After the Liger War, Twilight needs a break. So she heads through the mirror to visit Sunset Shimmer and the gang.
The Liger War has just ended and Princess-General Twilight Sparkle is exhausted from the pressures of her station. After declaring her intent of a short sabbatical, she heads through the mirror portal to visit Sunset Shimmer and her friends on the other side and maybe engage in some romance. How will the girls of CHS, now graduated and on their own career paths handle Warlock, fresh from war?
On Popular side bar on 1 Jun 17. ((Geeze not even up for twelve hours. Thanks guys!))
Edit 08/21/17: Changed rating to Teen, may bump up to Mature as the story progresses.
Twilight closed the door to her chambers and meandered to the bed before flopping down on her back, carefully moving her wings as not to land on them painfully, again.
Sighing, she ran her hand over her face.
‘Three months since the Ligers surrendered officially and we are still having issues with pockets of die hards not wanting to surrender. At least we had minimal civilian casualties and the populous is friendly enough to work with us and not the loyalists. Thankfully we were able to get to the camps before too many civilians had to suffer through them.’ She thought as she stared at the canopy of her bed.
Suddenly a buzzing sound interrupted her thoughts. Looking around, she located the source of the noise as a drawer in her bedside table. Opening the drawer, she pulled out the glowing journal with Celestia’s cutie mark. Smiling she sat up against her headboard and opened to the newest entry.
‘Dear Princess Twilight,
I’m mostly doing this as a therapeutic outlet since Spike told me you were missing. Spike if you are reading this, I hope you are doing well. The girls and I have graduated from Canterlot High school. As happy as I am to be done with the experience of high school in the human world, I am finding myself adrift. Principal Celestia was kind enough to arrange for me to get the proper paperwork to get a job and go to college, but I am at a loss of what to do. Most of my friends are going off to college for one thing or another, but here I am, unable to decide what I should do with my life. While I know that I can come home, I can’t leave the girls in case more Equestrian magic appears here on this side, and despite how cowardly it makes me sound, I am not ready to face Celestia. There were so many heated and hurtful words said by both of us that I am not sure if we can ever reconcile from it. I’m hoping to figure something out soon.
Yours,
Sunset Shimmer’
Twilight set the book down on her lap and looked off in the distance. She could understand where the displaced unicorn was coming from. Once she was medically retired from the Army, she had been drifting much the same way that Sunset was, though Sunset had different challenges that prevented her from finding her course. Celestia though, the thought of the Solar Diarch made Twilight grimace. Lately meetings and correspondence between the two had become very stiff and cold. Twilight had tried to bridge the gap, but Celestia couldn’t get past whatever disappointment that she felt at Twilight’s fall from the pedestal that she had propped her up on. Twilight had gotten to the point where she felt she had done all she could to repair their relationship, but had left the ball in Celestia’s court the last time they had spoken on the subject.
Summoning a pen from across the room, Twilight began to write.
‘Sunset,
I’m sorry that I haven’t written you to let you know that I was able to make it back home. As far as where I have been and the events that have occurred that prevented me from writing before now, well that is a story that is better told in person because of how much has happened. Though the circumstances are different, I do understand what it feels like to be drifting without a course. It took a very special person to help get me back onto an even keel mentally and emotionally, but I was able to get there. In regards to Celestia, I am in a similar place as you. Though words were not as heated, at least on my end, I find myself at odds with our former teacher. She means well, but she is so stuck in her mindset of playing the long game that she cannot react quickly to changes and even worse, notice when her planning adversely affects those that she is close to. I myself think that I am due for some R&R, so I will begin making arrangements to be able to come for an extended visit. Also, DO NOT COME THROUGH THE PORTAL. I have made some security changes in my castle and depending upon how someone comes through, the response has the ability to become quite lethal depending upon circumstances. I wish that I didn’t have to enact such measures, but with Starswirl and Celestia basically using the portal as a garbage disposal for their problems I couldn’t take chances with security. I hope to see you soon and give the girls my best.
Yours,
Twilight
P.S. You don’t have to call me Princess all the time.’
Twilight smiled before closing the book and setting on her table. Feeling more relaxed than she did when she entered her chambers, Twilight smiled as she headed to a well deserved bath.
Sunset Shimmer was sitting on the couch at the human Twilight Sparkle’s apartment, staring at the TV screen but not actually taking anything in when the sound of her journal going off startled her. Picking up the book and opening it to the newest entry, Sunset let out a startled gasp. She had been expecting Spike to have replied, the young drake trying his best to alleviate her concerns and easing her worries, but instead it was her friend and savior Twilight Sparkle. Reading through the message, she was able to read between the lines that whatever had happened to the young alicorn was life altering to the extreme. She wrote back a quick message to let the Princess know she would be eagerly anticipating her arrival and that she would let her know if she wanted to come back to Equestria for a visit.
“I wonder what happened.” She mused out loud.
“Did you say something Sunset?” Her roommate called out.
“Sorry I was talking to myself Twilight. I got a response from Equestria and Princess Twilight is back. She is going to be coming on an extended trip soon. Sounds like she needs to get away after everything that has been going on.” Sunset replied with a smile.
Twilight looked up from her homework. “What’s been going on?”
“She didn’t say. Apparently it is big enough that she is going to be coming to tell us about it.” Sunset said, the smile turning into a thoughtful frown..
“Interesting. Well, we will see when she gets here.” Twilight replied with a smile that Sunset returned before turning back to her homework.
Sunset turned to the clock and noticed the time. “Crap, need to head to work. See you later Twilight.” She said as she picked up her journal and headed to her room to change.
Twilight was packing her bags a week after sending Sunset the message that she was going to try and visit soon. After informing her Chiefs of Staff and her fellow Princesses that she was going to be taking some leave and would be out of touch the majority of the time, she was able to get ready. She packed some clothes, a maintenance kit for her arm, a spare arm just in case something happened, her toiletries, her rifle, disassembled, ammunition and magazines for the rifle, her ballistic vest with first aid kit, and extra ammunition for her sidearm. She then put a holster for her sidearm on her belt in the small of her back and loaded her weapon, chambered a round, and holstered the weapon before throwing on a long sleeve button up shirt that would cover the weapon and her arm. Picking up her bag and the journal she headed down to the portal room.
After meeting up with Jazz, her own bags packed, the pair entered the portal room that was now two levels below ground, Twilight returned the salute from the Captain that was in charge of the current watch.
“Ready to go ma’am?” She asked.
“Yes I am. Once I go through, remove the journal from the holder and keep it in this room. When I am ready to come back, I will send a message through the other journal that I had made. Once you get it, place the journal back in the holder and I will come through.” Twilight said as she wrote a quick message in the journal. “You have the code words for an abnormal situation correct?”
“Yes ma’am. Hopefully you won’t need them.” The officer replied.
“One can hope Captain, but it is better to be safe than sorry.” Twilight replied before turning to Spike and Starlight.
“Okay you two, I’m counting on you to hold down the fort. If anything comes across your desks that you feel needs my immediate attention, come down and let me know in the journal. I will make my recommendations if it is something that is time sensitive or tell you to table it until I get back. Other than that, you know what to do.” Twilight finished.
“We’ve got this Twilight. We were able take care of things while you were gone for all that time. I think we can handle two weeks.” Spike replied, giving her a thumbs up.
Twilight chuckled. “Damn straight.” She replied as she opened the now glowing journal. A smile appeared on her lips before she closed the book and placed it on the stand causing the portal to activate. “Okay kids, you take care and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
“That’s not much of a list Twilight!” Starlight called out as Twilight and Jazz stepped through the portal, causing her to stagger from laughing.
“What tickled your funny bone?”
“Oh, just my adjunct being a little shit.” Twilight replied as she composed herself. “How have you been Principal Celestia?”
“Good, and yourself?” The administrator asked.
“Decent. Had a lot of crap to deal with, but I’m working through it.” Twilight replied. “So I am guessing you are my ride?”
“Indeed. And who is this?” Celestia replied as she motioned for the younger woman (physically at least) to follow her. “Sunset called me and told me you would be coming, but not that you would be bringing someone with you. She invited my sister and I to hear your tale. I hope you don’t mind.”
“Not at all. I’m sure you would like to hear about what your favorite disruption to normalcy has been up to.” Twilight said with a smirk as they approached Celestia’s car. “And this is Jazz.” She added, motioning to the other woman who was looking around with interest. “She is a good friend of mine, and she is someone I trust to have my back.” Jazz smiled as she waved at Celestia.
“That is a bit of an understatement.” Vice-Principal Luna said as she approached the car.
“Ah, and the sassy sister arrives. Been doing okay Luna?” Twilight asked the darker sister.
Luna smirked. “I’ve been doing well. So is this a social visit?”
“Mostly. I need some R&R after dealing with things on the other side of the portal. Though if you two happen to know someone high up in the government, I would like to speak with them about setting up an embassy.” Twilight replied.
The sisters shared a look as Celestia started the car.
“We might know someone. Why are you wanting to set up an embassy?” Celestia replied in a guarded tone.
“To secure the portal primarily. Princess Celestia and Starswirl used the portal as a garbage chute for problems that they couldn’t solve permanently, or ones that were a serious danger. Plus there is the fact that the portal opens on its own every so often and since I have increased the security on our end I would hate for someone to come through accidentally. As far as the statue goes, we will have a replica made to replace it.” Twilight explained.
“That, is actually a good idea, especially with the girls off to college and their careers, we can’t call them at a moment’s notice to deal with issues that are related to magic.” Luna replied after a few moments of silence.
“How did you know that we had contacts in the government?” Celestia asked.
Twilight smirked. “The front entrance to the school was destroyed and there was a hell of a crater after Sunset was hit by the Orbital Friendship Cannon. Explaining how it happened to the school board would have taken some creative maneuvering and a mastery of spin to keep people from digging to deeply. Plus, having been a soldier that did Black Ops, I know that there are secrets within secrets in the government, as well as contingency plans for all those situations that they do not publicly acknowledge. Like aliens for instance. Every possible scenario has been planned for I am sure. I am just wanting to try and keep things discreet, because I do not want to imagine the crazies that would be trying to get through. If that happened there would be a significant body count. Also, are there nuclear weapons in this world?” She asked.
That got a reaction. Celestia swerved violently and Luna swore in a foreign language.
Once she was in the proper lane of travel, Celestia asked, “How do you know about those damnable things?”
Twilight smiled sadly. “The nearly two years that I was missing from Equestria was actually over thirty years for me. I grew up as a human in a world where nuclear weapons were used twice in anger and have effectively held the world hostage as more powerful warheads are built. Since you do have them, that means that there is most likely a team that deals with incidents relating to them and probably have sensors in every major city that will detect the emissions from nuclear material that could possibly be used in an attack. Magic as we have discovered can cause a geiger counter to go nuts. It’s not harmful, at least to those from Equestria. Long term exposure could cause problems here, but it would take years for something to manifest in those exposed. But, back to what I was saying, those sensors probably go nuts every time there is a massive expenditure of magic in the area. So the government knows that something is happening, even if they don’t know what exactly, and even if they did, they wouldn’t say anything to prevent a panic and possible persecution of those involved.” Twilight explained as they pulled up to a nice apartment building.
“You make an excellent point. One that is correct on all counts. We will see about arranging you a meeting with our cousin. She will be the best one to talk to about this.” Luna said as the four got out of the car.
Twilight nodded. “Thank you. Now let’s get ready for Pinkie to be Pinkie.” She said as they approached the door.
Twilight smirked at Jazz before motioning for Celestia and Luna to move off to the side of the door. The pair crouched low on either side of the door and Twilight tested the knob. Finding it unlocked, she pushed the door open and moved back as a pink blur shot out the door and tumbled to a stop in the grass.
Celestia and Luna looked on with wide eyes as Twilight and Jazz cackled.
“Not getting enough roughage Pinks?” Twilight asked through her laughter.
Pinkie sat up and spit grass out of her mouth.
“Nope, just wondered what ponies like to eat.” Pinkie said with a giggle.
Twilight laughed. “Never change Pinkie, never change.” She said as the group entered the apartment.
“Hi girls! How’s tricks?” Twilight asked, left hand resting on her hip.
“Princess!” The assembled girls cried as they rushed to hug Twilight.
“Gah! Easy girls. More than enough of me to go around.” She said as she was glomped.
She noticed Sunset and her counterpart standing off to the side as she was released from the group hug.
“Get over here Sunny, you know you want to.” She said opening her arms.
Sunset walked over and embraced the taller woman.
“I missed you.” She whispered.
“I missed you too Sunny. Glad to be back though.” Twilight whispered back.
Separating, she looked over at her counterpart.
“So how’s everything going Sparky?” She asked.
“Sparky?”
“Yup, gotta have a way to get the right Twilight’s attention. Speaking of.” She said before turning to the others. “For ease of conversation, you can call me Jaycee, Sparks, or Warlock. I will respond to any of them.”
“Warlock? How did you get that one?” Rainbow Dash asked, not noticing how Sunset stiffened at the mention of the name.
Sparks laughed. “Not from summon demons, if that is where your heads are going. I picked it up when I was in the Army. I had the ability to make my rounds go pretty much where I wanted them to, so the guys started calling me Warlock.” She said as she dropped her bag and flopped down on the couch. “Now gather ‘round. I got some stories for you. Though, you guys wouldn’t happen to have any booze would you?” She asked.
Sparky shook her head. “None of us are of age to buy alcohol.”
“Damn. Some of this requires a good stiff drink or blowing shit up afterwards. Anyways, two years ago from y’all’s perspective the chaos avatar Discord decided he wanted to start a war.” She began.
“That sounds horrible. I can’t believe you had to live through all that.” Cadance, who had arrived just after Sparks started tell her tale, said as she wiped tears from her eyes.
Sparks and Jazz just shrugged.
“I don’t know what it is like on this world, but where we come from, there has been near constant fighting somewhere in the world for the last century that has been more widespread than a couple of small groups going at it over some land. Add to the fact that we were born and did some of our growing up during the Cold War, you kind of get desensitized to it.” Jazz replied.
“That and we have spent most of our adult years as soldiers, it just kinds of becomes par for the course at some point.” Sparks added. “In our line of work it has too, otherwise you will just break.”
“So you said you lost your arm.” Sparky stated. “Do you have some kind of advanced prosthetic?”
Sparks stood up and removed her cover shirt. “In a manner of speaking yes. It is run by my magic. This latest version is constructed from a Terran titanium, mithril, and adamantite alloy and heavily enchanted. I even added a few fun features.” She said with slightly twisted smile.
“Like what?” Applejack asked.
“Like this for starters.” Sparks said as lavender colored shield sprang into existence. “Hard mana shield. Haven’t tested it yet, but it should be able to stop most rifle rounds short of an anti material rifle.” She said, shutting down the shield and moving her wrist, allowing the hidden blade to deploy. “Hidden blade that also has a magical edge as well as the edge forged into it.” She explained as the edges of the blade began to glow.
“Can’t forget the best part.” Jazz said with a smirk.
“Well, of course not.” Sparks replied, rolling her eyes. “Though I can’t exactly demonstrate it. Remember what happened to that Liger tank when I tested it?”
Jazz shuddered. “Yeah, that was something else.” She said.
Sparks nodded. “That is why some of the personnel that were that looked at me and said ‘OP, plz nerf.’” She said, with a grin.
“What happened?” Celestia asked.
“Tankfetti.” Sparks replied.
Everyone stared at her, causing her to shrug.
“That is why I won’t be on the front lines unless there is something that my forces can’t handle. Though, given that everything we have is at least eighty to ninety years ahead of what everyone else on Terra has, that shouldn’t be an issue.” Sparks said.
“Yeah, those pirates did find out the hard way not to mess with the navy.” Jazz said.
“Yeah, a steam powered frigate versus a Ticonderoga class cruiser was a one sided fist fight from hell.” Sparks said with a chuckle.
“What happened?” Rarity asked.
“One of my cruisers was doing an anti-piracy patrol, came across this frigate, ordered them to heave to, the frigate pressed their attack, fired a volley of shells, missed, and got a Harpoon shoved up their ass for their trouble.” Sparks said. “Needless to say, piracy has taken a downturn.”
“Wow, that is something.” Applejack replied.
Sparks chuckled. “We are doing our part when it comes to keeping the world safe. Hence why for the time being we are completely separate from the Equestrian Government. It allows us to be more autonomous and neutral.” She said.
“I still can’t believe the name that you chose for the organization.” Jazz said shaking her head.
“Hey, I will have you know that Overwatch is a perfectly legitimate name for the organization given that we are helping to maintain the peace.” Sparks replied, glaring at her partner. “Just because I stole the name from that MOB game that Blizzard came out with doesn’t make it any less true.”
“Still silly.” Jazz replied sticking her tongue out.
Sparks laughed. “You haven’t figured out the Equestrian is quite silly? I mean look at Canterlot. That is the silliest place out there.” She said.
Jazz looked at her flatly. “Really, Monty Python?”
“There is always a place for Monty Python you philistine.” Sparks replied primly, before the pair burst out laughing, causing the assembled group to look at the pair strangely.
Once she had calmed down, she looked over at her counter part and Luna.
“So when did this happen?” She asked, motioning at the pair snuggled together on the loveseat.
“About six months ago. We ran into each other at the bookstore we both frequent and shared a cup of coffee. We discovered that we enjoyed each other’s company.” Luna replied with a shrug as Sparky smiled and gave the older woman a kiss on the cheek.
Sparks looked at the pair for a moment before replying. “Eh, I’ll ship it.”
“So what you and Selene are a thing?” Jazz asked.
“Mostly in a casual nature. Our respective duties and responsibilities prevent actually doing any more than occasionally scratching the itch.” Sparks replied. “That and neither of us want to hear the nobility bitching about it.” She replied sourly.
“These are the same nobles that saw you slice through about thirty enemy troops in less than two minutes right?” Jazz asked.
“What can I say? With the exception of Fancy Pants and Fleur de Lis, most of the nobility are idiots. Blueblood is on my shortlist anyways.” Sparks replied.
“Oh god, that douchebag? I honestly say that he should have been swallowed.” Jazz groused.
“Jazz you know that a noble lady would never sully herself by sucking a cock like a common whore.” Sparks replied with in a sophisticated accent before the pair broke down laughing again, Sunset joining in this time.
“So Blueballs is still thinking he is Faust’s gift to Equestria?” She asked.
Sparks rolled her eyes. “Yeah. Though he does have a healthy fear of Rarity after the first Gala we went to.”
“What happened darling?” Rarity asked.
“He used your counterpart as a shield from flying cake. She was wearing a very fancy ball gown she had made just for the event. Needless to say, she was less than pleased.” Sparks replied.
Rarity gave a hmph. “I would certainly say so. I am glad I have not met this Blueblood person. He sounds horrible!” She exclaimed.
Sparks laughed. “Oh you have no idea Rarity, and I hope you never have to deal with this world’s counterpart of him.” She said.
Sunset shook her head. “So, you mentioned that aside from coming to visit and catch up, you had a mission. What is it?” She asked.
Sparks sighed. “About five hundred years ago, Celestia had a consort that delved into some of the worst magic out there. Necromancy and Blood magic.” She said, getting gasps from the group.
“Why would she do that?” Sunset asked, horror evident in her voice.
“Immortality.” Sparks replied. “She was getting older and she knew how much it affected Celestia when someone that she loved died and she lived on. She was able to keep her research hidden from everyone until she had completed the spell she had created. It wound up turning her into a vampire with the ability to walk in the sun. Celestia, unable to bring herself to kill the monster with her lover’s face, cast her through the portal. My mission is to locate her, and eliminate her with extreme prejudice.” She explained.
“I never heard about this, even when I was on my power trip.” Sunset said sinking into the couch next to Sparks.
Sparks put her hand on Sunset’s. “You wouldn’t have. Celestia purged all references to her and destroyed all of her notes. Those that knew her in that time were placed under a geas to prevent them from speaking of her. It was as if she never existed. I only know because I pressed Celestia about what threats to Equestria and Terra were sent here other than the Sirens.” She said.
“What was her name?” Principal Celestia asked.
“Starseeker.” Sparks replied, causing Celestia’s eyes to widen. Sparks noticed this and sighed.
“You know her don’t you?” She asked.
“Yes, we actually just started dating a couple of weeks ago.” Celestia said.
“Greeeeat.” Sparks ground out. “So that means unless you are a very, very good actor, Jazz and I get to go gank your vampire girlfriend tonight.” She said before sighing. “I need a fucking drink.” She finished letting her head fall back on the back on the couch.
“Hey Applejack, do you guys load your own shotgun shells?” She asked the farm girl.
Applejack blinked for a moment before replying.
“We do. Why do you ask?”
“Do you think you can get about a dozen shells loaded with rock salt for me?” Sparks inquired.
“Don’t need to. We have a good stock for scaring off foxes and coyotes when they start nosing around the hen house.” Applejack replied.
Sparks nodded. “We should only need half a dozen or so. 00 should suffice for dealing with the situation if she decides to be a real bitch about it.” She replied.
“So you’re just going to go in and kill her?” Sunset asked.
Sparks shook her head. “I’m going to try diplomacy first. Figure with as badly as the Princess screwed us up, Starseeker might be in the same boat. Of course there is always the off chance that the Starseeker that Celestia is dating is the local variant and there is no need to gank a bitch.” She replied causing Jazz to snort.
“Okay. Jazz grab the sawed off shotguns and the holsters for them. Make sure to grab your sidearm as well. Hollow point load out.” Sparks said as she went to her bag and pulled out a thigh holster and put it on before clearing her sidearm and switching to magazines loaded with hollow point rounds.
Jazz passed over a holster that Sparks secured to her belt on the left side, set up for a crossdraw. Jazz then handed her a box of shotgun shells that she pulled half a dozen rounds from and dropped into a cargo pocket on her pants.
Sparks then pulled a duster from her bag and put it on. Making sure that the jacket fell properly and allowed her easy access to her weapons she nodded.
“AJ can you go and get those rounds for us? We need to head out soon.”
The farm girl nodded and headed out.
“So this is the place?” Sparks asked as Celestia pulled up to a modest single story ranch house just outside of town.
“It is. Star likes her privacy.” Celestia said as the three women got out of the car.
Sparks nodded as she looked around.
The house was set back a good distance from the road and the closest neighbors were nearly a mile away.
“Head on a swivel Jazz. No telling what is going to happen.” Sparks ordered as she straightened her jacket.
The trio went up to the door and Celestia knocked.
The door opened to reveal a woman with greyish toned skin and rust colored hair with streaks of grey. Her brown eyes lit up when she saw Celestia.
“Tia, I wasn’t expecting you. Who are your friends?” She asked.
“This is Jaycee Sparks, a former student of mine and one of her friends, Jazz.” Celestia said, gesturing to each woman. “They had a couple of questions to ask you Star.”
“Oh, and what kind of questions do you young ladies have?” Starseeker inquired.
Sparks spoke. “What do you know about Equestria?” She asked pointedly.
Starseeker stumbled, but recovered quickly.
“Never heard of it. What is it?” She asked nervously.
“Pull the other one Starseeker. Princess Celestia told me quite a bit about you.” Sparks said, her eyes narrowing.
Starseeker sighed, suddenly looking every one of her years.
“So she finally sent someone. Who are you? The Captain of the Guard?” Starseeker asked in a resigned tone.
Sparks shook her head. “My name is Princess General Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Magic and commander of Overwatch. I am also the Bearer of the Element of Magic.” She said.
“So you are an alicorn then. Why are you here? To kill me?” Starseeker asked tiredly.
“That depends upon you and what kind of body count you have after the last four hundred some odd years.” Sparks replied.
“Surprisingly, I have only killed twice. Once from feeding and once in self defense. I have taken pains to be careful in my feeding.” Starseeker replied.
Sparks nodded. “That’s good. While I am leaning towards being lenient and not taking you out permanently, I need to know what your overall plan is.” She said to the vampire.
Starseeker looked at the alicorn in human form. “Honestly, I had this whole revenge scheme planned out, but after a couple of years, I realized that after the Princess spurned me and cast me through the portal, I would only be proving her right that I was evil. I then decided that the best revenge would be to live well. Since then, I have been quietly nudging things towards a more peaceful advancement where I could. Obviously I haven’t always been successful. The Forties were a prime example of that.” She said.
Sparks chuckled. “Yeah, humans can be stubborn fucks when they want to be. But trying to avoid the mess that was the Second World War would only have been capable by preventing the first one. But kudos to you either way for trying. What have you been up to lately?” Sparks said.
Starseeker gave a brief overview of her activities within the last decade.
“So basically trying to push advancement of medicine and technology while whispering in the ears of the right people to handle the issues with the various insurgent groups to either wipe them out or marginalize their influence.” Sparks said. “Not too shabby. From what I have been able to glean from my albeit limited research, many attacks have been thwarted in the last couple of decades.”
Starseeker nodded. “I have been doing what I can to make the world a better place. Though, my time is growing short.” She said, finishing with a sad tone.
“How so?” Sparks inquired.
“The spellwork that I performed has started to fail. It has probably been failing for the better part of three decades. I started to notice it a few years ago when I started to age even when I had fed.” Starseeker replied. “I estimate that I have less than a century left.”
Sparks nodded. “Very well then. I will be working to establish at the very least an outpost, hopefully a small embassy here in this world to secure the portal and deal with any other issues that Princess Celestia and Starswirl have sent through the portal aside from yourself and the sirens.” She said.
“How does that affect me?” Starseeker inquired.
“Well, given that another Equestrian, a former student of Celestia’s, is in a self imposed exile here and she may be going back if she so desires, I will need someone who knows the lay of the land politically and would be able to liaise with the local government to deal with issues of a magical nature. This way you can protect both this world and our home world.” Sparks explained.
Starseeker was quite as she contemplated this.
Finally she replied. “I will do this for you, but on one condition.”
“And that condition is….?” Sparks inquired with a raised eyebrow.
“That between now and when I finally pass on, if I wind up falling to bloodlust, that you are the one that strikes me down.” Starseeker said.
Sparks’s eyes widened before her face turned serious as she stood. Gathering her magic, she flicked her right hand. In a flash of lavender light, the sword she had summoned in the throne room, Dawnbreaker, appeared.
“Starseeker, should the day come that you lose yourself to the monster that lurks beneath the surface, you will meet your end at my blade.” Sparks intoned, her voice laced with magic.
Starseeker’s eyes widened. “The Dawnbreaker? Where did you find it? It has been lost since…”
“Since the schism. I summoned it in the throne room of Canterlot Castle when some Liger SS tried to take out Princess Celestia, Princess Luna and myself. I slaughtered them all and wound up spending around twelve hours in a healing coma after bleeding out.” Sparks replied with a wry grin. “Just so you know, it hurts like a bitch coming back from something like that.”
Starseeker looked at her incredulously before shaking her head and smiling. “It is good to know that one such as yourself will take care of putting me down if I become a danger. I will become your ambassador, Princess-General Twilight Sparkle and provide assistance in safeguarding both worlds.” She said, standing and bowing with her right fist on her left shoulder.
Sparks nodded. “That is good to hear. My other option would have been Sunset, but she has nowhere near the experience she would need to be able to do the job without losing her mind from the stress.” The soldier said, dismissing her sword.
Starseeker chuckled. “The mantle of leadership is not an easy one to bear, no matter your age.” She said, calming.
Sparks nodded solemnly. “No it isn't. But for those of us that bear that mantle, we must do the best we can to take care of those who we lead.” She replied.
“Wise words from one still in her first century.” Starseeker said. “I look forward to working with you.” She added as she reached her hand out.
Taking her hand and shaking it, Sparks smiled in response. “I look forward to it as well.”
Later that night after Sparks and Jazz had returned to Sunset and Sparky’s apartment, Sparks sat out on the balcony with a glass of bourbon that Luna had kindly purchased for her while listening to her mp3 player.
Movement to her side had her turning her head and removing one of her earbuds.
“Hey Sunny. Couldn’t sleep?” She asked the other Equestrian.
Sunset smiled ruefully. “Shouldn’t I be asking you that?” She said. “Since when does Luna contribute to the delinquency of minors?” She asked, gesturing to the glass and bottle of the amber liquid.
“Since mentally I am her age she didn’t feel guilty about getting me a bottle.” Sparks said with a smirk as she took a sip of her drink.
“Makes sense I guess. So what are your plans now?” Sunset asked as she leaned against the railing.
Sparks shrugged. “Relax and spend time with you and the girls. Celestia and Luna are going to contact their cousin who is apparently pretty high up in the government to arrange a meeting about setting up a place to move the portal to. Other than that, not really much on the agenda.” She replied.
Sunset nodded. “So what happened with Celestia that things are strained between you two?” She inquired.
Sparks sighed. “She disagreed with my and Luna’s position of going to war. Even after Baltimare was destroyed by a megaspell, she still tried to talk me out of it. That is the main reason my domain around Ponyville, the area in the Badlands that our largest base is at and the other bases that have been built have are effectively sovereign soil and Overwatch is outside of the control of the Equestrian government.” She explained. “I regret what I had to do, but the vast majority of the population support my decision. Eventually we will come back into the fold, but right now the only flag that flies is the Overwatch flag with the US and British flags.”
“She must not have liked that.” Sunset replied dryly.
Sparks chuckled wryly. “Not in the least, but she still wanted to do things diplomatically after several thousand of our citizens were reduced to ashes and Liger troops came into the castle and demanded our surrender via force.” She said. “I added thirty bodies to my count that day and showed Celestia that I wasn’t that naive mare that she had taught all those years. That and I called her to the carpet for how she treated both of us. Did I ever tell you what she said when I sent her a message warning her about Nightmare Moon’s return?”
Sunset shook her head. “No, you never did.”
“Basically she said that I needed to stop reading dusty old books and make some friends. Completely brushed me off and sent me to Ponyville to oversee the Summer Sun Celebration. It was by sheer dumb luck and fate that I ran into the other Bearers and that we were able to overcome the challenges to defeat the Nightmare and restore Princess Luna to her true self.” Sparks said. “So many things could have gone wrong that night. So many things left to chance that could have destroyed our world.”
Sunset sat with wide eyes. “That is, just unbelievable.” She said finally.
“It is. Oh, and did you know that my being the Element of Magic was literally set in stone before the Sisters defeated Discord the first time?” Sparks asked.
“What.” Sunset replied.
Sparks nodded. “Yup. My cutie mark is right there on the Tree of Harmony between theirs.” She said.
Sunset gained a dark expression on her face. “So that was why she changed after I got my cutie mark. She realized that I wasn’t the one who would bear the Element of Magic and wasn’t of use to her plans.” She ground out.
Sparks sighed and stood before wrapping the woman in a hug.
“Even if that was her thought process, getting pissed off about it won’t do any good. It just means that you are letting her win. Starseeker put it best today, ‘the best revenge is to live a good life’. She told Sunset.
Sunset drew a shuddering breath as she wrapped her arms tightly around Sparks.
“I saw her as my mother. I did everything I could to make her proud of me and she just cast me aside. I don’t know if I can truly forgive her for that.” Sunset said as tears rolled down her cheeks.
Sparks rubbed her back gently as she spoke. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to. What she did was cold and callous. I wasn’t really treated any better. There were things that I did that I should have been imprisoned for, but I just got a stern look and a ‘I’m so disappointed in you’ speech.” Spark said, resting her chin on Sunset’s head.
“What did you do?” Sunset asked quietly.
“Used the Want It, Need It spell to create a friendship problem because I had a self imposed weekly deadline for sending friendship reports to Celestia. Nothing had happened that week so I had nothing to report. I panicked and went nuts. I had some deep grovelling to do after that to repair my relationships with the townsfolk. When Jason and Twilight were merging, they were able to take an objective look at a lot of things. I was able to remove the rose colored glasses and see things for what they were.” Sparks explained, still holding the other woman in her arms.
“That has got to be confusing, having a merged personality.” Sunset said.
Sparks shrugged. “Only when I talk about things before the merge. After it, things are generally easier.” She said.
“So did you come here just to see all of us and move the portal?” Sunset asked quietly.
Sparks smiled. “Partially. The main reason I came though was to relax and spend time with you.” She replied.
Sunset looked up at the taller woman. “Really? Why?” She asked.
“Well, it's kind of funny. As I was remembering things and looking at my interactions with people, I came to a realization that I had fallen for a beautiful young woman who was so resilient that she was able to come back for being as low as you can get and coming out stronger for it.” Sparks said with a smile.
“Really? But, I’m not all that special. I have done some horrible things, not just in general, but to you specifically.” Sunset replied with disbelief in her voice.
“Maybe, but we all do horrible things at times. Both intentionally and not. It is how we handle the aftermath of those things that defines who we are. If you can acknowledge that you screwed up then accept it and move on, using the lessons learned to keep from making the same type of mistake again, then you will grow and be more resilient for it.” Sparks said. “Can you not say that you haven’t learned from your mistakes and take care in not repeating then or backsliding into the mentality that you had before the Fall Formal?”
Sunset was quite for a few moments as she rested her head on Spark’s chest, listening to her heartbeat.
“You’re right. I have made a change from how I used to be and I haven’t even tried any of my old tactics to get my way.” Sunset replied.
Sparks smiled.
“See, that proves that you are a good person at heart. You just had to get past the hurt for her to come back out.” She said, smiling at Sunset.
Sunset smiled back up at her. She seemed to hesitate for a moment before stretching up and meeting Spark’s lips with her own.
Sparks’s eyes widened before closing as she pulled Sunset closer.
Their lips parting and foreheads touching the pair smiled.
“What was that for? Not that I minded it, just curious.” Sparks inquired.
“Truthfully? I have wanted to do that for a long time, but I wasn’t sure what your feelings were. But, since you basically confessed them, I took a chance.” Sunset replied, looking into Sparks’s lavender eyes.
Sparks smiled. “I’m glad you did. Now it is getting late and I need some shut eye.” She said pecking Sunset on the lips, drawing a surprised giggle from the other woman.
“You’re right. I have an early shift at work.” Sunset said pulling back. “Dinner tomorrow? Just you and me?”
Sparks laughed. “You underestimate the need for information from our friends. That and I know Jazz will be shadowing us discretely since she has orders to keep an eye on me.” She said. “Right, buddy?”
Jazz stepped from the shadows. “You know I’ve got your back Warlock. I will run interference with the others while you two are on your date.” She said with a smirk.
Sparks laughed. “Thanks Jazz. Just try and stall them a bit.” She said before turning to Sunset. “Just so you know, I am up for just about anything for food. Though sadly red meat no longer agrees with my stomach. I miss having a well cooked steak.” She said wistfully.
“Yeah, I haven’t been able to even think about a cheeseburger since I met Daisy and the other cows.” Jazz said with a shudder. “That just makes it weird as hell talking to a cow and them talking back.”
“So veal is off the menu?” Sparks said with a wicked smirk.
Jazz turned a little green. “You are an evil, evil woman.” She said prompting Sparks to laugh and Sunset to giggle a bit.
Sparks and Sunset got out of the latter’s car laughing.
“I seriously cannot believe that Jazz did that.” Sunset said.
Sparks chuckled. “Yeah, when it came to shenanigans, Jazz could be pretty creative. But since we were Special Forces, punishments were handled a lot differently than they were for the regular soldiers. It is a small career field and it takes years to train someone. Given that it was only a table, a window, and some wounded pride, the 1st Sergeant went easy on her with just taking a single rank. Could have done a lot worse to her.” She replied.
Sunset shook her head smiling as she linked arms with the taller woman, making sure to stay on her left side.
Sparks smiled widely and leaned her head down and gave Sunset a kiss on the top of her head.
“What was that for?” Sunset asked, tilting her head up to look at Sparks.
“Because I felt like it.” Sparks replied, still smiling as the pair approached the restaurant that Sunset had picked out, a nice sushi place she had heard about but never tried.
"I can accept that." Sunset replied as the entered the restaurant.
Soon the pair was seated.
"So, How is it operating separately from the Equestrian government?" Sunset asked.
Sparks chuckled. "Damn Sunny, starting with the hard questions." She said with a smile before sighing. "In some cases, it is easier and others it is harder. One the one hand, it is a strictly military organization, so when issues crop up, we send a team or entire unit depending upon how big the problem is. Most of our current operations, outside mopping up the last of the die hard loyalists of the fuhrer, have been doing anti piracy patrols and doing what we can to ensure that the shipping lanes stay open. Thankfully, most of the other nations are fine with it and appreciate it. The pirate issue had gone on for a long time due to no one really having an organized navy to deal with them. On the other hand, I have to deal with visits from the nobility periodically, trying to rein me in. I abhor politicians. Nobility is worse. I did enjoy when they sent Fancy Pants and Fleur De Lis. That was entertaining."
"How so?" Sunset asked.
"Those two, they are the most down to earth ponies I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. They actually care about the people that they represent in the court, not their interests. And Fancy knows he is a damn lucky stallion for having Fleur at his side. And in his bed. She does yoga. Quite, umm, proficiently." Sparks replied with a light blush.
"Oh really?" Sunset said with a smirk.
"Yes, on their week long visit to Ponyville, she had inquired about a gym. We had just gotten one setup, and I asked one of the non-coms that was near by to show her where it was." Sparks explained. "I went to the gym the next morning to do my workout and bam, there she is, mare is like sex on legs to begin with, but throw in yoga pants and top, I had to turn around and take a cold shower."
Sunset laughed. "Really, seriously? You got hot and bothered by a noble's wife?" She asked between chuckles.
Twilight gave her a flat look and pulled out her cell phone.
"This thing isn't much use outside of the camera, but this is Fleur on the other side of the portal." She said bringing up a picture, a selfie of her and Fleur.
Sunset's eyes nearly popped out of her head. "Is she a supermodel or something? I mean damn, you said sex on legs, but damn!" She said after a second.
"I know right. Damn near ripped my pt shorts when I saw her with her ankles behind her head. Needless to say, that was a wank I wasn't proud of." Sparks said scratching the back of her neck.
Sunset looked at her with confusion. "What do you mean?" She asked.
Twilight's eyes widened. "Ah, did I forget to mention that? Yeah, when I was returning to my usual, majestic, form-" She said before she was interrupted by Sunset.
"Okay, down Trixie." She said with a teasing smile.
Sparks' rebuttal was halted as their food was brought out and their drinks were refilled.
"As I was saying, when I was returning to my female Equestrian form, Magic decided to troll me." Sparks finished.
"How so?" Sunset asked, eyebrow raised.
"Inowhavebothsetsofreproductiveorgans!" Twilight said quickly.
Sunset blinked, raised her hand to point at Twilight and opened her mouth, stopped, started to say something, stopped again, began to rub her chin as she filtered the conversation through her mind again, and then finally blushed so hard her entire face down to the neckline of her blouse went red.
"Yeah. So it has been awkward for the last almost year. When I was on Earth, I had a live in girlfriend who stuck by me through the changes. Apparently it is an alicorn thing, cause both Celestia and Luna are packing too." Sparks smirked a bit. "Luna and I managed to extract a Pinkie Promise out of Celestia to not tell Cadance since she hadn't bothered to warn her that it would show up after forty years or so."
Sunset's eyes widened. "That is evil!" She exclaimed before smirking. "I approve." She purred out.
Sparks chuckled as a shiver went down her spine. "Eh, my brother never mentioned that he was dating my old foalsitter, much less that he was engaged to her. I only found out when I got the invitation to the wedding." She said. "I think that this will be a good prank. And given that Cadance is the Princess of Love, it probably won't be anything he isn't used to, just it will be permanent."
Both women looked at each other and burst out laughing.
"So how 'well endowed' are we talking?" Sunset asked.
"In this body, about ya long and ya big around." Sparks replied using her hands to approximate the size. "Other side of the mirror, about this."
Sunset blinked, and then narrowed her eyes and licked her lips.
"You know, I am thinking that the internet has corrupted you." Sparks said, smirking at the wanton look in Sunset's teal eyes. "Because I think I may have just stumbled upon a kink."
"Oh, what is there something wrong with liking amazonian dick girls?" Sunset asked with a smirk.
"Not at all. Though I don't really consider myself amazonian. I mean, yeah six foot is tall for a female, but I don't see myself as gigantic." Sparks said.
"Sparks, I'm five foot five. To me, you are huge." Sunset replied. "Plus all that lean muscle, you are a damn walking wet dream for me. Makes me wonder what attracted you to me."
Sparks gave Sunset a loving look. "You have your own strength. You have risen from the ashes stronger than you were before. You have taken everything that you learned about friendship and made yourself a better woman. You have let your true self out and she has thrived, even when there was a setback. You dusted yourself off and, even if it took a while, you came back and were better because of it." Sparks said with determination. "You have a strength that amazes and inspires me. Since returning and reading over the conversations in the journals, just the strength that you have has inspired me and helped me find the strength to get through the day sometimes."
Sunset was taken aback by Sparks's response. "I help you? But how? You seem like, especially now, you have a strength that I couldn't even come close to." She replied.
Sparks sighed as she rubbed her left arm. "A lot of that is being able to put on a face that portrays that strength. There have been so many times in the last almost year that I have been plagued by doubts that I had the capability to lead an army numbering over a million." She sighed. "Before any of this, I didn't have much in the way of leadership experience. Before it was just the other Elements and even when I was in the army, the most I had was a squad. Going from a Sergeant to a General is a big leap and I am always questioning whether or not I am making the right decisions. I found it difficult to not take the deaths of my troops personally. I always have to take a moment to center myself and get my bearing back in place before I leave my office. Only my old team, who are my personal security detail, have really seen me not at my best. And even then, there is only so much they can do to help. When I get in those funks, I think about you. How you have risen above and even when you were down, you still had the strength to stand tall. That helped me find the strength I needed to carry on."
Sunset placed a hand on Sparks's prosthetic hand, not flinching at the feel of the metal under the glove.
"And, cheesy as this may sound, means that you are stronger than you think. You aren't afraid to admit, even in private, your doubts and fears." Sunset said, lifting the prosthesis. "When you lost your arm, you could have just given up, but you didn't. From what you said, you have fought like hell to get home. You didn't expect to walk into the situation that you did. But you rose to the challenge and did admirably. No one, not even Celestia has any right to ask more of you. You understood, better than her, what you were sending your people into. You, and all of them, knew the risks. You all accepted them and met them. That to me, is strength." She said, placing a kiss on Sparks's knuckles.
Sparks swallowed thickly as she blinked her eyes clear. "No one has ever quite put it that way before." She said. "Or rather never put it in a way that actually got through my thick skull." She added with a self-deprecating smile. "And don't try to say I don't have one. I made the conscious decision to choose a job that had me jumping out of perfectly good airplanes into places where people wanted to kill me. I have to be a bit hard headed to get through it."
"Maybe, but I have an outside perspective and I'm not likely to just tell you things to make you feel better. I know I have your trust to be honest, and I wouldn't betray that, not after all you have done for me." Sunset replied.
After that, the pair finished their dinner and headed back to Sunset and Twilight's apartment. When they got there, the apartment was empty. Sparks found a note from Jazz on her sleeping bag.
"Took the troublemakers to a movie. Have fun and enjoy yourselves. ;)"
Both women chuckled and rolled their eyes.
A short time later, as Sparks was getting into her sleeping bag, Sunset came out of her room.
"Hey, come lay down with me." She said.
Sparks raised an eyebrow. "Oooo, inviting the warrior princess to your chambers, M'lady? So scandalous." She said with a smile.
Sunset rolled her eyes and chuckled. "Just get in here if you want cuddles." She said, blinking as a flash of purple filled the room.
"I await my big spoon!" Came the call from her bedroom.
Sunset snorted as she re-entered her room and climbed into bed behind the taller woman. She snuggled up behind Sparks and wrapped an arm around her.
Sparks sighed as she snuggled back.
"What's wrong?" Sunset asked.
"Nothing, just content." Sparks replied before yawning. "Good night."
"Good night." Sunset said, placing a kiss on Sparks's shoulder.
Jazz and Twilight poked their heads in several hours later, and shared a smile at the pair cuddled together.
"I haven't seen her that relaxed in years." Jazz said after they had retreated down the hall.
"It looks like I might be able to take Luna up on that offer to move in together guilt free." Twilight replied with a smile.
Jazz cocked her head to the side. "How so?"
"She has wanted me to move in with her, but since it is both Sunset and I paying the bills, I didn't want to leave her in a lurch." Twilight replied as she started to make a cup of tea. "But after tonight, I think she may wind up going home with you, issues with Princess Celestia or not."
Jazz hummed. "Maybe, but that will be up to her. We can't pressure her. Sparks wouldn't like it if we did." She said. "Plus, if she does come back, I get to have fun telling the guys." She added with a smile.