//------------------------------//
// 010 - Under the Nose 
// Story: Songs of the Spheres 
// by GMBlackjack 
//------------------------------//

It is time to move in.

Agent Tempest Shadow stood before the statue at Canterlot High. The sculpture’s base shimmered in the sunny afternoon, making it impossible to tell if there was a portal there or if it was just really shiny.

There was an easy way to find out. She could just touch it.

She stood motionless, hesitant. She found herself going down a mental checklist – her gun was safely hidden under her jacket, her sunglass scanners were active, and she had her bulletproof vest on. Not to mention the other useful gadgets she carried on her at all times… She was prepared. She knew it was time to make her move.

But why did she pause here, now?

She shook her head – no, none of that. She was an agent of the United States Government, and she would not let herself falter now. She moved her hand toward the pedestal, expecting to be sucked in…

She just hit solid rock.

The portal wasn’t open right now. She retracted her arm slowly. Turning, she walked away nonchalantly. Nobody paid her much attention.

She pulled out her phone and dialed her boss. “The portal’s inactive at the moment. The operation cannot continue.”

“Well that’s a load of bull. And I’m not just saying that because I’ve got a load of illegally shipped bulls here.”

Tempest heard angry mooing in the background. “I did inform you of the portal’s unreliability.”

“Oh, I’m not mad at you, merely at fortune. I await the day when we can know things for certain…”

“I suggest we attempt again in a week.”

“Bah, I’m tired of waiting. We’re going with plan B.”

“…I am not confident in the validity of that plan.”

“You don’t have to be. Just gather division C and bring in Sunset Shimmer. Today.”

“…Yes, sir.”

“Good! Now hurry back, you might miss french toast day.”

Tempest hung up. She was tempted to roll her eyes but decided the gesture would be pointless. She was more than used to the antics of her boss at this point. Slightly crazed, possibly insane, but also very effective. He had a way of making things work.

Would this be the day everything fell apart?

Possibly. Though she always thought this when she went on missions she believed were ill-advised.

She dialed another number on her phone. “Division C, it’s Agent Shadow. We’ve got a mission. Meet me on the corner of Maple and Locust Grove.”


~~~


Starlight returned to Twilight’s Castle through the Mirror Portal, humming a little tune to herself. In her hoof was a small obelisk carved in white runes, the most dominant of which was a cross shape.

Another successful haul. This beauty was able to heal all sorts of wounds by touch alone. It had sure come in handy when she was procuring it, so much danger attacking her from all sides. Thanks to these runes she didn’t even have any scars. This was one of the better items she’d managed to obtain on her journeys.

“What do you have there?” Fluttershy asked, sauntering up to her.

“Souvenir,” Starlight said automatically.

“Oh? What’s it do?”

“It’s a small healing rock,” Starlight said.

“You sure do get a lot of magical souvenirs when you go through the portal alone…”

Starlight rolled her eyes. “It’s just because I’m looking for interesting things when I’m alone. When I’m with you girls we’ve usually got other things to deal with. I just let myself have some fun.”

Fluttershy narrowed her eyes. “That looks a lot like one of the runes from Lai…”

Starlight lit her horn, adjusting the controls on the Mirror Portal with her magic, careful not to let Fluttershy notice. “I wasn’t in Lai, Fluttershy. Plus, trying to take one of those runes would be stupid. Not only would the ponies get upset that they lost a rune, but the golems would be out for blood.”

Fluttershy turned to the Mirror Portal, checking the levers. “…The mushroom people had it?”

“Well they didn’t have it, but it was in some magical alcove in their world,” Starlight said. “You want it? Very helpful. Cleaned up a pretty nasty cut of mine in an instant.”

Fluttershy smiled. “I will if I get an injured animal. Don’t have any though. The Sanctuary’s been doing fine on its own. Rexy is a great guardian.”

“I’d expect so. Anyway, see you tomorrow, Fluttershy. Think we’ll find that world made of donuts yet?”

“I don’t think it’d be safe to let Pinkie in such a place…”

“We’re still going to find it eventually. It’s just a matter of time before we get to witness the apocalypse.”

Fluttershy chuckled. “I hope we find it sooner rather than later. Rip the bandage off quickly.”

Starlight shrugged. She waved goodbye and sauntered off to one of the castle’s basements. The moment she was out of Fluttershy’s sights she let out a harsh breath. “I’ve got to be more careful. They’d never understand…”

“Never understand what?” A deep, amused voice said from all angles.

Starlight tensed – not because she couldn’t tell where the voice was coming from, but because she recognized who it was. “D-Discord! Uh… How nice of you to drop by! …Where are you?”

With a flash of white magic, the wall right next to her transformed into Discord himself, in all his conglomerated glory. He smirked at her, staring into her soul with his uneven eyes. “Right here, of course, are you blind?”

“Veeeeery possibly,” Starlight said. “What brings you here?”

“Oh, just checking in on Fluttershy. And lo and behold, I find that you are talking to her and decide to listen in. It seems innocent enough, but then, oh but then, I hear you make a remark…” He snapped his fingers, changing his face into a parody of Starlight’s. He let out a comical wail. “Oh, woe is me! I was almost discovered! They can never understand me!”

“That’s not what I said!”

“It’s close enough. Still pretty suspicious, if I do say so myself.”

“I just didn’t want to tell her about all the pain I went through to get this,” Starlight said, holding out the rune. “I lost a leg before I got a hold of it.”

Discord narrowed his eyes. “Hrm… You’re covering up the lie with a half-truth.”

“…What?”

“What you just said was true, but it’s not the whole story. You’re being misleading. A wonderfully chaotic move, I must say, but Fluttershy doesn’t like it when that’s done to her. So I suppose I’ll have to grab her and have her demand the truth from you.”

“Oh no. The Stare.”

“Yes. The Stare. Nobody can resist those eyes.”

Starlight shivered, biting her lip. “Please… Please don’t, Discord. If you’re my friend, you won’t grab her. The truth would hurt her.”

“Then tell me. I’m unlikely to be hurt.”

“You… You probably won’t-“ She blinked, thinking for a moment. “Actually, I think you might be able to understand.” She glanced around nervously. “…Is anyone else around?”

“Pinkie. But that’s a universal constant.”

Starlight shrugged. “I think she knows, like she knows so many things, she just doesn’t say. I’ll never understand why… Regardless, this way. I’m going to take you to my… stash.”

“Is it full of energy drinks?”

“Part of it, at least.” She trotted further into the castle’s basement, arriving at a hall with no light in it. She used her own horn to illuminate the way, eventually coming to a stop at a door with her cutie mark imprinted on it. “Magically sealed, only I can open it. You probably could as well if you put your power to it.” She lit her horn, undoing the lock spell. The door slid open, revealing a small room with numerous boxes in it. Many of them contained energy drinks.

“…Why are you showing me a bunch of energy drinks?”

“Not what I’m here to show you.”

He twisted his body so he was standing behind her and looking her in the face. “Why energy drinks though? I never see you drink them!”

“I don’t in public. Pinkie finds them. Then things start exploding. Have to keep them hidden down here, in the stash.”

Discord grabbed one and drank it – prompting a spit-take that lit a nearby box on fire, reducing it to rubber balls. Starlight rolled her eyes at Discord’s chaotic antics. “It’s not that bad!”

“How can you drink these things!?”

Starlight ignored him and walked up to a seemingly empty wall. She lit her horn, unleashing magical sparks on six particular sections. A magic circle appeared in the wall, dissolving a circular path into the crystal. Starlight stepped through, entering a new, even more secret room.

Discord’s jaw dropped the moment he got a look around the new enclosure. There were boxes in here as well but they weren’t full of energy drinks. There were magical artifacts of many different sizes, including more than a few Lai runes. Several boxes were filled to the brim with electronic tablets, phones, and computers. A large television screen was mounted on one wall with several large boxes plugged into it. Propped up next to the screen was a large blue rune with a cat-like golem sleeping on top of it. The unusual items had no unifying pattern – robot heads, scientific equipment, ancient bending scrolls, books – it seemed like she’d taken anything she wanted.

“…You have a problem,” Discord said.

“I’m not a kleptomaniac,” Starlight asserted.

“…What?”

“It means someone who can’t stop stealing. I don’t steal from the other worlds for no reason – I take so we can use these things. You see that table over there? I’m trying to insert one of the runes into a helicopter drone. If possible, I could create an automatic friend that’ll constantly cast protection spells for us! Or look over here, this is a completely normal tablet, right?”

“Too shiny to be a normal tablet.” He snapped his fingers, transforming it into stone. “Much better.”

“Undo that, I was trying to make a point.”

Discord shrugged, reverting it. Starlight smiled, tapping the screen with her hoof. An apple materialized in the air in front of her. She tossed it to Discord. “I’ve enchanted this thing with several spells, each activated by certain buttons in this ‘app’ here.”

Discord looked at the screen, eyebrow raised. “…Why’s it a cookie?”

“I adapted one of the games on this thing. This tablet used to belong to an evil Sunset before I got my hooves on it.”

“Seventeen decillion cookies?”

“Uh… Ignore that number, it means nothing,” Starlight blushed. She shut off the tablet with a quick press of the button. “I also have projects exploring the art of fusing runes together, making masks out of runes, letting these robots use magic… All stuff that Twilight will be very glad I made, all stuff that’ll greatly help Equestria.”

Discord raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”

“She’s too nice, Discord. Refuses to take anything, doesn’t think about furthering her world. The others do, having taken advantage of our magic and hospitality without giving much in return. I’m just the backup Twilight doesn’t know about. We have their stuff.”

Discord furrowed his brow. “So… You go to universes, take random things you think might be useful, and then work on them here, hoping that in the future Twilight will thank you for what you’ve done?”

“Yeah! That’s it!”

Discord chuckled. “I like it! Completely crazy and doomed to failure, of course, but who cares about that!?”

“…What a rousing endorsement.”

“I do have a question though. What’s the TV for?”

“Ah… When I was in Earth stores, there were a lot of things to take easily. They’re video games unlike anything we have here, much better than those dinky arcade machines. Wanna play? I’ve got a two player game but I’ve never had anypony else down here to try.”

“Not even Trixie?”

Starlight raised an eyebrow. “Funny. Trixie. Keeping her mouth shut. What an interesting thought.”

Discord created a blue unicorn sock puppet meant to be Trixie. “Oh Starlight, I assuuuuure you, the Great and Powerful Trixie won’t boast about all the things her best friend is doing! Trixie can keep a secret! Trixie is great at being silent about your thieving exploits!”

Starlight chuckled. “Trixie, the entire neighborhood just heard that. You’ve doomed us all.”

Discord created a sock puppet Twilight. “TRAITORS! ALL OF YOU!” He made the Trixie sock puppet look aghast. “But Trixie wasn’t involved!” The Twilight sock puppet folded her arms. “You were standing nearby and you’re Trixie! GUILTY!”

Starlight rolled her eyes. “That’s enough Discord. Do you want to play or not?” She levitated two controllers into the air.

He shrugged. “Eh, I have time to kill. I need to see if these things of yours are really worthwhile.” He grabbed one with his foot, ready to conquer these ‘video games.’


~~~


“Fire comes from within, Sunset. Reach into your passion and push out!”

“I know, Iroh!” Sunset said, flinging a fireball at a sparring dummy made of a propped up mop and a bucket. “That’s one of the first things you told me!” She did a backward cartwheel, shooting fire into the air, careful not to burn the track she was practicing on.

“Feel the chi flow through your body-“

“Are you just repeating basic training to annoy me?” Sunset asked, spinning around to generate a small whirlwind of fire around herself.

“I thought that was obvious!” Iroh laughed.

Sunset grunted to herself, standing on one leg and shooting fire out of one of her fingers, hitting the dummy right in the bucket-head. Then she leaped over to the bucket, grabbed it by the handle, flipped it over, and put a flame under it. She reached into her pocket, removing a piece of bacon from a sealed bag and tossing it into the bucket. In two minutes the delectable meat was ready. She removed the flame and kicked the bucket into the air, tossing the meat over to Iroh. He caught it in his mouth, licking his lips. “Well done!”

“This is very, very absurd,” Sunset said.

“So? You’re getting good. A fast learner. Not as fast as Aang, but he had a bit of an unfair advantage over you.”

“Did he learn to combatatively cook things?”

“…I’m not sure that’s a word.”

“Did he?”

“No. He had a more… specific goal. But I fully expect him to discover the art of culinary firebending and fall in love with it. Once he has time to rest, anyway. The world always needs its Avatar.”

Sunset nodded. “I’m surprised you find the time to come here to me.”

“I am as well. It turns out that an ambassador, while an important individual, isn’t needed constantly.”

“If you were an ambassador for Earth the paperwork would never end.”

Iroh chuckled. “Remind me to never be an ambassador for Earth then!”

“They’ll never let an outsider speak for them…” Sunset said, smile vanishing. “Humans have a… problem. At least here. They all think they’re right and will seek out information that confirms what they believe, passing off anything else as lies. Anyone who isn’t them or with them is the enemy, worthy of being hated.”

Iroh raised an eyebrow. “I thought your world was at peace?”

“There are wars happening elsewhere. They’re small compared to what you experienced and to what happened in this world’s past. But they’re there. It’s like people just want to hate each other. I’m concerned what they’d do if they found the other universes…”

Iroh shrugged. “I won’t pretend to have any idea. This world makes little sense to me. Everything’s so prevalent, and yet nobody seems happy.”

“My friends tell me not to worry about it, that I can’t do anything,” Sunset said. “And they’re probably right. For now, anyway.” She shook her head. “Sorry about this. I guess I went a little deep there for a second.”

“It’s no problem. It’s a sign that you know how to think.”

“I have to know how to think or I’m not going to make it in the world of theoretical physics.”

Iroh shook his head. “I don’t mean that kind of thought. I mean the thought directed inward, the thought that helps you see yourself and others for what they are.”

“I try.” She kicked the bucket back on top of the mop. “Well, I should probably go study. Those derivatives won’t derive themselves.”

Iroh chuckled. “There you go, speaking those words again. Such a strange alien language.”

Sunset rolled her eyes, waving as she walked away. She turned a corner, heading to the dorms. She was already considering flopping onto her bed the moment she arrived, but that Calculus homework was due tomorrow and if she didn’t do it now she’d have to rush it. That’d just be bad.

She was suddenly thankful her roommate wasn’t a party animal. Sugarcoat was surprisingly helpful in studying. Sometimes brutal tactless honesty had a point normal encouragement didn’t.

Sunset heard a footstep behind her. She glanced over her shoulder, expecting to see another student.

It wasn’t. It was a woman dressed in black. She moved too fast for Sunset to react – covering Sunset’s mouth with a hand and jabbing a gun painfully into Sunset’s side.

“You’re coming with me,” she said in a powerful, somewhat arrogant tone. “Don’t try anything. I’m Agent Shadow, and your presence is demanded by the Government of the United States. I’m willing to release you if you’ll come peacefully.”

Fat chance, Sunset thought. She let her muscles relax and go slack though.

Agent ‘Shadow’ (if that was her real name) apparently knew this was just a ruse to gain the upper hand since she produced a pair of handcuffs, ready to imprison Sunset.

“Excuse me, can you tell me where-”

Agent Shadow didn’t let Iroh finish. She pointed the gun in his direction - a motion he was apparently expecting, for he threw fire in her face as she turned to look at him. She was knocked to the ground, leaving Sunset free from handcuffs.

“Let’s get out of here…” Sunset said, reaching into her pocket for the dimensional device. She realized with a shock that it was busted. The agent had pressed her gun right into it. “Crud.”

“I used the Mirror Portal,” Iroh said. “It should be open.”

Agent Shadow leaped up with alarming speed, kicking Iroh right in the chest. She whipped her gun on him. “My quarrel is not with you.”

“That’s what you think.” He breathed fire at her, throwing her aim off. The gun went off, hitting nothing. Sunset elbowed her in the gut, knocking her to the ground again. She was prepared for a longer fight, but Iroh grabbed her and ran.

“Why are we-“

“Those kinds of people never work alone,” Iroh muttered. “Where’s your car?”

Sunset nodded, taking the lead. “This way!” She leaped over a bush, heading right for the parking lot, Iroh showing no difficulty in keeping up with her.

Two men in black charged at them from the side, holding guns. “Stop in the name of the law!”

“Drat,” Sunset muttered. “They’re going to start shooting.”

Iroh leaped into the air, putting his hands together. A torrent of fire shot forth from his hands, bright enough to blind the two agents. Only one of their guns went off, again, hitting nothing.

“They’re being very cautious with those guns…” Iroh observed.

“They don’t want to cause a scene. It’d be really bad if someone other than us got hit.” She ran to the door of her car, jumping in. “Mildly surprised they weren’t watching this.”

“They still might be,” Iroh said, taking his place in the back seat. Sunset turned the keys and floored it. She pulled out of the parking spot with the intense and unpleasant screech of burning rubber on a rough road. She tore through the lot of cars at a speed well above what was safe.

She was glad she tossed safety to the wind. A black car began pursuing them at its own reckless speed. A siren went off, alongside red and blue lights.

“They want everyone to think this is just a criminal chase…” Sunset muttered.

Iroh furrowed his brow, looking out the back window. “They’re not gaining, at least. We should be able to make it…”

Sunset paled. There was a red light ahead at a busy road. There was a sea of cars moving across her field of view. “Iroh, I’m going to have to pull a very, very sharp right turn at a speed right turns were not meant to be taken at. Hold onto your lunch.”

Iroh grabbed his stomach and grinned. “Done!”

Sunset shifted slightly into the left lane, making many cars honk at her for intruding on their space. Then she yanked the wheel down to the right, skidding into the intersection in a semi-spiral. The car leaned up on its two left wheels, but didn’t tip over. Sunset was able to floor it, completing the high-speed turn without crashing into any cars.

Mostly.

She noticed her left mirror was missing.

She wondered when that had happened.

“They did it as well,” Iroh announced.

“Trained professionals…” Sunset muttered under her breath.

“One’s pointing a gun out of the window.”

Sunset’s pupils shrunk to pinpricks. This was the only reaction she was allowed before a bullet shot through the back window and went straight through to the front windshield, barely missing Iroh and Sunset.

“I have no way to stop that!” Sunset said, hanging a left into a mostly abandoned side street.

“I do,” Iroh said, popping open the skylight and crawling onto the roof of the car. “Tell me if you’re going to turn!” He yelled down.

“Are you crazy!?” Sunset blurted.

“Very.” Iroh looked behind them, now able to see two cars in hot pursuit. A bullet flew past him, nicking his ear. He winced at the pain but maintained his composure. He raised his hands into the air and began to move them in a calculated circular motion, separating his chi into controllable powers. Blue sparks of energy began to come out of his fingers.

Sunset had no idea what he was doing. But she trusted him.

Iroh moved his body back, pushing energy behind him. He pointed a finger towards the pursuing cars, blue electricity crackling around his extended hand. He unleashed a bolt of lightning from his fingers, hitting the metallic cars dead on. The arcs of electricity bounced from car to car with intense energy.

Cars, especially government issue ones, are designed to protect their occupants from lightning strikes, should they ever come. Had Iroh’s attack been a simple bolt similar to the ones in storms, nothing would have happened besides some very disoriented drivers. But Iroh got lucky. Tires, while very good insulators, will blowout if enough heat is put into them. Iroh’s lightning lasted long enough to raise the air pressure beyond manageable levels. Both cars blew out a tire. When combined with the disorientation of the lightning strike itself, the cars spun out.

“…That was awesome.”

Iroh leaped down into the car again. “I’m a firebending master, Sunset. Don’t be all that surprised when I pull out something unexpected.”

“You’re bleeding!”

“Just a nick on the ear. They’re horrible shots.”

“I’m talking about your arm!”

Iroh looked at his left arm. It was drenched in blood. “…Well would you look at that. I suppose I’m in shock then. Keep driving, I’ll treat myself.” He tore off the sleeve on his right arm, wrapping it tightly around the wound. “Went clean through…”

“I think that’s good! I think? I don’t know, TV could lie!”

“Sunset, calm yourself. Get us to the Mirror Portal.”

Sunset pulled onto the curb of Canterlot High a moment later. She ran past the statue – the Portal wouldn’t be there. Twilight had moved the Mirror Portal, so the connection point had moved as well. Twilight was working on figuring out why that was the case, but at the moment Sunset didn’t care. She ran to one of the first-floor windows of Canterlot High, pressing her hand into it.

The portal wasn’t there.

Sunset took a breath. “…Are you sure you came through here?”

“Positive. It appears someone else used it.”

“Well, fudge,” Sunset said.

“You should’ve used a stronger word than fudge,” Agent Shadow muttered, aiming her pistol at Sunset’s head. “You’ve just made a big scene.”

Sunset looked at the street. Yep. There was a black car there. One without a busted tire. She gulped.

“Both of you. In the car. Now.”

Sunset curled her fist. Maybe she could…

“Sunset…” Iroh said, gesturing with his head towards the car. There were other agents with guns aimed and ready.

Sunset was pretty sure they wouldn’t miss this time.

She sighed, putting her hands high into the air. “…Fine. We surrender.”

Agent Shadow produced a pair of handcuffs. “Good.”

They were soon on their way in the custody of people who Sunset doubted were really government agents. To make matters worse, she didn’t have the journal on her. They couldn’t call for help…

And she wasn’t getting that calculus homework done.

Somehow that was the worst part of all this.


~~~


Discord and Starlight stared at the screen with tears in their eyes. The controllers had been discarded a long time ago in exchange for a movie. And Celestia, was the movie emotional.

“That… That was beautiful,” Discord said.

Starlight sniffed. “She gave up her dream so the kids could have theirs… That was so…”

“…Perfect.” He stood up. “This is definitely worthwhile. I’m on your side, Starlight.”

“Thank you,” Starlight said. “You’re welcome to come down here whenever you want. I’ll keep getting new stuff. Just don’t mess with anything.”

Discord snapped his fingers, summoning one of the Directory books to his hand. “I’m going to do more than that. I’m going to help you.”

Starlight blinked. “…What?”

“Let’s go. Right now. Find a world, get something interesting.” He flipped to a random page and pointed at a world marked with UNSAFE. “I’m sure I can get us through here.”

“Discord! We don’t know what’s in those places!”

“Exactly. Ripe for the plundering!” He snapped his fingers, putting Starlight in a blue suit. A spherical bubble surrounded her head.

“Discord this is bizarre. And unsafe.”

Discord smirked mischievously. “You’re already being unsafe and dastardly. I’m just here to improve your experience.” He snapped his fingers, tearing a hole in reality completely on his own power. The world they connected to was monochrome and unlike any world they had seen before. The ‘sky’ was visible in all directions – an unchanging static pattern that belonged on a TV screen in a picture, not all around them. They could see the individual ‘pixels’ that made up the pattern, all identical in size, all somehow forming a single grid even though they should have appeared like a celestial sphere. The world was filled with impossibly expansive chunks of black earth only as thick as a bell tower. They floated on every level, and Starlight knew they extended beyond their sight range.

Discord stepped through and stretched his legs on top of a black chunk. “Well, this is something I’ve never seen before. I particularly like this sky. My house could use something like that.”

Starlight stepped out behind him, carefully touching the earth beneath her. It felt like a rock. Like what she’d expect a rock to feel like, a rock that was somehow the combination of all rocks she’d ever felt. “Bizarre…” She used her magic to lift a pebble and toss it back into the room. She waved her hoof in front of her. “This place is airless.”

“Yep!”

“How are we talking?”

“Magic. Mine, of course.”

She walked to the edge of their earth chunk and stared into the abyss below. More static – but also more slabs of earth. All of them were parallel to the one they themselves were standing on. Some must have stretched for hundreds of miles.

“How is there even an up and down here?” Starlight wondered.

“Well that isn’t me,” Discord said, creating an apple that fell upward and exploded in a shower of cardboard. Each brown piece was immune to gravity. “I can remove it if you want.”

“Nah… I like having a down.” She glanced at the portal. “We should probably close that before we suck all the air out of Twilight’s castle.”

Discord closed the portal dutifully. It was then Starlight realized how quiet everything was here. There was no sound and no motion besides her and Discord. She could hear her own heartbeat thumping in her chest.

“We need to name this place,” Discord said.

“What if it already has a name?”

“Does it look like anybody lives here?”

“Looks can be deceiving,” Starlight said.

“I vote for calling it the Graybox.”

“No…” Starlight said, lifting her ears. She listened to the silence. “That’s not it…”

Discord raised an eyebrow. “Whatever. We can name it later.”

Starlight rammed her hoof into the ground. She heard half of the noise that was supposed to come from that action. The part that came from her hoof. No sound at all came from the rock. “This is impossible,” she said. “I’m hitting it, and it’s not giving way, it has to be vibrating. But there’s no thunk, no thud, no skidding noise… Just motion. But motion implies at least some sound…”

Discord facepalmed. “This is another universe Starlight! That may be unusual, even for me, but come on, you’re talking to the lord of Chaos. I could make sounds come from nothing and turn you into sound.”

“Please don’t,” Starlight said. “I don’t think that’d be safe here.”

Discord shrugged. “As you wish.” He snapped his fingers, teleporting them to another slab of rock. Even though they had to have moved several miles, the static sky did not change.

“They must be light-years away,” Starlight offered.

“Or they could always be the exact same distance from you,” Discord said, creating a box of orange peels in front of them. It always stayed precisely one meter from Starlight’s face. She turned to Discord – slapping him in the face with it. “Ow…”

“You should be more careful with the illustrations you create. Your point can always come back to bite you.”

Discord created a pen with teeth. It snapped at him. “Eh, I don’t know. Seems innocent enough.”

Starlight facehooved.

Discord grinned, tossing the pen behind him. It imploded, spraying laughing ink everywhere. Starlight wiped it off her face, unamused. She took in a breath. “Well, it doesn’t look like anything’s here… Just rocks, gravity, and no sound whatsoever.”

“Do you want to go back already?” Discord put his hands to his face, forcing green reptilian tears to fall from his face.

“I already got a soil sample. There’s nothing else to collect. Unless you’ve suddenly learned how to teleport light-years away so we can investigate the static.”

Discord frowned. “There she goes. Ladies and gentlemen, pointing out a limit in my power. Amazing.”

An audience composed of three copies of Discord yawned. The ‘feminine’ one booed.

Starlight summoned an orange with her magic and threw it at the booing Discord.  The audience vanished before it made contact.

“Are oranges your attack of choice now?” Discord mused. “I much prefer limes myself.”

Starlight rolled her eyes. “Can you think of anything else to do here besides throw fruit at each other?”

Discord turned into a mouse. “We can have a rat race. Or…” He transformed back into his regular self, except wearing a pilot’s suit. “We can see how far we can fall.”

“Discord…”

“TALLY-HO!” He cheered, stepping off the edge of the rocky slab, falling down into the eternity. Starlight rolled her eyes, wrapping herself in telekinesis and rushing to match his increasing speed. Without air, there was nothing working against gravity. They both kept falling faster and faster.

“Think we’ll be able to see a rock before we hit it?” Starlight asked after a minute of falling.

“I dunno. But you can rest easy, Discord is here! I’ll just bring your flattened body back to life, easy.”

“It’s almost like there’s no danger when you’re around.”

“I know! It’s great, isn’t it? You all should have Fluttershy scream ‘Discord! Save me!’ so I can swoop in and save the day!”

“We all know you can’t hear her when she’s in another universe.”

“You never know, I might be watching anyway…”

Starlight rolled her eyes. “…How fast do you think we’re falling now?”

Discord took out a speedometer from nowhere. “Over a kilometer a second. In two more minutes it’ll be two kilometers a second.”

“…Those numbers don’t mean anything to you.”

“Nope! It’s just what the dealy says!”

“It’s a compass now.”

“Huh. So it is. Apparently up is north.”

Starlight rolled her eyes. “So, had enough of falling yet?”

“Yeah.” Discord clapped his hands, and suddenly they were motionless. Starlight didn’t question how she survived this deceleration. Discord opened a portal back home – and hit rock. Soil poured out of the opening into the world of static.

Discord put on a detective hat and a pipe that blew bubbles upside down. “It seems we’re deep underground.”

“No, really?”

“Easy fix. Just a teleport-“

“Wait,” Starlight said, holding up a hoof. “I see something over there.”

Discord stopped his fingers from snapping. He followed her gaze to a nearby slab of rock. There was, in fact, something on top of it. A tall black rectangle.

A monolith.

Starlight teleported them right next to it. It was about the height of Discord, taking the shape of an ideally proportioned rectangle. It was only as thick as a hoof and it floated above the ground high enough that Starlight could walk under it, which she did. It was made of some black featureless metal that glinted in the light.

“Question. Where is the light coming from?” Starlight asked, ignoring the whine that had started in her ears. Her senses were finally wigging out from the silence.

“No idea,” Discord said, tapping the monolith with his claw. Nothing happened.

“Discord, you could have triggered an apocalypse or something.”

“Yeah, right,” he rolled his eyes.

Starlight returned her attention to the monolith, eyes narrowing. She figured since nothing had happened when Discord touched it, she might as well try messing with it herself. She lit her horn, attempting to touch it with her magic.

It sucked her telekinesis spell dry, right into itself.

Starlight grinned. “…A magic absorption material.”

Discord took a step back from it. “Like that bug Chrysalis’ throne? Eck!”

“Somewhat. That absorbed magic selectively, and with a range. This thing will just absorb whatever contacts it…” She rubbed her hooves together. “We’re taking this home.”

“How? It’ll just absorb any magic we throw at it, and that’s about all we’ve got to throw at it.”

“Only what it’s touching. Discord, create some rockets and put them under this stone slab. We’re carrying this thing up.”

Discord shrugged. “Sure.” In an instant, seven rockets were placed beneath the rock. Starlight cut a circular area of the rock out of the miles-long slab, allowing it to rise into the air. The monolith maintained a constant distance from the rock, effectively moving upward.

“This’ll take a while,” Starlight noted. “Now we are fighting something. Gravity itself.”

Discord conjured a deck of cards. “Care for a game?”

“I don’t see why not. As interesting as this monolith is, I’d prefer not to chance it draining all my magic here. Here is bad.” As the whine in her ear attested, ponies were just not meant to have true silence around them. She tried to focus on the game, but it was difficult. Everything she heard felt wrong. She was certainly ready to get out of this place.

But she couldn’t leave without the treasure.


~~~


Sunset and Iroh sat in a room. It was comfortable enough, like a hotel room. Two large beds, a TV, a desk, and a bathroom. No windows though, and the door was locked with several levels of security in addition to being completely fireproof.

This didn’t stop Sunset from trying to get through. She’d bypassed two electronic locks and had picked a physical keyhole. Currently, she was using a wire obtained from a light bulb fixture to probe a lock situated through the door’s crack.

Iroh glanced at her. “You know, they probably know what you’re doing.”

Sunset held up a busted video camera and three listening devices. “I combed the place. They have no more eyes in here.”

“Then why haven’t they come in to check on us in a while?”

“I have no idea,” Sunset said. “I’m just going to work on getting out since there appears to be an opportunity.”

Iroh shrugged, lying back on the bed. “I’d just wait for our captors to return and tell us what they want. They even treated my wound. No enemy would do that.”

“It means they want something, and I don’t like that…” Another lock clicked open. “Gettin’ there…”

“Come, Sunset, relax and watch TV. I’m personally learning a lot from your news. I just saw the same story run twice on two separate channels. Very different…”

“News is not relaxing…”



“It can be amusing though. Your leader is a riot!”

“Joy,” Sunset deadpanned, continuing her work. She probed the lock – and it clicked open. Then all the other locks opened up as well.

Sunset blinked. “Uh… what did I do?”

The door swung open, revealing Agent Shadow standing there with a keycard. “Four locks. Not bad. But your time’s up. Come on out you two, the boss wants to see you.”

Iroh stretched his uninjured arm and grinned. “Ah, good thing you came now, I was considering taking a nap!”

Sunset twitched. “How can you be so relaxed!?”

Iroh shrugged. “I’m an old man. Getting worked up over things seems like too much work.”

Agent Shadow narrowed her eyes. “Hurry up.”

Sunset stood up, kicking all her makeshift tools out of the way. She reached out for Agent Shadow gently, her ungloved hand ready to get a reading.

The agent kicked Sunset in the gut and shoved her in the shoulder. “You are not going to be doing that. Put your gloves on.”

Sunset groaned but did as was asked. She stood up, glaring at the agent. “You’ve clearly done your homework.”

“I’m well versed in your capabilities. We clearly underestimated the old man though.”

“Us old folks often know the dirtiest tricks,” Iroh said. Then his face suddenly became serious. “Take us to your leader. I have a feeling there’s much to discuss.”

“That there is.” She put handcuffs on the two of them, leading them into a hallway with many other doors that presumably led to similar rooms. They passed dozens of these rooms before coming to an elevator. The three of them piled in. The agent selected “B12” on the keypad. Sunset ran her eyes across the numbers – highest floor was 3, lowest was B13. This was a big facility. It probably also didn’t exist. At least not the lower levels.

“What’s in basement 13?” Sunset asked.

The agent gave no response. Iroh and Sunset followed her example. They arrived at the basement in a few seconds. The doors slid open to reveal a large, open space filled with computers. Dozens of people in suits and glasses sat at the computers, typing furiously. A few agents stood rigidly at the edges of the room, presumably serving as both guards and overseers. Towards the back of the room were several giant screens, one of which showed a map of the world colored in different places. Most were a faint purple, but a few areas spiked in color. The Bermuda Triangle, someplace in China, and the state Canterlot High was in were all bright red.

Other screens showed images of people. Sunset saw herself, Iroh, both Twilights, and Pinkie up there alongside other individuals she didn’t recognize. Words flashed by faster than she could read. Magic surge found in… …China researching Arcanum… …conformed haunting in Japan…

“Holy meatballs on a stick. You guys are a paranormal investigations unit,” Sunset muttered.

“That we are!” A loud, jovial, bombastic voice yelled from just beneath the world map. A tall man with pale blue skin and an impressive white beard stood up from his large swivel chair, his black suit shining with premium polish. “I am Director Storm! Pleased to make your acquaintance! Agent Shadow, remove their handcuffs, this is no way to do meet new people!”

Agent Shadow tensed. “But sir, they can-“

“I know they could burn this place to the ground, but since we’ve been rather rude in bringing them here, I think we should extend an olive branch.”

Agent Shadow undid the handcuffs reluctantly, letting Iroh and Sunset free.

Director Storm rubbed his hands together. “Much better! Come up here, my desk has extra chairs. I can even order us drinks. Coffee or tea?”

“Tea,” Iroh said.

“Coffee,” Sunset said.

Iroh looked at her like she was a traitor.

“Hey, hey, I’ll get tea next time! Both are good drinks!”

Director Storm laughed. “Already off to a great start!” As they sat down opposite Storm, an agent with a blank expression delivered piping hot tea and coffee, along with a bizarre rainbow fruit cocktail for the Director.

Iroh extended his hand. “I am Ambassador Iroh, Director, pleased to finally make your acquaintance.”

Director Storm shook the hand. “The pleasure is all mine. And I see you using your injured arm there, trying to show you aren’t afraid of a little pain are you, hrm? I do apologize about the gunshot, I had instructed her to be brought in without injuries. Though I suppose that did end up being true. Not a scratch on Sunset. Don’t you hate it when your subordinates technically follow your orders?”

Iroh nodded. “I was a general once. Many battles were lost by technicalities.”

“Ah, a military man? I myself was one, served as a colonel before coming here. I like this job a lot better.”

Sunset raised an eyebrow. “What, investigating magic?”

“Precisely!” Director Storm confirmed. “We are the Arcane Investigations Department, tasked with observing the magical hotspots of the world for the United States Government. Unfortunately, we don’t exist so there’s no special arcane badge or anything, we just get regular FBI stuff. So disappointing.”

“So...” Sunset pursed her lips. “Let me get this straight. You saw some of the magic happenings going on around the school recently, decided to investigate and watch us, and then became so interested in what was going on you had to capture me so I could tell you how to take control of it for yourself?”

Director Storm laughed. “So close, and yet, so far! We’ve been watching Canterlot High for decades, Sunset, since before I came in the program! Magic keeps popping up around there for no discernable reason – or, well, at least until we realized it was all because of its connection to another world. Thanks to you and your notes, by the way.”

“…You were rifling through my notes.” Sunset blinked. “…I need to apologize to Rainbow Dash. Wait, how did you read them?”

“It wasn’t easy. We had to run most of it through computer algorithms.”

Iroh laughed. Sunset furrowed her brow. “You still want me to tell you how to take control of magic.”

“Goodness gracious, no! You obviously don’t know how to do that and this isn’t some power play. That’s for politics, and we hate politics here. I have numerous Senators breathing down my back and it’s painful when a power play is involved. It goes like this. ‘Hey, can I get some funding to stop a magical disease from exploding all over India?’ ‘No, sorry, if I provide funding to you now they’ll hate the new budget proposal!’ And on and on and on and on…”

Sunset frowned. “You must want something from me to go through all this trouble.”

Director Storm smirked. “That I do.” He grabbed a remote and pointed it at the main screen, switching it from the world map to an in-depth schematic that Sunset recognized instantly. A fully 3D rendered version of her non-magical portal. The two spikes were clear. She watched as the model animated and tore a hole in reality.

Then the screen switched to a live video feed. In a large, dark room, Sunset could see two physical spikes protruding from the ground. Her jaw dropped. “You built it!?”

“Well, not precisely. It doesn’t function without magic, and we lack the precise spells you use to travel. But it’s your design. It can draw power from the nearby plant and drive it into a dimensional energy gateway… in theory, anyway. We’re unable to test it. So I decided I was tired of waiting for the brainiacs on level nine to replicate the spell. I brought you here with an offer. I want you to work for us, Sunset. I want you to push this division beyond simple ‘Arcane’ studies – we can make history with a non-magical portal device. You have the new ideas, the genius, and the prerequisite knowledge. You probably know more about magic than this entire facility put together!” He sat back. “Make the portal work and you’ve got yourself a job. It’ll pay for all your education and you’ll get to turn what you’ve been doing in your free time into something more… worthwhile. Isn’t this exciting!?”

Sunset blinked. “You have my broken portal device. You can just use that. Why all this talk of ‘offers’ and a ‘deal’?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Iroh said. “He wants you on their side.”

Sunset raised her right hand and took off her glove. “Director Storm, I do not know if you are altruistic, if you are telling the truth, or if you have some sort of evil plan in the back of that mind of yours. This all seems very, very fishy to me. But you can do something to prove yourself to me, and I think you know what it is.”

Director Storm grinned. Without a word he vigorously shook Sunset’s hand.

She felt his deep passion, his intense joy about life, his devotion, his anticipation… His desire. He wasn’t perfect. His positivity and words were genuine, but power corrupts, and it was corrupting him like it did all other men. He was being honest now, but he was a well-versed liar. He had not gotten to the top without causing bloodshed.

She was witness to several memories. Him throwing a Christmas celebration for all the AID agents. Him killing a man in cold blood with an arcane artifact. Him leading troops in a battle he was not prepared for. Him yelling at some random politician with a fire usually limited to the mouths of bloodthirsty barbarians…

Sunset leaned back. “…You mean what you say.”

“But, naturally, I’m not pure. I’m a horrendously selfish man who just wants to be great. I’m definitely willing to hurt people to do that. But it just so happens that I think huge projects for all of mankind is part of being great. And I think we can help each other here.” He folded his hands and grinned. “So? You want a job?”

“…I’ll have to let the sushi place know I’m quitting ahead of time…”

Director Storm fist pumped. “Yes! We can take care of that for you. I’m sure they’ll accept a Harvard graduate as a worker for now.”

“I haven’t said yes yet!”

“Yes you have,” Iroh and the Director said at the same time.

Sunset rolled her eyes. “Fine. I do have a condition though. I’m not going to be able to keep this secret from certain people I know.”

“You can tell anyone who knows about magic,” Director Storm said. “Well, that we exist at least, and that you’re working with us. You can’t give them details. Good enough of a compromise for you?”

Sunset slid the glove back over her hand. She tried to calm herself – she couldn’t let Director Storm’s excitement make her lose control. “Fair enough. Before we make any plans, what exactly will I be doing besides helping design this portal?”

“You have experience traveling the worlds, yes? You’ll be going through it with our main team with my best agents. Yes, that includes you Tempest.”

“I’m aware,” Agent Tempest Shadow muttered.

“Good!” Director Storm quipped. “You can start work right away! See if you can get old Iroh here home. Speaking of Iroh, Ambassador, I’ve been neglecting you. I do hope this won’t interfere with our agency’s relation to your world.”

Iroh raised an incredulous eyebrow. “You did shoot me.”

“I apologized!” Director Storm put on his best ‘cute eyes’ expression. It worked surprisingly well, Sunset decided.

Iroh smirked. “I’m afraid my opinion of you can only go so far, the people close to me aren’t going to like you.”

“Challenge accepted.”

“Hold it!” Sunset said. “I have calculus homework to get done! I can’t be working on a portal right now!”

Director Storm narrowed his eyes. “...I think we all know you won’t be able to focus on homework now that you’ve heard this.”

“…Yeah,” Sunset admitted.

“Agent Shadow! Take them to level 13, and bring the broken device. Introduce Sunset to the rest of the team!”

Tempest nodded. “This way,” she said, clearly not pleased that Sunset had accepted.

“You know, if we’re going to work together we’re going to have to get along,” Sunset observed.

“I don’t get along with anybody. Not my boss, not my coworkers. I do the job and I do it well. That’s it. End of story.”

Sunset turned to Iroh. “Challenge accepted?”

Iroh nodded. “Challenge accepted.”

“CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!” Director Storm echoed.

“Do you even know what challenge was accepted?” Sunset asked.

“Nope! Don’t care, that was fun to say. Now go have fun!” He waved them off cheerfully.


~~~


“Right, should be back to the right height now,” Starlight said. “Kill the rockets.”

Starlight heard agonizing screams beneath them as the rockets cut out. She facehooved. “I didn’t mean literally.”

Discord shrugged. “You should be careful about what you say around me, Starlight. I could turn anything into a juggling competition at any moment!”

“Just suck the monolith into the room.”

Discord snapped his fingers, creating a portal beneath the monolith. He lifted the gateway upward, transporting the monolith without actually touching it. Starlight grinned – this was working well! She’d be able to leave soon and her ears would be fine.

When half of the monolith was out of the dimension a brilliant red eye shape appeared in its center. The crimson shade was jarring to both of them. Nothing in this world had had any color before.

Then the monolith moved. It touched the edge of the portal, forcing it to close. The interdimensional forces were so strong the black slab was cut clean in two. The crimson eye vanished, unable to fully manifest on half a monolith. The remaining half fell to the ground, kicking up dust – but making no noise.

Starlight examined the place where the cut had occurred. There was no inner workings to the monolith at all. It might as well have been solid metal.

“…Odd,” Starlight said, biting her lip. “That makes me a little… nervous. Maybe this place is inhabited after all.”

“Could be.” Discord shot a magic bolt at the partial monolith. It absorbed the magic. “Still works though.”

“Hmm. Well at least we got something interesting. Come on Discord, take us-“ it was at this point she saw them coming right at them. Hundreds, if not thousands, of monoliths that definitely hadn’t been there before approaching them from all sides. All the monoliths wore the single eye. All of them drifted in their direction, silent, emotionless. Yet, still threatening.

Starlight felt compelled to look up. She paled – the static sky still existed. But there was another red eye directly above them, as if painted. On a hunch, she looked down over the edge to the static below them. There was another eye, but this one was… closed? How did she know it was an eye then?

Gravity suddenly flipped. They fell up, towards the open eye. Starlight was forced to reorient herself, realizing that the open eye was down.

“Discord! We’ve awakened something! Get us out of here!”

Discord snapped his fingers, generating a portal between them and the eye in the static. The monoliths were suddenly right next to them, close enough to disturb the formation of the dimensional portal. They closed in, making a box of red eyes around the two of them.

Starlight summoned a bomb with her magic and tossed it at the monoliths. The bomb hit, exploded, and did nothing.

Discord’s attempt at doing something worked better. He folded space itself into a noodle, creating a pathway out of the monolith box by circumventing three-dimensional space. He created another portal, shoving the two of them through it before the monoliths could react.

They were back in Starlight’s secret stash room. The bottom half of the first monolith was there, as dead as it had first seemed. Starlight glanced back through the portal.

She saw something sitting on a rock, past the swarm of monoliths.

Something purple.

“…Twilight?”

Discord closed the portal.

Starlights ears instantly stopped detecting any sort of whine. She let out a sigh of relief. Then she laughed. “We did it!” She set her foot on top of the monolith chunk. “We have obtained some anti-magic stone! Ha-ha!”

Discord produced a party blower out of nowhere and blew it.

Starlight shook her head. “Tsk tsk tsk. You should stop copying Pinkie’s moves, Discord. It isn’t good for your self-image.”

Discord shrugged. “Originality is overrated. So, Starlight, when are we going to do this again?”

“Again?”

“That was fun. I think it’s about time I put my foot in this dimensional exploration ring, and your lack of regard for rules seems just right for me!”

Starlight grinned. “How about every time I head out? I’ll no longer have to sneak around the Mirror Portal, and we can deposit things right here. Discord, we’re going to get so much awesome stuff.”

Discord smirked, knocking the monolith chunk. “You got it! …You think we could make a throne out of this?”

Starlight furrowed her brow. “….Maybe…?” Already, she was thinking about how to turn it into a throne without using magic. Already pushing the memories of the Noise out of her mind.

What Noise? There was no noise.


~~~


“Well, I like the Director,” Iroh said. “Reminds me of myself in many ways.”

“He doesn’t care as much as you,” Sunset said. “He wasn’t lying when he said he was selfish. He really does like power and glory, even if he does like those around him as well. He’s… An interesting character, I have to say. I wouldn’t trust him.”

“What do you think about him, Tempest?”

“He’s my boss,” Tempest muttered. “That’s it.”

Sunset put her hands on her hips. “Come on, every person you ever meet you have thoughts about.”

“People aren’t worth my time,” Tempest muttered. She led them into the elevator again, pressing the basement 13 button. They arrived at the bottom of the base shortly thereafter. It was just the large room they had seen on the screen earlier with the two arches. The only other people in the room were two men in suits talking happily to each other.

“Mike! Ike!” Tempest yelled. “Looks like we’ve got the sun girl on our team now.”

“Nice!” The shorter, pale white man said. “Told you she’d accept! Nobody can say no to the Director!”

“I could,” the dark red skinned man said. “It just happens that I agree with him most of the time.”

“Mike, there’s no way.”

Mike gave no response beyond a knowing smile.

The shorter man – presumably Ike – just shrugged. He went to shake Sunset’s hand – but held it back. “Waiiiit… I don’t want you seeing into my mind.”

“I’ve got a glove on right now,” Sunset said, smiling. “It’s fine.” She grabbed his hand and shook it. “See? No weird stuff. I’m Sunset Shimmer, but you know that. You probably know a lot about me. How about you tell me about yourselves?”

Tempest grunted. “Mike and Ike were once agents of the FBI whose very names are a national secret. Mike and Ike are code names they gained on a very, very classified assignment you will never know about. Mike is an agent with several confirmed kills, combat experience, and commendations. Ike… is his friend.”

Ike frowned. “Really Tempy? Really?”

“And I am Agent Tempest Shadow. And that’s all you need to know.” She shoved the broken portal device into Sunset’s hands. “You’ll know how to make the thing work.”

“Where do I put the spell?”

Tempest pointed at the only spot on the arches that had a light shone on them.

“Ah. Gotcha.” She popped the back off the device, which was easy considering how broken it was. She took out a single silver wafer, the part of the machine enchanted with the spell. She placed it inside the arch. “That was really easy.”

“Wait, that was it?” Ike blurted.

Iroh grinned. “That it was, my young friend. If you don’t mind, Sunset, do you think you can take me home?”

Sunset frowned. “Let’s see… Tempest, controls?”

Tempest shrugged. Mike pointed at a computer in a nearby wall. Sunset ran to it, finding to her delight that the user interface was almost identical to how she imagined it. She adjusted a few parameters involving the portal, and pressed go.

The two arched spikes lit up with a purple energy, coursing with electricity drawn from the power grid. A small point appeared in between them, stretching to match their edges to the arches. The city of Ba Sing Se could be seen clearly through the portal.

“Hrm…” Sunset said, scratching her chin. “We aren’t underground on that end… Something to look into.”

Tempest shrugged. “Finding that out is your job. Iroh, leave now. We’ll be in contact.”

Iroh shrugged. “To the point, aren’t you?”

“Move it.”

Iroh didn’t get a chance to move. A small group of people had noticed the portal and were walking towards it.

“Abort!” Tempest yelled.

Iroh held up his hand. “I know them.” He waved to the approaching group. Sunset could make out an Earth Kingdom girl, Fef, a grumpy looking Fluttershy, and some shadow girl…

“So, old man, you seem to have found yourself an adventure!” the Earth Kingdom girl said, smirking.

Iroh smiled. “What are you doing with such an interesting group, Toph?”

“Looking for you! Nobody wants to go exploring, everybody’s got a bunch of responsibilities. Sokka, Katara, Aang, Zuko, all of them are just too busy. But I’m not about to let this chance go. So I’m gathering whoever I can find to go have some fun with those things the ponies gave us. And you’re going to give us one!”

Tempest looked at Iroh. “You let children command you?”

Iroh and Toph burst into laughter. “Good Spirits, no!” Iroh said. “She’s a friend. And I think an exploration team is a great idea. A parallel to what you’re doing here, as it turns out.” He smirked. ”What are the odds two groups would form at the same time?”

“Extremely low. And yet, perfect,” Mike offered.

“Yeah! I like you!” Fef cheered.

“We are not the same team. All of you out!” Tempest shouted.

“Yeesh. Anger issues incarnate,” Toph muttered. “All right! Everyone follow the blind girl out, as is tradition! Hup hup!”

Iroh laughed, waving to Sunset. “I guess I’ve overstayed my welcome. This was fun. We should do this again.”

Sunset rolled her eyes. “Something tells me we will. There’ll be no end to the fun.”

Tempest closed the portal, sealing the two worlds apart.

“There. Done. From now on we will do things by the book and follow the rules.” She stood tall. “Such a security breach should not be allowed again.”

Ike shrugged. “Loosen up, will you?”

“The boss is loose. I’m not. That’s how it works,” Tempest huffed.

Sunset shrugged. Frankly, she didn’t care all that much about what Tempest thought. She had a new job… And she was still excited about it. She was sure it was her excitement now, and not Director Storm’s. She now had the resources to actually help build the portal. And probably scientists who could figure out the gravity problem!

There’d be a non-magical solution yet…


~~~


Princess Twilight Sparkle teleported a desk in front of the Mirror Portal. “Okay, so since people are starting to travel to and from the worlds a lot, as I’m sure you’ve noticed, the public is starting to learn about the Mirror Portal and what it is. More than a few have actually showed up asking to be let through. Naturally, this is a precious magical artifact and we can’t just let anypony in. That’s where you come in. You’re here to defend this Portal and keep track of who leaves, as well as who arrives.”

A cream-coated mare with a blue-pink curled mane bowed. “You can count on me, Princess.”

Twilight smiled. “You came highly recommended, Bon Bon. Celestia herself suggested you.”

Bon Bon glanced around nervously. “…What does this mean about my cover?”

“You’re still Bon Bon of Ponyville. No secret agent history as far as anyone who comes through here is concerned. You’ll look like a simple secretary. But your job is very important.”

“I won’t let you down.”

Twilight smiled. “I know you won’t.”

She left Bon Bon to get situated with her new desk. She noticed Starlight and Discord walking towards her. “Oh. Hello you two!”

Starlight smiled. “Hi Twilight! Hey, have you, by chance, recently been to a world where the sky was static?”

Twilight blinked. “Uh… No. Why?” “

“Thought I saw you somewhere. Guess it wasn’t really you.”

“…And why are you in a spacesuit?”

Starlight smiled brightly. “Discord and I went to one of the unsafe universes with his spell! It was an interesting place. It had no sound Twilight! And the light came from nowhere!”

Twilight’s eyes widened. “Oh really? Awesome! Put what you found in the Directory!”

“I will! Don’t go there though, no air at all.”

Twilight nodded. “Oh, of course. And thanks for being helpful, Discord!”

Discord gasped. “Oh no – I was helpful!” He made his body melt into an agonizing puddle. “Nooooooooo…”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Well, if you promise to behave yourself you can come on adventures with us. Okay?”

Both him and Starlight started laughing uncontrollably.

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Ooooor not. See you around.” She trotted off, completely oblivious to what was going on right under her nose.