//------------------------------// // Chapter 16: Battle Without Honor or Humanity // Story: Alpha and Omega // by Revel Montaro //------------------------------// Special Agent Tempest Fury of the FBI sat at her desk trying to finish typing her latest after action report. She took a moment to briefly rub her eyes, wondering why in this day and age of voice type and AI enabled everything that government bureaucracy and procedure was still decades behind on efficiency. Questions for fools who think they may get an answer if they try hard enough. She had been a federal agent long enough to know better. Otherwise, she would have gone grey already. She spared a glance at the clock on the wall. Technically, she could leave whenever she wanted, but Tempest hated leaving things half finished no matter how long they took. Besides, there was nothing waiting for her at home except leftovers, bills, and a pet hedgehog that probably vomited on something and would need his cage cleaned. “I need a date and to get fucking laid.” “If you wish, I can begin filling in the most basic information on the top three dating websites currently in use. I would suggest taking a new profile picture, however. I would describe your current social media profile picture as a mug shot at best.” Tempest glared at her PAAL. “It was just a figure of speech. I thought I set you to privacy mode when I’m working.” “Technically you finished ‘working’ thirty minutes ago when your shift ended. Your continued efforts will earn you no additional monetary payment since you are salary non-overtime. But I’m sure your supervisor appreciates it.” Tempest glared harder at the small glass device. “I can’t tell if you are being sarcastic or not.” “Do you want me to be sarcastic?” “No.” The faceless PAAL screen flashed a few colors as it processed the information and finally said, “Then I was not.” Tempest set an old hardback book on top of the PAAL so it could not look at her. Not that it really helped. From what she had read they could access many of the public cameras around them. She had come to trust the things less and less since the incident a year ago involving the ghosts of Sunset Shimmer and Twilight Sparkle. That case file was still in the corner with no new information to add to it. Just sitting there, teasing her. They had dug deep, mountains of inconsistencies and revealing information that clearly pointed to something strange and quite possibly other worldly, but the trail still went cold. The family had lawyered up and lawyered up hard to prevent her from obtaining any search warrants of the estate house or private materials that had not been classified as proprietary research documents. And while public records had been great for cross referencing what they already knew, without concrete evidence to corroborate the weird stuff it still looked more like a case of two people getting top end body modification jobs and insider hacking at Sparkle Tech than anything supernatural. Her boss had given her a nice commendation for finding that software backdoor hack, but ultimately the entire affair had left a dissatisfying taste in Tempest's mouth that was still there. Tempest rubbed her eyes again. She was tired of chasing ghosts when they turned out to not be ghosts. The truth was out there, she just needed the right evidence to prove it. Then, maybe she could get some funding and a team to do some real work instead of being secretly laughed at when they thought she could not hear them. Until that happened she still should try to meet someone before she was old and gray. “Alright, I think I’m d-” Tempest’s PAAL began to ring. “Incoming call. It is Agent Folder.” Tempest moved the book and tapped the answer button on the glass. “Box, I promise I did not fall asleep at the office… again. I’m just on my way out.” “Well good, I just got a personal call from CPD, Captain Tip Top. Remember him?” “Yeah, what’s he want?” “How fast can you get to Old Maple Park?” Tempest was not perfectly familiar with Canterlot City since transferring to the local field office, but was aware of said park. “Not long at this hour, most of the afternoon rush should be winding down. You going to tell me what this is about and if I need to change my shoes for body recovery?” “Change your shoes if you want to, but what you really might need is a cross, a priest, and maybe some salt or whatever it takes to send demons back to Hell.” Tempest sat up. She quickly brought her computer back out of sleep mode and enabled the remote access to some of the field monitoring equipment they had installed near Canterlot High School. It was not exactly close to Old Maple Park, but if it was getting a reading of anomaly energy then it was a big spike. A few taps on the glass confirmed that there was a noticeable EM spike in the gigahertz range along with particles that she had never heard of. What the hell are tachyons and Higgs-Boson particles? “Have CPD and emergency services cordon off the area and keep the media out if possible. I’m on my way.” ---------- Datura was trying to monitor the progress of the gateway, keep all her thralls in place, and an eye on that dragon who would burn her to a crisp if she turned her back for too long. Even with the extra stolen power boost it was a lot to pay attention to all at once. Also, for some reason, she had to keep redrawing her skyrunes. Something was actively fighting her efforts and she was not able to focus on what was causing it. Datura narrowed her dark, pulsating eyes at the spinning crystal sphere when someone penetrated the barrier. She knew exactly who it had to be. “Grrrrrr! Always with the interruptions!” With a pulse of will, Datura sent a large group of thralls to intercept and possibly injure Sunset Shimmer. Not that they would be able to do much. If nothing else, it would slow her down. Hopefully her gate spell would be complete by then. It should be done now! It’s only the next closest parallel dimension! Even without the lunar alignment it should not be this hard to match up the resonance. I have sufficient power. Datura eyed the bowl of sacrificial blood and rare ingredients. By her calculations it was more than enough power to break through… unless it was being absorbed or diverted elsewhere. Datura considered the moderate sized town that had not existed in her time. Even this close to old Canterlot this land had been just fields and forest two thousand years ago. Was it proximity to the ley lines crossroad that was causing the interference? Datura growled. She hated having more questions than answers and insufficient time to rectify that imbalance. Datura sensed her thralls slowing their march as they approached the enemy. She sensed their hesitation and confusion. They were compelled to continue, but there was something making the connection fuzzy. Their true minds were taking notice and they began to struggle for control. Some outside source was causing further interference, energizing their sliver of independence in a way she did not know how to explain and required further attention to clamp down on. It wasn't magic, or was it? It was all so convoluted and.... and… “AND WHAT IS THAT GOD AWFUL ABHORRENT NOISE?!” Datura forced her way into the mind of the lead pony and before her, coming up the road at a steady pace were Sunset Shimmer, Clover, and that bat pony that had destroyed her old necklace that never took this long to work properly. The noise, that she was certain some would have dared to call music, was coming from Sunset Shimmer, of course. Datura was about to order a charge of all her thralls, if for no other reason than to cease that noise, but she paused. “There are only three of them… where are the others?” Movement to her right in her true eyes forced Datura back to her body. She raised her hoof, the center opened, and she fired a blast. Smolder jumped back, flashing her fangs, but holding her arms and wings out to body shield the students that were now behind her including the ones under Datura’s control. Had the dragon really been able to move them without her noticing? If so, why had the beast not just attacked her? Does she consider all these creatures part of her horde or clan? Strange behavior for a dragon for certain. “I would not suggest doing that again. I only give one warning shot,” Datura lied. Not wanting to admit she missed because all the distractions were ruining her focus. “I’m not going to fight you. I’m just trying to keep my students safe.” Datura narrowed her eyes, weighed her options, and finally growled out a sigh. With a gesture and flick of her horn, the group of students she had taken from the school came to from her grip all gasping and glancing about frantically. Naturally, they gravitated towards the orange dragon head mistress. All except one pony filly. “I think you are interfering with my spell. Take these creatures into the castle and close the door. Do not emerge or I will kill you.” “You let the others go. Please, give me Hazel Bloom as well.” “I still need a hostage to keep you honest. She will stay here and alive, for now. Now leave before I change my mind. I have enough distractions to deal with.” Smolder did not hesitate. She ushered the scared and traumatized students into the crystal castle and quickly shut and barred the door. Menna and Sulfite rushed to greet and comfort their friends who were all shaking and whimpering from the magical assault. Smolder did her best to calm them as well. She would bide her time for the moment, but by no means was giving up one of her students to the proverbial timberwolves. With one less thing to worry about Datura eyed the spell with renewed scrutiny and once again had to fix the runes that were already breaking. Next, she turned her attention to her thralls. Something was going on and she would have answers. With a surge of will Datura forced her thrall to speak to Sunset Shimmer. “What exactly do you think you are doing, princess?” Sunset, Clover, and Gauge paused when the thrall before them spoke. Unlike before, when Datura had spoken through Solar Guard Teakwood, this voice was that of the pony she was possessing. Forced to say what Datura wanted them to say. Sunset twisted her head back and forth, her neck popping a few times. Datura took note that the princess was once again adorn in her full armor and crown helm. Raven paused her playback without needing to be told. “I am coming to meet you head on. I am ending this one way or another.” The pony examined Sunset while the other thralls all stood like statues. “Are you certain you want to do this again? I mean, you do look good for a dead pony, but I’m busy just now.” “Unlike you, I am not a walking corpse. Not my choice, but that’s a different story that I don’t feel like getting into. You want me dead-dead? You are going to have to do it yourself and,” Sunset gestured to Clover, using her magic to lift his dimensional slider charm for Datura to see, “I have something else you want.” “Tempting. But I am currently finishing up a spell with my new one. So, if you leave me to finish it I will be on my way and with luck, we will never see one another again. Doesn't that sound better?” Sunset stepped up to the thrall and glared down at her. She was fairly certain Datura could see the anger and fire in her eyes. “I don’t think so. You stepped into my domain, bitch. You killed my subject, my friends, and you hurt my Twilight. Any one of those things is enough for me to hate you. But all three? No, you do not get to show up as a harbinger cock sleeve to a malicious alicorn god and then run away scot-free because things did not go as planned. The bill is due and I’m coming for you.” “If you say so, but there is an entire town of your poor, innocent subjects between you and I. Good luck getting through them all without hurting or killing a few.” Much to Datura's surprise and annoyance, Sunset Shimmer grinned. “Game on, bitch.” Sunset’s horn lit up and shot a sleep spell that struck the heads of all the creatures standing before her. Clover quickly fired off his own sleep spell and took out the few that had been trying to flank them. “If she’s already crafted a new charm and has the means to use it, we need to hurry,” said Clover. “Phase two.” Sunset shot a bolt of magic into the sky that exploded into a firework explosion that went from red to purple. Sunset nodded to the others who knew it was time to move swiftly. “Raven, play ‘Thunderstruck.’” “Playing track: Thunderstruck.” The guitar solo began, the drums beat, her healed heart pounded with adrenaline. Sunset grinned wildly and charged ahead with her next spell primed and ready on the tip of her glowing horn. Another group had emerged from behind a restaurant. They never saw the shots coming. Waiting for the signal was gnawing terribly on Twilight. She knew in her heart Sunset was fine, but the waiting was making her mind conjure all sorts of terrible scenarios. She saw Sunset in her hooves again, blood everywhere, gasping her dying breaths once more. Twilight had to close her eyes and shake her head. She took a deep breath and brought one foreleg to her chest and then pushed it out. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, an explosion lit the night sky. “FINALLY!” shouted Flurry Heart. Twilight nodded in agreement. The horrible images disappearing from her mind. She focused her power and lit her horn. The magnificent diamond sword with iridescent blade formed again and burned with ghostly white flame. Flurry’s jaw hung open with blue eyes wide. “Whoa. Pretty.” Twilight winked at her niece before carving a hole in the shield. She motioned for the others on her team to quickly enter as the shield tried to heal itself. After Isabella ran through Twilight quickly followed and let her sword disappear. While still difficult and left a pins and needles sensation in her chest, it was becoming easier to summon the blade. Twilight briefly wondered if that had been the same for Sunset when she first was able to call forth a soul blade. A conversation for when this was all over. “Sunset will be drawing most of the attention, we need to draw the rest so that when the moment is right, Spike and Luna can take the Red Clover down.” Flurry raised her water sprayer loaded with the sleep agent. Her magic was still unsteady, but levitation was easy enough to maintain. “Then let’s do this.” The guards and Isabella raised their bottles as well. Twilight nodded and charged ahead for the center of Ponyville. Her senses were drawing her to the Castle of Friendship, but that would have to wait for the moment. They needed to save the townsfolk from themselves first. Datura growled, her greenish ethereal wings beat and thrashed in show of her frustration. She felt her barrier fail again. It was either Luna or Twilight, which she was unsure of but would learn soon enough. It would not matter if she could just get this ridiculous enchanted dimensional slider to work! Did I miss a step? It has been quite some time since I made one and I was in a hurry. Perhaps the crystal was not as flawless as I had… Datura narrowed her eyes at the crystal orb in the center of the charm. It was spinning correctly, but there was something… off about it. She paused her calculations to run a scan over it. Something she should have done from the start. It was then that she detected a sliver of unknown power acting in contrast to her own efforts. It shined and sparkled ever so slightly... like a tiny rainbow. “What is…” “I warned you before,” Datura turned her eyes to the castle and groaned as she rolled them, “you do not belong here.” “You again? I left your pretty little hollow of a dead city. What do you want now, ghost? I'm busy.” “You misunderstand, Red Clover. You do not belong here, in this world any longer.” “Exactly!” Datura shouted in frustration. “That is precisely why I am trying to leave! And now I detect your interference as well! Is it so hard of a concept for all of you to understand that if you want me gone that all you need to do is nothing?!” “You misunderstand.” “And you are infuriating!” “You do not belong in the living world any longer. You are a disharmonious creature beyond the petty pranks and games of my counterbalance, Discord. You are evil in every conceivable definition of the word, much like the creatures I encased in stone in the sculpture garden. However, even their punishment is only to remain in blissful rest while the world goes on without them. You shall have no such luxury.” “What are you getting at?” Harmony did something that sent a chill down Datura’s spine. The crystalline projection of a young Twilight Sparkle smirked, mischievously. “I told Samael you are here.” Datura’s eyes widened and greenish power shot from her horn at the projection but only left a smoking divot in the ground. “You did what?! Oh, stars and stones! Curses of boils and soils…” “He was quite displeased to discover the spell Void cast upon you to mask your essence from his view. An issue that will be addressed later. He is waiting for this situation to be resolved, such is his way. However, he will not be waiting long because you are not leaving this time." The translucent pony stepped closer, her aura pulsating with gathering power. Datura tried to shoot her again, but the bolts simply struck soil again. "You took a piece of crystal that sprouted from my roots. You may have shaped it and attempted to corrupt it to your will, but this, this land. Equestria. This is my sanctum, my protectorate. This is what is most important to me. I may not be a goddess, but I am not without power.” Harmony’s body discharged her gathered energy and the charm slider exploded from the inside out. The runes in the sky shattered in turn. The power discharge next cascaded into the ground, shattering her energy shield runes and brought the swirling red defense to the ground. Datura could only gape in disbelief as the glowing cracks that had formed between the runes had healed and sealed. “Also, you and Void made this personal by hurting my marefriend. Enjoy drowning eternally in a pool of urine and feces in the deepest depths of a Tartarus pit… bitch.” Harmony vanished in a flash of light. Datura had to blink her eyes clear. Then her well honed survival skills felt something approaching, fast. A moment later she had to jump back as Luna’s axe came crashing down right where she had been standing. The moon goddess hefted the weapon again in her magic, glaring daggers at her old adversary as she came in for a landing. “Time to finish what we stared in that dead forest so long ago, fell monster. When last we met upon the field of battle We were but an angry filly out for revenge of a personal slight. We have grown. We are older, wiser, and far more accustomed to the dark horrors of the world and why they must be culled. Had We the chance before, thou would have been slain without hesitation in that dead forest.” Datura readied her own blade, keeping her filly hostage close. “You may have grown and certainly have power, ‘little moon,’ but I was always better and still am.” “Perhaps,” Luna smirked, "but now, as then, We have something thou lacks.” Datura’s ears twitched and she teleported just barely in time to avoid the dragon fireball that exploded to the ground. She still had to beat out her singed cloak and could smell burned hair and fur. Spike came to a landing next to Luna, who had passed him the filly hostage she had teleported to her. From a glance, the filly was unharmed and now asleep. Spike quickly backed up and banged on the castle door without letting his eyes leave their target. He set the pony down but remained as bodyguard until she was out of harm’s way. “We, are not alone.” “Fine, if that is how it is, so be it.” Datura summoned a whisp of cloud and shaped it into another long, curved sword. Her horn fired a blast to surprise Spike while her scimitars met Luna’s axe with a thunder clash of discharged energy. Spike ducked the blast that ricocheted harmlessly off the crystal castle wall. When he heard the door crack open Spike gently scooted the filly towards the entrance. “Take her and stay inside!” “Spike?!” The purple dragon flashed a smile and winked at Smolder who could only stare for a few second. The eruption of horn blasts shook her from her stupor. Once clear, he pulled the door closed so as to not risk the other younglings or his own son and wife. He had no doubt Smolder was going to give him an earful for that later, but it would be worth it. With the hostage no longer an issue Spike charged forward, dragon fire on his breath. Sunset and Clover could hear the fighting before they even rounded the last of the buildings and had a direct line of sight on the Castle of Friendship. They had noted that the barrier had been taken down, but were not sure why or how. That had changed their plan and timetable. Not surprising, Luna and Spike had taken it as a sign that they had the go head to attack even without additional firework signals. Luna was locked in a ferocious duel with Datura while Spike kept trying to flank her and harassed any opening with dragon fire. If he was slowed or fatigued from his injuries, he certainly did not show it. If it had been any other opponent other than the Red Clover Sunset would have stayed back and let them fight. But she had no plans to give her an inch of breathing room. Sunset Shimmer narrowed her eyes and charged headlong into the fight. The goldenrod alicorn flapped her flaming wings and jumped up, coming down at the Red Clover with her sword glowing red and yellow. Datura snarled and diverted her second greenish black blade to meet Sunset Shimmer’s not so subtle assault. Sparks and lightning discharged as the two soul blades met. Sunset pressed down on the sword handle with her hooves for extra applied force. “I see no one is in the mood to fight fair.” “Fighting fair only gives rotten ass cheaters like you an advantage and I’m not in the mood for it.” Datura pushed both Luna and Sunset back. “I’m glad I have had such a lasting and profound impact upon you, princess. Perhaps you will make Equestria proud.” Datura’s horn began to glow as she smirked. “But now that you are here and you brought me what I need…” Sunset moved her blade to a defensive position as did Luna. They moved to surround the Red Clover but she was having none of that. Her first teleport put her behind Spike. She quickly shot him in the back with a laser blast from her hoof. It did not penetrate his scales, nor did she expect it to, but it did knock him over, drawing the attention of the others. Her next teleport put Datura in the air above the thestral who had been hanging back waiting and observing. She fired again, but his reflexes and senses were astounding and he rolled away before the laser could connect. A wasted attack on petty revenge, but worth the attempt. "Clover!" shouted Sunset. "Lock down her teleportation, dammit!" Datura’s third teleport brought her in front of Luna and she smashed her metal hoof into the dark blue alicorn’s face before she could bring her personal defenses to bear. Luna cried out and reeled back, a small trickle of blood dripping from her nose. Datura seized the blood in her magic, sending red lightning bolts through the air that disrupted Clover's conjuring causing him to yelp in surprise. Datura next opened a localized portal beneath Luna for her to fall through as she stepped back and landed on top of the unsuspecting thestral. Neither were hurt, but it bought Datura critical time and a distraction. Sunset lit her own horn and snarled, firing a blast wave of churning fire. With the grace of a dancer Datura diverted the fire around herself and directed it at Clover. Sunset cursed under her breath, but Clover did not flinch as he scooped the fire up in his own magic and sent it safely skyward. When he looked back however, Datura was now directly below him. She seized his necklace in her magic and connected a powerful hoof upper cut to Clover’s jaw in one smooth motion. The sandy pony was thrown up and off his hooves, bouncing and rolling on the ground several meters away. Datura flashed a fang toothed grin. She teleported just a short distance away and reshaped one of her soul blades into a barrier dome over herself. Sunset marched up to the barrier and raised her sword for a simple slash attack that would make short work of the magical defense. “Ah, ah. If you do that, you will cut into the soul of the poor pony I am using as a defense shield.” Sunset hesitated, having to stop her slash in mid-swing. It sounded like something the witch would do, but it could also be a desperate bluff. Sensing the princess’s disbelief Datura allowed a part of the barrier to shift and a translucent face formed in the greenish dome. “HELP ME!” Sunset recognized the voice instantly. “Princess Sunset! Save me from this witch’s foul magic! I hate Equestria! I never want to set hoof in this land again! I want to go home! Saaaaave meeeee!” Sunset growled, eyes glowing teal. “You didn’t just kill Prince Khayalium. You stole his soul just like you did to Tempest Fury. Oh, you horrid piece of shit!” Datura grinned as the slider charm between her hooves began to float and glow. “Waste not, want not, love. I know you did not like him much, but given that you are the Ignis Ferrum Incarnate, bred by magic and blood ritual to be a guardian and destroyer your soul blade bites with a fiery, deathly conviction. Far beyond that of conventional construct weapons. By your very will and determination you would not just kill him to get to me. Your sword would annihilate his very existence down to the sub-atomic level. There would be nothing left for Samael or his reapers to take to Elysium. So, beautiful goddess of death and destruction, how bad do you want me dead?” Sunset punched the barrier with her hoof. Unsurprising, but equally as informative, the prince cried out in pain from the impact. “DAMN YOU TO HELL!” Datura chuckled as a large circular portal began to form behind her, inside the barrier and out of reach unless they harmed the soul of the prince. “Not if I can help it, darling.” Sunset closed her eyes and reached inside. If she could not breach the shield with her blade, then the only other way through was with raw power. Sunset extinguished her sword as her burning wings changed to golden light as did her horn. Her mane rose up and flickered like flame, and a reddish mask formed over her eyes. She would apologize for the pain she was about to inflict later, but there was no way she was letting the Red Clover escape. No one else, anywhere else, would suffer at her hooves or claws. “Sunset!” Sunset Shimmer turned to the calling of her name, her anger abating at the sight of her fiancé. Twilight came to a stop and scanned about the situation. Everyone she could see appeared intact. She had to blink a few times at Sunset's golden wings and horn. The form once again reminded Twilight of how beautiful and dangerous her fiancé could be. “Twilight! I need help. She put up a barrier.” “So, cut through it. You’ve done it before,” said Twilight with a gesture of her hoof. “It’s not an ordinary shield, it’s crafted from the soul of Prince Khayalium. If I cut it with my sword it will destroy him.” Twilight gasped, then growled at Datura who simple smiled smugly while the portal finished opening. Sunset felt the shift in Twilight’s energy like a concussion blast. It nearly made her stumble. Sunset always knew Twilight Sparkle held back, like all alicorns have to do in order to not destroy the world around them by simply moving through it. Even when Datura had control of Twilight’s mind and body the witch did not truly understand how powerful the Element of Magic was. Sunset Shimmer knew. She had witnessed it before and been on the receiving end of it. Sunset had seen Twilight draw power to herself from the element crown upon her head in a near magic-less world to create an energy shield capable of stopping Sunset’s own fireball attack. That power was within Twilight at all times, waiting for her to tap into it. And, of course, tap into the love and friendship of those that stood beside her. Twilight’s eyes lit up bright white. Her horn flashed as a considerable amount of power was pulled to it from Equestria and from those around her. It was not theft like the witch before them or a succubus, Sunset felt the pleasant tug and willing let her excess energy flow towards Twilight. She imagined the others felt the same and also released their magic. “Datura,” Twilight said calmly, her voice flowing with overcharged power. “When you were in my head did you come across memories of my brother by chance?” “Hmm… was not really looking for them. I was more concerned with finding your weaknesses and raping your little mind into submission. I’m just curious enough, why do you ask?” “Shining Armor’s special talent was shields and barriers. He knew everything about them. How to make them. And how to break them.” Datura turned back to the portal, a world so similar to Equestria yet so dull. The perfect place to hide for a bit before moving on. It would take Clover far longer to recreate a new necklace without her. “And?” Twilight smirked, holding out her hoof to Sunset who gladly took it. “My BBBFF wrote his life’s work down and I read it all, over and over again. I remember every formula, every technique. I can hear his voice in my head as I work out exactly what must be done to overcome any magically constructed obstacle. "When you trapped me in the throne room I was distracted, worried about my friends and subjects, hardly focused on what I needed to do. Others paid the price for it where it should have been me. Now, my mind is clear and I have but one task, one goal.” Twilight’s spell collided with the shield, wrapping around it. Datura arched a brow at first, but then felt her spell matrix being literally ripped from her grasp, piece by piece so intricately that the prince never yelped or cried out once. Her leash connection to the prince was severed and the shield failed returning him to a cloudy form. "Ending this." The energy discharged in a bright magenta flash, lighting up the night’s sky. Datura was left stunned and blinking. Sunset did not hesitate and charged the witch, her sword once again at her side and glowing a vibrant golden light like her horn and wings. Datura brought her own blade back up and blocked but was driven down into ruts by the ferocity of the strike. She grunted, having to draw on more power from her bottle just to keep the furious alicorn from burning her. Datura's dark eyes darted left and right, spotting her enemies closing fast. There was only one thing she could do. “Time to take a trip, princess.” Sunset let up her pressed attack so as to not fall forward and on her face in case Datura teleported. However, instead, Datura intentionally fell backwards, her hoof claws grabbed Sunset’s hoof and a hindleg pressed into her armored midsection. Sunset felt herself being flipped over in a judo flip. She spread her wings to counter the flip when Datura released her gathered kinetic spell at Sunset, blasting her through the portal. Datura rolled and flipped, quickly jumping through the portal herself. The circular gateway immediately began to close. “NO!” shouted Twilight. --------- “Huh.” Special Agent Tempest Fury glanced at the police sergeant who was in charge of the cordoned off scene. The cracks, literally, golden energy cracks that had been spreading across the air like slow motion lightning disappeared all the sudden. And then... nothing. It could have been static discharge, a rare atmospheric anomaly, any number of things. They were law enforcement, not scientist, after all. That was what her bosses would likely say to her in the morning, but only after grilling her for creating a scene and diverting local police from their regular jobs for nothing. Tempest knew better. She had machines recording data and things the human eye could not see. Plus, her gut was telling her this was not yet over. Unfortunately, her gut had once again been correct when the energy surged again, but stronger and instead of cracks an entire glowing circle formed and began to swirl about, kicking up the wind and loose soil. If her heart was not pounding so hard Tempest would have sworn she was dreaming. “Jesus Christ on a pogo stick! What the hell is that!?” “Wrong question, sergeant. What you should be asking is how do we stop it?” The sergeant raised his PAAL close to his face. “This is Sergeant Go Getter, I need… I don’t know what I need! A nuclear weapon might be nice though!” “Whaaaat?” replied the dispatcher. Tempest glance down at her own PAAL as it began to flash. “Your instrumentation is detecting a shift in gravimetric magnetic fields.” “What does that mean?!” “Something is coming. You may wish to take cover.” Tempest unholstered her pistol and flipped the safety off. It probably would not do much but it felt good in her hand. The sergeant took that as sign he should do the same. Other officers also retrieved firearms and a few of the firefighters retreated back next to their truck apparatus to wait and see. Tempest flinched and squinted her eyes, even with sunglasses on as a being was ejected from the portal. She watched as the lithe woman flipped herself around and let her armored boots dig track ruts into the park grass and soil. She stabilized herself with one gloved hand while the other held what looked like a science fiction lightsaber out to the side, ready to slice something in half. However, what made Tempest’s jaw drop, probably all their jaws, were the two massive glowing wings on her back and the horn from her forehead. The woman’s bright teal eyes snapped up the moment she stopped sliding and Tempest could see that the visitor’s attention was not on the ones with guns, but instead on the portal she had just emerged from. Despite her shoulder length red and yellow hair waving like a flame to the sky she looked terribly familiar. Then, it hit Tempest like a bat to the face the moment she could see the woman properly. She recognized the dress and armor clad angel goddess as her primary person of interest in her cold case. “Sunset Shimmer?!” Sunset came to a standing position and finally took note of the many, many police officers that were surrounding her… scared… and with guns drawn. She slowly lowered her sword enough to not spook them. Sunset flashed a sheepish smile at the one who spoke her name and waving casually with her open hand. She looked strangely familiar. “Uh, hi?” The portal flashed again and Sunset brought the sword back up defensively, “Oh, shit! Get down!” Sunset’s horn flashed white and a glowing, curved energy shield formed in her left hand just before a greenish energy bolt struck it and was diverted to the ground away from the officers and bystanders, setting some of the grass and trees on fire. Datura stepped out of the portal and stumbled for only a second before gaining her bearings. She glanced down with satisfaction at her lithe body clad in a black, form fitting dress with a deep v-neck plunge. Like Sunset, she had a horn that was glowing and a pair of dark radiating wings on her back that flapped a few times before settling. “Well, that was fun. I've had worse transitions, believe me." Datura flexed her metal fingers that shot out small green sparks of gathered magical power. "I’ll let you in on a little personal secret, princess. While I was born a pony I think I much prefer being a biped creature. Taller, sexier, and oh yes, hands. I do love hands!” Datura gestured at the portal with her left hand and it began to close behind her rapidly. Tempest had no idea who this new arrival was, but she had no intention of either of these illegal aliens getting free from the perimeter. “FBI! Drop the weapons, kiss the dirt, and put your hands behind your backs!” Datura glanced at the woman that had spoken and deadpanned. “Did you really just say that to me?” “Do it or we will open fire!” Datura cackled. Sunset was more concerned with the portal that was already half the size it had been when she had been flung through it. She had to get them both back through it and off Earth and fast. She had to choose between protecting the cops who did not know what they were dealing with or herself. It was not even a question. “Scurry away, little creatures. This does not concern you.” One of the officers, Tempest was not sure who, got tired of waiting or lost their nerve and fired. The bullet struck something invisible that flashed in front of the ochre woman with glowing red eyes. She sighed and raised her mental hands. “Is that the best you can do?” “FIRE!” “No, don’t!” Sunset’s words were lost in the cacophony of discharged bullets. The shooting only lasted a few seconds, the projectiles all bouncing off either Datura's or Sunset's shields. Most were deflected into the ground, but several struck the surrounding vehicles. Sunset Shimmer already knew what was about to happen next. She lowered her shield and prepared to charge. Datura pointed one hand at Sunset and another at the nearest car. Both discharged with energy blasts that were augmented by powerful kinetic spell blasts. Sunset deflected the attack with her sword, but was thrown off balance when a police car exploded. Her armor once again saving her life. Datura blew up two more cars before raising her soul blade to attack the disoriented princess on the ground. “You know, I thought for a moment about just teleporting away and leaving you here to deal with this fine mess and local authorities. But now that I have you like this, dear, I really want to kill you just for continuing to annoy me! You are like Clover, only prettier. Just so disgustingly noble and always willing to throw yourself away for pathetic, mindless cattle! Look at them! Powerless! No magic, no artifacts, not even a spark of talent or ingenuity among them! You are the granddaughter of a real immortal goddess! Act like it!” Sunset Shimmer’s horn flashed and the searing light threw Datura back. Sunset slashed her sword downward. Datura recovered just quick enough to parry the attack, Sunset's sword instead burning a gash into the ground where the witch had been standing. “I don’t need to ‘act like it.’ Even in my lifetime I have been both powerful and powerless. I once could crush simple people under the heel of my boot without using a single drop of mana. You know what I learned from doing that?” “That you are better than them? That might does, in fact, equal right?” “That you don’t need wings, horns, or access to magical power to be a relentless, manipulative, horrible monster.” Sunset raised her left hand and levitated the burning cars and large debris away from the people that had been knocked down and were helpless or too stunned to fall back further. Upon seeing the burning cars that were now neatly stack and out of the way the firefighters got to work trying to extinguish the flames and pull the wounded to safety. Sunset’s eyes took on a bright teal glow, her voice reverberated with power. “Destiny pulls the strings of our lives, Fate weaves the tapestry of time, but we choose what happens between those two points. We choose how to live our lives. Our choices equal our consequences.” “Very well, golem. Foolish tool of a neglectful goddess.” Datura raised bother her hands, glowing with gathering power. “Then I choose to end you here and now and gladly live with the consequences of such. Die in this pit of a world, alone. Princess Sunset Shimmer.” A magenta bolt struck Datura in the back causing her energy to discharge prematurely into the ground and her ethereal wings to fade in and out. The witch growled and turned her head to see a tall, purple skinned woman in a flowing white and blue dress with massive purple wings unfurled, long, billowing indigo hair with a pink stripe, and a glowing horn extending from her forehead. “She’s not alone.” Sunset grinned till her cheeks hurt and happy tears fell from her eyes. “Babe!” “Impossible the portal is…” Datura gaped as she took a moment to see the portal holding steady despite the fact that she let the spell go already and the charm was around her neck. She squinted her eyes hard and could see through the cosmic kaleidoscope sheen a yellow sandy unicorn weaving complex spells to force the gateway to stay open. “Clover! How?! I have the slider! This... this is not scientifically possible!” The unicorn opened his eyes before closing them again, his grimace having nothing to do with the strain and effort to force the gateway to remain open. “I’m sorry, Datura. I loved you once with all my heart, but you are no longer the mare I dedicated my life and soul to. The chase is over. And so are you.” Datura scrambled back to her feet and raised her blade above her head, trying to keep her eyes on both Sunset and Twilight, both of whom were also poised to attack or defend. Things had quickly deteriorated. Tempest had fired seven or eight rounds, she had honestly lost count. Other officers had done the same. Some had even used assault rifles, but not a single one had found a fleshy target, unless you counted a ricochet back at her and the others. Then, cars were exploding, glowing swords were clashing, laser blasts or something similar were erupting from these super powered creatures’ hands. Tempest had found herself on her back with ringing ears before crawling to a downed officer who had been hit badly by a bullet or flying debris. Tempest helped apply pressure to the wound. They didn’t need backup, they need the army or air force. Tempest, who by this point thought she had seen everything, then was thrown for a loop again when another being emerged from the portal that had stopped shrinking. This one mostly matched images she had of one Twilight Sparkle, except, like Sunset Shimmer, had a few extra appendages. If that were not enough, she could see, if albeit faintly, a being inside the portal that looked like some sort of talking unicorn with a glowing horn. Come to think of it, they ALL had horns and pony ears on top of their heads! What the ever loving fuck is going on?! “I’m not going down without a fight and I have beaten all of you before. I will do it again! This soil will drink well from spilled alicorn blood tonight!” Much to both Datura and Sunset’s surprise, Twilight relaxed, lowered her hand, and let the glow disappear from her fingertips. Sunset was about to call out, but she recognized that calm, controlled expression of her fellow diarch's face. Twilight knew exactly what she was doing. “This world has suffered enough from Equestria’s leftovers being deposited here over the centuries. And unlike Star Swirl the Bearded, I like to keep things nice and neat.” Datura kept her blade raised high, waiting to see which princess would make the first move. Sunset Shimmer was clearly ready to attack where Twilight Sparkle had appeared to have lowered her defenses, but Datura was not fooled into think it was true. The element of magic was never truly defenseless. The extra alicorn power she had stolen was fading fast. A decision needed to be made. Twilight took one step to her left. “Get over here!” A glowing dark blue chain with a weighted ball on the end of it shot past Twilight and wrapped around Datura’s neck. The sudden appearance and precision caught the witch completely by surprise. She was yanked off her feet and violently dragged back through the portal kicking and screaming. Her soul blade faded from the broken concentration and burn from the chain. Her mental hands gripped the glowing metal but could not pry it free as Datura thrashed in defiance. Sunset wasted no time on nostalgia. She glanced only once to make sure the emergency service crews were taking care of the others and the fires were under control before flapping her wings and leaping over to the portal to quickly follow after a screaming Datura. Twilight hesitated as she took in the scene of destruction. It may not have been her world, but it left a pang in her heart to see so much pain and destruction. She spotted a woman on the ground checking on others who was barking orders and seemed to be in charge. Their eyes met and Twilight bowed apologetically. “Oh, um, I’m really sorry about the mess.” Twilight patted her sides, trying to find if she had some bits she could leave to cover the damage, but found none on her person. With nothing else to add she followed after Sunset and the portal closed seconds later leaving no trace it had ever been there at all. The wind died down, the fires were extinguished, and Special Agent Tempest Fury was left wondering what on God’s green Earth just flipping happened. While standing with a ringing still in her ears and a stunned expression on her face she jumped back slightly when she felt someone touch her. “Hey, easy there, miss. Take it easy. I'm one of the good guys. I just noticed you are hurt.” Tempest looked down at what he was referring to. Apparently, she too had taken shrapnel to the arm and just had not noticed. “I’m not going to hurt you. Please, take your coat off so I can patch that up for you.” Tempest nodded and followed directions. The firefighter, feeling safe or daring, either/or, took off his helmet, mask, and fire hood followed by his thick fire gloves so it would be easier to clean the wound and work the gauze and dressing. Tempest could feel her cheeks light up a bit from his touch and close proximity. At a glance, he was quite handsome with strong yet gentle hands. “Looks like a graze. I don’t see anything in there, but I still need to clean it. Let me know if I hurt you, okay?” When he bent over to pull some items from his med kit she was able to read the name on the back of his coat written in bright florescent green letters that spelled out, “F. Gauge.” “No, I think I’m good in your hands.” The young man looked up with shinning yellow eyes and met her gaze. Tempest knew she was staring but could not look away. He then flashed a pleasant, toothy smile. “Fog Gauge, CCFD. Glad to be of service.”