XCOM: Ranger

by Wanderer D

Chapter 98: Moon

"She's waking up."

The voice was familiar. Concerned. Light faded into darkness, distant whispers of Celestia's voice wishing her well, that she would be missed mingled with the soft hum of Elerium-fed engines, and the slight rattle of things not secured to the wall and the shushing sound of air being filtered through the ship.

As calm and welcoming as the whiteness had been, this was more familiar, and oddly more calming.

Sunset groaned and pushed up, sitting on the bed she had been laid down on. She rubbed her face.

"Sunset?" Twilight asked, sitting next to her. "Are you okay?"

Sunset blinked. "Oh… hey Twilight," she glanced at Central. "Hey dad. I guess I'm back in the Avenger."

Bradford's eyes narrowed. "Back?" he glanced at Twilight, then back to Sunset.

"Oh," Twilight said, then sighed. "Time-space dilation then… I knew it was going to be temporary, but I hoped it might last longer."

Sunset gave her a hurt look, and Twilight bit her lip, looking away. "For scientific reasons…"

"I'd better hear a good explanation for this, Lieutenant," Bradford spoke up. "Because so far I have heard nothing but nonsense."

"I would like to hear it too, whatever it is," Chrysalis said, leaning on the door frame. She smirked at their surprised faces. "I came to check on Sparkle here and find a mini-gathering. It's a bit of a tight space, so why don't we go to my quarters and talk about it there?"

Sunset glanced at Bradford, who had a hand covering his face while Chrysalis kept laughing. Tygan seemed intrigued by the sketches of the aliens Sunset had seen in containment, but she could see the edge of his mouth twitching.

"So um, after the other Sunset called Central dad, he sort of… stood still and just barely managed to catch her when she passed out," Twilight finished.

Chrysalis took a deep breath, fighting her obvious mirth. "Perhaps I should follow my own example and order you to be his daughter."

"Well, she did call him 'dad' when she woke up…" Twilight muttered, earning a smirk from Chrysalis and an annoyed look from Bradford.

Sunset merely looked at her, and sighed.

"On a more practical level, the revelations that we have obtained, are certainly unexpected," Tygan said, drawing their attention. "It seems that the Elders in that dimension were escaping… something… perhaps an enemy that might assist us i—"

"No." Chrysalis' statement quieted the room. "No. It's not something we can contact or obtain help from. We must concentrate on our present enemy."

"But Commander…"

"It's a different universe, and this was all done at the behest and for the entertainment of this creature… Discord." Chrysalis looked at the others steadily. "There is no point whatsoever in assuming the same would happen here." She motioned with her hand at the drawings. "Only the sectoids are similar. The order of events, the power of our enemies, and even the place in the timeline of both worlds are different. Our counterparts are dealing with their own problems, and so should we."

She turned to look at Sunset, "Besides these shenanigans, did you find out anything of use?"

"If you defeat her… the last of me in her is in the gem."

"Aria somehow seemed to catch a glimpse of what was in the Assassin's mind… she said that there was…" she hesitated, "...that there was nothing of her left in the Assassin."

Chrysalis sighed. "So nothing of real significance then…"

"Kill her. Keep the gem…"

"N-no."

"I see," Chrysalis leaned back, "I expect this Discord entity is not going to interfere again?"

"Princess Celestia promised to keep him controlled."

"Any chance of him helping?"

"I… wouldn't bet on it," Twilight said, speaking up before Sunset had a chance. "Discord is—at best—unpredictable. As much as he might do something to help, it is more likely for the benefit of his own entertainment." She took a deep breath. "He's not… evil, really… but he's still working on getting better. Hopefully, he's had his fun for now. We'll reach out to Fluttershy back home to keep him under control if necessary."

Chrysalis nodded. "Make sure you do." She stretched. "Anyway, our away team should be back soon, and I want you all with me to receive our guest, so make sure you're presentable."

"Yes, ma'am," the crew chorused.

"Dismissed."

As the group stepped out, Sunset hesitated, and reached out, touching Bradfords arm. "I'm sorry… Central, could we talk?"

Bradford regarded her for a moment and nodded, following her down the ramp.

At the top of the ramp, Twilight watched and sighed, shaking her head as she headed back to her room. She had much to think about. And much to write.

"Listen… I… wanted to apologize."

Sunset had led Bradford to a meeting room to talk, closing the door behind them. He sat down and turned to look at her with an unreadable expression.

"...I know that… it was stupid to follow up with the joke…" Sunset said, grimacing as she tried to think of ways to justify her actions earlier. "You're very important to me, and I-I realize I put you in a bad position saying that." She looked down. "In that universe, things were different for both of us… and, well. I'm sorry. I meant it as a joke, but I hope I didn't come up as pushy or having some sort of expectations."

Bradford cleared his throat. "I'm not very good with this kind of thing, Sunset. I didn't have a strong grip on heart-to-hearts even back when your predecessor was around."

Sunset chuckled. "The Sweater era," she said, smiling at Bradford. "I have to admit, it was odd seeing you wearing that."
Bradford simply raised an eyebrow, not betraying any emotions.

"Sorry." Sunset sighed, sitting down across from him. "It was just… weird, you know? Knowing that you adopted me in other circumstances. In another life."

"Disappointed?"

"No," Sunset smiled. "My other self is younger, and I think you were a great influence on her. I think she's happy and much more centered than I was, thanks to you."

Bradford shuffled uncomfortably. "Yes, well, different world."

Sunset smiled a little. "Yeah. I'm not… you know… I understand things are different, but I think after all of that there was one thing I realized."

She stood up and offered her hand to Bradford, who also stood up. "And that is?" he asked, taking her hand.

"I never really thanked you for everything you've done," Sunset said, giving him a firm handshake, which he reciprocated. "Thank you for everything you've done, Central Officer Bradford."

Bradford allowed himself a smile. "My pleasure, Lieutenant." He cleared his throat. "Now, get going and get ready to receive our guest."

Sunset let go of his hand and saluted. "Aye, aye, Sir!"
She turned around smartly and left with a smile on her face, while Bradford lingered in the meeting room, looking at his hand in contemplation, before closing it into a fist. "It's like I'm literally taking care of her actual daughter," he muttered, before leaving the room.

"Anyone have any idea why we're all coming together?" Sunset asked.

"Commander's orders," Central replied.

"Yes, but why?" Sunset insisted. "Why all of us?"

"Perhaps this guest of hers is a new member of upper staff?" Laetitia suggested.

"Perhaps," Tygan acknowledged, "but I don't see why she couldn't do the usual formal introduction, instead of taking Twilight and I from our current projects."

The small group arrived at the hangar, just as the Skyranger was slowly being lowered into the bay.

"Glad you could all make it," Chrysalis said, smirking at them. "Form a line."

The platform receded completely as they followed orders, and the rear hatch of the Skyranger opened with a hiss soon after, lowering down to form the boarding ramp.

Out of it came three people, Jane, Rainbow Dash and...  gasps from Twilight, Sunset, and Laetitia echoed in the hangar.

Chrysalis was grinning like a cat. "Worth it." She cleared her throat. "Welcome to the Avenger, you already know Rainbow Dash and Jane, but let me introduce you. This is Central Officer Bradford, next to him are Sunset Shimmer and Twilight Sparkle and this young lady here is going to be your assistant. Her name is Laetitia."

Chrysalis paced in front of the group, smiling devilishly. "And may I introduce you to our new, on-board Counselor…"

"V-vice Principal Luna?" Sunset stammered.