Wednesday, August 20. 10:20 AM Canterlot time
“I’m so sorry! How the heck did this spiral so far out of control?” groaned Sunset with her face planted in her hands and shook her head.
In her lap was her phone. The browser was open to an article that was referenced apparently a few zillion times by MyStable. The article claimed that the video (link provided of course) showing a Rainbow-haired angel riding a souped-up version of the Lunar Rover across the moonscape was in fact local musician and Rainboom lead guitarist Rainbow Dash, formerly a student at Canterlot’s own Canterlot High. The article further asserted that the video was part of a project the band was working on for a new song the group planned to release sometime before next spring. This was despite the many claims that the clip was real and provided by footage from the Chang’e lander.
The source for this was attributed to Ms. Sunset Shimmer, the backup guitarist and a frequent vocalist for the group. It was also mentioned that she had been in an accident and currently worked in the food court at the Canterlot Mall.
“I guess it didn’t take them long to figure out where in the food court I worked,” groaned Sunset. “Whatever happened to privacy?” she grumbled under her breath.
“Nope! There was a line of fans outside the door even before Mr. Namori opened up this morning!” Lyra grinned. “It was pretty epic. It took a few minutes to figure out what they were after. In response, he begged them to leave and let you be.”
“Let me guess how that turned out,” sighed Sunset as she looked in the direction of the crowd.
“Yup. A few left. But most of them stayed camped out in front of the cafe. He refused to let them in. Some of them claimed they were legit customers. They actually bought some food. But. as soon as his back was turned. They were sneaking around the place looking for you so he tossed them out,” Lyra said.
“And the ones that left?” asked Sunset.
“Came back with at least a dozen friends each,” Lyra nodded.
“Crazy! Just crazy! Over a prank video!” said Sunset with her face back in her hands.
“It gets better! Check these out.” Lyra typed into her phone. She sent Sunset a few more links. Sunset loaded them up then gawked.
“Oh, sweet Tartarus! Really?!” she exclaimed. The first one was from a slightly less reputable source than the original article. This one claimed that the video was in fact footage actually recorded by the Chang’e lander of an angel driving the American Lunar Lander across the lunar landscape. “Of course, the most insane one would be the one that’s almost right,” groaned Sunset.
“Oh, no girl! That’s not insane. Not yet. Check out the rest of them!” grinned Lyra.
“You know what? You are enjoying this entirely too much,” grumped Sunset as she opened the next link. “Oh, Sweet Celestia! You have got to be kidding me!” she yelled.
This one had an enhanced picture. It showed Dash with both hands raised in the Victory sign. Her wings were fully extended as she whooped it up in the seat of the Lunar Lander as it topped a crater. Cleverly photoshopped in behind her was the Chinese Lunar Goddess Chang’e, holding on Dash’s shoulders, smiling widely. The headline read,
Lunar Goddess Chang’e invites angelic Earth Girl to share in Fun!
Sunset shook her head and laughed. “That’s horrible! It sounds like the buy-line from a really bad blue movie… You know though. as frustrating as this is. that’s actually a really good fake. I should get a copy of it and frame it for Dash.”
“Keep going! You’ve only scratched the tip of crazy!” grinned Lyra. “Though I have to agree. Yes. That one is a favorite of mine too.”
The next one claimed that Rainbow Dash was, in fact, the Lunar Goddess Chang’e reincarnated. But she missed the moon, so she had returned to have some fun with the toys men had left.
Another claimed that she was an angel that was violating Chang'e’s moon. The article stated that the Goddess was very angry with her and would exact revenge soon.
It went downhill from there.
“I swear some people have too much time on their hands,” grumbled Sunset.
“Hm, like a few Rainbooms who thought photo-bombing a working lunar probe would be a good way to waste an evening?” snarked Lyra.
“Et tu, Lyra? Et tu?” sighed Sunset. Lyra burst into laughter.
Her shift over, Sunset slunk out the back door after saying her goodbyes to Lyra and Mr. Namori-san. She never did get to clock in or actually get any work done. She spent the entire time hiding in Mr. Namori’s office. She did some office work for him so the time wouldn’t be completely wasted, but her shift was a complete washout. She apologized profusely every chance she got. He just laughed it off claiming he hadn’t had this much fun in ages.
As she rolled down the alley and headed back out to the parking lot, she ran into the last two people she expected to see.
“Well you’ve been a busy little imp, haven’t you!” grinned Stiyl Magnus. Kaori was by his side.
“Ah, crab nuggets!” exclaimed Sunset.
Kaori sat in the passenger seat while Stiyl sat behind her. Sunset’s chair was in the trunk. They were in Sunset’s car driving back to the Sparkle residence.
“So that’s what happened,” explained Sunset to her two passengers. “We just wanted to try out a longer range teleport using Twilight's quantum entangled teleporter. I thought it would be a lark to visit one of the Apollo landing sites with the girls. Dash and I couldn't leave a golden opportunity for a literally ‘out of this world’ prank pass by so I teleported the Lunar Rover and Dash to the Chang’e site so we could have some fun with them. And that led to this.”
Kaori was laughing so hard she was crying and holding her sides. Stiyl just grinned. When she finally got her breath back, she asked, “So! Where is the… what did you call it again? TACIT?” Sunset nodded. “Okay. Where is the TACIT receiver now?” Kaori finished.
“Uh, yeah. I moved it,” said Sunset sheepishly.
Kaori rolled her eyes and grinned. “Of course you did. And where did you move it to?” she asked.
“Um. Mars?” Sunset grinned sheepishly.
Both Kaori and Stiyl burst out laughing again.
Sunset pulled into the Sparkle residence driveway and parked the car. Kaori got out and fetched Sunset’s chair while Stiyl climbed out from the back seat. Sunset transferred to her chair once Kaori delivered it, then locked the car up.
“It’s in here! Come on.” Sunset led her two guests to the side gate. They entered the yard then closed the gate behind them. After that, she led them into the garage.
“There it is,” Sunset pointed to the TACIT base. Stiyl started scanning it while Kaori looked around.
“Nice setup you have here!” she commented while taking in Twilight’s equipment.
“Ah, yeah. This is all Twilight’s,” explained Sunset. “This is her lab, though I do seem to spend a fair amount of time here as well,” she agreed.
“No magical signature detected on the portal,” reported Stiyl. “So this is completely magic free you say? Strictly uses quantum entanglement?”
“Yup. That’s it,” replied Sunset “Though I can’t call it magic free. We discovered that apparently magical fields are transported by the entanglement as well as certain electromagnetic frequencies. Essentially it means power, magic and information can be passed between the entangled crystals. That comes in handy, I can tell you. We’ve been using a pair to power a drone we have flying around exploring the Martian landscape. It has also provided high-speed networking between the bunker on Mars and here.”
“Bunker?” asked Kaori.
“Easier to show than tell,” answered Sunset. “Feel like taking a short trip?”
The mages nodded.
“Okay. One second. I just need a moment to check in with Twilight’s parents before we head out.” Sunset rolled into the house looking for Mr. and Mrs. Sparkle.
Kaori looked at Stiyl. He shrugged. After a moment Sunset returned.
“I guess they’re out so I left them a note.
“Okay! Pile into the booth and I’ll set up the transport.''
After saying that, Sunset backed into the booth while Stiyl and Kaori squeezed in beside her. She pulled out her phone and loaded up the TACIT control app. She was about to punch the engage button but stopped herself.
“Sorry! I almost forgot the important safety announcement. Keep your eyes closed during the transport. Trust me! The pain is not worth it.” Having said that, Sunset scrunched her eyes shut and hit the engage button. The mages followed her example.
There was a bright magenta flash, then it was over.
Sunset smiled as she said, “Glad I remembered that! I usually end up blinding myself because I forgot to shut my eyes. Really painful! I don’t recommend it!” She reached forward and slid the door open on the receiver. Rolling out into the control room, she spun around to face her guests, throwing her hands out with a flourish.
“Welcome to Mars!” she grinned.
To truly live life is an exceeding rarity, most live only to exist, if even that - The Celestial Teachings
Toma, still heading towards his dorm, spied Mikoto again.
Looking more closely, he noted the enhanced vision goggles by her side. “Ah, her sister.” He wandered over to her. She was crouched over, trying to feed a black cat in an open cardboard box.
“Hi Mikoto’s sister! Thank you again for helping me the other day,” greeted Toma.
“Being thanked was not my intention, informs Mikoto with surprise,” commented Mikoto’s sister, still playing with the kitten in the box.
“So, what are you doing?” asked Toma.
“I am trying to feed this kitten, replies Mikoto with frustration,” she responded. “But because I emit a low strength magnetic field, the cat will not come near me. Animals can sense my field, and do not like me, laments Mikoto.”
At her insistence, Toma took the cat from her, carrying her while they walked. “So, it’s your cat. You rescued her. What did you name her?” he asked.
“Name her, queries Mikoto in surprise. Why would I name her? Mikoto asks,” responded Mikoto’s sister.
“You found her. You get to pick the name. What cat name did you pick?” he repeated.
Mikoto’s sister thought for a bit. “Dog. I will name her dog, responds Mikoto.”
Toma slapped his own face. “You can’t name a cat dog!” he sighed. “Pick a better name.”
“Then I will name her Tokugawa Leyasu, states Mikoto,” she stated.
“Good name, but no. Too long. Something simple,” he clarified.
“Then I pick Schrödinger, informs Mikoto,” she amended.
“You can’t pick Schrödinger! Good grief, he killed half his cats!” cried Toma in exasperation.
At an impasse, they arrived at the bookstore. “I need to stop in here for a moment,” Toma explained. “I need to find a reference book on cats for Index and Aisa to read. They clearly don’t understand how to take care of cats.” Looking down at the kitten in his arms, he mused. “I don’t think it’s okay to take pets into the store.” He looked towards Mikoto’s sister.
“It is illegal to harm animals in Academy City, states Mikoto emphatically,” stated Mikoto’s sister, backing away from him slightly. “You should not have me take care of the cat. Cats do not like me, Mikoto reminds Toma emphatically,” she warned, backing further away.
Toma tossed the kitten to her, which she scrambled and caught.
As he walked into the bookstore, he called out, “True friendship is born between you two if you overcome the barrier of having a magnetic field.” He walked into the store.
“How can a person who seems good be the type of person to throw a cat, Mikoto ponders in frustration,” she mused as she waited.
A chill passed down her spine. She turned, and noticed Accelerator, the top rated level 5 esper in Academy City, behind her, staring directly at her. She set the kitten down, and turned completely around to face him.
Gunshots rang out from the alley. Mikoto’s sister was forced to the ground by a powerful force.
Accelerator leaned down over her, with an evil grin on his face. “Who’s the strongest level 5 esper in Academy City?” he asked.