//------------------------------// // Welcome to the Saints // Story: Saints and Sparkles // by Etriax //------------------------------// Twilight let out a soft groan as consciousness returned to her at last, feeling first the slightly comfortable place she was lying. It was a welcome change to the awkward position she had been in in that armor suit or the... tube she had been imprisoned in. It itself was warm, and while it wasn't much, it felt like the highest luxury to the unicorn. Then her stomach reminded her of its empty, empty existence, growling loudly at her and forcing her to open her eyes. "... Urghhhh..." she emitted weakly, opening her big violet eyes halfway and taking in the initial blurry image. She could see a lot of grey, and the area she was in was dimly lit, but her view of the seemingly large room was cut off by two figures. She could hear them speaking. "Fuck, those eyes are big," said one, sounding male with a sort of accent that Twilight could swear she had heard before, but couldn't remember. "You think she sees more than us?" "You realize that she is waking up?" another said, his voice sounding vaguely masculine, but with a sort of tinge that she had definitely never heard before. "Yeah. Hey, girl. You feelin' alright?" the first asked as her vision started to improve. She opened her eyes to see two forms in front of her. The first belonged to another biped, this one with dark brown skin and a much flatter chest. He (she assumed) also wore the same grey jumpsuit that the President had worn while rescuing her, as well as a grey fedora. The other was an odd spherical thing that hovered off the ground, a small circle of blue light directed at her resting in its middle. It seemed to "blink" every now and then, so she assumed it to be an eye. "... Unghhh... O-Okay, I guess..." she uttered softly, noting a bit of movement in the background and spotting that huge armor suit in the background. A third figure was doing something around its left leg; perhaps it was being repaired. "Good," the first one said, turning away briefly before placing a bowl of something near her head, along with a bottle of water. "The Boss says you gotta eat." The unicorn didn't need to be told twice, lifting her head and shifting her body slowly to lie upright on the marginally soft surface and to look at the meal she had been offered. In the bowl appeared to be some kind of gruel, a clean spoon resting atop the seemingly solid food. Despite her reservations towards doing such, she listened to her stomach and channeled a tiny amount of magic to take hold of the spoon. "What the hell?!" the first biped yelled, backing up with wide eyes and an expression that seemed very much surprised. She didn't think she was wrong, but with such small eyes, it was difficult to tell. "What the hell is that?!" he then continued, pointing at her magic enveloped spoon with a finger. Twilight did not immediately answer, shaking her head as she dug the spoon into the gruel and brought it to her mouth. True to her own suspicions, it was all but flavorless. She wished for some sugar or fruit to help with that, but her pessimisim told her that there would be no such thing for her here. So she swallowed it down regardless, grimacing slightly at the taste as she floated the bottle to her lips to drink. At least the water tasted fine. Once she finished drinking, she turned her attention to the surprised male, giving him a raised eyebrow. "It's... just my magic... see?" she uttered softly, taking the spoon again and lifting it higher so he could see it spinning in midair. This did little for him, it seemed, but he came back over to her and crouched again near the sofa. She shoveled another spoonful of the thick, tasteless, veritable paste into her mouth and took another drink before speaking again. "Who are you?" she queried, tilting her head slightly as she watched the biped male poke her spoon a few times. She would have added more to that question, but she got her answer first. The first male gave his head a gentle upwards jerk, recognizing it as a sort of greeting that some foals used. "I'm Pierce," he replied as he continued to poke, prod, and examine anything Twilight picked up in her magic. The bookworm then turned her gaze to the other creature/object and watched it blink once. "You may call me CID. It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Ms. Sparkle," it said, its voice somehow managing to convey sincerity while lacking any emotion. Twilight began scraping the bowl with her spoon to dig out a few more mouthfuls of her bland meal before finishing it, washing it down with a long swig of her water. She smiled slightly at the two in front of her and set the water down on a nearby table, alongside an odd, rectangular object that glowed a soft, cold blue. Then she began pushing up with her front hooves, bringing herself to sit on her haunches on that couch. "Thank you... I needed that," she offered with a slightly larger smile. "Ah, don't worry 'bout it," the one called Pierce replied with a chuckle. Twilight was silent for a few awkward seconds before she finally spoke again. "Ermm... where is the bathroom?" she then queried, shuffling forward towards the edge of the couch and beginning to try to lower herself off of such. Her hooves met the cold, metal floor and made her shiver slightly; now that she thought about it, the air was actually rather cold. Not freezing, but enough to be uncomfortable. Pierce raised an eyebrow, but then pointed at a set of stairs on her right, at the other end of the room. "Up that way, through the door, and then the one on your right." The purple unicorn nodded her thanks as she finally got on all fours. Despite the very clear protests her body was making about this decision, the protests of her bladder won out and forced her onward. As she hobbled over towards the staircase, she got a closer look at the one working on the President's armor suit. The biped in question also wore one of those same grey jumpsuits, but the suit's collar was popped and hid most its neck, and its arms were decorated with... something that looked like it was covered with buttons, although she couldn't be sure. Its hair was black and long, and it had something attached to its ear. She noted this as she reached the stairs and climbed them as swiftly as her weak legs would let her, taking a quick right and then a quick left to approach a large metal door. Before she could even begin to look for a knob or a latch, however, it opened on its own. Electing to examine the door later, she took another right into the restroom. Now she had just one more obstacle: the strangest looking toilet in existence. --- Twilight left the room feeling weaker than she had before. As it turned out, she had to prop herself up on the damned thing AND use a bit of magic to support herself. It was far from comfortable. And now Twilight wanted nothing more than to collapse. She wouldn't have minded collapsing right there on the floor, but before she could decide between doing so and returning to the couch, she heard the door to her immediate right open, showing a large, circular room. In the center was a series of odd looking... machines (she assumed they were, anyways), and in a circle around this cluster of unknown technology were a series of... things... She compared them to what a dentist's chair might look like if it were completely flattened, had metallic... things attached to the sides, and were made for non-ponies. One of them was being used, and as she took a shaky step towards that room, she realized that none other than the President of the United States was its user. The device was glowing a soft blue and the things on the sides were closed in on her without appearing to restrain her. The President's eyes were closed. Was this how these creatures slept, she had to wonder. Twilight tried to take a few more steps into the room, but found herself unable to get herself to move. Her limbs now very, very fiercely opposed any more movement, objecting with fatigue and soreness out the butt. She panted softly and did her best to slowly lower herself to the floor, lying on all fours in the middle of that small hallway while her presence kept the automatic door wedged open. A shiver shook her body and she looked around her grey, dim surroundings... And that's all there was, nothing but grey, dark oppressiveness. Never mind the slight chill. She almost began to miss the tube; at least the slime had kept her warm. ... Come to think of it, her coat was completely dry now. Somepony had gone to the trouble of cleaning her off, though now that she thought about it, her mane and tail were still in total disarray. Messy purple bangs hung in her face, and she now wished for a mirror and a brush to at least make herself look decent. Twilight thought of Rarity, and how she would react to her appearance. "Oh, darling! What in the world happened to your mane?! Come! Come! Rarity will fix it!" Twilight found herself smiling softly as she pictured the fashionista's reaction, though the smile faded quickly. She hoped dearly that Rarity was okay- The mare grit her teeth as her pupils became pinpricks, breath catching in her throat. Her friends! She had completely forgotten! They could still be on Zinyak's ship for all she knew, but she had never even thought to mention it to her savior. Tears came to her eyes once again, threatening to escape as she bowed her head and hid her visage in her front forelegs. How could I have been so stupid, she scolded herself, cursing her legs for needing their damn rest and her memory for the obvious. "... I'm... I'm so fucking stupid..." she quietly berated herself, not bothering to check or correct her language. For better or worse, however, she was startled out of her wits by the sound of a door opening behind her, and judging by the sound the one responsible made, the same went for him. She turned her head and lifted it to see the being that had been working on the President's armor previously standing in the doorway with wide eyes and an... interesting look to him. Namely in the makeup he wore. Twilight had seen some stallions in Canterlot with a similar look, but she had to question why he would have bruises on his cheeks. She briefly wondered if those bruises were makeup or real. "... I'm sorry... you scared me is all..." he apologized, turning away and seemingly taking a moment to regain his composure before turning around again. He approached the mare and knelt down, offering her a hand while also wearing a very nervous smile. His face seemed slightly wet now, and he wasn't crying. "I'm Matt M-Miller. I helped break you out." Twilight looked down at his offered, gloved hand briefly before raising a hoof to take it and slowly get back on all fours again. She sniveled softly and looked up at him, looking around briefly before staring at the floor. "Can you help me get back, Matt Miller?" she said softly, though she did take notice of one thing rather quickly, if selfishly. This Matt Miller character seemed completely uninterested in the emotional state she was obviously in... Not a good first impression, she mused before willing such unkind thoughts away. "Er... how about in here?" he replied, gesturing towards the one door that she hadn't seen into. When it opened... well, the lighting of the room sent up red flags almost instantly, never mind the sketchy music and the whip lying on the mattress within. "... No, back down to the couch, please," she replied rather hastily, catching the disappointed look on the creature's face and concluding that she chose wisely. The one called Matt complied, and slowly helped the unicorn return to her spot on the couch. She immediately noticed that Pierce and CID were no longer there, and as soon as she was on the couch, Mr. Miller left as well. Twilight was alone again. All alone with her thoughts. It wasn't long at all before her previous train of thought returned to her. --- The Boss sighed satisfactorily as she crushed a golden CID under a mean right punch, the veritable army of Zin that had been pursuing her immediately vanishing behind her. She loved doing that. Something about chasing down those little golden balls, listening to their hard to understand quips, and then breaking the fuck out of them was just so unbelievably satisfying. "150 points to the Saints~" she said to herself as she leaped high into the air. And as she did, she heard that familiar three tone "someone's about to talk to you" noise. She idly made a note to name that sound later. "Twilight's awake, Boss," came Pierce's voice over the audio system, eliciting a slight grin from the gliding Saint. "Good! How is she?" "She has super powers, Boss! Real super powers!" her Communications Director then continued. "It's freaky as shit!" "Oookay. How is she feeling?" "... Oh... uh... fine, I guess. She ate and went up to go," the male replied after a brief pause. "You comin' back, then?" The woman hit the side of a tower and jumped off of it in the opposite direction, gliding towards a nearby gateway. "Yep." "Be careful 'round her, Boss." Pierce's attitude about the little unicorn really... really rubbed the leader of the Saints the wrong way, making her frown and grit her teeth. "Oh, push your balls back outta your snatch, Pierce. She's not gonna to try to probe you." There was no reply, and the Boss just grumbled to herself softly over it as she dashed to the Simulation gateway and began the short process of leaving the Simulation. --- The President of the United States looked around the cargo bay as she entered through the upper door, seeing nobody else in the room. She could hear soft whimpering, however, and she stayed still for several seconds to just listen to the sound. It must be Twilight, she hypothesized as she walked to the catwalk railing and vaulted over it with a soft grunt, followed by a louder one as she landed on the floor below. A sharp gasp was the pony's reaction to her rapid descent, turning around to see the mare in question. She looked... better... She was dry now, and though her violet eyes were bloodshot, her face appeared to be dry from where she stood. Her mane and tail were still a mess, but that didn't surprise the Boss at all. Truthfully, the President was surprised that her own hair was holding up as well as it was without the meticulous care she gave it each morning back on Earth. Surprise, surprise, there were no brushes or hair care products on the ship. The Boss started approaching the couch perched mare with a smile, seeing a slight smile appearing on the unicorn's muzzle. "Hey, Twilight. How're ya doing?" she opened, crouching next to the sofa as Twilight wiped her eyes with one of her front legs. Not once did the Boss question how this little equine was so flexible. "I'm... doing okay..." she started, the incoming "but" very obvious in her tone. "But I really need to ask you something... well, some things..." Normally, she would have declined the offer and went on her way, but she found herself shrugging and nodding anyways. "Sure, why not." Twilight's faint smile grew a little bigger, then faded completely as she looked at her hooves. She seemed to agonize over something for a while, making the woman rather impatient. Before she could urge Twilight on, though, the purple pony opened her mouth to speak. "I need to know... Did you see anypony else when you were coming to get me before...?" came that query at last, making the Boss raise an eyebrow. The unicorn immediately looked a hundred times more nervous as she continued. "I'm worried about my friends... Do you know if... Zinyak has them?" "Well, that's more a question for Kinzie," the President uttered softly, deflecting the question out of sheer ignorance. "She and Matt are the hackers, not me." Twilight's expression fell a little, looking disappointed. The Boss immediately moved to cover her ass. "I'll have her talk to you later. I think she wants to meet you anyways." This sentence was only a half truth. That last bit was a guess, but that seemed to satisfy the purple unicorn somewhat. "Oh... thank you. You never told me your name," the violet one then emitted, getting the Boss to chuckle. "National secret. Sorry." Twilight raised an eyebrow this time, and the human quickly cut in before the next obvious question could be asked. "'Why' is also a national secret. You can call me Boss if you want." Her lips curved into a bravado ridden smirk and she reached forward to gently pat the weak pony's nape a few times. Twilight briefly wondered if she should press the issue, but chose not to, instead asking a more mundane question. After a heavy sigh, of course. "... What are you?" "A human." "Oh. And what about... 'CID', was it?" "He's an AI or something. I dunno; ask Kinzie." The Boss noted Twilight's expression of disappointment over that answer, but she obviously blazed right on by it instead of pressing further. The leader of the Saints did think of a question to ask of her own, but Twilight spoke up again first. "I... I noticed that when CID introduced himself, he-" "-Was being a pervert? Yeah, just turn him down if he asks you out." Twilight stared at the Boss like she had just told a really bad joke, but continued anyways. "... When he introduced himself, he said it was a pleasure to finally meet me... Do you know how long Zinyak had me?" The Boss briefly wondered about answering that question, but shrugged her shoulders and did so anyways. "I think he said you were his prisoner for... a year or so. A little longer, I think." Twilight's face became saddened almost immediately, staring down at her hooves as she thought about that answer. Her huge purple eyes began to water a little and her own heart began to melt yet again. The President moved onto the couch next to the mare and uttered a rather awkward "Don't mind me" as she sat down beside her. Her right hand moved over the crying pony's head and placed itself on her head, lightly scratching her ears. It was a move that seemed to work wonders for poor Twilight's mood. Her ears perked right up as she scratched, and she began gently moving her head against the Boss' attention. The Boss' smirk disappeared and was replaced with a wistful ghost of a smile as she thought of better times and of home. A soft sigh escaped her lips before she could stop it, and Twilight seemed to notice. --- The first thing she really thought when the "human" began scratching her ears was about how nice it felt. She didn't stop thinking of home, but it was a comforting thing. Tiny, but to her, it meant the world. She heard the Boss sighing and looked back to see that longing expression of hers, and offered the best sympathetic smile she could. "Ummm... You can ask me some questions if you want," the unicorn offered, sniveling before tilting her head to the left; the human had found a sweet spot around her right ear and it felt fantastic. The biped noted her offer and paused only a second before posing a question. "Where are you from?" she asked, using her free hand to brush a few strands of hair from her face. Twilight had to wonder about the President's choice briefly, but gave a quick answer. "Ponyville... In Equestria." "I meant the planet." Planet? Why would she need to know the planet? "Equus... Why?" she asked, though as she did so, something occured to her... "Oh, just curious..." the human answered, her fingers beginning to wander up into the mare's mane to rake through it ponderously. "Pierce was freaking out about something earlier. He said you had superpowers... Did he mean that shield thing you made earlier?" "... Oh, my magic?" Twilight replied softly, seeing the President raise an eyebrow in response. "I was just holding my spoon with my magic and... well, he freaked out, yes." "... Magic?" "Yeah," she uttered in reply, wondering about how the Boss was answering. "You act like you've never heard of it before." "I thought you were doing some... some... alien thing. I don't fuckin' know." "... Oh." So she hadn't. The unicorn added that to the "ask later" list. And as she did, another question popped into her head. An important question. One that needed to be asked right away. "I know it's your turn for questions, but I just thought of something... when... when do I get to go home?" The Boss answered casually and without a single second of hesitation. "You don't." --- The Boss felt Twilight tense up immensely as she gave that answer, but kept talking anyways. "I saved your ass, so you work for me now. When w-" "Wh-What...?" she heard Twilight utter in a hushed, breathless tone. "Yeah. Welcome to the Saints." She followed this statement with a gentle, dual pat on the head. Twilight remained silent for several seconds after she said this, prompting the President to stop scritching and retract her hand. "NO!" came a sudden cry from the unicorn, her voice sounding much louder as her horn flared up with brilliant purple light. The unicorn leaped off of the sofa and spun around to face the Boss, her wrathful glare fixed right on the human's visage. Before she could even try to react or respond, that same purple glow surrounded her, lifting her quite forcefully off of the couch and pinning her to the underside of the catwalk above. "Ghahhhk!!" she cried, though she could do no more as she felt a pressure closing in on her neck. "I NEED TO GO HOME! TAKE ME BACK TO EQUUS! NOW!!" Twilight screamed while magically choking out the leader of the Third Street Saints. "Ca-!" A gasp. "C-" Another gasp. "C-Can't! Can't!" the Boss yelled as loud as she could, bringing her hands to her neck to try to pry whatever invisible hands there were that so eagerly crushed her windpipe. "DO IT! NOW!" the previously nervous unicorn shrieked as the force pinning her to the catwalk intensified. She could feel the grating cutting the skin on her legs and biceps. The woman began to flail as she tried to nod, but the force and the magical chokehold were preventing her from agreeing. As much as she wanted to defy Twilight, she was currently being held against the ceiling and being choked to death with magic. What option did she have? Well, as she looked down, she saw her salvation. Before Twilight could stop it, Johnny Gat had entered the room from the left, seen the murder-in-progress, and subsequently hurled a nearby box at the mare. It worked, striking the purple pony in the head and breaking her hold on the Boss. The President fell back to the couch beneath her and coughed harshly, holding her throat as she took deep breaths greedily. She could hear her best friend holding the unicorn down and delivering punch after punch to her. She rose to her feet, knowing what was about to happen. "Johnny..." came her wheezed plea, getting the sunglasses wearing badass to pause mid swing and to dismount the unicorn. Twilight looked dazed, her muzzle bruised and her nose bleeding. She seemed disoriented and weak, but still aware and undoubtedly still conscious. Perfect. Still gasping for breath, the Boss stood over the equine for a second, staring down at her with murderous intent. "Little shit!" she shouted as loudly as she could, punctuating the curse with as fierce of a kick to the ribs as she could manage. Twilight cried out pathetically in pain, tears welling up in her eyes. "You stupid bitch! We CAN'T take you home! Not yet! Zinyak dies first!" the Boss then continued, lifting her right foot and then stomping hard on the unicorn mare's barrel. "Uaghhhhhh!!" "So you listen to me, and you listen really... really fucking good, Twilight Sparkle. We're on your side. You're one of us now," she spat, chosing to deliver a harsh right straight to Twilight's cheek. "You help me kill Zinyak, you're free to go home. But if you ever... EVER attack me or my crew again, I'll fucking kill you myself." Twilight only managed a soft wheeze, and a weak, quiet "I'm sorry." --- As Twilight's consciousness began to fade, pain rampaging through her body, she heard the President utter one last sentence. "Consider yourself canonized." She was struck again, and blacked out immediately. --- Johnny Gat let out a short whistle as the President of the United States finished that last punch. "What the hell happened anyway?" he queried, pulling out his knife and holding it backhanded in his right hand as he approached. "She doesn't get to leave until I can stuff Zinyak's head in the Zimos shark's mouth," the woman replied simply, turning away from the unconscious and bruised unicorn. "Have Kinzie and Matt work on getting her hooked up to the Simulation. Keep CID away from her, and have someone keep an eye on her until she wakes up. If she tries this shit again, kill her." Johnny stared at his Boss for a moment before shrugging his shoulders and easily slinging the limp equine over his shoulders, carrying her away. He managed a chuckle as he climbed the stairs, looking at the pony's face. "She ain't so bad once ya get to know her."