//------------------------------// // Twilight's Magic // Story: The Hobo: The 'Empathetic' Friend // by Visharo //------------------------------// Principal Celestia was surprised to see that Twilight did nothing. She just grabbed the certificate and exited the stage. The purple girl had a sullen look about her, then disappeared among the throng of people. 'Riight, thank you, Twilight, for that inspiring speech." Celestia leaned away from the microphone and whispered to her sister. "These girls are creeping me out." "You can say that again, Sister." [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] "So what classes do you have, Shutterbug?" Sunset was in the process of unpacking her stuff when she decided to ask the question. She really had no idea why she did, there was something off about her roommate. The woman in question was still by the window, taking pictures of various people from different angles. "Costume Design, Acting, Business, Photography, and the sort." Shutterbug answered, her eyes never leaving her camera. "You?" Sunset shrugged, she seemed nice, or rude, enough. "Business, Chemistry, Psychology, Economics, etc. Seems like we got Business together." "So it does!" Shutterbug finally set down her camera, no doubt filled to the brim with photos, and looked at Sunset. A big grin on her face. "You and I are going to have so much fun." "What makes you say that?" Sunset was done with unpacking and decided to sit in a nearby chair. "Oh, let's say, you and I meeting was not a coincidence." Shutterbug looked very smug when Sunset looked surprised. "I've got connections, muscular intimidation or cozy innocence. Both work well quite well to get you here!" "What's stopping me from leaving right now and asking for a transfer?" Sunset didn't even look the slightest concerned, but to those who knew her for a long time, could tell that the orange woman was now on guard. "Let's start a list, shall we?" Shutterbug sat down opposite Sunset, her camera resting on a coffee table. "ONE! You just unpacked and packing again is such a hassle. TWO! Did I not mention that I have connections? You can't do anyyythiiing, to get out of this situation. THREE! Our goals align." "Let me guess, you are a villain and you want my help." Sunset asked, her face betraying no emotion. "Bullseye! The nutshell has been hit!" Shutterbug squealed in excitement. "Welcome to the gang, Sunset Shimmer." [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] "Twilight, we need to talk." Shining Armor stood in front of Twilight with a concerned expression. His wife, Cadance, was standing beside him, wearing a similar expression. "Uh huh." Twilight muttered, not looking away from her microscope. She was trying to fit two microchips together without taking them apart and rewiring them. "No. Face to face. I'm worried...we're worried. What happened at graduation? You haven't contacted any of your friends in years!" Shining took a step forward and tried to put his hand on her shoulder. Twilight shrugged it off. "What happened to the 'magic of friendship' you found with Sunset and the others?" That got Twilight to look up. The couple took a step back from the hatred in her eyes. "THERE IS NO MAGIC. THERE NEVER WAS ANY MAGIC. AND IF THERE WAS ANY MAGIC, AND THAT'S A PRETTY BIG IF, IT'S ALL GONE NOW. NOW LEAVE!" [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Sunset was intrigued, she was reading the newspaper while drinking coffee in her favorite cafe. The article that intrigued her so, was a job position at a science lab called Mirdzet Labs. With a tentative sip, she contemplated her options. "Hiya!" Sunset spewed her coffee at the cheerful, familiar voice. Her eyes hardened when she saw Cozy slide into the seat across from her. "What do you want?" The orange woman's voice was blunt and uninviting. Not surprisingly, Cozy didn't care. "I want whatever you want!" Cozy batted her eyes, trying to look all cute and innocent. "Uh huh, right." Sunset flipped her newspaper back-up, trying to even further discourage this talk. "Noo, truly! It looks like you want to get into Mirdzet Labs. I can do it, easy peasy!" And it didn't work. Then the words started to process in Sunset's brain. "...and how are you going to do that?" Sunset munched on a scone. It seemed with these meetings, that coffee and scones were involved. Sunset then inspected her scone, wondering if there was a tracker on them or something. "I have my ways." A sadistic smile appeared on Cozy's freckled face. "If I do this, would you do something for me?" "Pshh, if you could get me into the most prestigious science institute, yeah, I'll do you a solid." Sunset gulped down the rest of her coffee, then got up. "Once again, it was not a pleasure talking with you again. Hope you have enough money, because that bill is for you!" Sunset proceeded to walk out of the cafe, leaving a furious teen with a bill. [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Sunset's position at Mirdzet Labs grew exponentially; within a year, she made it to CEO. Many within the company also wondered if her rise to the top was legitimate; many speculations and rumors blazed like wildfire through the company. Sunset smirked at overhearing some of these. She particularly liked the one where she murdered the entire board and replaced them with robots. Every time Sunset heard that one, she always laughed, because of how ridiculous it was. She would never replace a human being with a robot. Much better to make them submissive with blackmail. Pictures of their loved ones and promises of torture. Those who had no ties, were taken care of. On one particular day, while working on the latest experiment, she got a call. Sunset immediately puts on a fake accent; she doesn't know how it started, but now she can't answer without using the fake accent. "Hellu? This is Mirdzet Labs. How can I help you?" "Umm, yes, I'm Twilight Sparkle and my company is having some financial problems. I was wondering..." Sunset tuned her out, her mouth hanging open in shock. Who would've thought that they would cross paths after all these years. "Hello? Madame?" "Oh yes, dear me. I apologize, can you repeat that?" Sunset tried with all her might to force her voice to sound neutral. "Sure. So, I was wondering if Mirdzet could sponser us, us being Sikra Labs. I promise that you'll be compensated well, once we've made breakthroughs." Twilight fell silent, giving Sunset time to rearrange her thoughts. "All right. We'll sponsor you." Sunset left it at that, tilting her head at the happiness in Twilight's voice when she heard that her wish would come true. Then and there, Sunset knew that she couldn't be happy. Once the necessities were over and the phone was put down, Sunset stood up and rushed over to her car. A quick drive landed her at a laundromat. Standing outside with a cigarette, was Shutterbug. "Well, if it ain't my roomie!" Shutterbug threw her smoke into a trashcan and gave the orange woman a bone-crushing hug. "Need help with anything?" Sunset sighed, "yeaaah. Here's what I want you to do." [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Twilight smiled brightly as she walked swiftly to the new and improved Sikra Labs. The new sponsorship was doing wonders to the morale, boosting everybody's confidence. Before she stepped through the front doors, however, she heard a noise behind her. When she turned to look, she saw in utter horror, her friend; Sunset bleeding on the pavement. "Oh my gosh! Sunset, are you okay? Talk to me!" Twilight hurried over, forgetting everything, and dropping beside her friend. The orange woman was gagged with a piece of black cloth, and her left arm was clutching her stomach, where blood was oozing out. Twilight frantically untied the gag, letting Sunset get a breath of fresh air. "Who...?" Then a loud bang cut off Sunset. Twilight shrieked in horror to see that the bang was a gunshot, and it hit Sunset squarely in the head. Blood and brain matter was everywhere. Nearby passerby's also screamed, some were calling the police, some the ambulance, and others were just running away. Twilight just huddled next to Sunset's broken form. Her heart finally cracked. [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Sunset and Shutterbug have been stalking this world's Sunset for the past three days. Together they waited for the right time, and once it happened, the duo struck, bringing Sunset 2 to the floor and gagging her. Her teal eyes widened at seeing the same set staring back at her, right before slumping unconscious from a blow to the back of the head. After a week of captivity, the evil duo 'accidentally' made it easy for Sunset 2 to escape and run directly towards Sikra Labs. While Twilight was attending towards Sunset 2, Shutterbug was inside the science institutions itself. She dressed up as the purple woman and put on enough makeup to look exactly like Twilight, and made an announcement to the workers of the place, effectively distracting them from what was happening outside. While all that was happening, Sunset 1 was far away, equipped with a rifle. Through a scope, she saw that Twilight removed Sunset 2's gag, and decided to fire. The bullet went straight and true, the shock causing Sunset 2's head to snap back, her eyes glazing over. Sunset 1 ignored the mournful wail and packed up her stuff. Once the job was done, Sunset 1 radioed Shutterbug/Twilight to exit. The imposter excused the workers and made her leave. The duo shook hands once they were safe, and parted ways once again. [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Sunset smirked as she waltzed through the front door of Sikra Labs. Employees watched confused as she breezed past the security guards without any fuss and entered the restricted zone. She asked for directions a couple of times, before finally ending up where she wanted to be. Through a safety window, she spied a hamster being tested on. Sunset smiled when the scientist experimenting, frowned at the data she was given. Sunset waited for the scientist to return with the person she was waiting for. Twilight yelled something, and the door in front of Sunset opened up, and she walked through like she owned the place. [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] "Hiya SunShim!" Pinkie was greeted with a big smile. Sunset returned the smile and sat down in one of the chairs with an exhausted sigh. "Did the Twilight mission go well?" "Yes Pinkie, Twilight is doing alright. I got her into Hayvard University, I still remember the look on her face when I told her." Sunset smiled blissfully, clearly remembering the memory. "What about Fluttershy? Is she doing alright?" "Yep! Fluttershy has been a great help!" Pinkie twirled in the air before coming down right beside Sunset, presenting a blue cupcake with rainbow sprinkles. "So, who's next?"