Friday, August 22. 12:30 AM Canterlot time
Celestia and Luna were seated in the backseat of Sunset’s Roadster. They talked quietly about the District planning meeting they were attending tomorrow morning.
Sunset sat in the driver's seat, her chair folded and stashed in the trunk. They waited while Twilight said goodnight to her parents and packed an overnight bag. The plan was to just crash at Sunset’s for the night instead of dropping off her mom and aunt then coming back, as they were spent for the night.
Twilight hurried down the walkway and entered the car.
“So sorry that took so long!” She apologized. “Mom had like, 1000 questions! I promised we would take them out to breakfast tomorrow and explain everything then,” she said, settling into her seat and buckling in.
“No problem, Sparky,” smiled Sunset as the car pulled out of the driveway and headed home. “What time did they want to meet for breakfast?”
“7:30 at Sugarcube Corner. We can get a danish, coffee and just chat for a bit before they have to leave for work. Mom’s meeting is at 9 so that gives us about an hour to chat before she has to leave. Dad said he wanted to get to his office around 9 too, so it worked out,” Twilight replied. She yawned before leaning her head to the side. She smiled and looked over at Sunset.
Sunset nodded and kept driving. Eventually, they stopped at a light. She turned to face Twilight, who was still looking at her and smiling. “What’s that look for?” she asked while grinning. “You’re weirding me out just looking at me with that cute dopey grin.”
Twilight grinned. “Dork,” teased Sunset, lightly punching her arm.
The light changed. Sunset faced the road and drove.
They pulled up into the driveway at the Royal residence. Twilight got out, removed Sunset’s chair from the trunk, and brought it around to Sunset. Celestia and Luna climbed out from the backseat and headed into the house. Transferring into the chair, Sunset locked up the car, then the girls followed the Royal sisters into the house.
Heading up the stairs, Sunny’s mom and aunt said goodnight and went straight to their beds. Sunset and Twilight got dressed for the night, did their nightly ablutions then climbed into bed. Sunset settled in, getting comfortable as Twilight snuggled up to her.
“I love you, Sunny,” Twilight smiled as she drifted off to sleep.
Smiling back, Sunset turned to face Twilight and kissed her forehead. “I love you too, Sparky. Goodnight.” She drifted off as well.
Friday, August 22. 6:30 AM Canterlot time
Up with their alarms, they quickly showered and quickly got ready for the day. As they got into the car they said goodbye to Sunny’s mom and aunt, who were also leaving, heading to their meeting. Sunset transferred into the passenger seat, then Twilight put Sunset’s chair in the trunk, hopping in to drive.
Sunset passed over the car’s fob. “Remind me to get you one of your own,” Sunset yawned as she passed it over. “You really should have one as much as you end up driving.” Twilight took the fob and started up the car.
“That makes sense,” Twilight agreed. “Thanks, Sunny!” To the car she instructed, “Nicholi, destination Sugarcube corner. You drive.”
“Destination Sugarcube corner. Estimated travel time 5 minutes. Auto drive enabled,” the car replied. It backed out of the driveway and headed towards the cafe.
“I had a thought about the crystals we’re using for the quantum entanglements,” commented Sunset.
“Umm-hmm,” nodded Twilight while turning to face her friend.
Sunset continued. “We should tag each one with an enchantment. Kind of a unique identifier. I realized, with them passing magical energies, we have basically a synthetic leyline between them. That means that if we enchant them uniquely we’ll be able to use them as anchors to magically teleport. It could come in handy if we’re ever in trouble. Or more to the point, when we’re over in Academy City. It’ll allow us to go back and forth from there to here and the bunker without having to have a full TACIT receiver. What do you think?”
Twilight nodded. “That’s actually brilliant. Good thinking Sunny. I’ll get started on that when we get back to my lab. Hmm…” She bit her lip. “You know we should add the enchantment to all the TACIT bases and receivers too! That way we can also use them all as anchors.”
“Yeah! Good idea, Sparky! And we should also add them to the crystals in the headsets, and the drone. You never know when they might be useful,” added Sunset.
“Okay. I’ll add them to the list,” commented Twilight as they pulled into the parking lot. She shut down the car then removed Sunset’s chair from the trunk. After Sunset transferred into her chair, Twilight tried to hand the fob back to Sunset, but she refused it.
“Keep it, Sparky,” Sunset insisted. “ It looks like you're going to need it more than me today,” she smiled.
“Okay, thanks!” grinned Twilight, as she put the fob back into her daypack. She locked up the car and they headed into Sugarcube Corner.
Twilight held the door open for Sunset as they entered.
“Hi, Twilight! Hi, Sunny! Welcome to Sugarcube Corner!” greeted Pinkie cheerfully, bouncing and smiling. “Looking for your mom and dad, Twi? They’re over here!”
She bounded off with a wave towards the back of the cafe, and Twilight grinned at Sunset. “That girl has way too much energy for this time of the morning,” Twilight snarked as they followed.
“I’d attribute it to her healthy lifestyle,” snarked Sunset right back. Twilight raised an eyebrow. “And a superabundance of sugar in her diet.” They both smirked.
Looking back over her shoulder, Pinkie grinned. “Sugar is one of the five essential food groups, you know!”
Twilight laughed. “And what groups are those?” she asked.
“Candy, Sweets, Pastries, Sodas, and Sugar,” laughed Pinkie. “A perfect way to fuel your day!”
“You definitely work in the right place then!” agreed Sunset with a laugh.
Pinkie nodded happily. “Don’t I know it! Here you are!” She led them around the corner to a booth where the Sparkles were seated sipping coffee.
“Hi Mr. and Mrs. Sparkle, I found them!” Turning to the girls she added, “Have a seat! I’ll take your orders when you're ready.” Pinkie smiled, her pad out and pencil at the ready, bouncing on her tiptoes.
Twilight slid into the booth next to her parents. Sunset pulled up to the table next to Twilight. “I hope you haven't been waiting too long,” Twilight said.
“No dear! We only got her a few minutes ago. We’ve barely had time to sip our coffees,” smiled Twilight's mom. “You're right on time.”
“That’s good. So, did you order yet?” asked Twilight.
“Not yet, we were waiting for the two of you,” replied Nightlight.
Sunset glanced at the menu then passed it back to Pinkie. “Vegan Omelet and Danish for me, Pinks! With a large cup of coffee!” she yawned, then laughed. “With refills. Lots of refills.”
“Yuper duppers!” grinned Pinkie as she jotted the order down. “Anyone else?”
“Same for me Pinkie, that sounds good,” agreed Twilight.
“Just a Danish and coffee for me, dear,” added her mom.
“Umm. Ditto,” mumbled Twilight’s dad, his face in his phone.
“Okey dokey Loki! I’ll have those out in a jiffy! Be right back with your coffees!” She bounced off through the doors to the kitchen.
“If I could only bottle that energy,” laughed Sunset. Without missing a beat, Twilight passed her the sugar dispenser. Sunset laughed out loud.
Pinkie returned with the coffees and fresh creamer. “Be right back with your omelets and danishes!” She bounded back into the kitchen.
Still laughing, Sunset used her ‘bottled energy’ to sweeten her coffee. She stirred in the cream too. Twilight’s mom smiled at their antics.
Looking up from his phone, Night Light said to the girls. “Thinking this is related to why we’re here… I was just reading that NASA announced the possible discovery of life on Mars. Some of your doings?” he asked with an innocent smile.
Twilight blanched. “Uh… um… maybe?” she hesitated.
Sunset laughed, giving Twilight a one-armed hug. “We’ve been hanging out on Mars for the last few days,” she grinned.
“Do tell!” smiled Velvet.
“Yes! Do tell,” added her dad.
Twilight buried her face in her hands. “Sorry?” she mumbled.
Sunset gave her a squeeze, “Oh my gosh are you adorkable!” she laughed. Twilight looked up from her hands, giving her dear friend a stink eye while her mom laughed.
Sunset grinned. “We used the transporter Twilight built to create a bunker on Mars,” Sunset smiled at her friend, then stuck out her tongue and crossed her eyes. Unable to stay mad, Twilight laughed and Sunset continued. “And we’re hosting a party there for everyone the Saturday after next! We were going to have it this weekend, but had to move it because we won’t be in town tomorrow. We’d love for both of you to be there!” She grinned at Twilight’s parents.
“A party on Mars, dear? Do you think we can make it?” asked Velvet as she turned to Night Light with a smirk.
“I think I can clear my calendar,” he grinned back.
“It’s a date then!” smiled Sunset. “We had two of the NASA scientists over yesterday evening which is probably why they made the announcement. We’ll be working with them on categorizing the life signs we’ve found. And we’ll be assisting them with setting up their own transporter network.”
“Our daughter is a genius!” crowed Velvet while Night Light nodded proudly.
“That she is!” agreed Sunset, giving Twilight another hug.
Just then Pinkie arrived with their breakfast. “Did someone say party!? My Pinkie sense was tingling!” she announced as she served them.
“Yup. Party next Saturday on Mars! You up for it?” grinned Sunset.
“Sunny Bunny, I’m up for any party in any place and any time with my friends!” answered Pinkie. “So next Saturday, tomorrow. Are the girls coming?”
“Ah, no. Not this Saturday. The Saturday after next. Sorry Pinks, tomorrow we’ll be stuck in a plane flying to Japan,” corrected Sunset.
“I hope the girls can make it,” answered Twilight. “I guess I should send them invitations.”
“Got you covered!” replied Pinkie, whipping her phone out. Seconds later, Twilight's and Sunset’s phones pinged with a message. Taking out their phones, they saw Pinkie had already invited everyone to meet at the Sparkles ‘Saturday, July 15 for an out-of-this-world party and sleepover starting at 10 AM’.
“Wow, girl! You work fast!” commented Sunset as she finished reading.
“Have to move fast to be a premier party planner!” Pinkie smiled, putting her phone away and taking back out her pencil and pad from her hair. “Let me know if you need anything else!” She smiled, bounding away to help the other customers.
“Well! That’s sorted,” nodded Twilight as she put her phone away and started on her omelet. “So yes, Sunny and I are working with NASA now. I’ve given them access to our research. We’re helping them set up their own teleportation network on Mars and the moon and apparently Titan later on,” she added.
Night Light nearly dropped his coffee. “Wait! Titan? Lethal radiation level Titan?” he asked.
“Yeah. They’re really interested in setting up a scientific base there! So I’m helping them get it started. Twilight is making a set of matched TACIT receivers. Meanwhile, I’ll be helping them by placing one of the receivers on Titan, another on the moon, and the last one on Mars. Once it’s set up we’ll help out as much as they need, but I think they already have everything planned as far as what they want to use for their bunker,” answered Sunset.
“From the talk we had yesterday, it sounds like they hope to set up a network of teleportation devices around the solar system. They’re just waiting on us getting the network switching portion working,” grimaced Twilight. “Not working yet, but soon though.”
Sunset smiled at her friend. “Soon! I’m sure we’ll get it working. Big brain like yours can't fail!”
Twilight smiled back. “Takes one to know one!” She gave Sunset a hug then resumed her breakfast.
“Wow! Titan! I can’t wait to see how that turns out!” gushed Night Light. “Maybe they’ll need an astronomer on the base…” he mused.
Laughing Velvet gave him a nudge. “And with a teleportation network, you could still be home in time for dinner.”
Giving a start, he smiled and nodded. “Yeah! Yeah, I could! Oh how awesome will THAT be!” he laughed.
Sunset turned to Night Light. “Lethal radiation level Titan? What does that mean?”
Night Light nodded. “Yeah, due to Saturn the area around it has lethal high levels of radiation. It’s only safe for radiation hardened robots and drones, supposedly a no-human zone because of that. But if they are asking you to set up a base, maybe they have come up with some way around it?”
“That’s news to me. I will have to ask them,” nodded Sunset. “Interesting.”
Sunset started in on her danish. “In other news, it looks like Twilight and I may be starting our University studies a bit sooner than we expected. We’ve been invited to apply to the academies in Academy City over in Tokyo. They want us there ASAP, so we’ve booked a flight for tomorrow to fly over and check it out.”
“Wow! No moss growing under your wheels!” teased Velvet.
“Strike while the iron is hot they say” agreed Night Light.
“That said, because of that we may not be around as much. I suspect they’ll keep us busy, especially while we’re getting settled in,” added Sunset. “We do plan on setting up a teleportation hub when we get there though. We plan on seeing each other as much as we can manage.”
Twilight nodded. “And of course, you can come to visit too! We can show you the sights!”
“That sounds wonderful dear,” smiled her mom as she reached over and gave her hand a gentle squeeze. “It does my heart proud, seeing you two making your mark on the world.” She beamed at them both while Night Light nodded happily.
Finishing up their breakfasts, they enjoyed their coffee and conversation until it was time for Velvet and Night Light to leave. Pinkie settled up the bill then walked them to the door, bouncing happily the whole way. “See you Saturday! All the girls responded with an enthusiastic yes! So, see you all then!”
They said goodbye to Twilight’s parents, then Sunset transferred into the passenger seat again, stowing her chair behind her while Twilight got in the driver's seat. “Where to next, Sunny?” she asked.
“I need to talk to Mr. Namori-san. Obviously, I won’t be able to work at the cafe while I’m away at the academy. He’s been so good to me, and I don’t want to leave him hanging. This is a conversation I think we’ll need to have face to face,” she announced.
“Canterlot Mall it is,” agreed Twilight. She instructed Nicholi, and together they headed to the Canterlot Mall. Twilight dropped Sunset off in front of the Mall.
“I’m heading home to start on the enchantments and the TACIT units for NASA,” Twilight reported to her BFF. “I’ll put your enchantments on them as well and let them know why we’re doing it. Then they can use them for emergencies too. I’ll try to find a way to include some kind of triggering so they don’t need a mage. Something they can kick off in an emergency to bug out or something.” She blew a kiss to Sunset then drove off, heading to her lab.
Sunset waved a kiss back, and headed for the food court and the Sushi Cafe. Still seeing a crowd in front, she detoured towards the back out of the mall and entered the cafe through the back door. Peering into the cafe from behind the service door, she saw a girl taking orders, laughing with the customers as she helped them.
“Wonder who Mr. Namori-san found to help out? Wow, she’s good! Look at her keep that line moving,” mused Sunset. The girl turned around and spied Sunset peeking out from around the doorway. She smiled and waved then turned back to her work.
“Lyra?” mused Sunset in surprise.
“Hi, Sunset! How’s my absentee star employee?” asked Mr. Namori as he placed a hand gently on her back.
Sunset started. “Mr. Namori-san! I am so sorry!” she apologized. “I never meant to leave you with such a mess.” She turned and bowed to her employer.
Mr. Namori crouched down, lifting her chin. “Sunset! My dear, you have nothing to apologize for!” She looked up into his eyes, and he smiled. “Sunset, sometimes life comes at you in ways you never planned. You’re blameless, you never intended any of this, but life happens. It’s okay!” He leaned in, gently hugging her. “Come into my office. Let’s sit down and chat for a bit,” he smiled, leading her into the office and taking a seat.
“So? Exciting times, no?” he smiled. “You saw I’ve enlisted some help.”
“She’s awesome,” agreed Sunset, smiling. “You have quite the worker in Lyra-sama, Mr. Namori-san.”
“That’s the truth,” agreed Mr. Namori with a grin. “My best customers seem to make my best workers.” Sunset smiled. “I was hoping you would return for a bit before you left. If even half of the rumors circulating about what you and your young friend are up to are true, it sounds like you are going to be a very busy young woman.”
“I’m not sure what you heard,” answered Sunset. “But yes, Twilight and I’ve been invited to Academy City. We're flying out tomorrow to make our applications,” answered Sunset. “After all we’ve been through together, I owe you an explanation, that and so much more,” she added gratefully. “Thank you, Mr. Namori-san, for letting me work with you, and for supporting me through all this.”
“It’s been my pleasure, Sunset,” he smiled. “You're a ray of sunlight every time you're here.”
Sunset beamed. “You’re too kind! Arigato, Mr. Namori-san!” She bowed again.
“Lie iie,” replied Mr. Namori, reaching over and giving her hand a gentle squeeze. “So if you have some time, do you mind suiting up one more time and giving your friend some pointers before you leave?”
“I’d be honored!” smiled Sunset. “Though she looked like she had it sorted. She’s a natural.”
“I think so, too,” agreed Mr. Namori. “Still, I’m sure she’d appreciate it, even if it’s just a chance to hang together a bit before you leave.”
“I'll be coming back every chance I get. And I’m certainly not going to stay away from my favorite Sushi cafe when I do!” laughed Sunset. “I’ll get changed and pop out to say hi and help.” She rolled out of the office and into the breakroom.
“Arigato, Sunset,” smiled Mr. Namori as she closed the door.
Lyra was happy to see Sunset. Together they served customers, laughed, and talked with all of them and each other. It was melancholic, but happy at the same time. Sunset assured Lyra she’d be back as often as she could and promised to stop by whenever she was in town. She also extended an open invitation to Lyra, and Bonnie of course - as the girls were inseparable, to come to visit Twilight and herself in Academy City when they had a chance.
“I’d love to come over and see Tokyo!” agreed Lyra. “But round trip tickets for two are a bit out of my price range, even while working for someone as generous as Mr. Namori-san,” she grinned. “Still though, thanks for the invitation!”
“Don’t worry about that Lyra. Twilight and I are setting up a portal. Just let us know when you want to come. We’ll take the time to come over and get you both,” Sunset promised.
Lyras eyes lit up. “That would be awesome! I’ll still need to talk to Bonnie about it, but I’m sure we’d love to take you up on that!” she grinned.
“It probably won’t be right away. It sounds like they plan on keeping us busy while we are settling in. But say in a week or so, maybe? We should have time for some fun.” agreed Sunset. “I’ll send you a message when we get settled. Is that alright?”
“Sounds like a plan to me!” grinned Lyra. “Thanks again, Sunset.”
“No problem Lyra! What are friends for?” smiled Sunset.
The shift ended, so Sunset said goodbye to Lyra and Mr. Namori then texted Twilight she was done. “Nearly finished here - be there in 10,” came the reply. Following that, Sunset headed out to wait in front of the mall.
A few minutes later Twilight pulled up to the loading zone in the roadster. “Hi, Twilight!” Sunset greeted the arrival of her friend. “Nicholi looks good on you!” She noted as she transferred into the passenger seat and placed her chair in the back seat.
Twilight laughed. “Girl, this car looks good on anybody!”
Sunset chuckled as well. “True that!” She buckled up and shut the door.
Twilight drove back to her lab. “So! I finished all the enchantments, including outfitting all the headsets with enchanted TACIT crystals. Now they’re all networked and powered by the hub in the bunker control room.
“Oh, right! I moved the central hub into the bunker instead of my bedroom. My thought was, it’s more defensible. If someone wanted to mess with our setup, they’d have a harder time getting to Mars, and our bunker, without us knowing. It also means that they wouldn’t be sneaking into my bedroom. Besides, I didn’t want anything happening that might leave my mom and dad at risk if some boneheads decided to be stupid and mess with us. I hid the power and internet connections in my old bunker.”
“Good thinking, Sparky,” nodded Sunset.
“I ended up going out and doing the enchantment to the bot on site. I was going to have it come back in and do it at the bunker, but I realized I’d have to wait for it to get back, and didn’t want to waste the time,” said Twilight. “It was easier just to teleport out to it and do it.”
Sunset laughed at the image of that in her mind.
“Also, I’m almost done with the NASA TACIT units,” Twilight went on to report. “I’m making them three paired systems, one for Titan, one for Mars, and one for the moon. I’m also making a dozen of the dongle pairs and a dozen headsets too. I’m putting them all on their own subnet for now, though I’d imagine they’ll want to be in their own data center eventually. One step at a time.” Twilight smiled.
“Yup. Baby steps - Measured in AUs,” laughed Sunset.
“Big baby!” agreed Twilight with a chuckle.
“Anyways! If you want to help me finish it up, we can get them to Drs. Moonshot and Long. They can also get started on their Titan experiment which I know you’re dying to try out too!” She grinned at her BFF.
“You know me so well girl!” grinned Sunset back.
They pulled up into Twilight’s driveway. She got out and plugged the car into the charging station.
“That’s new,” observed Sunset as she transferred out of the car. “When did you put that in?”
“Just this morning,” smiled Twilight. “I ordered it when you first got the car. I figured you’d need it eventually as much as you’re over. It just arrived this morning, so I took a break and set it.”
“Dang girl! You really do impress!”
Twilight blushed. “Thanks!”
Together they entered the lab and set to work.
When they finished, Twilight headed back to the bunker to plug the newest units into their hubs on their own subnet. While she was gone, Sunset messaged Drs. Long and Moonshot the news they had finished their units and were ready to hand them over. She then texted her mom and aunt in order to ask how their meeting had gone and what they wanted to do for dinner.
While she was reading through her feeds and waiting for a reply, Twilight came back through the TACIT portal. Having learned her lesson, Sunset was facing away from the booth and shut her eyes tight as soon as the flash started.
“Dang girl! Even when you know that’s coming it still hurts. We need to find some way to tone that flash down,” commented Sunset as Twilight stepped out of the booth.
“Good point, Sunny. I’ll see what I can do about it, maybe after we get the tuning working,” nodded Twilight.
Sunset got a text, so she opened her messages. “Dinner at mom’s tonight,” she informed Twilight.
“Awesome. Looking forward to it,” replied Twilight with a smile.
“Dork, you look forward to everything,” teased Sunset.
“Dork you! Dork,” teased Twilight back. “But you’re not wrong. If I’m doing it with you, yeah! I’m always gonna look forward to it.”
“Dahh,” Sunset smiled then pulled her friend into a hug. “I love you, you big brained doofus.”
“I love you too! And it still takes one to know one,” she hugged Sunset back.
Sunset’s phone went off again. Checking the message, it was from Dr. Long. “They want to stop by this afternoon to take delivery of the TACIT equipment,” commented Sunset. “What should I say?”
“Say yes of course! Let’s get them settled,” said Twilight. Sunset messaged their reply back.
Work completed, the girls pulled up the teleportation matrices. They then looked over the matrices again to find why their efforts to tune the crystals to date were causing the entanglements to collapse. An hour later with no significant progress forward, there was a knock at the front door.
“I bet that's them,” said Sunset. “I’ll go let them in.” She rolled into the house and up to the front door.
Opening the door, she saw Drs. Moonshot and Long at the doorstep. “Come on in,” she invited, rolling back out of their way. “We’re in the lab. Come on back.” They stepped in, then she shut the door behind them and they went to the lab to join Twilight.
Looking up from her work Twilight waved. “Hi, guys! Welcome back,'' she greeted. “Pull up a chair while I get your stuff together.” She got up and found two lab stools which she brought over to them.
“Thanks!” said Dr. Long, accepting a stool and handing it to Dr. Moonshot, then taking the other for herself. Seated, they turned to the girls. “So, do you want to try the Titan teleportation first? I have a link to the latest telemetry we have for a proposed landing site if you feel up to it.”
“I’ve been looking forward to it all day. Let’s do it, but first, I have a question. Dr. Night Light, Twilight’s dad, is an astronomer, and informed me that the area around Saturn is filled with deadly levels of radiation, to the point it is considered a human free zone, radiation hardened probes only. So how are you planning on having a Base there?” asked Sunset.
“Well, that’s true,” agreed Dr. Moonshot. “The radiation levels there are extremely lethal to human beings. You would be dead before you even got out of your spaceship, killed before you even were able to make orbit. But, if we go deep enough below the regolith, or into the subsurface ocean we expect we will be able to mitigate the radiation levels that way, and have a manned exploration base there that way. But we suspect that the initial base that we set up on the surface of the moon will be robotic only. Once the base has expanded to either an underground or underwater presence, we can move the TACIT transceiver then, and we can use it as a manned base at that time.”
“So I will need to be shielded then when I go,” nodded Sunset.
“Are you going?” asked Dr. Moonshot, shocked. “I thought you were just going to drop the unit into place. Yes, if you are going to be there, you will definitely need to be shielded against the radiation or you will die quickly.”
“In that case, I have an idea,” agreed Sunset. “I can use the same shield that I will be using to protect the base on the surface, allowing you to use it as a manned base initially too.” She turned to Twilight. “Sparky, can you enchant the TACIT transceiver to allow the crystal to hold a spell matrix I’ll give it, allowing it to maintain a constant shield over the base protecting them from radiation?”
“Sure, Sunny! I’ll do that now, and let you know when it’s ready for the matrix,” Twilight answered, moving over to the Titan transceiver and enveloping the paired crystal in a magenta glow. A brief moment later, she turned to Sunset. “All ready!”
Sunset rolled over to the unit, and placing her hands on it, suffused the crystal structure in a soft Teal glow. A few moments later, she turned back. “All set! Once I activate it, it will never turn off as long as there is magic to power it, and it will keep the shield up to about 1500 meters all around.” She rolled back over to Dr. Moonshot and Twilight.
“Okay then! Here is the secure link to the telemetry data.” Dr. Long texted Sunset the link. “We can roll with it whenever you are ready.”
Sunset loaded up the data, examining the telemetry. She looked up at Twilight and the Drs. “Okay! I’m ready. I’m going to put on my headset so we can communicate. And as this is not something I can actually see, I’m going to teleport as well in case something isn’t quite right.”
“That sounds prudent, as long as you’re shielded,” agreed Dr. Moonshot. They took out their headsets and placed them on.
Sunset ponied up, spread her wings, and glowed in a teal halo. Stretching out her hand, she enveloped the TACIT receiver, which was labeled “Titan”, in her magic. Shutting her eyes, the glow around her brightened, then in a teal flash, she disappeared along with the receiver.
A moment later they heard her voice over the headsets. “Crab nuggets! One second…” A moment later there was a flash and her chair appeared, bouncing from a slight drop to the floor and covered with frost. “The ‘ground’ here isn’t really solid. Almost lost my chair as it sunk through the frosted surface. Anyways… looking for a more solid place to set this stuff down. Just a minute.”
A few minutes later she came back on. “Okay! Found a good spot. I’m setting the TACIT receiver down now.” A pause. “Okay. It’s down, and the shield is activated. This looks like a decent spot. Do you want me to dig out a bunker for you?” she offered.
“No need Sunset,” said Dr. Moonshot. “We’re going to use domes instead. With the shield protecting us from any stray radiation, and this being a temporary base, given what we discussed earlier, we shouldn’t need to go underground at this point. Once we find a permanent place to house the base underground or the ocean, we will move the base then. So for now, this will be domes and surface tunnels.”
“Okay. Do you need anything else from me? Or can I head back?”
“We’re good! Thank you, Sunset,” agreed Dr. Long.
“Okay! Heading back,” answered Sunset. A moment later there was a teal flash and she dropped down into her chair. “Ahhh… cold! Cold, cold!” she fidgeted. The chair was bathed in a teal glow, melting the frost from it. “Ahhh… much better,” she smiled.
Twilight hid her grin with her hand, eyes sparkling.
“Something funny, Sparky?” challenged Sunset with a grin.
Unable to contain herself any longer, Twilight burst into laughter. “Oh my gosh! You are such a dork!” she chuckled.
Sunset burst into laughter too. “Pot, kettle, black,” she replied. They both grinned.
“Okay, taking the Lunar receiver now. Be right back!” Sunset and the TACIT receiver disappeared in a flash of teal magic.
A few moments later Sunset reappeared. “Tranquility Base is ready to rock!” She grinned. “Last one. Where do you want this one?”
“I heard there are some really obnoxiously noisy neighbors there that are always throwing parties,” Dr. Long quipped. “We should probably avoid that neighborhood!”
“Oh har de har har!” snarked Sunset. “See if we invite you then!”
Dr. Long laughed. “Seriously, we were thinking closer to Olympus Mons, though not too close. Also we want to study the life blooms you’ve discovered but not be right on top of them. Maybe about halfway between your bunker and the mountain’s base?”
“Alright! Be right back!” Sunset promised before the last of the NASA TACIT receivers was bathed in a teal glow, disappearing with Sunset.
The Drs. packed the remaining units, except for the three TACIT base receivers, up into a box and took it with them. They promised a crew would be by, ready to load up the last three base units tomorrow morning. They would text them the exact time as soon as they got back to their office and set it up. The girls thanked them, walked them to the door, and said their goodbyes.
“Well, that’s done. So! How’s Titan?” asked Twilight.
“Cold and wet,” answered Sunset. “Want to see?”
“That’s right! We can use the marker. Sure!” agreed Twilight, grinning. She ponied up. Sunset gave a few beats of her wings, rising above her chair.
“Not doing that again! The chair stays here this time!” Sunset laughed. She was struggling to stay in the air and not bump into the roof. “Dang. Dash makes this look so easy! Guess I need more practice.”
“Yeah, I’m sure it’s easy for Dash because she practiced it. All. the. Time. That girl spends more time ponied up and flying than she does anything else. Except maybe sports,” grinned Twilight.
“That she does,” grinned Sunset, taking Twilight’s hand. “Okay! Let's do this. On three! One, Two, Three!”
There was a teal and magenta flash, after which both girls were gone.
A few minutes later a flash of teal and magenta filled the lab. Sunset dropped down into her chair and tucked in her wings.
Twilight giggled. “Yeah. No lie. Cold. Wet. Not much else. The TACIT receiver looked good though. And hey! Titan! Am I right?! Just saying it is awesome! Not many people can say they’ve been there!”
“Just two, Sparky. So far just two,” grinned Sunset.
Packing up their daypacks, they locked the lab and got into the roadster and headed back to the Royal residence for dinner. Sunset transferred into the passenger seat, once again placing her chair on the seat behind her.
“Dang Sparky! As often as you drive this thing maybe, I should transfer it over to you,” Sunny snarked.
“You offering?” teased Twilight back.
“As if!” Sunset grinned. “Why? You want it?”
“Who wouldn’t?” Twilight grinned. “But no. Just teasing. It’s yours!”
“And I’m yours,” reminded Sunset with a smile, while batting her eyes at Twilight.
“Dork!” Twilight giggled, slapping Sunset’s arm. “Nicholi, destination Royal residence. You drive.”
“Destination Royal residence, estimated travel time, 5 minutes. Auto drive engaged,” answered the car.
“Engage!” smiled Sunset, waving her hand forward.
In the Chaos Realm, Discord fist-pumped. “Yes!” he grinned.
Fluttershy continued her knitting, shaking her head in quiet laughter.
In another universe, a starship captain startled, stumbling his step. Putting a hand to his head, he mumbled to himself, resuming his walk.
“I really thought we were past this…”
The way of harmony is not the way of quiet peace, it is the way of passionate fire - The Celestial Teachings