//------------------------------// // A Certain Magical Sunset - Act 2 - 02 - Sunset - Snakes on a plane // Story: A Certain Magical Sunset // by Babroniedad //------------------------------// Sunset - Snakes on a plane Friday, August 22. 6:30 PM Canterlot time Sunset and Twilight sat in her room. They were talking while Twilight confirmed their reservations for the flight to Tokyo in the morning. “Okay,” said Twilight, phone out and checklist loaded. “I have the boarding passes here. Don’t forget to pack your passport, driver's license, social security card, and ‘birth certificate’ where you can get them. We’ll need them all to get on the plane and to clear customs when we land,” instructed Twilight. “I could hear the air quotes there, Sparky,” snarked Sunset. “What it is, it is, Sunny,” smiled her friend. “Just be sure you have them. Also of course your headset, TACIT fob, phone, and everything else we might need.”. “No need to obsess too much. If we forget anything, we can always just hop back and pick it up,” smiled Sunset. “Dang but that’s convenient!” grinned Twilight. “Could almost just bring our daypacks, except that would flag us hard to customs,” agreed Twilight. “Yeah, tempting. I’m not looking forward to towing a bag all through the airport tomorrow,” nodded Sunset. “So confirmed we will be applying for the same school at the Academy,” added Twilight. “They wanted me to apply for the new College program at one of the specialty schools, and I told them we were a package deal, we go together. So we’re both applying for the new program. Are you okay with that?” “I go where you go, Sparky. Together forever, BFF!” agreed Sunset. Thinking for a moment, Sunset wheeled over to the box of TACIT fobs and grabbed one of them. “Whatcha thinking Sunny?” asked Twilight as she watched her BFF. “I have an idea that may be useful. Be right back.” Sunset ponied up. She disappeared in a flash of teal magic, with her chair this time. A few minutes later she flashed back, a bit flushed. “There! Not sure we will ever need it, but it may come in handy. I made a dead drop for us. Don’t use the address I just took unless you’re ready for flying lessons,” she smirked. “Flying lessons? What?” asked Twilight. “I embedded one of the fobs into a rock face in the Everfree Forest. If anyone attacks us, we can use it to give them something better to do, far away from us,” explained Sunset. “Not that I ever hope to use it, but I figured it’s better safe than sorry!” Twilight nodded. “Yeah. Okay, good call.” Sunset dropped her transformation and they went back to planning their trip. “Girls, you up there? We’re home!” Sunset’s mom called out from downstairs as she and her sister came through the front door. “Hi Mom! We’re up here in my room fooling around!” called out Sunset. Twilight glared at Sunset and punched her in the arm. “I mean fooling around and figuring out our schedule for tomorrow!” amended Sunset. Twilight grinned and punched her again. “Oww Sparky! Have you been working out?” she teased. “No, but if you don’t knock it off, I’m going to work you over,” grinned Twilight while giving her a light punch again. Sunset grinned and wiggled her eyebrows. “Okay! That’s it! You asked for it!” grinned Twilight while tackling her friend onto the bed. Sitting on her stomach, Twilight took Sunset’s cheeks and pinched them both. “Sunset Shimmer! Stop. Teasing! Your! Best! Friend!” She laughed as she pinned her down on the bed. Sunset’s mom stepped into the room, took one look at them, then put her face in her hands, laughing while shaking her head. “Twilight! What are you doing to my daughter?” Luna walked in behind her sister and chuckled as well. “And niece! What are you doing with your best friend?” she laughed. Twilight turned beet red as she jumped off Sunset. “It’s not what it looks like!” she stammered, flustered. Sunset pushed herself up to sit on the edge of the bed. She grinned and wiggled her eyebrows again. “It’s exactly what it looks like!” she giggled. “Not helping Sunny!” Twilight stamped her foot. “You’re such a dork!” She laughed and knocked her friend over again. “I’m waiting, Sparky!” Sunset called out, arms outstretched. “Uhhh!” Twilight stomped her foot again while burying her face in her hands in embarrassment. Both the sisters were laughing at their antics. Twilight sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled her friend into a headlock in order to administer a wicked noogie. “You. Are. Such. A. DORK!” she grinned in exasperation. Still laughing, the sisters sat on the bed beside them. Beside Twilight, Luna leaned over to stage-whisper into her ear, “You may be interested to know, Sunset has a few weaknesses you can exploit. I’d be happy to discuss them with you later, to help keep her in check.” “Traitor!” grinned Sunset. Luna winked back at her niece. “Thank you, Ms. Luna. I will definitely take you up on that sometime!” Twilight agreed, grinning as she pointed finger guns at her friend. “Okay, uncle! I know when I’m outclassed,” chuckled Sunset, pushing herself back up only to have her mom pull her into a hug. “Be good, Sunset!” Celestia grinned. “Ah, mom! I’m always good!” Sunset wiggled her eyebrows again. “That’s what she said!” quipped Twilight as she wiggled her eyebrows too. Her mom groaned and pushed them both down. “You’re both incorrigible,” she snarked as they all laughed. Once they had it out of their system, Celestia asked, “What do you want for dinner? We were thinking about delivery. Any preference?” “Let’s get pizza! We haven't had that in a while!” suggested Twilight. “Pizza sounds good to me! It gets my vote!” agreed Sunset. “Veggie lovers for me please!” “Pizza it is then!” agreed Luna. “I’ll go call the order in!” She headed into her bedroom, her phone out. Thank you Ms. Luna!” called out Twilight. “So? How was your day?” Celestia asked the girls. “We went to Titan!” said Twilight excitedly. “It was kind of lame. Just saying,” laughed Sunset. “Only you girls,” laughed Celestia. “Not really what I was expecting, but not really surprised.” “We set up three new receivers for NASA,” said Sunset. “They haven’t done anything with them yet. They are picking up the bases tomorrow morning. After that, on Titan they will build a dome over it.” She thought for a moment then slapped her forehead. “Ah, crab nuggets. I’ll have them text me when they get there. I can sneak into the restroom or something and teleport back to let them in before teleporting back when they leave. I forgot we were leaving first thing in the morning,” she groaned. “Tell me all about it while we wash up and set up for dinner,” said Celestia heading down the stairs. Sunset and Twilight followed her down. “Pizza will be here in 20 minutes,” said Luna as she came out of her room to join them. Sunset rode the lift down while the sisters and Twilight went ahead. They washed up, setting out drinks, chips, a side salad, condiments, and plates on the table, then sat down to wait for the delivery while talking about their day and plans. A bit later the doorbell rang. Luna went to the door and paid the delivery person then brought the pizzas to the table. “Flash says ‘Hi!’ Sunset! And congratulations to you both on getting invited to Academy City,” smiled Luna. “That was Flash? Is he still there?” asked Sunset, looking towards the door. “Yes, it was. And no, he’s not. He said he had a busy night but he wanted to be sure I passed on his greetings,” answered Luna. “Princess Twilight is a lucky filly!” smiled Sunset. “Flash is a good kid.” Twilight snorted. “It still slays me that other me is a ‘filly’,” she laughed. Sunset laughed too. “An immortal princess filly!” agreed Sunset. “Takes one to know one!” teased Twilight. “Pot, kettle, black!” snarked Sunset back. “You’re all a bunch of silly fillies!” laughed Celestia. She took their hands and bowed her head. The girls settled down, joining her and Luna. “Thank the Maker for this food set before us. Bless our ways with Harmony and Friendship,” intoned Celestia. “Thank the Maker!” intoned Luna and the girls. Food and friendships were enjoyed. After dinner, they cleaned up, put away the leftovers, then settled down to watch a movie together. It was Celestia’s night to pick so, to exactly no one's surprise, they watched a romcom. Happily, it was Hitch!, a movie they all enjoyed. After the movie, they drifted off to bed. Sunset and Twilight snuggled together, laughing and talking about their plans as they fell asleep. Saturday, August 23. 4:30 AM Canterlot time It was still dark when their alarms rang. “Ugh! I am so not a morning girl,” groaned Sunset as she rolled over and sat up. She gently reached over and shook Twilight’s shoulder. “Rise and shine, Sparky! We have a plane to catch.” Twilight groaned and rolled to her other side. “No no no Sparky!” Sunset pressed. “No sleeping in,” she smiled. She leaned over and kissed Twilight's cheek. Her eyes popped open looking confused. “Wha…” Twi mumbled, then blinked as she rubbed her eyes. “It’s time already?” she asked while groaning and stretching. “It’s time,” agreed Sunset, transferring to her chair. “Time to get ready. The van will be here in an hour. Can’t be late.” “Ugh. Okay.” Twilight felt her cheek and blushed. “What was that for?” she asked groggily. “Sleeping beauty needed to wake up,” grinned Sunset. She headed into the bathroom. “Oh, ha ha ha,” deadpanned Twilight while still smiling. She followed Sunset down the hall. A half hour later they were showered, ablutions completed, and bags by the door. They waited at the dining room table, sipping their coffees. “Kind of exciting, don’t ya think?! Not gonna lie!” smiled Sunset. “I mean, compared to the moon or Mars, I guess it’s tame. But wow, Sparky! We’re off on an adventure together! To the other side of the world! And magic!” “And Science!” grinned Twilight. “And Science!” agreed Sunset, smiling. “I can’t wait to see what happens!” “Ditto,” grinned her friend. Twilight’s phone alerted her with a message. Reading the message, she informed Twilight, “They're here. Time to get this journey started!” After taking their coffees to the sink, they headed to the door, grabbing their bags. Locking the door behind them, they rolled the bags and Sunset down to the curb. Once there they got into the van, then rode off to the airport to catch their flight. At the airport the van let them off at the international terminal. Sunset paid and tipped the driver while Twilight got their tickets and IDs ready. They checked their large luggage in with the skycabbies then got in line for the security check. Just under an hour later they cleared the TSA checkpoints, collected their things, and passed through customs and onto the terminal to wait for their flight. The sun was just starting to rise over the eastern horizon. Deciding they had some time to spare before their flight started boarding, they headed to the food court to get a quick bite for breakfast while they waited. A short line and large bill later, they sat at a table in the food court eating two overpriced breakfast sandwiches with lattes. “Amazing how insane the prices are for everything here,” observed Sunset. “Supply and demand, Sunny. Supply and demand. We supply the money and they demand a queen’s ransom,” snarked Twilight. Sunset laughed. “Got that right!” She grinned. They finished up their airport breakfast then went back over to the boarding gate for their flight. Eventually the plane was ready and they started boarding passengers. Sunset and Twilight boarded with the first set so they could get her settled. The flight attendants transferred Sunset to a boarding chair and stowed her wheelchair in the luggage compartment. Twilight opted to take the outside seat so she could get in and out to get things for Sunset if she needed. After all, this was going to be a rather long flight, going direct to Tokyo, so they got comfortable. A short while later the plane finished boarding. The captain’s voice came over the PA. “Greetings everyone. This is your captain, Major Backwind. Welcome to JAL flight 207 direct to Japan. We will be taxing out to the runway shortly and expect to take off on time. The local time is 7:35 AM. The temperature outside is about 68 degrees Fahrenheit. Our flying time will be about 11 hours and 35 minutes flying at about 36,000 feet above sea level. We will be turning on the fasten seatbelts sign shortly. Please remain in your seats and turn off any electronic devices as we prepare for departure. If you would please now look forward, your attendants will give you a quick presentation on how to use the safety features of this plane, a Boeing777-200ER. Thank you for flying JAL.” The stewardess before them then pantomimed the safety presentation, smiling the entire time. They shared the standard recording, outlining emergency procedures using the plane's safety features. While the flight attendant was literally going through the motions, the seatbelt sign came on. The plane started rolling through the terminal to take its position, waiting for its turn to take off. The attendant finished up her presentation, eventually sitting down in the jumper seat by the door and buckling herself in. A few moments later the plane rolled out to the end of the runway, their turn finally for takeoff. Twilight grinned, looking excitedly past Sunset out the window as the jets spun up. The plane accelerated quickly down the runway, soon racing along so fast that the lines along the tarmac blurred together as they rushed past. With a thump, the flaps fully extended and the plane lifted gracefully into the air, leaving the runway and airport dropping behind them. They passed over downtown Canterlot, then out over the ocean as they continued to climb while making a gentle banked turn to correct their heading as they cleared the airport airspace. Leveling out, they continued climbing, passing through clouds as they whipped by the window, leaving little streaks of condensation that quickly evaporated. As they rose above the cloud cover, Twilight looked down in awe at the carpet of clouds below them as they continued to race forward at cruising altitude. A few minutes later the seatbelt sign turned off and the captain came back on the PA. “We have now reached our cruising altitude of 35,000 feet. We are traveling towards Tokyo at about 500 knots, which is about 80% the speed of sound at this altitude. We are on schedule and expect only light turbulence later in the flight. We have turned off the seatbelt sign. You are now free to move about the cabin. Enjoy your flight and thank you again for choosing JAL.” Twilight let out a little squee of joy. A short while later Sunset’s phone pinged. She looked down and read the message. “They’re at the lab. Shoot! Sparky, can you take this?” she asked. “No problem Sunny. Be right back,” smiled Twilight. She gave Sunset a smile then got up and headed towards the lavatory. Sunset texted back. “Twilight will be there in a moment.” A few minutes later Sunset got a text from Twilight. “NASA has an issue. Going with them to their headquarters. Can you please unlock the lavatory? I’ll ping you when I’m ready to return.” Sunset texted back. “Sure thing, Sparky.” She reached out with her magic, visualizing the lock on the door, then unlocking the lock. The door clicked as the indicator slipped over to unoccupied. Sunset relaxed and waited for the text from Twilight. About an hour later she got it. “Ready to return. Is the lavatory open?” Sunset magically reached out and probed the lavatory. Sensing no one in it, she telekinetically slid the lock shut to show occupied. She texted Twilight, “All yours Sparky. Go ahead.” Twilight returned from the lavatory. “Sorted Sunny. They’re all set. Now we can just relax.” She settled back into her seat, returning the fob she had hidden in the lavatory for her return trip to her backpack, then leaned against her friend. “So what was that all about?” Sunset inquired. “What all about? The trip to headquarters?” checked Twilight. “Yeah, that. What did they need?” asked Sunset. “They needed a way to transfer oversized equipment through the TACIT base. Turns out they had some shipping containers from Nicholi’s space division that were going to be used to ship the Prufrock boring equipment to the moon, so I placed spatial enchantments on the containers so they can toggle them back and forth between the normal and hammerspace states. Compressed, they will fit onto a rack they can load into the TACIT base and transfer that way. They had four of them on hand so I enchanted all four of them,” explained Twilight. “Smart! Good call, Sparky! I bet we could do something like that too. Maybe we could get our hands on a shipping container?” asked Sunset. “I don’t think it’s really an issue for us, Sunny. Seriously, if we need to transfer something, I can just place it in my hammerspace and transfer it that way,” replied Twilight. “Ah, good point. Never mind then, I’m all for keeping it simple. Thanks, Sparky.” Smiling, Sunset snuggled into her friend, and together they took a short nap. Sunset woke later to a strange feeling. Something felt a bit off, so she shut her eyes again and reached out with her magical senses. She felt two magical loci nearby, one in front of them and the other behind them. Her best estimation put them at least 5 rows or so from them, but the plane was so crowded it was hard to tell which persons were the mages she assumed to be the source of the magic. She leaned over to Twilight, whispering into her ear. “Hey Sparky, heads up! We have two other mages on the plane with us. No, don't really look up! That was just an expression. My bad. About 5 rows or so behind and the same ahead. I can’t tell who it is in either case,” Sunset informed her friend. Twilight looked casually around and nodded. “I’m not sure what it’s about, but it seems suspicious to me that we’re right between them. Let's keep our guard up until we know what’s going on. Okay?” Twilight nodded again. Sunset smiled. “So I guess that means the buddy system. We get to go to the bathroom together. Just like magical kindergarten,” she snarked. “I never went to magical kindergarten,” snarked Twilight back. Sunset rolled her eyes. “Kindergarten is kindergarten, you dork.” They read for a bit, ordering snacks and drinks when the stewardess came by with the cart. About an hour later Sunset started to get uncomfortable. “That’s what I get for drinking all that coffee and soda,” Sunset complained with a frown. Guess it’s my turn to head to the bathroom. How do we do this?” Sunset asked. “I could carry you on my back,” teased Twilight. “That sounds like fun! But let’s save that for later,” grinned Sunset. Twilight rolled her eyes, giving her friend a light smack. Sunset laughed. “I wonder if I need to use that funky dolly again. Can you flag the stewardess down and ask please?” she asked. “Sure Sunny. One sec,” agreed Twilight. She got up and walked over to the stewardess, speaking with her briefly while pointing back to Sunset, who gave a small wave and smiled. The stewardess smiled back then disappeared into the galley, returning with the dolly. She smiled at Sunset. “Hi, Ms. Shimmer. Your friend explained you need to use the bathroom? I’ll help you two get to the bathroom where she can help you transfer onto the toilet. Are you ready?” she asked. “Yes please,” answered Sunset. She transferred over to the dolly, and the attendant buckled her in place. “The straps are just in case of turbulence,” the stewardess explained. Sunset nodded. “Okay, here we go.” Even though she was certain nobody really cared, Sunset felt like everyone was watching her as she slouched down into the dolly, thoroughly embarrassed. The attendant wheeled her into the lobby, Twilight in tow, and pulled the privacy curtain shut. “Okay, dear. Ready to help her into the bathroom?” she asked Twilight. Twilight nodded. She lifted Sunset under her arms and pivoted into the bathroom, setting her on the seat. Just as she did, Sunset sensed a magical spike. “Percutite!” a voice called out quietly and the stewardess dropped to the floor. A man and a woman dressed in business casual outfits grabbed Sunset and Twilight. Their hands glowed in a red aura. Before they could say or do anything else, Sunset’s eyes glowed white, and in a teal flash the two mages disappeared. Twilight crouched down, helping up the stewardess, still shaking her head and looking dazed. “What happened?” she asked the girls. “Are you okay?” “A rude couple came pushing through here and knocked us all over,” answered Sunset. “Are you okay?” she asked the stewardess. The stewardess nodded then asked. “Did you see where they went? I need to reprimand them.” “No. It all happened too fast,” answered Sunset. “They disappeared so quickly.” The stewardess looked frustrated. “Some people! I swear!” she groused. “I need to tell the captain what happened. Will you be okay for a bit? I’ll be back after to help you return to your seat,” she promised. “I’m fine. I just need to finish up here then I’ll be good to go. Thanks!” said Sunset. The stewardess nodded, then went to the flight cabin and knocked on the door. The co-pilot opened it. She whispered to him, he nodded, then let her in, closing and locking the door behind her. Twilight turned to Sunset. “Celestia’s wings! Sunny, what the heck just happened?” she asked. “Flying lessons,” answered Sunset as she closed the door. “I’ll be right out. Give me a minute, Sparky.” Deep in the Everfree Forest, a man and a woman fell from a teal flash just below the face of a cliff overlooking the forest canopy. Panicked shouts were heard as the tops of the trees raced to meet them. “Arresto Momentum!” they called out. A red glow surrounded them both as they crashed through the forest canopy and into the undergrowth below. On the ground, they both got up and looked up at the cliff several hundred feet above them. A few choice words later, they both disappeared in a bright red flash. Settled back into her seat, Sunset and Twilight discussed what just happened. “I’m not detecting any more magical signatures. I don’t think they’ll be returning,” noted Sunset. “Maybe they didn’t like the bounce at the end of their flight,” speculated Twilight with an eyebrow raised. “Nah! I’m not heartless Sparky! I made sure it was open and high enough they would have plenty of time to cast a shield or something to keep from getting hurt,” defended Sunset. “I wonder who they were and what they wanted with us.” “Nothing good, that's for sure. You don't lead off by knocking someone out if you're just making introductions,” noted Twilight. “Agreed,” nodded Sunset. “Maybe Kaori will have some ideas. We’ll ask next time we see her.” “Sounds like a plan.” The rest of the flight was relatively uneventful. No one tried to do anything to them on subsequent trips to the lavatory. They read and played games, watched a movie, ate meals, and in general enjoyed their time for the rest of the flight. As promised, 11 hours later they were landing in Tokyo, ready to begin their adventure. Disembarking from the plane, Sunset transferred back into her own chair. She stretched and smiled. “Freedom!” Sunset cheered while stretching out her back and arms. “That was fun, but it’s nice to have my own wheels back and not be dollied around to go anywhere.” “I hear that!” grinned Twilight. “Let's go get our bags and look for our ride.” She pushed Sunset, heading out of the terminal and into the line for customs. With nothing to declare and all their papers in order, their passage through customs went quickly. They hurried to the baggage claim and, after a brief wait, gathered up their luggage. Sunset hitched her roll-about to the back of her chair while Twilight dragged hers along behind her. They followed the line of their fellow passengers to the curbside pickup where they looked for anyone holding up a sign with their names. “There they are,” pointed out Twilight. Across the causeway, a limo driver was holding up a sign in big letters. “Sunset Shimmer / Twilight Sparkle”. They headed towards her. “Hi! We’re Sunset and Twilight. I take it, you're our ride?” smiled Sunset as she rolled up to the driver and bowed slightly. “Aih. Welcome to Tokyo Ms. Shimmer, Ms. Sparkle. I’ll be your driver today. Please let me take your bags.” She took the roll-abouts from the girls, wheeling them to the trunk which opened as she walked towards it. She placed the bags in the trunk which shut itself as she walked away, returning to the girls. She opened the door to the back of the limo, a ramp extending down to the ground then locking into place as the door opened. Sunset watched, clearly impressed with the technology. She rolled up the ramp and into the spacious passenger area of the limo. Finding a comfortable seat, she transferred into it, locking her chair to the side. Twilight climbed in after her and sat down next to her. “Wow!” Twilight said as the ramp pulled back up into the limo as their driver shut the door. “This tech is awesome. I’m getting the feeling I’m going to fit right in here!” Twilight grinned. Sunset laughed and put her arm over her friend’s shoulder. “Sparky, you and I both!” The driver got into her seat and turned to face the girls. “I will be taking you to the dorm where you’ll be staying in for the exams, so you can get settled. If you need anything while there, please don’t hesitate to ask the concierge. She will assist you with anything you need.” She smiled. “We’ve been looking forward to your visit for some time ladies. Again, welcome to Tokyo, and to Academy City!” She turned back around, pulled out into traffic then headed into the city and to their next adventure. Our journey does not inspire our faith, our faith enlightens our journey - The Celestial Teachings