“Oh come on,” growled Rainbow Dash as she looked through the grass on the hillside, pushing it aside in a desperate attempt to find her pendant. Without the source of her magic, the rainbow-haired girl knew there was no way to catch up with the creeps that took her buddy from another world. It also didn’t help that every second that went by without her finding it Sunset was getting farther and farther away.
The only good news she had at this moment was that Ember, the girl who had jumped out of a moving car to stop her and then dueled her, had kept to the promise they had. After the duel had ended, Ember had allowed her to pass in order to search for her pendent before going off to find Sunset. Shortly after the duel, Rainbow heard Ember walking off away from the scene of their duel. Where she was going Rainbow didn’t have a clue. True, she could follow her and hope that she led her to Sunset, but the chances were that she might not head to where they were taking Sunset. Chances of her managing to save Sunset without her magic were equally unlikely. Rainbow wasn’t so arrogant to think that she could save her friend from people with guns without super speed.
So, Rainbow continued to search for what seemed like forever growing more and more desperate with each passing minute. Every so often she would grab a chunk of grass, pulling it out of the ground and tossing it behind her in a fit of rage. Her magic had to be somewhere around here. It had to be!
The sound of a van stopping above her almost missed her attention. Looking up for a moment, Rainbow saw the band van driven by Granny Smith just above her with AJ and Twilight jumping out. Twilight had out her new science watch thing, holding it in her hand as her gaze shifted from it to Rainbow.
“Land sakes,” cried Applejack as she approached Rainbow while Twilight walked in a different direction. “Ya just couldn’t wait for the rest of us, could ya? Had ta just run off on ya own like that!”
“There was no time,” Rainbow shot back. “How did you guys find me anyways?”
Applejack opened her mouth, but Twilight beat her to the punch. “I modified the tracker,” Twilight said as she walked around the hill side with her head down, taking very slow steps. “When I made it, I had to tune into the magical frequencies of our geodes before creating a program that would exclude so they wouldn’t interfere with our detection. But I figured there might come a time when one of us gets lost or gets abducted by magical forces. So there is another program in here that allows me to track those specific frequencies since they are stored in the device’s memory. All I needed was a few minutes to make the adjustments and the detector becomes,” Twilight paused for a moment as she suddenly reached down to pick up Rainbow’s missing pendent, “a tracker.”
“It also took us a little while ta get the bus going,” added Applejack as Twilight approached and gave Rainbow back her pendent. “Thing needed gas.”
“So this thing will let us find Sunset?” asked Rainbow as she eyed the device. Twilight nodded, holding up the device to show Rainbow’s multi-colored lightning bolt in the center while Sunset’s was north. Instantly Rainbow reached out to grab the device from the purple nerd’s hand. After all, she was the fastest of them all. She could just super speed there and grab Sunset before anyone knew what happened. However, it seemed Applejack had grabbed the back on Rainbow’s shirt before she could do so. “Hey, what gives?”
“This time, how about we stick together?” she suggested in a stern tone.
-x-
Sunset let out a grunt as she was pushed into a large office room, nearly falling on her face as she did. Looking back at the door, she saw two of the men who had kidnapped her with their guns still pointed at her. Neither had said a word since they had taken her off the street only pushing her to move her in the direction they wanted. Shades covered their eyes in an attempt to keep her from knowing who they might be as well as to make them look more intimidating. That or they just came back from a sale at the Sunglass Hut.
As much as Sunset racked her brain, she had no idea who these people were or what they wanted. She knew she was in a large building but they had entered through an underground parking lot. From there they had used a key card to enter an elevator that straight up passed numerous levels before stopping. It was like they were doing everything in the power minus putting a blindfold over her to keep her from knowing where she was. But whoever these goons worked for had to have some serious cash behind them. Yet who could it be? Well-To-Do? No, last she had heard he was still court for his actions at Camp Everfree while his company was now having lawsuit after lawsuit filed against them for his previous misdeeds. It was doubtful that anyone working for him would have the money or power to try and get revenge like this. Same went for Cinch since she was a wanted woman with most of her assets frozen. So who could it be?
Whoever they were, she just needed to stay calm as she waited for help from her friends. She knew Rainbow Dash had tried to save her and it was more than likely that the rest of them weren’t too far behind. She was sure that somehow they would find a way to find her and then rescue her. Too bad none of them had the power to see the future or magically locate people.
Looking around the office, she got an odd feeling about it. There were decorations about that were things she found appealing. The sort of things she would probably have in an office if she ever had one. Then, when she looked at the other end, Sunset quickly figured out why. Standing there with her mouth slightly hanging open was another her! It had to be the Sunset Shimmer of this world.
It was weird to say the least. Almost as weird as when she first came to this world and found she was no longer a unicorn. It was true that she had, from time to time, wondered what her other self was like. More so when she had met the Twilight of this world and befriended her. She wondered: what was she like? Had the Sunset of this world gone through similar things as she had? Just looking around this office told Sunset a bit of her double’s life. In Equestria, she had been a student of Princess Celestia herself. She had a chance to achieve great things had not her greed and impatience gotten the best of her. She could have been a princess, perhaps even becoming the Element of Magic had she listened to what her mentor had said back then. Perhaps this Sunset hadn’t made that same mistake.
“I,” whispered the other Sunset before pausing to cough into a fist. When she spoke next, her toe was more forceful and controlled. A tone much like the one Sunset used back when she was nothing more than a bully with delusions of grandeur. “I knew that you looked like me, but seeing it in person is something completely different. The likeness is remarkable.”
“Ah yeah,” said Sunset as she scratched the back of her head. “Weird coincidence.” She then gave a slightly forced laugh as her mind raced to think of some excuse. However, before she could think of anything that might be believable the other Sunset turned a computer screen on her deck around towards her. On it was Sunset’s MyStable page, complete with her name and pictures of her with her friends.
“I don’t know what is going on here,” said the other Sunset as she moved around her desk. Her eyes were fixed on Sunset with a cold glare full of hatred. “But I can assure you that I will find out. If you are some sort of ploy from another company to ruin my image or even from someone from my own company trying to seize power but-”
“Whoa, hold on there,” said Sunset as she raised her hands in a non-threatening manner. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. I mean, we could just have the same name and look alike. Ah, you know: Occam’s razor? The simplest answer is usually more likely?”
The other Sunset’s eyes narrowed as she frowned. “You would have me think that this is just some sort of weird coincidence that we have the same name, look exactly alike, and even sound alike? Do you also think I would have had you brought here if I hadn’t already made sure that that wasn’t the case?”
“Well, when you put it like that…maybe?” Sunset tried to smile, knowing just how weak and feeble her lie was. But what could she do?
Sunset number two’s eye twitched at that before she folded her arms and leaned back against the deck. “According to my own investigation, you appeared seemingly out of nowhere a few years ago. You managed to talk your way into getting an apartment without parental consent after heading to the Secretary of State’s office to get a social security number. Namely mine! Following that you enrolled in Canterlot High where you proceeded to bully those around you until something happened to make you turn over a new leaf. Now, you could be some runaway who looks and sounds just like me and decided to assume my identity. If that is the case then we are going to have some problems. More likely, you are an agent sent out to that school to ruin my name and make it look like I’m goofing around instead of focusing on my work. Perhaps in an effort to hurt my stock or just make me look publicly bad or SOMETHING!” At that point, the other Sunset unfolded her arms to slam a fist on the desk behind her. “If that is the case, then we are going to have a much bigger problem.”
“Trust me, it's not either of those,” said Sunset quickly as she raised her hands in the air. Fear was already starting to pound away in her heart. She was face to face with the Sunset of this world, one who didn’t know about other worlds and had ever right to be angry at her. All she had to do was call the police and she’d more than likely be put in jail for identity theft or being an illegal alien or something like that!
“I have no reason to trust you,” replied the other Sunset. “But I’m sure I’ll find out the truth in due time. If you are just a runaway then-”
“Look, I am Sunset Shimmer,” said Sunset as she placed her hands on her chest while gaining an irritated look from her double. “And so are you. I came from a parallel world. I’m you from another world that’s similar to this one.”
The other Sunset gave her an exasperated as a hand went to touch her forehead. “Ok, out of all the lies I expected, I never thought you’d use the plot from Sliders. Well, I guess I have to give you an A for creativity. Not sure how many people remember that old show.”
“Yeah, it was great until the fourth season,” said Sunset. Then her eyes widened as she realized that what she had just said was almost like admitting that she had gotten the idea from that show! She knew she had to fix this and fast! “Look, I can prove it to you if you give me a chance!”
“Not happening,” replied the other Sunset as she walked back around her desk and sat down in her chair. “I went to all the trouble having you brought to me and there is no way I’m letting you go. You are staying right here until I get some answers.”
“But I can show you the answers right now!” cried Sunset. “Look, how about this. We duel and if you win then I stay wherever you want me to until you figure this out. I’ll go along with any tests you want. But if I win, all I want is the chance to prove to you what I’m saying is true.” The other Sunset brought a hand to her chin, looking like she was mulling over what Sunset was saying. Seeing this, the girl from another world continued to talk. “You can stay by my side the entire time and even bring along those thugs with guns. As many as you want! And if you aren’t completely convinced then I’ll admit to whatever you think I am. No matter what you get what you want!”
The other Sunset tapped her desk several times with her free hand. “This could be a ploy so you could try to make an insanity defense,” she muttered. “Or maybe a trap so you could try to replace me. Besides I already have you here now so why should I even agree to this?”
Sunset wanted to grab her own hair and pull on it as hard as she could. She couldn’t believe this version of her was so suspicious! What had happened to her to make her so distrustful? Was this part of the differences on growing up in a different world like with the Twilight’s? Then again, the old Sunset wasn’t really that much better. She had, in her time, made plenty of schemes, stolen from royalty, kidnapped a dog/dragon, and had just been an awful person in general. Even if this Sunset just knew the stuff she did before she reformed then it would make sense not to trust her.
Then, much to Sunset’s surprise, her other self pulled out what looked like that arm cannon from that one transformer from old cartoon. The one who turned into a gun or tank or was it a T-Rex? She couldn’t remember but right now that didn’t matter because her other was putting it on. Gulping in fear, Sunset took a step back as the other Sunset stood up and pointed at her while grinning evilly. Sunset would have thought that this was it when the weapon beeped and split in two to form an odd-looking duel disk. One-half of the split weapon looked like the spell/trap card zone on those old mats while the other half looked like the monster card zone. The other Sunset then reached for her belt before pulling out her deck.
“Then again, that’ll only happen if I lose,” she said, putting her deck into the cannon. “And I could really use a little stress relief right now. So I’ll take you up on your offer.”
-x-
At the same time, Aria stood across the street looking at the home of the purple nerd and Sonata. Around them there were only a few people out walking their dogs, jogging, or any number of stupid human things that kept them on the move. Thankfully none of them paid any attention to either her or Adagio. Maybe it was because Adagio was on the phone right now talking to Cinch about this stupid plan. Perhaps they thought that they were calling to get a lift or something. Whatever the case was, Aria was just glad she didn’t have to bother lying to those idiots several times until she wanted to pull her hair out.
Aria let out a sigh as she fought the urge to tap her foot. In all honestly she hated waiting around like this and would rather be doing anything else. If only she could do anything else or could be anywhere else. But she knew she couldn’t. The two sirens were now scraping at the bottom of the barrel for options in the hopes that things would get better. Until then they couldn’t do anything else really since they had little money to their name nor any real future to speak of. Glancing up at one of the windows in the house across the street, Aria felt something she never thought she would: jealousy for Sonata. Honestly, the very idea that she would ever want something that braindead twit had was enough to make her sick to her stomach. But…she had something. She was going places even if it was just a management position at a shitty Mexican restaurant. Sonata had a roof over her head that she didn’t need to sneak into. She had money to pay for her smartphone plan. Aria cringed at the thought that she’d might (keep in mind the MIGHT part) be willing to trade places with Sonata. Oh God, how bad was her life to even consider something like that.
“Ok,” said Adagio as turned off her phone. “The morons out of the way. We can move in.” As Adagio began to move towards the building, a thought came across Aria’s mind. One that might get them out of this dumb plan. Quickly she grabbed Adagio’s arms causing the other siren to turn and look at her in annoyance. “What the hell is with you Aria? We have to get going!”
“Are we sure the place is empty?” asked Aria. “That girl’s parents could be inside right now! If we break down the door to the garage and they hear the alarm there will be no way we can get anything!” Adagio didn’t say anything at first, just looking at Aria with contempt before pulling her arm away.
“I’m not an idiot,” hissed the other siren. “They’re already out of the house. Cinch cloned some idiot named Cadence’s phone to send her parents a text. Something about their daughter having an accident. She just confirmed that they are all heading towards a hospital on the other side of town. We’re in the clear.” With that, Adagio turned and began running towards the house with Aria reluctantly following her.
-x-
Sunset stood on the roof of the building, the version of herself from the human world standing across from her with a confident sneer on her face. As for herself, Sunset could feel her heart racing wildly. The stakes were high this time. If she lost it would more than likely mean jail time for herself. Also it didn’t help that she was on top of a very large building with the wind blowing powerfully around her. But all she could do was play this through as she lifted her arm with her duel disk on it while her other did the same.
“Connecting,” said a female mechanical voice from their duel disks. “Opponents found. Displaying order now.” In the middle of the field appeared a flat holographic image of a portrait, only this time it was a little harder to tell the difference between them. Instead of going by their faces, Sunset had to make out parts of their clothing in order to tell the difference. Thankfully the other her in the portrait had those large spikes on her shoulders. Eventually, the image paused on her own.
“I take the first move,” said Sunset as they both drew five cards while their life points appeared at 8000. “I draw!” As Sunset looked at the six cards in her hand, she knew she had to take every advantage she could. Thankfully, she had just the cards to help with that. “I’ll start this off with a bang by summoning Laval Magma Cannoneer in attack mode!” As Sunset placed her card on her duel disk, the ground before her began to crack and break before lava began to appear. It rose, taking the form of a man before hardening. Quickly, her monster’s rocky body turned mostly purple with a red visor covering its eyes. On the shoulders of its bulky form were two cannons that had tubes running into the monster's back. It’s attack points were 1700.
“Cannoneer has a powerful effect,” continued Sunset as her other self looked unimpressed. “Up to twice per turn I can discard one fire monster from my hand to deal 500 damage. So I’ll discard Laval Lancelord from my hand to do just that!” As Sunset slid her card into her graveyard slot, the tube connecting to Cannoneer’s right cannon began to bulge as a lump moved upwards. When it reached the cannon it fired at the other Sunset, causing the ground next to her to explode while her life points dropped to 7500. “But I’m not done just yet! Because now I’ll discard my Laval Handmaiden to do it all over again!” Another blast was fired at the other Sunset who continued to stand there while the ground next to her exploded and her life points dropped to 7000. “Now I activate the effect of Handmaiden: since I have a Laval monster of a different name in my grave I can send one Laval monster from my deck to the grave. So why not send another Laval Handmaiden so I can send my last Handmaiden to the grave as well! Then, using my last Handmaiden’s affect, I’ll send Laval Forest Sprite to the grave. When he is sent there all Laval monster’s on my side of the field gain a nice little boost of 200 attack points.” At this point, Cannoneer’s attack rose to 1900. “Finally, I’ll place one card face down and end my turn.”
“Well that was…something,” said the other Sunset as she drew. She looked at the six cards in her hand for a moment before holding one up. “I think I’ll start by summoning something a bit more useful: Magical Musketeer Starfire in attack mode!” Appearing in front of the other Sunset was a woman with long black hair and veil covering most of her face. She wore something that resembled something of a belly dancer’s outfit with its bare midriff, exposed shoulders and arms, as well as a long greenish skirt with bangles around the hips. Yet the skirt was short enough for Sunset to see the leather pants and boots underneath along with several holsters on them holding a single-shot gun on each. There was also a red, bat-like wing coming out of Starfire’s arm. Her attack points were 1300.
“Next, I’ll play the spell card Double Summon,” continued the other Sunset as she placed her card in the row behind Starfire. “This card allows me to perform one more additional normal summon this turn. In addition, since I activated this card in the same column as Starfire her effect allows me to special summon one level four or lower Magical Musketeer to my side of the field in defense mode. So please give a warm welcome to Magical Musketeer Caspar!” A dark portal opened up next to Starfire at the same time a powerful wind blew across the field. Out of that portal stepped a man with long, wild blond hair and mostly red attire. He wore something like a cloak while also having a red bat wing on one of his arms while holding his demonic looking gun in his bluish hand. After appearing on the field he took a knee displaying his 2000 defense points. “Now I will use the additional normal summon to sacrifice Starfire to summon Magical Musketeer Mastermind Zakiel!” Starfire vanished in a flash of light as a new monster took its place. Zakiel looked like a demon dressed for steampunk. In both of its bluish grey hands he held weapons of bronze she could see being carried in a convention hall. He was dressed in something like a Victorian tailcoat or maybe a western trench coat that was purplish in color with matching clothing underneath. Red horns curled back along his head and large red wings that glowed brightly were on his back. Sunset had to brace herself when she saw that its attack points were 2500!
“Let’s see, what else,” said the other Sunset in an almost mocking tone. She then grinned as she held up a card for Sunset to see. “I guess I’ll play a new card called Pot of Extravagance. All I have to do is banish three or six cards in my extra deck face down and then I can draw a card for every three cards I banished. So I’ll banish six to draw two cards.” With a grin, the other Sunset removed her cards without even looking at them. Like they were there to be nothing more than fodder for this card. “Now, Pot of Extravagance also states that I can’t draw anymore cards for the rest of this turn. But adding them to my hand is a completely different story. Since I activated this card in the same column as Caspar I can now add one Magical Musketeer card from my deck to my hand. So I’ll be taking my Magical Musketeer – Desperado!” The card slid out of the other Sunset’s deck which the girl took before the auto shuffler activated.
With five cards in her hand, the other Sunset gestured at Cannoneer. “Now it's time to attack!” she announced. “Zakiel, turn that monster into a pile of rubble!” Grinning Zakiel lifted both of his weapons while his eyes began to glow. Dark energy began to surround his weapons before they began to fire rapidly.
“I activate my trap card: Molten Whirlwind Wall!” yelled Sunset as her face down flipped face up. “This continuous trap card boosts the attack points of all Laval monsters on the field by 100 for each Laval monster in the graveyard. Right now I have five making Laval Cannoneer’s attack 2400. Might not beat your monster outright but it will lessen the blow.”
“Yeah, not happening,” said other Sunset as she picked out a card from her hand. “From my hand I activate the trap card Magical Musketeer – Last Stand! If while I control a Magical Musketeer when you activate a spell or trap card then it is negated and destroyed!”
“But you can’t!” shouted Sunset as missiles and gunfire exploded from the other hers card, flying about the place. “That’s a trap card meaning you have to set it first and wait-” Sunset was interrupted as the effects of the trap card hit her own, destroying it with enough force that she was forced back a few steps. As she did her life points dropped to 7400.
“In most cases that would be correct,” said the other Sunset as she put her hands on her hips. “However, one of the effects of my Magical Musketeers is that when their on the field I can activate their spell and trap card from my hand during either player's turn. So go ahead, it's your turn now.”
“Then I draw,” announced Sunset, taking her card before looking at the three in her hand. Ok, time to think. That other me is holding all the cards right now. She can use any Magical Musketeer card trap she wants whenever she wants without having to set them on the field. That means Lakeside Lady is useless unless she decides to set a monster. The only good news is that she can only do this with specific trap and spell cards while hoping she has the one she needs in her hand. I’m sure she has plenty in her deck, but there is a chance that she’ll draw multiple copies of one she doesn’t need. However, things aren’t looking too good for me right now. Nothing I have in my hand can help give me an edge in this duel. At least, not now. I’ll just have to have some faith in my deck and hope it comes through for me. At that moment, Sunset felt a hand resting on her shoulder. It lasted for only a moment, but there was weight to it as well as an unnatural amount of heat that most hands didn’t have.
“I play one card face down,” announced Sunset as a monster card appeared on her side of the field. “As well as setting that last two cards in my hand. That’ll do.”
“Sad, I’d hope you’d try just a little harder since you are so desperate to prove that story of yours,” said the other Sunset as she drew her card. With six cards in her hand, the other version of Sunset was in a strong position. “I summon Magical Musketeer Calamity in attack mode!” Appearing on her side of the field was a woman with 1500 attack points. Her red hair was cut short and she wore leather attire that allowed her midriff to be bare with a red cape with veins on it. Resting on her shoulder was a cannon of sorts, one that hummed with great power as its lights glowed whitish blue.
“I activate my spell card: Searing Fire Wall!” shouted Sunset as her card flipped right up. At the same time the ground in front of her began to crack and tear open allowing molten hot rock to appear. From the lava came wisps of flames that danced about as they slowly took on the forms of small, somewhat human-like creatures made solely of flames. “This card allows me to remove Laval monsters from my graveyard in order to special summon Laval Tokens, each level one with zero attack and defense, for each monster I banish. So I’ll remove all my Handmaidens and my Forest Sprite in order to gain four tokens in defense mode!”
“Bet you think that’ll help you,” replied the other Sunset as she looked over to Calamity. “But all you did was help me out since you activated a card in the same column as Calamity. Meaning I can use her effect!”
“Wait!” shouted Sunset in shock. “You mean it happens on either side of the field?”
“That’s right,” replied her other self. “Now Calamity has the effect to bring back one monster in my graveyard in defense mode! Welcome back Starfire!” A portal appeared at the far side of the other Sunset’s field as Starfire appeared in a kneeling position.
“Well I’m not done,” said Sunset as her other face down was revealed. “I activate my Pot of Acquisitiveness. With this card I target my three banished Handmaidens, shuffle them back into my deck, and then draw a card.” Sunset waited as she stared Zakiel, the monster directly across from where she had set her spell card to see what he would do. However, he just stood there and her alternate self didn’t do anything.
“Not bad I guess,” said the other Sunset after a moment. “Got back some of those banished cards and got a new card in your hand. Not that it will help you, but still not too bad. Me, I’m going to play my spell card Toon Table of Contents which allows me to add any toon card I want from my deck to my hand. So I’ll choose another Toon Table of Contents.”
“I think I get it,” said Sunset as she watched the spell card appear behind Starfire. “You can use that card to activate the effect of one of your monsters while searching for another copy of itself so you can do it all over again.”
“Of course,” replied the other Sunset as she got her card from her deck. “So now I can use Starfire’s effect to bring out Magical Musketeer Doc to the field in defense mode.” Appearing on the field was a man wearing a white lab coat with the same red cape that Calamity was wearing. In his hands were a long sniper rifle which he held with the greatest of care while taking a knee. His defense points were 1200.
Seeing this new monster caused Sunset to blink. “Hey, aren’t these monsters similar to the characters in Western Base?” Sunset had a feeling that she had seen these characters before, but it wasn’t until she saw Doc that things began to click. While their appearances were greatly different, and the one in the game looking far less demonic, there did seem to be a similar theme. Like Calamity reminded her of the Demolisher while Starfire could be the Fem Fatale. Doc seemed to be a mix of the Sniper and the Medic. Heck, Caspar could be the soldier or maybe a scout or something.
“Noticed it too?” asked the other Sunset, her voice softening a bit as she looked at her monsters. “I used to love playing that game, pretending the people who were giving me stress were the people I was shooting at.”
“I hear that,” said Sunset with a bit of a smile. “I prefer playing the heavy myself when I’ve had a rough day. Just screaming out while I mow down everything in sight.”
“That is the best,” agreed the other Sunset with an eager nod. There was something in her eyes that Sunset could see. It was like she was letting something out that she had been unable to take about, getting excited for the first time in a long time. “But sometimes I like to play the Fem Fatale so I can stab those bastards in the back. I just wish I could play again. Haven’t been able to since…” Her voice trailed off as she looked at Sunset, eye hardening back. “Nice try. I switch my Caspar to attack mode before I attack. Zakiel, destroy her face down monster!” With a wicked smile and an evil glint in his eyes, Zakiel raised both of his weapons before firing a volley of bullets. As they flew across the field, Sunset’s card was revealed to be a creature made of stone that shattered when it was hit.
“You destroyed my Laval Miller,” announced Sunset as she reached for her deck. “When it’s sent to the graveyard due to battle, I can send two Laval monsters from my deck to the graveyard. First I’ll send my Lakeside Lady followed by a Handmaiden. Then, well, you should know how it goes. I’ll use Handmaiden to send a second and then a third before sending another Forest Sprite.”
The other Sunset rolled her eyes. “It won’t matter. Caspar! Calamity! Destroy her tokens!” Caspar fired first, holding his gun out like something out of an old western before firing it. A red bullet with lightning dancing around it flew across the field to destroy one of the tokens. As for Calamity, she was a bit more showy in her attack. Leaping up high into the air as her weapon began to hum loudly, Calamity fired a massive beam that destroyed another token. “With that I end my turn.”
“Then I draw!” announced Sunset as she drew her next card. With two cards in her hand she began to think about what she could do when the other her held up a card.
“I activate Magical Musketeer – Dancing Needles,” she said with a grin. “With this card, I can target three cards in either player’s graveyard and banish them. So I choose the three Handmaidens you put in there. I’m sure you have some way of returning them like before, but I doubt you have something like that on you right now.”
“Great,” muttered Sunset as she removed the three cards from her graveyard. She then reached for one of her cards and set it on the field. “I summon Flamevell Firedog in attack mode!” Leaping out of the ground was a dog like creature with 1900 attack points. Baring its fangs, this monster looked all the more menacing with its rock-like body with lava moving between its cracks. “When this monster destroys a monster in battle, I can special summon one fire monster from my deck with 200 or less defense points.”
“Too bad I won’t let you,” replied the other Sunset as she held up another trap card. “Remember Magical Musketeer – Desperado? This card targets one face up card on your side of the field and destroys it!” An energy blast from up above suddenly struck Firedog, destroying it as the monster cried out in pain.
“I…end my turn,” said Sunset as she looked at the only card in her hand. It might have helped her a little bit, but to make the most use out of it she knew she had to wait for the right moment. Right now, she wasn’t ready to do something like that.
“Then the effect of Zakiel activates,” said the other Sunset as her boss monster began to glow. “For every Magical Musketeer spell or trap card I used during this turn, I can draw an equal number of cards. So that means I get two cards. Then I enter my own draw phase.” With that, the other Sunset had six cards in her hand. “Now I switch all of my monsters to attack mode and then begin my battle phase. Caspar and Starfire: destroy her remaining tokens!” Caspar fired his weapon to destroy a token while Starfire twirled around, pulling guns out from under her skirt before firing a flurry of bullets at the remaining toke. Now Sunset stood there defenseless with nothing to protect her.
“Doc, attack her directly!” The other Sunset’s monster raised his sniper rifle as lightning began to dance around the barrel. When it fired, Sunset could see the air distort around it as if it were moving at supersonic speeds to break the sound barrier. The attack hit her straight in the chest causing the girl from another world to stumble backwards. Then…
Sunset found herself behind a desk. Before her were several adults in suits, yelling at her and shaking their fists in the air. She fought to keep her face neutral and calm, but inside she was frightened beyond believe. She wanted to lash out at them, to scream at them just as they were doing to her.
“Ms. Shimmer,” she heard one of them shouting. “How can you sit there and tell us to be patient?!? Two of the projects this company promised are behind schedule! Your best scientists are-”
“Are working on the project as we speak,” interrupted Sunset, her voice firm as it did its best not to let the fear and doubt inside her show. “They have assured me that progress is being made.”
“And we’re losing money!” cried another as they all began to yell.
It happened in what seemed like a flash, quickly fading as Sunset stumbled backwards while her life points dropped to 6000. In her confusion, a hand went to her chest where the bullet had struck, feeling some warmth there that was slowly fading away. What was that? It was like a memory or something, but Sunset had never been in anything like that. Could it be-
“Calamity, you’re up!” The sound of her voice from the other Sunset’s mouth caused Sunset to look up just in time. Calamity was in the air, her cannon charging up and ready to fire. Sunset only had time to raise an arm to shield herself when the blast hit her, surrounding her with light as her life points continued to drop to 4500. Then…
“What do you mean it’s still not done!” yelled Sunset as she stood in a dark office behind her desk. Outside the moon was shining brightly. The girl could feel her eyes beginning to droop while sleep fought to take hold. Without thinking she reached for the cup of coffee on her desk, drinking the now cold liquid as quickly as she could. “You told me yesterday that you were almost finished!”
“We don’t understand,” said the shaky voice on the other line. “There are bugs in the program that weren’t there yesterday! Bugs we fixed with the programming just keep returning no matter what we do! We’re doing the best we can to figure out what is happening.” Sunset growled as she threw her mug across her office, watching as it crashed against the wall. As it shattered, Sunset felt her fingers massaging her forehead. Her shoulders ached and her legs were beginning to give out. Slowly she sank into her hair as her scientists continued to talk.
She had no idea why this was happening. Things were going so well when it began. So well that she was considering hiring 20% more people to begin production! She had some of the best minds from all over the world working on this. So why was it that they were constantly being stalled on every front?
Sunset gasped as the light around her faded, the bright glow from her gem fading as well. Almost dropping her card, she reached down to take hold of it and bring it up to her eye level. It was clear that her magic was at work, but the question was why. Normally she had to touch someone or at least be close enough for her magic to work. So why was she seeing those memories, feeling the same way this other Sunset felt when she took direct damage?
“Zakiel, time to go to work and attack her directly!” shouted the other Sunset. The girl from another world watched as Zakiel raised his weapons and fired at her. As her life points dropped to 2000 her pendent began to glow once again.
Sunset stood within a dark void this time. Before her was the other her, on her hands and knees with tears running down her face as four large featureless faces floated around her. This clearly wasn’t a memory for Sunset knew none of this could be real. Perhaps this was like that one time she touched Pinkie and got a glimpse into her crazy mind. So sort of abstract construct of what was going on inside her head. A compilation of her thoughts and feelings rolled into one.
“They’re all counting on me,” said the other Sunset. “This company was entrusted to me. If I fail then everyone here suffers. I’m doing the best I can.”
“I lost my job because of you,” shouted one of the heads in what sounded like thousands of voices speaking at once. “I had a wife and children.”
“How could you bring this company to ruin?” asked another in the same multi-voice. “It was entrusted to you alone.”
“This isn’t your best and you know it,” said the third in the same tone as the other two. “You should be giving this all you can.”
“Or perhaps you want it to fail,” said the last one. “So someone else can take away this burden from you. That you know you’re not worthy enough to take control of this company.”
“I end my turn,” said the other Sunset as she folded her arms while Sunset herself gasped from shock. She looked across the field at the face that was so much like her own, feeling like she understood more where this version of her was coming from. How this happened was a question for another time, when her freedom wasn’t on the line. Because no matter how much she understood her opponent, Sunset knew she had to win this duel. She had to help her friends in this crisis with cards games and continue to go to school with them. Plus she didn’t want to go to jail for no reason.
“Then it’s my turn! Draw!” shouted Sunset as she drew, the wind whipping around her hard. She looked at the card she drew and her eyes widened. “I play the spell card Monster Reborn to bring back a monster in my graveyard.”
As she placed the card in the same column as Zakiel, the other Sunset chuckled. “A nice try. I play the trap card Magical Musketeer – Last Stand! You remember this one. It negates and destroys the spell or trap you were about to activate. Meaning you’ve lost your only hope at a comeback.”
“Oh I wouldn’t say that,” said Sunset as she place another spell card in the same column where Monster Reborn had been. “Because now I play Rekindling! This card is like Monster Reborn but better. I can now special summon as many fire monsters as I want from my graveyard as long as they have 200 defense points. Only catch is that they are removed from play during my end phase. So let's welcome Flamevell Firedog, Laval Magma Cannoneer, Laval Lancelord, Laval Lakeside Lady, and lastly my Laval Forest Sprite.” Flames rose in front of Sunset, becoming a wall that blocked her vision from the rest of the field for a moment before her monsters emerged from the flames. The first two she saw were Cannoneer and Firedog, quickly taking to the field in attack mode. Then there was Laval Lakeside Lady, a woman in a bluish dress covering her rock-like skin as her hair made of literal flames ran down her back. Forest Sprite was a young boy with the same skin and hair as Lakeside Lady, but with a brown hood wrapped around his head while his arms and legs looked super heated as if they were about to melt. As for Lancelord, he was a large giant of a man with the same rocky skin as the rest of them. He wore a mask that crossed over his face to cover both his mouth as well as his left eye and in his left hand was his namesake: a lance made of lava.
“You’ve been looking down at my cards since this duel began,” continued Sunset as flames licked the forms of her monsters. “But now I’ll show you their real power. I tune my level three Lakeside Lady with my level four Magma Cannoneer!” Both of Sunset’s monsters rose up into the air with Magma Cannon turning into four rings while Lakeside Lady become three stars that passed through them. As Sunset began her chat, the color of both the rings and stars changed from green to a mix of red and orange. “Erupting from the world like blood from a wound. The cannons roar with the sound of battle. Take your stand in this war with a weapon that will never leave your side! Synchro summon Level 7: Laval Stennon!” At the end of her chant, a pillar appeared on the field instead of the greenish beam of light that normally occurred during this summoning. From the middle of the pillar a figure was seen leaping out of it, black flipping onto the field before his massive feet slammed onto the ground. Laval Stennon was a massive, hulking blue skinned man with thick veins covering his rock-like skin with a small head. Parts of his body were covered in a silvery metal that shined brightly and coming out of his chest was a massive three pronged pyramid. Golden rings looped around his shoulder blades as well as around his waist like a belt. His weapon was a his arm which had been replaced with a massive cannon giving him his 2700 attack points.
As he stood there, both Sunset’s watched as Stennon lifted his hand and looked down at it. Slowly he began to flex his fingers as if he were testing them out. Once he had done that, Stennon lowered his arm before rolling his shoulder around causing them to pop and crack loudly. The figure chuckled to himself in a gritty fashion before turning to look directly at its summoner.
“Well, what are you waiting for?” he asked as steam came out of his mouth. “We’ve been itching for a good fight for a while now.” Sunset’s eyes widened at this, her pupils becoming tiny dots before expanding rapidly in glee. Her cards! They were acting in the same manner as Twilight’s!
“Right!” shouted Sunset. “Next I’ll-”
“Watch your monster as he gets destroyed!” interrupted the other Sunset, causing Stennon to turn and look at her. “I activate another copy of Magical Musketeer – Desperado! And I’ll use it to destroy that monster!” As a beam of energy fired down from the sky, Stennon folded his arms as he looked up at it with a grin while the golden rings around him began to glow. Meanwhile, Sunset removed Lakeside Lady from her graveyard. The beam then seemed to stop a few feet from Stennon as if an invisible barrier protected him. “What? But how? My trap card should have destroyed your monster!”
“Stennon has the equipment needed to protect himself,” replied the former unicorn while Stennon cracked his neck loudly. “By removing one Laval monster from my graveyard, I can negate the activation of any effect that targets him and then destroy it.” The other Sunset’s eyes widened at the realization of her words. She then looked at the cards in her cards, her eyes darting back and forth frantically. No doubt trying to see if there was anything she could do in this situation.
“Now, as I was saying,” continued Sunset. “I’m not done bringing monsters out. I tune my level two Laval Forest Sprite with my level four Flamevell Firedog!” Once more, Sunset’s monsters transformed into stars and rings. Only this time they started out as reddish orange instead of green before a pillar of flames was formed while Sunset began her chant. “Sear flesh and bone with your mighty flames. Walk through the battle without fear. Rise now proud warrior of the Laval tribe. Synchro Summon Level 6: Laval the Greater!” As Sunset finished her chant, a rock like had emerged from the flames and, with a sweeping motion, dispelled them. Standing there was a tall, slender rock like man with 2400 attack points. While his form started off as grey, his arms and legs began to glow a ghostly blue as similarly colored flames flickered around limbs. He eyed the field with his red eyes, bringing bother arms behind his back as he did so.
“So, this was what I was called to deal with?” he asked in a gritty yet bored tone as he tilted his head. Like with Stennon, steam emerged from his mouth as he spoke.
“Because Laval Forest Sprite was sent to the graveyard, all of my Laval monsters gain 200 extra attack points while they’re on the field,” continued Sunset, ignoring the Greater. As she said this Laval the Greater’s attack points rose to 2600 while Stennon’s went to 2900. As for Laval Lancelord his attack rose to 2300. “Now it’s time for my attack! Laval Stennon, let's show Zakiel who has the bigger guns!”
“Gladly,” replied Stennon with a grin. He raised his cannon arm up, its insides beginning to glow while Zakiel raised his own weapons. Zakiel fired first, his bullets flying towards Stennon with the intent to kill. But that changed when Stennon fired his own weapon, sending a blob of lava across the field. Zakiel’s bullet vanished in the flames without slowing down at all before he himself was consumed by the superheated liquid rock and destroyed. The other Sunset’s eyes widened in shock and horror at this while her life points dropped to 6600.
“Now to stop you from searching!” exclaimed Sunset as she pointed to Caspar. “Laval the greater, destroy that gunman.” Laval the Greater didn’t say anything, only shrugging as he brought one of his arms forward until it was level with Caspar. Magical Musketeer Caspar readied his own weapon but it was too late as flames shot out of Laval the Greater’s hand with such force that both Sunset’s had to cover their ears due to the sound it created. When the flames died down, all that was left of Caspar was a pair of smoking boots that soon exploded as the other Sunset’s life points dropped to 5200.
“Lancelord, stop her from reviving anymore of her monsters! Destroy Calamity!” At Sunset’s command, Lancelord threw his weapon like a javelin across the field. Calamity raised her weapon in an attempt to blow it out of the sky only to get skewered while waiting for her weapon to charge. As Calamity burst into flames and vanished the other Sunset’s life points dropped to 4400. “With that I end my turn and Laval Lancelord is banished due to the effects of Rekindling.”
“Then it’s my turn,” said the other Sunset, drawing her fifth card after Lancelord vanished from the field. “Don’t think that that lucky move means I’m beaten. I still have more cards to play! Sooner or later I’ll get around those monsters and finish this duel so you are out of the way! I have too many people counting on me to keep this company running.”
“Sunset,” said the former pony girl as she thought about her own past. About how she felt when she had been given the duty of being in charge of the year book. About the time when she needed to figure out how magic was appearing during the Friendship Games. About her time with Princess Celestia. “I know what you’re going through. All this stress you’re under, all the expectations you feel you need to meet. Believe me, I’ve been there myself and it's caused me to lash out more than once. If I had known I’d cause you more stress then-”
“YOU DON’T KNOW ANYTHING!” screamed the other Sunset, shocking the former unicorn as well as her two monsters. “From the day I was adopted, I was raised to one day take over this company. To keep it as the number one gaming company in the world. If I fail, then it’s not just me who suffers but everyone who works here! They might all lose their jobs including my only friend! I won’t let that happen so I’ll do whatever it take, even if people start thinking I’m a jerk. Besides, a boss isn’t supposed to be everybody’s friend. They need to be the boss!
“Enough of this! I summon Magical Musketeer Wild in attack mode!” Appearing on the field was a monster that fit the description of a heavy. Wild was a large man with no shirt, tattoos covering his bare chest with some of them being obscured by his long hair. On both of his arms were insanely large, trident shaped guns that no sane man would ever use outside of some generic 90’s comic with two sets of missile launchers on both shoulders. Despite all of this weaponry his attack was only 1700. “Now I’ll play the copy of Toon Table of Contents in the same column as his. With this, I get another copy of Toon Table while Wild’s effect activates. I select three Magical Musketeer cards in my graveyard, shuffle them into my deck, and then draw one card. So I’ll be selecting Calamity, Zakiel, and Caspar.” The other Sunset paused for a moment to take said cards out of her graveyard slot and place them on the top of her deck. The auto-shuffler engaged, mixing up her deck before spitting out a card for her. The other Sunset looked at it…and grinned.
“Perfect!” she announced as she slide the card right behind Doc. “I activate Magical Musketeer – Steady Hands! This spell card allows me to select one Magical Musketeer on my field and double its attack and defense points. So I choose Magical Musketeer Wild!” Wild threw back his head to roar as his size doubled while his attack points rose to 3400! “Also, since I activated my card in the same column as Doc, I can add one Magical Musketeer card in my graveyard to my hand. I think Magical Musketeer – Desperado would be a good choice. Now, time to show Stennon what real fire power is all about! Magical Musketeer Wild, destroy him!” Laval Stennon threw out his arms in a ‘bring it on fashion’ while beginning to laugh wildly as Wild fired all of his weapons. Missiles, bullets, and even grenades flew across the field exploding on the laughing hulk. Sunset watched as Stennon just kept laughing without fear as his body was reduced to dust and was blown away leaving Sunset with 1500 life points.
“Next I’ll activate my trap card: Magical Musketeer – Desperado!” yelled the other Sunset as she held up the card. “Now I can destroy your last line of defense before the rest of my monsters finish you off!” Above their heads appeared another beam of energy shooting down towards Laval the Greater. Said Laval monster simply looked up at it, with his hands folded behind his back.
Before the beam could hit, the door to the roof was flung open. Both Sunsets turned in time to watch as two men in black suits were tossed through the open doorway followed by rolling on the ground as they landed. Shortly after that, a rainbow colored blur shoot through with the rest of Sunset’s friends who had witnessed her kidnapping this afternoon. “Sunset!” they shouted I unison.
“I’m ok,” she shouted back before returning to the duel. “I activate Laval the Greater’s effect. If this monster would be destroyed by a card effect, I can banish one Laval monster instead. So I’ll banish Laval Stennon in order to save Laval the Greater.” As Sunset removed the monster, the blue flames around Laval the Greater grew quickly as they surrounded him. The beam hit the flames and was stopped by the scorching heat. With her monster safe, Sunset turned to looked at her friends again. “How did you girls manage to find me?”
“And how did you manage to get past all my security?” demanded the other Sunset.
“That’s easy,” replied Rainbow with a wave of her hand. “Twilight here used her super science gizmo to find you. As for the guys in the black suits, well…”
-x-
Below, dozens of men in black suits littered the floors of the building. All of them large, muscular men with either shaved heads or having pointed hairstyles. Some of them still had on their sunglasses, but the majority of them had been removed or laid shattered on their faces. Their suits were ripped in various places and looked disheveled. Only a few were still awake, but too sore to move.
“Hey Joey,” one man moaned.
“Yeah Tristan,” said a man with his back to the wall.
“Did we just get our asses kicked by several girls using magical powers?” asked Tristan.
“I believe they were teenagers,” replied Joey.
“Does that make it any better?”
“…If anyone asks, we fought an army of very angry gorillas.”
-x-
“Don’t ya go an worry about them,” said Applejack as she cracked her knuckles. “We’ll get ya out of here all lickity split.”
“And then we’ll celebrate with banana splits,” added Pinkie Pie.
“Thanks,” said Sunset as she looked at her double. “But I need to finish this. I need to prove to her who I am and help her understand. If I don’t, if I just leave here, she’ll just come back again and again because she’s like me. She won’t give up. Not until she’s confronted with the truth. Go on, finish your move.” The other Sunset’s head jerked at this, surprised by Sunset’s declaration of her intent. She then eyed the other girls for a moment before looking back at Sunset.
“Are you sure?” she asked.
Sunset nodded. “I’m willing to honor our agreement. If I lose, I’ll still remain here while you do whatever you feel is necessary to find out who I am. Because I owe you that much.”
The other Sunset didn’t respond at first. Instead, her head bowed down to stare at her duel disk as both hair and shadows covered the other Sunset’s features. Sunset could only guess what was going through her double’s mind. That this might be a trick or something like that. Maybe fear of trusting her or that Sunset was telling the truth. Then, slowly, the other Sunset raised her head again and took a breath.
“I switch my remaining monsters into defense mode and end my turn,” she said firmly.
“Then it’s my draw,” said Sunset as she drew a card. She looked at it, the only card in her hand, and smiled. “Looks like my deck is coming through for me. I summon Laval Cannon in attack mode!” At once the ground cracked in front of Sunset, lava pouring out from the opening to form a humanoid monster with skin that looked like it was made out of blue stone. This 1600 attack point monster looked a lot like Stennon, only with a far less bulky frame and almost no armor save for the stones that wrapped around his body and the eye patch he wore. “When he is summoned to the field, I can also target and special summon one of my banished Laval monsters to the field! So I’m bringing back my Stennon!” The ground cracked open, lava pooling out as Stennon’s had reached out to grab at the solid rock.
“Oh no, don’t help me,” said Stennon sarcastically after his head popped out, glaring at Laval the Greater as he attempted to get onto the field. “I’ve got this. Just keep standing there pretending that you’re imposing.”
Laval the Greater looked over at Stennon with half lidded eyes. An impressive feat considering he had no visible eyelids. “You seem to be managing just fine. But perhaps if you put more effort into moving your body instead of your mouth, you might actually get out.”
“Hey guys,” interrupted Sunset, getting the two monsters attention. “Why don’t you save your fighting for your opponent instead of each other?” At that Stennon chuckled darkly as he got onto the field while lines of steam rose from his body. Laval the Greater simply nodded before looking forward again. “Good, because now it’s time to battle! Laval Cannon, destroy Doc. Laval the Greater, take out Starfire! Laval Stennon, attack her Wild!” Sunset’s monsters went to work instantly with Cannon firing a blob of lava similar to Stennon but much smaller. Doc tried to block the attack with his weapon, holding it up like a shield only for the weapon to melt in his hands as the lava then hit him in the chest. Needless to say he was destroyed on the spot. Starfire tried to fight back as well but the flames of Laval the Greater were too fast and too powerful leaving not even ask behind. With those two down, Wild tried to fire at Stennon but Sunset’s hulking monster had already closed the distance between them. Stennon’s massive hand grabbed Wild by the back while his cannon arms was pressed right into Wild’s stomach. A moment later there was a hole in the Magical Musketeer’s chest, causing him to fall to his knees while the other Sunset’s life points dropped to 3400.
“With that, I end my turn,” said Sunset.
“Th-Then I draw,” stammered the other Sunset, not that the former pony blamed her. Her position was not good. From what Sunset had seen, her Magical Musketeer’s were not strong but instead relied on traps from the hand to gain their advantage. The strongest monster she had used was Zakiel and he couldn’t overpower either of her Synchro monsters. She would need to get a card strong enough onto the field and then use something like that Steady Hand card again. That was possibility Sunset could see at this moment.
The other Sunset drew her card, looked at it, and then almost sank to her knees. Clearly, this wasn’t a card she was hoping for.
“I place one monster face down and end my turn,” said the other Sunset.
“Then I draw,” said Sunset as she drew from her deck. “I activate the effect of the Lakeside Lady sleeping in my grave. By banishing both her and another Laval monster, I can destroy one of your face down cards. So I remove her and Forest Sprite to destroy your face down monster.” The other Sunset took a step backwards as the ground broke near her, lava pooling out again before Lakeside Lady appeared in the same fashion as a swimmer breaking through the water. The laval monster then turned and placed a hand on the card which burned with her touch before sinking back into the lava. Now the field was clear, with no monsters and no potential traps to protect her from the three monsters on Sunset’s side of the field. “I believe this is game.”
With a nod of her head, the other Sunset lowered her duel disk.
-x-
Later that day, Applejack and Pinkie Pie were standing in front of the statue at Canterlot High. The sun had set some time ago leaving the grounds empty and deserted as they just sat there, waiting. What they were waiting would be unknown to anybody who was just passing by. Unless, of course, they had the expert timing to see twin Sunset Shimmers coming out of the base of the statue. While one looked remarkably calm the other looked like she was about to have a panic attack.
“All my things were horse things!” she shouted while on her hands and knees.
“Actually, they were pony things,” said Sunset Shimmer as she reached out with her hand to help her twin up. The other girl looked at it for a moment before accepting it, quickly being brought to her feet. “Unicorn things to be exact.”
“This…how can it be real?” asked the other Sunset as she turned to look at the statue.
“Believe me sugarcube, we’ve known about it for a while an sometimes ah still can’t believe it,” commented Applejack.
The other Sunset turned to the version of herself that was a student at the school. “You came from a world with no pollution, magic, and ponies?!? My eight year old self would have killed to live there!”
“And don’t forget that she used to be tutored by an actual pony princess!” added Pinkie Pie in a chipper tone. Sunset moved to cover her friend’s mouth to keep her from blabbing anything else out, but the damage was done. The other Sunset Shimmer’s jaw had dropped as she stared at her with wide eyes.
“Look, if things were that good, I would have stayed or just gone back,” said Sunset as she let go of Pinkie’s mouth. “I guess this is my fault in a way. When I realized that there were copies of ponies I knew in this world, I should have realized that I might have one as well. That something like this would have happened sooner or later. You know, the whole meeting my double and her being freaked out. But back when I first came here I was more focused on my own plan and after that I figured you probably were in a different town or something since I hadn’t seen you.”
The other Sunset let out a sigh. “I guess I can’t blame you,” she said while shaking her head. “If you had come to my office or home, I would have thought this was a scam or that you were a crazy person. And if I had never gotten that email then I never would have known. Just wish I had acted better for our first meeting.”
“Yeah,” said Sunset as she scratched the back of her head, sparing a glance at her friends real quick. “I can relate.” She paused for a moment. “So, what happens next?”
“Well,” began the other Sunset as she coughed into a fist. “First of all, I need to take action before the press finds out about you. I still have to keep my investors and the board from thinking I’m acting like a character in Disney show. By morning a cover story will be made saying you’re my long lost twin sister or something like that. I’ll make sure you get a social security number and falsify a few other documents to create a paper trail so that no one will suspect anything. That way you’ll be able to live out the rest of your life in peace without having to worry about people finding out you’re technically an illegal alien.”
“You can do that?” asked Sunset Shimmer in disbelief. “Just like that?”
“Wouldn’t be…Yes, yes I can,” replied the other Sunset as she nervously looked around for a moment. “I mean, I have the money and the resources so it shouldn’t be a problem. All I ask is that in a couple of days we make a point of ‘finding’ each other. Bits will be leaked to the press and, if it’s a slow news day, they might run it for a minute or two. As long as it's out there and I’m not trying to hide it they most likely won’t care. So that’ll be one less thing I have to worry about.”
“Thank you,” said Sunset with a small smile. “I don’t know how I can say thank you.”
The other Sunset shrugged. “Well, I am doing this for myself and to say sorry for the whole ‘bringing you in at gunpoint’ thing. So I guess there’s no need to for thanks.” She then looked a little nervous. “But, if you don’t mind, perhaps sometime you would help me unwind with a shooter game?”
“Deal,” replied Sunset instantly, smiling as she extended her hand. The other Sunset seemed surprised by the suddenness of the action but only for a moment.
“You have no idea what this means to me,” she said as she embraced her pony counterparts hand, shaking it while looking around. “Ah, what happened to your others friends? They were here when we left for ponyland.”
“Oh,” said Applejack as she stood up. “Twi had ta run home and Rainbow went with her. So varmint broke in and ransacked the place. Thankfully no one was home.”
-x-
A loud clang from behind her caused Cinch to turn her seat around. Standing there was her two young helpers, Adagio looked pleased with herself and Aria looking as grumpy as ever. Between the two was a pillow case that looked half full of something. Cinch eyed the bag, quickly putting together what had happened.
“Decided to do a little shopping at the Sparkle’s residence?” she asked while leaning back in her chair.
“Figured it would look more like a robbery,” said Adagio as she bent down and opened the bag. The girl reached in and then pulled out a handful of jewelry. Necklaces, rings, and a watch threatened to fall from her grasp as she held them up so Cinch could properly see them. “While Aria was putting in the virus, I decided to help myself to some of the family’s expensive crap. I figure there might come a time when we need a little extra cash so we’ll hold onto it for now.” Aria let out a huff before rolling her eyes at this.
“Well, I suppose that is good forward thinking,” said Cinch as she brought her hands together. “I have already received the email containing all of my former student’s plans. With this we will be one step closer to achieving our goals.”
“What about the moron at Kaiba Corp?” asked Aria in a bored tone.
“He sent me a text message saying everything went well on his end,” said Cinch with a nod. “As long as no one looks too deep at his forgery, we should be getting our capture disks soon.”