Sunday, September 14, late Tokyo time.
Sunset appeared in the lair’s garden, looking around for her friends, with Kuroko still snuggled in her arms, sleeping peacefully. Twilight noticed her as she subtly nodded her BFF over.
“Looks like someone is feeling a bit better now,” Twilight smiled as she approached. “How is she doing?”
“She’s still angry, but she promised to give Robin a chance, and to be on her best behaviour. That’s all I can really ask at this point,” replied Sunset, gently soothing her sissy’s forehead as she slept.
Sunset looked up at Twilight. “Now that the danger has passed, we really need to get everyone back so they can get to school tomorrow. I’m not sure what time it is, but it has to be getting pretty late. Let’s get everyone back, and settle our new guest. Then we can get some rest ourselves.”
“Sounds like a plan to me,” agreed Twilight, taking her chair in hand and wheeling them towards the gazebo Mikoto and Robin were still talking in.
As they approached, they could see the girls holding hands, gently smiling. Both their eyes were stained with tears as Robin related stories of her and her Hughey.
“Hi, girls! Sorry to interrupt,” Sunset smiled at them both. “Mikoto, it’s getting really late. Now that everything is settled we need to get you all back home, so you can get some rest and get to school in a few hours.
“Sorry Robin, I need to take your friend home.”
At that, Robin teared up again. “You really are my friend, aren’t you?” she asked Mikoto gratefully.
“Yes, I really am,” agreed Mikoto with a gentle squeeze of her hand. “And I really am sorry for everything that happened, and grateful you are here now.”
“Me too,” agreed Robin. “I am so sorry for everything I’ve done. And I’m so grateful to be here and to have you as a friend. It’s more than I deserve and much more than I dared hope for.”
“I hope we all get more than we deserve,” agreed Mikoto.
With a final hug, she rose and took Sunset’s hand. “I’ll come to visit. I will see you again, Robin. And you can tell me more about your wonderful fiance.”
Smiling through her tears, Robin nodded. Taking her hand, Twilight led Robin back to the courtyard, giving her BFF a wink as she left.
Robin waved to Mikoto once more then turned to listen as Twilight explained her living arrangements.
With a flash of teal, Sunset, Kuroko and Mikoto disappeared.
They flashed into the girls’ dorm room, Kuroko sound asleep through it all. Mikoto gently took her sleeping friend from Sunset’s arms, holding her tightly as she carried her over to her bed.
Waking slightly, Kuroko mumbled “Oh, sissy!” snuggling into Mikoto’s embrace. Mikoto rolled her eyes with a grin as she carefully put her into her own bed and pulled her covers up.
“Pervert,” she whispered with a grin. She kissed her friend’s forehead then went to her dresser to get ready for bed herself.
“Call me if you need anything,” offered Sunset, smiling at her friend. “I’ll see you two tomorrow, Misaka. Sleep well.”
Mikoto nodded with a smile as Sunset teleported from her room.
Back at their lair, Sunset rolled up to Toma and Index.
“So, ready to go? Let’s get you two back so you can get some rest.” Taking their hands, Sunset teleported with them to their apartment in a teal flash.
Meanwhile Twilight introduced Robin to Tàiyáng.
“Take care of her please,” Twilight instructed. “I do not want to return to find her waiting for me outside the lair. Are we clear?”
“Wait, what?” asked Robin in alarm.
“I assure you, I will take excellent care of your friend,” assured Tàiyáng. “And that was one time. One time!”
Robin looked at the guardian in concern.
Twilight grinned. “Don’t worry, Robin. We’re just joking. Nothing bad will happen to you. Tàiyáng will take good care of you. I think.”
She laughed when Robin's eyes got bigger at those last words.
“Just teasing!” Twilight grinned as she gave Robin a hug.
“You’ll be fine! We’ll be back to check in tomorrow. If you need anything just ask Tàiyáng and he can take care of it. Enjoy your new home!”
With that Twilight wandered off to find her mage friends while Tàiyáng took Robin to her new quarters.
She found them in a corner of the garden quietly chatting.
“So ready for a ride back from Wonderland?” Twilight laughed as she approached.
Looking up as she approached, the mages grinned.
“Yes, please. We have plenty we still need to take care of,” answered Kaori.
“You bet! So where to?” asked Twilight, taking her friend's hands.
“Your apartment is fine. We’ll just head down to my dorm room from there,” Kaori answered.
“Apartment it is. Ready?” asked Twilight. Both nodded, so they disappeared in a flash of magenta.
They flashed into the apartment living room.
Sunset looked up from her laptop smiling. “Hi, guys? Spending the night with us?” she asked.
“Nah, just passing through,” smiled Kaori. “Good night girls!”
Together she and Stiyl departed, leaving Sunset and Twilight to themselves.
“So, ready to head to bed, Sunny?” asked Twilight.
“Thought you’d never ask,” grinned Sunset, shutting the laptop and taking her BFF in her arms.
“It wasn’t an invitation, silly,” grinned Twilight, hugging her friend.
“Sure sounded like one to me,” grinned Sunset back.
Together they got ready for bed and rest, grateful for a happy end to a very long day.
Monday, September 15, 6:30 a.m. Tokyo time.
The next morning the girls rose, getting ready for the day with their usual routine. As they ate breakfast together, Twilight spoke on the phone with Dr Long.
“No, I’m sure that won’t be a problem. I’d be happy to meet with them, and if they’re ready to go, I can get them everything they need so they can get started today,” Twilight answered.
Nodding as she listened, she continued. “Okay, I will see you in a bit. I’m looking forward to this.” Hanging up, she smiled at her friend.
“Hope you don’t mind Sunny, but I am ditching school today. Dr Long is making introductions, and I am meeting with the representatives from EUA, JAXA, and ROSCOSMOS. It sounds like they are all on board, so I will likely be crafting TACIT units for them to get them started. You might not be seeing me again until late this evening,” smiled Twilight.
“Do you need me to come with you? Happy to help if you need it,” answered Sunset.
“Nah. Go hang with our friends. I’m sure after everything we’ve been through they will appreciate it. I got this,” smiled Twilight.
“Okay then,” agreed Sunset with a grin. They finished breakfast and cleaned up.
Twilight flashed off in a burst of magenta magic to meet with NASA and the other agencies' representatives, while Sunset grabbed her backpack and rolled out the door to start her day.
Teleporting directly to Dr Long’s fob, Twilight was surprised to see she was in an entirely new location. They were in a large conference room, currently only inhabited by herself and Dr. Long.
Outside the large picture window that provided one of the conference room walls, she looked out over a large campus, filled with trees and paths through grass and gardens between the campus buildings.
“First time here, I take it,” smiled Dr Long, looking up from her notes. “Welcome to our main headquarters. Just need a few more moments to finish this up, then we can get started.” She returned to her notes.
Twilight nodded. “Thanks,” she added absently as she rose from her chair, stepping over to the window to look out over the beautiful campus.
She watched as scientists and staff wandered between the buildings, nodding politely to each other as they passed. Some were clearly taking breaks, either sitting while eating amid the grass and gardens or engrossed in notes or notebooks as they sat among the greenery. Twilight smiled as she enjoyed the view.
“Think you would ever want to work here?” grinned Dr Long as she finished up with her notes, closing the pad and smiling at her friend.
“It was a dream of mine not so very long ago,” admitted Twilight, smiling back. “Though it seems I have taken a different path.”
“So it seems,” agreed Dr Long. “So ready?”
“Ready,” agreed Twilight.
Dr Long pressed an intercom built into the table.
“Maureen here. What can I get you Dr. Long?” answered a pleasant-sounding young woman.
“Hi, Maureen! We’re ready to begin. Can you ask everyone to join us in the conference room? Thanks!” replied Dr Long, breaking the connection.
A short while later, several individuals entered through the double doors of the conference room. Smiling at them in greeting, Twilight returned to the table, taking her seat next to Dr. Long.
Once everyone was seated, Dr Long began.
“Everyone, I would like to introduce you to Ms Twilight Sparkle, inventor of the TACIT units you saw earlier. She is working with us from Academy City, and..”
“You are with Academy City?” interrupted a large muscled man in a suit on the other side of the table.
“Uh, no, not exactly,” replied Twilight in surprise.
“Ms Sparkle is a citizen of the USA and currently a student at Academy City,” continued Dr Long. “Vlad, we will answer all your questions shortly.
“As I was saying. Ms Sparkle and Ms Shimmer have been working with us to provide TACIT technology for the bases as well as providing support in the construction of the bases.”
“I overheard one of your techs saying your base was attacked!” interrupted a raven-haired woman from the end of the table. “Who is out in space already attacking bases? Is it aliens?”
Dr Long buried her face in her hands.
“Yes, Vetta, it’s aliens. It’s always aliens. Didn’t you know that?” groaned Dr Long. Looking up, she sighed. “Are you done?”
“I know you know something!” the woman continued. “You always try to hide it. We’re supposed to be working together but you keep things from us. How long have you had these bases? When were you going to share with us? What kind of allies keep this sort of information from their allies?”
Dr Long looked over to Twilight. “Are you sure you want to do this?” she asked. Twilight nodded.
Dr Long stood. Placing her hands on the table, she leaned over and looked each of the participants around the table in the eyes. When she had everyone’s uninterrupted attention, she continued.
“Here are the facts. A bit over a week ago Mss. Sparkle and Shimmer invented TACIT technology in their garage. They used it to visit the Tranquility landing site where they were recorded playing with their friends on the moon. This obviously got our attention and we have been working with them to utilize this technology to its fullest.
“With their considerable help, we have instituted bases on the moon at Tranquility Base, on Mars near Olympus Mons, and on Saturn’s moon Titan. Regrettably, one of our installations was attacked and a laptop was stolen with the complete plans for TACIT technology, and it has made its way into the hands of countries not aligned with our efforts.
“It was one of these groups that used the technology to launch attacks on our bases at Tranquility and Olympus Mons.
“Several of our staff were killed in the attacks, though with the help of these girls, we were able to save most of them and repel the attackers.”
“You are fighters?” interrupted Vlad again, incredulous. “You girl! You are warrior?”
Twilight sighed, looking down at the table. Looking back up, she looked Vlad in the eyes.
“Yes, when needed, I am a warrior. I don’t like fighting. It goes against everything I stand for. But if I or my allies are attacked, I will fight. And I will win,” she stated plainly.
“How can you be warrior, slip of girl like you?” asked Vlad in shock.
“Pray you never have to find out,” said Twilight evenly, her eyes tingeing purple as she replied.
A chill settled over the room. Clearing her throat, Dr Long continued.
“So, yes, there is that. It’s a race now, my friends. With us or not, it’s a race. If you want to be in space, if you want to be with us, take these girls' offer and use their technology.
“Or don’t, and be left behind, or try to scramble for a place with those who attacked us and take your chances.”
Dr Long leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes as she said, “The choice is yours, but make it now. There won’t be any second chances.”
A moment of silence followed as everyone took in what they had just heard. Then everyone at once started talking. Loudly. And excitedly.
From the sound of it, they were all in.
Twilight retired to their lair to start crafting the needed units while Dr Long stayed to work out the details of their agreement.
She was surprised to learn Robin was not in the lair at the moment. Boredom and curiosity had overtaken her, so she had requested Tàiyáng a way to explore the area outside the lair. Tàiyáng had provided her with one of the still intact NASA rovers, which she was currently using, driving all over the caldera becoming familiar with her new home.
With TACIT pairs constructed, one each to start for ESA, JAXA, and ROSCOSMOS, Twilight switched to crafting more safety fobs, keyed to teleport the wearer to their lair in an emergency. While she was working on these, she received a text from Dr Long that agreements had been reached.
Smiling, she returned to Dr Long’s location ready to provide their new allies with their new TACIT units.
There was a bit of a snag.
“No!” Vlad thundered. “We will take our unit to our base installation ourselves. No one else is allowed to see location of base installation!”
Twilight held her face in her hands. “Are you done?” she asked. “Because if you are, I would like to explain something.
“I get that you would like to keep the location of your installation secret. I approve. I laud the effort. I understand the thinking.
“But it’s not happening. If you are using one of my TACIT systems, I know where it is. All the time.
“It’s not something we can discuss then come to an agreement over. It’s simple physics. If you are using our tech, it is all connected. There is no way to hide it from the rest of our tech. You use it, we know it, where and when. Simple physics. Applied math, one and one make two level simple.
“So sure, take it to your installation by secret train, boat, car, whatever. Hide it under a mountain. Top Secret. Then plug it in to use it. Secret shared. Done. No more secrets, at least not from me or anyone else with a TACIT device.
“So instead of playing around for days while you get the unit to your not going to be secret for long base, let’s just skip to the end.
“You tell me where to deliver your new toy. Then I show up today, like right now, and I help you set it up so you can start on your base. Once again that’s today. Right now.
“I assure you, everyone else will be crossing the finish line while you are still gloating over your secrets.
“Look at NASA!”
Twilight pointed at Dr Long, who smirked.
“I placed their units and days later they had fully staffed and operational bases, looking out at the stars from their new locations. All of that would be happening while you were still unpacking your new toy from its crate, with your secrets.
“So if you want to play with the big kids, tell me where to go. I will take you there with your unit. I will help you set it up. I will set up your base unit. I will install the shield on that unit to protect you. I will assist in any way I can to expedite your build-out. I will even step back and leave you with your base and tech, and provide you with the failsafe fobs for your staff to keep them safe in the event of an emergency.
“So are you in or out? Living in the future, or dead in the past? Make your call,” Twilight finished.
Vlad scowled. “How can you do this thing? How can you put unit anyplace?”
“I’ll show you,” Twilight stated flatly, her eyes glowing magenta. “Like this.”
She grabbed the front of his shirt, both of them disappearing in a flash of magenta.
They appeared on the surface of the moon. Vlad gasped in shock as he realized where he was. Still holding his shirt, they flashed away again.
They appeared on the surface of Mars, Olympus Mons rising in the distance. His eyes bugged out as he again realized where he was standing. With another flash, they disappeared.
They appeared in space, looking down over one of the rings of Saturn. In the distance, Titan hung framed in the starlit sky. Vlad grabbed her arm tightly.
With a flash they appeared back in the conference room, Vlad’s suit covered in frost.
“In addition to being the inventor of TACIT systems, I’m a psychic teleporter. There is nowhere in the universe I cannot get to. That is how I can do this thing,” Twilight replied.
“Any other questions? If not, tell me where your base is, and I will take you and your unit there to set it up.”
Vlad shook his head, removing her hand from his suit and straightening his tie.
“Nyet. We are in,” Vlad replied simply.
Finished with her classes, Sunset excused herself from the girls and called Twilight.
“Hey Sparky! Where are you at? I’ll come join you. Do you need any help with anything?” she asked.
“Sure! I’m in our lair, just finishing up with crafting the initial safety fobs needed for the three new bases. Then I am bringing the new TACIT base units to NASA headquarters so I can install the base units in each of our new friends' installations. You could begin dropping the matched units onto their base locations and setting those up,” replied Twilight.
“Okay! I’ll drop off my school stuff then be right there,” promised Sunset.
With a flash of teal, she appeared in their bedroom, pitching her book bag onto her bed.
It hadn't even bounced on the bed before she flashed away again appearing in their lair next to her BFF.
“That was quick,” snarked Twilight, not looking up from her work.
“What can I say? I missed my BFF,” grinned Sunset. “So where do you want me to start?”
“I’d like you to transport and set up the remote TACIT units,” answered Twilight. She stepped over to several units she had already crafted then continued.
“This is the ROSCOSMOS unit. They were ceded Ceres, so this unit needs to go there.
“This is the ESA unit, and they are getting Vesta.
“This is JAXA’s unit, which they are sharing for now with Academy City. They are going to Pallas.
“NASA is getting a fourth unit, this one, so they can have a presence in the belt too. They took Hygiea as they already have Titan, Mars, and Luna.
“That said, it was agreed the Moon and Mars are open territories with all signatories entitled to a base on both. So we’ll be working with JAXA, ESA, ROSCOSMOS and Academy City on those bases after we get these operational.
“I’m going to drop off the base TACIT units and get them set up in their installations. If you can get these up and ready to go, that would make my job simpler. Then we can just hand them off to them and let them start setup right away if we do that.
“They will all likely need our help with excavation and some structural assistance, as they won’t have the advantage of the Boring equipment at this time. When they’re developing their lunar and Martian bases, the Boring Company has agreed to provide them with the necessary equipment.”
Sunset nodded. “Okay. I guess I’ll get started then. “ She powered up, assuming her angelic form, rising from her chair then flying over to the units. “How first?”
“Start with ESA,” said Twilight. “I’ll drop off their unit and get them set up first. Thanks!”
Twilight placed her hand on the ESA base TACIT receiver, disappearing with it in a flash of magenta. Settling over the ESA TACIT transceiver, Sunset disappeared with it as well in a flash of teal.
Sunset appeared on the surface of a large asteroid. She gently lowered the unit to the surface of the asteroid. Accidentally bumping against it, the unit lifted from the surface and started moving off into space.
“Damned microgravity,” snarked Sunset. With a flash of teal, the unit was pulled back down to the surface. Tweaking the asteroid's gravitational field, she moved it up magically to nearly one-sixth of normal terrestrial gravity.
“That out to hold it in place. Of course, that’ll probably mess with everything around this and pull some of the garbage in. I’ll need to make sure the shield is fully functional before I move on,” she mused.
Settling down next to the unit, she installed the shield spell matrix into the TACIT crystal, currently powered by her magic. Raising the shield, a teal dome formed overhead, tinting the starfield slightly teal. A few sparkles shined out briefly as dust and smaller rocks bumped up against the shield.
“Okay, shield set. Now to just wait for Twilight,” noted Sunset. She sat on the unit, waiting for the text from her BFF.
A short while later, her phone pinged. Reading the text with a grin, she rose up, waiting beside the unit. A moment later there was a magenta flash and Twilight appeared with Vetta, the ESA representative.
“And here we are. Ready to rock,” said Twilight as she led the stern woman from the unit to the surface of the asteroid. “And we’re standing on the asteroid. Sunset, how are we standing on the asteroid?”
“I got tired of chasing down the unit every time I bumped it, so I reset the gravity locally to one-sixth terrestrial normal. The unit stayed put after that,” answered Sunset with a smirk.
“You know that is going to play havoc with the local field. You’re going to pull in all the dust and rocks in the local area,” reminded Twilight.
“And I’ve been watching the show as the shield deflects them. It should be fine unless you think it would be better leaving the settlement to deal with microgravity,” returned Sunset.
“Microgravity is exactly what they will have if the TACIT connection is broken. As soon as there isn’t any source of magic. the spell you’ve cast will be cancelled and they will be right back where they started,” continued Twilight.
“And if that happens, they will have much larger issues than stuff floating off. Like having lost their shields. And if that happens, they will likely be shortly a sudden guest of our hospitality,” Sunset reminded her.
“That’s true. Hmm,” mused Twilight. “It is easier to get things done and live on base if there is some semblance of gravity. We’ll let the spell stand. In fact, encode it into the TACIT crystals for the rest of the bases, and this one too if you have not already. Good thinking Sunset.”
“Thanks,” Sunset smiled, crossing back over to the TACIT unit. Hands glowing briefly, she placed the enchantment into the TACIT crystal and released the spell she had been holding, letting the TACIT unit drive the gravity creation powered by the magic passing through the TACIT connection. Stepping back, she nodded. “Okay, done.”
“So, what type of base are you constructing? Burroughs? Surface structure?” Sunset asked the ESA representative.
“We are going hybrid. We do want to burrow into the asteroid for much of the base, but realistically we don’t want to gut the thing. We want it to maintain some structural integrity. We planned on running a complete survey and planning from there.” replied Vetta.
“Okay, that sounds prudent,” agreed Twilight. “We’re going to move onto the other bases. Give us a call if you need assistance with tunnelling or crafting the base. You have my cell phone number, you can reach me just about anywhere.”
“There is cell coverage here?” asked Vetta.
“No, but there is wifi from the TACIT unit. Here, let me help you connect to the wifi,” Twilight replied. She stepped the scientist through the setup supplying the passcode, then stepped back.
‘Okay, give me a call then when you need us,” replied Twilight. As she and Sunset prepared to leave, her phone rang.
Answering it, Twilight grinned. “Hello Vetta,” she laughed.
“Just testing it,” replied Vetta with a straight face. “Okay, I will call when we are ready for your help.”
With a nod, Twilight and Sunset disappeared in a flash of magenta and teal.
Next up was JAXA. Sunset returned to the lair, taking hold of the JAXA unit and teleporting to Pallas.
There she set up the same shield and enchantments they had placed on the ESA unit, placing them this time all directly into the TACIT crystal. Several moments later, she felt the magic pouring through the TACIT connection powering the spells, so she backed her own magic off and left them to run on the TACIT ambient magic.
A moment later, Twilight appeared with the JAXA representative. They two wanted to survey first and potentially go with a hybrid base, so after pairing up the representative’s phone with the TACIT wifi, they parted ways with her and returned to NASA Headquarters and the waiting Roscosmos representative.
With Vlad, Twilight teleported to their installation while Sunset returned to the lair, gathering up the Roscosmos unit and teleporting to Ceres.
Once there she quickly set up and powered the enchantments, though Ceres was at least large enough that bumping the unit didn’t cause it to go flying off beforehand.
Once again, Sunset released her magic from the crystal when she felt ambient magic pour through the TACIT unit. A moment later, Twilight appeared with a flash in the TACIT unit, Vlad in tow.
Smirking, Sunset clicked her heels and saluted sharply. “Welcome to Ceres, comrade!” she laughingly called out.
Vlad shot her a cross look. “You very funny. Haha,” he replied. “So we will examining area and will call when needed. You may go.”
Sunset turned to Twilight. “I already set his phone up. He’s good to go,” she explained.
“Okay,” replied Sunset. Turning back to Vlad, she smiled. “Okay, comrade. Don’t be a stranger. Give us a call when you are ready.”
Vlad was already on his phone with the rest of his team. He made dismissive motions with his free hand without looking their way.
With a shrug, the girls teleported back to Headquarters.
“So, Dr Long. Last on the list. Ready to see your new rock?” asked Sunset when they arrived.
“Ready and rocking,” smirked Dr Long.
Sunset rolled her eyes. “Okay, I deserved that one. See you two in a bit!” She disappeared in a flash of teal.
Back in their lair, she gathered the last unit, NASA’s, and teleported to Hygiea. There she quickly placed the enchantments into the TACIT crystal and released them to the ambient magic as soon as she felt it passing through the connection. True to form, within a few moments Twilight and Dr Long appeared in the TACIT unit with a flash of magenta.
“Welcome to Hygiea,” smiled Sunset. “So, do you need to run a survey first as well?”
“Of course,” agreed Dr Long. “Though you're welcome to stay while we do. Care to show me the sites?” she teased.
“Sure!” replied Sunset happily. “Here, below your feet, is your new home Hygiea. And out there,” she waved her hand over the star-filled expanse, “Is your next home, the stars. And that,” she pointed back to the distant sun, “Is where it all started. Any questions?”
“Are you always this big of a smartass?” asked Dr Long with a grin.
“Always!” laughed Twilight, with Sunset nodding and laughing.
“Okay, time to call in the survey team,” grinned Dr Long as she called headquarters from her phone.
In a diner back in Academy City, there was a small disturbance as Kuroko, currently in a wheelchair, teleported directly onto the table of her friends where they were dining, only to shortly leap down onto her friend Mikoto. This resulted in her receiving an electrical discharge that knocked out the diner's power for several minutes, as well as Kuroko.
Not too far away from that excitement, Toma and Index were captivated by the enchanting songs of a local busker, a talented young woman named Arisa. They stayed after the performance to meet the young woman performer, hitting it off with her right away, then invited her to spend the evening with them.
The survey team had arrived and begun their work. Already both Sunset and Twilight were busy crafting tunnels and caverns through the asteroid, sealing and finishing the walls as they built out the base where directed. About an hour and a half later, they had completed the underground portion of the base while the NASA technicians worked on the surface structure.
They received a call from JAXA saying they were ready to begin construction and desired the girls' assistance. With goodbyes to Dr. Long, the girls returned to Pallas and the busy JAXA / Academy City teams. Already much of the area around had already been dug out by psychic workers.
Sunset immediately floated over to the workers. She started reinforcing and finishing the containing walls they had already cleared out. Twilight returned to the JAXA base with several technicians. They were enchanting several large shipping containers they had prepared. This prompted them to shift to their shrunken state. They moved through the TACIT unit then returned to normal as they were offloaded with the base supplies and components for the surface portions of the base.
The other contains followed with the equipment and furnishings for the base and were quickly emplaced by efficient teams of workers. Once the shipping containers were completely offloaded, they were returned through the unit to be loaded up again with supplies and components. The entire operation worked like a well-oiled machine, to Twilight’s satisfaction as she watched the operation unfold.
They both received a text message at the same time from Vlad.
“We’ve been summoned,” snarked Twilight.
“You would think he would at least try to word it a little less harshly,” laughed Sunset.
“Nah, you wouldn’t,” she grinned. “Midnight had to take him on a ride across the solar system before he would even deal with us. He’s just that much of a prick.”
“Ouch!” Sunset grinned. “Coming from you, that’s pretty harsh.”
“One, that’s not from me, that’s verbatim what Midnight called him. And two, he really is that much of one,” replied Twilight.
“He did seem to have zero sense of humour,” agreed Sunset. “So, let’s go help his imperious highness with his little project then.”
Together they teleported to Ceres.
After hitting a few balls in the batting cage, Toma and Index took their new performer friend Arisa out to dinner. After dinner, they ran into four witches who proceeded to attack them.
Protecting their friend Arisa, Index and Toma found themselves facing off in a magic battle against Stiyl, whom they found was the witches mentor.
As their fight took a pause for Toma and Stiyl to yell at each other, Index saw Twilight pop in a bit away from them.
Twilight looked around and saw Toma talking to Stiyl, then Index next to a nice young woman.
Seeing everything was alright she waved happily at Index and her young friend.
Confused, Index waved back as Twilight flashed back away.
“Where’d you go?” asked Sunset when she returned.
“I thought I felt a spike in their biometrics, so I went to check on Toma and Index. They were fine. Just having an evening out. Toma and Stiyl were chatting, and Index was with a new friend. It’s so nice to see them making new friends like that,” answered Twilight.
“Look at you, channelling your dimensional sister!” teased Sunset.’
“Hey, I’m harmonious! And I'm making friends,” commented Twilight.
‘Yes, you are, Sparky. And you’re my friend forever,” agreed Sunset, giving her a side hug.
“Dork! Yes, and you are mine. I mean, my friend forever! Though, yeah, mine too,” Twilight grinned.
Sunset laughed, pulling her BFF in for a hug.
A few hours later, all the bases were in place, with teams from each of the agencies working busily to complete the construction and build-outs.
Twilight and Sunset returned to their apartment for a late dinner and a chance to relax before heading to bed.
At Toma and Index’s apartment, after a rather embarrassing mistake on Toma’s part, while Arisa and Index were excitedly working on the lyrics for her new song immediately after the girls’ bath (but before anything else), Index and Toma asked their new friend Arisa to stay with them. Together they settled down for the night.
Outside their window a grey needle pierced the sky, reaching up from the ground to the heavens above.
Endymion, the space elevator, was completed, and destiny was calling them all to it.