//------------------------------// // 16 - Twilight - The New Player (Part 1) // Story: A Certain Scientific Twilight // by Babroniedad //------------------------------// Wednesday, September 17, late p.m. Tokyo time. Midnight had not gotten very far with her new jewel when the confused response from Academy City came. A fleet of space planes launched from below, burning fuel crazily to come at her on a direct approach. She watched as they rose from the planet using the station's few still working sensors, the elliptic of their course clearly on an intercept with her own. “This ought to be fun,” she sighed. “I wonder what in the seven hells they are thinking.” She left to find a working concession machine while they worked on closing the distance. She was unworried. Even burning fuel like they were, they were clearly not going to be shortcutting the laws of physics. Finding a working machine she selected sweetened green tea then waited while it confected. Taking the tea from the machine when it finished she returned to her console, sipping as she watched them approach. At about twenty miles out they launched what had to be a missile attack on the base, thirty by her count, two from each, closing at several times the rate of the lagging planes. “Are they insane?” wondered Midnight. “No warning, then an overwhelming attack? I assume they are nuclear weapons. They must be either suicidal or extremely clever to be launching nukes in space being that close to the detonations themselves.” As the presumed nukes closed on the base Midnight raised a shield over the main terminus then hardened the rest of Endymion to structurally withstand any reasonable shockwaves from the blast. “Wait. I’m forgetting something,” she thought. “Did all the people make it out? Twilight and Sunset will never forgive me if I allow people to die who aren’t combatants.” She did a quick life signs scan of Endymion and found that indeed not everyone had made it out. There were several pockets of people, probably praying desperately for their lives or making whatever other deals mortals made with their fates and foibles. But, if she wanted to keep in the good graces of the girls, she had to honour her agreement. With a self-satisfied smile, she raised additional shields over the sections she found occupied, then waited for the missiles to do whatever it was they intended them to do. At about three kilometers out the missiles exploded in a wave down the length of Endymion, a killing blow that would render the base into space kindling, blasted out into further orbit by the furious energies of thirty nuclear blasts. Except when the screens cleared, still working thanks to Midnight’s foresight despite the massive EMP pulses that swept all through of this section of space, the base was still there intact. And the lifesigns were still all present and accounted for. Midnight smiled. “My turn!” she called out with a slight cackle. One by one the distant planes were surrounded by a magenta glow then disappeared. In the operations center of Olympus Mons base, the haptics, telemetry and radar operator looked up from his console with concern. “Sir! Sir! I have bogies! Fifteen craft suddenly appeared headed towards the base at ballistic speeds. They are extremely low to the ground sir, they are…” he paused as he stared at his screen, the watch officer moving over to his station to look over his shoulder. “Radar on the main screen!” he called out as they watched. The main operations screen switched to the radar feed showing the fifteen craft on approach. “Give me a cinetheodolite. I want eyes on at least that lead craft! What are we looking at?” called out the officier. A second window opened in the lower portion of the screen showing a grainy object falling through the martian sky. A moment later it cleared, showing a terrestrial space plane falling from the sky, engines unlit, dropping through the thin martian atmosphere at an incredibly steep angle as it glided at high speed towards the landscape below. “Is everyone seeing what I’m seeing?” asked the officer. “Is that a terrestrial space plane making an unpowered landing here on Mars!?” “Sir, I can confirm that is exactly what we are seeing,” agreed his second. “And from the markings, it looks to be JAXA/AC. I can’t for the life of me figure what they are doing here, how they got here, or what in the hello they think they are doing right now. Sir!” He added, realizing his protocol slipup at the last moment. “Me either Mike,” said the officer, watching as the plane dropped down into the Martian landscape suffused with a slight magenta glow. The desert was churned up, a cloud of dust obscuring the broken wreckage of the plane. The cinetheodolite spun, catching the second plane as it augered into the martian landscape. Then the third, forth, down the line until all fifteen planes had crashed into the Martian sands. As they watched the dust settle on the first plane’s crash, through the sandy curtain they saw something incredible. The plane was intact, covered with sand in places but completely whole. One by one the other clouds cleared revealing all fifteen planes intact, if completely inoperational. “Hail them!” called out the operations officer. “Been trying sir, since they first appeared,” called out communications. “They are not responding. In fact, sir, I am getting null readings from all of them. It’s like they are completely electronically and radio inert.” “Sir, incoming communications to you from the TACIT network,” called out the TACIT officier. “Who is it?” asked the watch officer, not taking his incredulous eyes off the screen. “She just said, ‘Hello neighbors? Anyone home?’” replied the TACIT officer. “Put her through,” requested the watch officer. There was a clunk and static, then a girl's voice came on. “Sorry! That was me. Just switched over to my headset and nearly dropped the phone. So, unh, hi! I just sent you over a few guests. Well, less than willing guests. They were an attack fleet against the Endymion station, which is currently housing several non-combatants whom they had no business trying to blow up. “Oh, right. Hi! I’m Midnight… uhm.. I mean I’m Twilight Sparkle, your neighbor. Can you please go rescue the idiots I just sent your way? I’m sure they’re all fine but confused. They may be a bit combative as well, so make sure you speak to them in Japanese, and assure them you are there at the request of the goddesses, and that they and you are now under our protection, and we will not tolerate any further, uh… Hostilities. “That should do it. And if they do give you any grief feel free to leave them to the Martian sands and I will personally deal with them shortly. Thanks!” The connection was cut as the line went dead. “Oooookay! That’s got to be the craziest thing that has ever happened in my career. And I’m standing in a base on Mars,” commented the watch officer. His second nodded in surprised assent. “You heard our neighbour. Put together some armed teams. Let’s go rescue our guests,” he commanded. “Well, that’s sorted,” said Midnight as she put Twilight’s phone back in her daypack. “I guess I should go sort out all our surprise guests. The one’s here first though. The ones on Mars are jerks and I don’t care if they have to wait awhile.” She stopped by the vending machine to get another tea, replacing the one she had finished. Tea in hand, she headed off towards the first of the life signs her scan had found. Coming to the first room full of life signs Midnight stopped, finishing off her tea then placing the cup in a nearby trash receptacle. Stepping up to the door of the room, she straightened up, folded her wings in, then smiled as she keyed open the door before her. “Kon'nichiwa! Minasama ikaga osugoshideshou ka?” she called out happily as she stepped into the room. “Who are you?” asked one of the men in Japanese, holding tightly to a trembling woman. “I’m Midn… Twilight Sparkle, and I’ve come to take you to safety,” she answered almost flawlessly. “If you would all please come with me, we can gather your fellow compatriots in misfortune then get you all settled.” She stepped back to the door, waving them along to follow. “No need to be worried, we are completely safe and no longer in any danger of crashing to the ground. You are all completely safe and free from any danger. Come along!” she instructed. She stepped out the door, spying the row of vending machines. “I imagine you may be thirsty or hungry, or need to use the restrooms. Feel free to use the machines here and any facilities you need before we head out. “We’re not in a rush, much. Just some other poor souls like yourself who need gathering. So go ahead!” she encouraged, pointing at the machines and the public toilets nearby. Instructions given, she was walking back to the tea machine when she noticed a young girl desperately waving her hand at the end of the line. “Yes, little one. What do you need?” Midnight asked. “Uh… I can’t get anything to eat or drink. When all the stuff started falling my friends and I kind of freaked out, and… well… I dropped my purse. I have no credits, Id or anything,” the young girl explained. “Anyone else need credits?” asked Midnight, still smiling as she looked up and down the line. A few others bashfully raised their hands. “Come with me then. Anyone who wants can come with me and I will buy whatever treat or drink they choose, my treat. Come along!” She took the hand of the girl who had asked the question, surprising the girl at first. Then she shrugged and smiled back at the eccentric goddess. “You’re a bit wacky, but kinda cool,” she smiled over at Midnight. “Uh, thanks? I think?” Midnight smiled. “Okay, here we are. I’m getting another green tea myself. Anyone else?” The girl and the others made their selections. Midnight waved her Id over the unit's readers, her credits more than sufficient for whatever purchases were made. Looking back at the line of people waiting for her help she noticed that now nearly everyone was in the line. “Wow, looks like I found a woefully underprepared group,” she mused under her breath as she cheerfully continued to scan her Id over everyone’s selections. A few minutes later, everyone’s arms and satchels full and drinks in hand, the bladders that needed it now emptied, they continued their march to the next set of misplaced souls. The base extraction team, their sidearms unlocked and ready but left holstered for the moment, came up to the first of the space planes. As radio communications continued to be inert from the plane they were making contact the old fashioned way. The group leader knocked politely on the crew access door, calling out loudly in Japanese. “Hi neighbors! We saw you fall from the sky, and were sent by the goddesses who brought you here to save you from dying out in the desert. We don’t want any trouble, and we certainly don’t intend any trouble for you. But we would be extremely grateful if you would come with us so we could save your lives,” he called out. There were the sounds of shuffling, then muted arguing with a few louder swear words thrown in. A few moments later a voice called out from behind the door. “Are you the ones that brought us here? Are you the ones that stole Endymion station?” he called out. “What? What happened to Endymion? What are you talking about?” asked the team leader. “You don’t know? Where have you been!? Everyone on the planet knows what the fuck happened to Endymion by now! It was attacked and partially destroyed, then released to low orbit so it didn’t crash and destroy all of Tokyo and Academy City!” he yelled through the door in frustration. “Well, we didn’t hear about it here. We’re not on Earth. This is Mars, and we’re from Olympus Mons station. We watched your birds auger into the Martian landscape then by the grace of the goddesses emerge intact. The goddess called us and requested we come out to help you,” he answered. There was a sound, then the hatch opened with a JAXA pilot peering out warily at them gun in hand. Seeing them standing there with their guns still holstered and all wearing NASA suits, he opened the door the rest of the way, putting his gun away. “So the suits convinced you?” asked the team lead with a smile. “If they didn't, that certainly did,” said the pilot, pointing over their shoulders to the Martian desert. Olympus Mons rose majestically behind them. Laughing, he called out to the rest of his crew who joined their rescuers on the Martian sands. “Well, no time like the present,” smirked the team leader. “Let’s go get the rest of your posse then head back to base so we can get out of these suits and share some stories over a few beers. I can’t wait to hear yours,” he laughed. “I bet!” said the pilot jovially as he and his team followed them to the next of the downed space planes. Midnight’s little collection of displaced souls had grown to over thirty, and surprisingly not even one of them had apparently brought any credits with them. Unphased, Midnight purchased the snacks they desired, the happy souls stuffing their bags full of crisps, chips and other vending machine wares as they marched from room to room collecting Midnight’s displaced souls. She said it again to herself, liking the way it rolled off her tongue. Displaced souls. It sounded almost poetic. Maybe she would try her hand at that too when she took a break from her studies of magic. Just for a brief change as she clearly had a knack for it. Displaced souls. She smiled at the phrase. The last of the space plane crews gathered, the ensemble headed back to the Olympus Mons base. The latter crews were markedly easier to convince as they were spoken to by their compatriots who assured them everything was fine and on the up and up. They didn’t have to walk the entire distance back, as the base crew had commandeered several of the larger transports. Though there were too many of them to all ride in the transports, they took a page from the goddesses' trip. Using the lower Martian gravity to jump and pull themselves up to the top of the rovers, those that didn’t have seats inside took seats with their friends on the tops of their rides. Everyone settled, they returned to the base, the external JAXA personnel and NASA crew going through the airlock first, then the rovers with their occupants took their turns. Everyone doffed their suites, storing them on the provided racks, then as a horde descended on the base refectory. Ordering up meals and beers they took several tables and pushed them all together so they could sit and talk as a group. Beers cracked and meals started, they laughed and shared their stories. In the Lair, Sunset stirred, pushing herself upright in the bed. Looking around she saw she was in the triage room of their lair with the TitanFall staff tending to wounded all around her. Looking around for her wheelchair and seeing no signs of it, she groaned. Stretching out she cracked her back, then angeled up, rising up next to her cot. One of the nurses a few beds over looked up from her work. “Feeling better, Ms Shimmer?” she asked pleasantly. “Better than I was when I came in here. What happened?” she asked, levitating over to the bed by the nurse. “Your partner, your fellow goddess Ms Sparkle, brought you in and asked us to tend to you. You were cut and scrapped up fairly badly, and mildly concussed and confused. She left to take care of her other responsibilities while we cleaned you up, got you hydrated, then let you rest. I must say it’s good to see you back to your normal self,” the nurse smiled. “It’s nice to be back to my normal self,” grinned Sunset. “So, did my other half give any hints as to where she was headed?” “She was muttering something about Endymion,” recalled the nurse. “Thanks!” replied Sunset. With a grin, she flashed out with a pop of teal magic. And appeared next to her BFF. Or more correctly her alternate self, as she could clearly see she was still Midnight, and now shepherding a flock of snack-laden followers. “So, did you come across a herd of migratory snack gatherers wandering the abandoned station?” snarked Sunset. “Though actually, what are they all doing here? I thought the station was evacuated when they decided to cut the connection with Academy City and Earth?” “Apparently they didn’t all make it off the station. These are the ones I found when I scanned for life signs. We are headed back to the terminus where I will contact Academy City and arrange for them to be returned,” explained Midnight smugly. “And they just happened to be migrating back to the terminus with enough snacks to feed each of them for days?” asked Sunset in some confusion. “They did not have any food or drink when I found them, and they all apparently lost their credits during the events,” Midnight informed her. “And they told you that?” asked Sunset. “They revealed that fact to me after I stated I would pay for anyone who had lost their credits. One of the younger girls had lost her purse and id in her flight to safety, so it seemed only fair to offer the same to any others who needed the help,” answered Midnight. Sunset buried her face in her hand. Shaking, she threw back her head as she let out a belly laugh that echoed through the hallway they were in. “Of course they did! Oh sweet maker, of course they did!” she roared, laughing so hard she nearly turned pink. “Am I missing some joke or humorous situation?” asked Midnight guardedly. “No! Not a bit. You are perfect just as you are, you are not missing anything,” promised Sunset as she caught her breath. Putting an arm around her companion goddess she smiled. “No, all you are doing is once again reaffirming my faith in fundamental human nature. You rock! You did great. Thank you for taking such good care of this little horde of hoarders.” “Horde of hoarders?” asked Midnight, looking back at her little band. They all looked sheepishly back at them as they followed the goddesses’ discussion. Midnight scowled. “Thieves,” she hissed under her breath. “Nope! No, not at all. Just humans. Opportunists. They had a chance to get something they wanted and at no cost to them. Something you and I can relate to, right?” smiled Sunset. Midnight frowned but nodded. “That is true. I cannot really fault them for something I myself have done. Well said,” she acknowledged. “See! No blood, no foul. It’s all fine. And you were awesome. Well done, Midnight,” Sunset smiled. Midnight smiled back. “Thank you Sunset. I am happy to hear that.” She turned scowling at the group behind them who once again shrank back in concern. “And you, you are all... Stinkers. Yes, you’re all stinkers. You took advantage.” She stopped then smiled. “That said, enjoy your snacks. We’ll be back to the terminus shortly where we can arrange for all of your safe returns. Follow me!” She turned and resumed leading them towards the Terminus station, where the larger elevators used to stop letting off guests. Once everyone was settled with their hordes of snacks and drinks, Sunset contacted NASA’s Mons Olympus base to find the fate of the luckless crews of the missing space planes. “There were no issues retrieving them,” laughed the base commander. “Apparently they took one look at the landscape, saw Olympus Mons in the background and had no problems believing they had somehow landed on Mars. Though they said they had no idea what the team that fetched them were on about with Goddesses and that. They’d never heard of you and had no idea what they were talking about.” “That makes sense. I mean seriously, if we weren’t neighbors would you know?” she laughed. “Nope. We’d still think you were two brilliant up-and-coming scientists who made a really profound breakthrough. If I hadn’t seen the two of you in action, I would likely never have believed a word of it if anyone told me,” he admitted. “And that’s good, because our identities are supposed to be a secret,” she hissed at Midnight, who shrugged, “so I’m very glad it’s hard to believe. And glad to hear there were no issues and everyone is alright. Hey, a favour to ask… If we brought thirty-six strays to you, do you think you could help them get back to their homes? You have the addressable TACIT units, so if you coordinate with JAXA you should be able to return our little lost sheep back to their homes.” “Sure, but wouldn’t that be better coming from you?” the commander asked. “Not really,” said Sunset. “I don’t want any blowback. We’re still students in their Academy City, and I’d like to keep it that way for as long as we can. So if you can arrange things that would be wonderful.” “Sure, we’ll clear one of the large meeting rooms out for them to hang in while we set things up. When do you want to bring them over,” he asked. “Soon. We just need a few minutes to sort some things out here then I can start bringing them over. I can come over alone first so you can show me the room then I can teleport them straight there. You can have whomever you want to liaison with them present so you can get them spun up to speed. Oh, they’re almost all Japanese, so you probably need someone fluent in that,” Sunset added. “We can cover that,” he acknowledged. “Come on over when you’re ready. Just present yourself to the TACIT watch officer. She can introduce you to whoever is needed and make sure you find the room. I’ll call her now and let her know you’re on your way.” “Thanks! I’ll be there in a bit. We appreciate the help,” she stated, hanging up. “What was that?” asked Midnight, looking over telemetry data making certain they were still on course. “I just called the NASA base on Mars. They can take our guests and help them back home, so I’m going to pop over and set that up, then ferry our guests over so they can head back home,” answered Sunset. “Good, and when you get back, you can help peel our dear friend off the wall. She really didn’t deal well with the intense pain of being injured in battle, so I’ve had to keep her in a very deep dreamless sleep. It would be extremely helpful if you could be with her when we wake her and help her face what she experienced,” suggested Midnight. “Of course,” agreed Sunset. “I’ll get them settled and be right back. Thank you Midnight.” “It’s my pleasure. I must admit, I am almost enjoying this helping and friendship. There is much to learn of use there, it seems,” Midnight noted. “There is indeed,” agreed Sunset. “Okay, back in a bit to get our guests.” She popped away in a flash of teal. She appeared by the TACIT transceiver in the NASA Olympus Mons base. The watch officer looked up. “Hello Ms. Shimmer, welcome back to Olympus Mons base. How can I help you?” she asked. “I’m here to coordinate getting the thirty-six people stranded on Endymion back home. The commander said you would have a room they can stay in while that gets settled and a liaison fluent in Japanese who could work with them? I just need to see the room so I can start bringing them over and introduce them to the liaison,” replied Sunset. “One moment, I’ll tell the liaison you are here. They can show you the room and help you get started,” she replied. She tapped her earpiece. “Miss Shimmer is here, and she is ready for you. Yes, she is waiting with me now. Okay, thanks.” She turned to Sunset. “She’ll be right out.” “Thank you,” answered Sunset. A young Asian woman skipped out of the hallway and up to them, bowing then holding out her hand. “Hi! My name is Anne! You’re Miss Shimmer, yes?” “Hi, Anne! Yes, that’s me,” smiled Sunset, shaking the young girl's hand. Holding tightly to Sunset’s hand, the young girl skipped back into the hall, Sunset grinning in tow. “So, Anne, you seem rather enthusiastic. Have you been here long?” Sunset asked as she trailed along behind the girl like a balloon. “Yup!” Anne answered, finally stopping before one of the rooms. “Here we are!” She opened the doors and entered, pulling Sunset along behind her. “Here is the room you asked for,” Anne smiled. “And I speak fluent Japanese, I grew up there. So where are the guests?” “Okay,” smiled Sunset. “I’ll go get them. You’ll need to keep an eye on this group. They raided all the concession machines on Endymion they could find. I wouldn’t want them to pick you clean too,” she warned. “I’m sure they’ll be fine,” giggled Anne, bouncing on her toes as she laughed. “Well, alright then!” Sunset agreed. “I’ll be right back with them and you can make your introductions. Back in a bit!” She teleported back out with a teal flash. “Wow,” said Sunset when she returned. “I think I’ve just met the Japanese Pinkie Pie. Says her name is Anne. I wonder if that’s short for Dianne,” she laughed. “Interesting,” smiled Midnight. “Okay, hurry back so we can take care of our mutual friend.” “Will do,” nodded Sunset, heading off to gather her flock. Several minutes later, flock gathered and placed under the care of their bubbly and enthusiastic charge, Sunset returned. “Okay, let’s do this,” she said as she popped back in next to Midnight. “Okay. Give me a moment, I will wake her and explain what is going on, then bring her out.” Midnight’s eyes rolled back, and a few moments later she dropped to the floor and curled up into a ball, weeping. Sunset rushed over, pulling her girlfriend into her embrace. “Twilight! Twilight, I’m here. It’s okay. You’re alright. Everything is alright,” she soothed. “I’ve never been hated like that before,” sobbed Twilight. “Even when everyone was tormenting me at Crystal Prep, no one hated me so completely as that.” “Yeah, it’s a lot to take in. It’s called Killing Intent. The first time it hits you it can be a lot to take. Deep breaths, Twi. I love you. Midnight is there for you. I am there for you. You’re okay. No one is killing you. You’re safe,” she comforted. Twilight continued to cry into her girlfriend's shoulder. “Twi, trust us. Trust me and trust Midnight. There is no way we will let anyone ever kill you. They may hurt you. They may cause you incredible pain. But it will pass. Midnight will protect you. And wherever I am I will come running. “I love you, Twilight Sparkle. You are my shield, and I am your sword. We protect each other, we complete each other. We are a matched set, stronger together than we ever could be apart. And I will be with you forever on both sides of eternity. “Twilight, I will never leave you. There may be times when I am absent, when I am not by your side. But I am in your heart, and you are in mine. And you know, no matter what, I am only a thought away.” Sunset comforted. Twilight looked up in sadness. “You left Midnight. She was so frightened and angry. We almost died! She almost failed and we almost died. And you weren’t there,” Twilight accused through her sobs. “I did leave Midnight, but I came right back. I saved Yona. She was about to be killed. But I didn’t leave you to die, and I didn’t leave you for long. I knew Midnight would survive. I knew she would be able to do what she had to, that she would protect you both and still be there when I returned. “Yes, it was awful. She was overmatched. She was being beaten down. If I had left her alone you would have died. But I didn’t. And I never will. I will always return to your side, and always in time to save you if you need it. I will never lose you, Twilight Sparkle. I will never leave you and not return. I love you, and that is forever. “I’m sorry you had to experience that hate, that level of malice. It’s called Killing Intent for a reason. It’s the pure unbridled hatred from someone who wants nothing more than your complete and total destruction, your death at their hands, no mercy, no care, no compassion. Cold, without remorse, ruthless, almost clinical, detached satisfaction at your agony and suffering, and eventual passing from this plane. “It’s the most soul-crushing feeling anyone can ever experience, to be so completely cancelled as a person, as a being with worth, by someone’s killing intent. It’s the most intense hatred anyone can or will ever experience this side of hell. “And you survived it. Know why? Because you always will. You know in your heart there are those who want you to live, who would do anything to keep you living, to keep you safe. Yourself and Midnight. Me. And many others too. I am sure both sets of our friends would agree as well and happily count themselves in that group. Twilight Sparkle, you are loved. “So take heart, my love. Know that you cannot be beaten. You don’t stand alone. You will never have to. And you stand strong. “And I will always love you.” As Sunset held Twilight her breathing evened out, her tears drying. She wiped her eyes, looking up into her BFFs teal orbs. “I love you too, Sunset Shimmer. I will always love you.” She smiled. Sunset leaned forward, gently kissing her best friend’s cheek. “Forever, Sparky,” she promised. Twilight smiled in joy, holding her tightly.