Rainbow Dash had finished her day at work and was now at the Stampede Diner having a burger, waiting for Pinkie to finish her shift. Normally, the pink-haired girl was finished her day at the same time as Rainbow. However, Pinkie was asked to cover for someone who was running late. Of course, Pinkie wasn't the type to say no, so when Rainbow couldn't reach her on the phone and drove to the diner to tell Pinkie about their friends meeting, Pinkie asked if she would wait.
"So," Pinkie began, walking out from behind the counter with a tray of drinks for another table, "what are the we meeting up for?"
"Let's just say," Rainbow explained, being as discrete as she could, "someone we know needs some help. Our help to be exact."
"What kind of help?"
"They didn't say, just that they needed it."
Pinkie raised an eyebrow as she walked by her rainbow-haired friend. As she stepped behind the counter again and got behind the register, a young woman around Pinkie's age entered the diner, dressed in a waitress uniform.
"Hey, Pinkie!" She gasped as if she was in a panic, "Sorry I'm late, something happened with my car and I had to get it towed home."
"It's alright." Pinkie replied, clocking-out and stepping away from the register and letting the other woman clock-in, "Table five ordered three cream sodas and table eight ordered a well-done New York steak with mashed potato."
"Okay, I'll take it from here. See you later, Pinks. And thanks again."
"No problem, see ya. I'll meet you outside, Rainbow."
Rainbow nodded as she finished her food, before paying and exiting to her car. As she approached her driver door, Pinkie's Jetta rounded the building and stopped next Rainbow. The passenger window rolled down and Pinkie leaned closer to speak.
"So, where are we all meeting?" Pinkie asked, unsure of where to go.
"We're meeting at the old basketball court in Canterlot Park." Rainbow replied, lowering herself to eye-level with Pinkie, "You know, the one on the far end near the parking lot?"
"Why there? Did this mystery person or people what you to train them or something?"
"No, not exactly. But, it's quiet and private."
"My elbow feels weird, Rainbow. You know that means-"
"That means that I'm not telling you the whole truth. Yes, I know. But, you gotta trust me on this. It's a pretty big thing."
Again, Pinkie raised an eyebrow, but chose not to dig too much into it. Instead, she nodded and rolled up her window, before driving away and toward the park. Rainbow wasn't far behind as she got in her car and did the same.
It was a quiet ride as Rainbow drove down the street, following Pinkie's taillights in the distance. Then the light in front of Rainbow turned red and she watched as Pinkie rounded another corner, disappearing from view. As she waited for her light to change, Rainbow noticed a motorcycle in the crossing traffic. The rider's dark helmet visor was down, covering their face. But, their head was angled toward Rainbow's 300ZX. At first, Rainbow thought it was Sunset Shimmer. However, the motorcycle wasn't a black Kawasaki Ninja, but a black Ducati Panigale V2. As it accelerated away when its light turned green, Rainbow watched as the rider looked at her for a moment longer, before facing forward again. Then Rainbow's light changed and she continued on to the park. After a while, she arrived and saw all her friends vehicles in the parking lot. Quickly, she parked between Pinkie's Jetta and Twilight's Lexus. Fluttershy's Jeep, Applejack's Chevy, and Rarity's BMW were a little further away from the others, but close enough to the court.
As Rainbow stepped closer to the court, she heard voices and knew it was her friends. Then, Rainbow walked around the bleachers and found her friends sitting on them, conversing with one another.
"Hey, you guys." Rainbow greeted, climbing up the bleachers and sitting next to Applejack.
"Howdy, Rainbow." Applejack replied, looking around at their group, "Well, the gang's all here. Why are we meetin'?"
As if on cue, the sound of a sport motorcycle engine echoed through the air. This caused the six girls to stand and turn to look. They watched as a black Kawasaki Ninja rolled around the bleachers and stopped on the cement basketball court. The rider shut off the engine and set the kickstand, before dismounting.
"Who's this?" Applejack asked, leaning close to Rainbow.
"An old friend in need." Rainbow replied, stepping down the bleachers toward the rider.
As Rainbow got closer, the rider unbuckled the helmet strap and removed it, revealing Sunset Shimmer's face. At first, the other girls had confused and dumbfounded expressions, with the exceptions of Rainbow and Fluttershy. But, after a few seconds, their expressions turned to distrust, anger, and disgust. The only one who seemed the least upset was Pinkie. Quickly, she stepped down the bleachers, nearly tackling Sunset in a hug.
"S-Sunny!" Pinkie sobbed, squeezing Sunset tightly, "You're... Y-You're home!"
"It's great to see you too, Pinkie." Sunset gasped, caught off guard by the sudden act, "But, could you loosen up? I'm running out of air."
Pinkie let go and wiped away her tears, allowing Sunset to look around at the others. But, her smiled faded as she met their eyes. Desperately, Sunset tried forming words, but her mouth suddenly felt dry and her mouth hung agape. However, the sound of Applejack's boots thudding on the bleachers kept the silence at bay.
"Ya got some nerve comin' back here, after how ya just abandoned us." Applejack stated darkly, stopping two feet from Sunset, "If y're smart, ya'd get back on that bike and get the hell outta here."
Sunset knew that tension would be tight amongst everyone, Applejack especially. But, it caught her off-guard just how much gravity Applejack's voice carried in her words.
"I didn't want to leave, AJ." Sunset stated, finally finding her voice, "But, I did it to protect you. You and the rest of the girls."
"That's a lie!" Applejack spat, poking Sunset in her chest with an index finger, "Ya took off without sayin' anythin'! Folks who do that are usually out to protect themselves!"
"People were calling you demon worshipers, Hell's followers, blood drinkers! And they were calling all of you those things, because of me! So, don't you dare, for one second, think that me running away was for my own benefit!"
Sunset's outburst was followed by silence as the others let her words sink in. She breathed deeply, before exhaling and calming down again.
"I figured that, if I put some distance between me and all of you, things would be better." Sunset sighed, placing her hands on her hips and hanging her head, "And, you all have every right to be mad at me. But, now, I'm in a lot of trouble and you're the only ones who I trust. Even if you don't trust me anymore."
Almost undetected, Twilight had step down the bleachers and approached Sunset, resting a hand on Sunset's good shoulder. This caused Sunset to look up again and meet Twilight's eyes, seeing them as stern and sympathetic.
"Perhaps you should tell us why you're in trouble, before we decide if we should help you." Twilight stated, casting a glance at Applejack, "It's only fair."
Applejack huffed and crossed her arms, but nodded in agreement.
"Alright." Sunset sighed, reaching into her pocket and pulling out the green gem, "This is why I'm in trouble."
All the girls gathered closer as Sunset explained how she had stolen the gem. She told them about the deal, that had turned out bad. She even told them that she knew it was from Equestria, but wasn't sure what it could do. However, what Sunset didn't tell them, was where she had been for six years.
"LEGION?!" Twilight asked, surprised to hear that name, "LEGION Technologies and Research?! Sunset, that can't be right."
"It is right." Sunset stated, "I've been working in the private security division for over a year and been seeing a lot of shady things. Especially, lately. Why are you so worried?"
"I work for them."
Sunset stared into Twilight's eyes, looking for any sign that she was joking, but failed to find any.
"Y-You work for them?" Sunset stammered, feeling a hint of panic setting in.
"Yes." Twilight began, pulling out an ID badge with the company name on the back, "I'm a chemist in the labs, developing medicines."
Sunset stepped back, taking a seat on her bike saddle. Putting the gem away and reaching into another pocket, Sunset pulled out her cigarettes, flip-lighter, and a LEGION ID badge. Promptly, she lit-up and showed the badge to everyone.
"This isn't a badge, to me." Sunset said, taking a long drag from her cigarette and blowing out the smoke, "This is a ticket to Hell."
"Sunset, you have to understand," Twilight explained, "LEGION isn't out to cause trouble. We're trying to make the world a better place."
"That's a lie! They brainwashed you into thinking you're changing the world for the better, instead of changing it for their own benefit. Ask me how I know!"
Twilight and the other girls shared glances, before leaning closer.
"I know this because I was part of their muscle." Sunset explained, "LEGION private security is made up of ex-military, reformed cartel goons, and basically any other moron who can use a gun and isn't afraid of blood. If LEGION didn't receive payment for services, we were told to make them pay-up. If there was something that needed to be retrieved, LEGION didn't care what method was used, as long as the job was done. They want to control the world's resources so that they can control people."
Sunset took another drag of her cigarette, before Twilight spoke up again.
"That's not what we're trying to do, at all." Twilight stated, stepping closer, "LEGION is on the brink of making medicines that can cure deadly diseases. It'll benefit humanity."
"At what cost?" Sunset asked, blowing out the smoke, "How do they test these medicines? Rats and mice?"
"From what I've seen, yes."
"Then you clearly haven't seen the human guinea pigs brought in by the busload. The same ones I see roll through those-"
Sunset cut off her statement as she heard a faint sound in the distance. Quickly, Sunset put out her smoke and stood up from her motorcycle as the sound got louder. Soon the sound became clear as she realized it was a pair of motorcycle engines. Turning to look where the source was coming from, Sunset saw a pair of headlights across the park from them on the pathways. Instinctively, Sunset drew her Glock 17 and turned to look back at her friends.
"GET DOWN!!!" Sunset shouted as she turned back in time to see muzzle flashes and opened fire.
The sound of bullets whizzing by and gunfire, both semi-auto and full-auto, filled the air for a few seconds before the motorcycles rode out of range and disappeared around a corner. Sunset used the brief silence to quickly reload and check on the others. She found them all on the ground, covering the heads with their arms or curled up.
"Is anyone hit?!" Sunset asked in a panic.
But, she was relieved when all of them stood up again, unharmed and shaken up.
"Get to your cars!" Sunset said, crouching behind her bike, "Get out of here! They're after me, not you!"
"What about you?" Rarity asked, still shaken.
"I'll be fine..."
Before anyone could protest further, the sound of motorcycles approaching caught their attention. Quickly, the other girls ran for their vehicles. However, when they reached the parking lot, three black Mercedes SUVs rolled in and screeched to a stop. Within seconds, twelve armed mercenaries wearing the LEGION company logo on their sleeves had exited the SUVs and aimed at the girls.
"Do not move!" One called as they advanced toward the group, "Keep your hands where we can see them!"
Applejack was very close to her Chevy and began slowly moving closer to the driver door, which was facing away from the mercenaries. However, one of them noticed and fired a warning shot that grazed her hood.
"You!" The mercenary called, aiming the gun at her again, "Move again and I will drop you like a deer! Do you understand?!"
Applejack nodded and raised her hands again. However, she didn't keep them up long as a gunshot rang out and a mercenary fell to the ground. With little hesitation, the mercenaries turned and fired at Sunset, who had peeked around the bleachers and fired to protect her friends. This, in turn, gave Applejack the chance she was hoping for and threw her truck door open. But, instead of getting in and driving away, Applejack reached under the driver's seat and took hold of her .357 Magnum revolver, before grabbing a 12-gauge pump-shotgun from her back window gunrack.
"Rainbow!" Applejack called, getting the rainbow-haired girl's attention, "Catch!"
Rainbow looked in time to see Applejack toss the shotgun to her and caught it, before aiming at the mercenaries.
"Pinks, Flutters, Twi, Rare!" Rainbow called, taking cover behind her car, "Get behind AJ's truck!"
Out of fear, the others followed her command and hid behind the large pickup truck, while Applejack and Rainbow took cover behind Rainbow's Nissan and opened fire. Shotgun blasts and revolver fire pounded a few of the mercenaries, while others retreated back to the SUVs for cover. All while Sunset provided additional fire from the bleachers. But, being trained in combat, the mercenaries returned fire. Bullets either whizzed past the three armed girls as the ducked behind their covers, or impacted into the side of Rainbow's car and Sunset's metal bleachers. But, soon, smoke and flames began to rise from Rainbow's engine and she began to panic.
"It's gonna blow if it keeps getting hit like this!" Rainbow called out over the gunfire, "And we're dead if we move! What do we do?!"
"I don't know!" Applejack replied, blind-firing through the broken windows.
"HOLD YOUR FIRE!!" Another voice shouted, ceasing the volley of lead.
To everyone's surprise, Twilight had emerged from behind Applejack's truck with her hands raised. However, in one of her hands, her LEGION ID badge was held up. Slowly, she stepped further from cover and closer to the mercenaries.
"What are you doing?!" Rainbow hissed, still keeping her head down, "They'll shoot you!"
"I'm giving you a chance! So shut up and move away from the burning car! Now!" Twilight replied, turning her attention back to the mercenaries and giving the burning vehicle as much space as she could, "My name is Twilight Sparkle. I'm a Level Two chemist for Dr. Blue Cross at the Canterlot City LEGION medical research facility. And I'm ordering you to cease your actions against these girls."
As Twilight spoke, Applejack and Rainbow heeded their friend's advice and quickly retreated back to Applejack's Chevy, where the others watched. Sunset also watched from her cover, careful not to expose herself for a clear shot from the mercenaries.
"What's your ID number?" One of the mercenaries asked, stepping forward with his weapon still raised.
"Two-Six-Nine-Tango-Indigo-Eight-Zero-One." Twilight replied, keeping one hand raised while other held out the badge.
The mercenary lowered his weapon and took the badge, before inserting it to a PDA that was strapped to his arm.
"Alpha team to LEGION command, do you read me, over?" He said, placing two fingers to an earpiece he was wearing, "I have a LEGION chemist ordering me to stand down. ID number: Two-Six-Nine-Tango-Indigo-Eight-Zero-One... Chemist says her name is Twilight Sparkle from Canterlot City LEGION medical research... Negative, she hasn't been checked for weapons. Standby."
The mercenary took hold of his weapon again and motioned for a female mercenary to approach closer. This caused Twilight to be intimidated as she watched the mercenary step forward. Even without the tactical gear, Twilight could tell that she had a build that rivaled Applejack's. Promptly and without care, the mercenary groped and prodded at Twilight as she searched for any weapons or devices.
"She's clear." The mercenary stated, taking a step back and looking from Twilight to the other girls.
"Subject is clear of weapons." The first mercenary reported, speaking into the microphone again, "What are your orders?"
There was another long pause as the mercenaries awaited orders. As they waited, Sunset managed to quietly climb to the top of the bleachers and laid flat to get better cover and a better firing position. Rainbow Dash and Applejack had reloaded and were aiming at the mercenary group again. And Fluttershy, Rarity, and Pinkie were peeking over the box of the large truck.
"Affirmative, Command." The mercenary said, approaching Twilight and taking her by the shoulder, "You're coming with us."
"Wait!" Twilight protested, trying to pull away from his grip, only to have the female mercenary grab her other shoulder, "W-What about my friends?"
"Our orders are to take you to HQ, no questions asked."
Considering her size, Twilight wasn't able to free herself from their grip and soon found herself being shoved into one of the SUVs. This caused alarm among the girls, Applejack, Rainbow, and Sunset especially.
"She ain't goin' anywhere with ya'll!" Applejack called out, squeezing the revolver's and firing a shot at the mercenaries again.
As an expected reaction, the mercenaries returned fire, forcing Applejack and Rainbow to duck behind Applejack's truck again. However, the bullets stopped flying and the sound of tires screeching followed. Applejack and Rainbow peeked out from their cover and saw three sets of taillights shrinking into the distance.
"Rainbow, here!" Applejack exclaimed, shoving the keys to her Chevy into Rainbow's hand, "You drive, I'll shoot!"
"What about us?" Rarity remarked, remind them of herself, Pinkie, and Fluttershy, all still shaken by what just happened, "Twilight is our friend too!"
"You three go to this address. And take this with you." Sunset said, coming from behind the bleachers with a worn piece of paper and the gem, handing both to Rarity, "I have a friend there. Tell him I sent you and we'll catch up with you there."
Rarity looked at the address written on the note, as did Pinkie and Fluttershy, reading over her shoulder. Applejack's eyebrows curled in frustration, but she said nothing as she pushed passed Sunset and got into the passenger seat. Rainbow and Sunset exchanged looks before joining the cowgirl, Rainbow getting in the driver seat, while Sunset got in the back seat behind the driver. With a turn of the key and a roar of the 454 big block V8, they raced out of the parking lot. And the chase was on.