. A tear rolled down her cheek. “Damn it Dashie! I already lost you once today. I can’t lose you. I can’t lose a friend,” she cried softly.

Dash looked up to her. She was crying too. She flew over to her friend and embraced her. “I’m sorry, Sunset. I just got caught up in the moment. We get to live a real Daring Do adventure! That just seemed so cool, I let it go to my head.”

Sunset embraced her back. “I know. I’m sorry I blew up at you. I just love you too much to lose you.”

Dash smiled, drying her tears as she pulled away from Sunset. “Okay, enough of this mushy stuff. We have a lair to get into. Let’s get cracking.” She held her friend’s hand, smiling.

Sunset dried her tears, smiling back. “Yes we do. Come on Dashie, let’s do this.” Pulling her hand back, together they flew back into the cave.

Passing the point where the boulder had shot down from the tunnel roof to roll after them, they continued on cautiously.

“I wonder if there are any other traps we will run into?” asked Sunset aloud.

Dash rolled her eyes and turned to her friend. “You just had to go and say that, didn’t you?”

“Kinda, yeah,” admitted Sunset. “I was hoping that if I jinxed it, whatever was going to happen would just happen, and I would be ready for it.”

“You do know that’s not how a jinx works, right?” asked Dash.

“What? Why not?” replied Sunset.

“If you jinx yourself, expecting something to happen, it won’t happen then. It will happen later when you least expect it. Basic jinx 101,” nodded Dash.

“There’s a class in Jinx?” teased Sunset. “Egghead!”

Dash laughed and rolled her eyes. “Egghead you!” she called out, flying over and hip checking her friend. “Takes one to know one!”

Sunset corrected herself from her near collision with the tunnel wall. “Really Dash, now you want to goof around?” she snarked.

“Hey, who's…” Dash started.

At that moment, a wave of spears shot out from the tunnel walls, sweeping over the girls in mid-flight. They were stopped cold by the shield Sunset had up to protect their bubble of air.

“Oh hell no! I am calling BS on this one,” growled Sunset. A blast of teal magic shot out from her horn, melting the spears into the holes they were still blocked in. “In fact, complete BS. I am not leaving any of them unplugged!” She levitated up all the spears that had bounced off the shield and turned them into molten spheres, slamming them into the remaining holes.

Dash looked on, one eyebrow cocked. “Uh, I think that may be kind of cheating,” she observed.

Sunset turned to her and scowled. “Not! A. Game. Dashie!”

Dash held up her hands, “I know, I know. I’m not complaining. I’m just saying, these traps were clearly not designed with a magical goddess in mind.”

“I’d like to meet whomever put this in here, and give them a good piece of my mind!” groused Sunset.

“Eh, maybe you will. Guess we just have to get to the end and find out,” suggested Dash.

“Looking forward to it!” fumed Sunset.

They passed over a sensor, and a pit opened below them, lethal sharp spikes visible in the bottom of the pit below.

“Bull shit, bull shit, bull shit!” growled out Sunset. A blast from her horn, and the pit was filled with rocks, then paved over. The trap creaked and groaned attempting to shut itself after they passed by. Something inside snapped loudly, then the creaking stopped. “Complete and utter Bull Shit!” groused Sunset.

Dash just covered her mouth, laughing quietly.

Just a bit further down, a wave of poisoned darts shot out, bouncing off Sunset’s shield. “Still Bull Shit!” she groused. This trap got the same treatment. The darts were lifted up from where they fell, melted and shoved into the holes they had emerged from.

Just a bit further along, she had to stop when an entire multi-ton section of the ceiling dropped down onto the top of her shield, effectively pinning them in that spot. Sunset just sighed. “Again?” she asked rhetorically. She shoved the section of the ceiling back into place, hearing grinding and crunching as she did so. She flashed a large section of the ceiling to a molten state, including several yards before and after the trap. She then flash cooled the molten stone, effectively sealing the trap shut. She rolled her eyes and moved on.

Dash was laughing hard now, having a difficult time keeping her mirth contained. Sunset just glared at her, shook her head, and continued onward.

They could see the opening now. They were almost to the end. Just then flames shot out at them. Wave after wave of lethal flames swept over her shield. Flammable fuel shot out, drenching the shield, catching fire from the shooting flames, resulting in a hellish inferno engulfing them around the shield.

“Okay, screw this!” shouted Sunset, giving the entire end section of the tunnel the same treatment she had given the crushing trap. The entire section was reduced to glowing rock, sealing up all the holes as the rock melted together. It was then hit with a cooling spell that fused the entire section into one solid sleeve of rock.

“That’s how you deal with that kind of crap!” Sunset called out, flying through the last section of the tunnel. “Assholes!”

As they came out of the tunnel and entered into the cavern at its end, Sunset stopped cold. Looking around, all she could say was one word.

“Wow.”

Dash hovered beside her, speechless.

Author's Note

And the lair is breached!
I'm sure nothing bad will happen now. Crisis averted, right? So what if now the coven can actually get to Mars and knows exactly where their redoubt is. Nothing bad can happen now, right. :twilightoops:
So we wait for the next chapter, with wonder in our eyes and dread in our hearts. :twilightsmile:
In the Lair of the Goddess Mars Ascendant:

08 - Twilight - The Goddess Ascendant

Saturday, September 13, 1:00 PM Tokyo time.

Sunset and Dash looked around in wonder at the massive cavern.

Gentle golden light radiated from the blue tinged roof of the cavern, bathing everything below in a warm glow. Everywhere greens and the colors of life surrounded them. Row after row of fragrant fruit trees were arranged in orchards all around the cavern, smelling strongly of apple, cherry, and pear, interspersed with fields of verdant grain and vineyards of grapes of every color and variety. Through all this, streams wound, with occasional japanese style bridges spanning them joining the cobblestone paths that crossed throughout the entire cavern. Open pagodas were scattered throughout, providing restful places to enjoy the beauty surrounding them.

In the center of the cavern was an open temple, with a courtyard in its middle. In the courtyard there was a large arch, through which they could see a warm teal glow of power.

They flew down into the courtyard, hovering before the arch.

“What is this place?” Dash asked in wonder.

“This is it! We found the Lair of the old God Mars! Isn’t it wonderful!” Sunset gushed, looking around.

Dash reached out, brushing the courtyard wall with her hand. “It’s so smooth. I can see the different stones, but they fit together perfectly. I can’t even feel where one ends and the other starts.”

Sunset nodded in wonder. “It’s perfect.” She flew over to the archway. “I wonder what this is? I can feel magical power just radiating off of it.” She flew into the archway. She was surrounded by a teal aura, held motionless in its power.

“Intruder, who are you and what is the passcode?” she heard, or rather felt, a presence in her mind.

“Wha..” Sunset said, surprised.

“I will repeat. Who are you and what is the passcode?” The presence repeated its request.

“Uh, I’m Sunset Shimmer, and I don’t have a passcode,” she replied.

“Then you must leave,” the presence commanded. She was forcibly ejected from the archway, sailing end over end through the air. She caught and righted herself, returning to the front of the arch.

“Well, that was decidedly unfriendly!” she snarked, returning to the arch and staring into the teal glow of the archway.

Dash drifted down to join her. “Epic eject there, Sunny. What did you do to piss it off?” teased Dash.

“No idea,” frowned Sunset. “It asked who I was and what the passcode was. I told it I didn’t have a passcode and it tried to give me flying lessons.”

“So what the heck is it?” asked Dash.

“Some kind of guardian, I guess,” mused Sunset. She flew to the side and reached out, touching the arch. Her hair immediately flared out in a large halo around her head, crackling with magical energy. Her eyes turned completely white, and she glowed with teal magic. She pulled her hand from the arch, returning to her normal ponied up form.

“It's a magical construct, way beyond anything I have ever seen even in Equestria. The power in it is phenomenal. And I could sense… not just order, but intelligence. I think it is a magical artificial life form. I bet it’s the guardian of the Lair. And until I can crack this passcode, it’s really not going to be happy with my being here,” Sunset commented.

“So it’s alive?” asked Dash.

“Sure seems that way,” agreed Sunset. “Hm. Crack the passcode. I know who I can count on for that!” She turned to Dash with a grin. They both spoke at the same time.

“SciTwi!” Dash called out with a grin.

“Sparky!” Sunset called out. “You know she doesn’t like that nickname,” she reminded Dash.

“Sorry Twilight!” called out Dash.

“No problem,” sighed Twilight over the headset. “We’re still a good 20 minutes from you guys.”

“Can you just pop over?” asked Sunset.

“Sure. Be right there,” answered Twilight. There was a flash of magenta, then Twilight was sitting below them on the cobblestones of the courtyard, a sleeping Kuroko cradled in her arms. She carefully unfurled her wings, and rose up to join them.

“That is so precious,” grinned Sunset at her BFF holding the still sleeping Kuroko.

“Yes, she is. Here,” Twilight carefully handed Sunset her sleeping sissy. Sunset placed her head over her shoulder while cradling her gently in her arms.

“There, now I can take a look at this thing,” smiled Twilight, moving over to the archway. She reached out, and placed her hands on the arch. Like Sunset, her hair flared out from her head crackling with magical energy. Her wings and aura glowed in power.

Twilight, however, did not let go after a few seconds. She continued glowing majestically, her eyes completely white as she mumbled softly to herself. After several minutes, she removed her hands from the arch and returned to her usual ponied up form.

“It’s confirmed. It’s a magically constructed artificial intelligence, with amazing power and an intelligence that is hard to fathom. And it’s old. Ancient even. As far as I could determine, this thing has been around longer than humanity has been on earth. It’s been here for all that time, guarding this cavern and the secrets it possesses,” Twilight informed them.

“What secrets?” asked Dash.

“No idea. I would need to pass its test for that, and it didn’t offer that to me,” explained Twilight.

“So, how do I get past the passcode,” asked Sunset. Kuroko stirred. Sunset gently soothed her hair, coaxing the girl back to sleep.

“The construct is created with magic. It thinks, feels, remembers and functions through the deep vibrational energy of the magic within it. It would make sense then that the passcode, whatever it is, would be composed of that same vibrational magical energy,” mused Twilight. Sunset nodded.

“I was also able to determine from its design that it is a neutral entity. It doesn’t focus on what is right or wrong, but instead it is wholly focused on its goals and objectives. I don’t sense any malice from it towards any of us,” Twilight continued.

Dash laughed. “For no malice, that was quite a pitch it gave Sunset! Curve ball sliding over the plate!”

Kuroko started to stir again in Sunset’s arms. Sunset scowled playfully at Dash. “Keep it down, dork! Kid sleeping here,” she teased. “Still yeah, that was a solid eject. But Twilight is right. I didn’t sense any anger either, even when it was tossing me. More like disappointment.”

“That matches what I experience,” agreed Twilight. “It seems to be waiting for something. Almost hopeful even, in some sense.” Twilight looked thoughtful for a moment. “Hm…” she mused.

“Out with it, Sparky. What are you thinking?” asked Sunset, hopeful. “You have an idea, don’t you.”

Twilight turned to Sunset. “Sunny, I think it’s waiting for you,” she answered.

“What?” responded Sunset, perplexed. “Me? Why me?”

“Think about it,” answered Twilight. “It queried you. Who are you, and what is the passcode? It didn’t do that to me. It just ignored me. Only you. You got asked. It’s waiting for the new Mars. It must have been left here to greet the new Mars Ascendant. All you have to do is show it that you’re her.”

“Okay, that makes sense. Kinda. A good working theory at least. But what about the passcode? I have no idea what that is or even how to find that out,” Sunset stated.

“So forget about the passcode,” challenged Twilight.

“What? How?” Sunset asked.

“Offer to show it you are Mars Ascendant. Tell it to let you see what it can show you, and judge you on your actions,” suggested Twilight.

Sunset flew over to Twilight and kissed her cheek. “Sparky, I love you and your big brain! Thanks!” She grinned, gently passing the still sleeping Kuroko back over to her friend. Twilight took her with a smile, cradling her in her arms. Twilight descended to the floor and took her seat again facing the arch, still holding the sleeping girl.

Sunset flew up to the Arch, and entered once again. One again, the presence entered her mind. “Who are you, and what is the passcode?” it queried.

“I am Mars Ascendant. And I will verify my claim by my actions without the passcode,” she stated.

“Explain,” the presence commanded.

“Show me the state of my realm, of my people, of their past. Show me what has happened to my realm, and from my reactions you will know that I am truly who I claim,” she stated boldly.

The presence pondered for a moment. “Agreed. Let us begin,” it stated. Her vision faded to gray.

The gray faded. Below her Sunset saw a vibrant world, horizons curving away in the distance. The sky was a pale blue, wispy clouds floating below her. She could see large land masses dotted with lights, surrounded by shimmering blue oceans. Before her two small moons danced across the sky.

“Behold!” proclaimed the presence. “Your world, in its glory. Your people have flourished, protected from the dangers of the cosmos by the world's active magnetic poles and abundant atmosphere. Ages of growth have made the world a verdant garden, giving life and magic in abundance to your children. And by the strength of their will and intellect, they have risen to become a mighty people, though fractured among themselves.

“Their pride has consumed them. They rejoice in their strength, and worship their own might. Their rule is the strong over the weak, and consume what you can take. They feel no shame in this, for in their hearts they believe it is the right of the strong to enslave the weak for whatever purpose their heart desires. They are a godless people, having turned their back on the guardian of their realm. War is their passion, and violence is their love. Blood is their delight, and will destroy their fate.”

“No!” cried out Sunset, reaching out to the world below. “Were they not taught the precepts of Harmony? Can’t their guardian guide them in the ways of harmony and peace?”

“No, he cannot,” informed the presence. “Harmony has not yet reached this realm, nor yet fought her wars to win the astral realm. This is a time before the ascension of harmony. The cosmos is yet still in the sway of the elder gods. Violence and pride are the ways of these people. And they have embraced the elder gods, turning from their guardian, to their everlasting shame.

“See even now what they are poised to lose!” Sunset felt herself drawn towards the land below. She plummeted down, into the atmosphere of her world below, down further, into and through the clouds beneath, then further until she beheld a mighty city, reaching up into the sky, resplendent in its light and beauty.

She raced between the citadels stretching up into the lower clouds, then darted lower, towards the city below. Buildings of all shapes and color, beautiful and proud, pushed up from the surface of the city. Between were lanes of what were clearly vehicles racing along among the spaces between them. Others joined in or left off, intent on whatever purpose they had.

Racing lower still, Sunset darted between the lanes of moving traffic, down towards the lower portion of the city. There she saw beautiful creatures moving about, clothed in resplendent robes of every shade. In and out of the buildings they moved, going about their lives.

Sunset gasped in joy at what she beheld. “It’s so beautiful!” she sighed. “They’re so beautiful. My children are splendid to behold.”

“Truly, they are splendid,” agreed the presence. “They are a wondrous race of creatures, magnificent and intelligent. But despite their beauty and great intellect, they lack the one thing they need to survive.”

“What do they lack?” asked Sunset, still struck with wonder at what she beheld.

“They lack empathy,” stated the presence. Sunset felt a sadness in its voice. A deep regret lay beneath its words. “They are full of self, but have no concept of others as other selves. They only see the world as it serves them. They are lacking any concept of compassion. It is their greatest downfall.”

Sunset looked on them in sadness. “Then they must be taught. Even the hardest heart can be won over by loving compassion.” She recalled her own journey to harmony’s embrace.

“There is no one left to teach them. They have thrown off their god. Who can harmony send?” replied the presence.

“She has sent me. I will teach them. I will lead these children to Harmony’s embrace!” Sunset affirmed resolutely.

“I fear you are many ages too late, young goddess,” sighed the presence. “And too late by far for these. Behold, their end has already begun.”

Sunset looked up into the sky. Overhead, she could see lines traced in fire, stretching out past the horizon. One moved resolutely towards her city, its incredible speed belied by its height in the sky and its distance. Below, she heard screams of terror. Everywhere, her children were fleeing, running into buildings and openings to tunnels below. Others were prostrate, overrun, bleeding and dying as they were crushed by the escaping mass of terror filled creatures.

Sunset raced down to them. “No!” she screamed out. “Do not panic! You are killing each other! We can defend against this!” Her cries went unheard, others still falling to their doom before the rush of terror around them.

Sunset raced up towards the missile, now clearly racing on a downward arc directly towards her city. The missile was now above her, coming straight down upon them.

“NO!”

With a mighty shout, Sunset threw her arms out, projecting a large shield out before her. The missile exploded in a mighty burst of light as heat, light, and energy beyond belief flooded her shield, rolling around it and over it, pushing her down with a mighty slap to the ground below her. Sunset slammed into the ground on her back, hands still extended out, holding her shield before her, holding the destructive maelstrom at bay.

All around her, plasma blistered, the surface of an angry star set upon the world to consume and destroy. Buildings shattered in an instant, the fragments exploded out from them turned to further plasma by the destructive energy that consumed them. The very surface of the world was stripped away by the power of the blast, leaving only molten rock behind.

But still her shield held, resolute as the fire in her heart to protect whatever she could for as long as she drew breath.

In time, an eternity or a moment she could not say, the light began to fade. The arcing lines of energy raging through the plasma dimmed and faded, disappearing as the destructive energy was spent. Soon, even the plasma itself faded, leaving behind only the dust red sky, and the searing landscape of cooling molten stone stretching away to the horizon.

Sunset wept. “What have they done?” she cried out. “Where are my children, and what have they done?” She wept piteously, sitting up and staring out over the desolate landscape.

Still weeping, she sat in quiet solitude. In a moment, between tears, she heard muffled crying. She stopped her weeping, listening intently.

There. She heard it again. It sounded like a child crying. She pulled mana from the ground below her, anchoring her shield to the spot. She then rose up, flying towards the source of the sound. She was getting closer.

There. Still under the protection of the shield she had cast, under a pile of rubble covering the entrance to one of the tunnels below, she heard the cry. It was pitious. She reached out with her magic, pulling stones and pieces of building aside, setting them away from the tunnel entrance. When it was cleared, she raced into the entrance, looking.

There, a short way from the entrance, she found her. Wrapped in her mother’s embrace, a small child was crying in abject terror.

Teal light radiating from her, Sunset swept down to the crying child. Sitting down beside her she pulled the child into her embrace. “Do not fear, little one. I will protect you,” she smiled in comfort to her.

The child looked up at her in confusion. She didn’t understand.

Sunset nodded. Holding the child to her breast, she placed her hand on the back of her head and was filled with memories.

Flashes of moments from the child's life filled her thoughts. She saw happy moments, joyful experiences. A day at the beach with her parents. A trip with her mother to the store. Playing with her siblings in their yard. Joy filled meals with her little friends and their families. Playing at school with her classmates. A little lifetime of joy and happiness.

And most important, conversations. Stories told and heard. And thoughts. Sunset smiled.

“Little one, fear not. I have come to save you,” smiled Sunset down at her little charge. “I have come to save you all.”

The child stopped crying, looking up into Sunset’s eyes. “Thank you,” she said, holding tightly to her goddess.

Still holding tightly to the child, Sunset rose up, looking around her. As far as she could see down the tunnel, her children were sprawled out, hundreds of them as far as she could see down the tunnel. They were slowly coming too, shaking their heads and looking around.

Sunset raced down the tunnel over their heads, looking to see how far it went. To her sadness, she came to the end of the tunnel. Her shield present, marking as far as she could go, mountains of rock and dirt on the other side straining to smash into the tunnel and destroy what was left. Sunset bowed her head in sadness. She returned to the mouth of the tunnel, floating over the heads of her children, a glowing teal beacon they followed with openmouthed wonder.

Setting down next to the girl's mother again, Sunset sat in sadness. The mother stirred, then sat up, panic filling her eyes as she realized she was no longer holding her child. She looked over and saw Sunset, sitting disconsolate with her daughter in her lap.

“Who are you?” the mother gasped.

Sunset looked up, then over to the mother. The child in her arms stirred, then released Sunset. “Mommy!” she called out in joy, racing into her mothers open waiting arms.

“Baby! My sweet baby girl! I thought I had lost you!” she cried out in joy, hugging her child tightly.

Sunset smiled at the touching sight. She rose, floating before the mother and child, now surrounded by a small crowd of still wonder filled people. Sunset turned, smiling at them all.

“My children, rejoice, for even in your sadness, you are saved,” she informed them.

They looked perplexed at one another, whispering among themselves. The mother before her spoke again.

“Thank you for saving my child,” she said in gratitude. “But again, I ask. Who are you?”

Sunset moved over to her, and landed kneeling before her. “I am your goddess,” she smiled gently. “In your moment of sorrow, you called out for me, and I have come. I am here to save you. I am here to protect you. I am here to love you, my children.

Sunset rose up and turned to address everyone. “I am here to show you a new way to live. A way that will lead to peace, joy, and happiness. One that will never permit what has happened here to happen again.

“I am here to teach you, my children. I will show you, and guide you, in the ways of Harmony.”

The people whispered among themselves in confusion. One man called out. “I don’t even know that word? What does it mean? Teach us!”

Others joined the call, shouting out “Teach us! Teach us!” They chanted it. Some began to bow, prostrating themselves before the goddess. Soon the entire crowd was prostrate, chanting together. “Teach us! Teach us!”

Sunset raised her hands. “Rise up! My first lesson to you will be humility. No one is worshiped except the Maker. She alone is worthy of your worship. Rise up now, for no one is to worship anyone but Her!”

They looked up, seeing their goddess with hands outstretched in command. They rose as she bid.

Seeing this, Sunset nodded. “This is right and just. Her alone do we worship.” Sunset landed on the floor on her knees before them. She then bowed down as they had, calling out. “Thank the Maker!”

Together the crowd fell to their knees and bowed in worship, calling out. “Thank the Maker!”

“Next, my lesson to you is Charity! Rise up, my children, and look around you,” Sunset commanded. The people rose, looking around at those beside them.

Sunset continued. “We are all family, one tribe, my children. We care for each other, and tend to each other’s needs. No one is left in want while we wallow in plenty. We share with one another not just in our abundance, but in our desperation as well. We are one.

“If there are any among you who have fallen, or in any way need help, you will be there to help them. You will assist them, care for them, and nurture them. Just as you would do for your own child, you will do for each other. This is the way of Harmony. This is Charity, the fruits of which are a Generous Heart, and Kind Soul.

“Look around you, and find others in need. Leave no one behind! Bring all to me for healing and comfort. Go now, and do as I have instructed.”

The people scattered, looking through the tunnel flooded with her Teal light, looking for others in need of help or healing. They gathered all they found, and laid them at the feet of their goddess. She knelt, placing her hands upon them and called on Harmony to show mercy on them. She healed those she could with her magic, and comforted the few she could not in their dying final moments, committing them to the care of Faust with her blessing.

When all had been gathered, they laid their dead to peaceful repose along the tunnel walls, and followed Sunset, carrying those still too weak to walk or stand, up to the center of the plaza where she had anchored her shield.

“Go and seek others who may need help, looking everywhere. Leave no stone unturned in your efforts, searching every scrap of land covered by the shield before you. Bring them all here for healing, comfort, and succor.

“I am leaving you for a brief time. Be strong, and stay strong and faithful to what I have taught you. I will return before the setting sun.”

Sunset rose up, passing through the shield. In a Teal flash she disappeared into the sky above them leaving a rainbow trail behind her. They scattered, scouring the ruins of the city under the shield for any sign of life, bringing all they found to the plaza for their goddess.

Sunset reached out with her magical senses, hoping for any sign of life beneath her. Sadly there were none. She raced, zig zagging the breadth of the planet, the continents now gone, the oceans boiled away. She could feel the pinging radiation of the cosmos beating down upon her as she swept through the red, thinning skies. The protective shield of magnetic power that protected her planet before was now gone, letting deadly cosmic radiation bombard her planet. The atmosphere was boiling away, drifting off into space, the life-giving water and air dissipating into the cosmos.

Sunset wept as she searched, desperate for any sign of life, or any hope for the future of her children. Her planet below offered none, even its life-given magic fading as the world slowly died away.

There were no signs of the once wonderful cities that had graced the entire world just hours before. Now everywhere was a slowly cooling sea of molten rock, with occasional patches of raw land and pools of water evaporating even as she watched, clearly places recently covered in oceanic depths.

To her relief, it appeared the polar regions of her world had largely been spared. Due to the heat from the molten planet, the ice caps were melting, though that was mitigated quite a bit by the rapidly thinning atmosphere, which was losing its true convective power to move the heat to the colder climes. But even in these polar reaches, there was little sign of life, and none of it was her children.

After spanning the world in her fruitless search, she returned to her children. As promised, the sun was just beginning to set in the city plaza as she returned to them, dropping from the sky through the shield. She settled down into the plaza hovering over the rows of injured they had found and pulled from the wreckage of their city.

“I have returned, my children, as I promised,” sighed Sunset. “You alone have survived the apocalypse that has consumed our planet. You are all that is left of my children.”

She then settled down and began ministering to those laying before her. She healed those she could, and eased and guided the journey into the waiting arms of Faust those she could not. She prayed for comfort and peace with them all. To the shock and mild horror of her children, she dragged herself by her arms between those needing her care.

They had not realized before that moment. Their goddess could not walk. Their goddess could not stand.

Seeing their shock and dismay, Sunset paused in her ministrations. “Why do you stand there in shock and dismay?” she called out to them. “Why do you wonder at what you see?”

One of them, a braver soul than the rest, knelt and bowed down before her. “Forgive us, goddess. But how can you be a goddess and be so clearly broken?” He bowed down before her to show his respect.

Sunset pulled herself into a sitting position, and turned to him. “Do you doubt what you see? Do you not see your goddess before you? Are you truly dismayed to see me as anything less than your ideal of perfection?”

The man shook his head in negation. “No, my goddess. You are perfect. Surely it must be so! You are a goddess, and your power is great!”

“And what is this perfection?” called out Sunset, turning to each of them. “Am I perfect? Do you see before you a perfect goddess, without weakness or failure? Do you look at me and see limitations?”

They whispered among themselves, shaking their heads in bafflement. Seeing their confusion, Sunset continued.

“Know this! No one is perfect except the Maker. She alone is perfect, and it is She alone that we strive to be like. Anyone else claiming perfection is a fraud, and a liar to be avoided. No one is perfect!”

She looked them all in their eyes, sitting there before them. “No one. Not even a goddess.

“Let this be a lesson for you. Embrace this in your hearts. Compassion. Sympathy. Empathy. Let these be the guides for your actions towards others. Even goddesses.” She smiled.

“Even in my broken state, the Maker saw use for me, and forged me into Her Hand and Heart. I pour my broken life out in service to Her.

“I am not less for my brokenness. I am not more for surviving it. I am Her Servant, and your goddess. Know that my brokenness does not prevent me from being your goddess, nor does it prevent you from being my children. By embracing my brokenness, I embrace you in your weakest state, knowing your pain, heartache, and suffering. I suffer with you, and for you, before our Maker. I am your champion. I am your guardian.

“Do not judge as less any among you who are broken and suffering. Help them, love them, and accept them as they work through their limitations and their sufferings. And through this, know that your Maker loves you, and will embrace your souls though eternity.”

Several among them started crying. Soon many were weeping, tears of gratitude and understanding, as a new way of thinking, of believing, opened up before their eyes. With open hearts they knelt and thanked their goddess for sharing their suffering.

Sunset wept as well, smiling and hugging those who came up to her. She continued her mistrations to the suffering before her, healing and releasing those before her as needed. When all were tended to, she rose and floated to the center of her people.

“My children!” she called out. “I have scoured our planet, and found nowhere safe for you to live and thrive. I cannot leave you in this state, or you will surely perish. I will leave you for a while to prepare a safe place for you to stay. Rest now. I will return before dawn.”

She rose up again into the sky, and in a rainbow streak, shot out of their sight.

Sunset headed for the moons above her world. She settled on the first one, and crafted within it a crystal heart, filling its lattices with loving energy. She passed to the second moon, doing the same. She then joined the two lattices, quantum entangling them to be forever joined as one. Within their lattices, she created wondrous lands and cities of harmonic energy, modeled after the lands and cities of her homeworld. She filled the land with growth and abundance, and the cities with wealth immeasurable. She wanted her children to travel through eternity without want or worry. She crafted two energetic orbs in their lattice sky, one to govern the day and the other the night.

Her work completed, she returned to her people just as the sun was rising over the city. She dropped down through the shield, and hovered before her children.

“I have prepared a place for you. It is filled with abundant wealth and sustenance. In this place, you will be safe and happy, living out your lives in the precepts of Harmony and sharing in each others’ good fortunes, in kindness and happiness. There you will wait for my return. It will be a long while until I can come back to you. You must never forget the precepts of Harmony you have embraced. Pray daily to the Maker, thanking Her for your good fortune before every meal and event, and stay devout to Her teachings.

“In the fullness of time, I will return to you, and once again you will know me in your lives as your goddess, your guardian. Go now my children, and give thanks to your Maker.”

Sunset’s horn glowed, radiating out Teal magic that washed over everyone. Their bodies turned to crystal, vibrating with the energy of the magic washing through them. In a flash of Teal, Sunset converted the vibrating crystal of their essences into pure harmonic energy, and transported them into the kingdom she had prepared for them.

In the land of Harmony, they looked up in grateful wonder toward the sky. Sunset’s voice called out to them. “In the fullness of time, I will return, my children. Wait for me faithfully, staying true to the Maker and Her precepts of Harmony. Know that I love you, now and always!”

With that, Sunset released the link, leaving them to their lives. With tear drenched eyes, she reached down, and released the shield protecting the land around her. The air boiled away, and the surface quickly turned to smoldering magma, melting and destroying any hint of the city around her. When it was all destroyed, the last vestige of her childrens’ life on the planet removed by the fiery heat, she looked up to the sky.

“It is finished,” she called out. “There is nothing more I can do at this time.”

The world around her turned gray, and she felt the passage of time and space as it shifted around her. When the gray faded, she found herself again in the arch, her mind in touch with the presence from before.

“Welcome, Mars Ascendant, true guardian of the Realm. Welcome home,” the presence warmly greeted her.

Sunset smiled. The presence continued. “I require from you a new passcode.” It paused for a moment. “That thought is not being communicated in its true depth. One moment.” In her mind, she sensed the entirety of her Realm. There, at its very center, vibrated the fundamental truth of her Realm. She saw that this truth was the foundation of everything in her Realm. All its magic, all its truth, all its splendor and strength, would be based on this truth.

Realizing the full significance of what was required, Sunset looked into her own soul, searching for one thing. Digging deep within her soul, she found it. Within her own soul, she found the mark that had been permanently made by the love she shared with her beloved Twilight. The bond of their shared love and compassion, their Friendship, vibrated powerfully and passionately with power.

Reaching into her soul, she took that love, and gave it to the presence. “This shall be our new truth. This is the passcode to our Realm. This will be our guide into the future.”

The presence took it, gently putting it in place. Teal and Magenta light leaked out of the device at the center of the realm, spreading slowly but powerfully out to the world around it.

“It is done,” stated the presence. “The Realm is yours, Mars Ascendant. Long may you reign.”

Sunset bowed. “Thank you! And thank you for showing me my children. Harmony protect you!” She turned, and exited the archway.

As she exited the arch, she saw bolts of teal and magenta magic leaping from the archway. Twilight was suspended in a glowing aura of magenta magic, eyes completely whited out with power. On the ground, a now thoroughly awake Kuroko was staring in open mouthed wonder at Twilight, Dash by her side.

Twilight's wings spread out, unfurled behind her, radiating power. Her head was thrown back, as she stared up with her blazing white eyes into the cosmos. Her hair was billowing out like a cloud around her, magic arching though it as she floated before them.

A voice rang out from all around them. “Behold! By your love and loyalty, you have proven a true protector and champion of Harmony. You are now my champion, my Shield. You are the Shield in the Hand of the Maker, guarding all from harm and disaster. Share my joy throughout eternity!”

There was a flash of light, then Twilight descended. The glowing faded, and Twilight was left standing before the arch still ponied up. Sunset dived into her friend, sweeping her up in a tight embrace, crying tears of happiness.

Twilight embraced her back, hugging her tightly, crying happy tears of her own. “Forever!” she called out happily to her BFF, head on her shoulder, happy tears landing on her friend.

“Forever, Sparky,” cried Sunset back. They settled back down towards the ground before a still awestruck Kuroko and Dash

Seeing them both before her, Kuroko bowed deeply, crying out in awe. Looking at her BFF, Sunset smiled and rolled her eyes. Twilight laughed.

Dash looked on in puzzled curiosity. “Ah, what are you doing?” she asked Kuroko.

Together, Sunset and Twilight swept down and scooped the abject girl into their shared embrace. Sunset scowled playfully at Kuroko. “What did I say about doing that?” she gently scolded her.

“Uhm. Never to do that again?” smiled Kuroko hopefully.

“Right, knucklehead. Never again!” Twilight and Sunset both kissed her on opposite cheeks and laughed. Kuoko blushed madly.

They settled back down to the ground, Sunset hovering just above the cobblestone. Both she and Twilight held Kuroko’s hands, with her between them. Sunset took Dash’s hand with a grin.

Looking up, seeing past the cavern roof, out into the space beyond the world, Sunset saw her two moons, still in orbit above her. A gentle smile graced her face as she spoke the words a world had waited eons to hear.

“I’m home, my children. I have returned.”

Author's Note

It was hellish.

I was there beside Sunset as she looked in shock through her shield at the destruction outside. I could see the red plasma that surrounded them, energy crackling through it, everything reduced to molten rock outside the shield. I was with her as she scoured the planet for anyone left alive, over seas that had boiled away to nothing, what little patches of water and unscaled rock left from the deepest trenches of the former oceans boiling away before her eyes.

Molten desolation everywhere, even the former blue skies turned to red ash in the hellish aftermath. And the skies... even as she watched, she felt the pummeling of the cosmic radiation pelting the planet. The explosions had shocked the planet's core, shutting down the magnetic field that protected the planet from cosmic harm. She watched the atmosphere boiling and seething away under the punishment of the cosmic radiation, all the precious elements in her life giving air and water vapor seething out into space.

And she wept, and I with her.

09 - Twilight - The Goddess of the Hunt (redux)

Saturday, September 13, 3:30 PM Tokyo time.

“We are getting close to where we saw you last,” Chang’e called out over the headsets. “Can one of you come out and guide us to the entrance?”

“I got this!” called out Dash, flying towards the cavern entrance. She was quickly surrounded in Teal magic, and drawn back to Sunset's side.

“I swear you think you’re immortal,” groaned Sunset, face in her hands. “What are you forgetting, Dash?” she asked sweetly.

“Forgetting? What? Oh…” Dash’s face fell. “Yeah, no air. Forgot. Guess I won’t be helping out then.”

“How about you help me out?” suggested Sunset. “We can check out the rest of this temple, then you can run around and check out the rest of the lair.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Dash brightened.

“And I will go guide our friends,” smiled Twilight. “Kuroko, want to come too?”

Kuroko looked torn. Explore with her big sissy. Or fly in an angel's arms. Finally, she looked at Twilight. “Okay!” she grinned, leaping into her arms.

“Oof! Give a sister some warning, girl!” teased Twilight, holding her close. “Back in a few!” Twilight called out as they flew out of the cavern to meet their friends. Kuroko waved to them, grinning madly.

“That girl,” laughed Sunset. Dash chuckled.

“So, where first?” Dash asked.

“Let’s start out with the temple. I’m curious what’s in the rest of those rooms,” Sunset replied.

Things were busy in the coven. They had finally decided to send a team back to the bunker, both to lie in wait for the goddesses and their friends, and to investigate more deeply, looking for some signs or clues as to their quarry’s whereabouts.

They gathered once more in the magic circle, still enchanted and filled with the old god’s power. The assassin and twelve witches gathered, each with a sacrificial dagger in hand, and apparated to the bunker, appearing inside the control room with a red flash of magic.

Quickly determining that there was still no one there, they fanned out, looking for signs of magic, or clues to their quarry’s location. One of the witches was drawn to the rack next to the TACIT transporter. “There are several magical signatures in here,” she noted, feeling over the devices in the rack. She settled over the networking hub, then over the fobs attached, being careful not to actually touch or dislodge any of them. “The signatures are centered in these devices. Each one of these appears to have its own magical signature,” she noted, then moved on. The witches nearby nodded their heads in acknowledgement.

One of the witches sat before the console. She looked to the other witches, waiting for them to complete their searches. “I’ll attempt to hack into their system when you are done. I’m sure once I start, it will trip an alarm and notify them, so better if we are done and ready to leave if needed before I start.”

They nodded, still searching. Going through the den and bedrooms, they came up empty. They moved onto the bath, storeroom, and kitchen, then came back to the witch by the computer. “Nothing found, go ahead,” stated the lead witch.

The witch at the computer cast a hex on it, chanting her spell. The hex began trying to break through the system’s protections, both to get past the login prompt, as well as to unencrypt the computer’s contents. “Impressive encryption,” noted the witch as she watched the hex progress. “Someone knows their way around a system.”

“Probably the purple haired one,” mused the lead witch. “I heard she was some kind of scientist before she ascended.”

“Maybe. No matter though,” noted the witch at the computer. “My hex is powered by the energy of the old gods. Nothing will stand against it for long.” As she said that, the system prompt appeared on the computer, the login system having been successfully bypassed. She began typing, even as the hex above the system continued to glow and cycle. “Files are still being decrypted. Almost there.”

The hex above stopped, flashed, then disappeared. “And we are in. Okay,” her fingers flew across the keyboard, directory listing flashing before her. Moments later, she stopped. “Oh, here we go. Notes on those magically signed fobs.” She opened the files and began reading.

A few moments later, she fist pumped. “Yes! We got them!” The witches around her cheered. She pulled up a map of the area, overlaid with colored dots. Several were clustered around the bunker they were in. Several others were lined up in the margin, indicating they were off the map.

But several were clustered close together in the caldera of Mons Olympus.

The witch raised her sleeve to her mouth. “Gather the war party! We’ve found our quarry. Time to collect some sacrifices,” she cackled happily.

Dash and Sunset went from room to room. They found opulent bedrooms, dining rooms, living areas, and libraries, and rooms full of artifacts and devices. The entire lair was permeated with magic.

“This place is awesome!” Dash exclaimed.

“Yeah, got that right,” agreed Sunset, floating out of the last room. “I seriously think like 300 people could live there.”

“Like Kings!” agreed Dash.

“Let’s check out the rest of the lair,” suggested Sunset.

“On it!” Dash called out, taking off in a streak.

Sunset laughed as she watched her friend dash all over the lair, rainbow trails zigging all through the pathways. Finally, her friend zipped back to her side.

“Well?” teased Sunset. “What did you find?”

“It’s huge!” enthused Dash. “I think it’s even a little bigger than Chang’e’s.”

“I heard that, dear avatar,” Chang’e laughed over the headsets.

“I still like yours better though,” Dash tried to sooth.

Chang’e’s laugher rang over the headsets. “I was teasing you, my dear avatar,” she scolded playfully. “Surely you know me well enough by now to know I am not offended.”

Sunset grinned. “As much time as the two of you spend together, I am sure she knows you better than most brides know their husbands,” she snarked.

“Hey, don’t be like that,” said Dash. “We’re not like that.”

“Just teasing, Dashie,” joked Sunset. Chang’e chuckled.

“Hey, Dashie, why don’t you pick some of that fruit, and make a picnic for everyone in one of the pagodas?” suggested Sunset.

“Oh yeah! On it!” She disappeared down the path in a rainbow blur again. Sunset laughed.

Twilight flew out of the tunnel, Kuroko still grinning madly in her arms. She flew up, looking for the rover with their friends.

“I don’t see you. Can you see me?” asked Twilight.

“No, not seeing any sign of you,” Kaori called.

Twilight lit her horn. A brilliant glow enveloped them.

“I see you now. We are heading in your direction,” called out Chang’e.

Several minutes later, Kuroko spied them. “I see them,” she called out excitedly, pointing the rover out. Twilight nodded.

“Getting close,” Twilight agreed. “Chang’e, I am going to drop down a bit, and center over the entrance to make it easier for you.” Twilight dropped down to several hundred meters over the caldera, making sure to line herself up with the entrance, and that she could still clearly see the rover. “Still good?”

“Still good,” agreed Chang’e. A few minutes later, the rover rolled over to the front of the pass. Twilight settled down to the roof of the rover, resuming her previous seat, Kuroko snuggled happily into her lap.

“Okay, let’s do this,” Twilight grinned. “You are going to love this place.”

“I wonder if it’s the same as I remember?” mused Chang’e as she piloted the rover into the tunnel.

Twilight laid down, pulling Kuroko close to her. “Might be a bit of a tight fit. No sense bonking our heads,” she grinned, snuggling Kuroko close. Kuroko snuggled back, smiling.

“Do I have any traps or anything I need to look out for?” asked Chang’e as she moved the rover forward.

“Nope. Sunset said she neutralized them,” answered Twilight. “Knowing her, it involved fire and lots of melting,” she laughed.

As she said that, Chang’e drove up to where the first set of lances were. She saw molten metal crusted over the walls at regular intervals. She laughed. “You know her so well!” she teased.

“Right?” agreed Twilight, laughing herself. They drove on, laughing at each trap they drove by, all apparently neutralized by the application of sufficient fiery violence.

As they got to the end of the tunnel they saw the entire tunnel end section was a fused glaze of glassed rock. They laughed so hard that Twilight almost fell off the roof.

They emerged from the tunnel to be greeted by Dash and Sunset.

“Hi slowpokes! What took you so long!” teased Dash.

“Nice, um, fix?” Twilight giggled to Sunset, floating down from the top of the rover with Kuroko in her arms. She set Kuroko down.

Sunset blushed. “Whatever! Stupid traps,” she groused.

Dash laughed. “And that’s why you don’t take goddesses on Daring Do adventures,” she teased.

“It’s not a game, Dashie,” growled Sunset.

“Yeah yeah yeah. I got it,” grinned Dash. She side-hugged her friend.

The hatch opened, and Toma, Index, and the girls came pouring out. Kaori and Stiyl exited next, with Chang’e gracefully exiting last. Twilight entered the rover, and from the back pulled out Sunset’s chair and the large picnic basket she had packed for their lunch. She handed the basket to Dash, who ran it over to the pagoda she had prepared for their lunch, setting out the contents. Twilight set up the chair, which Sunset gratefully settled into.

“Thank you, Sparky!” Sunset said, giving Twilight a hug.

“No problem, Sunny! Anything for my BFF!” Twilight smiled.

“It’s as beautiful as I remember,” Chang’e smiled as she looked around. “I see he used the seeds and cuttings I gifted to him on my last visit. He was so enchanted with the fruits and wine that I brought before that he wanted them for himself.” She walked over to one of the vines, pulling some grapes off and tossing them one by one into her mouth. “Delicious!” she exclaimed.

Index and the girls were running around the trees, pulling fruit from the low hanging branches and eating as they ran. Toma grinned and joined them, also sampling the low hanging fruits. Kaori and Stiyl watched, laughing at their antics.

Dash finished setting up their picnic. She called out to everyone. “Hey, if you’re hungry, I’ve prepared a picnic. Follow me!” She led them to the pagoda where she had prepared platters of fruits and treats for them to enjoy, including sandwiches, chips, and salsa that Twilight had brought for the occasion. The rest of the group drifted over to join them, enjoying the tasty spread. They sat around chatting as they enjoyed the meal.

“This is the life,” sighed Dash, popping a fresh juicy grape into her mouth.

Chang’e smiled. “It truly is, my dear avatar,” she agreed.

After a comfortable period of relaxing, the girls and Index decided they wanted to explore the gardens, so they ran off down the trails together, laughing and yelling. Dash got up, smiling. “I’ll keep an eye on them,” she volunteered, dashing off after them, laughing and yelling herself.

Sunset grinned. “She’s such a kid sometimes.” Twilight and Chang’e nodded and laughed.

Sunset turned to Twilight. “Sparky, do you mind holding down the fort for a bit? I have an errand to run, it shouldn’t take more than a few hours. I have some friends I need to visit that I haven’t seen in ages,” she asked.

“Seen in ages, huh? Okay, no problem, Sunny. Where are you headed?” Twilight asked.

“To our moons,” replied Sunset with a smile, rising up from her chair with a flap of her outstretched wings. “Thanks, Sparky! See you in a few hours!” she called out as she flew over the orchards and fields towards the entrance. She strafed the girls, waving to them as she passed, then shot into the tunnel, racing down the length of it and out into the waiting Martian sky. She angled up, and in a rainbow streak of light lit out for the moons circling overhead.

Far below her, a group of armed witches flew through the Martian sky, wrapped in a magical bubble of power that masked their presence and surrounded them with breathable air. Together on their brooms in tight formation, they raced for the caldera of the ancient volcano before them, guided by the laptop they had stolen. Focused on the map, they didn’t notice the rainbow trail shooting up from the caldera then dissipating as it left the atmosphere.

Sunset floated before the surface of the larger moon. Shutting her eyes, she glowed with teal power, transforming completely into crystal. She then phased into pure Harmonic energy, and shot forward, passing through the surface of the moon, deep into the Heart Crystal buried within. Entering the crystal, she was brought into phase with its Harmonic magic. Looking down, she could see her angelic form again complete, radiating teal power like a star in the night sky. Below her stretched out rolling hills covered with forest and farms. In the distance, she spied a beautiful city, lit with crystal lights, glowing beautifully on the side of a large mountain. She shot towards it, rainbow magic trailing behind her in splendor. Approaching the city, she could see people moving about, passing and greeting each other happily, going about their late evening.

She stopped over the city, glowing brightly. People stopped, looking up, pointing and calling out in wonder. Sunset smiled.

“My children!” she called out happily. “I have missed you! Your goddess has returned!”

Below, there was a great cry as people began rejoicing, calling out and crying in their gratitude. Their goddess had returned!

Sunset lowered down into the street among them, hovering just above the street. The crowd made a circle around her, laughing in joy. A child shot out from the crowd. The little girl ran to her, and hugged tightly to her legs. Sunset bent down and scooped the child up into a hug, smiling and snuggling her tight. “I have missed you all so much!” she called out happily.

The crowd pressed tightly around her. Sunset reached out, and hugged all who approached, greeting each one in their native tongue. The child’s mother came forward, hugging Sunset as well, and took her happy child back from her goddess. Sunset hugged and kissed every child that approached, lifting them into her embrace for a hug, then returning them to their parents with hugs for them too. The crowd brought her eventually to the gates of the palace at the center of the city.

The crystal gates opened wide with a fanfare and flourish. The people moved back as a regiment of ceremonial guards marched out, lining both sides of the crowd around her, then as one, genuflected. With another flourish from the trumpets, a couple with royal bearing emerged from the gate, and in a stately manner walked to Sunset. Standing before her, as one, they too genuflected, and called out together.

“Welcome, goddess! Welcome to our Kingdom of Harmony.”

Tears rolling down her cheeks, Sunset bent, and pulled them to stand before her. She then embraced them both, happily crying.

“Thank you! Thank you so much for waiting for me faithfully. Thank you so much for keeping the principles of Harmony.” Sunset released them, and bowed her head, extending her hands over them.

“May the blessings of Harmony be forever yours! May the Maker bless you all now and forever!” she called out. A glow spread from her then pulsed out, washing her children in its warmth.

The woman of the couple turned to the people. “In honor of this great day, we proclaim this a holiday of great joy! Let us spend the next week in a festival to rejoice at the return of our goddess!”

There was a great shout of happiness from the crowd that spread in waves throughout the entire city. As the people rejoiced, the royal couple bowed again, and taking her hands, led her into the castle with them.

“I wonder what that was all about, going to visit the moon,” mused Dash as she helped clean up from the picnic.

“Probably related to something she saw while in the arch,” guessed Twilight, putting away the leftover food, packing up the picnic basket with the leftovers.

“She had the look of a Mother visiting her child,” smiled Chang’e, watching everyone play and walk through the gardens.

“She did mention something about children,” agreed Twilight, finishing with the food and loading the basket back into the rover. Dash had stacked up all the dishes and ran them back into the temple, washing them quickly in one of the kitchens and leaving them to dry in racks. She was back in ten seconds flat.

“You think Sunset has kids,” asked Dash, askance. “I didn’t think she swung that way.”

Twilight facepalmed. “Dash, you don’t have to be straight to have kids. You do know, other couples can have children too.”

“I don’t think that is the type of children she meant,” corrected Chang’e. “I believe she meant her followers, others under her care. I have often referred to those given to my care as my children. I think those are the children Sunset spoke of.”

“Ah, okay,” nodded Dash in understanding. Then she frowned again. “But children on the moon? Those moons are tiny! No one could live there!” she stated.

“I guess we’ll just have to ask her when she gets back,” answered Twilight, baskets put away. She joined Chang’e in sitting and watching the others play.

“I guess,” sighed Dash, joining them.

Sunset sat with the royal couple, co-rulers of this Realm of Harmony. Over dinner and drinks, they shared with Sunset the story of the Realm, and of all that had happened since she had left the survivors of the ancient Apocalyptic War in this realm to prosper and practice the precepts of Harmony.

Over the ages, they had grown as a people until they filled the realm with their families, cities, towns and farms. They had shepherded the land, tending to it and nurturing it, enjoying the blessings she had left them and the abundance of goodness it contained. Using its riches they built fine towns and cities. Eventually, once the land was populated enough to warrant the creation of a capital, they built this capital city and its jewel like structures, including this castle.

A loving couple that best exemplified the practice of the precepts of Harmony was chosen by popular consent to be the co-rulers of the realm, leading their people by example and exhortation. When the time came for that couple to pass to the next level of reality, another couple was chosen by the same process, down through the ages, so there was always a couple leading the realm in Harmony while they awaited the return of their goddess.

They had grown in wisdom and understanding as well, advancing their science and practices. Eventually they were able to study the cosmos around them, and had the science to travel to the stars and beyond. They watched their neighbors on the next planet towards the sun lift themselves up from their humble beginnings, taking their own march towards embracing Harmony. But never did they interfere with them or attempt to influence them, as that was not the lot left for them by the Maker. Within their realm, they elected to keep to a simple agrarian life, embracing the simplicity of that life in their practice of the precepts of Harmony.

And now, they were filled with delight. Finally, they had seen the day of their goddess returning to them.

Sunset cried happy tears listening to the tale, sipping her drink as she listened.

When they were finished with their tale, she requested. “I would like to introduce you to my friends, some of them goddesses that like me work to bring the joy of Harmony to all the cosmos. Would you be willing to come with me and meet them? Just for a bit, then I will return you here again.”

The man laughed. “We would surely be delighted to join you, and meet your friends and fellow goddesses. However, please tell me we won’t have to wait for another eon to return to our realm,” he teased.

“Heavens forbid it!” laughed Sunset. “No, I will not be leaving you for that stretch of time ever again! On that you have my promise!”

“It sounds delightful,” agreed the woman. “I can’t wait to meet them.”

Sunset reached out and took their hands. “Then let’s go!” she enthused. They glowed with teal magic. With a flash they disappeared.

“We’re directly above them,” called out the witch, laptop open before her, sitting on her broom in the close company of her companions within their magical shield. “There should be some kind of opening somewhere below us. Look for it!” They lowered down, all eyes scouring the landscape below.

“There, over there!” called out one of the witches near the edge of their formation. “I see tracks! Let’s follow them.” They descended to the tracks. Following them, they spied the tunnel entrance.

“Mark the location on the map for future reference!” called out the lead witch. Nodding, the witch with the laptop made the notation. “Prepare for battle, sisters! For the glory of the elder gods!” she cried out.

“For the glory of the elder gods!” cried out the rest of the witches. As one, they flew into the tunnel.

Reincorporated, Sunset held the hands of the couple, levitated in her magic within her protective shield as she floated beside the moon. Looking down on the planet below, they smiled. “It is beautiful still, in its own way,” the woman observed.

“Indeed it is,” agreed Sunset. “Ready? Time to meet some new friends.”

“Ready!” The couple agreed. Sunset flew down towards the caldera, new friends in tow.

Within the cavern, the witches, still cloaked, raced out of the tunnel, heading towards the center of the cavern where Twilight and her friends were playing and resting.

“Something’s not right!” called out Twilight, sensing but not seeing the approaching witches. “Dash, get everyone over here now!”

Dash whipped out in a burst of rainbow speed, grabbing each of their friends and bringing them to Chang’e and Twilight. Twilight stood, arms outstretched, and a magical barrier materialized around them just as Dash brought in the last of the girls.

There was a flash of light as the witches of the coven struck Twilight’s barrier, shattering their protective and cloaking spell from around them. With shrieks and howls, they surrounded the barrier, raining down hexes and curses upon it, attempting to break through and sacrifice everyone before them.

Chang’e called out to Twilight. “What is this madness?”

Twilight responded, “These are the witches that want to kill me and Sunset.” She kept her shield strong against their repeated attacks.

Sunset, her new friends in hand, flew down into the canyon and into the entrance of the tunnel. She raced down it, excited to introduce two of her children to her friends. As they neared the end of the tunnel, she sensed something was horribly amiss. She slowed as she neared the cavern, and looked in shock at what was occurring.

“Oh hells no!” Sunset shouted. She raced towards the attacking witches encircling her friends. The royals, still clutching her hands, were horrified at what they saw. A group of black clad evil women were attacking two goddesses, both with arms outstretched and glowing with power holding off their attacks. Several younger people crouched behind them, clearly willing to join the battle themselves but waiting on their goddesses. Sunset raced through the attacking witches, sending two of them sprawling as she barreled through and past Twilight’s shield, stopping beside her and releasing the royal couple, who moved to stand with the young ones, watching the goddesses.

“I leave for a few hours and literally all hell breaks loose!” swore Sunset.

“Apparently?” snarked Twilight, her hands raised, maintaining the shield. “Who’re your new friends?”

“They’re two of my children, descendants of the original people of Mars. They’re the royal couple in charge of the Martian Realm of Harmony,” answered Sunset, firing blasts of fiery magic at the witches as they raced around attacking the shield.

“Children? Been holding out on me, Sunny?” teased Twilight. “You have some secrets you’ve been keeping from me?”

“Hardly, Sparky!” smirked Sunset, scoring a direct hit on one of the witches who fell from her broom to the cobblestones below. “I actually only just found out about them a few hours ago.”

“While you were in the archway, yeah, I figured as much,” smiled Twilight, power radiating from her hands into the still impregnable shield. She turned to her BFF. “I can’t even pretend to understand it, but standing here by your side, battling these buttholes that are trying to kill us… I should be terrified, but it just feels so right. Like this is where I belong. Weird, right?”

“No, not weird,” smiled Sunset. “More like, we finally found where we belong, and we’re doing what we were always meant to do,” mused Sunset. One of the witches covered herself in a powerful hex and tried to ram the shield. It briefly cracked, then healed itself as the now unconscious witch slid down its surface to the cobblestones below.

The witches pulled back, regrouping, as the individual attacks were not getting them the desired results. They landed, and grabbing one of the fallen witches, they slit her throat, using her blood to make a hastily poured magic circle on the ground.

“What the actual buck!” screamed out Sunset, witnessing their barbaric inhumanity to one of their own fallen. “What in the seven hells! How could you be so completely heartless!” she screamed out at the witches.

Chanting, they summoned the power of one of their elder gods, shaping the power into a powerful and potently evil hex. When the hex was fully formed, they launched the spell against the shield, which immediately cracked and crazed under the powerful assault.

“Oh hells no!” screamed Sunset, glowing brightly with power. “You will not harm any of my children! I will not allow it!” She launched herself through the shield, which shattered as she passed. She tore through the overpowered hex, destroying it as she ripped through it, heading straight for the circle of witches.

The witches scattered, flying in all directions to escape her wrath. As Sunset hovered over their still empowered circle, the witches regrouped, fleeing towards the tunnel, then in tight formation down it to escape, leaving their wounded behind.

Sunset flew after them, intent on putting an end to this permanently. As she closed on them, the witches disappeared in a flash of amber. Sunset flew to where they disappeared, sensing their retreat back to their coven.

“Don’t think this is over!” she yelled out, overcome with rage. “Don’t think I won’t track you down and end this! I am coming for you!”

Shaking with rage, she took deep breaths to calm herself. Calmed slightly, she returned to the cavern where she saw Twilight moving among the fallen witches, apparating them away.

Sunset flew next to her BFF, and pulled her into a hug. Tears fell, her feelings finally catching up with her. Pulling back, with tear stained cheeks, she looked into her friend's eyes. “Are you okay, Sparky?” she asked.

Crying as well, Twilight hugged her back. “As long as I’m by your side? Never better,” she smiled through her tears.

“Me too,” agreed Sunset. “By your side, I could face anything.” She hugged her friend tightly, then drifted back, holding her hand. She looked around. The last of the witches were gone. Their friends were holding one another looking confused, if not frightened. The royal couple were looking very confused, and were having a difficult time trying to ask questions, as no one present besides Sunset knew their language. Chang’e was moving among everyone, comforting and supporting them as needed.

Toma walked over to the still-empowered spell circle the witches had activated. Reaching out his right hand, he touched the circle. With a bang, all the magic in it dissipated and it went dark. He shook his head, and returned to Index and the girls.

Koari turned to Stiyl. “Damn, that’s a useful quirk,” she noted.

Stiyl nodded. “It certainly has had its uses,” he agreed, watching while Toma comforted Index, clearly shaken up by all the violence.

Kaori and Stiyl walked over to Sunset and Twilight. Hand in hand, the goddesses looked out at the damage the witches had caused with their attack.

“How are you two doing?” asked Kaori as they approached. “Are you going to be okay?”

Twilight turned to them. She drifted down to the ground, and walking over, embraced Kaori. “Yes, thank you for asking. Thank you for everything.

“And thank you for offering to care for the fallen witches. I apparated them to the marker you gave me. As much as I hate them, I’m happy Necessesarius is taking care of them. No one deserves to just be left for dead like that. The callous way they treat their fallen is appalling.” Twilight shivered at the recollection of them slitting the throat of their fallen comrade to power their curse.

“We’re happy to help, Twilight. And you’re right, no one deserves to be treated like that,” agreed Kaori.

Stiyl nodded in agreement. “We will be interrogating them when they are in better health, trying to find out what they hope to gain by all this. We know they’ve always wanted a return to the old gods. But why the push now? What’s happening now that’s so special? That’s the pressing question.”

Sunset dropped down to join them. “Just to let you know, I’m going after them. As soon as I’m sure everyone here is safe, I’m going to their coven, and wiping it off the map. They’re too much of a loose cannon to leave alone, as they proved here today. You may have a few more witches to take care of by the time I’m done.”

Kaori spoke up. “Actually, if you can, please don’t wipe the coven off the map. We need to examine their libraries and archives. There may be clues there to what is going on, and what we can expect. Let us search them before you burn everything to the ground.”

“That actually makes a great deal of sense,” agreed Twilight. “I can help you in that search. Nobody knows libraries like I do,” she smiled.

“Sounds like a plan then,” agreed Sunset. “I’ll go in, drop them. Then you, Sparky, and our friends here can dig for answers. Before we do that though, let’s go introduce you and everyone to my new friends. Then I can return them to their realm and keep them out of harm's way while we clean up this mess.” She let them over to their group of friends.

Sunset introduced them all to the Royal couple and vice versa. She gave a very brief summary of who each of them were and their part in the struggle they had witnessed. She then explained to everyone how she had managed to save a small group of the original inhabitants of the planet in their final apocalyptic moments, creating a safe realm for them to inhabit and prosper in. And how over the last eon they had done just that. The younger girls in particular were in awe at the tale.

With that, and the battle they had just gone through, Dash proclaimed that this was now a real Daring Do style adventure, which got a chuckle from Sunset and Twilight.

Sunset informed them all that she was taking the couple back to their realm to keep them safe from the fallout of their battle. “I don’t want any more of my children coming to harm or being at risk from whomever is behind all these attacks. They should be safe in their realm until we get this all sorted,” Sunset explained. She explained again to the royal couple in their own tongue. They reluctantly agreed.

The couple bid goodbye to their new friends. Taking their hands, Sunset levitated them to her sides. Surrounded by her shield and held in her levitation, they flew out of the cavern and down the tunnel. She shot out of the tunnel in a rainbow trail of magical flight, and raced up to their moon, transforming them all in flight to their crystal then Harmonic energy forms. As pure Harmonic energy, they shot through the moon and into their realm. In their own natural form again, she descended from the sky and down to their castle, releasing them at their castle gates.

A large crowd had gathered at the sight of their goddess descending from the sky with their Royal couple. Hugging her new friends, she bid them farewell, promising to return soon. She then turned to the gathered crowd, bidding them farewell as well, and issuing the same promise to them. With that, she flew up into the sky and through the vault of their heavens, emerging from the moon and transforming back to her corporeal self. She shot down into her planet's atmosphere, shining as bright as a shooting star. Nearing the entrance to her lair, she slowed slightly, rocketing into the tunnel and down to her waiting friends.

Shooting from the entrance, she came to a stop over them, and settled down into her chair, which Twilight had brought out for her. “Thank you,” Sunset smiled, hugging her BFF.

“Anytime, anywhere, anyhow, Sunny,” smiled Twilight, hugging her back. “And for this next part, I’m coming with you. No arguments. I belong by your side. Ready Freddy?” she asked.

Turning to Chang’e, the mages, and the rest of their friends, Sunset smiled. “We’ll be right back!” Taking her friend's hand, she smiled. “Ready Freddy!”

They disappeared in a flash of magenta magic, Sunset’s chair sitting empty.

They appeared over the grounds of the witches coven, Sunset suspended in Twilight’s levitation as she hovered above the landscape.

“Dang, Sparky! You never cease to amaze,” grinned Sunset as she flapped her wings, holding herself aloft. Twilight released the levitation she was using.

“I am your shield,” smiled Twilight. “Let’s go smite some witches, shall we?”

“Let’s!” agreed Sunset with a grin. Releasing her friend's hand, she held out her arms in front of her, hands glowing with teal power.

Twilight did the same, her hands glowing with magenta power. Together they flew straight at the coven manor, slamming into the magical shield surrounding it, shattering it as they plowed into it and then through the door to the manor. Sensing a gathering magic below them, they raced down the stairs before them, then into a great hall below where the witches were gathered beneath another shield, surrounding an empowering circle.

The source of the power was clear to see. Beside them lay the body of another witch, drained of her blood and completely pale, her throat slit from ear to ear. She laid beside the circle formed from her blood, around which the witches chanted. Together, the goddesses slammed into the magical barrier, shattering it just as they had the first one.

As they shattered the barrier, the coven lead witch grabbed the hand of her assassin and apparated with her, leaving the other witches to deal with the goddesses. Within moments, Twilight and Sunset had dealt with all the remaining witches, leaving them stunned and unconscious in piles around their now useless spell circle.

Sunset searched for where the two fleeing witches had apparated too, but her trace was blocked by powerful dark magic. She sighed. “Looks like the small fry just fled to the big fish. I hope the mages can do better tracking them.”

She drifted back over to Twilight. “Feel like taking a trip to fetch our mage friends? I’ll watch over things here while you get them. Then they can call in their cavalry to deal with this mess as they please. And we can get the rest of our friends back where they belong.”

“Sounds like a plan,” agreed Twilight. She disappeared in a magenta flash.

Sunset looked out over the fallout of their brief squirmish. “Whomever you are, we are coming for you,” she promised.

In a magenta flash, Twilight reappeared with Kaori and Stiyl.

“Hello? Hello?” Kaori said. She held out the cell phone in her hand. “Whatever. Guess the call was over anyway.” She put the phone away. “They're sending a team over now. Shouldn’t be more than a few minutes. We’ll take care of these ladies, and see what we can find.”

One of the witches started coming too. Kaori stunned her, she fell back unconscious. She looked over at the corpse of the witch, slain in sacrifice to power the still active spell circle. “Well, we won’t be helping that one,” she sighed. “That’s just cold blooded evil.” She shook her head.

Sunset nodded her head sadly in agreement. “I can’t wait to put a permanent stop to this.” Looking one more time over everything, she asked. “So, you two got this? You’re good waiting here while we take care of the rest of our friends?”

“We’re good,” Stiyl nodded. “Go do what you need to do.”

With a hug for them both, the girls left the mages in a teal flash.

In a flash of teal magic, Twilight and Sunset appeared before their friends. Toma had pulled the picnic basket from the rover, allowing a nervous and clearly shaken Index to snack as she waited. The girls were gathered around her, also trying to comfort her.

Sunset settled down into her waiting chair, then turned to Twilight. “Are you okay with returning the rover to NASA, while I drop our friends off back home? I’ll join you wherever you are as soon as I finish,” she promised.

“I know you will, Sunny. Sure, I got this. Go take everyone home. I’ll bring our NASA friends back their toy, thank them, then join you,” agreed Twilight. She said goodbye to everyone, climbing up into the rover and shutting the hatch. Firing up the rover, she drove it to the tunnel entrance, then down the tunnel and out into the caldera.

Sunset watched her BFF drive off, a touch of sadness in her heart. Chang’e came up beside her. “Do not fret, dear friend. It will only be for a brief time. A single moment in the eternity you have together. Come! Let us be off as well. I have much to tell my friends when I get back.

Outside in the caldera, Twilight groaned. “I really don’t want to spend the next several hours driving this beast back to NASA. It was fun enough coming out, spending time together on our little adventure. But right now, I need to be by Sunset’s side,” she mused to herself. “Yeah, screw this.”

Stopping the rover, in a magenta flash she appeared just above it. “Too bad the girls aren’t here. I bet they would get a kick out of this. Especially Ruiko and Kazari,” she grinned wickedly.

She levitated the rover off the ground, surrounded with her magic. Rover in tow, she shot up into the sky, heading straight back towards the NASA base.

Inside the base command and control room, there was frantic activity. “Sir, a large object is approaching from the Olympus Mons caldera at sonic speed, headed straight for us!” reported one of the operators watching the approaching mark on his system.

“Give me a visual!” called out the base commander. A blurry image appeared on the central screen before them, showing a smaller glowing blur followed by a larger blur. “Clean that up! What are we seeing?” he commanded.

The operator adjusted the optics on the tracking camera. Bringing it into focus, they could clearly see their rover, preceded by a glowing angelic young woman with a glowing horn protruding from her head.

The base commander laughed, shaking his head. “Cancel the alert!” he called out. The flashing lights stopped and everyone relaxed. “It’s just our neighbors bringing back their ride.”

Gently setting the rover down just outside the NASA base, Twilight popped back into the pilot seat. Placing the headset on, she called out to operations.

“Operations, this is LM-06a requesting permission to return to base,” Twilight called out.

“LM-06a, this is operations. You gave us a bit of a scare there, girl,” operations teased.

“LM-06a. Whatever do you mean?” she asked.

“It’s not often we see our rovers flying at us at near the speed of sound,” snarked the operator.

“Ah, saw that, did you? Sorry about that, I should have called ahead and warned you,” apologized Twilight.

“Operations. That would be appreciated, but honestly you would not have been able to reach us from the caldera anyway. Our satellite is not currently overhead, and the unit is line-of-sight without a magnetosphere to bounce signals off of,” the operator replied.

“LM-06a. I can help you with that. Remind me to set you up with some TACIT relays in the near future,” suggested Twilight. “Requesting docking clearance, I am just outside of the airlock, and need to return your ride.”

“Operations. LM-06a, you are cleared for entrance to the airlock,” informed the operator. They then exchanged control banter as the lock cycled through and opened the inside door, allowing her to park it in the spot they had picked it up from.

“LM-06a, returned and powering down. Signing off, with my thanks!” Twilight informed operations. She shut down the systems on the rover, then clambered back to the hatch. She noticed then she didn’t have either the picnic basket nor Sunset’s chair. “I guess I need to go back and grab them,” she sighed. She opened the hatch, then clambered down it, shutting and dogging it closed. Standing on the floor of the rover bay, she disappeared in a flash of magenta.

Appearing back in the lair. She looked over, finding the basket where Index had left it when leaving with Sunset. She packed everything back up, then carried the basket over to where Sunset’s chair was sitting. Placing the basket on the chair, she disappeared with them both.

… Appearing back in their bunker. She looked around at the destruction the witches had left after their search.

“I so can’t deal with this right now,” she groaned. “What a mess.” She walked over to the conference room table, noticing the laptop was missing. She looked into the den, finding the other laptop. She checked all the rooms, but it was clearly gone. “Crap,” Twilight swore. “Well, I guess that clears up how they found us! Clearly even NSA grade encryption is no match for magic. Damn. So now I have to assume whomever has that laptop can currently track our every movement through the fobs. Time to put a stop to that.”

Twilight grabbed the other laptop and signed in. She pulled up the interface for the fob access control, and searched the location of all the fobs. One was returning Nulls for its location, indicating that it wasn’t on Mars and that if it was on Earth, it was being shielded from GPS signaling. It was the fob attached to the missing laptop.

“At least they didn’t try to steal any of the other fobs. I guess they were in too big a hurry to come kill us to worry about that,” she mused. She blocked all access to the network from that fob, disabling it. She also removed its paired match from the hub in the control room. “I am going to find and retrieve that laptop. I can’t let them keep access to the data on its drives.”

With that sorted for the moment, Twilight took the basket over to the kitchen counter and put the food away in the fridge. She walked over to Sunset’s chair. Sitting in it, she keyed her teleport to Sunset’s fob and teleported to her.

She appeared in their apartment living room. Sunset was relaxing on the couch with the girls, Toma, and Index, all playing or watching a video game. Twilight smiled at her BFF.

“Forget something, Sunny?” she teased.

“Yeah! I’ve been playing at being a floating meat puppet. Finally took a break from that to sit down for a bit,” Sunset replied, grinning at her friend. “Want to trade?”

“Nah, have a better idea,” grinned Twilight. She got up and sat in her friend's lap, leaning back into her and pulling her arms around her.

“You’re such a dork,” laughed Sunset, hugging her tightly.

“Takes one to know one,” she teased back. “Some bad news I’m afraid. I know how the coven tracked us.”

“How’s that?” asked Sunset.

“They stole one of the conference room laptops, hacked it, and were using the fobs to track our location,” replied Twilight.

“Crap! Did you lock them out?” asked Sunset.

“Yup, already sorted. Locked out and removed their paring fob too. They can’t get back in. But they still have all the data copied down onto the laptop, which is way more than I want them to have. I didn’t see any sign of a laptop back at the battle we had with the coven. I’ll ask the mages to keep an eye out for it, but I think at this point we have to assume that the two that escaped still have it with them. Aside from having the specs for the TACIT systems and several other devices I’ve been working on, I’m trying to think of what else was on there that can come back to bite us,” answered Twilight. “It’s bad enough that they have the TACIT design. I really didn’t want that to fall into the wrong hands.

“I guess it’s time to go into overdrive. If they’re going to be making their own TACIT devices, I want all our friends to have access to the technology. That means JAXA and EAS for starters, and the mages. Definitely fobs for all of the mages who want one. And I promised fob pairs and tech to NASA to help with their off-Earth communications.”

“Anything I can do to help, just let me know,” promised Sunset, hugging her friend.

Kuroko got up from where she was sitting next to Mikoto, currently taking her turn at the game. She sat down next to the two of them and hugged them tightly.

“Missed you too, sissy,” teased Sunset, pulling her into their hug too. Kuroko beamed with happiness.

After several peaceful moments watching their friends play, surrounded by love, Twilight extracted herself from the wonderful hug and got up. “I’m going to set out some snacks and drinks for everyone, seeing it looks like we’re hanging out here for a bit. Want anything?”

“Yes please,” smiled Sunset. She wiggled her eyebrows.

Twilight laughed and lightly punched her arm. “I meant drinks, dork! Do you want something to drink or eat?”

Sunset laughed. “Sure! Whatever you pick out. Thanks, Sparky!”

Twilight rolled her eyes, grinning as she went into the kitchen. She set out the leftovers from their last dinner, chips and dips, drinks, and the leftover miso soup. Index immediately came over from the couch, took a seat, and started some serious snacking. Laughing, Toma came over and joined her.

Twilight made a coffee for herself and Sunset, then grabbed three baozi for her and Sunset to snack on. Sunset’s of course was filled with sauteed mushrooms instead of the usual pork. Taking a rather crowded seat next to her BFF, she handed Sunset her coffee and snack. She handed the extra one to Kuroko. “Wouldn't want you starving while watching us eat,” she teased, taking a bite of her baozi and a sip of coffee.

“Thank you!” chirped Kuroko, enjoying her snack.

The game ended. Everyone moved over to the table and served themselves up from the leftovers laid out on the table. A few of them made coffee, but most of them settled for the drinks Twilight had pulled from the fridge. Index was happily hunched over a bowl of dip, on her second bag of chips.

Twilight laughed at the sight of Index wolfing down her snack. “I don’t know whether to be jealous, impressed, or both watching Index pack that food away. I can eat, but if I ate like that I would be a really big girl.”

Sunset laughed and hugged her tight. “Doesn’t matter how big you get, Sparky! You’re all mine, every bit of you,” she teased.

Twilight laughed, wiggling to break her grip. “When did you get so sappy?” she teased back. “Too much watching StarTrek? Turned you into a Cling-On?”

“Oh har-de-har-har, witty one! That was so corny I could pop it and fill a bowl!” grinned Sunset.

“Are you mocking me, oh queen of corn?” laughed Twilight back, fending off Sunset’s attempts to ensnare her in a hug again. Kuroko, now sitting in Sunset’s lap, held tightly to avoid getting knocked off by their wrestling antics. She was laughing and grinning at them both.

Both Makoto and Toma were watching them, and burst out in laughter together. They turned to each other, blushed, and looked away, resuming watching their goddess friends' antics, which had now devolved into a tickle fight, with Kuroko stuck between them to her absolute delight.

Unable to resist, Ruiko and Kazari ran over to join them, trying to tickle them both, giggling happily. Sunset and Twilight both turned and grabbed one each, administering a sound tickling, causing both girls to howl in laughter. Kuroko joined in the fun, trying to tickle Sunset, then Twilight. Sunset wrapped her up in one arm, tickling her mercilessly, giving Ruiko a chance to catch her breath. Kuroko squirmed and squealed, laughing and trying fruitlessly to tickle Sunset back. After a few moments of breathless giggles, Kuroko vanished in a flash, appearing behind the girls, launching onto Sunset to resume her ticklish attacks. Sunset laughed, letting her have her ticklish fun while she resumed her silly torment of Ruiko, who squirmed and giggled hysterically.

After several breathless moments of hysterical delight, the older girls relented, giving Ruiko and Kazari a break. Sunset reached around behind her, wrapping Kuroko into a tight hug and resumed tickling her mercilessly. After a few howling moments of delighted torment, Kuroko flashed away again, holding her sides and catching her breath. “No more!” she wheezed, still laughing.

Toma turned to Mikoto with a grin. “I could help you have some fun too,” he teased, wiggling his hand with claw fingers at her.

Mikoto blushed and bristled. “Don’t you dare! I’ll launch you through a wall if you even try!” She backed away from him as he laughingly leaned towards her, still waving his claw fingers at her. As she got near Index, she was wrapped up in a tight hug. “Index, no!” she called out, embarrassed.

Toma leaned in and poked her side. Mikoto giggled and twisted away, pulling free of Index’s hug. “Jerk!” she called out, still laughing. “I’ll get you for that!”

“You promise?” laughed Toma, sitting next to Index and pulling her into a happy hug.

“You two are such jerks!” Mikoto blushed, acutely embarrassed. Toma and Index both grinned.

Sunset laughed. She hugged Ruiko and Twilight tightly. “Wow, I think we all really needed that after the day we’ve had!”

Twilight hugged Kazari, a huge smile on her face. “I know I did!” She agreed happily. “Takes more than a coven of crazy witches and old gods to get me down! Especially when I’m with my friends!”

Sunset hugged Twilight close, gave her a peck on the cheek. “Don’t you know it! You guys are the best cure for days like today!

“Eat up, everyone! We have time for a movie or something, then we all have to get some sleep or we’ll be zombies all day tomorrow. Can’t have that!” Sunset joked.

Sunset let Ruiko go. Ruiko grabbed Kazari’s hand, heading over to the table to get some dinner. Sunset reached over and pulled her chair next to the couch, then transferred into it. She grabbed Twilight, plopping her down on her lap. Together they rolled over to the table to join their friends for dinner. Mikoto and Toma followed them, Mikoto still flushed with embarrassment. They all sat at the table and served themselves from the leftovers. Sunset led them in Harmonic grace. After that they ate, sharing conversation and laughter together.

After dinner, Sunset brought out the desserts from the freezer, and everyone took their pick. Dessert and drinks in hand, they moved into the living room to pick out a movie and enjoy the remainder of their evening.

After some playful arguing, they settled on Toki o kakeru shôjo, enjoying the antics of the main character Makoto as she tried to unravel the messes she had made in the first part of the movie. The girls were a little saddened by the end of the movie. Toma did point out to them that it was clear that they would meet again though, while looking at Mikoto and smiling, causing her to blush and bristle in equal measure. When the movie was over, everyone said goodnight.

Twilight offered to take Toma and Index home. When they had left, Sunset invited the girls to spend the night with them. The girls called their dorm managers but were denied this time to Sunset’s surprise, so she teleported them home and returned to their apartment to wait for Twilight.

Twilight returned, joining her BFF in getting ready for bed. A warm shower later, the two of them settled in for the night, looking out over the city as Sunset snuggled up against Twilight’s back, wrapping her in a warm hug.

“You know Sparky, I really need to lock down the lair. I may have gone a little overboard disabling all the defenses earlier. I hate leaving it wide open now that the coven knows about it and where it is,” sighed Sunset. “I don’t want them getting their hands on anything in there too. Bad enough they have the TACIT plans.”

“Overdid it a bit? Ya think?” teased Twilight, snuggled up to her friend. She laughed. “Good thinking though. Do you want to take care of it in the morning while I take everyone back and get them settled?”

“Sure. I just want to get it done sooner than later. I have a bad feeling about those witches. If we don’t protect the lair and watch our backs, we’re going to get bitten hard by it,” agreed Sunset. “And note to self, next time, go easy on clearing the traps. I so slagged everything, I’m going to have to start from scratch.” She nestled into her friend's grasp. “Tomorrow’s headache. Tonight, some much needed rest.”

Twilight held Sunset’s arms in hers, and together, the friends drifted off into a well earned night's sleep.

Author's Note

Next chapter starts ‘First Blood / The Girls’ story Arcs (as the story kicks into overdrive). Interspersed with this is Twilight and Sunset racing to provide TACIT base and transporter pairs to JAXA, EAS, and others as well as TACIT enabled fobs/tech for NASA and Necessarius. This is matched by their opposing forces apparently mastering the TACIT technology and of creating their own TACIT systems, causing more frustration for the mages and goddesses.

The goddesses of the hunt.

10 - Twilight - First Blood

Sunday, September 14, 8:30 AM Tokyo time.

Twilight woke with a grin. Sunset was snoring gently beside her, the alarm about to go off. Reaching over, she turned off the alarm then gently placed her hands on her sleeping BFF’s side. Jabbing them quickly into her sides she tickled her mercilessly.

“Wake up sleepyhead. Time to get up,” she giggled.

Sunset bolted awake, trying to escape her BFF as she laughed. Finally rolling from her grasp, she turned to her BFF.

“Guess no sleeping in today,” she grinned.

She transferred over to her chair, quickly rolling over to grab her bathroom bag. “Be right back!” she promised, rolling out of the room and into the bathroom.

Twilight laughed. “I guess I tickled her so much she couldn’t wait,” she smirked. “Time to make breakfast.” She got out of bed and headed for the kitchen, still grinning ear to ear.

She washed up then started preparing breakfast. Sunset finished up in the bathroom and dropped off her bag, joining her. Together they made short work of preparing two bowls of porridge with fruit then sat down to enjoy their breakfasts.

“So, I saw an old friend in my dreams last night,” commented Twilight between bites. “Not anyone I ever hoped to see again, but it was still interesting.”

“Who?” wondered Sunset, sipping her coffee.

“Midnight. She showed up in the middle of my dream and just said ‘We have to talk.’ I didn’t know what to make of that so just went with it,” answered Twilight.

“She morphed the dream into a starry void with just the two of us, then she thanked me,” she continued.

Sunset nearly spit out her coffee, choking for a moment, then wiped up her mess. “Now I know that was just a dream. Midnight thanked you? For what?” gasped Sunset, still cleaning up her coffee.

“That’s exactly what I said. And she answered.

‘Thank you for giving me everything I hoped for. When you ascended, we reached levels I hadn’t even dreamed of! When you became a goddess, I did too by extension, and have access to all the magic and powers that come with it. Twilight! We finally have it! Everything I ever wanted! This is magnificent!’

“Ah that sounds bad. Goddess level Midnight? Should I be worried?” Sunset interrupted in concern.

“No, I don’t think so, it gets weirder, just wait,” continued Twilight.

‘What do you mean you became a goddess? Does that mean you’re taking over again, now that you have everything you want?’ I asked her.

‘No! Why would I? I have what I wanted. I have access to knowledge beyond my dreams. I’m going to camp out in the back of your mind and learn, catalog, and organize every bit of this wonderful new knowledge for the rest of our now extremely long and wonderful lives! I am in heaven!’

“Huh,” grunted Sunset, cleanup done and back to sipping what was left of her coffee.

“Right?” agreed Twilight. “So I had a few reservations.”

‘Okay, if you’re going to be hanging around in my head, I think we have to have a few ground rules.

‘First, I am in charge. At all times. You don’t take over, displace, or otherwise mess with me, or I swear on my life I will find a way to drive you out for good.

‘Second, no more doing whatever you like. If you are hanging with me, you are being Harmonic. I am a Harmonic goddess, and I won’t have you messing around with that.

‘Third, anything you learn, you share with me. If you learn anything I need to know right away, let me know internally, and do not disrupt what I am doing. Act if you need to like one of the other voices in my head. Like my mother.

“At this point, my mother appeared, laughed and waved, then disappeared again. I swear sometimes I need a shrink,” Twilight sighed, then continued.

‘I swear. Not a problem, I can live with that, as long as I can stay and analyze and learn all this wonderful new magic,’ Midnight promised.

‘Okay. Please don’t make me regret this,’ I added. Then she hugged me.”

“Midnight hugged you?” Sunset asked incredulously.

“Yeah, right?” responded Twilight. “So, I hugged her back, then she faded away and my other dream returned. I was kind of spooked by the whole thing, so I woke up and went to wash my face in the bathroom. When I looked up into the mirror she was smiling back at me. She winked and grinned then disappeared again. That’s when I started to think it was not a dream. I went back to bed, and here we are.

“Sunset, I can feel her back there, and I don’t think that’s a bad thing. I think she really is putting all her energy into learning about our new magic, and will share it with me, and by extension us. I think this may actually be a good thing,” finished Twilight.

“I have to admit I’m feeling a bit guarded about that, but I’ll trust your judgment Sparky. You know yourself well enough to say if that is true or not,” comforted Sunset. “Let me know if that changes though, okay?”

“You bet Sunny,” Twilight promised with a smile.

Sunset’s phone rang. Looking at the caller ID she answered it. “Mikoto, what’s up?” Sunset greeted cheerfully.

Twilight could hear Mikoto speaking, clearly frustrated about something. Sunset responded. “”Was she able to trace where the message came from?”

More frantic responses were heard from Mikoto. Sunset reassured her. “Okay, try not to worry about it. It sounds like someone is trying to rattle your cage. Well help you look into it more when we get together tomorrow. Don’t let them get to you. You girls have fun and we’ll see you all tomorrow. Okay? Take care Mikoto.”

Sunset hung up the phone and turned to Twilight.

“What was that all about?” asked Twilight, curious.

“Some idiot sent Mikoto a death threat,” answered Sunset. “Murderer! Prepare to pay with your life for your crimes! Hardly original but still nothing to ignore. Ruiko traced it back to a control number from the communication locus. I told her we would help them figure it out when we see them tomorrow but not to worry about it for now. No sense letting some random wacko ruin your day.”

“Why would anyone call her a murderer? Mikoto has never killed anyone,” wondered Twilight.

“No idea. There’s way too much effort behind it to be a prank or wrong number. But I guess we’ll sort that out tomorrow,” replied Sunset.

Twilight and Sunset nursed the remainder of their coffees.

“For today, I really messed up slagging the lair’s defenses, especially given the coven’s attack in our lair almost immediately afterward. I’m going to head back and see if I can’t do something about restoring them to keep our unwanted visitors out from now on,” mused Sunset. “Do you want to join me?”

“I would, but I agree with what you said yesterday. We’ve been too complacent about the enemies we’re facing,” replied Twilight. “These aren’t magical misfits we can blast with a rainbow friendship laser then sing a song with. We need to get our allies up to speed. I’m going to start putting together additional TACIT systems for any new allies and get them set. Better to keep them happy then have them turn to our enemies for the TACIT technology now that they’ve stolen it from us.”

“That’s a good point,” agreed Sunset. “So how are you going to do that?”

“I’m going to talk to Dr. Long and see if NASA can coordinate it. Obviously better for them to do it as I don’t have contacts with the other agencies,” explained Twilight. “So I’ll be heading over to Tranquility Base.”

“That makes sense,” Sunset agreed. “Okay, I’ll join you as soon as I finish with the Lair defenses.”

“Sounds good, Sunny,” smiled Twilight.

Finished with her coffee, Sunset hugged Twilight, wishing her success, then teleported with a teal flash back to their lair. Twilight cleaned up their breakfast dishes and finished getting ready for the day herself.

Twilight texted Dr. Long her intentions to visit. Dr. Long replied with a warm welcome, looking forward to seeing her. Dressed and ready for the day, Twilight teleported with a magenta flash to the TACIT receiver at Tranquility base.

Dr. Long was there waiting for her.

“Hi Twilight, welcome back! Let's chat,” she said, leading Twilight back to her quarters. They caught each other up on what had been going on the way.

Sitting Twilight down in her quarters, Dr. Long prepared tea for them both.

“A coven attack on your bunker and lair?” Dr. Long asked incredulously. “Are you serious!? And you fear they may come after us?” she asked as she served up the tea for them both.

“Thank you,” said Twilight as she took her tea then took a sip. “Ah! This is wonderful.”

After another sip, she continued. “Yes, both our bunker and lair, and they were determined to hurt us. We fear they will attack anyone they see as our allies, anything to hurt and undermine us. Sadly, that includes all of you here at Tranquility Base.

“So, we want to give you some defenses that should deter them and save your lives if they try anything.”

“What did you have in mind?” asked Dr. Long.

“A magical shield to start, which will be powered by the TACIT connection. In addition, we’ll provide you with fobs to be worn by all staff at all times. They’ll perform an automatic teleport to a designated safe place in the event of a life threatening emergency. We were thinking of using our lair on Mars, which Sunset is currently refortifying right now,” explained Twilight.

There was a knock on the door.

“I wonder who that could be?” asked Dr. Long. “I left instructions that we were not to be interrupted.”

She rose and answered the door to find a smiling Dr. Hang’e in the hallway.

“I heard that!” Dr. Hang’e smiled as she entered the room.

“And I have to insist! Anyone here needing protection in my realm will be sent to my lair. This is my realm, and I reserve the right to protect those in my care.” She sat down next to Twilight and gave her a gentle hug.

Dr Long shut the door, then fetched a cup of tea for her goddess friend.

“Of course, Dr. Hang’e. That makes perfect sense,” she agreed, giving Dr. Heng’e her tea.

“That does make sense. We can certainly do that,” agreed Twilight, hugging Chang’e back.

“Our other concern was regarding the stolen TACIT plans. We’re certain our enemies plan to use them to create their own TACIT systems, and will attempt to leverage other agencies and countries to their side, away from us.

“We were hoping you could help us make inroads with those other agencies first, before our enemies have a chance to reach out to them. Especially ESA, JAXA, Roscosmos, and any others you think we should be in contact with,” Twilight continued.

“I’ll reach out to the other agencies and make the necessary introductions,” agreed Dr. Long.

“So, what is this I hear about an attack on your lair?” asked Dr. Hang’e.

Twilight explained.

Sunset sat in her chair before the Guardian explaining what she wanted.

“So I clearly kind of overdid it. I need to reinstate the wards to the liar. But I don’t want to make them as brutally lethal as my predecessor. What can I do?” she asked.

“I can reinstate the wards, but you need to understand. Your predecessor did not use lethal force lightly. There was and is a reason the wards were made to utilize that level of force. The lair is sacrosanct. Those who would oppose you need to know their very lives are forfeit if they attempt to attack you or yours in your lair. Are you certain you wish to diminish this?” replied the Guardian.

“Lethal deterrent does not fit the ways of Harmony,” Sunset insisted. “I would prefer to keep lethal remedies as a last resort, not as the first response to anyone ringing my doorbell,” she snarked.

“Noted. We will adjust them accordingly,” agreed her Guardian.

Twilight discussed their needs with Dr.s Long and Hang’e.

One of the first things they agreed on was the absolute necessity of moving the TACIT bases in Pasadena to a more secure location. Also, Twilight’s garage lab would need to be fortified, or more reasonably replaced for the same reasons.

The NASA base on Mars would also need fortifications, though the base at Titanfall would be fine, due to it already having a working shield.

And all future emplacements would require this same level of security, so they planned accordingly.

Twilight also requested and received counts of the staff currently deployed at each of the bases, so she excused herself to begin crafting the necessary protection fobs.

Chang’e offered to let her do her crafting at her lair, which Twilight gratefully accepted. Twilight teleported to Chang’e’s lair as Dr.s Long and Hang’e discussed the plans to include the other agencies.

Inside the martian bunker a team of five armored and armed witches apparated next to the TACIT unit.

They quickly cleared the room then checked the rest of the bunker.

No sooner had they cleared the room then another team of five armored witches apparated, also clearing the room quickly. This continued until there were thirty witches, all armored and magically armed to their teeth, all packed into the bunker dining and presentation areas.

With their full force present, they surrounded themselves with bubble spells for breathable air and protection before opening the door out of the bunker. Then they poured out from the bunker and up onto the martian landscape.

Brooms at the ready they rose up, assuming an attack formation as they headed towards the nearby NASA installation.

Sunset had just finished resetting the last of the lair defenses with the Guardian when he spoke.

“I have detected thirty individuals, all suddenly appearing in our realm,” the Guardian warned. “They are currently heading towards the installation housing more of your kind at a rapid pace.”

“Crab nuggets! That’s not good,” grumbled Sunset.

“Guardian, please keep any intruders out of here. I’m going to see if I can head them off.” She rose from her wheelchair assuming her angelic form.

Fire surrounding her right hand, she teleported directly to the TACIT unit in the Martian base.

A technician working nearby looked up in shock at her sudden appearance.

“Sound the alarm! The base is under imminent attack!” Sunset called out to the startled technician, who immediately ran to the wall and slammed down on a red button.

The base filled with the sound of emergency claxons. As the technician ran off to alert her supervisors, Sunset teleported outside the airlock then rose up over the base.

Before she could form the shield spell for the base she was buffeted, attacked directly by the now very much no longer eminent but very present witches.

Half of their force buffeted Sunset in well timed rounds of attacks as the other half blasted through the airlock doors then dove directly into the base. With the lock breached, the base began losing air at a prodigious rate as the remaining witches continued their direct assault on the base’s lone defender.

Gathering her wits, Sunset regrouped and initiated her own counter attack on the witches.

As Sunset battled the team of witches outside, the ones who had breached the base began their task, destroying everything and everyone they could find.

They quickly slagged the TACIT unit, hoping to cut off any escape or reinforcements for the base. They then began to systematically destroy everything in sight, working their way outward from the central receiving bay through the base.

Following breach protocol when the alarm sounded, the base personnel had sealed themselves into their rooms, preparing for an imminent breach. There, they hid under their beds or other sturdy furnishings.

Seeing none to vent their wrath on, the witches focused on destroying all of the base’s infrastructure they could find.

Outside Sunset continued to struggle with the witches. This team was clearly more experienced than the last group she had faced off against. Their attacks were timed and overlapped, allowing her no time to recover between them. She was left bouncing from one defense to another while the team below worked their mayhem throughout the base.

In frustration, Sunset teleported above the battle and unleashed an unrestricted fire attack over the entire area. This broke the witches formation, scattering them momentarily, and allowing Sunset a moment to think.

Pressing her sudden advantage, Sunset picked off individual witches with directed laserlike fire attacks as the rest of their team regrouped. By the time they had reformed and initiated their coordinated attacks, Sunset had thinned their ranks by seven, down to eight witches remaining against her.

Inside the base the first team of fifteen witches unleashed unholy hell against the base. They slagged and breached critical equipment everywhere they found it.

An unfortunate young woman was hiding under a table in a common room when spotted by one of the attacking witches. Springing up, the young woman attempted to flee but was dropped with a concussive attack as she fled.

The witch moved on leaving the dying young woman gasping in shock behind her.

Twilight was just finishing up the last of fobs when Chang’e appeared beside her.

“Too late for those, we are under attack!” Chang’e yelled, disappearing again. Dropping everything Twilight teleported back to the base to help defend them.

When she arrived everything was in shambles. The witches had already been through the receiving area, slagging the TACIT unit and everything else in the bay.

Mercifully, Twilight did not see any bodies as she raced through the base, looking for any signs of the intruders or survivors. Everywhere she went it was the same; total destruction and no sign of any of the base personnel or their attackers.

She had just entered the ruined telescopic observatory when Chang’e caught up with her.

“They finished destroying the base despite my best efforts to stop them. They have already left,” Chang’e informed Twilight.

“Where are the base personnel?” asked Twilight. “I can’t find any of the base staff anywhere! Did they take them prisoner? Were they all killed?” asked Twilight fearfully.

“As soon as I detected the attackers presence, I sent a harmonic blessing to all my children and raised them to a crystal state. I froze their essences into indestructible jade. They are all wherever they were hiding when I unleashed the blessing after the alarm sounded. They will be fine, but we must gather them up and take them with us to the lair for safekeeping,” demanded Chang'e.

“Sunset!” Twilight called out in panicked realization, immediately teleporting to her BFF’s fob and coming out directly above the Martian base.

Suddenly in the midst of a magefire battle, Twilight only managed to not be killed instantly by her BFF immediately raising a shield around her as she teleported next to her.

“Twilight, what happened? Are you alright? Is everything okay at Tranquility Base?” Sunset asked as she continued to counter the witches' attacks.

“The base is ruined! But Chang’e was able to protect everyone, so no one died,” explained Twilight, recovering some of her wits as she tried to help with the defense against the witches' attacks.

“Thank the maker!” exclaimed Sunset. “Twi, I’m going to try to make an opening for you. I need you to get into the base and find the fifteen mages in there that are reeking havoc, then stop them. Can you do that?” she asked.

“Yes! I’ll do whatever it takes!” agreed Twilight.

Sunset nodded, then focused an attack directly against the nearest witch, forcing the witch to momentarily move aside.

Twilight streaked by her then through the ruined airlock. Once inside she looked for any signs of the attacking witches, flying through the halls as she searched.

Coming up behind one of the witches who was busy slagging more equipment she dropped her with a stun curse, then moved on to find the rest of the attacking force.

She found another one of the witches. She had one of the base scientists, a young woman, whose eyes were currently wide with terror. Just as Twilight launched a curse at the attacking witch she slit the woman’s throat.

Dropping to her knees in horror, Twilight stared at the dying woman in abject shock and dismay.

“No! No no no!” she screamed, reaching towards the dying woman. “No!”

She dropped to the floor weeping. She stared at the woman, still twitching in pain and fear as she bled to death. The stunned witch was steadily rising as she recovered her senses.

Twilight watched in silent horror. Everything slowed then stood still.

“Twilight! Twilight Sparkle! Speak to me!” she heard a familiar voice call out as she looked at the frozen world.

“Midnight?” she whispered, unable to look away from the horror before her or move a single muscle.

“Twilight! Don’t do this! If you freeze up now, we both die! Come on Twilight! Snap out of it!” called out Midnight desperately.

“Midnight,” gasped Twilight, still staring at the dying girl, now unmoving, her eyes still open wide in terror and pain.

“Twilight! Ugh... Hang on!” Midnight called out.

The room started to fade around her, replaced by a starry field. Midnight floated before her, clothed for battle, magenta power pouring out from her.

“Twilight! Oh thank heavens.

“Girl, snap out of it! Yes, what you just saw is horrible and I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy, but girl, if you don’t snap out of this, that will be us next! Not meaning to freak you out more, but don’t you get that?” Midnight demanded.

Twilight just nodded mutely.

Midnight sighed. “You’re in complete shock, aren’t you?”

Twilight again nodded mutely, eyes still wide in terror.

Midnight held her face in her hands, shaking her head. “Okay, I’m taking over. Not forever, just to get us through this. I can do what you cannot. And I will, because we are in this together. You go, I go, simple as that. Okay Twilight? Just nod your head. If you are okay with me taking over for this, just nod your head and I will take care of this. I’m not taking over forever, but I am taking over now. I will not let us die here at the hands of these murdering witches.”

Eyes still wide in terror, Twilight mutely nodded.

“Okay, I got this.

“I am sorry to say, you will see all of this. I need you to see this and know you can survive, so next time you do not go into shock. Twilight, this is going to be a part of your life now. As horrifying as this is, you are strong enough to face this, and survive! Survive for both of us!” Midnight faded away. Twilight’s perception returned to the room, time still frozen.

Twilight was now a passive observer only, looking out through her own eyes.

A magenta glow surrounded Twilight as she transformed into Midnight, complete with battle armor, magenta power radiating out from her eyes. Time began moving again as the recovering witch watched her transformation in horror.

Transformation complete, a teal mist shot from her eyes as she rose from the floor.

She finished off the witch as she crossed over to the woman, then pulled her into her embrace, holding her close and rocking her gently as she died.

“Screw this!” hissed Midnight when she had passed. “I’m in charge now.”

She gently laid the young woman down then lit out after the remaining witches.

Chang’e hurried through the lunar base, gathering up the jade gems that held her childrens’ essences as she raced through the base. She placed them all in a bag she was wearing, intent on bringing them all to her lair for safekeeping.

After gathering the last one she at last checked her quarters, intending to see if there was anything there she needed to bring with her.

Nearing her door she saw the table of gifts outside burning, the notes and gifts destroyed and scattered through the hall. Entering through her shattered door, she saw her quarters were completely destroyed. On the kitchen counter, all the gifts and notes she had saved from her children were now burned and scattered, spread throughout the shattered remains of her quarters.

Clutching the bag and feeling her children safely inside, she fell weeping to her knees.

Holding the bag close to her heart, she tearfully thanked the maker for her good fortune at not losing any of her children.

Sunset once again performed her fire attack, managing to remove another three of her attackers from the realm of the living. Their ranks down to five, the remaining witches fled, streaking away towards the caldera in hopes of drawing her off, and in the mistaken belief the lair was still undefended and open to their attack.

Sunset didn’t follow after them, instead opting to race down into the damaged base after the remaining witches inside.

She quickly found a trail of dead witches leading to her BFF, magenta flames leaking out from her eyes as she fought a close quarters battle with two of the remaining witches. Sunset quickly struck down one of them while Twilight finished off the other.

“Midnight, is that you?” asked Sunset tentatively.

“Sunset!” Midnight responded, heading down the corridor after the rest of the witches. Sunset followed after her.

Midnight continued. “Twilight panicked and almost got us killed. I stepped in to keep us alive. Don’t worry, I’m keeping her safe! She’ll be fine and back as soon as this is over. Well as fine as anyone can be going through this hell…

“So you being here, does that mean you killed the rest of the witches outside?” Midnight asked as they raced down the hall.

“No. They took off for the caldera so I let them go. I took the opportunity to see if I could help you,” answered Sunset.

“Won’t they try and trash the lair then?” asked Midnight in concern.

“They can try, but the Guardian and I managed to get the wards back up and in place before the base was under attack. They won’t find it as easy to enter as last time. I fully expect to find all five of them stunned and waiting for us when we get there,” answered Sunset.

“I see,” nodded Midnight. “There’s another one!”

Midnight raced down the hall and launched into an attack against the surprised witch.

‘Go Midnight,’ thought Sunset under her breath. She caught up with her friend’s alter ego just as she finished the witch off.

“Wow. That was kind of frightening. When did you get so good at murder?” Sunset marveled.

“The moment these witches threatened the woman I love,” answered Midnight. She was already racing down the hall looking for the next witch.

“No one hurts one of mine.”

“I’ll second that,” agreed Sunset flying after her.

The last of the attacking witches dealt with, Sunset and Midnight began searching through the base to find the hiding base staff then teleport them to their lair for recovery.

There the staff quickly organized. The base commander turned one of the lair’s dining rooms into a triage area to treat their injured members and sort those needing more critical care.

Sunset and Midnight continued scouring the base. They teleported to any lifesigns, taking them back to the lair.

When they could now longer find any life signs, they returned to the lair, finding the base commander tending to her injured staff.

“Is that everyone?” Sunset asked her. “We’re not finding any more signs of life at the base. Is anyone missing?”

“Three are still missing. Two of them were servicing the solar cells outside, and the third was on break in the breakroom when the attack began,” answered the commander as she bound up the wound of the woman she was treating.

“Okay. We’ll go look for them. Thank you,” responded Sunset.

Together with Midnight she teleported back to the base. From there, they flew towards the solar cells. Sadly, they found the two staff members lying by the destroyed cells, their face plates shattered and both dead from asphyxiation.

Midnight gathered them then teleported back to the lair, while Sunset teleported into the bay by the ruined TACIT receiver and began her search for the last person missing.

Coming to the breakroom, she entered and immediately saw the young woman sprawled out on the break room floor face down in a pool of blood.

Dropping down to her knees next to her, Sunset gently rolled her over and into her lap. Seeing her face, Sunset recognized the cheerful young intern, the young girl who had been so helpful to her on her first visit.

Holding the dead girl tightly to her chest, the dead girl’s blood now covering them both, Sunset looked up towards the heavens, then unleashed an anguished cry that echoed throughout the entire base as she shook with tears of rage and sorrow.

Midnight sat alone in the empty breakroom, clearing her mind to speak with a still very shocked and frightened Twilight, who had been watching everything going on from her place secure and safe in her mind.

“Twilight! Twilight, it’s me, Midnight. Snap out of it girl, it’s over.

“Sunset and I took care of everything. I need you back. I’m good at taking care of that sort of thing, but your friend needs you now. Twilight?” called out Midnight taking Twilight’s hand in her mind.

Twilight looked away from the scene before her showing the empty breakroom with Midnight’s armored hands sitting calmly in her lap.

She looked into the mirror over the sink directly at Midnight.

“She killed her anyway, Midnight. I tried to stop her but she killed her anyway,” said Twilight, still in shock.

“And you stopped her from killing anyone else. We stopped them, Twilight. It’s okay now. It’s over. We did what we had to. You can relax,” assured Midnight.

“Come back, my friend. You redeemed me, okay? Harmony and all that. We have each other’s backs. I have your back, Twilight. I’m your friend. But now it’s time to step back into the saddle, girl. Time for you to drive again.”

“I don’t want to go back,” Twilight shook in fright. “What if they come again?”

“If they do, I’ll be there. Sunset will be there. And we, and you, will do what we have to.

“It’s okay, Twilight. It’s all going to be okay. Trust me. Trust us.

“Trust your friends,” assured Midnight.

In Twilight’s mind, Midnight pulled Twilight into a hug.

“Look what you taught me. I never thought I would see the day when I cared about anyone else. Now look at me, taking care of you and protecting our friends. Thank you for that Twilight.

“But now, your friend needs you. Go take care of her, Twilight. You can do this. Only you can do this,” assured Midnight,

In her mind, Twilight hugged Midnight back. “Okay,” she sighed. “Thank you Midnight.”

Stepping back and letting go of Midnight, she shut her eyes.

Opening them, she looked around the empty break room then nodded to herself. She had a friend to protect, to help. With a flash of magenta she disappeared.

Back at the lair Sunset gently placed the young intern’s body on an empty cot.

Still on her knees, she bowed her head and prayed to the maker to grant peace to the young girl’s soul and welcome her into eternity. Head bowed, she wept over the body of the young girl as the staff worked around her on the other injured.

Twilight, now back to herself, came up behind her and gently placed a hand on her shoulder in comfort.

After a few more moments of silent grief, Sunset rose, levitating next to her friend. “Welcome back, Twilight. What now?” Sunset asked, drying her eyes.

“Let’s see what happened to the ones who went to attack the lair,” responded Twilight.

They teleported outside of the lair entrance to find five stunned and very dead witches laying outside.

“Guardian, I thought we agreed, a non-lethal deterrent for our defenses,” commented Sunset looking down on the dead witches. “What happened here?”

“We did indeed agree, goddess,” agreed the Guardian, appearing beside them. “The defenses stunned them insensate as you requested. I then moved their insensate bodies out here to await your return.”

“So, basically, you killed them,” observed Twilight.

“Young goddess, I did not. I placed them out on the Martian soil to await the return of my mistress, though knowing full well, as you pointed out, that Mars herself would kill them before you returned.

“I did not kill them, but I do admit it was my intent that they die. I will not bear lightly those who attack my charges. I observed their callous intent in taking the lives of others during their attack on the base. I cannot let such as them continue to live as a threat to your children,” responded the Guardian.

Sunset rubbed her forehead in frustration, sighing.

“Understood. But next time please keep the intent of my directions,” she clarified. “I had hoped we could question them, and possibly get information about who is behind these new attacks and where they’re hiding.”

“I hear and obey, mistress. As for who is behind these attacks, we know it is the elder gods, led by the odious Baal Zebub. They, and all their followers, are behind these attacks,” responded the Guardian.

“Yes, clearly,” agreed Sunset. “But which coven did this, and where can we reach them to end this?”

“At this point, mistress, it is safe to assume all the servants of the elder gods are suspect,” responded the Guardian.

Sunset again just shook her head and sighed.

The girls gave the base staff free reign of the lair, allowing them to use whatever resources from the lair they required.

Sunset and Twilight begin the clean up of the Martian base.

They restored what they could, removing what was no longer usable and placing it all in a large pile outside the airlock.

Sunset then went through the base crafting patches for the breaches the witches had caused while Twilight repaired the blasted airlock doors. Once they had both finished their repairs, they pressurized the base then confirmed they had patched all the damage inflicted by the witches.

Satisfied with their repairs, they both teleported back to Tranquility base to assess the damage there.

They both quickly realized the extensive damage to Tranquility base rendered it currently completely useless.

Twilight set about removing all the destroyed equipment, placing it into boneyards next to the base while Sunset went through the base recrafting the damaged tunnels, halls and rooms. After that she reinforced the walls’ integrity and reinforced the base structure.

When both were done, the girls pressurized the base to confirm the integrity of their work.

Looking over the extensive equipment graveyard, Twilight was saddened to note that just about everything at the base had been damaged, often to the point of total destruction. So much loss from so brief a battle.

It was a grim lesson for them both over the cost of their lack of any form of defense.

“We most definitely need to shield all the bases going forward,” commented Twilight.

“Agreed,” replied Sunset, looking out over the battle scared ruins of all the base equipment. “Never again.”

“Never again,” agreed Twilight.

They returned to Chang’e’s lair where they found her ministering to her children, all of whom she had returned from their protected crystal forms.

She was feeding them from her larder, bringing them tea from her garden and waiting on them as they sat together, coming to grips with what had happened.

Sunset and Twilight joined her in serving the confused and frightened base staff. They explained what they could to them, and offered comfort to all. Seeing the three goddesses among them caring for and comforting them did much to ease the fears and concerns of them all.

Twilight eventually excused herself. She found a secluded space and began crafting the necessary components for protective shields for both bases and their redoubt. Finished, she also gathered the now completed fobs, returning to the others.

Giving the fobs to the base commander with instructions for their use going forward, Twilight rejoined her friends.

“Chang’e, can we bring the rest of the Martian base crew to your lair as well?” asked Sunset. “We only have one working TACIT receiver left after the attack, and I’d like to place it in your lair if that’s alright with you. If we bring all the personnel over to your lair, they can get whatever they need from NASA administration and evacuate their critically injured personnel to get the care they need.”

“Of course. I’d be happy to care for your children with mine,” agreed Chang’e. “Go ahead, set up whatever you need. I will make sure they have a place to stay and are comfortable.”

“Also, Chang’e, do you have a guardian in your lair? Is your lair protected from intruders as mine was? Well, and now is once again?” Sunset asked.

“No. I never had a need for either. There was none in my realm besides myself,” replied Chang’e.

“That’s clearly changed,” observed Sunset. “I’d like to help set up protections for your lair, just as we have in ours. And to provide you with a guardian like my own for your and your children’s protection. Is that okay?”

“Given what we just experienced, I agree that seems most prudent,” agreed Chang’e.

“Okay. I’m going to return to my lair to work on getting you your own guardian. First, I’ll bring ‘my children’, as you call them, over to your lair for your protection. And has anyone seen my wheelchair? I could really use a seat right now,” asked Sunset.

“I saw it by the Guardian’s portal in our lair,” answered Twilight. “While you’re doing that, I am going to bring our remaining TACIT receiver over here. Then I’ll take the matching unit from my garage lab and help NASA set it up in a secure location. Then they can begin taking care of their sick and injured.”

“Sounds like a plan,” agreed Sunset, teleporting away with a teal flash. Back in her lair she went to the makeshift infirmary, where the base commander and her staff were tending to her injured staff.

Finding her still hard at work, Sunset approached her.

“I never thought I would find a use for my medical degree again, especially not like this,” she greeted Sunset as she approached, dressing a wound on a sleeping young woman.

“You used to be a doctor?” asked Sunset.

“A surgeon actually, believe it or not,” agreed the commander. “Before I moved into administration. Then I was recruited by NASA.”

“That’s a useful skill to have at the moment,” agreed Sunset. “That said, we need to transport you and your staff one more time. The attack on both bases destroyed the TACIT units leaving us with only one left working and available, the one we have been used to for our redoubt. We’re moving the NASA terrestrial base to a secure, defensible location, and placing the transceiver in the lair on the moon.”

“There’s a lair on the moon as well?” said the base commander. “Why am I so surprised? It makes sense.”

“Yes. Chang’e, the goddess of the moon, or Dr. Heng’e as she is known to the Tranquility base staff, has agreed to host you there under her protection. With the TACIT unit in her lair you should be able to get any urgent care needed for your injured, as well as any supplies and personal adjustments you need,” explained Sunset.

“That sounds prudent. When do we start transporting over personnel?” asked the commander.

“We can start right now. I’ll transport yourself and your critical patients first, then work from there. Is there someone here I can coordinate the rest of the transfers with after you are settled on the moon with your patients?” asked Sunset.

“My second. One moment, I’ll call him over. Gary!” she called out. A bespectacled man with gray hair and a mustache looked up from where he was tending a patient. She waved him over. He finished dressing the wound on his patient then joined them.

“Did you used to be a doctor too?” asked Sunset as he approached.

Gary laughed. “No. Army corpsman. Field doctor of sorts. First aid, emergency treatment. That sort of thing,” he answered with a smile. Turning to his commander, he responded. “What’s up Nancy?”

“We’re bugging out. The goddesses here only have one working TACIT receiver, so they’re taking us all to the moon to rest in the lair there while the bigwigs sort out what to do. At least then we can get the critical patients the care they need,” answered the commander.

“Okay. Sounds like a plan. What do you need me to do?” he asked.

“I’m going over first with our critical patients. I need you to coordinate the transfer of the rest of our personnel so we all get to our new staging in a timely and organized manner,” she responded.

“You got it boss,” he nodded. “I’ll take care of it.”

“I’m sure you will,” agreed his commander.

She turned back to Sunset. “Okay. Let’s do this. These two first, with me if you can manage it. After that, I want the rest of the ward and whom and whatever Gary says. Thank you, Sunset.”

“Glad to help,” agreed Sunset. “Okay, let’s go.” With a flash of teal, the administrator and the two patients with their beds disappeared.

Twilight appeared next to the TACIT receiver in their Martian bunker.

With a sigh, she unhooked all of the attachments except the frame and case with the matching fobs with their hub, leaving those attached to the unit. Placing her hand on the unit, she teleported to Chang’e’s lair in a flash of magenta.

She appeared in the large chamber Chang’e had suggested she use as the new receiving area. Setting up everything as best she could without power or equipment, she teleported in a flash of magenta to her garage laboratory.

There she faced her original TACIT unit.

“Okay girl, time to move,” Twilight said to the TACIT unit. “I guess it was naive to think I’d be able to keep you all to myself. Time to write a little more history.”

Twilight unhooked everything from the unit. She took care to include the router and hub unit attached that were on the other side of the network in the original Martian hub. Once everything was gathered, she placed her hands on it and disappeared with it in a flash of magenta.

As she disappeared, her father Nightlight poked his head in. “Twilight, is that you?” he asked, looking around and seeing no one.

In a magenta flash Twilight materialized next to the two existing NASA TACIT transceivers. The one for Titanfall was still in use but the two for Mars and Tranquility base were completely dark. She left the unit next to the others as she sought out the operations officer.

She found him coordinating shipments to Titan. “I need a moment of your time,” Twilight suggested.

“We’re a little busy at the moment,” responded the officer without turning around. “Can it wait until the next shift?”

“No, it can’t wait, not at all. This is about Tranquility base and the Martian base. I need your complete attention now,” Twilight calmly stated.

Annoyed, the operations manager turned to say something but stopped as he saw who was addressing him.

“Sorry Miss Sparkle. What can I do for you? One moment while I hand this off to my subordinate.” He waved over a young woman who appeared just as overworked as he was. She came right over.

“Helen, take over the shipments for Titan for me, will you? I need to speak with Miss Sparkle for a bit,” he requested, handing his clipboard loaded with invoices over to her.

“Sure, Scott. I got it,” she assured him as she took the clipboard and turned to the running TACIT transceiver.

“Okay Miss Sparkle. I’m all yours,” he assured her.

“First question, what have you done to fortify this location? Are you ready for the attack that is coming? Will your fortifications be able to withstand a sustained attack, magical or otherwise?” asked Twilight.

The officer noded. “I heard about the attacks at Tranquility and Mars. Magical attacks? Damn.”

Twilight nodded. “I just carried back four of your dead comrades, killed in a magical attack on your bases. We killed over a dozen of the women who attacked us. Magic attacks are dead serious. Our enemies won’t stop until they know we are dead and buried in the ground.”

“So what do you need?” asked the operations manager.

“We need a fortress. A fortress to house the last operating TACIT units in existence. Where or how can we get that? We need them right now to protect the lives of your staff on the other side of these units. The surviving remnant of your two attacked bases need your help right now. What can you give me?” Twilight asked.

“That’s way above my paygrade,” said the officer. “Wait here a moment. I’ll get you someone who can answer those questions and get what you’re asking for. Just a minute.” He stepped away and pulled out his cellphone then made a call.

Two minutes later, a familiar face stepped out of the Titanfall transceiver.

“Dr. Moonshot!” Twilight called out.

“Hi Twilight! I heard about the attacks. Is everyone okay?” he asked.

Twilight replied. “No, I am sorry to say.

“You lost four people at the Martian base, including the young intern. Several more are injured as well. Plus the attackers slagged both TACIT transceivers at both bases, making the units on this end oversized bookends.

“I have a replacement unit, the last available one currently in existence if you’ll excuse the hyperbole, and need to know you have a secure and defensible place to house it with your existing Titanfall unit. The organizations that came after us and your two bases will think nothing of destroying you wherever you stand, regardless of whether you are in a residential area or not. Lives and property mean nothing to them,” clarified Twilight.

“Okay. Well, this location isn’t defensible, but it is important operationally as it is central to all our suppliers and offices. What can we do to make this location defensible?” Dr. Moonshot asked.

"We could place a shield over it similar to what we did with Titanfall,” agreed Twilight as Dr. Moonshot smiled and nodded. “But do you want this neighborhood to turn into a combat zone when they attack?”

“If it were defended, wouldn’t they know better than to waste time attacking it?” asked Dr. Moonshot hopefully.

“That didn’t stop them from attacking our lair. It was fully defended, but they still went after it full force. You can’t count on them being reasonable, Dr. Moonshot. If you have the installation here, they will attack here, and there will be damage and possible collateral loss of life,” stated Twilight.

Dr. Moonshot sighed. “Understood. Let’s see what we can do.”

Sunset sat in her wheelchair, relief evident in her expression as she discussed her needs with her Guardian.

“So you can make a copy of yourself for Chang’e, to be the protectress of the moon? She clearly needs the protection you offer and to defend herself and her realm from her enemies,” asked Sunset.

Her Guardian replied. “I can no more copy myself and make a new creature than you can copy yourself and make a new you. Just because I am a creature of energies and higher order structures does not mean I am some sort of code that can be repeated with some magic counting box.

“That said, I agree your request is valid, and I see the correctness of your conjecture. Your predecessor warned his friend many times that she should grow herself a Guardian to help protect her domain. The problem is, before now she always rebuffed him, pointing out how barren and empty of threats her domain was. He would counter by saying that is true of all domains until the very moment when it wasn’t, which would always bring her to laughter,” recounted her Guardian.

“That does totally sound like her,” agreed Sunset with a smirk. “So now she knows better, except it’s a millennium or so too late?” asked Sunset.

“No, not too late, but not with a magical snap of my virtual fingers either,” agreed her Guardian. “Since my master first requested she take a guardian and she refused, he was certain this very day would come. So much so that he instructed me to find a way to shorten the time it takes to craft an artificial being such as myself.

“To that end, for the last millennium I have worked on a process, where a seed of myself, a small portion, is grown then shed and encapsulated. It could then be infused with the lifeforce of another god or goddess then grown to wholeness, resulting in a new being filled with its goddess’s life and values, ready to become the protector of her and all she cherishes.

“This process I have created, but sharing a lifetime of experience is slow, taking time. The process is often painful for the goddess and takes longer than the time we have available to us.”

“Leave that to me. I might be able to do something about that latter part,” smiled Sunset.

Sunset cradled the glowing orb in her lap. Its life energy pulsated with living thought, as it was indeed a seed of living thought, essentially captured and placed in the container resting in her lap. She carefully wheeled over to where Chang’e sat, watching her approach intently.

“So that is to be my new companion?” Chang’e asked. “That is to be my Guardian? It looks so small and helpless,” she noted.

“Yes it will be, yes it is, and that’s because it is small and helpless. But it will not stay that way once imprinted with your life essence, memories, and experiences. Once it has those, it will truly be your guardian, uniquely tuned to you and your needs,” answered Sunset.

“So how am I to share with it my memories and experiences? How am I going to share my essence with this little thing?” asked Chang’e.

“I have a way,” smiled Sunset.

Taking Chang’e’s hand and laying a hand on the orb, her eyes glowed with teal magic.

Empathically, Sunset and the orb followed as Chang’e re-lived her memories, experiencing the pivotal moments of her life once again with Sunset and the glowing orb present.

As she re-lived the key moments of her life, her orb grew, taking on a distinct shape. It formed into the being it was created to be, her Guardian and protector.

By the time they were finished, a gentle, wise woman stood with them, smiling at them both in kindness.

“Greetings, Chang’e my mistress. I am your Guardian, formed from your spirit and experiences, made to protect and defend you, and all you hold dear. I will defend you and your children with all of my being. I give myself completely to you, as your protector and guardian,” the woman cheerfully informed her, bowing to her mistress.

“What shall I call you?” asked Chang'e, staring in wonder at her new familiar.

“You may call me Guardian, for that is what I am,” replied the woman with some slight confusion.

“No, no, no. I cannot have a familiar with such an unfamiliar name. No, my little Jade Rabbit, I will call you Yutu. You will be my little Jade Rabbit, my Yutu,” smiled Chang’e.

As she spoke the kindly woman changed, growing rabbit ears and a tail. In her hand a large pestle formed.

“I am your jade rabbit. Your Yutu, my mistress. It is as you say,” she bowed in happiness.

Chang’e embraced Yutu. “And I will be your mistress! I am delighted you are here. Welcome to my domain,” she greeted her familiar.

“How may I serve you, mistress?” asked her familiar once released from her embrace, her new bunny ears twitching in anticipation.

“Apparently I need to guard my lair from those who would hurt my children and I. Can you make that happen, my little jade rabbit?” asked Chang’e.

“I will make it happen, my mistress,” agreed Yutu, fading from her presence.

“Wow! You can name them?” asked Sunset in surprise.

“Apparently?” replied Chang’e with a smile.

“Oh, I am so going to name mine,” grinned Sunset.

In the Martian lair, Sunset sat in her wheelchair before the Guardian's arch. She addressed her guardian as he stood before her.

“I will call you Ray!” commanded Sunset.

“No,” the Guardian responded.

“Ah, come on!” groused Sunset,

“Still no,” responded her Guardian.

He looked away, thinking for a moment, then looked back. “You may call me Tàiyáng.”

Sunset smiled hopefully. “That's Chinese for Ray, right?”

“No,” her Guardian replied.

“Ahh!” Sunset pouted.

Her Guardian sighed. “It means Sunshine.”

Sunset looked up hopefully. “Like a ray of sunshine?” she asked.

Her Guardian scowled. “More like a ray of Stop Bothering me about this and let this drop.”

“How come you're so mean and Chang'e's guardian is all sweet?” Sunset pouted.

“How come you are so annoying?” her Guardian rejoined.

Sunset sighed. “Hi Tàiyáng.”

“Greetings mistress,” her Guardian returned.

“If I'm your mistress…” Sunset started.

“Drop it,” he stated.

Sunset sulked.

After getting confirmation from Dr. Moonshot that they were moving the TACIT units to a secure and defensible location, and that they would be able to properly connect up all the necessary networking apparatus Twilight provided with the units as well, Twilight decided she needed some time to decompress.

Teleporting back to her garage she hopped into Sunset’s Roadster, still parked in its charging spot before her house. Backing out into the street, she headed out of town for a drive through the Everfree forest to clear her head.

Putting on her favorite Coldplay playlist as she pulled out of town and into the surrounding forest, she thought of what had happened.

She saw the dead battered body of the young intern they were unable to save, her blood spilled out from her broken body.

Then she saw the lifeless faces of the two astronauts killed on the surface of the moon. Their faceplates were shattered and their bodies suddenly decompressed.

She saw herself methodically killing woman after woman as Midnight worked her way through the ranks of the witches who were attacking and killing off their personnel.

She saw each woman, each witch, their life blood poured out as she stepped over them on her way to the next attacker.

Suddenly feeling violently sick, she pulled to the side of the road and slammed on the brakes.

Throwing open the car door, she barely made it out before she was on her knees pucking her guts out. Falling onto her hands, she remained sprawled as the dry heaves continued for several minutes until there was nothing left.

Exhausted, thoroughly spent and in anguish, she tried as best she could to clean up. She then returned to the car, shutting the door and taking a deep breath.

Okay. She clearly wasn’t ready to deal with all of that yet. She would talk with Sunset later, but right now she needed to think about something else.

Turning the music up, she thought about the TACIT transceivers. There had to be a way to tune them.

The song My Universe came on and she thought of how the units communicated instantaneously from one end of the Universe to the other because their connection was not in the universe but outside of it, beyond it in a real sense.

Thinking further, she realized it was an 11th dimensional transformation that bridged the elements of the real universe with an effective transverse, allowing the so-called breach in causality misnamed instantaneous communications.

She pulled to the side of the road again, deep in thought as the song continued.

Still deep in thought, she also realized that all those tranverses were, in fact, functions of the same universal transverse requiring only matched pairs but not specific mathings. The specificity of the matches was a function of the lower order mapping, requiring only that a matched pair exist, but not dictating which pair. So she could match any to any as long as all pairs remained matched. But what was the determinant of the matching?

As she examined the dimensional equation in her head, she noticed the higher order derivative of future state on each side of the pairing that loosely matched the intent of future action. She quickly realized that was the key to the pairings then worked backwards to determine if there was a lower order determinant that could predict the operations of the higher order derivative.

There, she found it. She had it! The TACIT units could be tunable, and she knew exactly what she had to change to make it happen.

Smiling, she pulled the car back onto the road, returning to her home, anxious to share what she had found with Sunset and begin testing her ideas.

Sunset nodded, on the phone with Dr.s Long and Moonshot.

“Yes, we can provide you with a magical artifact tethered to the TACIT trancerivers that will protect the bases with a magically generated shield. Just like we used for the Titanfall base, but turned more for defense than protection from cosmic and other radiation…

“The tethering provides the magical mana due to the dearth of magical energies on both Mars and the Moon, though we are working on that…

“Of course I can begin working on crafting those right away. They will be ready to deploy before the bases are reopened…

“We will provide any assistance you need, I assure you we want everything back to normal as much as you do…

“Absolutely Dr.s just let us know. Thank you!” She hung up the phone.

‘Okay Twilight, where are you?’ Sunset thought. Placing her friend in her thoughts, she teleported in a flash of teal.

And came out in her garage next to her BFF, hunched over a device in rapt concentration.

“Hiya Sparky! Did you miss me?” she whispered into her BFF’s ear.

“Yee-ah!” shouted Twilight, sitting suddenly bolt upright and flinging a tool across the garage.

“Sunset! Don’t startle me like that!” she held a hand to her heart.

Sunset pulled her BFF into a hug. “You seemed pretty intent there Sparky. Did you solve the mysteries of the universe?” she teased.

“Better! I solved the issue of instrumenting the TACIT receivers for addressable pairings!

“We can build a network of paired units and swap their locations around at will now. I’m just building a few prototype controllers now to test it out,” explained Twilight.

“Oh, is that all?” snarked Sunset. “I thought you had cracked the mysteries of quantum time or something.”

“Nah. I did that last Tuesday,” dismissed Twilight.

“You did?!” exclaimed Sunset in shock.

“No, dork! Just teasing you back. But this will work. I had an insight while I was out for a drive and here I am. This really will work. Just watch!” promised Twilight, going back to her tinkering.

“If you thought of it, I’m sure it will,” agreed Sunset, giving her friend one more hug “So, drive?”

“Don’t ask,” said Twilight. “But I will talk to you about it later if that’s okay.”

“Of course, Sparky. Whatever you need,” assured her friend.

They sat there together for a bit while Twilight finished.

Sunset started. “So, Dr.’s Long and Moonshot are working on your request to move their TACIT tranceviers from sunny Pasadena to Dryden out at Edwards AFB so it can be protected more aggressively. Though if there is an attack and anything on the flightline is damaged he promised there would be holy hell to pay.”

“I can imagine. What made them pick Edwards? It’s a research base, not really a military base.” noted Twilight.

“At a guess, it was close and had the necessary facilities,” guessed Sunset. “No idea, but you can ask him if you want.”

“Nah. Their choice. So long as they are defensible and it limits collateral damage, all good,” agreed Twilight, continuing her work on the prototypes.

“So, how’s it going? When can we test these out?” asked Sunset.

“As soon as I complete pairing up another set of crystals to pair the two orphaned transceivers,” Twilight responded.

She continued. “We’ll remove the orphaned crystals from them then replace them with the new pair, so we can then use them as a new TACIT pair. I’ll craft another set of Base Trancerivers after that to replace the damaged Mars pair, then get working on sets for each of the allied agencies who request access. By then I will be including the new addressable modules on each one, all with a default pairing, programmable pairing, and a tunable controller. They should be ready for a test shortly, but will need NASA to allow it, as all the units are currently in their control.”

“So if NASA allows testing this evening, then deploy them today?” clarified Sunset.

“That’s my plan,” agreed Twilight.

“Dang, girl. You work fast,” noted Sunset.

“Have to keep the race afoot. Those bastards that stole the TACIT plans are going to be barking at our heels soon, and having this will give us a leg up if any of our allies are having second thoughts,” Twilight added, finishing a last solder then closing up the backs of her prototype units. “Okay. That should work for testing. We have three sets of two tunable controllers, enough for the six working TACIT units after I complete the replacement crystals. Doing that now.”

She took two crystals from the pile in one of the bins on her desk. With a flash of magenta she paired them together. She then placed them into two of the new controllers.

“Okay! Field trip. Let’s go find our orphaned transceivers and make a new pair,” committed Twilight. Scooping the new controllers into a bag with her tools, she took Sunset’s chair in hand, then they disappeared in a flash of magenta.

And appeared in the back of a military transport, surrounded by soldiers with M16s that were immediately pointed at them.

They shimmered briefly with a teal flash as Sunset raised her hands. “We come in peace!” she called out from her chair.

Twilight, still holding onto the back of Sunset’s chair, just stared in open mouthed shock.

Dr. Long stood behind the soldiers, hands over her face shaking her head. Laughing, she looked up. “Stand down please. They’re friendly. Stand down.”

The soldiers lowered their weapons and resumed their rest stance.

“You know, it’s best to call ahead when you're going to crash a secure transport. Just saying,” snarked Dr. Long.

“Sorry,” said Twilight. “I figured out how to make the TACIT units addressable, and we brought replacement crystals for the two orphaned units to make them a new functioning pair so we can reestablish our Mars presence. May we deploy them and test them now?”

“Sure. Why not? They are all on standby currently anyway due to the transport. Go ahead,” invited Dr. Long, still smiling and shaking her head.

Twilight quickly pulled the orphaned controllers from the two orphaned systems and replaced them with the new paired crystals, putting the orphaned units back in her bag. She then removed the controller from the working Titanfall TACIT system. She carefully removed the paired crystal and placed it in the new controller, then placed the new controller with the original crystal back into the unit. She did the same procedure for their old unit, now being used for Chang’e’s Lair. Closing the units up, she excused herself.

“Okay. Be right back. I just need to swap out the controllers on the two other units then we’ll be ready to test,” explained Twilight. She disappeared in a flash of magenta.

“Well that was quick. Your systems are remarkably modular,” observed Dr. Long.

“Ah, that's all Twilight. She’s a rabid fan of NASA design methodologies. Field replaceable units for everything, replaceable with a screwdriver while wearing gloves,” grinned Sunset.

Dr. Long laughed. “You won't find me complaining, seeing that we are using your units in the field.”

“Nor me,” agreed Sunset. “She's sold me on it many times over.”

“It’s saved more than a few crew's lives, off the record,” nodded Dr. Long.

“And our backsides on more than a few occasions,” agreed Sunset.

They sat in silence for a few minutes while waiting for Twilight to reappear.

Twilight popped back in a flash of magenta.

“Okay. Ready to test. First, there is an upgraded app for this.” She pulled out her phone then launched the app upgrade. It refused to load. “Oh bother. Is there no coverage here? Usually… oh,” she stopped, looking at the offlined cage of hubs next to her. “Yeah. I guess there is no TACIT backup with everything offline.” She smirked. “Be right back.”

She disappeared in a flash of magenta. A few minutes later she returned.

“Note to self; next time update before heading out on site,” she mumbled as she took her phone back out and loaded up the now updated app. “There!” she said in satisfaction, “New updated app in place with addressing options. Let's do this. First test, normal paired operation.”

She stepped through the Titanfall transceiver and disappeared.

Dr. Long facepalmed. “Aren’t you supposed to start with inanimate objects and work up to live transmissions?” she groaned.

“Yes, we are. You’re absolutely correct,” agreed Sunset with a smirk. “I think being an immortal goddess is affecting my BFFs judgment,” she laughed.

“BFF?” asked Dr. Long

“Best Friend Forever. Yeah. I know. Corny as a five year old’s dad jokes,” Sunset smirked.

“Nah. It's cute. Corny, but cute. To be honest though, I figured you two were more than just best friends,” snarked Dr. Long.

“We are, but what that is we’re still working out,” admitted Sunset.

“You love her, don’t you?” smiled Dr. Long.

“With all my heart,” admitted Sunset with a smile.

Twilight teleported back in. Seeing the dopey smile on Sunset and the Cheshire cat grin on Dr. Long, she asked, “What did I miss?”

“Nothing,” grinned Sunset. “I’ll tell you later.”

“Oh-kayyyyy,” laughed Twilight. “So the test worked. Now the next two.” She stepped through their old unit now placed in Chang’e’s Lair. A moment later she came out again.

“Ta-da! Next,” she hopped up into the newly re-paired unit appearing in the one beside it, then disappeared from that back into the original one.

“Next the cross tests,” she called out. Tapping her phone, she stepped into the TitanFall transceiver and came out in the far newly paired unit.

“Success!” she called out, returning back to the TitanFall transceiver. “Next!” She proceeded to step through the different combinations, eventually returning back to her starting point.

“All good! Now for the second order pairing tests,” Twilight called out.

“Second order?” asked Sunset.

“You’ll see,” smirked her BFF. She stepped into the TitanFall transceiver and came out of the Lunar transceiver. “Base to base or receiver to receiver direct transportation. Testing the rest,” she said, then disappeared again. Several minutes later she appeared again back where she started from.

“Addressable TACIT teleportation is a go,” she smiled.

Turning to Dr. Long, Twilight explained the difference.

“The units have a default destination of their original pairings. If you do nothing and use them normally, they will continue with this mode of operation. If you override the default destination, you have to specify the number of next sequential transports that will go to that destination then it defaults back to the default destination. You can specify a list of destinations and counts, it will work through that list then return to the default. You can also create the list as a Lisp program and run it that way. Lists can be named and stored online for future use across all units and included when processing lists.”

Dr. Long smirked. “Got it,” she grinned.

“Lisp, eh? Couldn’t go with something less esoteric like say, Perl?” Sunset grinned.

“Heathen!” laughed Twilight. “Like I would let a 30 year old language sully my implementation,” she giggled.

“It’s a 30 year old language because it works that well,” countered Sunset, sticking out her tongue.

“And for the love of you, I allowed it. Yes. You can embed perl procedures in place of lists as long as they return valid list structures, or their return values will be replaced with a single null,” laughed Twilight.

“I knew you loved me,” grinned Subset.

Dr. Long just shook her head laughing. “So is there an interface to this other than by phone app? I’d imagine our coders would rather use their keyboards to codify our extensive lists and not have to thumb type them out on their phones.”

“There is a web interface that is available on a secured network. Yes … they can use their workstations with the correct secure proxy setup,” assured Twilight.

“Our nerds will be very happy to hear that,” acknowledged Dr. Long.

“Okay, last task. I’m setting up the re-paired unit for Mars in our Lair. Be right back,” Twilight said, flashing out in a magenta burst with one of the newly re-paired units. Moments later she was back.

“I left it with you Guardian. Tàiyáng? He says he is Tàiyáng now. I thought you were naming him Ray?” teased Twilight.

Sunset facepalmed. “Don’t ask.”

Twilight laughed. “Okay. So we are set. Now we just need the shields.”

“I will have those in place before the units are moved back out of the lairs,” Sunset promised.

The girls sat quietly for a bit, eventually laughing and talking with Dr. Long about their adventures as they rode with the units and entourage to their secure destination at Edwards AFB.

As they exited the secure container at the base, Twilight’s phone chimed. Quickly checking she saw she had received a message from Mikoto. She read it, stopping in place causing Sunset to stop as well and call back.

“Twilight, what's wrong?” Sunset asked, concerned.

Twilight looked up from her phone, her face filled with worry.

“Kuroko’s been kidnapped!” she said in shock.

Author's Note

In the immortal words of Sherlock Holmes... The game’s afoot!

And finally, the appearance of Chang'e's beloved familiar Yutu, the Jade Rabbit.

11 - Twilight - The Girls Part 1

Sunday, September 14, unspecified Tokyo time.

Twilight gasped. “Kuroko was kidnapped! Do they have any idea where she is?”

“Mikoto is looking for Kuroko. She was kidnapped from the hospital. She was sent there due to an injury she received during a fight the girls were involved in,” answered Sunset. “Let me see if I can find her fob.”

“Maker above, what else can happen today?!” groaned Twilight.

Dr. Long interrupted. “We’re going to set up. Come join us once you’ve sorted this.” She followed their armed escort into the secure facilities with the TACIT equipment.

On her phone, Sunset pulled up the tracking app for the TACIT systems, searching for Kuroko’s signature. It was shown in a warehouse near the railyard that supplied the Institutes. “That’s odd. What is she doing over there? It shows her in a warehouse by the railyard.”

“What?! That sounds sketchy. Go check on her,” demanded Twilight. “I got this. Go take care of our friends.”

“Okay. Hopefully, I’ll be right back.” Sunset disappeared in a flash of Teal, keying her teleport to Kuroko’s fob.

Twilight had barely started towards the facility when Sunset was back, looking slightly panicked. In her hands were Kuroko’s fob and daypack.

“Ah, crap,” Twilight sighed. “This can’t be good.”

Sunset excused herself, rolling back away as Twilight continued on into the facility. Pulling back out her phone she called Mikoto.

“Sunset, thank the maker! Did you find her?” Mikoto asked immediately on answering the phone.

“No. Where are you? I’m coming to you,” answered Sunset.

“I’m in her hospital room. She was here, I left to get her a drink, when I came back she was gone,” Mikoto replied, sounding worried.

“Okay, I’ll be right there. Incoming,” called out Sunset. There was a flash of teal and she disappeared.

Mikoto looked up at the teal flash next to the bed. When it cleared, Sunset was hanging up her phone, then leaned over and hugged her.

“Okay, tell me exactly what happened,” requested Sunset.

“It’s like I said. She was being her usual clinging self, then wanted a soda. I left to get her one, then came right back with it but she was gone. That was the last I saw of her,” answered Mikoto.

She then spied the fob and daypack in Sunset’s lap. “OMG! Did something happen to her?” Mikoto panicked.

“We’re not sure, but we’ll find her,” promised Sunset, hugging Mikoto tightly. Releasing her embrace, she went though Kuroko’s daypack. Everything was in place, notes and homework all where she had left them. But there was no sign of her phone.

Mikoto’s phone beeped with a text message. Looking at the phone, she smiled. “It’s a text from Kuroko!” she said in relief. She opened the message.

“If you want to see me alive again, follow the instructions I am sending exactly.”

Mikoto rolled her eyes then typed her reply, and sent it off immediately. “Where are you Kuroko?! Let me know. Sunset can come get you!”

Sunset’s phone beeped. She opened the message app showing one new message from Kuroko.

“You stay out of this if you want to see your friends alive again. I swear I will kill them both.”

A moment later, a picture appeared on both their phones. Two girls were tied up in their underwear.

One was their friend Yona, crying and clearly terrified.

The other was Kuroko, who also had an IV hooked up rendering her completely unconscious. Kuroko looked like she’d been beaten; she was scratched and bloody with bruises on her torso and legs.

Sunset raged. ‘I will find you and end you if you even harm a hair on my friends heads!’ she texted back.

‘That’s up to you. They will be completely safe if Mikoto does as I say and you and the authorities stay out of this. Otherwise, your friends lose,’ came the reply.

Another attachment pinged. It was a short video clip. Sunset opened it.

“Just a taste of what will happen if you don’t comply!” a heavily synthesized female voice said. A cattle prod appeared, arcing into Yona as she screamed in pain and terror, the violent electric shock jolting her body. After screaming for several seconds, her eyes rolled back in her head as a stain appeared on the floor beneath her. The clip ended.

Sunset seethed. “She just signed her own death warrant!” she growled. Flames licked out from her hand grasping the phone. She dropped it into her lap before it was damaged.

Mikoto’s phone pinged again. She opened the message.

‘Come alone to the warehouse you found her backpack in. And no fobs. I know what they are. If you have it when you come, your friend dies. No tricks. You have ten minutes.’

Mikoto ripped off her fob, tossing it to Sunset. “Please, send me there now! And please do as she said. I don’t want anyone getting hurt!”

Sunset nodded, “But just because I can’t follow you doesn't mean I'm sending you in blind. I’m sending a drone. I’ll have it keep its distance, but at least I can keep an eye on you.”

She reached into the backpack hung behind her chair and pulled out a tiny drone with a USB fob attached.

“I’ve hooked it up to a TACIT fob to keep it powered and covertly see, no RF signatures from it. I’ll try to get it up near the roof in a corner somewhere, so whoever is watching won’t see it,” she explained.

Loading up the drone controls on her phone, Sunset sighed. “Just as soon as Twilight gets the TACIT systems back online. Come on Twilight.” Checking her phone, she confirmed the TACIT receivers were still dark. A minute later they came online.

“Thank you Twilight! Cutting it close there BFF,” gasped Sunset in relief.

She thought for a moment. “There was an AC duct in the far corner. I’ll try to get it inside there. That should mask the flash when it materializes.”

She held the drone in her hand, shut her eyes, then visualized the warehouse as she remembered it. There was a teal flash and the drone was gone.

The drone app up on her phone showed it in a completely dark place. Placing the drone in whisper and night mode, she flew it carefully down the duct. Coming close to a grating the drone switched automatically to normal vision. She panned it around for a view of the warehouse.

“Okay, set,” Sunset reached out to Mikoto. “Ready for this?” she asked, holding her shoulders.

Mikoto nodded resolutely.

“Okay. I’ve got your back. Off you go.” Sunset stated. Mikoto disappeared in a flash of teal.

She appeared on the floor below in Sunset's feed.

Mikoto looked down at her phone, clearly reading something. She walked over to a crate nearby and opened it up. Reaching inside, she took out an autoinjector then began undressing. Once down to her underwear, she climbed into the crate. Setting her phone down, she administered the autoinjector to herself then fell back into the crate.

“Crap!” Sunset called out. “I can’t see over the lip of the crate! I can’t get eyes on her.” She panned the camera around following the duct. “There! If I can get over to that grate, I can see down into the crate.”

The drone flew off down the duct again as Sunset expertly avoided hitting the sides and alerting anyone to their presence. Coming up to the grate, she flew up to it and panned the camera down.

The crate was completely empty. Only Mikoto’s phone remained.

A young woman watched the feeds from the cameras she’d set up around the warehouse. Things were going according to plan so far. She nodded her head, looking down at the drugged and now trussed young woman before her.

There was a sudden flash on her displays as the older girl, the friend of the young woman trussed up at her feet, appeared in the middle of the warehouse in her wheelchair.

The young women growled in annoyance. She picked up Kuroko’s phone and texted a message to them.

‘You really are quite dense, aren’t you? Who should I kill first? You have 1 minute to clear out of there, or one of them dies,’ she texted.

She saw the redhead in the wheelchair read the message on her phone.

‘That ought to slow her down,’ she thought to herself.

What she saw next shot a spike of fear through her heart.

Through her feeds she watched the redheaded girl in the wheelchair as fire shot out from her hair, hands and eyes. Two large angelic wings sprang from her back. Trailing flames, the girl launched herself up into the air.

She spun around then looked directly at one of the cameras, then flew up to it as fire poured out from her aura and eyes. She hovered right next to the camera looking directly at her.

The terrifying girl mouthed one sentence.

“I’m coming for you.”

“Shit!” the young woman startled, jumping back from the monitor and nearly dropping Kuroko’s phone. “No one told me they were level 5’s too! Crap!”

All the cameras went offline. The young woman put a hand to her chest and took a deep breath. “Okay. I need to move up the timeline.”

She lifted the trussed and unconscious girl at her feet over her shoulder then left the room.

Mikoto woke up with a start, panicked. She opened her eyes, then realized she was underwater. Some form of breathing apparatus, a mask, was strapped to her face. She was bound tightly in cloth garments and silken ropes. Looking around, she could see she was held imobile in the middle of a large tank of water.

Calming a bit, she tried reaching out with her electromagnetic powers, looking for anything to help her break free.

“I’d stop that if I were you,” a voice echoed through her head.

She looked around, trying to find a source for the voice.

“If I feel you are trying to escape, I will just put you under again, then kill your friends. You wouldn’t want that now, would you, ‘miss perfect hero’. Try me. I’d be happy to show you just how wrong you are,” the voice challenged.

Not seeing any sign of speakers or any other source of metal she could use, she stopped twisting around and listened.

“Good girl! You can be taught,” commented the voice dryly. “Very good. Let’s start with introductions. You don’t know me. Why would you?” the voice stated drolly. “People like me are so far below you, you probably think we don’t even really exist. We’re disposable. You’ve made that clear.”

“You don’t know me!” Mikoto yelled through her mask. “I’m not like that!”

“So you don’t even know yourself. Why am I not surprised?” questioned the voice, then continued.

“So miss level 5. How many people have you killed? Do you even know? Better question. Do you even care?”

“I’ve never killed anyone!” shouted Mikoto. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“And the sad part is you probably really don’t. That’s just how little we’re worth to you. We’re just blood on the sidewalk you have to step over. You don’t even realize what you’ve done. You don’t even care,” informed the voice in a level tone.

“I don’t know what you are talking about,” insisted Mikoto.

“Do you know how many people have suffered from your arrogance?” asked the voice. “Well here’s a newsflash for you. Add your two friends to the list. Every time you take that tone with me, they will suffer. You act up, they pay. Listen to this.”

She heard crying. A sharp zap and a grunt with a terrified shriek sounded. Mikoto could hear a young girl crying, pleading.

“Please no! Please not again! Whatever you want! I’ll be good! Please stop!”

The terror in the young woman’s voice cut through Mikoto’s heart. She thrashed around again trying to get free.

“Bad girl, Mikoto. I did tell you not to do that. Time to pay,” intoned the voice.

A prolonged zap sounded.

The young woman screamed in anguish, shrieking out in agony. Within seconds she stopped. Shortly after the zapping stopped.

“I’m not sure how much more of that she can take,” the voice informed her dispassionately. “Her heart may stop if she gets too many more of those. And that will be on your head too. She suffers for you, Mikoto. Like we all do. You think you’re above it all, but you’re just walking on the bodies of those of us beneath you.

“Time for your wake up call.

“I will say one thing,” the voice added. “You’re little friend Kuroko? She was a tough one. She’s probably not going to wake up ever again. You’re the only chance she has. But keep screwing up and there won’t be enough of her left to wake.

“Think about that for a while.”

“Who are you? What do you want?” screamed Mikoto.

Silence was all she got back.

Mikoto cried in frustration, feeling completely helpless for the first time in years.

Twilight answered Sunset’s call.

“I saw your drone feed. I cut all her video feeds. She stealth routed them out through the building control network. If they’re anything worth their salt, they’ll have them back online in a few minutes. That gives you a short span to search for clues before she starts threatening the girls again,” Twilight stated.

“Thanks, Sparky,” replied Sunset, moving through the rafters physically disabling every camera she could find.

When she was unable to find any more, she returned to her chair. “What did you find?”

“Nothing that could trace back to them. You have time for one more quick scan then you need to get out,” Twilight answered.

Sunset quickly moved through the rest of the warehouse, but found nothing. Whoever was behind this, they had planned well and were quite thorough.

“Okay, you’re nearly out of time. You need to bug out now,” Twilight called through the phone.

Sunset dropped into her chair then disappeared in a flash of teal.

In the now empty monitor room, several of the screens started coming back online one by one, showing an empty warehouse.

Back in her apartment in her normal form, Sunset called Toma.

“Toma! Thank the maker!” Sunset exclaimed when he answered the phone.

“Sunset, what’s wrong? You sound really stressed,” answered Toma.

“Bad news! Mikoto, Kuroko, and our friend Yona have been kidnapped. We’re not sure why or what’s going on, but we’re afraid they may target you and Index next. Do you two mind getting off the grid for a bit while we sort this out?” asked Sunset.

“Someone kidnapped Mikoto! Hell no! I’m going to help! Point me at them!” exclaimed Toma.

“No! Toma, we need you to take care of Index. We don’t have any clue yet who, how, or why they took the girls. I’m assuming it’s to hurt us, but I could be wrong, I’m getting a really weird vibe from their messages. Please? I know you want to help and that you care about Mikoto very much. But right now we really need your help protecting Index. Can you do that?” answered Sunset.

Toma sighed. “Yeah. Okay, what do you need?” he asked.

“We want you and Index to hang out with Chang’e and Dash on Tranquility Base while we sort this out. I don’t think they know about that. You should be safe. And Dash and Chang’e can keep you that way,” suggested Sunset.

“Okay. Do you want us to head over now?” Toma asked.

“No. Instead, I’ll get you. Just pack what you need for a few days away. See you in a few,” Sunset signed off.

“Okay, see you then,” agreed Toma, hanging up.

Sunset dialed Dash. She answered the phone, her groggy voice slurring her words. “What the heck, Sunset! Do you know what time it is?” she rasped.

“I’m so sorry, Dash! We have an emergency. Can you and Chang’e help us out for a bit?” answered Sunset.

Hearing that, Dash awoke. “Sure! What do you need? Do you need me to head over to you guys?”

“No. Someone is coming after the girls and we’re not sure who else they may target. We were hoping you and Chang’e could watch over them, Toma and Index. Chang’e’s lair is far enough away they should be safe. I hope,” Sunset added.

“I don’t think Chang’e will mind. I’ll head over to NASA to let them know what is happening, then over to Tranquility base and let Chang’e know,” answered Dash.

“That won’t work. Tranquility Base is gone. We had to move the TACIT receivers. Are you ready to go now? It’ll be quicker if I just use the fobs to teleport you,” answered Sunset.

“What?! What the hell happened? Give me a few minutes. I’ll text you when I’m ready,” answered Dash.

“I’ll explain when I see you. Thank Dashie!” replied Sunset, then she hung up her phone.

Sunset next called Ruiko and Kazari, telling them to pack with a brief explanation. She disappeared in a flash of teal, reappearing a few minutes later with Ruiko and Kazari, their bags over their shoulders.

“So we’ve asked Chang’e and Dash to watch over you, Index, and Toma while we find them and sort this out,” she finished explaining.

Both girls were near tears. “They took Mikoto and Kuroko? And Yona was the girl who stayed with you for a few days after Twilight helped her, right?” asked Ruiko in shock.

“Yes, that’s her. We will get them back. Trust me, we won’t let this slide,” promised Sunset. The two girls nodded, both deep in shock.

Sunset’s phone chirped. She looked down, seeing Dash had texted her back.

“Okay girls, let’s go.” She held both of their hands, and in a flash of teal they disappeared.

They appeared in Rainbow Dash’s bedroom where it was still dark outside. Dash was sitting on her bed reading her phone.

“I texted Drs. Moonshot and Long. They know we’re coming. They said go ahead,” responded Dash, rising from her bed.

“Good. I’m taking us there directly,” answered Sunset.’

She pulled Kazari onto her lap then took Ruiko and Dash’s hands. “Let's go!” There was a flash of teal.

They appeared beside the TACIT receiver in Chang’e’s lair.

Dash led them through the passageways towards Chang’e’s room. They rounded a corner and came face to face with the goddess herself.

“I sensed you were coming. Come, come!” Chang’e invited as she turned and led them back down the hall into her room, then closed the door.

Taking a seat on the sofa she invited them to sit with her. Dash left to get drinks for everyone, returning with them then sitting next to Chang’e.

“So tell me, my dear Sunset. What seems to be the problem?” asked Chang’e.

“Mikoto, Kuoko, and our friend Yona have been kidnapped. We’re not sure if they are coming after all our friends or even what is going on. So Twilight and I were hoping that you two could watch the rest of our friends while we sort this out and rescue our missing friends,” requested Sunset. “Please?”

Chang’e leaned forward placing a hand on Sunset’s knee. “Of course, my dear. We would be happy to help in any way we can.

“Are these your friends?” she asked, smiling at Ruiko and Kazari. “I do remember you, girls! You were such delightful guests last time,” she smiled. The girls bowed back.

“Yes, and also Index and Toma. I’ll be bringing them shortly,” answered Sunset. As she said that her phone chimed.

She read the text from Toma. “That’s them. They’re ready. I’ll be right back,” Sunset added. She rolled back from the couch and in a flash of teal, she disappeared.

A minute later she reappeared, holding Toma’s left hand while Index snuggled in her lap.

Knowing Index, Dash led her to the kitchen to pick out some snacks. They brought them out to the living room to share. After pouring half the chips into the bowl, Index sat down with the half full bag, nervously munching on the chips.

“That’s the full set. Thanks so much Chang’e! You too, Dash!” Sunset nodded.

Chang’e nodded back. “Anytime, my dear!”

Index scooted over to the girls, offering to share the chips. Ruiko nervously took a handful.

Glancing briefly at her now safe herd, Sunset nodded. “Okay, I’ll keep you posted. Later guys!”

She disappeared in a flash of teal.

Sunset appeared in their living room, taking out her phone to call Twilight.

“The rest of our herd is safe with Chang’e. So what’s the scoop?” asked Sunset.

“Kaori and Stiyl are still working through the mess we left them. We still have no idea where the two escapees went. She also said thank you for looking out for Index and Toma,” Twilight coughed. “Though Stiyl wanted it to be clear, mostly Index.”

Sunset grinned briefly. “Yeah, he needs to let that go.”

She sobered. “So up to us then. Okay. Time to find our friends and pay whoever is behind this back.”

“Seems so,” agreed Twilight, then she continued.

“I ran a traceback on the video feeds from the warehouse. They dead dropped into a switching relay that had been hacked and scrambled after you left apparently, so no luck there. Whoever they are, they knew about the pendants, so unsurprisingly no luck there either.

“I’ve set up trace searches across all the video feeds I can access, looking for any sign of any of them. But no joy yet. Given how thorough this person has been, I really don’t expect much there either.”

“And I can’t run a magical trace on them, because psychic powers have no trace,” stated Sunset. “There’s got to be a way to figure this out.

“Okay, how about this? Whoever this is, they obviously know a lot about us. If they’ve had us under surveillance, maybe we can find them through that? Maybe they still have us under surveillance?” Sunset mused.

“Thought of that,” answered Twilight. “Ran a full scan of the apartment. There was no sign of any active surveillance. I also ran a pattern match looking for any individuals who might have shown around or in our building but not residents in recent history, but never before two weeks ago and not since yesterday. It’s a huge list, but so far nothing.”

“Okay. Oh! Yona! They knew about Yona. Look for individuals who were in the vicinity of her dorm who match your other criteria. That might help winnow it down some,” suggested Sunset.

“Yes! Thank you!” agreed Twilight, keying in the new parameters for the search on her phone. “Let’s see what that gives us.” She scrolled down her screen. “Wow, okay, that actually helped a lot. Down to less than 30 people. Checking them out.”

Sunset listened as Twilight pulled up the matching names and verified each one. A few minutes later she sighed. “Well, that was a bust. None of them are our kidnapper. I verified their whereabouts for the last 24 hours. What else?”

Sunset thought for a bit. “Okay, so we probably excluded too much. We could play with the dates a bit,” she mused.

Twilight brightened. “Or we excluded a group of people we shouldn’t have. How about this? We don’t exclude residents of our building. Maybe they actually live here.”

“Huh, good point! I assumed they wouldn't want to be that close to us, but in hindsight that seems an unwarranted assumption,” agreed Sunset.

Twilight adjusted her search parameters then examined the new list. “Adding in being tagged by Yona’s dorm, that actually gives us two more names. Checking them out now.”

A moment later she commented. “Well that one was a bust. Last one.” Several moments later Twilight was still scrolling.

“Something interesting, Sparky?” asked Sunset.

“Yes. Robin Campbell. She dropped off the radar yesterday evening. She lives in a single room in the dorms two floors down from us. She’s a level 4 in teleportation. She fits the search parameters,” answered Twilight.

“If she’s a teleporter, she might actually be in,” noted Sunset. “Can I get a drone into her room to check it out?”

“No, that’s too noticeable. But her room does have an outside window. Try getting a drone over to her window. Maybe we’ll luck out and find something that way,” Twilight agreed.

Sunset held out her hand, teleporting her little drone back from the warehouse. She then teleported it just outside their window. Using the control interface on her phone, she piloted the drone down the side of the building then around to Ms. Campbell’s window.

The drapes were drawn closed, but there was a crack between them just big enough to see into the room. Sunset panned the drone around but it was clear that the room was empty.

“Maybe I should pop in and check around,” commented Sunset.

Just then there was a flash on her phone screen. The girl in question appeared in the middle of the room then went to her closet, digging through for something.

Sunset disappeared in a flash of teal.

She appeared in her wheelchair right next to the young woman.

“Robin Campbell! I have some questions for you,” she said as she grabbed the girl’s arm.

“Ahh!”” the girl cried out, spinning around. When she saw Sunset her eyes bugged out.

“Crap!” she swore.

There was a flash and she vanished.

Twilight watched the feed from the drone as Sunset appeared, said something, then the girl vanished.

“Well, she bolted. She definitely looks guilty with that,” commented Twilight over the phone.

“Oh, it’s her. I saw her memories before she teleported out. Who is Hughie Ward?” Sunset answered through her headset. “Apparently she’s convinced Mikoto killed him.”

“Were you able to track her?” asked Twilight.

“No. Psychic teleport. Plus I was floored by her memories. I didn’t get a chance to drop a magical marker on her,” replied Sunset. “I’m going to see what I can find in her room.”

Sunset went through her personal effects first.

Going through the back of her closet, Sunset came across a scrapbook.

Pulling it out, she set it on the small table on the kitchenette side of the room. Going through it she found it was filled with print stories of one of Mikoto’s battles in the business district.

It was one of her more destructive battles it seemed. There was a completely demolished high rise office building in one photograph. A few pages later, Sunset came across a photo of the same building with a young man standing before it.

The caption read ‘Hughie’s first day at the new job!’.

He was dressed smartly in a business suite, and was clearly happy. Below the caption was a story about an accounting firm located in the building. She could only assume that was Hughie’s place of employment.

Sunset flipped back to the front of the book. There, in one of the articles, she found what she was looking for. The accounting firm’s office had been completely destroyed along with the entire building. Only one fatality was mentioned, everyone else had been successfully evacuated.

Sunset groaned. “Mikoto,” she sighed. ‘You said you never killed anyone. Did you not know?’

Hearing her groan, Twilight asked, “Did you find anything?”

Sunset sighed. “He worked in a building Mikoto demolished during a fight,” Sunset answered.

“Oh,” was all Twilight could say. “Well, crap. So at least now we know why. She was never after us, Mikoto was her target all along.”

Sunset nodded, closing the scrapbook and putting it into her dayback. She went back to searching the room.

Sunset went through the desk trash can, pouring it out on the table to sort through all the papers in it.

Among the discarded school work and draft research papers were a handful of receipts. Sunset went through them one at a time, looking for anything useful. Almost all of them were for coffee shops or restaurants nearby that Sunset knew. Only three were places she didn’t know. She pulled out her phone to look up the three she was unfamiliar with. Two of them were places nearby, but the last one was a place near the manufacturing district.

“Hey, Sparky! I may have something here,” Sunset called out. “I have a receipt. Can you get any footage of this place on this date and find our Ms. Campbell?” She read off the address to Twilight from the receipt.

Twilight connected to her tools site and started a face search for Ms. Campbell in the area of the coffee shop on the day of the receipt. She quickly found a match.

“Found her. Tracking backwards and forwards. Let’s see if we can find what she was doing there,” commented Twilight.

Splitting the display on her phone screen, she tracked both the coming and the going, bouncing from camera to camera following the match traces. Both ended up at the same place, an empty office building. She watched as she entered the building on the return screen.

“So any footage inside the building?” Sunset asked hopefully.

“No,” answered Twilight quickly. “It was slated for tear down. External cameras only. Everything else was supposedly gutted.”

“Are you finished at NASA? Care to take a look with me?” asked Sunset.

“You bet. Give me a minute and I’ll join you,” Twilight responded.

Sunset held out her hand, teleporting her drone into it then shutting it down and returning it to her backpack.

A few minutes later in a flash of magenta Twilight appeared. Immediately placing her hands on the back of Sunset’s chair in another flash of magenta they disappeared.

The lobby of the building was partially demolished. It looked like all the fixtures had been pulled from the wall with little care given to any damage to the wall itself.

Sunset rolled over to the entrance desk, checking for any signs of power. None of the switches seemed to do anything. Twilight walked over to the elevators, and pushed the buttons, which were unlit. No response.

“Stairs it is,” she called out.

Sunset groaned. “Meet you at the top then,” she called out. “I’ll start on this floor.”

She rolled into the hallway behind the desk and started opening doors and searching rooms. Twilight went up the stairs to the next floor to do the same.

Finding nothing on the bottom floor, Sunset teleported up two flights of stairs to start on the floor above Twilight. She went up and down the halls checking each office the same as before.

She got a text from Twilight. ‘Finished here. 2nd floor then?’

‘I’m on the 2nd now. 3rd maybe?’ Sunset texted back.

Sunset heard Twilight running past on the stairs. “Third it is!” Twilight called out as she passed. Sunset grinned, returning to her search.

Finding nothing of note on the second floor, Sunset teleported to the fourth floor. She had just started her search when she got a text from Twilight.

‘Found something! Come here.’ Sunset teleported directly to Twilight.

She appeared in the middle of a room, one wall covered with monitors. About half of them were offline but the rest still showed the warehouse where they had found Kuroko’s fob and dayback then lost Mikoto.

“Bingo,” breathed Sunset.

Twilight was tracing wires as they ran out from behind the wall and into a conduit in the corner of the room. There was a terminal in the corner, powered on but not logged into any service. Twilight removed a USB dongle from her daypack and stuck it into the side of the terminal. For a moment the terminal went dark, then came back up with a countdown timer. When the timer reached zero a summary screen appeared.

“3 trojans, 15 viruses, 7 unsafe threats found. System purged. HackOS installed. Hit Enter to continue.”

Twilight hit the enter key, then loaded up the interface to her tools site. She pulled up a building schematic, and identifying the conduit, traced it to its terminus.

“Be right back,” Twilight called out before disappearing in a flash of magenta. A few moments later she reappeared and started typing a search query into the terminal before announcing, “She had the video feeds wired into the public internet feeds. She also had a private exchange wired behind it. Tracking that now.” A few keyclicks later, she waited for the results.

“The other side of the private exchange is registered to the accounting firm her friend worked at,” noted Twilight. “Clearly a red herring, but this address looks legitimate. It’s about 5 blocks away. Feel like taking a spin?”

“Lead on, McDuff!” called out Sunset. Twilight took the handles of Sunset’s wheelchair.

They appeared just outside of the abandoned building, startling several people walking by.

“Sorry!” called out Sunset as Twilight raced them both down the street. Sunset held on tightly to keep from getting tossed from her chair.

A few minutes later, they arrived at the address on the private exchange registration. It was a modern office building, and fairly busy. They entered the lobby and moved to the bank of elevators.

“Office number was 647,” Twilight noted. The elevator arrived and Twilight pushed Sunset in hitting the 6 floor button on her way by.

Arriving at the 6th floor, they exited then followed the signs to Suite 647. There was no placard on the door, and the door was double locked. Sunset pressed her ear to the door, hearing nothing. Looking around, no one was watching, so with a flash of magenta they teleported in.

Office was a bit of a stretch. The office was just an oversized room, empty save for dozens of boxes and a wiring rack along the back wall. The exchange terminus was clearly present, bridged into an encrypted packet router connected to the building's public internet.

“Crap,” sighed Sunset. “Now what?”

“No worries. I got this,” Twilight said. She opened a terminal app on her phone connecting a USB-C to RJ45 adapter to her phone’s port. She plugged the RJ45 connector into an open slot on the router and started typing.

A few minutes later, she grinned. “Gotcha!” she called out.

“Did you track her?” Sunset asked hopefully.

“Yup. I used her own encrypted connection to piggyback onto the server she is using on the other end, then hacked into a privileged account. This one’s too far to jog. Hold on to your tonsils. We’re gonna make one more trip,” Twilight called out.

She removed the dongle and placed it back into her dayback then grabbed the handles of Sunset's chair. “And we’re off!”

They disappeared in a flash of magenta.

They appeared a few blocks down from their target.

“I think this is her base of operations,” Twilight whispered. “Likely she’s there now, and especially likely she has it covered top to bottom with surveillance. We need to get the lay of the place before we go barreling in.” In response, Sunset nodded.

Twilight reached into Sunset’s backpack and pulled out the trusty little minidrone. Firing it up, she piloted it up over the building they were hidden behind, then across the roof to view the building they were stalking.

Panning down and around, Twilight could see several external cameras monitoring the exterior approaches to the building. Panning up, she could see that all of the windows in the building had been covered over from the inside. There were several more cameras on the roof looking down and across the face of the building as well as across the roof itself.

Twilight zoomed in on the AC equipment on the roof. Sighting a large duct going down from the unit into the building, she pulled the drone back to below the room lip. There was a flash and the drone appeared before her. A flash again and it was gone.

On the drone display on her phone were the sides of the duct on the roof.

“Damn girl! You’re good!” nodded Sunset in appreciation.

Twilight smiled briefly. “Thank you! But we’re not there yet. Let’s see what’s going on in there.”

She carefully maneuvered the little drone down the duct, low light settings allowing her to see the sides so as not to make any noise. She came to a junction, then flew down the horizontal path to find out more about the floor the drone was on. Eventually, she came to a grating. She panned out to see what was in the room beyond.

To their surprise, it looked like several floors had been cleared away leaving a large open area in the middle of the building. Low light settings were still in effect, meaning the area was basically unlit. In the center of the room was a several story tall tank of clear plastic, silky ropes going from the corners to a bundle in the middle of the tank. Bubbles were coming off of one end of the bundle, following a plastic hose up to the top, where the hose passed through the top plastic sheet of the tank and over to and through the nearest wall.

Suddenly the bundle started thrashing and twisting. It stopped, slightly turned towards the drone. They could see the outlines of a face, with a wisp of hair coming loose from the cloth bundled around the figure's head.

Twilight adjusted the drone, zooming in on the figures features. As she adjusted the focus the girl opened her eyes, looking around the room.

The girls gasped. It was Mikoto.

Author's Note

And now, they have Mikoto as well. Who is doing this, where are the girls, and why is this happening?
And Sunset is on the warpath. I am coming for you.

12 - Twilight - The Girls Part 2

Sunday, September 14, unspecified Tokyo time.

“I have to go get her!” called out Sunset, pulling away from Twilight, then leaning forward to pony up.

Twilight reached out and grabbed her BFFs shoulders. “Sunny, wait! We can’t! We don’t know where Kuroko and Yona are yet. If we go in there guns blazing, she could kill them!”

Sunset collapsed. She buried her head in her hands. “Okay,” she sighed, falling back in her seat.

Satisfied her BFF was not going to fly off, Twilight returned her attention to the drone on her phone and retraced her way back down the duct. Coming back to the main shaft, the drone continued down.

Finding another junction, she flew down the shaft in order to look for another opening or grate. She found a grate, this time with light coming from it. Twilight positioned the drone behind the grate and panned out. Banks of monitors filled the wall, most showing the roof, street, and building sides.

Two larger monitors in the middle showed their missing friends. On the right were Yona and Kuroko, stripped to their underclothes, bound and chained to a wall. Yona had her eyes clenched tightly shut and was clearly crying. Kuroko was lying flat next to the wall with an IV in her arm. A drip bag was hanging from a hook in the wall over her head. She was clearly unconscious.

The other monitor showed Mikoto in false light, hanging suspended in the middle of the tank. She was looking listlessly around, bubbles curling up from her head to the top of the tank.

A shadow moved across Kuroko, then disappeared. There was a flash then Ms. Campbell appeared in the room before the monitors. She sat in the seat before the monitors, reaching over to a drink on the console before her.

There was a flash of teal behind her. Twilight wheeled around and Sunset was gone, her chair empty.

“Shit!” she exclaimed, turning back to her phone. There was Sunset, draped across the chair Ms. Campbell was sitting in. She had her in a chokehold, holding a fistful of her hair with her other hand.

Ms. Campbell flashed away, leaving Sunset to fall to the floor with nothing there to support her. A second later, Sunset flashed away as well.

“Crap, crap, crap!” yelled Twilight, spinning the drone around and heading back for the grate looking out over Mikoto’s tank. She saw Mikoto still in the tank, still looking around. “Thank the Maker!” Twilight shouted.

With a flash, she teleported to the top of the tank. She slammed her hand against the top several times. Mikoto looked up and saw her. She smiled. Twilight flashed her a thumbs up then took her phone and raced the drone back to the grate looking out over the control room.

There, she saw the two screens with the girls. She could clearly see Mikoto looking up towards her from within the tank. More importantly, she could see that Yona and Kuroko were still there. Kuroko was still completely unconscious. Yona was looking around wildly, pulling at her chains. She settled down, then looked over to Kuroko, clearly trying to talk to her.

Twilight sighed. “Thank you, blessed Faust! At least they are alright.” Placing the phone down so she could see the display, she started working on how to open Mikoto’s tank.

Sunset flashed in just above Ms. Campbell, catching her fall with an arm around her neck. She quickly locked her in a chokehold, holding tightly, her other hand grasping Robin’s hair.

“Not this time!” she screamed at Robin as she choked her out.

Robin flashed away in a teleport. Sunset fell to the floor with a grunt. “You wish!” she yelled, flashing away after her.

She landed directly on top of Robin, taking her to the ground. She immediately teleported away with her in a teal flash…

…to appear two miles up above the city, free falling with the girl still in her grasp.

“You can’t get away!” Sunset yelled. Robin flashed away.

Sunset landed on top of her again. They were still a mile above the city. Sunset flashed away again.

And they fell several feet rolling down a red hill of dry dust and rocks. Robin’s eyes started to bug out. She was gasping but couldn’t breathe. She flashed away.

Only to completely panic when she was still on red dust and rocks and still unable to breathe. She flashed again.

And again.

And again. Still only red sand as far as she could see. Just as she started to black out, Sunset landed on her again and they flashed away in teal magic.

They were back above the city again, this time several miles up.

“We can do this all day!” shouted Sunset. “There is nowhere you can go that I can’t follow. And I will go to the gates of Hell and back if that’s what it takes!”

Robin flashed away again.

And Sunset again landed on her again. “Slow learner, aren’t you? Let’s go see a mutual acquaintance of ours.”

They flashed away again.

Twilight continued watching her two friends through the drone’s camera.

There was a flash of teal in the tank below her and a spray of water shot out from around the hose next to her.

Twilight looked down to see Sunset, her arm clamped around the neck of Ms. Campbell, floating in the tank next to Mikoto. With a wave of her free hand Sunset magically cut the cloth binding around Mikoto, freeing her from her bondage.

Choking, Robin looked over, then stopped fighting. Her arms fell to her sides as she breathed out the last of her air, bowing her head and shutting her eyes.

Sunset watched with grim satisfaction.

Mikoto reached out, tearing Robin from Sunset's grasp. Glaring daggers at Sunset, she ripped the breather mask from her face and stuck it over the girl's mouth.

Taking a deep breath, Robin’s eyes shot open. She flailed around, then saw who was holding her and noticed the breather over her mouth. She took another deep breath, and passed the mask back to Mikoto.

Watching them, Sunset was overcome by a horrifying flashback.

She was back at the formal, having just lost the crown to Princess Twilight.

Broken, she lay in a crater, empty of everything but pain and regret, her remorse overwhelming her so completely she could barely crawl to the edge of the crater she had been blasted into.

Shaking and sobbing, she looked up and saw the girls she had attacked, the girls she had just tried to kill, all smiling and hugging tightly.

She sobbed even harder, grateful she had not taken anyone’s life, but hopelessly lost in her grief realizing she was justifiably and completely alone now, no one and no pony beside her after this, her horrible, horrific failure.

She laid her head down, face in the dirt, abandoning any hope of life, any desire to continue. Abject regret and sorrow told her she deserved no better than to die here, right here, alone and forgotten in this hole after all she had done, after what she had tried to do.

She heard the Princess call her out, telling her everyone had seen her true self.

In her despair she knew every word was true, and everyone was better off without her.

She looked up into the face of the Princess, uttering the only fact she could think of why she would have taken such a horrible path, why she tried to kill the young woman now scolding her, the woman who had stopped her, defeated her.

“I didn’t know there was a better way,” she said.

Hearing those words pass her lips, her head dropped again.

Didn’t know? Pathetic.

That was her excuse for her choices, her life, her near homicidal rampage?

She lowered her head back down into the dirt, welcoming an end. The end. Death was all she deserved at this point.

Then it dawned on her what she was hearing. She looked up to see the woman smiling, bent down with her hand out, reaching out to her.

To her? Reaching out to her? But…. why?

She had tried to kill her, stolen her crown, tried to use forbidden magic, and organized an attack against her very princessdom. She had become a raging demon, intent only on power and destruction.

And here she was, smiling down at her. Holding out her hand. Talking to her.

Sunset looked up into her eyes. Seeing that gentle smile, the love and concern in her eyes as she reached for her, ready to pull her from the pit, both literally and proverbially. Reaching out to bring her back from the pit of despair, to pull her back into the arms of forgiveness.

Sunset wept even harder, not wanting to believe what she was seeing was true. But at the same time, not wanting to pass it by either. She didn’t want to die, even if that was what she truly deserved. She wanted to live.

And here before her, holding out her hand, the very woman she had tried to kill was showing her.

She wanted her to live too.

It broke her.

Sobbing, it broke her in the very best way. It broke her free from the chains of resentment, self loathing, hatred, and self hatred.

Seeing the love and forgiveness in that woman’s eyes, a spark of hope was lit in her heart, a burning ember that quickly grew into a bonfire of hope.

Hope that she could be forgiven.

Hope that she might be worthy of a new life, another chance at redemption.

Hope that she may not have to trod the paths of life alone, but might even be able to find, dare she hope, friends.

Reaching out she took the woman’s hand. She pulled her up next to her, still smiling and talking. She pointed to her friends, who smiled and waved as well.

And as she watched them walk away, a new feeling took root in her heart.

It was hope.

And a feeling of peace, a certain knowledge that someone had forgiven her and decided her life was one worth living.

Looking on in awe as the group followed the woman back into the school, she clung to that surprising hope.

She had a friend.

Looking up from her memories, she saw Mikoto, holding Robin, the woman who had tortured her, tortured her friends, passing the mask back and forth between them.

She saw herself over Robin, superimposed from her memory, hand outstretched towards Princess Twilight.

She saw Princess Twilight over Mikoto, reaching out with the hand of forgiveness to her attacker.

She wept, shaking as she saw again the grief Robin had experienced, her growing hatred and bitterness, then her brokenness when she realized how wrong she was and the monster she had become; like Sunset herself, a demon of her own making.

She saw Robin reach out with the mask, passing it back to Mikoto, her own hand superimposed as she reached out in hope to the Princess.

Realizing how deeply she had failed to live up to her commitment to friendship, to forgiveness, to Harmony, she curled in on herself, her heart aching in regret and rebuke for once again failing to learn the lessons of friendship.

Still curled up, wracked with sobs, waiting and hoping this time death would take her away.

Twilight watched them all from the top of the tank.

Seeing Sunset fold up on herself, she muttered. “Screw this.”

Sunset barely noticed the magenta flash in the water around her.

Once again a hand reached out, but this time an arm wrapped around her tightly.

In the loving grasp of another Twilight, she was pulled with a kick over to Robin, the woman she had tried to kill, where both were wrapped in Twilight’s other arm.

Twilight teleported them into the control room where they all fell to the floor.

Sunset was shaking, crying as Twilight held her, rocking her softly.

Mikoto held Robin, still coughing up water from the tank. Seeing them, she reached out to Mikoto, her eyes glowing with empathic magic.

Mikoto’s eyes lit in teal magic, then cleared as Sunset’s hand fell away, Sunset exhausted by her grief. Mikoto looked shocked, then turned to look down at Robin, still in her arms.

Robin looked up at Mikoto. “I hated you,” she said.

“I know,” Mikoto said, holding her tightly.

“You killed him. You killed my best friend,” Robin cried sadly.

Tears rolled down Mikoto’s face. “I am so sorry,” she cried, holding Robin tightly.

“Why did you save me?” asked Robin.

“Because you didn’t deserve to die,” cried Mikoto, then she added. “No one should have died. No one.”

“Thank you,” said Robin. She disappeared. Before Sunset could flash after her, she appeared on the right screen. She cried as she hugged Yona, then reaching over to unlock her fetters. With a flash, they both appeared back in the control room.

Seeing Sunset and Twilight, Yona ran to them and embraced them, sobbing. Robin flashed away again.

And again appeared on the right screen. This time, she carefully removed the IV from Kuroko’s arm, then cradling her gently, flashed them away. She reappeared in the control room, carefully passing Kuroko over to Mikoto.

“She should be okay. The sedative should wear off in a few minutes,” Robin informed Mikoto.

Robin then sat apart from the girls. She curled up in a ball and wept quietly.

Sunset extracted herself from Yona and Twilight’s embrace, dragging her way across the floor to Robin.

When she was beside her, Sunset raised herself to sitting, then pulled Robin into her embrace.

“I’m so sorry,” Sunset cried, holding the weeping girl.

“I’m sorry too,” said Robin between tears.

“It was wrong of me to try to kill you. I should have been more compassionate,” said Sunset, holding her. “Please forgive me.”

“I should never have been so bent on revenge. I should have known your friend wasn’t some heartless killer,” admitted Robin to Sunset.

“And I am so sorry I killed your friend,” said Mikoto. “I didn’t know, but that doesn’t excuse anything. I am so very sorry. Please, if you can find it in your heart, forgive me.”

Still holding Robin, Sunset took a calming breath, then spoke.

“Robin, you have a choice to make,” she told her, gently stroking her hair. “You can stay here, but if you do, it probably won’t go well for you. Threatening Mikoto and coming after us and our friends, you’ve upset some powerful people. They’re not the kind to forgive. We can try to protect you, but there’s a good chance if you stay here, you will end up dead fairly soon.

“Or you can come with us. We can keep you in a place where you will be safe for as long as it takes, until everything here dies down. If it ever does. Your choice. Personally, I want you to live,” offered Sunset.

Closing her eyes, Robin nodded. “I want to live too. I want a chance to make it up to Mikoto, to all of you. I don’t want to die,” she answered.

“Okay. It’s settled then. Everyone, on me. We’re heading to the lair,” Sunset called out. Mikoto wiggled next to her, Kuroko still out in her arms. Twilight passed Yona over to Sunset.

“Where are you going?” Sunset asked as Twilight stepped away.

“I’ll meet you there. I am not losing my damned phone,” she smiled, teleporting away in a flash of magenta.

“Fair point,” nodded Sunset. In a flash of teal they disappeared.

Twilight bent down and picked up her phone from the top of the tank. She then held out her hand, and with a flash of magenta their drone appeared, dropping down into her hand. She placed her phone and the drone into her dayback.

“Two more stops,” she mused to herself, disappearing in a flash of magenta.

She appeared by the building where she and Sunset were watching the drone. Looking around, she saw no sign of Sunset’s chair.

“For the love of Riley!” she swore.

She ran down the street, looking into alleys as she passed.

Two blocks down, she came across a group of toughs all laughing and joking. And in the middle of the group one of them was sitting, sprawled out in Sunset’s wheelchair.

‘Time to take a page from Midnight’s book,’ muttered Twilight to herself as she turned into the alley.

In the back of her mind a quiet voice added, ‘And I have your back! You’ve got this!’ She smiled grimly to herself.

Walking down the alley, Twilight called out to them. “I’ll be taking that back, thank you very much!”

The group looked up and noticed her, laughing loudly.

The ruffian in the chair jeered.

“Bitch, the only thing you’ll be taking is your clothes off! Then my friends and I are going to have a little fun with you!” He got up out of the chair and swaggered towards Twilight.

“I so don’t have time for this,” Twilight grumbled.

The ruffian wiped out a blade, lunging for her.

With a magenta flash, moving faster than they had ever seen anyone before, Twilight sprang up into the air kicking him in the face. He flipped head over heels backwards and landed on his face, out cold.

Twilight tucked and landed in a roll, popping up next to the rest of the gang.

“Hi!” she smiled sweetly.

The thug next to her went for a quick jab to her ribs. Before he could connect, she was already behind him. Grabbing him around the neck, she twisted, flipping him over her back and into the two next to him. They went down in a heap.

Before the others could react, she was among them, dropping them right and left with sweeps, kicks and jabs, catching them all off guard with her speed.

When they were all on the ground around her, she sat down in Sunset’s chair, then blew up a stray hair that had worked loose from her bun.

“And that, gentlemen, is why it’s never a good idea to screw with a goddess. Toodles!”

She disappeared with the chair in a magenta flash, leaving the groaning piles of bruised manhood still moaning on the pavement.

In the back of her mind, Midnight was cheering wildly.

Twilight appeared next to the couch in Dr. Hang’e’s quarters.

“Hi guys! Did you miss me?” she smiled.

Chang’e smiled back. “I take it all is well now?” she asked.

“Yup. We found the one who kidnapped our friends. After an apparently epic bout with Sunset, she apologized profoundly and returned all our friends to us. Now she’s working to make amends, all thanks to Mikoto!

“I think Sunset is rubbing off on her.” Twilight smiled. “So we’re all headed for the lair. Want to come?”

“I would not miss it for the world,” smiled Chang’e.

Everyone gathered around Twilight. With a flash of magenta, they disappeared.

“Hi Sunny!” Twilight called out as they appeared. “Missing something?”

Hovering in the air in her angelic form, Sunset smiled in relief. “Love you, Sparky! You’re a lifesaver.”

Twilight got up, then Sunset settled down into her chair gratefully.

“Hey girl! You look like you ran a few blocks. Did I miss anything?” Sunset asked, pushing the escaped lock of hair back out of Twilight’s eyes.

“Yeah. Your chair decided to go on a little adventure without us. I had to find it and bring it back home,” Twilight snarked.

“Nothing too bad I hope?” asked Sunset.

“Nah. A gang decided to take it for a joyride. They wanted to take me for a joyride too when I asked them nicely for it back. So with a little help, I gave them a very brief demonstration on why it is a very bad idea to piss off a goddess.

“I’m sure once they all come around, they’ll think twice about messing with the next cute young thing they see.”

Twilight blew on her nails, then buffed them on her collar.

Sunset grinned and shook her head. “Damn! Sorry I missed it!”

Robin looked around at the cavern they were in. “Where are we?” she asked in wonder.

Mikoto came over, reaching out to her. “Come with me. I’ll show you around,” she offered.

Robin took Mikoto’s hand. “I’d like that. Thank you,” she said.

They walked off to wander the gardens.

Sunset beamed at her young friend as she led her repentant kidnapper away, pointing things out and telling the story of discovering it as they wandered down the garden path.

Mikoto and Robin settled into one of the pagodas in the gardens.

“This is a lovely place. And we really are on Mars, you say?” observed Robin.

“Yeah. Hard to believe, right? If you stepped down that tunnel and out the entrance, you would be on the Red Planet. And no lie, it really is red. Like rust colored sand and rocks everywhere. Of course, if you just wandered outside you would be dead. The air is so thin you can’t breathe. And hardly any oxygen in it anyways,” commented Mikoto.

“Ah! Yeah, I’ve already seen it then. So that’s where we were,” smiled Robin ruefully. “I guess I have to stay here if I understand your friend correctly. So, she is really a goddess?”

“Yeah. She’s Mars Ascendant, goddess of Mars. So’s Twilight. They’re also students at Academy City,” noted Mikoto.

“Why would goddesses want to be students in Academy City?” puzzled Robin.

“To learn, apparently. They’re trying to keep the whole goddess thing a secret. They say they’re really learning all sorts of interesting stuff. Go figure. I would have thought, once you reached level 6, you would know everything,” mused Mikoto.

“Yeah. That’s what I thought too,” agreed Robin.

“Hey, Mikoto. I need to say this. We keep dancing around this, but I am really sorry for everything I did. I was so lost in my grief at losing Hughie that all I could think of was hurting you like you hurt me.

“I didn’t even stop to think that, by hurting others to hurt you, I was becoming the very monster I thought you to be.”

Robin looked down, her shoulders shaking as she started to cry. Mikoto leaned over and pulled her into a hug.

“I understand. You had every right to be angry and grieve. I’m so sorry for your loss. I didn’t know anyone had been hurt, let alone killed. I thought the building was completely evacuated, but that doesn't excuse what happened. I’m so very sorry about your friend. Your Hughie,” admitted Mikoto, hugging her tightly.

At the sound of her friend's name, Robin cried even harder.

After some tear filled moments, Robin pulled away enough to look into Mikoto’s eyes. “Would you like to hear about him?” she asked.

Mikoto nodded, and Robin smiled.

Robin began.

“He was my fiance. Hughie Ward was his name. We’d both graduated and decided to stay and work in Academy City, making a life for ourselves here. His studies were in finances and economics. He went to work for an accounting firm as an apprentice. They promised that if he were as capable as they thought he was, they’d make him a partner in the business after he completed his apprenticeship. He was ecstatic. It was a dream job for him.

“I was always more on the technical side. As you saw, my skill was teleportation. I got good enough to reach level 4, but never advanced beyond that despite constant practice and training. I was content with that. I got a job maintaining the city's networks. We saved every bit we could. We planned on buying a condominium in the city center when we had saved up enough, then marrying and moving in together.

“We would talk about it all the time. He used to send me links to different places he had found, places he thought would be perfect for us. That was our shared dream, a place of our own, living here together, making our lives in this city.”

Tears were streaming down Mikoto’s cheeks as she listened to Robin’s story. She held tightly to Robin's hands as she continued.

“He was a huge fan of yours,” admitted Robin. “Hughie had posters of you up in his apartment. I would tease him. ‘Should I be jealous?’ I’d ask him. He would get flustered and I would laugh. He really was quite innocent.”

Mikoto looked confused. “Posters of me? Where in the world would he have gotten those? Was he stalking me?” she asked.

Robin laughed through her tears. “By the goddess, girl, you really are innocent!”

She smiled, then added, “Haven’t you wandered into the manga stores and looked through the posters and stories? There’s a whole section on Academy City Heros. You never read any of them?”

Mikoto flushed. “I never bothered with any of those. They looked stupid. I figured they were made up stories to sell outsiders on how cool the Academy was. Not worth my time.”

Robin laughed even harder. “Okay. Well, if you ever do read them, you might be surprised to learn that you and your friend are in them.

“Kuroko I mean, not the goddess. Though hey, I haven’t read the newest ones. They might be in those.”

Mikoto turned beet red. “What do they say?” she asked trepidatiously.

Robin grinned. “I don’t want you mad at me even more than you are, so I think it’s best if I don’t answer that.”

She smirked. “I will say one thing. You and Kuroko are definitely different from how you are portrayed in the Manga.”

Mikoto growled. “And how is that?” she asked.

“Well, you aren’t… how should I put this? You aren’t all over each other. Not being publicly affectionate. Not passionately showing your love for each other,” explained Robin with a grin.

“Ugh! We’re just friends! We’re roommates! How hard is that to get?” groused Mikoto, thoroughly flustered.

“She does call you sissy. At least that’s the same as the Manga,” noted Robin.

“I hate my life,” groaned Mikoto. Robin smiled and hugged her tightly.

“I wouldn’t know why,” Robin grinned. “I don’t have legions of adoring fans, so I couldn’t hope to understand.” Mikoto gave her a deadpan look which made Robin smile.

“Oh, don’t give me that look. You may as well enjoy it.

“So, is Toma really in love with you and jealous of your love for Kuroko?” Robin grinned.

“Oh give me a break! You mean that’s in the manga too?” Mikoto glared at Robin.

“In the latest chapters I’ve read. He was heartbroken over not winning your love,” Robin grinned. “Though for a heartbroken boy, he seems remarkably happy.”

“I really need to meet the person who writes this garbage,” growled Mikoto.

“It’s all anonymous. I don’t think anyone who writes it wants to meet you, especially not if you knew they wrote it,” smirked Robin.

Mikoto just shook her head, hands over her face.

“So, anyway, my Hughie was a huge fan of yours,” Robin continued. “He used to talk about your latest exploits all the time. He was an avid reader of the manga. He got me reading it too, but I was never the fanboi he was. He was all in.

“In fact, that was one of the things I loved about him. He really went all in on something once he decided it was worth doing. He was all in on his studies, graduating with honors. He was all in on his talent, even if he never advanced past level 1. But he kept trying. He was all in on us, once he decided I was the one he loved. He was passionate.

“That passionate dedication was what killed him. He got the order to evacuate, but apparently stayed, trying to get the financial records they had onsite backed up to their offsite storage before he left. He didn’t want their clients to lose anything because of the company's lack of foresight. He managed to get everything saved before the building was destroyed. He received a posthumous commendation for that. I saved it, and would hold it and stare at it while I planned on how I was going to humiliate you and make you suffer for taking him away from me.

“I know it wasn’t your fault. I can see that clearly now. He knew he had to evacuate, but he put others' needs before his own. He took a risk, knowing what could happen, because he thought he was doing the right thing.

“And maybe he was. I wish, with all my heart, he had just left like the rest of the associates. They didn’t care. Why should he have cared? It wasn’t right. But he did. He just wasn’t wired that way. It was his nature. So he stayed, and did the right thing. And died for it.”

Mikoto cried bitterly, the memories Sunset had shared flashing quickly through her head.

“I am so sorry, Robin. If I’d known anyone was still around, I swear I would never have let that happen. I would have let the battle go, accepted defeat, but I'd never have willingly sacrificed an innocent person’s life just to win a battle. Please forgive me!” she begged.

Robin pulled her into an embrace. “I already have.

“When you saved me in the tank, ripping the breather off of your own face and placing it on mine, I knew right then you weren’t the monster I thought you were.

“I broke right there. I cried my eyes out, not that anyone could tell, with us being under water. But right then, I knew in my heart I was so wrong about you.

“It hit me how much of a monster I was, with all the horrible things I did to your friends. You didn’t even know you had hurt anyone. I intentionally hurt several of your friends, and was willing to even kill them if I had to, all just to make certain you felt the pain that was in my heart.

“So who was the real monster? Seeing myself like that, I lost it. If you hadn't tried so hard to save me, I would have let myself die.”

“I’m glad you didn’t die,” cried Mikoto, holding Robin tightly. “There’s been too much death already. I’m very glad you decided to live.”

“Me too,” agreed Robin, holding tightly to Mikoto. “I needed to live, so I could apologize to you and your friends for the pain I’ve caused you all.”

“You needed to live so you could hear my heartfelt apology for what I’d done to you and your fiance,” added Mikoto.

“I realize now. You’ve nothing to apologize for,” corrected Robin. “You did nothing wrong. I was the only one wrong here.”

“You were grieving,” noted Mikoto. “After what I did I’ll never hold against you what happened here. You passionately set out against someone who hurt you. You were loyal to your lover, even in death. I admire that. I admire you.” Mikoto pulled back, looking Robin in her eyes.

“Robin, I have two requests for you,” Mikoto asked. “First, will you forgive me for what happened?”

“Yes, with all my heart. I already have,” agreed Robin, smiling through her tears.

“Second request. Robin Campbell, will you be my friend?” asked Mikoto.

“Yes!” agreed Robin with tears of joy.

Kuroko stirred in Sunset’s lap. She turned, opening her eyes slowly and looking up at Sunset.

“Good morning, sleepyhead,” Sunset greeted her.

“Huh? Where am I? What’s going on?” asked Kuroko, slowly coming out of the drug induced fog she had been under.

“You’re in my lap, silly. We are in the lair, on Mars. We’re all here,” smiled Sunset.

“We’re all here? Does that mean you rescued Mikoto? Is it all over?” Kuroko asked, hopeful.

“Yes. Mikoto is fine, Yona is fine. Everyone is okay,” Sunset smiled. “Even you, now.”

“Ugh,” groaned Kuroko, sitting up and rubbing her head. “I don’t feel fine. What the heck did that bitch put in that syringe anyway?”

“Apparently, a drug to knock you out completely so you couldn’t use your powers to escape,” said Sunset.

“If I ever meet her, I swear I will kill her dead,” growled Kuroko, holding her head.

“You will do no such thing,” corrected Sunset.

“What! Why wouldn’t I! That monster kidnapped my sissy! And me! And your friend Yona!

“If anyone deserves to die, it’s her!” yelled Kuroko.

“No one deserves to die. She doesn’t deserve to die. Her fiance didn’t deserve to die. No one else is dying here. Am I clear?” Sunset said firmly, looking Kuroko straight in her eyes.

“No one. Not even her. Mikoto has forgiven her and she has forgiven Mikoto. You will forgive her too, just as I have. I’m not letting anyone keep hatred in their hearts over this. We need forgiveness all around. Am I clear, Kuroko?” she added.

Kuroko cried, turning away.

“I don’t get it! She hurt Mikoto. She hurt me! She hurt your friend. Why aren’t you angry! The Sunset I know would go to warif anyone hurt her friends!” she raged in tears.

“I did go to war, Kuroko. Both Twilight and I went to war. We defeated her.

“And she is done. She is sorry. I saw her heart, Kuroko. Right now she is sharing her heart with Mikoto, who’s forgiven her.

Forgive her too. You know I’m right, and it’s the right thing to do. You need to forgive her. If you can’t do it for her, forgive her for Mikoto, and for me. And for your friends, who were extremely worried for you.”

Kuoko turned back to Sunset, snuggling up against her.

“I’ll think about it,” she agreed with a sigh.

“Thank you, little sissy,” smiled Sunset, stroking her hair.

Kuroko closed her eyes and snuggled into Sunset’s arms.

Mikoto and Robin returned from their walk through the gardens, side by side and hand in hand. Both looked genuinely happy, like a great weight had been lifted from their souls.

Seeing them coming, Kuroko seethed in Sunset’s lap. Kuroko tensed up, preparing a teleport to knock the little murderous bitch back to where she belonged.

“Kuroko!” Sunset said, holding her tight. “Don’t do this!” She looked down at her little sister, deep into her eyes. “If you do this, you’re only going to anger Mikoto and everyone else, including me. For pity’s sake girl, let this go.”

Kuroko pulled back, sulking for a moment. Then she tensed up again.

Sunset and Kuroko disappeared in a flash of teal.

They appeared in the bunker. They were the only ones there.

“Or we can do this the hard way, if you don’t want to listen,” Sunset continued, still holding onto Kuroko.

“I can’t believe you!” stormed Kuroko, tearing her way out of Sunset’s embrace and dragging herself across the room. She pulled herself up to sit, arms crossed, staring angrily at her sister.

“How could you! Did you see her? Did you see that smug happy look on her face?

“That bitch deserves to be dead! Not smiling, holding the girl I love’s hand and walking around with her!

“That bitch hurt me! I’m bruised and sore all over from what that little shit did to me! And she tortured Mikoto! My girlfriend! The girl I love!

“How the fuck would you feel if someone tortured Twilight, Sunset? The fuck would you be giving her rainbows and smiles?

“You would fuck her up! You would put her in the ground! You did it before! You know I’m right! What the fuck, Sunset! How could you?”

Kuroko collapsed to the floor, bursting into tears.

Sunset wheeled over. Reaching down, she cupped Kuroko’s chin. Lifting her head and staring deeply into her eyes, she nodded, crying as well.

“You’re right, Kuroko.

“I wanted nothing more than to rip her throat out for what she did to Mikoto. For what she did to Yona. For what she did to you.

“I was ready to kill her. I was watching her die, right in front of me. I felt no remorse. I was completely at peace watching her die, not lifting a finger to help her.

“So I get it. I understand perfectly where you’re coming from. You’re not wrong.

“When Twilight was attacked, I didn’t even think. I didn’t hesitate. I killed that girl so quickly I didn’t have time for a second thought.

“One second she was stabbing Twilight with a knife. The next second, she was falling to her death on a dead planet several AU away. A flash of power, a thought, and she was gone. She was dead.

“And after that, not even an afterthought, not even a memory. All I could think of at that moment was the girl I loved. All I could think of was Twilight.

“So when I saw Robin, and what she tried to do to you, to your friends, to my friends, I knew what I had to do. She was going to die.

“And what happened? I was floating there, filled with righteous rage, watching the life slowly fade from this woman who had dared to hurt my loved ones.

“Then your friend Mikoto looked at me with shame.

“With shame, Kuroko.

“She was ashamed of me, for the way I was treating the woman who attacked her. She ripped the breather from her own face and pushed it onto her face. She saved her life.

“She forgave her, right there, with that act.

“And that look she gave me. I’ll never forget that look.

“You girls may be younger than me, but I’ll never make the mistake of thinking that means you’re less. The look Mikoto gave me, that reproach, it was older and wiser than I am, and gentler by a long shot. She had compassion that I strive for, and all too often miss.

“Kuroko. My dear sissy. Your friend, who was treated the worst of all of us by this woman, forgave her and risked her own life to save her.

“If she can do that, I have no right to carry on my vendetta against her. I have to forgive her, just as she did. If I can’t do that, I can’t call myself her friend. I would be spitting on her gift, and on her.

“So I’m following her example. I’m forgiving Robin, and giving her a chance to redeem herself. And I’m begging you, Kuroko. Please do the same. Forgive her too. If not for yourself, for your friend, whom you love so deeply I know it hurts.

“Do this, please. I know it hurts. Trust me I know. But for the love of Mikoto, do it. Please,” finished Sunset, her tears falling down onto Kuroko’s forehead.

Kuroko scowled, still weeping angrily. She shut her eyes, taking a deep breath.

“Okay,” Kuroko said softly.

“For Mikoto’s sake. For her love. And for you,” Kuroko looked up into her big sister’s eyes. “If you can do this for Mikoto, so will I. I’m not happy about it, but I’ll do it.”

Sunset pulled her up into her lap, hugging her deeply and rocking her gently. “Do you need some more time to cool down?” she asked kindly.

“Yes, please,” sighed Kuroko.

Sunset just nodded, kissing her little sister on her forehead.

She continued to rock her in place, gently holding her. Eventually, Kuroko calmed and relaxed in her arms.

Looking down, she saw that Kuroko had fallen asleep in her arms, clutching tightly to her. Smiling down at her, Sunset gently stroked her hair and whispered.

“We’re so alike, you and I, little sister,” she sighed. “I can’t help but love you.”

She kissed her head one more time, then with a flash of teal they disappeared, returning to the goddesses' lair.

Author's Note

Hughie Ward and Robin Campbell. Robin is the girl behind the revenge. Hughie is her fiance, inadvertently killed by Mikoto.

The Goddess in her Lair - now with a semi-permanent house guest. :rainbowlaugh:

13 - Twilight - Endymion

Sunday, September 14, late Tokyo time.

Sunset appeared in the lair’s garden, looking around for her friends, with Kuroko still snuggled in her arms, sleeping peacefully. Twilight noticed her as she subtly nodded her BFF over.

“Looks like someone is feeling a bit better now,” Twilight smiled as she approached. “How is she doing?”

“She’s still angry, but she promised to give Robin a chance, and to be on her best behaviour. That’s all I can really ask at this point,” replied Sunset, gently soothing her sissy’s forehead as she slept.

Sunset looked up at Twilight. “Now that the danger has passed, we really need to get everyone back so they can get to school tomorrow. I’m not sure what time it is, but it has to be getting pretty late. Let’s get everyone back, and settle our new guest. Then we can get some rest ourselves.”

“Sounds like a plan to me,” agreed Twilight, taking her chair in hand and wheeling them towards the gazebo Mikoto and Robin were still talking in.

As they approached, they could see the girls holding hands, gently smiling. Both their eyes were stained with tears as Robin related stories of her and her Hughey.

“Hi, girls! Sorry to interrupt,” Sunset smiled at them both. “Mikoto, it’s getting really late. Now that everything is settled we need to get you all back home, so you can get some rest and get to school in a few hours.

“Sorry Robin, I need to take your friend home.”

At that, Robin teared up again. “You really are my friend, aren’t you?” she asked Mikoto gratefully.

“Yes, I really am,” agreed Mikoto with a gentle squeeze of her hand. “And I really am sorry for everything that happened, and grateful you are here now.”

“Me too,” agreed Robin. “I am so sorry for everything I’ve done. And I’m so grateful to be here and to have you as a friend. It’s more than I deserve and much more than I dared hope for.”

“I hope we all get more than we deserve,” agreed Mikoto.

With a final hug, she rose and took Sunset’s hand. “I’ll come to visit. I will see you again, Robin. And you can tell me more about your wonderful fiance.”

Smiling through her tears, Robin nodded. Taking her hand, Twilight led Robin back to the courtyard, giving her BFF a wink as she left.

Robin waved to Mikoto once more then turned to listen as Twilight explained her living arrangements.

With a flash of teal, Sunset, Kuroko and Mikoto disappeared.

They flashed into the girls’ dorm room, Kuroko sound asleep through it all. Mikoto gently took her sleeping friend from Sunset’s arms, holding her tightly as she carried her over to her bed.

Waking slightly, Kuroko mumbled “Oh, sissy!” snuggling into Mikoto’s embrace. Mikoto rolled her eyes with a grin as she carefully put her into her own bed and pulled her covers up.

“Pervert,” she whispered with a grin. She kissed her friend’s forehead then went to her dresser to get ready for bed herself.

“Call me if you need anything,” offered Sunset, smiling at her friend. “I’ll see you two tomorrow, Misaka. Sleep well.”

Mikoto nodded with a smile as Sunset teleported from her room.

Back at their lair, Sunset rolled up to Toma and Index.

“So, ready to go? Let’s get you two back so you can get some rest.” Taking their hands, Sunset teleported with them to their apartment in a teal flash.

Meanwhile Twilight introduced Robin to Tàiyáng.

“Take care of her please,” Twilight instructed. “I do not want to return to find her waiting for me outside the lair. Are we clear?”

“Wait, what?” asked Robin in alarm.

“I assure you, I will take excellent care of your friend,” assured Tàiyáng. “And that was one time. One time!”

Robin looked at the guardian in concern.

Twilight grinned. “Don’t worry, Robin. We’re just joking. Nothing bad will happen to you. Tàiyáng will take good care of you. I think.”

She laughed when Robin's eyes got bigger at those last words.

“Just teasing!” Twilight grinned as she gave Robin a hug.

“You’ll be fine! We’ll be back to check in tomorrow. If you need anything just ask Tàiyáng and he can take care of it. Enjoy your new home!”

With that Twilight wandered off to find her mage friends while Tàiyáng took Robin to her new quarters.

She found them in a corner of the garden quietly chatting.

“So ready for a ride back from Wonderland?” Twilight laughed as she approached.

Looking up as she approached, the mages grinned.

“Yes, please. We have plenty we still need to take care of,” answered Kaori.

“You bet! So where to?” asked Twilight, taking her friend's hands.

“Your apartment is fine. We’ll just head down to my dorm room from there,” Kaori answered.

“Apartment it is. Ready?” asked Twilight. Both nodded, so they disappeared in a flash of magenta.

They flashed into the apartment living room.

Sunset looked up from her laptop smiling. “Hi, guys? Spending the night with us?” she asked.

“Nah, just passing through,” smiled Kaori. “Good night girls!”

Together she and Stiyl departed, leaving Sunset and Twilight to themselves.

“So, ready to head to bed, Sunny?” asked Twilight.

“Thought you’d never ask,” grinned Sunset, shutting the laptop and taking her BFF in her arms.

“It wasn’t an invitation, silly,” grinned Twilight, hugging her friend.

“Sure sounded like one to me,” grinned Sunset back.

Together they got ready for bed and rest, grateful for a happy end to a very long day.

Monday, September 15, 6:30 a.m. Tokyo time.

The next morning the girls rose, getting ready for the day with their usual routine. As they ate breakfast together, Twilight spoke on the phone with Dr Long.

“No, I’m sure that won’t be a problem. I’d be happy to meet with them, and if they’re ready to go, I can get them everything they need so they can get started today,” Twilight answered.

Nodding as she listened, she continued. “Okay, I will see you in a bit. I’m looking forward to this.” Hanging up, she smiled at her friend.

“Hope you don’t mind Sunny, but I am ditching school today. Dr Long is making introductions, and I am meeting with the representatives from EUA, JAXA, and ROSCOSMOS. It sounds like they are all on board, so I will likely be crafting TACIT units for them to get them started. You might not be seeing me again until late this evening,” smiled Twilight.

“Do you need me to come with you? Happy to help if you need it,” answered Sunset.

“Nah. Go hang with our friends. I’m sure after everything we’ve been through they will appreciate it. I got this,” smiled Twilight.

“Okay then,” agreed Sunset with a grin. They finished breakfast and cleaned up.

Twilight flashed off in a burst of magenta magic to meet with NASA and the other agencies' representatives, while Sunset grabbed her backpack and rolled out the door to start her day.

Teleporting directly to Dr Long’s fob, Twilight was surprised to see she was in an entirely new location. They were in a large conference room, currently only inhabited by herself and Dr. Long.

Outside the large picture window that provided one of the conference room walls, she looked out over a large campus, filled with trees and paths through grass and gardens between the campus buildings.

“First time here, I take it,” smiled Dr Long, looking up from her notes. “Welcome to our main headquarters. Just need a few more moments to finish this up, then we can get started.” She returned to her notes.

Twilight nodded. “Thanks,” she added absently as she rose from her chair, stepping over to the window to look out over the beautiful campus.

She watched as scientists and staff wandered between the buildings, nodding politely to each other as they passed. Some were clearly taking breaks, either sitting while eating amid the grass and gardens or engrossed in notes or notebooks as they sat among the greenery. Twilight smiled as she enjoyed the view.

“Think you would ever want to work here?” grinned Dr Long as she finished up with her notes, closing the pad and smiling at her friend.

“It was a dream of mine not so very long ago,” admitted Twilight, smiling back. “Though it seems I have taken a different path.”

“So it seems,” agreed Dr Long. “So ready?”

“Ready,” agreed Twilight.

Dr Long pressed an intercom built into the table.

“Maureen here. What can I get you Dr. Long?” answered a pleasant-sounding young woman.

“Hi, Maureen! We’re ready to begin. Can you ask everyone to join us in the conference room? Thanks!” replied Dr Long, breaking the connection.

A short while later, several individuals entered through the double doors of the conference room. Smiling at them in greeting, Twilight returned to the table, taking her seat next to Dr. Long.

Once everyone was seated, Dr Long began.

“Everyone, I would like to introduce you to Ms Twilight Sparkle, inventor of the TACIT units you saw earlier. She is working with us from Academy City, and..”

“You are with Academy City?” interrupted a large muscled man in a suit on the other side of the table.

“Uh, no, not exactly,” replied Twilight in surprise.

“Ms Sparkle is a citizen of the USA and currently a student at Academy City,” continued Dr Long. “Vlad, we will answer all your questions shortly.

“As I was saying. Ms Sparkle and Ms Shimmer have been working with us to provide TACIT technology for the bases as well as providing support in the construction of the bases.”

“I overheard one of your techs saying your base was attacked!” interrupted a raven-haired woman from the end of the table. “Who is out in space already attacking bases? Is it aliens?”

Dr Long buried her face in her hands.

“Yes, Vetta, it’s aliens. It’s always aliens. Didn’t you know that?” groaned Dr Long. Looking up, she sighed. “Are you done?”

“I know you know something!” the woman continued. “You always try to hide it. We’re supposed to be working together but you keep things from us. How long have you had these bases? When were you going to share with us? What kind of allies keep this sort of information from their allies?”

Dr Long looked over to Twilight. “Are you sure you want to do this?” she asked. Twilight nodded.

Dr Long stood. Placing her hands on the table, she leaned over and looked each of the participants around the table in the eyes. When she had everyone’s uninterrupted attention, she continued.

“Here are the facts. A bit over a week ago Mss. Sparkle and Shimmer invented TACIT technology in their garage. They used it to visit the Tranquility landing site where they were recorded playing with their friends on the moon. This obviously got our attention and we have been working with them to utilize this technology to its fullest.

“With their considerable help, we have instituted bases on the moon at Tranquility Base, on Mars near Olympus Mons, and on Saturn’s moon Titan. Regrettably, one of our installations was attacked and a laptop was stolen with the complete plans for TACIT technology, and it has made its way into the hands of countries not aligned with our efforts.

“It was one of these groups that used the technology to launch attacks on our bases at Tranquility and Olympus Mons.

“Several of our staff were killed in the attacks, though with the help of these girls, we were able to save most of them and repel the attackers.”

“You are fighters?” interrupted Vlad again, incredulous. “You girl! You are warrior?”

Twilight sighed, looking down at the table. Looking back up, she looked Vlad in the eyes.

“Yes, when needed, I am a warrior. I don’t like fighting. It goes against everything I stand for. But if I or my allies are attacked, I will fight. And I will win,” she stated plainly.

“How can you be warrior, slip of girl like you?” asked Vlad in shock.

“Pray you never have to find out,” said Twilight evenly, her eyes tingeing purple as she replied.

A chill settled over the room. Clearing her throat, Dr Long continued.

“So, yes, there is that. It’s a race now, my friends. With us or not, it’s a race. If you want to be in space, if you want to be with us, take these girls' offer and use their technology.

“Or don’t, and be left behind, or try to scramble for a place with those who attacked us and take your chances.”

Dr Long leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes as she said, “The choice is yours, but make it now. There won’t be any second chances.”

A moment of silence followed as everyone took in what they had just heard. Then everyone at once started talking. Loudly. And excitedly.

From the sound of it, they were all in.

Twilight retired to their lair to start crafting the needed units while Dr Long stayed to work out the details of their agreement.

She was surprised to learn Robin was not in the lair at the moment. Boredom and curiosity had overtaken her, so she had requested Tàiyáng a way to explore the area outside the lair. Tàiyáng had provided her with one of the still intact NASA rovers, which she was currently using, driving all over the caldera becoming familiar with her new home.

With TACIT pairs constructed, one each to start for ESA, JAXA, and ROSCOSMOS, Twilight switched to crafting more safety fobs, keyed to teleport the wearer to their lair in an emergency. While she was working on these, she received a text from Dr Long that agreements had been reached.

Smiling, she returned to Dr Long’s location ready to provide their new allies with their new TACIT units.

There was a bit of a snag.

“No!” Vlad thundered. “We will take our unit to our base installation ourselves. No one else is allowed to see location of base installation!”

Twilight held her face in her hands. “Are you done?” she asked. “Because if you are, I would like to explain something.

“I get that you would like to keep the location of your installation secret. I approve. I laud the effort. I understand the thinking.

“But it’s not happening. If you are using one of my TACIT systems, I know where it is. All the time.

“It’s not something we can discuss then come to an agreement over. It’s simple physics. If you are using our tech, it is all connected. There is no way to hide it from the rest of our tech. You use it, we know it, where and when. Simple physics. Applied math, one and one make two level simple.

“So sure, take it to your installation by secret train, boat, car, whatever. Hide it under a mountain. Top Secret. Then plug it in to use it. Secret shared. Done. No more secrets, at least not from me or anyone else with a TACIT device.

“So instead of playing around for days while you get the unit to your not going to be secret for long base, let’s just skip to the end.

“You tell me where to deliver your new toy. Then I show up today, like right now, and I help you set it up so you can start on your base. Once again that’s today. Right now.

“I assure you, everyone else will be crossing the finish line while you are still gloating over your secrets.

“Look at NASA!”

Twilight pointed at Dr Long, who smirked.

“I placed their units and days later they had fully staffed and operational bases, looking out at the stars from their new locations. All of that would be happening while you were still unpacking your new toy from its crate, with your secrets.

“So if you want to play with the big kids, tell me where to go. I will take you there with your unit. I will help you set it up. I will set up your base unit. I will install the shield on that unit to protect you. I will assist in any way I can to expedite your build-out. I will even step back and leave you with your base and tech, and provide you with the failsafe fobs for your staff to keep them safe in the event of an emergency.

“So are you in or out? Living in the future, or dead in the past? Make your call,” Twilight finished.

Vlad scowled. “How can you do this thing? How can you put unit anyplace?”

“I’ll show you,” Twilight stated flatly, her eyes glowing magenta. “Like this.”

She grabbed the front of his shirt, both of them disappearing in a flash of magenta.

They appeared on the surface of the moon. Vlad gasped in shock as he realized where he was. Still holding his shirt, they flashed away again.

They appeared on the surface of Mars, Olympus Mons rising in the distance. His eyes bugged out as he again realized where he was standing. With another flash, they disappeared.

They appeared in space, looking down over one of the rings of Saturn. In the distance, Titan hung framed in the starlit sky. Vlad grabbed her arm tightly.

With a flash they appeared back in the conference room, Vlad’s suit covered in frost.

“In addition to being the inventor of TACIT systems, I’m a psychic teleporter. There is nowhere in the universe I cannot get to. That is how I can do this thing,” Twilight replied.

“Any other questions? If not, tell me where your base is, and I will take you and your unit there to set it up.”

Vlad shook his head, removing her hand from his suit and straightening his tie.

“Nyet. We are in,” Vlad replied simply.

Finished with her classes, Sunset excused herself from the girls and called Twilight.

“Hey Sparky! Where are you at? I’ll come join you. Do you need any help with anything?” she asked.

“Sure! I’m in our lair, just finishing up with crafting the initial safety fobs needed for the three new bases. Then I am bringing the new TACIT base units to NASA headquarters so I can install the base units in each of our new friends' installations. You could begin dropping the matched units onto their base locations and setting those up,” replied Twilight.

“Okay! I’ll drop off my school stuff then be right there,” promised Sunset.

With a flash of teal, she appeared in their bedroom, pitching her book bag onto her bed.

It hadn't even bounced on the bed before she flashed away again appearing in their lair next to her BFF.

“That was quick,” snarked Twilight, not looking up from her work.

“What can I say? I missed my BFF,” grinned Sunset. “So where do you want me to start?”

“I’d like you to transport and set up the remote TACIT units,” answered Twilight. She stepped over to several units she had already crafted then continued.

“This is the ROSCOSMOS unit. They were ceded Ceres, so this unit needs to go there.

“This is the ESA unit, and they are getting Vesta.

“This is JAXA’s unit, which they are sharing for now with Academy City. They are going to Pallas.

“NASA is getting a fourth unit, this one, so they can have a presence in the belt too. They took Hygiea as they already have Titan, Mars, and Luna.

“That said, it was agreed the Moon and Mars are open territories with all signatories entitled to a base on both. So we’ll be working with JAXA, ESA, ROSCOSMOS and Academy City on those bases after we get these operational.

“I’m going to drop off the base TACIT units and get them set up in their installations. If you can get these up and ready to go, that would make my job simpler. Then we can just hand them off to them and let them start setup right away if we do that.

“They will all likely need our help with excavation and some structural assistance, as they won’t have the advantage of the Boring equipment at this time. When they’re developing their lunar and Martian bases, the Boring Company has agreed to provide them with the necessary equipment.”

Sunset nodded. “Okay. I guess I’ll get started then. “ She powered up, assuming her angelic form, rising from her chair then flying over to the units. “How first?”

“Start with ESA,” said Twilight. “I’ll drop off their unit and get them set up first. Thanks!”

Twilight placed her hand on the ESA base TACIT receiver, disappearing with it in a flash of magenta. Settling over the ESA TACIT transceiver, Sunset disappeared with it as well in a flash of teal.

Sunset appeared on the surface of a large asteroid. She gently lowered the unit to the surface of the asteroid. Accidentally bumping against it, the unit lifted from the surface and started moving off into space.

“Damned microgravity,” snarked Sunset. With a flash of teal, the unit was pulled back down to the surface. Tweaking the asteroid's gravitational field, she moved it up magically to nearly one-sixth of normal terrestrial gravity.

“That out to hold it in place. Of course, that’ll probably mess with everything around this and pull some of the garbage in. I’ll need to make sure the shield is fully functional before I move on,” she mused.

Settling down next to the unit, she installed the shield spell matrix into the TACIT crystal, currently powered by her magic. Raising the shield, a teal dome formed overhead, tinting the starfield slightly teal. A few sparkles shined out briefly as dust and smaller rocks bumped up against the shield.

“Okay, shield set. Now to just wait for Twilight,” noted Sunset. She sat on the unit, waiting for the text from her BFF.

A short while later, her phone pinged. Reading the text with a grin, she rose up, waiting beside the unit. A moment later there was a magenta flash and Twilight appeared with Vetta, the ESA representative.

“And here we are. Ready to rock,” said Twilight as she led the stern woman from the unit to the surface of the asteroid. “And we’re standing on the asteroid. Sunset, how are we standing on the asteroid?”

“I got tired of chasing down the unit every time I bumped it, so I reset the gravity locally to one-sixth terrestrial normal. The unit stayed put after that,” answered Sunset with a smirk.

“You know that is going to play havoc with the local field. You’re going to pull in all the dust and rocks in the local area,” reminded Twilight.

“And I’ve been watching the show as the shield deflects them. It should be fine unless you think it would be better leaving the settlement to deal with microgravity,” returned Sunset.

“Microgravity is exactly what they will have if the TACIT connection is broken. As soon as there isn’t any source of magic. the spell you’ve cast will be cancelled and they will be right back where they started,” continued Twilight.

“And if that happens, they will have much larger issues than stuff floating off. Like having lost their shields. And if that happens, they will likely be shortly a sudden guest of our hospitality,” Sunset reminded her.

“That’s true. Hmm,” mused Twilight. “It is easier to get things done and live on base if there is some semblance of gravity. We’ll let the spell stand. In fact, encode it into the TACIT crystals for the rest of the bases, and this one too if you have not already. Good thinking Sunset.”

“Thanks,” Sunset smiled, crossing back over to the TACIT unit. Hands glowing briefly, she placed the enchantment into the TACIT crystal and released the spell she had been holding, letting the TACIT unit drive the gravity creation powered by the magic passing through the TACIT connection. Stepping back, she nodded. “Okay, done.”

“So, what type of base are you constructing? Burroughs? Surface structure?” Sunset asked the ESA representative.

“We are going hybrid. We do want to burrow into the asteroid for much of the base, but realistically we don’t want to gut the thing. We want it to maintain some structural integrity. We planned on running a complete survey and planning from there.” replied Vetta.

“Okay, that sounds prudent,” agreed Twilight. “We’re going to move onto the other bases. Give us a call if you need assistance with tunnelling or crafting the base. You have my cell phone number, you can reach me just about anywhere.”

“There is cell coverage here?” asked Vetta.

“No, but there is wifi from the TACIT unit. Here, let me help you connect to the wifi,” Twilight replied. She stepped the scientist through the setup supplying the passcode, then stepped back.

‘Okay, give me a call then when you need us,” replied Twilight. As she and Sunset prepared to leave, her phone rang.

Answering it, Twilight grinned. “Hello Vetta,” she laughed.

“Just testing it,” replied Vetta with a straight face. “Okay, I will call when we are ready for your help.”

With a nod, Twilight and Sunset disappeared in a flash of magenta and teal.

Next up was JAXA. Sunset returned to the lair, taking hold of the JAXA unit and teleporting to Pallas.

There she set up the same shield and enchantments they had placed on the ESA unit, placing them this time all directly into the TACIT crystal. Several moments later, she felt the magic pouring through the TACIT connection powering the spells, so she backed her own magic off and left them to run on the TACIT ambient magic.

A moment later, Twilight appeared with the JAXA representative. They two wanted to survey first and potentially go with a hybrid base, so after pairing up the representative’s phone with the TACIT wifi, they parted ways with her and returned to NASA Headquarters and the waiting Roscosmos representative.

With Vlad, Twilight teleported to their installation while Sunset returned to the lair, gathering up the Roscosmos unit and teleporting to Ceres.

Once there she quickly set up and powered the enchantments, though Ceres was at least large enough that bumping the unit didn’t cause it to go flying off beforehand.

Once again, Sunset released her magic from the crystal when she felt ambient magic pour through the TACIT unit. A moment later, Twilight appeared with a flash in the TACIT unit, Vlad in tow.

Smirking, Sunset clicked her heels and saluted sharply. “Welcome to Ceres, comrade!” she laughingly called out.

Vlad shot her a cross look. “You very funny. Haha,” he replied. “So we will examining area and will call when needed. You may go.”

Sunset turned to Twilight. “I already set his phone up. He’s good to go,” she explained.

“Okay,” replied Sunset. Turning back to Vlad, she smiled. “Okay, comrade. Don’t be a stranger. Give us a call when you are ready.”

Vlad was already on his phone with the rest of his team. He made dismissive motions with his free hand without looking their way.

With a shrug, the girls teleported back to Headquarters.

“So, Dr Long. Last on the list. Ready to see your new rock?” asked Sunset when they arrived.

“Ready and rocking,” smirked Dr Long.

Sunset rolled her eyes. “Okay, I deserved that one. See you two in a bit!” She disappeared in a flash of teal.

Back in their lair, she gathered the last unit, NASA’s, and teleported to Hygiea. There she quickly placed the enchantments into the TACIT crystal and released them to the ambient magic as soon as she felt it passing through the connection. True to form, within a few moments Twilight and Dr Long appeared in the TACIT unit with a flash of magenta.

“Welcome to Hygiea,” smiled Sunset. “So, do you need to run a survey first as well?”

“Of course,” agreed Dr Long. “Though you're welcome to stay while we do. Care to show me the sites?” she teased.

“Sure!” replied Sunset happily. “Here, below your feet, is your new home Hygiea. And out there,” she waved her hand over the star-filled expanse, “Is your next home, the stars. And that,” she pointed back to the distant sun, “Is where it all started. Any questions?”

“Are you always this big of a smartass?” asked Dr Long with a grin.

“Always!” laughed Twilight, with Sunset nodding and laughing.

“Okay, time to call in the survey team,” grinned Dr Long as she called headquarters from her phone.

In a diner back in Academy City, there was a small disturbance as Kuroko, currently in a wheelchair, teleported directly onto the table of her friends where they were dining, only to shortly leap down onto her friend Mikoto. This resulted in her receiving an electrical discharge that knocked out the diner's power for several minutes, as well as Kuroko.

Not too far away from that excitement, Toma and Index were captivated by the enchanting songs of a local busker, a talented young woman named Arisa. They stayed after the performance to meet the young woman performer, hitting it off with her right away, then invited her to spend the evening with them.

The survey team had arrived and begun their work. Already both Sunset and Twilight were busy crafting tunnels and caverns through the asteroid, sealing and finishing the walls as they built out the base where directed. About an hour and a half later, they had completed the underground portion of the base while the NASA technicians worked on the surface structure.

They received a call from JAXA saying they were ready to begin construction and desired the girls' assistance. With goodbyes to Dr. Long, the girls returned to Pallas and the busy JAXA / Academy City teams. Already much of the area around had already been dug out by psychic workers.

Sunset immediately floated over to the workers. She started reinforcing and finishing the containing walls they had already cleared out. Twilight returned to the JAXA base with several technicians. They were enchanting several large shipping containers they had prepared. This prompted them to shift to their shrunken state. They moved through the TACIT unit then returned to normal as they were offloaded with the base supplies and components for the surface portions of the base.

The other contains followed with the equipment and furnishings for the base and were quickly emplaced by efficient teams of workers. Once the shipping containers were completely offloaded, they were returned through the unit to be loaded up again with supplies and components. The entire operation worked like a well-oiled machine, to Twilight’s satisfaction as she watched the operation unfold.

They both received a text message at the same time from Vlad.

“We’ve been summoned,” snarked Twilight.

“You would think he would at least try to word it a little less harshly,” laughed Sunset.

“Nah, you wouldn’t,” she grinned. “Midnight had to take him on a ride across the solar system before he would even deal with us. He’s just that much of a prick.”

“Ouch!” Sunset grinned. “Coming from you, that’s pretty harsh.”

“One, that’s not from me, that’s verbatim what Midnight called him. And two, he really is that much of one,” replied Twilight.

“He did seem to have zero sense of humour,” agreed Sunset. “So, let’s go help his imperious highness with his little project then.”

Together they teleported to Ceres.

After hitting a few balls in the batting cage, Toma and Index took their new performer friend Arisa out to dinner. After dinner, they ran into four witches who proceeded to attack them.

Protecting their friend Arisa, Index and Toma found themselves facing off in a magic battle against Stiyl, whom they found was the witches mentor.

As their fight took a pause for Toma and Stiyl to yell at each other, Index saw Twilight pop in a bit away from them.

Twilight looked around and saw Toma talking to Stiyl, then Index next to a nice young woman.

Seeing everything was alright she waved happily at Index and her young friend.

Confused, Index waved back as Twilight flashed back away.

“Where’d you go?” asked Sunset when she returned.

“I thought I felt a spike in their biometrics, so I went to check on Toma and Index. They were fine. Just having an evening out. Toma and Stiyl were chatting, and Index was with a new friend. It’s so nice to see them making new friends like that,” answered Twilight.

“Look at you, channelling your dimensional sister!” teased Sunset.’

“Hey, I’m harmonious! And I'm making friends,” commented Twilight.

‘Yes, you are, Sparky. And you’re my friend forever,” agreed Sunset, giving her a side hug.

“Dork! Yes, and you are mine. I mean, my friend forever! Though, yeah, mine too,” Twilight grinned.

Sunset laughed, pulling her BFF in for a hug.

A few hours later, all the bases were in place, with teams from each of the agencies working busily to complete the construction and build-outs.

Twilight and Sunset returned to their apartment for a late dinner and a chance to relax before heading to bed.

At Toma and Index’s apartment, after a rather embarrassing mistake on Toma’s part, while Arisa and Index were excitedly working on the lyrics for her new song immediately after the girls’ bath (but before anything else), Index and Toma asked their new friend Arisa to stay with them. Together they settled down for the night.

Outside their window a grey needle pierced the sky, reaching up from the ground to the heavens above.

Endymion, the space elevator, was completed, and destiny was calling them all to it.

Author's Note

The stage is set, the lines queued, the actors on their marks. Destiny has prepared her run on the Fate of Endymion.

Twilight Sparkle - Goddess, Awesome BFF, and possibly the worst casual spy ever. :rainbowlaugh:

14 - Twilight - The Ziggurat

Tuesday, September 16, 6:30 a.m. Tokyo time.

Twilight and Sunset woke up to their alarm, snuggled together as the Tokyo sunrise greeted them through the large window wall of their bedroom. With their usual teasing and good spirits, they got ready for school, heading off for a normal school day followed by more work assisting as needed with the base buildouts.

At Toma and Index’s apartment, they too rose and prepared for school and their day ahead. Index planned on spending the day with their new friend while Toma went off to school.

After school, Sunset and Twilight excused themselves from their usual activities and teleported directly over to NASA headquarters, meeting with Dr. Long.

“Hello girls!” she greeted them with a hug, leading them into her office. “Busy day, some slight changes to the plan. Academy City is being quite insistent in getting their Lunar Base up and running, and have requested both of your assistance today. Do you two mind helping them out?”

“That means off to Mars for me,” noted Twilight. “I’ll need to craft two a base and receiver pair for them, and more safety fobs. Do they have a count of their planned base personnel so I know how many to make?”

“They estimated two hundred scientists and staff to start,” replied Dr Long. “They also requested one of you help them transport supplies and staff immediately so they can get started on the buildout right away.”

“I can help there,” agreed Sunset. “Where should I meet them, and where is the proposed base going to be?”

“They are currently staged in District 20 with their supplies, and their proposed base will be next to the original Chang’e mission landing site,” replied Dr Long.

Sunset laughed. “Chang’e will get a laugh from that,” she noted.

Getting the address of the warehouse they were in from Dr Long, she teleported to them directly.

Popping before the address she was given, Sunset rolled up to a guard shack beside a rather large gate in a large and barbed wire-topped fence. Introducing herself and showing her credentials, she was directed to a large imposing warehouse just beyond the front gate parking lot. Sunset rolled up to the structure, through the open loading door and into the middle of a rather large and well-stocked warehouse.

She rolled over to the nearest group of white-coated hard hat-wearing technicians.

“Hi! I’m Sunset Shimmer, you requested my assistance today?” she introduced herself in Japanese.

“Ah! Yes, thank you. We were expecting you. Come with me,” one of the technicians answered, leading her to an office hut set up in the middle of the warehouse. Knocking on the door, she entered.

“I’ve brought our assistance for the day, Ms. Sunset Shimmer. Ms Shimmer, this is Willie Dustice, he is the Director of our base operations. He can better inform you what assistance we require. Thank you!” With that, she left, shutting the door behind her.

Sunset rolled over to the director’s desk, bowing. “I’m pleased to meet you, Mr. Director. Sorry for asking this, but didn’t you used to play professional baseball? You pitched for the Baltimare Horslieeos, right? Pitched the second no-hitter in major league history in a world series game, the first since Game 5 of the 1956 World Series?” Sunset smiled.

Director Willie Dustice smiled. “Yeah, that was a lifetime ago. Surprised anyone remembers that now. Haven’t picked up a ball and pitched in close to twenty years.”

“My foster father was a huge fan of yours. He even gave me a Willie Dustice Pitcher of the Year poster to hang in my room. I’m honoured to meet you, Mr Dustice,” smiled Sunset, holding out her hand.

“Always happy to meet a fan,” Director Willie Dustice smiled, shaking her hand. “Even if it was from a lifetime ago. You definitely don’t look old enough to have been watching when I was playing.”

“Like I said, Father was a fan. He had your greatest games on tape and we would watch them together,” informed Sunset. “So, now that you are in charge of this operation, how may I be of service to you?” she asked.

“Thank you very much for coming here to help us on such short notice, and for your time,” Director Dustice nodded back. “Yes, we were hoping you could assist us in moving our team and materials to the base location so we can begin building out our base. I understand your companion is working on the TACIT units we will be requiring?”

“That’s correct, director, she’s working on those now. And as for helping relocate your team and equipment to your base location, of course, I am happy to help. I understand you intend to locate the base next to the site of the original Chang’e mission. Is that correct?” asked Sunset.

“Yes, Ms Shimmer, that’s correct,” replied the director. “Follow me, and I will introduce you to our team.” He led the way out of the office and to a corner of the warehouse. A group of twenty space suite-wearing workers, their helmets sitting on the floor beside them, sat in chairs idly chatting as they waited their turn to begin working.

“Everyone! This is Ms. Sunset Shimmer. She will be assisting us in our build-out today. Ms Shimmer, this is the team that will be performing the initial build-out with the materials you will be transporting,” introduced the director. Sunset bowed as they bowed back.

Director Dustice pointed to several rows of shipping containers behind her. “And these are the materials we will be using. We can start whenever you are ready.”

“No time like the present,” agreed Sunset. She ponied up. Unfolding her angelic wings, she rose up from her chair to float before the director.

“We should start with the materials. I’ll begin with those, then I can bring over your staff. One moment” continued Sunset. She flew over to the first of the shipping containers. Placing a hand on it, she and it disappeared in a flash of teal.

Several seconds later, she reappeared, moving on to the next container. This process continued for the next several minutes as she worked her way down both rows of containers. When they were all shipped, she returned to the waiting crew, whom she saw had fastened their helmets and were heading into a final container on the other side of their waiting chairs.

“Okay, ready for… oh! Well, that’ll work,” she mused, heading over to the container. When they were all in, the last tech gave her a gloved thumbs up and sealed the container door. Sunset flew over to the side of it, then placing her hand on it together with the container flashed away in a teal pop to their new base location.

Finished with crafting the units, Twilight called her BFF.

“Hey Sparky! How’s it going?” answered Sunset.

“That’s what I was going to ask you,” smiled Twilight. “How’s the transfer going?”

“We finished that a while ago. They had everything ready to go so it went very quickly.
Hey, guess who the Director in charge of base operations is? Remember the old baseball pitcher Farther was crazy about? The poster still hanging in the corner of my room? Willie Dustice? He’s the Director! Crazy world, right?

“So, I’ve been helping Director Willie Dustice and his team build out the base for the last hour or so,” answered Sunset. “Are you coming over to help out?”

“You bet Sunny,” answered Twilight. “That’s funny! I bet you can’t wait to tell Father Steve.

“I’ve finished the units, and am almost done crafting the three hundred safety fobs. Give me a few minutes, then I drop off the base unit and come join you.”

“There are thirty technicians working here now. Maybe you can bring fobs over for them when you bring the transceiver?” suggested Sunset.

‘Good idea,” agreed Twilight. “See you soon!” She hung up, returning to her work of finishing up the safety fobs.

When she finished, they gathered everything up, then with the two new TACIT units she teleported to Sunset’s marker with a magenta flash.

She appeared in a large warehouse, next to Sunset, who just as promised was talking to Directory Willie Dustice. He still looked the same as the poster, same charming smile, just a few more lines and a lot greyer hair.

“Director Willie Dustice, I presume?” Twilight introduced herself as they turned to her, holding out her hand and smiling.

“You must be the cuter half of this dynamic duo, Miss Twilight Sparkle! A pleasure to meet you Miss Sparkle!” he laughed shaking her hand.

Sunset laughed. “Don’t worry, I didn’t brag about you too much,” she grinned at Twilight.

“Only that you are the brilliant mind that developed and made these TACIT units that made this all possible. I don’t think that can be undersold,” smiled the director.

Twilight blushed.

“Okay, enough flirting with my girlfriend,” teased Sunset, watching as Twilight turned several shades redder. “Love you, Sparky!” she smirked.

“Jerk,” Twilight laughed back, lightly punching her arm.

“So, what will you work on next,” smiled the director, coming to Twlight’s rescue with a smile.

“I’ll set up the units, then join you in working on the base,” answered Twilight. “Also, here are the safety fobs as requested. I made three hundred, but if you need more, let us know and we will get them to you. If anything happens, these can be the difference between life and death, as our recent experiences have shown.”

“Terrible business, that,” agreed the director. “And of course our full condolences to the grieving families.”

“I’m sure that’s appreciated. Thank you, director,” nodded Sunset. She turned to Twilight. “Okay Sparky, meet you there!” She disappeared in a flash of magenta, chair and all.

“So, where did you want me to install the TACIT unit?” Twilight asked.

“We have an area prepped for it. Follow me, Miss Sparkle,” smiled the director, leading her across the warehouse. Twilight followed, the TACIT units behind her wrapped in a magenta glow.

“So, if you don’t mind my asking, how did you end up here in Academy City, Director? It seems a huge change from World Famous baseball legend to Director of a scientific research center in Academy City,” asked Twilight in curiosity as they crossed.

“That’s certainly true,” agreed the director. “After I retired from baseball, the company that owned the team hired me on as a spokesperson for their games. It turned out I was also remarkably proficient in keeping operations on track and under budget on our shoots and commercials, a skill that was noticed and encouraged.

“When Capcom was bought by the board of Academy City, I managed the joint project to merge operations, and from there ended up managing several more projects for the board, the latest being this one. It’s been quite a rewarding experience, though yes, it’s certainly quite a change from major league baseball,” the director explained.

“That’s quite an inspiring story,” smiled Twilight. “I only hope someday Sunset and myself have such inspiring stories to tell.”

“I don’t think you have to worry much there,” laughed the director. “I’m pretty much certain that you could never do another thing of note again, and these TACIT units of yours would speak for you for the rest of your life.”

Twilight blushed. “That’s kind of you to say,” she stuttered. “Thank you.”

“Thank you,” returned the director. “So here we are. All the connections you need should be here, and if there is anything else just let me know and I’ll be happy to help get it for you.”

Still feeling slightly tongue-tied, Twilight just nodded and smiled, setting straight to work.

Several minutes later, Sunset looked up, alerted by a magenta flash at her side. Twilight appeared with the TACIT unit in tow, both in Sunset’s bubble of air.

“Hi, Sparky! Welcome to Chang’e base!” Sunset greeted her BFF.

“Heya Sunny! So, do you know where this one’s going?” Twilight smiled at her BFF.

“Yup. The head engineer can tell you… and here she comes now, she’ll take you there. We have the area already set up. I’ll come join you as soon as I finish up here,” smiled Sunset, nodding towards a female-esque spacesuited figure lopping across the lunar landscape towards them.

The woman entered their shield bubble, smiling through her visor at them both.

“Hi! I’m Mary Pinot, chief engineer on site,” she greeted, her voice coming from a small speaker on her helmet. “We’re so glad you’re here. If you’re ready, I can show you where we’re installing the base TACIT unit.”

Twilight smiled. “Lead on, Ms. Pinot.”

Still smiling, the woman passed back through Sunset’s shield, leading Twilight towards the base entrance. Twilight passed through Sunset’s shield, a magenta shield of her own forming as she passed the protection of Sunset’s magic. The TACIT unit followed her, glowing magenta a few yards behind her.

Sunset watched them pass into the base below, then returned to her work.

Several minutes later, her work completed, Sunset flashed away, teleporting to her BFF, appearing beside her as she was bent over behind the unit, working on the connections for the TACIT receiver.

“Hi Sunny!” Twilight called out over her shoulder. “I’m just hooking up the power and communications cabling to the unit. Almost done, then we can turn this base on.” She finished the last few connections as lights lit up on the network and power management equipment in the rack.

“And there it is!” she smiled, backing out from behind the unit and rising to stand. As she stood the lights turned on all through the base, fanning out from their central bay.

“Well, that’s a good sign,” smiled Sunset, watching as the base personnel cheered as the lights came on.

“Yes, it is,” agreed Twilight. Stepping back, she smiled at her BFF. “Want to do the honours and activate the base shield?”

“Sure!” agreed Sunset, rolling up to the unit. She placed her hands on the unit, hands glowing briefly with teal power as she activated and then powered up the protective spells laid into the TACIT crystal.

A teal shield rose over the base, tinting the stars overhead briefly then fading to near obscurity.

“We don’t want to interfere with your observations, so I’m minimizing any visible radiation absorption below the safety thresholds. If you need other wavelengths and energies adjusted just let us know.” Sunset informed the chief engineer.

The engineer nodded. “Got it. Thanks!”

Sunset rolled back. She and Twilight both looked up then to each other at the same time.

“Mikoto,” they both said at the same time.

“I got it. Go ahead and help them finish getting operational. I’ll go check it out,” said Twilight. She flashed away in a burst of magenta magic.

One of the spacesuited staff approached Sunset, NASA emblems on her suite. She stepped through her shield and walked up next to her.

“What was that all about, my dear prankster?” asked the NASA astronaut through her external speaker.

“Chang’e?” asked Sunset.

The speaker filled with gentle laughter. The figure raised her hands to her head and unlatched her helmet. Lifting it off, Dr Heng’e grinned at her friend.

“What? You do not think I would skip coming to greet new visitors to my realm,” she grinned.

Sunset reached out taking her friend’s gloved hand. “Certainly not!” she laughed. She turned to Ms Pinot, who was looking on in surprise.

“Sorry,” Ms. Pinot, exclaimed. “I wasn’t aware we had any NASA personnel helping out at this stage. And did I hear Ms Shimmer call you Chang’e? Or was it Dr Heng’e, as your nameplate reads?”

“Indeed, it is Dr Heng’e, NASA Scientist, specializing in Celestial Mechanics. And yes, my friends do indeed call me Chang’e. I do hope you will be among them?” she smiled at Ms. Pinot.

Ms. Pinot blanched and smiled. “So, uhm, are you really… uh… really…”

“Yes, dear, I am Dr Heng’e, NASA Scientist. Here to welcome you to the neighbourhood and provide whatever help I can. And, I am also Chang’e, goddess of this realm and your protector. And your friend, I hope? For as long as you are a resident in my realm, I am your guardian. And your friend,” Chang’e smiled, taking Ms Pinot’s hand in greeting.

Ms Pinot bowed deeply. “Thank you! For the welcome! And of course, for the protection. I’m honoured to meet you!”

Pulling the young woman back up to her feet, Chang’e gently hugged her. “The honour is mine, new friend. Welcome to my realm and thank you for your friendship.”

She looked into Ms Pinot’s eyes. “I am gladdened by your being here.”

Hugging them both, Sunset smirked.

“That’s supposed to be, ‘I’m glad you’re here!’” she teased her friend.

“You know I cannot follow your idioms,” Chang’e grinned back. “But yes, that is my sentiment.” She smiled again at Ms. Pinot.

Ms Pinot hugged her, then stepped back for a moment, still smiling.

“One second,” she smiled. “Let me check base containment, then we can pressurize the base. After that, I want to introduce you to everyone.”

She checked her tablet, flipping through several pages with a flick of her finger validating the values. Flipping back to the initial page, she flipped the setting.

Sunset watched as the lunar dust that had settled on the floor from their work rolled, shifted, and then whisked up into the air as the sound came rushing back around her bubble. When the dust finally settled, she heard the normal sounds of base operation all around her.

A klaxon sounded with warning lights flashing green shortly followed by a single sustained bell. At that everyone around them removed their helmets including Ms. Pinot.

Sunset dropped her personal protective shield.

The air was crisp and sweet, like a mountain breeze. Not at all like their other bases.

“Wow, how are you conditioning your air? This smells remarkably fresh,” Sunset observed.

“Thanks! It’s a new technology developed by Academy City. We found personnel respond better if the environment reminds them of a safe and friendly place. The somatic cues provided by the sense of smell were found to have an oversized impact.”

“Fascinating,” replied Sunset.

“So, Dr. Heng’e? Would you care to meet your new neighbours?” asked Ms Pinot, taking Chang’e by the hand.

Chang’e smiled and nodded. “Lead on, my friend. I cannot wait to meet my new neighbours.”

They left together, heading over to a group of technicians who were chatting and laughing, their suites now off and being stashed on custom racks in the bay.

Seeing everything settled here, Sunset pinged her BFF, intending to pop in and help out however she could. Before she could Twilight appeared beside her in a magenta flash.

“So, how is Mikoto?” asked Sunset as Twilight turned to her.

“She and her friends are fine. I guess there was some explosive kerfuffle at a concert they were performing at, but they handled it and no one was hurt. It looked like they were having fun with a new friend,” Twilight smiled.

“That’s wonderful. Always nice to hear they are making new friends,” agreed Sunset. “I got a ping from Toma too, what was up with that?”

“Same thing, probably the same mishap. He was walking and talking with some young woman, helping her back to everyone else,” answered Twilight. “I saw they were fine too, so I left them alone and returned here.”

“I wonder what caused the explosion?” mused Sunset.

“At Academy City? Who knows,” Twilight shook her head. “I’m sure we will find out when we get back.”

Together the girls walked over to join Chang’e and her new friends.

Sunset and Twilight were helping set up the hydroponics farms in a large bay. Sunset winced.

“I think Index is in trouble,” she said, looking over at Twilight.

“Hold on,” Twilight called out. Checking her phone, she pulled up Index’s biometrics. “She doesn’t appear alarmed. Probably Toma just did something to make her angry again.”

“Huh, maybe,” agreed Sunset. “I got more of a sense of concern from her than anger. Those two so act like brother and sister.”

“I’ll go check on her, just in case. One second,” called out Twilight, disappearing. She returned a few moments later.

“She was talking with a few friends. It looks like someone broke a window next to them, maybe that was why she was concerned. But whatever it was seems sorted,” she informed her friend. They both returned to setting up the massive hydroponics farm.

Several minutes later they both felt the next alarm. Sunset and Twilight turned to each other.

“Toma,” they both said at the same time.

“I got it,” called out Sunset. “You got the last one. Go ahead and finish here and I’ll go check it out.”

Sunset teleported away with a teal flash.

She appeared on a sidewalk in a newer section of Academy City just as a car sped past her on the street, Toma clearly visible in the passenger seat staring intently up ahead, while what looked like an eight-year-old girl drove, accelerating recklessly down the street weaving in and out of traffic.

“What the buck?” asked Sunset to herself.

She rolled frantically after the car to keep them in sight. Giving up less than a half block later, she stopped to call Twilight.

“Toma is in a car chasing someone with a crazy eight-year-old girl driving. I’m going to see what the heck is going on but wanted to give you a heads-up. This may take a while. Sorry Sparky,” she informed.

“Don’t worry, go take care of our friend. I’ll manage here fine,” agreed Twilight.

“Thanks, Sparky! See you soon,” said Sunset, hanging up.

Looking up, she realized she’d lost sight of Toma.

“Crab nuggets,” she muttered under her breath, teleported again to Toma’s location.

As she appeared next to the car for a fleeting moment as they raced past her on the superhighway. There was a horn honking and the screech of brakes.

Panicked, Sunset instinctively cast a shield around her and her chair just as she was struck by an out-of-control car trying desperately to stop but still travelling at high speeds.

Together, Sunset and her chair were sent violently tumbling, slamming through the cement guardrail to be launched ballistically into the city below.

Twilight’s head whipped up from the panel she was programming.

“Sunset!” she cried out in panic, disappearing in a flash of magenta.

Pitched from the freeway overpass overhead and launched ballistically into the city streets below, Sunset watched dazedly as the world spun and flew by below her. Concussed from the sheer force of the impact, stars and greyed darkness interrupted her vision of the world spinning beneath her.

She threw up repeatedly as she spun rapidly through the air. She tried to raise her hand to clear her hair and vomit away from her face as her hair wiped about madly, slapping and stinging her eyes. She gave up after two tries, the force of the wild rotations making movement near impossible. She closed her eyes just as her chair hit the road below, bouncing and slamming into a nearby building before ricocheting off and back into the road.

At that point, Sunset blacked completely out.

She and her chair continued sliding and tumbling madly, a misshapen teal ball of magic bouncing off of several buildings before coming to a stop in the middle of one of the lesser-used avenues.

As the chair slid the last few yards of its violent journey the teal shield surrounding it flashed out. Ejected from her still sliding chair, Sunset was tossed facefirst into the street, sliding and tumbling the final few yards of her journey by herself.

Moments later, Twilight flashed onto the roadway.

Sunset was sprawled out, bruised, bloodied, and battered unconscious on the roadway several yards from her wheelchair. All traffic on the street had stopped in surprise at the site of the girl tossed so suddenly, violently, and lifelessly before them.

“Sunset!” screamed Twilight as she ran over to her friend.

Falling to her knees next to her, she scooped Sunset up into her arms, holding her close and crying into her face.

“Sunset! Sunset!” she called out frantically. “Sunset, damn it, talk to me! Wake up Sunset!” she cried.

In her arms, Sunset stirred and groaned.

“What in the seven hells hit me, a truck?” she asked dazed, eyes still closed.

She lifted a scratched and bleeding arm to her bloodied face, rubbing her eyes.

“Buck me, I hurt all over,” she breathed. Taking a few slow breaths she opened her eyes to see Twilight holding her.

“Hi Sparky, what happened?” she asked, slowly coming out of her daze.

“You tell me!” cried Twilight. “I get a spike from your fob, then get here to find you covered in blood and lying in the middle of the road like you were dead. Dead, Sunset! When I saw you I thought you were dead!” she cried.

“Ugh… yeah coming back to me now. I thought I was dead too.” She closed her eyes again and took a deep breath. “Okay. Where’s my chair?”

“Right where you left it, apparently still at high speed,” Twilight pointed back behind her, tears still falling from her eyes and onto her friend.

Sunset sat up straighter, looking over Twilight’s shoulder at her chair sitting sideways in the street.

“Well, at least my instincts are still good. Thank Harmony the spell held. It looks like the chair and I are both intact,” she snarked weakly. “Help me back into my chair please, will you babe?” she asked.

“You should see a doctor! You’re concussed!” argued Twilight.

“Maybe later. I think Toma may be in some kind of trouble,” explained Sunset. Just as she said that the sounds of a battle echoed to them from further down the freeway.

Sunset looked to Twilight.

“I swear that kid has the worst rotten luck,” Sunset groaned.

Sitting up straighter, she held on around Twilight’s neck. “Please, babe. Just get me into the chair. We’ll go check out Toma and help him out. Then you can take me to the doctor and they can check me over. Friends first.”

Twilight glared at her friend, tears still staining her face.

“Please?” Sunset begged.

Twilight sighed.

Picking up her friend, she carried her over to her battered but intact chair. Righting it, she gently set her friend in her chair, then kissed her forehead.

“Fine. But afterwards, I am taking you to see the doctor,” she admonished.

“Sounds like a plan, Sparky,” Sunset agreed, still obviously fuzzy-headed.

Together they teleported in a flash of magenta to their friend.

They found Toma laying on the ground unconscious next to the burning wreckage of a car laying up on its side.

Twilight bent over and lifted Toma gently into Sunset’s lap. Placing her hands on the handles of Sunset’s chair she teleported them away from the freeway with a magenta pop.

Toma was in his hospital room again, once more laid out in the same bed. His head and arms were wrapped in bandages.

“I have the worst luck,” he muttered.

Sunset looked over at her friend from the guest chair by his bed.

“How you doing, Toma?” she asked kindly.

“I should be asking you that,” Toma smiled. “I wasn’t the one pitched like a pinball from the freeway.”

“I didn’t have to stand point blank next to an explosion,” she smiled back. “So, feeling better?”

“Yeah. My head still hurts, but I’ll be fine,” he answered.

“So they took your friend,” Sunset stated. “I swear sometimes this place sucks.”

“And I don’t know where. Academy City has her somewhere. I will find her,” he vowed.

Twilight entered with three drinks, passing one to Toma then another to Sunset before taking a seat herself.

“I spoke with the Director and explained our absence. He was disappointed but understood,” Twilight explained. “We take care of our friends first.

“He had no idea what was going on here or why. So I teleported back to get our drinks.

“Midnight’s right, this place sucks. I swear even at the top, no one really knows what’s going on. Midnight swears it and at times like this, I agree; Academy City is run by bigger idiots than I could have ever imagined,” Twilight finished.

“The longer we stay here, the more I think the same,” nodded Sunset.

Toma nodded in agreement as he sipped his tea. “I’ve thought the same thing more than once,” he stated. “But as long as Mikoto, Index, and our friends are here, so am I.”

Sunset and Twilight both nodded in agreement, then sat there in silence, sipping their teas deep in thought.

“How are you feeling? Feeling better yet?” Twilight asked their friend.

Toma frowned. “I’d feel better if I knew why Stiyl and his witches were so dead set against her. She’s not going to start a war or do anything to hurt anyone, even Kaori said as much. She’s just not like that.”

“Yeah, I don’t get it either. I’ll definitely be asking him about that next time I see him, or Kaori,” agreed Twilight. “That really doesn’t make much sense.”

Sunset slumped in the guest chair, exhausted and frustrated. “Just when I think we have this place figured out,” she sighed.

“So how are you feeling, Sunny?” Twilight asked Sunset.

“Still feel like a mile of really bad road,” said Sunset, sitting up. “But we got this to do and people to find. Help me up, will you?” she asked Twilight.

Twilight picked her up, holding her saddle style, legs wrapped around her waist.

“What’s up with the ride Sparky,” Sunset asked smiling, her face next to Twilights.

“I dropped your chair off at the apartment, so I’m taking you to it. See you later, Toma!” grinned Twilight. They disappeared in a flash of magenta.

Crossing the living room, Twilight set Sunset down gently into her chair for the second time that day.

“I could get used to this,” grinned Sunset.

Twilight stuck out her tongue at her friend. “I bet you could,” she laughed.

Grabbing her laptop Twilight sat at the dining room table then logged into her tools site. She pulled up her surveillance tools and entered the Academy network, connecting to the city video archives through the backdoor she had applied when they first arrived.

She started by searching for footage of the accident on the freeway. She found the spectacular footage of Sunset’s unfortunate ejection, wincing as she watched the flight and bounces ending with her BFF’s eventual sprawl into the street.

But once the other Academy team showed up all the footage for that section of the freeway was missing for several minutes. There was nothing until everyone had cleared out, with only the car and the snarled traffic remaining.

Stiyl, his witches, Toma, his abducted friend, and the Academy team, all were completely missing.

She branched out, looking at offramps to the freeway in the missing timeframe. There were no signs of the team but she did find thirty seconds or so missing on one of the offramps several miles up the road. Then from there, nothing.

She suspected whatever the vehicles were, they had stealth technology that was activated after that point obviating any need to doctor further video feeds.

“Well, that sucks,” groused Twilight. Sunset rolled up next to her.

“What’s wrong, Sparky?” she asked.

“The video feeds I need have all been redacted. And apparently, they have stealth tech, so not much chance of following them back to wherever they came from,” answered Twilight.

“So where did you see them last?” asked Sunset.

“This offramp right here, three miles up from the accident,” answered Twilight. The girls looked at the first still from just after the missing footage. The Endymion spire rose up into the sky in the center of the image.

“So much for tracing them then,” agreed Sunset.

“Hold on, I have an idea. Just a sec,” said Twilight.

The scene shifted to a view from one of the nearby buildings. The offramp was barely visible in a smaller corner.

As they watched, five oddly shaped armoured vehicles approached then raced down the offramp, shimmering then disappearing as they sped down the ramp. Papers and waste at the bottom of the ramp swirled and rose into the air, settling back to the street with nothing visible having ever passed by them. Then there was nothing.

“Well that confirms my hunch, they switched on their stealth tech,” observed Twilight.

“At least we know that was the offramp they took. Can you tell where they were headed?” asked Sunset.

“No, from there they could have gone anywhere. It’s a dead end,” replied Twilight.

“Crab nuggets,” sighed Sunset, resting her head in her hands.

They went to bed early that night, tired, sore and disappointed.

Author's Note

Endymion, the space elevator, was completed, and destiny was calling them all to it.

The stage is set, the lines queued, the actors on their marks. Destiny has prepared her run on the Fate of Endymion.

And Sunset has had a rather painful day. What Twilight thought she saw.

And what she actually saw, which was truly bad enough.

15 - Twilight - The Fate of Endymion

Wednesday, September 17, 6:30 a.m. Tokyo time.

Sunset woke the next morning to Twilight’s gentle snoring, her breath tickling Sunset’s cheek, gently fluttering her bangs as breathed softly in and out. A smile graced Twilight’s face and she snuggled tightly to her best friend. As she lay there on her back, Sunset smiled as she looked down to see her best friend's pyjama arms and legs wrapped tightly around her.

“Love you too, Sparky,” she whispered

Twilight stirred, mumbled something still smiling then snuggled even closer, burrowing her face into Sunset’s locks. Sunset quietly laughed, kissing her BFF on her cheek. Twilight smiled even more brightly and let out a contented hum.

“Are you awake, Sparky?” whispered Sunset into her ear. Still smiling, Twilight shook her head no.

“Then I guess I’m stuck here. I’ll just have to learn to accept this as my lot in life,” teased Sunset. She gave Twilight another quick kiss on her cheek. “Whatever will I do? What do you think, Sparky? Should I just learn to love this and stay put?”

Eyes still closed, Twilight smiled even more brightly and nodded. Sunset turned into her embrace and held her close. “Okay then, I guess I’ll just have to grow old in the arms of my BFF,” smiled Sunset. “I love you, Sparky.”

“I love you too, Sunny,” whispered Twilight. She opened her eyes, smiling brightly at her best friend.

Sunset looked happily into the loving gaze of her dearest friend.

Both of them started, sharing a panicked look.

“Crab nuggets! That can’t be good!” said Sunset in concern.

“I counted over 50 instantaneous triggering events. Something just happened. Something big,” agreed Twilight, rolling away from her friend and throwing on her school uniform. “I’m going to check it out.”

“I’ll be right behind you,” promised Sunset, transferring over to her chair. She grabbed her uniform and her bathroom bag, rolling quickly into the bathroom.

A few quick minutes later, finished, cleaned and changed, she flashed away after her friend.

It was chaotic inside their lair. The entire crew of the TitanFall base was running around organizing themselves and tending to their injured, which thankfully was small in number and not severe in scope, limited mostly to scrapes and bruises, with one fractured arm from falling equipment.

“So what happened?” asked Sunset, rolling up to her BFF who was helping distribute supplies to their new and sudden guests.

“They came under attack. The shields held, but came close to being overloaded for a moment which triggered the failsafe, transporting the entire base staff here. I haven’t checked on the base itself yet as I needed to help get supplies and resources distributed to our guests,” answered Twilight, unpacking emergency kits from crates and passing them bundled kits to others to disperse.

“Okay, I’ll go check it out,” stated Sunset. She flashed away in teal pop.

The base was intact, whatever attack that had initiated the evacuation was clearly no longer in progress. Rolling up to one of the control center modules, Sunset logged in and deactivated the still-ringing alarms. The silence that followed was eerie in its completeness.

Reaching out with her magical senses as she rolled through the base, she could find no life signs present. Everyone must have been completely evacuated by the emergency fobs, and whoever was attacking must not have been able to penetrate the shields, despite the temporary overload.

Finished with her quick roll through of the base and finding no sign of the attackers, she angled up and teleported outside, examining the base’s external infrastructure for any damages.

She was annoyed to find several places had been scored with energy attacks, from the residue magical in nature. The damage was largely cosmetic, and she was able to repair it quickly enough, but the fact that their attackers had managed to get enough magical energy through their shields enough to even score on the structures was disconcerting.

Examining the shield, she found traces of magical energies at a handful of specific frequencies. It appeared they had managed to overload portions of the shield briefly by forced harmonic overamplification detuning those portions, allowing magical energies through when the shield's power dropped due to the harmonics cancelling out a portion of the shield's power.

“Tartarus take it, they were only able to do that because I left the shield selectively impervious so Twilight and I and the emergency fobs could continue to teleport in and out at will. Not worth it. We’ll have to channel the emergency teleports through the TACIT connections and lock down the shields to all magical energies. If they had more time and were a little bit smarter they could have done a lot more than blacken a few buildings,” thought Sunset to herself. “I don’t think they will fail to take advantage of what they learned here next time.”

Making one more round of checks on the base's external infrastructure and the base shield, the teleported back to her chair and settled down into it, releasing her angelic form. Wheeling over to the TACIT transceiver, she made the changes to the shield spell matrix in the TACIT crystal, adding in an intercept to catch and route the magical transports from the emergency fobs through the TACIT connections, as they would no longer be able to function otherwise with the updated shield. She sent a quick text off to Twilight with what she had done so they could make the appropriate changes to the other crystal matrices.

As she was about to teleport back to Twilight she got a spike from Mikoto of concern and anger that quickly settled back to normal.

“I wonder what that was all about?” she mused as she teleported back to their lair, her magical energies being intercepted and routed through the TACIT connection by the crystal matrix’s new enchantment as designed. In a flash of teal, she disappeared.

Three juice drinks in hand, a very frustrated Mikoto growled on returning to an empty hospital room, her friends Index and the injured Toma missing.

“Toma!” she called out in angry frustration, energy arcing from her as her anger peaked.

Toma looked at the spaceplane, his face in his hands.

“Curse my rotten no good luck,” he sighed as he climbed aboard the plane, Index right behind him.

Working with Twilight, Sunset applied the shield reconfiguration and intercept update to the rest of the TACIT crystals. The other bases were on heightened alert after the attack, vigilant for any sign of an attack being levelled against their own installations.

Once all the bases were updated they returned to their lair, where they spoke with the base commander for TitanFall. She requested they be allowed to stay in the lair for the time being both to allow them time to complete their own thorough inspection of the base before returning as well as prudently desiring to wait a bit to be assured the threat had truly passed.

The girls agreed, telling her to take whatever time she needed. Sunset directed Tàiyáng to work with them, providing them with whatever resources they required.

As they were rolling away from the commander when they both felt the spike. Sunset rolled her eyes and turned to her BFF.

“I got this. I’ll go check on them while you sort anything that comes up here,” she said, angeling up and rising up from her chair.

“I could take a turn..” Twilight started but was cut off.

“Sorry Sparky, but you’re our secret weapon. Your big brain needs to be here, I can go do the light-duty stuff. I’ll be back as soon as I get whatever it is sorted,” interrupted Sunset.

She disappeared in a flash of teal.

Twilight rolled her eyes. “I swear she is so stubborn,” she muttered. She joined the rest of the base staff in their preparations.

Sunset flashed into space. The terminus of Endymion was above her, a space plane headed towards it with what she sensed were Index and Toma aboard. Looking down she saw Kaori plummeting towards the earth, a chartreuse glow surrounding her.

“That doesn’t look right,” thought Sunset. She dropped down, joining her friend in her plummet.

“Hey, Kaori,” she greeted as they dropped towards the planet below. “What’s going on?”

“Hi Sunset,” smiled Kaori. “I should have figured you’d show up at some point. Toma and Index needed a little help getting past the station defences, so now I’m returning to help everyone below.”

“Uh yeah, I can see that,” snarked Sunset. “Kinda like an asteroid on a collision course. Do you need some help?”

“I got this. I may not be able to teleport like you, but my shields are up to anything this ride can dish out. And I have a team waiting to pick me up below,” smiled Kaori.

“I don’t mind helping you out,” replied Sunset. “I mean, I can shorten the trip at least for you.”

“I’m not averse to a little help,” agreed Kaori grinning.

“Okay then,” agreed Sunset with a grin. She closed with her friend, entering her shield and taking her hand. Together they popped away in a teal flash.

And appeared miles above the surface of the bay below, looking down over the city and ocean below them.

“Do you see them?” asked Sunset as they dropped towards the waters below, still surrounded by Kaori’s shield.

“I think so. They should be on that ship right there in the middle of the bay. Anywhere on deck ought to be good,” answered Kaori.

Sunset spotted the ship. “Okay, let’s get you back.” She flashed them away in a pop of teal magic.

They came out just above the foredeck on the ship below, Sunset gently lowering them the last few meters to the deck. Kaori dropped her shield as Sunset gently squeezed her hand and lifted back up off the deck.

“Okay, I’m going to head back up and see if Index and Toma need any help. Don’t hesitate to contact Twilight or me if you need anything!” she called out as she rose above the deck.

When she was fifty yards or so above the ship, she disappeared in a teal flash.

She came out in a bay, a picture window looking out over the sensor and control array of Endymion below her. Overlaid on the sensors she could see dozens of magic circles floating out in space, giant circles of magical power charging and waiting to be used.

“Ah buck me, that can’t be good,” she thought on seeing them. Looking around, she could see no sign of Index of Toma.

“I don’t get it. I should have come out right next to them. Something is wrong,” she thought to herself.

Reaching out with her magical senses, she was about to scan the local area when she felt a huge spike of panic from over a hundred sources flood her empathy. Pulling back from the sensation she recognized the source of the sensations was the new Russian base.

Sunset quickly contacted Twilight. “Twilight, something is going on with the Russian base,” Sunset called out.

“Ya think!” growled Twilight.

“Twilight?” responded Sunset.

“No, Midnight. We got the telemetry from the fobs same as you, so Twilight decided to check up on them and teleported directly into the middle of an all-out attack. I took charge before we got crisped,” came Midnight’s reply.

“Thank Harmony,” breathed Sunset. “So how are you doing? I’m on my way.”

“Please hurry. It pains me to admit it, but somehow the units I am facing have managed to keep me pinned down. They have improved considerably since our last outings, and are remarkably better powered and trained,” Midnight admitted. There was a pained grunt over the line. “That will leave a mark,” Midnight groaned. “Ouch.”

In a flash of teal, Sunset disappeared, coming out beside Midnight under her battered shield in the middle of a rather intense magical firefight.

“Holy hells, when did they get this strong?” asked Sunset adding her shield to Midnight’s, allowing them both a moment to catch their breath.

“It’s been that way since we teleported in,” responded Midnight. “Twilight took two hard hits before I was able to step in and throw up a shield. I repaired most of the damage we took but she is still in shock from the pain.”

“Okay, let her know I’m here and I love her. We’ll deal with it after we shut this down,” consoled Sunset. Beyond their combined shield the intensity of the attacks stepped up, their assailants determined to break their shield and destroy them.

Sunset’s cell phone went off. Looking at the Id she answered in frustration.

“Yona, what is it?” she asked. A terrified voice rattled off in Japanese.

“Yona! Slow down! What’s happening?” Sunset called out. She heard an explosive crash, then terrified screaming.

“Be right back, Yona’s in trouble,” said Sunset.

Midnight gave her a scowl. “Right now? You’re…” Sunset popped away in a flash of teal. “... going to leave me… Damnit Sunset!” growled Midnight, her shields nearly buckling from the intense assault. She flew at her attackers, blasting and hacking at them in rage.

Sunset popped into Yona’s dorm room just as a witch was dragging her insensate body by the hair from the corner she had been cowering in. With a roar and a teal blast Sunset launched the witch through the dorm wall and out into the street below where she rag-dolled into the traffic. Racing over to her friend, Sunset scooped her up into her arms and teleported away.

Appearing in their lair, she called out for help. One of the base staff ran over, and she handed Yona’s still unconscious form to her, requesting her to take care of her friend. She took her, hurrying with her to their triage area as Sunset flashed away again.

She returned to Midnight who was fighting a vicious battle against their attackers. She was bleeding from her forehead, her arms bruised and bloody and covered in blood.

“What the fuck, Sunset! What the fuck! Are you trying to get me killed!” she cried out in rage as she continued her attacks, Sunset launching her own furious attacks at her side.

“They almost killed Yona!” Sunset yelled back as they continued their brutal battle. “Some witch had her by the hair, knocked out cold and dragging her body across the floor!”

Midnight’s shoulders slumped a bit as they continued their fight. “Where is she now?” she asked.

“I took her to our lair and left her with the base personnel. They’re taking care of her,” answered Sunset.

“Good,” answered Midnight. “Don’t do that to me again! I almost was overrun. We can’t be leaving each other like that in battle!”

“I’m sorry!” answered Sunset. “I don’t know what else I could have done, but I’m sorry!”

Panicked voices called out through their headsets in Russian, the sounds of screaming and explosions in the background. Looking down quickly below them, the girls saw flashes of bright light coming from the base below them.

One word was clearly screamed through the headsets. “атакующий!”

“How in the seven hells?!” yelled Sunset in frustration seeing the continued flashes and hearing the explosions in their headsets.

“Fuck!” growled out Midnight. “I got this! Keep these bastards busy!” she called out, teleporting down to the base below. With a flash of magenta…

… nothing happened. “Fuck! I forgot you changed the shields. Keep them busy!” Midnight called out. With a flash of magenta, she disappeared.

Appearing in the lair before the TACIT unit, starling several of the base personnel as she teleported again.

Appearing inside the base below before a well-armed group of witches in battle armour, all ready and waiting for her. Several magical attacks hit her at once, sending her spinning and rolling across the floor as she teleported away.

Shaking her head to clear the throbbing pain, Midnight leaned back against the wall of the room she had teleported to. She connected to Sunset. “I’m in,” she groaned. “They were ready for me.”

“Are you alright?” grunted Sunset, still heavily pressed upon by the attackers outside.

“Yeah. I tried to teleport back out so I could regroup, but they seemed to have blocked that. The sense I got as I was deflected is they’ve somehow turned the TACIT into a magical dead zone. EM only, no magical energies. I deflected my teleport into an empty room down the hall while I shake off the cobwebs,” replied Midnight.

“Crap, that explains what’s going on with the shield,” groused Sunset. “The base shield was getting weaker, so I infused it with my magic. I noticed as I did it had lost its connection with the base and was running on the reserves of mana in the spell. So I’m keeping it running now from my energies.”

“Okay, until we figure out what the fuck they did to the TACIT, don’t follow me in. We don’t both need to be stuck in here,” stated Midnight.

“I could just collapse the shield spell from here, then you could get out,” offered Sunset.

“You do that and their entire force will be in her in a heartbeat, and we’ll lose everyone. I’ll work from here to take them out, and you work from there to keep the shield up and the rest of these bastards out. I’m counting on you Sunset! Don’t fucking leave me again!” called Midnight.

“I swear! I won’t! I won’t lose you!” agreed Sunset. She threw herself even harder into her battles.

“Thank you,” said Midnight, shutting her eyes and sighing in relief. Struggling back to her feet, she opened the door, heading towards the sounds of fighting and screaming. She had a base to liberate.

“I guess that explains why everyone is still here getting their asses kicked,” mused Midnight as she raced down the hall. “The magical teleport from the fobs was blocked, both by your change to the shield spells and by the sabotage to the TACIT units.”

"Ugh, buck me. It seemed like a good idea at the time,” grunted Sunset as she launched into another attack. Screaming and several loud grunts from Sunset later, she continued. “I should just collapse the shield Midnight. Then the fobs will evacuate them and the staff will be safe.”

“No!” Midnight started. “They may have a spell queued up and ready to kill everyone as soon as that shield falls. Don’t risk it! These people are ruthless. The activation on the fobs isn’t instantaneous. Stay the course, it’s the safer bet.”

“Buck me!” growled Sunset. “If we do that we’ll lose some of them while we fight.”

“And if we don’t we stand a very strong chance of losing everyone. It sucks, but those are our choices. Stay the course Sunset,” advised Midnight.

“Argh! Fine! I hate it so much that you’re right about this!” Sunset launched herself into another flurry of attacks.

“I’ll keep you posted,” promised Midnight. “We’ll get through this together, Sunset. We’ll save them, we’ve got this.”

Coming upon the attacking witches in the base, Midnight launched herself into battle against them.

Half a solar system away, Index faced off against a crazed mage determined to die, even if she took the world with her. Through the windows beyond them, magical circles the size of spaceships glowed with arcane power as they spun in space.

Elsewhere on the station, Toma stumbled, continuing his fight, his efforts, to stop the madness that was the fall of Endymion.

Mikoto and Kuroko, the mages, Accelerator and Last Order with her army of sisters, all prepared to do whatever it took to save Academy City and the people who lived there.

Sunset struggled to keep the shield up as she continued her battle with the attacking forces. Battered and once again slightly concussed, Sunset called out to her partner.

“How’s it going Sparky,” she asked in slight confusion. “Almost done? I’m kinda running out of steam here, Sparky.”

Midnight smiled and rolled her eyes. “Hang in there, Sunny. We got this. Almost there, you can do this,” she comforted.

“I love you, Sparky,” Sunset replied, launching into yet another attack.

“We love you too, Sunny,” smiled Midnight. “Almost there. Stay strong, lover. Keep that shield up.”

“I will Sparky,” Sunset promised.

Finished with the roving attackers, Midnight returned to the group guarding the TACIT unit. Picking off one of the witches on the edge with a directed beam headshot, she launched herself into the main group, a whirling dervish of deadly energies and blades beset upon by everything they could bring to bear. The battle was furious but brief as the group reformed around one of their members, apparently in a trance-like state. Three of them dragged the entranced woman into the TACIT unit and flashed away while the rest continued fighting.

Midnight immediately sensed the return of magic to the area and stepped up her attacks, quickly finishing off the remaining invaders. There was a spike as the fobs finally did their job emptying the base of the beleaguered staff, leaving a relieved and exhausted goddess panting, blood-drenched blades hanging limply from her hands as her quivering arms hung at her sides.

“We did it, Sunny,” she panted. “We beat them. Everyone is safe now,” Midnight called out.

Outside, Sunset was catching her breath, finally able to catch a moment of reprieve as her attackers apparated away. A moment later Midnight appeared by her side, pulling her close to enfold her in her arms. “You can rest now Sunny. We won. It’s okay,” she comforted.

Sunset closed her eyes, going limp in her arms. Holding her gently, Midnight apparated back into their lair.

Finding an empty cot, Midnight laid Sunset down, placing a blanket on her and smoothing back her matted hair from her forehead. Bending down, she gently kissed her bloodied forehead with a smile.

“I can see why she loves you so much. You really are quite remarkable,” she smiled.

“Ms Sparkle?” greeted one of the base staff.

“Sure,” smiled Midnight. “Watch over her for me, please?” she requested.

“Yes ma'am,” the woman nodded.

“Thank you,” smiled Midnight. Standing, she disappeared in a flash of magenta.

Midnight surveyed the wreckage of the Endymion station around her. Considering the amount of damage she was pleasantly surprised not to find bodies also, instead only broken systems and structural damage.

The earth spun slowly beneath her, large in the viewports below, stretching from one end of the view to the other, too close by far to be considered safe for either the station or the planet below, though the immediate threat of harm had been abated.

“Whatever shall we do with you?” mused Midnight. “We can’t leave you here, you’ll just crash back into the planet eventually, and Sunny and Twilight wouldn’t be too thrilled with that.”

Smiling, Midnight glowed with Magenta power, arms outstretched. The station around her sufficed with her glow, eventually pulling away from the planet below.

“I have a new home in mind for you,” smiled Midnight. “Too bad I can’t keep you for my own lair,” she laughed.

Grinning, still covered in blood and bruised and battered, a very happy goddess pulled Endymion along with her to its new home.

Author's Note

Destiny has played her run on the Fate of Endymion, though a new fate has been revealed. A surprisingly friendly battle-weary goddess has given her a new lease.

16 - Twilight - The New Player (Part 1)

Wednesday, September 17, late p.m. Tokyo time.

Midnight had not gotten very far with her new jewel when the confused response from Academy City came. A fleet of space planes launched from below, burning fuel crazily to come at her on a direct approach. She watched as they rose from the planet using the station's few still working sensors, the elliptic of their course clearly on an intercept with her own.

“This ought to be fun,” she sighed. “I wonder what in the seven hells they are thinking.”

She left to find a working concession machine while they worked on closing the distance. She was unworried. Even burning fuel like they were, they were clearly not going to be shortcutting the laws of physics.

Finding a working machine she selected sweetened green tea then waited while it confected. Taking the tea from the machine when it finished she returned to her console, sipping as she watched them approach.

At about twenty miles out they launched what had to be a missile attack on the base, thirty by her count, two from each, closing at several times the rate of the lagging planes.

“Are they insane?” wondered Midnight. “No warning, then an overwhelming attack? I assume they are nuclear weapons. They must be either suicidal or extremely clever to be launching nukes in space being that close to the detonations themselves.”

As the presumed nukes closed on the base Midnight raised a shield over the main terminus then hardened the rest of Endymion to structurally withstand any reasonable shockwaves from the blast.

“Wait. I’m forgetting something,” she thought. “Did all the people make it out? Twilight and Sunset will never forgive me if I allow people to die who aren’t combatants.”

She did a quick life signs scan of Endymion and found that indeed not everyone had made it out. There were several pockets of people, probably praying desperately for their lives or making whatever other deals mortals made with their fates and foibles. But, if she wanted to keep in the good graces of the girls, she had to honour her agreement.

With a self-satisfied smile, she raised additional shields over the sections she found occupied, then waited for the missiles to do whatever it was they intended them to do.

At about three kilometers out the missiles exploded in a wave down the length of Endymion, a killing blow that would render the base into space kindling, blasted out into further orbit by the furious energies of thirty nuclear blasts.

Except when the screens cleared, still working thanks to Midnight’s foresight despite the massive EMP pulses that swept all through of this section of space, the base was still there intact. And the lifesigns were still all present and accounted for.

Midnight smiled. “My turn!” she called out with a slight cackle.

One by one the distant planes were surrounded by a magenta glow then disappeared.

In the operations center of Olympus Mons base, the haptics, telemetry and radar operator looked up from his console with concern.

“Sir! Sir! I have bogies! Fifteen craft suddenly appeared headed towards the base at ballistic speeds. They are extremely low to the ground sir, they are…” he paused as he stared at his screen, the watch officer moving over to his station to look over his shoulder.

“Radar on the main screen!” he called out as they watched.

The main operations screen switched to the radar feed showing the fifteen craft on approach.

“Give me a cinetheodolite. I want eyes on at least that lead craft! What are we looking at?” called out the officier.

A second window opened in the lower portion of the screen showing a grainy object falling through the martian sky. A moment later it cleared, showing a terrestrial space plane falling from the sky, engines unlit, dropping through the thin martian atmosphere at an incredibly steep angle as it glided at high speed towards the landscape below.

“Is everyone seeing what I’m seeing?” asked the officer. “Is that a terrestrial space plane making an unpowered landing here on Mars!?”

“Sir, I can confirm that is exactly what we are seeing,” agreed his second. “And from the markings, it looks to be JAXA/AC. I can’t for the life of me figure what they are doing here, how they got here, or what in the hello they think they are doing right now. Sir!” He added, realizing his protocol slipup at the last moment.

“Me either Mike,” said the officer, watching as the plane dropped down into the Martian landscape suffused with a slight magenta glow. The desert was churned up, a cloud of dust obscuring the broken wreckage of the plane.

The cinetheodolite spun, catching the second plane as it augered into the martian landscape. Then the third, forth, down the line until all fifteen planes had crashed into the Martian sands.

As they watched the dust settle on the first plane’s crash, through the sandy curtain they saw something incredible. The plane was intact, covered with sand in places but completely whole. One by one the other clouds cleared revealing all fifteen planes intact, if completely inoperational.

“Hail them!” called out the operations officer.

“Been trying sir, since they first appeared,” called out communications. “They are not responding. In fact, sir, I am getting null readings from all of them. It’s like they are completely electronically and radio inert.”

“Sir, incoming communications to you from the TACIT network,” called out the TACIT officier.

“Who is it?” asked the watch officer, not taking his incredulous eyes off the screen.

“She just said, ‘Hello neighbors? Anyone home?’” replied the TACIT officer.

“Put her through,” requested the watch officer. There was a clunk and static, then a girl's voice came on.

“Sorry! That was me. Just switched over to my headset and nearly dropped the phone. So, unh, hi! I just sent you over a few guests. Well, less than willing guests. They were an attack fleet against the Endymion station, which is currently housing several non-combatants whom they had no business trying to blow up.

“Oh, right. Hi! I’m Midnight… uhm.. I mean I’m Twilight Sparkle, your neighbor. Can you please go rescue the idiots I just sent your way? I’m sure they’re all fine but confused. They may be a bit combative as well, so make sure you speak to them in Japanese, and assure them you are there at the request of the goddesses, and that they and you are now under our protection, and we will not tolerate any further, uh… Hostilities.

“That should do it. And if they do give you any grief feel free to leave them to the Martian sands and I will personally deal with them shortly. Thanks!”

The connection was cut as the line went dead.

“Oooookay! That’s got to be the craziest thing that has ever happened in my career. And I’m standing in a base on Mars,” commented the watch officer.

His second nodded in surprised assent.

“You heard our neighbour. Put together some armed teams. Let’s go rescue our guests,” he commanded.

“Well, that’s sorted,” said Midnight as she put Twilight’s phone back in her daypack. “I guess I should go sort out all our surprise guests. The one’s here first though. The ones on Mars are jerks and I don’t care if they have to wait awhile.”

She stopped by the vending machine to get another tea, replacing the one she had finished. Tea in hand, she headed off towards the first of the life signs her scan had found.

Coming to the first room full of life signs Midnight stopped, finishing off her tea then placing the cup in a nearby trash receptacle. Stepping up to the door of the room, she straightened up, folded her wings in, then smiled as she keyed open the door before her.

“Kon'nichiwa! Minasama ikaga osugoshideshou ka?” she called out happily as she stepped into the room.

“Who are you?” asked one of the men in Japanese, holding tightly to a trembling woman.

“I’m Midn… Twilight Sparkle, and I’ve come to take you to safety,” she answered almost flawlessly. “If you would all please come with me, we can gather your fellow compatriots in misfortune then get you all settled.”

She stepped back to the door, waving them along to follow.

“No need to be worried, we are completely safe and no longer in any danger of crashing to the ground. You are all completely safe and free from any danger. Come along!” she instructed.

She stepped out the door, spying the row of vending machines.

“I imagine you may be thirsty or hungry, or need to use the restrooms. Feel free to use the machines here and any facilities you need before we head out.

“We’re not in a rush, much. Just some other poor souls like yourself who need gathering. So go ahead!” she encouraged, pointing at the machines and the public toilets nearby.

Instructions given, she was walking back to the tea machine when she noticed a young girl desperately waving her hand at the end of the line.

“Yes, little one. What do you need?” Midnight asked.

“Uh… I can’t get anything to eat or drink. When all the stuff started falling my friends and I kind of freaked out, and… well… I dropped my purse. I have no credits, Id or anything,” the young girl explained.

“Anyone else need credits?” asked Midnight, still smiling as she looked up and down the line. A few others bashfully raised their hands.

“Come with me then. Anyone who wants can come with me and I will buy whatever treat or drink they choose, my treat. Come along!”

She took the hand of the girl who had asked the question, surprising the girl at first. Then she shrugged and smiled back at the eccentric goddess.

“You’re a bit wacky, but kinda cool,” she smiled over at Midnight.

“Uh, thanks? I think?” Midnight smiled. “Okay, here we are. I’m getting another green tea myself. Anyone else?”

The girl and the others made their selections. Midnight waved her Id over the unit's readers, her credits more than sufficient for whatever purchases were made.

Looking back at the line of people waiting for her help she noticed that now nearly everyone was in the line.

“Wow, looks like I found a woefully underprepared group,” she mused under her breath as she cheerfully continued to scan her Id over everyone’s selections.

A few minutes later, everyone’s arms and satchels full and drinks in hand, the bladders that needed it now emptied, they continued their march to the next set of misplaced souls.

The base extraction team, their sidearms unlocked and ready but left holstered for the moment, came up to the first of the space planes. As radio communications continued to be inert from the plane they were making contact the old fashioned way.

The group leader knocked politely on the crew access door, calling out loudly in Japanese.

“Hi neighbors! We saw you fall from the sky, and were sent by the goddesses who brought you here to save you from dying out in the desert. We don’t want any trouble, and we certainly don’t intend any trouble for you. But we would be extremely grateful if you would come with us so we could save your lives,” he called out.

There were the sounds of shuffling, then muted arguing with a few louder swear words thrown in. A few moments later a voice called out from behind the door.

“Are you the ones that brought us here? Are you the ones that stole Endymion station?” he called out.

“What? What happened to Endymion? What are you talking about?” asked the team leader.

“You don’t know? Where have you been!? Everyone on the planet knows what the fuck happened to Endymion by now! It was attacked and partially destroyed, then released to low orbit so it didn’t crash and destroy all of Tokyo and Academy City!” he yelled through the door in frustration.

“Well, we didn’t hear about it here. We’re not on Earth. This is Mars, and we’re from Olympus Mons station. We watched your birds auger into the Martian landscape then by the grace of the goddesses emerge intact. The goddess called us and requested we come out to help you,” he answered.

There was a sound, then the hatch opened with a JAXA pilot peering out warily at them gun in hand. Seeing them standing there with their guns still holstered and all wearing NASA suits, he opened the door the rest of the way, putting his gun away.

“So the suits convinced you?” asked the team lead with a smile.

“If they didn't, that certainly did,” said the pilot, pointing over their shoulders to the Martian desert. Olympus Mons rose majestically behind them. Laughing, he called out to the rest of his crew who joined their rescuers on the Martian sands.

“Well, no time like the present,” smirked the team leader. “Let’s go get the rest of your posse then head back to base so we can get out of these suits and share some stories over a few beers. I can’t wait to hear yours,” he laughed.

“I bet!” said the pilot jovially as he and his team followed them to the next of the downed space planes.

Midnight’s little collection of displaced souls had grown to over thirty, and surprisingly not even one of them had apparently brought any credits with them.

Unphased, Midnight purchased the snacks they desired, the happy souls stuffing their bags full of crisps, chips and other vending machine wares as they marched from room to room collecting Midnight’s displaced souls.

She said it again to herself, liking the way it rolled off her tongue. Displaced souls. It sounded almost poetic. Maybe she would try her hand at that too when she took a break from her studies of magic. Just for a brief change as she clearly had a knack for it.

Displaced souls. She smiled at the phrase.

The last of the space plane crews gathered, the ensemble headed back to the Olympus Mons base. The latter crews were markedly easier to convince as they were spoken to by their compatriots who assured them everything was fine and on the up and up.

They didn’t have to walk the entire distance back, as the base crew had commandeered several of the larger transports. Though there were too many of them to all ride in the transports, they took a page from the goddesses' trip. Using the lower Martian gravity to jump and pull themselves up to the top of the rovers, those that didn’t have seats inside took seats with their friends on the tops of their rides.

Everyone settled, they returned to the base, the external JAXA personnel and NASA crew going through the airlock first, then the rovers with their occupants took their turns.

Everyone doffed their suites, storing them on the provided racks, then as a horde descended on the base refectory. Ordering up meals and beers they took several tables and pushed them all together so they could sit and talk as a group.

Beers cracked and meals started, they laughed and shared their stories.

In the Lair, Sunset stirred, pushing herself upright in the bed. Looking around she saw she was in the triage room of their lair with the TitanFall staff tending to wounded all around her. Looking around for her wheelchair and seeing no signs of it, she groaned.

Stretching out she cracked her back, then angeled up, rising up next to her cot.

One of the nurses a few beds over looked up from her work.

“Feeling better, Ms Shimmer?” she asked pleasantly.

“Better than I was when I came in here. What happened?” she asked, levitating over to the bed by the nurse.

“Your partner, your fellow goddess Ms Sparkle, brought you in and asked us to tend to you. You were cut and scrapped up fairly badly, and mildly concussed and confused. She left to take care of her other responsibilities while we cleaned you up, got you hydrated, then let you rest. I must say it’s good to see you back to your normal self,” the nurse smiled.

“It’s nice to be back to my normal self,” grinned Sunset. “So, did my other half give any hints as to where she was headed?”

“She was muttering something about Endymion,” recalled the nurse.

“Thanks!” replied Sunset. With a grin, she flashed out with a pop of teal magic.

And appeared next to her BFF. Or more correctly her alternate self, as she could clearly see she was still Midnight, and now shepherding a flock of snack-laden followers.

“So, did you come across a herd of migratory snack gatherers wandering the abandoned station?” snarked Sunset. “Though actually, what are they all doing here? I thought the station was evacuated when they decided to cut the connection with Academy City and Earth?”

“Apparently they didn’t all make it off the station. These are the ones I found when I scanned for life signs. We are headed back to the terminus where I will contact Academy City and arrange for them to be returned,” explained Midnight smugly.

“And they just happened to be migrating back to the terminus with enough snacks to feed each of them for days?” asked Sunset in some confusion.

“They did not have any food or drink when I found them, and they all apparently lost their credits during the events,” Midnight informed her.

“And they told you that?” asked Sunset.

“They revealed that fact to me after I stated I would pay for anyone who had lost their credits. One of the younger girls had lost her purse and id in her flight to safety, so it seemed only fair to offer the same to any others who needed the help,” answered Midnight.

Sunset buried her face in her hand. Shaking, she threw back her head as she let out a belly laugh that echoed through the hallway they were in.

“Of course they did! Oh sweet maker, of course they did!” she roared, laughing so hard she nearly turned pink.

“Am I missing some joke or humorous situation?” asked Midnight guardedly.

“No! Not a bit. You are perfect just as you are, you are not missing anything,” promised Sunset as she caught her breath.

Putting an arm around her companion goddess she smiled. “No, all you are doing is once again reaffirming my faith in fundamental human nature. You rock! You did great. Thank you for taking such good care of this little horde of hoarders.”

“Horde of hoarders?” asked Midnight, looking back at her little band. They all looked sheepishly back at them as they followed the goddesses’ discussion.

Midnight scowled. “Thieves,” she hissed under her breath.

“Nope! No, not at all. Just humans. Opportunists. They had a chance to get something they wanted and at no cost to them. Something you and I can relate to, right?” smiled Sunset.

Midnight frowned but nodded. “That is true. I cannot really fault them for something I myself have done. Well said,” she acknowledged.

“See! No blood, no foul. It’s all fine. And you were awesome. Well done, Midnight,” Sunset smiled.

Midnight smiled back. “Thank you Sunset. I am happy to hear that.”

She turned scowling at the group behind them who once again shrank back in concern.

“And you, you are all... Stinkers. Yes, you’re all stinkers. You took advantage.” She stopped then smiled.

“That said, enjoy your snacks. We’ll be back to the terminus shortly where we can arrange for all of your safe returns. Follow me!”

She turned and resumed leading them towards the Terminus station, where the larger elevators used to stop letting off guests.

Once everyone was settled with their hordes of snacks and drinks, Sunset contacted NASA’s Mons Olympus base to find the fate of the luckless crews of the missing space planes.

“There were no issues retrieving them,” laughed the base commander. “Apparently they took one look at the landscape, saw Olympus Mons in the background and had no problems believing they had somehow landed on Mars. Though they said they had no idea what the team that fetched them were on about with Goddesses and that. They’d never heard of you and had no idea what they were talking about.”

“That makes sense. I mean seriously, if we weren’t neighbors would you know?” she laughed.

“Nope. We’d still think you were two brilliant up-and-coming scientists who made a really profound breakthrough. If I hadn’t seen the two of you in action, I would likely never have believed a word of it if anyone told me,” he admitted.

“And that’s good, because our identities are supposed to be a secret,” she hissed at Midnight, who shrugged, “so I’m very glad it’s hard to believe. And glad to hear there were no issues and everyone is alright. Hey, a favour to ask… If we brought thirty-six strays to you, do you think you could help them get back to their homes? You have the addressable TACIT units, so if you coordinate with JAXA you should be able to return our little lost sheep back to their homes.”

“Sure, but wouldn’t that be better coming from you?” the commander asked.

“Not really,” said Sunset. “I don’t want any blowback. We’re still students in their Academy City, and I’d like to keep it that way for as long as we can. So if you can arrange things that would be wonderful.”

“Sure, we’ll clear one of the large meeting rooms out for them to hang in while we set things up. When do you want to bring them over,” he asked.

“Soon. We just need a few minutes to sort some things out here then I can start bringing them over. I can come over alone first so you can show me the room then I can teleport them straight there. You can have whomever you want to liaison with them present so you can get them spun up to speed. Oh, they’re almost all Japanese, so you probably need someone fluent in that,” Sunset added.

“We can cover that,” he acknowledged. “Come on over when you’re ready. Just present yourself to the TACIT watch officer. She can introduce you to whoever is needed and make sure you find the room. I’ll call her now and let her know you’re on your way.”

“Thanks! I’ll be there in a bit. We appreciate the help,” she stated, hanging up.

“What was that?” asked Midnight, looking over telemetry data making certain they were still on course.

“I just called the NASA base on Mars. They can take our guests and help them back home, so I’m going to pop over and set that up, then ferry our guests over so they can head back home,” answered Sunset.

“Good, and when you get back, you can help peel our dear friend off the wall. She really didn’t deal well with the intense pain of being injured in battle, so I’ve had to keep her in a very deep dreamless sleep. It would be extremely helpful if you could be with her when we wake her and help her face what she experienced,” suggested Midnight.

“Of course,” agreed Sunset. “I’ll get them settled and be right back. Thank you Midnight.”

“It’s my pleasure. I must admit, I am almost enjoying this helping and friendship. There is much to learn of use there, it seems,” Midnight noted.

“There is indeed,” agreed Sunset. “Okay, back in a bit to get our guests.” She popped away in a flash of teal.

She appeared by the TACIT transceiver in the NASA Olympus Mons base. The watch officer looked up.

“Hello Ms. Shimmer, welcome back to Olympus Mons base. How can I help you?” she asked.

“I’m here to coordinate getting the thirty-six people stranded on Endymion back home. The commander said you would have a room they can stay in while that gets settled and a liaison fluent in Japanese who could work with them? I just need to see the room so I can start bringing them over and introduce them to the liaison,” replied Sunset.

“One moment, I’ll tell the liaison you are here. They can show you the room and help you get started,” she replied. She tapped her earpiece. “Miss Shimmer is here, and she is ready for you. Yes, she is waiting with me now. Okay, thanks.” She turned to Sunset. “She’ll be right out.”

“Thank you,” answered Sunset.

A young Asian woman skipped out of the hallway and up to them, bowing then holding out her hand. “Hi! My name is Anne! You’re Miss Shimmer, yes?”

“Hi, Anne! Yes, that’s me,” smiled Sunset, shaking the young girl's hand.

Holding tightly to Sunset’s hand, the young girl skipped back into the hall, Sunset grinning in tow.

“So, Anne, you seem rather enthusiastic. Have you been here long?” Sunset asked as she trailed along behind the girl like a balloon.

“Yup!” Anne answered, finally stopping before one of the rooms. “Here we are!”

She opened the doors and entered, pulling Sunset along behind her. “Here is the room you asked for,” Anne smiled. “And I speak fluent Japanese, I grew up there. So where are the guests?”

“Okay,” smiled Sunset. “I’ll go get them. You’ll need to keep an eye on this group. They raided all the concession machines on Endymion they could find. I wouldn’t want them to pick you clean too,” she warned.

“I’m sure they’ll be fine,” giggled Anne, bouncing on her toes as she laughed.

“Well, alright then!” Sunset agreed. “I’ll be right back with them and you can make your introductions. Back in a bit!” She teleported back out with a teal flash.

“Wow,” said Sunset when she returned. “I think I’ve just met the Japanese Pinkie Pie. Says her name is Anne. I wonder if that’s short for Dianne,” she laughed.

“Interesting,” smiled Midnight. “Okay, hurry back so we can take care of our mutual friend.”

“Will do,” nodded Sunset, heading off to gather her flock.

Several minutes later, flock gathered and placed under the care of their bubbly and enthusiastic charge, Sunset returned.

“Okay, let’s do this,” she said as she popped back in next to Midnight.

“Okay. Give me a moment, I will wake her and explain what is going on, then bring her out.” Midnight’s eyes rolled back, and a few moments later she dropped to the floor and curled up into a ball, weeping.

Sunset rushed over, pulling her girlfriend into her embrace.

“Twilight! Twilight, I’m here. It’s okay. You’re alright. Everything is alright,” she soothed.

“I’ve never been hated like that before,” sobbed Twilight. “Even when everyone was tormenting me at Crystal Prep, no one hated me so completely as that.”

“Yeah, it’s a lot to take in. It’s called Killing Intent. The first time it hits you it can be a lot to take. Deep breaths, Twi. I love you. Midnight is there for you. I am there for you. You’re okay. No one is killing you. You’re safe,” she comforted.

Twilight continued to cry into her girlfriend's shoulder.

“Twi, trust us. Trust me and trust Midnight. There is no way we will let anyone ever kill you. They may hurt you. They may cause you incredible pain. But it will pass. Midnight will protect you. And wherever I am I will come running.

“I love you, Twilight Sparkle. You are my shield, and I am your sword. We protect each other, we complete each other. We are a matched set, stronger together than we ever could be apart. And I will be with you forever on both sides of eternity.

“Twilight, I will never leave you. There may be times when I am absent, when I am not by your side. But I am in your heart, and you are in mine. And you know, no matter what, I am only a thought away.” Sunset comforted.

Twilight looked up in sadness. “You left Midnight. She was so frightened and angry. We almost died! She almost failed and we almost died. And you weren’t there,” Twilight accused through her sobs.

“I did leave Midnight, but I came right back. I saved Yona. She was about to be killed. But I didn’t leave you to die, and I didn’t leave you for long. I knew Midnight would survive. I knew she would be able to do what she had to, that she would protect you both and still be there when I returned.

“Yes, it was awful. She was overmatched. She was being beaten down. If I had left her alone you would have died. But I didn’t. And I never will. I will always return to your side, and always in time to save you if you need it. I will never lose you, Twilight Sparkle. I will never leave you and not return. I love you, and that is forever.

“I’m sorry you had to experience that hate, that level of malice. It’s called Killing Intent for a reason. It’s the pure unbridled hatred from someone who wants nothing more than your complete and total destruction, your death at their hands, no mercy, no care, no compassion. Cold, without remorse, ruthless, almost clinical, detached satisfaction at your agony and suffering, and eventual passing from this plane.

“It’s the most soul-crushing feeling anyone can ever experience, to be so completely cancelled as a person, as a being with worth, by someone’s killing intent. It’s the most intense hatred anyone can or will ever experience this side of hell.

“And you survived it. Know why? Because you always will. You know in your heart there are those who want you to live, who would do anything to keep you living, to keep you safe. Yourself and Midnight. Me. And many others too. I am sure both sets of our friends would agree as well and happily count themselves in that group. Twilight Sparkle, you are loved.

“So take heart, my love. Know that you cannot be beaten. You don’t stand alone. You will never have to. And you stand strong.

“And I will always love you.”

As Sunset held Twilight her breathing evened out, her tears drying. She wiped her eyes, looking up into her BFFs teal orbs. “I love you too, Sunset Shimmer. I will always love you.” She smiled.

Sunset leaned forward, gently kissing her best friend’s cheek. “Forever, Sparky,” she promised. Twilight smiled in joy, holding her tightly.

Author's Note

Endymion, the space elevator, has met her fate. But thanks to the efforts of a Guardian Goddess, she finds a new Destiny.

There is a new Fate for Endymion.

17 - Twilight - The New Player (Part 2)

Thursday, September 18, early a.m. Tokyo time.

Sunset smiled at her BFFs tear-stained face, brushing back the stray strands of her purple hair.

“So, Sparky,” she grinned. “Have you seen my darned wheelchair? I can’t recall for the life of me where I left it.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Way to kill a romantic moment, Rom-e-no.” She groaned.

“Wait, what? This is romance? I thought this was friendship and magic?” smirked Sunset.

“You, my dear, would not know romance if it bit your pretty flank,” snarked Twilight.

“And you, my dear, would?” retorted Sunset.

“Of course I would! I, unlike you, heathen, have read many books on the subject,” replied Twilight archly.

“And I, my dear bookworm, have had actual relationships, ones that went beyond friendship. Maybe you would like to know about that, hum?” grinned Sunset back.

“I certainly would. It would be very informative to know if my dear BFF was perhaps doing her relationships wrong. With my superior knowledge, I can critique your relationships and suggest ways you can improve,” grinned Twilight.

“I’m gonna go with no. But, I would be happy to teach you what I know, and you are certainly welcome to critique that,” said Sunset, kissing Twilight on the cheek again.

She blushed. “I think that will be acceptable. What kind of lessons will you be teaching me?” Twilight inquired.

“All of them,” grinned Sunset. “And I am a firm believer in experience being the best teacher.”

Twilight blushed and grinned, pulling Sunset in for a kiss. Sunset smiled.

A moment later, Twilight flinched and blushed. The planet beneath them began to quickly pull away, stopping when it was just a small round ball in the sky.

“Oh look! We’re here!” Twilight said as she pulled away blushing madly. She moved over to one of the consoles, taking measurements and confirming their orbit.

“Too fast?” snarked Sunset, now sitting alone on the floor.

“A bit, yeah,” blushed Twilight fiercely. “Gotta make sure everything is set for our guests. I’m sure Academy City would love to get back their station.”

“Should we give it back?” asked Sunset.

“Yes, we should,” nodded Twilight. “It will give them a legitimate presence in the inner system not chained to the bottom of a gravity well. I am sure they will make good use of it.”

“They’d better,” sighed Sunset. “With all the horse apples going on lately, I don’t trust them any further than I can throw them.”

“I think it will help cement relationships between them and the other space-faring countries if they don’t think we’ve left them on the back of their heels,” explained Twilight.

“I also think that as Midnight basically did this, we should let her present the base to them and leave ourselves out of it. Give her some positive reinforcement,” Twilight continued.

“If you say so,” agreed Sunset.

She looked around. “Ugh! Where did I leave that darn wheelchair?”

Midnight contacted Academy City informing them of the whereabouts of Endymion and their fifteen missing space planes and crews, as well as the thirty-six needing repatriation, now guests at the Olympus Mons base. Academy City was delighted to retake possession of the station and agreed to host a TACIT unit on the station. And they acknowledged that NASA had already contacted them regarding the station’s displaced. They were in the process of coordinating the gate schedules to allow the return of their guests.

Watching everything, Twilight mentally congratulated Midnight on handling things so proficiently. Midnight grinned in acknowledgement.

“The Academy director would like to meet with and thank you personally for making our station useful again, as well as apologize for the misunderstanding,” added the Academy officer.

Twilight mentally high-fived Midnight. Off camera, Sunset low-fived Midnight on her backside. Midnight grinned, smacking her hand away.

“I would love to make the Director’s acquaintance. I’m completely available at his discretion,” answered Midnight.

“You meant his convenience,” whispered Sunset.

“Too late to change it,” whispered Midnight back.

“Actually, the director would like to see you now,” replied the officer.

“I am yours then. Where should I meet you?” asked Midnight. Sunset low-fived her again.

“I will be at the Academy City TACIT terminus in thirty minutes. I will meet you there,” answered the officer.

“Very well, I will see you then,” smiled Midnight. Sunset low-fived her again.

“Agreed. Until then,” the officer responded, hanging up.

Sunset grabbed Midnight, pulling her into a hug. “Well done Midnight! You’ll get this friendship down yet!”

Midnight pushed back, extricating herself from Sunset’s grasp. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, shall we?” she said, stepping back from her.

“I understand friendship, at least, academically. I do see where it can be of value in certain cases. But your continued attempts to get me to blush or laugh or giggle are not going to work. I am not Twilight and am not fooled by such tomfoolery. And your attempts to influence my emotions physically will not work.”

Sunset goosed her, causing her to flinch. “You mean like that?” she asked smugly.

Midnight smacked her hand away, staring at her crossly. “I could burst you into flames for that,” she fumed.

“But you won’t,” smiled Sunset back at her.

“And why is that do you think?” growled Midnight.

“Because you love me. Because you are my friend. Because as much as I annoy you, as frustrating as I am, as I can be, you still want me around, you still want me, and you would miss me,” replied Sunset.

Sunset floated up to Midnight, holding her shoulders. “We are not so different. You are not so different. You don’t hold friendship in high regard. Been there. You don’t see much value in it. Been there too. But here I am. I now value both my friends and our friendships. And I value you too. Know why? You’re my friend. And know what else? I love you. Grok that, right? But from one ex-demon to another, and someone who has been where you are, I feel for and with you, and love you as you are and will be. I just love you.”

Midnight stared mutely at Sunset, her glare gone.

“When I saw what you were going through, when the magic of the elements and Equestira’s magics were first raging through you, I knew exactly how you were feeling. And I knew the loneliness behind it. I couldn’t let you destroy two worlds just to get what you wanted. But I also couldn’t let you destroy yourself.

“I knew what you needed. Not what you wanted, but what you needed. You needed me. You needed a friend. Your friend. And that’s me. You’re my friend.

“I would have happily died to save you. I didn’t have to, but I would have. I was not going to let you lose yourself to madness or eventual regret. And yes, you would have had regrets if you had succeeded. If you had lived. The threats to your life, if you had breached the realms, were very real.

“I love Twilight. And I love you.”

Midnight scowled. “You love Twilight. You only claim to love me because you love her.”

Sunset raised her hand brushing back Midnight’s hair, cupping her cheek.

“Who’s hand did I take when we closed all the tears between the realms?

“Who cried when I reached out to her, and who took my hand? Who held me and wept as I held her close. Whose back did I rub? Whose shoulder did my own tears fall on?

“Was that not you?”

Midnight’s lip quivered. “What do you want from me? Do you want me to disappear like your demon did? Do you want me to just fade away?”

Sunset’s continence changed. Her skin turned burnt red, her eyes wild and full, fangs hanging in her open smile. Her clawed hand gently stroked Midnight’s cheek.

“Do I look faded away to you, my love? Do I seem banished?” She teased.

“Then where have you been?” Challenged Midnight. “Locked away? Hidden from sight? Absorbed and digested like a sour fruit? Why do I only see you now? Why has no one seen you until now?”

“You have. You see me all the time,” the demon replied, pulling back and returning to her angelic form.

“I changed.

“Friendship changed me. Sunset changed me. I still desire power. But I’ve learned it’s not the most important thing, any more than magic or knowledge. Both of which, by the way, I also desire.

“The most important thing is my love for my family. My friends. The creation I live in.

“I love them. I love it. And that love changed me into this. No longer a demon, but a creature of love.

“You’re seeing me now.”

Midnight grew angry. “So what? She absorbed you? You’re just another pretty face she can put on? A mask, and nothing more?!

“Is that what you want for me? Do you want me to just become Twilight’s mask? The brave face she puts on when she gets scared!

“I refuse! I will not be absorbed and forgotten, a mask to be worn then discarded as seen fit! I will not disappear! I refuse to give up my existence!”

She stomped back, hands balled at her side, glaring angrily at Sunset.

“What in the seven hells are you on about?” Sunset shot back.

She continued. “What in the name of Tartarus made you think I am just a mask? I am me, always have been, always will be!

“Just because you don’t see me doesn’t mean I am not there. When I say Sunset and I are one, I don’t mean we are two faces on a doll, spinning our head to go from happy to sad. I am always there, and I am always me. And she is always there, and always her.

“We are not two souls. We are two minds, in accord and peace, in the being we share.

“I do not possess her any more than she possesses me. And yet we flow around and through each other’s thoughts, our dialogue not interrupting but complementing our shared experience of life.

“You won’t know which of us is dominant at any moment because we don’t need to change our countenance like a flag to establish dominance. We move back and forth, in a dance that has become both effortless and one of the better parts of our shared existence.

“So no. I did not disappear. I am not stuck in limbo somewhere.

“And I did not get absorbed like a sour fruit to be turned into putrid gas. I. Am. Here. All the time.

“And I love you. We love you. We are of one mind on that. Always and forever we will love you.

“Do you get that? Do you understand now?

“No one wants you to disappear. We love you!

“No one wants you to fade away, and only come out as a boogieman. We love you.

“I want for you what I have myself. I want you to know the joy I have felt existing in this way.

“I want you to know the true magic of friendship. One that doesn’t just change lives, it changes your entire existence. Midnight, I want you to be as happy as I am.

“Join me! Join us! Come live in this domain. You’ll never regret it.”

Hesitantly, Midnight held her hand out to Sunset. Sunset pulled Midnight into her embrace. A teal and magenta cloud of magic surrounded them, grew brighter, then in a flash dissipated.

They appeared unchanged, still angelic Sunset and Midnight, smiling at each other.

“Nope, sorry! I guess I just wasn’t ready,” grinned Midnight.

Sunset laughed, pulling her closer. She nuzzled Midnight’s head against her shoulder, then whispered into her ear.

“Sorry, but you can’t fool me. How does it feel?”

“Like everything I’ve ever dreamed and more,” sighed Midnight. “It’s amazing.”

“I know, right?” agreed Sunset happily. “I wouldn’t trade it for anything!”

“I know what you mean,” agreed Midnight grinning.

“So, ready to face the director?” smiled Sunset.

“Yeah, I’ve got this,” grinned Midnight.

“Want me to come and hold your hand?” teased Sunset.

“Maybe later,” snarked Midnight.

“Definitely,” agreed Sunset.

Midnight moved off, once again checking the station's telemetry to confirm their orbit. Sunset drifted behind her, watching her work.

“I still have no idea where my chair is,” she sighed.

“Where did you last leave it?” asked Midnight, looking up.

“The lair, I think. Wait…” mused Sunset. “I teleported out with it, going to see what was going on with Index and Toma. But I came out in a vacuum fully Angel’ed up, so… my teleport must have triggered my failsafe. That means my chair is… huh. I never set up a default for that. Ascend into danger, but I didn’t think of a default for where to send the chair. I would have assumed the lair, but it wasn’t there. Maybe the redoubt or our apartment perhaps? Heck, maybe even my bedroom back home.

“Ugh. I need to just put a tracker on the darn thing. So going to do that when I get it back,” groaned Sunset.

“Don’t worry. I’ll make you a fob for it,” smiled Midnight.

“Thanks,” replied Sunset. “Okay, guess I’d better start looking. When are you leaving?”

“She said half an hour. So I’ll leave in about twenty-five minutes. Don’t want to be too early,” responded Midnight.

“Okay, back in a bit then,” agreed Sunset, kissing her cheek. Midnight blushed.

Sunset disappeared in a teal flash.

She popped into her bedroom startling her mom.

“Sunset,” Celestia gasped, hand to her chest as she caught her breath. “Is that you?”

“Hi, Mom! In the flesh! Have you seen my wheelchair? I lost it when I teleported into space and I’m not sure where it teleported back to. So I am looking all over for it,” Sunset answered. She flew over and enfolded her surprised mom in a hug.

“No, haven’t seen it,” replied her still startled mom.

“Ah, there is so much going on. I can’t wait to tell you all about it. Got to run though, have to find that darn chair. Bye, Mom! Love you! Give Aunt Luna our love too, okay?” Sunset said.

Backing away, she smiled and waved, then popped away in a teal flash.

Celestia blinked. “Wow,” she said. “Well, that sure beats a letter.” She resumed straightening up the room.

Sunset appeared in their apartment, on her guard, leary from the last time when she learned the covens had found ways around their magical wards. Scanning quickly and seeing no sign of intrusion, she looked all over for her chair.

It wasn’t there and it didn’t look like anyone had been there after them, so she moved on. With a flash of teal, she disappeared.

She appeared in their redoubt. Reaching out with her senses, she searched for any intruders. Finding none, she started her search of the readout.

It was in shambles, still wrecked from the coven’s search before. She magicked up the broken and damaged items, placing them all into a trash sack then sweeping off the counters and tables then the floor, placing all the glass, dust and refuse into the bag as well.

Looking at the cracked displays she just shook her head. “That was just petty. Seriously?” Leaving them, she went into each room, cleaning them in turn. Going into their bedroom last, she saw her query hiding in the corner of the room by her side of the bed.

“There you are! You’ve given me quite a chase! Come to Mama!” she laughed, drifting over to it. Looking down, she amended.

“Okay, mama will be back. Got a little cleaning to do first.” She magicked up all the broken glass and damaged items from the floor, filling another trash bag. The monitor in their room was also shattered. She just shook her head.

Room cleaned, she settled down into her chair with a grin. “Ah, that’s better. Let’s go for a spin.”

Folding her wings, she wheeled out into the main room. A thought came to her, and she wheeled into the Farm.

Pulling open one of the hydroponics drawers, her suspicions were confirmed. All the plants were blighted, rotting away in the drawer. She checked the others, and all were blighted. Even the fish were rotting bones fouling the waters.

Growling, Sunset magicked all the blight into a trash bag, trying not to breathe as she held the bag away from her. Tying the bag shut, she then magically sanitized the entire unit, blessing and removing any blight or curses as well. Satisfied, she placed the unit on standby.

Checking the water and wastewater reservoirs she felt the blight placed on them as well. Frustrated, she magicked both reservoirs' contents into the space above their planet, the two liquid balls freezing quickly. She then magically sanitized and blessed both reservoirs.

“I’ll need to come back later and do a thorough cleaning, and find any other gifts those hags may have left. But time to get back to my Sparky.”

She teleported the bags of broken and cursed objects, trash and dust up to join the two now oversized ice balls, then teleported herself and her chair back to Endymion with a flash of teal.

She found Midnight sipping a tea, sitting by the station telemetry monitors. Midnight smiled as she saw her.

“So you found it! Where was it, after all that?” she asked.

“It was by my side of the bed in our bunker,” Sunset grinned. “Though I had to straighten the bunker a bit. Our uninvited guests made a mess of it. And apparently hexed everything in sight. I cleaned up a bit, but we really need to scrub and bless the place completely before we can use it again. I have no idea what other surprises they may have left that I missed.”

“At least you have your chair back,” agreed Midnight. “And we will make that fob for you. After I meet with the director.”

She checked the time. “And I need to be off. Watch over our station for me, will you?” She rose, stretching out her arms and wings.

Sunset nodded. “You got it. And if you need me, I can be there with a thought.”

“I’ve got this, but thank you. It brings me comfort to know you have my back,” Midnight smiled. With a flash of magenta, she disappeared.

“Go get ‘em, Midnight,” Sunset smiled.

Midnight appeared by the Academy City TACIT transceiver. Seeing no one there to greet her, she looked around, then drifted over to where a crew was working.

As she got closer she spied Director Dustice among them.

“Director Dustice,” Midnight called out. He looked up and smiled on seeing her.

“One moment Ms Sparkle! I’ll be right with you,” he waved. He returned to his discussion, getting a nod and a bow.

He returned the bow, turning and walking over to Midnight.

“Welcome back, Ms Sparkle. You look different. I like it,” he grinned, taking her hand. “How can I help you?”

“I feel different,” grinned Midnight. “Thanks for noticing.

“So, I’m supposed to meet with the director of Academy City and was supposed to meet my liaison by the TACIT transceiver. I may be a little bit early. Is there anywhere I can grab some tea while I wait?”

“Sure! Follow me, I’ll take you to the break room. We have tea and snacks there. I’m sure we can accommodate you,” Director Dustice offered, leading her towards one of the larger banks of rooms in the warehouse. Midnight followed, her hand in his.

Leading her into the breakroom he pointed out the tea and snack machines. Midnight quickly went to the tea machine, selected a green tea with honey and lemon, then waved her ID over the sensor.

Director Dustice went to the coffee machine, selected his drink, then joined her at one of the break room tables.

“So, Ms Sparkle, when is this liaison supposed to be joining us?” he enquired, sipping his coffee.

“Any minute now, actually,” Midnight informed him, sipping her tea. “I’m supposed to meet them by the TACIT unit.”

“We’ll head back out there when we finish our break. Don’t worry, they won’t leave without you,” the director laughed.

“I guess that’s true,” agreed Midnight. They sipped their drinks.

“So I’m guessing this has something to do with our missing Endymion station,” the director mused.

“Yes, that’s what it’s about. You don’t know anything about the nuclear attack on the station, do you?” asked Midnight casually.

“What! What nuclear attack was that?” the director asked, wiping off the coffee he spilt in his initial gasp.

“So you didn’t hear anything about the nuclear attack?” pressed Midnight.

“I authorized sending up a plane check on the station when we heard it was deviating from orbit. But nukes? Nope. Not a one,” answered the director.

“Well, the deviation was me. I was moving the station to a new orbit where it wasn’t at risk of coming down on my and everyone else's heads,” informed Midnight. “But before I even hardly started, a fleet of your space planes were on a direct burn towards me at their top velocity. I found that odd, and was waiting for any communications, but did not receive a single call. When they were within thirty klicks they let loose with two missiles each travelling at twice their speed towards the station.

“As there were over thirty souls still trapped on the station, I raised a shield over myself and them in case those were missiles meant to destroy us. And they were. Thirty nuclear explosions went off at close range and would have reduced the station to shrapnel and ended mine and thirty-six others' lives if I had not raised my shields.

“They were either extremely brave or misled, setting off nukes in space with them so close. The radiation from the spherical explosions could have given them acute radiation sickness, likely fatal, and the EMP pulse did fry every one of their electronics. The planes were rendered inoperable by the resulting EMP pulses.

I dropped all fifteen of them on the sands of Mars if you are looking for them. Their crews were rescued by the staff at NASA’s Olympus Mons base, and I believe were repatriated to you just recently.”

“That is true. We had an emergency override on the TACIT system to connect up with the NASA Mars base. A large crew of people came through and were escorted quickly out of the building before the TACIT system could be returned to its normal settings. It was all very hush-hush, and only the highest levels were read in. Which in this particular case did not include me,” replied the director.

“I thought as a director you were at the highest levels in Academy City,” mused Midnight.

“You would think. But there are some things that even I am not allowed to know about. Like turning a reconnaissance mission into a seek and destroy,” fumed the director. “Anyway, let’s get you out to meet your liaison. Wouldn’t want to keep them waiting now, would we?” He smirked.

Midnight laughed. “No, certainly not,” she agreed, sipping the last of her tea. “I would hate to keep them waiting after the concern they have shown. I guess I should probably head back out there.”

“I guess so,” agreed the director, finishing his coffee. He took both their cups, then rising, disposed of them. “Shall we?” he invited, holding out his hand.

“We shall indeed,” Midnight smiled, taking his hand. Together they left the break room and headed back out to the TACIT transceiver.

A very irate young woman was waiting for her.

“Are you Twilight Sparkle? The director does not like being made to wait. You were supposed to be here waiting for me!” she fumed.

“I was here, and when you weren’t, I went to get some tea. I’m here again now, and here you are,” returned Midnight. “All good.” She turned to Director Dustice. “Thank you for the tea, director, and for the interesting conversation. I’m sure you’ll be seeing more of me.” She bowed, then turned back to the irate young woman.

“Okay, I’m ready. Shall we?” she said, bowing and holding out her hand.

With a harumph, the woman took her hand. They disappeared with a pop.

And appeared inside a windowless room, surrounded by machines and computers.

“This way,” instructed the irate young woman, pulling her along. She came to a large set of double doors, opened them both and waved her in. “In there.”

“Are you not coming in?” asked Midnight.

The girl scowled. “Just get in there.”

Midnight glared at her.

“Please,” she added, clearly not meaning it.

Midnight frowned at her but entered the room. The girl roughly shut the doors behind her.

“Hello! Midnight Sparkle here, reporting as requested!” she called out.

“Over here,” replied a sexless voice. Turning, Midnight saw a long-haired person suspended upside down in a tank, their flowing long white hair covering most of their body, white bare feet emerging from the flowing mass at their top.

Midnight walked toward the person. “Director?” she asked.

“Yes, you’re in the right place. Come in, take a seat if you wish. We can have a little chat,” the voice continued.

Midnight walked in front of the tube. A chair had been placed there for her. The person in the tank stared at her, their gaze piercing. Bowing, Midnight took her seat facing the Director.

“I’m pleased to make your acquaintance, Director. I am Midnight Sparkle. I’m the more, ah.. Militant side of Twilight Sparkle,” Midnight greeted.

“Pleased to meet you, Ms Sparkle. I am Alistair Crawley, Director of Academy City. So, how have you liked our Academy?” the Director’s voice welcomed.

“I have quite enjoyed our scholarship at your institution. I have learned many things here that would have been hidden from me otherwise,” responded Midnight. “I intend to learn all I can in the course of my tenure here.”

“I certainly hope so,” replied the Director. “We feel quite fortunate to have you at our Academy.”

“I can assure you the feeling is quite mutual. My partner and I are quite happy to be here. It does seem however there are those who are less than pleased with our attendance.”

“Yes, that is certainly true, as you have found. I regret you were pulled into this mess, as that wasn’t our intent. But I will say I am happy to have you here with us despite that,” the Director apologized.

“We knew going in there would be those who opposed us. We came specifically to protect two of your students, though that list has become somewhat expanded of late,” Midnight chuckled. “In addition to a few of our fellow students, we seem to be on call protecting a few bases now, yours among them. It seems a guardian’s work is never done.”

“That does seem true. And yet where would we be without your and your fellow guardian’s efforts? Who knew there was a Guardian of the Moon?” replied the Director.

“No one was ever on the moon long enough to pique her interest. Casual interlopers, now returned to stay. And at that, now under her protection,” replied Midnight.

“And who do you protect then?” asked the Director.

“Our friends, of course,” replied Midnight. “And anyone in our combined realms that needs it, which by extension includes everyone off-world. Technically, Saturn, her moons, and all the outer planets and bodies are in my realm. Mars, and the inner planets, excluding Earth and its moon, are in my partner’s realm. The Moon of course is the realm of Chang’e. And the Earth is protected by the guardian unnamed.”

“Unnamed guardian? Sounds ominous. And if you will pardon my saying so, he or she is doing a horrid job,” replied the Director.

“If you met her, you would not think her ominous. And as for the job she is doing, it is assuredly the best course in the long run for all her children. She would not allow anything less.

“So you say. Moving on to the point of our meeting… I would very much like to know what you intend with our Endymion, which you have taken, my dear student,” replied the Director.

“Ah yes. That is the crux of the matter. I took your much-beleaguered station, and with the help of my partner moved it to a more secure location. One where we needn’t worry about it dropping on our heads eventually. It’s now in orbit around L5, intact despite your efforts otherwise,” answered Midnight. “I was less than thrilled to see a fleet of your planes racing up to destroy us and the station. Not even a call or a look to see what was going on. Just overwhelming destruction. There were thirty-six of your citizens still remaining there not counting myself, all stranded.”

“We did not know they were there. We thought the evacuation was complete. Regardless, we deemed any price payable to keep our technology from falling into others' hands,” replied the Director.

Midnight sighed. “That I can relate to, even if I cannot approve. I know the bitter cost of an enemy stealing your technology then using it against you. Still, why did you not reach out to confirm what was happening? And more to the point, why did you sacrifice the crews of fifteen of your planes? It was clear you did not have much care for their welfare or your planes, as the EMP slagged all their electronics, and if not for my shields the radiation from the blast would have left them ill for life, if not dead. Assuming they were rescued in time. You were going to rescue them, yes?”

“That’s quite a lot of cheek, dear student, to be asking your Director such questions,” noted the Director tersely.

“I am your student. And yes, I do have some cheek. But let’s not pretend I am not something else also, something otherwise. You invited me to come here to protect two students you find of value. I have happily agreed to this task, protecting them and others. And now, I have protected one of your most valuable assets, from you of all creatures, and am now handing it back to you, with its value substantially increased by my actions.

“You now have a base in Lunar orbit, not stuck at the bottom of a gravity well, giving you all you had thought you had lost when Endymion was close to crashing to the ground below.

“For the simple price of accepting one more of my TACIT units, you will become even more than what you hoped for. You will have a portal into space free from any gravity well. I am handing you a seat among the space-faring nations enviable by all.

“So no, not just a student. I am your student and grateful for that, but I am certainly more,” replied Midnight.

The person in the tube smiled. Laughter echoed from all around her.

“You do not disappoint, Ms Sparkle. I must say, I am quite looking forward to our continued interactions. Indeed, you are certainly more than a student,” the Director agreed.

“We will take your offer. Please coordinate with Director Dustice. He will happily provide you with everything you need. And thank you, Ms. Sparkle. I look forward to meeting you again,” said the Director.

“I as well, Director Crawley. Until then,” replied Midnight. Bowing, she disappeared in a flash of magenta.

The guide who had brought Midnight over stepped into the room, looking around.

“Is it over? Do I take her back now? Where did she go?” she asked, looking around.

“It appears she didn’t need your help to leave. She left moments ago,” replied the Director.

“Huh, I thought this building was warded against that,” she mused.

“As did I. It appears our wards are no match for Ms Sparkle. You’re free to leave, Ms Awaki,” said the Director.

The girl nodded, teleporting out.

The Director hung in his tube, smiling.

Midnight appeared next to the Academy City TACIT unit again, looking around for Director Dustice. Spying him once again with a work crew supervising the loading of several shipping containers, she approached him.

“Ms Sparkle! Welcome back! How did your meeting go?” he smiled, walking up to her.

“Swimmingly, Director. Congratulations on your new Space Station, located in orbit around L5. Are you ready to take custody of it?” smiled Midnight back.

“We certainly are. We are just preparing some initial supplies for the reclamation crew, and will be ready to be on our way,” the director answered.

“Excellent, and where will we be putting your second TACIT transceiver? They come in pairs, as you know. Want it located here next to the other two? Or at some other location?” Midnight asked.

“Here, at least for now. This is the most secure facility we have, so we will continue using it. Once the station becomes more of a hub, we may need to move the unit to a more accessible location,” Director Dustice replied. “For now, having it here, near all the stockpiled supplies we will need to refurbish the station will be more convenient.”

“Excellent. I need to go put your TACIT units together, then will be back with them as soon as they are completed. I’m looking forward to working with you, director,” smiled Midnight.

“As am I, Ms Sparkle. Though before you leave, would you terribly mind transporting our crew and some initial supplies to the base, so we can get started on refitting it for its new role? They are right over her, and almost ready to go,” requested the director.

“No problem, director,” Midnight laughed. “I’ll just go grab another tea while I wait.”

‘I’ll join you,” he replied, taking her hand and once again leading her to the break room.

Midnight laughed. “You know, director, you don’t need to lead me by the hand. I do recall where it is.”

The director smiled. “I know. There’s just something innocent about you. Makes me just want to protect you, to hold your hand and help you. Call it a father’s instinct.”

“I assure you, director, I am far from helpless. Do I look helpless to you?” she asked.

“Not in the least. And from what I have heard, no one would think you helpless. But the dad in me sees a young woman in need of help, and darned if I don’t want to help. Sorry if I offended you,” he replied.

“No offence taken. It’s kind of sweet. Thank you,” replied Midnight.

They reached the machines. Midnight selected her tea, and the director selected his coffee. Together they sat at one of the tables.

“Thank you again for saving our base. What you have done for us is quite appreciated, by me especially. You’ve given us quite a gem,” stated the director.

“Take care of it,” smiled Midnight. “I honestly can’t wait to see what you make of it. Do know though, there are those intent on destroying you. A target that rich will not go unnoticed. I’d advise doing everything you can to ward and shield against attacks, magical, psychic, and real.

“We have been offering emergency fobs to everyone stationed in our realms, to be used for their protection. I offer them to your crew as well, current and future. They protect the wearer from death in space. If any emergency is sensed, they will teleport you past your shields to one of our lairs for your protection. Our goal is your safety. They have already proven their worth on a number of occasions.

“I don’t have them ready, but we will craft them and distribute them to your crew, then get started on the TACIT units, delivering the transceiver here as you directed. That will likely take us late into the day, then using the completed TACIT units you can do whatever you need with your station. We just need to know of any staff number changes as we want every member of your staff to be covered. We don’t want any deaths on our watch.

“As you will technically be in a shared Lunar orbit, you will be under the protection of Chang’e. So if anything happens, it will be her lair you are teleported to. Though we will all take part in protecting you from any mishaps. We protect those who are ours,” Midnight finished.

“And I for one am quite grateful for that. And thank you,” responded the director.

A worker entered the room, catching the director's attention. He waved and nodded. The director nodded back, smiling.

“And it looks like your team is ready. Let’s make some introductions,” suggested the director. He rose.

Midnight sipped the last of her tea, rising with him. Together they dropped their cups in the trash on the way out of the breakroom. Following him, they crossed the warehouse to where the crew had been working loading the container. They were now finished, twelve of them standing before the shipping container wearing pressure suits. One of them, a young woman stepped forward.

“Justine. I trust everything is ready,” the director commented.

“Yes, director. We are all packed and ready to go. We are geared to service the external station signals array, which will be our first priority. Then we will focus on life support and provisioning, as well as sustainability. We have plenty to keep us busy before the TACIT unit arrives,” she assured.

“Ms Sparkle, I present to you Justine Crantz. She is one of our sustainability scientists, and the supervisor for the work crew we are sending with you. If you can transport them and their equipment to the Endymion station, we would be extremely appreciative,” the director informed.

“ No problem, director. I’ll start with the shipping container, then be back for the crew. One moment” replied Midnight.

She stepped over to the shipping container behind them, placing her hand on the unit. With a flash of magenta, she and it disappeared.

A moment later, she reappeared, walking over to take the hand of Ms Crantz. “You first, and another I think. Ready?” she asked, taking the gloved hand of Ms Crantz and one of her associates. They nodded, and with a flash of magenta, they disappeared.

Returning, she had four of them gather around, placing a hand on hers. Together they flashed away. She repeated this three more times until they were all on the Endymion station.

Standing in the central foyer of the station, where the space elevators used to debark their guests and loads, she turned to Ms Crantz.

“Do you require anything further from me? If not, I leave the station to you, and will start crafting your protection fobs and TACIT units,” she asked.

“No, we’re good. Thank you, Ms Sparkle,” replied the supervisor.

With a satisfied bow, Midnight teleported away in a flash of magenta.

And appeared back in their Martian Lair. A few moments later, Sunset teleported in beside her.

“Saw you leave them the station, so figured they were fine for now. How can I help, SparkyPlus?” Sunset asked.

“SparkyPlus? So what, should I start calling you SunnyPlus?” Midnight laughed.

“I guess? If you want? I just didn’t want to call you Sparky and offend you, like you had been digested like a bad fruit,” teased Sunset.

“Just call us Sparky. And I will call you Sunny. No need to make it weird” replied Midnight.

“Okay. You can call us Daydream if you want,” Sunset smiled, waggling her eyebrows.

Midnight lightly punched her arm. “Sunset it is. Daydream, you wish,” she laughed. “Okay, I will craft up the TACIT units, then if you can place our usual set of protection enchantments on the crystals and then deliver them to our friends, that would be great. After that, I will craft their protective fobs. And a fob for your chair; no, I didn’t forget,” she laughed.

“Okay,” replied Sunset. She helped gather the necessary materials as Midnight crafted the units.

“So,” asked Sunset. “Are you going to let Twilight drive? Or even out?”

“Who says I haven’t? And who do you think is doing all this crafting?” replied Midnight, not looking up from her work.

“Oh. But you still look like Midnight,” Sunset replied.

“We like the look,” answered Midnight with a smirk.

“Of course you do,” smirked Sunset back. “Well truth be told, I’m kinda fond of it too!” She goosed Midnight again, causing her to look up from her work.

“Smite, Sunny. I will smite,” she laughed, returning to her work.

“Way to steal my best lines,” laughed Sunset back, smacking her flank lightly.

Midnight brushed her hand away, not looking up from her work. “Why don’t you go grab thirty fob sets, so I can get started on those? I’m almost finished here, despite your distractions.”

Sunset grinned, smacking her flank one more time as she passed, getting a thack on the head as she passed in exchange. She gathered the fob pairs, placing them in a box and bringing them back to Midnight.

Finished, Midnight took them from her, placing the necessary enchantments on them as Sunset teleported away with the Endymion station unit in a flash of teal.

She appeared in the foyer with the unit, two still-suited technicians removing more equipment from the shipping container.

“Hello!” Sunset called out. “I’m here with the TACIT unit. Where should I set it up?” she asked.

One of the suited figures walked over. She bowed.

“Hi, Ms Shimmer. I am Justine Crantz, operations supervisor. I’ll be happy to help you with those. Can we place them by the space elevators?” She introduced herself.

“Sure. Do you have hookups? Usually, these units power the bases they are on with power sent from the base unit. Do you have hookups that can support that? Also, they need fiber tie-ins to your internal network for network and communications between the units, unless you prefer the second plus delay in your communications,” Sunset asked.

“Sure, we can accommodate that. And likely we will use both, though the external array will mostly be a backup. Here, I will show you where the tie-ins for both are,” replied the supervisor, leading her over to the bank of elevators.

Sunset rolled after her, the TACIT unit following surrounded in a teal glow. Pointing out the power and network connections, Sunset set the TACIT unit down, securing it to the floor. Rising up from her chair, she made the connections for the power and network.

“If you don’t mind me asking, why do you use the chair?” asked the supervisor as she watched her work.

“I’m paralyzed from the chest down. And sure, I could levitate around all the time, but who wants to be a meat puppet all the time,” Sunset answered as she worked.

That got a laugh from the young woman. “Fair point, and my apologies if that was insensitive,” she smiled.

Finished, Sunset rose, heading over to the unit where she rechecked her connections. “No offence taken. I do get asked that fairly often,” she admitted.

“Okay, unit secured, and ready for operation. Now I’ll go set up the other side, and you can all go back to the breakroom for lunch,” grinned Sunset. “Back in a bit.”

She settled into her chair, then flashed away in a burst of teal magic.

She appeared back beside Midnight, finishing up yet another tea.

“You know, if you drink too many of those, you will blow out your kidneys,” Sunset teased.

“That’s an old wives tale,” laughed Midnight. “So, heading down with the TACIT base?”

“Yup,” smiled Sunset, giving her a kiss on the cheek in passing. “See you back here when I’m done.”

“Sure thing, Sunny. I’ll drop off the protection fobs to get the operations crew covered, then see you back here,” agreed Midnight.

Sunset rolled over to the TACIT base unit. Placing a hand on it, she and it disappeared in a flash of tea.

Midnight rose, taking the box of fobs, the tethered portion of each paired fob already safely secured in the lair system racks. With a flash of magenta, she disappeared.

Midnight found the operations supervisor, handing off the fobs to her with instructions. She called her crew together and they all donned the fob necklaces.

Satisfied, Midnight teleported back to their lair.

The supervisor turned back to her work, only to find a beautiful NASA scientist standing beside her. She started in surprise.

“Oh! Hey! Uh… hi. When did you get here?” she asked in surprise.

“Oh, I’ve only just arrived, I had to check in on my new neighbours,” she smiled. “Ah, forgive me, where are my manners? I am Dr Heng’e, a member of the Lunar Tranquility base. And who might you be?” She smiled, bowing.

“I’m Justine Crantz, operations supervisor for Endymion station. Ah, if you don’t mind, how did you get here? Is the TACIT working already?” she introduced herself and asked.

Dr Hang’e laughed. “No dear, not yet. Though if I know my fellow goddesses, it will be soon enough. I do not need a TACIT to visit anyone in my realm.”

“Goddesses? Realm?” asked the supervisor in confusion. She started, her eyes going wide. “You’re the guardian, aren’t you? You’re the goddess Chang’e!”

She bowed low, dropping to her knees. “I am so sorry! I did not recognize you!” She apologized.

Scowling, Chang’e crouched down, holding her face in her hand and raising her gaze to meet hers.

“My dear Ms Crantz. I am your guardian, not your tyrant. There will be none of that on my watch. Bow and scrape to your gods, but not me. And worship your maker. I’ll have none of that,” she gently scolded. Smiling, she took the woman’s hand, lifting her back to her feet.

“Much better,” she smiled. “I am pleased to make your acquaintance, Ms Crantz. Shall we tour your station? Perhaps you can show me the sites.”

Calling over one of her crew, she left her to finish unpacking as she showed the goddess the station.

Sunset popped into the warehouse with a flash of teal magic, the TACIT base unit still in tow behind her surrounded by a teal glow. She rolled up to the director.

“Director Dustice? I’m here with your new TACIT Endymion unit. Ready to get it set up?” she asked.

“You bet! Let’s get you set up,” he replied, leading her over to a prepared connector block next to their existing TACIT units. “Right here, next to the Lunar and Pallas units.”

Sunset set to work, lowering the unit onto the prepared block then quickly connecting the power and network connections. A technician secured the unit to the block while she worked.

Finished, she moved back to her seat. “Shall we try it out?” Sunset asked, smiling at the director.

“We shall!” he smiled back, taking her hand. Together they wheeled and walked into the unit, the director helping guide her chair into the chamber. With a flash of magenta, they disappeared, appearing in the Endymion unit.

The director rolled them out, seeing only the technician unpacking the container. He called out to her.

“Hey, have you seen Justine?” he asked.

“She just left. Some goddess just showed up, so she was giving her a tour,” the technician answered, returning to her work.

“Chang’e is here! Awesome! Let’s go find her,” said Sunset. Taking the director's hand, they disappeared in a flash of teal.

Appearing beside Chang’e and Ms Crantz. “Hi, Chang’e!” Sunset called out, rolling over to her friend and giving her a huge hug.

“Hi, Sunset! What are you doing here?” asked Chang’e, returning her hug happily.

“I just finished setting up the TACIT base, so we tested it out. And when I heard you were here, I couldn’t pass up the chance to say hi!” Sunset answered, grinning.

“So, care to join us on our tour?” asked Chang’e.

“You bet!” agreed Sunset. The director smiled and nodded.

Together they completed their tour of Endymion station.

Sunset flashed in next to Twilight in their lair.

“Twilight?” said Sunset, surprised.

“Who were you expecting?” grinned Twilight.

“Midnight,” replied Sunset. “She seemed to indicate it was your new look.”

“Only when we are ascended. Otherwise, it’s just me. Not disappointed, are you?” asked Twilight, smirking.

“Not in the least,” grinned Sunset back, pulling Twilight into her lap. “Had enough fun for the day?” she asked.

"One second, don't want to forget this," Twilight said, getting back up. Squatting down, she secured a tracking fob to the frame of Sunset's chair. "There! Now that's done. Can't lose your chair again with a tracking fob." She smiled, sitting back down in BFF's lap.

“I’m bushed. What say we head back to the apartment and get some sleep,” suggested Twilight, fighting a yawn.

“Don’t do that! Ugh, now you... Uhh…” Sunset ended up yawning herself, causing Twilight to lose her own fight.

Still yawning, they disappeared in a flash of teal.

Appearing in their apartment. Sunset wheeled them into the bathroom where they proceeded to get ready for bed. Twilight ran quickly into their room, fetching Sunset’s bathroom bag as she transferred.

“Thanks, Sparky! You’re a lifesaver,” replied Sunset.

“Need any help?” asked Twilight.

“Nope, I got this. Will meet you in bed,” Sunset answered.

“Okay!” said Twilight. She stripped off her school uniform, panties and bra and jumped into the shower.

“Ah… that feels good. Nothing like a relaxing shower at the end of a long day,” Twilight sighed.

Finished with her tasks, Sunset transferred back over to her chair. Undressing, she rolled over to the shower.

“You so talked me into it, Sparky. Room for one more?” she asked, smiling.

“For you? Always!” Twilight laughed, opening the shower door. Stepping out, she lifted her friend into her arms, then stepped back into the shower and soaked under the water.

“Uh, Sparky? You’re supposed to put me on the shower bench, silly,” reminded her friend, nuzzled up against her cheek.

“Oh, silly me,” smiled Twilight. She sat on the seat, still holding her friend.

Sunset snuggled into her friend. “You’re such a dork,” she laughed.

“Takes one to know one,” Twilight laughed back, holding her friend close as they enjoyed the warm water washing over them. They closed their eyes, leaning into each other as they basked in the warmth.

A while later, dressed and ready for bed, they snuggled up under the covers, watching the stars over the city through the picture window as they fell asleep.

Author's Note

Endymion has a new home, and a new future as Endymion station, gateway to the solar system and beyond.

These girls could use a break. :rainbowlaugh:

01 - Sunset - The Bloody Goddess

Author's Note

The scene I’m setting here is Sunset coming to grips with who she is as the Maker’s Hand. She just took a life in the defense of one of her own, her beloved best friend. She’s starting to understand she’s not going to get to be the bubblegum redemption princess she hoped to be. Not every problem she will face as the Hand will be solved with Rainbow Lasers and friendship. Being who she is, that won’t stop her from trying. But she has to face the simple fact that to be who her Maker needs her to be, she has to be not just the gentle caress of loving friendship but the armored fist of righteous power. She has to be not just Princess Sunset Shimmer, but the goddess of War, Mars Ascendant. That journey for her is not going to be a one-act play. No one and done here folks. And her dear friend, her heart-mate Twilight, will be by her side.

01 - Sunset - The Bloody Goddess

Act 3 - Twilight Sparkle, Saturn Ascendant
Sunday, September 7, 11:48 PM Tokyo time.

Sunset held tightly to Twilight, tears still falling. Her best friend, her soul mate. They had tried to take her life. They had come into her home under a false flag, as allies. Then without warning or hesitation, they tried to lash out with lethal intent.

Worse than that, thought Sunset, staring at the ritual blade where it lay fallen on the floor beside them. They had used magic, Dark Magic, intending to slay her partner, and likely far worse, using the ritual blade that lay by her side.

She reached over to pick it up.

“Hold on Sunny! Are you sure it’s safe to touch?” asked Twilight in concern. She looked into Sunset’s eyes, tears of her own still falling, hurting not just in shock over what just happened, but in grief for Sunset’s pain and sorrow.

Sunset, seeing her best friend so deeply wounded by what she had done, seeing the love and concern so deeply felt in her friend's eyes, was moved with compassion. She pulled her hand back.

Sunset replied. “No. I’m not sure. But we need to know who did this. And to know who, I think we need to understand how, and why. We need to study what they left behind.” Sunset explained, more to herself than her friend, trying to organize her thoughts and feelings. She was slowly coming down from the shocked panic of seeing the blade drawn, lunging towards her BFF’s heart. In a frenzied, panicked rage she had reacted, correctly, and lashed out with her magic, banishing the threat to the furthest, most deadly thing she could imagine in that moment. The lethal sands of her realm, the cold, dry, deadly sands of Mars. With a shout. With an act of will, her magic had responded, and the threat to her beloved was gone. Removed. Parsecs away, a life was ended. If not directly by her hands, then certainly by her will.

Sunset couldn’t bring herself to feel any remorse for the girl she had slain. She knew she would, in time. She knew the shock and rage still coursing through her veins held her regrets away. But the regrets, and remorse would come. She was also certain if her friends were ever endangered, she would do it again, anytime, anyplace. She embraced her calling. She was the Maker’s Hand. She was the strong and gentle grasp of friendship, the open hand of greeting and invitation. And she was the strong armored hand of vengeance to those who opposed the Maker’s Will with lethal intent.

Intellectually she had realized that. Internally she even accepted it, without dwelling on or internalizing what it actually meant. She had given it a nod and filled it away to be dealt with later, if ever. Now, her destiny was right up in her face, in the shape of the ritual blade laying on her living room floor. It was a cruelly shaped and purposed reminder of the life she had taken, the soul she had sent on its final journey. She knew it was not destined for the storied, blissful plains of Elysium. No, in the assassin’s final moments, she had seen the lethal intent in her eyes. They were not the eyes of a soul seeped in goodwill, full of peace. The assassin's eyes were filled with hate, with loathing, and a deep willful desire to hurt, to maim, to rend. To end the life of her friend, and likely herself after that.

No. She couldn't pretend she had sent that soul on a peaceful journey. And in that moment, and this one, and likely every moment for quite a while, she found she didn’t and couldn’t care. She had done what was needed. She had done what was just. She had acted with no regrets or hesitation. She now knew she was capable of killing without regrets. A part of her worried over that. Another part rejoiced. She was capable of doing what was needed, of being the defender of all who were given over to her care.

The shock of the event still numbed all but the feelings of rage. Rage alone was fully felt. Her other feelings would return, she was certain of it. She knew they were buried under her anger and rage. And when they did return, she would have to deal with the conflicting thoughts and the conflicting feelings. But not now.

“Okay.” Mind made up, Sunset took a slow deep breath. She smiled at her friend and embraced her.

“I love you Sparky,” she breathed into her hair, eyes shut tight in gratitude. “Thank you, for everything! You’re my North Star. You keep me safe. You guide me. Thank you…” She gently breathed the fragrance of her friend in gratitude.

Twilight held her tightly. “Thank you for saving me, Sunny. Again. My life and heart are yours. I love you.” Twilight smiled, holding tightly to her friend in gratitude, tears of relief and joy still falling down her cheeks.

“I love you too, Sparky. More than life itself I love you. I don’t ever want to leave you. I don’t ever want to lose you! Forever, Sparky! I’m yours, forever,” Sunset smiled, holding tightly to her friend.

Smiling, Twilight nodded. “Forever, Sunny. I’m yours forever too.”

The door to the apartment opened, and the concierge entered. She found Sunset and Twilight still clutched tightly to each other smiling, tears coursing gently down their cheeks.

Taking the scene in, the concierge immediately took out her phone and reported what she was seeing.

“We’re okay. Twilight’s okay,” Sunset called out to the concierge. Her mood immediately darkened as she growled, “But the one who did this will never be okay again.” Taking a deep breath, she continued. “We need your help. We need to find out who did this and bring down judgment on them. We need to track them down.”

Sunset bent down to examine the ceremonial blade. She could see runes engraved around the blade. “Have any of you ever seen anything like this?” She asked Twilight.

“Hold on,” Twilight responded. The blade was surrounded in a magenta glow and gently lifted to the dining room table. Twilight took out her cell phone and snapped a picture of the blade, then started cross referencing the runes. A minute later, she used her telekinesis to flip the blade on the table and took another picture, cross referencing the runes on the back of the blade. Minutes later she had what she was looking for.

“Okay,” she reported. “It’s a spell poem.

Life bound, unbound

Soul bound, unbound

Severed, bound eternal

Torment unending Pain eternal

“I think it’s supposed to sever a person’s life force and soul, then bind their soul to eternal suffering in hell,” she summarized, then gulped as the reality of what could have happened hit her.

Sunset’s eyes bulged. “Son of a … Now I’m really glad I sent that murdering bitch to die.”

Twilight turned to her friend in concern. “That’s just the hurt talking, Sunset. I know you better than that.”

Sunset looked at Twilight, tears in her eyes.

“Twilight, they didn’t just try to kill you. They were trying to send you to hell. Eternal hell. I want mercy for everyone, but someone so viciously merciless? Someone that evil? I’m pretty sure any mercy I may have felt for them is long lost.” She shook her head. “No, I won't shed a tear for them. They made their choice. And I’ll happily live with my response. What I can’t live without is my friend. Twilight, I can’t live without you!” Reaching out to Twilight, she pulled her into a tight hug.

“I understand,” Twilight said. She cupped Sunset’s face in her hands. “Sunset, I feel the same way about you. I would do anything to protect you! And, I never want to be apart from you.”

Pressing her head to Sunset’s, Twilight smiled. “If you are the Maker’s Hand, then I am your shield. I am your sword. I am your protector as you work her will.” A Teal glow briefly enveloped the two girls, then faded.

“What was that?” asked Sunset, stunned.

Twilight smiled. “I think the Maker just blessed my oath. I think you and I are oathbound.”

Twilight wrapped the blade back in a magenta glow. “I think we’ve gotten all we can from this for the night, and frankly I’m sick of seeing it. I’m going to keep it somewhere safe until we can examine it further.” A dark portal opened up over the table, and with a flick of her telekinesis, the blade disappeared into the portal. It closed, disappearing.

“Thanks! I was sick of seeing it too,” sighed Sunset.

Twilight took Sunset’s hand. “Sunset, I need, no… we need some help. I’m going to get the Princess. She might have some better ideas about this, and she can help us sort this dark magic out. We’re out of our league here, we need her help.”

“No! I don’t want you leaving. I’m not letting you out of my sight,” stated Sunset, gripping Twilight’s hand tightly.

“Then we can go together,” said Twilight. “But we need her help.” Letting go of Sunset, she ran into their bedroom, then returned a minute later. “She’s waiting for us at the portal. Let’s go.” Twilight turned to the concierge. “We’re going to get some help from a friend. We’ll be back later tonight, but if you need us for anything, we both have our phones.”

Still holding Sunset’s hand, they both disappeared in a magenta flash.

They appeared before the TACIT unit in Twilight’s garage lab. “One more hop, babe,” said Twilight, still holding her hand. They disappeared in a magenta flash again, to appear before the portal at CHS, where Princess Twilight was waiting for them.

She pulled them both into a hug. “I am so sorry to hear what happened. I’ll do anything I can to help,” the princess said, holding them both tightly. “Do you still have the artifact?”

“It’s in my hammerspace,” assured Twilight.

“Okay, that will work. Let’s get back to the castle and my lab. We can examine it there then see if we can piece some of this together. Are you ready?” the princess asked.

Sunset held both their hands, looking resolute. “I am. Let’s do this,” she agreed. Twilight squeezed her hand and nodded.

“Okay, let’s go then,” said the princess, pulling them both with her towards the statue’s base. Side by side the two Twilight’s entered the portal, still holding Sunset’s hands as she was pulled into the portal after them. With a kaleidoscope whirl they spiraled through the portal emerging as their pony selves on the other side. The princess stuck her landing, Twilight stopping by her side making only the slightest of stumbles.

“Ahhh!” came the shout from behind them as Sunset was ejected from the portal, chair and all, only to flip as she came to a sudden stop colliding with both their backsides.

“Ouch,” laughed the princess, helping her counterpart up. Sunset looked up from the floor dazed as she was lifted in a magenta glow and gently back into her chair after it was tipped back upright.

“Uh, thanks?” said Sunset, still looking a bit flustered. “Sorry about that!” They all laughed.

The princess led them over to her workbench. “Go ahead and set up. I’ll ask Spike to get us some snacks. We’ll need the energy,” she smiled, heading to the doorway. Leaning out, she called out to Spike. “Hey Spike, they’re here! Can you grab us some tea and snacks?”

“On it!” Spike called back as the princess rejoined them. Twilight had already placed the ceremonial knife out on the workbench.

“Oh wow, I can feel the malice radiating from that,” noted Princess Twilight. “And you said you translated the ruins already, right?”

“Yes,” answered Twilight. “The spell says

Life bound, unbound

Soul bound, unbound

Severed, bound eternal

Torment unending Pain eternal

“We think it severs a person’s life force and soul binding them to hell in eternal torment,” she summarized

“Wow! That’s dark. Who in the world would make something like this?” wondered Princess Twilight aloud as she examined the blade with her magic. “Okay, this feels weird. The magic radiating from this blade feels off, similar to how your psychic powers felt when you were using them. Something isn’t adding up here.”

“How’s that?” asked Sunset, watching her examine the blade.

Princess Twilight mused for a moment. “I have a theory, but it needs some testing to confirm. Are you up for it? Or is this a bad time for distractions?”

“Honestly, after what happened, I could use a distraction,” admitted Sunset.

“I just want to find out who is behind wanting us both dead. We know it’s the cabals, but what do they hope to gain from it? Why are they doing this?” agreed Twilight.

“Then let’s try to find out,” acknowledged Princess Twilight.

Several hours later they were still seated around the workbench, notes now scattered over the surface, teacups and cake plates cleared to the side while they poured over their findings.

Sunset scratched her head. “So let me get this straight. The malice we’re feeling radiating from this blade is a form of Sympathetic Magic? And that’s different from Harmonic Magic? And we can use both?”

“That’s what I am seeing here, yes,” agreed Princess Twilight.

“And can anyone use both?” Twilight asked.

“Anypony, er. Anyone can, yes,” agreed Princess Twilight. “But, from studying your psychic magic, it’s clear there are two different types of sympathetic magic. And they are incompatible with each other. If your body was tuned to one, it would have difficulty using the other.”

“Difficulty? What does that mean, just it would be hard?” asked Sunset.

“More like, nearly impossible. Or, even if possible, it would likely kill you,” replied the princess.

“What?” gasped Twilight. “Using magic could kill you? How does that even happen?”

“Harmonic Magic gathers its power from the relationships between all things, or the energy created by our feelings about them. We gather that energy into ourselves then use it to cast our magic. We can exhaust our mana reserves, but it doesn’t take away anything from ourselves. Though with Dark Harmonic magic, drawing from our dark feelings like anger or hate can bend our minds, eventually permanently.

“What I am measuring from this blade is a form of Sympathetic Magic. It differs from Harmonic magic by its source. While Harmonic magic is power from the relationship between things, Sympathetic magic is powered by the essence of the thing itself. That means, as a caster of Sympathetic magic, the cast pulls its power directly from the caster. For normal sympathetic casting, the pulled energy comes directly from the life force, essentially the soul, of the caster.

“But for your psychic magic it’s powered indirectly. The energy is pulled from what you said is called your Personal Reality, lending it an imaginary component. The advantage to that is substantial, as you are no longer limited by the power of your or another's soul. The imaginary component allows you to factor up limited by only the power of your imagination and intellect.

“But the energies are incompatible. If you were a habitual caster of normal Sympathetic magic you would have an extremely difficult time creating your own Personal Reality, and refining your magical pathways to handle the imaginary component of the mana. But that’s not the worst part.

“The imaginary component of Sympathetic magic is not renormalizable with normal Sympathetic magic. The unbounded infinities of their interactions would produce anti-energies that would tear you apart. Trying to use normal Sympathetic magic in a body tuned for imaginary Sympathetic magic would literally destroy your body from the inside out. It would kill or at the very least cripple you.”

Sunset blanched, then nodded. “Yeah, bad idea, got it. But we can use imaginary Sympathetic magic with Harmonic magic with no issues, right?”

“As you have shown, clearly true,” agreed the princess. “Harmonic magic does not resonate with Sympathetic magic, so there’s no interaction between it and the imaginary component of the Sympathetic magic. You would be completely safe.”

“That’s a relief. I really don’t want to have to give up half our arsenal,” nodded Sunset.

Twilight nodded as well. “So technically, a Harmonic magic user could use normal Sympathetic magic too, right?” she asked.

The princess nodded, but held a hoof up in caution. “You could, but what would be the point? You’re limited to burning up your life force or stealing the life force of others. That in itself is not harmonically neutral, and would diminish your ability to cast Harmonically. Using the imaginary component is harmonically neutral as neither your’s nor another's life force is actually used or destroyed.”

Twilight nodded, understanding. “It makes sense, no point in shooting ourselves in the foot. Psychic Sympathetic magic only then, got it.”

“So what does that tell us about this blade?” asked Sunset, pulling them back to the task at hand. “How does that tell us anything about who’s behind this?”

Princess Twilight answered. “Right off, it tells us this blade is a magical artifact from the Human Realm. It’s crafted and seeped in the Sympathetic magic of the Human Realm. I suspect it’s an older artifact, if only because someone was crafting an artifact now, after Academy City has advanced the science of Psychic magic with its intrinsic power advantage of imaginary sympathetic magic, the artifact would likely have been crafted to use that.”

“So, artifacts can be made for psychic magic?” asked Sunset.

“Of course!” replied Princess Twilight. “Once the magic has been codified, runes can be developed for it, encapsulating the magical matrices involved, and once etched into an artifact and properly enchanted, or to use the scientific term, activated, it would function like any other enchanted artifact, as long as the activators Personal Reality remained available to power it.”

“And that’s likely why there are so few if any psychic artifacts around. They depend on the casters Personal Reality,” mused Sunset.

“Not exactly,” clarified the princess. “If the runes were crafted properly, any sufficiently similar personal reality could activate the spell. In essence, it would work anywhere someone believed in it.”

“Wow! Like a holy relic or something,” noted Twilight. “That explains so much.”

“Exactly,” noted the princess.

Sunset nodded. “Wow, so there may be tons of psychic artifacts out there that we just don’t know about. That’s a lot to take in.” She shook her head. “And we’re getting off track, again. So, likely an older artifact that is powered by apparently pathological levels of hatred. That still leaves the questions of who made this and why is it binding souls to eternal torment? What’s the point?”

“If I had to guess,” Twilight noted, “I would say it was crafted for exactly what it looks like. It’s a sacrificial blade. It ‘s made to issue payments to hell for something that was promised, just like in the stories of the elder times.”

“Payment to who?” asked Sunset.

“Well, according to ancient mythology, the lord of Hell is the old god Beelzabub,” answered Twilight. “So, I believe payment to the lord of the elder gods.”

“And what does he get from this, aside from souls to torment?” asked Sunset in confusion.

“Power,” answered the princess. “Souls, especially in deep emotion like passionate torment, give the old gods power… Sympathetic magical power.”

Sunset and Twilight returned through the portal shortly afterwards, thanking Princess Twilight for her help.

Returning to their apartment they found the apartment cleaned, with a note from the concierge, informing them that the police had come, documented everything, took the concierge's statement, then authorized her to clean up when they finished. The police requested Sunset and Twilight arrange a meeting with them so they could get their complete statements on the attack.

“I’m too tired to deal with this now,” yawned Twilight. “It’s just too much for one day.” She went into the bathroom and got ready for bed. Sunset wheeled in after her.

“We can deal with it tomorrow,” she agreed as she performed her ablutions then dressed for bed.

Sunset transferred into bed, snuggling up with Twilight, who turned off the lights. They left the window clear, looking out over the city lights. “Good night Sunny,” Twilight whispered, shutting her eyes and holding tightly to her BFF as they drifted off to sleep.

05 - Sunset - The Goddess of the Hunt (Day 2)

Thursday, September 11, 8:00 AM Tokyo time.

They woke early the next morning to Twilight’s alarm. “School today girls! Up and at 'em! Hit the bathroom while Sunny and I make breakfast.”

Sunset groaned. “Way to volunteer your BFF,” she smirked.

Twilight bopped her nose, then kissed her cheek. “You know you love me. Come on, sleepyhead.” She got out of bed and left for the kitchen.

“When you’re right you're right,” she agreed with a smile. She sat up and transferred over to her chair. The girls were still scrambling to get their uniforms together and head into the bathroom. “See you for breakfast, girls!” she laughed, heading out of the room.

She wheeled down to the room Kaori was in and knocked on the door. “Come on in!” called out Kaori. Sunset opened the door and entered.

“Good Morning, Kaori!” she greeted. Kaori was already dressed, sitting on the end of the bed reading emails on her phone.

“Good Morning, Sunset!” greeted Kaori, looking up. “Did you sleep well in that crowded bed of yours?” she teased.

“We’re used to it,” smiled Sunset. “It was fine. And seriously, just knowing they are all safe? I sleep so much better.”

Kaori smiled and nodded. “Mama bear,” she grinned.

“You know it,” Sunset laughed back as she left. “We’re making breakfast. Should be ready in a few minutes and you are welcome to join us, please!”

“Sounds good, I’ll be out in a few,” agreed Kaori as she stretched. “Thanks!”

“You bet!” grinned Sunset, leaving the room.

She rolled into the kitchen area where Twilight was already making porridge. “Porridge huh?” noted Sunset as she rolled up. “Nice change up, Sparky. How can I help?” She rubbed Twilight’s back.

Twilight smiled. “Ah, that always helps. Seriously though, can you set out the condiments for the porridge and start making coffees for the folks that we know want it?”

“You bet, Sparky,” Sunset replied. She rolled over to the fridge and pulled out the cream and honey, as well as berries, apples, and peaches for the porridge. After placing them on the table she returned to the cupboard and fetched settings for everyone.

“Wow, full table this morning,” she noted as she set all the placements out.

“Yup, another reason I went with a big pot of porridge,” grinned Twilight. “Almost ready.”

Sunset started on the coffees. She wasn’t sure about Kaori but figured she would just ask when she sat down.

About the time Sunset finished with the coffees, Twilight announced, “Porridge is ready.” Twilight set a ceramic hot pad on the table, putting the pot of porridge on it with a serving ladle. “I’ll serve them up as they get here.”

“Come and get it!” called out Sunset. “Breakfast is ready, thanks to Twilight!”

Twilight smacked her shoulder. “Dork, it was a team effort. Why’d you do that?” she laughed.

“More fun that way,” Sunset smirked. “And you deserve more credit. End of story.”

Twilight just shook her head with a smile as she sipped her coffee.

The girls come out of the bathroom all dressed for school. They sat at the table and said a quick Harmonic grace, then Twilight started serving them up.

Sunset asked Kaori, “Do you want some coffee? Just let me know and I’ll get it.”

“Yes, thank you,” Kaori replied.

Sunset rolled back over to the kitchen and made another cup, passing it to Kaori then rolling back to her place to finish her own breakfast.

“Great breakfast, Sparky! Thank you!” she said as she finished off her porridge.

“Happy you liked it, Sunny,” smiled Twilight, finishing off her own porridge.

When they had all finished, Sunset cleared the dishes while Twilight put the extra food away. Together they grabbed their outfits from their room and headed for the bath. “We’ll be quick! Make sure you have everything ready to go! We’ll head back to the apartment and then school as soon as we are finished,” called out Sunset as they entered the bathroom.

Twilight stripped down and started washing with the bucket. Sunset quickly joined her, then transferred to her chair and rolled into the stall to do her morning routine. Twilight called out, “Do you need any help in there?”

Sunset flinched. “No, thanks!” she answered. “Thank you, though.”

“What are you doing that you get so embarrassed when I ask that?” asked Twilight. “Whatever it is, you know I won’t mind, right? I love you, Sunny. I would do anything for you.” Twilight pouted.

“Okay. I don’t like to share my weaknesses, you know that. But I can hear the hurt in your voice. One sec,” Sunset answered. She unlocked the door.

Twilight opened the door and came in. Sunset was using the facilities. “What you see here, please never tell anyone. But I have no secrets from you. So as my friend, now you know.” Sunset replied as she came in. “Please shut the door.”

Twilight shut the door, and Sunset finished her morning routine. Twilight was shocked at what her friend had to go through twice a day, but hid her surprise well, smiling in support of her best friend through the entire process. “That wasn’t that bad, Sunny. I don’t know why you would think I would think any less of you for that,” Twilight replied when she was done.

Sunset looked her in the eyes, tearing up. “Thank you, Sparky. I have been living in fear of what you might think for so long. I thought you might think less of me, or even hate me, for having to do that just to get through the day. Thank you for understanding.” Sunset cried quietly, her shoulders shaking.

Twilight leaned over her and hugged her tightly. “Sunset,” she said resolutely, “I will never think less of you for anything. I owe you my life and so much more. I love you completely; you’re my sister from another mister. You can’t shock me even if you tried your hardest. Please, never feel you have to hide anything from me again.” She kissed Sunset on the cheek and brushed the hair back from Sunset’s face with her hands.

Sunset hugged her back still crying. “I love you, Sparky,” she cried happily.

“I love you too, Sunny,” smiled Twilight back. “We need to finish getting ready or we will make everyone late. What can I do to help?”

“I just need to finish here, then we can rinse off, dry off, and get dressed. Just give me a second,” answered Sunset, drying her eyes.

Twilight nodded, giving her a parting kiss on the forehead, then backing out of the stall and jumping into the spa to rinse off. Sunset finished, transferred over to her chair, then rolled over to her. Before she could even start to put on the gear to transfer into the tub, Twilight hopped out and scooped her friend up in her arms. “Not today, Sunny. I got this!” she said happily as she walked into the spa carrying her friend then setting her gently down in her usual place.

At that Sunset cried gently again, but continued to rinsed off and dunked her head. “Okay, Sparky! I’m ready!” she said when done.

“Ready Freddy!” agreed Twilight, taking her friend into her arms again and walking out of the spa.

“You know that’s kind of dangerous to walk in and out of a wet spa carrying someone,” noted Sunset as she snuggled up to her friend.

“Sunny, ask me how much I don’t care about that right now,” answered Twilight as she placed her in her chair and got her uniform. She helped Sunset dry off and dress, then dried and dressed herself. Dressed and ready, they exited the spa and rolled into their room to grab their daypacks.

Returning to the main room, Sunset smiled. “Okay everyone! Ready to head back?” she asked.

“Ready Freddy!” replied Kuroko, smiling. The others nodded.

“Ready Freddy!” agreed Twilight, gathering everyone into a tight hug with Sunset. “Quick trip this time, here we go!”

With two joined flashes of Teal and Magenta magic, the entire group disappeared.

And appeared in the girls’ apartment, laughing. “I didn’t know you could do that!” shouted Mikoto. “I thought we had to use the transporter.”

“You do!” nodded Twilight. “We don’t. I invented the darn thing and Sunny knows how to do it too, so we can do it without the equipment. Though it is better to be tethered for safety reasons.” She turned to Kazari and Ryoko. “Don’t want you falling off in outer space!”

“Oh, ha ha ha,” laughed Ryoko. “I’m not falling for that again!”

Sunset laughed and tousled her hair. “You fall for it every time!” she laughed.

Ryoko batted her hand away with a laugh. “Whatever!”

Everyone gathered up their supplies for the day and prepared to leave. Sunset called out, “Who here does not have a teleportation pendant yet?” Kaori raised her hand.

“Okay, once we drop off the crew, come back here with me, and I’ll equip you too,” Twilight instructed them. “Everyone else, make sure you keep them around your neck at all times. If you need us, or think you might need us for any reason, just grab the pendant and think of us, and either we’ll bring you to us, or we’ll come to you as quick as you can think,” she stated.

Sunset added. “And if you are attacked or in trouble, don’t worry. We will know right away if you are wearing the pendant, and will come to your aid immediately.” Twilight nodded in agreement. “Okay, ready to go?” asked Sunset. Everyone nodded, so they left the apartment and headed down the elevator, past the concierge with the usual greeting and bows, then out to the street. Twilight took Kaori and walked Ryoko and Kazari to their school, while Sunset took Mikoto and Kuroko to their academy. Once Sunset dropped them off she went to the office to explain that she and Twilight had some personal business they had to complete that would make them late for school today. She then went to the library and using the fobs, checked in on everyone's location and status. Seeing everyone was where they belonged, in good health, and not having any fearful reactions, she quietly meditated while waiting for Twilight to join her.

Twilight entered the apartment with Kaori. “Make yourself comfortable!” she called out, heading for her room. “I’ll be right back! Should only take me a couple of minutes to craft two more pendants.” She sat down at her desk, pulling out a box of fobs and their matched pairings. She proceeded to update their firmware, as well as update the enchantments on both of them. Once that was completed, she took them and their matched usb fobs to Kaori.

“Okay, pick!” she smiled. Kaori took the purple one, leaving the dark blue one. “Awesome!” Twilight said, taking the pendants back to place them onto their necklaces then putting Kaori’s around her neck, handing her back Stiyl’s. “Now, let’s get these into the system.”

“Wait, what? System?” asked Kaori, holding her pendant out and looking at it.

“Yup!” stated Twilight, taking her hand. “To the bat cave!” They disappeared in a flash of magenta.

And reappeared in the Martian bunker. Kaori laughed. “Good one, Twilight!”

Twilight walked over to the hub, and moving aside the locked shielding on the case, placed the two new usb fobs into the hub. She then locked the case back up and moved over to the console on the table next to it. Logging in, she moved to the pendant interface, and paired the two new fobs found with their owners. The system sent the update out immediately, and her pendant informed her two disciples were in her presence and were safe.

Kaori laughed, leaning over the screen and reading as she entered the data. “Disciples, huh? Is that what we are?”

Twilight blushed. “I didn’t know what to expect when I wrote the code, so I just used my imagination. I had just found out Sunset was becoming a goddess, and that I might be joining her, so my imagination took an unfortunate detour that day,” she explained.

Kaori squeezed her shoulder. “Nah, leave it. It totally fits. You can call us disciples if you want. Though I would prefer friends,” he teased.

Twilight grinned and nodded. “Well if you're sure, I won’t change it.”

They both laughed. “Okay, that’s it. Ready to head back to the fun? What do you have planned for the day?” Twilight asked.

“I’m going to skulk around and make sure no one is trying anything against the two of you or our other friends. Including your friends for obvious reasons,” answered Kaori. “If you need me just ping me. I’ll get there asap.”

“Thank you! That’s comforting!” replied Twilight, taking her hands. “Okay, once more through the ether.” With a flash of magenta they disappeared.

And appeared in the girl's apartment. Kaori thanked Twilight for the pendants and left to do her reconnaissance. Twilight held her pendant, thought of Sunset, then disappeared in a flash of magenta.

Sunset looked up as a flash of magenta went off next to her. Twilight appeared in the afterglow and turned to her friend. “All set, Sunny. The mages are in the system.”

“I saw the update. Thank you, Sparky!” she said, pulling her friend into a hug. “Ready to head to class? I let the office know we will be late, so no worries there.”

“You’re the best, Sunny,” smiled Twilight. “Yeah, let’s go.” She took her friends' chair handles in hand and wheeled them both to their study hall. They got there, explained to the teacher their tardiness, and took their seats for all of ten minutes before the bell rang and they were off to their classes.

“If anything happens, I will drop whatever I am doing and be right there,” said Sunset to Twilight as she hugged her.

“And I will be right behind you,” added Twilight. “We got this. Go do classes, girl. We’re covered.”

Sunset smiled. “Love you, Sparky!”

“Love you too, Sunny!” smiled Twilight, heading down the hall to her first class. Sunset rolled off to her class, thinking the whole time of Twilight and the rest of their friends.

Sunset was distracted all through her classes, her thoughts were constantly on her herd of friends and whatever Index and Toma were off doing. She would ping them magically just to see if they were all still okay. No signs of panic from any of them, though she did get a slight twinge from Twilight. Probably overthinking some problem she was asked thought Sunset with a smirk.

She enjoyed her class with Kuroko. Having her little sister around was calming; one less person she had to worry about. When Mikoto and Kuroko joined her and Twilight for lunch in the cafeteria, she was all smiles. “Thank you for your help earlier! So how are you doing, girls?” Sunset asked as she took her place, her customary box lunch in her lap.

Everyone smiled. “We’re doing fine,” Kuroko nodded. The others nodded along.

Sunset turned to Twilight. “So, what was that moment of panic there in the second period? Clearly you didn’t need me to come rescue you,” teased Sunset.

Twilight blushed. “Noticed that, did you? It was nothing. Got surprised by a question in class but figured it out quick enough. You know I get a little test anxiety when answering questions.” She smiled sheepishly.

Sunset ruffled her friend's hair with a laugh. Twilight batted her hand away with a smile. “Knock it off, dork! I know you get the same way! Whatever,” Twilight grinned.

“Maybe?” teased Sunset back, “You’ll never know. I’m as cool as a cucumber and you aren’t an empath!”

“But you have the same pendant I’m wearing and I can see the biometrics too. So neener neener,” smirked Twilight.

“And at what point have you ever seen me lose my cool?” asked Sunset with a smirk.

“When it really mattered! And having a mama bear on my side has always been a good thing,” smiled Twilight back.

Sunset kissed Twilight on the cheek. “Good answer, Sparky!” The girls all laughed. There was a growl from across the cafeteria. Sunset looked up to see the class officer looking at them angrily. Sunset stared back, and after a few moments the class officer looked away. “Thought so,” gloated Sunset returning to her lunch. Kuroko grinned like a Cheshire cat.

The girls finished lunch, then parted ways with Mikoto and Suruko heading off to their afternoon classes while Twilight and Sunset left for their Institute internships.

Sunset and Twilight raced through their assigned paperwork quickly then dug around for more information on the so-called ‘Level 6 shift” plan they had seen mentioned earlier, transferring everything they found to Twilight’s fob.

After their shift at the Institute was complete, Sunset and Twilight left together, heading back to their apartment. When they arrived they found the girls all gathered together waiting for them, playing games on the TV. Dinner arrived, and after praying Harmonic grace they dug in and ate.

“Girls, how do you feel about going on a little adventure with us this weekend?” asked Sunset as they finished up their dinner. “Twilight and I have access to a rover that seats eight. So feel like exploring the Caldera with us on Saturday?”

“Heck yes!” shouted Kuroko. Mikoto nodded excitedly, as did Kazari and Ruiko.

“Okay, sounds like a plan then! Friday night, plan on spending the night with us so we can get an early start Saturday morning. Do what you have to do to get permission, and bring what you need,” added Sunset.

After dinner, Twilight cleaned up the dishes while Sunset helped the girls peacefully find a movie to watch together on the TV. While the girls were still discussing what they wanted to watch, Twilight finished up then joined them on the couch. She whispered into Sunset’s ear and Sunset grinned widely.

“You sure you don’t mind, Sparky?” she asked.

“Nope, get over here you dork!” smiled Twilight patting the spot on the couch next to her.

“Okay, here I come,” Sunset grinned. She rolled in front of Twilight then transferred directly to her lap, pushing the chair back out of their way. Twilight rolled her eyes, blushing and grinning madly.

“That wasn’t what I said, dork!” Twilight teased, hugging her friend tightly.

“Oh, sorry, okay. So you want me to leave?” teased Sunset back.

“Not on your life, Sunny. Stay girl!” answered Twilight back, hugging her tight.

“Okay, loving the view here,” snarked Sunset, staring into her friend's eyes. “But if I’m going to see this movie, I think I need to turn around.” She wiggled her way around until she was sitting in Twilight's lap with her head next to hers. She turned and kissed her on the cheek while Twilight wrapped her up in her arms.

“Love you too, Sunny Bunny,” grinned Twilight, blushing madly and holding her friend tight.

Sunset turned to the girls who were blushing as well. Kuroko had a huge happy grin on her face. “So,” Sunset asked, “Have we decided on a movie? What did you pick?”

“Belle!” the girls called out happily.

“Alrighty! Bring it on!” Sunset called out. They started the movie.

The movie was a delight. The girls sang along with Belle as she entertained the masses in U, cheering and booing at all the pivotal scenes. Midway through Kuroko volunteered to get drinks and tissues for everyone as there wasn’t a dry eye in the group.

When the movie ended, Twilight told everyone to get ready for bed. While they did she helped Sunset back over into her chair, then leaned in and kissed her gently on the cheek. “Do you want to send the girls home tonight, Sunny? Or do you want them to stay here?” asked Twilight, smiling at her friend.

Sunset smiled and groaned. “As much as I want to be alone with just you right now, no. I think we should still keep the girls close just in case anyone thinks of trying anything.”

Twilight laughed. “I get that. And I think you are right. Mama bear first. I’ll tell them to all pile in with us, and we can keep them safe. So come on, let’s go get ready for bed.”

They rolled into the bedroom and grabbed Sunsets' bathroom bag and both their pairs of pajamas. Then they rolled over to the bathroom. Sunset knocked on the door. “How are you doing in there, girls? Everything okay?”

“We’re fine!” Kuroko called out quickly.

Mikoto could be heard laughing through the door. “We’d be even more fine if you would get dressed, Kuroko. We’ve seen you before. No one is impressed!”

Kuroko responded, “Ah, come on, Mikoto! Don’t you want at least one hug?” she teased.

Sunset put her face in her hands and shook her head as Twilight covered her own mouth to stifle her laughter. “Boundaries, Kuroko! Don’t make me come in there!” Sunset called out loudly.

That got gales of laughter from the girls on the other side of the door. Twilight exploded with laughter as well. Kuroko sighed loudly. “Yes mom,” she answered. There was a slight delay, then the door opened with everyone dressed for bed.

Sunset stared at Kuroko sternly. At the back of the line, Kuroko hung her head as the girls filed out past Sunset and Twilight. As Kuroko walked by with her head still hanging low, Sunset scooped her up and pulled her into a hug in her lap. “Good girl, Kuroko. See! You can do this!” Sunset encouraged, kissing her little sister on the forehead.

Kuroko smiled, happy tears in her eyes. “Thank you, sissy!” She hugged Sunset tightly then hopped off her lap and scurried after her friends into the bedroom.

“That girl,” sighed Sunset, smiling and shaking her head. Together with Twilight she entered the bathroom and proceeded to get ready for bed.

Everyone in bed, Sunset snuggled up to Twilight. Kuroko snuggled up to Sunset, while Mikoto snuggled up on Twilight’s other side. Ruiko and Kazari snuggled together at their feet. Sunset looked over her herd all snuggled up together and smiled. The lights dimmed, and they fell asleep happily snuggled, looking out over the Tokyo skyline as they drifted off to sleep.

Author's Note

The Goddess of the Hunt arc continues with a slow day on the Road to Endymion. Stiyl, Toma and Index continue their own thing while Sunset, Twilight and the girls worry a bit about them and prepare for their own adventure.

And our little newly minted redheaded goddess is on the hunt. No one hurts her friends. No one. :trixieshiftright: