//------------------------------// // Escape, Theories, and Exhaustion // Story: Consequences // by shallow15 //------------------------------// After fleeing from the orchard, Sunset had Twilight drop her a few blocks away from her apartment building. Both girls ponied down as they landed. “Are you sure?” Twilight asked. “I wasn't getting tired or anything, I can take you home.” Sunset shook her head. “She knows where I live and I don't have anyone who can block her from getting to me if she decides to pay me a visit.” “Then come stay at my house,” Twilight replied. “We've got the room and my parents will protect you if Agent Shadow shows up.” Another head shake. “I have some other things I need to do.” “You're not going to see Capper again, are you?” Twilight frowned. “No, Twilight,” Sunset sighed. “I don't think I'll be dealing with Capper again any time soon. No, I just need to make sure some things that Agent Shadow doesn't know about yet remain things she doesn't know about.” Twilight opened her mouth to speak but Sunset silenced her with an upraised hand. “And it would be better if no one else knew about them as well, just in case.” “I wouldn't say anything!” Twilight protested. “I know you wouldn't,” Sunset said gently. “But I need to be sure, all the same. I'm sorry. Please don't think I don't trust you, this is just something I feel I need to do alone.” Twilight fidgeted a moment, worry on her face. “Well... are you sure?” Sunset gave her a gentle smile. “Yeah, I'm sure. Don't worry. I'll find a motel or something to stay at tonight.” “You'll text me or something when you do?” Sunset rolled her eyes. “Yes, Mom. I'll even brush my teeth.” The two looked at each other and laughed. Sunset gave her friend a hug. “Go home, Twilight. I'll see you and the girls tomorrow.” “Okay,” Twilight said, still not sounding happy about the situation. “You better stay in touch.” “I will.” Twilight nodded, then ponied up again and flew off into the night. Sunset sighed and began walking down the street, away from her apartment, lost in thought. She supposed it was inevitable she'd wind up back at CHS. It was the only place that she felt would be safe enough for her to hide for the night. Between the time she left Capper's gang and found her current apartment, she had spent many nights in the school, especially during the winter. She rounded the corner of the building to a side door which led to the gym. Hopefully, no one had noticed the defective lock and had it repaired in the last couple of years. Sunset herself had often thought about saying something, but for some reason, she just felt better knowing there was a way for her to get into the building no one knew about. She reached the door in question and tried the handle. Locked, as expected. The lock had always worked, but with the right knowhow and a small strip of metal, it was easily bypassed. Sunset reached into her bag and withdrew a roll of black cloth and a small flashlight. She clicked the flashlight on and held it in her teeth while she undid the small cord around the roll and spread it out on the concrete. An assortment of tools reflected the light. Another souvenier of her time with Capper. She pulled out a metal strip with a notch on one end. She pulled on the door again with one hand, and slipped the strip into the small gap between the door and the jamb. She let go of the door and began moving the strip back and forth with a sawing motion. She was rewarded with a click and the door opened easily. Ten seconds. I'm getting rusty. She held the door open by putting her foot between it and the jamb while she put her tools away. Then she took the flashlight out of her mouth, and entered the gym, letting the door shut and lock behind her. The gym was dark, but with the flashlight she made her way out into the halls easily enough. She wasn't worried about setting off alarms or anything like that. There hadn't been a budget for a full security system for the school in years. Instead the meager security budget focused on getting cameras for the rooms with the most valuable equipment. The A/V room, the library, the computer lab, the office and so on. Sunset had no intention of entering any of those rooms. Instead she took a familiar route to an unmarked door on the second floor of the school. Another tool from her little black roll dealt with the lock on this door, as it had many times before, and Sunset made her way to the roof. She liked the roof. It was calm up here. A slight breeze ruffled her hair as she looked out at the lights of the houses spread around her, turning into the stacks that indicated the tall buildings of Canterlot City proper. She often came up here when she needed to think without anyone offering advice or suggestions. She had come up here after the Fall Formal, trying to figure out what to do with her life from that point forward. She had come up here after the Battle of the Bands, when the magic and the school had fully accepted her reformation. She had come up here when she started making changes to her life, to try to be the person she felt her friends deserved. And here she was again. Unsure of herself. Unsure of what was going to happen. Unsure if, maybe, she wasn't still making a huge mistake by staying on this side of the portal. Would it have been better if she had just gone back to Equestria once the Dazzlings were dealt with and the portal was open? She supposed not. She still had a lot of work to do on herself before she could realistically expect to go back. And, truly, she wasn't certain if she wanted to. Oh, she had thoughts from time to time. A longing to be able to use magic on a regular basis, seeing all the fantastic creatures that didn't exist over here, the occasional longing for adventure that didn't involve having to hide who she was and what she could do. But even when those longings were strongest, she knew that if she did go to Equestria, she'd have to say goodbye to her friends. Oh, sure, they had counterparts on the other side, but Sunset had noticed, through her correspondence with Princess Twilight, that there were little differences here and there between her human friends and the Princess's pony ones. Similar, yes, but not identical. They weren't the same... well... people that Sunset's friends were. So, sooner or later, she contented herself with staying. She had decided to finish out her high school career for the short term, and then see what opportunities presented themselves afterwards. But this situation was different. They were exposed and vulnerable to a government agency that would do who knew what to them for the power they carried. Sunset had been trying to figure out what to do if Agent Shadow did see them use their powers, and now that she had, Sunset had no idea what to do. … Well, no. She had one idea, but she needed confirmation if it would work. She walked over to the dome that covered the library and sat down on the roof, pulling out her journal. She took out a pen and began to write. Starlight? Are you there? A few seconds wait, then writing began to appear on the page. I'm here. Is everything okay? You first. Are YOU okay? We're all fine here. Something's happening though. We got word from the ponies down in Dodge Junction. The airship that led the invasion in Canterlot is back in Equestrian borders. Sunset sucked in a breath. Does that mean... Nopony's sure what it means. We haven't seen it yet. It'll probably take it another day to get within range of Ponyville and the forest. I'll keep you posted. What about you? Sunset took a deep breath... and lied. We're okay for now. A bit of a scare when Agent Shadow decided to question all of us at school. But it got me thinking. You know our geodes? The ones which give you your powers? Yeah. My Twilight and I have been puzzling over how they work. We already know for sure that if we aren't wearing them, we don't have access to our powers. Princess Twilight also theorized that they may be analogues to the Elements of Harmony. There was a brief pause, then more writing. Twilight mentioned it to me once or twice, but she said that she wasn't completely convinced that they were the same. I mean, she thought they might be conduits for the Magic of Friendship, but not the same as the Elements themselves. Right, Sunset wrote. But I was curious about something. Has Princess Twilight ever considered what would happen if one of the Elements was destroyed or otherwise unusable? We've talked about that as a thought experiment. Well, she talked. I mostly just acted as a sounding board. She seemed to think that if an Element was rendered unusable, it would diminish the power of the rest of the Elements, but since it's also connected to the bearer, the other Elements would probably still be able to work just fine. Sunset frowned. Damn. Not what I was hoping for. Sunset... what are you thinking? I was hoping that if the loss of one Element depowered the others, I could do the same to the geodes over here. Why would you do that?! Because STORM isn't actually interested in us. They're interested in what we can do. Remove our power and we remove the interest. But there's still rogue magic over there! What if something happened after you did that? It's a moot point anyway. If we assume that the geodes largely work the same way as the Elements, destroying one of them isn't going to affect the power itself. I just wanted to see if it was possible. Okay, as long as you're sure. I'm sure. Oh, and Starlight? Yes? …I might go silent for a few days. If the worst happens, I'm going to try to hide the journal or at least get it into safe hands. If Twilight manages to get back to you before I can, try to keep her over there? Another long pause, then: I'll try, but I'm not making any promises. Thanks, Starlight. For everything. You're welcome? I guess? Take care of yourself, Sunset. You too. I'll contact you when I can. Sunset closed the journal and put it back in her bag. She rested the back of her head against the library dome and sighed. So much for that plan. She suddenly frowned as something Starlight had written came back to her. The power of a destroyed Element could still be used by the bearer of that Element. So what if both were taken out of the equation? She blinked and shook her head. That was an unacceptable outcome. She'd have to figure something else out. It was too late to keep Agent Shadow from learning about their powers, but Sunset knew she could still keep Equestria's existence a secret. That had to be the new priority, no matter what happened next. Sunset yawned and she felt her eyelids grow heavy. The evening's excitement had finally caught up to her and the adrenaline was wearing off. Before she could do anything about it, she had fallen into a deep and dreamless sleep.