Thursday, September 11, 8:00 AM Tokyo time.
They woke early the next morning to Twilight’s alarm. “School today girls! Up and at 'em! Hit the bathroom while Sunny and I make breakfast.”
Sunset groaned. “Way to volunteer your BFF,” she smirked.
Twilight bopped her nose, then kissed her cheek. “You know you love me. Come on, sleepyhead.” She got out of bed and left for the kitchen.
“When you’re right you're right,” she agreed with a smile. She sat up and transferred over to her chair. The girls were still scrambling to get their uniforms together and head into the bathroom. “See you for breakfast, girls!” she laughed, heading out of the room.
She wheeled down to the room Kaori was in and knocked on the door. “Come on in!” called out Kaori. Sunset opened the door and entered.
“Good Morning, Kaori!” she greeted. Kaori was already dressed, sitting on the end of the bed reading emails on her phone.
“Good Morning, Sunset!” greeted Kaori, looking up. “Did you sleep well in that crowded bed of yours?” she teased.
“We’re used to it,” smiled Sunset. “It was fine. And seriously, just knowing they are all safe? I sleep so much better.”
Kaori smiled and nodded. “Mama bear,” she grinned.
“You know it,” Sunset laughed back as she left. “We’re making breakfast. Should be ready in a few minutes and you are welcome to join us, please!”
“Sounds good, I’ll be out in a few,” agreed Kaori as she stretched. “Thanks!”
“You bet!” grinned Sunset, leaving the room.
She rolled into the kitchen area where Twilight was already making porridge. “Porridge huh?” noted Sunset as she rolled up. “Nice change up, Sparky. How can I help?” She rubbed Twilight’s back.
Twilight smiled. “Ah, that always helps. Seriously though, can you set out the condiments for the porridge and start making coffees for the folks that we know want it?”
“You bet, Sparky,” Sunset replied. She rolled over to the fridge and pulled out the cream and honey, as well as berries, apples, and peaches for the porridge. After placing them on the table she returned to the cupboard and fetched settings for everyone.
“Wow, full table this morning,” she noted as she set all the placements out.
“Yup, another reason I went with a big pot of porridge,” grinned Twilight. “Almost ready.”
Sunset started on the coffees. She wasn’t sure about Kaori but figured she would just ask when she sat down.
About the time Sunset finished with the coffees, Twilight announced, “Porridge is ready.” Twilight set a ceramic hot pad on the table, putting the pot of porridge on it with a serving ladle. “I’ll serve them up as they get here.”
“Come and get it!” called out Sunset. “Breakfast is ready, thanks to Twilight!”
Twilight smacked her shoulder. “Dork, it was a team effort. Why’d you do that?” she laughed.
“More fun that way,” Sunset smirked. “And you deserve more credit. End of story.”
Twilight just shook her head with a smile as she sipped her coffee.
The girls come out of the bathroom all dressed for school. They sat at the table and said a quick Harmonic grace, then Twilight started serving them up.
Sunset asked Kaori, “Do you want some coffee? Just let me know and I’ll get it.”
“Yes, thank you,” Kaori replied.
Sunset rolled back over to the kitchen and made another cup, passing it to Kaori then rolling back to her place to finish her own breakfast.
“Great breakfast, Sparky! Thank you!” she said as she finished off her porridge.
“Happy you liked it, Sunny,” smiled Twilight, finishing off her own porridge.
When they had all finished, Sunset cleared the dishes while Twilight put the extra food away. Together they grabbed their outfits from their room and headed for the bath. “We’ll be quick! Make sure you have everything ready to go! We’ll head back to the apartment and then school as soon as we are finished,” called out Sunset as they entered the bathroom.
Twilight stripped down and started washing with the bucket. Sunset quickly joined her, then transferred to her chair and rolled into the stall to do her morning routine. Twilight called out, “Do you need any help in there?”
Sunset flinched. “No, thanks!” she answered. “Thank you, though.”
“What are you doing that you get so embarrassed when I ask that?” asked Twilight. “Whatever it is, you know I won’t mind, right? I love you, Sunny. I would do anything for you.” Twilight pouted.
“Okay. I don’t like to share my weaknesses, you know that. But I can hear the hurt in your voice. One sec,” Sunset answered. She unlocked the door.
Twilight opened the door and came in. Sunset was using the facilities. “What you see here, please never tell anyone. But I have no secrets from you. So as my friend, now you know.” Sunset replied as she came in. “Please shut the door.”
Twilight shut the door, and Sunset finished her morning routine. Twilight was shocked at what her friend had to go through twice a day, but hid her surprise well, smiling in support of her best friend through the entire process. “That wasn’t that bad, Sunny. I don’t know why you would think I would think any less of you for that,” Twilight replied when she was done.
Sunset looked her in the eyes, tearing up. “Thank you, Sparky. I have been living in fear of what you might think for so long. I thought you might think less of me, or even hate me, for having to do that just to get through the day. Thank you for understanding.” Sunset cried quietly, her shoulders shaking.
Twilight leaned over her and hugged her tightly. “Sunset,” she said resolutely, “I will never think less of you for anything. I owe you my life and so much more. I love you completely; you’re my sister from another mister. You can’t shock me even if you tried your hardest. Please, never feel you have to hide anything from me again.” She kissed Sunset on the cheek and brushed the hair back from Sunset’s face with her hands.
Sunset hugged her back still crying. “I love you, Sparky,” she cried happily.
“I love you too, Sunny,” smiled Twilight back. “We need to finish getting ready or we will make everyone late. What can I do to help?”
“I just need to finish here, then we can rinse off, dry off, and get dressed. Just give me a second,” answered Sunset, drying her eyes.
Twilight nodded, giving her a parting kiss on the forehead, then backing out of the stall and jumping into the spa to rinse off. Sunset finished, transferred over to her chair, then rolled over to her. Before she could even start to put on the gear to transfer into the tub, Twilight hopped out and scooped her friend up in her arms. “Not today, Sunny. I got this!” she said happily as she walked into the spa carrying her friend then setting her gently down in her usual place.
At that Sunset cried gently again, but continued to rinsed off and dunked her head. “Okay, Sparky! I’m ready!” she said when done.
“Ready Freddy!” agreed Twilight, taking her friend into her arms again and walking out of the spa.
“You know that’s kind of dangerous to walk in and out of a wet spa carrying someone,” noted Sunset as she snuggled up to her friend.
“Sunny, ask me how much I don’t care about that right now,” answered Twilight as she placed her in her chair and got her uniform. She helped Sunset dry off and dress, then dried and dressed herself. Dressed and ready, they exited the spa and rolled into their room to grab their daypacks.
Returning to the main room, Sunset smiled. “Okay everyone! Ready to head back?” she asked.
“Ready Freddy!” replied Kuroko, smiling. The others nodded.
“Ready Freddy!” agreed Twilight, gathering everyone into a tight hug with Sunset. “Quick trip this time, here we go!”
With two joined flashes of Teal and Magenta magic, the entire group disappeared.
And appeared in the girls’ apartment, laughing. “I didn’t know you could do that!” shouted Mikoto. “I thought we had to use the transporter.”
“You do!” nodded Twilight. “We don’t. I invented the darn thing and Sunny knows how to do it too, so we can do it without the equipment. Though it is better to be tethered for safety reasons.” She turned to Kazari and Ryoko. “Don’t want you falling off in outer space!”
“Oh, ha ha ha,” laughed Ryoko. “I’m not falling for that again!”
Sunset laughed and tousled her hair. “You fall for it every time!” she laughed.
Ryoko batted her hand away with a laugh. “Whatever!”
Everyone gathered up their supplies for the day and prepared to leave. Sunset called out, “Who here does not have a teleportation pendant yet?” Kaori raised her hand.
“Okay, once we drop off the crew, come back here with me, and I’ll equip you too,” Twilight instructed them. “Everyone else, make sure you keep them around your neck at all times. If you need us, or think you might need us for any reason, just grab the pendant and think of us, and either we’ll bring you to us, or we’ll come to you as quick as you can think,” she stated.
Sunset added. “And if you are attacked or in trouble, don’t worry. We will know right away if you are wearing the pendant, and will come to your aid immediately.” Twilight nodded in agreement. “Okay, ready to go?” asked Sunset. Everyone nodded, so they left the apartment and headed down the elevator, past the concierge with the usual greeting and bows, then out to the street. Twilight took Kaori and walked Ryoko and Kazari to their school, while Sunset took Mikoto and Kuroko to their academy. Once Sunset dropped them off she went to the office to explain that she and Twilight had some personal business they had to complete that would make them late for school today. She then went to the library and using the fobs, checked in on everyone's location and status. Seeing everyone was where they belonged, in good health, and not having any fearful reactions, she quietly meditated while waiting for Twilight to join her.
Twilight entered the apartment with Kaori. “Make yourself comfortable!” she called out, heading for her room. “I’ll be right back! Should only take me a couple of minutes to craft two more pendants.” She sat down at her desk, pulling out a box of fobs and their matched pairings. She proceeded to update their firmware, as well as update the enchantments on both of them. Once that was completed, she took them and their matched usb fobs to Kaori.
“Okay, pick!” she smiled. Kaori took the purple one, leaving the dark blue one. “Awesome!” Twilight said, taking the pendants back to place them onto their necklaces then putting Kaori’s around her neck, handing her back Stiyl’s. “Now, let’s get these into the system.”
“Wait, what? System?” asked Kaori, holding her pendant out and looking at it.
“Yup!” stated Twilight, taking her hand. “To the bat cave!” They disappeared in a flash of magenta.
And reappeared in the Martian bunker. Kaori laughed. “Good one, Twilight!”
Twilight walked over to the hub, and moving aside the locked shielding on the case, placed the two new usb fobs into the hub. She then locked the case back up and moved over to the console on the table next to it. Logging in, she moved to the pendant interface, and paired the two new fobs found with their owners. The system sent the update out immediately, and her pendant informed her two disciples were in her presence and were safe.
Kaori laughed, leaning over the screen and reading as she entered the data. “Disciples, huh? Is that what we are?”
Twilight blushed. “I didn’t know what to expect when I wrote the code, so I just used my imagination. I had just found out Sunset was becoming a goddess, and that I might be joining her, so my imagination took an unfortunate detour that day,” she explained.
Kaori squeezed her shoulder. “Nah, leave it. It totally fits. You can call us disciples if you want. Though I would prefer friends,” he teased.
Twilight grinned and nodded. “Well if you're sure, I won’t change it.”
They both laughed. “Okay, that’s it. Ready to head back to the fun? What do you have planned for the day?” Twilight asked.
“I’m going to skulk around and make sure no one is trying anything against the two of you or our other friends. Including your friends for obvious reasons,” answered Kaori. “If you need me just ping me. I’ll get there asap.”
“Thank you! That’s comforting!” replied Twilight, taking her hands. “Okay, once more through the ether.” With a flash of magenta they disappeared.
And appeared in the girl's apartment. Kaori thanked Twilight for the pendants and left to do her reconnaissance. Twilight held her pendant, thought of Sunset, then disappeared in a flash of magenta.
Sunset looked up as a flash of magenta went off next to her. Twilight appeared in the afterglow and turned to her friend. “All set, Sunny. The mages are in the system.”
“I saw the update. Thank you, Sparky!” she said, pulling her friend into a hug. “Ready to head to class? I let the office know we will be late, so no worries there.”
“You’re the best, Sunny,” smiled Twilight. “Yeah, let’s go.” She took her friends' chair handles in hand and wheeled them both to their study hall. They got there, explained to the teacher their tardiness, and took their seats for all of ten minutes before the bell rang and they were off to their classes.
“If anything happens, I will drop whatever I am doing and be right there,” said Sunset to Twilight as she hugged her.
“And I will be right behind you,” added Twilight. “We got this. Go do classes, girl. We’re covered.”
Sunset smiled. “Love you, Sparky!”
“Love you too, Sunny!” smiled Twilight, heading down the hall to her first class. Sunset rolled off to her class, thinking the whole time of Twilight and the rest of their friends.
Sunset was distracted all through her classes, her thoughts were constantly on her herd of friends and whatever Index and Toma were off doing. She would ping them magically just to see if they were all still okay. No signs of panic from any of them, though she did get a slight twinge from Twilight. Probably overthinking some problem she was asked thought Sunset with a smirk.
She enjoyed her class with Kuroko. Having her little sister around was calming; one less person she had to worry about. When Mikoto and Kuroko joined her and Twilight for lunch in the cafeteria, she was all smiles. “Thank you for your help earlier! So how are you doing, girls?” Sunset asked as she took her place, her customary box lunch in her lap.
Everyone smiled. “We’re doing fine,” Kuroko nodded. The others nodded along.
Sunset turned to Twilight. “So, what was that moment of panic there in the second period? Clearly you didn’t need me to come rescue you,” teased Sunset.
Twilight blushed. “Noticed that, did you? It was nothing. Got surprised by a question in class but figured it out quick enough. You know I get a little test anxiety when answering questions.” She smiled sheepishly.
Sunset ruffled her friend's hair with a laugh. Twilight batted her hand away with a smile. “Knock it off, dork! I know you get the same way! Whatever,” Twilight grinned.
“Maybe?” teased Sunset back, “You’ll never know. I’m as cool as a cucumber and you aren’t an empath!”
“But you have the same pendant I’m wearing and I can see the biometrics too. So neener neener,” smirked Twilight.
“And at what point have you ever seen me lose my cool?” asked Sunset with a smirk.
“When it really mattered! And having a mama bear on my side has always been a good thing,” smiled Twilight back.
Sunset kissed Twilight on the cheek. “Good answer, Sparky!” The girls all laughed. There was a growl from across the cafeteria. Sunset looked up to see the class officer looking at them angrily. Sunset stared back, and after a few moments the class officer looked away. “Thought so,” gloated Sunset returning to her lunch. Kuroko grinned like a Cheshire cat.
The girls finished lunch, then parted ways with Mikoto and Suruko heading off to their afternoon classes while Twilight and Sunset left for their Institute internships.
Sunset and Twilight raced through their assigned paperwork quickly then dug around for more information on the so-called ‘Level 6 shift” plan they had seen mentioned earlier, transferring everything they found to Twilight’s fob.
After their shift at the Institute was complete, Sunset and Twilight left together, heading back to their apartment. When they arrived they found the girls all gathered together waiting for them, playing games on the TV. Dinner arrived, and after praying Harmonic grace they dug in and ate.
“Girls, how do you feel about going on a little adventure with us this weekend?” asked Sunset as they finished up their dinner. “Twilight and I have access to a rover that seats eight. So feel like exploring the Caldera with us on Saturday?”
“Heck yes!” shouted Kuroko. Mikoto nodded excitedly, as did Kazari and Ruiko.
“Okay, sounds like a plan then! Friday night, plan on spending the night with us so we can get an early start Saturday morning. Do what you have to do to get permission, and bring what you need,” added Sunset.
After dinner, Twilight cleaned up the dishes while Sunset helped the girls peacefully find a movie to watch together on the TV. While the girls were still discussing what they wanted to watch, Twilight finished up then joined them on the couch. She whispered into Sunset’s ear and Sunset grinned widely.
“You sure you don’t mind, Sparky?” she asked.
“Nope, get over here you dork!” smiled Twilight patting the spot on the couch next to her.
“Okay, here I come,” Sunset grinned. She rolled in front of Twilight then transferred directly to her lap, pushing the chair back out of their way. Twilight rolled her eyes, blushing and grinning madly.
“That wasn’t what I said, dork!” Twilight teased, hugging her friend tightly.
“Oh, sorry, okay. So you want me to leave?” teased Sunset back.
“Not on your life, Sunny. Stay girl!” answered Twilight back, hugging her tight.
“Okay, loving the view here,” snarked Sunset, staring into her friend's eyes. “But if I’m going to see this movie, I think I need to turn around.” She wiggled her way around until she was sitting in Twilight's lap with her head next to hers. She turned and kissed her on the cheek while Twilight wrapped her up in her arms.
“Love you too, Sunny Bunny,” grinned Twilight, blushing madly and holding her friend tight.
Sunset turned to the girls who were blushing as well. Kuroko had a huge happy grin on her face. “So,” Sunset asked, “Have we decided on a movie? What did you pick?”
“Belle!” the girls called out happily.
“Alrighty! Bring it on!” Sunset called out. They started the movie.
The movie was a delight. The girls sang along with Belle as she entertained the masses in U, cheering and booing at all the pivotal scenes. Midway through Kuroko volunteered to get drinks and tissues for everyone as there wasn’t a dry eye in the group.
When the movie ended, Twilight told everyone to get ready for bed. While they did she helped Sunset back over into her chair, then leaned in and kissed her gently on the cheek. “Do you want to send the girls home tonight, Sunny? Or do you want them to stay here?” asked Twilight, smiling at her friend.
Sunset smiled and groaned. “As much as I want to be alone with just you right now, no. I think we should still keep the girls close just in case anyone thinks of trying anything.”
Twilight laughed. “I get that. And I think you are right. Mama bear first. I’ll tell them to all pile in with us, and we can keep them safe. So come on, let’s go get ready for bed.”
They rolled into the bedroom and grabbed Sunsets' bathroom bag and both their pairs of pajamas. Then they rolled over to the bathroom. Sunset knocked on the door. “How are you doing in there, girls? Everything okay?”
“We’re fine!” Kuroko called out quickly.
Mikoto could be heard laughing through the door. “We’d be even more fine if you would get dressed, Kuroko. We’ve seen you before. No one is impressed!”
Kuroko responded, “Ah, come on, Mikoto! Don’t you want at least one hug?” she teased.
Sunset put her face in her hands and shook her head as Twilight covered her own mouth to stifle her laughter. “Boundaries, Kuroko! Don’t make me come in there!” Sunset called out loudly.
That got gales of laughter from the girls on the other side of the door. Twilight exploded with laughter as well. Kuroko sighed loudly. “Yes mom,” she answered. There was a slight delay, then the door opened with everyone dressed for bed.
Sunset stared at Kuroko sternly. At the back of the line, Kuroko hung her head as the girls filed out past Sunset and Twilight. As Kuroko walked by with her head still hanging low, Sunset scooped her up and pulled her into a hug in her lap. “Good girl, Kuroko. See! You can do this!” Sunset encouraged, kissing her little sister on the forehead.
Kuroko smiled, happy tears in her eyes. “Thank you, sissy!” She hugged Sunset tightly then hopped off her lap and scurried after her friends into the bedroom.
“That girl,” sighed Sunset, smiling and shaking her head. Together with Twilight she entered the bathroom and proceeded to get ready for bed.
Everyone in bed, Sunset snuggled up to Twilight. Kuroko snuggled up to Sunset, while Mikoto snuggled up on Twilight’s other side. Ruiko and Kazari snuggled together at their feet. Sunset looked over her herd all snuggled up together and smiled. The lights dimmed, and they fell asleep happily snuggled, looking out over the Tokyo skyline as they drifted off to sleep.